Article retainer assembly for refrigerators
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorLawrence J. Ertz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An article retainer assembly for a refrigerator shelf includes a pair of support brackets and a retaining member. The support brackets are preferably mounted at opposing side portions of a refrigerator shelf, with the retaining member extending therebetween and across a front edge section of the shelf. The support brackets include corresponding guide tracks having first and second portions adapted to support the retaining member in an upright, lowered or stowed configuration. In the upright position, the retaining member prevents articles resting upon the shelf from moving beyond the front edge section. In the lowered position, unobstructed access is provided to the articles on the shelf and, in the stowed position, the retaining member is held in place below the shelf.
Claims19
A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet;
- a liner arranged within the cabinet, said liner having top, bottom and opposing side walls defining, at least in part, a refrigerated compartment;
- a door pivotally mounted relative to the cabinet for selectively closing the refrigerated compartment;
- a shelf mounted in the refrigerator compartment for supporting articles to be refrigerated, said shelf including a substantially flat planar portion defined, at least in part, by first and second opposing side sections and a front edge section;
- and
- an article retainer assembly including:
- first and second support brackets mounted to the shelf, each of said first and second support brackets including a guide track;
- and
- a retaining member positioned across the front edge section of the shelf between the first and second support brackets, said retaining member including a main body portion having first and second end sections, each of said first and second end sections being provided with a pivot post extending into the guide track of a respective one of the first and second support brackets, said pivot post being adapted to transition along the guide track as the retaining member shifts between three distinct positions including a first position, wherein the retaining member extends above the front edge section of the shelf to block articles on the shelf, a second position wherein the retaining member is lowered to expose articles stored on the shelf, and a third, stowed position wherein the retaining member is maintained in a location assuring unobstructed access to articles stored on the shelf.
A refrigerator comprising:
- a cabinet;
- a liner arranged within the cabinet, said liner having top, bottom and opposing side walls defining, at least in part, a refrigerated compartment;
- a door pivotally mounted relative to the cabinet for selectively closing the refrigerated compartment;
- a shelf mounted in the refrigerator compartment for supporting articles to be refrigerated, said shelf including a substantially flat planar portion defined, at least in part, by first and second opposing side sections and a front edge section;
- and
- an article retainer assembly including:
- a retaining member positioned across the front edge section of the shelf, said retaining member including a main body portion having first and second end sections, each of said first and second end sections being provided with a pivot post, said retaining member being shiftably mounted relative to the shelf to three distinct positions including a first position wherein the retaining member extends above the front edge section of the shelf to block articles on the shelf, a second position wherein the retaining member is lowered to expose articles stored on the shelf, and a third, stowed position wherein the retaining member is maintained in a location assuring unobstructed access to articles stored on the shelf;
- and
- means for supporting the retaining member in each of the first, second and third positions, said supporting means being mounted to the shelf.
A method of operating an article retaining assembly provided across a front edge section of a refrigerator shelf comprising:
- positioning a retaining member in a first position between first and second support brackets mounted to a refrigerator shelf to prevent articles from shifting beyond a front edge section of the refrigerator shelf;
- lifting the retaining member, causing peg elements on the retaining member to disengage from retention channels on the first and second support brackets;
- rotating the retaining member, causing pivot elements of the retaining member to transition along guide tracks defined by the first and second support brackets until the retaining member assumes a second, lowered position;
- and
- selectively stowing the retaining member in a third position wherein the retaining member is supported below and substantially parallel to the refrigerator shelf.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.