Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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REFRIGERATOR DOOR BiN
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bottom mount refrigerator having a
food basket or bin removably mounted to the freezer door.
Backctround of the Invention
Bottom mount refrigerators having a fresh food compartment located
vertically above a freezer compartment have a clear advantage to accessing
food articles in the fresh food compartment over top mount refrigerators. This
is particularly advantageous in instances in which access to the freezer
compartment is of lesser importance to a user. However, what is gained in
accessibility to the fresh food compartment reduces the accessibility to the
freezer compartment.
The bottom mount refrigerators that have hinged doors currently on the
market typically include a basket mounted inside the freezer compartment.
The basket is located above the bottom floor of the freezer compartment and
is either supported on side track ways mounted to the inner side walls of the
freezer compartment or runs on guide rollers placed on the floor of the
freezer
compartment. The basket is able to be pulled through the front opening of the
freezer compartment to allow a user easy access to the food artictes stored in
the basket when the freezer door is open. In some cases, the freezer
compartment includes means to support one or more ice trays and this
typically results in a stationary shelf that extends laterally across the
freezer
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compartment above the basket. Alternatively, another sliding shelf may be
mounted across the upper portion of the freezer. Typically, the freezer door
swings between an open and a closed position to allow the bottom basket to
be pulled out from the refrigerator. However, in instances where the door
cannot be opened greater than a 90 degree angle, it is difficult to have the
lower freezer basket pulled from the freezer as the door provides an
encumbrance to the removal of the sliding basket from the freezer
compartment. Also, removal of the basket from the guide rollers for cleaning
purposes is not possible when the door cannot be opened beyond 90
degrees.
There is a need to improve the access to the food articles contained in
the freezer in a bottom mount refrigerator without effecting the space design
requirements for the freezer compartment and without necessarily having the
freezer door having to be opened to an angle greater than 90 degrees.
Summary Of The Invention
The present invention relates to a bottom mount refrigerator having a
freezer door pivotally mounted to the refrigerator cabinet which is movable to
swing between an open position and closed position to sealingly close the
freezer compartment. The freezer door has an inner liner wall portion onto
which a plurality of spaced apart brackets are mounted. The spaced apart
brackets preferably have upwardly extending support tabs. A bin is
removably mounted onto the support tabs for support from the freezer door.
The bin has a front boundary portion that extends outwardly away from the
inner liner wall portion of the refrigerator door and into the freezer
compartment when the freezer door is closed so as to locate the front
boundary portion of the bin adjacent the rear wall portion of the freezer
compartment. By mounting of a bin directly onto the swinging freezer door,
every time the freezer door is opened, food articles contained in the door
mounted bin will be readily accessible to the user. Further, it is not
necessary
that the door open to any angle beyond 90 degrees in order to allow access to
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food articles contained in the freezer compartment. By having a removable
bin mounted to the door, it is. possible to readily remove the bin from the
door
for the purposes of cleaning the bin without having to open the door beyond a
90° angle.
In one embodiment the bin has two inwardly curving and converging
side boundary portions such that the front boundary portion extends between
the two inwardly curving and converging side boundary portions of the bin.
The bin extends from the inner wall liner portion of the freezer door into the
freezer compartment when the freezer door is closed so as to position the
curved side boundary portions of the bin to each extend adjacent to a
corresponding one of the side walls of freezer compartment and to curve
further away from the corresponding side walls adjacent a juncture to where
the side boundary portion of the bin meets the front boundary portion of the
bin. By having such a curvature on the side wall portions, it is possible for
the
bin to exfiend substantially across the width of the inner liner wall portion
of the
refrigerator door and still be able to have sufficient clearance to be
inserted
into the freezer compartment without contacting the opposing side walls of the
freezer compartment. Further, it is possible to remove the bin when the door
is swung open at an angle slightly less than 90° relative to the
refrigerator
cabinet.
In one embodiment, the bin camprises a wire basket having a top rim
defining a periphery for the wire basket. The wire basket also has wire slats
extending downwardly from the top rim to define the curving and converging
side boundary portions and the front boundary portion of the bin. In this
aspect, the side wall and front boundary portions are in effect defined by the
slats and the open spaces between the slats. The top rim further has a rear
boundary portion that is adapted to hook onto the supporting tabs.
In another embodiment the freezer door liner has a lower flange
extending outwardly therefrom below the inner liner wall portion and into the
freezer compartment when the freezer door is in its closed position. The wire
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basket has rear slats extending downwardly from the top rim to define a rear
wall portion. The rear slats extend parallel to the inner liner wall portion
and
are bent at an angle to extend forward of the lower flange of the door liner
in
non-contacting relation therewith. The bent slats prevent the bin from placing
undue stress on the lower flange of the door liner.
In an alternative embodiment, the bin comprises a solid basket having
- a top rim defining a periphery for the solid basket and the top rim having a
rear boundary portion adapted to hook onto the supporting tabs. By a solid
basket it is meant that the side, front, rear and floor boundary portions of
the
bin comprise solid wall and floor portions.
In one embodiment the freezer door liner has a lower flange that
extends outwardly therefrom below the inner liner wall portion and into the
freezer compartment when the freezer door is in its closed position. The solid
basket has a rear boundary portion that extends parallel to the inner liner
wall
portion. The rear boundary portion meets the floor portion of the solid basket
at a notched corner whereby the notched corner of the solid basket is adapted
to rest on a lower flange of the freezer door. It is permissible to have the
solid
wall rest on the inner liner flange as the solid wall evenly displaces forces
associated with food articles along the surface of the flange.
In one embodiment the freezer door further has an outer door panel to
which the inner liner wall portion is secured. The door has a pair of spaced
apart reinforcing brace member secured within the door. Each of the brace
members has a forward central portion and recessed opposing wing end
portions extending from the forward central portion. The wing end portions
are secured within the door. The forward central portions of the brace
members have outward facing surfaces each positioned against the inner liner
wall portion and have spaced apart mounting support apertures for
securement with a corresponding one of the brackets. Insulation positioned
between the inner liner wall portion and the outer.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a bottom
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mount refrigerator comprising a refrigerator cabinet having a fresh food
compartment and a freezer compartment located vertically below the fresh
food compartment. The freezer compartment has opposing side walls and a
rear wall extending between the opposing side walls. The refrigerator further
comprises a freezer door pivotally mounted to the refrigerator cabinet and
moveable between an open position and a closed position, sealingly closing
the freezer compartment. The freezer door has an inner liner wall portion
facing the freezer compartment when the freezer door is closed. A plurality of
spaced apart brackets are mounted to the inner liner wall portion of the
freezer door. The brackets are positioned horizontally relative to each other
and have supporting tabs. A bin is removably mounted onto the supporting
tabs for support from the freezer door. The bin has a front boundary portion
and the bin extends from the inner liner wall portion of the freezer door into
the freezer compartment when the freezer door is closed to position the front
boundary portion adjacent the rear wall of the freezer compartment.
Brief Description Of The Drawings
For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the present
invention reference may be had to the following detailed description when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying diagrammatic drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bottom mount refrigerator having the
door mounted removable bin of the present invention;
Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the door mounted removable bin shown
in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the basket shown mounted to the door
with the inner finer removed for the purposes of illustration; and,
Figure 4 is a view of an alternative door mounted removable bin having
solid wall and floor portions.
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Detailed Description Of The Invention
The present invention relates to a bottom mount refrigerator having a
food basket or bin removably mounted to the freezer door.
Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a bottom mount refrigerator 10
having a fresh food compartment 12 and a freezer compartment 14 located
vertically below the fresh food compartment 12. The fresh food compartment
12 is closed by a door 16 pivotally mounted by hinges (not shown) to the
refrigerator cabinet 18. A freezer door 20 is located pivotally mounted by
hinges (not shown) to the refrigerator cabinet 18 for closing the freezer
compartment 14. The doors 16 and 20 are provided with sealing gaskets (not
shown) that seal against the refrigerator cabinet 18 when the doors 16, 20 are
closed.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2 the freezer door 20 has a generally fiat
inner liner wall portion 24 surrounded by a peripheral flange 26. The
peripheral flange 26 has a lower flange portion 28 that extends outwardly from
the inner liner wall portion 24 into the fresh food compartment 14 when the
freezer door 20 is closed.
A pair of horizontally spaced apart brackets 30 are each mounted by
four screws (only two shown) 32 to the freezer door 20. In particular, the
screws 32 fasten through the inner finer wall portion 24 and secure against a
reinforcing member such as a metal frame (not shown) behind the door liner
24. The brackets 32 are each provided with upstanding supporting tabs 34.
In Figures 1 and 2, a bin 40 is shown removably mounted to the
supporting brackets 30. The bin 40 comprises a basket having a forward
boundary portion 42 defined by forward slats 44 and the spaces between the
forward slats 44. The bin 40 further has curved side boundary portions 46
defined by the side slats 48 and the spaces between side slats 48. The bin
40 has a bottom boundary or floor 49 provided by the slats 50 and a rear
boundary portion 51 defined by the rear slats 52 and the open spaces
between slats 52. It should be understood that a flat plastic or metal insert
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(not shown) may be inserted onto the floor 49 of the bin 40 to provide a
closed
floor in the event the openings in the floor slats are too large for food
items.
The slats 44, 48, and 52 all depend downwardly from a peripheral rim or top
rim 60 which extends around the circumference of the bin 40 to define the
basket. The bin 40 is positioned with opposing side boundary portions 46
which curve toward each other or converge as they extend further away from
rear boundary portion 51. During door closure, the curved side boundary
portions 46 have sufficient clearance from the freezer opposing side walls 70
so that the bin 40 does not contact the opposing side walls 70 of the freezer
compartment 14. As the door 20 is swung, or pivoted about its hinges, closed
in the direction of arrow 72, the front boundary portion 42 of bin 40 comes to
rest closely adjacent the rear wall 74 of the freezer compartment. The bin 40
is positioned above the floor 76 of the freezer compartment 14 and below a
sliding shelf 78 in the freezer compartment 14. It should be understood that
the sliding shelf 78 may alternatively be a stationary shelf. Alternatively,
no
such shelf 78 may be present in the freezer compartment 14 and the bin 40
may have a depth that extends the entire depth of the freezer compartment
14.
The rear slats 52 of the bin 40 have bent forward portions 52a which
meet with the bottom slats 50. The purpose of the bent or angled portions
50a is to keep the bin 40 clear of lower flange portion 28 of the freezer door
20 so that the slats 52 and 52a do not contact the flange 28. The bin 40 has a
floor or bottom boundary 49 which is positioned parallel and adjacent the
lower flange portion 28 of freezer door 20, and is positioned just above the
floor 78 of freezer compartment 14 when the door 20 is closed.
Referring to Figures 1 to 3, the construction of the freezer door 20 is
shown. In Figure 3, the inner liner wail portion 24 has been removed for
illustration purposes to show the interior structure of the door 20. The door
20
has an outer panel 110 that has side walls 112. The outer panel 110
comprises a generally flat metal. The side walls 112 have in-turned flanges
114 that extend substantially parallel to the outer panel 110. It is to these
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flanges 114 that the peripheral flange 26 of the inner liner wall portion 24
is
attached.
A pair of spaced apart reinforcing brace members 116 are secured
within the door 20. Each of the brace members 116 has a forward central
portion 118 and recessed opposing wing end portions 120 extending from the
forward central portion118. The wing end portions 120 are secured within the
door 20 at their end portions. The forward central portions 118 of the brace
members 116 have outward facing surfaces 122 each positioned against the
inner liner wall portion 24. The outward facing surfaces 122 are substantially
flush in abutting relation with the inner liner wall portion 24.The surfaces
122
have mounting support apertures 124 for screws or fasteners (not shown) to
fasten the mounting brackets 30 thereto with the inner liner wall portion 24
therebetween (not shown in Figure 3). The brace member 116 has an
additional rear supporting bracket 121 on its rear face for receiving the
fasteners passing through the bracket 30 and surface 122. The rear bracket
121 provides additional support for the bin 40. insulation, not shown, is
positioned between the inner liner wall portion 24 and the outer door panel
110.
Each of the recessed wing end portions 120 slopes into the door 20
away from the inner liner 24 and is surrounded by insulation. The brace
members 120 comprise a glass reinforced nylon in this embodiment.
Alternatively, the brace members 120 may comprise a metal body with plastic
ends to limit heat transfer into the body of the door.
The brackets 30 are supported from the from the door 20 by the
spaced apart brace members 116 with the inner finer wall portion 24
sandwiched therebetween.
Referring to Figure 4, a solid bin 80 having solid side wall portions is
shown. The solid bin 80 has a solid front boundary portion 82, curving and
converging side wall portions 84 and a rear portion 86. A peripheral rim 88
extends around the bin and also has a top rim rear portion 90 that is adapted
to hook onto the support tabs 30 (not shown in Figure 4). The rear wall
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portion 86 meets a floor 92 of the bin 80 at a notched juncture 94. This
notched juncture 94 is adapted to provide a surface 95 that rests on the lower
flange portion 28 of the refrigerator, door liner 20 for keeping the bin
straight.
In this embodiment, the generally fiat inner liner wall portion 24 of the
freezer
door 20 is shown to be provided with a series of ribs 100 and recesses 102.
While the invention has been described in terms of very specific
embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be
practiced with modifications that fall within the spirit and scope of the
claims.
