Frameless Refrigerator Shelf Support for Cleanable Cantilevered Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerator shelving systems face issues such as crevice formation for food and grime buildup, difficulty in adjusting shelf positions, instability, and complex manufacturing requirements, while also lacking ease of cleaning and attractive design.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerator shelf system featuring laterally spaced support rails with longitudinally spaced apertures engaging shelf support brackets, allowing for easy removal and reattachment of glass shelves with a cantilevered design that supports the shelf panel from the brackets, enabling simple cleaning and adjustment without altering the bracket assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If glass shelves are encased in plastic or metal frame members with shelf brackets, then the shelves gain structural support and stability, but frame members create crevices for food and grime buildup and complicate manufacturing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the frame member entirely from the shelf assembly, extracting only the necessary support function. The glass shelf panel is supported directly by shelf support brackets that attach to rear rails, eliminating the enclosing frame that creates crevices for food and grime accumulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The shelf system is segmented into separate functional components: the glass shelf panel for storage surface, shelf support brackets for structural support and positioning, and rear rails for mounting. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the glass panel remains frameless for ease of cleaning while brackets provide necessary stability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If shelf brackets are fastened to the back wall with fastener screws, then the shelves gain stable support, but adjusting the position of shelves becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The shelf support brackets are designed to be dynamically repositionable along the rear rails. The brackets can be easily detached and reattached at different locations on the rails, allowing users to adjust shelf positions vertically without complex tools or procedures, while maintaining stable support when positioned.
Solution Approach 2:
The rear rails serve multiple functions: providing structural mounting support for the shelf brackets and enabling vertical adjustment of shelf positions. The standardized rail-bracket interface allows the same bracket design to be used at multiple positions along the rail, providing both stability and adjustability.
3Ease of manufacture
If the entire shelf assembly including brackets is removed for cleaning, then the shelf panel can be cleaned, but the process becomes complicated and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The shelf system is divided into the removable shelf panel and the stationary shelf support brackets. This segmentation allows the shelf panel to be easily detached for cleaning while the brackets remain mounted on the rear rails, eliminating the need to remove and re-attach the brackets during cleaning cycles.
4Strength
If frame members are used to support glass shelves, then structural support is provided, but manufacturing requirements become complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The frame member is extracted from the shelf assembly, leaving only the essential support function. The shelf support brackets provide targeted structural support where needed (at the rear edges of the shelf) without requiring a complete frame enclosure, simplifying manufacturing while maintaining strength.
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator includes support rails which are positioned adjacent a back wall for supporting a plurality of removable shelf assemblies. First and second shelf support brackets project from the rails and include rear shelf support flanges spaced from support arms. A shelf panel has a back frame member including at least one support hook adapted to engage the shelf support flanges such that the back edge portion of the shelf panel is positively engaged with the shelf support brackets. At the same time, a section of a central portion of the shelf panel is supported on the support arms, while both another section of the central portion and a forward portion of the shelf panel extends in a cantilevered manner beyond the brackets.