초록 ▼

A refrigerator which includes a refrigerator cabinet, a door attached to the refrigerator cabinet, a refrigerator drawer assembly disposed within the cabinet, the assembly including: (a) a refrigerator drawer body with a bottom and a plurality of upright walls operatively connected to the bottom; (b

A refrigerator which includes a refrigerator cabinet, a door attached to the refrigerator cabinet, a refrigerator drawer assembly disposed within the cabinet, the assembly including: (a) a refrigerator drawer body with a bottom and a plurality of upright walls operatively connected to the bottom; (b) a perimeter frame with front, back and opposite portions; (c) a support member having a first end, a second end, a bottom, a top, and a plurality of walls, the support member interchangeably connected to the front and back portions of the perimeter frame; and (d) a refrigerator drawer subassembly configured to support and allow for movement of the refrigerator drawer. A method for manufacturing a refrigerator with refrigerator drawer assembly includes providing a perimeter frame and a support member, connecting the support member to the perimeter frame to create a first position, disconnecting the support member from the perimeter to create a second position, selecting one of a plurality of refrigerator drawer bodies for insertion into the perimeter based on the position of the support member, and selecting one of a plurality of refrigerator drawer subassemblies for connection to the perimeter frame, support member, or refrigerator drawer body.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator cabinet;a door attached to the refrigerator cabinet;a refrigerator drawer assembly disposed within the cabinet, the assembly including: (a) a refrigerator drawer body with a bottom and a plurality of upright walls operatively connected to the bottom; (b)

1. A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator cabinet;a door attached to the refrigerator cabinet;a refrigerator drawer assembly disposed within the cabinet, the assembly including: (a) a refrigerator drawer body with a bottom and a plurality of upright walls operatively connected to the bottom; (b) a perimeter frame with top, front, back and opposite side portions; (c) an integral front snap receiver centrally located on the front of the perimeter frame and an integral rear snap receiver centrally located on the back of the perimeter frame; (d) a support member having a first end, a second end, a bottom, a top, and a plurality of side walls, the support member interchangeably connected to the front and back portions of the perimeter frame at the integral front snap receiver and at the integral rear snap receiver; (e) a refrigerator drawer subassembly configured to support and allow for movement of the refrigerator drawer; and (f) a mount portion on the support member, the mount portion adapted to operate by itself to assist in providing a sliding drawer movement, removably attach to a rolling subassembly to assist in providing a rolling drawer movement, and removably attach to a gliding subassembly to assist in providing a gliding drawer movement; (g) a channel along the side walls of the support member configured for receiving drawer edges, the channel having a top ledge extending perpendicularly outward from one of the plurality of side walls between the first and second end, wherein a portion of the top ledge proximate the first end is concave shaped and extends into at least a portion of the channel; (h) the front of the perimeter frame having a front face extending between the opposite side portions and the top and an opposite bottom edge of the perimeter frame with a first notch proximate a first side of the perimeter frame and a second notch proximate an opposite second side of the perimeter frame, the first notch and the second notch extending in a vertical orientation from the opposite bottom edge toward the top of the perimeter frame for receiving drawer edges; and (i) a center notch in the front of the perimeter frame centered between the first notch and the second notch for receiving the support member; (j) a first downwardly extending front face portion between the first notch and the center notch and a second downwardly extending front face portion between the center notch and the second notch, the first and second downwardly extending front face portions terminating in the bottom edge of the perimeter frame; andthe support member being in a first position when the support member is connected to the perimeter frame and being in a second position when the support member is disconnected from the perimeter frame. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 wherein the refrigerator drawer body is chosen based on the position of the support member. 3. The refrigerator drawer body according to claim 2 further comprising a one half width refrigerator drawer body when the support member is in the first position, wherein the one half width refrigerator drawer body is approximately half the width of the perimeter frame. 4. The refrigerator drawer body according to claim 2 further comprising a full width refrigerator drawer body when the support member is in the second position, wherein the full width refrigerator drawer body is approximately the full width of the perimeter frame. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 1 further comprising a refrigerator drawer subassembly having a sliding subassembly, wherein the refrigerator drawer slidably engages a plurality of channels. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 1 further comprising a refrigerator drawer subassembly having a rolling subassembly, wherein the refrigerator drawer engages a plurality of rollers. 7. The refrigerator according to claim 1 further comprising a refrigerator drawer subassembly having a gliding subassembly, wherein the refrigerator drawer engages a plurality of glides. 8. A refrigerator drawer assembly for storing fresh food within a refrigerator comprising: a perimeter frame having front, back and opposite side portions, the front of the perimeter frame having a front face extending between the opposite side portions and a top and an opposite bottom edge of the perimeter frame with first and second notches near opposite ends of the front face for receiving drawer edges and a center notch therebetween receiving a support member, the first and second notches extending a vertical orientation from the opposite bottom edge toward the top of the perimeter frame for receiving drawer edges, a first downwardly extending front face portion between the first notch and the center notch and a second downwardly extending front face portion between the center notch and the second notch the first and second downwardly extending front face portions terminating in the opposite bottom edge of the perimeter frame;an integral front snap receiver centrally located on the front of the perimeter frame and an integral rear snap receiver centrally located on the back of the perimeter frame;the support member having a first end, a second end, a bottom, a top, and a plurality of walls, the support member being in a first position when connected to the perimeter frame at the integral front snap receiver and the integral rear snap receiver and being in a second position when disconnected from the perimeter frame;a mount portion on the support member;a channel along the side walls of the support member configured for receiving drawer edges, the channel having a top and bottom edge extending perpendicularly outward from one of the plurality of side walls and parallel to each other between the first and second end, wherein a portion of the top edge proximate the first end is concave shaped and extends into at least a portion of the channel, and wherein a roller mount is disposed on the side wall of the support member lower than the top edge of the channel;at least one half width refrigerator drawer body, the at least one half width refrigerator drawer body being approximately half the width of the perimeter frame and having a bottom and a plurality of upright walls operatively connected to the bottom;a full width refrigerator drawer body, the full width refrigerator drawer body being approximately the full width of the perimeter frame and having a bottom and a plurality of upright walls operatively connected to the bottom;at least two subassemblies, a first of the at least two subassemblies providing one of a sliding, gliding, or rolling movement of a half width or a full width refrigerator drawer body relative to the perimeter frame, a second of the at least two subassemblies providing a different one of the sliding, gliding, or rolling movement of a half width or a full width refrigerator drawer body relative to the perimeter frame;a full width refrigerator drawer body configuration with the support member in the second position, one of the at least two subassemblies connected to the perimeter frame, and a full width refrigerator drawer body installed on the frame;a one half width refrigerator drawer body configuration with the support member in the first position, one of the at least two subassemblies connected to the perimeter frame and to the support member, and at least one half width refrigerator drawer body installed on the frame; andthe refrigerator drawer assembly having the full width refrigerator drawer body configuration or the one half width refrigerator drawer body configuration. 9. The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 8 wherein the sliding movement of the one half width or full width refrigerator drawer body slidably engages a plurality of channels. 10. The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 8 wherein the rolling movement of the one half width or full width refrigerator drawer body engages a plurality of rollers. 11. The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 8 wherein the gliding movement of the one half width or full width refrigerator drawer body engages a plurality of glides. 12. A method for manufacturing a refrigerator with a refrigerator drawer assembly comprising: providing a perimeter frame having top, front, back and opposite side portions and a support member having a mount portion, a first end, a second end, a bottom, a top, a plurality of side walls and a channel along the side walls of the support member configured for receiving drawer edges, the channel having a top ledge extending perpendicularly outward from one of the plurality of side walls between the first and second end, wherein a portion of the top ledge extends into at least a portion of the channel, the mount portion adapted to operate by itself to assist in providing a sliding drawer movement, removably attach to a roiling subassembly to assist in providing a rolling drawer movement, and removably attach to a gliding subassembly to assist in providing a gliding drawer movement, the perimeter frame having an integral front snap receiver and an integral rear snap receiver, both the integral front snap receiver and the integral rear snap receiver centrally located on the perimeter frame, the front of the perimeter frame having a front face spaced between the top, a bottom terminal edge and opposite side portions of the perimeter frame with first and second notches near opposite ends of the front face having a notch height extending from the bottom terminal edge toward the top of the perimeter frame in a generally vertical orientation for receiving drawer edges and a center notch therebetween for receiving the support member, the center notch extending from the bottom terminal edge toward the top of the perimeter frame in the generally vertical orientation wherein the center notch has a width to accommodate a pair of drawer edges and wherein the first and second notches have a width less than the width of the center notch to accommodate a single drawer edge wherein the front face includes a first downwardly extending front face portion between the first notch and the center notch and a second downwardly extending front face portion between the center notch and the second notch, the first and second downwardly extending front face portions terminating in a bottom edge, and wherein the notch height from the bottom edge is spaced between the center notch height and the top of the perimeter frame to accommodate drawer edges;connecting the support member to the perimeter frame using the integral front snap receiver and the integral rear snap receiver to create a first position;disconnecting the support member from the perimeter to create a second position;selecting one of a plurality of refrigerator drawer bodies to provide a selected refrigerator drawer body having a bottom and a plurality of upright walls adapted for insertion into the perimeter based on the position of the support member;selecting one of a plurality of refrigerator drawer subassemblies to provide a selected refrigerator drawer subassembly to interchangeably and removably connect to the perimeter frame, the mount portion of the support member, or refrigerator drawer body;connecting the selected refrigerator drawer body to the selected refrigerator drawer subassembly;inserting of the selected refrigerator drawer body into the perimeter frame. 13. The method according to claim 12 wherein the support member is interchangeably connected to the front and back portions of the perimeter frame. 14. The method according to claim 12 further comprising inserting a full width refrigerator drawer body into the perimeter frame when the support member is in a first position, wherein the full width refrigerator drawer body is approximately the full width of the perimeter frame. 15. The method according to claim 12 further comprising inserting a one half width refrigerator drawer body into the perimeter frame when the support member is in a second position, wherein the one half width refrigerator drawer body is approximately half the width of the perimeter frame. 16. The method according to claim 12 further comprising a refrigerator drawer subassembly having a sliding subassembly, wherein the refrigerator drawer slidably engages a plurality of channels. 17. The method according to claim 12 further comprising a refrigerator drawer subassembly having a rolling subassembly, wherein the refrigerator drawer engages a plurality of rollers. 18. The method according to claim 12 further comprising a refrigerator drawer subassembly having a gliding subassembly, wherein the refrigerator drawer engages a plurality of glides.