Apparatus and method for accessing refrigerated items
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
F25D-025/00
F25D-025/02
F25D-011/02
F25D-023/02
F25D-023/06
F25D-029/00
F25D-023/00
출원번호
US-0018837
(2016-02-08)
등록번호
US-10215479
(2019-02-26)
발명자
/ 주소
Rindlisbach, Phillip J
Gregory, Nicholas James
출원인 / 주소
Rindlisbach, Phillip J
대리인 / 주소
Ong, Jacob
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
0인용 특허 :
11
초록▼
A rotatable shelf for use in a refrigerator that may include a support bracket configured to support a turntable but is not required. A bearing assembly may be disposed between the support bracket and the turntable, wherein the bearing assembly is configured to facilitate the rotation of the turntab
A rotatable shelf for use in a refrigerator that may include a support bracket configured to support a turntable but is not required. A bearing assembly may be disposed between the support bracket and the turntable, wherein the bearing assembly is configured to facilitate the rotation of the turntable relative to the support bracket. Users may also rotate a rotatable drawer assembly to access items. A support bracket may be configured with notches or retaining members to maintain concentricity of the bearing assembly with the support bracket.
대표청구항▼
1. An apparatus for refrigerating comprising a cabinet shell including a first compartment and a second compartment, each of said first and second compartments including a respective opening for receiving items to be refrigerated, the first compartment comprising an interior wall, the interior wall
1. An apparatus for refrigerating comprising a cabinet shell including a first compartment and a second compartment, each of said first and second compartments including a respective opening for receiving items to be refrigerated, the first compartment comprising an interior wall, the interior wall comprising a rear interior wall portion;a first side interior wall portion; and,a second side interior wall portion;a French-style door set, the French-style door set comprising first and second French-style doors pivotally mounted to the cabinet shell about the opening of the first compartment, wherein the first French-style door comprises an outer surface and an inner surface, wherein the second French-style door comprises an outer surface and an inner surface, wherein the first French-style door is configured to rotate about a first door hinge so as to be opened in a clockwise direction and wherein the first French-style door comprises a first door shelf, the first door shelf comprising a back wall, wherein the back wall further comprises a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the proximal portion of the back wall is configured to contour to at least 3 percent of the perimeter of a rotatable shelf, wherein the first door shelf further comprises a floor;wherein the second French-style door is configured to rotate about a second door hinge so as to be opened in a counterclockwise direction, wherein the second French-style door further comprises a second door shelf, wherein the second door shelf comprises a back wall, wherein the back wall of the second door shelf comprises a proximal portion and a distal portion, wherein the proximal portion of the back wall of the second door shelf is configured to contour to at least 3 percent of the perimeter of the rotatable shelf, wherein the first French-style door is configured to abut the second French-style door and wherein the first French-style door and the second French-style door are collectively characterized as a French-style door set;at least one rotatable shelf assembly disposed within the first compartment of the apparatus, the at least one rotatable shelf assembly comprising the rotatable shelf, wherein the rotatable shelf is disc-shaped, the rotatable shelf comprising a circumference portion;an annular-shaped lip coupled to the circumference portion;an upper surface;a lower surface; and,a bearing assembly comprising at least three bearing holders;at least three bearings wherein the at least three bearings are each operably coupled to one of the at least three bearing holders;a support bracket comprising an upper surface;a lower surface;an outer surface; and, a support bracket flange configured to physically couple with the interior wall of the apparatus, the support bracket flange being further configured to orient the upper surface of the support bracket in a substantially horizontal direction within the apparatus, the support bracket being detachably coupled with the at least three bearings. 2. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the support bracket further comprises an inner surface, wherein the support bracket being detachably coupled with the at least three bearings further comprises the inner surface of the support bracket being detachably coupled with the at least three bearings. 3. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the support bracket being detachably coupled with the at least three bearings further comprises the upper surface of the support bracket being detachably coupled with the at least three bearings. 4. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the first door shelf is further configured to contour to no more than 25 percent of the perimeter of the rotatable shelf and wherein the second door shelf is further configured to contour to no more than 25 percent of the perimeter of the rotatable shelf. 5. An apparatus as in claim 4, wherein the annular-shaped lip extends along an entire perimeter of the rotatable shelf, wherein the annular-shaped lip vertically rises at least 1 mm from the horizontal plane of the rotatable shelf; wherein the annular-shaped lip further comprises a bottom portion and a top portion, wherein the bottom portion is selected from a group consisting of a fillet edge and a chamfer edge, wherein the top portion is selected from a group consisting of a substantially convex edge and a substantially flat edge. 6. An apparatus as in claim 4 wherein the outer surface of the French-style door set is defined by an arc of the French-style door set, wherein a sagittal of the arc of the French-style door set is between 0.5 inches and 22 inches in height. 7. An apparatus as in claim 4 wherein at least one motor assembly is coupled to the rotatable shelf assembly and is configured to rotate the rotatable shelf when a control switch is switched to the on position. 8. An apparatus as in claim 4 further comprising a compressor and at least one electric motor, wherein the at least one electric motor is configured to automatically rotate the at least one rotatable when the compressor of apparatus is operated. 9. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the back wall of the first door shelf is ogee shaped, wherein the proximal portion of the back wall of the first door shelf extends into the first compartment, and wherein the distal portion of the back wall of the first door shelf extends into the first compartment, wherein the proximal portion of the back wall of the first door shelf is substantially defined by a first arc comprising a fractional part of a first circumference defined by a first radius with a beginning point which is concentric with a center of the rotatable shelf; and,wherein the distal portion of the back wall of the first door shelf is substantially defined by a second arc comprising a fractional part of a second circumference that is defined by a second radius with a beginning point which is concentric with the first door hinge point of the first door hinge;wherein the back wall of the first door shelf further comprises an inflection point portion separating the proximal portion of the back wall of the first door shelf from the distal portion of the back wall of the first door shelf;wherein the back wall of the second door shelf is ogee shaped, wherein the proximal portion of the back wall of the second door shelf and the distal portion of the back wall of the second door shelf extend into the first compartment and wherein the back wall of the second door shelf further comprises a first section of the second door shelf being substantially defined by a first arc of the second door shelf comprising a fractional part of a first circumference of the second door shelf defined by a first radius of the second door shelf with a beginning point which is concentric with the center of the rotatable shelf; and,a second section of the second door shelf being substantially defined by a second arc of the second door shelf comprising a fractional part of a second circumference of the second door shelf that is defined by a second radius of the second door shelf with a beginning point which is concentric with a second door hinge point of the second door hinge, wherein the second door hinge point is concentric with a vertical rotational axis around which the second hinge rotates; and,an inflection point of the second door shelf separating the first section of the second door shelf and the second section of the second door shelf of the edge portion of the second door shelf. 10. An apparatus as in claim 9, wherein the inflection point of the first door shelf is defined by a point which is located at a distance of 20 mm or less from a point at which the first arc is tangent to the second arc. 11. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the edge portion of the first door shelf further comprises a distal edge portion, wherein the proximal portion of the edge portion is substantially defined by a first arc with a first radius with a beginning point which is concentric with a center of the rotatable shelf; wherein the distal edge portion is between 3.5 inches and 7 inches in length, wherein said distal edge portion is defined by a first end which is located within 20 mm of the inflection point of the first door shelf and also defined by a second end, wherein the second end is coupled with the side interior wall and wherein said distal end portion is configured to be perpendicular or within 23 degrees of perpendicular with the first side interior wall. 12. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the first French-style door further comprises a third door shelf, wherein the third door shelf further comprises an edge portion facing the first compartment, an interior wall, an exterior wall, a distal side wall, and a proximal side wall; wherein the apparatus further comprises an ice-making device disposed in the third door shelf, the ice-making device comprising an interior wall, an exterior wall, a distal side wall; a proximal side wall; a motor; an ice maker housing; a rotating screw; a cold air vent; and a water tube. 13. An apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising at least one section of the rear interior wall residing rearward of the rear portion of the rotatable shelf and generally aligned along a horizontal plane passing through both the rotatable shelf and the at least one section of the rear interior wall, wherein the at least one section of the rear interior wall is concaved, contoured to complement a peripheral rim of the rear portion of the rotatable shelf, and configured to establish clearance between the rotatable shelf and the at least one section of the rear interior wall when the rotatable shelf is being rotated. 14. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the bearing assembly further comprises a retaining member operably coupled with at least one of the support bracket or the rotatable shelf; wherein the retaining member is configured to limit the rotatable shelf from shifting laterally a distance greater than 2 inches when the rotatable shelf is being rotated about a vertical axis of rotation. 15. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the bearing assembly comprises a bearing assembly, the bearing assembly comprising an inner bearing assembly comprising a plurality of inner bearing housings; and,an outer bearing assembly comprising a plurality of outer bearing housings;the inner bearing assembly is configured with a circular groove positioned on an outer edge of the inner bearing assembly; and,the outer bearing assembly further comprises a circular groove positioned on an outer edge of the outer bearing assembly;wherein the inner bearing assembly is positioned so as to nest within the outer bearing assembly; and,wherein the groove of the inner ring and the groove of the outer ring are configured to jointly form a torus-shaped channel, said channel being configured to receive at least three bearings,wherein only one of the inner bearing housing and the outer bearing housing is frictionally coupled to the rotatable shelf such that the rotatable shelf and the one of the inner bearing housing and the outer bearing housing are configured to jointly rotate about a vertical axis that is concentric with the center of the rotatable shelf. 16. An apparatus as in claim 15, wherein exclusively one of the inner bearing assembly or the outer bearing assembly is a selected bearing assembly being selected from the group consisting of the inner bearing assembly and the outer bearing assembly and is also positioned to be elevated with respect to the one of the group consisting of the inner bearing assembly and the outer bearing assembly which is not the selected bearing assembly, wherein at least some portion of an upper surface of the selected bearing assembly is frictionally coupled with the rotatable shelf and is also configured to rotate jointly with the rotatable shelf when the rotatable shelf is rotated. 17. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the support bracket is configured to be an annulus wherein a main body of the annulus extends sufficiently so that the distal edge of a central void of the annulus is positioned to be closer to the central axis of a rotatable shelf when the rotatable shelf is placed on the support bracket in correct alignment with respect to a retaining member. 18. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the bearing assembly is further configured into an annular ring. 19. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the support bracket is further configured into the shape of an annular ring. 20. An apparatus as in claim 19wherein the support bracket further comprises a depressed annular-shaped groove configured to receive the bearing assembly. 21. An apparatus as in claim 19, wherein a front portion of the support bracket has a recessed edge so as to allow a rotatable disc shaped shelf coupled to the top surface of the support bracket to overhang the support bracket by a distance of at least one inch measured from a perimeter of the rotatable shelf to the nearest point of the recessed edge of the support bracket, wherein the perimeter of the rotatable shelf that corresponds to the support bracket is between 15% and 55% of the total perimeter of the rotatable shelf. 22. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the support bracket further comprises an extruded disc configured to be inserted into the bearing assembly, wherein the extruded disc is configured to maintain the position of the bearing assembly as relatively concentric with the support bracket when the annular ring is coupled to the support bracket. 23. An apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising at least two L-brackets, at least two vertically-aligned side pilasters wherein the at least two vertically-aligned side pilasters are configured to couple to one L-bracket selected from the group consisting of the at least two L-brackets, at least one L-bracket coupled to both the vertically aligned rear pilaster and the support bracket, and at least side interior wall of the apparatus, wherein a rear portion of the support bracket is configured to couple with the rear interior wall of the apparatus, wherein the support bracket further comprises a support slot configured to engage with the at least one vertically aligned pilaster so as to prevent the forward sliding of the support bracket when the rear support of the support bracket is coupled to the vertically-aligned rear pilaster and also substantially parallel to a horizontal plane. 24. An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the support bracket further comprises a pin and wherein the rotatable shelf further comprises a pinhole configured to mate with the pin and maintain the concentricity of the rotatable shelf with the support bracket when the pin is mated to the pin hole; wherein the pin is configured to keep the rotatable shelf assembly concentric with a vertical axis of rotation. 25. An apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a cylindrical sidewall coupled to the upper surface of the rotatable shelf to define an interior space;at least one partition, wherein the at least one partition is configured to divide the interior space into at least two sectors;an annular lip circumscribing the upper perimeter of the cylindrical sidewall; the annular lip being detachable or molded to the cylindrical sidewall;the annular lip further being a generally inverted U-shape directed radially outward from the center of the rotatable shelf and configured to provide sufficient space for at least one human finger to be inserted into a space between the annular lip and the cylindrical side wall. 26. An apparatus as in claim 25, further comprising 3 partitions wherein the total number of partitions is four and the four partitions are configured to divide the inner space into four sectors. 27. The apparatus as in claim 25 further comprising at least one track;at least one resting piece configured to have at least one channel that is configured so that the at least one track is insertable into the at least one channel; wherein a top surface of resting piece is configured to be operably coupled with the bottom surface of the bearing assembly, wherein the rotatable shelf is coupled to a cylindrical sidewall which circumscribes the rotatable disc, wherein the rotatable disc shaped shelf is configured to rotate around a vertical axis simultaneously while being moved in a forward, lateral direction towards the opening of the inner compartment, wherein the at least one partition is configured to be coupled with a central post and to divide the rotatable disc assembly into two or more sectors.
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