ADJUSTABLE DIVIDER ASSEMBLY FOR REFRIGERATOR STORAGE UNIT

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to an adjustable divider used to selectively separate a storage unit in a refrigerator.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] In the art of refrigerators, it is widely known to employ a plurality of shelves and compartments, including drawers, bins and pans, to store a wide range of food products. For instance, in a fresh food compartment, shelves, drawers, pans, removable bins and the like are commonly found both in the body of the compartment and on the inside of the door for storing food items. When storing the food items, it is generally undesirable to enable excessive shifting. This is particularly true in connection with door supported food items in order to prevent the food items from falling when the door is abruptly opened or closed. To address this concern, it is known to employ retainers in connection with door supported shelves, bins, dairy compartments and the like to divide the storage zones, while limiting the potential shifting of the food items.

[0005] While retainers of this kind have been advantageously employed in connection with shelves and other storage zones on refrigerator doors, little has been done in effectively providing dividers for use in connection with refrigerator drawers, bins and the like. That is, a typical slidable drawer or bin in a refrigerator defines a single compartment for the storage of food items which are generally laid on top of one another or simply allowed to shift within the compartment over time. Obviously, such an arrangement does not represent an efficient and effective overall storage configuration. Although the storage compartment could be molded or otherwise formed with one or more dividers in order to establish multiple storage zones, it would be desirable to have an adjustable divider which could be used to selectively section off and reconfigure the overall storage region of a refrigerator drawer, bin or the like storage unit for improved organizational purposes.

[0006] The present invention is directed to an adjustable divider assembly for a support surface of a pan, drawer or the like storage unit in a refrigerator wherein the adjustable divider assembly constitutes multiple, pivotally interconnected arms, each of which includes telescoping sections. With this arrangement, each arm of the divider assembly can be selectively extended and retracted and the two arms can be readily angled relative to one another. Therefore, the overall adjustable divider assembly can assume any one of an essentially infinite number of positions to compartmentalize a storage region into multiple zones. In accordance with one form of the invention, the support surface has associated therewith a metal layer and the adjustable divider assembly includes base magnets which are attracted to the metal layer to retain the adjustable divider assembly in a desired configuration.

[0007] Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.

[0013] With initial reference to FIG. 1, a refrigerator incorporating the present invention is generally indicated at 2. As shown, refrigerator 2 includes a cabinet 5 within which is defined an upper fresh food compartment 7, a lower freezer compartment 8 located behind a freezer door 9 having a handle 10, and an intermediate refrigerated compartment defined by a drawer 11. Also depicted are pairs of upper and lower hinges 12, 13 and 14, 15 which are used in connection with pivotally mounting French-style upper fresh food compartment doors of refrigerator 2, with the fresh food compartment doors not being shown in order to illustrate internal components of refrigerator 2. At this point, it should be realized that, although refrigerator 2 is shown to constitute a bottom mount style refrigerator, the invention is equally applicable to other refrigerator styles, including other bottom mount, top mount and side-by-side units.

[0014] In the embodiment shown, fresh food compartment 7 includes a plurality of spaced shelves 20-23, as well as a plurality of storage drawers or bins 26-29. Below fresh food compartment 7 is drawer 11 which extends across substantially the entire width of cabinet 5. At this point, it should be noted that drawer 11 can be completely separate from fresh food compartment 7 as depicted or located within fresh food compartment 7, such as below storage drawers 27 and 28 in a manner known in the art. In any case, the present invention is particularly directed to the inclusion of one or more adjustable divider assemblies 40 for refrigerator 2. In the embodiment shown, one adjustable divider assembly 40 is shown arranged within storage drawer 11. More specifically, drawer 11 is shown to include a front wall 50, a base or bottom wall 51, a rear wall 52 (shown in FIGS. 5-10) and a pair of opposing side walls 53 and 54. FIG. 1 depicts drawer 11 partially opened. However, front wall 50 is provided with a handle 55 which can be selectively grasped to slide storage drawer 11 between an extended, access position and a recessed, storage position. Although most of drawer 11 is molded of plastic, bottom wall 51 of storage drawer 11 is preferably formed of metal or at least includes a metallic surface layer as will be detailed more fully below.

[0015] Reference will now be made to FIGS. 2-4 is describing the construction of adjustable divider assembly 40 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In general, adjustable divider assembly 40 can be made from various materials, including plastic, metal or a combination thereof. In any event, adjustable divider assembly 40 is constituted by two main, telescopic, substantially symmetrical arms or sections 75 and 76 which are pivotally interconnected at a connector joint 78. As illustrated, arm 75 includes a housing portion 82 and an extension portion 83 which is telescopingly received within housing portion 82. More specifically, housing portion 82 includes a first end 87 from which projects a central tubular member 88. Housing portion 82 also includes a second end 90 which, as best shown in FIG. 3, includes an in-turned terminal end 91. In general, housing portion 82 establishes a central hollow body portion 92.

[0016] As also shown in these figures, extension portion 83 includes a first end 94 which is received within housing portion 82 and which includes upper and lower projections 96 and 97 respectively (again see FIG. 3). As will be readily evident from viewing FIG. 3, when extension portion 83 is moved to a fully extended position relative to housing portion 82, upper and lower projections 96 and 97 abut in-turned terminal end 91 to limit the degree of extension and prevent extension portion 83 from being disconnected from housing portion 82. Extension portion 83 also includes a second end 99 which is secured to an end support block 101. In the embodiment depicted, end support block 101 has mounted thereto a lower magnet 104 and, optionally, an upper magnet 105.

[0017] In a similar manner, arm 76 is also defined by a housing portion 112 and an extension portion 113. At this point, it should be recognized that arms 75 and 76 are substantially symmetrical. However, housing portion 112 of arm 76 includes a first end portion 117 provided with both an upper tubular member 118 and a lower tubular member 119. Between upper and lower tubular members 118 and 119 is positioned central tubular member 88 of arm 75 and a pivot pin 122 extends through upper tubular member 118, central tubular member 88 and lower tubular member 119 in order to pivotally interconnect arms 75 and 76. With this arrangement, it should be recognized that the illustrated pivotal connection permits relative rotation between arms 75 and 76 through at least 180° with pivot pin 122 establishing a rotational axis for this movement. However, it should also be recognized that other constructions could be employed to pivotally interconnect arms 75 and 76. For example, arms 75 and 76 could be identically constructed and pivot establishing plates could be mounted to the top and bottom of one housing portion 82,112 in a cantilevered manner such that one or more pivot pins could extend into the other housing portion 112, 82 through the cantilevered sections such that the arms 75 and 76 are basically interconnected with pivot brackets. In any case, it should be readily apparent that various connections could be employed to provide for at least the 180 degrees of relative pivoting. In addition, pivot pin 122, tubular member 118, central tubular member 88 and lower tubular member 119 combine to establish a central support block 125 which, in a manner similar to end support block 101, can be provided with upper and lower magnets, one of which is indicated at 130 in FIG. 1.

[0018] For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that housing portion 112 of arm 76 includes a central hollow body portion 134 having a second end portion 136 which is identically constructed to second end 90 of housing portion 82. Also, extension portion 113 is identically constructed to extension portion 83 so as to include a main body 139, a first end portion 141 and a second end portion 142 which terminates in an end support block 146 having mounted thereto, at one end, a first magnet 149 and, at a second end, another magnet 150.

[0019] Reference will now be made to FIG. 4 to illustrate further details of adjustable divider assembly 40. As shown, extension portion 83 is almost fully retracted within housing portion 82. This figure also illustrates the manner in which magnet 104 is substantially recessed within end support block 101 and secured thereto by a mechanical fastener, such as a screw 154. Also illustrated in this figure is the potential inclusion of one or more additional support posts, such as support post 157, provided along hollow body portion 92, preferably directly adjacent extension portion 83.

[0020] With the above construction, adjustable divider assembly 40 can be advantageously utilized to divide a storage compartment into multiple storage zones. More specifically, adjustable divider assembly 40 can be selectively varied in length and configuration such that there is essentially an infinite number of positions which can be established. By way of example, reference is made to FIGS. 5-10 which illustrate the manner in which adjustable divider assembly 40 can be utilized to compartmentalize the storage region established by drawer 11 into multiple storage zones. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, extension portions 83 and 113 of arms 75 and 76 are shown to be fully retracted within housing portions 82 and 112 respectively, while the overall adjustable divider assembly 40 is positioned upon bottom wall 51 and extends between front wall 50 and rear wall 52. In this figure, adjustable divider assembly 40 establishes laterally spaced storage zones 170 and 171 which are nearly of equal volume. Of course, adjustable divider assembly 40 could be repositioned to the left or right in this figure to vary the relative sizes of storage zones 170 and 171. In FIG. 6, it is shown wherein arm 76 has been pivoted essentially 90° and extension portion 113 has been extended in order to reach side wall 54. Therefore, this arrangement establishes storage zones 174 and 175, with storage zone 174 being approximately three times the size of storage zone 175. Instead of extending between front wall 50 and rear wall 52 as shown in FIG. 5, adjustable divider assembly 40 can also extend between side walls 53 and 54. This arrangement is shown in FIG. 7 wherein extension portions 83 and 113 are shown abutting side walls 53 and 54 respectively, thereby dividing drawer 11 into storage zones 176 and 177. In a manner directly corresponding to that discussed above with respect to FIG. 5, it should be readily recognized that adjustable divider assembly 40 could be shifted either closer to or farther from rear wall 52 in order to further vary the relative sizes of storage zones 176 and 177.

[0021] Certainly, there is an extremely wide variety of configurations which can be achieved utilizing adjustable divider assembly 40. FIG. 8 illustrates another arrangement wherein arm 75 is shown to be extended such that extension portion 83 is located within the corner between rear wall 52 and side wall 53, while arm 76 is shown fully retracted and is positioned against front wall 50. In a still further variation, FIG. 9 shows an arrangement wherein arms 75 and 76 are both shown to be partially extended, with extension portion 83 abutting front wall 50 and extension portion 113 being arranged in a corner between rear wall 52 and side wall 54. When not in use, adjustable divider assembly 40 can be selectively placed in a fully retracted configuration with arms 75 and 76 being arranged in a corner for storage purposes. For example, FIG. 10 shows arm 75 extending along rear wall 52 and arm 76 extending along side wall 54 such that the overall adjustable divider assembly 40 is out of the way, yet conveniently accessible for reconfiguring drawer 11 as desired.

[0022] Although described with reference to preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be readily understood that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, although the adjustable divider assembly is disclosed in connection with a storage drawer which extends across substantially the entire width of a refrigerator, the adjustable divider assembly could also be employed in connection with any storage compartment, including smaller drawers, pans, bins and the like. In accordance with the invention, it should also be realized that the adjustable divider assembly can be mounted in a wide variety of ways. In the embodiment described above wherein each support block includes associated magnets, the support surface upon which adjustable divider assembly is mounted preferably has associated therewith a metal layer to which the magnets are attracted. Therefore, in the embodiment described, base or bottom wall 51 of intermediate refrigerated compartment 11 would have an associated metallic property. This property can be established by forming bottom wall 51 of metal, incorporating metallic particles therein, or having a metal layer associated therewith, either exposed at the surface or below a thin plastic or glass layer. In any case, the magnets would be attracted to the metallic surface to retain the adjustable divider assembly in a desired configuration. Certainly, if adjustable divider assembly 40 was not designed to be invertible, adjustable divider assembly 40 would not require magnets 105, 130 or 150. On the other hand, the adjustable divider assembly could employ magnets when resting on one side and no magnets when inverted. For instance, friction pads or the like could be employed for retention purposes. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.