BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a shelf assembly and a domestic cooling appliance equipped with such a shelf assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A domestic cooling appliance such as, e.g., a refrigerator or a freezer, has an interior cooling space destined for accommodating foodstuffs. The foodstuffs may be placed on one or more shelf panels (shelf boards) arranged in the cooling space. Some conventional shelf panels are made of a transparent material, e.g., a glass or plastics material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present disclosure is to provide a shelf assembly that provides robustness and can be assembled with ease. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a domestic cooling appliance equipped with a shelf assembly.
To achieve one or more of the above objects, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a shelf assembly comprising: a shelf panel having a front edge, a rear edge and a pair of lateral edges extending between the front and rear edges; a pair of left and right support brackets each disposed adjacent a respective one of the lateral edges of the shelf panel, each support bracket including at least one mounting member for mounting the support bracket to a rear wall structure; and one or more coupling members for coupling the shelf panel to the pair of support brackets, at least one of the one or more coupling members being configured with a first pocket, wherein the shelf panel engages the first pocket.
In certain embodiments, the shelf panel is clamped between opposite side surfaces of the first pocket.
In certain embodiments, the shelf panel is fixated in the first pocket by an adhesive. At least a portion of the adhesive may be provided between an upper surface of the shelf panel and an adjacent side surface of the first pocket.
In certain embodiments, the at least one of the one or more coupling members is further configured with a second pocket, wherein one of the pair of support brackets engages the second pocket. The first and second pockets may extend in mutually orthogonal planes. The one of the pair of support brackets may be at least one of: clamped between opposite side surfaces of the second pocket, and fixated in the second pocket by an adhesive.
In certain embodiments, the at least one of the one or more coupling members is fixedly attached to one of the pair of support brackets by a weld or solder connection.
In certain embodiments, the at least one of the one or more coupling members is designed as an elongated profile member mounted to extend alongside the rear edge of the shelf panel.
In certain embodiments, the profile member has opposite longitudinal end portions each connected to one of the pair of support brackets by a bolt connection.
In certain embodiments, the at least one of the one or more coupling members is designed as an elongated profile member mounted to extend alongside one of the lateral edges of the shelf panel.
In certain embodiments, the at least one of the one or more coupling members is disposed in a corner region of the shelf panel, wherein a portion of the rear edge and a portion of one of the lateral edges of the shelf panel extend into the first pocket.
In certain embodiments, the first pocket has a general U-shape in cross-section and the shelf panel extends into the first pocket substantially as far as a bottom area of the first pocket.
In certain embodiments, the second pocket has a general U-shape in cross-section and the one of the pair of support brackets extends into the second pocket substantially as far as a bottom area of the second pocket.
The present disclosure further provides a domestic cooling appliance comprising: a cabinet having a set of inner walls defining a cooling space, the set of inner walls including an inner rear wall; a door mounted to the cabinet to close the cooling space; and a shelf assembly provided in the cooling space, the shelf assembly comprising: a shelf panel having a front edge, a rear edge and a pair of lateral edges extending between the front and rear edges; a pair of left and right support brackets each disposed adjacent a respective one of the lateral edges of the shelf panel, each support bracket including at least one mounting member for mounting the support bracket to the inner rear wall; and one or more coupling members for coupling the shelf panel to the pair of support brackets, at least one of the one or more coupling members being configured with a first pocket, wherein the shelf panel engages the first pocket.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 schematically shows a domestic cooling appliance according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 shows a shelf assembly including a coupling member according to an embodiment.
FIG. 3 shows a coupling member according to another embodiment.
FIG. 4 shows a coupling member according to another embodiment.
FIG. 5 shows a side view of the coupling member of FIG. 2.
FIG. 6 shows a coupling member according to another embodiment.
FIG. 7 shows a detail of the coupling member of FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which depicts a schematic front view of a domestic cooling appliance 10. Although exemplarily described by means of the domestic cooling appliance 10, the present invention is not limited thereto. Rather, a shelf assembly according to the present invention may be mounted to any suitable rear wall structure in domestic homes or any other desired locations. The domestic cooling appliance 10 may particularly but not exclusively refer to a refrigerator or a freezer and may therefore be suitable to cool or freeze objects such as food to a certain temperature. The domestic cooling appliance 10 has the form of a cabinet that includes a corpus 12, a bottom wall 14, a top wall 16, a rear wall 18 (also a rear wall structure 18) and a pair of side walls 20. The corpus 12 is framed by the bottom wall 14, the top wall 16, the rear wall 18 and the pair of side walls 20, thereby forming an access opening 22. A user can access a cooling space 24 of the domestic cooling appliance 10 through the access opening 22, which can be closed by a cabinet door 26 that is mounted to one of the pair of side walls 20.
The cooling space 24 of the domestic cooling appliance 10 may comprise a plurality of mounting parts suitable for the user to apply objects that are supposed to be cooled or frozen. At least one of these mounting parts constitutes a shelf assembly 28 that comprises a shelf panel 30. The shelf panel 30 may be manufactured from glass or plastics or any other suitable material. The material may be transparent or translucent. The shelf panel 30 may further include structures suited to obtain a desired light-deflecting effect. The shelf panel 30 may be from substantially rectangular shape and has a front edge facing the access opening 22, a rear edge facing the rear wall 18 and a pair of lateral edges extending between the front and rear edges, each of them facing one of the side walls 20. The shelf assembly 28 further comprises a pair of support brackets 32, each of them being disposed adjacent one of the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30. The support brackets 32 may be fully or partially formed from any suitable conductive material as e.g. metal. The support brackets 32 may have, but are not limited to, a cantilever design. In FIG. 1, only one of the pair of support brackets 32 is shown by a dashed line. Each of the support brackets 32 includes at least one mounting member (not shown), e.g. a reinforced hook or any other suitable structure for mounting the support brackets 32 to mounting structures (not shown) of the rear wall 18 of the domestic cooling appliance 10. The domestic cooling appliance 10 of FIG. 1 further comprises at least one additional shelf panel 34 suitable for the user to apply objects such as food. Although not shown, the shelf panel 34 may be a part of a shelf assembly that is identically formed to the shelf assembly 28.
FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary shelf assembly 28 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The shelf assembly comprises a shelf panel 30 and a pair of support brackets 32 as described with reference to FIG. 1. Further, the shelf assembly comprises a coupling member 36 that is arranged to couple the shelf panel 30 to the pair of support brackets 32. The coupling member 36 may be fully or partially manufactured from plastic or metal or from any other suitable material. In the embodiment shown, the coupling member 36 is designed as an elongated profile member and substantially extends alongside the rear edge of the shelf panel 30. According to FIG. 2, the coupling member 36 has opposite longitudinal end portions that are each connected to one of the pair of support brackets 32 by a bolt connection 38.
Although the shelf assembly 28 in FIG. 2 comprises a single coupling member 36, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the shelf assembly 28 may also comprise two or more coupling members 36. Details of the one or more coupling members 36 according to the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3-7. The respective Figures show different variations of a coupling mechanism between the shelf panel 30 and the support brackets 32 as indicated in FIG. 2 by means of differently shaped and arranged coupling members 36. In the Figures, equal components or components of equal function are supplied with the same reference signs, but may be discriminated by different small letters appended to the respective reference signs.
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the rear side of a shelf assembly 28a. The rear edge of the shelf panel 30a is facing the rear wall 18 of the domestic cooling appliance 10 of FIG. 1. The same applies for FIGS. 4 and 6.
As shown in FIG. 3, the coupling member 36a is designed as an elongated profile member that is mounted to extend alongside one of the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30a. The coupling member 36a comprises a first pocket 40a configured to receive the shelf panel 30a. According to the embodiment, the first pocket 40a has a general U-shape in cross-section and comprises a pocket bottom and opposite side surfaces extending from the pocket bottom. The opposite side surfaces define a pocket interior therebetween. In the following, a coupling mechanism between the shelf panel 30a and the coupling member 36a is described. The shelf panel 30a extends into the first pocket 40a substantially as far as the pocket bottom. In an alternative embodiment, the shelf panel 30a may extend into the first pocket 40a substantially as far as the half of a length of the opposite side surfaces of the first pocket 40a or as far as two thirds of the length of said side surfaces. The shelf panel 30a may be clamped between the opposite side surfaces of the first pocket 40a. In such an embodiment, the respective side surfaces of the first pocket 40a apply an initial load that suffices to securely hold the shelf panel 30a therebetween in a stable manner. Additionally or alternatively, the shelf panel 30a may be fixated in the first pocket 40a by an adhesive, such as e.g. a resin. The adhesive may be applied between an upper surface of the shelf panel 30a and one of the side surfaces of the first pocket 40a facing the upper surface of the shelf panel 30a. From a predetermined amount of the adhesive, all or just a part of it may be applied in the described manner. Alternatively or additionally, the adhesive may be fully or partially applied between the pocket bottom of the first pocket 40a and the adjacent side edge of the shelf panel 30a and/or between a lower surface of the shelf panel 30a and the side surface of the first pocket 40a facing the lower surface of the shelf panel 30a.
As it is further illustrated in FIG. 3, the coupling member 36a comprises a second pocket 42a. Although the present invention is not limited thereto, the second pocket 42a extends in an orthogonal plane with respect to the first pocket 40a. In an alternative embodiment, the first pocket 40a and the second pocket 42a may extend in mutually different, e.g. skew planes. The second pocket 42a is configured to receive one of the pair of support brackets 32a. As depicted in FIG. 3, the second pocket 42a has a general U-shape in cross-section and comprises a pocket bottom and opposite side surfaces extending from the pocket bottom. The opposite side surfaces define a pocket interior therebetween. In the following, a coupling mechanism between one of the pair of support brackets 32a and the coupling member 36a is described. Although not limiting, one of the pair of support brackets 32a extends into the second pocket 42a substantially as far as the pocket bottom. In an alternative embodiment, the one of the pair of support brackets 32a may extend into the second pocket 42a substantially as far as the half of a length of the opposite side surfaces of the second pocket 42a or as far as two thirds of the length of said side surfaces. The one of the pair of support brackets 32a may be clamped between the side surfaces of the second pocket 42a. In such an embodiment, the respective side surfaces of the second pocket 42a apply an initial load that suffices to securely hold the one of the pair of support brackets 32a therebetween in a stable manner. Additionally or alternatively, the one of the pair of support brackets 32a may be fixated in the first pocket by an adhesive, such as e.g. a resin or a solder. The resin may optionally be applied between one of the side surfaces of the second pocket 42a or the pocket bottom of the second pocket 42a and an adjacent surface or edge of the respective support bracket 32a. Alternatively, the resin may be applied between both the two side surfaces as well as the pocket bottom of the second pocket 42a and the adjacent surfaces and edge of the respective support bracket 32a.
Turning now to FIG. 4, there is shown another example of a coupling member 36b of a shelf assembly 28b. Similarly to the embodiment in FIG. 3, the coupling member 36b is designed as an elongated profile member that is mounted to extend alongside one of the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30b. The coupling member 36b comprises a first pocket 40b that may be configured substantially similar to the first pocket 40a of the embodiment of FIG. 3. Further, a coupling mechanism between the first pocket 40b and the shelf panel 30b may be configured substantially similar to the coupling mechanism of the embodiment of FIG. 3. Compared to FIG. 3, the embodiment in FIG. 4 applies a different coupling mechanism between the coupling member 36b and one of the pair of support brackets 32b. That is, instead of comprising a second pocket, one of the side surfaces of the first pocket 40b is configured to being fixedly attached to one of the pair of support brackets 32b. In particular, a surficial area of the first pocket 40b which is located at the opposite of a surficial area of the first pocket 40b that is engaged with the shelf panel 30b is formed to establish a connection to an upper edge of the one of the pair of support brackets 32b. The pertaining surficial area of the first pocket 40b may comprise a straight form in an area of contact with the upper edge of the one of the pair of support brackets 32b. In FIG. 4, the coupling member 36b as well as the support brackets 32b may be formed from metal, but are not limited thereto. The fixed connection between the one of the side surfaces of the first pocket 40b and the one of the pair of support brackets 32b is established by a weld or solder connection. When a weld connection is established, the connection may be established by spot-welding.
Turning now to FIG. 5, there is shown another example of a coupling member 36c of a shelf assembly 28c. In FIG. 5, there is provided a side view of the shelf assembly 28 of FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the coupling member 36c is designed as an elongated profile member that substantially extends alongside the rear edge of the shelf panel 30c. In this way, the lateral edges of the shelf panel may not be utilized to establish a coupling between the shelf panel 30c and the support brackets 32c. The coupling member 36c comprises a first pocket 40c that may be configured substantially similar to the first pockets 40a and 40b of the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively. Further, a coupling mechanism between the first pocket 40c and the shelf panel 30c may be configured substantially similar to the coupling mechanisms between the first pockets 40a, 40b and the coupling members 36a, 36b of the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4. The coupling member 36c has opposite longitudinal end portions that are each configured to receive at least one bolt element. The longitudinal end portions of the coupling member 36c may form end portions of a ridge extending alongside the rear edge of the shelf panel 30c and extending in an orthogonal plane with respect to a plane that comprises one of the opposite side surfaces of the first pocket 40c. Further, each of the pair of support brackets 32c is, in an area adjacent to the coupling member 36c (i.e. in the vicinity of the rear edge of the shelf panel 30c), configured to receive the at least one bolt element. As such, the longitudinal end portions of the coupling member 36c are connected to the support brackets 32c by a bolt connection 38. The bolt element may be a screw, a pin or any other suitable element.
Additionally, the shelf assembly 28c may comprise second and third coupling members (for better discrimination designated 44 in FIG. 5) that are mounted to corner regions of the shelf panel 30c. The respective corner regions in FIG. 5 are each constituted by the front edge and one of the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30c, but are not limited thereto. The second and third coupling members 44 comprise a first pocket (not shown) that is configured substantially similar to the first pocket 40c of the coupling member 36c. Further, a coupling mechanism between the first pockets of the coupling members 44 and the shelf panel 30c may be configured substantially similar to the coupling mechanism between the first pocket 40c and the shelf panel 30c. However, the first pockets of the second and third coupling members 44 are configured to receive a portion of the front edge as well as a portion of the lateral edge that constitute the respective corner region of the shelf panel 30c. The coupling members 44 extend just to a minor part along the front edge and the respective lateral edge of the shelf panel 30c. To the most part, e.g. at least 95% or at least 90% or at least 85% or at least 80% of the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30c remain uncovered. This is particularly important since such a design allows a side-by-side positioning of two or more shelf assemblies 28c in the cooling space 24 of the domestic cooling appliance 10. In such way, it is possible to obtain a space-saving design and to allow the user of the domestic cooling appliance 10 to conveniently slide objects between the two or more shelf assemblies 28c. The shelf assembly 28c may further comprise an elongate coverage profile that substantially extends alongside the front edge of the shelf panel 30c and covers the same. In some embodiments, the elongate coverage profile may be configured to house a light source, such as an LED-module, but is not limited thereto. The elongate coverage profile has opposite longitudinal end portions that are each configured to receive at least one bolt element. Further, each of the pair of support brackets 32c is, in an area adjacent to the respective coupling members 44 (i.e. in the vicinity of the front edge of the shelf panel 30c), configured to receive the at least one bolt element. As such, the coupling members 44 are connected to the elongate coverage profile by a bolt connection that additionally attaches the respective support brackets 32c to the elongate coverage profile. The bolt element may be a screw, a pin or any other suitable element.
As depicted in FIG. 5, the shelf panel 30c has direct contact with the support brackets 32c at least in the vicinity of the front and rear edges of the shelf panel 30c. On the other hand, the shelf assembly 28c comprises a gap between the support brackets 32c and the shelf panel 30c in a predominant area in a longitudinal direction of the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30c. Alternatively, the shelf panel 30c may have direct contact with the support brackets 32c substantially alongside the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30c.
Turning now to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown another example of a coupling member 36d of a shelf assembly 28d. In the embodiment shown, the shelf assembly 28d comprises, but is not limited to, two coupling members 36d. The coupling members 36d each comprise a first pocket 40d and a second pocket 42d that are substantially configured similar to the first pocket 40a and the second pocket 42a of the embodiment of FIG. 3. Further, a coupling mechanism between the first pocket 40d and the shelf panel 30d as well as a coupling mechanism between the second pocket 42d and the support brackets 32d may be configured substantially similar to the respective coupling mechanisms of the embodiment of FIG. 3. Although not limiting, the second pocket 42d in FIG. 7 extends in an orthogonal plane with respect to the first pocket 40d. In an alternative embodiment, the first pocket 40d and the second pocket 42d may extend in mutually skew planes. The coupling members 36d comprise a substantially rectangular upper surface that is located opposite to a side surface of the first pocket 40d that faces an upper surface of the shelf panel 30d. The coupling members 36d are disposed in corner regions of the shelf panel 28d, each receiving a portion of the rear edge and a portion of one of the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30d. As will be readily understood, the present invention is not limited thereto. The coupling members 36d may alternatively receive portions of the front edge and portions of the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30d. Similarly to the embodiment in FIG. 5, the coupling members 36d extend just to a minor part along the rear edge and the respective corner-forming lateral edge of the shelf panel 30d. To the most part, e.g. at least 95% or at least 90% or at least 85% or at least 80% of the lateral edges and the rear edge of the shelf panel 30d remain uncovered. This is particularly important since such a design allows a side-by-side positioning of two or more shelf assemblies 28d in the cooling space 24 of the domestic cooling appliance 10. In such way, it is possible to obtain a space-saving design and to allow the user of the domestic cooling appliance 10 to conveniently slide objects between the two or more shelf assemblies 28d. Further, the shelf panel 30d is in direct contact with the support brackets 32d at least in the vicinity of the front and rear edges of the shelf panel 30d. On the other hand, the shelf assembly 28d comprises a gap between the support brackets 32d and the shelf panel 30d in a predominant area in a longitudinal direction of the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30d. Alternatively, the shelf panel 30c may have direct contact with the support brackets 32c substantially alongside the lateral edges of the shelf panel 30c.
The embodiments disclosed herein describe variations of different coupling members and mechanisms between shelf panels and support brackets of shelf assemblies mounted into e.g. a domestic cooling appliance. The embodiments serve to optimize available space on the shelf panel and to enable a side-by-side positioning of two or more shelf assemblies under provision of a smooth transition between the respective shelf panels of the shelf assemblies. Further, all of the disclosed variations provide stable designs of shelf assemblies for the user to conveniently place, slide and take out objects such as food from the domestic cooling appliance.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein, the above description is merely illustrative. Further modification of the invention herein disclosed will occur to those skilled in the respective arts and all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
