DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] A refrigerator 10 is shown in FIG. 1 with a door 12 for the fresh food compartment 14 and a door 16 for the freezer compartment. While the refrigerator 10 is shown to be a side-by-side model, it is understood that the refrigerator 10 may have other configurations wherein the freezer is above or below the fresh food compartment 14.

[0021] The fresh food compartment 14 includes one or more food storage bins 18 and shelves 20 for the efficient storage of food and drink.

[0022] The present invention is directed towards a pair of shelves 22, 24. Preferably, each shelf 22, 24 has a width which is approximately one-half the width of the food compartment 14. As seen in FIGS. 2-4, a pair of support brackets 26 are mounted in a vertical orientation adjacent the back corners of the food compartment 14. The brackets 26 may be mounted in any convenient fashion, and may be mounted to either the side walls or rear wall of the food compartment 14. The brackets 26 include a plurality of slots 28 for mounting a rail assembly 30.

[0023] More particularly, the rail assembly 30 includes upper and lower horizontally disposed rails 32, 34, which are closely spaced to one another. The rails 32, 34 are connected to one another at their opposite ends by end plates 36. The end plates include a hook or catch 38 extending rearwardly near the upper edge of the end plates 36 and the pin 40 adjacent the lower edge of the end plates. The catch 38 and pin 40 of each end plate 36 is adapted to be received in the slots 28 in the respective support brackets 26. Thus, the rail assembly 30 can be selectively positioned at a desired height along the brackets 26.

[0024] The shelves 22, 24 each have an external frame 42, with a panel 44 mounted within the frame 42. Preferably, the external frame 42 is injection molded and the panel 44 is made of glass.

[0025] A rolled hook 46 extends rearwardly from the rear edge of the internal frame 45, as shown in FIG. 6. Preferably, the hook 46 and internal frame 45 have a unitary construction, as shown in FIG. 7. Preferably, the hook 46 extends across the width of each shelf 22, 24, though multiple spaced apart hooks could also be utilized. The hooks 46 are adapted to extend over the top edge of either the upper rail 32 or the lower rail 34 to engage the back of the rails 32, 34. An optional groove 48 may extend across the back of the rails 32, 34 to receive the hook 46, as best seen in FIG. 5. The external frame 42 of the shelves 22, 24 also includes a downwardly extending leg 50 adapted to engage the rails 32, 34, such that the shelves 22, 24 cantilever forwardly from the rails 32, 34. The internal frame 45 may optionally include a metal reinforcement member 52 for the leg 50. As with the hook 46, preferably the leg 50 extends substantially across the width of each shelf 22, 24, but alternatively separate spaced apart legs can be provided.

[0026] Each rail 32, 34 includes a sloped forward surface 54. Therefore, when it is necessary to remove the shelves 22, 24 for cleaning, for example if there is spillage on the shelf, the shelves 22, 24 can be lifted upwardly and rearwardly while being maintained in a horizontal position, such that material does not spill from the shelf. The external frame 42 defines a raised lip 56 extending above the panel 44 so as to prevent liquids spilled onto one of the shelves 22, 24 from spilling off the shelf 22, 24.

[0027] The shelves 22, 24 can be arranged on the rails 32, 34 in several manners. In FIG. 2, the shelves are side-by-side but vertically offset, with shelf 22 being mounted on the upper rail 32, and the shelf 24 being mounted on the lower rail 34. If space is needed in the fresh food compartment 14 for a tall item, shelf 24 can be slid laterally along the rail 34 so as to be positioned immediately below the shelf 22, as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, the space previously occupied by shelf 24 is now open to receive a tall object within the food compartment 14, without losing any substantial storage space beneath the shelf 22, and without having to store the shelf 24 somewhere outside the refrigerator 10. It is understood that the shelves 22, 24 can slide in either lateral direction along the rails 32, 34, such that the shelves can be on either the left or right sides of the food compartment 14.

[0028] The elongated hook 46 and the sloped rail faces 54, 54A enhance distribution of the shelf load substantially across the width of the hook and rail faces. The slope faces 54, 54A also increases the reactive distance for the shelf load, as compared to a vertical rail of the same height. Therefore, the shelves 22, 24 can be stacked in a vertical height of approximately 3 inches, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0029] Another shelf arrangement is shown in FIG. 4, wherein the shelves 22, 24 are mounted side-by-side at the same level. It is understood that the shelves 22, 24 can both be mounted on the lower rail 34, as shown in FIG. 4, or can both be mounted on the upper rail 32 so as to provide an effective full-width shelf area extending substantially between the sidewalls of the refrigerator 10.

[0030] An alternative embodiment of the rail assembly is shown in FIG. 7, and includes elongated metal plates or rails 32A, 34A which are mounted angularly upon the end plates 36A so as to define a sloped face 54A on each rail 32A, 34A. The mounting of the shelves 22, 24 upon rails 32A, 34A is the same as described above with respect to rails 32, 34.

[0031] The invention has been shown and described above with the preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.