Tilt-out door buckets for refrigerators or freezers

This application claims priority to provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 60/305,716 filed on Jul. 16, 2001.

Refrigerators and freezers typically have doors with storage shelves or compartments therein. The compartment may be a shelf with a pivotal door or may be formed with upright walls and an open top. Some refrigerator and freezer doors have a tilt-out bucket to provide easier access to the stored food item. Such buckets are typically accessible only in the tilt-out or open position, with the bucket opening being inaccessible when the bucket is moved to the storage position within the door. Such tilt-out buckets also have a problem with inadvertently tilting-out when not desired, particularly when the refrigerator or freezer door is opened quickly. Such unintentional pivoting of the bucket to the open position presents the potential for spillage of the food items from the bucket. Some tilt-out buckets include a lid or cover which can be opened only after the bucket has been pivoted to the tilt-out position. Such lids add an additional step to the process of removing a food item from the bucket, and may present difficulties in opening the lid by a user having both hands full.

Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved tilt-out bucket for a refrigerator or freezer door.

Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a tilt-out door bucket for refrigerators and freezers which pivots 30°-45° to enhance access to food items contained in the bucket.

A further objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved tilt-out bucket for refrigerator or freezer doors which is restrained against inadvertent pivotal movement from an upright position to a tilt-out position.

Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved tilt-out door bucket for a refrigerator or freezer door having a positive stop element to limit the pivotal movement of the bucket.

Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a method of providing access to a refrigerator door bucket including the steps of opening the refrigerator or freezer door and tilting the bucket from an upright position wherein an opening of the bucket is upwardly disposed to a tilt-out position wherein the bucket opening is upwardly and forwardly disposed.

Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved tilt-out door bucket for refrigerator and freezers which is economical to manufacture and durable in use.

These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.

The present invention is directed towards an improved tilt-out door bucket assembly for a refrigerator or freezer door. The assembly includes a retainer mounted in the door and a bucket mounted in the retainer. The retainer has a raised channel at the lower front edge and the bucket has a recess in the lower front edge to receive the channel to define a pivot axis for the bucket. The retainer has stop members at opposite ends adapted to engage corresponding surfaces on opposite ends of the bucket to limit the tiltout movement of the bucket to approximately 30°-45°. The retainer also has at least one clip adapted to releasably engage a tab on the bucket to preclude the bucket from inadvertently pivoting to the tilt-out position when the door is opened and closed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator showing the tilt-out bucket of the present invention mounted in the refrigerator door.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tilt-out bucket assembly of the present invention in an upright position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tilt-out bucket assembly of the present invention in a tilt-out position.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the retainer of the bucket assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bucket of the bucket assembly of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6 — 6 of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines 7 — 7 of FIG. 3 .

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 FIG. 1 shows a side-by-side refrigerator, it is understood that the present invention can be utilized on other refrigerator styles, such as models wherein the freezer is provided above or below the fresh food compartment.

The door 12 is shown to include a plurality of shelves 18 for storage of food items. The present invention is directed towards a tilt-out bucket assembly 20 which is also provided in the door 12 or the door 16 for storage of food items. While FIG. 1 shows the bucket assembly 20 to be mounted in the refrigerator door 12 , it is understood that the bucket assembly 20 can also be utilized in the freezer door 16 .

The bucket assembly 20 generally includes a retainer 22 and a bucket 24 . The retainer 22 is mounted in the door 12 so as to be fixed thereto. The bucket 24 simply sits in the retainer 22 and pivots between an upright position, shown in FIG. 2 , and a tilt-out position, shown in FIG. 3 .

More particularly, the retainer 22 includes a raised rib or channel 26 , and the bucket 24 has a mating groove or recess 28 , as best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 . The channel 26 and the recess 28 define a pivot axis for the bucket 24 .

The tilt-out movement of the bucket 24 is limited to approximately 30°-45° by a stop member 30 on each end of the retainer 22 . The stop member 30 is received within a recess or pocket 32 on each side of the bucket 24 . The bucket 24 is free to pivot between the upright and tilt-out positions until a rear surface 34 on the pocket 32 engages a rear sloped surface 36 on the stop member 30 , as best seen in FIG. 6 . Thus, the surfaces, 34 and 36 on the bucket 24 and retainer 22 cooperate to limit the tilt-out movement of the bucket 24 .

The retainer 22 also includes one or more clips 38 extending upwardly from the bottom of the retainer 22 adjacent the rear portion thereof. The clips 38 are adapted to receive a leg or tab 40 extending downwardly from the bottom of the bucket 24 adjacent the rearward edge thereof, as best shown in FIG. 5 . The male tab 40 is thus releasably received in the female clips 38 when the bucket is in the upright position to lock the retainer 22 and bucket 24 together and preclude inadvertent or accidental tilt-out of the bucket when the door 12 is moved between the open and closed positions. It is understood that a single clip 38 may be sufficient, rather than the multiple clips 38 shown in FIG. 4 . Also, the tab 40 may be a single elongated tab or multiple tabs corresponding to the multiple clips 38 . The lock or retention means may also take other forms of frictionally overlapping portions of the retainer 22 and bucket 24 .

As seen in the drawings, the upper opening 42 of the bucket 24 is upwardly disposed when the bucket 24 is in the upright position. The opening 42 of the bucket 24 is forwardly and upwardly disposed when the bucket is in the tilt-out position. While food items in the bucket 24 may be accessed when the bucket is in the upright position, the tiltout position of the bucket enhances accessibility. Since the bucket only tilts 30°-45°, there is no need for a lid or cover on the bucket 24 .

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.