REFRIGERATOR SHELF SET CONTAINING SPILL

专利摘要:
refrigerator shelf assembly containing spill the report describes a method for containing spills on shelves and the like and the resulting support elements made according to the method providing the generally flat top surface of a support with a hydrophobic surface that is arranged on a spill containment pattern and that is usually in the plane of the upper surface of the support. most of the upper surface of the support consists of one or more spill containment areas that are non-hydrophobic in nature and that are bounded by hydrophobic surfaces, so spills on the shelves are collected in the containment area, or areas, of non-hydrophobic spill and are prevented from spreading on hydrophobic surfaces.
公开号:BR112012006003B1
申请号:R112012006003-1
申请日:2010-09-14
公开日:2020-07-14
发明作者:Matthew McMillin；Bradley M. Nall；John Patrick Driver
申请人:Ssw Holding Company, Llc；
IPC主号:

专利说明:

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED ORDERS
Priority is claimed in US Patent Application 12 / 562,920, filed on September 18, 2009, which is partly a continuation of International Patent Application PCT / US09 / 48775, filed on June 26, 2009, which claims priority in the Order US Provisional Patent 61 / 216,540, filed on May 18, 2009, and US Provisional Patent Application 61 / 133,273, filed on June 27, 2008, the entire content of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to shelves and the like, for example, counter tops and table tops, including shelves that can be adapted for use with refrigerators. More particularly, the invention relates to the support surfaces of such articles that have spill containment characteristics. TECHNICAL FUNDAMENTALS
Previous types of shelves were developed for use as refrigerators and other shelves. There are state-of-the-art shelf designs that include means to contain spills and leaks of liquids from a container stored on a shelf and prevent spills from dripping from the shelf onto the floor or to other parts of a refrigerator commonly called “leak proof” shelves. spill. ” For example, Kane, et al., US Patent 5,564,809, issued October 14, 1996, discloses a shelf assembly with a shelf panel, a shelf support supporting the panel and a molded one-piece element encapsulating the edge of the shelf panel and a substantial majority of the shelf support.
Herrmann, et al., US Patent 5,735,589, issued April 7, 1998, discloses a shelf panel for a refrigerator compartment that includes a shelf panel that is slidably supported for extension and retraction in a support, and that includes sliding elements that are preferably shaped to form a rim on the upper support surface of the shelf panel to contain liquids.
Bird, et al., US Patent 5,429,433, issued July 4, 1995, also describes a refrigerator shelf that is adapted to contain spills on the shelf. The shelf includes a planar shelf with a rim molded around the perimeter edge of the shelf. The rim protrudes above the top surface of the shelf to form a dam to contain liquid spills on the shelf.
Meier, et al., US Patent 6,120,720, issued September 19, 2000, discloses a method of fabricating a glass shelf with a plastic edge to retain spills on the shelf. The glass shelf panel is placed in a mold cavity and plastic material is injected into the cavity around the glass shelf panel in such a way that a plastic edge is formed around the perimeter of the glass shelf panel.
Additional techniques for containment of spills on refrigerator shelves include the use of injection molded plastic, in order to encapsulate a support plate forming the shelf, the use of plastic molded parts to essentially “sandwich” with a support plate between the parts, or the use of a silicone sealant or various other types of adhesives to form physical spill containment barriers around the perimeter of the refrigerator shelves. In addition to the foregoing, it is known to use lips or grooves formed on the surface of the support plate itself, in order to essentially provide a physical barrier as a liquid retention feature. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a method for containing spills on shelves and the like having an upper support surface, and on the resulting items made according to the method, providing the upper support surface with a hydrophobic surface that is arranged in a containment pattern of spillage and which is usually on the plane of the upper surface of the support. The majority of the upper surface of the support consists of one or more spill containment areas that are non-hydrophobic in nature and that are bounded by hydrophobic surfaces, so spills on the surface are collected in the spill containment area, or areas. non-hydrophobic and are prevented from spreading on hydrophobic surfaces.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the Description of the Preferred Modalities and the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art shelf assembly mounted on a pair of support brackets and using the concept of encapsulating a shelf to provide spill containment capabilities. FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view of the shelf assembly shown in FIG. 1 with the absence of support supports. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shelf assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention including a shelf mounted on a pair of support brackets, the shelf including a hydrophobic spill containment pattern arranged on the top surface of it to contain liquids spilled. FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the shelf assembly shown in FIG. 3 with the absence of support supports. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a shelf assembly constructed in accordance with the present disclosure and having a grid-like hydrophobic spill containment pattern. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the shelf assembly of yet another alternative embodiment constructed in accordance with the present disclosure and having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern that includes first and second edges. FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of a shelf assembly including support brackets constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the shelf assembly of FIG. 7 taken through line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of a shelf assembly including support brackets constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the shelf assembly of FIG. 9 taken through line X-X of FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a shelf assembly including support brackets constructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the shelf assembly of FIG. 11 taken through line XI-XI of FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a side view of a shelf assembly including support brackets constructed in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the shelf assembly of FIG. 13 taken over line XIV-XIV of FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a shelf assembly including support brackets constructed in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a support for the shelf assembly of FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the shelf assembly of FIG. 15 taken through line XVII-XVII of FIG. 15. FIG. 18 is a partial cross-sectional view of a shelf assembly including support brackets constructed in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 19 is a top view of a shelf assembly including front and rear trim components in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 20 is a side view of the shelf assembly of FIG. 19. FIG. 21 is a detailed view of the front trim component of the shelf assembly of FIGS. 19 and 20 taken from circle XXI of FIG. 20. FIG. 22 is a detailed view of the rear trim component of the shelf assembly of FIGS. 19 and 20 taken from circle XXII of FIG. 20. FIG. 23 is a detailed view of the front portion of a shelf assembly including a front trim component in accordance with an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 24 is a graph showing the results of water retention test after abrasion with a glass jar for three shelves formed according to the modalities of the present disclosure. FIG. 25 is a graph showing the results of water retention test after carrying out a cleaning process on three shelves formed in accordance with the modalities of the present disclosure; and FIGS. 26A and 26B are photographs showing the stain-resistant properties of a shelf having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern formed from a ceramic frit and a hydrophobic compound according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the preferred embodiments, the term "shelves and / or similar", "shelves", "shelf" or "shelf and / or similar" covers shelves and articles whose upper surfaces, such as cupboard shelves, bench tops, stove tops , cooktops and table tops. Certain modalities are especially advantageous for use on refrigerator and freezer shelves.
In such preferred embodiments of the invention, refrigerator shelves are provided with a spill containment pattern that can consist of a hydrophobic surface in the pattern of a frame-like edge that defines the boundaries of a single non-hydrophobic spill containment area therein. The pattern can be a frame-like edge that extends along the perimeter of the top shelf surface (FIG. 3), or it can be spaced from the perimeter and encompass a smaller portion of the top surface, and can include an outer edge with a final spill retention area between the inner edge and the outer edge (FIG. 6). It can consist of a hydrophobic surface in a grid-like pattern, the pattern of which defines the boundaries of several spill containment areas in it (FIG. 5). Other variations are intended to be within the scope of this disclosure.
A shelf of the preferred embodiment can be incorporated into a set of shelves with a shelf support mechanism, such as a support, and a shelf that is capable of supporting articles on its upper surface. The disclosure presented in this document refers to the shelf portion of the assembly and various supports that can be used with the shelf.
The shelf may consist of a substrate formed of metal, glass, plastic, other suitable material or a combination of any of the above and which has a hydrophobic surface that is generally on the same plane as the upper surface of the shelf substrate and which is arranged in a spill containment pattern to provide a spill containment feature on the top surface of the shelf substrate, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6 and described below. Most of the surface area of the upper surface of the shelf substrate is non-hydrophobic in nature. The non-hydrophobic region of the upper surface is limited by the hydrophobic spill containment pattern in such a way that spilled liquids are repelled by the hydrophobic spill containment pattern and accumulate and remain contained in these non-hydrophobic spill containment areas by the hydrophobic surfaces. The shelves described in this document can be adapted for use as refrigerator or freezer shelves, for example.
A hydrophobic or super hydrophobic surface treatment can be applied to the top surface of the shelf substrate to create the hydrophobic spill containment pattern described in this document in a variety of methods and any surface coatings can be used that are known to be hydrophobic or super hydrophobic or are known to make a hydrophobic or super hydrophobic surface. The hydrophobic surface described in this document is not limited to any specific hydrophobic or super hydrophobic surface treatment and any method of taking a portion of the substrate surface from the hydrophobic shelf can be employed.
More specifically, according to preferred embodiments, there are several hydrophobic compounds that can be used. Some of the hydrophobic compounds include: fluorocarbons; fluoralkyl silanes; fluoralkoxy silanes and fluoralkyl alkyl silanes. Any of these hydrophobic compounds, or a mixture of them, can be used to create the hydrophobic surfaces described in this document and other applicable hydrophobic compounds can also be used. Tridecafluor-1,1,2,2-tetrahydroctyl trichlorosilane is believed to provide a good example of a suitable hydrophobic compound. Other suitable hydrophobic compounds include, for example, nonafluorhexildimethyl (dimethylamino) silane, heptadecafluortetrahydrodecildimethyl (dimethylamino) silane, tetrahydrodecyl-tris (dimethylamino) silane, tridecafluor-1,1,2,2, - tetrahidridyl, letrahydrochloride, 2,2-tetrahydoctyl) trimethoxysilane, (tridecafluor-1,1, 2,2-tetrahydroctyl) triethoxysilane, n-octadecyl trimethoxysilane, n-octyl triethoxysilane and heptadecafluor-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrodecyl-tris (dimethylamino) . The silanes identified above are believed to bind and adhere strongly to glass and glass-like surfaces, such as cured ceramic frit material.
In addition, according to the preferred embodiments described in this document, methods of creating the hydrophobic surface may include, without limitation: applying a hydrophobic compound to the upper surface using an application technique, such as
pulverization; brushing; cleaning; immersion; solvent casting; flow coating; curtain coating; roller coating; rotating coating; print; screen printing, inkjet printing; vacuum coating; cathodic evaporation assisted by magnetic field; plasma deposition; deposition of magnetron to plasma; Plasma or atmospheric CVD; powder or liquid pyrolysis; atomization or chemical vapor deposition; electrophoretic deposition; cross-linking processes, etc. Another method of creating the hydrophobic surface may include "roughening" the portion of the substrate surface to be made hydrophobic using various methods (sanding, abrasion, attack, for example, acid attack, or otherwise removing material from the surface) and then apply a hydrophobic compound to the "rough" surface. The attack can be carried out using, for example, hydrofluoric acid, sodium silicate, bifluorides including, for example, an ammonium bifluoride, sodium bifluoride and mixtures thereof, any other attack solutions and any mixtures thereof. Commercially available attack solutions are available, for example, from Armor® Products (Hawthorne, New Jersey). For example, Armor Etch Bath® Glass Dipping Solution (product name) or Armor Etch® Glass Etching Cream (product name) available from Armor® Products can be used and include a mixture of ammonium bifluoride and sodium bifluoride. The attack solution can be applied to the substrate surface with an applicator in the desired pattern. A mask, which is resistant to the attack solution, can be placed in the region of the substrate to be non-hydrophobic to protect this region from being attacked. The etching solution can be left on the substrate surface for a time in a range of about 15 seconds to about 20 minutes, about 20 seconds to about 15 minutes, about 30 seconds to about 10 minutes, about about 45 seconds to about 8 minutes, about 1 minute to about 10 minutes, about 2 minutes to about 8 minutes, about 4 minutes to about 6 minutes, about 15 seconds to about 1 minute, about 20 seconds to about 50 seconds, about 25 seconds to about 45 seconds, about 30 seconds to about 40 seconds, about 1 minute to about 20 minutes, about 5 to about 15 minutes, or about 7 minutes to about 10 minutes. Other suitable times include, for example, about 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 35 seconds, 40 seconds, 45 seconds, 50 seconds, 55 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9 minutes, 10 minutes, 11 minutes, 12 minutes, 13 minutes, 14 minutes, 15 minutes, 16 minutes, 17 minutes, 18 minutes, 19 minutes and 20 minutes.
The hydrophobic surface can also be formed, for example, by providing a coating of hydrophobic particles on the surface using sol-gel deposition to apply a hydrophobic compound to the surface, either above or within the sol-gel matrix by applying a metal oxide primer. with an integrated or separate hydrophobic compound, applying a hydrophobic compound that comprises a variety of molecular chain lengths to create a coating with surface irregularities, or adhering to a thin material, such as a thin glass or plastic tape that has been taken hydrophobic, to the surface. The hydrophobic surface can be formed, for example, by applying a ceramic frit material with or without structure forming particles to it on the substrate surface in the desired spill containment pattern, curing the frit and then applying a hydrophobic compound on the fries cured and curing the hydrophobic compound.
Any combination of the surface treatment methods described above can also be used. For example, the substrate can first be prepared by applying and curing a ceramic frit material to the substrate. The ceramic frit material can then be attacked using an attack solution as described above and a hydrophobic compound can be applied to the attacked ceramic frit. Alternatively, the entire substrate, including the ceramic frit material, can be attacked using an attack solution and a hydrophobic compound can then be applied to the attacked ceramic frit. Without claiming to be bound by theory, it is believed that the attack of the ceramic frit before the application of the hydrophobic compound can improve the hydrophobic properties of the spill containment pattern by creating additional binding sites on the ceramic frit to which the hydrophobic compound can be attached. turn on. Additionally, the attacked ceramic frit may include more surface area to which the hydrophobic compound can be attached due to the combined macro-scale surface roughness provided by the ceramic frit and the micro-scale surface roughness provided by the attack on the ceramic frit.
The hydrophobic surface treatments described in this document can be cured according to a number of different methods, if curing is required by surface preparation or hydrophobic compound, including without limitation: conduction heating; convection heating, UV radiation, VUV radiation; electron beam irradiation; ionizing radiation; laser; GO; and thermal radiation. Hydrophobic surface treatments can also be cured by remaining in ambient conditions for a sufficient period of time, for example, from about 16 hours to about 48 hours, from about 20 hours to about 40 hours and about 25 hours about 35 hours. Curing can be carried out in a controlled humidity environment. For example, curing can be carried out at less than 70% humidity, less than 60% humidity, less than 50% humidity, less than 40% humidity, less than 30% humidity, less than 20% humidity , less than 10% humidity or 0% humidity.
A preferred embodiment of the shelf assembly comprises a tempered glass or glass shelf substrate which is printed, for example, by screen printing, with a ceramic frit material on which a hydrophobic coating is applied. The ceramic frit can be patterned on the substrate using any known method of placement, printing or other patterning. The ceramic frit material is placed or printed in a pattern, for example, a frame-like edge pattern on the glass substrate that defines at least a portion of the spill containment pattern. For example, ceramic frit material can be screen printed on the substrate in the desired pattern using, for example, a silk screen having a mesh count in a range of about 80 to about 360, about 100 to about 300, about 120 to about 280, about 140 to about 240, about 160 to about 220, about 180 to about 200, about 86 to about 360. Other suitable mesh counts include about 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 310, 320, 340, 350 and 360. Various other mesh counts may be suitable depending on the composition and particle size of the frit material used. As described in more detail below, the hydrophobic spill containment pattern and, consequently, the fry pattern, can have a variety of shapes and sizes and can be placed in a variety of locations on the glass substrate. In addition, portions of the hydrophobic spill containment pattern can be formed, for example, using different hydrophobic compounds and / or different surface treatments. For example, a portion of the spill containment pattern can be formed, for example, by applying and curing a ceramic frit to the substrate and applying a hydrophobic compound to the cured ceramic frit (as described in more detail below) and another portion of the containment pattern Hydrophobic spillage can be formed, for example, by attacking acid on a portion of the substrate and applying the hydrophobic compound to the attacked portion.
According to various aspects of the invention, the ceramic frit material can include finely ground particles. For example, the ceramic frit material may include lead oxide, silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide and mixtures thereof. Preferably, the frit material includes silicon dioxide. More preferably, the frit material includes from 5 weight percent (weight percent) to about 100 weight percent silicon dioxide, from about 10 weight percent to about 80 weight percent, about 20 % by weight to about 60% by weight, from about 30% by weight to about 40% by weight, from about 15% by weight to about 75% by weight, from about 20% by weight to about 50% by weight. Other suitable amounts of silicon dioxide in the frit material may include, for example, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85 , 90, 95 and 100% by weight. For example, the frit material can include about 29% by weight of silicon dioxide. The frit material may also include, for example, additives, such as tantalum oxide, titanium dioxide, calcium oxide, zirconium oxide, sodium oxide, potassium oxides, iron oxide, magnesium oxide, barium oxide , bismuth oxide and mixtures thereof. Suitable commercially available fry materials can be used. For example, a commercially available frit material is available from Ferro Corp (hereinafter “the Ferro frit”) under Product No. A0430 Etch C32 Medium and contains about 53.71% by weight of lead oxide, about 29% by weight of silicon dioxide, 15.72% by weight of aluminum oxide, 0.39% by weight of tantalum oxide, 0.38% by weight of titanium dioxide, 0.28% by weight of calcium oxide , 0.26 wt% zirconium oxide, 0.11 wt% sodium oxide, 0.04 wt% potassium oxide, 0.04 wt% iron oxide, 0.03 wt% weight of magnesium oxide, 0.02% by weight of barium oxide and 0.02% by weight of bismuth oxide. The particles of the frit material can be mixed with inorganic or organic pigments or dyes, in order to produce a desired color. The ceramic frit material can be supplied as a dry powder or as a paste or other mixture. Once the ceramic frit material is placed on the substrate, the ceramic frit is then coupled to the substrate. For example, the ceramic frit can be coupled to the substrate by fusing the ceramic frit to the substrate. The ceramic frit can be coupled or fused to the substrate by heating the substrate to a temperature in the range of about 1000 ° F to about 1400 ° F, about 1100 ° F to about 1300 ° F, about 1100 ° F to about 1200 ° F and about 1200 ° F to about 1400 ° F. Other suitable temperatures include about 1000 ° F, 1050 ° F, 1100 ° F, 1150 ° F, 1200 ° F, 1250 ° F, 1300 ° F, 135 ° F and 1400 ° F. This heat treatment will cause the particles of the ceramic frit to heal by merging with each other and the glass surface to form a continuous structure and, thus, coupling the ceramic frit to the substrate. The pattern of the melt will be substantially identical to the pattern in which the frit material was placed on the substrate. It is believed that this melt coating can be characterized as being almost as hard and tenacious as the glass itself. In addition, glass coated with ceramic frit material is durable and resists flaking, peeling, discoloration and scratches. Advantageously, the ceramic frit material is resistant to the abrasion of ordinary household containers such as, for example, glass jars. In addition, the ceramic frit material is substantially resistant to most chemicals. Therefore, the ceramic frit material is substantially resistant to a variety of cleaning products that can be used to clean a glass shelf including, for example, detergents, such as Dawn, Windex, Sparkle, Clorox wipes and Formula 409 All detergents Purpose Cleaner. A shelf having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern formed from a ceramic frit can withstand multiple cleanings without suffering a decrease in the shelf's ability to hold spilled liquids.
In one embodiment, the ceramic frit may include some microscale additive particles that will remain unfused at the temperature at which the frit is sintered, as described, for example, in US patents 4,591,530 to Lui, 6,872,441 and 6,800,354 for Baumann and 5,324,566 and 5,437,894 for Ogawa. The frit is printed or patterned on a frame-like border at or near the outer perimeter of the top surface of the shelf substrate or other desired location for the spill containment pattern. The shelf with the printed frit is then heated to a temperature above the melting point of the primary components of the frit material, but below the melting point of the glass shelf, for a time sufficient to cure the frit, so that it is cast or glued to the top surface of the shelf substrate. The time and specific temperature required to sinter the frit will vary based on the materials chosen for the frit.
As an example only, the application of the hydrophobic compound will be described with reference to a glass substrate having a change in the melt surface. Other surface modifications and / or preparations, including, for example, acid etching and other surface roughening methods, can be used as described above and the hydrophobic compound can also be applied to these surface modified substrates. The hydrophobic compound such as, for example, a fluorocarbon, a fluoralkyl silane, a fluoralkoxy silane or fluoralkyl alkyl silane, is then applied to the molten frit material. Suitable hydrophobic compounds can include, for example, tridecafluor-1,2,2,2-tetrahydroctyl trichlorosilane, nonafluorhexildimethyl (dimethylamino) silane, heptadecafluortetrahydrodecildimethyl (dimethylamino) silane, tetrahydrodecyl-tris- , 2, -tetrahydroctyl silane, (tridecafluor-1,1,2,2-tetrahydroctyl) trimethoxysilane, (tridecafluor-1,1,2,2-tetrahydroctyl) triethoxysilane, n-octadecyl trimethoxysilane, n-octyl triethoxysilane and heptadecafluor-l , l „2,2-tetrahydrodecyltris (dimethylamino) silane.
The hydrophobic compound can be applied to the frit material as a hydrophobic solution that includes a solvent and the hydrophobic compound dissolved or dispersed in the solvent. The solvent can be, for example, wet or dry hexane. Suitable solvents include, for example, hexane, heptanes, methyl chloride, naphtha, toluene, acetone, perfluorocarbons and mixtures thereof. The hydrophobic solution can include from about 0.1% to about 5% of hydrophobic compound. Other suitable ranges include, for example, about 0.5% to 4%, about 1% to about 3%, about 1% to about 5% and about 2% to about 4%. Suitable amounts of the hydrophobic compound in the hydrophobic solution can include, for example, about 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0, 9, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 and 5%. For example, a 1% solution of tridecafluor-1,2,2,2-tetrahydroctyl trichlorosilane, a perfluoralkyl alkyl silane, in hexane, can be applied to the melt, for example, cleaning the solution on the frit or applying the solution using an applicator tip or using any other known method. The hydrophobic compound can be applied to the solution using, for example, a one-pass method in which a coated applicator is swept across the frit edge once, or a multiple-pass method in which a coated applicator is passed over the edge fry two or more times. The hydrophobic solution is then cured by heating and / or exposing it to controlled humidity for a period of time. For example, conductive heating, convection heating, thermal radiation, UV radiation, VUV radiation, electron beam irradiation, ionizing radiation, laser, IR can be used to cure the hydrophobic solution. The hydrophobic solution can be cured, for example, at a temperature in the range of about 100 ° F to about 600 ° F, about 150 ° F to about 550 ° F, about 200 ° F to about 500 ° F, about 250 ° F to about 450 ° F, about 300 ° F to about 350 ° F or about 100 ° F to about 300 ° F. Other suitable temperatures include, for example, about 100 ° F, 150 ° F, 200 ° F, 250 ° F, 300 ° F, 350 ° F, 400 ° F, 450 ° F, 500 ° F, 550 ° F and 600 ° F. The hydrophobic solution can be cured, for example, by heating for a while in a range of about 5 minutes to about 1 hour, about 10 minutes to about 45 minutes, about 20 minutes to about 30 minutes, about 10 minutes to about 20 minutes and about 15 minutes to about 30 minutes. Other suitable times include, for example, about 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 minutes. Alternatively, the hydrophobic solution can be cured without heating. Heating, however, can speed up the healing process. For example, the hydrophobic solution may be allowed to cure by leaving the glass substrate having the cured ceramic frit coated with the hydrophobic solution at ambient conditions for a time in the range of about 16 to about 48 hours, about 20 to about 40 hours, about 25 to about 35 hours, about 16 to about 24 hours, or about 20 hours to about 30 hours. The hydrophobic solution can be cured, either at elevated temperatures or at room temperature, in a relatively dry environment. For example, the hydrophobic solution can be cured in an environment having less than 70% humidity, less than 60% humidity, less than 50% humidity, less than 40% humidity, less than 30% humidity, less than 20% humidity, less than 10% humidity or 0% humidity. After curing, the hydrophobic compound preferably forms a continuous hydrophobic layer on the melt or other surface treatment.
Without claiming to be bound by theory, it is believed that, in the case of a fluorsilane, the bond is achieved between the Si-OH surface contained in and extending from the surface of the molten frit material or another modified substrate surface, such as, for example, an acid-attacked surface and silane Si-OH groups. Hydroxyl groups on the surface may result from partial hydrolysis of silane and silicon dioxide in the melted frit material during heating. The Si-OH groups are forced to react with corresponding groups to form Si-O-Si bonds between the silane and the melted frit material. Correspondingly, the Si-OH groups of adjacent silane molecules are also forced to react and cross-link Si-O-Si thereby forming a continuous hydrophobic layer through the frit material. The method described in this document will produce a hydrophobic surface that is a continuous edge around the perimeter of the upper shelf surface that will operate as a spill containment feature.
An advantage of using a ceramic frit material to prepare the shelf surface for coating with the hydrophobic solution as described here, in addition to improving the durability of the hydrophobic surface, is that the frit material is commercially available in various colors and can be printed in a way that allows the inclusion of designs, names or company logos on the surface area where the frit material is applied to the shelf substrate.
According to preferred embodiments, the hydrophobic surface provides a spill containment surface that prevents spilled liquids from leaking from the top surface of the shelf substrate. For example, a frit material can be placed or printed in a continuous edge pattern around the perimeter of the glass substrate and fused to the glass substrate, as described above. A hydrophobic compound can then be glued to the molten frit material and thereby form a hydrophobic spill containment pattern that limits a non-hydrophobic spill containment surface formed from the glass substrate. The hydrophobic spill containment pattern repels liquids, causing them to be collected in the non-hydrophobic region, or regions, of the shelf. The hydrophobicity of the hydrophobic surface is sufficient to repel a spilled liquid and prevent it from crossing through or over the hydrophobic surface and therefore forces the spilled liquid to drain or pool in the non-hydrophobic regions of the shelf due to the surface tension of the liquid. Thus, the hydrophobic surface is capable of containing spills without the use of a barrier lip or barrier edge used in prior art spill containment assemblies that act as a “dam” for the spilled liquid. The hydrophobic spill containment pattern can retain a spill having a height of less than 5.5 mm when pooled in the non-hydrophobic region. For example, the spill containment pattern may retain a spill having a height of about 0.5 mm, about 1 mm, about 1.5 mm, about 2 mm, about 2.5 mm, about 3 mm, about 3.5 mm, about 4 mm, about 4.5 mm, about 5 mm or about 5.5 mm. The height of the spill liquid provides a measure of the amount of spilled liquid retained by a shelf, regardless of the area of the shelf's own non-hydrophobic spill containment region. The height of the retained spill liquid is determined by dividing the volume of spill liquid retained by the shelf prior to failure (i.e., leak) by the area of the non-hydrophobic spill containment region.
The reference to the fact that the hydrophobic surface is generally in the plane of the upper shelf surface is intended to include surfaces and surface treatments, all or part of which may extend a short distance above the level of the upper shelf surface. that is not readily noticeable to the naked eye. For example, as described in more detail above, the hydrophobic surface can be a hydrophobic coating or a combination of a ceramic frit layer and a hydrophobic coating on the ceramic frit. Such layers typically have a thickness of about 0.001 micron to about 250 microns. Other suitable thickness ranges include from about 0.001 micron to about 2 microns, about 0.01 micron to about 1.5 microns, about 0.1 micron to about 1 micron, about 0.001 micron to about 10 microns, about 0.01 microns to about 8 microns, about 0.05 microns to about 7 microns, about 0.1 microns to about 5 microns, about 1 micron to about 4 microns, about from 1 micron to about 10 microns, about 2 microns to about 8 microns, about 4 microns to about 6 microns, about 10 microns to about 100 microns, about 20 microns to about 80 microns, about from 40 microns to about 60 microns, about 100 microns to about 250 microns, about 150 to about 200 microns, about 1 micron to about 250 microns, about 10 microns to about 200 microns, about 20 microns to about 150 microns, about 30 microns to about 100 microns, about 40 microns to about 80 microns and about 50 microns to about 70 microns. Other suitable thicknesses include, for example, about 0.001, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120,130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240 and 250 microns.
A visual perspective of situations involving spillage is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrating a set of shelves of the prior art 1000. With reference to FIG. 1, set 1000 is shown in a very simplistic format. The set 1000 can include a number of other components, including elements such as shelf support brackets, for example. Specifically, the set 1000 includes a frame 1002 that is rectangular in shape and surrounds and is attached to an inner plastic rim 1004. Plastic rim 1004 is also of a rectangular configuration. The plastic ring 1004 is used to encapsulate a shelf panel 1006. The shelf panel 1006 can be constructed of glass or similar materials. Frame 1002, plastic rim 1004 and shelf panel 1006 are supported on a pair of opposite side plates 1008.
To illustrate the concepts of liquid spillage, a 1010 soda can is illustrated as being set aside on the top surface of the shelf panel 1006. The soda can 1010 has spilled liquid that is shown as liquid 1012 in a portion of the shelf panel. shelf 1006. The visible edge of shelf panel 1006 located on its upper surface at the intersection of the perimeter of the plastic rim 1004 may include a sealed edge 1014. As previously described in this document, sealed edge 1014 may simply include some type of adhesive. seal or alternatively a silicone material or something like that. In this way, an attempt is made to essentially provide a high physical barrier that is sealed to the shelf panel 1006 to seal the spilled liquid 1012 from spilling out of the shelf panel 1006.
A shelf set of the preferred embodiment 1020 of the present disclosure is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. According to the preferred embodiments described in this document, the shelf assembly 1020 is characterized as having a shelf panel 1024 with a hydrophobic surface 1030 (shown shaded) arranged and configured in a spill containment pattern 1021 in a top surface 1023 of shelf panel 1024, to provide spill containment functions. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the spill containment pattern 1021 of the hydrophobic surface 1030 consists of a frame-like edge arranged at or around the outer perimeter of the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024, thereby completely delimiting, surrounding and / or surrounding a non-hydrophobic central portion 1025 of shelf panel 1024. More specifically, the leak containment pattern 1021 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 includes a continuous pattern formed by left and right side edge containment strips 1021a, 1021b, and parallel front and rear edge containment strips 1021c, 1021 d, that is, all, respectively, engaged with adjacent ones. Each of the edge containment strips 102la-1021 d is generally uniform in width and arranged in an elongated linear configuration in one location directly on a respective edge of the shelf panel 1024. That is, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 there is no non-hydrophobic area on the top surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024 between the spill containment pattern 1021 and the perimeter edge of the shelf panel 1024. In alternative embodiments, however, at least one of the strips 1021 -1021 d of the spill containment pattern 1021 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be deflected inwardly from the perimeter edge of the shelf panel 1024 such that the shelf panel 1024 can include a non-hydrophobic area disposed between at least a portion of the spill containment pattern 1021 and the edge perimeter of the 1024 shelf panel.
Still with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the side edge containment strips 1021a, 1021b are arranged at substantially right angles to the front and rear edge containment strips 1021c, 1021 d. Thus configured, the spill containment pattern 1021 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 form a continuous shape, generally square, rectangular and / or box-shaped, bordering and / or completely surrounding the central non-hydrophobic portion 1025 which also has a generally square, rectangular and / or box-shaped shape.
As with other known refrigerator shelf assemblies, the shelf assembly 1020 of the present disclosure can also include shelf supports 1022 to support shelf assembly 1020 on a refrigerator or other apparatus, for example. In a preferred embodiment, shelf supports 1022 are designed and configured so as not to interfere with and / or invade the upper surface 1032 of shelf panel 1024, thereby maximizing usable shelf space. Various modalities of these 1022 shelf supports will be described below with reference to the FIDS. 7 to 18.
FIG. 3 also illustrates the concept that the hydrophobic surface 1030 will form a spill containment barrier. For example, a soda can 1026 is shown to be turned sideways on the top surface 1023 of shelf panel 1024, and the spilled liquid from soda can 1026 is identified as liquid 1028. In this way, spilled liquid 1028 is prevented from spill down onto other surfaces below the shelf and the spilled liquid 1028 is contained in the central non-hydrophobic portion 1025 defined on the top surface 1023 of the shelf 1024. In addition, spilled liquid 1028 is also prevented from infiltrating cracks or cracks in a way where substantial bacteria, mold and other undesirable materials can form. In particular, and according to preferred embodiments, it should be noted that components such as a plastic ring (or even a frame) may be completely unnecessary with the use of the hydrophobic surface 1030 to provide the spill containment feature. As such, the shelf assembly 1020 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 maximizes the useful shelf space available, as it does not include a plastic rim, frame or any other physical barrier or dam extending above the top surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024 to prevent liquids from spilling out of the 1024 shelf panel.
In addition to the modality shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an alternative embodiment of the shelf assembly 1020 of the present disclosure can include the hydrophobic surface 1030 disposed on the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024 in a grid-type spill containment pattern 1021, as shown in FIG. 5. Identical to the spill containment pattern 1021 described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the 1021 grid-type spill containment pattern shown in FIG. 5 includes a continuous frame-like edge arranged at or around the outer perimeter of the upper surface 1023 of shelf panel 1024. More specifically, the frame-like edge of the spill containment pattern 1021 shown in FIG. 5 includes parallel left and right side edge containment strips 1021a, 1021b, and parallel front and rear edge containment strips 1021c, 1021 d. These spill containment strips 102la-1021 d can generally be identical to the corresponding spill containment strips 102la-1021 d described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 and will therefore not be described in further detail.
In addition to the aforementioned spill containment strips 102la-1021 d, the grid type spill containment pattern 1021 shown in FIG. 5 includes two longitudinal spill containment strips 1021e, 1021f apart and two lateral spill containment strips 1021g, 1021h apart. Longitudinal spill containment strips 1021c, 1021 d intersect side spill containment strips 1021e, 1021f at generally right angles. As shown, the longitudinal spill containment strips 1021e, 1021f are parallel to each other, as well as parallel to the left and right spill containment strips 1021a, 1021b. In addition, the side spill containment strips 1021g, 1021h are parallel to each other, as well as parallel to the front and rear spill containment strips 1021c, 1021 d. Other configurations are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure.
Thus configured, the grid type spill containment pattern 1021 of the shelf assembly mode 1020 of FIG. 5 defines the first to ninth non-hydrophobic center portions 1025a-1025i on the top surface 1023 of shelf panel 1024. Each of the non-hydrophobic center portions 1025a-1025i is completely bounded, surrounded and / or surrounded by four of the spill containment strips 1021a-1021h and is therefore square, rectangular and / or box-shaped. With this configuration, FIG. 6 illustrates that each of the non-hydrophobic core portions 1025a-1025i is capable of containing a liquid 1028 separate from the other non-hydrophobic core portions 1025a-1025i.
FIG. 6 shows yet another embodiment of a shelf assembly 1020 constructed in accordance with the present disclosure and including a spill containment pattern 1021. Similar to the shelf assemblies 1020 described above with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, the shelf assembly 1020 of FIG. 6 includes a continuous frame-like edge of a hydrophobic surface 1030 arranged at or around the outer perimeter of the upper surface 1023 of shelf panel 1024, thereby delimiting, surrounding and / or surrounding a non-hydrophobic central portion 1025 of shelf panel 1024 However, unlike the modalities described above, the embodiment represented in FIG. 6 includes a double edge configuration consisting of a first continuous hydrophobic surface edge 1017 and a second continuous hydrophobic surface edge 1019 arranged within the first hydrophobic surface edge 1017.
The first hydrophobic surface edge 1017 is arranged around the perimeter edge of the shelf panel 1024 and the second hydrophobic surface edge 1019 is offset into the first hydrophobic surface edge 1017. The first hydrophobic surface edge 1017 includes strips of parallel left and right side edge contention 1017a, 1017b, and parallel front and rear edge containment strips 1017c, 1017d. Each of the edge containment strips 1017a-1017d of the first continuous hydrophobic surface edge 1017 is generally uniform in width and arranged in an elongated linear configuration directly at the perimeter edge of the shelf panel 1024. The side edge containment strips 1017a , 1017b are arranged at right angles to the front and rear edge containment strips 1017c, 1017d. Thus configured, the first hydrophobic surface edge 1017 forms a continuous shape generally square, rectangular and / or box-shaped, delimiting, surrounding and / or completely surrounding the central non-hydrophobic portion 1025 which is also generally square, rectangular and / or shaped Of box. In addition, as shown, the second continuous hydrophobic surface edge 1019 includes parallel left and right side edge containment strips 1019a, 1019b and parallel front and rear edge containment strips 1019c, 1019d. Each of the edge retaining strips 1019a-1019d of the second hydrophobic surface edge 1019 is generally uniform in width and arranged in an elongated linear configuration offset into the first hydrophobic surface edge 1017. The side edge containment strips 1019a, 1019b are arranged at right angles to the front and rear edge containment strips 1019c, 1019d, so that the second hydrophobic surface edge 1019 forms a generally square, rectangular and / or box-shaped boundary surrounding and / or completely surrounding the non-hydrophobic center portion 1025 of shelf panel 1024. Thus configured, the first and second hydrophobic surface edges 1017, 1019 define a non-hydrophobic ring portion 1027 located between the two edges 1017, 1019. The non-hydrophobic ring 1027 can advantageously capture any spill overflow that could escape the non-hydro central portion phobic 1025 and moving over the second hydrophobic surface edge 1019. These and other variations in the spill containment pattern 1021 can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the new concepts of the preferred modalities of the present disclosure. For example, although Fig. 6 represents a double edge pattern, a pattern of any number of concentric or non-concentric edge patterns could be provided on the surface of the substrate. Each edge pattern can, for example, surround at least a portion of the non-hydrophobic region.
The hydrophobic surface arranged in a spill containment pattern according to the preferred embodiments described in this document eliminates the need for plastic encapsulation material to create a spill containment barrier. Accordingly, shelves produced according to the preferred embodiments described in this document use relatively less material than state-of-the-art spill containment shelves. In addition, the shelves described in this document have no need for silicone seals to create a spill containment barrier. With the exception of hydrophobic tape, they have no need for adhesives to create a spill containment barrier. Eliminating the need for these materials also results in relatively less material usage. In addition, using hydrophobic surfaces arranged in a spill containment pattern according to preferred modalities eliminates the need for lips or grooves formed on the top surface of the shelf, which reduces the amount of material used and the complexity of manufacturing, and therefore, it reduces the manufacturing cost.
The elimination of plastic encapsulation and seals from the shelf element design also eliminates a potential source of failure or leakage, since the seals and plastic encapsulation may have cracks or crevices where they join with the shelf element on which organic or inorganic materials can become trapped and involve an area of adhesion to the shelf element that can eventually leak. In addition, the use of hydrophobic surfaces arranged in a spill containment pattern retains an amount of liquid comparable to that retained by shelves of the state having spill containment characteristics without the need to use the dams.
In addition, eliminating the space occupied by plastic packaging, sealants, adhesives or lips, ridges, physical barriers and dams formed, the relative amount of usable shelf space is high, that is, maximized, on the top surface 1023 of the 1024 shelf panel , according to the preferred modalities described in this document.
An additional aspect of the present disclosure that serves to maximize usable shelf space includes shelf supports 1022 which are specifically designed, arranged and configured to adhere to a bottom surface and / or side edge of the shelf panel 1024, thereby avoiding any need to interfere and / or obstruct at least the perimeter portions of the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024 adjacent to the side edges and, in some embodiments, the entire upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024.
FIGS. 7 and 8 represent a shelf assembly 1020 including a pair of support supports 100, only one of which is shown, constructed according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Similar to the modalities described above, shelf set 1020 includes a flat shelf panel 1024 with a hydrophobic surface 1030 organized and configured in a spill containment pattern 1021 on its top surface 1023. Spill containment pattern 1021 may resemble to any of the patterns described above in relation to FIGS. 3 to 6, or otherwise.
The supports 100 are mirror images of each other and are adhered to the side perimeter portions 12 of the shelf panel 10. The supports 100 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are adapted to be slidably supported on ribs formed on the side panels of an appliance, such as a refrigerator. As shown in Fig. 8 above, each support 100 includes a horizontal leg 104 and a vertical leg 102 extending downwardly from an inner edge 105 of horizontal leg 104. As such, supports 100 have a generally shaped cross section of L upside down. The supports 100 of this modality are preferably made of metal, but they can be made of plastic or any other predictable material. The vertical and horizontal legs 102, 104 are arranged at an angle of approximately 90 ° to each other. Thus configured, the horizontal leg 104 includes a substantially horizontal upper surface 104a that corresponds to and supports a generally horizontal lower surface 12a of a corresponding side perimeter portion 12 of the shelf panel 10. Finally, a layer of adhesive material 106 is arranged between the upper surfaces 104a of the horizontal legs 104 of the supports 100 and the lower surface 12a of the side perimeter portions 12 of the shelf panel 10 to adhere the shelf panel 10 to the supports 100. The adhesive material 106 can include an adhesive cured by UV clear acrylic, a hot melt of clear polyurethane or any other adhesive material capable of serving the principles of the present disclosure. Thus configured, and as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, no aspect of the supports 100 extends above and / or over the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024. That is, in this embodiment, the supports 100 are arranged entirely below the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024, for example. for example, completely opposed to the shelf panel 1024 from its upper surface 1023. As such, the usable space on the upper surface 1023 is maximized.
FIGS. 9 and 10 represent a shelf assembly 1020 including a pair of supports 200, only one of which is shown, constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure. Similar to the modalities described above, shelf set 1020 includes a flat shelf panel 1024 with a hydrophobic surface (not shown), arranged and configured in a spill containment pattern (not shown) on its top surface 1023. The pattern of Spill containment can resemble any of the patterns described above in relation to FIGS. 3 to 6, or otherwise.
The supports 200 are mirror images of each other and are attached to opposite side perimeter portions 12 of the shelf panel 1024. The supports 200 are adapted to be slidably supported on ribs formed on the side panels of an appliance, such as a refrigerator . As shown in FIG. 10, each support 200 includes a horizontal leg 204 and a vertical leg 202 extending upward from an outer edge 205 of horizontal leg 204. As such, supports 200 have a generally L-shaped cross section. The vertical leg 202 can or it cannot extend beyond the top surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024. The supports 200 of this modality can be constructed of plastic, metal or any other suitable material. The vertical and horizontal legs 202, 204 are arranged at an angle of approximately 90 ° to each other. Thus configured, the horizontal leg 204 includes a substantially horizontal upper surface 204a that corresponds to and supports a generally horizontal lower surface 12a of a corresponding side perimeter portion 12 of shelf panel 1024. Finally, a layer of adhesive material 206 is arranged between the upper surfaces 204a of the horizontal legs 204 of the supports 200 and the lower surface 12a of the corresponding side perimeter portions 12 of the shelf panel 1024 to adhere the shelf panel 1024 to the supports 200. The adhesive material 206 may include a cured adhesive by clear acrylic UV, a hot melt of polyurethane, or any other adhesive material capable of serving the principles of the present disclosure. Thus configured, and as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, no aspect of the supports 200 extends above and / or over the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024. That is, in this embodiment, the supports 200 are arranged entirely below the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024. The horizontal legs 204 are arranged totally opposite to the shelf panel 1024 from its top surface 1023 and the vertical legs 202 are arranged entirely to the side of the shelf panel 1024. As such, the usable space on the upper surface 1023 is maximized.
FIGS. 11 and 12 represent a shelf assembly 1020 including a pair of support supports 300 constructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure. Similar to the modalities described above, shelf set 1020 includes a flat shelf panel 1024 with a hydrophobic surface 130 arranged and configured in a spill containment pattern 1021 on its top surface 1023. The spill containment pattern may resemble any of the patterns described above in relation to FIGS. 3 to 6, or otherwise.
The brackets 300 are adapted to lock in stairwells, for example, at the rear of an appliance, such as a refrigerator, in a conventional manner. Each support 300 includes an elongated upper member 302 with a generally circular cross section. In one form, shown in FIG. 12, the upper element 302 includes a horizontal support surface 304 formed, for example, by forging, stamping or crushing the round wire in an accessory. Thus configured, the support surface 304 corresponds to and supports a generally horizontal lower surface 12a of a corresponding side perimeter portion 12 of the shelf panel 1024. In another form, the elongated upper element 302 may not include the horizontal support surface 304 , but on the contrary it can have a perfectly circular cross section offering a line of contact between the upper element 302 and the shelf panel 1024. Finally, a layer of adhesive material 306 is disposed between the upper elements 302 of the supports 300 and the surface bottom 12a of the corresponding side perimeter portions 12 of the shelf panel 1024 to secure the shelf panel 10 to the supports 300. The adhesive material 306 may include a clear acrylic UV-cured adhesive, a hot melt of polyurethane or any other material adhesive capable of serving the principles of this disclosure. Thus configured, and as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, no aspect of the supports 300 extends above and / or over the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024. That is, in this embodiment, the supports 300 are arranged entirely below the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024, for example. for example, completely opposed to the shelf panel 1024 from its upper surface 1023. As such, the usable space on the upper surface 1023 is maximized.
FIGS. 13 and 14 represent a shelf assembly 1020 including a pair of supports 400, only one of which is shown, constructed in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. Similar to the modalities described above, shelf set 1020 includes a flat shelf panel 1024 with a hydrophobic surface (not shown) arranged and configured in a spill containment pattern (not shown) on its top surface 1023. The containment pattern spillage may resemble any of the patterns described above in relation to FIGS. 3 to 6, or otherwise.
The supports 400 are mirror images of each other. Brackets 400 are adapted to lock in stairwells, for example, on the back of an appliance, such as a refrigerator, in a conventional manner. As illustrated, each support 400 includes a triangular shaped plate, a vertical plate portion 402 and a horizontal plate portion 404, thus having an upper cross section generally L-shaped. The supports 400 of this embodiment can be constructed of metal , plastic or any other suitable material. The vertical and horizontal plate portions 402, 404 are arranged at an angle of approximately 90 ° to each other. Thus configured, the horizontal plate portion 404 includes a substantially horizontal upper surface 404a which corresponds to and supports a generally horizontal lower surface 12a of a corresponding side perimeter portion 12 of shelf panel 1024. Finally, a layer of adhesive material 406 is arranged between the upper surfaces 404a of the horizontal plate portions 404 of the supports 400 and the lower surface 12a of the side perimeter portions 12 of the shelf panel 1024, to secure the shelf panel 1024 to the supports 400. The adhesive material 406 can include a clear acrylic UV-cured adhesive, a hot melt of polyurethane or any other adhesive material capable of serving the principles of the present disclosure. Thus configured, and as illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, no aspect of the supports 400 extends above and / or over the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024. That is, in this embodiment, the supports 400 are arranged entirely below the shelf panel 1024, for example, totally opposite to the shelf panel 1024 from its top surface 1023. As such, the usable space on the top surface 1023 is maximized.
FIGS. 15 to 17 represent a shelf assembly 1020 including a pair of supports 500 constructed in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. Similar to the modalities described above, shelf set 1020 includes a flat shelf panel 1024 with a hydrophobic surface (not shown) arranged and configured in a spill containment pattern (not shown) on its top surface 1023. The containment pattern spillage may resemble any of the patterns described above in relation to FIGS. 3 to 6, or otherwise.
The supports 500 are mirror images of each other. The supports 500 are adapted to lock in stairwells, for example, on the back of an appliance, such as a refrigerator, in a conventional manner. As illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17, each support 500 includes a metal triangular plate portion 502 and a plastic support rail 504. Support rail 504 includes an elongated recess 504a receiving an elongated top edge 502a of the plate portion 502. The support rail 504 is fixed immovably to the plate portion 502 by quick fitting or adhesion, for example. In addition, the support rail 504 includes a substantially horizontal top surface 504b which corresponds to and supports a generally horizontal bottom surface corresponding 12a of shelf panel 1024. Finally, the bottom surfaces 12a of side perimeter portions 12 of shelf panel 1024 are adhered to the upper surfaces 504b of the support rails 504 with an adhesive material (not shown) to secure the shelf panel 10 to the supports 500. The adhesive material can include a clear acrylic UV-cured adhesive, a hot melt of polyurethane or any other adhesive material capable of serving the principles of this disclosure. Thus configured, and as illustrated in FIGS. 15 to 17, no aspect of the supports 500 extends above and / or over the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024. That is, in this embodiment, the supports 500 are arranged entirely below the upper surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024, for example. for example, completely opposed to the shelf panel 1024 from its upper surface 1023. As such, the usable space on the upper surface 1023 is maximized.
FIG. 18 represents a portion of a shelf assembly 1020 including a pair of supports 600, only one of which is shown, constructed in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. Similar to the modalities described above, shelf set 1020 includes a flat shelf panel 1024 with a hydrophobic surface (not shown) arranged and configured in a spill containment pattern (not shown) on its top surface 1023. The containment pattern spillage may resemble any of the patterns described above in relation to FIGS. 3 to 6, or otherwise.
As shown, support brackets 600 are adapted to support opposite side perimeter portions 12 of a flat shelf panel 1024 in a general manner similar to that described above. Each support 600 includes a vertical plate portion 602 and a horizontal plate portion 604, thereby having an L-shaped cross section generally upside down. The vertical and horizontal plate portions 602, 604 are arranged at an angle of approximately 90 ° to each other. In addition, however, the horizontal plate portion 604 includes a curved concave profile defining an elongated channel 608 on its upper side and extending along its length. Finally, a layer of an adhesive material (not shown) is disposed in channel 608 between support 600 and a lower surface 12a of side perimeter portions 12 of shelf panel 1024. Although channel 608 of the embodiment shown is formed by the portion horizontal plate 604 being curved, channel 608 can alternatively be formed simply by having a recess in the upper surface of horizontal plate portion 604. Thus configured, the lower surface of horizontal plate portion 604 does not necessarily have to be curved, as illustrated.
This concept of channel for receiving adhesive can be applied to any of the support supports described above with reference to FIGS. 7 to 17. For example, the horizontal legs 104, 204, 404 of the supports 100, 200, 400 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, FIGS. 9 and 10, and FIGS. 13 and 14, respectively, can include channels arranged on the upper surfaces 104a, 204a, 304a thereof to receive adhesive. Likewise, the upper elements 302 of the supports 300 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 can include channels arranged on their upper surfaces to receive adhesive. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the channels can be formed directly on the horizontal support surfaces 304 of the upper elements 302 of the supports 300. Finally, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 to 17 channels for receiving adhesive can be formed on the upper horizontal surfaces 504b of the support rails 504 of the supports 500. Therefore, it should be appreciated that the concept of offering channels on the upper surfaces of the support supports for receiving adhesive is not limited to the modality represented in FIG. 18, but on the contrary, it can be applied to any of the modalities expressly described in this document, as well as to any modality covered by the scope of the attached claims.
As mentioned above, any of the above shelf supports 100 to 600 can be constructed from any one or more of a variety of materials, such as metal, plastic, etc., and they can be attached to the shelf panel 1024 using any one or more than a variety of different adhesives, or other means of attachment. The process and / or method for assembling these components can also include a variety of variations.
For example, in one embodiment, the supports described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8, for example, can be constructed of sheet metal with a hybrid epoxy polyester powder disposed thereon. The brackets are placed on an accessory and the adhesive, which may include Loctite 3494 UV / Visible acrylic cured adhesive, is applied to the upper surface of the brackets automatically. The glass shelf panel is then placed on the accessory on top of the adhesive and a clamping pressure is applied to the top of the glass shelf panel. The adhesive "moistens", that is, the adhesive spreads to a thickness of about 0.006 "to about 0.010" thick. The parts are then passed under a mercury UV lamp (wavelength of about 365nm, at about 200 to 400 Watts per inch) for about 12 to 18 seconds, with the adhesive being placed around 5.5 ”About 6” away from the lamp. Once the adhesive is cured, the clamping pressure is removed and the assembly can be removed from the accessory.
In an alternative to this method, a hot melt polyurethane adhesive can be used to affix the shelf panel to the supports. First, the supports are placed on an accessory and a cast polyurethane adhesive is applied instead of the UV-cured adhesive described above. The part is retained when the adhesive cures quickly. No light is needed. The assembly can then be removed from the accessory.
In yet another alternative method, an adhesive tape, such as 3M VHB tape, can be used instead of a liquid adhesive. This tape would be placed either on the bottom side of the glass shelf panel or on the top surface of the support brackets. Protective paper would then be removed from the tape and the glass shelf panel and support brackets can be joined together in an accessory, similar to the one described above. A small amount of pressure is applied to the glass shelf panel to adjust the tape, and then the assembly can be removed from the accessory.
While previous embodiments of shelf set 1020 have been described as including shelf panels 1024 with top surfaces 1023 that are completely free from intrusion or other obstruction, thereby maximizing available shelf space, alternative embodiments of shelf set 1020 may include rear and / or front trim components. These front and / or front trim components are minimally invasive, but can perform functions that may be desirable in certain applications.
For example, as mentioned above, the shelf assemblies 1020 described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, and FIGS. 9 and 10, include support brackets 100, 200, respectively, which are adapted to be slidably supported on ribs formed on the side panels of an appliance, such as a refrigerator. Such 1020 sliding shelf assemblies can benefit from the incorporation of front and rear trim components.
For example, FIGS. 19 to 22 illustrate an embodiment of such a sliding shelf assembly 1020 including, for purposes of illustration only, the support supports 100 described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. The shelf assembly 1020 of FIGS. 19 to 22 may also include the support supports 200 described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. Shelf assembly 1020 includes a completely flat glass shelf panel 1024, a pair of opposing support brackets 100, a front trim component 14 and a rear trim component 16. Support brackets 100 are adhered to the bottom of the side edges of the shelf panel 1024 to slide the shelf panel 1024 into a refrigerator in a manner identical to that described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.
The front trim component 14 includes an elongated plastic element substantially identical in length to the width of the shelf panel 1024. As shown in more detail in FIG. 21 the front lining member 14 includes a generally U-shaped attachment portion 18 and a lip portion 20 extending outwardly from attachment portion 18. The attachment portion 18 defines an elongated channel 22 with a plurality barbed ribs 24 formed on both the upper and lower legs 18 a, 18b of the fixing portion 18 and extending to the channel 22. The channel 22 receives the front edge of the shelf panel 1024, such that the barbed ribs 24 frictionally engage panel 1024 and secure the front trim component 14 to them. Thus configured, the front lining component 14 and, more particularly, the lip portion 20 of the front lining component 18 serve as a "stop", for example, to prevent bottles or other glass objects being loaded in the refrigerator impact the bare glass edge of the 1024 shelf panel and break it.
Referring now to FIG. 22, the rear lining component 16 of the shelf assembly 1020 is shown to be substantially identical to the front lining component 14, but without the lip portion extending outwardly. Instead, the rear trim member 16 only includes a generally U-shaped attachment portion 26 having upper and lower legs 26a, 26b. The securing portion 26 defines an elongated channel 28 with a plurality of barbed ribs 30 formed only on the upper leg 26a of the securing portion 26. The channel 28 receives the rear edge of the shelf panel 1024 such that the barbed ribs 30 engage by chafing on the shelf panel 1024 and fixing the rear trim component 16 on them. Thus configured, the rear trim member 16 serves as a “stop” to prevent items stored on the back of shelf panel 1024 from falling off shelf panel 1024 in the event that a user abruptly slides shelf assembly 1020 off the shelf. cooler.
Although FIG. 21 describe a front trim component 14 that is U-shaped and receives the front edge of the shelf panel 1024, other configurations are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, FIG.23 illustrates an alternative front trim component 32. The trim component 32 generally extends the length of and is attached to the front edge of the shelf panel 1024 with a layer of adhesive 34. The trim component front 32 includes a generally L-shaped cross section and includes a horizontal leg 36 and a vertical leg 38 arranged at an angle of approximately 90 ° to the horizontal leg 36. Front lining member 32 is preferably constructed of a plastic material such that the vertical leg 38 of the same can absorb the impact of the glass bottles being loaded in the refrigerator, for example, and prevent breakage. Although the trim member 32 of FIG. 23 is described as being constructed of plastic, other materials are intended to be within the scope of this disclosure. An advantage of the trim member 32 shown in FIG. 23 is that it does not interfere with or obstruct or otherwise obstruct the top surface 1023 of the shelf panel 1024. As such, the space available on the top surface 1023 is maximized while also providing the “stop” function.
The following examples are simply intended to illustrate the shelf sets of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit its scope in any way. EXAMPLES EXAMPLES 1 TO 29: WATER RETENTION TEST
Shelves having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern of various embodiments of the present disclosure have been tested to determine how much water could be retained on the shelf without failure (i.e., leakage). To accommodate variations in the shelf area, which would affect the volume of liquid retained, the amount of water retained was measured as the height of the water retained in the non-hydrophobic region. The tests were completed by first leveling the shelf using a leveling device. The shelf can be placed on a tray to catch any leaks from the shelf. The test water had a temperature in the range of 32 ° F to 50 ° F. Water was poured slowly, so as not to cause “waves” or “sneezes”, to the geometric center of the non-hydrophobic region. For example, water can be poured onto the shelf using a small funnel. A screw can be inserted into the funnel to deflect the flow, if necessary. Water can be introduced into the funnel in increments of about 5 mm or about 10 mm. Water volume was measured before spilling on the shelf using, for example, graduated cylinders. Water was spilled on the shelf at a distance of about 1 mm to about 2 mm above the shelf. The shelf was continually filled with water as the overflow started to occur. The height of the water retained on the shelf was then determined by dividing the volume of water spilled on the shelf just before it overflowed through the area of the non-hydrophobic region.
Shelves having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern formed using the Ferro frit and a 1% solution of tridecafluor-1,1,2,2-tetrahydroctyl trichlorosilane in hexane applied to the frit, were tested according to the method described above. The silane was cured on the frit at a temperature of about 200 ° F for approximately 15 minutes. The spill containment pattern was formed as an edge around the perimeter of the glass shelf or near the edge of the shelf. The shelves were tested in varying temperatures and humidity conditions. The average water height retention was about 4.43 mm.
Shelves prepared with a hydrophobic spill containment pattern using an acid and tridecafluor-1,1,2,2-tetrahydroctyl trichlorosilane attack surface treatment as the hydrophobic solution have also been tested for water height retention. The acid attack was performed using Armor Etch® Glass Etching Cream. Shelves were prepared by attacking for about 3 minutes to about 6 minutes. Example 25 was attacked twice using an attack time of 3 to 6 minutes for each attack process. Specifically, a first attack procedure was performed by applying the attack solution to the substrate, allowing it to remain on the substrate for about 3 minutes to about 6 minutes and washing the attack solution from the substrate surface. A second attack procedure was then carried out by applying the attack solution again, allowing it to remain on the substrate for about 3 minutes to about 6 minutes and washing the attack solution from the surface. Fluorsilane was applied and the rack was baked for about 20 minutes at 200 ° F.
The shelves were first tested for water height retention soon after the hydrophobic spill containment pattern formed and cooled. The shelves were then tested again some time after the first test. As shown in the data below, in general, the water height retention properties of the shelves improved after the first test. Without claiming to be bound by theory, it is believed that when the spill containment pattern is first contacted with water after formation, additional silicon oxide groups remaining on the surface of the silane and / or the modified substrate on the surface they are hydrolyzed by water, thereby creating additional bonding sites between the silane and the modified substrate on the surface and improving the hydrophobic nature of the spill containment pattern. The average water height of the acid-attacked samples was about 5.18 mm. The average water height of the acid-attacked shelves that were attacked for about 3 minutes was about 5.18 mm. The average water height of the acid-attacked shelves that were attacked for about 4 minutes was about 5.19 mm. The average water height of the acid-attacked shelves that were attacked for about 5 minutes was about 5.18 mm. The average water height of the acid-attacked shelves that were attacked for about 6 minutes was about 5.19 mm. EXAMPLE 30: Abrasion Resistance
Shelves having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern of various embodiments of the present disclosure have been tested to determine the shelf's ability to retain a spill (simulated by water) following repeated abrasion of the hydrophobic treatment. The amount of water retained by the shelf prior to failure was measured before any abrasions were applied using the method described above and the height of the retained water was calculated. Then, a quart glass jar was used to make abrasions by placing it in the hydrophobic region and sliding the jar horizontally along the shelf surface until the jar passed over the entire hydrophobic region. The jar was then slid back to its original position passing over the hydrophobic surface once again. The forward and backward movement of the jar is defined as a jar abrasion cycle. About fifty jar abrasion cycles were performed. The water retention height test was repeated after every fifty abrasion cycles. As shown in Fig. 24, a shelf having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern formed from a ceramic frit and a hydrophobic compound does not lose its effectiveness in retaining water in the non-hydrophobic region of the shelf after 300 cycles of abrasion. Shelves having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern formed by acid attack from the substrate and application of the hydrophobic compound to the acid attacked region showed some loss of effectiveness after 300 abrasion cycles. EXAMPLE 31: RESISTANCE TO CLEANING
Shelves having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern of various embodiments of the present disclosure have been tested to determine the shelf's ability to retain a spill (water) following repeated cleaning cycles. Shelves were first tested before any cleaning treatment to determine a baseline water retention level. The water retention height was tested according to the method described above. Then, five cleaning cycles for each of four cleaning methods were performed on the glass shelf. A cleaning cycle is defined as five back and forth movements of the cleaning product / applicator perpendicular to the hydrophobic treatment with a consistent load of 2 kg. Four different cleaning methods were carried out over portions of the hydrophobic spill containment pattern including cleaning with Windex with a paper towel, Dawn cleaner with a cotton cloth, Formula 409 cleaner with a sponge and Clorox wipes. Each cleaning method was performed in a separate portion of the spill containment standard. The water height retention test was repeated after every five cleaning cycles.
The Windex / paper towel cleaning method was prepared by saturating a 5 inch square of paper towel with Windex Original Formula, so that the paper towel was completely wet, but not dripping. The Dawn detergent / cotton cloth method was carried out using a solution containing 2 ml of Dawn detergent in one liter of water at room temperature. The cotton cloth was then dipped in the solution and applied to the shelf. The Formula 409 / sponge method was performed by cutting a sponge into a square of about 1 inch by 1 inch and saturating the sponge with Formula 409 All Purpose Cleaner. The Clorox cleaning method was performed using a Clorox Wipe folded into a 1 inch by 1 inch square. All methods were performed using a 2 kg mass applied to the applicator.
As shown in Fig. 25, a shelf having a hydrophobic pattern formed from a ceramic frit and a hydrophobic compound has not lost its effectiveness after 30 cleaning cycles. Shelves having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern formed by acid attack on the glass substrate and application of a hydrophobic compound to the attacked portion minimally lost effectiveness after 30 cleaning cycles. EXAMPLE 32: STAIN RESISTANCE
Stain resistance of a shelf having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure has been tested against a variety of stain agents including, spaghetti sauce, pickled beets, grape juice, yellow mustard, butter, Italian sauce, Kool-Aid cherry and Soy sauce. Each staining agent was applied to areas approximately one inch from the shelf, including a portion of the hydrophobic spill containment pattern and the non-hydrophobic region and then left to stand for about 72 hours. Most of the dry material was then wiped off the shelf with a paper towel and a clean cleaning cloth containing a mixture of water and Dawn detergent that was used to remove any residual material. As shown in Figures 26A and 26B, a shelf having a hydrophobic spill containment pattern formed from a ceramic frit and a hydrophobic compound, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, was stain resistant to all staining agents.
As previously described, the hydrophobic surface arranged in a spill containment pattern according to preferred embodiments provides a spill containment feature that prevents spilled liquids from leaking out of the top shelf surface, and shelves according to preferred embodiments can be used in various applications, such as refrigerator shelves.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the pertinent art that other embodiments of shelf elements according to the invention can be designed. That is, the principles of the shelf elements according to the disclosure are not limited to the specific modalities described in this document. For example, shelf elements or other support surfaces having hydrophobic spill containment surfaces could be used in various settings, such as shelves in other settings, tables, bench tops or the like and are not limited to use as refrigerator shelves .
In addition, it will be apparent to those skilled in the pertinent art that any other method that can be used to create a hydrophobic surface arranged in a spill containment pattern substantially on the same plane as the upper surface of the shelf element is within the scope of the disclosure. described in this document, even if such a method requires the use of multiple parts to manufacture the shelf element. For example, a frame of hydrophobic material can be glued to the shelf element, so that it forms a continuous edge that is generally on the same plane as the top surface of the shelf. It will therefore be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and other variations of the illustrative modalities described above of the disclosure can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the new concepts of the invention.
For example, in addition to the foregoing and in addition to the specific subject matter recited in the appended claims, the present invention can be characterized by any one or more of the following aspects.
Aspect 1. A shelf assembly comprising: a shelf panel having a completely flat top surface that is capable of supporting articles that can be placed on said shelf panel; a hydrophobic surface arranged in a spill containment pattern on said upper surface; wherein the majority of the surface area of said top surface of the shelf panel is non-hydrophobic, thereby providing one or more non-hydrophobic center portions bounded by said spill containment pattern of said hydrophobic surface.
Aspect 2. The shelf assembly of Aspect 1, wherein said spill containment pattern is a continuous edge that defines a single non-hydrophobic central portion within said limit.
Aspect 3. The shelf assembly of any one of Aspects 1 or 2, wherein said spill containment pattern is a continuous edge located near the perimeter of the upper surface of the shelf panel.
Aspect 4. The shelf assembly of any one of Aspects 1 or 2, wherein said spill containment pattern is located along the perimeter of the upper surface of the shelf panel.
Aspect 5. The shelf assembly of any of the foregoing Aspects, wherein said spill containment pattern comprises a first continuous edge and a second continuous edge spaced from said first continuous edge, the first continuous edge located along the perimeter of the upper surface of the shelf panel and the second continuous edge spaced inwardly from said first continuous edge, so that the second continuous edge completely limits a non-hydrophobic central portion of the upper surface of the shelf panel, and the first and second continuous edges together define between them a non-hydrophobic ring portion of the area to contain overflow of said non-hydrophobic central portion.
Aspect 6. The shelf assembly of any of the foregoing Aspects, wherein said spill containment pattern is in the form of a grid pattern on the top surface of the shelf panel and wherein said grid pattern defines a plurality of non-hydrophobic center portions on the top surface of the shelf panel, each of the plurality of non-hydrophobic center portions completely bounded by the grid pattern.
Aspect 7. The shelf set of any of the previous Aspects, in which said shelf panel is composed of a material chosen from the group consisting of glass, plastic, metal and their combinations.
Aspect 8. The shelf assembly of any of the previous Aspects, in which the shelf panel is transparent.
Aspect 9. The Aspect 8 shelf assembly, where the shelf panel is glass.
Aspect 10. The Aspect 7 shelf assembly, where the hydrophobic surface is transparent.
Aspect 11.0 shelf set of any of the previous Aspects, in which at least a portion of the hydrophobic surface is colored.
Aspect 12. The Aspect 11 shelf set, where the hydrophobic surface contains a colored portion in a shape chosen from the group consisting of a pattern, a company name, a company logo and combinations thereof.
Aspect 13.0 shelf set of any of the previous Aspects, in which the hydrophobic surface comprises: a layer of ceramic frit adjacent and glued to the top surface of said shelf panel ;, and a hydrophobic compound coated on the ceramic frit layer.
Aspect 14. The shelf set of Aspect 13, wherein said ceramic frit layer contains additive particles that create roughness on an upper surface of the ceramic frit layer.
Aspect 15. The shelf assembly of any of Aspects 13 or 14, wherein at least a portion of said layer of ceramic frit is colored.
Aspect 16. The shelf assembly of any of the foregoing aspects, wherein said hydrophobic surface comprises a hydrophobic coating in a rough area on the surface of said shelf panel.
Aspect 17. The shelf set of Aspect 16, in which said rough area is made by attacking the surface with acid.
Aspect 18. The shelf set of Aspect 16, in which said rough area is made by gluing particles to the surface of the shelf panel.
Aspect 19. The shelf assembly of any of the foregoing Aspects, wherein said hydrophobic surface comprises a coating of hydrophobic particles on the surface of said shelf panel.
Aspect 20. The shelf assembly of any of the foregoing Aspects, wherein said hydrophobic surface comprises a hydrophobic compound applied on or within the matrix of a sol gel-cured composition.
Aspect 21. The shelf assembly of any of the above Aspects, wherein said hydrophobic surface comprises a metal oxide primer with an integrated hydrophobic compound.
Aspect 22. The shelf set of any of the above Aspects, wherein said hydrophobic surface comprises a hydrophobic coating applied over a metal oxide primer.
Aspect 23. The shelf assembly of any of the foregoing Aspects, wherein said hydrophobic surface comprises a hydrophobic compound comprising a variety of molecular chain lengths to create a coating with surface irregularities.
Aspect 24. The shelf assembly of any of the above Aspects, where the hydrophobic surface arranged in the spill containment pattern has a thickness in the range of approximately 0.001 micron to approximately 250 microns.
Aspect 25. The shelf set of any of the foregoing Aspects, wherein the hydrophobic surface comprises a hydrophobic compound selected from the group consisting of fluorocarbons, fluoralkyl silanes, fluoralkoxy silanes, fluoralkyl alkyl silanes and combinations thereof.
Aspect 26. A method for making a shelf capable of containing liquid spills therein comprising: providing a panel having a generally flat top surface that is capable of supporting articles that can be placed on said panel; applying a hydrophobic surface arranged in a spill containment pattern generally in the plane of said upper surface; leaving most of the surface area of said top surface of the panel non-hydrophobic, thereby providing one or more non-hydrophobic center portions bounded by the spill containment pattern of the hydrophobic surface.
Aspect 27. The Aspect 26 method, in which the application of a hydrophobic surface comprises: applying a ceramic frit to the top surface of the panel in a spill containment pattern; curing the ceramic frit to couple the ceramic frit to the top surface of the panel; applying a hydrophobic compound to the cured ceramic frit; and curing the hydrophobic compound.
Aspect 28. The Aspect 27 method, wherein curing the ceramic frit comprises heating the ceramic frit to a temperature in the range of about 1000 ° F to about 1400 ° C.
Aspect 29. The Aspect 27 or 28 method, wherein curing the hydrophobic compound comprises heating the hydrophobic compound to a temperature in the range of about 100 ° F to about 600 ° F.
Aspect 30. The Aspect 27 or 28 method, wherein curing the hydrophobic compound comprises exposing the hydrophobic compound to room temperature.
Aspect 31.0 method of any of Aspects 27 to 30, where the application of the hydrophobic compound comprises application of a hydrophobic solution comprising the hydrophobic compound dispersed or dissolved in a solvent to the cured ceramic frit.
Aspect 32. The method of any of Aspects 27 to 31, further comprising attacking the cured ceramic frit with an attack solution before applying the hydrophobic compound to the cured ceramic frit.
Aspect 33. The method of any of Aspects 27 to 31, further comprising attacking the entire panel, including cured ceramic frit, before applying the hydrophobic compound to the cured ceramic frit.

权利要求:
Claims (29)
[0001]
1. Shelf assembly (1020), comprising: a flat shelf panel (1024) having an upper surface (1023) and a lower surface (12a), the upper surface (1023) capable of supporting articles; a hydrophobic surface arranged in a spill containment pattern (1021) arranged on said upper surface (1023); at least a central non-hydrophobic portion completely bounded by the spill containment pattern (1021) to contain liquids on the top surface of the shelf panel (1024); and at least one support bracket (100) attached to the lower surface (12a) of the shelf panel (1024), so that the upper surface (1023) of the shelf panel is completely free from intrusion or other obstruction, thereby maximizing the shelf space available on the upper surface (1023) of the shelf panel (1024), characterized by the fact that the at least one support bracket (100) comprises a horizontal leg (104) with a horizontal upper surface and further comprises a vertical leg (102) extending from the horizontal leg (104) at an angle of 90 °, so that the support (100) has an L-shaped cross section generally upside down, where no aspect of the support (100) extends beyond the upper surface of the shelf panel (1024) and where the horizontal upper surface is attached to the lower surface (12a) of the shelf panel (1024).
[0002]
2. Shelf assembly (1020), comprising: a flat shelf panel (1024) having an upper surface (12) and a lower surface (12a), the upper surface (12) capable of supporting articles; a hydrophobic surface arranged in a spill containment pattern (1021) arranged on said upper surface (12); at least a central non-hydrophobic portion completely bounded by the spill containment pattern (1021) to contain liquids on the top surface of the shelf panel (1024); and at least one support bracket (200) attached only to the lower surface (12a) of the shelf panel (1024) so that the upper surface (12) of the shelf panel (1024) is completely free from intrusion or other obstruction, thereby maximizing the available shelf space on the upper surface (12) of the shelf panel (1024), characterized in that the at least one support bracket (200) comprises a horizontal leg (204) with a horizontal upper surface and comprises a vertical leg (202) extending from the horizontal leg at an angle of 90 °, so that the support has a generally L-shaped cross section, in which no aspect of the support (200) extends beyond the upper surface (12) of the shelf panel (1024) and where the horizontal upper surface is fixed to the lower surface (12a) of the shelf panel (1024).
[0003]
Shelf assembly (1020) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the at least one support bracket (100, 200) is attached only to the bottom surface of the shelf panel (1024).
[0004]
Shelf assembly (1020) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it further comprises an adhesive material (206) disposed between the horizontal leg (104, 204) and the bottom surface (12a) from the shelf panel (2024), thereby securing the support bracket (100, 200) to the shelf panel (2024).
[0005]
Shelf assembly (1020) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the at least one support bracket (100, 200) includes a pair of support brackets (100, 200), each of which is adhered to the bottom surface (12a) of the shelf panel (2024).
[0006]
Shelf assembly (1020) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the at least one support bracket (100) is arranged totally opposite the shelf panel of the upper surface of the shelf panel .
[0007]
Shelf assembly (1020) according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the adhesive material (1026) comprises a clear adhesive material.
[0008]
Shelf assembly (1020) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said spill containment pattern (1021) is a continuous edge defining a single central non-hydrophobic portion within said border.
[0009]
Shelf assembly (1020) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said spill containment pattern (1021) is a continuous edge located near the perimeter of the upper surface of the shelf panel.
[0010]
10. Shelf assembly (1020) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by the fact that said spill containment pattern (1021) is located along the perimeter of the upper surface of the shelf panel (1024) .
[0011]
Shelf assembly (1020) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said spill containment pattern (1021) comprises a first continuous edge and a second continuous edge spaced from said first continuous edge , the first continuous edge located along the perimeter of the top surface of the shelf panel and the second continuous edge spaced into the first continuous edge, so that the second continuous edge completely limits a central non-hydrophobic portion of the top surface of the panel. shelf and the first and second continuous edges together define between them a non-hydrophobic ring portion area to contain overflow from the central non-hydrophobic portion.
[0012]
Shelf assembly (1020) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by the fact that said spill containment pattern (1021) is in the form of a grid pattern on the top surface of the shelf panel and wherein said grid pattern defines a plurality of central non-hydrophobic portions on the top surface of the shelf panel, each of the plurality of central non-hydrophobic portions completely bounded by the grid pattern.
[0013]
13. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized by the fact that said shelf panel is composed of a material chosen from the group consisting of glass, plastic, metal and combinations thereof.
[0014]
Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized by the fact that the shelf panel is transparent.
[0015]
15. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized by the fact that the shelf panel is made of glass.
[0016]
16. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized by the fact that the hydrophobic surface is transparent.
[0017]
17. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized by the fact that at least a portion of the hydrophobic surface is colored.
[0018]
18. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized by the fact that the hydrophobic surface contains a colored portion in a shape chosen from the group consisting of a pattern, a company name, a company logo and combinations thereof.
[0019]
19. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized by the fact that the hydrophobic surface comprises: a layer of ceramic frit adjacent to the top surface of said shelf panel, and a hydrophobic compound coated on the layer of ceramic fries.
[0020]
20. Shelf assembly according to claim 19, characterized in that said ceramic frit layer contains additive particles that create roughness on an upper surface of the ceramic frit layer.
[0021]
21. Shelf assembly according to claim 19 or 20, characterized by the fact that at least a portion of said ceramic frit layer is colored.
[0022]
22. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 21, characterized in that said hydrophobic surface comprises a hydrophobic coating over a rough area on the surface of said shelf panel.
[0023]
23. Shelf assembly according to claim 22, characterized by the fact that said rough area is made by the connection of particles to the surface of the shelf panel.
[0024]
24. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 23, characterized in that said hydrophobic surface comprises a coating of hydrophobic particles on the surface of said shelf panel.
[0025]
25. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 24, characterized in that said hydrophobic surface comprises a hydrophobic compound applied on or within the matrix of a cured sol gel composition.
[0026]
26. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 25, characterized by the fact that said hydrophobic surface comprises a metal oxide primer 5 with an integrated hydrophobic compound.
[0027]
27. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 26, characterized by the fact that said hydrophobic surface comprises a hydrophobic coating applied over a metal oxide primer.
[0028]
28. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 27, characterized in that said hydrophobic surface comprises a hydrophobic compound comprising a variety of molecular chain lengths to create a coating with surface irregularities.
[0029]
29. Shelf assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 28, characterized by the fact that the hydrophobic surface arranged in the spill containment pattern 15 has a thickness in the range of approximately 0.001 micron to approximately 250 microns.

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法律状态:
2019-01-08| B06F| Objections, documents and/or translations needed after an examination request according [chapter 6.6 patent gazette]|

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2019-05-28| B25A| Requested transfer of rights approved|Owner name: SSW HOLDING COMPANY, LLC (US) |

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2019-10-08| B06U| Preliminary requirement: requests with searches performed by other patent offices: procedure suspended [chapter 6.21 patent gazette]|

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2020-05-12| B09A| Decision: intention to grant [chapter 9.1 patent gazette]|

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2020-07-14| B16A| Patent or certificate of addition of invention granted [chapter 16.1 patent gazette]|Free format text: PRAZO DE VALIDADE: 20 (VINTE) ANOS CONTADOS A PARTIR DE 14/09/2010, OBSERVADAS AS CONDICOES LEGAIS. |

优先权:

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申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题

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US12/562,920|2009-09-18|

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US12/562,920|US8286561B2|2008-06-27|2009-09-18|Spill containing refrigerator shelf assembly|

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PCT/US2010/048711|WO2011034835A2|2009-09-18|2010-09-14|Spill containing refrigerator shelf assembly|

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