Rotating and segmented shelving for a refrigerator

Abstract

A refrigerator with rotating and segmented shelving has a cabinet with at least one round internal compartment, a shaft centered within the compartment, and segments connecting to the shaft. The invention may also provide a motor connected to the shaft for rotating it and the shelving. Preferably, the shaft has a square cross section that receives up to four segments in a common plane. The shaft uses connections that receive the segments. Alternatively, the shaft has a round cross section for up to six segments upon a common plane. Each segment has a narrow nose that fits into the connection upon the shaft and an opposite wide edge outwardly towards the cabinet. Alternatively the cabinet or a door is at least partially transparent. A user may arrange shelf segments at different planes, thus accommodating foods and beverages of varying heights.

I claim: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for refrigerating foods and beverages therein, the apparatus rotating the foods and beverages therein for viewing by a user outwardly of the apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
 a cabinet, generally hollow and elongated, having a base, at least one compartment above said base, at least one side perpendicular to said base, at least one transparent door upon said at least one side, and said at least one side having a height above said base;   a shaft centered within said at least one compartment, said shaft extending upwardly and perpendicular to said base, said shaft having a pattern of apertures thereon, said pattern having a unit of at least two apertures, said unit being repeated in said pattern at an interval thereon;   at least one segment connecting to one of said units, said at least one segment extending perpendicular to said shaft and generally parallel to said base, said at least one segment having a nose installed towards said shaft, an arcuate edge opposite said nose, and shelving joining to said nose and said edge;   wherein a user places foodstuffs and beverages upon said at least one segment and said shaft turns and thus is adapted to rotate the foods and beverages upon said at least one segment for viewing by the user.   
     
     
         2 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising:
 said cabinet having a top, generally opposite said base and upon said at least one side; 
 said shaft being parallel to the height of the cabinet; 
 at least one motor positioned within said base and operatively connected to a drive mechanism; 
 said shaft having a lower end and an opposite upper end, said lower end operatively connecting to said drive mechanism and said upper end connecting to said top wherein said drive mechanism rotates said shaft and said shaft is adapted to turn so that foods and beverages thereon avoid tipping. 
 
     
     
         3 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising:
 said nose having at least one knee, said at least one knee having a generally triangular shaped web oriented parallel to said internal shaft, said web having an edge, an arm adjacent to said at least one segment, another edge, a spine perpendicular to said arm, said arm and said spine extending from a common vertex, a hypotenuse opposite said vertex and spanning between said arm and said spine, said web, said spine, and said hypotenuse extending slightly outwardly from said segment wherein said spine fits into one of said apertures upon said shaft, said hypotenuse merging with said spine at a toe opposite said vertex, said spine having a neck away from said toe narrower than said toe and a gap between said neck and said web wherein said neck enters one of said apertures upon said shaft and remains within said shaft preventing said at least one segment from rotating outwardly from said shaft; and, 
 said shelving being generally planar, having a somewhat triangular shape with a narrow portion of the shape towards said nose and a wide portion of said shape towards said edge, and having two spaced apart radial ridges extending from said nose to said edge, said ridges being adapted to prevent foods and beverages from sliding upon said shelving. 
 
     
     
         4 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said shelving is one of wire frame, transparent polymer, translucent polymer, opaque polymer, tempered glass, or ferrous metal. 
     
     
         5 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 3  further comprising:
 at least three shelves, each of said shelves including at least four of said segments, each of said shelves being spaced along said shaft. 
 
     
     
         6 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 3  further comprising:
 at least three shelves, each of said shelves including at least six of said segments, each of said shelves being spaced apart. 
 
     
     
         7 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 3  further comprising
 said cabinet having two compartments, each of said compartments having said shaft and at least one of said segments. 
 
     
     
         8 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 7  further comprising:
 said two compartments including a left compartment and a right compartment; 
 one of said left compartment or said right compartment including said at least one motor positioned within said base and operatively connected to a drive mechanism, said shaft having a lower end and an opposite upper end, said lower end operatively connecting to said drive mechanism and said upper end connecting to a top of said cabinet wherein said drive mechanism rotates said shaft. 
 
     
     
         9 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 7  further comprising:
 said left compartment including a motor positioned within said base and operatively connected to a drive mechanism, said shaft having a lower end and an opposite upper end, said lower end operatively connecting to said drive mechanism, and said upper end connecting to a top of said cabinet wherein said drive mechanism rotates said shaft; and, 
 said right compartment including a motor positioned within said base and operatively connected to a drive mechanism, said shaft having a lower end and an opposite upper end, said lower end operatively connecting to said drive mechanism, and said upper end connecting to a top of said cabinet wherein said rotates drive mechanism said shaft. 
 
     
     
         10 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 2  further comprising:
 said drive mechanism being one of belt drive, shaft drive, and a gearbox. 
 
     
     
         11 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising:
 said cabinet having a control panel; 
 said control panel including an input screen, a bar code scanner, a QR code scanner, and a wireless internet connection; 
 said input screen accepting information from a user for management of foods and beverages placed therein, said input screen including a plurality of buttons for user input of information including entry dates, expiration dates, said buttons including alphanumeric characters; 
 said bar code scanner detecting information about an item for placement within said cabinet; 
 said QR code scanner detecting information about an item for placement within said cabinet; and, 
 wherein said wireless internet connection is adapted to communicate with other separate devices. 
 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus for refrigerating foods and beverages therein, the apparatus rotating the foods and beverages therein for viewing by a user, the apparatus comprising:
 a cabinet, generally hollow and elongated, having at least one compartment therein, a base below said compartment, a top above said compartment and spaced away from said base, at least one side perpendicular to said base, at least one transparent door, and said at least one side having a height above said base;   at least one motor positioned within said base and operatively connected to a drive mechanism;   at least one shaft centered within said at least one compartment, said shaft extending upwardly and perpendicular to said base and being parallel to the height of the cabinet, said shaft having a pattern of apertures thereon, said pattern having a unit of at least two apertures, said unit being repeated in said pattern at an interval thereon, said shaft having a lower end and an opposite upper end, said lower end operatively connecting to said drive mechanism and said upper end connecting to said top wherein said drive mechanism rotates said shaft and said shaft is adapted to turn so that foods and beverages thereon avoiding tipping;   at least one segment connecting to one of said units, said at least one segment extending perpendicular to said shaft and generally parallel to said base, said at least one segment having a nose installed towards said shaft, an arcuate edge opposite said nose, and shelving joining to said nose and said edge; and,   said control panel including an input screen, a bar code scanner, a QR code scanner, and a wireless internet connection, said input screen accepting information from a user for management of foods and beverages placed therein, said input screen including a plurality of buttons for user input of information including entry dates, expiration dates, said buttons including alphanumeric characters, said bar code scanner detecting information about an item for placement within said cabinet, said QR code scanner detecting information about an item for placement within said cabinet, wherein said wireless internet connection is adapted to communicate with other separate devices; and,   wherein a user places foodstuffs and beverages upon said at least one segment and said shaft turns and thus is adapted to rotate the foods and beverages thereon for viewing by the user.   
     
     
         13 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 12  further comprising:
 said drive mechanism being one of belt drive, shaft drive, and a gearbox. 
 
     
     
         14 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 12  further comprising:
 said cabinet having a rectangular shape, a left door and a right door, and one of said left door and said right door being transparent. 
 
     
     
         15 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 12  further comprising:
 said cabinet having a rectangular shape, a transparent left door and a transparent right door. 
 
     
     
         16 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 12  further comprising:
 said cabinet having two of said compartments including a left compartment and a right compartment; 
 one of said left compartment or said right compartment including said at least one motor positioned within said base and operatively connected to a drive mechanism, said shaft having a lower end and an opposite upper end, said lower end operatively connecting to said drive mechanism and said upper end connecting to a top of said cabinet wherein said drive mechanism rotates said shaft. 
 
     
     
         17 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 12  further comprising:
 said cabinet having two of said compartments including a left compartment and a right compartment; 
 said left compartment including a motor positioned within said base and operatively connected to a drive mechanism, said shaft having a lower end and an opposite upper end, said lower end operatively connecting to said drive mechanism, and said upper end connecting to a top of said cabinet wherein said drive mechanism rotates said shaft; and, 
 said right compartment including a motor positioned within said base and operatively connected to a drive mechanism, said shaft having a lower end and an opposite upper end, said lower end operatively connecting to said drive mechanism, and said upper end connecting to a top of said cabinet wherein said rotates drive mechanism said shaft. 
 
     
     
         18 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 12  further comprising:
 said cabinet having a generally round shape and one compartment, and three equally spaced transparent doors hingedly connecting to said top. 
 
     
     
         19 . The refrigerating apparatus of  claim 12  further comprising:
 said cabinet having a generally round shape and one compartment, and four equally spaced transparent doors hingedly connecting to said top. 
 
     
     
         20 . An apparatus for refrigerating foods and beverages therein, the apparatus rotating the foods and beverages therein for display to a user, the apparatus comprising:
 a round transparent cabinet, generally hollow and elongated, having a base, a compartment above said upon, one round side defining a generally cylindrical shape of said compartment, at least one transparent door hingedly connecting to said side, a top opposite said base, and said side having a height above said base;   a motor positioned within said base and operatively connected to a drive mechanism, said drive mechanism being one of belt drive, shaft drive, and a gearbox;   a shaft centered within said compartment, said shaft extending upwardly and perpendicular to said base and parallel to the height of said side, and having a lower end and an opposite upper end, said lower end operatively connecting to said drive mechanism and said upper end connecting to said top wherein said drive mechanism rotates said shaft and said shaft is adapted to turn so that foods and beverages thereon avoiding tipping;   said shaft having a pattern of apertures thereon, said pattern having a unit of at least two apertures, said unit being repeated in said pattern at an interval thereon;   at least one segment connecting to one of said units, said at least one segment extending perpendicular to said shaft and generally parallel to said base, said at least one segment having a nose installed towards said shaft, an arcuate edge opposite said nose, and shelving joining to said nose and said edge, said shelving being generally planar of a somewhat triangular shape with a narrow portion of the shape towards said nose and a wide portion of said shape towards said edge, and having two spaced apart radial ridges extending from said nose to said edge, said ridges being adapted to prevent foods and beverages from sliding upon said shelving, said shelving being one of wire frame, transparent polymer, translucent polymer, opaque polymer, tempered glass, or ferrous metal; and,   said base having a control panel, said control panel including an input screen, a bar code scanner, a QR code scanner, and a wireless internet connection, said input screen accepting information from a user for management of foods and beverages placed therein, said input screen including a plurality of buttons for user input of information including entry dates, expiration dates, said buttons including alphanumeric characters, said bar code scanner detecting information about an item for placement within said cabinet, said QR code scanner detecting information about an item for placement within said cabinet, wherein said wireless internet connection is adapted to communicate with other separate devices; and,   wherein a user places foodstuffs and beverages upon said at least one segment and said shaft turns.