JPH11311479A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the freezing room of a refrigerator to be used easily. SOLUTION: In a refrigerator where a freezing room 13 is arranged at its lowest room, upper and lower cases 9 and 11 that are accommodated in a freezing room 13 are engaged by a projecting part 10 that is provided at the upper case 9 and a latch part 12 that is provided at the lower case 11, the front surface of the lower case 11 is placed on a drawer door 14, the upper case 9 is also withdrawn along with the lower case 11 when the drawer door 14 is withdrawn, only the upper case 9 is moved in the freezing room 13 by pressing the upper case 9 to the deep surface of the freezing room 13, thus using the lower case 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food storage case attached to a drawer door of a refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, refrigerators include refrigerators, freezers,
A plurality of storage rooms such as a vegetable room are provided, and the room temperatures are different from each other. Since the freezing room is relatively infrequently used, it is known that the freezing room is disposed in the lowermost room of the refrigerator and further provided with a drawer door so that cool air does not escape outside the refrigerator. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a refrigerator door 1 is provided at an upper portion of a refrigerator main body 1 to provide a refrigerator compartment, and a drawer door 3 is provided at a lower portion thereof to be used as a freezer compartment. As shown in FIG. 5, the freezer compartment accommodates a lower case 4 having a front portion attached to a drawer door (not shown), and an upper case 5 and an ice container 6 for storing ice thereon. It is common that the guide rails 8 on the side walls are used to freely move in and out.

Therefore, when the drawer door is pulled forward, the lower case 4 is pulled out together with the drawer door, and the contents are put into and taken out of the lower case 4 from above the lower case 4, and the upper case 5 enters the freezer compartment 7. Because it is left as it is, it has been designed to be drawn out along the guide rail 8 on the side wall of the freezer compartment 7 to put in and out the stored items. The ice container 6 was also used by the same means as the upper case 5.

[0004]

In the conventional structure described above, the lower case 4 in the freezer compartment 7 is first taken out of the refrigerator body 1 together with the drawer door, so that the lower case 4 is used while bending down. The upper case 5, which is easy to use because it is located above the lower case 4, has the inconvenience of having to pull it out of the freezer compartment every time it is used after the lower case 4 is pulled out.

Further, since the lower case 4 is pulled out together with the drawer door, the lower case 4 is mainly used for use in the freezing room 7, and the upper case 5 is smaller in size than the lower case 4. It could not be said that the space on the upper surface of the lower case 4 was efficiently used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and has been made to facilitate the use of the drawer door and to efficiently and sufficiently use the space of the drawer door.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a lower case attached to a drawer door and an upper case located above the lower case are detachable, and the lower case is mounted. When the drawer door is pulled out, the upper case engaged with the lower case is also pulled out at the same time, and the upper case is used as a main body, and when using the lower case, the upper case and the lower case are disengaged from each other. The upper case is pushed deep into the refrigerator and the lower case is used.

Therefore, the upper case located above is easy to use, and since the upper case always covers the upper opening of the lower case except when the lower case is used, the cool air escapes from the lower case. Can be reduced.

Also, a drawer door having a rail extending in the depth direction with respect to the refrigerator body, a lower case having an open upper surface supported by the rail of the drawer door, and the drawer located at an upper portion of the lower case. An upper case that is located within the range of the door surface of the door and that has an upper surface that can be pulled out like the drawer door and that has an open upper surface, wherein the upper case is movable between a position covering the upper surface opening of the lower case and a position not covering the upper case, The upper case and the lower case are engaged by an engaging portion, the engaging portion of the upper case is formed by a convex portion, and the engaging portion of the lower case is formed by a chevron-shaped guide surface. Is formed at the upper end of the side surface of the lower case, and the surface inclined toward the drawer door is sharply inclined on the opposite side, and when the drawer door is stored in the refrigerator main body, the convex portion guides the guide. On the steeply inclined side of the Covering the upper surface of the scan in upper case, are those formed by the drawer door an inclined surface contacting moving the convex portion of the upper case from sharp sloping surface side in pulled out from the refrigerator main body to gently inclined face.

Thus, the upper case is normally pulled out following the movement of the drawer door, and when the drawer door is stored, the upper case contacts with the weight of the article stored in the upper case or comes into contact with the back surface of the drawer door. And can be stored at the same time. In addition, when the user moves the upper case into the refrigerator after pulling out the drawer door, the upper case can be pushed in and then gradually moved on a gentle slope after climbing over the top of the guideway. It does not give the discomfort of rattling.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In order to minimize the escape of cool air, the opening is closed by a drawer door. Then, the front surface of the lower case, which can be moved in and out by sliding back and forth, is attached to the drawer door. Therefore, when the drawer door is pulled out, the lower case can be pulled out of the refrigerator together with the drawer door. Here, the means for attaching the lower case to the drawer door may be such that the protrusion on the front surface of the lower case is fitted into the groove provided in the drawer door and both are fixed with a fitting, or other mounting means. Is also good.

[0012] Above the lower case, an upper case having a large volume capable of utilizing as much of the space inside the refrigerator as possible above the lower case is housed. The front and rear sliding is smoothly performed along the guide rail provided on the inner wall.

A feature of the present invention resides in that an engaging means capable of freely engaging and disengaging the upper case and the lower case is specially provided.

That is, the upper case and the lower case are always engaged by the engaging means. Therefore, if the drawer door is pulled forward, both the upper case and the lower case can be drawn. Therefore, the upper case is used as a main body to store and remove stored items. Infrequent foods that are frozen for a long time are stored in the lower case.

When the lower case is used, the upper case and the lower case are pulled out, and only the upper case is disengaged from the engagement means and pushed inward. . It is preferable that the engagement between the upper case and the lower case by the engagement means be released by an operation as simple as possible. The engagement mechanism can be disengaged by a manual push-button operation or a rotation operation, but by merely giving the elasticity to at least one of the upper case and the lower case, the upper case can simply be pushed inward. By performing the above operation, the engagement between the upper case and the lower case can be released.

Of course, the upper case and the lower case are automatically engaged by pushing the drawer door so as to close the opening, so that the next time the drawer door is pulled out, the upper case can be pulled out together with the lower case. You can do so.

In order to give at least one of the upper case and the lower case a slight elasticity, for example, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin (hereinafter referred to as ABS resin), polyethylene resin (hereinafter referred to as PE resin), Alternatively, a polypropylene resin (hereinafter referred to as a PP resin) or the like can be used.

In particular, it is preferable to use the above-mentioned synthetic resin so that the case in which the engaging piece having the latch function is formed has elasticity.

There are stored items that are used frequently and stored items that are used less frequently. Therefore, it is a feature of the present invention that the drawer door is always pulled out when the drawer door is pulled out so that the upper case, which is located above the lower case and has a low degree of bending down and is easy to use, is easily used.

Further, since the upper case is engaged with the lower case and can be pulled out together with the drawer door,
It is preferable that the upper case has a large volume so that the space above the lower case is used as efficiently as possible. Therefore, it is preferable to increase the horizontal and vertical dimensions.

In addition, since the upper case is always located above the lower case except when the lower case is used, it has the effect of reducing the escape of cool air from the lower case. In particular, the effect obtained by the above-described operation when the product is pulled out of the refrigerator is large.

As still another configuration, a drawer door having a rail extending in the depth direction with respect to the refrigerator body, a lower case supported by the rail of the drawer door and having an open upper surface, and an upper part of the lower case An upper case that is located within the range of the door surface of the drawer door and that has an upper surface that can be pulled out similarly to the drawer door, and the upper case moves between a position that covers the upper surface opening of the lower case and a position that does not cover the upper case. It is possible that the upper case and the lower case are engaged at an engaging portion, the engaging portion of the upper case is formed by a convex portion, and the engaging portion of the lower case is formed by a chevron-shaped guide surface. This guide surface is formed at the upper end of the side surface of the lower case, and the surface inclined toward the drawer door is sharply inclined on the opposite side, and the convex surface is formed when the drawer door is stored in the refrigerator body. On the steeply inclined side of this guideway The upper surface of the lower case is covered with the upper case, and the convex part of the upper case is moved in contact with the slope from the steep slope to the gentle slope when the drawer door is pulled out from the refrigerator body. It is.

As a result, the upper case is normally pulled out following the movement of the drawer door, and even when the drawer door is stored, the upper case is in contact with the weight of the article stored in the upper case or with the back surface of the drawer door. And can be stored at the same time. In addition, when the user moves the upper case into the refrigerator after pulling out the drawer door, the upper case can be pushed in and then gradually moved on a gentle slope after climbing over the top of the guideway. It does not give the discomfort of rattling.

[0024]

1 and 2, reference numeral 14 denotes a drawer door which is located in front of a freezer compartment 13 of a refrigerator, and has two rails 14a in the interior direction of the refrigerator. 11 is AB with an open top
A lower case made of a synthetic resin such as an S resin, a PE resin, or a PP resin, and is mounted on the rail 14a. Although not shown, the rail 14a of the drawer door 14 is supported by a roller attached to the side wall of the freezer compartment and can be pulled out.

9 is an ABS resin or PE having an open upper surface.
In the upper case made of resin or synthetic resin such as PP resin,
It is located on the upper surface of the lower case 11. The vertical dimension of the drawer door 14 is larger than the vertical height of the upper case 9 and the lower case 11 combined.

Reference numeral 15 denotes an engagement portion between the upper case 9 and the lower case 11, which is a protrusion 10 protruding downward from the side surface of the upper case 9 and an engagement portion formed at the upper end of the side surface of the lower case 11 with the protrusion 12. And the latch portion 12 which is formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, an upper case 9 having a plane area equivalent to that of the lower case 11 and a depth smaller than that of the lower case 11 is disposed above the lower case 11. A latch 12 is provided at the front of both sides of the lower case 11 to oppose the protrusion 10 provided at the front of both sides of the upper case 9 and to engage with the protrusion 10 by using elasticity.

Since the protruding portion 10 of the upper case 9 and the latch portion 12 of the lower case 11 are elastically engaged with each other, if the drawer door 14 is pulled out with a handle, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. The upper case 9 is pulled out.

In order to store and remove thin meat, fish meat, etc., which have a relatively short storage period and are frequently used, and ice, and store the storage case having a relatively long storage period, the upper case 9 is simply stored in the freezer compartment 1.
By pushing it into 3, the projection 10 and the latch 12 are disengaged from each other and the upper opening of the lower case 11 is exposed, so that the lower case 11 can be taken in and out.

When the drawer door 14 is pushed to close the freezer compartment 13, the upper case 9 and the lower case 11
And the latch 12 automatically engages.
Therefore, when the drawer door 14 is pulled out next time, the upper case 9 and the lower case 11 are pulled out at the same time, and the stored items can be taken in and out as described above.

Another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3, but the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in the above embodiment, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 15 denotes an engaging portion for engaging the upper case 9 and the lower case 11, and is formed by a convex portion 16 and a guide surface 17 having a mountain shape. The protruding portion 16 has a sloped surface 18 extending downward at the front end side of the side wall of the upper case 9 and downward at the rear. The guide surface 17 is provided on the lower case 11.
The surface 19 which is formed at the upper end of the side surface and is inclined toward the drawer door 14 is abrupt (in the range of 20 degrees to 45 degrees and 27 in the embodiment).
), The opposite surface 20 is gently inclined (from 1.5 degrees)
In the range of 5 degrees, the angle is set to 1.7 degrees in the embodiment. And
The vertex 21 of the inclined surface 19 is located behind the front end of the lower case 11 by the dimension A, and the vertex 21 is located on the convex portion 16 when the upper case 9 is positioned above the lower case 11.
And overlap to abut.

When the drawer door 14 is housed in the freezer compartment, the convex portion 16 is located within the range of the dimension A on the side of the guide surface on the side of the steeply inclined surface 19. In this state, the upper surface of the lower case 11 is covered with the upper case 9, and when the drawer door 14 is pulled out from the freezer compartment 13, the convex portion 16 of the upper case 9 is inclined from the steep inclined surface 19 side to the gentle inclined surface 20 side. The surface is moved by contact.

As a result, the upper case 9 is normally pulled out following the movement of the drawer door 14, and when the drawer door 14 is stored, the weight or the drawer door depends on the amount of food stored in the upper case 9. It can be stored at the same time in contact with the back of the camera.

Further, when the user moves the upper case 9 into the refrigerator after pulling out the drawer door 14,
When the upper case 9 is pushed in, the vertex 2
Since the vehicle can be gradually moved on the gentle slope 20 after the vehicle 1 has been overcome, the user does not feel discomfort such as rattling.

When the drawer door 14 is closed in a state where the drawer door 14 is pulled out and the upper case 9 is moved rearward, the contact between the slope 18 of the projection 16 and the gentle slope 20 causes the upper case 9 to move. Lower case 1 with 9 stationary
1 can be moved and finally closed over the vertex 21, so that the user does not feel heavy when moving.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The upper case and the lower case can be freely engaged and disengaged by the engagement means, and the upper case can be pulled out together with the lower case by pulling out the drawer door to which the lower case is attached. It is convenient because the upper case that is easy to use can be mainly used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal sectional view of a freezer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a front view of the lower case and the upper case viewed from the front with the drawer door removed in the embodiment; FIG. 2B is an enlarged view showing a portion A in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a conventional refrigerator.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a portion of the freezing room excluding a drawer door.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 9 upper case 10 convex part 11 lower case 12 latch part 13 freezer compartment 14 drawer door

Claims (7)

[Claims] An upper case and a lower case that can slide back and forth by a guard provided on a wall of a refrigerator body are housed so as to be freely accessible, and a drawer door is mounted on a front portion of the lower case. The case and the lower case are engaged with each other by engaging means that can be engaged and disengaged from each other, and when the upper case and the lower case are pulled out by the drawer door, only the upper case is pressed toward the inside of the refrigerator. A refrigerator characterized in that the upper case and the lower case are disengaged by applying a force, and only the upper case is slid in a depth direction inside the refrigerator so that the lower case can be used. 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the depth of the upper case is smaller than the depth of the lower case. 3. The upper case according to claim 1, wherein the upper case is located at a position where the upper case is entirely stacked on the lower case, and the upper case occupies most of the space formed above the lower case. The refrigerator according to claim 2. 4. An engaging means, wherein a projection is provided on one of an upper case and a lower case, and a resilient engaging portion for engaging with the projection is formed on the other case. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. A drawer door having a rail extending in a depth direction with respect to the refrigerator body, a lower case having an open upper surface supported by the rail of the drawer door, and the drawer located above the lower case. An upper case that is located within the range of the door surface of the door and that has an upper surface that can be pulled out like the drawer door and that has an open upper surface, wherein the upper case is movable between a position covering the upper surface opening of the lower case and a position not covering the upper case, The upper case and the lower case are engaged by an engaging portion, the engaging portion of the upper case is formed by a convex portion, and the engaging portion of the lower case is formed by a chevron-shaped guide surface. Is formed at the upper end of the side surface of the lower case, and the surface inclined toward the drawer door is sharply inclined on the opposite side, and when the drawer door is stored in the refrigerator main body, the convex portion guides the guide. Of the lower case located on the side of the A refrigerator in which the upper surface is covered with an upper case, and the convex portion of the upper case is moved in contact with the slope from the steep slope to the gentle slope when the drawer door is pulled out from the refrigerator body. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the depth of the upper case is smaller than the depth of the lower case. 7. The abrupt surface side of the guide surface is set at 20 degrees to 45 degrees.
6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the gentle side has a rise in the range of 1.5 to 5 degrees.