AU2019100793A4 - Refrigeration equipment and its guide rails and intelligent refrigeration cabinet with pull-out refrigeration unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a refrigeration equipment having a separate refrigeration unit and its guide rail. The guide rail includes: a support member for fixing the guide rail to a device when the guide rail is mounted to the device; a rotation shaft having an axis extending in a longitudinal direction thereof, the rotation shaft being supported on the support member and rotatable about the axis; a guide rail member extending along the axis, the guide rail member being fixedly coupled to the rotation shaft such that the guide rail member is rotatable about the axis from a first position to a second position as the rotation shaft rotates, wherein the shape of the guide rail member is configured such that: the guide rail as a whole has a first height when the guide rail member is in the first position; the guide rail as a whole has a second height when the guide rail member is in the second position; and the second height is greater than the first height. According to the refrigeration equipment provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, the entire refrigeration unit may be easily separated from the refrigeration equipment.

Description

[0001] The present application is a divisional application from Australian Patent Application No. 2019201942, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relates to a refrigeration equipment. In particular, the present disclosure relates generally to a refrigeration equipment having a separate refrigeration unit and to a guide rail of the refrigeration equipment.

BACKGROUND [0003] A reference herein to a patent document or any other matter identified as prior art, is not to be taken as an admission that the document or other matter was known or that the information it contains was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims.

[0004] With the continuous improvement of the living standards and the continuous improvement of logistics technology, there has been a kind of intelligent cabinet. Such intelligent cabinets may be placed, for example, in a residential area for the user to store packages to be sent, and for the deliveryman to place the packages to be signed for. This intelligent cabinet plays a good intermediary role between the deliveryman and the user, and will be widely used in the future due to its convenience.

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 [0005] With the further development of E-commerce and the continuous expansion of the range of items suitable for online shopping, the demand for seafood, fresh dairy products, vegetables and other products that require cryopreservation is increasing, which raises the need for cold-chain transportation. The intelligent cabinets are expected to have refrigeration function.

[0006] Since such a cabinet having refrigeration function is usually installed outdoors, the operating environment is harsh and unfavorable to the maintenance work. Additionally, if the failure cannot be eliminated in a short time, it will seriously affect the shopping experience of the user. Therefore, there is a need for an intelligent refrigeration cabinet that may facilitate routine maintenance and repair and may have its failure eliminated and return to normal operation in a short period of time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] It is desirable to provide a refrigeration equipment having a separate refrigeration unit. The refrigeration equipment may be used as an intelligent refrigeration cabinet, may facilitate routine maintenance and repair, and can have its failure eliminated and returned to normal operation in a short period of time.

[0008] It is further desirable to provide a guide rail that may easily remove the separate refrigeration unit from the refrigeration equipment, thereby facilitating repair and replacement of the refrigeration unit.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a guide rail is provided, which comprises:

a support member configured for fixing the guide rail to a device when the guide rail is mounted to the device;

a rotation shaft having an axis extending in a longitudinal direction, the rotation shaft being supported on the support member and rotatable about the axis;

a guide rail member extending along the axis, the guide rail member being fixedly

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 coupled to the rotation shaft such that the guide rail member is rotatable about the axis from a first position to a second position as the rotation shaft rotates, wherein a shape of the guide rail member is configured such that: the guide rail as a whole has a first height when the guide rail member is in the first position;

the guide rail as a whole has a second height when the guide rail member is in the second position; and the second height is greater than the first height.

[0010] In at least one embodiment, the guide rail is configured such that: when the guide rail member is rotated from the first position to the second position, a guided object guided by the guide rail is lifted by the guide rail member.

[0011] In at least one embodiment, the guided object is a refrigeration unit of a refrigeration equipment.

[0012] In at least one embodiment, the support member comprises a first support body having a first through-hole and a second support body having a second through-hole, one end of the rotation shaft passes through the first through-hole in the first support body, and the other end of the rotation shaft passes through the second through-hole in the second support body, and the rotation shaft is rotatable in the first through-hole and the second through-hole.

[0013] In at least one embodiment, a height of the support member is less than or equal to the second height.

[0014] In at least one embodiment, the rotation shaft is formed by a rod-like body that passes through the guide rail member.

[0015] In at least one embodiment, at least one end of the rotation shaft is provided with an engagement mechanism for matching a rotating tool and configured to transfer a force applied by the rotating tool to the rotation shaft so as to rotate the rotation shaft.

[0016] In at least one embodiment, the guide rail member has a rectangular, circular, elliptical or L-shaped cross section.

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 [0017] In at least one embodiment, the guide rail member has a rectangular cross section with a rounded comer or an L-shaped cross section with a rounded corner.

[0018] In at least one embodiment, the guide rail member has an arris extending along the axis, the arris is configured to abut against a guided object during the rotation of the guide rail member from the first position to the second position, and the arris has a rounded corner.

[0019] In at least one embodiment, the guide rail member comprises:

a strip-shaped body extending along the axis, the strip-shaped body having an L-shaped cross section in a plane perpendicular to the axis; and a first end plate and a second end plate respectively located at both ends of the strip-shaped body, the rotation shaft passing through the first end plate and the second end plate and fixedly connected to the first end plate and the second end plate.

[0020] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a refrigeration equipment is provided, which comprises:

a housing;

a refrigeration unit having a refrigeration assembly and a support component for supporting the refrigeration assembly; and a refrigeration unit cavity, formed in the housing and located at a top of the housing for accommodating the refrigeration unit, wherein a first guide rail and a second guide rail are provided in the refrigeration unit cavity, the support component of the refrigeration unit matches with the first guide rail and the second guide rail to achieve a sliding movement of the refrigeration unit into the refrigeration unit cavity or a sliding movement of the refrigeration unit out of the refrigeration unit cavity, and wherein the first guide rail and the second guide rail are the guide rails described above.

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 [0021] In at least one embodiment, the refrigeration unit is detachably mounted in the refrigeration unit cavity.

[0022] In at least one embodiment, the support component of the refrigeration unit is provided with a first flange and a second flange at its both sides respectively; and the first flange and the second flange match with the first guide rail and the second guide rail, respectively.

[0023] In at least one embodiment, the refrigeration equipment is an intelligent refrigeration cabinet.

[0024] In at least one embodiment, the first guide rail and the second guide rail are fixed to a bottom wall or a side wall of the refrigeration unit cavity by respective support members.

[0025] In at least one embodiment, the refrigeration unit cavity has a first side wall and a second side wall which are opposite to each other, the first side wall and the second side wall are provided with a first boss and a second boss respectively; the first boss and the second boss each have a top surface; and the first guide rail and the second guide rail are respectively fixed to the top surfaces of the first boss and the second boss by respective support members.

[0026] In at least one embodiment, the refrigeration unit is supported on a bottom wall of the refrigeration unit cavity through a bottom portion of the refrigeration unit when the guide rail member is in the first position; the refrigeration unit is lifted up from the bottom wall of the refrigeration unit cavity by the guide rail member when the guide rail member is in the second position, such that the refrigeration unit is suspended above the bottom wall of the refrigeration unit cavity and is supported only by the first guide rail and the second guide rail.

[0027] In at least one embodiment, the refrigeration unit is slidable on the guide rail member of the first guide rail and the guide rail member of the second guide rail when the guide rail members are in the second position.

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 [0028] According to the refrigeration equipment provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, the entire refrigeration unit may be easily separated from the refrigeration equipment during routine maintenance and repair, thereby determining the internal condition of the refrigeration unit conveniently and accurately. When the refrigeration unit has a failure, it may be eliminated by simply replacing the broken refrigeration with a new refrigeration unit, so that the refrigeration cabinet may be restored to normal operation in a short time, and labor cost is saved.

[0029] Where any or all of the terms comprise, comprises, comprised or comprising are used in this specification (including the claims) they are to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components, but not precluding the presence of one or more other features, integers, steps or components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0030] The above features, technical features, advantages and implementations of the present disclosure will be further described in a clear and easy to understand way in the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction of the accompanying drawings. The following drawings are only intended to illustrate and explain the present disclosure, and should not be construed to limit the present disclosure, in which:

[0031] FIG.l shows a front view of refrigeration equipment having a separate refrigeration unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the separate refrigeration unit is located in a refrigeration unit cavity;

[0032] FIG.2 shows a front view of the refrigeration equipment having the separate refrigeration unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the separate refrigeration unit is to be separated;

[0033] FIG.3 shows a perspective view of the refrigeration equipment having the

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 separate refrigeration unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which the separate refrigeration unit is being removed from the refrigerant equipment;

[0034] FIG.4 is an enlarged schematic view of the portion of the dotted circle A in FIG.l;

[0035] FIG.5 is an enlarged schematic view of the portion of the dotted circle B in FIG.2;

[0036] FIG.6 shows a perspective view of a guide rail according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG.7 shows structures of a rotation shaft and a guide rail member;

[0038] FIG.8 shows a schematic view of the structure of the guide rail shown in FIG. 6 viewed from a bottom thereof; and [0039] FIG.9 is a side view of the assembled structure of the rotation shaft and the guide rail member shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0040] For a better understanding of the technical features, objects and effects of the present disclosure, the detailed embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0041] One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a refrigerant equipment having a separate refrigeration unit, the structure of which is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0042] The refrigerant equipment 1 comprises:

a housing 11, which defines at least one refrigerating chamber 19 for providing a low-temperature environment to articles accommodated in the refrigerating chamber 19;

a refrigeration unit cavity 12, which is located in the housing 11 and defined above the refrigerating chamber 19 by the housing 11; and

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 a refrigeration unit 20, which is accommodated in the refrigeration unit cavity 12 and has a refrigeration assembly 21 and a support component 22 for supporting the refrigeration assembly 21. The refrigeration assembly 21 is used to cool the refrigerating chamber 19. The support component 22 is detachably mounted in the refrigeration unit cavity 12. The refrigeration unit 20 itself is a separate module that may be removed from the housing 11, and detachably mounted in the refrigeration unit cavity 12.

[0043] A first boss 122 and a second boss 122' are provided on the opposite side walls of the refrigeration unit cavity 12, respectively. A first guide rail and a second guide rail are mounted on the top surfaces of the first boss 122 and the second boss 122', respectively. One of the guide rails 3 is shown in the dotted circle A in FIG.l and the dotted circle B in FIG. 2. FIG.4 and FIG.5 each are an enlarged schematic view of the portion of the dotted circle A in FIG.l and the dotted circle B in FIG.2. Specific details of the first and second guide rails are described in further detail below. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the guide rail 3 may be disposed in a first state or a second state, respectively. FIG.4 shows the situation when the guide rail 3 is in the first state, and FIG.5 shows the situation when the guide rail 3 is in the second state.

[0044] When the guide rail 3 is in the first state as shown in FIG. 4, a guide rail member 33 of the guide rail 3 is in a “flat” position (a first position) in which it does not support the refrigeration unit 20, and the refrigeration unit 20 is supported on a bottom wall 121 of the refrigeration unit cavity 12 through a bottom portion 23 thereof, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0045] When the guide rail 3 is in the second state, as shown in FIG. 5, the guide rail member 33 of the guide rail 3 is in a “lifted” position (a second position). In this case, the overall height of the guide rail 3 is increased due to the lifted guide rail member 33. Thus, the guide rail member 33 is configured to provide an upward force to flanges 24 of the support component 22 of the refrigeration unit 20 (as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the flanges extend laterally outwards from the support component 22

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 of the refrigeration unit 20 to a position above the guide rail member 33), thereby causing the refrigeration unit 20 to be lifted from the bottom wall 121 of the refrigeration unit cavity 12 and thus separating the bottom portion 23 of the refrigeration unit 20 from the bottom wall 121, as shown in FIG.2. That is, the refrigeration unit 20 is suspended above the bottom wall 121 and is supported only by the guide rails 3.

[0046] When the guide rail 3 is in the second state as shown in FIG. 5, the refrigeration unit 20 is supported by the corresponding guide rail 3 through the flanges 24 on both sides thereof, the bottom portion 23 of the refrigeration unit 20 is separated from the bottom wall 121 of the refrigeration unit cavity 12, and thus there is no friction between the bottom portion 23 and the bottom wall 121. Further, due to the separation of the bottom portion 23 of the refrigeration unit 20 from the bottom wall 121 of the refrigeration unit cavity 12, a sealed connection for the communication of the cooled gas between the refrigeration unit 20 and the refrigerating chamber 19 is disconnected. At this time, the refrigeration unit 20 may slide on the guide rail 3 via the flanges 24 on both sides of the support component 22, thereby achieving sliding movement of the refrigeration unit 20 into the refrigeration unit cavity 12 or the sliding movement of the refrigeration unit 20 out of the refrigeration unit cavity 12, as shown in FIG.3.

[0047] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, after opening a door panel (not shown for the purpose of clearly showing the refrigeration unit 20 behind it) of the refrigeration unit cavity 12 and ensuring that there is no obstruction in a pulling direction of the refrigeration unit, the guide rail 3 may then be actuated to be placed in the second state. Then, by pulling the refrigeration unit 20 (e.g. via a handle 25 on the support component 22), the refrigeration unit 20 may be horizontally pulled out from the refrigeration unit cavity 12 through the support of the guide rail 3.

[0048] Similarly, the refrigeration unit 20 may also be pushed horizontally into the refrigeration unit cavity 12 through the support of the guide rail 3 in the second state.

2019100793 22 Jul 2019

Then, the guide rail 3 is changed from the second state to the first state, so that the height of the refrigeration unit 20 in the refrigeration unit cavity 12 is lowered until the bottom portion 23 of the refrigeration unit 20 comes into contact with the bottom wall 121 of the refrigeration unit cavity 12, thereby fixing the refrigeration unit 20 in the refrigeration unit cavity 12. Furthermore, the refrigeration unit 20 is pressed against the bottom wall 121 of the refrigeration unit cavity 12 due to its greater gravity, thereby achieving the sealed connection for the communication of the cooled gas between the refrigeration unit 20 and the refrigerating chamber 19.

[0049] The refrigeration unit 20 may be pulled out of the refrigeration unit cavity 12 or pushed into the refrigeration unit cavity 12 like a drawer, so that the refrigeration unit 20 may be taken out of the refrigeration unit cavity 12 or placed in the refrigeration unit cavity 12 in a convenient, quick and laborsaving manner.

[0050] In the refrigerating equipment having the above structure, the refrigeration unit may be separated from the refrigerating equipment by pulling it out, thereby having the following beneficial effects:

1. During routine maintenance and repair, the entire refrigeration unit may be easily separated from the refrigeration equipment so that interior of the refrigeration unit may be checked conveniently and accurately;

2. When the refrigeration unit has a failure, it may be eliminated by simply replacing the broken refrigeration with a new refrigeration unit, so that the intelligent refrigeration cabinet may be restored to normal operation in a short time, thereby saving labor cost.

[0051] In addition, according to the guide rail provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure, the positioning of the refrigeration unit at the top of the refrigerating chamber may be realized, so that the lower space that is convenient for picking up and placing packages is reserved as a space for the refrigerating chamber. In this way, the convenience in use may be greatly improved, thereby improving the user experience.

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 [0052] As described above, maintenance and updating of the refrigeration unit 20 is facilitated by providing guide rails as described above in the refrigeration unit cavity 12 of the refrigeration equipment such that the refrigeration unit 20 may be detached or installed in a sliding manner. The guide rail 3 used in this application may be disposed in two states. When the refrigeration unit 20 is not required to slide, the guide rail 3 is in the first state and the guide rail 3 does not support the refrigeration unit 20. When the refrigeration unit 20 is required to slide, the guide rail 3 is in the second state and the guide rail 3 supports the refrigeration unit 20 so that the refrigeration unit 20 may slide on the guide rail 3. That is, the guide rail 3 supports the refrigeration unit 20 and is subjected to the force applied by the refrigeration unit 20 only when the refrigeration unit 20 is required to slide. Since the refrigeration unit 20 usually has large weight, the guide rail 3 capable of being shifted between two states may prevent itself from being subjected to the pressure applied by the refrigeration unit 20 for a long time, thereby preventing the guide rail 3 from being damaged and increasing the service life of the guide rail 3. In the following, the technical details of the guide rail used in this application will be further described.

[0053] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the guide rail for the refrigeration unit in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, the guide rail 3 for the refrigeration unit 20 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a support member 31, 3Γ, a rotation shaft 32, and a guide rail member 33.

[0054] The support member includes a first support body 31 and a second support body 3Γ. The first support body 31 and the second support body 31' have a first through-hole 311 and a second through-hole 31Γ, respectively. When the guide rail 3 is mounted to other devices (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, mounted to the refrigeration unit cavity 12 defined by the housing of the refrigeration equipment, particularly mounted to the bottom wall or the side walls of the refrigeration unit cavity 12, more particularly mounted to the bosses on the side walls of the refrigeration unit cavity 12), the support member is used to fix the guide rail 3 to the

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 other devices.

[0055] The rotation shaft 32 has an axis C-C' extending in a longitudinal direction. The rotation shaft 32 passes through the first through-hole 311 and the second through-hole 311' in the first support body 31 and the second support body 31' so as to be supported on the support member 31,31' and rotatable about the axis C-C'.

[0056] The guide rail member 33 extends along the axis C-C' and is fixedly coupled to the rotation shaft 32 such that the guide rail member 33 may be rotated about the axis C-C' from the first position to the second position as the rotation shaft 32 rotates.

[0057] In order to more clearly show the structure and relative positional relationship of the rotation shaft 32 and the guide rail member 33, FIGS. 7 and 8 show the rotation shaft 32 and the guide rail member 33with the support member removed. The guide rail member 33 in FIG. 6 is in the first position, and in FIG. 7, the guide rail member 33 is in the second position.

[0058] FIG.8 shows the structure of the guide rail 3 shown in FIG. 6 viewed from its bottom, wherein the support member is removed. As shown in Fig. 8, the guide rail member 33 has a strip-shaped body 331, which extends along the axis C-C' and has an L-shaped cross section in a plane perpendicular to the axis C-C'. The strip-shaped body 331 has a first end plate 332 and a second end plate 332' at its both ends, wherein the first end plate 332 is of rectangular shape having rounded corners as shown in FIG. 9. FIG.9 is a side view of the assembled structure of the rotation shaft 32 and the guide rail member 33 shown in FIG. 7. Returning to Fig. 8, the first end plate 332 and the second end plate 332' have a first through-hole 333 and a second through-hole 333', respectively. The rotation shaft 32 passes through the first through-hole 333 and the second through-hole 333' and is fixed to the first end plate 332 and the second end plate 332' respectively, thereby achieving a fixed connection between the guide rail member 33 and the rotation shaft 32.

[0059] When the guide rail member 33 is in the first position (such as the flat position shown in FIGS. 4 and 6), the point of the guide rail member 33 that is

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 farthest from the bottom of the guide rail 3 in the vertical direction has a height Hl with respect to the bottom of the guide rail 3. That is, the guide rail 3 as a whole has a first height Hl (as shown in FIG. 4). When the guide rail member 33 is in the second position (such as the lifted position shown in FIGS. 5 and 7), the point of the guide rail member 33 that is farthest from the bottom of the guide rail 3 in the vertical direction has a height H2 with respect to the bottom of the guide rail 3. That is, the guide rail 3 as a whole has a second height H2 (as shown in FIG. 5). The second height H2 is greater than the first height Hl.

[0060] Due to the rotation of the guide rail member 33 from the first position to the second position, the overall height of the guide rail 3 is increased from Hl to H2, so that the guide rail member 33 provides an upward force to the flange 24 of the support component 22 of the refrigeration unit 20 (as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the flanges extend laterally outwards from the support component 22 of the refrigeration unit 20 to a position above the guide rail member 33), thereby causing the refrigeration unit 20 to be raised from the bottom wall 121 of the refrigeration unit cavity 12 and thus separating the bottom portion 23 of the refrigeration unit 20 from the bottom wall 121, as shown in FIG.2. That is, the refrigeration unit 20 is suspended above the bottom wall 121 and is supported only by the guide rails 3. At this time, the refrigeration unit 20 may slide along the axis C-C' on the guide rail member 33. The height of the support member 31, 31' is less than or equal to the second height H2 to avoid the sliding motion of the refrigeration unit 20 from being blocked.

[0061] In the above embodiment, the guide rail 3 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described by taking a hollow guide rail member 33 having an L-shaped cross section as an example. However, the configuration of the guide rail member 33 is not limited to the structure described in the above embodiment. For example, the guide rail member 33 may not be a hollow structure as shown in FIGS. 6-8, but a solid structure. For example, the cross section of the guide rail member may be rectangular, circular, elliptical, or the like, as long as the cross-sectional shape of the guide rail member is configured to satisfy the following 13

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 conditions: when the guide rail member 33 is in the first position, the guide rail 3 as a whole has a first height Hl; when the guide rail member 33 is in the second position, the guide rail 3 as a whole has a second height H2; and the second height H2 is greater than the first height Hl.

[0062] In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, an arris 339 of the guide rail member 33 that extends along axis C-C' is rounded. The arris 339 is configured to abut against a guided object (such as the flanges 24 of the support component 22 of the refrigeration unit 20) as the guide rail member 33 is rotated from the first position to the second position. Since the arris 339 is rounded, the rotation of the guide rail member 33 from the first position to the second position may be smooth and less laborious. Correspondingly, the first end plate 332 of the guide rail member 33 is a rectangle having a round comer D as shown in FIG. 9, which corresponds to the arris 339 which is rounded as shown in FIG.7. Also correspondingly, the strip-shaped body 331 of the guide rail member 33 has an L-shaped cross section having a rounded corner corresponding to the arris 339.

[0063] In another preferred embodiment, the guide rail member has a polygonal cross section, and one arris of the guide rail member 33 that extends along the axis C-C' and abuts against the guided object during the rotation of the guide rail member 33 from the first position to the second position is rounded, and the corner of the polygonal cross section of the guide rail member 33 that corresponds to the arris 339 is rounded. The polygonal cross section can be, for example, rectangular.

[0064] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the rotation shaft 32 may be constructed of a rod-like body, although this is not limitative. In other embodiments, the rotation shaft 32 may also be constructed of two rod-like bodies that are respectively located at the two ends of the guide rail member 33. In other embodiments, the rotation shaft 32 may also be constructed of other forms of components as long as it can make the guide rail member 33 fixed thereto rotate about the axis C-C'.

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 [0065] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one end of the rotation shaft 32 has an engagement mechanism for engaging with a rotating tool and transferring the force applied by the rotating tool to the rotation shaft so as to rotate the rotation shaft, thereby driving the guide rail member 33 to rotate. As shown in FIGS. 6-9, the engagement mechanism 35 may be, for example, an end of the rotation shaft 32 having a quadrangular cross section. The rotating tool may be, for example, a wrench or the like. When it is required to rotate the guide rail member 33 from the first position to the second position, a rotating tool such as a wrench may be used to apply force to the engagement mechanism 35 to rotate the rotation shaft 32, thereby driving the guide rail member 33 to rotate. The engagement mechanism 35 may, for example, also be an end of the rotation shaft having a triangular or hexagonal cross section.

[0066] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the guide rail member 33 is made of a rigid metal material, such as stainless steel, so as to reduce friction between the guide rail member 33 and the guided object (such as the flanges 24).

[0067] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the above guide rail 3 may be fixed to the refrigeration unit cavity 12, especially the bottom wall or the side walls of the refrigeration unit cavity 12, so as to match the support component 22 of the refrigeration unit 20, in particular the flange 24 of the support component 22 of the refrigeration unit 20, thereby achieving sliding movement of the refrigeration unit 20 into the refrigeration unit cavity 12 or out of the refrigeration unit cavity 12.

[0068] It should be understood that, although the description has been described in terms of various embodiments, it is not intended that every embodiment includes only one independent technical solution. The description of the specification is merely for the sake of clarity, and those skilled in the art should consider the description as a whole, and the technical solutions in the embodiments may be combined as appropriate so as to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled

2019100793 22 Jul 2019 in the art.

[0069] The above is only the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Equivalent changes, modifications, and combinations of the invention may be made by the person skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (19)

1. The claims defining the invention are as follows:

   1. A guide rail, comprising:

   a support member configured for fixing the guide rail to a device when the guide rail is mounted to the device;

   a rotation shaft having an axis extending in a longitudinal direction, the rotation shaft being supported on the support member and rotatable about the axis;

   a guide rail member extending along the axis, the guide rail member being fixedly coupled to the rotation shaft such that the guide rail member is rotatable about the axis from a first position to a second position as the rotation shaft rotates, wherein a shape of the guide rail member is configured such that: the guide rail as a whole has a first height when the guide rail member is in the first position; the guide rail as a whole has a second height when the guide rail member is in the second position; and the second height is greater than the first height.
2. 2. The guide rail of claim 1, wherein the guide rail is configured such that: when the guide rail member is rotated from the first position to the second position, a guided object guided by the guide rail is lifted by the guide rail member.
3. 3. The guide rail of claim 2, wherein the guided object is a refrigeration unit of a refrigeration equipment.
4. 4. The guide rail of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, the support member comprises a first support body having a first through-hole and a second support body having a second through-hole, one end of the rotation shaft passes through the first through-hole in the first support body, and the other end of the rotation shaft passes through the second through-hole in the second support body, and the rotation shaft is rotatable in the first through-hole and the second

   2019100793 22 Jul 2019 through-hole.
5. 5. The guide rail of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a height of the support member is less than or equal to the second height.
6. 6. The guide rail of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rotation shaft is formed by a rod-like body that passes through the guide rail member.
7. 7. The guide rail of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein at least one end of the rotation shaft is provided with an engagement mechanism for matching a rotating tool and configured to transfer a force applied by the rotating tool to the rotation shaft so as to rotate the rotation shaft.
8. 8. The guide rail of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the guide rail member has a rectangular, circular, elliptical or L-shaped cross section.
9. 9. The guide rail of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the guide rail member has a rectangular cross section with a rounded corner or an L-shaped cross section with a rounded comer.
10. 10. The guide rail of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, the guide rail member has an arris extending along the axis, the arris is configured to abut against a guided object during the rotation of the guide rail member from the first position to the second position, and the arris has a rounded comer.
11. 11. The guide rail of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the guide rail member comprises:

    a strip-shaped body extending along the axis, the strip-shaped body having an

    2019100793 22 Jul 2019

    L-shaped cross section in a plane perpendicular to the axis; and a first end plate and a second end plate respectively located at both ends of the strip-shaped body, the rotation shaft passing through the first end plate and the second end plate and fixedly connected to the first end plate and the second end plate.
12. 12. A refrigeration equipment, comprising:

    a housing;

    a refrigeration unit having a refrigeration assembly and a support component for supporting the refrigeration assembly; and a refrigeration unit cavity, formed in the housing and located at a top of the housing for accommodating the refrigeration unit, wherein a first guide rail and a second guide rail are provided in the refrigeration unit cavity, the support component of the refrigeration unit matches with the first guide rail and the second guide rail to achieve a sliding movement of the refrigeration unit into the refrigeration unit cavity or a sliding movement of the refrigeration unit out of the refrigeration unit cavity, and wherein the first guide rail and the second guide rail are the guide rails of any of claims 1-11.
13. 13. The refrigeration equipment of claim 12, wherein the refrigeration unit is detachably mounted in the refrigeration unit cavity.
14. 14. The refrigeration equipment of claim 12 or 13, wherein, the support component of the refrigeration unit is provided with a first flange and a second flange at its both sides respectively; and the first flange and the second flange match with the first guide rail and the second guide rail, respectively.
15. 15. The refrigeration equipment of any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the

    2019100793 22 Jul 2019 refrigeration equipment is an intelligent refrigeration cabinet.
16. 16. The refrigeration equipment of any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the first guide rail and the second guide rail are fixed to a bottom wall or a side wall of the refrigeration unit cavity by respective support members.
17. 17. The refrigeration equipment of any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein, the refrigeration unit cavity has a first side wall and a second side wall which are opposite to each other, the first side wall and the second side wall are provided with a first boss and a second boss respectively;

    the first boss and the second boss each have a top surface; and the first guide rail and the second guide rail are respectively fixed to the top surfaces of the first boss and the second boss by respective support members.
18. 18. The refrigeration equipment of any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein the refrigeration unit is supported on a bottom wall of the refrigeration unit cavity through a bottom portion of the refrigeration unit when the guide rail member is in the first position;

    the refrigeration unit is lifted up from the bottom wall of the refrigeration unit cavity by the guide rail member when the guide rail member is in the second position, such that the refrigeration unit is suspended above the bottom wall of the refrigeration unit cavity and is supported only by the first guide rail and the second guide rail.
19. 19. The refrigeration equipment of any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein the refrigeration unit is slidable on the guide rail member of the first guide rail and the guide rail member of the second guide rail when the guide rail members are in the second position.