CN103017466A

CN103017466A - Refrigerator

Info

Publication number: CN103017466A
Application number: CN2011103031544A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 高阳; 余刚; 丁渊; 鲁松涛
Original assignee: BSH Electrical Appliances Jiangsu Co Ltd
Current assignee: BSH Electrical Appliances Jiangsu Co Ltd
Priority date: 2011-09-27
Filing date: 2011-09-27
Publication date: 2013-04-03
Also published as: CN107883638A

Abstract

The invention relates to a refrigerator. The refrigerator comprises a heat-insulated inner space (2), a shelf (3) and a pair of support members (4), wherein the shelf (3) is located in the inner space (2); the support members (4) are oppositely arranged; the shelf (3) is supported in the inner space (2) by the support members; and the shelf (3) can rotate between a horizontal position capable of storing articles and a return position located at one side of the inner space (2). According to the recommendation of the invention, each support member (4) is provided with a chute (5); the shelf (3) is provided with at least two support shafts (6,7) which respectively correspond to the chutes (5); and the support shafts (6,7) respectively slide in the chutes (5) to enable the shelf (3) to rotate.

Description

Refrigerator with a door

[ technical field ]

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a household or commercial refrigerator having an insulated inner space and a rotatable shelf in the inner space.

[ background art ]

In order to make better use of the inner space of the refrigerator, it is known to provide rotatable shelves in the refrigerator. For example, utility model CN2316611Y discloses an adjustable shelf for a refrigerator, which comprises a rear shelf and a front shelf mounted on a fixed rotating shaft, wherein the front shelf can be inserted into the lower part of the rear shelf or pulled out to the front part of the rear shelf. When normal-size food is stored, the front shelf is drawn out from the rear shelf and is horizontally placed, and the adjustable shelf and the common shelf positioned below the adjustable shelf form two layers of storage spaces together; when larger food is stored, the front shelf can be inserted into the rear shelf to form a layer of half-shelf space; when large food is stored, the adjustable shelf can be rotated backwards around the rotating shaft and leans against the rear wall of the liner after the front shelf is pushed into the rear shelf, and large-size food can be stored on a common shelf positioned below the adjustable shelf.

In the rotatable shelf disclosed in KR10-0756887, the fulcrum of the rotatable shelf is slidable rearwardly along a transverse slot in a support frame, and finally the upper end rests against the inner wall of the refrigerator.

Since the rotating tray rotates around a pivot, the rotating speed of the tray is basically determined by external factors, and when external force is applied, the rotating speed of the tray is fast, so that the movement is not smooth. In addition, the last position of the tray retracted backward is determined by other places inside the refrigerator (especially, the rear wall of the inner container) in contact therewith, and the tray is easily collided with the inner container when the external force is excessive.

[ summary of the invention ]

An object of the present invention is to solve at least one of the above technical problems, thereby providing a refrigerator in which a tray can be relatively smoothly rotated.

Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention relates to a refrigerator. The refrigerator includes an insulated inner space; a shelf located within the interior space; a pair of oppositely disposed support members, said shelf supported by said pair of support members within said interior space, said shelf rotatable between a horizontal position in which items may be stored and a retracted position to one side of said interior space; characterized in that each support mechanism has a sliding slot, the shelf being provided with at least two fulcrum shafts corresponding to each sliding slot, the at least two fulcrum shafts sliding in the sliding slot to cause the rotation of the shelf.

The shelf rotates by the sliding motion of the at least two fulcrum shafts in the sliding groove, and the motion of the shelf is limited by the at least two fulcrum shafts, so that the rotating motion of the shelf is relatively stable, and the situation that the shelf collides with other parts of the refrigerator due to the fact that the shelf moves too fast can be effectively prevented.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention, individually or in combination with other features, are set forth in the following appended claims.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sliding slot includes a lateral slot extending in a front-rear direction and a longitudinal slot extending in a longitudinal direction, and the at least two fulcrums include a first fulcrum slidable in the longitudinal slot during rotation of the shelf and a second fulcrum slidable in the lateral slot. Thus, the first fulcrum shaft capable of sliding in the longitudinal groove and the second fulcrum shaft capable of sliding in the transverse groove make the rotation of the shelf board controlled by the first fulcrum shaft and the second fulcrum shaft simultaneously, so that the shelf board may move very smoothly. On the other hand, the shelf has a movement in the longitudinal direction by the movement in the longitudinal groove, and thus, the upper space and the lower space of the shelf can be reasonably allocated as required, that is, the respective shelving devices of the inner space can be more freely arranged, which is particularly advantageous from the viewpoint of improving the convenience of use of the user.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the longitudinal groove extends downward from a rear end of the lateral groove. Therefore, the shelf moves downward during the rotation of the shelf, and after reaching the retreated position, at least a part of the shelf is located in the lower space when it is in the horizontal position, and therefore, the upper space of the shelf is not necessarily limited to the height of the shelf when it is set upright, but can be set as desired. On the other hand, when the shelf is in the retracted position, it is possible to support the shelf standing upright with the lower terminal closed by the longitudinal slot, which facilitates a simpler runner form and also facilitates the user's handling.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the angle between the longitudinal grooves and the transverse grooves is greater than 90 degrees, such as 95 degrees. The shelf can be inclined forwards at a certain angle, so that the upper end of the shelf can be effectively prevented from colliding with the rear wall of the inner space, and a user can hold the upper end of the shelf to pull the shelf to the horizontal position where articles can be stored.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said at least two fulcrums are supported in said sliding slot, distributed front to back, when said shelf is in said horizontal position. With this, the shelf in the horizontal position can be more smoothly supported on the support.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the second fulcrum, located at the front, abuts against the front terminal end of the chute when the shelf is in the horizontal position. With this, the forward movement of the shelf is restricted, facilitating the stability of the shelf.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, when the shelf is in the retracted position, the at least two fulcrum shafts are located in the longitudinal groove in an up-and-down distribution. Thus, the shelf can be stably stood in the inner space in the retracted position.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the shelf is in the retracted position, a second fulcrum located above of the at least two fulcrums is adjacent to the intersection of the transverse slot and the longitudinal slot. Therefore, if the shelf is slightly pulled forward and downward, the second support shaft can enter the transverse groove and slide forward along the transverse groove.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a first lower fulcrum of said at least two fulcrums is supported at a lower terminal end of said longitudinal slot when said shelf is in said retracted position. In this way, further downward movement of the shelf is restricted and reliably supported on the support.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the slide groove includes a guide groove having one end communicating with the longitudinal groove, and the at least two support shafts enter or exit the slide groove through the open other end of the guide groove.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said chute is substantially T-shaped.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, when the shelf reaches the retracted position, the first fulcrum reaches the end of the longitudinal slot and the second fulcrum just enters the longitudinal slot; and/or, when the shelf reaches the horizontal position, the second fulcrum reaches the terminal end of the transverse slot, and the first fulcrum just enters the transverse slot.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the retracted position, the upper portion of the shelf is obliquely stood in the inner space obliquely forward.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a locking mechanism is included to lock the shelf in the horizontal position.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking mechanism comprises a spring clip with a clip track, in which horizontal position at least one fulcrum is located inside the spring clip.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the spring clip is located at a front terminal end of one of the runners.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the shelf has a downwardly extending rim, the at least two fulcrums being located on the rim.

Although the invention may be applied to conventional shelves, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the shelf comprises a rear shelf and a front shelf, the front shelf being movable between a stacked position in which it overlaps at least substantially the rear shelf and an extended position projecting in front of the rear shelf.

The construction of the present invention and other objects and advantages thereof will be more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[ description of the drawings ]

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. Wherein,

fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a refrigerator in a non-fully assembled state according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a shelf according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the shelf is in a horizontal position and one side thereof is coupled to a support.

Fig. 3 is another angular perspective view of a shelf according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the shelf is attached to a support member on one side.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a support member according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which a shelf is horizontally supported on a supporter, and a first fulcrum and a second fulcrum are located in a lateral groove of the supporter.

Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which a shelf is in a rotating process, and a first fulcrum and a second fulcrum are respectively positioned in a lateral groove and a longitudinal groove of a supporter.

Fig. 7 is a partial sectional view of a refrigerator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which a shelf is in a retracted position and a first fulcrum and a second fulcrum are in a longitudinal groove.

[ detailed description of the invention ]

Please refer to the drawings, and particularly to fig. 1. The refrigerator 1 has an insulated inner space 2 for storing articles. The inner space 2 is delimited by a liner 20. The refrigerator further includes a thermal insulation material (not shown) between the inner container 20 and the outer case (not shown). The inner space 2 may be closed or opened by a door (not shown) connected to the cabinet 20.

An adjustable shelf 3 and a general shelf 8 located above and below the adjustable shelf 3 are provided in the inner space 2.

The adjustable shelf 3 is supported in the inner space 2 by a pair of supports 4 located at both sides of the inner space 2. In this embodiment, the supporter 4 is formed of a separate supporting member attached to the inner container 21 of the case 20. It should be understood that the present invention should not be limited thereto. In another embodiment, the support 4 can also be formed directly from the bladder 21.

In the present embodiment, the adjustable shelf 3 includes a rear shelf 30 and a front shelf 40. The front shelf 40 and the rear shelf 30 may include a glass plate and a bezel attached to an edge of the glass plate. It will be appreciated that other materials and/or configurations for the front shelf 40 and/or the rear shelf 30 may be used.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, the two side frames 31 of the rear shelf 30 extend downward. A pair of track grooves 32 are formed on the inner side of the frame 31 to be opposed to each other. The front shelf 40 may slide forward of the rear shelf 30 and may be located at substantially the same level as the rear shelf 30 (as shown in fig. 1-3), and items to be cooled may be stored on both the front shelf 40 and the rear shelf 30. At this time, the adjustable shelf 3 is in an extended state, and its length is substantially the same as that of the other general shelves 8. The front end of the supporter 4 may be provided with a stopper 41 protruding upward, and the front end of the front shelf 40 may be provided with a recess 42 engaged with the stopper 41, and when the adjustable shelf 3 is in the extended state, the stopper 41 and the recess 42 cooperate to prevent the front shelf 40 from moving forward and backward.

The front shelf 40 may be pushed rearward into the rear shelf 30 to be below the rear shelf 30, the front shelf 40 and the rear shelf 30 being stacked. In the stacked position, the front shelf 40 is received and supported within the pair of track grooves 32 below the rear shelf 30. It should be understood that in an alternative embodiment, it is also possible for the front shelf 40 to be pushed over the rear shelf 30.

When the adjustable shelf 3 or only the rear shelf 30 is in the horizontal position, items can be stored on the adjustable shelf 3.

Further, the adjustable shelf 3 can also be rotated from the horizontal position and retracted to one side of the inner space 2. In the present embodiment, in the retracted position, the adjustable shelf 3 extends in the longitudinal direction to stand on the rear side of the inner space 2, whereby the shelf 8 located below the adjustable shelf 3 can store articles having a high size.

A guide mechanism for guiding the adjustable shelf 3 to rotate between the above-described horizontal position and the retracted position is provided between the adjustable shelf 3 and the support 4.

Referring to fig. 2 to 7, the guiding mechanism includes a sliding slot 5 on each supporting member 4, and at least two supporting shafts inserted into the corresponding sliding slots 5 and capable of moving relatively in the sliding slots 5 are respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the adjustable shelf 3.

The slide groove 5 includes a lateral groove 5a extending in the front-rear direction and a longitudinal groove 5b extending in the longitudinal direction. The vertical groove 5b is connected from the rear end of the horizontal groove 5a and extends downward by a predetermined height, and the vertical groove 5b and the horizontal groove 5a communicate. In this embodiment, the transverse slots 5a are substantially parallel to the horizontal plane, and the longitudinal slots 5b are inclined. Preferably, the longitudinal grooves 5b and the lateral grooves 5a have an included angle therebetween of more than 90 degrees, so that the longitudinal grooves 5b are inclined forward as viewed from below. Preferably, the longitudinal grooves 5b have an inclination angle of 5 degrees with the longitudinal vertical plane, and the angle between the longitudinal grooves 5b and the lateral grooves 5a is 95 degrees.

The chute 5 further includes a guide groove 5c communicating with the upper end of the vertical groove 5 b. In this embodiment, the lead groove 5c and the longitudinal groove 5b together form a straight passage. Thus, the chute 5 is substantially T-shaped. The upper end of the guide groove 5c is exposed to the upper edge of the support 4, and a corresponding portion (to be described in detail below) of the adjustable shelf 3 may be coupled to the support 4 by the open upper end of the guide groove 5c entering or exiting the slide groove 5.

As shown in fig. 2 and 4, since the support 4 is provided with a plurality of ribs, for example, the support forms the slide groove 5 by the ribs 48 protruding toward the inner space 2, a gap is formed between the support 4 and the front shelf 40. Preferably, the supporter 4 may be provided with a compensation bar 44 to reduce an aesthetic disadvantage by providing a gap between the front shelf 40 and the supporter 4 due to the ribs 48, and also to prevent items on the front shelf 40 from falling through the gap.

The adjustable shelf 3 is provided at both left and right sides thereof with a first support shaft 6 protruding outward and a second support shaft 7 spaced apart from the first support shaft 6. First fulcrum 6 and second fulcrum 7 may be provided outside of bezel 31. When the adjustable shelf 3 is in the horizontal position, the first fulcrum 6 and the second fulcrum 7 on each side are housed in the respective lateral grooves 5a in a spaced-apart manner. The adjustable shelf 3 is supported on the support 4 by means of a first fulcrum 6 and a second fulcrum 7. Specifically, the first support shaft 6 is located at the rear end of the lateral slot 5a, near the intersection of the lateral slot 5a and the longitudinal slot 5 b. The second pivot 7 abuts against the closed front end of the chute 5, i.e., the front end of the lateral groove 5 a.

When the adjustable shelf 3 is to be retracted to the rear side from the horizontal position, the adjustable shelf 3 is first adjusted to the stacked state, i.e., the user first lifts the front shelf 40 slightly and pushes it backward to slide it along the slide rail 43 to the lower side of the rear shelf 30 until the rear portions of the front shelf 40 and the rear shelf 30 come into contact. Thereafter, pushing back the adjustable shelf 3 in the stacked state causes the first fulcrum 6 to enter the longitudinal slot 5b and slide downward along the longitudinal slot 5b, while the second fulcrum 7 slides rearward along the lateral slot 5a, as shown in fig. 6. During the sliding, the movement of the adjustable shelf 3 is relatively smooth, since the movements of the two fulcrum shafts are constrained to each other. The final position (degree of slide-down) of the adjustable shelf 3 after rotation is determined by the shape and length of the slide groove 5 on the support 4 and the position of the support shaft on the adjustable shelf 3, so that the adjustable shelf 3 does not come into contact with the rear wall 21 of the internal space 2 after rotation.

As shown in fig. 7, the adjustable shelf 3 is in a retracted position, i.e., in a standing position. In this position, the adjustable shelf 3 remains at a distance from the rear wall 21 of the inner space 2 and stands obliquely forwards from below upwards in the inner space 2. The first support shaft 6 and the second support shaft 7 are vertically distributed in the vertical groove 5 b. Specifically, the lower first fulcrum 6 is supported at the closed lower end of the longitudinal slot 5b, and the upper second fulcrum 7 is just entering the longitudinal slot 5b, resting at the intersection of the transverse slot 5a and the longitudinal slot 5 b.

If the adjustable shelf (3) is used, the upper end of the adjustable shelf (3) is held and pulled forward slightly, and the second fulcrum (7) can enter the transverse groove (5 a). Thereafter, by continuing to pull the adjustable shelf 3 forward, the adjustable shelf 3 can be slowly moved forward and upward until the second fulcrum 7 reaches the front end of the lateral groove 5a and the first fulcrum 6 just enters the lateral groove 5 a.

If it is desired to remove the adjustable shelf 3 from the inner space 2, the adjustable shelf 3 in the retracted position can be moved upward so that the first fulcrum 6 and the second fulcrum 7 enter the guide groove 5c and leave the support member 4 through the open upper end of the guide groove 5 c. Similarly, the adjustable shelf 3 can be installed in the inner space 2 by aligning the first fulcrum shaft 6 and the second fulcrum shaft 7 with the entrance of the guide groove 5c and inserting the guide groove 5c and sliding down to the longitudinal groove 5 b. By pulling the upper end of the adjustable shelf 3 forward, the adjustable shelf 3 can be rotated to a horizontal position where articles can be stored. The user can select the state of the adjustable shelf 3, i.e., the stacked state or the extended state, as desired.

Preferably, the support 4 comprises a locking mechanism to lock the adjustable shelf 3 in a horizontal position. In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 4 to 7, the front terminal end of each transverse slot 5a is provided with a resilient clip 9. The spring clip 9 may, for example, be supported by rubber and fixed to the support 4 by fixing means, for example screws.

Spring clip 9 defines a clip path comprising a receiving head 46 for receiving second fulcrum 7 and a reduced neck 47 adjacent receiving head 46. The receiving head 46 forms the front terminal end of the transverse slot 5 a. When the adjustable shelf 3 is moved forward to the horizontal position, the second fulcrum 7 is pushed through the neck 47 into the receiving head 46 to be locked, and the forward and backward movement/shaking of the second fulcrum 7 relative to the support member 4 is effectively restricted. By pushing the adjustable shelf 3 backward with a slight force, the second support shaft 7 can be pushed through the expanded neck 47 to move away from the locking position, and can slide smoothly in the other part of the lateral groove 5 a.

In the above embodiment, when adjustable shelf 3 reaches the retracted position, first fulcrum 6 reaches the end of longitudinal slot 5b, and second fulcrum 7 just enters longitudinal slot 5 b; when shelf 3 reaches the horizontal position, second fulcrum 7 reaches the end of lateral slot 5b, and first fulcrum 6 just enters lateral slot 5 a. That is, when the adjustable shelf 3 is moved from the horizontal position to the retracted position or from the retracted position to the horizontal position, the first fulcrum 6 slides substantially only or mainly in the longitudinal groove 5b, and the second fulcrum 7 slides substantially only or mainly in the lateral groove 5 a. It should be understood that other embodiments of the present invention are possible, for example, the transverse slot 5a and/or the longitudinal slot 5b may be longer as desired, so that the adjustable shelf 3 can be moved along the transverse slot 5a and/or the longitudinal slot 5b by a greater stroke in the front-rear direction and/or the longitudinal direction.

In the above embodiments, the principles of the present invention are explained by taking an adjustable shelf including a front shelf and a rear shelf as an example, however, the present invention should not be limited thereto, and the present invention should also be applicable to a general rotatable shelf.

Claims

1. A refrigerator, comprising:

an insulated inner space (2);

a shelf (3) located within the inner space (2); and

a pair of oppositely disposed supports (4) by which the shelf (3) is supported within the inner space (2), the shelf (3) being rotatable between a horizontal position in which items can be stored and a retracted position to one side of the inner space (2);

characterized in that each support mechanism (4) has a sliding slot (5), the shelf (3) being provided with at least two fulcrum shafts (6, 7) corresponding to each sliding slot (5), said at least two fulcrum shafts (6, 7) sliding inside the sliding slot (5) to cause the rotation of the shelf (3).

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that said sliding chute (5) comprises a transverse slot (5a) extending in a front-rear direction and a longitudinal slot (5b) extending in a longitudinal direction, said at least two fulcrums (6, 7) comprising a first fulcrum (6) slidable in said longitudinal slot (5b) during rotation of said shelf (3) and a second fulcrum (7) slidable in said transverse slot (5 a).

3. The refrigerator of claim 2, wherein the longitudinal groove (5b) extends downward from a rear end of the lateral groove (5 a).

4. A refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that the angle between the longitudinal groove (5b) and the transverse groove (5a) is larger than 90 degrees, such as 95 degrees.

5. The refrigerator according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that said at least two fulcrums (6, 7) are supported in a front-to-back distribution inside said chute (5) when said shelf (3) is in said horizontal position.

6. A refrigerator as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that, when said shelf (3) is in said horizontal position, the second fulcrum (7) situated at the front abuts against the front terminal end of said chute (5).

7. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said at least two fulcrums (6, 7) are located inside said longitudinal slot (5b) distributed up and down when said shelf (3) is in said withdrawn position.

8. A refrigerator as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the second fulcrum (7) of said at least two fulcrums (6, 7) located above is adjacent to the intersection of said transverse slot (5a) and said longitudinal slot (5b) when said shelf (3) is in said withdrawn position.

9. A refrigerator as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the first fulcrum (6) of said at least two fulcrums (6, 7) located below is supported at the lower end of said longitudinal slot (5b) when said shelf (3) is in said withdrawn position.

10. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that said chute (5) comprises a lead groove (5c) communicating at one end with said longitudinal groove (5b), said at least two fulcrum shafts (6, 7) entering or exiting said chute (5) through the open other end of said lead groove (5 c).

11. The refrigerator as claimed in claim 10, wherein the sliding groove is substantially T-shaped.

12. A refrigerator as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that when said shelf (3) reaches said withdrawn position, said first fulcrum (6) reaches the end of said longitudinal slot (5b), said second fulcrum (7) just entering said longitudinal slot (5 b); and/or, when the shelf (3) reaches the horizontal position, the second fulcrum (7) reaches the end of the transverse slot (5b), the first fulcrum (6) just entering the transverse slot (5 a).

13. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein in the retracted position, the upper portion of the shelf (3) is obliquely stood in the inner space (2) to be inclined forward.

14. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises a locking mechanism to lock the shelf (3) in the horizontal position.

15. The refrigerator according to claim 14, characterized in that said locking mechanism comprises an elastic clip (45) with a clip track, in said horizontal position at least one fulcrum is located inside said elastic clip (45).

16. A refrigerator as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that said elastic clip (45) is located at the front terminal end of one of said runners (5).

17. A refrigerator as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said shelf (3) has a downwardly extending border (31), said at least two fulcrums (6, 7) being located on said border (31).

18. The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said shelves (3) comprise a rear shelf (30) and a front shelf (40), said front shelf (40) being movable between a superposed position at least substantially overlapping said rear shelf (30) and an extended position projecting in front of said rear shelf (30).