EP2292996B1 - Storage compartment for a cooler - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a storage compartment, in particular door storage compartment, for a refrigeration appliance, in particular for a household refrigeration appliance.

If refrigerated goods are placed upright in a movable storage compartment, such as a pull-out box or a door rack, there is a risk that it will tip over when the storage compartment is moved. To reduce this risk, it is known to provide storage compartments with compartment dividers, which are conventionally slidable along a wall of the compartment against a resistance, so that they are positioned in contact with refrigerated goods to be protected from tipping and this upon movement of the storage compartment can support.

As a rule, such a divider is removable so that he does not occupy space in the storage compartment when it is not needed. Installing and removing the compartment divider is annoying for many users. In addition, it often results in the compartment divider being out of reach when needed.

From the CN 1 971 186 A a container is known, on whose rear wall a pivotable flap part is arranged, which serves as a bottle holder.

From the DE 102 08 067 A1 a door compartment unit for a refrigeration device is known. A bracket serves as a divider. This bracket is anchored to a slider, wherein the slider can be linearly displaced in the horizontal direction and is slidably mounted on a rear wall of the door compartment.

From the DE 102 08 063 A1 is a door rack for a refrigerator known, the door rack has a sliding bracket.

From the US 2005/0067929 A1 is a household refrigerator with a door rack known, which has a sliding divider.

In addition, from the JP H08 145542 A a refrigerator known, which has a bottle storage container. A pivoting arranged thereon divider is provided.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a storage compartment for a refrigeration device with a compartment divider, in which the disadvantages of the prior art are avoided.

The object is achieved by a storage compartment with the features of claim 1.

In the storage compartment according to the invention, a compartment divider fastened to a wall of the compartment can be pivoted between a position projecting from the wall and protruding into the compartment space and at least one position resting against the wall.

When not in use, the compartment divider can now remain in the storage compartment, without taking up much space.

The pivoting compartment divider is particularly advantageous when the storage compartment is a door rack. In order to make the best possible use of the available space, without hindering the opening movement of the door, such a door rack has frequently narrow sides running towards each other, so that a door racks on one longitudinal side the tray is displaceable, not parallel to the narrow sides and therefore even if he is moved to a narrow side adjacent stop position, a piece of the base of the compartment separates and thus hampers its use. Even if the door storage compartment has two parallel narrow sides, a conventional door compartment, due to its support on the side wall, can not be positioned so close to a narrow side that it would not obstruct the unrestricted use of the compartment. If, on the other hand, the compartment divider according to the invention is folded against the wall, the storage compartment can be used over its entire width.

In order to effectively support the contents of the storage compartment, the compartment divider is preferably held at least in its projecting position from the wall form and / or non-positively, in particular latched. Such a holder, in particular latching, in the voltage applied to the wall position may also be provided to secure the compartment divider in this position.

According to a first embodiment, the compartment divider is pivotable about a vertical axis. Such a divider can be realized with minimal space requirement in the longitudinal direction of the wall.

Alternatively, the compartment divider can also be pivotable about a horizontal axis; such an orientation of the axis excludes that the compartment divider by refrigerated goods, which he is supposed to support, is pivoted into the voltage applied to the wall position.

The compartment divider can be implemented simply and inexpensively as a one-piece, in particular one-piece bent bow. The strap can e.g. also made of plastic.

It can then serve two pivotable in a bearing block ends recorded bracket, in particular of the wire as a journal, which define a pivot axis of the compartment divider. Preferably, the bracket can also be made of plastic injection molding.

Preferably, in particular in a compartment divider with a vertical pivot axis, these two ends face each other. This simplifies on the one hand the structure of the storage compartment, since both ends of the bracket received in a same bearing block could be; on the other hand, a small number of bends of the wire is sufficient to form on the wire hanger a horizontal leg which extends almost at the level of the upper edge of the wall. The higher the leg, the more effective it can protect refrigerated goods from falling over.

In order to ensure a firm hold of the compartment divider on a bearing block, it is advantageous that the compartment divider is in the direction of the pivot axis under a voltage which pushes axle journal of the compartment divider into receptacles of the bearing block.

The tension can also be used for latching the compartment divider by at least one radially aligned to the pivot axis notch, in particular groove, is formed on the bearing block, in which at least a part of the Bügelmaterialquerschnitts of the compartment divider is pressed by the tension.

In order to lock the compartment divider both in the projecting from the wall and in the adjacent position, the bearing block preferably has at least two at least approximately at right angles aligned notches, in particular grooves on.

Preferably, at least one of the axle journals of the compartment divider is frictionally held in the receptacle, in particular by frictional engagement, against rotation. Particularly preferably, both journal of the compartment divider in the receptacles are non-positively, in particular frictionally engaged against rotation.

In both cases, both for pivoted into the compartment space operating position and for the swung back to the side wall inoperative position sufficient holding torque for the compartment divider.

The compartment divider is preferably mounted on a sliding in the longitudinal direction of the wall slider so that it can be placed in contact with to be secured refrigerated goods.

The slider may be invisibly guided from the outside in a dovetail groove on an inner side of the wall.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Türabstellers gemäß der vorliegenden Erfindung;

Fig. 2

einen Querschnitt des Türabstellers;

Fig. 3

einen zu Fig. 2 analogen Querschnitt gemäß einer zweiten Ausgestaltung; und

Fig. 4

eine perspektivische Ansicht einer dritten Ausgestaltung des Türabstellers.

Further advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures. Show it:

Fig. 1

a perspective view of a door compartment according to the present invention;

Fig. 2

a cross section of the door compartment;

Fig. 3

one too Fig. 2 analog cross-section according to a second embodiment; and

Fig. 4

a perspective view of a third embodiment of the door compartment.

The in Fig. 1 door rack shown in a perspective view has a bottom plate 1 made of safety glass, facing away from a (not shown) refrigerator door edges a longitudinal wall 2 in the form of an extruded profile made of plastic or metal and side cheeks 3 are attached. The bottom plate 1 has an approximately trapezoidal ground plan, wherein the longitudinal wall 2 forms the shorter of the two parallel sides of the trapezium and the side cheeks 3 to the longitudinal wall 2 towards each run towards each other. The door-side edge 4 of the base plate 1 can therefore be almost as wide as the interior of a refrigerator, in which engages the door rack with the door closed without the side cheeks 3 abut when opening the door to the walls of the body of the refrigerator.

On the inside of the longitudinal wall 2, a broad, flat dovetail groove 5 is recessed, in which a molded plastic slider 6 engages positively. The slider is slightly clamped in the dovetail groove 5, so that it is displaceable in overcoming the frictional resistance in the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal wall 2. The slider 6 has the shape of a cylinder segment, or as in Fig. 1 shown, a prism stump and acts simultaneously as a bearing block with a vertically between upper and lower end surfaces 7 extending bore 8 (see Fig. 2 ). In the two end faces 7 are formed radially to the bore 8 aligned grooves 9, 10, wherein the groove 9 is parallel to the longitudinal wall 2 and the groove 10 at right angles thereto.

A compartment divider is formed by a substantially rectangular bent wire bow 11, of which two converging ends 12 engage from above and below into the bore 8. Horizontal legs 13 of the wire bracket 11 are held pressed by internal tension of the wire bracket 11 in the grooves 10. The internal tension thus secures the wire bow 11 in the in Fig. 1 and 2 shown, protruding from the longitudinal wall 2 position. The stiffness of the wire bracket 11 is selected so that the force required to spread the legs 13 of the wire bracket apart and the wire bracket 11 in the in Fig. 1 shown in phantom, to pivot in the longitudinal wall 2 position, is greater than that which could normally exert a placed in the door racks bottle on the bracket 11, so that such a bottle can not pivot the wire hanger.

The parallel to the longitudinal wall 2 groove 9 extends from the bore 8 in opposite directions, so that the wire bracket 11 in addition to the in Fig.1 dashed position shown can also be locked in a mirror image position. This ensures that the wire hanger 11 in any position that can take the slider 6 on the longitudinal wall 2, can be folded flat against the longitudinal wall 2, even if the distance of the slider 6 to one of the side walls 3 is smaller than the length of Thighs 13.

As Fig. 2 shows, the distance of the bottoms of the grooves 9 parallel to the wall at the two end faces 7 can be greater from each other than the distance of the bottoms of the grooves 10. The bracket 11 is therefore more tensioned when engaging in the grooves 9 than when engaging in the grooves 10th , And the work to be performed for pivoting the wire bracket 11 from the wall-parallel position to the protruding position is higher than that required for pivoting in the opposite direction.

In order to increase the force required to displace the wire bracket 11 from the protruding position in proportion to the force required to release the bracket 11 from the grooves 9, the flanks of the grooves 10 may be made steeper than that of the grooves 9.

In order to effectively support refrigerated goods in the door rack, the upper edge of the compartment divider, that is, the upper of the two horizontal legs 13 should be as high as possible. On the other hand, to allow a locking of the wire bracket 11 in the protruding position, the upper horizontal leg 13 may not be higher than the upper end surface 7. Since the dovetail groove 5 occupies almost the entire height of the longitudinal wall 2, the height difference between the upper edge of the longitudinal wall 2 and the upper horizontal leg 13 are kept low.

This restriction does not apply to the Fig. 3 shown modification, according to which the wire bow 11 is bent Ω-shaped and consecutive ends 12 of the wire bracket 11 are received in two axially spaced bearing blocks 14 of the slider 6. An internal tension of the wire hanger drives the two ends 12 apart. Although it is possible here to arrange the upper horizontal leg 13 at the same level as the upper edge of the longitudinal wall 2 or even above, the manufacture of the slider 6 is complicated by the fact that the grooves 9, 10 on mutually facing end faces of the two bearing blocks 14 must be formed and the number of bends of the wire bracket 11 is increased.

Fig. 4 shows in one too Fig. 1 similar perspective view of an embodiment in which the wire bow 11 is bent hairpin-shaped and two horizontally extending from each other consecutive ends of the wire bracket 11 in two bearing blocks 14 of a slider 6 are pivotally received. Here, too, define two grooves 9, 10 which extend radially from bores of the bearing blocks in the horizontal direction or vertically downwards, into which the legs of the wire bracket 11 are pressed by an internal tension, one protruding from the longitudinal wall 2 and one on the longitudinal wall 2 As supported by the wire bracket 11 refrigerated goods can exert on this essentially only a force in the direction of its pivot axis, a displacement of the wire bracket 11 is excluded from the protruding position shown in the adjoining the wall position.

Claims (12)

1. Storage compartment for a refrigeration appliance, in particular a domestic refrigeration appliance, having a compartment space and having a compartment divider (11) fastened to a wall (2) of the storage compartment, wherein the compartment divider (11) can be pivoted between a position protruding from the wall (2) and projecting into the compartment space and at least one position resting against the wall (2), characterised in that the compartment divider is embodied as a bracket and two ends (12) of the bracket, in particular wire bracket (11), which are rotatably received in a bearing block (6; 14) serve as pivots which define a pivot axis of the compartment divider (11), and/or the compartment divider (11) is placed under tension in the direction of its pivot axis, which presses pivots (12) of the compartment divider (11) into the supports (8) of a bearing block (6; 14).
2. Storage compartment according to claim 1, characterised in that it is a door rack with narrow sides (3) which run toward one another.
3. Storage compartment according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the compartment divider (11) is held, in particular can be latched, in a form and/or force-fit manner at least in the position protruding from the wall.
4. Storage compartment according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the compartment divider (11) can be pivoted about a vertical axis.
5. Storage compartment according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the compartment divider (11) can be pivoted about a horizontal axis.
6. Storage compartment according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the compartment divider (11) is embodied as a bracket (11) bent in one piece from wire.
7. Storage compartment according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the ends (12) face one another.
8. Storage compartment according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of the pivots (12) of the compartment divider (11), preferably both pivots (12), is/are held in a force-fit manner, in particular frictionally engaged manner, in the corresponding support (8) or corresponding supports (8) against rotation.
9. Storage compartment according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a latching position of the compartment divider (11) is fixed by at least one notch, in particular groove (9, 10) of the bearing block (6; 14), arranged in a radial manner with respect to the pivot axis, into which at least one part of the bracket material cross-section of the compartment divider (11) is pressed as a result of the tension.
10. Storage compartment according to claim 9, characterised in that the bearing block (6; 14) has at least two notches, in particular grooves (9, 10), aligned at least approximately at a right angle to one another.
11. Storage compartment according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the compartment divider (11) is attached to a slider (6) which can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the wall (2).
12. Storage compartment according to claim 11, characterised in that the slider (6) is guided in a dovetail groove (5) on an interior of the wall (2).

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