EP2564729B1

EP2564729B1 - Household appliance

Info

Publication number: EP2564729B1
Application number: EP12181840.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Yuan DING; Baoying Jia; Xiang Li; Alexander Rupp
Original assignee: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2011-08-27
Filing date: 2012-08-27
Publication date: 2014-07-02
Anticipated expiration: 2032-08-27
Also published as: CN102954656A; CN102954656B; ES2483867T3; EP2564729A1

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to a household appliance, in particular to a household appliance having a carrying device which can be pulled out, for instance a refrigerator.

Background art

Carrying devices in existing household appliances, such as refrigerator drawers and shelves, etc. can be supported by means of guide rails in the inner space of the household appliance, and, guided by the guide rails, pushed into or pulled out of this space along a fixed path. Guide rails generally comprise a fixed rail secured to an inner wall of the appliance and a moving rail connected to the carrying device. In existing solutions, an upwardly-projecting snap-fastener is provided on the moving rail, while an opening is provided on the carrying device, for instance a drawer; during installation, the drawer is first pushed into the inner space, then the snap-fastener is aligned with the opening so as to insert the former into the latter. Such an installation method requiring precise positioning of the connecting piece on the guide rail and the connecting piece on the drawer in the vertical direction is extremely inconvenient, especially when the snap-fastener and the opening cannot be seen by the user/worker (for instance when the drawer is made from non-transparent material, or the snap-fastener and opening are very close to the rear wall of the inner space). Cases of wrong or improper installation due to imprecise alignment occur at times, and the snap-fastener is easily broken when a user dismantles a drawer.
From document DE 10 2005 021 589 A1 a telescope slide with at least two rails is known which are movable to each other and guided to each other in longitudinal direction. A holder portion for both of the rails comprises an adapter on which a T shaped pin is arranged which meshes into a slot of a base plate.

Content of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a household appliance which allows a carrying device and a guide rail to be easily connected.
To this end, one aspect of the present invention provides a household appliance. The household appliance comprises a housing, a carrying device and a guide rail. The carrying device is withdrawably installed in an inner space of the housing, and comprises a first connection portion. The guide rail is fixed between the housing and the carrying device so as to allow the carrying device to be pulled out of or pushed into the inner space, and the guide rail further comprises a second connection portion for mating with the first connection portion. At least one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion is inserted into the other of the first connection portion and the second connection portion in a front-rear direction for connection. Since the connection is in the front-rear direction, the first connection portion and the second connection portion are easily positioned, and cases of wrong and improper installation can be avoided.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a household appliance, comprising a housing, a carrying device and a guide rail. The carrying device is withdrawably installed in an inner space of the housing, and comprises a first connection portion. The guide rail is fixed between the housing and the carrying device so as to allow the carrying device to be pulled out of or pushed into the inner space, and the guide rail further comprises a second connection portion for mating with the first connection portion. At least one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion has a slot open towards the front or the rear, and receives at least one part of the other of the first connection portion and the second connection portion. Thus the first connection portion and the second connection portion can be connected in the front-rear direction, both being easily positioned, and cases of wrong and improper installation can be avoided.
Other features recognized as being characteristics of the present invention, independently or in combination with other features, will be expounded in the claims attached below.
The first connection portion and the second connection portion have a first hook portion and a second hook portion respectively, the first hook portion being hooked to the second hook portion. The above structure is simple, and the connection is reliable.
The first hook portion and the second hook portion have arc-shaped structures which mate with each other, such that the first hook portion is rotatable around the second hook portion. As a result, the possibility of the first connection portion and/or the second connection portion breaking during installation, dismantling, lifting or withdrawal of the carrying device is reduced.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the first hook portion is in line or point contact with the second hook portion. Interference between the first hook portion and the second hook portion can be reduced, even when the carrying device is rotated to a certain angle.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the second hook portion has a protruding portion located at the topmost part thereof and in line or point contact with the first hook portion, or the first hook portion has a protruding portion facing the second hook portion and in line or point contact with the topmost part of the second hook portion. As a result, even when the carrying device rotates after being withdrawn due to the front end thereof being lifted up or pressed down, line contact can be maintained between the first hook portion and the second hook portion without mutual interference, therefore the possibility of the first connection portion and the second connection portion breaking is reduced.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the first connection portion and the second connection portion can be located at the rear ends of the guide rail and the carrying device respectively, so as to prevent the rear end of the carrying device from tilting up when being pulled out; this is helpful in enabling the carrying device to be supported in the inner space with greater stability.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the carrying device may further comprise a third connection portion, the guide rail comprising a fourth connection portion which mates with the third connection portion, and when the carrying device is pulled out or pushed in, relative movement of the third connection portion and the fourth connection portion in a front-rear direction is restricted.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, one of the third connection portion and the fourth connection portion is inserted in the other in a vertical direction for connection.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the guide rail comprises a fixed rail secured in the inner space of the housing, a moving rail connected to the carrying device, and at least one roll ball or roller located between the fixed rail and the moving rail.
The present invention is particularly applicable to a refrigerator.
The structure of the present invention and other inventive objects and beneficial effects thereof will be made more obvious and comprehensible by describing preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Description of the accompanying drawings

As part of the Description, and intended to impart further understanding of the present invention, the following accompanying drawings illustrate particular embodiments thereof, and together with the description serve the purpose of explaining the principles of the present invention. In the drawings:

Fig. 1: is a partial schematic diagram of a household appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2: is an exploded schematic diagram of a carrying device and guide rails according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention before installation.
Fig. 3: is a schematic diagram of an assembly process state of a carrying device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4: is a schematic diagram of another assembly process state of the carrying device.
Fig. 5: is a partial schematic diagram of a first connection portion and second connection portion after connection.

Explanation of reference signs

1: household appliance
10: carrying device
16: first connection portion
162: first hook portion
163: first slot
18: third connection portion
20: guide rail
22: fixed rail
24: sliding rail
26: second connection portion
262: second hook portion
263: second slot
264: protruding portion
28: fourth connection portion
70: housing
72: inner space.

Particular embodiments

In order that the technical features, objects and effects of the present invention may be understood more clearly, particular embodiments of the present invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings; throughout the drawings, identical labels indicate components with the same structure, or components with similar structures but the same function.
In order that the appearance of the drawings may be concise, some drawings only schematically show parts relevant to the present invention; these do not represent the actual structure thereof as a product. Furthermore, in order that the appearance of the drawings may be concise and easily understood, in some drawings, in the case of components having the same structure or function, only one of these is schematically drawn, or only one is marked.
In the following embodiments, the example of a refrigerator is used for the household appliance 1, while the example of a drawer is used for the carrying device 10; however, those skilled in the art can appreciate that other types of appliance could also be used as the household appliance, for example an oven, etc., while other types of devices for carrying articles could also be used as the carrying device, for example, a tray, etc.
Referring to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the household appliance 1 comprises a housing 70, a carrying device 10 and a guide rail 20. The housing 70 has a thermally insulated inner space 72, and the carrying device 10 is installed in the inner space 72 so as to be capable of being pulled out or pushed in. Articles to be cooled may be stored in the carrying device 10.
The guide rail 20 is fixed between the housing 70 and the carrying device 10 so as to connect the carrying device 10 and the housing 70, and enables the carrying device 10 to be smoothly pulled out of or pushed into the inner space 72. One guide rail 20 is provided between each of two sides of the carrying device 10 and the corresponding inner wall of the inner space 72.
The guide rail 20 comprises a fixed rail 22 which can be secured to an inner wall of the inner space 72, a moving rail 24 which can be connected to the carrying device 10, and at least one roll ball/roller (not shown) located between the fixed rail 22 and the moving rail 24. In this embodiment, the guide rail 20 is a retractable guide rail.
The carrying device 10 comprises a first connection portion 16, and the guide rail 20 comprises a second connection portion 26 for mating with the first connection portion 16. In this embodiment, the first connection portion 16 and the second connection portion 26 are located at the rear ends of the guide rail 20 and the carrying device 10 respectively. The first connection portion 16 and the second connection portion 26 can mate with each other to prevent the rear end of the carrying device from tilting up when being pulled out.
The carrying device 10 further comprises a third connection portion 18 located at the front end thereof, while the guide rail 20 comprises a fourth connection portion 28 which mates with the third connection portion 18. In this embodiment, the fourth connection portion 28 is an upwardly-protruding projection, and the third connection portion 18 is an opening; the fourth connection portion 28 can be inserted into the third connection portion 18 in a vertical direction for connection. When the carrying device 10 is pulled out or pushed in, relative movement of the third connection portion 18 and the fourth connection portion 28 in the front-rear direction is restricted, by means of which motion of the carrying device 10 and the guide rail 20 in the forward direction is restricted.
In an alternative embodiment, it is also possible that the third connection portion is a downwardly-protruding projection and the fourth connection portion is an opening, with the third connection portion being inserted into the fourth connection portion downward from above.
The first connection portion 16 and the second connection portion 26 comprise a first hook portion 162 and a second hook portion 262, respectively, which can be hooked together. The first connection portion 16 forms a first slot 163 open towards the rear by way of the first hook portion 162, and the second connection portion 26 forms a second slot 263 open towards the front by way of the second hook portion 262; please refer to Fig. 3. The first hook portion 162 and the second hook portion 262 have arc-shaped structures which mate with each other, such that the two can rotate relative to one another after being hooked together.
Please refer to Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 to gain an understanding of the process of fitting the carrying device 10 in the inner space 72. As Fig. 3 shows, when it is necessary to connect the carrying device 10 to the guide rail 20, all that is required is to push the carrying device 10 relative to the guide rail 20 in the direction indicated by the arrow in the drawing, towards the rear of the guide rail 20; part of the first connection portion 16 is inserted into the second slot 263 from the front towards the rear, while part of the second connection portion 26 enters the first slot 163 from the rear towards the front, and in this way the first hook portion 162 and the second hook portion 262 hook onto each other.
After having the first connection portion 16 and the second connection portion 26 inserted into one another in the front-rear direction, the front end of the carrying device 10 is pressed down, and the carrying device 10 rotates downwards around the point of connection between the first connection portion 16 and the second connection portion 26, until the position shown by the solid lines in Fig. 4 is reached, at which point relative positioning of the carrying device 10 and the guide rail 20 is complete. Next, all that is needed is to press the carrying device 10 down so that connection of the third connection portion 18 and the fourth connection portion 28 is also achieved, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 4. Positioning is simple in the above installation process, and cases of improper or wrong installation can be avoided effectively.
Since the first connection portion and the second connection portion are provided with slots open towards the front or the rear, and receive at least one part of the first connection portion or the second connection portion, the first connection portion and the second connection portion can be inserted into each other in the front-rear direction and received therein; thus a connection can be established between the first connection portion and the second connection portion simply and reliably, while at the same time, the first connection portion and the second connection portion can be separated conveniently.
It should be understood that it is also possible to provide a slot open towards the front or the rear on only one of the first connection portion and the second connection portion, achieving a connection between the two by inserting at least one part of the other of the first connection portion and the second portion into the slot and having it received therein.
In addition, in the above embodiments, the slot of the first connection portion is towards the rear, while the slot of the second connection portion is towards the front, but in an alternative embodiment, it is also possible for the slot of the first connection portion to be towards the front, with the slot of the second connection portion towards the rear.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, line or point contact is adopted between the first hook portion 162 and the second hook portion 262, so as to form a gap between the first hook portion 162 and the second hook portion 262. As Fig. 5 shows, the second connection portion 262 has a protruding portion 264 which projects towards the first hook portion 162, the protruding portion 264 being disposed at the topmost part of the second hook portion 262; the second hook portion 262 is in line or point contact with the first hook portion 162 via the protruding portion 264 alone.
Whether the first hook portion 162 and the second hook portion 262 are in line or point contact can be decided by the shape of the protruding portion 264. In this embodiment, the protruding portion 264 is in the shape of a strip, therefore the first hook portion 162 and the second hook portion 262 are in line contact.
In another embodiment, a protruding portion facing the second hook portion 262 may also be provided on the first hook portion 162, the protruding portion being in contact with the topmost point of the second hook portion 262.
Since the first connection portion and the second connection portion are in line/point contact with each other, there is a gap between the two; as a result, even when the carrying device rotates to a certain extent around the point of connection between the first connection portion and the second connection portion, there will be no interference between the first connection portion and the second connection portion, so the possibility of the first connection portion and the second connection portion breaking is reduced.
In the above embodiments, only the first and second connection portions establish a connection in the front-rear direction, the third and fourth connection portions establishing a connection in the vertical direction; however, in an alternative embodiment, it is also possible for the third connection portion and the fourth connection portion to be connected by being inserted into each other in the front-rear direction too.
In this text, "schematic" indicates "serving as a real example, an example or an explanation"; no graphical representation or embodiment described as "schematic" herein should be interpreted as a preferred or more advantageous technical solution.
It should be understood that although the description is carried out according to various embodiments in this Description, it is not the case that each embodiment includes only one independent technical solution; this presentation method of the Description is merely for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the Description as an integral whole; the technical solutions in the various embodiments may be suitably combined to form other embodiments capable of being understood by those skilled in the art.
The series of detailed descriptions laid out above are no more than specific descriptions of feasible embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

A household appliance, comprising:
a housing (70), having an inner space (72);

a carrying device (10), withdrawably installed in the inner space (72), and comprising a first connection portion (16); and

a guide rail (20), fixed between the housing (70) and the carrying device (10) so that the carrying device (10) is capable of being pulled out of or pushed into the inner space (72), and comprising a second connection portion (26) in cooperation with the first connection portion (16),

at least one of the first connection portion (16) and the second connection portion (26) is inserted into the other one of the first connection portion (16) and the second connection portion (26) in a fore-and-aft direction for connection,

characterized in that:
the first connection portion (16) and the second connection portion (26) respectively have a first hook portion (162) and a second hook portion (262), and the first hook portion (162) is hooked to the second hook portion (262), and wherein the first hook portion (162) and the second hook portion (262) have arc structures in cooperation with each other, so that the first hook portion (162) is capable of rotating around the second hook portion (262).
A household appliance according to claim 1, wherein
at least one of the first connection portion (16) and the second connection portion (26) has a slot (163, 263) opened forwards or backwards, and receives at least one part of the other one of the first connection portion (16) and the second connection portion (26).
The household appliance according to claim 1, wherein the first hook portion (162) is in line or point contact with the second hook portion (262).
The household appliance according to claim 3, wherein the second hook portion (262) has a protruding portion (264) located at a topmost position thereof and in line or point contact with the first hook portion (162), or the first hook portion has a protruding portion facing the second hook portion and in line or point contact with a topmost position of the second hook portion.
The household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first connection portion (16) and the second connection portion (26) are respectively located at rear ends of the guide rail (20) and the carrying device (10), so as to prevent the rear end of the carrying device (10) from tilting when being pulled out.
The household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the carrying device (10) further comprises a third connection portion (18), the guide rail (20) comprises a fourth connection portion (28) in cooperation with the third connection portion (18), and when the carrying device (10) is pulled out or pushed in, a relative movement of the third connection portion (18) and the fourth connection portion (28) is restricted in a fore-and-aft direction.
The household appliance according to claim 6, wherein one of the third connection portion (18) and the fourth connection portion (28) is inserted into the other one in an up-and-down direction for connection.
The household appliance according to claim 6, wherein one of the third connection portion (18) and the fourth connection portion (28) is inserted into the other one in a fore-and-aft direction for connection.
The household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the guide rail (20) comprises a fixed rail (22) fixed in the inner space (72) of the housing (70), a moving rail (24) connected to the carrying device (10), and at least one roll ball or roller located between the fixed rail and the moving rail.
The household appliance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the household appliance is a refrigerator.