EP3835696A1

EP3835696A1 - Adjustable regrigerator drawer assembly

Info

Publication number: EP3835696A1
Application number: EP19846106.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Dong Wei; Jian Zhang; Ning Wang; Jun Nie; Haidong Tang
Original assignee: Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-08-08
Filing date: 2019-08-02
Publication date: 2021-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 2039-08-02
Also published as: WO2020029889A1; EP3835696A4; AU2019319458B2; CN208817847U; EP3835696B1; MX2021001180A; AU2019319458A1; US20210341216A1

Abstract

An adjustable refrigerator drawer assembly (100), comprising a drawer body (10) having a cavity for placing articles; a sliding assembly (20), slidably disposed in the drawer body (10) in a direction perpendicular to the drawing direction of the drawer body (10); and at least one partition plate (30) detachably connected to the sliding assembly (20) and configured to partition an accommodating cavity and move along with the sliding assembly (20) to change the sizes of chambers partitioned by the partition plate (30). The adjustable refrigerator drawer assembly (100) can effectively use the space of the drawer body to simplify the disassembling and assembling process of the partition plate (30).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the technical field of refrigerator shelf devices, and particularly relates to an adjustable refrigerator drawer assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, a drawer for storage is disposed inside a refrigerator chamber. In order to improve the utilization efficiency of the drawer, partition plates are disposed inside the drawer, and the drawer is divided into different spaces by changing positions of the partition plates to meet storage requirements.
In order to realize the separation of a plurality of cavities, in the prior art, a plurality of partition plates are sometimes disposed inside the drawer to divide the space inside the drawer into a plurality of cavities.
However, most of the partition plates in the prior art are connected to the drawer. When the partition plates are not needed, the partition plates can only be moved to the side wall of the drawer to increase the storage space of the drawer as much as possible. However, the partition plates of this connection form still occupy a certain space, so that the space of the drawer can not be fully utilized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One objective of the present invention is to provide an adjustable refrigerator drawer assembly which can effectively utilize the space of a drawer body.
Another objective of the present invention is to simplify the processes of disassembling and assembling partition plates.
Specifically, the present invention provides an adjustable refrigerator drawer assembly, including:

a drawer body, provided with an accommodating cavity for placement of objects;
a sliding assembly, slidably disposed in the drawer body perpendicular to a pulling direction of the drawer body; and
at least one partition plate, detachably connected to the sliding assembly, configured to separate the accommodating cavity, and moving with the sliding assembly to change the size of the separation.

Optionally, the partition plate is arranged along a pulling direction of the drawer body, and front and rear ends of each partition plate are connected to the sliding assembly.
Optionally, the drawer body includes a front wall and a rear wall arranged oppositely, the front wall and the rear wall are respectively provided with a first sliding groove and a second sliding groove aligned with each other, the sliding assemblies are inserted into each of the first sliding groove and the second sliding groove respectively, and the sliding assembly can slide along the first sliding groove and the second sliding groove.
Optionally, each sliding assembly includes:

a base, disposed on an outer side of the drawer body; and
a connecting arm, wherein one end of the connecting arm is fixedly connected to the base, and the other end passes through the first sliding groove or the second sliding groove and is connected to the partition plate.

Optionally, the connecting position of the connecting arm and the partition plate is provided with a notch penetrating through the connecting arm along the vertical direction of a refrigerator, the notch is used for insertion of the partition plate, and the disassembly of the sliding assembly and the partition plate can be realized by pulling out the partition plate upward.
Optionally, the refrigerator drawer assembly further includes:
two guide rods, extending along a width direction of the refrigerator and are respectively fixed on an outer side of the front wall or the rear wall of the drawer body, wherein the base on the corresponding side sleeves an outer side of the guide rod.
Optionally, two ends of each guide rod are further provided with limiting blocks for limiting the limit position of the sliding assembly along its sliding direction.
Optionally, two partition plates are disposed, correspondingly, the front wall of the drawer body is provided with two first sliding grooves, and the rear wall of the drawer body is provided with second sliding grooves aligned with the two first sliding grooves.
Optionally, the partition plate is sized to be capable of being placed in a space below a refrigerating shelf of the refrigerator.
Optionally, the refrigerator drawer assembly is configured to be disposed in a temperature-variable chamber of the refrigerator.
In the present invention, the partition plate is detachably connected to the sliding assembly. When it is necessary to separate the accommodating cavity of the drawer body into a plurality of cavities, for example, when different types of objects are kept off, the sliding assembly can be operated to slide so as to drive the partition plate to move to divide the cavity. When a larger storage space is needed, for example, when a larger volume of food needs to be placed, the partition plate and the sliding assembly can be detached. On the one hand, the accommodating cavity of the drawer body is completely released for placement of objects, thereby effectively utilizing the space of the drawer body, meeting the diversity of the storage needs of a user, and improving the use experience of the user. On the other hand, the partition plate is convenient to clean.
Further, the connecting position of the connecting arm of the sliding assembly and the partition plate is provided with a notch penetrating through the connecting arm along the vertical direction of the refrigerator, the notch is used for insertion of the partition plate, and the disassembly of the sliding assembly and the partition plate can be realized by pulling out the partition plate upward. This detachable connection mode for insertion of the partition plate by the notch along the vertical direction facilitates the disassembly of the partition plate and the sliding assembly, the structure is simple, and the operation is convenient.
According to the following detailed descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the drawings, those skilled in the art will more clearly understand the above and other objectives, advantages and features of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings by way of example and not limitation. The same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same or similar components or parts. Those skilled in the art should understand that these drawings are not necessarily drawn in scale. In figures:

Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator drawer assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic exploded view of a refrigerator drawer assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention (a drawer body is hidden).
Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a part A in Figure 2.
Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a part B in Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator drawer assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention with a partition plate placed on a refrigerating shelf.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator drawer assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in figure 1, the present embodiment provides an adjustable refrigerator drawer assembly 100 which may generally include a drawer body 10, a sliding assembly 20 and at least one partition plate 30. The drawer body 10 is provided with an accommodating cavity for placement of objects. The sliding assembly 20 is slidably disposed in the drawer body 10 a left-and-right direction H perpendicular to a pulling direction D of the drawer body 10. The pulling direction D of the drawer body 10 is a depth direction or the front-and-rear direction of the refrigerator chamber. The partition plate 30 is detachably connected to the sliding assembly 20, is configured to separate the accommodating cavity, and moves with the sliding assembly 20 to change the size of the separation. In other words, the sliding assembly 20 drives the partition plate 30 to slide, so that the partition plate 30 separates the accommodating cavity of the drawer body 10. The sliding position of the partition plate 30 determines the size of the divided cavity.
Since the partition plate 30 of the present embodiment is detachably connected to the sliding assembly 20, when it is necessary to separate the accommodating cavity of the drawer body 10 into a plurality of cavities, for example, when different types of objects are kept off, the sliding assembly 20 can be operated to slide so as to drive the partition plate 30 to move to divide the cavity. When a larger storage space is needed, for example, when a larger volume of food needs to be placed, the partition plate 30 and the sliding assembly 20 can be detached. On the one hand, the accommodating cavity of the drawer body 10 is completely released for placement of objects, thereby effectively utilizing the space of the drawer body 10, meeting the diversity of the storage needs of the user, and improving the use experience of the user. On the other hand, the partition plate 30 is convenient to clean.
Figure 2 is a schematic exploded view of a refrigerator drawer assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention (a drawer body is hidden). In an embodiment, the partition plate 30 is arranged along a pulling direction of the drawer body 10, as shown in figure 2, and front and rear ends of each partition plate 30 are connected to the sliding assembly 20. In other words, the partition plate 30 extends along a front-and-rear direction of the drawer body 10 and separates the accommodating cavity of the drawer body 10 into a plurality of cavities in a left-and-right direction H. Furthermore, the front and rear ends of the partition plate 30 are respectively connected to the sliding assembly 20, so as to increase the synchronicity of the two ends of the partition plate 30 when moving.
In another embodiment, as shown in figure 1, the drawer body 10 includes a front wall 11 and a rear wall 12 arranged oppositely, the front wall 11 and the rear wall 12 are respectively provided with first sliding grooves 111 and second sliding grooves 121 aligned with each other, the sliding assemblies 20 are inserted into the first sliding groove 111 and the second sliding groove 121 respectively, and the sliding assembly 20 can slide along the first sliding groove 111 and the second sliding groove 121.
In the present embodiment, the relative movement of the sliding assembly 20 and the drawer body 10 is realized in a form of a sliding groove. That is, the sliding assemblies 20 at two ends of each partition plate 30 are respectively inserted into the first sliding groove 111 and the second sliding groove 121, and the movement of the partition plate 30 is realized by the movement of the sliding assembly 20 in the first sliding groove 111 and the second sliding groove 121, so as to separate the accommodating cavity of the drawer body 10.
Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a part A in Figure 2. Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a part B in Figure 2. In an embodiment, as shown in figure 3, each sliding assembly 20 includes a base 21 and a connecting arm 22. The base 21 is disposed on an outer side of the drawer body 10. One end of the connecting arm 22 is fixedly connected to the base 21, and the other end passes through the first sliding groove 111 or the second sliding groove 121 and is connected to the partition plate 30 (referring to figure 4).
To realize the movement of the sliding assembly 20 in the first sliding groove 111 or the second sliding groove 121, the sizes of two ends of the sliding assembly 20 protruding from the first sliding groove 111 or the second sliding groove 121 (that is, two ends of the sliding assembly 20 located on an inner side or outer side of the front wall 11 of the drawer body 10, or two ends of the sliding assembly 20 located on an inner side or outer side of the rear wall 12) need to be slightly greater than a width of the first sliding groove 111 or the second sliding groove 121, so that the sliding assembly 20 can not fall off from the first sliding groove 111 or the second sliding groove 121. In the present embodiment, setting the sliding assembly 20 into the form of the base 21 and the connecting arm 22 facilitates the installation of the sliding assembly 20. That is, the base 21 having a size greater than the width of the first sliding groove 111 or the second sliding groove 121 is disposed on the outer side of the drawer body 10, one end of the connecting arm 22 passes through the first sliding groove 111 or the second sliding groove 121, and the other end of the connecting arm 22 having a larger size is located on the inner side of the drawer body 10 and is fixedly connected to the partition plate 30.
In another embodiment, as shown in figure 3, the connecting position of the connecting arm 22 and the partition plate 30 is provided with a notch 221 penetrating through the connecting arm along a vertical direction of a refrigerator. That is, the notch 221 penetrates through the connecting arm 22 along the vertical direction V of the refrigerator for insertion of the partition plate 30 (referring to figure 4), and the disassembly of the sliding assembly 20 and the partition plate 30 can be realized by pulling out the partition plate 30 upward (referring to figure 1 and figure 2). This detachable connection mode for insertion of the partition plate 30 by the notch 221 along the vertical direction facilitates the disassembly of the partition plate 30 and the sliding assembly 20, the structure is simple, and the operation is convenient.
As shown in figure 2, in an embodiment, the refrigerator drawer assembly 100 further includes two guide rods 40 which extend along a width direction of the refrigerator and are respectively fixed on the outer side of the front wall 11 or the rear wall 12 of the drawer body 10 (referring to figure 1), and the base 21 on the corresponding side sleeves an outer side of the guide rod 40. Optionally, as shown in figure 3, the base 21 is provided with a round hole 211, the size of the round hole 211 is adapted to the guide rod 40, and the round hole is used for penetration of the guide rod 40.
By disposing the guide rod 40, the sliding assembly 20 is restrained by the sliding groove and the guide rod 40 when sliding, so that the sliding track is more stable. Furthermore, the arrangement of the guide rod 40 limits a sliding direction of the sliding assembly 20, so as to allow the width of the first sliding groove 111 or the second sliding groove 121 to be set to be slightly larger, thereby facilitating the insertion of the sliding assembly 20.
In another embodiment, as shown in figure 1, also referring to figure 2, two ends of each guide rod 40 are further provided with limiting blocks 50 for limiting the limit position of the sliding assembly 20 along its sliding direction. That is, left and right ends of the guide rod 40 are provided with limiting blocks 50 for limiting the limit position of the sliding assembly 20 at the left and right ends.
In an embodiment, as shown in figure 1, the refrigerator drawer assembly 100 includes two partition plates 30, correspondingly, the front wall 11 of the drawer body 10 is provided with two first sliding grooves 111, and the rear wall 12 is provided with second sliding grooves 121 aligned with the two first sliding grooves 111. That is, the sliding assembly 20 located on the left side moves in the first sliding groove 111 and the second sliding groove 121 on the left side of the drawer body 10, and the partition plate 30 located on the right side moves in the first sliding groove 111 and the second sliding groove 121 on the right side of the drawer body 10. In other embodiments not shown, when the refrigerator drawer assembly 100 includes two partition plates 30, it is also possible to only provide a sliding groove passing through left and right at the front wall 11 of the drawer body 10, and provide a sliding groove passing through left and right at the rear wall 12, so that the sliding assemblies 20 on the front sides of the two partition plates 30 share the sliding groove at the front wall 11, and the sliding assemblies 20 on the rear sides of the two partition plates 30 share the sliding groove at the rear wall 12.
In other embodiments, the refrigerator drawer assembly 100 may also be provided with two or more partition plates 30, which is not limited herein.
Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a refrigerator drawer assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention with a partition plate placed on a refrigerating shelf. As shown in figure 5, in another embodiment, the partition plate 30 is sized to be capable of being placed in a space below a refrigerating shelf 200 of a refrigerator. Generally, a round rod 201 for storage is disposed below the refrigerating shelf 200 in the refrigerating chamber of the refrigerator, and the partition plate 30 of the present embodiment can be placed on the round rod 201 after being disassembled, without occupying other spaces.
Optionally, the refrigerator drawer assembly 100 is configured to be disposed in a temperature-variable chamber of the refrigerator. Usually, an independent temperature-variable chamber is disposed between an upper refrigerating chamber and a lower freezing chamber of a high-end French refrigerator, a drawable temperature-variable drawer is disposed in the temperature-variable chamber, and the refrigerator drawer assembly 100 of the present invention can be used as the temperature-variable drawer.
Hereto, those skilled in the art should realize that although multiple exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, many other variations or modifications that conform to the principles of the present invention can still be directly determined or deduced from the contents disclosed in the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be understood and deemed to cover all such other variations or modifications.

Claims

An adjustable refrigerator drawer assembly, comprising:
a drawer body, provided with an accommodating cavity for placement of objects;

a sliding assembly, slidably disposed in the drawer body in a left-and-right direction perpendicular to the pulling direction of the drawer body; and

at least one partition plate, detachably connected to the sliding assembly, configured to separate the accommodating cavity, and moving with the sliding assembly to change the size of the cavity separated by the partition plate.
The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 1, wherein
the partition plate is arranged along the pulling direction of the drawer body, and front and rear ends of each partition plate are connected to the sliding assembly.
The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 2, wherein
the drawer body comprises a front wall and a rear wall arranged oppositely, the front wall and the rear wall are respectively provided with a first sliding groove and a second sliding groove aligned with each other, the sliding assemblies are inserted into the first sliding groove and the second sliding groove respectively, and the sliding assembly can slide along the first sliding groove and the second sliding groove.
The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 3, wherein
each sliding assembly comprises:
a base, disposed on an outer side of the drawer body; and

a connecting arm, wherein one end of the connecting arm is fixedly connected to the base, and the other end passes through the first sliding groove or the second sliding groove and is connected to the partition plate.
The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 4, wherein
the connecting position of the connecting arm and the partition plate is provided with a notch penetrating through the connecting arm along a vertical direction of a refrigerator, the notch is configured to accommodate the partition plate, and the disassembly of the sliding assembly and the partition plate can be realized by pulling out the partition plate upward.
The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 4, further comprising:
two guide rods, extending along a width direction of the refrigerator and are respectively fixed on the outer side of the front wall or the rear wall of the drawer body, wherein the base on the corresponding side sleeves an outer side of the guide rod.
The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 6, wherein
two ends of each guide rod are further provided with limiting blocks for limiting the limit position of the sliding assembly along its sliding direction.
The refrigerator drawer assembly according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein
two partition plates are disposed, correspondingly, the front wall of the drawer body is provided with two first sliding grooves, and the rear wall of the drawer body is provided with second sliding grooves aligned with the two first sliding grooves.
The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 1, wherein
the partition plate is sized to be capable of being placed in a space below a refrigerating shelf of the refrigerator; and
a round rod for storage is disposed below the refrigerating shelf, and the partition plate is sized to be capable of being placed on the round rod and located between the round rod and the refrigerating shelf.
The refrigerator drawer assembly according to claim 1, wherein
the refrigerator drawer assembly is configured to be disposed in a temperature-variable chamber of the refrigerator.