JP2002228352A - Multifunctional shelf of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multifunctional shelf in a refrigerator of which the form is made variable diversely, at least in a part thereof, according to food, by a simple structure so as to meet diversified needs of a user and which can be used as an ordinary shelf, of course, and further as a wine rack, for setting a bottle or the like upright, for a partition for another vessel and for other purposes. SOLUTION: An opening is provided at least in a part of a setting surface of a plate-like shelf provided in the refrigerator, and the multifunctional shelf constituted of small shelf pieces that are divided in a plurality and of which the joining sides opposite to each other are made bendable is so provided as to close up the opening. The shelf is used ordinarily as a food-placing shelf being flat. In the case when a wine bottle or the like is set, it is made the wine rack by bending the small shelf pieces in angled shapes, with the angled state held by the engagement of the end face of the small shelf piece with the edge of the opening. When an uncapped bottle or the like is cooled and preserved, the small shelf pieces are bent further to enlarge the area of the opening so that the bottle be set upright.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shelf structure of a refrigerator, and more particularly to a shelf structure having various functions by changing the shape of a shelf.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of refrigerator shelves have been proposed.
A product that can be extended and contracted in the front-rear direction and has a variable storage space according to the size of the stored item has also been commercialized.

[0003] In recent years, there has been a demand for more diversified eating habits and a larger storage capacity.
Classes exceeding 00 liters are becoming mainstream,
The external dimensions of refrigerators are close to their limits in width, depth, and height due to installation conditions such as kitchen conditions in Japan, and the limited storage space has led to a strong demand for improved usability. .

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of this point. In order to respond to diversifying user needs, the shelf configuration can be variously changed according to foods, and a simple structure is adopted. It has many functions.

[0005] More specifically, at least a part of the shelf has a variable configuration so that it can be used not only as a normal shelf but also as a stand for wine racks and bottles, a partition for other containers, and the like. The purpose is to provide a functional shelf.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a plate-like shelf provided in a refrigerator and at least a part on a mounting surface of the shelf. And a small shelf piece which is installed so as to close the opening, is divided into a plurality of parts, and the joint surfaces facing each other can be freely bent, and when the small shelf piece is bent, the small shelf piece The present invention is characterized by a multifunctional shelf of a refrigerator in which an angled bent state is maintained by engagement of an end face with the opening edge.

[0007] With this configuration, usually used as a conventional flat food storage shelf, when placing wine or the like, small shelf pieces are bent into a mountain shape to form a wine rack,
When the opened bottles are cooled and stored, the bottles can be placed upright by further bending the small shelf pieces to increase the opening area.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the angled bent adjacent link portion is held by shortening the distance between the engaging portions of the opening edge portion from the sum of the depth lengths of the two small shelf pieces. It is characterized by the following.

With this configuration, if the two small shelves are bent and the rear end locking portion is engaged with the engaging portion at the opening edge, it is inevitably held in a mountain shape, and bottles such as wine A space suitable for holding the camera.

[0010] The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that arcuate portions are formed on each of the bendable joint end faces, so that the arcuate portions can favorably store and store wine. it can.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the engaging portion of the small shelf is engaged with or disengaged from the engaging portion closest to one end in the longitudinal direction of the opening, so that the small shelf can be released. An opening in which bottles can be placed upright is formed at the other end side. With this configuration, a standing space for bottles that cannot be placed horizontally such as opened ones can be formed with one touch. According to the described invention, the small shelf piece can be made detachable from the mounting shelf and used as a partition member inside the container forming another storage room.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator compartment of a refrigerator with a door removed, and shows a water supply tank of an ice making device and a shelf 3 at an upper portion of a low-temperature corner 2 among a plurality of shelves provided in the refrigerator compartment 1. A multifunctional shelf 5 composed of a plurality of small shelf pieces is provided on the side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the multifunctional shelf 5 has an opening 4 formed at a part of the corner of the shelf 3, and the opening 4 has a multifunctional shelf 5 in which a plurality of small shelf pieces 6, 7 are linked. And the opening is closed. Of the small shelf pieces 6 and 7, the small shelf piece 6 located at the front has concave grooves 6a formed on both sides at the front end for engaging with the engaging pins 4a provided at the front end of the opening 4, and at the rear end thereof. A concave groove 6b which detachably engages with a front end engaging pin 7a of the rear small shelf piece 7 is formed. At the rear end of the rear small shelf piece 7, there is provided a locking pin 7b located in the rear engaging recess 4a of the opening. Further, arc-shaped portions 8 are formed at the opposed edge portions of the small shelf pieces 6 and 7 which are linked to each other.

On the other hand, the opening 4 has an engagement pin 4a at the front end.
A receiving flange 4c for holding the small shelf pieces 6, 7 is formed on both sides inside the opening together with the engaging concave portion 4b at the rear and a first locking concave portion at a substantially central portion of the depth dimension of the receiving flange 4c. 4d is provided. Further, a second engaging recess 4e is formed slightly rearward from the front end engaging pin 4a at the front, and the engaging pin 7b at the rear end of the rear small shelf piece 7 can be engaged according to the usage of the small shelf piece. Like that.

Normally, the small shelf pieces 6 and 7 before and after these
The opening 4 is closed and the entire surface of the shelf 3 is held in a flat state and used as a mounting shelf. When the small shelf pieces 6 and 7 are used as holding shelves for bottles 9 such as wine, the rear portion is used. Small shelf piece 7
Is slid forward to be locked in the first locking recess 4d substantially at the center of the opening 4. As a result, the front and rear small shelf pieces 6 and 7 are bent into a mountain shape due to the relationship between the depth dimension of the two pieces and the distance between the locking portions 4a and 4d before and after the opening 4, as shown in FIG. As described above, the neck of the bottles 9 such as wine is supported by the arc-shaped portion 8 at the upper end thereof, and is placed and stored.

Next, a description will be given of a shelf form when bottles are set up. Bottles that cannot be placed horizontally, such as opened bottles 9
In the case of standing upright, the locking pin 7b of the rear small shelf piece 7 is further slid forward so that the second locking recess 4e of the opening 4 is formed.
To be engaged. As a result, the front and rear small shelf pieces 6 and 7 are erected substantially vertically, and the rear portion is largely opened. Therefore, as shown in FIG. And stand on the lower shelf 10.

In the above example, the small shelf pieces 6 and 7 are set up vertically on the upper part of the opening 4, but they may be made to hang downward. In this case, it is necessary to slightly change the engagement structure between the locking pin 7b and the second engagement recess 4e, but the reverse engagement relationship or the engagement relationship between the front and rear small shelf pieces 6, 7 is changed. By releasing, the small shelves 6 and 7 are made to hang down to enlarge the opening space. In this case, the bottle 9 is taken in and out from above the opening 4.

Further, in such a case, the small shelf itself may not be necessary, but if it is removed and removed outside the refrigerator, it may be lost. As a method, as shown in FIG. 5, it is used as a partition member 12 before and after a relatively narrow container 11 such as an ice storage container or a switching room container. In this case, the size of the small shelf piece may be adjusted to the width of the container, and the engagement portion 13 with the end surface of the small shelf piece may be formed on the side wall of the container 11.

In the above embodiment, the opening for providing the small shelf piece is formed in a part of the mounting shelf, but the opening may be formed over the entire width or the entire depth of the shelf.

[0020]

As described above, according to the multifunctional shelf of the refrigerator of the present invention, it is possible to normally use it as a flat food placing shelf and to store wine and the like by a simple structure and movement of small shelf pieces. When placing, small shelves are bent into a chevron shape to form a suitable wine rack, and when opened bottles are cooled and stored, the small shelves are further bent to increase the opening area. As a result, the bottle can be placed upright on the shelf in the refrigerator as well as on the door side pocket.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, wine can be placed and stored more stably by the arc-shaped portion formed on the bendable joint end face of the small shelf piece. According to the described invention, the storage space for the opened bottle or the like which has been stored in the pocket inside the door until now, but this pocket is always full and the storage was difficult, can be formed with one touch. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the small shelf piece can be used as a partition member inside the container forming another storage room.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention with a door removed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a multifunctional shelf showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a main part showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side sectional view of a main part showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator room 2 Low-temperature corner 3 Shelf 4 Opening 4a engaging pin 4b engaging concave part 4c receiving flange 4d 1st locking concave part 4e 2nd locking concave part 5 Multifunctional shelf 6 Front small shelf piece 6a concave groove 6b Stop pin 7 Rear small shelf piece 7a Depressed groove 7b Locking pin 8 Arc-shaped part 9 Bottle of wine etc. 10 Lower shelf 11 Container 12 Partition member 13 Engagement part

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A plate-shaped shelf provided in a refrigerator, an opening provided in at least a part of a mounting surface of the shelf, and an opening provided so as to close the opening. It consists of a small shelf piece whose opposing joint surface is freely bendable, and when the small shelf piece is bent, engagement of the small shelf piece end face with the opening edge keeps the angled bent state. A multifunctional shelf for a refrigerator, characterized in that: 2. An adjacent link portion bent at an angle is held by shortening a distance between engagement portions of an opening edge portion than a sum of depth lengths of two small shelf pieces. The multifunctional shelf of the refrigerator according to 1. 3. The multifunctional shelf of a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein an arc-shaped portion is formed on each of the bendable joint end surfaces. 4. A bottle or the like on the other end of the small shelf by engaging or disengaging the engaging portion of the small shelf with the engaging portion closest to one end in the longitudinal direction of the opening. The multifunctional shelf of a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein an opening is formed in which the refrigerator can be placed upright. 5. The multifunctional shelf of a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the small shelf piece is detachable from the mounting shelf, and is used as a partition member inside a container forming another storage room.