JP2010054137A - Refrigerator and small article case for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator minimizing leaking of cold air in a housing compartment to the outside from a gap formed between a notch of a housing case disposed in the housing compartment and a small article case attached to the notch. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator is equipped with a plurality of housing compartments divided into multiple layers in a vertical direction, and any one of the housing compartments can be freely withdrawn toward the front of the refrigerator. In the refrigerator, the housing case is detachably mounted in the freely withdrawn housing compartment, the notch of a substantially square shape as seen from above is formed on one part of the housing case, and the small article case of a substantially rectangular shape free to be inserted and withdrawn is disposed on the notch. It is configured as a refrigerator comprised by forming an inclined plane on a bottom corner rim of the small article case. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator and a small accessory case for a refrigerator that includes a plurality of storage chambers divided into multiple layers in the vertical direction, and any of the storage chambers can be pulled out toward the front of the refrigerator.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1, for example, a refrigerator includes a plurality of storage chambers divided into multiple layers in the vertical direction, and one of the storage chambers is pulled out toward the front of the refrigerator. Refrigerators that are free are known. FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1 shows a state in which a vegetable case, which is an example of the lowermost storage chamber, is pulled out. A refrigerator in which a detachable upper case (small container 7 in Patent Document 1) that also serves as a lid for the upper opening is placed in an upper opening of a vegetable room as an example of a retractable storage room as described above is disclosed. Has been. A cutout is formed in a part of the small container 7 (an end portion on the door side in FIG. 1) which is an example of the upper case.
On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses a refrigerator in which a plastic vegetable container is detachably accommodated in a freely drawable vegetable room. A refrigerator is disclosed in which a substantially rectangular cutout is formed in a part of the vegetable case in Patent Document 2 in a plan view, and a substantially rectangular accessory case that can be inserted into and removed from the cutout can be arranged. The accessory case is for vertically storing plastic bottles and long vegetables such as radishes and celery. Accordingly, the small case itself is also configured to be insertable / removable with respect to the notch so that the operability in the home is improved and the vegetables and drinks stored therein can be taken out together with the case.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-94456 JP 2004-020114 A

Whether it is the small container 7 described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 or the vegetable case described in the Patent Document 2, any housewife in order to easily take out the contents or organize the storage state. However, the fitting accuracy between the small container 7 described in Patent Document 1 or the vegetable case described in Patent Document 2 and the storage chamber is considerably loosened. Molded to form many gaps. Moreover, even if it is the accessory case 7 attached to the accessory container 7 of the said patent document 1, or the vegetable case of the patent document 2, the fitting precision with respect to the said notch is easy to insert / extract with respect to a notch. Is considerably loose, and the position of the notch varies considerably depending on the position of the accessory container 7 described in Patent Document 1 or the vegetable case described in Patent Document 2.
Furthermore, the accessory container 7 described in Patent Document 1 or the vegetable case described in Patent Document 2 can be seen in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 2 so as to easily contain seasonings, small vegetables, or various foods. As described above, various irregularities are formed on the bottom, and a considerable gap is often formed between the case and the substantially rectangular accessory case attached to the notch.
However, if the gap formed between the small case and the small container 7 described in Patent Document 1 or the storage case such as the vegetable case described in Patent Document 2 is large as described above, the retractable storage is possible. The leakage of cold air when the room is pulled out is large, and the energy for refrigeration is wasted, which is extremely uneconomical.
As shown in FIG. 6 (c) (viewed from the direction of the arrow Y2 in FIG. 3), the gap between the upper end 20 of the accessory case 16 and the bottom surface 12a of the upper case 12 is indicated by arrows X2 and Y2. A gap 22d is generated. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, when the vegetable compartment 10 is closed, the internal dry air enters and exits the vegetable compartment as indicated by the arrow Z2, which causes a disadvantage that the vegetable compartment is dried and the vegetables are damaged. .
Furthermore, today, when PET bottles are popular, lifestyles such as storing bottles in vegetable rooms have become established for cooling bottles or keeping bottles cooled in a refrigerator room. The small case 16 that has been installed for the purpose of storing cucumbers and small vegetables has a smaller opening area than the opening area of the upper case 12 in plan view. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B, the gap between the upper case 12 and the accessory case 16 is in a state where a gap 22c that is wide in the horizontal direction is interposed in addition to the gap 22b in the vertical direction. It was. That is, when viewed in an oblique direction, a large gap 22d is formed as shown by the arrow in FIG. 6 (c), so that cold air enters and exits from this gap and has a problem of reducing the humidity in the vegetable compartment. It was.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to provide a notch for a storage case disposed in the storage chamber and a small case attached to the notch. An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator which has been improved so as to keep the temperature and humidity in the accommodation room constant by preventing the internal cold air from entering and exiting as much as possible from the gap formed between them.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a refrigerator comprising a plurality of storage chambers divided into multiple layers in the vertical direction, and any of the storage chambers can be pulled out toward the front of the refrigerator, A storage case is detachably mounted in a retractable storage chamber. Further, a substantially rectangular cutout is formed in the full width or a part of the storage case in a plan view, and a substantially rectangular shape that can be inserted into and removed from the cutout. The refrigerator in which the shape refrigerator accessory case can be arranged is configured as a refrigerator in which a slope is formed at the bottom corner edge of the refrigerator accessory case.
An example of the pull-out collection chamber is a conventionally known vegetable room, and an example of the storage case is a detachable upper case that also serves as a lid for the upper opening of the vegetable room.
Further, when the present invention is regarded as an improvement of a small accessory case for a refrigerator, a refrigerator having a plurality of storage chambers divided into multiple layers in the vertical direction, and any of the storage chambers can be pulled out toward the front of the refrigerator. The housing case is detachably mounted in the retractable housing chamber, and further, a substantially square notch is formed in the full width or a part of the housing case in a plan view. The refrigerator accessory case in which a substantially rectangular refrigerator accessory case that can be freely inserted and removed can be arranged, and can be regarded as a refrigerator accessory case in which a slope is formed at the bottom corner edge of the refrigerator accessory case.

The refrigerator according to the present invention includes a plurality of storage chambers divided in multiple layers in the vertical direction, and any of the storage chambers can be pulled out toward the front of the refrigerator. A storage case is detachably mounted in the room, and further, a substantially rectangular cutout is formed in the full width or a part of the storage case in a plan view, and the rectangular case can be inserted into and removed from the cutout. In the refrigerator which can arrange | position, it is comprised as the accessory case used for the refrigerator with which a slope is formed in the bottom corner edge of the said accessory case, or the refrigerator.
Therefore, when a vertically long container such as a plastic bottle, seasoning, liquor, milk, or other vertically long paper pack is inserted into the accessory case, the bottom corner on the slope side of the inserted container comes into contact with the slope. , The container slides on the slope and moves to a position opposite to the slope to stop. As a result, the shoulder on the side opposite to the slope of the container closes the gap, and external air enters and exits the storage chamber in which the storage case is placed through the clearance, and the temperature and humidity change of the air in the storage chamber changes. Is prevented.
If the storage room is a vegetable room or a vegetable case, containers such as plastic bottles slide on the slope as described above to close the gap, and cold air enters and exits the vegetable room. A decrease in indoor humidity is prevented.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings so that the present invention can be understood. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
Here, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the state in which the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator X according to the embodiment of the present invention is drawn obliquely from above, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an upper case housed in the upper portion of the vegetable compartment. FIGS. 3 and 3 are perspective views showing a small case inserted in the cutout of the vegetable compartment, FIG. 4 is a perspective view exemplarily showing the small case, and FIG. 5 shows a plastic bottle stored in the small case. 6A is a perspective view of the accessory case in FIG. 3 as viewed from the direction of the arrow Y1, FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the accessory case in FIG. 3 as viewed from the direction of the arrow Y2, and FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the clearance gap which arises between a storage case and a accessory case.

First, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the refrigerator X with the vegetable compartment 10 shown in FIG. 1 drawn out.
The vegetable room 10 is an example of a storage room that is divided into multiple layers in the vertical direction so as to store an object to be cooled such as food, and is freely detachable.
A removable upper case 12 is placed in the vegetable compartment 10. The illustrated upper case 12 is an example of the storage case of the present invention, and is a detachable upper case that also serves as a lid for the upper opening of the storage chamber.
As the storage case of the present invention, not only the upper case 12 that occupies only the upper space of the vegetable case 10 as described above, but also the storage that occupies almost the entire volume of the storage, such as the vegetable container disclosed in Patent Document 2. It is also applicable to cases.
As clearly shown in FIG. 2, the upper case 12 extends over the entire width L of the upper case 12 or a part thereof (partial width L1 in the case of FIG. 3). (Indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2) is formed, and an insertable / removable substantially rectangular accessory case 16 indicated by a solid line in FIG.
In this case, by keeping the notches 14 of the upper case 12 and the accessory case 16 in plan view substantially the same, a humidity drop in the vegetable compartment 10 can be effectively prevented as will be described later.

Although the accessory case 16 has various forms, it is a generally rectangular solid, and examples thereof include those shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b).
In the accessory case 16b shown in FIG. 4 (b), a protruding wall 18 protruding upward is formed on the upper portion of the side wall 18b on the short side. On the other hand, in the accessory case 16a shown in FIG. 4A, the protruding wall 18 protruding upward as described above is not formed on the upper portion of the side wall 18a on the short side. The protruding wall 18 is for preventing the leakage of the cooled air in the vegetable compartment 10 as will be described later. However, since the protruding wall 18 interferes with the bottom of the upper case 12, the upper case 12 When 12 is attached, the accessory case 16 cannot be placed in a free position in the vegetable compartment 10. It is desirable that the accessory case 16 as described above can be used by a housewife who is a representative of the user and can freely place what he / she wants. However, the position of the accessory case 16 is limited as described above. It can be inconvenient for the user.
Therefore, the small case 16a without the protruding wall shown in FIG. 4A is configured such that the small case 16 can be placed at a free position below the upper case 12 except for the protruding wall 18.

Especially in the small case 16a without the projecting wall 18 as described above, even when standing as described above, the upper end 20 is in a state of being separated from the bottom surface of the upper case 12, and the place of placement can be freely selected. However, a gap is generated between the bottom surface of the upper case 12 and the upper end portion 20 of the accessory case 16a.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the occurrence of such a gap. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A (viewed from the direction of the arrow Y1 in FIG. 3), there is a gap between the upper end 20 of the accessory case 16 and the bottom surface 12a of the upper case 12 as indicated by the arrow X1. A gap 22a is generated. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, when the vegetable compartment 10 is pulled out, cold air enters and exits the vegetable compartment 10 as indicated by the arrow Z1, so that the humidity in the vegetable compartment decreases.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6b (viewed from the direction of the arrow Y2 in FIG. 3), a gap 22b as shown by the arrow X2 is formed between the upper end portion 20 of the accessory case 16 and the bottom surface 12a of the upper case 12. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, when the vegetable compartment 10 is pulled out, the cold air enters and exits the vegetable compartment 10 as indicated by the arrow Z2, and the vegetable compartment is dried and the vegetables are damaged.
Furthermore, since it has been installed for the purpose of storing small vegetables such as cucumbers and carrots in the past, the stored area is stood and stored in consideration of the fall prevention, so the opening area in plan view is larger than the opening area of the notch 14 part. As shown in FIG. 6C, the gap between the upper case 12 and the accessory case 16 includes a gap 22c that is wide in the horizontal direction in addition to the gap 22b in the vertical direction. It was in a state. That is, when viewed in an oblique direction, a large gap 22d is formed as shown by the arrow in FIG. 6 (c), so that a gap between the accessory case 16 and the vegetable compartment 10 is generated over the entire periphery, and the cold air However, there was a possibility that the humidity in the vegetable room could be reduced through this gap.

In the accessory case 16 in this embodiment, when a tall container such as a plastic bottle is stored in the accessory case 16, the gap 22a or 22b as described above is not generated or the gap is reduced. Are devised.
Further, as described above, the notch 14 of the upper case 12 and the accessory case 16 have substantially the same shape in plan view, thereby narrowing the gap between the accessory case 16 and the upper case 12 over the entire circumference. Furthermore, since the gap 22c or 22d in FIG. 6 is reduced, the humidity in the vegetable compartment 10 is efficiently prevented.
That is, the accessory case 16 according to this embodiment has inclined surfaces 24a and 24b formed at the bottom corner edge as shown in FIG. Either one or both of the slopes 24a and 24b may be formed.
The slope 24a is formed at the bottom corner edge of the side surface of the accessory case 16 (the front surface of the accessory case 16 in FIG. 1) facing the inner surface of the accessory compartment 16 side of the vegetable compartment 10 on the door 26 (see FIG. 1) side. It is a slope.
The inclined surface 24b is a side surface of the accessory case 16 that faces the inner side surface 28 (see FIG. 1) of the accessory case 16 that intersects the door inner side surface of the vegetable compartment 10 at 90 degrees (see FIG. 1). It is a slope formed at the bottom corner edge (right side as viewed from the front).
The slopes 24a and 24b are formed only at the positions described above. If it is formed on the opposite side, a container such as a PET bottle cannot be moved when it hits the slope, and the effect of closing the gap with the shoulder of the container does not occur.

  When the inclined surface 24a as described above is formed, as shown in FIG. 5A, for example, when a plastic bottle P is inserted into the accessory case 16, the left bottom of the plastic bottle P shown in the figure as shown by the chain line in the figure. As a result of the corner portion coming into contact with the inclined surface 24a, the illustrated left-bottom corner portion of the plastic bottle P slides on the inclined surface 24a to the right end as shown by the solid line and stops. As a result, the illustrated right shoulder portion of the plastic bottle P closes the gap 22a on the back side, and the decrease in humidity in the vegetable compartment due to the cold air flowing into the vegetable compartment 10 as indicated by the arrow Z1 in FIG. 6 is reduced. Or completely prevented.

  Further, when the inclined surface 24b as described above is formed, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the two plastic bottles P1 and P2 are inserted side by side in the accessory case 16, the right side shown by the chain line in the figure. As a result of the right bottom corner of the plastic bottle P1 in contact with the slope 24b, the left bottom corner of the plastic bottle P1 slides on the slope 24a and moves to the left as shown by the solid line and stops. . As a result, the plastic bottle P1 is pushed by the plastic bottle P1, and the plastic bottle P2 also moves in the left direction. The illustrated left shoulder portion of the plastic bottle P2 closes the gap 22b on the back side, and is indicated by an arrow Z2 in FIG. Such dry air is less or completely prevented from flowing into the vegetable compartment 10.

The clogging of the gaps 22a and 22b by the inclined surfaces 24a and 24b as described above is not limited to PET bottles, but when a tall rectangular container such as milk, liquor, seasoning or the like is stored in the accessory case 16, or This is also the case when high-quality vegetables or the like are stored in the gap side, and it occurs quite frequently even if it does not always occur.
Further, the slopes 24a and 24b do not always have to be both, and even if one of them is present, an operation to close the gap occurs.
If the protruding wall 18 is formed, the protruding wall 18 may block the gap 22b shown in FIG. 6B. Even in this case, the gap 22a shown in FIG. Since this may occur, it is meaningful to form the inclined surface 24a as in the present invention.

  The present invention is applicable to refrigerators.

The perspective view which looked at the state which pulled out the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator X which concerns on embodiment of this invention from diagonally upward. The perspective view which shows an example of the upper case accommodated in the upper part of a vegetable compartment. The perspective view which shows the state in which the accessory case was inserted in the notch part of a vegetable compartment. The perspective view which shows an accessory case illustratively. The side view which shows the state in which the plastic bottle was accommodated in the accessory case. The figure for demonstrating the clearance gap which arises between a storage case and a accessory case.

Explanation of symbols

X ... Refrigerator 10 ... Vegetable room (containment room)
12 ... Upper case (container case)
14 ... Notch 16 ... Accessory case 22 ... Gap 24 ... Slope

Claims (5)

A refrigerator having a plurality of storage rooms divided into multiple layers in the vertical direction, and any of the storage rooms can be pulled out toward the front of the refrigerator,
A storage case is detachably mounted in the retractable storage chamber, and a substantially square notch is formed in a plan view in the entire width or a part of the storage case. In a refrigerator where a rectangular refrigerator accessory case can be placed,
A refrigerator in which a slope is formed on a bottom corner edge of the accessory case for refrigerator.   The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the storage case is a detachable upper case that also serves as a lid for the upper opening of the storage chamber.   The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inclined surface is formed at a bottom corner edge of a side surface of the small accessory case for the refrigerator that faces the inner side surface of the storage chamber. A refrigerator having a plurality of storage rooms divided into multiple layers in the vertical direction, and any of the storage rooms can be pulled out toward the front of the refrigerator,
A storage case is detachably mounted in the retractable storage chamber, and a substantially square notch is formed in a plan view in the entire width or a part of the storage case. In a refrigerator accessory case where a rectangular refrigerator accessory case can be placed,
An accessory case for a refrigerator, wherein a slope is formed on the bottom corner edge of the accessory case for the refrigerator.   The refrigerator accessory case according to claim 4, wherein the inclined surface is formed at a bottom corner edge of a side surface of the accessory case for the refrigerator that faces the inner side surface of the storage chamber.

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