JPH03113273A - Shelf device for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the rightward or leftward inclination of a shelf, to move the shelf by a relatively small force and to eliminate disturbance of entrance of food in a lower part by forming of upper and lower rollers fixed to left and right innermost parts of a frame, and so disposing the upper roller as to be brought into contact with this side of a slide groove and the lower roller as to be brought into contact with the innermost side face of the groove under the upper roller. CONSTITUTION:An upper roller 3a, a lower roller 3b and a spur gear 5 are disposed in the innermost part of a frame 2. Accordingly, the larger a load to be applied to a shelf 1 is increased, better the roller 3a is brought into contact with this face of a slide groove 14a, and the stronger the roller 3b is brought into contact with the innermost side face of the groove 14a. Since the gear 5 is strongly engaged with a rack 14b so that their rotary frictional force is increased, the frame 2 for holding the shelf 1 is tightly held at its position to eliminate dropping, lateral inclination of the shelf 1. A large force is not required to move the shelf 1 while placing food on the shelf 1, and the shelf 1 is not inclined.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a shelf device for a refrigerator, which is used inside a refrigerator and whose vertical position can be changed in various ways.

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional refrigerator shelving device of this type is shown in, for example, US Pat. No. 2,841,459.

This conventional refrigerator shelf device includes a shelf disposed inside the refrigerator, a frame that holds the @ entry, two rails that slide and hold rollers supported on the left and right sides of the frame, and the frame. Equipped with screws and jacks for fixing in any position. The frame rotatably held a nut fitted into the screw jack and a shaft with a handle for rotating the nut. Further, the rails were installed vertically at the left and right sides at the back of the refrigerator, and the screws were installed vertically at the center at the rear of the refrigerator. Then, the nut, which is fitted into the screw jack surrounding the shaft with the handle, is rotated to change the position of the nut and change the position of the frame that holds the above-mentioned object.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The above-mentioned conventional refrigerator shelf device has a structure in which the position of the frame holding the shelf can be moved up and down by a screw mounted at the center of the interior of the refrigerator, and food is placed on the shelf. In some cases, the shelves may become cumbersome, especially if they are placed off to the left or right of the shelf, on the side where most of the food is placed, or the rollers may come into contact with the rails diagonally, preventing them from rotating smoothly and causing a large amount of force. I had to turn the shaft with the handle. There is also a shaft with a handle and a screw jack in the center of the shelf.
Its structure also caused problems in terms of food storage, as it got in the way of food placed on a relatively large lower shelf or lower food placement surface.

The present invention improves the marks between the conventional refrigerator shelf devices, thereby preventing the trouble between the left and right sides of the shelves, and also allows the shelves to be moved with a relatively small force, so that it does not obstruct food storage at the bottom. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a shelf device for a refrigerator that does not need to be used.

Means for Solving the Problems For the above-mentioned purpose, the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention comprises a shelf disposed in a cold storage, a substantially U-shaped frame for holding the shelf, and the frame. a sliding member attached to the rear left and right sides of the frame, a gear shaft with a spur gear fixed to the left and right ends attached to the rear of the frame, a dial rotatably supported on either the left or right front side of the frame; A dial shaft connected to the dial, a drive gear fixed to this dial shaft and forming a screw-shaped tooth profile, and a tooth profile machined diagonally from the rotation axis so as to mesh along the thread-shaped tooth profile of the drive gear. a rolling gear fixed to the gear shaft; a sliding groove formed in the horizontal and vertical directions inside the refrigerator and housing at least a part of the sliding member and slidingly holding the sliding member; and a sliding groove adjacent to the sliding groove. A rack is disposed that meshes with the spur gears formed in the horizontal and vertical directions in the refrigerator, and the sliding member is formed of a roller consisting of a metal roller shaft and a ring rotatably attached to the roller shaft. , consisting of an upper roller and a lower roller fixed to the rear left and right sides of the frame, the upper roller abutting the front side surface of the sliding groove, and the lower roller lower than the upper roller. It is arranged so as to be in contact with the inner surface of the sliding groove.

Function: Since the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention has the above configuration, when the dial is rotated, the drive gear rotates, and the rolling gear and gear shaft that mesh with it rotate, and the spur gears at both ends of the gear shaft rotate. You can move it up and down on the hook by rotating it. Therefore, the shelf and frame can be raised and lowered while being kept horizontal by means of spur gears that simultaneously rotate up and down on the left and right racks. Because of this, the sliding member moving up and down within the sliding groove can also slide smoothly without being tilted diagonally, so the operating force for the dial can be reduced. Further, by configuring the sliding member with a roller, the roller rotates within the sliding groove, and the shelf can be moved more smoothly, that is, the dial can be easily operated with a small force.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings of FIGS. 1 to 6.

In the figure, 1 is a shelf on which food is placed. 2 is a frame that holds the shelf 1, and a left frame 2a, a right frame 2b, and a rear frame 2c that connects the left and right frames 2a and 2b.
It is formed by Reference numeral 3 designates sliding members attached to the rear left and right sides of the frame 2, and 3a and 3b designate an upper lobe and a lower roller that constitute the sliding member 3. Also, upper and lower rollers 3a,
3b is formed by a metal roller shirt 3c and a ring 3d which is rotatably attached to the roller shaft 3c and has a metal ball fitted inside. Note that the rings 3d of the upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b are the same. 4 is a gear shaft rotatably attached to the back of the frame 2, and fixed flat gears 6 are attached to both left and right ends. 6 is a dial rotatably attached to the dial hole 2d on the front surface of the right frame 2b, 7 is a dial shaft connected to this dial 6, and 8 is a threaded tooth shape fixed to this dial shaft 7. 8a is a drive gear commonly called a worm gear. Reference numeral 9 denotes a tooth profile 9a that is machined obliquely with respect to the rotating shaft, that is, the gear shaft 4 so as to mesh along the screw-like tooth profile 8a of the drive gear 8.
This is a rolling gear, usually called a worm wheel, which is fixed to the gear shaft 4 adjacent to the spur gear 6 on the right side. 1o is the inside of the refrigerator. 11 is an outer box made of iron plate of the refrigerator body. Reference numeral 12 denotes an inner box molded from resin, and has rail grooves 12a formed on the left and right sides of the interior 1o. 13
is a foamed heat insulating material filled between the outer box 11 and the inner box 12. 14 is a rail fixed to the rail groove 12a of the inner box 12 with screws or the like.

Reference numeral 14a denotes a sliding groove formed in the rail 14, which accommodates at least a portion of the sliding member 3, that is, the upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b, and slidably holds them. 14b is a rack that meshes with a spur gear 6 formed toward the front next to the sliding groove 14a of the rail 14.

Note that the width H of the sliding groove 14a is approximately 0.1 to 1 gate larger than the outer diameter of the ring 3d of the upper roller 3a and lower roller 3b. In addition, the upper roller 3a, the lower roller 3b, and the spur gear 6
This means that the upper roller 3a is in contact with the front surface of the sliding groove 14a, and the lower roller 3b is in contact with the sliding groove 14 below the upper roller 3a.
The left frame 2a and the right frame are moved so that they are in front of the rotation axis of the upper roller 3a, that is, the roller shaft 3C, so that the spur gear 6 is in contact with the rear surface of the upper roller 3a and engages with the rack 14b above the lower roller 3b. 2b, respectively. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the frame 2 includes a spur gear 6, a drive gear 8. The shape is such that the rolling gear 9 is covered from above and below and from inside the refrigerator.

Next, reference numeral 16 is a control panel provided with an air passage or the like inside to cool the interior 10 of the refrigerator.

When moving the shelf 1 of the refrigerator shelf device of this embodiment upward or downward, the dial shaft 7 and the drive gear 8 are rotated when the dial iv6 is first rotated. Therefore, the rolling gear 9 that meshes with the drive gear 8 rotates, and the gear shaft 4
and the spur gears 6 on both sides rotate. At this time, gear shaft 4
The spur gear 6 moves while meshing with the rack 14b, but since the left and right spur gears 6 are fixed to the gear shaft 4 and rotate in the same manner, the frame 2, that is, the shelf 1, moves up and down in the same manner as the left and right sides, and the height position of the left and right sides is maintained. No deviation occurs. As a result, the sliding member 3 that moves up and down within the sliding groove 14a can slide smoothly without being bothersome obliquely, so the operating force for the diamond IL/6 can be small. In addition, in this embodiment, the roller shafts 3a of the upper and lower rollers 3a and sb are made of metal, so even if many foods are placed on the shelf 1, the upper and lower rollers 3a and 3b do not become cumbersome, and metal balls are fitted into the roller shafts 3a and sb. Since the rotation is made smoother by the ring 3d and the frictional force thereof can be reduced, the operating force of the dial 6 can be extremely small. Next, when the shelf 1 is moved to a desired position by the dial 6 and then stopped, the shelf 1 or frame 2 tends to fall down due to the weight of the shelf 1 and frame 2 and the weight of the food on the shelf 1. As a result of this force, the spur gear 6 first tries to rotate. Therefore, the gear shaft 4 and the rolling gear 9 try to rotate, but the rolling gear 9 meshes with the drive gear 8, and it is mechanically easy to rotate the rolling gear 9 by rotating the drive gear 8. However, due to the tooth profile 9a of the rolling gear 9, the drive gear 8
The force for rotating the screw-shaped tooth profile 8a is generated by the rolling gear 9, which has an extremely large frictional force, due to the tooth profile 9a of the rolling gear 9 meshing with the tooth profile 8a of the drive gear 8 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the tooth profile 8a. It is not possible to rotate the drive gear 8. Therefore, when the shelf 1 is stopped, the drive gear 8 and the rolling gear 9
serves as a stopper mechanism, and even when food is placed on the shelf 1, the shelf 1 does not go down and is held at that position. In addition, in this embodiment, the upper roller 3a, the lower roller 3b, and the spur gear 6 are located at the back of the frame 2, so the lifting roller 3a, which has a large load on the shelf 1, is placed on the front surface of the sliding groove 14a. The lower roller 3b comes into stronger contact with the rear surface of the sliding groove 14a, and the spur gear 6 meshes more strongly with the rack 14b, increasing the rotational frictional force between them. The shelf 1 is held securely in that position, and there is no need for it to fall or move from side to side. As explained above, the refrigerator shelf device of this embodiment does not require a large force to move the shelf 1 even when food is placed on the shelf 1, and the shelf 1 does not tilt.

In this embodiment, the right frame 2b is the dial shaft 7.
, drive gear 8, rolling gear 9, spur gear 6, rear frame 2
Since the left frame 2a covers the spur gear 6, there is no problem of food splashing onto each gear and damaging it, and there is also no problem of it getting in the way of storing food in the lower rack. do not have. Furthermore, the width of the sliding groove 14a that slides and holds the upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b is only slightly larger than the outer diameter of the upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b. Since the food is inserted into the sliding groove 14a with a distance of Since the shelf 1 is in contact with the front surface, the displacement of the shelf 1 is so slight that it does not become a problem.

As described in detail, the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention includes a shelf disposed inside the refrigerator, a substantially U-shaped frame that holds the shelf, and slides attached to the rear left and right sides of the frame. a moving member;
A gear shaft with a spur gear fixed to the left and right ends attached to the back of the frame, a dial rotatably supported on either the left or right front side of the frame, a dial shaft connected to this dial, and this dial shaft. a driving gear fixed to the gear shaft and forming a screw-shaped tooth profile, and a 'fc rolling gear fixed to the gear shaft and forming a tooth profile machined diagonally from the rotating shaft so as to mesh with the thread-shaped tooth profile of the drive gear. a sliding groove formed in the horizontal and vertical directions inside the refrigerator and housing at least a part of the sliding member and slidably holding the sliding member; and a sliding groove formed in the horizontal and vertical directions in the refrigerator adjacent to the sliding groove. A rack that meshes with the spur gear is arranged, and the sliding member is formed by a roller consisting of a metal roller shaft and a ring rotatably attached to the roller shaft, and is fixed to the rear left and right sides of the frame. Consisting of an upper roller and a lower roller, the upper roller contacts the front surface of the sliding groove, and the lower roller contacts the rear surface of the sliding groove below the upper roller. When the dial is rotated, the drive gear rotates, which rotates the rolling gear and gear shaft that mesh with it, and the rack is moved up and down by the rotation of the spur gears at both ends of the gear shaft. be able to. Therefore, the shelf and frame can be raised and lowered while being kept horizontal by means of spur gears that simultaneously rotate up and down on the left and right racks. Because of this, the sliding member that moves up and down within the sliding groove can slide smoothly without being bothered obliquely, so the operating force for the dial can be reduced. Further, by configuring the sliding member with a roller, the roller rotates within the sliding groove, and the shelf can be moved more smoothly, that is, the dial can be easily operated with a small force. In addition, the dial, dial shaft, drive gear, rolling gear, and spur gear are located near the side of the refrigerator for a simple structure, so they do not get in the way when placing food on the food surface at the bottom of the shelf. do not have.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional perspective view of the main parts of a refrigerator to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a frame used in this embodiment, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the main parts of this embodiment. , Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part, Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part, and Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part.
The figure is a sectional view of the main part. 1...Shelf, 2...Frame, 3...
...Sliding member, 3a1. ...Upper roller, 3b...
...Lower roller, 3c...Roller shaft,
3d・river・ring, 4・mountain・gear shaft, 6・・
...Spur gear, 6...Dial, 7...
...Dial shaft, 8...Drive gear, 9.
...Rolling gear, 10...Inside the refrigerator, 14&...
...Sliding groove, 14b...Rack. 2-°Frame 3 peaks-L roller 3c-Roller Vse butt 3 and ring 4-Gift Vqft 5-Early gear 7--Dymar V if (14a-Weir movement diagram/-11 Yam

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A shelf installed inside the refrigerator, a substantially U-shaped frame that holds the shelf, sliding members attached to the back left and right of the frame, and a sliding member attached to the back of the frame. A gear shaft with a spur gear fixed to the left and right ends, a dial rotatably supported on either the left or right front surface of the frame, a dial shaft connected to the dial, and a threaded tooth profile fixed to the dial shaft. A driving gear is formed, and a rolling gear is fixed to the gear shaft and has a tooth profile machined diagonally from the rotating shaft so as to mesh with the threaded tooth profile of the drive gear. a sliding groove formed in which at least a portion of the sliding member is housed and slidably held; and a rack that engages with the spur gear formed adjacent to the sliding groove in the horizontal and vertical directions at the back of the refrigerator. Refrigerator shelf device. (2) The sliding member is formed by a roller consisting of a metal roller shaft fixed to the frame and a ring rotatably attached to the roller shaft. Consisting of a roller and a lower roller, the upper roller is in contact with the front surface of the sliding groove, and the lower roller is lower than the upper roller and is in contact with the rear surface of the sliding groove. Claim (1) characterized in that
) The refrigerator shelving device described.