JPH03175262A - Shelf device of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To absorb unevenness in assembly of right and left frames and prevent any excessive engagement between a rack and a spur gear by a method wherein an intermediate frame for connecting the right frame and the left frame is made of material which is more soft than that of the right and left frames. CONSTITUTION:When a shelf 1 of a shelf device is moved up and down, a dial 6 is rotated to cause a dial shaft 7 and a driving gear 8 to be rotated. A rotating gear 9 engaged with the driving gear 8 is rotated and spur gears 5 at both sides are rotated together with a gear shaft 4. Spur gears 5 are moved in a sliding groove 14a through the gear shaft 4 while engaging with a front side rack 14b, a frame 2, i.e. the shelf 1 is moved up and down in the same manner as that of the right and left sides, resulting in that no positional displace ment of right and left heights occurs. The frame 2 is connected to a left frame 2a, a right frame 2b is connected to an intermediate frame 2c. The intermediate frame is made of material which is more soft than that of the right and left frames 2b and 2a so as to absorb unevenness in assembly of the right and left frames 2b and 2a and thus it is possible to prevent any excessive engage ment between the rack 14b and spur gears 5.

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 Conventionally, this type of refrigerator shelf apparatus has been disclosed, for example, in US Pat. No. 2,841,459.

This conventional refrigerator shelf device consists of a shelf arranged inside the refrigerator, a frame that holds the shelf and is formed of iron plates and assembled with screws, and rollers supported on the left and right sides of the frame. It was equipped with two rails for holding the frame in place and a screw jack for fixing the frame at any position. The frame is fitted into the screw jack.
The nut and a shaft with a handle for rotating the nut were rotatably held. Further, the rails were installed vertically at the left and right sides of the back of the refrigerator, and the screws were installed vertically at the center of the inside of the refrigerator.

Then, the shaft with the handle is turned to rotate the nut fitted into the screw jack, thereby changing the position of the nut and changing the position of the frame holding the shelf.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above-mentioned conventional refrigerator shelf device, the mechanism for raising and lowering the shelves is
It is made of 7 frames fixed by screws installed in the center of the interior of the refrigerator.If food is placed on either the left or right side of the shelf, the shelf with the most food will tilt and the rollers will The shaft with the handle did not rotate smoothly as it contacted the rail at an angle, and the shaft with the handle had to be turned with great force. In addition, since there is a shaft with a handle and a screw jack in the center of the shelf, and the structure is relatively large, there is also a problem with the food storage surface on the lower shelf or lower tier.

Furthermore, since the frame is made of iron plates and assembled with screws, there is a problem with the sliding surface if there is any variation in assembly.

The present invention improves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional refrigerator shelving device, thereby preventing the left and right sides of the shelves and the unevenness in assembly.The present invention also makes it possible to move the shelves with a relatively small force, and allows the storage of food at the bottom. In addition to making it a shelf device for the refrigerator that does not interfere with storage, it also has a left frame.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a +G construction which is composed of a right frame and an intermediate frame, and which allows the left frame and right frame to be used in multiple models by changing the length of the intermediate frame.

Means for Solving the Problems For the above-mentioned purpose, the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention has a rack disposed inside the refrigerator, a left frame that holds the shelf, a right frame, and a left and right frame L'-4'. A frame consisting of an intermediate frame that connects the frame, sliding members attached to the rear left and right sides of this frame, a gear shaft with spur gears fixed to the left and right ends attached to the rear of the frame, and this gear shaft or A drive device that rotates a spur gear, a sliding groove formed in the left and right vertical directions at the back of the refrigerator, in which at least a portion of the sliding member is accommodated and slidably held; A rail consisting of a rack that meshes with the spur gear formed on the front side or adjacent to the rack is arranged in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the intermediate frame is molded from a material that is more flexible than the left and right frames.

Function Since the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, the spur gears at both left and right ends can be rotated simultaneously by the drive device that rotates the gear shaft or spur gear, and the rack can be moved up and down. Therefore, the shelf and frame can be smoothly rotated up and down on the left and right racks at the same time. This makes it possible for the sliding member moving up and down within the sliding groove to slide smoothly without any troublesome diagonal movement.

Since it is formed by an intermediate frame that connects the left frame and the right frame, it is possible to use the left and right frames for multiple models by changing the length of the intermediate frame. By forming the frame from a material that is more flexible than the left and right frames, the connection between the left and right frames becomes flexible, absorbing assembly variations, and gear meshing such as excessive meshing between spur gears and ranks. It is possible to prevent problems on sliding surfaces.

EXAMPLE Below, an example of the present invention will be described in FIGS. 1 to 71. This will be explained based on the drawings of yJ.

In the figure, 1 is a shelf on which food is placed. 2 is a frame that holds the shelf 1, and includes a left frame 2a and a right frame 2b.
The left and right frames 2a and 2bi are connected to an intermediate frame 2c molded from a material more flexible than the left and right frames, and these left and right frames.

It is formed by screws 2d that fix the intermediate frames 2a, 2b, and 2C. 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 roller and a lower roller that constitute the sliding member 3.

4 is a gear shaft rotatably attached to the back of the frame 2, and fixed spur gears 6 are attached to both left and right ends.

6a is a dial rotatably attached to the dial hole 2c on the front surface of the right frame 2b, 7 is a dial shaft connected to this dial 6a, and 8 is a screw-shaped tooth shaped dial fixed to this dial shaft 7. 8a is a drive gear commonly called a worm gear. 7a is a part of the 7 tossopa provided on the dial shaft 7, and %7b is a stopper shaft that is inserted and fixed from the bottom surface of the frame 2b between the stoppers, and the dial shaft 7 is inserted and positioned after installation. .

9 has a tooth profile 9a 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, and is adjacent to the spur gear 6 on the right side and attached to the gear shaft 4. It is a fixed rolling gear, usually called a worm wheel. Further, 2f is a cover frame which covers the rear side of the frames 2a and 2b where each gear is attached.

10 is the city of the refrigerator. 1.1 is the outer box made of iron plate of the refrigerator body. Reference numeral 12 denotes an inner box molded from resin, and rail grooves 12a are 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. Reference numeral 14 denotes a rail fixed to the rail groove 12a of the inner box 12 with screws or the like.

12b is a reinforcing plate for mounting the rail 14, and the inner box 12
It is attached via b. 14a is a sliding groove formed in the rail 14, which accommodates at least a portion of the spur gear 6 and the sliding members 3, that is, the upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b, and slidably holds them. 14b is a rack that meshes with the spur gear 5 formed on the front side (in the vertical direction) in the sliding groove 14a of the rail 14.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the frame 2 is shaped to cover the spur gear 5, drive gear 8, and transfer gear 9 from the inside of the refrigerator. Next, reference numeral 15 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 6a is rotated. Therefore, the transfer 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 5 is connected to the rack 1 on the front side in the sliding groove 14a through the
4b, but since the left and right spur gears 6 are fixed to the gear shaft 4 and rotate in the same way, the frame 2
That is, the shelf 1 moves up and down in the same way as the left and right, and no deviation in height occurs between the left and right sides. This allows the sliding member 3 that moves up and down within the sliding groove 14a to slide smoothly without being obliquely inclined, so that the operating force for the dial 6a can be reduced.

Next, shelf 1 is the desired position! When it stops after moving to dial 6a, the weight of shelf 1 and frame 2 and shelf 1
Due to the weight of the food on top, the shelf 1 or frame 2 tends to fall down. As a result of this force, the spur gear 5 first tries to rotate. Therefore, the gear shaft 4 and the transfer gear 9 try to rotate, but the transfer gear 9 meshes with the drive gear 8, and it is mechanically easy to rotate the transfer gear 9 by rotating the drive gear 8. However, the force that causes the tooth profile 9a of the rolling gear 9 to rotate the screw-shaped tooth profile a of the drive gear 8 is due to the fact that the tooth profile 9d of the rolling gear 9 meshes with the tooth profile 8a of the drive gear 8 in a substantially perpendicular direction. However, it is impossible to rotate the driving gear 8 by the rolling gear 9, which has an extremely large frictional force. Therefore, when the shelf 1 is in a stopped state, the drive gear 8 and the rolling gear 9 act as a stopper mechanism, and even if food is placed on the shelf 1, the shelf 1 does not go down and is held in that position. .

As explained above, the shelf device of the refrigerator 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.

The left frame 2a and the right frame 2b are connected by an intermediate frame 2C, so that the left and right frames 2a and 2b can be used for multiple models in order to change the length of the intermediate frame 2C. Furthermore, by using a material for the intermediate frame 2C that is more flexible than the material for the left and right frames 2a, 2b, that is, a material with a smaller longitudinal elastic modulus, it is possible to assemble the left and right frames 2a, 2b. It is possible to absorb the above variation and prevent the rack 14b and the spur gear 6 from becoming too jammed together. In this embodiment, the right frame 2b has a dial shaft door, a drive gear 8,
Since the transfer gear 9 and the spur gear 5 are covered by the intermediate frame 2C and the gear shaft 4, and by the left frame 2a which covers the spur gear 5, there is no problem of food hitting and damaging each gear, and the food can be stored in the lower tier. There is no problem with it getting in the way.

In this embodiment, the dial 6a, dial shaft 7, drive gear 8, and transfer gear 9 are referred to as a drive device 6.

As described in detail, the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention comprises a shelf disposed in a cold MW, a left frame and a right frame that hold the shelf, and an intermediate frame that connects these left and right frames. 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, and a drive device for rotating the gear shaft or the spur gear. , a sliding groove formed in the left and right vertical directions at the back of the refrigerator, in which at least a portion of the sliding member is accommodated and slidably held, and one side of the sliding groove (in the vertical direction of the front surface of the refrigerator) or adjacent to the sliding groove; Since the rack is arranged to mesh with the spur gears, the rack can be moved up and down by the rotation of the spur gears at both ends of the gear shaft rotated by the drive device. Therefore, the shelf and frame are kept horizontally and can be raised and lowered like spur gears that simultaneously rotate up and down on the left and right ranks. In addition, since the frame has a structure in which the left frame and right frame are connected by an intermediate frame, the length of the intermediate frame can be changed, making it possible to use the left and right frames for multiple models. By using a material that is more flexible than the materials of the left and right frames, that is, a material with a smaller longitudinal elastic modulus, for the material of the intermediate frame that connects the left and right frames, variations in assembly of the left and right frames are absorbed. This prevents the rack and spur gear from getting too jammed together. This makes it possible to provide a shelf device for a refrigerator in which the sliding member moving up and down within the sliding groove can slide smoothly without being tilted diagonally.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a cross-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 a wavy A line of the main parts of this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the main part of the right frame viewed from the side. 1...Shelf, 2...Frame, 2a...
...Left frame V-frame, 2b...Right frame,
2C...Intermediate frame, 3...Sliding member, 4...Gear shaft, 6...Spur gear, 6...Drive device , 10...Inside the chamber,
14...Rail, 14a...Sliding groove,
14b...Rack.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A frame divided into three parts, consisting of a shelf installed inside the refrigerator, a left frame and a right frame that hold this shelf, an intermediate frame that connects these left and right frames, and the back of this frame. Sliding members attached to the left and right,
A gear shaft with spur gears fixed to the left and right ends attached to the back of the frame, a drive device for rotating the gear shaft or the spur gear, and at least one of the sliding members formed in the left and right vertical directions at the back of the refrigerator. A shelf device for a refrigerator comprising a sliding groove for storing and slidingly holding the parts, and a vertically arranged rail made of a rack formed inside or adjacent to the sliding groove and meshing with the spur gear. . (2) It has an intermediate frame that connects the left frame and the right frame to form a frame, and the intermediate frame is molded from a material that is more flexible than the left frame and the right frame. 1) The refrigerator shelf device described.