JPH03175264A - Shelf device of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a hand to apply a certain force and facilitate an operation through a dial by a method wherein a direction in which a large dialing operation is applied, i.e. a direction in which a shelf is lifted up in defined as a rightward rotation (a clockwise rotation) of the dial. CONSTITUTION:When a shelf 1 of a shelf device is moved up or down, a dial 6 is rotated and a dial shaft 7 and a driving gear 8 are rotated. A turning 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 shaft 4 while engaging with a front surface side rack 14b, a frame 2, i.e. the shelf 1 is moved up or down in the same manner as the right and left sides, resulting in that no positional displacement of right and left heights occurs. Teeth shapes of the driving gear 8 and the turning gear 8 are combined as leftward twisted teeth shapes and when the shelf 1 is lifted up, the dial 6 is rotated in a rightward direction, the driving gear 8 is also rotated in a rightward direction, the turning gear 9 is rotated in a direction E, and spur gears 5 at both sides are also rotated in a direction E, and spur gears 5 at both sides are also rotated in the direction E together with the gear shaft 4. Thus, the shelf 1 is lifted up.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a shelf device for a refrigerator that is used inside a refrigerator and whose vertical position can be varied 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 in the refrigerator, a frame that holds the shelf, and two wooden rails that slide and hold wallers supported on the left and right sides of the frame.
and a screw jack for fixing the frame at an arbitrary 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 on the left and right sides of the interior of the refrigerator, and the screws were installed vertically at the center of the interior of the refrigerator. Then, a shaft with a handle located in the center of the refrigerator 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 However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the position of the frame holding the shelf is moved up and down by a screw jack installed at the center of the interior of the refrigerator, and food is placed on the shelf at 6D. If the shelves are stacked on the side where most of the food is placed, especially if the shelves are placed off to the left or right, 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. In addition, there was a problem with food storage, as there was a shaft with a handle and screws in the center of the shelf, which made it difficult to place food on the relatively large and low shelf or on the lower food surface. - The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it prevents the clutter on the left and right sides of the shelves, does not interfere with food storage at the bottom, and has handle operability that allows the shelves to be moved with relatively little force. The purpose is to provide a shelf device for a refrigerator that is easy to use.

Means for Solving the Problems For the above-mentioned purpose, the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention includes a shelf disposed inside the refrigerator, a frame holding the shelf, a left frame and a right frame constituting the frame. An intermediate frame connecting the left and right frames, a sliding member attached to the rear left and right sides of the frame, a gear shaft with a flat gear fixed to the left and right ends attached to the rear of the frame, and either the left or right of the frame A dial rotatably supported on the front surface of the dial, a dial shaft connected to this dial, a drive gear fixed to this dial shaft and forming a thread-shaped tooth profile, and a drive gear that meshes along the thread-shaped tooth profile of the drive gear. A rolling gear is fixed to the gear shaft and has a tooth profile machined diagonally with respect to the rotating shaft, and a rolling gear is formed on the left and right sides of the back of the refrigerator, and at least a portion of the sliding member is accommodated and slidably held. A sliding groove and a rail formed inside or adjacent to the sliding groove in the left and right vertical directions at the back of the refrigerator and forming a rank that meshes with the spur gear are disposed, and the rail is arranged so as to engage the screw-shaped tooth profile of the drive gear and the rail. By suitably combining gear tooth profiles, the frame and shelf are raised when the dial is rotated to the right (clockwise direction). Furthermore, the gear shaft is housed in an intermediate frame, a rolling gear having a left-handed helical tooth profile is fixed to the gear shaft, and a drive gear having a left-handed helical tooth profile that meshes with the tooth profile of the rolling gear is provided below the rolling gear. It is arranged and configured.

Due to the structure of the refrigerator shelf device, when the dial is rotated, the drive gear rotates, which causes the rolling gear and gear shaft that mesh with the dial to rotate, which in turn causes the rotation of the spur gears at both ends of the gear shaft. can be raised and lowered. Therefore, the drum and 7 frames were kept horizontal like a flat gear rotating up and down on the left and right racks at the same time! 1. It can be moved up and down. Because of this, the sliding member moving up and down within the sliding groove can slide smoothly without being tilted diagonally, so the operating force for the dial can be reduced. Further, since the direction in which the dial operation force is greater, that is, the direction in which the shelf is raised, is the right rotation of the dial (clockwise direction), it is easy to apply force to the hand and the dial operation can be performed easily. Further, by housing the dial shaft in the intermediate frame and arranging the drive gear below the rolling gear, the structure can be simplified and downsized, and it is possible to provide a WJ table device that does not interfere with food storage in the lower part.

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 includes a left frame 2a and a right frame 2b.
The rear frame 2 connects the left and right frames 2a and 2b.
It is formed by C.

Reference numeral 20 designates seven lunges formed to protrude from the left and right sides of the upper end of the frame. Reference numeral 3 denotes sliding members attached to the rear left and right sides of the frame 2. 3a and 3b are an upper roller and a lower roller that constitute the sliding member 3. Further, the upper and lower rollers 3a and 3b are rotatably attached to each other by metal roller shirts 1-3c.

A gear shaft 4 is rotatably attached to the back of the frame 2, that is, inside the intermediate frame 2C, and has flat gears 5 fixed to both left and right ends thereof. 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. This drive gear is usually called a worm gear and has a left-handed tooth profile 8a with a left-handed tooth profile when viewed from the direction of rotation. 7a is a part of a stopper provided on the dial shaft 7, and 7b is a stopper shaft 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. Numeral 9 forms a tooth profile (left-handed tooth profile) 9a that is machined obliquely to the left with respect to the rotating shaft, that is, the gear shaft 4, so as to mesh along the left-handed tooth profile 8a of the drive gear 8, and the spur gear 5 on the right side.
This is a rolling gear usually called a worm wheel, which is fixed to the gear shaft 4 adjacent to the gear shaft 4 (it may be integrated with the spur gear 5 on the right side). Further, 2f is a cover frame which covers the rear side of each gear mounting on the open side of the frames 2a and 2b.

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 rails a12a are formed on the left and right sides of the interior 1o. Reference numeral 13 denotes a foamed heat 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 is mounted via the inner box 12. Reference numeral 14a denotes 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 spur gear 5 formed on the front side (vertical direction) in the sliding groove 14a of the rail 14.
It is a rack that meshes with the Note that the width dimension W of the sliding groove 14a
is 0.1 to 1 from the outer diameter of the upper roller 3a and lower roller 3b.
It should be about 1nI11 larger. The scraped upper roller 3a, lower roller 3b, and spur gear 6 are located almost on the same line, and 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 rear side of the sliding groove 14&. The flat gear 5 is arranged on the left frame 2a and the right frame 2b, respectively, so as to be in contact with the surface of the rack 14b and mesh with the rack 14b. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the frame 2 is equipped with a spur gear 6, a drive gear 8.
The shape is such that the rolling gear 9 is covered from the inside of the refrigerator. Also, a sliding groove 14a for the rail 14 is formed at the upper end of the frame 2.
The upper roller 3a and the spur gear 6 are covered by a flange 2e with a narrow gap. Next, reference numeral 15 denotes 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, first the dial 6 is rotated, and the dial shaft 7 and drive gear 8 are 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, the spur gear 5 is inserted through the gear shaft 4 into the sliding groove 14a and into the rack 14 on the front side.
However, since the left and right spur gears 5 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 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 4a to slide smoothly without being tilted diagonally, so that the operating force for the dial 6 can be reduced. Also, since the tooth profile of the driving gear 8 is a left-handed helical tooth profile, and the tooth profile of the rolling gear 9 is a left-handed helical tooth profile, when tjgJl is increased, the dial 6 is rotated to the right (clockwise in multiple directions). The gear 8 also rotates to the right (direction D in FIG. 4), thereby the rolling gear 9 rotates in the E direction, and the gear shaft 4 and the spur gears 5 on both sides also rotate in the E direction. Therefore, since the spur gear 5 moves up while engaging with the rack 14b, the shelf 1 can rise.

Also, in this embodiment, the roller shirt of the upper and lower rollers 3a and 3b)
Since the roller 3c is made of metal, the upper and lower rollers 3a and 3b do not tilt even when many foods are placed on the shelf 1, and rotate smoothly and reduce frictional force, so the operating force for the dial 6 can be extremely small. Next, Saku1 is at the desired position 1 and dial 6
When the shelf 1 and the frame 2 come to rest after being moved, the shelf 1 or the frame 2 tends to fall down due to the weight of the shelf 1 and the 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 7 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 possible to rotate the rolling gear 9 by rotating the drive gear 8. For ease of explanation, the force that causes the left-handed helical tooth profile 9a of the rolling gear 9 to rotate the screw-shaped left-handed helical tooth profile 8a of the drive gear 8 is approximately perpendicular to the left-handed helical tooth profile 8a of the drive gear 8. Due to the meshing of the left-handed helical tooth profiles 9a of the rolling gear 9, 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 serve as a stopper mechanism, and even if food is placed on the shelf 1, the shelf 1 is held at that position without falling down. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the upper roller 3a, the lower roller 3b, and the spur gear 6 are located in the same vertical direction at the back of the frame 2, so the folding roller 3a, which is subject to a large load on the shelf 1, is located in the sliding groove 14a. The lower roller 3b contacts the rear surface of the sliding groove 14a more strongly, and the spur gear 6 meshes more strongly with the rack 14b, increasing the rotational frictional force between them. The holding frame 2 is held at a predetermined position, and the shelf 1 does not fall or tilt 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 in one cabinet, and does not cause the trouble of @1.

In this embodiment, the right frame 2b is the dial shaft 7.
, drive gear 8. Rolling gear9. Spur gear 6 and frame 2
The flanges 2e provided on the left and right sides of the upper ends of a and 2b allow the sliding member 3 to be connected, and the gear shaft 4 to be connected to the flange 2e by 2C.
Since the left frame 2a covers the flat gear 5, there is no problem of food hitting each gear and damaging it, and since the structure is relatively small and simple, there is no problem of it getting in the way of storing food in the lower shelf. do not have. Moreover, the rack 14d in the sliding groove 14a is formed so that it cannot be seen from the front of the refrigerator, giving it an excellent appearance, and since it is aligned with the rack 14b, the rail can be made smaller. Furthermore, the width of the slide 7Hi14a 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, and the upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b are Since the food is pushed up from the lower surface of the shelf 1, the upper roller 3a comes into contact with the back surface of the sliding groove 14a, and the lower roller 3b is inserted into the sliding groove Since it comes into contact with the front surface of the shelf 14a, the displacement of the shelf 1 is so slight that it does not pose a problem.

As described in detail, the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention includes a shelf disposed inside the refrigerator, a frame that holds the shelf, a left frame and a right frame that constitute this frame, and the left and right frames. an intermediate frame connecting the two, sliding members attached to the rear left and right sides of the frame, and gear shafts having spur gears 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 surface of the frame, a dial shaft connected to the dial, a drive gear fixed to the dial shaft and forming a screw-shaped tooth profile, and a screw-shaped tooth profile of the drive gear. A rolling gear fixed to the gear shaft with a tooth profile machined diagonally from the rotating shaft so as to mesh along the tooth profile, and a sliding member formed at the rear left and right sides of the refrigerator, at least a part of which is accommodated. A sliding groove is provided inside or adjacent to the sliding groove, and a rail is provided which is formed in the left and right vertical directions at the back of the refrigerator and forms a rack that engages with the flat gear. By appropriately combining the tooth profile of the rotary gear and the tooth profile of the rolling gear, the frame and shelf are raised when the dial is rotated to the right (clockwise direction). Furthermore, the gear shaft is housed in the intermediate frenim, a rolling gear having a left-handed helical tooth profile is fixed to the gear shaft, and a drive gear having a left-handed helical tooth profile that meshes with the tooth profile of the rolling gear is provided below the rolling gear. When the dial is rotated, the drive gear rotates, which causes the rolling gear and gear shirt 1-2 that engage with it to rotate, thereby causing the rotation of the spur gears at both ends of the gear shaft to move the drive gear over the rack. Can go up and down. Therefore, the shelf and frame are kept horizontally by flat gears that simultaneously rotate up and down on the left and right racks, and can be raised and lowered by one housing. Because of this, the sliding member moving up and down within the sliding groove can slide smoothly without being obliquely complicated, so the operating force for the dial can be reduced. In addition, since the dial is rotated to the right (clockwise) in the direction in which the dial operation force is greater, that is, the direction in which the shelf is raised, the dial operation can be carried out easily with more force being applied to the hand.

Furthermore, by housing the dial shaft in the intermediate frame and arranging the drive gear below the rolling gear, the structure can be simplified and downsized, and a shelf device that does not interfere with food storage in the lower part can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view 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 main parts of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part, FIG. 6 is a front view, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the main part of the right frame viewed from the side. 1...shelf, 2.river...frame, 2a...,
,,Left frame, 2b...Right frame, 2c...
...Intermediate frame 3...Sliding member, 4...
... Gear shaft, 6 rivers... Spur gear, 6... Dial, 7... Dial shaft, 8...
Drive gear, 8a...Tooth profile with left-handed twist, 9...Rolling gear, 9a...Tooth profile with left-handed twist, 1o...
- Inside the refrigerator, 14...Rail, 14a...Sliding groove, 14b...Rack. L 4 訃41 ] ShiQ 1 Koi I) Is there anything you want to say ← Irin゛斗斗18辰谬? -1 frame 3-ITt#1llf7 4-=git"/w 5--Spur gear If hfJP

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A shelf installed inside the refrigerator, a frame that holds this shelf, a left frame and a right frame that make up this frame, an intermediate frame that connects these left and right frames, and a rear left and right side of the frame. a sliding member attached to the frame, a gear shaft having a flat 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, and a gear shaft connected to the dial. a dial shaft, a drive gear fixed to the dial shaft and having a threaded tooth profile, and a gear shaft having a tooth profile machined obliquely from the rotating shaft so as to mesh with the threaded tooth profile of the drive gear. A rolling gear fixed to the refrigerator, a sliding groove formed on the left and right sides of the back of the refrigerator, in which at least a portion of the sliding member is accommodated and slidably held; The dial is rotated clockwise (clockwise) by arranging rails formed in the back left and right vertical directions and forming a rack that meshes with the spur gear, and by appropriately combining the threaded tooth profile of the drive gear and the tooth profile of the rolling gear. direction)
A shelf device for a refrigerator, characterized in that a frame and a shelf rise when the frame and shelf are raised. (2) A gear shaft housed in an intermediate frame, a rolling gear fixed to this gear shaft and having a left-handed helical tooth profile, and a left-handed helical tooth profile that meshes with the tooth profile of the rolling gear at the bottom of this rolling gear. 2. The shelf device for a refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a drive gear having a drive gear.