JPH06341758A - Variable regulating roller device for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a roller device for a refrigerator, which is simple in assembling and regulation since the constitution is simple, short in a distance from a floor surface to the bottom surface of the refrigerator, reduced in the ineffective volume of the refrigerator and capable of reducing the packing size thereof upon transportation. CONSTITUTION:The title device is constituted of a table plate 21, a table frame 25, a roller supporting member 26, a roller 30, a female screw member 32, and a regulating screw 33. The regulating screw 33 is attached to the table plate 21 through the female screw member 32. The roller 30 is attached to the opposing leg 28 of the roller supporting member 26, the middle part of the roller supporting member 26 is supported by the table plate 21 through the table frame 25 and a bearing whereby the member is swung like a balance. The tip end of the regulating screw 32 is abutted against the abutting section of the roller supporting member 26.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a roller device for a refrigerator which is provided at the bottom of a refrigerator to facilitate the movement of the refrigerator and adjust the horizontal level of the refrigerator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, refrigerators have become large in size and extremely heavy due to changes in consumer's tendency to upscale and lifestyle habits. Therefore, a roller device is attached to the bottom surface of the refrigerator so that the refrigerator can be moved smoothly. Further, a roller device having a function of adjusting a horizontal level of a refrigerator has been proposed.

A conventional roller device for a refrigerator will be described below by taking the structure of an NR-B500 type refrigerator sold by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. as an example. FIG. 9 is a side view of a refrigerator to which a roller device according to the related art is attached. Figure 1
0 is a rear view of the roller device of the prior art. Figure 11
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a conventional roller device. 12
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a roller device of the related art.

In FIGS. 9 to 12, reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator body, which is placed on the floor surface 4. At the rear end of the bottom surface of the refrigerator body 1, there is provided a base plate 2 that is integrated with the refrigerator body to form the rear bottom surface of the refrigerator. The base plate 2 is provided with a projection guide 7 and a guide collar 8. A back cover 3 is attached to the back of the refrigerator body.

The prior art roller device has a roller assembly 5
Is attached to the base plate 2 via the projection guide 7 and the guide collar 8 described above.
A pair of right and left are attached to the flat surface portion 6. Here, the conventional roller assembly 5 includes a U-shaped member 9 having opposing legs 10, a roller 12, a guide pin 13, and a screw 14.
Composed by.

A roller 12 is rotatably supported by a shaft 11 between the opposing legs 10 of the U-shaped member 9,
A guide pin 13 and a screw 14 are integrally erected on the upper surface of the U-shaped member 9. More screw 1
A nut 15 is attached to the shaft 4.

Then, the opposing leg 10 is arranged in the vertical direction, the guide pin 13 is inserted into the guide collar 8, and the screw 14 is fitted to the projection guide 7,
The roller assembly 5 is attached to the base plate 2.

Here, the nut 15 is located between the upper surface of the U-shaped member 9 and the base plate 2. Then, the nut 15 can be rotated by the spanner 17 or the like. Also, a clip 16 for preventing slipping out is pushed near the upper end of the guide pin 13. Reference numeral 17 denotes a tool such as a spanner, and the tool 17
By rotating the nut 15 in either direction, the roller 12 can be adjusted up and down.

With respect to the roller device constructed as described above, its mounting method and operation will be described below.
The roller assembly 5 allows the guide pin 13 and the screw 14 attached to the U-shaped member 9 to be inserted into the guide collar 8 attached to the flat portion 6 of the base plate 2 and the projection guide 7.

After that, a clip 16 for preventing slipping is pushed and held on the tip of the guide pin 13.

When the horizontal level of the refrigerator is adjusted by the roller device of the prior art, the nut 15 and the wrench 17 are used.
Etc., and the nut 15 is moved up and down along the screw 14. For example, if the nut 15 is moved upward,
The base plate 2 with which the nut 15 abuts is lifted upward,
A corner of the refrigerator body 1 rises.

[0012]

However, the roller device for the refrigerator of the prior art has a problem that the volume efficiency of the roller device of the refrigerator is inferior because the portion of the entire refrigerator that does not contribute to the storage of food is large. That is, the conventional roller device for a refrigerator employs a structure in which a horizontal level adjusting nut is located almost directly above the roller, and a spanner is used to rotate the nut 15 in either direction to move the roller up and down. . for that reason,
A space for at least the nut 15 is required between the U-shaped member 9 and the bottom of the refrigerator.
An adjustment margin is required between the 5 and the U-shaped member 9.

Therefore, the bottom of the refrigerator must be larger than the diameter of the roller, the height of the nut 15 and the adjustment margin, and there is a problem that the volume between them becomes wasted. Further, even when looking at the configuration from the bottom of the refrigerator to the upper side, the guide pin 13 and the screw 14 of the roller device are erected inward, so that part also becomes an invalid space.

In addition, the size of the refrigerator has recently become larger and larger, and the weight of the refrigerator tends to further increase. With the increase in size of refrigerators, it is necessary to increase the diameter of the roller in order to ensure ease of movement. As a result, the distance between the floor surface and the bottom surface of the refrigerator becomes long, and the disadvantage that the portion of the total volume of the refrigerator that does not contribute to the storage of food is large becomes a more significant problem.

In addition, since the refrigerator of the prior art has a high overall height, it has a large packing size at the time of shipping and has a problem of poor transportation efficiency.

Further, in the structure of the prior art, not only the number of parts is large, but at the time of assembling, the guide pin 13 and the screw 14 are inserted into the guide collar 8 and the projection guide 7, respectively, and fitted on the base plate with a screwdriver or the like. Since they are fixed together, insertion of the guide pin 13 and the screw 14 is troublesome, and there is a drawback that assembly is difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, has a simple construction and is easy to assemble and adjust, and has a short distance from the floor surface to the bottom surface of the refrigerator, resulting in an ineffective volume of the refrigerator. It is an object of the present invention to provide a roller device for a refrigerator, which can reduce the packaging size at the time of transportation while reducing the number of items.

In addition, the present invention takes into consideration the prevention of invasion of rats from the bottom plate of the refrigerator.

[0019]

In order to solve the above problems, a roller device for a refrigerator of the present invention has a base plate attached to the bottom of the refrigerator body, a roller, a roller supporting member, and an adjusting screw. The roller supporting member is provided with a roller mounting portion and an abutting portion formed of opposing legs, and the roller is rotatably supported by the opposing leg, and the roller supporting member includes a roller mounting portion and a contacting portion. The intermediate portion is pivotally supported by the base plate and is swingable, and the adjusting screw attached to the base plate is in contact with the contact portion of the roller support member.

In a preferred aspect of the invention described above, an opening is provided in the base plate, a concave underframe covering the opening is attached to an upper portion of the opening, and the roller supporting member is a base. A roller device for a refrigerator, which is arranged in an opening of a plate and is pivotally supported by the base plate via an underframe.

[0021]

Since the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention has the roller rotatably supported, it has the basic function of easily rolling the refrigerator.

Further, in the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention, since the roller supporting member is pivotally supported by the base plate at the intermediate portion between the roller mounting portion and the contact portion, the roller supporting member integrated with the roller is the shaft concerned. It is possible to swing like a balance around the fulcrum. Therefore, the force that biases the roller upward due to the load of the refrigerator generates a moment about the shaft in the roller support member. In the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention, since the contact portion of the roller support member is in contact with the adjusting screw, the moment described above is balanced by the force received from the adjusting screw. Therefore, the roller is fixed at a fixed position in the vertical direction. The location of the adjustment screw is
It is optional, and it is a position that does not interfere with other members,
It is placed so that it does not get in the way.

When the horizontal level of the refrigerator is adjusted using the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention, the adjustment screw is rotated by a spanner or a tool similar thereto. That is, when the adjusting screw is rotated, the tip of the screw moves and the position of the contact portion of the roller supporting member is changed. Then, the roller support member swings around the shaft. Then, as the roller support member swings, the roller supported thereby swings to change the vertical position. as a result,
The mounting part of the roller device of the refrigerator moves up and down.

Further, in the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention, the base plate is provided with the opening, and the roller support member is arranged in the opening, so that part or all of the roller support member is located above the base plate. Located in. Therefore, the bottom surface of the refrigerator can be arranged at a relatively low position. Further, since the underframe is provided above the opening in the base plate, the opening is substantially covered by the underframe, and there is no room for a mouse to enter.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A roller device for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a refrigerator equipped with a roller device for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. Figure 3
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a portion corresponding to FIG. 3 showing the behavior when adjusting the horizontal level of the refrigerator. FIG. 5 is a view on arrow A in FIG. Figure 6
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 3. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the roller device of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8
It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of mounting the roller apparatus of the refrigerator of the Example of this invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the roller device of the refrigerator of this embodiment is attached to the bottom surface of the refrigerator body 20 on the back side, and supports the refrigerator body 20 from the floor surface 24. First, the schematic configuration of the refrigerator main body 20 will be described. A rear cover 23 is provided on the rear surface of the refrigerator main body 20, and a base plate 21 is provided on the bottom surface. The roller device of the refrigerator according to the present embodiment is roughly divided into a part of the base plate 21, the underframe 25, and the roller support member 2 described above.
6, roller 30, female screw member 32, and adjusting screw 33.

Explaining from the structure of the base plate 21, the base plate 21
As described above, the bottom surface of the refrigerator main body 20 is formed, and there are flat portions 21a at both corners on the rear end side. The flat portion 21a has a rectangular opening in which the roller support member 26 and the like are arranged. 21b and a small hole 21c into which a mounting screw is inserted (see FIG. 7).

The underframe 25 is a bearing portion 4 formed in a concave shape.
0, the mounting flanges 41 are provided at both ends of the bearing portion 40, and the side surface portion of the top surface of the bearing portion 40 is vertically folded back to form the shielding wall 43. Then, the two side surfaces of the bearing portion 40 act as bearings, and the holes 25b into which the shafts are inserted pass through. Further, the mounting flange 41 is provided with a mounting hole 44.

The roller support member 26 is formed by press-forming a steel plate, and plate-like portions having a generally chevron shape face each other to form the facing leg 28. A hole 46 is provided at one end of each of the opposing legs 28. The other ends of the opposing legs 28 are connected to each other to form a contact portion 31.

Therefore, when viewed from above, the roller support member 26 has one end joined by the abutment portion 31 and the other end opened in a fork shape, and has a "U" shape as a whole. Also, the intermediate portion of the facing leg 28, that is, the hole 46 described above.
A hole 47 penetrating the two opposed legs 28 is provided between the contact portion 31 and the contact portion 31.

The female screw member 32 is also formed of a steel plate, has a hollow central portion, and is provided with welding flanges 48 at both ends. Further, one side surface of the central portion is bent at a right angle to form a shielding wall 32b. A nut 32a is welded to the center of the central portion.

The adjusting screw 33 is a bolt-like member,
A hexagonal portion 34 is formed at one end, a screw is removed at the other end to form a smooth cylindrical surface, and a groove 52 is formed at the boundary between the screw and the cylindrical portion.

Next, the connection relationship of each member of the roller device of the refrigerator of this embodiment will be described. The base plate 21 is attached to the bottom surface of the refrigerator body 20 as described above. The female screw member 32 is spot-welded with a welding flange 48 on the lower surface of the base plate 21 and at a position across the opening 21b. As a result, the nut 32a of the female screw member 32 is attached to the base plate 2
1 is located directly below the opening 21b, while the shielding wall 49 is
Stand vertically in the opening 21b. The adjusting screw 33 is fitted in the nut 32a with the hexagonal portion 34 facing downward.
Further, the clip 35 is pressed into the groove 52 of the adjusting screw 33 and is held so that the bolt does not come off.

A mounting flange 41 of the underframe 25 is coupled to the lower surface of the base plate 21 with screws 36.
The concave portion of the underframe 25 is completely fitted into the opening 21b, and the upper portion of the opening 21b is covered with the concave portion. Therefore, the opening 21b of the base plate 21 is substantially surrounded on four sides by the shielding wall 49 of the female screw member 32, the concave portion of the underframe 25, and the shielding wall 43 to form a box shape.

In the roller device of the refrigerator of this embodiment,
A gap between the end of the opening 21b of the base plate 21 and the shield wall 43 of the underframe 25 (Fig. 3C), and a gap between the top of the underframe 25 and the shield wall 49 of the female screw member 32 (Fig. 3, Fig. 3). 5D), the clearance between the bearing 40 of the underframe 25 and the shielding wall 49 of the female screw member 32 (FIGS. 5E and F) is designed to be 7 mm or less. The reason for this is to prevent the mouse from entering the interior through the gap.

A roller support member 26 is arranged in a portion surrounded by the underframe 25 and the like. That is, since the connecting shaft 27 connects the hole 25b of the bearing portion 40 of the underframe 25 and the hole 47 of the roller supporting member 26, the roller supporting member 26 is swingably fixed to the bearing portion 40 of the underframe 25. There is.

Here, the opposing leg 28 of the roller supporting member 26
Are both the bearing portion 40 of the underframe 25 and the female screw member 32.
The contact portion 31 of the roller support member 26 is located just above the nut 32a of the female screw member 32. The tip of the adjusting screw 33 fitted in the nut 32 a is in contact with the contact portion 31 of the roller support member 26. The roller 30 is rotatably supported on the bearing 40 by a shaft 29.

The method of assembling the roller device of the refrigerator of this embodiment is arbitrary, but the following procedure is most efficient and recommended. That is, the female screw member 32 is welded to the base plate 21 in advance, and the nut 32a of the female screw member 32 is also welded.
The adjusting screw 33 is fitted to the and the clip 35 is attached. Further, the underframe 25, the roller support member 26, the roller 30
Are assembled separately. Then, the underframe 25 is attached to the base plate 21 with screws 36. Finally, the base plate 21 is screwed to the body of the refrigerator body 20.

Next, the operation of the roller device for the refrigerator of this embodiment will be described. In the roller device of this embodiment, the roller support member 26 can swing about the connecting shaft 27. Therefore, by the reaction of the load of the refrigerator body 20,
The roller support member 26 receives a moment. This moment is carried by the adjusting screw 33 that abuts on the abutting portion of the roller supporting member 26. Therefore, the roller 30 is vertically positioned and supports the load of the refrigerator body 20.

Next, the operation of adjusting the horizontal level of the refrigerator main body 20 will be described. In the roller device of this embodiment, at the time of shipping and packing, the hexagonal portion 34 of the adjusting screw 33 is lowered to a position substantially equal to the lowest portion of the roller 30, as shown in FIG. As a result, the amount H of the roller 30 protruding from the base plate 21 is small, and the overall packaging size is small.

Then, after rolling the roller 30 to move the refrigerator to a predetermined installation position, the hexagonal portion 34 of the adjusting screw 33 is rotated by using a spanner 37 or a tool similar thereto, and the adjusting screw 33 is moved upward. Move to. Then, the tip end of the adjusting screw 33 is brought into contact with the contact portion 3 of the roller supporting member 26.
1 moves, and the roller support member 26 swings around the connecting shaft 27. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the protrusion amount H of the roller 30 from the base plate 21 increases, and the floor surface 24 of the refrigerator main body 20
The amount of lifting from is large.

Of course, when the height of the refrigerator main body 20 is adjusted downward, the adjusting screw 33 is rotated in the opposite direction.

In the roller device of the refrigerator of this embodiment, the adjusting screw is arranged in the vertical direction. This configuration not only has the effect that the base plate 21 of the refrigerator can be provided at a low position, but also that the adjustment screw is attached to the rear cover 23
Or because it is near the floor surface 24 and is in a position that is easily visible,
When adjusting the rattling of the refrigerator due to the unevenness of the floor, the operability with a spanner is good. However, the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the adjusting screw 33 can be arranged horizontally, for example, by changing the position of the contact portion 31 of the roller supporting member 26. . The configuration in which the adjusting screw 33 is arranged in the horizontal direction as in this modification is recommended when the configuration in which the adjusting screw is rotated by a screwdriver is adopted.

In the roller device of the refrigerator described above, the opening 21b of the base plate 21 is covered with the underframe 25 and the female screw member 32 in a box shape, and all of these gaps are designed to be 7 mm or less. This structure is preferable because it can prevent a mouse or the like from entering the inside of the refrigerator body regardless of the swing angle of the roller support member 26. However, the numerical value of 7 mm or less specifically described in the embodiment is not a limitation and is a numerical value that should be recommended.

[0045]

In the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention, the roller supporting member is pivotally supported by the base plate and can be swung, and the adjusting screw is brought into contact with the contact portion of the roller supporting member, so that The height is adjusted. Therefore, the attaching position of the adjusting screw is not limited to the upper part of the roller as in the conventional case, and the arranging position of the adjusting screw has a high degree of freedom. Therefore, in the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention, the adjusting screw can be arranged at a position where it does not interfere with other members and in a direction where it does not interfere.
Therefore, the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention has an effect of effectively utilizing the dead space of the refrigerator.

Further, since the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention adjusts the height of the roller by swinging the roller supporting member, a member such as a guide shaft, which has been indispensable in the past, which protrudes upward is not necessary at all. There is no. Therefore, the dead space that existed in the past is eliminated. From these effects, the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention has an effect of effectively using the space, and by extension, has an excellent effect of increasing the internal volume of the refrigerator for storing food.

Further, the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention is
The packaging is small during transportation and packaging, and transportation efficiency is high.

In addition, in the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention, the adjusting screw can be arranged in a relatively wide space, and since the adjusting space is wide, it is easy to attach a spanner or the like, and the adjusting work is easy. There is an effect.

In addition, the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention is free from the troublesome work of inserting the guide pin into the guide collar, so that there is an effect that the assembly is easy.

Further, in the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention, the base plate is provided with the opening, and the roller support member is arranged in the opening, so that part or all of the roller support member is located above the base plate. In addition, the base plate can be arranged at a relatively low position. Therefore, not only effective utilization of the space is promoted, but also a roller having a large diameter can be adopted. Therefore, the refrigerator employing the roller device of the refrigerator of the present invention can be easily moved with a light force.

Further, in the roller device of the refrigerator according to the present invention, the opening of the base plate is substantially covered by the underframe so that the mouse does not penetrate into the inside and the electric wire is gnawed. There is an effect that can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a refrigerator to which a roller device for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a portion corresponding to FIG. 3 showing the behavior when the horizontal level of the refrigerator is adjusted.

5 is a view from the direction of arrow A in FIG.

6 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the roller device of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a state when the roller device of the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the present invention is attached.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a refrigerator to which a roller device according to the related art is attached.

FIG. 10 is a rear view of a conventional roller device.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view of a conventional roller device.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a conventional roller device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 Refrigerator Main Body 21 Base Plate 21b Opening 25 Base Frame 26 Roller Support Member 27 Connecting Shaft 28 Opposing Leg 30 Roller 31 Abutting Part 32 Female Screw Member 33 Adjusting Screw 34 Hexagonal Part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A base plate attached to the bottom of a refrigerator main body, a roller, a roller supporting member, and an adjusting screw, and the roller supporting member is provided with a roller mounting portion and an abutting portion composed of opposing legs, A roller is rotatably supported by the opposing leg, and the roller supporting member is swingably supported by a base plate at an intermediate portion between a roller mounting portion and an abutting portion and is mounted on the base plate. A variable adjusting roller device for a refrigerator, wherein the adjusting screw is in contact with an abutting portion of the roller supporting member. 2. An opening is provided in the base plate, a concave underframe covering the opening is attached to an upper portion of the opening, and the roller supporting member is arranged in the opening of the underplate. The shaft is supported by the base plate via a shaft.
Variable adjusting roller device for the refrigerator described.