KR100814693B1 - Shelf height adjuster for refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

A shelf height controller for a refrigerator is provided to drive a driving motor to move a rotation rod in the double helical gear shape precisely and easily, thereby controlling the height of a shelf as desired according to the height of foodstuff to store in the refrigerator. A shelf height controller for a refrigerator includes a fixed frame(10) fixed to an inner wall of a refrigerator or freezer compartment and having fixed shafts(11,12) facing each other. A moving frame(30) is mounted in front of the fixed frame to move in the vertical direction together with a shelf(20). A rotation rod(40) is connected to the moving frame in the traverse direction and formed with spiral parts at an outer peripheral surface in the opposite direction to face each other. A driving motor(80) is driven by button-pressing and has a driving shaft(81) for transmitting driving force to the rotation rod. A pair of first and second horizontal movement elements(50,51) are engaged with the spiral parts of the rotation rod to move oppositely in the horizontal direction in response to the rotation of the rotation rod. At least a connection bar(52,53) is connected to any one of the first and second horizontal movement element and the fixed shaft symmetrically to move the rotation rod in the vertical direction in response to the opposite horizontal movement of the first and second horizontal movement elements.

Description

Shelf height adjuster for refrigerator {Shelf height adjuster for refrigerator}

1 is a combined state diagram of a shelf height adjusting device for a refrigerator according to the present invention.

2 is an exploded perspective view of a shelf height adjusting device for a refrigerator according to the present invention.

3 and 4 is an operating state diagram of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to the present invention.

5 and 6 is an operating state diagram of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

7 and 8 is an operating state diagram of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a combined state of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

10 is an exploded perspective view of a shelf height adjusting device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

11 and 12 are operation state diagrams of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention.

13 and 14 are operation state diagrams of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

-Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings-

1: shelf height adjusting apparatus for a refrigerator according to the present invention

10: fixed frame 11, 12: fixed shaft

13: lower support part 14: inclined rail part

20: shelf 21: guide groove

22: Jam Jaw 30: Moving Frame

40: rotating rod 41: driven gear

50, 51: first and second horizontal moving members

52, 53: first and second connecting bar 60: support frame

61: guide jaw 70: guide angle

80: drive motor 81: drive shaft

82: prime mover

The present invention relates to a shelf height adjusting device for a refrigerator, and more particularly, according to the size or height of foods mounted and stored on each shelf in a freezer compartment or a refrigerator compartment, the installation height of these shelves is controlled together with the operation of the operation button. It relates to a refrigerator shelf height adjustment device that can be adjusted precisely and easily through a rotating rod of a double helical gear type is driven and linked thereto.

In general, the refrigerator is partitioned into a freezer compartment and a refrigerating compartment which are cooled to different temperatures. The freezer is maintained at a suitable temperature for freezing storage of food, such as meat, for example -15 ℃ to -21 ℃, the refrigerator is a suitable temperature for refrigeration of food such as side dishes or fruits, vegetables For example, 6 degreeC--1 degreeC is maintained.

On the other hand, a plurality of shelves are installed in the refrigerating chamber up and down. In order to install the shelf, a plurality of catching grooves or mounting jaws are formed on the sidewall of the refrigerating chamber at predetermined intervals.

Therefore, in the conventional refrigerator as described above, in order to adjust the height of the shelf, the shelf is to be taken out again after removing all the stored foods and separating the shelf installed in one mounting jaw.

Accordingly, there is a problem that the height adjustment of the shelf is very inconvenient, and since the mounting jaws are spaced at predetermined intervals, space in the refrigerator cannot be effectively used, thereby maximizing food storage volume ratio.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, an object of the present invention, the installation height of these shelves according to the size or height of the food is stored on each shelf in the freezer or refrigerator compartment operation of the operation button In addition, the drive motor is driven to provide a shelf height adjusting device for refrigerators that can be accurately and easily adjusted through a rotating rod in the form of a double helical gear.

Refrigerator shelf height adjustment apparatus according to the present invention for smoothly achieving the object of the present invention, the fixing frame having a fixed shaft which is fixed to the inner wall of the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber, the center facing the center; A moving frame installed at the front of the fixed frame and vertically moved together with the shelf; A rotating rod connected to the moving frame in a lateral direction, the spirals of the outer circumferential surface of which are formed in opposite directions with respect to a center thereof, and rotatably installed in a symmetrical manner; A drive motor having a drive shaft for transmitting a driving force to the pivoting rod and driven by electricity in response to an operation of an operation button; A pair of first and second horizontal moving members each screwed to the spirally symmetrical spirals of the outer circumferential surface of the rotating rod and horizontally moved in opposite directions by the rotation of the rotating rod; One side is connected to at least one of the first and second horizontal moving members and the other side is symmetrically fixed to the opposite fixed shaft of the fixed frame, respectively, so that the first and And at least one connecting bar allowing the pivoting rod to move up and down by horizontal movement in opposite directions of the second horizontal moving member.

Shelf height adjusting device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention for smoothly achieving the object of the present invention, is fixed to the inner wall of the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment, the inclined rail inclined upward or downward facing the center portion A fixed frame having a; A moving frame installed at the front of the fixed frame and vertically moved together with the shelf; A rotating rod connected to the moving frame in a lateral direction, the spirals of the outer circumferential surface of which are formed in opposite directions with respect to a center thereof, and rotatably installed in a symmetrical manner; A driving motor having a drive shaft for transmitting a driving force to the rotating rod and driven by an electric power according to the operation of an operation button: screwed to the spirally symmetrical spiral of the outer circumferential surface of the rotating rod, And a pair of first and second horizontal moving members which are horizontally moved in opposite directions by rotation and are moved along the opposite inclined rails of the fixed frame to allow the pivoting rod to move up and down.

In addition, the operation button is preferably installed on the front of the shelf or the outside of the refrigerator door.

In addition, the drive motor has a limiter switch for detecting the rotational speed of the drive shaft is preferably limited to the horizontal movement distance of the first and second horizontal moving member.

In addition, a driving gear is inserted into and coupled to an end portion of the driving shaft of the driving motor, and the rotation rod is preferably rotated by transmitting a rotational force to the driven gear engaged thereto through the driving gear.

In addition, the fixing frame is preferably fixed to the guide angle integrally coupled to the inner wall of the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment via a fixing bracket.

In addition, the first and second connecting bars are each connected to the first and second horizontal moving member, one side is preferably fixed to each other in the form of "Ｘ" staggered to the opposite fixed shaft of the fixed frame. Do.

Further, the connecting bar and the first and second connecting bars, and the fixing shafts opposite to the first and second horizontal moving members and the fixing frame may be rotatably coupled by pins.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings such that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention.

1 is a combined state diagram of a shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figures 3 and 4 As an operational state diagram of a shelf height adjusting apparatus for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described together for convenience of description.

As illustrated, the shelf height adjusting device 1 for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention is fixed to an inner wall of a refrigerating chamber (not shown) or a freezing chamber (not shown), and has a fixed shaft facing the center vertically ( 11) a fixed frame 10 having 12; A moving frame 30 installed in front of the fixed frame 10 and vertically moved together with the shelf 20; A rotating rod (40) connected to the moving frame (30), the spirals of the outer circumferential surface of which are formed in opposite directions with respect to the center thereof, and which are symmetrically rotated; A drive motor (80) having a drive shaft (81) for transmitting a driving force to the rotating rod (40); A pair of first and second horizontal moving members 50 which are screwed and installed on symmetrical spirals of the outer circumferential surface of the rotating rod 40 and horizontally move in opposite directions by the rotation of the rotating rod 40. 51; One side is connected to the first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51, respectively, and the other side is fixed to the fixing shafts 11 and 12 opposite to the fixing frame, respectively. First and second connecting bars for allowing the pivoting rod 50 to move up and down by horizontal movement in opposite directions of the first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51 according to the rotation of the symmetric spiral ( 52, 53, respectively.

In addition, the shelf height adjustment device 1 for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention, the support frame 60 is further formed, the guide jaw 61 is bent protruding to the upper both sides, the rear both sides of the moving frame 30 ) Both sides are screwed together. Therefore, the moving frame 30, the support frame 60 and the shelf 20 can all move vertically up and down together.

And the shelf 20 has a guide groove 21 is formed to be guided to be moved by being guided to the guide jaw 61 of the support frame 60 on both sides of the lower side, the locking jaw 22 as in the front upper side ) Is bent and protruded.

In addition, the drive motor 80 is installed so that the rotating rod 40 rotates through the drive shaft 81. That is, the motive gear 82 is inserted and coupled to the end of the drive shaft 81 of the drive motor 80, the rotational force is transmitted to the driven gear 41 engaged thereto through the motive gear 64, thereby providing a double helical gear ( Rotating rod 40 in the form of a double helical gear is formed to be symmetrically rotatable because spirals of the outer circumferential surface of the center are formed in opposite directions.

That is, the rotating rod 40 rotatably connected to the moving frame 30 is formed with a spiral (not shown in the figure) on its outer circumferential surface, and the shape of the spiral is a male screw shape and symmetrical with each other on both sides of the center portion. It consists of two left and right helix in the opposite direction to achieve a mutually symmetrical rotation by the operation of the operation button to be described later. Since this symmetrical rotating rod is widely known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the drive motor 80 is electrically connected to a control unit (not shown) composed of a control circuit to receive a drive signal by the application of a direct current or alternating current. In addition, an operation button (not shown) electrically connected to a control unit of the driving motor 80 is formed at the front part of the shelf 20 or the exterior (external display part) of the refrigerator door (not shown) to operate the operation button. As a result, electricity is applied to drive the driving motor 80. Here, the front part of the shelf 20 refers to a part (opposite side shown in FIG. 3) supported by the fixing frames 11 and 12 that are the lower ends of the shelf 20 as well as the front end of the front end when the door of the refrigerator is opened. It is referred to together.

In addition, the drive motor 80 has a built-in limiter switch (not shown) for detecting the rotational speed of the drive shaft 81 to adjust the horizontal movement distance of the first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51. The first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51 are prevented from hitting the fixed shafts 11 and 12 of the fixed frame 10 to be worn or broken.

Here, the fixing frame 10 is fixed to the guide angle 70 integrally coupled to the inner wall of the refrigerator compartment or the freezer compartment (not shown) of the refrigerator via the fixing bracket 16.

The pair of first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51 are extrapolated to left and right spirals of the rotating rod 40 and are horizontally movable in opposite directions according to the rotation of the rotating rod 40. . This will be described in more detail, and female threads are formed on the inner surfaces of the first horizontal moving member 50 and the second horizontal moving member 51 so as to be screwed with the spiral (male screw) formed on the outer surface of the rotating rod 40. These screw coupling method is that when one of the horizontal moving member is coupled to the rotating rod 40 and the left screw, the other is the right screw coupled to the rotating rod 40, the pair of horizontal moving member in the opposite direction to each other That is, they move in a direction that is closer or farther from each other.

One side of the first and second connection bars 52 and 53 is connected to the first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51, respectively, and the other side of the fixing shaft 10 is opposite to the fixing frame 10. The first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51 are horizontally moved in the opposite directions by rotation of symmetrical spirals of the rotating rod 40, respectively fixed to the eleven and twelve, respectively. The moving frame 30 can be moved up and down with the enclosed rod 40.

Here, the first and second connecting bars 52 and 53 and the first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51 and the stationary shafts 11 and 12 opposing the stationary frame 10 and The coupling relationship can be fixed directly, but a structure that can be rotatably coupled by a pin or the like can also be used.

Referring to the operation of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

First, when the user operates an operation button (not shown) installed on the front part of the shelf 20 or the exterior (external display part) of the refrigerator door (not shown), as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the driving motor ( The primary gear 82 coupled to the driving shaft 81 of the 80 is rotated integrally to rotate the pivoting rod 40 to move the first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51 symmetrically.

3, in order to increase the position of the shelf 20, an upward operation button (not shown) is operated to operate the first horizontal moving member 50 and the second horizontal moving member 51. In order to move in a direction close to each other, and conversely to lower the position of the shelf 20, as shown in Figure 4, by operating the downward operation button and the first horizontal moving member 50 and What is necessary is just to make the 2nd horizontal movement member 51 move to mutually distant directions.

5 and 6 is a view showing the operating state of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, the other side of the first and second connecting bar 52, 53 is fixed shaft (11, 12) Unlike the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively, fixed in a staggered (" Ｘ " shape), the fixed shaft 11 at which the other side of the first and second connecting bars 52, 53 is at the shortest distance. It is substantially the same except that it is directly connected to 12).

7 and 8 is an operation state diagram of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, by forming only one connection bar 53, one side of the first and second horizontal moving member 50 The first and second sides connected to only one of the 51 and the other side is fixed to any one of the fixing shafts 10 and 11 opposite to the fixing frame 10 by rotation of a symmetrical spiral of the rotating rod. It is substantially the same as FIG. 1 except for the structure in which the pivoting rod is moved up and down by the horizontal movement in the mutually opposite directions of the second horizontal moving members 50 and 51, and thus further description will be omitted. . That is, even one connection bar can be used to move up and down while sufficiently supporting the shelf when using a material such as steel having considerable rigidity, which has the advantage of further simplifying the structure.

9 is a coupled state of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 10 is an exploded perspective view of the shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 11 and Figure 12 is an operational state diagram of a shelf height adjusting device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, which will be described together for convenience.

As illustrated, the shelf height adjusting device 1a for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention is fixed to an inner wall of a refrigerating compartment (not shown) or a freezing compartment (not shown), and is upwardly or downwardly opposed to a central portion thereof. A fixed frame 10 having an inclined inclined rail 14 (illustrated in an upwardly inclined state in the drawing); A moving frame 30 installed in front of the fixed frame 10 and vertically moved together with the shelf 20; A rotating rod (40) connected to the moving frame (30), the spirals of the outer circumferential surface of which are formed in opposite directions with respect to the center thereof, and which are symmetrically rotated; A drive motor (80) having a drive shaft (81) for transmitting a driving force to the rotating rod (40); It is installed to be screwed to the opposite spiral of the outer circumferential surface of the rotating rod 40, respectively, by the rotation of the rotating rod 40 is moved horizontally in the opposite direction and at the same time the inclined rail of the fixed frame 10 It consists of a pair of first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51 which are conveyed along 14 to cause the pivoting rod to move up and down. Here, in the illustrated example, the inclined rail 14 is inclined upwardly toward the center portion ("Ｖ" shape), but is inclined downwardly toward the center ("∧"). Of course it can be (see Fig. 13).

In addition, a support frame 60 is further formed in the shelf height adjusting apparatus 1a for the refrigerator according to the present invention, and the guide jaw 61 is bent and protruded on both upper sides thereof, and both rear sides thereof are respectively provided on both sides of the moving frame 30. Screwed together. Therefore, the moving frame 30, the support frame 60 and the shelf 20 can all move vertically up and down together.

And the shelf 20 has a guide groove 21 is formed to be guided to be moved by being guided to the guide jaw 61 of the support frame 60 on both sides of the lower side, the locking jaw 22 as in the front upper side ) Is bent and protruded.

As described above, the drive motor 80 is installed so that the rotating rod 40 can rotate through the drive shaft 81. That is, the end of the drive shaft 81 of the drive motor 80 is the driving gear 82 is inserted and coupled, the rotational force is transmitted to the driven gear 41 engaged with it through the driving gear 82, thereby providing a double helical gear ( Rotating rod 40 in the form of a double helical gear is formed to be symmetrically rotatable because spirals of the outer circumferential surface of the center are formed in opposite directions.

That is, the rotating rod 40 rotatably connected to the moving frame 30 is formed with a spiral (not shown in the figure) on its outer circumferential surface, and the shape of the spiral is a male screw shape and symmetrical with each other on both sides of the center portion. It consists of two left and right helix in the opposite direction to achieve a mutually symmetrical rotation by the operation of the operation button to be described later. Since this symmetrical rotating rod is widely known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, as described above, the driving motor 80 is electrically connected to a control unit (not shown) configured as a control circuit so as to receive a driving signal by application of a direct current or alternating current. In addition, an operation button (not shown) electrically connected to a control unit of the driving motor 80 is formed at the front part of the shelf 20 or the exterior (external display part) of the refrigerator door (not shown) to operate the operation button. As a result, electricity is applied to drive the driving motor 80.

In addition, as described above, the drive motor 80 has a limiter switch (not shown) for detecting the rotational speed of the drive shaft 81, so that the first and second horizontal moving members 50, 51 By limiting the horizontal movement distance of the first and second horizontal moving members (50, 51) is prevented from abrasion or damage by hitting the fixed shaft (11, 12) of the fixed frame (10). .

Here, the fixing frame 10 is fixed to the guide angle 70 integrally coupled to the inner wall (not shown in the figure) of the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment via the fixing bracket 16. In addition, fixing shafts 11 and 12 that face each other vertically about the center thereof are provided, and the fixing shafts 11 and 12 are supported by the lower support portion 13 at the lower portion thereof. An inclined rail portion (not shown in the figure) is formed between the two opposite fixed shafts 11 and 12 and the lower support portion 13, which is inclined upwardly to face the center lower side. That is, the inclination rail 14 is formed along the oblique side surface of an isosceles triangular shape.

In addition, as described above, the pair of first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51 are extrapolated to the left and right helix of the rotating rod 40 and are opposite to each other according to the rotating of the rotating rod 40. It is possible to move horizontally.

The first horizontal moving member 50 and the second horizontal moving member 51 are formed with rail protrusions 50-1 and 51-1, respectively, so that the rotating rods 40 are opposite to each other. The rotation causes the first horizontal moving member 50 and the second horizontal moving member 51 to move in opposite directions as described above, and at the same time, the inclined rails through the rail protrusions 50-1 and 51-1. By moving along the rail groove 14-1 of 14, the moving frame 30 can move up and down together with the pivoting rod 40. Here, in order to prevent the rail protrusions 50-1 and 51-1 from sliding along the rail groove 14-1 of the inclined rail 14 due to its own weight or load when the shelf stops moving up and down. The rail groove 14-1 of the rail 14 may be provided with a known slip prevention means.

14 is a view illustrating a coupling state of a shelf height adjusting device for a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the inclined rail portion of the fixing frame 10 is not inclined upward or downward to face the center portion as shown in FIG. 8. Since the point is substantially the same except for a point inclined upward or downward in a diagonal direction only on one side with respect to the center part, further description will be omitted.

Referring to the operation of the shelf height adjustment device (1a) for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

First, when a user operates an operation button (not shown) installed in the front part of the shelf 20 or the exterior (external display part) of the refrigerator door (not shown), as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the driving motor ( While the primary gear 82 coupled to the drive shaft 81 of the 80 is rotated integrally, the rotating rod 40 is rotated to move the first and second horizontal moving members 50 and 51 symmetrically. It is moved symmetrically along the inclined rail 14.

Here, as illustrated in FIG. 11, when the position of the shelf 20 is to be lowered, the first horizontal moving member 50 and the second horizontal moving member 51 are operated by operating a downward operation button (not shown). ) Moves along the inclined rail 14 in a direction closer to each other, on the contrary, in order to increase the position of the shelf 20, as shown in FIG. What is necessary is just to make the horizontal moving member 50 and the 2nd horizontal moving member 51 move in the direction away from each other along the inclination rail 14.

Of course, in the drawings, the inclined rail 14 is shown to be widened upwards, but if the spirals formed on the rotating rod 40 are reversed even if they are widened downwards, the operation is made the same. Dynamically, it is natural that the inclined upwardly is a form that supports the load of the shelf, which is more preferable to illustrate a representative form, so that the opposite inclination is not excluded from the protection scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the shelf height control cabinet for a refrigerator according to the present invention, the installation height of these shelves is driven along with the operation of the operation button according to the size or height of the food stored on each shelf in the freezer or refrigerator compartment. The motor is driven and can be adjusted accurately and easily through the rotating rod in the form of a double helical gear.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments according to the present invention, this is only for illustrating the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that this is possible as well as this is also within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

A fixed frame fixed to the inner wall of the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment, the fixed frame having a fixed shaft that faces vertically about the center thereof; A moving frame installed at the front of the fixed frame and vertically moved together with the shelf; A rotating rod connected to the moving frame in a lateral direction, the spirals of the outer circumferential surface of which are formed in opposite directions with respect to a center thereof, and rotatably installed in a symmetrical manner; A drive motor having a drive shaft for transmitting a driving force to the pivoting rod and driven by electricity according to an operation of an operation button; A pair of first and second horizontal moving members respectively screwed to the spirally symmetrical spirals of the outer circumferential surface of the rotating rod and horizontally moved in opposite directions by the rotation of the rotating rod; One side is connected to at least one of the first and second horizontal moving members and the other side is symmetrically fixed to the opposite fixed shaft of the fixed frame, respectively, so that the first and Refrigerator shelf height adjusting apparatus comprising at least one connecting bar allowing the pivoting rod to move up and down by horizontal movement in opposite directions of a second horizontal moving member. delete The method of claim 1, The operation button is a refrigerator shelf height adjustment device, characterized in that installed on the front of the shelf or the outside of the refrigerator door. The method of claim 1, The drive motor has a built-in limiter switch for detecting the rotational speed of the drive shaft limiting the horizontal movement distance of the first and second horizontal moving member, shelf height adjustment device for a refrigerator. The method of claim 1, A driving gear is inserted into and coupled to an end of the driving shaft of the driving motor, and a rotational force is transmitted to the driven gear engaged through the driving gear, thereby rotating the rotating rod. The method of claim 1, The fixing frame is a shelf height adjusting device for a refrigerator, characterized in that the fixing is installed via a fixing bracket to the guide angle integrally coupled to the inner wall of the refrigerating compartment or the freezing compartment. The method of claim 1, The connecting bar has two first and second connecting bars, one side of which is connected to the first and second horizontal moving members, respectively, and the other side of which is a "Ｘ" shape that is staggered to the opposite fixed shaft of the fixing frame. Shelf height adjustment device for the refrigerator, characterized in that fixed to each. The method of claim 1, The connecting bar has two first and second connecting bars so that the first and second connecting bars are pivotally coupled to the first and second horizontal moving members and the fixing shafts opposite to the fixing frames. Shelf height adjusting device for a refrigerator, characterized in that.

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