RU2421668C1 - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: personal use articles.

SUBSTANCE: refrigerator comprises a body with a compartment for storage and an opening on a front side of the storage compartment, a door, which is installed with the possibility of sliding out of the refrigerator body, thus opening and closing the storage compartment, multiple storage containers, which are located in the compartment for storage at the back side of the door with the possibility of installation along the vertical line and extracted from it. Storage containers include multiple storage containers, which are pulled out together with the door, and the other storage container, which remains in the storage compartment. Storage containers include a storage container located in the middle and a lower storage container, which are both pulled out together with the door, when the door is pulled out, and the upper storage container that remained in the compartment after the door pull-out. The upper storage container has a volume, which is intermediate between volumes of the middle and lower storage containers. The highest container pulled out together with the door and being the middle container has the smallest volume of all storage containers. The upper storage container, which is pulled out independently on the door after the middle and lower storage containers are pulled out together with the door, has a pair of flanges on the right and left sides of it accordingly. Flanges move in a pair of rollers, available accordingly on the refrigerator body, and the highest storage container is arranged with the possibility of its pull-out with the help of a smaller force compared to the force required to pull out the lower storage container with the largest volume.

EFFECT: improved convenience of the storage containers usage.

13 dwg

Description

The invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a refrigerator containing a storage compartment into which a container containing a food product is installed and removed from it using a drawer-type door.

A refrigerator is known, which comprises a refrigerator body made with a front opening, a lockable and openable drawer type door. In addition, it is known that the storage container is located in the storage compartment formed behind the door. A plurality of storage containers are typically arranged vertically in a refrigerator of the type in which the storage containers are located outside the door. Each of the vertically arranged containers is a type of drawer. In addition, all storage containers slide out together when a drawer type door is opened.

In the refrigerator of the type described above, however, all storage containers are pulled out of the storage compartment when the door is pulled out. Therefore, the operation of the extension requires a relatively large effort. In addition, when the lowest storage container is pulled out, all other storage containers are located above the lowest storage container. Therefore, the food product cannot be removed from the lowest storage container until the upper storage containers are pushed into the storage compartment. As a result, the usability of the refrigerator is insufficient.

In view of the aforementioned problem, Japanese Patent Publication JP-A-2006-189224 discloses a structure in which only a portion of a plurality of storage containers is pulled out together with a door, while the remaining container or storage containers remain in the storage compartment.

In the refrigerator disclosed in the above publication, only storage containers other than storage containers that remain in the storage compartment are pulled out together with the door when the door is pulled out. Therefore, the force required to extend the door and storage containers can be reduced. In addition, only storage containers other than storage containers remaining in the storage compartment are located above the lowest storage container. Therefore, the food product can be removed from the lowest storage container only by moving back the storage containers other than the storage containers remaining in the storage compartment, whereby the usability of the refrigerator can be improved.

However, the containers for storing the refrigerator disclosed in the publication contain three containers, or lower, middle and upper containers. The door extends with the lower storage container having the largest volume of the three containers, and the middle storage container having the second largest volume when extended. The upper storage container, having the smallest volume, remains in the storage compartment.

In known refrigerators, boxes or packages of long-term storage food products are typically stored in a lower storage container. The shelf-stable food product is also stored in an average storage container having a second largest volume. On the other hand, an unfinished food product or the like is usually stored in an overhead storage container. As a result, the upper storage container is more often extended and retracted in order to reach or place the food product.

In the refrigerator described above, however, the upper storage container remains in the storage compartment when the door is pulled out. Therefore, after extending the door, the upper storage container must be pulled out. As a result, the usability of the refrigerator is insufficient. In addition, it is difficult for the user to see the upper storage container, and he usually forgets about the upper storage container. As a result, the usability of the refrigerator is also insufficient.

The present invention was created in view of these circumstances, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which the force required to extend the door can be reduced, the food product can be easily removed from the extended lower storage container and the ease of use of the storage container into which often placed and from which a food product is often taken, may be enhanced.

This problem is solved by creating a refrigerator that contains

a refrigerator case including a storage compartment and an opening on a front side of the storage compartment;

a door mounted with the possibility of extension from the refrigerator body, thereby opening and closing a storage compartment; and

a plurality of storage containers arranged vertically in the storage compartment on the rear side of the door and installed in and removed from the storage compartment, the storage containers including a plurality of storage containers that slide out with the door, and another a storage container that remains in the storage compartment, and which according to the invention

storage containers include a middle storage container and a lower storage container, both sliding out together with the door when the door is being pulled out, and

an upper storage container remaining in the compartment when the door is extended, the upper storage container having a volume that is intermediate between the volumes of the middle and lower storage containers,

the uppermost container, which is pulled out together with the door and is the middle storage container, has the smallest volume of containers for storage, the upper storage container, which extends independently of the door after the middle and lower storage containers are pulled out together with the door, has a pair flanges on its right and left sides, respectively, with the flanges moving along a pair of rollers available respectively on the refrigerator body, and

the uppermost storage container is made to extend it with less force than the force with which the lower storage container is pulled out having the largest volume.

In this design, when the door is extended, a portion of the plurality of storage containers is extended along with the door, while the remaining container or storage containers remain in the storage compartment. Therefore, only a portion of the storage containers extends with the door. As a result, the force required for extension is reduced. In addition, the storage container or containers remaining in the storage compartment are located above the extended lower storage container. Therefore, the food product can be removed from the extended lower storage container only when the container or storage containers located above the extended lower storage container are pushed into the storage compartment. Therefore, the usability of the storage container in which the food product is often placed and from which it can be taken out can be improved.

Of the plurality of vertically arranged storage containers, the storage container, which has the smallest volume and into which the food product is often placed and from which it is taken, is located on top of the plurality of extendable storage containers. Therefore, since the storage container is pulled out together with the door, the door does not need to be pulled out again after being pulled out. In addition, the extended upper storage container is easily visible from the outside of the refrigerator body. Therefore, the usability of the storage container in which the food product is often placed and from which it can be taken out can be improved.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 is a longitudinal side section of the main part of the refrigerator of the first embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the position in which the door is open;

figure 2 is a longitudinal side section of the main part of the refrigerator, illustrating the position in which the door is closed;

3 is a perspective view of a plurality of vertically arranged storage containers;

figure 4 is a partially enlarged longitudinal front section along the line 4-4 in figure 2;

5 is a longitudinal side section of the main part, illustrating the position in which the door is open and all storage containers are extended;

6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 illustrating a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1 illustrating a third embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a front view of a refrigerator of a fourth embodiment, illustrating a state in which a portion of the doors is open;

Fig.9 is an enlarged longitudinal side section illustrating the position in which the door of the freezer compartment is open, as shown in Fig.8;

figure 10 is an enlarged longitudinal side section illustrating the same position as in figure 9, in the prior art;

11 is an enlarged longitudinal side section illustrating the position in which the door of the compartment for vegetables is open, as shown in Fig;

12 is an enlarged longitudinal side section illustrating the same position as in FIG. 11 in the prior art;

Fig is a longitudinal side section of the freezer compartment of another variant implementation of the present invention.

First Embodiment

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Figure 2 shows the lower part of the housing 1 of the refrigerator. The entire interior of the lower part of the refrigerator body 1 shown in FIG. 2 is a freezer compartment used as a storage compartment. The freezer compartment 2 is divided by a partition wall 2 and a transverse element 3 mounted on the front end of the partition wall 2 into an upper freezer compartment 4 and a lower freezer compartment 5.

The freezer compartment 6 is formed behind the rear walls of the upper and lower freezer compartments 4 and 5. The freezer evaporator compartment 6 is common to the upper and lower freezer compartments 4 and 5. The freezer evaporator compartment 6 includes a partition wall 7, an evaporator 8 for freezing and fan 9 for freezing. The dividing wall 7, the evaporator 8 for freezing and the fan 9 for freezing circulate air in the upper and lower freezer compartments 4 and 5, as shown by the arrows in figure 2. In this case, the circulating air is cooled, so that the temperatures in the upper and lower freezing compartments 4 and 5 are regulated to be equal to the corresponding freezing temperatures.

The refrigerator body 1 comprises a mechanical compartment 10 in its lower rear part. The compressor 11 is located in the mechanical compartment 10. The cooling cycle is carried out by the compressor 11, a condenser (not shown), a throttle valve (not shown), the above-mentioned evaporator 8 for freezing, an evaporator for cooling (not shown) and the like.

The upper and lower freezing compartments 4 and 5 are made with holes 12 and 13, which open and close with doors 14 and 15, respectively. The door 14 of the upper freezing compartment 4 has right and left sides, one of which is pivotally mounted on the refrigerator body 1, although the hinged mounting structure is not shown. The door 14 is made to rotate around the hinge, thus opening and closing the hole 12.

On the other hand, the door 15 of the lower freezing compartment 5 is an extendable type and moves forward from the opening 13, thereby being spaced apart from the opening 13, as shown in FIG. In addition, the door 15 moves backward, thus closing the opening 13, as shown in FIG. Thus, the door 15 opens and closes the opening 13. A part of the interior space of the refrigerator body 1, located on the rear side of the door 15, is formed as the lower freezer compartment 5. The lower freezer compartment 5 contains a lot of vertically arranged storage containers. In this embodiment, the storage containers located in the lower freezer compartment 5 include three vertically arranged storage containers, that is, an upper storage container 16, a middle storage container 17 and a lower storage container 18.

The lower storage container 18 is a deep rectangular parallelepiped-shaped container with an open upper side, as shown in FIG. The lower storage container 18 includes right and left side walls comprising flanges 19 formed on the upper parts, respectively. A rectangular support frame 20 is mounted on the rear side of the door 15, as shown in FIG. The lower storage container 18 is inserted into the support frame 20 from above, and the flange 19 is located on the support frame 20, whereby the lower storage container 18 is removably supported on the door 15 containing the support frame 20.

In addition, a pair of movable rails 21 are mounted on the right and left side walls of the support frame 20 for passing in the front-back direction, as shown in FIG. 4, respectively. A pair of fixed guides 22 are mounted on the right and left side walls of the lower freezing compartment 5 for passage in the direction from the rear side to the front side, respectively. The fixed guides 22 comprise respective guides 22a along which the movable guides 21 slide. As a result, when sliding the guide 22a and the movable guide 21, the support bracket 20 extends and retracts into the lower freezing compartment 5 together with the lower storage container 18. In this case, the support frame 20 extends and slides into the lower freezing compartment 5 when opening and closing the door 15 or moving in the forward-backward direction.

The middle storage container 17 is a small container, usually in the form of a rectangular box with an open top side, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the middle storage container 17 has a volume smaller than the volume of the lower storage container 18. The middle storage container 17 comprises flanges 23 formed on the upper sides of the right and left side walls, respectively. Each flange 23 contains a convex portion 24, which is formed on its front side for protrusion down. Three protrusions 25-27 are formed at each of the right and left ends of the lower part of the middle storage container 17. The middle protrusion 26 is longer than the other two protrusions 25 and 27.

The lower storage container 18 comprises two recesses 28 formed in the upper part of its rear wall. The rear bottom of the middle storage container 17 is located on the right and left ends 28a of the recesses 28, as shown in FIG. As a result, the middle storage container 17 is housed in the lower storage container 18. The flanges 23 of the middle storage container 17 are located on the upper edges 18a of the right and left side walls of the lower storage container 18. Only one of the recesses 28 is shown in FIG.

In addition, the lower storage container 18 comprises a series of openings 29 formed in the middle of its right and left side walls in order to reduce cold air. The lower storage container 18 further comprises a pair of guides 30, which are formed in the middle of the front surfaces of its right and left side walls for passing in the forward-backward direction, respectively. The front protrusions 25 of the middle storage container 17 are located on the rails 30, respectively.

The lower storage container 18 further comprises a pair of downward convex recesses 31 formed in the front protrusions of the upper edges of its right and left side walls, respectively. The protrusions 24 of the middle storage container 17 engage with the recesses 31, respectively, as a result of which the middle storage container 17 is pushed out and pushed into the lower freezing compartment 5 together with the lower storage container 18, as shown in FIG. Thus, when the middle storage container 17 is pushed back with a force greater than the engagement force between the recesses 31 and the protrusions 24, the protrusions 24 are disengaged from the corresponding recesses 31, so that the middle storage container 17 moves back along the lower storage container 18.

Therefore, when a food product is put in and removed from the lower storage container 18 after the container 18 and the middle storage container 17 have been pulled out together with the door 15, the middle storage container 17 is pushed back with a force greater than the engagement force between the recesses 31 and the protrusions 24, as described above. The middle protrusions 26 abut against the right and left ends 28a of the recesses 28 of the lower storage container 18, thus being used as stoppers, respectively. As a result, further backward movement of the middle storage container 17 is limited. In addition, to return forward from the rear position, the middle storage container 17 is pushed forward until the recesses 31 and the protrusions 24 engage with each other.

The upper storage container 16 is a small container, usually in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped with an open upper side, as shown in FIG. The upper storage container 16 has a volume less than the volume of the lower storage container 18 and a larger volume of the middle storage container 17. More specifically, the lower storage container 18 has the largest volume of the three vertically arranged storage containers. The upper storage container 16 has a second largest volume, and the middle storage container 17 has the smallest volume.

The upper storage container 16 comprises flanges 32 formed on its right and left side walls, respectively. Only the right flange 32 is shown in FIG. Each flange 32 includes a protrusion 33 at its rear. The lower freezing compartment 5 comprises a pair of guides 34 formed on the upper parts of its right and left inner side walls, respectively, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. The guides 34 extend in a forward-backward direction and comprise two rollers 35 located in their front parts, respectively. The protrusions 33 of the upper storage container 16 are located on the rails 34, respectively. Flanges 32 are located on the rollers 35, respectively.

In the above construction, the protrusions 33 of the upper storage container 16 move along the guides 34 of the lower freezing compartment 5, respectively. The flanges 32 move along the rollers 35 when the rollers 35 rotate. As a result, the upper storage container 16 moves over the middle storage container 17 with a gap formed between them. Therefore, when the door 15 is opened, the middle and lower storage compartments 17 and 18 extend as described above, while the upper storage compartment 16 remains in the lower freezer compartment 5, as shown in FIG. The upper storage container 16 is slidably moved out and moved into the lower freezer compartment 5, while the middle and lower containers 17 and 18 assume respective extended positions together with the door, as shown in FIG.

The refrigerator body 1 has a front opening 13 that opens and closes with a drawer type door 15. A plurality of drawer-type storage containers 16-18 are disposed in the interior of the refrigerator body 1 located on the rear side of the door 15. Therefore, when the door 15 is pulled out, a part (plural) of storage containers 16-18, i.e. the middle and lower containers 17 and 18 for storage, in addition to the upper storage container 16, also extends with the door 15. Therefore, the upper storage container 16 remains in the lower freezer compartment 5.

Therefore, when the door 15 is extended, only the middle and lower storage containers 17 and 18, in addition to the upper storage container 16, are advanced together with the door 15. Therefore, the force required to extend the door 15 is reduced. In addition, only the middle storage container 17 is located on the lowest or lowest extendable storage container 18, while the upper storage container 16 remains in the lower freezer compartment 5. Consequently, the food product can be taken out from the lowest storage container 18 only when sliding the middle container 17 for storage in the housing 1 of the refrigerator. Therefore, the usability of the storage containers can be improved.

In addition, the middle storage container 17 has the smallest volume and often extends and retracts among the plurality of storage containers 16-18, which are located in the lower freezing compartment 5 of the refrigerator body 1 behind the door 15 with the possibility of sliding in and out. The middle storage container 17 is located above the lower storage container 18 when these storage containers 17 and 18 are pulled out together with the door 15. Therefore, the middle storage container 17 does not need to be pulled out again after the door 15 is pulled out. Furthermore, the middle storage container 17 located above the lower storage container 18 can be easily seen from the outside of the refrigerator body 1. Consequently, the usability of the storage container 17, most often used to place and retrieve a food product, can be improved.

In addition, the storage containers include three vertically arranged storage containers, that is, the upper, middle and lower storage containers 16-18 in this embodiment. The lower and middle storage containers 18 and 17 extend with the door 15, while the upper storage container 16 remains in the lower freezer compartment 5. The upper storage container 16 has a volume that is between the volumes of the middle and lower storage containers 17 and 18 . As a result, the upper storage container 16, further extended after the door 15 is extended, together with the middle and lower storage containers 17 and 18, has a small volume. Therefore, the working force required to extend the door 15 is reduced compared with the case when the lower storage container 18 having the largest volume is extended after the door 15 has been extended. Consequently, the usability of the storage containers can be improved.

In addition, when the door 15 is pulled out, the upper storage container 16 remaining in the lower freezer compartment 5 is moved by rollers 35 above the middle storage container 17 located above the lower storage container 18 when these storage containers 17 and 18 are pulled together with door 15. Therefore, the upper storage container 16 can be gently pushed in and out of the lower freezer compartment 5.

Second Embodiment

A refrigerator of the second embodiment will be described below. In the second embodiment, elements identical or similar to elements in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment, and a description of these elements will be omitted. Only differences of the second embodiment with respect to the first embodiment will be described.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the upper storage container 16 comprises a pair of protrusions 41 and a pair of legs 42. The protrusions 41 protrude laterally from the upper rear portions of the right and left side walls of the upper storage container 16, respectively. Legs 42 are formed on the front end parts of the lower part, respectively. A pair of guides 43 extending in the forward-backward direction are located on the upper parts of the right and left side walls of the lower freezing compartment 5, respectively. The protrusions 41 of the upper storage compartment 16 are located on respective guides 43. The legs 42 of the upper storage compartment 16 are located on the right and left upper edges 17a of the middle storage container 17.

In the construction described above, the protrusions 41 of the upper storage container 16 move along the guides 43 of the lower freezer compartment 5, the legs 42 of the upper storage container 16 move along the upper edges 17a of the middle storage container 17, respectively. Therefore, the upper storage container 16 moves over the middle storage container 17. In this case, the protrusions 41 of the upper storage compartment 16 come into contact with the middle storage container 17, and the upper storage container 16 moves over the middle storage container 17 in contact with the guides 43. When moving the middle storage container 17 of the recess 31 of the lower compartment 18 for storage can be prevented from engaging, for example, engaging corresponding protrusions 24 with recesses 31. As a result, when the door 15 is pulled out, the upper storage container 16 also remains in the lower freezer compartment 5, and the middle and lower storage containers 17 and 18 also extend along with the door 15, as shown in FIG.

In addition, when the door 15 is pulled out, the legs 42 of the upper storage container 16 remaining in the refrigerator body 1 are located on the back of the middle storage container 17 located above the lower storage container 18. Therefore, when the storage container 16 is pulled out, the upper storage container 16 can be smoothly pulled out, in contrast to the case where the upper storage container 16, located at a distance from the middle storage container 17, moves relative to the middle storage container 17.

Third Embodiment

A refrigerator of the third embodiment will be described below. In the third embodiment, elements identical or similar to elements in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals as in the first and second embodiments, and a description of these elements will be omitted. Only differences of the third embodiment with respect to the first and second embodiments will be described.

In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the legs 42 of the upper storage container 16 for the second embodiment are replaced with rollers 51 in the third embodiment. The rollers 51 move along the upper edges 17a of the right and left side walls of the middle storage container 17, respectively. Therefore, since the upper storage container 16 moves along the middle storage container 17, the upper storage container 16 can be smoothly extended as in the first embodiment.

In the aforementioned first to third embodiments, the upper storage container 16 remains in the lower freezer compartment 5 when the door 15 is extended. However, the upper storage container 16 can be extended in the middle of the door 15 extension. In this case, the force required for the extension is reduced when the upper storage container 16 covers only part of the upper opening of the middle storage container 17. In addition, great effort is also not required when the upper storage container 16, extended in the middle of the extension of the door 15, is moved to the lower freezer compartment 18. In addition, in this case, the upper storage container 16 does not interfere with the placement or removal of the food product from the middle a storage container 17 extended from beneath the upper storage container 16. Therefore, a structure in which the upper storage container 16 extends with the door in the middle of the extension of the door 15 is included as a storage container remaining in the refrigerator body 1 when the door 15 is extended.

In other aspects, the present invention should not be limited to the first to third embodiments described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. In particular, a portion of the internal volume of the refrigerator body 1 located on the rear side of the door 15 may be a storage container, and not a freezer compartment. In addition, the number of vertically arranged storage containers placed inside may be more than three. Thus, the present invention can be accordingly modified in practice without departing from its essence.

Fourth Embodiment

A fourth embodiment will be described below. Fig. 8 is a front view of a refrigerator of a fourth embodiment. The refrigerator comprises a refrigerator body 101, further including a heat-insulated chamber made by filling a heat-insulating material between the outer casing forming the outer casing and the inner casing forming the storage compartment. The refrigerator body 101 forms inside the uppermost low temperature storage compartment 102 and an ice making compartment 103, which has a relatively small volume and includes an automatic ice maker, as well as a temperature controlled compartment 104 parallel to the ice making compartment 103. An ice making compartment 103 and a temperature controlled compartment 104 are located under the low temperature storage compartment 102. The vegetable compartment 105 is located under the ice compartment 103 and the temperature controlled compartment 104. The freezer compartment 106 is located under the vegetable compartment 105. The vegetable compartment 105 and the freezer compartment 106 are independent of each other. Special doors are installed to close and open the front openings of the low-temperature storage compartment 102, the ice compartment 103, the temperature-controlled compartment 104 and the vegetable compartment 105, as well as the freezer compartment 106, respectively.

The low temperature storage compartment 102 has the largest volume and is often used. Therefore, the double-leaf door of the low-temperature storage compartment 102 is hinged on opposite sides of the front opening. Storage compartments including an ice producing compartment 103 and a temperature controlled compartment 104, a vegetable compartment 105 and a freezing compartment 106 are located under the low-temperature storage compartment 102, respectively. Each of these storage compartments 103-106 has a smaller storage volume than the low temperature storage compartment 102, and is located below the user's waist. Therefore, in order to improve ease of use, the container supported on the support frame mounted on the rear side of each door is a well-known sliding type in which each container moves back and forth along the rails mounted on the inner wall of each storage compartment . Each container is pulled out of the corresponding storage compartment when a drawer-type door is opened. As a result, the food product can be put in and taken out of each container through the top opening of each container.

Engine room 110 is formed at the rear of the freezer compartment 106 located in its lowest position. Engine room 110 accommodates an evaporator 107, cooling air in each storage compartment, as shown in Fig.9. As a result, the freezer compartment 106 has a shallower depth than the remaining compartments.

The low-temperature storage space, such as the low-temperature storage compartment 102, and the freezing storage space, such as the freezing compartment 106, are cooled by a cooling cycle carried out by the evaporator 107 and the compressor 109. Cold air generated by the evaporator 107 is supplied to each space for storage, thus cooling the air to a predetermined temperature. Cold air supplied from the evaporator 107 is blown into the freezer compartment 106 by a fan (not shown) located in the upper interior of the compartment 106, so that the air in the freezer compartment 106 is cooled to a predetermined temperature. Cold air supplied to the freezer compartment 106 circulates through the ice compartment 103 and a temperature controlled compartment 104 to cool the air in these compartments, then returning to the evaporator 107.

The freezer compartment 106 comprises a pair of right and left support frames (not shown) on the inside of the door 111 capable of opening and closing its front opening. The guiding elements are located on both side walls of the freezing compartment 106 in the forward-reverse direction. Guide elements hold container 112 for storing frozen food. As a result, the storage container 112 is a retractable type and is capable of sliding in a forward-backward direction.

The storage container 112 is made of a synthetic polymer by injection molding and has a deep rectangular parallelepiped with an upper opening. The storage container 112 comprises a flange formed at the peripheral edge of the hole. The flange covers almost the entire opening of the storage container 112, and a portion of the leading edge is cut out. As a result, a relatively small bowl-shaped container 113 is located at the leading edge of the storage container 112. The middle container 113 comprises a rear recess that is used to hold a milk bag for making ice of considerable height.

The middle container 113 extends over a long distance until its rear end is located in front of the front opening of the freezing compartment 116 with the storage container 112. The middle container 113 can be extended and retracted by moving the middle container 113 back and forth over the flange of the storage container 112, so that the upper opening of the storage container 112 opens and closes.

The upper container 115 is located above the storage container 112 and the middle container 113. The upper container 115 extends and retracts into the interior of the refrigerator regardless of the opening and closing of the middle container 113 and the door 111 of the freezing container. The upper container 115 comprises a flange that is formed on the lateral edge of the hole and is directly supported by support rails that are located on the side walls of the freezer compartment 106 that protrude inward. As a result, the upper container 115 is able to move back and forth, although it is located above the middle container 113. Therefore, a large force does not act on the door 111 of the freezer compartment, the middle container 113 and the guide elements supporting the lower storage container 112. In this case, the upper container 115 is not associated with the opening and closing of the freezer compartment 106. Therefore, the upper container 115 can be pulled out and pulled into the freezer compartment 106 independently using a handle formed on the front wall 115a adjacent to the rear side of the freezer compartment door 111.

In this embodiment, the upper container 115 is deeper than the middle container 113. More specifically, the upper container 115 has a depth D1 of 160 mm. On the other hand, the middle container 113 has a depth D2, which has a value in the range from 100 to 110 mm. In addition, the storage container 112 has a significant depth D3 from the bottom of the middle container 113 to the depth of the storage container 112. The depth D3 of the storage container 112 has a value in the range of 160 to 170 mm.

The food product placed in containers is subdivided according to the depth and presence or absence of communication with the door 111 of the freezer compartment. For example, the relatively frequently used frozen food product is housed in the lowest storage container 112, which opens and closes in conjunction with the freezer compartment door 111. The relatively less commonly used food product is placed in a shallow middle container 113. Therefore, since the storage container 112 and the middle container 113 are pulled out together with the opening of the freezer compartment door 111, the often used food product can be put in and taken out either from the container 112 or 113, whereby ease of use of containers can be enhanced.

A large food product intended for a relatively longer storage period is placed in the upper container 115. The upper container 115 provides sufficient space for the food product, since the upper container 115 has a large depth D1. In addition, since the upper container 115 is not associated with opening and closing the door 111 of the freezer compartment, the food product is stored in the placed state in the compartment. Therefore, the upper container 115 can be extended as desired when the need arises. As a result, since the upper container 115 does not extend each time the freezer compartment door 111 is opened, the contact of the food product with air at room temperature is reduced. Therefore, since the adverse effect of external air on the food product placed in the upper container 115 is reduced, the storage stability of the food product can be improved.

When arranged as described above, the drawer-type storage container 112, the middle container 113 and the upper container 115 can be effectively used in accordance with the shape and size of the food product to be stored, the frequency of use and application of the food product to be stored, and opening and closing the door 111 of the freezer compartment.

In addition, the depths of the containers 112, 113 and 115 located behind the drawer-type freezer door 111 are set as described above. In particular, the upper storage container 115, the uppermost of the three storage containers, has a depth D1 greater than the depth D2 of the middle storage container 113. Therefore, as the door 111 of the freezer compartment is pulled out, the user can see the front wall 115a of the upper storage container 115 while standing in front of the door 111 that is not closed by the door of another storage compartment located above the upper storage container 115. Therefore, the upper storage container 115 and the food product stored therein can be easily distinguished.

The above design is based on the results of numerous experiments conducted by inventors with a dozen women. More specifically, a user assuming a position in which he or she has pulled out the door leans forward to place or remove food from containers of a refrigerator having a structure in which three vertically arranged storage containers are installed in a storage compartment with a conventional door type of drawer. In this case, the reference symbol H1 denotes the average position of the user's eyes, which is represented as a height relative to the floor. The position of the H1 eye is at a height of 1130 mm. In addition, the position of the eyes relative to the front of the refrigerator varies from 323 to 523 mm and averages 417 mm.

The ceiling of the freezer compartment 106, located in the lowest position in the housing 101 of almost all the refrigerators used in the experiment, includes a ceiling that is located at a height of 550 mm from the floor. When the containers are made with known depths, respectively, and the shallow upper container 215 is located under the lower edge of the vegetable compartment door 216, the front wall 215a of the upper container 215 is hidden behind the vegetable compartment door 216 from the user's eyes, as shown by the line of sight in FIG. 10. As a result, it is difficult for the user to see the upper container 215, and he needs to lean very much to see the front wall 215a. On the other hand, when the depth D1 ′ of the upper container 215 is set to 90 mm or more, as well as the depth D1 in FIG. 9, similar to FIG. 10, the front wall 115a of the upper container 115 is visible when the freezing compartment door 111 is extended only by a predetermined distance without fully open the door 111. As a result, the presence of the upper container 115 can be easily confirmed. In addition, when the depth D1 of the upper container 215 was set to 160 mm, experiments showed that the front wall 215a of the upper container 215 was visible.

Therefore, so that the user can see the uppermost container 115 with the door 111 of the freezer compartment extended, the depth of the upper container must be set in view of the foregoing. To this end, the remaining containers in the low-temperature storage compartment having a limited overall height, that is, the middle container 113 and the lower storage container 112, should have correspondingly changed depths.

In this embodiment, containers 112 and 113 are associated with opening and closing a door 111 of the freezer compartment, and container 112 is often used to place and retrieve a food product and holds a relatively large food product. Therefore, the depth D3 of the lower storage container 112 is set in the range from 160 to 170 mm. In addition, the shallow middle container 113 stores a frequently used food product and has a depth D2 that is less than the depth of the upper container 115 and ranges from 100 to 110 mm.

Of the vertically arranged three containers, the depth D1 of the upper container 115, independent of the door 111 of the freezer compartment, is greater than the depth D2 of the middle container 113 connected to the door 111 of the freezer compartment of the drawer type. As a result, the storage container 112 and the middle container 113 are pulled out when the freezing compartment door 111 is opened, whereby the food product can be freely put in and taken out of the containers 112 and 113. The food product can advantageously be placed by sorting according to the types of food product, frequency the use of the food product and the like in the upper container 115, as well as containers 112 and 113.

Fifth Embodiment

A fifth embodiment will be described below. A fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, is a container with a drawer type door that is located in a central storage compartment located between the refrigerator compartment and the lower storage compartment, and which is formed by dividing the container into three vertically arranged containers. In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the storage container 132 and the middle container 133 are located on the rear side of the vegetable compartment door 136, which opens and closes the front opening of the drawer-type vegetable compartment 126, as in the fourth embodiment, for example. A storage container 132 and a middle container 133 are associated with opening and closing the door 136 of the vegetable compartment in order to extend and slide into the vegetable compartment 126. The upper container 135 has a greater depth D1 than the middle container 133, and is supported to move on support rails located on the respective inner walls of the vegetable compartment 126. A freezer compartment 125 is located under the vegetable compartment 126, and an ice making compartment 123 is located above the vegetable compartment 126.

When extending the vegetable compartment door 136 in the above construction, the average position of the H2 eyes in the standing positions of users (Japanese women) is higher than the position of the H1 eyes in the fourth embodiment. Therefore, the position of the H2 eye is at a height of 1440 mm relative to the floor. The position of the eyes relative to the front of the refrigerator varies between 293 and 447 mm and averages 358 mm.

The vegetable compartment 126, located in the center of the refrigerator body, includes a ceiling, which is located at an average height of 770 mm relative to the floor. When the containers are made with known depths respectively and the shallow upper container 235 is located under the lower edge of the door of the ice compartment 223, the front wall 235a is hidden behind the ice compartment door 237 from the user's eyes, as shown by the line of sight in FIG. As a result, it is difficult for the user to see the upper container 235. On the other hand, when the depth D6 ′ of the upper container 235 is set to 114 mm or more, as well as the depth D6 of FIG. 11, the front wall 135a of the upper container 135 is visible when the compartment door 136 for vegetables. As a result, the presence of the top container 135 can be easily confirmed. In addition, visual confirmation can be further facilitated when the depth D6 of the upper container 235 is set to 160 mm. During use, the upper container 135 is pulled out using a handle mounted on the front wall 135a of the upper container 135.

Therefore, the depth D6 of the upper container 135 is set to 160 mm. The depth D7 of the middle container 133 is set in the range from 100 to 110 mm. The depth D8 of the lower container 132 is set in the range from 160 to 170 mm.

In the fourth embodiment described above, the freezer compartment 106 comprises a drawer-type door on which three vertically arranged containers are mounted. In the fifth embodiment described above, the vegetable compartment 126 comprises a drawer type door on which three vertically arranged containers are mounted. However, the compartment on which the drawer-type door is installed should not be limited to the above-described compartments. The present invention can be applied in a construction of three vertically arranged containers in another compartment for storage of a drawer type.

Sixth Embodiment

13 shows a refrigerator of a sixth embodiment. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the lower part of the refrigerator body 151.

A freezer compartment 156 is formed in the lowermost interior of the refrigerator body 151. Above the freezing compartment 156, there is a small freezing compartment 154 used as a storage compartment in which the internal temperature is set in the freezing temperature zone and an ice making compartment (not shown). Each of the small freezing compartment 154 and the ice making compartment has a relatively small volume and comprises a special drawer type door. An automatic ice maker is located in the ice department. The refrigerator body 151 further includes an upper refrigerating compartment having the largest volume.

The lowest freezing compartment 156 refers to the same freezing temperature zone as the freezing compartment 154 and the ice making compartment. Therefore, the freezing compartment 156 does not need to be insulated from the freezing compartment 154 and the ice making compartment. As a result, the freezing compartment 156 is separated by a thin partition 159 from the freezing compartment 154 and the ice making compartment. The freezer compartment 156 includes a front opening that can be closed and opened by a drawer type door 161 in the same manner as in the fourth embodiment and the like. A storage container 162 is located on the rear side of the door 161 and is supported by a pair of right and left support frames. The storage container 162 supported on the door 161 is supported by guides (not shown) located on the inner side walls of the freezer compartment 156, as a result of which the storage container 162 is able to move back and forth.

The middle container 163 is located on the storage container 162. The middle container 163 is located on the storage container 162 with the possibility of moving in the forward-reverse direction. The middle container 163 is located in the highest position in the freezer compartment 156. The upper container 165 is located above the middle container 163. The upper container 165 is supported on movable rails mounted on the inner side walls of the freezer compartment 156. The upper container 165 is independent of the storage container 162 and the middle container 163. The upper container 165 has a greater depth than the middle container 163 and a large volume.

A freezer storage space, such as a freezer compartment 154, a smaller freezer compartment 154 and the like, is cooled by supplying cold air from the evaporator 157 to each compartment using a fan 158. The evaporator 157 is located on the rear side of the freezer compartment 156. The air in each of the small the freezing compartment 154 and the ice making compartment is cooled by cold air supplied through the cold air outlet 160 formed at the top of the rear side of each Elenia.

The lower storage container 162, the middle container 163 and the upper container 165 have openings 166, 167 and 168 for releasing cold air formed respectively in the upper parts of their rear walls. The air in the freezer compartment 156 is cooled by cold air leaving the cold air outlets 166, 167 and 168. The upper container 165 has a larger volume than the middle container 163. Therefore, in order to compensate for the cooling capacity of the cold air supplied from the cold air outlet 168, cold air is also supplied from the small freezer compartment 154 to the upper container 165. More specifically, cold air supplied to the small freezing compartment 154 and cooling air therein passes into the upper container 165 through the connecting holes 169 formed in the part of the separation burnout ki 159. As a result, the air in the upper container 165 is cooled by cold air supplied through the connecting holes 169 to the small freezer compartment 154, in addition to the cold air supplied from the outlet openings 168. The lower part of the upper container 165 is cooled by the cold air supplied from the openings 167 for releasing cold air for cooling the middle container 163, in addition to cooling with cold air supplied from the small freezing compartment 154. Therefore, the upper container 165 is indirectly cooled by cold air supplied from the cold air exhaust ports 167.

In a sixth embodiment, the temperature distribution in the interior of the upper container 165 is difficult to change, although the upper container has a relatively large volume. As a result, a large amount of the frozen food product intended for long-term storage can be placed in the upper container 165. In addition, the upper container 165 is not associated with the opening and closing of the door 161 of the freezer compartment. Therefore, the upper container 165 can be extended as desired when the need arises. Therefore, the effects of outside temperature when opening and closing the door 161 of the freezer compartment can be reduced. Thus, the stable storage of the food product can be carried out in the upper container 165 with sufficient cooling capacity.

Claims (1)

Refrigerator containing
a refrigerator case including a storage compartment and an opening on a front side of the storage compartment;
a door installed with the possibility of extension from the refrigerator body, thereby opening and closing a storage compartment; and
a plurality of storage containers arranged vertically in the storage compartment on the rear side of the door and installed in and removed from the storage compartment, the storage containers including a plurality of storage containers that extend along with the door, and another a storage container that remains in the storage compartment, characterized in that the storage containers include a centrally located storage container and a lower storage container, both extendable with the door when the door is extended and the upper storage container remaining in the compartment when the door is extended, the upper storage container having a volume that is intermediate between the volumes of the middle and lower storage containers, the uppermost container being pulled out together with the door and being the middle storage container, has the smallest volume of storage containers, an upper storage container that extends independently of the door after the middle and lower ends storage drawers are extended together with the door, has a pair of flanges on its right and left sides, respectively, with the flanges moving along a pair of rollers available respectively on the refrigerator body, and the uppermost storage container is made to be pulled out with less force than the force which extends the lower storage container having the largest volume.

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