WO2006126106A1

WO2006126106A1 - A cooling device

Info

Publication number: WO2006126106A1
Application number: PCT/IB2006/051132
Authority: WO
Inventors: Emre Ozyuksel; Ridvan K. Celik; Nihat Bayiz; Osman Vardar; Gökhan YAVUZ
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2005-04-13
Filing date: 2006-04-12
Publication date: 2006-11-30
Also published as: TR200706914T1

Abstract

By way of the present invention, a storage unit (2) is implemented which comprises a movement mechanism (4) that provides the plate (3) on which the items are stored, to reach a position that the user can easily access to.

Description

Description A COOLING DEVICE

[001] The present invention relates to a cooling device comprising a storage unit, which the user can easily access to the items stored therein.

[002] In cooling devices, various forms of storage units are used. One of these storage units is the vegetable container. The vegetable container is situated at the very bottom part of the cooling cabinet, the user has to bend over to store food items or to access to food items stored in this unit. It gets harder to access to the food items in this section.

[003] In the state-of-the-art International Patent Application no. 9734118, a point of sale merchandiser is described in which the plate forming the base is moved by biasing means to allow the user to access to the items stored on it. In this application, the biasing means exerts a constant force on the plate to always guide the weight on the plate towards the front of the merchandiser. In this patent document, there are flanges which serve as stoppers that retain the movement of the plate and the biasing means and prevent the plate from reaching its maximum height when the merchandiser is empty.

[004] The object of the present invention is to design a cooling device comprising a storage unit that allows the user to easily access to the items stored therein.

[005] The cooling device designed to fulfill the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where :

[006] Figure 1 - is the perspective view of a cooling device.

[007] Figure 2 - is the perspective view of the storage unit when the plate is at the highest position.

[008] Figure 3 - is the exploded view of the storage unit and the movement mechanism.

[009] Figure 4 - is the top schematic perspective view of the storage unit when the plate is at the highest position.

[010] Figure 5 - is the bottom schematic perspective view of the storage unit when the plate is at the highest position.

[011] Figure 6 - is the bottom schematic perspective view of the storage unit when the plate is at the lowest position.

[012] Elements shown in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Cooling device

2. Storage unit

3. Plate

4. Movement mechanism

5. Side wall

6. Base 7. Protrusion

8. Channel

9. Body

10. Door

11. Loading opening

12. Force arm

13. Transfer arm

14. Pin

15. Wheel

16. Rail

[013] The cooling device (1) comprises a body (9), a door (10) that allows access to inside of the body (9) and a storage unit (2) having a loading opening (11) allowing the items to be stored in and/or taken out, a base (6) and one or more side walls (5) positioned around this base (6), the functional volume (F) of which can be changed by the user for easy access to the items stored therein (Figure 1).

[014] The storage unit (2) comprises a movable plate (3), positioned on the base (6), on which items are stored and a movement mechanism (4), on which force is applied by the user, that transfers the applied force to the plate (3) and moves the plate (3) with the transferred force to reach a position to which the user can easily access (Figure 2 and Figure 3).

[015] The functional volume (F) is limited by the loading opening (11), the plate (3) and the side walls (5) and changes in relation to the movement of the plate (3).

[016] The movement mechanism (4) comprises a force arm (12) on which the user exerts a force and a transfer arm (13), one end of which is fixed to the force arm (12) and the other end contacting the bottom surface of the plate (3), transferring the force applied by the user to the plate (3), providing the plate (3) to move.

[017] The plate (3) is positioned between the side walls (5) with a small gap in between itself and the side walls (5) so that the motion is not adversely effected by the frictional forces during movement and the amount of contact is reduced.

[018] In this embodiment of the present invention, the movement mechanism (4) comprises one or more pins (14) at the point where the transfer arm (13) and the force arm (12) are fixed to each other, providing rotational movement and allowing it to be fixed to the storage unit (2). The movement mechanism (4) is positioned between the base (6) and the plate (3) and provides the plate (3) to move between the base (6) and the loading opening (11). The force arm (12) is part of the side wall (5) of the storage container (2). Therefore, when the force arm (12) is pulled by the user, the storage container (2) moves towards the user and simultaneously the plate (3) starts moving, nearing towards the loading opening (11). When the force arm (12) is pushed, both the storage container (2) and the plate (3) return to their former positions.

[019] The storage unit (2) comprises one or more protrusions (7) extending along the side wall (5), preferably having a "U" section, for the purpose of preventing the plate (3) from moving away from the position of equilibrium due to the items having various weights stored on it and one or more channels (8), positioned on the sides of the plate (3), serving as guides by being fitted on the protrusions (7).

[020] The movement mechanism (4) comprises one or more wheels (15) in the section where the transfer arm (13) touches the plate (3), used for the purpose of reducing the friction to a minimum. With the help of these wheels (15) fixed to the transfer arm (13), the force applied on the force arm (12) is transferred to the plate (3) with a minimum loss and the plate (3) is allowed to move with a rate relative to the force applied on the force arm (12).

[021] The plate (3) comprises one or more rails (16) on its bottom surface where the wheels (15) touch, guiding the wheels (15) and extending along in the direction of the force that the user could exert on the force arm (12).

[022] When the storage unit (12) is to be used, the force arm (12) is pulled by the user, and the force arm (12) rotates around the pins (14) as a result of this applied force. Consequently the transfer arm (13) starts moving too, being fixed to the force arm (12). The force applied on the force arm (12) in the horizontal axis, acts on the plate (3) in the vertical axis via the transfer arm (13) fixed to the force arm (12) with an angle - preferably 90°- and the plate (3) rises moving in the vertical axis with an amount equal to the movement of the force arm (12) in the horizontal axis. Hence the user brings the plate (3) to a position nearest to her/him and the items can easily be stored or items stored earlier can be taken out. After the items are stored, the force arm (12) is pushed this time, the transfer arm (13) and the plate (3) in contact with it move to their former positions, approaching the base of the plate (3) as a result of the exerted force (Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6).

[023] By way of the present invention, a storage unit (2) is implemented which comprises a movement mechanism (4) that provides the plate (3) on which the items are stored, to reach a position that the user can easily access to. Hence the items stored in the storage unit (2) can easily be accessed to by the user.

Claims

[001] A cooling device (1) comprising a body (9), a door (10) that allows access to inside of the body (9) and characterized by a storage unit (2) having a loading opening (11) allowing the items to be stored in and/or taken out, a base (6) and one or more side walls (5) positioned around this base (6), a movable plate (3), positioned on the base (6), on which items are stored and a movement mechanism (4) on which the user exerts a force, transferring the force to the plate (3) and moving the plate (3) with the transferred force, providing it to reach a position where the user can easily access.

[002] A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by a storage unit (2) comprising a movement mechanism (4) having a force arm (12) on which force is exerted by the user, and a transfer arm (13) one end of which is fixed to this force arm (12) with an angle, and the other end contacting the bottom surface of the plate (3), providing the force applied on the force arm (12) to be transferred to the plate (3), causing the plate (3) to move.

[003] A cooling device (1) as in Claim lor 2, characterized by a storage unit (2) having a movement mechanism (4) comprising one or more pins (14) at the point where the transfer arm (13) and the force arm (12) are fixed to each other, providing rotational movement and allowing it to be fixed.

[004] A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1 to 3, characterized by a storage unit (2) comprising a movement mechanism (4) having one or more wheels (15) in the section where the transfer arm (13) touches the plate (3), being used for the purpose of reducing the friction to a minimum.

[005] A cooling device (1) as in Claim 4 , characterized by a storage unit (2) having a plate (3) comprising one or more rails (16) on its bottom surface where the wheels (15) touch, guiding the wheels (15) and extending along in the direction of the force that the user can exert on the force arm (12).

[006] A cooling device (1) as in Claim 1 to 5 , characterized by a storage unit (2) comprising one or more protrusions (7) extending along the side wall (5), for the purpose of preventing the plate (3) from moving away from the equilibrium due to the variable weights of the items stored on, and one or more channels (8), positioned on the sides of the plate (3), serving as guides by being fitted on the protrusions (7).