Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
  • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F25D25/00—Charging, supporting, and discharging the articles to be cooled
  • F25D25/02—Charging, supporting, and discharging the articles to be cooled by shelves
  • F25D25/024—Slidable shelves
  • F25D25/025—Drawers
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
  • A47B88/00—Drawers for tables, cabinets or like furniture; Guides for drawers
  • A47B88/40—Sliding drawers; Slides or guides therefor
  • A47B88/453—Actuated drawers
  • A47B88/457—Actuated drawers operated by electrically-powered actuation means
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
  • F25D—REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • F25D23/00—General constructional features
  • F25D23/06—Walls
  • F25D23/065—Details
  • F25D23/067—Supporting elements
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47B—TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE
  • A47B2210/00—General construction of drawers, guides and guide devices
  • A47B2210/17—Drawers used in connection with household appliances
  • A47B2210/175—Refrigerators or freezers

Definitions

• the disclosure relates to a refrigerator.
• the sliding apparatus of the refrigerator disclosed in the patent document 1 is provided with a first rail installed on the refrigerator body and a second rail installed on the drawer.
• a drive unit installed on the refrigerator body the second rail is slid against the first rail in the opening and closing direction.
• the second rail presses the drive unit and an excessive load is applied to the drive unit. Therefore, the high precision assembly is used at the time of manufacturing the refrigerator.
• the second rail presses the drive unit and an excessive load is applied to the drive unit.
• a refrigerator having a structure configured to be relatively easily assembled in the manufacturing of the refrigerator and configured to reduce a load applied to a drive unit driving a rail although a position of the rail is displaced with respect to a refrigerator body due to the deterioration over time or the deterioration caused by the change in a weight of things, which are stored in a drawer, in accordance with the increase or decrease in the amount of the things.
• a refrigerator including a body, a storage compartment disposed inside the body and provided with an opening, a drawer configured to open and close the opening of the storage compartment, and a sliding apparatus configured to slidably support the drawer against the storage compartment and the sliding apparatus includes a first rail installed on an inner wall of the storage compartment, a second rail installed on the drawer and configured to be slidable with respect to the first rail, and a drive unit installed on the first rail and configured to provide a driving force to slide the second rail.
• the drive unit may be coupled to a lower surface of the first rail.
• the drive unit may be spaced apart from the inner wall of the storage compartment.
• the power transmission unit may include a first rack gear installed on the second rail and configured to engage with the drive gear.
• the power transmission unit may include at least one elastic member disposed between the first rail and the second rail to press the first rack gear against the drive gear.
• the second rail may include a plurality of holes elongated in a direction in parallel with a direction in which the first rack gear moves relative to the second rail, and the first rack gear may include a plurality of screw members configured to pass through the plurality of holes and configured to be movable along the plurality of holes, respectively.
• the plurality of holes may include a first hole and a second hole, and the first hole and the second hole may have different lengths in a direction in parallel with the direction the first rack gear moves relative to the second rail.
• the drive unit may include a receiving portion recessed on an outer surface of the housing and configured to receive the drive gear therein, and a cap coupled to the housing to cover at least one part of the receiving portion.
• the drive unit may further include a discharging portion configured to communicate with the receiving portion and extend to the lower side from the receiving portion.
• the first rack gear may be disposed above the drive gear.
• the sliding apparatus may further include an adjustment unit disposed in a rear side of the power transmission unit to adjust a moving distance of the second rail with respect to the first rail.
• the adjustment unit may include a second rack gear installed on the first rail, a shaft rotatably supported by the second rail, and an adjustment gear provided both ends of the shaft and configured to engage with the second rack gear.
• the second rack gear may be disposed above the adjustment gear.
• the second rack gear may be disposed to be opposite to the first rack gear with respect to the adjustment gear.
• the sliding apparatus may further include a slide rail disposed between the first rail and the second rail and configured to slide the second rail against the first rail.
• the storage compartment may include a protruding portion formed such that a part of the inner wall of the storage compartment is protruded toward the opening, and the first rack gear may be disposed above the protruding portion inside the storage compartment.
• FIG. 2 illustrates a longitudinal section of a lower portion of the refrigerator according to one embodiment of the disclosure
• FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a sliding apparatus installed in the refrigerator according to one embodiment of the disclosure
• FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view showing one side (an opening direction) end of the sliding apparatus installed in the refrigerator according to one embodiment of the disclosure
• FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view showing other side (a closing direction) end of the sliding apparatus installed in the refrigerator according to one embodiment of the disclosure
• FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of a modified embodiment of a housing of the drive unit according to one embodiment of the disclosure
• FIG. 8 illustrates a side view of a modified embodiment of a power transmission unit according to one embodiment of the disclosure
• FIG. 9 illustrates a view of a modified embodiment of a slide rail according to one embodiment of the disclosure.
• FIG. 10 illustrates a view of a modified embodiment of the sliding apparatus according to one embodiment of the disclosure.
• various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed from computer readable program code and embodied in a computer readable medium.
• application and “program” refer to one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computer readable program code.
• computer readable program code includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code.
• computer readable medium includes any type of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type of memory.
• ROM read only memory
• RAM random access memory
• CD compact disc
• DVD digital video disc
• a “non-transitory” computer readable medium excludes wired, wireless, optical, or other communication links that transport transitory electrical or other signals.
• a non-transitory computer readable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored and media where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as a rewritable optical disc or an erasable memory device.
• FIGS. 1 through 10 discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged system or device.
• a protruding portion 12 protruding toward an opening direction (front) side is formed in an inner wall 11 which separates the storage compartment R1 from the machine room R2. Therefore, the storage compartment R1 is formed such that an upper area, on which the protruding portion 12 is not formed, is longer than a lower area, on which the protruding portion 12 is formed, along a direction in which the drawer is slide (hereinafter referred to as a first direction).
• the drawer 20 has a door plate 21 blocking the opening 15 of the storage compartment R1.
• the sliding apparatus 30 includes a pair of first rails 40 provided on respective side walls 13 of the storage compartment R1, a pair of second rails 50 provided on the door plate 21 of the drawer 20, a slide rail 60 disposed between the first rail 40 and the second rail 50 and configured to slide the second rail 50 against the first rail 40, a drive unit 70 installed on the first rail 40 and a power transmission device 80 configured to transmit a power of the drive unit 70 to the second rail 50.
• the first rail 40 is fixed to both side walls 13 of the storage compartment R1 and elongated in the first direction.
• the first rail 40 is installed in the upper area of the storage compartment R1.
• One end 40b of the rear side of the first rail 40 is disposed above the protruding portion 12.
• the first rail 40 includes a fixed portion 41 fixed to the side wall 13 of the storage compartment R1 and a pair of supporting portions 42 extending from an upper side and a lower side of the fixed portion 41 to a direction perpendicular to the side wall 13.
• the drive unit 70 is installed in the first rail 40.
• the drive unit 70 includes a housing 71 provided in the first rail 40, a drive motor (not shown) provided inside the housing 71, and transmission gears (not shown) configured to transmit a torque of the drive motor (not shown).
• a drive gear 72 driving the second rails 50 by receiving the torque from the transmission gears (not shown) is installed on an outer surface of the housing 71.
• the drive gear 72 is installed in a concave portion 73 formed on the outer surface of the housing 71 and disposed at one end portion 40a on the front side of the first rail 40.
• the drive gear 72 is disposed at a position adjacent to the opening 15 of the storage compartment R1.
• the housing 71 is connected to the storage compartment R1 through the first rail 40 but the housing 71 itself is not directly coupled to the storage compartment R1.
• the housing 71 is spaced apart from the side wall 13 of the storage compartment R1 and thus spaced apart from the refrigerator body 10 in which a dimension deviation is likely to occur during manufacture of the refrigerator.
• a concave receiving portion is formed on an inner surface of the storage compartment R1, particularly, on an inner surface of the side wall 13 that is adjacent to the housing 71 of the storage compartment R1.
• a processor (not shown) including a substrate for controlling the drive motor, which is placed in the housing 71, may be placed in the receiving portion, and thus it is easy to perform a wiring process that is to be connected to the motor.
• the second rails 50 are installed to extend in parallel with each other from both sides of the back surface (rear surface) of the door plate 21. Between the two second rails 50, a storage case C storing products is supported.
• the second rail 50 is formed by bending a long plate member by a plurality of times in a longitudinal direction thereof. Particularly, the second rail 50 is bent such that a center line 51, which faces the first rail 40, protrudes toward the first rail 40. The center line 51 protrudes further toward the first rail 40 than an upper line 52a and a lower line 52b.
• a driving rack gear 81 forming the power transmission device 80 described later is provided on the lower side line 52b of the second rail 50. In a state in which the driving rack gear 81 is installed in the second rail 50, the driving rack gear 81 is disposed such that teeth of the driving rack gear 81 are directed to the lower side.
• the driving rack gear 81 is installed on the second rail 50 such that a distance between a top land of the teeth of the driving rack gear 81 and a top land of the teeth of the drive gear 72 is 5mm or less. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent an accident in which the finger is stuck between the driving rack gear 81 and the drive gear 72.
• the driving rack gear 81 also includes screw members 54 passing through a plurality of holes 53 formed in the lower line 52b of the second rail 50.
• Each of the plurality of holes 53 extends in a direction intersecting with the first direction (perpendicular to the first direction in this embodiment).
• Each of the screw members 54 is configured to be slidable with respect to the plurality of holes 53. Accordingly, the driving rack gear 81 may slide along the plurality of holes 53 in the direction intersecting (perpendicular to) the first direction.
• a plurality of elastic members 82 is provided on one surface of the driving rack gear 81 facing a lower step formed by the center line 51 and the lower line 52b of the second rail 50.
• the driving rack gear 81 is pressed against the drive gear 72 by the elastic member 82.
• the power transmission device 80 includes the driving rack gear 81 and the plurality of elastic members 82.
• the slide rail 60 includes an outer member 61 fixed to the first rail 40, an inner member 62 fixed to the second rail 50, and a middle member 63 disposed between the outer member 61 and the inner member 62.
• the middle member 63 is configured to be slidable by a ball 64 provided between the outer member 61 and the inner member 62.
• the inner member 62 has a length substantially equal to the length of the first rail 40 in the first direction and is fixed to the center line 51 of the second rail 50. One end of the rear side of the inner member 62 protrudes further toward the rear of the storage chamber R1 than the second rail 50.
• the outer member 61 is a member fixed to the first rail 40 without being slidable on the first rail 40, it may be assumed that the outer member 61 is contained in the first rail 40.
• the inner member 62 is a member that is fixed to the second rail 50 without being slidable on the second rail 50, it may be assumed that the inner member 62 is contained in the second rail 50.
• the first rail 40 represents a member that does not slide against the refrigerator body 10 among the members forming the sliding apparatus 30, and the second rail 50 represents a member that does not slide against the drawer 20 forming the sliding apparatus 30.
• the ball 64 corresponds to a rolling mechanism 60a and the rolling mechanism 60a is configured to smoothly slide the second rail 50 against the first rail 40.
• the sliding apparatus 30 further includes an adjustment unit 90 configured to adjust a movement distance, which the respective second rails 50 slides against the respective first rails 40, to be equal to each other.
• the adjustment unit 90 includes an adjustment rack gear 91 provided on each of the first rails 40, a shaft 92 supported by both second rails 50, and an adjustment gear 93 fixed to both ends of the shaft 92 and engaged with the adjustment rack gear 91.
• the shaft 92 is rotatably supported on each of the rear ends of the inner member 62 protruding from the second rails 50 toward the rear of the storage compartment R1.
• the adjustment gear 93 is fixed to the shaft 92 so that the adjustment gear 93 is not rotatable about the shaft 92.
• Each of the adjustment rack gears 91 are configured to engage with the adjustment gear 93 fixed to both ends of the shaft 92.
• both adjustment rack gears 91 and the teeth of both adjustment gears 93 are arranged so as to have the same pitch. Accordingly, when the shaft 92 is rotated about the inner member 62, a movement speed of the adjustment gear 93 engaged with the one adjustment rack gear 91 is substantially identical to a movement speed of the adjustment gear 93 engaged with the other adjustment rack gear 91.
• the adjustment rack gear 91 is arranged in parallel with the driving rack gear 81 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the top land of the teeth of the adjustment rack gear 91 and the top land of the teeth of the driving rack gear 81 are directed to the lower side.
• the adjustment gear 93 is disposed between the upper surface of the driving rack gear 81, which is opposite to the surface on which the teeth of the driving rack gear 81 are formed, and the top land of the teeth of the adjustment rack gear 91.
• the adjustment gear 93 is configured to rotate and move on the upper surface of the driving rack gear 81.
• One end of the adjustment rack gear 91 and one end of the driving rack gear 81 extend in parallel to each other to be disposed above the protruding portion 12 of the storage compartment R1.
• the lower line 52b of the second rail 50 faces the entire drive gear 72. That is, the lower end portion 50a of the second rail 50 extends further downward than the lower end portion of the top land of the teeth of the drive gear 72. Since the drive gear 72 is covered by the second rail 50, it is possible to prevent the injury caused by the user's fingers being caught.
• the drive motor rotates.
• the torque of the drive motor is transmitted to the drive gear 72 via the transmission gears, and the torque transmitted to the drive gear 72 is transmitted to the second rail 50 through the driving rack gear 81 engaged with the drive gear 72.
• the drawer 20 is moved in the first direction with respect to the storage compartment R1 to open the storage compartment R1.
• a detection device such as a position sensor detects the opening and when a signal generated by the detection device is transmitted to the processor configured to control the drive motor, the drive motor is stopped by the processor.
• a movement speed of one side second rail 50 about the first rail 40 is adjusted to be substantially identical to a movement speed of the other side second rail 50 about the first rail 40 by the adjustment unit 90, and thus unbalance in both lateral directions (left and right side) of the drawer 20 is reduced.
• the drawer 20 When the drawer 20 is moved in the first direction to open the storage compartment R1, the drawer 20 is inclined the front downward by its own weight. At this time, an inclination angle of the drawer 20 increases as the drawer 20 becomes a fully opened state from a fully closed state of the storage compartment R1. Due to the inclination of the drawer 20, the second rail 50, particularly, the front end side of the second rail 50 adjacent to the opening 15 is inclined downward about the first rail 40. Accordingly, the driving rack gear 81 installed in the second rail 50 is moved in a direction of pressing the drive gear 72 and an overload condition occurs by the displacement of the engaging position between gears. Therefore, a noise may occur and the driving rack gear 81 or the drive gear 72 may be damaged.
• the elastic member 82 is bent by a pressing force, which is equal to or greater than a certain level, to absorb the movement of the driving rack gear 81 caused by the inclination of the drawer 20, the engagement between the driving rack gear 81 and the drive gear 72 is constantly maintained and thus the drive gear 72 is not overloaded more than necessary.
• the first rail 40 is disposed above the protruding portion 12 of the storage compartment R1 and the one end of the driving rack gear 81 installed on the first rail 40 extends to be disposed above the protruding portion 12. Further, the drive gear 72 engaged with the driving rack gear 81 is disposed adjacent to the opening 15 of the storage compartment R1. This makes it possible to secure a long sliding distance of the drawer 20 with respect to the storage compartment R1.
• FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of a modified embodiment of a housing of the drive unit.
• a housing 71 shown in FIG. 7 has a groove communicating with a concave portion 73 and extending downward from the concave portion 73, and a cap 74 being coupled to the housing 71 to cover at least one part of the concave portion 73.
• a discharging portion 75 configured to allow the concave portion 73 to communicate with the outside of the housing 71 is formed in a lower portion of the cap 74.
• the gear system including the drive gear 72 is hardly exposed to the outside of the housing 71, it is possible to prevent injuries that may occur when the user's fingers are caught.
• the foreign substance introduced into the concave portion 73 is discharged from the discharging portion 75, and thus it is possible to prevent the drive unit 70 from being abnormally operated or damaged by the foreign substance.
• FIG. 8 illustrates a side view of a modified embodiment of a power transmission unit.
• a plurality of holes 53 configured to couple the driving rack gear 81 to the second rail 50 includes a first hole 53a and a second hole 53b, wherein the first hole 53a and the second hole 53b have different lengths in a direction in parallel with a direction the driving rack gear 81 moves relative to the second rail 50.
• the first hole 53a is disposed adjacent to the opening 15 of the storage compartment R1, and the second hole 53b is disposed adjacent to the rear side of the storage compartment R1.
• the length of the second hole 53b is longer than the length of the first hole 53a.
• the door plate 21 side is inclined the front downward by the weight of the drawer 20. Due to the inclination of the drawer 20, the second rail 50 is inclined with respect to the first rail 40 and thus the driving rack gear 81 installed on the second rail 50 moves in the direction of pressing the drive gear 72. As the drawer 20 is more taken out from the storage compartment R1, the driving rack gear 81 more moves in the direction of pressing the drive gear 72.
• a small movable range of the driving rack gear 81 so as to maintain the engagement between the driving rack gear 81 and the drive gear 72.
• the drive gear 72 is provided so as to be movable in a direction, in which the drive gear 72 is in contact with and separated from the driving rack gear 81 (in a direction perpendicular to the first direction), with respect to the housing 71.
• the drive unit 70 may include an elastic member (not shown) pressing the drive gear 72 to the driving rack gear 81.
• the housing 71 includes a hole (not shown) through which a rotary shaft (not shown) of the drive gear 72 passes, and the hole is elongated in the direction in which the drive gear 72 is in contact with and separated from the driving rack gear 81.
• the rotary shaft is configured to be movable along the hole, and the rotary shaft itself may have elasticity.
• Side edges 61a, 62a and 63a extending in the longitudinal direction of the respective members 61, 62 and 63 are arranged such that the side edge 63a of the middle member 63 is disposed outside the side edge 62a of the inner member 62 and the side edge 61a of the outer member 61 is disposed outside the side edge 63a of the middle member 63.
• the stopper 65 is provided at both ends of the outer member 61 and the middle member 63, and is provided on one surface of the middle member 63 facing one surface of the outer member 61 and one surface of the outer member 61.
• the stoppers 65 provided in the outer member 61 and the middle member 63 are arranged such that the outer member 61 and the middle member 63 interfere with each other in a state in which the middle member 63 moves relative to the outer member 61 by a predetermined length.
• a slide rail 60 includes a guide rail 68 installed in a first rail 40, and a roller 69 rotatably installed in a second rail 50 and rolled along the guide rail 68.
• the roller 69 corresponds to the rolling mechanism 60a, and the rolling mechanism 60a is configured to facilitate the sliding movement of the second rail 50 against the first rail 40.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Refrigerator Housings (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (3)

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Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (2)

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• 2018
  • 2018-09-05 JP JP2018165759A patent/JP2019135440A/ja active Pending
• 2019
  • 2019-02-01 EP EP19746966.1A patent/EP3717848B1/de active Active

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