JPH03213987A - Shelf device in refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smoothly slide a sliding member moved up and down in a sliding groove without slanting the same by moving vertically a shelf and a frame, keeping the same horizontally by spur gears rotated simultaneously vertically on left and right racks. CONSTITUTION:With a control switch 6 turned on, a drive gear 10 coupled to a shaft 9 of an electric motor 7 is rotated to cause a rolling gear and a gear shaft 4 engaged with the drive gear 10 to be rotated. Hereby, spur gears 5 located at opposite ends of the gear shaft 4 engaged with a rack 16b are rotated, and hence a shelf and a frame 2 are moved vertically, kept horizontally by the spur gears 5 rotated simultaneously vertically on left and right racks 16b. Further, since also a sliding member moved vertically in a sliding groove 16a can smoothly be slid without being slanted, so that the electric motor 17 does not undergo large load. Thus, the shelf can be moved only by the operation of the control switch 6, permitting a device for moving the shelf such as the electric motor 7, etc., to be miniaturized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a shelf device for a refrigerator, which is used inside a refrigerator and whose vertical position can be changed in various ways.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of refrigerator shelf apparatus has been disclosed, for example, in US Pat. No. 2,841,459.

This conventional refrigerator shelf device includes a shelf disposed inside the refrigerator, a frame that holds the shelf, two rails that slide and hold rollers supported on the left and right sides of the frame, and a frame that supports the frame. Equipped with screws and jacks for fixing in any position. The frame rotatably held a nut fitted into the screw jack and a shaft with a handle for rotating the nut. Further, the rails were installed vertically on the left and right sides of the interior of the refrigerator, and the screws were installed vertically at the center of the interior of the refrigerator.

Then, the shaft with the nodule was turned to rotate the NAND fitted into the screw jack, thereby changing the position of the NAND and changing the position of the frame holding the shelf.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The above-mentioned conventional refrigerator shelf device has a structure in which the position of the frame holding the shelf can be moved up and down by a screw mounted at the center of the interior of the refrigerator, and food is placed on the shelf. In some cases, the shelf is tilted toward the side with the most food, especially if the shelf is placed off to the left or right, or the rollers contact the rail diagonally and do not rotate smoothly and are subject to large force. I had to turn the shaft with the knob.

There is a shaft with a handle and a screw jack in the center of the bunsou, and this structure also causes problems in terms of food storage, as it gets in the way of placing food on the relatively large high and lower shelves or the lower food placement surface. Ta.

The present invention solves the problems of the conventional refrigerator shelf device described above,
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a shelf device for a refrigerator that prevents the shelves from tilting from side to side, allows the shelves to be moved with a relatively small force, and does not prevent the device for moving the shelves from interfering with food storage at the bottom. do.

Means for Solving the Problems For the above-mentioned purpose, the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention includes a shelf disposed inside the refrigerator, a substantially U-shaped frame that holds the shelf, and a rear left and right corner of the frame. a sliding member attached to the sliding member; a gear shaft with spur gears fixed to the left and right ends attached close to the sliding member; an electric motor and its control switch; a power supply device for operating the electric motor; A drive gear connected to the shaft of the electric motor, a rolling gear meshing with the drive gear at right angles and fixed to the gear shaft, and a sliding member formed vertically on the left and right sides of the interior of the refrigerator, and at least a portion of the sliding member. The sliding groove housed and slidably held therein is a rack that meshes with the left and right spur gears formed vertically on one side of or adjacent to the sliding groove.

Function: Since the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention has the above configuration,
When the control switch is turned on, the drive gear connected to the shaft of the electric motor rotates, and the rolling gear and gear shaft that mesh with it rotate, which causes the spur gears at both ends of the gear shaft that mesh with the rack to rotate, and the rack and The frame moves up and down while being held horizontally by flat gears that simultaneously rotate up and down on the left and right racks. Further, since the sliding member moving up and down within the sliding groove can slide smoothly without being tilted diagonally, there is no great burden on the electric motor. Therefore, the shelves can be moved simply by operating a control switch, and the device for moving the shelves, such as an electric motor, can be made smaller, so that it does not interfere with food storage in the lower part.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings of FIGS. 1 to 8.

In the figure, 1 is a shelf on which food is placed. 2 is a frame that holds the shelf 1, a left frame 2a, a right frame 2b, and a rear frame 2 that connects the left and right frames 2a and 2b.
It is formed by c. Reference numeral 2e denotes a flange formed to protrude from the left and right sides of the upper end of the frame 2. 3 is frame 2
It is a sliding member attached to the back left and right of 3a, s.
b denotes an upper roller and a lower roller that constitute the sliding member 3.

Further, the upper and lower rollers 3a and 3b are each rotatably attached by a metal roller shirt 3c.

A gear shaft 4 is rotatably attached to the back of the frame 2, and fixed flat gears 6 are attached to both left and right ends of the gear shaft. 6 is a control switch attached to the switch hole 2d on the front side of the right frame 2b.

7 is an electric motor that moves the shelves up and down. Reference numeral 8 denotes a power supply device that constitutes a circuit with a control switch 6 that switches the motor between normal rotation, reverse rotation, and stop, and the electric motor 7, and a battery 8a and a battery box 8.
Consists of b. 9 is a drive shaft connected in an electric manner, and 1o is a threaded tooth profile 1 fixed to this drive shaft 9.
This is a drive gear that is normally called a worm gear. Reference numeral 11 has a tooth profile 11a that is machined obliquely with respect to the rotating shaft, that is, the gear shaft 4, so as to mesh along the screw-like tooth profile 10a of the drive gear 10, and is fixed to the gear shaft 4 adjacent to the spur gear 6 on the right side. It is a rolling gear usually called a worm wheel. Further, 2f is a cover frame that covers the rear side where each gear is attached on the open side of the frames 2a and 2b. 12 is inside the refrigerator. 13 is an outer box made of iron plate of the refrigerator body. Reference numeral 14 denotes an inner box molded from resin, and rail grooves 14a are formed on the left and right sides of the interior 12 of the refrigerator.

15 is a foamed heat insulating material filled between the outer box 13 and the inner box 14. Reference numeral 16 denotes a rail fixed to the rail groove 14a of the inner box 14 with screws or the like.

Reference numeral 14b denotes a reinforcing plate to which the relay/l/16 is attached via the inner box 14. 16a chopsticks/l/1
6, a spur gear 6, a sliding member 3, that is, an upper roller 3a.
, which is a sliding groove that accommodates at least a portion of the lower roller 3b and slidably holds the lower roller 3b. 1eb is sliding of rail 16 @1e
This is a rack that meshes with a flat gear 6 formed on the front side (in the vertical direction) inside a. Note that the width W of the slide #16a is approximately 0.1 to 1 fl thicker than the outer diameter of the upper roller 3a and lower roller 3b. Further, the upper roller 3a, the lower roller 3b, and the spur gear 6 are located almost on the same line, and the upper roller 3a is in contact with the front surface of the sliding groove 16a, and the lower roller 3b is in contact with the rear surface of the sliding groove 16a. The flat gear 6 is in contact with the rack 16b.
They are arranged on the left frame 2a and the right frame 2b so as to mesh with each other. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the frame 2 is connected to the spur gear 5, drive gear 10. rolling gear 1
1 in a shape that covers it from the inside of the refrigerator. Further, the upper roller 3a and the spur gear 6 are covered by a flange 2e formed at the upper end of the frame 2 and having a narrow gap with the sliding groove 16a of the rail 16. Next, reference numeral 17 is a control panel provided with a style inside to cool the interior 12 of the refrigerator.

When moving the shelf 1 of the refrigerator shelf device of this embodiment up or down, first press the control switch 6, then the electric motor 7
．． Drive shaft 9 and drive gear 10 rotate. Therefore, the rolling gear 11 that meshes with the drive gear 1o rotates, and the gear shaft 4 and the spur gears 6 on both sides rotate. At this time, the spur gear 6 moves through the gear shaft 4 in the sliding groove 12a while meshing with the rack 12b on the front side, but since the left and right spur gears 6 are fixed to the gear shaft 4 and rotate in the same manner, the frame 2 WJl moves up and down in the same manner as on the left and right, and no deviation in height occurs between the left and right sides. This allows the sliding member 3 that moves up and down within the sliding groove 12a to slide smoothly without being tilted diagonally. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the roller shafts 3c of the upper and lower rollers 3a and 3b are made of metal, so that even if many foods are placed on the shelf 1, the upper and lower rollers 3a and 3b will not tilt.
Since it rotates smoothly and the frictional force can be reduced, the load on the electric motor 7 is small. Next, when the shelf 1 is moved to a desired position by the electric motor 7 and then stopped, the shelf 1 or the frame 2 tends to fall down due to the weight of the shelf 1 and frame 20 and the weight of the food on the shelf 1. As a result of this force, the spur gear 6 first tries to rotate. Therefore, the gear shaft 4 and the rolling gear 11 try to rotate, but the rolling gear 11 is meshed with the drive gear 1o, and it is mechanically impossible to rotate the rolling gear 11 by rotating the drive gear 1o. Although it is easy to say, the force that causes the tooth profile 11a of the rolling gear 11 to rotate the screw-shaped tooth profile 10a of the drive gear 1o is
When the teeth 11a of the rolling gear 11 mesh with each other in a direction substantially perpendicular to this, the frictional force becomes extremely large, making it impossible for the rolling gear 11 to rotate the driving gear 1°. Therefore, when the shelf 1 is in a stopped state, the drive gear 1o and the rolling gear 11 serve as a stopper mechanism, and even if food is placed on the shelf 1, the shelf 1 is held at that position without falling down. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the upper roller 3a, the lower roller 3b, and the spur gear 6 are located in the same vertical direction at the back of the frame 2, so that the load applied to the shelf 1 is large on the folding roller 3.
a contacts the front surface of the sliding groove 16a, the lower roller 3b contacts the back surface of the sliding groove 16a more strongly, and the spur gear 5 meshes more strongly with the rack 16b to reduce their rotational friction. Since the force is large, the frame 2 holding the shelf 1 is held in a predetermined position, and the shelf 1 does not fall or move from side to side.

As explained above, the refrigerator shelf device of this embodiment does not require a large force to move the shelf 1 even when food is placed on the shelf 1, and the shelf 1 does not tilt.

In this embodiment, the right frame 2b has a drive shaft 9, a drive gear 10. Rolling gear 11. Spur gear 5 and frame 2
With the flanges 2e provided on the left and right sides of the upper ends of a and 2b,
Since the sliding member 3 is covered by the rear frame 2C, the gear shaft 4 is covered by the flange 2e and the left frames 2a and 2b, and the flat gear 6 is covered by the flange 2e, there is no problem of damage caused by food hitting each gear, etc. There is no problem that it gets in the way when storing food. Moreover, the rack 16d in the sliding groove 16a is formed so that it cannot be seen from the front inside the refrigerator, giving it an excellent appearance, and since it is aligned with the rack 16b, the rail can be made smaller. Furthermore, the width of the sliding groove 16a that slides and holds the upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b is the same as that of the upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b.
It is only slightly larger than the outer diameter of the upper roller 3.
a and the lower roller 3b are vertically separated and inserted into the sliding groove 16&, so even if food is pushed up from the lower surface of the shelf 1, the upper roller 3a will come into contact with the back surface of the sliding groove 16a, and the lower Since the roller 3b comes into contact with the front surface of the sliding groove 16a, the displacement of the shelf 1 is so slight that it does not become a problem.

As described in detail, the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention includes a shelf disposed inside the refrigerator, a substantially U-shaped frame that holds the shelf, and a frame attached to the rear left and right sides of the frame. a sliding member, a power supply device that operates the sliding member in proximity to the sliding member, a driving gear connected to the shaft of the electric motor, a rolling gear meshing with the driving gear at right angles and fixed to the gear shaft; A sliding groove formed in the vertical direction on the rear left and right sides and housing at least a part of the sliding member and holding it in a sliding manner; The device consists of a rack that meshes with the spur gear, so when the control switch is turned on, the drive gear connected to the shaft of the electric motor rotates, which rotates the rolling gear and gear shaft that mesh with it, thereby rotating the gear that meshes with the rack. The flat gears at both ends of the shaft rotate, and the shelf and frame move up and down while remaining horizontal due to the flat gears rotating up and down on the left and right racks at the same time, and the sliding members that move up and down in the sliding groove also tilt diagonally. Since it can slide smoothly without any friction, it does not place a large burden on the electric motor. Therefore, the shelves can be moved simply by operating a control switch, and the equipment for moving the shelves, such as an electric motor, can be made smaller, so that it does not interfere with food storage in the lower part.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional perspective view of the main parts of a refrigerator to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a frame used in this embodiment, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the main parts of this embodiment. , FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of this embodiment, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the main part of the rail part of this embodiment, and FIG. The figure is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B--B in FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of the right frame of this embodiment viewed from the side. 1...shelf, 2...4 frame, 2e...
...Flange, 3...Sliding member, 3a...
...Upper roller, 3b...Lower roller, 4...
... Gear shaft, 5 ... Spur gear, 6 ...
...Control switch, completed...Electric motor, 8...
...Power supply device, 10... Drive gear, 11...
...Rolling gear, 12...Inside the refrigerator, 16a...
...Sliding groove, 16b...Rack.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A shelf installed inside the refrigerator, a roughly U-shaped frame that holds this shelf, a sliding member attached to the rear left and right sides of this frame, and A gear shaft having spur gears fixed to the left and right ends thereof, an electric motor, a control switch thereof, a power supply device for operating the electric motor, a drive gear connected to the shaft of the electric motor, and a gear shaft perpendicular to the drive gear. A rolling gear that engages and is fixed to the gear shaft, a sliding groove that is formed vertically on the left and right sides at the back of the refrigerator and that accommodates at least a portion of the sliding member and slidably holds the sliding member, and this sliding groove. A shelf device for a refrigerator comprising a rack that engages with the left and right flat gears formed vertically on or adjacent to one side of the refrigerator. (2) Covering the sliding member and spur gear with a flange that protrudes toward the U-shaped sliding groove side formed at the upper left and right ends of the frame and has a sliding groove and a narrow gap. The shelf device for a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a rack surface that engages with a spur gear in the sliding groove is formed on the front side of the refrigerator interior.