JPH0445383A - Shelf device of refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a rightward or a leftward inclination of a shelf, enable the shelf to be moved and further prevent a shelf device from hindering a storage of food at a lower part by a method wherein both gear shafts and both spur gears are rotated under an operation of a double-axis electric motor and the shelf and a frame are moved up or down. CONSTITUTION:When a control switch 6 is turned on, a geared shaft 4 connected to a shaft of a double-axis electric motor 7 is rotated, thereby spur gears 5 at both ends of the geared shaft engaging with a rack 13b are rotated, and a shelf 1 and a frame 2 are moved up or down while being kept horizontal by spur gears concurrently rotated up or down on the right and left racks. Since a sliding member 3 moving up or down within a sliding groove 13a can also slide smoothly without being inclined, no substantial load is applied to the double-axis electric motor. Due to this fact, a movement of the shelf can be operated only with the operation of the control switch and further it is possible to make a size of the device for moving the shelf of the electric motor or the like small. The moving device does not become a hindrance for a storing of food at the lower part.

Description

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

[Prior Art] Shelving devices that can automatically change the vertical position of shelves inside a refrigerator into various modes are convenient for storing foods, etc., and are conventionally known. It is.

As a conventional refrigerator shelf device of this type, there is one shown in, for example, 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, by turning the shaft with the handle and rotating the nut fitted into the screw jack, the position of the nut was changed, and the position of the frame holding the shelf was changed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above-mentioned conventional refrigerator shelf device has a structure in which the position of the frame that holds the shelves is moved up and down by a screw jack attached to the center of the back of the refrigerator, and food is not placed on the shelves. If the shelf is placed on the shelf, especially if it is placed off to the left or right side of the shelf, the shelf may be tilted toward the side with the most food, or the roller may come into contact with the rail diagonally and may not rotate smoothly. The problem was that the shaft with the handle had to be turned with great force. In addition, there is a shaft with a handle and a screw jack in the center of the shelf, and this structure also poses problems in terms of food storage, as it gets in the way of placing food on relatively large and low shelves or on the lower food surface. Ta.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional refrigerator shelf device, the present invention prevents the shelf from tilting from side to side, allows the shelf to be moved with a relatively small force, and has a device for moving the shelf that can store the food at the bottom. To provide a shelf device for a refrigerator that does not obstruct storage.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention has the following features:
A shelf installed inside the refrigerator, a roughly U-shaped frame that holds the shelf, a sliding member attached to the left and right sides of the back of the frame, and a sliding member attached close to the sliding member. A gear shaft that fixes the flat gears at the left and right ends and is divided into left and right parts, a double-shaft electric motor connected to this gear shaft, and a sliding member that is formed vertically on the left and right sides of the interior of the refrigerator, and that at least one of the sliding members is a sliding groove that accommodates and slidably holds the parts; a rack that is formed vertically on one side of the sliding groove or adjacent thereto and meshes with the left and right spur gears; and a control that drives the double-shaft electric motor. A shelf device for a refrigerator comprising a switch, characterized in that both the gear shafts and the flat gears are rotated by the operation of the double-shaft electric motor to move the shelf and the frame up and down.

Further, the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention has a flange that protrudes toward the substantially U-shaped sliding groove formed at the left and right upper ends of the back of the frame and has a narrow gap with the sliding groove. A rack surface that covers the moving member and the spur gear and engages with the spur gear in the sliding groove is formed on the front side of the inside of the refrigerator.

[Function] According to the configuration of the present invention described above, when the control switch is turned on, the gear shaft connected to the shaft of the double-shaft electric motor rotates, which causes the rotation of the spur gears at both ends of the gear shaft that mesh with the rack, The shelves and frames are kept horizontal and moved up and down 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, a large load is not placed on the double-shaft electric motor. Therefore, the shelves can be moved simply by operating a control switch, and the device for moving the shelves, such as a double-shaft electric motor, can be made smaller. Moreover, the moving device does not interfere with food storage in the lower part.

Further, the present invention covers the sliding member and the spur gear with a flange that protrudes toward the U-shaped sliding groove formed at the upper left and right ends of the frame and has a narrow gap with the sliding groove. At the same time, a rack surface that engages with the spur gear in the sliding groove is formed on the front side of the refrigerator, and the sliding member covers the left and right gear shafts and the two-wheel electric motor with the rear frame, and the spur gear with the flange and the left frame. This prevents food from hitting and damaging each gear, etc.

[Example 1] An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

In FIGS. 1 to 8, 1 is a shelf on which food is placed.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a frame that holds the shelf 1, and is formed into a substantially U-shape by a left frame 2a, a right frame 2b, and a rear frame 2C that connects the left and right frames 2a and 2b. 2e
is a flange formed to protrude left and right at the upper end of the frame 2. Reference numeral 3 denotes sliding members attached to the rear left and right sides of the frame 2, and 3a and 3b are an upper roller and a lower roller that constitute the sliding member 3. Further, the upper and lower rollers 3a-, 3b are each rotatably attached to a metal roller shaft 3C. A gear shaft 4 is rotatably attached to the back of the frame 2, and has flat gears 5 fixed to both left and right ends, and is divided into left and right parts.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a control switch attached to the switch hole 2d on the front side of the right frame 2b. 7 is left and right gear shaft 4
．． A double-shaft electric motor connected to 4 and equipped with a reduction gear inside to move the shelf up and down, 8 constitutes a circuit with a control switch 6 that switches between normal rotation, reverse rotation, and stop of the double-shaft electric motor, and a double-shaft electric motor 7. It is a power supply device, and includes a battery 8a and a battery box 8b.
Consists of. The power supply device 8 may be of a rechargeable type or may be a general AC power supply.

2f is a cover frame that covers the open side of the frames 2a and 2b and the rear side where each gear is attached.

9 is inside the refrigerator. 10 is an outer box made of iron plate of the refrigerator body. Reference numeral 11 denotes an inner box made of resin, and rail grooves 11a are formed on the left and right sides of the interior 9 of the refrigerator. 12 is a foamed heat insulating material filled between the outer box 10 and the inner box 11. Reference numeral 13 denotes a rail fixed to the rail groove 11a of the inner box 11 with screws or the like. llb is a reinforcing plate to which the rail 13 is attached, and is attached via the inner box 11.

13a is formed on the rail 13, and includes the spur gear 5 and the sliding member 3.
That is, it is a sliding groove that accommodates at least a portion of the upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b and holds them in a sliding manner. 13b is a rack that meshes with the flat gear 5 formed on the front side (in the vertical direction) in the sliding groove 13a of the rail 13. Note that the sliding groove 13a
The width dimension W is approximately 0.1 to 1 mm larger than the outer diameters of the upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b. Also, upper roller 3
a, the lower roller 3b, and the flat gear 5 are located on the same line, and the upper roller 3a is in contact with the front surface of the sliding groove 13a, and the lower roller 3b is in contact with the rear surface of the sliding groove 13a. The left frame 2a is in contact with the rack 13b so that the spur gear 5 is engaged with the rack 13b.
and the right frame 2b, respectively.

Also, a sliding groove 1 for the rail 13 is formed at the upper end of the frame 2.
3a and a flange 2e with a narrow gap between the upper roller 3
a Covers N spur gear 5. Next, 14 is a control panel provided with an air passage etc. inside to cool the inside 9 of the refrigerator.

When moving the shelf 1 of the refrigerator shelving device according to the present invention upward or downward, first the control switch 6 is pressed, the double-shaft electric motor 7 rotates, and the transfer gear 11 that meshes with the drive gear 10 rotates. The left and right gear shafts 4 connected to the double-shaft electric motor 7 and the spur gears 5 on both sides rotate. At this time, the spur gear 5 moves through the gear shaft 4 in the sliding groove 13 while meshing with the ratchet 13b on the front side, but since the left and right spur gears 5 are fixed to the left and right gear shafts 4, respectively, and rotate in the same manner. The frame 2, ie, the shelf 1, moves up and down in the same way on the left and right sides, and no deviation in height occurs between the left and right sides. As a result, the sliding member 3 that moves up and down within the sliding groove 13a can also slide smoothly without being obliquely inclined.In addition, in this embodiment, the upper and lower rollers
Since the roller shaft 3C of a%・3b is made of metal, even if many foods are placed on the shelf 1, the upper and lower rollers 3a,
3b does not tilt, rotates smoothly, and reduces frictional force, so the burden on the double-shaft electric motor 7 is small.

Next, when the shelf 1 is moved to the desired position by the double-shaft electric motor 7 and then stopped, the weight of the shelf 1 and the frame 2 and the shelf 1
The shelf 1 or frame 2 tends to fall down due to the weight of the food on top. As a result of this force, the spur gear 5 first tries to rotate. However, inside the double-shaft electric motor 7 connected to the spur gear 5 and the gear shaft 4, a plurality of gears with different gear ratios are built in and act as a reverse rotation prevention mechanism, so the spur gear 5 rotates downward. Never. Therefore, when the shelf 1 is stopped, the gear inside the double-shaft electric motor 7 serves as a stopper mechanism, and even when food is placed on the shelf 1, the shelf 1 does not go down (it is held in that position).

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the upper roller 3a, the lower roller 3b, and the flat gear 5 are located in the same vertical direction at the back of the frame 2, so that the larger the load applied to the shelf 1, the more the upper roller 3a
is in good contact with the front side surface of the sliding groove 13a, and the lower roller 3
b comes into stronger contact with the inner surface of the sliding groove 13a, and the spur gear 5 meshes more strongly with the rack 13b. As a result, the rotational frictional force between them increases, so that the frame 2 holding the shelf 1 is held in a predetermined position, and the shelf 1 does not fall or tilt 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 carries the spur gear 5 and the power supply device 8, and the sliding member 3 is connected to the rear frame 2 by flanges 2e provided on the left and right sides at the upper end of the frame 2a.
Since the left and right gear shafts 4 and the double-shaft electric motor 7 are covered by c, and the flat gear 5 is covered by the flange 2e and the left frame 2a12b, there is no problem of food hitting the gears and damaging them, and the food is stored in the lower part. There is no problem with it getting in the way. Moreover, since the rack 13b in the sliding groove 13a is formed so that it cannot be seen from the front inside the refrigerator, it has an excellent appearance, and since it is aligned with the rack 13b, the size of the rail can be reduced. Furthermore, the width of the sliding groove 13a 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 3.
The upper roller 3a and the lower roller 3b are vertically separated and inserted into the sliding groove L3a, so even if food is pushed up from the bottom surface of the shelf 1, the top roller Since the roller 3a contacts the back surface of the sliding groove 13a, and the lower roller 3b contacts the front surface of the sliding groove 13a,
The displacement of the shelf 1 is so slight that it does not pose a problem.

In addition, in the above, the sliding groove 13 protrudes toward the substantially U-shaped sliding groove 13a formed at the upper left and right ends of the frame 2.
At the flange 2e with a narrow gap between the sliding member 3
A rack 13b surface that covers the flat gear 5 and engages with the flat gear 5 in the sliding groove 13a is formed on the front side of the refrigerator, and the sliding member 3 is connected to the left and right gear shafts 4 by the rear frame 2C.
and the double-shaft electric motor 7, and the flange 2e and the left frame 2.
Since the flat gear 5 is covered with a%2b, it is possible to effectively prevent food from hitting each gear and being damaged.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the refrigerator shelf device of the present invention, when the control switch is turned on, the gear shaft connected to both shafts of the double-shaft electric motor rotates, thereby causing the gear shaft to mesh with the rack. The flat gears at both ends 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 grooves also tilt diagonally. (Since it can slide smoothly, it can achieve the excellent effect of not placing a large burden on the double-shaft electric motor. Therefore, the shelf can be moved by simply operating a control switch, and the double-shaft electric motor etc. can be used to move the shelf. It is possible to achieve the excellent effect that the device can be made smaller and does not interfere with food storage in the lower part.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the sliding member is provided with a flange that protrudes toward the U-shaped sliding groove formed at the rear left and right upper ends of the frame and has a narrow gap with the sliding groove. , a rack surface that covers the spur gear and engages with the spur gear in the sliding groove is formed on the front side of the refrigerator, and the sliding member connects the left and right gear shafts and the double-shaft electric motor with the rear frame, and the flange and the left frame. Since the flat gears are covered with the gears, it is possible to achieve the excellent effect of eliminating damage caused by food hitting each gear etc.

[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 the same embodiment, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the main parts of the same embodiment. , FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of the same embodiment, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 4, FIG. The figure is a sectional view taken along the line B--B in FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the main part of the right frame of the same embodiment as seen from the side. ...shelf, e...flange, a...upper roller, ...gear shaft, ...control switch, ...power supply device, 3a...sliding groove, 2...frame, 3...Sliding member, 3b...Lower roller, 5...Spur gear, 7...Double shaft electric motor, 9...Inside the refrigerator, 13b...Rack. 4... Gear shaft 5... Spur gear 3... Eyebrow movement member Fig. 5% 6 Fig. 7

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A shelf installed inside the refrigerator, a substantially U-shaped frame that holds this shelf, a sliding member attached to the left and right of the back of this frame, and a A gear shaft that fixes the installed flat gears on the left and right ends and is divided into left and right parts, a double-shaft electric motor connected to this gear shaft, and a sliding member that is formed vertically on the left and right sides of the interior of the refrigerator. A sliding groove in which at least a portion of the sliding groove is accommodated and slidably held; a rack that is formed vertically on one side of the sliding groove or adjacent thereto and engages with the left and right spur gears; and a rack that drives the double-shaft electric motor. 1. A refrigerator shelf device comprising a control switch for moving a shelf and a frame up and down by rotating both the gear shafts and the flat gears by the operation of the double-shaft electric motor. . (2) Cover the sliding member and spur gear with a flange that protrudes toward the substantially U-shaped sliding groove formed at the upper left and right ends of the frame and has a narrow gap with the sliding groove. 2. The shelf device for a refrigerator according to claim 1, further comprising a rack surface formed on the front side of the refrigerator interior to engage with a spur gear in the sliding groove.