Refrigerator

Details Refrigerator Refrigerator

2001-03-16

2002-04-02

Tapolcai, William E. (Department: 3744)

Refrigeration

Cooled enclosure

C312S408000, C211S001560

Reexamination Certificate

active

06363738

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a refrigerator having a shelf device which is provided inside the refrigerator and in which the height of a shelf can be adjusted to a free position.
Generally, regarding a refrigerator, there is a need of a shelf device in which a shelf can be up/down adjusted in accordance with sizes of foods and/or containers held in the refrigerator. Conventionally, for example, there is one as shown in Japanese Patent No. 2752300 as this type of shelf device inside a refrigerator.
FIG. 44
is a longitudinal section of a refrigerator having a conventional shelf device,
FIG. 45
is a perspective view of the conventional shelf device, and
FIG. 46
is a detail view of the conventional shelf device.
In the drawings,
1
is an inside of a refrigerator,
2
is a rack,
3
is a shelf support frame,
4
is a pinion gear, and
5
is a shelf main body having a shelf board
5
a
(chain line portion) and a shelf frame
5
b
. The shelf board
5
a
is slidable in the A direction in
FIG. 45
relatively to the shelf frame
5
b
. Six (
6
) are gear shafts,
7
is a spring, and
8
is adjustment means.
At the refrigerator inside
1
, there are provided the shelf support frame
3
having the rack
2
, which constitutes a frame body of a longitudinal shape, the shelf main body
5
having, which aid of a support member, the pinion gear
4
meshing with the rack
2
, the gear shaft
6
provided in the shelf main body
5
via a Z-shaped steel member to pivotally support the pinion gear
4
, the spring
7
which is tightly wound around the outer peripheral face of the gear shaft
6
and whose one end is fixed on the pinion gear
4
, and the adjustment means
8
set to compress the spring
7
.
In a state where the pinion gear
4
of the shelf main body
5
is meshed with the rack
2
of the shelf support frame
3
, the spring
7
is pulled in a direction to decrease its coil diameter by the self weight of the shelf main body
5
and firmly wound around the gear shaft
6
, so that the pinion gear
4
is locked to fix the shelf main body
5
at a predetermined position. When the position of the shelf main body
5
is changed, the winding fixing force between the spring
7
and the gear shaft
6
is released by pressing the adjustment means
8
(chain line portion
8
), whereby the shelf main body
5
can be freely adjusted in an up direction (B direction in
FIG. 46
) or a down direction (C direction in FIG.
46
).
When the shelf main body
5
is adjusted only in the up direction (the B direction in FIG.
46
), the shelf main body
5
is lifted up as it is in the up direction.
In the refrigerator having the conventional shelf device as described above, since the adjustment means
8
are provided in right and left two positions, they have to be operated by both hands at the same time to perform an up/down adjustment of the position of the shelf main body
5
. Therefore, the operation to keep the body
5
becomes difficult and the operation with paying more attention is annoying, since either side of the adjustment means
8
is apt to move ahead.
Further, since the each adjustment means
8
supports the shelf main body
5
only at one position on each of left and right sides, a play in front-rear direction is apt to be generated due to unevenness of assembly, so that the shelf main body
5
is not stably fitted.
When the adjustment means
8
are operated to release the lock, there is a fear that the shelf main body
5
falls instantaneously at a stroke due to its self weight, so that there is a problem of insecurity.
Further, it is a difficult word to move the shelf main body
5
upward/downward while operating the adjustment means
8
, considering the load amount of the shelf main body
5
on which food is placed.
When a conventional shelf device with a complex structure is provided, a part sometimes becomes rattled or floated, resulting in a poor operability.
There is a fear that a part is slipped off due to unevenness in sizes.
The resistance increases to the moving operation, thereby deteriorating the operability.
The design is not excellent.
The operability is poor.
Cool air is obstructed, so that cool air may not flow to the forward side if air volume is not enough, resulting in low cooling efficiency.
When the conventional shelf device with the complex structure is provided, a brake phenomenon is generated, and a smooth movement cannot be obtained.
A tooth skip of a belt (position mismatch between teeth of a gear and teeth of a belt) is apt to occur.
There is an occasion that the flow of cool wind is prevented depending on the way of putting a load, such as food on the shelf, so that uniform cooling is not necessarily achieved.
Since the knob shape of a lever is a simple square block shape, the touch in pinching the knob is uncomfortable, and it is difficult to concentrate one's force at the knob.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was developed in order to solve the problems described above and is to provide a refrigerator having a shelf device in which a position of a shelf can be reasonably adjusted as it is, by a small force and a single hand even if food is placed on the shelf, regardless of differences in the load amount of the food.
The present invention is to obtain a refrigerator having a high reliability and an excellent design and is further to provide a refrigerator of energy saving type in which the flow of the cool air inside the refrigerator is improved so as to improve the cooling efficiency.
The present invention is to provide a refrigerator in which a brake phenomenon due to a load, such as food, placed on a shelf is an extremely small so that the operation of the lever is improved, a trouble can be prevented at a time to lift up a shelf when the lever is most loaded in operation, the strength of a tray is increased, the entire room of the refrigerator is uniformly cooled down, and the lever can be easily pinched.
The refrigerator according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided with a shelf device comprising a frame for placing a shelf or the like on it, arranged inside the refrigerator, a timing belt provided inside the frame, a lever provided on the timing belt, and a means for moving the frame in an up/down direction in operative connection with the timing belt rotationally moved by moving the lever. Thus, the shelf can be moved up/down while keeping stored stuff, such as food on it, even by a small operating physical force.
The refrigerator according to the second aspect of the present invention is the one according to the first aspect in which a corner portion of the frame is extended to provide an extended portion, the means for moving the frame in the up/down direction is placed inside the extended portion, and a groove portion in which the extended portion is movably received is provided inside the refrigerator. Thus, a food storing space inside the refrigerator can be used effectively.
The refrigerator according to the third aspect of the present invention is the one according to the first aspect in which the shelf device is employed for a member for closing a ceiling part of a compartment provided inside the refrigerator. Due to this, the volume of the compartment is made variable so that it can be adjusted to a space chosen by a user.
The refrigerator according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is the one according to the first aspect in which the shelf device is employed for a bottom of a door pocket provided in a door of the refrigerator. Due to this, its height can be adjusted to a height chosen by a user, corresponding to stuff stored in the door pocket.
The refrigerator according to the fifth aspect of the present invention in the one according to the first aspect, further comprising an open/close door to close a front face of the refrigerator and a partition wall to partition the inside of the refrigerator plurally, wherein the partition wall is movable in the up/down direction. Thus, the refrigerator can flexibly deal with various stored stuff in accordance with th

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