Patent Application
20230296309
The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202010839288.7, entitled “Self-balancing Adjustable Rack Device and Refrigerator Having The Same”, filed on Aug. 19, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to an adjustable rack device and a refrigerator having the same, and in particular, to a position-adjustable rack with a slide rail and a refrigerator having the same.
Currently, in order to improve an internal volume rate of a refrigerator, a plurality of liner ribs which have fixed heights and are vertically arranged are generally arranged on an inner side of a refrigerating compartment of a mainstream refrigerator, and racks are arranged at heights corresponding to the liner ribs, such that more food can be stored utilizing the racks; however, since the liner rib is fixed, when a position of the rack is adjusted, all articles on a bearing surface of the rack are required to be removed, the whole rack is then lifted, drawn out, and finally fed onto another liner rib for fixation; in this process, a user is required to continuously exert a force and keep the whole rack balanced, and once the balance of the rack is not kept, the rack may overturn, cannot be fixed to a corresponding position, and even may be damaged, which is quite inconvenient.
An object of the present invention is to provide a self-balancing adjustable rack device, so as to solve technical problems that a panel cannot bear a load and two sides are difficult to balance during position adjustment of a rack.
An object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator having the self-balancing adjustable rack device.
To achieve one of the above objects, an embodiment of the present invention provides a self-balancing adjustable rack device, comprising a rack assembly, a slide rail assembly and a synchronizing assembly, wherein the rack assembly comprises a rack body and a bracket, the slide rail assembly comprises a first slide rail assembly and a second slide rail assembly located on two sides of the rack body, the first slide rail assembly comprises a first rail groove and a first sliding plate in sliding fit with the first rail groove and fixedly connected with the bracket, the second slide rail assembly comprises a second rail groove and a second sliding plate in sliding fit with the second rail groove and fixedly connected with the bracket, and the first rail groove and the second rail groove are arranged in a vertical direction and perpendicular to the rack body, at least two stop positions are arranged in each of the first rail groove and the second rail groove, the at least two stop positions are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and the bracket and the stop positions can be selectively limited and fixed, the first sliding plate comprises a first upper fixing portion and a first lower fixing portion at upper and lower ends thereof respectively, and the second sliding plate comprises a second upper fixing portion and a second lower fixing portion at upper and lower ends thereof respectively, the synchronizing assembly comprises a first tensioning piece, a first pulley and a second pulley, and the first tensioning piece sequentially passes through the first upper fixing portion, the first pulley, the second pulley and the second lower fixing portion.
As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the first tensioning piece comprises a first section between the first upper fixing portion and the first pulley, and a second section between the second pulley and the second lower fixing portion, and the first section and the second section extend in the vertical direction.
As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the synchronizing assembly comprises a third pulley and a fourth pulley, and the first tensioning piece sequentially pass through the first upper fixing portion, the first pulley, the third pulley, the fourth pulley, the second pulley and the second lower fixing portion.
As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the first tensioning piece comprises a third section between the first pulley and the third pulley, a fourth section between the third pulley and the fourth pulley, and a fifth section between the fourth pulley and the second pulley, the fourth section extends in the vertical direction, the fifth section extends in a horizontal direction, and a certain angle is formed between the extending direction of the third section and the horizontal direction.
As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the synchronizing assembly further comprises a second tensioning piece, a fifth pulley and a sixth pulley, and the second tensioning piece passes through the first lower fixing portion, the fifth pulley, the sixth pulley and the second upper fixing portion in sequence.
As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the second tensioning piece comprises a sixth section between the first lower fixing portion and the fifth pulley, and a seventh section between the sixth pulley and the second upper fixing portion, and the sixth section and the seventh section extend in the vertical direction.
As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the synchronizing assembly comprises a seventh pulley and an eighth pulley, and the second tensioning piece sequentially passes through the first lower fixing portion, the fifth pulley, the seventh pulley, the eighth pulley, the sixth pulley and the second upper fixing portion.
As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, the second tensioning piece comprises an eighth section between the fifth pulley and the seventh pulley, a ninth section between the seventh pulley and the eighth pulley, and a tenth section between the eighth pulley and the sixth pulley, the ninth section extends in the vertical direction, the eighth section extends in the horizontal direction, and a certain angle is formed between the extending direction of the tenth section and the horizontal direction.
As a further improvement of an embodiment of the present invention, a first end of an elastic assembly is provided at an end portion of the rail groove located at a supporting surface of the rack body, and a second end of the elastic assembly is connected with the sliding plate and gives an elastic restoring force towards the first end of the elastic assembly to the sliding plate.
To achieve one of the above objects, an embodiment of the present invention provides a refrigerator comprising storage compartments in different temperature regions, and doors for opening and closing the storage compartments, wherein the refrigerator further comprises the self-balancing adjustable rack device according to claim 1, and the self-balancing adjustable rack device is provided in at least one storage compartment of the refrigerator.
Compared with a prior art, in the self-balancing adjustable rack device and the refrigerator having the same according to the present invention, a synchronizing assembly is arranged to provide pulling forces for two sides of a rack assembly, such that movement of the two sides of the rack assembly is effectively controlled while the rack assembly is guaranteed to have a certain bearing performance in an up-down moving process, displacements thereof are kept the same all the time, and a rack body is prevented from being overturned.
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail in conjunction with specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, these embodiments have no limitations on the present invention, and any transformations of structure, method, or function made by persons skilled in the art according to these embodiments fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, a rack device is provided in a refrigerating compartment of a refrigerator; as shown in
As shown in
In the present embodiment, the rack assembly 1 is movable on the slide rail assembly 2, that is, movable in the vertical direction on the refrigerating compartment cabinet. The plurality of rack assemblies 1 can be moved to adjust distances therebetween and distances between the rack assemblies 1 and top and bottom boards of the refrigerating compartment cabinet to accommodate to store more articles with different heights. In this process, the synchronizing assembly 3 is connected with two ends of the rack assembly 1 to achieve an effect of balancing the rack assembly 1, such that the rack assembly is more stable in an up-down moving process.
As shown in
In the present embodiment, the slide rail assembly 2 includes a rail groove 21, a stop position 22, a sliding plate 23, and an elastic assembly 26.
Further, in the present embodiment, the slide rail assembly 2 includes a first slide rail assembly 2a and a second slide rail assembly 2b provided on both sides of the rack body 11 and fitted with the brackets 12, and it may be understood that the first slide rail assembly 2a includes a first rail groove 21a and a first sliding plate 23a, and the second slide rail assembly 2b includes a second rail groove 21b and a second sliding plate 23b. As described above, the slide rail assembly 2 is arranged in the vertical direction, and the above-described rail groove 21 and the sliding plate 23 in sliding fit in the rail groove 21 are also arranged in the vertical direction.
As shown in
The rail groove 21 is provided with at least two stop positions 22 at intervals in the vertical direction, and density of the stop positions can be controlled according to an application requirement of the adjustable rack device, such that the bracket 12 can be selectively limited and fixed to the stop positions. In the present embodiment, the stop position 22 is provided close to a back surface of the rail groove 21. Certainly, in other embodiments, the stop position 22 may be provided close to a side surface of the rail groove 21.
In the present embodiment, when the rail groove 21 is arranged in the vertical direction, the stop position 22 is provided in a strip-shaped stop portion 220, and the strip-shaped stop portion 220 is provided close to the back surface in the rail groove 21, such that relative movement between the sliding plate 23 and the rail groove 21 is not affected while a stop effect is kept, and disassembly and replacement can be facilitated. Certainly, other embodiments exist, for example, the stop portions 220 are provided close to two sides inside the rail groove 21, which can also achieve the effect of stopping the bracket 12.
Further, in the present embodiment, a lower end of the stop portion 220 is provided with a supporting groove which can be fixed to a lower port of the rail groove 21, such that a lower end of the rail groove 21 is sealed to limit the sliding plate 23 in the rail groove 21. Further, slide rails 211 are arranged on both sides inside the rail groove 21. Certainly, in other embodiments, such as those in which the stop positions 22 are arranged on both sides inside the rail groove 21, the slide rail 211 may be fixed to the back surface of the rail groove 21.
In the present embodiment, the slide rail 211 includes an inner rail 2111 and an outer rail 2112, and the inner rail 2111 and the outer rail 2112 are slidably connected by balls. The inner rail 2111 is fixed to the sliding plate 23, and the outer rail 2112 is fixedly connected to an inner side wall of the rail groove 21.
The sliding plate 23 can drive the inner rail 2111 to move relative to the outer rail 2112 and the rail groove 21 to which the outer rail is fixed through the balls between the inner rail and the outer rail 2112 when the sliding plate is forced to move up and down.
In the present embodiment, a roller 235 in snapped connection with a hook of the bracket 12 is provided inside the sliding plate 23, two ends of the roller 235 are fixed in a groove of the sliding plate 23, the roller 235 can rotate with a connection line of the two fixed ends thereof as an axis, and the fitting structure of the roller 235 and the hook can provide a supporting force for the sliding plate 23 in the vertical direction during up-down movement of the rack assembly 1.
Further, as shown in
In order to protect an appearance and function of the second end 262 of the elastic assembly, a fixed sheet 263 is provided at a portion where the second end 262 of the elastic assembly is fixedly overlapped with the sliding plate 23, and screw holes with a same size are provided at corresponding positions of the second end 262 of the elastic assembly, an upper end of the sliding plate 23, and the fixed sheet 263 respectively, such that an integral structure is formed by screw fixation, and service life of the elastic assembly 26 is prolonged.
In the present embodiment, the rail groove 21 further includes an elastic assembly fixing base 213 for fixing the elastic assembly 26, and the elastic assembly fixing base 213 is provided therein with an accommodating portion capable of accommodating the first end 261 of the elastic assembly. In the present embodiment, a transverse rod is provided in the accommodating portion, the elastic assembly 26 is configured in a hollow winding shape, the transverse rod is inserted into the hollow portion, and two ends of the transverse rod are fixedly connected to a housing of the elastic assembly fixing base 213, such that the elastic assembly 26 is connected to the elastic assembly fixing base 213.
Further, the elastic assembly fixing base 213 can be in snapped connection with the top end of the rail groove 21, and the elastic assembly fixing base 213, the rail groove 21 and the supporting groove at the bottom of the stop portion 220 form a closed space, such that a moving position of the sliding plate 23 is limited, and the sliding plate is prevented from being separated from an upper port and the lower port of the rail groove 21. The slide rail 211, the sliding plate 23, the roller 235 inside the sliding plate 23, and the second end 262 of the elastic assembly 26 connected to the sliding plate 23 are fixed inside the closed structure.
As shown in
Thus, convenient and labor-saving effects may be achieved during adjustment of the rack assembly 1; however, the whole rack body 11 may not be balanced due to unequal displacements of the two sliding plates 23 during the adjustment, and therefore, the rack device is further provided with the synchronizing assembly 3 in the present embodiment.
As shown in
The arrangement of the above-mentioned synchronizing assembly 3 can solve problems that when the first sliding plate 23a and the second sliding plate 23b drive both sides of the bracket 12 to move up and down, flexible movement positions cause unequal displacement lengths of the sliding plates, and the bracket 12 asynchronously moves to incline the rack body 11 connected thereto, thus bringing inconvenience to a user; meanwhile, the first tensioning piece 311 is arranged to provide a vertical pulling force for the first sliding plate 23a, such that the first sliding plate 23a is more convenient during movement, thus improving user experiences.
More specifically, the first tensioning piece 311 includes a first section 311a between the first upper fixing portion 231 and the first pulley 321, and a second section 311b between the second pulley 322 and the second lower fixing portion 234; for example, when the first sliding plate 23a is vertically displaced upwards by a displacement length L0, the first section 311a is shortened by a length L0, and since the first pulley 321 and the second pulley 322 are fixed, a distance between the two pulleys is constant, and a length of a part of the first tensioning piece 311 between the two pulleys is constant, the second section 311b is extended by the same length L0, thereby ensuring that the second sliding plate 23b can be vertically displaced by the same length L0 as the first sliding plate 23a.
Preferably, as shown in
In the present embodiment, in order to further avoid that the first tensioning piece 311 interferes with the rail groove 21 or the sliding plate 23, thereby shortening service life of the first tensioning piece 311, further, the synchronizing assembly 3 includes a third pulley 323 and a fourth pulley 324, one end of the first tensioning piece 311 is fixed to the first upper fixing portion 231 of the first sliding plate 23a, and the other end thereof is fixed to the second lower fixing portion 234 of the second sliding plate 23b via the first pulley 321, the third pulley 323, the fourth pulley 324 and the second pulley 322; the first tensioning piece 311 includes, in addition to the first section 311a and the second section 311b, a third section 311c between the first pulley 321 and the third pulley 323, a fourth section 311d between the third pulley 323 and the fourth pulley 324, and a fifth section 311e between the fourth pulley 324 and the second pulley 322.
Preferably, in order to avoid wear caused by interference between the first tensioning piece 311 and other assemblies of the rack device, the fourth section 311d extends in the vertical direction, and the fifth section 311e extends in the horizontal direction; certainly, in other embodiments, especially in embodiments where the slide rail assembly 2 is not arranged in the vertical direction, the fourth section 311d may extend in other directions as long as the fourth section is kept parallel to the rail groove 21 and the sliding plate 23 in the slide rail assembly 2, or the fourth section has other interference-avoiding angles relative to the vertical direction, and it may be understood that the fifth section 311e may be arranged in other ways in other embodiments.
As shown in
Similar to the first tensioning piece 311, the first pulley 321, and the second pulley 322, when the first sliding plate 23a moves upwards in the vertical direction, the sixth section 312a is extended, the seventh section 312b is shortened, and an extended length of the sixth section 312a is the same as a shortened length of the seventh section 312b, thereby enabling the second sliding plate 23b fixed to the seventh section 312b to be displaced by the same length as the first sliding plate 23a in the vertical direction.
It may be appreciated that in order to avoid interference between the second tensioning piece 312 and other assemblies of the rack device, the synchronizing assembly 3 further includes a seventh pulley 327 and an eighth pulley 328, and further, one end of the second tensioning piece 312 is fixed to the first lower fixing portion 232 of the first sliding plate 23a, and the other end thereof is fixed to the second upper fixing portion 233 of the second sliding plate 23b via the fifth pulley 325, the seventh pulley 327, the eighth pulley 328 and the sixth pulley 326.
More specifically, the second tensioning piece 312 includes an eighth section 312c between the fifth pulley 325 and the seventh pulley 327, a ninth section 312d between the seventh pulley 327 and the eighth pulley 328, and a tenth section 312e between the eighth pulley 328 and the sixth pulley 326, and preferably, the ninth section 312d extends in the vertical direction and the eighth section 312c extends in the horizontal direction.
In the present embodiment, the first tensioning piece 311, the second tensioning piece 312 and corresponding pulley sets together form the synchronizing assembly 3; however, when the third section 311c and the tenth section 312e are in a horizontal state or have other same angles relative to the horizontal direction during actual movement, interference may exist and results in friction between the first tensioning piece 311 and the second tensioning piece 312 and thus wear, and therefore, an angle or distance may be kept between the third section 311c and the tenth section 312e, thereby avoiding interference; in the present embodiment, the third pulley 323 is located below the sixth pulley 326 on a side close to the first sliding plate 23a, the eighth pulley 328 is located below the first pulley 321 on a side close to the second sliding plate 23b, such that the third section 311c and the tenth section 312e form an X-shaped cross structure, thus further reducing the interference between the first tensioning piece 311 and the second tensioning piece 312. It may be understood that the above technical effects can be achieved by fixing the third pulley 323 and the eighth pulley 328 at corresponding positions below the sixth pulley 326 and the first pulley 321 respectively. Correspondingly, in the present embodiment, the seventh pulley 327 is fixed to a side of the fifth pulley 325 close to the second sliding plate 23b, and the fourth pulley 324 is fixed to a side of the second pulley 322 close to the first sliding plate 23a.
Certainly, other embodiments exist; for example, the third pulley 323 is fixed below the sixth pulley 326 on a side apart from the first sliding plate 23a, the fourth pulley 324 is fixed to a side of the second pulley 322 apart from the first sliding plate 23a, and correspondingly, the eighth pulley 328 is fixed below the first pulley 321 on a side apart from the second sliding plate 23b, the seventh pulley 327 is fixed to a side of the fifth pulley 325 apart from the second sliding plate 23b, or the third pulley 323 and the eighth pulley 328 are fixed to corresponding positions above the sixth pulley 326 and the first pulley 321 respectively, such that the third section 311c and the tenth section 312e form an X-shaped cross structure, which can achieve the above-mentioned desired technical effects.
In the present embodiment, the pulleys are provided on the corresponding rail grooves 21, and more specifically, the first pulley 321 and the eighth pulley 328 are provided on a surface of the first rail groove 21a above the first sliding plate 23a, the fifth pulley 325 and the seventh pulley 327 are provided on a surface of the first rail groove 21a below the first sliding plate 23a, and correspondingly, the sixth pulley 326 and the third pulley 323 as well as the second pulley 322 and the fourth pulley 324 are provided on surfaces of the second rail groove 21b above and below the second sliding plate 23b respectively, which not only can improve stability of a pulley structure, but also facilitates mounting and dismounting processes of the rack device and prevents an inner wall of the refrigerator from being damaged.
In the following, by way of example, synchronous movement of the rack assembly 1 and the sliding plate 23 in the slide rail assembly 2 under an action of the synchronizing assembly 3 is described; as shown in
Further, when the sliding plates 23 are fixed in the rail grooves 21, the first upper fixing portion 231, the first lower fixing portion 232, the second upper fixing portion 233 and the second lower fixing portion 234 are located at center positions of side edges of the upper and lower ends of the first sliding plate 23a and the second sliding plate 23b close to the rail grooves 21 respectively, thereby avoiding that the sliding plate 23 loses balance due to pulling of the first tensioning piece 311 and the second tensioning piece 312 during the up-down movement.
In the present embodiment, the first tensioning piece 31 and the second tensioning piece 32 are configured as synchronous steel wires which have high structural strength and long service life, thus providing better pulling force and synchronization effects for the sliding plate 23.
Referring to
Further, a second supporting portion 122 is provided at a position of the bracket 12 close to the supporting surface of the rack body 11 in the vertical direction, and configured as a protrusion which has an inclined surface inclined relative to the vertical direction, the inclined surface and a second fitting portion 222 in the stop position 22 have a self-locking angle, and the self-locking angle can provide the rack assembly 1 in a non-bearing state with a friction force, such that relative movement between the rack assembly and the strip-shaped stop portion 220 is avoided, and on the other hand, the fitting structure can reduce wear of the first supporting portion 121 and the first fitting portion 221 to a certain extent.
In the stationary state, the first fitting portion 221 in the stop position 22 and the first supporting portion 121 on the bracket 12 are limited and fixed, and at this point, the first fitting portion is in surface contact with a lower end surface of the first supporting portion 121, and meanwhile, the second supporting portion 122 and the second fitting portion 222 are self-locked, and when a surface of the rack body 11 bears a load, due to a lever principle, the first supporting portion 121 and the second supporting portion 122 provide horizontal pressure towards an interior of the stop position 22 to the first fitting portion 221 and the second fitting portion 222 respectively, and correspondingly obtain opposite supporting forces provided by the first fitting portion 221 and the second fitting portion 222 respectively, and at this point, due to a friction coefficient between the supporting portion and the stop position 22, the friction force of contact portions is increased, such that an overall structure of the rack device is stable.
When the rack body 11 is lifted up in the stationary state, the rack assembly 1 is rotated by a certain angle with the roller 235 limited and fixed onto the bracket 12 and close to one end of the supporting surface of the rack body 11 as a rotation axis, and the rack device is switched to a moving state, as shown in
At this point, the first supporting portion 121 is separated from the first fitting portion 221, and the second supporting portion 122 is separated from the second fitting portion 222, thereby releasing the limitation and self-locking structure; further, the rack body 11 is lifted or pushed down in the vertical direction, the sliding plate 23 fixed to the bracket 12 can move up and down in the vertical direction along the rail groove 21, and in the moving process, the elastic assembly 26 fixed to the top end of the rail groove 21 continuously provides the elastic restoring force for the sliding plate 23, such that a user can adjust the position of the rack assembly 1 only by overcoming a sliding friction force in the rail groove 21.
Compared with a prior art, in the present embodiment, due to the simultaneous arrangement of the elastic assembly 26 and the synchronizing assembly 3, during the position adjustment of the rack assembly 1, the sliding plate 23 can be continuously provided with the pulling force, such that the two sides of the rack body 11 can be balanced, and meanwhile, even when a heavy article exists on the supporting surface of the rack body 11, the position of the rack assembly 1 can be adjusted only by simple and convenient operations, such as up-down lifting, pulling, or the like.
It should be understood that although the present specification is described based on embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. Such a narration way of the present specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should take the present specification as an entirety. The technical solutions in the respective embodiments may be combined properly to form other embodiments which may be understood by those skilled in the art.
A series of the detailed descriptions set forth above is merely specific description of feasible embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. Equivalent embodiments or modifications made within the spirit of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202010839288.7 | Aug 2020 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2021/112881 | 8/17/2021 | WO |
