U.S. patent application number 17/266808 was filed with the patent office on 2021-11-04 for drawer assembly for refrigerator.
This patent application is currently assigned to HAIER SMART HOME CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is HAIER SMART HOME CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Jun NIE, Ning WANG, Dong WEI, Guangrui WU, Jian ZHANG.
Application Number | 20210341217 17/266808 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005768992 |
Filed Date | 2021-11-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210341217 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
WEI; Dong ; et al. |
November 4, 2021 |
DRAWER ASSEMBLY FOR REFRIGERATOR
Abstract
Provided is a drawer assembly for a refrigerator. The drawer
assembly comprises: a drawer body, wherein the drawer body
comprises a bottom wall, a front end wall and a rear end wall which
are arranged opposite each other in a drawing-in or drawing-out
direction, and a first side wall and a second side wall
respectively arranged at two sides of the front end wall and the
rear end wall, such that an accommodation cavity for placing an
article is defined; and a slidable partition plate mechanism
configured to slide in the left and the right direction of the
drawer body. The middle parts of top ends of the first side wall
and the second side wall are respectively provided with a recess
for providing clearance when the slidable partition plate mechanism
is controlled to slide to the first side wall or to the second side
wall, such that the slidable partition plate mechanism is attached
to the first side wall or to the second side wall as much as
possible. The drawer assembly can provide a storage space in a
maximized manner.
Inventors: |
WEI; Dong; (Qingdao, CN)
; ZHANG; Jian; (Qingdao, CN) ; WANG; Ning;
(Qingdao, CN) ; NIE; Jun; (Qingdao, CN) ;
WU; Guangrui; (Qingdao, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
HAIER SMART HOME CO., LTD. |
Qingdao, Shandong |
|
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
HAIER SMART HOME CO., LTD.
Qingdao, Shandong
CN
|
Family ID: |
1000005768992 |
Appl. No.: |
17/266808 |
Filed: |
August 2, 2019 |
PCT Filed: |
August 2, 2019 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2019/099097 |
371 Date: |
February 8, 2021 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 2210/175 20130101;
F25D 25/025 20130101; A47B 88/477 20170101; A47B 2210/0091
20130101 |
International
Class: |
F25D 25/02 20060101
F25D025/02; A47B 88/477 20060101 A47B088/477 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 8, 2018 |
CN |
201810898291.9 |
Claims
1. A drawer assembly for a refrigerator, comprising: a drawer body,
comprising: a bottom wall, a front end wall and a rear end wall
arranged oppositely along a drawing direction, and a first side
wall and a second side wall respectively arranged on two sides of
the front end wall and the rear end wall, so as to utilize the
bottom wall, the front end wall, the rear end wall, the first side
wall and the second side wall to jointly define an accommodating
cavity for holding objects; and a sliding partition plate
mechanism, configured to be capable of sliding along the
left-and-right direction of the drawer body; wherein the middle
part of the top end of each of the first side wall and the second
side wall is provided with a recess for providing a space when the
sliding partition plate mechanism is operated to slide to the first
side wall or the second side wall.
2. The drawer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the sliding
partition plate mechanism comprises: a partition plate, parallel to
the first side wall and located in the accommodating cavity, and
configured to separate the accommodating cavity; and two sliding
mechanisms, respectively arranged on two sides of the partition
plate and respectively form sliding connection with the front end
wall and the rear end wall.
3. The drawer assembly according to claim 2, wherein the front end
wall and the rear end wall are respectively provided with a first
sliding groove and a second sliding groove, the first sliding
groove and the second sliding groove are aligned in the drawing
direction of the drawer body and extend along the left-and-right
direction of the drawer body, and the two sliding mechanisms are
respectively inserted into the first sliding groove and the second
sliding groove and form sliding connection.
4. The drawer assembly according to claim 3, wherein one end of the
first sliding groove extends to a corner of the front end wall and
the first side wall, the other end of the first sliding groove
extends to a corner of the front end wall and the second side wall,
one end of the second sliding groove extends to a corner of the
rear end wall and the first side wall, and the other end of the
second sliding groove extends to a corner of the rear end wall and
the second side wall.
5. The drawer assembly according to claim 3, wherein each sliding
mechanism comprises: a sliding base, internally provided with an
insertion hole; and an insertion piece, one end of the insertion
piece is inserted into the insertion hole, and the other end of the
insertion piece passes through the first sliding groove or the
second sliding groove to be fixedly connected with the partition
plate.
6. The drawer assembly according to claim 5, wherein the sliding
partition plate mechanism further comprises: a guide rod, extending
along the left-and-right direction of the drawer body; and the
sliding base is provided with a connecting hole for penetration of
the guide rod, so that the sliding base is constrained by the first
sliding groove and the guide rod simultaneously or is constrained
by the second sliding groove and the guide rod simultaneously when
moving.
7. The drawer assembly according to claim 6, comprising two sets of
sliding partition plate mechanisms arranged in parallel.
8. The drawer assembly according to claim 7, wherein the front end
wall is provided with two independent third sliding grooves, the
rear end wall is provided with two fourth sliding grooves aligned
with the two third sliding grooves, the aligned third sliding
groove and fourth sliding groove form a sliding groove group, and
each sliding groove group and each set of the sliding partition
plate mechanism form sliding connection.
9. The drawer assembly according to claim 8, wherein the sliding
partition plate mechanism further comprises: a first limiting block
and a second limiting block respectively located at two ends of the
guide rod and a third limiting block located in a middle position
of the guide rod; and the first limiting block, the second limiting
block, and the third limiting block are respectively configured to
limit the sliding partition plate mechanism to slide to respective
corresponding positions of the first limiting block, the second
limiting block, and the third limiting block.
10. The drawer assembly according to claim 9, wherein one side of
each of the first limiting block and the second limiting block
close to the sliding partition plate mechanism is provided with a
shock absorbing ring; and both sides of the third limiting block
are provided with shock absorbing rings.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of
refrigerator storage devices, and particularly relates to a drawer
assembly for a refrigerator.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Generally, a drawer for storage is disposed inside a
refrigerator chamber. In order to improve the utilization
efficiency of the drawer, a partition plate is disposed inside the
drawer, and the drawer is separated into different spaces by the
movement of the partition plate to meet storage requirements.
[0003] When an object with larger volume needs to be stored, it is
necessary to move the partition plate to the side wall of the
drawer so as to maximize the space of the drawer.
[0004] However, when the partition plate in the prior art is moved
to two sides, the partition plate usually cannot be closely
attached to the side wall of the drawer, and there is a larger gap
between the partition plate and the side wall of the drawer, so
that a certain storage space is occupied.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0005] One objective of the present invention is to provide a
drawer assembly for a refrigerator, which can provide a storage
space to the maximum extent.
[0006] Another objective of the present invention is to attach the
partition plate of the drawer assembly to the side walls of the
drawer body as much as possible.
[0007] Specifically, the present invention provides a drawer
assembly for a refrigerator, including:
[0008] a drawer body, including: a bottom wall, a front end wall
and a rear end wall which are arranged oppositely along a drawing
direction, and a first side wall and a second side wall which are
respectively arranged on two sides of the front end wall and the
rear end wall, so as to utilize the bottom wall, the front end
wall, the rear end wall, the first side wall and the second side
wall to jointly define an accommodating cavity for holding objects;
and
[0009] a sliding partition plate mechanism, which is configured to
be capable of sliding along the left-and-right direction of the
drawer body, wherein
[0010] the middle part of the top end of each of the first side
wall and the second side wall is provided with a recess for
providing a space when the sliding partition plate mechanism is
operated to slide to the first side wall or the second side wall,
so that the sliding partition plate mechanism is attached to the
first side wall or the second side wall as much as possible.
[0011] Optionally, the sliding partition plate mechanism
includes:
[0012] a partition plate, which is parallel to the first side wall
and located in the accommodating cavity, and configured to separate
the accommodating cavity; and
[0013] two sliding mechanisms, which are respectively arranged on
two sides of the partition plate and form sliding connection with
the front end wall and the rear end wall.
[0014] Optionally, the front end wall and the rear end wall are
respectively provided with a first sliding groove and a second
sliding groove. The first sliding groove and the second sliding
groove are aligned in the drawing direction of the drawer body and
extend along the left-and-right direction of the drawer body, and
the two sliding mechanisms are respectively inserted into the first
sliding groove and the second sliding groove and form sliding
connection.
[0015] Optionally, one end of the first sliding groove extends to a
corner of the front end wall and the first side wall, the other end
of the first sliding groove extends to a corner of the front end
wall and the second side wall, one end of the second sliding groove
extends to a corner of the rear end wall and the first side wall,
and the other end of the second sliding groove extends to a corner
of the rear end wall and the second side wall, so that the
partition plate is attached to the first side wall or the second
side wall as much as possible.
[0016] Optionally, each sliding mechanism includes:
[0017] a sliding base, which is internally provided with an
insertion hole; and
[0018] an insertion piece, one end of the insertion piece is
inserted into the insertion hole, and the other end of the
insertion piece passes through the first sliding groove or the
second sliding groove to be fixedly connected with the partition
plate.
[0019] Optionally, the sliding partition plate mechanism further
includes:
[0020] a guide rod, which extends along the left-and-right
direction of the drawer body; and
[0021] the sliding base is provided with a connecting hole for
penetration of the guide rod, so that the sliding base is
constrained by the first sliding groove or the second sliding
groove and the guide rod simultaneously when moving.
[0022] Optionally, the drawer assembly includes two sets of sliding
partition plate mechanisms arranged in parallel.
[0023] Optionally, the front end wall is provided with two
independent third sliding grooves, the rear end wall is provided
with two fourth sliding grooves aligned with the two third sliding
grooves, the aligned third sliding groove and fourth sliding groove
form a sliding groove group, and each sliding groove group and each
set of the sliding partition plate mechanism form sliding
connection.
[0024] Optionally, the sliding partition plate mechanism further
includes:
[0025] a first limiting block and a second limiting block which are
respectively located at two ends of the guide rod and a third
limiting block which is located in the middle position of the guide
rod, and the first limiting block, the second limiting block and
the third limiting block are respectively configured to limit the
sliding partition plate mechanism to slide to corresponding
positions.
[0026] Optionally, one side of each of the first limiting block and
the second limiting block close to the sliding partition plate
mechanism is provided with a shock absorbing ring, and both sides
of the third limiting block are provided with shock absorbing
rings.
[0027] In the present invention, the middle part of the top end of
each of the first side wall and the second side wall on the left
and right sides of the drawer body is provided with a recess. The
recess provides a space for the hand of an operator when the
sliding partition plate mechanism slides to the first side wall or
the second side wall, that is, the recess is configured to
accommodate the hand of the operator, and then, the sliding
partition plate mechanism is operated to be attached to the first
side wall or the second side wall as much as possible to reduce the
gap between the side wall and the partition plate, so that the
storage space is maximized when the drawer body does not need to be
separated so as to improve the user experience.
[0028] Further, since the middle part of the top end of each of the
first side wall and the second side wall is provided with the
recess, a user can be guided to operate the middle part of the
sliding partition plate mechanism. By shifting the middle part of
the sliding partition plate mechanism, the force can be more
uniform, and the movement can be smoother, and thereby avoiding
tilting caused by unsynchronized movement of the front and rear
sides of the sliding partition plate mechanism due to the
unbalanced force when the sliding partition plate mechanism is
shifted from one end, so as to avoid the resulting gap.
[0029] Further, since two ends of the first sliding groove and the
second sliding groove extend to the corners of the drawer body, the
sliding partition plate mechanism can be attached to the first side
wall or the second side wall as much as possible when sliding to
two sides of the drawer body, so as to further reduce the gap
between the partition plate and the first side wall or the second
side wall of the drawer body.
[0030] According to the following detailed descriptions of specific
embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the
drawings, those skilled in the art will more clearly understand the
above and other objectives, advantages and features of the present
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] Some specific embodiments of the present invention are
described in detail below with reference to the drawings by way of
example and not limitation. The same reference numerals in the
drawings indicate the same or similar components or parts. Those
skilled in the art should understand that these drawings are not
necessarily drawn in scale. In the drawings:
[0032] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a drawer
assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a sliding
partition plate mechanism of a drawer assembly according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 2.
[0035] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. 2.
[0036] FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a drawer
assembly according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
[0037] FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a drawer body of
a drawer assembly according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0038] FIG. 7 is a schematic position diagram of a drawer assembly
according to an embodiment of the present invention in a
refrigerator.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0039] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a drawer
assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. As
shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment provides a drawer assembly
100 for a refrigerator, which includes a drawer body 10 and a
sliding partition plate mechanism 20. The drawer body 10 includes a
bottom wall 11, a front end wall 12 and a rear end wall 13 which
are arranged oppositely along a drawing direction D, and a first
side wall 14 and a second side wall 15 which are respectively
arranged on two sides of the front end wall 12 and the rear end
wall 13, and the bottom wall 11, the front end wall 12, the rear
end wall 13, the first side wall 14 and the second side wall 15
jointly define an accommodating cavity for holding objects. The
sliding partition plate mechanism 20 is parallel to the first side
wall 14 and located in the accommodating cavity, and the sliding
partition plate mechanism 20 is configured to be capable of sliding
along the left-and-right direction H of the drawer body 10. The
middle part of the top end of each of the first side wall 14 and
the second side wall 15 is provided with a recess 101 for providing
a space when the sliding partition plate mechanism 20 is operated
to slide to the first side wall 14 or the second side wall 15, so
that the sliding partition plate mechanism 20 is attached to the
first side wall 14 or the second side wall 15 as much as
possible.
[0040] In the present embodiment, the middle part of the top end of
each of the first side wall 14 and the second side wall 15 on the
left and right sides of the drawer body 10 is provided with the
recess 101. The recess 101 provides a space for the hand of an
operator when the sliding partition plate mechanism 20 slides to
the first side wall 14 or the second side wall 15, that is, the
recess is configured to accommodate the hand of the operator, and
then, the sliding partition plate mechanism 20 is operated to be
attached to the first side wall 14 or the second side wall 15 as
much as possible to reduce the gap between the side wall and the
partition plate 21, so that the storage space is maximized when the
drawer body 10 does not need to be separated so as to improve the
user experience.
[0041] Further, since the middle part of the top end of each of the
first side wall 14 and the second side wall 15 is provided with the
recess 101, a user can be guided to operate the middle part of the
sliding partition plate mechanism 20. By shifting the middle part
of the sliding partition plate mechanism 20, the force can be more
uniform, and the movement can be smoother, and thereby avoiding
tilting caused by unsynchronized movement of the front and rear
sides of the sliding partition plate mechanism 20 due to the
unbalanced force when the sliding partition plate mechanism 20 is
shifted from one end, so as to avoid the resulting gap.
[0042] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a sliding
partition plate mechanism of a drawer assembly according to an
embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment, as shown in
FIG. 2, a sliding partition plate mechanism 20 includes a partition
plate 21 and two sliding mechanisms 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the
partition plate 21 is parallel to the first side wall 14 and
located in the accommodating cavity and is configured to separate
the accommodating cavity. Therefore, the shape of the partition
plate 21 is basically the same as the cross-sectional size of the
drawer body 10. The two sliding mechanisms 22 are respectively
arranged on two sides of the partition plate 21 and form sliding
connection with the front end wall 12 and the rear end wall 13.
[0043] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 1, the front end wall 12 and
the rear end wall 13 are respectively provided with a first sliding
groove 121 and a second sliding groove 131. The first sliding
groove 121 and the second sliding groove 131 are aligned in the
drawing direction D of the drawer body 10 and extend along the
left-and-right direction H of the drawer body 10, and the two
sliding mechanisms 22 are respectively inserted into the first
sliding groove 121 and the second sliding groove 131 and form
sliding connection. In other words, in the present embodiment, the
sliding of the sliding partition plate mechanism 20 relative to the
drawer body 10 is completed by the connection form of insertion of
the sliding grooves. In other embodiments, the relative sliding of
the two can also be completed by means of sliding rails. The first
sliding groove 121 and the second sliding groove 131 of the present
embodiment can also be used as air vents to play a role of
ventilation.
[0044] In another embodiment, one end of the first sliding groove
121 extends to a corner of the front end wall 12 and the first side
wall 14, the other end of the first sliding groove 121 extends to a
corner of the front end wall 12 and the second side wall 15, one
end of the second sliding groove 131 extends to a corner of the
rear end wall 13 and the first side wall 14, and the other end of
the second sliding groove 131 extends to a corner of the rear end
wall 13 and the second side wall 15, so that the partition plate 21
is attached to the first side wall 14 or the second side wall 15 as
much as possible.
[0045] Since two ends of the first sliding groove 121 and the
second sliding groove 131 extend to the corners of the drawer body
10, the sliding partition plate mechanism 20 can be attached to the
first side wall 14 or the second side wall 15 as much as possible
when sliding to two sides of the drawer body 10, so as to further
reduce the gap between the partition plate 21 and the first side
wall 14 or the second side wall 15 of the drawer body 10.
[0046] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 2. As shown in
FIG. 3, in an embodiment, each sliding mechanism 22 includes a
sliding base 221 and an insertion piece 222. An insertion hole is
formed inside the sliding base 221, one end of the insertion piece
222 is inserted into the insertion hole, and the other end passes
through the first sliding groove 121 or the second sliding groove
131 to be fixedly connected with the partition plate 21.
[0047] In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the sliding
partition plate mechanism 20 further includes a guide rod 23 which
extends along the left-and-right direction of the drawer body 10.
The guide rod 23 can be fixed to the drawer body 10. The sliding
base 221 is provided with a connecting hole for penetration of the
guide rod 23, so that the sliding base 221 is constrained by the
first sliding groove 121 or the second sliding groove 131 and the
guide rod 23 simultaneously when moving, and the sliding base 221
slides more smoothly and has better directionality.
[0048] In the above embodiment, the drawer assembly 100 includes a
set of sliding partition plate mechanism 20 which can separate a
drawer into two cavities. As shown in FIG. 1, the sliding partition
plate mechanism 20 of the drawer assembly 100 shown in FIG. 1 is
located on the side wall of the drawer body 10. When the sliding
partition plate mechanism 20 slides to the side wall of the drawer
body 10, a larger cavity is formed inside the drawer body 10.
[0049] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the drawer assembly
100 includes two sets of sliding partition plate mechanisms 20
arranged in parallel. In the present embodiment, by the arrangement
of the two sets of sliding partition plate mechanisms 20, the
drawer body 10 can be separated into three independent cavities at
most. Preferably, since the first sliding groove 121 and the second
sliding groove 131 extend to the corners of the drawer body 10,
when the partition plate 21 is not required to separate the cavity
of the drawer body 10, the two sets of sliding partition plate
mechanisms 20 can respectively slide to two sides of the drawer
body 10, so as to reduce the gap between the partition plate 21 and
the side wall as much as possible to maximize the space.
[0050] FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a drawer
assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention.
In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the front end wall 12 is
provided with two independent third sliding grooves 122, the rear
end wall 13 is provided with two fourth sliding grooves 132 aligned
with the two third sliding grooves 122, the aligned third sliding
groove 122 and fourth sliding groove 132 form a sliding groove
group, and each sliding groove group and each set of the sliding
partition plate mechanism 20 form sliding connection. In other
words, in the present embodiment, each set of the sliding partition
plate mechanism 20 slides in the corresponding sliding groove and
does not share a sliding groove.
[0051] FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a drawer body of
a drawer assembly according to an embodiment of the present
invention. In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the left end of
the third sliding groove 122 on the left side of the front end wall
12 extends to the corner 102 of the front end wall 12 and the first
side wall 14, and the right end of the third sliding groove 122 on
the right side of the front end wall 12 extends to the corner 103
of the front end wall 12 and the second side wall 15. The left end
of the fourth sliding groove 132 on the left side of the rear end
wall 13 extends to the corner 104 of the rear end wall 13 and the
first side wall 14, and the right end of the fourth sliding groove
132 on the right side of the rear end wall 13 extends to the corner
105 of the rear end wall 13 and the second side wall 15. By the
arrangement of the sliding grooves, the partition plate 21 on the
left side is attached to the first side wall 14 as much as possible
when moving to the first side wall 14, and the partition plate 21
on the right side is attached to the second side wall 15 as much as
possible when moving to the second side wall 15.
[0052] In an embodiment, the sliding partition plate mechanism 20
further includes a first limiting block 24 and a second limiting
block 25 which are respectively located at two ends of the guide
rod 23 and a third limiting block 26 which is located in the middle
position of the guide rod 23, and the first limiting block, the
second limiting block and the third limiting block are respectively
configured to limit the sliding partition plate mechanism 20 to
slide to corresponding positions.
[0053] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. 2. In another
embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, one side of each of the first
limiting block 24 and the second limiting block 25 close to the
sliding partition plate mechanism 20 is provided with a shock
absorbing ring 27, and both sides of the third limiting block 26
are provided with shock absorbing rings. The arrangement of the
shock absorbing rings 27 can effectively buffer the impact of the
sliding base 221 of the sliding partition plate mechanism 20 when
sliding to this position. The shock absorbing ring 27 can be made
of a silicone material.
[0054] FIG. 7 is a schematic position diagram of a drawer assembly
according to an embodiment of the present invention in a
refrigerator. The drawer assembly 100 in the above embodiment may
be a drawer assembly in a general refrigerating chamber, or a
temperature-variable drawer of a refrigerator. As shown in FIG. 7,
in an embodiment, the drawer assembly 100 is a temperature-variable
drawer in a temperature-variable chamber 200 of a high-end French
refrigerator 1000, and the temperature-variable chamber 200 is
usually independently arranged between a refrigerating chamber and
a freezing chamber of the refrigerator.
[0055] Hereto, those skilled in the art should realize that
although multiple exemplary embodiments of the present invention
have been shown and described in detail herein, without departing
from the spirit and scope of the present invention, many other
variations or modifications that conform to the principles of the
present invention can still be directly determined or deduced from
the contents disclosed in the present invention. Therefore, the
scope of the present invention should be understood and deemed to
cover all such other variations or modifications.
* * * * *