CN106766624B

CN106766624B - Refrigerator and storage container for refrigerator

Info

Publication number: CN106766624B
Application number: CN201611097123.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王晶; 张�浩; 王磊; 王胜飞
Original assignee: Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-12-02
Filing date: 2016-12-02
Publication date: 2023-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 2036-12-02
Also published as: CN106766624A

Abstract

The invention relates to a refrigerator and a storage container for the refrigerator, wherein the storage container comprises: a locking assembly, comprising: the pivoting lock catch and the locking device are configured to prevent the pivoting lock catch from rotating along the other direction opposite to the one direction after the pivoting lock catch is matched with the buckling part, so that the pivoting lock catch and the buckling part are kept in a matched state; the oxygen-enriched membrane component is communicated with the air-conditioning fresh-keeping space in the cylinder body, and is provided with at least one oxygen-enriched membrane and an oxygen-enriched gas collecting cavity, so that oxygen in air flow around the oxygen-enriched membrane component can permeate the oxygen-enriched membrane more than nitrogen in the air flow around the oxygen-enriched membrane component to enter the oxygen-enriched gas collecting cavity. In addition, the invention also provides a refrigerator with the storage container. The invention can form a nitrogen-rich and oxygen-deficient gas atmosphere in the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space, thereby achieving the purpose of fresh keeping, avoiding the false opening of the drawer caused by misoperation as much as possible, and preventing the nitrogen in the storage container from leaking.

Description

Refrigerator and storage container for refrigerator

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of refrigeration and freezing storage, in particular to a refrigerator and a storage container for the refrigerator.

Background

Refrigerators are a kind of refrigerating apparatus that maintains a constant low temperature, and also a kind of civil products that maintain foods or other objects in a constant low temperature cold state. With the improvement of life quality, the consumer demand for preservation of stored foods is also increasing, and especially the demands for color, taste and the like of foods are also increasing. Therefore, the stored food should also ensure that the color, mouthfeel, freshness, etc. of the food remain as unchanged as possible during storage.

In the fresh-keeping technology of the refrigerator, oxygen is closely related to the oxidization and respiration of food in the refrigerator. The slower the respiration of the food, the lower the oxidation of the food and the longer the fresh-keeping time. The oxygen content in the air is reduced, and the fresh-keeping agent has obvious effect on food fresh-keeping.

Currently, in order to reduce the oxygen content in a refrigerator, the prior art generally uses vacuum preservation or additionally provides a deoxidizing device for low-oxygen preservation. However, the vacuum preservation operation is generally complicated and is very inconvenient to use; the deoxidizing device usually uses electrolyte and the like to deoxidize, and the device is complex and has no obvious deoxidizing effect. Therefore, a new fresh-keeping technology of a refrigerator is needed to improve the freshness of foods.

In addition, in order to improve the freshness of foods, it is required that the storage compartment of the refrigerator, particularly the drawer of the refrigerator, has good sealing properties so that the foods have longer freshness time and better taste. However, current refrigerator drawers generally do not have a locking device, resulting in a refrigerator drawer that may not be completely sealed after retraction; and the instability of the refrigerator drawer in the process of pushing and pulling can influence the tightness of the storage box. Therefore, there is a need for a refrigerator drawer having a locking function and capable of effectively preventing frequent opening caused by errors, so as to improve freshness of foods.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to overcome at least one defect of the existing refrigerator, and provides a storage container which creatively provides a gas atmosphere which is rich in nitrogen and lean in oxygen and is beneficial to food preservation in a space by exhausting oxygen in the air in the space out of the space, wherein the gas atmosphere reduces the oxygen content in a fruit and vegetable preservation space, reduces the strength of aerobic respiration of fruits and vegetables, ensures the basic respiration effect, prevents the fruits and vegetables from carrying out anaerobic respiration, and further achieves the aim of long-term preservation of fruits and vegetables.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a storage container with a locking function to prevent the drawer from being opened by mistake as much as possible, to prevent unnecessary air leakage of the storage container, to improve the tightness thereof, and to also provide a fresh-keeping function for foods.

In particular, the present invention provides a storage container for a refrigerator, comprising a drum having a forward opening and a drawer disposed in the drum and extractable from the opening, characterized in that the storage container further comprises:

a locking assembly for locking the drawer to the barrel, and the locking assembly comprising:

a pivoting latch rotatably mounted to the drawer and configured to rotate in one direction under a force applied thereto to engage a snap-fit portion provided to the barrel; and

the locking device is arranged on the drawer and is configured to prevent the pivoting lock catch from rotating along the other direction opposite to the one direction after the pivoting lock catch is matched with the buckling part, so that the pivoting lock catch and the buckling part are kept in a matched state, and the drawer is locked on the cylinder; and

the oxygen-enriched membrane assembly is provided with at least one oxygen-enriched membrane and an oxygen-enriched gas collecting cavity, and is configured to enable oxygen in the airflow around the oxygen-enriched membrane assembly to penetrate through the oxygen-enriched membrane to enter the oxygen-enriched gas collecting cavity relative to nitrogen in the airflow around the oxygen-enriched membrane assembly.

Optionally, the locking device is further configured to act under a force to release the blocking of rotation of the pivoting latch in the other direction.

Optionally, the number of the pivoting latches is two, each pivoting latch comprises an abutting portion and a clamping portion matched with the buckling portion, and the rotation axis of the pivoting latch is located between the clamping portion and the abutting portion; and the number of the buckling parts is two, and the rotation directions of the two pivoting latches are opposite when the two pivoting latches are matched with the corresponding buckling parts.

Optionally, two pivot catches are disposed on both sides of the front end of the drawer, and a rotation axis of each pivot catch extends in a vertical direction.

Optionally, the locking device comprises: a handle having a handle portion and two abutment portions mounted at both ends of the handle portion, the handle being slidably mounted to the drawer in a direction parallel to a rotation axis of the pivoting latches, so that after each of the pivoting latches is engaged with the corresponding engagement portion, one end of each of the abutment portions is brought into contact with a side of one of the abutment portions facing the other abutment portion to thereby maintain a relative position between each of the pivoting latches and the drawer.

Optionally, the drawer comprises: the drawer body is provided with a bottom plate, two side plates, a rear plate and a front mounting plate, wherein the edges of the two sides of the front mounting plate are positioned at the outer sides of the two side plates; the drawer front cover is provided with an operation port, is arranged on the front side of the front mounting plate and is limited with the front mounting plate to form a containing cavity; the locking device is arranged in the accommodating cavity, and at least part of the handle part is positioned at the operation opening.

Optionally, the locking device further comprises: two guide bars, each of which extends in a vertical direction and is fixed to the handle, and each of which is slidably installed to the drawer front; and two sliders, each of which is fixed to the handle and is slidably mounted to the front mounting plate in a vertical direction.

Optionally, the oxygen-enriched membrane component is in a flat plate shape and is horizontally arranged on the top wall of the cylinder; and an accommodating cavity communicated with the air-conditioning fresh-keeping space is arranged in the top wall so as to accommodate the oxygen-enriched membrane component.

Optionally, the storage container further comprises: the fan is arranged on the top wall and is configured to promote the gas in the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping cavity to flow into the accommodating cavity and then return into the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping cavity.

In particular, the invention also provides a refrigerator which comprises a refrigerator body, wherein a storage space is defined in the refrigerator body, and any storage container is arranged in the storage space.

The storage container has the advantages that the oxygen-enriched film component is arranged, the surrounding space of the storage container is communicated with the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space in the cylinder body, so that a nitrogen-enriched and oxygen-depleted gas atmosphere which is beneficial to food fresh-keeping can be formed in the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space, the oxygen content in the fruit and vegetable storage space is reduced, the strength of aerobic respiration of fruits and vegetables is reduced, the basic respiration effect is ensured, and the fruits and vegetables are prevented from carrying out anaerobic respiration, so that the aim of long-term fresh-keeping of the fruits and vegetables is achieved. In addition, the drawer locking device is also provided with a locking device, so that after the pivoting lock catch on the drawer is matched with the buckling part on the cylinder body, the pivoting lock catch and the buckling part are kept in a matched state, and the drawer is locked on the cylinder body. Therefore, the drawer can be prevented from being opened by mistake due to misoperation or other reasons as much as possible, the gas which is beneficial to food preservation such as nitrogen in the storage container is prevented from leaking, or the gas which is not beneficial to food preservation such as external oxygen is prevented from entering, and the preservation performance of the storage container can be effectively improved. And the locking device can also prevent the refrigerator from causing tiny movement between the drawer and the cylinder after collision, so that the tightness of the storage container can be effectively improved, and the fresh-keeping performance of the storage container is further improved.

Further, because the locking device comprises two guide rods and two sliding blocks, each guide rod extends along the vertical direction and is fixed on the handle, each sliding block is fixed on the handle and is slidably arranged on the front mounting plate along the vertical direction, the handle can only translate along the vertical direction, and the stability of the drawer in the locking process is improved.

Further, because the accommodating cavity communicated with the air-conditioning fresh-keeping space is arranged in the top wall, the oxygen-enriched membrane component is accommodated, and the fan is arranged in the accommodating cavity, the air in the air-conditioning fresh-keeping cavity can be promoted to flow into the accommodating cavity, and then the air in the air-conditioning fresh-keeping cavity is returned, namely, the flow of surrounding air of the oxygen-enriched membrane component can be quickened, and the absorption rate of the oxygen-enriched membrane component to oxygen is improved.

The above, as well as additional objectives, advantages, and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment of the present invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Some specific embodiments of the invention will be described in detail hereinafter by way of example and not by way of limitation with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts or portions. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded view of a storage container according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is another schematic exploded view of a storage container according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic motion state diagram of a storage container according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is another schematic motion state diagram of a storage container according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial top view of a storage container according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic partial enlarged view of the portion A shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is another schematic partial enlarged view at A of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is another schematic partial top view of a storage container according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic partial enlarged view at B shown in FIG. 8; and

fig. 10 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a schematic exploded view of a storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2 is another schematic exploded view of a storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 1 and 2, an embodiment of the present invention provides a storage container 10 for a refrigerator, which may include a drum 100 having a forward opening and a drawer 200 provided in the drum 100 and extractable from the opening. In particular, the storage container 10 may further include an oxygen-enriched membrane assembly 400 and a locking assembly 300.

Wherein, the surrounding space of the oxygen-enriched film assembly 400 can be communicated with the air-conditioned fresh-keeping space in the barrel 100, and the oxygen-enriched film assembly 400 can be provided with at least one oxygen-enriched film 410 and an oxygen-enriched gas collecting cavity 420, so that the oxygen in the air flow around the oxygen-enriched film assembly 400 can permeate the oxygen-enriched film 410 more than the nitrogen in the air flow into the oxygen-enriched gas collecting cavity 420. Specifically, the inner side surface of each oxygen-enriched membrane 410 faces the oxygen-enriched gas collection chamber 420 so that when the pressure of the oxygen-enriched gas collection chamber 420 is smaller than the pressure of the surrounding space of the oxygen-enriched membrane module 400, the oxygen in the air of the outer space of the oxygen-enriched membrane module 400 permeates more through at least one oxygen-enriched membrane 410 into the oxygen-enriched gas collection chamber 420 than the nitrogen therein. The storage container 10 of this embodiment can make the gas atmosphere that forms rich nitrogen and lean oxygen and do benefit to food fresh-keeping in the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space, and this gas atmosphere reduces the intensity of fruit vegetables aerobic respiration through reducing the content of oxygen in the fruit vegetables preservation space, guarantees the respiratory action of basis simultaneously, prevents that fruit vegetables from carrying out anaerobic respiration to reach the purpose that fruit vegetables keep fresh for a long time.

Further, the locking assembly 300 may be used to lock the drawer 200 to the barrel 100. Specifically, the locking assembly 300 may include a pivoting latch 310 and a locking device 320. The pivot latch 310 is rotatably mounted to the drawer 200, and rotates in one direction under the action of a force, and cooperates with the fastening portion 120 provided on the barrel 100. The locking device 320 may be mounted to the drawer 200, and prevent the pivoting latch 310 from rotating in the other direction opposite to the one direction after the pivoting latch 310 is engaged with the fastening part 120, so that the pivoting latch 310 maintains the engaged state with the fastening part 120, thereby locking the drawer 200 to the barrel 100. Because the locking assembly 300 can avoid the false opening of the drawer 200 caused by misoperation or other reasons as much as possible, prevent the leakage of the gas such as nitrogen in the storage container 10, which is beneficial to food preservation, or prevent the entry of the gas such as external oxygen, which is not beneficial to food preservation, and can effectively improve the preservation performance of the storage container 10. And the locking device 320 can also prevent the refrigerator from collision, which causes tiny movement between the drawer 200 and the cylinder 100, so that the tightness of the storage container 10 can be effectively improved, and the fresh-keeping performance of the storage container 10 is further improved.

In addition, the locking device 320 may be operated by the force to release the rotation of the pivoting latch 310 in the other direction, so as to allow the pivoting latch 310 to rotate in the other direction, thereby allowing the drawer 200 to be withdrawn from the barrel 100, and thus unlocking the drawer 200. And the pivoting latch 310 is preferably a metal material to increase its strength, such as steel or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, in some embodiments of the invention, oxygen-enriched membrane assembly 400 may be flat and may be horizontally disposed on the top wall of cartridge 100. A containing cavity 110 in communication with the modified atmosphere fresh space may be provided in the top wall to contain the oxygen enriched membrane assembly 400. Specifically, at least one first vent hole and at least one second vent hole are formed in a wall surface between the accommodating cavity 110 of the top wall of the cylinder 100 and the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space. The at least one first vent hole is spaced apart from the at least one second vent hole to communicate the accommodating chamber 110 with the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space at different positions, respectively. The first vent holes and the second vent holes are small holes, and the number of the first vent holes and the second vent holes can be multiple. In some alternative embodiments, the top wall of the cartridge 100 has a recessed channel inside. Oxygen-enriched membrane assembly 400 may be disposed within a recessed channel in the top wall of cartridge 100.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the storage container 10 may further include a blower 500. The blower 500 may be disposed at the top wall and may cause the gas in the modified atmosphere chamber to flow into the receiving chamber 110 and then return to the modified atmosphere chamber. Specifically, the blower 500 may cause the gas in the modified atmosphere storage space to enter the accommodating cavity 110 through the first ventilation hole, and the gas in the accommodating cavity 110 to enter the modified atmosphere storage space through the second ventilation hole. That is, the fan 500 may promote the gas in the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space to return to the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space through the at least one first vent hole, the accommodating cavity 110 and the at least one second vent hole in sequence, so as to realize the exchange and circulation of the gas in the accommodating cavity 110 and the gas in the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space.

In some implementations of this embodiment, the blower 500 may preferably be a centrifugal blower disposed within the receiving cavity 110 at a first vent. That is, the centrifugal fan may be located above the at least one first vent, with the axis of rotation vertically downward, with the air intake being directly opposite the first vent. The air outlet of the centrifugal fan may be directed toward the oxygen enriched membrane assembly 400. The oxygen-enriched membrane assembly 400 may be disposed above the at least one second ventilation aperture such that each oxygen-enriched membrane 410 of the oxygen-enriched membrane assembly 400 is parallel to the top wall of the cartridge 100. At least one first vent may be provided in the front portion of the top wall and at least one second vent may be provided in the rear portion of the top wall. That is, the centrifugal fan is disposed at the front of the accommodating chamber 110, and the oxygen enrichment membrane assembly 400 is disposed at the rear of the accommodating chamber 110. Further, the top wall of the cylinder 100 includes a main plate portion having a recess formed in a partial region thereof, and a cover plate portion detachably covering the recess to form the accommodating chamber 110. In order to facilitate the manufacture of the cylinder 100, the main plate portion may be integrally formed with the side wall, the bottom wall, and the rear wall of the cylinder 100.

In some embodiments of the invention, oxygen-enriched membrane assembly 400 may further comprise a support frame. The oxygen-enriched membranes 410 are preferably two, and are mounted on two sides of the support frame, so that the two oxygen-enriched membranes 410 and the support frame jointly enclose an oxygen-enriched gas collecting cavity 420. Further, the support frame may include a frame, ribs and/or plates disposed in the frame, and air flow channels may be formed between the ribs, between the ribs and the plates, and grooves may be formed on the surfaces of the ribs and the plates to form the air flow channels. The ribs and/or plates may increase the structural strength of oxygen-enriched membrane assembly 400, etc. That is, the support frame has a first surface and a second surface parallel to each other, and the support frame is formed with a plurality of gas flow channels extending over the first surface and the second surface, respectively, and extending through the support frame to communicate the first surface with the second surface, the plurality of gas flow channels collectively forming an oxygen-enriched gas collection chamber 420; at least one oxygen enriched membrane 410 is two planar oxygen enriched membranes 410, respectively laid on the first surface and the second surface of the support frame.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the support frame may include a gas extraction aperture in communication with the at least one gas flow channel and disposed on the rim to allow oxygen in the oxygen-enriched gas collection chamber 420 to be output. The suction hole may be in communication with a suction pump. The air vent may be disposed on a long edge of the frame or on a short edge of the frame to be determined according to the placement orientation or actual design requirements of the oxygen-enriched membrane assembly 400, for example, the air vent may be disposed on a long edge of the frame. Oxygen-enriched membrane 410 is first mounted to the frame by double sided tape and then sealed by sealant.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the support frame may include: the frame, a plurality of first floor and a plurality of second floor. The first rib plates are arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction and extend in the transverse direction in the frame, and one side surface of the first rib plates forms a first surface. The plurality of second rib plates are arranged at intervals along the transverse direction on the other side surface of the plurality of first rib plates and extend along the longitudinal direction, and the second surface is formed on the side surface of the plurality of second rib plates, which is far away from the first rib plates. According to the support frame, the first rib plates which are longitudinally spaced and transversely extending and the second rib plates which are transversely spaced and longitudinally extending on one side surface of the first rib plates are arranged in the frame, so that the continuity of an airflow channel is guaranteed, the size of the support frame is greatly reduced, and the strength of the support frame is greatly enhanced. In addition, the above structure of the support frame ensures that the oxygen-enriched membrane 410 can obtain enough support, and can always maintain better flatness even under the condition of larger negative pressure in the oxygen-enriched gas collecting cavity 420, thereby ensuring the service life of the oxygen-enriched membrane assembly 400.

In a further embodiment, the plurality of first ribs may include: a plurality of first narrow ribs and a plurality of first wide ribs. The first wide rib plates are arranged at intervals, and the first narrow rib plates are arranged between two adjacent first wide rib plates. The aforementioned plurality of second ribs may include: the first narrow rib plates and the second wide rib plates are arranged at intervals, and the second narrow rib plates are arranged between two adjacent second wide rib plates. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that "wide" and "narrow" herein are relative terms.

In some embodiments, each of the first wide ribs is recessed inwardly from a side surface thereof forming the first surface to form a first groove; each of the second wide ribs is recessed inwardly from its side surface forming the second surface to form a second channel, thereby improving connectivity of its internal lattice structure while ensuring a small thickness (or volume) of the support frame 32.

In a further embodiment, a portion of the surface of each of the first wide ribs facing away from the first surface extends toward the second rib to be flush with the second surface, and is recessed inwardly from the portion of the surface flush with the second surface to form a third groove; the third grooves communicate with the portions where the second grooves intersect to form cross grooves. A part of the surface of at least one second wide rib plate facing away from the second surface extends towards the first rib plate to be level with the first surface, and a fourth groove is formed by inwards sinking the part of the surface level with the first surface; wherein the fourth groove communicates with a portion where the first groove intersects to form a cross groove.

In some embodiments of the invention, to facilitate the flow of the air flow, the inner surface of the cover plate portion may extend downwardly with a plurality of air guide ribs to guide the air flow from the blower 500 to flow within the receiving chamber 110 and over the outer surface of each oxygen-enriched gas membrane 410 of the oxygen-enriched membrane assembly 400 facing away from the oxygen-enriched gas collection chamber 420. The plurality of air guide rib plates can be divided into two groups, including a first group of air guide rib plates and a second group of air guide rib plates which are symmetrically arranged about a plane. Each set of air guide ribs includes a first air guide rib, at least one second air guide rib, and at least one third air guide rib. The first air guide rib extends from the air outlet of the centrifugal fan to one side of the accommodating chamber 110 and extends to one lateral outside of the oxygen enrichment membrane assembly 400. Each second air guide rib is disposed between two first air guide ribs and between the oxygen enrichment membrane assembly 400 and the centrifugal fan. Each third air guide rib is located at one lateral outer side of the oxygen enrichment membrane assembly 400 to guide the air flow such that the air flow enters the gap between the oxygen enrichment membrane assembly 400 and the bottom surface or the top surface of the accommodating chamber 110 from both lateral sides of the oxygen enrichment membrane assembly 400.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the cylinder 100 may be provided with a plurality of micropores, and the storage space of the refrigerator and the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space are communicated through the plurality of micropores. The micro-holes may also be referred to as air pressure balance holes, each of which may be of the order of millimeters, for example, each having a diameter of 0.1mm to 3mm, preferably 1mm, 1.5mm, etc. The pressure in the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space can be prevented from being too low by arranging the plurality of micropores, the nitrogen in the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space can not flow to the large storage space 211 by arranging the plurality of micropores, and even if the nitrogen flows, the nitrogen is very small or even negligible, so that the preservation of foods in the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping space can not be influenced. In some alternative embodiments of the present invention, the cylinder 100 may not have micro-holes, and even if a large amount of nitrogen exists in the air-conditioned fresh-keeping space, the user does not need to use much effort to pull the drawer body 210 open, which is much more labor-saving than the existing vacuum storage chamber.

Fig. 3 is a schematic motion state diagram of a storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 4 is another schematic motion state diagram of a storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 5 is a schematic partial top view of a storage container according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in connection with fig. 3 to 7, in order to enhance the performance of the locking assembly 300, so as to better provide a locking function for the storage container 10 or the storage container 10 having the oxygen enrichment membrane assembly 400, in some embodiments of the present invention, the number of the pivot latches 310 may be two, each pivot latch 310 may include an abutment portion 311 and a clamping portion 312 that cooperates with the buckling portion 120, and the rotation axis of the pivot latch 310 is located between the clamping portion 312 and the abutment portion 311. The number of the buckling parts 120 may be two, and the rotation directions of the two pivoting latches 310 are opposite when the two pivoting latches are matched with the corresponding buckling parts 120. For example, the abutting portion 311 may be located at a front portion of each pivot latch 310, the clamping portion 312 is located at a rear portion of each pivot latch 310, and the rotation axis is located between the abutting portion 311 and the clamping portion 312 of each pivot latch 310, so that the clamping portion 312 and the abutting portion 311 have a larger rotation path during rotation, so as to facilitate the clamping of the clamping portion 312 and the locking of the abutting portion 311. Also, two pivoting latches 310 may be disposed at both sides of the front end of the drawer 200, and the rotation axis of each pivoting latch 310 extends in the vertical direction to improve the stability of the pivoting latch 310 after locking.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the locking device 320 may include a handle 321. The handle 321 may have a handle portion 3211 and two abutting rod portions 3212 mounted at both ends of the handle portion 3211, and the handle 321 may be slidably mounted to the drawer 200 in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the pivoting latches 310, so that after each pivoting latch 310 is engaged with the corresponding engagement portion 120, it is moved to a predetermined position such that one end of each abutting rod portion 3212 abuts against a side of one abutting portion 311 facing the other abutting portion 311, thereby maintaining the relative position between each pivoting latch 310 and the drawer 200. In some embodiments, the handle portion 3211 may be disposed horizontally, and the two abutment portions 3212 may extend horizontally from two ends of the handle portion 3211, respectively, so as to be located between the two abutment portions 311 when in the preset position, i.e. each abutment portion 3212 is located inside the corresponding abutment portion 311 to abut against it. In this embodiment, the locking portion 312 of each pivot latch 310 is locked by rotating from outside to inside, and the abutting portion 311 of each pivot latch 310 is unlocked by rotating from outside to inside. In other embodiments, each lever portion 3212 may extend upward or downward from one end of the handle portion 3211, or may extend horizontally from one end of the handle portion 3211 and then extend upward or downward to form a hook, and the rotation axis of the pivot latch 310 is located between two hooks. When in the preset position, each hook is located at the outer side of the abutting portion 311 of the corresponding pivot lock 310, and the inner surface of the hook contacts and abuts against the outer side surface of the clamping portion 312. In this embodiment, the locking portion 312 of each pivot latch 310 is locked by rotating from inside to outside, and the abutting portion 311 of each pivot latch 310 is unlocked by rotating from inside to outside.

Alternatively, one end of each of the lever portions 3212 is brought into contact with and abutted against a side surface of one of the abutting portions 311 remote from the other abutting portion 311 at a preset position. Specifically, each lever portion 3212 may extend upward or downward from one end of the handle portion 3211, or may extend horizontally from one end of the handle portion 3211 and then extend upward or downward to form a hook, and the rotation axis of the pivot lock 310 is located between two hooks. When in the preset position, each hook is located at the outer side of the abutting portion 311 of the corresponding pivot lock 310, and the inner surface of the hook contacts and abuts against the outer side surface of the clamping portion 312. In this embodiment, the locking portion 312 of each pivot latch 310 is locked by rotating from inside to outside, and the abutting portion 311 of each pivot latch 310 is unlocked by rotating from inside to outside.

Further, each of the clamping portions 312 may have a plate shape, and a clamping hole is formed at a rear end thereof. Each of the fastening parts 120 may be a protrusion provided on one sidewall of the barrel 100, so that the fastening hole of the pivoting latch 310 is sleeved on the corresponding protrusion of the barrel 100 to achieve locking when the drawer 200 is retracted into the barrel 100. Specifically, each of the protrusions may be a boss having a flat top, and front and rear sides thereof may be wedge-shaped, and an inclination angle may be 20 ° to 40 °, preferably 30 °, and a rotation angle of each of the pivoting latches 310 may be 0 to 5 °, preferably 3 °, 4 °, so that the protrusions slide into or out of the card holes. Both side walls of the barrel 100 may have a relief groove opened rearward from a front end surface thereof, and each protrusion may be disposed in the relief groove to prevent the protrusion from protruding from an inner side surface or an outer side surface of the side wall of the barrel 100, thereby saving an occupied space of the pivot latch 310 and the clamping portion 312, and improving an aesthetic property. In some embodiments, each relief groove has a through hole that opens to the lateral outside of the sidewall of the barrel 100, and the through hole location may correspond to the protrusion or the size of the through hole may be greater than the maximum cross-sectional area of the protrusion, such that the relief groove does not impede the outward rotation of the catch portion 312 of the pivoting latch 310 when unlocking or locking.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the locking assembly 300 may further include an elastic member mounted to the drawer 200 and configured to urge the pivoting latch 310 to rotate in a direction in which locking is performed. In some embodiments, the number of elastic members may be two. Preferably, the elastic member may be a spring. Two springs are respectively provided at one side of each pivoting latch 310 to pull the catching portion 312 of the pivoting latch 310 inward or pull the abutting portion 311 of the pivoting latch 310 outward when the drawer 200 is retracted into the barrel 100. In some alternative embodiments, the resilient member may be a torsion spring.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the drawer 200 may include a drawer body 210 and a drawer front 220. The drawer body 210 may have a bottom plate 211, two side plates 212, a rear plate 213, and a front mounting plate 214, where two side edges of the front mounting plate 214 are located at the outer sides of the two side plates 212, so as to achieve sealing as much as possible when the drawer 200 is locked, thereby improving the fresh-keeping performance of the storage container 10. The drawer front cover 220 is provided with an operation opening 221, is mounted on the front side of the front mounting plate 214, and defines the accommodating chamber 110 with the front mounting plate 214. The locking device 320 may be disposed in the accommodating cavity 110, and at least a portion of the handle portion 3211 may be located at the operation opening 221, so that a human hand may operate the handle portion 3211 by extending through the operation opening 221, thereby controllably locking or unlocking the drawer 200.

In some embodiments of the present invention, two perforations may be provided on both sides of the front mounting plate 214 for the portion of the pivoting latch 310 to protrude to cooperatively lock with the snap-fit portion 120 provided on other components of the refrigerator. Since the probability of a human hand pulling the middle part of the handle 321 when pulling the handle 321 is high, typically within 500mm of the middle part of the handle 321, the length of the handle 321 in the water balance direction may be set to be about 600mm, and this part of the region may be referred to as a handle portion 3211. The width of the drawer front 220 is greater than 600mm, preferably 650mm to 900mm, more preferably 750mm. The arrangement can not only enable hands to be concentrated within 500mm of the middle of the handle 321 when the handle 321 is pulled, enable all parts of the handle 321 to be stressed uniformly, further improve the stability of the drawer 200 in the drawing or other processes, but also reserve sufficient space for two perforations formed in two sides of the front mounting plate 214.

FIG. 8 is another schematic partial top view of a storage container according to one embodiment of the invention. As shown in connection with fig. 8 and 9, in some embodiments of the invention, the locking device 320 may further comprise two guide bars 322 and two sliders 323. Each guide bar 322 may extend in a vertical direction and be fixed to the handle 321, and each guide bar 322 may be slidably mounted to the front cover of the drawer 200. Each slider 323 may be fixed to the handle 321 and slidably mounted to the front mounting plate 214 in the vertical direction.

In some embodiments of the invention, the locking device 320 may further comprise two sets of slides, each set of slides may have a first slide slot, a second slide slot, a third slide slot, and a fourth slide slot in a direction parallel to the rotational axis of the pivot latch 310. Each guide bar 322 may be mounted to a first runner and a second runner of a set of runners, and the first runner and the second runner may be located on front and rear sides of the guide bar 322. Each of the sliders 323 may be mounted to a set of third and fourth runners of the slide way, with the third and fourth runners being located on lateral sides of the slider 323. The sliding way of the embodiment has the functions of limiting the translation of the handle 321 from different positions or directions, so that the shaking of the handle 321 in the vertical translation process can be reduced, the stability of the vertical translation of the handle 321 is remarkably improved, and the stability of the drawer 200 in the locking or unlocking process is further improved.

In some alternative embodiments, the locking device 320 may include two sets of slides, each set of slides may have three runners extending in a vertical direction. Each guide bar 322 may be mounted to two runners of a set of runners, and the two runners may be located on either side of the guide bar 322, and each slider 323 may be mounted to the other runner of the set of runners. Or each slider 323 may be mounted to two sliding grooves of a set of sliding ways, and the two sliding grooves may be located at both sides of the slider 323, and each guide bar 322 may be mounted to the other sliding groove of the set of sliding ways. Of course, there are other arrangements of the sliding ways similar to the two embodiments described above, as long as the displacement manner of the handle 321 with only vertical translation can be defined, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the inside of the drawer front 220 may be provided with two first sliding grooves. The locking device 320 may further include two sliding plates fixed to the front surface of the front mounting plate 214, each of which may be provided with a second sliding groove, a third sliding groove, and a fourth sliding groove extending in the vertical direction. Two pivot catches 310 and locking devices 320 may be disposed within the receiving cavity 110 defined between the front mounting plate 214 and the drawer front 220.

Further, the front side of each guide bar 322 may have a first rib extending in the vertical direction, and the first rib may be inserted into the first sliding groove. The rear side of each guide bar 322 may have a second rib extending in the vertical direction, and the second ribs may be embedded in the second sliding grooves to define a displacement manner in which the handle 321 has only a vertical translation by sliding the first and second ribs in the first and second sliding grooves. The slider 323 may include a main body portion and two ribs extending from both side surfaces of the main body portion, the two ribs being respectively embedded in the third and fourth sliding grooves to improve stability of each slider 323 during sliding.

Further, each slide plate may include a base plate, two side plates, two first ribs, two second ribs, a third rib, and a fourth rib. Specifically, the substrate may be disposed in a vertical direction. The two side plates may extend forward from two vertical edges of the base plate, respectively. The two first ribs may extend from the front edges of the two side plates, respectively, toward each other. The two second ribs can extend from two opposite surfaces of the two side plates respectively to define a third chute and the fourth chute with the two first ribs and the two side plates. The third rib may extend from a surface of one side plate facing away from the other side plate. The fourth rib may extend forward from an end of the third rib to define a first chute with a side plate and the third rib. The first sliding groove, the third sliding groove and the fourth sliding groove can be limited by only one sliding plate, so that the structure is compact and simple, the cost is saved, meanwhile, each sliding block 323 can be surrounded as much as possible, the contact area between the sliding block 323 and the third sliding groove and the contact area between the sliding block 323 and the fourth sliding groove are increased, and the stability of the mechanism is further improved.

In some embodiments of the present invention, to facilitate the fixation of the guide bar 322 to the handle 321, the guide bar 322 and the handle 321 may be integrally formed at the time of manufacture. To facilitate the fixation of the sliders 323 to the handle 321, the front surface of each slider 323 may have a groove extending in a horizontal direction, and a bottom plate of the groove may have a connecting post protruding forward thereon. The handle 321 may include a handle portion 3211 and two supporting rods 3212 disposed at two ends of the handle portion 3211 and extending in a horizontal and lateral direction, a portion of each supporting rod 3212 may be embedded into a groove of one slider 323, and a connection post of each slider 323 may be inserted into a hole on one bottom rod. The contact area between the slider 323 and the lever portion 3212 can be increased in this embodiment, so as to improve the fixing reliability.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the locking device 320 may further include two elastic members configured to have a force to urge the handle 321 to return to a predetermined position at least after the handle 321 is slid in the vertical direction by the force and after the force is removed. In some embodiments, after the hand pulls the handle 321 to move to unlock the pivoting latch 310, the force of the hand is removed, and the elastic member returns the handle 321 to the preset position when the handle 321 is locked. The elastic member may be a spring disposed above or below the locking device 320 to provide a force to the locking device 320 by compression or extension. For example, each spring is disposed above the slider 323 of the locking device 320, and has an upper end fixed to the front mounting plate 214 and a lower end in contact with the upper surface of the slider 323 to provide a downward elastic force when the slider 323 slides upward. In some alternative embodiments, the handle 321 may further comprise a resilient means and a retention means. Wherein the elastic means may be mounted to the drawer 200, configured to urge the handle 321 to a preset position. The retention device may be configured to remain in a position after the handle 321 is disengaged from the pivot latch 310 when the position is maintained, and to lose retention when an external force is applied to the handle 321. For example, the elastic device is two springs, which are respectively arranged above two ends of the handle 321, and the retention device is a buckle. Unlocking the handle 321 from the pivoting latch 310 when it is depressed downward allows the refrigerator drawer 200 to be pulled out. When the handle 321 is pressed to a certain position, the handle 321 is kept still under the action of the buckle, and at this time, the spring has an upward pulling force on the handle 321. When the drawer 200 is pushed in, the handle 321 is manually acted to disengage the buckle, the handle 321 is returned to the preset position under the tension of the spring, for example, the handle 321 can be manually pressed downwards to disengage the buckle, so that the drawer 200 is locked.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the storage container 10 may further include sealing rings disposed on front end surfaces of the two sidewalls, the upper wall and the lower wall of the barrel 100 to be attached to the inner side of the front mounting plate 214 when the drawer 200 is retracted into the barrel 100, so as to improve the tightness of the storage container 10.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural view of a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 10, an embodiment of the present invention also provides a refrigerator, which may include a cabinet, in which a storage space may be defined. The refrigerator may further include a storage container 10 according to any of the above embodiments, disposed in the storage space. Specifically, a storage space and a compressor compartment may be defined within the tank. For example, the case may include a liner defining a storage space therein. The main door body is rotatably installed on the box body and is configured to open or close a storage space defined by the box body. Further, a storage container 10 is arranged in the storage space, and an air-conditioned fresh-keeping space is arranged in the storage container 10. The air-conditioned fresh-keeping space can be a closed space or an approximately closed space. Preferably, the storage container 10 is a drawer assembly. The refrigerator may further include a refrigerating system, which may be a refrigerating cycle system composed of a compressor, a condenser, a throttle device, an evaporator, and the like. The compressor is installed in the compressor bin. The evaporator is configured to provide cooling directly or indirectly into the storage space. For example, when the refrigerator is a home compression type direct cooling refrigerator, the evaporator may be disposed outside or inside the rear wall surface of the inner container. When the refrigerator is a household compression type air-cooled refrigerator, an evaporator chamber is further arranged in the refrigerator body and is communicated with the storage space through an air path system, an evaporator is arranged in the evaporator chamber, and a fan is arranged at an outlet of the evaporator chamber so as to perform circulating refrigeration to the storage space.

By now it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while a number of exemplary embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein in detail, many other variations or modifications of the invention consistent with the principles of the invention may be directly ascertained or inferred from the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be understood and deemed to cover all such other variations or modifications.

Claims

1. A storage container for a refrigerator comprising a cartridge having a forward opening and a drawer disposed within the cartridge and extractable from the opening, the storage container further comprising:

the locking device is arranged on the drawer and is configured to prevent the pivoting lock catch from rotating in the other direction opposite to the one direction after the pivoting lock catch is matched with the buckling part, so that the pivoting lock catch and the buckling part are kept in a matched state, the drawer is locked on the cylinder body, and the locking device acts under the action of the action force to release the prevention of the rotation of the pivoting lock catch in the other direction; and

the oxygen-enriched membrane assembly is provided with at least one oxygen-enriched membrane and an oxygen-enriched gas collecting cavity, and is configured to enable oxygen in the airflow in the space around the oxygen-enriched membrane assembly to penetrate through the oxygen-enriched membrane to enter the oxygen-enriched gas collecting cavity more than nitrogen in the air;

the number of the pivoting latches is two, each pivoting latch comprises an abutting part and a clamping part matched with the buckling part, and the rotation axis of the pivoting latch is positioned between the clamping part and the abutting part;

the two buckling parts are opposite in rotation direction when the two pivoting locks are matched with the corresponding buckling parts;

the two pivoting latches are arranged on two sides of the front end of the drawer, and the rotation axis of each pivoting latch extends along the vertical direction;

the locking device includes:

a handle having a handle portion and two abutment portions mounted at both ends of the handle portion, the handle being slidably mounted to the drawer in a direction parallel to a rotation axis of the pivoting latches, so that after each of the pivoting latches is engaged with the corresponding engagement portion, one end of each of the abutment portions is brought into contact with a side of one of the abutment portions facing the other abutment portion to thereby maintain a relative position between each of the pivoting latches and the drawer.

2. The storage container of claim 1, wherein the drawer comprises:

the drawer body is provided with a bottom plate, two side plates, a rear plate and a front mounting plate, wherein the edges of the two sides of the front mounting plate are positioned at the outer sides of the two side plates;

the drawer front cover is provided with an operation port, is arranged on the front side of the front mounting plate and is limited with the front mounting plate to form a containing cavity; the locking device is arranged in the accommodating cavity, and at least part of the handle part is positioned at the operation opening.

3. The storage container of claim 2, wherein the locking device further comprises:

two guide bars, each of which extends in a vertical direction and is fixed to the handle, and each of which is slidably installed to the drawer front; and

and each sliding block is fixed on the handle and is slidably arranged on the front mounting plate along the vertical direction.

4. The storage container of claim 1, wherein the container comprises a lid and a lid

The oxygen-enriched membrane component is in a flat plate shape and is horizontally arranged on the top wall of the cylinder;

and an accommodating cavity communicated with the air-conditioning fresh-keeping space is arranged in the top wall so as to accommodate the oxygen-enriched membrane component.

5. The storage container of claim 4, further comprising:

the fan is arranged on the top wall and is configured to promote the gas in the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping cavity to flow into the accommodating cavity and then return to the modified atmosphere fresh-keeping cavity.

6. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet defining a storage space therein, further comprising:

the storage container of any one of claims 1-5 disposed within the storage space.