EP3903054A1

EP3903054A1 - A drawer of a cooling appliance having tilt prevention structure

Info

Publication number: EP3903054A1
Application number: EP19813821.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Semih Erol; Ercan Akyuz; Resul Yavuz; Ibrahim Yilmaz Evren; Mehmet YASAR
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2018-12-24
Filing date: 2019-12-03
Publication date: 2021-11-03
Also published as: WO2020135976A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to q cooling device (1) comprising: a compartment (2), a door (3) providing access inside the compartment (2), a pair of rails (4) placed on opposite side surfaces of the compartment (2), a drawer (5) placed inside the compartment (2) and onto the pair of rails (4) so as to extend between side surfaces of the compartment (2) and into which the articles to be cooled are placed, a pair of coaxial bearings (6) placed in close vicinity to the front end of each of the pair of rails (4) that facilitates the movement of the drawer (5) placed onto it, a guideway (7) in the form of a recess extending almost the length of the rail (4) into which the drawer (5) is slidably placed via a pair of coaxial primary rollers (8) placed on the sidewalls of the drawer (5) which rotate around a primary axis and moves along the guideway (7) forming a primary plane.

Description

A DRAWER OF A COOLING APPLIANCE HAVING TILT PREVENTION STRUCTURE

The present invention relates to a cooling appliance, in particular to a household appliance having a drawer comprising a structure to prevent tilting of the drawer.
In cooling appliances, the articles to be cooled are placed onto the shelves or inside the drawers provided inside the compartments of the cooling appliances. In such cooling appliances, the drawers are provided to extend in between the side walls and are generally placed in a sliding manner between the respective rails on the side walls of the compartment. The drawers are inserted inside the said rails via the brackets provided along the side walls of the drawers. In such applications, plurality of rollers are provided on the rails or on the drawers or a combination thereof. The drawers, as they are being pulled or pushed slides on the rails via the rollers. Due to manufacturing processes, a length difference occurs between the width the side walls of the cooling appliance and the width of the drawer causing the drawer to tilt sideways. and collides with the side walls of the compartment. This causes the drawer to be damaged and the articles placed inside the drawer to be tipped over which in turn causes the articles having fluid content to spill inside the drawer or the articles to be damaged. But most importantly, the tilting causes the perceived quality of the product to fall. These situations are unfavorable from users’ respective.
A prior art publication in the technical field of the present invention may be referred to as EP0568810 among others, the document disclosing a drawer system for minimizing the tilting of the drawer.
An objective of the present invention is to prevent tilting of the drawer as the user pulls or pushes drawer inside the compartment of the cooling appliance.
The cooling appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises a cooling appliance having at least a compartment and a door providing access inside the compartment. A pair of rails are placed inside and on opposite side surfaces of the compartment onto which a drawer is slidably placed. A pair of bearings are placed towards the front end of the rail wherein the front end means the end of the rail closer to the door. The bearings are used to support the drawer from below by abutting against a bracket provided along the drawer. The bearings rotates as the drawer is being pulled. The bearings are coaxial. A guideway in the form of a recess is provided along the rail into which the drawer is placed via a pair of coaxial primary rollers placed on the sidewalls of the drawer wherein the primary rollers are provided on both sidewalls of the drawer at the end of a lug. The primary rollers rotate around a primary axis and as the drawer moves along the rails, the primary axis forms a primary plane. The drawer further comprises a pair of secondary rollers at the end of a plurality of connection ports wherein the connection ports are connected to the drawer and extends towards the guideway and wherein the pair of secondary rollers contact an inner surface of the guideway. The secondary rollers rotate around a secondary axis and as the drawer moves along the rails, the secondary axis forms a secondary plane. The secondary plane and the primary plane are different and intersect each other forming a line. By use rollers having different rotational axes, the primary rollers and the secondary rollers abut against the guideway from different angles decreasing tilting of the drawer as the drawer is being pulled or pushed.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the primary plane and the secondary plane are almost perpendicular to each other. The drawer upon being pulled or pushed moves in three dimension meaning that it can tilt up, down and sideways, meanwhile moving along the rails. By use of the rollers forming the primary plane and the secondary plane intersecting each other with almost ninety degree tilting of the drawer up and down and sideways is further prevented.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the primary plane is almost perpendicular to the sidewalls of the drawer. Likewise the secondary plane is almost parallel to the sidewalls of the drawer. The primary rollers provide movement of the drawer along the direction of the pull and the push. Therefore, the primary axis is almost parallel to the ground and as a result the primary plane, formed as the drawer is being pulled is perpendicular to the sidewalls of the drawer. Meanwhile, the secondary rollers laterally abuts against and rotates on the inner surface of the guideway. Therefore, the secondary axis is almost perpendicular to the ground and as a result the secondary plane, formed as the drawer is being pulled is parallel to the sidewalls of the drawer. By means of this embodiment the drawer is prevented from tilting.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the connection ports are in the shape of a hollow cylinder wherein a spring is placed. The spring biases the secondary rollers to protrude towards the guideway. Use of the springs and the connection ports help prevent tilting. Another advantageous effect of using the springs and the connection ports is that the error margin of dimensions in production of the drawer can be eliminated.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the rail comprises a damper placed at the rear end of the rail that is utilized to damp the momentum of the drawer as it slides back towards the compartment along the rails which protects the drawer against physical damages.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the guideway comprises at least a concave shaped recess. The concavity radius of the recesses matches with the radius of the primary rollers helping the primary rollers to settle inside the recesses. This helps to unmovable stop the drawer along the guideways providing ease of use for the user as the user loads and unloads the drawer.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the guideway is inclined. The inclination is downward towards the rear of the rail. The inclination biases the drawer back inside the compartment providing ease of use for the user.
By means of the present invention, the drawer having plurality of rollers rotating around different axis that enable the drawer to be slidably placed onto a pair of rails in a non-tilting manner extending along the side surfaces of the compartment wherein the pair of primary rollers and the secondary rollers abut against the guideway from different angles is achieved.
The drawings are not meant to delimit the scope of protection as identified in the claims nor should they be referred to alone in an effort to interpret the scope identified in the claims without recourse to the technical disclosure in the description of the present invention.
Figure 1 – is a side view of the cooling appliance
Figure 2 – is a side view of the cooling appliance
Figure 3 – is a front view of the cooling appliance
Figure 4 – is a cross sectional view along A-A line of Figure 3
Figure 5 – is a cross sectional view along B-B line of Figure 4
Figure 6 – is a cross sectional view along C-C line of Figure 4
Figure 7 – is a enlarged view of D-D area of Figure 2
Figure 8 – is an exploded view of Figure 7
The following numerals are assigned to different parts demonstrated in the drawings and referred to in the present detailed description of the invention:

Cooling appliance
Compartment
Door
Rail
Drawer
Bearing
Guideway
Primary roller
Secondary roller
Connection port
Spring
Damper
Recess

The present invention relates to a cooling device (1) comprising: a compartment (2), a door (3) providing access inside the compartment (2), a pair of rails (4) placed on opposite side surfaces of the compartment (2), a drawer (5) placed inside the compartment (2) and onto the pair of rails (4) so as to extend between side surfaces of the compartment (2) and into which the articles to be cooled are placed, a pair of coaxial bearings (6) placed in close vicinity to the front end of each of the pair of rails (4) that facilitates the movement of the drawer (5) placed onto it, a guideway (7) in the form of a recess extending almost the length of the rail (4) into which the drawer (5) is slidably placed via a pair of coaxial primary rollers (8) placed on the sidewalls of the drawer (5) which rotate around a primary axis and moves along the guideway (7) forming a primary plane.
The present invention relates to a cooling appliance (1) having the drawer (5) further comprising a pair of secondary rollers (9) attached at the end of a plurality of connection ports (10) extending towards the rails (4) via which the secondary rollers (9) rotatable abuts against an inner surface of the guideway (7) around a secondary axis that forms a secondary plane different than the primary plane upon movement of the drawer (5). The drawer (5) is in the shape of a rectangular prism and is used as a container having an inner volume wherein the articles to be cooled are placed. The drawer (5) is placed inside the compartment (2) so as extend between the rails (4) and the side walls of the compartment (2). The rails (4) comprises the pair of bearings (6) placed towards the front end of the rails (4) supporting the drawer (5) as the drawer (5) moves back and forth along the rails (4). The drawer (5) comprises a bracket extending along the sidewalls of the drawer (5) so as to correspond with the pair of bearings (6) as the drawer (5) moves back and forth along the rails (4). The rails (4) comprises the guideways (7) extending almost along the length of the rail (4) wherein the drawer (5) is placed. The drawer (5) slidably moves along the guideways (7) via the pair of primary rollers (8) placed on both sidewalls of the drawer (5) at the end of a lug. The primary rollers (8) rotate around the primary axis. During the movement of the drawer (5), the primary axis moves along a linear line forming the primary plane. Additionally, the drawer (5) further comprises the pair of secondary rollers (9) placed on both sidewalls of the drawer (5) that are attached at the end of the plurality of the connection ports (10) extending towards the rails (5) and abutting against the inner surface of the guideway (7). The secondary rollers (9) rotates around the secondary axis. During the movement of the drawer (5), the secondary axis moves along a linear line forming the secondary plane wherein the secondary plane is different than the primary plane. By this means, the tilting of the drawer (5) is minimized in two axes, the third axis being the direction of the movement of the drawer (5). As a result, tilting of the drawer (5) is minimized increasing quality perception of the cooling appliance (1).
In another embodiment, the primary plane and the secondary plane are almost perpendicular to each other therefore minimizing the tilting movement of the cooling appliance (1).
In another embodiment, the primary plane and the secondary plane are almost perpendicular and parallel to the side walls of the drawer (5) respectively. The primary rollers (8) rotates around an axis that is perpendicular to the sidewalls of the drawer (5). The secondary rollers (9) rotatable moves along the guideway (7) by abutting against the sidewalls of the guideway (7) and are parallel to the ground of the cooling appliance (1). The secondary rollers (9) rotate around an axis that is parallel to the sidewalls of the drawer (5).As a result, the rotational axes of the primary rollers (8), the secondary rollers (9) and the direction of the movement of the drawer (5) forms three axes that are perpendicular to each other therefore minimizing tilting of the drawer (5) which in turn increases quality perception of the cooling appliance (1).
In another embodiment, the connection ports (10) are in the shape of a hollow tube wherein a spring (11) is placed, biasing the secondary rollers (9) to protrude and abut against the guideway (7). By use the spring (11) inside the connection ports (10), the tilting is prevented should the user pull the drawer with an angle forcing the drawer (5) to abut against the sidewall of cooling appliance (1). Another advantageous effect of using the spring (11) inside the connection ports (10) is that the defects caused by the manufacturing processes can be minimized. The horizontal distance between two opposing rails (4) can differentiate slightly due to the manufacturing processes causing the drawers (5) to tilt. The use of the spring (11) eliminates such manufacturing defects.
In another embodiment, the rail (4) comprises a damper (12) having shock absorbing properties placed at the rear end of the guideway (7). A damper (12) is placed at the rear end of the guideway (7) absorbing the shock caused by the impact of the drawer (5) therefore ensuring a convenient and silent operation increasing quality perception and product lifetime of the cooling appliance (1).
In another embodiment, the guideway (7) comprises a concave recess (13) configured to match with the diameter of the primary roller (8) to unmovable retain the drawer (5) along the guideway (7). A concave recess (13) is provided on the guideway (7) into which the primary roller (8) form fittingly places. The total number of concave recesses (13) may be increased. By use the concave recess (13) an intermediary position for the drawer (5) to be unmovable positioned is provided thereby providing ease of use for the user as the user loads and unloads the drawer (5).
In another embodiment, the guideway (7) is inclined upwards towards the front of the cooling device (1). The guideway (7) in the form of an incline biases the drawer (5) to slide inside the compartment providing ease of use for the user. Another advantageous effect is that the drawer (5) due to the articles loaded inside leans downwards as the drawer (5) is partially drawn causing the top rear of the drawer (5) to abut against the compartment (2) or to another drawer (5) on top of the drawer (5) at issue providing ease of use for the user.
In the cooling appliance (1) of the present invention, the tilting of the drawer (5) is eliminated by use of the primary rollers (8) and the secondary rollers (9) rotating around axes which form the primary plane and the secondary plane upon movement of the drawer (5) respectively wherein the said planes are different but more preferably perpendicular to each other. Furthermore, by means of the spring (11) placed inside the connection port (10) biasing the secondary rollers (9) to abut against the guideway (7) overcomes minor defects occurred by the manufacturing processes such as the error in production dimensions of the drawer (5)

Claims

A cooling device (1) comprising:

a compartment (2),

a door (3) providing access inside the compartment (2),

a pair of rails (4) placed on opposite side surfaces of the compartment (2),

a drawer (5) placed inside the compartment (2) and onto the pair of rails (4) so as to extend between side surfaces of the compartment (2) and into which the articles to be cooled are placed,

a pair of coaxial bearings (6) placed in close vicinity to the front end of each of the pair of rails (4) that facilitates the movement of the drawer (5) placed onto it,

a guideway (7) in the form of a recess extending almost the length of the rail (4) into which the drawer (5) is slidably placed via a pair of coaxial primary rollers (8) placed on the sidewalls of the drawer (5) which rotate around a primary axis and moves along the guideway (7) forming a primary plane,

characterized in that

the drawer (5) further comprises a pair of secondary rollers (9) attached at the end of a plurality of connection ports (10) extending towards the rails (4) via which the secondary rollers (9) rotatable abuts against an inner surface of the guideway (7) around a secondary axis that forms a secondary plane different than the primary plane upon movement of the drawer (5).
A cooling device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the primary plane and the secondary plane are almost perpendicular to each other.
A cooling device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the primary plane and the secondary plane are almost perpendicular and parallel to the side walls of the drawer (5) respectively.
A cooling device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connection ports (10) are in the shape of a hollow tube wherein a spring (11) is placed, biasing the secondary rollers (9) to protrude and abut against the guideway (7).
A cooling device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rail (4) comprises a damper (12) having shock absorbing properties placed at the rear end of the guideway (7).
A cooling device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guideway (7) comprises a concave recess (13) configured to match with the diameter of the primary roller (8) to unmovable retain the drawer (5) along the guideway (7).
A cooling device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guideway (7) is inclined upwards towards the front of the cooling device (1).