WO2005001353A1

WO2005001353A1 - Fruit compartment for refrigerators

Info

Publication number: WO2005001353A1
Application number: PCT/BR2004/000093
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ricardo Kolb Filho; Claiton Emílio do AMARAL; Rodolfo FLOETER JÚNIOR
Original assignee: Multibrás S.A. Eletrodomésticos
Priority date: 2003-06-27
Filing date: 2004-06-16
Publication date: 2005-01-06
Also published as: BR8300964U

Abstract

A fruit compartment for refrigerators, comprising a substantially parallelepipedic tray (10) provided with opposite lateral walls (12), a rear wall (13), and a front wall (14), said front wall (14) being formed in a separate piece, which is horizontally and inferiorly articulated to the front region of the tray (10), in order to be manually and selectively displaced between a closed position, substantially vertically projecting over a front edge of the bottom wall (11), and an open position, in which it is angularly forwardly displaced around its hinge point to the tray (10).

Description

FRUIT COMPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATORS Field of the Invention

The present invention refers to a compartment for storing fruits, vegetables, or other products in refrigerators, which is usually mounted in the lower region of the refrigerating compartment of the refrigeration appliance, in order to be displaced by the user between a retracted position, in which it is covered by a lid mounted in the form of a shelf inside the refrigerating compartment, and an advanced position, in which it is forwardly displaced in relation to the lid by a distance sufficient to allow the user to manually access the stored products. Prior Art There are well known from the art the fruit compartments of the sliding type and presenting a height usually inferior to that of the vegetable compartments, which are generally positioned close to the bottom of the refrigerating compartments. The fruit compartments with a low height have their interior accessed by displacing said compartment forwardly, so that its respective tray can project outwardly from the upper lid which usually defines one of the shelves of said refrigerating compartment. As a function of the reduced height of these compartments in relation to the width, and mainly to the depth, the access to its rear regions requires the compartment to be forwardly displaced more prominently, forcing the user to make rather uncomfortable manual maneuvers to reach the products stored in the rear region of the tray. On the other hand, the prominent forward displacement of the tray, mainly when it is loaded with products, tends to unbalance the assembly, limiting its displacement to only a portion of the compartment extension. Anyway, the known constructions offer a relatively small access opening to the user, making uncomfortable the manual access to the points located close to the rear wall of said compartment. Objects of the Invention

By reason of the disadvantages mentioned above, it is a generic object of the present invention to provide a fruit compartment of the type considered herein, which allows its interior, particularly the region adjacent the rear wall, to be easily accessed by the user even when said compartment presents a reduced forward displacement . Summary of the Invention Aiming at complying with the generic object mentioned above, the present invention provides a fruit compartment of the type which comprises a substantially parallelepipedic tray provided with a bottom wall, a pair of opposite lateral walls, a rear wall, and a front wall. According to the invention, the front wall is formed in a separate piece, which is horizontally and inferiorly articulated to the front region of the tray, in order to be manually and selectively displaced from a closed position, in which it is substantially vertically projected over a front edge of the bottom wall, and an open position, in which it is angularly forwardly displaced around its hinge point to the tray. With the above-defined construction, it is possible for the user to angularly displace the front wall of the fruit compartment to the open position, giving access to the products exposed in the front region of said compartment, with no need of moving the latter forwardly. Furthermore, in case the user wants to access the products placed further back within the fruit compartment, he/she only needs to displace the latter more or less forwardly, maintaining the front wall in the open position, whereby the access to all points of the fruit compartment is greatly facilitated, without requiring the user to make uncomfortable operations for positioning his/her arms and hands .

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described below, with reference to the enclosed drawings, given by way of example of a preferred embodiment and in which:

Figure 1 is a front upper perspective view of the present fruit compartment, showing the front wall in the closed position; Figure 2 is a view similar to that of figure 1, but illustrating the front wall in the open position;

Figure 3 is a lateral view of the present fruit compartment, with the front wall in the closed position; and Figures 4 and 5 are longitudinal vertical sectional views of the fruit compartment, with the front wall in the closed position and in the open position, respectively.

Detailed Description of the Invention As illustrated in the drawings, the present fruit compartment comprises a substantially parallelepipedic tray 10, generally formed of an injected plastic material and which comprises a bottom wall 11, a pair of opposite lateral walls 12, a rear wall 13, and a front wall 14.

The lateral walls 12 and the rear wall 13 present a height which is substantially inferior to the width and length of the tray 10, so that the latter presents a shallow configuration which is adequate to contain fruits in a refrigerating compartment. The lateral walls 12 are generally provided, on the external face thereof, with rails 12a of any adequate construction, which are slidingly seated on rails or other receiving means carried by the internal lateral walls of the refrigerating compartment (not illustrated herein) .

According to the invention, the front wall 14 is formed in a separate piece, which is horizontally and inferiorly articulated to the front region of the tray 10, in order to be manually displaced by the user between a closed position, in which it is substantially vertically projected over a front edge of the bottom wall 11, and an open position, in which it is angularly forwardly displaced around its hinge point to the tray 10. In the illustrated construction, the front wall 14 incorporates two opposite lateral flaps 15, each positioned externally to an adjacent lateral wall 12 and inferiorly articulated to the tray 10. The front wall 14 is preferably constructed to present an externally convex curved profile, and each lateral flap 15 presents a front edge coinciding with the front wall 14, or more precisely with the profile of the latter, and rear and lower edges which form a substantially right dihedral angle. The articulation between the front wall 14 and the tray 10 is obtained by means of a hinge pin 16 which is fitted and rotatively supported through a respective hole 15a defined in each lateral flap 15, the respective hinge pin 16 being affixed into a corresponding hole (not illustrated) provided in the tray 10. It should be noted that the hinge pins 16 on the opposite sides of the tray 10 are disposed on the same hinge axis.

According to the proposed construction, the rear edge of each lateral flap 15 is seated against a course end stop means 17, which is externally incorporated to the adjacent lateral wall 12 of the tray 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the course end stop means 17 is defined by a front end of the respective lateral rail 12a of the tray 10.

Each lateral flap 15 incorporates, on its internal face, a small salience 18, which is seated against an external projection 19 of the adjacent lateral wall 12 of the tray 10, interrupting the angular displacement of the front wall 14 when the latter reaches the open position.

The front wall 14 can be further provided with a lower handle 14a, in the form of a setback provided on the level of its hinge axis to the tray 10 and which allows the latter to be forwardly displaced, without causing the angular displacement of the front wall 14 to the open position, which is attained when the user exerts a certain force forwardly against the upper region of the front wall 14. While only one constructive form of the present invention has been illustrated, it should be understood that changes in the form and relative positioning of the elements could be made, without departing from the constructive arrangement defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A fruit compartment for refrigerators, comprising a substantially parallelepipedic tray (10) provided with opposite lateral walls (12) , a rear wall (13) , and a front wall (14) , characterized in that the front wall (14) is formed in a separate piece, which is horizontally and inferiorly articulated to the front region of the tray (10) , in order to be manually and selectively displaced between a closed position, in which it is substantially vertically projected over a front edge of the bottom wall (11) , and an open position, in which it is angularly forwardly displaced around its hinge point to the tray (10) .

2. The compartment as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the front wall (14) incorporates two opposite lateral flaps (15) , each positioned externally to an adjacent lateral wall (12) and inferiorly articulated to the tray (10) .

3. The compartment as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that the front wall (14) presents an externally convex curved profile and that each lateral flap (15) presents a front edge coinciding with the front wall (14) , and rear and lower edges forming a substantially right dihedral angle.

4. The compartment as set forth in claim 3, characterized in that the rear edge of each lateral flap (15) seats against a course end stop means (17) which is externally incorporated to the adjacent lateral wall (12) of the tray (10) when the front wall (14) reaches the closed position.

5. The compartment as set forth in claim 3, characterized in that each lateral flap (15) incorporates, on an internal face, a salience (18) to be seated against an external projection (19) of the adjacent lateral wall (12) when the front wall (14) reaches the open position.

6. The compartment as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that each lateral flap (15) presents a hole (15a) , inside which is fitted and rotatively supported a hinge pin (16) secured to the tray (10) .