The present invention relates to a cooling device comprising a drawer.
Generally, refrigerators comprise a fresh food compartment and a freezing compartment kept at different temperatures. In recent years, in accordance with customer demands, embodiments wherein the freezing compartment is situated below and the fresh food compartment is situated above have become widespread. In refrigerators wherein the freezing compartment is situated below, the freezing compartment is designed in the form of a drawer so as to be easily accessed from above. In order to close and open the drawers, various mechanisms consisting of rails and wheels are used. In these mechanisms, in cases wherein the rails do not move together, structural problems such as distortion, breaking and axial escape occur in the drawer and/or movement mechanism in course of time. Various methods are developed for the solution of the said problems, however in these methods either an additional element is required to be used or the volume of the compartment cannot be efficiently used. This causes the usable volume of the compartment wherein the drawer is situated to decrease and the deterioration in aesthetic appearance due to the complex mechanisms. The same problem is also observed in other cooling devices wherein a drawer is used.
In the state of the art International Patent Application No.
In the state of the art Japanese Patent Application No.
The aim of the present invention is the realization of a cooling device wherein the compartment interior volume is used effectively.
The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises at least two opposite pinions fixed on the side wall and at least two toothed racks that provide the drawer to which they are connected to move by moving on the pinions.
In the cooling device of the present invention, the pinions and the shaft are placed at the rear side of the mullion. Thus the usable volume of the drawer is increased. Since the pinions and the shaft, which are placed behind the mullion, cannot be seen by the user, an aesthetic external appearance is obtained.
In an embodiment of the present invention, gaps, wherein the pinions can be placed, are left at the corners of the mullion that face the inside of the compartment and a large portion of the shaft that connects the pinions to each other is passed through the mullion. Thus the pinion and the shaft do not occupy any space in the usable volume of the compartment.
In another embodiment of the present invention, oppositely placed channel shaped carriers are disposed on the side walls of the cooling device. The carriers are connected to the lid by means of the movement mechanism. The movement mechanism consists of arms that form a telescopic structure by sliding on each other.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the movement mechanism consists of three arms. The first arm is fixed into the carrier and the second arm to the lid. The third arm is connected to the first arm from one end and to the second arm from the other end. When the lid is pulled outwards, firstly the second arm moves inside the third arm and provides the drawer to extend outside slightly, and upon reaching the end of the third arm, the second arm moves the third arm and provides the third arm to move on the first arm and the drawer to be brought to the entirely open position.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a housing, whereinto the second arm is fixed, is disposed just above the toothed rack. After being placed into the housing, the second arm is fixed to the housing by means of the connection elements.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device comprises at least two support elements that provide the housing and the toothed rack to be mounted on the rear surface of the lid by being produced together as a single-piece. The support elements are oppositely mounted to the lower portion of the side edges of the lid.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the upper surfaces of the support elements are shaped such that the drawer can be seated thereon. The drawer is seated on the support elements without a connection element and can be easily mounted/dismounted when desired.
By means of the present invention, the toothed rack and the pinion pair, which is one of the biggest factors that adversely affect the drawer volume, is placed in the dead volume of the cooling device and the usable volume is provided to be increased. Moreover, the aesthetic appearance of the cooling device is improved.
The cooling device realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:
The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:
The cooling device (1) comprises a body (2) having two opposite side walls (3), at least two compartments (4) disposed in the body (2) and wherein the items to be cooled are placed, at least one mullion (5) that extends between the two side walls (3) and divides the compartments (4) from each other, at least one drawer (6) placed into the compartment (4) that remains above the mullion (5), at least one lid (7) that provides the drawer (6) to be pulled outside the body (2) and provides access therein, at least two concentric pinions (8) oppositely fixed to the front side of the side walls (3) rotatably, at least one shaft (9) that provides the pinions (8) to rotate around themselves simultaneously by connecting pinions (8) to each other, and at least two toothed racks (10) disposed on the two opposite sides of the base of the drawer (6) and provide the drawer (6) to move on the pinions (8).
When the drawer (6) is in the closed position, the teeth of the toothed rack (10) and the teeth of the pinion (8) are locked with each other. When the drawer (6) is desired to be reached, the lid (7) is moved and while the teeth on the toothed rack (10) connected to the lid (7) provide the pinion (8) to make circular motion by pushing the teeth of the pinion (8), the toothed rack (10) makes linear motion and provides the lid (7) to move backward and forward. The shaft (9) provides the pinions (8) to rotate at the same time and amount, and thus provides the side edges of the drawer (6) to move together.
In the cooling device (1) of the present invention, the pinions (8) and the shaft (9) are positioned at the rear side of the mullion (5) so as not to be seen by the user from across. By means of the pinions (8) being under the level of the drawer (6), the shaft (9) is placed between the pinions (8) so as not to prevent the movement of the drawer (6). During the movement of the drawer (6), the pinions (8) and the shaft (9) rotate only around themselves. By means of the placement of the pinion (8) - shaft (9) group behind the mullion (5) which is considered dead volume, the volume of the compartment (4) is effectively used. Moreover, since the rotating components are not seen from outside, the cooling device (1) has a more aesthetic external appearance.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the pinions (8) are oppositely placed into the gaps formed at the rear corners of the mullion (5) and the shaft (9) connects the pinions (8) to each other such that almost the entire shaft (9) passes through the mullion (5). Thus, the volume occupied by the pinions (8) and the shaft (9) does not extend out of the volume occupied by the mullion (5) and the inner volume of the compartment (4) is used in the most effective way.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises at least two channel shaped carriers (11) fastened oppositely to the side walls (3) so as to face each other and at least two movement mechanisms (12) having a first arm (13) disposed into the carrier (11), a second arm (14) fixed to the drawer (6) and a third arm (15) which provides the drawer (6) to be taken outside in steps by sliding on the first arm (13) and the second arm (14). The carrier (11) provides the drawer (6) to move in a single direction by preventing the movement of the arm (15) in the horizontal direction. In this embodiment, the first arm (13) is fixed into the carrier (11) on the side wall (3) and the second arm (14) is fixed on the drawer (6). The third arm (15) is connected to the first arm (13) from one end and to the second arm (14) from the other end. Thus the door is opened in steps and ease of use is provided. Moreover, the sliding movement during the opening of the drawer (6) is provided to be performed in a more controlled manner.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises at least two housings (16) disposed on the toothed rack (10) and whereinto the second arm (14) is placed. The second arm (14) is placed into the housing (16) which has an opening with the same size as the cross-sectional area of the second arm (14) and fixed into the housing (16) from the open surface of the housing (16) by means of the connection elements.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the cooling device (1) comprises at least two support elements (17) which group the housing (16) and the toothed rack (10) and provide them to be mounted to the rear surface of the lid (7). The support elements (17) are oppositely mounted to the sides of the lower edge of the lid (7), one on each side. When the support element (17) is mounted to the lid (7), the toothed rack (10) and the housing (16) extend backwards from the lid (7) vertically to the lid (7). In this embodiment, since the toothed rack (10) and the housing (16) are connected to the lid (7) with a single connection, the total number of the connections in the drawer (6) is decreased and the drawer (6) is provided to be strengthened.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the drawer (6) is detachably seated on the support elements (17). When seated on the support elements (17), the drawer (6) can be taken outside the body (2) together with the lid (7) and the items to be stored can be placed therein. Since the drawer (6) being placed on the support elements (17) without any connection element, the drawer (6) can be easily mounted/dismounted. In a variation of this embodiment, the drawers (6) are taken outside the body (2) and thus allow the compartment (4) wherein they are disposed to be used as a larger, single compartment (4).
By means of the present invention, the compartments (4) of the cooling device (1) can be used in a more effective and flexible manner, and the aesthetic appearance of the cooling device (1) is improved.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited by the embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.
This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader's convenience only. It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.