Refrigerator

Abstract

A refrigerator equipped with a storage container, wherein the storage container includes a container body, a cover slidably laid on the container body to partially cover the top of the container body, rack gears respectively provided at the cover and the container body, and a pinion engaged between the rack gears, to rotate in accordance with a movement of the rack gear provided at the container body to move the rack gear provided at the cover in a direction opposite to that of the rack gear provided at the container body, such that the cover is rearwardly moved when the container body is forwardly moved to be opened, thereby increasing an opened degree of the container body.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-684, filed on Jan. 6, 2004 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and, more particularly, to a structure of a storage container equipped in a refrigerator which is capable of increasing an opened degree of the storage container obtained in accordance with an opening operation of the storage container. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Generally, refrigerators store various foods at a low temperature in a fresh state in freezing and refrigerating compartments defined in a refrigerator body by circulating cold air in the freezing and refrigerating compartments. In the freezing compartment, food (such as meat or ice cream), to be maintained at a temperature not higher than a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] Therefore, an aspect of the invention provides a refrigerator including a storage container in which a cover to cover a container body is moved when the container body is moved to be opened, so that the opened degree of the storage container is increased.

[0010] According to an aspect of the invention, the storage container of the refrigerator comprises a container body, and a cover slidably laid on the container body to partially cover the top of the container body. The storage container further comprises rack gears respectively provided at the cover and the container body, and a pinion, engaged between the rack gears, to be rotated in accordance with a movement of the rack gear provided at the container body, thereby moving the rack gear provided at the cover in a direction opposite to that of the rack gear provided at the container body, whereby the cover is rearwardly moved when the container body is forwardly moved to be opened, to increase an opened degree of the container body.

Problems solved by technology

Also, the recent tendency of storage containers to be equipped in refrigerators has led to an increase in size of refrigerators.

Where a storage container, equipped in a large-size refrigerator, has a large size in accordance with the large size of the refrigerator, there is a problem in that the storage container may be incompletely opened even in a completely opened state of a door of the refrigerator because the door of the refrigerator interferes with the opening operation thereof.

For this reason, although the storage container has a large size, there is a problem in that placing food, having a large size, into the storage container through an access opening provided at the storage container is difficult because the access opening of the storage container is narrow.

Furthermore, removing food stored in a rear inner portion of the storage container is difficult.

Also, even where food is small, placing the small food into the storage container and taking the food out of the storage container may be difficult, even though the food has a small size.

Images