refrigerator

Abstract

The present invention provides a refrigerator equipped with internal and external mounting members for attaching a support member for a plate to the inner box, and which allows for the thinning of these mounting members, thereby enabling a space-saving engagement structure. [Solution] The shelf support means in a refrigerator comprises a support member having a mounting portion on which the shelf is placed, and an inner mounting member and an outer mounting member for attaching the inner mounting member to the inner box. At least one of the inner mounting member and the outer mounting member is provided with an engaging projection, and the other is provided with an engaging recess that can engage with the engaging projection. The inner mounting member and the outer mounting member are combined by the engagement of the engaging projection and the engaging recess. The engaging projection is formed to extend in the engagement direction along the wall surface of the inner box, and the engaging recess is formed so that the engaging projection can be inserted along the engagement direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a refrigerator.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in a refrigerator, a shelf on which storage items are placed is supported by a so-called bead protruding from the inner wall surface of the storage compartment. Regarding such a support structure for the shelf, there are some that can adjust the height or support position of such a support member according to the user's preference, or can easily attach and remove the support member. For example, in Patent Document 1, an inner-side member inside the refrigerator to which the support member is attached and an outer-side member outside the refrigerator for fixing this to the inner wall surface of the storage compartment are provided so as to sandwich the inner wall surface, and the support member is detachably arranged with respect to the inner-side member inside the refrigerator.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, since the inner-side member and the outer-side member of the above configuration overlap with each other sandwiching the inner wall surface in the storage compartment, they will be bulky in the plate thickness direction, and also, how to engage and combine these members with each other becomes a problem in terms of space saving of these members.

[0005] Therefore, there is provided a refrigerator having an inner-side attachment member and an outer-side attachment member for attaching a support member of a shelf to an inner box, capable of making these attachment members thinner and having a space-saving engagement structure.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The refrigerator of this embodiment comprises a refrigerator body in which an insulating material is used in the insulating space between the inner box and the outer box, the inside of the inner box forming the internal space, a shelf board arranged in the internal space, and a support means for supporting the shelf board in the internal space. The support means comprises a support member having a mounting portion on which the shelf board is placed, and a pair of mounting members for attaching the support member to the inner box, the pair comprising an inner mounting member disposed on the inner space side and capable of holding the support member, and an outer mounting member disposed on the heat insulating space side so as to face the inner mounting member and the inner box in between, wherein at least one of the inner mounting member and the outer mounting member is provided with an engaging projection, and the other is provided with an engaging recess that can engage with the engaging projection, and the inner mounting member and the outer mounting member are combined by the engagement of the engaging projection and the engaging recess, the engaging projection is formed to extend in the engagement direction along the wall surface of the inner box, and the engaging recess is formed so that the engaging projection can be inserted in the engagement direction. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Front view showing an example of a refrigerator in the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Perspective view of the shelves, support members, and interior mounting members as seen from below inside the storage compartment. [Figure 3] Side view of multiple shelves and their support members as seen from inside the storage unit. [Figure 4] Perspective view of the support member as seen from above. [Figure 5] Perspective view showing the internal and external mounting components of the storage unit disassembled. [Figure 6] Side view of the opening of the inner box (mounted portion) and the assembled mounting members as seen from the outside of the box. [Figure 7] (a) and (b) are longitudinal front views showing the vicinity of the claw portion and recess portion of the support member (cross-sections along lines VIIa-VIIa and VIIb-VIIb in Figure 3). [Figure 8](a) and (b) are enlarged perspective views of the upper portions of both mounting members as seen from the opposing sides. [Figure 9] (a) and (b) are perspective views and explanatory diagrams from the outside of the storage unit showing one communication hole and a damming section in the mounting member, and (c) and (d) are perspective views and explanatory diagrams from the outside of the storage unit showing the vicinity of the other communication hole and damming section with a portion broken off. [Figure 10] (a) to (d) are enlarged cross-sectional views showing the cross-section along the Xa-Xa to Xd-Xd lines in Figure 6. [Figure 11] An enlarged cross-sectional view showing the interior mounting member in the second embodiment and the opening of the portion to which it is mounted, wherein (a) and (b) are diagrams corresponding to cross-sections along the lines XI-XI and Xc-Xc in Figure 6. [Figure 12] This is an enlarged cross-sectional view corresponding to Figure 10(a), where (a) and (b) show the state of both mounting members before and after fitting. [Figure 13] Figure 10(a) equivalent in the third embodiment [Figure 14] (a) and (b) are perspective views showing enlarged views of the engaging protrusion of the mounting member on the inside of the storage compartment and the engaging recess of the mounting member on the outside of the storage compartment. [Figure 15] Side view of both mounting members in the fourth embodiment as seen from the outside of the storage compartment. [Figure 16] Perspective view showing both mounting members and insertion members in their pre-combination state. [Figure 17] (a) and (b) are enlarged cross-sectional views showing a cross-section along the line XVII-XVII in Figure 15. [Figure 18] Enlarged perspective view showing the lower portion when both mounting members are combined in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 19] (a) and (b) are enlarged perspective views showing the upper and lower portions of the combined mounting members, cut away from each other. [Figure 20] Enlarged perspective view showing the central portion when both mounting members are combined. [Figure 21] Enlarged perspective view showing a portion of the interior mounting components. [Figure 22] Enlarged cross-sectional view showing a cross-section along line XVII-XVII in Figure 20. [Figure 23] Cross-sectional view of the attachment portion of the inner box in the sixth embodiment, corresponding to the cross-section taken along line XXIII-XXIII of FIG. 2

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, refrigerators according to a plurality of embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, substantially the same constituent parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0009] <First Embodiment> The refrigerator 1 shown in FIG. 1 is mainly composed of a heat-insulating box body 2 having a vertically long rectangular box shape with an open front surface. The heat-insulating box body 2 is a refrigerator body having a plurality of storage chambers inside, and will hereinafter also be referred to as the "refrigerator body 2". In the following description, the opening side of the refrigerator body 2 is taken as the front side or the near side, and the left-right direction in the front view from the front side of the refrigerator body 2 is taken as the left-right direction of the refrigerator 1 (see the "left-right" arrow direction in FIG. 1). Further, in the refrigerator body 2, the direction toward the inner side of the center of the storage chamber is referred to as the inside of the chamber, and the direction toward the outside of the storage chamber is referred to as the outside of the chamber.

[0010] In the refrigerator body 2 shown in FIG. 1, a foamed heat-insulating material 3a such as foamed urethane is arranged in the heat-insulating space between the outer box 2b made of a steel plate and the inner box 2a made of a synthetic resin. For the sake of convenience of explanation, the foamed heat-insulating material 3a will be illustrated only in FIG. 22 described later. Further, as the heat-insulating material, in addition to the foamed heat-insulating material 3a, a vacuum heat-insulating panel 3b (see FIG. 22) is included, and these may be used in combination, but details will be described later.

[0011] As the plurality of storage chambers in the refrigerator body 2, that is, the inner space of the inner box 2a, for example, a refrigerating chamber 11 and a vegetable chamber 12 are provided in order from the upper stage of the refrigerator body 2, and an ice-making chamber 13 and a small freezing chamber 14 are provided side by side on the left and right below them, and a freezing chamber 15 is provided below these. The refrigerating chamber 11 and the vegetable chamber 12 are storage chambers in the refrigerating temperature range, and the ice-making chamber 13, the small freezing chamber 14, and the freezing chamber 15 are storage chambers in the freezing temperature range. Furthermore, the front opening of the refrigerator compartment 11 is provided with hinged, double-hinged insulated doors 11a and 11b, while the front openings of the other storage compartments 12 to 15 are provided with pull-out insulated doors 12a to 15a.

[0012] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the refrigerator 1 includes, for example, shelves 20 and 23 placed in the refrigerator compartment 11, and support means 10 for supporting these shelves 20 and 23 in the refrigerator compartment 11. Shelves 20 and 23 are shelves for placing stored items, and are formed in the shape of rectangular plates, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

[0013] The support means 10 comprises a support member 30 having a mounting portion 31 on which shelves 20 and 23 are placed, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, and a pair of mounting members 40 and 50, which consist of an inner mounting member 40 and an outer mounting member 50 for attaching the support member 30 to the inner box 2a. Of these, the support member 30 and the inner mounting member 40 are arranged on the inner space side as shown in Figures 1 to 3, while the outer mounting member 50 is arranged on the heat insulating space side outside the inner box 2a (see Figures 5 and 6 described later).

[0014] In this case, the mounting members 40 and 50 are attached and fixed to the left and right walls of the refrigerator compartment 11 as shown in Figure 1, and each of the mounting locations on the inner box 2a is referred to as the "mounted portion 5" (see Figures 2 and 6). Furthermore, the support member 30 is configured to be detachable from the mounting member 40, so that the height position of the support member 30 and, consequently, the shelves 20 and 23 relative to the mounting member 40 can be changed. The configuration of the shelves 20 and 23 and their support means 10 will be described in detail below. In this embodiment, the shelves 20 and 23 include a non-divisible first shelf 20 and a two-part second shelf 23, and the second shelf 23 is composed of a front member 21 and a rear member 22.

[0015] Specifically, of the shelves 20 and 23, the first shelf 20 shown in the upper section of Figures 2 and 3 has a main plate member 20a and a frame member 20b surrounding it. The plate member 20a is made of, for example, a glass plate, and the frame member 20b is made of, for example, resin and is formed in a frame shape to protect the plate member 20a. The frame member 20b is the part that comes into contact with the support member 30 when the first shelf 20 is placed on the mounting portion 31 of the support member 30. The plate member 20a and the frame member 20b may be made of, for example, a single molded product made of resin.

[0016] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the first shelf board 20 is provided with a clamping portion 20d and a first projection 20c located on both the left and right sides of its frame member 20b. Here, Figures 7(a) and (b) show a longitudinal cross-section of the left side of the first shelf board 20 near the clamping portion 20d and the first projection 20c. As shown in Figures 7(a) and (b), both the clamping portion 20d and the first projection portion 20c are shaped to protrude downward from the lower surface of the first shelf board 20. Of these, the clamping portion 20d has a U-shaped cross-section formed by the lower surface of the first shelf board 20 and an L-shaped or V-shaped projection from this lower surface, and clamps the mounting portion 31 side of the support member 30. The first projection portion 20c is shaped to fit into the recessed portion 32a on the mounting portion 31 side, which will be described later.

[0017] As a result, when the first shelf board 20 is positioned appropriately on the support member 30 (see upper part of Figure 3), its vertical movement relative to the support member 30 is restricted by the clamping portion 20d, and its depth movement relative to the support member 30 is restricted by the first projection 20c. The clamping portion 20d and the first projection 20c are integrally formed with the frame member 20b of the first shelf board 20. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the clamping portion 20d is formed at a rearward position on the frame member 20b, and the first projection 20c is formed at a frontward position on the frame member 20b. As a result, on the first shelf board 20, the clamping portion 20d is located at the rearward side, behind the first projection 20c.

[0018] In contrast, the second shelf board 23 shown in the lower part of Figures 1 and 3 is a two-part type consisting of a shelf board 21 (also referred to as the front member 21) positioned on the longitudinal front side of the support member 30, and a shelf board 22 (also referred to as the rear member 22) positioned further back than the front member 21, with its left-right width dimension being the same as the width dimension of the first shelf board 20. In other words, the front member 21 and the rear member 22 are each rectangular plate-shaped, and the depth dimension of each in the front-to-back direction is set to approximately half or less of the depth dimension of the first shelf board 20, for example. Therefore, when the front member 21 and the rear member 22 are arranged front-to-back on the mounting portion 31 of the support member 30 as shown in the lower part of Figure 3, the front-to-back dimension of the entire members 21 and 22 is equal to or less than the front-to-back dimension of the first shelf board 20.

[0019] Although detailed illustrations are omitted, the front member 21 has, for example, a glass plate member and a resin frame member 21b, and the rear member 22 also has, for example, a glass plate member and a resin frame member 22b. As shown in the lower part of Figure 3, the front member 21 has a clamping portion 21d at a position closer to the front of the frame member 21b, and a projection 21c (also referred to as the second projection 21c) is provided at a position further back than the clamping portion 21d. Similarly, in the rear member 22, a clamping portion 22d is provided at a position closer to the front of the frame member 22b, and a projection 22c (also referred to as the third projection 22c) is provided at a position further back than this.

[0020] Thus, the second shelf board 23, consisting of a front member 21 and a rear member 22, and the first shelf board 20, which is not a two-part type, are arranged so that the relative positional relationship (front-to-back positional relationship) between the clamping portions 21d, 22d, 20d and the protrusions 21c, 22c, 20c is reversed. However, the shapes of the individual clamping portions 21d, 22d, 20d are the same, and the shapes of the protrusions 21c, 22c, 20c are also the same. Thus, the shapes of the clamping portions 21d, 22d and projections 21c, 22c on the front member 21 and the rear member 22 are the same as the shapes of the clamping portion 20d and the first projection 20c on the first shelf board 20 shown in Figures 7(a) and 7(b), so a detailed explanation of them is omitted.

[0021] The support member 30 is detachably attached to the left and right inner wall surfaces of the refrigerator compartment 11 via the mounting member 40. Here, for the sake of explanation, Figure 3 shows three support members 30, and the number of support members 30 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is also different, but all of the support members 30 are the same as the support members 30 in Figure 4.

[0022] In other words, the support member 30 is made of a resin material and is formed as a long rectangular prism shape that is long in the depth direction of the refrigerator compartment 11. In this case, in the support member 30 shown in Figure 4, the mounting portion 31 has a mounting surface 31a on which the shelves 20 and 23 are placed, and a vertical wall surface 31b that rises to the side of the shelves 20 and 23, forming a stepped columnar shape (see Figure 7(a)). In addition, in the support member 30, the two claw portions 33, 33 and the three recessed portions 32a, 32b, 32c shown in Figure 4 are each formed symmetrically with respect to a center line that equally divides the support member 30 in the longitudinal direction. As a result, the multiple support members 30 installed on the left and right sides within the refrigerator compartment 11 in Figure 1, or the multiple support members 30 installed in a vertical arrangement as shown in Figure 3, are standardized.

[0023] More specifically, as shown in Figures 3, 4, and 7(a), in the mounting portion 31 of the support member 30, the mounting surface 31a is formed as a flat surface extending in the horizontal direction, and the vertical wall surface 31b is erected to follow the frame members 20b to 22b of the shelf boards 20 and 23. As a result, even if the shelf boards 20 and 23 come into contact with the vertical wall surface 31b when placed on the mounting surface 31a, the vertical wall surface 31b can be positioned so that it does not come into contact with the inner box 2a, which is the inner wall surface. As shown in Figure 4, the mounting portion 31 has inclined portions 34a and 34b symmetrically provided on both ends in the longitudinal direction of the support member 30, such that the mounting surface 31a becomes narrower towards the longitudinal ends.

[0024] As shown in Figure 7(a), the lower surface of the support member 30 is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the inner wall. In this case, the mounting surface 31a of the support member 30 and the inclined surface are sandwiched between the clamping portions 20d to 22d of the shelves 20 and 23. Therefore, in the vertical cross-section of the figure, the U-shape of the clamping portion 20d is slightly widened toward the inner wall to match the inclined surface.

[0025] As shown in Figure 4, the support member 30 is provided with three recesses 32a, 32b, and 32c that recess the mounting surface 31a downwards. The recesses 32a, 32b, and 32c are formed at positions corresponding to the protrusions 20c, 21c, and 22c of each shelf board 20, 23.

[0026] In other words, the recessed portion 32a is located immediately behind the inclined portion 34a shown on the front side in Figure 4, that is, at the front end in the longitudinal direction of the support member 30 (also referred to as the end-side recessed portion 32a). As shown in the upper part of Figure 3, the first projection 20c of the first shelf board 20 fits into the end-side recessed portion 32a, thereby restricting the movement of the shelf board 20 in the depth direction. The recessed portion 32b is a recessed portion (also referred to as the central recessed portion 32b) provided at the longitudinal center of the support member 30. As shown in the lower part of Figure 3, the second projection 21c of the front member 21 fits into the central recessed portion 32b, thereby restricting the movement of the front member 21 in the depth direction. The recessed portion 32c is located immediately in front of the inclined portion 34b shown on the rear side in Figure 4, that is, at the rear end in the longitudinal direction of the support member 30 (also referred to as the end-side recessed portion 32c). As shown in the lower part of Figure 3, the third projection 22c of the rear-side member 22 fits into the end-side recessed portion 32c, thereby restricting the movement of the rear-side member 22 in the depth direction.

[0027] The central recess 32b of the support member 30 is formed to be wider in the longitudinal direction than the other recesses 32a and 32c, but it is sufficient that it is formed in a position corresponding to the second projection 21c. That is, the second projection 21c is provided on either the front member 21 or the rear member 22, and the third projection 22c is provided on the other, and the second projection 21c fits into the central recess 32b, and the third projection 22c fits into the end recess 32a or 32c, so that both the front member 21 and the rear member 22 can be supported by the same support member 30. Furthermore, each recessed portion 32a to 32c is designed to be open towards the top and the inside of the storage compartment, as shown in Figures 4 and 7(b). In addition, with the shelves 20 and 23 placed on the mounting surface 31a, the bottom surface of the recessed portions 32a to 32c is set to a depth such that the lower ends of the corresponding protrusions 20c to 22c do not come into contact with it (see Figure 7(b)). Thus, the support member 30 is configured to have recesses 32a to 32c that can be used not only for the first shelf board 20, which is not a two-part type, but also for the front member 21 and the rear member 22 of the second shelf board 23.

[0028] The two claw portions 33, 33 are insertion portions integrally formed at longitudinally separated locations on the support member 30, as shown in Figure 4. As also shown in Figure 7(a), the claw portion 33 protrudes from the support member 30 toward the inner wall surface on the inner box 2a side, and the tip portion of the claw portion 33 is formed in a shape that is bent at approximately a right angle toward the upward side. In this case, the outer circumferential surface of the claw portion 33 is a curved surface that is curved in an arc shape. As a result, the support member 30 is attached by inserting its two claw portions 33, 33 into the insertion portions 41, 41 of the mounting members 40, 40 and hooking them in place (see Figure 7(a)).

[0029] Here, we will briefly explain how to attach and detach the support member 30, focusing on the single claw portion 33 shown in Figure 7(a) and the insertion portion 41 of the mounting member 40. First, when removing the support member 30 from the mounting member 40, the user is required to remove the shelf board 20 shown in Figure 7(a) beforehand. In this case, as shown in Figure 7(a), the support member 30 is in a locked state with the claw portion 33 inserted into the insertion portion 41, and the side surface of the support member 30 is in surface contact with the mounting member 40, and is held in that position.

[0030] Here, the user grasps the support member 30, for example, around the recessed portion 32b, and rotates the entire support member 30 upward in the removal direction, using the claw portion 33 side as a pivot point as shown in Figure (a). As a result, the claw portion 33 is pulled out from the insertion portion 41, releasing the locking state of the claw portion 33 and allowing the support member 30 to be removed. In contrast, when attaching the support member 30 to the mounting member 40, the user positions the support member 30 in the removal position and aligns it so that the tip of the claw portion 33 faces the insertion portion 41. This alignment is performed near the inner wall of the inner box 2a, and can be done relatively easily by gripping the recessed portion 32b of the support member 30 or the stepped portion of the mounting portion 31. With the support member 30 aligned in this way, the claw portion 33 is pivoted and rotated downward in the mounting direction. As a result, as shown in Figure 7(a), the claw portion 33 is inserted into the insertion portion 41 and rotated to the mounting position, thereby attaching the support member 30.

[0031] The mounting members 40 and 50 are provided on the left and right inner wall surfaces of the refrigerator compartment 11 shown in Figure 1, respectively, and are arranged to hold the support member 30 at two locations separated in the depth direction. Here, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the left side of the refrigerator compartment 11 as seen from the inside of the compartment, that is, a perspective view showing the interior mounting members 40, 40 on the left wall surface of the inner box 2a. Figure 6 is a side view of the aforementioned mounting portions 5, 5 on the left wall surface of the inner box 2a as seen from the outside of the compartment, that is, a side view showing the exterior mounting members 50 at the two mounting portions 5, 5. In Figure 6, the right (front) mounting portion 5 represents the state in which the exterior mounting member 50 and the interior mounting member 40 are combined, while the left (back) mounting portion 5 represents the state before the combination of these mounting members 40, 50. Also, Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the interior mounting member 40 and the exterior mounting member 50 as seen from the inside of the compartment.

[0032] As shown in Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 6, the mounting portions 5 of the mounting members 40 and 50 in the inner box 2a are located at positions separated in the front-rear direction and are near the openings 6 formed on both the left and right walls, with the mounting members 40 and 50 facing each other on either side of the mounting portion 5 of the inner box 2a. Specifically, as shown in Figure 6, the multiple openings 6 are formed by cutting out vertically elongated rectangular shapes along the longitudinal direction of the mounting members 40 and 50. In this case, for example, three openings 6 are provided with two bridging sections 5a that divide them vertically, thereby suppressing deformation around the mounting portion 5 in the inner box 2a. Furthermore, the width dimension of the openings 6 is set to be smaller than the width dimension of any of the mounting members 40 and 50. In the inner box 2a, the screw holes 7 located above the opening 6 are offset from the opening 6 in the front-to-back direction (left-to-right direction in Figure 6). This offset is intended to prevent incorrect assembly of the mounting members 40 and 50 due to left-to-right orientation, and will be explained in more detail later.

[0033] A mounting member 40 is positioned on the inside of the mounting portion 5 in the inner box 2a. This interior mounting member 40 is made of, for example, a flexible synthetic resin material, and as shown in Figure 5, mainly consists of a relatively thin, plate-like main surface portion 40a (see Figure 10(a)), and as a whole, it has an elongated shape that is long in the vertical direction.

[0034] The insertion portions 41 are provided, for example, seven of them, at approximately equal intervals in the longitudinal vertical direction of the inner mounting member 40. Also, as shown in Figures 8(a) and 7(a), the insertion portions 41 penetrate the main surface portion 40a and extend from the main surface portion 40a outward to the outside of the storage unit. In this case, the insertion portions 41 have an arc shape that matches the outer shape of the claw portion 33 in the vertical cross-section of Figure 7(a), and extend through the opening 6 of the inner box 2a to the relief recess 51 of the outer mounting member 50. This configuration of the insertion portion 41 allows the claw portion 33 and, consequently, the support member 30 to be stably held by the mounting member 40. Furthermore, in conjunction with the thin plate-like structure of the main surface portion 40a, at least a part of the claw portion 33 is positioned outside the inner box 2a through the opening 6.

[0035] The interior mounting member 40 has engaging recesses 42 and 43 formed on the exterior side of the main surface 40a (see Figures 8(a) and 10(a) and 10(b)). On the other hand, the exterior mounting member 50 has engaging protrusions 52 and 53 formed on the interior side of the main surface 50a, corresponding to the engaging recesses 42 and 43 (see Figures 5, 8(b), and 10(a) and 10(b)). In this embodiment, in the mounting members 40 and 50, the parts that have a convex or concave shape and can engage with each other are referred to as "engaging convex parts" or "engaging concave parts," and the latter concave shape includes a "hole" shape. As described above, the mounting members 40 and 50 of this embodiment employ a configuration in which the two mounting members 40 and 50 are combined by the engagement of an engaging projection formed on at least one of them and an engaging recess formed on the other through the opening 6. The details of these engaging projections and recesses will be described later.

[0036] Furthermore, the mounting members 40 and 50 on the inside and outside of the storage compartment in this embodiment come in two types: a left-side specification that is positioned on the left wall of the inner box 2a, and a right-side specification that is positioned on the right wall. Figures 5 to 10 above show the left-side specification mounting members 40 and 50. In this regard, the mounting members 40 and 50 for the left side are inverted in shape with respect to the axis 400 and 500 in the width direction (see Figures 5 and 8), with respect to the axis of symmetry. Therefore, the mounting members 40 and 50 for the left side and the mounting members for the right side are arranged according to the left and right side walls (corresponding mounting portion 5) of the inner box 2a, resulting in a symmetrical arrangement with respect to the inner box 2a.

[0037] Therefore, for example, the sliding direction of the external mounting member 50, which will be described later, is from the front to the back, regardless of whether it is a left-side or right-side specification (see the front-to-back arrow in Figure 6). For the sake of convenience of explanation, the mounting members 40 and 50 in this embodiment will be represented by the same reference numeral "40, 50" regardless of whether it is a left-side or right-side specification.

[0038] The left-side mounting members 40 and 50 are marked with the letter "L" on their respective outer surfaces, which serves as a left-side indicator or guide M1 (only the guide M1 of mounting member 50 is shown in Figure 6). Although not shown in the illustration, the right-side mounting members 40 and 50 are marked with the letter "R" to serve as a right-side indicator, thereby preventing the aforementioned incorrect assembly. Further explanation of the right-side specifications will be provided in Figures 12 and 17 of the other embodiments.

[0039] As shown in Figure 8, a boss portion 45 is provided at the upper end of the interior mounting member 40, positioned towards the rear. The tip of the boss portion 45 protrudes outward from the inner box 2a beyond the hole for the screw 7 (more precisely, the hole for the boss portion 45 shown in Figure 7). The screw 7 is screwed into this boss portion 45 from the exterior mounting member 50 side, thereby fixing both mounting members 40 and 50 to the inner box 2a. Furthermore, the position of the boss portion 45 on the interior mounting member 40 towards the rear (to the left in Figure 8) prevents incorrect assembly. As shown in Figure 5, a flange portion 46 is provided at the lower end of the interior mounting member 40, which protrudes downward. The flange portion 46 is fitted in such a way that it is inserted outwards from the lowest edge of the opening 6 (see Figure 11(a) described later). Thus, the interior mounting member 40 is positioned such that when it is fitted into the opening 6, its main surface portion 40a is exposed to the interior side.

[0040] The external mounting member 50 is made of, for example, a flexible synthetic resin material and mainly consists of a relatively thin rectangular plate-shaped main surface portion 50a as shown in Figure 5 (see Figure 10(a)), and as a whole it has an elongated shape that is long in the vertical direction. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 5 and 10(a), the main surface portion 50a of the external mounting member 50 is wider than the main surface portion 40a of the internal mounting member 40.

[0041] As shown in Figure 5, the external mounting member 50 has, for example, seven relief recesses 51, and the number and arrangement of these recesses correspond to the seven insertion portions 41 of the internal mounting member 40. The relief recess 51 is a shallow, rectangular recess with the opening 6 side open. As shown in Figure 7(a), the relief recess 51 is formed so that both the claw portion 33 and the inserted portion 41 can enter, and so as to cover the inserted portion 41 from the heat insulating space side. The relief recess 51 only needs to be formed so that at least one of the claw portion 33 and the inserted portion 41 can enter. As shown in Figures 7, 9(a), and 10(a), the relief recess 51 is formed by recessing the main surface portion 50a toward the heat insulation space. Therefore, the outer wall portion of the relief recess 51 on the heat insulation space side is an outward-facing projection 51a that protrudes toward the heat insulation space side from the main surface portion 50a in accordance with the recess. Furthermore, the outward-facing projection 51a is set to protrude slightly (by ΔL) toward the heat insulation space side from the head of the screw 7 shown in Figure 7(b). In addition, in the cross-sectional view of Figure 7, some hatching has been omitted and some components have been simplified and shown schematically in order to make it easier to understand the structure of each component.

[0042] The exterior mounting member 50 is then fitted into the interior mounting member 40, which is fitted into the opening 6, by sliding it along the wall surface of the mounting portion 5, for example, from the front to the back (see the front-to-back arrow in Figure 6). At this time, the engaging protrusions 52 and 53 of the exterior mounting member 50 engage with the engaging recesses 42 and 43 of the interior mounting member 40, and the main surface portion 50a, as seen from the heat-insulating space side as shown in Figure 6, slides to the fixed position shown in the figure. In this state, the outer mounting member 50 is fixed to the inner box 2a together with the inner mounting member 40 by screwing the screw 7 through from the outside of the interior mounting member 40 into the boss portion 45 (see Figure 7(a)). In this way, a screw 7 is used as a fixing member to fix the outer mounting member 50 to the inner mounting member 40.

[0043] Here, Figures 10(a),(b),(c), and (d) show cross-sectional views along the lines Xa-Xa, Xb-Xb, Xc-Xc, and Xd-Xd in Figure 6. Below, the engagement recesses 42, 43 and engagement protrusions 52, 53 of each mounting member 40, 50, as well as the surrounding configuration, will be described in detail.

[0044] Figure 10(a) shows a cross-section of the engaging recess 42 of the interior mounting member 40 and the engaging projection 52 of the exterior mounting member 50, along the line Xa-Xa in Figure 6. As shown in Figures 10(a) and 8(a), the engaging recess 42 is a projection whose base end is the front end in the width direction of the main surface portion 40a, and whose tip protrudes to the heat insulation space side of the other main surface portion 50a, and is extended so as to engage with the engaging projection 52 on the heat insulation space side. The engaging recess 42 has a hole 42a that penetrates in the front-rear direction, which is the sliding direction, and has a concave shape, and as shown in Figure 8(a), it has a slightly elongated rectangular frame shape overall. In this case, the hole 42a is a through-shaped insertion "hole" and not a non-through-shaped "hole". Furthermore, as shown in Figures 9(a) and 10(a), the engaging recess 42 is arranged in a manner that it is surrounded or sandwiched by the outward-facing protrusion 51a, and its protrusion length is set so that it does not protrude from the outward-facing protrusion 51a into the heat-insulating space. In this case, the protrusion length of the engaging recess 42 may be set to be smaller than the protrusion length of the outward-facing protrusion 51a.

[0045] As shown in Figures 8(b) and 10(a), the engaging projection 52 is located near the opening 52b formed by cutting out the front half in the width direction corresponding to the engaging recess 42 in the main surface 50a, and is composed of a tongue-shaped piece 52a that extends backward (rearward) from the front edge of the opening 52b as its base. As a result, the tongue portion 52a of the engaging projection 52 engages with the engaging recess 42 when it moves in the sliding direction so as to insert the tongue portion 52a into the hole 42a of the engaging recess 42, with the engaging recess 42 housed in the opening 52b around it. In this case, as shown in Figure 9(a), when the external mounting member 50 is viewed from the outside of the cabinet, the engaging recess 42 is visible through the opening 52b around the engaging projection 52. As shown above, the pairs of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52 in Figure 10(a) are provided in approximately equal intervals in the vertical direction on the mounting members 40 and 50, for example, in four pairs, as indicated by the reference numerals "42, 52" in Figure 6 or "52" in Figure 5. Furthermore, as described above, since a part of the claw portion 33 fits into the relief recess 51 in Figure 5, the engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52 are positioned between the vertically aligned relief recesses 51, or at a vertically separated position from the relief recesses 51.

[0046] Figure 10(b) shows a cross-section of the engaging recess 43 of the interior mounting member 40 and the engaging projection 53 of the exterior mounting member 50, along the line Xb-Xb in Figure 6. As shown in Figures 10(b) and 8(b), the engaging projection 53 is located near the opening 53b formed by cutting out the central part in the width direction of the main surface 50a, and is composed of a tongue-shaped portion 53a whose base end is the edge on the front side of the opening 53b. The tongue-shaped portion 53a extends from its base end toward the other main surface 40a side (cabin space side) to engage with the engaging recess 43, and is bent toward the back side along the main surface 40a, forming an L-shape.

[0047] As shown in Figures 8(a) and 10(b), the engaging recess 43 is a recessed portion in the width direction of the main surface portion 40a, and is composed of a receiving portion 43a in which the other tongue portion 53a is accommodated and engaged by a tongue portion 43b formed by folding back from the back side to the front side of the main surface portion 40a. As a result, the engaging recess 43 engages with the engaging projection 53 when it is moved in the engagement direction, which is the sliding direction, so that the tongue portion 53a of the engaging projection 53 is inserted into the housing portion 43a while the tongue portion 53a of the engaging projection 53 is housed in the recessed space of the recess 43.

[0048] The pair of engaging recesses 43 and engaging protrusions 53 in Figure 10(b) shall be provided as one pair between the multiple relief recesses 51 in the vertical direction of the mounting members 40 and 50, as indicated by the reference numerals "43, 53" in Figure 6 or "53" in Figure 5. Alternatively, similar to the pair of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52 shown in Figure 6, multiple pairs of engaging recesses 43 and engaging protrusions 53 may be provided. As described above, the engaging projections 52 and 53 in this embodiment have tongue-shaped portions 52a and 53a formed to extend in the engagement direction along the wall surface of the inner box 2a, and the engaging recesses 42 and 43 have holes 42a and housing portions 43a formed so that the engaging projections 52 and 53 can be inserted along the engagement direction, but the embodiment is not limited to this (as will be explained in the section on other embodiments). Furthermore, at least one of the mounting members 40 and 50 in this embodiment has a retaining portion that protrudes toward the other mounting member in a direction perpendicular to the engagement direction.

[0049] For example, Figure 10(d) shows cross-sections of the retaining portion 54a of the exterior mounting member 50 and the inclined protrusion 44a of the interior mounting member 40, along the line Xd-Xd in Figure 6. The inclined projection 44a shown in Figure 10(d) is a retaining portion integrally formed in the widthwise center of the outer surface of the flange portion 46 (see Figure 5) formed at the lower end of the main surface portion 40a. The inclined projection 44a has a triangular cross-section in Figure 10(d), and forms a gently sloping surface that protrudes toward the other main surface portion 50a as it moves from the front side toward the back side, and a step that locks the retaining portion 54a on the other main surface portion 50a side.

[0050] The retaining portion 54a is a projection integrally formed in a recessed portion 54 on the interior side of the main surface portion 50a, as shown in Figure (d) and Figure 5, which is slightly recessed like a relief recess 51. The retaining portion 54a protrudes in the interior side, that is, perpendicular to the engagement direction, from the center of the width direction of the main surface portion 50a. When the mounting members 40 and 50 are combined, one of the mounting members 50 is positioned on the front side in the sliding direction such that the inclined projection 44a is housed in its concave portion 54. As the mounting member 50 moves in the sliding direction, the retaining portion 54a rides up along the inclined projection 44a, and when it reaches the fixed position (the position it has moved over as shown in Figure (d)), it is locked in place by the step of the inclined projection 44a, providing a sense of locking (or making a sound when locked). In this way, the retaining portion 54a is prevented from coming loose in the opposite direction of engagement, i.e., the anti-engagement direction, by the inclined projection 44a of the other mounting member 40, thereby maintaining the assembled state of the mounting members 40 and 50. When the mounting member 50 slides, the other engagement recesses 42 and 43 and the engagement projections 52 and 53 (see Figures (a) and (b)) that have engaged once will not come loose. Furthermore, by sliding the mounting member 50 to a fixed position where a sense of detent is provided, the inclined projection 44a can be reliably prevented from coming loose.

[0051] As described above, the engaging recesses 42, 43 and engaging protrusions 52, 53 are arranged alternately with the insertion portion 41 of the claw portion 33 along the longitudinal direction of the mounting members 40, 50 (see Figure 5). This allows for a strong assembly of both mounting members 40, 50, and also simplifies the assembly process by sliding and improves assembly accuracy. Furthermore, even if the mounting members 40, 50 are relatively thin, they can be reinforced by each other in combination with the reinforcing ribs and other configurations described later. Figure 10(c) shows cross-sections of the insertion portion 41 and the relief recess 51 portion of the mounting members 40 and 50. For example, the mounting member 40 on the inside of the storage unit is provided with the positioning portion St1 shown in Figure 10(c), which will be explained in detail in the second embodiment (see St1' in Figure 11(b)).

[0052] Furthermore, the openings 52b and 53b of the exterior mounting member 50 described above are communication holes that connect a predetermined space between the mounting member 50 and the interior mounting member 40 to the heat insulating space (see Figures 10(a) and 10(b)), and the predetermined space is surrounded by a first damming portion that protrudes from at least one of the mounting members 40 and 50 to the other. The first damming portions 481 and 482 of this embodiment include, for example, vertical ribs 48a to 48d formed on the interior mounting member 40 shown in Figures 10(a) and 10(b), and the openings 52b and 53b of the exterior mounting member 50 shown in Figures 10(a) and 10(b) serve as communication holes (see Figure 8(b)) to dam the foam insulation material 3a from entering the interior of the storage unit through predetermined spaces S1 and S2 or the opening 6 of the inner box 2a.

[0053] Here, Figures 9(b) and (d) illustrate the first damming portions 481 and 482 of the mounting member 40, corresponding to the predetermined space S1 in Figure 10(a) and the predetermined space S2 in Figure 10(b), and the openings 52b and 53b of the other mounting member 50 are shown by dashed lines. These are explanatory diagrams viewed from the heat insulating space side. Specifically, the vertical ribs 48a and 48b of the first damming section 481 shown in Figure 10(a) are located at both ends in the width direction of the main surface 40a facing the opening 52b of the outer mounting member 50 of the storage unit, and extend in the vertical direction along the edge of the opening 6 of the inner box 2a (see Figure 9(b)). As shown in Figure 10(a), the vertical ribs 48a and 48b each protrude in the thickness direction of the inner box 2a, and their tips are formed to join with the opposing main surface 50a.

[0054] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8(a), the interior mounting member 40 has multiple reinforcing ribs (hereinafter referred to as "lateral ribs 48r") on its exterior side that divide the insertion portion 41, the engagement recess 42, and the engagement recess 43 vertically. The lateral ribs 48r protrude so that their tips connect with the opposing main surface portion 50a. As a result, the first damming section 481 in Figure 10(a) has a frame-like structure formed by vertical ribs 48a, 48b that fit onto the edge of the opening 6 of the inner box 2a, and horizontal ribs 48r, 48r on both its upper and lower sides (see the dashed rectangle indicated by reference numeral 481 in Figure 9(b) and Figure 8(a)), and has a structure that dams at the joint portion of both mounting members 40, 50.

[0055] As shown in Figure 10(a), the longitudinal rib 48b is a joint portion that connects with the tongue portion 52a, and has a wider joint surface than the longitudinal rib 48a. Soft tape 8 may be applied to the joint surface between the longitudinal rib 48b and the tongue portion 52a to create a sealing surface. Thus, the predetermined space S1 shown in Figures 9(a) and 10(a) is surrounded by a frame-shaped first damming portion 481 that protrudes from one mounting member 40 to the other mounting member 50 (see Figure 9(b)), and soft tape 8 is used on the joining surfaces of the mounting members 40 and 50. Although a detailed illustration of the soft tape 8 is omitted, for example, as shown in Figure 10(c), a gap G is provided on the inner side of the outer circumference of the outer mounting member 50 of the storage unit to serve as an adhesive surface for the soft tape 8, and the outer circumference of the outer mounting member 50 may also be used as a sealing surface.

[0056] The first damming section 482 in Figure 10(b) also has a frame-like structure formed by vertical ribs 48c, 48d and horizontal ribs 48r, 48r, similar to the vertical ribs 48a, 48b in Figure 10(a) (see the dashed rectangle indicated by reference numeral 482 in Figure 9(d) and Figure 8(a)), and has a structure that dams at the joint portion of both mounting members 40, 50. Figure 9(c) is a perspective view of the vicinity of the first damming portion 482, shown by breaking along the line IXc-IXc in Figure 9(d). For ease of explanation, the external mounting member 50 is shown with a dashed line, and the opening 53b, which serves as a communication hole, is simplified. As shown in Figure 9(c), the predetermined space S2 between the two mounting members 40 and 50 is surrounded by the first damming portion 482 that protrudes from one mounting member 40 to the other mounting member 50. Also, as indicated by reference numeral 8 in Figure 9(c), soft tape 8 may be applied to the joint surface of the two mounting members 40 and 50 near the tongue portion 43b (or the tongue portion 53a in Figure 10(b)) to create a sealing surface. Furthermore, at least one of the mounting members 40 and 50 is provided with a second damming portion 483 that connects to the inner box 2a on the outer circumference of the opening 6 of the inner box 2a, in addition to the first damming portions 481 and 482 described above. For example, as shown in Figures 8(a), 9(b)(d), and 10(c), the second damming section 483 is composed of stepped edges 40e on both sides in the width direction of the main surface section 40a (to the sides of the vertical ribs 48a to 48d), which overlap and join with the peripheral edge of the opening 6. Details of the second damming section 483 will be explained in Figure 12.

[0057] As described above, in the support means 10 of this first embodiment, at least one of the mounting members 40, 50 is provided with engaging protrusions 52, 53, and the other is provided with engaging recesses 42, 43 that can engage with the engaging protrusions 52, 53. When these engaging protrusions 52, 53 and engaging recesses 42, 43 engage, the two mounting members 40, 50 are combined with each other. The engaging protrusions 52, 53 are formed to extend in the engagement direction along the wall surface of the inner box 2a (for example, towards the back in the sliding direction), and the engaging recesses 42, 43 are formed so that the engaging protrusions 52, 53 can be inserted along the engagement direction. According to this, the engaging protrusions 52, 53 and engaging recesses 42, 43 can be positioned along the wall surface of the inner box 2a, making it possible to thin the mounting members 40, 50 and create a space-saving engagement structure. Furthermore, the engaging protrusions 52, 53 and engaging recesses 42, 43 can be moved relative to each other along the wall surface of the inner box 2a to engage them, simplifying the assembly work of the mounting members 40, 50. Furthermore, as described in the above embodiment, since multiple engaging protrusions and engaging recesses are provided in the longitudinal direction of the mounting members 40 and 50, they can be engaged at once by sliding (relative movement in the engagement direction), and a robust assembly is naturally achieved.

[0058] One of the engaging projections and engaging recesses (for example, the engaging recess 42 in Figure 10(a) or the engaging projection 53 in Figure 10(b)) protrudes from one side of the inner box 2a, from the heat insulating space side to the internal storage space side, through the opening 6 provided in the inner box 2a, and engages with the other of the engaging projections and engaging recesses (for example, the engaging projection 52 in Figure 10(a) or the engaging recess 43 in Figure 10(b)) on the other side. According to this, for example, even if the engaging recess 42 in Figure 10(a) or the engaging projection 53 in Figure 10(b) protrudes to the heat insulating space side or the interior space side, it is possible to engage it with the other engaging projection 52 or engaging recess 43 without increasing the thickness of the mounting members 40, 50 (for example, the main surface portions 40a, 50a).

[0059] At least one of the mounting members 40 and 50 (for example, the mounting member 50 on the outside of the storage compartment in Figure 10(d)) has a retaining portion 54a that protrudes toward the other in a direction perpendicular to the engagement direction (for example toward the storage compartment space). This retaining portion 54a is integrally formed with one of the mounting members 50 and is prevented from being dislodged in the opposite direction to the engagement direction, which is the anti-engagement direction (for example toward the front in the sliding direction), by the other mounting member 40 (for example, the inclined protrusion 44a). According to this, as the engaging protrusions 52, 53 and engaging recesses 42, 43 are engaged with each other, the engaged state is maintained by the retaining portion 54a, thereby allowing the two mounting members 40, 50 to be kept in a combined state.

[0060] The exterior mounting member 50 is provided with a communication hole (for example, openings 52b and 53b in Figure 8(b)) that connects the predetermined spaces S1 and S2 between it and the interior mounting member 40 to the heat insulating space, and the predetermined spaces S1 and S2 are surrounded by first damming portions 481 and 482 that protrude from at least one of the mounting members 40 and 50 to the other. According to this, even if foamed insulation material 3a flows in from the openings 52b and 53b of the external mounting member 50, for example, it can be blocked by the first damming parts 481 and 482 (see Figures 9(b) and 9(d)) to prevent it from flowing from the predetermined spaces S1 and S2 into the internal space of the storage unit.

[0061] Furthermore, at least one of the mounting members 40 and 50 is provided with a second damming portion 483 that overlaps with the inner box 2a on the outer circumference side of the opening 6 of the inner box 2a. According to this, even if there is an opening 6 in the inner box 2a, the outer circumference can be blocked by the second damming section 483. For example, even if foamed insulation material 3a flows in from the openings 52b and 53b of the outer mounting member 50, it can be blocked by the second damming section 483 and prevented from flowing into the interior space. Therefore, if the first damming sections 481 and 482 are provided together with the second damming section 483, a double damming structure can be adopted.

[0062] The damming portion is not limited to the configuration of the damming portions 481 to 483 described above, and as will be described in other embodiments, sealing surfaces may also be provided at joint portions other than the aforementioned joint portions. For example, the joint portion at the tip of the transverse rib 48r constituting the first damming portions 481 and 482 (the tip portion of the transverse rib 48r in Figures 9(b) to (d) that joins with the main surface portion 50a) may be used as a sealing surface and may include a soft tape 8 to be applied. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 10(a), a partition wall 58 (shown only in this figure) that separates the opening 52b in the main surface portion 50a may be provided so as to protrude and join with the main surface portion 40a on the interior side, thereby creating a configuration in which the joint portion of both 58 and 40a is used to dam the opening.

[0063] The first shelf board 20 is provided with a first projection 20c that can restrict the movement of the shelf board 20 in the depth direction (for example, the front-to-back direction) by fitting into the end-side recesses 32a and 32c of the support member 30, and the front member 21 or rear member 22 constituting the second shelf board 23 is provided with a second projection 21c that can restrict the movement of the one of the members in the depth direction by fitting into the central recess 32b of the support member 30 (see Figure 3). According to this, by configuring the support member 30 so that the first projection 20c of the first shelf board 20 and the second projection 21c of the front member 21 or the rear member 22 fit into the corresponding recesses 32a to 32c, it becomes possible to restrict the movement of each shelf board 20, 23 in the depth direction without the projections 20c, 21c protruding in the internal space of the storage unit. In this case, even if the second shelf board 23 is composed of a front member 21 and a rear member 22, the second projection 21c of one of the members 21 or 22 fits into the central recess 32b, thereby restricting the movement of at least that member 21 or 22. Therefore, the support member 30 can be used not only for the first shelf board 20 but also for the second shelf board 23.

[0064] A second projection 21c is provided on either the front member 21 or the rear member 22, and a third projection 22c is provided on the other. The second projection 21c fits into the central recess 32b, and the third projection 22c fits into the end recess 32a or 32c, thereby enabling the front member 21 and the rear member 22 to be supported by the same support member 30. According to this, the movement of both the front member 21 and the rear member 22 in the depth direction can be restricted by the support member 30, allowing for suitable support, and enabling the commonality of parts using the same support member 30.

[0065] The interior mounting member 40 is provided with an insertion portion 41 into which an insertion portion (for example, a claw portion 33) formed on the support member 30 is inserted. The support member 30 is attached to the inner box 2a by the insertion of the insertion portion into the insertion portion 41, and at least a part of the insertion portion is positioned on the heat insulating space side of the inner box 2a through an opening 6 provided in the inner box 2a. According to this, the internal space into which an insertion part, such as a claw portion 33, is inserted in the interior mounting member 40 can be extended through the opening 6 to the insulated space side of the inner box 2a, thereby reducing the thickness of the interior mounting member 40 and, consequently, the thickness of both mounting members 40 and 50.

[0066] The exterior mounting member 50 of the storage unit is provided with a relief recess 51 into which at least one of the insertion portion and the portion to be inserted 41 can enter. The relief recess 51 is open on the side of the opening 6 and is configured to cover the portion to be inserted 41 from the heat insulating space side (see Figure 7(a)). According to this, even if the relief recess 51 is provided in the external mounting member 50 for insertion or insertion portion 41, such as a claw portion 33, it can be made into a closed form so that, for example, foam insulation material 3a does not flow into the space from the outside of the storage unit.

[0067] In the aforementioned insulated space, a vacuum insulation panel 3b (see Figure 22) is placed as a vacuum insulation material, and a fixing member is used to secure it to the outside mounting member 50. In this case, the outside mounting member 50 has at least one outside projection 51a, which protrudes closer to the vacuum insulation material than the part of the fixing member closest to the vacuum insulation material (e.g., the screw head), such as the screw 7 in Figure 7(b). Alternatively, the outside mounting member 50 may be provided with other outside projections 51a'' (see the outer peripheral rib 51a'' in Figure 22 and the dashed line in Figure 7(b) described later), and the fixing member may be surrounded or sandwiched by these outside projections 51a, 51a''. With this configuration, even if a fixing member such as a screw 7 is used on the insulated space side, the outer protrusions 51a, 51a'' ensure distance from the vacuum insulation material, thereby suppressing the risk of damage to the vacuum insulation material.

[0068] In the support member 30, the mounting portion 31 has a mounting surface 31a on which the shelves 20 and 23 are placed, and a vertical wall surface 31b that rises to the side of the shelves 20 and 23, thus forming a stepped shape. According to this, when placing or removing the shelves 20 and 23 from the mounting surface 31a, the vertical wall surface 31b can protect the sides of the shelves 20 and 23 from contacting the inner box 2a. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 7(b), for example, by matching the thickness of the shelves 20 and 23 with the height of the vertical wall surface 31b, the storage area on the upper side of the shelves 20 and 23 can be extended towards the support member 30, thereby improving the aesthetic appearance.

[0069] <Other Embodiments> Figures 11 to 23 show the second to seventh embodiments of the present invention. The following discussion will focus on the points that substantially differ from the embodiments described above.

[0070] Figures 11(a) and (b) show the mounting portion 5 and the interior mounting member 40 of the second embodiment, which correspond to the cross-sections along the lines XI-XI and Xc-Xc in Figure 6. Specifically, firstly, the opening 6' of the mounting portion 5 in Figure 11(a) differs from the opening 6 in Figure 6 in that it does not have a bridging portion 5a (because it is not divided vertically), and is formed as a single continuous opening 6'.

[0071] As shown in Figure 11(b), the interior mounting member 40 is integrally provided with positioning portions St1' and St2 that fit onto the edges on both sides in the width direction of the opening 6'. The positioning portions St1' and St2 are located at both ends in the width direction of the main surface portion 40a, are aligned vertically with the vertical ribs 48a to 48d, and are set to extend beyond the opening 6' to the outside of the interior. Positioning portion St1' has a larger protrusion length than positioning portion St1 in Figure 6 and is set to abut against the other main surface portion 50a. Furthermore, the positioning sections St1' and St2 are arranged at multiple locations (for example, seven locations, the same number as the number of insertion sections 41) so as to correspond to the multiple insertion sections 41 in the longitudinal direction of the interior mounting member 40.

[0072] As a result, when the interior mounting member 40 is fitted into the opening 6', it can be positioned relative to the inner box 2a at multiple points along its longitudinal direction by the positioning parts St1' and St2. In this case, the interior mounting member 40 can be fitted relatively easily by first fitting the flange part 46 shown in Figure 11(a) to the outside of the interior, and then inserting it from the positioning part St1' along the edge of the opening 6'. The exterior mounting member 60 shown in Figures 12(a) and 12(b) is attached to this interior mounting member 40.

[0073] As shown in Figure 12(a), the external mounting member 60 is set to have the same thickness across the width direction of its main surface 60a. Furthermore, in the mounting members 40 and 60 of this second embodiment, seven pairs of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52 shown in Figure 6 are arranged so as to correspond to, for example, the seven relief recesses 51 shown in Figure 5. Also, three pairs of engaging recesses 43 and engaging protrusions 53 shown in Figure 6 are arranged side by side with the pairs of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52, at equal intervals. In other words, since there are three pairs of engaging recesses 43 and engaging protrusions 53, they are arranged every other pair for the seven pairs of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52. Thus, the pairs of engaging recesses 43 and engaging protrusions 53, and the pairs of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52, which are formed side by side in the mounting members 40 and 60, take the form shown in Figures 12(a) and 12(b).

[0074] Here, for the sake of explanation, Figures 12(a) and (b) show mounting members 40 and 60 for the right-side specification, and the sliding direction indicated by the arrow in (b) is the same as the direction of the arrow in Figure 10 (from the front to the back). Furthermore, in Figures 12(a) and (b), the engagement recesses 42, 43 and engagement protrusions 52, 53 are represented by the same reference numerals used in Figures 10(a) and (b) for the states before and after engagement, i.e., before and after sliding. Strictly speaking, the configuration in Figure 12(b) differs slightly from the configurations in Figures 10(a) and (b) in some aspects, such as the shape of the partition wall 58 in Figure 10(a). However, in substance, it can be said that the engagement recesses 42, 43 and engagement protrusions 52, 53 of Figures 10(a) and (b) are arranged side by side.

[0075] As shown in Figures 12(a) and 12(b), the first damming section 48 of this second embodiment, like the first damming sections 481 and 482 in Figures 10(a) and 10(b), has the tip side of the vertical ribs 48b and 48c as the sealing surface, and together with the second damming section 483, which has stepped edges 40e on both widthwise ends of the main surface section 40a (to the sides of the vertical ribs 48b and 48c) as the sealing surface, exhibits a double damming structure. In this case, soft tape 8 is provided at the joint between the vertical ribs 48b and 48c and the main surface section 60a facing them, and at the joint between the edge 40e of the main surface section 40a and the peripheral edge of the opening 6' facing it, respectively, to suppress leakage of the foamed insulation material 3a. Furthermore, the second damming section 483 is composed of a peripheral edge 40e formed to be stepped down over the entire circumference of the main surface 40a (see Figures 8(a) and 12(a)). Therefore, the second damming section 483 is arranged to surround the entire first damming section 48 and is in close contact with the entire circumference of the peripheral edge of the opening 6' via the soft tape 8.

[0076] As explained above, the second damming portion 483 of this second embodiment surrounds the entire first damming portion 48 and is joined to it via the soft tape 8 around the entire periphery of the opening 6'. Therefore, even if the foamed insulation material 3a is not blocked by the first damming portion 48, the second damming portion 483 can effectively block it from leaking out of the opening 6' into the interior space. Furthermore, in the mounting members 40 and 60, pairs of engaging recesses 43 and engaging protrusions 53 are arranged side-by-side with pairs of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52, and the number of these arrangements is increased compared to the arrangements shown in Figure 6, thereby achieving a stronger assembly. In this case as well, the engaging recesses 42 and 43 and engaging protrusions 52 and 53 can be engaged at once by the sliding movement of the mounting member 60, simplifying the assembly work and providing the same effects as in the first embodiment.

[0077] Figures 13 and 14 show the engaging recesses 42, 43 and engaging protrusions 52, 53, and the retaining portion 59 and retained portion 49 of the third embodiment. In the mounting members 40 and 50 of this third embodiment, similar to the second embodiment, for example, seven pairs of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52 are provided, and for example, three pairs of engaging recesses 43 and engaging protrusions 53 are provided. Therefore, among the seven pairs of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52, every other pair of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52, and pairs of engaging recesses 43 and engaging protrusions 53 are formed side by side as shown in Figure 13.

[0078] Strictly speaking, the configuration in Figure 13 differs slightly from the configurations in Figures 10(a) and 10(b) in some aspects, such as the shape of the partition wall 58 in Figure 10(a). However, in essence, it can be said that the engaging recesses 42 and 43 and engaging protrusions 52 and 53 of Figures 10(a) and 10(b) are arranged side by side. Furthermore, as indicated by the reference numerals "42, 50b" in Figure 13, the positions of the engaging recesses 42 in the mounting members 40, 50 and the ribs 50b surrounding these engaging recesses 42 are shifted outward in the width direction compared to those in Figure 10(a). To accommodate this shift, a soft tape 8 can be provided at the joint between the edge 40e of the main surface portion 40a and the peripheral edge of the opening 6 facing it.

[0079] Furthermore, in the mounting members 40 and 50, at the position where the lowest pair of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52 (corresponding to the lowest pair of engaging recesses 42 and engaging protrusions 52 in Figure 6) is aligned horizontally, a pair of retaining portions 59 and retained portions 49, as shown in Figure 14, is provided.

[0080] Specifically, as shown in Figure 14(a), the main surface portion 50a of the mounting member 50 has an opening 52b' that is connected to the opening 52b around the engaging projection 52 and widens it in the front-to-back direction, which is the width direction. Additionally, a retaining portion 59 is integrally formed with the width direction intermediate portion of the openings 52b, 52b' as its base. The retaining portion 59 has a rib 59a on its tip side as shown in Figure 14(a), and is hook-shaped when viewed from the thickness direction of the main surface portion 50a. Furthermore, the retaining portion 59 has a thickness that is convex toward the main surface portion 40a on the inside of the oven (along the direction perpendicular to the engagement direction) as shown in Figure 14(b).

[0081] In contrast, the retaining portion 49 is a recessed portion that is slightly recessed from the main surface portion 40a shown in Figure 14(b), and has a locking rib 49a that engages with the return portion 59a of the retaining portion 59 on its main surface portion 50a. When the mounting members 40 and 50 are combined, one of the mounting members 50 is positioned on the front side in the sliding direction such that the portion of its retaining portion 59 that protrudes inward into the chamber is housed in the concave space of the retained portion 49. As the mounting member 50 moves in the sliding direction, the tip of the retaining portion 59 abuts against the locking rib 49a and bends, and when it reaches the fixed position (the position overturned as shown in Figure (b)), the return portion 59a of the retaining portion 59 fits into the locking rib 49a and locks, providing a sense of locking in place.

[0082] In this way, the pair of retaining portion 59 and retained portion 49 engage with each other so that, as the mounting member 50 slides, the other engaging recesses 42 and 43 and engaging protrusions 52 and 53 (see Figure 13) that have engaged once are prevented from coming apart. Furthermore, by sliding the mounting member 50 to a fixed position that provides a sense of detent, the retaining portion 59 can be securely locked into the retained portion 49.

[0083] As described above, the retaining portion 59 of this third embodiment is integrally formed with one mounting member 50, for example, having a rib 59a, and is prevented from coming loose in the opposite engagement direction by the other mounting member 40 (for example, the locking rib 49a of the retained portion 49). According to this, the retaining portion 59 functions in the same way as the retaining portion 54a of the first embodiment by, for example, catching its return portion 59a on the locking rib 49a, thereby maintaining the state in which both mounting members 40 and 50 are combined with each other, and thus achieving the same effects as the above-described embodiment.

[0084] Figures 15 to 17 show the mounting members 70 and 80 and the insertion plate 85 of the fourth embodiment. The mounting members 70 and 80 of this fourth embodiment differ from the mounting members 40 and 50 of the first embodiment in the following respects.

[0085] Specifically, as shown in Figure 16, seven engaging protrusions 71 and 72 are integrally formed on the mounting member 70 on the inside of the storage unit. The engaging protrusions 71 and 72 are arranged alternately with the insertion portion 41 along the longitudinal direction of the mounting member 70. Here, Figure 17 corresponds to the cross-section along the line XVII-XVII in Figure 15, and shows the vicinity of the engaging protrusions 71 and 72 on the mounting members 70 and 80. Note that for the sake of explanation, Figure 17 shows the mounting members 70 and 80 in the right-side specification (see the arrows in the front-to-back direction), which differs from the mounting members 70 and 80 in the left-side specification in Figures 15 and 16. However, the insertion direction of the insertion plate 85 (from the front to the back), which will be described later, is the same for both specifications.

[0086] As shown in Figure 17, the engaging projections 71 and 72 are each extended from both ends in the width direction (front-to-back direction) of the main surface portion 70a so as to protrude outward from the inner box 2a. In this case, the front engaging projection 71 has a return 71a that bends back towards the front at its tip, forming a roughly "L" shape, and the rear engaging projection 72 has a return 72a that bends inward at its tip, forming a roughly "L" shape. In this case, the return 71a of the engaging projection 71 is formed to be larger than the return 72a of the engaging projection 72, so that it is fitted first into the opening 6 of the inner box 2a (the engaging recess 81 of the mounting member 80). Furthermore, the engaging projections 71 and 72 are located at both ends in the width direction that fit into the opening 6 of the inner box 2a, similar to the vertical ribs of the damming section 48, and the pair of upper and lower horizontal ribs 48r shown in Figure 16 and the engaging projections 71 and 72 at both ends form a frame-like structure, exhibiting a damming structure. In other words, this damming structure corresponds to the first damming section 480, which consists of a pair of horizontal ribs 48r and engaging projections 71 and 72 that surround a predetermined space S3 between the mounting members 70 and 80 shown in Figure 17.

[0087] On the other hand, the mounting member 80 on the outside of the storage unit shown in Figure 16 has seven engaging recesses 81 formed at approximately equal intervals along its longitudinal direction, corresponding to the seven engaging protrusions 71 and 72. As shown in Figures 16 and 17, the engaging recess 81 has a rectangular opening 81a (communication hole) that fits into the frame-like structure of the engaging protrusions 71 and 72, and stepped portions 811 and 812 on the outside of the main surface 80a, formed on both sides of the opening 81a in the width direction.

[0088] The stepped section 811 is composed of a single, relatively shallow, elongated groove that extends in the longitudinal direction of the mounting member 80, connecting the front sides of each opening 81a, and is stepped down on the outside of the main surface 70a. In this case, the stepped section 811 is set to be slightly larger in both the longitudinal and width directions than the insertion plate 85 in order to accommodate the insertion plate 85. The stepped section 812 consists of seven stepped sections located at the back of each opening 81a, and each is stepped on the outside of the main surface 70a.

[0089] The insertion plate 85 shown in Figure 16 is a long, narrow, thin plate that can be accommodated in the stepped portion 811. The insertion plate 85 has seven notches 85a on one end in the width direction, which are cut out to match the arrangement of the engaging protrusions 71. Furthermore, when assembling the mounting members 70 and 80 to the inner box 2a, the insert plate 85 is used, allowing them to be assembled without creating any gaps around the opening 6.

[0090] In other words, when combining the mounting members 70 and 80, first the mounting member 80 is placed on the outside of the mounting portion 5, and the engaging protrusions 71 and 72 of the mounting member 70 are engaged with the engaging recess 81 of the mounting member 80 from the inside through the opening 6 of the inner box 2a. In this case, the mounting member 70 is tilted so that the larger engaging projection 71 of the return 71a passes through the opening 6 first, and engages with the stepped portion 811 of the engaging recess 81. Next, using the engaging projection 71 side as a pivot point, the entire mounting member 70 is rotated outward so that it aligns with the wall surface of the inner box 2a. At this time, the insertion plate 85 is not yet inserted into the stepped portion 811, and the smaller engaging projection 72 of the return 72a abuts against the opening 6 and bends, and when it reaches the fixed position (a position beyond the opening 81a as shown in Figure 17), the return 72a fits into the stepped portion 812 and locks in place.

[0091] In this state, the insertion plate 85 is positioned with its notch 85a facing inwards, and vertically aligned so that the return portion 71a and the notch 85a are staggered as shown in Figure 15, and then inserted into the lower part of the stepped portion 811 from the front side to the lower part of the return portion 71a (see Figure 17). Alternatively, the insertion plate 85 can be inserted into the lower part of the return 71a by pressing it against the stepped portion 811 side with its notch 85a aligned with the return 71a, and then sliding the insertion plate 85 downward (moving it so that the notch 85a is visible below the return 71a as shown in Figure 15), thereby easily inserting it into the lower side of the return 71a.

[0092] As described above, the mounting member 70 of this fourth embodiment has engaging projections 71 and 72 that act as retaining parts that protrude toward the other mounting member 80 in a direction perpendicular to the engagement direction, when the direction in which the engaging projections 71 and 72 bend (for example, the outer side in the width direction of the member 70 as shown in the front-rear direction of Figure 17) is considered as the engagement direction. That is, the engaging projections 71 and 72 having the ribs 71a and 72a are integrally formed on the mounting member 70 and are prevented from coming loose in the opposite engagement direction by the other mounting member 80 (for example, the stepped portions 811 and 812 of the engaging recess 81). According to this, for example, the engaging protrusions 71 and 72 function as retaining parts by hooking their returns 71a and 72a into the engaging recesses 81, thereby maintaining the state in which both mounting members 70 and 80 are combined with each other. Furthermore, the insertion plate 85 can be inserted so as not to create any play around the return portion 71a and consequently around the engaging projections 71 and 72, and in combination with the flexibility of the engaging projections 71 and 72, it is possible to ensure the sealing function of the sealing surface in the damming structure, including the transverse rib 48r in Figure 16, for example. In addition, even if foamed insulation material 3a flows in through the opening 81a of the mounting member 80 shown in Figure 17, for example, it can be blocked by the first damming section 480 to prevent it from flowing from the predetermined space S3 into the interior space, thus achieving the same effects as the embodiment described above.

[0093] Figures 18 to 22 show the mounting members 90 and 100 of the fifth embodiment. Here, Figures 18 and 20 show perspective views from the outside of the storage unit, showing the lower and central portions of the mounting members 90 and 100 in their combined state. Figures 19(a) and (b) are perspective views showing the upper and lower portions of the mounting members 90 and 100 in a broken section, and Figure 22 is a cross-sectional view along the line XVII-XVII in Figure 20, showing the engaging protrusions 91, 91 of the mounting member 90.

[0094] On the mounting member 90 on the inside of the storage unit, as shown in Figure 21, engaging protrusions 91, 91 and cylindrical ribs 92 are provided, positioned between a plurality of insertion portions 41 arranged vertically on the main surface portion 90a, or a rectangular tubular rib 93 is provided at the lower end of the main surface portion 90a (below the insertion portion 41) as shown in Figure 19(b).

[0095] In this fifth embodiment, one or more rectangular ribs 93 can be provided as engaging protrusions in place of the engaging protrusions 91, 91. In other words, a configuration is adopted in which only one of the rectangular ribs 93 and the engaging protrusions 91, 91 is selectively provided as an engaging protrusion, and the number and arrangement of these engaging protrusions can also be changed as appropriate. Therefore, the rectangular ribs 93 and the engaging protrusions 91, 91 will be described separately below.

[0096] Specifically, as shown in Figures 18 and 19(b), one rectangular tubular rib 93 is formed at the lower end of the main surface portion 90a of the mounting member 90, or another one is formed in the middle in the vertical direction. The rectangular tubular rib 93 has, for example, a square cross-section, and its tip extends convexly through the opening 6c of the inner box 2a to the outer surface of the mounting member 100. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 18 and 19(b), a tongue-shaped portion 93a is formed at the tip of the rectangular tubular rib 93, hanging downward from the lower edge of the rectangular tubular rib 93 and projecting into the heat insulating space. An opening 103 is formed in the mounting member 100 on the outside of the storage unit at a position corresponding to the rectangular tubular rib 93. The opening 103 is an engagement recess formed by cutting a square notch in the main surface portion 100a of the mounting member 100, as shown in Figures 18 and 19(b), into which the tongue portion 93a of the rectangular tube rib 93 is inserted to the outside of the chamber and engages.

[0097] In this way, the mounting members 90 and 100 are combined with each other by the tongue portion 93a of the rectangular tubular rib 93 engaging with the opening 103 through the opening 6c of the inner box 2a. In this case, an engaged state of both 103 and 93 can be obtained in which the rectangular tubular rib 93 closes the opening 103 of the mounting member 100. The opening 103 corresponds to a communication hole that connects a predetermined space inside the mounting members 90 and 100 to the heat insulating space, but this predetermined space (inside the rectangular rib 93) is surrounded by the rectangular rib 93, which acts as a first damming portion that protrudes from one mounting member 90 to the other mounting member 100. Furthermore, the mounting members 90 and 100 are fixed not only by engagement of the rectangular tubular rib 93 with the opening 103 at their lower end, but also by screwing the screw 7 into the boss portion 45 at their upper end (see Figure 19(a)). If a separate boss portion 45 is provided in the middle of the vertical direction, a configuration can be adopted in which the mounting members are fixed in three places, including the fixing by the screw 7 therein. In addition, the mounting members 90 and 100 may also be fixed in three places, including the fixing by screwing the screw 7 into the boss portion 45 at their upper end, by providing a rectangular tubular rib 93 or opening 103 in the middle of the vertical direction in addition to their lower end.

[0098] In this fifth embodiment, the openings 6a to 6c of the mounting portion 5' differ from the opening 6 in Figure 6, and include the boss portion opening 6a, the insertion portion opening 6b, and the engagement portion opening 6c shown in Figures 19(a) and 19(b). In other words, the openings 6a, 6b, and 6c are individually opened to match the respective outer shapes of the boss portions 45, insertion portions 41, and rectangular tube ribs 93 that penetrate the inner box 2a. Also, as shown in Figure 22, the area around the mounting portion 5' is not flat, which differs from the mounting portion 5 in the above-described embodiment, and will be explained in more detail in Figure 23.

[0099] As shown in Figures 21 and 22, the engaging protrusions 91, 91 are based at the center of the width direction of the main surface 90a and extend outward from the inner box 2a. In this case, the engaging protrusions 91, 91 are located closer to the center in the width direction compared to the engaging protrusions 71, 72 in Figure 17, and the opening 6c for the engaging portion of the inner box 2a is also formed to be narrower. Furthermore, the engaging protrusions 91, 91 are set so that their projection outward does not exceed the outer surface of the mounting member 100 (main surface portion 100a). The engaging protrusions 91, 91 are formed symmetrically with respect to the axis 400 shown in Figure 21, and the shape of the return 91a, 91a at the tip of each is also formed symmetrically so as to catch on the outer side in the width direction.

[0100] The main surface portion 90a of the mounting member 90 on the inside of the storage compartment is provided with a second damming portion 48' (shown only in Figure 22) that surrounds the engaging projections 91, 91. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the second damming portion 48' forms a rectangular frame shape on the main surface portion 90a with vertical ribs and horizontal ribs that surround the base ends of the engaging projections 91, 91. The tip ends of the ribs constituting this second damming portion 48' are joined to the peripheral edge of the opening 6c and form a sealing surface that overlaps with the inner box 2a, to which the soft tape 8 is applied.

[0101] On the main surface portion 100a of the mounting member 100 on the outside of the storage unit, an opening 101 is formed as an engaging recess that engages with the engaging projections 91, 91. That is, as shown in Figures 20 and 22, the outer surface of the main surface portion 100a is recessed except for its outer circumference and the relief recess 51 portion, and by providing the opening 101 in this recessed area, it is made into an engaging recess that accommodates the returns 91a, 91a of the engaging projections 91, 91. Furthermore, the opening 101 corresponds to a communication hole that connects a predetermined space inside the mounting members 90, 100 to the heat insulating space, and a first damming portion 910 is integrally molded at the base end of the engaging projections 91, 91. That is, as shown in Figures 21 and 22, the first damming portion 910 refers to the rectangular tube portion on the base end side of the engaging projections 91, 91, and is configured to protrude from the main surface portion 90a so that the tip side of the rectangular tube portion fits into the opening 101. Such pairs of engaging projections 91, 91 and openings 101 are provided, for example, in four pairs at equal intervals so as to be aligned in the longitudinal direction of the mounting members 90, 100. When the mounting members 90, 100 are assembled, the engaging projections 91, 91 are aligned with the opening 101 at the mounting portion 5', and the two mounting members 90, 100 can be engaged with the opening 101 by aligning them with each other in the plate thickness direction. As mentioned above, the engaging projections 91, 91 and the engaging projections 71, 72 in Figure 17 are flexible, and it is of course possible to confirm that the desired engaged state is achieved by the sense of detent or sound when they engage.

[0102] Note that the outer shapes of the relief recesses 51 and 51' differ between Figure 20 and Figure 18, which show the outer surface of the mounting member 100. This is because the relief recess 51 forms a space to avoid interference with the claw portion 33, and as shown in Figures 19(a) and 18, the thickness of the main surface portion 100a is made thinner to match the outer shape of the insertion portion 41, illustrating an example of the outer shape of the relief recess 51'. Here, the outer wall portion on the insulated space side of the relief recesses 51, 51' is made into exterior protrusions 51a, 51a' that protrude further toward the insulated space than the main surface portion 100a, corresponding to the recesses of the relief recesses 51, 51', as shown in Figures 19(b) and 22. Also, the outer peripheral rib 51a'' shown in Figure 22 is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the main surface portion 100a and protrudes further toward the insulated space than the main surface portion 100a, and is therefore also referred to as an exterior protrusion 51a''. These externally protruding portions 51a, 51a', 51a'' are set to have a protruding length that extends closer to the vacuum insulation panel 3b than the protruding portions of the internal mounting members 90, such as the engaging protrusions 91, 91. In this case, the engaging protrusions 91, 91 are positioned between the outer protrusions 51a, 51a' and surrounded by the outer circumferential ribs 51a'', as shown in Figures 20 and 22. The outer protrusions 51a, 51a' and the outer circumferential ribs 51a'' are formed to protrude slightly (by ΔL as shown in Figure 22) towards the heat insulating space compared to the engaging protrusions 91, 91. Similarly, the tongue portion 93a of the rectangular tubular rib 93 shown in Figure 19(b) is also positioned so as to be sandwiched or surrounded by the outward-facing protrusions 51a, 51a', 51a'', and is formed so that the outward-facing protrusions 51a, 51a', 51a'' have a greater projection length toward the insulated space than the tongue portion 93a.

[0103] The cylindrical rib 92 shown in Figure 21 is a positioning rib formed, for example, in the vertically intermediate portion of the main surface portion 90a of the mounting member 90. The cylindrical rib 92 has, for example, a circular longitudinal cross-section, and its tip extends convexly through the opening (not shown) of the inner box 2a to the inner surface of the large diameter rib 102 (see Figure 20) of the mounting member 100. The large-diameter rib 102 has a bottomed cylindrical shape, with its inner circumferential surface sliding against the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical rib 92, and is integrally formed with the main surface portion 100 of the mounting member 100. As a result, in the combination of the mounting members 90 and 100 described above, the large-diameter rib 102 fits into the cylindrical rib 92, thereby providing a positioning effect between the mounting members 90 and 100 and improving assembly accuracy.

[0104] As described above, the mounting member 90 of this fifth embodiment has engaging projections 91, 91 that act as retaining portions that protrude toward the other mounting member 80 in a direction perpendicular to the engagement direction, when the direction in which the engaging projections 91, 91 bend (for example, the outer side in the width direction of the member 90 as shown in the front-rear direction of Figure 22) is viewed as the engagement direction. That is, the engaging projections 91, 91 with the ribs 91a, 91a are integrally formed on the mounting member 90 and are prevented from coming loose in the opposite engagement direction by the other mounting member 100 (for example, the peripheral edge of the opening 101). According to this, for example, the engaging protrusions 91, 91 function as retaining parts by hooking their returns 91a, 91a onto, for example, the periphery of the opening 101, thereby maintaining the state in which both mounting members 90, 100 are combined with each other.

[0105] Furthermore, since the mounting member 90 on the inside of the storage compartment is provided with, for example, a rectangular tubular rib 93 as a first damming section as shown in Figure 19(b), and a first damming section 910 and a second damming section 48' as shown in Figure 22, it is possible to suppress the intrusion of the foamed insulation material 3a into the storage compartment space, thus achieving the same effects as the embodiment described above. Figure 22 shows the positional relationship between the vacuum insulation panel 3b and the foam insulation material 3a in the insulated space and the mounting members 90 and 100. As shown in the figure, there is a gap between the vacuum insulation panel 3b and the mounting member 100 on the outside of the chamber. Also, even if there is a small gap around the engaging protrusions 91, 91 in the opening 101, and the foam insulation material 3a flows through these gaps along the engaging protrusions 91, 91, it is possible to prevent it from flowing into the chamber space by blocking it with the first damming portion 910 on the base end side of the engaging protrusions 91, 91, or by blocking it with the sealing surface of the second damming portion 48' around it. The external mounting member 100 has at least one external projection 51a, 51a', 51a'' which is configured to surround or sandwich a projection of the internal mounting member 90 (for example, an engaging projection 91, 91 or a rectangular tubular rib 93) and which extends closer to the vacuum insulation material than the said projection. According to this, even if the mounting member 90 on the inside of the storage unit has a protruding portion that extends into the insulation space (for example, the engaging protrusions 91, 91 in Figure 22), the distance between the tip of the protruding portion and the vacuum insulation material can be ensured by the protruding portions 51a, 51a', 51a'' on the outside of the storage unit, thereby suppressing the risk of damage to the vacuum insulation material. Furthermore, the protruding portion of the mounting member on the inside of the storage unit may include, for example, the engaging protrusions 71 and 72 shown in Figure 17, and should be configured to protrude into the heat-insulating space.

[0106] Figure 23 shows a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the mounting portion 5' of the inner box 2a in the sixth embodiment. As shown in the figure, a raised portion 9 is formed on the side wall of the inner box 2a, slightly raised around the mounting portion 5'. The raised portion 9 is raised inward from the side wall (the straight line labeled 2a in the figure). In this case, the amount of the raised portion 9 is smaller than the thickness of the mounting member 90 on the inside of the storage unit. For example, even the maximum amount of raised portion on the mounting portion 5' side shown in the figure is approximately half the thickness of the mounting member 90.

[0107] Furthermore, the raised portion 9 is symmetrically raised on the front and back sides of the mounting portion 5'. As a result, the front raised portion 9 rises inward towards the interior of the chamber, forming a gentle slope as it moves from its front side towards the mounting portion 5', while the back raised portion 9 rises inward towards the interior of the chamber, forming a gentle slope as it moves from its back side towards the mounting portion 5'. As described above, the mounting portion 5' of this sixth embodiment is relatively recessed due to the raised portions 9 on both the front and rear sides, so that at least a part of the interior mounting member 90 is hidden when viewed from the front of the refrigerator 1. In this case, the thinning of the interior mounting member 90 and the amount of protrusion of the raised portions 9 below it do not substantially narrow the interior space, and the appearance is also improved. Although not shown in the diagram, symmetrical raised portions may also be formed on the upper and lower sides of the mounting portion 5', such that they form a gently sloping surface toward the interior of the chamber as they approach the mounting portion 5'.

[0108] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0109] 1 is the refrigerator, 2 is the refrigerator body, 2a is the inner box, 2b is the outer box, 3a is the foamed insulation material (insulation material), 3b is the vacuum insulation panel (insulation material), 5, 5' are the mounting parts, and 6, 6', 6a~6c are the openings. 10 is a support means, 20 is a first shelf (non-divided shelf), 20c is a first projection, 21 is a front member (a component of the two-part second shelf), 21c is a second projection, 22 is a rear member (a component of the two-part second shelf), 22c is a third projection, and 23 is a second shelf. 30 is a support member, 31 is a mounting part, 32a and 32c are end-side recesses, 32b is a central recess, and 32a to 32c are recesses. 48, 480, 481, 482, and 910 are the first damming sections, 48' and 483 are the second damming sections, 40, 70, and 90 are the mounting members on the inside of the storage unit, and 50, 60, 80, and 100 are the mounting members on the outside of the storage unit. 52, 53, 59, 71, 72, 91 are engaging protrusions, 93 is a rectangular tubular rib (engaging protrusion, projection, first damming part), 42, 43, 49, 81 are engaging recesses, 101, 103 are openings (engaging recesses), 52b, 53b, 81a, 101, 103 are openings (communication holes), 54a, 59 are retaining parts, and 71a, 72a, 91a are flaps (retaining parts).

Claims

1. A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerator body in which insulating material is used in the insulating space between an inner box and an outer box, the inside of the inner box forming the internal space; a shelf board arranged in the internal space; and a support means for supporting the shelf board in the internal space, The aforementioned support means is A support member having a mounting portion on which the shelf board is placed, A pair of mounting members for attaching the support member to the inner box, comprising: an inner mounting member disposed on the side of the interior space and capable of holding the support member; and an outer mounting member disposed on the side of the heat-insulating space so as to face the inner mounting member with the inner box in between; It is equipped with, An engaging projection is provided on at least one of the interior mounting member and the exterior mounting member, and an engaging recess that can engage with the engaging projection is provided on the other, and by the engagement of the engaging projection and the engaging recess, the interior mounting member and the exterior mounting member are assembled together. The engagement projection is formed to extend in the engagement direction along the wall surface of the inner box, The aforementioned engagement recess is a refrigerator in which the engagement projection is formed so as to be insertable along the engagement direction.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein one of the engaging projection and the engaging recess protrudes from one side of the inner box, either the heat insulating space side or the internal storage space side, through an opening provided in the inner box, and engages with the other of the engaging projection and the engaging recess on the other side.

3. At least one of the mounting members, the outer mounting member and the inner mounting member, has a retaining portion that protrudes toward the other mounting member in a direction perpendicular to the engagement direction. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the retaining portion is integrally formed with one of the mounting members, and the other mounting member prevents it from coming loose in the opposite direction to the engagement direction, which is the opposite direction to the engagement direction.

4. The exterior mounting member of the storage unit is provided with a communication hole that connects a predetermined space between the exterior mounting member and the interior mounting member of the storage unit to the heat insulating space. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined space is surrounded by a first damming portion that protrudes from at least one of the interior mounting member and the exterior mounting member to the other.

5. The aforementioned insulation material includes foamed insulation material. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the interior mounting member and the exterior mounting member is provided with a second damming portion that overlaps with the inner box on the outer circumference of the opening.

6. The support member is elongated in shape so that its longitudinal direction is the depth direction of the interior space, and a recess is provided on the side of the mounting portion described above. The recessed portion includes a central recessed portion provided on the central side of the support member and an end recessed portion provided at the longitudinal end of the support member. The aforementioned shelf board is The first shelf and The support member includes a front member positioned on the longitudinal front side of the support member, and a second shelf plate composed of a rear member positioned further back than the front member. The first shelf is provided with a first projection that fits into the recess on the end side, thereby restricting the movement of the shelf in the depth direction. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the front member or the rear member is provided with a second projection that fits into the central recess, thereby restricting the movement of the one member in the depth direction.

7. The second projection is provided on one of the front member and the rear member, and the third projection is provided on the other. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein the second projection fits into the central recess and the third projection fits into the end recess, thereby enabling the front member and the rear member to be supported by the same support member.

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