refrigerator

Abstract

To provide a refrigerator capable of suppressing jump-up when mounting a load in front of a container.SOLUTION: The refrigerator in the embodiment includes the container provided in a storage room and drawable in the longitudinal direction, the container having an upper container on which an overhung projection is provided projecting backward. When the upper container is drawn frontward, at least part of the overhung projection overlaps with a container located on the upper container in downward view or with the upper wall inner face of the storage room. The upper container is drawable in front of a lower container located below the upper container.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a refrigerator. [Background technology]

[0002] In a known refrigerator, a freezer compartment is provided with multiple removable containers. In such a refrigerator, when a container in the middle section is fully removed and a load is applied from above to the portion near the front handle, the rear of the container may jump up to the upper door of the freezer compartment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-277158 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The problem that the invention aims to solve is to provide a refrigerator capable of suppressing a load from bouncing up when the load is placed on the front of the container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The refrigerator according to the embodiment has a container that is provided in a storage compartment and can be pulled out in a front-rear direction. The container has an upper container provided with a protruding projection that protrudes rearward, and when the upper container is pulled out forward, at least a part of the protruding projection is located above the upper container as viewed from above. Consists of The contact portion overlaps with the protrusion. The contact portion, which faces the protrusion in the up-down direction, has an upwardly concave recess into which the protrusion can enter. The protrusion is inclined downward as it extends rearward. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the freezer compartment shown in FIG. 1 as seen from the front. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the freezer compartment shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a partially broken perspective view of the freezer compartment as seen diagonally from the front. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the freezer compartment door in FIG. 4 when fully opened. [Figure 6] 6 is a perspective view of the freezing compartment shown in FIG. 5 as seen obliquely from the front. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of the freezing chamber shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a third container. [Figure 9] FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the configuration of each container and a sliding portion shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side view of the freezer with the third container pulled out. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a fourth container. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a main part of the rear end portion of the fourth container. [Figure 13] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the configuration of each container and a sliding portion. [Figure 14] FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an attachment structure of a first guide member. [Figure 16] FIG. [Figure 17] FIG. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the guide member fixing portion before a reinforcing member is attached thereto. [Figure 19] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the reinforcing member as viewed from the front-rear direction. [Figure 20] FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of the reinforcing member. [Figure 21] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a guide member fixing portion. [Figure 22] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side view illustrating the function of the third container. [Diagram 23] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side view of a freezer compartment above a vegetable compartment according to a first modified example. [Figure 24] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side view of a vegetable compartment above a freezer according to a second modified example. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the configuration of each container and a sliding portion according to a third modified example. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the configuration of each container and a sliding portion according to a fourth modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0007] Hereinafter, a refrigerator according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, components having the same or similar functions are denoted by the same reference numerals. In addition, duplicate descriptions of those components may be omitted.

[0008] In this specification, left and right are defined based on the direction in which the refrigerator is viewed from a user standing in front of the refrigerator. Also, the side closer to the user standing in front of the refrigerator as viewed from the refrigerator is defined as the "front", and the side further away is defined as the "rear". In this specification, the "width direction" means the left-right direction as defined above. In this specification, the "depth direction" means the front-rear direction as defined above. In the drawings, the +X direction is the right direction, the -X direction is the left direction, the +Y direction is the rear direction, the -Y direction is the front direction, the +Z direction is the upward direction, and the -Z direction is the downward direction. Also, in a refrigerator, the inside (storage compartment, freezer compartment, etc.) side in the thickness direction of a wall described later is defined as the "inside", and the outside of the refrigerator opposite the inside across the wall is defined as the "outside".

[0009] [Overall configuration of refrigerator] A refrigerator 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 10. First, an overall configuration of the refrigerator 1 will be described. However, the refrigerator 1 does not need to have all of the components described below, and some components may be omitted as appropriate.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a front view showing refrigerator 1. As shown in Fig. 1, refrigerator 1 includes a wall having wall 10 and door 11. Refrigerator 1 includes, for example, wall 10, a plurality of doors 11, a plurality of shelves, a plurality of containers (reference numerals 21 to 24 in Fig. 2 and the like provided in freezer 15E described later), a cooling unit, and a control board. In this embodiment, refrigerator body 5 is formed by the above-mentioned components other than the plurality of doors 11.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 2, the wall body 10 includes, for example, an inner box 3, an outer box 4, and a foam insulation material 5. The inner box 3 is a member forming the inner surface of the wall body 10, and is made of, for example, a synthetic resin. The outer box 4 is a member forming the outer surface of the wall body 10, and is made of, for example, a metal such as a steel plate. The outer box 4 is formed to be one size larger than the inner box 3, and is disposed outside the inner box 3. The foam insulation material 5 is a foam insulation material such as urethane foam, and is filled between the inner box 3 and the outer box 4. This provides the wall body 10 with thermal insulation properties.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the wall body 10 has an upper wall 12, a lower wall 13, left and right side walls 14, 14, and a rear wall. The upper wall 12 and the lower wall 13 extend substantially horizontally. The left and right side walls 14, 14 rise upward from the left and right ends of the lower wall 13 and connect to the left and right ends of the upper wall 12. The rear wall rises upward from the rear end of the lower wall 13 and connects to the rear end of the upper wall 12.

[0013] A plurality of storage compartments 15 are provided inside the wall body 10. The plurality of storage compartments 15 include, for example, a refrigerator compartment 15A, a vegetable compartment 15B, an ice making compartment 15C, a small freezer compartment 15D, and a main freezer compartment 15E (hereinafter simply referred to as a freezer compartment 15E). In this embodiment, the refrigerator compartment 15A is arranged at the top, the vegetable compartment 15B is arranged below the refrigerator compartment 15A, the ice making compartment 15C and the small freezer compartment 15D are arranged below the vegetable compartment 15B, and the main freezer compartment 15E is arranged below the ice making compartment 15C and the small freezer compartment 15D. However, the arrangement of the storage compartments 15 is not limited to the above example. The wall body 10 has an opening on the front side of each storage compartment 15 that allows food to be put in and taken out of each storage compartment 15.

[0014] The openings of the multiple storage compartments 15 are openably and closably closed by multiple doors 11. The multiple doors 11 include, for example, left and right refrigerator compartment doors 11Aa and 11Ab that close the opening of refrigerator compartment 15A, vegetable compartment door 11B that closes the opening of vegetable compartment 15B, ice making compartment door 11C that closes the opening of ice making compartment 15C, small freezer compartment door 11D that closes the opening of small freezer compartment 15D, and main freezer compartment door 11E that closes the opening of main freezer compartment 15E.

[0015] The left and right refrigerator compartment doors 11Aa, 11Ab are, for example, double-door doors. The left and right refrigerator compartment doors 11Aa, 11Ab are rotatably supported by hinges 10h on the wall body 10. In this embodiment, the width of the right refrigerator compartment door 11Ab in the lateral width direction is larger than the width of the left refrigerator compartment door 11Aa in the lateral width direction.

[0016] On the other hand, the vegetable compartment door 11B, the ice compartment door 11C, the small freezer compartment door 11D, and the main freezer compartment door 11E are, for example, drawer-type doors. The vegetable compartment door 11B, the ice compartment door 11C, the small freezer compartment door 11D, and the main freezer compartment door 11E are supported by guide members 6A and 6B described later so as to be drawable relative to the wall body 10.

[0017] The wall body 10 has a plurality of (here, two) partitions (not shown) that divide the inside of the wall body 10. These partitions are, for example, partition walls that are approximately horizontal. One of the partitions is located between the refrigerator compartment 15A and the vegetable compartment 15B, and separates the refrigerator compartment 15A from the vegetable compartment 15B. On the other hand, the other partition is located between the vegetable compartment 15B and the ice making compartment 15C and the small freezer compartment 15D, and separates the vegetable compartment 15B from the ice making compartment 15C and the small freezer compartment 15D. Note that no partition wall is provided between the ice making compartment 15C and the small freezer compartment 15D and the main freezer compartment 15E.

[0018] The multiple shelves are arranged in refrigerator compartment 15A. The multiple containers include a refrigerator compartment container (e.g., a chilled compartment container) arranged in refrigerator compartment 15A, a vegetable compartment container arranged in vegetable compartment 15B, an ice compartment container arranged in ice compartment 15C, a small freezer container arranged in small freezer compartment 15D, and four tiers of containers 21-24 arranged in freezer compartment 15E.

[0019] The cooling unit includes a compressor. The cooling unit includes, for example, a cooler and a fan arranged in a cooling air passage formed by duct parts. The compressor is provided, for example, in a machine room at the bottom of the refrigerator 1, and compresses refrigerant gas used to cool the storage compartment 15. The refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor is sent to the cooler via a suction pipe or the like.

[0020] The control board comprehensively controls the entire refrigerator 1. For example, the control board controls the driving of the above-mentioned fans, compressors, etc. based on the detection results of temperature sensors provided in the refrigerator compartment 15A, the freezer compartment 15E, etc. The control board is attached, for example, on the upper wall 12 of the wall body 10.

[0021] In the cooling unit, the cold air cooled by the cooler flows into the cooling air passage by the rotation of the fan. The cold air that flows into the cooling air passage flows from the bottom to the top and is blown out into the refrigerator compartment 15A and the vegetable compartment 15B from the air outlet (not shown) formed in the air passage forming part.

[0022] A door container whose height position is adjustable and a door container fixed to the lower part are detachably attached to the rear side of the left refrigerator compartment door 11Aa.

[0023] Here, the configurations of the right refrigerator door 11Ab, the vegetable door 11B, the ice-making door 11C, the small freezer door 11D, and the main freezer door 11E are the same as the configuration of the left refrigerator door 11Aa described above. That is, the configurations of the right refrigerator door 11Ab, the vegetable door 11B, the ice-making door 11C, the small freezer door 11D, and the main freezer door 11E can be obtained by replacing "left refrigerator door 11Aa" with "right refrigerator door 11Ab," "vegetable door 11B," "ice-making door 11C," "small freezer door 11D," or "main freezer door 11E" in the description of the left refrigerator door 11Aa described above.

[0024] [Freezer configuration] Next, a specific structure of freezer compartment 15E will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0025] As shown in Figures 2 to 7, the freezer compartment 15E has a drawer-type main freezer compartment door 11E. The freezer compartment 15E is structured so that the main freezer compartment door 11E moves forward from the opening 15a of the wall body 10 and separates from the opening 15a to open the freezer compartment 15E, and moves backward to a position where the main freezer compartment door 11E closes the opening 15a to close the freezer compartment 15E. Note that in some figures, the main freezer compartment door 11E is omitted for ease of viewing, as necessary.

[0026] In the freezing chamber 15E, four tiers of containers 21-24, each of which contains an object to be contained, are arranged in the vertical direction. In the following description of the present embodiment, the container in the first tier from the bottom of the four tiers of containers 21-24 is referred to as the first container 21, the container in the second tier from the bottom as the second container 22, the container in the third tier from the bottom as the third container 23, and the container in the fourth tier from the bottom as the fourth container 24. That is, in the freezing chamber 15E, the first container 21, the second container 22, the third container 23, and the fourth container 24 are arranged in this order from bottom to top.

[0027] The thicknesses (heights) of the containers 21 to 24 are, in descending order of thickness, the first container 21, the second container 22, the fourth container 24, and the third container 23. The third container 23 is formed to have the smallest thickness.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 6, the first container 21 has door fixing plates 211 fixed to both the left and right sides of the front surface 21A, and the main freezer door 11E (see Figs. 3 to 5) is fixed to the front surfaces of these door fixing plates 211. As shown in Figs. 3 to 5, the upper front ends of the second container 22, the third container 23 and the fourth container 24 respectively have handle portions 221, 231 and 241 that enable the containers to be pulled out by hand.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 2, each of the containers 21-24 is guided by a sliding portion (a first guide member 6A, a second guide member 6B, and a guide groove 31 described later) provided on the inner side surface 3a of the inner box 3, and is provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. Also, as shown in FIG. 7, the second container 22 is placed on the upper edge portion 212 of the lower first container 21, and is also guided by the upper edge portion 212 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction relative to the first container 21. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the main freezer door 11E is fully closed. As shown in FIG. 3, the length dimensions in the front-rear direction of each of the containers 21-24 are different from each other. Specifically, the first container 21 and the fourth container 24 are set to be the longest, followed by the third container 23 and the second container 22, which are set to be the shortest.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the first container 21 is a deep, approximately rectangular parallelepiped container with an open top. The first container 21 is composed of a front surface 21A, a rear surface 21B, both side surfaces 21C, and a bottom surface 21D. As shown in Fig. 2, the upper edges of the left and right side surfaces 21C are provided with first sliding support parts that protrude outward in the left-right direction like flanges. The first sliding support parts are placed on the top surface 6b of the first guide member 6A and are moved in the front-rear direction along the top surface 6b so as to be withdrawn.

[0031] 3 and 7, the height of the upper end of the rear surface 21B is lower than the front surface 21A and both side surfaces 21C, 21C. The height of the rear surface 21B is set to a height that allows the second container 22, which is placed on top of the first container 21, to pass over the rear surface 21B in the front-rear direction.

[0032] The door fixing plate 211 fixed to the front surface 21A extends from the front surface 21A along the side surface 21C and is bent into an L-shape, as shown in Fig. 6. A tip portion 63a of the first guide member 6A is fixed to a portion (side piece 211a) of the door fixing plate 211 located on the side surface 21C.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the second container 22 is a shallow, approximately rectangular parallelepiped container with an open top. The second container 22 is composed of a front surface 22A, a rear surface 22B, both side surfaces 22C, and a bottom surface 22D. As shown in Fig. 2, second sliding support parts 223 that protrude outward in the left-right direction like a brim are provided on the upper edges of the left and right side surfaces 22C. The second sliding support part 223 (see Fig. 9) is placed on a lower surface 31a of a guide groove 31 that is formed on the inner surface 3a of the inner box 3 of the refrigerator 1 and extends in the front-rear direction, and is moved in the front-rear direction along the lower surface 31a so as to be able to be pulled out.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 2, the second container 22 is placed in a state where a substantially lower half portion 22a of the second container 22 is fitted inside the first container 21. That is, the second container 22 is provided in a state where it overlaps the first container 21, and is provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction with respect to the first container 21. As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, when the main freezer door 11E is opened and the first container 21 is pulled out, the second container 22 is pulled forward while being placed on the first container 21. That is, at the maximum pull-out position P1 of the first container 21, the second container 22 is pulled out in conjunction with the first container 21. Since the second container 22 can be moved in the front-rear direction with respect to the first container 21, for example, when putting in or taking out an object to be contained in the back (rear) of the first container 21, the opening of the first container 21 can be opened by moving only the second container 22 backward and disposing it in the freezer chamber 15E.

[0035] As shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 8, the third container 23 is a shallowest, approximately rectangular container with an open top. The third container 23 is composed of a front surface 23A, a rear surface 23B, both side surfaces 23C, and a bottom surface 23D. As shown in Figs. 2 and 9, the upper edges of the left and right side surfaces 23C are provided with third sliding support parts 231 that protrude outward in the left-right direction like a brim. The third sliding support part 231 is guided by the second sliding part 67 of the second guide member 6B and moves in the front-rear direction so that the third container 23 can be drawn out. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the third container 23 is placed on the second container 22 from above halfway when being drawn out, and slides in the front-rear direction along the upper edge 222 of the second container 22.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 8, a pulling piece 235 that protrudes downward is provided at the front of the bottom surface 23D of the third container 23 to engage with the rear surface 22B of the second container 22 from the front (see FIG. 6). The pulling pieces 235 are provided on both the left and right sides of the bottom surface 23D. When the second container 22 is pulled out, the rear surface 22B of the second container 22 moves forward, and the pulling piece 235 moves forward by being caught by the rear surface 22B from the front. As a result, the front part of the third container 23 is pulled out in conjunction with the second container 22. As shown in FIG. 10, the third container 23 is provided so as to be able to be pulled out forward of the second container 22.

[0037] 7, 8 and 10, the third container 23 is provided with a protruding projection 234 that protrudes rearward from the rear end rear surface 23B. The protruding projections 234 are provided on both left and right ends of the rear surface 23B. When the third container 23 is pulled out to the frontmost portion, at least a portion of the protruding projection 234 overlaps below the fourth container 24 when viewed from above.

[0038] As shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 11, the fourth container 24 is a shallow, approximately rectangular parallelepiped container with an open top. The fourth container 24 is composed of a front surface 24A, a rear surface 24B, both side surfaces 24C, and a bottom surface 24D. As shown in Figs. 9 and 11, a fourth sliding support portion 243 that protrudes outward in the left-right direction is provided at the approximately vertical center of each of the left and right side surfaces 24C. As shown in Fig. 9, the fourth sliding support portion 243 is guided by the first sliding portion 66 of the second guide member 6B and moved in the front-rear direction so as to be able to be pulled out.

[0039] 11 and 12, a pair of protruding projections 244 protruding rearward are provided on both left and right ends of the rear surface 24B of the fourth container 24. The fourth sliding support portion 243 is provided so as to extend from the front surface 24A to the tip of the protruding projection 244.

[0040] A substantially cylindrical stopper 245 (locking portion) that protrudes downward at least further than the fourth sliding support portion 243 is provided at the rear end of the fourth sliding support portion 243. As shown in FIG. 13, the stopper 245 slides on the lower surface 66a of the first sliding portion 66 when the fourth container 24 moves in the front-rear direction. When the fourth container 24 is fully pulled out, the stopper 245 locks from the rear a pulley 68 (regulating member) provided on the first sliding portion 66 of the second guide member 6B described later, thereby stopping the movement of the fourth container 24 when it is fully pulled out. By further pulling out the fourth container 24 from the fully pulled out position, the stopper 245 climbs over the pulley 68, and the fourth container 24 can be removed from the first sliding portion 66.

[0041] As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the inner box 3 has a recess 33 formed on the rear surface of the freezer compartment 15E at a position facing the protrusion 244 in the front-to-rear direction, into which the protrusion 244 enters when the fourth container 24 is fully closed.

[0042] As shown in Figs. 14 and 15, the first guide member 6A, which supports the first container 21 shown in Fig. 2 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, is made of a steel plate and is fixed to both inner side surfaces 3a of the inner box 3 forming the freezer compartment 15E so as to extend in the front-rear direction. The first guide member 6A includes a fixed rail 61 fixed to the inner box 3, an intermediate rail 62 slidably supported so as to protrude forward from the fixed rail 61, and a movable rail 63 slidably supported so as to protrude forward from the intermediate rail 62. That is, the first guide member 6A is pulled forward in two stages by the intermediate rail 62 and the movable rail 63. The tip portion 63a of the movable rail 63 is fixed to a side piece 211a of the door fixing plate 211 provided at the front end portion of the first container 21. The fixed rail 61, the intermediate rail 62, and the movable rail 63 each have a cross section that is approximately U-shaped.

[0043] As shown in Figure 14, the fixed rail 61 has a first plate-shaped portion 611, a pair of upper and lower first flange portions 612 extending inward in the left-right direction from the upper and lower ends of the first plate-shaped portion 611, and a first guide portion 613 extending in the front-to-rear direction from the upper and lower central portion of the inner surface 611a of the first plate-shaped portion 611.

[0044] The intermediate rail 62 has a second plate-shaped portion 621 guided by the first guide portion 613, a pair of upper and lower second flange portions 622 extending inward in the left-right direction from the upper and lower ends of the second plate-shaped portion 621, and a second guide portion 623 extending in the front-rear direction at the upper and lower central portion of the inner surface 621a of the second plate-shaped portion 621. The second plate-shaped portion 621 has a plate width (length in the up-down direction) smaller than that of the first plate-shaped portion 611. The intermediate rail 62 is disposed so as to be interposed between the pair of upper and lower first flange portions 612, 612 of the fixed rail 61. A first ball bearing 64 is interposed between the upper and lower first flange portions 612 and the second flange portions 622, and the intermediate rail 62 is substantially integrated with the fixed rail 61 in a state in which it is slidably held.

[0045] The movable rail 63 has a third plate-shaped portion 631 guided by the second guide portion 623, and a pair of upper and lower third flange portions 632 extending outward in the left-right direction from the upper and lower ends of the third plate-shaped portion 631. The third plate-shaped portion 631 has a plate width (length in the up-down direction) set smaller than that of the second plate-shaped portion 621. The movable rail 63 is disposed so as to be interposed inside the pair of upper and lower second flange portions 622, 6122 of the intermediate rail 62. Second ball bearings 65 are interposed between the upper and lower second flange portions 622 and the third flange portions 632, and the movable rail 63 is substantially integrated with the intermediate rail 62 in a state in which it is slidably held relative to the intermediate rail 62.

[0046] 6, when the first guide member 6A is pulled out from the freezer compartment 15E together with the main freezer compartment door 11E by the door opening operation, the first container 21 fixed to the movable rail 63 via the door fixing plate 211 is pulled out far to the front from the front opening. When the rails 61, 62, 63 are pulled out far, the space between the fixed rail 61 and the intermediate rail 62, and the space between the intermediate rail 62 and the movable rail 63 are held in the pulled out position by a holding mechanism (not shown) so as not to come off.

[0047] In this way, the first guide member 6A supports an approximately vertical middle portion of the first container 21 by the movable rail 63. As shown in Fig. 9, the first flange 213 of the first container 21 is placed on the upper surface 6b of the first guide member 6A, and the first flange 213 slides forward along the upper surface 6b as the first guide member 6A is pulled out.

[0048] 9, the second guide member 6B, which supports the third container 23 and the fourth container 24 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, is made of a resin member and is fixed to both inner sides 3a of the inner box 3 forming the freezer compartment 15E so as to extend in the front-rear direction at a position above the first guide member 6A. The second guide member 6B includes a first sliding portion 66 that guides the fourth container 24, and a second sliding portion 67 that is disposed adjacent to the lower side of the first sliding portion 66 and guides the third container 23. The first sliding portion 66 is located outboard of the second sliding portion 67 in the left-right direction.

[0049] The first sliding part 66 has a concave groove extending in the front-rear direction on the inside. The fourth sliding support part 243 of the fourth container 24 is fitted to the first sliding part 66 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 13, a pulley 68 is provided in the front part of the first sliding part 66 to support the fourth sliding support part 243 from below. The fourth sliding support part 243 smoothly slides on the first sliding part 66 by the rotation of the pulley 68. The pulley 68 is provided at a height at which the fourth sliding support part 243 of the fourth container 24 supported by the first sliding part 66 is horizontal. The lower end 245a of the stopper 245 is located below the upper end 68a of the pulley 68. Therefore, when the fourth container 24 is pulled out to the maximum, the stopper 245 engages with the pulley 68 from the rear and the movement is restricted, so that the fourth container 24 can be prevented from slipping out of the first sliding part 66.

[0050] The second sliding portion 67 also has a recessed groove extending in the front-rear direction formed on the inside thereof, similar to the first sliding portion 66. The third flange portion 233 of the third container 23 is fitted into the second sliding portion 67 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction.

[0051] In this embodiment, the second guide member 6B is integral with the first sliding portion 66 and the second sliding portion 67, and the fourth container 24 and the third container 23 share the second guide member 6B, but this is not limited to the above configuration. In other words, the second guide member 6B may be provided with the first sliding portion 66 and the second sliding portion 67 provided independently.

[0052] 16 to 20, the first guide member 6A and the second guide member 6B are each fixed to a reinforcing member 7 attached to the outside (the foam insulation 5 side) of the inner box 3. The reinforcing member 7 provided on the first guide member 6A side will be specifically described. Note that the reinforcing member provided on the second guide member 6B side has the same configuration as the reinforcing member 7 on the first guide member 6A side, so a detailed description will be omitted here.

[0053] As shown in Fig. 6, the reinforcing member 7 is provided to fix the first guide member 6A, which guides the first container 21 so that it can be pulled out, to the inner side surface 3a of the inner box 3, and is attached to the outer surface 3b (the surface on the foam insulation material 5 side) of the inner box 3. That is, the reinforcing member 7 is a member made of a steel plate that is attached to the outer surface 3b of the inner box 3 corresponding to the first guide member 6A and has a height dimension and a front-rear dimension (in this embodiment, the reinforcing member 7 is set shorter than the first guide member 6A) that almost covers the first guide member 6A. The reinforcing member 7 is disposed between the inner box 3 and the outer box 4, embedded in the foam insulation material 5, and fixed in a state where it is pressed against the outer surface 3b of the inner box 3 by the urethane foam of the foam insulation material 5.

[0054] Here, the inner side surface 3a of the inner box 3 has a guide member fixing portion 32 that is convex from the inside to the outside and to which the first guide member 6A (specifically, the fixed rail 61) is fixed on the inner side surface 3a side. The guide member fixing portion 32 is a region extending in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 16, a positioning convex portion 321 that is convex on the outer surface 32b side of the guide member fixing portion 32 is formed. That is, a concave portion 322 is formed on the inner surface of the guide member fixing portion 32 of the convex portion 321. Also, as shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, the rear portion of the guide member fixing portion 32 has a non-reinforced region 323 to which the reinforcing member 7 is not attached. That is, in this embodiment, the length dimension of the reinforcing member 7 in the front-rear direction is shorter than the length dimension of the first guide member 6A.

[0055] Further, the guide member fixing portion 32 is formed with a rectangular engagement hole 324 penetrating the inner box 3 in the thickness direction, and a screw hole 325 for fixing the first guide member 6A directly to the reinforcing member 7 with a screw 75 as shown in Fig. 19. A hook 73 (Figs. 17 and 18) of the reinforcing member 7 described later is inserted from the outside into the engagement hole 324 and hooked and engaged from one side in the front-rear direction (here, the front).

[0056] As shown in Fig. 17 to Fig. 19, the reinforcing member 7 has a positioning recess 71 that fits into the positioning protrusion 321, a lower end support portion 72 that bends from the lower end of the plate-shaped reinforcing plate main body 70 toward the inner box 3 and abuts against the lower surface 32c of the guide member fixing portion 32 from below, and a hook 73 provided on the inner surface side of the reinforcing plate main body 70. The hook 73 is positioned by engaging with an engaging hole 324 formed in the guide member fixing portion 32 of the inner box 3. Furthermore, the reinforcing plate main body 70 of the reinforcing member 7 is provided with screw holes 76 at multiple locations (two locations in this case) in the longitudinal direction. A reinforcing ridge portion 74 extending linearly is formed on at least a portion of the outer circumferential edge of the reinforcing plate main body 70.

[0057] When attaching the reinforcing member 7, the lower end support portion 72 is abutted against the lower surface 32c of the guide member fixing portion 32 to position it in the up-down direction, while the reinforcing member 7 is slid rearward so that the hook 73 provided on the reinforcing plate main body 70 engages with the engagement hole 324 formed in the inner box 3, and the positioning recess 71 is fitted into the positioning protrusion 321 of the inner box 3 to position it.

[0058] Then, the first guide member 6A is fixed from the inside of the freezer compartment 15E with screws 75. Thereafter, the gap between the inner box 3 and the outer box 4 is foam-filled with foamed insulation material 5 such as urethane foam, so that the reinforcing member 7 is embedded in the foamed insulation material 5 and is firmly fixed to the inner box 3 as the foamed insulation material 5 hardens. Since the reinforcing plate main body 70 has reinforcing ridges 74 formed on its outer periphery, warping or deformation of the reinforcing plate main body 70 is suppressed even when the foamed insulation material 5 is foam-filled.

[0059] By fixing the fixed rail 61 to this reinforcing member 7 at two points, front and rear, in the fore-and-aft direction with screws 75, the fixed rail 61, intermediate rail 62 and movable rail 63 can be fixed to the inner surface 3a of the inner box 3 as an integrated first guide member 6A in an overlapping state.

[0060] 21, a bulging protrusion 326 bulging from the inside to the outside is formed in the non-reinforced region 323 of the guide member fixing portion 32 in the inner box 3. The bulging protrusion 326 is provided to prevent the non-reinforced region 323 of the inner box 3 from deforming and bulging toward the freezer 15E side by foaming and filling the gap between the inner box 3 and the outer box 4 with foam insulation material 5 such as urethane foam. In other words, if the non-reinforced region 323 bulges toward the freezer 15E side, the first guide member 6A cannot be fixed in a state of being in close contact with the guide member fixing portion 32, and a gap is generated between the guide member fixing portion 32 and the first guide member 6A, and it is possible to prevent the first guide member 6A from being fixed in a shifted or tilted state.

[0061] Next, the operation and function of the refrigerator 1 will be described.

[0062] The refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment is provided with containers 21-24 that are provided in the freezer compartment 15E of the storage compartments and can be pulled out in the front-rear direction. The containers have a third container 23 (upper container) provided with a protruding projection 234 that protrudes rearward, and when the third container 23 is pulled out forward, at least a part of the protruding projection 234 overlaps with the fourth container 24 that is located above the third container 23 when viewed from above. Furthermore, when the upper container is the fourth container 24, at least a part of the protruding projection 244 overlaps with the inner surface of the upper wall of the storage compartment when viewed from above when the fourth container 24 is pulled out forward.

[0063] Thus, in this embodiment, when the third container 23 is pulled out and a load is applied from above to the portion near the front handle, as shown in FIG. 22, the protrusion 234 protruding rearward from the rear end of the third container 23 hits the underside 24a of the fourth container 24 from below, thereby preventing the rear of the third container 23 from bouncing up.

[0064] According to the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, the third container 23 can be pulled out further forward than the second container 22 (lower container). This allows the third container 23 to be pulled out farther forward when in use, improving usability.

[0065] According to the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, a plurality of overhanging projections 234 are provided in the left-right direction. As a result, when a load is applied to the front side of the third container 23, the overhanging projections 234 can be received at a plurality of locations of the fourth container 24. Therefore, the third container 23 can be stopped in a well-balanced manner while preventing it from bouncing up.

[0066] According to the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, the overhanging projections 234 are provided on both the left and right sides of the third container 23. As a result, since the overhanging projections 234 are disposed on both the left and right ends of the third container 23, when a load is applied to the front side of the third container 23 as described above, the overhanging projections 234 can be received by strong portions of both end corners of the top container 24 on which the left and right container side surfaces of the fourth container 24 are provided. Therefore, the third container 23 can be stopped while preventing bouncing in a balanced manner.

[0067] According to the refrigerator 1 of this embodiment, a second guide member 6B is provided which extends in the front-rear direction of the storage compartment (freezer compartment 15E) and moves the fourth container 24 forward so that it can be pulled out, and when the fourth container 24 is pulled out, the overhanging protrusion 244 engages with the front end of the second guide member 6B. As a result, when the fourth container 24 is pulled out, the overhanging protrusion 244 of the fourth container 24 engages with the front end of the second guide member 6B, so that the fourth container 24 can be pulled out far forward by the protruding length of the overhanging protrusion 244.

[0068] In the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, a pulley 68 (restriction member) that engages the overhanging protrusion 244 to restrict movement of the fourth container 24 is provided at the front end of the second guide member 6B. With this, when the fourth container 24 is pulled out, the overhanging protrusion 244 of the fourth container 24 is engaged with the pulley 68 at the front end of the second guide member 6B, so that the amount by which the fourth container 24 can be pulled out forward can be increased by the protruding length of the overhanging protrusion 244.

[0069] In the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, the overhanging projection 244 is provided with a locking portion (stopper 245) that protrudes to the left and right sides of the fourth container 24 and can be locked to the pulley 68 (restriction member). As a result, by providing the stopper 245 that protrudes to the left and right sides on the overhanging projection 244 of the fourth container 24, when the fourth container 24 is pulled out, the stopper 245 can be reliably locked by the pulley 68 at the front end of the second guide member 6B.

[0070] According to the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, the locking portion (stopper 245) slides along the second guide member 6B. As a result, when the fourth container 24 is pulled out, the stopper 245 on the fourth container 24 side moves while being guided by the second guide member 6B, and the stopper 245 can be reliably locked to the pulley 68, which is a restricting member. Therefore, even when the fourth container 24 is pulled out to the maximum extent forward, the pulled-out position can be maintained at that position.

[0071] In the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, a recess 33 into which the protruding projection 244 enters when the fourth container 24 is retracted is formed on the inner surface of the rear wall of the inner box 3 of the storage compartment (freezer compartment 15E) at a position facing the protruding projection 244 in the front-to-rear direction. As a result, even if the protruding projection 244 is provided at the rear of the fourth container 24 and the overall length of the fourth container 24 in the front-to-rear direction is increased, the protruding projection 244 enters the recess 33 of the inner box 3, so that the fourth container 24 can be stored at a predetermined position in the freezer compartment 15E without protruding forward.

[0072] In the refrigerator 1 according to this embodiment, the fourth container 24 is the container located at the top among the containers 21 to 24 provided in the storage compartment (freezer compartment 15E). This allows items stored at the back of the top fourth container 24 to be easily taken in and out, improving usability.

[0073] According to at least one of the embodiments described above, a refrigerator can be provided that can suppress the container from bouncing up when a load is placed on the front of the container.

[0074] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These 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 modifications are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims, as well as in the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0075] In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to the freezer compartment 15E, and the freezer compartment 15E is arranged as the lowest storage compartment 15 in the refrigerator 1, but is not limited to this. That is, the configuration of this embodiment is not limited to the freezer compartment 15E, and may be applied to the vegetable compartment 15B. For example, the present invention can also be applied to the freezer compartment 15E in a case where the vegetable compartment 15B is located at the bottom and the freezer compartment 15E is located at the middle level above the vegetable compartment 15B.

[0076] In storage compartment 15 of refrigerator 1A according to the first modification shown in Fig. 23, vegetable compartment 15B is located at the bottom, and freezer compartment 15E is located above vegetable compartment 15B. The containers 21-24 and guide members 6A, 6B of the present invention are applied to freezer compartment 15E, which is located in the center in the vertical direction. It is of course possible to apply the containers 21-24 and guide members 6A, 6B of the present invention to vegetable compartment 15B below.

[0077] In storage compartment 15 of refrigerator 1B according to the second modification shown in Fig. 24, freezer compartment 15E is located at the bottom, and vegetable compartment 15B is located above freezer compartment 15E. The containers 21-24 and guide members 6A and 6B of the present invention are applied to vegetable compartment 15B, which is located in the center in the vertical direction.

[0078] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the first guide member 6A and the second guide member 6B are provided at different positions in the left-right direction, that is, the first guide member 6A is located more inward than the second guide member 6B in this embodiment, but this is not limited to this. For example, the first guide member 6A and the second guide member 6B may be positioned in the same position in the left-right direction.

[0079] For example, in refrigerator 1C according to a third modification shown in Fig. 25, first sliding portion 66 and second sliding portion 67 of second guide member 6B are aligned at the same position in the left-right direction, and further, first guide member 6A is disposed inside second guide member 6B in the left-right direction. This makes it possible to prevent portions of containers 21-24 disposed in the vertical direction that engage with guide members 6A and 6B from interfering with each other.

[0080] In refrigerator 1D according to the fourth modification shown in Fig. 26, first sliding portion 66 and second sliding portion 67 of second guide member 6B are aligned at the same position in the left-right direction, and second guide member 6B is disposed inside first guide member 6A in the left-right direction. This makes it possible to prevent portions of containers 21-24 disposed in the vertical direction that engage with guide members 6A, 6B from interfering with each other.

[0081] In addition, in the present embodiment, an example is given of freezer compartment 15E (storage compartment) equipped with four tiers of containers 21-24, but the number of tiers of containers is not limited to four, and any storage compartment having at least four tiers of containers may be used. In other words, the present invention is applicable to a storage compartment having five or more tiers of containers. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 1, 1A to 1D... refrigerator, 3... inner box, 4... outer box, 5... foam insulation material, 6A... first guide member, 6B... second guide member, 7... reinforcement member, 10... wall body, 11E... main freezer door, 15B... vegetable compartment, 15E... freezer compartment, 21... first container, 21B... rear surface, 22... second container, 23... third container, 24... fourth container, 3... inner box, 3a... inner surface, 3b... outer surface, 32... guide member fixing portion, 33... recess, 68... pulley (regulating member), 234... overhanging protrusion, 243... fourth sliding support portion, 244... overhanging protrusion, 245... stopper (locking portion) 321... positioning protrusion, 322... recess, 323... non-reinforced area, 326... bulging protrusion

Claims

1. A container is provided in the storage chamber and can be pulled out in the front-rear direction, The container has an upper container provided with a protruding projection protruding rearward, When the upper container is pulled forward, at least a portion of the protruding projection overlaps with a contact portion that is a container located above the upper container when viewed from above, The contact portion that faces the protruding protrusion in the up-down direction has an upwardly concave recess into which the protruding protrusion can enter, The protruding projection is inclined downward toward the rear of the refrigerator.

2. The upper container can be pulled out forward of a lower container located below the upper container.

2. The refrigerator according to claim 1.

3. The protruding protrusions are provided in a plurality in the left-right direction.

3. The refrigerator according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The protruding projections are provided on both the left and right sides of the upper container. The refrigerator according to claim 3.

5. a guide member is provided which extends in the front-rear direction of the storage chamber and moves the upper container forward so as to be able to be pulled out; When the upper container is pulled out, the protruding projection engages with the front end of the guide member. A refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A restricting member is provided at a front end of the guide member to restrict the movement of the upper container by engaging the protruding projection.

6. The refrigerator according to claim 5.

7. The protruding projections are provided with locking portions that protrude to the left and right sides of the upper container and can be locked to the regulating member.

7. The refrigerator according to claim 6.

8. The locking portion slides along the guide member.

8. The refrigerator according to claim 7.

9. A recess into which the protruding protrusion enters when the upper container is retracted is formed on the inner surface of the rear wall of the inner box of the storage chamber at a position facing the protruding protrusion in the front-rear direction. A refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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