Adjustable Refrigerator Drawer Shelf for Variable Fresh Food Volume
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Solution Overview
Problem
In refrigerators and freezers, the fixed volume of fresh food compartments leads to inefficient storage, as excess food must be placed outside, where it can deteriorate due to poor placement and exposure to moisture during automatic defrosting.
Innovation Solution
A drawer container device with adjustable dimensions, utilizing pin-and-groove type regulating means, allows the shelf and drawer to change positions, enabling variable compartment volumes without removing food, thus accommodating more food and optimizing storage space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the fresh food compartment has a fixed volume, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but it cannot accommodate varying amounts of food efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The drawer container is designed with expandable side walls that can move between retracted and extended positions. The side walls include sliding elements that engage with guide rails and locking mechanisms, allowing the drawer to dynamically adjust its volume from a compact first position to an expanded second position, accommodating varying food quantities
Solution Approach 2:
The drawer container is divided into modular components: a base container body, multiple independent side walls with sliding elements, guide rails, and locking mechanisms. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured separately and assembled easily, maintaining simplicity while enabling volume adjustment functionality
2Quantity of substance
If the drawer volume is increased to store more food, then storage capacity is improved, but the shelf above cannot accommodate food and both shelf and drawer must be extracted and reinserted
Solution Approach 1:
The drawer container features dynamically adjustable side walls that can be extended or retracted independently of the shelf above. Users can simply push the side walls to extend them to the desired position, and the locking mechanism automatically secures the expanded configuration, allowing volume change without moving the shelf or its contents
Solution Approach 2:
The volume adjustment functionality is extracted as a separate feature from the overall drawer-shelf assembly. The side walls with sliding elements and locking mechanisms can be operated independently, allowing users to expand the drawer volume without extracting or repositioning the shelf above, thereby simplifying the operation
3Adaptability or versatility
If food is stored outside the compartment on shelves, then storage flexibility is improved, but food deteriorates due to moisture exposure and poor placement
Solution Approach 1:
The drawer container provides a protected, moisture-resistant environment that can dynamically expand to accommodate large food quantities. The enclosed structure with removable lid protects food from moisture exposure while maintaining storage flexibility, as users can extend the side walls to fit different food volumes without compromising food quality
Solution Approach 2:
The drawer container converts the potential harm of moisture exposure into a benefit by providing a sealed, removable lid that protects food from moisture while allowing the container itself to be exposed to the refrigerator environment. The expandable design also converts the limitation of fixed volume into a benefit by allowing optimal volume adjustment for different food quantities
Data Source
AI summary
A drawer container device that can be inserted in a refrigerated cell to define a separate compartment, including at least a shelf provided with mating elements with the respective side walls of the refrigerated cell in a first position such as to define, immediately below the shelf, a first predetermined volume and at least one cup-shaped drawer delimited by at least one side wall placed transversely to the shelf and located in a position beneath the shelf with its concavity facing the latter, the shelf being selectively moveable between the first position and a second position located at a different height from the first and in which the shelf delimits a second predetermined volume beneath itself; the side wall of the drawer being defined by a pair of adjacent elements sliding relative to each other and placed parallel to and at least partially facing each other; regulating elements of the pin-and-groove type being interposed between the relatively sliding elements to selectively position them such that the side wall substantially occupies the entire height of the first and second predetermined volumes; in this way, the volume of the compartment can be varied by simply lifting the side wall of the drawer and the above shelf.