Cooling Appliance Drawer Guide Using Integrated Hanging Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing cooling appliances with withdrawable drawers face high costs due to complex metallic fixtures for telescopic elements, which are irreversible and limit the adjustability of shelf configurations, making them inflexible and costly to produce.
Innovation Solution
A hanging element connects the shelf and drawer, eliminating the need for separate connecting elements to the inner body, using a bridging element between upper and lower guides to adjust their distance and providing a rigid structure through a mounting element that locks into the inner receptacle, allowing for adjustable positioning and easy production with a monoblock plastic injection design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If telescopic elements with metallic fixtures are used to connect drawers to the inner receptacle, then the connection strength and reliability are improved, but the manufacturing cost increases and the adaptability decreases due to irreversible modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is divided into separate functional elements: the hanging element with integrated guides and the drawer, eliminating the need for separate metallic fixtures. The guides are segmented into upper and lower parts that can independently position the drawer at different heights, providing adaptability while maintaining connection reliability through the monoblock structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system transitions from a fixed, irreversible configuration to a dynamic, adjustable one. The hanging element allows the drawer to be positioned at different heights along the guides, enabling the shelf configuration to be changed subsequently without irreversible modifications to the inner receptacle.
2Strength
If complex metallic fixtures are used for mounting telescopic elements, then the connection strength is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functions are merged into a single monoblock hanging element: the connection function, the guiding function (upper and lower guides), and the positioning function. This eliminates the need for separate metallic fixtures and reduces manufacturing complexity while maintaining connection strength through the integrated structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The hanging element is produced as a simple monoblock plastic component through injection molding, replacing expensive metallic fixtures. The design prioritizes ease of manufacture and cost-effectiveness while maintaining sufficient strength for the application through the integrated guide structure.
3Reliability
If irreversible modifications are made to the inner body to connect fixtures, then the connection reliability is improved, but the adaptability decreases and production complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is extracted from the inner receptacle structure, eliminating the need for irreversible modifications. The hanging element with integrated guides is positioned and connected without modifying the inner body, simplifying production while maintaining connection reliability through the self-contained design.
4Ease of manufacture
If a monoblock plastic injection design is used for the hanging element, then the ease of manufacture and production cost are improved, but the load-bearing capacity may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The hanging element integrates multiple load-bearing functions into a single monoblock structure: the connection point, the upper and lower guides, and the support for the drawer. The monoblock design eliminates weak points from assembly joints while the integrated guide structure distributes loads effectively, maintaining sufficient load-bearing capacity for the application.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention is a cooling appliance, comprising a thermally insulated inner receptacle (10); a drawer (20) provided in the inner receptacle (10) so as to be withdrawable and in which elements to be cooled are to be placed; a shelf (30) positioned in the inner receptacle (10) so as to be withdrawably such that it covers at least partly the upper part of the drawer (20). The cooling appliance comprises a hanging element (40) having an upper guide (32) attached to the shelf (30) by a lateral edge (32) and a lower guide (44) attached to the shelf (20) by an edge border (26) by extending under the upper guide (32) and integrated to the upper guide (32).