Refrigerator Compartment Divider Rail Lock for Secure Removable Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing household refrigeration appliances face challenges in securely attaching and easily removing compartment dividers during assembly, usage, and transportation, leading to potential slipping or falling issues that can cause damage.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates receiving webs on the inner container walls with varying width engagement elements that form open edge channels, allowing for secure positioning and easy handling of the compartment divider, which can be mechanically coupled and decoupled with a rail-like mechanism, ensuring stability during transport and user-friendly installation and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the compartment divider is securely attached to the inner container walls, then the reliability and stability of the compartment divider is improved, but the ease of operation for removal and reinstallation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement element is divided into multiple engagement sections along its longitudinal extension. Each section can independently engage with corresponding features on the receiving web, allowing the compartment divider to be securely attached while still enabling easy removal by disengaging each section sequentially. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by providing both strong attachment and simple detachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement element is designed to be movable relative to the receiving web during installation and removal operations. The element can be inserted, engaged, and disengaged smoothly along the longitudinal direction, transforming from a static fixed connection to a dynamic reversible connection. This dynamic design allows secure attachment during normal use while enabling easy removal when needed.
2Ease of operation
If the engagement element has a varying width configuration, then the ease of operation for insertion and removal is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement element has different width characteristics at different locations along its longitudinal extension. Specific sections have varying widths to create engagement and disengagement zones with different functional properties. This local quality variation enables smooth insertion and removal operations while the overall structure can be manufactured with standard precision tolerances.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a household refrigeration appliance (1) having an inner chamber (4) for receiving groceries, which inner chamber is defined by walls (5 to 7) of an interior container (3), wherein on opposing vertical walls (5, 6) of the interior container (3), receiving bars (12) are formed, to which a plate-like compartment divider (11) of the household refrigeration appliance (1) can be mounted. On at least one receiving bar (12) and/or on a rear wall (7) of the interior container (3), a first engagement element (23a, 24) is formed, which in the end position of the compartment divider (11) engages with the interior container (3) between an upper channel wall (29) as viewed from a vertical direction of the household refrigeration appliance (1), and a first lower channel wall (31), which are formed at an edge (27, 28, 41) of the compartment divider (11) forming a first sidewardly open edge channel (32). The invention further relates to a method for installing a compartment divider (11) in a household refrigeration appliance (1).