Geared Drawer Support Mechanism to Prevent Racking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drawer assembly mechanisms in appliances, such as refrigerator drawers, often provide a flimsy feel and allow undesirable movement during sliding, leading to a negative user experience due to racking and other unintended movements.
Innovation Solution
A translatable support mechanism featuring a storage component with a pair of supports and gear sets that restrict movement to a specific sliding direction, ensuring a robust feel by using geared racks and interlocking gears to maintain alignment and prevent racking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If roll-formed drawer slides with ball bearings are used, then the drawer can slide between open and closed positions, but the drawer assembly feels flimsy and permits racking and other undesirable movements
Solution Approach 1:
The drawer assembly is divided into multiple independent support components (first support, second support, third support, fourth support) positioned at different locations. Each support contains ball bearings that independently guide movement, distributing the load and preventing racking by ensuring each segment maintains proper alignment during sliding operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a simple sliding mechanism is used, then the drawer can move between positions, but the mechanism lacks robustness and allows movement in unintended directions
Solution Approach 1:
Ball bearings are introduced as intermediary elements between the drawer assembly and the support structure. These bearings act as mediators that permit controlled movement in the intended sliding direction while preventing movement in unintended directions, thereby enhancing both movement capability and movement control simultaneously.
3Stability of the object's composition
If multiple supports with ball bearings are used, then drawer stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple support components are merged into a coordinated system where the first, second, third, and fourth supports work together as an integrated assembly. The ball bearings in each support are synchronized to provide stable, rack-free movement, achieving enhanced drawer stability while managing complexity through unified design and coordination of all support elements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a stable and smooth sliding motion between open and closed positions, enhancing user satisfaction by limiting movement to the intended direction and reducing the likelihood of racking, thus improving the perceived quality of the drawer assembly.
Implementation Method 1
A pair of gear sets is rotatably mounted to the storage component. Each gear set of the pair of gear sets has a first gear that meshes a respective first geared rack of the pair of supports and a second gear that meshes a respective second geared rack of the pair of supports.
Implementation Method 2
Each support of the pair of supports has a first geared rack and a second geared rack. The first and second geared racks are spaced apart from each other along the vertical direction.
Data Source
AI summary
A translatable support mechanism is provided. The translatable support mechanism includes a storage component, a pair of supports, and a pair of gear sets. The pair of supports and the pair of gear sets support the storage component such that the storage component is translatable between an open and closed position along a transverse direction.