Pull-Out Cold Goods Shelf With Sliding Shoes for Door Clearance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Household refrigeration appliances, such as freezer-refrigerator combinations, face challenges in providing easy access to frozen food trays due to obstructive doors and high costs of telescopic extensions, which impede the ability to pull trays far enough out for convenient loading and unloading.

Innovation Solution

A refrigeration device with a cold goods shelf that incorporates sliding devices with support ribs and a sliding shoe, allowing the shelf to be partially pulled out by sliding on guide rails, with limitations to prevent over-displacement and ensure secure attachment, using form-fitting and displaceable mounting for enhanced accessibility and cost-effectiveness.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If telescopic extensions are used to pull frozen food trays far out of the body, then accessibility to the trays is improved, but the device cost increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccessibility to frozen food traysVSAvoidcost of telescopic extensions
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The sliding device is divided into multiple independent components: sliding shoes that engage with guide rails, support ribs that provide structural connection, and limit elements that define travel boundaries. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, achieving telescopic-like functionality through simpler, more cost-effective parts rather than a complex integrated telescopic mechanism

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Guide rails act as an intermediary element between the body and the shelf, providing a tracked path for the sliding shoes. This intermediary mechanism enables smooth displacement and extended reach without requiring expensive telescopic extensions, while still maintaining controlled and stable movement throughout the sliding path

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If the cold goods shelf is pulled far out of the cold room, then loading and unloading becomes easier, but the shelf becomes less securely attached to the body

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveloading and unloading convenienceVSAvoidsecure attachment of shelf
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The sliding shoes are pre-configured to engage with the guide rails before the shelf is displaced. This preliminary engagement establishes a stable connection path that maintains reliability throughout the entire sliding range, ensuring the shelf remains securely attached even when pulled far out for loading and unloading operations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The support ribs are designed with asymmetric engagement features that provide stronger attachment in the retracted position while still allowing controlled displacement when needed. The limit elements create asymmetric stop points that define the operational range, ensuring secure attachment at key positions while enabling accessibility when required

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

3Manufacturing precision

If limit elements are added to prevent over-displacement, then shelf positioning control is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveshelf positioning controlVSAvoidnumber of limit elements
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The limit elements are integrated into the existing structural components of the sliding device rather than being added as separate complex mechanisms. The support ribs and guide rails incorporate limiting features directly into their geometry, combining the positioning control function with the structural support function, thereby achieving precise shelf positioning without significantly increasing overall device complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

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 enables easier access to cold goods while maintaining secure attachment, reducing costs compared to telescopic extensions, and preventing collisions with appliance doors, thus improving usability and safety.

Implementation Method 1

The sliding device rests by means of a sliding surface of the sliding shoe on a guide rail formed on the surface of the body facing into the cold room and can be moved in particular along the guide rail

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectFriction: Friction

Data Source

PatentEP2218991B1Cooler with at least one coolant box
Publication Date: 2015.10.07 BSH HAUSGERATE GMBH
  • EP2218991B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2218991B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2218991B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The invention relates to a refrigeration device (1), having a body (2) and a door leaf (8) which, when the door leaf (8) is closed, delimit a refrigeration chamber (6), and a cold goods shelf (20 ), which has a shelf (21) and two sliding devices (34, 35) mounted on the body (2) so that they can be moved in the cold room (6), by means of which the cold goods shelf (20) can be pulled out at least partially from the cold room (6) and, in addition, the Sliding devices (34, 35) are slidably mounted on the shelf (21), so that the shelf (21) relative to the sliding devices (34, 35) is displaceable.