Refrigerator Detachable Guide Rails for Cleanability and Tray Movement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Household refrigeration appliances face challenges with integrated guide devices that increase complexity, limit variability in use, and complicate cleanability, while non-guided designs can scratch the inner container and require excessive force to move heavy, filled trays.
Innovation Solution
A household refrigerator with non-destructively detachable guide rails on the inner container, positioned at the transition areas between the floor and side walls, allowing smooth and controlled tray movement, easy cleaning, and variable use, with additional features like rear wall attachment and recessed rollers for stable and jerk-free operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If integrated guide elements are provided on the inner container, then the tray can be guided smoothly during movement, but the complexity of the inner container shape increases and production becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The guide device is segmented into separate guide rails that can be independently attached to the inner container, rather than being integrated into the container structure. This allows the guide function to be added without complicating the inner container's shape or production process.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide function is extracted from the inner container structure and implemented as separate guide rails. This extraction reduces the complexity of the inner container while maintaining the guidance function through detachable components.
2Ease of operation
If integrated guide elements are provided on the inner container, then the tray movement is controlled, but the variability in use and equipping of the inner container is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The guide rails are designed to be detachable and repositionable, allowing the guidance system to be dynamically adjusted or removed. This enables the inner container to be reconfigured for different uses or equipped with alternative components as needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The detachable guide rails serve multiple functions: they provide tray guidance when attached, can be removed to allow other components to be installed, and enable flexible reconfiguration of the inner container for various purposes.
3Ease of operation
If integrated guide elements are provided close to the floor, then the tray can be guided, but cleanability is limited or complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The guide device is segmented into separate guide rails that can be detached from the inner container. This segmentation allows the guide rails to be easily removed for thorough cleaning, eliminating the cleanability issues associated with integrated guide elements close to the floor.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide rails are extracted as separate components that can be removed from the inner container. This extraction enables complete cleaning of the areas where guide elements were integrated, as the rails themselves can be taken out and cleaned separately or the mounting areas can be fully accessed.
4Device complexity
If no guide device is provided and the tray is simply placed on the floor, then the structure is simple, but the floor can be undesirably affected and excessive force is required to move the tray
Solution Approach 1:
The guide rails act as an intermediary between the tray and the inner container floor. They provide a controlled interface that guides the tray movement without direct contact between the tray and the floor, preventing floor damage while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The direct mechanical contact between the tray and floor is replaced by a guided mechanical system using separate guide rails. This substitution prevents floor damage while providing smooth movement with reduced friction compared to direct floor contact.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a domestic refrigerating device (1) with an internal container (3), which delimits an interior (4, 5) for receiving food, and with a guiding device (16), with which a food-receiving shell (15) that can be removed from the interior (4, 5) can be moved in a guided manner. The guiding device (16) has two guiding rails (17) arranged on an inner face of the interior container (4, 5) in a nondestructively removable manner.