Refrigerator Drawer Slide Layout for More Storage and Less Racking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bottom-mount refrigerator appliances experience issues with basket deflection under heavy loads, reduced storage volume due to drawer slide placement, and racking problems that can damage components, leading to a need for improved mounting solutions that enhance storage capacity and prevent racking without complex and costly rack and pinion systems.
Innovation Solution
The refrigerator appliance features drawer slides positioned at the bottom of the chilled chamber to support the basket, with additional slides on the sides to prevent racking, and a crowned bottom plate to reduce deflection, allowing for increased storage space and improved accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If drawer slides are mounted on the freezer chamber walls to support the basket, then the basket can be hung from the drawer slides, but the basket's flange experiences significant deflection when loaded with heavy items and the actual and perceived storage volume is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of mounting the drawer slides on the freezer chamber walls to hang the basket from above, the patent inverts the support approach by positioning the drawer slides at the bottom of the freezer chamber to support the basket from below. This inversion eliminates the flange deflection problem while maximizing storage volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from vertical support (hanging from top-mounted slides) to horizontal support (supporting from bottom-mounted slides). This dimensional change in the support mechanism allows the basket to be supported without flange deflection while preserving maximum storage space.
2Ease of operation
If drawer slides are positioned to support the basket, then the basket can be mounted on the drawer, but the bottom of the basket snags on the drawer slides during removal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional mounting arrangement where the basket hangs from slides. Instead, the basket is supported from below by slides positioned at the bottom of the freezer chamber, which eliminates the snagging issue during basket removal while maintaining ease of operation.
3Reliability
If the drawer shifts open and closed, the drawer slides can rack when they do not open and close simultaneously, but rack and pinion systems to prevent racking are complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the complex rack and pinion system entirely. Instead of using a mechanical synchronization system to prevent racking, the design accepts minor racking as tolerable or uses simpler geometric constraints in the slide design itself, removing the need for expensive and complex synchronization mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs simpler, less expensive drawer slide designs that may have limited service life or can be easily replaced, rather than investing in complex, expensive rack and pinion synchronization systems. This trade-off prioritizes cost-effectiveness over long-term durability in the racking prevention approach.
4Strength
If ribs or metal stiffeners are added to the basket to reduce bottom panel deflection, then deflection is reduced, but the overall cost of producing the refrigerator appliance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the need for additional stiffening elements like ribs or metal inserts by redesigning the basket support system. The bottom-mounted drawer slides provide support that eliminates bottom panel deflection without requiring extra materials or complex manufacturing processes, thereby reducing production costs.
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator appliance is provided. The refrigerator appliance includes a drawer received within a chilled chamber. The drawer is mounted within the chilled chamber using drawer slides. The drawer slides are positioned at a bottom of the chilled chamber and support a bottom portion of a basket mounted on the drawer. Such a configuration can increase actual and/or perceived storage space within the chilled chamber and provide other improvements.