Refrigerator Shelf Assembly with Horizontal-State Vertical Adjustment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerator shelf adjustment mechanisms are cumbersome and pose a risk of food articles falling due to the need to separate shelves from support ribs or rails, making level adjustments difficult and prone to inclination during movement.
Innovation Solution
A shelf assembly with vertically movable guides, switch members, and a connecting device that maintains the shelf in a horizontal state, allowing level adjustments while preventing inclination and food articles from falling, using rotating shafts, pinions, and rack gears to ensure smooth and stable vertical movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the shelf is separably mounted to support ribs or mounting rails, then the shelf can be adjusted to different levels, but the adjustment process becomes difficult and troublesome requiring complete removal of food articles
Solution Approach 1:
The shelf is designed to be dynamically movable along inclined guide slots without requiring separation from the mounting structure. The guide slots allow the shelf to slide forward and rearward to change levels while remaining attached to the support ribs, enabling continuous adjustment rather than discrete repositioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The inclined guide slots act as intermediaries between the shelf and the vertical movement requirement. By sliding the shelf along these inclined slots in forward and rearward directions, vertical level adjustment is achieved indirectly through horizontal movement, making the adjustment process easier and safer.
2Productivity
If the shelf is disposed at an upper position with food articles placed on it, then storage space is optimized, but the shelf may move to a lower position along the guide slot causing food articles to fall
Solution Approach 1:
The switch member is designed to automatically engage with the guide slot structure when the shelf reaches a lower position, creating a preliminary blocking action that prevents the shelf from moving further down and causing food articles to fall. This anti-action is built into the mechanism to counteract the natural downward movement tendency.
Solution Approach 2:
The switch member provides feedback about the shelf's position along the guide slot. When the shelf moves to a lower position, the switch member detects this change and triggers a mechanism to prevent further downward movement, creating a feedback loop that ensures safety while maintaining storage optimization.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the shelf is moved along an inclined guide slot to adjust level, then level adjustment is possible, but the shelf must be moved by a long distance between initial and final positions
Solution Approach 1:
The shelf is designed to move dynamically along the inclined guide slots with minimal effort. The inclined geometry converts small forward and rearward movements into significant vertical level changes, reducing the total distance the user must move the shelf to achieve the desired adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The inclined guide slots change the geometric parameters of shelf movement. By utilizing the inclination angle, a small horizontal displacement of the shelf results in a larger vertical displacement, effectively amplifying the adjustment range while minimizing the effort and time required.
4Ease of operation
If the shelf moves vertically without guidance, then level adjustment is simple, but the shelf may incline in forward, rearward, left or right directions during movement
Solution Approach 1:
The guide slots are designed with asymmetric inclined surfaces that guide the shelf's movement in a controlled manner. The specific inclination angles and geometries of the guide slots prevent the shelf from inclining in forward, rearward, left, or right directions during vertical movement, maintaining horizontal stability while enabling easy adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The inclined guide slots serve as intermediary structures that mediate between the user's simple pushing motion and the required stable vertical movement of the shelf. The guide slots constrain the movement path, ensuring the shelf remains horizontal while moving vertically, thus maintaining stability during the adjustment process.
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerator may include guide members mounted to a storage chamber, with each guide member including a vertical guide hole and a vertical guide groove. A shelf may be mounted to the guide members, to be vertically movable, and switch members mounted to the shelf, to be movable forwards and rearwards. Each switch member may include a body, and a protrusion protruding from the body, to be guided along the guide groove of the corresponding guide member. A rotating shaft may be mounted beneath the shelf, to be guided along the guide holes. Pinions may be provided at the rotating shaft. Rack gears may be vertically mounted to the guide members, to be coupled to the pinions. A connecting device may transmit a force to vertically move a front half portion of the shelf to a rear half portion of the shelf such that the shelf is vertically movable while being maintained in a horizontal state.