REFRIGERATION APPLIANCE

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. § 119, of Chinese Patent Application CN 202410851964.0, filed Jun. 27, 2024; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to the technical field of refrigeration appliances, and in particular, to a refrigeration appliance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With continuous improvement of living standards, people have a further demand for more user-friendly and convenient use experience on refrigeration appliances (e.g., household refrigerators) in addition to a demand for refrigeration and freshness preservation functions.

In an existing refrigeration appliance, a partition component is usually disposed in a storage compartment to divide an internal space of the refrigeration appliance into different storage sections. A shelf or a partition plate disposed above a drawer is a common partition component, which not only can cover an opening of the drawer below the shelf, but also allow articles to be placed, so as to divide a storage compartment into two independent storage spaces in an up-down direction. Existing partition plates are placed without a fixing structure or fixed to an inner wall of a liner through a snap-fit connection or a screw connection. However, the snap-fit fixing manner requires a dedicated mounting position reserved on the inner wall, which is usually flush with a drawer below the mounting position. The screw connection is stable. Nevertheless, a mounting process is relatively cumbersome, and dismounting is inconvenient.

Therefore, a practical need for further improvements in mounting structures for a partition plate and a push-pull container in refrigeration appliances still exists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved refrigeration appliance which overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known appliances of this general type.

With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a refrigeration appliance, including a storage compartment, two side walls delimiting the storage compartment in a width direction of the refrigeration appliance, a push-pull container located within the storage compartment, a partition plate located above the push-pull container, and a protrusion located on at least one of the side walls, the protrusion being configured to provide a mounting position for the push-pull container and the partition plate, and a recess for mounting the partition plate being provided on the protrusion. The protrusion is disposed on the side wall to provide the mounting position for the partition plate and the push-pull container, and the partition plate is accommodated within the recess, so that the limited space of the protrusion accommodates both the push-pull container and the partition plate above the push-pull container. Since the partition plate is mounted within the recessed space of the protrusion, the partition plate can have a larger article placing area than the push-pull container, which makes full use of the side wall space occupied by the protrusion, eliminates a need to provide an additional space for mounting the partition plate, and significantly improves space utilization efficiency.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the protrusion includes at least one rib located within the recess. The at least one rib is configured to support the partition plate. The partition plate is supported by the rib, to ensure that the partition plate is securely disposed within the recess.

According to an optional embodiment, the protrusion includes a barrier strip. The barrier strip is configured to shield the recess from a front side and/or to shield a side edge of the partition plate facing the recess from the front side. In this way, shielding is provided for the recess and/or the side edge of the partition plate from the front side, which makes the internal structure more beautiful in front and top views and dust accumulation. In addition, guidance and limiting are for the partition plate disposed within the recess.

According to an optional embodiment, the side wall on which the protrusion is located has a base plane. A protrusion thickness of a main plane of the protrusion relative to the base plane is approximates a spacing between the push-pull container and the base plane and/or greater than a spacing between the partition plate and the base plane. Since the protrusion thickness of the protrusion approximates the spacing between the push-pull container and the base plane of the side wall, the push-pull container can be smoothly fitted and pulled out even under manufacturing and mounting tolerances. Since the protrusion thickness of the protrusion is greater than the spacing between the partition plate and the base plane of the side wall, the side edge of the partition plate can be inserted into the protrusion in a top view, which further increases the article placing area of the partition plate, and significantly improves space utilization efficiency.

According to an optional embodiment, the refrigeration appliance includes a shell and a door. The door is configured to seal an opening of the shell. The shell has an outer side in the width direction on a side on which the door is located. A distance from a plane on which the recess is located to the outer side is less than a thickness of the door. In this way, obstruction to smooth pull-out and push-in of the push-pull container on the plane of the recess caused when the door is opened by a small angle (e.g., 90° to 110°), especially in a case that an outer side of the door of the refrigeration appliance cannot exceed beyond the outer side of the shell, for example, in a case that the refrigeration appliance needs to be built in a cabinet or a wall niche can be prevented, thereby ensuring normal use of the push-pull container.

According to an optional embodiment, the refrigeration appliance includes a liner. The protrusion and the side wall on which the protrusion is located are integrally formed on the liner. In this way, additional components and connection structures are avoided, a production process is simplified, overall strength and stability of the liner are improved, and production costs are reduced.

According to an optional embodiment, the refrigeration appliance includes a rear wall delimiting the storage compartment in a depth direction of the refrigeration appliance. An air duct is disposed on a side of the rear wall close to the recess. In this way, the arrangement of the recess gives way to the air duct, which avoids impact on normal operation of the refrigeration appliance.

According to an optional embodiment, in a height direction of the refrigeration appliance, a height of the barrier strip is not less than a height of the push-pull container. In this way, an overall neat visual impression can be formed, which improves aesthetics. In addition, a limiting boundary of a substantially consistent height or a larger height can be provided for the push-pull container, which facilitates use of the push-pull container for a user.

According to an optional embodiment, in the depth direction of the refrigeration appliance, a thickness of the barrier strip is not greater than a thickness of a front wall of the push-pull container. In this way, the barrier strip can be formed with minimized space occupation in the refrigeration appliance.

According to an optional embodiment, the recess and the barrier strip are connected by an inclined surface. The above arrangement facilitates manufacturing and foaming of the barrier strip, which avoids foam cavities and simplifies a configuration of the side wall.

According to an optional embodiment, in the depth direction of the refrigeration appliance, a gap is formed between the barrier strip and the partition plate. Since a movement space is reserved for the partition plate during mounting, the partition plate can move to a final fitting position in the depth direction.

According to an optional embodiment, in the height direction of the refrigeration appliance, the partition plate is not higher than the push-pull container. In this way, the front wall of the push-pull container can shield the partition plate from the front side, thereby improving visual aesthetics.

According to an optional embodiment, the protrusion includes a filling portion connected to the barrier strip in the depth direction of the refrigeration appliance. The filling portion is configured to at least partially fill a gap between the push-pull container and the side wall on which the barrier strip is located. In this way, the unavailable space between the push-pull container and the side wall can be filled in the depth direction, thereby preventing accumulation of dirt.

According to an optional embodiment, the at least one rib and the protrusion are integrally formed on the liner. In this way, the structure is simplified, potential connection gaps are avoided, and stability and reliability of the rib are improved.

According to an optional embodiment, the barrier strip and the protrusion are integrally formed on the liner. In this way, the structure is simplified, potential connection gaps are avoided, and stability and reliability of the barrier strip are improved.

According to an optional embodiment, the refrigeration appliance includes the rear wall delimiting the storage compartment in the depth direction. The at least one rib includes a front rib away from the rear wall and a rear rib close to the rear wall. The partition plate includes a first support structure engaged with the front rib and a second support structure engaged with the rear rib. Through the support formed by engagement at a front position and a rear position in the depth direction, movement of the partition plate can be effectively restricted, and a force is dispersed, which improves connection stability and prevents shaking or detachment of the partition plate.

According to an optional embodiment, the refrigeration appliance is configured to allow the partition plate to be incline from a position above the protrusion to engage with the at least one rib, so as to enter the recess. In this way, the partition plate can be engaged with the at least one rib and mounted into the recess, which is different from conventional insertion and connection from front to rear.

According to an optional embodiment, the first support structure has a first mounting opening for the front rib to be inserted. The first support structure is inserted into and engaged with the front rib through the first mounting opening, which can achieve quick and convenient mounting and connection between the partition plate and the rib without additional connecting members. In addition, the insertion structure forms an effective constraint between the two, which improves mounting and positioning accuracy of the partition plate and avoids mounting deviations.

According to an optional embodiment, the second support structure has a second mounting opening for the rear rib to be inserted. The second support structure is inserted into and engaged with the rear rib through the second mounting opening, which can achieve quick and convenient mounting and connection between the partition plate and the rib without additional connecting members. In addition, the insertion structure forms an effective constraint between the two, which improves mounting and positioning accuracy of the partition plate and avoids mounting deviations.

According to an optional embodiment, the first support structure has a first abutting side that abuts upward against the front rib in an assembled state. Since the first support structure abuts against the front rib through the first abutting side, engagement tightness between the two is improved, a connection area is increased, and stability between the partition plate and the rib is further enhanced. In addition, the abutment configuration prevents an accidental upward movement of the partition plate, and achieves stable support.

According to an optional embodiment, the second support structure has a second abutting side that abuts upward against the rear rib in an assembled state. Since the second support structure abuts against the rear rib through the second abutting side, engagement tightness between the two is improved, a connection area is increased, and stability between the partition plate and the rib is further enhanced. In addition, the abutment configuration prevents an accidental upward movement of the partition plate, and achieves stable support.

According to an optional embodiment, the first mounting opening and the second mounting opening have a same orientation. The same orientation of the two mounting openings facilitates the mounting operation of the partition plate, so that the ribs can be inserted in the same direction, which avoids repeated adjustment during mounting and improves mounting efficiency.

According to an optional embodiment, the second abutting side is configured as a guiding inclined surface that slides along the rear rib during fitting of the partition plate onto the protrusion. During the mounting, the guiding inclined surface can be caused to slidably contact the rear rib, to guide the partition plate to move. During the mounting, the movement direction of the partition plate is substantially the same as the direction of gravity, which achieves labor-saving mounting and enables the partition plate to smoothly move in position, thereby avoiding mounting obstruction or jamming.

According to an optional embodiment, the first mounting opening and the second mounting opening both face the depth direction. In this way, it is ensured the mounting orientation of the partition plate matches a using habit of a user, and the openings facing inside of the refrigeration appliance bring a neat visual impression, which improves a visual effect.

According to an optional embodiment, the front rib has a first end portion inserted into the first mounting opening and a second end portion opposite to the first end portion. The partition plate further includes a third support structure engaged with the second end portion of the front rib. The engagement between the third support structure and the second end portion of the front rib forms all-around support and limiting for the front rib, which further improves mounting reliability of the partition plate.

According to an optional embodiment, the third support structure includes a cantilever extending from the partition plate and a movable head located on an end of the cantilever. The movable head is configured to move along the second end portion of the front rib during the fitting of the partition plate onto the protrusion. During mounting, the movable head is allowed to move along the front rib, and the contact between the movable head and the front rib guides the mounting of the partition plate, which simplifies the mounting operation, improves production and mounting efficiency, and facilitates after-sales maintenance.

According to an optional embodiment, the third support structure is configured such that the movable head sequentially has a first movement path and a second movement path during the fitting of the partition plate onto the protrusion. The first movement path includes a movement path component oriented toward a direction of gravity and a movement path component oriented away from the side wall on which the protrusion is located; and/or the second movement path includes a movement path component oriented toward the depth direction. The mobility of the third support structure is fully used, to achieve a movement path different from the conventional movement path of insertion and connection from front to rear for the partition plate, which provides a feasible mounting path for the partition plate in specific scenarios, for example, when the partition plate cannot be mounted through simple insertion and connection from front to rear.

According to an optional embodiment, the third support structure is configured such that the movable head faces an end surface of the second end portion oriented toward the depth direction after completion of the second movement path. In the assembled state, the limiting between the movable head of the third support structure and the second end portion of the front rib further prevents the movement of the partition plate, so that the fixing of the partition plate is more secure.

According to an optional embodiment, the at least one rib further includes an intermediate rib located between the front rib and the rear rib. Since the third support point is added, support strength and stability are improved, and a force on the partition plate is more equalized, which avoids potential deformation or shaking.

According to an optional embodiment, the partition plate includes a snapping portion configured to be snap-fitted to a void between the front rib and the barrier strip. In this way, connection stability is further improved, and shaking or detachment of the partition plate is prevented.

According to an optional embodiment, the refrigeration appliance is configured as a household built-in refrigerator. Since the household built-in refrigerator is usually embedded in a cabinet for use, the door of the refrigerator blocks a partial space of an opening of the storage compartment when the door is opened. However, the protrusion disposed on the side wall on the door-opening side satisfies a basic demand for smoothly pulling out and pushing in the push-pull container when the door of the household built-in refrigerator is opened. Moreover, the partition plate and the push-pull container can share the protrusion, which increases a nominal volume while ensuring functional realization, thereby satisfying a demand of a user for a large volume.

According to an optional embodiment, the refrigeration appliance includes symmetrical protrusions located on the two side walls and corresponding recesses and at least one rib. The above arrangement is particularly suitable for double-door refrigerators or multi-door refrigerators, or for single-door refrigerators, allows a user to determine the mounting position of the door as needed.

According to an optional embodiment, the recess has a channel opened upward. The channel is configured to allow the partition plate to be fitted onto the protrusion from a position above the protrusion along a predetermined trajectory. In this way, in specific scenarios in which the partition plate cannot be conventionally fitted onto the protrusion from front to rear, for example, a shielding component exists on the front side, the partition plate can still be fitted into the recess within the protrusion through the channel opened upward, which facilitates smooth fitting of the partition plate and simplifies the fitting operation.

According to an optional embodiment, the predetermined trajectory includes a rotation trajectory and a translation trajectory. Because both a translation path and a rotation path are configured, rather than using a conventional unidirectional mounting manner, the internal space of the refrigeration appliance is fully used, and precise fitting of the partition plate is achieved without causing interference to other structures.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a refrigeration appliance, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view of a refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of this application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top cross-sectional view of a refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of this application;

FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of this application;

FIG. 4 is a partial three-dimensional view of the refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5 is a partial three-dimensional view of the refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of this application, in which a push-pull container and a partition plate are not shown;

FIG. 6 is a partial enlarged view of a part A shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the partition plate of the refrigeration appliance according to an exemplary embodiment of this application;

FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional view of the partition plate of the refrigeration appliance from an oblique bottom view according to an exemplary embodiment of this application;

FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional bottom view of the partition plate of the refrigeration appliance from a bottom view according to an exemplary embodiment of this application;

FIG. 10, FIG. 11, and FIG. 12 are partial three-dimensional views of a process of fitting the partition plate of the refrigeration appliance onto a protrusion of a side wall according to an exemplary embodiment of this application;

FIG. 13, FIG. 14, and FIG. 15 are bottom cross-sectional views of the process of fitting the partition plate of the refrigeration appliance onto the protrusion of the side wall according to an exemplary embodiment of this application; and

FIG. 16, FIG. 17, and FIG. 18 are side cross-sectional views of the process of fitting the partition plate of the refrigeration appliance onto the protrusion of the side wall according to an exemplary embodiment of this application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to make technical problems to be resolved in this application, technical solutions, and beneficial technical effects clearer, this application is further described in detail below with reference to drawings and a plurality of exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely used for describing this application, and are not used for limiting the protection scope of this application. Moreover, the embodiments may be described by using a same view or a plurality of views. However, not all features appearing in a same figure can be construed as features an embodiment necessarily has.

Before the description, it should be noted that for convenience purposes, orientation or direction terms may be used in this application for description. These orientation or direction terms are defined relative to a conventional operational state of a refrigeration appliance (particularly a household refrigerator), which may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art from the description in this application without any ambiguity. In this case, these orientation and direction terms shall not be literally construed as indicating orientations or directions in any state. In other words, orientation or position relationships indicated by terms such as “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “rear,” “left,” “right,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” “outer,” “longitudinal,” “transverse,” “high,” “positive,” and “back” in the description of this application are based on orientation or position relationships shown in the drawings, and are used only for ease and brevity of description of this application, rather than indicating or implying that a mentioned apparatus or element needs to have a particular orientation or needs to be constructed and operated in a particular orientation. Therefore, the terms cannot be construed as a limitation on this application. Additionally, within the scope of this application, “equal to” shall be understood as permitting a deviation not exceeding 10% (particularly, 5%, and preferably, 2%) between two elements while satisfying basic structural requirements.

For ease of understanding, the description in Background of this application may be traced or recalled. An objective of this application is to provide an improved refrigeration appliance, including: a storage compartment; two side walls, delimiting the storage compartment in a width direction of the refrigeration appliance; a push-pull container, located within the storage compartment; a partition plate, located above the push-pull container; and a protrusion, located on at least one of the side walls, where the protrusion is configured to provide a mounting position for the push-pull container and the partition plate, and a recess for mounting the partition plate is provided on the protrusion. The protrusion is disposed on the side wall to provide the mounting position for the partition plate and the push-pull container, and the partition plate is accommodated within the recess, so that the limited space of the protrusion accommodates both the push-pull container and the partition plate above the push-pull container. Since the partition plate is mounted within the recessed space of the protrusion, the partition plate can have a larger article placing area than the push-pull container, which makes full use of the side wall space occupied by the protrusion, eliminates a need to arrange an additional space for mounting the partition plate, and significantly improves space utilization efficiency.

The exemplary embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the drawings.

Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is seen a three-dimensional view of a refrigeration appliance 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of this application, in which an xyz coordinate system of the refrigeration appliance 1000 is illustrated. As shown in the figure, x represents a width direction of the refrigeration appliance 1000, y represents a height direction of the refrigeration appliance 1000, and z represents a depth direction of the refrigeration appliance 1000. It should be particularly understood that, in the xyz coordinate system, the width direction x is not defined with a specific orientation, which may be either a left direction or a right direction. However, the height direction y is defined as a specific orientation opposite to the direction of gravity, and the depth direction z is defined as a specific orientation from outside to inside. For clarity, subsequent drawings are presented and described substantially with reference to the xyz coordinate system shown in FIG. 1.

The refrigeration appliance 1000 shown in FIG. 1 includes a shell 900 and a door 800 not shown herein. The door 800 is configured to seal an opening 901 of the shell 900. The refrigeration appliance 1000 is preferably configured as a household built-in refrigerator (as described below in combination with FIG. 2), and exemplarily includes two storage compartments 1001 disposed in an up-down direction. These storage compartments 1001 may be configured as refrigeration compartments or freezing compartments. For convenience, a description is provided below by using an upper storage compartment 1001 illustrated in FIG. 1 as an example. However, it should be understood that the refrigeration appliance 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of this application may alternatively have only one storage compartment 1001 or any other number of storage compartments. For the upper storage compartment 1001, the refrigeration appliance 1000 includes two side walls 710 delimiting the storage compartment 1001 in the width direction x (only one of the side walls 710 can be illustrated in a view in FIG. 1).

FIG. 2 is a schematic top cross-sectional view of a refrigeration appliance 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of this application. FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the refrigeration appliance 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of this application. FIG. 4 is a partial three-dimensional view of the refrigeration appliance 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of this application.

FIG. 2 illustrates a double-door refrigeration appliance 1000. A shell 900 of the refrigeration appliance 1000 is illustrated by dot dash lines. Two doors 800 of the refrigeration appliance 1000 are illustrated by double dot dash lines. A protrusion 100 described below is illustrated by dashed lines. It may be learned from the schematic view of FIG. 2 that when the doors 800 are in an exemplary 90-degree open state relative to the shell 900, respective outer sides 810 of the two doors 800 are substantially flush with corresponding outer sides 910 of the shell 900, which satisfies a configuration requirement of a household built-in refrigerator or a free-standing/built-in refrigerator to be embedded in a cabinet. As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, the refrigeration appliance 1000 includes a liner 700 (illustrated by solid lines) located inside the shell 900 and a push-pull container 600 (also illustrated by solid lines) located within the storage compartment 1001, which is usually configured as a refrigerator drawer, a shallow tray, or a glass shelf, and preferably, is configured as a fresh-preservation drawer. Even in a household built-in refrigerator, the push-pull container 600 still needs to be pushed in and pulled out when the doors 800 are in a small-angle open state (e.g., 90° to 110°) relative to the shell 900 (as illustrated in FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the refrigeration appliance 1000 further includes a partition plate 500 located above the push-pull container 600, which is configured to seal or separate the push-pull container 600 from a position above the push-pull container. In order to provide a mounting position for the push-pull container 600 and the partition plate 500, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 2, the refrigeration appliance 1000 further includes a protrusion 100 located on at least one side wall 710. In FIG. 2, since the refrigeration appliance 1000 has two doors 800 in a left-right direction, the protrusion 100 is disposed on both of the side walls 710 opposite each other. In an embodiment not shown, when the refrigeration appliance 1000 has only one door 800 i.e., is configured as a single-door refrigerator, the protrusion 100 may be disposed on only a side on which the door 800 is disposed, and the other side is configured as a conventional refrigerator side wall. However, in the single-door refrigerator, preferably, the protrusion 100 is disposed on both of the two side walls 710 opposite each other, so as to allow a user of the refrigeration appliance 1000 to change a mounting position of the door 800 as needed. In a preferred embodiment, the protrusion 100 is integrally formed on the liner 700. However, in some embodiments, the protrusion 100 may be manufactured separately from the liner 700 and may be subsequently disposed on the side wall 710 of the liner 700 by, for example, adhesive bonding. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a height of the protrusions 100 is preferably equal to a height of the push-pull container 600.

FIG. 5 is a partial three-dimensional view showing the refrigeration appliance 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of this application, in which the push-pull container 600 and the partition plate 500 are not shown.

As shown in FIG. 5, a recess 200 for mounting the partition plate 500 is provided on the protrusion 100. In an embodiment not shown in the drawings, the recess 200 has a larger depth than that shown in FIG. 5, that is, is recessed into the side wall 710. In another embodiment not shown in the drawings, the recess 200 is partially located outside the protrusion 100, that is, partially overlaps the protrusion 100 in the height direction y. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the protrusion 100 includes therein both the recess 200 for mounting the partition plate 500 and at least one rib 300 located within the recess 200. With reference to FIG. 4, the partition plate 500 is supported within the recess 200 by the at least one rib 300. The at least one rib 300 and the protrusion 100 are preferably integrally formed on the liner 700. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the side wall 710 on which the protrusion 100 is located has a base plane 711, and the protrusion 100 has a main plane 101. The base plane 711 of the side wall 710 should be understood as a primary side surface delimiting the storage compartment. The main plane 101 of the protrusion 100 should be particularly understood as a plane protruding relative to the recess 200. In other words, in the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 5, although the recess 200 is recessed relative to the main plane 101 of the protrusion 100, it is still located on the protrusion 100. As shown in FIG. 2, a protrusion thickness of the main plane 101 of the protrusion 100 relative to the base plane 711 of the side wall 710 toward the storage compartment 1001 (which may be understood as a thickness required for manufacturing the protrusion 100) is approximates a spacing between the push-pull container 600 and the base plane 711. “Approximate” should be understood as that the push-pull container 600 can be fitted into the storage compartment 1001 and pulled out therefrom even under manufacturing tolerances and mounting tolerances. Therefore, the protrusion thickness cannot exceed the spacing between the push-pull container 600 and the base plane 711, or otherwise the push and pull of the push-pull container 600 are hindered. Thus, in FIG. 2, even the protrusion 100 protruding toward the storage compartment 1001 exists on the side wall 710, the push-pull container 600 can still be smoothly pulled out and pushed in through the main plane 101 of the protrusion 100 without causing undesired interference. With reference to FIG. 4, the protrusion thickness of the protrusion 100 is greater than a spacing between the partition plate 500 and the base plane 711 of the side wall 710. In other words, the partition plate 500 is closer to the base plane 711 of the side wall 710 than the push-pull container 600. From FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, it may be learned the shell 900 has outer sides 910 in the width direction x respectively on the sides on which the doors 800 are located. A distance between a plane on which the recess 200 is located and the corresponding outer side 910 is less than a thickness do of the door 800. In this way, the partition plate 500 mounted within the recess 200 has a larger article placing area than the push-pull container 600, and it is ensured that the push-pull container 600 can be smoothly pushed and pulled through the opening 901 of the shell 900 when the two doors 800 are opened by a small angle (e.g., 90° to 110°), as exemplified in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 5, the protrusion 100 includes a barrier strip 10. The barrier strip 10 shields the recess 200 from the front side. With reference to FIG. 4, the barrier strip 10 also shields, from the front side, a side edge 501 that is of the partition plate 500 located within the recess 200 and that faces the recess 200. In the height direction y, a height of the barrier strip 10 is not less than (preferably, equal to) the height of the push-pull container 600. In other words, an uppermost end of the barrier strip 10 is preferably flush with an uppermost end of the push-pull container 600. Preferably, in the width direction x, a width of the barrier strip 10 is equal to a spacing between the push-pull container 600 and the side wall 710 on which the barrier strip 10 is located. More preferably, when viewed from the front side, an outer surface of the barrier strip 10 is substantially flush with or side by side with a surface of a front wall of the push-pull container 600 (as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 5, the barrier strip 10 and the protrusion 100 are preferably integrally formed on the liner 700.

It may be further learned from FIG. 5 that the protrusion 100 includes a filling portion 20 connected to the barrier strip 10 in the depth direction z. With reference to FIG. 4, the filling portion 20 is configured to at least partially fill a gap between the push-pull container 600 and the side wall 710 on which the barrier strip 10 is located. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 2, the refrigeration appliance 1000 includes a rear wall 720 that delimits the storage compartment 1001 in the depth direction z. The protrusion 100 preferably extends to the rear wall 720, the recess 200 preferably extends to the rear wall 720, and the filling portion 20 also preferably extends continuously from the barrier strip 10 to the rear wall 720 in the depth direction z. It may be further learned from FIG. 5 that, an air outlet 721 is provided on a side of the rear wall 720 close to the recess 200. The air outlet 721 is in communication with an air duct to supply refrigerated air. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the positions of the protrusion 100, the recess 200, and the at least one rib 300 (particularly a rear rib 320 described subsequently) are configured to allow the current arrangement of the air duct and the air outlet 721 facing the push-pull container 600. In other words, interference between the component is avoided. Therefore, an additional configuration of the air duct assembly is avoided, which simplifies the overall structure of the refrigeration appliance 1000.

FIG. 6 is a partial enlarged view of a part A shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a side view of the partition plate 500 of the refrigeration appliance 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of this application. It should be understood that FIG. 6 actually shows a part of the protrusion 100 on the left side wall 710 of the refrigeration appliance 1000, and FIG. 7 is a right side view of the partition plate 500. In order to simplify the description, engagement relationships between the components of the partition plate 500 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and the components of the protrusion 100 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 are directly described below. In this case, it should be understood that in the embodiments of this application, the left components of the partition plate 500 are engaged with the components of the protrusion 100 on the left side wall 710, and the right components of the partition plate 500 are engaged with the components of the protrusion 100 on the right side wall 710 of the refrigeration appliance 1000.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, in the depth direction z, a thickness h1 of the barrier strip 10 is not greater than a thickness h2 of the front wall of the push-pull container 600, and a gap d is preferably formed between the barrier strip 10 and the partition plate 500. The gap d is specifically not less than a length of a first abutting side 512 described below in the depth direction z, to provide a mounting space for the partition plate 500. More preferably, in the height direction y, the partition plate 500 is not higher than the push-pull container 600. With reference to FIG. 6, the barrier strip 10 extends to the recess 200 through an inclined surface 11.

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 5, the at least one rib 300 may include a front rib 310 close to the door 800 (i.e., far from the rear wall 720) and a rear rib 320 far from the door 800 (i.e., close to the rear wall 720) in the depth direction z. In other words, the front rib 310 is closer to the outside of the refrigeration appliance 1000, while the rear rib 320 is closer to the inside of the refrigeration appliance 1000. Preferably, the rear rib 320 extends to the rear wall 720. Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 7, the partition plate 500 may include a first support structure 510 and a second support structure 520. In the assembled state in which the partition plate 500 is fitted into the recess 200 of the protrusion 100, the first support structure 510 is engaged with the front rib 310, and the second support structure 520 is engaged with the rear rib 320. Preferably, the first support structure 510 may have a first mounting opening 511 for the front rib 310 to be inserted, and may further have a first abutting side 512 that abuts upward against the front rib 310 in an assembled state. The second support structure 520 may have a second mounting opening 521 for the rear rib 320 to be inserted, and may further have a second abutting side 522 that abuts upward against the rear rib 320 in an assembled state. The second abutting side 522 is preferably configured as a guiding inclined surface shown in FIG. 7, which slides along the rear rib 320 during fitting of the partition plate 500 onto the protrusion 100 (as described below with reference to the subsequent drawings). More preferably, the first mounting opening 511 and the second mounting opening 521 have a same orientation. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the first mounting opening 511 and the second mounting opening 521 face the depth direction z, that is, are opened toward a right side, but are preferably both closed in the width direction x to enhance structural strength of the first support structure 510 and the second support structure 520.

As shown in FIG. 6, the front rib 310 has a first end portion 311 and a second end portion 312 opposite each other in the depth direction z. With reference to FIG. 7, the first end portion 311 is configured to be inserted into the first mounting opening 511. Preferably, the partition plate 500 further includes a third support structure 530 located between the first support structure 510 and the second support structure 520. The third support structure 530 is configured to engage with the second end portion 312 of the front rib 310. As shown in FIG. 7, the third support structure 530 may include a cantilever 531 extending from the partition plate 500 and a movable head 532 located on an end of the cantilever 531. The movable head 532 is configured to move along the second end portion 312 of the front rib 310 during the fitting of the partition plate 500 onto the protrusion 100 (as described below with reference to the subsequent drawings). In the preferred embodiment of FIG. 6, the at least one rib 300 may further include an intermediate rib 330 located between the front rib 310 and the rear rib 320. In an embodiment not shown in the drawings, the movable head 532 may be configured to move along the intermediate rib 330, particularly along an end portion of the intermediate rib 330 facing the depth direction z. Preferably, the movable head 532 has a uniform wall thickness, as shown in the drawings, to avoid formation of sink marks during injection molding.

FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional view of the partition plate 500 of the refrigeration appliance 1000 from an oblique bottom view according to an exemplary embodiment of this application. FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional bottom view of the partition plate 500 of the refrigeration appliance 1000 from a bottom view according to an exemplary embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the partition plate 500 has the first support structure 510, the second support structure 520, and the third support structure 530 on both side edges 501 in the width direction x, so that the partition plate 500 can be stably supported within the corresponding recesses 200 of the protrusions 100 on the two side walls 710. It may be particularly understood that the support structures on the two side edges 501 of the partition plate 500 are in mirror symmetry, and the protrusions 100 together with the recesses 200 and the at least one rib 300 on the two side walls 710 are also in mirror symmetry. It may be learned from FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 described below that, the partition plate 500 further includes a snapping portion 540 configured to be snap-fitted to the void 201 between the front rib 310 and the barrier strip 10.

FIG. 10, FIG. 11, and FIG. 12 are partial three-dimensional views of a process of fitting the partition plate 500 of the refrigeration appliance 1000 onto the protrusion 100 of the side wall 710 according to an exemplary embodiment of this application. FIG. 13, FIG. 14, and FIG. 15 are bottom cross-sectional views of the process of fitting the partition plate 500 of the refrigeration appliance 1000 onto the protrusion 100 of the side wall 710 according to an exemplary embodiment of this application. FIG. 16, FIG. 17, and FIG. 18 are side cross-sectional views of the process of fitting the partition plate 500 of the refrigeration appliance 1000 onto the protrusion 100 of the side wall 710 according to an exemplary embodiment of this application. During the fitting of the partition plate 500 of the refrigeration appliance 1000 onto the protrusion 100 of the side wall 710, three states exists in a simplified sense, i.e., a first state P1 in which the partition plate 500 is placed toward the protrusion 100 from a position above the protrusion; a second state P2 in which the third support structure 530 (particularly the movable head 532 thereof) of the partition plate 500 begins to engage with the second end portion 312 of the front rib 310; and a third state P3 in which the partition plate 500 is completely fitted onto the protrusion 100 and stably mounted within the recess 200. FIG. 10, FIG. 13, and FIG. 16 exemplify the first state P1 from different angles. FIG. 11, FIG. 14, and FIG. 17 exemplify the second state P2 from different angles. FIG. 12, FIG. 15, and FIG. 18 exemplify the third state P3 from different angles. It may be learned from the fitting process that the third support structure 530 has a space for the movable head 532 thereof to move.

For example, it may be learned from FIG. 13 to FIG. 15 and the previous drawings that, during the fitting of the partition plate 500 onto the protrusion 100, the movable head 532 of the third support structure 530 first moves from an upper region of the second end portion 312 of the front rib 310 in the height direction y (i.e., the first state P1 shown in FIG. 13) along the second end portion 312 of the front rib 310 to reach an intermediate position that is farther from the side wall 710 than an initial position (i.e., the upper region of the second end portion 312) of the movable head 532 (i.e., the second state P2 shown in FIG. 14), and then moves from the intermediate position toward the depth direction z to reach a final position in a rear region of the second end portion 312 in the depth direction z (i.e., the third state P3 shown in FIG. 15). In the third state P3, the movable head 532 faces an end surface of the second end portion 312 of the front rib 310 oriented toward the depth direction z (also refer to FIG. 12 and FIG. 18).

In the third state P3 exemplified in FIG. 12, FIG. 15, and FIG. 18 in which the fitting is completed, a displacement of the partition plate 500 in the depth direction z (i.e., inward) can be respectively limited by the first end portion 311 of the front rib 310 and the rear rib 320 through the first support structure 510 and the second support structure 520. A displacement of the partition plate 500 in a direction opposite to the depth direction z (i.e., outward) can be limited by the second end portion 312 of the front rib 310 through the third support structure 530 (or the movable head 532 thereof). A displacement of the partition plate 500 toward the height direction y (i.e., upward) can be respectively limited by the first end portion 311 of the front rib 310 and the rear rib 320 through the first abutting side 512 of the first support structure 510 and the second abutting side 522 of the second support structure 520. A displacement of the partition plate 500 in a direction opposite to the height direction y (i.e., downward) can be limited by the at least one rib 300 through the partition plate 500 and the support structures thereof. A displacement of the partition plate 500 in the width direction x is limited by the two side walls 710 or the corresponding protrusions 100. Thus, in the third state P3 in which the fitting is completed, the movement of the partition plate 500 is limited in the xyz coordinate system. When it is necessary to dismount the partition plate 500 from the protrusion 100, the movable head 532 may, for example, be turned by a hand or a tool for dismounting through reversion of the above fitting steps. When the movable head 532 and the connected cantilever 531 thereof have a sufficient elastic deformation capability, the entire partition plate 500 can achieve non-destructive dismounting, which facilitates cleaning or maintenance.

As shown in FIG. 16 to FIG. 18, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, the recess 200 has a channel 210 opened upward. The channel 210 is configured to allow the partition plate 500 to be fitted onto the protrusion 100 from a position above the protrusion along a predetermined trajectory. In FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, a rotation trajectory from the first state P1 to the second state P2 and a translation trajectory from the second state P2 to the third state P3 are illustrated by thick arrows. Specifically, during the fitting shown in FIG. 16 to FIG. 18. the partition plate 500 is first obliquely snap-fitted to the rear rib 320 through the second mounting opening 521 of the second support structure 520 from a position above the at least one rib 300 to reach the first state P1, and then is rotated downward (counterclockwise rotation shown in FIG. 16) by using the second support structure 520 or the rear rib 320 as a pivot point until the snapping portion 540 is snap-fitted to the void 201 (i.e., the rotation trajectory is completed). During the rotation, the second abutting side 522 that is preferably configured as a guiding inclined surface slides along the rear rib 320 (counterclockwise rotation and sliding shown in FIG. 16). After the rotation, the partition plate 500 moves toward the depth direction z until the first mounting opening 511 of the first support structure 510 is snap-fitted to the front rib 310 or the second mounting opening 521 of the second support structure 520 is snap-fitted to the rear rib 320 and the partition plate and is finally stably mounted within the recess 200 (i.e., the translation trajectory is completed).

Although the specific implementations are described above, the implementations are not intended to limit the scope disclosed in this application, even if only a single implementation is described with respect to a specific feature. The feature examples provided in the disclosure of this application are intended to provide illustration instead of limitation, unless otherwise explicitly stated. During specific implementation, a plurality of features may be combined with each other based on an actual need when technically feasible. In the spirit and scope of this application, various replacements, changes, and modifications may be conceived.

The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention:

• • 1000 Refrigeration appliance
  • 1001 Storage compartment
  • 900 Shell
  • 910 Outer side
  • 901 Opening
  • 800 Door
  • 810 Outer side of a door
  • 700 Liner
  • 710 Side wall
  • 711 Base plane
  • 720 Rear wall
  • 721 Air outlet
  • 600 Push-pull container
  • 500 Partition plate
  • 501 Side edge
  • 510 First support structure
  • 511 First mounting opening
  • 512 First abutting side
  • 520 Second support structure
  • 521 Second mounting opening
  • 522 Second abutting side
  • 530 Third support structure
  • 531 Cantilever
  • 532 Movable head
  • 540 Snapping portion
  • 100 Protrusion
  • 101 Main plane
  • 200 Recess
  • 210 Channel
  • 201 Void
  • 300 Rib
  • 310 Front rib
  • 311 First end portion
  • 312 Second end portion
  • 320 Rear rib
  • 330 Intermediate rib
  • 20 Filling portion
  • 10 Barrier strip
  • 11 Inclined surface
  • D Gap
  • do Thickness of a door
  • h1 Thickness of a barrier strip
  • h2 Thickness of a front wall of a push-pull container
  • P1 First state
  • P2 Second state
  • P3 Third state
  • X Width direction
  • Y Height direction
  • Z Depth direction