REFRIGERATED GOODS CONTAINER

Abstract

A refrigerated goods container for a refrigeration appliance includes at least one wall preferably made from wire mesh, and an end profile. The wall has an end section and the end profile is installed on the end section. A first side surface of the end section includes first latching projections and a second side surface of the end section, which faces the first side surface, includes at least one second latching projection. The end profile is latched with the first latching projections and the second latching projection to the end section.

Claims

1. A refrigerated goods container for a refrigeration appliance, the refrigerated goods container comprising: at least one wall including an end section having a first side surface and a second side surface facing said first side surface, said first side surface including first latching projections and said second side surface including at least one second latching projection; and an end profile installed on said end section, said end profile being latched to said end section by said first latching projections and said at least one second latching projection.

2. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 1, wherein said at least one wall is formed of wire mesh.

3. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 1, which further comprises: a first wire fastened to said first side surface of said end section; and said first latching projections being formed by deformations of said first wire or said first latching projections being formed by deformations of said at least one wall.

4. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 3, wherein said first wire has straight sections, each of said first latching projections is disposed between a respective two of said straight sections of said first wire, and said first latching projections have a shorter extent measured along said end section than said straight sections.

5. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 3, which further comprises a second wire fastened to said second side surface of said end section, said second wire forming said at least one second latching projection or said at least one second latching projection being formed by deformations of said at least one wall.

6. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 1, wherein said first latching projections project further from said first side surface than said at least one second latching projection projects from said second side surface.

7. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 1, wherein said first latching projections and said at least one second latching projection are disposed offset relative to one another in a height direction.

8. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 7, wherein said first latching projections are disposed higher than said at least one second latching projection.

9. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 3, wherein said at least one wall has a wire mesh and said first wire is fastened to wires in said wire mesh.

10. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 4, wherein: said at least one wall has a wire mesh with wires being spaced apart by a distance; said first wire is fastened to said wires in said wire mesh; said wires in said wire mesh intersect said first wire; and said straight sections of said first wire have a length being greater than said distance between said wires in said wire mesh.

11. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 10, wherein said first latching projection has an extent measured along said end section being less than said distance between two adjacent wires in said wire mesh.

12. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 1, wherein said end profile encompasses said first latching projections and said at least one second latching projection.

13. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 3, wherein said end profile has a groove with a first side wall and a second side wall receiving said end section of said at least one wall, and said first latching projections engage into at least one undercut in said groove.

14. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 13, wherein said first wire has a radius, and said undercut has a depth being greater than said radius.

15. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 13, wherein said second side wall of said groove has a rib engaged below said at least one second latching projection.

16. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 13, wherein said first and second side walls have respective lower edges, and said lower edge of said first side wall is lower than said lower edge of said second side wall.

17. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 1, wherein said at least one wall includes adjoining walls, said end profile is one of a plurality of end profiles of said adjoining walls, and pressed-in angle pieces interconnect said end profiles.

18. The refrigerated goods container according to claim 17, wherein said end profiles have receptacles, said angle pieces have pins, and said pins engage in said receptacles.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0061] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a refrigerated goods container with end profiles according to the invention;

[0062] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the refrigerated goods container without end profiles;

[0063] FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, enlarged, partially cross-sectional and partially perspective view of part of a wall of the refrigerated goods container; and

[0064] FIG. 4 is a further enlarged, perspective view of a corner of the refrigerated goods container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0065] Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly, to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, there is seen a refrigerated goods container 1, once completely with end profiles 2 and once without end profiles 2. According to this exemplary embodiment, the refrigerated goods container is embodied as a wire mesh. The proportions of the refrigerated goods container are those of a drawer, such as can be supported in the body of a freezer so as to be able to be pulled out, for instance. A refrigerated goods container with the particular features described below could however also be used as a suspended basket in a chest freezer or as a door tray suspended on the interior of a refrigeration appliance door.

[0066] According to this embodiment the refrigerated goods container 1 has substantially the shape of a square with an open top side. Other shapes can also be used, however. A base 3, side walls 4 and front and rear walls 5, 6 of the refrigerated goods container 1 are manufactured in this example from a wire mesh.

[0067] According to this example, wires 7, 8 in the wire mesh are disposed in two intersecting layers and are welded to one another at the points of intersection. A flat, approximately cross-shaped blank is firstly cut out of the wire mesh. At the same time as the cutting out, cranks 9 can be formed at the ends of four arms of the cross at the free ends of the wires 7, 8.

[0068] Joints 10, at which the wires extending horizontally are interrupted, are visible on the side walls 4. The joints 10 therefore touch as a result of two opposing arms of the cross being wider than the front and rear walls 5, 6 and the two others being narrower than the side walls 4, so that, in order to form the side walls 4, on one hand the narrow arms are folded up in order to form a center piece 11 of the side walls, the wide arms are folded up in order to form the front and rear walls 5, 6 and edge sections of the wide arms which project laterally beyond the base 3 are folded a second time in order to form front and rear edge sections 12, 13 of the side walls 4.

[0069] In order to reinforce the boxes formed in this way, in this case a further wire 14 was fastened to the free ends of the projecting wires of the walls 4, 5, 6 so as to bridge the joints 10. This wire 14 extends in a straight line along the rear wall 6. According to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the wire 14 is a first wire. This first wire has straight sections 15 along the other walls 4, 5 and first latching projections 16. The straight sections 15 and the first latching projections 16 are disposed adjacent one another and therefore in an alternating manner. The first latching projections 16 protrude from the walls 4, 5 or project from the walls 4, 5. The first latching projections 16 are embodied as shaft sections 16 in this embodiment.

[0070] In the representation in FIG. 2, five wires 8 of a side wall 4 or four wires of the front wall 5 are fastened to each straight section 15, and the shaft sections 16 are each positioned in the intermediate space between two such wires so that all vertical wires 7, 8 of the walls 4, 5, 6 are connected to the wire 14. According to other exemplary embodiments, other numbers of wires can also be provided.

[0071] In practice displacements may occur between the wires 7, 8 and the shaft sections 16, so that the situation shown in FIG. 3 can also occur that a wire 7, 8 overlaps with a shaft section 16 and therefore cannot be fastened to the wire 14. The stability of the wire basket is in principle not compromised in this case.

[0072] A second latching projection 17 is provided on the interiors of the side walls 4 and the front wall 5 just below and parallel to the wire 14. The second latching projection 17 is provided in this case as a wire or auxiliary wire. The second latching projection 17 or auxiliary wire can have a smaller diameter than the wires 7, 8, 14.

[0073] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of an end profile 2 attached or fastened to an end section 34 or top edge of a wall.

[0074] The end profile 2 preferably has a cross-section which remains constant across its entire length and can therefore be produced cost-effectively by using extrusion.

[0075] The end profile 2 includes a first side wall 18 and a second side wall 19. The first and second side walls 18, 19 are preferably outer and inner walls 18, 19 which are parallel to one another. A ceiling wall 20 interconnects the walls 18 and 19.

[0076] The end profile 2 has a groove 23, which includes a groove base 37 with a first groove base section 37a and a second groove base section 37b. The second groove base section 37b is positioned higher in the height direction than the first groove base section 37a.

[0077] The first groove base section 37a, together with the first side wall 18 and a projection 24, forms at least one undercut 25. This undercut 25 receives the first latching projections 16.

[0078] The second groove base section 37b, together with the second side wall 19, forms a receiving area 38, which receives end pieces of the wires 7 in the wire basket.

[0079] According to this exemplary embodiment, the end profile 2 additionally includes an intermediate wall 21 which forms the groove base 37. According to another embodiment, the groove base can form a ceiling wall.

[0080] In this example the intermediate wall 21 together with the ceiling wall 20 forms a cavity 22. Regions of the first side wall and the second side wall 18, 19 projecting below the intermediate wall 21 delimit the groove 23. The projection 24 is formed by a triangular cross-section for instance at the interior of the first side wall 18 which faces the groove 23. A horizontal top side of the projection 24, together with the intermediate wall 21, delimits the undercut 25 into which the first latching projections 16 of the wire 14 engage. The depth of the undercut 25 is greater than the radius of the wire 14, so that if the end profile 2 is raised, the wire 14 rests in a more stable manner on the horizontal top side of the projection 24. A lower edge 26 of the outer wall 18 is preferably reinforced in order to improve the resistance of the end profile 2 against impacts.

[0081] The intermediate wall 21 follows a staggered course, which is formed by the first and second groove base sections 37a, 37b.

[0082] According to this exemplary embodiment, the first groove base section 37a rests on the first latching projections 16, which are formed in this case as shaft sections, and the straight sections 15 of the wire 14. The second groove base section 37b extends at a higher level and together with the second side wall 19 forms the receiving area 38 into which spikes of the vertical wires 7 projecting across the wire 14 can engage, preferably without connecting with the intermediate wall 21.

[0083] The second side wall 19 has a rib 28 which projects into the groove 23. According to this example, the rib 28 is disposed on a lower edge 27 of the second side wall 19. The rib 28 and the second latching projection 17 touch one another on an inclined tangential plane 29. If the end profile 2 is pivoted in the counterclockwise direction about a pivot axis 30 defined by the engagement of the first latching projections 16 into the undercut 25, the rib 28 passes through the second latching projection 17, and the end profile 2 reaches a position in which, without being deformed, it can be moved laterally so that the first latching projections 16 disengage from the channel 25. In this position, the end profile can be raised from the wall 5. Assembly of the end profile 2 on the wall 5 is carried out by using the reverse direction of movement.

[0084] According to FIG. 4, corner pieces 31 can be provided, for instance, which connect the end profiles 2 of the front wall 5 to those of the side walls 4. The corner pieces 31 each have an approximately square main body 32, from which pins 33 project on two sides. A corner piece 31 is assembled at each end of the end profile 2 of the front wall 5 by inserting a pin 33 into the cavity 22. The end profiles 2 of the side walls 4 are somewhat shorter than the side walls 4 so that the pins 33 of the two corner pieces 31 which extend across the top edges of the side walls 4 do not hinder attachment of the end profiles 2 there. As soon as the end profiles 2 are correctly aligned on the side walls 4, they can be pushed along the side walls 4 so that the pins 33 engage into their cavities 22. When this has happened, none of the end profiles 2 are then able to pivot and the end profiles 2 are secured firmly to the wire basket 1.

[0085] Furthermore, the end profile 2 can be provided with additional latching hooks and/or latching devices, with which the end profile 2 can additionally be fastened to a wall 4, 5 or to at least one wire 7, 8.

[0086] The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention: [0087] 1 Refrigerated goods container [0088] 2 End profile [0089] 3 Base [0090] 4 Side wall [0091] 5 Front wall [0092] 6 Rear wall [0093] 7 Wire [0094] 8 Wire [0095] 9 Crank [0096] 10 Joint [0097] 11 Center piece [0098] 12 Edge section [0099] 13 Edge section [0100] 14 Wire [0101] 15 Straight section [0102] 16 First latching projection [0103] 17 Second latching projection [0104] 18 First side wall [0105] 19 Second side wall [0106] 20 Ceiling wall [0107] 21 Intermediate wall [0108] 22 Cavity [0109] 23 Groove [0110] 24 Projection [0111] 25 Undercut [0112] 26 Lower edge [0113] 27 Lower edge [0114] 28 Rib [0115] 29 Tangential plane [0116] 30 Pivot axis [0117] 31 Corner piece [0118] 32 Main body [0119] 33 Pin [0120] 34 End section [0121] 35 First side surface [0122] 36 Second side surface [0123] 37 Groove base [0124] 37a First groove base section [0125] 37b Second groove base section [0126] 38 Receiving region [0127] HR Height direction