Description:
The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

Field of the invention
[0001] This disclosure relates to an adjustable storage container in a household appliance.

Background of the invention
[0002] Most of the people consume egg on daily basis. the common problem faced by the consumer is provided space/tray in refrigerator is not enough for egg storage according to daily consumption. Stacking up eggs on one another, using extra containers for egg storage causing space constraint for other vessels. The egg tray in the existing appliance has certain disadvantages when in use, the egg rack only plays a role in storing eggs, when the appliance door is opened, the eggs can shake and collide, the problem of fragmentation exists, and certain inconvenience is brought to users.

[0003] A patent application CN213396119 discloses a utility model discloses a self-adaptive egg rack of a refrigerator refrigerating chamber, which comprises a refrigerator door, wherein two regulating grooves in an inverted L shape are arranged on the surface of the refrigerator door, egg rack sealing covers are arranged in the two regulating grooves in a sliding manner, an egg storage rack is fixedly connected to the refrigerator door, a plurality of second egg openings in a semi-oval shape are arranged on the egg storage rack, a plurality of first egg openings are arranged on the egg rack sealing covers, the diameters of the second egg openings are arranged from large to small, and the shape specifications of the first egg openings are the same as those of the second egg openings; the utility model discloses, the both ends of egg are located egg frame closing cap and egg storage rack respectively, can play fine restriction effect to the egg, prevent to bump between the egg, prevent that egg and refrigerator from taking place big collision, the egg problem of breaking that appears when avoiding appearing opening the chamber door, and is comparatively practical.

Brief description of the invention:
[0004] It is an object of the invention to provide an adjustable storage container in a household appliance.

[0005] The objects are solved by an adjustable storage container in a household appliance having the features according to claims 1 and 10.

[0006] The invention relates to an adjustable storage container in a household appliance. A household appliance comprises at least one compartment for storing multiple items.The appliance comprises an adjustable storage having a U-shaped channel for storing the multiple items. The storage container is inclined from a front side to a rear side .

[0007] A feature of this invention is that, the adjustable storage container is removably mounted under /below an at least one slidable shelf.

[0008] Another feature of this invention is that,the adjustable storage container comprises two open ends at the front side and at least one closed corner at the rear side.

[0009] Another feature of this invention is that, the adjustable storage container comprises an extension on each of the open ends at the front side and a holding element at the rear side for holding the storage container when mounted below the at least one slidable shelf.

[0010] Another feature of this invention is that, the extensions at the front side and the holding element at the rear side holds the storage container in an intact position when mounted below the at least one slidable shelf.

[0011] Another feature of this invention is that, the front side comprises an inlet and an outlet, such that, the items are stored inside the storage container through the inlet and the items are taken out through the outlet.

[0012] Another feature of this invention is that , the storage container comprises a protrusion on the outlet of the front side for avoiding the stored item to fall out of the storage container.

[0013] Another feature of this invention is that the outlet comprises a pathway that is inclined from the rear side to the front side for easy moving of the stored items in the storage container.

[0014] Another feature of this invention is that the inlet comprises an inclined pathway from the front side to the rear side for avoiding said items for falling out of the inlet during storing.

[0015] Another feature of this invention is that, a portion of the storage container at the rear side is made flexible such that, the portion can be expanded in a forward direction .

[0016] With the above disclsoed adjustable storage container in the household appliance 10, the user of the appliance 10 gets an additional storage space below every slidable shelf 12. The storage container 16 accomodates items like eggs, plums, peaches,lemons and the like. The inclined pathways (34,36) in the storage container 16, helps in moving the items 13 from the inlet 18 to the outlet 20 withuot much hassle. The removal feature of the storage container 16 helps the user to load the items 13 effectively and also to clean or repair/replace the container 16.

[0017]The storage container 16 occupies the corner sides of the slidable shelf 12, thus not disturbing the storing space formed in the compartments. The bottom surface of the slidable shelf 12 acts as a cover for the storage container 16. The new design of the storage container 16 disclosed in the present invention, helps in better utilization of the door bins, as eggs can be stored in this container 16. The above disclosed container is a low cost effective solution that also works as a retrofit solution to the existing appliance. Depending on the requirement of the user, the size of the storage container 16 can be modiified.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings
An embodiment of the disclosure is described with reference to the following accompanying drawings.
[0018] Figure 1 illustrates and adjustable storage container in a household appliance, in accordance with an embodiment of this invention; and
[0019] Figures 2(a)&2(b) illustrates the adjustable storage container in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed description of the embodiments
[0020] Figure 1 illustrates an adjustable storage container in a household appliance, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The household appliance 10 comprises at least one compartment 12 for storing multiple items 13 and at least one slidable shelf 14 for diving the at least one compartment 12 into multiple storing portions 15. The appliance 10 comprises an adjustable storage container 16 removably mounted on the at least one slidable shelf 14 and the storage container 16 is made inclined from a front side 18 to a rear side 20.The adjustable storage container 16 having a U-shaped channel for storing the multiple items 13. The storage container 16 is inclined from a front side to a rear side .

[0021]Further , the construction of the appliance 10 and the adjustable storage container 16 is explained in detail. According to one embodiment of the invention, the appliance 10 is a refrigerator. The appliance 10 is chosen from a group of appliances comprising a single door refrigerator, a mutli-door refrigerator and the like. The usage of the storage container 16 as mentioned in the present invention, is not limited to using in the refrigerator 10 , but can be any other place that can be removably mounted onto a shelf 14 or a rack. The adjustable storage container 16 is made of a flexible material like a flexible plastic, rubber and the like, such that, the tear and wear of the container 16 will be minimized while mounting the container 16 below the slidable shelf 14. The adjustable storage container 16 is removably mounted under /below the at least one slidable shelf 14. A part of the storage container 16 will be fixed on a portion of the slidable shelf 14 for holding the container 16 in an intact position.

[0022] Figures 2(a)&2(b) illustrates the appliance with the adjustable storage container in accordance with the present invention.The adjustable storage container 16 comprises two open ends 22 at the front side 18 and at least one closed corner 25 at the rear side 20. The storage container 16 comprises an inlet 28 and an outlet 30 at the front side 18 of the storage container 16.The two open ends 22 are made at the inlet 28 and the outlet 30 each respectively. The adjustable storage container 16 comprises an extension 24 on each of the open ends 22 at the front side 18 and a holding element 26 at the rear side 20 for holding the storage container 16 when mounted below the at least one slidable shelf 14. The extensions 24 are made on a top surface of the open ends 22. The front side 18 comprises an inlet 28 and an outlet 30, such that, the items 13 are stored inside the storage container 16 through the inlet 28 and the items are taken out through the outlet 30.

[0023] One open end 22(a) is used as an inlet 28 and another open end 22(b) is used as an outlet 30. Each of the inlet 28 and the outlet 30 has a pathway (34,36) respectively. The pathway 34 of inlet 28 is more inclined from front side 18 to the rear side 20 than the pathway of the outlet 30. The inclined pathway 36 of the inlet 28 prevents the items 13 to fall out of the inlet 28 during the storage inside container 16. The pathway 34 of the outlet 30 is more inclined towards the front side 18 ie.,the pathway 34 of the outlet 30 is inclined from the rear side 20 to the front side 18 for ease of the items 13 to roll out to the front side 18 of the container 16 from the rear side 20. Even during the times where the storage container is half/quarter fileld, due to the inclined surfaces from the front side to rear side at the inlet and from the rear side to the front side at the outlet, allows the items to roll over from the inlet to the outlet, as soon as the user loads the items through inlet, the items will be rolled over to the outlet. For instnace,if the storage container 10 is 50 percent filled with the items 13, due to the inclined pathways from the inlet 28 to the outlet 30, the items 13 will reach the outlet as soon as , those are inserted into the container 10 through th inlet 28. According to one embodiment of the invention, if the stored items 13 are eggs , then the eggs are placed horizontally while storing inside the container 10. This helps in moving /rolling of the eggs from inlet 28 to outlet 30 via the rear side.

[0024] The storage container 16 comprises a protrusion 32 on the outlet 30 of the front side 18 for avoiding the stored item 13 to fall out of the storage container 16. The extensions 24 at the front side 18 and the holding element 26 at the rear side 20 holds the storage container 16 in an intact position when mounted below the at least one slidable shelf 14.

[0025] According to one embodiment of the invention, a portion 38 of the storage container 16 at the rear side 20 is made flexible such that, the portion 38 can be expanded in a forward direction. The rear side 20 portion is made flexible such that, the user can expand manually and can store the items 13 directly in the rear side portion 20 before mounting below the slidable shelf 14. According to one embodiment of the invention, the rear side portion 20 is made of a flexible material that has the characteristic of expansion and compression when applied a force on that. The type of the material is not restricted to one kind, but can be of any material that is known to a person skilled in the art.

[0026] In one instance, when the rear side portion 38 is made expanded, then the front side 18 is compressed due to the expansion of the rear side 20. In another instance, when the rear side portion 38 is made expanded, then the front side 18 is remained intact portion without compression.

[0027] A method of storing the items 13 in the storage container 16 is explained in detail. The items 13 like eggs, lemons, plums and the like are loaded into the storage container 16. However, it is to be understood that, the items 13 are not restricted to above mentioned items, but can be of any other items 13 that are smaller in size and which can be stored in the container 16.

[0028] The items 13 are loaded from the inlet into the container 16 and due to the inlet pathway 36 that is inclined from the front side 18 to the rear side 20, the items 13 will be rolled into the rear side 20 when inserted through the inlet of the container 16.

[0029] The items 13 that are inserted via the inlet 28 will be pulled out or accessed through the outlet 34. Due to the protrusion 32 on the outlet side 30, the items 13 will remain inside the container 16 without rolling out. According to one embodiment of the invention, the rear side portion 38 is also inclinded from one end to other end. Ie., from inlet side 28 to outlet side 30.Due to this type of inclination from the inlet 28 to the outlet 30, the items 13 that are inserted via the inlet 28 will be rolled towards the outlet 30 without much hassle.

[0030] With the above disclsoed adjustable storage container 16 in the household appliance 10, the user of the appliance 10 gets an additional storage space below every slidable shelf 12. The storage container 16 accomodates items like eggs, plums, peaches,lemons and the like. The inclined pathways (34,36) in the storage container 16, helps in moving the items 13 from the inlet 28 to the outlet 30 withuot much hassle. The removal feature of the storage container 16 helps the user to load the items 13 effectively and also to clean or repair/replace the container 16. The storage container 16 occupies the corner sides of the slidable shelf 12, thus not disturbing the storing space formed in the compartments 14.

[0031] The bottom surface of the slidable shelf 12 acts as a cover for the storage container 16. The new design of the storage container 16 disclosed in the present invention, helps in better utilization of the door bins, as eggs can be stored in this container 16. The above disclosed container 16 is a low cost effective solution that also works as a retrofit solution to the existing appliance 10. Depending on the requirement of the user, the size of the storage container 16 can be modiified.

[0032] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this disclosure. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.

List of Reference Signs
10 household appliance
12 at least one compartment
13 items that are stored in the appliance
14 at least one slidable shelf
15 multiple storing portions
16 adjustable storage container
18 front side of the container
20 rear side of the container
22(a, b) open ends of the container
24 extensions
25 at least one closed corner
26 holding element
28 inlet of the container
30 outlet of the container
32 protrusion on the outlet
34 outlet pathway
36 inlet pathway
38 portion of the container
, Claims:We Claim:
1. A household appliance (10) comprising:
- at least one compartment (12) for storing multiple items (13);
characterized in that:
- an adjustable storage container (16) having a U-shaped channel for storing said multiple items, said storage container (16) is inclined from a front side (18) to a rear side (20).

2. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said adjustable storage container (16) is removably mounted under /below an at least one slidable shelf (14).

3. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said adjustable storage container (16) comprises two open ends (22) at said front side (18) and at least one closed corner (25) at said rear side (20).

4. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 3, wherein said adjustable storage container (16) comprises an extension (24) on each of said open ends (22) at said front side (18) and a holding element (26) at said rear side (20) for holding said storage container (16) when mounted below said at least one slidable shelf (14).

5. The appliance as claimed in claim 4, wherein said extensions (24) at said front side (18) and said holding element (26) at said rear side (20) holds said storage container (16) in an intact position when mounted below said at least one slidable shelf (14).

6. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said front side (18) comprises an inlet (28) and an outlet (30), such that, said items (13) are stored inside said storage container (16) through said inlet (28) and said items (13) are taken out through said outlet (30).
7. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 6, wherein said storage container (16) comprises a protrusion (32) on said outlet (30) of said front side (18) for avoiding said stored item (16) to fall out of said storage container (16).

8. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said outlet (30) comprises a pathway (34) that is inclined from said rear side (20) to said front side (18) for easy moving of said stored items (13) in said storage container (16).

9. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 6, wherein said inlet (28) comprises an inclined pathway (36) from said front side (18) to said rear side (20) for avoiding said items (13) for falling out of said inlet (28) during storing.

10. The appliance (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a portion (38) of said storage container (16) at said rear side (20) is made flexible such that, said portion (38) can be expanded in a forward direction.