Household appliance and guide rail assembly

Abstract

A household appliance has a storage compartment, a container, and a pair of guide rail assemblies. The storage compartment has a front opening and a pair of side walls; the container includes an accommodating cavity and a cover used for closing an upwardly open access opening of the accommodating cavity. The cover may slide from front to back to expose the access opening; the pair of guide rail assemblies respectively include a first rail and a second rail, where the second rail is adapted to slide relative to the first rail; and the guide rail assembly includes a locking mechanism. When the container is pulled out and reaches a predetermined position, the locking mechanism locks the first rail and the second rail to prevent the container from moving backward driven by the cover pushed backward.

1 . A household appliance, comprising:
 a storage compartment formed with a front opening and a pair of side walls;   a container formed with an accommodating cavity having an upwardly open access opening, and a cover for closing said upwardly open access opening of said accommodating cavity, said cover being mounted to slide from front to back to expose said access opening; and   a pair of guide rail assemblies each having a first rail and a second rail slidably mounted relative to said first rail; and   at least one of said guide rail assemblies having at least one locking mechanism configured to lock said first rail and said second rail when said container is pulled out and reaches a predetermined position.   
     
     
         2 . The household appliance according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 said locking mechanism is configured to release locked states of said first rail and said second rail when said container is pushed backward;   and/or   said locking mechanism comprises a first matching portion fixed to said first rail and a second matching portion fixed to said second rail, and at the predetermined position, said first matching portion and said second matching portion are engaged to lock said first rail and said second rail.   
     
     
         3 . The household appliance according to  claim 1 , further comprising a sealing ring between said cover and an edge of said access opening, said sealing ring being fixed to said edge or said cover, when said cover closes said access opening, said sealing ring is configured to bear a weight of said cover while being squeezed, and wherein a locking force of said locking mechanism on said first rail and said second rail is greater than a friction force generated by said sealing ring on said edge or said cover when said cover is opened. 
     
     
         4 . The household appliance according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 said first matching portion is fixed to a front portion of said first rail, and said second matching portion is fixed to a rear portion of said second rail, wherein said first rail is fixed to a corresponding said side wall, and said second rail is fixed to a corresponding side of said container;   and/or   said first matching portion comprises a mounting portion located between said first rail and the corresponding side wall, and a lock that is located below said first rail and configured to be engaged with said second matching portion.   
     
     
         5 . The household appliance according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 said first matching portion comprises a housing having a mounting portion and an accommodating groove located below said first rail, and said lock is accommodated in the accommodating groove; or additionally said housing is formed with a fixing hole located on and exposed to said accommodating groove, and said lock comprises a fixing elastic piece snapped into said fixing hole;   and/or   said housing is formed with a snap-in groove at a rear portion of said housing, and said lock comprises a buckle snapped into said snap-in groove.   
     
     
         6 . The household appliance according to  claim 2 , wherein said second matching portion comprises a locking portion, and said locking portion is configured to move with said second rail and to be elastically received in said first matching portion, so that said guide rail assembly is in a locked state. 
     
     
         7 . The household appliance according to  claim 2 , wherein said first matching portion comprises a base and a movable lock member, and said second matching portion is adapted to drive said lock member to move and/or rotate in a front-to-back direction relative to said base, so that the lock member and a locking portion located at said second matching portion form or release a locked state. 
     
     
         8 . The household appliance according to  claim 7 , wherein said lock member is adapted to be driven by said second matching portion to rotate, so that at least one part of the lock member is displaced in a vertical direction relative to said first rail. 
     
     
         9 . The household appliance according to  claim 7 , wherein said base is formed with a brake groove, said lock member comprises a brake portion, and said lock member is adapted to slide from back to front to separate said brake portion from said brake groove, or said lock member is adapted to slide from front to back to cause said brake portion to enter said brake groove. 
     
     
         10 . The household appliance according to  claim 9 , wherein:
 said lock member comprises a stop portion and, when said brake portion is located in said brake groove, said locking portion may pass over said stop portion and move relative to said stop portion, and when said first rail and said second rail are locked, said brake portion separates from said brake groove, and said stop portion stops said locking portion from moving backward;   and/or   said lock member comprises a push block adapted to be pushed to move from back to front to separate said brake portion from said brake groove, and in a locked state, said locking portion is locked between said push block and said stop portion; or   additionally, said locking portion is adapted to engage said push block and said stop portion in the locked state and is locked between said push block and said stop portion.   
     
     
         11 . The household appliance according to  claim 7 , wherein said base comprises a rail portion that is higher than said brake groove in a vertical direction, said lock member comprises a joint portion configured to slide along said rail portion, and in a locked state, said joint portion and said brake portion are supported on said rail portion, and when said brake portion falls into said brake groove, said joint portion is supported on said rail portion, and a rear portion of said lock member moves down, so that said second matching portion may separate from said first matching portion. 
     
     
         12 . The household appliance according to  claim 11 , wherein said rail portion is horizontal and/or said joint portion inclines downward from back to front, and when said brake portion falls into said brake groove or separates from said brake groove, said lock member rotates around a joint between said joint portion and said rail portion. 
     
     
         13 . The household appliance according to  claim 7 , further comprising an elastic member mounted between said base and said lock member, wherein said elastic member is configured to provide an elastic force between said base and said lock member when a locked state is formed or released. 
     
     
         14 . The household appliance according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 said first matching portion comprises a locking groove, said second matching portion comprises a locking member, and at least one of said locking member and said locking groove is made of an elastic material, so that said locking member is adapted to be elastically received in said locking groove; or   additionally, said second matching portion comprises a block wall, with said block wall and said locking member being spaced to form a fixing groove, and said first matching portion comprises a wall portion forming said locking groove, and said wall portion is accommodated in said fixing groove.   
     
     
         15 . A guide rail assembly, comprising:
 a first rail and a second rail configured to slide relative to said first rail;   a locking mechanism having a first matching portion fixed to said first rail and a second matching portion fixed to said second rail, and wherein:   when said second rail is pulled out relative to said first rail and reaches a predetermined position, said first matching portion and said second matching portion are engaged to lock said first rail and said second rail.