Temperature controlled display cabinet

Abstract

 The invention relates to a temperature controlled display cabinet (10) comprising frame parts (11, 12, 13) and side walls (15), which cabinet (10) has at least one door (16) or an opening on front and/or back side of the cabinet (10). The walls (15) and doors (16) of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) are transparent material and a side duct (23) for temperature controlled gas flow (S) is located at one of the side walls (15) of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) and the side duct (23) is formed by a duct wall structure (25) of transparent material.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a temperature controlled display cabinet and especially the invention relates to a temperature controlled display cabinet according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Different types of temperature controlled display cabinet solutions for grocery stores, super markets etc. are known from prior art. Temperature controlled display cabinets are employed for products, such as food stuffs, beverages and like that must be kept in cooled temperatures i.e., in temperatures below +8 °C, and to allow customers to access groceries and other refrigerated items from the cabinet. The temperature controlled display cabinet comprises typically shelves for the products and at least partially transparent wall structure in order to provide direct view to the products inside for the customers. Often, they also include a light source that illuminates the product display area for better marketing of the food product and for higher visibility to the customers.

[0003] These types of temperature controlled display cabinets typically comprise frame structure and wall structure with doors or without the doors with at least one open wall for customers to access the products and shelves and/or other structures for the products. The temperature controlled display cabinets may comprise temperature control units such as cooling equipment with blowing devices to create temperature controlled gas, usually air flows to the interior of the cabinet in order to keep inside of the cabinet and the products inside in the required temperature to ensure the required shelf life of the products. The temperature control equipment typically comprises an evaporator and a blower located at equipment space next to the temperature controlled product space with shelves for products. The temperature controlled display cabinet may also be without its own temperature control unit such as cooling equipment and in these cases it is connected to a common temperature control system located remote from the temperature controlled display cabinet, which common temperature control system provides the temperature controlled gas, typically air flow into the cabinet.

[0004] The temperature controlled display cabinet known from the prior art have typically central temperature controlled gas duct for the temperature controlled gas, via which the temperature controlled gas is guided to the top part of the cabinet and from the top the temperature controlled gas is circulated to the temperature controlled product space of the cabinet. Due to the central temperature controlled gas duct the shelf structure is typically of two part form, one part of the shelves directed to front and one part to the back side of the cabinet thus obstructing the visibility of the products. It should be noted that the terms front and back side are only used to indicate the two opposite sides from which the refrigerated products are accessible for the customer. The temperature controlled display cabinets have thus four sides, of which two opposite - "front and back" - sides are open or openable (with doors) in order for the customer to access products and two opposite sides between the former are stationary.

[0005] The temperature controlled display cabinet known from the prior art may also have temperature controlled gas inlet from trough bottom of the cabinet into the product space of the temperature controlled display cabinet but this may cause problems in achieving the required temperature range and thus may have a disadvantageous effect on product shelf-life.

[0006] In the temperature controlled display cabinets known from prior art the shelves typically extend from one wall to the other in each direction and are fixed directly to the frames of the temperature controlled display cabinet or a central shelf supporting structure is used. The former is disadvantageous in view of temperature controlled gas flow and its effect inside the cabinet and the latter is disadvantageous in view of visibility of the products.

[0007] The temperature controlled display cabinet may comprise doors on both front and back of the case. The refrigerated products are loaded onto the cabinet shelves from the back and/or from the front of the cabinet. Transparent refrigerator doors are known, and they are typically made of double glazed glass panels.

[0008] The cabinet may also be constructed as an open face cooler i.e. without the obstruction of a door. Open face coolers or open face temperature controlled display cabinets comprise the cabinet without doors and cooling equipment i.e. a temperature control unit arranged to circulate temperature controlled gas to keep product displayed on open shelves in the cabinet below a predetermined temperature. The temperature controlled gas usually is circulated from the top of the open face cabinet as a gas curtain down the open front and/or back of the cabinet. Open face coolers are widely used as point-of-sale display coolers for refrigerated products.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to create a temperature controlled display cabinet in which the disadvantages of prior art arrangements are eliminated or at least minimized.

[0010] A particular object of the invention is to create a temperature controlled display cabinet, in which it is ensured that the products will be kept in temperatures i.e. below temperature of +8 °C.

[0011] A particular object of the invention is to create a temperature controlled display cabinet, in which visibility of the products is improved, and in which the products are clearly visible for the customers, and in which access to the goods is easy form either front or back of the cabinet.

[0012] A particular object of the invention is to create a temperature controlled display cabinet, in which shelve locations in the product space are modifiable.

[0013] In order to achieve the above objects and those that will come apparent later the temperature controlled display cabinet is mainly characterized by the features of the characterizing part of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and features are defined in dependent claims.

[0014] The temperature controlled display cabinet comprises frame parts and side walls and has at least one door or an opening on front and/or back side of the cabinet. According to the invention the walls and doors of the temperature controlled display cabinet are transparent material and a side duct for temperature controlled gas flow is located at one of the side walls of the temperature controlled display cabinet and that the side duct is formed by a duct wall structure of transparent material.

[0015] According to an advantageous feature of the invention the temperature controlled display cabinet has an angular horizontal cross-section and that advantageously the horizontal cross-section is substantially rectangular.

[0016] According to an advantageous feature of the invention the frame parts of the temperature controlled display cabinet comprise a bottom frame part, a top frame part and corner frame located in corners of the cabinet.

[0017] According to an advantageous feature of the invention in the temperature controlled display cabinet between two adjacent corner frame parts two opposite side walls of transparent material are attached and the front and the back side of the temperature controlled display cabinet.

[0018] According to an advantageous feature of the invention in the bottom frame part or in the top frame part of the temperature controlled display cabinet is located the means for providing temperature controlled gas flow of the temperature controlled display cabinet.

[0019] According to an advantageous feature of the invention the means for providing temperature controlled gas flow comprise a connecting part to be connected to a common temperature control system located remote from the temperature controlled display cabinet.

[0020] According to an advantageous feature of the invention the temperature controlled display cabinet further comprises a top duct to which the temperature controlled gas flow is guided from the side duct. The top duct is advantageously constructed of two part form so that temperature controlled gas flow is directed into the product space of the temperature controlled display cabinet at front and back sides and the top duct has advantageously a honeycomb structure.

[0021] According to an advantageous feature of the invention the transparent material of the inner duct wall structure of the side duct is plexiglass or acrylic plastic material or glass.

[0022] According to an advantageous feature of the invention the inner wall structure of the side duct is releasably attached to the frame of the temperature controlled display cabinet.

[0023] According to an advantageous feature of the invention the temperature controlled display cabinet further comprises a shelf arrangement, which is located inside the temperature controlled display cabinet and comprises shelves and shelf frame parts. Advantageously the shelf arrangement of the temperature controlled display cabinet has a floating attachment for each shelf in which the shelves are attached to shelf frame parts by supporting lugs and each shelf is located at a distance from walls and/or of the temperature controlled display cabinet such that an gas space for in the product space of the temperature controlled display cabinet circulating temperature controlled gas is provided.

[0024] In the following the invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

in figures 1 - 3 is shown schematically one advantageous example of a temperature controlled display cabinet in different views and

in figures 4A - 4C is shown an example of an advantageous shelf structure in an advantageous example of the temperature controlled display cabinet.

[0025] During the course of the following description of figures 1 - 4C like numbers and signs will be used to identify like elements according to the different views which illustrate the invention. Some repetitive reference signs have been omitted from the figures for the sake of clarity.

[0026] In figures 1 - 3 is shown a schematical example of a temperature controlled display cabinet 10 being substantially rectangular of its form and comprising a bottom frame part 11, a top frame part 12 and four corner frame parts 13 in each corner of the cabinet 10. In the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 between two corner parts 13 two opposite side walls 15 of transparent material are attached. The side walls 15 are stationary. The front and the back side of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 i.e. between the opposite side walls 15 are in this advantageous example provided with transparent doors 16, two doors 16 on each side turnably hinged to the corresponding corner frame part 14. The doors 16 may be provided with handles 17 as shown in the example of the figures 1 - 3 for facilitating the opening of the doors 16 by the customers. The door structure can be also of sliding door type or the front and the back sides of the temperature controlled display cabinet may be open and provided with a gas curtain ensuring the refrigerated temperature inside the cabinet. The temperature controlled display cabinet 10 also has a plurality of shelves 30 for the products. As the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 is transparent in all sides good the product visibility is achieved. Two sides open / openable structure of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 provides for easy access to the products for the customers from either side of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10.

[0027] Within the bottom frame part 11 is located the means for providing temperature controlled gas flow such as temperature controlled gas flow of the temperature controlled display cabinet. The bottom frame part 11 may comprise a temperature control equipment space 21 for an evaporator and a blower or the bottom frame part 11 may comprise a connecting part 21 to be connected to a common temperature control system located remote from the temperature controlled display cabinet 10.Irrespective of the manner of providing the temperature controlled gas the temperature controlled gas flow such as temperature controlled gas flow S_in is guided via inlet duct 22 to side duct 23. According to the invention the side duct 23 is located next to one of the side walls 15 of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10. The side wall 15 forms the outer wall of the duct and the inner wall of the duct is formed by a duct wall structure 25 of transparent material providing the duct form and thus the side duct 23 for the temperature controlled gas flow such as temperature controlled gas flow S guided to the top duct 24. The transparent material of the inner duct wall 25 is advantageously plexiglass or acrylic plastic material or glass. Advantageously the inner wall structure 25 is releasably attached to the frame of the temperature controlled display cabinet in order to enable cleaning of the side duct 23 when needed. The side duct can also be constructed as an impendent unit located next to the side wall 15, advantageously releasably attached and of transparent material. The top duct 24 is advantageously constructed of two part form as shown in figure 3 so that temperature controlled gas flow such as temperature controlled gas flow S_cab is directed into the product space of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 next to front and back sides. The top duct 24 has advantageously a honeycomb structure. The top duct 24 is constructed between top frame part 12 and a top duct wall structure 26 having outlets 29A, 29B for the temperature controlled gas flow such as temperature controlled gas flow S_cab through the product space of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10. At the bottom of the product space of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 an outlet duct 27 for removal of the gas flow S_out. A guide 28 may be provided for guiding the gas flow S_out.

[0028] In figures 4A - 4C is shown an example of an advantageous shelf structure for an advantageous example of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10. The shelf structure of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 comprises vertical shelf frame parts 31, which are located at corners of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 and are attached to the corner frame parts 13 of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 and supported on the bottom frame part 11 of the temperature controlled display cabinet. Further the shelf structure of the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 comprises supporting lugs 32 that are releasably attached to the corresponding shelf frame parts 31 and to each corner of the shelf 30. Each shelf frame part 31 has a plurality of attachment holes 33 that are located at a distance from each other in vertical direction in order to have multiple locations for shelves 30. The supporting lug 32 has a with the attachment hole matching attachment pin/ pins 34. According to invention the supporting lug 32 provides a distance between the shelf frame part 31 and the corresponding corner of the shelf 30 so that between the shelves 30 and the walls 15 and doors 16 a gap is formed, in which the temperature controlled gas flow S_cab inside the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 can circulate in order to ensure required temperature for the products and the side duct 23 can be located. Thus the surface area of the shelf 30 is smaller than the surface area of the horizontal cross-section of the temperature controlled display cabinet. The shelves 30 are of transparent or non-transparent material.

[0029] The shelves 30 for products are movably attached to the structure so that the shelve locations are modifiable in the temperature controlled display cabinet 10 in vertical direction, which thus provides many possibilities for product placing.

[0030] The shelves 30 are advantageously positioned substantially horizontally or slightly inclined lowering towards the front side and the back side of the cabinet 10 thus the shelves being of slightly V-shape, the tip of the V pointing upwards. Each shelf 30 may have a front barrier (not shown) to prevent the products from falling off the front edge of the shelf 30, especially when inclined shelves are utilized. The shelves 30 may also have support part / parts / frame to secure the weight-carrying capacity of the shelf.

Reference signs used in the drawing:

[0031] 

10

temperature controlled display cabinet

11

bottom frame part

12

top frame part

13

corner frame part

15

wall

16

door

17

handle

21

temperature control equipment space /connecting part to temperature control system

22

inlet duct

23

side duct

24; 24A, 24B

top duct

25

inner duct wall structure

26

top duct wall

27

outlet duct

28

guide means

29A, 29B

honeycomb duct

30

shelf

31

shelf frame part

32

shelf support part

33

attachment point

34

attachment pin

S, S_in, S_out, S_cab

temperature controlled gas flow

Claims

1. Temperature controlled display cabinet (10) comprising frame parts (11, 12, 13) and side walls (15), which cabinet (10) has at least one door (16) or an opening on front and/or back side of the cabinet (10), characterized in, that the walls (15) and doors (16) of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) are transparent material and that a side duct (23) for temperature controlled gas flow (S) is located at one of the side walls (15) of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) and that the side duct (23) is formed by a duct wall structure (25) of transparent material.

2. Temperature controlled display cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in, that the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) has an angular horizontal cross-section and that advantageously the horizontal cross-section is substantially rectangular.

3. Temperature controlled display cabinet according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in, that the frame parts of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) comprise a bottom frame part (11), a top frame part (12) and four corner frame parts (13) located in corners of the cabinet (10).

4. Temperature controlled display cabinet according to any of claims 1 - 3, characterized in, that in the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) between two adjacent corner frame parts (13) two opposite side walls (15) of transparent material are attached and the front and the back side of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10).

5. Temperature controlled display cabinet according to any of claims 1 - 4, characterized in, that within the bottom frame part (11) or the top frame part (12) of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) is located the means for providing temperature controlled gas flow of the temperature controlled display cabinet.

6. Temperature controlled display cabinet according to any of claims 1 - 5, characterized in, that the means for providing temperature controlled gas flow comprise a connecting part (21) to be connected to a common temperature control system located remote from the temperature controlled display cabinet (10).

7. Temperature controlled display cabinet according to any of claims 1 - 6, characterized in, that the temperature controlled display cabinet further comprises a top duct (24) to which the temperature controlled gas flow is guided from the side duct (23), that the top duct is constructed of two part form so that temperature controlled gas flow (Scab) is directed into the product space of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) at front and back sides and that the top duct (24) has a honeycomb structure.

8. Temperature controlled display cabinet according to any of claims 1 - 7, characterized in, that the transparent material of the inner duct wall structure (25) of the side duct (23) is plexiglass or acrylic plastic material or glass.

9. Temperature controlled display cabinet according to any of claims 1 - 8, characterized in, that the inner wall structure (25) of the side duct (23) is releasably attached to the frame of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10).

10. Temperature controlled display cabinet according to any of claims 1 - 9, characterized in, that the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) further comprises a shelf arrangement, which is located inside the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) and comprises shelves (30) and shelf frame parts (31), and that the shelf arrangement of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) has a floating attachment for each shelf (30) in which the shelves (30) are attached to shelf frame parts (31) by supporting lugs (32) and in which each shelf (30) is located at a distance from walls (15) and/or doors (16) of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) such that an gas space for in the product space of the temperature controlled display cabinet (10) circulating temperature controlled gas is provided.

Drawing