The invention relates to a refrigerated sales furniture.

Refrigerated sales furnitures comprising at least one refrigerable storage and presentation space for storing and presenting cooled goods are known in the prior art.

Frequently, such refrigerated sales furnitures are provided with moveable doors allowing to selectively allow and prevent access to the goods storage and presentation space in order to save energy by preventing cooled air from flowing out of the goods storage and presentation space and/or for controlling the access to the goods storage and presentation space. The handling of the doors, however, complicates the access to the goods storage and presentation space and may prevent potential costumers from accessing the goods easily.

It therefore would be beneficial to provide a refrigerated sales furniture comprising doors which are associated with the goods storage and presentation space and provide an improved and in particular more convenient access to the goods storage and presentation space.

A refrigerated sales furniture according to an embodiment of the invention comprises a refrigerable goods storage and presentation space having a front access portion, which provides access to the goods storage and presentation space from the front, and an upper access portion, which provides access to the goods storage and presentation space from above. The refrigerated sales furniture further comprises a front door, particularly an at least partially transparent front door, which is moveable between a closed position, in which it closes the front access portion, and at least one open or access position, in which it provides access to the goods storage and presentation space from the front; an upper door, particularly an at least partially transparent upper door, which is moveable between a closed position, in which it closes the upper access portion, and at least one open or access position, in which it provides access to the goods storage and presentation space from above; and a linking

The invention relates to a refrigerated sales furniture.

Refrigerated sales furnitures comprising at least one refrigerable storage and presentation space for storing and presenting cooled goods are known in the prior art.

Frequently, such refrigerated sales furnitures are provided with moveable doors allowing to selectively allow and prevent access to the goods storage and presentation space in order to save energy by preventing cooled air from flowing out of the goods storage and presentation space and/or for controlling the access to the goods storage and presentation space.

According to GB 1 137 068 A a lid stay comprises a plate mounted for rotation about a fixed pivot. The plate is connectable to a lid of a box so that the raising of the lid will cause the plate to be rotated about the pivot, such rotation causing a hinged side of the box, also connectable to the plate, to be opened simultaneously. The fixed pivot comprises a pin carried on a mounting plate fitted to the side of the box adjacent the hinged side. Damping means, effective to reduce the speed of relative movement between the plate and mounting plate, consists of a spring positioned between the plates and. Lugs, on the plate and mounting plate, co-operate with the ends of the spring so that, as the box lid is returned to a closed position, the movement of the lid will take place against the force of the spring.

DE 9 301 627 discloses a locker with a housing made of metal or reinforced plastic, with a housing body consisting of a backplane, two side walls and a front wall having a door opening, with a roof, and with a door which is pivotable via a hinge attached to the housing body. The door having a bottom and a door lock. The door is mounted to horizontal hinge, which is arranged on the top of the housing body, so that is is vertically swingable.

GB 1 257 999 A discloses a closure device, which may be a window, door or vehicle top, and which comprises two rectangular panels hinged together along adjacent edges and guided for movement between an operative, closing position in which they are coplanar and a stowed away position in which they are disposed face to face and extend transversely of the plane of the opening which the device normally closes. The panels are provided with respective guide pins, one pair of which engaging side guides extending transversely of the opening and the other pair engaging inverted-L shaped guides each having one part extending parallel to the guide and another part extending along a side of the opening. The device closes the front of a cabinet and is stowed beneath the cabinet top. In the stowed position the upper panel rests on fingers extending inwardly from the cabinet sides.

The handling of the doors, however, complicates the access to the goods storage and presentation space and may prevent potential costumers from accessing the goods easily.

It therefore would be beneficial to provide a refrigerated sales furniture comprising doors which are associated with the goods storage and presentation space and provide an improved and in particular more convenient access to the goods storage and presentation space.

A refrigerated sales furniture according to the invention is disclosed by the appended claims. In a refrigerated sales furniture according to embodiments of the invention the linking mechanism allows to open and close the upper and front access portions simultaneously by a single action, in particular by opening and closing the front door. This facilitates the handling of the refrigerated sales furniture considerably, as it avoids the need of opening both doors consecutively in order to provide full access the good storage and presentation space.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described in further detail with respect to the enclosed figures, wherein:

• Fig. 1a shows a perspective view of a refrigerated sales furniture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• Fig. 1b shows an enlarged detail of the upper portion of the refrigerated sales furniture shown in Fig. 1a.
• Fig. 2 shows an enlarged schematic side view of a linking mechanism according to a first exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• Fig. 3 shows an enlarged schematic side view of a linking mechanism according to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention.
• Fig. 4a shows an enlarged schematic side view of a linking mechanism according to a third exemplary embodiment of the invention in a closed state.
• Fig. 4b shows an enlarged schematic side view of a linking mechanism according to a third exemplary embodiment of the invention in an open state.

Fig. 1a shows a perspective view of a refrigerated sales furniture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1b shows a front view of the upper portion of the refrigerated sales furniture shown in Figure 1a.

A refrigerated sales furniture 2 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention comprises a refrigerable goods storage and presentation space 4, which spans up between a left side wall 6 and a right side wall (which is not visible in the figures) in front of a rear wall (not visible), and above a bottom part. Left and right stanchions 8a, 8b are provided, forming the front and upper ends of the side walls 6.

Goods presentation shelves 7, which are configured for receiving the goods to be presented, are arranged within the refrigerable goods storage and presentation space 4.

A front access portion, which opens to the front, and an upper access portion, which opens to the top of the refrigerated sales furniture 2, provide access to the refrigerable goods storage and presentation space 4.

A front door 10 is pivotably attached by means of at least one hinge 16 to the left side stanchion 8a allowing to swing the front door 10 between a closed position, in which it abuts against a door stop 11 provided at the right side stanchion 8b and closes the front access portion, and at least one open or access position, in which it extends a in forward direction and allows access to the goods storage and presentation space 4 from the front side of the refrigerated sales furniture 2.

An upper door 12 is attached to a rear axle, which is not visible in Figs. 1a and 1b, extending basically horizontally near a rear end of the upper access portion, allowing the upper door 12 to move between a lowered closed position, in which it covers and closes the upper access portion, and is situated between the upright portions of said stanchions 8a, 8b and at least one access position, in which it extends in an upper direction and provides access to the goods storage and presentation space 4 from above through said upper access portion.

Each of the front door 10 and the upper door 12 may be made of a transparent or a non-transparent material or combinations thereof.

A linking mechanism 13 comprising a pivotable lever 14 and a wire or bowden cable 18, which is connected to the front door 10 at a connection point 15 next to the hinge 16 and which is guided over the hinge 16, links the front door 10 with the upper door 12. In Fig. 1b a front end 18a of the wire/bowden cable 18, which extends beyond the connection point 15, is visible through the transparent door 10.

As a result of said linkage any movement of one of the doors 10, 12 causes a corresponding movement of the other door 10, 12. In particular, the linking mechanism 13 causes the upper door 12 to swing upwardly for providing free access to the refrigerable goods storage and presentation space 4 via the upper access portion when the front door 10 is opened in a swinging motion. Similarly closing the front door 10 causes the upper door 12 to close and cover the upper access portion.

Thus, the upper and front access portions may be opened and closed simultaneously by a single action, namely by opening and closing the front door 10. This considerably facilitates the handling and improves the user-friendliness of the refrigerated sales furniture 2.

The front access portion extends between the upright portions of the stanchions 8a, 8b, and likewise the upper access portion extends between the upper portions of the stanchions 8a, 8b.

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged schematic side view of a linking mechanism 13 according to a first exemplary embodiment of the invention.

The hinge 16 of the upwardly oriented front door 10 (not shown) is depicted in the lower left of Fig. 2.

A first end of a bowden cable 18, which also may be a wire or an elastic spring, is fixed to a first connection point 15 provided next to the hinge 16 at the front door 10. An opposing second end of said bowden cable 18 is attached to a second connection point 17 provided at a rear end portion 14b of the pivotable lever 14.

In Fig. 2 the bowden cable 18, the pivotable lever 14 and the upper door 12 are simultaneously shown in two different states, namely in the closed position, in which the upper door 12 extends from the lower left to the upper right of Fig. 2 between the upper portions of the stanchions 8a, 8b, as indicated by solid lines, and in an access position, in which the upper door 12 extends in an upwards direction from the lower right to the upper left of Fig. 2, as indicated by broken lines.

The pivotable lever 14 is pivotable with respect to an axle 14a which extends basically horizontally and perpendicular to the plane of Figure 2 and which is attached to at least one side wall 6 or stanchion 8a, 8b (not shown in Fig. 2) of the refrigerated sales furniture 2. A front end portion 14c of the lever 14 contacts the lower side of the upper door 12 facing the goods storage and presentation space 4. The upper door 12 is rotatably supported by a rear axle 22 extending basically horizontally and perpendicularly to the plane of Figure 2, i.e. parallel to the axis of rotation of the pivotable lever 14, and is located at or adjacent to a rear end of the upper access portion.

When the front door 10 is opened in a swinging motion, as it is shown in Figure 1a, a drag force is applied by means of the bowden cable 18 to the rear end portion 14b of the pivotable lever 14 causing the pivotable lever 14 to rotate in clockwise direction as indicated by arrow R1.

As a result of said rotation the front end portion 14c of the pivotable lever 14 contacting the upper door 12 moves upwards and causes the upper door 12 to rotate in clockwise direction with respect to its rear axle 22 into an upwards oriented position, which is indicated by the broken lines, allowing access to the goods storage and presentation space 4 via the upper access portion.

As the axle or hinge 14a of the pivotable lever 14 is spaced apart from the rear axle 22 of the upper door 12, the front end portion 14c of the pivotable lever 14 will move along the lower side of the upper door 12 in the course of the rotating motion. A roller 20, which in particular may comprise an elastic material, and/or a corresponding guiding element (not shown) may be provided at the end of the front end portion 14c of the pivotable lever 14 contacting the lower side of the upper door 12 in order to facilitate the movement of the front end 14c of the pivotable lever 14 with respect to the upper door 12. Such a roller 20 also allows to avoid damage and/or wear of the upper door 12, in particular in case the upper door 12 comprises a transparent material, as e.g. glass or plexiglass.

When the front door 10 is closed again, the tensional force implied on the bowden cable 18 by the front door 10 decreases and the forces of gravity acting on the upper door 12 cause the upper door 12 to move downwards, rotating the pivotable lever 14 in counter-clockwise direction, as indicated by arrow R2, closing the upper access portion and returning the upper door 12 and the pivotable lever 14 back to their respective starting positions, which are indicated by the solid lines.

An elastic element 23, e. g. a spiral spring, may be provided at the rear axle 22 of the upper door 12 for assisting the closing movement of the upper door 12, in particular if the upper door 12 is made of a very light material which does not provide enough weight for reliably closing the upper door 12 driven by its own weight.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a second embodiment of the invention, in which the upper door 12 comprises two door panels 12a, 12b, namely a rear door panel 12a, which is rotatably attached to the rear axle 22 provided at the rear end of the upper access portion, and a front door panel 12b. A rear end of the front door panel 12b is rotatably attached to a front axle 30 provided at a front end of the rear panel 12a. The front end of the front door panel 12b is supported by a sliding element 24, which is slidably supported by a guiding rail 26 extending basically parallel to the upper door 12.

Again, the closed position of the upper door 12 is indicated by solid lines, while the open access position is indicated by broken lines.

The linking mechanism 13 according to said second embodiment in principle corresponds to the linking mechanism 13 according to the first embodiment, which is shown in Fig. 2. However, in the second embodiment the length of the pivotable lever 14 is such that the roller 20 provided at the front end portion 14c of the pivotable lever 14 in the opened position as well as in the closed position contacts only the rear panel 12a of the upper door 12.

When the front door 10, which is not shown in Figure 3, is opened, the front end portion 14c of the pivotable lever 14 provided with the roller 20 is raised, as it has been described with respect to the first embodiment, also raising the rear panel 12a of the upper door 12. When said rear panel 12a, particularly its front portion, raises, also the front panel 12b, particularly its rear portion, raises, and the upper door 12 will fold at the front axle 30 reducing the angle X between the rear panel 12a and the front panel 12b from 180°, as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 3. Due to said folding motion, the front of the upper door 12 retracts, and the upper door 12 will effectively allow access to the front access portion of the refrigerated sales furniture 2. Compared to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the vertical space occupied by the door panels 12a, 12b in their open access position is considerably reduced. In particular, only approximately half of the vertical space is needed for accommodating the inclined door panels 12a, 12b as compared to the first embodiment shown in Figure 2.

The skilled person will easily understand that additional door panels may be connected in a similar manner by means of additional axes forming a folding type upper door 12 in order to reduce the space, occupied by the door panels 12a, 12b in the vertical direction, even further.

Figs. 4a and 4b illustrate a third exemplary embodiment in which the upper door 12 of the first two embodiments, which opens in a rotating or swinging motion, has been replaced by a sliding upper door 12. In Figure 4a the sliding upper door 12 is shown in its closed position, and Figure 4b illustrates a situation, in which the sliding upper door 12 is arranged in an open position providing access to the goods storage and presentation space 4 via the upper access portion.

In the third embodiment a guide bar 26, which has a length L and may have a circular or rectangular cross-section, is arranged parallel to a lower front portion 12b of the upper door 12.

The third embodiment further comprises a pivotable lever 14, which is rotatable with respect to an axle 14a which is positioned below the upper goods access portion and can be provided at an end of an additional moving bar, the other end of which is attached to the side wall of the refrigerated sales furniture. This pivotable lever 14 is connected to the connection point 15 at the front door 10 by means of a bowden cable 18, wire or spring, which is guided over the hinge 16, as it has been described with respect to the first and second embodiments.

An oblong opening 28 is formed in the front end portion 14c of the pivotable lever 14 for receiving a sliding pin 25 of a sliding element 24 connecting the front of portion 14c of the pivotable lever 14 to the guide bar 26.

In the third embodiment, opening of the front door 10 will again cause the lever 14 to rotate in clockwise direction, as indicated by arrow R1, similar to the first and second embodiments, which have been described before.

Said rotating motion causes the sliding element 24 to simultaneously slide along the guide bar 26 causing the upper door 12 to move upwards in a sliding motion parallel to the length of the guide bar 26 as indicated by arrow M1 providing access to the upper access portion of the refrigerated sales furniture 2, as it is shown in Fig. 4b.

When the front door 10 is closed again, the tensional force applied on the bowden cable 18 will decrease and will drive, together with the force of gravity acting on the upper door 12, the upper door 12 to slide downwards as indicated by arrow M2 closing the upper access portion and rotating the pivotable lever 14 in counter-clockwise direction, as indicated by arrow R2, back into its starting position, which is illustrated in Figure 4a.

An additional weight or tensioning mechanism, which is not shown in the figures, may be implemented in order to support the downward movement of the upper door 12. Alternatively, instead of the flexible bowden cable 18 a rigid element may be used for connecting the front door 10 to the pivotable lever 14 in order to transfer a pushing force to the rear end portion 14b of the pivotable lever 14 when the front door 10 is closed.

Contrary to the first and second embodiments there is no sliding contact between the pivotable lever 14 and the upper door 12 in the third embodiment. As a result, the upper door 12 is not subjected to wear which may be caused by said sliding contact. Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the front panel 12b of the upper door 12 does not need any additional vertical space to be present during its opening motion.

In all the embodiments of Figs. 1(a), 1(b), 2, 3, 4(a) and 4(b) the connection point 15 of the bowden wire 18 or, alternatively the cable or spring at the connection point should be such that the distance between its positions in the opened and closed positions of the front door 10 corresponds to the distance of the rear end portion 14b of the pivotable lever 14 in the closed and open positions of the upper door 12. For this purpose, the connection point 15 may be located either at the hinge 16 or at the rear side of the front door 10. In the latter case a guiding element (not shown), which is configured for guiding the bowden wire 18, cable or spring over the hinge 16, may be provided.

In a refrigerated sales furniture according to embodiments of the invention, opening and closing the front door causes a corresponding motion of the upper door simultaneously opening and closing the upper access portion. As a result, the upper and front access portions are opened and closed simultaneously by a single action, namely opening and closing the front door. This considerably facilitates the handling of the refrigerated sales furniture, as it is not necessary to open both doors consecutively for completely accessing the good storage and presentation space. Furthermore, no handling mechanisms need to be provided at the upper door, as the upper door is moved only by means of the front door.

In an embodiment the linking mechanism is configured so that the upper door is moved into its closed position when the front door is moved into its closed position and/or the linking mechanism is configured so that the upper door is moved into its open position when the front door is moved into its open position. As result both doors may be opened and/or closed by a single action facilitating the handling of the doors. In addition the risk that one of the doors is left open by accident is considerably reduced.

In a further embodiment, the linking mechanism is a mechanical linking mechanism. A mechanical linking mechanism is very reliable, has a low weight and is easy to be implemented at low costs.

In a further embodiment, the linking mechanism may comprise a bowden cable, a wire and/or a spring, which allows to easily transfer moving forces between the two doors. An elastic cable, wire or spring may be used in order to smoothen the force transfer providing a more convenient feedback to the user handling the doors.

In a further embodiment, the linking mechanism comprises a pivotable lever. A pivotable lever provides a convenient way of implementing a mechanical linking mechanism. In particular a convenient transmission rate may be implemented by setting the lengths of the legs of the lever appropriately.

In a further embodiment, the upper door is pivotable between its closed position and its open access position around an axle which is located at or close the rearward end thereof. Such a door is easy to implement and provides convenient access to the goods storage and presentation space via the upper access portion when it has been moved into its access position.

In a further embodiment, the pivotable lever is mounted by means of an axle or hinge situated between its front end portion and its rear end portion to a lateral side portion of the upper access portion, wherein the bowden cable or wire extends between the rear end portion of the pivotable lever and a connection point provided at the front door, and wherein the front end of the pivotable lever is contacts the upper door at a contact point which is spaced apart from the axis of rotation of the upper door. This structure provides a reliable linking mechanism which is easy to implement at low costs.

In a further embodiment, one end of the lever is configured to move parallel to a plane defined by the upper door allowing the lever to effectively move the upper doors between its closed position and its access position.

In a further embodiment, the upper door comprises a rear upper panel which is pivotable upwardly around a basically horizontally extending rear axis, and a front upper panel attached to the rear upper panel, wherein the front upper panel is in particular pivotable upwardly with respect to the rear upper panel. Such a door is easy to implement and provides convenient access to the goods storage and presentation space via the upper access portion when it has been moved into its access position. An upper door comprising at least two panels, which are attached to each other in a pivotable manner, needs less space in the vertical direction when moved into its open access position. The front portion of the front upper panel can be guided in rails running laterally along at least part of the upper goods access portion.

In a further embodiment, the pivotable lever is mounted by means of an axle or hinge situated between its front end portion and its rear end portion to a lateral side portion of the upper access portion, wherein a bowden cable or wire extends between the rear end portion of the pivotable lever and a connection point provided at the front door, and wherein the front end of the pivotable lever contacts the rear upper panel at a contact point which is spaced apart from the axis of rotation of the rear upper panel.

In a further embodiment, the end of the lever, which is configured to slide in parallel to the plane of the upper door, is provided with a roller in order to facilitate the movement of the lever with respect to the upper door and to avoid damage and/or wear of the upper door and/or the lever.

In a further embodiment, the upper door is slidable between its closed position and its access position which is shifted rearwardly, in a substantially linear motion. Such upper door does not need any or little additional space when it is moved into its open access position.

In a further embodiment, the pivotable lever is mounted by means of an axle or hinge situated between its front end portion and its rear end portion to a lateral side portion of the upper access portion or to an intermediate member which itself is mounted in a pivotable manner to a lateral side portion of the refrigerated sales furniture, wherein a bowden cable or wire extends between the rear end portion of the pivotable lever and a connection point provided at the front door, and wherein the front end of the pivotable lever is connected to the upper door particularly to a front portion of the upper door.

In a further embodiment, the front end of the pivotable lever is connected to a sliding element mounted to the upper door, particularly to a front portion of the upper door, and wherein the sliding element is slidable along a guiding rail which extends substantially in the direction corresponding to the sliding motion of the upper door.

In a further embodiment, at least one of the doors is transparent or comprises a transparent portion in order to allow potential customers to view the goods presented in the goods storage and presentation space without opening the doors. According to the invention, the front door comprises a door panel which is pivotable with respect to a basically vertically extending axis.

In a further embodiment, the front door extends basically vertically and the upper door extends at an angle in the range of 75° to 105°, particularly in a range of 80° to 100°, and more particularly of 85° to 95° with respect to the front door when the doors are in their respective closed positions in order to provide a space saving refrigerated furniture providing easy and convenient access to its goods storage and presentation space from above and from its front side.

The refrigerated sales furniture may be a cooling sales furniture which is configured to cool the goods presentation space to cooling temperatures above 0 °C, in particular to temperatures between 0 °C and 12 °C.

Alternatively, the refrigerated sales furniture may be a freezing sales furniture, which is configured to cool the goods presentation space to freezing temperatures below 0 °C, in particular to temperatures below -15 °C in order to store and present frozen goods to potential customers.

While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalence may be substitute for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, it is intended that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the pendent claims.

2

refrigerated sales furniture

4

goods storage and presentation space

6

side wall

7

goods presentation shelve

8a, 8b

stanchion

10

front door

11

door stop

12

upper door

12a

rear panel

12b

front panel

13

linking mechanism

14

pivotable lever

14a

axle or hinge of the pivotable lever

14b

rear end portion of the pivotable lever

14c

front end portion of the pivotable lever

15

first connection point

16

hinge

17

second connection point

18

bowden cable

18a

front end of the bowden cable

20

roller

22

rear axle

23

elastic element

24

sliding element

26

guiding rail

28

oblong opening

30

front axle