DE29509700U1 - Sliding lid device for freezers and the like - Google Patents

Description

SIGM-18gDE
13 June 1995

DESCRIPTION Sliding lid device for freezers and the like

TECHNICAL AREA

The present invention relates to a sliding lid device for sliding opening or closing of freezers, freezer chests or the like with a frame unit surrounding a cover unit, wherein the frame unit can be mounted on the chest on opposite chest bearing surfaces in a sliding direction and the frame unit has at least one recess into which a projection unit present on the chest engages, at least in the closed position.

A major area of application for such sliding lid devices is freezer chests that contain ready-made ice cream or frozen food, which are set up in supermarkets, restaurants or at events, for example. As a rule, a chest has at least two sliding lid devices that can be pushed one above the other, which are intended to ensure a sealing function when closed in order to protect the frozen food from thawing, an easy opening process and a reliable closing process.

STATE OF THE ART

In the known freezer chests, the sliding lid devices are mounted on two levels, one above the other, so that they can be moved on opposite chest bearing surfaces. In a first area, there are projections on the chest that dip into corresponding recesses (grooves) in the sliding lid device if it is moved into the first area.

SIGM-ISgDE
13 June 1995

In this position, this sliding lid device cannot be removed. In a second area adjacent to the first area, there are no projections on the chest, so that in this area the lid unit can be removed or inserted for assembly purposes. To remove the refrigerated goods, one sliding lid device is pushed onto the other sliding lid device after the sliding lid devices have been unlocked. In this state, refrigerated goods can be removed.

There are known freezers whose projection units are arranged on chest surfaces parallel to the direction of displacement. The sliding lid devices then each have a groove on their longitudinal outer side into which the projections can be inserted during the sliding process. Another known freezer has chest surface projection units on opposite front widths, which are inserted into corresponding recesses on the sliding lid device as soon as the sliding lid device comes into contact with the front area transverse to the direction of displacement.

Depending on the manufacturer, the projections, recesses and grooves have different dimensions. Therefore, a special sliding lid device is required for each type of freezer. With frequent use, it is not uncommon in practice for such sliding lid devices to become damaged and have to be replaced. Due to the wide variety of dimensions of the projection units and recesses, a large number of different sliding lid types must be kept in stock, which does not allow for high quantities and is not economical to use.
35

siGM-i8gDE .: : ... ·"::."

June 13, 1995 · ··?· · ! ! ! ; · ·»: \

-3-

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Based on the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention is based on the technical problem or task of specifying an improved sliding lid device of the type mentioned at the beginning, which is easy to manufacture, can be used variably for a wide variety of freezers and at the same time ensures a simple opening and closing process.

The sliding cover device according to the invention is given by the features of independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further developments are the subject of the dependent claims.

The sliding cover device according to the invention is accordingly characterized in that a continuous groove open to the outside is provided on the front outer surfaces of the frame unit running in the direction of displacement (longitudinal side) and at least one recess open to the outside is provided on the front outer surfaces of the frame unit running transversely to the direction of displacement (width side).

By providing recesses or grooves on the long sides and on the wide sides of the frame unit, the sliding lid device according to the invention can be used for freezers of various types.

According to a preferred embodiment of the sliding lid device according to the invention, a circumferential groove is present. Such a construction enables extremely simple and economical production and at the same time ensures variability in terms of the area of application for a wide variety of freezer types.

SIGM-iegDE 13 June 1995

•&igr;

-4-

It has proven to be advantageous to make the width of the groove larger than the widths of known recesses in known sliding lid devices. This means that the sliding lid device can be used as a spare part for chests with different thicknesses of the projection units. The groove can have a hat-like inner profile.

10

The object of a safe and reliable locking of the sliding lid devices is achieved according to the invention in that the device has a lock by means of which two locking rails can be actuated essentially transversely to the sliding direction, whereby the free ends of the locking rail in the closed position partially penetrate into recesses provided on the chest.

A particularly simple structural design is characterized by the fact that two sliding lid devices arranged one below the other, which in the closed position overlap in a frame unit area running transversely to the sliding direction, can be locked together by means of a plug lock. This enables simple and reliable locking of chests with projection units on both the long sides and the wide sides.

In many cases, the frame unit is designed as a square unit, in particular a rectangular or square unit, whereby the cover unit can preferably be made of transparent material, in particular glass or plastic, so that the customer or the operator can find out about the contents of the freezer without opening the freezer.

A preferred embodiment of the sliding cover device according to the invention is characterized in that the frame unit has a sealing element at least in some areas on the underside

SIGM-18gDE
13 June 1995

lip unit, which has a positive effect on the energy balance.

A chest according to the invention for cooling or freezing cooled goods such as foodstuffs or the like is characterized by at least two sliding lid devices of the type according to the invention that can be pushed one above the other.

The features of the claims may be combined in any way, provided they are not obviously mutually exclusive.

Further embodiments and advantages of the invention result from the features further listed in the claims and from the exemplary embodiments given below. The features of the claims can be combined with one another in any way, provided they are not obviously mutually exclusive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention and advantageous embodiments and further developments of the same are described and explained in more detail below using the examples shown in the drawing. The features shown in the description and the drawing can be used individually or in groups in any combination according to the invention. They show:

Fig. 1 schematic detailed view of the upper area of a freezer with two sliding lid devices,

Fig. 2 Exploded view of the detailed view according to Fig. 1,

SIGM-18gDE

I · S.

June 13, 1995 &Idigr; ···· ^# ! I! I * *"

-6-

Fig. 3 schematic partial section through the edge area of two sliding lid devices mounted on a freezer and

Fig. 4 schematic top view of a sliding cover device with a circumferential groove, a recess and a plug lock.

WAYS TO CARRY OUT THE INVENTION

A freezer 12 shown in detail in Fig. 1 is designed as a cuboid-shaped component with an opening on the top. In the area of the opening, two sliding lid devices 10.1 and 10.2 are slidably mounted on the freezer 12. The sliding lid devices 10.1 and 10.2 are slidably mounted on the freezer 12 in a sliding direction V that extends in the longitudinal direction of the freezer. For this purpose, the freezer 12 has bearing surfaces 18 on its long sides on which the sliding lid devices 10.1 and 10.2 are slidably mounted.

The sliding lid devices 10.1 and 10.2 are designed as rectangular elements, consisting of a frame unit 16 and a cover unit 14 made of transparent material. The frame unit 16 completely surrounds the cover unit 14, with the long sides of the frame units 16 each being slidably mounted (placed) on the chest bearing surfaces 18.

The levels of the sliding cover devices 10.1 and 10.2 are offset parallel to one another, whereby the sliding cover device 10.2 shown on the right in Fig. 1 has an increased width compared to the sliding cover device 10.1 shown on the left in Fig. 1 and accordingly

SIGM-ISgDE .. _{; &bgr;} . .... ; ;;„

June 13, 1995 &idigr; ···· * ! ! ! I * * ^# : :

-7-

accordingly, the bearing surfaces 18 are arranged with an offset in the width direction.

On the outside of the front side in the longitudinal direction (displacement direction V) there is a groove 24.1 on the outside of each sliding cover device 10. In addition, the same groove 24.2 is present on the outside of the front side of the sliding cover device 10 that runs transversely to the displacement direction V. Overall, the grooves 24.1 and 24.2 form a circumferential groove.

On the freezer 12 itself, two projection units 20 are provided in the longitudinal direction per level and long side of a sliding lid device 10, which can each easily be inserted into the interior profile of the groove 24.1 during the sliding process.

The projection units 20 are located on the long side wall of the chest 12, each offset in the direction of displacement V, so that the sliding lid device 10.2 can be removed upwards in the position shown in Fig. 1, since in this position of the sliding lid device 10.2 no projection units 20 engage in the groove 24.1. The same applies to the sliding lid device 10.1.

In the position of the sliding lid devices 10.1 and 10.2 shown in Fig. 1, these can be placed or mounted on the corresponding storage areas 18 of the freezer 12. If the sliding lid device 10.2 in Fig. 1 is moved to the left and the sliding lid device 10.1 shown in Fig. 1 is moved to the right, both sliding lid devices can no longer be removed upwards. In this state, the freezer is in the closed position. The locking is done via a mortise lock not shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the arrangement of which is shown schematically in Fig. 4. The mortise lock 30 is in the middle frame unit area,

siGM-i8gDE ... : :;.. ; * &igr;,

June 13, 1995 · "·· · · · ?* ! · ··;

which runs transversely to the direction of displacement V, is present in both sliding cover devices 10.3, with the lower sliding cover device 10.3 being offset from the upper sliding cover device 10.3. By arranging the plug lock, both sliding cover devices 10.3 (Fig. 4) are locked together in the closed position and as a result of the engagement of the projection unit 20 in the grooves 24.1 of the upper and lower sliding cover devices 10.3, it is no longer possible to remove or move the sliding cover device 10.3.

The sliding lid device 10.3 according to the schematic representation in Fig. 4 has a recess 28 in its left-hand area, which has an increased depth compared to the groove 24.2. This recess 28 serves the purpose of allowing the sliding lid device 10.3 to also be used for freezers that have a projection unit 40 (which is additionally shown in Fig. 2) in their edge area running transversely to the direction of displacement V.

The detailed design of the frame unit 16 is shown in more detail in Fig. 3 using a schematic section. The frame unit 16 preferably consists of a plastic profile unit. The groove 24.1 or 24.2 has a hat-like inner profile, the average width B being selected so that it can accommodate projection units 20 of known freezers with different thicknesses (see dashed illustration in Fig. 3). On the top side, the frame unit 16 has a clamping unit 42 within which the cover unit 14 can be clamped all the way around.

A sealing lip unit 34 is arranged on the underside of the frame unit, which rests sealingly on the chest support surface 18 when the sliding lid device 10.1 or 10.2 is inserted.

SIGM-18gDE 13 June 1995

-9-

With the sliding lid device according to the invention, it is possible to only use one design when replacing defective sliding lid devices, since it is guaranteed that these can be used in freezers with a wide variety of projection units, be it in terms of thickness or their arrangement in the width or length direction.

In a variant not shown, a sliding lid device has a lock by means of which two locking rails can be operated essentially transversely to the sliding lid device, whereby the free ends of the locking rails each partially penetrate into recesses on the chest in the closed position, thereby ensuring reliable locking.

20 25 30 35

Claims (1)

-1-CLAIMS 01) Sliding lid device (10.1, 10.2) for sliding opening or closing of deep-freezers (12), freezers or the like with a frame unit (16) surrounding a cover unit (14), wherein the frame unit (16) can be mounted on the chest (12) on opposite chest bearing surfaces (18) in a sliding direction (V) and the frame unit (16) has at least one recess into which a projection unit (20) present on the chest (12) engages at least in the closed position, characterized in that a continuous outwardly open groove (24) is present on the front outer surfaces (24.1) of the frame unit (16) running in the sliding direction (V) and at least one outwardly open recess (28) is present on the front outer surfaces (24.2) of the frame unit (16) running transversely to the sliding direction (V). is available. 02) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the groove (24) is designed on the front side as a groove (24) running around the entire frame unit (16) and open to the outside, the groove (24) in the region of the recess (28) having the same depth as the recess (28) or having a smaller depth than the recess (28). 30 03) Device according to at least one of the other claims, characterized in that the width (B) of the groove (24) is enlarged compared to the widths of known recesses or grooves. 35 04) Device according to at least one of the other claims, characterized in that the groove (24) has a hat-like inner profile. SIGM-18gDE
13 June 1995 -2- 05) Device according to at least one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the device has a lock (30) by means of which two locking rails (32) can be actuated essentially transversely to the direction of displacement (V), the free ends of the locking rail (32) in the closed position partially immersing themselves in recesses provided on the chest. 06} Device according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the device has a plug lock (30) for two sliding cover devices arranged one below the other, wherein the sliding cover devices overlap in the closed position in an area of the frame units (16) running transversely to the direction of displacement and both sliding cover devices can be locked together by the plug lock. 07) Device according to at least one of the other claims, characterized in that the frame unit (16) is designed as a quadrilateral unit, in particular a rectangular or square unit. 25 08) Device according to at least one of the other claims, characterized in that the cover unit is made of transparent material, in particular glass or plastic. 30 09) Device according to at least one of the remaining claims, characterized in that the frame unit (16) has a sealing lip unit (34) at least in some areas on the underside. 35 SIGM-ISgDE 13 June 1995 05 -3- 10) Chest for cooling or deep-freezing refrigerated goods, characterized by at least two sliding lid devices (10.1, 10.2) according to one or more of the preceding claims 1 to 9, wherein the sliding lid devices (10.1, 10.2) are designed to be slidable over one another. 10 15 20 25 30 35