WO2009000299A1

WO2009000299A1 - Refrigerating sales furniture

Info

Publication number: WO2009000299A1
Application number: PCT/EP2007/005653
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniele Romio
Original assignee: Carrier Corp
Current assignee: Carrier Corp
Priority date: 2007-06-26
Filing date: 2007-06-26
Publication date: 2008-12-31
Anticipated expiration: 2009-12-26
Also published as: EP2160122B1; EP2160122A1

Abstract

Refrigerating sales furniture (1) comprising a back having an outer rear sheet (16) and an inner rear sheet spaced apart from each other; a bottom having a lower bottom sheet and an upper bottom sheet spaced apart from each other; two side members (2), wherein at least one of which has at least one coupling portion being inserted in the space between the outer rear sheet (16) and the inner rear sheet and in the space between the lower bottom sheet and the upper bottom sheet and sealing the space between said sheets laterally; wherein the two side members (2) have a respective upright portion (29) forming a side wall for the refrigerating sales furniture (1); and wherein the space between the outer rear sheet and the inner rear sheet and the space between the lower bottom sheet and the upper bottom sheet is filled with an insulating plastics foam.

Description

REFRIGERATING SALES FURNITURE

Refrigerating sales furnitures are known and widely used for presenting refrigerated food and beverages to potential customers. There are different embodiments of such refrigerating sales furnitures as for example refrigerated cabinets and refrigerated chests for self-service as well as refrigerated furnitures in which the refrigerated items are presented to the potential customers but taken out of the furniture by the respective sales persons, only .

Such refrigerating furnitures comprise a large number of different components, and the assembling of such a furniture is time-consuming and expensive.

Accordingly it would be beneficial to facilitate the assembling process of such a refrigerating sales furniture.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention include a refrigerating sales furniture comprising a back having an outer rear sheet and an inner rear sheet spaced apart from each other, a bottom having a lower bottom sheet and an upper bottom sheet spaced apart from each other, and two side members, wherein at least one of which has at least one coupling portion being inserted in the space between the outer rear sheet and the inner rear sheet and in the space between the lower bottom sheet and the upper bottom sheet and sealing the space between said sheets laterally, wherein the two side members have a respective upright portion forming a side wall for the refrigerating sales furniture and wherein the space between the outer rear sheet and the inner rear sheet and the space between the lower bottom sheet and the upper bottom sheet is filled with an insulating plastics foam.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention further include a method for fabricating the refrigerating sales furniture, which comprises the steps of providing a back having an outer rear sheet and an inner rear sheet spaced apart from each other and a bottom having a lower bottom sheet and an upper bottom sheet spaced apart from each other; providing at least one side member comprising at least one coupling portion and an upright portion; inserting the at least one coupling portion of said at least one side member into the space between the outer rear sheet and the inner rear sheet and into the space between the lower bottom sheet and the upper bottom sheet thereby sealing the space between said sheets laterally; and filling said space with an insulating plastic foam.

Embodiments of the invention are described in greater detail below with reference to the Figures, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a refrigerating sales furniture in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a refrigerating sales furniture in accordance with the present invention in an early stage of the assembly;

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a right side member of the refrigerating sales furniture of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the right side member of Figure 3 from an opposite point of view in comparison with Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the right side member of Figures 3 and 4.

Fig. 1 shows a refrigerating sales furniture 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In particular the refrigerating sales furniture 1 is a refrig- erating chest in which the refrigerated items are presented to the potential customers in the front of the chest and taken out by the respective sales person behind the chest. However, the invention is not restricted to such an embodiment but can also be realized with refrigerating chests and cabinets for self-service. The respective features as described herein can be realized both with refrigerat- ing chests and with refrigerating cabinets. The refrigerating sales furniture 1 comprises at its bottom two support stands 21 which extend parallel to each other from the front side of the sales furniture 1 to its back.

A right side member 2 is arranged at the right side of the refrigerating sales furniture 1. The side member 2 has basically the form of a lying L with a substantially horizontal bottom part 32 and a substantially vertical rear part 33. The lower edge of the bottom part 32 extends horizontally in its rear portion 30 and is slanted upwards in its front portion 31. Thus the height of the bottom part 32 tapers from the middle to the front of the bottom part 32, the tapering beginning at a bend 37 between the rear portion 30 and the front portion 31.

A recess 40 is formed in the top of the rear part 33 in order to accommodate a protrusion of a board 24 which is arranged on the top of the rear part 33. The board 24 extends from the right side member 2 over the whole width of the sales furniture to the left side member 2 (not visible in Fig. 1 ).

An outer rear sheet 16 rests at the rear part 33 and extends basically over the whole height thereof. The outer rear sheet 16 is made of metal or plastics.

A goods display deck 22 rests at least partially on the upper edges of the bottom parts 32 of the side members 2, and it extends from the right side member 2 over the whole width of the sales furniture 1 and from the front edge of the bottom part 32 of the side members 2 to a rear wall 23 of the goods display space.

The rear wall 23 is arranged at the front side of the rear part 33, it extends from the right side member 2 over the whole width of the sales furniture 1 to the left side member and from the upper edge of the bottom part 32 just below the top of the rear part 33.

In the embodiment of Fig. 1 refrigerating air outlets are arranged between the top of the rear wall 23 and the board 24. In an alternative embodiment the rear wall 23 may reach up to the board 24 and comprise some holes or channels in order to supply the refrigerating air. A transparent front pane 20 is fixed to the front of the refrigerating sales furniture 1 and extends slightly arcuated upwards over the goods display deck 22. The front pane 22 is supported by a front pane frame 27. The front pane 20 is made of glass or a similar transparent material as e.g. acrylic glass in order to present the refrigerated items to potential customers but to prevent these customers from touching said presented items. A front pane board 25 is arranged horizontally at the top end of the front pane 20. The front pane board 25 extends over the whole width of the front pane 20 from the left side to the right side in parallel but on a higher level than the board 24. The front pane board 25 is supported by the front pane frame 27 as well and items can be disposed thereon.

The side member 2 comprises a couple of dowel holes 7 in the bottom part 32 as well as in the rear part 33 in order to fix e.g. a side cover 38 to the side member 2. The bottom part 32 of the side member 2 is formed in a bar structure 4 in order to achieve the necessary stability and rigidity of the side member 2 with a minimum use of material.

The side member 2 also comprises a circular cable bushing 8 in order to run cables through the side member 2. Beside the cable bushing 8 the bottom part 32 of the side member 2 comprises two auxiliary pipe passages 10 which are closed in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 , but which can be opened if additional pipe passages are needed.

In the bottom part 32 of the side member 2 a circular injection gate 12 is formed which allows to fill material, in particular an insulating plastics foam, into the space behind the side member 2 and particularly into the space between the lower bottom sheet 17 and the upper bottom sheet 18 (see Figure 2) and into the space between the inner rear sheet 15 and the outer rear sheet 16.

A front cover 26 and a side cover 38 are fixed to the front side and to the left side of the sales furniture 1 , respectively, in order to improve the visual appearance of the sales furniture 1. For illustration purposes the cover of the right hand side has been omitted in Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 shows the refrigerating sales furniture 1 in an early stage of assembly. A bottom 1 b is fixed to the upper ends of the support stands 21 , said bottom 1 b comprising a lower bottom sheet 18 and an upper bottom sheet 17, which are spaced apart from each other and fixed with respect to each other by means of auxiliary support members (not shown in Fig. 2). A front end connects the lower bottom sheet 18 and the upper bottom sheet 17. The bottom 1 b extends over the whole width of the sales furniture 1 from its left hand side to its right hand side. The bottom 1 b comprises a substantially horizontal rear portion and a front portion adjacent thereto which is slightly slanted upwardly from back to front.

At the rear end of the bottom 1 b a back 1 a is fixed, and it extends upwardly.

The back 1 a comprises an outer rear sheet 16 and an inner rear sheet 15 which are spaced apart from each other and fixed with respect to each other by auxiliary support members (not shown in Fig. 2). A top end connects the outer rear sheet 16 and the inner rear sheet 15. The back 1 a extends over the whole width of the sales furniture 1. The back 1 a and the bottom 1 b are tightly fixed to each other in order to form a water-tight tray.

The space between the outer rear sheet 16 and the inner rear sheet 15 and the space between the lower bottom sheet 18 and the upper bottom sheet 17 is to be filled with an insulating plastics foam in a later step of fabrication for insulating the interior of the refrigerating sales furniture 1 thermally from the environment.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the right side member 2 of the sales furniture 1.

The terms "front" and "back" are to be understood with respect to the x-axis, the terms "up", "down" and "vertically" are to be understood with respect to the y-axis, and the terms "left" and "right" are to be understood with respect to the z-axis.

The rear part 33 of the side member 2 extends vertically. At the back side of the rear part 33 wire channels 5 are formed in which electrical wires (not shown) run, which are needed for the operation of the sales furniture 1 , e.g. for the refrigerating aggregate, lighting or the like.

The rear part 33 of the side member 2 comprises a vertical coupling portion 28a which is to be introduced into the space between the inner rear sheet 15 and the outer rear sheet 16. Recess 40 is formed in the top of the rear part 33 in order to accommodate a protrusion of board 24 (not shown).

The rear part 33 also comprises two dowel holes 7 at its outer side in order to fix a side cover 38 (not shown in Fig. 3) to the side member 2.

The bottom part 32 of the side member 2 extends from the front of the rear part 33. The bottom part 32 comprises an upright portion 29 and an integral horizontal coupling portion 28.

The upper edge of the upright portion 29 extends basically straight with a small step 39 at the front edge, while the bottom edge of the upright portion 29 comprises a bend 37, so that the front portion 31 of the bottom edge of the upright portion 29 is slanted slightly upward with respect to the rear part 30 of the upright portion 29. The body of the upright portion 29 has a bar structure 4 in order to provide the necessary stability and rigidity of the side member 2 with a minimum use of material. In its lower part the upright portion 29 also comprises three dowel holes 7 in order to fix a side cover 38 (not shown) to the side member 2.

The mall step 39 at the front edge comprises a cable channel 39.

The upright portion 29 also comprises the circular cable bushing 8, the auxiliary pipe passages 10, which have an oval form, and the circular injection gate 12 which already have been discussed with respect to Fig. 1.

The integral horizontal coupling portion 28 attaches to the inside of the bottom region of the upright portion 29 and extends to the inner side of the side member 2. The integral horizontal coupling portion 28 includes an angle of approximately 90° with the upright portion 29.

The horizontal coupling portion 28 is to be inserted into the space between the upper bottom sheet 17 and the lower bottom sheet 18 as shown in Fig. 2, and therefore the width of the horizontal coupling portion 28 corresponds to the space between the upper bottom sheet 17 and the lower bottom sheet 18 The horizontal coupling portion 28 also comprises a circular water drain 11 in order to discharge melting water from the water-tight tray which is formed by the back 1 a and the bottom 1 b.

The side member 2 can be fabricated in a molding process as a single piece and comprises e.g. polyurethane, in particular a high density polyureOthane matrix having a density of about 250 to 300 kg/m³.

Fig. 4 shows the side member 2 of Fig. 3 in a perspective view from the opposite side. From this view it becomes even more apparent that the bottom part 32 of the side member 2 comprises an upright portion 29 forming a side wall and a horizontal coupling portion 28 including a 90° angle with respect to the upright portion 29. The horizontal coupling portion 28 is to be inserted into the space between the lower bottom sheet 17 and the upper bottom sheet 18 of the sales furniture 1.

The horizontal coupling portion 28 is basically formed as a protrusion of the lower edge of the bottom part 32. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 it is formed in a number of steps, a first step on the left hand side comprising a cable channel 13, a second step in the middle portion thereof comprising a circular pipe passage 9, a third step adjacent to the second step comprising the circular water drain 11 most distantly to the upright portion 29 and fourth step adjacent to the third step comprising an inner opening of the injection gate 12 in its vertical wall. A fifth step of the horizontal coupling portion 28 is formed at the front end of the bottom part 32 comprising another cable channel 13. However, it will be apparent to the per- son skilled in the art that the horizontal coupling portion 28 can be formed in many different ways without losing its functionality.

The cable channels 13 serve for carrying electrical wires or cables which are needed for the operation of the refrigerating sales furniture 1 as e.g. the operation of the refrigerating apparatus, the lightning or the like.

The vertical rear part 33 of the side member 2 comprising the vertical coupling portion 28a is shown on the left hand side of Fig. 4.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4 the vertical coupling portion 28a is formed in a casket structure comprising three rectangular caskets 34 which are arranged in a vertical row and which serve to accommodate the insulating foam, which is filled into the space between the inner rear sheet 15 and the outer rear sheet 16 in order to increase the contact area with the insulating plastics foam. However, it is apparent to the person skilled in the art that many different embodiments of the vertical coupling portion 28a are possible without losing its functionality.

In the lower rear part of the upright portion 29 the circular cable bushing 8 is shown. The auxiliary pipe passages 10 are arranged in front of the cable bushing 8.

Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the side member shown in Fig. 3 and 4.

The vertical rear part 33 of the side member 2 is shown in the right part of Fig. 5. The upright portion 29 of the bottom part 32 of the side member 2 is shown in the lower left part of Fig. 5. The features and elements of the vertical rear part 33 and the bottom part 32 correspond to the features that have been described with respect to Figures 3 and 4, and they are designated with the same reference numerals.

A metal frame 3 is embedded into the side member 2. The metal frame 3 comprises a vertical beam 3a, extending within the rear part 33 over its whole height and parallel to the front edge of the rear part 33 and a horizontal beam 3b extending parallel to the upper edge of the upright portion 29 over its whole length. At the front end of the bottom part 32 (shown on the left side of Fig. 5) the horizontal beam 3b forms a small front step 39 upwardly.

At the lower end of the vertical beam 3a, a horizontal base beam 3c attaches, which extends horizontally and parallel to the lower edge of the rear part 33.

The metal frame 3 embedded into the side member 2 serves to increase the stability and rigidity of side member 2 so that side member 2 can serve as the central part of the structure of the whole cabinet. In particular, the metal frame 3 can be formed by a steel tube frame.

A refrigerating sales furniture according to exemplary embodiments of the invention, as described above, allows to reduce the number of components and thus the complexity of the furniture and it therefore facilitates the assembly and minimizes the time needed to assemble such a furniture, which results in the reduction of production costs. It also allows to improve the quality of the final assembly.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention as described above the side member is an injection-molded part. Injection molding allows to produce side members at low costs in a fast and convenient manner. A wide variety of well-suited materials is available, which can be used in such an injection-molding process.

At least one of the side members can comprise an embedded metal frame in order to increase the stability of the side member. In particular a steel tube frame can be used which provides high stability at low costs.

It is possible that at least one of the side members extends over the entire height of the back of the sales furniture so that no further assembling steps are necessary in order to produce the back. This additionally reduces the costs of assembly.

It is also possible that at least one of the side members extends from the back to the front end of the bottom, and thus no separate side walls are required. This again reduces the costs of assembly as not further steps are necessary.

The bottom can comprise a substantially horizontal rear portion adjacent to the back and a front portion adjacent to the substantially horizontal rear portion, wherein the front portion is slanted slightly upwards from back to front. In this em- bodiment the bottom forms a watertight tray in which any liquid as e.g. melting water is collected at the lowest point and can easily be drained. It is reliably avoided that any liquid flows over the front edge of the bottom portion.

At least one injection gate can be formed in any side member so that an insulat- ing plastics foam can be filled into the space between the outer rear sheet and the inner rear sheet and into the space between the lower bottom sheet and the upper bottom sheet through said injection gate. This allows to facilitate the assembly of the refrigerating sales furniture even further. The rear part and the substantially horizontal bottom part may include a right angle. This will give the refrigerating sales furniture a very convenient form which allows a practical use and needs a minimum of space on the floor.

The side members may be made of a material which comprises polyurethane, in particular a polyurethane matrix with a density range from 250 to 300 kg/m³. Polyurethane is a very convenient material from which side members can be produced at low costs and which comprises all the necessary properties for forming such a side member.

The side members can be formed in a bar structure which leads to a high stability and high rigidity of the side members with a minimum use of material.

At least one cable channel can be formed in each side member. This enables the side member to carry the cables necessary for the operation of the refrigerating sales furniture. It also allows to exchange these cables easily without dismounting or destroying the side member.

The side member may also comprise a cable bushing, which also facilitates the exchange of the cables.

A metal joint fixing may be attached to the side member in order to facilitate to fix additional devices, like laterally adjacent refrigerating furnitures or covers to said side member.

For this purpose dowel holes may be formed in the side member as well.

The side member may also comprise one or more passages for at least one of a refrigerant pipe, a condensed water drain, and an electrical wire in order to easily pass such a pipe, drain, or electrical wire through said side member without the need for drilling any holes into said side member.

The side member may also contain at least one socket box in order to facilitate the electrical connection of the refrigerant sales furniture with an energy supply or with other devices. The refrigerating sales furniture may comprise a substantially vertical front panel, which is attached to the front side of the bottom in order to improve the visual appearance of the sales furniture.

The refrigerating sales furniture may also comprise a transparent front pane which is attached to the front of the bottom or to the front panel. Such a front pane enables potential customers to see the refrigerated items but avoids that these items are touched, soiled, or destroyed by the potential customers.

The features, embodiments and advantages as described with respect to the refrigerating sales furniture can also be realized, in terms of method steps, with the method for fabricating the refrigerating sales furniture according to the invention.

While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodi- ments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition many modifications may be made to adopt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the in- vention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention include all embodiments falling within the scope of the dependent claims.

List of Reference Numerals

1 sales furniture 1 a back 1 b bottom

2 side member

3 metal frame 3a vertical beam 3b horizontal beam 3c horizontal base beam

4 grid structure

5 wires channel

6 metal joint fixing

7 dowel hole 8 cable bushing

9 pipes passage

10 auxiliary pipes passage

11 water drain

12 injection gate 13 cable channel

15 inner rear sheet

16 outer rear sheet

17 upper bottom sheet

18 lower bottom sheet 20 front pane

21 support member

22 goods display deck

23 rear wall

24 board 25 front pane board

26 front cover

27 front pane frame

28 horizontal coupling portion 28a vertical coupling portion 29 upright portion

30 rear portion front portion bottom part rear part casket bend side cover step recess

Claims

K 67 207/8Claims

1. Refrigerating sales furniture (1), comprising: a back (1 a) having an outer rear sheet (16) and an inner rear sheet (15) spaced apart from each other; a bottom (1 b) having a lower bottom sheet (18) and an upper bottom sheet

(17) spaced apart from each other; two side members (2), wherein at least one of which has at least one coupling portion (28, 28a) being inserted in the space between the outer rear sheet (16) and the inner rear sheet (15) and in the space between the lower bottom sheet

(18) and the upper bottom sheet (17) and sealing the space between said sheets (15, 16, 17, 18) laterally; wherein the two side members (2) have a respective upright portion (29) for- ming a side wall for the refrigerating sales furniture (1 ); and wherein the space between the outer rear sheet (16) and the inner rear sheet (15) and the space between the lower bottom sheet (18) and the upper bottom sheet (17) is filled with an insulating plastics foam.

2. Refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the side members (2) is an injection moulded part.

3. Refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) of claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the side members (2) has at least one embedded me- tal frame (3), particularly a steel tube frame.

4. Refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein at least one of the side members (2) extends over the entire height of the back (1 a).

5. Refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein at least one of the side members (2) extends from the back (1 a) to the front end of the bottom (1 b).

6. Refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein the side member (2) comprises a bottom part (32) and rear part (33), and wherien the bottom part (32) comprises a substantially horizontal rear portion (30) adjacent to the rear part (33) and a front portion (31 ) adjacent to the rear portion (30), said front portion (31) being slanted upwardly from back to front.

7. Refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein at least one injection gate (12) is formed in the side member (2) so that the insulating plastics foam can be filled into the space between the outer rear sheet (16) and the inner rear sheet (15) and into the space between the lower bottom sheet (18) and the upper bottom sheet (17) through said injection gate (12).

8. Refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein the rear part (33) and the substantially horizontal bottom part (32) include a right angle.

9. Refrigerating sales furniture (1) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein the side member (2) is made of a material which comprises polyurethane, particularly a polyurethane matrix with a density in the range from 250 to 300 kg/m³.

10. Refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein the side member (2) has a bar structure (4).

11. Refrigerating sales furniture (1) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein at least one of a dowel hole (7), a cable channel (5, 13), a cable bushing (8) and a socket box for electrical connection is formed in the side member (2).

12. Refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein at least one passage for at least one of a refrigerant pipe, a condensed water drain, and an electrical wire is formed within the side member (2) or within the metal fra- me (3).

13. Refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein the refrigerating sales furniture (1) further comprises a substantially vertical front lining (26), which is attached to the front side of the bottom part (32).

14. Refrigerating sales furniture (1) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein the refrigerating sales furniture (1) further comprises a front pane (20), which is attached to the front of the bottom part (32) or to the front lining (36).

15. Method for fabricating a refrigerating sales furniture (1 ) comprising the steps of: providing a back (1 a) having an outer rear sheet (16) and an inner rear sheet (15) spaced apart from each other and a bottom (1 b) having a lower bottom sheet (18) and an upper bottom sheet (17) spaced apart from each other; providing at least one side member (2) comprising at least one coupling portion (28, 28a) and an upright portion (29); inserting the at least one coupling portion (28, 28a) of said at least one side member (2) into the space between the outer rear sheet (16) and the inner rear sheet (15) and into the space between the lower bottom sheet (18) and the upper bottom sheet (17) thereby sealing the space between said sheets laterally; and filling the space between the outer rear sheet (16) and the inner rear sheet (15) and the space between the lower bottom sheet (18) and the upper bottom sheet (17) with an insulating plastics foam.