Abstract:
A food cooler provides storage of its door along the side of the cooler over a condensation tray thereby reducing the risk of condensation accumulating on the floor at the front of the cooler when the door is open for a prolonged period of time in a high humidity environment.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     NA  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     NA  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The present invention relates to refrigeration equipment for use in the food industry, and in particular, to a food cooler as may be used in a commercial kitchen.  
         [0004]     Professional kitchens may have ovens accepting a rack that may be rolled over the floor into the oven so that the oven door may close about the rack to cook items placed in the rack. At the conclusion of the cooking process, the rack and cooked items may then be rolled out of the oven and directly into a food cooler to allow the food to be rapidly and safely cooled for preservation. The oven may be, for example, a combi-oven, such as is sold by Alto-Shaam of Wisconsin, the assignee of the present invention. A combi-oven uses forced air movement and steam to create a uniform and rapid cooking environment.  
         [0005]     Opening the food cooler exposes the large cooled inner surface of the door to the high humidity environment of a professional kitchen promoting significant condensation. If the transfer of food between the oven and the food cooler requires that the door of the cooler remain open for an extended period of time, condensation may undesirably spill over the door gasket and onto the floor. The need to mop up spills distracts workers from food preparation. When the food cooler is used at freezing temperatures, excess water on the gasket can, over time, interfere with the proper sealing and operation of the door.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention provides a food cooler in which the door, when open, may slide next to the side of the cooler to be shielded from excessive exposure to humid air, and to allow condensation collected in a stationary condensation tray removed from foot traffic in the kitchen. A sloped gutter on the door itself may guide the condensation to the tray throughout the range of opening and sliding positions and may divert condensation from the lower door gasket preventing water or ice build-up around the door seal.  
         [0007]     Specifically, the present invention provides a food cooler having a cabinet with a front opening adjacent to a sidewall. A slide assembly is movable along the sidewall from a position adjacent to the front opening to a position removed from the front opening, and a door may be hingeably attached to the slide assembly to hinge between an open and closed position about the front opening, and when open, to slide along the sidewall to a stowed position. A condensation tray extends along the sidewall beneath the door to receive condensation from the door when the door is in the stowed position.  
         [0008]     Thus it is another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a system that may permit opening of the cooler door for a substantial period of time without the risk of excess condensation spillage.  
         [0009]     It is further an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to allow the food cooler door to be slid to a position where condensation may be captured by a stationary tray without the need to accumulate water on the door or to allow water to spill directly to the floor.  
         [0010]     It is yet another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a system that may permit movement of the cooler door to a position minimizing interference with food loading and unloading using carts and the like.  
         [0011]     The inner face of the door facing the front opening when the door is in the closed position may include a gutter catching condensation off of the door to direct the condensation to an edge of the door near the slide assembly.  
         [0012]     Thus it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to capture condensation during the time the door is being opened and moved to the stowed position.  
         [0013]     The gutter may slope downward toward the edge of the door near the slide assembly to be self-emptying.  
         [0014]     Thus it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to quickly move collected water off of the door where it may be spilled by motion of the door opening and closing.  
         [0015]     The door may include a gasket material extending inward toward the front opening when the door is in the closed position, and the gutter may be above the gasket material along the lower edge of the door.  
         [0016]     It is thus another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to limit the accumulation of water on the gasket material.  
         [0017]     The gutter may include a discharge port extending inward beyond the extension of the gutter material so that the condensation is diverted around the gasket material. The discharge port may include a drip edge to resist movement of water toward the door after passage through the discharge port.  
         [0018]     Thus it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to allow the gutter to be self-emptying without discharging water onto the gasket.  
         [0019]     The condensation tray may extend forward beyond the sidewall to collect water from the gutter when the door is in the open position, and throughout a range of door motion as the door is moved to the stowed position. The condensation tray may be attached to the cabinet.  
         [0020]     Thus it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a cooler that may be freely repositioned without the need to be aligned with a separate condensation tray.  
         [0021]     The food cooler may include a rack having wheels along the rack to be rolled into and out of the cabinet without interference with the condensation tray.  
         [0022]     Thus it is an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a system suitable for use with professional kitchens where the door of the cooler unit may be open for an extended period of time anticipating the movement of racks.  
         [0023]     The condensation tray may include a removable sump container receiving water from the condensation tray.  
         [0024]     It is thus another object of at least one embodiment of the invention to allow a simple means of emptying of the condensation tray where an adjacent floor drain is not available.  
         [0025]     These particular objects and advantages may apply to only some embodiments falling within the claims, and thus do not define the scope of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0026]      FIG. 1  is a perspective, exploded view of a cooler according to the present invention showing the front opening as may be covered by a hinged door attached to a slide assembly sliding on tracks on the sidewall of the cooler, and showing a condensation tray positioned beneath the door when it is in the stowed position;  
         [0027]      FIG. 2  is a side-elevational fragmentary view of one track and sliding hinge assembly of  FIG. 2  showing wheels for moving the door along the side of the cabinet of  FIG. 1  after it is hingeably opened;  
         [0028]      FIG. 3  is a simplified view of  FIG. 1  showing the door in the closed, opened, and stowed position with the swept volume of the door projected to a plane marked to indicate a potential area of condensation spill, and a preferred location of the condensation tray, and further showing a rack that may be placed into the food cooler when the door is opened;  
         [0029]      FIG. 4  is an elevational view of the inner surface of the door showing a gutter for catching and directing condensation toward a hinged edge of the door into a forward extending portion of the condensation tray;  
         [0030]      FIG. 5  is an elevational cross-section of the tray of  FIGS. 1 and 3  showing a removable sump dish for catching water from the condensation tray and allowing it to be poured into a sink or drain; and  
         [0031]      FIG. 6  is an elevational cross-section of the gutter of  FIG. 4  taken through the door and showing a drip edge for preventing water from collecting on the gasketing material.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0032]     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a food cooler  10  may include a generally rectangular cabinet  12  providing a front opening  14  through which food may be placed for cooling and storage.  
         [0033]     The front opening may be covered or uncovered by a door  16  as the door  16  hinges about a hinge axis  18  defined by a series of hinges  20  attached between a right vertical edge of the door  16 , and a vertical edge of a hinge carrier  22  extending the height of the door  16 .  
         [0034]     The hinge carrier  22  connects to horizontal tracks  24  running along a sidewall  26  of the cabinet  12  adjacent to the opening  14  so that the hinge carrier  22  may slide along the tracks  24 , and along the sidewall  26 , while maintaining a vertical orientation.  
         [0035]     Referring also to  FIG. 2 , in one embodiment, the sliding mechanism may be provided by means of wheels  27  attached to an inner surface of the hinge carrier  22  and extending inward therefrom to be received in upper and lower horizontal grooves  30  of the tracks  24 . The wheels  27  provide contact to the tracks  24  at horizontally separated locations to ensure sliding of the hinge carrier  22  along the full extent of the sidewall  26  without camming or jamming.  
         [0036]     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , when the hinge axis  18  is positioned at a front edge of the sidewall  26 , the door  16  may swing between a closed position ( 1 ) covering the opening  14 , and an open position ( 2 ) providing access to the opening  14  and substantially parallel to the sidewall  26 . At this time, the door  16  may be pushed rearward without movement of the hinges  20  about axis  18  to slide to a stowed position ( 3 ) next to the cabinet  12  with the hinge axis  18 ′ translated correspondingly.  
         [0037]     As the door  16  is moved from the closed position ( 1 ) to the open position ( 2 ), it sweeps out a volume above a sector  32  on the floor  36  within which condensation falls absent the mechanism of the present invention. This sector  32  is largely in front of the opening  14 , and thus in a path of pan carts  34  of a type known in the art, that may be inserted into the cabinet  12  or removed when the door  16  is in the open position ( 2 ).  
         [0038]     In contrast when the door is in the stowed position ( 3 ), it is over a rectangular area  38  positioned beneath the sidewall  26 . This area  38  is removed from the normal traffic patterns of pan carts  34  that reduces a tracking of spilled water. Preferably, however, this area  38  holds a condensation tray  40  extending out from sidewall  26  to receive condensation from the door  16  when the door  16  is in the stowed position ( 3 ). The condensation tray  40  prevents condensation spilling onto the floor in area  38  and may be relatively shallow, for example, having an upper surrounding lip  42  of less than a quarter of an inch to fit easily beneath the door  16 .  
         [0039]     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , the accumulation of substantial amounts of condensation in the condensation tray  40  is possible, either by providing an offsetting tray area (providing total tray volume) with shallow lip  42 , or by allowing the condensation to drain from the condensation tray  40  through a sump hole  44  into a removable sump dish  46 .  
         [0040]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the sump dish  46  may be positioned beneath the sump hole  44  to be slidably held on a series of guide rails  48  attached to the bottom of the tray  40  receiving flanges  50  at the edges of the sump dish  46 .  
         [0041]     Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4  during the time the door  16  is moving from the closed position ( 1 ) to the open position ( 2 ), and thus passing over sector  32 , a gutter  52  extending inward from the inner surface of the door  16  may catch condensation  54  from the inner surface of the door  16 . The gutter  52  slopes downward toward the hinge axis  18  to conduct the collected condensation  54  to a discharge port  56 . Throughout movement of the door  16  over sector  32 , the discharge port  56  aligns with a forward extension  58  of the condensation tray  40 , the forward extension pushing slightly past the front opening  14  of the cabinet  12  into a portion of the sector  32 .  
         [0042]     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 6 , an outer periphery of the inner surface of the door  16  may hold a gasket  60  used for sealing the door  16  against portions of the cabinet  12  surrounding the front opening  14 . The gutter  52  is positioned above the gasket  60 , sealing the lower edge of the door  16 , and the discharge port  56  may extend inward from an inner surface of the door  16 , beyond the inward extension of the uncompressed gasket  60  at the bottom of the door  16 , to divert water from the gutter  52  past the gasket  60  without substantially moistening the gasket  60 . A drip edge  59 , being a downwardly extending lip, may surround the discharge port  56 , preventing drops of water adhered to the undersurface of discharge port  56  from moving inward toward the door  16 .  
         [0043]     It is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein, but include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims.