Abstract:
A display case includes a base on which is mounted a back wall. The back wall has openable doors for access to the interior of the case. Side walls are also mounted on the base. A front wall is mounted on the base. The front wall slants rearwardly and downwardly from its upper portion to provide foot and leg room for a customer standing in front of the case. A top is fastened to the upper edges of the back wall, side walls, and front wall to enclose the interior of the display case. Preferably, the front wall, top, and side walls of the display case are transparent. The interior of the display case may contain a variety of shelf configurations.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to display cases, and more particularly, to display cases utilized in retail locations having limited access space.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     With the advent of street side and in-store beverage and food serving, floor space is of premium value. It is desirable to display goods and serve customers with a maximum of display area in a display case for goods and beverages while not encroaching substantially upon adjoining spaces and yet allowing customers to closely approach the serving and viewing area represented by the case. Display cases currently available on the market are not designed to fulfill these needs.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The present invention therefor provides a novel display case having a base and a back wall mounted on the base. The back wall has openable doors therein for access to the interior of the case. Side walls are mounted on the base and extend upwardly therefrom. A front wall is also mounted on the base. The front wall in accordance with the present invention slants rearwardly and downwardly from its upper portion to provide foot and leg room for a customer standing in front of the case. The case also has a top fastened to the upper edges of the back wall, the side walls and the front wall to thereby enclose the interior of the case. In a preferred embodiment, the base has front, rear and side walls that extend downwardly from and in coplanar relationship with the front and side walls of the case. Also in another preferred embodiment, the side walls of the case are slanted downwardly and inwardly from their upper edges to provide foot and leg room for customers standing adjacent the edges of the case.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0004]     The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of the display case looking from the front and slightly above and to the left thereof;  
         [0006]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the rear of the display case;  
         [0007]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the display case;  
         [0008]      FIG. 4  is an end view of the left side of the display case;  
         [0009]      FIG. 5  is an end view of the right side of the display case; and  
         [0010]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of the front of the display case similar to  FIG. 1 , including a pair of mirrored panels on each side of the interior shelves to separate the end compartments from the central refrigerated compartment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0011]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , the display case of the present invention has a base  20  and an upper compartment  22 . The base  20  in top view is generally rectangular in configuration. Similarly, the upper compartment  22  in plan view is rectangular in configuration. The upper compartment  22  is outlined by a frame including right corner stanchion  24 , left corner stanchion  26 , rear stanchion  28 , and right rear stanchion  30 . The upper ends of the stanchions  24 - 30  are joined by a rectangular frame  32  having a front frame member  34 , a rear frame member  36 , and side members  38  and  40 . A longitudinal frame member  42  extends between side frame members  38  and  40  in parallel relationship with the front and rear frame members  34  and  36 . The frame member  42  is positioned laterally part way between frame members  34  and  36 . Resting on top of the frame member  42  and extending laterally between frame members  34  and  36  are lateral support members  44 ,  46 ,  48  and  50 .  
         [0012]     In its preferred form, a transparent front panel  60  is positioned in the region between the upper frame member  34 , the vertical stanchions  24  and  26 , and the upper edge of the base  20 . In a preferred embodiment, the upper frame member  34  is longer than the upper forward edge of the base  20  so that the transparent front panel  26  is trapezoidally shaped. The side frame members  38  and  40  are longer than the upper side edges of the base  20 . Also, the rear frame member  36  is of equal length with the upper front frame member  34 , thus forming a rectangle with the other upper frame members  34 ,  38  and  40 . The rear edges of side frame members  38  and  40  preferably reside in a vertical plane extending upwardly from the rear of the base  20 . The forward edges of the frame members  38  and  40  extend forwardly beyond the base. Thus, the front panel  60  extends from the top frame member  34  downwardly and rearwardly as it extends toward the upper edge of the base  20 . Preferably, the front surface  70  of the base carries the slope of the front panel downwardly and rearwardly in substantially coplanar relationship to the floor in which the base rests. Thus, in side view, the entire front of the display case extends downwardly and rearwardly.  
         [0013]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 4 , the left side panel  74  of the case encloses the left portion of the case between the upper frame member  34 , front vertical frame member  26 , and the upper edge  64  of the base  20 . In the side view of  FIG. 4 , the rear edge of the side panel  74  lies in a vertical plane while the front edge is coincident with the plane of the front panel  60 . In front view, however, the side panel  74  slants downwardly and inwardly toward the upper edge  64  of the base. Similarly in the preferred embodiment, the left side  72  of the base  20  extends downwardly and inwardly in a substantially coplanar relationship with the side panel  74 . The left side panel is preferably transparent.  
         [0014]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 5 , the right side panel  76  of the case is formed in a mirror image to panel  74 , yet again extends downwardly and inwardly from the upper frame member  40  toward the upper edge  66  of the base  20 . Similarly, the right side surface  78  of the base  20  extends downwardly and inwardly continuing the slope of the panel  76  in substantially coplanar relationship.  
         [0015]     Referring again to  FIGS. 1-5 , the upper portion of the display case is covered preferably by a transparent rectangular top panel  80 . The transparent top panel  80  rests on the lateral frame members  44 ,  46 ,  48 , and  50  and is coextensive with the periphery of the upper frame formed by frame members  34 ,  36 ,  38 , and  40 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , the rear  82  of the display case resides in a generally vertical plane. The upper compartment  22  sits on the lower compartment  20 . Two central panels  84  and  86  of the rear wall of the case  82  are mounted for side-to-side sliding movement on rails (not shown) mounted in the upper frame member  36  and the upper rear edge  68  of the base  20 . These panels  84  and  86  can slide sidewardly in opposite directions in front of side panels  88  and  90 , respectively, to provide an opening to access the interior of the compartment  22 .  
         [0016]     Referring back to  FIG. 1 , vertical frame members  92  and  94  are positioned on opposing sides of the door  84  and  86  in the interior of the compartment. Similar vertical frame members  96  and  98  are positioned outwardly from the vertical frame members  92  and  94 . Four parallel frame members  102 ,  104 ,  106 , and  108  extend upwardly from the upper surface of the base member  20  in parallel relationship, respectively, with the vertical frame members  92 ,  94 ,  96  and  98 . The upper ends of each of these vertical frame members couple with the lateral frame members  44 ,  46 ,  48 , and  50  along the upper portion of the display compartment to form rectangular frame members. In the embodiment shown, a first set of shelf brackets  110  extend laterally and horizontally between vertical frame members  96  and  102 ,  92  and  104 ,  94  and  106 , and  98  and  108 , respectively. These shelf brackets support a shelf  112 . A second set of shelf brackets  114  are positioned above the first set of shelf brackets to support a second shelf  116 . The front edges of both shelves  114  and  116  terminate short of the front panel  60  so as to allow space for cold air circulation from the refrigeration system. The shelves  112  and  116  are preferably transparent.  
         [0017]     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 6 , a refrigeration system  120  (shown in dashed outline) is mounted in the interior of the base  30 . The refrigeration system  120  is of standard design and includes a standard air movement system  122 . The air movement system is coupled by a conduit  124  to a vent  126 . The vent is formed in a plenum  128  that is positioned below the shelves  114 . The vent  126  is positioned in the forward portion of the plenum  128  adjacent the bottom of the front panel  60 . Thus, air moved through the vent  126  by the air moving system  122  can circulate throughout the interior of the upper compartment  22 .  
         [0018]     Finally, display lamps  130 ,  132 , and  134  are positioned below the frame members  44 ,  46 ,  48 , and  50  above the shelf  116 . The lights  132  and  134  are mounted to the shelf brackets  114  and  112 , respectively. Each illuminates the region below each one of the lamps. The lamps are oriented longitudinally in the central portion of the compartments  22 .  
         [0019]     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , an alternate embodiment of the invention is shown. In this embodiment, vertical panels  140  and  142  are mounted to extend laterally from the back panel  82  to the front panel  60 . The vertical panel  140  extends up to the lateral frame member  44  on the left side of the display case and completely separates the left-hand compartment  146  from the central compartment  148 . Similarly, the vertical panel  142  separates the central compartment  148  from the right end compartment  150 . In this embodiment, only the central compartment is refrigerated, while the side compartments form permanent displays for other wares. The compartments  146  and  150  are accessed by removing a portion of the rear panel  82  adjacent the left and right edges. Alternatively, the left and right ends of the panel  82  may comprise sliding doors mounted on track positioned in the rear rail or frame member  36 .  
         [0020]     Thus, the display cabinet of the present invention provide means for serving customers from behind the display case and allowing the customers to stand immediately in front of the case touching the front frame member  34  with their body, yet allowing adequate room for legs and feet without hitting the base  20 . This space is provided by the rearwardly and downwardly sloping front panel  60  and the downwardly sloping front surface of the base  20 . Similar space is provided at the ends of the display case by the downwardly and inwardly sloping sides  74  and  76 .  
         [0021]     While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, all transparent surfaces are preferably made from tempered glass. Other transparent materials such as plastic may be used as well. All structural members are preferably made from aluminum; however, other structural materials such as wood or stainless steel may also be used.