Abstract:
An air baffle structure for refrigerated display cases having an open front and provided with openings at the back for the forwardly directed flow of refrigerated air. The display case has a display bar of non-circular cross section for mounting a plurality of display trays. A baffle support, formed of wire and comprising a front portion and spaced apart side portions, is mounted on the display bar and extends closely underneath the trays. A flat, plastic baffle plate is carried by the baffle support. The baffle support has rear portions of inverted U-shape engaging the display bar, formed in part by upwardly extending baffle positioning elements. Back edge portions of the baffle plate releasably engage the positioning elements to secure the baffle plate in position while accommodating easy removable and replacement for cleaning. A baffle plate typically will extend under a plurality of display trays positioned on the display bar.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/151,904, filed Feb. 12, 2009, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates to the display of perishable food products in open-front, refrigerated display cases in a manner to efficiently cool the food products while minimizing the loss of refrigerated air. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Food products such as deli meats, salad greens, etc. are frequently displayed in open front refrigerated display cases that enable the customer to access and remove products without requiring doors to be opened and closed. A typical form of such a display case is illustrated in the Weikel et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,959,560. That patent illustrates a vertically oriented cabinet having bottom top and back walls, and an open front. A plurality of levels of displayed products are mounted from the back wall, in the illustrated display case, by means of peg hooks. Refrigerated air is directed behind the back wall by means of a suitable fan, and outlets are provided in the back wall to allow the refrigerated air to flow out of the back wall and toward the displayed products. 
         [0004]    If the refrigerated air issuing forwardly from the back wall of the display case is not properly guided, it will tend, because of its higher density, to flow downward before reaching some of the displayed product items located near the front of the display case. To deal with this problem, it is known to provide various forms of baffles to keep the refrigerated air from flowing downward before it reaches outer portions of the product display. In some cases, where the display case incorporates shelving on which the products are displayed, the shelves themselves serve as the necessary baffles. In other cases, such as in the above mentioned Weikel et al. &#39;560 patent, where peg hooks or the like are used to display the product, separate means, such as baffles need to be provided. 
         [0005]    Other arrangements for providing baffles are shown in, for example, the Garfinkle U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,402,897 and 5,788,089. 
         [0006]    Known arrangements for providing air-directing baffles in refrigerated display cases have various shortcomings, which makes their use difficult or inconvenient. Frequently, arrangements such as twisted wires are utilized to hold the baffles in position, which tends to make their installation cumbersome and inconvenient. More importantly, it makes periodic removal of the baffles for cleaning very inconvenient, such that the important chore of maintaining clean baffles, in order to have clean, attractive and sanitary displays, is likely to be done on a relatively infrequent basis. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The invention is directed to a novel and improved form of air baffle structure for open front refrigerated display cases. The new baffle structure is adapted to be mounted on a horizontally disposed product display bar, typically of square or rectangular cross section, mounted at the back of the display case. The display bars each mount a plurality of product display trays which extend forwardly from the display bars and are arranged to receive products for display. In a preferred but non-limiting form of the invention, the product display trays are in the form of wire-bottom trays provided with pusher means for maintaining the product at the front of the display. The new baffle structure comprises in part a baffle support, preferably formed of wire, which is mounted on the same display bar as the product display tray with which it is associated and extends forwardly, typically underneath the display tray. 
         [0008]    The baffle support, which can be of generally horizontally disposed U-shaped configuration, is provided at its inner ends with vertically extending portions fixed to mounting clips of generally inverted U-shaped configuration for mounting of the baffle support on the display bar. A baffle plate, which can be of flat, plastic construction, is carried by the baffle support. To particular advantage, the back edge portion of the baffle plate has positioning elements which cooperate with the vertically extending portions of the baffle support to engage and position the baffle on its support. The baffle plate is of sufficient width to extend under several product display trays. For a typical display case, having an internal width of four feet, the baffle structures may advantageously be provided in units of two-foot width, such that a pair of baffle structures mounted side-by-side can provide effective baffling for the entire width of the display. 
         [0009]    For a more complete understanding of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, and to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a simplified representational illustration of a refrigerated display case incorporating air baffle structures according to the invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged side view showing features of an advantageous form of product display tray utilized in connection with the air baffle structure of the invention in the display case of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of a baffle and baffle support according to the invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged, fragmentary view of a back portion of the baffle, illustrating the manner in which the baffle is engaged with the baffle support for positioning and retention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating a display bar on which a baffle and baffle support according to the invention is mounted. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a partial perspective view of an alternative and preferred form of baffle support for use in connection with the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    Referring now the drawings, and initially to  FIG. 1  thereof, the reference numeral  10  designates generally a representative form of open front refrigerated display case, such as frequently used in supermarkets and the like for the display and sale of deli products, salad makings, and other perishable products. A typical such case has outer bottom, back and top walls  11 - 13 , and also inner bottom, back and top walls  14 - 16 . The inner walls are spaced from the outer walls to provide an air passage. A fan and cooler system  17  is provided in the bottom of the display case and provides for the circulation of refrigerated air upwardly along a back channel  18  and top channel  19 . The inner back wall  15  is provided with openings  20  ( FIG. 2 ) such that refrigerated air flowing up the back channel  18  is caused to flow through the inner back wall and forwardly in the product display area of the display case. 
         [0017]    In the illustrated structure, the back wall  15  mounts spaced pairs of vertical rails  21  ( FIG. 5 ) provided with vertically spaced slots  22  for the reception of mounting brackets  23  for positioning product display bars  24 . The product display bars and their mountings are previously known and are illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,438,268 of Trion Industries, Inc., the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. The display bars are adjustably positioned in the display case at various vertical locations, as reflected generally in  FIG. 1 . Typically, the display bars will extend laterally across a predetermined width segment of the display case (for example, two feet) to accommodate the side-by-side positioning of a plurality of product display trays  25 . In the illustrated structure, the display bars are indicated to be of square cross section, but also can be rectangular or other non-circular shape that will prevent rotation of objects supported thereon. 
         [0018]    The illustrated form of display tray, shown in more detail in  FIG. 2 , is intended to be representative only and in no way limiting, but is nevertheless an advantageous form of display tray for use in conjunction with the air baffle structure of the invention. The illustrated form of display tray forms the subject matter of the Thomas O. Nagel U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/354,398, filed Jan. 15, 2009, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. The display tray  25  comprises a pair of spaced-apart side plates  26 , which are mounted at opposite sides of an open wire bottom structure (not shown) for adjustable width positioning appropriate to the width of products  27  to be displayed. A spring-operated pusher  43  is mounted on the wire bottom structure and serves to urge the products  27  to forwardmost positions in the display tray. The back portions of the side plates  26  are formed with downwardly opening notches of a size and shape to be closely received over a display bar  24 , such that the entire display tray  25  is supported in cantilever fashion by the bar  24 . Typically, a single twenty-four inch display bar  24  will mount a plurality of the trays  25 . For example, for displayed products of five-inch width, four of the display trays  25  may be placed in side-by-side relation on a single bar  24 . 
         [0019]    In accordance with the invention, a novel form of air baffle structure is provided, which is easily mounted on the display bars  24  and closely associated with the display trays  25  (in whatever form) to guide the flow of refrigerated air forwardly in the display case  10 , so that proper cooling of the outermost product packages is assured. The illustrated form of baffle structure comprises a baffle support  28  arranged to underlie and support a baffle plate  29 . The baffle support  28  advantageously is formed primarily of wire of a suitable size (e.g., 0.212-0.187 inch) formed generally in the shape of a rearwardly opening horizontal “U”. 
         [0020]    In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the baffle plate  29  is formed of a suitable plastic, for example, a PVC sheet material of about 0.050 thickness. The baffle plate preferably is of clear plastic, but may also be of black or other opaque or translucent material. Advantageously, the baffle plate has a substantial width, for example, twenty-four inches to correspond with the space between vertical rails  21 . The baffle width is not a critical feature, but optimally will be of a width that is easy for store personnel to handle yet wide enough to minimize the number of baffle plates that are required to be handled during installation and cleaning. In the illustrated arrangement, the baffle plate  29  has a length such as to approach, but preferably not extend beyond the front of the display trays  25 . Ideally, the baffle plate  29  is positioned close to the bottoms of the trays  25  and slightly recessed from the outer ends thereof so as to be substantially inconspicuous to the customer. 
         [0021]    In the illustrated and preferred form of the invention, the U-shaped wire support  28  is comprised of a pair of outwardly extending side elements  30 ,  31  which are spaced apart a distance less than the width of the baffle plate  29 . The side elements  30 ,  31  are joined at their outer ends by an outer element  32  that is positioned somewhat inward from the outer edge  33  of the baffle plate. The innermost ends of the side elements  30 ,  31  are bent upwardly, as indicated at  34 ,  35  in  FIGS. 2 and 5 . In the illustrated structure, these upwardly bent sections  34 ,  35  are welded or otherwise fixed to downwardly opening, generally inverted U-shaped mounting clips  36 ,  37 . The mounting clips  36 ,  37  are dimensioned to fit snugly over the product display bar  24  such that the U-shaped support  28  is held in a substantially horizontal orientation. It will be understood, of course, that the mounting clips  36 ,  37  need not be separate elements but preferentially may be shaped from integral and continuous portions of the wire forming the support  28 . The geometry of the mounting clip portions  36 ,  37  and the upwardly extending wire portions  34 ,  35  is such that the horizontal portions of the baffle support closely underlie the bottoms of the trays  25 , substantially as shown in  FIG. 2 . See  FIG. 6 , where the mounting clip portion  37   a  for the side element  30   a  is formed by an inverted U-shaped end section forming an integral extension of the upwardly bent section  35   a  of the side element. 
         [0022]    In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the width of the U-shaped baffle support  28  is about sixteen inches, for supporting a twenty-four inch baffle plate, leaving an overhang margin of about four inches at each side. A similar overhang may be provided at the front. In this respect, however, since the trays  25  may be provided in a variety of lengths, the baffle plates  29  also are advantageously provided in corresponding lengths, such that the outer edges  33  of the baffle plates are, insofar as practicable, positioned relatively close to but behind the front edges of the trays  25 , so as to be somewhat concealed. 
         [0023]    In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the baffle plates  29  are provided at their back edges with forwardly extending slits (or narrow slots)  39  which extend forwardly for about two inches and join with elongated openings  40 . The openings  40  are of a width approximately that of the upwardly extending wire elements  34 ,  35 . To best advantage, the openings  40  may have a width just slightly less than that of the wire portions  34 ,  35 , so as to lightly grip the wire portions. 
         [0024]    After installation of the baffle support  28  on the display bar  24 , the baffle plate  29  is installed by laying it on top of the support  28  and pressing it rearwardly. At the rearmost ends of the slits  39 , the back edge of the baffle plate is provided with V-shaped entry notches that facilitate locating the baffle plate relative to the vertically extending wire portions  34 ,  35 . Once the wire portions are seated in the V-shaped notches  41 , the installer presses rearwardly against the baffle plate to force the wire portions  34 ,  35  into the slits  39  and, eventually, into the wider openings  40 , substantially as shown in  FIG. 4 . When the wire portions  34 ,  35  reach the openings  40 , the slits  39  reclose, so the baffle plates are firmly locked into position against accidental dislodgement. 
         [0025]    In the arrangement shown in  FIG. 2  for mounting of the respective baffle support  28  and display trays  25 , there is minimal limitation on the positioning of the trays on the display bar  24  after mounting of the baffle support thereon. In this respect, the mounting clips  36 ,  37  are in generally fixed locations on the display bar  24 , occupying a narrow width of, for example, a little over an inch for each mounting clip. The side plates  26  of the trays, by which the trays are mounted on the display bars, are relatively narrow, for example, around 1/16th inch in thickness. Additionally, the location of the bar-receiving notches at the back of the side plates  26  is such as to allow the upwardly extending portions  34 ,  35  of the baffle supports to be positioned rearwardly of the bottom structure of the tray (not fully shown but reflected in the positioning of the rear base element  42  of the tray), such that the upwardly extending wire portions  34 ,  35  can be positioned almost anywhere within or alongside the confines of a particular tray. 
         [0026]    One of the important advantages of the baffle structure of the invention is that the baffle plates may be easily removed from and replaced in the displays. The baffles can be removed by simply gripping the projecting outer edge portions of the baffle plates and pulling outwardly, causing the wire upright portions  34 ,  35  to slide rearward through the slits  39  to fully release the plates. This can be done easily with the product display trays  25  in place. Likewise, to reinstall the baffle plates, they are simply slid rearwardly along the upper surfaces of the supports  28  until the notches  41  align with the wire elements  34 ,  35 , after which additional rearward pressure is applied to the baffle plate to seat the wires in the openings  40 . The thus-facilitated removal and replacement procedure enables the baffles to be frequently cleaned and sanitized so that food product displays can be easily maintained in a pristine condition, attractive to prospective purchasers. In this respect, it will be understood that the baffle plates tend to collect miscellaneous debris, which becomes unsightly after a time. Additionally, the chilled atmosphere of the open front displays can foster the development of mold, which becomes extremely unsightly and unsanitary if not adequately cleaned. With known types of baffles, the removal and replacement is sufficiently inconvenient that store personnel tend to ignore or postpone the desired cleaning routines, leading to unattractive and unsanitary displays of the food products. 
         [0027]    In the specifically illustrated form of the invention, where the product display trays  25  are provided with open bottom structures formed of a few wire elements, there are minimal surfaces for the development of mold growth. This, combined with the ease of cleaning of the baffles  29  as described, provides optimal conditions for the open front display of refrigerated food products. 
         [0028]    It will be understood that the preferred embodiment of the invention herein illustrated and described is intended to be representative only, as various changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.