Refrigerator or freezer display cabinet with a horizontal access opening

Abstract: At a refrigerator or freezer display cabinet comprising a box (10) with side walls (12) and a bottom (14) for furnishing goods (18) through a horizontal access opening (24) of the box, a frame around the upper edges (54) of the side walls (12) is constituted by a hood (80), which is made in one piece and shows an opening (44) for access to the goods.

Description: The invention refers to a refrigerator or freezer display cabinet comprising a box with side walls and a bottom for furnishing goods through a horizontal access opening of the box, a frame extending around the upper edges of the side walls. Swedish design No. 40 429 shows such a cabinet having four heat insulating side walls, where each wall shows transparent panes of glass in at least two layers located at a distance from each other. The upper edges of the panes are connected with a frame, which runs around the access opening and protects a customer against sharp edges of the panes of glass. The frame consists of a plurality of assembled straight side parts and bent corner parts. This known cabinet is sensitive to draught in through the access opening from the room where the cabinet is located, e.g. by air flowing out into the room from an air conditioner or in through a door to the room, which draught disturbs the refrigerating of the goods. The object of the invention is to simplify the structure of the frame and furthermore to improve the known cabinet so that it is protected against draught from the surroundings. This object is obtained by the cabinet according to the invention thereby that the frame is constituted by a hood having said access opening, which hood is made in one piece, extends in over the box and extends continuously around and above the upper edges. Through suitable shaping of the opening and of the hood around the opening, the goods kan by this effectively be protected against draught from surrounding room air. EP-A-0 571 331 discloses a refrigerated display cabinet covered by a transparent hood which seems to be made in one piece. This cabinet is of another type of cabinets, which type is not accessible from all sides through a horizontal opening but only through a rear opening forming an angle of about 45 degrees with the horizontal plane. The hood furthermore does not extend continuously around upper edges of the cabinet at the bottom of the access opening. DE-A-23 03 186 discloses a refrigerated display cabinet with a horizontal access opening having a roller cover, which i open position hides behind the outside of a side wall of the cabinet and a hood, about which nothing is mentioned that it would form a frame continuously extending around the access opening. DE-A-32 00 357 discloses a refrigerated display cabinet with a vertical access opening covered by transparent and resilient overlapping strips which do not form a frame continuously extending around the access opening. DE-A-36 04 242 discloses a refrigerated display cabinet with a horizontal access opening covered by plates, which are foldable together by a motor for opening the cabinet. Nothing is indicated that it has a hood which is made in one piece and continuously extends around the access opening. Embodiments of cabinets according to the invention are described below in connexion with the enclosed drawings, in which fig. 1 shows a sectional view of a first embodiment of a cabinet with two openings in a hood for access to goods in the cabinet, fig. 2 shows the cabinet of fig. 1 in a perspective view, fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of a cabinet with merely one opening in the hood and fig. 4 shows a sectional view of a third embodiment of a cabinet, where the hood covers only the upper part of the cabinet. By 10 is designated an outer box with heat insulating, transparent side walls 12 and a heat insulating bottom 14. An inner box 16 for goods 18 is located in the box 10. The box 16 shows transparent side walls 20 and a bottom 22. The goods are accessible through a horizontal access opening 24. The bottom 14 rests on an underbody 26 showing a compressor 28 and a condenser 30, which are parts of a refrigerating apparatus for refrigerating the goods. An evaporator 32 of the refrigerating apparatus is located between the bottoms 14 and 22. The goods are refrigerated by air circulated by a fan 34 around the box 16 and through the evaporator 32, which in its turn refrigerates the air. A transparent hood 40, which is made in one piece of an impact resistant material, e.g. polycarbonate plastic, is arranged over the box 10 and the underbody 26 and is fastened to the bottom 14 of the box at 42. The hood 40 shows two openings 44 located above and, seen from above, inside the opening 24 for access to the goods 18. Between the openings 44 the hood shows a ridge 46 extending over the middle of the opening 24 in its longitudinal direction. The hood 40 extends with one part 47 down below the bottom 14 for protecting the parts of the refrigerating apparatus which are located in the underbody 26. At the bottom 14 the hood 40 is made untransparent at 48, e.g. by screen printing on the inside of the hood, so that the bottom 14 and the underbody 26 are concealed. The goods can be illuminated by fluorescent tubes 50 located under the ridge 46. The goods can also be illuminated by fluorescent tubes 52 located under the hood at the upper edges 54 of the walls 12. The fluorescent tubes 50 and 52 and the edges 54 are concealed by the hood 40 being made untransparent at 56. A transparent glass or plastic pane having a layer absorbing infrared light can be arranged under the fluorescent tubes 50 and 52, through which the heat radiation on the goods from the fluorescent tubes will decrease. The hood 60 shown in fig. 3 is made without the ridge 46, the openings 44 being united to one single opening 64. The hood can also be made to cover only the upper part of the cabinet as the hood 80, which is shown in fig. 4. The hood 80, which is made in one piece and is the same as the hood 40 is at the top with two openings 44, is fastened to the walls 12 and ends at its lower part with a horizontal edge 82 located just outside and below the edge 54. The underbody 26 can be concealed by a separate skirt 84, which is made in one piece of the same material as the hood 80 and extends upwards to an edge 86 located just above the lower edge of the walls 12. The hood 80 can also be the same as the hood 60 is at the top and thus be provided with only one opening 64.

Claims: Refrigerator or freezer display cabinet comprising a box (10) with side walls (12) and a bottom (14) for furnishing goods (18) through a horizontal access opening of the box, a frame extending around the upper edges (54) of the side walls, characterized in that the frame is constituted by a hood (40; 60; 80) having said access opening (44; 64; 44), which hood is made in one piece, extends in over the box (10) and extends continuously around and above the upper edges (54). Cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that the hood (80) at its lower part ends with an edge (82), which is located at substantially the same level as the upper edges (54) of the side walls (10). Cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that the hood (40) shows a part (47) extending down below the box (10) for protecting an apparatus (28, 30) for refrigerating the goods, which apparatus is located under the box. Cabinet according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that the hood (40; 80) shows two openings (44) for access to the goods. Cabinet according to any of claims 1-4, characterized in that one or more fluorescent tubes (52) are located under the hood at the upper edges (54) of the side walls. Cabinet according to claim 4, characterized in that one or more fluorescent tubes (50) are located under the part (46) of the hood which separates the two openings (44).

Inventors: IVERLUND BERTIL, JOHANSSON TOMAS, IVERLUND, BERTIL, JOHANSSON, TOMAS
Applicants: ELECTROLUX AB, AKTIEBOLAGET ELECTROLUX
Application year: 1995
Main classification: A47F3
IPC codes: A47F3, A47F11