Patent Publication Number: US-7591144-B2

Title: Refrigerated merchandiser

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to an apparatus for cooling and displaying produce. 
   BACKGROUND 
   It is known that the use of cool temperatures for storing produce assists in maintaining freshness of the produce. With respect to potatoes, for example, it is known that potatoes maintained below 10° Celsius are in a dormant state (i.e., a state in which the potatoes do not sprout eyes). However, potatoes and other produce are presently often displayed on angled tables in open areas of produce sections in grocery stores. While such angled tables may present produce displays that are pleasing to the eye and facilitate consumers selecting produce for purchase, the angled tables do not typically provide refrigeration and do not facilitate efficient refrigeration methods. 
   SUMMARY 
   A refrigerated merchandiser for displaying produce has one or more drawers and one or more shelves. The produce in the drawers and on the shelves is cooled by a refrigeration unit that supplies cooled air to a plenum. Passageways in communication with the plenum supply the cooled air to the drawers and shelves, thereby assisting in the maintenance of freshness of the produce. Much of the air that has cooled the produce is then returned to the refrigeration unit for cooling and recirculation. Optionally, the produce, which may be a variety of types of produce, may be arranged by type where each type is associated with a manner of preparation. 
   In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided a merchandiser for cooling and displaying produce. The merchandiser includes a frame defining a cooled air plenum, a unit cooler for supplying cooled air to the plenum, a shelf mounted to the frame below a first cooled air egress passageway in communication with the plenum and a drawer slidably mounted in the frame below a second cooled air egress passageway in communication with the plenum. The cooled air that spills out of one of the shelf and the drawer is received by the other of the shelf and the drawer and the cooled air that spills out of the other of the shelf and the drawer is received by the unit cooler for further cooling. 
   In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of displaying a plurality of types of produce. The method includes arranging the plurality of types of produce by manner of preparation and associating each type of the plurality of types of produce with an indication of the manner of preparation. 
   Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the figures: 
       FIG. 1  is a front left perspective view of a refrigerated merchandiser according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a front elevation view of the refrigerated merchandiser of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a plan view of the refrigerated merchandiser of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the refrigerated merchandiser of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the refrigerated merchandiser showing air flow; 
       FIG. 6  is a front left perspective view of a refrigerated merchandiser including an awning according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 7  is a front left perspective view of a refrigerated merchandiser loaded with exemplary produce according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary refrigerated merchandiser  10  showing one embodiment of the present invention. The refrigerated merchandiser  10  has a frame that defines a display chamber  16 . The display chamber  16  has an open top and front and is defined by an upper plenum front wall  34 , an upper right side wall  36 , an upper left side wall  38  and a display chamber floor  42 . 
   In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the display chamber  16  houses two shelves, namely an upper shelf  44 U and a lower shelf  44 L (collectively or individually  44 ), and four drawers  48 , although it should be clear that the number of shelves  44  and drawers  48  is merely a design consideration. 
   The frame of the refrigerated merchandiser  10  also defines a refrigeration chamber and an upper plenum  14 , which may be considered in view of  FIG. 4 . In particular, the refrigeration chamber is defined by a lower front wall  22 , a back wall  24 , a lower right side wall  26 , a lower left side wall  28 , a refrigeration chamber floor  30  and a refrigeration chamber ceiling  32 . As well, the upper plenum  14  is defined by the back wall  24 , the upper plenum front wall  34 , the upper right side wall  36 , the upper left side wall  38 , the refrigeration chamber ceiling  32  and an upper plenum ceiling  40 . 
   A lower plenum  12  is mounted within the refrigeration chamber (see  FIG. 4 ) as a sheet metal enclosure surrounded by, e.g., one inch of insulation. Mounted within the lower plenum  12  and communicating air, via a passageway in the refrigeration chamber ceiling  32 , from the lower plenum  12  to the upper plenum  14  is a unit cooler  84 , which includes a fan  92 . The unit cooler  84  may, in practice, include a series of radiators and fans. As will be familiar, the radiators are adapted to pass cooled matter from an ingress to an egress and the fan  92  promotes flow of return air past the radiators and toward the upper plenum  14 . The unit cooler  84  may be, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , fixed to the refrigeration chamber ceiling  32  toward the back wall  24 . From the bottom of the unit cooler, a condensate line  90  communicates with a drip pan  88 . 
   As illustrated in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , three front vents  50  are illustrated on the lower front wall  22 . Further, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , at least one solid, yet removable, back access panel  52  may be provided in the back wall  24 . Additionally, movement of the exemplary refrigerated merchandiser  10  is facilitated by attachment of four caster wheels  54  to the bottom of the refrigeration chamber floor  30 . 
   Proximate to the top of the refrigeration chamber and extending from the lower front wall  22  may be an extension that forms a refrigeration chamber return air channel  72 . The refrigeration chamber return air channel  72  may be defined by a channel floor  74 , a channel front wall  76  and a channel top wall  78 . Between the refrigeration chamber return air channel  72  and the lower plenum  12  may be an air filter  86 . 
   As the refrigerated merchandiser  10  may be used in grocery store applications, a bumper strip  80  is provided on the channel front wall  76 . The height for the bumper strip  80  should be set to correspond with the height at which a grocery cart would contact the refrigerated merchandiser  10 . Notably, extensions to the lower right side wall  26  and the lower left side wall  28  are only needed to support the bumper strip  80  and do not necessarily form a channel within the refrigeration chamber. 
   At each end of the upper shelf  44 U is an upper gable and the upper shelf  44 U is divided into three sections through the use of two dividing gables. The upper shelf  44 U includes an upper air movement deflector  46 U extending vertically upwards along the width of the upper shelf  44 U from a position proximal to the front of the upper shelf  44 U. An upper shelf front wall  62 U is mounted between the upper right side wall  36  and the upper left side wall  38  in front of the upper shelf  44 U such that the upper air movement deflector  46 U and the upper shelf front wall  62 U define an upper return air channel  60 U. 
   Similarly, at each end of the lower shelf  44 L is a lower gable. Additionally, the lower shelf  44 L includes a lower air movement deflector  46 L extending vertically upwards along the width of the lower shelf  44 L from a position proximal to the front of the lower shelf  44 L. A lower shelf front wall  62 L is mounted between the upper right side wall  36  and the upper left side wall  38  in front of the lower shelf  44 L such that the lower air movement deflector  46 L and the lower shelf front wall  62 L define a lower return air channel  60 L. 
   Each drawer  48  includes two drawer side walls  66  (only one of which is illustrated in  FIG. 4 ) a drawer back wall  70 , a drawer floor  68  and drawer front wall  62 D. The drawer floor  68  is angled slightly toward the drawer front wall  62 D such that, when only a few items remain in the drawer  48 , the items tend, under force of gravity, to gather at the front of the drawer  48 . Additionally, the drawer floor  68  extends from the drawer back wall  70  to a forward extent that is just short of the drawer front wall  62 D. A drawer air movement deflector  46 D extends vertically upwards along the width of the drawer  48  between the drawer side walls  66  from a position proximal to the forward extent of the drawer floor  68 . The drawer air movement deflector  46 D, the drawer front wall  62 D and the forward extent of the drawer floor  68  define a drawer return air channel  60 D. 
   As illustrated in the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , each of the upper shelf front wall  62 U, the lower shelf front wall  62 L and the drawer front wall  62 D may be provided with a corresponding ticket wall, namely an upper ticket wall  64 U, a lower ticket wall  64 L and a drawer ticket wall  64 D (collectively or individually  64 ). 
   The channel front wall  76  may be arranged to be flush with the drawer front wall  62 D such that the bumper strip is contacted, by, say, a grocery cart, before any other portion of the refrigerated merchandiser  10 . 
   To communicate cooled air from the upper plenum  14  to the display chamber  16 , three passageways  56 A,  56 B,  56 C (collectively or individually  56 ) are provided in the plenum front wall  34 . 
   In overview, the refrigerated merchandiser  10  is based on a frame that defines a refrigeration chamber in which is mounted the lower plenum  12  housing the unit cooler  84 , which is in communication with the upper plenum  14  that, in turn, is in communication with the display chamber  16 . The unit cooler  84  cools relatively warmer air contained within the lower plenum  12  and supplies the cooled air to the upper plenum  14 . The cooled air that is supplied to the upper plenum  14  is provided to the upper shelf  44 U and lower shelf  44 L, which are mounted in the display chamber  16 . Additionally, the cooled air is provided to at least one drawer  48 , which is slidably mounted in the display chamber  16 . 
   In operation, the unit cooler  84  mounted in communication with the lower plenum  12  supplies cooled air to the upper plenum  14 . A first passageway  56 A in the plenum front wall  34  provides a curtain of cooled air to the upper shelf  44 U, a second passageway  56 B in the plenum front wall  34  provides a curtain of cooled air to the lower shelf  44 L and a third passageway  56 C in the plenum front wall  34  provides a curtain of cooled air to the drawers  48 . 
   Additionally, as illustrated in the airflow diagram of  FIG. 5 , some of the cooled air that is provided to the upper shelf  44 U by the first passageway  56 A may be maintained on the upper shelf  44 U by the upper air movement deflector  46 U. Any excess cooled air is allowed to spill over the upper air movement deflector  46 U and through the upper return air channel  60 U down to the lower shelf  44 L. 
   Similarly, some of the cooled air that is provided to the lower shelf  44 L by the second passageway  56 B may be maintained on the lower shelf  44 L by the lower air movement deflector  46 L. Any excess cooled air is allowed to spill over the lower air movement deflector  46 L and through the lower return air channel  60 L down to the drawers  48 . 
   The cooled air that enters the display chamber  16  by the third passageway  56 B is provided to the drawers  48 . Rather than spill over a lip-like air movement deflector as the cooled air does on the shelves, the drawer air movement deflector  46 D, which is considerably taller than the upper air movement deflector  46 U and the lower air movement deflector  46 L, is perforated to allow the cooled air to pass through the drawer air movement deflector  46 D, into the drawer return air channel  60 D and into the refrigeration chamber return air channel  72 . 
   The return air received in the refrigeration chamber return air channel  72  is drawn through the air filter  86  into the lower plenum  12  by the fan  92  and subsequently drawn into the unit cooler  84  for further cooling. 
   In the process of cooling the air from the lower plenum  12 , humidity may be removed from the air. The humidity is converted into liquid condensate water as the air in which the humidity is suspended is cooled and the condensate water is allowed to exit the unit cooler  84  by way of the condensate line  90 . The condensate water is fed through the condensate line  90  into the drip pan  88 . 
   Also known as an evaporator, the unit cooler  84  removes heat from the air drawn into the unit cooler  84  from the lower plenum  12 . This is achieved by a heat exchange system, wherein cooled refrigerant gas from an associated condensing unit (not shown) is pumped through a radiator through which air from the lower plenum  12  is passed by means of fans, including the fan  92 . The air cools down and the refrigerant gas heats up. The hot refrigerant gas is sent back to the condensing unit. The hot gas lines (not shown) that carry the hot refrigerant gas to the condensing unit may be channelled through the condensate water in the drip pan  88 . By doing so, the evaporation of the condensate water from the unit cooler  84 , and through the front vents  50 , is assisted, thereby reducing the necessary size for the drip pan  88 . Some preliminary cooling of the hot refrigerant gas takes place as the refrigerant gas passes through the hot gas lines in the drip pan, as this is another heat exchange system. This, in turn, improves the efficiency of the unit cooler  84 . 
   The upper ticket wall  64 U and the lower ticket wall  64 L may be considered to enhance the direction of cooled air spilling off the respective upper shelf  44 U and lower shelf  44 L and through the respective upper return air channel  60 U and lower return air channel  60 L. In addition to enhancing the direction of cooled air through the return air channels  60 U,  60 L, the ticket walls  64  may be used to indicate the contents of the corresponding shelf or drawer as well as providing additional information such as price and manner of preparation (as will be discussed hereinafter). Additionally, the ticket wall  64  may be used to display advertising and promotion material. The angle that the ticket wall  64  forms with the vertical is preferably selected to take into account its dual function. That is, the angle should be selected to appropriately display information to a consumer while, simultaneously, enhancing the direction of cooled air through the return air channels. 
   As will be understood by a person skilled in the art, a thermostat  25  ( FIG. 1 ) may be provided to control power cycling of the condensing unit and thereby control the temperature at which the produce is maintained. Furthermore, the passageways  56  need not be continuous across the width of the refrigerated merchandiser  10 . For example, the first passageway  56 A may be formed of three distinct passageways. Each of the distinct passageways may be selectively and gradually opened, say, through the use of flaps or sliding doors, or closed to control the volume of air flowing in to the corresponding section of the upper shelf  44 U. Accordingly, one section of the upper shelf  44 U may be utilized to display items which do not require cooling, or require cooling to a lesser degree, such as various condiments, which may be associated with the produce on display in the other sections of the upper shelf  44 U, on the lower shelf  44 L and in the drawers  48 . Extending the control of a single section temperature to include thermostatic control, each section of the refrigerated merchandiser  10  may be provided with a controlled volume of air cooled in a specific manner, thereby providing for variation in degree of cooling for various sections of the refrigerated merchandiser  10 . 
   It is known that typical grocery store lighting can cause the formation of bad tasting and potentially toxic glycoalkaloids in potatoes. As such, an awning frame  82 , for supporting an awning, may be attached to the refrigerated merchandiser  10  (see  FIG. 6 ) to shade the produce, in this case potatoes, from the grocery store lighting. Furthermore, an alternate light source (not shown), such as a florescent light bulb, may be provided on the under side of the awning, attached to the awning frame  82 , to provide light to the produce display that may be perceived as missing due to the shade from the grocery store lighting. As will be understood, the alternate light source should provide light at an intensity and wavelength that will not induce glycoalkaloid formation. 
   Without regard to the presence or absence of the awning, the placement of the drawers  48  under the lower shelf  44 L may be seen to shade a majority (say, 70%) of the produce in the drawers  48 , thereby inhibiting glycoalkaloid formation. To a lesser extent, the upper shelf  44 U may be seen to shade the lower shelf  44 L. 
   Continuing the example of potatoes, while bearing in mind that the refrigerated merchandiser may be used for a wide range of produce, the standard grocery store fruit and vegetable display table is known to hold 300-400 lbs. of potatoes. The refrigerated merchandiser  10  exemplary of the present invention has been shown to hold as much as 800 lbs. of potatoes. 
   A standard measure of profitability of grocery store space is measured per linear foot. Comparing the standard grocery store fruit and vegetable display table to the refrigerated merchandiser  10  exemplary of the present invention, it should be clear that a great deal more produce may be displayed per linear foot on the refrigerated merchandiser  10  than on the standard grocery store fruit and vegetable display table. As such, a significant increase in profitability may be realised by the grocery retailer for the space occupied by the refrigerated merchandiser  10 . 
   Combined with the weight of the materials that make up the refrigerated merchandiser  10 , a loaded refrigerated merchandiser can weigh as much as 1300 lbs. As such, the caster wheels  54  should be selected to bear such weight. In addition, the materials chosen for the refrigerated merchandiser  10  should also be suitable to the weight of the produce. For the merchandising of potatoes, the applicants have had success with architectural plywood. In addition, as has been discussed hereinbefore, a sliding mechanism is used to mount the drawers to the dividers. Although the applicants have found that a side mounted sliding mechanism is preferable when the drawers  48  are to hold weighty produce such as potatoes, it is recognised that a bottom mounted sliding mechanism may be useful for when the drawers  48  are to hold less weighty produce. 
   As should be clear to a person skilled in the art of refrigeration, in one embodiment of the present invention, the pressure of the cooled air in the upper plenum  14  is set such that the rates of egress of cooled air through the passageways  56  are equivalent. 
   As mentioned briefly hereinbefore, the produce displayed by the refrigerated merchandiser may be arranged by type where each type is associated with a manner of preparation, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . Returning to the exemplary produce, potatoes, the four drawers  48  may respectively hold loose potatoes well suited to baking, boiling, mashing and roasting. Above each drawer  48 , the lower shelf  44 L may contain pre-packaged collections of the same varieties of potatoes that exist loose in the drawer  48  below. The upper shelf  44 U may be used to display pre-packaged collections of some varieties of potatoes that receive lower-volume sales, such as potatoes well suited to French frying or petite gourmet boiling. The pre-packaged collections may include, as part of a label, directions for preparation. The upper shelf front wall  62 U, the lower shelf front wall  62 L and the drawer front wall  62 D may be used to identify the manner of preparation for which the potatoes in the corresponding compartment are well suited, thereby leaving the ticket wall  64  available for presentation of pricing information. 
   The refrigerated merchandiser  10  of the present invention may be shown to provide advantages to consumers in the form of higher quality produce, due to maintenance of the produce at a proper storage temperature. Additionally, the refrigerated merchandiser  10  of the present invention may be shown to provide advantages to retailers in the form of increased profitability for a given size of display area. 
   Other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and, therefore, the invention is defined in the claims.