Refrigerated display case with aerothermodynamic separator

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to the field of refrigerated display cabinets.BACKGROUND

[0002] Refrigerated display cabinets having glass doors have decreased energy efficiency when the doors are opened. There is, therefore, a need to restrict cold air loss in refrigerated display cabinets during the door opening process to further decrease the energy consumption of the cabinets.

[0003] EP 3437524 A1 discloses a refrigerated display cabinet comprising a plurality of shelves separated into two groups of shelves of different depths. A support strip capable of carrying a first presentation of information marks a separation between the two groups of shelves. Vertical separators may be used to vertically delimit sales areas and serve as support for a second presentation of information.

[0004] JP 2005-304927 A discloses an open product display case comprising a partition member attached to a product display chamber of the open product display case, wherein the partition member forms an outer peripheral shape in accordance with the inner surface shape of the product display chamber.

[0005] GB 2555227 A discloses an open display refrigerator comprising shelves. Air in the refrigerated storage space is separated from air exterior to the open display refrigerator by an air curtain. An air curtain guide guides the flow of air within the air curtain. The air curtain guide is an airfoil attached to the front edge of a shelf.SUMMARY

[0006] A first aspect of the invention provides a refrigerated display cabinet comprising one or more shelves and two adjacent doors, and an aerothermodynamic separator, the separator comprising: a flat member having a predetermined dimension defining a shape of the separator. The separator is adapted to be removably positioned between a front end of one or more shelves associated with the cabinet and a rear end of a connecting region between two adjacent doors of the cabinet, and the separator is adapted to restrict infiltration of outside air in a conservation space behind the closed doors of the cabinet upon opening at least one of the adjacent doors. The refrigerated display cabinet is a semi-vertical refrigerator display cabinet with curved glass doors, wherein the separator comprises a curved front edge that remains in contact with and extends along the connecting region between the two adjacent curved doors of the cabinet, a rear edge attached to the front end of each of the one or more shelves, a top edge attached to a top inner wall of the cabinet, and a bottom edge attached to a bottom inner wall of the cabinet.

[0007] Optionally, the connecting region is a free end of one of the adjacent doors and the free end is used to open the door.

[0008] Optionally, the connecting region is a hinged end or pivot end of one of the adjacent doors.

[0009] Optionally, the separator is made of a transparent material.

[0010] Optionally, the separator is made of one or more of plastic, acrylic, and glass.

[0011] Optionally, a flat surface of the separator is oriented substantially perpendicular to the closed doors of the cabinet and is extending vertically from top to bottom of the cabinet.

[0012] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, features, and techniques of the invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0014] In the drawings, similar components and / or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an aerothermodynamic separator. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a semi-vertical refrigerated display cabinet with curved glass doors fitted with the aerothermodynamic separators of FIG. 1. FIG. 2B illustrates a side view of the cabinet of FIG. 2A depicting the refrigeration system and the separator. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the invention depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such detail as to clearly communicate the invention. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0016] Various terms are used herein. To the extent a term used in a claim is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in printed publications and issued patents at the time of filing.

[0017] In the specification, reference may be made to the spatial relationships between various components and to the spatial orientation of various aspects of components as the devices are depicted in the attached drawings. However, as will be recognized by those skilled in the art after a complete reading of the present application, the components of this invention described herein may be positioned in any desired orientation. Thus, the use of terms such as "above," "below," "upper," "lower," "first", "second" or other like terms to describe a spatial relationship between various components or to describe the spatial orientation of aspects of such components should be understood to describe a relative relationship between the components or a spatial orientation of aspects of such components, respectively, as the aerothermodynamic separator and cabinet, and corresponding components, described herein may be oriented in any desired direction.

[0018] Refrigerated display cabinets having glass doors are supplemented with recirculating air curtain extending in front of the shelves or behind closed glass doors of the cabinet to create a thermal barrier between the environment and inner storage space of the cabinet, which helps keep the inner storage space cold. Generally, when the doors of the cabinet are closed, the air curtain extends / flows along the surface of the back of the doors, and when the doors are open, the air curtain extends along the front ends of the shelves of the cabinet. As a result, when one of the doors of the cabinet is opened, the air curtain along a connecting region between the open door and a neighboring closed door becomes unstable. The unstable air curtain between the closed and open doors of the cabinet causes cold air to spill out from the cabinet and also causes outside air to infiltrate into the cabinet. This significantly contributes to additional energy consumption by the refrigerated cabinet to keep the inner storage space of the cabinet cold.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of the aerothermodynamic separator 300 (also referred to as vertical separator or separator, herein) is disclosed. The connecting region between two adjacent doors of the cabinet is generally the location where an unstable air curtain region is created in the prior art cabinet during the door opening process. The separator(s) 300 is positioned at this unstable air curtain region (the connecting region between adjacent doors) in the cabinet 600. The separator 300 restricts infiltration of outside air in the conservation space behind closed doors of the cabinet 600 and also restricts spillage of cold air from the cabinet 600 during the opening of at least one of the doors of the cabinet 600. As a result, the energy consumption or requirement of the cabinet 600 is reduced, thereby making the cabinet 600 energy efficient compared to existing cabinets. Besides, as the separator(s) 300 extends between the front of the shelves to the back of the doors and from the top ceiling to the bottom inner wall in the cabinet 600, the conservation space along each of the shelves remains unobstructed and unpartitioned, which allows users to efficiently utilize the conservation space without any obstruction from the separator(s) 300. Moreover, the separator(s) 300 may also be made of a transparent material in order to keep it invisible so that the visibility of the products displayed on the shelves is not blocked. In addition, the separator(s) 300 have a dimension and shape concurrent to a space between the front of the shelves and back (rear end) of the doors, so that the separator 300 can be easily configured between any type of cabinet including but not limited to a vertical refrigerated display cabinet, a semi-vertical refrigerated display cabinet with flat glass doors, and a semi-vertical refrigerated display cabinet with curved glass doors.

[0020] The separators 300 can be selected to be configured with different types of refrigerated display cabinets (cabinets) 600 based on the type of cabinet being employed. The cabinet 600 includes a case comprising one or multiple shelves (collectively referred to as shelves, herein) extending between side walls of the case to form a conservation space to support and store one or more products or goods therewithin. In addition, two or more doors (collectively referred to as doors, and individually referred to as door, herein) are movably coupled to the front of the case. The separator 300 is configured between a front end of shelves and a back or rear end of a connecting region of the doors., such that the flat surface of the separator 300 remains substantially perpendicular to the closed doors of the cabinet 600 and the separator 300 extends vertically from a top ceiling to a bottom inner wall of the cabinet 600. The connecting region of the doors is between two adjacent doors of the cabinet 600. However, the separator 300 can also be slightly smaller than the shape and dimension defined in various embodiments of this invention, and all such embodiments are also well within the scope of this invention.

[0021] The connecting region between two adjacent doors of the cabinet 600 is generally a hinged end or pivot end of the doors, and / or a free end of the doors, wherein the unstable air curtain region gets created in the cabinet during the door opening process. In some embodiments, the free ends of two adjacent doors in the cabinet may be adjacent to each other and the hinged ends of the two adjacent doors away from each other. In other embodiments, a free end of one of the adjacent doors may be adj acent to a hinged end of the other adjacent door such that all the doors in the cabinet are hinged on the same side (either left or right).

[0022] The separator 300 is a flat member having a rear edge, a front edge, a bottom edge, and a top edge. The separator 300 has a predetermined dimension and size defining the shape of the separator 300 based on the cabinet 600 being employed and concurrent to a space between the front of the shelves and back of the doors of the cabinet 600.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, the separator 300 is a flat member having a curved front edge 304 with the top edge 306 parallel to the bottom edge 308, and the top edge 306 and bottom edge 308 being perpendicular to the rear edge 302. This separator 300 is configurable with semi-vertical type refrigerated display cabinets 600 having curved doors as shown in FIGs. 2A and 2B. Once the separator 300 is configured within the cabinet 600, the front curved edge 304 of the separator 300 remains in contact with and extends along the connecting region between the two adjacent curved doors of the cabinet 600, the rear edge 302 of the separator 300 remains attached to the front end of the shelves, the top edge 306 of the separator 300 remains attached to a top ceiling of the cabinet 600, and the bottom edge 308 of the separator 300 remains attached to a bottom inner wall of the cabinet 600, such that the flat surface 310 of the separator 300 remains perpendicular to the doors and the separator 300 remains attached to the case of the cabinet 600, independent of opening and closing of the doors of the cabinet 600.

[0024] The separator 300 may be made of a material selected from, but not limited to plastic, glass, and acrylic. In particular, the separator 300 can be transparent so that the visibility of the products displayed on the shelves of the cabinet is not blocked. Further, the side walls of the case or cabinet may also made of the same material used for the doors, in particular, a transparent material or glass.

[0025] Referring to FIGs. 2A and 2B, an example of a semi-vertical refrigerated display cabinet 600 with curved doors (also referred to as cabinet 600, herein) is disclosed. The cabinet 600 includes a case 602 comprising one or more shelves 606-1 to 606-N (collectively referred to as shelves 606, herein) extending between the side walls of the case 602 and having a front end of the shelves 606 extending in a step-wise manner from top to bottom of the cabinet 600, thereby forming a conservation space 626 to support and store products therewithin. Further, multiple curved doors, in particular, curved glass doors 604-1 to 604-N (collectively referred to as doors 604, herein) are slidably coupled to the front of the case 602, which are adapted to move between an open position and a closed position. Each door 604 is provided with at least one handle 608 that allows the user to slide the door 604 to open or close the cabinet 600 as required. The cabinet 600 is also configured with a refrigeration system to keep the conservation space cold and create a recirculating air curtain in front of the inclined curved doors 604 of the cabinet 600. The cabinet 600 includes at least one separator 300-1, 300-2 of FIG. 1 (collectively referred to as separator 300, herein) being removably configured between the front end of the shelves 606 and the rear end of the connecting region (at 610, 612) between two adjacent curved doors 604 of the cabinet 600, such that the flat surface of each separator(s) 300 remains substantially perpendicular to the closed doors 604 of the cabinet 600 and the separator(s) 300 extends vertically from a top ceiling to a bottom inner wall of the cabinet 600, independent of opening and closing of the doors. For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, one separator 300-1 may be configured behind the connecting region (at 610) between a handle end and a non-handle end of the adjacent doors 604-1, 604-2. Similarly, another separator 300-2 may be configured behind the connecting (at 612) region between the handle end and non-handle ends of the adjacent doors 604-2, 604-N.

[0026] The doors 604 of the cabinet 600 of FIG. 2A may be slidably coupled to the front of the cabinet 600. In an implementation, (not shown) channels (or brackets or guide rails) may be provided in front of the case 602, which may extend horizontally along the top front end, and bottom front end of the case 602. The channels may be provided with ball bearings and the top and bottom sides of the curved glass doors 604 may be slidably configured in the channels on the top front end, and bottom front end of the case 602. Further, the handle 608 may be provided on one of the vertical sides of the curved glass door 604 to allow users to open or close the cabinet 600 as required.

[0027] In an embodiment, the cabinet 600 disclosed in FIGs. 2A and 2B includes the refrigeration system to maintain a predefined temperature in the conservation space 626 of the cabinet 600 and also create a recirculating air curtain in front of the shelves 604 or behind the doors 604 of the cabinet 600 in order to create an aerothermodynamic barrier between the conservation space 626 and environment. The refrigeration system includes a duct 614 extending from the bottom front side of the cabinet 600 to the top front side of the cabinet 600 via a rear side of the cabinet 600. Further, an opening of the top front side of the duct 614 is configured with a discharge air grille (DAG) 620 and an opening of the bottom front side of the duct 614 is configured with a return air grille (RAG) 622. The DAG 620 and the RAG 622 control air directivity and facilitate the creation of the air curtain in front of the shelves 606 or behind the doors 604 of the cabinet 600. The DAG 620 and RAG 622 further restrict the entry of undesired objects within the duct 614. As illustrated, a first section 614-1 of the duct 614 extends horizontally from RAG 622 to the bottom rear side of the cabinet 600, a second section 614-2 of the duct 614 extends vertically from the bottom rear side to the top rear side of the cabinet 600, and a third section 614-3 of the duct extends horizontally from the top rear side to the DAG 620.

[0028] The refrigeration system further includes a cooling unit (comprising multiple components but collectively designated as 616, herein) configured within the duct 614 and operable to cool the air flowing through the duct 614 to the predefined temperature. Further, a fan 618 is positioned adjacent to the cooling unit 616 within the duct 614. The fan 618 is configured to facilitate the inflow of air within the duct 614 through the RAG 622, pass the received air through the cooling unit 616 that cools the received air, and pump out the cool air from the DAG 620 of the cabinet 600. Accordingly, the cool air pumped out by the DAG 622 (on the top front side of the cabinet) is received by the RAG 622 (on the bottom front side of the cabinet) to create a curtain of cool air in front of the shelves 606 or behind the doors 604 of the cabinet, which acts as an aerothermodynamic barrier between the conservation space 626 and environment. In addition, the second section 614-2 of the duct on the rear side of the cabinet 600 includes perforated wall panels (PWP) 624 behind the shelves 604, which discharge a portion of the cool air, passing through the duct 614-3, into the conservation space 626 to maintain the predefined temperature within the cabinet 600. It would be obvious to understand that the number of PWPs used in the cabinet can be selected based on the number of shelves, and the size and cooling capacity required in the cabinet.

[0029] An evaporator (not shown) which is part of the cooling unit 616 used in cabinets 600 is provided at the bottom of the cabinet 600 below the conservation space 626. Additional components of the cooling unit 616, such as a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion device (not shown) may be provided within the cabinet 600 as well, e.g. in a bottom section of the cabinet 600. Alternatively, one or more of these components, in particular, the compressor and / or the condenser, may be located outside the cabinet 600, for example in a machine room or on the outside / on the roof of a building (not shown) housing the cabinet 600.

[0030] In addition, the refrigeration system includes at least one mullion (not shown) that may extend substantially along a vertical axis between the top and bottom ends of the front of the case 602. A refrigerant conduit fluidly connects the condenser with the expansion device of the cooling unit 616 and passes through the mullion. In particular, upper and lower sections of the refrigerant conduit extend through the top and bottom ends of the front of the case 602, respectively. The refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant conduit upstream of the expansion device is relatively warm, in particular, warmer than the refrigerant flowing through the evaporator which is arranged downstream of the expansion device. Thus, the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant conduit increases the temperature of the front frame. This reduces the risk that undesired condensate forms on the outer front surfaces of the cabinet which are exposed to ambient air.

[0031] Further, the refrigeration system includes the return air duct 614-1 (first section of the duct) that extends substantially along a horizontal axis and is formed below the lowest shelf of the cabinet 600. The return air duct 614-1 is fluidly connected to an inlet side of the evaporator, which is the right side of the evaporator in the exemplary configuration shown in FIG 2B. The return air duct 614-1 houses the fan 618 that is configured to suck air from the conservation space through a return air opening located at the bottom of the conservation space 626 into the return air duct 614-1 and deliver the received air to the evaporator where it is cooled. The return air opening is covered by RAG 622 which prevents the products from falling into the return air duct 614-1.

[0032] Cooled air leaving the evaporator is delivered into the vertical cold air duct 614-2 (second section of the duct) extending vertically along the rear wall of the cabinet 600. The vertical cold air duct 614-2 is provided with perforated wall panels 624 having openings that allow cold air to flow from the vertical cold air duct 614-2 into the conservation space 626.

[0033] The horizontal cold air duct 614-3 (third section of the duct) is fluidly connected with an upper end of the vertical cold air duct 614-2 in order to deliver cold air from the vertical cold air duct 614-2 to the front side of the conservation space 626. A front end of the horizontal cold air duct 614-3 is provided with an air discharge opening fitted with the DAG 620, which is configured to discharge cold air from the horizontal cold air duct 614-3 into an upper front area of the conservation space 626. The cold air that is discharged through the DAG 620 into the upper front area of the conservation space 626 provides a flow of cold air, creating a cold air curtain flowing substantially along the back of the doors 604 and front of the shelves 606 from the top to the bottom of the conservation space 626.

[0034] As already explained in the background of this application, when doors of existing cabinets are closed, an air curtain is created behind the closed doors along the surface of the doors. Further, when the doors of the existing cabinets are opened, an air curtain is created along the front ends of the shelves. As a result, when one of the doors of the existing cabinets is opened, the air curtain along a connecting region between the open door and a neighboring closed door becomes unstable. The unstable air curtain between the closed and open doors of the cabinet causes cold air to spill out from the conservation space of the cabinet behind the adjacent closed doors and also causes outside air to infiltrate into the conservation space of the cabinet behind the adjacent closed doors, which contributes to additional energy consumption by the refrigerated cabinet to keep the inner storage space of the cabinet cold, thereby making the existing cabinets inefficient.

[0035] To overcome the above drawbacks, shortcomings, and limitations associated with existing cabinets, the separator(s) (cabinet illustrated in FIGs. 2A to 2B) is configured at the unstable air curtain region i.e. the connecting region between adjacent doors in the cabinet. As a result, the separator(s) restricts infiltration of outside air in the conservation space behind adjacent closed doors of the corresponding cabinet and also restricts spillage of cold air from the cabinet during the opening of at least one of the doors of the cabinet. Thus, the energy consumption or requirement of the cabinets is also reduced, thereby making the cabinets energy efficient compared to existing cabinets.

[0036] Besides, as the separator(s) extends between the front of the shelves to the back of the doors and from the top ceiling to the bottom inner wall in the cabinet of this application, the conservation space along each of the shelves remains unobstructed and unpartitioned, which allows users to efficiently utilize the conservation space without any obstruction from the separator(s).

[0037] While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Modifications may be made to adopt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention includes all embodiments falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0038] In interpreting the specification, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refer to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C ....and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.

Claims

1. A refrigerated display cabinet (600) comprising one or more shelves (606) and two adjacent doors (604), and an aerothermodynamic separator (300), the separator comprising: a flat member having a predetermined dimension defining a shape of the separator, wherein: the separator is adapted to be removably positioned between a front end of one or more shelves (606) associated with the cabinet and a rear end of a connecting region between the two adjacent doors (604) of the cabinet, the separator is adapted to restrict infiltration of outside air in a conservation space (626) behind the closed doors of the cabinet upon opening at least one of the adjacent doors, and the refrigerated display cabinet is a semi-vertical refrigerator display cabinet (600) with curved glass doors (604), wherein the separator (300) comprises a curved front edge (304) that remains in contact with and extends along the connecting region between the two adjacent curved doors of the cabinet, a rear edge (302) attached to the front end of each of the one or more shelves, a top edge (306) attached to a top inner wall of the cabinet, and a bottom edge (308) attached to a bottom inner wall of the cabinet.

2. The refrigerated display cabinet of claim 1, wherein the separator (300) is made of a transparent material.

3. The refrigerated display cabinet of claim 1 or 2, wherein the separator (300) is made of one or more of plastic, acrylic, and glass.

4. The refrigerated display cabinet of any preceding claim, wherein the connecting region is a free end of one of the adjacent doors (604) and the free end is used to open the door.

5. The refrigerated display cabinet of any preceding claim, wherein the connecting region is a hinged end or pivot end of one of the adjacent doors.

6. The refrigerated display cabinet of any preceding claim, wherein a flat surface of the separator (300) is oriented substantially perpendicular to the closed doors (604) of the cabinet (600) and is extending vertically from top to bottom of the cabinet.