Refrigerated Display Cabinet Linked Doors for Easier Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
The handling of moveable doors in refrigerated sales furniture complicates access to the storage and presentation space, potentially preventing customers from easily accessing goods.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerated sales furniture design featuring a linking mechanism that allows both the front and upper doors to be opened and closed simultaneously with a single action, using a pivotable lever and bowden cable to coordinate the movement of the doors, facilitating easier access to the storage and presentation space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If moveable doors are provided to control access and save energy, then energy efficiency and access control are improved, but door handling complexity increases and customer access convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the front door and upper door into a single operational unit through the linking mechanism. When the front door is opened or closed, the linking mechanism automatically coordinates the upper door to perform the same action simultaneously. This merging of door operations resolves the contradiction by maintaining energy efficiency (doors remain closed together) while simplifying customer access (single door interaction controls both doors).
Solution Approach 2:
The linking mechanism acts as an intermediary between the front door and upper door. It receives the operational input from the front door and translates it into coordinated movement of the upper door. This intermediary mechanism resolves the contradiction by automating the coordination function, eliminating the need for customers to manually operate both doors while maintaining proper sealing for energy efficiency.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple doors are used to provide access from different directions, then access flexibility is improved, but operational complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the operational control of multiple doors (front door and upper door) into a single coordinated action. The linking mechanism ensures that when a customer opens the front door, the upper door opens simultaneously, providing access from both directions at the same time. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining access flexibility while eliminating the time loss associated with sequentially opening multiple doors.
3Loss of energy
If doors are provided to seal the storage space, then energy conservation is improved, but handling complexity and user-friendliness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The linking mechanism enables the door system to serve itself by automatically coordinating the movement of both doors. When the front door is operated, the mechanism self-activates to move the upper door in correspondence. This self-service capability resolves the contradiction by maintaining energy conservation (proper sealing) while eliminating the need for complex manual coordination by the user.
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 2
AI summary
A Refrigerated sales furniture (2) comprises a refrigerable goods storage and presentation space (4) having a front access portion, providing access to the goods storage and presentation space (4) from the front; an upper access portion, providing access to the goods storage and presentation space (4) from above. The refrigerated sales furniture (2) further comprises a front door (10), particularly an at least partially transparent front door (10), which is moveable between a closed position closing the front access portion and at least one access position providing access to the goods storage and presentations space from the front; an upper door (12), particularly an at least partially transparent upper door (12), which is moveable between a closed position closing the up¬ per access portion and at least one access position providing access to the goods storage and presentation space (4) from above; and a linking mechanism (13) linking the front door (10) and the upper door (12) with each other so that a movement of one of the doors (10, 12) causes a corresponding movement of the other door (10, 12).