Internal Lighting for Refrigerated Display Cabinets

Abstract

Internal lighting for refrigerated display cabinets, chillers, cold rooms or freezers, has rearwardly-directed light assemblies incorporated in the rear faces of the vertical stiles (and/or top and bottom rails) of the door frames of the cabinet doors to illuminate the contents of the cabinets. The light assemblies may be provided in recesses, grooves or channels, and may comprise LED(s), lamps or lighting strips, connected to an electricity supply. Door switches can de-energise the light assemblies when the doors are open.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to internal lighting for refrigerated display cabinets.

The invention is particularly suitable for, but not limited to, internal lighting for refrigerated display cabinets which have a mullion-less door system, or which have respective mullions provided for adjacent pairs of doors; but may also be used for other controlled- or ambient-environmental applications, including chillers and freezers, for the storage of foods or other articles.

Throughout the specification, the term “refrigerated display cabinets” shall be used to include, but not be limited to, (i) refrigerated cabinets, chillers and freezers of the types for the display of the refrigerated products typically sold in upright multi-level display refrigerators and freezer cases at supermarkets, grocery shops, fuel outlets, bottle shops, butcher shops, fruit shops, pet-food shops and the like, together with (ii) all other types of refrigerated cabinets, freezers, cool rooms and freezer rooms for the (retail or wholesale) display and/or storage of foods or other articles.

2. Prior Art

Refrigerated products, including fresh and frozen foods, are typically displayed in open display cabinets; or behind glass doors, either mounted on refrigerated display cabinets, or providing consumer access to controlled-environment rooms or spaces.

Typically, these display cabinets can extend along the whole, or part of, the length of the aisles and/or walls in the supermarkets, shops or other retail or wholesale outlets.

The open display cabinets are not as energy efficient as the display cabinets using glass doors, as heat is drawn from the adjacent environment; but there is a resistance by many retailers to use the display cabinets having the glass doors, as these retailers believe the glass doors act as a “barrier” to their customers, resulting in reduced sales. Many of the retailers prefer the “open look” of the door-less open display cabinets; but are seeking energy efficient alternatives thereto.

While glass doors maybe retrofitted to existing open display cabinets, many retailers are concerned by the disruption to trading due to the complicated installation procedures.

The glass-door display cabinets typically have a mullion between each adjacent pair of doors; where the, or each, mullion typically houses at least one vertical light and protective cover(s) therefore, all of which protrude rearwardly into the refrigerated space; further impeding a clear view, to the consumers, of the products displayed within the display cabinets, when viewed looking along the length of the display.

The mullions are typically arranged to provide the surfaces of the cabinets against which the door seals (e.g. of a flexible gasket/seal type) provides sealing engagement between each door and its respective mullion.

The retailers must consider the balance between:

(i) the potential loss of sales by the fitting of glass doors to the open display cabinets; against:

(ii) the reduced size and operational requirements (including the reduced electricity (or other input energy) consumption) for the refrigerating/freezer units used to maintain the desired temperatures within the display cabinets fitted with doors, where the provision of the doors minimizes the ingress of heat from the surrounding environment into the display cabinets.

In addition, particularly with fresh fruit and vegetables, the air temperature and humidity within the display cabinets must be maintained within strict control limits to ensure maximum shelf life of the fresh foods.

The fitment of the doors, and the mullions, adds to the difficulty in illuminating the contents in the refrigerated display cabinets, as the quantity of light available externally from the cabinets is reduced.

As discussed above, internal lighting may be provided in the mullions, bit the covers therefor tend to intrude, into the cabinets and block the “sight lines” to the contents.

Of course, in mullion-less door systems, there are no mullions available to mount the internal lighting for the cabinets.

Solutions to the problem proposed to date include:

a) U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,666 (Trulaske) where a light assembly is mounted on, and spaced inwardly from, side framing members of a door frame. A base member extends between the top and bottom framing members to conceal the lighting from outside the refrigerated display cabinet; and

b) EP 1 645 823 (Thermo Glass Door) has LED(s) mounted on a sloping surface of a support which is supported by an inside edge of a “perimetral” gasket between the spaced glass sheets of the door. The LED(s) are located in the air gap between the glass panes and rely on direct transmission and reflection from the inner face of the outer-glass pane to illuminate the contents in the interior of the display cabinet.

The arrangement of Trulaske reduces the viewing area through the door to the interior of the display cabinet, while the Thermo Glass Door arrangement requires the door to be disassembled to enable replacement/maintenance of the LED(s) in the (sealed) air gap.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide internal lighting for refrigerated display cabinets (as hereinbefore defined) which is suitable for “retro-fitting” to existing open display cabinets and/or for installation in new refrigerated display cabinets.

It is a preferred object of the present invention to provide such lighting which seeks to minimize as many obstructions to the clear view, by consumers, of the products displayed within the refrigerated display cabinets, while still maintaining a high degree of thermal efficiency.

It is a further preferred object of the present invention to provide such lighting which provides effective illumination of their displayed products, controlled operation, such as being switched off when the door(s) are opened, and/or ease of installation and/or maintenance.

Other preferred objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description:

In one aspect, the present invention resides in internal lighting for a refrigerated display cabinet, including:

a door for the cabinet, the door having a door frame with a pair of vertical stiles, and optionally having at least one transparent pane mounted in the door frame;

at least one rearwardly-directed light assembly in, or on, one or both of the vertical stiles; and

the, or each, light assembly being connectable to an energy source, and being operable to illuminate an interior portion of the cabinet when the door is fitted to the cabinet.

Preferably, the door frame is a perimeter frame, with top and bottom rails interconnecting the vertical stiles; and

at least one additional rearwardly-directed light assembly is mounted in, or on, the top and/or bottom rails.

Preferably, LED(s) are preferred as the light assemblies for their compactness & low heat emission. Other suitable lighting types e.g. LCD(s), light strips, covered dichroic- or halogen lamps, and/or other suitable (low-heat-emitting) lamps or light sources may be used

Preferably, the, or each, light assembly may be connected to a door switch, which de-energizes the, or each, light assembly, when the respective door is opened.

Preferably, the peripheral frame for the glass door is manufactured from metal, such as aluminium or stainless steel); plastics; fiberglass or other composite materials; or a combination of two or more of these materials.

Preferably, the, or each, lighting assembly is mounted in a rearwardly-directed recess, groove or channel in a rear face of the respective vertical stile or top or bottom rail.

The, or each, lighting assembly may be covered by a transparent panel, or housing, which may be coloured and/or have pattern(s) applied thereto to illuminate the contents in selected colour(s) e.g. pink for red meat and/or design(s) for improved aesthetic display.

In a second aspect, the present invention resides in a refrigerated display cabinet having at least one door provided with at least one light assembly hereinbefore described.

In a third aspect, the present invention resides in a refrigerated display cabinet including:

a cabinet body with a cabinet frame;

at least one door hingedly mounted on top and bottom frame members of the cabinet frame, the, or each, door having a door frame with a pair of vertical stiles, and optionally having at least one transparent pane mounted in the door frame; and

at least one rearwardly-directed light assembly in, or on, one or both of the vertical stiles of the, or each, door;

the, or each; light assembly being connectable to an energy source, and being operable to illuminate an interior portion of the cabinet when the door is in a closed position relative to the cabinet body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To enable the invention to be fully understood, preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is front elevation view of a refrigerated display cabinet before the fitment of the doors incorporating the internal lighting in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of a mullion-less refrigerated display cabinet after the (slim-line) doors have been fitted;

FIG. 3 is an isometric rear view of one of the doors;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of Detail A of FIG. 3 on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is a similar view of Detail B;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the door;

FIG. 7 is a sectional top view of the door taken on line C-C on FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top view of Detail D on FIG. 7 on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 9 is a sectional side view of the door taken on line E-E on FIG. 6; and

FIGS. 10 and 11 are side views of Details F and G, respectively, on FIG. 9 on an enlarged scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the refrigerated display cabinet 10 has a body 11, typically of sheet metal/expanded polystyrene foam (and/or other insulation foam)/sheet metal construction. One or both of the metal skins can be manufactured from stainless steel; or one or both of the sheet metal skins may be manufactured from sheet steel or aluminium, where the exposed face of the or each metal skin is provided with a suitable protective and/or ascetically-appealing coated finish.

At the front of the cabinet body 11, a mullion-less cabinet frame 12 is provided within the display cabinet 10, to enable the mounting of the doors, incorporating the internal lighting in accordance with the present invention, to be hereinafter descried.

The cabinet frame 12 has, in this embodiment, top and bottom (horizontal) frame members 13, 14, interconnected by a pair of vertical end members 15, 16, but not by door mullions.

A plurality of shelves 17, in this example being four (4) in number, are provided within the cabinet body 11, and may be vertically adjustable to enable the number of shelves 17 and/or the vertical spacings there-between to be varied.

NB: The skilled addressee will appreciate that different numbers of shelves 17, and the vertical spacing's there-between, may be provided along the length of the cabinet body 11 to provide the best display configuration for the different products (e.g. fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, meats and the like) being stored and displayed in the display cabinet 10.

FIG. 2 illustrates a similar view of the refrigerated display cabinet 10 where, in this example, four (4) doors 20 have been fitted to the cabinet frame 12, and where the spaces between adjacent pairs of doors 20 are sealed by sealing members 30.

In an alternative embodiment of the refrigerated display cabinet 10, not illustrated, the cabinet frame has continuous top and bottom frame members which are not connect by vertical end members or by door mullions. This embodiment may be preferred where the display cabinet is to extend along the full length of a wall interconnecting a pair of spaced walls; or where the doors are to be installed in a cold room (e.g. for alcoholic beverages), where the products on any of the shelves may be viewed and accessed by consumers either from inside or outside the cold room.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3, 6 and 9, doors 20 have “slim-line” peripheral frames 20, with slim vertical stiles 23, 24 in which the light assemblies 40, to be hereinafter described, are mounted.

The doors 20 have a transparent pane 22 e.g. of single-or-multi-layered glass, single-or-multi-layered plastics materials; or a multi layered glass/plastics combination; where the multi-layers are preferably separated by an air-gap or vacuum-gap to minimise heat transfer to the interior of the display cabinets 10, 110.

The peripheral frame 21 for each door 20 has first and second vertical stiles 23 and 24 interconnected by top and bottom rails 25 and 26; and may be formed from metal, plastic, fibreglass or other-composite construction; or a combination of two or more of these materials (e.g. a pair of stainless steel or aluminum extrusions which are interlocked together).

As shown in FIG. 8, each vertical stile 23, 24 is profiled to provide a rearwardly-directed channel 27 defined by an inner flange 28 and an inclined wall-portion 29.

A light strip 40, incorporating a plurality of LED(s) 41 (or other lamps/light sources), is mounted in the rearwardly-directed channel 27 of one or both of the vertical stiles 23, 24 to illuminate the interior of the display cabinet 10 when the door 20 is closed.

By mounting the light strip 40 on the inclined wall-portion 29, the light strip will directly illuminate the interior portion of the display cabinet rearwardly of the door 20.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4, 8, 10 and 11, the light strip 40 extends the full height of the door 20.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 8, the light strip 40 is enclosed within a transparent cover or housing 50 which is (preferably) releasably mounted on the rear of the vertical stile 23, 24 e.g. by suitable clips or by engagement with the profile of the vertical stiles 23, 24.

The cover or housing is preferably formed of transparent plastics-material, which may be coloured e.g. pink for a display cabinet 10 for red meat and/or have a pattern incorporated in, or placed thereon, to project an aesthetically-pleasing design onto the contents of the display cabinet 10.

Each light strip 40 in the door 20 is connected to a door switch 60, on the top rail 25, which will de-energize the LED(s) 41 in the light strip 40 when the door 20 is opened.

The door switch 60 may have a magnet-controlled relay which opens when the door switch 60 moves a preset distance from the cabinet frame 12 as the door 20 is opened; and which closes to re-energise the LED(s) 41 when the door 20 is closed; or the relay may be controlled by a finger 61.

By locating the interior lighting for the display cabinet 10 within the vertical stiles 23, 24 all of the illumination from each light assembly 40 is directed into the interior of the display cabinet 10; and additional light housings, potentially restricting the view into the display cabinet, are not required.

The skilled addressee will appreciate that the present invention, by employing a mullion-less door system, a maximum viewing area is available, for the viewing of the goods within the display cabinet 10 when the doors 20 are closed, compared to existing refrigerated display cabinets which incorporate door mullions to enable sealing between adjacent pairs of doors.

In addition, by recessing the lighting assemblies 40 into the rear faces 27 of the vertical stiles 23, 24 of the peripheral frames 21; and more particularly, if thin-profile light assemblies such as light strips 40 incorporating LED(s) 41 are selected; then the effective obstruction to the viewing of the contents of the display cabinet 10 by the doors 20 is further reduced.

The skilled addressee will appreciate the internal lighting of the present invention, employing the doors 20 hereinbefore described, can also be applied to display cabinets where a single mullion is provided for each pair of doors.

The skilled addressee will appreciate that the present invention provides highly effective internal lighting for refrigerated display cabinets 10; and where the invention can be applied to both existing refrigerated display cabinets, by way of “retro-fitted” installations; or as “original equipment manufacture” (OEM) in new refrigerated display cabinets.

The skilled addressee will also appreciate that the internal lighting can be installed to illuminate the interiors (and articles therein) of a wide range of refrigerated- or freezer cabinets, chillers, cool-rooms, cold-rooms, freezer-rooms, and like equipment or installations for the display and/or storage of foods or other goods/articles which must be kept at or below preset temperatures.

Various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described and illustrated without departing from the present invention.

Claims

1) Internal lighting for a refrigerated display cabinet, including:

a door for the cabinet, the door having a door frame with a pair of vertical stiles, and optionally having at least one transparent pane mounted in the door frame; and

at least one rearwardly-directed light assembly in, or on, one or both of the vertical stiles;

the, or each, light assembly being connectable to an energy source,

and being operable to illuminate an interior portion of the cabinet when the door is fitted to the cabinet.

2) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the door frame is a perimeter frame, with top and bottom rails interconnecting the vertical stiles; and

at least one additional rearwardly-directed light assembly is mounted.

3) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the, or each, light assembly is selected from: LED(s), LCD(s), light strips, covered dichroic- or halogen lamps, and/or other suitable lamps or light sources.

4) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 3, wherein:

the, or each, light assembly is connected to a door switch, which deenergizes the, or each, light assembly, when the door is opened.

5) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 4, wherein:

the, or each, lighting assembly is mounted in a rearwardly-directed recess, groove or channel in a rear face of the respective vertical stile or top rail or bottom rail.

6) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 5, wherein:

the, or each, lighting assembly is optionally covered by a transparent panel, or housing, which is optionally coloured and/or has pattern(s) applied thereto to illuminate the contents of the cabinet in selected colour(s) and/or design(s).

7) A refrigerated display cabinet having at least one door provided with at least one light assembly to provide internal lighting for the cabinet as claimed in claim 6.

8) A refrigerated display cabinet including:

a cabinet body with a cabinet frame;

at least one door hingedly mounted on top and bottom frame members of the cabinet frame, the, or each, door having a door frame with a pair of vertical stiles, and optionally having at least one transparent pane mounted in the door frame; and

at least one rearwardly-directed light assembly in: or on, one or both of the vertical stiles of the, or each, door;

the, or each, light assembly being connectable to an energy source,

and being operable to illuminate an interior portion of the cabinet when the door is in a closed position relative to the cabinet body.

9) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the, or each, light assembly is selected from: LED(s), LCD(s), light strips, covered dichroic- or halogen lamps, and/or other suitable lamps or light sources.

10) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the, or each, light assembly is connected to a door switch, which deenergizes the, or each, light assembly, when the door is opened.

11) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the, or each, light assembly is connected to a door switch, which deenergizes the, or each, light assembly, when the door is opened.

12) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the, or each, lighting assembly is mounted in a rearwardly-directed recess, groove or channel in a rear face of the respective vertical stile or top rail or bottom rail.

13) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the, or each, lighting assembly is mounted in a rearwardly-directed recess, groove or channel in a rear face of the respective vertical stile or top rail or bottom rail.

14) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 3, wherein:

the, or each, lighting assembly is mounted in a rearwardly-directed recess, groove or channel in a rear face of the respective vertical stile or top rail or bottom rail.

15) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the, or each, lighting assembly is optionally covered by a transparent panel, or housing, which is optionally coloured and/or has pattern(s) applied thereto to illuminate the contents of the cabinet in selected colour(s) and/or design(s).

16) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the, or each, lighting assembly is optionally covered by a transparent panel, or housing, which is optionally coloured and/or has pattern(s) applied thereto to illuminate the contents of the cabinet in selected colour(s) and/or design(s).

17) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 3, wherein:

the, or each, lighting assembly is optionally covered by a transparent panel, or housing, which is optionally coloured and/or has pattern(s) applied thereto to illuminate the contents of the cabinet in selected colour(s) and/or design(s).

18) Internal lighting as claimed in claim 4, wherein:

the, or each, lighting assembly is optionally covered by a transparent panel, or housing, which is optionally coloured and/or has pattern(s) applied thereto to illuminate the contents of the cabinet in selected colour(s) and/or design(s).

19) A refrigerated display cabinet having at least one door provided with at least one light assembly to provide internal lighting for the cabinet as claimed in claim 1.

20) A refrigerated display cabinet having at least one door provided with at least one light assembly to provide internal lighting for the cabinet as claimed in claim 2.

21) A refrigerated display cabinet having at least one door provided with at least one light assembly to provide internal lighting for the cabinet as claimed in claim 3.

22) A refrigerated display cabinet having at least one door provided with at least one light assembly to provide internal lighting for the cabinet as claimed in claim 4.

23) A refrigerated display cabinet having at least one door provided with at least one light assembly to provide internal lighting for the cabinet as claimed in claim 5.