Refrigerator Cabinet
A foot is connected to the bottom wall of a refrigeration cabinet. The foot is selectively movable relative to the bottom wall to adjust a vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall. The bottom wall provides access to the foot from within the interior of the cabinet to allow a user to selectively move the foot to adjust the vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall. A floor glide is connected to the bottom wall and initially protrudes downward from the bottom wall beyond the foot. The floor glide enables the cabinet to slide along a support surface to a deployment position so then the foot can be lowered to support the cabinet at the deployment position on the foot.
The present disclosure pertains generally to refrigerator cabinets, and more particularly to refrigerator cabinets with features for moving and/or leveling the cabinet onsite.
BACKGROUNDCommercial refrigerator cabinets are widely used to refrigerate large quantities of goods such as food or medicine. For example, refrigerated merchandiser cabinets are used to hold refrigerated food for sale. Many end users require the cabinet to be installed level for properly storing the refrigerated goods. Typically, the cabinet is placed on shim stacks, which facilitate leveling the unit.
SUMMARYIn one aspect a refrigeration cabinet comprises walls separating an exterior of the cabinet from an interior of the cabinet that is configured to be refrigerated by a refrigeration system connected to the cabinet. The walls include a bottom wall. A foot is connected to the bottom wall for supporting the bottom wall on a support surface. The foot is selectively movable relative to the bottom wall to adjust a vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall. The bottom wall is configured such that the foot is accessible from within the interior of the cabinet to allow a user to selectively move the foot to adjust the vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall.
In another aspect, a method of deploying a refrigeration cabinet comprises positioning the refrigeration cabinet at a deployment location such that the refrigeration cabinet is supported on a support surface. At least one of a plurality of feet connected to a bottom wall of the refrigeration cabinet is moved relative to the bottom wall to adjust a vertical position of the bottom wall relative to the support surface. Aaid moving at least one of a plurality of feet comprises accessing said at least one of a plurality of feet within an interior of the refrigeration cabinet.
In another aspect, a refrigeration cabinet comprises walls separating an exterior of the cabinet from an interior of the cabinet that is configured to be refrigerated by a refrigeration system connected to the cabinet. The walls include a bottom wall. At least one foot is connected to the bottom wall and protrudes downward from the bottom wall a first distance. The foot being movable relative to the bottom wall along a vertical axis. A floor glide is connected to the bottom wall and protrudes downward from the bottom wall a second distance greater than the first distance. The floor glide is configured to enable the cabinet to slide along a support surface to a deployment position and the foot is configured to be lowered after the cabinet is at the deployment position to support the cabinet at the deployment position on the foot.
In another aspect, a refrigeration cabinet comprises walls separating an exterior of the cabinet from an interior of the cabinet that is configured to be refrigerated by a refrigeration system connected to the cabinet. The walls include a bottom wall. A foot is connected to the bottom wall for supporting the bottom wall on a support surface. The foot is selectively movable relative to the bottom wall to adjust a vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall. A driver is configured to automatically drive movement of the foot. A level sensor is configured to output a signal representative of a level orientation of the cabinet. A controller is configured to receive the signal from the level sensor and to actuate the driver based on the signal to move the foot to level the cabinet.
Other aspects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONReferring to
The inventors have recognized that refrigeration cabinets of the various types described above can be difficult to install level. The problem is particularly acute in large format merchandiser cabinets, which are very heavy and cumbersome to move. The typical process requires a crew of technicians to load the cabinet onto a jack truck or forklift and then move the cabinet to a deployment position, where the back of the cabinet is typically positioned against a wall or the back of another cabinet. At the deployment position, the cabinet is lowered onto a plurality of stacks of shims, which allow for later height adjustments to level the unit. If the cabinet is being installed in a side-by-side run with additional cabinets, the same process is repeated for the additional cabinets, and then the cabinets are coupled together using mechanical fasteners and sealant. When all of the cabinets are arranged side-by-side, the installer checks the cabinets for levelness. If, as is typical, the cabinets are not initially installed perfectly level, the installer must crawl on the floor and reach under the cabinet to iteratively remove shims from selected shim stacks until the cabinet reaches a level orientation. The inventors have recognized that this process is time consuming and difficult for installers. Because refrigerated cabinets are typically very heavy, it is not easy for installers to load a cabinet onto a jack or accurately lower a cabinet onto a shim stack. Further, the process of removing shims that support the cabinet is challenging, particularly when it is necessary to remove shims from shim stacks positioned near the rear of the cabinet, where access is typically obstructed. Accordingly, the inventors have contemplated an adjustable support system that enables installers to more easily move the heavy cabinet 110 into place and then level the cabinet once it is in position.
Referring to
The bottom wall 120 of the refrigerated cabinet 110 comprises a foam insulation panel 125 (
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In the illustrated embodiment, each foot 136 comprises a contact portion 152 and a threaded shaft 154 extending upward from the contact portion along a vertical axis. In general, the contact portions 152 of one or more of the feet 135 comprise a bottom surface formed from material having a greater static coefficient of friction than the floor glides 134. As such, when the feet 136 are lowered to lift the cabinet off of the floor glides 134, the cabinet 110 is stably supported on the feet. In one or more embodiments, the contact portion 152 of one or more of the feet 136 can comprise a contact pad defining the bottom surface and formed from an elastomer such as styrene-butadiene rubber. In certain embodiments, the contact portions 152 of a subset of the feet include elastomeric contact pads while the bottom surfaces of the remaining feet are formed from a metal contact part. It is believed, that including a metal contact part on at least some of the feet 136 enables greater control of fine height adjustments when leveling a cabinet 110 or connecting the cabinet end-to-end with additional cabinets. In exemplary arrangement, four feet positioned at corner regions of the cabinet bottom wall include metal contact and one or more feet at central locations along the bottom wall include elastomeric contact pads.
The threaded shaft 154 of each foot 136 is configured to be threadably received in a respective one of the nuts 150. Because each nut 150 is received in a respective access opening 128 and the access opening opens to the interior of the cabinet 110, the foot 136—in particular the upper end portion or head 156 of the threaded shaft 154—is accessible through the access opening from within the interior of the cabinet. As will now be appreciated, this enables an installer to adjust the distance DA between the bottom wall 120 and the support surface on which the cabinet 110 rests from within the interior of the cabinet. The threaded shaft 154 is received in the nut 150 such that the distance DA can be adjusted by rotating the shaft 154 relative to the support bracket 132. In the illustrated embodiment, the head 156 of the shaft 154 includes a driver bit recess (e.g., a Phillips recess, a slotted recess, a torx recess, a spline recess, a hexagonal recess, etc.) configured to connect the threaded shaft to a drill bit B (
Referring now to
In order to provide sufficient clearance for the plugs 160, in one or more embodiments, before making final leveling adjustments, each of the feet 136 is lowered to a “center range position” that is substantially vertically centered along a lower portion of the total range of motion that can accommodate the entire plug 160, e.g., along the entire lower portion of the range of motion, the plug can be received in the access opening above the head 156. This allows small leveling adjustments to subsequently be made to any of the feet 136 (e.g., movement up or down from the center range position), while ensuring that feet remain within the lower portion of the range of motion to accommodate the plug 160. To ensure that the cabinet 110 is installed level with each of the feet positioned within this lower portion of the range of motion, as shown in
Referring to
An exemplary method of deploying the cabinet 110 will now be briefly described. The cabinet 110 is initially shipped from the manufacturer or distributor with the feet 136 in the initial positions shown in
Once the cabinet 110 is positioned at the desired deployment position, the installers can support the cabinet on its feet 136. Initially, the installers use the center range gauge 164 to lower each foot 136 to a center range position, as shown in
One potential advantage of the illustrated cabinet 110 is for use in a setting that may require periodic redeployment of the cabinet at different locations. The cabinet 110 can be moved by removing the caps 162 and plugs 160, rotating the threaded shafts 154 of the feet 136 to raise the feet so that the cabinet is again supported on the glides 134, and then sliding the cabinet on the glides to the desired redeployment location. Once the cabinet 110 reaches the redeployment location, the feet 136 can be lowered and used to stabilize and level the cabinet in the same manner described above.
It is contemplated, that in one or more embodiments, the cabinet 110 may be provided with an automated leveling system 178. Thus, in one or more embodiments, the cabinet 110 comprises a level controller 180, one or more foot drivers 182, and a level sensor 184. The level sensor 184 may be integrated into the cabinet or may be a separate instrument configured to plug into the controller 180 of the cabinet via a communication port. Each foot driver 182 may comprise an electric motor coupled to a gear train configured to drive rotation of the threaded shaft 154 of a respective one of the feet. The level sensor 184 suitably comprises one or more inclinometers or other sensor configured to provide an output signal representative of an orientation of one or more axes of a plane of the cabinet 110 intended to be horizontal when deployed. The controller 180 is connected to the level sensor 184 to receive the orientation signal. In response to the orientation signal, the controller is configured to send control signals to the foot drivers 182 that actuate the drivers 182 to raise and lower the feet as needed to level the plane of the cabinet.
It is also contemplated that a controller 180 and an electronic level sensor 184 can be used with a manually adjusted foot 136. For example, in one or more embodiments, the controller 180 is connected to an indicator (e.g., a display, a light element, an audio device, etc.). The controller can interpret the signal from the level sensor 184 and actuate the indicator to provide indications to the installer of the levelness of the cabinet.
When introducing elements of the present invention or the preferred embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.
As various changes could be made in the above products and methods without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
Claims
1. A refrigeration cabinet, the cabinet comprising:
- walls separating an exterior of the cabinet from an interior of the cabinet that is configured to be refrigerated by a refrigeration system connected to the cabinet, the walls including a bottom wall;
- a foot connected to the bottom wall for supporting the bottom wall on a support surface, the foot being selectively movable relative to the bottom wall to adjust a vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall;
- wherein the bottom wall is configured such that the foot is accessible from within the interior of the cabinet to allow a user to selectively move the foot to adjust the vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall;
- wherein bottom wall has first, second, third, and fourth corner regions;
- wherein the foot comprises a first foot located at the first corner region, a second foot located at the second corner region, a third foot located at the third corner region, a fourth foot located at the fourth corner region;
- wherein each of the first foot, the second foot, the third foot, and the fourth foot is partially received in a respective access opening extending through a thickness of the bottom wall, wherein the cabinet further comprises a center range gauge configured to be positioned in each of the access openings to provide an indication of a center range position of the respective one of the first foot, the second foot, the third food, and the fourth foot.
2. The cabinet as set forth in claim 1, wherein the bottom wall comprises a foam panel and the foot comprises a shaft extending through the foam panel.
3. The cabinet as set forth in claim 2, wherein the bottom wall comprises an access opening extending through the foam panel.
4. The cabinet as set forth in claim 3, further comprising an insulating plug configured to be inserted into the access opening.
5. The cabinet as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a support bracket connected to the bottom wall, wherein the foot is coupled to the support bracket.
6. The cabinet as set forth in claim 5, wherein the support bracket comprises a threaded opening and the foot comprises a threaded shaft that is threadably received in the threaded opening such that the vertical position of the foot is adjustable by rotating the foot relative to the support bracket.
7. A refrigeration cabinet, the cabinet comprising:
- walls separating an exterior of the cabinet from an interior of the cabinet that is configured to be refrigerated by a refrigeration system connected to the cabinet, the walls including a bottom wall;
- a foot connected to the bottom wall for supporting the bottom wall on a support surface, the foot being selectively movable relative to the bottom wall to adjust a vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall; and
- a support bracket connected to the bottom wall, wherein the foot is coupled to the support bracket
- wherein the bottom wall is configured such that the foot is accessible from within the interior of the cabinet to allow a user to selectively move the foot to adjust the vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall;
- wherein the support bracket comprises a threaded opening and the foot comprises a threaded shaft that is threadably received in the threaded opening such that the vertical position of the foot is adjustable by rotating the foot relative to the support bracket; and
- wherein the support bracket comprises a bracket plate and a nut affixed to the bracket plate, the nut defining at least a portion of the threaded opening.
8. The cabinet as set forth in claim 6, wherein the threaded shaft comprises a head configured to connect the threaded shaft to a drill bit for rotation with the drill bit.
9. The cabinet as set forth in claim 6, wherein the support bracket comprises a flange configured to at least one of (i) attach a kick plate to the cabinet and (ii) attach the cabinet in side-by-side relation with another cabinet.
10. The cabinet as set forth in claim 5, wherein the support bracket comprises a front threaded opening and a rear threaded opening.
11. The cabinet as set forth in claim 7,
- wherein bottom wall has first, second, third, and fourth corner regions;
- wherein the foot comprises a first foot located at the first corner region, a second foot located at the second corner region, a third foot located at the third corner region, a fourth foot located at the fourth corner region.
12. The cabinet as set forth in claim 11, wherein each of the first foot, the second foot, the third foot, and the fourth foot is partially received in a respective access opening extending through a thickness of the bottom wall, wherein the cabinet further comprises a center range gauge configured to be positioned in each of the access openings to provide an indication of a center range position of the respective one of the first foot, the second foot, the third food, and the fourth foot.
13. The cabinet as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a floor glide on the bottom wall of the cabinet and spaced apart from the foot, wherein the foot is movable relative to the bracket to an upper position at which a bottom of the foot is above a bottom of the floor glide to a lower position at which the bottom of the foot is below the bottom of the floor glide.
14. The cabinet as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a level indicator on one of the walls of the cabinet.
15. A method of deploying a refrigeration cabinet, the method comprising:
- positioning the refrigeration cabinet at a deployment location such that the refrigeration cabinet is supported on a support surface;
- adjusting levelness of the refrigeration cabinet at the deployment location by moving at least one of a plurality of feet connected to a bottom wall of the refrigeration cabinet relative to the bottom wall to adjust a vertical position of the bottom wall relative to the support surface, wherein said moving at least one of a plurality of feet comprises accessing said at least one of a plurality of feet through an access opening formed in a bottom wall of the refrigeration cabinet within an interior of the refrigeration cabinet; and
- after adjusting levelness, plugging the access opening with an insulating plug.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein said moving at least one of a plurality of feet further comprises connecting a tool to a threaded shaft of said at least one of the plurality of feet in the interior of the cabinet and rotating the tool to rotate said at least one of the feet relative to the bottom wall of the cabinet to adjust said vertical position.
17. A refrigeration cabinet, the cabinet comprising:
- walls separating an exterior of the cabinet from an interior of the cabinet that is configured to be refrigerated by a refrigeration system connected to the cabinet, the walls including a bottom wall;
- at least one foot connected to the bottom wall and protruding downward from the bottom wall a first distance, the foot being movable relative to the bottom wall along a vertical axis; and
- a floor glide connected to the bottom wall and protruding downward from the bottom wall a second distance greater than the first distance;
- wherein the floor glide is configured to enable the cabinet to slide along a support surface to a deployment position and the at least one foot is configured to be lowered after the cabinet is at the deployment position to raise the floor glide and support the entire cabinet at the deployment position on the at least one foot.
18. A method of deploying the refrigeration cabinet as set forth in claim 17, the method comprising:
- sliding the refrigeration cabinet on the floor glide to a deployment location before lowering the foot; and
- lowering the at least one foot after the cabinet is at the deployment location to support the cabinet on the foot.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the at least one foot comprises a plurality of spaced apart feet and wherein the step of lowering the at least one foot comprises lowering each of the feet to a respective center range position by reference to a center range gauge.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of lowering the plurality of feet comprises adjusting at least one of the plurality of feet from the center range position to level the refrigeration cabinet.
21. A refrigeration cabinet, the cabinet comprising:
- walls separating an exterior of the cabinet from an interior of the cabinet that is configured to be refrigerated by a refrigeration system connected to the cabinet, the walls including a bottom wall;
- a foot connected to the bottom wall for supporting the bottom wall on a support surface, the foot being selectively movable relative to the bottom wall to adjust a vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall;
- a driver configured to automatically drive movement of the foot;
- a level sensor configured to output a signal representative of a level orientation of the cabinet; and
- a controller configured to receive the signal from the level sensor and to actuate the driver based on the signal to move the foot to level the cabinet.
22. A refrigeration cabinet, the cabinet comprising:
- walls separating an exterior of the cabinet from an interior of the cabinet that is configured to be refrigerated by a refrigeration system connected to the cabinet, the walls including a bottom wall;
- a foot connected to the bottom wall for supporting the bottom wall on a support surface, the foot being selectively movable relative to the bottom wall to adjust a vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall;
- wherein the bottom wall is configured such that the foot is accessible from within the interior of the cabinet to allow a user to selectively move the foot to adjust the vertical position of the foot with respect to the bottom wall;
- wherein the bottom wall comprises a foam panel and the foot comprises a shaft extending through the foam panel;
- wherein the bottom wall comprises an access opening extending through the foam panel; and
- wherein the cabinet further comprises a loose insulating plug configured to be inserted into the access opening after the foot has been adjusted to a site-leveled position through the access opening.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 24, 2020
Publication Date: Mar 24, 2022
Inventors: Christian Pizzi (St. Peters, MO), Daniel Pestka (Wentzville, MO)
Application Number: 17/031,129