EP3219228B1

EP3219228B1 - Hanging device for displaying and storing foodstuffs

Info

Publication number: EP3219228B1
Application number: EP15859204.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sylvia NABUCO DE ALMEIDA BRAGA
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-11-10
Filing date: 2015-08-17
Publication date: 2019-10-09
Anticipated expiration: 2035-08-17
Also published as: BR202014028067Y1; EP3219228A1; EP3219228A4; WO2016074052A1; BR202014028067U2

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present utility model relates to a device for display and storage of food products, which is suspended and fixed to the ceiling. Food displaying and/or preserving devices are widely found in any establishment that sells any type of food products and in homes.
The suspended device for display and thermal storage of food products further acts as a suspended lamp for lighting tables used for taking meals, located under said device, in homes or commercial establishments, thus combining two basic functions necessary in these environments and optimizing the use of these spaces.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Devices for displaying and storing food products found in the prior art comprise displaying counters that have an oven for heating the food, for example, cookies, or a cooling system to cool food such as sweets and pies. There are also rotary display devices, usually cylindrical and cooled, that rest on the floor or on the counter, for displaying and/or storing food products. Further, there are some smaller displaying devices, usually arranged on counters for the purpose of displaying and/or storing food such as dessert or cookies.
A common characteristic to the displaying and storing devices described before is that all of them occupy much room and are always resting on a surface.
Some displaying devices may be fixed to the ceiling, but there is a difficulty in keeping an environment with adequate temperature for storage of the food product displayed. Moreover, the height at which they should suspended is a concern, since one should guarantee that the consumer can see and choose the products.
US855201 A discloses a display fixed to the ceiling, which compartment opens and closes trough movement of the base of the compartment.
At present, homes and establishments - bars and restaurants - have a very recurrent problem, which is the shortage of room. A counter-type displaying device, for example, requires much space for its use. Additionally, in order for a home consumer to look for a food product displayed on a displaying device, he usually has to get up and walk as far as the displaying device. Then he chooses the desired product. The same thing happens at restaurants and establishments, where, if the consumer wants to look at the food products, he should get up and go to the displaying device.
A solution to this problem at homes is proposed through the product "Electrolux Health Station", which uses the home ceiling as a place for storing food. The design consists of three parts: a pre-storage area, a main storage area, and an inner area or a kit. The kit is located in the center, and is used for storing fast food or material that simply needs to be heated up before consumption. The container present in this kit may be fitted separately for transportation. The main container, which is round, is controlled with the aid of a controller called mirror, which is installed on the wall and is touch-sensitive. The basic functions of a refrigerator are controlled by the controller. On the controller, the user can re-arrange the food without having to open the round container, for instance, moving the food from a less cold area to a colder area. Through the controlling panel, the user may putting a part of the stored container down and then put it up again, in order to take out or store some food. However, this product does not enable one to view the food promptly and need to be actuated for such viewing. Besides, it does not function concomitantly as a lamp, which in home environments and restaurants generated difficulty to place it on tables, on which the displayed food might be consumed. So, this creates a go-and-come need.
The design of the "Electrolux Health Station" can be found on http://www.coroflot.com/jacquou/health-station.
Besides, a recurrent worry about displaying devices refers to their design. The store "Patisserie des Rêves" (http://www.lapatisseriedesreves.com), for example, has a unitary displaying device for food products, comprising a suspended glass displaying system having lights to illuminate the food and a mechanism that enables vertical displacement of the glass displaying device. The base of the displaying device is fixed to a table. This base is accounts for heating or cooling the food, which prevents the use thereof as a meal table.
Suspended lamps for illuminating tables are widely found in the prior art and have, in many cases, a different and innovatory configuration. It is extremely important to have good lighting at mealtime, be it at home in order to observe the food well, or at a restaurant to create a comfortable atmosphere, always taking care to prevent the lamp from obfuscating someone sitting at the table. The lighting of the meal table should be soft and reproduce the colors of the food and drinks with total fidelity, harmonizing with the decoration and providing maximum well-being to the people. In these meal areas, suspended lamps are indicated to provide a pleasant and friendly atmosphere, prevent reflections and create uniform light diffusion, providing more sophistication and highlighting the meal table.
EP 1983282 A1 (Electrolux Home Products Corp) published 22 October 2008 discloses a refrigerator for cooling beverage bottles, such as a wine cooler, which is mountable at a wall. The refrigerator comprises a cabinet, which has the shape of a slab with a generally planar extension; a cool compartment, which is arranged inside the cabinet; a refrigerating unit, which is arranged to cool the cool compartment. The cabinet and the storage layer, when the refrigerator is mounted along a straight wall, are at least substantially in parallel with the wall.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is provided a suspended device fixed to a ceiling for displaying and storing food products as defined in the appended claims.
Advantageously, the invention provides a device for display and thermal storage of food that occupies little space and is practical.
Advantageously, the invention provides a suspended light for meal tables at home and/or at establishments such as bars and restaurants.
Advantageously, the invention provides a combined device for display and thermal storage of food with a suspended lamp for homes and/or establishments, thus generating a double-function product that optimize spaces (very necessary at home and establishments, which tend to be smaller and smaller).
The base and the top surface may have one of the following shapes: elliptical, polygonal and circular. The transparent housing may follow the shape of the compartment base.
The temperature control system may condition the compartment through at least one of the compartment base and the support rod. Said system may be at least one of a cooling system and a heating system.
It is noted that the suspended device may further comprises a controller, constituted by switch buttons, and a lifting device that enables upward and downward movements of the compartment base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present model is detailed described below, based on an example of embodiment represented in the drawings. The figures show:

Figure 1 - a perspective view of a suspended device for displaying and storing food in a preferred embodiment, in which the compartment is closed;
Figure 2 - a side view of a suspended device for displaying and storing food in a preferred embodiment, in which the compartment is closed;
Figure 3 - a side view of a suspended device for displaying and storing food in a preferred embodiment, in which the compartment is open; and
Figure 4 - a cross section of a suspended device for displaying and storing food in a preferred embodiment, highlighting the temperature control system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of the suspended device for displaying and storing food proposed herein. The structure and functioning of the device will be described hereinafter to facilitate the understanding thereof according to the model.
It is observed in figure 1 that the suspended device comprises a compartment 1 and a support rod 2, the compartment 1 comprising a top surface 3, a base 4, an internal lighting device 5, and a transparent housing 6.
The base 4 and the top surface 3 are preferably plane and may exhibit any shape, such as circular, elliptical, polygonal, among others. The housing 6 follows the shape of the top surface 3, in its upper portion, and the shape of the base 4, in its lower portion.
Figure 2 depicts the suspended device for displaying and storing food in a preferred embodiment, duly installed in an environment and with the compartment 1 closed.
The suspended device is fixed to the ceiling 10 and comprises, in addition to the compartment 1 and to the support rod 2, a temperature control system 7, and at least one external lighting device 8, located on the bottom surface of the base 4.
The compartment 1 comprises, at its base 4, at least one controller 16 that has control commands for a user 13. In a preferred embodiment of the model, these commands are switch buttons. Said at least one controller 16 has, at least, commands for:

turning on/off the internal lighting device 5 of the compartment 1;
turning on/off said at least one external lighting device 8;
raising/lowering the base 4 of the compartment 1; and
choosing if the temperature control system 7 should heat or cool the compartment 1.

The support rod 2 comprises at least one lifting device 9, which is arranged preferably embedded in the ceiling 10. Said at least one lifting device 9 moves the base 4 of the compartment 1 upward and downward, as indicated in the direction 11. The housing 6 is fixed to the top surface 3 of the compartment 1. In this way, when the base 4 is lowered by the lifting device 9, the compartment 1 opens, thus providing a better position for viewing the food displayed to the user 13 (see figure 3).
Said at least one external lighting device 8 is located on the bottom surface of the base 4 and provides lighting to the table 14. In a preferred embodiment of the model, said at least one external lighting device 8 is, among others, a light emitting diode (LED), an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, a fluorescent lamp, a discharge lamp, optical fibers or a neon lamp.
The temperature control system 7 can heat or cool the compartment 1. This system is discussed in detail in the description of figure 4.
Alternatively, in another embodiment of the model, the base 4 of the compartment 1 comprises at least one handle 17. Said at least one handle 17 aids in moving the base 4 upward and downward, if the user 13 wishes to open the compartment 1 and prefers to use said at least one handle 17 instead of using the controller 16. Thus, the user pulls said at least one handle 17 downward, causing the controller 16 to start the downward movement of the base 4 through at least one lifting device 9. In the same way, if the user 13 wishes to close the compartment 1, he just has to push said at least one handle 17 upward, and the controller 16 will start the upward movement of the base 4 through said at least one lifting device 9.
Said at least one handle 17 and the controller 16 may be arranged in any place of the side face of the base 4. The controller 16 may be further arranged under the base 4.
Figure 3 depicts the suspended device for displaying and storing food in a preferred embodiment, in which the compartment 1 is open.
It is noticed, on the top surface of the base 4, food products 12 that may be cooled or heated through the temperature control system 7. The base 4 goes down as far as a height suitable to a user 13, enabling the user 13 to see and access the food product 12 displayed/stored. Moreover, the minimum distance at which the base 4 is from the table 14, when it is lowered, is sufficient for the meal objects 15, such as pots, glasses, dish, jars, among others, not to undergo any damage caused by the base 4.
Figure 4 depicts a cross section of the device for displaying and storing food proposed herein, highlighting the temperature control system.
The support rod 2 comprises a support tube 201 and a lifting tube 202. The lifting tube 202 is comprised in the inner part of the support tube 201. When the user 13 gives the command for the base 4 of the compartment 1 to go down, the lifting tube 202, actuated by means of said at least one lifting device 9, moves downward inside the support tube 201 as far as the desired position.
The base 4 comprises a layer of heat-conducting material 401, which forms the top surface of the base 4. A wall 402 surrounds the base 4. The base 4 further comprises a bottom surface 403. In a preferred embodiment, the wall 402 and the lower surface 403 are comprised of thermal-insulating material. Moreover, the base 4 comprises at least one external lighting device 8. Said at least one external lighting device 8 may be fixed under the bottom surface 403 or, in a preferred embodiment, within the base 4 with outlets for light generated by said at least one external lighting device 8.
The temperature control system 7 comprises at least one heat exchanger 701 located under the top surface 401 of the base 4. In a preferred embodiment of the model, the lifting tube 202 comprises, inside it, an additional heat exchanger 702 that aids in exchanging heat on the surface of the lifting tube 202, which is within the space of the compartment 1. Additionally, in order to help in circulating air and, moreover, to help the temperature control system 7, there is at least one fan 703 inside the lifting tube 202. Further, the base 4 may comprise at least one exhaust hole 704 located between the wall 402 and the top surface 401 of the base 4. These holes help to circulate air within the base 4 and the lifting tube 202. Additionally, a contact surface 203, located between the support tube 201 and the ceiling 10 where the device is fixed, also comprises at least one hole 204 to help in circulating air of the temperature control system 7. It is pointed that said at least one heat exchanger 701, 702 may be a Peltier tablet.
A preferred example of embodiment having been described, one should understand that the scope of the present model embraces other possible variations, being limited only by the contents of the accompanying claims, which include the possible equivalents.

Claims

A suspended device fixed to a ceiling(10) for displaying and storing food products comprising:
a support rod (2); and

a compartment (1) that comprises a base (4), a top surface (3), a transparent housing (6), which compartment (1) opens and closes through vertical movement of the base (4), wherein the support rod (2) is connected to ceiling (10) and the compartment (1),

characterized in that said compartment (1) comprises an temperature control system (7) for stored products (12), and the top surface (3) of the base (4) has at least one external lighting device (8).
The suspended device, according to claim 1, wherein the compartment (1) comprises an internal lighting system (5).
The suspended device, according to claim 1, wherein each one of the base (4) and the top surface (3) has one of the following shaped: elliptical, polygonal and circular.
The suspended device, according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transparent housing (6) accompanies the shape of the base (4) of the compartment (1).
The suspended device, according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control system (7) is at least one of a cooling system and a heating system.
The suspended device, according to claim 1, further comprising a lifting device (9) providing one of upward movement and downward movement of the base (4) of the compartment (1).
The suspended device, according to claim 1, wherein each one of said at least one external lighting device (5) and said internal lighting system (8) comprises at least one of: a light emitting diode (LED), an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, a fluorescent lamp, a discharge lamp, optical fibers, and a neon lamp.
The suspended device, according to claim 1, further comprising a controller (16) including at least one of the following commands:
turning on/off the internal lighting device (5) of the compartment (1);

turning on/off said at least one external lighting device (8);

raising/lowering the base (4) of the compartment (1); and

choosing if the temperature control system (7) should operate as one of a cooling system and a heating system.
The suspended device, according to claim 8, wherein the controller (16) is constituted by switch buttons.
The suspended device, according to claim 1, wherein the base (4) comprises a top surface (401), a wall (402) that surrounds the base (4), and a bottom surface (403).
The suspended device, according to claim 10, wherein the wall (402) and the bottom surface (403) of the base (4) are formed by a thermal-insulating material.
The suspended device, according to claim 10, wherein the top surface (401) of the base (4) is formed by a thermal-insulating material.
The suspended device, according to claim 1, wherein said at least one external lighting device (8) is arranged in one of: externally under the bottom surface (403) of the base (4), and embedded in the base (4), wherein the bottom surface (403) has at least one outlet for the light generated by the external lighting device (8).
The suspended device, according to claims 1 or 5, wherein the temperature control system (7) comprises at least one heat exchanger (701, 702).