EP0589783A1 - Modular device for the sales presentation of foodstuffs - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for the sales presentation of foodstuffs with refrigeration means able to set up and maintain a flow of chilled air all around the food, of the kind comprising at least one module having a back [bottom] panel and at least one shelf, said panel and said shelf being provided with internal ducts to carry said flow of air, characterised in that each module comprises the following components: - a vertical back panel; - at least one vertical lateral post; - at least one shelf; and - means for releasably securing at least one of the components to the other two. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for the exposure to the sale of foodstuffs and associated with refrigeration means capable of creating and maintaining a circulation of refrigerated air in which the foodstuffs bathe. More particularly, the invention relates to the production of modular sets of refrigerated furniture for the presentation for sale of fresh foodstuffs.

The refrigerated cabinets currently used are produced by end-to-end assembly of several modular elements, generally between 2.50 meters and 3.75 meters in length, in order to produce a presentation assembly of relatively great length. Each of these elements is itself made up of an autonomous piece of furniture and equipped for this purpose, by construction, with the means necessary for the refrigeration of the foodstuffs intended to be exposed, and in particular evaporators or exchangers, regulators, fans, thermostats, thermometers and any other known means of refrigeration. The latter are arranged in each of the so-called unitary pieces of furniture. Each unitary piece of furniture is manufactured so as to be autonomous and, at the point of sale, the unitary pieces of furniture are assembled one after the other end to end to form what is known as a "linear" presentation of food. refrigerated.

Each unitary piece of furniture thus represents a bulk and a significant weight, since each piece of furniture is equipped with its own refrigeration means, and has a relatively large length in itself, as mentioned above (of the order of 2.50 meters to 4 meters). Consequently, the transport and handling of such elements represents a first difficulty and requires a significant workforce, of at least two to three people per piece of furniture. This results in very high transport and handling costs.

In addition, once the furniture has been brought in and placed on the sale site, the furniture should be assembled end to end to form the shelf for sale. This assembly aims on the one hand to mechanically fix the furniture to each other, and on the other hand to connect each piece of furniture to the various circuits necessary for the operation of the latter, such as refrigerant networks, electricity, waste water. This step also requires significant manpower, and is relatively long to perform.

In summary, the current state of the art of such an assembly for the presentation of refrigerated food requires the use of a manufacturing structure, means of transport and handling, and assembly operations, complex, long. and expensive.

Attempts have been made, without success, to reduce the size and the weight of each unitary piece of furniture, in order to make their manufacture and in particular their transport and handling less difficult. Such attempts have encountered technical difficulties given the presence and arrangement of the refrigeration means specific to each piece of furniture and arranged in the latter. Indeed, the refrigeration means use components which it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to reduce the number, size and weight. In addition, each piece of furniture must be subject to defrost cycles of evaporators (or exchangers) which require tanks for collecting defrost and condensation water. Said tanks must obviously be watertight and must also be tightly connected to the wastewater network.

Finally, reducing the length of each piece of furniture also requires reducing the length of the evaporators (or exchangers) arranged in each piece of furniture. However, this would lead to multiplying the number and consequently considerably increasing the cost of such refrigerated furniture.

The present invention aims to remedy these drawbacks and proposes an assembly for the presentation for sale of refrigerated products, said assembly being produced from modular elements of reduced size, making it possible to substantially simplify the manufacture, transport, handling and assembly of such elements in order to produce a linear of great length, and this without sacrificing the overall cost of said linear, nor its reliability in terms of operation.

• un panneau de fond vertical ;
• au moins un montant latéral vertical ;
• au moins une étagère ; et
• des moyens de solidarisation amovible d'au moins un des éléments avec les deux autres.

To this end, according to the invention, the device for the exposure to the sale of foodstuffs, associated with refrigeration means capable of creating and maintaining a circulation of refrigerated air in which the foodstuffs bathe, of the type comprising at least a module comprising a bottom panel and shelves provided with internal conduits intended for said circulation, is characterized in that each module comprises the following elements:

• a vertical bottom panel;
• at least one vertical lateral upright;
• at least one shelf; and
• means for removably securing at least one of the elements with the other two.

Preferably, the device comprises n modules arranged side by side, with n> 1, said n modules comprising n vertical bottom panels, and n + 1 vertical lateral uprights, plus means for detachably securing a module n to the neighboring module. n + 1.

Advantageously, the device according to the invention comprises at least one of the characteristics described or claimed in patent applications No. 92 01 225 and 92 05 526, filed in the name of the applicant.

• la figure 1 est une vue de côté schématique d'un module unitaire assemblé ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en perspective éclatée d'un module et montrant le panneau de fond et les deux montants latéraux, verticaux ;
• la figure 3 montre en perspective le caisson de distribution associé à un module ;
• la figure 4 montre en perspective éclatée le panneau et les deux montants de la figure 2 en vue partielle tronquée selon la ligne IV-IV, de la figure 2 ;
• les figures 5A et 5B montrent une étagère intermédiaire respectivement en perspective de face et en perspective arrière ;
• les figures 6A et 6B montrent une étagère supérieure respectivement en vue perspective arrière et de côté ;
• les figures 7A et 7B montrent une étagère inférieure respectivement en vue perspective arrière et de côté ;
• les figures 8A, 8B et 8C montrent en perspective des variantes respectives des moyens d'obturation des orifices de passage d'air réfrigéré du panneau, non opérationnels ;
• la figure 9 montre une vue similaire à la figure 2, pour un module disposé à l'extrémité de la succession de modules constituant le linéaire ;
• la figure 10 montre une variante avec étagères inclinées ; et
• la figure 11 montre une variante pourvue d'éléments de décoration et éléments porteurs d'informations.

The invention will be clearly understood in the light of the appended drawings, in which:

• Figure 1 is a schematic side view of an assembled unit module;
• Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a module and showing the bottom panel and the two side uprights, vertical;
• Figure 3 shows in perspective the distribution box associated with a module;
• Figure 4 shows an exploded perspective view of the panel and the two uprights of Figure 2 in partial truncated view along the line IV-IV, of Figure 2;
• FIGS. 5A and 5B show an intermediate shelf respectively in front perspective and in rear perspective;
• FIGS. 6A and 6B show an upper shelf respectively in rear and side perspective view;
• FIGS. 7A and 7B show a lower shelf respectively in rear and side perspective view;
• FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C show in perspective respective variants of the means for closing the orifices for the passage of refrigerated air of the panel, which are not operational;
• FIG. 9 shows a view similar to FIG. 2, for a module arranged at the end of the succession of modules constituting the linear;
• Figure 10 shows a variant with inclined shelves; and
• FIG. 11 shows a variant provided with decorative elements and elements carrying information.

The display cabinet for refrigerated foodstuffs, according to the invention, consists of a plurality of unit modules assembled end to end to form an assembly of relatively long length, commonly called a "linear".

Each module is made up, according to the invention, of several elements assembled together. Each module comprises, with reference to FIG. 1, a bottom panel 2, at least one lateral upright 1A, an upper distribution box 20, and shelves made up of an upper shelf 3a, of at least one intermediate shelf 3b , and a lower shelf 3c.

Each lateral upright 1A consists of a generally L-shaped element comprising a vertical upright 100A and a base 110A (forming the leg of the L). The base 110A is covered with an insulation sleeve 21.

The furniture of the invention is associated with refrigeration means capable of generating a stream of forced refrigerated air in which bathe the foodstuffs arranged on the intermediate 3b and lower 3c shelves. Preferably, the shelves are of the type described in French patent application No. 92 05 526, and include internal conduits capable of allowing the circulation of refrigerated air. More particularly, the upper shelf 3a comprises a single duct capable of directing an air curtain at its free end and directed downwards. The intermediate shelves 3b each comprise two internal ducts, a first duct intended to bring the refrigerated air at the end of said shelf downwards (in the direction of the foodstuffs arranged nearby), and a second duct suitable for conveying air taken up by the same shelf at its free end and coming from the area just above said shelf. The internal ducts or channels intended for the supply of fresh refrigerated air are called conduits or channels for supplying or blowing, while the channels or conduits intended for taking in the air having circulated between the shelves and on the foodstuffs, are called return channels or conduits. The shelves supply ducts have perforations on the lower panel, intended to bring the refrigerated air to the products.

With reference to FIG. 2, each module comprises a panel 2 associated with two lateral uprights 1A and 1B arranged on either side of the panel 2. The bottom panel 2 has a generally parallelepiped shape and has a rear face and a face front parallel. The sides of the panel 2 have a return bearing the reference 200 and forming a shoulder of complementary shape to the lateral upright 1A so that the latter can be accommodated in the corresponding shoulder. Each lateral upright, and in particular the vertical upright 100A, preferably has a rectangle cross section.

The panel 2 and the respective lateral uprights 1A and 1B are secured to each other by means of holes or slots bearing the reference 4 disposed on the shoulder 201 on the sides of the panel, and in each of which is capable of being accommodated a hook 4a provided on the corresponding face of the lateral upright associated with 1A or 1B. More specifically, the hooks are provided on the lateral uprights, on the faces transverse to the plane of the panel 2. There is thus provided a succession of hooks 4a and holes 4 regularly spaced, respectively on the upright and the panel.

As an indication, the dimensions of the panel are of the order of: height 220 cm; width 100 cm; thickness 14 cm. The amounts for example have a cross section of 12 x 4 cm, for a height of the vertical amount 100A of 230 cm while the length of the base 110A is of the order of 90 cm.

According to a preferred embodiment, the panel 2 is produced from two sheet metal plates, a first solid sheet metal plate conforming to the rear face, while a second sheet metal plate forms the front face. The front face is provided with a series of orifices, preferably of generally rectangular shape. The sides of the panel 2 forming the returns 201 are produced for example by stamping the sheet forming the perforated front face. The front face of the panel 2 thus comprises two series of orifices. The first series of orifices consists of four orifices 13a, 14a, 15a and 16a, of generally rectangular shape and of dimension 18 x 8 cm, and arranged in the upper part of said front face. The second series of orifices comprises four parallel columns of orifices of generally elongated rectangular shape (in a direction parallel to the ground) and of dimension 18 x 4 cm. The orifices of the second series carry the references, for each column, respectively 7, 8, 7 'and 8'. The second series of orifices therefore forms a sort of matrix of orifices with columns and lines; in the example shown, the second series of orifices has four columns and twelve rows. It should be noted that the four orifices of the first series are arranged so that each orifice corresponds to a column of the second series of orifices. Thus, the orifice 13a corresponds to the column of the orifices 8 ', the orifice 14a corresponds to the column of the orifices 7', the orifice 15a corresponds to the column of the orifices 8 and the orifice 16a corresponds to the column of the orifices 7. The orifices of the first series are not arranged in alignment on the same line. More particularly, starting from one side of the panel, the first and third holes 13a and 15a are arranged on the same line, while the second and fourth holes 14a and 16a are arranged on another line, offset downward relative to to the line formed by the orifices 13a and 15a. The offset is about 10 cm, for example.

The panel 2 is formed so as to have internal channels or conduits capable of allowing the circulation of air inside the panel. More particularly, the respective orifices of the first series are connected by a conduit (not visible in FIG. 2) to the orifices of the corresponding column. Thus, for example, the orifice 13a is connected to the orifices 8 '. According to an illustrative embodiment, the internal conduits or channels arranged in the panel 2 are produced using stamped sheet metal of rectangular section and corresponding to the orifices in which it opens respectively. Preferably, the interior space of the panel 2, between the internal conduits or channels, is filled with an insulating material, such as a foam of synthetic material, which is injected inside the panel 2.

Figure 4 shows the inner conduits or channels of the panel 2 and bearing the respective references 5, 6, 5 'and 6'. There is also a technical conduit provided with the reference 9 and intended for the passage of electrical wires for example.

The vertical uprights 100A and 100B are also provided with holes 23a and 30a arranged on the face parallel to the front and rear faces of the panel 2. The holes 23a are for example three in number and arranged in the upper part of the upright, and in particular substantially at same level in height as the upper orifices 13a, 14a, 15a and 16a. The other holes 30a are regularly spaced and preferably arranged substantially opposite each of the lines of orifices of the second series, 7, 8, 7 'and 8'. The holes 23a are suitable for receiving hooks 23 provided on the upper intake and return air box, bearing the reference 20 and shown in FIG. 3. The box 20 has a parallelepiped shape whose dimension, in the direction parallel to panel 2, is substantially equal to the width of panel 2. The box 20 is preferably made from a folded and stamped sheet defining an interior space or wall, advantageously covered with insulating material (reference 17). Inside the box 20, internal panels are provided along the longitudinal direction of the box (parallel to the panel 2) and defining internal air circulation channels, namely supply ducts 11 ′ in the upper part of the box , and return ducts 12 '. The supply conduits 11 'are separated from a supply channel 11 by a perforated plate 18a, while the return conduits 12' are separated from a return channel 12 by perforated sheets 18b. The rear face of the box 20, intended to bear against the front face of the panel 2, is provided with orifices, four in number and bearing the references 13, 14, 15 and 16. The orifices 13 to 16 are of shapes and dimensions complementary to the orifices 13a, 14a, 15a and 16a of the first series of orifices provided on the panel 2. When the box 20 is fixed to the lateral uprights 1A and 1B, by the hooks 23 and the holes 23a, the holes 13 to 16 provided on the rear face of the box 20 are arranged exactly opposite the holes 13a to 16a provided on the front face of the panel 2. In Figure 3, arrows show the direction air circulation relative to the orifices 13 to 16 provided on the rear face of the box 20. In this case, the orifices 13 and 15, intended for the air intake, are connected to the intake channel 12, while the orifices 14 and 16, intended for the supply of air, are connected to the supply channel 11 arranged in the lower part with respect to the return channel 12.

In order to allow the cleaning of the internal channels and conduits arranged in the box 20, the upper face of the latter is removably mounted.

Figures 5 and 6 show more particularly the shelves capable of being mounted and fixed on the assembly formed by the panel and the two uprights secured. FIGS. 5A and 5B show in perspective from different angles an intermediate shelf 3b. By intermediate shelf means a shelf on which are likely to be arranged food. Also, an intermediate shelf 3b differs from the upper 3a and lower 3c shelves by the fact that the intermediate shelves each have two ducts, one intended for the supply of air and the other for the return of air. An intermediate shelf 3b is constituted for example from two stamped sheets forming three sections delimiting between them a first upper duct intended for the return of air, arranged in the upper part, and a second duct arranged in part lower and intended for the air supply. Each of the conduits opens at the free end of the shelf. The intermediate shelf 3b also has a rear face provided with four orifices bearing the references 8'a, 7'a, 8a and 7a, of shape, size and arrangement complementary to the orifices 8 ', 7', 8 and 7, respectively of the front face of the panel 2. The intermediate shelf 3b also includes two vertical side plates referenced 31 and 32 and provided at their rear end, on the side of the panel 2, with at least two hooks 30 capable of cooperating with the holes 30a provided on the vertical uprights 100A and 100B.

Likewise, the upper 3a and lower 3c shelves are of similar construction, except that the upper 3a and lower 3c shelves have only one supply and return channel respectively, and consequently only has on their rear face two orifices, namely orifices 7'a and 7a for the upper shelf 3a and orifices 8'a and 8a for the lower shelf 3c.

The shelves 3a, 3c also include hooks capable of cooperating with the holes 30a provided on the vertical uprights 100A and 100B.

The shelves shown in Figure 1 have their upper pan positioned perpendicular to the front face of the panel 2. According to another embodiment shown in Figure 10, the shelves are tilted forward to allow a better view of the products displayed for sale and facilitate their gripping.

Once the panel 2 is secured to the vertical uprights 100A and 100B, the box 20 is secured to the side uprights, and the shelves are likewise secured on the side uprights, a unitary module is obtained to which another module can be attached. A module is fixed to the neighboring module by means of hooks 4a provided on the lateral uprights 100A and 100B, on the face of the uprights transverse to the plane of the panels and opposite to the latter. Thus, to each vertical upright 100A, for example, are capable of being fixed, on each side of said upright, two panels 2. Similarly, it should be noted that the holes 23a and 30a provided on the face of each vertical upright 100A or 100B, parallel to the panel 2, are of such dimensions that they allow each to receive two hooks coming respectively from two neighboring boxes or from two adjacent shelves, that is to say arranged at the same level.

A long linear assembly is thus produced by end-to-end assembly of several modules, as described above, and without great difficulty, since each element of each module has dimensions and a reduced weight and is therefore capable of be handled and transported by one person. In addition, the realization of each element forming a module is extremely simple to perform and economically.

The modules assembled end to end to form a linear are then tightly connected to means for generating refrigerated air.

For this purpose, more particularly, the boxes, aligned and thus forming a single and same conduit and supply channel, and a single and same conduit and return channel, are joined end to end by means of seals known in themselves but not shown.

Furthermore, the open faces of the end channels are connected to the air supply and return means. he is also provided tabs 22 on the boxes 20, in the front part to allow the attachment of a box to the neighboring box by bolting for example.

At the end of the shelf formed by the assembly of end-to-end modules, provision is made for closing the side face to delimit a refrigeration assembly. For this purpose, the end upright 1C (see FIG. 9) has a transverse bar 120C (parallel to the base 110c) in the upper part. The amount 1C thus has the general shape of a U (and in which is likely to be accommodated a panel 19, preferably made of insulating material, and of complementary shape).

In order to avoid pressure losses and leaks due to the free orifices of the panel 2, provision is made to close the openings which are not associated with shelves, by closing means of which three variants will be shown respectively in FIGS. 8A , 8B and 8C. The sealing means of FIG. 8A consists of a plug 27 comprising a front face 40 and a parallelepipedal rear face 41 of shape complementary to one of the orifices 7, 8, 7 'or 8'. In FIG. 8B, the closing means consist alternatively of a rectangular plate of dimension and shape such that it can close eight orifices, on four columns and two lines. The plate 24 thus produced comprises hooks 42, at each end, and capable of being engaged in the holes 30a provided on the lateral uprights 100A and 100B. In FIG. 8C, there is shown a shutter panel of larger size and capable of shutting off a greater number of orifices on four columns and several lines. Similarly, the panel 25 has hooks 43 on each of its sides, said hooks 43 being capable of cooperating with the holes 30a provided on the lateral uprights 100A and 100B.

The previously described embodiments of the invention also make it possible to associate said modules (see FIG. 11), either with elements carrying information or messages, such as for example the designation of the products 51, or with a decorative element, such as a pediment, arranged in the upper part 50 or a strip arranged in the lower part 52, or even a protective element such as a bumper 53.

Said modules can also receive any type of known accessory (not shown), such as for example label holders, lighting tubes, night curtains.

Claims (20)

1 - Device for the exposure to the sale of foodstuffs, associated with refrigeration means capable of creating and maintaining a circulation of refrigerated air in which the foodstuffs bathe, of the type comprising at least one module comprising a bottom panel and at least one shelf provided with internal conduits intended for said circulation, characterized in that each module comprises the following elements: - a vertical bottom panel; - at least one vertical lateral upright; - at least one shelf; and - Removable securing means of at least one of the elements with the other two. 2 - Device according to claim 1,
characterized in that it comprises n modules side by side (n = at least 2), that is to say in total n bottom panels and n + 1 vertical uprights, and in that it also comprises removable means of securing a module (n) to the neighboring module (n + 1). 3 - Device according to claim 2,
characterized in that the said means for securing from one module to the other comprise removable securing means between the panel of the module n and the upright of the neighboring module n + 1. 4 - Device according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that each module comprises a supply and return element for refrigerated air, connected to said refrigeration means and to said internal conduits of said panel. 5 - Device according to claim 4,
characterized in that said air intake and return element consists of a hollow box, of generally elongated shape, and provided with internal partitions arranged substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the shelves. 6 - Device according to claims 2 and 5,
characterized in that each box is able to be connected to the box of the neighboring module, in a sealed manner. 7 - Device according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the bottom panel comprises vertical lateral edges of shape complementary to the said upright. 8 - Device according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that each upright has a cross section of rectangular or square shape, and is made from a folded and stamped sheet. 9 - Device according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that said bottom panel comprises two parallel walls, respectively constituting the front face and the rear face, the front face being able to put in communication the internal conduits arranged in the panel and the internal conduits provided in said shelves. 10 - Device according to claim 9,
characterized in that the bottom panel consists of two parallel metal sheet plates in which are disposed substantially vertical internal conduits, said front face being provided with openings, and the space between the conduits and the front and rear faces being filled with material having thermal insulation properties. 11 - Device according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that it comprises removable securing means consisting of hooks arranged on one of the elements, and capable of cooperating with corresponding lights on the other element. 12 - Device according to claim 11,
characterized in that the hooks are arranged on the uprights and the lights on said panel, while hooks are arranged on the shelves and corresponding lights on said uprights. 13 - Device according to claim 12,
characterized in that the slots provided on the uprights are of such width that they allow two hooks to be side by side belonging respectively to two neighboring shelves, namely a shelf of module n and a shelf of neighboring module n + 1. 14 - Device according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that said bottom panel is provided with at least one passage intended for electrical wiring. 15 - Device according to claims 5 and 10,
characterized in that said box is capable of bearing by one of its faces against said panel, said face comprising openings capable of placing on the one hand the internal conduits of the panel, on the other hand the internal conduits of said box. 16 - Device according to claim 10,
characterized in that it also comprises members for closing the orifices of the panel, which are not operational (that is to say the orifices not arranged facing the shelves and / or the box). 17 - Device according to claim 16,
characterized in that said closure members consist of individual plugs for each orifice. 18 - Device according to claim 16,
characterized in that said shutter members consist of plates capable of being fixed on said panels in a removable manner and capable of closing several orifices on the front face of said panel. 19 - Device according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that it comprises several shelves having with the bottom an angle different from 90 °. 20 - Device according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that it further comprises decorative elements, such as strip, bumper, pediment and / or elements carrying information relating to the products.

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