EP0903094B2 - Freezer,especially for deep-frozen products - Google Patents

Abstract

Deep freeze cabinet has several tray type deep freezer containers (2), arranged rising in step formation relative to operating side, which are accessible to operating side (3). The containers are respectively selectively closed and opened by a lid (4). Rear walls of freezer containers are arranged one above the other, preferably by common rear wall (7).

Description

The invention relates to a freezer according to the preamble of claim 1.

A freezer of this type is known as a freezer and z. B. used in shopping for the provision of pre-packaged foods, eg. For ice cream. A well-known freezer has a z. B. box-shaped, the upper side open housing, the removal opening by a lid or more juxtaposed cover parts of transparent material to close and open. In a known embodiment with a plurality of cover parts, these are arranged in directly superimposed planes and in horizontal sliding guides either so displaceable that a portion of the opening of the freezer container is free and the underlying part of the receiving space of the housing is accessible by pushing over two cover parts. To remove a food, consequently, a cover part is to be moved horizontally over another cover part and moved back to its closed position after removal.

To a freezer of the present type several demands are made. An essential requirement is dictated by the type and amount of product that is to be provided in the freezer. For a product in which already a relatively small amount is sufficient to provide several days, it requires a relatively small pantry, which is then to fill at certain intervals. It should also be borne in mind that the frozen products may be of a different nature or quality. An essential requirement is therefore to be able to provide different products both space-efficient and clear and presentation-favorable. Another requirement is to ensure good accessibility to the products. In addition, a freezer present is a series product which should be able to be produced as inexpensively as possible.

From DE-U-1 864 035 a multi-storey freezer shelf is known, in which disc-shaped night covers can be inserted like a lid to the closure of the several freezing containers of the freezer.

From US-A-4,274,267 a freezer with a freezer container is known, which is covered with a flat, horizontally displaceable plate.

From WO 97/33269 A1 a freezer with a freezer is known, which can also be opened or verschiossen by means of flat, sliding plates.

The invention has the object of providing a freezer of the type described in such a way that a better provision or presentation of frozen products and better accessibility to the frozen products is achieved and at the same time the energy consumption is reduced.

This object is solved by the features of claim 1.

The dependent claims further form the idea of the invention particularly advantageous. In the embodiment according to the invention several freezer containers are provided, which are arranged in steps and therefore not only allow a differentiated provision of frozen products, but also ensure better accessibility to the freezer containers or the frozen products. In the embodiment according to the invention it is thus possible to provide different frozen products in separate pantries and it can be the specific product unerringly taken from the receiving it freezer. In the embodiment according to the invention, therefore, the frozen products can be presented better, with a good and direct accessibility is achieved both for filling the freezer container and for removing the products. Another advantage of the embodiment of the invention is the fact that when using the freezer less cooling energy is lost, because cooling energy when opening only the respective freezing container respectively associated Dekkels can escape to only a small extent. The remaining freezer containers remain closed. Taking into account the achievable capacity, the design according to the invention also leads to a space-saving design, since step-like increased container spaces are used.

The subclaims contain features which further improve the provision and accessibility, provide insight into the deep-freeze containers, improve the opening of the deep-freeze containers, lead to a simple and economically producible design and enable information surfaces and direct customer information about the products provided. If the bottom wall of an upper freezer container forms at least part of the top wall of the lower freezer container, a particularly energy-saving construction results.

Fig. 1

ein erfindungsgemäßes Tiefkühlgerät im vertikalen Querschnitt;

Fig. 2

einen linken Teilbereich des Tiefkühlgeräts in der Vorderansicht;

Fig. 3

das Tiefkühlgerät in der Draufsicht;

Fig. 4

das Tiefkühlgerät in perspektivischer Vorderansicht;

Fig. 5

das Tiefkühlgerät gemäß Fig. 4 in abgewandelter Ausgestaltung;

Fig. 6

das Tiefkühlgerät nach Fig. 5 und im vertikalen Querschnitt und

Fig. 7

die Aufstellung zweier erfindungsgemäßer Tiefkühlgeräte in Blockstellung.

The invention and further achievable by them advantages will be explained in more detail with reference to advantageous embodiments and drawings. It shows

Fig. 1

a freezer according to the invention in vertical cross section;

Fig. 2

a left portion of the freezer in the front view;

Fig. 3

the freezer in plan view;

Fig. 4

the freezer in a perspective front view;

Fig. 5

the freezer of Figure 4 in a modified embodiment.

Fig. 6

the freezer of FIG. 5 and in vertical cross section and

Fig. 7

the installation of two inventive freezers in block position.

The freezer generally designated 1 has a plurality of freezer 2, which are arranged with respect to the operating side 3 of the freezer 1 to the rear stepwise or step-shaped rising. Each freezer container 2 is assigned its own lid 4 for selectively opening and closing its top opening 4a. The lid 4 is preferably made of transparent material such as glass or plastic. The freezer is preferably assigned a freezer unit 5 in the bottom area and rear. In addition, deep-frozen bodies, not shown, are arranged in the freezer containers, which are connected by cooling lines, also not shown, to the freezer unit 5, as is known per se in freezer units. The walls of the freezer 2 are thermally insulated by a heat insulation 6. In this case, a single freezing unit 5 can be used for the common supply of the plurality of each one deep-freezing container associated deep-freezing body.

The rearward offset v1, v2 of freezer 2 to freezer 2 and the height H of the uppermost freezer 3 are dimensioned taking into account the size of an operator so that the freezer containers are manually accessible from the operating page 3 ago and can be viewed. The individual offset dimensions v1, v2 can be the same or different. This also applies to the individual heights h1, h2, h3 of the freezer container 2. On the back side, the freezer containers 2 preferably close off from one another in the vertical direction, so that the rear walls of the freezer containers 2 are arranged one above the other or formed by a common rear wall 7. The front walls of the freezer 2 are denoted by 8, the side walls 9 and the bottom walls 11. In the present embodiment, the upper freezer 2 overlap the respective lower freezer 2 about half. The volumes of the freezing container 2 decrease with their arrangement from bottom to top, so that the respective lower freezer container 2 has a larger volume than the respective upper freezer container 2. Accordingly, the individual heights h1, h2, h3 can be dimensioned accordingly. In the present embodiment, the height h1 of the lowermost deep-freeze container 2 is sized larger than the individual heights h2, h3 of the deep-freeze container 2 located above. According to the reduction of the volumes, the widths b1, b2, b3 of the deep-freeze container 2 can also be reduced from bottom to top. The offset dimensions v1, v2 decrease from front to back. The lengths L of the freezer 2 may be different or the same, as shown in the embodiment.

In the present embodiment, not only a plurality of freezing containers 2 are arranged one above the other but also along the operating side 3 side by side, so that there are horizontally extending rows R1, R2, R3 or stages and upright rows R4, R5. In an arrangement of at least two deep-freeze containers 2 side by side, the side walls 9 located therebetween can each be formed by a common side wall 9.

It is possible to place the freezer 2 on each other and to attach to each other. In the present embodiment, an additional side wall 12 is arranged on each side, the width of which is approximately matched to the base width b1 of the lowermost freezing container 2 and whose front end side obliquely or convexly rounded inclined backwards, preferably pointed above or expires at a small upper-side end face. To improve the appearance, the side walls 12 can be concave-shaped on the back and / or bottom side, in particular circular-arc-section-shaped. In this case, the side walls 12 can be dimensioned larger with a height h4, as the one or more top freezer 2. By attaching the freezer 2 to the adjacent side walls 12, the freezer 1 is substantially stabilized in terms of a frame.

If the superposed freezer 2 are of equal length L, the common inner side walls may be formed by an upright corresponding to the side walls 12 continuous middle wall 13, said middle wall 13 may form a common middle side wall for the associated freezer 2 or the freezer 2 respectively can be attached to the central wall 13 with its own inner side walls. The middle wall 13 may terminate with the top of the topmost or the deep-freezing container 2 or this project beyond the side walls 12. The uppermost freezer container 2 has behind its opening 4a on a ceiling wall part 4b.

One or more juxtaposed advertising surface carrier 14 can be detachably or permanently arranged between the uppermost freezer container 2 or the uppermost freezer container 2, the front surface 15 of which can preferably terminate with the front face profile of the side walls 12 and serve as an advertising surface 16. As a further advertising surfaces 17, 18 also offer the outer surfaces of the front walls 8 and the outer side surfaces of the side walls 9 or 12 at.

The front wall 8 of the lowermost freezer or 2 or the other front walls 8 is or are preferably inclined at an acute angle W with the vertical forward. As a result, in the floor area, a free space for the feet of the operator created and created on the tops of the respective freezer 2 larger openings 4a. Preferably, the front walls 8 - seen in the side view - cylindrical section curved convex. The bottom walls 11 are preferably arranged inclined forward. As a result, the frozen products located in the freezer containers 2 collect due to the inclined bottom surface in the front areas of the freezer 2. Furthermore, there is an improved merchandise presentation. In at least two adjacent freezer containers, a common, longitudinally continuous front wall 8 may be provided.

The lids 4 may each be a sliding cover which is freely displaceable in a sliding guide 21 extending transversely to the operating side 3 at the top of the associated or at the bottom of the deep-freeze container 2 located above. It may also be a hinged lid, which can be folded up and down about a hinge axis 22 of a joint (not further shown) extending preferably parallel to the operating side 3 in the region of the rear edge of the quadrangular opening 4a. A hinged lid has the advantage that it closes automatically by gravity. For this purpose, the opening movement of the lid 4 may be limited by a stop before the top dead center. In the present embodiment, the front wall 8 each form such a stop, and in particular the inclined front wall 8. However, it can be realized even with a sliding cover in a simple manner, an automatically effective closing drive. This can z. B. may be formed by a spring which is tensioned when opening the lid and this automatically closes after use, or it may be provided for closing the lid 4, a weight which is connected by a band-shaped connecting member with the lid 4 and this automatically in shifts its closed position.

To improve visual inspection, in particular in the upper freezer containers 2, it is advantageous to arrange a window 23 with a pane 23a of transparent material in the upper edge area of the front wall. In adjacent freezer containers 2, the window 23 may extend over the entire length L of the or the freezer 2. In the upper part of the side window 9, a side window 24 can be arranged in each case, for. B. adjacent to the front window 23, preferably in the form of a half elongated ellipse. In the case of the presence of an additional side wall 12, this has in the region of the side windows 24 recesses 25 in a corresponding shape. The heights h5, h6, h7 of the front and side windows 23, 24 may be the same or different, decreasing upwardly in the latter case.

Like the lid 4, the window panes 23a, 24a can also be made of glass or plastic and can be insulating panes, in particular those with a cavity.

According to the lid 4 is formed at its front end with a downwardly projecting locking leg, which may consist of transparent material such as glass or plastic and forms the disc 23a for the window 23. As a result, the opening 4a is enlarged and the front opening edge offset downward, which facilitates handling, especially for children. It is possible to form the cover 4 with a lateral, downwardly projecting locking leg, which also consist of transparent material such as glass or plastic and can form the window pane 24a of the side window 24. A lid 4, which has both the front and the side closure legs, would be hood-shaped. As a result, the space enclosed by the lid of the associated freezer container 2 can be increased.

It is also advantageous for the freezer 1 to provide a so-called "touch-screen" or information device 26 with one or more actuators for retrieving information and a screen 27 on the front for visual presentation of the information. This embodiment allows the customer to read on the screen 27 of this information device 26 information about the product, the manufacturer, etc.

In the present embodiment, the information device 27 in the form of an angle with a horizontal and a vertical device leg with which it z. B. can be placed on the front corner areas of the freezer 2. The screen 27 is located in this position on the operating side 3 facing outer surface of the downwardly projecting device leg. The information device 26 may also be permanently connected to the freezer 1, z. B. in the field of or the advertising space carrier 14th

The cover 4 is associated with a handle element 28 in each case in the front region, one of which is indicated in Fig. 3.

The freezer 1 is also advantageously to be provided with a second same freezer 1 according to FIG. 7 with the backs together, resulting in a space-saving block arrangement large recording or storage capacity, which is accessible from two sides and a Has increased number of freezer 2.

Claims (7)

1. Deep-freeze device (1) for deep-frozen products, comprising:

   - a deep-freeze generator (5) and

   - several thermally-insulated trough-shaped deep-freeze containers (2), which are manually accessible from the operating side (3), are off-set in step fashion in relation to this operating side (3) and arranged in a rising manner, and in each case can be optionally opened and closed by means of a cover (4),

   characterised in that,
   the covers (4) are transparent and at their front ends project downwards in each case with a closure side piece, while their rear ends run horizontally.
2. Deep-freeze device (1) according to Claim 1, characterised in that the front walls (8) of the deep-freeze containers (2) are curved in convex fashion in their direction of extension from top to bottom, in an arc sectional manner.
3. Deep-freeze device according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterised in that a deep-freeze container (2) overlaps the deep-freeze container (2) below it in each case by about a half.
4. Deep-freeze device according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the rearwards-directed offset (v1, v2) from deep-freeze container (2) to deep-freeze container (2) reduces in size from front to rear.
5. Deep-freeze device according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the covers (4) are formed in each case by a slidable slide cover which is arranged on the upper face of the deep-freeze container (2) pertaining to it, and parallel to the operating side.
6. Deep-freeze device according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the floor walls (11) of the deep-freeze containers (2) are arranged inclined downwards in the forwards direction.
7. Deep-freeze device according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the volumes of the deep-freeze containers (2) decrease from bottom to top.

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