FR2615083A3 - FLORAL DISPLAY WITH COOLING DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A FLORAL DISPLAY WHERE THE FLOWERS DISPLAYED FOR DIRECT SALE ARE VISIBLE FROM ALL DIRECTIONS AND KEPT FRESH BY MEANS OF A COLD AIR CIRCULATION DEVICE 5, 7, 9. TO SAVE SPACE, THE FLOWERS ARE ARRANGED IN CONTAINERS, POTS OR BOWLS ON TWO OR MORE STAGES ON CONCENTRIC PRESENTATION SURFACES 32 AROUND A CENTRAL COLUMN 4 WHICH IS ALSO USED FOR THE CIRCULATION OF AIR 44. A RADIAL CURTAIN OF COLD AIR 2, 3 PREFERABLY STARTING AT THE EDGE OF THE LOWER FLOOR AND ENDING AT CENTRAL COLUMN 4, 44 PROTECTS FLOWERS AGAINST DRYING.

Description

I The present invention relates to a floral display for sale

  direct from flowers comprising at least two presentation surfaces at different levels, and an air circulation refrigeration device producing a spread curtain of cold air near the flowers.

  In patent FR 1,572,384, a refrigerated display case is described.

  for the presentation of flowers with a large area of presentation

  tation in the shape of a rectangle on which many receptacles containing flowers are arranged in successive rows. The approximately horizontal level of this surface accessible from above is preferably determined so that the observer sees the flowers obliquely from top to

  low, as he is used to in a garden. On a small side of the rectan-

  gle, there is, like a staircase to an upper level, a second and narrow presentation surface on which containers and pots of flowers with short stems are arranged in one or two rows

  perpendicular to the long rows of the lower floor. The little sur-

  upper side is separated from the large lower surface by a vertical partition wall, the upper edge of which has outlet slots for cold air circulation, which protects the flowers from

  the warmer outside atmosphere through a curtain of cool air

  clearly horizontal, spaced from the flowers and parallel to the surfaces of the present

  tation. On the other small side of the display case, a deflecting surface is mounted at around 450 which returns the curtain of cold air vertically to the bottom of the display case, where it widens and thus cools the pots from below. Under the upper presentation surface is mounted a unit comprising a vaporizer and a fan under which, separated by a horizontal wall, is the compressor of the cooling device. The fan draws cold air from the bottom of the display case through a duct and propels it behind the partition wall towards the

  outlet slots to form the curtain of cold air for flower protection.

  The curtain of cold air is -limited on the long sides of the showcase by transparent surfaces, which extend the opaque walls of the showcase and form a layer of thermal insulation for the cold air arriving on

the inner bottom wall.

  Although this showcase gives the buyer a good overview of the flowers on sale, it occupies a relatively large area without using the space available above. In addition, the speed of the substantially horizontal cold air stream must have a

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  -2- minimum value for the deflecting walls to play their role in returning the air downwards. This minimum speed causes in the vicinity of the large horizontal surface a significant mixture with the hot air of the external atmosphere, so that a non-negligible part of hot air enters the cooling device which is therefore very stressed

and expends a lot of energy.

  A better use of space is proposed by the display known by applications EP 0-096 945 and 0 140 453. It roughly also has the shape of an elongated rectangle, but perpendicular to a large side, the containers or pots are arranged on surfaces forming

  several stair treads, the width of which increases from bottom to top.

  On each step, there is a row of openings of equal size for hanging containers and pots, the diameter of which is adapted to the width of the step. Thus, the buyer has the possibility, according to his

  vision of flowers, of a greater choice. The upper presentation surface

  is located against a rear wall fitted with insulation and a slot, the upper edge of which has a projecting horizontal roof

  above almost the entire step.

  Under the step, in an enclosed space, is the refrigeration device: compressor, valve and endendor with the necessary accessories, while at the lower end of a suitable passage to the empty spaces under the steps, are the device and evaporator. Thus, the fan pushes the air to cool towards the evaporator by the passage under the stair treads obliquely upward, through the slot in the rear wall. Most of the cold air passing through the slit is diverted to a downward outlet, which has the shape of a slit at the top row of hanging containers or pots. From this place, the cold air flows down the steps and is then sucked in by the fan through a grid mounted on the front wall. So,

  all containers and pots in the display are effectively cooled.

  A small part of the cold air flow is sent upwards from where it exits by a grid mounted on the lower wall of the cover. This slows the flow of cold air so that it cools down

  the flowers but without this current being intense enough to damage

  mage the flowers by drying. On its short sides, the display is limited by lateral faces which are, on the side of the rear wall,

  provided with an insulating layer and therefore opaque. bers the front, towards

  tion of the front wall, these faces are continued by a transparent wall

  which allows the buyer approaching to see the flowers.

  Although this known display allows height use

  the exhibition space, the high and long rear wall and the opaque part of the side walls hinder the buyers' view of the flowers. Also, this display can only be placed against

  the store wall and in no case be placed in the middle of the store.

  The invention aims to provide a display of flowers allowing the view and access to flowers from all sides and also making best use of

  the height of the store available for the exhibition.

  This goal is achieved by the fact that the exposure surfaces of the containers or flower pots and that the curtains of cold air protecting

  these flowers are arranged concentrically with the central axis of the display.

  To avoid mixing with the external hot atmosphere, the source of the curtain of cold air, in one embodiment of the invention, arranged at the edge of the display, and the depression of the curtain of cold air is arranged

in the vicinity of this central axis.

  An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings, and is set out below in more detail:

  - Figure 1 is a partially cutaway and sectional view of a

  roof according to the invention, - Figure 2 is a section of the display of Figure 1 according to the plane A-B, - Figure 3 is a top view of the display showing

  the convergence of the curtain; cold air.

  As seen in Figure 1, partially in section, the display according to the invention consists of four main parts: a frame 10 mounted on casters 12, an octagonal tray 1, a column 4, and a roof 14. A l inside the chassis 10, there is the refrigeration device 9 as well as a container 16 for collecting the condensation water, and a fan 18 which sucks in the outside air in the direction of the arrows 20 to cool it by sending it towards the refrigeration device as it is restored by the compressor and the condenser by the grid 22 in the direction of the arrows 20 ′ at the outlet from the chassis 10. Similar grids 22 ′ are located on the opposite side of the chassis 10, from so that coarse debris, such as paper or plastic fragments which can be mixed with the intake air, remains outside the chassis. From the refrigeration device 9, go upwards

  cooling pipes (not shown) to an evapo-

  rator 7 mounted on the bottom 24 of the plate 1 and which, as shown in FIG. 2, has the general shape of an elongated rectangle and which can 4 - be placed under the octagonal column 4. In addition to the cooling pipes, a vertical water collecting tube 26 crosses the bottom 24 to lead to the container 16. For the rest, the space above the bottom 24 is sealed relative to the space located in the frame 10 to achieve the necessary separation between the cooling system of the refrigeration device 9 and the cold air circulation system to maintain

fresh flowers.

  As best seen in Figure 2, the tray 1 has the shape of a regular octagon symmetrical about the central axis 28 of the entire display. The same applies to a lining which surrounds the octagonal column 4 and offers a second exposure surface 32 'towards the middle of the display in addition to a lower exposure surface 32 for containers 34, provided towards the edge. of the tray 1. The octagonal trim

  can obviously be widened or provided with stair treads by diminu-

  tion of the width of the lower exposure surface 32 so as to give several exposure surfaces at different levels (not shown). The lower exposure surface 32 is however not formed by the upper face of the plate 1, but by the upper face of a bowl-shaped chassis with an octagonal side wall 36 rising vertically away from the side wall 38 of the tray 1. This bowl frame rests on spacers 42 and slats 40 which are directed radially at each of the eight angles and at the same time define a space in the form of a slot for eight air distribution channels 8. These distribution channels 8 widening horizontally outwards, have a continuation through the space separating the walls 36 and 38 in a vertical direction upwards, and are covered at their upper end by slats. Pierced with holes 2. All the flowers displayed for direct sale in containers 34 are kept fresh by

  an air circulation system which has in the lower part

  rieureede the column 4 a fan 5 to form the circulation.

  The fan 5 draws in the outside air through holes 44 in the column 4, in particular outside the area where the flowers are found. As an arrow shows in Figure 1, the fan 5 pushes down the air sucked through a plug 6 provided with guide plates, to an evaporator 7 of the type called "wet", having many exchange surfaces heat on which the heat is extracted from the air. The cold air is then diverted horizontally and flows, as shown by the arrows 36, radially outwards, in the eight air distribution channels B which are slots of low height. Due to the increased section,

--5 -

  the air speed is significantly reduced. From the edge of the tray, the cold air is again deflected upwards and enters the vertical slot between the two walls 36 and 38 to exit therefrom through the perforated slats 2. As the upper edge of the outer wall 38 forms a nose 48 curved inwards, the cold air comes out towards the flowers and the holes 44 in column 4. The diameter of the slat holes must be chosen relative to that of the holes 44 in column 4 so that the flowers on the path represented by the arrows 3 are not subjected to a significant draft which could dry them out and wilt them. As best seen in Figure 3 by the arrows 3, the air coming out of the pierced slats converges radially-towards the column 4 by forming a curtain of cold air and its section increasing, it repels the hotter air of the atmosphere, so that the part of hot air which arrives through the holes 44 of the column 4 of the fan 5 can be

kept small.

  Although only one embodiment of the invention is

  exposed, it is possible in this context to make many modifications.

  Although the octagonal shape of the display has proven to be advantageous for construction, it is possible to choose another regular polygon, the number of sides can be freely chosen between 5 and 96. The square, the equilateral triangle and the circle should not also not be excluded,

  although these borderline cases are less advantageous. The surfaces of

  tation 32 and 32 'and the wall 36 can for example be made of thick copper sheet to better remove the heat from the pots to the current

  cold air thanks to the good thermal conductivity of this material.

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Claims (4)

CLAIMS R E V E N D I C A T I 0 N S   1.- Display for the direct sale of flowers including   at least two presentation areas at different levels and one available   air-cooled cooling device passing a curtain of cold air spread close to the flowers, characterized in that the presentation surfaces (32, 32 ') of the containers or pots of flowers (34) and the curtain of cold air protecting the flowers are arranged concentrically   to the central axis (28) of the display.   2. A display according to claim 1, characterized by . . - -   causes the source (2) of the cold air curtain to be on the edge of the   display stand and its evacuation near the central axis (28) of this   roof. 3. A display according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the edge of the display (1) and / or that of the exposure surfaces (32, 32 ') has the shape of a regular polygon, including an octagon.   4. A display according to claim 1 or claim 3, characterized in that the width of the presentation surfaces (32,   32 ') increases in successive steps up or down.