GB2248015A

GB2248015A - Refrigerated display unit

Info

Publication number: GB2248015A
Application number: GB9020552A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jeffrey Michael Goodwin; David John Haydon
Original assignee: INVITING DISPLAYS Ltd
Current assignee: INVITING DISPLAYS Ltd
Priority date: 1990-09-20
Filing date: 1990-09-20
Publication date: 1992-03-25
Also published as: GB9020552D0

Abstract

A mobile refrigerated food display unit 10 for use as a food trolley comprises a display compartment, a refrigeration unit 26, 28 for cooling the compartment, and an access door 14 in the top of the compartment. A carousel 30 disposed within the compartment has a plurality of trays 34 for supporting items of food to be displayed and is rotatable to bring any selected tray to the vicinity of the access door 14 in the top of the compartment. <IMAGE>

Description

Title DISPLAY UNIT Field of the invention The present invention relates to a mobile display unit, suitable for use as a dessert trolley in a restaurant.

Background of the invention It is known to use an open trolley in a restaurant to bring to each table a selection of desserts, cheeses or other products. The trolley is designed to hold a variety of different desserts and allows the waiter to serve at the table whichever dessert is selected by a diner.

A problem with such conventional trolleys is that the desserts are exposed and may remain so for several hours during a meal.

It is also known to use as a dessert trolley a closed mobile display cabinet. This prevents insects from reaching the desserts and is therefore more hygienic but a problem with such a trolley is that the desserts may now remain in a warm environment for a prolonged period of time. This is not desirable for some products, such as those containing fresh cream, and the risk of bacterial infection is also increased by the storage of the food at room temperature for extended lengths of time.

Object of the invention The invention therefore seeks to provide a mobile display unit, which is suitable for use as a dessert trolley, in which food can be kept at below room temperature.

Summary of the lnveiicion According to the present invention, there is provided a mobile refrigerated food display unit, for use as a food trolley, comprising a display compartment, means for cooling the compartment, an access door in the top of the compartment and a carousel disposed within the compartment, the carousel'having a plurality of trays for supporting items of food to be displayed and being rotatable to bring any selected tray to the vicinity of the access door in the top of the compartment.

Because the display compartment opens from the top, it has the same advantage as a chest freezer, namely that the cold air does not escape each time that the door is opened to gain access to one of the trays. The disadvantage normally associated with such a design, which is also found with chest freezers, is that one cannot readily reach items at the bottom of the compartment. However, in the present invention, this disadvantage is avoided by the provision of the carousel within the compartment which can be turned to bring any desired food item to the top, where it can be reached through the access door.

The waiter does not have to stoop or lean over to reach any tray and furthermore all parts of the tray carrying the dessert can be accessed readily making it particularly simple for the waiter to serve from the selected tray.

Preferred features of the invention The carousel preferably comprises two parallel frames rotatable about a common horizontal axis, with the food supporting trays resting on shafts which extend between the frames, the shafts being arranged to rotate relative to the frames in synchronism with the rotation of the frames within the refrigerated compartment, such that the trays remain horizontal in all positions of the carousel.

Conveniently, each frame comprises three T-shaped arms symmetrically disposed about the rotational axis of the carousel, the shafts extending between the ends of the cross-bars of the T-shaped arms of the two frames.

Advantageously, one frame is arranged 600 out of phase with the other so that the cross-bar of each T on one frame lies opposite a gap between two cross bars on the other frame.

In order to rotate the shafts relative to the frames, a stationary toothed pulley is preferably provided on the axis of rotation of the frames and is connected to a toothed pulley of the same size mounted on at least one, preferably two, of the shafts, by means of an internally toothed drive belt. Drive may be transmitted from one shaft to another by means of further toothed belts extending along the cross bars of the T-shaped arms.

Because the shafts are driven from the rotation of the carousel, the trays are stationary when the carousel is not rotating. Thus, while the trolley is in motion, there is no tendency for the trays to rock and for food to fall off them, which would be the case, for example, if gravity were relied upon to maintain the trays horizontal.

In order to reduce cost and provide for a neat appearance the arms may be moulded of a plastics material and may be formed of a box section within which the toothed belts and pulleys may be housed.

The drive to the frames may be achieved by means of a first bevel gear secured to one of the frames and meshing with a second bevel gear driven by a shaft which can be turned manually or by means of an electric motor.

Of course, being a display compartment, at least one of the walls of the compartment must be transparent but it is preferable for several of the walls of the compartment to be transparent. Furthermore, even though it is only essential for the compartment to have an access door in its top, it is desirable, in order to aid cleaning maintenance and for ease of use, for one or more of the side walls of the compartment to be removable.

The cooling means may conveniently comprise a compressor mounted beneath the display compartment and a heat exchanger disposed along one wall of the display compartment.

Because loss of cold air is minimised in the present invention, it is sufficient to connect the compressor to a mains power supply while the trolley is not being used for serving and to disconnect the power supply when the trolley is wheeled to a table. If desired, however, a rechargeable battery may be provided to enable the compressor to operate even when the trolley is disconnected from the mains supply.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a display unit of the invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carousel when removed from the refrigerated compartment in the display unit of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a view of one of the frames of the carousel with the frame cover removed.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment The display unit or dessert trolley 10 in Figure 1 comprises a refrigerated compartment formed of a frame 12 with side walls 16, a top wall 14 and a base 24. The side walls 16 and the top wall 14 are preferably made of glass.

The top wall 14 is designed to open to allow access to the compartment from above. To this end, the top wall 14 may be hinged to the frame 12 or it may be include one of more sliding panels. The side walls are also designed to open or to lift off the frame but this not intended to be done when serving at a table as it is desired to prevent the cold air within the compartment from escaping.

The frame 12 also has four legs 20 extending beneath the base 24 which are fitted with castors 22 so that the trolley may be wheeled to a table in a restaurant. A handle 18 is provided for wheeling the trolley.

The compressor 26 of a refrigeration unit is mounted beneath the base 24 and a heat exchanger 28 is mounted within the compartment to be cooled. Power is supplied to the compressor 26 through a lead 32 plugged into the mains when the trolley is not being used to serve at a table.

The desserts to be served are placed on trays 34 which form part of a carousel, generally designated 30 and located within the refrigerated compartment. The carousel 30, which is described in more detail below, is designed such that, as it rotates, the trays 34 remain horizontal.

Furthermore, the trays 34 remain horizontal while the trolley 10 is being wheeled along the floor.

In use, the trolley 10 is plugged into the mains to cool the refrigerated compartment containing the desserts in order to keep the food fresh. It is envisaged that the temperature in the compartment will be in the region of 30C to 80C. When it is needed for serving, the trolley 10 is disconnected from the mains and pushed to the table to be served.

At the table, the door in the top wall 14 is opened by hinging or sliding, as the case may be. After a selection of dessert has been made by a diner, the carousel 30 is turned manually to bring the selected tray 34 to the top of the compartment, from which the dessert may be served directly onto the diner's plate. Because the compartment is opened from the top rather than the side, the denser cold air remains within the compartment and for this reason it is possible to use the trolley for a short time while it is not connected to the mains supply without the temperature of the food rising excessively.

If desired, the trolley may incorporate a d.c. battery charged by the mains and capable of operating the refrigeration unit for a short time, say thirty minutes, when disconnected from the mains. In this case, there is power available in the trolley while it is being used to serve desserts and on can therefore use an electric motor rather than a manual crank to turn the carousel 30.

Turning now to Figures 2 and 3, the carousel 30 comprises a stand formed of two legs 40 which rest on the base 24 of the refrigerated compartment and an axle 42 extending between the upper ends of the two legs. Two parallel vertical frames 44 are rotatable about the axle 42, each frame comprising three T-shaped arms 46 radiating symmetrically from the axle 42. Each frame 44 and leg 40 is formed in two parts, one part being of channel section and the other forming a cover lying over the channel and defining with the first part a hollow box section.

Shafts 48 are journalled at their ends on the respective frames 44 and a system of toothed pulleys and drive belts is is housed within the hollow box section of the frames 44 to cause the shafts 48 to rotate in synchronism with the rotation of the frames, so that the trays 34 which are secured to the shafts 48 always remain horizontal.

A first drive belt 60 (Figure 3) passes around one of the toothed pulleys 62a driving one of the shafts 48 and around a toothed pulley mounted on a stationary shaft passing through the axle 42 and retained at each end in the legs 40 of the carousel. As the frame rotates, the pulley 62a will turn at the same speed in the opposite direction and therefore maintain the tray mounted on its shaft in the same angular position. Though each of the toothed pulleys 62a to 62e could be driven in the same manner, it is preferred to transfer the drive from one pulley to the next on the same cross bar of the T-shaped arm 46 by means of one of five belts disposed three in one frame 44 and two in the other, only the latter two belts 66a and 66b being shown in Figure 3.The belt 60 is shown as passing around only one of the pulleys 62a but it is preferred for it to pass around both of the pulleys 62a and 62b at the end of the arm 46 in question since then each shaft 48 is driven from both ends.

It should be noticed that to allow all the shafts 48 to be driven from a single stationary pulley 64, the frames 44 are not mounted as mirror images of one another but one of the frames 44 is rotated by 600 from this position so that the cross bar of each T-shaped arm 46 lies opposite a gap between the arms 46 of the other frame 44.

The turning of the frames 44 about the axle 42 is effected by a bevel gear mounted on one of the frames 44 and a second bevel gear mounted on a shaft passing through one of the legs 40 of the carousel. The latter shaft can either be turned by hand or, if power is available, by a suitably mounted electric motor.

It is important to ensure that the carousel should not be capable of rotation purely by virtue of the weight of the food placed on the trays. This can be achieved by using high gearing, such as a worm drive, to rotate the shaft, or by ensuring the presence of sufficient frictional braking.

When used as a dessert trolley, the display unit of the invention offers the advantages of keeping the food fresh as well as providing an eye-catching presentation to attract attention to the desserts and make them more attractive to the diners. The carousel allows all the items available to be displayed at the same time and simplifies the waiter's task in serving since each item can be accessed readily once brought to the top of the carousel.

Though the invention has been described by reference to its use as a dessert trolley, it does have a variety of other uses, for example to display cheeses, hors d'oeuvres, fresh fish or cuts of meat.

It will be evident that various modifications can be made to the illustrated display unit without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A mobile refrigerated food display unit, for use as a food trolley, comprising a display compartment, means for cooling the compartment, an access door in the top of the compartment and a carousel disposed within the compartment, the carousel having a plurality of trays for supporting items of food to be displayed and being rotatable to bring any selected tray to the vicinity of the access door in the top of the compartment.

2. A display unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carousel comprises two parallel frames rotatable about a common horizontal axis, with the food supporting trays resting on shafts which extend between the frames and wherein the shafts are arranged to rotate relative to the frames in synchronism with the rotation of the frames within the refrigerated compartment, such that the trays remain horizontal in all positions of the carousel.

3. A display unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein each frame comprises three T-shaped arms symmetrically disposed about the rotational axis of the carousel, the shafts extending between the ends of the cross-bars of the Tshaped arms of the two frames.

4. A display unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein one frame is arranged 600 out of phase with the other so that the cross-bar of each T on one frame lies opposite a gap between two cross bars on the other frame.

5. A display unit as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, wherein, in order to rotate at least one of the shafts relative to the frames, a stationary toothed pulley is provided on the axis of rotation of the frames and is connected to a toothed pulley of the same size mounted on the or each respective shaft by means of an internally toothed drive belt.

6. A display unit as claimed in claim 5, wherein drive is transmitted from one shaft to another by means of further toothed belts extending along the cross bars of the T-shaped arms.

7. A display unit as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the frames are moulded of a plastics material.

8. A display unit as claimed in claim 7 when appended to claim 5 or 6, wherein the frames are of box section and wherein the toothed belts and pulleys are housed within the box section frames.

9. A display unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a plurality of the walls of the compartment are transparent.

10. A display unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the side walls of the unit is openable or removable.

11. A display unit as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a d.c. power supply for enabling the cooling means to operate when the unit is not connected to a mains supply of electricity.

12. A mobile refrigerated food display unit constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.