GB2300250A - Refrigerated display cases - Google Patents

Abstract

A refrigerator comprises support means (9, 12) for supporting items to be refrigerated (e.g. fruit and vegetables). A heat exchanger (15) is located above the supports (9, 12) such that in use ambient air is cooled as it falls past the heat exchanger and onto the items displayed. A drip tray (17) beneath the heat exchanger (15) comprises an array of parallel troughs (19), the upper edge (19 a ) of one trough overlapping the lower edge (19b) of the next adjacent trough. Cool air is thus able to fall downwardly through the drip tray. Air continues to flow downwardly behind the upper shelf (12).

Description

^ re oll The present invention relates to a refrigerator, particularly, but not exclusively, a refrigerator for use in the display of fresh produce such as fresh fruit and vegetables.

In recent years it has become increasingly more common for retailers, particularly large shops such as supermarkets, to display fresh fruit and vegetables in refrigerated units whereas traditionally only frozen foods and meat products have been refrigerated.

Existing refrigerators used to display fruit and vegetables are based upon standard refrigeration units which comprise refrigeration coils (carrying the refrigerant) mounted beneath the food display area. Warm air is drawn into the bottom of the unit, for instance using a fan, and over the coils whereupon it is cooled.

The cooled air is then blown up into the display area, typically through a channel at the back of the unit which passes behind any display shelves. Such refrigeration units are efficient at producing temperatures of the order of -1%C but are relatively costly both to construct and to run.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a refrigerator suitable for use in the display of fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables which overcomes the above problems.

According to the present invention there is provided a refrigerator comprising support means for supporting items to be refrigerated and a heat exchanger located above the said support means, such that in use ambient air is cooled as it falls past the heat exchanger and onto said items.

Thus, the present invention provides a refrigerator which takes advantage of convection to carry cooled air to items being refrigerated and which is accordingly much simpler in construction than the existing refrigerators discussed above.

Although the amount of cooled air flowing through the refrigerator is relatively low compared with that produced in the existing refrigerators, it has been found that the flow rate is more than adequate for producing temperatures down to about 3"C which is all that is required for the storing of fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables. (At present the only legislation governing the display temperatures of such food products relates to pre-packed mixed salads which must be stored at a cooler temperature of 8"C which is achieved by producing temperatures of the order of 3"C in the refrigerator). Such low temperatures can be achieved even in a refrigerator which has a substantial permanently open display area.Moreover energy consumption is lower than that of existing refrigerators in which cool air is pumped upwards through the refrigerator.

In addition, with conventional refrigerators in which cooled air is pumped up over goods being refrigerated the relatively high air flow rates can have an adverse drying effect on fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables. This problem is overcome in the present invention since the cool air flow rate is much lower than that in conventional refrigerators.

The heat exchanger may be of any suitable type, such as a conventional evaporator comprising pipes containing relatively low pressure refrigerant which cools the ambient air by evaporating within the pipes (the vapour thus formed being drawn off and compressed for re-circulation to the evaporator). Such low temperatures can be achieved even in an open refrigerator of which has substantial permanently open display area.

Preferably a drip tray is located beneath the heat exchanger to catch any condensation which drips off the heat exchanger. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the drip tray comprises an array of substantially parallel troughs each having first and second longitudinal edges and configured such that the first edge of each trough lies above and horizontally overlapping the adjacent second edge of a neighbouring trough. With this arrangement there is no vertical path for drips to pass through the tray but cold air may fall through the tray passing between the vertically spaced first and second edges of adjacent troughs.

The support means preferably comprises at least one intermediate shelf which is mounted so as to leave an air channel to allow cold air to flow behind the shelf onto items supported below the shelf.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective illustration of the support frame of one embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present invention; and Fig. 2 illustrates a side elevation of the embodiment of Fig. 1 showing refrigerator component parts mounted to the support frame.

Referring to Fig. 1, the illustrated refrigerator sub-frame comprises a rectangular base section 1 which supports four parallel uprights 2 spaced along one of its edges (the outermost two uprights 2 extending from corners of the base section 1).

The uprights 2, which define the rear of the frame, support an upper horizontal rectangular support section 3 which is of the same length but narrower than the base section 1.

Four relatively short uprights 4 extend from the front longitudinal edge of the base section 1 at locations directly opposite each upright 2. Inclined support beams 5 extend from each upright 2 (from locations approximately midway between the base section 1 and the upper support section 3) at an angle down to a point near the top of each opposite upright 4. The support beams 5 are themselves further supported by intermediate uprights 6 located between each of the pairs of uprights 2 and 4.

Shelf supports 7 extend from each upright 2 from locations above the support beams 5 and parallel thereto. Mirror support arms 8 extend upwards from each shelf support 7 (from locations near to the uprights 2) at an angle thereto.

The major components of the assembled refrigerator will now be described with reference to Fig. 2, which is an end of an elevation schematically illustrating the various components mounted on the sub-frame described above. A one-piece base shelf 9 is supported upon the support beams 5 so as to extend along the whole length of the sub-frame. The front end of the base shelf 9 has an inverted V-shape in cross section and hangs over the top of the uprights 4 presenting an angled surface 10 which supports a display ticket holder 11.

A one-piece upper shelf 12 is similarly supported by the shelf supports 7. The front edge of the upper shelf 12 also supports a display ticket holder 11. A striplight 13 is mounted along the front edge of the upper shelf 12, below the shelf support 7 and behind the display ticket holder 11.

A mirror 14 is fixed to and supported by the mirror support arms 8 and extends along the whole length of the upper shelf 12.

A conventional refrigerator evaporation coil 15 is mounted on top of the upper horizontal support section 3 within a coil support frame 16. Also mounted to the upper support section 3 but below the coil 15 is a drip tray 17 which extends beneath the coil 15 along the whole length of the refrigerator. The purpose of the drip tray is to catch any condensation which may form on the coil 15. A decorative grill 18 is located beneath the drip tray 17 to hide the underside of the drip tray from view. Steel panels 19 are positioned along the front and rear of the coil support frame 16, to prevent cold air flow from the coils out from the front or rear of the support frame 16 respectively.

A second striplight 13 is mounted beneath and along the front edge of the grill 18 behind a display ticket holder 11 which is fixed to the front of the support section 3.

As discussed above, the refrigerator operates by cooling ambient air as it falls through the coil 15 and then onto produce displayed on the shelves 12 and 9. Because unaided convection is relied upon to provide the cool air circulation the drip tray 17 is constructed to allow cool air to fall therethrough but to prevent condensation to drip through. That is, the drip tray comprises an array of parallel troughs 19 (shown in cross-section in Fig. 2) each of which has an upper longitudinal edge 19a which terminates above and overlapping a lower longitudinal edge l 9b of an adjacent trough 19. With such a configuration there is no vertical path for condensation drips to fall through the drip tray but there is nevertheless a substantial space between each of the adjacent troughs through which the cool air can fall.

Similarly, to enable cool air to reach the base shelf 9, the upper shelf 12 does not extend all the way to the rear of the refrigerator. Rather the rear edge of the upper shelf 12 extends vertically upwards to meet the bottom edge of the mirror 14 so that an air channel is left behind the upper shelf 12 and the mirror 14.

The present invention, therefore, provides a refrigerator which is suitable for display of fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables and which is simpler in construction than conventional refrigerator units used in stores, being both cheaper to construct and cheaper to run. For instance, there is no requirement for fans, etc. to supply cool air to the produce displayed. In addition, since air is not blown up through the bottom of the refrigerator there is no requirement for grills in the bottom shelf to allow air to pass. Such grills in existing refrigerators present a cleaning problem as they collect debris.

Although the front of the refrigerator is substantially open to allow ease of access to produce displayed, temperatures of the order of 3"C can readily be maintained within the regions of the shelves 12 and 9.

Claims (6)

1. A refrigerator comprising support means for supporting items to be refrigerated, and a heat exchanger located above said support means such that in use ambient air is cooled as it falls past the heat exchanger and onto said items.

2. A refrigerator according to Claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is an evaporator comprising pipes containing relatively low pressure refrigerant which cools the ambient air as the refrigerant evaporates within the pipes.

3. A refrigerator according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein a drip tray is located beneath the heat exchanger but above the support means for collecting any condensation which drips from the heat exchanger, the drip tray comprising an array of substantially parallel troughs having first and second longitudinal edges and configured such that the first edge of each trough lies above but horizontally overlapping the adjacent second edge of a neighbouring trough.

4. A refrigerator according to any proceeding claim, wherein said support means comprises a bottom display shelf and at least one intermediate display shelf, and an air channel is defined to the rear of the or each intermediate air display shelf to allow cooled air to fall past the or each intermediate display shelf to reach items supported at a lower level.

5. A refrigerator according to any proceeding claim, wherein the front of the refrigerator is substantially open to allow permanent access to the refrigerated items.

6. A refrigerator, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.