TWI473585B - Cabinet doors - Google Patents

Description

Cabinet door

The present invention relates to cabinet doors. In particular, the present invention relates to cabinet doors for use in a retail display environment.

In recent years, government groups have deliberately restricted the display of certain products in a retail environment while still allowing them to be sold to consumers. For example, some governments limit the ability of retailers to display tobacco products.

The introduction of such restrictions can lead to difficulties for retailers.

First, many merchants have invested heavily in display cabinets for displaying such products and may need to replace such display cabinets to meet these limitations.

In addition, display restrictions prevent retailers from making consumers aware of new or improved products.

Moreover, since there is no suitable alternative cabinet structure for accommodating such products, it is difficult for the retailer to ensure that the product is always displayed (unless the product is allowed to be sold to the consumer), thereby placing the retailer at risk of breaching the restrictions.

The present invention seeks to address the above and other problems.

According to the present invention, there is provided a door unit for a display cabinet, the door unit comprising: a frame holding at least two sliding doors such that the doors are slidable between open and closed positions and the doors close the frame Different openings in the The door edges are offset from each other in a direction perpendicular to a sliding direction of at least one of the doors; and a connection arrangement for selectively connecting the two doors such that the connection is opened when the first one of the doors is opened The second body of the doors is configured to be pulled apart and the connection is disengaged when the second of the doors is opened such that the first door remains closed.

The doors can be positioned adjacent to each other and configured such that they slide in the same direction. The connection configuration can be configured for one tooth and notch to enable the two doors to engage each other when the first door is opened and to disengage from each other when the second door is opened.

The frame can be configured such that it can be retrofitted onto a standard display cabinet.

The unit may further have one or more door closing mechanisms to enable one or more doors to be automatically closed. The closing mechanism may include one or more of a hydraulic closing mechanism, a bias weight closing mechanism, a weight pulley, a spring and a ratchet or a helical spring drive mechanism.

Preferably, the door is formed from an opaque material.

The unit and/or frame and/or door can be configured such that it can easily secure an advertisement or display an oriented material.

In the case of the unit of the present invention, the retailer can automatically display the alternative product to the user while obtaining the product requested by the consumer. In addition, the retailer can meet the display limit requirements and by modifying one of the units of the present invention without having to install a new cabinet.

The retailer can also ensure that the product is displayed only when the product is accessed by the automatic closing of the door, so that the door does not unintentionally remain open and the product remains in the display cabinet continuously.

Examples of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

Referring to Figure 1, a unit in accordance with the present invention is formed from a frame formed by top and bottom frame members 6 and side frame members 8. The top and bottom frame members 6 and side frame members 8 can be attached to a cabinet frame in use, the cabinet frames being transported as a unit or alternatively configured to have both a display cabinet depending on which one has been installed. Transformation. In this example, the top and bottom frame members 6 and side frame members 8 support the fixed doors 1, 4 formed of an opaque material. The top and bottom frame members 6 and the side frame members 8 also support the rails 7 and the sliding doors (i.e., the upper door 2 and the lower door 3). The upper door 2 and the lower door 3 slide on the track 7 between a closed position (as shown in Figure 1) and an open position (as shown in Figures 2a and 2b). The upper door 2 and the lower door 3 are also formed of an opaque material. When in the closed position and the unit has been assembled, the consumer cannot see the contents of the cabinet on which the top and bottom frame members 6 and side frame members 8 are attached.

A connection arrangement 5 is formed on the edges of the upper door 2 and the lower door 3 adjacent to each other. As can be seen from the figure, the upper door 2 and the lower door 3 close different openings in the frame, and the upper door 2 and the lower door 3 are offset from each other in one direction perpendicular to the sliding direction of the door. In the example of FIG. 1, a tooth and notch configuration is configured such that, in use, when the upper door 2 is slid toward an open position, the teeth and recesses are disengaged and only the upper door 2 is open. However, the tooth and notch configuration is also configured such that when the lower door 3 is opened, the teeth and recesses are configured to engage and open the upper door 2 when the lower door 3 is opened. This configuration ensures that the retailer can position the product in the most appropriate and optimal manner for scaffolding and inventory management to be able to understand the cabinet When the contents of any location need to be replaced.

Of course, it should be understood that alternative tooth and notch configurations can be provided. For example, one of the simple stepped configurations shown in Figures 1, 2A, and 2B, but the recesses may have a triangular shape. It should also be appreciated that more complex engagement mechanisms can be provided to give the same functionality.

It should also be understood that the connection between the two doors can be configured as an alternative configuration such that the lower door is always open even if the upper door is opened.

Figure 3 shows an alternative configuration in which a second set of sliding doors (and fixed doors 1, 4) are provided and a suitable tooth and notch configuration is provided between the doors. In this case, the door of the second group can be slid after opening the door of the first group to allow access to another zone of the cabinet and having the same function as in the first example.

As mentioned above, the connection configuration can be placed on one or more of the sliding doors to ensure that the door is automatically closed when the door is not accessed. 4A-4F show various illustrative configurations that can be used to implement this functionality.

For example, Figure 4A shows the arrangement of a hydraulic piston 10 configured by a sliding door in one of the closed positions. Figure 4B shows a pivot weight configuration 11 that also biases the sliding door toward a closed position. Figure 4C shows a spring and ratchet configuration 12 and Figure 4D shows a weight and pulley configuration 13. Figure 4E shows a spring extension coil 14 that provides the same purpose. A slightly more complex configuration is shown in Fig. 4F instead, whereby an inclined rail 7 is provided to the door such that it is biased into its closed position by its own weight.

In the configuration of Figure 1, the connection configuration 5 is clearly visible.

Figure 5 shows an alternative framework configuration that is capable of hiding the connection configuration 5. Phase The same component symbol indicates the component corresponding to the component in FIG. As can be seen from the development of Figure 5, the intermediate track 7 has a space 20 defined by two opposing bars 21 and 22. Next, the space 20 enables the second pair of doors 1, 4 to have a connection arrangement 5 that is positioned within the space 20 and thus hidden by one of the rods 22 of the intermediate track 7.

Figure 6 shows an alternative configuration in which the intermediate track 7 supports the second pair of doors 1, 4 and has a configuration that extends to the rear of the intermediate track 7 and is thus concealed.

It should be appreciated that any of the illustrative configurations in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 can be applied to any of the earlier examples to be able to hide the connection configuration 5.

As understood from the above description, the present invention provides a set of cabinet doors to enable retailers to simply and efficiently meet changing regulations relating to the display of certain products. It also enables retailers to position products in the most appropriate and optimal manner for scaffolding and inventory management and to enable retailers to monitor the contents of the entire cabinet.

1‧‧‧Fixed door

2‧‧‧Home

3‧‧‧Next door

4‧‧‧Fixed door

5‧‧‧ Connection configuration

6‧‧‧Top and bottom frame parts

7‧‧‧ Track

8‧‧‧Side frame parts

10‧‧‧Hydraulic piston

11‧‧‧ pivot weight configuration

12‧‧‧ Spring and ratchet configuration

13‧‧‧ Heavy objects and pulley configuration

14‧‧‧Spring extension coil

20‧‧‧ space

21‧‧‧ pole

22‧‧‧ pole

1 is a front view of one of the units according to the present invention; FIGS. 2A and 2B show the open position of the unit of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 shows an alternative configuration of the present invention in which at least four sliding doors are provided; FIG. 4A to 4F shows various alternative automatic closing mechanisms that can be used as components of the present invention; FIG. 5 shows an alternative frame configuration with a hidden connection configuration; and FIG. 6 shows a detailed cross section of another configuration with a hidden connection configuration. Figure.

1‧‧‧Fixed door

2‧‧‧Home

3‧‧‧Next door

4‧‧‧Fixed door

5‧‧‧ Connection configuration

6‧‧‧Top and bottom frame parts

7‧‧‧ Track

8‧‧‧Side frame parts

Claims (12)

A door unit for displaying a cabinet, the door unit comprising: a frame holding at least two sliding doors such that the doors are slidable between open and closed positions and the doors close different openings in the frame, The door edges are offset from each other in a direction perpendicular to a sliding direction of at least one of the doors; and a connection arrangement for selectively connecting the two doors such that when one of the first doors is opened The connection configuration engages with the second of the doors to also pull it apart and the connection configuration disengages when the second one of the doors is opened such that the first door remains closed. The unit of claim 1 wherein the phyla are positioned adjacent to each other. The unit of claim 1, wherein the doors comprise a door and a door. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the doors are configured such that they slide in the same direction. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the connection configuration comprises a tooth and a notch configuration that enables the two doors to engage each other when the first door is opened and when the second door is opened Get rid of each other. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the frame is configured such that it is reversibly assembled on a standard display cabinet. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising one or more door closing mechanisms to enable one or more of the doors to be automatically closed. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the closing mechanism comprises one or more of a hydraulic closing mechanism, a bias weight closing mechanism, a weight pulley, a spring and a ratchet or a helical spring drive mechanism. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the doors are opaque Material formation. A unit as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, which is configured such that an advertisement or display material can be fixed thereon. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the connection configuration is hidden by a component positioned on the frame. A display cabinet comprising an outer casing comprising one or more shelves and further comprising a unit of any of the preceding claims retained on the outer casing.