US1792748A - Refrigerator display case - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 17; l" 93l. c. B. LoNGsTRETH 1392343 nzrnmznmon DISPLAY cAss Filed sept. 23, 192s Y hl f3 Z 'if Q (Zarka famgdl''ef.

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Patented Feb. 17, 1931 v ,UNIITED *STTEES GHARLESYB. LONGSTRETH, or' DENVER, COLORADO l Y Y nnrniennaron. DisPLAY caen:

- "Application sied 'september 22,1929. serial No'. 394,446.

Hrlhisinvention relates to improvements in refrigerator display cases ofthe type employed in stores for displaying perishable goods, suchv as meats, dairy products, vege- 5 tables andfruits; Y 5 f It is the object of thisinvention to produce a refrigerator display case of Va vsimple and substantial construction,`which shall be so designedthat the goods contained therein will be visible to the customers Vfrom the 'front of the casingand in which the goods displayed shall be snpported ontwo surfaces placed at different Alevels and preferably inclinedwith the Vhorizontal so as to produce `a double display effect-that will give the customer a-better-opportunity of seeing and examining the goods than when the goods are all supported on a single surface. Y

'It is another object of this invention to' 20 produce a displaycase ofthe type specified which shall be provided with a separate compartment extending` the Ventire length ofthe -case along the lower rear portion of the refrigerator and within which` the refrigerating coils are located. This compartment is formed in part by a portion Vof the bottom and a portion of the rear wall and by a'metal plate which cooperates with the rear Wall and bottom to form the other two sides of the-com- 39 partment. By means' of thisv separate compartment, a smooth surface is provided on Whichthe goods can be supported and which, owing to the construction which will hereinafter be more fully described, can be easily kept clean. `By having the refrigerating coils enclosed in a separate compartment, the mois-V ture which is always contained Within the display compartment will be kept from contact with the refrigerator pipes, and therefore the accumulation of frost on the pipes-can be, to a great extent, prevented, It is another object of this invention to provide a display case in which the usual horizontal Awrap,ping shelf at the rear has been dispensed with so that the Case' can be' made smaller and be constructed at a cheaper price without interffering` with the desirable qualitiesthereof. By providing a separate compartmentfer the refrigerator pipes',the crd-- nary compartment that isyusually provided as the description proceeds.

for therefrigerant" can 'be dispensed with without decreasing the capacity ofthe case,

all as will hereinafter become more evident ,The aboveV and other objects that may be- 55 icome apparent as they description proceeds,

are attained by means of a construction and an arrangement of parts thatl will now beA described'in detail, and for this purpose, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing, in which the preferred embodiment has been illustrated, andin which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of my improved refrigeratordisplay case; Fig. 2 is a; transverse section taken on line Y -Fig. 3 is a transverse section tliroughthe refrigerator compartment showing the same 1n greater detail.

My improved refrigerating display case, ""0

`which will now be described, has been shown as supported on a base 1 which Will not be described in detail as'it forms no part of my invention, except to] the extent that it serves to hold the casein proper position. The display case which forms the subject of this invention consists of a bottom 2 which is preferably made from boards and a rear Wall 3,

which is also made from wood. A cork lining is connected to the top of the bottom B0 2, andfto the inside of the rear wall in the manner shown in Fig. 2.' 1A bottom stile 5) rests on the frontY edge of the bottom 2 and extends upwardly a short distance above the upper surface'of the cork lining'. A mould- 35 ing 6 is secured to the innerside of the rear wall 3, A metal lining which is formed from two pieces 7 and 8` forms: the inner surface of thebottoln and the rear wall, and rests against the inner surface ofthe cork lining'. 90 The part designated by reference numeral 7 is preferably formedfrom galvanized sheet Vand terminates adjacent the front glass wall 9. The part designated by reference numera! 8 is preferably construetedcf Mone'l nietaland is connected with the plat?? 7 by -inearisof a; lock sea-ni joint 10 and has its les upper edge connected to the moulding 6 as indicated at 11. It Will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 2, that the cork insulation is thoroughly protected by the metal lining and that the insulation can therefore be kept dry so that its insulating properties Will be preserved. lThe case is provided with end Walls l2 and 13 which are preferably formed f1 in opaque material, such as Wood or metal, that portion of the end Walls which has been designated by numeral 1d is formed from glass. A Wooden bar 15 connects the upper front corners of the Walls 12 and 13 and this as well the part 6 is provided with rabbets 16 and 1.7 in which the doors 18 are slidable. These doors are provided With glass panels 19 in the manner shown in Fig. 2. The doors are ea h substantially one-ha f the len gth of the opening that they close, so that by sliding one of the doors With respect to the other access can be had to the interior of the casing. A piece of plate glass 2O rests on the upper edges of the front glass plate 9 and t ie end plates 1a and has its rear edge resting in a rabbet 21 in the bar 15. lt will be seen from the description above that the case has its Walls formed to a great extent from glass that the interior thereof will be clearly visible. The rear inclined portion of the top is provided With a scale shelf 22.

For the purpose of co-oling the interior of this casing, a refrigerator coil, comprising pipes 23 is provided. l These pipes contain some refrigerant and are usually connected with ordinary electric refrigerating machine of any approved type, or they may contain brine Which is circulated through. the pipes by means of a. suitable pump. These pipes may be supported by means of spaced suliporting members 24 that are provided with openings through which the pipes pass. rlhe refrigerating coil is located Within a. compartment which is formed in part by the lower portion of the lining of the rear wall and the rear portion of the lining of the bottom. The other two Walls of the compartment are formed from a single sheet of enameled sheet metal, which is bent so as to form tivo sides 25 and 26, Which extend at right angles to each other, but which may also make an obtuse angle as the exact angular' relationship is not material. The lower edge of side 25 is soldered or otherwise secured to the lining 7 at 27 and the rear edge of the upper portion 2G is secured to the lining 8 along line 28. If Water tight seams or joints are provided at -27 and 28, the moist air from the interior of the casing cannot enter the chamber and therefore there Will be no accumulation of frost on thefrefrigerating coils. It Will be seen from the drawing that after the top and front side of the compartment have been'put in-place, that the entire bottom of the casing Will be formed by the smooth metal surfaces of plate 7 and sides25 and26 always an accumulation of moisture to the i rear of and underneath the pipes which makes it very difficult to keep the case clean.

The upper surface of the part marked 26 serves as a support for the rack 29 and the upper surface of the front portion of the bottom supports another rack 30. These racks are forwardly and downwardly inclined and are adapted to support the meat or other materia-l that is on display. By having the contents of the display casing on two different levels, a double display effect is produced which greatly improves the appearance of the case over what it Would be if the goods were supported ona single inclined surface in the customary manner. In addition to improving the appearance of the case, it is apparent that the capacity has not been decreased over what it Would be ifthe refrigerating coils were located in a compartment extending rearwardly beyond the rear Wall 3 in the customary manner, because the upper Wall of the compartment serves as a support for the article to be displayed in the manner above described.

It will be noticed that the usual Wrapping shelf that is formed by the upper Wall of the refrigerator compartment has been omitted in this design and the Wrapping is done on the sliding doors, as this has been found just as convenient as the level surface heretofore provided.

From the above description it Will be apparent that by providing a chamber 'within the display case, and by having the refrigerating coils in this chamber, a smaller display case can be used than has heretofore been thought practicable and besides decreasing the size, the construction has also been greatly simplified by the omission of the rear- Wardly extending refrigerator chamber. The

horizontally and vertically spaced supporting surfaces give a much better display effect for reasons above pointed out.

The construction above described, as has previously been mentioned, makes it possible to easily clean the inner surface of the case so th at it can be readily kept in a sanitary condition.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a refrigerator display case which possesses several marked advantages over the ordinary type of case, and which by the simple expedient of providing aeompartment for the refrigerating coils which is located within the body of the case, produces a case of much simpler design which still has as large a capacity as it Would have if the coils were located in a separate compartment. Y

n sheet whose edges are connected with the meti al lining of the bottom and the rear wall whereby an elongated compartment is formed for the reception of the cooling coils and whereby two separate supporting surfaces are formed on different levels, the rear surface being higher than the frontsurface.

2. A refrigerator display case having the rear wall, the bottom and a portion of the ends formed from opaque material and the top and front side made in part of glass, the rear wall and the bottom having a metal lining, the lower portion of the lining of the Y rear wall and the rear portion of the lining of the bottom forming twoY sides of aVV compartment that extends the entire length of the casing, the other two sides of the compartment being formed from a sheet of'metal having angularly related sides, the upper side being parallel with the bottom and having its edge secured to the lining of the rear Wall, the other side being secured to the lining of the bottom, whereby twosupporting surfaces are formed, the rear supporting sur- Y face being higher than the front supporting surface. n s

3. A refrigerator display case having a bottom and a rear wall formed from opaque heatv insulating material, the rear wall and bottom having a sheet metal lining, a metal sheet bent in the direction of its length into two angularly related parts, the edge of one of the parts beingv connected with the bottom and the edge of the other part being connected with the lining of the vertical wall whereby a chamber isformed for the reception of the refrigerating coils and whereby two vertically spaced display surfaces are formed.

4. A refrigerator display case having a cross section comprising a fiat bottom which is formed in part of heat insulating material and a rear wall which extends vertically along the rear edge of the bottom, a stile at the front edge of the bottom and projecting upwardly above the upper surface of the bottom, an upwardly and forwardly inclined wall extending from the upper end ofthe rear wall to a point about half the distance from the front to the rear, a fiat glass top extending from the front edge of the upwardlyand forwardly inclined top member and a front glass wall extendingfrom the i top of the stile to the forward edge of the flat glass top,'the inner surface of the rear wall and of the bottom having a metal 1ining, the lower Vportion of the rear wall and the rear portion of the bottom forming two sides of a refrigerating chamber whose other two walls are formed from a sheet metal plate bent into two angularly related parts whose free edges are secured one to the linin of the bottom and the other to the lining o the rear Wall.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES B. LONGSTRETH.

Cil

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