US1859826A - Refrigerator show case - Google Patents

Description

May 2 1932- c. v. HILL REFRIGERATOR SHOW CASE Filed Oct. 9, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 \W w w w. w

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May 24, 132mg 1930 2 Shs=et5-$heet Filed Oct.

Patented May 24, 1932 UNITED STATES CLEMENT V. HILL, F TRENTON, NEW ERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 C. V. HILL & 00., INC., OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY REFRIGERATOR SHOW CASE Application filed October 9, 1930. Serial No. 487,578.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerator show cases of that type provided with refrigerating means for preserving articles of food contained therein, and also pro- 5 vided at the front with a transparent panel formed of panes of glass whereby all or a portion of the articles stored in the case may be displayed to prospective customers.

Certain kinds of frozen or frosted food products now on the market require the use of a refrigerator case differing from a standard refrigerator case in its ability to establish and maintain a temperature below 32 F., generally 20 F. or lower, for preserving the frozen or frosted products in such condition, and such super-cold refrigerators also depend for their efficiency on maintaining a still cold, namely, a cold air with little or no circulation, in order to prevent the deposit of moisture and formation of vision obscuring frost upon the transparent panel.

Refrigerators of the character referred to are commonly provided with a door'or doors at the rear to allow access to the case, and a difficulty in their use is that each time this door is opened warm air rushes through the doorway and across to the front of the case and fogs the transparent panel, thus rendering such panel useless for observation purposes.

7 One object of my invention is to provide a novel construction and arrangement of baffle means, for use in show cases, to establish a circulation and direct the flow of warm and cold air in such a manner as to entirely prevent or reduce to an immaterial minimum fogging or frosting of the transparent observation or display panel.

A further object of the invention is to provide bathe means operable in like manner in a show case having upper and lower storage chambers and observation panels to prevent the panels or either of them from being fogged on the opening of a door.

A still further object of the invention is to provide baffling means of novel construction and so combined and operating in conjunction with a refrigerating unit as to secure a most reliable and eflicient refrigerating action and maintenance of the transparent display panel or panels in a clear condition at all times.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a baffle or baffles which are readily removable for the purpose of enabling the nterior of the refrigerator to be defrosted, 1. e., to have its surfaces scraped for the removal of frost deposits.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a vertical front-to-rear section through one form of refrigerator display case embodying my invention, and showing the application of the invention to an upper storage compartment thereof.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the baflle plate or pan employed in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. l is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modification of my invention employing baflle means in association with a lower storage compartment of the refrigerator case.

Fig. 5 is a detail section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

The invention may be applied to refrigerator show cases of varying types or forms, and hence'the invention is not restricted in this connection, certain embodiments of the invention in connection with refrigerator cases of certain forms being disclosed for exemplification purposes only.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, of the drawings, 1 designates a refrigerator show case which, in the exemplification shown, is of oblong rectangular form below its horizontal center and provided with upwardly converging front and rear walls 2 and 8 connecting with a substantially flat top wall 4, which may be employed as a service counter. This refrigerator case is provided with a lower storage compartment 5 having on or more doors 6 at the rear for the introduction and removal of articles, and said case has an upper storage and display compartment 7 provided in its front wall 2 with a transparent observation or display panel 8 and in its rear wall 3 with one or more doors 9 for the introduction and removal of articles. The panel 8 may consist, as usual, of a plurality of panes of glass, spaced to provide air insulation spaces between the adjacent panes of glass.

The case is provided with a refrigerating unit 10 of coil type for the circulation of a suitable refrigerant, for the purpose of maintaining the chambers or compartments 5 and 7 at the desired low temperature. This unit preferably consists of a single continuous pipe coil in the form of a loop, whose upper and end limbs or portions, respectively, lie close to and parallel with the top wall 4 and end walls 4 of the chamber 7 and whose lower limbs or portions extend horizontally across the base of the chamber 7 and between the same and the top of the chamber 5. This COll is preferably encased in a correspondingly shaped sheet metal jacket 11, the top, end and bottom walls of which are formed of substantially flat plates and provide a smooth surfaced casing for the parts of the coil and which are of a proper degree of conductivity as to not interfere thermally with the refrigerating action of the coil. The bottom portion of this jacket or casing also serves with the bottom limbs of the coil as a smooth walled partition separating the chambers 5 and 7 from each other and forming a shelf to support articles disposed for storage and display in the chamber 7.

This refrigerator is designed to hold frozen or frosted products which should be kept at a temperature below the freezing point, and ordinarily at a temperature of between 15F. and 20 F., and the construction of the refrigerator casing and refrigerating unit should be such that the refrigerated atmosphere within the refrigerator case will be substantially still, or without circulating or traveling currents, in order to prevent abstraction of moisture from the refrigerated articles and the deposit of moisture on the transparent panel. ,In the use of such a refrigerator, however, whenever the door is opened, for the purpose of getting access to the chamber 7, warm air rushes through the doorway into the chamber and on striking the top of the chamber is deflected downwardly and forwardly and comes into contact with the glass of the panel 8, resulting in the latter being more or less heavily fogged, so that the contents of the chamber can not be seen through the panel. My invention provides a means for overcoming this objection and also for permitting ready and convenient defrosting of the walls or surfaces of the refrigerator chambers whenever required and without removing the refrigerated articles from the case.

In carrying my invention into practice I provide within the top chamber 7 a panshaped baffle member 12, comprising a sheet metal plate of generally rectangular or oblong rectangular form and having at the sides thereof upstandin walls or flanges 13 and at the front thereof 13. The walls 13 extend the full distance between the front and rear edges of the plate 12 and are of gradually increasing depth from rear to front, so that when the upper edges of the walls 12 are disposed in a horizontal plane the plate 12 will incline or slope at a downward and forward angle. This bafile member is disposed at the top of the chamber so that the upper edges of the walls 12 bear against the underside or inner face of the top wall of the jacket 11 and so that the plate 12 is spaced at its rear edge a short distance from the rear wall 3, at its front edge a somewhat greater distance from the wall 2, and with its body portion inclined downwardly and forwardly as described to provide a displacement chamber between it and the top part of the jacket which increases in depth between its front and rear edges. The bafile member so formed and arranged may be detachably supported in position in any preferred manner. In the present instance, the bafiie member is provided at its front edge with lugs 14 to rest upon brackets 15 at the sides of the jacket 11 and is engaged and supported and detachably held in position at its rear edge by a spring catch or keeper 16 depending from the top portion of the jacket 11. Other suitable means may, of course, be provided for holding the baflie member in position in lieu of the means shown, the object being to mount the bafiie member so that it may be readily and conveniently removed whenever it is desired to clean the interior of the chamber 7. The easy removability of the baflle member also adapts it to be detached and withdrawn in a Very simple and easy manner and in a short period of time in order to enable an operator to have access to the interior surfaces for defrosting them, namely, removing accumulated frost by means of a scraper, without the absolute necessity of removing the food products from the chamber.

The operation of the baflle member and the air displacement chamber formed thereby, in preventing fogging or frosting of the panel 8, is as follows:

l/Vhen the door 9 is opened to give access to the chamber 7, there is an immediate rush of warm air from the outside into said chamber. A portion of this air flows directly upward against the top of the refrigerator, or top part of the jacket 11, and into the displacement chamber formed by the bafile pan and displaces the cool air therefrom, which flows forwardly and out at the front of the pan and downwardly below the flange 13. Another portion of the warm air flows directly forward beneath the baflie pan and toward the panel 8 and is checked by the a depending flange flange 13' and by the displaced downwardly flowing current of cold air, which thus is interposed between and acts as a cool air barrier between the warm air and the panel 8, thus protecting the latter from any material internal temperature changes. The major part of the air striking the bottom of the baflle pan is deflected downwardly and prevented from moving forward by the tempered and cooler air, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, and hence a circulation is established, as a result of which the warm air upon entering the chamber 7 is caused to flow in a somewhat circular path, remote from the panel 8, and in its course of flow the air is cooled and all warm air is prevented from encountering and causing fogging or frosting of the glass panel. Thus the door 9 may be opened at any time for such period as may be necessary to insert or remove articles without causing fogging or frosting of the glass panel and thereby impairing its transparency and rendering its useless for its intended purpose of permitting observation from without of the contents of the chamber. It will be observed that the baffle member does not take up any great amount of useful storage space, and that it may be entirely removed in the event it is desired to entirely fill the chamber 7 for storage purposes solely, or to permit it and the interior of the refrigerator to be cleaned without interference.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the construction of the refrigerator display case 1 is substantially the same as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, except that the lower chamber 5 is provided in its front wall with a transparent panel 8 similar to the panel 8 of the upper chamber 7. The upper chamber 7 a is here provided w th a baffle plate or pan 12 of the construction previously described, but the bottom part1- tion or supporting shelf portion 11 formed by the corresponding portions of the refrigerator coil and jacket is inclined downwardly and forwardly to form with one or more superposed baflle members 17 an inclined baflle device and one or more associated a1r displacement chambers or channels 17. In the present instance a plurality of .baflle members 17 of inverted trough-shaped formation are shown which are arranged side by side in parallel relation and rest upon the shelf 11 to form a plurality of displacement channels and a supporting or shelf surface thereabove on which the stored articles may be placed. By this means a baflie structure is provided to prevent warm air entering the chamber 5 when the door 6 is opened from passing upwardly into the chamber 7* and to prevent such warm air from also passing directly from front to rear of the chamber 5* and fogging or frosting the panel 8*. lVhen the door 6 is opened a portion of the air will OUGI bll HUUHI flow upwardly between the rear wall of the chamber 5 at its top and the rear ends of the chambers or channels 17 and displace therefrom the cool air which will flow downwardly and forwardly into the front part of chamber 5, and another portion of the warm air entering the door 6 will strike the inclined bottom 11 of the jacket and be deflected downwardly thereby, and this portion of the warm air will meet the displaced cool air which will prevent the warm air from flowing forwardly and act as an insulating or cold barrier between the same and the panel 8 to prevent the latter from being fogged or frosted. The commingled currents of warm and cold air will then flow upwardly and toward the rear and through the channels 17, establishing a circulation which will carry with it any moisture liberated in the chamber 5 and prevent the same from being deposited on the panel. lVhen the door 6 is closed this air will be cooled until it reaches the same temperature as the remaining air, and an initial condition of cold still atmosphere will be re-established in the refrigerator case. lVith this construction also the individual baflle members 17 may be removed to permit the operations of cleaning or de-frosting to be carried out in a ready and convenient manner.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, mode of operation and advantages of my improved refrigerator display case with air controlling baflles will be readily understood and its advantage in preventing frosting or fogging of the observation panels appreciated. \Vhile the constructions disclosed for the purpose of carrying the invention into practical effect are preferred, it is to be understood that changes in the form, proportions and details of construction within the scope of the appended claims, may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim l. A refrigerator show case having a refrigerating chamber provided with a display panel and a door at opposite sides thereof, means for refrigerating said chamber, and a baflle device arranged in the top of the chamber and forming a cold air displacement and air flow channel having inlet and exit ends arranged respectively at the door and panel sides of the chamber, said channel increasing in depth between its inlet and exit ends and provided with a depending deflector flange at its exit end.

2. A refrigerator show case having a refrigerating chamber provided in opposite sides thereof with a display panel and a door, refrigerating means in said chamber, and an air circulation creating and baflle device disposed in the top of said chamber and com.- prisinga. pan-shaped body having an inclined bottom wall forming a channel having inlet and exit ends respectively located adj acent the door and anel sides of the chamber and of gradual y increasing depth between said ends, the exit of said pan being provided in spaced relation to the panel with a depending deflector flange.

3. A refrigerator show case having a refrigerating chamber provided in opposite walls thereof with a display panel and a door, refrigerating means for said chamber, and a baflie device in said chamber constructed and arranged to cause warm air entering the chamber on opening of the door to be divided into two streams, one passing upwardly and causing a downward displacement of cold air at the panel side of the chamber and the other being retarded by said baflie and insulated by said descending current of cold air from the panel, and a depending baffle flange at the panel side of the bafile.

4. A refrigerator show case having a refrigerating chamber provided in opposite walls thereof with a display panel and a door, a refrigerating element comprising a jacketed coiled loop disposed in said chamber and lining the top and bottom of said chamber and the sides thereof except those sides provided with the panel and the door, and means arranged in the chamber and surrounded by the coil for controlling the flow of warm air entering the chamber when the door is opened to prevent said air from fogging or frosting the panel.

5. A refrigerator show case having a refrigerating compartment provided in opposite sides thereof with a display panel and a door, a hollow conducting jacket of loop form arranged in said chamber and lining the top and bottom of the chamber and the sides of the chamber except those provided with the display panel and the door, a refrigerating coil of corresponding form surrounded by said jacket, and a baffle disposed in the chamber beneath the top of the jacket and operating on opening of the door to cause displacement of cold air from a part of the chamber and its movement to insulate the panel from the entering warm air.

6. A refrigerator show case having an upper compartment and a lower compartment, the upper compartment being provided at opposite sides with a display panel and a door, a hollow walled jacket disposed in the upper chamber and forming top, bottom and end walls for said chamber, the bottom wall of the jacket separating the upper chamber from the lower chamber, and a device in the top of said upper chamber operative on opening movement of the door and entrance of warm air through the doorway to draw the warm air upward and effect a displacement of cold air from the top of the chamber and to interpose said cold air as a barrier betweenthe warm air and the display panel.

7. A refrigerator show case having upper and lower compartments each provided in opposite sides thereof with a display panel and a door, a jacket of looped formation in the upper compartment and having a hollow wall lining the top, bottom and sides of saidcompartment, said bottom portion of the jacket also forming a partition separating the upper compartment from the lower compartment, a device in the top part of the upper compartment operative on opening movement of the door of said compartment and entrance of warm air to draw the warm air upward and displace cold air from the top of the compartment and cause said cold air to form a barrier between the transparent panel of said compartment and the warm air, a. refrigerating coil enclosed by the jacket, and channel forming means supported by the bottom of the jacket and operating on the opening of the door of the lower compartment and the entrance of warm air thereinto to draw the warm air upward and displace cold air and cause its downward travel to form an insulating barrier between the entering warm air and the panel of said compartment.

8. A refrigerator show case havin a refrigerating chamber provided with a isplay panel and a door at opposite sides thereof, a refrigerating element in said chamber, supporting projections on said element, a panshaped bafile device arranged in the top of the chamber and having side walls provided at one end with supporting projections to slidably engage and rest upon the supporting projections on the refrigerating element, and a spring latch carried by the refrigerating element to engage the pan at the side opposite the supporting projections thereof to detachably secure said pan in position.

9. A refrigerator show case having an upper compartment and a lower compartment, the upper compartment being provided at opposite sides with a display panel and a door, refrigerating elements at the top of the upper compartment and between said compartments and partitioning the upper compartment from the lower compartment, and baflles carried by the refrigerating elements and forming air circulating channels.

10. A refrigerator show case having an upper compartment and a lower compartment, the upper compartment being provid ed at oppositesides with a display panel and a door, refrigerating elements at the top of the upper compartment and between the upper and lower compartments and partitioning said compartments from each other, and a baffle device arranged for coaction with the refrigerating element at the top of the upper compartment and forming therewitha cold air displacement and air flow channel having inlet and exit ends arranged respectively at the door and panel sides of the compartment.

11. Arfrigerator show case having a refrigerating compartment provided with a display panel and a door at opposite sides thereof, and a bafiie device in the upper portion of said compartment between said panel and door, said device comprising a panshaped body embodying a bottom plate, and upstanding walls at opposite sides of the plate of gradually increasing height between the rear and front sides of said plate.

12. A refrigerator show case having upper andlowercompartments each provided in opposite sides thereof with a display panel and a door, refrigerating means at the top of the upper compartment and between the compartments, the latter-named refrigerating means forming a partition spaced at its front and rear edges from the front and rear walls of the case but otherwise separating said compartments from each other, a baflie device in the top of the upper compartment forming with the upper refrigerating element a cold air displacement and air flow channel, and baflie devices coacting with the lower refrigerating element and forming therewith air displacement channels communicating at their ends with the lower portion of the uper compartment and upper portion of the ower compartment at the front and rear thereof. a

13. A refrigerator show case of the character set forth in claim 12 wherein the lower refrigerating element comprises a jacket, refrigerant circulating pipes in said jacket, and a series of parallel channeled baffle devices extending along the upper surface of said partition between the front and rear ed es thereof.

11 testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

CLEMENT V. HILL.

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