US3044841A

US3044841A - Display and dispensing cabinet

Info

Publication number: US3044841A
Application number: US44122A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hein Lester William
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-07-20
Filing date: 1960-07-20
Publication date: 1962-07-17
Anticipated expiration: 1979-07-17

Description

July 17, 1962 Filed July 20, 1960 L. W. HEIN DISPLAY AND DISPENSING CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. LesTelzWsLLiAM HHN July 17, 1962 L. w. HEIN 3,044,841

DISPLAY AND DISPENSING CABINET Filed July 20, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. LEQTEQWILLMM HEIN United States ate-t 3,044,841 DISPLAY AND DISPENSING CABINET Lester William Hein, 1526 E. Alton, Independence, Mo. Filed July 20, 1960, Ser. No. 44,122 1 Claim. (Cl. 2312-438) This invention relates to cabinets and, more particularly, to an improved construction of cabinets for display and dispensing of articles.

In lunch counters, restaurants, ice cream stands and the like, in food and refreshment dispensing locations, it is desirable to have cups, cones and like refreshment containers or other articles being dispensed arranged to provide ready access by the clerks or servers, and also to have such articles arranged whereby they are readily visible by the customers. It is common practice to have such articles arranged in stacks and tiers on counters, and it is quite common that the clerks or servers moving in limited space will accidentally brush against such tiers `and stacks, knocking them over and damaging same.

Also, such open display of the articles will permit dustY or other contamination to collect thereon whereby such an arrangement does not provide desired sanitary conditions.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide a cabinet adapted to contain a plurality of articles in an enclosed space with transparent portions providing a ready view of thev contained articles by customers; to provide such a structure with a movable closure member readily operable to give access to the displayed articles; to provide a closure member having cooperating engaging portions forming substantially dust-free seals; to provide such a'structure with members for receiving a plurality of nested articles whereby said articles may be easily removed one at a time without danger of damage to other contained articles; to provide such a cabinet structure in which the closure is easily removable for cleaning,`thereby facilitating cleaning and'maintenance of sanitary conditions in the cabinet; and to provide a cabinet structure which is economical to manufacture, capable of containing and protecting a large number of nested articles which are visible from the exterior and yet only require a small area of counter space or the like.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection wtih the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth by way of illustration and example certain ernbodiments lof this invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a cabinet embodying the features of the present invention with port-ions ybroken awayto illustrate a closure member guide.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the cabinet taken on the line 2-2, FIG. l, and illustrating the arrangement of nested articles therein.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective View of closure member panels and the hinge connections thereof.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of one end of a closure member panel.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional View through the cabinet taken on the line 5-5, FIG. l.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary Ysectional View through the cabinet taken on the line 6 6, FIG. l.

FIG. 7 is anenlarged sectional view taken on the line 77, FIG. l, and illustrating the ways for receiving and supporting nested articles.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

1 designates a cabinet particularly adapted to contain food or foodcontaining articles for convenient display and dispensing. The cabinet, in the illustrated structure, consists of connected

side walls

2 and 3, top wall 4, rear wall 5 and bottom wall 6, an upper front strip 7 and lower front strip 8, said walls and strips being connected together to form tight joints and being of suitable mate- ,to the top Wall 4 and

side walls

2 and 3 and depends from the top wall terminating as at 10 to cooperate with the

side walls

2 and 3 and lower front strip 8 in defining Va front opening 11 through which access is provided to the interior or compartmentV 12 of the cabinet in which articles are contained. The lower front strip 8 is preferably removable and has ends 13 engaging the inner faces 14 of the

side walls

2 and 3, the front face l5 of said strip preferably being coplanar with the forward edges 16 of

said walls

2 and 3. The rear face 17 of said strip 8 er1- gages the forward edge 6 of the bottom wall 6, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In the illustrated structure, angle brackets 18 are secured to the

side walls

2 and 3 by suitable fastening devices 19 with one -leg 2,0 of said angle brackets extending inwardly and overlying the front surface of the strip 8, suitable fastening devices 21, such as thumbscrews, being mounted in the bracket legs-20' and operable to engage the lower `front strip 8 to press same against the forward edge 6 of the bottom wall 6 and retain said front strip in position.

A movable closure member 22 is mounted in the cabinet and is operable to open and close the front opening 11 of the cabinet. The closure member 22 preferably consists of `a plurality of hingedly connected panels 23 of transparent material such as transparent synthetic resins I as, for example, Lucite or the like, wherein the panels individually are substantially rigid. The closure member panels 23 have

extensions

24 and 25 at their upper and ranged substantially at the longitudinal centers at the ends of the panels |23, said tongues preferably being of substantially the same thickness as the

extensions

24 and 25, thereby lesser in thickness than the panels 23, with the rear face 27 of said tongues substantially coplanar i with the rear faces t28 of the panels 23. The tongues 26 on the panels extend into opposed inwardly facing ways 29 formed by track or guide

members

30 and 31 positioned on the

side walls

2 and 3 and secured -to said side Walls by suitable fastening devices such as screws 32. Y

The

tracks ways

30 and 31 preferably have substanltially vertical portions 33 along each side of the front opening 1'1 and horizontal portions 34 fixed to the side walls adjacent to and slightly below the top wall 4, the vertical and

horizontal portions

33 and 34 being connected by au arcuate portion 35 to for-m continuous Ways for movement of the panels of the closure member. The trackways each have base portions -36 secured to said side walls with spaced flanges 37 and 38 extending inwardly therefrom to define the ways or grooves 29. The forward flange 37 has an inner edge-39 adjacent the end edges of the panels 23, and the rearward flange 38 extends beyond the end edges of the panels into underlying relation with end margins of the panels 23 -whereby said panels subl stantially engage the flanges 38 to form a seal therewith with lthe tongues extending into the ways or grooves 29 to guide the panels during movement in the trackways. The tongues 26 preferably are of substantially less width than the panels, as illustrated in FIG. 4, whereby said tongues will move in the arcuate portions 3S of the trackways without binding. The closure member is such that the lower edge 40 of the lowermost panel 41 will engage the upper surface 42 of the strip 8 slightly above the upper surface of the bottom wall 6, said front strip 8 having an upward extension 43 which overlies the front face of the lowermost panel 41, as -illustrated in PIG. 6, when the closure member is in closing position. The lowermost panel 41 also has a handle member 44 secured thereto for facilitating movement of the closure member.

The panels 23 of the closure member are hingedly connected substantially along the edges of the upper extensions 24 and, in the illustrated structure, the hinges consist of spaced plate members secured to the inner surface of the respective panels by suitable fastening devices such as screws 46, said plate members extending across the width of the panels 23 and upper extensions 24 thereon with the upper ends of the plate members having bent loop or bearing portions 47 which mate with corresponding loop or bearing portions 48 on the lower ends of the plates on adjacent panels to receive hinge pins 49 hingedly connecting the panels whereby the plate members of the hinge member form a chain-like connection for the panels.

When the closure member is in closing position, the panels are arranged whereby the uppermost panel 50 extends upwardly above the lower edge 16 of the top strip 7 and is adjacent thereto as illustrated in FIG. 2. When access is desired to the compartment 12, the handle member 44 is grasped and upward force applied to the closure member moving the panels upwardly in the ways 29 to provide a suitable access opening. It is preferred that the depth of the cabinet be such that the closure member can be moved upwardly until the handle 41 engages the lower edge 10 of the front strip 7.

Articles 51 are arranged on the bottom wall 6 and preferably are supported to prevent accidental damage as would occur if lthe stacks or tiers were knocked over. In storing articles to be dispensed, as, for example, ice cream cones or cups, such articles are usually tapered whereby they will nest and the lower edges have outwardly extending rims or beads 52 thereon. The bottom wall 6 preferably has upstanding rails 53 arranged in pairs with each of a pair having -inwardly extending anges S4, the spacing between the inner edges 55 of said flanges 54` being such that when an article, such as a cup, is moved into the space between the rails, the rims 52 will be between the flanges S4 and the upper surface of the bottom wall 6, and the inner edges 55 of the flanges 54 will be slightly spaced from the sides of the cup, as illustrated in FIG. 7. This holds the lowermost of the stack of nested cups in place, but permits same to be moved longitudinally of the pair of rails to move same to the rear of the cabinet and other cups may be stacked thereon in nested relation. The forward ends 56 of the rails are spaced from the forward end 6 of the bottom wall 6 to provide adequate space for the insertion of the lowermost cup or cone into alignment for movement between the respective pair of rails. With lthe closure member moved upwardly to provide access to the compartment 12, a person may remove a cup or cone or other article 51 positioned therein without danger of tipping over any stacks and, when the article is removed, the closure member 22 is moved downwardly into closing position to protect the articles from dirt and the like but still provides a view thereof, forming an attractive display of articles to be dispensed.

When it is desired to clean the cabinet, the thumbscrews 21 are loosened, and then the cabinet moved until the forward portion thereof extends from a counter or the like whereby the lower strip 8 may be slid downwardly and removed. Then the entire sliding closure member 22 may be moved downwardly in the trackways and removed. Then all of the contents of articles 51 should be removed and the cabinet is ready to be thoroughly cleaned to make same sanitary. After the cabinet is cleaned, the closure member 22 is moved into position whereby the uppermost panel 50 will have the tongues 26 thereof aligned with the grooves 29 of the trackways, Then, by moving the closure member upwardly, it will enter the trackways and be moved upwardly until it is in a position wherein the cabinet is open. The lower front strip 8 is then replaced and secured in position. The cabinet is then ready for further use.

It is to be understood that while I have illustrated and described one form of my invention, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown except insofar as such `limitations are included in the claim.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A display cabinet construction for food items and the like comprising, a casing having connected bottom, side, rear and top walls defining a compartment having an open front, guide means on said side walls having opposed inwardly facing channels adjacent the open front and top wall, said channels having straight portions at the front and top and connected by curved portions adjacent the upper portion of the open front said guide means having spaced apart opposed front and rear surfaces of said channels, said guide means terminating in open channel ends ad` jacent said bottom, a front closure member having a plurality of transparent panels hingedly connected along their opposite longitudinal edges, said panels having flat inner surfaces extending from opposite ends thereof, said panels having extensions at their upper and lower edges adapted to overlap corresponding extensions of adjacent panels and having sealing engagement therewith when said panels are in coplanar relation, tongues extending from opposite ends of the panels and being of substantiaily lesser width than said panels, said tongues being slidably engaged in said opposed channels for sliding movement of said closure member to and from closing relationship to said front opening, means extending from said guide means and having surfaces continuous with said rear surfaces of said guide channels and in overlapping relation with end portions of the panels to engage said flat inner surfaces thereof when said closure member is in closed position, a front member removably mounted on the side walls and engaging the bottom wall to close the lower ends of the channels of the guide means and form an abutment for engagement with the closure members when in closed position, clamp means carried by said side walls and releasably engaged with said front member to clamp same against said bottom whereby release of said clamp means and removal of the front member permits the closure member to be slid from the lower ends of the guide means, said front member having an upward extending iiange along the length thereof for overlapping engagement with a lower margin of the lowermost panel when the closure member is in closed position, and an upper front member secured to said top and side walls and extending downwardly from the top wall in overlying relation and in close proximity to the upper portion of the closure member.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 278,161 McKee May 22, 1883 340,579 Hirsh Apr. 27, 1886 967,856 Tappin Aug. 16, 1910 1,159,859 Murphy Nov. 9, 1915 1,305,838 Shur June 3, 1919 1,630,680 Twedt May 31, 1927 2,585,136 Kuehler Feb. 12, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 811,277 Germany Aug. 20, 1951 1,139,633 France Feb. 18, 1957