WO2012162734A1 - Insulated food storage cabinets - Google Patents
Insulated food storage cabinets Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2012162734A1 WO2012162734A1 PCT/AU2012/000600 AU2012000600W WO2012162734A1 WO 2012162734 A1 WO2012162734 A1 WO 2012162734A1 AU 2012000600 W AU2012000600 W AU 2012000600W WO 2012162734 A1 WO2012162734 A1 WO 2012162734A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- panels
- insulation
- housing
- base
- wall
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47F—SPECIAL FURNITURE, FITTINGS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR SHOPS, STOREHOUSES, BARS, RESTAURANTS OR THE LIKE; PAYING COUNTERS
- A47F3/00—Show cases or show cabinets
- A47F3/04—Show cases or show cabinets air-conditioned, refrigerated
- A47F3/0439—Cases or cabinets of the open type
- A47F3/0469—Details, e.g. night covers
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47F—SPECIAL FURNITURE, FITTINGS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR SHOPS, STOREHOUSES, BARS, RESTAURANTS OR THE LIKE; PAYING COUNTERS
- A47F5/00—Show stands, hangers, or shelves characterised by their constructional features
- A47F5/10—Adjustable or foldable or dismountable display stands
Definitions
- the invention relates to a collapsible housing design for insulated food storage cabinets, including insulated food storage cabinets for use in a supermarket setting.
- the invention also relates to an assembly kit for a collapsible housing for an insulated food storage cabinet.
- Insulated food storage cabinets are commonly used for refrigerated food but may also be used to store food. They are used to display perishable, cooled or heated products which require storage at a controlled temperature. Such products include meat products, dairy products, deli products, fruits, vegetables, some processed food, drinks, hot food and frozen food.
- Insulated food storage cabinets are insulated as much as possible to maintain the integrity of the food contained in them. In the case of insulated food storage cabinets for storing frozen products, it is usual for them to have thick, vacuum-sealed doors to prevent the entry of warm air which could raise the temperature and adversely affect the contents. The less uncontrolled air that enters the cabinet, the more controlled the temperature is inside the cabinet and the less it costs to maintain the desired temperature.
- the insulated food storage cabinet is a store display cooler, then the ability to control the temperature is more limited.
- Some display insulated food storage cabinets have sliding glass doors that are poorly insulated, and are constantly opened and closed by customers and employees, which substantially decreases their efficiency.
- Other display insulated food storage cabinets are open fronted. Such display insulated food storage cabinets need powerful refrigeration and/or heating systems to keep the products at desirable temperatures.
- a central unit which comprises a refrigeration system for all of the insulated food storage cabinets in the building.
- individual cabinets may have their own refrigerant or cooling systems. Where there is a remote or centralised refrigerant or cooling system, the individual insulated food storage cabinets only need to contain an evaporator and fans. For the supermarket setting, the evaporator and fan assemblies are often located in the base of the housing.
- housings for insulated food storage cabinets differ depending on their application (refrigerator or freezer) and so they are typically manufactured separately to suit that specific application. There are housings for low temperature applications
- these insulated food storage cabinets are prefabricated modular units, assembled at a manufacturing facility. They are then transported to the installation site where they are installed directly without the need for further assembly. Such housings (being finished products) take up large amounts of transport volume and are expensive to transport (eg a limited number of these finished insulated food storage cabinets may be shipped in a standard shipping container or on a truck).
- housings for insulated food storage cabinets may be transported as separate components (ie unassembled or partially assembled) which enables more of them to be shipped for transport in a standard container. Assembly of these cabinets is carried out or completed on site.
- the final assembly of the cabinet is performed at a facility remote from the installation site. Further, assemblers of the insulated food storage cabinets require particular training, especially as the integrity of the insulated food storage cabinet is dependent upon achieving sealing/insulation relationships between a number of the components. Quality control of assembly is best achieved by standardising the assembly process. Typically, this has reinforced the practice of centralised assembly before transport notwithstanding the added transport cost.
- a housing for an insulated food storage cabinet comprising:
- the housing further comprises a cover member to cover the upwardly open cavity.
- the insulation wall defines a back wall and roof of the housing.
- the housing further comprises end or side insulation walls connected to the insulation wall when required to form an open fronted enclosure.
- a closable cooling cabinet is needed (eg to store frozen foodstuffs)
- at least one door may be connected to the housing to close the open front. That connection will typically be a pivotal connection or a sliding connection upon guide tracks.
- the adjacent panels abutting each other are connected to permit pivotal movement between a first position where the panels are not coplanar to a second position where the panels are coplanar.
- the connection between adjacent panels is a flexible member and/or a fixed hinged member.
- the adjacent panels are provided with complementary locators to fix adjacent panels in coplanar orientation.
- one of the panels would be provided with a groove or set of holes and the adjacent panel would be provided with
- an assembly kit for a housing for an insulated food storage cabinet comprising:
- the at least one wall support is movable from a first position located in and/or on the base to a position extending upwardly from the base.
- the adjacent panels to abut each other are connected to permit pivotal movement between a first position where the panels are not coplanar to a second position where the panels are coplanar.
- the connection between adjacent panels is a flexible member and/or a fixed hinged member.
- the pivotally connected panels are concertinaed against one another and located in and/or on the base.
- the adjacent panels of the assembly kit are provided with
- complementary locators to fix adjacent panels in coplanar orientation.
- one of the panels would be provided with a groove or set of holes and the adjacent panel would be provided with complementary projections to locate in the groove or hole.
- the housing according to the various embodiment of the invention is simple in design and simple to assemble avoiding the need to have highly skilled assemblers.
- the insulation wall is made up of a number of panels, which are typically of common length but may have common or different depth, it is possible to fabricate housings of different heights or widths using a modular approach.
- the base is typically designed so that at least some of the insulation panels may be stored in the base.
- the wall supports may be stored in the base.
- the invention is adapted to providing the assembly kit as a flat pack meaning that transport costs may be significantly reduced.
- the base having a lower member comprises four walls.
- the walls may have equal or different dimensions.
- opposed pairs of walls are parallel to each other.
- the base may further comprises a drain adapted to collect liquid and other materials which collect in the base of the cabinet.
- a drain adapted to collect liquid and other materials which collect in the base of the cabinet.
- the inner surface of the lower member slopes towards the drain to encourage drainage.
- the lower member of the base has a substantially flat outer surface destined to lay on a flat floor of the supermarket or similar venues.
- the base is a single integral component.
- the base is constructed from steel components with foam insulation, but may also be constructed using other materials such as plastic and insulated by a vacuum.
- the cavity of the base is typically adapted to receive one or more evaporators and one or more fans.
- the evaporator is adapted to cool the air circulating in the refrigerated insulated food storage cabinet and the fans circulate air through the evaporator assembly into the refrigeration space of the refrigerated insulated food storage cabinet.
- the evaporator and fans may be any suitable evaporator and fans used in refrigeration applications.
- the fan is mounted in the cover member.
- the insulation wall comprises at least two insulation panels which are adapted to be assembled together and directly or indirectly engage the at least one wall support.
- the panels may be rectangular and have a common length, but may have common or different depth.
- the insulation panels are 1875 mm x 2500 mm x 3750 mm in size.
- the insulation panels are adapted to be assembled adjacent to each other and when assembled, may be orientated substantially horizontally or substantially vertically adjacent to each other.
- adjacent edges of the insulation panels are connected using any connectors.
- the connectors are hinges. It will be understood that adjacent edges of the insulation panels must be complementary in shape to enable the sealed connection.
- the edges are substantially
- the insulation panels will be made from a sandwich construction using metal outer panels with an insulating core.
- the construction may also be completed using an enclosed moulded body using insulating core material or vacuum.
- the housing further comprises a roof formed from the insulation panels or supplied separately of the insulation panels. However, it will be understood that this may not be needed when the housing is inserted into a cavity which has a roof having adequate insulation properties.
- the roof insulation panel typically extends substantially perpendicularly to the rear insulation wall.
- the roof insulation panel is typically movable from a collapsed position against the other panels during transport to an erect position once installed so as to extend perpendicularly from the rear insulation wall.
- the roof insulation panel is rectangular.
- the roof insulation panel has the same length as the insulation panels of the rear insulation wall.
- the roof insulation panel may have equal or different width and thickness as the insulation panels of the rear insulation wall.
- the wall support may be any appropriate wall support that can be used to support a wall in an insulated food storage cabinet.
- appropriate wall supports include elongated members having a first end for fixing to the base. The elongated member may be fixed to the panels at any desired locations using conventional fixing means.
- the elongated member may be provided at its other end with a projection to support and enable the roof to be fixed in position.
- the projection extends substantially perpendicularly to the elongated portion of the member.
- the wall support may be stored in the base (collapsed position) during transport from the manufacture site to the installation site. Once at the installation site, the wall support is removed from the base and connected to the base in an erect position extending upwardly from the base.
- the housing may further comprise one or more side or end insulation walls comprising one or more side insulation panels.
- the side insulation wall extends perpendicularly from the base and perpendicularly to the rear insulation wall.
- the bottom edge of the bottom side insulation panel is connected to the lower edge of a side wall of the base, if the insulation panels are oriented horizontally.
- the bottom edge of the bottom side insulation and top edge of a side wall of the base may be connected by any means known in the art.
- the side insulation wall is connected to one or more side wall supports.
- the side wall support(s) may be any appropriate wall support that can be used to support a wall in an insulated food storage cabinet. Typically, these supports will have the same or similar features of the wall supports and engage the base in a similar way. Doors
- the housing further comprises doors. Doors are typically used when it is desired to use the housing for low temperature applications or when it is desired to reduce energy consumption.
- the doors are connected to one or more door supports. These will conventionally be sets of hinges to permit pivotal movement of the doors relative to the housing or guides to permit sliding movement of the doors relative to the housing.
- the housing further comprises one or more display fittings adapted to accommodate items to be cooled or heated.
- the display fittings are connected to the rear insulation wall using bracketing but in some instances the fitting may not be required.
- a sealant may be applied between the adjacent pairs of edges of the various walls and panels when the insulated food storage cabinet is or has been assembled.
- the sealant may be any suitable sealant for use in refrigeration applications. Examples of suitable sealants include mastic, foam or similar.
- the insulated food storage cabinets of the present invention once assembled are connected through piping to a refrigeration system comprising a refrigeration circuit.
- a refrigeration system comprising a refrigeration circuit.
- Such refrigeration circuits typically comprise compressors and condensers/heat exchangers.
- suitable refrigeration systems include those described in Australian provisional patent application number 2010902416, Australian provisional patent application number 2010902417 and Australian patent application number 2006200241.
- the housing for an insulated food storage cabinet provides a number of advantages including:
- kit assemblies for a housing is adapted for flat packing and stacking
- Figure 1 is a drawing of a perspective view of a flat pack version of a housing according to the invention.
- Figure 2 is a perspective view of a partially expanded view of the housing of Figure 1.
- Figure 3 is a perspective view of an expanded view of the housing of Figure 1 with the rear insulation wall completely extended with a roof panel in place.
- Figure 4 is a perspective view of the housing of Figure 1 with a wall support erected.
- Figure 5 is a perspective view of the housing of Figure 1 with shelves installed.
- Figure 6 is a cross sectional view of the base of the housing of Figure 1. Detailed description of the embodiments
- housing 10 for an insulated food storage cabinet is in a collapsed (or flat pack) form which may be readily and efficiently transported.
- Housing 10 comprises base 20, rear insulation wall 30 and roof insulation panel 33.
- Base 20 comprises a cavity 21 (see Figures 2 and 6), a lower member 22 and walls 23, 24, 25 and 26.
- Base 20 is connected to channel 27 which provides support for the base 20. Holes may be provided for refrigeration piping.
- Rear insulation wall 30 comprises two insulation panels 31, 32.
- Wall 23 of the base 20 is connected to the bottom insulation panel 31 using a hinge.
- the bottom insulation panel 31 is connected to top insulation panel 32 using a hinge and the top insulation panel 32 is connected to roof insulation panel 33 using a hinge.
- these hinges may be full length hinges.
- wall supports 41, 42, 43 and 44 are connected to base 20, rear insulation wall 30 and roof insulation panel 33. Typically these may be pivotally attached to the base so all that is needed is to rotate them into an upright position.
- shelves 50 are connected to wall supports 41, 42, 43, 44 using conventional shelving bracket systems.
- base 20 is shown as a cross section.
- Base 20 comprises a cavity 21, a lower member 22 and walls 23, 24, 25 (not shown) and 26 (not shown).
- Base 20 also comprises drain 28 adapted to collect liquid and other materials which collect in the base.
- the inner surface of lower member 22 is sloped towards the drain 28.
- Base 20 comprises evaporator 60 and fan assembly 70.
- Fan assembly 70 comprises a panel 71 and fans 72.
- the housing 10 is designed so that it may take on a collapsed or flat pack configuration. It may be erected and installed by carrying out the assembly sequence of Figures 2 to 5.
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- Devices That Are Associated With Refrigeration Equipment (AREA)
- Packages (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU2012262656A AU2012262656A1 (en) | 2011-06-01 | 2012-05-29 | Insulated food storage cabinets |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU2011902131A AU2011902131A0 (en) | 2011-06-01 | Insulated food storage cabinets | |
AU2011902131 | 2011-06-01 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2012162734A1 true WO2012162734A1 (en) | 2012-12-06 |
Family
ID=47258155
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/AU2012/000600 WO2012162734A1 (en) | 2011-06-01 | 2012-05-29 | Insulated food storage cabinets |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
AU (1) | AU2012262656A1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2012162734A1 (en) |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4043624A (en) * | 1974-01-14 | 1977-08-23 | Whirlpool Corporation | Refrigeration apparatus wall structure |
JPH11276315A (en) * | 1998-03-30 | 1999-10-12 | Nakano Refrigerators Co Ltd | Open showcase |
DE102006020717B3 (en) * | 2006-05-04 | 2007-07-05 | Kunststoff- Und Blechverarbeitung Burkhardt Gmbh | Cooling shelf assembly for refrigerator, has rear panel and slab modules fastened at rack module, and fastened at base module, where modules are transportably and packably separated and assembled by form-fit and/or force-fit connections |
-
2012
- 2012-05-29 WO PCT/AU2012/000600 patent/WO2012162734A1/en active Application Filing
- 2012-05-29 AU AU2012262656A patent/AU2012262656A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4043624A (en) * | 1974-01-14 | 1977-08-23 | Whirlpool Corporation | Refrigeration apparatus wall structure |
JPH11276315A (en) * | 1998-03-30 | 1999-10-12 | Nakano Refrigerators Co Ltd | Open showcase |
DE102006020717B3 (en) * | 2006-05-04 | 2007-07-05 | Kunststoff- Und Blechverarbeitung Burkhardt Gmbh | Cooling shelf assembly for refrigerator, has rear panel and slab modules fastened at rack module, and fastened at base module, where modules are transportably and packably separated and assembled by form-fit and/or force-fit connections |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
AU2012262656A1 (en) | 2013-05-02 |
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