U.S. patent application number 10/156155 was filed with the patent office on 2003-08-14 for ice merchandiser.
Invention is credited to Waddle, Robert Michael, Weber, John III.
Application Number | 20030150230 10/156155 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27668131 |
Filed Date | 2003-08-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030150230 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Waddle, Robert Michael ; et
al. |
August 14, 2003 |
Ice merchandiser
Abstract
A packaged product merchandiser (such as an ice merchandiser)
for merchandising frozen or refrigerated packaged products
includes: (a) a housing in which a multitude of packaged products
(such as bags of ice) are to be stored, having at least one door on
the front wall thereof; (b) a cooling unit including a compressor
assembly; (c) an elevated shelf mounted within the housing
perimeter formed by the front, rear, top and side walls,
approximate the top wall of the housing, where the elevated shelf
seats the compressor assembly, and where the elevated shelf and
compressor assembly are substantially closed-off with respect to
the interior of the housing; and (d) at least two ventilation
panels, where each ventilation panel is installed on a respective
one of the front, rear, top and side walls over a corresponding
opening to the closed-off compressor assembly.
Inventors: |
Waddle, Robert Michael;
(Cincinnati, OH) ; Weber, John III; (Cincinnati,
OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TAFT, STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP
SUITE 1800
425 WALNUT STREET
CINCINNATI
OH
45202-3957
US
|
Family ID: |
27668131 |
Appl. No.: |
10/156155 |
Filed: |
May 28, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60355503 |
Feb 11, 2002 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/246 ;
62/440 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 23/003 20130101;
F25D 11/04 20130101; F25D 2400/10 20130101; A47F 3/0404
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/246 ;
62/440 |
International
Class: |
A47F 003/04; F25D
011/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A packaged product merchandiser for merchandising frozen or
refrigerated packaged products comprising: a housing having a front
wall, rear wall, two side walls, a top wall, and a bottom defining
an interior of the housing in which a multitude of packaged
products are to be stored, the planes of the front, rear, top and
two side walls defining a housing perimeter; at least one door on
the front wall providing access to the interior of the housing; a
cooling unit including a compressor assembly; an elevated shelf
mounted within the housing perimeter approximate the top wall of
the housing, the elevated shelf seating the compressor assembly,
wherein at least a majority of the packaged products may be stored
therebelow, the elevated shelf and compressor assembly being
substantially closed-off with respect to the interior of the
housing; and at least two ventilation panels, each ventilation
panel being installed on a respective one of the front, rear, top
and side walls over a corresponding opening in the respective one
wall to the closed-off compressor assembly.
2. The packaged product merchandiser of claim 1, wherein the shelf
and seated compressor assembly are positioned at a top-rear corner
of the housing substantially at an intersection of the top wall,
rear wall and one of the side walls.
3. The packaged product merchandiser of claim 2, wherein the
housing includes a collapsed portion at the top-rear corner
providing the elevated shelf.
4. The packaged product merchandiser of claim 3, wherein three of
the ventilation panels are provided on the top, rear and one side
walls.
5. The packaged product merchandiser of claim 4, wherein the three
ventilation panels are integral with each other to provide a
pyramidal ventilation corner cover.
6. The packaged product merchandiser of claim 1, wherein the shelf
extends from the front wall to the back wall of the housing and is
positioned substantially midway between the two side walls.
7. The packaged product merchandiser of claim 6, wherein a first
one of the ventilation panels is installed on the front wall and a
second one of the ventilation panels is installed on the rear
wall.
8. The packaged product merchandiser of claim 6, comprising two
doors provided on left and right segments of the front wall,
covering respective left and right access openings, the shelf being
positioned completely between the left and right access
openings.
9. The packaged product merchandiser of claim 1, wherein the
vertical distance between the shelf and the top wall is slightly
greater than the height of the compressor assembly.
10. An ice merchandiser for merchandising bags of ice, comprising:
a housing having a front wall, a rear wall, two side walls, a top
wall, a bottom and at least one door in the front wall providing
access to an interior of the housing in which a multitude of
ice-bags are to be stored; and a freezing device including a
compressor assembly, the compressor assembly being positioned at
the top-rear corner of the housing substantially at an intersection
of the top wall, rear wall and one of the side walls.
11. The ice merchandiser of claim 10, wherein the housing includes
a collapsed portion at the top-rear corner of the housing, the
collapsed portion providing a shelf, substantially external to the
interior of the housing, for seating the compressor.
12. The ice merchandiser of claim 11, further comprising a vented
cover mounted to the housing and concealing the collapsed
portion.
13. The ice merchandiser of claim 12, wherein the vented cover is
substantially pyramidal, having three sides that are substantially
flush with the top, rear and one side walls of the housing.
14. The ice merchandiser of claim 13, wherein the three sides of
the vented cover each include a plurality of vents uniformly
distributed substantially completely thereabout.
15. The ice merchandiser of claim 11, wherein the collapsed portion
is substantially pyramidal.
16. The ice merchandiser of claim 11, wherein the vertical distance
between the shelf and the top wall is slightly greater than the
height of the compressor assembly.
17. The ice merchandiser of claim 10, wherein at least two of the
top, rear and one side wall forming the top-rear corner are
ventilated to provide fluid communication between the compressor
assembly and the ambient environment.
18. The ice merchandiser of claim 10, wherein the top, rear and one
side wall forming the top-rear corner are ventilated to provide
fluid communication between the compressor assembly and the ambient
environment.
19. An ice merchandiser for merchandising bags of ice, comprising:
a housing having a front wall, a rear wall, two side walls, a top
wall, a bottom and at least one door in the front wall providing
access to an interior of the housing in which a multitude of
ice-bags are to be stored; a freezing device including a compressor
assembly; and a shelf, enclosed with respect to the interior of the
housing and positioned completely within the peripheral planes
formed by the front, rear, top and two side walls of the housing;
the shelf extending from the front wall to the back wall of the
housing; and the compressor assembly being seated on the shelf.
20. The ice merchandiser of claim 19, wherein the shelf is
positioned substantially midway between the two side walls.
21. The ice merchandiser of claim 20, comprising two doors provided
on left and right segments of the front wall, covering respective
left and right access openings, the shelf being positioned
completely between the left and right access opening.
22. The ice merchandiser of claim 20, further comprising: a first
ventilation panel installed over an opening to the shelf on the
front wall of the housing; and a second ventilation panel installed
over an opening to the shelf on the rear wall of the housing.
23. The ice merchandiser of claim 22, wherein the vertical distance
between the shelf and the top wall is slightly greater than the
height of the compressor assembly.
24. The ice merchandiser of claim 19, further comprising: a first
ventilation panel installed over an opening to the shelf on the
front wall of the housing; and a second ventilation panel installed
over an opening to the shelf on the rear wall of the housing.
25. The ice merchandiser of claim 19, wherein the vertical distance
between the shelf and the top wall is slightly greater than the
height of the compressor assembly.
26. An ice merchandiser for merchandising bags of ice, comprising:
a housing having a front wall, a rear wall, two side walls, a top
wall, a bottom and at least one door in the front wall providing
access to an interior of the housing in which a multitude of
ice-bags are to be stored; an enclosure positioned within the
interior of the housing, the enclosure having a top that is
substantially flush with the top wall of the housing, and the
enclosure being ventilated with respect to the external
environment; and a compressor assembly housed within the
enclosure.
27. The ice merchandiser of claim 26, wherein the enclosure has a
vertical height slightly greater than the height of the compressor
assembly.
28. The ice merchandiser of claim 27, wherein: the enclosure has
two sides substantially flush with a respective two of the front,
rear and side walls of the housing; and the two sides substantially
flush with the respective two of the front, rear and side walls of
the housing are ventilated.
29. The ice merchandiser of claim 28, wherein the top of the
enclosure is ventilated.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application Serial No. 60/355,503, filed Feb. 11, 2002.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present invention relates to refrigerated merchandisers
for storing and vending packaged products; and more particularly,
to ice merchandisers for vending bags of ice, having a novel
positioning of a compressor assembly for improved capacity,
efficiency and/or cleanliness of the merchandiser.
[0003] Ice merchandiser units are essentially refrigerated
cabinets, with at least one door providing access to the cabinet,
that store and vend bagged ice inside or outside of grocery stores,
convenient shops, gas stations and the like. The interior ice
merchandisers typically include at least one glass door while the
exterior merchandisers typically include insulated doors.
[0004] Many conventional ice merchandiser units position their
compressor assemblies of their freezer units at the bottom of the
ice merchandiser. Such compressor assemblies are typically enclosed
from the interior of the ice merchandiser housing by insulated
walls and are typically ventilated by positioning a ventilated
panel on the front wall of the ice merchandiser unit over an
opening that communicates with the compressor assembly enclosure.
This configuration may be disadvantageous in certain situations.
For example, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in
the art, such compressor assemblies tend to give off significant
amounts of heat, which tends to rise and potentially damaging to
the contents of the ice merchandiser unit. To counter the affect of
the heat rising from the compressor assembly and into the ice bags
stored in the ice merchandiser unit interior, the compressor
assemblies in such conventional ice merchandisers are heavily
insulated, decreasing the capacity of the ice merchandiser
interior. Furthermore, because the ventilation panel is positioned
close to the ground at the front of the ice merchandiser unit, it
tends to collect a significant amount of dirt and other debris
kicked up by foot traffic, for example, in front of the ice
merchandiser unit.
[0005] Additionally, some conventional ice merchandiser units
position their compressor assemblies on the top wall of the unit's
housing that defines the interior in which the bags of ice are
stored, where the compressor assembly is covered by a false top or
a shell. As such the added height of the unit provided by this
positioning of the compressor assembly may reduce the vertical
space left for the unit's storage capacity.
SUMMARY
[0006] The present invention provides an ice merchandiser, or a
packaged product merchandiser, including a shelf area or enclosure
positioned at a top-rear corner of the merchandiser housing or
along a top portion (such as the top-center) of the merchandiser
housing for enclosing the compressor assembly therein. Because the
compressor assembly is thus placed at the level of the
merchandiser's evaporators, the compressor assembly is positioned
within the merchandiser assembly in a space that is typically
unused, thereby increasing the capacity of the ice merchandiser.
Furthermore, because the heat rising from the compressor assembly
will not rise into the packaged products stored within the
merchandiser, the amount of insulation provided around the
compressor assembly enclosure may be decreased, thereby, further
increasing the capacity of the ice merchandiser. Likewise, because
heat from the compressor assembly will not tend to rise into the
refrigerated/frozen product, the efficiency of the merchandiser
unit may also be increased. Finally, because the ventilation panels
for the compressor assemblies are positioned well above the ground,
the compressor assemblies will tend to stay much cleaner.
[0007] Accordingly, it is the first aspect of the present invention
to provide a packaged product merchandiser for merchandising frozen
or refrigerated packaged products that includes: (a) a housing in
which a multitude of packaged products are to be stored having at
least one door on the front wall thereof; (b) a cooling unit
including a compressor assembly; (c) an elevated shelf mounted
within the housing perimeter formed by the front, rear, top and
side walls, approximate the top wall of the housing, where the
elevated shelf seats the compressor assembly, and where the
elevated shelf and compressor assembly are substantially closed-off
with respect to the interior of the housing; and (d) at least two
ventilation panels, where each ventilation panel is installed on a
respective one of the front, rear, top and side walls over a
corresponding opening to the closed-off compressor assembly. In a
more detailed embodiment, the shelf and compressor assembly are
positioned at a top-rear corner of the housing substantially at an
intersection of the top, rear and one of the side walls. In yet a
further detailed embodiment, the housing includes a collapsed
portion at the top-rear corner providing the elevated shelf. In yet
a further detailed embodiment, three of the ventilation panels are
provided on the top, rear and one side walls. In yet a further
detailed embodiment, the three ventilation panels are integral with
each other to provide a pyramidal ventilation corner cover.
[0008] In an alternate detailed embodiment to the first aspect of
the present invention, the shelf extends from the front wall to the
back wall of the housing and is positioned substantially mid-way
between the two side walls. In a further detailed embodiment, a
first one of the ventilation panels is installed on the front wall
and a second one of the ventilation panels is installed on the rear
wall. In an alternate detailed embodiment, the ice merchandiser
further includes two doors provided on left and right segments of
the front wall, covering respective left and right access openings,
where the shelf is positioned completely between the left and right
access openings.
[0009] In another alternate detailed embodiment of the first aspect
of the present invention, the vertical distance between the shelf
and the top wall is slightly greater than the height of the
compressor assembly.
[0010] It is a second aspect of the present invention to provide an
ice merchandiser for merchandising bags of ice that includes: (a) a
housing with at least one door providing access to an interior of
the housing in which a multitude of ice bags are to be stored; and
(b) a freezing device including a compressor assembly, where the
compressor assembly is positioned at the top rear corner of the
housing substantially at an intersection of the top, rear and one
of the side walls. In a further detailed embodiment, the housing
includes a collapsed portion at the top-rear corner of the housing,
where the collapsed portion provides a shelf substantially external
to the interior of the housing for seating the compressor. In a
further detailed embodiment, the ice merchandiser further includes
a vented cover mounted to the housing and concealing the collapsed
portion. In yet another further detailed embodiment, the vented
cover is substantially pyramidal, having three sides that are
substantially flush with the top, rear and one side walls of the
housing. In yet a further detailed embodiment, the three sides of
the vented cover each include a plurality of vents uniformly
distributed substantially completely thereabove.
[0011] In an alternate detailed embodiment of the second aspect of
the present invention, at least two of the top, rear and one side
walls forming the top-rear corner are ventilated to provide fluid
communication between the compressor assembly and the ambient
environment.
[0012] In yet another alternate detailed embodiment of the second
aspect of the present invention, the top, rear and one side walls
forming the top-rear corner are ventilated to provide fluid
communication between the compressor assembly and the ambient
environment.
[0013] It is the third aspect of the present invention to provide
an ice merchandiser for merchandising bags of ice that includes:
(a) a housing having at least one door in a front wall thereof
providing access to an interior of the housing in which a multitude
of ice bags are to be stored; (b) a freezing device including a
compressor assembly; and (c) a shelf, enclosed with respect to the
interior of the housing and positioned completely within the
peripheral planes formed by the front, rear, top and two side walls
of the housing; where the shelf extends from the front wall to the
back wall of the housing and the compressor assembly is seated on
the shelf. In a further detailed embodiment, the shelf is
positioned substantially mid-way between the two side walls. In yet
a further detailed embodiment, the ice merchandiser includes two
doors provided on left and right segments of the front wall,
covering respective left and right access openings, where the shelf
is positioned completely between the left and right access
openings. In an alternate detailed embodiment, the ice merchandiser
further includes a first ventilation panel installed over an
opening to the shelf on the front wall of the housing and the
second ventilation panel installed over an opening to the shelf on
the rear wall of the housing. In a further detailed embodiment, the
vertical distance between the shelf and the top wall is slightly
greater than the height of the compressor assembly.
[0014] In an alternate detailed embodiment of the third aspect of
the present invention, the ice merchandiser further includes a
first ventilation panel installed over an opening to the shelf on
the front wall of the housing and the second ventilation panel
installed over an opening to the shelf on the rear wall of the
housing.
[0015] In yet another alternate detailed embodiment of the third
aspect of the present invention, the vertical distance between the
shelf and the top wall is slightly greater than the height of the
compressor assembly.
[0016] It is the fourth aspect of the present invention to provide
an ice merchandiser for merchandising bags of ice that includes:
(a) a housing having at least one door in a front wall thereof
providing access to the interior of the housing in which a
multitude of ice bags are to be stored; (b) an enclosure positioned
within the interior of the housing, where the enclosure has a top
that is substantially flush with the top wall of the housing, and
where the enclosure is ventilated with respect to the external
environment; and (c) a compressor assembly housed within the
enclosure. In a more detailed embodiment, the enclosure has a
vertical height slightly greater than the height of the compressor
assembly. In yet a further detailed embodiment, the enclosure has
two sides substantially flush with the respective two of the front,
rear and side walls of the housing, where such flush sides are
ventilated. In yet a further detailed embodiment, the top of the
enclosure is also ventilated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of a first exemplary
embodiment ice merchandiser according to the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 is an exploded, rear perspective view of the first
embodiment shown in FIG. 1, illustrating the evaporator assembly in
phantom;
[0019] FIG. 3A is a perspective front view of a second exemplary
embodiment ice merchandiser according to the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 3B is a perspective rear view of the second embodiment;
and
[0021] FIG. 4 is a perspective rear view of the second embodiment
illustrating the compressor enclosure and evaporator assemblies in
phantom.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an exemplary embodiment of an
indoor ice merchandiser 10 according to the present invention
includes a housing having a front wall 12, a top wall 14, a left
side wall 16, a right side wall 18, a rear wall 20 and a bottom
(not shown). The front wall 12 includes a pair of glass doors 22
providing access to the interior of the housing so that ice bags
can be stocked by suppliers and removed by customers. The walls of
the housing are typically insulated.
[0023] Referring specifically to FIG. 2, the left rear corner of
the housing (at the intersection of the top wall 14, rear wall 20
and left side wall 16) includes a collapsed portion 24 forming a
shelf 26 for seating the compressor assembly 28 thereon. A top
ventilation panel 30, a rear ventilation panel 32 and a side
ventilation panel 34 are mounted flush with the respective top,
rear and side walls over the collapsed portion 24 and shelf 26 to
provide a ventilated covering for the compressor assembly 28. The
collapsed portion includes side walls 36, 38 closing off the shelf
26 from the interior of the housing, where the vertical side walls
may also include ports for communicating the compressor assembly 28
with the internal evaporator 40 and/or with power sources and the
like.
[0024] By positioning the compressor assembly within the rear top
corner of the ice merchandiser housing as in the first exemplary
embodiment, the compressor assembly fills a formerly unused space
adjacent to the evaporator 40 allowing for greater effective use of
the merchandiser interior, thereby increasing the capacity of the
merchandiser. Additionally, because the compressor assembly is
positioned above the frozen merchandise, heat will not tend to rise
from the compressor assembly into the frozen merchandise. This may
increase the efficiency of the ice merchandiser and may also
decrease the thickness of the insulation provided between the
compressor assembly and the interior of the merchandiser housing,
which could also increase the capacity of the ice merchandiser.
Additionally, because the compressor assembly is now located above
the floor, away from traffic, it potentially will not collect dirt
as quickly as prior art compressor assemblies located near the
floor.
[0025] While the compressor assembly of the first exemplary
embodiment is positioned at the left rear corner of the housing, it
is, of course, within the scope of the present invention to locate
the compressor assembly of the first exemplary embodiment at the
right rear corner of the housing. Furthermore, while the
ventilation panels 30, 32 and 34 are shown as individual panels, it
is within the scope of the invention that the panels can be coupled
together to form a pyramidal ventilation panel or, alternatively,
be integrated into the respective walls themselves.
[0026] As shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 4, a second embodiment of the
present invention is an outdoor ice merchandiser 42 having a
merchandiser housing with a top wall 44, back wall 45, a left side
wall 46, a right side wall (not shown), a lower front wall 48, an
upper-angled front wall 50, and a bottom (not shown). These walls
are typically insulated. The upper-angled front wall 50 includes a
pair of openings accessible by insulated doors 52, 54. The doors
52, 54 provide access to the interior of the ice merchandiser 42 so
that suppliers can supply bagged ice to the merchandiser and
customers can retrieve bags of ice from the merchandiser. An
enclosed shelf 56 is positioned between each of the doors 52, 54
and extends from the upper-angled wall 50 of the ice merchandiser
back to the rear wall 45 of the ice merchandiser. (See FIG. 4) This
enclosed shelf 56 houses a compressor assembly 58 therein and has a
vertical height slightly larger than the height of the compressor
assembly 58 so as to maximize capacity of the ice merchandiser
interior.
[0027] The enclosure 59 formed by the enclosed shelf 56 and side
walls 64 and 66 includes a top that is flush with the top wall 44
of the housing. The front of the enclosure 59 is flush with the
upper-angled front wall 50 of the housing, and the rear of the
enclosure 59 is flush with the rear wall 45 of the ice merchandiser
housing. Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the front of the enclosure
59 is covered by a ventilated panel 60 and the rear of the
enclosure 59 is also covered by a ventilated panel 62. The
ventilated panels 60, 62 provide ventilation for the compressor
assembly 58 with the ambient environment. Preferably the side walls
64 and 66 and the shelf 56 of the enclosure 59 are insulated.
[0028] Referring again in FIG. 4, the elevated compressor assembly
58 is positioned on the enclosed shelf 56 between the pair of
evaporators 68, 70 thereby filling unused space between the
evaporators and maximizing the capacity of the ice merchandiser for
bags of ice. Furthermore, by positioning the compressor assembly
above the frozen product, the heat tending to rise from the
compressor assembly 58 will not rise into the frozen product stored
within the merchandiser, thereby increasing the efficiency of the
ice merchandiser and decreasing the amount of insulation needed
between the compressor assembly and the interior of the ice
merchandiser housing. Finally, because the ice merchandiser is
positioned above the ground level, it will be less susceptible to
the intake of dirt and other debris.
[0029] Following from the above description and invention
summaries, it should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the
art that, while the apparatuses herein described constitute
exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it is to be
understood that the inventions contained herein are not limited to
these precise embodiments and that changes may be made to them
without departing from the scope of the inventions as defined by
the claims. Additionally, it is to be understood that the invention
is defined by the claims and it is not intended that any
limitations or elements describing the exemplary embodiments set
forth herein are to be incorporated into the meanings of the claims
unless such limitations or elements are explicitly listed in the
claims. Likewise, it is to be understood that it is not necessary
to meet any or all of the identified advantages or objects of the
invention disclosed herein in order to fall within the scope of any
claims, since the invention is defined by the claims and since
inherent and/or unforeseen advantages of the present invention may
exist even though they may not have been explicitly discussed
herein.
* * * * *