U.S. patent application number 11/336997 was filed with the patent office on 2006-07-27 for refrigerator.
This patent application is currently assigned to ENJOY GROUP AB. Invention is credited to John Andersen.
Application Number | 20060163984 11/336997 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34933425 |
Filed Date | 2006-07-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060163984 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Andersen; John |
July 27, 2006 |
Refrigerator
Abstract
A refrigerator has an outer cabinet surrounding an inner shelf
carriage having a plurality of shelves. The shelf carriage is
accessible from a rear side thereof. The shelf carriage is
connected with a connection device and the connection device is
connected with the outer cabinet such that a controlled movement of
the shelf carriage in relation to the cabinet is provided. The
controlled movement provided by the connection device is such that
the shelf carriage is movable between a display position at least
substantially inside of the outer cabinet and a refill position at
least substantially outside of the outer cabinet. The controlled
movement comprises rotation of the shelf carriage for providing
access to said rear side thereof.
Inventors: |
Andersen; John;
(Fredrikstad, NO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Assignee: |
ENJOY GROUP AB
|
Family ID: |
34933425 |
Appl. No.: |
11/336997 |
Filed: |
January 23, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/401 ;
312/249.9 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 2400/20 20130101;
A47F 3/0486 20130101; A47F 3/06 20130101; A47F 2003/066 20130101;
F25D 2400/36 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/401 ;
312/249.9 |
International
Class: |
A47B 96/04 20060101
A47B096/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 24, 2005 |
EP |
05001329.1 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator, comprising: an outer cabinet; an inner shelf
carriage having a plurality of shelves, the shelf carriage being
accessible from a rear side thereof, the shelf carriage being
connected with a connection device, the connection device being
connected with the outer cabinet and providing a controlled
movement of the shelf carriage in relation to the cabinet, whereby
the shelf carriage is movable between a display position at least
substantially inside of the outer cabinet and a refill position at
least substantially outside of the outer cabinet; said controlled
movement comprising rotation of the shelf carriage for providing
access to said rear side thereof.
2. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said shelf
carriage is rotatable around a vertical axis at a periphery of a
front side of the shelf carriage.
3. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein said front side
is substantially rectangular with two substantially horizontal
edges and two substantially vertical edges, and wherein said
vertical axis extends along the length of one of said vertical
edges.
4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said controlled
movement comprises a linear movement, whereby the shelf carriage is
movable between said display position and an intermediate position
at least substantially outside of the outer cabinet, and wherein
the shelf carriage is movable, by means of said rotation, between
said intermediate position and said refill position.
5. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein said connection
device comprises a support structure carrying said shelf carriage
and comprising wheels resting on a base.
6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein said support
structure comprises a centre axle, and wherein said shelf carriage
is rotatably connected with said centre axle.
7. The refrigerator according to claim, wherein said shelf carriage
comprises a plurality of wheels arranged at a bottom portion
thereof and resting on said support structure.
8. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein said connection
device comprises a vertical axle, and wherein said shelf carriage
is rotatably connected with said vertical axle at a periphery of a
rear side of the shelf carriage.
9. The refrigerator according to claim, wherein said shelf carriage
comprises a plurality of wheels arranged at a bottom portion
thereof and resting on a base.
10. The refrigerator according to claim, wherein said connection
device comprises a connection member which is slidably connected
with the cabinet.
11. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a bottom of said
shelf carriage comprises four basically right corners.
12. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein a bottom of said
shelf carriage comprises three basically right corners and a fourth
rounded corner.
13. The refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein said shelf
carriage comprises a plurality of wheels arranged at a bottom
portion thereof and resting on said support structure.
14. The refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein said shelf
carriage comprises a plurality of wheels arranged at a bottom
portion thereof and resting on a base.
15. The refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein said connection
device comprises a connection member which is slidably connected
with the cabinet.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The invention generally relates to refrigerators, and more
specifically to refrigerators with an outer cabinet and an inner
shelf carriage accessible from the rear side thereof.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] In stores, refrigerators are typically used for storing,
cooling, down to temperatures above as well as below the
freezing-point, and displaying items of merchandise to the
customers. Examples of merchandise in such a refrigerator are cans
and bottles of drink, snuff boxes, cartons with dairies or juices,
etc. Since this type of merchandise generally has expiry dates, it
is desirable to have the oldest items in the front of the shelves,
thereby making the oldest items sell first and lowering the risk
that items are sold after their expiry dates. When the refrigerator
is to be filled with new items, it is therefore desirable to fill
the new items from the back of the shelves.
[0003] In prior art, such as disclosed in the published patent
application GB 943,675, access to the rear side of the shelves has
e.g. been facilitated by making the interior part of the
refrigerator extractable. That is, the shelves have been arranged
on a carriage supplied with wheels, the shelf carriage being
extractable from the outer cabinet. When the shelf carriage is
extracted from the outer cabinet the shelves can be refilled from
the rear side, after which the shelf carriage can be reinserted
into the outer cabinet.
[0004] A problem with this is that the fully loaded shelf carriages
can be very heavy. The shop assistants find it hard to manouvre the
heavy shelf carriage back into the outer cabinet.
[0005] Hence, there is a need for a refrigerator with a shelf
carriage that is easier to handle in the process of loading.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] An object of the invention is to alleviate the problems of
prior art.
[0007] According to one aspect of the invention, a refrigerator is
provided. An outer cabinet surrounds an inner shelf carriage having
a plurality of shelves. The shelf carriage is accessible from a
rear side thereof. The shelf carriage is connected with a
connection device and the connection device is connected with the
outer cabinet such that a controlled movement of the shelf carriage
in relation to the cabinet is provided. The controlled movement
provided by the connection device is such that the shelf carriage
is movable between a display position at least substantially inside
of the outer cabinet and a refill position at least substantially
outside of the outer cabinet. The controlled movement comprises
rotation of the shelf carriage for providing access to said rear
side thereof.
[0008] By "display position" is meant the ordinary position wherein
the goods are displayed and sold. By "refill position" is meant a
position wherein the shelf carriage is refilled from said rear
side.
[0009] The outer cabinet surrounds the shelf carriage such that the
shelf carriage can be refrigerated inside the cabinet. The cabinet
may have one or more doors at the front side, but can also be open
or have other arrangements such as a curtain. Due to the
above-mentioned controlled movement, the shelf carriage can be
moved to the refill position where the shelves are accessible from
the rear side. The movement either consists of or includes the
rotation. While in the refill position, the shelves are easily
accessible for a shop assistant to fill merchandise from the rear
side. Since the shelf carriage is connected to the outer cabinet
via the connection device in such a way that a controlled movement
is obtained, it can thereafter be easily moved back to the original
position, despite the heavy weight it carries.
[0010] Thus, by forming the connection device such that the shelf
carriage is able to perform the controlled movement, the
manoeuvring of the shelf carriage is facilitated. When the carriage
is fully loaded, and typically heavy, the shop assistant can focus
on pushing the carriage, not needing to worry about the steering.
The arrangement assures that the carriage is moved back to the
original, wanted position, i.e. the display position.
[0011] In an embodiment of the refrigerator according to the
invention, the shelf carriage is rotatable around a vertical axis
at a periphery of a front side of the shelf carriage.
[0012] Since the rotation movement is provided as a rotation of the
carriage around a vertical axis at the periphery of the front side,
it is possible to provide the whole movement between the display
position and the refill position as said rotation.
[0013] In another embodiment of the refrigerator, the front side of
the shelf carriage is substantially rectangular with two
substantially horizontal edges and two substantially vertical
edges. The vertical axis extends along the length of one of the
vertical edges.
[0014] According to this embodiment the front side is of a
rectangular shape with the rotation axis placed at a side of the
front. This shape offers large exposure of the shelves and the
merchandise, and the placement of the rotation axis ensures a
convenient extraction of the shelf carriage.
[0015] In another embodiment of the refrigerator the controlled
movement comprises linearly moving the shelf carriage between the
display position and an intermediate position at least
substantially outside of the outer cabinet. The shelf carriage is
movable, by means of said rotation, between said intermediate
position and said refill position.
[0016] The shelf carriage is connected with the connection device.
The connection device is connected with the outer cabinet such that
it allows movement of the shelf carriage in a controlled way in
relation to the outer cabinet. To move the carriage to a position
where the rear side of the shelves is accessible, i.e. the refill
position, it can be extracted to a position either substantially or
fully outside of the cabinet, i.e. the intermediate position, and
then be rotated in relation to the cabinet to offer easy access to
the rear side. Since the connection device is connected to the
cabinet and therefore controls the movement, the reinsertion of the
carriage is facilitated.
[0017] In another embodiment of the refrigerator, based on the just
described embodiment, the connection device comprises a support
structure carrying said shelf carriage. The support structure
comprises wheels resting on a base.
[0018] The wheels of the support structure rest on a base such as
the floor or the bottom of the cabinet. The shelf carriage and the
support structure can be extracted from the cabinet and the shelf
carriage can thereafter be rotated to a position with access to the
rear side.
[0019] In another embodiment of the refrigerator, the support
structure comprises a centre axle. The shelf carriage is rotatably
connected with the centre axle.
[0020] With the shelf carriage being rotatable around the centre
axle of the support structure, the carriage can be positioned to
offer easy access to the rear side while still being centred over
the support structure. When the support structure is extracted from
the outer cabinet, the walls of the outer cabinet do not restrain
the rotation.
[0021] In another embodiment of the refrigerator, the shelf
carriage comprises a plurality of wheels arranged at a bottom
portion thereof. The wheels rest on the support structure.
[0022] By supplying the shelf carriage with wheels, the movement of
the shelf carriage in relation to the support structure is
facilitated. Thus, it should be noted that within the scope of this
invention the term carriage does not necessarily demand the
presence of wheels, although in many embodiments the presence of
wheels on the shelf carriage is preferred.
[0023] In another embodiment of the refrigerator, the connection
device comprises a vertical axle. The shelf carriage is rotatably
connected with the vertical axle at a periphery of a rear side of
the shelf carriage.
[0024] When the shelf carriage is linearly moved to a position at
the front of, and at least mainly outside of, the outer cabinet,
the rear side of the shelf carriage will be at least mainly outside
of the outer cabinet. Thereafter the carriage can be rotated around
the vertical axle, thus allowing easy access to the rear side.
[0025] In another embodiment the shelf carriage comprises a
plurality of wheels arranged at a bottom portion thereof and
resting on a base, such as the floor or the bottom of the
cabinet.
[0026] The wheels of the shelf carriage simplify the movement of
the shelf carriage between a position at least mainly inside of the
outer cabinet and a position at least mainly outside of the outer
cabinet. Depending on the arrangement thereof, the wheels may also
facilitate the rotation of the carriage around the connection
device.
[0027] In another embodiment of the refrigerator, the connection
device comprises a connection member which is slidably connected
with the cabinet.
[0028] As the connection device is slidably connected to the
cabinet, it can be linearly moved in relation to the cabinet while
controlling the movement of the shelf carriage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0029] In the following, the embodiments of the invention will be
described in detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, in
which:
[0030] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the
refrigerator according to the present invention;
[0031] FIG. 2 is a view from below of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0032] FIG. 3 is a-view from above showing the embodiment of FIG. 1
in a refill position;
[0033] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the
refrigerator according to the invention;
[0034] FIG. 5 is a view from below of the embodiment of FIG. 4;
[0035] FIG. 6 is a detail view of the lower part of the embodiment
of FIG. 4;
[0036] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the
refrigerator according to the invention;
[0037] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the
refrigerator according to the invention; and
[0038] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the
refrigerator according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0039] A first embodiment of the refrigerator is disclosed in FIGS.
1, 2 and 3.
[0040] The refrigerator 101 comprises an outer cabinet 102 with a
rear side 103, a front side 104, a right side 105, a left side 106,
a top 107 and a bottom 108. The cabinet 102 surrounds a carriage
109 comprising a frame 110, shelves 111 and a bottom plate 112
provided with wheels 113 resting on the bottom 108 of the cabinet
102 or the floor. The carriage 109 is connected to a connection
device 201 which is connected to the cabinet 102. The front side
104 comprises two doors 114.
[0041] The refrigerator 101 exposes refrigerated merchandise (not
shown) to customers. The cabinet 102 is refrigerated in a customary
way. The merchandise is made accessible to the customers by having
the front side 104 of the cabinet 102 open, or by providing the
front side 104 with doors 114, as in this embodiment, or in other
ways.
[0042] Inside the outer cabinet 102 there is the carriage 109 with
shelves 111 for the merchandise. The shelves 111 are typically
sloping forward which makes the merchandise move forward when an
item is removed from the front of the shelves 111. When the
carriage 109 is inside the cabinet 102 it is in a display position,
i.e. a position where the goods are displayed to, and accessible
for, the customers.
[0043] The frame 110 of the shelf carriage 109 supports the shelves
111, and the bottom plate 112 supports the frame 110. At the left
side of the front 104, the shelf carriage 109 is connected with the
connection device 201. The connection device 201 comprises an axle
301 which is rotatably connected to the cabinet 102. The carriage
109 can be rotated clockwise around this axle 301 to a refill
position where the carriage 109 is outside of the cabinet 102, as
shown in FIG. 3. While in this position, the shelves 111 can be
refilled from a rear side.
[0044] To move the carriage 109 back to the display position it is
rotated counterclockwise around the axle 301. The axle 301 controls
the movement so that the carriage 109 is steered back to the
original position, i.e. the display position.
[0045] FIG. 3 shows the same refrigerator 101 from the top. The
carriage 109 can be rotated around the axle 301. From this
perspective the cabinet 102 is rectangular. To maximise the size of
the carriage 109 while allowing for the rotational movement, one
corner 302 of the carriage 109 is rounded. The front side 303 of
the carriage 109 can be of a length close to the inner length of
the cabinet 102. The back side 304 of the carriage 109 is shorter
to allow for the rotation. The rounded shape of the corner 302
keeps the loss of space on the shelves 111 to a minimum.
[0046] A second embodiment of the refrigerator is disclosed in
FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.
[0047] At the rear right corner 401 of the carriage 402 it is
connected to the connection device 501, which is connected to the
cabinet 403. The connection device 501 comprises an axle 502 which
can be linearly moved from the position in the rear right corner
503 of the cabinet 403 to a position in the front right corner 504
of the cabinet 403. For instance, this movement can be realised by
making the axle 502 movable in a rail 505 on the lower part of the
cabinet 403.
[0048] The carriage 402 can be moved from the display position to
an intermediate position outside of the cabinet 403, as shown in
FIG. 4. During this movement the axle 502 is moved from the back to
the front of the cabinet 403. From the intermediate position the
carriage 402 can be rotated counterclockwise around the axle 502 to
a refill position where the rear side 506 is accessible for
refilling. It can then be rotated clockwise back to the
intermediate position, after which it can be pushed back into the
cabinet 403 to the display position.
[0049] A third embodiment of the refrigerator is disclosed in FIG.
7.
[0050] In this embodiment, the carriage 701 rests on the connection
device 702. The connection device 702 according to this embodiment
comprises a support plate 703 which is provided with and carried by
wheels 704, and an axle 708 connected to the center of the support
plate 703. At the center of the bottom 705 of the carriage 701 it
is connected to the axle 708. The carriage is provided with wheels
707 which rest on the support plate 703. The carriage 701 can be
moved from the display position to an intermediate position outside
of the cabinet 706. During this movement the carriage 701 and the
support plate 703 are linearly moved forward, out of the cabinet
706. While the support plate 703 remains in this position the
carriage 701 can be rotated around the axle 708 to a refill
position where the rear side is accessible, while remaining centred
over the support plate 703. The wheels 707 supporting the carriage
701 facilitate the rotation in relation to the support plate 703.
After refilling, the carriage 701 is rotated back to the
intermediate position and the support plate 703 and the carriage
701 are linearly moved back into the cabinet 706.
[0051] As can be seen from this embodiment, the carriage 701 and
the support plate 703 remain partly inside of the outer cabinet
706. The carriage 701 can be made rotatable while remaining partly
inside of the cabinet 706 by slightly reducing the size of the
carriage 701, or by rounding the corners of the carriage 701. The
carriage 701 and the connection device 702 according to this
embodiment can advantageously be used in existing
refrigerators.
[0052] A fourth embodiment of the refrigerator is disclosed in FIG.
8.
[0053] In this embodiment the carriage is provided with a door
801.
[0054] A fifth embodiment of the refrigerator is disclosed in FIG.
9.
[0055] This figure shows a refrigerator with an open front 901,
i.e. the merchandise is accessible to the customers through an
opening 902 in the front. This makes the merchandise very
accessible to the customers.
[0056] The above mentioned embodiments are examples. Other
embodiments are conceivable within the scope of the invention. For
example, the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 1 can be modified such
that, in the refill position, a part of the carriage remains inside
of the cabinet. This can be achieved by connecting the connection
device with the cabinet at a position distanced from the front of
the cabinet.
[0057] Within the scope of the invention, the connection device
disclosed in FIG. 7 can be altered. The axle can be replaced by for
instance a ball joint or any other suitable rotational device.
[0058] The axle mentioned in several of the embodiments can be
arranged in various ways. For example, it can be arranged to be
rotational in relation to the cabinet and fixed in relation to the
carriage. Another one of the possible arrangements is to have the
axle fixed in relation to the cabinet and rotational in relation to
the carriage.
* * * * *