U.S. patent application number 11/452269 was filed with the patent office on 2007-06-28 for refrigerator.
This patent application is currently assigned to ENJOY GROUP AB. Invention is credited to John Andersen, Hakan Sjolander.
Application Number | 20070145869 11/452269 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34940332 |
Filed Date | 2007-06-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070145869 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sjolander; Hakan ; et
al. |
June 28, 2007 |
Refrigerator
Abstract
A refrigerator has a cabinet, shelves arranged within a
refrigerated space of the cabinet, a back door at a rear side of
the cabinet providing access to said shelves from said rear side,
and a support structure carrying the cabinet. The support structure
is arranged to provide for horizontal movement, including at least
turning motion, of the refrigerator.
Inventors: |
Sjolander; Hakan; (Bracke,
SE) ; Andersen; John; (Fredrikstad, NO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Assignee: |
ENJOY GROUP AB
Bracke
SE
|
Family ID: |
34940332 |
Appl. No.: |
11/452269 |
Filed: |
June 14, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/249.8 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F 3/0486 20130101;
A47F 3/0469 20130101; A47F 2003/066 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/249.8 |
International
Class: |
A47B 97/00 20060101
A47B097/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 2, 2005 |
EP |
05107124.9 |
Claims
1. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet, shelves arranged within a
refrigerated space of the cabinet, a back door at a rear side of
the cabinet providing access to said shelves from said rear side,
and a support structure carrying the cabinet, wherein said support
structure is arranged to provide for horizontal movement, including
at least turning motion, of the refrigerator, wherein said support
structure comprises a turning guide arranged to guide the turning
motion of the cabinet between a non-turned position and a refill
position, where said back door is openable and said shelves are
accessible, and wherein the turning guide is adapted to guide the
cabinet to turn around a central axis of the cabinet.
2. A refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said support
structure comprises wheels at the bottom of the cabinet, wherein
said wheels are arranged to rest on a base surface.
3. A refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein said turning guide
comprises said wheels, which provide for the turning motion by at
least some thereof being rotatable about a vertical axis.
4. A refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein said turning guide
comprises said wheels, which are rigidly mounted in angled
positions such that their rotational planes are aligned with
tangents on a common circle.
5. A refrigerator according to claim 1, said turning guide
comprising a vertically movable, horizontally rotatable guide foot,
which is arranged to be lowered into engagement with the base
surface.
6. A refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said turning guide
comprises a support plate and a bearing arrangement, which is
arranged between said support plate and a bottom plate of the
cabinet.
7. A refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein wheels are arranged
at a bottom surface of said support plate, wherein said wheels are
arranged to rest on a base surface.
8. A refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said horizontal
movement comprises a linear motion, and said support structure
comprises a translation guide for guiding the linear motion of the
refrigerator between a display position and said non-turned
position.
9. A refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein said horizontal
movement comprises a linear motion, and said support structure
comprises a translation guide for guiding the linear motion of the
refrigerator between a display position and said non-turned
position, wherein said translation guide comprises a wheel guide
comprising said base surface.
10. A refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein said wheels are
locked from rotation in a horizontal plane.
11. A refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein said horizontal
movement comprises a linear motion, and said support structure
comprises a translation guide for guiding the linear motion of the
refrigerator between a display position and said non-turned
position.
12. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet, shelves arranged within a
refrigerated space of the cabinet, a back door at a rear side of
the cabinet providing access to said shelves from said rear side,
and a support structure carrying the cabinet, wherein said support
structure is arranged to provide for horizontal movement, including
at least turning motion, of the refrigerator, wherein said support
structure comprises a turning guide arranged to guide the turning
motion of the cabinet between a non-turned position and a refill
position, where said back door is openable and said shelves are
accessible.
13. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet, shelves arranged within a
refrigerated space of the cabinet, a back door at a rear side of
the cabinet providing access to said shelves from said rear side,
and a support structure carrying the cabinet, wherein said support
structure is arranged to provide for horizontal movement, including
at least turning motion, of the refrigerator.
14. A refrigerator according to claim 2, said turning guide
comprising a vertically movable, horizontally rotatable guide foot,
which is arranged to be lowered into engagement with the base
surface.
15. A refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein said horizontal
movement comprises a linear motion, and said support structure
comprises a translation guide for guiding the linear motion of the
refrigerator between a display position and said non-turned
position.
16. A refrigerator according to claim 7, wherein said horizontal
movement comprises a linear motion, and said support structure
comprises a translation guide for guiding the linear motion of the
refrigerator between a display position and said non-turned
position, wherein said translation guide comprises a wheel guide
comprising said base surface.
17. A refrigerator according to claim 6, wherein said wheels are
locked from rotation in a horizontal plane.
18. A refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein said wheels are
locked from rotation in a horizontal plane.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention generally relates a refrigerator having a
cabinet, and shelves arranged in a cooled space of the cabinet.
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, 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 manoeuvre
the heavy shelf carriage back into the outer cabinet.
[0005] Hence, there is a need for a refrigerator in which it is
easier to load the shelves from the back thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a refrigerator which alleviates the above-mentioned
problems.
[0007] According to an aspect of the invention, this object is
achieved by a refrigerator comprising a cabinet, shelves arranged
within a refrigerated space of the cabinet, a back door at a rear
side of the cabinet providing access to said shelves from said rear
side, and a support structure carrying the cabinet. The support
structure is arranged to provide for horizontal movement, including
at least turning motion, of the refrigerator. The support structure
comprises a turning guide arranged to guide the turning motion of
the cabinet between a non-turned position and a refill position. In
the refill position it is possible to open the back door, and
thereby the shelves are accessible from behind. The turning guide
is adapted to guide the cabinet to turn around a central axis of
the cabinet.
[0008] By the combination of having a back door and being turnable,
or rotatable, it is possible to easily refill the shelves of the
refrigerator from the rear.
[0009] The "refill position" is a position wherein the refrigerator
is refilled from the rear side. The guided turning motion means
that it is possible to turn back the refrigerator to the position
that it had before turning it, i.e. the non-turned position. This
"non-turned position" can be a "display position", i.e. the
ordinary position wherein the goods in the refrigerator are
displayed and sold, or an "intermediate position" that is reached
by moving the refrigerator a bit from the display position. In any
case, the prior art problem of offset shelf carriages, which are
difficult to return to the display position, is alleviated or even
eliminated.
[0010] In accordance with an embodiment of the refrigerator, the
support structure comprises wheels at the bottom of the cabinet.
The wheels are arranged to rest on a base surface. As will be
evident from below, the base surface can be different types of
surfaces. For example, it can be a floor or the ground, or it can
be a top surface of guide plate included in the support
structure.
[0011] In accordance with an embodiment of the refrigerator, said
wheels are comprised in the turning guide wherein they provide for
the guided turning of the cabinet. In order to obtain this at least
some of the wheels are rotatable around a vertical axis. For
example, according to an embodiment four wheels are arranged
arranged in the corners of an imaginary square, and two diagonally
opposite ones of the wheels are rotatable while the other two
wheels are non-rotatable and parallell. In another embodiment the
wheels are rigidly, i.e. non-rotatably, mounted in angled
positions, such that their rotational planes are aligned with
tangents on a common circle. Thus, when turning the refrigerator
the wheels role on the periphery of a circle. Additional
alternatives are disclosed below.
[0012] In accordance with an embodiment of the refrigerator, which
is based on the above-mentioned embodiments where wheels are
arranged at the bottom of the cabinet, the turning guide comprises
a guide foot. The guide foot is vertically movable and horizontally
rotatable. It is arranged to be lowered into engagement with the
base surface. Thus the guide foot is operable to move between a
retracted position where it is not in contact with the base surface
and an extended position of engagement. This foot serves the
purpose of locking the position of the refrigerator while
performing the turning thereof.
[0013] In accordance with an embodiment of the method the turning
guide comprises a support plate and a bearing arrangement, which is
arranged between the support plate and a bottom plate of the
cabinet. The turning motion is thus provided in the bearing. This
opens up for both wheeled, as just described, and non-wheeled
embodiments.
[0014] In accordance with an embodiment of the refrigerator, the
support plate is thus provided with wheels at the bottom of the
plate.
[0015] In accordance with an embodiment of the refrigerator, the
guided turning motion of the refrigerator is combined with a guided
linear motion, which takes place between the display position and
the non-turned position. A translation guide provides the linear
guidance. In this embodiment all movements of the refrigerator that
are performed in conjunction with filling the shelves with goods
from the rear thereof are controlled, giving no room for the
refrigerator to end up offset causing problems of getting it back
in place after filling it with goods.
[0016] Different implementations of the translation guide are set
forth in the description of embodiments below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] In the following, the embodiments of the invention will be
described in detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, in
which:
[0018] FIG. 1 in an exploded view shows an embodiment of a
refrigerator according the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 in a perspective view from below shows another
embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 3 in a perspective view from below shows another
embodiment of a refrigerator according to the present
invention;
[0021] FIG. 4 in an exploded view shows another embodiment of a
refrigerator according the present invention; and
[0022] FIG. 5 in a perspective view from below shows a lower
portion of another embodiment of a refrigerator according to the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0023] With reference to FIG. 1, a refrigerator according to the
invention is schematically shown. The refrigerator 1 comprises a
cabinet 3 and a support structure 7 carrying the cabinet 3. The
cabinet 3 has a rear side 4, a front side 6, a top 8 and a bottom
10. The cabinet 3 has a refrigerated space 11. A plurality of
sloping shelves 9 are arranged spaced and on top of each other
within the refrigerated space 11. The shelves 9 are shown most
schematically as simple plates. In practise, of course each shelf 9
typically is provided with a stop at a front edge thereof, and
different kinds of row partitions separating plural rows of
products from each other. However, for reasons of clarity such
details are omitted.
[0024] The rear side 4 of the cabinet 3 is provided with a back
door 5, which is hinged at a vertical edge thereof. When the back
door 5 is opened it is possible to reach into the space 11 in order
to put goods on the shelves 9. The door 5 is wide and high enough
for allowing easy access to all shelves 9 from the rear side, or
rear end, of the shelves 9.
[0025] The refrigerator of this embodiment is of a type called open
front. Thus, the greater part of the front side 6 of the cabinet 3
is open so that the customers do not have to open any front door to
take a product.
[0026] The support structure 7 comprises a support plate 17 having
a top surface 18 and a bottom surface 20, a turning guide 13
arranged on the top surface 18 of the support plate 17, and a
translation guide, consisting of wheels 19, arranged on the bottom
surface 20 of the support plate 17. The translation guide, i.e. the
wheels 19, rests on a base surface, such as a floor. The wheels 19
are rigidly, i.e. non-rotatably, mounted and thus they provide for
a linear movement of the refrigerator 1 on the floor. The turning
guide 13 comprises a bearing, which in this embodiment consists of
a plurality of wheels 15 arranged in a ring, and which carries the
very cabinet 3. The turning guide 13 additionally comprises a
central seat 21, wherein a central pin 23, protruding downwards
from the bottom 10 of the cabinet, is rotatably received. The seat
21 and pin 23 arrangement keeps the cabinet 3 centred onto the
support plate 17.
[0027] Now assume that the refrigerator 1 is placed in a display
position against a wall in a store, and that there are other
display units, such as refrigerators or shelving racks, on both
sides of the refrigerator 1. This is an ordinary situation. In
order to refill the shelves 9 with products a shop assistant pulls
the refrigerator out, i.e. forward, until it reaches an
intermediate position, where the rear side 4 is just in front of a
line along the front sides of the neighbouring display units. Then
the cabinet 3 is turned around half a turn to a refill position.
Now the shop assistant faces the back door 5, opens it and puts in
new products from the rear of the shelves 9. When the shelves 9 are
full, the shop assistant closes the back door 5, turns the cabinet
3 back to the intermediate position and pushes the refrigerator 1
back to the original position, i.e. display position. Thus, due to
the turning guide 13 and the translation guide 19, it is possible
to easily move the refrigerator 1 back and forth along a straight
line, and turn the cabinet 3 around. The linear and turning motions
secure that the refrigerator 1 is not displaced when pulled out and
turned but is readily returned to its display position in a
controlled way.
[0028] Referring now to FIG. 2 another embodiment of the
refrigerator 25 has different translation and turning guides. In
addition, the cabinet 27 of the refrigerator 25 is provided with a
front door 29, which has to be opened by a customer in order to
take a product from a shelf 31. In this embodiment there is not a
distinct translation guide, although four wheels 35 arranged at the
bottom of the refrigerator 25 are involved in a linear motion.
However, the wheels 35 are rotatably arranged, as indicated by
arrows around one of the wheels 35, to rotate about a vertical
axis. Thus, the directional effect thereof is less than in the
embodiment in FIG. 1. Nevertheless, it is fully possible to move
this refrigerator 25 linearly back and forth just like the other
embodiment, with a good likelihood not to displace the refrigerator
25. For the turning motion turning guide 33 is arranged at the
bottom of the refrigerator 25. The turning guide 33 comprises a
rotatable guide foot 37, which is arranged approximately at the
middle of an operation lever 39 extending along the bottom of the
refrigerator 25 from the rear to the front thereof. The operation
lever 39 is provided with a pedal 41 at the front end of the lever
39. The pedal 41 protrudes a bit in front of the front side of the
refrigerator 25. The pedal 41 is operable to lower and raise the
guide foot 37 vertically into and out of engagement with the floor.
When a shop assistant is going to refill the refrigerator 25,
he/she pulls out the refrigerator 25 so that is comes free of
neighbouring display units. Then the shop assistant depresses the
pedal 41 to a lower locking position, thereby lowering the guide
foot into contact with the floor. Then the assistant turns the
cabinet 27 by turning the whole refrigerator 25 around. The turning
takes place about the central axis of the guide foot 37, which is
fixed in relation to the floor. After having refilled the
refrigerator 25 through the back door, which is not shown in this
figure, but is similar to the back door 5 shown in FIG. 1, the shop
assistant turns the refrigerator 25 back to the non-turned
position, raises the guide foot 37 by depressing it again and
letting it up, and pushed the refrigerator 25 back in its display
position.
[0029] It should be noted, that this embodiment as well as the
first one described, is rotatable on spot too. That is, provided
that there is enough space around the refrigerator, the
refrigerator does not have to be moved before being turned.
[0030] In FIG. 3 an embodiment of the refrigerator 43 that is
solely arranged for turning motion is shown. The refrigerator 43 is
provided with a turning guide consisting of four wheels 45 arranged
at the bottom surface 46 of the refrigerator. The wheels 45 are
rigidly attached to the bottom 46, and they are arranged in angled
positions such that their rotational planes are aligned with
tangents on a common circle. Since, in this embodiment, the wheels
45 are located to the corners of the bottom 46 they are arranged at
approximately 45 degrees to the sides of the bottom 46. When
turning the refrigerator 43, the wheels consequently rolls along
the periphery of a circle, thus keeping the refrigerator positioned
except of the rotational movement. After having refilled the
refrigerator it is easy to turn it back to a non-turned position,
i.e. display position.
[0031] Referring now to FIG. 4, an open front refrigerator 49
comprises a cabinet 50 and a support structure 60 carrying the
cabinet 50. The support structure comprises a support plate 61
having a top surface 66 and a bottom surface 64. Further, the
support structure 60 comprises a turning guide similar to the one
shown in FIG. 1, but having the wheels 53 of the bearing 51 mounted
at the bottom surface 55 of the cabinet 50 and rolling on the top
surface 66 of the support plate 61, rather than being mounted on
top of the support plate 61 as in FIG. 1. Except for that
difference, the turning guide also in this embodiment comprises a
seat 59 at the top of the support plate 61 and a pin 57 at the
bottom 55 of the cabinet 50, wherein the pin 57 is received by the
seat 59. The translation guide comprises four wheels 63 at the
bottom 64 of the support plate 61 and a wheel guide 65, consisting
of a base plate 67 and three wall portions 69 extending upwards
from the base plate 67 at two sides and a rear end thereof. Thus,
in this embodiment the wheel guide 65 embodies the base surface, at
least when the refrigerator 49 is in the display position. The
refrigerator 49 can be turned in place or first pulled out to an
intermediate position and then turned back to front. When the
refrigerator 49 is pulled out, and pushed back, the wheels 63 of
the translation guide are guided by the wall sections 69 of the
wheel guide 65.
[0032] In FIG. 5 another embodiment of the refrigerator 71 is
shown. It comprises a translation guide consisting of two rigidly
mounted wheels 77, 78, which are mounted at the bottom 73 of the
refrigerator, midways along opposite sides of said bottom 73. The
turning guide 75 comprises two rotatably mounted wheels 79, 80,
also mounted at the bottom 73 of the refrigerator 71, but in the
middle of front and rear sides thereof. The turning guide 75
further comprises a operation lever 81 provided with a pedal and a
guide foot 83 operated similar to the operation lever and guide
foot described above. Due to the front wheel 79, however, the
operation lever is not straight but twice hooked in order to extend
at the side of the front wheel 79. In this embodiment, the two
rigidly mounted wheels 77, 78 provide a linear guidance, at least
to a significant extent, while not preventing the turning
motion.
[0033] Above embodiments of the refrigerator according to the
present invention have been described. These should be seen as
merely non-limiting examples. As understood by a skilled person,
many modifications and alternative embodiments are possible within
the scope of the invention, as defined in the claims.
[0034] For example, the bearing, above exemplified by means of
wheels could be of any appropriate kind, such as a plurality of
roller or ball bearings, one large horizontal bearing, etc.
[0035] The cabinet can be of different types in excess of the shown
open front and front door types.
[0036] The support structure can be modified in many different
ways, and so on.
* * * * *