Product display unit

Abstract

A product display unit serves the purpose of the accommodation and presentation of products, which can include foodstuffs to be cooled. The product display unit includes a receiving space for products, a plurality of doors, which are mounted in a pivoting manner around a swivel axis between an open position and a closed position. At least a part of the doors is also mounted in a displaceable manner along a guide assembly.

Claims

1. Product display unit, which serves the purpose of the accommodation and presentation of products to be cooled, comprising: a case defining a receiving space accessible via an opening defined by the case and through which the products can be transferred selectively into and selectively out of the receiving space; a guide assembly connected to the case and including a lower guide rail elongating in a horizontal direction, the guide assembly including an upper guide rail elongating in a horizontal direction and spaced apart from the lower guide rail in a vertical direction that is perpendicular to the horizontal direction; a first upper guide carriage is mounted in a manner so as to be displaceable in the horizontal direction along the upper guide rail; a first lower guide carriage is mounted in a manner so as to be displaceable in the horizontal direction along the lower guide rail, the first lower guide carriage being configured to slidably engage the lower guide rail during displacement of the first lower guide carriage along the lower guide rail in the horizontal direction; a plurality of doors, each door being pivotally mounted relative to the case so as to be pivotable around a swivel axis, which is defined by a respective bolt, which is carried by one of the case, the first upper guide carriage and the first lower guide carriage, each of the plurality of doors being so pivotally mounted around the swivel axis between a filling position permitting access to the receiving space via the opening in the case and an operating position denying access to the receiving space via the opening in the case; and a first detent including a retaining element fixing via a biasing force one of the first upper guide carriage and the first lower guide carriage to the case whereby a respective one of the plurality of doors mounted pivotably around the swivel axis of the respective bolt can be fixed in the operating position and whereby after the respective one of the plurality of doors is pivoted away from the operating position and toward the filling position then the respective one of the plurality of doors can be moved by manual movement alone to overcome the biasing force theretofore fixing the respective door in the operating position.

2. Product display unit according to claim 1, wherein the retaining element is part of the first upper guide carriage.

3. Product display unit according to claim 1, further comprising a first movement stop connected to the case and disposed so as to block horizontal displacement of the first upper guide carriage past the first movement stop along the upper guide rail.

4. Product display unit according to claim 3, further comprising a second movement stop, wherein the first movement stop is disposed in the area of the first upper guide rail and the second movement stop is disposed in the area of the first lower guide rail.

5. Product display unit according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of doors includes, in a front view, a middle door, which is mounted both in a pivoting and horizontally displaceable manner; a left end-side door disposed to the left of the middle door; a right end-side door disposed to the right of the middle door; wherein when assuming the closed position the middle door is not horizontally displaceable.

6. Product display unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a lighting device; wherein the first lower guide carriage and the first upper guide carriage are paired together such that the first upper guide carriage remains disposed vertically directly above the first lower guide carriage during displacement of the paired first lower guide carriage in the horizontal direction along the lower guide rail, and wherein the lighting device extends between the paired first lower and upper guide carriages.

7. Product display unit according to claim 6, wherein the lighting device is fastened to at least one of the paired first lower and upper guide carriages.

8. Product display unit according to claim 6, wherein a first one of the plurality of doors is connected to the paired first lower guide carriage and the first upper guide carriage and the lighting device is fastened to the first one of the plurality of doors.

9. Product display unit according to claim 6, further comprising a strut carried by the paired first lower and upper guide carriages, and wherein the lighting device is fastened to the strut.

10. Product display unit according to claim 1, wherein a first one of the plurality of doors is carried between the first upper guide carriage and the first lower guide carriage so as to be displaceable in the horizontal direction.

11. Product display unit according to claim 10, wherein the first upper guide carriage is connected to a first one of the plurality of doors, wherein the first upper guide carriage is connected to a second one of the plurality of doors, and wherein the first one of the plurality of doors is disposed adjacent the second one of the plurality of doors.

12. Product display unit according to claim 10, wherein the retaining element includes a spring element that exerts a retaining force, which is at least partly responsible for effecting a fixing of the first one of the plurality of doors mounted in a displaceable manner in its respective operating position.

13. Product display unit according to claim 12, wherein the retaining element is formed in such a manner that only the retaining force generated by the spring element must be overcome in order to effect the displacement of the first one of the plurality of doors from the operating position into the filling position.

14. Product display unit according to claim 10, wherein the first detent includes a recess configured to receive therein the retaining element so as to fix the first one of the plurality of doors in its operating position when the retaining element engages in the recess.

15. Product display unit according to claim 14, wherein the recess is defined in the case.

16. Product display unit according to claim 14, wherein the recess is a part of one of the first upper guide carriage and the first lower guide carriage, and the retaining element is a part of the case.

17. Product display unit according to claim 10, further comprising a pair of guide ropes connecting the first upper guide carriage with the first lower guide carriage.

18. Product display unit according to claim 17, further comprising: a first carrier rigidly connected to the case; a second carrier rigidly connected to the case; wherein the pair of guide ropes includes a first guide rope having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, the first end of the first guide rope being fixed to the first carrier and the second end of the first guide rope being fixed to the second carrier; and wherein the pair of guide ropes includes a second guide rope having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, the first end of the second guide rope being fixed to the first carrier and the second end of the second guide rope being fixed to the second carrier.

19. Product display unit according to claim 10, wherein the first one of the plurality of doors is mounted in such a manner that the first one of the plurality of doors is displaceable in the vertical direction with respect to the upper guide rail during relative horizontal displacement of the first one of the plurality of doors relative to the upper guide rail.

20. Product display unit according to claim 10, wherein the first one of the plurality of doors includes a respective upper pivot bearing and a respective lower pivot bearing, wherein the upper pivot bearing is connected to the first upper guide carriage and the lower pivot bearing is connected to the first lower guide carriage.

21. Product display unit according to claim 10, wherein the first one of the plurality of doors includes an upwardly pointing bearing bolt, which projects in the vertical direction into a through hole of the first upper guide carriage and is guided in a freely movable manner in the vertical direction within the through hole.

22. Product display unit according to claim 10, further comprising: a second upper guide carriage mounted in a manner so as to be displaceable in the horizontal direction along the upper guide rail; a second lower guide carriage mounted in a manner so as to be displaceable in the horizontal direction along the lower guide rail, the second lower guide carriage being configured to slidably engage the lower guide rail during displacement of the second lower guide carriage along the lower guide rail in the horizontal direction; a second one of the plurality of doors is carried between the second upper guide carriage and the second lower guide carriage so as to be displaceable in the horizontal direction; and a first movement stop disposed between the first one of the plurality of doors and the second one of the plurality of doors.

23. Product display unit according to claim 22, wherein the bearing bolt includes a stop and the first upper guide carriage guiding the bearing bolt includes a counter-stop, whereas, upon a tilting of the first one of the plurality of doors, the first movement stop comes into contact with the counter-stop and thereby prevents a further tilting of the first one of the plurality of doors.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages of the invention are described in the following embodiments. This following is shown, in each case schematically:

(2) FIG. 1 a perspective view of a product display unit in accordance with the invention, the doors of which are in the closed position and in their respective operating positions,

(3) FIG. 2 the products display unit shown in FIG. 1, whereas the doors are in their open position,

(4) FIG. 3 the product display unit shown in FIG. 2, after the middle doors have been moved into their filling position,

(5) FIG. 4 a cut-out of a product display unit in accordance with the invention,

(6) FIG. 5 the cut-out shown in FIG. 4 with the changed position of the two right doors,

(7) FIG. 6 a cut-out of an additional product display unit in accordance with the invention,

(8) FIG. 7 a cut-out in the area of an upper guide carriage,

(9) FIG. 8 a cut-out in the area of an additional upper guide carriage,

(10) FIG. 9 the cut-out shown in FIG. 8 after the displacement of the guide carriage, and

(11) FIG. 10 a rear view of a cut-out of an additional product display unit in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(12) It should be pointed out in advance that not all similar sections (for example, the guide carriages 6, 7 or bearing bolts 16) are provided with reference signs in all of the figures, in order to ensure better clarity.

(13) FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a product display unit 1 in accordance with the invention. In principle, the product display unit 1 includes a case that is defined by a top area 15, two side walls 28, a bottom area 25 not visible in FIG. 1 and a rear wall that connects the bottom area 25, the top area 15 and the side walls 28 and is likewise not visible.

(14) Furthermore, the product display unit 1 includes a multiple number of doors 3, 4 mounted in a pivoting manner. Of course, the doors 3, 4 are formed to be transparent (this is not shown in the figures, in order to avoid presenting in detail the area behind the doors 3, 4; as this would have a negative effect on clarity).

(15) In general, the product display unit 1 now always includes a left and a right edge-side door 4; that is, a door that is arranged directly adjacent to one of the two side walls 28. Furthermore, doors that are designated as middle doors 3 are arranged between the two edge-side doors 4.

(16) As can be seen from the comparison in FIGS. 1 and 2, the doors 3, 4 are now closed towards the outside between a closed position shown in FIG. 1, in which the receiving space 2 arranged behind the doors 3, 4 is closed to the outside for the products to be presented (for example, on shelves 27) and an open position shown in FIG. 2, in which the receiving space 2 is accessible from the outside, in order to be able to pivot around a swivel axis (for this purpose, the doors 3, 4 preferably feature corresponding handles 23).

(17) The comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3 also shows that, in addition to its pivoting capacity, the middle doors 3 can be displaced in the horizontal direction from an operating position (FIG. 2) into a filling position (FIG. 3). While the operating position corresponds to the position that the doors mounted in a displaceable manner 3 normally feature during public traffic, during which products are removed for purchase from the product display unit 1, the filling position primarily serves the purpose of the simple refilling of the previously sold products by staff.

(18) In particular, it is advantageous in this connection if there are no load-bearing sections between the top area 15 and the bottom area 25 in the area between the side walls 28, such that almost the entire width of the receiving space 2 is accessible from the outside as soon as the middle doors 3 have taken their filling position.

(19) In order to enable a displacement of the middle doors 3, they are connected, for example by means of corresponding bearing bolts 16, with guide carriages 6, 7, which are guided in a movable manner by means of, among other things, a guide assembly 5 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The guide assembly 5 preferably comprises an upper guide rail 31 and a lower guide rail 8. The guide rails 8, 31 are preferably located behind a cover, such that they are not, or are only partially, visible in a front view of the product display unit 1.

(20) In each case, the product display unit 1 comprises a multiple number of lower guide carriages 7, which are guided by the lower guide rail(s) 8 and a multiple number of upper guide carriages 6, which are guided by one or more upper guide rails 31. The mounting of the guide carriages 6, 7 are preferably mounted by means of running rollers, which engage in corresponding recesses of the guide rails 8, 31 or are surrounded by guide sections.

(21) Preferably, each of the two middle doors 3 is connected to a common upper guide carriage 6 and a common lower guide carriage 7.

(22) In order to be able to move the middle doors 3 from the filling position into the operating position in a simple manner, it is advantageous if movement stops 20 are allocated to the guide carriages 6, 7. The movement stops 20 are preferably located in the area of the upper guide rail 31 and/or the lower guide rail 8, but are preferably designed as separate components, which are fastened at corresponding fastening points of the product display unit 1 independent of the guide rails 8, 31.

(23) As can be seen from the upper area of FIG. 4, the movement stops 20 can be formed by separate components. Likewise, a multiple number of movement stops 20 can be formed by a single component, as is shown, for example, in the lower area in FIG. 4.

(24) Furthermore, it is conceivable that the product display unit 1 features only movement stops 20 that stop the middle doors 3 in their operating position (such movement stops 20 correspond to the movement stops 20 arranged, in accordance with FIG. 5, between the two lower guide carriages 7 and the two upper guide carriages 6). Of course, it may also be provided that the product display unit 1 features additional movement stops 20 that stop the lower guide carriages 7 and/or the upper guide carriages 6 in an area in which the middle doors 3 connected to the aforementioned guide carriages 6, 7 are located in their filling position (see the movement stops 20 arranged only in FIG. 5 on the right of the lower guide carriage 7 arranged on the right side and to the right of the upper guide carriage 6 arranged on the right side).

(25) As already explained above, it is generally also conceivable to place the movement stops 20 within the guide rails 8, 31.

(26) In addition, the respective guide carriages 6, 7 can generally feature sections that run within the respective guide rail 8, 31 and, for example, are covered by them upwards.

(27) If the two middle doors 3 shown on the right in FIG. 5, which are located in their filling position, are displaced to the left, the lower guide carriage 7 and the upper guide carriage 6 would abut against the two movement stops 20 after a certain horizontal movement to the left, and would come to a stop. The position taken at this point in time finally corresponds to the operating position, such that no further adjustment of the position of the guide carriages 6, 7 or the middle doors 3 is necessary.

(28) While upper and lower movement stops 20 are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in principle, it may also be sufficient to arrange corresponding movement stops 20 only in the area of the upper guide rail 31 or in the area of the lower guide rail 8.

(29) In order to ensure that the guide carriages 6, 7 allocated to a door are always displaced simultaneously and at that at the same speed, an upper guide carriage 6 and a lower guide carriage 7 can be connected with the assistance of two guide ropes 12. Such a solution is shown in FIG. 6.

(30) In this case, a first guide rope 12 runs from a carrier 13 of the product display unit 1 that is arranged in the left upper area of the upper area (this can, for example, comprise a frame section) through a deflecting roller 24 of the upper guide carriage 6. From there, it arrives at the deflecting roller 24 of the lower guide carriage 7, by which it is again deflected in the horizontal direction, in order to finally end in the area of a carrier 13 arranged at the lower right.

(31) An additional guide rope 12 finally runs in a mirror-inverted manner to the first guide rope 12 from a carrier 13 to the right above the guide roller of the upper guide carriage 6, then over the guide roller of the lower guide carriage 7, and finally ends in the area of a carrier 13 arranged on the left. The carriers 13 may comprise arbitrarily stationary sections of the product display unit 1.

(32) If the middle doors 3 connected to the two guide carriages 6, 7 are displaced in the horizontal direction, the guide ropes 12 ensure that both guide carriages 6, 7 can be displaced only simultaneously and equally rapidly. Thus, any tilting or tipping of the middle doors 3 is practically ruled out.

(33) On the other hand, a tearing of one of the guide ropes 12 or another malfunction of the same may lead to the fact that the middle doors 3, which have been guided with the guide carriages 6, 7 guided by the guide ropes 12, can tilt around a horizontal tilting axis. Since the upper bearing bolt 16 is preferably mounted vertically in a movable manner in the upper guide carriage 6, in principle, there is the risk in this case that the middle doors 3 tilt to the extent that the bearing bolts 16 are no longer connected to the upper guide carriage 6. In this case, the middle doors 3 would completely fall out of the product display unit 1, such that a person standing in front of the product display unit 1 could be injured.

(34) In order to prevent this, it can be advantageous to provide the bearing bolt 16 with a stop 18, as shown in FIG. 7. During assembly, the stop 18 is guided through an opening of the upper guide carriage 6. Subsequently, a sleeve 26 is pushed into the opening and is connected (for example, glued) to the upper guide carriage 6, whereas the sleeve 26 simultaneously forms a through hole 17 of the upper guide carriage 6 serving as the upper pivot bearing 14 of the bearing bolt 16.

(35) If the middle door 3 shown in FIG. 7 begins to tilt, the stop 18 would shift downwards and finally come into contact with the counter-stop 19 formed by the sleeve 26. A further lowering of the upper bearing bolt 16 is thereby prevented, such that the middle door 3 is reliably held in its slightly tilted position. Thus, any danger to persons standing in front or any damage to the middle door 3 is avoided.

(36) Of course, the described falling protection can also be solved in a different way. Preferably, however, a stop 18 and a counter-stop 19 are always present, whereas both of which come into contact with each other at a certain tilting angle. For example, the stop 18 could be formed by a securing ring (not shown), which surrounds the bearing bolt 16 above the sleeve 26 and abuts against this as soon as the bearing bolt 16 is lowered by tilting the middle door 3. In this case, the projection of the bearing bolt 16, which is shown in FIG. 7 and forms the stop 18, could be dispensed with.

(37) A particularly preferred solution, by means of which the guide carriages 6, 7 can be fixed in the position in which the middle doors 3 connected to them feature their operating position, are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

(38) As FIGS. 8 and 9 show, the upper guide carriages 6 (and/or the lower guide carriages 7) can feature one or more detents that can be overcome by an external force applied by a human operator and can include retaining elements 9 that engage respective recesses 10 by a biasing force. Each of the retaining elements 9 is preferably guided in a receptacle 30 that is defined in a respective one of the guide carriages 6, 7 or rigid section 29 of the product display unit 1 and carried thereby. For each retaining element 9, a biasing element transmits a biasing force that presses one end of the respective retaining element 9 against one of the guide carriages 6, 7 or a rigid section 29 of the product display unit 1 by means of a spring element 11 disposed in the receptacle 30 against the opposite end of the retaining element 9. If the respective guide carriage 6, 7 now arrives in the area of a recess 10, which is preferably a part of a rigid section 29 of the product display unit 1, the retaining element 9 is pressed in the direction of the recess 10 through the biasing force of the spring element 11 (see FIGS. 8 and 9). The guide carriages 6, 7, and thus also the middle doors 3 that are connected to these guide carriages, are thereby fixed, preferably in their operating position.

(39) In order to be able to displace the middle doors 3 back into their filling position, only the retaining force of the retaining elements 9 must be overcome in order to move the retaining elements 9 out of the corresponding recesses 10 and finally to transfer the guide carriages 6, 7 into the position shown in FIG. 8. The releasing of additional securing elements (such as, for example, a locking device) is not necessary.

(40) Of course, in place of the pin-like retaining element 9, a retaining element 9 with a different shape, for example in the form of a ball, can also be used. Likewise, the respective retaining element 9 could be placed in a stationary position and the recess 10 could be a part of the guide carriage 6, 7.

(41) All guide carriages 6, 7 preferably feature retaining elements 9 or recesses 10. Alternatively, it may also be sufficient to provide retaining elements 9 and recesses 10 exclusively in the upper or lower area of the product display unit 1.

(42) Furthermore, it may be advantageous if the product display unit 1 features a plurality of lighting devices 21 that are fastened to the middle doors 3, to the guide carriages 6, 7 connected thereto, or to the struts 22 running vertically between the guide carriages 6, 7, in such a manner that they are horizontally displaceable with the middle doors 3.

(43) One embodiment of a lighting device 21 that is fastened to a strut 22 and includes several LEDs is shown in FIG. 10 (view from the receiving space 2 in the direction of the lighting device 21).

(44) It would also be conceivable to integrate the lighting device 21, in particular several LEDs, into one or more vertically running edge areas of the middle doors 3.

(45) In any case, the lighting device 21 should always run between a lower guide carriage 7 and an upper guide carriage 6, in order to be able to move with it.

(46) This invention is not limited to the illustrated and described embodiments. Variations within the framework of the claims, such as any combination of the described characteristics, are also possible, even if they are presented and described in different parts of the description and/or the claims, or in different embodiments.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(47) 1 Product display unit 2 Receiving space 3 Middle door 4 Edge-side door 5 Guide assembly 6 Upper guide carriage 7 Lower guide carriage 8 Lower guide rail 9 Retaining element 10 Recess 11 Spring element 12 Guide rope 13 Carrier 14 Upper pivot bearing 15 Top area 16 Bearing bolt 17 Through hole 18 Stop 19 Counter-stop 20 Movement stop 21 Lighting device 22 Strut 23 Handle 24 Deflecting roller 25 Bottom area 26 Sleeve 27 Shelve 28 Side wall 29 Rigid section of the product display unit 30 Receptacle 31 Upper guide rail