Open display refrigerators

Abstract

The present invention provides an open display refrigerator comprising: a refrigerated storage space, air in the refrigerated storage space being separated from air exterior to the open display refrigerator by an air curtain established by a fan which blows air towards an air outlet and which recovers air in the air curtain via an air inlet for recirculation to the air outlet; a wall bounding at least a part of the duct and the refrigerated storage space, the wall comprising one or more voids such that air in the duct can flow into the refrigerated storage space via the one or more voids; a deflector which, when the refrigerator is in use, interrupts at least a portion of the flow of air from the one or more voids and directs the portion of the flow of air towards the top of the refrigerator.

Claims

1. An open display refrigerator comprising: a housing defining a refrigerated storage space; a fan configured to establish an air curtain that separates the refrigerated storage space from an exterior of the housing; an air inlet configured to recover air from the air curtain for recirculation to an air outlet; a wall bounding at least a part of an air duct and the refrigerated storage space, the wall including one or more apertures such that air in the duct can flow into the refrigerated storage space via the one or more apertures; a shelf which is installed within the storage space at an angle such that an edge of the shelf distal to the wall is lower than an edge of the shelf proximate the wall; and a deflector configured to interrupt at least a portion of the flow of air from the one or more apertures and direct the portion of the flow of air towards a top of the housing, wherein the deflector includes a surface facing away from the wall and having a mirrored surface, a first edge that is parallel to and proximate the wall and is parallel to and distal to an inner top surface of the refrigerator, and a second edge that is parallel to and proximate the inner top surface and is parallel to and distal to the wall.

2. The open display refrigerator claim 1, wherein the first edge of the deflector is attached to the wall, such that a gap is formed between the second edge and the inner top surface of the housing.

3. The open display refrigerator claim 1, wherein the second edge of the deflector is attached to the inner top surface of the housing, such that a gap is formed between the first edge and the wall.

4. The open display refrigerator or the cooling unit of claim 1, wherein the deflector is mounted at an angle to the wall and/or the inner top surface of the housing.

5. The open display refrigerator or the cooling unit of claim 1, wherein the deflector includes a curved surface between the first edge and the second edge, the curved surface facing the wall.

6. The open display refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the deflector is configured to direct the portion of the flow of air such that the portion of the flow of air interacts with the air curtain.

7. The open display refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture includes a plurality of apertures formed in the wall.

8. The open display refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture includes a plurality of slots formed in the wall.

9. The open display refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture includes a plurality of round holes formed in the wall.

10. The open display refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the at least one aperture includes a plurality of geometric shapes formed in the wall.

11. The open display refrigerator or the cooling unit of claim 1, wherein the mirrored surface is flat.

12. The open display refrigerator or the cooling unit of claim 1, wherein the mirrored surface is concave.

13. The open display refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the shelf is an uppermost shelf.

14. A cooling unit, comprising: a housing defining an interior space that includes, (i) a refrigerated storage space and (ii) an access space; a fan configured to establish an air curtain that separates air in the refrigerated storage space from air in the access space; an air inlet configured to recover air from the air curtain such that the air can be recirculated to an air outlet; a door that separates the interior space from air external to the housing; a wall bounding at least a part of an air duct and the refrigerated storage space, the wall including one or more apertures such that air in the duct can flow into the refrigerated storage space via the one or more apertures; a shelf which is installed within the storage space at an angle such that an edge of the shelf distal to the wall is lower than an edge of the shelf proximate the wall; and a deflector configured to interrupt at least a portion of the flow of air from the one or more apertures and direct the portion of the flow of air towards the top of the housing, wherein the deflector includes a surface facing away from the wall having a mirrored surface, a first edge that is parallel to and proximate the wall and is parallel to and distal to an inner top surface of the refrigerator, and a second edge that is parallel to and proximate the inner top surface and a parallel to and distal to the wall.

15. The cooling unit of claim 14, wherein the first edge of the deflector is attached to the wall such that a gap is formed between the second edge and the inner top surface of the housing.

16. The cooling unit of claim 14, wherein the second edge of the deflector is attached to the inner top surface of the housing, such that a gap is formed between the first edge and the wall.

17. The the cooling unit of claim 14, wherein the deflector is mounted at an angle to the wall and/or the inner top surface of the housing.

18. The cooling unit of claim 14, wherein the deflector includes a curved surface between the first edge and the second edge, the curved surface facing the wall.

19. The open display refrigerator of claim 14, wherein the deflector is configured to direct the portion of the flow of air such that the portion of the flow of air interacts with the air curtain.

20. The cooling unit of claim 14, wherein the shelf is an uppermost shelf.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a cross-section through an open display refrigerator with a deflector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(3) The open display refrigerator 1 has a storage space 11 that is maintained at a lower than ambient temperature. Within the storage space there are angled storage shelves 2. Different embodiments may have one, two, three, four, five or any number of angled storage shelves. Although some of the storage shelves may be flat rather than angled, the uppermost storage shelf is usually angled. A typical angle for the angled storage shelves is 20, however shelves at other angles may be used, as long as the product being refrigerated does not slide off the shelves. As can be seen, a void 3 is formed between the uppermost storage shelf 2 and the air outlet 4. The refrigerator 1 may establish an air curtain (not shown) by a fan (not shown) which blows cold air towards the air outlet 4, out of the air outlet 4 and towards an air inlet, where the air curtain separates the storage space 11 from an access space 12. The air inlet recovers air from the air curtain and a fan (not shown) within the refrigerator 1 may recirculate the air through a duct 5 to the air outlet 4. A cooling unit or heat exchanger (not shown) within the refrigerator 1 may maintain the recirculated air (and hence the air blown through the air outlet 4 to form the air curtain) at a desired temperature. The desired temperature is chosen to be lower than ambient and acts to prevent cold air in the storage space from mixing with warm air exterior to the refrigerator. As previously mentioned, air from the air curtain may be drawn into the void 3, causing the air curtain to deviate from the intended linear path. The duct 5 is bounded by a wall 6 comprising a plurality of perforations 7. As discussed above, these perforations may be any suitable size and/or shape. A part of the recirculated air passes from the duct 5, through the perforations 7 and hits the deflector 8. The air follows the curved surface of the deflector 8 and the gap 9 between the top edge of the deflector 8 and the inner top surface of the refrigerator 10. The gap 9 may act as a nozzle, thereby increasing the speed of the flow of air. This flow of air travels along the inner top surface of the refrigerator 10 and impinges on the air curtain, thereby pushing the air curtain out of the void 3 and causing it to flow from the air outlet 4 to the air inlet in a more linear fashion.