WINE CABINET WITH ELECTRIC POWER FOR EACH SHELF

Abstract

A wine cabinet, whose façade is equipped with a door, has an interior volume having shelves. Each shelf is movable between two positions. Each shelf is equipped with reception spaces for a plurality of bottles, electronic detectors of the presence of a bottle and electronic devices of visualization of the presence. The power supply of those electronic detectors and electronic devices of visualization comes from a single centralized supply in the cabinet and supplies two vertical conductors placed inside a wall of the cabinet. Each shelf is electrically connected via a connecting cable flexible connect to vertical conductors. The connection shall be arranged at the level of the shelf on the inner face of the wall, the connecting cable having a sufficient length to ensure the connection when the shelf is deployed. Each shelf is equipped with elastic keeping the cable permanently stretched, whatever the position of the shelf.

Claims

1. A wine cabinet, comprising: a façade is equipped with a door; shelves in an interior volume, the shelves sliding superimposed, each shelf being movable between two positions respectively deployed out of the interior volume and retracted in said interior volume, each shelf being equipped with reception spaces for a plurality of cylinders, electronic means of detecting the presence of a cylinder in each location and electronic means of viewing the occupation of each location; a power supply of said electronic means of detection and those electronic means of viewing from a single centralised supply in the cabinet; two vertical conductors placed inside a wall of the cabinet; and connection cables for each shelf being electrically connected to said two vertical conductors, those means of connection being arranged at the level of the shelf on the inner face of that wall, the said flexible connecting cable having a sufficient length to ensure the connection when the shelf is deployed, and each shelf being equipped with elastic means capable of keeping the cable stretched at all times, whatever the position of the shelf.

2. The wine cabinet, according to claim 1, wherein the elastic means comprises: an elongated elastic tensioner having an end loop through which passes the connecting cable, dividing the latter angularly into a first section from the means of connection to the end loop of the tensioner and a second section from said end loop to a point of attachment of the cable flexible to the shelf, the two sections together forming a length of cable to maintain the connection when the shelf is deployed, the tensioner being attached to the shelf at its end opposite to the loop.

3. The wine cabinet, according to claim 2, wherein the means of connection of the flexible cable to the vertical conductors are placed in the vicinity of a corner edge of the cabinet separating the bottom wall of the cabinet located opposite the door and a side wall, at the level of the vertical conductors, and the tensioner is fixed on the rear cross member-4 of the shelf located opposite the said bottom wall, in the vicinity of the opposite corner edge.

4. The wine cabinet, according to claim 1, wherein the vertical conductors are conductive bars placed inside a side wall of the cabinet.

5. The wine cabinet, according to claim 4, wherein the means of connection of the cable to the vertical bars comprises conductive screws passing through eyelets equipping the end of conductors emerging from a sheath at a first free end of the flexible cable, said conductive screws passing through the wall of the cabinet in the direction of the conductive bars with threaded orifices, bars in which they are screwed.

6. The wine cabinet, according to claim 5, wherein the means of connection of the flexible connecting cable comprise a cover of insulating material covering the eyelets and provided with a system for fixing the end of the cable flexible connection, said cover being fixed to the inner face of the wall by means of the conductive screws.

7. The wine cabinet, according to claim 6, wherein the system of fixing the flexible connection cable to the insulating cover further comprises: interior reliefs of the cover comprising a stirrup constituting an elastic hanging clip of a first ring over-molded on the outside of the sheath of the flexible cable surrounding the wires constituting the said cable.

8. The wine cabinet, according to claim 2, wherein the flexible cable is solidarized to the shelf by means of attachment placed at the level of the cross member supporting the tensioner.

9. The wine cabinet, according to claim 8, wherein the means of attachment to the shelf comprises: a clip fixed to the shelf and elastically clipping a second ring over-molded equipping the cable sheath connection flexible.

10. The wine cabinet, according to claim 9, wherein the flexible connection cable is equipped with a connector located at a second free end and near the second ring over-molded, cooperating with a connector attached to the shelf in the vicinity of the clip.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The understanding of this description will be facilitated in particular by referring to the drawings attached in the annex.

[0027] FIG. 1 represents an exploded perspective view of a shelf according to the invention, whose components for managing the voltage of the flexible connection cable are shown enlarged.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows an elevated schematic view of such a flexible patch cable.

[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the operation of the voltage management of the flexible connection cable.

[0030] FIG. 4 represents a perspective view of the inside of the insulating material cover.

[0031] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a part of the side wall on which the covers are in the rear extension of the sliding slides of the shelves.

[0032] FIG. 6 shows the same perspective view, on the opposite side, i.e. from the side wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] Referring to FIG. 1, the shelf 1 very generally comprises two side members 2, 3, two crosspieces 4, 5 and a central bar 6 shaped to accommodate bottles. The side members 2, 3 are provided with rails 7, 8 which are screwed therein and allow them to slide in the slides fitted to the side walls of the cabinet of the wine cooler (not shown). The side member 2 further comprises an internal connecting cable 9 provided with three connectors 10a, 10b and 10c making it possible to distribute DC electrical voltage and current to internal circuits providing the electronic functions mentioned above. These voltage/current signals are supplied to the shelf 1 by the cabinet power supply via the flexible connection cable 20 shown in FIG. 2.

[0034] The connector 10a thus makes it possible to supply power, by connection to a printed circuit that manages it, to a bar 11 of light-emitting diodes 12 which signal the presence of bottles in the spaces formed in the central bar 6. This bar 11 of diodes 12 is provided on the crosspiece 5 located at the front of the shelf 1, i.e. the one which is therefore located close to the cabinet door and is visible to users. The connector 10b also supplies power to a printed circuit located in the central bar 6 and which manages detectors 13 for detecting the presence of the bottles. The third connector 10c allows a connection to a connector 21 of the flexible cable 20 of FIG. 2. It is via this connector that the connection to the centralized power supply of the wine cooler of the invention is established.

[0035] The crosspiece 4, which is therefore the rear crosspiece of the shelf, thus facing the back wall of the cabinet and distal to the door, comprises two specific components which allow the management of the flexible connection cable 20 with respect to the shelf 1 and which are enlarged relative to the scale of the rest of FIG. 1: the tensioner 41 and a clip 42 for securing the flexible connection cable 20.

[0036] The tensioner 41 is secured close to one of the ends of the crosspiece 4 via a screw passing through an eyelet 43. The clip 42 is also secured via a screw, close to the other end of the crosspiece 4. The two securing points are also preferably located on the same face of the crosspiece 4. The tensioner 41 is actually an elastic band of which the free ends are secured to each other at the eyelet 43. The end of the tensioner 41 which does not have the eyelet 43 has a loop 44 in which the flexible cable 20 is slid, as shown in FIG. 3. It is at this loop 44 that the return force is exerted by the elastic tensioner 41 on the cable 20. The characteristics of this tensioner 41 can e.g. be the following: it can be composed of 50% polyester and 50% latex.

[0037] The sheath of the flexible connection cable 20 has, close to its end connector 21, an overmolding in the form of a ring 22 intended to clip elastically into the clip 42 when the connectors 21 and 10c are connected. This clipping secures the flexible cable 20 to the crosspiece 4 of the shelf 1, at the location chosen for the proper functioning of the mechanical system, and it also prevents any pulling-out that could damage the connector 21, or the connector 10c. In the representation of FIG. 3, the connection and the clipping of the overmolded ring 22 on the sheath of the cable 20 into the clip 42 are on an underside of the crosspiece 4 not visible in the figure, which shows a perspective view from above of the shelf 1. Similarly, the securing of the tensioner 41, via the eyelet 43, at the other end of said crosspiece 4 is not visible either.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 2, at the other end of the connection cable 20, the sheath is interrupted to let out individual conductors 23 to which eyelets 24 are welded. These allow the corresponding end of the flexible cable 20 to be secured by screwing to the electricity distribution bars provided, as mentioned, e.g. on a side wall of the cabinet. This securing is achieved by an insulating cover 30 (see in FIG. 4) itself secured to said wall by the same screws, and the internal face of which comprises reliefs defining a clip for rigidly connecting a second overmolded ring 25 provided on the other free end of the flexible cable 20, thus preventing traction or any inadvertent stress from damaging the flexible cable 20 or cutting the electrical connection.

[0039] More specifically, the insulating cover 30 comprises, inside the volume that it delimits, a clamp 31 in which the overmolded ring 25 is clipped, which is therefore firmly attached. A notch 36 made in one of the edges of the cover 30 allows the passage of the cable 20, upstream of said ring 25, so as not to hinder the securing of the cover 30 in contact with the wall of the cabinet. The cover 30 also comprises two holes 34, 35 for the passage of the conductive screws for securing to said wall, which holes are surrounded by truncated guide bushings 32, 33, a portion of the peripheral wall of the inner end of the bushings 32, 33 being missing. The absence of a wall at this location makes it possible to insert the eyelets 24 into the bushings 32, 33, perpendicularly to their axis, so that they can be positioned substantially coaxially with said bushings 32, 33, that is to say also coaxially with the securing screws. A slot 37 is also provided for this purpose, of the same thickness as that of the eyelet 24, so that when it is inserted therein it cannot move from the centered position in the bushing 32, 33. Contact with the screw passing through it is therefore ensured.

[0040] FIGS. 5 and 6 show where and how these covers 30 are installed in the wine cooler of the invention. Thus, they are positioned in the extension of the slide rails of the shelves 1, that is to say in the continuation of the rails 7 slidably mounted in the slides 50 attached to the side walls. The covers 30 are in this case located at the rear of said slide rails, close to the corner edge between the side wall and the back wall of the cabinet, opposite the front door. More particularly, FIG. 5 shows the location of the holes 34, 35 for inserting screws 38 for securing (see FIG. 6) conductors of the covers 30 to the wall.

[0041] As can be seen in FIG. 6, the end portion of the flexible cable 20 which is housed in the cover 30 enters the interior volume of said cover 30 via the circular notch 36. The overmolded ring 25 of the sheath of the flexible cable 20 is clipped into the clamp 31, so that any risk of pulling out is excluded. The eyelets 24 at the end of the conductors 23 are inserted into the slots 37 (see FIG. 4) and are therefore centered in the guide bushings 32, 33 of the conductive screws 38 for securing to the vertical power supply bars.

[0042] The operation, which is easy to understand with reference to FIG. 3, is as follows: when the shelf 1 is pulled outward, the flexible cable 20 is stretched and the value of the angle a increases, as does the length of tensioner 41 in the direction of movement of the shelf 1. The cable 20 is therefore provided with a total length that allows the shelf 1 to be extended as far as its exit stop, that is to say fully extended. As soon as the shelf 1 is retracted into the volume of the cabinet, the tensioner 41 exerts a restoring force on the bend of the flexible connection cable 20, the angle a decreases and the portion of said cable 20 located between the tensioner 41 and the crosspiece 4 is driven toward said crosspiece. In the fully retracted position of the shelf 1, the two portions of the cable 20 on either side of the loop 44 of the tensioner 41 are practically parallel, almost in contact with the rear crosspiece 4, and completely invisible to the user.

[0043] The solution makes it possible to ensure optimum operation of the management of the power supply of the plurality of superimposed shelves 1, without impeding their movement.

[0044] The example given above with reference to the attached figures is not exhaustive or limiting of the invention, which in particular includes shape variants for the tensioner 41, the clip 42, as well as composition variants of the tensioner 41, etc.