This invention relates to a refrigerating counter for bottles, cans and similar containers, preferably containing beverages - a socalled bottle cooler - wherein the bottles, etc. are offered for sale while they are continuously cooled by means of cold air which is brought to pass a refrigerator and to circulate around the bottles, etc., and wherein the bottle cooler comprises an annulus forming filling member and storage for the bottles, etc., and wherein, immediately below the annulus, a bottle outlet place or bottle acces/removals place is situated, downwardly defined by a bottle support shelf, on which the bottles, etc. lie offered for sale, said annulus having an extent which at least approximately corresponds to 360° about a central, vertical axis, said bottle outlet place from outside being accessible from, preferably, all directions.

A refrigerating counter/bottle cooler of the kind defined introductorily, is shown and described in NO patent application No. 940486. A great advantage of this bottle cooler is that the bottles are available from all directions, i.e. along 360° about a central, vertical axis.

However, in bottle coolers of this kind it has been found to exist a problem associated with the design, shape and extent of said annuluε in a horizontal plane: After the customers have begun to take out bottles from the outlet place of a filled bottle cooler's annulus, the remaining

bottles, above the outlet place, i.e. within the annulus/ bottle accommodating chamber, have a tendency of forming "bridges", bottles being somewhat wedge-shaped getting mutually wedged and locked in a tangled condition within the bottle cooler's storage in the form of said annulus.

When bottles are removed from the storage of the bottle cooler, said storage being formed by the annulus, such that bridge(s) is/are broken, the result often is that a larger number of bottles fall simultaneously down into the underlying bottle take out place. Often, this happens through a free fall, frightening the customers. If a bottle containing a carbonic acid beverage has been subjected to a free fall situation within the bottle cooler, the content will easily run over if it is opened without delay or within a relatively short time thereafter.

The main object of the present invention has been to counteract the building of undesired "bottle bridges" in the annulus of the bottle cooler. The invention is based on the idea of restricting the extent of the annulus in a horizontal direction at least in the storage but, preferably, also in the bottle take out place.

To this end, a refrigerating counter/bottle cooler designed in accordance with the introduction section, distinguishes itself through the features as defined in the characterizing clause of claim 1.

An important, but subordinate object of the present invention is to damp the movement/fall of the bottles from the annulus to the underlying bottle take out place.

These objects has as a common denominator, namely to secure the bottle movement from the annulus to the underlying bottle take out place in a so lenient and controlled way as possible.

Subordinate features of the invention appear from the following sub claims.

The invention aims in broad outline at enabling that at least the annulus, possibly also the underlying bottle take out place, is divided by means of at least one upright partition.

Dependent on the size and shape/design of the bottle cooler, especially the outer diameter of the annulus, two, three or more such upright partitions may be disposed, preferably using the same angular spacing.

Dividing the annulus, possibly also the bottle take out place accessible from all directions, by means of said partitions, results in that the separated, small rooms become so small that the bottles therewithin are not in a position to form "bridges".

The upright partition or the upright partitions have, additionally to the primary function thereof, the extra function that it/they act bracingly and supportingly on the structure of the bottle cooler.

In order to damp the fall movement of the bottles from the annulus, it may - within the latter - in accordance with the invention, be disposed approximately horizontally projecting flexible damp means which, preferably, have the form of several separate damp elements placed along an annular path. The upper face of these flexible damp elements may slope slightly downwardly in a direction radially outwardly from a central pipe. Some bottle coolers are normally equipped with such a central pipe. If so, dampers and partitions may be attached thereto.

Examplary embodiments of bottle coolers/refrigerating counters according to the invention are further explained in the following with reference to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a bottle cooler equipped with partitions according to the invention, seen from outside, in one side elevational view;

Figure 2 shows a cross-section as viewed in the direction of the arrows II-II in figure 1;

Figure 3 shows a bottle cooler equipped with dampers for bottle fall/movement and partitions according to the invention;

Figure 4 shows a cross-section as viewed in the direction of the arrows IV-IV in figure 3;

Figure 5 shows a vertical section through a somewhat differently shaped and designed bottle cooler, equipped with partitions according to the invention;

Figure 6 shows a section as viewed in the direction of VI-VI in figure 5;

Figure 7 corresponds to figure 5, but shows the bottle cooler equipped with bottle fall/movement damping means, bottle dampers, but without partitions. Figures 5 and 7 have deliberately not been combined to form one single figure, separate figures being more illustrative than if both partitions and bottle dampers were shown in one figure simultaneously;

Figure 8 is a section as viewed in the direction of the arrows VIII-VIII in figure 7.

In the embodiment of figures 1 - 4, a bottle cooler or refrigerating counter for bottles/cans comprises a central upwardly open square pipe 1 having a lower, upwardly tapering, truncated pyramid-shaped portion 1' . Along the upper portion thereof, the pipe 1 is surrounded by a concentric jacket 2 which uppermost carries a hood 3,

which can be removed in order to enable filling of the annulus 4 between jacket 2 and pipe 1 with bottles, not shown, which are intended to land in a bottle take out place 5 accessible from all directions and situated immediately below the annulus 4 as well as being defined below by a bottle support shelf 6.

In the bottle cooler, a refrigerator (not shown in figures 1 - 4) is placed, cooling air which is put in circulation by a fan, not shown, preferably upwards through the pipe 1 and downwards into the annulus 4 as well as in between the bottles in the annulus 4 and in the take out place 5 for bottleε.

In order not to risk that the bottleε get wedged and become clamped againεt each other within the annulus 4, upright partitions 7 have been disposed according to the invention, see especially figures 2 and 4. Through restricting the physical extent of the annulus 4 in a horizontal direction, the divided, separated rooms will exhibit a horizontal dimension so εmall that the bottleε are prevented from forming "bridgeε". Thus, the disadvantages mentioned introductorily are avoided.

An additional effect associated with the partition(s) is/are its/their bracing and supporting effect on the structure of the bottle cooler.

In order to damp the fall or sliding movement of the bottles within the annulus 4 respectively along the outside of the pipe 1 or the inside of the jacket 2, one or more flexible damper means 8, 9 may be disposed according to the invention, such as viewed in figures 3 and 4, but which, in principle, also are intended to be used in combination with the partition(s) 7 in figure 1 and 2.

Each flexible damper means 8, 9 consists of freely projecting flaps 8' attached at the inner end thereof to the pipe 1,

but which, otherwise, are self-supporting, elastically resilient and deflectable. Such damper flaps 8' are disposed along a ring to form the respective annular damper means 8, 9. The overlying annular, flexible damper means 8 may advantageously have a larger diameter than the underlying damper means 9.

In principle, the damper means 8, 9 could have been formed to be attached to the inner side av the jacket 2 in lieu of to the outside of the pipe 1. The main point is that the damper means are flexible and project into the fall/movement path of the bottles within the annulus 4, where the bottles come into contact with the damper means 8, 9 and deflect them elastically. During the elastic deflection of the damper means 8, 9, the bottles are damped in their movement, before they continue their movement downwardly to the bottle take out place 5. Thus, the movements of the bottles become controlled, disallowing free fall and uncontrolled movement of bottles down to the take out place 5.

In figures 5 - 8, the invention is illustrated in connection to another embodiment of the bottle cooler. Partitions 7 and bottle dampers 8 and 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in figure 1 - 4.

The bottle cooler according to figures 5 - 7 comprises also a central upright pipe 1 having a conical, upwardly tapering lower portion 1• with an inwards arched wall which is perforated in order to let through cooling air, from outside and into the refrigerator of the bottle cooler. The pipe 1 has an underlying extension pipe 10 having a lower widening 11.

In the interior of the bottle cooler surrounded by a double walled underframe 12, the refrigerator and the air circulating device are disposed. Thus, reference numeral 13 denotes a fan for carrying cooled air upwardly through the

pipe 1 which, uppermoεt, haε radial apertureε 1" and iε surrounded by a hood 3. The hood 3 is divided at 14, the uppermost hood part 3' being removable for allowing bottles to be filled into the lower hood part 3" which, thus, forms a bottle accommodating chamber or storage, from where the bottles through said damper means 8 and 9 slide down into the bottle take out place 5, which below is defined by the bottle support shelf 6, which in this embodiment is annular and slopes upwardly in a direction radially outwardly. The perforated portion 1 ^» of the pipe 1 forms a 360° lateral support face for the bottles.

Further, within the underframe 12, there has been disposed an evaporator 14 incorporated in said refrigerator which, moreover, below a horizontal plate 15, includes an air-cooled condenser 16 assigned a fan 17 and a compressor 18. Just beneath the condenser 16, fan 17 and compressor 18, there has been disposed a horizontal heating plate 19 for evaporating condensate supplied through a central, vertical pipe 20 extending through the horizontal plate 15.

It appears from figure 5 how the three partitions 7 angularly spaced 120° from each other, brace and support the structure of the bottle cooler. In figures 5 and 6, damper means 8 and 9 have not been included for the sake of clarity.

The lower annular or rather sleeve-shaped hood part 3" is stationary in relation to the central pipe 1 and is attached to the same through spokes 21 and a ring 22 as well as rests with a socket-shaped, lower end portion 3a on a radially projecting portion 7' of the partitions 7.

The upper hood part 3' is displaceable along the central pipe 1 through spokes 23 and a guide sleeve 24.

In figureε 7 and 8 which correεpond to figures 5 and 6, respectively, the bottle damper means 8 and 9 according to figures 3 and 4 are shown, but not the partitions 7 , the

reasons for this having been mentioned previously.

In the figures, the partitions 7 extend along a vertical extent corresponding to the substantially full height of the annulus 4 together with the height of the bottle take out place 5. A satisfactory effect will be achieved upon providing the annulus 4 only with one or more partitions. One bottle damper means, e.g. 8, is often sufficiently efficient to perform the damping of the bottle movement all by itself; or it may be disposed two or more damper means 8, 9.

Air is cooled in the refrigerator 14,16,17,18 and brought to flow upwardly through the pipe 10,1 where the air flows out through the upper radial openingε l" and paεses downwardly through the annulus 4, which is defined between the pipe 1 and the jacket 2, and during this circulation, the air strokes along the bottles in annulus 4 and take out place 5, accumulating heat from the bottles, whereafter the air passeε through the perforationε of the lateral support member 1' into the interior of the bottle cooler, in order to be cooled once more in εaid refrigerator 14,16,17,18, and so forth, for continuous cooling of the bottles.