Package

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to door constructions, and in particular, those used for refrigerated display cases.

Background of the Invention

Commercial refrigerators and refrigerated display cases (coolers and freezers) are used in markets, food vending operations, liquor stores and the like for preserving freshness and attractively displaying products to the consumer. Typically, such display cases have a refrigerated enclosure and an opening that is sealed by a door that the consumer can see through and open to retrieve the desired product. At certain times, including when the doors are opened, the glass in the door tends to fog. Accordingly, a need has developed for an improved door construction that reduces fogging.

Summary of the Preferred Embodiments

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a door assembly that includes a frame having an upper portion and a lower portion, an electrical hinge mounted to the upper portion of the frame, a gravity hinge mounted to the lower portion of the frame and a door pivotably mounted to the frame by the electrical hinge and the gravity hinge. The electrical hinge pin has a hinge pin part having a plurality of electrical conductors extending downwardly therefrom. The gravity hinge also includes a hinge pin part. The door includes a laminated package having first, second and third layers adhered to one another. At least one of the layers includes an electro- conductive coating thereon that is in electrical communication with the electrical hinge. The door also includes a rail secured adjacent a hinge side edge of the laminated package. The rail includes a tunnel defined therein that includes a top opening that receives the hinge pin part of the electrical hinge and a bottom opening that receives the hinge pin part of the gravity hinge. In a preferred embodiment, the door is pivotable between a closed position and an open position and there is a gap defined between the top of the rail and the frame. The door moves vertically when pivoted between the closed position and the open position, thereby reducing the dimension of the gap.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a gravity hinge that includes a lower portion and an upper portion. The lower portion includes a plate having an axial rod and a first cam track having a wedge shape extending upwardly therefrom. The plate includes an elongated opening defined therethrough. The upper portion includes a first cam track having a first open position peak and a first closed position peak. The upper portion also includes an opening defined therein that receives the axial rod. The first wedge shaped cam track is adapted to be received in either the first open position peak or the first closed position peak. In a preferred embodiment, the lower portion further includes a second cam track having a wedge shape extending upwardly from the plate, and the upper portion includes a second cam track having a second open position peak and a second closed position peak. The second wedge shaped cam track is adapted to be received in the second open position peak or the second closed position peak. The first and second wedge shaped cam tracks are preferably arranged about 180° apart circumferentially around the axial rod.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention may be more readily understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerated display case front assembly incorporating four display case doors in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly of Figure 1 taken along line 2--2 of Figure 7;

Figure 3 is a detail taken from Figure 2 as indicated;

Figure 4 is a detail taken from Figure 2 as indicated;

Figure 5 is a detail taken from Figure 2 as indicated;

Figure 6 is a detail taken from Figure 1 as indicated; Figure 7 is a front view of a display case that includes the assembly of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is an exploded view of the single glass unit of the assembly of Figure I;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the single glass unit of the assembly of Figure 1;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the single glass unit with edge guards thereon;

Figure 11 is a cross sectional plan view of the rail of the assembly of Figure 1; Figure 12 is a cross sectional perspective view of the rail of the assembly of Figure 1;

Figure 12 a is a cross sectional perspective view of the rail of the assembly of Figure 1 with the access cover exploded out of the access opening; Figure 13 is a partial interior perspective view of the assembly of Figure 1 showing the electrical hinge pins and doors;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of a gravity hinge in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; - A -

Figure 15 is a partial interior perspective view of the assembly of Figure 1 showing the gravity hinge exploded from the door and rail;

Figure 16 is a perspective view of the lower portion of the gravity portion in the frame;

Figure 17 is a bottom perspective view of the gravity hinge showing the upper portion before rotating back down to the closed position;

Figure 18 is a perspective view showing two electrical hinge pins, with one exploded away from the female connector;

Figure 19 is a perspective view of a gravity hinge in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 20 is a top exploded perspective view of the gravity hinge of Figure 19; and Figure 21 is a bottom exploded perspective view of the gravity hinge of Figure 19.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings and the specification.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the present invention is directed to a front assembly for a refrigerator display case, generally indicated as 12, that includes doors 31 having a laminated package 100 and that are movable between a closed position and an open position. It will be appreciated that terms such as "front," "back," "top," "bottom," "left," "right," "above," "vertical" and "side" used herein are merely for ease of description and refer to the orientation of the components as shown in the figures. It should be understood that any orientation of the components described herein is within the scope of the present invention. Figures 1-6 depict the front portion of a refrigerated display case incorporating four display case doors/door assemblies 31 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In Figures 1-6, the display case is omitted, but the frame 40 of the display case is shown to illustrate how the inventive doors 31 are affixed and hinged thereto. The display case frame 40 and door assemblies 31 are numbered together in the figures as 12.

As shown in Figure 7, the display case 20 includes doors 31, mounted in surrounding frame 40 that defines an opening in the display case. Doors 31 have a laminated package (often referred to herein as single glass units or SGUs), generally depicted as 100. Glass panels 100 are designed to allow someone, such as a supermarket customer, to view display items on shelves (not shown) . The display case 20 may or may not be refrigerated.

Using handles 48, doors 31 can be swung open or closed to alternately seal or unseal the interior space of display case. Typical display cases include numerous other structures for attaching doors 31 to the display case, as well as features for housing wiring, mullions 11, gaskets 13 and other associated brackets and components that are typically included in refrigerated display cases. These features and components are shown, for example, in Figures 2, 3 and 5 and are well known in the art and will not foe discussed in detail herein. An example of such components are discussed in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,606,832, and 6,606,833, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

With reference to Figures 8-11, in a preferred embodiment, the single glass unit 100 is a laminated package that includes an electro-conductive coating or member that can heat the package to help prevent condensation or fogging. Figure 8 is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of a single glass unit 100 and Figure 9 shows the layers laminated together. The single glass unit 100 preferably comprises first layer 120, layer 140 and third layer 160. Preferably, the first and third layers 120 and 160 are made of glass and the second/inner layer 140 is made of plastic, such as polyvinyl butyral or the like. However, more or fewer layers or different combinations of plastics and/or glass can be used. Any transparent material can be used.

Each layer has two/front and back surfaces, depicted as 121, 122, 123, 124, 125 and 126. In the embodiment of Figures 8- 11, surface 121 faces the customer and surface 126 faces the interior space of the display case. The thickness of the unit 100 can be different for different applications. However, in an exemplary embodiment, such as the one shown in FIGURE 3, the overall thickness of the unit 100 is preferably about 0.31", with the first and third layers 120 and 160 being about 0.125" thick and the second layer 140 being about 0.060" thick. In a preferred embodiment, the electro-conductive coating is a pyrolitic coating or other hardcoat that is applied by spraying on surface 122. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other electro-conductive coatings can be used and can be adhered, applied, laminated or the like onto surface 122 (and/or other surfaces) as desired. For example, a chemical vapor deposition technique can be used. However, this is not a limitation on the present invention.

To provide electricity to the coating, the SGU 100 preferably includes top and bottom bus bars 142 and 144, which are vertically spaced from one another and are adhered to the coating. Figure 9 shows top bus bar 142 though transparent layer 120. Each bus bar 142 and 144 preferably includes a lead assembly or solder tab 146 for adhering wires 118 that are in communication with an electrical source. With this arrangement, electrical power moves through one of the lead assemblies 146 to one bus bar 142 or 144, across the coating, to the other bus bar 142 or 144, and through the other lead assembly 146 to heat the SGU 100 to help prevent condensation. In a preferred embodiment, layers 120, 140 and 160 are preferably designed to maximize visible light transmission from inside the case to the customer, thereby improving the ability of customers to view display items. However, it is also desirable to minimize the transmission of non-visible light (i.e., . ultraviolet and infrared light) through glass unit 100 from outside to inside the case in order to improve thermal performance and to protect items therein. Coolers are a type of refrigerated display case which operate at a temperature of approximately 38°F. Freezers are another type of refrigerated display case which operate below 0°F. When the glass unit of such display cases comes into contact with ambient air, the relatively colder glass unit can cause moisture in the air to condense on the surfaces of the glass unit. Thus, besides the use of the electro-conductive coating described above, it is desirable to use the non-visible wavelengths of light to heat the glass panels, thus reducing or preventing condensation. The present invention provides a thermopane unit that appears as a single pane of glass. This exchanges the air space in prior art units for the second layer 140 (which is preferably plastic) , which creates a thermobreak. In an embodiment with a plastic second layer 140, the single glass unit 100 provides better thermal properties than glass alone. Λnd, the plastic laminate layer also adds safety by helping keeping the unit intact if breakage occurs. In a preferred embodiment, the plastic layer 140 can also include a UV inhibitor in the laminate, which can help increase the shelf life of products inside.

In an embodiment where reflection is an issue, an anti- reflective coating can be applied to the glass unit 100. In an exemplary embodiment, the anti-reflective coating can be applied on surfaces 121 and 126.

Prior techniques for improving thermal performance and reducing condensation (or reducing the heating needed to avoid condensation) involved the use of low emissivity hard coated glass panes. However, in order to achieve the desired performance, such hard coatings had to be applied to two of the six surfaces of glass panels that included air therebetween. The present invention results from the lamination of three layers that include an electro-conductive coating therein for heating the glass unit 100.

In a preferred embodiment, to maximize the visibility through the door 31, and as shown in Figures 8, 10 and 11, the SGU 100 includes transparent edge guards/moldings 148. The edge guards 148 are preferably adhered to the top edge, bottom edge, and non-hinge side edge of the SGU 100. For example, silicon or the like could be used for bonding. The edge guards 148 provide a sealing feature and ensure that a person cannot come into contact with any electrically charged surfaces. Preferably, the edge guard 148 on the non-hinged edge of the SGU 100 includes a wiper 148a that cooperates with a wiper 148a on an opposite oriented door (e.g., left opening versus right opening) to seal the display case when the doors 31 are closed. In another embodiment, the edge guards can be omitted. As shown in Figures 11-13, the SGU 100 is secured in a rail 150 that runs the vertical length of the door 31. The rail 150 includes openings 169a and 169b at the top and bottom thereof that receive hinge pins for hingedly connecting the door 31 to the frame 40. In a preferred embodiment, the door assembly includes a gravity hinge 152 at the bottom and an electrical hinge 154 at the top.

As shown in Figure 11 (cross section of door) , the rail 150 preferably has a general "L" shape when viewed from the top or the bottom. The "L" shape is comprised of a hinge portion 130 and an SGU receiving portion 132 that includes opposing members 132a and 132b that define a channel 134 for receiving and securing the single glass unit 100. In a preferred embodiment, the rail is an aluminum extrusion into which the single glass unit 100 is bonded. It can be bonded with an adhesive, such as epoxy or polyurethane . A tape that incorporates an adhesive, such as acrylic or the like may also be used. Also, a mechanical clamp could be used to secure the SGU 100 in place. Combinations of a clamp and adhesives or tape could also be used. None of these are a limitation on the the present invention. In other embodiments, the rail 150 can be made of another material, such as stainless steel or other metal. As is best shown in Figure 6, the handles 48 are preferably made from two rectangle extruded aluminum tubes that are cut to a specified dimension and bonded to surface 121 in a shape of a number "7" for a hinge left door 31 and mirrored for a hinge right door 31. However, this is not a limitation on the present invention and other handle configurations can be used.

With reference to Figures 14-17, those skilled in the art will appreciate the advantages of a gravity hinge, which generally includes a lower portion and an upper portion that rotates about an oblique junction upon the application of a rotational force. As the upper portion rotates, the two portions separate due to the oblique junction. The upper portion "rises" thereby storing potential energy which will cause the upper portion to "fall" or rotate back to a neutral position when the rotational force is terminated. Examples of gravity hinges are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos . 4,631,777 to Takimoto, U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,650 to Douglas and U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,259 to Finkelstein et al, the entireties of which are incorporated herein by reference .

The gravity hinge 152 of the preferred embodiment includes lower and upper portions 156 and 158. The lower portion 156 includes a plate 162 having an axial rod 164 extending upwardly therefrom. The upper portion 158 includes a collar 166 and a hinge pin 168 that are axially aligned and cooperate to define an opening 170 for receiving the axial rod 164 of the lower portion 156. The lower and upper portions 156 and 158 each include a cam track 156a and 158a thereon that cooperate as described below. To secure the door 31 on the gravity hinge 152, hinge pin 168 is received in opening 169a in the bottom of rail 150, and the rail 150 rests on collar 166. The opening 169a is the bottom of the tunnel 169 that extends the vertical length of the rail 150. In a preferred embodiment, the gravity hinge 152 includes a hold open feature. As shown in Figure 14, the cam track 158a on the upper portion 158 comprises two peaks 172 and 174, one corresponding to the door closed position 172 and the other corresponding to the door open position 174. These peaks or detents are sized to receive the lower portion's cam track 158a. Figure 17, shows the gravity hinge 152 in the closed position. Preferably, the closed peak 172 extends vertically higher than the open peak 174. With this arrangement, when a user pushes the door from the open position toward the closed position, as a result of gravity and the potential energy stored when the door is in the open position, the door will fall to the closed position. Figure 17 shows the gravity hinge 152 just as the upper portion 158 is about to fall to the closed position. As shown in the Figures, the peaks 172 and 174 are preferably located about 90° apart, which allows the door 31 to be held open at a position about perpendicular to the closed position. However, the open detent 174 can be defined at other angles about the collar 166, as desired.

With reference to Figures 16-17, in a preferred embodiment, the plate 162 includes an alignment member 176 extending downwardly that is received into an alignment opening 178 in the frame 154. The plate 162 also has an elongated slot 180 defined therein. To secure the gravity hinge 152 to the frame 154, a threaded fastener, such as a riv nut or clinch nut (not shown) extends through slot 180 and is threaded into an opening 182 in the frame 154. The elongated slot 180 allows the gravity hinge 152 a degree of adjustability. This helps prevent door sag and helps keep the door 31 square or plumb as desired. It will be understood that the gravity hinge 152 can be secured to the frame 154 by other methods, such as welding, adhering, a threaded fastener with a nut, riveting, etc. In a preferred embodiment, the upper portion 158 is comprised of a molded nylon and the lower portion 156 is comprised of a metal, such as die cast zinc, stainless steel or the like.

With reference to Figures 13 and 18, as discussed above, the assembly preferably includes an electrical or plug in hinge pin 154 at the top thereof. For example, the electrical hinge pin can be that taught in U.S. patent no. 4,671,582 (referred to herein as the "'582 patent"), titled combined plug-in hinge pin and double ended electrical connector for a hinged appliance door, with mating receptacle and connectors, issued June 9, 1987, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. As shown in Figure 18, the components numbered, such as the combined plug-in hinge pin and double-ended electrical plug assembly 30, hinge pin part 36, male contact pin members 52, and female connector assembly 90 are numbered the same as in the figures of the '582 patent.

In a preferred embodiment, there is a gap 136 between the top of rail 150 and the frame. As shown in Figure 13, the gap is more specifically between the rail and reinforcing member 60 (part of the male connection portion of the electrical hinge pin 154) . This gap 136 allows the door 31 to travel up and down as a result of the cam action of the gravity hinge 152. As shown in Figure 13, the electrical hinge pin 154 includes a hinge pin part 36 that extends downwardly into the top opening 169b of tunnel 169. Therefore, hinge pin part 36 and hinge pin 168 are coaxial (as a result of both extending into tunnel 169) and allow door 31 to pivot. The hinge pin part 36 houses insulated conductors 118 that extend out of the bottom of hinge pin part 36 and into tunnel 169. As shown in Figure 11, which is a cross section of the door 31, the rail 150 includes a conductor opening 184 defined therein that provides communication between the tunnel 169 and channel 134. To provide electrical power to the SGU 100, power runs from a wall outlet or the like, through wiring hidden in the frame, through the electrical hinge pin down wires 118 extending down the tunnel 169, through the conductor opening 184, into channel 134 and to the solder tabs 146 and bus bars 142 and 144. With this arrangement, all of the wires necessary to provide electrical power to the electro- conductive coating are hidden from view of a consumer.

In a preferred embodiment, the rail 150 also includes wire access opening 186 that opens to the outside of the rail 150. In this embodiment, wires 118 from the electrical hinge pin 154 pass down tunnel 169 to opening 186, and wires 118 from the top and bottom bus bars 142 and 144 pass down channel 134, through opening 184 to opening 186 where, during assembly, electrical connections between the wires can be made externally. Once the electrical hinge pin 184 and SGU 100 lead connections are made, the wires 118 are placed back into the rail 150 and an access cover 188 is inserted in the wire access hole 186 to conceal the connections. The access cover 188 is preferably made of plastic or the like and includes tabs 190 that secure it within the opening 186 via a snap fit.

With reference to Figures 19-21, another embodiment of a gravity hinge 192 is shown. This gravity hinge 192 is similar to the gravity hinge 152 described above, except that the lower and upper portions 156 and 158 each, include dual or first and second cam tracks 156a, 156b and 158a thereon. As shown in Figure 21, the cam tracks 158a and 158b on the upper portion 158 each comprise two peaks 172a, 172b and 174a, 174b, two corresponding to the door closed position 172a, 172b and the others corresponding to the door open position 174a, 174b. These peaks or detents are sized to receive the lower portion's cam tracks 158a and 158b. Figure 19, shows the gravity hinge 192 in the closed position. Preferably, the closed peaks 172a, 172b extend vertically higher than the open peaks 174a, 174b. With this arrangement, when a user pushes the door from the open position toward the closed position, as a result of gravity and the potential energy stored when the door is in the open position, the door will fall to the closed position. As shown in the Figures, in a preferred embodiment, the closed peaks 172a, 172b are about 180° apart. Also, the open peaks 174a, 174b are about 180° apart. This helps distribute the weight or load of the door and helps prevent door sag, damage, wear and tear, etc.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all of the components of the assembly 12, including the door 31 (the SGU 100, rail 150, etc.), gravity hinges 152 or 192 and electrical hinge pin 154, among others, are all reversible and can be used on left hinge and right hinge doors 31. For example, see Figure 15, which shows the same configuration gravity hinge 152 for left hinge and right hinge doors. In another embodiment, the components of. the upper and lower portions 156, 158 of the gravity hinges can be reversed such that the concave portions of the cam track are on the lower portion, the convex portions of the cam track are on the upper portion and the axial rod extends from the upper portion, etc. The embodiments described above are exemplary embodiments of a the present invention. Those skilled in the art may now make numerous uses of, and departures from, the above-described embodiments without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed herein. Accordingly, the present invention is to be defined solely by the scope of the following claims.