Open refrigerated display case with roll-in display racks

Claim 2

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members including a top wall, vertical end walls and vertically spaced upper and lower front wall sections collectively forming an elongated enclosure defining a product display zone extending along a longitudinal reference axis perpendicular to the end walls and having an access opening at the front of the display case extending the length thereof between said vertically spaced front wall sections, a plurality of interior divider walls in said product display zone paralleling the end walls and subdividing the display zone into product stalls spaced along said reference axis, the store floor forming the bottom of each of said product stalls, a plurality of mobile rack carts each having wheels and a base platform and vertically spaced product shelves for supporting the products thereon, the carts being movable along the floor into the respective stalls to a selected storage position therein, the base platform of each cart at said position being spaced a selected distance from the lower front wall section and store floor defining downwardly and rearwardly extending return duct legs therebetween for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct leg immediately rearwardly of the carts occupying said selected position, means defining a refrigeration compartment above said stalls including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct legs and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening communicating with said refrigeration compartment for discharging, downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening air having a temperature lower than room temperature, and means for defining unobstructed cart passages for movement of the carts along the floor into and from each stall, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, and said refrigeration compartment including means defining a first air channel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, the cooling coils being located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the fans, and means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle.

Claim 3

A refrigerated display case as defined in claim 1, including partition means defining a cooled air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and an outlet at the upper rear corner of the stalls for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of the carts in said stalls.

Claim 4

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members including a top wall, vertical end walls and vertically spaced upper and lower front wall sections collectively forming an elongated enclosure defining a product display zone extending along a longitudinal reference axis perpendicular to the end walls and having an access opening at the front of the display case extending the length thereof between said vertically spaced front wall sections, a plurality of interior divider walls in said product display zone paralleling the end walls and subdividing the display zone into product stalls spaced along said reference axis, the store floor forming the bottom of each of said product stalls, a plurality of mobile rack carts each having wheels and a base platform and vertically spaced product shelves for supporting the products thereon, the carts being movable along the floor into the respective stalls to a selected storage position therein, the base platform of each cart at said position being spaced a selected distance from the lower front wall section and store floor defining downwardly and rearwardly extending return duct legs therebetween for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct leg immediately rearwardly of the carts occupying said selected position, means defining a refrigeration compartment above said stalls including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct legs and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening communicating with said refrigeration compartment for discharging, downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening air having a temperature lower than room temperature, and means for defining unobstructed cart passages for movement of the carts along the floor into and from each stall, including partition means defining a cooled air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and an outlet at the upper rear corner of the stalls for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of the carts in said stalls.

Claim 5

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members including a top wall, vertical end walls and vertically spaced upper and lower front wall sections collectively forming an elongated enclosure defining a product display zone extending along a longitudinal reference axis perpendicular to the end walls and having an access opening at the front of the display case extending the length thereof between said vertically spaced front wall sections, a plurality of interior divider walls in said product display zone paralleling the end walls and subdividing the display zone into product stalls spaced along said reference axis, the store floor forming the bottom of each of said product stalls, a plurality of mobile rack carts each having wheels and a base platform and vertically spaced product shelves for supporting the products thereon, the carts being movable along the floor into the respective stalls to a selected storage position therein, the base platform of each cart at said position being spaced a selected distance from the lower front wall section and store floor defining downwardly and rearwardly extending return duct legs therebetween for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct leg immediately rearwardly of the carts occupying said selected position, means defining a refrigeration compartment above said stalls including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct legs and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening communicating with said refrigeration compartment for discharging, downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening air having a temperature lower than room temperature, and means for defining unobstructed cart passages for movement of the carts along the floor into and from each stall, including partition means defining a cooled air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and an outlet at the upper rear corner of the stalls for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of the carts in said stalls.

Claim 6

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members including a top wall, vertical end walls and vertically spaced upper and lower front wall sections collectively forming an elongated enclosure defining a product display zone extending along a longitudinal reference axis perpendicular to the end walls and having an access opening at the front of the display case extending the length thereof between said vertically spaced front wall sections, a plurality of interior divider walls in said product display zone paralleling the end walls and subdividing the display zone into product stalls spaced along said reference axis, the store floor forming the bottom of each of said product stalls, a plurality of mobile rack carts each having wheels and a base platform and vertically spaced product shelves for supporting the products thereon, the cards being movable along the floor into the respective stalls to a selected storage position therein, the base platform of each cart at said position being spaced a selected distance from the lower front wall section and store floor defining downwardly and rearwardly extending return duct legs therebetween for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct leg immediately rearwardly of the carts occupying said selected position, means defining a refrigeration compartment above said stalls including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct legs and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening communicating with said refrigeration compartment for discharging, down-wardly as an air curtain across said access opening air having a temperature lower than room temperature, and means for defining unobstructed cart passages for movement of the carts along the floor into and from each stall, said wall members including a rear wall extending between said end walls, said lower front wall sections being formed in longitudinally spaced segments each extending across the front of a respective stall, and means for removably coupling each lower front wall section to walls of the case adjacent the opposite ends of the respective segment, including a pair of rectilinear guide rails secured to the store floor in each respective stall, disposed in parallelism with the end walls and having confronting guide surfaces spaced apart along said reference axis a distanCe to engage the laterally outwardly facing vertical surfaces of the pairs of wheels of each cart and maintain them in parallelism with the end walls to guide the carts into and from the stalls, and guide rail extensions hinged to the front ends of said guide rails within the stalls for swinging movement from upwardly inclined storage positions rearwardly of the lower front wall section to horizontal positions forming forward rectilinear continuations of the guide rails extending forwardly of the normal locations of the lower front wall sections when the associated segment of the latter is removed.

Claim 7

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members including a top wall, vertical end walls and vertically spaced upper and lower front wall sections collectively forming an elongated enclosure defining a product display zone extending along a longitudinal reference axis perpendicular to the end walls and having an access opening at the front of the display case extending the length thereof between said vertically spaced front wall sections, a plurality of interior divider walls in said product display zone paralleling the end walls and subdividing the display zone into product stalls spaced along said reference axis, the store floor forming the bottom of each of said product stalls, a plurality of mobile rack carts each having wheels and a base platform and vertically spaced product shelves for supporting the products thereon, the cards being movable along the floor into the respective stalls to a selected storage position therein, the base platform of each cart at said position being spaced a selected distance from the lower front wall section and store floor defining downwardly and rearwardly extending return duct legs therebetween for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct leg immediately rearwardly of the carts occupying said selected position, means defining a refrigeration compartment above said stalls including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct legs and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening communicating with said refrigeration compartment for discharging, down-wardly as an air curtain across said access opening air having a temperature lower than room temperature, and means for defining unobstructed cart passages for movement of the carts along the floor into and from each stall, said wall members including a rear wall extending between said end walls, said lower front wall sections being formed in longitudinally spaced segments each extending across the front of a respective stall, and means for removably coupling each lower front wall section to walls of the case adjacent the opposite ends of the respective segment, including a pair of rectilinear guide rails secured to the store floor in each respective stall, disposed in parallelism with the end walls and having confronting guide surfaces spaced apart along said reference axis a distanCe to engage the laterally outwardly facing vertical surfaces of the pairs of wheels of each cart and maintain them in parallelism with the end walls to guide the carts into and from the stalls, and guide rail extensions hinged to the front ends of said guide rails within the stalls for swinging movement from upwardly inclined storage positions rearwardly of the lower front wall section to horizontal positions forming forward rectilinear continuations of the guide rails extending forwardly of the normal locations of the lower front wall sections when the associated segment of the latter is removed.

Claim 8

A refrigerated display case as defined in claim 1, wherein said wall members include a rear wall extending between said end walls, said lower front wall sections being formed in longitudinally spaced segments each extending across the front of a respective stall, and means for removably coupling each lower front wall section to walls of the case adjacent the opposite ends of the respective segment, including a pair of rectilinear guide rails fixed in each stall adjacent the opposite sides thereof disposed in parallelism with the end walls and having confronting guide surfaces spaced apart along said reference axis a distance to engage laterally outwardly facing vertical surfaces of parts of each cart to guide the carts into and from the stalls, and guide rail extensions hinged to the front ends of said guide rails within the stalls for swinging movement from storage positions rearwardly of the lower front wall section to horizontal positions forming forward rectilinear continuations of the guide rails extending forwardly of the normal locations of the lower front wall sections when the associated segment of the latter is removed.

Claim 9

A refrigerated display case as defined in claim 2 wherein said wall members include a rear wall extending between said end walls, said lower front wall sections being formed in longitudinally spaced segments each extending across the front of a respective stall, and means for removably coupling each lower front wall section to walls of the case adjacent the opposite ends of the respective segment, including a pair of rectilinear guide rails secured to the store floor in each respective stall, disposed in parallelism with the end walls and having confronting guide surfaces spaced apart along said reference axis a distance to engage the laterally outwardly facing vertical surfaces of the pairs of wheels of each cart and maintain them in parallelism with the end walls to guide the carts into and from the stalls, and guide rail extensions hinged to the front ends of said guide rails within the stalls for swinging movement from upwardly inclined storage positions rearwardly of the lower front wall section to horizontal positions forming forward rectilinear continuations of the guide rails extending forwardly of the normal locations of the lower front wall sections when the associated segment of the latter is removed.

Claim 10

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising a top wall, vertical end walls, a vertical rear wall, and vertically spaced upper and lower front wall sections collectively forming an elongated enclosure defining an open front product display zone extending along a longitudinal reference axis perpendicular to the end walls and having an access opening at the front of the display case extending the length thereof between said vertically spaced front wall sections, a plurality of interior divider structural members in said product display zone paralleling the end walls and subdividing the display zone into product stalls forwardly of said rear wall spaced along said reference axis, the store floor forming the bottom of each of said product stalls, a plurality of mobile rack carts each having two laterally spaced pairs of caster wheels and a base platform and vertically spaced product shelves for supporting the products thereOn, the carts being movable along the floor into the respective stalls to a selected storage position therein, the base platform of each cart at said position being spaced a selected distance from the lower front wall section and store floor defining downwardly and rearwardly extending return duct legs therebetween for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, a rear inner panel spaced forwardly of the rear wall defining an upwardly extending return duct leg immediately rearwardly of the carts in said stalls, an upper panel projecting forwardly from the top of said rear inner panel and spaced below said top wall defining a refrigeration compartment above said stalls, an inclined partition in the rear portion of said refrigeration compartment having openings therein and fans associated with said opening defining a lower pressure plenum zone at the top of said return duct leg and a higher pressure plenum zone downstream from said inclined partition, cooling coils communicating with said higher pressure plenum zone for circulating a portion of the return air and cooling the same, nozzle means at the top of said access opening communicating with said refrigeration compartment for discharging downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening air having a temperature lower than room temperature, and means for defining unobstructed cart passages for movement of the carts along the floor into and from each stall, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, and said refrigeration compartment including a divider panel at the top of said cooling coils spaced below said top wall and defining a first air channel above the divider panel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, and a second air channel below the divider panel intercepted by the cooling coils, and means communicating air passing through the second channel and said cooling coils to said inner nozzle.

Claim 11

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising a top wall, vertical end walls, a vertical rear wall, and vertically spaced upper and lower front wall sections collectively forming an elongated enclosure defining an open front product display zone extending along a longitudinal reference axis perpendicular to the end walls and having an access opening at the front of the display case extending the length thereof between said vertically spaced front wall sections, a plurality of interior divider structural members in said product display zone paralleling the end walls and subdividing the display zone into product stalls forwardly of said rear wall spaced along said reference axis, the store floor forming the bottom of each of said product stalls, a plurality of mobile rack carts each having two laterally spaced pairs of caster wheels and a base platform and vertically spaced product shelves for supporting the products thereOn, the carts being movable along the floor into the respective stalls to a selected storage position therein, the base platform of each cart at said position being spaced a selected distance from the lower front wall section and store floor defining downwardly and rearwardly extending return duct legs therebetween for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, a rear inner panel spaced forwardly of the rear wall defining an upwardly extending return duct leg immediately rearwardly of the carts in said stalls, an upper panel projecting forwardly from the top of said rear inner panel and spaced below said top wall defining a refrigeration compartment above said stalls, an inclined partition in the rear portion of said refrigeration compartment having openings therein and fans associated with said opening defining a lower pressure plenum zone at the top of said return duct leg and a higher pressure plenum zone downstream from said inclined partition, cooling coils communicating with said higher pressure plenum zone for circulating a portion of the return air and cooling the same, nozzle means at the top of said access opening communicating with said refrigeration compartment for discharging downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening air having a temperature lower than room temperature, and means for defining unobstructed cart passages for movement of the carts along the floor into and from each stall, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, and said refrigeration compartment including a divider panel at the top of said cooling coils spaced below said top wall and defining a first air channel above the divider panel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, and a second air channel below the divider panel intercepted by the cooling coils, and means communicating air passing through the second channel and said cooling coils to said inner nozzle.

Claim 12

A refrigerated display case as defined in claim 7, including partition means defining a cooled air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and an outlet at the upper rear corner of the stalls for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of the carts in said stalls.

Claim 13

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising a top wall, vertical end walls, a vertical rear wall, and vertically spaced upper and lower front wall sections collectively forming an elongated enclosure defining an open front product display zone extending along a longitudinal reference axis perpendicular to the end walls and having an access opening at the front of the display case extending the length thereof between said vertically spaced front wall sections, a plurality of interior divider structural members in said product display zone paralleling the end walls and subdividing the display zone into product stalls forwardly of said rear wall spaced along said reference axis, the store floor forming the bottom of each of said product stalls, a plurality of mobile rack carts each having two laterally spaced pairs of caster wheels and a base platform and vertically spaced product shelves for supporting the products thereon, the carts being movable along the floor into the respective stalls to a selected storage position therein, the base platform of each cart at said position being spaced a selected distance from the lower front wall section and store floor defining downwardly and rearwardly extending return duct legs therebetween for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, a rear inner panel spaced forwardly of the rear wall defining an upwardly extending returN duct leg immediately rearwardly of the carts in said stalls, an upper panel projecting forwardly from the top of said rear inner panel and spaced below said top wall defining a refrigeration compartment above said stalls, an inclined partition in the rear portion of said refrigeration compartment having openings therein and fans associated with said opening defining a lower pressure plenum zone at the top of said return duct leg and a higher pressure plenum zone downstream from said inclined partition, cooling coils communicating with said higher pressure plenum zone for circulating a portion of the return air and cooling the same, nozzle means at the top of said access opening communicating with said refrigeration compartment for discharging downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening air having a temperature lower than room temperature, and means for defining unobstructed cart passages for movement of the carts along the floor into and from each stall, including a pair of rectilinear guide rails, fixed in each stall adjacent the opposite sides thereof disposed in parallelism with the end walls and having confronting guide surfaces spaced apart along said reference axis a distance to engage the laterally outwardly facing vertical surfaces of parts of each cart to guide the carts into and from the stalls, and guide rail extensions hinged to the front ends of said guide rails within the stalls for swinging movement from storage positions rearwardly of the lower front wall section to horizontal positions forming forward rectilinear continuations of the guide rails extending forwardly of the normal locations of the lower front wall sections when the associated segment of the latter is removed.

Claim 14

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising a top wall, vertical end walls, a vertical rear wall, and vertically spaced upper and lower front wall sections collectively forming an elongated enclosure defining an open front product display zone extending along a longitudinal reference axis perpendicular to the end walls and having an access opening at the front of the display case extending the length thereof between said vertically spaced front wall sections, a plurality of interior divider structural members in said product display zone paralleling the end walls and subdividing the display zone into product stalls forwardly of said rear wall spaced along said reference axis, the store floor forming the bottom of each of said product stalls, a plurality of mobile rack carts each having two laterally spaced pairs of caster wheels and a base platform and vertically spaced product shelves for supporting the products thereon, the carts being movable along the floor into the respective stalls to a selected storage position therein, the base platform of each cart at said position being spaced a selected distance from the lower front wall section and store floor defining downwardly and rearwardly extending return duct legs therebetween for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, a rear inner panel spaced forwardly of the rear wall defining an upwardly extending returN duct leg immediately rearwardly of the carts in said stalls, an upper panel projecting forwardly from the top of said rear inner panel and spaced below said top wall defining a refrigeration compartment above said stalls, an inclined partition in the rear portion of said refrigeration compartment having openings therein and fans associated with said opening defining a lower pressure plenum zone at the top of said return duct leg and a higher pressure plenum zone downstream from said inclined partition, cooling coils communicating with said higher pressure plenum zone for circulating a portion of the return air and cooling the same, nozzle means at the top of said access opening communicating with said refrigeration compartment for discharging downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening air having a temperature lower than room temperature, and means for defining unobstructed cart passages for movement of the carts along the floor into and from each stall, including a pair of rectilinear guide rails, fixed in each stall adjacent the opposite sides thereof disposed in parallelism with the end walls and having confronting guide surfaces spaced apart along said reference axis a distance to engage the laterally outwardly facing vertical surfaces of parts of each cart to guide the carts into and from the stalls, and guide rail extensions hinged to the front ends of said guide rails within the stalls for swinging movement from storage positions rearwardly of the lower front wall section to horizontal positions forming forward rectilinear continuations of the guide rails extending forwardly of the normal locations of the lower front wall sections when the associated segment of the latter is removed.

Claim 15

A refrigerated display case as defined in claim 7, including a pair of rectilinear guide rails, fixed in each stall adjacent the opposite sides thereof disposed in parallelism with the end walls and having confronting guide surfaces spaced apart along said reference axis a distance to engage the laterally outwardly facing vertical surfaces of parts of each cart to guide the carts into and from the stalls, and guide rail extensions hinged to the front ends of said guide rails within the stalls for swinging movement from storage positions rearwardly of the lower front wall section to horizontal positions forming forward rectilinear continuations of the guide rails extending forwardly of the normal locations of the lower front wall sections when the associated segment of the latter is removed.

Claim 16

A refrigerated display case as defined in claim 8, including a pair of rectilinear guide rails secured to the store floor in each respective stall, disposed in parallelism with the end walls and having confronting guide surfaces spaced apart along said reference axis a distance to engage the laterally outwardly facing vertical surfaces of the pairs of wheels of each cart and maintain them in parallelism with the end walls to guide the carts into and from the stalls, and guide rail extensions hinged to the front ends of said guide rails within the stalls for swinging movement from upwardly inclined storage positions rearwardly of the lower front wall section to horizontal positions forming forward rectilinear continuations of the guide rails extending forwardly of the normal locations of the lower front wall sections when the associated segment of the latter is removed.

Claim 17

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, mobile rack carts for supporting products thereon movable along the store floor into the display enclosure, the base platform of each cart being elevated to form part of a return duct for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct portion in the Back of said enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging cooled air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, said refrigeration compartment including a first air channel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, the cooling coils being located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the fans, and means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle; a cool air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and a downward outlet at the upper rear corner of the display zone for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of the carts in said display zone.

Claim 18

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, mobile rack carts for supporting products thereon movable along the store floor into the display enclosure, the base platform of each cart being elevated to form part of a return duct for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct portion in the Back of said enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging cooled air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, said refrigeration compartment including a first air channel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, the cooling coils being located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the fans, and means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle; a cool air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and a downward outlet at the upper rear corner of the display zone for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of the carts in said display zone.

Claim 19

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, mobile rack carts for supporting products thereon movable along the store floor into the display enclosure, the base platform of each cart being elevated to form part of a return duct for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct portion in the back of said enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including cooling coils for cooling a portion of return air from said return duct, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle fan means for advancing air from around said cooling coils to and out of said inner nozzle and for advancing air to and out of said outer nozzle, a cool air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and a downwardly oriented outlet at the upper rear corner of the display zone for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of the carts in said display zone.

Claim 20

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, mobile rack carts for supporting products thereon movable along the store floor into the display enclosure, the base platform of each cart being elevated to form part of a return duct for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct portion in the back of said enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including cooling coils for cooling a portion of return air from said return duct, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle fan means for advancing air from around said cooling coils to and out of said inner nozzle and for advancing air to and out of said outer nozzle, a cool air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and a downwardly oriented outlet at the upper rear corner of the display zone for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of the carts in said display zone.

Claim 21

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, said enclosure being open at the bottom to allow the store floor to form the bottom, mobile rack carts for supporting products thereon movable along the store floor into the display enclosure, the base platform of each cart being elevated to form part of a return duct for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct portion in the back of said enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging cooled air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, said refrigeration compartment including a first air channel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, the cooling coils bEing located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the fans, and means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle.

Claim 22

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, said enclosure being open at the bottom to allow the store floor to form the bottom, mobile rack carts for supporting products thereon movable along the store floor into the display enclosure, the base platform of each cart being elevated to form part of a return duct for return of air along an air recirculation circuit from the bottom of said access opening, means defining an upwardly extending return duct portion in the back of said enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging cooled air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, said refrigeration compartment including a first air channel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, the cooling coils bEing located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the fans, and means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle.

Claim 23

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front means for supporting products thereon in said display enclosure, means defining an upwardly extending return duct portion in the back of said enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging cooled air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, said refrigeration compartment including a first air channel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, the cooling coils being located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the fans, and means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle; a cool air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and a downward outlet at the upper rear corner of the display zone for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of the carts in said display zone.

Claim 24

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front means for supporting products thereon in said display enclosure, means defining an upwardly extending return duct portion in the back of said enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging cooled air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, said refrigeration compartment including a first air channel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, the cooling coils being located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the fans, and means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle; a cool air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and a downward outlet at the upper rear corner of the display zone for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of the carts in said display zone.

Claim 25

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, mobile rack carts for supporting products thereon movable along the store floor into the display enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including cooling coils, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle fan means for advancing air from around said cooling coils to and out of said inner nozzle and for advancing air to and out of said outer nozzle, a cooled air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and a downwardly oriented outlet at the upper rear corner of the display zone for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of said display zone.

Claim 26

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, mobile rack carts for supporting products thereon movable along the store floor into the display enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including cooling coils, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle fan means for advancing air from around said cooling coils to and out of said inner nozzle and for advancing air to and out of said outer nozzle, a cooled air duct having an inlet communicating with air exiting from the cooling coils and a downwardly oriented outlet at the upper rear corner of the display zone for conveying a portion of the air passing through the cooling coils to said outlet and discharging the same downwardly adjacent the rear of said display zone.

Claim 27

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, mobile rack carts for supporting products thereon movable along the store floor into the display enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging cooled air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, said refrigeration compartment including a first air channel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, the cooling coils being located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the fans, and means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle.

Claim 28

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products on mobile rack carts, comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, mobile rack carts for supporting products thereon movable along the store floor into the display enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including air circulating fans and cooling coils for circulating return air from said return duct and cooling a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging cooled air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, said refrigeration compartment including a first air channel for conveying air discharged from said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to the cooling coils, the cooling coils being located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the fans, and means communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle.

Claim 29

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, means for supporting products thereon in said display enclosure, means defining a single upwardly extending return duct in the back of said enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including cooling coils, said compartment being located in the top of said case in communication with said return duct, a single set of air circulating fans spaced along the length of the case for circulating return air through said return duct and said compartment to cool a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, said refrigeration compartment including a first air channel for conveying noncooled air discharged from said single return duct by said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to all cooling coils, the cooling coils being located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the single return duct by said fans, and means including a second air channel communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle; said return duct having a common air inlet at the lower end thereof, the air from said inner and outer nozzles being directed across said access opening and into said common return duct inlet.

Claim 30

A refrigerated display case of the open front type to be located on the floor of a store for refrigerated storage and display of products comprising wall members collectively forming an elongated product display enclosure having an access opening at the front, means for supporting products thereon in said display enclosure, means defining a single upwardly extending return duct in the back of said enclosure, a refrigeration compartment including cooling coils, said compartment being located in the top of said case in communication with said return duct, a single set of air circulating fans spaced along the length of the case for circulating return air through said return duct and said compartment to cool a portion thereof, nozzle means at the top of said access opening for discharging air downwardly as an air curtain across said access opening, said nozzle means including an inner nozzle and an outer nozzle extending in adjacent parallelism along the length of the access opening, said refrigeration compartment including a first air channel for conveying noncooled air discharged from said single return duct by said fans to the outer nozzle, in by-passing relation to all cooling coils, the cooling coils being located in the path of the remaining air discharged from the single return duct by said fans, and means including a second air channel communicating air passing through said cooling coils to said inner nozzle; said return duct having a common air inlet at the lower end thereof, the air from said inner and outer nozzles being directed across said access opening and into said common return duct inlet.