CABINET DOORS

PORTES POUR VITRINE

English Abstract

A door unit for a display cabinet. The door unit comprises a frame for holding, in use, at least two sliding doors. Linking means selectively links the two doors such that when a first one of the doors is opened the linking means engages with the second one of the doors to pull it open also and when the second one of the doors is opened the linking means disengages such that the first door remains closed.

French Abstract

Cette invention concerne une unité de porte pour une vitrine. Ladite unité de porte comprend un cadre de support et, lors de l'utilisation, au moins deux portes coulissantes. Des moyens de liaison relient sélectivement les deux portes de telle façon que lorsqu'une première porte est ouverte, les moyens de liaison viennent en prise avec la seconde porte pour l'ouvrir également et lorsque la seconde porte est ouverte, les moyens de liaison se libèrent afin que la première porte reste fermée.

Claims

CLAIMS
1 A door unit for a display cabinet, the door unit comprising:
a frame holding at least two sliding doors such that the doors can be slid
between open and closed positions and the doors close different openings in
the frame,
the doors being offset from one another in a direction perpendicular to the
sliding
direction of the doors; and linking means for selectively linking the two
doors such that
when a first one of the doors is opened the linking means engages with the
second one
of the doors to pull it open also and when the second one of the doors is
opened the
linking means disengages such that the first door remains closed, and wherein
said two
sliding doors are respectively an upper and a lower door.
2. The unit of claim 1, wherein the doors are positioned adjacent to one
another.
3. The unit of claim 1 or 2, wherein the doors are arranged such that they
slide in
the same direction.
4. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the linking means comprise
a tooth
and notch arrangement which enables the two doors to engage with one another
where
the first door is opened and disengage with one another when the second door
is
opened.
5. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the frame is arranged such
that it
can be fitted retroactively over a standard display cabinet.
6. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising one or more
door closing
mechanisms to enable automatic closing of one or more of the doors.
7. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein closing mechanism
comprises one
or more of an hydraulic closing mechanism, biased weight closing mechanism,
weighted
pulley, spring and ratchet, or coiled spring-driven mechanism.
8. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the doors are formed from
an
opaque material.
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9. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 8, arranged such that advertising or
display
material can be fixed thereto.
10. The unit of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the linking means is
concealed by a
member positioned on the frame.
11. A display cabinet comprising a housing containing one or more shelves
and
further comprising a unit of any one of claims 1 to 10 retained on the
housing.
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Description

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CABINET DOORS
The present invention relates to cabinet doors. In particular, it relates to
cabinet doors for use in a retail display environment.
In recent times there has been a drive for government bodies to restrict
the display of certain products in a retail environment whilst still allowing
for their
sale to a consumer. For example, certain governments are placing limitations
on
the ability for retailers to display tobacco products.
Introduction of such restrictions can cause difficulties for retailers.
Firstly, many have invested heavily in display cabinets for displaying such
products and face the potential need to replace such display cabinets in order
to
meet the requirements of such restrictions.
In addition, restrictions on display can prevent a retailer from being able
to make a consumer aware of new or improved products.
Furthermore, without appropriate cabinet structures in place for the
holding of such products, it can be difficult for the retailer to ensure that
display
of the products is prevented at all times except for when a product is being
obtained for sale to a customer, leaving the retailer at risk of contravening
the
restrictions.
The present invention seeks to address the above and other problems.
According to the present invention there is provided a door unit for a
display cabinet, the door unit comprising:
a frame holding at least two sliding doors such that the doors can be slid
between open and closed positions and the doors close different openings in
the
frame, the doors being offset from one another in a direction perpendicular to
the
sliding direction of at least one of the doors; and linking means for
selectively
linking the two doors such that when a first one of the doors is opened the
linking
means engages with the second one of the doors to pull it open also and when
the second one of the doors is opened the linking means disengages such that
the first door remains closed.
The doors may be positioned adjacent to one another and arranged such
that they slide in the same direction. The linking means may be a tooth and
notch arrangement which enables the two doors to engage with one another
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where the first door is opened and disengage with one another when the second
door is opened.
The frame may be arranged such that it can be fitted retroactively over a
standard display cabinet.
The unit may further be provided with one or more door closing
mechanisms to enable automatic closing of the one or more doors. The closing
mechanism may comprise one or more of an hydraulic closing mechanism,
biased weight closing mechanism, weighted pulley, spring and ratchet, or
coiled
spring-driven mechanism.
Preferably the doors are formed from an opaque material.
The unit and/or the frame and/or the doors may be arranged such that
advertising or display orientated material can readily be fixed thereto.
With the unit of the present invention it is possible for a retailer to
selectively display alternative products to a user on an automatic basis while
obtaining the product requested by the consumer. In addition, it is possible
for
the retailer to meet display restriction requirements without having to
install
completely new cabinets through the retro-fitting of a unit of the present
invention.
It is also possible for the retailer to ensure that, through the automatic
closing of the doors, the product is only displayed when being accessed, such
that no door can inadvertently be left open and products left on continuous
display.
Examples of the present invention will now be described with reference to
the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a front view of a unit according to the present invention;
Figures 2A and 2B show opening positions of the unit of figure 1;
Figure 3 shows an alternative configuration of the present invention in
which four sliding doors are provided;
Figures 4A to 4F show various alternative optional automatic closing
mechanisms that may be employed as part of the present invention;
Figure 5 shows an alternative frame configuration with concealed linking
means; and
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Figure 6 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a further configuration with
concealed linking means.
Referring to figure 1, a unit according to the present invention is formed
from a frame formed from top and bottom members 6 and side members 8. The
members 6 and 8 may be attached, in use, to a cabinet frame which is shipped
as a unit or may alternatively, be configured to be retro-fitted around an
existing
display cabinet which has already been installed. In this example the frame
members 6 and 8 support fixed doors 1, 4, which are formed from an opaque
material. They also support rails 7 and sliding doors 2, 3. The sliding doors
2, 3
slide on the rails 7 between closed positions, as shown in figure 1, and open
positions shown in figures 2a and 2b. Again, the doors 2, 3 are formed from an
opaque material. When in the closed position and when the unit has been
fitted,
contents of the cabinet to which the frame members 6, 8 are attached are not
visible to a consumer.
A linking arrangement 5 is formed on the edges of the doors 2, 3 that are
adjacent to one another. As can be seen on the figures, the upper 2 and lower
doors 3 close different openings in the frame, the doors 2,3 being offset from
one another in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction of the
doors. In
the example of figure 1, a tooth and notch arrangement is configured such
that,
in use, when the upper door 2 is slid towards an open position, the tooth and
notch arrangement disengages and only the upper door 2 opens. However, it is
also configured such that when the lower door 3 is opened the tooth and notch
arrangement engages and the upper door 2 is drawn open as the lower door 3 is
opened. This configuration ensures that a retailer can position products in
the
most appropriate and consistent manner for gantry and stock management by
being able to see when content anywhere in the cabinet needs replacing.
Of course, it will be appreciated that alternative tooth and notch
arrangements can be provided. For example, a simple step configuration is
shown in figures 1, 2A and 2B, but the notch may have a triangular shape. It
will
also be appreciated that more complex engaging mechanism can be provided to
give the same functionality.
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What should also be appreciated is that the link between the two doors
may be configured in an alternative arrangement such that the lower door
always opens, even when the upper door is opened.
Figure 3 shows an alternative arrangement in which, rather than fixed
doors 1, 4, a second set of sliding doors is provided and an appropriate tooth
and notch arrangement provided between those doors. In this case this second
set of doors can slide behind the first set of opening doors to allow access
to a
further region of the cabinet and with the same functionality as in the first
example.
As mentioned above, means may be provided on one or more of the
sliding doors to ensure that the doors close automatically when not being
accessed. Figures 4A to 4F show various example arrangements that could be
used to achieve this.
For example, figure 4A shows provision of a hydraulic piston 10 arranged
by a sliding door in a closed position. Figure 4B shows a pivoting weight
configuration 11 which, again, biases the sliding door towards a closed
position.
Figure 4C shows a spring and ratchet configuration 12 and figure 4D a weight
and pulley configuration 13. Figure 4E shows a sprung extending coil 14 which
provides the same purposes. An alternative, slightly more complex,
configuration is shown in figure 4F whereby an inclined rail 7 is provided for
the
door such that it is biased into its closed position by its own weight.
In the arrangement of figure 1, the linking arrangement 5 is clearly visible.
Figure 5 shows an alternative frame arrangement which enables the
linking arrangement 5 to be concealed. Components that correspond to those in
figure 1 are numbered identically. As can be seen from the expanded views of
figure 5, the middle rail 7 has a space 20 defined by two opposing bars 21 and
22. The space 20 then enables the second pair of doors 1, 4 to have a linking
means 5 that is positioned within the space 20 and as such is concealed by one
bar 22 of the middle rail 7.
Figure 6 shows an alternative arrangement in which the middle rail 7
supports the second pair of doors 1, 4 and has a linking means 5 which extends
to the rear of the middle rail 7 and as such is concealed.
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I1 will be appreciated that either of the example constructions in figures 5
or 6 could be applied to any of the earlier examples to enable concealment of
the linking means 5.
As will be appreciated from the above description, the present invention
provides a set of cabinet doors that enables a retailer to simply and
effectively
meet changing legislation in respect of the display of certain products. It
also
enables a retailer to position products in the most appropriate and consistent
manner for gantry and stock management and enables the retailer to monitor the
content throughout the cabinet.
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Representative Drawing