초록 ▼

A portable, refrigerated article display apparatus for indirectly refrigerating individually packaged articles, such as food items and/or beverages, and promoting impulse buying comprises a base, a hollow housing having a transparent, outer cylindrical-shaped wall and an article support assembly mou

A portable, refrigerated article display apparatus for indirectly refrigerating individually packaged articles, such as food items and/or beverages, and promoting impulse buying comprises a base, a hollow housing having a transparent, outer cylindrical-shaped wall and an article support assembly mounted in the interior of the housing atop a rotatable article support carriage. The article support assembly comprises either a shelf unit having a series of interlocking, vertically stacked shelf members adapted to support food items such as prepared sandwiches, a beverage rack having a plurality of vertically extending columns adapted to support beverage containers stacked end-to-end, or a combination shelf unit and beverage rack. A refrigeration system circulates refrigerated air within a substantially enclosed interior chilling space formed by the article support assembly to chill the surfaces of the shelf unit and/or beverage rack in the displaying space defined between the transparent outer wall and the article support assembly of the hollow housing, so that the food or beverage items carried thereon in the displaying space are effectively yet indirectly refrigerated via radiation and/or conduction. This unique construction also substantially prevents condensation on the transparent outer wall of the housing of the display apparatus since it is isolated from the flow of refrigerated air in the enclosed interior chilling space.

대표청구항 ▼

An article display apparatus, comprising: a base support; a housing having an outer wall and a hollow interior, said housing being mounted to said base support; door means mounted over an opening formed in said outer wall of said housing for permitting access to said hollow interior of said housing;

An article display apparatus, comprising: a base support; a housing having an outer wall and a hollow interior, said housing being mounted to said base support; door means mounted over an opening formed in said outer wall of said housing for permitting access to said hollow interior of said housing; an article support carriage mounted to said base support at the bottom of said housing; an article support assembly mounted atop said article support carriage within said hollow interior of said housing, said article support assembly comprising a wall having an inner surface which defines a substantially enclosed interior space for substantially preventing the escape of refrigerated air therefrom and an outer surface which defines a displaying space between said wall and said outer wall of said housing, said outer surface of said wall including a plurality of food support means for carrying articles of food and/or beverages in said displaying space; means for rotating said article support carriage when said door means is closed so that said article support assembly and said plurality of food support means are rotated simultaneously within said housing; and means for supporting refrigerated air into said substantially enclosed interior space of said article support assembly, so that the refrigerated air is brought into heat exchange relationship with respect to at least a portion of said inner surface of said wall of said article support assembly whereby said food support means of said article support assembly is chilled by the refrigerated air in within said substantially enclosed interior space for indirectly refrigerating articles of food and/or beverages carried thereon in said displaying space.