GB2188406A - Refrigerated flower-island - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a flower- island carrying flowers visible from all directions, which are intended to be displayed and directly sold and kept in a refreshed condition by refrigerating means using recirculated air. The flowers carried in trays, pots or shells 34 are deposited in two or more rows on two or more levels comprising concentric supports around a central column serving for the air circulation at the same time. A radial screen of cold air beginning at the edge of the lowest level preferably and terminating at the central column primarily preserves the blooms against fading. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Flower-island with refrigerating means The invention relates to a flower-island for the direct sale of flowers, comprising at least two charging spaces on different levels, and comprising refrigerating means driving the recirculated air, whereby an extended screen of cold air is driven near the flowers.

Particularly for displaying flowers a refrigerated display case is illustrated and described in the French Patent no. 1,572,384; it comprises a large charging space having a plane of an elongated rectangular shape, on which a plurality of pots containing the flowers are placed in a few juxtaposed rows. The level of the nearly horizontal charging space accessable from the top is chosen preferably, such that the beholder looks down upon the blooms slantwise, as he is familiar from the gardens. A second narrow charging space on a higher level is joined with the one narrow side of the first charging space like a pair of steps, whereby the pots or trays containing flowers with short stems are deposited in one or two rows in vertical to the long rows of the lower charging space, within the second charging space.Opposite to the large, lower chargng space the narrow upper charging space is limited by a vertical partition wall, near the top edge of which discharge vents are formed for a stream of cold air, which causes a nearly horizontal screen of cold air spaced from the blooms of the flowers in parallel to the charging spaces, whereby the screen protects the flowers and the blooms particularly against the warmer ambient atmosphere. Near the opposite narrow edge of the display case a rebounding plate is mounted under an angle of about 45 degrees, and reflects the screen of cold air downwards in vertical towards the bottom of the display case, on which the cold air spreads out and at the same time refreshes the pots and flowers from the bottom.The space beneath the narrow, upper charging space comprises a unit of an evaporator and a blower; the compressor of refrigerating means driving the recirculated air is under which unit and therefrom separated by a horizontal wall. The blower sucks up the cold air from the bottom of the display case through a run and urges it upwards on the back of the partition wall towards the discharge vents, whence the stream of cold air is driven as a screen over the flowers. At the long sides of the display case this stream of cold air is limited by transparent plates which define an elongation of the walls of the display case opaque per se, which form a layer of a thermal insulation for the cold air accumulating on the inner bottom.

Although this display case offers the customers a good survey of the flowers displayed for sale, it claims a relatively great area without utilizing the space above it. Moreover the speed of the substantially plane stream of cold air must reach some minimum for value for enabling it to be reflected by the bouncing plate effectively to the bottom. Near this minimum flow speed a substantial mixture with the warmer ambient atmosphere occurs at the extensive, nearly horizontal contact surface, so that a non-negligible part of the warm air arrives at the refrigerating device which must accordingly be designed rather powerful and consumes much energy.

A more efficient utilization of the space presents the known flower-stand according to the European Patent Application nos. 0,096,945 and 0,140,453. In the ground plan it is also shaped as an elongated rectangle, but in a section vertical to the long side of the rectangle the charging spaces receiving the trays or pots are formed to be the steps of a stair, the widths of which increase stepwise to the top. Within each area of the tread a row of openings of the same diameter is cut-off for hanging in the pots or trays, whereby the respective diameters have been adapted to the widths of the respective areas of tread. Therefore an option is available to the salespersons for arranging the flowers in accordance with their appearances.The top-most charging space abuts against the backwall of the flower-stand, provided with an insulating material and a slot, whereby a horizontal roof protrudes at its upper end to the front nearly over the whole stair.

Below the stair the refrigeration plant, i.e.

the compressor, the throttle and the condensor and the necessary fittings have been housed, and the evaporator and the blower of refrigerating means are near the lower end of an inclined passage comprising the cavities formed by the undersides of the steps. Accordingly the blower urges the air to be refrigerated along the evaporator through the passage below the steps of the stair in an oblique direction to the slot of the backwall upwards. The greatest portion of the cool air flowing into the slot is branched-off to an outlet directed downward, which is shaped as a slit on the level of the trays or pots hanging in the top-most row.From this point the cold air drops down the steps of the stair, and is finally sucked-off through a grating mounted on the frontwall and through a slot formed in the frontwall towards the blower, whereby all trays or pots are effectively refrigerated in the flower-stand. A small portion of the stream of cold air is guided to the roof, where it leaves through a grating fastened to the underside of the roof. The stream of cold air is decelerated by the gratings, such that it refreshes the blooms on its abrupt drop indeed, but it does not subject them to any draughts which could damage the blooms by drying out. At its narrow sides the flower-stand is limited by panels, which are also opaque due to provid ing the portions adjacent to the backwall with the insulating layers, too.The lateral panels are prolonged by transparent plates towards the frontwall; the transparent plates allow the approximating customers to look at the flowers.

Although this known flower-stand substantially utilizes the height of the shop additionally for displaying the flowers, the high and elongated backwall and the opaque portions of the lateral panels prevent the customers from looking at the flowers. Therefore it can only be placed near the wall of the shop rather as a flower-island in the centre of the room.

It is an object of the invention, to provide a flower-island which enables to look at it from all directions on the one hand and at the same time to utilize the height of the shop substantially for displaying the flowers.

In accordance with the invention this problem is solved by arranging the charging spaces of the trays or pots for the flowers and the screen of cold air protecting the flowers concentric around the symmetrical axis of the flower-island. In promoting the invention the source of the screen of cold air can be located at the edge of the flower-island and the sink of the screen of cold air can be provided near the symmetrical axis of the flower island.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawing and subsequently explained in detail. There is shown in Figure 1 an elevational view of the flowerisland in accordance with the invention, whereby portions of it were cut and broken, resp., Figure 2 a cross-section through the fiowerisland of Fig. 1 along the lines A-B, and Figure 3 a schematical view from the top on the flower-island, to illustrate the converging screen of cold air.

As one can see from the cut-away elevational view of Fig. 1, the flower-island according to the invention is established of four main portions, i.e. of a base 10 drivable on rollers 12, of an octagonal balcony 1, of a column 4, and of a roof 14. The refrigeration plant 9 of refrigerating means driving the recirculated air, and a sump 16 receiving condensed water as well as a blower 18 are housed within the base 10, whereby the blower 18 draws in the ambient air along the arrows 20 for cooling some portions of the refrigeration plant 9, such as the compressor and the condensor, and the warmed air leaves the base 10 through gratings 22 along arrows 20'. Similar gratings 22' are fastened on the opposite side of the base 10, such that gross scraps such as of paper or plastics, which are carried by the sucked-in air, remain outside the base.

The lines of refrigerant (not shown) run upwards to an evaporator 7 mounted on the bottom 24 of the balcony 1 from the refrige ration plant 9, whereby the outline of the evaporator 7 is of an elongated rectangle, and the evaporator is provided to be arranged still below the octagonal column 4. In addition to the lines of the refrigerant a vertical tube 26 for deriving the water penetrates the bottom 24 towards the sump 16. Apart from that the space above the bottom 24 is sealed against the interior of the base 10, to reach the necessary separation between the refrigerating system of the refrigeration plant 9 of the base 10 and the system for refreshing flowers.

As one can recognize from Fig. 2 too, the balcony 1 is of the shape of a regular octagon, which is symmetrical in relation to a central axis 28 of the whole flower-island. The same is true for a headpiece 30 which surrounds the octagonal column 4, and presents a second charging space 32' in the centre of the flower-island in addition to the low charging space 32 for the trays 34 provided in the marginal area of the balcony 1. Naturally the octagonal headpiece 30 can be broadened, while decreasing the width of the low charging space 32, and/or provided with more steps of the stair, so that more charging spaces result on different levels (not shown).

The low charging space 32, however, is not outlined by the surface of the bottom 24 of the balcony 1, but by the surface of a troughlike insertion provided with an octagonal marginai plate 36 which extends upwards and is spaced from a marginal plate 38 of the balcony 1. The trough-like insertion seats on range spacers 42 and guide bars 40 which are radially aligned to each of its eight corners and define slit-like spaces for eight channels 8 distributing the air at the same time. These channels 8 broadening in their horizontal extensions to the exterior are continued by the spaces between the marginal plates 36 and 38, which extend in a vertical direction upwards, and are covered by horizontal apertured bars 2 at their upper ends.

All flowers displayed in pots or trays 34 for the direct sales are kept in a fresh condition by refrigerating means driving the recirculated air; for the forced air circulation the low portion of the octagonal column 4 comprises a blower 5, which sucks-in the air from the exterior, from the spaces particularly, where the flowers are present, through holes 44 of the column 4. As shown by an arrow in Fig. 1, the blower 5 urges the sucked air through a casing 6 comprising baffles to the evaporator 7 down, which is a so-called wet-type evaporator equipped with a plurality of heat-exchangers drawing-off the heat from the air.

Subsequently the cold air is turned into the horizontal direction, and as arrows 46 illustrate, radially flows in the channels 8 being slits of a small thickness to the outer edges, whereby the speed of the air is substantially diminished due to the increasing cross-sections for the flow. At the edge of the balcony 1 the cold air is again turned upwards and enters the vertical slot between the two marginal plates 36 and 38, after which the air leaves the slot through the apertured bars 2.

As the top-most edge of the outer marginal plate 38 is bowed to the interior as a nose, the cold air is driven out towards the flowers and the holes 44 of the column 4, whereby the diameters of the holes of the apertured bar 2 are selected in relation to the diameters of the holes 44 of the column 4, such that the blooms of the flowers are not subjected to any remarkable draught on the way indicated by arrows 3, which could cause some drying and fading of the blooms consequently.

As it can be best recognized by the arrows 3 of the Fig. 3, the air leaving the apertured bars 2 as a screen of cold air radially converges towards the column 4, whereby the cross-section of the air-flow increases positively, and a displacement of the warmer air from the environment occurs, so that the part of the warmer air can be minimized, which arrives at the blower 5 through the holes 44 of the column 4.

Although only one exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described, some modifications can be performed in the scope of the invention. Indeed the octagonal shape of the flower-island has proved to be an advantageous design, another regular polygon can well be chosen, whereby the number of corners is freely selectable between 5 and 96.

The square, the equilateral triangle and the circle should not also be excluded, although such critical cases appear less favourable. For instance the supports of the charging spaces 32, 32' and the marginal plate of the troughlike insertion can be manufactured of thick copper-sheets, to draw-off the heat from the pots 34 through this extremely conductive material towards the stream of cold air.

Claims (5)

1. Flower-island for the direct sale of flowers, comprising at least two charging spaces on different levels, and comprising refrigerating means driving recirculated air as a spread screen of cold air past the flowers, wherein the charging spaces of the pots or trays and the screen of cold air protecting the flowers are concentric arranged around the central axis of the flower-island.

2. Flower-island according to claim 1, wherein the source of the screen of cold air is provided at the edge of the flower-island and the sink of the screen of cold air is near the central axis of the flower-island.

3. Flower-island according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the edge of the flower-island and/or the edges of the supports of the pots or trays are of the shape of a regular polygon, of an octagon preferably.

4. Flower-island according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the widths of the supports of the pots or trays increases step by step to the top or bottom.

5. Flower-island as thereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.