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Display case for foodsRelated Patent Categories: Refrigeration, Display TypeDisplay case for foods description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070062209, Display case for foods. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention concerns a display case for foods, that is, a piece of furniture provided with a heat conditioned display compartment, closed at least partly by glass walls and used in public premises such as bars, ice-cream shops, cake shops, restaurants or suchlike, in order to display, preserve and sell foods. [0002] The invention is advantageously but not exclusively employed to display and preserve ice cream contained in tubs. [0003] In the following description we shall therefore refer mainly to this specific application, although the invention can also be used for other types of foods. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] Refrigerated display cases used in ice-cream shops and bars to display, preserve and sell ice cream are known. Such display cases usually comprise, in the lower part, a technical compartment, which houses at least some components of the refrigeration unit, and, in the upper part, a display compartment, which has at least the front wall transparent and inside which a plurality of tubs containing ice cream are contained. [0005] The tubs rest on a supporting frame and, in some embodiments, are closed on the perimeter by a containing barrier which defines the area within which the refrigerated air circulates inside the display compartment. [0006] Generally speaking, in known display cases the display compartment is visible to the user only through the front wall and only partly through the sides, which have an opaque part developing as far as above the display plane; the visibility of the products is thus limited and conditioned by the arrangement of the tubs inside the compartment. [0007] Moreover, since the tubs and the supporting frame are mainly made of stainless steel, or anyway of opaque material, the part of the display compartment that is below the supporting frame, including the lower portion of the tubs, remains hidden, so that the only visible part of the ice cream is the surface part. Furthermore, the containing barrier is made of panels that are opaque and/or supported by opaque profiles which therefore further limit the visibility of the tubs. [0008] This lack of visibility of the product can cause uncertainty and suspicion in the user, both concerning the nature and state of preservation of the ice cream contained in the tubs, and-also concerning the general conditions of hygiene and cleanliness of the display compartment and the tubs as far as the non-visible part is concerned. [0009] One purpose of the present invention is to achieve a display case for foods, preferentially but not exclusively of the refrigerated type, to display and preserve ice cream, which will allow an ample and complete visibility of the display compartment, allowing users to observe more easily the foods contained therein. [0010] Another purpose of the invention is to achieve a display case for foods which allows the user to evaluate the hygienic conditions and the state of preservation of the foods, also facilitating the sales assistants in controlling the cleanliness of the display compartment. [0011] Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention in order to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art, to obtain these purposes and to achieve other advantages. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0012] The present invention is set forth and characterized in the main claims, while the dependent claims describe other innovative characteristics of the invention. [0013] The display case according to the invention comprises a display compartment defined by a lower base, by a possible rear door for access by the sales assistant, by an upper covering element, by two sides and by a front wall. [0014] According to a characteristic feature of the present invention, apart from the front wall, the sides and the upper covering element of the display compartment are also transparent, so that the display compartment can be illuminated more efficiently and also so that users can better observe the containers, not only from the front, but also from above and from the side s of the display case. The transparent sides develop in height at least below the display plane of the containers. [0015] According to the invention, the containers are arranged inside a perimeter containing barrier which develops at the front and laterally on the periphery of the display compartment and has the function of defining the area wherein the refrigerated air circulates. [0016] Said perimeter containing barrier is defined by transparent panels, front and side, for example double glazed, supported by profiles which are also advantageously transparent. The presence of said containing barrier, made with completely transparent elements, combined with the wide transparent surface of the sides, does not compromise the visibility of the containers located inside, unlike what happens in conventional-type refrigerated display cases. [0017] According to another characteristic feature of the invention, the containers for foods located inside the display compartment are transparent. In a preferential embodiment, the containers rest on support means that are also transparent which keep them suspended inside the display compartment. [0018] In one embodiment of the invention, the display case is of the refrigerated type and the containers consist of tubs to display and preserve ice cream, which rest with their upper edges on relative support means. [0019] The fact that the containers and the relative support means are transparent makes the food product inside the containers completely visible, even in depth, both for the user and for the sales assistant. It also allows to see both the lower portion of the containers, and also the part of the display compartment located below the relative support means, allowing to better evaluate their conditions of hygiene. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0020] These and other characteristics of the present invention will become clear from the following description of a preferential form of embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example, with reference to the attached drawings wherein: Continue reading about Display case for foods... Full patent description for Display case for foods Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Display case for foods patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Display case for foods or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Air conditioning unit for vehicles Next Patent Application: Refrigerated product merchandising unit Industry Class: Refrigeration ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Display case for foods patent info. 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