Superstructure for the lifting of panes in display units

• US 7,877,931 B2
• Filed: 01/19/2006
• Issued: 02/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: N.E.M. Nord Est Meccanica S.N.C.
• Original Assignee: N.E.M. Nord Est Meccanica S.N.C.
• Inventors: Cianetti, Alessandro
• Primary Examiner(s): Redman; Jerry
• Application Number:
  US11/794,804
• Publication Number:
  US 20080047912A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,839 Days
• Field of Search: 493/39, 493/40, 493/44, 312/116, 312/138.1, 312/139, 312/140.3, 312/140.4, 312/325, 312/326, 312/327, 312/328, 162/86
• US Class Current: 49/339
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 2003/008 with pivoting front glass panel
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 3/007 Cases or cabinets of the counter type
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 3/0434 Glass or transparent panels
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 5/0246 for attachment to glass panels
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 5/06 Bent flaps
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 7/04 Hinges adjustable relative to the wing or the frame
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 1/1292 with a gas spring
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2201/416 for counterbalancing
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2800/26 Form or shape
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/204 for display counters, e.g. for refrigerated counters

Abstract

The present superstructure involves, for each upright, a spacer section bar (3), a hinge-bearing section bar (6), a hinge (8), a piston (13) that helps to lift the pane (1), and is completed by a gripper (9) for supporting the pane (1), a closing section bar (11) and a gasket; the section bar (3) has a box section so that it can be adjusted to be joined together with the section bar (6); each hinge (8) is fixed to the section bar (6) and at its end to be fixed to the gripper (9), bears conical guides (8.1) suitable for fitting the conical arms (9.1) situated on the gripper (9) itself; a gasket (12) is fixed to the gripper (9); where spherical panes (1) are involved, hinges (15) are used containing a body (15.1) and a connecting piece (15.2) that can be rotated with respects to the body (15.1) so that the panes (1) can be fitted on at different lengths of the circular arc.

Claims

1. A superstructure for lifting of panes (1) in display units containing panes (1) and uprights (2), wherein each pane (1) is situated on a customer side, the superstructure comprising:

for each upright (2), a spacer section bar (3), a hinge-bearing section bar (6), at least one hinge (8, 15) that is generally semicircular, at least one piston (13) that helps with the lifting of the pane (1), a gripper (9) for supporting the pane (1), a closing section bar (11) fixed to the hinge-bearing section bar (6), and a gasket, the hinge-bearing section bar (6) being fixed above the section bar (3) by means of screws (7), each hinge (8, 15) being hinged onto the section bar (6) by means of a pin (8.1), the upright (2), front or back, being fixed to the spacer section bar (3) by means of a pin and screws assembly wherein a pin (4) is inserted into a hole in the upright (2) and screws (5) pass through a lower wall of the spacer section bar (3) into the pin (4), one end of the at least one piston (13) being fixed to the hinge (8, 15), an other end of the at least one piston (13) being fixed onto a bracket (14) fixed to the upright (2) when a front upright is involved or directly to the upright (2) when a back upright is involved, the spacer section bar (3) bearing bottom fins (3.1) on a lower side of the spacer section bar (3) that run parallel to a longitudinal axis of the spacer section bar (3), the bottom fins (3.1) bounding a bottom guide (3.2) into which a top end of the upright (2) is inserted, the spacer section bar (3) bearing top fins (3.3) on a top side of the spacer section bar (3) that run parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spacer section bar (3), the top fins (3.3) bounding a top guide (3.4), the hinge-bearing section bar (6) containing a guide projection (6.1) on a lower area of the hinge-bearing section bar (6), the guide projection (6.1) fitting into the top guide (3.4) on the spacer section bar (3), the screws (7) that fix the hinge-bearing section bar (6) to the spacer section bar (3) being inserted into slots situated in an area where the two section bars (3, 6) join and fasten together, an end of the hinge (8, 15) fixed to the gripper (9) bearing conical guides (8.2, 15.6), an end of the gripper (9) fixed to the hinge (8, 15) having conical arms (9.1), the conical arms (9.1) running parallel to a longitudinal axis of the gripper (9), the arms (9.1) fitting into the guides (8.2, 15.6) on the hinge (8, 15) so the joining together of the gripper (9) and the hinge (8, 15) is controlled by grains (10), the gripper (9) having a groove (9.2) which runs parallel to the longitudinal axis of the gripper (9) on an arm of the gripper (9) that points toward the closing section bar (11), one end of a plastic gasket (12) fitting into the groove (9.2), an other end of the plastic gasket (12) running along the closing section bar (11).

2. A superstructure according to claim 1, wherein the bottom fins (3.1) on the spacer section bar (3) can be present either on both sides of the section bar (3), or only along one side, depending on whether the section bar (3) is being used for central or side uprights.

3. A superstructure according to claim 2, wherein the bottom fins (3.1) are only present along a left or a right side of the spacer section bar (3), to be fixed to left or right side uprights.

4. A superstructure according to claim 1, wherein the panes (1) are spherical and wherein the hinge (15) has a generally semicircular body (15.1) and a connecting piece (15.2), the body (15.1) bearing an insert (15.3) into which a base of the connecting piece (15.2) fits, a connection of the body (15.1) to the connecting piece (15.2) being achieved by means of screws that are lodged into holes (15.4, 15.5) on both of the body (15.1) and the connecting piece (15.2), the connecting piece (15.2) bearing the conical guides (15.6) that fit the conical arms (9.1) of the gripper (9), a longitudinal axis of each conical guide (15.6) being incident to a longitudinal axis of the body (15.1), the base of the connecting piece (15.2) being rotatable with respect to the body (15.1) so that the spherical panes (1) can be fitted onto the hinges (15) at different lengths of a circular arc without interfering with the hinge-bearing section bar (6).

5. A superstructure according to claim 4, wherein when the spherical panes (1) each have a different length of the circular arc, the body (15.1) can be replaced without interfering with the hinge-bearing section bar (6).

6. A superstructure according to claim 4, wherein the body (15.1) is hinged onto an adapting piece (15.7) by means of a pin (15.8) that passes through a hole (15.9), the adapting piece (15.7) being fixed to the section bar (6).

7. A superstructure according to claim 4, wherein the connecting piece (15.2) includes a plate and a section bar containing conical guides (15.6), the section bar being fixed to the plate by means of screws.