US-20260123771-A1 - Open Fronted Cabinet with Air Curtain Control

US20260123771A1US 20260123771 A1US20260123771 A1US 20260123771A1US-20260123771-A1

Abstract

An open fronted cabinet, having a first food display zone for the temporary display of a heated food item, the first food display zone comprising: a first fan associated with a first temperature control element and a first passageway; a second fan associated with a second temperature control element and a second passageway; wherein the first fan is configured to direct a first airflow, having a first temperature, through the first passageway into the first food display zone so as to create a first air curtain in the first food display zone and wherein the second fan is configured to direct a second airflow, having a second temperature, through the second passageway into the first food display zone so as to create a second air curtain in the first food display zone, wherein the first air curtain opposes the second air curtain to create a convective mixing zone in the first food display zone at a location where the first and second air curtain meet; and the open fronted cabinet further comprising a controller, the controller configured to: control the first and/or second air curtain by adjusting one or more of: a speed of the first fan; a speed of the second fan, a temperature of the first temperature control element; a temperature of the second temperature control element thereby modifying the temperature and/or location of the convective mixing zone in the first food display zone.

Inventors

Michael Steele

Assignees

THE ALAN NUTTALL PARTNERSHIP LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20240510
Priority Date: 20230512

Claims (20)

1 . An open fronted cabinet, having a first food display zone for the temporary display of a heated food item, the first food display zone comprising: a first fan associated with a first temperature control element and a first passageway; a second fan associated with a second temperature control element and a second passageway; wherein the first fan is configured to direct a first airflow, having a first temperature, through the first passageway into the first food display zone so as to create a first air curtain in the first food display zone and wherein the second fan is configured to direct a second airflow, having a second temperature, through the second passageway into the first food display zone so as to create a second air curtain in the first food display zone, wherein the first air curtain opposes the second air curtain to create a convective mixing zone in the first food display zone at a location where the first and second air curtain meet, wherein the convective mixing zone is an area of turbulent airflow in which the first and second air curtains are dynamically opposed and are united to collaboratively stitch together; and the open fronted cabinet further comprising a controller, the controller configured to: control the creation of the convective mixing zone by adjusting one or more of: a speed of the first fan; a speed of the second fan, a temperature of the first temperature control element; a temperature of the second temperature control element thereby modifying the temperature and/or location of the convective mixing zone in the first food display zone.
2 . The open fronted cabinet of claim 1 further comprising one or more sensors associated with the first food display zone, wherein the controller is configured to adjust in response to receiving data from the one or more sensors associated with the first food display zone one or more of: the speed of the first fan, the speed of the second fan, the temperature of the first temperature control element, the temperature of the second temperature control element.
3 . The open fronted cabinet of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the one or more sensors are located within an interior of the open fronted cabinet.
4 . (canceled)
5 . The open fronted cabinet of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to be in communication with one or more external sensors configured to measure an environment in which the open fronted cabinet is placed.
6 . The open fronted cabinet of claim 2 , wherein the one or more sensors are chosen from the group comprising: laser sensors, environmental sensors, temperature sensors, mass sensors, barometers, and humidity sensors.
7 . (canceled)
8 . The open fronted cabinet of claim 1 , wherein the controller in accordance with one or more predefined settings is configured to adjust one or more of: the speed of the first fan, the speed of the second fan, the temperature of the first temperature control element, the temperature of the second temperature control element.
9 . The open fronted cabinet of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to operate the first and second fan such that in use the location of the convective mixing zone moves from one side of the open fronted cabinet to another.
10 . The open fronted cabinet of claim 1 , further comprising an alarm configured to alert a user if the open fronted cabinet is outside of one or more predetermined working parameters.
11 . (canceled)
12 . (canceled)
13 . (canceled)
14 . The open fronted cabinet of claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises an energy efficient configuration wherein at least one of: the speed of the first fan, the speed of the second fan, the temperature of the first temperature control element, the temperature of the second temperature control element—is decreased compared to normal working conditions.
15 . (canceled)
16 . (canceled)
17 . The open fronted cabinet of claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a scheduler configured to control the temperature and/or location of the convective mixing zone in the first food display zone in accordance with a time based schedule.
18 . The open fronted cabinet of claim 1 wherein the first and/or second passageway comprise an adjustable aperture, wherein the controller is further configured to adjust the volume and/or size of the adjustable aperture of the first and/or second passageway.
19 . A method of operating an open fronted cabinet having a first food display zone for the temporary storage of a heated food item, the first food display zone comprising: a controller; a first fan associated with a first temperature control element and a first passageway; a second fan associated with a second temperature control element and a second passageway; wherein the first fan is configured to direct a first airflow, through the first passageway, into the first food display zone so as to create a first air curtain in the first food display zone and wherein the second fan is configured to direct a second airflow, through the second passageway, into the first food display zone so as to create a first and second air curtain in the first food display zone, wherein the first air curtain opposes the second air curtain to create a convective mixing zone in the first food display zone at a location where the first and second air curtain meet, wherein the convective mixing zone is an area of turbulent airflow in which the first and second air curtains are dynamically opposed and are united to collaboratively stitch together; the method comprising the steps of: obtaining an indication of a desired temperature and location of the convective mixing zone; and controlling the creation of the convective mixing zone by adjusting one or more of: a speed of the first fan, a speed of the second fan, a temperature of the first temperature control element, a temperature of the second temperature control element thereby providing a desired temperature and/or location of the convective mixing zone in the first food display zone.
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the open fronted cabinet comprises one or more sensors associated with the first food display zone, the method further comprising receiving data from the one or more sensors and controlling the first and/or second air curtain based on the received data.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an open fronted cabinet and methods of operating such an open fronted cabinet for the display of heated food items. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Open fronted food display cabinets are regularly used in the food retail industry as a convenient means of giving consumers direct access to foods in regulated, typically non-room temperature conditions. The food within the open fronted cabinets must be held at specific temperatures dependent on the type of food item, with hot food items typically held at elevated temperatures greater than 65° C. The food items are held at the desired temperature and are not cooked by the open fronted food display cabinet. Therefore, such cabinets maintain the thermal energy held in the food item to keep the item at the same temperature. Food display cabinets are cabinets which are placed in consumer facing environments and are designed to allow an unskilled end consumer to access the contents held in the cabinet. As such the food display cabinet will have various features such as lighting, safe touch temperatures etc., to allow the unskilled end consumer to access the food items held in the cabinet safely. Such food cabinets typically comprise an air curtain provided by a fan which typically directs flow from the top of the cabinet to the bottom of the cabinet. The air curtains in such cabinets are impacted by environmental conditions such as volume of air, air speed, air temperature, and air mass which can prevent the food items being kept at the intended temperatures. Some cabinets can be limited in their functionality and some models are inefficient to run. Refrigeration units can use multiple air curtains. Such units typically include a working air curtain to maintain the reduced temperatures in the unit and a defensive air curtain which works to protect the working air curtain from external factors. The working air curtain and the defensive air curtain do not work collaboratively. Rather, the defensive air curtain is a sacrificial air curtain to protect the working air curtain. In refrigeration units, cold dense air is used which falls to the bottom of the unit. Due to the higher density of cold air, the velocity of the air in the air curtains is reduced. Refrigeration units thus rely on gravity to displace the air flow downwards due to the mass of cold air. As such, the considerations for heated food cabinets and refrigeration units differ significantly. Accordingly, the ability to improve and control open fronted food display cabinets is desirable. An object of the present invention is to mitigate some of the deficiencies of the prior art mentioned above. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to address some of the issues with the prior art there is provided an open fronted cabinet, having a first food display zone for the temporary display of a heated food item, the first food display zone comprising: a first fan associated with a first temperature control element and a first passageway, wherein the first fan is configured to direct a first airflow, through the first passageway, into the first food display zone so as to create a first air curtain in the first food display zone; the open fronted cabinet further comprising a controller, the controller configured to: receive an input from a first source, said input indicative of an event which would affect the formation of the first air curtain; and adjust the speed of the first fan and/or the temperature of the first temperature control element thereby controlling the formation of the first air curtain based on the received input. By providing a controller in communication with a first source, the cabinet is able to maintain and alter the provided air curtain dependent on the environment of the cabinet. For instance, if the source identifies a draught originating in the environment where the unit is positioned and causing the units' interior conditions to deteriorate, the controller is able to adjust the fan and/or temperature control element accordingly. This dynamic alteration of the air curtain ensures that the food displayed in the cabinet is kept at the correct temperatures and that the integrity of the air curtain is maintained. Optionally, further comprising one or more further sources. In this way, the cabinet is able to identify multiple conditions such as the environmental room temperature, disruptive draughts, presence of product on shelf etc. Further, the inclusion of multiple sources can allow conditions to be detected from different locations, such as interior to the cabinet and external to the cabinet. Optionally, wherein a source is a sensor configured to measure an environment in which the open fronted cabinet is placed. Optionally, wherein the sensor is chosen from the group comprising: laser sensors, environmental sensors, temperature sensors, mass sensors, barometers, and humidity sensors. This enables different factors to be accounted for such as whether