EP2142050B2 - Device for exhibiting objects - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for the display or storage of objects with a preferably square or rectangular plan and with a front, a rear, an upper, a right and a left side surface, a base or additionally with a top instead of the upper side surface, all Side surfaces or at least a part thereof consist of glass panes, the interior in its lower part with a support surface and the device is closed to the outside air largely airtight, the device consists of two symmetrical, vertically separated halves, wherein the base and the possibly existing upper part forms part of the front, rear, right and left side surface, wherein the two halves are horizontally and in parallel by suitable means from each other or to each other movable, wherein the support surface excluded from the movement is.

The access to the interior and in particular to the support surface of such a device, also referred to as a display case, is generally effected by the formation of a side wall as a pivotable door. Now, if the interior of such a showcase compared to the environment be closed airtight as possible, then difficulties arise when the sealing of the door is done by means of sealing lips, especially in the hinge region of the door, since at this point the door is not rectilinear to the sealing lip during the closing process to be moved.

From the publication " Annali del Laboratorio Museotecnico ", Vol. III, 2002 by Goppion Srl, Trezzano sul Naviglio, Italy, especially pages 39-54 and 85-100 and 259 are devices for display or storage of articles having a preferably square or rectangular plan. These devices, also referred to as showcases, can consist of two symmetrical, vertically separated halves, the two halves being movable horizontally and parallel by suitable means from each other or from each other. On page 99, a movement mechanism consisting of a reduction gear and toothed rack gear is shown. This movement mechanism is manually operated by means of a hand crank.

In the book of Konrad Gatz and Fritz Hierl "stores", publishing DW Callwey, Munich 1950 (Germany ) a device or showcase of the type mentioned above is shown on page 34 with a rectangular plan view, in which by a diagonal dividing line two symmetrical halves are present, which can be moved away from each rail or moved towards each other, in this way access to To allow interior of the showcase. About the way in which the opening or closing of the showcase can be found in this known document no evidence.

In the EP 0 670 405 A1 a showcase is described in which by special measures toward the end of the closing operation, the door is moved perpendicular to the sealing lips in the door opening.

Another solution for enabling access to the interior of a showcase may also consist in that the entire top is lifted in one piece from the support surface by an electromotive spindle drive is used for lifting and lowering of the upper part at all four corners. Such a showcase is used for example in the EP 0 775 459 A1 described.

A disadvantage of most known showcases is the cleaning of the inner sides of the side surfaces, since in many cases the objects to be displayed must be removed from the same, so that the inside of the side surfaces is freely accessible. In many well-known showcases also the accessibility to the insides of the side surfaces is often severely limited even with cleared showcase due to the construction or the construction thereof.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a showcase in which largely the accessibility to the interior, in particular also for cleaning the inner sides of the side surfaces is made possible and beyond the aforementioned difficulties in the sealing of the door can be avoided.

This object is achieved by a device having the features of claim 1. The inventive device consists of two symmetrical, vertically separated halves, wherein the base and the possibly existing upper part form part of the front, rear, right and left side surfaces, and that the two Halves horizontally and in parallel by suitable means from each other or to each other are movable, wherein the support surface is excluded from the movement. The display cabinet according to the invention is characterized
that the two halves are movably mounted on guides, which are housed in pairs in the interior of the base and possibly also within the upper part, that in the interior of the base an arrangement is present, with
which the guides and the support surface are firmly connected,
that the guides consist of a fixed part and a movable part, the fixed part being fixedly connected to the arrangement and the two halves being displaceably mounted as a movable part in the fixed part,
and that on the fixed part of the guides in each case an electric motor driven drive is mounted, through which the movable part of the guides is movable.

The showcase according to the invention has no door and if the two halves are sufficiently far apart in the opened state of the showcase, access to the interior or to the contact surface is released. The attached to the touching edges of the two halves sealing lips are guided in a straight line during the closing process due to the horizontal and parallel movement. In contrast to the doors, which are often frameless for aesthetic reasons, the two halves represent a more stable arrangement, by means of which the display cabinet according to the invention also becomes more burglar-proof. Since the two halves separate from each other and the support surface, however, maintains its position, when cleaning the insides of the side surfaces, the objects to be displayed can remain in place, while on the other hand, these do not hinder the cleaning process.

A development of the invention is that the dividing line between the two halves runs in the diagonal of the floor plan. With this solution, the dividing line between the two halves is not visible, as this runs in the course of the line on which two side surfaces of different halves meet each other horizontally.
Seen optically, this part of the showcase does not differ in the closed state from the corner connection of two side surfaces of a half.

• Fig. 1 eine Vitrine im geschlossenen Zustand,
• Fig. 2 eine Vitrine im teilweise geöffneten Zustand und
• Fig. 3 die Draufsicht auf eine vollständig geöffnete Vitrine.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment which is shown in the drawing.
It shows:

• Fig. 1 a showcase in the closed state,
• Fig. 2 a showcase in the partially opened state and
• Fig. 3 the top view of a fully opened showcase.

In the Fig. 1 showcase shown has a square or rectangular outline, but the invention is also applicable to a showcase with, for example, hexagonal plan. A front 1, a back 2, a right 3 and a left side surface 4 surround the space for receiving objects, wherein the side surfaces are each formed of a transparent glass sheet. The lower part of the showcase forms a base 6, at the top of which a support surface 7 is located. At the top, the display case can be closed by an upper side surface 5, also consisting of a glass pane. Instead of the upper side surface 5, the showcase can also have an upper part 14, in which, for example, a lighting device can be accommodated. With its bottom 13, the showcase is for example on a floor.

Each side part 1 to 4 forms together with the corresponding part of the base 6 and in the presence of the upper part 14 also together with the corresponding part of the upper part 14 for a unit. This can for example be done by the said side parts 1 to 4 extend over the base 6 and possibly also on the upper part 5 and are each formed as a continuous glass, wherein in the region of the base 6 and the upper part 5, the glass by a on the Inside attached opaque film are formed. The body of the showcase is thus formed from the described side parts, wherein each two adjacent side parts are connected in pairs firmly together, thereby forming two opposite halves.

Diagonal to the plan of the showcase runs a dividing line 15, which separates the entire showcase into two symmetrical halves. According to Fig. 2 the showcase consists of a first half 8 and a second half 9, both of which are vertically separated. In this case, the dividing line 15 extends on the abutting edge, on the two side surfaces of different halves 8 and 9 abut each other. It is also conceivable to let the dividing line run centrally through the square or rectangular plan, but in this case the dividing line runs vertically in the middle of two side faces and would be visible in the closed state of the showcase, while in the diagonal dividing line it would be the same with the abutting edge of two Side surfaces of different halves coincide and thus is not more conspicuous than the abutting edge of two side surfaces of the same half.

The underside 13 of the showcase is formed by a base plate to which an assembly 12 is attached, on which the support surface 7 is fixed. Thus, the support surface remains unchanged in position, when the two halves 8 and 9 move from each other. The space between the support surface 7 and the base plate is covered by the base 6 in the closed state of the showcase. The assembly 12 also serves to fasten the guide 10 and possibly 11, which allows the horizontal movement of the two halves 8 and 9. In the Fig. 2 shown guide 10 is mounted in pairs between the support surface 7 and the base plate to the assembly 12, whereby a parallel movement of the two halves 8 and 9 from each other or each other is achieved. The other guide 11 is also present in pairs and either in the upper part 14 or in the absence of the upper part 14 also in the base 6 and above the guide 10 to the assembly 12 and secured parallel thereto. The guides 10 and 11 are aligned parallel to the bottom 13 and at an angle of 90 degrees to the dividing line 15. The entire weight of both halves 8 and 9 rests on the guides 10 and 11. In showcases with large dimensions and thus large weights, it may be appropriate to provide the two halves 8 and 9 with rollers on its underside 13 to the guides 10th and 11 to relieve weight.

The guides 10 and 11 each consist of a fixed and a movable part, wherein the fixed part is fixedly connected to the assembly 12 and the movable part with a half 8 or 9. The movable part is slidably mounted in the fixed part, whereby a movement of a half 8 or 9 is made possible. Thus, at least 4 guides are needed when the fixed part has a length allowing a substantial opening between the two halves 8 and 9, the fixed part being shared by the moving parts of two halves. The fixed part may also have a telescopic extension, which is extended only when the movable part abuts the end of the fixed part. If the fixed part is shared by two moving parts, then such a telescopic extension should be provided at both ends. The fixed part of the guides 10 and 11 may be formed, for example, U-shaped, which receives a plurality of rotatable interconnected rollers having movable part. However, other guides are conceivable in which instead of rollers and balls allow the sliding movement of the movable part in the fixed part of a guide 10 and 11.

On the fixed part of the guides 10 and 11, an electric motor can be attached, which drives a threaded spindle, on which there is a threaded sleeve, which is fixedly connected to one half 8 and 9, respectively. In this way, a push and pull movement can be achieved by the electric motor, which has the pulling apart and the pushing together of the two halves 8 and 9 result. It is also conceivable to provide for a pair of guide 10 and 11 only one electric motor, wherein this drives a threaded spindle, one half of which is provided with a normal thread and the other half with a counter-rotating thread, whereby the simultaneous movement of the two halves. 8 and 9 is allowed outwards or inwards. The threaded spindle would in this case in the course of the connecting line between the corners of the two halves 8 and 9 on the assembly 12 and in the upper part 14 so at an angle of 90 degrees to the dividing line 15 are attached. Condition for the uniform movement of the two halves 8 and 9 is the unconditional synchronization of all electric motors. This is achieved by the control of the same by means of an electronic control device, with which the electric motors are electrically connected. Also connected to the electronic control means are sensors which signal the closing state and the final state of the opening between both halves 8 and 9, thereby causing the electronic control means to stop the running of the electric motors. It is also conceivable, by means of a remote control to initiate the process of opening and closing the display case wirelessly in the electronic control device.

Depending on the size of the showcase, it may also be necessary be instead of the four guides 10 and 11 to use more such guides.

In Fig. 3 a showcase according to the invention is shown in the end position of the opened state. It is assumed that this has a transparent upper side surface 5 has. The two halves 8 and 9 are so far away from each other that the access to the support surface 7 is released, also the distance between the two halves 8 and 9 is also sufficient that the insides are freely accessible for cleaning, with the objects located on the support surface 7 do not interfere with the cleaning.

It is also conceivable that the two halves 8 and 9 not fixed but each horizontally mounted to rotate on the movable part of the guides 10 and 11. This makes it possible to prematurely end the sliding apart of the two halves in the one guide, while the sliding apart of the two halves in the opposite guide is continued until the end position. In this way, the opening between the two halves 8 and 9 is increased on this page, the opposite opening is only opened so far that the two halves 8 and 9 do not touch. Due to this design of the showcase, for which appropriate measures have to be taken for the different running of the motors in the control device, u.U. to dispense with the telescopic extension of the guides 10, 11.

In the region of the dividing line 15, 8 or 9 sealing lips are attached to one of the two halves.

reference numeral

1

front side surface

2

rear side surface

3

right side surface

4

left side surface

5

upper side surface

6

base

7

bearing surface

8th

first half

9

second half

10

first guide

11

second leadership

12

arrangement

13

bottom

14

top

15

Dividing line

Claims (4)

1. Device for displaying or storing objects, having a preferably square or rectangular outline and a front, a rear, an upper, a right and a left side face, a base or in addition an upper part instead of the upper side face, all the side faces or at least a part of the same comprising panes of glass, the interior being sealed in its lower region with a support surface and the device being sealed extensively in an airtight manner relative to the external air, wherein the device comprises two symmetrical halves (8, 9) which are separated from each other vertically, the base (6) and the possibly present upper part (14) forming a part of the front (1), rear (2), right (3) and left side face (4), and wherein the two halves (8, 9) can be moved away from each other or towards each other horizontally and parallel by suitable means, the support surface (7) being excluded from the movement, characterized in that
   the two halves (8, 9) are fitted moveably on guides (10, 11) which are accommodated in pairs in the interior of the base (6) and possibly also within the upper part (14), and in that an arrangement (12) is present in the interior of the base (6), to which arrangement the guides (10, 11) and the support surface (7) are connected securely, and in that the guides (10, 11) comprise a stationary and a moveable part, the stationary part being connected securely to the arrangement (12) and the two halves (8, 9) being mounted displaceable in the stationary part as a moveable part, and in that at the the stationary part of the guides (10, 11) an electric motor drive is mounted, respectively, by means of which the moveable part of the guides (10, 11) can be moved.
2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that all the drives are controlled by a common control device.
3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the common control device can be controlled by remote control.
4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that reaching the end position and the closed state of the device is transmitted by suitable means to the control device.

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