Illumination – With furniture
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-11
2003-09-16
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
With furniture
C362S092000, C362S126000, C362S125000, C362S132000, C362S225000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06619814
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Showcase which constitutes a storeroom for displaying goods in a heat insulating wall and is provided with a lighting system for illuminating the inside of the storeroom or the Showcase itself.
2. Description of the Prior Art
This type of conventional Showcase discharges a cold air from a discharge opening formed on the upper edge of an opening of a heat insulating wall having a substantially-U-shaped cross section toward a suction opening at the lower edge of the opening to form an air curtain at the opening as shown in, for example, Japanese patent application laid-open No. 91822-1995 (F25D27/00). Further, it cools down the storeroom surrounded by the heat insulating wall at a predetermined temperature. Furthermore, a plurality of fluorescent tubes are provided on the outer side of the upper edge of the opening or both side edges of the opening and under shelves to illuminate the inside of the storeroom and the Showcase itself.
The illumination structure of this conventional Showcase will now be described with reference to FIG.
11
.
FIG. 11
is a longitudinal side view showing a prior art Showcase
100
, and reference numeral
101
designates a heat insulating wall having a substantially-U-shaped cross section. Non-illustrated side walls are provided on the both sides of the heat insulating wall
101
, and a storeroom
103
is formed on the inner side of the heat insulating wall
101
and the side walls. In addition, a plurality of shelves
104
are provided to the storeroom
103
in the vertical direction.
A permeable shade
105
is provided on the outer side of the upper edge of the opening of the heat insulating wall
101
, and a fluorescent tube
108
is provided on the inner side of the shade
107
to illuminate the front side of the Showcase
100
. Furthermore, a shade
107
is disposed to the front edge of the side wall, and a fluorescent tube
108
is provided on the inner side of the shade
107
to illuminate the inside of the storeroom
103
and the Showcase
100
. Additionally, a fluorescent tube
109
is provided on the lower surface of the front portion of the shelf
104
to illuminate goods and the like displayed on the shelf
104
.
However, since the prior art Showcase uses the fluorescent tubes as a lighting system, spaces for housing the respective fluorescent tubes must be assured at attachment positions. Therefore, large spaces for housing the fluorescent tubes are required, which reduces a space for displaying-goods. In addition, sockets on the both sides must be also provided in order to attach the fluorescent tube, which makes it difficult to provide a lead wire and deteriorates the assembling operability. Further, a number of parts and the manufacturing cost may be increased.
In particular, the shade must be provided to the fluorescent tube disposed on the outer side of the upper edge of the opening in order to prevent light rays from directly entering eyes of customers and others. This deteriorates the attachment/detachment operability and the assembling operability of the fluorescent tube provided on the inner side of the shade.
Moreover, as to the fluorescent tube disposed in the storeroom, since the inside of the storeroom is cooled down to a predetermined temperature, the illumination intensity to the energized power quantity is lowered due to the temperature dependency of the fluorescent tube.
Further, since the lighting failure of the fluorescent tube occurs due to the aged deterioration in a short period of time, the maintenance such as the operation for replacing the fluorescent lamp becomes troublesome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve the conventional technical drawbacks, an object of the present invention is to provide a Showcase which can enlarge a space for housing goods and includes a lighting system which can be easily maintained.
That is, the Showcase according to the present invention comprises a storeroom for displaying goods in a heat insulating wall, and flat fluorescent lamps are provided.
According to the present invention, since the Showcase comprises a storeroom for displaying goods in a heat insulating wall and flat fluorescent lamps are provided, it is possible to illuminate the inside of the storeroom and the outer surface of the Showcase. Consequently, the width of the attachment space can be narrowed as compared with the cases where the fluorescent tubes are used as the lighting system as in the prior art, thereby reducing the space. Further, the maintenance for replacing the illumination lamps can be facilitated, and a problems of decrease in the illumination intensity due to a temperature can be eliminated because the flat fluorescent lamps are superior in the low temperature property.
Additionally, since the flat fluorescent lamps has a durable period which is much longer than that of the conventional fluorescent tubes as the lighting system, the troublesome operation for carrying out the maintenance such as replacement of the fluorescent tubes due to the lighting failure can be avoided.
In the Showcase of the present invention, a flat fluorescent lamp is attached to the front surface of the heat insulating wall.
According to the present invention, since the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the front surface of the heat insulating wall, the width of the illumination housing space for illuminating the front surface of the heat insulating wall can be narrowed, and the width of the entire Showcase can be reduced or the depth of the shelf can be enlarged.
In addition, since the flat fluorescent lamp attached to the front surface of the heat insulating wall hardly has heat on the surface thereof, a problem of occurrence of burn injury can be avoided even if a customer and the like touches the surface of the flat fluorescent lamp, thereby improving the safety. Moreover, since the surface of the flat fluorescent lamp is constituted by a lactescence glass surface, a shade does not have to be additionally provided. Thus, a number of parts can be reduced, and the width can be narrowed because of absence of the shade.
Further, in the Showcase according to the present invention, a shade or a ground glass is provided to the front surface of the flat fluorescent lamp.
According to the present invention, since a shade or a ground glass is provided to the front surface of the flat fluorescent lamp, the decoration can be applied to the front surface of the Showcase, thereby stimulating the buying inclination of customers.
In the Showcase according to the present invention, the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the front portion of a ceiling surface of the storeroom.
According to the present invention, since the flat fluorescent lamp is provided to the front portion of the ceiling surface of the storeroom, it is not necessary to additionally provide a space for housing the fluorescent tube as in the prior art, thereby effectively utilizing the inside of the storeroom.
Moreover, since the flat fluorescent lamp is superior in the low temperature property, a problem of decrease in the illumination intensity can be eliminated even if it is provided in the storeroom with a relatively low temperature. Additionally, since the flat fluorescent lamp does not have heat on the surface thereof, the reduction in the cooling efficiency of the Showcase itself due to the heat load can be avoided. Further, the inside of the flat fluorescent lamp substantially forms a vacuum, it has the adiabatic effect, and dew drops can be prevented from being formed on the surface. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to use a heating element to avoid dew formation, thereby reducing the cost.
Furthermore, in the Showcase according to the present invention, the flat fluorescent lamps are provided on both sides of the opening of the storeroom.
According to the present invention, since the flat fluorescent lamps are provided on the both sides of the opening of the storeroom, the storeroom can obtain the illumination from the sides. Since the lighting system can be
Arai Shigeru
Hamada Housaku
Iguchi Harunobu
Kashide Syuuji
Miyatake Toshiaki
Sanyo Electric Co,. Ltd.
Zeade Bertrand
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