Refrigerated cabinet

Abstract

A refrigeration system comprising a refrigerated cabinet having a front opening through which access is gained to the cabinet and the cabinet being subdivided into at least one compartment. Each compartment is adapted to be occupied by a drawer, each drawer being moveable within the compartment from a retracted position at which it is accommodated within the compartment and an extended position at which it partly extends forwardly from the compartment and whereby the interior of the drawer is accessible. The system further comprises cooling means provided remote from the cabinet. Each compartment has valved porting means provided in a rear wall thereof for connecting to the cooling means wherein when the drawer is in the retracted position, the cooling means is in fluid communication with the drawer and when the drawer is in an extended position the cooling means is isolated from the compartment.

1 . A refrigeration system comprising a refrigerated cabinet having a front opening through which access is gained to the cabinet, the cabinet being subdivided into at least one compartment, each compartment adapted to be occupied by a drawer, each drawer being moveable within the compartment from a retracted position at which it is accommodated within the compartment and an extended position at which it partly extends forwardly from the compartment, and whereby the interior of the drawer is accessible from an upper portion of the drawer, the system further comprising cooling means provided remote from the cabinet, each compartment having valved porting means provided in a rear wall thereof for connecting to the cooling means wherein when the drawer is in the retracted position, the cooling means is in fluid communication with the drawer and when the drawer is in the extended position the cooling means is isolated from the compartment. 
     
     
         2 . A refrigeration system as claimed at  claim 1 , wherein the refrigerated cabinet is one of a plurality of refrigerated cabinets and the cooling means is provided to each refrigerated cabinet from a common cooling source. 
     
     
         3 . A refrigeration system as claimed at  claim 1 , wherein the valved porting means comprises a short connecting duct entering the rear wall of the compartment and housing a valve which is adapted to be engaged by a nozzle in the rear wall of the drawer. 
     
     
         4 . A refrigeration system as claimed at  claim 3 , wherein the short connecting duct is one of first and second connecting ducts and the nozzle is one of respective first and second nozzles. 
     
     
         5 . A refrigeration system as claimed at  claim 4 , wherein the first connecting duct and its corresponding nozzle is located towards an upper region of the rear wall of the drawer and the compartment, and the second connecting duct and its corresponding nozzle is located towards a lower region of the rear wall of the drawer and the compartment. 
     
     
         6 . A refrigeration system as claimed at  claim 3 , wherein the valve comprises a plurality of resilient leaves normally extending across the throat of the connecting duct to thereby seal the duct. 
     
     
         7 . A refrigeration system as claimed at  claim 6 , wherein the leaves are readily displaced by the nozzle when the nozzle engages the valve to permit communication of the chilled air into the drawer space. 
     
     
         8 . A refrigeration system as claimed at  claim 1 , wherein one of the compartments is provided immediately below bench-top level and is provided with a transparent viewing panel to enable a user to identify the contents without opening the drawer. 
     
     
         9 . A refrigeration system as claimed at  claim 8 , wherein the transparent panel is sealingly hinged so that it can be opened to thereby provide an additional means of access to the drawer. 
     
     
         10 . A refrigeration system as claimed at  claim 1 , wherein thermostatic control is provided for each compartment, whereby certain compartments can be configured as freezer units while others are less cooled for general chilled goods.