REFRIGERATOR DOOR CLOSURE SYSTEM

• US 3,837,119 A
• Filed: 05/14/1973
• Issued: 09/24/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: George Hajduk, Martin L. Conneally
• Original Assignee: George Hajduk, Martin L. Conneally
• Inventors: Conneally, Martin L., Hajduk, George
• Primary Examiner(s): Downey, Kenneth
• Application Number:
  US05/360,310
• Time in Patent Office: 498 Days
• Field of Search: 49/420,421,425,409 16/78
• US Class Current: 49/404
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 1/16 for sliding wings
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/31 for refrigerators
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 3/4609 for windows E06B3/4654 - E06B3/4681 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 23/021 Sliding doors

Abstract

A horizontal sliding glass panel is secured to the door frame by flexible insulating mounting gaskets, a self-contained elastically energized door closing system is concealed in the door frame recess by snap-in cover plates, the door frame is supported by a trolley system riding on a track and powered by the elastic closing system; each door engages a tracking system to form a single labyrinth seal between the track and U-shaped seal gaskets with further cold air barriers provided by wipers at the vertical interface and bottom of the doors, the door assembly being mounted with a bottom leveling pad in a refrigeration unit.

Claims

1. A refrigerator door frame assembly which comprises the combination of a mounting frame for attachment within a refrigerator wall opening and inner and outer door, each door including a generally H-shaped cross section door frame, a transparent insulating panel, and means mounting the panel to the interior recesses of the door frame, the interior of the mounting frame having two sets of tracks extending around the interior perimeter thereof to form tracking systems for said inner and outer doors;

a generally U-shaped snap-in seal having locking ridges and back plates extending outwardly from the legs of said U-shaped seal, said seal being mounted in the exterior recess of the tops and closing sides of each of the doors and adapted to form single labyrinth cold air seals with the respective top and side tracks;

each door being mounted on its respective track by means of the engagement of the U-shaped seal and top track and supported by a trolley system riding on the bottom track, each trolley system being attached to the base of the exterior bottom recess of the door frame and including a downwardly facing Ushaped housing having an arm extending longitudinally from one leg of said U-shaped housing, a roller rotatably mounted in said U-shaped housing and engaging said bottom track, and a pulley rotatably mounted at the end of said arm, each of said doors having an elastic means secured at one end within the outer recess of the free vertical side of the door frame and at the other end to the interior bottom of said mounting frame, each elastic means being sealed in said recess by means of a snap-in cover plate and paid over said pulley, whereby said elastic means is stretched to store energy, as a door is opened, for returning said door to a closed position when released.

2. A door assembly which comprises the combination of a stationary mounting frame and a movable door mounted in said frame, means for supporting said door for translatory movement in said frame and returning said door to a closed position including a track at the bottom of said frame, a trolley attached to the bottom of said door, said trolley having a downwardly facing U-shaped housing and an arm extending longitudinally therefrom beneath said door, a roller rotatably mounted in said housing and in engagement on said track, and elastic means secured at one end within the door on the side in the direction of opening and at the other end to the base of said frame beneath the door, said elastic means being paid about a pulley rotatably mounted at the end of said arm, whereby said elastic means is stretched to provide a returning force when said door is opened.