US2179307A - Refrigerator cabinet - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 7, 19390 Inventor":

h Philip T Sgvvert,

Attorney Patented Nov. 7, 1939 PATENT QFFICE REFRIGERATOR CABINET I Philip '1. Sywert, Wesleyvillc, Pa., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application February 24, 1937, Serial No. 127,416

' 6 Claims.

My invention relates to refrigerator cabinets.

It is an object of my invention to provide a. refrigerator cabinet having an improved arrangement for removably supporting a closure member over an opening in a wall of the cabinet.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved arrangement for removably supporting a closure member over an opening in a wall of a cabinet, which provides for horizontal and vertical adjustments of the closure member with respect to the opening.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet embodying my invention, the closure member being removed to show more clearly the construction; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, of the refrigerator cabinet shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is .a perspective view of the supporting bracket shown in Figs. 1 and 2; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of the supporting bracket shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, in Fig. 1 I have shown the lower portion of a refrigerator cablnet i of the household type having a substantially vertically disposed front wall II and a plurality of spaced-apart side walls l2 formed by a sheet metal outer shell, the lower portions of the walls having inwardly disposed flanges providing a supporting base I3 for the cabinet. A heat insulated food storage compartment is arranged in the upper portion of the cabinet and a rectangular opening is formed in the front wall ill to afford access thereto, the opening being closed by heat-insulated door l4 having a marginal sealing gasket Ma and hinged adjacent the opening. A machinery compartment I5 is arranged in the cabinet below the food storage compartment and a rectangular opening I6 is formed in the front wall H to afford access thereto. In order to give the refrigerator cabinet a smooth finished appearance, a closure member I1 is removably supported over the opening It by an arrangement including a pair of spaced-apart brackets l9 secured to the front wall of the cabinet adjacent the upper edge of therectangular opening l6 and a pair of spacedp t prings 2. carr ed y the 19V? Pu 9 the frame of the cabinet. The closure member I! is of sheet metal construction and is provided with a marginal flange l8 extending thereabout, at least the upper and lower portions of the flange l8 being provided with inturned edges l8a and l8b, respectively. Preferably, the side portions of the marginal flange i8 are also provided with inturned edges to avoid the presentation of any sharp edges to the finished surface of the front wall II of the cabinet.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, each of the brackets I9 include a substantially Z-shaped body 2| having an angularly disposed slot 2|a in the lower vertical portion thereof through which a bolt 22 is passed to secure the bracket in place upon the front wall H of the cabinet and to provide for vertical adjustment of the bracket with respect to the opening it. A block 23 formed of resilient material such, for example, as rubber is supported on the horizontal portion of the body 2| and is provided with an integral tab 24 which extends through an opening 25 formed in the upper vertical portion of the body 2|. Another integral tab 26 on the block 23 extends over the upper edge of the vertical portion of the body 2|. The integral tabs 24 and 26 securely fasten the block -23 in place between the body 2| of the bracket and the front wall H of the cabinet. A groove 23a is formed in the upper edge of the block 23 and provides a resilient seat for the inturned edge |8a of the marginal flange [8 of the closure member l1.

The springs 20 have hooked ends 21 which engage the inturned edge lb of the marginal .flange I8 and resiliently urge the same downwardly, causing the inturned edge |8a of the marginal flange l8 to be firmly seated in the grooves 23a in the blocks 23 of the brackets la. The opposite ends 28 of the springs 20 engage the edges of spaced-apart gusset plates 29 forming part of the frame of the cabinet, and the intermediate portions of the springs are bent about and extend through openings 28a in the gusset plates.

In placing the closure member H on the front wall ll of the cabinet to close the opening Hi, the heat insulated door M for the food storage compartment is first swung to an open position. The inturned edge |8b on the lower portion of the marginal flange i8 is then engaged with the hooked ends 21 of the springs 20. The closure member i1 is lifted upwardly until the inturned edge Ilia on the upper portion of the marginal flange I8 clears the upper edges of the blocks 23 of the brackets IS, the springs 20 being placed under stress during this movement of the closure member. The closure member I? is then moved toward the front wall ll of the cabinet until the inturned edge lBa is in registry with the grooves 23a in the blocks 23 of the brackets H9. The closure member is then released and the inturned edge l8a on the marginal flange l8 falls into the grooves 23a in the resilient 1 blocks 23 and is seated therein under the action of the springs 20 resiliently urging the inturned edge l8b downwardly. The closure member is thus securely fastened in place upon the front wall of the cabinet free from vibratory movement. In removing the closure member H from the front wall ll of the cabinet, the heat insulated door I4 is first swung to an open position. The closure member is then lifted upwardly until the inturned edge 18a on the marginal flange I8 is disengaged from the grooves 23a in the blocks 23 of the brackets l9. The closure member is then moved outwardly and downwardly until it is free of the hooked ends 21 of the springs 20.

It will be observed that when the closure member I1 is in place upon the front wall II there is a small space between the inturned edges on the marginal flange I 8 and the front wall II, this space being substantially equal to the thickness of the sealing gasket I 4a on the heat insulated door M. This arrangement gives the cabinet a pleasing appearance as the outer wall of the closure member l1 lies in the same vertical plane as the outer wall of the heat insulated door l4, and prevents the closure member from marring the finished surface of the outer wall of the cabinet. Due to slight mechanical inaccuracies in the construction of refrigerator cabinets in large quantities and on a production basis, it is desirable that an arrangement be provided for adjusting the position of the closure member I! on the front wall of the cabinet in order to insure proper alignment of the closure member I! and the heat insulated door [4. The horizontal position of the closure member I! is adjusted with respect to the opening l6 in the front wall II by sliding the closure member on the brackets l9, and the vertical position of the closure member is adjusted with respect to the opening l6 by adjusting the vertical positions of the brackets IS. The adjustment of. the brackets l9 may be accomplished by loosening the bolts 22 and sliding the brackets to oneside or the other, which causes adjustment of the vertical positions of the brackets due to the angular'dis sition of the slots He in the bodies 2| of the rackets l9. After the bracketshave been adjusted to the desired posi- 'tions the bolts 22 are again tightened and the closure member I 1 is placed upon the front wall H of the cabinet in the manner described above.

In Fig. 4 Ihave shown a modified form of the bracket which includes a block 30 formed of resilient material such, for example, as rubber which is provided with an angularly disposed slot 3| therein through which the bolt 22 is passed to secure the bracket in place upon the front wall H of the cabinet and to provide for vertical adjustment of the bracket with respect to the opening IS. A groove 32 is formed in the upper edge of the block 30 to provide a resilient seat for the inturned edge l8a on the marginal flange l8 of the closure member l1. It will be understood that this modified form of the bracket provides for horizontal and vertical adjustment of the closure member I! with respect to the opening IS in front wall ll of the cabinet in the @413? manner as that described in connection with Figs. 2 and 3.

It will be evident from the foregoing that I have provided a refrigerator cabinet having an improved arrangement for removably supporting a closure member over an opening in a wall of the cabinet, which securely fastens the closure member in place free from vibratory movement and which provides for horizontal and vertical adjustments of the closure member with respect to the opening.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention in connection with a refrigerator cabinet of the household type, I do not desire my invention to be limited to the particular construction shown and described and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A cabinet having a wall provided with an opening therein, a closure member having a marginal flange, a portion of said marginal flange having' an inturned edge, means including a bracket carried by said wall adjacent said opening for removably supporting said closure member over said opening, and means associated with a second portion of said marginal flange and said wall and resiliently urging said inturned edge of said marginal flange into engagement with said bracket for retaining said closure member in place, said resilient means being readily disengageable to provide for the removal of said closure member from said cabinet.

2. A cabinet having a wall provided with an opening therein, a closure member having a marginal flange, a portion of said marginal flange having an inturned edge, means including a bracket carried by said wall adjacent said opening having a resilient seat receiving the inturned edge of said marginal flange for removably supporting said closure member over said opening, and means resiliently urging the inturned edge of said marginal flange into engagement with said resilient seat for retaining said closure member in place, said last mentioned means being readily disengageable from said closure member to provide for removal of said closure member from said cabinet.

3. A cabinet having a wall provided with an opening therein, a closure member having a marginal flange, a portion of said marginal flange having an inturned edge, means including a bracket carried by said wall adjacent said opening for removably supporting said closure member over said opening, said bracket being slidably carried by said wall to provide for adjustment. of said closure member with respect to said opening and having a resilient seat receiving the inturned edge of said marginal flange, and means resiliently urging the inturned edge of said marginal flange into engagement with said resilient seat for retaining said closure member in place.

4. A cabinet having a wall provided with an opening therein, a closure member having 9. marginal flange, a portion of said marginal flange having an inturned edge, means including a bracket carried by said wall adjacent said opening for removably supporting said closure member over said opening, said bracket including a block of resilient material having a slot therein to provide for adjustment of said closure member with respect to said opening and having a groove therein receiving the inturned edge of said marginal flange, and means resiliently urging the inturned edge of said marginal flange into engagement with said groove for retaining said closure member in place.

5. A cabinet having a wall provided with an opening therein, a closure member having a marginal flange, a portion of said marginal flange having an inturned edge, means including a bracket carried by said wall adjacent said opening for removably supporting said closure member over said opening, said bracket including a body having a slot therein to provide for adjustment of said closure member with respect to said opening, a block of resilient material carried by said body having a groove therein receiving the inturned edge of said marginal flange, and means resiliently urging the inturned edge of said marginal flange into engagement with said groove for retaining said closure member in place.

6. A refrigerator cabinet having a substantially vertical wall provided with an opening therein, a closure member having a marginal flange, the upper and lower portions of said marginal flange having inturned edges, means including a bracket carried by said wall adjacent the upper edge of said opening for removably supporting said closure member over said opening, and means including a spring engaging the inturned edge on the lower portion of said marginal flange for resiliently urging the inturned edge on the upper portion of said marginal flange into engagement with said bracket to retain said closure member in place, said spring being disengageable with the lower inturned edge of said marginal flange to provide for removal of said closure member from said cabinet.

PHILIP T. SYWERT.

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