US3631630A - Refrigerator door structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The construction and structure of a refrigerator door are disclosed. The door includes a central panel that is surrounded and held by a unique frame. The door frame is basically made of two sections, an outer metallic section and an inner rigid plastic section, the inner rigid plastic section being manufactured of a low thermal conductance material and being snap fitted to the outer section whereby the central panel is held between portions of the outer and inner door frame sections. The door structure presents a complete thermal break across the access opening of the refrigerated compartment of a refrigerator on which it is mounted.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventors Herman L. Buftington;

Robert M. Stribling, both of Spartanburg, S.C. [21] Appl. No. 40,204 [22] Filed May 25, 1970 [45] Patented Jan. 4, 1972 [73] Assignee Beverage Air Company Spartanburg, S.C.

[54] REFRIGERATOR DOOR STRUCTURE 6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl I 49/402, 49/487, 49/489, 49/501 [51] Int. Cl E0541 7/00 [50] Field of Search 49/50l, 504, 70, 478, 402; 52/476, 731

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,418,755 12/1968 Di Chiaro 49/501 3,411,247 11/1968 Fleming 49/501 3,353,321 11/1967 Heilwellet al. 49/478 X 3,353,301 1i/1967 Heiiweil et al. 52/731 X Primary Examiner-Kenneth Downey Att0meyWellington M. Manning, Jr.

ABSTRACT: The construction and structure of a refrigerator door are disclosed. The door includes a central panel that is surrounded and held by a unique frame. The door frame is basically made of two sections, an outer metallic section and an inner rigid plastic section, the inner rigid plastic section being manufactured of a low thermal conductance material and being snap fitted to the outer section whereby the central panel is held between portions of the outer and inner door frame sections. The door structure presents a complete thermal break across the access opening of the refrigerated compartment of a refrigerator on which it is mounted.

PATENTED JAN 41972 SHEET 1 [1F 2 I.\\\\\\\\\\- INVENTOR S H ERMAN L. B UFFINGTON PATENTEU JAN 41972 SHEET 2 [IF 2 INVENTORS HERMAN L. BUFFINGTON 0 ER M. S IBLING ya g2 I r u t t g REFRIGERATOR DOOR STRUCTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As has occurred in other industries, the refrigerator door in- .dustry has undergone a technological revolution. Attempts have been continuously made to improve refrigerator doors from both structural and aesthetic standpoints. The large increase of convenience type grocery stores, supermarkets and the like has brought about the need for large numbers of walkin coolers where a series of refrigerator doors are positioned adjacent each other, extending almost across the entire front of the cooler. The shelves behind the doors are stocked from inside the walk-in cooler. The customer may thus walk along the cooler and visually inspect the merchandise through insulated glass doors and select the desired goods. Likewise, upright coolers and freezers much smaller in size are greatly in demand where similar type doors are mounted for swinging around a vertical pivot for horizontal sliding to provide access to the goods displayed therein.

In manufacturing these refrigerator doors as well as refrigerator doors that are built with a solid central panel that is not transparent, it is important that the outside of the door he considered from an aesthetic standpoint so as to provide equipment that will blend with the housing of the cooler as well as the interior decor of the store in which it is located. Simultaneously therewith, due to the fact that these doors are generally not provided with latching means other than a sealing gasket and a pretensioned spring closing arrangement, it is necessary to provide a thermal break between the refrigerated interior of the equipment and ambient temperature within the store. The doors are frequently opened and without provision for proper insulating qualities, the refrigeration efficiency of the unit is adversely effected.

Many of the refrigerator doors similar to the instant refrigerator door are sold as separate units which are installed or attached to the cooler on location, after the cooler has been erected or installed. Accordingly, a prerequisite of the refrigerator door of the type as described herein is that it must be constructed in such a manner to withstand the riggers of separate transportation and installation. A further point worthy of discussion concerning the construction of doors is the ability to level the door. Historically, it has been necessary to first level the cooler or unit to which the door is attached and thereafter, to level the doors individually. This leveling feature, as one can well imagine, can become very time consuming which, of course, increases the cost of installation.

Refrigerator doors of the type as are described herein and mentioned earlier are exposed to much use and abuse. Accordingly, the doors are damaged periodically to the point where they must be removed and repaired or replaced. It is therefore a consideration in the construction of refrigerator doors that they be conveniently removable and easily maintained so as to further add to the versatility of the cooler system.

The refrigerator door as described herein overcomes all of the aforementioned problems and takes into consideration all of the aforementioned advantageous features. Hence, the present refrigerator door is truly an advance in the art as may be readily seen from the ensuing description and statements.

The prior art does contain art pertinent to the type refrigerator door that is the subject matter of the present invention. Exemplary of this prior art are patents to Beamer, 2,798,262; Glynn, 3,098,698; Di Chiaro, 3,177,989; Monti, 3,242,537; Carson, 3,335,524; Fleming, 3,41 L247; and Mock, 3,426,482. It may be readily seen from a review of these listed patents that attempts have been made to design refrigerator doors having the necessary features to overcome the problems set forth above. lt should be pointed out, however, that none of the previously listed patents, either alone or in combination anticipate or suggest a door structure such as is described herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a novel refrigerator door, inside of which provides a complete and continuous thermal break to the refrigerated inside of a housing on which it is mounted.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a thermally insulated refrigerator door that may be easily assembled and disassembled.

Still further, another object of the present invention is to provide a novel refrigerator door that is sufficiently rigid to be level when installed while being easily assembled, disassembled and repaired.

Generally speaking, the present invention relates to a thermally insulated door construction comprising a thermally insulated panel, a frame surrounding and holding said panel, said frame comprising a rigid outer member, said outer member being adapted for exposure to ambient temperature, a rigid thermal break strip snap fitted to said outer member, said panel being held between said outer member and said inner strip around the periphery thereof and said panel and said inner strip combining to provide a thermal break or barrier across the entire inside surface of said door.

More specifically, the door of the present invention comprises an outer metallic member that adds to the aesthetic value of the overall unit to which is snap fitted a rigid plastic strip that assists in holding the insulated panel and provides a complete thermal barrier across the inner surface of the door frame. An insulated glass panel, metal panel or the like is sandwiched between the outer section and inner section of the door frame so as to be held thereby. The thermal break strip is preferably manufactured of a rigid vinyl composition that is extruded into the proper shape. The rigidity of the thermal break is such that after being installed, the thermal break strip itself applies a positive pressure to the inside of the central panel so as to urge the panel against the outer section of the frame whereby the panel is securely held in place.

Further specifics concerning the door of the present invention involve the assembly of the door. In many instances, doors of a type similar to the instant door utilize a plurality of separate sections to form the door frame. Certain of these doors utilize snap-on sections, but in each case the doors have proven unsatisfactory, The majority of these doors, however, employ some type of fastening means, such as screws, to hold the separate parts together Should fastening means be required for holding the individual members together, the fastening means are generally metal screws. The use of such fastening means presents problems in at least two areas, namely the ease of assembly, disassembly and repair of the door and the thermal insulating qualities of the door. Obviously, if fastening members are required in the manufacture of the particular door, then a plurality of the fastening members would appear around the periphery of the door frame. In each of these case, a conductive path is provided which if allowed to exist permits the formation of condensation on the door. Such condensation drips onto the floor and necessitates clean up in addition to a decrease in refrigeration efficiency. Additionally, when fastening members are required to produce a door of sufficient rigidity to be commercially acceptable there is first a great deal of excess labor expended in the manufacture of the individual doors, thus increasing the cost of the doors. Secondly, as mentioned earlier, due to the large use of the doors and the large amount of glass in the doors, it is not uncommon for the doors to need repair. When, for instance, a glass pane is broken, then the door must be disassembled, a new glass panel inserted to replace the defective panel and the door reassembled. If 20 screws are employed to maintain the integrity of the door frame, then each of these screws must first be removed, and after the new panel has been inserted, must again be replaced into the door frame so as to provide a structurally sound door. The presence of fastening members thus either in the initial manufacture or in the repair of the door adds appreciably to the cost of the doors and/or to the cost of maintenance of the doors as well as increasing the power requirements for the store operator in maintaining the proper refrigeration conditions for the unit.

To facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, the following figures are presented to illustrate the fea tures of the present invention and modifications thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator unit having the doors of the present invention mounted thereon.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a door according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a portion of a door frame according to the present invention taken along a line IIIIII.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a length of the rigid inner thermal break strip according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 4/-\ is a cross-sectional view of the outer member of the door frame according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of a portion of two doors according to the present invention, mounted for side by side horizontal sliding movement and showing modifications to the sections of the door frame.

FIG. 6 is a cross section of a portion of a modified outer section of a door frame according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross section of a portion of a modified rigid inner thermal break strip of a door frame according to the teachings of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS Referring to the FIGURES, the present invention will now be described in detail as to specific embodiments thereof. FIG. I shows a refrigerated cooler unit generally indicated as 10 having sidewalls 12, top wall 14 and front 16. Though not shown, cooler unit 10 would have a plurality of shelves mounted therein to receive items that are to be refrigerated during display. Access to the inside of the unit 10 may be had through one of two doors generally indicated as that are mounted in the front 16 of cooler 10. Doors 20 are mounted to cooler 10 on mounting plates and are not provided with a peripheral frame around the door area. Doors 20 are mounted on a vertical axis through mounting plates 30 and pivot around the axis during opening and closing.

While the doors of the present invention are shown in FIG. I in an upright display cooler unit 10, the doors of the present invention may also be manufactured in such a manner that they may be utilized in various other environments. FOr instance, a plurality of doors 20 may be mounted adjacent each other to provide doors for the front of a walk-in cooler. For the walk-in cooler environment, the doors would be hung in much the same manner as is shown in FIG. 1. Also, however, as will be described in more detail hereinafter, the doors of the present invention may be constructed so as to be employed as horizontal sliding doors, for refrigerator units. The present invention, however, is directed to the structure of the door, per se, and the manner or utilization of the door is not a part of this invention except insofar as modifications necessary to adapt the door for the particular environment. Utilization of the present door structure as well as other doors is covered in our copending application filed concurrently herewith and identified as Ser. No. 40,087, entitled Sliding Door Construction, and Ser. No. 40,203, entitled Door Hinge Construction.

Refrigerator door 20 is comprised of a central panel 22, a door frame 24, a suitable handle 26 and optionally automatic closing means positioned inside of door frame 24 and not shown.

Door panel 22 as shown in FIG. 1 is a thermally insulated glass panel comprised of two or more panes of glass having a sealed cavity therebetween. The present invention, however, does not restrict panel 22 to being a glass panel. instead, any

material of construction may be used as desired to form panel 22 such as, for example, various metals, transparent or translucent plastics, or the like.

Door frame 24 is truly an important feature of the present invention and generally comprises, as may best be seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, a pair of horizontal elongated elements and a pair of vertical elongated elements joined together, each of the elements including an outer section 40 to which is snap fitted an inner thermal break strip 50. Outer section 40 of door frame 24 generally comprises a modified U-shaped member having a long first leg 42, a base 44 and a short angular positioned short leg 46. Long leg 42 of outer member 40 comprises the portion of the door frame 24 that is exposed to the ambient temperature and the exterior surface thereof may be designed or decorated as desired to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the overall refrigerator unit. The forward end 42 of leg 42 provides a planar surface for holding one side panel 22. Short leg 46 of outer member 40 angles inwardly from base 44 towards leg 42 and extends upwardly from base 44 only a portion of the length of leg 42. Leg 46 of outer member 40 provides a surface to which inner strip 50 is attached for securement thereto.

Insofar as thermal insulation of door 20 is concerned, outer member 40 of door frame 24 has no effect on the thermal insulation qualities of the door. Accordingly, outer member 40 may be constructed of any desired material so long as the material is sufiiciently rigid to maintain panel 22 in a proper relationship and to permit inner strip 50 to be snap fitted thereto. Preferred materials of construction are, however, stainless steel or aluminum.

Strip 50 of door frame 24 is a rigid plastic structure having a poor thermal conductive property that may be snap fitted to outer member 40 so as to provide a rigid door frame 24. Inner strip 50, as may be best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, is an extruded member comprising a body 51 on which various protuberances and shapes are found. At one end of body 51 is a shoulder 52 extending transversely therefrom. Shoulder 52 contacts outer member 40 at the junction of base 44 and short leg 46 and along leg 46 to assist in securing strip 50 to member 40 to provide door frame 24. Body 51 further has a barbed protrusion 53 extending inwardly therefrom in the same direction as shoulder 52 Protrusion S3 terminates as a pointed barb 54 having 5 shoulder 55 associated therewith. Adjacent protrusion 53, body 51 thickens at 56, the purpose of which will be discussed in detail hereinafter. The end of body 51 opposite shoulder 52 is shaped as a "U" with an inner leg 58 providing a planar surface 58 for engagement of panel 22.

As shown in FIG. 4, member 50 is preferably slightly curved. Hence when snapped onto outer member 40, with a panel 22 therebetween, member 50 straightens out due to the presence of panel 22. Memory of the curvature remains, however, and positive pressure is continuously applied against panel 22 to hold same in place between member 40 and strip 50.

Door 20in the environment presented in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 is adapted for swinging movement around a vertical pivot. As such, door 20 will be equipped with a sealing gasket 60 to completely seal between the door 20 and the housing of the refrigerator unit. Sealing gasket 60 is attached to rigid inner strip 50 as will be hereinafter discussed and comprises a flexi ble member that is designed to assume the contour of the. housing against which it comes to rest. As may be seen in FIG. 3, sealing gasket 60 is secured to strip 50 so as to be offset from and out of contact with panel 22. In this manner, when door 20 closes, the force of closing is not directed to panel 22, but is absorbed mainly by strip 50. The construction of sealing gasket 60 is not, per se, a part of the present invention, but any suitable sealing gasket may be employed.

Rigid inner strip 50, as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 is adapted to receive a sealing gasket 60. Thick portion 56 of body 51 of strip 50 has a slot 59 extending axially therealong. Slot 59 has a pair of raised lips 59' that extend partially thereacross to decrease the efiective size to the opening into slot 59. Sealing gasket 60 as illustrated herein is a flexible vinyl member having a flat terminal end 61 that makes sealing contact with the refrigerator housing. A flexible accordion section 62 is located behind end 61 and flexes to insure proper sealing engagement. The rear end of sealing gasket 60 comprises a barb 64 that is received within slot 59 of rigid inner strip 50 and held therein by lips 59'. The base 64 of barb 64 extends outwardly and terminates at shoulders 65. When sealing gasket 60 is attached to rigid inner member 50, barb 64 is received within slot 59 and shoulders 65 engage outer surface of lips 59 to insure proper connection between sealing gasket 60 and rigid inner member 50.

Construction of door 20 proceeds as follows. Two vertical and two horizontal outer members 40 are mitered at their ends so as to mate with adjacent legs of frame 14. The four sections of outer member 40 are thus brought together at their mitered ends and securely united on the inside as by welding, for example. A suitable adhesive or friction producing material is then placed on the inner planar surface 42' of leg 42 of member 40 around the periphery of the frame and a spacer member 80 is positioned in the U of each member 40 to properly position a panel 22 that is placed within the uncompleted frame 24. Panel 22 is thus properly centered in frame 24 by spacers 80 that appear in each section of frame 24 and rest on the friction producing materials 70 that are in contact with planar surfaces 42' of each member 40. Spacer members 80 may be any desired material such as wood, plastic, foam, or the like. Spacers 80 do not extend the entire length of the sections of the frame 24, but only extend for a sufficient length to insure that panel 22 remains stationary in frame 24. AFter panel 22 is thus positioned within frame 24, rigid inner strips 50 are snap fitted onto each outer member 40 by positioning shoulder 52 at the intersection of short leg 46 and base 44 of member 40 and thereafter forcing barb shoulder 55 of protrusions 53 around the terminal end of leg 46 whereby member 50 becomes snap fitted to member 40. The planar surface 58 of leg 58 of member 50 is likewise provided with a friction producing material 70 whereby panel 22 is entrapped between planar surfaces 42' of member 40 and 58 of member 50.

FRiction producing materials 70 likewise act as sealants and may obviously be any of a number of compounds or compositions. For instance, a two-sided adhesive tape may be applied so as to adhesively engage both the contact planar surfaces of the frame and the adjacent surfaces of the panel whereby the panel is precluded from movement and a seal is produced between panel 22 and member 40 and panel 22 and strip 50. Likewise, an adhesive composition could be applied to panel 22 and/or the planar surfaces 42 and 58 of the respective members 40 and 50. For the sake of simplicity, however, the two-sided adhesive tape is preferred. Additionally, the friction producing substance or sealant 70, when an adhesive or an adhesive tape, may extend partially along leg 42 beyond the end of panel 22 so as to secure spacer 80 in the proper location in frame 24.

Once rigid inner strips 50 are snapped onto outer members 40 of frame 24, the door structure is complete unless sealing gaskets 60 are required. It should be pointed out, however, that in the construction of the instant door, no screws or separate fastening means have been employed. Moreover, the instant door is of a very rigid construction and since no extraneous fastening members are required, may be made completely square whereby, once installed, it is necessary only to level the refrigerator unit to achieve a level attitude of the doors. This leveling is normally done by threaded members under the cabinet or in the context of a walk-in cooler, by adjustment of the panels that are used to make up the cooler.

housing, per se. Moreover, once the door is completed and installed in a refrigerated cooler, a complete and continuous thermal barrier extends across the inner surface of the door with no conductive path through which heat may be introduced to the refrigerated compartment of the cooler.

As discussed earlier, The doors of the present invention may be utilized with different types of refrigerated units. Accordingly, the present doors may be likewise easily utilized in an environment where the doors are installed for horizontal sliding movement to provide access to the refrigerated interior of the cooler. Means for mounting the doors of the present invention are not relevant hereto and accordingly are not shown. When the doors are utilized in a horizontal sliding environment, however, to retain the characteristic of a complete thermal break, modifications should be made to the door structure. Accordingly, cross sections of opposite ends of two adjacent doors mounted for horizontal sliding movement are shown in FIG. 5. Modifications necessary to achieve the complete thermal break are thus illustrated in FIG. 5. Since basically the elements of the door structure are the same for any type environment attention will be directed mainly to the modifications and like sections of the door structure of those in the prior figures will be identified with a 100 prefix.

FIG. 5 illustrates a first door 120 operatively associated in a horizontal sliding environment with a second door 120'. Door 120 comprises a panel 122 being held in position by a door frame 124 that is comprised of an outer member 140 and a rigid inner strip 150. Likewise, door 120' comprises a panel 122' and door frame 124' comprising members 140' and 150. A trackway T is shown to exist below doors 120 and 120' and the doors may be supported thereby or may be suspended from rollers, not shown.

Due to the fact that the doors 120 and 120 must move parallel to each other, a certain amount of clearance necessarily exists between the two to permit the lateral movement. Such clearance would normally provide a path for entry of hot air into the refrigerated compartment of the cooler unit. Additionally, a door of the structure as described with relation to FIGS. 1 through 4 would expose the base 44 of the outer member 40 to the refrigerated interior, thus creating a thermal leak since member 40 is thermally conductive. To provide a complete thermal barrier for the doors per se in a horizontal sliding environment, it is therefore necessary to modify the door structure to block thermal passage throughairspace 200 or outer member 140'.

Modification of base 144' of member 140' of one door and inner strip 150 at the opposite end of the adjacent door will correct the above noted deficiencies. Base 144' of member 140 thus may be adapted so as to have a slot 145 located therein, said slot having lips 145" at the entrance thereof so as to partially enclose slot 145. A thermal barrier strip 160' is then attached to base 144' of member 140. Thermal barrier strip 160 is constructed of a material having a low thermal conductance, such as for example a rigid vinyl. Strip 160 has depending therefrom a protrusion 162' terminating as a barb 164' with shoulders 166'. Barbed protrusion 162 is thus inserted between lips 145 of slot 145' where, once within slot 145, shoulders 166' engage lips 145" to prevent withdrawal of barb 164'. Thermal barrier strip 160' is thus securely fastened to base 144' of outer member 140'. The size of strip 160 is such that it extends across base 144 of outer member 140 to the inner thermal break strip 150' of the same door and at an opposite end to the inner thermal break strip member 150 of the adjacent door 120. All exposed thermal conducting areas on this end of door 120' are thus covered.

The opposite end of airspace 200 located between doors 120 and 120 is also closed to further complete the thermal barrier for horizontal sliding doors. Whereas, outer member of door 120' is exposed to airspace 200, for door 120, it is the inner member on the opposite end of the door that is exposed. ACcordingly, member 150, the rigid extruded thermal barrier is modified. On the modified member 150 as is seen in FIGS. 5 and 7, at shoulder 152, there is a protrusion 159 from the body 157 in the opposite direction of shoulder 152. Protrusion 159 thus coacts with shoulder 152 to form a tee on the end of body 1 51 of member 150. PRotrusion 159 angles outwardly towards the adjacent door 120, and terminates at an angular end 159'. End 159 of protrusion 159 makes sliding contact with panel 122' of door 120' so as to continuously close airspace 200.

Having now described the invention it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made hereto without departing from the spirit of invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be governed by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

l. A door construction for cabinets and the like having surrounding walls for defining a container, one of said walls having an opening therein for providing access to said container, said door having a panel corresponding in shape to said opening for providing a closure for said container, the improvement comprising: a frame surrounding the holding said panel, said frame including elongated elements joined together, each of said elements including; a rigid U-shaped outer member, one leg of said U-shaped outer member being shorter than the other leg and being angled inwardly toward said other leg, said other leg overlapping one side of said panel with a base portion of said U-shaped member being parallel to the edge of said panel; an inner thermal break strip carried on an opposite side of said panel from said outer member; said inner thermal break strip having a main body portion, a shoulder portion adjacent one end of said main body portion in engagement with the base portion of said U-shaped member, and a barb spaced from said shoulder portion protruding inwardly from said main body portion engaging the inner end of said short leg of said U-shaped outer member, a planar surface carried adjacent the other end of said main body portion; said U-shaped outer member having a planar surface carried by said main body portion; said panel being held between said planar surfaces whereby said outer member and said thermal break strip are held together with said panel therebetween by the engagement between said shoulder portion and said barb.

2. The door construction as defined in claim 1 wherein a friction producing substance is interposed between said panel and said planar surface of said outer member and said panel and said planar surface of said inner thermal break strip.

3. The door construction as defined in claim 1 further comprising a spacer in said frame to limit lateral movement of said panel.

4. The door construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said rigid thermal break strip has a slot extending axially therealong and further comprising a sealing gasket, said sealing gasket being associated with said inner strip at said slot so as to be removably joined thereto.

5. The door construction as defined in claim 4 wherein the sealing gasket has a barb depending downwardly therefrom, said barb being press fit into said slot in said inner member so as to be held thereby.

6. A door construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said rigid thermal break strip is originally slightly concave in shape, whereby when snapped onto said outer member, the panel between said outer member and said strip causes said strip to straighten, whereby internal stresses in said strip continuously apply positive pressure against panel so as to hold said panel in the proper position.

l 1! I I 1R

Claims (6)

1. A door construction for cabinets and the like having surrounding walls for defining a container, one of said walls having an opening therein for providing access to said container, said door having a panel corresponding in shape to said opening for providing a closure for said container, the improvement comprising: a frame surrounding and holding said panel, said frame including elongated elements joined together, each of said elements including; a rigid U-shaped outer member, one leg of said U-shaped outer member being shorter than the other leg and being angled inwardly toward said other leg, said other leg overlapping one side of said panel with a base portion of said Ushaped member being parallel to the edge of said panel; an inner thermal break strip carried on an opposite side of said panel from said outer member; said inner thermal break strip having a main body portion, a shoulder portion adJacent one end of said main body portion in engagement with the base portion of said Ushaped member, and a barb spaced from said shoulder portion protruding inwardly from said main body portion engaging the inner end of said short leg of said U-shaped outer member, a planar surface carried adjacent the other end of said main body portion; said U-shaped outer member having a planar surface carried by said main body portion; said panel being held between said planar surfaces whereby said outer member and said thermal break strip are held together with said panel therebetween by the engagement between said shoulder portion and said barb.

2. The door construction as defined in claim 1 wherein a friction producing substance is interposed between said panel and said planar surface of said outer member and said panel and said planar surface of said inner thermal break strip.

3. The door construction as defined in claim 1 further comprising a spacer in said frame to limit lateral movement of said panel.

4. The door construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said rigid thermal break strip has a slot extending axially therealong and further comprising a sealing gasket, said sealing gasket being associated with said inner strip at said slot so as to be removably joined thereto.

5. The door construction as defined in claim 4 wherein the sealing gasket has a barb depending downwardly therefrom, said barb being press fit into said slot in said inner member so as to be held thereby.

6. A door construction as defined in claim 1 wherein said rigid thermal break strip is originally slightly concave in shape, whereby when snapped onto said outer member, the panel between said outer member and said strip causes said strip to straighten, whereby internal stresses in said strip continuously apply positive pressure against panel so as to hold said panel in the proper position.

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