US2081328A - Cabinet - Google Patents

Description

May 25, 1937. C, F GERHARDT 2,081,328

" CABINET Filed July 30, 1932 JWM/VM? May/M Patented May 25, 1937 PATENT GFFICE CABINET Carl F. Gerhardt, Kenmore, N, Y; Application July 30, 1932, lSerial No. 626,702

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the construction of cabinets of the kind which are particularly adapted for usein connection with refrigerators, but this invention may be in connection with cabinets for other purposes.

The objects of this invention'a're to.pr0vide a cabinet of this kind with an improved structure of the door and the door opening of the cabinet; also to provide an improved seal and A jamb, whereby the jamb may be made of metal without conducting heat between the .interior and outer linings or walls of the' cabinet; also to provide a cabinet construction of this kind, in

which shelves may be supported from the door jamb; also to provide a construction of this kind in which a double seal or contact is provided bei t tween the cabinet and the door gasket; also to provide an improved construction for securing the parts of the outer shell on the cabinet; also to improve the construction of cabinets of this kind in other respects hereinafter disclosed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a cabinet embody-v l ing this invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation thereof on an enlarged scale, on line 2 2, Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary sectional views respectively, on lines 3--3 and 4-4, Fig. 1.

Eig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the construction around the door opening, showing the metal jamb and other parts associated therewith.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing as applied to a refrigerator cabinet having a door A in the front of the cabinet. If the cabinet is used yin connection with an elec,-

' tric refrigerating apparatus, the apparatus may be contained in the lower portion of the cabinet in a compartment closed at its front end by means of a panel'B.

The cabinet is preferably provided with the lusual wooden frame including upright frame members Biconnected by means of horizontal frame members 9. These frame members sup-A port the inner andouter metal shells of the refrigerator, the inner lining or shell I0 beingl secured to the inner faces of the frame members, and theouter shell or casing il covering .the outer faces of 'these frame members. 'I'he space between these two shells and between the frame members is filled with suitable heat insulating material, not shown; and the inner and outer shells ofl the cabinet are secured at their edges to the upright and transverse frame members B and 9 around the door opening of the refrigerator (Cl. E-9) in the usual manner, so that these edges of the metal lining or shell are kept out of contactwith each other to preventconduction of heat from one of the shells to the other. The top of the refrigerator may be covered by a metal panel i2 formed at its outer edges with any suitable bead or connection I3 engaging with the outer shell of the side walls.

The door A may also be provided with the usual ,wooden frame i5 and an outer wooden panel I6 covered by a suitably'formed sheet of metal Il, and a lining member I8 is secured to the inner face ofthe door, preferably, tothe frame members. All of these parts of the cabinet thus 'far described have heretofore been employed in connection with refrigerators, and, of themselves, constitute no part of this invention.

In refrigerators or other cabinets of this type, the greatest amount of wear usually occurs at the edges around the door openings, which edges are frequently struck or rubbed by the edges of dishes or other articles placed into or removed from the refrigerator. It has heretofore been impractical to place a metal lining or wear strip around the door opening, for the reason that such strips conductheat and cold and form a metallic connection between the inner and outer shells ofthe refrigerator which would result in conducting cold from the inner to the outer shell, causing moisture from the surrounding air to condense on the outer shell adjacent to the door opening.

Inaccordance with this invention, Iv provide a metal jamb 2li around the door opening, and preferably this metal jarnb is substantially of channel shape having the free edges extending outwardly or toward the frame work surrounding the door opening', to present a relatively smooth rounded surface around the door opening, as clearly shown in Figs.2, 3 and 5. I also provide means for keeping the edge portions of the metal jamb outv of direct contact with the inner and outer shells of the cabinet, and for this purpose. heat insulating means are interposed between the inner and outer metal shells and the door jamb. In the construction shown for this purpose, a heat insulating strip '2| is provided which may be made of rubber or other suitable material having low heat conductivity. In the particular construction shown, the insulating strip 2| extends across the gap or space between the edges 'of the inner shell I0 and outer shells ",41, and 48, which are secured tothe frame members andl 9, but `it will be understood that the insulating member 2l maybe in tween the edge of the inner lining -III and the leg 22 of the channel-shaped lamb 20, and the other part interposed between the edge of the outer shell I I and the leg or flange 28 of the jamb. It is also posisble to omit entirely the heat insulation between the inner leg 22 of the jamb and the inner shell or lining III, so long as the outer leg or flange 23 of the jamb is insulated from the outer shell Il.

The jamb 20 may be secured in place in any suitable or desired manner, for example, by means of wood screws 25 extending through countersunk holes in the jamb and into the wooden frame members 8 and 9 between the edges of the inner and outer metal shells. In this way, both the jamb and the insulating means are held in place by means of the screws 25.

In order to form a tight seal between the door and the portion of the frame of the cabinet around the door opening, the outer edge of the insulating member is preferably provided with a bead or enlargedportion 28 which extends beyond the flange 23 of the :lamb and the front wall of the refrigerator. 'I'his bead is adapted to cooperate With a door gasket 29 which may be secured to the door in any suitable or usual manner, and which is arranged to contact with the bead 28 of the insulating member 2| as well as with the front wall of the refrigerator, thus forming a double seal to prevent leakage of air through the door opening and seals the food chamber against odors originating in the insulation and framework. The gasket 29 may be of any suitable or usual construction, such, for example, as a strip of sponge rubber surrounded or enclosed by rubberized fabric. The edges 20 of the fabric may be held in place by the edge portions of the inner lining member I8 of the door.

The metal Jamb serves the further purpose of supporting the shelves 38 of the refrigerator. In most refrigerators now on the market. the shelves are not adjustable relatively to each other, for the reason that such adjustment would require either a plurality of apertures in the inner lining i0 of the cabinet, or else separate shelf supporting standards or posts within the cabinet, which would take up space and which would be dimcult to clean. By providing apertures in the door jamb itself, deterioration of the insulation of the cabinet would not result, since moisture or other substances cannot pass from the interior of the jamb to the insulating lining of the refrigerator.

Consequently, the inner legs 22 of the two upright portions of the jamb 29 may be provided with suitable slits or apertures 40 with which suitable shelf supporting brackets 4| may engage. 'Ihese brackets may be of suitable construction, those shown each including a hookshaped part 42 which forms a continuation of the upper surface of the bracket, and which may enter into an aperture 40 of the jamb. Each bracket also has a downwardly projecting part or leg 43 terminating in a projection 44 arranged to enter into the next lower slot 40 of the jamb. These brackets, of themselves, do not constitute a part of my invention, and adjustable brackets of any other kind may be employed in connection with the apertures in the door jamb. At the rear portions of the shelves, similar supporting brackets may be employed which cooperate with the usual standards or upright posts arranged within the cabinet. By means of this construction, the shelves may be adjusted vertically to suit the user of the cabinet without two parts, one of these parts being interposed beproviding in the front portion of the cabinet any structure which would be difllcult'to keep clean, or which would form an obstruction in the interior of the cabinet. l

In forming the outer metalshell or casing for the cabinet, the metal is bent to extend from the sides of the cabinet across the front thereof, as far as the door openings, forming upright metal panels 45 on opposite sides 0f the cabinet in Fis.

1. The greater part of the front of the cabinetJ 'I'he panel 4l along its upper edge is overhung y by the over-turned edge portion of the top cover i 2 of the cabinet, and the lower edge is turned inwardly over the lower edge of the horizontal frame member 9. as indicated at 48. Consequently, the jamb 20 also serves to hold this lower edge in correct relation to the frame of the cabinet.

The lower panel 4l may be secured in place by fastening the upper and lower edges thereof to a cross member of the frame in a similar manner as the lower edge 4l of the panel 41 is secured to the frame member 9.

In the case of both of these members, it is desirable to form a neat appearing and effective joint between the ends of these panels and the front faces 45 of the shell of the cabinet. In order to accomplish this without the use of iinishing strips or other forms of Joints. I have found that a very eective connection between these two parts can be formed by bending over the ends of the panels 4l and 4l. as indicated in Fig. 4, by turning back upon itself the end portions 49 of these panels. and preferably the doubled-over ends are then offset with reference to the panels by means of the inclined or bevelled portions 50 of the panels. By means of this construction, the cut edges of the metal are bent under, so that they are not exposed on the exterior of the cabinet and the ends of the panel are reinforced by the doubling-over of the metal. The beads further reinforce the panels so that they will not tend to bend or buckle lengthwise of the panels. Other means for forming this part of the outer shell of the cabinet may, of course, be employed, if desired.

The cabinet described has the arvantage that the metal jamb in the door opening serves not only to hold adjacent portions of the cabinet inv correct relation to the frame work, but also prevents scratching or damage to the usual lining l of the door opening. The Jamb members described are arranged so that they do not conduct heat inwardly from the outer shell of the cabinet, and these members have the additional advantage of being usable to adjustably support shelves in the cabinet.

I claim as my invention:

1. A cabinet having a door opening, an outer shell having an edge portion extending into said door opening, a strip of insulating material in said door opening and covering said edge portion and having a portion forming a projection extending beyond the outer surface of said outer shell around said door opening, a door for closing said door opening, and a seal of flexible material secured to said door and arranged to engage both with said outer shell and with said projection to form a double seal between said door and cabinet.

2. A cabinet having a door opening, an outer shell extending to said door opening, a Strip of insulating material in said door opening covering the edge of said outer shell, a member exposed to the temperature of the interior of said cabi net and having a part engaging said strip of material in said door opening, said strip forming an insulation between said member and said shell, a door for closing said door opening, and a seal of flexible material secured to said door and arranged to engage both with said outer shell and with said insulating strip to form a double seal between said door and cabinet.

3. A cabinet having a door opening, an outer shell extending to said door opening, a strip of insulating material in said door opening covering the edge of said outer shell and having a portion thereof exposed at the edge of said door opening, a member exposed to the temperature of the interior of said cabinet and having a part engaging said strip of material in said door opening for holding the same in place between said member and said outer shell, said strip forming an insulation between said member and said shell, a door for closing said door opening. and an insulating seal of flexible material secured to said door and arranged to engage said exposed portion of said strip to form a seal between said door and said cabinet.

CARL F. GER. 1

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