US2157678A

US2157678A - Refrigerator door

Info

Publication number: US2157678A
Application number: US201359A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard H Schielke
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1938-04-11
Filing date: 1938-04-11
Publication date: 1939-05-09
Anticipated expiration: 1956-05-09

Description

y 1939- R. H. SCHIELKE 2,157,678

REFRIGERATOR DOOR Filed April 11, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventur. Rmhard H.5chIeIKE y 1939. R. H. SCHIELKE 2,157,678

REFRIGERATOR DOOR Filed April 11, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 WT 1\\ m 1mm?! 0 o V Inventur'. Rmhar'd H.5chre IKE B H W: Err/Z Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention appertains to closures, and more particularly to doors for refrigerators, refrigerator automobile trucks, and refrigerator railroad cars and the like.

It is customary to provide swinging doors for refrigerator trucks and the like, which make it inconvenient to open and close the same, when a truck has been driven alongside a loading platform. Usually, the doors have to be opened first and swung back against the truck body before the truck can be disposed into loading or unloading position relative to a platform. Likewise, swinging doors generally cannot be closed until the truck has been driven away from the platform.

Therefore, one of the salient objects of my invention is to provide a refrigerator body having novel doors, which can be slid laterally to an open position, and thereby eliminate the outward swinging of refrigerator doors.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide a refrigerator door slidably mounted on tracks for lateral movement, with means for shifting the doors toward and away from their frames, so that the doors can be readily moved into and out of sealing contact with the frames.

A further important object of my invention is to provide a refrigerator door suspended from wheeled carriers or brackets mounted on runways or tracks carried by the refrigerator, with means whereby the doors themselves can be bodily shifted on the brackets into and out of sealing contact with the door frames.

A still further object of my invention is to pro- 5 videnovel means, including a manipulating and latch lever, for moving the doors into and out of sealing position.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists in the novel construction, ar-

40 rangement, and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically described, claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a refrigerator body, showing one of my novel doors incorporated therewith, parts of the view being shown broken away and in section.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, the door being shown in its closed position.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line 33 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, the door being shown in its unsealed position ready for lateral shifting movement.

Figure 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 44, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is an enlarged, detail sectional View taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail sectional View taken substantially on the line E6 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the I arrows, with the door in its unsealed position ready for lateral shifting movement.

Figure 7 is a detail sectional View similar to Figure 3, but showing the door in its closed sealed position.

Figure 8 is a detail, horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line 8--8 of Figure 7, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter B generally indicates a refrigerator body, and this body can be considered either as an automobile truck body, a railroad car body}, or a stationary refrigerator body.

As illustrated, the same is provided with a door opening id; The walls of the. door opening H! are preferably beveled, as at i i. Mounted above the door opening it! is a longitudinally extending track l2. This track I2 is rigidly secured in any desired manner to the body B, such as through the use of clamps E3. The track 12 is of a substantially inverted U-shape in cross-section, and

the lower edges thereof have formed thereon inwardly extending runways E4, on which are mounted the wheels it of the suspension brackets Each of the brackets l6 includes an outwardly extending arm ll, and both of the arms carry at their outer ends anti-friction rollers l8, which are adapted to travel on the upper surface of a longitudinally extending guard strap It. This guard strap l9 extends alongside the track I2 above the door opening i6, and a similar guard strap 20 extends longitudinally of the body B below the door opening ill. These guard straps i9 and 2B are rigidly secured to the body B, and the same are spaced throughout their lengths from the body B, except at their terminals, as is clearly shown in Figure l of the drawings;

The door 2! for the door opening is shaped to fit snugly within said opening, and hence the marginal edges thereof are beveled inwardly, as

at 22, to snugly engage the beveled walls ll of the door opening. The door 2| also includes an outer door plate 23, which extends beyond the door opening, and the projecting portions of this plate carry resilient or flexible packing strips 24 for engaging the outer surface of the refrigerator body B around the door opening when the door is moved into said opening.

Rigidly secured to the door 2| adjacent its opposite sides are upwardly extending suspension straps 25. These straps have their upper ends reduced in width, as at 26, and the reduced portions extend through slots 21 formed in the arms I! of the supporting brackets l5. Anti-friction rollers 28 are carried by the upper ends of the straps 25, and these rollers are adapted to ride on the upper surface of the arms I! of the said brackets |6.

From the construction so far, it can be seen that the door 2| can be shifted bodily inwardly and outwardly on the arms I! of the brackets l6, and that the brackets themselves can be shifted longitudinally of the body B to carry the door laterally of the door opening. When the door 2| is in alinement with the door opening ID, the same can be moved into the door opening into sealing contact with the walls thereof, or moved outwardly on the brackets |6 away from the door opening.

To facilitate the inward and outward movement of the door, the door has rockably mounted therein an operating shaft 29. This shaft is received Within suitable bearings 30 carried by the outer face of the door, and the ends of the shaft 29 project above and below the door and are provided with crank-arms 3|. These crank-arms carry at their terminals anti-friction rollers 32, which are adapted to engage in short lengths of track 33. The short lengths of track 33 are rigidly secured to the refrigerator body B directly above and below the door opening 10.

To bring about the rotation of the shaft 2|, the same has formed thereon or secured thereto an operating crank-arm 34. This crank-arm, in turn, has rockably mounted on its outer end, by means of a pivot pin 35, a combined operating and latch lever 36. When the door is in its closed position, the latch lever 35 is adapted to be sprung over a resilient keeper 3'! carried by the body B. The keeper 31 is arranged at one side of the door opening l0.

Considering that the door 2| is in its closed sealed position and it is desired to open the same, the combined operating and latch lever 35 is moved out of engagement with the keeper 3'! and the lever is swung outward. The swinging movement. of the lever will rock the shaft 29 in its bearings 3t, and the crank-arms 3| will be swung inwardly. The inward swinging movement of the crank-arms 3| will force the door 2| outward and away from the door opening. The door will be limited in its outward swinging movement by the contacting of the shaft 29 with the upper and lower guard straps l8 and 2G. The lever 36 can now be swung down to an out-of-the-way position, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 of the drawings, and the door itself can be shifted laterally to an open position at one side of the door opening. During the lateral shifting movement of the door 2|, the anti-friction rollers 32 will ride out of the short lengths of track 33.

When it is desired to close the door, the door is again shifted longitudinally until the same comes into alinement with the door opening, at which time the anti-friction rollers 32 will ride into the short lengths of track 33. The lever 36 is now swung to a raised position and the same is forcibly moved inwardly, which will again rock the shaft. The rocking of the shaft forces the door 2| bodily inward into sealing position, and when the lever 36 is sprung over its keeper 37, the door will be held tightly closed against accidental movement.

While I have shown the door disposed exteriorly of a body, it is to be understood that I can arrange the door interiorly of the body.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is:

1. A refrigerator, a body having a door opening, a door for said opening, a supporting track extending longitudinally of the body, a guard track extending longitudinally of the body in spaced relation to the supporting track, a wheeled carrier including outwardly projecting arms having means at the opposite ends thereof for engaging the supporting track and the guard track, suspension straps rigidly secured to the door and slidably mounted on said arms, whereby said door can be bodily shifted on the brackets toward and away from the door opening, and manually operated means for bodily moving the door on the brackets toward and away from said door opening.

2. In a refrigerator, a body having a door opening, a supporting track rigidly secured to the body and extending longitudinally thereof above the door opening, guard tracks secured to the body above and below said door opening and arranged in spaced parallel relation to said body, a door for said opening, supporting brackets including outwardly extending arms and rollers on the opposite ends of said arms for engaging the supporting track and the uppermost guard track, suspension straps secured to the door slidably mounted on the arms of the brackets between said rollers, a shaft extending longitudinally of the door and rockably mounted on said door, crank-arms on the opposite ends of the shaft having their outer ends engaging the body above and below the door opening, and means for rocking said shaft, as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a refrigerator, a body having a door opening, a door for closing said opening, a supporting track extending longitudinally of the body above the door opening and rigidly secured to said body, guard tracks rigidly secured to the body above and below said door opening extending in spaced parallel relation to saidbody, supporting brackets including outwardly extending arms and rollers carried by the opposite ends of said arms for engaging the supporting track and the uppermost guard track, suspension straps rigidly secured to the door and slidably mounted on the arms of the brackets between said rollers for movement toward and away from the body, a rock shaft mounted upon the door, crank-arms on the terminals of the rock shaft, guide and wear tracks secured to the body directly above and below said door, anti-friction rollers on the outer ends of said cranks for engaging the guide and wear tracks, the shaft being adapted to engage against the inner faces of the guard tracks when the door is in a predetermined position, and means for rocking said shaft.

4. In a refrigerator, a body having a door opening, a door for closing said opening, a supporting track extending longitudinally of the body above the door opening and rigidly secured to said body, guard tracks rigidly secured to the body above and below said door opening extending in spacedparallel relation to said body, supporting brackets including outwardly extending arms and rollers carried by the opposite ends of said arms for engaging the supporting track and the uppermost guard track, suspension straps rigidly secured to the door and slidably mounted on the arms of the brackets between said rollers for movement toward and away from the body, a rock shaft mounted upon the door, crank-arms on the terminals of the rock shaft, guide and wear tracks secured to the body directly above and below said door, anti-friction rollers on the outer ends of keeper secured to the body for receiving the lever 10 when the same is in a predetermined position. RICHARD H. SCHIELKE.