US2799550A - Door biasing device - Google Patents

Description

July 16, 1957k Filed Jan. 4, 1955 v DOOR BIASING DEVICE :a sheets-sheet l1 INVENTOR.

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July 16, 1957 F. l. RATAICZAK 2,799,550

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DGOR BIASING DEVICE Francis I. Rataiczak, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application January 4, 1955, Serial No. 479,829 2 Claims. (Cl. 312-319) This invention relates to a biasing device for door and particularly to such a device for a vertically swinging refrigerated compartment door.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved door biasing device.

-Another object of my invention is to provide a door biasing device which is effective while the door is closed and during a part only of the opening swinging movement of the door and which device is renderedv ineffective to pull the door in a door closing direction in response to swing the door into a fully open position.

' A further object of my invention is to provide a pivotally mounted vertically swinging door of a refrigerated food storage compartment of a refrigerator cabinet with means whereby a pull is applied to the door on one side of its pivotal mounting when the same is closed for sealing the compartment and which means is rendered ineffective to pull on the door on said one side of its pivotal mounting invresponse to swinging the door into a substantially horizontal plane.

A still further and more specific object of my invention is to provide a door for an access opening of a refrigerated food storage compartment of a refrigerator cabinet with a biasing device having a bell crank fulcrumed on the door and connected to an elongated coil spring of the device in such manner that movement of the door into open position shifts or changes the moment of an arm of the bell crank relative thereto to bring the action of the spring into alignment with the fulcrum point of the bell crank, whereby the pull of the spring of the device on the door in a door closing direction is rendered ineffective and the door remains open.

` Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front view of a multiple compartment refrigerator cabinet showing the cabinet door in open position and showing an inner door having my invention embodied therein;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure l showing a freezing compartment in the cabinet having a door closing the access opening thereof;

Figure 3 is an enlarged broken sectional view, similar to Figure 2 showing the freezing compartment access opening door in open position;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 44-4 of Figure 3 showing the mounting of a biasing device on the freezer compartment door;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the inner face of the compartment door and is taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a combined view schematically showing the biasing device of the present invention in three different positions relative to the door.

' The present invention relates to a novel biasing device Mice for the door of a freezing compartment access opening in a refrigerator cabinet of the type disclosed in the Clifford H. Wurtz patent, Number 2,672,027, dated March 16, 1954, and in the co-pending application of Orson V.v

Saunders Ser. No. 369,373, filed July 21, 1953, entitled Refrigerating Apparatus, now Patent No. 2,739,456, both assigned to the assignee of this application.

In the drawings of the present application, I show in Figure l thereof a refrigerator cabinet generally indicated by the reference numeral 10. Cabinet 10 has a metal shell or housing 11 forming the outer top and side walls thereof and in which there is provided, by an inner linerv 12 with insulation thereabout, an unfrozen food storage compartment 14 having a forwardly facing opening. An. insulated door structure 15, hingedly mounted upon the:

cabinet for horizontal swinging movement, normally closes the front opening in cabinet 10. A plate or the like evaporator 16 vof a closed refrigerating system (not shown) associated with cabinet 10, concealed from view by a cover 17, is utilized to cool the interior of compartment 14 to a temperature above 32 F. The liner 12 has an open top disposed a substantial distance below the top Wall of the cabinet shell 11 to permit a freezing or frozen food storage compartment to be formed in the cabinet above the compartment 14 therein. A metal can-like member 18 having an open front is located above the liner 12 and is surrounded by insulated material 19 (see Figures 2 and 5) to form the liner of a freezing or frozen food storage compartment 20 in cabinet 10. Liner or member 18 is supported in cabinet 10 in the manner shown and fully described in the above referred to patent and application. A refrigerant evaporator of the refrigerating system associated with cabinet 10 and in the form of a refrigerant expansion conduit- (not shown) wrapped or coiled around and in contact with the outer surface of can member 18, in the now conventional manner, is

utilized to cool the interior of freezing compartment 20 to a temperature well below 32 F.

, The edges of liner or can member 18 at the open front of compartment 20 are secured by screws or the like (not shown) to a flange 21 formed integrally on a non-metallic and preferably molded plastic breaker collar which has its sides and top attached to the cabinet outer walls or shell 11 in any suitable and now well-known manner.'

tionary structure or compartment 20 and a door struc# ture, generally represented by the numeral 25 in Figure l of the drawings, is adapted to abut against gasket 23 to seal the access opening of the freezing or frozen food storage compartment. The door structure 25 for closing the open front of compartment 20 comprises an outer metal panel 26 and an inner preferably molded plastic panel 27 (see Figure 2) having insulating material 28 (see Figure 4) disposed therebetween. The panels 26 and 27 of door 25 may be assembled and secured together in any suitable manner such, for example, as is disclosed in the co-pending application of Orson V. Saunders, led September 23, 1953, Ser. No. 381,771, entitled Refrigerator Door, and assigned to the assignee of the present application, now Patent No. 2,708,294. Inner plastic panel 27 of the present door 25 is provided, near each of its sides, with an embossed portion 31 having an opening 32 therein (see Figures 2 and 5) for a purpose to be hereinafter de scribed. Door 25 also includes side hinge pins 33 fitted in suitable mounting apertures (not shown) provided in collar or door jamb 22 to permit of its being swung vertically about such mounting to openA and/or close the access opening of compartment 20.

In accordance with my invention and in order to eliminate the necessity of a housewife holding a vertically swingable freezer compartment door down in open po sition, while transferring food products to and from the freezing compartment 20, I provide door with an improved biasing means or device. In the present structure, door 25 has a metal channel member 36 on each side thereof secured to panel 26 in any suitable manner such as by screws 37. The doors hinge pins 33 are carried on channel members 36 and extend through openings in the sides of the door outwardly from the interior thereof. A metal bracket 38 at each side of door 25 is clamped to a channel member 36, by screws 37, and forms a mounting for a bell crank lever. A bell crank 39 fulcrumed upon each of the brackets 38, by a stud 41, is provided with the two arms 42. and 43. Arm 42 of each bell crank 39 carries a stud 44 to which, one end of a rigid link 46 is pivotally mounted. The other or opposite end of link 46, extends through the aperture 32 of inner door panel 27, is hook shaped, as at 47, and hooks into an aperture in a clip` 48 secured by a Vscrew or the like 49 to flange 21 on collar or door jamb 22. The other arm 43 of each bell crank 39 carries a stud 51 to which one end of a connector 52 is attached. The other end of connector 52 hooks into one end of a biasing means or elongated coil spring 53 which has its other or opposite end connected to an upper part of door 25 such as to the upper end 54 of a channel member 36. Arms 42 and 43 of the bell cranks 39V may be provided with cutout portions for engaging stops provided on brackets 38 so as to prevent abnormal movement of arms of the bell cranks relative to brackets 38 when the springs 53 are detached from door 25 or when the links 46 are disconnected from their mounting clips 48.

By referring to Figure 2 of the drawings, it will be noted that when door 25 is closed, the biasing means or elongated springs 53 at each side of the door are held, by the arm 43 of bell cranks 39 in a position so that their pulling action on the door is to one side of the fulcrum point 41 of the cranks and to one side of the pivotal mounting point, hinge pins 33, of the door. In other words, the longitudinal axis or line of action of springs 53 is located to the right in Figure 2 of the drawings of a straight line extending through the end 54 of a bracket 36 and the pivot points 41 and 33 of the bell crank 39 and door 25 respectively. The pulling action of springs 53 on door 25 forces the peripheral portions of door panel 27 into tight abutting relation with the gasket 23 at the door jamb for compressing the gasket where necessary to insure a continuous seal of the compartment entirely around itsl access opening. Thus, the door 25 is strongly biased shut when it is in its closed position. Arms 42 and 43 of the bell cranks 39 are so spaced apart and arranged with respect to one another, relative to the fulcrum point of the cranks, that as door 25 is swung downwardly toward its open position, the pulling tension of the springs 53 on door 25 is increased throughout at least the rst part of this opening movement of the door (see Figure 6) to counterbalance or counterpoise its weight. Such prevents the door from suddenly dropping all the way from its closed to its fully open position. As this opening movement of door 25 is continued, to move same farther toward the horizontal, rigid links 46, being anchored to a wall of compartment 20, by clips 48, pull on arm 42 of the bell cranks 39 to thereby shift the bell cranks and change the moment of their arms. As door 25 is moved, from the intermediate position thereof as shown in Figure 6l of the drawings, into a fully open position or into a horizontal plane with respect to its door jamb, as shown in Figures 3 and 6 of the drawings, studs 51 on arm 43 of the cranks 39 cause the one end of connector 52 to be moved to the opposite side of a straight line between the pivot point of door 25 and the point of attachment of the upper end of springs 53 to the door. In other Words, studs 51 on bell cranks 39 shift the one end of connector 52 so that the end of arms 43 are substantially in alignment with both the fulcrum point 41 of the bell crank and with the upper end of spring 53 attached to door 25. This renders the biasing action of springs 53 to pull door 25 closed ineffective whereby the door remains open in a horizontal plane without manually holding same open. Thus, both arms and hands of a housewife are free for use in transferring food products to and from the frozen food storage compartment 20. Door 25 must be manually started in motion upwardly of its open horizontal position whereafter the biasing device becomes effective and the tension of springs 53 thereof then pulls the door closed. The pulling force of the biasing device on door 25, when the door is moved to closed position, is adapted to cause portions of the resilient gasket 23, at certain points around the access opening of compartment 20, to be compressed for insuring a continuous seal of the inner panel 27 of the door with the gasket 23 entirely therearound. Compression of the gasket 23 at certain points as described compensates for any misalignment between the door 25 and the front of compartment 20 or the door jamb due to manufacturingl tolerances.

By mounting the spring and the bell crank of the present biasing devices on the door, substantially all of the device is concealed from view within panels of door 25 and, thus, the devices do not detract from the neat interior appearance of the refrigerator cabinet. This concealment of parts of the biasing device also prevents a housewife or other user of the refrigerator disclosed from getting ngers pinched or cut by movement of parts of the device during the act of vertically moving door 25 with respect to compartment 20. It should be noted that as. the door 25 is initially moved toward open position, the spring 53 is stretched more than when the door is closed and it naturally increases considerably in tension to counterpoise its weight. However, as the spring nears its furthermost stretch, when the door is a little more than half-way open, the pulling action thereof on the door is gradually decreased and the door freely moves into a horizontal open position whereupon the pulling tension of the springs on the door, in a direction to close the door, becomes neutralized to permit the door to remain open. The mechanical advantage derived by the use of a bell crank lever in a biasing device and the mounting of same on the door to change or shift the moment of arms of the bell crank permits at least the initial opening movement of they door to be effectively counterbalanced while at the same time providing an effective pull on the door when it is closed. The pull on the door, by the present device, properly seals the access opening of the frozen food storage compartment and permits its interior to be maintained at a desired low temperature out -of communication with the lower unfrozen food compartment.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

l. A refrigerator cabinet having a frozen food storage compartment and an unfrozen food storage compartment therein disposed one above the other and each provided with a front access opening, an outer door extending across both of said compartments for closing the opening in said cabinet, an inner door for the access opening of said frozen food compartment, said inner door having spaced apart and secured together panels forming a chamber therebetween, the bottom portion of said inner door being pivotally mounted to said cabinet for swinging movement from a substantially vertical shut position to a substantially horizontal open position, a biasing device for said inner door, said device comprising a bell crank within the chamber of said inner door fulcrumed thereon intermediate its top and its pivotal mounting, spring means having one of its ends attached to an upper part of said inner door with its other end connected to one arm of said bell crank and a link having one of its ends connected to the other arm of said bell crank with its opposite end extending through the innermost panel of said inner door and anchored to a stationary part of said cabinet, the anchoring of said opposite end of said link being at a point spaced laterally a suicient distance from the pivotal mounting of said inner door to hold said bell crank in a position to cause said spring means to bias the door closed when same is in said vertical shut position, said spring means counterpoising said inner door throughout a portion of the opening swinging movement thereof into a substantially horizontal plane, the fulcrum of said bell crank being swingable with said inner door about its pivotal mounting, and the stationary anchorage of said opposite end of said link shifting said bell crank about its fulcrum on said inner door during swinging of the fulcrum therewith to render the counterpoising and door closing action of said spring means relatively ineffective so that the weight of said inner door forms the sole means of maintaining same in said horizontal open position whereby it forms a transfer ledge at the front of said cabinet for receiving and supporting food products during rearrangement thereof in said frozen food compartment.

2. A refrigerator cabinet having a frozen food storage compartment and an unfrozen food storage compartment therein disposed one above the other and each provided with a front access opening having a door jamb, an outer door extending across both of said compartments for closing the opening in said cabinet, a yieldable gasket on the door jamb of said frozen food compartment, an inner door engageable with said gasket for closing said access opening of said frozen food compartment, said inner door having spaced apart and secured together panels forming a chamber therebetween, the bottom portion of said inner door being pivotally mounted to said cabinet for swinging movement from a substantially vertical shut position to a substantially horizontal open position, a biasing device for said inner door, said device comprising a bell crank within the chamber of said inner door fulcrumed thereon intermediate its top and its pivotal mounting, a coil spring having one of its ends attached to an upper part of said inner door with its other end connected to one arm of said bell crank and a link having one of its ends connected to the other arm of said bell crank with its opposite end extending through the innermost panel of said inner door and anchored to a stationary part of said cabinet, the anchoring of said opposite end of said link being at a point spaced laterally a sucient distance from the pivotal mounting of said inner door to hold said bell crank in aposition to cause said coil spring to bias the door closed when same is in said vertical shut position against said gasket with such force as to effectively seal the frozen food compartment about said access opening thereof, said coil spring counterpoising said inner door throughout a portion of the opening swinging movement thereof into a substantially horizontal plane, the fulcrum of said bell crank being swingable with said inner door about its pivotal mounting, and the stationary anchorage of said opposite end of said link shifting said bell crank about its fulcrum on said inner door during swinging of the fulcrum therewith to render the counterpoising and door closing action of said coil spring relatively ineffective so that the weight of said inner door forms the sole means of maintaining same in said horizontal open position whereby it forms a transfer ledge at the front of said cabinet for receiving and supporting food products during rearrangement thereof in said frozen food compartment.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 654,501 Wilson July 24, 1900 1,737,093 Price Nov. 26, 1929 2,180,552 Shroeder et al Nov. 21, 1939 2,189,818 Murrin Feb. 13, 1940 2,676,864 Townsend Apr. 27, 1954

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