US3264048A

US3264048A - Magnetic gasket

Info

Publication number: US3264048A
Application number: US353759A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alan J Koch; Marion J Weis
Original assignee: Whirlpool Corp
Current assignee: Whirlpool Corp
Priority date: 1964-03-23
Filing date: 1964-03-23
Publication date: 1966-08-02
Anticipated expiration: 1983-08-02

Description

1966 A. J. KOCH ETAL 3,264,048

MAGNETIC GASKET Filed March 23, 1964 i 1'6 1g J5 10 United States Patent 3,264,048 MAGNETIC GASKET Alan J. Koch and Marion J. Weis, Evansville, Ind, as-

signors to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 353,759 6 Claims. (Cl. 312-296) This invention relates to a cabinet having a frame memher and a door in combination with closure means such as a gasket for providing a relatively tight seal between the door and the frame member.

The invention here is particularly applicable to refrigerators and freezers having a refrigerated interior and a door for providing access to this interior. In such structures it is necessary to provide a relatively tight seal between the door and the frame of the cabinet in order to maintain the refrigerated conditions within the cabinet. The invention here is applicable to other cabinet structures wherever a relatively tight seal is desired.

One of the features of this invention is to provide an improved cabinet comprising a frame member having an access opening, a door normally closed across this opening, means for providing a seal of the closed door to the frame member including a flange member extending from an edge portion of the closed door toward an edge portion of a cabinet member, a second flange member extending from the cabinet member edge portion toward the first flange member and cooperating magnetic means on the first and second flange members for holding the flange members in engagement with each other and spanning the space between the edge portions when the door is closed, at least one of these flange members being distortable to accommodate itself to intimate contact of the cooperating magnetic means.

A more specific feature of the invention is to provide an improved cabinet comprising a frame member having an access opening, a pair of doors normally closed against the frame member to extend substantially across the opening, a gasket on each door adapted to engage the cabinet when the door is closed, cooperating flange members integral with each gasket along the adjacent edges of the closed doors and magnetic means, specifically flexible magnetic means, on each flange member cooperating to hold the flange members in engagement with each other to span the space between the edge portions when the doors are closed so that the usual beam extending across the opening at the adjacent edges of the door to provide a surface against which the doors seal is eliminated.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of one embodiment thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a cabinet, specifically a freezer adapted to be suspended from a wall, having double doors one of which is closed and the other of which is open.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the cabinet of FIGURE 1 with both doors closed.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of a portion of FIGURE 2 in order to illustrate certain parts of the structure in greater detail.

In the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings the cabinet includes a frame member 11 with an access opening 12. The access opening extends across the entire front of the cabinet and is not provided with any central beam which would normally be located at or adjacent the center 13 of the cabinet.

The cabinet is provided with two cooperating

doors

14 and 15 each mounted on hinges 16 in the usual manner and provided with the customary door opening and "ice closing handles 17. As shown in FIGURE 1 one door 14 is in closed position against the frame member 11 while the other door 15 is in fully open position. In FIGURES 2 and 3 both doors are closed.

In order to seal the doors against the frame member 11 there is provided a gasket 18 on door 14 and a gasket 19 on door 15. When the doors are closed, as shown in FIGURE 2, the gaskets bear against the front surface of the frame member 11.

The gasket 19 is provided with a first flange member 20 extending .toward the adjacent edge portion 21 of the door 14. The gasket 18 is provided with a second flange member 22 extending toward the adjacent edge portion 23 of the opposite door 15.

Although the illustrated embodiment employs the pair of

doors

14 and 15, it is obvious that only a single door could be used, if desired, such as the door 15 with the opposite door 14 being replaced by a fixed side wall. In any event, either of the

doors

14 or 15 can be considered a cabinet member which may be movable or fixed while the other door can be opened to provide access to the cabinet interior.

The

edge portions

21 and 23 of the two doors are spaced from each other and the

flange members

20 and 22 extend across this space to complete the closing of the interior of the cabinet fro-m the outside air. In order to seal these

flange members

20 and 22 together, they are provided with cooperating magnetic means 24 and 25 that are attracted to and held against each other when the doors are closed, as shown most clearly in detailed FIGURE 3. In the illustrated embodiment the

flange members

20 and 22 are flexible so as to accommodate themselves to intimate contact of the magnetic means 24 and 25.

As can be seen, the

flanges

20 and 22 are integral with their

respective gaskets

19 and 18. Each gasket is also provided with a relatively stiff auxiliary flange member 26 and 27 adjacent to the

respective flange members

20 and 22 and located inwardly thereof with respect to the cabinet 10. The inner edges of these auxiliary members 26 and 27 are spaced from each other and between these edges are located the magnetic means 24 and 25. These auxiliary members provide a closure inwardly of the

flexible flanges

20 and 22 to prevent outside air flowing into the cabinet, and vice versa, around the tops and bottoms of

flanges

20 and 22.

In the illustrated embodiment each

gasket

18 and 19 is also a magnetic gasket having extensible and

retractable accordion sides

28 and 29 with the strip magnets carried in the sealing portions 30 and 31 of the gaskets and the adjacent portions of the cabinet openating as armatures. Magnetic gaskets of this type are described in detail in Bower et al. Patent No. 2,958,912, assigned to the same assignee as the present application. The magnetic means of these gaskets as well as the magnetic means 24 and 25 are in the form of extended and flexible magnetic strips of the type described in Baermann Patent 2,959,832. The magnetic strips 24 and 25 extend the full length of the

flange members

20 and 22 and substantially completely across the access opening 12.

With the structure of this invention the central beam usually provided across an access opening such as the opening 12 is eliminated. This means that when the

doors

14 and 15 are fully open the entire opening 12 is accessible. Because of the flexibility of the

gasket flange members

20 and 22 and the flexibility of the magnetic strips 24 and 25 a very tight seal is provided across the space between the

doors

14 and 15. As is explained in the above Bower et al. patent, the magnetic strips 24 and 25 provide a very secure seal as these flexible strips are self-adjusting and make intimate contact along and across their entire contacting surfaces. Because the magletic attraction between the strips 24 and 25 is very ;mall per inch, this secure seal does not hinder opening )f either or both doors. Thus, in one embodiment the nagnetic attraction of all magnetic strips is about 0.15 sound per inch through a gap of 0.015 inch.

Having described our invention as related to the em- )odiment shown in the accompanying drawings, it is our ntention that the invention be not limited by any of the ietails of description, unless otherwise specified, but 'ather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope is set out in the accompanying claims. The embodiment )f the invention in which an exclusive property or privlege is claimed is defined as follows:

1. A cabinet, comprising: a frame member having an 1CC6SS opening; a door normally closed against said frame member across said opening; a cabinet member having 1n edge portion spaced from an edge portion of said :losed door; a first thin flange member extending from iaid closed door edge portion toward said cabinet mem- )81' edge portion; a second thin flange member extending 'rom said cabinet member edge portion toward said first lange member, said flange members having adjacent :dges when said door is closed; and cooperating magnetic neans on said first and second flange members edges for lolding said flange members in sealed relationship spaniing said space between said edge portions when the door s closed, at least one of said flange members being disortable to accommodate itself to intimate contact of said :ooperating magnetic means.

2. The cabinet of claim 1 wherein both said flange nembers are flexible strips.

3. A cabinet comprising: a frame member having an \ccess opening; 'a door normally closed against said frame member across said opening; a cabinet member having L11 edge portion spaced from an edge portion of said :losed door; a gasket member on said door adapted to :ngage said cabinet when the door is closed; a first thin lange member integral with said gasket member extendng toward said cabinet member edge portion when the loor is closed; a second thin flange member extending rom said cabinet member edge portion toward said first lange member, said flange members having adjacent edges vhen said door is closed; and cooperating magnetic means in said first and second flange members edges for holding aid flange members in sealed relationship spanning said pace between said edge portions when the door is closed, Lt least one of said flange members being distortable to tccommodate itself to intimate contact of said cooper- .ting magnetic means.

4. A cabinet comprising: a frame member having an vccess opening; a pair of doors normally closed against said frame member across said opening, said doors having edge portions spaced from each other when the doors are closed; a flange member at each said door edge portion with the flange members having edges adjacent each other when the doors are closed; and cooperating magnetic means on said edges of said flange members for holding said flange members in sealed relationship spanning said space between the edge portions when the doors are closed, at least one of said flange members being distortable to accommodate itself to intimate contact of said cooperating magnetic means.

5. A cabinet comprising: a frame member having an access opening; a pair of doors normally closed against said frame member across said opening, said doors having edge portions spaced from each other when the doors are closed; a gasket on each door adapted to engage said cabinet when the door is closed; a flange member integral with each gasket with the flange members having edges adjacent each other when the doors are closed; and cooperating magnetic means on said edges of said flange members for holding said flange members in sealed relationship spanning said space between the edge portions when the doors are closed, at least one of said flange members being distortable to accommodate itself to intimate contact of said cooperating magnetic means.

6. A cabinet comprising: a frame member having an access opening; a pair of doors normally closed against said frame member across said opening, said doors having edge portions spaced from each other when the doors are closed; a gasket on each door adapted to engage said cabinet when the door is closed; a flexible flange member integral with each gasket with the flange members having edges adjacent each other when the doors are closed; cooperating flexible magnetic means on said edges of said flange members for holding said flange members in sealed relationship spanning said space between the edge portions when the doors are closed; and relatively stiff auxiliary flange members integral with said gaskets positioned adjacent said flexible flange members and having spaced edges between which are positioned said magnetic means when said doors are closed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,004,309 10/1961 Korodi 2069 3,077,644 2/1963 Kesling 20-69 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

F. DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A CABINET, COMPRISING: A FRAME MEMBER HAVING AN ACCESS OPENING; A DOOR NORMALLY CLOSED AGAINST SAID FRAME MEMBER ACROSS SAID OPENING; A CABINET MEMBER HAVING AN EDGE PORTION SPACED FROM AN EDGEE PORTION OF SAID CLOSED DOOR; A FIRST THIN FLANGE MEMBER EXTENDING FROM SAID CLOSED DOOR EDGE PORTION TOWARD SAID CABINET MEMBER EDGE PORTION; A SECOND THIN FLANGE MEMBER EXTENDING FROM SAID CABINET MEMBER EDGE PORTION TOWARD SAID FIRST FLANGE MEMBER, SAID FLANGE MEMBERS HAVING ADJACENT EDGES WHEN SAID DOOR IS CLOSED; AND COOPERATING MAGNETIC MEANS ON SAID FIRST AND SECOND FLANGE MEMBERS EDGES FOR HOLDING SAID FLANGE MEMBERS IN SEALED RELATIONSHIP SPANNING SAID SPACE BETWEEN SAID EDGE PORTIONS WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID FLANGE MEMBERS BEING DISTORTABLE TO ACCOMMODATE ITSELF TO INTIMATE CONTACT OF SAID COOPERATING MAGNETIC MEANS.