US3468449A - Breaker strip construction - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 23, 1969 M. F. HARTY, JR

BREAKER STRIP CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 15, 1967 FIG 2 O 2 2 4 2 I 2 5 6 O 6 4 56 2 5 4 8 8 M 3 5 9 5 6 3 4 3 2 3 0 2 FIG 2 R J R Y mT 2 VH HE R O M L H F M ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. 220-9 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A breaker strip for foamed insulated freezer and refrigerator cabinets characterized 'by being formed of a pliable material such as a vinyl and secured along only one of its sides to the cabinet. The breaker strip includes a short flap forming substantially its entire exposed surface and hiding the fasteners fixing the strip to the cabinet. Additionally, the forward edges of the cabinet are so formed as to provide an open sided channel just behind the breaker strip for various circuitry employed in connection with the unit which channel is closed by the breaker strip and immediately accessable without removing the breaker strip when the unsecured side of the latter is simply flexed away from the channel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Customary freezer and refrigerator cabinets basically consist of an outer metal shell and an inner liner, often also of metal, spaced therefrom. The front edges of the shell and liner must necessarily be non-contiguous in order to provide a thermal barrier. In the past, when cork or glass wool types of insulation were used, the wall thickness of the cabinets was necessarily relatively large in order to afford space for suflicient insulation. The breaker strips employed were also quite extensive because, in an effort to prevent a thick, blunt appearance of the forward faces of the cabinet, the front edges of the liner were terminated well to the rear of the front edges of the shell. Accordingly, the breaker strips had to be quite wide in order to close the resulting substantial gap. Furthermore, the large width of the breaker strip demanded that it be constructed of relatively rigid material, typically a suitable plastic, and that, as is well known, produced many problems of installation, removal and break-age, particularly when it was necessary to reach the cabinet heaters and other circuits usually disposed therebehind or to remove the liner itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Nowadays, with the advent of foamed type insulations, a much thinner cabinet wall is possible because of the much greater insulating properties of the foam. Accordingly, it is no longer necessary to terminate the front edges of the cabinet liner so far to the rear of the front edges of the shell and the breaker strip can thus also be much narrower. The present invention takes advantage of this fact by forming the breaker strip of a relatively pliable material, which avoids the breakage problem, and at the same time securing the breaker strip in a manner which permits access to the cabinet heaters and other circuits therebehind without requiring the breaker strip to be first removed. For this purpose, the front edges of the outer cabinet shell are reversely bent at several places to provide a hollow, U-shaped channel whose open side faces the inner liner and which provides a conduit for the various components. The ends of the shell and the liner spacedly overlap and sandwich one side of the pliable breaker strip which is formed of a suitable vinyl material. The latter is secured by push type pins through the overlapping edges of the shell, liner and breaker "ice strip. The remainder of the strip closes the U-shaped channel and resiliently abuts the opposite channel edge, thus permitting ready access to the interior of the channel without need to remove the strip and without fear of breakage or other difficulty. A flap portion formed integrally with the breaker strip hides the push pins and forms a smoothly rounded corner at the inner front edge of the cabinet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a three-quarter isometric view of a typical freezer-refrigerator of the side-by-side type.

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal sectional view along the line 22 of FIGURE 1 through a front corner of the unit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The freezer-refrigerator cabinet, generally denominated by the reference numeral 10, comprises horizontally adjacent freezer and refrigerator sections 12 and 14, respectively, closed by doors 16 and 17 which are equipped with typical shelving 18 molded into their inner liners 19 (see FIGURE 2). The cabinet 10 also includes an outer metal shell 20 and a spaced, inner metal liner 22, that for the freezer compartment 12 being partially illustrated in FIGURE 2, and the spacing between shell 20 and liner 22 is filled with suitable foamed insulation 24. The front edge portion of shell 20 is bent laterally at 26 at a right angle toward liner 22, in order to provide a partial front Wall 28 of the cabinet 10 upon which the gasket assembly 29 of door 16 seats, and is then folded reversely upon itself at 30. About one-half way toward the side wall of shell 20 the edge portion is bent again at a right angle at 32 so that it extends rearwardly a short distance. Finally, it is bent still again at a right angle at 34 so that it extends both parallel to face 28 and beyond the fold 30 laterally toward liner 22, terminating just short thereof. A U-shaped channel 36 is accordingly formed having an extended rear leg 38 and a shorter forward leg 39. Finally, liner 22 is carried just forward of leg 38 and bent inwardly toward shell 20 at a right angle at 40 to provide a leg 42 which spacedly overlaps the outer portion of leg 38.

The breaker strip 50 is molded integrally from a suitable polyvinyl chloride and includes a lateral anchor portion 52 sandwiched between the overlapping legs 38 and 42 of the shell and liner, respectively, to which it is secured by suitable plastic push pins 54 therethrough. It will be understood, of course, that the breaker strip 50 and pins 54 are secured in place before cabinet 10 is foamed. The body portion 56 of breaker strip 50 is forwardly disposed at right angles to the anchor portion 52 and closes the open side of channel 36, the forward end of body portion 56 terminating flush with the cabinet face 28 and having a lateral car 58 fitting about the folded edge 30 and partially along the rear of front wall 28. The remainder of the breaker strip 50 comprises a flap 60 which emerges laterally from the forward end of the body portion 56 opposite ear 58 and then convexly curves rearwardly, terminating in a free, unsecured end 62 just short of the bend 40 in liner 22. The inner corner of the front of cabinet 10 is therefore rounded off by flap 60 which also hides the pins 54. At the same time, the free, unsecured end 62 permits the body portion 56 to be flexed away from the folded edge 30 for access to the channel 36 through which may be routed various electrical and other circuits (not shown), especially those for the cabinet heaters. Thus it is not necessary to remove the breaker strip for installation or service of these components and problems of installation and breakage of the strip are accordingly eliminated. It will be understood, of course, that the same construction is employed for the other three sides of the freezer compartment 12 and the four sides of the refrigerator compartment 14.

While the invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment, being the best mode known of carrying it out, it is not so limited.

Iclaim:

1. In a refrigerated cabinet having an access opening, said cabinet including an outer shell and a liner inside said shell separted from each other by thermal insulating material, said shell and liner having overlapping terminal edge portions closely adjacent said access opening and spaced from each other in order to provide a thermal barrier therebetween, the improvement comprising: a channel having a pair of channel legs formed about said cabinet access opening and integrally with one of said shell and liner closely adjacent said terminal edge portion thereof, a first one of said channel legs and one of said terminal edge portions defining an access opening to said channel; and a flexible, elongated breaker strip having a cross section a body portion closing said channel access opening, said body portion having integral anchor portions adjacent its two side edges a first one of said anchor portions unattachedly abutting the inner face of the free end of said first channel leg and the second one of said anchor portions abutting the inner face of the second one of said channel legs and permanently attached thereto by securing means extending between said terminal edge portions with the space therebetween being closed by said second anchor portion whereby said body portion may be flexed away from said first channel leg for access to the interior of said channel.

2. The cabinet of claim 1 wherein said breaker strip includes a flexible flap portion integrally formed with a side edge of and overlying said body portion and hiding the same and said securing means from view, the other edge of said flap portion being free and disposed in close proximity to said one of said terminal edge portions said flap portion forming the exposed inner corner of said cabinet access opening.

3. The cabinet of claim 1 including a front wall of said cabinet extending transversely of the respective planes of the adjacent walls of said shell and liner and marginally about said cabinet access opening, said channel being formed in said shell and having said channel access opening facing said liner plane, said cabinet front wall forming said first channel leg and extending partially toward said liner plane, said second channel leg being disposed rearward of said first channel leg and extending closely adjacent said liner wall and terminating at said terminal edge portion of said shell, said terminal edge portion of said liner including a transverse leg portion disposed rearward of said first channel leg but forward of and in spaced overlapping relation to said second channel leg and said terminal edge portion of said shell.

4. The cabinet of claim 3 wherein said first anchor portion includes an ear engaging the inner face of said first channel leg, said second anchor portion being disposed transversely of said body portion and between the overlapping portions of said liner leg portion and said second channel leg, and wherein said breaker strip includes a flexible flap portion overlying said body portion and hiding the same and said securing means from view, said flap portion being convexly rounded in cross section and having one end thereof integrally formed with said body portion and first anchor portion and flush with said cabinet front wall, the other end of said flap portion being free and disposed closely adjacent the juncture of said liner leg portion and said liner wall, said flap portion forming the inner exposed corner of said cabinet access opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,801,564 4/1931 Mufiiy 220-9 2,527,932 10/ 1950 Iwashita 220-9 2,811,936 11/1957 Foley.

2,845,320 7/ 1958 Saunders et al. 312214 X 3,142,405 7/ 1964 Johnson 2209 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner J. R. GARRETT, Assistant Examiner

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