Refrigerator door lock
AssigneeRumble Products, LLC
InventorMatthew G. Rumble
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refrigerator lock for selectively locking at least one door of a refrigerator into a closed position is described. The refrigerator door lock may include an anchor having an outer periphery sized to fit on a door face of the refrigerator adjacent to one or more doors seals when the door maintains the closed position. A fastener such as an adhesive may be utilized to secure the anchor to the door face of the refrigerator. An extension extends from a catch and is selectively securable to the anchor. With the extension secured to the anchor, the catch overlaps the refrigerator doors and either directly or indirectly engages the refrigerator doors to hold them in the closed position.
Claims18
A refrigerator door lock for selectively locking at least one door of a refrigerator into a closed position in which a door seal of the at least one door maintains sealing engagement with a door face of the refrigerator and access to an internal compartment for storing cooled items is prevented, said refrigerator door lock comprising:
- an anchor including an outer periphery sized to fit on the door face of the refrigerator adjacent to a seal of the at least one door of the refrigerator when the at least one door of the refrigerator maintains the closed position and the seal of the at least one door engages the door face of the refrigerator, the anchor having a refrigerator fastener operable to selectively secure said anchor to the door face of the refrigerator in a chosen position;
- a catch;
- an extension extending from said catch, said extension selectively securable to said anchor in a secured position;
- and
- said catch sized to overlap the at least one door of the refrigerator when said catch is secured to said anchor and said anchor is secured to the door face of the refrigerator adjacent to the seal of the at least one door when the at least one door of the refrigerator maintains the closed position and the seal of the at least one door engages the door face of the refrigerator, said extension having a length between said catch and said anchor when said extension is secured to said anchor, said length sized so that, with said anchor secured to the door face adjacent to the seal of the at least one door and said at least one door of the refrigerator in the closed position and said extension secured to said anchor, said catch engages the at least one door of the refrigerator to hold it in the closed position.
A method of securing doors of a refrigerator against opening when the refrigerator is in transit, the method comprising:
- securing an anchor to the refrigerator so that the anchor is adjacent to a seal of at least one door of the refrigerator when the at least one door of the refrigerator maintains a closed position in which a door seal of the at least one door maintains sealing engagement with a door face of the refrigerator and access to an internal compartment for storing cooled items is prevented;
- and
- securing a catch to the anchor so that, with the at least one door of the refrigerator maintaining the closed position, the catch overlaps the at least one door of the refrigerator and engages the at least one door of the refrigerator to hold it in the closed position, the catch secured relative to the at least one door of the refrigerator solely by way of its securement to the anchor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.