Vacuum insulated door construction
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorPaul B. Allard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of fabricating a refrigerator cabinet or door includes forming a wrapper and an inner liner. The method further includes forming a vacuum insulated core comprising a permeable core material that is disposed inside an impermeable envelope. A sheet of prefabricated compressible foam material is positioned between the vacuum insulated core between the inner door liner and/or the door wrapper. The prefabricated compressible foam material may be cut from a sheet of foam having substantially uniform thickness prior to fabrication of the refrigerator door. The foam compresses to accommodate differences in spacing between the vacuum insulated core and the door wrapper and/or the door liner.
Claims20
A vacuum insulated refrigerator door, comprising:
- a door wrapper having a peripheral edge;
- a door liner having a peripheral edge that is secured to the peripheral edge of the door wrapper;
- a vacuum insulated core comprising a permeable core material that is disposed inside an impermeable envelope, wherein the envelope has been evacuated to form a vacuum inside the envelope, and wherein the vacuum insulated core is sandwiched between the door wrapper and the door liner;
- a sheet of compressible foam material disposed between the vacuum insulated core and at least one of the door wrapper and the inner door liner, wherein the sheet of compressible foam material is compressed in at least one region due to a reduced spacing between the vacuum insulated core and at least one of the door wrapper and the door liner.
A vacuum insulated refrigerator door, comprising:
- a door wrapper having a generally planar central portion and a peripheral edge;
- a door liner having a generally planar central portion and sidewalls extending transversely from the central portion, the sidewalls forming a peripheral edge of the door liner that is secured to the peripheral edge of the door wrapper;
- a vacuum insulated core comprising a permeable core material that is disposed inside an impermeable envelope, wherein the envelope has been evacuated to form a vacuum inside the envelope, and wherein a generally planar central portion of the vacuum insulated core is sandwiched between the generally planar central portion of the door wrapper and the generally planar central portion of the door liner;
- a sheet of compressible foam material having a central portion disposed between at least the central portion of the vacuum insulated core and a generally planar central portion of at least one of the door wrapper and the inner door liner, wherein the central portion of the sheet of compressible foam material is compressed in at least one region due to a reduced spacing between the vacuum insulated core and at least one of the door wrapper and the door liner.
A refrigerator including:
- an insulated cabinet having an opening;
- a vacuum insulated refrigerator door movably connected to the insulated cabinet to selectively close off the opening when the vacuum insulated refrigerator door is in a closed position, the vacuum insulated refrigerator door comprising:
- a door wrapper having a peripheral edge;
- a door liner having a peripheral edge that is secured to the peripheral edge of the door wrapper;
- a vacuum insulated core comprising a permeable core material that is disposed inside an impermeable envelope, wherein the envelope has been evacuated to form a vacuum inside the envelope, and wherein the vacuum insulated core is sandwiched between the door wrapper and the door liner;
- a sheet of compressible foam material disposed between the vacuum insulated core and at least one of the door wrapper and the inner door liner, wherein the sheet of compressible foam material is compressed in at least one region due to a reduced spacing between the vacuum insulated core and at least one of the door wrapper and the door liner.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.