Refrigerator door assembly method
AssigneeFrigidyne North America, Inc.
InventorsLouis Barroero, John P. Rivers
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A refrigerator door assembly is mounted on a stationary frame of a refrigeration unit and comprises a door frame integrally molded about a thermo-pane in sealing relationship therewith. The door frame is hingedly mounted on the stationary frame of the refrigeration unit by a pair of upper and lower hinge pins. A torsion bar, integrally molded within the door frame and secured to one of the hinge pins, functions to constantly apply a closing force on the door frame to move the door assembly into sealing contact with the stationary frame of the refrigeration unit.
Claims18
A method for making a refrigerator door assembly adapted to be hingedly mounted on a stationary frame of a refrigeration unit comprising:
- securing a torsion bar to at least one of an upper and a lower hinge pin;
- aligning said upper and lower hinge pins vertically and placing them into a mold cavity;
- injecting a liquified thermoplastic or thermo-setting plastic material into said mold cavity to form a door frame such that said torsion bar is encapsulated within the plastic material composing said door frame and such that at least a portion of said torsion bar is capable of movement relative to said door frame;
- and
- curing and hardening said plastic material to form a structurally integrated refrigerator door assembly.
A method for making a refrigerator door assembly adapted to be hingedly mounted on a stationary frame of a refrigeration unit comprising:
- placing vertically aligned upper and lower hinge pins in a mold cavity defining the shape of a door frame so that said pins project beyond said door frame,
- securing a torsion bar to at least one of said upper and lower hinge pins,
- positioning the peripheries of a pair of spaced-apart window panes, having a static thermal sealing strip therearound, in said mold cavity,
- injecting a liquid plastic material into said mold cavity to form a door frame about the peripheries of said window panes and to encapsulate said torsion bar such that at least a portion of said torsion bar is capable of movement relative to said door frame, and
- curing and hardening said plastic material to form a structurally integrated refrigerator door assembly about said window panes.
A method for making a refrigerator door assembly adapted to be hingedly mounted on a stationary frame of a refrigeration unit comprising
- placing an elongated sheath in a mold cavity defining the shape of a door frame so that the sheath is disposed along the pivot axis of the door when mounted and the two open ends of said sheath are flush with the outer edge of the door frame,
- positioning the peripheries of a pair of spaced-apart window panes, having a static thermal sealing strip therearound, in said mold cavity,
- injecting a liquid plastic material into said mold cavity to form a door frame about the peripheries of said window panes and to encapsulate said elongated sheath, and
- curing and hardening said plastic material to form a structurally integrated refrigerator door frame about said window panes,
- inserting a plain hinge pin into a first open end of said elongated sheath so that said plain hinge pin projects beyond said door frame,
- securing a torsion bar to a torsion hinge pin
- inserting said torsion hinge pin and said torsion bar into a second open end of said elongated sheath so that the torsion bar is anchored to the elongated at some point along its length.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.