US3648411A - Refrigerator door trim handles and mounting strip - Google Patents

Abstract

An appliance door trim handle and panel mounting assembly in which a pair of trim handles are located along the inner vertical edges of each door closure of a side-by-side refrigerator freeze or the like. Each door trim handle assembly includes a channelshaped mounting strip fixedly secured to the face of the door and a substantially J-shaped handle having its backwall seated in interlocked fashion in the mounting strip pocket. The mounting strip has a pair of legs one of which provides a recess adapted to receive the free edge of the handle backwall while the opposite leg has a resilient flange adapted to engage a plurality of lanced projections provided in the backwall of the handle allowing the resilient flange to snap back after the projections pass over the flange to thereby produce a snug fit which cannot be altered without the aid of tools.

Description

United States Patent Saunders et al.

[54] REFRIGERATOR DOOR TRIM HANDLES AND MOUNTING STRIP [72] lnventors: Orson V. Saunders, Dayton; Louis D.

Benasutti, Fairborn, both of Ohio General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich.

221 Filed: Nov. 13, 1970 211 Appl.No.: 89,412

[73] Assignee:

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Spielman Fritsch Riegelman .:....49/460 5] Mar. 141, 1972 Primary ExaminerReinaldo P. Machado Assistant Examiner--Philip C. Kannan Att0rneyWilliam S. Pettigrew, Frederick M. Ritchie and Edward P. Barthel [5 7] ABSTRACT An appliance door trim handle and panel mounting assembly in which a pair of trim handles are located along the inner vertical edges of each door closure of a side-by-side refrigerator freeze or the like. Each door trim handle assembly includes a channel-shaped mounting strip fixedly secured to the face of the door and a substantially J-shaped handle having its backwall seated in interlocked fashion in the mounting strip pocket. The mounting strip has a pair of legs one of which provides a recess adapted to receive the free edge of the handle backwall while the opposite leg has a resilient flange adapted to engage a plurality of lanced projections provided in the backwall of the handle allowing the resilient flange to snap back after the projections pass over the flange to thereby produce a snug fit which cannot be altered without the aid of tools.

3 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUMAR 14 I972 3,648, 41 1 SHEET 2 [1F 2 ATTORNEY REFRIGERATOR DOOR TRIM HANDLES AND MOUNTWG STRIP This invention relates to refrigerator door constructions and more particularly to a door edge trim handle structure and means for mounting thereof to each of the inner vertical edges of side-by-side refrigerator doors.

The mounting of trim type decorative handles along the door edges of side-by-side refrigerator freezers presents a special problem in that the clearance between the mating edges of the two doors does not allow the use of standard edge type mounting arrangements as in the case of over-and-under style refrigerator freezers. Not only does the conventional use of rivets or screws for securing the handle detract from the overall appearance of the appliance but various types of decorative coatings such as vinyl laminates used on the handles may be subjected to damage during subsequent fabrication of the refrigerator after the handles have been mounted.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide new and improved means for mounting trim type handles to a refrigerator door construction.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved means for attaching trim type handles adjacent the inner vertical edges of a pair of side-by-side door members for closing the access openings of an appliance which means does not adversely affect the appearance of the assembled components while not requiring attachment to the inner opposed edges of the doors.

Other objects of the present invention will become more apparent when considered in view of the following description and drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section of one of the handles of FIG. 2 showing the securing means thereof;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section similar to FIG. 3 showing the handle mounting strip;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of the upper end of one of the handles;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the upper end of the handle of FIG. 5',

FIG. 7 is an enlarged diagrammatic view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6, illustrating the layers on the front and rear flanges surrounding the handle of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of one of the end caps for the handle of the invention;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating a partially assembled trim style handle of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown, reference numeral I0 generally designates a refrigerator freezer cabinet having a pair of doors l2 and 14 which are pivotally supported on the cabinet adjacent the outer edges of the doors by means of hinges (not shown) for swinging, relative movement about their outer vertical edges. Each door is provided with a trimstyle handle assembly 16, 18 adjacent their inner vertical edges for selectively opening the doors I2, 14 respectively which are the subject of the present invention. Each of the doors I2, 14 supports a magnetic door seal (not shown) of the type generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,075,258 for example, for sealing engagement with the metallic outer shell portion of the refrigerator cabinet. A magnet is provided in the portion of the seal and serves as the sole means for holding the doors closed. Magnetic door seals of this general type are old and for a more complete description reference may be had to the aforementioned patent.

In the refrigerator 10 there is provided a refrigerator cabinet having two separate insulated compartments (not shown) including a low temperature freezer compartment on the left hand side and a higher temperature above freezing storage compartment on the right hand side arranged in sideby-side relation and having a common upright insulated partition wall (not shown) separating the compartments against which each of the doors l2, 14 of the refrigerator abut thereagainst in sealed relation. The center partition serves as a vertical mullion or center post which with the cabinet outer shell portion engages theseal on the four sides of each of the doors I2, 14 to seal each of the side-by-side compartments.

One of the problems in providing trim style door handles adjacent the mating edges of doors of this side-by-side type refrigerator freezer is that it is not convenient to secure the handles to the opposed portion of the innervertical door flanges 20, 21 defining thevertical gap 22 therebetween. The insulated wall section of each of the door structures, as shown bydoor 14 in FIG. 2, comprises an outersheet metal wall 24, an inner moldedplastic liner member 26, and insulation means 28 such as polyurethane foam insulation between themembers 24 and 26 for detachably securing them together.

As bothhandle assemblies 16, 18 are identical so as to be mirror images of each other only the righthand handle assembly 18 will be described in detail with the reference numerals indicating like members in each assembly. Thehandle assembly 18 has a channel shapedsupport mounting strip 30 secured to theouter panel 24 of its associateddoor 14 by having the panel suitably apertured at 32 (FIG. 3) to receivescrews 34 which pass through thestrip 30 and into L-shaped tapping plates 36 to secure these parts together. At longitudinal spaced points thebase wall 38 of themounting strip 30 is formed withopenings 40 the sides of which are tapered as at 42 to receivescrews 34 that are threaded downwardly into thetapping plates 36. The securingstrip base wall 38 has first andsecond legs 44, 46 bent from the sides thereof forming a substantially U-shapedpocket 47. Thefirst leg 44 of thestrip 30 adjacent the inner vertical edge of the door I4 has aresilient flange 48 formed integral with its end and reversely bent upon itself through an angle of such that it is substantially parallel with thefirst leg 44 such thatfree end 50 thereof is spaced above the base wall 38 a defined distance which is substantially equal to the thickness of J-shaped handle portion 52 of theassembly 18.

With reference to FIG. 4 theleg 44 and its parallelresilient flange 48 are oriented at an angle X with respect to the vertical and formed yieldable to be deformed toward the vertical when thehandle portion 52 is seated in themounting strip pocket 47 in a manner to be explained]. In the disclosed form the angle X is of the order of 3. Expressed differently theflange leg 44 is bent towardbase wall 38 at an acute angle with respect to a right angle relative thereto so that theouter shoulder portion 53 thereof projects laterally inwardly a slight distance beyond thefree end 50 of theresilient flange 48.

Thesecond leg 46 is located generally perpendicularly to thebase wall 38 and has inwardly bent or inturnedarm 54 integral with its outer end formed substantially parallel to thebase wall 38 with the inturnedarm 54 having its free edge 56 folded back upon itself so that the edge 56 is spaced from the bottom wall 38 a defined distance forming arecess 58 with the base wall substantially equal in width to the spacing offree end 50 ofresilient flange 44 from thebase wall 38 which in the instant form is between 0.100 and 0.090 inch which is the ap proximate thickness of theback wall 62 of thehandle member 52. Themounting strip member 30 is preferably made of stainless steel stock having a thickness of the order of 0.0 l 8 inch.

As stated theelongated handle member 52 has a substantially .l-shape configuration in cross section and as seen in FIG. 3 includes aback wall 62 with abottom portion 64 joined to the inner edge of theback wall 62 and extends substantially right-angularly therefrom. Afront wall 66 is joined to the outer edge of thebottom portion 64 and rises perpendicularly therefrom so as to be generally parallel to theback wall 62. The lower end of thefront wall 66 is curved toward theback wall 62 providing aradiused area 68 forming smooth surfaces for comfortable gripping of thefront wall 66 by the operators hand at any location provided by the longitudinally extendingspace 70.

As best seen in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, theback wall 62 has a plu rality of vertically spaced lanced projections, one of which is shown at 72, struck therefrom which lie in the plane of theback wall 62 and extend slightly beyond the bottom portion 64 a defined distance which in the instant form is of the order of 0.025 inch. It will be noted in FIG. 7 that therear edge 74 of thelanced projection 72 is chamfered at an angle of approximately 45 for ease of rotatably camming thehandle 52 into theU-shaped pocket 47 of themounting strip 30. Thefront wall 66 and thebottom portion 64 have holes adjacent their upper and lower edges as shown by theholes 73, 75 in FIGS. and 6 for a reason to be explained.

As seen in FIG. 3 theinstant handle member 52 is composed of a vinyl and rolled steel laminate with the outer exposed surface having adecorative vinyl layer 76, such as a woodgrain texture for example, while the inner surface may be provided with ablack vinyl layer 78. Thelayers 76 and 78 preferably cover the entire inner and outer surfaces of thehandle 52 except for theedges 63 and 77 to protect the same against exposure to moisture and thus minimize corrosion of the handle. To further enhance the appearance of thehandle 52 it will be seen in FIG. 5 that the outer edge of thefront wall 66 is formed offset at 80 and is built up by means of an underlyingmetal edge strip 82 and an overlyingvinyl edge strip 84 having rolled edges at 86 to provide a smooth inner surface and an outer raised gripping border that protects the operator from contact with the edges of the metal portion of the handle. Theoffset edge 80 provides a shoulder 81 to prevent the edge strips from being worked loose from the handles.

A pair of decorative upper andlower end caps 88, 90 (FIG. 1) formed from suitable material such as die cast zinc having a bright chromium finish are provided for enclosing the upper and lower ends of the handle walls to complete thehandle member 52. As best seen in FIG. 8 thelower end cap 90 is shown having a .I-shape with achannel 92 formed inface 94 conforming to the cross section ofhandle 52 such that thelower end cap 90 may be readily press fitted on the lower end of the handle. Theupper end cap 88 is a mirror image of the lower end cap and is located on the upper end of the handle walls in the same manner. Theend caps 88, 90 are fixedly secured by means of staking operations wherein metal of the end caps is forced into holes such as theholes 73, 75 for example, whereby the end caps prevent sliding of thehandle 52 relative to themounting strip 30.

When attaching thehandle member 52 including itsend caps 88, 90 to themounting strip 30 provided by the present invention, initially the handle member is installed by inserting thefree edge 63 ofback wall member 62 in therecess 58 as seen in FIG. 9 and rotating thehandle member 52 so that thecharnfered edge 74 of eachprojection 72 is cammed over theresilient flange 48 thereby flexing theflange 48 until thepro jections 74 are moved beyond theedge 50 to assume the position shown in FIG. 3 wherein theflange 48 has snapped back to its prestressed condition so as to provide a tight, locked engagement such that the handle is secured to mountingstrip 30. By virtue of having theleg 44 bent at the acute angle X theshoulder portion 53 is deformed toward the vertical by thebottom portion 64 thereby pressure contacting the bottom portion and spring biasing thefree edge 63 into therecess 58 and againstleg 46 to additionally lock the handle in the mounting strip pocket in a secure, rattle-free manner.

With applicants arrangement the trim type handle members can be mounted adjacent the vertical inner edges of the doors l2 and 14 as a final operation in the assembly of the refrigerator to insure that the decorative finish on the handle walls is not marred or scratched during the fabrication of the cabinet. While thehandle member 52 is firmly affixed in interlocked relationship with themounting strip 30 these components can be disassembled for repair or replacement. To accomplish the detaching operation, a screw driver or the like is inserted in the area between theshoulder portion 53 ofarm 48 and pried against theradiused area 68 to move theedge 50 outwardly to clear each of theprojections 72 so that thehandle 52 may be rotated and withdrawn.

In this regard it will be noticed that the end caps, as shown by end cap in FIG. 8, has itschannel 92 formed withcutout portions 96, 97 and 98. Thecutout portion 96 provides an enlarged space for receiving the lower end ofedge strip 84. Thecutout portion 97 is open at its rearward end and thecutout portion 98 is open at its rearward and outward ends to allowend cap extensions 99 and 100 to partially enclose the lower ends of thearms 44 and 46 and thereby provide a finished appearance of the attachedhandle member 52 in combination with the mountingstrip 30 while still allowing thehandle member 52 to be removed as described. The endmost lancedprojections 72 are spaced from the upper and lower ends of the handle member a distance sufficient to allow the detachment of the handle member without being restricted by theextensions 99 and 100.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is:

l. A door trim handle assembly for domestic applicances comprising, an elongated channel-shaped mounting strip and a coextensive handle member, said mounting strip having a platelike base wall and first and second opposed legs extending forwardly from each side of said base wall forming a pocket therebetween, said first leg having-a resilient flange formed on its end being reversely bent inwardly and rearwardly so as to be substantially parallel with said first leg, said resilient flange free end being spaced from said base wall a defined distance, said first leg forming an angle slightly less than ninety degrees with said base wall whereby the forward portion of said resilient flange provides an inwardly facing shoulder extending laterally inwardly beyond the free end of said resilient flange, said second leg located generally perpendicularly to said base wall and including an intumed arm formed on its forward end and being substantially parallel to said base wall to form a recess with said base wall, said intumed arm having its free end folded back upon itself and spaced above said base wall by a distance substantially equal to said defined distance, said handle member having a generally J-shaped configuration comprising a back wall for interlocked engagement with said mounting strip, a bottom wall joined to one edge of said back wall and extending sub stantially right angularly thereto, and a front wall joined to the front edge of said bottom wall and extending generally parallel to said back wall, said back wall having a thickness substantially equal to said defined distance and being spaced from said front wall by a distance sufficient for an operators fingers to be received therebetween, the said one edge of said back wall having a plurality of lanced projections lying in the plane of said back wall and extending slightly beyond the surface of said bottom wall, said handle member being disposed between said opposed legs and locked in said pocket by means of the free edge of said back wall fitting into said recess, said lanced projections being sprung into the space of said defined distance between said resilient flange free end and said base wall by being cammed over the extension of said first leg shoulder, said resilient flange having sufficient flexure whereby said first leg shoulder presses against said handle bottom wall forwardly of the lanced projections of said back wall to spring biasingly lock said handle member within said mounting strip pocket.

2. The door trim handle assembly as defined in claim I wherein said handle member includes a pair of J-shaped end caps provided for attachment to the ends of said handle member walls, each of said end caps positioned for positive engagement with the adjacent ends of said mounting strip and said handle member walls whereby said handle member is retained against endwise sliding movement relative to said mounting strip.

3. In combination, walls forming a refrigerator cabinet having an opening therein, and a pair of doors arranged side-byside and adapted to close said opening, said doors having respective elongated edge surfaces disposed adjacent each other when said doors close said opening, each said door including an outer panel member forming an outer face thereof, an improved trim handle assembly on each of said doors adjacent said edge surfaces and substantially coextensive therewith, each said trim handle assembly comprising, an elongated channel-shaped mounting strip and a handle member, said mounting strip having a plate-like base wall and first and second opposed legs extending forwardly from each side of said base wall forming a U-shaped pocket therebetween, means for securing said base wall to the outer face of its associated door adjacent its elongated edge, said first leg having a resilient flange formed on its end being reversely bent inwardly and rearwardly so as to be substantially parallel with said first leg, said resilient flange free end being spaced from said base wall a defined distance, said first leg forming an acute angle of the order of eighty seven degrees with said base wall whereby the forward portion of said resilient flange provides an inwardly facing shoulder extending laterally inwardly beyond the free end of said resilient flange, said second leg located substantially ninety degrees to said base wall and including an inturned arm formed on its outward end and being substantially parallel to said base wall to form a recess with said base wall, said inturned arm having its free end folded back upon itself and spaced above said base wall by a distance substantially equal to said defined distance, said handle member including an elongated J-shaped trim portion of uniform section and a pair of upper and lower end caps, said elongated trim portion being substantially coextensive with said mounting strip and having a back wall for interlocked engagement with said mounting strip, a bottom wall joined to one edge of said back wall and extending substantially right angularly thereto, and a front wall joined to the front edge of said bottom wall and extending generally parallel to said back wall, said back wall having a thickness substantially equal to said defined distance and being spaced from said front wall by a distance sufficient for an operator's fingers to be received therebetween, the said one edge of said back wall having a plurality of lanced projections lying in the plane of said back wall and extending slightly beyond the surface of said bottom wall, said handle member being disposed between said opposed legs and locked in said pocket by means of the free edge of said back wall fitting into said recess, said lanced projections being sprung into the space of said defined distance between said resilient flange free end and said base wall by being cammed over the extension of said first leg shoulder, said resilient flange having sufficient flexure whereby said first leg shoulder presses against said handle bottorn wall forwardly of said back wall. lanced projections to spring biasingly lock said handle member within said mounting strip U-shaped pocket, each of said upper and lower end caps having a J-shaped configuration formed with a channel therein conforming with the cross section of said elongated J- shaped trim portion and said mounting strip, the ends of said elongated J-shaped trim portion walls and the ends of said mounting strip being received in said end cap channels, and means for fixedly securing said end caps to said elongated trim portion whereby said handle member is retained against endwise sliding movement relative to said mounting strip.

Claims (3)

1. A door trim handle assembly for domestic applicances comprising, an elongated channel-shaped mounting strip and a coextensive handle member, said mounting strip having a platelike base wall and first and second opposed legs extending forwardly from each side of said base wall forming a pocket therebetween, said first leg having a resilient flange formed on its end being reversely bent inwardly and rearwardly so as to be substantially parallel with said first leg, said resilient flange free end being spaced from said base wall a defined distance, said first leg forming an angle slightly less than ninety degrees with said base wall wheReby the forward portion of said resilient flange provides an inwardly facing shoulder extending laterally inwardly beyond the free end of said resilient flange, said second leg located generally perpendicularly to said base wall and including an inturned arm formed on its forward end and being substantially parallel to said base wall to form a recess with said base wall, said inturned arm having its free end folded back upon itself and spaced above said base wall by a distance substantially equal to said defined distance, said handle member having a generally Jshaped configuration comprising a back wall for interlocked engagement with said mounting strip, a bottom wall joined to one edge of said back wall and extending substantially right angularly thereto, and a front wall joined to the front edge of said bottom wall and extending generally parallel to said back wall, said back wall having a thickness substantially equal to said defined distance and being spaced from said front wall by a distance sufficient for an operator''s fingers to be received therebetween, the said one edge of said back wall having a plurality of lanced projections lying in the plane of said back wall and extending slightly beyond the surface of said bottom wall, said handle member being disposed between said opposed legs and locked in said pocket by means of the free edge of said back wall fitting into said recess, said lanced projections being sprung into the space of said defined distance between said resilient flange free end and said base wall by being cammed over the extension of said first leg shoulder, said resilient flange having sufficient flexure whereby said first leg shoulder presses against said handle bottom wall forwardly of the lanced projections of said back wall to spring biasingly lock said handle member within said mounting strip pocket.

2. The door trim handle assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said handle member includes a pair of J-shaped end caps provided for attachment to the ends of said handle member walls, each of said end caps positioned for positive engagement with the adjacent ends of said mounting strip and said handle member walls whereby said handle member is retained against endwise sliding movement relative to said mounting strip.

3. In combination, walls forming a refrigerator cabinet having an opening therein, and a pair of doors arranged side-by-side and adapted to close said opening, said doors having respective elongated edge surfaces disposed adjacent each other when said doors close said opening, each said door including an outer panel member forming an outer face thereof, an improved trim handle assembly on each of said doors adjacent said edge surfaces and substantially coextensive therewith, each said trim handle assembly comprising, an elongated channel-shaped mounting strip and a handle member, said mounting strip having a plate-like base wall and first and second opposed legs extending forwardly from each side of said base wall forming a U-shaped pocket therebetween, means for securing said base wall to the outer face of its associated door adjacent its elongated edge, said first leg having a resilient flange formed on its end being reversely bent inwardly and rearwardly so as to be substantially parallel with said first leg, said resilient flange free end being spaced from said base wall a defined distance, said first leg forming an acute angle of the order of eighty seven degrees with said base wall whereby the forward portion of said resilient flange provides an inwardly facing shoulder extending laterally inwardly beyond the free end of said resilient flange, said second leg located substantially ninety degrees to said base wall and including an inturned arm formed on its outward end and being substantially parallel to said base wall to form a recess with said base wall, said inturned arm having its free end folded back upon itself and spaced above said base wall by a distance substantially equal to said defined distance, said haNdle member including an elongated J-shaped trim portion of uniform section and a pair of upper and lower end caps, said elongated trim portion being substantially coextensive with said mounting strip and having a back wall for interlocked engagement with said mounting strip, a bottom wall joined to one edge of said back wall and extending substantially right angularly thereto, and a front wall joined to the front edge of said bottom wall and extending generally parallel to said back wall, said back wall having a thickness substantially equal to said defined distance and being spaced from said front wall by a distance sufficient for an operator''s fingers to be received therebetween, the said one edge of said back wall having a plurality of lanced projections lying in the plane of said back wall and extending slightly beyond the surface of said bottom wall, said handle member being disposed between said opposed legs and locked in said pocket by means of the free edge of said back wall fitting into said recess, said lanced projections being sprung into the space of said defined distance between said resilient flange free end and said base wall by being cammed over the extension of said first leg shoulder, said resilient flange having sufficient flexure whereby said first leg shoulder presses against said handle bottom wall forwardly of said back wall lanced projections to spring biasingly lock said handle member within said mounting strip U-shaped pocket, each of said upper and lower end caps having a J-shaped configuration formed with a channel therein conforming with the cross section of said elongated J-shaped trim portion and said mounting strip, the ends of said elongated J-shaped trim portion walls and the ends of said mounting strip being received in said end cap channels, and means for fixedly securing said end caps to said elongated trim portion whereby said handle member is retained against endwise sliding movement relative to said mounting strip.

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