US3509592A - Plastic extrusion - Google Patents

Description

May 5, .1970 R. L. scHRocK PLASTIC EXTRUSION Filed July 17 1967 INVENTOR Rg HARD L. S CHROCK AZ TY.

UnitedStatesPatent Office 3,509,592 Patented May 5, 1 9701 PLASTIC EXTRUSION Richard L. Schrock, Marietta, Ohio, assignor to The B. F.

Goodrich Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 17, 1967, Ser. No. 653,998 Int. Cl. A47b 95/02 U.S. Cl. 16-110 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A one-piece plastic extrusion for use as a combined handle and stop for a cabinet door, the extrusion having portions of different stiffness including a rigid combined handle and channel portion, for engagement over the edge of a sliding glass door, a rigid latch portion for limiting the movement of the door and a flexible plastic hinge portion interconnecting the said rigid portions with stop portions of rigid plastic extending from the channel portion for limiting movement of the latch relativeto the channel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The grip or handle for opening slidingcabinet doors, such as glass doors on frozen food display cabinets, has heretofore been combined with the frame for the sliding door and with a hinged stop for limiting the sliding movement of the door and effecting a seal between the cabinet and door when the latter is closed. A plastic extrusion of one-piece construction having portions of plastic with compositions having different stiffness, for the same structural dimensions, provides a convenient means of combining the desired features of grip, frame, stop and seal especially in cabinet constructions whereinthe sliding tion or separation thereof from the latch portion or from it the main body of the extrusion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a unique solution to the i above mentioned problem by incorporating, in a one-piece plastic extrusion which serves as a combination frame, dust seal, grip and stop for a sliding door on a cabinet, an abutment portion for the stop preventing excessive stresses in the hinge portion upon contact of the stop with the edge of the cabinet opening. The stop and abutment portions, nevertheless, are so designed that the stop can be moved to a position for passing over the edge of the cabinet without making contact therewith when it is desired to remove the sliding cabinet door from its tracks. At that time the stop portion is moved, by deforming the flexible plastic hinge portion, to a position parallel to the interior surface of the door and with no part of the stop contacting the edge of the cabinet as the door frame is moved over the edge of the cabinet and the door is thus removed from its tracks. The invention thus provides a novel one-piece plastic frame, seal and stop for a sliding cabinet door having a depressible rigid stop flexibly hinged for removing the door from its tracks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a cabinet of the type used for frozen food display equipped with a sliding glass 4 Claims door and having anextrusionincorporating the invention installed along the lower edge of the movable glass door;

FIG. 2 is a enlarged sectional view taken along the section indicating line 2-2 in FIG. 1 and showing the movable glass door in full lines in the closed positions and in dot-dash lines in the open position; and

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the position of the parts when the flexible hinge and stop are in the position for removing the glass door from its sliding tracks.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1, a freezer cabinet 10 is shown having inclined glass front cover doors 11, at least the lower section of which is obliquely slidable vertically along the incline to provide accessto theinterior of the cabinet. The

lower edge of the said slidable door has the extrusionw20 installed as a frame over the lower horizontal edge of the glass door. FIG. 2 shows the details of the manner in which the extrusion 20 is mounted on the glass portion of door 11 and now it closes in contact with the edge 21 of the freezer cabinet opening.

Theextrusion 20 is composed of a U-shaped channel portion having opposite parallel sides 20a and a closed: base portion 20b which are adapted to slip fit over the;

edge of the glass door 11. The sides 20a and baseportion 20b of the extrusion are formed of rigid plastic and,

in the preferred form has a plurality of flexible gripping fins 200 formed integrally longitudinally on each of the two adjacent interior surfaces of the channel sides 20a extending obliquelytherefromfor providing retentionand gripping force when the extrusion is assembled onto the glass. Deflection of the fins 20c causes them to exert a, frictional force on the surface of the glass which resists withdrawal of theglass from the channel, The fins-2ilcu are made of a plastic composition more flexible than the material of the base 20a.

A grip or handle portion 20d, formed of plastic composition of the same rigidity as that of the base 20b, has:

one edge formed longitudinally integral with the side, of

the channel exteriorly to the glass door. The grip; or,

handle portion :extends outwardly from the surface of the outer side 20a, and is preferably formed as a continuation of the closed base portion 20b of the channel extending therefrom in generally perpendicular relationship to the exterior surface of the exterior channel side 2011; In the preferred form shown in FIG. 2, the grip 20d has an inverted L-shaped cross section with the outer portion thereof extending in spaced parallel relation to the side 6 20a of the channel.

A hinge portion 202, formed of plastic material of greater flexibility than the channel portion, has one edge longitudinally integrally united with the outer surface of the side 20a, in a direction toward the open end of the channel 20. A stop portion 20 of rigid plastic material of the same stiffness as the channel 20, having an elongated cross section and two opposite flat surfaces is formed with one of the flat surfaces integrally connected intermediate the edges thereof with the free edge of the hinge 20c. In the presently preferred form of the invention, the stop portion 20 which serves the dual function of a stop and seal, has the two opposite flat surfaces substantially parallel and has its upper edge 20 adjacent the base provided witha longitudinally extending ridge or lip convexly arcuate in cross section. A lug 20g of the same rigid plastic as the channel 20 is formed longitudinally integrally with the side 20a of the channel along the interior of the channel and extends therefrom in the vicinity of the juncture of the channel side 20a and the hinge 20a for positively engaging the lip 20 on the upper edge of the stop 20 The lower or outer part of the stop portion 20jis adapted to normally extend at subantially right angles relative to the channel side when lgaged with the edge surface 21b of the freezer cabinet hen the moving door 11 is in its closed position coopering therewith to form both a stop for the door and a a1 between the latter and the cabinet.

An abutment 20h, formed of rigid plastic, preferably Y the same stiffness as the channel 20, is integrally united ngitudinally along the free edge of the same side 20a the channel as the hinge 20e and extends outwardly .erefrom at substantially a right angle for limiting )unterclockwise movement of the stop portion 20 as ewed in FIG. 2. Preferably, the abutment 20h has an .verted L-shaped cross section with an integral longildinal rib of the same stiff plastic extending from the free lge thereof in spaced parallel relationship with the side E the channel 20a, and in a direction toward the stop )1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the dot-dash outline illustrates the referred form of the invention in its free position with re glass door of the cabinet partially open. As so shown, 1e stop portion 201 extends generally vertically downardly with the lower part in position to engage the edge lb of the opening in the cabinet frame 21. As the glass oor slides toward the edge 21b of the cabinet 10, the spending part of the portion 20 first makes contact with re interior edge 21b of the cabinet opening causing the lid portion 20] to move into engagement with the abutlent 2011 by deforming the flexible hinge portion 20s. t small additional movement of the door in the closing irection causes the portion 20 to rotate until the lip 0f thereon engages the lug 20g on the channel and the ortion 20 is constrained from further movement relave to the channel 20. Hence, a seal is provided between 1e cabinet and the door as well as a positive stop for re glass door .11. The abutment 2011 not only adds to 1e rigidity of the stop but also prevents the development f excessive stresses in the hinge 20e when the door is apidly moved to closed position.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the extrusion 20 is shown with the stop portion 20 in depressed position for passig over the edge 21 of the cabinet opening without any ngagement therewith. This is achieved by placing the abinet door in the open position and then manually isplacing and rotating the portion 20 in a direction way from the abutment 20h until the hinge 206 has eformed sufficiently to allow the portion 20f to have a osition parallel to the door 11. The hinge 20e is deormed sufliciently to permit spacing the portion 20 close nough to the channel side 20a to allow passage over the dge 21 of the cabinet. The door may then be readily emoved from and reinstalled in its sliding tracks.

Although only the presently preferred embodiment of he invention has been above described, modifications and .daptations will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A one-piece extrusion of plastic material having porions of diiferent stiffness for samples thereof of like limensions comprising:

'(a) a channel portion of rigid plastic having a generally U-shaped cross section adapted to engage in sealing relationship over the edge of a panel with one side of said channel lying along the interior surface of the 4 panel and the other side lying along the exterior side of the panel;

(b) a grip portion of rigid plastic material of the same stiffness as said channel portion having one edge thereof formed longitudinally integrally along and extending outwardly from the sides of said channel lying along the surfaces of the panel;

(c) an abutment portion of rigid plastic of the same stiffness as said channel having one edge thereof formed longitudinally along the free edge of the side of said channel lying along the interior of the said panel and extending therefrom with its outer edge spaced from the panel;

((1) a hinge portion elongated in cross section of plastic material of lesser stiffness than said channel having one edge formed longitudinally integral with the exposed surface of the side of said channel on the interior of said panel with the said hinge portion extending obliquely therefrom;

(e) a stop portion of rigid plastic material of the same stiffness as said channel having an elongated cross section with two opposite faces one of which is integrally united intermediate its longitudinal edges to the other edge of said hinge for flexibly connecting said portion to said channel; and,

(f) a lug portion of the same plastic material as said channel extending therefrom in longitudinally spaced parallel relationship between said hinge and the adjacent edge of said stop portion, the said lug and said abutment cooperating with said stop portion for limiting movement of the latter away from said channel to a position in which the said stop is at substantially right angles to the side of said channel to thereby provide a positive stop for sliding movement of the panel.

2. The extrusion as defined in claim 1 wherein said abutment portion has a lip extending from the longitudinal free edge thereof and toward said stop in spaced parallel relationship with said channel.

3. The extrusion as defined in claim 1, wherein said hinge is sufiiciently deformable to permit movement of said stop away from said abutment and into a generally parallel relationship to said channel.

4. The extrusion defined in claim 1 wherein the upper end of said stop portion has a longitudinally extending lip convexly arcuate in cross section and said lug has the surface adjacent said stop provided with a longitudinally extending recess generally concave in cross section and positioned for reception of said ridge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1967 Cooke et a1 16-82 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary 'Examiner D. L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.=R.

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