US2325263A - Sliding door construction for display cabinets - Google Patents

Description

July 27, 1943- w. B. McMlLLAN 2,325,263

SLIDING DOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR DISPLAY CABINETS Filed Dec. 14, 194C 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 u) I; \\\\\\\I\\ A 2 x7 i l ,2g 3 l l l Vn-wwe.

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July 27, 1943. w. B. MCMILLAN SLIDING DOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR DISPLAY CABINETS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.

Patented July 27, 1943 SLIDING DOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR DISPLAY CABINETS William B. McMillan, Clayton, Mo., assignor to Hussman-Ligonier Company, St, Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application December 14, 1940, Serial No. 370,118

4 Claims.

This invention relates to display cabinets, and more particularly to sliding door or closure constructions for refrigerators of the show case type. The principal object of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive sliding door construction for a show case refrigerator which will permit the doors to be easily operated and readily taken out in substantially any position of their sliding movement,which will reduce to a minimum leakage of air around the doors and which will provide a straight line movement of the doors and prevent rattling thereof. The invention consists in the sliding show case refrigerator door construction and in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and wherein like sym- `bols refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of a refrigerator show case provided with a sliding door construction embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary rear elevation of said case in the region of the sliding doors,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical transverse section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal longitudinal section on the line 4 1 in Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 5-5 in Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical transverse section on the line 6-6 in Fig. 2,

Figs. 7 and 8 are views similar to Fig. 6, showing the manner in which the doors are removed,

Fig. 9 is a front view of one of the door retaining bolts,

Fig. 10 is a side View of said bolt,

Fig. 11 is a rear view of said bolt; and

Figs. 12 and 13 are top and bottom plan views of the respective upper and lower corner portions of one of the doors.

In the accompanying drawings, my sliding door construction is illustrated as a closure for a rectangular opening I in the inclined upper portion of the rear wall 2 of a refrigerator show case. Said closure construction comprises inner and outer pass- type doors 3 and 4, respectively, mounted for independent horizontal sliding movement in the opening I in the inclined upper portion 2 of the rear wall of the refrigerator show case, the adjacent vertical meeting rails of said doors overlapping in the fully closed position thereof.

Each of the doors preferably comprises a frame (Cl. 2li-52.2)

5 of molded plastic or other material with two or more spaced parallel panes 6 therein. Tc facilitate opening and closing the doors, the frames 5 thereof have finger pockets or grooves 1 in the outer faces of their end rails. The outei door 4 has a stop block or bumper II` secured by screws 9 to the inner face thereof to prevent the opened inner door 3 from being brought into complete register with said outer door and thus rendering both finger pockets of said inner door inaccessible. In closed position, the remote ends of the doors abut against rubber bumper strips or gaskets III secured to the end walls of the rectangular opening I by screws Illa, while the adjacent end or meeting rails of said door are disposed in lapped relation.

Secured to the bottom wall of the rectangular opening I by means of screws II is a sill strip I2 of molded plastic or other suitable material. This sill strip extends the full length of the opening I and has two spaced parallel upstanding guide rails or ribs I3 that extend longitudinally of said strip from end to end thereof and fit loosely in longitudinal grooves Il in the bottoms of the respective doors to serve as guides therefor. The sill strip I2 also has a depending outer marginal ange I2a that overhangs the rear wall 2 of the refrigerator show case below the opening I therein. Secured by screws I5a in the angle formed by the bottom and outer side wall of the longitudinal groove I4 in the bottom of each door are two metal angle shaped wear or slide plates I5 located one near each end of said groove. One flange of each slide plate I5 seats on the top of a guide rib I3 and the other flange slidably engages the outer side face of said rib, thus limiting the area of surface contact between the door and sill members to the contacting portions of the slide plate and said guide rib.

Secured to the underside of the top wall of the opening I by means of screws I6 is a head strip I1 also of molded plastic or other suitable material. The head strip I1 extends the full length of the opening I and has two spaced parallel duplicate guide ribs or rails I8 on the underside thereof that extend longitudinally of said strip from end to end thereof and loosely engage longitudinal grooves I9 provided therefor in the upper edges of the respective doors. The groove I9 in the top of each sliding door is considerably wider and deeper than the rib I8 cooperating therewith and has a relatively shallow outer side wall 20 and a relatively deep inner side wall 2|; and the underside of the head strip I6 has a longitudinal groove 22 therein midway of the two guide ribs I8 thereon. the outer longitudinal portion 22a of said groove being deeper than the remaining portion thereof. In the operative position' of each door, the shallow outer side wall of the longitudinal groove I9 in the top edge thereof overlaps the outer side of the guide rib I8 therefor, while the deep inner side wall 2| of said groove extends into the shallow portion of the groove 22 in the head strip I6.

At each end of each door, a distance lug 23 is formed in the groove I9 thereof in the angleV formed by the bottom of said groove and the outer side wall 20 thereof. In the operative position of each door, the lugs 23 are disposed beneath but clear of the underside of the guide rail I8-therefor. The top groove I9 of each door also has lugs 2l at the ends thereof in the angle formed by the bottom and inner side wall 2I of said groove, these lugs being of slightly less height than the distance lug 23. Located in the angle formed by the distance lug 23 of each door and the outer wall 29 of the groove I9 in the top thereof is a metal angle shaped wear or slide plate 25 having its bottom flange secured by means of a screw 23 flush with the top of said lug and its upstanding flange seated against the inner face of said wall and adapted to slidably engage the outer side face of the outermost guide rib. These metal angle plates serve as wear plates and reduce the area of sliding contact between the top of the door and the head rail to the portions of said plates that engage the outer side face of the outermost guide rib I8. Located in the underside of the head strip I8 between the inner side edge thereof and the inner side face of the innermost guide rib I8 is a longitudinal groove 22h. The longitudinal groove 22b is similar to and is located in the plane of the deep portion 22a of the groove 22 located between the two guide ribs I8,

Slidably mounted in a rectangular opening 21 that extends through the bottom of the longitudinal groove I9 in the top of each of the sliding doors 3 and I near each end thereof is a spring bolt or catch 28 in the form of a rectangular slide block of molded plastic or other suitable substance. The rectangular opening 21 has one corner located in the angle formed by the inner end of the lug 24 and the inner side wall 2I of the groove I9; that is, said opening has its rear edge disposed in flush alinement with the inner surface of said inner side Wall and its outer side edge disposed in ilush alinement with the inner end face of said lug. The opening 21 opens downwardly through the bottom of the groove I9 into an outwardly opening recess or pocket 29, which is formed in the outer edge of the adjacent end rail of the door frame and has a stop lug 30 therein that projects laterally from the wall at the rear side of said frame and terminates short of the front wall thereof. The bolt 28 has a central hole or bore 3l therein that extends upwardly from the lower end thereof and in which is ilxed a centrally disp/osed guide rod 32 for a coil compression spring 33. 'I'he spring 33 is sleeved om. the guide rod or stem 32 and has a lose fit in the bore 3| in which said stem is secured. The lower end of the bolt projecting spring 33 seats on the stop lug 39 in the recess 29; and the upper end of said spring seats against the upper or inner end of the downwardly opening blind bore 3| in the bolt which is projected upwardly by said spring. The guide rod 32 extends downwardly below the mouth of the bore 3I provided 75 therefor in the bolt 28 through an opening 34 in the stop lug 30.

The spring projected bolt 28 is retracted, that is pulled downwardly against the compression of 5 its supporting spring 33 into abutting relation -to the stop flange 30, by means of a knob or button 35 having a stem 35a that is threaded horizontally into the outer side edge of said bolt below the top wall of the recess 29. This knob is adapted to abut against the top wall of the recess 29 when said button is released and thus limit the upward sliding movement of said bolt. The slide bolt or block 28 is rabbeted, as at 35, along its front upper corner to provide a narrow upper end portion 28a at the back thereof; and the outer side edge of said bolt has a depending skirt or tail portion 31 that is slidable in a space provided therefor between a suitable closure plate 38 for the recess or pocket 29 in the end of the 2o door frame and the opposing outer side edge of the stop lug 39 of said recess. As shown in the drawings, the knob 35 is located outside of the cover plate 38 and the stem of said knob extends through an opening 38a in said plate, which 25 opening is elongated to permit the desired sliding movement of the spring projected bolt 28 that is depressed or retracted by a downward pull on said knob.

In the projected position of the retaining bolts 30 or plungers 28 for the outer door, the narrow upper end 28a of each bolt is flush with the top edge of the deep inner side wall 2| of the longitudinal groove I9 in the top of said door and extends into the groove 22 in the head rail I9 35 immediately beneath but clear of the deep portion 22a of said groove and in close proximity to the front side wall thereof, while the bottom of the rabbet 36 that forms said narrow upper end of said bolt is disposed below but clear of the bot- 40 tom of said head strip between the groove 22 and the outermost guide rib I8 thereof, and the front face of said bolt below said rabbet is disposed adjacent to and slightly spaced from the inner side face of said rib. In the projected position of the retaining bolts 28 for the inner door 3, the narrow upper end 28a of each bolt is disposed flush with the top edge of the deep rear wall 2I of the groove I9 in the top of said door immediately below the groove 22h in the head strip I6 and opposite to but slightly clear of the extended inner or front side wall of said last mentioned groove; and the bottom of the rabbet 38 in the front upper corner of said bolt is disposed below but clear of the bottom of said head strip between the groove 22h and the innermost guide rib I8, while the front face of said bolt just below said rabbet is disposed opposite to but spaced slightly from said inner side face of said guide rib.

By the arrangement described, each door has a sliding rib and groove connection with the sill strip I2 and the head strip I6 and sliding contact between the door and said stripsis limited to the area of the portions of the metal wear strips I5 and 25 in engagement with the guide ribs I3 and I8 of the respective sill and head strips due to the upward and inward inclination of the door and the clearance space provided between said door and said sill and head strips. The narrow upper portions 28a of the spring bolts 28 serve as filler or spacing elements to prevent excessive side play or rattle o1' the doors in the head strip. while the strips themselves prevent excessive up and down movement or play of the doors therebetween.

When it is desired to remove the doors from the rectangular opening closed thereby, each door is partly opened so that access may be had to the knobs 35 at both ends of the door and these knobs are then pressed downwardly against the pressure of the bolt projecting springs 33 until the bolts 28 seat on the stop lugs 30 in the recesses 29. In this retracted position of the door retaining bolts the narrow upper ends 28a thereof are brought below the top of the deep inner side wall 2| of the groove I9 in the top of the door ush with the tops of the lugs 24 therein, that is below the level of the bottom portion of the head strip IB between the outer guide rib I8 and the groove 22 when the outer door is to be removed, or below the level of the bottom of said strip between the inner guide rib and the groove 22h if the inner door is to be removed. The upper portion of the door is then pulled forward to bring the deep inner side wall 2| of the groove I9 in the top of the door in edgewise alinement with the deep portion 22a of the groove 22 in the underside of the head strip I1. The door is then forced upwardly until the stop lug 23 abuts against the underside of the head strip I1 outwardly of the adjacent guide rib I8, in which position the deep inner side wall 2I of the groove I9 is disposed within the deep portion 22a of the groove 22 if the outer door is being removed orwithin the groove 22b in said head strip if the inner door is being removed in the head strip. In this position of the door, the lower edge thereof is located above the plane of the top-of the guide rib I3 of the sill strip I2, thereby permitting said edge to be pulled outwardly7 clear of the outer edge of said sill strip. The door is then removed by pulling the same downwardly to bringthehighest portion thereof, that is the top edge of the high side wall 2| of the top groove I9 therein, below the plane of the guide ribs I8 of the head strip I6 and then withdrawing the upper portion of the door from said opening. As shown in Figs. '7 and 8 of the drawings, when the upper portion of a door is pulled forward and then forced upwardly into the grooves 22a or 22h of the head strip I1, the stop lugs 23 in the groove I9 abut against the underside of the guide rib I8 of the head strip I1 and space the upper edges of the side walls 20 and 2l of the groove I9, the tops of the lugs 24 and the upper ends of the retracted bolts I8 and the bottoms of the rabbets 36 clear of the underside of said strip; and these clearance spaces, together with the side clearance spaces between the relatively deep side walls 2l of the groove I9 and the grooves 22a or 22h and between the front faces of the lugs 24 and the front faces of the narrow upper end s of the retracted bolt and the inner faces of said guide ribs are sufdcient to permit the upper portion of said door to be tilted in said head strip far enough to bring the lower portion of said door clear of the sill strip.

The hereinbefore described sliding door construction has several important advantages. It permits the doors/to be quickly and easily mounted in and removed from the door opening in substantially any position of their sliding movement; it permits easy operation of the doors; and it also prevents binding of the doors without excessive side play thereof and reduces to a minimum leakage of air around the doors.

The invention is applicable to display cabinets having one or more sliding doors and is not limited to the precise shapes and arrangements of parts shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. A sliding door construction fora display cabinet comprising a Wall having a door opening therein, a head strip secured in said opening along the upper edge thereof, a sill strip secured in said opening along the lower edge thereof, said door having longitudinal grooves along the upper and lower edges thereof, said sill strip having a guide rib along the top thereof cooperating with the groove along the lower edge of said door, said head strip having a guide rib along the underside thereof cooperating with the groove along the upper edge of said door, said last mentioned rib and groove having suiiicient clearance therebetween to permit the upper edge of said door to be moved outwardly in said opening a limited distance and then upwardly to lift the groove in the lower edge of said door clear of the guide rib of said sill strip, and a downwardly retractable plunger mounted in said door and cooperating with said head strip to prevent such outward movement of said door in said opening said plunger being disposed with its lower e..d portion in a recess providedtherefor in one end of said door and with its upper portion disposed in the groove in the upper edge of Said dOOI, a COVer plate for said recess, said recess having a lug projecting from one wall thereof for limiting the downward movement of said plunger, a spring interposed between said plunger and said lug for projecting said plunger upwardly, and a retracting knob for said plunger located exteriorly of said end of said door and having a stem portion extending through a' slot provided therefor in said cover plate and secured to said plunger.

2. A sliding door construction for -a display cabinet comprising a wall having a door opening therein, a head strip secured in said opening along the upper edge thereof, a sill strip secured in said opening along the lower edge thereof, a door mounted in said opening, said door having longitudinal grooves along the upper and lower edges thereof, said sill strip having a guide rib along the top thereof cooperating with the groove along the lower edge of said door, said head strip having a guide rib along the underside thereof cooperating with the groove along the upper edge of said door, said head strip having a groove o f uniform width along the underside thereof inwardly of the guide rib thereon, sufficient side clearance being provided between the outer side wall of the head strip groove and the inner side wall of the upper groove of said door to permit the upper edge of said door to be pulled outwardly far enough to bring the inner side wall of the upper groove of said door in line with the groove in the underside of said head strip in substantially any position of the sliding movement of said door, in which position of the door the same may be raised and said inner side wall entered into the groove in said head strip far enough to raise the groove in the lower edge of said door clear of the guide rib on said sill strip, and a retractable plunger mounted in the groove in the upper edge of said door and cooperating with the groove infthe underside of said head strip to prevent such outward movement of said upper edge of said door in any position of the sliding movement thereof, said plunger being retractable in substantially any position of the sliding movement of said door.

3. A sliding door construction for a display` cabinet comprising a 'wall having a door opening therein, a head strip secured in said opening along the upper edge thereof, a sill strip secured in said opening along the lower edge thereof, a door mounted in said opening between said head and sill strips, longitudinal sliding rib-andgroove connections between the lower edge of said door and said sill strip and between the upper edge of said door and said head strip, said last mentioned connection comprising a longitudinal rib on the underside of said head strip, a longitudinal groove of uniform width on the underside oi' said head strip inwardly of said rib having a relatively deep outer side portion and a relatively shallow inner side portion, and a longitudinal groove in the top of said door having a relatively low outer side wall overlapping the outer side of said rib and a relatively high inner side wall extendinginto the inner side portion of the head strip groove, and a downwardly retractible plunger mounted in the door groove and extending upwardly into said head strip groove between the outer side thereof and the inner wall of said door groove, thereby preventing outward movement of the top of said door relative to said head strip in any position of the sliding movement of said door, said retractible plunger being disengageable from said head strip groove in substantially any position of the sliding movement of said door, thereby permitting the top of said door to be moved outwardly in said opening and thence upwardly relatively to said head strip to disengage the sliding rib-and-groove connec-A tion between the lower edge of said door and said sill strip.

4. A sliding door construction for a display cabinet comprising a wall having a door opening therein, a head strip secured in said opening along the upper edge thereof, a sill strip secured in said opening along the lower edge thereof, a door mounted in said opening between said head and sill strips, longitudinal sliding rib-and- :roove connections between the lower edge of said door and said sill strip and between the upper edge of said door and said head strip, said last mentioned connection comprising a longitudinal rib on the underside of said head strip, a

l longitudinal groove of uniform width on the underside of said head strip inwardly of said rib having a relatively deep outer side portion, and a relatively shallow inner side portion, and a longitudinal groove in the top of said door having a relatively low outer side wall overlapping the outer side of said rib and a relatively high inner side wall extending into the inner side portion of the head strip groove, the door groove having distance lugs in the bottom thereof disposed in abutting relation to the underside of said rib, and a downwardly retractible springpressed slide block mounted in the door groove between and in abutting relation to the inner wall thereof and the inner side of said rib and having a horizontal shoulder in abutting relation to the underside of said head strip between said rib and said head strip groove and a narrow upper end portion extending upwardly into said head strip groove between and in abutting relaiton to said inner side wall of said door groove and the outer side of said head strip groove, whereby outward or upward movement of the top of said door relative to said head strip is prevented in any position of the sliding movement of said door, said block being retractible in substantially any position of the sliding movement of said door to disengage the narrow upper portion of said block from said head strip groove and to bring said horizontal shoulder of said block below the level of said head strip rib, thereby permitting the top of said door to be moved outwardly in said opening and thence upwardly relatively to said head strip to disengage the sliding rib-and-groove connection between the lower edge of said door and said sill strip.

WILLIAM B. McMILLAN.

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