Claims
- 1. A refrigerator door assembly comprising a cabinet frame for mounting in an opening of a refrigerator cabinet, an insulated glass door mounted for movement relative to said cabinet frame, said glass door comprising an insulated glass unit having a plurality of glass panes disposed in side-by-side relation and including a forward pane and a pane disposed rearwardly of said forward pane, a spacer interposed between at least some of said panes for maintaining said panes in parallel relation with an air space therebetween, an outer door support frame about the periphery of said glass unit for supporting the weight of said glass unit, said forward glass pane being larger in size than said rearwardly disposed pane and extending outwardly substantially to the outer perimeter of said door, said support frame having at least a portion being disposed rearwardly of said forward glass pane and being without any portion extending in overlapping relation to a front side of said forward glass pane, and masking means on said forward glass pane about the periphery thereof for preventing viewing of said spacer through said forward glass pane from a front side thereof while permitting unobstructed viewing of the interior of the refrigerator cabinet within which said door is mounted.
- 2. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 1 including sealant means associated with said glass panes and spacer for sealing said air space, and said masking means prevents viewing of said sealant means through said forward glass pane from a front side thereof.
- 3. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 1 including adhesive means between the said door support frame and an outer peripheral portion of said glass unit for securing said glass unit within said door support frame, and said masking means prevents viewing of said adhesive means through said forward glass pane from a front side thereof.
- 4. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 3 in which said adhesive is polysulfide.
- 5. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 1 including an intermediate pane disposed between said forward and rearwardly disposed panes, and said outer door support frame is disposed outwardly of the peripheral edges of said intermediate and rearwardly disposed panes.
- 6. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 1 in which said masking means is a silk screen coating affixed to an outer peripheral portion of said forward glass pane.
- 7. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 6 in which said silk screen is affixed to a rear face of said forward glass pane.
- 8. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 1 including a relatively narrow perimeter frame portion extending forwardly disposed in adjacent relation to an outer peripheral edge of said forward glass pane.
- 9. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 8 in which said narrow perimeter frame portion is an integral part of said door support frame.
- 10. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 8 including a molding interposed between said narrow perimeter frame portion and the outer peripheral edge of said forward pane.
- 11. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 10 in which said molding has a forward end extending over a front side of said narrow perimeter frame portion of said door frame and a front side of said forward glass pane.
- 12. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 8 in which said door support frame has a portion extending rearwardly to a location adjacent an outer peripheral edge of said rearwardly disposed pane.
- 13. The refrigerator door assembly of claim 1 in which said cabinet frame and door support frame are made of metal.
Parent Case Info
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,382 filed Dec. 11, 1989.
The present invention relates generally to insulated glass doors, and more particularly, to multi-pane insulated glass door assemblies such as used in commercial refrigeration and freezer units.
For over thirty years, insulated glass door assemblies for commercial refrigerator and freezer insulations have comprised an insulated glass unit made up of two or more glass panes maintained in spaced-apart relation by tubular spacers with the interior between the panes appropriately sealed. The glass unit in turn is supported within a relatively rugged outer metallic frame, commonly formed from aluminum extrusions, with the metal frame overlapping the periphery of the glass unit for retaining the glass unit in position and for providing a decorative finished appearance to the door assembly. While improvements in energy efficiencies, structural rigidity, and mounting of such door assemblies have taken place over the years, such insulated glass door assemblies have remained substantially unchanged in their outer appearance. Although the desire for style changes has existed, cost considerations usually have prevented product changes.
Because of increasing customer demand for styling changes, manufacturers recently have introduced more modernistic appearing glass door assemblies. These doors have included a single, relatively thick pane which provides the appearance of an all-glass, relatively contemporary, front to the door assembly. While such doors are attractive in appearance, they do not have the efficiency, safety, and durability features the industry has grown to expect in commercial insulated refrigerator door assemblies and have been unable to withstand the relatively abusive use in commercial establishments where doors are repeatedly opened and closed and are frequently struck by shopping carts and the like.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an insulated refrigerator door assembly which has a modernistic, stylized appearance, but which retains the efficiency and structural features to which the industry has grown accustom over the years.
Another object is to provide an insulated glass door assembly as characterized above which has a substantially all-glass contemporary front appearance.
A further object is to provide an insulated glass door assembly of the above kind which has an appearance that is distinct from conventional refrigerator glass door assembly over the years, but which is constructed in substantially similar manner, and hence, lends itself to economical manufacture by existing production techniques.
US Referenced Citations (18)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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448328 |
Dec 1989 |
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Patent Grant
5024023
