Abstract:
A refrigerator door handle and a method of attaching the handle to a door panel. A door handle retainer strip includes an elongated channel having a shoulder opposite a laterally extending longitudinal groove. After the retainer strip is screwed to the door panel, a rail on the back of the handle is inserted into the channel. The rail has a laterally extending tongue that is received in sliding engagement in the groove as the handle is moved laterally. The handle is then secured or locked in that position within the channel of the retainer strip by driving screws between the shoulder and the rail at the ends of the handle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the invention generally relates to door handles, and more particularly relates to refrigerator door handles and a method of attaching such handles. 
     As is well known, refrigerator door handles are commonly made using a conventional extrusion process wherein a material such as aluminum is extruded through a die having a particular cross-sectional shape. The use of extruded door handles has particular advantage when manufacturing refrigerators where product differentiation is important. That is, extruded handles may be advantageous when it is desirable to have different models or brands of refrigerators look differently in a showroom. For example, one beneficial application for extruded handles is for refrigerators built by one manufacturer and sold under another company&#39;s name. One important reason for using extruded handles is that it is relatively inexpensive to extrude relatively low quantities of door handles with a variety of different shapes to vary the appearance of refrigerators that are the same or essentially the same. 
     Typically, a refrigerator door handle is a unitary part having a mounting portion and a grip portion. The mounting portion generally has a flat region that is positioned flush against the face or edge of the refrigerator door. Screws or other suitable fasteners are then used to secure the door handle to the refrigerator door. The screw heads are normally covered by attaching a trim strip. The grip portion is generally offset or spaced from the door so that it can easily be grasped for opening. Because the area where the screws are driven should be inconspicuous but at the same time accessible to a screw driver, there are limitations on the shape or configuration of grip portions that are used. For example, if the grip portion were to extend out and completely cover the mounting portion, it would be inconvenient or impossible to get a screw driver into position to drive screws through the mounting portion. Therefore, door handles of this particular shape and others have not been used because of mounting limitations. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the invention, a combination of elements includes a door, a door handle retainer attached to the door, and a door handle wherein the door handle and door handle retainer comprise respective means responsive to relative lateral motion of the door handle to the door handle retainer for engaging the door handle to the door handle retainer. The combination further includes stop means for preventing relative lateral motion of the door handle once engaged to the door handle retainer to lock the door handle to the door handle retainer. Preferably, the engaging means comprises a tongue on the door handle and a mating groove in the door handle retainer. Also, the engaging means may further comprise a second tongue on the door handle and a second mating groove in the door handle retainer. In a preferred embodiment, the door handle retainer comprises a channel having a shoulder opposite a laterally extending groove, and the door handle comprises a rearwardly projecting rail with a laterally projecting tongue adapted for sliding engagement into the groove of the door handle retainer. Also, the stop means may comprise a screw driven into a gap between the shoulder and the rail once the door handle is engaged to the door handle retainer. 
     The invention may also be practiced by a method of fabricating a refrigerator door comprising the steps of extruding a door handle having a rearwardly projecting rail with a laterally projecting tongue and extruding a door handle retainer member having a longitudinal channel with a shoulder opposite a laterally projecting groove. The method further comprises the steps of attaching the retainer member to a refrigerator door panel, inserting the rail of the door handle into the channel of the retainer member, moving the door handle laterally to slide the tongue of the door handle into the groove of the retainer member, and inserting a stop member into a gap between the rail and the shoulder of the channel to secure the door handle to the retainer member by preventing lateral removal of the tongue from the groove. 
     With such arrangement and method, the grip portion of the handle can be extruded into a variety of different cross sectional shapes an sizes, even shapes that completely cover over the mounting portion of the handle. This advantage is made possible because there is no need to position a screw driver past the grip portion to drive screws through the mounting portion to mount the handle. Rather, a retainer member is attached such as by screwing to the door panel when the handle and its grip portion are not present. Therefore, it is convenient to quickly drive screws directly into the retainer member during mounting. Then, the handle is readily mounted to the retainer member without the use of screws driven perpendicularly into the door panel. Therefore, the mounting does not impose any shape limitations on the handle, and handles can be extruded to provide product differentiation. In particular, the handle is attached to the retainer member merely by inserting the rail into the channel of the retainer member, and then moving the handle laterally to engage the tongues into the respective grooves. The final step is to insert stops such as screws into the gap between the rail and the opposite shoulder of the channel to prevent the tongues and grooves from becoming disengaged by lateral movement of the handle. A high quality refrigerator door is fabricated with relatively small labor costs. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing objects and advantages will be more fully understood by reading the following Description of the Preferred Embodiment with reference to the Drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a side-by-side refrigerator; 
     FIGS. 2A, 3A and 4A show sequential steps or stages in fabrication process of attaching a door handle to the refrigerator door of FIG. 1; and 
     FIGS. 2B, 3B and 4B show sequential steps or stages in fabrication process of attaching a door handle to the freezer door of FIG. 1. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a front perspective view of refrigerator 10 is shown. Although refrigerator 10 is here shown as a so-called side-by-side refrigerator, the invention can be used to advantage with other types of freezers and refrigerators such as so-called top mounts and bottom mounts. In fact, the invention can be used in a variety of other applications for attaching handles. Refrigerator 10 has an outer cabinet 12 or shell, and here has a left freezer door 14 that covers a freezer compartment (not shown) and a right refrigerator door 16 that covers a refrigerator compartment (not shown). Freezer door 14 and refrigerator door 16 have respective vertical door handles 18 and 20. Although shorter handles could be used, door handles 18 and 20 here span the entire vertical lengths of respective doors 14 and 16. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2A to 4A and 2B to 4B, sequential stages or steps in the fabrication process of doors 16 and 14 are shown. The top sectioned views show that door 16 has a front or face panel 22, and door 14 has a front or face panel 23. In the first steps of attaching door handles 18 and 20, retainer members 24a and b or strips serve as mounting brackets, and are attached to respective face panels 22 and 23. Here, retainer members 24a and b are attached by driving a plurality of screws 26a and b at various heights of respective doors 16 and 14 adjacent the edges where handles 20 and 18 are to be mounted. More specifically, each retainer member 24a and b or retainer is an extruded strip that here spans the vertical height of the respective doors 16 and 14, and each retainer member 24a and b has a plurality of screw holes 28a and b through which screws 26a and b are driven perpendicularly into respective panels 22 and 24 to securely attach retainer members 24a and b to respective doors 16 and 14. Screws 26a and b may be driven through gaskets 30a and b, respectively. 
     Door handle retainer members 24a and b each has a plate portion 32a and b that seats flush against respective panels 22 and 24. Further, each retainer member 24a and b has a vertical channel 34a and b formed by respective ridges 36a and b and 38a and b. As shown, ridges 38a and b have shoulders 40a and b opposite laterally projecting grooves 42a and b. Also, each retainer member 24a and b has a second groove 44a and b, respectively. With retainer member 24b, second groove 44b is formed in ridge 38b. However, with retainer member 24a, second groove 44a is formed in a second ridge 46 which is spaced from ridge 38a. The shapes of retainer members 24a and b are readily formed by extruding a metal such as aluminum through a suitable, relatively inexpensive die. 
     Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the next step in fabricating respective doors 14 and 16 is to position respective handle members 48a and b such that rearwardly extending protrusions 50a and b insert into respective channels 34a and b. In particular, each protrusion 50a and b or rail has a laterally projecting tongue 52a and b that faces and aligns with respective grooves 42a and b. Further, each handle member 48a and b has a second rearward protrusion 54a and b with a laterally projecting tongue 56a and b that faces and aligns with second grooves 44a and b. Protrusions 50a and b and 54a and b along with respective cross members 57a and b form mounting portions 58a and b of respective handle members 48a and b. Handle members 48a and b  also include respective grip portions 60a and b that are spaced from mounting portions 58a and b by respective legs 62a and b. As can be seen, grip portions 60a and b are substantially parallel to mounting portions 58a and b. Grip portion 60b substantially covers mounting portion 58b. 
     Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, handle members 48a and b are moved laterally to engage respective tongues 52a and b and 56a and b in grooves 42a and b and 44a and b. More specifically, the respective tongues 52a and b and 56a and b are shaped and sized to be received in sliding engagement into respective grooves 42a and b and 44a and b. In the arrangement shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, handle members 48a and b are securely engaged to retainer members 24a and b. In accordance with the invention, stop members 64a and b are inserted between respective shoulders 40a and b and protrusions 50a and b to lock handle members 48a and b in these secured positions. In particular, stop members 64a and b prevent protrusions 50a and b from moving laterally thereby removing respective tongues 52a and b and 56a and b from grooves 42a and b and 44a and b. As an example, stop members 64a and b may be screws driven from the top and bottom into gaps formed between shoulders 40a and b and protrusions 50a and b as handle members 48a and b are slid laterally to engage handle members 48a and b to respective retainer members 24a and b. 
     As can be seen, handles 18 and 20 are attached to respective doors 14 and 16 in the same manner. That is, each has a tongue and groove arrangement that is engaged by relative lateral motion of a handle member to a retainer member, which engagement is then locked or secured by inserting stops such as screws from the ends to prevent removal of the tongue. The difference between the two handles 18 and 20 is that plate 57a of handle member 48a extends a greater distance than corresponding plate 57b to provide an area 66 where a control panel 68 can be located such as for an electronic controller as shown in FIG. 1. Without the use of a control panel 68 in area 66, it may be preferable that handle 20 be a mirror image of handle 18. 
     In accordance with the invention, certain restrictions on the shapes of handles 18 and 20 are eliminated. For example, handle member 48b can be extruded so that grip portion 60b completely covers mounting portion 58b as shown best in FIG. 4B. If handle 18 were a unitary part such as made by extruding or molding, it would be inconvenient if not impossible to position a screw driver to drive screws into the mounting portion 58b as shown. Here, however, the screw attaching operation is done on retainer member 24b when the handle member 48b is not present. Therefore, screws 26b can quickly and readily be driven perpendicularly through retainer member 24b into panel 23. Then, after retainer member 24b is securely attached to panel 23 with a minimum of labor, handle member 48b is readily attached to the retainer member 24b. This step also requires very little labor. Further, no separate trim strip is required to cover screws, and no associated labor costs are incurred. In review, rearward protrusion 50b or rail is inserted into channel 34b, and then handle member 48b is pushed laterally to slidably engage tongues 52b and 54b in respective grooves 42b and 44b. The only other labor step is to drive screws 64b into gaps at the top and bottom of handle 18. As a result, extruded handles can be made in a variety of different shapes to achieve product differentiation, and the door can be fabricated with a minimum of labor. 
     This concludes the description of the preferred embodiment. A reading of it by one skilled in the art will bring to mind many alterations and modifications that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, even though the tongues 52a and b and 56a and b were here shown in the handle members 48a and b, and the grooves 42a and b and 44a and b were here shown in retainer members 24a and b, the tongues and grooves could be reversed. Further, there are other structures that can engage by lateral motion, and then lock by inserting stops such as screws. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only by the appended claims.