FLOATING MAGNETIC GASKET, IN PARTICULAR FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS

Abstract: A floating magnetic gasket, in particular for refrigerator doors and the like, includes a bar (11) made of magnetized material that is associated with a peripheral wall (17) of a door or frame to be sealed in order to adhere magnetically to the opposite peripheral wall (22); the bar (11) is arranged in one of the walls (17) by means of a profiled part (12) made of plastic. The profiled part (12) is rigid or semirigid and is shaped so as to be slidingly arranged in a complementarily shaped seat (16) formed in the wall (17) with which it is associated, so as to float within the seat, adapting to the mutual angle of the walls (17; 22) to be sealed.

Description: FLOATING MAGNETIC GASKET, IN PARTICULAR FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS The present invention relates to a floating magnetic gasket, in particular for doors of household and industrial refrigerators. Conventional refrigerator doors are usually provided with peripheral magnetic gaskets to form a seal against the frame of the refrigeration compartment. A known type of magnetic gasket that is commercially available is shown in cross-section in Figure 1 and is generally designated by the reference numeral 1. This prior art gasket generally includes a bar 2 made of a plastic material that contains permanently magnetized metallic particles. The bar is associated with one of the walls 3 of the door or of the frame by means of a profiled part 4 made of plastic. In particular, the bar 1 is inserted in an appropriate longitudinal seat 5 of the profiled part 4, which forms an elastic abutment against the opposite flat wall 6. In order to increase the elasticity of the gasket and to adapt the gasket to the mutual angle of the facing walls, the profiled part 4 has a hollow central portion 7 that forms a flexible accordion-like region. This hollow portion is connected to a rigid portion 8 with a bayonet coupling that can be inserted in a snap-together manner in a corresponding slot 9 of the wall 3 to which it must be anchored . A first drawback of this known gasket is its high cost, which is due to the fact that it is constituted by a series of segments that must be joined together at their ends by welding or gluing, to form a seal along the entire peripheral region of the door or frame. A second drawback is that the gasket is scarcely hygienic due to the fact that the accordion-like profiled part has many curves and undulations that form receptacles for impurities and dirt. The aim of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks with a substantially semirigid floating gasket that is economic as well as absolutely hygienic. This aim is achieved with a floating magnetic gasket, in particular for refrigerator doors and the like, comprising a bar made of magnetized material that is associated with a peripheral wall of a door or frame to be sealed in order to adhere magnetically to the opposite peripheral wall, characterized in that the bar is arranged in one of the walls by means of a profiled part, made of plastics, and which is shaped so as to be slidingly accommodated in a complementarily shaped seat formed in the wall with which it is associated, so as to float within this seat, adapting to the mutual angle of the walls to be sealed. Further characteristics and advantages of the gasket according to the invention will become apparent from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment of a gasket according to the invention, illustrated only by way of non- limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a cross section view of a prior art gasket; Figure 2 is a cross section view of a gasket according to the invention in a first step of its operation; Figure 3 is a view, similar to Figure 2, of the gasket of Figure 2 in a second step of its operation. With reference to Figures 2 and 3, a gasket according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, includes a commercial-type magnetized bar 11. The bar 11 is contained in a profiled part 12 which has a generally U-shaped transverse cross-section, with a central portion 13 that forms a seat for the bar 11 and two lateral wings 14 and 15. The profiled part 12 can be made of plastics, such as nylon or PVC, for example by extrusion or molding processes, and it can be rigid or semirigid. Conveniently, the profiled part 12 and the bar 11 form a unit which is slidingly arranged in a complementarily shaped seat 16. Seat 16 is formed for example in the wall 17 of the door. The gasket may be installed in the seat 16 by pressing and its extraction during use, should be prevented. To this purpose the outer faces of the lateral wings 14 and 15 are provided with respective longitudinal protrusions 18 and 19 that form abutments for corresponding recesses 20 and 21 formed along the inside faces of the seat 16. The distance between the inner faces of the lateral wings 14 and 15 is slightly greater than the maximum width of the bar 11, in order to allow a slight elastic narrowing of the lateral wings during the snap-on insertion of the profiled part 12 in the seat 16 and allow them to form a sliding seal against the inner faces of the seat. The maximum width of the lateral wings 14 and 15 is furthermore slightly greater than the minimum width of the seat 16, so as to allow the profile to float freely in the seat, adapting to the relative angle of the wall 17 of the door with respect to the wall 22 of the frame. Preferably, the longitudinal protrusions 18 and 19 are formed along the free edges of the side walls, whereas the recesses are formed along the longitudinal free edges of the seat 16. Advantageously, the segments of the profiled part 12 that form the entire gasket can be formed monolithically by molding, so as to form a secondary frame that has the same configuration as the entire gasket. In this manner it is not necessary to join the various segments of the gasket during assembly. Of course, the magnetized bar segments 11 can float freely inside the molded secondary frame 12, ensuring optimum adhesion of the gasket to the facing wall. The gasket according to the invention is very cheap and hygienic by virtue of the absence of undulations and corrugations. The gasket according to the invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, which are within the scope of the inventive concept expressed by the claims that follow and are understood to be equally protected. All the details may be replaced with technically equivalent parts; the materials may be different according to the requirements.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Floating magnetic gasket, in particular for refrigerator doors and the like, comprising a bar (11) made of magnetized material that is associated with a peripheral wall (17) of a door or frame to be sealed in order to adhere magnetically to the opposite peripheral wall (23), characterized in that said bar (11) is contained in one of said walls (17) by means of a profiled part (12), made of plastics, and which is shaped so as to be slidingly accommodated in a complementarily shaped seat (16) formed in the wall (17) with which it is associated, so as to float within said seat, adapting to the mutual angle of the walls (17; 23) to be sealed. 2. Gasket according to claim 1, characterized in that said profiled part (12) has a substantially U-shaped cross- section with a central portion (13) that forms a seat for said bar (11) and two lateral wings (14, 15) that face the inside faces of said seat (16). 3. Gasket according to claim 1, characterized in that the maximum width of said lateral wings (14, 15) is slightly greater than the minimum width of said seat (16). 4. Gasket according to claim 1, characterized in that said lateral wings (14, 15) have longitudinal protrusions (18, 19), along their outer faces, said protrusions being suitable to abut against longitudinal recesses (20, 21) formed on the inside faces of said seat (16). 5. Gasket according to claim 2, characterized in that the distance between the inside faces of said lateral wings (14, 15) is slightly greater than the maximum width of said bar (11) to allow a slight elastic narrowing of said lateral wings (14, 15) when they are inserted in said seat in a snap-together manner and to allow them to form a sliding seal against the inside faces of said seat (16). 6. Gasket according to claim 4, characterized in that said longitudinal protrusions (18, 19) are formed along the free edges of said side wings (14, 15). 7. Gasket according to claim 2, characterized in that said magnetized bar (11) is loosely accommodated within said central portion (13) of the profiled part (12). 8. Gasket according to claim 1, characterized in that the gasket, as a whole, comprises a secondary frame which is formed by segments of the profiled part (12) that are molded monolithically, said secondary frame being slidingly accommodated within the complementarily shaped seat (16) .

Inventors: RONDA GIOVANNI, RONDA, GIOVANNI
Applicants: RONDA EUROPA SPA, RONDA GIOVANNI, RONDA EUROPA S.P.A., RONDA, GIOVANNI
Application year: 1995
Main classification: F25D23
IPC codes: E05C19, F25D23