Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to mounting a refrigerator in a cabinet that is inside an occupant compartment of a vehicle such as the cab of a large truck. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Some large highway trucks have what are sometimes called sleeper cabs that provide sleeping accommodation for one or more persons in a sleeping area located behind driver and passenger seats. The sleeping area may be equipped with various accessories that provide useful conveniences during long haul runs. One such accessory is a small refrigerator that includes a refrigeration system for keeping the interior of the refrigerator and its contents cold. 
   Because its mass is not insignificant due to the presence of refrigeration equipment, such a refrigerator must be secured to the cab in a suitable manner so that it can withstand forces acting on it while the truck is traveling over the road, including specified forces that are might be imposed on it in the event of a crash. 
   Because available space is typically at a premium inside the sleeper area, a refrigerator may be housed inside a cabinet. Because the cabinet will present the outward appearance of the refrigerator, the appearance of the refrigerator casing is essentially unimportant, and that allows the cost of the refrigerator to be minimized. A door cover of suitable outward appearance may still be attached over the front of the refrigerator door to provide desired coordination with the cabinet. 
   In order for the cabinet to be mounted in a manner that can comply with relevant specifications regarding loading, the cabinet may have to be essentially permanently mounted. Such mounting may be facilitated or perhaps even made possible only if the refrigerator is left out while the cabinet is being attached to cab structure. 
   After the cabinet has been mounted, it is still necessary to mount the refrigerator inside the cabinet, and in the presence of limited space, that task may prove difficult and inefficient for production vehicle build. 
   Even if the refrigerator were assembled into the cabinet prior to mounting the cabinet in a vehicle, manipulation of the assembly would be more difficult because of the weight that the refrigerator adds. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Consequently, the present invention is directed to a mounting arrangement that provides a convenient and efficient method for installing a refrigerator unit in a cabinet that has already been installed in a truck cab. The cab floor bears the weight of the refrigerator unit. In conjunction with a frame of the cabinet structure, the mounting arrangement enables the installed unit to comply with relevant loading specifications. The finished installation presents the appearance of quality because of the inherent true fit of the unit to the cabinet opening that leaves only narrow gaps of substantially uniform widths between the refrigerator and the cabinet. 
   One generic aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle occupant compartment comprising a cabinet having an interior within which a refrigerator is disposed and which has an open front through which the refrigerator is removable from and insertable into the cabinet interior. 
   The refrigerator comprises a casing and a door that is disposed at the open front of the cabinet to provide access to the interior of the casing. A mounting locates the casing relative to the open front of the cabinet. 
   The mounting comprises a horizontal platform on which a bottom wall of the casing rests and which is spaced above a floor of the occupant compartment to provide underlying support of the refrigerator on the occupant compartment floor. A first vertical flange is disposed frontally of and below the platform in fixed spatial relation to the open front of the cabinet. A second vertical flange is affixed to the refrigerator casing and abutted with the first vertical flange. One or more fasteners fasten the two flanges together. Brackets fastened to opposite side walls of the casing are fastened by one or more fasteners to the cabinet. 
   Another generic aspect of the invention relates to a method of installing a refrigerator in a cabinet that is inside a vehicle occupant compartment. 
   The method comprises: disposing the refrigerator frontally of and in substantial registration with a frontal opening in the cabinet so that a door at a front of the refrigerator faces away from the frontal opening in the cabinet, moving the refrigerator rearward through the frontal opening into an interior of the cabinet while elevating a rear of the refrigerator high enough to allow a bottom wall of the refrigerator to rest on a horizontal platform that is inside the cabinet interior and elevated above a floor of the cab, and continuing to move the refrigerator rearward by sliding it along the platform until further movement is arrested by mutual abutment of a part that is disposed in fixed spatial relation to the cabinet and a part that is fixedly mounted on the refrigerator. 
   The mutual abutment places the door substantially in a vertical plane that is parallel with a vertical plane that defines the frontal opening and at the same time places holes in brackets that are attached to the refrigerator and that confront opposite vertical sides of the frontal opening in registry with holes in those vertical sides. 
   Thereafter, fasteners are installed to fasten the brackets to the sides of the frontal opening and to fasten the abutted parts together. 
   The foregoing, along with further features and advantages of the invention, will be seen in the following disclosure of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention depicting the best mode contemplated at this time for carrying out the invention. This specification includes drawings, now briefly described as follows. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a refrigerator unit and associated parts for enabling the unit to be conveniently slid into and accurately located within the interior of an in-cab cabinet and then securely attached in accordance with principles of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a stamped metal part that appears within circle  2  in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the part shown in  FIG. 2  mounted inside the cabinet interior. 
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of the part that appears within circle  4  in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the part shown in  FIG. 4  mounted on the refrigerator unit. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the part that appears within circle  6  in  FIG. 1 . The part shown in circle  6 A in  FIG. 1  is identical, but arranged symmetrically opposite to the one in circle  6 . 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the parts of  FIGS. 4 and 5  preparatory to being connected to each other. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the refrigerator unit with the parts in circles  6  and  6 A attached to the unit. 
       FIG. 8  is a front elevation view of the lower portion of the unit after installation and attachment. 
       FIG. 9  is a fragmentary perspective view showing detail of the attachment shown in  FIG. 8  from a different direction. 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the upper left front corner of the unit after installation and attachment. 
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of some of the cab interior with the unit partially inserted into the cabinet interior. 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the cab interior after the unit has been fully inserted into the cabinet interior. 
       FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the cab interior showing the finished installation. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1  shows a refrigerator unit  20  that comprises a casing  22  having a top wall, bottom wall, back wall, and two side walls that provide a frontal opening into the casing interior. A rectangular door  24  is hinged on casing  22  for swinging about a vertical axis along one vertical side of the frontal opening to open and close the opening. A door finish cover  26  is attached to the front of door  24  so that when unit  20  is installed in a cabinet  28  in a truck cab  29 , as shown in  FIG. 13 , the finish cover cooperates with the cabinet to present the appearance of a quality product characterized by precise fit of the door finish cover to the cabinet. 
   Cabinet  28  comprises a framework that supports the top and side walls. The back of the cabinet may be open and abutted against a side of cab  29 . Three parts of that framework are utilized in the mounting of unit  20 . They are upright frame members  30 ,  31  that are at respective vertical sides of the frontal opening of cabinet  28  and a horizontal bottom frame member  32  that bridges the bottom ends of members  30 ,  31 . The cab floor  34  is utilized for supporting cabinet  28  and the refrigerator unit&#39;s weight when the unit is installed in the cabinet, as will be further explained. 
   Upper side brackets  36 ,  38 , a lower floor bracket  40 , and a lower stop bracket  42  are additional mounting parts that interface the unit to the cabinet and the cab floor. Bracket  38  is shown by itself in  FIG. 6  while brackets  40  and  42  are shown by themselves in  FIGS. 2 and 4  respectively. 
   Lower floor bracket  40  is fastened to cab floor  34  and to frame member  32  by a number of screws S. The construction of bracket  40  is best explained with reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  9 . 
   Bracket  40  is a one-piece metal stamping formed to provide a horizontal, rectangular-shaped, slide platform  44  that is supported vertically above cab floor  34  via vertical support legs  46 ,  48  at front and back ends. Legs  46 ,  48  are themselves supported on floor  34  via respective feet  50 ,  52  that are disposed horizontally beyond the ends of platform  44 . The feet comprise holes, such as holes  54 ,  56  in foot  50 , through which screws S are passed for threading into member  32  and floor  34  respectively and tightening to secure bracket  40  in place. Foot  52  is directly attached to floor  34 . Foot  50  is attached directly to member  32 , which in rests directly on floor  34 . The sides of platform  44  and of leg  48  have stiffening flanges F. 
   Foot  50  has a different shape from that of foot  52  because of a frontal extension of its area that rests on member  32 . At the front of the extended area is a vertical flange  58  that is noticeably wider (meaning in the direction of the cabinet&#39;s width) than the width of platform  44 . At the top of flange  58 , two tabs  60 ,  62  are bent horizontally inward toward leg  46  at widthwise ends of the flange. 
   Below each tab  60 ,  62  about halfway toward foot  50 , flange  58  contains a respective through-hole  64 ,  66 . A respective weldnut  68 ,  70  is affixed to the inside face of flange  58  at each through-hole  64 ,  66 . 
   The construction of lower stop bracket  42  is best explained with reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  4 ,  5 , and  9 . Bracket  42  is a stamped metal part that comprises a horizontal mounting flange  72  and a vertical stop flange  74  that is bent downward along the front of flange  72 . There are four through-holes  76  in flange  72  and two through-holes  78  in flange  74 . 
   The construction of side brackets  36 ,  38  is best explained with reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  6 , and  7 . Each side bracket is a stamped metal part that comprises upper and lower vertical mounting flanges  80 ,  82  that are parallel and horizontally offset from each other by a curved bend  84 . There are two through-holes  86  in flange  80  and two through-holes  88  in flange  82 . 
   Prior to installing unit  20  into cabinet  28 , brackets  36 ,  38 , and  42  are fastened to casing  22 , as shown by  FIGS. 1 ,  5 , and  7 . 
   With each flange  80  of brackets  36 ,  38  disposed vertically above and laterally outboard of the respective casing side wall, flanges  82  of brackets  36 ,  38  are disposed flat against the casing side walls proximate the upper front corners of the latter and fastened to the casing, preferably by using rivets R. 
   With flange  74  of bracket  42  disposed toward the front and directed downward, flange  72  is disposed flat against the casing bottom wall proximate the front of the casing and fastened to the casing, preferably using rivets R. 
   Prior to installing unit  20  into cabinet  28 , bracket  40  is fastened to floor  34  and frame member  32 , as shown by  FIGS. 1 and 3 . Foot  50  is placed on a horizontal surface of member  32  with holes  54  and  56  in registration with holes  90 ,  92  on that surface of member  32 . Foot  50  is fastened in place using headed screws S whose threaded shanks are passed through holes  54 ,  56  and tightened in holes  90 ,  92  to secure leg  46  to member  32 . A through-hole in foot  52  registers with a hole in floor  34 , and a screw S is passed through it and tightened in the hole in floor  34  to secure leg  48  to the floor. With bracket  40  fastened as described, flange  58  is perpendicular to the side walls of the cabinet. 
   Unit  20  is now ready to be installed. It is placed frontally of the open front of cabinet  28  and aligned with the cabinet opening. With the rear of casing  22  elevated, the unit is moved into the cabinet interior so that the rear of the casing bottom wall can rest on platform  44 . This allows the casing to be slid rearward on the platform, preferably while the front is being lifted off floor  34  so that the edge of flange  74  doesn&#39;t scrape on the floor, while the platform increasingly bears the weight of the unit as the latter is slid farther rearward (see  FIG. 11 ). 
   The unit continues to be slid until stop flange  74  abuts flange  58  (see  FIGS. 9 and 12 ) to arrest further sliding. With flanges  74  and  58  mutually abutted along their widths, casing  22  is aligned true to the interior of the cabinet and is not cocked at an angle. The mutual abutment places door  24  substantially in a vertical plane that is parallel with a vertical plane that defines the frontal opening of the cabinet. 
   During the final increment of sliding, widthwise centering of the casing is assured by the presence of brackets  36 ,  38 . If the casing is not centered widthwise of the cabinet, one of the brackets will hit the corresponding upright member  30 ,  31  and therefore prevent the casing from being fully inserted. 
   With casing  22  fully inserted, holes  86  in brackets  36 ,  38  register with holes  94  in members  30  and  31 , and holes  78  in bracket  42  register with weldnuts  68 ,  70 . Screws S are passed through the points of registry and tightened to complete the mounting (see  FIGS. 8 and 10 ).  FIG. 12  shows that access for fastening brackets  36 ,  38  to the cabinet frame is provided because a drawer  96  that fits into space above unit  20  does not yet occupy that space. Once the mounting is complete, the drawer can be slid into that space. If the casing was inserted into cabinet  28  without door cover  26  being attached to the door, as shown by  FIG. 11 , door cover  26  is attached to door  24  after the casing has been mounted in the cabinet to provide the finished appearance that can be seen in  FIG. 13  where the front face of the door cover is in substantial alignment with the front face of the drawer when both door and drawer are closed. The door cover can be attached to the door before the casing is inserted into the cabinet. 
   Cabinet  28  is secured to the cab-in-white during the truck assembly process in a manner that provides compliance with relevant loading specifications, including those that might be encountered in the event of a crash. Accordingly, it may be inconvenient, unsuitable, or perhaps even impossible for unit  20  to be assembled into the cabinet before the cabinet is mounted in the cab. The mounting brackets that have been described here provide a convenient method for installing unit  20  into cabinet  28  with the cabinet already installed in the cab. The use of cab floor  34  to bear the weight of the unit in conjunction with the frame of the cabinet structure enable the unit to also comply with relevant loading specifications. Moreover, the finished installation presents a quality appearance because of the true fit of the unit to the cabinet opening. 
   In the finished cab, cabinet  28  is behind the passenger seat  98  and in front of a bed  100  whose length is perpendicular to the fore-aft direction of the truck. Unit  20  can be installed and removed with seat  98  in place, but during truck build, it may be more convenient to install the unit before seat  98  is mounted on the floor. 
   While a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it should be appreciated that principles of the invention apply to all embodiments falling within the scope of the following claims.

Technology Category: 2