Vis door reinforcement bracket design

Abstract

A vacuum-insulated door comprises a door skin having a perimeter defined by a top edge, a pair of side edges, and a bottom edge spaced from the top edge by the pair of side edges. A vacuum-insulated cell is located in the vacuum-insulated door. A frame assembly includes a top bracket coupled to the top edge, a bottom bracket coupled to the bottom edge, and at least one top hinge pin connected to the top bracket and at least one bottom hinge pin connected to the bottom bracket. The at least one top hinge pin and the at least one bottom hinge pin are configured to connect to a hinge assembly of a cooling appliance.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vacuum-insulated door comprising:
 a door skin having a perimeter defined by a top edge, a pair of side edges, and a bottom edge spaced from the top edge by the pair of side edges;   a frame assembly including at least one side bracket coupled to one of the pair of side edges that extends between a top end and a bottom end, at least one brace is located between the top end and the bottom end and includes a pair of side walls that extend outwardly from the door skin to a top wall that is spaced from the door skin; and   a cosmetic panel coupled to the at least one brace by an adjustment mechanism fitted over the at least one brace, the adjustment mechanism configured to adjust the cosmetic panel relative to the door skin.   
     
     
         2 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 1 , wherein the adjustment mechanism includes an internal body portion connected to the cosmetic panel and a threaded pin that couples the internal body portion to the adjustment mechanism, the adjustment mechanism configured to move the cosmetic panel with respect to at least one brace upon rotation of the threaded pin. 
     
     
         3 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 2 , further including an adjustable pin that extends through the top wall of the at least one brace into the adjustment mechanism. 
     
     
         4 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 3 , wherein the adjustable pin includes a body extending through the top wall of the at least one brace and a head that extends radially outwardly from the body and is retained against the top wall. 
     
     
         5 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one brace includes a first brace located adjacent to the top end and a second brace located adjacent to the bottom end. 
     
     
         6 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 5 , wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a first adjustment mechanism coupled to the first brace and a second adjustment mechanism coupled to the second brace. 
     
     
         7 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one side bracket defines a pair of side brackets, each side bracket coupled to an opposite one of the pair of side edges. 
     
     
         8 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 7 , wherein each of the pair of side brackets includes an equal number of the at least one brace. 
     
     
         9 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 8 , wherein the each of the pair of side brackets includes at least three braces. 
     
     
         10 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 8 , wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a plurality of adjustment mechanisms equal in number to the at least one brace. 
     
     
         11 . The vacuum insulated door of  claim 1 , further including a top bracket coupled to the top edge with a plurality of spot welds and a bottom bracket coupled to the bottom edge with a plurality of spot welds. 
     
     
         12 . The vacuum insulated door of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one brace is integrally formed with the at least one side bracket. 
     
     
         13 . A vacuum-insulated door comprising:
 a door skin having a perimeter defined by a top edge, a pair of side edges, and a bottom edge spaced from the top edge by the pair of side edges;   a cosmetic panel with a plurality of adjustment mechanisms; and   a frame assembly comprising:
 a top bracket coupled to the top edge; 
 a bottom bracket coupled to the bottom edge; and 
 a side bracket coupled to each of the side edges, each side bracket defining at least one brace coupled to different ones of the plurality of adjustment mechanisms, wherein each of the plurality of adjustment mechanisms are configured to adjust the cosmetic panel relative to the at least one brace of each side bracket. 
   
     
     
         14 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one brace of each side bracket includes a pair of side walls extending outwardly from the door skin to a top wall that is spaced from the door skin. 
     
     
         15 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of the adjustment mechanisms includes a bridge-type shape that is fitted over the at least one brace of each side bracket. 
     
     
         16 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 15 , further including an adjustable pin that extends through the top wall of the at least one brace of each side bracket into respective ones of the plurality of adjustment mechanisms. 
     
     
         17 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 13 , wherein the top bracket includes a pair of top anchor members coupled to and extending at least partially along each of the side edges and the bottom bracket includes a pair of bottom anchor members coupled to and extending partially along each of the side edges. 
     
     
         18 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 17 , wherein the pair of top anchor members and the pair of bottom anchor members each include at least one hinge pin configured to connect with a cooling appliance. 
     
     
         19 . The vacuum-insulated door of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one brace of each side bracket includes at least two braces, each of the at least two braces of each side bracket coupled to a different one of the plurality of adjustment mechanisms. 
     
     
         20 . A cooling appliance comprising:
 at least one vacuum-insulated door including a door skin;   a frame assembly comprising a bracket coupled to the door skin that defines a brace that includes a pair of side walls extending outwardly from the door skin to a top wall that is spaced from the door skin; and   a cosmetic panel with at least one adjustment mechanisms that includes an internal body portion connected to the cosmetic panel and moveable relative to the brace, a threaded pin couples the internal body portion to the adjustment mechanism, the adjustment mechanism configured to move the cosmetic panel with respect to the brace upon rotation of the threaded pin.