Glass refrigerator door structure

Abstract

A glass refrigerator door structure constructed with two or more glass panels and having a peripheral door frame extending around the sides of the door structure and at the inside of the door without covering the outside glass surface of the door. Sealant is used to bond the glass panels to peripheral spacers separating the panels and to pipe-like structures which extend peripherally around the sides of the door structure. The door frame is connected to the pipe-like structures by a peripheral extension from the frame which engages elongated slots in the pipe-like structures. As such, mechanical fasteners such as nuts, bolts or screws are not needed for the purpose of holding the refrigerator door structure together.

We claim: 
     
       1. A refrigerator door structure comprising: an outside glass panel and an inside glass panel;   a spacer disposed between said glass panels, said spacer extending peripherally adjacent peripheral edges of said panels;   elongated structures disposed between said glass panels, said elongated structures extending peripherally adjacent said peripheral edges of said panels and peripherally about an outer periphery of said spacer;   sealant disposed between said panels, said sealant holding together said panels, said spacer and said elongated structures; and   a door frame extending peripherally about said elongated structures, said door frame being directly engaged to said elongated structures.   
     
     
       2. A refrigerator door structure comprising: an outside glass panel and an inside glass panel;   a hollow spacer disposed between said glass panels, said spacer extending peripherally adjacent peripheral edges of said panels;   pipe-like structures disposed between said glass panels, said pipe-like structures extending peripherally adjacent said peripheral edges of said panels;   sealant disposed between said panels, said sealant holding together said panels, said spacer and said pipe-like structures; and   a door frame extending peripherally about said pipe-like structures, said door frame being engaged to said pipe-like structures, said pipe-like structures having elongated slots therein, and said door frame having a peripheral extension engaging said elongated slots.   
     
     
       3. The refrigerator door structure of claim 1 wherein said door frame .[˜]. .Iadd.abuts .Iaddend.said peripheral edges of said panels and covers a peripheral inside surface of said inside panel. 
     
     
       4. The refrigerator door structure of claim 1 wherein said spacer is filled with a desiccant. 
     
     
       5. The refrigerator door structure of claim 1 further comprising rubber insulators disposed between said spacer and said panels and between said structures and said panels. 
     
     
       6. The refrigerator door structure of claim 1 wherein said sealant is a thermal setting sealant. 
     
     
       7. A refrigerator door structure comprising: an outside glass panel and an inside glass panel;   a hollow spacer disposed between said glass panels, said spacer extending peripheral adjacent peripheral edges of said panels;   pipe-like structures disposed between said glass panels, said pipe-like structures extending peripherally adjacent said peripheral edges of said panels;   sealant disposed between said panels, said sealant holding together said panels, said spacer and said pipe-like structures;   a door frame extending peripherally about said pipe-like structures, said door frame being engaged to said pipe-like structures; and   wires disposed in said sealant said pipe-like structures.   
     
     
       8. A refrigerator door structure comprising: an outside glass panel, a middle glass panel and an inside glass panel;   a spacer disposed between said outside and middle glass panels;   a spacer disposed between said middle and inside glass panels;   elongated structures disposed between said inside and outside panels and extending peripherally adjacent peripheral edges of said inside and outside panels and peripherally about outer peripheries of said spacers;   sealant disposed between said inside and outside panels, said sealant holding together said spacers, said elongated structures and said inside, middle and .Iadd.outside panels; and   a door frame extending peripherally about said peripheral edges of said inside and outside panels without covering an outside surface of said .Iaddend.outside panel, said door frame being directly engaged to said structures.   
     
     
       9. A refrigerator door structures comprising: an outside glass panel, a middle glass panel and an inside glass panel;   a hollow spacer disposed between said outside and middle glass panels;   a hollow spacer disposed between said middle and inside glass panels;   structures disposed between said inside and outside panels and extending peripherally adjacent peripheral edges of said inside and outside panels;   sealant disposed between said inside and outside panels, said sealant holding together said spacers, said structures and said inside, middle and outside panels; and   a door frame extending peripherally about said structures, said door frame being engaged to said structures, said structures having elongated slots therein, said door frame having a peripheral extension engaging said elongated slots.   
     
     
       10. The refrigerator door structure of claim 8 wherein said door frame abuts said peripheral edges of said inside and outside panels and covers a peripheral inside surface of said inside panel. 
     
     
       11. The refrigerator door structure of claim 8 wherein said spacers are filled with a desiccant. 
     
     
       12. The refrigerator door structure of claim 8 further comprising rubber insulators disposed between said spacers and said panels and between said structures and said inside and outside panels. 
     
     
       13. The refrigerator door structure of claim 8 wherein said sealant is a thermal setting sealant. 
     
     
       14. A refrigerator door structure comprising: an outside glass panel, a middle glass panel and an inside glass panel;   a hollow spacer disposed between said outside and middle glass panels;   a hollow spacer disposed between said middle and inside glass panels;   structures disposed between said inside and outside panels and extending peripherally adjacent peripheral edges of said inside and outside panels;   sealant disposed between said inside and outside panels, said sealant holding together said spacers, said structures and said inside, middle and outside panels;   a door frame extending peripherally about said structures, said door frame being engaged to said structures; and   wires disposed in said sealant adjacent said structures.   
     
     
       15. A refrigerator door structure comprising: an outside glass panel and an inside glass panel;   a hollow spacer disposed between said glass panels, said spacer extending peripheral adjacent peripheral edges of said panels;   pipe-like structures disposed between said glass panels, each of said pipe-like structures having elongated slots therein and being disposed adjacent one of said peripheral edges of said panels;   sealant disposed between said panels, said sealant holding together said panels, spacer and pipe-like structures; and   a door frame extending peripherally about said peripheral .Iadd.edges of said panels, said door frame having a peripheral .Iaddend.extension engaging said elongated slots.   
     
     
       16. The refrigerator door structure of claim 15 wherein said door frame abuts said peripheral edges of said panels and covers a peripheral inside surface of said inside panel. 
     
     
       17. The refrigerator door structure of claim 15 wherein said hollow spacer is filled with a desiccant. 
     
     
       18. The refrigerator door structure of claim 15 further comprising rubber insulators disposed between said spacer and said panels and between said pipe-like structures and said panels. 
     
     
       19. The refrigerator door structure of claim 15 wherein said sealant is a thermal setting sealant. 
     
     
       20. The refrigerator door structure of claim 15 wherein said panels have painted peripheral borders extending peripherally around said panels adjacent said peripheral edges of said panels. .Iadd. 
     
     
       21.  A swing door assembly, comprising: first and second door panels spaced apart by a first distance in a first direction substantially perpendicular to at least one of said door panels to provide a space therebetween, said panels having panel edges;   a structural member positioned between said panels proximate said edges, said structural member defining a maximum cross-sectional dimension, said maximum cross-sectional dimension being substantially less than said first distance; and   swinging means for mounting said panels for swinging movement. .Iaddend..Iadd.22. The assembly of claim 21 wherein said structural member defines a rod receiving opening and said swinging means includes a torque rod received in said opening. .Iaddend..Iadd.23. The assembly of claim 21 wherein said structural member includes side portions, each side portion facing a respective panel, and portions which converge toward one another. .Iaddend..Iadd.24. The assembly of claim 21 further comprising at least one spacer disposed substantially adjacent to said structural member and   
     
     
        between said panels so as to space said panels apart. .Iaddend..Iadd.25. The assembly of claim 21 wherein said structural member defines a rod receiving opening. .Iaddend..Iadd.26. The assembly of claim 21 further comprising sealant between said panels. .Iaddend..Iadd.27. The assembly of claim 21 further comprising a third panel disposed between said first and second panels, a first spacer spacing said first and third panels apart, and a second spacer spacing said second and third panels apart. .Iaddend..Iadd.28. The assembly of claim 21 further comprising a door frame with a portion positioned at said panel edges, said door frame having a peripheral extension which secures said door frame to said door. .Iaddend..Iadd.29. The assembly of claim 28 wherein said structural member has a slot and said extension extends into said slot. .Iaddend..Iadd.30. The assembly of claim 21 further comprising sealant between said structural member and one of said first and second panels. .Iaddend..Iadd.31. A door assembly for use as a swing door, the assembly comprising: at least two door panels having edges and being spaced apart a distance to provide a space between the panels;   a structural member positioned at least partly between the panels near the respective edges of at least one side of the panels, the structural member having a longitudinal axis;   resilient members between the structural member and the panels such that the structural member extends less than the entire distance of the space between the panels;   the structural member having side portions, each facing a respective adjacent panel, to which the resilient members are attached, and portions which converge toward one another and away from the respective panels such that twisting of the structural member between the panels about its longitudinal axis would not result in the structural member contacting the panels; and   at least one swing element positioned coaxially with respect to the structural member so as to permit swinging movement of the door. .Iaddend..Iadd.32. The assembly of claim 31 wherein the portions which converge toward one another have a distance and the side portions have a width and wherein the distance of the portions which converge toward one another is longer than the width of the side portions so that the side portions form a relatively small part of the width of the structural member. .Iaddend..Iadd.33. The assembly of claim 32 wherein the resilient members have a low thermal conductivity. .Iaddend..Iadd.34. The assembly of claim 33 wherein the resilient members are neoprene. .Iaddend..Iadd.35. The assembly of claim 33 wherein the resilient members are rubber. .Iaddend..Iadd.36. The assembly of claim 31 wherein the structural member has a maximum cross-sectional dimension and the dimension is less than the distance between the panels. .Iaddend..Iadd.37. The assembly of claim 31 further comprising sealant between the panels and the structural member. .Iaddend..Iadd.38. The assembly of claim 31 wherein one portion of said sealant is between said first panel and said structural member and another portion of said sealant is between said second panel and said structural member. .Iaddend..Iadd.39. The assembly of claim 31 further comprising a closure mechanism extending coaxially with the structural member. .Iaddend..Iadd.40. The assembly of claim 31 further comprising a spacer to   
     
     
        space the panels apart. .Iaddend..Iadd.41.  A refrigerator display door comprising: an outside glass panel and an inside glass panel;   a hollow spacer disposed between said glass panels for maintaining the glass panels in spaced apart relation;   structural members disposed between the glass panels;   resilient members between the structural members and the panels, the resilient members being insulators to reduce heat transfer between said panels;   a door frame extending around the peripheral edges of the glass panels, said door frame being directly engaged to the structural members;   at least one hinge engaging at least one of the structural members for allowing the display door to swing; and   a flexible sealant disposed between the panels and between the panels and the structural members, said flexible sealant holding the panels, the spacers, and the structural members together. .Iaddend..Iadd.42. The display door of claim 41 wherein the door frame engages the peripheral edges of the glass panels and covers an exposed surface of the inside glass panel. .Iaddend..Iadd.43. The display door of claim 42 further comprising neoprene insulators disposed between the spacers and the respective glass panels. .Iaddend.