Magnetic Patents (Class 49/478.1)
  • Publication number: 20040139661
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an improved profile, in particular for refrigerator furniture units, of the type with a bellows seal which forms a sealed closure between the door and the furniture and able to allow automated assembly of the various components.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2003
    Publication date: July 22, 2004
    Inventor: Paolo Cittadini
  • Patent number: 6739094
    Abstract: A weatherseal employing a magnetic appendage for enhancing the sealing with a mounting surface. The weatherseal includes an elastomeric base that conforms to and engages the mounting surface. The seal portion extends from the base for selective engagement with a second surface, such as a door of a vehicle. An appendage is fabricated from a magnetic elastomer that is sufficiently flexible to conform to irregularities in the mounting surface. Preferably, only the appendage is formed of the magnetic elastomer to achieve an effective seal with only a small amount of the expensive magnetic elastomer to enhance the seal with the mounting surface and avoid, for example, the use of more expensive welded mounting channels that add undesired weight to the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2004
    Assignee: Cooper Technology Services, LLC
    Inventors: David Harold Berry, Zuoxing Yu, Jonathan William Edward Stanley
  • Patent number: 6705048
    Abstract: A weatherproofing assembly for sealing cracks between a door and a frame associated with the door, and a method of using the weatherstrip assembly. The assembly provides a flexible magnetic strip for sealing the cracks. The strip magnetically attaches to one of the door and the frame such that an overhang portion extends therebeyond. When the door is in a closed position, the overhang portion lies overtop of the cracks. Additionally, the strip may magnetically attach to the other of the door and the frame, thereby better sealing the cracks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2004
    Inventor: David Simon
  • Publication number: 20040000096
    Abstract: A weatherproofing assembly for sealing cracks between a door and a frame associated with the door, and a method of using the weatherstrip assembly. The assembly provides a flexible magnetic strip for sealing the cracks. The strip magnetically attaches to one of the door and the frame such that an overhang portion extends therebeyond. When the door is in a closed position, the overhang portion lies overtop of the cracks. Additionally, the strip may magnetically attach to the other of the door and the frame, thereby better sealing the cracks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2002
    Publication date: January 1, 2004
    Inventor: David Simon
  • Patent number: 6667435
    Abstract: A magnetic gasket that fastens together components in an electronic device. An adhesive, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive, is attached to a magnetic strip. An electrically conductive gasket, such as a soft foam core with a conductive fabric wrap, is also attached to the magnetic strip. The adhesive attaches the magnetic gasket to one component, and the magnetic strip holds another metallic component firmly in place. This compresses the electrically conductive gasket, filling the gap between the components with an electrical connection that reduces EMI.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2003
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Roger A. French, Ezra T. Peachey
  • Patent number: 6655766
    Abstract: Refrigerator cabinet having an inner liner and outer shell. The liner and shell are connected by a hollow member having low thermal conductivity around the opening of the cabinet. The hollow member includes a strip of magnetic material against which a closure, such as a door, of the cabinet abuts. The hollow member includes a removable cover permitting access to the interior of the hollow member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: Foster Refrigerator (UK) Limited
    Inventor: Andrew Hodges
  • Patent number: 6655698
    Abstract: A sealing member to be attached along a periphery of a door with a continuous good sealing performance against a facing opening portion even in a corner of the periphery of the door. A bar-shaped magnet is provided in a tubular seal portion of the sealing member so as to extend in a longitudinal direction thereof in close contact with an inside surface of a contacting part of a seal wall, which contacts the facing opening portion. The bar-shaped magnet has a cross-sectional shape of which the width gradually decreases from the side of the contacting part of the seal wall inwardly of the tubular seal portion, thereby reducing the cross-sectional area of the magnet, and enabling the magnet to be readily bent along a corner of the periphery of the door. And the bar-shaped magnet has an outwardly curving contacting surface, which contacts the contacting part of the seal wall, thereby improving contacting properties between the sealing member and a corner of the opening portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignees: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., Takechi Kogyo Gomu Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masahiro Nozaki, Katsunori Kawai
  • Publication number: 20030019159
    Abstract: A door gasket at a refrigerator or freezer is kept in place by an elastic part (32) of the gasket with two legs holding around a waist (35) of a ridge-shaped element (34), which part (32) in profile substantially has the shape of an arc of a circle extending over about 270°.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2002
    Publication date: January 30, 2003
    Applicant: Aktiebolaget Electrolux
    Inventor: Rolf Holmqvist
  • Patent number: 6487819
    Abstract: A weather strip for use on a vehicle comprises an engaging portion for securing a weather strip to a vehicle and a weather strip body comprising a compressible portion and a magnetic sealing portion. The magnetic sealing portion provides a seal acting in a direction projecting toward a magnetically attractive substrate to provide a sealing interference between the magnetic sealing portion and the substrate when the weather strip is installed on the vehicle and a door closes the opening. The weather strips described herein provide an air and water tight seal without requiring a high compression force, thus improving door operation and reducing closing noise by eliminating the need to slam the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2002
    Assignee: Meritor Light Vehicle Technology L.L.C
    Inventors: Ira B. Goldberg, Patricia Cunningham, Timothy X. Bland, Gurbinder S. Kalsi
  • Patent number: 6464312
    Abstract: Thermal breakers and door seal arrangements for refrigerators and the like are described that provide a floating magnet within the breaker. The floating magnet is capable of lateral movement within a compartment in the breaker. In the case of a misaligned refrigerator or freezer door, the floating magnet will adjust its position within the breaker compartment to become properly aligned with the magnetic elements in the door gasket. Magnetic attraction will assist this adjustment in the breaker magnet. The floating magnet is asymmetrical so that it cannot be inadvertently installed in a reversed position. The breaker assembly provides a plastic extrusion that retains the floating magnet and a post condenser loop element in contact with the outward-facing wall of the breaker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2002
    Assignee: Maytag Corporation
    Inventors: John Tenhundfeld, Jeff O'Halloran, Scot Davis
  • Publication number: 20020056236
    Abstract: A door seal for use with a bi-parting door in which the door panels of the door have supplementary angled leading edges. One leading edge has a triangular cross-section, while the other has a cross-section similar to a parallelogram. To further the reliability of the door seal, a plurality of magnets with corresponding magnet attracting plates may be attached along the leading edges. Alternatively, both leading edges may have at least one magnet aligned with a magnet on the other edge. With the double magnet configuration, the use of multi-pole magnets is necessary. The magnets also help reduce the bounce between the door panels, which may be closed roughly, and increase the force required to separate the door panels when closed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2002
    Publication date: May 16, 2002
    Inventors: Walenty Kalempa, Brian Norbert Drifka
  • Patent number: 6338536
    Abstract: A door opening device for a food storage apparatus such as a household refrigerator includes a generally cylindrical coil unit mounted on a body of the storage apparatus and having an axially extending through hole, a plunger mounted in the hole of the coil unit so as to be axially moved with respect to the coil unit, the plunger being moved in a direction when the coil unit is energized, and a pushing member mounted on one axial end of the plunger so as to be moved with the plunger, the pushing member pushing the door in an opening direction against an attractive force of the magnet gasket when moved in the one direction with the plunger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Shunji Ueno, Takehisa Okamoto, Yasushi Takagi, Masahiko Maeda, Koichi Nagao
  • Patent number: 6227634
    Abstract: A gasket made of a plastic material for refrigerator chests, including an inner door and an outer door, rigidly connected to each other by a foamed material injected in the hollow space between them for insulating purposes, in which the inner door is profiled along one or more sides with a groove is profiled alone one or more sides with a groove next to an extremity thereof overlaying the outer door, wherein the groove functions as a seat to receive an appropriate fastener for the gasket and the latter is fitted with a bellows-type section made of a soft plastic material capable of providing a closing seal between the inner door and the chest, and a base from which the fastener extends to the inner door, the gasket base being made of a rigid plastic material shaped by co-extrusion with the soft plastic material of the bellows-type portion and presents a substantially horizontal, flat or slightly curved configuration in the portion where the base overlays the extremity of the inner door, while presenting a sub
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2001
    Assignee: Industrie Ilpea S.p.A.
    Inventors: Paolo Cittadini, Pier Paolo Ferrante
  • Patent number: 6195942
    Abstract: A refrigerator door (17) includes an outer plate (6); an inner plate (7); a heat-insulating element (18) filling a gap between the outer plate (6) and the inner plate (7); and a gasket (21) provided between an outer housing (2) of a refrigerator main body (1) and a surface of the refrigerator door (17) facing the outer housing (2). The gasket (21) includes a housing engaging portion for sealing a gap between the outer housing (2) of the refrigerator main body (1) and the surface of the refrigerator door (17) facing the outer housing (2) and an anchor (23) for securing the gasket (21) in a groove (22) formed in the refrigerator door (17). The anchor (23) has a pair of fins (24), the fins of the pair projecting in opposite directions from each other, and is secured in the groove (22) by contact of the pair of fins (24) to inner walls of the groove (21) facing each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2001
    Assignee: Matsushita Refrigeration Company
    Inventors: Masatoshi Sasaki, Tadao Uno, Kouji Yamamoto, Minoru Kobayashi, Yoshika Katoh
  • Patent number: 6173533
    Abstract: A weather strip in particular for window and door frames having a base portion (2) arranged to be engaged in a respective anchoring area (3) of a first bearing frame (4). A head portion (5) of the weather strip is arranged to act against an abutment area (6) associated with the a second bearing frame (7). A band of magnetic material (8) is associated with the head portion, and there is an intermediate connecting portion (9) formed, in transverse section, by a single fillet element connecting the head portion with the base portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2001
    Assignee: Industrie Ilpea S.p.A
    Inventors: Paolo Cittadini, Alfonso Caldiroli