REFRIGERATOR DOOR SEAL ASSEMBLY

摘要

A refrigerator has French doors with vertically extending confronting side walls. At least one of the confronting side walls has a movable sealing gasketing member adapted to sealingly engage the other confronting side wall when the doors are in a closed position. The doors move between an open position and into the closed position through a temporary intermediate partially closed position. In the partially closed position the doors extend over the refrigerator compartment with temporary non-sealing vertically extending portions of the confronting side walls of the doors spaced apart from one another a predetermined gap distance. A first set of magnets are positioned in the doors at least along the temporary non-sealing vertically extending portions of the confronting side walls. The first magnets have a magnetic field attraction strength insufficient to move the gasketing member across the predetermined gap distance and sufficient to seal the gasketing member to the other confronting side wall when the predetermined gap distance is reduced. A second set of magnets have a magnetic field strength greater than the first magnets. The second magnets are positioned in at least one location along each of the confronting side walls to trigger local movement of the gasketing member towards the other confronting side wall locally reducing the predetermined gap. This triggers the first magnets to move the gasket along the vertically extending portions into sealing engagement with the other side wall. In the preferred embodiment the second magnets are located as a continuation of and in alignment with the first magnets. Swiping of the confronting side walls of the doors is limited at the second magnets.