Adjustable damper control mechanism

Claim 2

An adjustable damper control mechanism for a refrigerator/freezer having two compartments separated by a divider wall, said damper control mechanism providing means to set the position of a damper movable between open and closed positions with respect to an air duct to regulate the relative air flow to said two compartments, said mechanism including: a manually settable control knob mounted generally remote from said damper; and linkage means connecting said damper to said knob so as to correlate the position of said damper to be as indicated by said knob, said linkage means being generally disposed within said divider wall and including: a rotatable lever member attached to said damper; and a movable pivot plate for pivotally engaging said lever member, said movable pivot plate having a portion extending exteriorly of said divider wall and being manually accessible to adjust the final position of said pivot plate with respect to said damper so that the position of said damper as determined by said linkage means can be adjusted to correspond to the position indicated on said control knob.

Claim 3

Structure according to claim 1 including abutment means for positively abutting said damper in at least either said open or closed position and means for securing said pivot plate in a position where said abutment is felt after said control knob has been manually set to a corresponding position and said pivot plate adjusted to said abutment position.

Claim 4

Structure according to claim 1 wherein said linkage includes: a cam means defined in said control knob; a connecting rod having one end engaging said cam and the opposite end rotationally engaging said lever mechanism; guide means for confining said rod to substantially linear movement; elongated aperture means within said divider wall for receiving said portion of said movable pivot plate for limited guide movement of said structure within said aperture means and manually accessible from within one of said Compartments; and, means for securing said pivot plate at any selected position within said aperture means.

Claim 5

Structure according to claim 3 including abutment means for cooperating with said damper at either of said open or closed positions to indicate a positive stop, whereby said control knob can be manually set to either of said extreme position and said pivot plate moved within said elongated aperture means until said positive stop is felt whereupon said securing means is engaged to maintain this correlation between said knob and said damper position.

Claim 6

Structure according to claim 3 wherein the direction of movement of said pivot plate as guided by said elongated aperture means is substantially parallel to the linear motion of said connecting rod.

Claim 7

An adjustable damper control mechanism for a refrigerated compartment enclosed by wall structure, air duct means within at least one wall of said wall structure for the ingress of refrigerated air into said compartment, and movable damper means cooperatively associated with said duct to regulate the volumetric air flow through said duct between various positions from a first position of maximum permitted air flow and a second position of minimum permitted air flow, said damper control mechanism comprising: a manually settable control member mounted within said compartment generally remote from said damper means; a linkage mechanism for interconnecting said control member and said damper means for transmitting motion of said control member to position said damper means to any of said various positions, said linkage mechanism including a lever member; and, a movable pivot mount for receiving said lever member for rotation thereabout, said mount generally movably attached to said wall structure externally of said compartment and defining means extending into said compartment for ready access for manual movement to adjust said mount to a final position so that the position indicated on said control member corresponds to the desired position of said damper member.

Claim 8

An adjustable damper control mechanism for a refrigerated compartment enclosed by wall structure, air duct means within at least one wall of said wall structure for the ingress of refrigerated air into said compartment, and movable damper means cooperatively associated with said duct to regulate the volumetric air flow through said duct between various positions from a first position of maximum permitted air flow and a second position of minimum permitted air flow, said damper control mechanism comprising: a manually settable control member mounted within said compartment generally remote from said damper means; a linkage mechanism for interconnecting said control member and said damper means for transmitting motion of said control member to position said damper means to any of said various positions, said linkage mechanism including a lever member; and, a movable pivot mount for receiving said lever member for rotation thereabout, said mount generally movably attached to said wall structure externally of said compartment and defining means extending into said compartment for ready access for manual movement to adjust said mount to a final position so that the position indicated on said control member corresponds to the desired position of said damper member.

Claim 9

Structure according to claim 6 including: abutment means for positively abutting said damper means in either said first or second position; and said means of said pivot mount extending into said compartment defining means for securing said mount at any selected final position, whereby said control member can be manually set to indicate either of said positions and said pivot mount manually moved until said abutment is felt whereupon said mount can be secured to maintain a proper correlation between said control member and said damper means.

Claim 10

Structure according to claim 7 wherein said linkage mechanism further includes a connecting rod interconnecting said control member to said lever mechanism, said rod being confined to substantially linear movement; and, said wall structure on which said pivot mount is attached defines elongated aperture means for receiving said means of pivot mount extending into said compartment with the axis of the greatest dimension of said aperture means being generally parallel to said linear movement of said connecting rod.