ber centered- on, anchored to, and running lon@itudin@lly to the base member. The strut member is flanked in spaced @relatiba by sid& -walls ofl tef@tivel-y@ thiii I s-ection each @binpris-in- angularly disposed @ tipper andlbwer pqr@ tions. Th,e bott6m edgqs of, the, lower portions are -5 anchored t6 thei b@ise rhember dlbng lines paralleling, spaced from and. on opvosite, sides of tne strut member anchorage; the@ t6p:edges of, the two uppet side walls I orp tions are respectively joined to the upper -edges of A @@air of bblique branch walls which latter @ ard anchbred@ by 10 their lower edge@s to the top @ of the strut,member along a common iuncture Iiiie which, patallels but is displaced upwakdiy- froih the, base member and @ ftoni the plane de fined by the andh6rage lines of the side wall, portions. d The top edges@ of the twb side walls are also @ohiieefe by 15 an -6utwardly bowed top, -member or ]@anel the parallel edges of -which @ire: integrally joined to- both the side Walls and -the obliqi@@ branch wall al6ng common jqncture lines.@ Thus @ @a@ multi-cell @ arrangement is provided, th6 cells running coiltinuously throiijzhout: the ldngth:of the 20 gasket-in@side by side-relation, each@tell being contiguous 1 Ito@ all@ot bbth of the othor: cers. . The central cell is@@sp@ced above: Ahe, base -by the hdight of- the @strtit inemb@er and@ no under rmal @ oompressioii of the; gasket, the @sttiit mem be'r resists t6mplete collapsei of the side' dells. Howeveri 2-5 to prevent pinched fing4@rs and damage to the refrig6rator ,or gasket the strut mehiber yields@ undet ex-treme f-otces to allow complete collapse of the gasket. Those skilled iii the art wil,l appreciate that the embodiments show' putpbses @ of explanation and; illus30 trati6n-land,, idther@changes and-modifications can be mado iii,;the di@elosed@embodiments 6f the invention without d6parting@ from the spirit and the scppe thereof. The essential: characteristics. of the inven-tion are described @in the @ appended claims. 35 I claim. 1. @ A holldw,fleitible sealing gasket for refrig@,rators or the like having a iiniforrn cr6ss secti6n @ throughout@ its length; 'said gasket @boiilg fqrmed-@ of Plastic -material and comprising in it@ normal uristress@d@ ebridition a relaiively 40 8!iff i 7bas&, m-emb6t-I @ iwo spaced sido, *@lls 6@tending iipl@ wardly from said @base mem,ber and inte@lrally joined therewith at their lbwer@@ edges along pac46d paralleljunctur6 lines, said side: walls bdijiig @ substantially mor6 @ flexible than said base member; a single wall fi:ied to and proj6ct45 ing upwardly from said,base member at a location sub7 stantially@ midway between said side walls, said upwardly projecting wall being substantially stiffer than said side walls and stiff enough to resisi deforination laterally r6lative to said base member, two upwardly diverging walls 50 fixed at their lower edge T)ortions along a common juncture line to: the upper @ortion of said stiff wall,- @ top wall@ extending between the upper edges of said diverging wall and between the;.upper edges bf the side walls,, said top wall along one of @ its edges having one @commo@ iu@6ture with side wall on one side of the stiff wall: and with one of the div4@raent Walls and having along aiiothei of its edges another com Mon iuncture with the @side wall on the other side of the stiff wall @and with the other of the div6rg@nt wars, said top' and divergent walls @being s ubstantially 60 more flexible than the stiff Wall and ihan.said base member, said walls defining] longi-tudinahy cohtinuous" cells, one cell being located in, the angle between the divergeiit walls, and two side cells being located one on each side of the stiff wall, the side cells each@being contiguous to @65 one another and to@ the one c6n. 2. A sealing gasket as defined in claim I in which one of the side vialls includds aiigularly disposed pcir-.tions having a juncture line paralleling and spaced from the common juncture line. 1 70 3..A hollow- flexible sealing.gasket for refrigerators or the like having a uniform cr.oss section ihroughout its length, said gasket.being formed of plastic material and coniprising in its normal unstressed condition a relatively stiff i elongated base riiember; two spaced essentially flat 75 outwardl@ dlirergin -g sid6 walls extendin@ upwardly from said, base member@ zind integrally. jbined therewith at their lower@ edge@ along essentially parallel lines, said side walls being substintially m6re flexible than said base member; a single wall flxed toand pr'ojecting upwardly fr6m said base member at a lo@ati6n s,ubstantially midway between said side w@lls, the stiffness of . said upwardly @roje6fing N@all appr6ximating that of said base member; two spaced essentially flat, di,@ergent, u@wardly extending, internal I wal's@ di8posed betw6en said side walls with their lower dges fixed: to said stiff upw@irdly projecting wall at a lo6ation abo -ve@ said base member and h@aving iheir upper edge p6rtions spaced apart by a distance considerably great6r th@n the distance between their lower edge portions, said ii@wardly extending internal walls being, substantially more flexilb'ie than said base meinber and said all. upwardly projecting @tiff w an @ upwardly projecting gener@ll -curved top w@ll extending @ betw&en the upper y edge -por-tions @of said u.pw@rdly extendini internal walls said @ wall being substani@iall@ mo@e flexible than said base memb-'r; an . d essentially liat gen.erally tra'nsversely extending Walls oach betwoen the uipper edge @6rtion'of one of said'side wars and the upper bda@ pottion of a I n adjeicent int all each bf sdid g(@ -11@ transversely extendernal w ne@a in-,walls@being stibstanti@lly mo-re flexible than said base member and said stiff u@wardly@projecting )yall. 4. A gasket foi @ effecting'a seal between @ parts such ag a door and a door frame of a refrigerator cabinet, said gasket com@risinga,pliable, plastic hollow tubular extrusfon of uniform section having @i generally flai base m@ember adapted to be attached to one of the part , a pair of sid@- walls integrally joined to the base member along spaced parallel c'onneefion Iiiies and extending upwardly therefrom, a -ingld strut wall j'oined to the base member along a 8trii) iiiterniediate. and spaced from both of said conn6etioi lineg, said stfut w-@ll Drojecting,upwardly frbm sai'd -bag@ iyiember I bnd being siibstaritially stiffer than @aid sidewalls And stiff @enbughto@resist deformation late.rally relative tb @sal'd, ba@e -mdmber, a pair of in'ternal walls integrally joined to: th-- strut wall alon@,, a conimon juncture spaced 'abb'Ve And paralleling. said intermediate strip, said intei.-nal v7all@ 6xtending upwardly from the jiincture in I ti an u e divergent a@gulat r6 A oii and eacli having r ed@6 pp - spaced@@abbve-@nd parallelin@ the junctiiie, said stiut wall constitatil@g- the sble connection betweeh the int@rrial walls 2nd that.pbrtion of the basb-indrhber located between said conne@,tion lines, of the @ide walls, a top central wall spanning t]@e @,ingle bdtween the internal walls @nd joined to the, lattet'along thei I f uppek@ edge I s, and transverse wars spaced - abovo the base and connected one between the upper portions of ori6 of the internal and one of the side walls aifd -ariother betwi@6n the tipper p6rti6ns of th6 other of tho internal and'the bther of @the side walls. 5. @ A hollow sealing g@isket for refrige@rators or the like, @said gasket being- fbtn-ied@ of flexible, resili6nt Dlastic material with. a@uniforili ckoss@'section throu@hout its length @nd comprising iii its unstress6dcondition a relatively @tiff Ibngitudinally@exteriding base member two ekteih I al @id4@ walls haviiig; l@@v@r,edges integrally idiiied to the base me mber dlong spaced paiallel liries of connection, said side walls extending up*ardly from. the base member in @p@aced relation-t6 one another, aii upstanding stkut wall exte@idiiig loiigitudinally 6f the base member and inti@grally @onnected to it along a line of conneetion 'located betweeii parallel to and spaced from said.s-ide wall cbnnectioji lines, two- ifitemal walls disposed in the s@ace 'between the side walls the 16wer edges 6f said int6rnal walls and said strut wall@ being integrally joined together along a comm6n 16ngitudilially extending juncture paralle,l to he connection lines 0 si e a s,

3,178,778 said strut wall being substantially stiffer than each of said internal walls to resist lateral deflection; said internal walls extending upwardly from said common juncture in divergent relation to one another in the provision of an internal angle; 5 each of said s;de and sa;d -internal walls being substantially more fle-,uble than said base member; said side and intern-@tl walls each having an upper edge spaced abov-. and parallel to the base member and parallel to the upper ed.-es of the others of said side 10 ar.d internal walls; a top wall spaced above the base member and extending between the upper edges of the side walls, said top wall being iitegrally conner-ted to and form10 one cell being located in said angle between the internal walls and two side cells being located one between one of the internal walls and one of the side walls and the o between the other of the in'temal walls and the other of the side walls, and said cells each being defined in part by a portion of the top wall. References Cit@-d by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,908,949 10/59 Frehse ----------------- 20-69 2,968,845 1/61 DiO@-,inson -------------- 20-35 i-.ig angles with the upper edges of the internal walls; 15 14-ARRISON R. MOSELEY, Priinary Examiner. said walls and base member defining continiiors cells extendin.- longitudinally of the gasket, N. ANSHER, Evamii7er.

United States Patetit Office 31178@778 3,178,773 REFRIGERATOR SEAL Daniel F. Reahard, Seymour, Ind., assigpor to The H. Canfield Company, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Oct. 10, IL961, Ser. No. 144,205 5 Claium. (Cl. 20-69) This invention relates to resilient gaskets formed of plastic material, and more particularly to gaskets for effec',ing a compressive seal between two relatively movable members. I While gaskets embodying the inv--ntion may advantaaeousiy be employed for various purposes, they provide exceptional advantages when used in refrigerators between the door and the cabinet, and hence they wiH be discussed il coniectio-.i viith such use. For best results, a gasket for this purpose should perform several functions and satisfy several important requirements. It should cushion the door on closing, Prevent passage of air tnrough the junction between the door aiid the cab,net after the door has been closed, and provide heat insulation at such junction. It should perforni these functions even though there are irre.- Ularities in the surfaces of either or both the door and the cabinet at the junctioii; such irregularities restilt from ordinary refrigerator manufacturing operations and car@not be avoided wit'@iout excessive costs. Moreover, the sealina gask,,t should provide an effective seal and heat barrier, nol,@vithstanding surface irregulariti-,s, despite the fact that vvlien the door is closed and opened the gasket in the vicinity of the hinge is subjected to forces extending transversely of the gasket which tend to imp,,irt a wiping action to the -asket. This condition is more pronounced when the hi@ige support for the door is one in which the axis of the hinge pivot is substantially offset from tne piane of the cabinet surface to be contacted and sealed by the gasket, as is usually the case in mod@rn refrigerators; these transverse forces and th-tender@cy toward the wiping action occur because, as the door approaclies its closed position, the offset pivot axis causes the gasketsupporting surface of the door in the vicinity of the hinge to move transversely of the surface of th-- cabinet against which the gasket is to press. Such transverse movement may appro,-tch 50% of the propendicular movement dliring the last few degrees of swinging movement of the door on closing. Unless special precautions are taken, as in the gasket of the invention, the sealii-ig wall of the gasket iii the vicinity of tli@- hinge will wrinkle or becor-r,-@ abraded; its seal;ng and heat insulation @actions will be lar.ae',y if not completely ir@ipaired. Despite adverse fqctors such ,is the above indicated irr@- gularities in the refrigerator surface to be sealed and the transverse moveme-.it of the door in the vicinity of the hin_Q,-d portion of tne refrigerator, the gasket should eqen-tively perform its cusbioning, sealing and heat inIs,alating functions even tinder very low sealing pressdres. This requir,-mept arises because of the need to make modern refriaerators so that they can be opened by a small force exerted on the interior of the refrigerator door, to instire a,-ainst hazards of children being trapped inside the refrigerator. In addition to all of the above, the gasket should maintain its resiliency, a-@id should radidly recover its uncompressed shape when the refrigerator door is opened, thro,j,-hout a long life, so that it can fully perform the above indicated functions for a long period of use without replacement. It is also necessary that the gasket should be capable of manufacture and installation at comp-- titive low costs. It is an object of the invention to provide a g-asket of Pi@tented Apr. 20, 1965 the tubular air-filled type which can satisfy all of the above requirements. Another object is the provision of a tubular air filled gasket which is capable of cushioning t'iic closin.- of a refri,-erator door and, after the door is closed, is capabl.- of makin.- and maintaining an effective s,-al and providin.- good heat insulation under low sealing rresslir,s. A further object is the provision of such a gasket which sLibstantially or completely eliminates abrasio.1 or wrinkling at the b-inged side of the refrigerator 10 op--nin- which provides good sealing. Another object is to provide such a gasket which can be manufactured at low cost, and which has excellent resiliency and recovery tbro,,i.-hout a Ion.- life. , Thes-- and other objects and advantages of the inven15 tion Nvill be apparent to those skilled in the art from the fo'lowing description and claims, and from the drawings in which: FIGURE I is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of a portion of t@@e front hin,aed side of a refrigerator, 20 sliowin- the cabin,-t, the refrigerator door, and a gasket e@nbodying and representing the best known mode of practicin@- the invention, the gasket being fixed to the refri@erator door and initially engaging the front face of th, refri@@erator cabinet as the door is being closed; 25 FIGURE 2 is a fra-mentary horizontal sectional elevation, similar to that of FIGURE I and to the same scale, showin.- the hinged side of the refrigerator with the door compl--tely closed and the gasket compressed in sealing relation; 30 FIGURE o' is another fragmentary horizon'tal sectional view of a portion of the fro-@it unhinged side of the same refrig,- rator, shoxing the door as fully closed and the gasket of FIGURES I and 2 in compressed sealing relation; 35 FIGURE 4 is a sectional view to an enlarged scale showing tlae cross section of the gasket of FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 before installation; FIGURE 5 is a sectional view, similar to that of FIGURE 4 and to the same scale, showing the cross section 40 of a mo,-Iifi--d form of gasket embodying the invention; and FIGURE 6 is a sectional view, similar to FIGURES 4 aid 5 and to the same scal,-, showing the cross section of another modified form of a refrigerator gasket em45 bodving the invention, FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 show portions of a conventional holpe refrigerator comprising a cabinet I and a door 2 hin.-,-dly supported at one edge of the cabinet by hinge means 3, shown in FIGURES I and 2, to swing horizon50 tally about the vertical axis A. The door carries a gasket 4 embodying the invention. The refrigerator cabinet I is constrticted in the usual manner with a thick layer ofinsi-ilating material 5 covered by an otiter sheet steel shell 6, and the door 2 is similarly constructed in the 55 copventional manner with a relatively thick, insulating layer 7 covered by an outer sheet steel shell 8. The shell 6 of the cabinet I has a flat vertical wall portion 11 ext,-nding completely around the door opening to provide platiar sealing surface 12 adapted to be engaged 6o by the gasket 4 in sealing relation-, the axis A of the hinge rpeans is substantially offset from or spaced in front of this stirface, as is apparent frori FIGURES I and 2. The inner wall of the door shell 3 includes a flat outer peripheral portion 13 and a panel 14 which peripherally 65 overlaps the latter. The wall portion 13 of the door s'liell 8 is substantially parallel to the wall portion 11 of the cabinet when the door is latched in its fully closed positioii, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. When the door is in this position, there is a relatively wide space between 70 the wall portions 11 and 13 of the cabinet and door, which space may have a horizontal width of 1/2 " or more in a stapdard siz-- refrigerator.

A stiffening flange 15 on and inte-aral with the@portibn@ 13 of the door shell extenlds: toward the inside of the. door and the overlapping edges of the portions 13, and 14 are covered. by and carry a sheet metal gasket-holding, strip@,,16@Whi@h 6xtends eiltirely, around the:dbor opening 5 to hold; the g@asket 4' iii place. . ithe strip . 16 is held in pl@c,e. I?y cr6w@ IL7 w]4ich are@ threaded-into and also.hold togqth6r the overlapping ed@6s of the metal wall porti6ns 13 dnd 14.@ The g4sket-holding strip, 16 of uniform cross sectibh, @is -flat f6r,a major p6,rtion, of its width, but ha 10 a r6lled@ ' !flanged e(lk6 @brtion 18 of generafly arcuate Pr hook- h@L@ed, c-ross sectioli,extending outwardly beyond the edke.. of the wall panel portion,14 for clamping the @@ ,-ask6t 4 in @l@Lce. The-ioUed edge of the clamping strip pr6vides ii -chanii6l which re6eiv6s an edge bead fornied 15 integr@lly o@a thd kd@ket, lock the latter in predetermined position on- and relative. to the, door, as will appear. Witk@ thd exce@ti6h of, th'e gask6t 4, the refrigerator struct@are d6scrib6d db6ve is. conventional Thd gas@k6t'4 6f th6 inventioii, of i@hich the cros@ sec- 20 tion. througho.ut. its length is shown enlarged in FIGU , RE 4, i@ sha ed t-o fti iiction@eff6ctively and satisfv all require-@ P,@ ments 6i!tlih6d. dbov6 when mdde in.one piece as an extiu@i6@n,bf 6ne of the pliablepolym'erilc materials generally u@ed f6r refii@6iat6@ gaskets, such as homopolynlers of @25 viny,l'chl6iid6,',-copolyi@ers. of vinyl chloride and vinyl ni ar extruded Tnater,@@olyethylene,@,polyurethane, or. si il s having the@ neces@@ary ff6xibility. Various rub@ers @iid. iubb6fy c6iiPOS s ma@ also be used. The @pref6r-@6d. pliabl6, k@sket material is@ a flexible polyvinyl 30 .chl6ride composition embod@ing a siiitable plasticizer and othe@rco--Mp6uiiding in&edients su6h as pig-meiits, ffllers, antioxidants, heat.and light stabilizers and the like as is "".h plasticiiers p i@,ell' kjio - iii the art. The referably@in Clude 'a@ 'M()@oriieric plasticizer such as dioctylpht'halate, 35 @dloqtyl@dil)@t6 or th@- like and/or a polymeric plasticizer @uch as @6l@eth@lene s6bacaie or @ the like. @ As'@sed hereinafter,, the term, "plastic" when applied@ to the material of v@hich.the,.@asket is formed is intended to refer to such mateiidfs. 40 FIGURF,, 4 shows. the extruded gasket of plastilcized and @6ffi@.ounded. polyvinyl chloride in its normal un@ stressed-@condition prior to being mounted on the door 2. Foi,;c,onv-eni'en'c'e' Im' des-criptio'n- o-f the structure of this gasket, references t6 directions will be understood as ref6rriiig,,t6 i@is fi@ure.' The , gasket is of hollow tubular 45 coiistiu6tibn and c a:substantiallv flat, stiff gei@- erdll-y h6rizo'@ial se 20 of substantial thickness, -having, along,one ed-e a: downwardl@ extending anchoring s6cti:on il of - geiier@lly @ L-s@aped cross secti on and along 50 its othe-r ed@e- @nd spa6ed from the anchoring sect on, a downwardlk exie@din@ gen6rally in-clined sealing flange 22 with it.s- oilter 6dge jenerally, in alignment with flat lower-@6ition, 2@ 6f: the anchoring section. . This lower portion 23 has@ oii its u@derside several downwardly pro5 j6ctin@.iib@s. 24 adapte@d to: bear in, sealing relation against the @ w@ll portion, 13 of the door, and a n upwardly pro-@ jecting@-i6lati,@el@ thick f@stening; rib 25 adapt&d t6. be cl@ffi@6d by the pe,d portion 18 of the, gasket holdi,ng:sfrip 16 to hold firmly the gasket@4 in place on the d6-6i, ".sho,wn in FIGURES 1 to 3 inclusive. 60 stiff Thd ba'se@ 10. of fhe gasket 4 supports a relatively thick, upyvardly ptojecting s4bstaniiallv vertical strut wall or rib 26, located essentially midwa of the width of the y sealifig portion of the gasket. This wall 26 has integrally for' 65 'med 1 with @ @t and supports@ two equal width geiierall@ upwa@dly ektending, and, outwardly, indlined div@ rgent bran6h,v@alls 27, which are thinner and suvstantially more flexible than the wall 26. Extending between aiid spannin.@,the@ angle, between the branch walls 27 is a generally 0 7 transversely@ extending,top or outer curved wa 1 28 haviiig its convex side:eitending iipwardly beyond@the distal,ends of the@ divergeiit,walls 27. This curved or s&aliii@ Wall 28@ is@.thinh@ek,--aiid'-suV@tAritidll@ -irridre@ fi6iible ifian th'e central supporting strut wall 26. 75 3,1782778 Along each side edge of@ the curved wall 28 is a generally transversely extending downwardly inclined @upper side wall portion 29 joined along a continuous common juncture at its inner edge to the curved wall 28 and to one of the branch walls 27; at@ its outer edae each upper side wall portion is j@oined integrally to one of a pair of spacdd equal @width lowet side@ wall portions 31. The lower edge of each of, the wall portions 31 is affixed integrally to the base@ 20, th6,wall-,@ortion extending upwardly from the base and p'@@ef@rably ' bein- inclined outwardly@ Prefeiably in cross se6fion developed width B of the curved central or top sealing wall,.28 is:approximately twice develot)ed width C of,each@ of the equal@ width tr@ns,@ers'ely.extending up@er side wall t)ortions 29. More ov6r iii the pr,eferred erhbodiment of FIGURE 4, developed width D of each of@.the wall. i)ortions 31, and developed Nvidth E of each- of - the walls 2,7, in each case is, approximdtely equal -to the @develot)ed width C of the walls 29 In the embodinient of FIGURE 4,, the juiicture between @ each upper side wall @ortioii 29,and its associated lower: ide wall.@orti6 31 takes the form of: an abrupt s n corner, while this -juncture may be -curved,, the abrupt comer is prpferred iiice it bett6r loca,lize's deformation resulting from - chan e@ im the @ositi s. Qf joiiied wall 9 on portions 29, and 31 relative @to each 6ther.i Wrinkling of sealing walls while and @@fter the door closes is thus avoided. @ The comer angle alsotends to increase, the sha@e-retaining forces developed within the gasket by inherent resili npy on release of sealing compression. e Mor-eover, each angl6 U included between, the centrally located wall 26, and the wars 27 each angle V between each @of the@walls;27 land,the top. Wall,28, and each angle en each a sociated pair of the walls 29 and 31, W betwe s are all:large, ;@ngles; preferably, as shown in FIGURE 4, th@'an@l@,U is larger than the angles V and W, whi@h may approximate-, right an-16s.: and@ be. approximately equal. Angles U, V and W are usuallygreatly:decreased when the gdsket is compressed,. as aplparent from FIGURES 2 and 3'..theaiigles V and W being usuallv reduced to small acuate@ angles. . Since the uncoinpressed@ shape of the gasket requires. h. large angle at each- of the angles@ U. V and d- ro W, the@ ai greatly in p vidin-A. resistance to deformation necessar to-effect go6d@ s6a]ing on compression and .y to restore by inherent resiliencv, the 6rigin@al shape of the @is fre of.compressive forces. gasket when it e e angle X i cluded between the branch waus 27 on Th n the other handi while a. large @ angle, preferably is not larger than @bout a.right angle,.and-may even be a large a ute angle Wh eri the -gask6t is. CoMpressed, this angle c X is .,oreatly increased: to a wide obtu@e @angle,. as is appareni from- FIGURES -2, and 3. The inherent tendency of the diierging branch walls 27@ to remain in, or to return to their original position@in whi I ch the angle X is @ substantially: a -ri-ht angle also.provides resistance to,. deformation -necessary ion of for-@the format an effective seal, proyides- forces tending to maintain the arcuate shape of the wall -28,,and p rovide s re rin theoriginal s force sto g shape of the gasket when the door is opened. Angle,.Y,between the base and each lower side wall 31 are alsi@ laige angles, which preferably do not depart greaily fr6m right angles. In com-pression of the gasket, @i is @arent-from,FIGURES 2,and 3, the angles Z and s api Y usu@lly -are substantially enlarged. The tendencies of the wallsbetween which these angles are,included.to return to the -positions in which the. angles are of their normal smaller size provide desirabl e@resistance to deformation fQr sealing purposes -@nd @also aid in providing desirable @forces tending to restore @the gasket@ to its original shape @when it is freed of pkessure. It is apparent that the gaske-t of FIGURE 4 has three separate a@tia-cent air chambers 33, 34,-35 o f coinparable sifbstantially equal cross sectiorial dreas, pr,6viding a large total voluine of insulati g@ ' SP n air ace broken up into several air cells. :iCdn@@q@e,ntly the gask6t " h-as excehent.heat inf

5 sulatl'on properties; moreover, the air confined in each of the chambers exerts pressure on the boundary walls ,of the chambers when they are compressed in the closing of the refrigerator door, ivhich pressure tends to maintain the sealing walls in good sealin.- engagement with the surface 12 of the wall portion 11 despite irreaularities tlierein, and which pr-,ssure also tends to restore the gasket to its original shipe when the door is opened. The gasket is selec-ted for the sp,acin.- between the door and the cabinet and the hin,-e offset so as to assume approximately the shape shown in FIGURE 3, in tne closed position of the door, alon.- that side of the door which is remote from the hin.-e axis; there is substantially no transverse sliding or v@iping movement of the gasket relatively to, and no wrinklin.- of the surface of the gasket in contact with, the wall portion 11 of the refrigerator cabinet as the refrigerator door closes. At re.-ions of the juncture between the door and cabinet of the refrigerator away ftom the hinged side of the refri.-epa'Lor opeiiing, the gasket 4 is subjected to cOmpressive forces directed substantially pei@oendicular to the base 20 of the -asket, atid not to any appreciable transverse forces; the condition of the gasket when it is in sealing engagement in such regions is illustrated in FIGURE 3. It will be noted that th,- curved central portion 23 is flattened and in sealin.- engagement with the wall portion 11 of the cabinet, as are both upper side wall por,tions 29. The branch walls 27 are moved outwardly and ffattened, as are the lovier side walls 31. As was pre-@iiously indicated, the angles U, V and W are substantially reduced, whereas the an.-les X, Y and Z are substantially increased. The resistance provided by the inherent resiliency of the gasket structure to such deformation effectively aids in the sealing action, promotes Testoration of the original shape of the gasket when and each time the cabinet door is opened, and inhibits the development of an undesirable permanent set in the gasket ' The action of the gasket in cushioning closing of a refrigera,tor door, sealing against passa.-e of air and providing a heat barrier a@fter the door has been closed, is illustrated in FIGURF-S 1, 2 and 3. When the refrigerator door is closing, the outwardly curved central or top wall 28 of the casket first contacts the wall surface 12 of the refrigerator cabinet at the hinge side of the door opening, as shown in FIGURE 1. As the door swings further to its completely closed position, shown in '.qlGURE 2, the gasket is subjected to the previously mentioned traiisverse forces. However, due to its construction, the gasket yields trallsversely while contriving to exert forces resiliently resisting distortion and compression, and thus providing a good seal. The structure of the gasket thtis prevents leakage of air or impairrrent of hea-t instilation properties which could result from wrinkling, or ,lbrasion a-.id wear, of the gasket at the hinge of the door on closing. The transverse distortion of the gasket at the hinge side of the refri-erator op-.ning when the door is in its closed position does not prevent a good seal. There is a wide area of gasket making good sealing contact with 'the cabiriet; thus, as shown in FIGURE 2, even though a portion of the normally outwardly curved top or central wall 28 of the gasket may not co@mpletely engage the surface 12 of the wall portio-Ti 11 of the refrigerator cabinet in sealing engagement due to the transverse deformation of the gasket, one of the upper transverse walls 29 contacts stich surface in good sealing engagement in the vicinity of the hinges, thus aiding in the sealing action. Moreover, since the wall portions 28 and 29 are all relatively thin and flexible and are supported structurally by the bratich walls 27 and the side walls 31, they readily conform to and make snu.- sealing en,@agement with the cabinet surface 12 despite irregularities in such slrface; the outwardly curved arciiate top @vall 28 provides particular benefits in this respect, since the curvature facilities fitting of th-@ wall material over 3,178,778 @and into irregul@irities in the confronting surface of the wall portion 11. The relatively stiff wall 26 is not appreciably deformed when the gasket is compressed either at the hin,-ed side of the door or elsewhere. In fact it acts as an upwardly projecting cantilever beam, which anchors the lower ends of the divergent branch walls 27 projecting from and integrally formed with the wall 26; the wall 26 aids in impartin.- forces to the walls 27 which resist deforma10 tion, improves sealing and restore the original shape of the gasket when it is released from compression. The branch walls 27 also act as truss members by exertin.up-,vardly directed forces on the walls 28 and 29, which to.-ether form a generally trans@iersely extending to wall I p 15 of the -asket when the gasket is compressed under either of the conditions shown in FIGURES 2 and 3; the tendency of ttiese walls 27 to remain in or to return to their ori.-inal undistorted positions thus is an important factor in mairtaining an effective seal and in restoring the gas2( ket to its original shape. Furthermore, the fact that both of these walls are anchored together at their lower ends to the common wall 26 also permits the walls 27 in effect to pivot about the point or along their axis of anchoring so that the gasket can yield to transverse forces 25 sufficiently to avoid undesirable wrinkling or abrasion at the hinged side of the refri.-erator openin.-; this yielding action is so facilitated because the lower side walls 31 are relatively thin and flexible, are anchored to the base 20 for relative bending or pivoting about points 37. 30 It will be apparent that the advantages of gaskets embodying the invention will be most fully realized if the gasket size and shape is selected in view of the space presc@-@it between 'Lhe door and the cztbinot of the refrigerator, and the amount of the hinge offset. 35 Thus, FIGURE 5 shows another form of gasket embodying the invention which in all respects is similar to at of FIGURE 4 except that stiff wall portion 26a atid lower side portions 31a are shallower and narrower, respectively, than the corresponding walls in the embodi40 ment of FIGURE 4. This dimensional variation enables this gasket to be used in a refrigerator in which there is a relatively narrow spacinbetween the inner surfaces of the door and the front surface 12 of the cabinet. The gask.-t of FIGURE 5 otherwise operates in a similar manner to that of FIGURE 4 and possesses similar advanta.-es. 45 Tie gasket of I-'IGURE 6 is designed for a refrigerator having a greater space between the inner surface of the door and th.- front surface 12 of the cabinet than the re gerator of FIGURES 1-3. This gasket of FIGURE 6 ;s similar to that of FIGURES 4 and 5 except that the 50 Strut wall portion 26b alid the lower side wall portions 31b are dep-per or wider than in either of the preceding embodiments. -., he gasket of FIGURE 6 is similar in all other respects to, operates similarly to, and has the alvaptages of the gasket of FIGURE 4. 55 Various other modifications may be made; for example, while two branch walls 27 ,re included in each of the i'iftistrative embodiments, a different number of such walls may be CMDloyed. The heigh'L and thickness dimensions ol. the central wall 26, 26a or 26b may bd different 60 -thai those illtistrated. NV-hile the upper side walls 29 and the lower sid-. walls 31, 31a and 31h have been shown as substantially flat, which is preferable, it is apparent that they niay b-, somewhat curved i'L desired. Preferab'iy the thickness of the walls 28, 29 and 31 in FIGURE 4, 65 and the thick-@iess of the correspondin.- walls in the other figu@-es are approximately equal. While the thickness of the brancb. walls 27 way b-- equal to the thickness of walls 23, 29 or 31, it is preferable that they be slightly thicker 70 to aid in the cantilever truss action, to exert outwardly directed forces on the walls 23 and 29 of the deformed or compressed gasket. The presciit invention thus provides a one piece extrudable gask,-L whicb i,.i its preferred form incorporates a 7,5 relati-vely thick or heavy sectioned cantilever strut mem-