U.S. patent application number 10/158888 was filed with the patent office on 2003-12-04 for reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement.
Invention is credited to Wang, Wen-Tsan.
Application Number | 20030222554 10/158888 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32095022 |
Filed Date | 2003-12-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030222554 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang, Wen-Tsan |
December 4, 2003 |
Reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement
Abstract
A reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement is constructed to
include a wardrobe body and a reversible sliding door structure
controlled to close/open a front opening of the wardrobe body, the
reversible sliding door structure including a track disposed at one
side of the front opening of the wardrobe body, a folding
collapsible sliding door panel movable along the track to
close/open the front opening of the wardrobe body, and a winding
mechanism disposed at one side of the front opening of the wardrobe
body perpendicular to one end of the track and adapted for winding
up the folding collapsible sliding door panel to hold the folding
collapsible sliding door panel in a received position where the
front opening of the wardrobe body is opened.
Inventors: |
Wang, Wen-Tsan; (Taipei,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Wen-Tsan Wang
PO Box 82-144
TAIPEI
TW
|
Family ID: |
32095022 |
Appl. No.: |
10/158888 |
Filed: |
June 3, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/297 ;
312/307 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E06B 9/115 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/297 ;
312/307 |
International
Class: |
A47B 088/00 |
Claims
What the invention claimed is:
1. A reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement comprising a
wardrobe body having a wardrobe frame defining a front opening and
a covering of flexible sheet material covering said wardrobe frame,
and a reversible sliding door structure mounted on said wardrobe
frame and moved to close/open the front opening of said wardrobe
body, wherein said reversible sliding door structure comprises: a
track disposed at one side of the front opening of said wardrobe
body; a folding collapsible sliding door panel movable along said
track to close/open the front opening of said wardrobe body; and a
winding mechanism disposed at one side of the front opening of said
wardrobe body perpendicular to one end of said track and adapted
for winding up said folding collapsible sliding door panel to hold
said folding collapsible sliding door panel in a received position
where the front opening of said wardrobe body is opened, said
winding mechanism comprising a hollow elongated casing, a revolving
shaft supported in said casing, a plurality of cord members
respectively fastened to said folding collapsible door panel in
parallel, a plurality of bobbins respectively fixedly fastened to
said revolving shaft and adapted for winding up said cord members,
and a plurality of spiral springs adapted for biasing said
bobbins.
2. The reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement as claimed in
claim 1, wherein said folding collapsible sliding door panel is
comprised of a plurality of slats.
3. The reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement as claimed in
claim 1, wherein said folding collapsible sliding door panel is
comprised of a flexible sheet of fabric.
4. The reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement as claimed in
claim 1, wherein said casing is vertically extended along one
lateral side of the front opening of said wardrobe body, and said
track is horizontally extended along a top side of the front
opening of said wardrobe body.
5. The reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement as claimed in
claim 1, wherein said casing is horizontally extended along a top
side of the front opening of said wardrobe body, and said track is
vertically extended along one lateral side of the front opening of
said wardrobe body.
6. The reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement as claimed in
claim 1, wherein said track has a L-shaped profile horizontally
extended along tops of two adjacent vertical peripheral sides of
said wardrobe frame of said wardrobe body, and said casing is
vertically disposed along one lateral side of one vertical
peripheral side of said wardrobe frame adjacent to the front
opening of said wardrobe body.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a wardrobe for holding
clothes and, more particularly, to a reversible sliding door
arrangement for a wardrobe.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Conventional portable wardrobes are commonly comprised of a
metal wardrobe frame and a covering of plastic sheet material
covering the metal wardrobe frame. These portable wardrobes
commonly use a zipper fastener for operation by hand to close/open
the front door. However, because the two opposite door panels of
the covering of plastic sheet material have a respective bottom
side coupled to the zip fastener, the front door is not fully
opened when unfastened the zipper fastener. In order to eliminate
this problem, additional zip fasteners are provided for enabling
the door panels of the covering of plastic sheet material to be
fully opened. However, it is inconvenient to unfasten all the zip
fasteners.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention has been accomplished under the
circumstances in vies. It is one object of the present invention to
provide a reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement, which can
easily be operated to close/open the wardrobe. It is another object
of the present invention to provide a reversible wardrobe sliding
door arrangement, which can be designed for horizontal sliding or
vertical sliding as desired. It is still another object of the
present invention to provide a reversible wardrobe sliding door
arrangement, which automatically receives the door panel when the
door panel unlocked. It is still another object of the present
invention to provide a reversible wardrobe sliding door
arrangement, which is suitable for use with a Venetian blind type
sliding door as well as a flexible sheet material type sliding
door. According to one aspect of the present invention, the
reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement comprises a wardrobe
body and a reversible sliding door structure controlled to
close/open a front opening of the wardrobe body. The reversible
sliding door structure comprises a track disposed at one side of
the front opening of the wardrobe body, a folding collapsible
sliding door panel movable along the track to close/open the front
opening of the wardrobe body, and a winding mechanism disposed at
one side of the front opening of the wardrobe body perpendicular to
one end of the track and adapted for winding up the folding
collapsible sliding door panel to hold the folding collapsible
sliding door panel in a received position where the front opening
of the wardrobe body is opened. According to another aspect of the
present invention, the winding mechanism comprises a hollow
elongated casing, a revolving shaft supported in the casing, a
plurality of cord members respectively fastened to the folding
collapsible door panel in parallel, a plurality of bobbins
respectively fixedly fastened to the revolving shaft and adapted
for winding up the cord members, and a plurality of spiral springs
adapted for biasing the bobbins.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reversible wardrobe
sliding door arrangement according to a first embodiment of the
present invention.
[0007] FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 but showing the folding
collapsible sliding door panel received, the front opening of the
wardrobe body opened.
[0008] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a reversible wardrobe
sliding door arrangement according to a second embodiment of the
present invention.
[0009] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a reversible wardrobe
sliding door arrangement according to a third embodiment of the
present invention.
[0010] FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 4 but showing the folding
collapsible sliding door panel extended out, the front opening of
the wardrobe body closed.
[0011] FIG. 6 is a sectional plain view of the reversible sliding
door structure according to the present invention (the folding
collapsible sliding door panel excluded).
[0012] FIG. 7 is a sectional plain view of a part of the present
invention showing the arrangement of the carrier slide in the track
and the connection of the folding collapsible sliding door panel to
the carrier slide.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0013] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 6, and 7, a reversible wardrobe
sliding door arrangement in accordance with a first embodiment of
the present invention is shown comprised of a rectangular wardrobe
body 4 (formed of a wardrobe frame and a flexible covering covering
the wardrobe frame), and a reversible sliding door structure
mounted in wardrobe body 4 and moved to close/open the front
opening of the wardrobe body 4. The reversible sliding door
structure comprises a hollow elongated casing 7 fixedly vertically
disposed along one vertical side of the front opening of the
wardrobe body 4, a revolving shaft 71 longitudinally revolvably
supported in axle bearings inside the casing 7, a plurality of
bobbins 72 respectively fixedly mounted on the revolving shaft 71,
a plurality of spiral springs 73 respectively mounted inside the
casing 7, each spiral spring 73 having one end fixedly fastened to
the inside wall of the casing 7 and the other end fixedly fastened
to the revolving shaft 71, a plurality of cord members 3
respectively wound round the bobbins 72, each cord member 3 having
one end, namely, the inner end fixedly fastened to the
corresponding bobbin 72 and the other end, namely, the outer end
wound round the corresponding bobbin 72 and then extended out of
the casing 7, a track 1 fixedly horizontally disposed along the top
horizontal side of the front opening of the wardrobe body 4, and a
folding collapsible sliding door panel 2 fastened to the outer ends
of the cord members 3 outside the casing 7 and moved horizontally
along the track 1 to close/open the front opening of the wardrobe
body 4. Normally, the spiral springs 73 hold the bobbins 72 in such
a position that the bobbins 72 wound up the cord members 3, keeping
the folding collapsible sliding door panel 2 in the received
position, namely, the normal-open position. The folding collapsible
sliding door panel 2 has a handle 21 at the free end through which
the user can pull the folding collapsible sliding door panel 2 to
the extended position to close the front opening of the wardrobe
body 4. In order to prevent reverse movement of the folding
collapsible sliding door panel 2 due to the spring power of the
spiral springs 73, fastener means, for example, a ring and a hook
(not shown) are respectively provided at the wardrobe body 4 and
the free end of the folding collapsible sliding door panel 2 for
securing the folding collapsible sliding door panel 2 in the close
position. The folding collapsible sliding door panel 2 is formed of
a set of slats 24 respectively fastened to the cord members 3 like
the installation of the slats of a Venetian blind in the lift cord.
Further, carrier slides 6 are respectively installed in the track 1
and adapted fo5r carrying the folding collapsible sliding door
panel 2 between the close position and the open position. Each
carrier slide 6 comprises two pairs of rollers 61 movably supported
in the longitudinal groove 11 in the track 1.
[0014] FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
According to this alternate form, the track 1 has a L-shaped
profile extended along the horizontal tops of two adjacent vertical
lateral sides of the rectangular wardrobe body. The folding
collapsible sliding door panel 2 according to this embodiment is
formed of a folding collapsible corrugated sheet member or piece of
fabric.
[0015] FIGS. 4 and 5 show a third embodiment of the present
invention. According to this alternate form, two vertical tracks 1
are provided at two sides of the front opening of the wardrobe
body; the casing 7 is horizontally disposed at the top of the front
opening of the wardrobe body, and the folding collapsible sliding
door panel 5 is fastened to the cord members 3 and adapted for
moving vertically along the tracks 1 to close/open the front
opening of the wardrobe body. Normally, the winding mechanism (the
spiral springs, the bobbins, and the revolving shaft inside the
casing 7) holds the folding collapsible sliding door panel 5 is the
received (open) position. When closing the wardrobe, the folding
collapsible sliding door panel 5 is pulled downwards and extended
to the bottom side and then fastened to the bottom side of the
wardrobe body and held in the close position.
[0016] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been
described in detail for purposes of illustration, various
modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention
is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
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