Abstract:
A ready-to-assemble casegood cabinet having pocket doors. A pocket door assembly for a ready-to-assemble casegood cabinet is also disclosed. A method of shipping a ready-to-assemble casegood cabinet, a method for assembling a ready-to-assemble casegood cabinet, and method of including a pocket door assembly in a ready-to-assemble casegood cabinet is disclosed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates generally to ready-to-assemble furniture and pocket doors therefor. 
   Traditionally, large residential furniture units such as entertainment centers have been manufactured and assembled at a manufacturing facility and shippped to a point of retail sale to a consumer. Such units are designed and manufactured to be shipped and sold as an assembled unit. This kind of design and manufacture of furniture is effective when the furniture sells in relative proximity to its place of manufacture because shipping costs are relatively low. The competitive marketplace, along with shifting labor market realities, however, has spurred the design and manufacture of furniture outside the U.S. intended for sale in the vast U.S. market. 
   Because in many cases furniture manufacturing can be accomplished at much lower costs far from the marketplace, ready-to assemble furniture has become increasingly popular of late. Ready-to-assemble furniture is that which is designed to be manufactured and shipped to a point of retail in unassembled form for assembly by retailers or consumers. Bookshelves, tables, beds and entertainment centers are especially viable pieces for the ready-to-assemble marketplace because such pieces have traditionally been constructed from relatively planar components that lend themselves readily to economic packaging and shipping. Manufacturers may encounter problems, however, incorporating basic features into ready-to-assemble furniture because such features may be difficult to package and ship cost-effectively or difficult to assemble by retailers and consumers. 
   One of the basic features widely available in furniture products that are difficult to include in ready-to-assemble furniture are pocket doors, which are doors—usually on the front of a case—that are selectively retractable into the case. Such doors are popularly used in entertainment centers in front of an area intended for a television. 
   Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved furniture unit that includes features such as pocket doors, while at the same time, is cost-effective to ship great distances, and is easily assembled by a consumer or retailer. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention meets one or more of these needs by providing a ready-to-assemble casegood cabinet, which may be an entertainment center, including a front frame, an end panel pivotably affixed to the front frame, and a door that is selectively retractable into the cabinet during use. The end panel pivots into substantially parallel relation to the front frame to reduce the volume of the cabinet for shipping and storage, and pivots into a substantially perpendicular relation to the front frame for display and use. The front frame of the cabinet may be substantially planar and the axis about which the end panel pivots is rearward the plane of the front frame and may also include a shelf having a groove that is adjacent and parallel to the end panel when the cabinet is assembled. 
   A door assembly for a ready-to-assemble casegood includes a door support rail, a door hinge rail, and a hinge pivotably connecting the door support rail to the door hinge rail wherein the door assembly folds into the interior of the casegood for shipping and storing the casegood. The door hinge rail may include a tenon to prevent the hinge from opening during use of the cabinet. 
   The door assembly may further include a door track for moving the door to inside the casegood, a roller attached to the door support rail for moving the door support rail along the door track and a door pivotably affixed to the door hinge rail. The hinge may be a piano hinge. 
   A ready-to-assemble casegood cabinet, which may be an entertainment center, includes a door assembly which itself includes a door, a door support rail, a door hinge rail and a hinge, which may be a piano hinge, pivotably connecting the door support rail to the door hinge rail. The door assembly folds into the interior of the cabinet for shipping and storing the cabinet. The cabinet may include a shelf having a groove that is adjacent and parallel to the end panel when the cabinet is assembled. The door hinge rail may include a tenon for preventing the hinge from opening during use of the cabinet. The door assembly may include a door track and a roller attached to the door support rail for moving the door support rail along the door track. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a ready-to-assemble casegood showing the casegood after assembly. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a ready-to assemble casegood before packaging and shipping. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a ready-to-assemble casegood showing an end panel pivoted perpendicular to the front frame. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a ready-to-assemble casegood showing the opposite end panel pivoted perpendicular to the front frame. 
       FIG. 5  is a view of a ready-to-assemble casegood showing assembly of a bottom panel. 
       FIG. 6  is a view of a ready-to-assemble casegood showing the assembly of an upright divider. 
       FIG. 7  is a view of a ready-to-assemble casegood showing the assembly of a cross rail brace. 
       FIG. 8  is a view of a ready-to-assemble casegood showing the assembly an additional cross rail brace. 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view from the back of a ready-to-assemble casegood. 
       FIG. 10  is a view of a ready-to-assemble casegood showing a television shelf having a groove on two sides. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views. Also in the following description, it is to be understood that such terms as “forward,” “rearward,” “left,” “right,” “upwardly,” “downwardly,” and the like are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms. Referring now to the drawings, it will be understood that the illustrations are for the purpose of describing a preferred embodiment of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention thereto. 
   As best seen in  FIG. 1 , an entertainment center is shown constructed according to the present invention. The center  10  includes a front frame  18  that further includes doors  14  at the bottom of the entertainment center. Two substantially mirror image pocket doors  12  mount above the doors  14 . While the preferred embodiment is shown as an entertainment center, the present invention also comprises embodiments such as bookcases and other cabinets, or other pieces in which a pocket door may be useful. 
     FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a ready-to-assemble casegood configured for shipping. The casegood is an entertainment center that includes two end panels  16  and a front frame  18 , which is substantially planar. The end panels  16  are in substantially parallel relation to the front frame  18  to reduce the volume of the entertainment center for packaging and shipping or storing. Such a relationship of the end panels  16  and front frame provides a space between the end panels  16  and the front frame  18  for storing components such as shelving and support rails, while at the same time, prevents damage that may occur to the entertainment center during shipping because the panels form nearly a box shape during shipping. 
     FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a ready-to-assemble casegood during assembly showing an end panel  16 , pivoted perpendicular about three hinges  31  attached to three corresponding hinge blocks  30  secured to the front frame  18 . The hinge blocks  30  place the folding axis between the end panel  16  and front frame  18  rearward the plane of the front frame  18 , or towards the back of the entertainment center. An interior volume is provided between the front frame and the panels  16 , enabling storage of shelves and other assembly components during packaging and shipping or storing. The center also includes two substantially mirror image pocket doors  12 , although the present invention can be constructed as a casegood having any number of doors.  FIG. 3  shows the back of a pocket door  12  from the open back of the entertainment center. The pocket doors  12  include hinges  24  for opening the doors  12  of the entertainment center for viewing an object inside the center such as a television, for example. The door  12  is connected to the hinge rail  22  by hinges  24 , and the hinge rail  22  is hinged to the door support rail  20  with a piano hinge  36 , although many other types of hinges known in the art will work suitably. The hinges  24  allow the doors  12  to pivot until they are substantially in the same plane as the door support rails  20  and door hinge rails  22 . Only after the pocket doors  12  are pivoted about the door hinges  24  can they be moved along the door track  26  on rollers  34  (hidden behind the door support rail  20  in  FIG. 3 ) that are attached to the door suppport rail  20 . Other suitable mechanisms for retracting the doors  12  include but are not limited to a sliding rather than rolling device. Additionally, the door track  26  can be fitted with a spring or other tensioner to bias the doors  12  to the retracted position. The piano hinge  36  joint allows the pocket doors  12  to fold into the interior section of the entertainment center between the end panels  16  when the end panels  16  are pivoted about the hinges  31  for shipping or storing the entertainment center. The piano hinges  36  connect the door support rail  20  to the door hinge rail  22  for retracting the pocket doors after assembly. While only one side of the entertainment center is shown in  FIG. 3 , the opposite side of the center is substantially the same, as can be seen in  FIG. 4 . 
     FIG. 5  is a view of a ready-to-assemble casegood showing assembly of the bottom panel  40 , which is a planar panel having a rectangular shape. The bottom panel of the entertainment center provides an area for storing items accessible through the doors  14  on the front frame  18  of the center. The bottom panel  40 , which may include door latches  46 , supports the assembled structure of the entertainment center because the end panels  16  cannot pivot inward about the hinge blocks  30  when the bottom panel  40  is inserted into the center during assembly. The television shelf  44  (shown in  FIG. 10 ) and upright divider  42  along with a top panel (not shown) form the basic interior components of the entertainment center. The upright divider  42  is shown being assembled into the entertainment center on the bottom panel  40  in  FIG. 6 . 
     FIG. 7  shows the assembly of a lower cross rail brace  32 . The cross rail braces  32  add structural integrity to the entertainment center after assembly. The ends of the cross rail brace  32  are secured into notches at the back of the side panels  16  by fasteners  33 . Another cross rail brace is secured at the top of the upright divider  42  and fits into the notch therein, as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     FIG. 9  is a rear perspective view from the rear of a ready-to-assemble casegood showing the door hinge rail  22  and the door support rail  20 . The door hinge rail  22  includes a tenon  50  extending downwardly beyond the lowest end of the door support rail.  20 . The tenon moves along a groove on the television shelf when the door is selectively retracted into the entertainment center. 
     FIG. 10  is a view from above a ready-to-assemble casegood showing a television shelf  44  having a bar wity a groove  46  on opposite sides. The groove  46  provides a passage for the tenon  50  on the lower end of the door hinge rail  22 . The tenons  50  and grooves  46  combine to keep the door hinge rail from pivoting along the piano hinge  36  during use of the entertainment center. 
   Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. It should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the following claims.