Abstract:
A portable, folded wardrobe wherein in a ready-to-use state, opposing side sections and two front doors are positioned symmetrically on either side of a center longitudinal plane, and wherein when in a folded storage state the side sections and doors have been rotated laterally and folded whereby they are non-symmetrically positioned with respect to said plane and whereby the longitudinal dimension (front to back) of the wardrobe is markedly reduced and the lateral dimension is concordantly increased.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Field 
     This invention concerns a portable, collapsible wardrobe or close particularly for use where a wardrobe would be desirable on a temporary basis and where, in its collapsed (constructed) condition, its room occupying dimensions would be reduced to a fraction of its ready to use expanded state. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A portable, foldable wardrobe wherein in a ready-to-use state, opposing side sections and two front doors are positioned symmetrically on either side of a center longitudinal plane to form two halves of the wardrobe wherein when in a folded storage state the side sections and doors have been rotated laterally folded whereby they are non-symmetrically positioned with respect to said plane and whereby the longitudinal dimension (front to back) of the wardrobe is markedly reduced and the lateral dimension is concordantly increased, and wherein tandem struts are strategically provided between and attached to structural components of the wardrobe to mandate that pivoting of one of the components will force all movable components into a lateral, rotative motion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be understood further from the drawings herein and their description wherein the figures are not drawn to scale or consistent proportions and are intended to describe principles of the present invention and preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of the wardrobe mounted on a room wall and in its folded state; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the wardrobe of  FIG. 1  and in its expanded, ready-to-use state; 
         FIG. 3  is a top down view taken along line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a view as in  FIG. 3  with the side walls and panels rotated laterally to the left to the ready-to-use state of the wardrobe and showing the locations of the pivot joints (approximately) and the tandem struts and clothes hanger rod; 
         FIG. 4A  is a top down view of the wardrobe structure showing a general angular relationship of the side walls, side panels, door panels and tandem struts when the wardrobe is approximately ½ way expanded (or folded); 
         FIG. 5  shows a preferred hinge (pivot) structure which allows the door panels to pivot readily 180°; 
         FIG. 5A  is a cross sectional view taken along line  5 A- 5 A in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  6 - 6  in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  7 - 7  in  FIG. 4  and showing the vertical spatial locations of struts and clothes hanger rod; 
         FIGS. 8 and 8A  shows the dotted area in  FIG. 4  (not in proportion to other components) fitted with a sliding bar lock for rigidifying the wardrobe structure in its operative (expanded) state; 
         FIG. 8A  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  8 A- 8 A in  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a front view of an upper portion of the wardrobe showing a hanger type of attachment of the wardrobe to a room wall; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-section taken along line  10 - 10  in  FIG. 9  and additionally shows an attachment of top and floor sections to the rear wall of the wardrobe, and magnetic door closers on said top section; and 
         FIG. 11  is a line schematic showing typical (approximate) dimensions and pivot locations. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to the drawings and with particular reference to the claims herein, the present wardrobe structure has a rectangular rear wall  10  adapted for mounting on a room wall  11 , a rectangular first side wall  12  fixed in position on one vertical edge portion  13  of said rear wall and extending outwardly at a right angle therefrom, a rectangular first side panel  14  pivotally mounted on an outer vertical edge portion  15  of said side wall and adapted to be swung toward or away from a center plane  17  of said wardrobe structure which divides the structure into right hand  51  and left hand  53  halves when the structure is in its expanded state (mode), a rectangular first door panel  16  pivotally mounted on an outer vertical edge portion  19  of said first side panel and adapted to be swung toward or away from said center plane, a rectangular second side panel  22  pivotally mounted on the other vertical edge portion  21  of said rear wall and adapted to be swung toward or away from said center plane, a rectangular second side wall  20  pivotally mounted on an outer vertical edge portion  23  of said rectangular second side panel and adapted to be swung toward or away from said center plane, and a rectangular second door panel  18  pivotally mounted on an outer vertical edge portion  25  of said second side wall. 
     In the above structure all of the pivotal mountings allow the side panels, the second side wall and the door panels to be swung laterally to the left ( FIG. 4 ) in unison about their pivoted mountings to (A) form an expanded rectangular ready-to-use wardrobe  26  having a lateral dimension  28  and a longitudinal dimension  30 , or (B) swung to the right ( FIG. 3 ) to form a folded rectangular stored wardrobe wherein its lateral dimension  32  is markedly lengthened and its longitudinal dimension  34  is markedly contracted to, e.g., ¼ of the longitudinal expanded dimension  30  ( FIG. 4 ). 
     It is noted that the components of the wardrobe which provides halves  51  and  53  can be reversed so as to reverse the positions and the direction in which the components laterally rotate the halves shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     Any type of attachment means may be used to mount the wardrobe on room wall  11  as shown, e.g., in  FIG. 4  by screws  36 . A alternative would be to use hanger structures such as screws  38  and apertured receivers  40  as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . It is noted that it is not necessary to provide a top  42  or a floor  44  to the wardrobe structure, however, if such is desired for the storage mode, they can be, e.g., affixed by, e.g., screws  88  to the rear wall  10  as shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , struts  46  and  48  are pivotally mounted as shown,  46  to  22  and  14 , and  48  to  10  and  20 , and cause these walls and panels to move in tandem whether the wardrobe is being expanded or folded. The positioning of the pivots of these struts is important and an example of wardrobe dimensions is given in  FIG. 11  in schematic line form for one size of wardrobe. The pivot points are black dots. Scaling up or down of the wardrobe will change the pivot points of the struts, and their (pivot point) adjustments can be readily made by those skilled in the art. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6  and as an example, the end of strut  46  is pivotally mounted by pin  50  which is bearinged in bracket plates  52 ,  54  affixed to side panel  14 . This type of pivot structure is preferred for all strut pivots as well as for the clothes bar  58 . Bar  58  is a permanent installation and is shown as a rod  60  slidable without significant resistance in a cylinder  62  whereby its lengthening or shortening is readily accommodated during expansion or folding of the wardrobe. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 5A , a preferred type of pivot structure for the wardrobe components of walls, panels and doors comprises sturdy metal plates  64  affixed to the top edge and bottom edge of each component, where appropriate, by screws (wood)  66  and to an adjacent component by pivot lugs  68 . Common hinges may also be used, however, the aforesaid plates allow the plane lines  70  of adjacent components to align and present a smooth artistic appearance. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 8 and 8A , a sliding bar type of locking or rigidifying bar structure is shown for preventing inopportune folding of the wardrobe and comprises a pair of channels  72 ,  74  screwed as at  80  to components  22  and  20  respectively for slidably receiving bar  76 . When bar  76  is inserted thru  72  to about point  78 , components  20  and  22  will not be able to pivot relative to each other and the expanded wardrobe shape will be preserved. Also, as shown in  FIG. 10 , doors  16  and  18  can be urged closed by permanent magnets  82  affixed to the underside of top section  42  in cooperation with steel members  84  affixed to the upper inner portions of the doors. In opening (expanded) the wardrobe a tug on knob  86  in a forward direction as shown in  FIG. 4A  will cause the tandem struts  46  and  48  to rotate laterally all other movable components of the structure due to the positioning of the strut end connections. 
     The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications will be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.