Patent Publication Number: US-10787850-B2

Title: Sliding apparatus for sliding door

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to a sliding apparatus for a sliding door and, more specifically, to a sliding apparatus for a sliding door, in which when sliding doors for opening or closing the front of furniture or a bathroom cabinet having a storage space slide while overlapping each other, the doors slide through the rails formed at the upper and lower ends of the rear door such that by simply coupling the doors to the conventional rails, the front door and the rear door positioned in a straight line can be opened while overlapping each other so that the compatibility of the product can be increased, the both doors of the sliding doors can be opened or closed at the same time so that the efficient product use is allowed, and when the doors are moved forward or backward, the doors can move while absorbing shock so that the noise of the product can be reduced while improving durability. 
     In general, various doors are provided on the front of furniture, which have storage spaces and thus can store articles inside, such as a cabinet, a bookcase or a closet, so as to prevent the articles from being seen from the outside. 
     Such doors can be largely divided into a hinged door type and a sliding door type depending on the opening and closing methods thereof, wherein the hinged door type means that a door is opened or closed while being rotated around a rotary shaft by a hinge, and the sliding door type means that a door is opened or closed by the width of the door along a rail. 
     Since the door of the hinged door type is rotated as described above, a space corresponding to the width of the door is required, and since the sliding door type requires rails as many as the number of doors and has to maintain a gap between such doors in order to prevent interference between the doors, furniture having the sliding doors has to accommodate such a width for forming the doors. 
     In order to solve the disadvantages of the opening and closing apparatus of a sliding door as described above, an opening and closing apparatus of a sliding door has been suggested in Korean Patent Registration No. 1180469. 
     The opening and closing apparatus of a sliding door as described above can slide in both lateral directions and can be stably and smoothly opened and closed with minimized frictional resistance at the time of movement in the back and forth directions, thereby carrying out further stabilized movement in the back and forth directions. 
     However, this prior art has problems in that in order to ensuring the back and forth movement of the door in the sliding door as described above, a rail frame has to include a straight rail and a curved rail protruding forward so that additional rails have to be installed, resulting in a complicate structure while decreasing productivity. 
     In addition, since the both side doors have the same tracks along which the doors slide and move back and forth, the both side doors cannot be opened or closed at the same time so that the product efficiency is decreased. Further, since there is no damper for the shock at the time of the back and forth movement of the doors, there are further problems that noise is generated at the time of sliding the doors and the durability of the product is lowered by the shock. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems and disadvantages occurring in the prior arts and has an objective to provide a sliding apparatus for a sliding door, in which when the sliding doors slide and overlap each other, by simply coupling the doors to the conventional rail, the front door and the rear door positioned in a straight line can be opened while overlapping each other, thereby increasing the compatibility of the product. 
     It is another objective of the present invention to provide a sliding apparatus for a sliding door, in which the both doors of the sliding doors can be opened or closed at the same time so that it is possible to use articles stored in either side of furniture or a bathroom cabinet, thereby enabling efficient product use, and when the doors are move forward or backward, the doors can move while absorbing shock so that the noise of the product can be reduced while improving durability. 
     According to the present invention to achieve the above objectives in order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, there is provided a sliding apparatus for a sliding door, comprising: a front top roller part including an upper outer bracket and an upper inner bracket which are fitted and fixed to both upper ends of a front door while being connected to each other by an upper connecting bar, and are formed to slide in both lateral directions after moving forward; a front bottom roller part including a lower outer bracket and a lower inner bracket which are fitted and fixed to both lower ends of the front door while being connected to each other by a lower connecting bar, and are formed to slide in both lateral directions after moving forward; a rear roller part including rear outer brackets and rear inner brackets, which are formed at both upper ends and both lower ends of a rear door formed on one side of the front door, so as to slide the rear door; a front rail part including guide rails which are formed on the upper and lower end surfaces of a rear door frame and the upper and lower surfaces of the rear inner bracket, such that the upper inner bracket of the front top roller part and the lower inner bracket of the front bottom roller part slide while moving forward along the guide rails; and a straight rail part including straight rails, which are formed at the upper and lower ends of a housing, so as to slide the front door and the rear door in both lateral directions. 
     Each of the upper outer bracket and the upper inner bracket of the front top roller part includes upper straight rollers formed at the front and rear portions of the bottom surface of an upper straight body so as to slide along the straight rail of the straight rail part, upper movement bodies are fitted and fixed to both sides of the upper end of the front door so as to slide back and forth by bearings on the inside of the upper straight body, thereby guiding the forward movement of the front door, a damper is formed on the bottom surface of the upper straight body and elastically mounted by a restoring spring, which is connected to the upper straight body and one side of the upper movement body, so as to absorb shock during the movement of the upper movement body, and an upper movement roller is formed on the rear door side of the upper inner bracket so as to move along the guide rail. 
     The lower outer bracket of the front bottom roller part has a lower straight roller formed on the top surface of a lower straight body so as to slide along the straight rail, a lower movement body is fitted and fixed to the outside of the lower end of the front door so as to slide on the outside of the lower straight body and guide the forward movement of the front door, the outside of the lower movement body and the lower straight body are elastically mounted by a restoring spring, and a lower movement roller is formed on the rear door side of the lower inner bracket so as to move along the guide rail. 
     Each of the rear outer bracket and the rear inner bracket of the rear roller part includes a rear horizontal roller and connecting rod rollers are formed on the front door side of the rear inner bracket so as to come into rolling contact with the rear portions of the connecting bars and thus slide. 
     A damping latch is formed to be extended from the rear side of each of the rear outer bracket and the rear inner bracket, which are formed on the lower end of the rear door of the rear roller part, so as to be held by a damper. 
     A handle is formed on each of the bottom surfaces of the rear outer bracket formed at the lower end of the rear door of the rear roller part and the lower outer bracket of the front bottom roller part so as to protrude to the lower portion of each of the front door and the rear door. 
     The guide rail formed on the rear door frame of the front rail part is formed to be straight and the guide rail of the rear inner bracket, which is connected to the guide rail, is formed as a curved rail that is curved backward. 
     The upper straight roller is formed to be parallel to the front door and the upper movement roller is formed to be perpendicular. 
     A latch is formed on the rear side of the upper straight body of each of the upper outer bracket and the upper inner bracket so as to be held by a damper. 
     The lower straight roller and the lower movement roller are formed to be perpendicular to the front door. 
     The rear horizontal roller formed on each of the rear outer bracket and the rear inner bracket at the upper end of the rear door of the rear roller part is formed to be parallel to the rear door, and the connecting rod and the rear horizontal roller formed on the rear inner bracket and the rear outer bracket at the lower end of the rear door are formed to be perpendicular to the rear door. 
     As described above, according to the present invention, when the sliding doors slide and overlap each other, by simply coupling the doors to the conventional rail, the front door and the rear door positioned in a straight line can be opened while overlapping each other, thereby increasing the compatibility of the product, the both doors of the sliding doors can be opened or closed at the same time so that it is possible to use articles stored in either side of furniture or a bathroom cabinet, thereby enabling efficient product use, and when the doors are moved forward or backward, the doors can move while absorbing shock so that the noise of the product can be reduced while improving durability. 
     While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, various changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the present invention by those skilled in the art, to which the present invention belongs. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view showing an upper outer bracket of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view showing an upper inner bracket of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view showing an upper inner bracket of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view showing a lower inner bracket of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view showing a lower outer bracket of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view showing a front door of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a front door of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded perspective view showing a rear inner bracket at the upper end of a rear door of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded perspective view showing a rear outer bracket at the upper end of a rear door of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded perspective view showing a rear inner bracket at the lower end of a rear door of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 11  is an exploded perspective view showing a rear outer bracket at the lower end of a rear door of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 12  is an assembled perspective view showing a rear door according to a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 13  is an explanatory view showing the upper and lower outer brackets of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, when doors are closed, 
         FIG. 14  is an explanatory view showing the upper and lower inner brackets of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, when doors are closed, 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view showing a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, which is applied to a straight rail, 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional view showing a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, which is applied to a straight rail, 
         FIG. 17  is a plane view showing a closed state of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 18  is a plane view showing an opened state of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 19  is an explanatory view showing the upper inner end surface of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, when doors are closed, 
         FIG. 20  is an explanatory view showing the lower inner end surface of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention, when doors are closed, and 
         FIG. 21  is an assembly diagram of a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 10: front top roller part 
                 11: front door 
               
               
                   
                 12: upper outer bracket 
                 13: upper inner bracket 
               
               
                   
                 14: upper connecting bar 
                 20: front bottom roller part 
               
               
                   
                 21: lower outer bracket 
                 22: lower inner bracket 
               
               
                   
                 23: lower connecting bar 
                 30: rear roller part 
               
               
                   
                 31: rear door 
                 32: rear outer bracket 
               
               
                   
                 33: rear inner bracket 
                 40: front rail part 
               
               
                   
                 41: guide rail 
                 50: straight rail part 
               
               
                   
                 51: straight rail 
                 60: handle 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to fully understand the advantages in the operations of the present invention and the objectives achieved by the implementation of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, which show preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the contents of the accompanying drawings. 
     Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific examples of the present invention. The following examples are provided to explain the present invention in more detail, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. 
     Embodiments 
       FIG. 18  is an assembly diagram showing a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention. 
     As illustrated, a sliding apparatus for a sliding door according to the present invention includes a front top roller part  10  and a front bottom roller part  20  for opening or closing a front door  11 , a rear roller part  30  formed on a rear door  31 , a front rail part  40  along which the front top roller part  10  and the front bottom roller part  20  slide, and a straight rail part  50  along which the front and rear doors  11 ,  31  slide. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 , the front top roller part  10  as described above includes an upper outer bracket  12  and upper inner bracket  13  which are fitted and fixed to both upper ends of the front door  11  while being connected to each other by an upper connecting bar  14 . 
     The upper outer bracket  12  and the upper inner bracket  13  of the front top roller part  10  include upper straight rollers  16  formed at the front and rear portions of the bottom surface of an upper straight body  15  so as to slide along the straight rail  51  of the straight rail part  50 , and upper movement bodies  17  are fitted and fixed to both sides of the upper end of the front door  11  so as to slide back and forth by bearings B on the inside of the upper straight body  15 , thereby guiding the forward movement of the front door  11 . 
     A damper  18  is formed on the bottom surface of the upper straight body  15  and elastically mounted by a restoring spring S, which is connected to the upper straight body  15  and one side of the upper movement body  17 , so as to absorb shock during the movement of the upper movement body  17 , and an upper movement roller  19  is formed on the inside and perpendicular to the front door  11 . 
     In addition, a latch  15 ′ is formed on the rear side of the upper straight body  15  of each of the upper outer bracket  12  and the upper inner bracket  13  so as to be held by a damper formed at the upper side of a housing. 
     The front bottom roller part  20  is formed at both sides on the lower end of the front door  11  respectively. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4  to  FIG. 5 , the front bottom roller part  20  as above includes a lower outer bracket  21  and a lower inner bracket  22  which are fitted and fixed to both sides of the lower end of the front door  11  while being connected to each other by a lower connecting bar  23 , and are formed to slide in both lateral directions after moving forward. 
     The lower outer bracket  21  of the front bottom roller part  20  as described above includes a lower straight roller  25 , which is formed on the top surface of a lower straight body  24  so as to slide along the straight rail  51 , and a lower movement body  26 , which is fitted and fixed to the outside of the lower end of the front door  11  so as to slide on the outside of the lower straight body  24  and thus guide the forward movement of the front door  11 . 
     The outside of the lower movement body  26  and the lower straight body  24  are elastically mounted by a restoring spring S, and a lower movement roller  27  is formed on the lower inner bracket  22  so as to be perpendicular to the front door  11 . 
     The rear roller part  30  is formed on the rear door  31  formed at one side of the front door  11 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8  to  FIG. 12 , the rear roller part  30  includes rear outer brackets  32  and rear inner brackets  33  which are formed at both upper ends and both lower ends of the rear door  31  so as to slide the rear door  31 . 
     Each of the rear outer bracket  32  and the rear inner bracket  33  of the rear roller part  30  includes a rear horizontal roller  34  and a connecting rod roller  35  is formed on the front door  11  side of the rear inner bracket  33  so as to come into rolling contact with the rear portion of the connecting bar  23  and thus slide. 
     In addition, a damping latch  36  is formed to be extended from the rear side of each of the rear outer bracket  32  and the rear inner bracket  33 , which are formed on the lower end of the rear door  31  of the rear roller part  30 , so as to be held by a damper. 
     A handle  60  is formed on each of the bottom surfaces of the rear outer bracket  31  formed at the lower end of the rear door  31  of the rear roller part  30  and the lower outer bracket  21  of the front bottom roller part  20  so as to protrude to the lower portion of each of the front door  11  and the rear door  31 . 
     The rear horizontal roller  34  formed on each of the rear outer bracket  32  and the rear inner bracket  33  at the upper end of the rear door  31  of the rear roller part  30  is formed to be parallel to the rear door  31 , and the connecting rod roller  35  and the rear horizontal roller  34  formed on the rear inner bracket  33  and the rear outer bracket  32  at the lower end of the rear door  31  are formed to be perpendicular to the rear door  31 . 
     The front rail part  40  is formed such that the upper inner bracket  13  of the front top roller part  10  and the lower inner bracket  22  of the front bottom roller part  20  slide while moving forward. 
     The front rail part  40  includes guide rails  41  which are formed on the upper and lower end surfaces of a rear door frame  34  and the upper and lower surfaces of the rear inner bracket  33 , wherein the guide rail  41  formed on the rear door frame  34  of the front rail part  40  is formed to be straight and the guide rail  41  of the rear inner bracket  33 , which is connected to the guide rail  41 , is formed as a curved rail that is curved backward. 
     Meanwhile, as shown in  FIG. 15  to  FIG. 16 , the straight rail part  50  is formed such that the front door  11  and the rear door  31  slide in both lateral directions, wherein the straight rail part  50  includes the straight rails  51  formed on the upper and lower ends of the housing. 
     The operation and effect of the present invention structured as above will be described below. 
     First, the front door  11  and the rear door  31  are formed on the front surface of the housing, which has a storage space. 
     In order to locate the front door  11  and the rear door  31  on the same straight line when the housing is closed and to maintain the front door  11  and the rear door  31  in an overlapping state when opened by sliding doors, as shown in  FIG. 18 , the front door  11  and the rear door  13  are maintained in the overlapping state while the upper outer bracket  12  and the upper inner bracket  13 , which are fixed to the front door  11 , and the upper movement body  17  and the lower movement body  26  of the lower outer bracket  21  slidingly move forward. 
     Herein, in order to enable the front door  11  to overlap the rear door  31  in front of the rear door  31 , the upper movement roller  19  formed on the upper movement body  17  of the upper inner bracket  13  moves along the upper end surface of the rear door frame  34  of the rear door  31  and the guide rail  41  formed on the upper surface of the rear inner bracket  33 , and the lower movement roller  27  formed on the lower inner bracket  22  moves along the lower end surface of the rear door frame  34  of the rear door  31  and the guide rail  41  formed on the lower surface of the rear inner bracket  33 . 
     The front door  11  is opened or closed while moving forward along the guide rail  41  as described above. 
     When the front door  11  moves as described above, the connecting rod rollers  35  formed on the rear inner brackets  33  come into rolling contact with the rear portions of the upper connecting bar  14 , which connects the upper outer bracket  12  and the upper inner bracket  13  fixed on the front door  11 , and the lower connecting bar  23 , which connects the lower outer bracket  21  and the lower inner bracket  22 , thereby increasing stability during opening or closing. 
     The front door  11  and the rear door  31  are opened while overlapping each other even if the front door  11  and the rear door  31  are opened simultaneously, as the front door  11  moves along the guide rail  41  formed on the rear door  31  as described above. 
     The upper movement roller  19  formed on the upper end of the front door  11  and the connecting rod roller  35  formed on the rear door  31 , which move as above as shown in  FIG. 19  an  FIG. 20 , come into surface contact with each other without any planar gap between the rollers such that the doors can be opened or closed stably without shaking and the front door  11  and the rear door  31  can be opened or closed simultaneously while rolling. 
     In addition, the lower movement roller  27  and the connecting rod roller  35  on the inner rear ends of the front door  11  and the rear door  31 , which are opened and closed as described above, are formed to roll without any planar gap between the rollers such that the doors can be opened or closed stably without shaking and the front door  11  and the rear door  31  can be simultaneously opened or closed simultaneously while rolling. 
     Further, the upper straight rollers  16 , which are formed on the upper straight bodies  15  of the upper outer bracket  12  and the upper inner bracket  13  of the front door  11 , and the lower straight roller  25  on the lower straight body  24  of the lower outer bracket  21  slide along the straight rails  51 . 
     The rear horizontal rollers  34  formed on the rear outer bracket  32  and the rear inner bracket  33  come into rolling contact with the straight rail  51  and slide along the straight rail  51  such that the rear door  31  moves. 
     If the front door  11  and the rear door  31  overlap as described above, the restoring spring S which is formed on the upper straight body  15  and the upper movement body  17  and the restoring spring S which connects the lower straight body  24  and the lower movement body  25  are maintained in a tensioned state. 
     If the front door  11  and the rear door  31  are positioned on the same line in this state so as to close the housing, the front door  11  and the rear door  31  slide in the same manner as the sliding manner described above and the upper straight body  15  and the upper movement body  17  as well as the lower straight body  24  and the lower movement body  25  are inserted into and returned to the original positions thereof by the restoring force of the restoring spring S which is formed on the upper straight body  15  and the upper movement body  17  and the restoring spring S which connects the lower straight body  24  and the lower movement body  25   
     Herein, the shock when the front door  11  is returned to the original position thereof is absorbed as the damper  18  formed on the bottom surface of the upper straight body  15  absorbs the shock in the movement of the upper movement body  17 . 
     The opening or closing of the doors as described above can be carried out by holding the handles  60  formed on the rear outer bracket  31  and the lower outer bracket  21  so that the opening or closing can be carried out conveniently, and the latch  15 ′ of the upper straight body  15  and the damping latches  36  formed on the rear side of the rear outer bracket  32  and the rear inner bracket  33  are formed to be held on the damper formed on the upper and lower ends of the housing such that the shock at the time of opening or closing the doors can be absorbed.