Patent Publication Number: US-2003222554-A1

Title: Reversible wardrobe sliding door arrangement

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 fo 5 r 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.