Patent Publication Number: US-6220332-B1

Title: Door assembly for spanning an entrance of a shower room

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a foldable door assembly which is used for spanning an entrance of a room, such as a shower room, which can be produced at a relatively low cost, and which does not require a large amount of operating space when in use. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Conventionally, a shower curtain is commonly installed in a bathroom around a shower space and above a bathtub such that water can be prevented from wetting the ground surface of the bathroom outside the shower space. When the shower space is not in use, the shower curtain is moved toward an adjacent wall and is usually kept in a folded state such that different parts of the shower curtain are in close contact. As such, water on the surface of the shower curtain cannot easily evaporate therefrom, thereby often resulting in mildewing of the shower curtain. 
     A hinged door has been suggested heretofore for closing and opening an entrance to the shower room. However, operation of the hinged door requires a relatively large amount of space. The hinged door is found to be not suitable for use in a relatively cramped space. 
     Another kind of door that has been suggested for a shower room includes a parallel pair of vertical glass panels which are slidable along adjacent and parallel railways. When one of the glass panels is slid to one side of the other one of the glass panels, an entrance generally as wide as the panels is formed. As such, the width of the entrance is limited to the width of the panels, and can be enlarged only by broadening the space of the shower room. 
     In addition, installation of the aforementioned doors involves relatively complicated techniques, and can hardly be accomplished by the consumer. Additional costs for installation are thus incurred. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a door assembly which can be operated without the need for a large amount of space, which can be produced at a relatively low cost, and which can be easily assembled by the consumer. 
     Accordingly, the door assembly of the present invention is adapted for spanning an entrance of a shower room having first and second upright walls that extend upwardly from a horizontal ground surface. The door assembly includes an elongated rail member, and a foldable sliding door unit. The rail member is adapted to be disposed horizontally between the first and second upright walls and to be spaced apart vertically from the ground surface. The rail member is formed with a longitudinally extending slide channel. The foldable sliding door unit includes a plurality of vertically disposed elongated connectors, connector mounting means, a plurality of vertically disposed elongated slats, and a plurality of slidable coupling units. Each of the connectors has an upper end to be disposed adjacent to the rail member, and a lower end to be disposed adjacent to the ground surface. Each of the connectors further has left and right sides formed with longitudinally extending left and right engaging grooves. A first one of the connectors is located at one end of the door unit and is to be disposed adjacent to the first upright wall. A second one of the connectors is located at the other end of the door unit. The connector mounting means is adapted for mounting the first one of the connectors on the first upright wall. Each of the slats has two lateral end portions which are formed respectively with vertically extending cylindrical members which are received in an adjacent pair of the engaging grooves of an adjacent pair of the connectors such that the cylindrical members are rotatable axially for folding and unfolding of the slats relative to the adjacent pair of the connectors. Each of the slats has an upper edge adjacent to the upper ends of the connectors, and a lower edge adjacent to the lower ends of the connectors. The slidable coupling units are mounted on the upper ends of selected ones of the connectors, and extend into and are slidable along the slide channel so as to permit movement of the door unit toward the second upright wall to an unfolded state, where the connectors and the slats are disposed on substantially the same vertical plane to close the entrance to the room, and so as to permit movement of the door unit away from the second upright wall to a folded state, where the connectors and the slats cease to be disposed on substantially the same vertical plane to open the entrance to the room. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
     FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a preferred embodiment of a door assembly of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment; 
     FIG. 3 is a top view illustrating the preferred embodiment when a sliding door unit is moved to a folded state; 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment, taken along line IV—IV of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative arrangement for the preferred embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the preferred embodiment of the door assembly of the present invention is adapted for spanning an entrance  10  of a shower room having first and second upright walls  1 ,  1 ′ that extend upwardly from a horizontal ground surface  11 . The ground surface  11  has a raised portion  12  that extends between the upright walls  1 ,  1 ′. The door assembly is shown to generally include an elongated rail member  2 , a foldable sliding door unit  3 , and an elongated bottom guard member  9 . 
     The rail member  2  is made of aluminum, and is adapted to be disposed horizontally between the first and second upright walls  1 ,  1 ′, and to be spaced apart vertically from the raised portion  12  on the ground surface  11 . The rail member  2  includes a hollow top portion  22  formed with a longitudinally extending first insert groove  221 , and a hollow downward extension  21  which extends downwardly from the top portion  22 . The top portion  22  of the rail member  2  has two opposite ends adapted to be fastened respectively to the first and second upright walls  1 ,  1 ′ by means of a pair of L-shaped mounting plates  222  and a plurality of screw fasteners  223 . The downward extension  21  is formed with a longitudinally extending slide channel  210  which has opposite open ends  211  disposed adjacent to the opposite ends of the top portion  22 . The slide channel  210  includes a longitudinally extending roller accommodating portion  215 , and a longitudinally extending axle slot  212  that is communicated with the roller accommodating portion  215  and that is narrower than the roller accommodating portion  215 . The slot  212  is formed in one side of the rail member  2 . 
     The sliding door unit  3  includes a plurality of vertically disposed elongated connectors  31 , a plurality of vertically disposed elongated slats  4 , a plurality of slidable coupling units  75 , and a plurality of upper and lower caps  7 ,  8 . 
     The connectors  31  are made from a plastic material. Each of the connectors  31  has an upper end to be disposed adjacent to the rail member  2 , and a lower end to be disposed near the raised portion  12  on the ground surface  11 . Each of the connectors  31  further has left and right sides formed with longitudinally extending left and right engaging grooves  311 , and longitudinally extending slots  312  communicated respectively with the engaging grooves  311 . The upper and lower ends of each of the connectors  31  are formed with upper and lower access openings  313  for access to the engaging grooves  311 . The slots  312  in an adjacent pair of the connectors  31  are formed on opposite front and rear sides of the door unit  3 . 
     The slats  4  are made of a plastic material, and are disposed between adjacent pairs of the connectors  31 . Each of the slats  4  has two lateral end portions which are formed respectively with vertically extending cylindrical members  41 . The cylindrical members  41  are to be received in an adjacent pair of the engaging grooves  311  of an adjacent pair of the connectors  31  such that the cylindrical members  41  are rotatable axially for folding and unfolding of the slats  4  relative to the adjacent pair of the connectors  31 . The cylindrical members  41  are tubular in shape with open top and bottom ends. Each of the slats  4  has an upper edge  42  to be disposed adjacent to the upper ends of the connectors  31 , and a lower edge  43  to be disposed adjacent to the lower ends of the connectors  31 . 
     Referring to FIG. 3, a first one of the connectors  31  is located at one end of the door unit  3  and is to be disposed adjacent to the first upright wall  1 . The first one of the connectors  31  is adapted to be mounted on the first upright wall  1  by connector mounting means  5  which includes an outer frame member  52  and an inner frame member  51 . The outer frame member  52  has spaced-apart front and rear clamping portions  523 , and a bridging portion  521  which interconnects edge portions of the front and rear clamping portions  523  and which is adapted to be attached to the first upright wall  1  by means of a double-sided adhesive tape  522 . The front and rear clamping portions  523  have confronting concave faces, and cooperatively define a clamping space  524  therebetween. The inner frame member  51  is clamped within the clamping space  524 , and has convex front and rear sides for engaging the concave faces of the front and rear clamping portions  523  of the outer frame member  52 . The inner frame member  51  has one end which is distal to the bridging portion  521  of the outer frame member  52  and which is provided with a vertically extending tubular member  511 . The tubular member  511  is disposed outside of the clamping space  524 , and is received in an adjacent one of the engaging grooves  311  in the first one of the connectors  31 . 
     A second one of the connectors  31  is located at the other end of the door unit  3  opposite to the first upright wall  1 , and has an operating frame member  333  mounted thereon. The operating frame member  333  has a tubular member  337  received in an adjacent one of the engaging grooves  311  in the second one of the connectors  31 , and is formed with a rectangular mounting hole  334  which is provided with front and rear plate members  335  that engage each other. The plate members  335  are formed respectively with finger grooves  336  on front and rear sides of the operating frame member  333  to permit extension of fingers of a user thereinto to facilitate handling of the operating frame member  333 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 to  4 , the upper caps  7  are fastened to the upper ends of the connectors  31  with the use of screw fasteners. Each of the upper caps  7  is formed with a pair of positioning posts  71  which extend into the open top ends of the cylindrical members  41  that are received in the engaging grooves  311  of the respective one of the connectors  31 . Similarly, the lower caps  8  are fastened to the lower ends of the connectors  31  with the use of screw fasteners. Each of the lower caps  8  is formed with a pair of positioning posts  81  which extend into the open bottom ends of the cylindrical members  41  that are received in the engaging grooves  311  of the respective connector  31 . 
     The slidable coupling units  75  are provided on some of the upper caps  7 , preferably on alternating ones of the upper caps  7 . Each of the slidable coupling units  75  includes a roller  70  disposed in the roller accommodating portion  215  of the slide channel  210 , a horizontal axle  73  having a first end portion connected to the roller  70  and a second end portion that extends out of the roller accommodating portion  215  via the axle slot  212 , and a vertically extending axle support  72  which has an upper end connected to the second end portion of the axle  73  and a lower end connected to the respective upper cap  7 . The slidable coupling units  75  are slidable along the slide channel  210  so as to permit movement of the sliding door unit  3  toward the second upright wall  1 ′ (see FIG. 1) to an unfolded state, where the connectors  31  and the slats  4  are disposed on substantially the same vertical plane, as shown in FIG. 2, to close the entrance  10  (see FIG. 1) to the shower room, and so as to permit movement of the sliding door unit  3  away from the second upright wall  1 ′ (see FIG. 1) to a folded state, where the connectors  31  and the slats  4  cease to be disposed on substantially the same vertical plane, as shown in FIG. 3, to open the entrance to the shower room. As shown, when the sliding door unit  3  is in the folded state, the slats  4  are disposed parallel to one another such that the length of the sliding door unit  3  measured between the first and second one of the connectors  31  along the longitudinal direction of the rail member  2  is relatively short to provide the entrance to the shower room with a relatively large width. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the bottom guard member  9  is made of aluminum, and is adapted to be disposed on the raised portion  12  of the ground surface  11 , and to be disposed horizontally between the first and second upright walls  1 ,  1 ′. The bottom guard member  9  includes a longitudinally extending base portion  91  that is disposed immediately below the lower edges  43  of the slats  4  and the lower caps  8  mounted on the lower ends of the connectors  31  and that is adapted to be attached to the raised portion  12  of the ground surface  11  by means of a double-sided adhesive tape  92 , and a longitudinally extending barrier  93  that extends upwardly from the base portion  91  and that is disposed on one side of the door unit  3 . The base portion  91  is hollow, and is formed with a longitudinally extending second insert groove  911 , and has a top surface  912  that inclines downwardly in a direction away from the barrier  93 . The barrier  93  is hollow, and is formed with a third insert groove  931  therein. The barrier  93  prevents flow of water from one side of the sliding door unit  3  to the other side of the sliding door unit  3 . 
     Referring again to FIGS. 1 to  3 , during assembly, the cylindrical members  41  of each of the slats  4  are extended into an adjacent pair of the engaging grooves  311  of an adjacent pair of the connectors  31  via the access openings  313  in the connectors  31 . The upper caps  7 , together with the slidable coupling units  75  provided thereon, and the lower caps  8  are fastened to the upper and lower ends of the connectors  31 . The rollers  70  of the slidable coupling units  75  are extended into the slide channel  210  via one of the open ends  211  of the slide channel  210 . Then, the rail member  2  is fastened to the first and second upright walls  1 ,  1 ′, and the outer frame member  52  of the connector mounting means  5  and the base portion  91  of the bottom guard member  9  are attached adhesively and respectively to the first upright wall  1  and the raised portion  12  of the ground surface  11 . Thereafter, the inner frame member  51  is assembled to the first one of the connectors  31  by extending the tubular member  511  into the adjacent engaging groove  311  in the first one of the connectors  31 . The inner frame member  51  is then inserted into the clamping space  524  to engage the outer frame member  52 . 
     In use, fingers can be extended into the finger grooves  336  of the operating frame member  333  for moving the sliding door unit  3  between the unfolded and folded states. As shown, the door unit  3  does not require a relatively large amount of space for movement between the unfolded and folded positions. Moreover, when the door unit  3  is in the folded state, the slats  4  do not contact one another such that water on the surfaces of the slats  4  can easily evaporate to avoid the growth of mildew on the slats  4 . 
     As the slats  4  and the connectors  31  are made of plastic materials, the sliding door unit  3  has a relatively light weight. Thus, movement of the rollers  70  in the slide channel  210  is relatively smooth to facilitate operation of sliding door unit  3 , and the rollers  70  can be made of a lower-cost material which is less resistant to deformation to result in more savings and lower price. In addition, assembly and installation of the preferred embodiment can be easily conducted by the consumer without incurring additional costs. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, in an alternative arrangement, a corner unit  200  is provided for interconnecting a pair of the door assemblies which are disposed on different vertical planes that are generally perpendicular. The corner unit  200  includes an upper corner block  20  disposed adjacent to and between the rail members  2  of the door assemblies, a lower corner block  20 ′ disposed adjacent to and between the bottom guard members  9  of the door assemblies, and a strut  203  extending between the upper and lower corner blocks  20 ,  20 ′ for supporting the upper corner block  20 . The upper corner block  20  is formed with a pair of horizontally extending insert members  201  which are inserted into the first insert grooves  221  of the rail members  2 , and a pair of vertically extending insert members  202  which are inserted into the slide channels  210  of the rail members  2 . The lower corner block  20 ′ is structurally identical to the upper corner block  20 , and is invertedly disposed below the upper corner block  20 . The horizontally extending insert members  201 ′ of the lower corner block  20 ′ are inserted into the second insert grooves  911  in the base portions  91  of the bottom guard members  9 . The vertically extending insert members  202 ′ of the lower corner block  20 ′ are inserted into the third insert grooves  931  in the barriers  93  of the bottom guard members  9 . The strut  203  has upper and lower ends inserted into recesses (not shown) formed in the upper and lower corner blocks  20 ,  20 ′. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.