EP1975366B1 - Storage cabinet, of the type comprising at least one slidingly mounted deformable closing shutter - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a storage cabinet, of the type comprising at least one deformable closing curtain sliding in two rails arranged in opposite parts of the cabinet.

The term "wardrobe" currently used must be understood in its broadest acceptance, encompassing any type of furniture, locker or storage box.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The state of the art is illustrated by the document FR-422 623 A , which discloses a sliding soft curtain office furniture, in which the flexible wood-linoleum veneer curtain is equipped with horizontal stiffening bars which extend over the entire width of the curtain, so that the free edges of the curtain curtain and the ends of the bars move in opposite slides. Flexible metal strips are further provided between the inner wall of the curtain and the horizontal bars, said strips extending in the curtain circulation direction. The bars are not in direct contact with the curtain, but are fixed on the metal ribbons.

Such a structure is complex, and the stiffening conferred by the horizontal bars is limited.

The state of the art is also illustrated by the document DE-802,528 ° C , which describes a similar sliding curtain with a flexible plywood wall with horizontal stiffening bars fixed against the inner face of the flexible wall. However, the bars do not extend to the side edges of the flexible wall, since it is expected that only the edge of said wall circulates in a slide, the width of said slide then being just greater than the thickness of the wall flexible.

The lateral edges of the sliding curtain can not be stiffened, so that a certain fragility results.

We can refer to more recent documents EP 1 275 812 A1 and EP 1 426 547 A1 of the applicant, which describe a storage cabinet of the aforementioned type, wherein the or each closure curtain is arranged respectively vertically or horizontally.

The invention is particularly interested in the structure of the deformable closure curtain.

In the aforementioned documents, the deformable curtain is articulated or leaf type. For example, extruded sections of ovoid section made of polyvinyl chloride are used, these sections being joined by a co-extruded ligament providing the desired articulation between two adjacent sections.

Deformable curtain structures are also known, in which profiles having laterally a male / female recessing arrangement are used. In this case, there is a flexible seal which is embedded between two adjacent blades, or the adjacent blades are directly embedded with each other in the manner of two puzzle pieces, without intercalated flexible material, for a natural joint .

Extruded or monoblock-injected curtains are also known, with ribs in excess thickness to increase their rigidity. However, this technique is limited to curtains of very low height, especially less than 20 cm high, because of the tendency to bend such a curtain.

Techniques are also known that use blades made by injecting plastic material into a mold, these blades possibly being united between they by flexible ligaments, thus forming a lattice on which is then injected flexible material forming the wall of the curtain.

All these techniques are more or less complex to implement, and are not very satisfactory in terms of aesthetics, the curtains are almost always opaque, so as not to highlight the dark seal possibly used. In addition, the aforementioned deformable curtains have a flexibility in both width and height, which is unfavorable in terms of torsional behavior of the curtain. As a result, the inherent flexibility of such curtains considerably limits the dimensional possibilities that can be envisaged. Finally, cabinet curtains using extruded profiles have a high cost price due to the use of expensive extrusion machines.

It has also been proposed to co-extrude a web and stiffening webs, but then there are problems of compatibility of materials, and is also very limited in terms of possible geometries. In particular, the free edge, for example lower, of a vertical deformable curtain has a geometry that is not favorable in terms of guiding in the lower slide of the storage cabinet, particularly in the case where this slide has curved sections at right angles.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The invention aims to design a storage cabinet of the aforementioned type, the or each curtain has a structure does not have the disadvantages mentioned above in terms of limitations due to the flexibility and technology used, while allowing a optimal adaptation to different types of storage cabinets, with at least one deformable closure curtain which can be arranged vertically as well as horizontally.

GENERAL DEFINITION OF THE INVENTION

The aforementioned technical problem is solved according to the invention with a storage cabinet, of the type comprising at least one deformable curtain sliding closure in two rails arranged in opposite parts of the cabinet, wherein the or each curtain comprises a flexible unitary wall, one face is smooth and the opposite face has a stiffening rib, said rib being constituted by a plurality of substantially rigid webs whose free ends are received in the rails of the cabinet being shaped to provide guidance of said curtain in said slides, each of said bars being kept in continuous contact with said opposite face of the flexible unit wall over the entire dimension thereof, and at least one of the free ends of each bar protrudes from the adjacent edge of the wall unitary flexible a certain distance, which is at most equal to the deep ur of the slide, so that said adjacent edge still remains inside the slide concerned regardless of the position of the closing curtain in the cabinet.

For a storage cabinet in which the slides have a U-shape with a bottom and two parallel wings, it may be provided that the projecting free ends of each bar have a V-shaped dihedral, whose slices are in contact with the two parallel wings slides and whose free edges are in contact with the bottom of said slides, or alternatively in the form of a flat cylinder whose side face is in contact with the two parallel wings of the slides and whose free end face is in contact from the bottom of said slides.

Advantageously, when it is a storage cabinet in which the slides have a curved section, it will be expected that the bars are spaced apart from each other by an interval which is chosen in such a way that there is always at least three bars for the part of the curtain closing in the curved section of the slides.

It may also be provided that the bars are fixed against said opposite face of the flexible unit wall by a clipping system, in particular by means of pins projecting from said bars and homologous holes passing through said flexible unit wall.

However, a preferred technique for its flexibility and its cost of manufacture consists in providing that the bars are fixed against said opposite face of the flexible unit wall by overinjection of plastic directly on said wall which is itself made by plastic injection. for example a translucent material. In particular, the plastic material used to form the strips is different from the plastic material used to form the flexible unit wall, the first being chosen to favor stiffness and the second to favor flexibility.

Preferably, the bars have a cross section of rectangular shape, and are in contact with said opposite face of the flexible unit wall by their edge.

In general, it will be advantageous to provide that the smooth face of the closing curtain is the outer face of said curtain, the opposite face equipped with the bars being the inner face of said curtain.

Moreover, in the case of a closing curtain arranged vertically, it will be provided that the ends Free bars are received in superimposed slides, the lateral guidance being at least provided in the lower slide.

Alternatively, in the case of a horizontally arranged closure curtain, the free ends of the bars are received in the side rails facing each other.

Other features and advantages and of the invention will appear more clearly in the light of the description which follows and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'une armoire de rangement conforme à l'invention, avec ici deux rideaux déformables de fermeture à paroi unitaire flexible et à nervurage intérieur de rigidification ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en élévation montrant la face intérieure de l'un des rideaux de fermeture précités, avec ses barrettes de nervurage à extrémités dépassantes, ici en forme de dièdre en V ;
• la figure 3 est une vue partielle en perspective, à plus grande échelle, permettant de mieux distinguer la réception des têtes inférieures des barrettes, ici en forme de dièdre en V, dans la glissière inférieure de l'armoire ;
• la figure 4 illustre de la même façon que la figure 3 une autre variante d'agencement des extrémités des barrettes, avec une forme de cylindre plat ; et
• la figure 5 est une vue partielle perspective illustrant un mode particulier de fixation des barrettes sur la paroi unitaire flexible, par un système de clipage.

Reference will be made to the drawing figures where:

• the figure 1 is a perspective view of a storage cabinet according to the invention, with here two deformable curtains flexible flexible unit wall closure and internal stiffening ribbon;
• the figure 2 is an elevational view showing the inner face of one of the aforementioned closing curtains, with its ribs with protruding ends, here in the form of dihedron V;
• the figure 3 is a partial view in perspective, on a larger scale, to better distinguish the reception of the lower heads of the bars, here in the form of dihedron V, in the lower slide of the cabinet;
• the figure 4 illustrates in the same way that the figure 3 another alternative arrangement of the ends of the bars, with a flat cylinder shape; and
• the figure 5 is a perspective partial view illustrating a particular mode of fixing the bars on the flexible unit wall, by a clipping system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

On the figure 1 , there is illustrated a storage cabinet whose general structure is conventional, apart from the particular structure of its two deformable closing curtains whose structure will be described in more detail later with reference to Figures 2 to 5 .

We distinguish on the figure 1 a cabinet 10, having a lower panel 11 and an upper panel 12 corresponding to the bottom and roof of the cabinet, and a bottom panel 13 and two side panels 14, 15, the panels 11 and 12 being substantially horizontal and the panels 13 to 15 being substantially vertical. The storage cabinet 10 also comprises a low interior cover plate 17 which is fixed by screwing means 18 in engagement with homologous members associated with the bottom bottom panel 11.

There is illustrated here a storage cabinet 10 of the type comprising two deformable closure curtains 20, the two respective edges 20.1 come into contact with one another in the closed position of the curtains. On the figure 1 , the illustrated position corresponds to a partial opening of each of the two curtains 20. Conventionally, there is provided, in the vicinity of each side panel of the cabinet 14, 15, a doubling panel 19 delimiting with the adjacent side panel a box in which moves the rear part of each curtain deformable when sliding thereof in the direction of the opening for erasure integrated into the general structure of the cabinet. This avoids any risk of attachment of the internal parts of the curtain, when moving it, with the objects in the cabinet.

It goes without saying of course that the invention is in no way limited to this type of cabinet, and that it may as well be a question of a deformable curtain cabinet single closure, or a cabinet in which the closure curtain is arranged horizontally, or any other piece of furniture, locker or storage box curtain (x) deformable (s) closing.

In the present case, each curtain has a respective edge 20.1 in which is integrated a closing mechanism with members denoted 21, 22. The two deformable curtains 20 are guided by their upper and lower ends in associated superimposed slides which are noted 25 The superposed slides 25 are respectively arranged in the upper and lower parts of the cabinet 10. In this case, each slide 25 has a notch 26 opening on the front face of the cabinet, these two notches 26 being arranged at the plumb with each other and being sized to allow the introduction of the deformable curtain 20 from the front of the cabinet during the initial assembly of said cabinet.

In the case of a cabinet in which the or each closure curtain 20 is arranged horizontally, the side edges of the closure curtain are received in facing rails arranged laterally in the storage cabinet.

We will now describe in more detail the particular structure of one of the deformable closing curtains 20 arranged to slide in the two rails 25 which are arranged in opposite parts of the cabinet.

As is visible on the figure 2 , the curtain 20 comprises a flexible unit wall 50, one face 51 is smooth and whose opposite face 52 has a stiffening rib 60. In this case, the visible face on the figure 2 is the face 52, which will generally be the inner face of the closing curtain 20, the outer face 51 of said curtain being a smooth face.

The stiffening rib 60 is constituted by a plurality of substantially rigid webs 61 extending parallel to each other. In this case, being a vertical closing curtain, the bars 61 are arranged vertically. The free ends 70 of the bars 61 protrude from the associated adjacent edge 53 of the flexible unit wall 50, and are received in the rails 25 of the cabinet, being shaped to ensure the guiding of the curtain in said slides, each of said bars being maintained in continuous contact with the relevant face 52 of the flexible unit wall 50 over the entire dimension thereof.

Thus, a perfectly continuous connection is made over the entire height of contact with the unit wall 50, which provides an optimal flexural strength for the closing curtain, whose height can therefore currently reach one to two meters.

The intimate connection between the bars 61 and the face of the flexible unit wall 50 can be achieved by means of different technologies.

On the figure 5 , a technology using a clipping system 80 has been illustrated, with pins 81 protruding from the bars 61, and homologous holes 82 passing through the flexible unit wall 50.

However, to avoid the separate manufacture of the flexible unit wall 50 with the realization of the passage holes, and the bars 61 with the realization of the projecting fixing studs, and to avoid the need to implement a step of connecting the two components, it is much more attractive to use a plastic injection technique.

Thus, and according to another characteristic of the invention, the bars 61 are fixed against said opposite face 52 of the flexible unit wall 50 by overinjection of plastic directly on said wall, which is itself produced by plastic injection. In practice, it will first proceed to the production of a flexible sheet by injection of a first material, then, when the material is still hot, we will proceed to a new injection of plastic, identical to or different from the previous, to form the parallel bars with their ends which can be shaped in a particular way, and to exceed the free edge of the flexible web. In this case, the connection between the parallel bars and the unitary flexible wall is performed automatically by hot gluing when overinjection of said bars.

It can be provided that the plastic material used to form the strips 61 is different from the plastic used to form the flexible unit wall 50, the first being chosen to favor stiffness and the second to favor the flexibility. It should be noted that the use of two different materials is here made possible by the surinjection technique, without the disadvantages of the aforementioned coextrusion techniques with the disadvantages of their own as indicated above.

It is thus expected that at least one of the free ends 70 of each bar 61 protrudes from the adjacent edge 53 of the flexible unit wall 50 by a certain distance d (noted on the figure 2 ), which is at most equal to the depth denoted h of the slide concerned 25, said adjacent edge still remaining inside the slide 25, with a slight slight ridge and without revealing a day that would harm the aesthetic, regardless of the position of the closing curtain in the cabinet, as can be seen on the figure 3 .

On the figure 3 a particular embodiment is shown which is preferred for shaping the projecting ends 70 of the webs 61.

It can thus be seen that the projecting free ends 70 of each bar 61 have a V-shaped dihedral shape, the slices 71 of which are in contact with the two parallel wings 25.2 of the slideways 25, and whose free projecting edges 72 are in contact with the bottom 25.1 of said slides.

Such an arrangement is particularly advantageous, and allows to considerably reduce the friction surfaces against the walls of the slide. Indeed, the lateral friction surface corresponding to the slices 71 is minimal, and the bearing surface formed by the free edges 72 is sufficient.

On the figure 4 a variant is illustrated in which the projecting free ends 70 'of each bar 61 have a flat cylinder shape whose lateral face 71' is in contact with the two parallel wings 25.2 of the slideways 25 and whose end face free 72 ', possibly slightly curved, is in contact with the bottom 25.1 said slides.

With the dihedral shape of the figure 3 it is preferred to obtain a minimum friction surface against the lateral wings of the slideways, whereas with the flat and curved cylinder shape of the figure 4 , it is also preferred to obtain a minimum friction surface against the bottom of the slides.

In the case of a deformable curtain arranged vertically, the lateral guidance of the curtain is especially important for the lower slide, and we can then provide the arrangement of a figure 3 . On the other hand, for the upper slide, a rough lateral support appears sufficient, and one will be able to be satisfied with ends of ordinary form. However, to streamline manufacturing on an industrial scale, it will be preferable to provide ends 70 identical to the two end edges of the deformable curtain 20.

The bars 61 will be spaced apart by an interval e (noted on the figure 2 ) which is preferably chosen such that there is always at least three bars 61 for the part of the closing curtain 20 passing in the curved section of the rails 25, in the case of slides having as here a corner bend law. We are then assured of a good guidance without jamming for the passage of the curved section.

It has thus been possible to produce a deformable closure curtain which exhibits both the required flexibility qualities for bending in its plane, and the required qualities of rigidity guaranteeing a maintenance of the main vertical or horizontal direction of the curtain, this direction being that of the parallel bars of stiffening.

Furthermore, a translucent plastic material can be used to inject the flexible unit wall 50, which gives an advantageous aesthetic appearance by allowing the parallel stiffening bars to be seen.

Naturally, it will be possible to use all types of plastics that are suitable for the technology used, for example with polypropylene or polystyrene for over injection techniques.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments that have just been described, but on the contrary covers any variant using, with equivalent means, the essential characteristics mentioned above.

Claims (11)

1. A storage cabinet of the type comprising at least one deformable roller door (20) sliding in two slideways (25) arranged in opposite portions of the cabinet, the cabinet being characterized in that the or each door (20) comprises a flexible unitary wall (50) having one face (51) that is smooth and an opposite face (52) that is provided with stiffener ribs (60), said ribs being constituted by a plurality of essentially rigid strips (61) with free ends (70, 70') that are received in the slideways (25) of the cabinet being shaped to guide said door in said slideways, each of said strips being maintained in continuous contact with said opposite face of the flexible unitary wall (50) over the entire dimension thereof, and at least one of the free ends (70, 70') of each strip (61) projecting beyond the adjacent edge (53) of the flexible unitary wall (50) through a certain distance (d), which distance is no greater than the depth (h) of the slideway (25), such that said adjacent edge continues to remain inside the slideway in question (25) regardless of the position of the roller door (20) in the cabinet.
2. A storage cabinet according to claim 1, wherein the slideways (25) are of channel-section with a web (25.1) and two parallel flanges (25.2), the cabinet being characterized in that the projecting free ends (70) of each strip (61) present a dihedral V-shape with its edge faces (71) in contact with the two parallel flanges (25.2) of the slideways (25) and with its free edges (72) being in contact with the webs (25.1) of said slideways.
3. A storage cabinet according to claim 1, wherein the slideways (25) are of channel-section with a web (25.1) and two parallel flanges (25.2), the cabinet being characterized in that the projecting free ends (70) of each strip (61) present a flat cylindrical shape with its side face (71') being in contact with the two parallel flanges (25.2) of the slideways (25) and with its free end face (72') being in contact with the webs (25.1) of said slideways.
4. A storage cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the slideways (25) present curved segments, the cabinet being characterized in that the strips (61) are spaced apart from one another by an interval (e) that is selected in such a manner that there are always at least three strips (61) in the portion of the roller door (20) passing through the curved segment of the slideways (25).
5. A storage cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized it that the strips (61) are fastened against said opposite face (52) of the flexible unitary wall (50) by a clip-fastener system (80), in particular by means of studs (81) projecting from said strips and corresponding holes (82) passing through said flexible unitary wall.
6. A storage cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the strips (61) are fastened against said opposite face (52) of the flexible unitary wall (50) by injection overmolding of plastics material directly against said wall which is itself made by injection molding plastics material, in particular a translucent material.
7. A storage cabinet according to claim 6, characterized in that the plastics material used for making the strips (61) is different from the plastics material used for making the flexible unitary wall (50), the first material being selected to enhance stiffness and the second material to enhance flexibility.
8. A storage cabinet according to claim 5 or claim 6, characterized in that the strips (61) present a cross-section of rectangular shape, and each of said strips is in contact with said opposite face (52) of the flexible unitary wall (50) via a side face.
9. A storage cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the smooth face (51) of the roller door (20) is the outside face of said door, the opposite face (52) having the strips (61) being the inside face of said door.
10. A storage cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the or each roller door (20) is arranged vertically and the free ends (70, 70') of the strips (61) are received in superposed slideways (25), lateral guidance being provided at least in the bottom slideway (25).
11. A storage cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the or each roller door (20) is arranged horizontally and the free ends (70, 70') of the strips (61) are received in facing lateral slideways (25).

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