EP2156000B1

EP2156000B1 - Adjustable bracket for sliding wardrobe doors

Info

Publication number: EP2156000B1
Application number: EP08737513.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Angelo Molteni
Original assignee: System Holz SpA
Current assignee: System Holz SpA
Priority date: 2007-04-13
Filing date: 2008-04-11
Publication date: 2013-07-03
Anticipated expiration: 2028-04-11
Also published as: WO2008125975A1; EP2156000A1; ITMI20070752A1

Description

The present invention relates to a bracket for sliding wardrobe doors.
Wardrobes are known, even large ones, such as those used in houses, shops and the like, which are provided on the front side with doors sliding along rails fitted to both the upper and lower parts of the wardrobe structure.
Wardrobes of this kind are typically closed by two doors, although wardrobes having three or more sliding doors are also known in the art.
The doors are generally fitted with two sliders at the bottom, each comprising a roller moving along a respective rail mounted to the wardrobe base, whereas at the top of each door there are two brackets comprising a respective wheel moving along a respective rail, mounted to the top panel of the wardrobe.
The lower sliders are mainly used for assisting the door in its sliding motion from right to left and vice versa, while the brackets support the door weight, which is thus borne by the upper part of the wardrobe.
However, due to possible defects in the wardrobe structure, the doors may lose their perpendicularity relative to the base and/or to the upper panel of the wardrobe (also called "top" by those skilled in the art).
As a consequence, this leads to a contact between the doors, which are thus prevented from sliding freely during their opening and closing motions: this contact is caused by the fact that the doors are not parallel to each other, one having a different angle of inclination relative to the vertical than the other.
This defect of operation may also be caused by incorrect installation of the wardrobe or by a floor not being perfectly flat; of course, a defective sliding motion of the doors may also be due to other causes, such as the doors bending over time due to humidity, or other factors as well.
Known wheel-type brackets, which are commonly used for door installation, do not allow to overcome the above-mentioned drawback.
Such brackets are in fact characterized by a structure that only allows to adjust the door height, i.e. the adjustment can only be made in the vertical sliding plane of the doors.
US 1169568 discloses the features of the preamble of claim 1.
The technical problem underlying the present invention is therefore to provide a bracket for sliding doors of wardrobes and the like, whose structural and functional features can overcome the above mentioned limitations.
The idea to solve this problem is that of using an adjustable bracket which allows to change the inclination of the supported door with respect to the ideal vertical plane of installation: indeed, this allows to optimize the door perpendicularity relative to the horizontal plane corresponding to the top panel of the wardrobe.
The features of the present invention have been specifically set out in the appended claims and will become apparent, along with the advantages deriving therefrom, by the following detailed description relating to a preferred but non-limiting embodiment of the invention as shown in the annexed drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wardrobe according to the invention, wherein for simplicity only one sliding door is shown;
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the wardrobe of Fig. 1, showing two sliding doors;
Fig. 3 shows the bracket-type sliding system according to the invention, with the brackets being respectively mounted to the two doors of the wardrobe of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 shows a first embodiment of a bracket according to the present invention, for the outermost door of the wardrobe of Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the bracket of Fig. 4;
Figs. 6A and 6B are sectional views of the bracket of Fig. 4 in two chronologically sequential operating steps;
Figs. 7A and 7B show two steps of the vertical adjustment of the wheel in the bracket shown in the preceding figure;
Fig. 7C is an exploded view of a detail of the bracket of Fig. 4;
Fig. 8 shows a variant of the bracket according to the present invention;
Fig. 9 is an exploded view of the bracket of Fig. 8.

As shown. Fig. 1 shows a wardrobe designated 1 as a whole and depicted with just one sliding door for simplicity's sake; however, it should be understood that the wardrobe comprises two doors, an outermost one 2A which slides and lays upon an innermost one 2B, as shown in the next Figures 2 and 3.
At the bottom portion of each door 2A and 2B there is a respective pair of sliders 3 and 4, each provided with an idle roller 5 and 6 which is free to move along a respective rail 7 and 8. It should be noted that rollers 5 of both sliders of outer door 2A slide along the same rail 7 fastened to wardrobe base B, whereas rollers 6 of sliders 4 fastened to inner sliding door 2B slide along a second rail 8 which is parallel to the first one and which is also fastened to base B.
Likewise, at the upper portion of doors 2A, 2B there is a respective pair of brackets 9 and 10, each provided with an idle wheel 11 and 12 which is free to move along a respective rail 13 and 14. It should be noted that wheels 11 of both brackets 9 of door 2A slide along the same rail 13 fastened to top panel C of the wardrobe, whereas wheels 12 of brackets 10 fastened to inner door 2B slide along a second rail 14 which is parallel to the first one and which is also fastened to top panel C.
In addition to keeping the door connected to the wardrobe, the brackets are also adapted to allow the door to slide thanks to wheels 11 and 12.
Figs. 4 and 5 show a bracket 9 for outer sliding door 2A, respectively in the assembled and disassembled conditions; for each door of wardrobe 1 there are two of these brackets, which are equal to each other and substantially fastened to the right and left ends of the same door for the purpose of ensuring adequate stability when the door is mounted to the wardrobe and when it is sliding.
Fig. 5 shows in detail the structure of bracket 9, which comprises a metallic fastening square 15 suitably perforated for being fastened to the door through nails, screws or centering pins 16 to be inserted into respective holes 17.
Square 15 has an upside-down "L" shape, which comprises a horizontal portion 151 and a vertical portion 152; under the horizontal portion 151 there is a catch wall 153 which is substantially parallel to vertical portion 152.
As stated above, square 15 is fastened to door 2A and supports a wheel carrier assembly 18 mounted to a metallic support 19, which also has an upside-down "L" shape and comprises a horizontal portion 191 and a vertical portion 192.
Between the latter and support 19 of wheel carrier assembly 18, in this embodiment of the invention there is advantageously a flat spring 190, which pushes support 19 upwards against horizontal portion 151 of square 15 (see also Fig. 6A).
In the wheel carrier assembly 18 there is an idle wheel 11 adapted to slide within rail 13 provided on top panel C of wardrobe 1.
The edge of support 19 has a rod-like rib 20 which is adapted to be inserted into a groove 21 obtained in square 15, on the underside of horizontal portion 151.
On the top side of its horizontal portion 191, support 19 also has two spaced wedges 193 and 194 aligned parallel to rib 20 and located at the edge of horizontal portion 191 opposite to the edge that houses rib 20. Wedges 193 and 194 have the same angle of inclination and the same orientation.
The above-described wedges are coupled to a pin 22 that is inserted into a seat 23 obtained on the underside of horizontal portion 151 of square 15. Seat 23 is parallel to groove 21 and has a "C" cross-section, with the open portion of the "C" facing downwards. Seat 23 is obtained at the end of horizontal portion 151 opposite to where vertical portion 152 extends from. Therefore, between groove 21 and seat 23 there is a certain distance for reasons that will be explained below.
Pin 22 is characterized by two truncated cone- shaped portions 221 and 222 adapted to be coupled to wedges 193 and 194, respectively; this coupling is ensured by the fact that the oblique sides of the truncated cone sections have the same inclination and orientation as the corresponding oblique sides of the wedges. As described above, seat 23 has a "C" cross-section with the open portion facing downwards for its entire length, and therefore truncated cone- shaped portions 221 and 222 of pin 22 and wedges 193 and 194 can be positioned over each other.
Wheel carrier assembly 18, as shown in Figs. 7A, 7B and 7C, is of a known type and comprises a mechanical system adapted to change the height of wheel 11. This adjustment acts upon the vertical position of the wheel, thus also changing the position of the door in relation to the vertical plane in which it lies.
As shown in particular in Figs. 7A and 7B, wheel carrier assembly 18 comprises a runner 24 to which idle wheel 11 is mounted. Runner 24 is in turn made integral with its support 19 through a suitable coupling between corresponding guides 195 provided on both support 19 and runner 24.
Wheel carrier assembly 18 also comprises a screw 25 extending transversally to it from one side to the other, which can be actuated by an operator, e.g. by means of a screwdriver (not shown in the drawling).
In particular, since the ends of screw 25 are accessible from both sides of the wheel carrier assembly, said screw can be turned without distinction from the left-hand side or from the right-hand side of said assembly.
Two wedges 26 and 27 are integral with the screw, said wedges having respective faces 26A and 27A inclined and oriented in such a manner as to be coupled to two matching oblique surfaces 28 and 29, provided on slider 24.
Screw 25 can be turned in or out thanks to two threaded portions 30, thus causing a linear movement and allowing faces 26A and 27A to slide over oblique surfaces 28 and 29, respectively. This causes a downward translation of runner 24 and thus of wheel 11. In fact, the distance between the centre of rotation of wheel 11 and the lower end of vertical portion 192 is changed from X₀ to X₁, where X₀ > X₁.
The purpose of said translational movement is to provide a height adjustment in order to compensate for any errors which may occur, e.g. when assembling the wardrobe, in the position of the door in its vertical plane, which would prevent it from opening or closing properly.
According to the present invention, wheel carrier assembly 18 is supported with respect to fastening square 15 in such a manner that it can be rotated by means of the rotoidal kinematic pair consisting of rib 20 and groove 21 that houses it; in practice, this pair is a sort of hinge about the axis of which support 19 supporting wheel carrier assembly 18 can turn.
For this purpose, as aforementioned, when an operator acts manually upon either end of pin 22 by using a screwdriver or the like, said pin can translate lengthwise within seat 23. This translational movement allows truncated cone-shaped portions 221 and 222 to slide over wedges 193 and 194 and thus to exert a force such that support 19 of wheel carrier assembly 18 is made to turn downwards about axis Z, coinciding with the axis of rod-like rib 20 (Fig. 5).
Fig. 6 shows two steps A) and B) corresponding to two distinct positions taken by wheel carrier assembly 18 as a function of the depth at which pin 22 is screwed into groove 21. During step A), wall 153 and vertical portion 192 of support 19 are substantially parallel and separated from each other; during step B), on the contrary, wall 153 and vertical portion 192 are at least partly in contact with each other. The condition wherein wall 153 and vertical portion 192 of support 19 are parallel and separated from each other is clearly illustrated in the enlarged detail provided.
On the contrary, in Fig 6B the same wall 153 and vertical portion 192 of supports 19 are at least partly touching each other, to the detriment of their parallelism.
As a consequence of the rotation of wheel carrier assembly 18 relative to the axis Z, the inclination of door 2A to which the wheel carrier assembly is fastened through square 15 is changed.
The purpose of said rotation is to adjust the inclination of the sliding doors so that they become perpendicular to the wardrobe structure, in particular to base B and top panel C thereof.
This condition prevents any problems concerning the sliding action of the doors due to friction between two doors or between a door and the wardrobe structure. In addition, a forced sliding motion of the doors due to imperfect perpendicularity to the wardrobe base and top panel may deform the rotation pin of the bracket wheels and slider rollers, thus affecting the axis of rotation of the wheels and rollers, respectively.
The bracket embodiment referred to above is most suitable for being manufactured by extrusion; for this reason, materials such as aluminium should preferably be used, which can be easily machined by using said technique.
Of course, other metallic or non-metallic materials may be used as well; in such cases, the bracket may undergo a number of changes.
An example is shown in Figs. 8 and 9, which illustrate a second example of a bracket 9 according to the invention, respectively in the assembled and partially disassembled conditions; these figures use the same reference numerals as Fig. 4 and 5 to designate structurally or functionally equivalent items.
Fig. 8 shows the overall structure of bracket 9, which comprises a square 15 having suitable holes 17 for being fastened to the door through nails, screws or centering pins (not shown). According to this variant, square 15, which has an upside-down "L" shape and comprises a horizontal portion 151 and a vertical portion 152, is made of a metallic material, e.g. steel, by drawing, i.e. a process being different from the extrusion process used for aluminium in the previous example.
In this case, since this technique usually requires the use of metal sheets, the structure of square 15 is appropriately reinforced by a series of ribs 154 obtained on its horizontal portion 151.
Square 15 is fastened to door 2A and bears a profiled support 19 having substantially an upside-down "U" cross-section comprising two side walls 196 and 197, between which wheel carrier assembly 18 is clamped, and a top wall 198 from which a catch fin 199 extends substantially parallel to horizontal portion 151 of square 15.
A groove 21 and a seat 23 are obtained in top wall 198.
Groove 21 is adapted to house two cylindrical pins 33 previously inserted in respective through holes 34 obtained in tabs 35, provided on square 15; said tabs 35 are obtained by bending horizontal portion 151 of square 15, so that through hole 34 of the fin is aligned with the mouth of groove 21.
Wheel carrier assembly 18 is therefore supported with respect to square 15 in such a manner that it can be rotated by means of the rotoidal pair consisting of pins 33 and groove 21 that houses them; in practice, this pair is a sort of hinge about the axis of which support 19 can turn.
Seat 23 houses pin 22, at the ends of which there are threads 223 that allow a user to translate pin 22 within the seat. On the pin there are also two truncated cone-shaped portions 221, 222 adapted to engage with respective wedges 193, 194 obtained on the underside of horizontal portion 151 of square 15. The coupling is ensured by the fact that the oblique sides of the truncated cone-shaped portions have the same inclination and orientation as the corresponding oblique sides of the wedges.
The sliding of the truncated cone-shaped portions over the wedges, which is made possible by the fact that seat 23 has a "C" cross-section which is open at the top for its entire length, causes support 19 to rotate downwards about axis Z, coinciding with the axis of groove 21.
The rotation of support 19 is stopped by fin 199; in this case as well, similarly to the previous example, a flat spring 190 is mounted between fin 199 and horizontal portion 151 of square 15.
Other equivalent variants of the bracket according to the invention, which may be obtained by using different materials or shapes for the various parts thereof, will still fall within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

Bracket (9) for sliding doors of wardrobes and the like, comprising a square (15) for fastening it to a door (2A) and a wheel carrier assembly (18) associated with the square (15), said assembly (18) comprising a wheel (11) adapted to move along a rail (13) provided on the wardrobe (1), wherein the wheel carrier assembly (18) is adjustably supported with respect to the fastening square (15) for changing its inclination relative to a substantially vertical plane,
wherein the wheel carrier assembly (18) is supported in such a manner that it can rotate about an axis which is substantially parallel to the sliding direction of the door (2A) of the wardrobe (1), and characterized in that
the wheel carrier assembly (18) is mounted to a support (19) comprising a rib (20) adapted to engage into a groove (21) obtained in the square (15), thus forming a rotoidal pair allowing the support (19) to rotate about the axis which is substantially parallel to the sliding direction of the wardrobe door,
wherein the support (19) comprises at least one wedge (193, 194) adapted to co-operate with a pin (22) in order to cause the support (19) to rotate, said pin (22) comprising at least one truncated cone-shaped portion (221, 222) adapted to be coupled to said at least one wedge (193, 194) and being housed in a "C"-shaped seat (23) obtained in the square (15).
Bracket (9) for sliding doors of wardrobes and the like, comprising a square (15) for fastening it to a door (2A) and a wheel carrier assembly (18) associated with the square (15), said assembly (18) comprising a wheel (11) adapted to move along a rail (13) provided on the wardrobe (1), wherein the wheel carrier assembly (18) is adjustably supported with respect to the fastening square (15) for changing its inclination relative to a substantially vertical plane,
wherein the wheel carrier assembly (18) is supported in such a manner that it can rotate about an axis which is substantially parallel to the sliding direction of the door (2A) of the wardrobe (1),
wherein the wheel carrier assembly (18) is mounted to a support (19) comprising a groove (21) adapted to be coupled to pins (33) supported by the square (15), thus forming a rotoidal pair allowing the support (19) to rotate about the axis which is substantially parallel to the sliding direction of the wardrobe door,
characterized in that
the square (15) comprises at least one wedge (193, 194) adapted to co-operate with a pin (22) in order to cause the support (19) to rotate, the pin (22) comprising at least one truncated cone-shaped portion (221, 222) adapted to be coupled to said at least one wedge (193, 194) and being housed in a "C"-shaped seat (23) obtained in the support (19).
Bracket (9) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized by comprising catching means (153,199) adapted to stop the rotation of the support (19).
Bracket (9) according to claim 3, wherein said catching means (153) consist of a wall (153) which is substantially transversal to a horizontal portion (151) of the square (15).
Bracket (9) according to claim 4, wherein said catching means (199) consist of a fin (199) extending from a top wall (198) of the support (19), which has a substantially upside-down "U" shape.
Bracket (9) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pin (22) can translate linearly within the seat (23) in a direction which is substantially parallel to the running direction of the wheel (11).
Bracket (9) according to the preceding claim, wherein the linear translation of the pin (22) is adapted to cause said at least one truncated cone-shaped portion (221,222) to slide over said
Bracket according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the pin (22) extends transversally to the wheel carrier assembly (18) and the ends thereof are accessible from respective sides of the wheel carrier assembly (18).
Bracket (9) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the position of the wheel (11) in the wheel carrier assembly (18) can be adjusted vertically.
Bracket (9) according to claim 9, wherein the wheel carrier assembly (18) comprises a runner (24) which is integral with the wheel (11) and which can translate vertically along at least one guide (195) provided on the support (19).
Bracket (9) according to claim 10, wherein the runner (24) comprises at least one oblique surface (28, 29) adapted to co-operate with a screw (25) in order to cause the runner (24) to translate vertically.
Bracket (9) according to claim 11, wherein the screw (25) comprises at least one wedge-shaped body (26, 27) having an oblique face (26A, 27A) adapted to be coupled to said at least one oblique surface (28, 29) of the runner (24).
Bracket (9) according to claim 11, wherein the screw (25) is free to turn and translate linearly in a direction which is substantially parallel to the running direction of the wheel (11).
Bracket (9) according to claim 13, wherein the rotational and linear translational motion of the screw (25) is adapted to cause said at least one wedge (26,27) to slide over said at least one oblique surface (28, 29) of the runner (24).
Bracket according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a spring (190) interposed between the square (15) and the support (19) of the wheel carrier assembly (18), in order to exert an elastic force adapted to keep the wedges (193, 194) of either the square or the support in contact with the truncated cone-shaped portion (221, 222) of the adjuster pin (22).
Wardrobe with sliding doors, comprising at least one bracket according to any of the preceding claims.
Wardrobe according to claim 16, comprising at least a first inner door (2B) sliding in a position juxtaposed to the wardrobe structure, and at least a second door (2A) sliding in a more external position with respect to the first door, wherein the second door is mounted through a pair of brackets according to any of claims 1 to 15.