EP3478913A1

EP3478913A1 - Sliding door system and a method of absorbing forces in a sliding door system

Info

Publication number: EP3478913A1
Application number: EP17820666.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tomas Eskilsson; Håkan Persson; Niclas STRÖMBERG
Original assignee: Ikea Supply AG
Current assignee: Ikea Supply AG
Priority date: 2016-06-30
Filing date: 2017-06-30
Publication date: 2019-05-08
Anticipated expiration: 2037-06-30
Also published as: WO2018004450A1; EP3478913A4; CN109477353A; EP3478913B1; CN109477353B

Abstract

A sliding door system (400) for a cabinet (300), having at least one centre beam (308) dividing the cabinet (300) in at least two vertically extending compartments, is disclosed. The sliding door system (400) comprises a guide rail (200, 250) for supporting a sliding door (404); and at least a first bracket (100a, 100d) and a second bracket (100b, 100c) for securing the guide rail (200, 250) in front of the cabinet (300). The first bracket (100a, 100d) is mounted on a side wall (302) of the cabinet (300) and the second bracket (100b, 100c) is mounted on a side of the centre beam (308) that faces away from the side wall (302) with the mounted first bracket (100a, 100d); whereby a force acting on the guide rail (200, 250) from an associated sliding door (404) will at least partly be absorbed by the second bracket (100b, 100c) and the centre beam (308). A method for absorbing forces during use of a sliding door system is also disclosed.

Description

SLIDING DOOR SYSTEM AND A METHOD OF ABSORBING FORCES IN A SLIDING DOOR SYSTEM

Field of the Invention

This invention pertains in general to the field of sliding doors. More particularly, the invention pertains to a sliding door system for use with a cabinet and a method of absorbing forces in the sliding door system.

Background of the Invention

Sliding doors are commonly mounted on storage systems such as cabinets and wardrobes using supporting guide rails that may be screwed into the front area of a cabinet thereby intruding on the cabinet's interior space and reducing the available storage space. Alternatively, guide rails that are secured in the area above or to the side of the cabinet occupy space that could otherwise be used for additional storage and may result in the doors extending above, below, and / or to the sides of the cabinet. This is not only aesthetically displeasing but also creates an obstruction to adjacent objects.

When sliding doors are opened and closed quickly they often slam against the limits of the guide rails and / or fittings. This leads to undesirable forces reverberating throughout the cabinet which can cause damage to contents stored in the cabinet and premature wearing out of the guide rails and fittings.

US 8,407,941 B2 discloses a driving device for driving two door panels to synchronously move.

WO 2009/076785 Al discloses a device for pulling a sliding door into the end position and damping the door. The door is supported by travelling gears and guided in a profile rail.

It would be desirable to provide improved sliding door systems for use with cabinets and wardrobes that address the drawbacks and limitations of the prior art.

Summary of the Invention Accordingly, the present invention preferably seeks to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies in the art and disadvantages singly or in any combination and solves at least the above mentioned problems by providing in a first aspect a sliding door system for a cabinet having at least one centre beam dividing the cabinet in at least two vertically extending compartments. The sliding door system comprises a guide rail for supporting a sliding door, and at least a first bracket and a second bracket for securing the guide rail in front of the cabinet. The first bracket is mounted on a side wall of the cabinet and the second bracket is mounted on a side of the centre beam that faces away from the side wall with the mounted first bracket, whereby a force acting on the guide rail from an associated sliding door will at least partly be absorbed by the second bracket and the centre beam.

In an embodiment a force acting on the guide rail from an associated sliding door will also at least partly be absorbed by the first bracket and the cabinet.

The sliding door system may further comprise a stop member at one end of the guide rail; at least one door projection engager extending longitudinally from the stop member in a direction substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the guide rail; and a force transfer member being in contact with the stop member and/or the at least one door projection engager and the guide rail for transferring forces generated during closing of the sliding door from the sliding door to the guide rail.

The sliding door system may further comprise a second guide rail for supporting the at least one sliding door, the second guide rail having a second stop member at one end of the second guide rail, and the second guide rail being located on the cabinet distally from the guide rail.

The sliding door system may further comprise at least one door bracket engager extending longitudinally from the second stop member in a direction substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the second guide rail; and a second force transfer member being in contact with the second guide rail and the at least one door bracket engager for transferring forces generated during closing of the sliding door from the sliding door to the guide rail.

At least one door projection engager may have an end position, at which it engages with the sliding door, being arranged closer to the centre beam than a corresponding end position of the at least one door bracket engager of the second guide rail.

The at least one door projection engager extending longitudinally from the stop member may be a crocodile connection. The guide rail and / or the second guide rail may have at least one cut out located distally from the stop member and / or the second stop member.

The guide rail and / or the second guide rail may have at least one track for receiving a bearing mounted on the sliding door.

The sliding door system may further comprise at least one door bracket mountable on the sliding door for operatively associating the sliding door with the guide rail.

Each bracket may comprise a mounting plate configured for reversibly securing the bracket to the cabinet; and a load plate being configured for reversibly interlocking the guide rail onto the bracket; wherein the load plate is further configured to transfer load from the sliding door via the guide rail to a front side of the cabinet (300).

The mounting plate may be positioned perpendicularly to the load plate such that they together form an L-shape.

The load plate may be provided with a load transfer surface being arranged such that said surface rests against the front side of the cabinet.

Each bracket may further comprise a flange connected to the mounting plate, the flange being perpendicular to the mounting plate and the load plate.

In a second aspect there is provided a method for absorbing forces during use of a sliding door system on a cabinet. The method comprises the step of providing a cabinet with a sliding door system, the system comprising a guide rail for supporting a sliding door; and at least a first bracket and a second bracket for securing the guide rail in front of the cabinet. The first bracket is mounted on a side wall of the cabinet, wherein the second bracket is mounted on a centre beam of the cabinet on a side facing away from the side wall with the mounted first bracket. The method further comprises the step of sliding the door to contact the end of the guide rail thereby generating a force which is at least partly absorbed by the second bracket and the centre beam.

The sliding door system may further comprise at least one door projection engager at one end of the guide rail and a force transfer member in contact with the door projection engager and the guide rail, wherein the generated force is transferred from the door projection engager through the force transfer member and along the guide rail to the second bracket and the centre beam.

The guide rail may have at least a portion removed to form a cut-out proximal to the second bracket. Further advantageous embodiments are disclosed below and in the appended patent claims.

Brief Description of the Drawings

These and other aspects, features and advantages of which the invention is capable will be apparent and elucidated from the following description of embodiments of the present invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sliding door system mounted on a cabinet according to an embodiment;

Fig. 2 is an exploded and partial perspective view of the sliding door system in

Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an exploded and partial perspective view of the guide rail, stop member, force transfer member, and projection engagers in the sliding door system in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4A is an exploded and partial perspective view depicting how the guide rail is mounted in relation to two brackets on the centre beam in the sliding door system in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4B is a partial perspective view of an alternative to the bracket assembly shown in Fig. 4A;

Fig. 5 is a partial perspective view of the mounted guide rail in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6A is a partial perspective view of the sliding door system in Fig 1 with the sliding door in an open position;

Fig. 6B is a partial perspective view of the sliding door system in Fig 1 with the sliding door in a closed position;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an engaging member as utilized in the sliding door system in Fig 1;

Fig. 8 is a partial side view of the sliding door system in Fig 1 illustrating how the sliding doors are mounted on the guide rail;

Fig. 9A is an exploded and partial perspective view of a sliding door system mounted on a cabinet according to another embodiment;

Fig. 9B is a partial perspective view of an alternative to the bracket assembly shown in Fig. 9A;and Fig. 10 is a front view of the sliding door system of Figs. 4 and 5 illustrating the transfer of forces between brackets generating during use of the sliding door system. The guide rail and sliding doors are omitted for clarity.

Description of embodiments

The following description focuses on embodiments of the present invention applicable to sliding doors for use with a cabinet or wardrobe. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to these embodiments and may be used for example, with sliding doors dividing two rooms.

The following table lists particular features of the sliding door system and their respective reference numeral as described in the text below and in the figures.

Feature Reference numeral

Connecting portion hole(s) 428

Mounting member 432, 482

Fastener(s) 436

Cover 440

Figs. 1, 2, and 9 illustrate a sliding door system 400 that is mountable at the top (Fig. 2) or bottom (Fig. 9) of the cabinet 300. The sliding door system 400 mounted at the top of the cabinet generally comprises a sliding door 404, a guide rail 200, two brackets 100, a stop member 204, two projection engagers 212, and a force transfer member 208 in the form of a shaft. Similarly, the sliding door system mounted at the bottom of the cabinet comprises a sliding door 404, a guide rail 250, at least two brackets 150, a stop member 254, two door bracket engagers 262, and a force transfer member 258 in the form of a shaft.

In system 400 a first bracket 100a, 150a is mounted to the interior of a side wall 302 of the cabinet 300 as shown in Figs. 2 and 9 while the second bracket 100b, 150b is mounted to a centre beam 308 in a position opposing the first bracket 100a, 150a as shown in Figs. 4A-B and 9A-B. A third bracket 100c, 150c is mounted on a side of the centre beam 308 that faces away from the first bracket 100a, 150a as shown in Figs. 4A-B and 9A-B. The brackets 100, 150 allow for reversible securing of the guide rails 200, 250 in front of the cabinet 300. The centre beam 308 also divides the interior cabinet space into two or more compartments. The stop members 204, 254 are located at the end of the guide rails 200, 250. The projection engagers 212 and the door bracket engagers 262 extend longitudinally from the stop members 204, 254 in a direction substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the guide rails 200, 250. The projection engagers 212 are illustrated as a crocodile connection or crocodile clip.

Shafts 208, 258, acting as force transfer member, have axes that are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the projection engagers 212 and the door bracket engagers 262. Shafts 208, 258 are in contact with the projection engagers 212 / door bracket engagers 262 and the guide rails 200, 250. Shaft 208 passes through guide rail holes 209 in a tight fitting relationship as shown in Fig. 3, and they may optionally be configured such that they are inserted in the rail and locked in position when the rail is attached to the cabinet and the front end of the cabinet will be covering the rail hole 209. As will be described below, the shafts 208, 258 transfer the force generated from impact of the door with the projection engagers 212 / door bracket engagers 262 to the guide rail 200, 250 during use of system 400. It should however be realized that the force transfer members 208 may in other embodiments be provided as an integrated part of the guide rail 200, 250, e.g. by welding a shaft or similar to the guide rail 200, 250. Stop members 204, 254 may be formed integrally with the guide rails 200, 250 as a metal plate or as a separate plastic or metal component that is then attached to the guide rails 200, 250. The guide rails 200, 250 support the sliding door 404. Each guide rail 200, 250 has a cut out 220, 270 located distally from the stop members 204, 254. For example, the position of the cut outs 220, 270 may correspond with the centre beam 308 as shown in Figs. 4A-B and 9A-B. Like the shafts 208 and 258, the cut outs 220 and 270 aid in the transfer of force as described below. The guide rails 200, 250 may be made from metal such as aluminium or steel. As shown in Figs. 5 and 8, the rail 200 has tracks 216 for receiving wheels or bearings 420 that are in turn connected to the sliding door 404.

A cover 440 in Figs. 2, 6A, and 6B hides the gap between the sliding door 404 and the side wall of the cabinet 300 when the door 404 is slid into a closed position.

The brackets 100, 150 comprise a mounting plate 104, 154 with holes 132, 182 through which screws pass to secure the brackets 100, 150 to the interior side wall of the cabinet 300, the surface of the centre beam 308 within the cabinet 300, or the interior surface of the ceiling of the cabinet 300. The holes in the wall or ceiling of the cabinet are preferably pre-drilled holes 304 that may, for instance, allow shelves to be placed at different heights in the cabinet. In this way no new holes are required to be drilled into the cabinet for securing the mounting plate 104, 154 to the cabinet 300. Moreover, if the sliding door system 400 is disassembled from the cabinet 300 no additional holes will be left behind. The mounting plate 104, 154 absorbs the majority of the forces generated through use of the sliding door such that the screws absorb little or no forces. The brackets 100, 150 also comprises a flange 108, 158 and a load plate 112, 162 positioned perpendicularly to the mounting plate 104, 154. The flange 108, 158 and the load plate 112, 162 are also perpendicular to each other. The flange 108, 158 provides additional strength to the bracket 100, 150 and also absorbs forces produced during operation of the sliding door. The load plate 112, 162 facilitates attachment of the guide rail 200, 250 to the brackets 100, 150. As best shown in Figs. 2 and 9, the load plate 112, 162 has a first portion in contact with the mounting plate 104, 154 and the flange 108, 158. The load plate 112, 162 also has a second portion adjacent to the first portion for connecting to and supporting the guide rail 200, 250. This second portion of the load plate 112, 162 comprises rail engaging surfaces and a rail support member 128. The rail engaging surface closest to the mounting plate 104, 154 has a lip while the engaging surface furthest from the mounting plate 104, 154 has a ridge. The lip and the ridge engage corresponding lip- and ridge-members on the guide rail 200, 250 in order that the guide rail 200, 250 snaps on or clicks to the brackets 100, 150. The rail support member 128 is in contact with a support projection of the guide rail 200 for ensuring the guide rail 200 is installed at the correct angle relative to the cabinet 300. The load plate 112, 162 has sufficient size and surface area to prevent gradual eating of the bracket 100, 150 into the cabinet 300. The bracket 100, 150 is preferably moulded in one-piece from any suitable metal such as stainless steel. The mounting plate 104, 154 flange 108, 158 and load plate 112, 162 are between about 1 mm and 5 mm thick depending on the sizes of the guide rail 200, 250 and the sliding door 404 to be installed.

The sliding door 404 is mounted onto guide rails 200, 250 using door brackets 408 and 458 as shown in Figs. 2, 7, 8, and 9. Door bracket 408 comprises engaging member 412 and mounting member 432. Fasteners 436 are used to secure the mounting member 432 to the sliding door 404 as is best shown in Fig. 2. The engaging member 412 is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. Engaging member 412 has two opposing projections 416 that are reversibly received by projection engagers 212 during opening and closing of the sliding door 404. A connecting portion 424 is located between, and extends slightly below, projections 416. Mounted on the connecting portion 424 are bearings 420 which lie in, and slide on, tracks 216 on the guide rail 200. The connecting portion 424 has holes 428 through which screws or other suitable fasteners pass to secure the engaging member 412 to the mounting member 432.

The door bracket 458 comprises an engaging member 462 and a mounting member 482 as shown in Fig. 9A-B. Mounting member 482 is attached to sliding door 404 and is similar in design to mounting member 432. Engaging member 462 abuts the mounting member 482. In use the sliding door is moved in the direction of the solid arrow shown in Fig. 9A-B until engaging member 462 abuts the door bracket engager 262.

The sliding door system 400 is operated as follows. As is seen in Figs. 6A and 6B, the door 404 is slid towards the projection engager 212 as shown by the block arrow in Fig. 6A until the door is received by projection engager 212 as shown in Fig. 6B. The impact of the door with the projection engager 212 generates a force that is transferred from projection engager 212 through the shaft 208 to the guide rail 200. Once the force has been absorbed by the rail 200, it is transferred to at least one additional bracket 100 such as bracket 100a arranged proximally to the stop member 204 or brackets 100b, lOOc, or lOOd arranged distally from the stop member 204. In one alternative embodiment there is a bracket 100a at the stop member 200 and the additional bracket 100c is arranged on the opposite side of the centre beam 308 of the cabinet 300 as shown in Fig.4A-B. The guide rail 200 has a cut out 220 located above the additional brackets 100b and 100c arranged on the centre beam 308. The cut out 220 aids in directing the forces from the rail 200 to the additional brackets 100b, 100c mounted on the centre beam 308. More particularly, the cut out 220 ensures that the force from the guide rail 200 is absorbed correctly; the cut out 220 shown in Fig. 4A-B is consequently constructed such that the bracket 100b will only be subjected to the force from the rail 200 if the force is directed to the right in Fig. 4A-B, while the bracket 100c will only be subjected to the force from the rail 200 if the force is directed to the left in Fig. 4A-B. This means that the centre beam 308 will always assist in absorbing the force from guide rail 200 via the brackets 100b, 100c. Ultimately the centre beam 308 absorbs the force from the rail 200 which results in the side walls 302 of the cabinet 300 remaining stable. In another alternative embodiment there is a bracket 100a at the stop member 204 and the additional bracket lOOd is arranged at the other end of the cabinet 300. The forces absorbed by the additional bracket lOOd at the other end will be transferred into the cabinet 300 such as the side wall 302.

Now returning to Figs. 4A-B and 9A-B a first bracket 100, 150 is mounted to the interior of a side wall 302 of the cabinet 300 while the second bracket 100b, 150b is mounted to a centre beam 308 in a position opposing the first bracket 100, 150. A third bracket 100c, 150c is mounted on a side of the centre beam 308 that faces away from the first bracket 100, 150. The brackets 100, 150 allow for reversible securing of the guide rails 200, 250 in front of the cabinet 300. The centre beam 308 also divides the interior cabinet space into two or more compartments.

The upper two adjacent brackets 100b, 100c form an upper bracket assembly, while the bottom two adjacent brackets 150b, 150c together form a bottom bracket assembly. The brackets of a common bracket assembly may be provided as two separate brackets (see Fig. 4A), or, as illustrated in Fig. 4B, they may be formed as one piece. In particular, the load plate 112 of the respective brackets lOOb-c may be formed in one piece, such that the two brackets lOOb-c share the same load plate. The same applies for the bottom bracket assembly comprising the adjacent brackets 150b-c. These may be provided as two separate brackets, or, as illustrated in Fig. 9B, they may be formed as one piece. In particular, the load plate 162 of the respective brackets 150b-c may be formed in one piece, such that the two brackets 150b-c share the same load plate. A method for absorbing forces during use of the sliding door system will now be described with reference to Fig. 10. The method comprises the initial step of providing a sliding door system such as the system 400 described above with respect to Figs. 1 to 9. A bracket 100a is mounted to the top corner of the cabinet 300 proximal to the stop member of the guide rail (omitted from Fig. 10 for clarity). At least one second bracket 100b, 100c, or lOOd is mounted distally and opposite the first bracket 100a for example, on the centre beam 308 ( i.e. bracket 100b and / or 100c) or the top corner of the cabinet 300 opposing the bracket 100a (i.e. bracket lOOd). The doors are then slid in the directions shown by the solid arrows in Fig. 10 until the doors contact the door bracket engager thereby generating a force which is absorbed by the door bracket engager before being transferred through the shaft and along the guide rail to the first (100a) and second brackets (100b, 100c, lOOd). Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that when four brackets 100a, 100b, 100c, and lOOd are installed as shown the Fig. 10, the force generated proximal to the bracket 100a is transferred through the guide rail to the bracket 100c while the force generated proximal to the bracket lOOd is transferred through the guide rail to the bracket 100b as illustrated by the dashed arrows. The generated forces may be further transferred from the brackets 100a, 100b, 100c, and lOOd into the centre beam 308 and / or cabinet 300.

The sliding door system 400 illustrated in Fig. 2 is mounted to the uppermost portion of the cabinet 300. This will result in sliding doors 404 that are hanging i.e. the doors are supported by the uppermost guiding rail 200. Alternatively, the sliding door system 400 may be mounted to the lowermost portion of the cabinet 300 as shown in Fig. 9A-B such as the cabinet floor resulting in sliding doors 404 that are standing i.e. the doors are supported by the lowermost guide rail 250. Each bracket 100, 150 may be screwed into pre-drilled holes 304 on the cabinet 300 then the guide rails 200, 250 are attached to the brackets 100, 150 by the snap-on or click engagement described above.

In some embodiments the system 400 further comprises two guide rails 200 and 250 mountable on the top and bottom of the cabinet 300 as seen in Fig. 1. The guide rail 250 mounted on the bottom of the cabinet is configured for either (i) guiding of the sliding door only, or (ii) for absorbing and transferring forces as described above in respect of guide rail 200 mounted at the top of the cabinet 300 as shown in Figs. 6A and 6B. The stop member 254 of the lower guide rail 250 is located further away from the cabinet 300 than is the stop member 204 of the upper guide rail 200 in order that the door 404 will always be reversibly received by the projection engager(s) 212 of the upper rail 200. The sliding door system 400 provides for a fast and efficient modular-based installation of a durable sliding door assembly wherein the guide rails 200, 250 and the sliding doors 404 only occupy space immediately in front of the cabinet 300. The guide rails 200, 250 and the sliding doors 404 do not intrude on the cabinet's interior space or the space above, below, and to the side of the cabinet 300. Further, the brackets 100, 150 intrude minimally on both the cabinet's interior space and the space immediately exterior of the cabinet 300.

The sliding door system 400 allows for forces to be absorbed then spread over a larger area when sliding doors engage with engagers 212, 262 in their end position. Such spreading of forces allows for use of light weight material and / or less material during manufacturing of system 400 and reduces the need for replacement parts following repeated use of system 400. As the impact forces are spread over a larger area it is also possible to use the system 400 with cabinets manufactured from light weight material and / or less material.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. Rather, the invention is limited only by the accompanying claims.

In the claims, the term "comprises/comprising" does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps. Additionally, although individual features may be included in different claims, these may possibly advantageously be combined, and the inclusion in different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous. In addition, singular references do not exclude a plurality. The terms "a", "an", "first", "second" etc do not preclude a plurality. Reference signs in the claims are provided merely as a clarifying example and shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims in any way.

Claims

1. A sliding door system (400) for a cabinet (300) having at least one centre beam (308) dividing the cabinet (300) in at least two vertically extending compartments, said sliding door system (400) comprising:

a guide rail (200, 250) for supporting a sliding door (404);

at least a first bracket (100a, lOOd) and a second bracket (100b, 100c) for securing the guide rail (200, 250) in front of the cabinet (300);

wherein the first bracket (100a, lOOd) is mounted on a side wall (302) of the cabinet (300) and the second bracket (100b, 100c) is mounted on a side of the centre beam (308) that faces away from the side wall (302) with the mounted first bracket (100a, lOOd);

whereby a force acting on the guide rail (200, 250) from an associated sliding door (404) will at least partly be absorbed by the second bracket (100b, 100c) and the centre beam (308).

2. The sliding door system according to claim 1, wherein a force acting on the guide rail (200, 250) from an associated sliding door (404) will also at least partly be absorbed by the first bracket (100a, lOOd) and the cabinet (300).

3. The sliding door system (400) according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

a stop member (204, 254) at one end of the guide rail (200, 250);

at least one door projection engager (212) extending longitudinally from the stop member (204, 254) in a direction substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the guide rail (200, 250); and

a force transfer member (208, 258) being in contact with the stop member (204, 254) and/or the at least one door projection engager (212) and the guide rail (200, 250) for transferring forces generated during closing of the sliding door (404) from the sliding door (404) to the guide rail (200, 250).

4. The sliding door system (400) according to claim 3, further comprising a second guide rail (250) for supporting the at least one sliding door (404),

the second guide rail (250) having a second stop member (254) at one end of the second guide rail (250), and the second guide rail (250) being located on the cabinet (300) distally from the guide rail (200).

5. The sliding door system (400) according to claim 4, further comprising at least one door bracket engager (262) extending longitudinally from the second stop member (254) in a direction substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the second guide rail (250); and

a second force transfer member (258) being in contact with the second guide rail (250) and the at least one door bracket engager (262) for transferring forces generated during closing of the sliding door (404) from the sliding door (404) to the guide rail (250).

6. The sliding door system (400) according to claim 5, wherein the at least one door projection engager (212) has an end position, at which it engages with the sliding door (404), being arranged closer to the centre beam (308) than a corresponding end position of the at least one door bracket engager (262) of the second guide rail (250).

7. The sliding door system (400) according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the at least one door projection engager (212) extending longitudinally from the stop member (204) is a crocodile connection (212).

8. The sliding door system (400) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the guide rail (200) and / or the second guide rail (250) has at least one cut out (220, 270) located distally from the stop member (204) and / or the second stop member (254).

9. The sliding door system (400) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the guide rail (200) and / or the second guide rail (250) has at least one track (216) for receiving a bearing (420) mounted on the sliding door (404).

10. The sliding door system (400) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising at least one door bracket (408, 458) mountable on the sliding door (404) for operatively associating the sliding door (404) with the guide rail (200, 250).

11. The sliding door system (400) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein each bracket (100a, 100b, 100c, lOOd, 150a, 150b, 150c, 150d) comprises: a mounting plate (104, 154) configured for reversibly securing the bracket to the cabinet (300); and

a load plate (112, 162) being configured for reversibly interlocking the guide rail (200, 250) onto the bracket; wherein

the load plate (112, 162) is further configured to transfer load from the sliding door (404) via the guide rail (200, 250) to a front side of the cabinet (300).

12. The sliding door system (400) according to claim 11, wherein the mounting plate (104, 154) is positioned perpendicularly to the load plate (112, 162) such that they together form an L-shape.

13. The sliding door system (400) according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the load plate (112, 162) is provided with a load transfer surface being arranged such that said surface rests against the front side of the cabinet (300).

14. The sliding door system (400) according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein each bracket further comprises a flange (108, 158) connected to the mounting plate (104, 154), the flange being perpendicular to the mounting plate (104, 154) and the load plate (112, 162).

15. A method for absorbing forces during use of a sliding door system on a cabinet (300), the method comprising the steps of:

providing a cabinet (300) with a sliding door system, the system comprising: a guide rail for supporting a sliding door; and

at least a first bracket (100a, lOOd) and a second bracket (100b, 100c) for securing the guide rail in front of the cabinet (300);

wherein the first bracket (100a, lOOd) is mounted on a side wall (302) of the cabinet (300);

wherein the second bracket (100b, 100c) is mounted on a centre beam (308) of the cabinet (300) on a side facing away from the side wall (302) with the mounted first bracket (100a, lOOd); sliding the door to contact the end of the guide rail thereby generating a force which is at least partly absorbed by the second bracket (100b, 100c) and the centre beam (308).

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the sliding door system further comprises at least one door projection engager at one end of the guide rail and a force transfer member in contact with the door projection engager and the guide rail, wherein the generated force is transferred from the door projection engager through the force transfer member and along the guide rail to the second bracket (100b, 100c) and the centre beam (308).

17. The method according to any of claim 15 or 16, wherein the guide rail has at least a portion removed to form a cut-out proximal to the second bracket (100b, 100c).