US3490824A

US3490824A - Sliding door construction

Info

Publication number: US3490824A
Application number: US696903A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert N Bartlett; William F Pendergast
Original assignee: Steelcase Inc
Current assignee: Steelcase Inc
Priority date: 1968-01-10
Filing date: 1968-01-10
Publication date: 1970-01-20
Anticipated expiration: 1987-01-20

Description

Jan. 29, 1970 R. N. BARTLETT ETAL I 3,490,824

SLIDING DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 10. 1968 Q I LL, L L 60 s: 2 g

INVENTORS Hm P678597 11/ 634872577 ATTORNEYS United states Patent 3,490,824 SLIDING DOOR CONSTRUCTION Robert N. Bartlett and William F. Pendergast, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignors to Steelcase, Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Jan. 10, 1968, Ser. No. 696,903 Int. Cl. A47b 63/00 US. Cl. 3l2304 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to a cabinet construction for metal furniture and the like in which sliding door panels of different thicknesses are interchangeable. The door panels are confined in top and bottom channels. Each panel is supported by grooved wheels which ride on one of three raised parallel ribs in the bottom channel. The wheels are attached to the bottom panels through brackets which position the wheels laterally of the bottom of the door panels. The back panel wheels are disposed behind the back panel and ride on the innermost rib. When glass panels are positioned in the cabinet, the front panel is positioned behind the supporting wheels which ride on the outermost rib. When metal panels are used, the wheels supporting the front panel are positioned behind the front panel and the front panel wheels ride on a central rib. A detachable spacing means is provided in the top channel for each door panel type to maintain the panels vertical.

This invention relates to a sliding door cabinet construction. In one of its aspects, it relates to a cabinet structure containing a pair of sliding doors comprising an inner and outer door panel, which doors slide in a bottom channel and a top channel in parallel adjacent relationship, in which structure the bottom channel contains a plurality of spaced, raised, parallel ribs extending longitudinally along the channel, the top channel having door positioning means, and the door panels being attached to grooved wheels which are positioned on two of the ribs.

In metal cabinets with so called sliding panel doors, the door panels are usually made from metal or glass. Generally wheels are used in the system to permit the doors to move easily on the tracks. Because of the different thicknesses of the different materials and the construction of the panels, different constructions are required for each kind of door so that different kinds of doors are not interchangeable. This means that if different kinds of doors are offered in a cabinet, the manufacturer must make different cabinets for each kind of door.

I have now discovered a cabinet construction in Which glass and metal doors each can be interchanged by using a plurality of raised ribs on which ribs the panel wheels ride, and by providing a detachable panel spacing member in the top channel in which the top portion of the panel is positioned.

By various aspects of this invention one or more of the following, or other, objects can be obtained.

It is an object of this invention to provide a cabinet construction for sliding panels in which different kinds of panels are interchangeable.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel cabinet construction in which sliding steel and glass panels can be interchanged by the purchaser.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a common door track system for various kinds of sliding cabinet doors which are supported by wheels.

Other aspects, objects, and the several advantages of this invention are apparent to one skilled in the art from a study of this disclosure, the drawings, and the appended claims.

According to the invention there is provided a cabinet 3,496,324 Patented Jan. 20, 1970 construction for sliding panel doors. The panel doors slide in parallel relationship and adjacent each other. The panels are supported by wheels and are retained by a bottom channel and a top channel. At least three raised parallel ribs extend longitudinally along the bottom channel. Grooved wheels attached to the door panels ride on at least two of the ribs.

In the cabinet, the bottom shelf is raised above the top of the channel and a front panel extends up above the top portion of the panel wheels on the ribs, thereby providing a recessed bottom channel. Detachable spacer means are provided in the top channel, which is also recessed, for positioning the various kinds of panels.

When glass panels are employed, the front panel is supported by a U-shaped member which is attached to the wheels in such a manner that the plane of the glass is positioned laterally of the wheels, and the wheels are positioned on an outside rib. The outer glass panel is spaced behind the wheels.

When metal panels are employed, the wheels are positioned laterally behind the panels. The wheels of the front panel are positioned in a central raised rib and the wheels of the back panel are positioned on an inner raised rib.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bookcase showing one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view through lines IIII of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing a second embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a bookcase having a top panel 2, side panels 4, contains a metal shelf 6. The bookcase contains a depending flange 8, and a base flange 10. A pair of

glass door panels

34 and 36 slide in parallel relationship to each other across the front of the bookcase.

The panels slide in a top and bottom channel whichare recessed behind depending flange 8 and base flange 10, respectively. The bottom channel comprises a lower door channel frame member 12 having an inwardly turned flange at 14. A track 16 is positioned in the bottom of channel 12 and can be mechanically attached thereto. The track 16 contains an outer raised rib 18, a central raised rib 20, and an inner raised rib 22.

Attached to the inner portion of the lower door channel 12 is a bottom shelf 24 containing attaching flange 26. The lower door channel 12 is mechanically fastened to the attaching flange 26.

A top frame member 28 is attached to the supporting bracket 30 through a screw 32 to support the top panel 2. The top frame member 28 is a flat bar having a pair of L-shaped depending flanges 29 at either end for attaching the top panel 2. Recessed below this top panel 2 is the top channel in which the top portions of the panel slide. The top channel comprises a panel top spacing member 50 containing a separating flange 52 and is attached to the frame through screw 32 and clip 54.

The

glass panels

34 and 36 are supported on wheels which ride on the raised ribs. In particular, the outer door panel 34 is positioned in panel supporting channel 40 and is held against the inside leg of 40 by panel positioning plates 42. Grooved wheels 48 are attached to the panel supporting channel 40 and panel positioning plate 42 through an axle pin 46. The channel positioning plate 42 is mechanically attached to the panel supporting channel 40. Bottom portions of the panel supporting channel 40 are cut away (not shown) to permit the wheels 48 to extendthrough the bottom of the panel supporting channel 40. The inner door panel 36 is attached to wheels 48 in the same manner as the outer door panel except the 3 wheels are behind the door in the inner door panel 36.

As can be seen from FIG. 2 the planes of the

panels

34 and 36 are spaced laterally from the planes of the wheels. The outer panel 34 is positioned behind or inwardly of the supporting wheels 48 which ride on the outer raised rib 18. The inner panel 36 is positioned outwardly of its supporting wheels 48 which ride on inner raised rib 22. The bottom shelf 24 and the inwardly turned flange 14 are positioned above the top of the wheels 48 in the bottom channel thereby providing a recessed channel so that the wheels are not visible. The inwardly turned flange 14 and a lateral wheel covering flange 44 on panel positioning plate 42 cover the outer wheels 48 from sight.

Each panel is provided with a bearing channel 38 which can be made of any suitable plastic or metal material to bear against panel top facing member 50 and separating flange 52. The panel top facing member 50 has a wall 51 which extends outwardly of frame member 28 to maintain the inner panel 36 vertical.

Reference is now made specifically to FIG. 3 where like numerals are used to describe like parts. In this embodiment, the cabinet structure is the same except for the door panels and the top channel. In this embodiment, the top channel is formed by a panel top positioning means 64 in which an inner wall thereof 65 is positioned against frame member 28 and in which a separating flange 66 separates the panels 34a and 36a. The panel top positioning means 64 is attached to the frame through clip 54 and through screw 32 at bracket 29.

The metal panels 34a and 36a contain inwardly directed

flanges

56 and 58, respectively. Each of the panels contains a bearing member 68 at the top portion thereof to provide a smooth sliding of the door within the top channel.

The metal door panels 34a and 36a are attached to wheels 48 through wheel bracket 60 and axle pin 62. In this embodiment, the front door panel 34a is spaced outwardly and laterally of its supporting wheel 48 which rides on the central raised rib 20. The inner door panel 36a is of similar construction as the outer door panel 34a and the supporting wheels ride on inner raised rib 22. The wheels 48 are attached to the inner door panel 36a in the same manner as the outer door panel 34a.

Locks and handles (not shown) can be provided on either type of door panel.

The different kinds of door panels can be readily interchangeable by simply removing screw 32 and pulling panel top spacing member 54 or panel top positioning means 64 outwardly until the clip 54 is free from frame member 28. The downwardly and inwardly extending flanges 29 of frame 28 are positioned at either side of the cabinet. The doors can then be removed by positioning the door panels in the longitudinal central portion of the channels, pushing the top portions of the panels rearwardly to clear the frame member 28 and lifting the same to remove them. The new panels can then be inserted the same way the other ones were removed. A different top channel including panel top positioning means 64 or panel top spacing member 50 is secured to the frame depending on the type of door being replaced. The panels will then be straightened and placed on the tracks and fastened into the cabinet structure by attaching the panel top positioning means to the frame through screw 32.

Whereas the

door panels

34 and 36 of FIG. 2 have been described with reference to glass, it is obvious that other materials such as thick Plexiglas, wood, or other plastics can be employed.

Whereas the panels 34a and 36a of FIG. 3 have been described with reference to metal doors, it is obvious that other materials can be employed in this type of construction. For example, thin walled plastic door panels can be used in place of the metal. The metal can be steel or aluminum or any suitable metal.

Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope of the foregoing disclosure and the drawings without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a cabinet construction having an open front and containing an inner door panel and an outer door panel in said open front, positioning means at the top and bottom of said open front for constraining parallel sliding movement of said door panels in closely adjacent relationship, the improvement which comprises:

said positioning means at the bottom of said open front including at least three spaced raised parallel ridges extending longitudinally along said bottom channel, and each of said door panels having attached thereto grooved wheels Which ride on one of said raised ribs, and

said positioning means at the top of said open front being easily detachable from said cabinet,

whereby door panels of different thicknesses, material and construction are interchangeable in said cabinet without reconstruction of the cabinet by changing said top positioning means.

2. A cabinet construction according to claim 1 wherein the bottom shelf of said cabinet is positioned above the top portion of said wheels and a flange extends upwardly from the bottom of said channel in front of said cabinet at least as high as said wheels of said panels when said wheels are positioned on said ribs.

3. A cabinet construction according to claim 1 wherein said door panels are of glass construction, each panel is supported by a U-shaped member Which is attached to said wheels, said Wheels and said glass panels are positioned between the sides of said U-shaped member, said wheels of said outer panel are positioned on an outer rib in said bottom channel, and said wheels attached to said inner panel are positioned on an inner rib of said bottom channel, said inner glass panel being positioned outwardly of said supporting wheels on said inner rib, and said outer panel being positioned inwardly of said supporting wheels on said outer rib.

4. A cabinet construction according to claim 3 wherein spacing means are provided in said top positioning means to position the top of said inner door panel in closely adjacent parallel relationship with said outer panel.

5. A cabinet construction according to claim 1 wherein said door panels are of thin metal construction, each panel having an inwardly turned flange at the sides thereof, each door panel being supported by said grooved wheels through inverted U-shaped brackets, said wheels being positioned inwardly of each of said door panels, the wheels of said inner door being positioned on an inner rib of said bottom channel, and said wheels of said outer door panel being positioned inwardly of said outer door and riding on a central rib.

6. A cabinet construction according to claim 1 wherein each door panel is positioned adjacent and laterally offset from its supporting wheels.

7. A sliding door construction comprising a bottom channel; a top channel spaced vertically above and facing said bottom channel; first and second longitudinal raised ribs in said bottom channel spaced laterally of each other within said bottom channel; first and second solid panels spaced laterally of each other and positioned within said bottom channel and said top channel; first grooved wheels on said first channel means adapted to ride on said first rib; means attached to said first grooved wheels and to said first solid panel to support said first solid panel laterally of said wheels and between said first and second raised ribs; second grooved wheels on said second raised rib adapted to ride on said second rib; means attached to said second grooved Wheels and to said second solid panel to support said second solid panel laterally of said second grooved wheels and between said first and second raised ribs so that said first and second solid panels can slide in adjacent relationship and said Wheels can be concealed from view.

8. A cabinet construction comprising top, side, and bottom panel members forming an open front cabinet; an inner door panel and an outer door panel positioned in sliding, adjacent, parallel, relationship in the open front portion of said cabinet; a top channel and a bottom channel in which said door panels slide; said bottom channel containing at least two spaced parallel raised ribs extending longitudinally along said bottom channel, each of said door panels having attached thereto grooved wheels which are positioned on one of said raised ribs; said door panels are of thin metal construction, each panel having an inwardly turned flange at the sides thereof, each door panel being supported by said grooved wheels through an inverted U-shaped bracket, said grooved wheels being positioned inwardly of and offset from each of said door panels.

9. A sliding door construction comprising a bottom guiding means; a top guiding means spaced vertically above said bottom guiding means; a pair of door panels positioned in said top and bottom guiding means so as to slide in parallel adjacent relationship to each other; track means in said bottom guiding means; wheel means attached to said door panel and adapted to ride on said track means; said wheel means being attached to said door panel such that said wheel means are laterally 011?- set from said door panel whereby said wheel means can be easily concealed from view.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,561,290 11/1925 Wicke 312138 1,907,117 5/1933 Keil 3l2138X 2,118,213 5/1938 Malott 312--138 2,126,111 8/1938 Holderle et al. 312138 2,762,675 9/1956 Janows 312304 X 3,307,895 3/1967 Renner et a1. 312304 3,389,943 6/1968 Jones et al 312-138 3,401,994 9/1968 Diack 312138 3,410,621 11/1968 Schreyer 312304 X JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 312138