WO2008047998A1

WO2008047998A1 - Sliding door having a hinged door structure

Info

Publication number: WO2008047998A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/003462
Authority: WO
Inventors: Keun-Jun Lee
Original assignee: Militec Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-10-18
Filing date: 2007-07-18
Publication date: 2008-04-24
Also published as: KR100682632B1

Abstract

Disclosed is a sliding door in which two door bodies are installed to be moved into and out of a pocket frame so that a target space can be closed with the two door bodies moved out of the pocket frame. The sliding door includes a sliding door part in which rollers are installed on an upper end of one door body of the two door bodies and a rail to be engaged with the rollers is formed on an upper end of a doorframe so that the door body can be slidingly moved along the doorframe to open and close the space; and a hinged door part in which the other door body of the two door bodies is foldably coupled to the door body of the sliding door part to open and close the space.

Description

SLIDING DOOR HAVING A HINGED DOOR STRUCTURE

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a sliding door.

Background Art

[2] The present invention relates to a sliding door, and more particularly, to a sliding door having a hinged door structure which can open and close a space having the same area as a sliding door having a two step sliding structure, has a simple construction, and can be opened and closed with the application of a small force.

[3] A sliding door is one type of door in which a doorframe is securely held in place to form a door for delimiting a space, and a door body is installed in the doorframe to slide leftwards or rightwards to thereby open and close the target space. Specifically, in the sliding door, in order to allow the door body to easily slide in the doorframe, rollers are fastened to the top or bottom surface of the door body, and a rail is secured to the upper or lower end of the doorframe to allow the rollers to be engaged therewith to thereby guide the sliding movement of the door body.

[4] In the conventional sliding door, constructed as mentioned above, it is the norm that the rollers are fastened to the bottom surface of the door body and the rail is secured to the lower end of the doorframe to allow the rollers to be engaged therewith. In this case where the rollers are fastened to the bottom surface of the door body, problems are caused in that the rollers are likely to be broken by the load applied by the weight of the door body, and the rail projects out of the floor to thus obstruct the movement of a person.

[5] In order to solve these problems, in another sliding door proposed in the art, rollers are fixed to the top surface of a door body and a rail is secured to the upper end of a doorframe. In this type of sliding door, while the likelihood of the rollers breaking is decreased due to the fixing of the rollers to the top surface of the door body, there are disadvantages in that a gap is formed between the bottom surface of the door body and the lower end of the doorframe, and noise, dust, etc. can be introduced into the space through the gap.

[6] Referring to FIG. 1, still another sliding door, in which rollers and a rail are provided to the upper part of the sliding door, as disclosed by the present applicant in Korean Patent Application No. 2002-39758 (hereinafter, referred to as a "prior application"), is illustrated.

[7] In the sliding door disclosed in the prior application, rollers 2 and a guide rail 3 are provided to the upper part of the sliding door including a door body 1 and a doorframe 4. In the construction of this sliding door, the likelihood of the roller 2 breaking is eliminated, and it is possible to prevent noise, dust, etc. from being introduced into the space through the gap between the door body 1 and the doorframe 4. In particular, the construction of the sliding door of the prior application can be easily installed and modified.

[8] A still further sliding door has been proposed in the art as an advancement on the sliding door of the prior application. This sliding door is constructed in a manner such that two door bodies are slidably superimposed so that, after a first door body is slidingly moved out of a pocket frame, a second door body can also be slidingly moved out of the pocket frame. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[9] In the sliding door which is proposed in the developed shape and has the two door bodies, rollers are secured to the upper ends of both first and second door bodies, and to correspond thereto, a pair of guide rails is installed over the door bodies. Therefore, since the overall construction of the sliding door is complicated, the manufacturing cost thereof is increased.

[10] Also, when the second door body is moved out of the pocket frame after the first door body is moved out, because the second door body must be pulled with increased force via the first door body moved out of the pocket frame, excessive force must be applied, and therefore, convenience in the use of the sliding door is likely to be deteriorated.

[11] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sliding door in which rollers are mounted to only one of two door bodies and a guide rail is correspondingly installed on a doorframe so that the construction of the sliding door is simplified, and which allows the second door body to be opened and closed through a simple manipulation after the two door bodies, in a folded state, are moved out of a pocket frame.

Advantageous Effects

[12] Thanks to the features of the present invention, since the construction of a sliding door is simplified, the time and cost for manufacturing the sliding door can be significantly decreased, whereby advantages can be provided to manufacturers.

[13] Further, in the present invention, because the sliding door can be easily manipulated to open and close a space, user convenience is improved and the value of the sliding door can be increased. Brief Description of the Drawings [14] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional sliding door;

[15] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a sliding door having a hinged door structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

[16] FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional side view illustrating the sliding door according to the present invention;

[17] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the state in which a hinged door body of the sliding door according to the present invention is rotated;

[18] FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating the hinge of the hinged door structure of the sliding door according to the present invention;

[19] FIGs. 6 through 8 are views illustrating the use of the sliding door according to the present invention; and

[20] FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a sliding door having a hinged door structure in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

[21] <Description of Reference Numerals for Main Parts of Drawings>

[22] 10, 20: door bodies 12: rail

[23] 14: roller 21: hinge

[24] 30: doorframe 40: sliding door part

[25] 50: hinged door part 60: pocket frame

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[26] In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sliding door in which two door bodies are installed to be moved into and out of a pocket frame so that a target space can be closed with the two door bodies moved out of the pocket frame, the sliding door comprising a sliding door part in which rollers are installed on the upper end of one door body of the two door bodies and a rail to be engaged with the rollers is formed in the upper end of a doorframe so that the door body can be slidingly moved along the doorframe to open and close the space; and a hinged door part in which the other door body of the two door bodies is foldably coupled to the door body of the sliding door part to open and close the space.

[27] Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[28] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional sliding door. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a sliding door having a hinged door structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a partial cross- sectional side view illustrating the sliding door according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the state in which a hinged door body of the sliding door according to the present invention is rotated. [29] Referring to the drawings, a sliding door in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes two door bodies 10 and 20 and a doorframe 30. One door body 10 is realized as a sliding door part 40, and the other door body 20 is realized as a hinged door part 50. The sliding door further includes a pocket frame 60 into which the two door bodies 10 and 20 can be moved through the sliding movement of the sliding door part 40.

[30] The sliding door part 40 comprises one door body 10 of the two door bodies 10 and

20, a roller structure 11 which is provided to the upper end of the door body 10, and a rail 12 which is installed on the upper end of the doorframe 30 to be engaged with the roller structure 11.

[31] In the roller structure 11, at least two brackets 13 are fastened to the upper end of the door body 10 at a regular interval, and a plurality of rollers 14 are rotatably mounted to the brackets 13. In particular, it is preferred that the rollers 14 be mounted to both ends of the respective brackets 13 so that the roller structure 11 can be coupled to the rail 12 in a balanced state.

[32] The rail 12 has a rectangular sectional shape, and the rollers 14 are movably coupled to the rail 12 to be brought into rolling contact with the bottom surface of the rail 12. The rail 12 is formed on the upper end of the doorframe 30 to extend from the upper end of the pocket frame 60 to a position at which the door body 10 is slidingly moved from the pocket frame 60.

[33] The reference numeral 15 designates a sealing unit for sealing the gap between the door body 10 and a floor.

[34] The hinged door part 50 comprises the other door body 20 of the two door bodies

10 and 20, and hinges 21 which connect the door body 20 of the hinged door part 50 with the door body 10 of the sliding door part 40. In the hinged door part 50, the kind of the hinges 21 is selected such that the door body 20 can be rotated 180° with respect to the door body 10 of the sliding door part 40.

[35] That is to say, as shown in FIGs. 2 through 4, the hinges 21 can be installed such that they are hidden with the door bodies 10 and 20 folded against each other and are exposed with the door bodies 10 and 20 unfolded from each other to close a target space. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the hinges 21 can be structured such that they are exposed with the door bodies 10 and 20 folded against each other and are hidden with the door bodies 10 and 20 unfolded from each other.

[36] For reference, the installation state of the hinges 21 shown in FIGs. 2 through 4 in the present embodiment is illustrated for the sake of easy understanding of the structure of the hinges 21. Preferably, the hinges 21 are structured such that they are substantially hidden when the door bodies 10 and 20 are unfolded from each other.

[37] FIGs. 6 through 8 are views illustrating the use of the sliding door according to the present invention.

[38] FIG. 6 illustrates a state in which the door body 10 of the sliding door part 40 and the door body 20 of the hinged door part 50 are folded with each other and are slidingly moved into the pocket frame 60. At this time, while it is illustrated in FIGs. 2 and 4 that the pocket frame 60 has the shape of a frame, when actually installing the sliding door, wallpaper or other decorative material is attached to the outer surface of the pocket frame 60 so that the pocket frame 60 can be hidden when the door bodies 10 and 20 are moved therein.

[39] FIG. 7 illustrates the state in which a user moves the folded door bodies 10 and 20 out of the pocket frame 60. At this time, the door bodies 10 and 20 can be moved out of the pocket frame 60 due to the fact that the rollers 14 of the sliding door part 40 are slidingly moved while being guided along the rail 12.

[40] FIG. 8 illustrates the state in which the door body 20 of the hinged door part 50 is unfolded from the door body 10 of the sliding door part 40 to completely close the target space. The door body 20 of the hinged door part 50 is unfolded from the door body 10 of the sliding door part 40 by being rotated around the hinges 21.

[41] FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a sliding door having a hinged door structure in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

[42] Referring to FIG. 9, in the sliding door according to the present embodiment, hinges

70 are installed in a state in which they are structured to have a reduced size and provide an aesthetically appealing appearance. Also, in the sliding door according to the present embodiment, when the door body 10 to be slidingly moved and the door body 20 to be hingedly moved are folded against each other, magnets 71 are secured to the door bodies 10 and 20 at corresponding positions.

[43] By these facts, when viewing the hinges 70, since spherical elements are located at upper and lower positions, it is possible to provide an aesthetically appealing appearance. Also, as the magnets 71 having different polarities are secured at corresponding positions, or metallic members are secured at one of the corresponding positions, after the door bodies 10 and 20 are folded with each other, the folded state can be reliably maintained by the magnetic force generated by the magnets 71.

Claims

[1] A sliding door in which two door bodies (10 and 20) are installed to be moved into and out of a pocket frame (60) so that a target space can be closed with the two door bodies (10 and 20) moved out of the pocket frame (60), the sliding door comprising: a sliding door part (40) in which rollers (14) are installed on an upper end of one door body (10) of the two door bodies (10 and 20) and a rail (12) to be engaged with the rollers (14) is formed on an upper end of a doorframe (30) so that the door body (10) can be slidingly moved along the doorframe (30) to open and close the space; and a hinged door part (50) in which the other door body (20) of the two door bodies (10 and 20) is foldably coupled to the door body (10) of the sliding door part (40) to open and close the space.

[2] The sliding door according to claim 1, wherein the door body (20) of the hinged door part (50) is coupled to an end of the door body (10) of the sliding door part (40) by means of hinges (21).

[3] The sliding door according to claim 2, wherein both ends of each hinge (21) are respectively coupled to opposite ends of both door bodies (10 and 20) so that the hinge (21) can be hidden with the door body (10) of the sliding door part (40) and the door body (20) of the hinged door part (50) closing the space.

[4] The sliding door according to claim 2, wherein magnets (71) are secured at least to the hinged door part (50) so that attractive force can be applied to opposite portions of the door bodies (10 and 20) after the door bodies (10 and 20) are folded against each other.