HK1023385B

HK1023385B - A door assembly

Info

Publication number: HK1023385B
Application number: HK00102463.4A
Authority: HK
Inventors: 林梓湘
Original assignee: 林梓湘
Priority date: 1998-06-18
Filing date: 2000-04-26
Publication date: 2004-12-31

Description

Door assembly

The present invention relates to a door and a door assembly. The present invention relates particularly, but not exclusively, to doors for domestic or commercial interior entrances. However, it should be understood that the invention has a wide range of applications and is not limited to a particular use.

Throughout the specification, the term "door" is used to describe any structure capable of covering an opening, including doors, shutters, hoods and the like. Also throughout this specification, the invention is described with reference to the orientation of a door for an interior access, the plane of such door being generally vertical. However, this description is not intended to be limiting and the door of the present invention may take other orientations. Thus, the description of a particular direction should also be considered to encompass other directions.

There is a continuing trend to optimize and increase the available space in the design and construction of buildings. Therefore, there is an increasing need for products that are space efficient or can be used in tight spaces. It is an object of the present invention to provide a door assembly that addresses this need.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a door assembly for use in a door frame defining an opening, the assembly comprising:

a door, comprising: a first panel being planar, pivotally mounted within the door frame and movable between an open and a closed position, and a second panel connected to and rotatable with said first panel, said second panel being parallel to or coplanar with said first panel and movable within the plane of the panels such that said second panel is movable relative to said first panel between a retracted position in which said second panel is laterally adjacent said first panel and an extended position in which said second panel is spaced in the plane of the panels;

a locking device coupling the first and second panels together to thereby retain the second panel in the retracted position;

a retaining device coupling the first panel to the door frame to retain the first panel in the closed position; and

a track assembly interconnecting the first and second panels, the door assembly covering an opening defined by the door frame when in a fully closed position, i.e., the first panel is in the closed position and the second panel is in the deployed position; when in a fully open position, i.e., the first panel is in the open position and the second panel is in the retracted position, the door assembly may form a channel through the opening;

wherein the rail assembly prevents the first panel from moving from the closed position unless the second panel is in the retracted position, the locking device may automatically couple the first and second panels together when the first panel is moved from the closed position when the second panel is in the retracted position, the locking device includes a release mechanism that, when the first panel is rotated to the closed position, the mechanism automatically releases the second panel and when manual pressure is applied to the first panel, the retaining means is released to allow the door to rotate from the closed position, such that the door is manually movable between its fully open and fully closed positions simply by continuously moving the first panel between the open and closed positions and moving the second panel between the retracted and extended positions.

One of the main advantages of the door according to the invention is that the space required for swinging the door between an open and a closed position so that the door covers an opening is considerably reduced compared to conventional hinged doors having the same doorway size. This is advantageous because the door is rotatable when the second panel is in the retracted position and the second panel is movable to the extended position when the door is rotated to the closed position. Another advantage of the present invention is that the door is easy to use and requires only two simple steps to accomplish the movement between the fully open and fully closed positions.

The panels of the door may be of any suitable shape, but in most applications they are generally planar and rectangular with opposite ends spaced apart and interconnected by opposite sides. In the arrangement of the invention, preferably the first panel is rotatably mounted on the support structure about an axis extending in the direction of the opposite side of the first panel, and preferably the second panel is movable relative to the first panel in a direction transverse to this … axis.

Typically in the above arrangement the door includes a hinge or similar connection which enables the door to pivot about one of its sides, in the preferred arrangement the side of the first panel is substantially parallel to the side of the second panel.

In a preferred arrangement, the release mechanism of the locking device may be associated with a support structure (e.g. a door jamb or the like) so that it automatically releases the second panel when the first panel is rotated to a predetermined position relative to the support structure.

In one arrangement, the locking means comprises a lever which is movable between an engaged position in which the lever interconnects the first and second panels to restrict relative movement of the panels and a released position in which the lever is remote from the second panel. Preferably, the locking means further comprises a biasing spring operable to urge the lever into the engaged position.

In one arrangement the retaining means comprises a resilient clip which is releasable when manual pressure is applied to the first panel to pivot the door about the support means from the predetermined position. This arrangement has the advantage that it facilitates the release and engagement of the retaining means, thereby eliminating the need for separate manual actuation of the retaining means to release the door and rotate it.

Preferably, the first and second panels are interconnected by at least one rail assembly comprising a channel and a rail captured within the channel and slidable therein. In this structure, the guide groove is fixed to one of the first and second panels, and the slide rail is connected to the other panel.

In a preferred construction, the door includes a pair of rail assemblies located respectively at each of the opposite ends of the panel.

An advantage of the preferred construction of the invention is that the door is easy to operate. In particular, the second panel may be retained in the retracted position by a locking device when the door is not in the closed position. And when the door is moved to the closed position, it is maintained in the closed position, thereby facilitating alignment of the channel in the first panel with the channel in the door frame, thereby allowing the second panel to be easily moved from the retracted position to the extended position. Further, the two panels are maintained in their generally parallel alignment by providing a rail assembly at the lower end of the panels.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the nature of the description is intended or should be inferred from the generality of the preceding broad description of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a door according to an embodiment of the present invention, an associated door frame being shown in partial phantom view;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the door of FIG. 1 in an open position;

FIG. 3 shows the door of FIG. 1 in a closed position;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the door of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the top edge of the door of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 3;

fig. 8-10 show plan views of the door of fig. 1 as it moves from an open position to a closed position.

Referring to fig. 1, a door 10 includes a first panel 11 and a second panel 12. The door 10 is mounted on a door frame 13, which is only partially shown in phantom lines in fig. 1, so that it does not cover the features of the door 10.

The first and second panels are each planar and rectangular with opposite ends 14, 15, 16 and 17 interconnected by opposite sides 18, 19, 20 and 21. The two panels are interconnected so as to be aligned in parallel by a rail assembly 22. The assembly 22 includes a channel 23 secured adjacent the upper end 14 of the first panel 11 and a slide rail 24 extending from the upper end 16 of the second panel 12, the slide rail 24 being captured within the channel 23 so that the second panel 12 can slide relative to the first panel 11 in the plane of the panels.

The first panel 11 is hingedly mounted to the door frame 13 so that it can rotate about a generally vertical axis 25, which axis 25 extends along the inner side 18 of the first panel 11. In the illustrated construction, the door 10 is connected to the doorframe 13 by hinges 26 and 27 as shown in FIG. 3. It will be appreciated that any suitable form of coupling may be used.

As shown in fig. 4, a second track assembly 28 is mounted on the bottom ends of the first and second panels. The assembly is constructed such that a channel 29 has a generally C-shaped cross-section, the channel 29 being mounted on the bottom end 17 of the panel 12 and a guide rail 30 being mounted on the bottom end 15 of the first panel 11. The guide track 30 includes a roller 31 which is disposed within the C-shaped channel. This structure prevents the panels from being inclined so that their lower ends are separated.

The second panel 12 is slidable along the track assemblies 22, 28 relative to the first panel 11 between a retracted position and a deployed position. In the retracted position, the two panels are laterally adjacent; in the deployed position, the second panel is spaced from the first panel in the plane of the panels. Fig. 1 shows the second panel 12 in an intermediate position between the retracted position and the deployed position. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the door with the second panel 12 in the retracted position, and fig. 10 shows the second panel 12 in the extended position.

The door 10 also includes a locking device 32 that retains the second panel 12 in the retracted position. The device is mounted on the front side 19 of the first panel 11 and includes a spring biased lever 33 (shown in figure 5) which is mounted within a housing 34 secured to the first panel 11. The rod 33 extends from the housing 34 through a spring action across the front side 21 of the second panel 12, thereby preventing the panel 12 from sliding along the rail assemblies 22 and 28 from the retracted position to the extended position. According to this structure, the door 10 is easily pivoted about the hinges 26 and 27 when the second panel 12 is in the retracted position.

Referring now to fig. 8-10, the first panel 11 is pivotable about hinges 26 and 27 relative to the doorframe 13 between an open position (shown in solid lines in fig. 8) in which the door 10 passes through the plane of the opening 35 defined by the doorframe 13, and a closed position (best shown in fig. 9) in which the door 10 is in the plane of the opening 35.

With the second panel 12 in the retracted position, the first panel 11 does not completely cover the opening 35 when it is moved from the open position to the closed position. This is accomplished by moving the second panel 12 from the retracted position to the extended position, as best shown in fig. 10. The different positions of the door 10 are also shown in fig. 2 and 3, in fig. 2 the door 10 is in the open position, in fig. 3 the door 10 is fully closed by rotating the first panel 11 to the closed position and sliding the second panel 12 to the deployed position.

The first panel 11 is of slightly larger construction than the second panel 12 with its upper edge region 36 and side edge regions 37 extending beyond the second panel 12. When the first panel 11 is moved to the closed position, as best shown in fig. 6 and 7, the upper edge region 36 abuts or is adjacent to an abutment surface 38 of the door frame 13, and as best shown in fig. 9 and 10, the side edge region 37 thereof abuts a side surface 39 of the door frame 13. This structure improves the restriction between the door 10 and the doorframe 13.

The door frame 13 includes a top channel 40, the channel 40 being alignable with the channel 23 of the track assembly 22 when the first panel 11 is moved to the closed position. When aligned with the channel 23 or the first panel 11 to the closed position, the door frame channel 40 abuts the rod 33 of the locking device 32, thereby retracting the rod 33 into the housing 34 against the spring bias. This configuration is best shown in fig. 7. The second panel 12 is thereby released, sliding the second panel 12 relative to the first panel 11 by movement of the slide rails 24 within the aligned guide slots 23 and 40.

The door 10 also includes a retaining device 41 that maintains the first panel 11 in the closed position to ensure that the channels 23 and 40 remain properly aligned. This facilitates sliding of the second panel 12 from the retracted position to the extended position.

In the illustrated construction, as shown in fig. 7, the retaining means 41 comprises a resilient clip which catches a catch 42 extending from the door frame 13 when the first panel 11 is moved to the closed position. The spring clip may disengage from the chuck 42 when the first panel 11 is moved from the closed position to the open position. An advantage of this arrangement is that the device does not need to be operated separately to disengage to allow the door to be opened.

One advantage of the door 10 is that the door of the present invention provides a substantial space savings over conventional hinged doors having the same doorway size, which is the space required to swing the door between the fully open and fully closed positions. Moreover, the door is easy to operate. The second panel may be held in the retracted position by locking means so that the panels rotate about the hinges 26, 27 without any mutual movement between the panels. In addition, when the door is moved to the closed position, it is held in the closed position by a retaining means which facilitates correct alignment of the guide slot of the first panel with the guide slot located on the door frame, thereby allowing the second panel to be easily moved from the retracted position to the extended position. Furthermore, the first panel automatically releases the locking means when it is moved to the closed position, thereby allowing the door to be moved from the fully open position to the fully closed position in two simple steps. That is, first, the first panel is rotated to the closed position, and second, the second panel is moved from the retracted position to the extended position.

It will be appreciated that variations and modifications may be made to the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In particular, it will be appreciated that the first panel may include a recess for receiving the second panel so that the panels may lie in the same plane. Also, the coupling structure between the first and second panels to move the second panel from the retracted position to the extended position may employ structures known to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A door assembly for use in a door frame defining an opening, the assembly comprising:

2. The door assembly as in claim 1, wherein each of the panels is rectangular with opposite ends thereof spaced apart and interconnected by opposite sides; said first panel being rotatably mounted on the support structure about an axis extending in the direction of opposite sides of said first panel; and the second panel is movable relative to the first panel in a direction transverse to the axis.

3. The door assembly of claim 2, wherein the side of the first panel is parallel to the side of the second panel.

4. A door assembly as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the locking means comprises a lever movable between an engaged position in which the lever interconnects the first and second panels to restrict relative movement of the panels and a released position in which the lever is remote from the second panel, the locking means further comprising a biasing spring urging the lever into the engaged position; the lever is movable from the engaged position to the released position by engagement of the lever with an abutment surface attached to or integrally formed with the door frame when the first panel is moved to the closed position.

5. A door assembly as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the retaining means comprises a resilient clip which is releasable when manual pressure is applied to the first panel to pivot the door from the closed position to the open position.

6. The door assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rail assembly is located at or adjacent to the upper end of the respective panel and includes a first guide groove installed on the first panel and a slide rail coupled to the second panel, the slide rail being caught in the first guide groove and slidable therein.

7. The door assembly of claim 6, wherein the rail assembly further comprises a second channel coupled to the door frame; when the first panel is moved to the closed position, the second guide slot is aligned with the first guide slot on the first panel such that the slide rail coupled to the second panel is slidable between the first and second guide slots; the engagement of the slide rail with the second guide slot prevents the first panel from moving from the closed position.

8. A door assembly as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein said first and second panels include a second track assembly at the lower end of the respective panel, said second track assembly interconnecting said first and second panels and including a guide channel mounted on one of said panels and a slide rail mounted on the other of said panels, the slide rail being captured within and slidable within said guide channel of said second track assembly.