US2849270A - Cabinet with upfolding door - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 26, 1958 A. D. WARNOCK CABINET' WITH UPFOLDING DOOR Filed Aug. 9, 1956 /7 gi 4. I J w.

III/IL INVENTOR f 4/ 0. l f wwack A rroelvEK 2,849,270 CABINET WITH UPFOLDING DOOR Aln D. Warnock, Atchison, Kans. Application August 9, 1956, Serial No. 603,039 Claims. (Cl. 312-.-328) This invention relates to storage cabinets such as those employed in kitchens and the like, and refers more particularly to an improved cabinet having an upfolding sectional door.

An object of the invention is to provide a cabinet of the character described provided with an upfolding door which is yieldably biased in the closed position, and in which the biasing means is operable upon opening of the door to yieldably maintain the door in open position. A feature of the invention resides in the provision of biasing means which is operable in the transition of the door from closed to open position to aid in moving the door to the open position following the initial phase of the opening operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet assembly which is especially suitable for providing in.- creased storage space above drainboards or work tables. By my invention 1 provide a cabinet which has an inclined face providing ample head room above the drainboard or table while still presenting shelves within the cabinet easily accessible from a standing position on the floor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cabinet having an upfolding door biased in closed and open positions and in which the biasing means is so arranged as to interfere as little as possible with the storage of articles within the cabinet. A feature of the invention in this respect isthat' the force exerted by the biasing means.

on the door can be quickly and easily adjusted as tostrength and that the point of transition of the force from. one tending to maintain the door closed to one tending to maintain thee door open can be changed through a simple adjustment.

Still another object of the invention-is to provide a cabinet and door construction of the character described which employs a small number of moving parts, in which the door is smooth and positive in operation, which is pleasing in appearance and whichcan be manufactured. at low cost.

Other and further objects of the invention together with the features of novelty appurtenant thereto will appear during the course of the following description.

In. the accompanying drawings which forma part ofthe specification and" are to be read in conjunction; therewith, and in which lilg: reference numerals indicate like parts in the various views:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a portion of. av cab.-. inet assembly employing a cabinet and door construction embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view of a cabinet and. door construction embodying the invention. taken along the line 2-2- of Fig. l in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the door in its open position, only the upper portionof the cabinet being shown and parts being broken away to indicate length;

Fig. 4 is an enlargedsectional view taken along; the; line 4--4 of Fig. 2' in thedirection of the arrows.-

2,849,270 Patented Aug. 26, 195,8

Referring to the drawings, in Fig. l I have shown a typical kitchen cabinetassembly in which is embodied a slant-frontcabinetconsttructed according to the, principles ofmy invention. As is conventional in such assemblies there is provided a drain'board or working area 10 below which is the conventional storage area equipped with a swinging door 11- and drawers 12. The cabinet assembly is backed against the room wall 13. At the very top of the assembly is an upper storage area 14 having doors 15.

The lower and upper storage areas, as well as drainboard 10, are conventional in construction and since their details play no part in my invention they will not be described further except asto such parts thereof which are utilized in the preferred'embodimentof my invention hereinafter set forth.

That section of the cabinet assembly in which is embodied the features of my invention is located directly below the upper storage area 14 and is shown in side section in Fig, 2. For purposes of illustration, I have shown a cabinet having three doors arranged side by side, only a portion of the third, door being visible. The doors are identical in construction and comprise an upper panel 16.and'a lower panel 17 connected therewith in a manner later to be described. In Fig. 1 the leftmost door is shown as closed, the center door as open, and the right hand door (only a fragment of which is shown) as in. an. intermediate position between fully open and fully closed,

Referring to Fig. 2, in the illustrated example the 'bottomof the slant front cabinet is indicated at 18 and the back wall at 19. The back wall may be secured to the room wall 13. in the usual fashion. Located within the, cabinet and extending from back to front are spaced horiaontal shelves S which are graduated in depth to provide a cabinet with an inclined front profile. The shelvesare supported within the cabinet in any suitable fashion, for example, by rails 20 at each end which are secured to the end walls 21 in the usual manner. The floor 22 of the upper storage area 14 bounds the slant front cab? inet on the top and it will be noted that, a molding 23' extends therebelow to provide a front sill.

The upper edge of the upper door panel 16 is pivoted to sill 23. by means of a continuous hinge 24 having one leaf 24a secured to the edge of the sill by screws 25 (see Fig. 3),. It will be noted that the edge of the sill is v inclined inwardly and upwardly from the front. The other leaf 24b: of the hinge is secured to a block 26 ex tending across the top and 'back of panel 16.

It will be understood at this point that the panels 16 and 17 preferably are of the framed panel type, each havi 8. a face Sheet bord red around its edges on the inside with frame members defining a rectangular frame. In the case of the upper panel 16, the block 26 serves as the top fr me member. The side frame members of theupper panel are indicated at 27 and the bottom frame member at 28. On the lower panel the side frame members are at- 29, the top frame member at 30 and the bottom. frame member at 31. The panel facing sheet is se cured to these frame members in each case by a suitable adhesive or other means. On the lower panel 17 there isprovided a handle 17a.

Thelower panel, 17 is connected with the upper panelby means of a hinge 32 located on the inside of the door, the leaves of hinge 32 being secured respectively to the. bottom frame member 28 on the upper panel and the top frame member 30 on the lower panel. The axis of hinge, 32 is, of. course, parallel with the axis of hinge 24 at the top, of the, upper panel.

Arranged along the opposite side edges of the door are jambs 33 which extend on an incline from the bottom of thecabinet to the sill 23 at the top. Preferably jambs 33 are secured firmly to the sill and bottom to hold them rigid. Each is provided with an elongate groove or trough 33a running the length thereof parallel to the plane of the door and facing the side edges. As is best seen in Fig. 4, grooves 33a provide slidable guideways for guide members 34. In their preferred form, the guide members 34 comprise blocks of wood of a size to slidably fit within the guideways. The opposite sides of the lower panels 17 are secured near the bottom thereof to the guide members 34 by laterally projecting pins 35. Preferably the pins are secured in each case between the confronting faces of side frame members 29 and a clamping block 36 secured firmly to the frame member by screws such as at 36a (Fig. 4). Pins 35 are'rotatably received in suitable apertures in guide members 34 thereby permitting relative pivotal movement between the lower panels 17 and the guide members.

Returning now to the upper portion of the cabinet and referring again to Figs. 2 and 3, secured to block 26 at its approximate longitudinal center is an L-shaped bracket 37 having a projecting leg or extension 37a. The bracket is secured to the top face of block 26 by screws 37b. Pivotally connected with the end of the projecting leg or extension 37a is a thrust member generally indicated at 39. As shown in detail in Fig. 3, thrust member 39 comprises a rod 40 having an eye 40a at its front end to provide the pivotal connection with leg 37a of the bracket. The other end of rod 40 is telescopically received in a sleeve 41 which abuts and rests against the back wall 19 of the cabinet. That end of rod 40 contained within sleeve 41 is spaced from the end of the sleeve so as to permit, under conditions later to be described, longitudinal movement of rod 40 toward back wall 19. Preferably the end of sleeve 41 is seated in one of the plurality of vertically spaced recesses 42 formed in wall 19. These recesses are slightly greater in diameter than the diameter of the sleeve to permit pivotal movement of the sleeve about the point of contact of the sleeve with the wall.

Rod 40 is continuously urged outward of sleeve 41 by means of a helical compressed spring 43 which encircles the rod and abuts at one end against the outer end of the sleeve. The other end of spring 43 is retained by a retaining and compression adjusting nut 44 which is threaded onto a correspondingly threaded portion of the rod 40 near its outer end.

From the description thus far it will be evident that when the door is in the closed position (the position illustrated in solid lines in Fig. 1) the thrust member 39 exerts a force on bracket extension 37a tending to turn the upper panel 16 in a counter-clockwise direction about its hinge 24. A stop block 45 is secured to the inside face of the upper panel in position to engage a forward edge of one of the shelves, thus resisting the turning moment and indexing the upper panel in its closed position. The lower panel 17 is coplanar with the upper panel and the guide members 34 are at the lower ends of guideway 33a. The thrust member 39 thus yieldably maintains the door in its closed position.

When it is desired to open the door, one need only grasp the handle 17a and exert an outward pull thereon. This pull imposes a clockwise turning moment on upper panel 16 and if sufiicient to overcome the resistance of spring 42 on thrust member 39 will cause the upper panel to swing outwardly and upwardly while at the same time folding the lower panel toward the upper panel and causing guide members 34 to ride upwardly in guideways 33a. The relative movement between the two panels and the thrust member during opening is illustrated in Fig. 2 where an intermediate position and the fully opened position are illustrated in broken lines and indicated respectively by primes and double primes on the pertinent reference numerals.

During the initial stage of the opening operation the thrust member 39 will continue to resist opening of the '4 door. However, as the bracket 37 and its extension 371; turn about the axis of hinge 24 the point of connection of rod 40 with extension 37a passes through a line drawn between the hinge axis and the seated end of sleeve 41 and thereafter exerts a turning moment on the upper panel which tends to raise it to the fully opened position illustrated in solid lines in Fig. 3. The limit of upward movement of the panels is determined by the engagement of the lower panel 17 with the free edge of block 26 as shown in Fig. 3. When the panels are in the fully opened position (illustrated in Fig. 3) the thrust member 39 will yieldably maintain them in this position and articles can be placed upon and removed from the shelves without requiring any additional support for the door to hold it open.

When it is desired to close the door, a downward pull sufficient to overcome the resistance of thrust member 39 is imposed on handle 17a. This causes the lower panel 17 to move downwardly and inwardly, the path of the panel being guided by the slidable cooperation between guide members 34 and guideways 33a in jambs 33. Since the lower panel 17 is linked through hinge 32 to the upper panel 16, the upper panel is turned counterclockwise about the axis of its hinge 24. As the panels approach the closed, fully extended position, thrust member 39 moves upwardly through the line between the hinge axis and the seated end of the sleeve and thereafter exerts a moment tending to return the door toward its closed position as previously described.

The force exerted by the thrust member 39 can be increased or decreased by adjustment of nut 44 inwardly or outwardly on rod 40 which changes the length of spring 43. Adjustment of the point of transition of the thrust member through the neutral condition can be had by moving sleeve 40 to one of the other recesses 42, as will be evident.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have accomplished all of the ends and objects hereinbefore set forth. By providing the cabinet with a downwardly receding face the cabinet can be disposed much lower in relation to the drainboard 10 than in the case of conventional cabinets, thereby providing greater shelf space at the most convenient height. In their open position the upfolding doors are completely out of the way and the contents of the cabinets are readily accessible and fully exposed to view, even in multiple installation. This is a distinct advantage over conventional cabinets having vertically hinged or sliding doors. The doors are positively seated in both the open and closed position and there is no danger of striking the head against them when in the open position. They are easily opened and closed and smooth and silent in operation.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a cabinet assembly, the combination of a cabinet structure having an opening in the front and a back wall spaced rearwardly of said opening, said opening being defined by parallel upright jambs and an upper edge and a lower edge, the front being inclined with respect to the back wall so that the jambs are furthest from the back wall at their upper ends and the closet at their lower ends, an upfolding door normally disposed in said opening and comprising a pair of normally coplanar panels hingedly connected with one another along a horizontal axis intermediate the upper and lower edges of said opening, means pivotally mounting the upper edge of the uppermost panel to said cabinet structure for swinging movement about a horizontal axis thereby to provide for outward and upward movement of said panel with respect to said opening, cooperating guide means connecting the lower end of the lowermost panel with said jambs and providing for free movement of the lower end of the lowermost panel upwardly parallel to the jambs as the upper panel is swung outwardly and upwardly thereby to cause the inside face of the lower panel to fold toward the inside face of the upper panel, a lever arm secured to said upper panel and extending inwardly and upwardly within said cabinet, a telescopic thrust member having one end pivotally supported against said back wall and extending forwardly to pivotally connect at its other end with said lever arm at a point above the level of the pivot axis of said upper panel, said thrust member being yieldably biased in an extended position and normally exerting a turning moment on said upper panel tending to maintain said panel in said normal position and resist outward swinging thereof, said thrust member operable to shift during outward swinging of said upper panel to a position in which it imposes a turning moment on said first panel tending to swing said panel outwardly and yieldably maintain said door in open position.

2. A cabinet as in claim 1 wherein means are provided for adjustment of the position of said one end of said thrust member either upwardly or downwardly on the back wall.

3. A cabinet as in claim 1 wherein said thrust member comprises a sleeve, a thrust rod telescopically received in said sleeve, and a coil spring encircling the rod and connected at one end with the rod and at the other with the sleeve.

4. A cabinet as in claim 3 wherein the connection of the spring with the rod in adjustable longitudinally of the rod to vary the resistance to turning of the upper panel.

5. In a cabinet assembly, the combination of a cabinet structure having an opening in the front and a back wall spaced rearwardly of said opening, said opening being defined by parallel upright jambs and an upper edge and a lower edge, an upfolding sectional door normally disposed in said opening and comprising a pair of normally coplanar panels hingedly connected with one another along a horizontal axis intermediate the upper and lower edges of said opening, means pivotally mounting the upper edge of the uppermost panel to said cabinet structure about a horizontal axis thereby to provide for swinging movement of said upper panel outwardly and upwardly with respect to said opening, cooperating guide means connecting the lower end of the lowermost panel with'said jambs and providing for free movement of the lower end of the lowermost panel upwardly parallel to the jambs as the upper panel is swung outwardly and upwardly thereby to cause the inside face of the lower panel to fold toward the inside face of the upper panel, a lever arm secured to said upper panel and extending inwardly and upwardly within said cabinet, a telescopic thrust member arranged in the upper portion of the cabinet with one end adjacent and pivotally supported on the back wall and having its other end pivotally connected with said lever arm, said thrust member including means for yieldably biasing it toward an extended position whereby it continually exerts a pressure on said lever arm, and, when said upper panel is in said normal position, produces a turning moment on said upper panel resisting outward swinging thereof, said thrust member being so arranged with respect to the pivot axis of the upper panel as to be shifted during outward swinging of said upper panel through a neutral position to a position in which it yieldably resists the return of the panel to its normal position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 746,758 Stiggleman Dec. 15, 1903 1,625,006 Wattawa Apr. 19, 1927 2,038,035 Friedrich Apr. 21, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 12,073 Austria June 10, 1903 85.734 Norwav June 20 1955

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