Pocket door assembly
The specification discloses a pocket door assembly having a notch or recess in a pocket portion of the frame that allows for use of a protruding handle, such as a doorknob, to be used on a door portion of the assembly. In a second aspect, the specification discloses a latch mechanism for use with pocket doors that may utilize rotary handles, such as standard doorknobs.
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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention are directed to an improved pocket door assembly. More particular, the embodiments of the invention are directed to a pocket door assembly that may use a standard doorknob to facilitate opening and closing of the door.
2. Background of the Invention
A “pocket door” is a door that may be used within homes and offices that, rather than swinging on a hinge, slides or translates along an upper rail. In a closed position, a pocket door obstructs a doorway. In order to open a pocket door, the door itself slides into a “pocket” within walls immediately adjacent to the doorway. Pocket doors may be used in locations where it is disadvantageous for the door to swing.
Regardless of the particular construction of the frame, the door 40 in each of these related art devices is designed and constructed to slide fully within the pocket created by the frame. Because of this construction, it is not possible to have a doorknob or handle mechanism extending in a direction perpendicular to a plane defined by the door, as may be used on doors that rotate about a hinge assembly. Some pocket doors may attempt to implement door locks, but the lock mechanisms, because of the limited space between the door and the vertical members, are difficult to operate, at best.
Thus, what is needed in the art is a pocket door assembly design that overcomes these and other problems.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSThe problems noted above are solved in large part by a pocket door assembly that provides an indention or notch in the vertical members of the frame. The door of the pocket door assembly may comprise a handle that protrudes outwardly from a plane defined by the door by an amount greater than a clearance between the door and the vertical frame members. When the door is opened, the handle translates at least partially into a region or area defined by the notch. Opening and closing the door may thus be accomplished by applying force to the handle, and thereby sliding the door open or closed.
A second aspect of the preferred embodiments may be a locking mechanism for use with a pocket door that may be actuated using an off-the-shelf rotary-type doorknob as a handle. The latching mechanism may latch the door of the pocket door assembly in a closed position, and the latch may be released by rotating the doorknob to release the latch.
The various characteristics described above, as well as other features, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFor a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function.
In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . ”. Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection, or through an indirect connection via other devices and connections.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As is illustrated by
As illustrated in
The pocket portion 114 of the pocket door assembly 100 may comprise a plurality of horizontal members 126, 128, 130 and 132. Although not specifically shown in
In installations where door 116 need not be latched closed, for example if the pocket door assembly 100 provides access to a linen closet, it may not be necessary to provide a latch mechanism for the door 116. However, in some installations, for example a pocket door assembly 100 on an entrance to a bedroom or bathroom, the door 116 of the pocket door assembly 100 may comprise a latch mechanism 200 (partially seen in
The contact of the bolt 206 with the cross-bar 218, and progress of the contact, may produce two movements of the bolt 206. First, upon initial contact of the bolt 206 with the cross-bar 218, the bolt 206 may compress spring 20 translating or telescoping the bolt 206 into the bolt housing 208. Somewhat simultaneously, contact of the bolt 206 with the cross-bar 218 may pitch the bolt housing 208 (as indicated by arrow 226, and as illustrated in dashed lines). Pitching of the bolt housing 208 may be allowed by a hinge 230, having a stationary portion coupled to the outer housing 202, and a rotating portion coupled to a bolt arm 232. As the contact point moves from the tip 222 toward the slot 224, the latch end 207 of the bolt 206 may extend into an aperture 228 of the strike plate 220 (
The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. For example, the frame 110 of the pocket door assembly may be made of injection molded plastic, with portions thereof reinforced by metallic members. Further, while only three variations for the recess 118 are shown, one of ordinary skill in the art, now understanding the concept of creating a recess and using a protruding handle, such as knob 120, could easily fashion numerous variations for the configuration of the recess 118, and each of these variations falls within the contemplation of this invention. Further, it may be possible to have a door that does not slide completely within the pocket, and in this case a notch may not be required in spite of using a handle that extends a distance greater than the clearance between the door and the vertical member. With regard to the rollers 146 and 148 illustrated in
Claims
1. A pocket door assembly comprising:
- a frame comprising a doorway portion defining an aperture, and the frame also comprising a pocket portion defining a cavity;
- a vertically oriented door slidingly coupled to the frame, the door adapted to slide into the cavity defined by the pocket portion of the frame;
- a handle coupled to the door and extending outward from the door a distance greater than a clearance between the door and a first vertical member of the pocket portion of the frame;
- a latch assembly coupled within the door and in operational relationship to the handle; and
- wherein the latch assembly latches the door in a closed position, and wherein the handle releases the latch assembly from a latched position.
2. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 1 further comprising:
- a notch in the pocket portion of the frame at a boundary between the pocket portion and the aperture, the notch at approximately a same elevation as the handle; and
- wherein the handle resides at least partially within an area defined by the notch when the door is open.
3. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein the pocket portion further comprises:
- a second vertical member, the first and second vertical members defining an opening through which the door slides into the cavity; and
- said notch formed, at least in part, by an offset in one of the first and second vertical members.
4. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein the notch is formed by corresponding offsets in both the first and second vertical members.
5. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein the notch is semicircular.
6. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein the notch is defined by three straight sides.
7. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein the notch is rectangular.
8. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein the notch is defined by two straight sides.
9. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein the handle extends outward in both directions from the door.
10. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 9 wherein the handle further comprises a rotary doorknob.
11. (canceled)
12. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein the latch assembly further comprises:
- an outer housing;
- a bolt mounted within the outer housing, the bolt having a curved strike area and a slot, the strike area in operational relationship to the slot, and wherein the bolt has an axis aligned substantially with a direction of translation of the door; and
- wherein latching of the door pitches the bolt until the slot mechanically mates with a corresponding structure on the doorway portion of the frame.
13. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 12 wherein the latch assembly further comprises:
- a bolt housing hingedly coupled within the outer housing, the bolt slidingly coupled within the bolt housing;
- a first spring within the bolt housing biasing the bolt to an extended position; and
- a second spring mounted within the outer housing, the second spring biasing the bolt housing against an inside portion of the outer housing.
14. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 13 wherein the bolt housing further comprises:
- a rotary hinge portion, the rotary hinge portion coupled to a stationary hinge portion on the outer housing;
- a bolt arm coupling the rotary hinge portion to a bolt cavity, the bolt and first spring within the bolt cavity; and
- wherein the bolt arm is adapted to be a point of contact for rotational force that pitches the bolt housing and releases the slot of the bolt from the corresponding structure on the doorway portion of the frame.
15. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 14 wherein the bolt arm is further adapted to operationally couple to a rotary door handle.
16. A pocket door assembly comprising:
- a horizontal header assembly;
- a door slidingly mounted to the horizontal header assembly;
- a first and second vertical members coupled to the horizontal header assembly, the first and second vertical members defining an opening;
- a first plurality of coplanar members coupled to the first vertical member, a plane defined by the first plurality of coplanar members substantially parallel to a plane defined by the door;
- a second plurality of coplanar members coupled to the second vertical member and extending a same direction as the first plurality of coplanar members, a plane defined by the second plurality of coplanar members substantially parallel to the plane defined by the door;
- wherein the first and second vertical members, and the first and second plurality of coplanar members, define a pocket into which the door slides;
- a handle coupled to the door and extending substantially perpendicularly from the plane defined by the door, the handle extending a distance greater than a clearance between the door and one of the first and second vertical members;
- a latch assembly coupled within the door and in operational relationship to the handle; and
- wherein the latch assembly latches the door in a closed position, and wherein the handle releases the latch assembly from a latched position when the handle is rotated.
17. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 16 further comprising:
- one of the first and second vertical members defining an indention, the indention having a deflection toward a back of the pocket; and
- wherein the handle resides at least partially in an area defined by the indention when the door is substantially within the pocket.
18. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 17 wherein the indention is rectangular.
19. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 17 wherein the indention is semicircular.
20. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 17 wherein the indention is defined by three straight sides.
21. The pocket door assembly as defined in claim 17 wherein the indention is defined by two straight sides.
22-25. (canceled)
26. A latch assembly for a pocket door comprising:
- an elongated outer housing having an axis;
- a bolt mounted within the outer housing, the bolt having a curved strike area, and wherein the bolt has an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the elongated outer housing when the bolt is in a rest position;
- an elongated bolt housing hingedly mounted within the elongated outer housing, the bolt slidingly coupled within the bolt housing;
- a first spring within the bolt housing biasing the bolt to an extended position; and
- a second spring mounted within the elongated outer housing, the second spring biasing the bolt housing against a lower portion of the outer housing in the rest position
- wherein the bolt pitches when a force is applied to the strike area and wherein the bolt's axis becomes substantially parallel with the axis of the elongated outer housing when the latch assembly latches.
27. The latch assembly as defined in claim 26 wherein the elongated bolt housing further comprises:
- a rotary hinge portion, the rotary hinge portion coupled to the a stationary hinge portion on the elongated outer housing;
- a bolt arm coupling the rotary hinge portion to a bolt cavity, the bolt and first spring within the bolt cavity; and
- wherein the bolt arm is adapted to be a point of contact for rotational force to release the latch assembly.
28. The latch assembly as defined in claim 27 wherein the bolt arm is further adapted to operationally couple to a rotary door handle.
29. The latch assembly as defined in claim 26 wherein the bolt telescopes, at least partially, into the bolt housing and compresses the first spring when the location of the force application is near a tip of the bolt.
30. The latch assembly as defined in claim 29 wherein the bolt telescopes out of the bolt housing as a location of the force application approaches a slot, the slot in operational relationship to the strike area.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 17, 2005
Publication Date: Dec 29, 2005
Applicant: Notch Corporation (Lubbock, TX)
Inventors: Lance Duncan (Lubbock, TX), James Underwood (Lubbock, TX), Dempsey Biles (Lubbock, TX)
Application Number: 11/205,413