Furniture unit using dual slider mechanism
A furniture unit having a dual slider mechanism with an outer carriage and an inner carriage. Both the outer carriage and the inner carriage may include stoppers at opposing ends. A bearing or wheel assembly is provided. The bearing or wheel assembly may be positioned between the side rails of the outer carriage and the inner carriage, and which allows the inner and outer carriages to freely slide. The sliding mechanism may be used with a furniture unit in order to allow a door to open in a first open position or a second closed position or remain in a closed center position. A locking mechanism may be used to lock the door to the frame of the furniture unit.
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The present application claims priority to provisional U.S. application Ser. No. 60/402,062, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a furniture unit using a dual slider mechanism and, more particularly, to a furniture unit having a slider mechanism which allows a door to open completely in two directions.
2. Background Description Current furniture units include slider mechanisms that are cumbersome, difficult to manufacture and include many installation pieces. These slider mechanisms are expensive to manufacture and require additional setting pieces when installing on furniture and the like. For example, one known slider mechanism includes three carriages in order to allow movement or sliding of a door or the like in two opposing directions. More specifically, this known system includes a center carriage that is sandwiched between two outer carriages. A bearing system interconnects the three carriages. The use of the center carriage and bearing system required to assembly the three carriage system is both complicated and labor intensive to manufacture and install. This adds to the overall costs of the slider mechanism and, in addition to the overall cost of the furniture unit. Moreover, the installation of this type of slider assembly requires additional setting pieces that further adds to the cost of the overall system. Other problems are also known.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn an aspect of the present invention, a furniture unit includes a frame member having at least two notches and a door slidably mounted between a first open position, a second open position and a center closed position with respect to the frame member. A slider mechanism is mounted between the frame member and the door. The slider mechanism includes a first outer carriage and a first inner carriage, in embodiments, having opposing upstanding side rails and stoppers at opposing ends. The first outer carriage is mounted to one of the frame and the door and the first inner carriage is mounted to the other of the frame and the door. A bearing assembly or wheels is also provided. Stoppers are adapted to prevent the first inner and outer carriages from disengaging when in a first or second extended position.
In embodiments, the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage is mounted to an upper portion of the one of the frame and the door, and a second outer carriage and a second inner carriage is mounted to a bottom portion of the frame and the door. Notches are positioned at the top and the bottom portion of the frame in alignment with the first and second outer carriage and inner carriage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:
The present invention is directed to a furniture unit using a dual slider mechanism. The furniture unit may be, for example, a curio furniture unit. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that other furniture units may also be used with different types of dual slider mechanism having a two carriage system; however, for illustrative purposes the present invention will be described with reference to a curio furniture unit. This should not limit the understanding of the present invention. In embodiments of the present invention, the dual slider mechanism is provided with two carriages thus making it a less complex structure than known sliding mechanisms. The dual slider mechanism of any embodiments shown and described is easy to manufacture and thus reduces manufacturing costs, and requires less setting pieces during the installation on a furniture unit. In the preferred embodiments, the dual slider mechanism avoids the need for a center carriage or rail.
Embodiments of the Present Invention Now referring to
Still referring to
The inner carriage 30 is slidably coupled to the outer carriage 20 via a bearing assembly 40. The bearing assembly 40 includes bearings 42 held within a bearing case or cage 44. The bearings 42 are slidably mounted between the upstanding side rails 24 and 34 of the outer and inner carriages 20 and 30, respectively. The bearing cage 44 includes opposing stopping edges (shown in
In alternative embodiments, a channel or recess 56 may be located in the door 52, itself In this embodiment, shown as dashed lines in
Similarly, the dual slider mechanism of, for example,
Likewise, the dual slider mechanism of
In operation, the outer and inner carriages are both moveable in opposing directions with respect to one another. In one embodiment of operation, the inner carriage may be moved in both a first or a second direction while the outer carriage remains stationary. Similarly, in another embodiment of operation, the outer carriage may be moved in both a first or a second direction while the inner carriage remains stationary. In further embodiments, both the inner carriage and the outer carriage may be moved in tandem in opposite directions. The first and second directions are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the outer and the inner carriages. An over extension or disengagement of the inner and outer carriages may be, in embodiments, prevented by the opposing stopping edges of the bearing cage contacting the stoppers of the inner rail and outer carriages. Depending on the placement of the stoppers, the inner and outer carriages may extend to a certain overall length.
When using the dual slider mechanism of the present invention, the door of the curio may be moved in either a first or second direction in order to gain access to the interior portion of the curio. In this manner, the door can be opened either to the right or the left with respect to the main cabinetry or frame of the curio. A notch is, in embodiments, provided on opposing sides of the frame of the curio at the position of the dual slider mechanism to allow the door to open and close in both directions. This notch is preferably in the frame of the curio.
While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A furniture unit comprising:
- a door slidably mounted between a first open position, a second opposite open position and a center closed position with respect to a frame member;
- a first slider mechanism mounted between a facing surface of an upper portion of the frame member and the door;
- a second slider mechanism mounted between a facing surface of a bottom portion of the frame member and the door, wherein the first and second slider mechanisms comprise: a first outer carriage having upstanding side rails; a first inner carriage slidably mounted within the upstanding side rails of the first outer carriage; and a bearing or wheel assembly slidable between the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage and adapted to slidably move the door between the first open position, the second opposite open position and the center closed position with respect to the frame member.
22. The furniture unit of claim 21, wherein the door is movable in either of the first or second open positions in order to gain unobstructed access to an interior of the furniture unit.
23. The furniture unit of claim 21, wherein at least one of:
- the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage are mounted to an upper portion of the frame or the door; and
- the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage are mounted to a bottom portion of the frame or the door.
24. The furniture unit of claim 23, further comprising at least two notches positioned at opposing ends of the upper portion of the frame in alignment with the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage or at opposing ends of the bottom portion of the frame in alignment with the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage.
25. The furniture unit of claim 23, further comprising a recess in the frame member aligned with the at least two notches and one of the first carriage and the second carriage being mounted within the recess.
26. The furniture unit of claim 21, further comprising stoppers provided on at least one of the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage to prevent the door from extending beyond the first open position and the second open position.
27. The furniture unit of claim 21, further comprising a second slider mechanism having a second outer carriage, a second inner carriage and a second bearing or wheel assembly slidable between the second outer carriage and the second inner carriage, wherein:
- one of the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage is mounted to an upper portion of the frame member and the door; and
- one of the second outer carriage and the second inner carriage is mounted to a bottom portion of the frame member and the door.
28. A furniture unit, comprising:
- a stationary frame; and
- a door slidably mounted to the stationary frame, the door being slidably mounted between a first open position and a second opposite open position in order to gain unobstructed access to an interior of the stationary frame, and a center closed position.
29. The furniture unit of claim 28, further comprising a slider mechanism mounted between the frame member and the door.
30. The furniture unit of claim 29, wherein the slider mechanism comprising:
- a first outer carriage having upstanding side rails; and
- a first inner carriage slidably mounted within the upstanding side rails of the first outer carriage.
31. The furniture unit of claim 28, wherein the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage are mounted to an upper portion of the stationary frame or the within the recess of the door.
32. The furniture unit of claim 28, wherein the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage are mounted to a bottom portion of the stationary frame or within a recess of the door.
33. The furniture unit of claim 28, further comprising a bearing or wheel assembly slidable between the first outer carriage and the first inner carriage and adapted to slidably move the door between the first open position, the second opposite open position and the center closed position with respect to the stationary frame.
34. A furniture unit, comprising a stationary frame and a door slidably mounted to the stationary frame, the door being slidably mounted between a first open position and a second opposite open position in order to gain unobstructed access to an interior of the stationary frame, and a center closed position and a slider mechanism mounted between the frame member and the door for sliding the door between the first open position, the second opposite position and the center closed position.
35. A furniture unit comprising:
- a stationary frame;
- a door slidably mounted between a first open position and a second opposite open position to allow access to an interior portion of the stationary frame, and a center closed position with respect to the stationary frame;
- a first slider mechanism mounted between an upper portion of the door and the stationary frame; and
- a second slider mechanism mounted between a lower portion of the door and the stationary frame; and,
- wherein at least one of the first slider mechanism and the second slider mechanism comprises: a first outer carriage having upstanding side rails; a first inner carriage mounted within the upstanding side rails of the first outer carriage; and an assembly capable of allowing the first inner carriage or the first outer carriage to slide with respect one another.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 31, 2005
Publication Date: Dec 29, 2005
Applicant: PULASKI FURNITURE CORPORATION (Pulaski, VA)
Inventor: Richard Delph (Pulaski, VA)
Application Number: 11/215,071