Supports: cabinet structure – With movable components – Door-type closure having article support
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-04
2003-10-21
Mai, Lanna (Department: 3677)
Supports: cabinet structure
With movable components
Door-type closure having article support
C312S324000, C049S390000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06634727
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to closet doors, and more particularly concerns closet doors with integrated shelves for saving space and concealing the entrance to and the existence of closets.
Generally, closet doors serve the purpose of concealing the interior of closets and other storage spaces. However, conventional closet doors are unsightly and often waste space. One way to minimize this wasted space is to use sliding closet doors or bifold closet doors, as opposed to swing doors, which provide more free floor space directly outside the closet door. However, while these doors may save exterior floor space and conceal the interior of a closet, they do not conceal the existence of the closet itself.
Another way to save space is to incorporate a storage function into a closet door in order to provide additional storage space. For example, closet doors may have integrated bookshelves thereby providing storage space for books or other items while also serving the function of closing off and concealing closets or storage space. However, conventional closet doors with integrated bookshelves contain bi-fold doors that are cumbersome, heavy, and require a bulky track set into both the floor and the top of the door opening. Further, bi-fold closet doors are difficult and time consuming to install due to the heavy horizontal-tracks and roller mechanisms that run along these tracks. An additional problem with the bi-fold doors is that they require a minimum width for proper operation, i.e., they cannot be used for closet doorways smaller than a certain width, such as for single door or other narrow doorways.
Accordingly, a closet door with integrated shelves solving the aforementioned and other problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Against this backdrop the present invention has been developed to solve the above and other problems by using a
A closet door assembly includes one or two closet doors, each having a back panel, an outer side panel, an inner side panel, a top panel, and a bottom panel connected to the back panel forming an interior space. At least one shelf and preferably many shelves are positioned within the interior space of the closet doors to make the doors appear to be bookcases and conceal the closet doorway. A top frame is attached to a top of a closet doorway further helping to conceal the closet doorway. Each of the closet doors is pivotally connected to the top frame with an upper hinge assembly and pivotally connected to the floor surface of the doorway with a lower hinge assembly. The hinge assemblies are attached near the outer side panel of each door thereby permitting the inner side panel of the doors to pivot away from a closed position within the doorway to an open position away from the doorway. A latch assembly is used to keep the closet doors in a closed position.
These and various other features as well as advantages which characterize the present invention will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2694232 (1954-11-01), Wolfe
patent: 3053602 (1962-09-01), Golenpaul
patent: 4219248 (1980-08-01), Goldberg
patent: 5795043 (1998-08-01), Johnson et al.
patent: 6402271 (2002-06-01), Kelley et al.
patent: 6457278 (2002-10-01), Fleming
Space X Doors—Brochure (undated).
Printout from http://www.spacexdoors.com.Products. HTM (5 pages) (©2000).
Anderson Jerry A.
Mai Lanna
LandOfFree
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