Closet doors with integrated shelves

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6634727
  • Patent Number
    6,634,727
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, September 4, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, October 21, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Mai; Lanna
    • Anderson; Jerry A.
    Agents
    • Merchant & Gould P.C.
Abstract
A closet door assembly includes at least one closet door 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 is positioned within the interior space of the closet door. A top frame is attached to a top of a closet doorway. Each closet door 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 each door to pivot between a closed position within the doorway and an open position away from the doorway.
Description




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.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention showing two closet doors in a closed position.





FIG. 2

shows a perspective view of the closet doors from

FIG. 1

with one closet door in an open position and one door in a closed position.





FIG. 3

shows a front plan view of the closet doors from

FIG. 1

with both closet doors in an open position.





FIG. 4

shows a partial exploded view of one of the closet doors from

FIG. 1

with portions cut away for clarity.





FIG. 5

shows a perspective view of a bottom hinge assembly that supports the closet doors shown in FIG.


1


.





FIG. 6

is a sectional view through lines


6





6


of FIG.


5


.





FIG. 7

shows an exploded perspective view of an upper hinge assembly that supports the closet doors shown in FIG.


1


.





FIG. 8

is a section view through lines


8





8


of FIG.


7


.





FIG. 9

shows a perspective view of a latch assembly for securing the closet doors shown in FIG.


1


.





FIG. 10

shows a front plan view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention with a single closet door in a closed position.





FIG. 11

shows a front plan view of the closet door from

FIG. 10

with the closet door in an open position.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION





FIGS. 1-3

show a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprising a closet door assembly


100


having a first door


104


, a second door


102


, one or more shelves


120


, two upper hinge assemblies


200


, two lower hinge assemblies


270


, and a latch assembly


400


.




As shown in

FIG. 1

, each of the closet doors


102


and


104


have a back panel


106


, an outer side panel


108


, and inner side panel


110


, a top panel


112


(shown in FIG.


2


), and a bottom panel


114


. The back panel


106


is connected to the top panel


112


, the bottom panel


114


, and both side panels


108


and


110


forming a rectangular-shaped interior


116


that opens to the front of the doors


102


and


104


. One or more shelves


120


are attached within the interior


116


of the doors


102


and


104


. Each shelf


120


has a vertical lip


128


attached to a front edge


126


of the shelf


120


; the lip


128


extends above an upper surface of the shelf


120


to prevent movement of items stored on the shelves, such as books


136


, when the doors


102


or


104


are moved between open and closed positions. Additionally, as best seen in

FIG. 2

, the door


104


may include a vertical piece of molding


130


attached along a front edge


132


of the inner side panel


110


and extending past the front edge


132


on each side to conceal a joinder of the inner side panels


110


of the doors


102


and


104


when both in a closed position as shown in FIG.


1


. Additional pieces of molding


134


are preferably attached to front edges


132


of the outer side panels


108


to match the center molding


130


and further conceal the purpose of the doors


102


and


104


.




The closet door assembly


100


preferably includes a top frame


150


attached to the top of a doorway as shown in FIG.


3


and extending at least the full width of the doorway. The top frame


150


provides an upper support for the doors


102


and


104


(as described below) and includes a front panel


152


, a back panel


154


, two side panels


156


and a top panel


158


. The top panel


158


connects to the side panels


156


and the front and back panels


152


and


154


to form a rectangular interior


162


(

FIG. 4

) opening towards the floor. A cornice


160


is preferably attached to outer surfaces of the front and side panels


152


and


156


to help conceal the doorway.




The closet door assembly


100


may additionally include side frames


180


attached to outer side edges


182


of the doorway. The side frames


180


help conceal the doorway and may also provide an outer stop for the doors


102


and


104


when open.




As shown in

FIGS. 2-4

, each of the doors


102


and


104


pivot about an upper hinge assembly


200


and a lower hinge assembly


270


. The upper hinge assembly


200


connects the doors


102


and


104


to the top frame


150


, while the lower hinge assembly


270


is preferably mounted to the floor.




As best seen in

FIGS. 5 and 6

, the upper hinge assembly


200


has a frame bracket


202


and an upper door bracket


230


pivotally connected to a pin assembly


216


. The frame bracket


202


has a base


204


with four edges


205


,


207


,


209


, and


211


wherein the edges


205


and


207


form a right angle. A front wall


206


is connected to the edge


205


and a side wall


208


is connected to the edge


207


such that the walls


206


and


208


are positioned in a perpendicular plane to each other. The base


204


has a pin aperture


210


positioned near the edge


211


. The front wall


206


includes one or more mounting apertures which may be round such as aperture


213


or elongated, such as aperture


214


. As shown in

FIG. 4

, the front wall


206


of the frame bracket


202


preferably is mounted to an inner surface of the front panel


152


of the top frame


150


via fasteners


215


, such as screws, and is positioned such that the side wall


208


is generally adjacent to an inner surface of the side panel


156


.




The door bracket


230


is made from a single sheet of metal having two bends


232


and


234


to form a generally S-shaped bracket having an elongated bottom portion


236


, a vertical middle portion


238


, and a relatively short top portion


240


. The elongated bottom portion


236


includes two mounting apertures


242


positioned generally opposite the first bend


232


and a pin aperture


243


located generally in its center. The top portion


240


also includes two mounting apertures


244


positioned generally opposite the second bend


234


. The door bracket


230


is mounted to each of the doors


102


and


104


as shown in FIG.


4


. Specifically, the top portion


240


is mounted via screws


246


through mounting apertures


244


to an upper edge of the outer side panel


108


so that the vertical middle portion


238


rests along an inner surface of the outer side panel


108


. The elongated bottom portion


236


is mounted via screws


248


through the mounting apertures


242


to an upper surface of the top panel


112


.




The pin assembly


216


(shown in

FIGS. 5 and 6

) includes an upper collar


218


fixed about the pin aperture


210


formed in the frame bracket


202


, and a lower collar


220


fixed about the pin aperture


243


formed in the door bracket


230


. An upper sleeve


222


having a rim


223


fits within the upper collar


218


such that the rim


223


rests on an upper surface of the base


204


of the frame bracket


202


. A lower sleeve


224


fits within the lower collar


220


. Either or both of the sleeves


222


and


224


may be made of a frictionless material such as Teflon or Delrin. A hinge pin


226


is inserted through the upper sleeve


222


and the lower sleeve


224


. The hinge pin


226


includes a cap


228


having a diameter greater than the diameter of the pin


226


, the cap


228


resting on rim


223


of the upper sleeve


222


to prevent the pin


226


from falling through the openings defined by the sleeves


222


and


224


. The pin assembly


216


permits the door bracket


230


to rotate or pivot relative to the frame bracket


202


, thereby allowing the doors


102


and


104


to move between open and closed positions.




As best seen in

FIGS. 7 and 8

, the lower hinge assembly


270


preferably includes a lower door bracket


272


, a floor block


300


, a support plate


302


, and a pin assembly


320


. The door bracket


272


is made from a single piece of metal having two bends


274


and


276


forming a elongated upper portion


278


, a vertical middle portion


280


, and a short lower portion


282


. The elongated upper portion


278


has two mounting apertures


284


opposite the first bend


274


. The lower portion


282


also includes two mounting apertures


286


. The door bracket


272


is mounted to the doors


102


and


104


as shown in FIG.


4


. The lower portion


282


is mounted via screws


288


through mounting apertures


286


to a lower edge of the outer side panel


108


, while the middle portion


280


rests along an inner surface of the outer side panel


108


. The elongated upper portion


278


is mounted via screws


290


through the mounting apertures


284


to a lower surface of the bottom panel


114


. A pin aperture


292


is located generally in the center of the elongated upper portion


278


of the lower door bracket


272


as is shown in FIG.


7


.




The support plate


302


preferably comprises a square with four mounting apertures


304


located in each of its four corners. Additionally, the support plate


302


has a pin aperture


306


located in its center. The support plate may be mounted to a block


300


via screws


308


through mounting apertures


304


. Alternatively the support plate


302


may be mounted directly to the floor. The pin aperture


306


is stepped such that a diameter at its upper surface is larger than a lower diameter adjacent to the block


300


. The block


300


includes a cylindrical bore


301


positioned generally in its center. The block


300


may be mounted to the floor of the doorway by any conventional means. For example, the screws


308


, if of sufficient length, may be used to mount the block


300


to floor as well as to mount the support plate


302


to the block


300


. Alternatively, the weight of the closet doors


102


and


104


may be utilized to secure the lower hinge assembly


270


and block


300


to the floor.




The pin assembly


320


preferably includes a lower pin sleeve


322


, a hinge pin


330


, a ball bearing assembly


340


, and a ball bearing support


360


. The lower pin sleeve


322


includes a cylindrical wall


326


and an upper rim


328


and fits within the cylindrical bore


301


of the block


300


so that the rim


328


fits flush within the stepped pin aperture


306


as shown in FIG.


8


. The hinge pin


330


includes a cylindrical body portion


334


having a reduced diameter cap


332


extending above the body portion


334


and a reduced diameter pin portion


336


extending below the body portion


334


. The cap


332


is sized to fit snugly within the pin aperture


292


of the door bracket


272


.




The ball bearing assembly


340


includes an upper race


342


and a lower race


344


forming a ring-shaped channel


346


therebetween. A number of high strength ball bearings


348


are positioned within the channel


346


to permit rotation of the upper race


342


as compared to the lower race


344


. The upper race


342


is positioned adjacent to the body portion


334


of the hinge pin


330


. A ring-shaped bearing support


360


includes a cammed surface that is positioned between the lower race


344


and the support plate


302


to maintain the lower race


344


centered about the axis of rotation of the hinge pin


330


. The ball bearing assembly


340


supports substantially the full weight of the doors


102


and


104


. The pin portion


336


of the hinge pin


330


extends through a central opening in the ball bearing assembly


340


and the bearing support


360


so that an outer surface of the pin portion


336


is supported by an inner surface of the sleeve


322


. The pin assembly thus allows the lower door bracket


272


to rotate or pivot relative to the support plate


302


to permit the doors


102


and


104


to move between open and closed positions.




As best seen in

FIGS. 3 and 9

, the latch assembly


400


includes a spring latch


402


attached to an interior surface of the door


104


, such as the upper surface of the top panel


112


or an inner edge of the top panel


112


, and a latch bracket


420


attached to the center of the top of the doorway. Alternatively, the latch bracket


420


may be attached to the top frame


150


. The latch bracket


420


preferably includes an activation means, such as a ball


422


. As shown in

FIG. 9

, the spring latch


402


is attached to an interior surface of the door


104


, such as the upper surface of the top panel


112


near the inner side panel


110


of the door


104


or an inner edge of the top panel


112


. By attaching the latch assembly


400


to an interior of the closet doors


102


and


104


, the latch assembly cannot be seen when the closet doors


102


and


104


are in a closed position, thereby helping to conceal the closet doorway.




The spring latch


402


has one or more latch arms


404


with a contact surface


408


positioned therebetween. The latch arms


404


are biased by a spring mechanism


406


. The ball


422


of the latch bracket


420


contacts the surface


408


to move the arms


404


between an open and closed position. As the open door


104


is pivoted towards a closed position, the latch


402


approaches the latch bracket


420


until the ball


422


makes contact with the contact surface


408


of the latch


402


. This contact activates the latch arms


404


to close around the ball


422


to keep the door


104


in a closed position. The central molding


130


of the door


104


keeps the door


102


in a closed position as well. When pressure is applied to the front of closed door


104


, the latch arms


404


disengage the ball


422


thereby allowing the door


104


, and thus the door


102


, to open. In this way, the doors


102


and


104


do not need a conventional doorknob and thus further help to conceal the closet doorway. Alternatively, any conventional latch mechanism may be used to secure the doors


102


and


104


in a closed position. For example, each of the doors


102


and


104


may have a standard latch mechanism thereby allowing one of the doors to be secured while the other door remains open.





FIG. 2

shows the closet door assembly


100


with the door


104


in an open position. Accessories, such as a mirror


500


, may be attached to the interior surface of the back panel


106


. Other accessories include a shoe rack, tie rack, belt rack or the like.





FIGS. 10 and 11

show closet door assembly


500


, another preferred embodiment of the present invention having a single door


502


for smaller doorways. Similar to the doors


102


and


104


, the door


502


has a back panel


506


, an inner side panel


508


, an outer side panel


510


, a top panel


512


, and a bottom panel


514


. One or more of the shelves


120


are attached within an interior


516


of the door


502


. The door


502


may include pieces of vertical molding


534


attached along a front edge


532


of the side panels


510


and


512


.




The closet door assembly


500


may include the top frame


150


attached to the top of a doorway as shown in

FIGS. 8 and 9

. The closet door


500


assembly may additionally include side frames


580


attached to outer side edges


582


of the doorway. The side frames


580


help conceal the doorway and may also provide an outer stop for the door


502


when open.




The door


502


pivots about the upper hinge assembly


200


and the lower hinge assembly


270


, and is opened and closed via the latch assembly


400


. However, while the closet door assembly


100


has two upper hinge assemblies


200


and two lower hinge assemblies


270


, the closet door assembly


500


has only a single upper hinge assembly


200


and a single lower hinge assembly


270


; the hinge assemblies may be attached to either the inner side panel


508


or the outer side panel


510


.




As shown in

FIG. 11

, accessories such as shoe rack


502


can be attached to the interior surface of the back panel


506


. Other accessories might include, a mirror, tie rack, belt rack, etc.




It will be clear that the present invention is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those inherent therein. While presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure, numerous changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. For example, alternative hinge assemblies may be used provided that the doors


102


,


104


, and


502


are still positioned flush against the wall to provide the illusion that there is a solid wall behind the shelves. Accordingly, all such modifications, changes and alternatives are encompassed in the spirit of the invention disclosed and as defined in the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A closet door assembly comprising:first and second closet doors, each closet door 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 on shelf positioned within the interior space of each closet door; a top frame attached to a top of a closet doorway, wherein the top frame extends along an entire length of the doorway; first and second upper hinge assemblies, wherein the first upper hinge assembly pivotally connects at least one of the top panel and the outer side panel of the first closet door to the top frame and the second upper hinge assembly pivotally connects at least one of the top panel and the outer side panel of the second closet door to the top frame; and first and second lower hinge assemblies, wherein the first lower hinge assembly pivotally connects at least one of the bottom panel and the outer side panel of the first closet door to a floor surface of the closet doorway and the second lower hinge assembly pivotally connects at least one of the bottom panel and the outer side panel of the second closet door to the floor surface, and wherein the hinge assemblies permit the inner side panel of each of the closet doors to pivot away from an open position, away from the doorway, to a closed position covering the doorway where the inner side panels of the closet doors are adjoined and the closet doors together extend along the entire length of the doorway to substantially conceal the closet doorway; and wherein the first and second upper hinge assemblies each comprise a frame bracket attached to the top frame, an upper door bracket attached to one of the first and second closet doors, and a pin assembly pivotally connecting the frame bracket to the upper door bracket, wherein the frame bracket has a front wall mounted to an inner surface of a front panel of the top frame and a base including a pin aperture positioned opposite of the front wall for receiving a pin of the pin assembly, the upper door bracket including a metal sheet having a horizontal bottom portion, a vertical middle portion, and a horizontal top portion, wherein the horizontal bottom portion is mounted to the top panel and the horizontal top portion is mounted to an upper edge of the outer side panel of one of said first and second closet doors such that the vertical middle portion rests along an inner surface of the outer side panel of said door, and wherein the horizontal bottom portion includes a pin aperture for receiving a pin from the pin assembly.
  • 2. The closet door assembly of claim 1 wherein the pin assembly comprises:an upper collar fixed about the pin aperture formed in the frame bracket; a lower collar fixed about the pin aperture formed in the door bracket; an upper sleeve having a rim that fits within the upper collar such that the rim rests on an upper surface of the base of the frame bracket; a lower sleeve that fits within the lower collar; and a hinge pin inserted through the upper sleeve and the lower sleeve, wherein the hinge pin includes a cap with a diameter greater than the diameter of the pin such that the cap rests on the rim of the upper sleeve.
  • 3. The closet door assembly of claim 2 wherein the door bracket pivots about the hinge pin relative to the frame bracket.
  • 4. The closet door assembly of claim 3 wherein at least one of the upper sleeve or the lower sleeve is composed of frictionless material.
  • 5. A closet door assembly comprising:a closet door 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 positioned within the interior space of the closet door; a top frame attached to a top of a closet doorway, wherein the top frame extends along an entire length of the doorway; an upper hinge assembly pivotally connecting at least one of the top panel and the outer side panel of the closet door to the top frame; and a lower hinge assembly pivotally connecting at least one of the bottom panel and the outer side panel of the closet door to a floor surface of the closet doorway, wherein the upper and lower hinge assemblies allow the closet door to pivot between an open position away from the doorway and a closed position covering the doorway where the back panel of the closet door extends along the entire length of the doorway to substantially conceal the closet doorway; and wherein the upper hinge assembly includes a frame bracket attached to the top frame, an upper door bracket attached to the closet door, and a pin assembly pivotally connecting the frame bracket to the upper door bracket, wherein the frame bracket comprises a front wall mounted to an inner surface of a front panel of the top frame and a base including a pin aperture positioned opposite the front wall for receiving a pin of the pin assembly, and wherein the upper door bracket comprises a metal sheet having a horizontal bottom portion, a vertical middle portion, and a horizontal top portion, wherein the horizontal bottom portion is mounted to the top panel of the door and the horizontal top portion is mounted to an upper edge of the outer side panel such that the vertical middle portion rests along an inner surface of the outer side panel, and wherein the horizontal bottom portion includes a pin aperture for receiving a pin from the pin assembly.
  • 6. The closet door assembly of claim 5 wherein the pin assembly comprises:an upper collar fixed about the pin aperture formed in the frame bracket, a lower collar fixed about the pin aperture formed in the door bracket; an upper sleeve having a rim that fits within the upper collar such that the rim rests on an upper surface of the base of the frame bracket; a lower sleeve that fits within the lower collar; and a hinge pin inserted through the upper sleeve and the lower sleeve, wherein the hinge pin includes a cap with a diameter greater than the diameter of the pin such that the cap rests on the rim of the upper sleeve.
  • 7. The closet door assembly of claim 6 wherein the door bracket pivots about the hinge pin relative to the frame bracket.
  • 8. The closet door assembly of claim 7 wherein at least one of the upper sleeve or the lower sleeve is composed of frictionless material.
  • 9. A closet door assembly comprising:a closet door 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 positioned within the interior space of the closet door; a top frame attached to a top of a closet doorway, wherein the top frame extends along an entire length of the doorway; an upper hinge assembly pivotally connecting at least one of the top panel and the outer side panel of the closet door to the top frame; and a lower hinge assembly pivotally connecting at least one of the bottom panel and the outer side panel of the closet door to a floor surface of the closet doorway, wherein the upper and lower hinge assemblies allow the closet door to pivot between an open position away from the doorway and a closed position covering the doorway where the back panel of the closet door extends along the entire length of the doorway to substantially conceal the closet doorway; and wherein the lower hinge assembly further comprises a lower door bracket, a support plate near a floor surface of the closet doorway, and a pin assembly pivotally connecting the lower door bracket to the support plate wherein the lower door bracket comprises a metal sheet having a horizontal upper portion, a vertical middle portion, and a horizontal lower portion, wherein the horizontal lower portion is mounted to a lower edge of the outer side panel and the elongated upper portion is mounted to a lower surface of the bottom panel of the door such that the middle portion rests along an inner surface of the outer side panel, and wherein the horizontal upper portion includes a pin aperture for receiving a pin from the pin assembly.
  • 10. The closet door assembly of claim 9 wherein the support plate includes a pin aperture formed in its center.
  • 11. The closet door assembly of claim 10 wherein the support plate is mounted to a floor block positioned on the floor surface of the closet doorway.
  • 12. The closet door assembly of claim 11 wherein the floor block is fixed to the floor surface of the closet doorway.
  • 13. The closet door assembly of claim 11 where the pin assembly comprises:a lower pin sleeve fitting within the pin aperture of the support plate and extending within a cylindrical bore formed in the floor block; a ball bearing assembly defining a central opening; and a hinge pin inserted through the pin aperture of the lower door bracket, the central opening of the ball bearing assembly, and the lower pin sleeve.
  • 14. The closet door assembly of claim 13 wherein the hinge pin comprises a cylindrical body portion having a reduced diameter cap extending above the body portion and a reduced diameter pin portion extending below the body portion, wherein the cap fits snugly within the pin aperture of the door bracket and the pin portion extends through both the central opening of the ball bearing assembly and the lower pin sleeve, and wherein a bottom surface of the cylindrical body portion rests atop the ball bearing assembly.
  • 15. A closet door assembly comprising:first and second closet doors, each closet door 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 positioned within the interior space of each closet door; a top frame attached to a top of a closet doorway, wherein the top frame extends along an entire length of the doorway; first and second upper hinge assemblies, wherein the first upper hinge assembly pivotally connects at least one of the top panel and the outer side panel of the first closet door to the top frame and the second upper hinge assembly pivotally connects at least one of the top panel and the outer side panel of the second closet door to the top and first and second lower hinge assemblies, wherein the first lower hinge assembly pivotally connects at least one of the bottom panel and the outer side panel of the first closet door to a floor surface of the closet doorway and the second lower hinge assembly pivotally connects at least one of the bottom panel and the outer side panel of the second closet door to the floor surface, and wherein the hinge assemblies permit the inner side panel of each of the closet doors to pivot away from an open position, away from the doorway, to a closed position covering the doorway where the inner side panels of the closet doors are adjoined and the closet doors together extend along the entire length of the doorway to substantially conceal the closet doorway; and wherein the first and second lower hinge assemblies each comprise a lower door bracket, a support plate near a floor surface of the closet doorway, and a pin assembly pivotally connecting the lower door bracket to the support plate, wherein the lower door bracket comprises a metal sheet having a horizontal upper portion, a vertical middle portion, and a horizontal lower portion, wherein the horizontal lower portion is mounted to a lower edge of the outer side panel and the elongated upper portion is mounted to a lower surface of the bottom panel of one of the first and second closet doors such that the middle portion rests along an inner surface of the outer side panel, and wherein the horizontal upper portion includes a pin aperture for receiving a pin from the pin assembly.
  • 16. The closet door assembly of claim 15 wherein the support plate includes a pin aperture formed in its center.
  • 17. The closet door assembly of claim 16 wherein the support plate is mounted to a floor block positioned on the floor surface of the closet doorway.
  • 18. The closet door assembly of claim 17 wherein the floor block is fixed to the floor surface of the closet doorway.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
2694232 Wolfe Nov 1954 A
3053602 Golenpaul Sep 1962 A
4219248 Goldberg Aug 1980 A
5795043 Johnson et al. Aug 1998 A
6402271 Kelley et al. Jun 2002 B1
6457278 Fleming Oct 2002 B1
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry
Space X Doors—Brochure (undated).
Printout from http://www.spacexdoors.com.Products. HTM (5 pages) (©2000).