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(11) | EP 0 450 649 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Folding door set |
| (57) The invention relates to a folding set of a plurality of doors (1), (2), (3) alined
on aline straight when viewed from above so as to be in an extension arrangement on
one occasion and, on the other occasion, displaced to fold in an overlap arrangement.
Two doors adjacent to each other are provided with hinges (6) each having gear parts
to engage with each other. In this way, the two doors are swung at equal angles with
respect to the perpendicular bisector of a straight line passing through the axial
centers of swing of these doors. Positional change of the door from the extension
arrangement to the overlap one and vice versa is surely performed. |
[0001] Generally, when a plurality (for example, four) of doors, first, second, third, and fourth, aligned on a line straight when viewed from above in an extension arrangement are displaced to be in an overlap one, the outer end of the outermost door, for example, the 4th door is slided toward the side of the 3rd one, and, at this time, the 4th and 3rd doors are turned at equal angles with respect to the perpendicular bisector of a straight line passing through the center axes of swing of both doors. However, the pivotal connecting parts of the 2nd and 3rd doors are displaced upon slide of both doors or only after overlapping of the 3rd and 4th doors, and, on the midway of folding, an angle made between the 1st and 2nd doors is not equal to that between the 3rd and 4th. Accordingly, folding operation is not smooth. On the contrary, when four doors in the complete overlap arrangement are slided to be in the extension arrangement, an angle between the 1st and 2nd doors is not equal to that between the 3rd and 4th during unfolding, whereby overlapping of the four doors in sure association with each other is not performed.
[0002] An object of this invention is to provide a folding set of a plurality of doors capable of being surely folded and unfolded in association with each other when the outermost door is slided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
[0003] In the appended drawings:
Fig. 1A is a schematic plan view of a first embodiment of the invention in the extension arrangement;
Fig. 1B is a schematic plan view of the door set on the midway of folding;
Fig. 1C is a schematic plan view of the door set in the overlap arrangement;
Fig. 2 is a front view of the main part of door;
Fig. 3 is a sectional side view thereof;
Fig. 4 is a sectional side view of the main part of an example of modified lower frame;
Fig. 5 is an enlarged front view of a hinge;
Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view thereof;
Fig. 7A is a schematic plan view of swing pieces when the door set is in the overlap arrangement;
Fig. 7B is a schematic plan view of swing pieces on the midway of folding of the door set;
Fig. 7C is a schematic plan view of swing pieces when the door set is in the extension arrangement;
Fig. 8A is a schematic view of the whole of the door set in the extension arrangement;
Fig. 8B is a schematic view of the whole of the door set on the midway of folding;
Fig. 8C is a schematic view of the whole of the door set in the midway of folding;
Fig. 9A is a schematic plan view of a second embodiment in the extension arrangement;
Fig. 9B is a schematic plan view of a second embodiment on the midway of folding;
Fig. 9C is a schematic plan view of a second embodiment in the overlap arrangement;
Fig. 10 is a front view of an example of modified hinge:
Fig. 11 is a plan view thereof;
Fig. 12 is a side view of another example of modified hinge;
Fig. 13 is a front view thereof;
Fig. 14 is a side view of another example of modified hinge;
Fig. 15 is a schematic plan view of a third embodiment in the overlap arrangement;
Fig. 16 is a schematic plan view of a fourth embodiment in the overlap arrangement;
Fig. 17 is a schematic plan view of a fifth embodiment in the overlap arrangement;
Fig. 18 is a sectional view of an example of midified upper frame;
Fig. 19A is a schematic plan view of further example of modified hinge;
Fig. 19B is a schematic plan view thereof on the midway of folding;
Fig. 19C is a schematic plan view thereof in the extension arrangement;
Fig. 20 is a sectional view of the main part of a sixth embodiment;
Fig. 21 is a schematic front view thereof;
Fig. 22 is a plan view of a hinge used in the 6th embodiment;
Fig. 23 is a sectional plan view thereof;
Fig. 24 is a front view of a pivotal connecting piece of the hinge used in the 6th embodiment;
Fig. 25A is a schematic plan view of hinges in the extension arrangement in the 6th embodiment;
Fig. 25B is a schematic plan view thereof on the midway of folding;
Fig. 25C is a schematic plan view thereof in the overlap arrangement;
Fig. 26 is a sectional view of modified lower frame;
Fig. 27 is a front view of another example of a modified hinge in the extension arrangement used in the 6th embodiment;
Fig. 28 is a plan view thereof in the extension arrangement;
Fig. 29 is a plan thereof on the midway of folding;
Fig. 30 is a sectional view of another upper frame; and
Fig. 31 is a front view of the main part of another example of a modified hinge used in the 6th embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0005] Figs. 8A, 8B, and 8C show a folding door set of this invention as a first embodiment including the first, second and third doors 1, 2, and 3, respectively, to be set in the outer frame 5, which doors 1, 2, and 3 are aligned on a line straight when viewed from above in the extension arrangement as shown in Fig. 1A and are displaced to be in the overlap one as shown in Fig. 1B.
[0006] The 1st door 1 and the 2nd one 2 are pivotally and swingably connected to each other with a pivotal connecting piece 6 as shown in Fig. 1A, and the 2nd door 2 and the 3rd one 3 with a hinge 22. The 1st door 1 and the 2nd one 2 are aligned on a straight line when viewed from above so as to be in an extension arrangement and displaced so that surfaces thereof 1a and 2a face each other whereas the 2nd door 2 and the 3rd one 3 are also aligned in an extension arrangement and displaced so that the other surfaces 2b and 3b thereof face each other. The abovesaid pivotal connecting piece 6 comprises a pair of swing pieces 6a, 6b and a shaft 6c for connecting both pieces 6a, 6b to each other pivotally and swingably, the swing piece 6a on one hand being fixed to the surface 1a of the 1st door 1 whereas another piece 6b to the surface 2a of the 2nd door 2.
[0007] The outer frame 5, as shown in Fig. 8A and others, is composed of an upper and lower frames 5a and 5b, respectively, as well as of a left and right frames 5c and 5d, respectively, in which the upper frame 5a is, as shown in Fig. 3, provided with a downward opening groove part 7 in which guide rails 8, 8 are extended widthwise of the door. Suspending walls 52, 52 are connected to the guide rails 8, 8 and a guide groove 54 is provided beneath the guide rails 8, 8. The lower frame 5b is, as shown in Fig. 3, provided with a guide groove 62 extending in the width direction of the door.
[0008] The abovesaid hinge 22, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, is provided with: a pair of swing pieces 24a, 24b having gear parts 23a, 23b, respectively, meshing with each other; retentive pieces 25a, 25b for clamping and retaining the swing pieces 24a, 24b; and pivotal support shafts 26a, 26b for connecting the retentive pieces 25a, 25b and working as rotation centers of the gear parts 23a, 23b; in which the swing pieces 24a, 24b are each made of an approximately rectangular flat plate having a bulging upper gearing part 23a or 23b at one end and swinging around the pivotal support shaft 26a or 26b. That is, the swing pieces 24a, 24b are displaced from the positions in which both are parallel with each other as shown in Fig. 7A to the other positions in which both are aligned on a straight line as shown in Fig. 7C after passed through such positions as shown in Fig. 7B.
[0009] In short, the swing pieces 24a, 24b swing at equal angles ϑ, ϑ with respect to the perpendicular bisector m of the straight line ℓ through the axial centers O₂, O₃ thereof.
[0010] A pair of hinges 22 in the upper and lower positions respectively are fixed to the door and the retentive pieces 25a, 25a are made longer than the other retentive pieces 25b, 25b. As shown in Fig. 2, in the upper hinge 22, the swing piece 24a on one hand is fixed to the upper edge 2c of the 2nd door 2 whereas a swing piece 24b on the other hand to the upper edge 3c of the 3rd door 3 and, in the lower hinge 22, a swing piece 24a on one hand is fixed to the lower edge 2d of the 2nd door 2 whereas a swing piece 24b on the other hand to the lower edge 3d of the 3rd door 3. Accordingly, the axial center of the 2nd door 2 serves as an axial center O₂ of the pivotal shaft 26a on one hand whereas the axial center O₃ of the 3rd door 3 as an axial center O₃ of the pivotal support shaft 26 on the other hand, whereby the 2nd door 2 and the 3rd one 3 swing at equal angles ϑ, ϑ with respect to the perpendicular bisector m.
[0011] Guide bodies 53, 53 are fixed to both upper ends of the retentive piece 25a of the upper hinge 22 on one hand, and suspension rollers 55 ... are provided in the vicinity of the guide bodies 53, 53. As shown in Fig. 3, the guide bodies 53, 53 are fitted into a guide groove 54 of the upper frame 5a rollably or slidably and suspension rollers 55 ... roll along the guide rails 8, 8. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a retentive shaft 56 is erected on the retentive piece 25a, a pivotally supporting part 57 is connected to the retentive shaft 56, and shafts 58, 58 of suspension rollers 55, 55 are fixed to the pivotal supporting part 57 so that the rollers 55 are rotatably retained. In this case, the guide body 53 comprises a roller rotatably fitted on the shaft 51 erected on the retentive piece 25a.
[0012] Guide bodies 63 each comprising a roller or sliding material are suspended, as shown in Fig. 2, from both ends of the retentive piece 25a of the lower hinge 22 and slidably inserted into a guide groove 62 of the lower frame 5b extending widthwise of the door as shown in Fig. 3.
[0013] A lower frame 5b in such a shape as shown in Fig. 4 is also preferable and, in this case, a downwardly opening guide groove 64 is provided, into which a guide body 65 comprising a roller or sliding material provided on the retentive piece 25a is inserted to be guided. That is, the guide body 65 is erected on a slightly extended part 66 opposite to the gear parts 23a, 23b of the retentive piece 25a. The structure of the lower frame 5b as shown in Fig. 3 is followed by a problem that dust may deposit therein through the guide groove 62 running widthwise of the door and every door is prevented from smooth running, however, a lower frame 5b as shown in Fig. 4 is free of such problems as above.
[0014] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1A and others, the outer edge of the 1st door 1 is pivotally connected to the side frame 5c through a pivotal support shaft 50 and a handle 47 is fixed to the vicinity of the outer edge of the 3rd door 3.
[0016] As shown in Fig. 1A, when the handle 47 provided on the 3rd door 3, which is a member of the door set of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd doors aligned on a line straight when viewed from above in an extension arrangement, is pulled slantwise to this side, the retentive piece 25a of the upper hinge 22 is guided by the guide bodies 53, 53 and suspension rollers 55 ... to slide in the arrow direction B along the upper frame 5a, the retentive piece 25b of the lower hinge 22 slides along the lower frame 5b in the arrow direction B while guided by the guide piece 63, and the 3rd door 3 swings around the swing center O₃ thereof as shown in Fig. 1B, whereby the 2nd door 2 swings around the swing center O₂ thereof together with the 3rd door. In this case, the 2nd door 2 and the 3rd one 3 swing at equal angles ϑ, ϑ with respect to the perpendicular bisector m. When the 2nd door 2 swings, the 1st door 1, too, swings as shown in Fig. 1B. When the 3rd door 3 in the state as shown in Fig. 1B is pulled in the arrow direction B, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd doors 1, 2, and 3, respectively, are folded in turn to completely overlap each other as shown in Fig. 1C. In other words, three doors 1, 2, and 3 overlap in sure association with each other.
[0017] As shown in Fig. 1C, the 3rd door 3 in the complete overlap arrangement of three doors 1, 2, and 3, when pulled in the arrow direction A, swings around the swing center axis O₃ and, in association with the door 3, the 2nd door also swings around the swing center axis O₂. At this time, the retentive pieces 25a of the upper and lower hinges 22 slide in the arrow direction A along the upper frame 5a and the lower one 5b, respectively. Thus, the 1st door 1, too, is pulled in the arrow direction A and finally extended in a complete extension arrangement as shown in Fig. 1A. In short, three doors 1, 2, and 3 are smoothly extended similarly to the case as described above.
[0018] In this embodiment, a hinge 22 is interposed between the 2nd door 2 and the 3rd one 3, however, may optionally be interposed between the 1st door 1 and the 2nd one 2, and in such a case, on the contrary to this embodiment, the outer edge of the 3rd door 3 is pivotally fixed to the side frame 5, and a handle 47 is provided for the 1st door 1 so as to operate the 1st door 1 for putting the door set in an extension or overlap arrangement. The 3rd door 3 only is made large in width, however, three doors 1, 2, and 3 may optionally be made equal to or different from each other in width. A length of the retentive piece 25a may freely be determined, however, if determined too short, play may occur at the pivotal connecting parts between the 2nd door 2 and the 3rd one 3 connected through the hinge 22 when the retentive piece 25a slides, and thus a length is preferably made large. Omission of the lower hinge 22 is optional.
[0019] Figs. 9A through 9C are views of a folding door set as a second embodiment of this invention, which comprises four doors, that is, a 1st one 1, 2nd one 2, 3rd one 3, and 4th one 4, in which the 1st one 1 and the 2nd one 2 as well as the 3rd one 3 and the 4th one 4 are pivotally swingably connected to each other with a pivotal connecting piece 6. The 1st door 1 and the 2nd one 2 are aligned on a line straight when viewed from above to be in an extension arrangement on one occasion and, on another occasion, displaced to be in an overlap arrangement, in which the surface 1a of the 1st door 1 faces the surface 2a of the 2nd door 2, and the 3rd door 3 and the 4th one 4 are also aligned in an extension arrangement and displaced to be an overlap one in which the surface 3a of the 3rd door 3 faces the surface 4a of the 4th door 4.
[0020] In this case, further, the upper edge surfaces 1c and 4c of the 1st door 1 and the 4th one 4, respectively, are provided with rollers, not illustrated, which roll on the guide rails 8, 8 (See Fig. 3) of the upper frame 5.
[0021] The 2nd door 2 and the 3rd one 3 are displaceably and pivotally connected so that both doors are aligned on a line straight when viewed from above to be in an extension arrangement and displaced to be in an overlap arrangement in which the surfaces 2b and 3b of the 2nd and 3rd doors, respectively, face each other.
[0022] The retentive piece 25a is made shorter than that as shown in Fig. 5 and provided with guide bodies 27, 27 which are made of sliding material and erected thereon so as to slide along the guide groove 54 of the upper frame 5.
[0023] As shown in Figs. 10 and 11, a retentive shaft 56 is erected on the retentive piece 25a, a pivotal support part 57 is provided to be connected to the retentive shaft 56, and four rollers 55 ... are rotatably fixed to the pivotal support part 57 at the front and rear sides as well as the right and left sides respectively. To the lower edge surfaces of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th doors 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, guide bodies 63 (See Fig. 3) each comprising a sliding material or roller are fixed, and the guide body 63 is slidably fitted into a guide groove 62 of the lower frame 5b.
[0024] Hence, as shown in Fig. 9A, the 4th one 4 of the set of doors 1, 2, 3, and 4 aligned in an extension arrangement, when slided in the arrow direction B with the handle 47 thereof gripped, is guided by the guide rails 8, 8 and guide groove 62 so as to be displaced in said direction B, whereby the 2nd door 2 and the 3rd one 3 swing at equal angles ϑ, ϑ with respect to the perpendicular bisector m and the door set is folded door by door while an angle α between the surface 1a of the 1st door 1 and the surface 2a of the 2nd door 2 is kept equal to an angle β between the surface 3a of the 3rd door 3 and the surface 4a of the 4th door. In short, the set of four doors 1, 2, 3, and 4 is folded in sure association therewith.
[0025] As shown in Fig. 9C, when the 4th door in the complete overlap arrangement of four doors 1, 2, 3, and 4 is pulled in the arrow direction A, the four doors 1, 2, 3, and 4 are completely overlapped with sure associative movement thereof.
[0026] Figs. 12 and 13 are views of an example of modified hinge 22, wherein: a retentive piece 25a on one hand comprises a cubic block 71 and setting piece 72 to which pivotal shafts 26a, 26b are fixed; the block 71 slides in the guide groove 54; and the retentive piece 25a travels along the upper frame 5. Thus a guide part G to slide along the transverse frame (substantially, the upper frame) is formed of the block 71.
[0027] An example shown in Fig. 14 is in such a structure that: the retentive piece 25a is composed of a block 73 provided with a groove 69 and a setting piece part 74; and suspension pieces 70, 70 are suspended from the ends of guide rails 8, 8 of the upper frame 5a so as to be inserted into the groove 69. That is, the suspension pieces 70, 70 are adapted to serve as a guide part G to run within the groove 69.
[0028] Fig. 15 is a view of a 3rd embodiment, in which a retentive piece 25a of the door is longer than those provided for the door set shown in Figs. 9A through 9C. The pivotal support part is made stable with an increase in distance between the guide bodies 27, 27.
[0029] Fig. 16 is a view of a 4th embodiment, wherein a retentive piece 25a projects long from the 4th door 4 when the doors are fully overlapped. In this case, the upper frame 5a of the outer frame 5 is provided with a sub-guide groove 60 to be disposed in parallel with the groove part 7 as shown in Fig. 18, and the 4th door 4 is provided with a rollable guide roller 61 to be fitted into the sub-guide groove 60.
[0030] Fig. 17 is a view of a 5th embodiment, wherein: a length of the retentive piece 25a is made roughly equal to a thickness covering the completely overlapped four doors 1, 2, 3, and 4; the outer frame 5 is provided with a groove part 7 and sub-guide groove 60 in the same way as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 16; and the 1st door 1 and the 4th one 4 are each provided with guide rollers 61, 61.
[0031] Thus, even in the folding door set as shown in Figs. 15 through 17, four doors 1, 2, 3, and 4 can be folded and unfolded in sure association with each other.
[0032] Figs. 19A through 19C are views of another example of modified hinge 22, wherein small gears 30a, 30b are interposed between the gear part 23a, 23b of the swing pieces 24a, 24b. The small gears 30a, 30b are clamped to be rotatably retained between the retentive pieces 25a, 25b through shafts 80, 80 fixed to the retentive pieces 25a, 25b.
[0033] Hence, in this case, as shown in Fig. 19A, swing pieces 24a, 24b arranged in parallel with each other are displaced to be aligned on a straight line as shown in Fig. 19C after arranged as shown in Fig. 19B, and swing at equal angles ϑ, ϑ with respect to the perpendicular bisector m of a straight line ℓ passing through the swing axis centers O , O of the swing pieces 24a, 24b.
[0034] With small gears 30a, 30b interposed between the gear parts 23a, 23b, a distance between the axial centers O , O can be made long to enable stable swing.
[0035] Fig. 20 is a view of a 6th embodiment, wherein the upper frame 5a is provided with an upper wall 31, front one 9, and rear one 10; a suspension wall 11 is suspended from the upper wall 31; and guide rails 12a, 12b are provided for the suspension wall 11 and rear wall 10. Below the guide rails 12a, 13b, opposing surfaces 13a, 13b are provided to be spaced from each other at a certain distance, and one 13a of the opposing surfaces and the front wall 9 are connected to each other with a connecting wall 14. In short, the front wall 9, rear one 10, connecting one 14, and horizontal one 15 define a receiving chamber 16.
[0036] The lower frame 5b is provided with a bottom wall 17, front one 18, and rear one 19, in which a groove 20 is formed on the bottom wall 17 and a horizontal wall 21 to project inward is connected to the upper end of the front wall 18.
[0037] A hinge 22 to be used in this case, as shown in Figs. 22 through 24, is provided with pivotal connecting bodies 35, 35 each comprising a cubic setting pieces 32 and a gear part 34 connected to one end of the setting piece 32 through a neck part 33. The setting pieces 32 and gear parts 34 are arranged in two steps, above and below, through the neck part 33. The gear part 34 comprises a disk body having a toothed part 36 formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and a cutaway part 37 is formed on one end or the neck part 33 of the setting piece 32. A pair of pivotal support bodies 35, 35 are clamped by a pair of clamping plates 39, 39 and connected to each other, the gear parts 34, 34 meshing with each other. The clamping plates 38, as shown in Fig. 22, comprises a rectangular flat plate 38a and an elongated semicircle part 38b connected to one long side of the flat palte 38a, and is provided with through holes 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d. The clamping plate 39, as shown in Fig. 23 comprises an elongated circular part 39a and a projection 39b projecting from the central part of the long side of elongated circular part 39a, and is provided with through holes 41a, 41b, and 41c.
[0038] While the gear parts 34, 34 are in engagement with each other, the clamping plate 38 is mounted on the gear parts 34, 34, another clamping plate 30 is adapted to abut on the underside of the gear part 34 and inserted into the cutaway parts 37, 37 as shown in Fig. 23, and, while keeping the above state, pivotal shafts (not shown) are inserted into respective through holes 40a, 41a, 40b, and 41b which are in agreement with axial center holes 42, 42 (See Fig. 25A etc.) of the gear parts 34, 34 so that pivotal connecting bodies 35, 35 are pivotally and swingably connected to each other.
[0039] Thus, as shown in Fig. 25A, the setting pieces 32, 32 aligned on a straight line are displaced to be arranged in parallel with each other as shown in Fig. 25C after passed through the state as shown in Fig. 25B, whereby the setting pieces 32, 32 swing at equal angles ϑ, ϑ with respect to the perpendicular bisector m of the straight line ℓ passing through the axial centers O₂, O₃ of the gear parts 34, 34. Cutaway parts 43, 43 are formed, as shown in Fig. 25A, on the pivotal connecting pieces 35, 35 so as to be positioned on a straight line and to form a circular hole.
[0040] The setting pieces 32, 32 of the pivotal connecting pieces 35, 35 are fixed to the doors 2, 3 and the gear parts 34, 34 are contained in the containing chamber 16 of the upper frame 5a. As shwon in Fig. 20, the doors 2 and 3 are provided with setting bodies 45, 45 each having an upwardly opening insertion groove 44, and the setting pieces 32, 32 are fitted into said insertion grooves 44, 44. Inwardly directed flange parts 46, 46 are provided on the upper end of the insertion groove 44 and cutaway parts 48, 48 of the setting piece 32 are fitted into the cutaway parts of the setting piece 32.
[0041] A guide plate 78 is fixed to the clamping plate 38 as shown in Figs. 20 and 21, to which plate the guide bodies 53, 53 are fixed, and, in the vicinity of guide bodies 53, 53, suspension rollers 55 ... are provided. That is, as shown in Fig. 20, the guide body 53 is interposed between opposing surfaces 13a and 13b of the upper frame 5a, and suspension rollers 55 are rollably mounted on the guide rails 12a, 12b. In particular, the retentive shaft 56 to be inserted into and retained by the through holes 40e, 41c is erected on the guide plate 78, a pivotal supporting part 57 is connected to the retentive shaft 56, and the shafts of the suspension rollers 55, 55 are fixed to the pivotal supporting part 57 so that these rollers may be rotatably supported. The guide plate 78 is fixed to the clamping plate 38 through fixing pieces, not shown, to be fixed to the through holes 40c, 40d of the clamping plate 38.
[0042] The lower hinge 22, similarly to the upper hinge 22, is provided with a pair of pivotal connecting bodies 35, 35 whose setting pieces 32 and gear parts 34 are each disposed in two steps through the neck part 33. The thickness of the gear part 34 is smaller than that of the gear part 34 of the upper hinges 22, and the guide plate 78 fixed to the clamping plate 38 is provided with only a guide body 79 running in the groove 20. Setting pieces 32, 32 of the pivotal connecting bodies 35, 35 are fitted into downwardly opening insertion groove 44, 44 of the fixing bodies 45, 45. In this case, too, the inward flange parts 46, 46 of the insertion grooves 44, 44 are fitted into the cutaway parts 49, 48 of the setting pieces 32, 32. Thus, the gear parts 34, 34 are contained in the lower frame 6b.
[0043] A setting body 45 on the left side is fixed to the 2nd door 2 with fixing pieces such as screws 83 ..., and a setting piece on the right side to the 3rd door 3 with fixing pieces 83 .... Further, the setting piece 32 is also fixed to the fixing body 45 with the fixing piece 83.
[0044] For assembling a door of the folding set, hinges 22 are fixed to the upper and lower frames 5a, 5b and the setting pieces 32, 32 are fitted into the fixing bodies 45, 45 to which the doors 2, 3 are fixed.
[0045] Therefore, in this case, too, the doors 1, 2, and 3 move in sure association therewith to be smoothly brought into the extension or overlap arrangement.
[0046] Fig. 26 shows a case in which the abovesaid hinges 22 having gear parts 34, 34 are used on only the upper edges of the doors 2 and 3 whereas the hinges 85 lacking gear parts 34, 34 are used only on the lower edge side. The hinge 85 used in this case, as shown in Figs. 27∼29, setting pieces 86, 86 and clamping plates 87, 88 for pivotally and swingably connecting said setting pieces 86, 86 are provided, whereby a guide plate 89 is fixed to the clamping plate 88 on one hand and is provided with a guide piece 90 similar to the abovesaid guide piece 79. That is, the setting piece 86 comprises a rectangular flat plate 86a and a vertical part 86b erected on one long side of said flat plate 86a, in which the vertical part 86b on the left side is fixed to the 2nd door through the through holes 91 ... and the vertical part 86b on the right side is fixed to the 3rd door 3 through the through holes 91 .... The clamping plates 87, 88 are connected to the fixing pieces 86, 86 through the pivotal support shafts 92, 92. The guide pieces 90, 90 are slidably fitted into the lower frame 5. The lower frame 5b in this case comprises a bottom wall 93, front one 94, and rear one 95. The use of this hinge 85 is advantageous in that a distance from the floor surface F to the bottom wall 93 can be reduced.
[0047] In the embodiments described above, the hinges are suitably used for storerooms in which the sight of the reverse side from outside is intercepted and a hinge 22 as shown in Fig. 31 is suitable for the use on partition walls which can be seen from the right and reverse surface side. In this case, a suspension piece 96 is provided for the setting piece 32 of the pivotal connecting body 35 and, as shown in Fig. 30, the suspension piece 96 is fixed to side edges 97 of the doors 2, 3 with the setting pieces (not shown) as screws. The numeral 98 indicates a through hole for fixation of the fixing piece.
[0048] Therefore, in this case, setting pieces 45 for fixing the pivotal connecting bodies 35 to the door 2, 3 comprises an insertion groove 44 into which the setting piece 32 is fitted and the insertion groove 44 is provided in the central part along the thickness of the door, thereby being out of sight from the right and reverse sides. The upper frame 5a is bilateral along the thickness direction of the door.
1. A folding door set characterized in that a hinge for swinging adjacent two of a plurality
of doors at equal angles with respect to the perpendicular bisector of a straight
line passing through swing center axes of said two doors is interposed between said
two doors.
2. A folding door set as defined in Claim 1, wherein said set is composed of three doors.
3. A folding door set as defined in Claim 1, wherein said set is composed of four doors.
4. A folding door set as defined in Claim 1, wherein the hinge is provided with: a pair
of swinging pieces each having gear parts to mesh with each other; a pair of retentive
pieces to clamp and retain said pair of swinging pieces; and a pair of pivotal support
shafts to connect said pair of retentive pieces and serve as rotation centers of said
gear parts.
5. A folding door set as defined in Claim 4, wherein the door is provided with a pair
of small gears interposed between the gear parts of the swinging pieces.
6. A folding door set as defined in Claim 4 or 5, wherein a retentive piece on one hand
runs along the transverse frame.
7. A folding door set as defined in Claim 6, wherein a rolling guide part to roll along
the transverse frame is provided for the retentive piece on one hand.
8. A folding door set as defined in Claim 6, wherein a guide to slide along the transverse
frame is provided for the retentive piece on one hand.
9. A folding door set as defined in Claim 6, wherein the transverse frame is an upper
frame.
10. A folding door set as defined in Claim 9, wherein suspension rollers to roll along
the upper frame are provided for the retentive piece on one hand.
11. A folding door set as defined in Claim 1, wherein the hinge is provided with a pair
of pivotal connecting pieces comprising: setting pieces to be fixed to adjacent doors;
gear parts meshing with each other; neck parts provided with two steps, above and
below, at which said setting piece is connected to the gear part through neck part.
12. A folding door set as defined in Claim 11, wherein the gear part of the pivotal connecting
body is contained in the upper frame.
13. A folding door set as defined in Claim 11, wherein the gear part of the pivotal connecting
body is contained in the lower frame.