Cabinet with door posts capable of moving in a horizontal sense

Abstract

 A cabinet having several doors, gates or the like (4) with intermediate posts (8,9,10) for supporting the doors, in which such posts are capable of moving in a horizontal sense throughout the length of the cabinet on suitable rails (13',14') located at the upper and lower ends of the said cabinet, by means of runners (11,12) of which the upper one (11) forms the front support and the lower one (12) the vertical support for the said posts, each of such runners being provided with a pinion (13,14) made integral with an opposite pinion (14,13) by means of a vertical shaft contained within the said post and engaging a horizontal rack (15,16) integral with each rail, such runners being furthermore fitted with rollers or the like (17) for movement on the relevant rails (13',14').

Description

[0001] The object of this invention is a cabinet having several doors, gates or the like with intermediate posts, for supporting the doors, capable of moving in a horizontal sense throughout the length of the cabinet on suitable rails located at the upper and lower ends of the said cabinet, such movement being effected by means of runners of which the upper one forms the front support and the lower one constitutes also the vertical support for the said posts, each of such runners being provided with a toothed pinion made integral with a matching opposite pinion by means of a vertical shaft contained within the said post, both runners engaging a horizontal rack integral with each rail, such runners being furthermore fitted with rollers or the like for movement on the relevant rails.

[0002] Further details and features may be obtained from the following description, given with reference to the attached drawings, which show:

In fig. 1 :

a cabinet with the doors closed, viewed from the front,

In fig. 2 :

the cabinet of fig. 1 shown in plan view,

In fig. 3 :

a cabinet with the doors opened, viewed from the front,

In fig. 4 :

the cabinet of fig. 3 with the doors shown in exploded view,

In fig. 5 :

separate details and exploded view of the device for bringing about movement of the posts, and

In fig. 6 :

a cross-section according to plane VI-VI of fig. 5.

[0003] With reference to figures 1, 2 and 3, the cabinet according to this invention comprises a body 1 of any length in a horizontal sense, provided with one or more doors, gates or the like 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 applied to intermediate posts 8, 9 and 10 which support the said doors. Such posts 8, 9 and 10 may therefore be moved in a horizontal sense throughout the length of the cabinet and opened in any position in a horizontal sense within the said cabinet, as well as being brought together, for example in the middle or at either end, thus leaving open the entire front part of the said cabinet.

[0004] Such arrangements are shown in figure 2, where it is also possible to see the various positions indicated by dotted lines.

[0005] In order to enable the doors to be moved while maintaining them in vertical position and at an equal distance from the other doors or from the end walls of the cabinet, the said doors are supported by posts 8, 9 and 10 equipped at the upper and lower ends with runners 11 and 12 capable of moving on rails 13' - 14'.

[0006] Such posts 8, 9 and 10 are capable of moving in a horizontal sense throughout the length of the cabinet on suitable rails 13' - 14', located at the upper and lower ends of the said cabinet, by means of runners 11-12 of which the upper one 11 forms the front support and the lower one 12 the vertical support of the post, each of such runners being provided with a pinion 13 made integral with the opposite pinion 14 by means of a vertical shaft contained within the said post and engaging a horizontal rack 15-16 integral with each rail 13', 14', such runners being furthermore fitted with rollers or the like 17 for movement on the relevant rails.

[0007] More particularly, upper rail 13' is of inverted U shape for guiding and holding the upper end of the post, and lower rail 14' has at least one sliding and supporting channel 18 for lower runner 12 which supports the post.

[0008] In figure 5 are illustrated the various components arranged separately in exploded view for greater clarity of the description, while in figure 6 there is a cross-section according to the vertical axial plane of the upper part and of the corresponding lower part and is represented as a possible method of implementation, particularly with regard to the means of support of the shaft which links pinions 13-14 both to the rails and to the runners.

Claims

1. A cabinet having several doors, gates or the like with intermediate posts (8, 9, 10) to support doors (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), characterized in that such posts (8, 9, 10) are capable of moving in a horizontal sense throughout the length of the cabinet on suitable rails (13', 14') located at the upper and lower ends of the said cabinet, by means of runners (11, 12) of which the upper one (11) forms the front support and the lower one (12) the vertical support for the posts, each of such runners being provided with a pinion (13) made integral with the opposite one (14) by means of a vertical shaft contained within the post and engaging a horizontal rack (15, 16) integral with each rail (13', 14'), such runners being furthermore fitted with rollers (17) or the like for movement on the relevant rails.

2. A cabinet with doors according to claim 1, characterized in that upper rail (13') is of inverted U shape for guiding and holding the upper end of the post, and lower rail (14') has at least one sliding and supporting channel (18) for lower runner (12) which supports the post.

Drawing