Overhead cabinet with rotating door

• US 5,172,969 A
• Filed: 09/09/1991
• Issued: 12/22/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Knoll Incorporated (Millerknoll Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (Brookfield Asset Management Incorporated)
• Inventors: Reuter, Robert, Schmidt, Al, Hoff, Larry L., Golynsky, Arkady, Anderson, Robert E., Bullwinkle, Wallace C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Peter R.
• Application Number:
  US07/756,742
• Time in Patent Office: 470 Days
• Field of Search: 16/257, 16/258, 16/259, 16/260, 312/327, 312/328, 312/319
• US Class Current: 312/328
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 96/00 Details of cabinets, racks or shelf units not covered by a single one of groups A47B43/00 - A47B95/00; General details of furniture doors E06B
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 11/1014 for maintaining the hinge in only one position, e.g. closed
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 15/405 with curved arms fixed on the wing, rolling on a support
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 3/18 with sliding pins or guides
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/20 for furnitures, e.g. cabinets
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 3/40 with a vertical or horizontal axis of rotation not at one side of the opening, e.g. turnover wings

Abstract

A cabinet is provided with a curved, upwardly-swinging door and interior shelves. The curved shelf door is mounted on a pair of opposed arms which rotate on a horizontal axis. Each arm is provided with two opposed, circularly arcuate slots and a central ellipsoidal slot, each slot engaging a fixed stud at the side of the cabinet. The ellipsoidal slot and its corresponding stud provide a center pivot for each of the arms. The arms are mounted inside the cabinet on opposed interior side walls. Lighting can be provided in a formed recess in the bottom of the cabinet. The cabinet can also be provided with plural internal shelves supported on planar brackets. The cabinet further can be provided with a pair of side-by-side doors and a center wall. Arms are mounted on each side of the center wall and adjacent the interior side walls of the cabinet, for separately mounting the doors.

Claims

1. An article of furniture comprising:

first and second opposed, parallel walls;

a door;

first and second mounting means rotatably mounted adjacent said first and second walls, respectively, for moving said door between an open position and a closed position, each of said first and second mounting means comprising;

a disk portion at least a portion of which has a substantially circular circumference and a center and

a tangential arm portion extending outwardly from said disk portion;

said arm portion having a first side tangent to said circumference of said disk portion, a second side spaced apart from said first side, an outer end connecting said first and second sides, and an inner end at least partially coextensive with said circumference of said disk portion; and

said disk portion having an elongate central slot axially aligned along a diameter of said disk portion, a first circularly arcuate slot inset from said circumference of said disk portion and having a first radius, and a second circularly arcuate slot having a second radius which is smaller than said first radius, said first and second arcuate slots each having first and second ends, and said first and second arcuate slots being concentric with said disk portion;

pivot means providing a pivot point for rotation of said elongate central slot about a horizontal axis extending therethrough; and

first and second guide means received respectively in said first and second arcuate slots for guiding said disk portion as said elongate central slot rotates about said pivot means.

2. The article of furniture of claim 1, wherein said elongate slot has a substantially ellipsoidal shape defined by a pair of spaced circles, and wherein one of said circles is substantially concentric with said disk portion.

3. The article of furniture of claim 1, wherein said first and second arcuate slots are opposite each other and are nonparallel.

4. The article of furniture of claim 3, wherein said first ends of said arcuate slots are substantially collinear with said center of said disk portion to define a first line and said second ends of said arcuate slots are substantially collinear with said center of said disk portion to define a second line.

5. The article of furniture of claim 4, wherein said first and second lines form an angle of approximately 90°

.

6. The article of furniture of claim 5, wherein said second end of said first arcuate slot includes a first notch extending radially outwardly therefrom and wherein said second end of said second arcuate slot includes a second notch extending radially inwardly therefrom, said first and second guide means respectively engaging said first and second notches when said door is in said open position for locking said door in said open position, and each of said notches having a longitudinal axis which is substantially coextensive with said second line.

7. The article of furniture of claim 4, wherein said disk portion includes a rack portion having a radius greater than the remaining portion of said disk portion, said rack portion including circumferential teeth;

and

wherein said article of furniture further comprises first and second pinions pivotably mounted to said first and second sides, respectively, and engaging said rack portion of said first and second mounting means.

8. The article of furniture of claim 7, wherein said disk portion extends approximately from said second side of said arm portion to said second line.

9. The article of furniture of claim 1, wherein said second end of said first arcuate slot includes a first notch extending radially outwardly therefrom and wherein said second end of said second arcuate slot includes a second notch extending radially inwardly therefrom, said first and second guide means respectively engaging said first and second notches when said door is in said open position for locking said door in said open position.

10. The article of furniture of claim 6, wherein each of said mounting means further includes biasing means for biasing said first notch into locking engagement with said first guide means.

11. The article of furniture of claim 10, wherein said biasing means comprises a spring inserted in said first arcuate slot.

12. The article of furniture of claim 1, wherein said pivot means and said first and second guide means are substantially collinear.

13. The article of furniture of claim 1, wherein said disk portion includes a rack portion having a radius greater than the remaining portion of said disk portion, said rack portion including circumferential teeth;

and

wherein said article of furniture further comprises first and second pinions pivotably mounted adjacent said first and second sides, respectively, and engaging said rack portion of said first and second mounting means.

14. The article of furniture of claim 1, wherein said article of furniture further comprises first and second cover panels covering said disk portion of said first and second mounting means, respectively, said first mounting means being interposed between said first cover panel and said first wall and said second cover panel being interposed between said second cover panel and said second wall.

15. The article of furniture of claim 14, wherein said pivot means and said guide means are part of said first and second cover panels.

16. The article of furniture of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of spaced-apart shelf brackets parallel to and intermediate said first and second walls, each of said shelf brackets having spaced openings therein; and

a plurality of shelves positioned between and perpendicular to said shelf brackets, said shelves having tabs extending therefrom for engaging said openings in said shelf brackets.

17. A rotatable mounting mechanism for a door comprising:

a substantially circular disk portion having a circumference and

a tangential arm portion extending outwardly from said disk portion;

said arm portion having a first side tangent to said circumference of said disk portion, a second side spaced apart from said first side, an outer end connecting said first and second sides, and an inner end at least partially coextensive with said circumference of said disk portion; and

said disk portion having an elongate central slot axially aligned along a diameter of said disk portion, a first circularly arcuate slot inset from said circumference of said disk portion and having a first radius, and a second circularly arcuate slot having a second radius which is smaller than said first radius, said first and second arcuate slots each having first and second ends.

18. The mechanism of claim 17, wherein said elongate slot has a substantially ellipsoidal shape defined by a pair of spaced circles, and wherein one of said circles is substantially concentric with said disk portion.

19. The mechanism of claim 17, wherein said first and second arcuate slots are opposite each other and are nonparallel.

20. The mechanism of claim 19, wherein said first ends of said arcuate slots are substantially collinear with said center of said disk portion to define a first line and said second ends of said arcuate slots are substantially collinear with said center of said disk portion to define a second line.

21. The mechanism of claim 20, wherein said first and second lines form an angle of approximately 90°

.

22. The mechanism of claim 17, wherein said second end of said first arcuate slot includes a first notch extending radially outwardly therefrom and wherein said second end of said second arcuate slot includes a second notch extending radially inwardly therefrom.

23. The mechanism of claim 21, wherein said second end of said first arcuate slot includes a first notch extending radially outwardly therefrom and wherein said second end of said second arcuate slot includes a second notch extending radially inwardly therefrom, each of said notches having a longitudinal axis which is substantially coextensive with said second line.

24. A rotatable mounting mechanism for a door comprising:

a disk portion having a circularly arcuate smooth portion and a circularly arcuate rack portion with circumferential teeth, said smooth portion having a circumference and a first radius, and said rack portion having a second radius smaller than said first radius;

a tangential arm portion extending outwardly from said disk portion between said smooth and said rack portions;

said arm portion having a first side tangent to said circumference of said smooth portion, a second side spaced apart from said first side, an outer end connecting said first and second sides, and an inner end at least partially coextensive with said circumference of said disk portion; and

said disk portion having an elongate central slot axially aligned along a diameter of said smooth portion, a first circularly arcuate slot inset from said circumference of said smooth portion and having a first radius, and a second circularly arcuate slot having a second radius which is smaller than said first radius, said first and second arcuate slots each having first and second ends.

25. The mechanism of claim 24, wherein said elongate slot has a substantially ellipsoidal shape defined by a pair of spaced circles, and wherein one of said circles is substantially concentric with said disk portion.

26. The mechanism of claim 24, wherein said first and second arcuate slots are opposite each other and are nonparallel.

27. The mechanism of claim 26, wherein said first ends of said arcuate slots are substantially collinear with said center of said disk portion to define a first line and said second ends of said arcuate slots are substantially collinear with said center of said disk portion to define a second line.

28. The mechanism of claim 27, wherein said first and second lines form an angle of approximately 90°

.

29. The mechanism of claim 28, wherein said second end of said first arcuate slot includes a first notch extending radially outwardly therefrom and wherein said second end of said second arcuate slot includes a second notch extending radially inwardly therefrom, each of said notches having a longitudinal axis which is substantially coextensive with said second line.

30. The mechanism of claim 24, wherein said second end of said first arcuate slot includes a first notch extending radially outwardly therefrom and wherein said second end of said second arcuate slot includes a second notch extending radially inwardly therefrom.