Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to sliding doors, and, more particularly, to a
top
guide for such sliding doors to facilitate stable placement and movement along
the track
in which they are inserted.
Various types of sliding doors are utilized for internal applications within
residential and in some commercial structures. Although some sliding doors
slide into a
pocket formed in the wall of the building, frequently closets employ bypassing
doors,
i.e., a pair of doors which will slide in parallel tracks so that one side or
the other of the
door opening is clear to provide access to the closet. Such doors may comprise
hollow
core doors of wood or the like, or be an assembly of mirrors or other panels
seated in
metallic or wooden frames.
The tracks which are employed in such structures are generally extruded
aluminum or roll formed sheet steel. For bypassing doors, the cross section of
track is
generally referred to as an inverted "E" in which there are two outside walls
and a
center wall to provide a pair of channels.
In Jasperson et al United States Letters Patent No. 5,349,783, there is
illustrated
a top guide utilizing a pair of wheels bearing on opposite walls of each of
the channels
of the track to provide stability of the door within the opening and desirable
guided
rolling action along the length of the track.
The structure of this patent represents an effort to address the problem of
variations in width of the track due to tolerances in forming the track and
also the
problems encountered as the rollers wear over extended periods of use.
Although the
structure shown in the Jasperson et al Patent has been beneficial, there has
remained a
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need to provide an longer lived structure in which there is a desirable spring
action to
maintain the rollers in firm rolling engagement with the two walls of the
track in which
they operate.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel
roller top
guide for sliding doors in which there is continuing spring pressure to
maintain the
rollers in contact with the walls of the track.
It is also an object to provide such a roller top guide utilizing components
which
can be simply and economically fabricated from synthetic resin.
Another object is to provide such a roller top guide in which the components
may
be quickly assembled and which can be utilized in connection with both wooden
doors
and panel doors.
It has been found that the foregoing and related objects may be readily
attained in
a wheeled top guide for rolling movement of a door along an inverted U-shaped
track
and which includes a housing for mounting on the upper end of the door with an
upwardly extending first axle on the housing, and a first roller on the axle
for rotation
thereabout in rolling engagement with one side wall of the track. A vertically
oriented
torsion member is seated in the housing and includes a vertically extending
elongated
torsion rod having its lower end fixedly seated on the housing, a horizontally
extending
arm having one end secured to the upper end of the torsion rod and extending
away
from the first axle, and an upwardly extending second axle adjacent the other
end of the
arm.
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A second roller is seated on the second axle for rotation thereabout in
rolling
engagement with the other side wall of the track. The second roller is spaced
from said
first roller and the arm is resiliently displaceable about the longitudinal
axis of the
torsion rod from an initial position towards the housing for insertion of the
rollers into
the track. The resulting torque in the torsion rod produces a force biasing
the arm and
thereby the second roller towards its initial position to maintain the rollers
in firm
rolling contact with the side walls of the track.
Desirably, the housing includes a bracket rotatably seating the torsion rod
adjacent its upper end. Preferably, the guide includes a second vertically
oriented
torsion member seated in the housing and a third roller on the axle thereof.
The second
and third rollers are spaced in the same direction from the first roller to
bear upon the
other wall of the track. The housing has a transverse axis and the horizontal
arms of the
torsion members diverge from the transverse axis.
The torsion rod is fabricated from synthetic resin, and the horizontal arm and
second axle are integrally formed with the rod. Preferably, the horizontal arm
is
bifurcated at its end joined to the rod.
Desirably, the torsion rod has a horizontally disposed base element at the
lower
end securely seated in the housing, and the base element has a depending tab
seated in a
slot in the housing. The base element is integrally formed with the torsion
rod.
Figure 1 is a fragmentary and partially exploded view of a door assembly
employing a roller top guide embodying the present invention;
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Figure 2 is an exploded view of the top guide drawn to an enlarged scale
showing the torsion member/roller assembly in solid line in one orientation
and a second
torsion member/roller assembly in phantom line to provide a three-roller top
guide as
illustrated in Figure 3;
Figure 3 is an elevational view of an embodiment of the present invention in
which there are three roller, two of which are provided on torsion members;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of a torsion member employed in the assembly
shown in solid line in its initial or rest position, and in phantom line in a
twisted or
partially rotated position;
Figure 5 is a plan view of the door assembly of Figure 1 with a fragmentary
portion of a second door shown in the adjacent channel of the E-track;
Figure 6 is a partially diagrammatic view showing in the phantom line portion
of
the track, the position in which the roller on the torsion member would be
oriented if the
arm were not pivoted about the torsion rod, and showing in solid line the
deflection of
the roller from the at rest position shown in the phantom line portion;
Figure 7 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the door seen in Figure 1
seated in a track and drawn to an enlarged scale;
Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of a door assembly with a pair of
three-roller top guides one of which is disassembled from the door;
Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 5 showing a pair of three-roller top
guides of
the embodiment of Figure 3 disposed within one of the channels of the track
and a
second fragmentary portion of a second door in the adjacent channel; and
Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 6 illustrating the amount of angular
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displacement of the rollers and arms of the torsion members.
Turning first to Figure 1 of the attached drawings, therein illustrated
fragmentarily is a panel door generally designated by the numeral 10 having
corner
connectors generally designated by the numeral 14 in which are seated roller
top guides
embodying the present invention and generally designated by the numeral 28. As
seen
in Figure 7, the roller top guides 28 extend within a U-shaped track portion
provided by
the dual track construction of generally inverted E-shaped configuration and
generally
designated by the numeral 12. The track 12 has side walls 16, a center wall 18
and a
transversely extending top wall or web 20.
The panel door assembly illustrated in Figure 1 is generally comprised of
stiles
22 and rails 24 which receive the panel 25 in the channels thereof, and the
stiles and
rails 22,24 are joined by the corner connectors 14.
Turning next to Figures 2 and 3, the roller top guide 28 is comprised of a
housing generally designated by the numeral 30 and having a bottom wall 32,
side walls
34, top wall 36 and a panel wall 38. Adjacent the top wall 36 there is
provided a pair of
brackets or clips 40 on the panel wall 38. Therebelow is a pair of cylindrical
bosses 46
to seat fasteners (not shown) for engagement of the housing 30 to a wooden
door (not
shown), and centered therebelow is a semicircular boss 48 which functions as a
stop in
connection with the metal corner connector 14.
Projecting upwardly from the top wall 36 is an axle 50 with a collar 52 about
its
upper end. At the center of the bottom wall 32 is an upstanding center wall
42, and the
bottom wall 32 is provided with slots 44 adjacent the intersection of the
center wall 42
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with the panel wall 3 8.
Seated on the axle 50 are a wheel bearing 68 and a roller 70, and the collar
52
over which they snap to assemble them retains them thereon.
As best seen in Figures 2 and 4, the torsion member generally designated by
the
numeral 54 includes a base 56, an elongated rod 58, a bifurcated arm 60 and an
axle 62
having a collar 64 adjacent its upper end. The base 56 has a depending tab 66
which
will seat in the slot 44 in the bottom wall 32. As seen in Figure 2 and more
clearly seen
in other figures and drawings, the bifurcated arm 60 extends at an included
angle of
about 45 ° with a line perpendicular to the panel wall 38. Seated on
the axle 62 are a
wheel bearing 68 and a roller 70, and the collar 64 retains them thereon.
Shown in phantom line in Figure 2 is a second torsion member 54 which is
oppositely handed, i.e., extends in the opposite direction also at an included
angle of
about 45 ° . An assembly with two torsion members is seen in Figure 3
wherein a pair of
torsion members 54 is seated in the brackets or clips 40 with the tabs 66
seated in the
slots 44 so as to securely anchor the bases of the torsion members 54 against
rotation
while the upper end portions of the torsion rods are free to rotate within the
brackets 40.
As indicated in Figure 4, displacing the outer end of the arm 60 from the full
line
position to the phantom position by 15° will produce torsion in the rod
58 as indicated
by the phantom line extending therealong.
Thus, as partially diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 6, in which the
undeflected position of the roller 70 and arm 60 is designated position "A",
the roller
top guide 28 would not fit within the track 12. Deflection of the arm 60 and
roller 70 to
the position "B" enables the roller top guide 28 to be inserted into the track
12 and this
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produces torsional distortion along the length of the rod 58. When the roller
top guide
28 with the deflected arm 60 is seated within the track 12, the torque or
torsional force
in the rod 58 now produces a biasing pressure of the roller 70 against the
center wall 18,
while the fixed roller 70 on the axle 50 bears against the side wall 16. This
biasing
pressure causes the roller top guide 28 to roll smoothly along the walls 16,18
of the
track 12.
In the typical by-passing door assembly seen in Figure 5, two doors 10 are
disposed in the two channels of the track 12, and the rollers 70 on the
torsion member
54 of each are biased against the center wall 18 to maintain good rolling
contact and
positioning of the doors 10.
In Figures 3 and 8, there is illustrated a three-roller embodiment of the
roller top
guide of the present invention. A pair of oppositely handed or angled torsion
members
54 is employed to provide a pair of torsion biased rollers 70 bearing against
the center
wall 18 of the track 12 as shown in Figures 9 and 10. As diagrammatically
illustrated in
Figure 10, the oppositely angled arms 60 of the torsion member 54 are
deflected
oppositely to reduce the spacing between their axles and the center line of
the housing
30 to enable insertion of the top guide 28 into the channels of the track 10.
When the
initial deflecting force is removed, the arms 60 are biased towards their
undeflected
position seen in the right hand portion of the figure to seat firmly against
the center wall
18. The amount of continuing deflection is illustrated by the included angle
between the
lines "A" and "B" .
As will be readily appreciated, the retained torsional loading in the torsion
member will apply a continuing biasing force or spring pressure acting through
the roller
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against the wall of the track. This will keep the door firmly retained in
position within
the track to avoid rattling and will provide smooth rolling action as the door
is moved
along the track. Obviously, more spring force is provided by a pair of tension
members
as shown in Figures 8 and 9 than would be provided by a single member as shown
in
Figures 4 and 5.
The key element of the assembly is obviously the torsion member itself which
is
integrally molded to provide a high strength part. The angular orientation in
the length
of the arm will depend upon the track width in which the top guide is to
operate. It is
generally desirable to achieve a deflection of about 10 ° to 15
° in the spring loaded
position seated in the track and this will normally require a deflection of
about 25 ° to
30° to effect insertion into the track. In practice, it has been found
that utilizing a
vertical length of about 40-60 millimeters for the rod portion of the torsion
member with
a diameter of about 4-5 millimeters will provide a desirable level of
torsional action.
Recent tests have indicated some improvement in developing the desired torsion
by
tapering the rod from its base to a reduced diameter adjacent the clip with
the reduction
being about 10 % . The portion from the clip to the upper end is of uniform
diameter.
The arm length for the torsion member is generally in the range of 20-35
millimeters
center to center from the rod to the axle at the end of the arm. The use of a
bifurcated
arm portion increases the strength of the connection between the arm portion
and the rod
portion.
In the illustrated embodiment, it can be seen that the foot and the tab on the
torsion member firmly seat in the base of housing so as to anchor the bottom
of the rod
against any rotation while the clip or bracket adjacent the top of the rod to
rotate
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therewithin.
Various resins can be utilized to fabricate the elements of the top guide. A
high
strength acetyl resin is desirable for fabricating the housing and torsion
members. The
tire or roller is desirably in elastomeric material and the bearing element
for the roller
assembly is desirably a low friction material such as a nylon 66.
In assembling the structure, the base or foot and tab are first inserted into
position in the base of the bottom wall of the housing and then the torsion
member can
be pivoted upwardly to stamp it into the clip or brackets of the housing. The
bearing
and roller can the be snap fit over the collar on the axle.
The illustrated embodiment of the top guide can be utilized in combination
with a
corner bracket conventionally employed for mirror and other panel doors.
Alternatively, for a wooden door, the housing may be secured directly to the
door by
fasteners inserted through the circular bosses which are illustrated in the
several
embodiments.
Thus, it can be seen that the roller top guide of the present invention may be
readily fabricated and assembled to provide a long lived element in which
there is a
constant biasing pressure maintaining the door firmly in position within the
track. The
components are few in numbers so as to minimize costs while allowing optimum
choice
of materials to improve life.
