AU2004233485B2 - Wheel support structure for sliding doors or panels - Google Patents

Description

POOl Section 29 Regulation 3.2(2)

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: Wheel support structure for sliding doors or panels The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 0 WHEEL SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR SLIDING DOORS OR PANELS C The present invention relates to improvements in wheel support structures t for sliding doors or panels, that provide a capability of vertical adjustment of the wheel or wheels carried by the structure.

O 5 Typically known wheel support structures of the aforementioned kind provide a support housing and a wheel carriage carrying one or more wheels, the 0 support housing being fixed to or within a cavity of a door or the like. Often a M further structure is located between the support housing and the wheel carriage to Sassist with or enable the height adjusting capability whereby movement of the C 10 carriage in a horizontal direction relative to the support housing will cause the c carriage to be adjusted upwardly or downwardly relative to the support housing.

Normally some form of screw member is provided to move the carriage relative to the support housing and when the screw member is not rotated, to fix the carriage in a desired vertically adjusted position relative to the support housing.

Conventional wheel support structures of this general type are known to suffer from some disadvantages including that the load carrying capacity of the structure may be solely via the pins or similar member engaging in the inclined guides and is thereby limited, that the amount of vertical adjustment can be limited, and that it is difficult to remove the wheel carriage for servicing and/or replacement without having to replace the entire wheel support structure. A still further difficulty is that existing structures make it difficult to reduce the overall width of the assembly to allow them to be used with thinner doors or panels.

The objective of the present invention is therefore to provide a wheel support structure of the aforementioned kind that will overcome at least one of the aforementioned difficulties associated with known structures of this kind.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wheel support structure including a support housing adapted for fixing to a door, panel or the like, said support housing including a pair of side walls defining a cavity therebetween adapted to secure a wheel assembly having at least one wheel and carriage means rotatably supporting the wheel or wheels, and means for adjustably moving said wheel assembly in a vertical direction relative to said support housing, said means for adjustably moving said wheel assembly in a vertical direction including at least one laterally extending projection disposed on outer side wall regions of said carriage means, the or each said projection being received in an inclined projection receiving zone in each of the side walls of the Csupport housing, the laterally extending projections each being non-circular with at least one flat portion extending in a direction aligned with a said projection C 5 receiving zone in which the projection is received. By such an arrangement, it is possible to maximize the load carrying capacity of the support structure. The flat surface or surfaces provided by a non-circular projection permits a greater Mn bearing surface on the inclined projection receiving zone thereby increasing the S load carrying capacity relative to a circular pin or projection.

C 10 According to a further preferred aspect of the present invention, there is S provided a wheel support structure including a support housing adapted for fixing to a door, panel or the like, a wheel assembly having at least one wheel and a carriage member rotatably supporting the wheel or wheels, and means for adjustably moving said wheel assembly in a vertical direction relative to said support housing, said wheel or wheels being carried by a bogie member, said bogie member being releasably connected to said carriage member in a manner permitting at least partial pivoting motion of said bogie member about a transverse extending rocking axis. By such an arrangement, it is possible to easily replace the wheel carrying bogie member without necessarily having to replace the whole wheel support structure while ensuring the or all wheels remain in bearing contact with the track on which they roll.

In accordance with a still further preferred aspect the present invention also provides a wheel support structure including a support housing adapted for fixing to a door, panel or the like to support same on or from a guide track, a wheel assembly having at least two wheels and a bogie member rotatably supporting the wheels, means for automatically adjusting the position of said bogie member relative to said housing whereby, in use, at least two of said wheels operably engage the guide track. Such an arrangement allows both wheels or at least two wheels to always stay in contact with the guide track and thereby provide a good spread of the load transmitted to the guide track.

In accordance with a still further preferred aspect of this invention there is also provided a wheel support structure including a support housing adapted for fixing to a door, panel or the like, said support housing including a pair of side 0 walls and a pair of end walls defining a cavity therebetween adapted to secure a N wheel assembly having at least one wheel and carriage means rotatably t supporting the wheel or wheels, and means for adjustably moving said wheel assembly in a vertical direction relative to said support housing, said carriage C 5 means having opposed outer surfaces located closely adjacent to inner surfaces of the side walls of said support housing without a further member or members 0 located therebetween. By such an arrangement it is possible to decrease the M overall width of the assembly down to 15mm or even less by avoiding the need to N have any member or part positioned between the wheel assembly and the C 10 support housing. In this aspect it is generally preferred that the carriage means N includes a bogie member carrying said wheel or wheels and an upper carriage part connected to said bogie member, the upper carriage part generally overlying said bogie member without any portion thereof being located between the inner surfaces of the side walls of said support housing and opposed side walls of the bogie member.

Preferably, the means for adjustably moving said wheel assembly in a vertical direction includes an actuator arranged to move said carriage means in a horizontal direction relative to said support housing. Conveniently each of the projection receiving zones comprises a slot with respective opposed edges and each said projection includes spaced parallel surfaces each of said surfaces being engageable with a respective edge of a said slot.

Conveniently the carriage means includes a bogie member carrying said wheel or wheels and an upper carriage part connected to said bogie member, the upper carriage part generally overlying said bogie member without any portion thereof being located between the inner surfaces of the side walls of said support housing and opposed side walls of the bogie member. The laterally extending projections may be integrally formed on the upper carriage part. The bogie member may be releasably connected to the upper carriage part, preferably in a manner permitting at least partial pivoting motion of said bogie member about a transverse extending rocking axis. A releasable snap together connector means may be provided between the bogie member and the carriage member.

Conveniently a downwardly directed projection part is provided adapted to be gripped when removing the bogie member from the carriage member.

Preferably one of said carriage part and said bogie member includes at Nleast one protrusion extending therefrom, the or each said protrusion having at least a part cylindrical bearing surface extending transversely of the carriage part or the bogie member, said at least part cylindrical bearing surface or surfaces S 5 cooperatively mating with a similarly formed second bearing surface or surfaces on the other of said carriage part or said bogie member, said cooperating bearing 0 surfaces allowing the bogie member to pivot relative to the carriage member t about a transverse axis and further allowing transmission of load from said c carriage part to said bogie member.

O 10 Preferably the upper carriage part includes inclined support surfaces N located at or adjacent each longitudinal end of the upper carriage part, the inclined support surfaces being longitudinally spaced from or located above said bogie member and being cooperable with inclined support means located on said support housing whereby upon said upper carriage part being moved longitudinally relative to said support housing, said upper carriage part also moves upwardly or downwardly relative to said support housing.

In a preferred embodiment the support housing and the carriage part, at least, are made from moulded plastics material.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG 1 is a top plan view of a wheel support structure according to a preferred embodiment of this invention; FIG 2 is a section view along line X-X of FIG 1; FIG 3 is a side elevation view of the structure shown in FIG 1; FIG 4 is a section view taken along line A-A of FIG 2; FIG 5 is a section view taken along line XX-XX of FIG 2; 0 FIG 6 is a left hand end view of the structure shown in FIG 2; C FIG 7 is a right hand end view of the structure shown in FIG 2; o FIG 8 is a section view along line H-H of FIG 3; SFIG 9 is an exploded perspective view of the wheel support structure N 5 shown in FIGS 1 to 3; FIG 10 is an upper perspective view of the wheel bogie member shown in oc FIG 9; FIG 11 is an underneath perspective view of the wheel bogie member N shown in FIG 9; o 10 FIG 12 is an upper perspective view of the wheel assembly carriage cmember shown in FIG 9; FIG 13 is an underneath perspective view of the wheel assembly carriage member shown in FIG. 9.

FIG 14 is an exploded view of a carriage member and associated wheel bogie illustrating another preferred embodiment; and FIG 15 is a partial section view along line Z-Z of FIG 14.

Referring to the annexed drawings, the wheel support structure includes a support housing 11 which is conveniently made in two parts 12 and 13.

The two housing parts 12 and 13 may be held together by screws or similar threaded fasteners passing through apertures 14 into spigots 15. The support housing 11 includes an upper wall 16 and opposed side walls 17, 18. The upper wall 16 has an opening 19 formed by cooperating recesses 20, 21 in the upper walls of the two parts 12, 13.

The side walls 17, 18 of the housing 11 include centrally located inclined slots 22, 23 and inwardly facing inclined recesses or grooves 24, 25 located adjacent either end. The recesses or grooves 24, 25 and the slots 22, 23 are configured whereby at least an upper edge 26 of the slots and upper side face 27, 28 of the recesses or grooves 24, 25 are parallel to one another. One end 29 of the housing 11 has a longitudinally extending bore 30 proceeding into the groove 25 and is adapted to frictionally retain a nut 31 and an adjusting screw member 32 threadably engaged with the nut 31 whereby rotation of the screw member 32 allows the member to move into or out of the interior space of the housing 11.

The support housing 11 is adapted to fit within a recess or groove located o typically in a lower edge of a door, panel or the like such that the wheels will c project downwardly from that lower edge. A flange 33 with a bore 34 for a fixing o screw or the like may be provided as an extension of the top wall 16. If desired, Z such a flange and fixing screw aperture may be provided extending from both N 5 ends. Finally, to assist with fitting in the recess or groove in the door, panel or the like, a pair of spaced bars 35 are provided on the external face of side walls 17, k18 of the housing parts 12, 13. The bars 35 enable a friction fit in the groove or recess or may be removed if it is desired to fit the housing within a narrower N groove or recess.

The wheel assembly 36 includes a carriage means formed by an upper 0 ccarriage member 37 and a bogie member 38, the bogie member 38 carrying a pair of wheels 39. The wheels 39 include stub shafts recessable in a snap connection manner within downwardly directed shaft receiving recesses 40 in the bogie member 38. The bogie member 38 also includes upwardly directed protuberances 41 which are adapted to snap fit and engage with cooperating recesses 42 in the underneath zone of the carriage member. Conveniently the protuberances 41 are part cylindrical and are adapted to fit into correspondingly shaped part cylindrical recesses 42 such that a generally horizontal pivoting axis is formed. This arrangement permits the bogie member 38 to pivot around the axis 70 relative to the carriage member 37 thereby ensuring that the two wheels 39 always remain engaged, in use, with the desired guide track (not shown) and as a result the loads are shared between the wheels. The bogie member 38 also includes a downwardly directed projection 43 positioned between the wheels 39 that can be gripped and pulled for example by pliers, to enable the bogie member and associated wheels to be disengaged, when desired, from the carriage member 37.

The carriage member 37 has a central section 44 which is generally Ushaped in cross-section with an upper wall 45 and two downwardly depending side walls 46, 47. The upper wall 45 includes a portion 48 expanded upwardly configured to be able to fit into the opening 19 in the upper wall 16 of the support housing 11. This configuration permits the wheels 39 held by the bogie member 38 to move upwardly to the greatest extent possible. A pair of projections 49 extend outwardly from the carriage side walls 46, 47. Each of the projections 49 o is non-circular and includes a flat engagement surface 50 adapted, in use, to engage with the edge 26 of the inclined slots 22, 23 in the support housing 11.

O The surface 50 extends the contact region between the housing 11 and the carriage member 37 thereby increasing the load carrying and load distribution N 5 capacity of the assembly. The left hand end 51 of the carriage member 37 is angled downwardly and is configured to engage within the groove 24 formed in o the housing 11. This end 51 has an upper engagement surface 52 which slidably Mengages with the surface 27 of the groove 24. The right hand end 53 of the N carriage member 37 is divided into two flange portions 54, 55, each of which includes an outwardly formed inclined bar element 56, 57 adapted to engage 0 c within the opposed grooves 25 in the housing 11. Each of the bar elements 56, 57 includes an engagement surface 58, 59 which is slidably engaged with the surfaces 28 of the grooves 25. The surfaces 50, 52, 58 and 59 are all generally parallel to each other. Located between the flange portions 54, 55 is an abutment surface 60 which is engaged in use by the end of screw member 32.

When the wheel support structure is assembled, load carrying capacity is increased and better distributed by providing the three inclined engagement surfaces 52/57, 50/26 and 58, 59/28. Vertical adjustment of the wheels 39 relative to the housing 11 is achieved by rotating the screw member 32 to move the carriage member 37 horizontally which will then cause the carriage member to move upwardly or downwardly.

Figures 14 and 15 illustrate another possible embodiment where the protuberances 41 are removed and two inwardly directed lips 71 are provided from the inner faces of the side walls 72, 73 of the bogie member 38. The lips 71 are of a configuration that may snap fit into recesses 74 of a downwardly depending part 75 of the carriage member 37. The lips and recesses 71, 74 are generally parallel to a top edge face 76 of the side walls 72, 73 and load is carried by outwardly extending flanges 77, 78 of the carriage member 37 resting on and being supported by the top edge faces 76 of the side walls 72, 73. This arrangement permits a sliding or rocking movement of the bogie member 38 relative to the carriage member 37 to enable automatic adjustment under load of the position of the wheels 39 to ensure they always remain in operable engagement with the guide track (not shown) in use regardless of the instalment 0 position of the support housing or possible movements in the overall structure Safter installation.

0 In en eoo Cc1 (c

Claims (14)

1. A wheel support structure including a support housing adapted for fixing to a door, panel or the like, said support housing including a pair of side walls defining a cavity therebetween adapted to secure a wheel assembly having at least one wheel and carriage means rotatably supporting the wheel or wheels, and means for adjustably moving said wheel assembly in a vertical direction 00 relative to said support housing, said means for adjustably moving said wheel assembly in a vertical direction including at least one laterally extending projection disposed on outer side wall regions of said carriage means, the or each said projection being received in an inclined projection receiving zone in each of the side walls of the support housing, the laterally extending projections each being non-circular with at least one flat portion extending in a direction aligned with a said projection receiving zone in which the projection is received.

2. A wheel support structure according to claim 1, wherein said means for adjustably moving said wheel assembly in a vertical direction includes an actuator arranged to move said carriage means in a horizontal direction relative to said support housing.

3. A wheel support structure according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each said projection receiving zone comprises a slot and each said projection includes spaced parallel surfaces each of said surfaces being engageable with a respective edge of a said slot.

4. A wheel support structure according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein said carriage means includes a bogie member carrying said wheel or wheels and an upper carriage part connected to said bogie member, the upper carriage part generally overlying said bogie member without any portion thereof being located between the inner surfaces of the side walls of said support housing and opposed side walls of the bogie member. A wheel support structure according to claim 4, wherein said laterally extending projections are integrally formed on said upper carriage part.

O

6. A wheel support structure according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the bogie member is releasably connected to said upper carriage part.

7. A wheel structure according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the upper carriage part includes inclined support surfaces located at or adjacent each longitudinal end of the upper carriage part, the inclined support surfaces being longitudinally spaced from or located above said bogie member and being co- 00 operable with inclined support means located on said support housing whereby upon said upper carriage part being moved longitudinally relative to said support housing, said upper carriage part also moves upwardly or downwardly relative to N 10 said support housing.

8. A wheel structure according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the bogie member is releasably connected to said upper carriage part in a manner permitting at least partial pivoting motion of said bogie member about a transverse extending rocking axis.

9. A wheel support structure according to claim 8, wherein a releasable snap together connector means is provided between said bogie member and said carriage member, said connector means permitting said partial pivoting motion.

A wheel support structure according to claim 9, wherein said bogie member includes a downwardly directed projection part adapted to be gripped when removing the bogie member from the carriage member.

11. A wheel support structure according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein one of said carriage part and said bogie member includes at least one protrusion extending therefrom, the or each said protrusion having at least a part cylindrical bearing surface extending transversely of the carriage part or the bogie member, said at least part cylindrical bearing surface or surfaces cooperatively mating with a similarly formed second bearing surface or surfaces on the other of said carriage part or said bogie member, said cooperating bearing surfaces allowing the bogie member to pivot relative to the carriage member about a transverse O axis and further allowing transmission of load from said carriage part to said bogie Smember.

12. A wheel support structure according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein said wheel assembly has at least two wheels with said bogie member rotatably supporting said wheels. 00 oO "1

13. A wheel structure according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the tc, q support housing and the carriage member are made from moulded plastics material. (Ni

14. A wheel structure according to claim 1 substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. ANTHONY BEARINGS PTY LTD WATERMARK PATENT TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS P19394AU01