CA1106114A

CA1106114A - Pivot assembly

Info

Publication number: CA1106114A
Application number: CA327,298A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Robert E. Strozier
Original assignee: 365189 ONTARIO Ltd 365190 ONTARIO LIMITED AND 365191 ONTARIO LIMITED CARRYING ON BUSINESS IN PARTNERSHIP AS KENNATRACK
Current assignee: 365189 ONTARIO Ltd 365190 ONTARIO LIMITED AND 365191 ONTARIO LIMITED CARRYING ON BUSINESS IN PARTNERSHIP AS KENNATRACK
Priority date: 1979-05-09
Filing date: 1979-05-09
Publication date: 1981-08-04

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A lower pivot assembly for a bifold door is provided in which the positions of the pivotal axis is adjustable, but the adjustment can be maintained even if the door is disturbed or removed. A lower pivot member has a depending portion movable in a slot in the pivot base, the depending portion of the lower pivot member once positioned being pressed into the slot by the weight of the door and resiliently gripped therein by the walls of the slot with the pivot member in interlocking engagement with the base.

Description

This invention relates to pivots for mounting the lower ends of jambs of doors or windows in a door or window opening and is particularly though not e~clusively useful for mounting the jambs of bifold doors.
Such doors are commonly mounted by means of pivots in the top and bottom edges of the door adjacent the jamb.
In order to obtain proper hanging of the door, some degree of initial adjustment of the lateral and vertical position of the lower pivotal mounting relative to the doorway is of-ten required. Once the correct adjustment is obtained furtheralteration should desirably be unnecessary, even if the doors are inadvertently lifted from their pivots or removed for painting or the like. The pivot assembly of the present in-vention is intended to facilitate the initial adjustment of a door to which it is applied, whilst allowing the adjustment to be maintained even if the door should subsequently be tem-porarily removed or accidentally lifted or dislodged.
According to the invention, a lower pivot assembly for a door comprises upper and lower pivot members, the upper pivot member being adapted for engagement with a door and with the lower pivot member so as to permit pivotal movement of the door relative to the lower pivot member and lifting of the upper pivot member out of engagement with the lower pivot mem-ber, and a pivot base, the lower pivot member including a depending portion entering a slot in the pivot base, the said portion being shorter than the slot, wherein the pivot base includes parallel walls defining sides of the slot, at least one of the pivot base and the lower pivot member being of resilient material and the said depending portion of the lower pivot member being a press fit between the slot walls whereby the former is resiliently gripped within the latter when pressed thereinto, the pivot base and the lower ..............

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`'-;114 pivot member having complementary interlocking means inter-engageable when said portion of the lower pivot member is pressed into the slot in any of plurality of positions dis-tributed along said slot.
Preferably the interlocking means are toothed racks, and are formed on top o~ the wall and beneath the lower pivot - member to either side of the depending portion, which may in-clude laterally extending flanges to hold it captive in the slot and which is preferably of wedge-shaped cross-section so as only to grip the slot when fully seated therein.
The invention is described further with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective exploded view of a prefer-red embodiment of an assembly in accordance with the invention, and Figures 2 and 3 are lateral cross-sections through the assem~ly, showing it in normal use and during adjustment.
The assembly shown comprises three main portions, a pivot base 2, a lower pivot member 4 and an upper pivot mem-ber 6~
The pivot base 2 is a sheet metal stamping having a ; base portion, with downturned edges 8, 10 and parallel longi-tudinal upturned walls 12 flanking a central slot 14, and an end flange 16, both the end flange and base portion having holes lB for screws by which the base may be secured to the jamb and threshold of the door frame.
The lower pivot member 4 is molded from a tough resilient synthetic plastic such as nylon, and has a rectan-gular top flange 20 and a wedge-shaped depending portion 22 with thin readily flexible Elanges 24 extending laterally llGP~

from its lower end. These flanges 24 serve merely to keep the depending portion captive within the slot 14 of the base

2. They should not extend so far downwardly or have so much resilience that they have any tendency to force the portion 4 upwardly relative to the base portion. Two racks formed of teeth 26 are formed beneath the flange 20 on each side of the portion 22, the racks being complementary to further racks formed by teeth 28 on the upper edges of the wall 12. These racks enable the lower pivot member to be locked against move-ment relative to the slot 14 when the portion 22 is pushed intothe latter so that the racks interengage with the lower pivot member and the base in any oE a number of different relative positions. The lower pivot member, or at least its depending poxtion,~is of course much shorter than the slot so as to pro-vide a desired range of adjustment. The cross-section of the wedge shaped portion 22 is dimensioned so that its upper por-tion is a press fit between the walls 12. Since the member 4 is of resilient material, this means that it is resiliently gripped by the base member 2 when pushed down 50 that the racks interengage. Consequently, a desired relative positioning of the parts is maintained even when the load applied to the por-tion 4 by the upper pivot member is removed due to lifting or removal of the door, although it can be altered deliberately by pulling up the member 4 so the walls 12 release the wedge shaped portion 22, and repositioning it longitudinally in the slot 14.
A socket is formed in the upper surface of the flange 20, comprising a shallow recess 30, a short cylindrical bore 32, and a short lower rectangular bore 34~ The upper pivot member 6 includes a pivot pin 36, having a rectangular lower 11~tj114 end por ~i~n 3~, a Elange 40 ~nd a threaded portion 42 received in a threaded plastic sleeve 44 adapted to be received in a drilling 48 in the bo~tom of a door 46. vertical adjustment o~ the pivot may be achieved by screwing the threaded portion 42 in or out of the sleeve 44 by means of a wrench applied to the rectangular end portion 28 and inserted between the flanges 20 and 40 aEter the door to which the upper pivot member is applied is lifted slightly.so that the bottom end of the por-tion 38 is lifted out of the bore 34. Normally~ the portion 38 and the bore 34 interengage to prevent relative rotation of the pin 36 and the pivot member 4, thus maintaining a desired vertical adjustment, Pivoting action is provided by rotation of the pin 36 in the sleeve 44. It will of course be understood that the same effect may be achieved with other non-cylindrical configurations of the bottom end of the pin 38 and complementary configurations of the bore 34 such as to prevent relative rotation~
In use, initial adjustments of the pivot position are readily made by rotating the pin 36 and moving the member 4 in the slot 14 as already described. once these adjustments are made, the walls 12 grip the portion 22 so as to maintain the member 4 in position, even if the door is removed for paincing or subjected to lifting forces relieving the load on the pivot assembly.
Although in the embodiment described, the grip of the wall 12 on the portion 22 depends on the use of resilient material for the member 4, it will be understood that the same effect may be achieved if the member 2 is of resilient material instead of or as well as the member 4. Moreover, the inter-engaging racks could be diffexently positioned. For example, _4_ if the base portion had a bottom wall beneath the slot 14,a rack could be formed on this wall, and a complementary rac7c on the bottom o:E the depending portion 22.

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Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A lower pivot assembly for a door comprising upper and lower pivot members, the upper pivot member being adapted for engagement with a door and with the lower pivot member so as to permit pivotal movement of the door relative to the lower pivot member and lifting of the upper pivot member out of engagement with the lower pivot member, and a pivot base, the lower pivot member including a depending portion entering a slot in the pivot base, the said portion being shorter than the slot, wherein the pivot base includes parallel walls defining sides of the slot, at least one of the pivot base and the lower pivot member being of resilient material and the said depending portion of the lower pivot member being a press fit between the slot walls whereby the former is resiliently gripped within the latter when pressed thereinto, the pivot base and the lower pivot member having complementary interlocking means interengageable when said depending portion of the lower pivot member is pressed into the slot in any of a plurality of positions distributed along said slot.

2. An assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the complementary interlocking means are toothed racks.

3. An assembly according to Claim 2, wherein the racks are formed on top of the parallel walls and beneath the lower pivot member to either side of the depending portion.

4. An assembly according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, where-in the depending portion includes resilient laterally exten-ding flanges holding the lower pivot member captive within the slot.

5. An assembly according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, where-in the depending portion is of wedge-shaped cross-section whereby it only engaged the slot walls when substantially fully inserted into the slot.

6. An assembly according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, where-in the lower pivot member defines a socket in its upper surface, the socket having an upper cylindrical portion and a lower non-cylindrical portion of reduced cross-section, whilst the upper pivot member includes a sleeve for engagement with the door, and a vertical pivot pin threadedly engaged in said sleeve and also engageable with said socket, said pivot pin including at its lower end a non-cylindrical portion non-rotatably enage-able with said non-cylindrical portion of said socket.