GB2475294A

GB2475294A - An extrusion for a sliding door track

Info

Publication number: GB2475294A
Application number: GB0919868A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher Scott Healey; Carl Wakelam
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-11-13
Filing date: 2009-11-13
Publication date: 2011-05-18
Anticipated expiration: 2029-11-13
Also published as: GB2475294B; GB0919868D0

Abstract

An extrusion 20 for a sliding door assembly, the extrusion 20 comprising: a hood region 21 comprising a first Inwardly facing angled surface 52; a second Inwardly facing angled surface 54 opposed to the first inwardly facing angled surface 52; and a guide 10 for slidably fitting and then retaining a head 28 of bolt 26. The extrusion may further comprise one or more holes for locating drop blocks for lowering the door toward the end of travel and a means for preventing lateral movement of the extrusion when fitted. The door assembly may comprise wheels 44 and a fixture 42 for attaching the wheels to a door 40, the wheels (44) arranged for travel along the inwardly faced angled surfaces of the extrusion; the track surfaces preferably being inclined.

Description

SLIDING DOOR ASSEMBLY

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to sliding door assemblies. The present invention is particularly suited to, but not limited to, sliding door assemblies for cold stores and freezer room doors.

Enclosed sliding door assemblies for drop track sliding doors are known.

Examples are described in US Patent Application 2007/0227074 Al, which is incorporated herein by reference. These examples are particularly suited for use for cold stores and freezer room doors, having a substantially closed hood design, where the closed hood has no flat surfaces thereby reducing or avoiding water collection during wash-down. Such a hood design therefore contributes to maintaining hygiene, which is particularly desirable for cold store and freezer room applications.

One example of the types of sliding door assemblies described in US Patent Application 2007/0227074 Al uses a construction of a hood as shown in cross-section in Figure 1, two lengths of a roller rail of the type shown in cross-section in Figure 2, and two drop block holders of the type shown in cross-section in Figure 3, into which are mounted plastic drop blocks. The purpose of the drop blocks is to allow the door to drop down and inwards on the track to seal the door mounted gaskets against the floor and wall. The door is held in the track by two linked wheeled trolleys from which the door is suspended. The trolleys run along the inside of the hood and on the angled face of the roller rails. The drop block holders are bolted behind the hood to the wall and are positioned one at the end of the track and one approximately mid way along the track according to the door S.... * . S... S.

size. The roller rails are bolted behind the hood to the wall and one piece of roller rail separates the drop blocks and the other allows the door to slide to the end.

Therefore five parts are required to be mounted to the wall (or normally to a frame that is then mounted to the wall). This is time consuming, makes the product relatively heavy, and requires various track pieces to be bolted to the frame and then the frame be bolted to the wall. It is not possible for the track pieces to be bolted to the frame and the wall using the same bolts as the curvature of the hood does not allow the long bolts that are required (some walls are in excess of 300 mm thick) to pass between the hood and roller rail/ drop block holders so the bolts are parallel to the floor.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides an extrusion for a sliding door assembly, the extrusion comprising: a hood region comprising a first inwardly facing angled surface; a second inwardly facing angled surface opposed to the first inwardly facing angled surface; and a guide for slidably fitting and then retaining a head of a bolt, e.g. where the head of the bolt is of a shape that does not allow rotation of the bolt in the guide, such as a hexagonal shaped head or a square shaped head.

The guide may be for slidably fitting and then retaining a head of a bolt when the head of the bolt comprises a washer-shaped feature.

The guide may further be for fitting and retaining a load bearing washer.

The extrusion may further comprise one or more holes for locating drop blocks.

The one or more hole may be provided in the second inwardly facing S...

: angled surface so that a drop block may be held in position by virtue of fitting * .5* snugly between the second inwardly facing angled surface and a surface to which the extrusion is fitted.

*5S* S. * * ** .*

S 5.5*

S.....

S

The extrusion may further comprise means for preventing lateral movement of the extrusion when fitted.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides a track for a sliding door assembly, comprising an extrusion according to any of the above aspects, and one or more drop blocks fitted thereto.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides a sliding door assembly comprising an extrusion or a track according to any of the above aspects, and further comprising wheels and a fixture for attaching the wheels to a door, the wheels arranged for travel along the inwardly faced angled surfaces of the extrusion.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of providing a hood and travel rails for a sliding door assembly, the method comprising: providing a single extrusion that is shaped in cross-section to provide the hood and the travel rails, and is further shaped to provide a guide for slidably fitting and then retaining a head of a bolt for fixing the hood and travel rails to a frame or wall.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a prior art hood as;

Figure 2 shows two lengths of a prior art roller rail;

Figure 3 shows two prior art drop block holders;

Figure 4 Figure 4 shows in cross-section an embodiment of a one piece track extrusion according to the invention; Figure 5 shows a drop block that may be placed at either end of the track; Figure 6 shows a track centre block that may be mounted in a centre slot in the track ** * * * * * S.

I

**. S. * * 5.5

S *S..

*5555S

S S

Figure 7 shows a blank that may be fitted at the other end of the track; Figure 8 schematically shows the one piece track extrusion attached to a frame and a wall; and Figure 9 shows a schematic perspective 3-D illustration of the one piece track extrusion.

Figure 4 shows in cross-section an embodiment of a one piece track extrusion according to the invention. The one piece track extrusion is preferably made of aluminium. The one piece track incorporates the features of the both the hood and the roller rail of the sliding door assembly described in US Patent Application 2007/0227074 Al. The mechanical and operational details of the sliding door assembly of US Patent Application 2007/0227074 Al are thereby retained in the present embodiment, and apart from where described differently below, such details as described in US Patent Application 2007/0227074 Al are incorporated herein by reference.

The guide 10 in the rear of this design allows bolts fitted with load bearing washers to be slid along the track to attach the track to the frame and wall with the same bolts. The, for example, hexagonal shaped head of the bolt prevents the bolts from rotating in the guide making tightening nuts on the inside of the wall possible. The guide extends along the extrusion allowing the head of the bolt to be inserted at the end of the extrusion and then slid along the guide to a required lengthwise position. The guide may be of any cross-sectional profile that allows a bolt head to be retained therein and slidably fit therein but not later rotate when e.g. a nut is screwed on the other end of the bolt. In this particular �S : embodiment, referring again to Figure 4, the guide 10 has main void with a height S...

101 that is larger than the height 102 of an opening, such that a bolt head of a width greater than the height 102, but less than the height 101, will be retained in ***SSS * . *S..

S 0**S

* .* ..* * the guide. The diameter of the bolt (or other maximum width dimension) shank will be less than the height of the opening 102. In this particular embodiment, a further groove of height 103, where the height 103 is greater than the height 101 of the main void, is provided between the main void and the opening. This further groove of height 103 serves to retain a load bearing washer if it is desired to use a load bearing washer. This shape of the guide also allows slidable fitting and retaining of a head of a bolt when the head of the bolt itself comprises a built iii washer-shaped feature. It will be appreciated that the use of hexagonal bolts, and indeed the particular shape of the guide, e.g. the inclusion of the further groove, is not essential, and in other embodiments the guide may be shaped as appropriate to allow slidable fitting and retention of any suitable shape of bolt head and/or load bearing washer, for example square shaped.

Preferably a feature is built into the design that prevents the track from moving laterally in relation to the frame. This is usually important so that in the event of an accident, for example a fork lift truck hitting the end of the track or in the event of constant slamming shut of the door, the track cannot move laterally by the guide sliding on the bolts that attach it to the frame thus mis-positioning the door relative to the opening.

The feature can be one or a number of holes drilled in the rear of the extrusion that fits against the frame, above or below the guide feature. This allows bolts to be inserted through the track from the inside of the cold room securing the track against lateral movement.

Another possibility to prevent lateral movement is that a plug piece can be inserted into both ends of the guide to butt against the first bolts at either end of the guide. The plugs are then secured by screws to the guide.

Another possible way of preventing lateral movement is securing a dowel S...

pin or pins to the face of the extrusion C' that buts against the frame and drilling S...

holes in the frame into which this pin or pins locate. Once the track is bolted *:*. through the frame and wall these dowels will be securely located in the frame to *S*SSI * S S...

S S

prevent lateral movement. It can also be achieved by fixing angle brackets to either end of the frame inside which the track would sit when bolted to the wall.

Face C' will also be the face where through holes can be drilled for securing the track to the frame or wall and frame. The holes are positionally drilled so the nuts on the inside of the track but up against the guide to prevent rotation of the nuts when the screws are being tightened from inside the cold room.

In this embodiment, drop blocks may be mounted to the one piece track by machining holes for them to fit into. The drop blocks may have functional surface profiles (i.e. the surfaces over which the wheels of the sliding door travel) such as such as those described in US Patent Application 2007/0227074 Al. The functional surfaces allow the door to drop to the floor and into the wall when the door is closed. The rear or mounting portions of the drop blocks are preferably shaped to aid mounting in the machined holes. In place of the two separate drop blocks and drop block housings arrangement as described in US Patent Application 2007/0227074 Al, in this embodiment three slots are machined in the face A' of the extrusion into which the drop blocks will slot, from the rear. So that a customer can use this track for left or right sliding doors, in this embodiment a drop block as shown in Figure 5 (preferably made of plastic) may be placed at either end of the track -it is designed so it can be mounted for left or right hand sliding by 180 degree rotation of the block in the slot. A track centre block as shown in Figure 6 (preferably made of plastic) may be mounted in a centre slot providing a drop and plain slide portion depending on whether it is left or right sliding -again 180 degree rotation provides this. At the other end of the track where a drop is not required, a blank as shown in Figure 7 (preferably made of plastic) is fitted to provide a continuation of face A' which is the rear of one of the two faces along which wheels travel. These blocks are trapped between face A' : and face B' of the track and the frame providing a secure mount for the blocks.

Preferably they may be secured by just this simple approach. Nevertheless, if lightweight frames are being used, or other particular circumstances (e.g. *S è* S..

S

* .. ..*

S S

irregular wall surface) dictate, they may additionally be screwed from the front to face B' to improve location.

However, in other embodiments, drop block arrangements other than as described in the preceding paragraph may be used. Such other possibilities include holding the drop blocks in position using separate holders such as, or similar to, the prior art arrangement described earlier above. In such an event (or indeed for other reasons) it may be necessary or practicable to use plural lengths of the one piece track. In view of this, it is to be appreciated that the terminology "one piece track" is used herein to mean that various prior art parts such as the hood and roller rail are combined in one piece; it is not used herein to limit the invention to door assemblies using only a single stretch of track.

Figure 8 schematically shows the one piece track extrusion 20 (shown shaded) attached to the frame 22 and a wall 24 by means of a bolt 26 with its hexagonal (for example) bolt head 28 and a load bearing washer 29 (for example) located in the guide 10, and the bolt head 28 and load bearing washer 29 secured to the wall by a nut 30. It will be appreciated that in Figure 8 such features are shown with exaggerated spacing for clarity, however in practice the holes through the frame and wall should preferably correspond to the size of the opening in the guide, and the bolt diameter should be a close as possible to this size, hence allowing the bolts to adequately support the frame and track on the wall. The one piece track extrusion 20 comprises a hood region 21 that corresponds to the prior art hood component shown in Figure 1 above. As in the prior art hood component shown in Figure 1 above, the hood region 21 of the one piece track extension 20 includes a first inwardly facing angled surface 52.

Opposed to the first inwardly facing angled surface 54, the one piece track extrusion 20 has a second inwardly facing angled surface 54. The second : inwardly facing angled surface 54 corresponds to the surface 60 of the prior art * .** roller rail shown in Figure 2. ** . * * * * ** * * **** * * S

Figure 8 further schematically shows a sliding door 40 attached to a fixture 42 that carries wheels 44 that travel along the opposed first and second inwardly facing angled inner surfaces 52, 54 of the one piece track extrusion, in the same manner as described in US Patent Application 2007/0227074 Al.

Also shown in Figure 8 in cross-section further detail of how the drop blocks may be located in a cut out in the section of the extrusion indicated by reference sign A' in Figure 4. In Figure 8 a drop block 80 is shown in cross-section. The drop block 80 is substantially prevented from moving through and up and down section A (even when under load from the moving door) by the reduction of the end widths of the top of the blocks relative to the rest of the block. This reduction of the end widths can be seen schematically in the drawings of examples of the drop blocks as shown Figures 5, 6 and 7. This reduction is dimensioned so that the blocks, when installed, lie on the front inner face 54 of section A along which the wheels travel. The attached drawing shows that the blocks are trapped inside section A and then further trapped by section B and the frame or wall preventing the blocks moving when the track is assembled to the frame or wall.

A schematic perspective 3-D illustration of the one piece track extrusion is shown in Figure 9.

The following advantages tend to be provided.

1) Installation and manufacture is made dramatically simpler and less costly by having just one extrusion rather than e.g. five pieces.

2) Installation is simpler and less costly by allowing the track and frame to be bolted to the wall together rather than separately by use of bolts and washers being fixed to the track by means of the sliding bolt guide and the design of the guide preventing rotation of the bolts enabling them to be fixed with their *.. S nuts without access to both the bolt head and nut.

3) Installation is simpler and less costly by provision of drop blocks that self lock into the extrusion without the need of screws. S...

S..... S *

Claims

CLAIMS1 An extrusion for a sliding door assembly, the extrusion comprising: a hood region comprising a first inwardly facing angled surface; a second inwardly facing angled surface opposed to the first inwardly facing angled surface; and a guide for slidably fitting and then retaining a head of a bolt.
2. An extrusion according to claim 1, wherein the guide is for slidably fitting and then retaining a head of a bolt when the head of the bolt comprises a washer-shaped feature.
3. An extrusion according to claim 1, wherein the guide is further for fitting and retaining a load bearing washer.
4. An extrusion according to any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising one or more holes for locating drop blocks.
5. An extrusion according to claim 4, wherein the one or more hole is provided in the second inwardly facing angled surface so that a drop block may be substantially held in position when under load from the door by virtue of the drop block fitting snugly between the second inwardly facing angled surface and a surface to which the extrusion is fitted.
6. An extrusion according to any of claims ito 5, further comprising means for preventing lateral movement of the extrusion when fitted.
7. A track for a sliding door assembly, comprising an extrusion according to any of claims 1 to 6, and one or more drop blocks fitted thereto.I -10-
8. A sliding door assembly comprising an extrusion according to any of claims 1 to 6 or a track according to claim 7, and further comprising wheels and a fixture for attaching the wheels to a door, the wheels arranged for travel along the inwardly faced angled surfaces of the extrusion.
9. A method of providing a hood and travel rails for a sliding door assembly, the method comprising: providing a single extrusion that is shaped in cross-section to provide the hood and the travel rails, and is further shaped to provide a guide for slidably fitting and then retaining a head of a bolt for fixing the hood and travel rails to a frame or wall.
10. An extrusion for a sliding door assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Ii. A track, including one or more drop blocks, for a sliding door assembly, the track substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
12. A sliding door assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
13. A method of providing a hood and travel rails for a sliding door assembly *:::: 25 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings, *S.. * S * * **S**S.*. * S ****S **..SS. * *