US2545726A

US2545726A - Sliding door arrangement

Info

Publication number: US2545726A
Application number: US794354A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dokken Jorgen Nilsen; Wigeland Amund Ragnvald; Andersen Carl Albert
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1946-09-06
Filing date: 1947-12-29
Publication date: 1951-03-20
Anticipated expiration: 1968-03-20

Description

March 20, 1951 J. N. DOKKEN ET AL SLIDING DOOR ARRANGEMENT Filed Dec. 29, 1947 J. JSZJD 012k 612/ CflJizccZ 61 5 12/ Patented Mar. 20, 1951 SLIDING DOOR ARRANGEMENT Jiirgen Nilsen Dokken, Amund Ragnvald Wigeland, and Carl Albert Andersen, Oslo, Norway Application December 29, 1947, Serial No. 794,354 In Norway September 6, 1946 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires September 6, 1966 Claims.

The present invention relates to a sliding door arrangement and has for an object to avoid the cumbersome mounting of the sliding door fitting and further affords the advantage that in closed position the door is lowered so that it fits closely to the floor. 1

The invention primarily consists in that the supporting device is constructed of one, two or more wheels, from which a certain segment has been removed, that the radial extension of the segment corresponds to the desired lowering of the .door in closed position and that these wheels are so dimensioned relative to the door-way that they do not perform a full revolution, i. e. that the periphery of the wheel is longer than the width of the door-way.

Further features of the invention will appear from the following description in connection with the drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments.

Figure 1 illustrates in full lines the lower part of a door equipped with a device according to one embodiment of the invention in closed position and with the door panel on the front side removed so'as to show the supporting device, and illustrates in dotted lines the door and supporting device in open position.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AB in Figure 1 at a larger scale.

Figure 3 is a view corresponding to Figure l of a second embodiment.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along th line C-D in Figure 3 at a larger scale.

Figure 5 illustrates, at the same scale as Figure 4, a detail of the embodiment of Figs. 3 and l, viewed from the same side as Figure 3 and partly in section.

In the lower part of the door l in the embodiment shown in the Figures 1 and 2, room is left for inserting a fitting 2 and 3. supporting device is mounted, consisting of one or more supporting bodies, for instance two, as shown. These supporting bodies are constructed in the form of wheels from which a segment has been removed. On one side of a line 4 at right angles to the chord 5 formed by the removal of the segment as much material as possible is cut out of the supporting wheel at 6, so as to obtain the greatest possible difference in the weight of the two halves of the supporting wheel. Further the wheel in its central portion is formed in the usual manner with a boss l receiving the shaft which extends therethrough.

The fitting 2, 3 is provided with outwardly pro-.

jecting flanges 9 engaging corresponding grooves in the door.

The structure is formed so that the fitting with the supporting device may be pushed into position in the door. The front edge of the door consists of a detachable ledge t, which at the In this fitting a (Cl. Iii-99) 2 same time keeps the fitting in position. By detaching the ledge, the fitting may be made accessibl and pulled out for inspection and oiling.

When the door and supporting device have been placed in position, the door is opened half-way and lifted off the floor, whereby the supporting wheels will adopt a predetermined position due to the surplus weight of one-half. Thereafter the door is lowered, whereby the weight of the door is transferred to the supporting ,wheels. When the door has been closed, the supporting wheels will have adopted a position so that the portion of the supporting wheels from which the segment has been cut out, faces the floor and the heavier half of the supporting wheel causes the wheel to adopt the position of engagement with respect to the floor, permitting at the same time the door to rest directly on the floor.

When opening the door, the supporting wheels will at the same time cause it to be raised from the floor.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 3-5 some modifications have been made from that shown in Figures 1 and 2, partly with a View to prevent the supporting wheels from getting out of their correct relative positions, partly to prevent the door from striking heavily against. the floor in closed position and partly to permit oiling without dismounting the fitting.

As in th first embodiment the supporting device consists of two wheels II and I2, which are circular over the greater part of the periphery, but from which a segment has been cut out along a chord in order that the door shall be lowered onto the floor in closed position and be raised therefrom when opened.

Each wheel has a boss l3 journalled on a pivot 54, which is riveted to a bar iii of band iron or the like attached to the door 2|, for example by screws. A resilient wire [6 placed in a groove in the pivot It keeps the boss l3 in position. The extremity of the pivot l4 far from the bar 15 extends through a hole in the door panel ll, whereby the device is accessible for oiling through an internal passage l8 in the pivot l4 without having to be dismounted.

On the side facing the bar l5, each boss I3 is formed with a gear l9. These gears engage teeth on a rack 20, which is L-shaped in cross section and has a sliding longitudinal guidance on the bar l5 under a fitting 22, which may be attached to the bar l5 centrally between the wheels where the rack may be formed without teeth. The rack 20 ensures that the wheels it and I 2 will constantly conserve the same relative angular positions, which affords increased guarantee for satisfactory operation of the device even if the door is subjected to accidental shocks or other rough handling. The radius of the gear [9 bein several times smaller than the radius of the wheels H and I2, the distance the rack moves will be quite short, so that it may easily be accommodated within the door.

In order to smooth the downward movement of the door towards the floor during the tilting movement of the wheels at the end of the closing movement, an abutment 23 is provided which is influenced by a helical spring 24 and together with the latter is placed in a spring box 25 attached to the bar I and against which a projection 26 on the extremity of the rack 20 strikes when the door is closed. Since the tension of the spring 24 increases according as' the projection 26 presses the abutment 23 inwardly, the progressively increasing action of gravity when the door sinks onto the floor is counteracted. And besides, as in closed position the spring constantly tends to turn the wheels backwardly, it facilitates the start of the opening movement against the action of gravity and at the same time causes the two wheels to catchthe floor more securely, since in closed position they are constantly pressed resiliently against the fioor at the rear end of their rectilinear bottom surface, even if due to inaccuracies the distance of the axis from this surface measured normally to the latter should be slightly smaller than the distance of the axis from the bottom edge of the door, respectively from the floor.

In this embodiment the wheels are designed for rotating about 330 during rolling instead of 270 as shown in the first embodiment, whereby the wheels may be made: somewhat smaller and placed at a greater distance from each other.

We claim:

1. In a device for mounting a body for sliding movement relative to supporting means, the combination of a member adapted to be journaled in the body for rotation about a horizontal axis for travel on the supporting means, said member having an arcuate peripheral surface concentric with said axis, and a plane peripheral surface connecting the ends of said arcuate surface and comprising a pair of unbalanced masses disposed toward opposite ends of a diameter of said member parallel with said plane srn'face; and means for journaling said member in the body.

2. In a device for mounting a body for sliding movement relative to supporting means, the combination of a member adapted to be journaled in the body for rotation about a horizontal axis for travel on the supporting means, said member having an arcuate peripheral surface concentric with said axis, and a plane peripheral surface connecting the ends of said arcuate surface, said member being loaded in its half on one side of the diameter of said member normal to said plane surface, and means for journaling said member in thebody.

3. In combination with an opening and a closure therefor, a supporting device for the closure consisting of at least one wheel journaled in the closure and having a curved peripheral surface and a flat peripheral surface, the length of the curved surface being sufiicient to slide the closure into position to close the opening and rest upon its flat surface.

4. In a device for supporting a sliding door for closing and opening a door-way, the combination of at least one wheel having a periphery configured as a mutilated circle from which a segment has been removed, the length of said periphery being greater than the width of the door-Way; and means for rotatably mounting said wheel in the door.

5. A device, according to claim 4, in which which said wheel comprises a pair of portions of considerably unequal weight, said portions being disposed on opposite sides of a dividing line normal to the chord of the said segment.

6. In a device for supporting a sliding door for closing and opening a door-way, the combination of a plurality of wheels, each having a periphery configured as a mutilated circle from which a segment has been removed, the length of said periphery being greater than the width of the door-way; and means for rotatably mountme said wheels in the door.

7. In a device for supporting a sliding door for closing and opening a door-way, the combination of' a plurality of Wheels, each having a periphery configured as a mutilated circle from which a segment has been removed, the length of said periphery being greater than the width of the dool way; means for rotatably mounting said wheels in the door; and means for interconnecting said wheels to preserve a constant relative angular position thereof.

8. In a device for supporting a sliding door for closing and opening a door-way, the combination of a plurality of wheels, each having a periphery configured as a mutilated circle from which a segment has been removed, the length of said periphery being greater than the width of the door-way; means for rotatably mounting said wheels in the door; a rack slidably mounted on said mounting means; and a gear on each of said wheel's, said gears engaging said rack.

9. In a device for supporting a Sliding door for closing and opening a door-way, the combination of a plurality of wheels, each having a periphery configured as a mutilated circle from which a segment has been removed, the length of said periphery being greater than the width of the door-way; means for rotatably mounting said wheels in the door; a rack slidably mounted on said mounting means; a gear on each of said wheels, said gears engaging said rack; and a resilient abutment mounted on said mounting means for co-action with said rack to limit the closing movement of the door and tend to rotate said wheels to slide the door from its c1osing position.

10. A device, according to claim 4, in which said mounting means disposes the axis of said wheel at a distance from the bottom edge of the door less than the radius of the wheel and not less than the distance of the axis from the chord of said segment, and also disposes said axis at a distance from either end of the door greater than the radius of said wheel.

JCRGEN NILSEN DOKKEN. AMUND RAGNVALD WIGELAND. CARL ALBERT ANDERSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 509,305 Foreman et al. Nov. 21, 1893 2,403,812 MacCallum July 9, 1946