US2704866A

US2704866A - Sliding closure

Info

Publication number: US2704866A
Authority: US
Inventors: Grossman Abraham
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1954-03-30
Filing date: 1954-03-30
Publication date: 1955-03-29
Anticipated expiration: 1972-03-29

Description

Much 29, 1955 A. GROSSMAN SLIDING CLOSURE Filod larch 30, 1954 3 Shuts-Sheet 1 as 45 50 as 42 4e 20 FIG'.4.

lNVE/VTOR.

ABRAHAM Geossmmv av 7p A 'rro RNEY.

Much 29, 1955 A. GROSSMAN SLIDING cmsuas 3 Shuts-Shut 2 Filed March 30, 1954 H a I luvs/won. Aaanunm Gnossmhu Arranuzw March 29, 1955 A. GROSSMAN 2,704,866

SLIDING CLOSURE Filed March 30, 1954 3 sheets sheet 3 /N VZNTOR.

ABRAHAM GROJSMAN ma ma ATTORNEY.

United States Patent SLIDING CLOSURE Abraham Grossmnn, Van Nuys, Calif. Application March 30, 1954, Serial No. 419,714 6 Claims. (Cl. 20-52) This invention relates to sliding closures and, more particularly, to sliding closures such as doors and windows.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a sliding door which includes a knock-down sash and frgme which can be easily and quickly assembled on the o J One of the major problems encountered in assembling the conventional sliding doors of the character under consideration on the job has been the difiiculty of aligning the sash with an out-of-true frame. In order to overcome this obstacle, conventional doors usually include adjustable rollers in the lower rail thereof, the rollers being adjustable vertically to permit the entire sash to be cocked to overcome the lack of registration between the sash and the out-of-true frame. However, such conventional means of adjustment entails the imposition of undue loads on the rollers associated with the adjusted roller and is not of a permanent nature since the adjustable rollers can become misadjusted during the life of the door and binding and ultimate damage to the door and its associated rollers can occur.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a sliding door which includes adjustable shim means in the stiles thereof. Therefore, when the glazing has been assembled in the sash and the stiles have been connected to the top and bottom rails of said sash, the shims in the stiles can be adjusted against the lateral edges of the pane of glass supported thereby to cause the sash to conform to the out-of-true frame. This is a considerable advance over prior art constructions utilizing the previously referred to expedients since the relationship between the supporting rollers and the bottom rail in which they are mounted need not be changed and since the adjustment is much more permanent and does not entail the cocking of the entire sash in the frame with which it is associated. Furthermore, if the sash or the frame become misadjusted with respect to each other during continued use, it is a simple matter to adjust the shim screws to bring the sash and frame back into proper relationship.

The ease of operation of a sliding door of the character under consideration herein hinges upon the effectiveness of the suspensory system on which it is supported and, more particularly, upon the roller means provided in the top and bottom rails for engagement with tracks provided in the top and bottom of the associated frame. One of the major items of expense and difficulty encountered in the manufacture of the type of doors under consideration here is the eflective mounting of guide rollers in the top and bottom rails of the sash.

A further object of my invention is the provision of top and bottom rails for the sash of the sliding door which incorporate elongated channel means, said channel means being adapted to receive mounting blocks shaped to conform to the interior configurations of said channel means and said mounting blocks providing supports for the axles for the guide rollers of the sash. Since the mounting blocks are freely insertable in the channel means of the top and bottom rails, the mounting blocks and the guide rollers can be assembled prior to their installation in the rails and can be installed at any point along the lengths of the rails. Therefore, the necessity for predrilling or otherwise modifying the structure of the rails is eliminated since the mounting blocks can be installed in any desired numbers along the lengths of the rails.

It has been customary in prior art doors of the character under consideration to weld the adjacent ends of the rails and stiles together in a miter joint or to fasten the stiles to the ends of the rails in abutting relationship.

In order to simplify the assembly of the door of my invention, I provide connecting means constituted by securement blocks located in the ends of the aforementioned channel means in the top and bottom rails, said securement blocks being engageable by fasteners located in the stiles.

An additional object of my invention is the provision, in a sash of the character under consideration here, of stiles which are provided with milled recesses in their opposite ends, said recesses conforming substantially to the cross-sectional shape of the ends of associated rails and permitting the ends of the rails to extend into the recesses for substantially the entire width of the stiles. The securement blocks in the ends of the channel means in the rails are thus located completely within the stiles and are engaged by the fasteners passing through the outer walls of-the stiles.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a sash construction of the aforementioned character wherein the mounting blocks utilized to mount the guide rollers in the top rail serve also'as securement blocks for securing said top rails to the ends of associated stiles.

A further object of my invention is the provision of interengaging key means on the mounting blocks located in the channel means of the top rails and similar key means provided by the interior walls of said channel means interengaging with the key means on said mounting blocks.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following specification and the accompanying drawings which are for the purpose of illustration only and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a pair of sliding doors manufactured in accordance with the teachings of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken on the broken line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the broken line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the broken line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail showing the manner in which the ends of the stiles are provided with recesses f0;1 the reception of the configured ends of associated ra s.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1-3 thereof, I show a sliding door assembly 10 disposed in an opening 12 in a building 14 or other structure, and including a frame 16. The frame 16 includes a head track 18, a sill track 20, and laterally spaced jamb means 22 and 24 disposed between the opposite ends of said head and sill tracks.

Located in the frame 16 is a pair of sliding

doors

26 and 28 constructed in accordance with the teachings of my invention. Although I disclose a pair of sliding

doors

26 and 28 operable in the frame 16, it is, of course, conceivable that one of the sliding doors of my invention be utilized in conjunction with a fixed door in the frame. It is also not intended to limit the applications of the principles of my invention to sliding doors since they can be embodied with equal cogency in the manufacture and construction of sliding windows.

Since the sliding

doors

26 and 28 are identical in construction, only the sliding door 28 will be described in detail. The sliding door 28 is slidable on a track member 30 provided on the sill track 20 and at its upper end is supported in a track recess 32 provided in the head track 18. If only one sliding door is utilized, a single head track 18 and a single sill track 20 will be provided, rather than the double head track 18 and the double sill track 20 shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The jamb means 22 and 24 are secured to opposite sides of the opening 12 in the building structure 14 and are of identical construction.

In the present embodiment of the invention, the jamb means are formed from aluminum extrusions and are fastened in operative relationship with the opposite edges of the opening 12 by means of screws 34, or similar fasteners. An elongated recess 36 is provided in each of the jamb means which has an elongated, resilient sealing member formed from Vinylite," or similar plastic material, located in a depression 40 in a wall thereof.

The sliding door 28 is constituted by a sash 42 WhlCh mounts a pane 44 of glass. The sash 42, as best shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4 of the drawings, includes elongated top and

bottom rails

46 and 48 respectively. The top and

bottom rails

46 and 48 are joined in operative relationship with each other by means of vertically

oriented stiles

50 and 52 in a manner to be described .in greater detail below.

The top and

bottom rails

46 and 48 are provided with elongated glass pockets 54 for receiving the top and bottom edges of the pane 44 of glass and the innermost edges 56 of said top and bottom rails in which said glass pockets are located are of substantially semi-elliptical, cross-sectional configuration, as best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

Provided in the top rail 46 is an elongated channel 58, said channel having walls defining key means 60 and being designed to receive, in slidable relationship, roller mounting blocks 62 provided with key means 64 engageable with the mating key means defined by the walls of the channel 58. The roller mounting blocks 62 are. in the present embodiment of the invention, located at the ends of the channels 58, but, of course, may be slid along the length of the channel into any position desired if more than two roller mounting blocks are utilized in conjunction with a top rail 46. The roller mounting blocks 62 are secured in position at the opposite ends of the channel '58 by pin means 66 or punches 68, as best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Vertically oriented in the mounting blocks 62 are roller axles 70 upon which are rotatably fastened rollers 72.

The rollers 72 have their peripheries disposed in engagement with the respective track recess 32 provided in the head track 18. The obvious advantages to be derived from the utilization of the roller mounting blocks 62 in contradistinction to the usual conventional mode of mounting guide rollers in door or window constructions of the character under consideration, is that the rollers 72 and their associated axles may be assembled in the mounting blocks 62 prior to their association with the top rail 46 and the necessity for modifying the top rail in any way whatsoever to accommodate the roller 72 is eliminated. Furthermore, when the length of the top rail 46 is unduly long, it is possible to slide a larger number of mounting blocks 62 along the length of the top rail 46 and thus provide an adequate number of rollers 72 for the particular application.

Furthermore, if the rollers 72 or the axles 70 upon which they are mounted should fail, the installation of a substitute mounting block 62 can be accomplished with a minimum amount of time in contradistinction to conventional roller mounting constructions.

The mating key means 60 on the

channel

58 and 64 on the roller mounting block 62 insures that the roller mounting block 62 will be properly located with respect to the channel 58 and also insures that the mounting block 62 will not be inadvertently displaced therefrom. The top rails 46 are also provided with elongated recesses 74 for the reception of Weatherstripping 76 which engages a wall of the track recess 32 in the head track 18.

The bottom rail 48 of the sliding door 28 includes an elongated recess 80 in the opposite ends of which are mounted roller mounting blocks 82. The roller mounting blocks 82 are slidably insertable in the ends of the recess 80 in the bottom rail 48 and are restrained from inward movement in the recess 80 by detents 84 impinging on the inner ends thereof. Mounted in the mounting blocks 82 are vertically oriented rollers 86 which engage the track member 30 provided on the sill track 20. Since the roller mounting blocks 82 in the bottom rail 48 can be as readily mounted in their respective recess 80 as the mounting blocks 62 in the top rail 46. it is obvious that the assembly of the top rollers 72 and the bottom rollers 86 is expedited and that no extensive modification of the top and

bottom rails

46 and 48 is necessitated in order to mount the top and

bottom rollers

72 and 86.

Also provided in the bottom rails 48 are elongated recesses 88 which mount elongated weatherstrips 90 engageable with the adjacent surface of the track member 30 of the sill track 20. The stile 52, as best shown in 4 Fig. 2 of the drawings, is constituted by an elongated, hollow extrusion 92 which provides an elongated recess 94 and a glass pocket 96 extending the length thereof. The stile 50 is constituted by an elongated extrusion 102 having an elongated recess 104 provided therein and a glass pocket 106 extending the length thereof.

Formed integrally with the extrusion 102 constituting the stile 50 is a right-angularly bent weather sealing lip 108 which engages with a Vinyl sealing strip 110 associated with an identical lip provided on the stile 50 of the sliding door 26, as best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The upper end of the lip 108 is provided with a clearance slot 112 for clearing the lowermost end of the wall 114 defining the track recesses 32 in the head track 18.

In order to provide a clean weather-tight and stable joint between the juxtaposed ends of the

stiles

50 and 52 and the

rails

46 and 48, there is formed in the opposite ends of each of the

stiles

50 and 52, as by milling, a substantially semi-elliptical opening or pocket 116, best shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, said pocket being designed to receive the adjacent end of a rail, such as the top rail 46, and to mate accurately with the similar cross-sectional configuration of said top rail. It will also be noted that the adjacent portions of the stile 50, at the extreme end thereof, rest upon shoulders 118 formed on the top rail 46 to more securely engage the stiles and rails in operative relationship.

The pockets 116 in the ends of the

stiles

50 and 52 permit the ends of the rails associated therewith to traverse substantially the entire widths of the stiles, as best shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and to be butted against the inner surface of the outer wall 120 of the stiles.

When the ends of the top rail 46 are located in the pockets 116 in the upper end of the

stiles

50 and 52, as best shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, connecting means indicated generally at 122 is utilized in maintaining the ends of the stile and rail in operative relationship with each other. The connecting means 122 includes a securement block 124 which, in the present instance, is constituted by the top roller mounting block 62 and which is provided with a threaded bore 126 for the reception of a screw 128 extending through an opening 130 in the wall 120 of the stile. in this manner, the upper ends of the stiles are quickly and simply joined to the juxtaposed ends of the top rail 46 and the necessity for welding or otherwise conventionally assembling the top rails of the stiles is eliminated.

Second connecting means 132 is provided, as best shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, for securing the lower ends of the stiles in operative relationship with the juxtaposed ends of the bottom rails 48. The second connecting means 132 includes a substantially H-shaped securement block 134 which is pinned, as at 136, in the opposite ends of the elongated recess 80 in the bottom rail 48 and which is provided with a threaded bore 138 for the reception of a threaded fastener 140 inserted through the wall 120 of the associated stile.

A securement block 134 also serves, as best shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, to prevent longitudinal movement of the mounting block 82 away from operative relationship with its associated detent 84 in the wall of the elongated recess 80. It can, therefore. readily be perceived that the assembly of the constituent elements of the sash 42 of the sliding door 28 will involve a minimum expenditure of time and that the joints between the ends of the rails and their associated stiles will be extremely substantial and weatherproof because of the fact that the ends of the rails extend across substantially the greater width of the stiles and are fastened securely in operative relationship therewith by means of slidably inserted securement blocks 124 and 134.

One of the major problems encountered in the installation of knocked-down sliding door and window assemblies 10 of the character under consideration. is the fact that the opening 12 provided in the building structure 14 is frequently out of plumb and that. when the head tracks 18 and the sill tracks 20 are installed in conjunction with the jamb means 22 and 24, the frame 16 constituted thereby is also out of plumb and difficulty is encountered in properly installing the plumb sash 42 of the sliding

doors

26 and 28 in the aforesaid frame. It has been customary practice in prior art to utilize vertically adjustable bottom rollers which could be ad,- justed to tilt the sash bodily in the frame in order that caused by the out of plumb condition of the inequality be compensated by such bodily tilting the frame might of the sash.

Such conventional means constitutes a make-shift expedient in that it results in an improper relationship of the bottom rail of the sash with the track which is frequently so great as to be perceptible to the naked eye. Furthermore, the increase in the space between the bottom rail and the surface traversed thereby frequently reduces the effectiveness of the Weatherstripping installed therein and permits the creation of drafts and the entry of moisture laden air.

In order to eliminate the necessity for bodily tilting the sash 42 of the door 28 in the frame 16 if the frame is out of plumb, 1 provide sash adjustment means 142 constituted by shim screws 144 mounted in the

stiles

50 and 52 adjacent the opposite ends of the stiles. The shim screws 144 are threadedly engaged, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, with the bottom wall 146 of the glass pocket 96 in the stile 52 and the bottom wall 146 of the glass pocket 106 of the stile 50.

Adjacent openings 148 in the walls 120 of the stiles permit the rotation of the shim screws 144 to move the innermost ends of said shim screws toward or away from adjlac egt shims 150 to accomplish the adjustment of the sas If it is discovered after the assembly of the sash 42 that the frame 16 is out of plumb, the shim screws 144 of the sash adjustment means 142 can be adjusted against the edge of the pane 44 of glass to align the sash with the out of plumb frame 16 and, more particularly, either of the

jambs

22 or 24 thereof. For instance, if it is desired to move the upper corner of the sash adjacent the jamb toward the jamb, the shim screw 144 adjacent said corner is tightened and after the corresponding shim screw 144 at the opposite corner of the sash has been loosened. Therefore, when it is desired to move the sash in either the right or left-hand direction, it is only necessary to loosen the shim screw 144 opposite the corner that is to be moved and to tighten the shim screw adjacent the corner that is to be moved.

After the proper adjustment of the shim screws 144 has been made in this fashion, all of the shim screws should be secured against the edge of the glass after the adjustment to keep the glass from shifting. This is a considerable advance over the prior art because it permits the alignment of the sash 42 with an out of plumb jamb and eliminates the necessity for the utilization of vertically adjustable bottom roller wheels which bodily tilt the sash to bring the corners thereof into alignment with the out of plumb jamb.

The major features of my invention, as is evident from the consideration of the above description thereof, lie in the ease with which the various components of the sash can be assembled in operative relationship with one another and in the provision of the roller mounting blocks in the top and bottom rails which facilitate the installation of the too and bottom rollers, respectively, in o erati e relationship with said rails.

Also of considerable import is the provision of a unique type of interlocking joint between the ends of the rails and the iuxtaposed ends of the stiles whereby an extreme v stable. easily connected. and Weatherproof joint is achieved. The provision of shim screws in the s iles which eliminate the necessity for the conventional expedie ts customarily utilized in adjusting the sash to an ut of plumb frame is also an advance over the prior art since it permits adiustments to be easily and readily m de Without utilizing the expensive and cumbersome prior art expedients.

Another advanta e of the door assemblv of my invention is the fact that it can be manufactured in any desired size for custom installations. since the rails thereof need merelv be cut to the len ths desired and the roller mounting blocks can be installed by sliding them along the top and bottom rails into the desired location without the necessity for extensive modification of said rails.

Other advantages of the invention not alluded to specifically herein are apparent from a consideration of the drawings and the disclosure pertaining thereto presented hereinbefore.

1 claim as my invention:

1. In a sliding closure movable across an opening defined by a frame having a lintel, sill and jambs connected between said lintel and said sill, said lintel and said sill respectively having a top track and a bottom track, the combination of: a sash, said sash including a top rail having an elongated channel therein provided with key means and a bottom rail having an elongated channel therein, said rails being operatively connected by laterally spaced stiles, all of said rails and said stiles being provided with means for mounting a pane of glass therein; a pair of mounting blocks located in said top rail channel and having portions thereof engageable with said key means; and roller means mounted in said blocks engageable with said top track.

2. In a sliding closure movable across an opening defined by a frame having a lintel, sill and jambs connected between said lintel and said sill, said lintel and said sill respectively having a top track and a bottom track, the combination of: a sash, said sash including a top rail having an elongated channel therein and a bottom rail having an elongated channel therein, said rails being operatively connected by laterally spaced stiles, all of said rails and said stiles being provided with means for mounting a pane of glass therein; a pair of mounting blocks slidahly'insertable into the ends of said top rail channel; and roller means mounted in said blocks engageable with said top track.

3. In a sash for a sliding closure, the combination of: top and bottom rail members having elongated channels therein, said rail members being of uniform cross-sectional configuration throughout the lengths thereof and having weather strip receptacles extending the entire length thereof; stile members having elongated channels therein and provided at the opposite ends thereof with openings conforming substantially to the cross-sectional configuration of the ends of said rails to permit said rail ends to be located in the ends of said stile channels and abut on the inner walls of said stile channels; and said receptacles to terminate adjacent said inner walls; and fastening means extending through said stiles and into said rail ends for securing them in operative relationship.

4. In a sash for a sliding closure, the combination of: top and bottom rail members having elongated channels therein; stile members having elongated channels therein and provided at the opposite ends thereof with openings conforming substantially to the cross-sectional configuration of the ends of said rails to permit said rail ends to be located in the ends of said stile channels; securement blocks located in the ends of said top rail, said blocks having track engaging rollers mounted therein; and fastening means extending through said stiles engageable with said blocks for maintaining said top rail and said stiles in operative relationship.

5. In a sash for a sliding closure, the combination of: top and bottom rails having pane mounting means and elongated channels therein; stiles connecting said top and bottom rails, said stiles having pane receiving recesses extending the length thereof; connecting means for said stiles and said rails, said connecting means including securement blocks in the ends of said top rail channel having roller means mounted therein and fastening means in said stiles engageable therewith; and adjustable shim means in said stiles adjacent the upper and lower ends thereof for engaging the lateral edges of said pane to adjust said sash with respect to said pane.

6. In a sash for a sliding window, the combination of: top and bottom rails having elongated channels therein; mounting block means disposed in the ends of said top rail channels; roller means mounted for rotation on said block means; laterally spaced stiles between said rails; and fastening means engageable with said mounting block means for securing said top rail and said stiles together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 746,758 Stiggleman Dec. 15, 1903 1,181,331 Metzger May 2, 1916 1,637,723 Axe Aug. 2, 1927 2,057,730 Moderau Oct. 20, 1936 2,144,782 Swanson Jan. 24, 1939 2,610,369 Huizenga Sept. 16, 1952 2,637,878 Watkins May 12, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 212,371 Switzerland Feb. 17, 1941