US2949626A

US2949626A - Sliding door guide unit

Info

Publication number: US2949626A
Application number: US743431A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dwight W Blackmer
Original assignee: Ekco Products Co
Current assignee: Ekco Products Co
Priority date: 1958-06-20
Filing date: 1958-06-20
Publication date: 1960-08-23
Anticipated expiration: 1977-08-23

Description

1960 1:). w. BLACKME'R 2,949,626

SLIDING DOOR GUIDE'UNIT Filed June 20, 1958 M, I INVENTOR. gag? n 1 W21. ZMme/z SLIDING noon GUIDE UNIT Dwight W. Blackmer, Elkhart, Ind., assignor to Ekco Products Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed June 20, 1958, Ser. No. 743,431

8 Claims. (Cl. 1690) This invention relates to sliding door guide units adapted to be secured to the floor of a doorway abreast of the paths of a pair of doors mounted for sliding movement within said doorway between opened and closed positions.

It is an object of this invention to provide a guide unit of the character indicated wherein a pair of separate guide members are adapted to be adjusted toward and away from each other to accommodate doors of varying thicknesses.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a guide unit wherein a pair of separate guide members are rigidly joined in selected adjusted positions by means of a single base member from which said guide members extend in opposite directions.

A further object of this invention resides in the provisions of a guide unit which utilizes metallic body portions to withstand the strains of fastening elements applied thereto in operatively mounting the guide unit, and which utilizes friction-free frangible material as a door engaging surface on said guide unit in such relation to the body portions as to be free of the strains of said fastening elements.

A further object is to provide a guide unit of the character indicated which is inexpensive to produce, easy to install and which will provide excellent serviceability.

Other objects, advantages and meritorious features of the present invention will more fully appear from the following claims, specifications and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of a base member as contemplated by this invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a guide member.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the base member shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the guide member shown in Fig. 2. i

Fig. 5 is a plan View of an assembled guide unit utilizing the base member and guide members shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and including a dotted line portion to illustrate a second adjusted position of the guide members.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a guide unit utilizing a guide member of shortened dimension.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken along lines 77 of Fig. 6. i i

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary enlarged section taken along lines 88 of Fig. 6.

A sliding closure guide unit embodying the features of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings in connection with an installation wherein a pair of closures, such as doors or

panels

10 and 11, are mounted in a doorway having a floor line designated by reference numeral 12.

The guide unit is shown as featuring a base member 13, preferably of stamped sheet metal construction, having longitudinally extending

opposite side edges

14 and 15 and transversely extending

opposite end edges

16 and 17. An ear 18 forming an extension of the side edge 14 and occupying a position alongside end edge 16 and a similar ear 19 forming an extension of side edge 15 alongside end edge 17 each have an aperture formed therein for the reception of a suitable fastener, such as a screw 20, for securing the base member 13 to the doorway floor 12, with the

side edges

14 and 15 thereof arranged abreast of the path of the sliding

doors

10 and 11, as shown in Fig. 7.

The body of the base member 13 is offset upwardly from the

side edges

14 and 15 so as to provide a down wardly open recess 21 of uniform transverse cross sectional contour throughout the full length of the base member 13. The recess 21 thus provides a space between the underside of the base member and the area of the floor 12 opposite thereto and within the confines of the edges 14- and 15 of the base member to which access may be had from either of the

end edges

16 and 17 of the base member. As shown in Fig. 7, a tongue 22' is sheared and bent upwardly from the body of the base member 13 so as to occupy a position centrally of the path of the door 10 and the path of the door 11 and at a distance from the floor 12 so as to provide a stop having engagement with the lower marginal portions of the side surfaces of the

doors

11 and 12 facing said tongue 22. The portion of the tongue 22 thus engageable by the

doors

11 and 12 is preferably provided with an outer sheath or covering 23 of nylon or other suitable substance capable of reducing friction as well as protecting the surface of the door from damage by abrasion along the line of its engagement with the tongue 22.

A pair of guide membens 24, with which the base member 13 cooperates to form a guide unit as contemplated by this invention, are of identical shape and size whereby each is interchangeable with the other in assembly with the base member 13. Each guide member 24 is preferably of stamped sheet metal construction and is formed to provide a shank portion for occupancy in the recess 21 of the base member.

Edges

25 and 26 extending longitudinally of the shank at opposite sides thereof and the upper surface of the shank between said edges have interfitting engagement with the surfaces of the recess opposite thereto so as to prevent displacement of the guide member relative to the base member in opposite directions laterally of

said edges

25 and 26 of the shank portion. While thus positioned in the recess 21, the lower surface of the shank projects downwardly of the lower limits of the base member by virtue of the relative vertical dimensions of the shank and the recess. Accordingly as screws 20 extending through apertures in the

ears

18 and 12 of the base member are adjusted into positions effective to anchor the base in the floor 12 opposite thereto, pressure is applied along the

opposite edges

25 and 26 of the shank by the surface of the base member engaged thereby to grip the shank and to pull it downwardly and thereby hold the guide members and the base member in fixed interconnected relation against the underlying surface of the floor 12. The selected position of adjustment of the shank of each guide member along its line of travel into and out of the recess in said base member determines the spacing of the stop tongue 22 on the base member relative to a similar stop tongue 27 extending upwardly from the unconfined end portion of the shank of each guide member. A sheath 28 of nylon or other friction-free material, like the sheath 23 on tongue 22, is applied to the tongue 27 of each of the guide members. Referring to Fig. 5, the tongues 27 of the guide members 24 are shown in two relative positions, one position being shown by the solid outline of the tongues 27 and the dotted outline of the tongues 27 indicating a second position wherein the space between the tongue 22 on the base member and each of the tongues 27 is greater than in the first position. It will therefore be seen that, in either of said positions, the tongue 22 and one of said tongues 27 provide cooperating stops with which a sliding door of a thickness conforming to the spacing of said

tongues

22 and 27 is engaged and thereby guided at its lower margins between open and closed positions of said door, while the tongue 22 and the other tongue 27 provide a similar pair of stops with which a second sliding door of a thickness corresponding to the spacing between said stops is engaged and guided in the same manner as the first sliding door.

In order to further resist unintentional displacement of the guide members from a selected position of adjustment or spacing of said tongues 27 relative to tongue 22, the shank of each guide member is provided with a series of indentations spaced apart lengthwise of each of its

opposite side edges

25 and 26 to define a series of teeth 31} which cooperate with teeth 29 defined by similar indentations formed along surface portions of the base member 13 opposite

said edges

25 and 26 of the guide member shank.

The shank of each guide member is scored as at 31 to define a transverse line along which the shank may be conveniently divided so as to shorten its dimension lengthwise of its side edges. By so shortening the shank, it is possible to advance the shank into the recess of the base member a distance compatible with locating the tongue 27 against the end edge of the base member 13 opposite thereto, as shown in Fig. 6.

It will be seen from the drawings that one of the side edges of the shank of each guide member thus extending beyond the score line 31 is cut away along a line 32 extending medially of the

opposite side edges

25 and 26, and that each of the guide members thereby have mating engagement along said line 32 in installations as depicted in Fig. 5. Such mating engagement along lines parallel to the line of engagement of the base member with the opposite side edges of the shank of each guide member provides added protection against accidental displacement of each guide member relative to the other when in a selected adjusted position.

It will be observed that by providing a base member and guide members of metal construction which are capable of absorbing strains imparted thereto in establishing a fastened connection thereof against the floor 12, and by confining the application of the relatively frangible material of the sheath to portions of the metal parts remote from such strains, a door guide unit embodying the features of this invention readily meets the requirements of a strong and sturdy installation.

I claim:

1. In a sliding door guide unit, the combination of a base member having longitudinally extending opposite side edges and transversely extending opposite end edges, means for securing said base member to the floor of a doorway with the side edges thereof abreast of the path of a sliding door operatively associated with said doorway, a pair of guide members with which said base member cooperates to join said guide members at fixed adjusted position in opposite directions from said base member along a line extending lengthwise of said side edges of the base member, each of said guide members comprising a metal strip having an upwardly bent tongue at one end thereof and a shank portion defined by the area of the strip between said tongue and the other end thereof, a first stop extending upwardly from said base member, a sheath of friction-free synthetic resinous material in which the upper end of the tongue of one of said guides is enclosed to provide a second stop which in cooperation with said first stop provides a pair of related guides with which a sliding door travelling at one side of said first stop is engageable, and a similar sheath in which the upper end of the'tongue on the other guide member is similarly enclosed to define a third stop which in cooperation with said first stop provides a pair of related guides with which a sliding door travelling at the other side of said first stop is engageable.

2. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein said base member presents a downwardly open recess between the side edges thereof in which the shank portion of said guide members have occupancy, said shank portions and the surfaces of the recess having interengaging means formed integrally therewith to lock said shank portions at selected positions inwardly of said recess.

3. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein said base member presents a downwardly open recess between the opposite side edges thereof which is coterminous with the opposite end edges of the base member in which the shank portion of each guide member has occupancy.

4. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 3, wherein the shank portion of each guide member includes a first section having longitudinally extending opposite side edges for seated engagement with si'i'rfaces of the recess extending lengthwise of the side edges of the base member, and a second section forming an inner extension of said first section having an inwardly offset side edge coincident with a line drawn medially of the side edges of the first section to accommodate interengagement of each guide member with the other along said inwardly offset side edges when the shank portion of each guide member is advanced into said recess a distance more than half the length of said recess.

5. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein means for securing said base member to the floor of a doorway includes a pair of integral ears extending outwardly from opposite side edges of the base.

6. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein said guide members are interchangeable.

'7. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein the edges of the shank of each guide member facing in the direction of the side edges of the base member are provided with a series of notches, and the surfaces of the base member recess facing said edges of the shank are provided with projections with which the notches on the shank are selectively engageable to position the second and third stops at predetermined distances away from said first stop.

8. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein the shank portion of each guide member is divided by a score line to facilitate shortening of its dimension measured lengthwise of the side edges of the base member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Taylor Junell, 1889 Stanley: page 163, volume 77, No. 11 of American Builder (Magazine), November 1955. (Copy in Sci entific Library and in Div. 20, 16-90.)