US3242535A - Adjustable hanger for barn door - Google Patents

Description

March 29, 1966 R. G. FERRIS 3,

ADJUSTABLE HANGER FOR BARN DOOR Filed Feb. 26, 1965 .3 Sheets-Sheet l FIEJ J6. frz/ezz for:

March 29, 1966 R. e. FERRus ADJUSTABLE HANGER FOR BARN DOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1965 I: 5 NE mm mm March 29, 1966 R. G. FERRIS ADJUSTABLE HANGER FOR BARN DOOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 26, 1965 FIEE FIEE

United States Patent 3,242,535 ADJUSTABLE HANGER FOR BARN DOOR Robert G. Ferris, Harvard, IlL, assignor to Starline, Inc., a corporation of lllinois Filed Feb. 26, 1965, Ser. No. 435,508 9 Claims. (Cl. 2019) This invention relates in general to an improved hanger assembly for a slidable barn door, and more particularly to a slidable barn door hanger assembly which supports the door for horizontal and vertical adjustment relative to the barn.

In the recent past, farm buildings of the so-called pole barn type have become increasingly popular because of their simplicity, ease of erection, and low cost. Such buildings are conventionally erected by drilling a series of holes in the ground and placing poles in the holes to carry the outer structural framework of the building, thus eliminating the need for a foundation. Horizontal bands are then secured at spaced points on the vertical poles to provide wind girts, and a metal or wood sheath is then nailed directly to the wind girts to form an enclosure. Simple laminated trusses are attached to the tops of the poles and span the width of the encolsure to provide the framework for roof boards or steel roofing. Since buildings of the above described type are commonly used by farmers for livestock, implements, or grain, a large doorway must be provided in one wall; and ease of access requires a light-weight door which is easily moved. Accordingly, it is common for the door to consist of a light-weight wood frame covered with plywood or metal sheathing and to be mounted for horizontal sliding movement in a track above the doorway. A major problem with such a door is that the wood frame is likely to warp; and this may interfere with free door travel by causing the door to rub either on the building or on a protective apron that is commonly part of the track.

Accordingly, the general purpose of the present invention is to provide a hanger assembly for a sliding barn door, which supports the barn door for free unimpeded movement relative to the barn.

An object of the invention is to provide a hanger as sembly for a slidable door which includes cheap and simple means for horizontally and vertically adjusting the door relative to the track after it is hung.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hanger assembly as described in the preceding paragraph wherein the door adjusting means are positioned in a convenient location.

A related object of the invention is to position the horizontal and vertical door adjusting means in the same location.

A further related object is to position the door adjusting means on the interior of the door.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means for locking the door adjusting means in the adjusted position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a door hanger assembly as described above with horizontal adjusting means for the door which are movable through 360 between maximum and minimum positions which are 180 apart.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hanger assembly for a sliding barn door with means for adjusting the horizontal position of the door through a relatively large range without interference with the barn or the track.

These and other objects of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following 3,242,535 Patented Mar. 29, 1966 description taken in connection with the annexed drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical building having a sliding door which is hung on a track that is part of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged rear elevational view of the door utilized with the enclosure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the track, hanger and door taken generally along line 33 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken generally along the line 44 of FIG. 3 and showing the door in a central or neutral position;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4 and showing the door in its position of maximum inward adjustment;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4 and showing the door in its position of maximum outward adjustment; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken generally along line 77 of FIG. 6.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail one specific embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, a building, shown generally at 10 in FIG. 1, includes a generally planar and generally perpendicular front wall 11. A doorway 12 having an upper margin 13 is provided in wall 11, and a door 15 is mounted for sliding movement in a vertical plane parallel to the plane of wall 11 between a door closed and a door open position. As may be seen in FIG. 2, the door 15 includes a frame that is preferably formed of wood, and which comprises top and bottom frame members 16, side frame members 17, and a center brace member 13. Plywood or metal sheet 19 is secured to the door frame. The resulting door is light in weight, but susceptible of warping due to the presence of the wood members.

A generally horizontally extending slotted tubular track 20 is fixed to the wall 11 above the top 13 of the doorway 12 by means of a longitudinally extending bracket 21 and fasteners 22. Bracket 21 cooperates with the track 24 to provide an effective weather seal between wall 11 and the inside of the door 19. As seen in FIGS. 4-6, track 2ft includes a downwardly extending and outwardly flared apron 23 which shields the upper portion of the door 15, and a longitudinal track slot 24 is behind the apron.

The door is supported beneath the track on carriage means consisting of a plurality of carriage assemblies, such as the assembly 25, all of which are mounted within track 20. Each carriage includes a frame 26 having bifurcated extremities 26a, an axle 27 across each said extremity, and a broad wheel 28 on each axle that has a circumferential guide rib 29 riding in the slot 24 to guide the carriage in its movement along the track 20. A bracket 36 which is fixed centrally on frame 26, as by a rivet 31, and hangs through slot 24, has an opening 32 for a hanger assembly, indicated generally at 3 3.

The hanger assembly includes a saddle 34 which is mounted in the opening 32 in bracket 39 and is U-shaped in cross-section with a central opening that is impaled by a suspended hanger member, indicated generally at 35.

In the illustrated embodiment, the hanger member 35 is a bolt having an enlarged head 35a which rests upon the top portion of the saddle 34, a neck 36, an offset portion 37, and a shank 38 which extends downwardly through a hole 39 in the top frame member 16 and has a projecting lower end 38a provided with a thread 41.

Positioning means indicated generally at 40, positively positions the door at a predetermined distance below the track 20 and in a predetermined vertical plane which is generally parallel to the building wall 11. The positioning means includes means for vertically adjusting the door in the form of a nut 42 which is threaded to engage the thread 41; and flange means in the form of a washer 43 welded to the nut 42 abuts a lower surface 16a of the top frame member 16. At the lower end of the bolt is a flattened tang 44 which may be gripped with a wrench to turn the bolt on the saddle. V The location of the nut 42 on the bolt 35 determines the vertical position of the door; while the position of the offset portion 37 of the bolt determines the plane of the door between the wall 11 and the apron 23. Bolt shank 38 is offset from the neck 36 by an amount which is slightly less than one-half the sum of the distances between wall 11 and the inside of door 15 and between the outside of door 15 and apron 23. Thus, by gripping the tang 44 and rotating the bolt 35, the door 15 may be moved from a central or neutral position, such as that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, to a position closely adjacent the wall 11, as in FIG. 5, or to a position closely adjacent the apron 23 as in FIG. 6. In neutral position the offset bolt portion 37 is substantially parallel to the wall, while in the other illustrated positions it extends either toward the wall or toward the apron. Since the bolt 35 can be rotated through a range of 360, the door 15 may be quite accurately positioned relative to wall 11 and track apron 23.

The positioning means also includes means for locking the hanger to fix the door 15 in its adjusted position, and to this end washer 43 has a plurality of openings 45. Once the door is in the desired vertical position and the desired horizontal position relative to the wall, a nail 46 is driven through one of the openings 45 in the washer 43 and into the door frame member 16 to positively secure the nut 42 to the door 15. The positioning means 40 also includes a lock nut 47 which is threaded on the lower end 40 of bolt 35 for securing the nut 42, bolt 35 and door 15 against movement relative to one another.

To utilize the above described hanger assembly, the door is first hung by passing the bolts 35 through the openings 39 in the upper door frame member 16, threading the nuts 42 on the threaded portions 41 of the respective bolts 34, and then adjusting the nuts to fix the vertical position of the door 15. During the vertical adjustment of the door 15, the bolts 35 are prevented from rotating by gripping their tang portions 44 with a wrench or the like. After the door is in its proper vertical position, it may be adjusted horizontally by gripping the tang portions 44 and rotating the bolts 35 until the door 15 assumes a clearance position with respect to the wall 11 and the apron 23 of track 20. When the proper horizontal position of the door is reached, a nail 46 is driven into the upper frame member 16 through one of the holes in the washer 43 to lock the nuts 42 against rotation. The lock nuts 47 may then be screwed into engagement with the nuts 42 so as to lock the bolts against rotation. It is apparent that the nuts 42 may be held with a wrench when the bolts 35 are rotated for horizontal adjustment of the door, or alternatively that the nails may be driven through the washers before the door is adjusted horizontally.

It is essential that both the offset bolts 35, and the adjusting nuts 42 be locked against rotation because that is the only way to assure that the door will hold its vertical and horizontal adjustments. Without something locking the nuts against rotation they can turn with continued use of the door and cause a loss of vertical adjustment. Without something locking the bolts 35 against rotation the bolts can turn in the nuts and cause a loss of horizontal adjustment. Nevertheless, the door may be readjusted either vertically or horizontally by loosening the lock nuts 47 and turning the bolts by gripping their tang ends. Several turns are required for effective vertical adjustment, because of the pitch of the threads; but only a fraction of a turn is required for elfective horizontal adjustment.

From the foregoing it is apparent that both the horizontal and vertical adjustments of the door are made in one place, namely, at the upper portion of the inside of the door. The adjusting means are positioned below the door header 16 so as to be readily accessible, whereupon if a further adjustment becomes necessary at a later date due to warping, building settling, or fioor raising, it is necessary merely to loosen the lock nuts 47 and rotate the bolts 35 by gripping their tang ends as previously described. The lock nuts are then tightened while gripping the tang ends of the bolts to lock the hanger in the desired position. This arrangement presents a distinct advantage over prior art constructions wherein the door hangers are provided at the top of the door and do not extend below the door header. Such hangers are obviously unaccessible because the track apron 23 and the horizontal portion of the doorway 13 do not provide sufficient clearance for manipulation of the hangers. From the foregoing, it should be apparent that each of the objects of the invention have been fully achieved.

I claim:

1. In a sliding door for an opening in a generally perpendicular building wall, supporting structure comprising, in combination: a generally horizontal track on the building wall above the opening;

a carriage movable along said track;

a door including a generally horizontally extending top frame member;

a depending hanger member rotatably mounted on said carriage, said hanger member having a offset shank portion that extends vertically through a hole in said top frame member, said shank portion fitting within said hole so that rotation of the hanger member on the carriage member moves the door laterally;

and positioning means on said offset shank portion engaged beneath said top frame member to positively position said door at a predetermined distance below the track and in a predetermined vertical plane which is generally parallel to the building wall, said positioning means including support means movable along said shank portion for support and vertical adjustment of the door, and said positioning means also including releasable locking means for preventing rotation of the hanger member and for preventing movement of the support means, said shank portion having a lower extremity which may be engaged from below the positioning means to rotate the hanger member.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the shank portion has a non-cylindrical tang at its lower end by which it may be engaged below the positioning means.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the track has a protective lip extending downwardly therefrom and spaced outwardly from the building wall, and in which the axial offset of the shank portion is slightly less than one half the sum of the distances from the inside face of said door to the wall and from the outside face of the door to the lip.

4. The combination of claim 1 in which the releasable locking means includes a washer, and means for releasably securing the washer to the underside of the top door frame member.

5. The combination of claim 1 in which the hanger member is a headed bolt having a threaded shank and in which the support means is a nut threaded onto said bolt shank.

6. The combination of claim 5 in which the releasable locking means includes a lock nut threaded onto the shank below the support nut.

7. In a sliding door for an opening in a building wall, supporting structure comprising, in combination:

a generally horizontal track on the building wall above the opening;

a carriage movable along said track;

a door including a generally horizontally extending top frame member;

a bolt having a head in rotatable engagement with the carriage, and said bolt having a depending, offset threaded shank which extends vertically through a hole in said top frame member so that rotation of the bolt on the carriage moves the door laterally;

and positioning means on said offset shank portion engaged beneath said top frame member to positively position said door at a predetermined distance below the track and in a predetermined vertical plane which is generally parallel to the building wall, said positioning means including an adjusting nut threaded on the lower end of said hanger to support the door and provide vertical adjustment thereof,

8. The combination of claim 7 in which the Washer is 10 welded to the adjusting nut.

9. The combination of claim 7 in which said locking means also includes a lock nut threaded on the bolt shank below the adjusting nut.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 929,888 8/1909 Sjoberg 20-16 X 1,079,870 11/1913 Lloyd 16-97 X 1,176,152 3/1916 Lawrence 16-95 X 2,871,932 2/1959 Stroup 160-40 3,071,825 1/1963 Ferris 20-19 REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner.

KENNETH DOWNEY, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN A SLIDING DOOR FOR AN OPENING IN A GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR BUILDING WALL, SUPPORTING STRUCTURE COMPRISIING, IN COMBINATION: A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL TRACK ON THE BUILDING WALL ABOVE THE OPENING; A CARRIAGE MOVABLE ALONG SAID TRACK; A DOOR INCLUDING A GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING TOP FRAME MEMBER; A DEPENDING HANGER MEMBER ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID CARRIAGE, SAID HANGER MEMBER HAVING A OFFSET SHANK PORTION THAT EXTENDS VERTICALLY THROUGH A HOLE IN SAID TOP FRAME MEMBER, SAID SHANK PORTION FITTING WITHIN SAID HOLE SO THAT ROTATION OF THE HANGER MEMBER ON THE CARRIAGE MEMBER MOVES THE DOOR LATERALLY; AND POSITIONING MEANS ON SAID OFFSET SHANK PORTION ENGAGED BENEATH SAID TOP FRAME MEMBER TO POSITIVELY POSITION SAID DOOR AT A PREDETERMINED VERTICAL PLANE BELOW THE TRACK AND IN A PREDETERMINED VERTICAL PLANE WHICH IS GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE BUILDING WALL, SAID POSITIONING MEANS INCLUDING SUPPORT MEANS MOVEABLE ALONG SAID SHANK PORTION FOR SUPPORT AND VERTICAL ADJUSTMENT OF THE DOOR, AND SAID POSITIONING MEANS ALSO INCLUDING RELEASABLE LOCKING MEANS FOR PREVENTING ROTATION OF THE HANGER MEMBER AND FOR PREVENTING MOVEMENT OF THE SUPPORT MEANS, SAID SHANK PORTION HAVING A LOWER EXTREMITY WHICH MAY BE ENGAGED FROM BELOW THE POSITIONING MEANS TO ROTATE THE HANGER MEMBER.

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