Patent ID: 6131340
Filing Date: 2000-10-17
Classification: B63B,E05D,E05Y

Abstract:
A sliding door assembly adapted for opening and closing a doorway in an enclosed structure having walls defining the doorway, said door assembly comprising:(a) upper and lower track C-channel rails (200 and 202), each having a hollow interior cross-sectional configuration defining a longitudinally extending hollow interior slideway (324, 326, 328, 330) having a circumferentially interrupted cylindrical slide bearing surface and wherein each said rail is adapted to be supported on a wall of the structure with a major longitudinal axis of each rail extending generally horizontally, each said rail having a longitudinally extending slot opening laterally (312) to the hollow interior slideway of said rail,(b) a door panel (68) sized to be adapted to close the doorway and having upper and lower edges juxtaposed to said upper and lower track channels and being made of a material having at least limited flexibility,(c) an upper slide and cap panel-attachment sub-assembly (70) and a lower slide and cap panel-attachment sub-assembly (72) each having an panel attachment structure.sub.-- secured to said door panel upper and lower edges, and extending substantially the full length of the associated said panel edges,(d) each said sub-assembly having a first leg wall (112) extending therefrom into the hollow interior slideway of the associated one of said rails via said rail slot opening and terminating therein in a glide carrier portion (124 or 125), and(e) each said sub-assembly also including a pair of glides (104 or 105) mounted on said sub-assembly first leg wall of said glide carrier portion (124 or 125) with said glides of each said pair being spaced longitudinally of said carrier portion and respectively located adjacent the longitudinally opposite ends of the associated said carrier portion and having a slide bearing surface bearing slidably on said slide bearing surface of said slideway of the associated said rail for slidably supporting said door panel by sliding motion of said slides along the longitudinal axis of said track rail slideway, said rail and glide slide bearing surfaces being curved complementally to one another, and said rail slide bearing surface being cylindrically curved throughout its circumferential extent about a single radius of cylindrical curvature centerline extending parallel to said major longitudinal axis of said rail such that each said door slide and cap sub-assembly has limited rotational freedom around the rail slide bearing cylindrical surface sliding axis that permits a limited range of relative rotation only about such centerline axis between each said door slide and cap sub-assembly and associated rail so that, if either said sub-assembly or rail is twisted during installation or operation, such rotational freedom will compensate for either such twist, thereby enabling said door assembly to be mounted with said rails allowed to twist within certain limits when fastened down to conform to non-parallel or non-level structural surfaces to which they are mounted either as manufactured or as distorted in operation by loading causing structural twisting without thereby inhibiting sliding motion of said door along said rails.