Patent ID: 7743558
Filing Date: 2010-06-29
Classification: E05D,E05Y

Abstract:
1. An upright interior wall structure disposed in supportive engagement on a floor, comprising: right and left upright wall sections disposed in supportive engagement on a floor; each said wall section including a frame structure having a horizontally elongate top frame structure extending along an upper edge thereof; an inverted U-shaped door frame defining a double-wide door opening extending transversely therethrough, said door frame including right and left upward side frame members disposed in sidewardly spaced relation and defining said double-wide door opening therebetween, and an elongate header structure extending horizontally between and rigidly joined to upper ends of the right and left side frame members for defining an upper extremity of said door opening; said door frame being positioned sidewardly between and structurally joined to said right and left wall sections in horizontally aligned relation so that the upper header structure is disposed in adjacent end-to-end relationship between the top frame structures associated with the respective right and left wall sections; a horizontally elongate support track fixed to and extending horizontally along said upper header structure and said top frame structures associated with said right and left wall sections; right and left sliding doors positioned laterally adjacent one side of said wall structure and suspended vertically from said support track and movable horizontally therealong between (1) a closed position wherein said doors are disposed in directly sidewardly adjacent relationship and overlie and close-off the door opening and (2) an open position wherein the right and left doors are disposed in sidewardly spaced relationship and primarily overlie an exterior side face of the respective right and left wall sections; said right and left doors each mounting thereon, adjacent opposite upper corners thereof, a pair of roller-hanger units each having a roller positioned in rolling engagement with the support track so that the doors can be horizontally displaced between said closed and open positions; and a pre-tensioning arrangement mounted on and extending lengthwise along said upper header structure for causing said header structure, when free of external loading, to be deflected upwardly into an upwardly bowed shape, said pre-tensioning arrangement causing the header structure at a midpoint thereof to be deflected upwardly through only a small distance relative to the ends of the header beam; whereby movement of the right and left doors into the closed position and the imposition of the doors weight through the rollers onto the support track causes the pre-tensioned upwardly-bowed header structure to deflect downwardly so as to maintain a more uniform narrow gap between opposed upright inner edges of the closed doors throughout the vertical extent thereof.