Abstract:
A doorway system, comprising a novel mechanism for controlling tall glass doors and making their installation and repair much easier, and a header that can be used with standard size or tall glass doors, is disclosed. The mechanism features circular bearings, a specially-designed bottom spindle and an upper, adjustable, pivotable housing. The header houses, among other parts, the adjustable housing and allows pre-cut, modular parts to be assembled at the building site.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a doorway system that allows the use of taller than standard size glass doors and a novel form of header that is used to hold glass doors and sidelight panels in an entranceway. More specifically, the invention relates to glass doors and sidelight panels of a designer&#39;s choice of size that are made of glass, or similar materials, and that can be easily erected, inside or outside a building and which allow the doors to be easily moved if repairs are needed. 
     Architects and building designers are making more and more use of glass doors and sidelights when creating modern buildings. Current design methods attempt to use tall glass doors and sidelights, such as ones that reach from the floor to a twelve-foot high ceiling. Up until the present invention, designers have tended to avoid using glass doors that are taller than the standard eight foot height because of the special construction techniques, and need for 3/4 inch glass to provide door stiffness, and hence, extra expense, that would be required. Once the height of a 1/2 inch thick glass door becomes higher than eight feet, the weight, deflection and physical size of the door become factors that require special consideration in the areas of installation of the door and of making repairs to the closer mechanism or other areas around the door once it has been installed. It is desirable to use 1/2 inch thick glass because it can be tinted, such as with a bronze or gray color. 
     Tempered glass of 1/2 inch thickness weighs approximately 6.56 pounds per square foot and standard doors, of approximately eight foot height by three foot width, weigh about 160 pounds (plus the weight of the hardware used to attach the door). This weight is almost doubled, to about 315 pounds (plus hardware weight), if the door is twelve feet high by four feet wide, and that makes it heavier for the installers to handle and much more awkward to move around during installation. In addition, as the height of the door increases above eight feet, door deflection increases with wind load. Patch fittings that attach the door and transom glass to the sidelight put more strain on the sidelight, thus the sidelights have to be made thicker or glass fins (both of which increase the cost) added to prevent massive deflection of the sidelight under wind-load. Outdoor wind-load design requirements around the United States average 20 pounds per square foot of force and indoor wind-load design requirements average 5 pounds per square foot of force. While the deflection that results from this required wind-load is not necessarily a safety problem, it is an aesthetic problem that detracts from the building&#39;s appearance. 
     It is also known that office building doors use hydraulic door closer mechanisms, such as those made by the Dorma Rixxon and Door-o-Matic Companies, that sit in the floor at the corner of the doorsill to control closing movement of the door. These mechanisms are typically enclosed in a box under the surface of the floor and have only a spindle projecting upward through the door threshold adjacent the door frame. With standard doors, this spindle will bear all of the door weight and it is necessary for the work crew to align the door with the doorway framework at the construction site so that the vertical edge is correctly set over the spindle. 
     Also, with standard hardware and construction techniques, it is very difficult to make repairs to the door closer mechanism once a tall door is erected over it. Two more factors now become important: how strong are the side panels and transom, for they have to bear the weight of the heavier than normal door, and how strong is the closer mechanism, because it must restrict the closing movement of the heavy door. With the current methods and doorway structure, if any repairs to the closer mechanism become necessary, the complete door must be removed, not just slid back from the edge of the closer and this entails a large amount of effort. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A novel apparatus for a doorway system and method for installation thereof wherein glass door panels of a multitute of different heights but of a standard thickness are controlled against tension and deflection and door-opening and -closing forces is disclosed. The doorway system employs a rotatable, force-directing and force-transferring spindle-mechanism at the base that bears all weight of the tall glass door, a rotatable tube to tightly hold glass door panels, a pivoting and rotatable spindle and housing to provide regulation forces and a header that is pre-cut with a longitudinally extending slot therein to sealingly contain either, or both, of door panels or sidelight panels adjacent thereto. The doorway system may be used for either interior or exterior doors, in conjunction with standard door closure mechanisms, and is easily installed, maintained and repaired with the use of a slidable, hinged sled that provides sufficient clearance, in cooperation with the bottom spindle-mechanism, to adjust the position of the bottom of the tube, away from the closer mechanism while leaving the top joined to the header and thereby transfer the weight of the door away from said mechanism. The header is advantageously employed, either with tall glass doors or with standard doors, to simplify installation and to increase the flexibility of door position or the position of the sidelights. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for the use of very tall glass doors at the entranceway to a building. 
     It is further object of the present invention to provide for the use of very tall glass doors at the entranceway to a building that can be attached to standard door closer mechanisms. 
     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a modular header for doorways that can be pre-cut to specified dimensions and assembled at the building. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following brief description of the drawings, detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the doorway system of the present invention as it looks installed on a building; 
     FIG. 2 shows an expanded perspective view of the top of the doorway system; 
     FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the top of the doorway, in its natural state, taken along lines III--III of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the top of the doorway, in its natural state, taken along lines IV--IV of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 shows an expanding fragmentary perspective view of the bottom of one corner of the doorway showing the lower operative parts of the door mechanism; 
     FIG. 6 shows a fragmentary elevational view of the lower operative parts of the door mechanism; 
     FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the lower operative parts of the door mechanism taken along lines VII--VII of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the closer spindle of the door mechanism taken along lines VIII--VIII of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 9 shows a fragmentary perspective view of a door employing the current invention being fitted (as shown by the arrow) over the bearing housing; 
     FIG. 10 shows an expanded fragmentary perspective view of the top of one corner of the doorway showing the upper operative parts of the door mechanism and the header that is used at the ceiling to attach doors to the building; 
     FIG. 11 shows a fragmentary elevational view of the header and the operative parts at the top corner of the doorway; 
     FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of the pivotable spindle of the top of the doorway taken along lines XII--XII of FIG. 11; 
     FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional side view of the pivoting mechanism of the doorway taken along lines XIII--XIII of FIG. 11; and 
     FIG. 14 shows a cross-sectional sideview of the header taken along lines XIV--XIV of FIG. 11. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The instant invention provides a solution to the above-identified problems and can be used in or on, among other places, tall office buildings 20 such as shown in fragmentary perspective view in FIG. 1. Building 20 has a floor 22, opposite side walls 24 a, b and a front face 26 that can also be a ceiling. FIG. 1 shows that the doorway system 27, according to the present invention, has glass doors 28 a, b held by tubular extrusions 33 a, b respectively, (made by using known methods) which rotate between modular header 35 and floor 22, header 35 being affixed to face 26, as will be explained. The image of a proportionately-sized person 37 walking out of doorway 27 is shown in phantom through one of the glass panels 29 a, b and c that are also held in place between header 35 and floor 22. 
     FIG. 2 shows an expanded, perspective view of the header 35 with various components ready to be installed. FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view taken along lines III--III of header 35 in its natural state and FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view taken along lines IV--IV of header 35 in its natural state. Header 35 is in the shape of an inverted &#34;U&#34;, with several projections extending into the slot down the middle as will be explained. The required length of a section of header 35 can be measured and pre-cut before shipping to the building site for a given installation of doors or sidelight panels, or combination of the two. Header 35 can be attached to the surface of a ceiling (not shown in FIG. 2) or installed in a ceiling 38, such as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, with nails or screws 39. Header 35 has opposing sidewalls 41a,b (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) connected by central section 42. A projection 43a,b extends at approximately 90° from each sidewall to form an opening, or track, 44 adjacent section 42. A pair of right-angle, or &#34;L&#34; shaped projections 45a,b and 46a,b also extend out from sidewalls 41a,b, to form a pair of opposing pockets 47a,b (see FIG. 4). 
     Depending upon the configuration of sidelight panels or doors to be installed at the building, additional components, such as glazing beads 49 or doorway fillers 53, are also pre-cut to be ready for installation. Wherever a door 28 (not shown in FIG. 2) is to be installed, slidable T-nuts 55a,b are set into track 44 at pre-determined locations and an adjustable pivot housing 58 or a doorstop housing 59 are attached thereto, as with fasteners 60. A doorstop bracket 62 is fixed onto housing 59 and door fillers 53 are set into the space above the doors between housings 58 and 59 so that ends 61a,b are forced into track 44 (as seen in FIG. 4). If a sidelight panel 29 (only partially shown in FIG. 3) is to be installed, glazing beads 49a,b are forced into pockets 47a,b to firmly hold panel 29 in place. 
     FIG. 5 shows an expanded fragmentary perspective view of the bottom of one corner of the doorway showing the lower operative parts of the door mechanism 70, captured inside of the lower end of extrusions 33, to operate one of doors 28 after a removable sled 150 (not shown in FIG. 5) has been taken away. Mechanism 70 can operate with standard hydraulic door closers 73, that are fitted with a square, or other shape, socket 75 and that are set into foundation 77. Foundation 77 is a rectangular-shaped, boxlike steel cement case that has a removable cover plate 78 attached, as at 79, with a flange 81 securely surrounding an aperture therethrough that is aligned with socket 75. In normal situations, closer 73 is attached to coverplate 78 and the combination then attached to foundation 77; however, this series of attachments could be reversed if necessary. 
     A spindle 84 with a key 85 is screwed into socket 75 to turn with part 86 of closer 73. If desired, socket 75 can be replaced with a male part, and spindle 84 made with the properly fitted socket (not shown). A circular bearing 88 is set over a bearing retainer 89 which is affixed to flange 81 and a cover 91 placed thereover. Spindle 84 extends from socket 75 up through cover 91 a pre-determined distance. Mechanism 70 has been designed so that all of the weight of the combination of door 28a and extrusion 33a are carried by bearing 88. 
     An adjustable engagement bracket assembly 100 with a retractable spindle grip 105a,b fits over spindle 84 and grip 105b has a slot 107, of equal width and depth as the same dimensions of key 85, that matingly fits over key 85 for a purpose, as will be described. Assembly 100 is connected to a disc-like engagement bracket flange 110 and has a pair of screw flanges 112a,b projecting orthogonally from opposite sides thereof and flange 110 along opposite radials from one another. Screw flanges 112 a, b are conveniently used to make slight, or fine, adjustments to the relation of the door in the doorway. The bottom end of tubular extrusion 33a has an inner diameter large enough to fittingly surround assembly 100 so that screws 114a,b (not shown in FIG. 5) securely bind extrusion 33a, via apertures 113a,b, to screw flanges 112a,b and spindle grip 105a can be accessed through clearance slot 117, as will be explained. 
     As seen in FIG. 6, a fragmentary elevational view of the operative parts of the bottom of extrusion 33a, spindle grip 105a is threadingly engaged inside of grip 105b. Turning grip 105a in one direction causes grip 105b to be lowered so that slot 107 mates with key 85 and turning it in the opposite direction causes it to be raised up a sufficient distance to clear key 85. Bracket flange 110 rests upon cover 91 and holds all of the weight of extrusion 33a and glass panel 28a so that floor closer 73 does not bear any weight at all and is only responsible for providing rotational motion through a vertical axis (not shown) that extends up from socket 75. As door 28a and extrusion 33a rotate, a pin guide 120 prevents grip 105 from rotating. 
     FIG. 10 shows an expanded fragmentary perspective view of the top end of extrusion 33a and showing tube covers 34a,b as they form a shell around extrusion 33a. Extrusion 33a conveniently has slots 36a,b down the entire length, each of which can securely grip a panel, such as 28a. FIG. 11 shows a fragmentary elevational view of the header and the operative parts at the top corner of the doorway. The top of the doorway employs a device very similar to the bottom in that upper pivot housing 135 with a retractable pivot 134 threadedly set therein and a pivot block 136 are rotatingly and pivotally inserted into housing 58 and a bolt 133, accessed through slot 138, can be turned to raise or lower pivot 134 which is connected thereto by intermediate segment 137. Extrusion 33a, which can conveniently be made with different longitudinal configurations, and pivot flange 131 surrounding pivot 134 are initially slipped into the recess 139 in housing 58 with the use of horseshoe-shaped collar 141. A pair of screws 143a,b are used to initially secure collar 141 and pivot 134 inside housing 58 and pivot 134 then self-centers therein. A slightly larger size opening in the ceiling 38 (see FIG. 12) allows the sides 41a,b of header 35 to deform as pivot 134 rocks back and forth. 
     FIG. 9 shows a fragmentary perspective view of the bottom corner of a door that employs the current invention being erected (as shown by the arrow). A sled 150 having a substantially U-shaped front section 151a hingedly joined as at hinge 152, to rear section 151b is used to slide the bottom of extrusion 33a over cover 91, and then removed. Spindle 105a is turned until slot 107 fits over key 85. As mentioned, collar 141 is fitted around pivot flange 131 and pushed into recess 139 in housing 58. Once screws 143a,b are fastened into housing 58 and bolt 133 is rotated to push pivot 134 to its highest, the door is operable. 
     If repairs to door closer 73 are required, spindle 105a is turned in the opposite direction to retract, and raise, assembly 100. Sled 150 is reinserted under extrusion 33a and it and door 28a, and all of the combined weight, are moved back away from the cover 78 of foundation 77, to allow access thereto by flipping up front section 151a. Because of the amount of space surrounding header 35, pivot block 136 is able to tilt (as shown in phantom in FIG. 12), thus allowing the top of extrusion 33a to remain in its rotatable position and extrustion 33a and panel 28a to remain in a substantially vertical position. This procedure is reversed to re-install the door. These and other variations in the details of the system may be made in accordance with the invention, which is to be broadly construed and to be defined by the scope of the claims appended hereto.