Guide track for a folding barrier

A guide track for the bottom ends of the pickets of a folding door or the like comprises a galvanized steel elongated channel member having upwardly diverging sidewalls extending from a basewall, and a securing flange inclined downwardly and outwardly from the top of each sidewall. The free edge of each sidewall is lipped and lies substantially in the plane of the basewall, the lips extending outwardly and upwardly from the securing flanges. The guide track is disposed in a recess in the floor with the concrete or like flooring material surrounding the securing flanges and lips, filling the space between each securing flange and the respective sidewall to support the sidewall, and encasing the lips to prevent dislodgement of the guide track.

This invention relates to a guide track for a folding barrier, such as a 
folding door comprising a plurality of vertically arranged pickets mounted 
for sliding movement transversely of the door opening and a plurality of 
door leaves hinged to such pickets and to each other. In addition such 
folding door conventionally is provided with a lattice structure extending 
between the door pickets and slidably engaged therewith to slide in a 
direction longitudinally thereof. Conventionally also such a door is 
supported from the door frame structure so as to depend therefrom and the 
bottom of such a door is guided in a guide track extending along the floor 
between the vertical members of the door frame. Such a guide track is 
generally of channel formation. 
In many cases it is required that vehicles and/or heavy equipment pass 
through a doorway to which such a door as described above is fitted. To 
facilitate such passage it is known to dispose the channel-shaped guide 
track in a channel provided in the floor, thereby avoiding any step 
formation over which the vehicle or equipment must pass. Although such an 
arrangement is satisfactory in certain applications, in other 
applications, particularly in the case of large and heavy doors and when 
large vehicles and/or very large, heavy equipment passes through a doorway 
at frequent intervals, the simple location of a guide track in a channel 
in the floor is inadequate. In such cases the loadings to which the track 
and surrounding floor are subjected by the door itself and by the vehicles 
and/or equipment can cause the guide track to become damaged and thereby 
loose and/or displaced from the channel in the floor. The provision of 
conventional fixing means such as bolts can interfere with the smooth and 
proper operation of the door. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a guide track for a 
folding barrier which avoids or reduces to a substantial extent the 
disadvantages referred to above, and an installation of the same in a 
floor of a doorway or the like. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention provides a guide track for a folding barrier comprising an 
elongated member of sheet material formed to have a channel-shaped 
cross-section having a basewall and two sidewalls upstanding therefrom, 
each sidewall having a top edge remote from said basewall, and extending 
from said top edge of each sidewall a securing flange, each securing 
flange being inclined relative to the respective sidewall from which it 
extends. Each securing flange may be inclined at an external angle of 
between 100.degree. and 170.degree., preferably between 140.degree. and 
160.degree., wherein the included angle is between 10.degree. and 
80.degree., and preferably between 20.degree. and 40.degree. as seen in 
FIG. 1, to the respective sidewall. 
Each securing flange may have an edge remote from the respective sidewall 
and a lip is provided at said remote edge. Each of said lips may extend in 
a direction away from said basewall and said sidewalls, and may be 
inclined to the respective securing flange at an external angle of between 
60.degree. and 180.degree., preferably between 130.degree. and 140.degree. 
wherein the included angle is preferably between 40.degree. and 
50.degree., as seen in FIG. 1. 
Said remote edges of said securing flanges may be substantially in the 
plane of said basewall. 
Said sidewalls may diverge in a direction away from said basewall and may 
diverge at an included angle of between 3.degree. and 15.degree.. 
Preferably said sidewalls are of substantially equal height. 
The guide track may be of metal, for example mild steel and may have a 
protective treatment applied thereto, for example galvanising. 
The invention also provides an installation of a guide track as aforesaid 
in a floor wherein said guide track is located in a recess in said floor 
with said top edges of said sidewalls substantially in the plane of the 
floor surface and the material of said floor being disposed in contact 
with that surface of each sidewall remote from the other sidewall and with 
both surfaces of each securing flange. Preferably the guide track 
comprises a lip at an edge of each securing flange remote from the 
respective sidewall, and the material of said floor is disposed in contact 
with both surfaces of each lip.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the figures there is shown a folding door assembly 10 
comprising a vertically disposed picket 11 and leaves 12 hingedly secured 
therein. Lattice bars 13 are slidably secured to the picket 11 by means of 
a bolt 14 whose head is slidably retained in a channel formation 15 of the 
picket 11. 
The door structure 10 is supported at the top thereof by the door frame 
structure (not shown) and the bottom ends of the pickets 11 are guided in 
guide track 16. The guide track 16 is located in a recess 17 in the floor 
18 so that it does not protrude above the floor surface 19. In 
consequence, vehicles and/or heavy equipment may readily pass through the 
doorway without having to rise up over the guide track 16, thereby 
reducing the risk of damage to the vehicle, equipment or guide track 16. 
The guide track 16 comprises a basewall 20 and two sidewalls 21 upstanding 
therefrom to form a channel 22 in which the bottom ends of pickets 11 are 
received. The sidewalls 21 diverge upwardly at an included angle of 
approximately 7.degree. so that only line contact occurs between the 
picket 11 and the sidewalls 21. By this means friction between the picket 
11 and sidewalls 21 is minimised, thereby facilitating easy opening and 
closing of the door structure 10. 
The top edges 23 of sidewalls 21 are at the level of floor surface 19 and 
extending from each top edge 23 is a securing flange 24. The securing 
flange 24 is inclined at an external angle of approximately 150.degree. to 
the respective sidewall 21 and has a lip 25 at the edge 26 remote from 
that sidewall 21. The lips 25 extend at an external angle of approximately 
135.degree. to the respective securing flange 24 and the edges 26 lie in 
the plane of basewall 20. The securing flanges 24 and the lips 25 are 
embedded in the floor 18, which may be for example of concrete, so that 
the floor material fills the spaces between the sidewalls 21 and the 
securing flanges 24. This provides good support for the sidewalls 21 to 
resist deformation under loads applied thereto by misuse of the door, i.e. 
under vehicular impact or the like. Since the lips 25 are effectively 
encased in the floor material, there is very high resistance to the guide 
track 16 being dislodged by such loads as aforementioned. Furthermore, the 
top edges 23 of sidewalls 21 and securing flanges 24 provide a secure edge 
to the channel 22 which is resistant to damage by vehicles passing 
thereover, providing protection for the concrete or the like which might 
otherwise chip or crumble in the region of the channel edge.