Roller assembly for sliding doors and windows

A simple, adjustable roller assembly for supporting sliding track doors and windows and comprising a U shaped bracket which journals a roller and includes a corner opposite from the journaled roller which engages the intersection between the stile and rail of a door frame. An adjusting screw passes through the stile or rail and engages the U shaped bracket whereby tightening of the screw pivots the bracket and roller into increasing downward movement by pivoting the bracket with respect to the inside corner defined by the junction of the stile and rail. In one alternate embodiment, a single screw adjusts a pair of side by side rollers journaled on a common shaft. In another embodiment the U shaped member includes a tap member extendable outward and securable at a spaced point on the door rail or sill. Tightening of this screw serves to bend the tab member and adjust the roller position. The bendable tab actually provides a degree of spring support for the door.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The horizontal sliding glass door and window have achieved a high degree of 
acceptance particularly in warmer climates providing large expanses of 
open wall and easy opening and closing. Typically sliding doors and 
windows have a frame with an upstanding rib on the sill on which concealed 
rollers within the door or window rail ride. Typically these roller 
assemblies include a pair of plates spaced in side by side relationship 
secured to the door frame and an adjustable yoke carrying a journaled 
roller and some screw means to adjust the yoke with respect to the roller 
assembly plates. In another form of prior art adjustable roller assembly, 
a pair of wedges are interposed between the side plates and above the 
roller to move the entire assembly in its working direction for roller 
height adjustment. 
In each of these types of adjustable roller assemblies, a large number of 
parts are required. Also the common interfitting arrangement of the roller 
yoke within and encompassing the body provides an opportunity for jamming, 
either due to loading or distortion or to accummulated debris. In general, 
the dividing of the adjustable feature into two or more parts has 
necessitated the addition of at least one fabricated metal part in 
addition to the roller holding frame or yoke with a resultant substantial 
increase in cost. 
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION 
I have discovered that ultimate simplicity in the design of an adjustable 
roller assembly may be accomplished by a simple U shaped member 
journalling a roller and including a corner section spaced from the roller 
which acts as a fulcrum for the adjustment of the roller by pivotal 
movement about the corner which remains relatively fixed with respect to 
inside corner defined by the rail and stile of the door or window frame. 
In another embodiment, a U shaped member supporting a journaled roller and 
including an outward extending tab extending generally normal to the axis 
of rotation of the roller and including attachment means to be secured to 
the frame or stile. The U shaped member includes means for engaging a 
screw passing through the stile of the door or window whereby tightening 
of the screw deforms the tab and thus changes the elevation of the roller. 
Thereafter the tab acts as a slight resilient support for the door or 
window.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In the need to simplify roller assemblies, I have proceeded with the 
philosophy that elimination of unnecessary parts not only reduces the cost 
of roller assemblies but may additionally increase their utility and their 
reliability. I have found it possible to reduce the number of parts in the 
roller assembly to basically a U shaped frame, an adjusting screw and 
possibly a mating nut, and a roller and roller shaft. I employ the actual 
door rail and stile as working elements in combination with the roller 
assembly to hold the roller assembly in position and to aid in its 
adjustability. Operating under this philosophy, the adjusting screw which 
extends through one of the two frame members, e.g. the stile, makes 
adjustment from the exterior of the door easily accomplished as well. 
Now referring to FIG. 1, we may see illustrating this invention a 
fragmentary lower corner of the sliding glass door generally designated 10 
including a stile 11, a rail 12 and a lite 13, all held together by a 
number of fasteners such as screw 14 which extends through the stile 11 
and into a screw groove 15 defined by a pair of curved ribs 16 and 17 
appearing in FIG. 1 but better seen in FIG. 5. The use of a screw fastener 
14 and the rib 16 and 17 to hold a corner of a door together is well known 
in the art and is not involved per se in this invention except that in 
joining the stile 11 and the rail 12, defines a right angular corner "C" 
at the intersection of vertical ribs 20 and 21 of the stile 11, one of 
which appears in FIG. 1, and a horizontal web 22 which constitutes the 
main interconnecting web of the rail 12 as best seen in FIG. 5. 
The front and rear walls 25 and 26 respectively of the rail 12 and the web 
22 define a rectangular cavity closed at each end by ribs such as 20 and 
21 of the stile 11 and its counterpart at the opposite end. In a typical 
example, the cavity defined by the walls 25 and 26 and the web 22 is 11/2 
inches deep, 1 inch wide and extends from stile to stile. 
Positioned within the aformentioned cavity is the roller assembly 30 of 
this invention. It comprises a modified "U" shaped member 31 having a pair 
of legs or sides 32 and 33 best seen in FIG. 2, which journal a roller 34 
on a shaft 35 which extends between the sides 32 and 33. The sides 32 and 
33 include inwardly depending or extending regions 36 and 40 which are 
closely aligned with the side walls of the roller and minimize the overall 
length of the shaft 35. The sides or legs 32 and 33 each include upwardly 
extending respective feet 41 and 42 including planar upper edges, the 
purpose of which will be more apparent in connection with the description 
of FIG. 3. The legs 32 and 33 of the bracket are joined by a bridge 
portion 43 including a notch 44 at its upper end and additionally includes 
an aperture therethrough for the adjusting screw 50 which is used as 
described in FIGS. 3 and 4 to adjust the amount of extension of the roller 
34 below the lower level of the walls 25 and 26 and thus the height of the 
window or door. 
Referring now momentarily to FIG. 7, the bottom view of the roller 
assemblies of FIGS. 1 and 2, a captured nut 51 retained by an integral tab 
52 of the end bridge 43 serves the purpose of allowing the easy adjustment 
of screw 50 from the exterior of the door as shown in FIG. 1, to change 
the degree of extention of the roller 34. Thus, from the examination of 
FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, it may be seen that the roller assembly includes the U 
shaped bracket 31, roller 34 and its axle or shaft 35, adjusting screw 50 
and its captured nut 51. These elements, all preassembled, constitute the 
roller assembly. 
It also should be noted that the roller assembly 30 achieves adjustability 
downward to elevate the door or window and upward and out of the way for 
lowering the window or door, and additionally, conceivably for storage or 
transit the assembly employs the two adjoining walls 20 and 21 of the 
stile 11 and web 22 of the rail 12. 
In as much as virtually all aluminum or metal frame doors and windows 
contain as integral parts thereof the exact or equivalent to the ribs 20 
and 21 and the web 22, the roller assembly of this invention may be 
installed in virtually any window or door frame having a cavity of 
sufficient size to receive the assembly 30. The assembly of FIGS. 1, 2 and 
7 is approximately one half the number of parts of most assemblies and 
involves only the adjustment of the entire assembly and no adjustment of 
internal parts which might become jammed through misuse or improper 
installation. It must be recognized that the adjustment upward and 
downward of a window or door is not a common adjustment and is usually 
only made at the time of installation. Consequently, the minimization and 
simplification of the assembly and the adjustment mechanism aids greatly 
in the reduction of costs and repeated cycling of operation is not a 
concern. 
Now referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the two typical positions of the assembly 
30 may be seen. In FIG. 3, the roller assembly 30 is shown in its fully 
upward adjusted position with the screw 50 loosened to its full extent. 
When in this position, the upper edge of the feet 41 and 42 rest against 
the underside of web 22 while the upper corner of the bridge 43 of the 
roller assembly 30 rests against the walls 21 and 22 of the stile 11. A 
corner 60 of the side wall 33 and its matching corner 61 of the side wall 
32 appearing in FIG. 2 also rests against the ribs 21 and 22 of the stile 
11. These surfaces present adequate support for the door and if a 
particularly heavy door is to be supported requiring additional strength, 
the feet 41 and 42 may be joined by an integral or overlapping web portion 
to provide additional support surface. From experimentation to date, the 
need for such second web does not need to be present. 
Now referring to FIG. 4, when the screw 50 is tightened by clockwise 
movement, it draws the assembly 30 closer to it and in so doing causes the 
assembly 30 to pivot generally around the corner "C" with the feet 42 and 
41 no longer in contact with the web 22 and with the contact at point 60 
and 61 and the bridge 43 moved slightly but still engaging the under side 
of web 22 and the ribs 21 and 22 of the stile 11. Further tightening of 
the screw 50 up to the point where the angle between the bridge 43 and the 
ribs 21 and 22 approaches zero produces the maximum extent of rotation of 
the assembly 30. When the maximum extent of rotation is achieved, the 
outer wall of bridge 43 is coplanar with the ribs 21 and 22 and the planar 
upper surface 65 becomes coplanar with the underside of the web 22. In 
these circumstances, the right angle of the roller assembly 30 matches the 
right angle of corner "C" and a rigid frame and roller assembly is 
achieved. In this position, the roller assembly actually enhances the 
strength of the corner "C". Backing off the screw 50 allows the roller 
assembly to be withdrawn into the rail 12. In normal installation 
procedures, the roller assembly can be installed after assembly of the 
door and actually as it is to be placed in the house or apartment. This is 
possible by the addition of a slot 70 at the bottom of stile 11 as shown 
in FIG. 6. In such case, the screw 50 is slipped upward in the slot 70 and 
then tightened to rotate the roller assembly 30 into its required 
position. The screw may merely be tightened until it reaches a neutral 
stop at the time angle theta of FIG. 4 reaches zero, at which time the 
roller assembly is at its maximum extension outward and the assembly is in 
its greatest strength adding relationship to the frame of the door or 
window. 
The roller assembly of this invention is not limited to a single roller as 
appears in FIGS. 1 through 7. Instead, it can be used with a pair of side 
by side rollers and in such case, the maximum extent of adjustability is 
enhanced since the screw 50 is not limited in length by interference with 
the roller 34 as shown in the first 7 FIGS. In this case a pair of side by 
side rollers 134 and 135 are each journaled from the U shaped member 131 
on their common shaft 135A. The operation of the double roller version of 
FIG. 8 is the same as the single roller of FIGS. 1 through 7, and FIGS. 1, 
3 and 4 illustrate equally well the relative positioning and operation of 
the double roller assembly of FIG. 8. 
Now referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, an alternate embodiment of this invention 
may be seen employing a U shaped member 231 which journals a roller 34 on 
a shaft 35 and includes an inner connecting bridge portion 234 at the top 
thereof. The U shaped member includes a pair of overlapping arms 235 and 
236 with a mating opening therethrough 240 for receiving the end of the 
screw 50. The arms 235 and 236 may hold a captured nut or the opening 240 
may be threaded for engagement with the threads of the screw 50. The 
assembly 231 includes an outward extending tab 241 which is integral with 
the bridge 234 and includes an opening therethrough 242 which cooperates 
with a rivet or other fastener 243 to be secured to the upper wall of the 
cavity in a rail such as the web 22 of the rail 12 of FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. 
The rivet 243 may be replaced by a self tapping screw or other type of 
fastener which is designed to permanently secure the outer most end of the 
tab 241 to the rail of the door or window. The screw 50 again extends 
through the stile of the door such as stile 11 of FIGS. 1 and 2, and may 
be tightened in the same manner as in FIGS. 1 through 7. This embodiment 
has a further advantage not heretofore discussed. This is that the tab 241 
is a spring element and provides a degree of spring cushioning of the door 
on its roller 34. This spring mounting is accomplished with no additional 
parts and employs only the tab 241 which functions both for adjustment and 
for spring mounting. With possible deformation over years of use if the 
tab 241 is gradually deformed upward, it is possible merely by further 
adjustment of the screw 50 to bring the roller back to the desired 
position. 
One of the advantages of the embodiment of FIGS. 9 through 11 is again the 
simplicity which is inherent in the entire concept of roller assemblies in 
accordance with this invention. It creates one additional part, namely the 
addition of the rivet or screw fastener 243 for an additional spring 
function. 
For heavier duty applications than is desired for the assembly of FIGS. 9 
through 11, the embodiment of FIGS. 12 and 13 is preferred. In this case, 
the body 330 is generally inverted channel shaped including a pair of side 
walls 331 and 332 which journal the roller 34 on a shaft 35. The side 
walls 331 and 332 are strengthened by the cross arms 333 and 334 
comparable to the arms 235 and 236 of FIG. 9, and provide a box like 
structure for supporting the roller 34. An opening 340 comparable to 
opening 240 in FIG. 9 receives screw 50 for adjustment. The screw 50 
extends through a pair of arms 350 and 351 which are integral with a 
second pair of depending sides 352 and 353 which are integral with a 
second pair of depending sides 352 and 353 respectively, to form a second 
box like structure joined to the roller holding portion of the assembly by 
a web 355. This web extends across the full width of the top of the roller 
assembly to add greater strength than the narrow tab 241 of the embodiment 
of FIG. 9. This web 355, however, may similarly be deformed as shown in 
FIG. 13 to adjust the roller 34 downward. This embodiment again provides a 
degree of spring mounting of the door which of course is limited by the 
resilient properties of the web 355. 
In each of the foregoing embodiments, it is apparent that the roller 
assembly cooperates with the rail and stile member and by either rotation 
or deformation in response to screw tightening, provides extension of the 
roller 34. Although intended for single time operation, the inherent 
nature of the type of adjustment which is made allows repeated adjustments 
as may be required. In addition to the cooperation between the stile and 
rail, the roller assemblies, as described above, involve extreme degree of 
simplicity. 
The above described embodiments of this invention are merely descriptive of 
its principles and are not to be considered limiting. The scope of this 
invention instead shall be determined from the scope of the following 
claims including their equivalents.