Patent Publication Number: US-7712258-B2

Title: Suspension and sill system for sliding members

Description:
INTRODUCTION 
   This invention relates to a suspension and sill system for sliding members and, more particularly, to a suspension and sill assembly system for heavy duty sliding doors or panels which doors or panels may be exposed to exterior weather conditions. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Exterior sliding doors or panels which are opened and closed by sliding within a groove and which are maintained in their generally vertical position during the sliding movement are ubiquitous in residential and commercial construction. However, disadvantages in the use and installation of such panels are well known. First, if the sliding members are heavy, hanging such members is difficult and two or more specialized installers may be required. Second, continued and proper adjustment of the sliding panels is important for proper operation of the panels or doors and, again, skilled labor may not be readily available. Third, existing sliding members generally have their entire weight acting on bearings located on the bottom of the door which run on a rail. The rail is raised from the surface of the exterior and interior floors which causes access problems for carts and disabled users. The bearings, being on the bottom of the door, attract water and other debris which contacts the door and falls downwardly into the bearing area over time. The debris may enter the bearings, prohibit smooth movement of the doors and cause premature wear. In an effort to prevent this contamination, friction brushes are often used which, in turn, interfere with the smooth movement of the sliding members. Fourth, the weight of such doors may act in an unbalanced way on the bearings if they are not precisely positioned. Thus, one set of bearings may receive more loading than a second set of bearings which affects the operation of the doors and the bearing life. Finally, subsequent service to the sliding members after installation typically requires a number of service personal to raise the doors off their track for cleaning, item replacement and the like. Thereafter, the panel members will require installation and adjustment. This is unnecessarily expensive, time consuming and inconvenient for the user. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a suspension system for a sliding panel assembly which panel assembly comprises at least one vertically positioned sliding panel, said suspension system comprising a bearing assembly for said panel operable to be connected to the upper frame of said panel and a bottom guide for said panel operable to be connected to the bottom of said panel, said bearing assembly including at least one pair of bearings, each of said bearings being operable to move in a track and a hanger operably connected between said one pair of bearings, said panel being hung from said hanger such that the weight of said panel acts principally through said hanger and applies equal loading to each of said bearings. 
   According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of installing a sliding panel within a frame for said panel and within an upper bracket at the top of said panel and a guide on the bottom of said door, said method comprising installing a bearing assembly to carry substantially all of the weight of said panel in said upper bracket, moving one of said wedge assembly or said bearing assembly relative to the other of said wedge assembly or bearing assembly to raise or lower said panel relative to said upper bracket and relative to said frame of said door. 
   According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a sliding panel for installation within an upper bracket of a panel frame and a lower drain tube of said frame, said sliding panel comprising an upper bearing assembly operably connected to the top of said panel and movable within said upper bracket and a lower guide member on the bottom of said panel which guide member is movable within said lower drain tube, said upper bearing assembly comprising at least two rotatable bearings movable on respective guide paths located on opposite sides of and within said upper bracket and a hanger extending downwardly from and between said two bearings, said panel having a weight which acts principally downwardly through said hanger and exerting substantially identical forces on each of said bearings on opposite sides of said hanger. 
   According to still yet a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a sill construction for sliding members which sliding members include bearings operably mounted on the top of at least one of said sliding members to accommodate sliding movement of said member and a guide operably mounted to the bottom of said one of said sliding members, said guide being movable within a guide box and acting to stabilize said member during said sliding movement. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with the use of drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic isometric and cutaway view of two(2) adjacent sliding doors moving within adjacent drain tubes and which sliding doors incorporate the teachings of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic end view of the sliding doors particularly showing the bearing mounting and the sill construction in which the sliding doors are guided according to a further aspect of the invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT 
   Referring now to the drawings, a set of sliding doors, in this case, two(2) such doors  11 ,  12  is generally shown at  10  in  FIG. 1 . The first and second doors  11 ,  12 , respectively, move within respective guide strips  13 ,  14  and are each hung from a pair of upper hanging assemblies, one such hanging assembly being generally illustrated in detail at  20 . A lower guide or sill assembly is generally illustrated at  21  in  FIG. 2 , it being understood that the upper hanging assemblies  20  and the lower guide or sill assembly  21  are the same for each of the sliding doors  11 ,  12 . 
   A support bracket conveniently in the form of an aluminum extrusion  22  is mounted in the frame of the house or other structure (not shown). The support bracket  22  includes two(2) bearing guide paths  23  to allow the rotating bearings  24  of the bearing assembly  20  to move therein as will be described. The support bracket  22  also conveniently includes brush housings  30  which hold removable mohair brushes  31  used to provide a brushing action against the top frame member  32  of door  11  and thereby to prevent the ingress of water and debris and to remove loose foreign material from the door  11  during the sliding operation. 
   A second extrusion, conveniently a plastic drain tube  33 , is similarly mounted in the frame of the house or other structure and forms the principal member of the sill assembly  21 . The drain tube  33  contains side drain holes  44  and/or bottom drain holes  50  to allow the drainage of moisture and other debris to the outside environment. The drain tube  33  also allows for the entrance and retention of several shims or ribs  34 . The shims  34  ( FIG. 2 ) extend perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the drain tube  33  and are relatively narrow. The shims  34  provide support for the guide strips  40  which are removably mounted on the shims  34  and within the drain tube  33 . The guide strips  40  also contain brush housings  41  which allow the entry of removable mohair brushes  42 . The brushes  42  bear on a guide or key  43  which is connected to the lower portion of the door  11  and which guide or key  43  provides a degree of stability during the sliding movement of the panel members  11 ,  12 . The guide  43  extends substantially the entire length of the bottom of the door  11  and may take the form of a T-section which is bolted to the bottom of the door  11  at several different locations to ensure connection integrity. It will be noted that the upper surface of the drain tube  33  may conveniently be level with both the interior and exterior floor surfaces  66 ,  67  thereby allowing carts, wheelchairs and the like to easily move along the floor surfaces  66 ,  67  and over the top of the drain tube  66  without difficulty although the upper surface may also be raised or lowered relative to the floor surfaces if desired. 
   The bearing assembly  25  includes the rotatable bearings  24  which are conveniently heavy duty and made from a TEFLON material in order to reduce the friction between the bearings  24  and the bearing guide paths  23  when the bearings  24  are moving within the guide paths  23 . The bearings  24  conveniently number three (3) and rotate about respective axes  51 . Bearings  24  are connected on each side of a hanger  52  which extends downwardly and centrally between the bearings  24  thereby to reduce or eliminate any moment acting on the bearings  24  by the hanging members  11 ,  12  which are each connected to the hanger  52  as will be described. 
   Hanger  52  terminates in an enlarged female member  53  which is mounted for reciprocal and longitudinal movement within a wedge member  54 . The hanger  52  extends downwardly from the forward most bearing  24  as viewed in  FIG. 1  a distance “d 1 ” which distance “d 1 ” is longer than the distance “d 2 ” from the rearward one of the bearings  24  as also seen in  FIG. 1 . The slope between the two distances d 1 , d 2  matches the slope of a wedge member  54  in which the female member  53  moves. Wedge member  54  is connected to an anchor plate  60  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) which anchor plate  60  is mounted to the top of the door  11  and which has bolts  55  extending there through. Wedge member  54  therefore moves with door  11  and anchor plate  60  and remains stationary relative to the door  11  and anchor plate  60 . 
   A threaded hole  61  extends through the female member  53  of hanger  52  and a threaded bolt  62  is threadedly connected through hole  61 . A socket  64  in the end of the threaded bolt  62  allows the entry of a complementary matching member on the end of a tool (not shown) which is used to rotate the bolt  62 . The bolt  62  is held by a collar  63  mounted for stationary position within wedge member  54  which collar  63  allows the bolt  62  to rotate freely within the threaded hole  61  of wedge member  54  while not moving the bolt  62  longitudinally and thereby drawing the hanger assembly  25  along the wedge member  54  which, because of the connection between the wedge member  54  and anchor plate  60  to the door  11 , allows the panel member or door  11  to be easily moved upwardly and downwardly relative to the door bearing assembly  25  and the support bracket  22  as the installation may require in order that the door  11  hangs cleanly and moves freely. 
   A recess  65  is provided in the support bracket or aluminum extrusion  22  at the end of the bracket  22  mounted in the frame of the moving panels  11 ,  12  ( FIG. 1 ). It will be understood that a further and second recess  64  is provided at the opposite end of the support bracket  22  which is not illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The recess  65  is formed by cutting away material previously forming the bearing guide paths  23  formed on either side of the longitudinal axis of the bracket  22 . By removing the guide path material to form the recess  65 , the bearing assembly  25  is easily inserted into the support bracket  22  and the bearings  24  can then move freely on the bearing guide paths  23 . To prevent the bearings  24  from moving into the recess  65  during sliding movement and operation of the door  11 , the wedge member  54  and anchor plate  60  are mounted to the door  11  at a position where, with the door  11  in its limiting positions of movement within lower drain tube  33  and upper support bracket  22 , the bearings  24  remain a distance away from the recess  65  thereby avoiding any unnecessary stress in the bearing guide paths  23  adjacent the recess  65  and thereby avoiding the recess  65  entirely. 
   Operation 
   In operation, it will be assumed that the upper support bracket  22  and the lower drain tube  33  have been installed in the frame of the structure into which the sliding panel or door assembly  10  is to be installed and that it is now intended to install the panel or door assembly  10  ( FIG. 1 ). 
   The anchor plates  60 , one for each of the bearing assemblies  25 , which bearing assemblies  25  are mounted at opposite ends of each panel or door  11 , are mounted to the top of each of the doors  11 ,  12  as seen in  FIG. 1  and the key member  43  is attached to the bottom of the doors  11 ,  12  again by bolting the key member  43  to the door  11 . The wedge members  54  are then connected to the anchor plates  60  by bolts  71  extending into the anchor plates  60 . One wedge member  54  is mounted to each of the anchor plates  60 ; that is, one anchor plate  60  and one wedge member  54  are mounted to each end of each door  11 ,  12 . 
   The lower guide strips  40  will be placed into position within drain tube  33  and will rest on the shims  34 , the shims  34  being placed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the drain tube  33  and spaced intermittently along its length. 
   The doors  11 ,  12  will then be manually moved into their general installation position by placing the key  43  on the bottom of the door  11  into the guide strip  40  and allowing the door  11  to remain substantially vertically in its resting position on the drain tube  33 . The top of the door  11  will be inserted into and retained by the sides of the support bracket  22  to prevent the door  11  from moving sidewardly and falling from its temporary and upright position. 
   An installer will then begin the final hanging. The installer will insert a bearing assembly  25  into each of the wedge assemblies  54  by inserting the rotating bearings  24  into the guide paths  23  through the recess  64  ( FIG. 1 ). He will then move the door  11  until the hanger  52  and male member  53  are aligned with the recess  72  in the wedge member  54  ( FIG. 3A ) and the bolt  62  is rotated with the installation tool (not shown) which rotates the bolt  62  through its end socket  64  until the wedge assembly is fully engaged. A similar procedure will take place between the second bearing assembly  25  and the second wedge member  54  at the opposite end of the door  11 . The installer will then raise or lower the door  11  relative to the guide paths  23  by appropriately rotating the bolt  62  at each end of the door  11  so that the key  43  reciprocates freely within the guide strips  40  with the mohair brushes  42  suitably brushing the key  43  as the movement of the door  11  takes place and so that the door  11  is suitably level within the upper extrusion  22  and so that the vertical ends  73  of the door  11  match the vertical sides (not shown) of the door frame. 
   It will be appreciated that the bearings  24  act on either side of the longitudinal axis  70  of the upper support bracket  22  and that the door  11  hangs vertically from the hanger  52  which is connected to the bearings  24 . Thus, the weight of the door  11  acts generally vertically downwardly and generates little if any moment on the bearings  24  and bearing assembly  25 . The key  43  thereby also moves freely within the guide strips  40  and allows the mohair brushes  40  to brush debris and foreign material off the key  43  which debris is disposed of through the bottom and side drain holes  50 ,  44 , respectively, in the drain tube  33 . The key  43  also serves to block the egress of wind and water driven from the outside environment. Any such wind, water or debris will fall into the guide strips  40 , thence to the guide tube  33  and out to the outside via drain tubes  44 ,  50 . 
   The use of the wedge member  54  to move the door  11  upwards and downwards will allow a single installer to provide the finished door installation in which the door  11  may be centered and raised or lowered as necessary so the loading of the door  11  will fall on the bearings  24  of the bearing assembly  25  and so that the door  11  may be appropriated fitted within the door frame to provide a close matching fit with the door frame. The panel or door members  11 ,  12  may also be easily raised relative to the guide tube  33  by a user using the described tool to rotate bolt  62  and thereby raise the panel members  11 ,  12  relative to the guide tube  33 . If the user intends to clean the guide tube  33  and drain tubes  40  of the sill assembly  21 , it is convenient to do so without the necessity of removing the heavy door or panels  11 ,  12 . All the members making up the sill assembly  21  can be easily replaced if necessary. 
   Many modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. For example, the use of relative movement between the wedge member  54  and the bearing assembly  25  so as to lift and lower the door  11  relative to the extrusion  22  may suitably be modified by allowing the bearing assembly  25  to remain stationary relative to the door  11  and by moving the wedge member  54  relative to the door  11  and bearing assembly  25 . All that is needed is relative movement between the bearing assembly  25  and the wedge member  54  in order to provide the necessary adjustment. Likewise, while it is apparent that the use of heavy sliding doors, used in exteriorly exposed position, will most often make use of the invention, it is intended to cover sliding panel members as well. 
   It is further contemplated that, of course, portions of the sill assembly can be raised if desired such that the sill assembly may project above the surfaces of the exterior and interior floors. 
   Many further modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates and the particular embodiments herein described should be taken as illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting its scope as defined in accordance with the accompanying claims.