Patent Publication Number: US-3879894-A

Title: Sliding screen door

Description:
United States Patent Anderson Apr. 29, 1975 SLIDING SCREEN DOOR [75] Inventor: Richard N. Anderson. Owensboro, [57] ABSTRACT Ky. A completely reversible sliding screen door having no [73] Assigncez V. E. Anderson g Co&#34; top and bottom, right and left or insfide and&#39;outside Owcnsborm KY. onentation, inc u 111g an extruded rame havmg a cross sectlon mcludmg an Inner and outer rectangular [22] Filed: Feb. 5, 1973 portion separated by a web portion, the outer rectanular ortion of which has a artl&#39; 0 en outer wall, [21] Appl 329676 vhich frame includes head, jgmb anii sill members connected together by a pair of corner brackets in mi [52] US. Cl. 49/420; 49/425; 49/370; tered joints, a frame portion forming a screen retain- 49/501; 16/105; 160/395 ing recess on the inner rectangular member having a [51] Int. Cl E05d 13/02 cross section in the shape of a parallelogram for re- [58] Field of Search 49/420. 425, 501, 449, ceiving the edge of a screen member, and an H-shaped 49/367, 370; 287/189, 36 H; 16/91, 97, 99, spline defining a parallelogram positioned in the re- 105; 160/395, 397 cess over the edge of the screen member, a screen lock including a bushing extending parallel to the [56] References Cited screen door, a locking member positioned over one UNITED STATES PATENTS end Of the bushing and secured thereto for pivotal 2.xx95x9 6/1959 Peterson 49/425 x .movemem toward the Screen door m closid posmo 3088177 5/1963 Ricgclmun 49/449 into the space between the rectangular portlons of the 3136396 6/1964 Sullivan 49/425 frame separated by the web port1on, spring loaded ad- 3331444 11/1966 Andrcs 49 justable roller assemblies in all four corners of the 3.290.824 12/1966 Anderson...&#34; 49/420 creen door for mounting the screen in an opening 3.341.973 9/1967 Millcr 49/420 which may not be square, astragal adapter structure 3,416,133 l3/l968 Martin 49/420 X for securing a pair of the sliding screen doors together 4/1999 49/425 X in a four-panel sliding door installation, and a bug seal 3,443,340 5/1969 Helmick et al. 49/420 Prinutry Examiner-Kenneth Downey Attorney, Agent, or FirmWhittemore, Hulbert &amp;  
 Belknap secured to one edge of the screen door structure for sealing between the screen door and a panel of a sliding door with which the screen door is associated.  
 15 Claims, 10Drawing Figures PATENTl-inmzsmsra SHEET 2 If 3 FIG.4  
 SLIDING SCREEN DOOR CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is related to application Ser. No. 219,330, filed Jan. 20, 1972, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,245 and discloses improved screen door structure for use with sliding door structure as disclosed in the related patent application.  
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates tobuilding structures and refers more specifically to a sliding screen door for use with sliding glass doors or the like, which screen door is completely reversible in that it has no orientation top to bottom, left to right, or inside to outside, and is particularly simple, economical to construct, and efficient in use.  
 2. Description of the Prior Art In the past, sliding screen door structure for use in conjuction with sliding glass doors and the like have generally included frames which have either been built up of separate structural forms or which have been roll formed. Such frames are expensive and have not always provided maximum strength for the weight of metal used therein. Such frames and the components thereof have also usually been oriented for installation in only one or possibly two positions.  
  In addition, sliding screen doors of the past have included screen retaining recesses which were generally rectangular and cooperating splines that were either round or rectangular for securing the periphery of screens placed in the rectangular recesses in the recesses. Such structure does not hold the edges of the screen in the recesses with the force required in some installations.  
  Further, sliding screen doors of the past have often included screen mounting and guiding rollers at the corners thereof, some of which have been adjustable vertically to permit mounting the screen doors in openings which were not square. However, such adjustable rollers in the past have not had sufficient vertical movement and/or have been relatively large, requiring deep open sections of the screen door frames. Still further, the roller structure in the past has not been readily adjustable from both sides of the screen without special tools.  
  Also, the lock structures used in conjunction with sliding screen doors of the past have been relatively complicated and therefore expensive and subject to malfunction, the sliding screen doors of the past have unually been provided with separate handles on opposite sides thereof for opening and closing of the doors which has added to the expense of the sliding screen doors, and the sliding screen doors of the past have often not been provided with bug seals between the screen door and an associated sliding door panel, or where such seals have been provided in the past, they have been inefficient.  
  In addition, wherein a pair of sliding screen doors has been used in the past with, for example, a four-panel sliding glass door assembly, securing of the screen doors together centrally has not been readily accomplished due to the lack of provision of special locking structure therefor.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a unique sliding screen door wherein the frame is constructed of extrusions having a cross section including inner and outer rectangular portions spaced apart by a web portion, the outer rectangular portion of which has at least a partly open outer wall, which extrusions are connected together at the corners in a mitered joint by means of two corner brackets at each corner, whereby an extremely rigid frame is provided which provides a hand grip on both sides around the entire periphery thereof so that separate handles are not necessary.  
  The sliding screen door structure disclosed further includes a recess in the cross section thereof which is in the form of a parallelogram extending at an angle to the plane of the screen door having one open side for receiving the periphery of a screen member and an H- shaped spline which has overall cross section dimensions defining a parallelogram similar to that of the recess whereby the periphery of the screen is held extremely tightly in the recess.  
  Further, because of the particular cross section of the frame of the screen door disclosed, locking can be accomplished by a simple lock including only a bushing extending generally parallel to the screen door, a locking member extending perpendicularly to the screen door at one end of the bushing and adapted to be pivoted into and out of a locking position, wherein it is positioned between the rectangular portions of the frame cross section in engagement with the outer rectangular portion, and pivot means extending through the locking member and bushing and into an adjacent fixed support such as the frame for a sliding glass door assembly with which the sliding screen door is associated.  
  Also, in accordance with the invention, the spring loaded adjustable roller assembly provided at all four corners of the screen door includes a roller assembly which is pivotally engaged with an associated corner bracket at one end, is urged out of the outer rectangular portion of the frame cross section toward either the head or sill of the frame in which the screen door is being installed by spring means operable between the frame and roller assembly, and an adjustable wedge movable within the head or sill of the frame toward and away from the roller assembly to position the roller assembly in a desired pivoted position.  
  Further, the screen door assembly of the invention is provided with a bug seal between the screen door and an associated panel of a sliding glass door assembly, and an astragal adapter adapted to be secured to the jamb of one ofa pair of the screen doors and to receive the jamb of an adjacent screen door installed in conjunction with a four-panel sliding glass door, and lock means for securing the adjacent sliding screen doors together.  
  In addition, the screen door of the invention is completely reversible in that the frame and major components thereof have no top and bottom, no right and left, and no inside or outside orientation.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is an exploded assembly view of a sliding screen door constructed in accordance with the invention.  
  FIG. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section view of the screen door illustrated in FIG. 1 installed in conjunction with a sliding glass door assembly.  
  FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section view of the screen door illustrated in FIG. 1. installed in conjunction with a sliding glass door assembly.  
  FIG. 4 is an enlarged section view of ajamb extrusion portion of the screen door illustrated in FIG. 2 and as sociated lock structure.  
  FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the screen retaining recess and screen spline of the screen door illustrated in FIG. 1.  
  FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of one corner of the screen door illustrated in FIG. 1 with the frame partly broken away to show the corner brackets and spring loaded adjustable roller assembly.  
  FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 6, but with the adjusting wedge of the spring loaded adjustable roller assembly in engagement with the roller assembly.  
  FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial section view of the screen door structure illustrated in FIG. 1 taken substantially on the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.  
  FIG. 9 is a partly broken away perspective view of the roller assembly of the spring loaded adjustable roller assembly illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.  
  FIG. 10 is an enlarged partial horizontal section view of an astragal adapter and lock for use with the screen door of FIG. I wherein two of the screen doors are used in conjunction with a four-panel sliding door structure.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The sliding screen door structure 10, as shown best in FIG. 1, includes a completely reversible frame 12 including novel structure 14 for securing the periphery of a screen member 16 thereto, which frame is secured together at the corners thereof in mitered joints with the aid of corner brackets 18 and 26. The screen door 10 further includes the lock structure 22 and the spring loaded adjustable roller assemblies 24 at the four corners thereof. A bug seal 26 is provided at one edge of the screen door 10 and a pair of the screen doors 10 are secured together by an astragal adapter 28 in assembly with a four-panel sliding glass door assembly as shown best in FIG. 10.  
  The frame 12 includes the head extrusion 30, the jamb extrusions 32 and 34, as well as the sill extrusion 36.. As shown best for example in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the head, jamb and sill extrusions of the frame 10 have a common cross section. The cross section of the frame extrusions includes an inner rectangular portion 38, an outer rectangular portion 40 having a partly open outer side 42. The rectangular portions 38 and 40 are separated by a web portion 44. As shown, the extrusions 30, 32, 34 and 36 are miter cut at the ends thereof and joined to provide a rectangular frame by means of a pair of corner brackets 18 and staked to the frame extrusions at each corner thereof. The rectangular frame so formed without orientation top to bottom, left to right, and inside or outside is particularly economical, rigid and efficient.  
  The frame members 30, 32, 34 and 36, which individually are also oriented, further include a generally parallelogram shaped cross section portion 46 depending from the rectangular portion 38 at an angle to the plane of the screen door as defined by the web portion 44 of the frame members 30, 32, 34 and 36. The parallelogram portion 46 of the frame members also has a partly open side 48., as shown best in FIG. 4. Thus, the parallelogram portions of the frame members 30, 32, 34 and 36 form a recess 50 for receiving the periphery 52 of the screen member 16. A flexible screen spline 54 generally having an H-shaped cross section defining a parallelogram is positioned with the recess 50 to secure the periphery 52 of the screen member 16 therein in assembly. Such parallelogram configuration, it has been found, greatly enhances the ability of the spline 54 to secure the periphery 52 of the screen member 16 to the frame. Further, the generally H-shaped cross section of the resilient spline member 54 permits ready insertion of the spline member 54 into the recess 50 in assembly.  
  The lock structure 22, as shown best in FIG. 2, includes a bushing 56 which is an elongated member having an opening 58 extending therethrough, which in assembly is positioned with one end 60 abutting a sliding door frame 62, as shown in FIG. 2, in which the screen door 10 is installed. The lock structure 22 further includes the locking member 64 positioned at right angles to the bushing 56 at the other end of the bushing 56. The locking member 64 is pivotally mounted on the bushing 56 by the pivot means 66 extending through the locking member 64, the bushing 56, and the frame 62 of the sliding door structure illustrated in FIG. 2. The locking member 64 is further provided with the arcuate projection 68 thereof with spaced apart spherical portions 69 extending therefrom operable to hold the locking member 64 in a locked position. In the locked position as shown in FIG. 2, the locking member 64 engages the outer rectangular portion 40 of the screen door jamb between the outer and inner rectangular portions to prevent movement of the screen door structure away from the sliding door frame 62. With the locking member 64 pivoted out of engagement with the rectangular portion 40 of the door jamb, the screen door 10 may be moved to the left, for example in FIG. 2, by placing the fingers within the recesses formed between the rectangular portions 38 and 40 of the jamb on either side of the web 44. Thus, with applicant&#39;s frame structure, separate screen handles are not required and the lock structure is extremely simple.  
  The spring loaded adjustable roller assembly 24, as shown in FIGS. 6 through 9, includes the roller assembly 72 and the biasing spring 74 secured by means of the corner bracket 18 positioned in the outer rectangular portion 40 of the jamb member 32 to the head ex trusion 30. The spring loaded adjustable roller assembly 24 is completed by the adjusting wedge 76.  
  The corner bracket 18, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and as shown in perspective in FIG. 1, is an L-shaped member having a flange 78 at one end received in the portion 40 0f the frame jamb cross section adjacent a mitered end thereof and a portion 80 shaped as shown best in FIGS. 6 and 7 to provide a recess 82 and a pivot point 84 at the other end thereof received in the portion 40 of the head extrusion 30. Centrally of the corner bracket 18 there is provided an outer portion 86 and an inner portion 88 defining the square mitered corner of the frame 12 and also received within the portions 40 at the ends of the jamb extrusion 32 and the head extrusion 30.  
  The roller assembly 72 is also positioned in the part 40 of the head cross section for pivotal movement into and out of the portion 40 through the partly open side 42 thereof. The roller assembly 72 has hooked end 90 received within the recess 82 to provide a pivot for the roller assembly in conjunction with the pivot point 84 e p of the corner bracket 18.  
 The roller assembly 72 further has a recess 92 therein for receiving one end of a spring 94 biasing the roller assembly 72 out of the portion of the head extrusion cross section, as shown best in FIG. 6. The other end of the roller assembly 72 is bifurcated and is provided with openings 96 extending through both bifurcated portions thereof for receiving the ends of an axle portion 98 integral with a relatively small roller 100 positioned in the space provided by the bifurcated end of the roller assembly 72. 7  
  ln assembly, the roller 1.0. engages a flange 102 of the head extrusion offa&#34; glass door assembly frame in which the screen oor is installed, as shown best in FIG. 3, to guide the screen door in sliding movement in the assembly. With applicants particular construction, the roller is relatively small yet the adjustment thereof due to the pivotal mounting of the roller 100 ,is large, which will be recognized from inspection of FIGS; 6 and 7 showing different positions of the roller assembly due to different locations of the sliding glass door frame head 104 relative to the head extrusion 30 of the sliding screen door 10.  
  Further, the roller assembly 72 is provided with flanges 106 extending outwardly of the bifurcated end thereof which in operation engage the open side 42 of the portion 40 of the head extrusion 30 on pivoting of the roller assembly 72 toward the head extrusion 30 to limit movement of the roller assembly 72 into the portion 40 of the extrusion 30.  
  Further in the embodiment of the roller assembly illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the pivotal movement of the roller assembly 72 out of the portion 40 of the extrusion 30 toward the flange 102 is limited by the hemispherical projection 108 provided thereon. In the modification of the roller assembly illustrated in FIG. 9, the limitation on the outward pivotal movement allowed the roller assembly under urging of the bias spring 94 is provided by projections 110 on each side thereof. The projections 110 are formed to permit camming of the roller assembly 72 into the portion 40 of the extrusion 30 and to prevent pivotal movement of the roller assembly 72 completely out of the portion 40 of the extrusion 30.  
  The wedge member 76 which is generally U-shaped as shown in FIG. 8 is provided with projections 112 on either side thereof engageable with recesses 114 formed in the portion 40 of the frame extrusions whereby the wedge member 76 is guided on movement in the portion 40 toward and away from the roller assembly 72. Such movement is facilitated from either side of the screen door 10 by the flanges 116 extending outwardly of the plane of the screen door beyond the portion 40 of the extrusion 30, again as indicated in FIG. 8.  
  The edge 118 of the wedge member 76 is inclined and is provided with a series of notches 120 therein which engage the single notch 122 in the bifurcated end of the roller assembly 72 to hold the roller assembly 72 in desired relation with the flange 102 in assembly. Thus, the inclined edge 118 of the wedge members 76 permits adjusting the engagement of the screen door 10 with the frame 124 of the sliding glass door assembly 126 at the head extrusion 104 and the sill extrusion 128 at the respective upper and lower pairs of corners of the screen door 10. Thus, the screen door 10 can be easily mounted in a sliding door frame opening which is not square or which is not constructed to close tolerances.  
  In addition, a bug seal extrusion 130 having the cross section illustrated best in FIG. 2 is positioned in the open side 42 of the portion 40 of the jamb member 34 along its entire length in assembly with the sliding glass door assembly 126 whereby the bug seal, seals between the screen 10 and the panel 132 of the sliding glass door structure 126 with the screen 10 in a closed position as in FIG. 2.  
  In addition, when it is desired to install a pair of screen doors 150 and 152 such as screen door 10 in side by side relation over the center two panels of a four-panel sliding glass door assembly so that it is desirable to secure adjacent screen door jamb members together as shown in FIG. 10, an astragal adapter extrusion 28 having a cross section as illustrated is provided. The astragal adapter member 28 which extends the entire length of the jamb member 134, as shown in FIG. 10, has a cross section which is generally H-shaped with hook portions 136 on one end thereof and offset portions 138 on the other end thereof which together secure the astragal adapter 28 to the portion 140 of the extrusion 134 at the open side 142 thereof. The offset portions 138 of the cross section of the astragal adapter 28 further provide a recess 144 for receiving the portion 146 of the other jamb extrusion 148 of the screen door structure 150 adjacent the screen door structure 152.  
  The astragal adapter structure 28 would be used, for example, in conjunction with sliding door structure as illustrated in FIG. 2 in which an additional two panels which are the mirror image of the two panels in FIG. 2 are provided to the right of panel 154 and wherein the frame jamb 62 is deleted.  
  To lock the adjacent screen door structures 150 and 152 together in a four-panel sliding glass door assembly as shown in FIG. 10, a lock base extrusion 156 is secured to the portion 140 of the extrusion 134 by convenient means such as screws 158 and a bushing 160 and locking member 162 are secured to the base 156 by the pivot member 164 as with the locking structure illustrated in FIG. 4. Again, the locking member 162 may be pivoted into or out of engagement with the portion 146 of the jamb extrusion 150 to secure adjacent screen doors 150 and 152 together.  
  While one embodiment of the screen door structure of the invention has been considered in detail and modifications thereof suggested, it will be understood that other embodiments and modifications are contemplated. It is the intention to include all such embodiments and modifications of the screen door structure of the invention as are defined by the appended claims within the scope of the invention.  
 What I claim as my invention is:  
  1. Sliding screen door structure which is completely symmetrical and therefore reversible end for end, inside for outside and left to right comprising head, jamb and sill frame extrusions secured together at their ends into a rectangular frame each of which have an identical cross section comprising an inner and outer hollow rectangular portion separated by a solid web portion which cross section is substantially symmetrical. about a center line parallel to the plane of the frame, a screen member, and means for securing the periphery of the screen member to the frame on the center line of the extrusion cross sections parallel to the plane of the frame.  
  2. Structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the inner rectangular portion is of greater dimension transverse to the plane of the screen door than the outer rectangular portion.  
  3. Structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the outer rectangular portion has at least a partly opened outer side.  
  4. Structure as set forth in claim 1 and further including a lock in combination therewith including a cylindrical bushing extending parallel to the plane of the screen door adjacent one edge of the screen door, a locking member and means pivotally securing the lock ing member to one end of the bushing for pivotal movement about the longgitudinal axis of the cylindrical bushing into and out of the space between the rectangular portions of the screen frame and into engagement with the outer rectangular portion for locking the screen door in a closed position.  
  .5. Structure as set forth in claim 1 and further including a spring loaded adjustable roller assembly at at least one corner of the screen door including a spring loaded roller assembly pivotally mounted at one end to the corner of the screen door and having a guide roller at the other end thereof for guiding the screen in operation, and single member wedge structure slidably positioned within the screen door adjacent the one corner thereof adapted to be manually moved toward or away from the roller assembly for adjusting the pivotal position of the roller assembly relative to the one corner of the screen door.  
  6. Structure as set forth in claim 1 and further including a bug seal member secured to the outer rectangular portion of one of the jamb members along the entire length thereof.  
  7. Structure for securing the edge of a screen member or the like to a frame member comprising a recess in the frame member in the form of a rectangular parallelogram with diagonally opposed pairs of oblique and obtuse corner angles with the sides of the parallelogram extending parallel to the plane of the screen member also extending at an angle to the plane of the screen member and with the other two sides of the parallelogram extending perpendicularly to the plane of the screen member, one of the sides of the parallelogram extending parallel to the plane of the screen being open for receiving the edge of the screen member, and spline means positioned within the recess over the edge of the screen member.  
  8. Structure as set forth in claim 7 wherein the spline member is generally H-shaped in cross section and has outer cross section dimensions conforming to the parallelogram of the recess.  
  9. Sliding screen door structure which is completely reversible including head, jamb and sill frame extrusions secured together at their ends into a rectangular frame by corner brackets each of which extrusions have a cross section including n inner and outer rectangular portion separated by a web portion, a screen member, means for securing the periphery of the screen member to the frame and a spring loaded adjustable roller assembly at at least one corner of the screen door including an end portion which is pivotally engaged with an associated corner bracket and means for limiting pivotal movement of the adjustable roller assembly away from the screen door, and flange means on the roller assembly for limiting pivotal movement of the roller assembly toward the screen door. said roller assembly having a guide roller at the other end thereof for guiding the screen in operation and an adjustable wedge slidably secured to the screen door adjacent the one corner thereof for adjusting the pivotal position of the roller assembly relative to the one corner of the screen door.  
  10. Structure as set forth in claim 9 wherein the adjustable wedge includes a notched inclined surface adjacent the other end of the roller assembly, means for guiding the adjustable wedge within the outer rectangular portion of the frame member at the one corner of the screen door, and flange means extending outwardly of the plane of the screen door beyond the one portion of the frame to permit adjustment of the wedge toward and away from the roller assembly to variably, pivotally position the roller assembly.  
  1 1. A pair of sliding screen door structures which are completely reversible each including head, jamb and sill frame extrusions secured together at their ends into a rectangular frame and each of which extrusions has a cross section including an inner and outer rectangular portion separated by a web portion, a screen member, and means for securing the periphery of the screen member to the frame, an astrangal adapter member which is generally H-shaped in cross section having barbed portions extending into the outer rectangular portion of a jamb member of the frame of one of the screen doors, and offset cross section portions forming abutments which with the barbed portions secure the astragal adapter member to the jamb member of the one screen door and which provide a recess for receiving the adjacent jamb member of the other screen door, and lock means secured to the one jamb member for locking the adjacent jamb member of the other screen door in the recess provided by the offset cross section portions of the astragal adapter.  
  12. Structure asset forth in claim 11 wherein the lock means comprises a substantially L-shaped lock base secured to the jamb of the one screen door, a bushing extending generally parallel to the plane of the screen doors, a locking member and pivot means extending through the locking member, bushing and base for pivotally securing the locking member to one end of the bushing for movement into and out of the space between the rectangular portions of the cross section of the adjacent jamb member of the other screen door.  
  13. In combination a roller assembly including a lever, a hook portion on one end of the lever for pivotally mounting the lever, a roller mounted on the other end of the lever for engaging a guide member, projections at the bottom of the lever adjacent the other end thereof for limiting pivotal movement of the roller assembly in one direction and flange means at the top of the lever adjacent the other end thereof for limiting pivotal movement of the roller assembly in the other direction, spring means engaging the roller assembly between the ends thereof urging the roller assembly in the one direction. and an adjustable wedge movable toward and away from the roller assembly for adjusting the pivotal position of the roller assembly including a notched inclined surface adjacent the other end of the roller assembly, projections for guiding the wedge toward and away from the roller assembly, and flange means at the top of the wedge for facilitating movement of the wedge toward and away from the roller assembly.  
  l4. Sliding screen door structure which is completely reversible end for end, inside for outside and left to right comprising head jamb and sill frame extrusions secured together at their ends into a rectangular frame each of which have an identical cross section which is substantially symmetrical about a center line parallel to the plane of the frame, a screen member. and means for securing the periphery of the screen member to the frame on the center line of the extrusion cross sections parallel to the plane of the frame including a further portion on the cross section on the frame members which is a generally L-shaped portion extending from the inner rectangular portion of the cross section of the frame members at an angle to the plane of the screen door forming a screen retaining recess having the shape of a rectangular parallelogram with diagonally opposed pairs of oblique and obtuse corner angles one side of which is open for receiving the edge of the screen memher, and a spline positioned within the recess over the edge of the screen for holding the edge of the screen in the screen retaining recess.  
  15. Structure as set forth in claim 14 wherein the spline is resilient and has a generally H-shaped cross section with exterior dimensions conforming to the screen retaining recess.