Patent Publication Number: US-6209171-B1

Title: Movable door mounting assembly

Description:
This invention relates to door installations and more particularly the movable door mounting assemblies used in door installations. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The type of movable door mounting assemblies herein contemplated are the type that mount the door for movement along a horizontally extending track mounted in the door opening. Preferably, the track is along the upper extent of the door opening and the movable door mounting assembly serves to suspend the door from the track. 
     These assemblies are used with two different types of door installations as, for example, in sliding door installations and folding door installations. For twin or dual sliding door installations, two separate assemblies are provided at opposite sides of the door. In a folding door installation, a single centrally located assembly serves to mount the central portion of an outer door panel which is hinged along one side to an adjacent pivoting door panel. In this case, the door mounting assembly must also support the door for pivotal movement about a central vertical axis as well as for movement along the track. 
     Prior art assemblies of this type usually embody two cooperating assemblies; namely, an upper carriage assembly which is movable along the track and a lower door mounted assembly which is fixed to the upper portion of the door. The two separate assemblies include cooperating structure enabling the two assemblies to the coupled together and, in most instances, to be decoupled as well. 
     Efforts have been made to simplify the two assemblies and the structure by which they can be coupled and decoupled. Examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,813,728 and 4,945,605. In these simplistic arrangements, coupling is accomplished by simply moving a headed element on one of the assemblies through a horizontally open slot in the other assembly. The problem with these simplistic arrangements is that that can be moved in the opposite direction to the direction of coupling movement to decouple resulting in unwanted decoupling when such opposite direction movement is inadvertently effected. 
     Where the slot opens laterally, it becomes necessary in order to effect coupling to first lift the door up and to align it with the laterally open slot and then move the door laterally so that the headed member enters the slot. In sliding door installations, the facings applied to the door opening can serve as a stop. While this may be an advantage in preventing unwanted lateral decoupling movement in sliding door installation, it is a disadvantage if the facings must be installed after the door is installed because a lateral movement is required in order to effect the door installation. Even worse, if it should become necessary to remove the door after installation, the facings must be first taken down to remove the door and, of course, replaced after the door has been reinstalled. The above-described advantage from the standpoint of preventing inadvertent decoupling and disadvantages from the standpoint of facing installation inconvenience may not be present in a folding door installation, but it is important from an inventory point of view that movable door mounting assemblies of type herein contemplated be capable of operating effectively in either type of installation. 
     Whether or not the installation is sliding or folding has a great deal to do with the facings which are applied to the door opening within which the door moves. The facings in the folding installation cannot come down below the upper edge of the door because the door must turn within the opening. On the other hand, with a sliding door the facings can come below the upper edge of the door and it is desirable to do so. In the case of a sliding door, these facings effectively prevent the upper portion of the door from moving laterally to any appreciable extent. 
     It has also been proposed to provide assemblies of the simplistic type with manually actuated locking mechanisms. Examples of assemblies of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,479,682 and 3,829,929. These installations still require lateral movement of the door to effect installation and, hence, after mounting facings. 
     As indicated above, it is highly desirable to be able to install and remove the door without regard to the installation of the facings for the door opening. It is also desirable to simplify the movements of the door required for installation and for release when the door is to be removed. 
     Applicants have found that these desirable characteristics can best be obtained by providing cooperating assemblies that can be coupled by moving the door upwardly from a vertically aligned position below the track and that release can be simplified if the only movement required of the door is down. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is the provision of a movable door mounting assembly which obviates the problems noted above while obtaining the desirable characteristics noted above. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, this objective is accomplished by providing an apparatus for use in mounting a door on an overhead track which comprises a carriage assembly constructed and arranged to be moved horizontally along the track in such a way as to limit upward movement thereof. A door mounted assembly is mounted on an upper portion of the door so as to be moved with the door. A first of the assemblies includes a vertically extending locking member and a second of the assemblies has a locking member receiving opening therein. Movable locking structure is provided with respect to the second of the assemblies to be moved between a locking position and a releasing position. A spring is provided to resiliently bias the movable locking structure into the locking position. The door mounted assembly is movable with the door (1) into an initial position wherein the locking member is in an initial vertically aligned position with respect to the locking member receiving opening and (2) from the initial position upwardly into a locking position wherein the locking member is in a locking position within the opening. The locking member and the movable locking structure have interengaging cam surfaces configured and positioned (1) to enable the movement of the door mounting assembly from the initial position thereof to the locking position thereof to move the movable locking structure from the locking position thereof toward the releasing position thereof against the bias of the spring and (2) to allow the movable locking structure to return to the locking position thereof when the locking position of the locking member is reached. The locking member and the movable locking structure include upwardly and downwardly facing interengaging locking surfaces configured and positioned when the locking member and the movable locking structure are in the locking positions thereof to lock the locking member in locked relation within the opening. A manually actuated releasing member is carried by the second of the assemblies for manual movement from a normal operative position into a releasing position. The releasing member is constructed and arranged with respect to the movable locking structure when the locking member is in locked relation within the opening to effect movement of the movable locking structure from the locking position thereof into the releasing position thereof in response to the manual movement of the releasing member from the normal operative position into the releasing position thereof to enable the door mounted assembly to move downwardly with the door into released relation with respect to the carriage assembly. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view looking down from the top on one side of a twin sliding door assembly embodying the principles of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the spaced tracks of the installation shown in FIG. 1 with a series of longitudinally spaced removable spacing members removably mounted in an operative position therewith during the installation of the tracks; 
     FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the spacing members removed from the tracks after they have been installed; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line  4 — 4  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded view of one of the door mounting assemblies shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the door mounting assembly shown in FIG. 5, illustrating the components in an operative installed position; 
     FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the components in an initial position preliminary to the movement of the components into the operative installed position shown in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line  8 — 8  of FIG. 6; and 
     FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing the manual movable releasing member in the releasing position thereof. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 thereof a twin sliding door installation, generally indicated at  10 , embodying the principles of the present invention. The installation  10  includes a pair of tracks, generally indicated at  12 , constructed and arranged to be fixedly mounted in parallel relation to the overhead structure (not shown) defining the door opening of the installation  10 . Mounted within each of the tracks  12  is a pair of movable door mounting assemblies, generally indicated at  14 . Each pair of assemblies  14  serves to mount a door panel  16  for movement along the associated track  12  between the sides of the structure (not shown) defining the door opening. Suitable structure (not shown) may be provided along the floor structure defining the door opening to guide the lower edges of the door panels during their sliding movement as is well known in the art. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates the combination of the pair of tracks  12  held in a predetermined parallel relation by a series of track spacing members, generally indicated at  18 , each of which is constructed and arranged to be removably mounted within and between the pair of tracks  12  so as to retain the same in a predetermined parallel relationship during the installation thereof. Each of the track spacing members  18  is constructed and arranged to enable the track spacing member  18  to be moved into an operative position with respect to the pair of tracks  12 , as shown in FIG. 2, in a direction to enter within and between the tracks  12  thereof and to be removed from the operative position with respect to the tracks  12  by movement in the opposite direction, as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     As best shown in FIGS. 2-4, each track  12  includes an elongated central wall  20  which is constructed and arranged to be fixedly mounted beneath the overhead structure defining the door opening. The central wall  20  of each track  12  can be fixedly mounted beneath the overhead structure by any suitable means as, for example, a series of longitudinally spaced screws  22  or the like. 
     Each track  12  also includes a pair of elongated end walls  24  constructed and arranged when installed to extend downwardly from opposite edges of the central wall  20 . Each track  12  also includes a pair of wheel engaging walls or flanges  26  constructed and arranged when installed to extend inwardly toward one another from the lower edges of the end walls  24 . 
     While the track spacing members  18  may be of any suitable construction, the preferred construction shown in the drawings is in the form of a molded plastic body made from a suitable plastic material as, for example, polypropylene. Each of the track spacing members  18  defined by the molded plastic body includes an outer transversely extending transversely extending portion  28 , a central track end wall engaging portion  30  extending from the outer portion  28  and track entering portions  32  extending from the outer portion  28  in spaced relation on opposite sides of the central track end wall engaging portion  30 . Each central end wall engaging portion  30  includes opposed surfaces  34  configured and positioned to enter between the tracks  12  and engage adjacent end walls  24  of the tracks  12  when the track spacing member  18  is in the operative position thereof. Each track entering portion  32  includes surfaces  36  configured and positioned to engage the inner edges of the wheel supporting walls  26  of the associated track  12  when the track spacing member  18  is in the operative position thereof. 
     Each surface  36  of each track entering portions  32  includes a slight projection or bump  38  over which the inner edges of the walls  26  snap during the movement of the track spacing member  18  into the operative position thereof and which releasably retain the track spacing member  18  in the operative position thereof. The track entering portions  32  and central portion  30  each include a free end section  40  which tapers inwardly toward a free end thereof to facilitate entry within and between the tracks  12 . 
     In the preferred embodiment shown, the molded plastic body is formed of peripheral walls of generally uniform thickness integrally interconnected by a central reinforcing wall  42 . The peripheral walls include an outer peripheral wall  44  defining the outer transversely extending portion  28 , a pair of generally U-shaped walls  46  defining the track entering portions  32 , each having one end connected to an end of the outer wall  44  and a central U-shaped wall  48  defining the central portion  30  having opposite ends connected to ends of the pair of U-shaped walls  46 . 
     As is indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the track spacing members  18  is mounted in fixed relation with respect to the two tracks  12  by moving each track spacing member  18  in a direction toward the central wall  20  of the track  12  at a desired position therealong. As each track spacing member  18  is moved inwardly within the two tracks  12 , the projections  38  within the surfaces move past the track flanges and the resulting snap action tells the installer than the spacing member has been moved into its operative position. The engagement of the projections  38  beyond the flanges  26  serve to retain the spacing member  18  in its operative relation with respect to the tracks  12 . 
     The number of spacing members  18  included in the series will depend upon the length of the tracks  12 . On occasion, there may be a requirement to mount more than two tracks  12  in parallel relation and, in these instances, a series of spacing members  18  can be mounted with respect to each pair of adjacent tracks  12  to effect the predetermined parallel spaced relationship. Once the spacing members  18  have been mounted within the tracks  12 , the tracks  12  are moved upwardly into engagement with the overhead structure of the door opening and the tracks  12  are fixed in position as by inserting screws  22  or the like through the central wall and into the overhead structure. Once the tracks have been secured into fixed relation with the overhead structure, the series of spacing members can be removed simply by grabbing the outer wall and pulling down so that each is moved away from the central wall and out of the tracks  12 . 
     The above described installation constitutes a preferred example of movable door installations in which the movable door mounting assembly of the present invention can be used. Others include one track installations such as pocket doors and folded doors, as previously indicated. The movable door assembly  14  embodying the principles of the present invention is best illustrated in FIGS. 5-9. 
     Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 5-9, the movable door mounting assembly  14  includes generally two assemblies; first, a carriage assembly, generally indicated at  50 , which is constructed and arranged to be moved horizontally along the track  12  in such a way as to limit the upward movement thereof and, second, a door mounted assembly, generally indicated at  52 , which is constructed and arranged to be mounted on an upper edge of the door so as to be moved with the door. The carriage assembly  50  includes a vertically extending locking member  54  and the door mounted assembly  52  includes a locking member receiving opening  56  therein. The door mounted assembly  52  includes movable locking structure, generally indicated at  58 , in the form of a pair of pivoted locking pawls. The movable locking structure  58  is constructed and arranged with respect to a mounting structure, generally indicated at  60 , embodied in the door mounted assembly  52  so as to be moved between a locking position and a releasing position. A spring  62  in the form of a split ring serves to resiliently bias the movable locking structure into the locking position. 
     Preferably, the door mounted assembly  52  is movable with the door (1) into an initial position wherein the locking member  54  is in an initial vertically lined position with respect to the locking member receiving opening  56  and (2) from the initial position upwardly into a locked position, as shown in FIG. 6, wherein the locking member  54  is in a locked position within the opening  56 . 
     The locking member  54  and the movable locking structure  58  have interengaging cam surfaces  64  and  66  configured and positioned (1) to enable the movement of the door mounting assembly  52  from the initial position thereof to a locking position thereof to move the movable locking structure  58  from the locking position thereof toward the releasing position thereof against the bias of the spring  62  and (2) to allow the movable locking structure  58  to return to the locking position thereof when the locking position of the locking member  54  is reached. 
     The locking member  54  and the movable locking structure  58  include upwardly and downwardly facing interengaging locking surfaces  68  and  70  configured and positioned when the locking member  54  and the movable locking structure  58  are in the locking positions thereof to lock the locking member  54  in locked relation within the opening  56 . 
     A manually actuated releasing member  72  is mounted on the mounting structure  60  of the door mounted assembly  52  for manual movement from a normal operative position as shown in FIG. 8 to a releasing position as shown in FIG.  9 . The releasing member  72  is constructed and arranged with respect to the movable locking structure  58  when the locking member  54  is in locked relation within the opening  56  to effect movement of the movable locking structure  58  from the locking position thereof into the releasing position thereof in response to the manual movement of the releasing member  72  from the normal operative position into the releasing position thereof to enable the door mounted assembly  52  to move downwardly with the door  16  into released relation with respect to the carriage assembly  50 . 
     Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 5-7, each movable door mounting assembly  14  includes generally two assemblies; first, a carriage assembly, generally designated  50 , which is constructed and arranged to be moved horizontally along the track  12  in such a way as to limit the upward movement of the assembly  50  with respect to the track  12  and, second, a door mounted assembly, generally designated  52 , which is constructed and arranged to be mounted on an upper edge of the door so as to be moved with the door. The carriage assembly  50  includes a vertically extending locking member  54  and the door mounted assembly  52  includes a locking member receiving opening  56  therein. 
     The door mounted assembly  52  includes movable locking structure, generally designated  58 , in the form of a pair of locking pawls. The movable locking structure  58  is constructed and arranged with respect to a mounting structure, generally indicated at  60 , embodied in the door mounted assembly  52  so as to be moved between a locking position (see FIG. 8, for example) and a releasing position (see FIG. 9, for example). 
     A spring  62  in the form of a split ring serves to resiliently bias the movable locking structure  58  into its locking position. 
     Preferably, the door mounted assembly  52  is movable with the door (1) into an initial position wherein the locking member  54  is in an initial vertically aligned position with respect to the locking member receiving opening  56  and (2) from the initial position upwardly into a locked position, (shown, for example, in FIG. 6) wherein the locking member  54  is in a locked position within the opening  56 . 
     The locking member  54  and the movable locking structure  58  have interengaging cam surfaces  64  and  66  (see FIG. 7, for example) configured and positioned (1) to enable the movement of the door mounted assembly  52  from the initial position thereof to a locking position thereof to move the movable locking structure  58  from the locking position thereof toward the releasing position thereof against the bias of the spring  62  and (2) to allow the movable locking structure  58  to return to the locking position thereof when the locking position of the locking member  54  is reached. 
     The locking member  54  and the movable locking structure  58  include upwardly and downwardly facing interengaging locking surfaces  68  and  70 , respectively, (see FIG. 6, for example) configured and positioned when the locking member  54  and the movable locking structure  58  are in the locking positions thereof to lock the locking member  54  in locking relation within the locking member receiving opening  56 . 
     A manually actuated releasing member  72  is mounted on the mounting structure  60  of the door mounted assembly  52  for manual movement from a normal operative position (FIG. 8) to a releasing position (FIG.  9 ). The manually actuated releasing member  72  is constructed and arranged with respect to the movable locking structure  58  when the locking member  54  is in locked relation within the opening  56  to effect movement of the movable locking structure  58  from the locking position thereof into the releasing position thereof in response to the manual movement of the manually actuated releasing member  72  from the normal operative position into the releasing position thereof to enable the door mounted assembly  52  to move downwardly with the door into released relation with respect to the carriage assembly  50 . 
     The structure of the carriage assembly  50  can best be appreciated from FIGS. 5 and 6. The carriage assembly  50  includes a bracket  74  having opposing vertically extending, horizontally spaced walls  76  and a central horizontal wall  78  extending therebetween. The carriage assembly  50  further includes pair of wheel assemblies  80  having wheels  82  constructed and arranged to engage the track  12  to provide the horizontal movement of the carriage assembly  50  along the track  12  and to limit the upward movement of the carriage assembly  50  with respect to the track  12  as aforesaid. Each wheel assembly  80  includes a horizontally disposed axle  84  extending through the vertical walls  76  of the bracket  74  and a pair of the wheels  82  mounted on opposite ends of the axle  84 . 
     The locking member  54  is an elongated structure preferably made of steel or other suitable metal having threads  86  at one end thereof and having the cam and locking surfaces  64 ,  68  at an opposite end thereof, the threaded end being threadedly engaged with threaded structure  88  carried by the bracket  74  (see FIG. 6, for example). The opposite end of the locking member  54  is rotatably mounted in the opening  56  of the door mounted assembly  52  when the locking member  54  is in the locking position in the opening  56  so that the locking member  54  is rotatably engaged with the movable locking structure  58  and can freely rotate in the opening  56 . Rotation of the locking member  54  effects threaded vertical movement of the locking member  54  with respect to the bracket  74  to vertically reposition the locking member  54  in the carriage assembly  50  to adjust the vertically spaced relation as aforesaid. 
     The bracket  74  of the carriage assembly  50  is a metallic structure, preferably made of steel or other metal of appropriate strength by stamping or by other appropriate means. The bracket  74  is reinforced by ribs  89  formed during the stamping process and is provided with a plurality of openings or various sizes and shapes. The horizontal wall  78  of the carriage assembly  50  includes a central opening  90  formed by punching or other appropriate process to include an integral annular upwardly extending lip structure  91  which surrounds the opening  56 . The inner wall surface of the lip structure  91  is tapped internally to form the threaded structure  88  on the bracket  74 . The threaded engagement between the bracket  74  and the locking member  54  provides an interference fit therebetween to resist vertical repositioning of the locking member  54  with respect to the bracket  74  when a door is supported on the locking member  54 . 
     The structure of the door mounted assembly  52  is best appreciated from the exploded view of FIG.  5 . The door mounted assembly  52  includes a mounting bracket  92  that is constructed and arranged to be fixed to the door edge by a plurality of screws  94  (not shown in FIG. 5, but shown in FIG.  1 ). The mounting bracket  92  has a central recess  96 . A central bracket opening  56  in the central recess  96  of the bracket  74  provides the locking member receiving opening  56 . 
     The manually actuated releasing member  72  includes a housing portion  98 . The housing portion  98  is mounted within the central bracket recess  96  by a plurality of locating projections  99  and a plurality of snap hooks  101  on the housing portion  98 . The housing  98  has a central housing portion recess  100  and a side opening  102 . Preferably, the housing portion  98  is an integral structure made of a suitable molded plastic material and the locating projections  99  and the snap hooks  101  are integrally formed thereon. 
     The manually actuated releasing member  72  is pivotally mounted within the central housing recess  100  for pivotal movement with respect to both the housing portion  98  and the mounting bracket  92  about a vertically extending axis. The manually actuated releasing member  72  has a manual release handle  104  extending outwardly of the mounting structure  60  through the side opening  102  in the housing portion  98 . Preferably, the manually actuated releasing member  72  is an integral plastic structure formed by molding or other suitable process to include the housing portion  98  and the handle portion  104  as one integral plastic structure. 
     The pair of opposing locking pawl members of the movable locking structure  58  are disposed on opposite sides of the locking member receiving opening  56  (see, for example, FIG. 9) and are interengaged with the manually actuated releasing member  72  and with the spring  62  for movement between the locking and releasing positions. 
     More particularly, each of the locking pawl members is a generally arcuate structure preferably made of steel or other appropriate metal. The structure of the locking pawl members is best appreciated from FIG.  5 . Each pawl member has an arcuate inner side wall portion  106  providing an arcuate inner edge portion of the pawl member and has an arcuate end wall portion  108  at one end and an essentially straight wall portion  110  at an opposite end. 
     The housing portion  98  of the manually actuated releasing member  72  has a pair of recesses  112  providing concave wall structure  114  within each recess  112  constructed and arranged to pivotally receive the arcuate end wall portion  108  of a respective pawl member. The recesses  112  are disposed on generally opposite sides of the vertically extending axis of the housing portion  98  when the manually actuated releasing member  72  is in the recess in the housing. It can be appreciated from FIGS. 8-9 that the recesses  112  are approximately 180 degrees apart. 
     The mounting bracket  92  provides fixed support structure  116  in the form of two struck tabs formed in the metal of the bracket  92 . The support structure  116  is positioned on opposite sides of the vertically extending axis of the assembled door mounted assembly  52  so that the two support structures  116  are fixedly positioned on opposite sides of the opening  56  of the door mounted assembly  52 . Each pawl member is mounted in the mounting structure  60  such that the arcuate end wall  108  is biased by the spring  62  into pivotal engagement with a respective recess  112  on the releasing member  72  and the generally opposite straight wall portion  110  of each pawl member is biased by the spring  62  into sliding pivotal engagement with respective fixed support structure  116  on the mounting bracket  92 . 
     The pawl members are disposed when the movable locking structure  58  is in the locking position thereof such that respective inner arcuate edge portions  106  thereof are disposed within the locking member receiving opening  56  on generally opposite sides thereof (as shown, for example, in FIG.  9 ). The door mounted assembly  52  is constructed and arranged such that (1) when the door mounted assembly  52  moves from the initial position thereof to the locking position thereof, the cam structure  64  on the locking member  54  causes generally radially outward movement of the pawl members against the spring force provided by the spring  62  to allow the locking member  54  to be received within the locking member receiving opening  56  as aforesaid and (2) when the locking member  54  is in the locking position in the locking member receiving opening  56 , the locking member  54  can be released from the locking position by pivoting the manually actuated releasing member  72  in a releasing direction about the vertically extending axis, wherein pivotal movement of the manually actuated releasing member  72  in the releasing direction causes generally radially outward pivotal movement of the pawl members against the spring force to thereby move the arcuate inner edge portions thereof out of the lock member receiving opening  56 . 
     As best seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, each pawl member includes a generally arcuate outer edge portion  126  spaced radially outwardly of the inner arcuate edge portion thereof. The spring  62  has a split or open ring configuration and is disposed in generally surrounding relation to pawl members, thereby providing a generally radially directed spring force on each pawl member toward the vertically extending axis to bias the pawl members toward and into their locking positions. 
     The locking member  54  has a frusto-conical end structure  130  and an annular groove  132  on the opposite end thereof. The frusto-conical structure  130  provides the locking member  54  with a frusto-conical surface which provides the cam surface  64  thereon. The annular groove  132  is constructed and arranged to receive the pawl members in locking engagement with the locking member  54  and provide an upwardly annular surface  134  which provides the upwardly facing locking surface  68  on the locking member  54 . 
     The downwardly facing locking surfaces  70  are provided by respective downwardly facing surfaces on the pawl members (see FIG. 6, for example). 
     The pawl members include upwardly facing edge surfaces which provide the cam surfaces  66  (see FIG. 7, for example) on the movable locking structure  58 . 
     As will become apparent from the description of the operation of the door mounting assembly  14  considered immediately below, the locking member  54  is pivotally mounted about a vertical axis with respect to the movable locking structure  58  when the locking member  54  is in the locking position thereof within the opening  56 . The depending locking member  54  is constructed and arranged to carry the door mounted assembly  52  in vertically spaced relation with respect to the track  12 . The locking member  54  is carried by the carriage assembly  50  in vertically adjustable relation to adjust the vertically spaced relation to adjust the vertical distance between the track  12  and the top of the door. 
     Operation 
     To mount a single sliding door on a track  12 , a door mounted assembly  52  is mounted on each end of the top edge of the door with screws  92  in a manner shown in FIG. 1. A track  12  is mounted in the doorway as aforesaid and a pair of carriage assemblies  50  are mounted in the track  12 . The opening  56  on a door mounted assembly  52  is vertically aligned with the downwardly extending locking member  54  on the associated carriage assembly  50  and the door is raised. (To simplify the description of the operation and thereby better explain the operation of the present invention, it is assumed that one door mounted assembly  52  at a time is mounted to the associated carriage assembly  50 , but it is possible to mount both door mounted assemblies  52  on the associated carriage assemblies  50  simultaneously.) During upward door movement, the camming edge surface  66  on each pawl member contacts the camming surface  64  on the locking member  54 , and further upward movement of the door thereafter causes the pawl members to move apart against the force of the spring. During this outward movement of the pawl members, each pawl member pivots outwardly from the opening  56  about the associated recess  112  in the manually actuated releasing member  72  (while the releasing member  72  is retained in its operative position) which causes the straight edge portion  110  to pivot away from the associated support structure  116 , thereby moving the arcuate inner side wall portion  106 , and thus the camming surface  66  and the locking surface  70  provided by the pawl member out of the opening  56 . 
     This outward pivotal movement of the pawl members about the respective recesses  112  on the manually actuated releasing member  72  allows the frusto-conical end portion of the locking member  54  to enter the opening  56  and move downwardly relative to the door mounted assembly  52  past the pawl members so that the annular groove  132  is horizontal aligned with the pawl members. The engagement of the wheels  82  with the track  12  limits the vertical movement of the carriage assembly  50  with respect to the track  12  to allow the user to push the door mounted assembly  52  against the locking member  54  of the carriage assembly  50  when installing the door. 
     When the pawl members are aligned with the groove  132 , the spring  62  biases the pawl members into the annular groove  132  and thus into locking the engagement with the locking member  54 . The door mounted assembly on the opposite end of the door is mounted on the locking member of the associated carriage assembly in a similar manner. It can be appreciated that the movable door mounting assemblies  14  allow the door installer to easily install a door on a track  12 . Because the door mounted assembly  52  moves vertically upwardly into locking engagement with the locking member  54  on the carriage assembly  50 , the door installer can align the opening  56  on the door mounted assembly  52  with the locking member  54  while the weight of the door is still resting on the ground (or a temporary support surface placed in the doorway under the track  12  to facilitate installation). After the locking member  54  and opening  56  are aligned, the door can be lifted to hang the door on the track  12 . It can also be appreciated that because facings are often installed on the doorway (where a sliding door is mounted) to hide the track(s)  12  from view, the movable door mounting assembly  14  allow the door installer to install a sliding door panel on the track  12  after the facing has been mounted on the doorway. Facings are structures that cover the track  12 , the portions of the door mounting assembly  14  hanging down below the track  12  and often a small portion of the top edge of the sliding door(s). It is understood that facings of this type are not used in conjunction with folding door comprised of multiple hinged door panels because the individual door panels of a folding door must be free to pivot out of the plane of the doorway during door opening movement. When a facing is in place for a sliding door, it can be understood that it the movable door mounting assembly  14  allows the door to be mounted on the track  12  (and removed therefrom) without removing the facing. This is advantageous because it allows a builder flexibility in constructing and finishing a doorway for a sliding door and in hanging and removing the sliding door in the doorway. 
     The user may then adjust the vertical space between the top of the door and the track  12  for each door mounted assembly  52 -carriage assembly  50  pair by adjusting the vertical position of the respective locking member with respect to the associated carriage assembly to thereby “plumb” or level the door. To make this vertical adjustment of the locking member, a wrench can be used to rotate a hexagonal nut structure  136  integrally formed on the locking member  54 . Rotation of the locking member  54  by the wrench causes the locking member to threadedly move vertically up or down (depending on the rotational direction of the locking member  54  with respect to the bracket  74  of the carriage assembly  50 ) with respect to the bracket  74  of the carriage assembly  50  to thereby adjust the vertical height of the associated side of the door. The user can adjust one or both door mounted assembly  52 /carriage assembly  50  pair as desired. 
     The user can then open and close the door by sliding the carriage assembly  50  along the track  12 . 
     To release the door from locking engagement with the carriage assembly  50 , the user rotates the release member  72  in a counter clockwise direction from the point of view of FIGS. 8 and 9. This causes the concave wall structures  114  on the housing portion  98  of the releasing member  72  to move counter clockwise, carrying the arcuate end wall portions  108  of the associated pawl member with them. The straight wall portion  110  of each pawl member is prevented from moving in a counter clockwise direction by the associated rigid fixed support structure  116  on the bracket  92  so that movement of the releasing member  72  in the releasing direction (i.e., in the counter clockwise direction) causes the straight wall portion of each pawl member (because of the surface-to-surface contact between each pawl member and the associated support structure  116 ) to slide generally radially outwardly in a direction away from the opening  56  (in surface-to-surface engagement t/ the support structure  116 ) and to simultaneously pivot about the support structure  116  outwardly out of the opening  56  to allow the inner side wall portion  106  (and the associated locking surface  68 ) of the pawl member to pivot outwardly from the opening  56  to the position shown in FIG.  9 . This pivotal movement moves each pawl member out of the groove  132  on the locking member  54 , thereby allowing the locking member  54  to move out a locking engagement with the opening  56 . 
     It can be understood from FIGS. 6-9 that the manually actuated releasing member  72  is rotated in the releasing direction (counterclockwise in FIGS. 8-9) by engaging the manual release handle  104  that extends outwardly from the opening  102  in the housing  98 . It can be appreciated that the release handle  104  is constructed and arranged to allow sliding door to be released from the track  12  without removing the facing covering the track and exposed portions of the movable door mounting assembly  14  (if a facing is provided on the doorway). More particularly, the handle  104  is provided with a notch  137  that is constructed and arranged to engage an appropriate tool that can be inserted up behind the facing of the doorway. This arrangement allows the sliding door to be easily removed from and remounted on the track  12  when a facing is provided on the doorway without removing the facing. 
     After the locking member  54  is released from the opening  56 , the user simply releases the releasing member  72  and the same pivots clockwise (from the point of view of FIGS. 8 and 9) back into its holding position (shown in FIG.  8 ). 
     It can be understood that when the movable door mounting assembly is used to mount a sliding and folding door in a doorway, the rotatable engagement between the locking member and the door mounted assembly allows the individual door panels of the folding and sliding door to pivot out of the plane defined by the doorway into a folded position in which each panel extends generally perpendicularly to the plane of the doorway. 
     Any U.S. patents or patent applications mentioned or cited hereinabove are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application. 
     It will thus be seen that the objects of this invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It will be realized, however, that the foregoing preferred specific embodiments have been shown and described for the purpose of illustrating the functional and structural principles of this invention and are subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.