Patent Abstract:
A jamb system for framing panels, in which at least one of the panels is arranged to slide by another panel along a set of tracks, including an elongated top jamb including one elongated top guide member for each panel, each member including an elongated rail for guiding a panel along its travel within the jamb, and a key spacer member, the top guide members and the key members each adapted to interlock through their respective walls to form a rectilinear assembly, including slanted wall portions arranged to mate in adjacent juxtaposition with each other to accept a threaded fastener therethrough and an elongated side jamb for each panel, and an elongated key spacer member for insertion between each pair of the elongated side members allowing the panels to move along the rails within the jamb, past each other, adapted to interlock through their respective walls, the side members and the key members including slanted wall portions arranged to mate and accept a threaded fastener there through to hold the side jamb in fixed, straight alignment.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention pertains to the field of door and panel jamb systems. More particularly, the invention concerns a novel clip-together jamb system that may be altered to fit a wide variety of door-panel combinations heretofore existing. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     A jamb is defined in the dictionary as a side post or a piece of a framed opening as for a door, window or fireplace. Historically, jambs are built on the job site, i.e., they are made of wood or poured concrete and are designed and later built in place so that they become an integral part of the structure with which they are assembled. This is all well and good for the workman, whose abilities are instrumental with designing and installing pieces of wood and frames in which concrete is poured, however, the method possesses two distinct disadvantages: it is time-consuming and thus very expensive, and concrete is heavy while wood distorts under load. Concrete, if used in elevated locations and in large enough quantity, will, without a very substantial base placed under it, slowly cause part of the structure to sag and distort the frame such that the panels will “hang-up” and become hard to move. On the other hand, wood often is singularly bendable so that, should one of the panels be moved roughly and strike the side frame member, the frame will often distort and make further panel moving difficult. Further, on-site constructed frames take a substantial amount of design, time and materials and are thus very expensive. They cannot be easily adjusted or moved without a significant effort. 
     Recent trends in home, office and entertainment construction include partial and whole wall sections being made from a plurality of panels that can be moved on tracks to increase or decrease the size of the room. What is needed therefore is a jamb system that is portable, amenable to a variety of designs, and capable of numerous configurations, along the top and the sides of the frame, in order to allow assembly off the premises and simple erection on the premises to lower the cost of the entire process. Further, the jamb system should be strong enough to withstand movement of the door panels, that may each weigh up to many hundreds of pounds, and is capable of adjustment for misalignment caused by settling of the overall structure or movement caused by earth temblors, or other reasons. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is a novel jamb system for framing a plurality of panels, in which at least one said panel is arranged to slide by another said panel along a set of parallel tracks mounted on a supporting surface, comprising an elongated top jamb of defined width and terminated by spaced-apart inner and outer distal ends, the jamb including one elongated top guide member for each panel, each member including an elongated rail depending therefrom for guiding a panel along its travel within the jamb, and an elongated key spacer member for insertion between each pair of top guide members for spacing the adjacent top guide members apart a distance allowing the panels to move along the rails within the jamb past each other without interference, the top guide members and the key members each formed of a plurality of side, top and bottom walls and including bent portions adapted to interlock with other bent portions in their respective walls to form a rectilinear assembly of a plurality of members for topping a plurality of doors and panels, the top guide members and the key members including slanted wall portions arranged to mate in adjacent juxtaposition with each other and accept a threaded fastener therethrough and below the outer edges of the jamb to hold the jamb in fixed, straight alignment, and an elongated side jamb of defined width and terminated by spaced-apart inner and outer distal ends, the jamb including one elongated side member for each panel, and an elongated key spacer member for insertion between each pair of elongated side members for spacing the side members apart a distance allowing the panels to move along the rails within the jamb past each other without interference, the elongated side members and the key members each formed of a plurality of side, top and bottom walls and including bent portions adapted to interlock through their respective walls to form a rectilinear assembly of a plurality of members for abutting a plurality of doors and panels, the side members and key members including slanted wall portions arranged to mate in adjacent juxtaposition with each other to accept a threaded fastener there through to hold the side jamb in fixed, straight alignment, the elongated top jamb and elongated side jamb joined together to form a complete frame about the top and sides of the panels. 
     The frame of this invention can be fabricated off-site to handle an unlimited number of panels, notwithstanding whether some of them are fixed in position and others set in sliding position. The individual members are preferably made of extruded aluminum that fit together in twos, threes and so on, to frame a wide variety and number of panels. 
     Accordingly, the main object of this invention is a relatively low-cost approach to the manufacture and installation of frames for one or more panels, usually in multiples of panels wherein they are arranged and adapted to slide past one another without interference. Other objects of this invention include a frame that is lightweight, due to its hollow extruded nature, yet highly strong and fully able to withstand insults, such as having one or more panels collide with the side frames, wind forces, and the like; a frame that is easy to assemble in doubles, triples, and the like to handle a multiplicity of panels quietly and without undue stress being placed on the frame and the surrounding structure; a frame that may be easily and quickly shimmed and otherwise adjusted to retain its correct position in the structure yet remain able to be later adjusted due to forces from the rest of the structure that operate on the interface with the frame; and a frame that can be erected by semi-skilled labor and not require the higher cost of expert labor that normally is required to construct on-site frames. 
     These and other objects of the invention will become more clear when one reads the following specification, taken together with the drawings that are attached hereto. The scope of protection sought by the inventors may be gleaned from a fair reading of the claims that conclude this specification. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the top of a jamb system according to the teachings of this invention showing a plurality of panels located therein; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a typical top guide member used in the top jamb section according to the teachings of this invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a typical top key member used in the top jamb section according to the teachings of this invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a typical adjustable shim used in the top or side jamb section according to the teachings of this invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a typical interior fascia member used in the top jamb section according to the teachings of this invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a typical exterior fascia member used in the top jamb section according to the teachings of this invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of one side member used in the side jamb section with a segment of a panel abutted thereagainst; 
     FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of another side member used in the side jamb section; 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a key spacer member used in the side jamb section; 
     FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a typical interior fascia member used in the side jamb section; 
     FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a typical exterior fascia member used in the side jamb section; 
     FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a typical assembled top jamb section; 
     FIG. 13 is a cross-section view of a typical side jamb section; 
     FIG. 13 a  is a close-up view of part of the jamb section shown in FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a typical side jamb section; 
     FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a typical top jamb section; and, 
     FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an assembled top jamb section that has the inner distal fascia end segmented to close off the lengths of the top guide member as needed. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning now to the drawings wherein elements are identified by numbers and like elements are identified by like numbers throughout the seventeen figures, the invention  1  is generally depicted in FIGS. 1, and  12 - 15  as a novel jamb system, comprising an assembled top frame element  3  and a side frame element  5  for framing a plurality of panels  7 , in which at least one panel has its own separate frame  13  and its own glass sub-panel  15  (see FIG.  7 ), is arranged on a track mounted on a supporting surface (not shown) to slide by another panel  7  without interference. 
     Assembled top frame element  3  is comprised of a plurality of separate members, each extruded from aluminum for lightness and strength, assembled together to form a strong jamb as shown in FIGS. 13 and 15. One such separate member is an elongated extruded, hollow top guide member  19  and is shown in FIG. 2 to comprise a thin, planar bottom wall  21  terminated by spaced-apart bottom wall edges  25  wherein said bottom wall edges are parallel and formed into a turned-out interlocking terminus  27 . A pair of spaced-apart thin side walls  29  extend upward from bottom wall  21  in parallel arrangement and interior of, or inside, bottom wall turned-out wall edges interlocking terminus  27  and are preferably orthogonal to bottom wall  21 . A top wall  31  is located parallel to bottom wall  21  and is spaced-apart thereabove and closes over top guide member  19  between side walls  29  to form a hollow interior  33 . A pair of slanted walls  37  extend upward and outward from an area  39  on member  19  between top wall  31  and its junction with side walls  29 . Slanted walls  37  terminate in a bent-outward-upward configuration. An elongated rail  43  depends from planar bottom wall  21 , exterior hollow interior  33 , and extends parallel to side walls  29 , but in the opposite direction, for receipt in a groove  45  formed in the top of panels  7  (see FIG. 1) for guiding a panel along its travel within jamb  1 . Rail  43  preferably is terminated along its bottom edge with a bifurcation  55  that fits in groove  45  (see FIG.  1 ). 
     A pair of closely spaced-apart wall members,  47   a  and  47   b,  are formed in a depression  49  formed in top wall  31  and preferably extend vertically upward a distance terminating slightly below the upper edge of slanted walls  37 . Modern construction techniques often call for the use of a thin sheet or sheets of waterproof material  51   a  to be used to wrap. portions of the structure (home, office building etc.) to seal out rain, snow, and other elements. Wall members  47   a  and  47   b  form a narrow, deep groove therebetween and this is used to insert a loop of the edge of such wrapping material  51   a  therein followed by the insertion of a length of a larger-diameter “rope” of rubberized material  51   b,  called a “spline ”, to jam in the groove and hold the loop in the groove thus allowing the sealing features of the wrap to extend along the entire length of the jamb. 
     As shown in FIG. 13, spaced between successive top guide members  19  are separate elongated key spacer members  53 , shown in more detail in FIG. 3, to comprise a hollow central body  55  defined by a pair of thin, spaced-apart side walls  57 , a top wall  59  and a bottom wall  61  enclosed to form a hollow interior. The upper portions of side walls  57  are formed into a pair of converging slanted walls  65  while the side portions of bottom wall  61  are indented slightly at  69 , and each indentation is provided with a downwardly depending stub  71 . Along top wall  59  arise two spaced-apart ears  73  that extend upward a short distance and terminate in edges  75  lying in a common plane x-y that abuts or mates with the outer (bottom) surface of a beam  77  set above the jamb for the purpose of providing support (see FIG.  13 ). 
     Top wall  59 , between ears  73 , is made of a thickness sufficient for receipt therein of an adjustable shim  81  that is used to adjust the distance of top guide member  19  from beam  77 . Adjustable shim  81  is shown in FIG. 4 to comprise a cylindrical, hollow shim body  83  having one or more spiral threads formed exterior the body for threaded receipt in an aperture formed in top wall  59 . A hollow plug  85  is received in hollow shim body  83  and is turnable on another set of exterior threads, in the opposite direction, formed thereon. The hollow opening in plug  85  is formed with adjacent flat wall sections (not shown) that allow the temporary insertion and acceptance of an Allen wrench  87  for turning plug  85  to raise or lower the overhead platform  89 , via the threads, said platform formed on top of plug  85 , against overlying beam  77  to shim the assembled jamb upward or downward vis-a-vis beam  77  (see also FIG.  13 ). 
     Bottom wall  61 , located below top wall  59  has a small indentation  93  formed therein for locating a drill bit and for having an aperture drilled therein for insertion of Allen wrench  87 . After use of Allen wrench  87  to adjust the assembled jamb against beam  77 , wrench  87  is removed and an elongated fastener, such as a long screw  95 , is inserted through the aperture and up through hollow plug  85  and into beam  77  for fastening the assembled jamb to said beam. Preferably, the head of screw  95  is flat so that it can be mounted flush with the exposed, underside of bottom wall  61 . Adjustable shim  81  may also be located in top guide member  19 . 
     Elongated, assembled top frame element  3  is terminated at both ends by separate inner and outer distal ends,  97  and  99  respectively as shown in FIGS. 13 and 15. These end members are also known as “fascia” members as they are the members most likely seen by anyone looking at the jambs from inside and outside the structure respectively. Inner fascia member  97  is shown in FIG. 5 to comprise an extrusion forming a flat, vertically-oriented, main interior fascia plate  101  having at least one slanted wall portion  105 , extending away from plate  101  and adapted to abut against slanted wall  37  of top guide member  19 , and another element  107 , spaced-apart from slanted wall portion  105  and extending outward for connection with interlocking terminus  27  on top guide member  19 . Main interior fascia plate  101  extends downward over elongated, assembled top frame element  3  to provide a cover for the upper edges of panels  7 . 
     Outer fascia member  99  is shown in FIG. 6 to comprise an extrusion forming a flat, vertically-oriented, main, interior fascia plate  109  having at least one slanted wall portion  111 , extending away from plate  109  and adapted to abut against slanted wall  37  of top guide member  19 , and another element  113 , spaced-apart from slanted wall portion  111  and extending outward for connection with interlocking terminus  27  on top guide member  19 . Main exterior fascia plate  101  extends downward over elongated, assembled top frame element  3  to also provide a cover for the upper edges of panels  7 . 
     Assembled side frame element  5  is comprised of a plurality of separate members, each extruded from aluminum for lightness and strength, assembled together to form a strong jamb as shown in FIGS. 12 and 14. One such separate member is an elongated extruded, hollow side-guide member  117  and is shown in FIG. 7 to comprise a thick, front wall  119  terminated by spaced-apart side wall edges  121  wherein said side wall edges are parallel and formed into a turned-out interlocking terminus  123 . Note that, while the top assembled jamb is described in terms of “bottom” walls (adjacent panels  7 ), and “top” walls (adjacent beam  77 ), side frame element  5  is described in terms of “front walls” to denote the wall (front) that faces or engages the side frame portion of panels  7  and “rear walls” to denote the wall (side) that faces away from the side frame portion of panels  7 . A pair of spaced-apart thin side walls  125  extend rearward from front wall  119  in parallel arrangement and interior of, or inside, side wall turned-out wall edges interlocking terminus  123  and are preferably orthogonal to front wall  119 . A rear wall  129  is located parallel to front wall  119  and is spaced-apart therefrom to close over side guide member  117 , between side walls  121  to form a hollow interior  131 . A pair of slanted walls  133  extend rearward and outward from an area  135  on member  117  between front wall  119  and its junction with rear walls  129 . Slanted walls  133  terminate in a bent-outward-rearward configuration. 
     A pair of closely spaced-apart wall members,  137   a  and  137   b,  are formed in a depression  141  formed in rear wall  129  and preferably extend vertically rearward a distance terminating slightly inside the outer edge of slanted walls  133 . As stated earlier, modern construction techniques often call for the use of a thin sheet or sheets of waterproof material  51   a  to be used to wrap portions of the structure (home, office building and the like) to seal out rain, snow, etc. Wall members  137   a  and  137   b  form a narrow, deep groove therebetween and this is used to insert a loop of the edge of such wrapping material  51   a  therein followed by the insertion of a length of a larger diameter rope of rubberized material  51   b,  called a “spline”, to jam in the groove and hold the loop in the groove thus allowing the sealing features of the wrap to extend along the entire length of the jamb. 
     Front wall  119  is made thick for the purpose of receiving thereagainst the side frame member of one panel of plurality panels  7  that will abut assembled side frame element  5  and support a clasp-type lock (not shown) to secure the temporary assembly. Generally, only one panel is designed to close against side frame element  5  and the design includes a series of abrupt elevation changes  141 , as shown in FIGS. 7 and 14, in order to form a seal against wind and rain between a panel side frame member  13  and front wall  119 . As shown in FIG. 8, other side guide members  117  have a flat, planar front wall  119   a  when designed not to have a panel frame abut thereagainst. 
     Spaced between successive side guide members  117  are separate elongated key spacer members  143  that are shown in FIG. 10 to have the same configuration and construction as spacer members  53  except that members  53  are rotated 90°, as shown in FIG. 10, such that while they comprise a hollow central body  55 , defined by a pair of thin, spaced-apart side walls  57 , top wall  59  is now a front wall  145  and bottom wall  61  is now rear wall  147  enclosing member  53  to form a similar hollow interior. The rear portions of side walls  57  are similarly formed into a pair of converging slanted walls  65  while the side portions of rear wall  147  are indented slightly at  69  and each indentation is provided with a forwardly extending stub  71 . Along rear wall  147  are two spaced-apart ears  73  that extend rearward a short distance and terminate in edges  75  lying in a common plane x-y that abuts or mates with the outer surface of a beam  149  set behind the jamb for the purpose of providing support (see FIG.  10 ). 
     Rear wall  147 , between ears  73 , is made of a thickness sufficient for receipt therein of an adjustable shim  81  (not shown) that is used to adjust the distance of side guide member  117  from beam  149 . Adjustable shim  81  is shown in FIG.  4 . 
     Front wall  145  and rear wall  147  have small indentations  93  formed therein for locating a drill bit and for having an aperture drilled therein for insertion of Allen wrench  87 . After use of Allen wrench  87  to adjust the assembled jamb against beam  77 , wrench  87  is removed and an elongated fastener, such as a long screw  95 , is inserted through the apertures and through hollow plug  85  and into beam  149  for fastening the assembled jamb to said beam just like that occurring with top jam assembly  3 . 
     Elongated, assembled side frame element  5  is terminated at both ends by separate inner and outer distal fascia ends,  153  and  155  respectively as shown in FIGS. 12 and 14. Inner distal fascia end  153  is shown in FIG. 11 to comprise an extrusion forming a flat, horizontally-oriented, main, interior fascia plate  157  having at least one slanted wall portion  159 , extending away from plate  157  and adapted to interconnect to a slanted wall  133  of side guide member  117 , and another element  161 , spaced-apart from slanted wall portion  133  and extending outward for connection with interlocking terminus  123  on side guide member  117 . Outer distal fascia end  155  is shown in FIG. 9 to comprise an extrusion forming a flat, vertically-oriented, main, exterior fascia plate  165  having at least one slanted wall portion  167 , extending away from plate  165  and adapted to interconnect to a slanted wall  133  of side guide member  117 , and another element  169 , spaced-apart from slanted wall portion  167  and extending outward for connection with interlocking terminus  123  on side guide member  117 . 
     In order to assemble and fix assembled top frame element  3  and assembled side frame element  5  in straight assemblies or rectilinear lineage, use is made of slanted walls  37 ,  65 ,  105 ,  111 ,  133 ,  159  and  167  in top frame element  3  and in side frame element  5 . Once assembled, guide members and spacer members are inter-attached by interlocking terminus  27  and  123 , and slanted side walls  37 ,  65 ,  105 ,  111 ,  133 ,  159  and  167  are in adjacent juxtaposition, as shown in FIGS. 12 through 15. Small apertures are formed (drilled) in these assembled slanted side walls and self-tapping screws  171  are threaded therein (see FIG. 13 for an example). The assembly of side walls  29  and side walls  57  in top guide member  19  and spacer member  51 , in one planar direction, and the interlocking of stubs  71  and surned out interlocking terminus  27  along planes in other directions, and the assembly of slanted walls  37  and  65  in the same members, but in a plane located at an angle to the plane of slanted walls  37  and  65 , insures that the assembled members take up a rectilinear assembly and remain straight before, during and after installation in the overall structure. The same practice also assures rectilinear assembly for the assembled side frame element. In practice, the size of the self-tapping screws in slanted walls  37  and  65  are set to lie below edges  75  and not interfere with positioning against beams  77  and  149 . 
     As shown in FIG. 16, assembled top frame element  3  may be modified to reduce the length of top guide members  19  only to the lengths each panel is designed to move within jamb system  1 . This is accomplished by segmenting inner distal fascia end  97  and closing off the lengths of top guide member  19  as needed. In addition, an elongated stub  173  is formed on one spacer member  143 , as shown in FIG. 14, that runs along assembled side frame element  5  for the purpose of being received in a slot (not shown) in a screen panel that may be used with the novel jamb system of this invention. Stub  171  permits a panel, having a screen in place of glass subpanel  15 , to run along the tracks at the base of the frame (not shown) and seal against assembled side frame element  5  by having elongated stub  171  be received in the slot in the screen panel. 
     While the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications to the described embodiment of the invention without departing from the true spirit and scope thereof. It is intended that all combinations of elements and steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same result are within the scope of this invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4