Patent ID: 8215061

Claim:
A sliding door apparatus for an opening in a wall, comprising: a track assembly mountable along an upper edge of said opening, said track assembly having a track member, said track member including a guide channel therein and a generally cylindrical channel therein, wherein said guide channel extends along a longitudinal axis of said track member, a length of said guide channel is substantially equal to a length of said track member and said track member is a one-piece integral element; a door including at least one guide structure which engages said guide channel of said track member to partially support the weight of the door as said guide channel guides sliding movement of said door between opened and closed positions; and a damping mechanism disposed within said generally cylindrical channel of said track member and actuatable in response to said sliding movement of said door to brake said of said door movement as said door approaches said opened and closed positions, said damping mechanism comprising a member moveable within said generally cylindrical channel along a longitudinal axis of said generally cylindrical channel, wherein said longitudinal axis of said generally cylindrical channel is parallel to said longitudinal axis of said track member; a first seal creating a substantially air-tight seal between said moveable member and said generally cylindrical channel; a second seal fixed at a predetermined position within said generally cylindrical channel on one side of said moveable member, said second seal creating one of a fully and partially air-tight seal with said generally cylindrical channel; and an actuating member operably connected to said moveable member and transmitting said sliding movement of said door to said moveable member, such that when said moveable member is moved towards said second seal within said generally cylindrical channel in response to said sliding movement of said door, air between said moveable member and said second seal is compressed to progressively resist the sliding movement of said door.