Automatically sealing tiltable door panel system
AssigneeJohn B. Higman and Valorie J. Higman; Trustees of the Higman Family Trust u/d/t as amended & restate
InventorEric David Hans
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sliding door system can include a tiltable sealing mechanism such that, when a door panel is slid to a closed configuration, one or more seal elements form a seal between the door panel and its surroundings at the top, bottom, and/or sides of the door to reduce or prevent infiltration or communication of gases or liquids such as air or water. Manual or motor driven movement of the panel can move an actuation mechanism to extend the seals around the door. The sealing member can include weather stripping, brush or another seal element for sealing contact with a header, floor, door, frame, or other surface. Multiple door panels can be arranged to form a door panel system.
Claims20
A sealable sliding door system comprising:
- a header comprising at least one tilt actuation surface;
- a lower track parallel to the header;
- and
- a door panel slideably moveable along the lower track and the header, the door panel comprising:
- a panel surface bounded by a first side edge, a second side edge, an upper edge and a lower edge;
- and
- an upper sealing edge comprising at least one door tilting interface configured to interact with the at least one tilt actuation surface, which tilts the door panel in a direction normal to the panel surface to reduce an upper distance between the upper edge of the door panel surface and the header when the door panel reaches a predetermined location corresponding to a sealed configuration.
A tiltable sealing door panel comprising:
- a first door stile;
- a second door stile opposite the first door stile;
- an upper rail;
- a lower rail;
- a central area bounded by the first door stile, the second door stile, the upper rail, and the lower rail;
- an upper tilting mechanism configured to seal the door panel to a header of a door frame, wherein the upper tilting mechanism comprises a door tilting interface on the upper rail and a tilt actuation surface on the header configured to tilt the central area about the lower rail to reduce an upper distance between the upper edge of the door panel and the header when the door panel reaches a predetermined location corresponding to a sealed configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.