Door and method of fabricating the same

A door comprising:

• first and second vertical members of unitary construction located at the ends of the door, each vertical member having spaced apart and generally parallel front and rear walls and an end wall connecting the front and rear walls and maintaining the front and rear walls in a fixed and determined position with respect to each other, all such that the vertical members in cross-section are generally channel-shaped, the vertical members being oriented with their end walls presented away from each other so that their hollow interiors open toward each other, the front and rear walls of each vertical member each having a rib which projects into the interior of that vertical member;
• a plurality of lateral members extended between the vertical members and at their ends being fitted into the hollow interiors of the vertical members, the spacing between the front and rear walls of each vertical member being for the most part about the same as the width of the lateral members at their ends, except for between the ribs where the spacing is less than the space between the lateral members at the ends of those members, the lateral members at their ends having slots which align with and receive the ribs on the vertical members, so as to interlock the vertical and lateral members, the ribs of each vertical member having beveled surfaces which are presented away from the end wall of that vertical member, so that a lateral member upon being forced into the hollow interior of the vertical member will cam the ribs and the front and rear walls on which they are located apart;
• connecting means for securing the vertical members to the lateral members, the connecting means having heads and the rear wall of each vertical member having an embossment provided with a groove in which the heads of the connecting means along that wall lie;
• and a siding material extended over and attached to the lateral members.

In combination with a wall having an opening therein, a track attached to the wall above the opening and laterally beyond the opening, trolleys on the track, and hangers extending downwardly from the trolleys to below the track, an impoved door for closing the opening, said door comprising:

• vertical members located at the ends of the door, each vertical member having spaced apart front and rear walls which are generally parallel and an end wall connecting the front and rear walls, the walls being joined together as an integral channel-shaped unit, the vertical members being oriented with their end walls being presented away from each other so that their hollow interiors open toward each other, each of the front and rear walls having a vertically directed rib which projects into the hollow interior of the member;
• generally tubular lateral members extended between the vertical members and having their ends fitted into the hollow interiors of the vertical members, each lateral member having side walls which are spaced apart a distance about equal to the spacing between the front and rear walls of the vertical members so that the vertical members within their hollow interiors receive the ends of the lateral members, the spacing between the side walls of the lateral members being greater than the spacing between the ribs on the front and rear walls of the vertical members, the side walls of the lateral members having at their ends vertically directed slots into which the ribs on the front and rear walls of the vertical members project to interlock the vertical and lateral members, the uppermost lateral member being attached to the hangers on the trolleys to suspend the door from the track;
• and a siding material extended over and being attached to the lateral members.

A process for assembling and hanging a door from trolleys that are in a track on a building wall to close an opening in the wall, said process comprising:

• fitting generally tubular lateral members into channel-shaped vertical members, the lateral members having spaced apart side walls with vertically directed slots in those side walls at the ends of the members, the vertical members having front and rear walls and an end wall connecting the front and rear walls such that the front, rear and end walls of each vertical member constitute a unitary structure, the front and rear walls of each vertical member having ribs which project toward each other, the lateral members being inserted into the vertical members such that the side walls of the lateral members are along the front and rear walls of the vertical members with the ribs of the vertical members being projected into the slots at the ends of the lateral members to interlock the vertical and lateral members;
• inserting fasteners through the front and rear walls of the vertical members and into side walls of the lateral members;
• attaching a siding material to the lateral members to complete the door;
• and connecting the trolleys to the uppermost lateral member of the door so that the door is suspended from the trolleys.