Window structure with a sliding door
AssigneeApple Computer, Inc.
InventorsDavid Shen, Robert A. Howard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A window structure has a door which slides substantially parallel to a wall to open and close a window therein and hides parallel to and behind the wall when the window is opened. Guide pins protrude upward and downward from the door, and elongated slots are formed in guide plates attached to the wall so as to serve as passageways for the guide pins to travel therein and therealong as the door is slidably moved between open and closed positions. A biasing member such as a cantilevered plate spring is provided to keep the window closed with its biasing force once it is closed and to prevent it from closing when the door is in open position.
Claims9
A window structure comprising:
- a wall having a window;
- a door structure which is slidable between an open position and a closed position, said door structure at said open position being parallel and adjacent to said wall and leaving said window open, and said door structure at said closed position covering said window completely;
- a first pin and a second pin attached to said door structure;
- a guide structure affixed to said wall, said guide structure having a first elongated passageway and a second elongated passageway, said first and second pins being inside and constrained to move between said open and closed positions inside and along said first and second passageways, respectively;
- and
- biasing means for exerting a biasing force on said door structure so as to keep said window closed when said door structure is at said closed position and to prevent said door structure from starting to move from said open position when said door structure is in said open position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.