Door parking locator

A door parking locator for use in a sliding door support track for receiving a supporting wheel of the door, the track having an elongated rib and a groove on each side of the rib, the rib being adapted to be engaged by a central, concave periphery of the wheel, with edges of the wheel extending into the grooves, but being spaced slightly above the bottom of the grooves so that the load of the door is borne by the concave portion, said locator comprising:

• a pair of laterally spaced, elongated ramps adapted to fit within said grooves, the ramps sloping along a direction of travel of the wheel in the track;
• each ramp having an upper surface that slopes upwardly from opposite ends of the ramp toward a pair of spaced load transfer peaks and then slopes downwardly to a depression between said peaks, the height of said ramps being selected so that said wheel can ride onto said ramps from either end to cause the load supported by said wheel to be gradually transferred from said rib to said ramps by way of the wheel edges engaging said ramps as the wheel moves toward one of said peaks on each ramp, and the height of said depression being selected so that the wheel is captured therein when rolled between the peaks.

A door parking locator for insertion into a support track for receiving a wheel of a sliding door comprising:

• at least one elongated support adapted to fit within said track;
• said support including longitudinally spaced means for elevating said wheel and then lowering said wheel into a depression located between said elevating means to capture said wheel between said elevating means.

A method of parking a door in a support track at a desired location yet still allowing for normal movement of said door into and out of said location when an operator so desires, comprising:

• inserting a door parking locator at a desired position for said door into said track, the locator including a depression formed in an upper surface of said locator and a pair of laterally spaced ramps which fit within grooves in said support track;
• and
• rolling a support wheel of said door up an inclined surface of said ramps and then downwardly into the depression in said upper surface to capture the wheel in the depression.

A securing device for use with a sliding closure comprising a support track for receiving a wheel of said closure and an elongated member formed to fit into said track, said member having a wheel lifting top surface, a first end and a second end spaced along a direction of motion of said wheel, and a depression between said ends to capture said wheel, said wheel lifting top surface having a first low point near said first end, a first high point between said first end and said depression, a second low point near said second end and a second high point between said second end and said depression, with at least a portion of the top surface between said first low point and said first high point being inclined and at least a portion of the top surface between said second low point and said second high point being inclined.