Sliding door with lateral sealing movement
AssigneeKrueger International, Inc.
InventorAndrew J. Kopish
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sliding door is secured to one side of a wall or partition panel having a door opening, and includes a trolley that is held in a track located above the door opening. The wheels or rollers of the trolley move along the track when the door is moved to a closed position until the roller contacts a wedge or ramp associated with the track. The wedge urges the roller inwardly toward the wall or partition panel, such that when the door is in the fully closed position, the trolley is positioned inwardly on the track to move the upper area of the door into engagement with the wall or partition panel. The lower end of the door includes a channel within which is positioned a follower attached to a swing arm, which simultaneously draws the lower end of the door into engagement with the wall or panel.
Claims16
A sliding door assembly for selectively closing an opening in a vertical surface, comprising:
- a door having at least one roller provided with a rounded edge and a pair of sidewalls;
- a door track that extends transverse to the vertical surface, wherein the door track defines a path of travel for the door for movement between an open position and a closed position, wherein the door track includes a first track portion and a second track portion laterally offset from the first track portion along the path of travel and wherein the rounded edge of the roller directly engages and rolls along either the first track portion or the second track portion;
- and
- a doorstop associated with and spaced from the door track and configured to direct the door laterally from the first track portion to the second track portion into engagement with the vertical surface when the door is moved from the open position toward the closed position,
- wherein the doorstop includes a planar ramp inclined in a direction from the first track portion toward the second track portion along the path of travel of the door between the open position and the closed position, and wherein the ramp is configured to engage against one of the sidewalls to direct the roller from the first track portion to the second track portion when the door is moved toward the closed position.
A sliding door system, comprising:
- a door sized to close an opening formed in a structure and having a trolley device connected thereto, the trolley device having a roller provided with a rounded edge and a pair of sidewalls;
- a door retention track connected to the structure, the door retention track configured to hold the trolley device and provide a surface directly engaged by the rounded edge of the roller of the trolley device so as to move the door between open and closed positions;
- and
- a laterally facing planar ramp positioned in the door retention track in spaced relationship to the surface engaged by the roller and configured to force the door laterally against the structure when the door is moved to the closed position,
- wherein the ramp is configured to engage against one of the sidewalls of the roller to direct the roller from one side of the track surface to an opposite side of the track surface when the door is moved to the closed position.
A sliding door system, comprising:
- a door sized to close an opening formed in a structure and having a trolley device connected thereof;
- a door retention track connected to the structure, the door retention track configured to hold the trolley device and provide a surface along which the trolley device may travel so as to move the door between open and closed positions;
- a laterally facing ramp positioned in the door retention track and configured to force an upper area of the door laterally against the structure when the door is moved to the closed position;
- and
- a follower that draws a lower area of the door against the structure as the upper area of the door is forced against the structure, wherein the follower comprises a swing guide mounted to the structure and a swing arm retained by the door at one end and coupled to the swing guide at an opposite end.
A wall and door system comprising:
- a wall having a pair of vertical surfaces and a transverse surface collectively defining an opening;
- a door track associated with an opening side of the transverse surface;
- a door slidably retained by the door track to move between open and closed positions relative to the opening, the door having at least one trolley device having a roller with a rounded edge which directly engages the door track and a pair of side walls which are spaced from the door track, and the trolley device mounted to an upper area thereof and held by the door track for movement thereon;
- and
- guide means mounted within the door track which guides the trolley device and moves the door laterally into engagement with the pair of vertical surfaces when the door closes the opening,
- wherein the guide means includes a planar ramp facing the wall and selectively engages against one of the sidewalls of the roller to direct the trolley device from a first portion of the door track to a second portion of the door track laterally offset from the first portion when the door is moved to the closed position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.