Patent Application
20160287027
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to curved slideable doors and, in particular, to adjustable curved shower doors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bathing enclosures are used to retain water from, e.g., a showerhead within an enclosed area. Recently, bathing enclosures utilize curved outer walls in order to create additional space within the enclosure. The outer walls may be a shower curtain on a curved rod, for example, or a curved door on a correspondingly curved slider track.
A favored material for curved doors used in bathroom enclosures is glass, which admits light to the enclosure, is waterproof and can be easily cleaned. In order to support the weight of the glass doors, the curved tracks along which the doors slide may be made from a robust, bulky material. In some cases, curved tracks may deflect when the weight of the glass door assembly is placed on a track, resulting in a “dip” or depression at the middle of the track together with rotation of the track due to the moment created by the curve. Misalignment of the tracks may also cause or exacerbate such a “dip.” This deflection and/or rotation may urge the door or doors toward the middle of the enclosure, causing the door or doors to open unintentionally.
Curved-door designs may have a moveable door panel which slides between open and closed positions, and a stationary door panel which is rigidly fixed to the surrounding support structures and may itself be used as a support for mounting the sliding door.
The present disclosure provides a door assembly which compensates for any deflection of the track which may occur with a heavy door material and/or a curved door support track. In particular, the present disclosure provides track mounting assemblies which can be tilted in order to “fine tune” the orientation of the door with respect to the surrounding support structure, e.g., the bathtub or shower base threshold. If the curved track deflects from the weight of one or more sliding doors, the track can be tilted to ensure that the door remains level and functions as intended.
In one form thereof, the present disclosure provides a sliding door assembly comprising: a door; a support track slideably supporting the door, the support track having axial ends with a longitudinal extent therebetween, and a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal extent, the cross-sectional shape defining a first pivot area and an adjuster engagement area spaced from the first pivot area; and a track mounting assembly fixable to an adjacent support surface, the track mounting assembly comprising: a support body including a track slot sized to receive the support track, the track slot defining a second pivot area adapted to pivotably engage with the first pivot area; and a tilt adjuster engaging the adjuster engagement area of the support track to selectively adjust a tilt of the support track within the track slot.
In another form thereof, the present disclosure a sliding door adjustment mechanism comprising: a support body having a tapered track slot including a narrow portion defining a pivot area and a wide portion defining an adjuster area, the tapered track slot sized to pivotably receive a support track of a sliding door; and a support anchor coupled to the support body and adapted to be fixed to an adjacent support surface.
In yet another form thereof, the present disclosure provides a method for adjusting a tilt angle of a sliding door, the method comprising: affixing axial ends of a support track to a pair of mutually opposed support surfaces; slideably attaching a door to the support track such that the support track supports the weight of the door, and the support track experiences a downward deflection; tilting at least one of the axial ends of the support track to correct the downward deflection.
The above-mentioned and other features of the disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
The present disclosure provides a curved and sliding door assembly 10 (
Turning to
In particular, each of doors 12, 14 is slideably supported by a pair of roller assemblies 18 affixed to the respective door panel. Roller assemblies 18 each engage a respective support track 16 as illustrated, and provide a secure and low-friction interface between doors 12, 14 and their respective support tracks 16. In an exemplary embodiment shown in
In the illustrative embodiment of
Doors 12, 14 include side gaskets 22 and bottom gaskets 24 which provide a waterproof seal between the outside and lower edges, respectively, of doors 12, 14 and the adjacent support surfaces of the bathing enclosure. For example, side gasket 22 may interface with a vertical wall of the bathing enclosure to provide a fluid-tight seal between the interior and exterior of the bathing enclosure along the vertical wall, while bottom gaskets 24 similarly provide a fluid tight seal between the lower edges of doors 12, 14 and the adjacent floor, threshold or tub wall of the bathing enclosure. Door guide 26 may be provided along the lower door surfaces to restrain lateral movement of doors 12, 14 as they are moved between the open and closed positions as described above.
Door stops 28 may be mounted on each of support tracks 16 in order to limit the slidable motion range of each door 12, 14 along the longitudinal extent of the support track 16 to which the door is mounted. Referring to
Support tracks 16 mount to the walls of the bathing enclosure via track mounting assemblies 30, as shown in
Support anchor 46 is coupled to each of the upper and lower support bodies 42, 44, and provides a fixed mounting point for affixing support bodies 42, 44, and therefore support tracks 16 the other associated structures of sliding door assembly 10, relative to the adjacent support surfaces. In particular, as shown in
Upper support body 42 is rotatably coupled to anchor 46 by lowering boss 68 into support mounting aperture 66. Pivot pin 50 may then be passed through pivot pin aperture 74 and threadably engaged with support mounting aperture 66 to affix upper support body 42 with respect to support anchor 46. When pivot pin 50 is loose, upper support body 42 may pivot with respect to anchor 46, such that the curved support track 16 may approach the support surface at a non-perpendicular orientation. This configuration facilitates the use of the curved support tracks 16 (and the correspondingly curved first and second doors 12, 14) between parallel walls commonly found in bathing enclosures. Moreover, the pivotability of upper support body 42 with respect to anchor 46 ensures that an installer of sliding door assembly 10 can align support tracks 16 with track slot 60 (as further described below), regardless of whether slot 60 is perpendicular with the adjacent support surface. When support body 42 is pivoted to its desired orientation (e.g., when slot 60 received and is aligned with an axial end of support track 16), pivot pin 50 may be tightened to secure support body 42 to anchor 46 and, therefore, to the adjacent support surface.
Lower support body 44 is also pivotably mounted to support anchor 46 by pivot pin 50 (
In addition to the pivotable adjustment of upper and lower support bodies 42 and 44, support tracks 16 have an adjustable “tilt” when received within track slots 60, as noted above and shown in
Track slot 60 defines a tapered cross-sectional profile, including a substantially vertical first inner wall 70 and an angled second inner wall 72 defining taper angle Θ, which is equal to the overall taper angle of slot 60. Slot 60 is narrower at its bottom portion and becomes wider with progression toward the top portion, i.e., toward flange bolt 52. In the configuration of
When first door 12 is installed upon the upper support track 16, weight bearing rollers 36 are rollingly received upon an upper surface of support track 16, as illustrated in
In order to selectively correct for such deflection of track 16, track mounting assembly 30 may be used to “tilt” support track 16 through a continuously adjustable range of potential tilt angles. The chosen level of tilt is that which corrects for the particular deflection encountered in an installation of sliding door assembly 10, such that an installer may selectively tilt support track 16 into a desired orientation which eliminates any central “dip” and facilitates the desired operation during the opening and closing of door 12. The same correction may be applied to the lower track 16 and door 14, as appropriate. Moreover, although the moment created by the use of curved support tracks and curved doors 12, 14 inherently contributes to the creation of this central dip, it is contemplated that the present system of tilt adjustment may also be applied to non-curved enclosures, e.g., those including substantially planar doors and substantially linear support tracks, in order to correct for any deflection which may occur in that context.
To achieve the tilted orientation of
Thus, the axial end of support track 16 is tilted within slot 60 such that the outer surface of track 16 faces upwardly as shown in
Moreover, the amount of tilt imparted to support track 16 may be finally adjusted by rotating flange bolt 52 to achieve any desired tilt within the tilt range allowed by the taper of slot 60. In an exemplary embodiment, the maximum tilt angle Θ is about 2 degrees, though it is appreciated that other tilt angle ranges may be provided as required or desired for a particular application. In some applications, the maximum available tilt angle Θ may be varied by increasing or decreasing the amount of taper within slot 60, and may be set as low as 0.5 degrees, 1 degree, or 1.5 degrees, and may be as large as 2.5 degrees, 3 degrees, or 3.5 degrees, or may be any tilt angle within any range defined by any of the range of the foregoing values. In one exemplary embodiment using tracks 16 with an outward curvature defining a radius of 106 inches, for example, a tilt angle Θ of 2 degrees may result in a ⅛-inch corrective elevation change at the middle of the longitudinal extent of support track 16. That is, if the lower portion of track 16 is ⅛-inch lower than the axial ends of track 16 due to weight-induced deflection, a 2-degree upward tilt of track 16 will result in the center portion becoming level with the axial ends. Similar correlations may be inferred for other tilt angles, though it is appreciated that such correlations will vary for varying materials, geometries and sizes used in sliding door assembly 10. For example, the “dip” to be corrected can be expected to increase as the curve radius of curved tracks 16 decreases (i.e., as the tracks become “more curved”), and can be expected to decrease as the curve radius of curved tracks 16 increases. For an completely straight support track (i.e., one having an infinite radius), the dip is essentially zero.
When a desired tilt of support track 16 has been achieved, one or more set screws 54 (e.g., two set screws 54 as illustrated in
Although flange bolt 52 and threaded aperture 58 are used for tilt adjustment in the illustrated embodiment, it is contemplated that other mechanisms may be used in alternative embodiments to achieve a similar tilt adjustment functionality. Examples of such alternative mechanisms include worm gears, wedges received between support track 16 and one of inner slot walls 70, 72, and the like. Yet another alternative is a ball joint or U-joint connection between tracks 16 and the adjacent support surface (e.g., via modified support bodies 42, 44) which is lockable in a desired configuration.
Turning now to
However, support track assembly 130 allows for vertical adjustment of the axial end of support track 16, such that the elevation of one or both of the ends of support track 16 can be adjusted to ensure that the overall track 16 is level upon installation. In the illustrated embodiment, slot 160 has been vertically expanded relative to slot 60, such that track 16 is vertically moveable within slot 160 through a limited range while still remaining captured by support body 142. Vertical adjustment of track 16 is effected by adjustment of adjuster screw 176, which is threadably engaged in threaded aperture 178 formed in the lower surface of body 142. Rotation of screw 176 causes screw 176 to protrude upwardly into slot 160, engaging a lower surface of track 16 and raising track 16 within slot 160.
In order to accommodate the tilt adjustment functionality of flange bolt 52 while maintaining alignment between bolt 52 and threaded aperture 58, adjuster aperture 156 is vertically enlarged as compared to adjuster aperture 56, as illustrated by a comparison of
Height-adjustable support track assembly 130 may be provided at one or both axial ends of tracks 16, as required or desired for a particular application. Lower support body 144 may also be provided with vertical adjustment in a similar fashion to upper support body 142, as shown in
While this invention has been described as having an exemplary design, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
