Patent Application
20210002936
The field of the invention generally relates to sliding doors and windows, and more particularly, to sill track and assembly which is flush to the surrounding floor and includes a sub-floor drainage system.
Sliding glass doors and windows, such as patio doors, and panoramic multiple sliding glass door systems, are typically mounted in a door frame using a sill track which extend on the floor across the width of the door opening. Prior sill track designs mount on the floor and rise above the surrounding floor. The sill track rises above the surrounding floor to provide a water barrier to prevent water, such as precipitation, from outside the sliding door to cross the sill track and enter into the interior of the sliding door. In other words, the sill track blocks water from crossing the sill track from the outside to the inside.
Referring to
The present invention is directed to an innovative sill track assembly for sliding doors or windows (collectively, sliding panels) installed in a door or window frame having two opposing vertical side jambs on opposing sides of the door or window frame, a head jamb extending between the side jambs across the top of the door or window frame and a sill extending between the side jambs across the bottom of the door frame along the floor. While the sill track assembly of the present invention will now be described with respect to a sill track assembly for sliding doors, it is understood that the sill track assembly may also be used for windows or other sliding structures, and that the invention is not limited to sliding doors. Accordingly, the sliding doors, windows, or other sliding structures are referred to generally as sliding panels.
The sill track mounts flush with the surrounding flooring and flooring installed onto the sill track, including the flooring on the inside/interior of the sill track (i.e., the interior of the door opening in which the sill track is mounted) and the flooring on the outside/exterior of the sill track (i.e., the exterior of the door opening in which the sill track is mounted). Furthermore, the sill track assembly includes an integrated drainage system including a weep channel located on the inside of the door track upon which wheels of the door ride when a sliding glass door is installed on the sill track assembly and a drain path to direct water entering the weep channel to be disposed, such as to a gutter, sewer, storm drain, or the like. As used herein, the terms “inside,” “interior,” “outside” and “exterior” are referenced based on the side of the sill track assembly having the weep channel being located toward the “inside” or “interior” of the door opening and the other side of the sill track assembly being to the “outside” or “exterior” of the door opening. Similarly, the directional term “inward” means toward the interior of the door opening and the directional term “outward” means toward the exterior of the door opening. For example, describing that a first structure is located inward of a second structure means that the first structure is located further in the direction of the inside of the door opening. The “interior” side of the sill track is located toward the interior of the door opening and the “exterior” side of the sill track is located toward the exterior of the door opening,
In one embodiment, the sill track assembly comprises an elongated, interior sill track (also referred to as a first sill track) having a longitudinal length along a longitudinal axis, wherein the longitudinal length and longitudinal axis are configured to extend across a door opening of a door frame. The interior sill track has an exterior wall which extends along the longitudinal length of the sill track. Each of the additional elements of the interior sill track extends along the longitudinal length of the sill track, except for certain optional cut-outs, described in more detail below. The exterior wall may have an interior sill track joint for joining the interior sill track to an exterior sill track (also referred to as a second sill track), side-by-side, as described below. The exterior wall extends vertically from a bottom of the sill track to a horizontal, first flooring wall at a first height above the bottom. The first height above the bottom of the sill track is below the top of the interior sill track. The top of the interior sill track is the highest most point on the interior sill track and is configured to be flush with a top surface of finished flooring installed adjacent the sill track assembly. The first height is below the top of the interior sill track by a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the flooring such that the top surface of flooring installed on the first flooring wall is flush with the top of the interior sill track. As used herein, the term “flush” means that a respective top of each of the referenced structures are at substantially the same height, such as within ⅛″ elevation of each other. Hence, the sill track assembly allows wheeled devices to easily and smoothly roll over the sill track assembly, and the sill track assembly does not create a ledge which can present a tripping hazard.
The first flooring wall extends horizontally from the first exterior wall to a track support, and is configured to support a first portion of flooring installed on the interior sill track. The first flooring wall has a first end connected to the first flooring wall and a second end connected to the track support. The track support includes a pair of opposing vertical track support walls, an exterior support wall and an interior support wall, which extend from the bottom of the interior sill track to the top of the sill track. The door track support has a horizontal track base extending between the track support walls.
A door track configured to receive a guide of a sliding door is disposed on the horizontal track base between the track support walls. The guide helps retain the sliding door on the interior sill track. The guide may be one or more wheels on the bottom of a sliding door, or a groove disposed on the bottom of a sliding door, or a protrusion extending from the bottom of the sliding door, which is received by the door track to retain the sliding door on the interior sill track. The top of the door track is configured to be flush with the top surface of finished flooring installed adjacent the sill track assembly (i.e., it is substantially the same vertical height as the top of the sill track walls). A second flooring wall extends horizontally from the interior support wall to a weep channel wall at the first height, and is configured to support a second portion of flooring installed on the sill track. The second flooring wall has a first end connected to the track support (e.g., the inward one of the track support walls) and a second end connected to the weep channel wall.
The weep channel wall is a vertical wall which extends upward from the second flooring wall to the top of the interior sill track. The weep channel wall is positioned outward of the inward most side of the interior sill track. For instance, a spacer wall extends horizontally to a location laterally inward of the weep channel wall such that there is a horizontal space between the inward end of the spacer wall and the weep channel wall. The spacer wall has an outward end connected to another structure of the interior sill track, such as to the second flooring wall, or to a vertical support wall connected to the second flooring wall, to the track support, or even to the weep channel wall. For example, the spacer wall may extend, directly or indirectly, from the second flooring wall. The inward end of the spacer wall is configured to bear against an interior side wall of a sillpan into which the interior sill track is installed in order to maintain space between the weep channel wall and an edge of flooring and/or the interior side wall of the sillpan which forms an opposing wall of a weep channel.
In another aspect of the invention, the sill track assembly includes a sillpan which receives the sill track. The sillpan is an elongated pan which extends the length of the sill track. The sillpan has a pan bottom, an exterior side wall which extends upward from the pan bottom along the longitudinal length of the sill track on the outward side of the sill track, an interior side wall which extends upward from the pan bottom along the longitudinal length of the sill track on the inward side of the sill track, and two opposing end walls at either end of the exterior side wall and interior side wall.
In still another aspect, the sill track assembly may include two or more sill tracks arranged side-by-side (i.e., each of the longitudinal lengths of the sill tracks are arranged side-by-side in parallel). For example, in order to cover a door frame opening having a width of two or more sliding doors combined, the sill track assembly includes an interior sill track and one or more exterior sill tracks. Typically, each sliding door is installed on a different sill track so that the doors may slide adjacent to each other. In this case, the total number of interior and exterior sill tracks equals the number of doors. It is understood that multiple sliding doors may also be installed on the same sill track, in which case the total number of interior and exterior sill tracks equals the number of doors minus the number of doors installed on a same sill track as another door.
When multiple sill tracks are utilized, typically only one of the sill tracks needs to have a weep channel to form a water barrier. Generally, the interior most sill track includes the weep channel, and therefore it is referred to as the “interior” sill track. The other sill tracks exterior to the interior sill track do not need a weep channel because a single weep channel usually forms a sufficient water barrier to prevent water from crossing the sill tracks from the outside to the inside. The interior sill track is as described above.
The one or more exterior sill tracks are substantially the same as the interior sill track, except they do not include the weep channel wall, but instead the second flooring wall of the exterior sill track extends to an inward most side of the exterior (i.e., second) sill track such that the second flooring wall joins with the first flooring wall of the interior (i.e., first) sill track. The inward side of the second flooring wall of the exterior sill track has a second sill track joint which connects to the first sill track joint of the first sill track. The exterior wall of the exterior sill track also has an outward sill track joint for joining the first exterior sill track to a second exterior sill track, side-by-side, by joining the inward sill track joint of the second exterior sill track to the inward sill track joint of the first exterior sill track. As many exterior sill tracks as required can be added in the same manner.
The sillpan is sized to receive the number of sill tracks to be used in the particular application. For example, if two (2) sill tracks are to be used in a sill track assembly, then the sillpan has a width to accommodate an interior sill track and an exterior sill track, joined side by side. If three (3) sill tracks are to be used in a sill track assembly, then the sillpan has a width to accommodate an interior sill track and two exterior sill tracks, joined side-by-side, respectively.
In another aspect, one or more cut-outs are provided spaced along the longitudinal length of the interior and exterior sill tracks. The cut-outs are transverse cut-outs of the walls of the sill tracks for a short length (e.g., an inch, or so) which allow water draining into the weep channel to drain down to the pan bottom. The water can then collect at the locations of the cut-outs and a drain is connected to the pan bottom to drain the water out of the sillpan. The drain is connected to an irrigation system to direct dispose of the water, such as to a gutter, sewer, landscaping, etc.
The foregoing and other aspects of embodiments are described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements and the description for like elements shall be applicable for all described embodiments wherever relevant:
Referring to
The door frame 80 has two opposing vertical side jambs 82 on opposing sides of the door frame 80, a head jamb 84 extending between the side jambs 82 across the top of the door frame 80 and a sill 86 extending between the side jambs 82 across the bottom of the door frame 80 along the floor. The sill track assembly 10 mounts flush with the surrounding flooring, including the interior flooring 88 on the inward side of the sill track assembly 10 (i.e., the interior of the door opening in which the sill track 10 is mounted) and the exterior flooring 90 on the outward of the sill track assembly 10 (i.e., the exterior of the door opening in which the sill track 10 is mounted). Furthermore, the sill track assembly 10 includes an integrated drainage system including a weep channel 58 located on the inward side of the door track upon which wheels of the sliding glass door 11 ride when a sliding glass door 11 is installed on the sill track assembly 10 and a drain path to direct water entering the weep channel 58 to be disposed, such as to a gutter, sewer, storm drain, or the like.
Referring to
The interior sill track 12 has a longitudinal length along a longitudinal axis 14, wherein the longitudinal length and longitudinal axis are configured to extend across the door opening 16 of the door frame 80. The interior sill track 12 has an exterior wall 20 at the outward extent of the interior sill track 12. The exterior wall 20 extends along the longitudinal length of the interior sill track 12. Each of the additional elements of the interior sill track 12 extends along the longitudinal length of the sill track 12, except for certain optional cut-outs, described in more detail below. The exterior wall 20 extends vertically upward from a bottom 24 of the sill track 12 to a first height 21 above the bottom 24, where it connects to a horizontal, first flooring wall 26. The interior sill track 12 has an outward (or first) sill track joint 22 for joining the interior sill track 12 to the exterior sill track 40, side-by-side. The outward sill track joint 22 is located outward of the exterior wall 20 and is connected to the exterior wall 20 and/or the first flooring wall 26. For instance, the outward sill track joint 22 may be a part of the exterior wall 20, and/or the first flooring wall 26.
The first flooring wall 26 extends horizontally at the first height 21 from the exterior wall 20 to a door track support 28. The first flooring wall 26 has an outward end (first end) connected to the exterior wall 20 and an inward end (second end) connected to the door track support 28 (more specifically, an outward support wall 32a). The first flooring wall 26 is configured to support a first portion of flooring 30a installed on the interior sill track 12. The first height 21 is below the top 34 of the interior sill track by a distance 31 approximately equal to the thickness 31 of the flooring 30 such that the top surface of the flooring 30a installed on the first flooring wall 26 is flush with the top 34 of the interior sill track 12.
The door track support 28 includes a pair of opposing vertical track support walls 32, an outward support wall 32a and an inward support wall 32b, which extend from the bottom of the interior sill track 12 to the top 34 of the sill track 12. The top 34 of the sill track 12 is configured to be flush with a top surface of finished flooring 30 installed onto and adjacent the sill track assembly 10. The door track support 28 has a horizontal track base 36 extending between the track support walls 32a, 32b at a height below the top 33 of the interior sill track 12.
A door track 38 is disposed on the track base 36 between the track support walls 32a, 32b. The door track is configured to receive a guide of the sliding glass doors 11, such as one or more wheels 35 disposed on the bottom of the sliding glass doors 11. The door track 38 has a track top 37 which is flush with the top 33 of the interior sill track 12.
A second flooring wall 42 extends horizontally at the first height 21 from the door track support 28 (more specifically, the inward track support wall 32b) to a weep channel wall 44. The second flooring wall 42 has an outward end (first end) connected to the inward track support wall 32b and an inward end (second end) connected to the weep channel wall 44. The second flooring wall 42 is configured to support a second portion of flooring 30b installed on the interior sill track 12. Like the first flooring wall 26, the second flooring wall 42 is at the first height 21 below the top 34 of the interior sill track by a distance 31 approximately equal to the thickness 31 of the flooring 30 such that the top surface of the flooring 30b installed on the second flooring wall 42 is flush with the top 34 of the interior sill track 12.
The weep channel wall 44 is a vertical wall which extends from the second flooring wall 42 to the top 34 of the interior sill track 12. The weep channel wall 44 is positioned outward of the inward most side of the interior sill track 12 such that there is a gap between the inward most side of the interior sill track 12 and the weep channel wall 44 thereby forming a weep channel 58 for draining water thereby preventing water from passing the interior sill track 12 to the sliding doors 11. The gap for the weep channel 58 is formed by a spacer wall 46 having an inward end 47 (second end) located laterally inward of the weep channel wall 44 such that there is a horizontal space between the inward end 47 and the weep channel wall 44. The spacer wall 46 has an outward end 48 which is connected to another structure of the interior sill track 12. In the embodiment shown in
As shown in
As mentioned above, the sill track assembly 10 includes a sillpan 56 which receives the interior sill track 12, as well as additional exterior sill tracks 40. The sillpan 56 is an elongated pan which extends the length of the sill tracks 12, 40. The sillpan 56 has a pan bottom 60, an exterior side wall 62 which extends upward from the pan bottom 60 along the longitudinal length of the sill tracks 12, 40 on the exterior side of the sill track 40, an interior side wall 54 which extends upward from the pan bottom 60 along the longitudinal length of the sill track on the interior side of the interior sill track 12, and two opposing end walls (not shown) at either end of the exterior side wall 62 and interior side wall 54.
In the embodiment shown in
The exterior sill track 40 is substantially the same as the interior sill track 12, except that it does not have the weep channel wall 44, and it has sill joints 66 and 22 on both the inward side and outward side of the exterior sill track 40. Instead of a having a weep channel 44, the second flooring wall 42 of the exterior sill track 40 extends to an inward most side of the exterior sill track 40 such that the second flooring wall 42 of the exterior sill track 40 joins with the first flooring wall 26 of the first sill track 12. The second flooring wall 42 of the exterior sill track 40 and the first flooring wall 26 of the interior sill track 12 form a support for receiving the first portion of flooring 30a. The inward sill track joint 66 of the exterior sill track 40 is inward of the interior wall 41 and is connected to the interior wall 41 and/or second flooring wall 42 which connects to the outward sill track joint 22 of the interior sill track 12, or an outward sill track joint 22 of another exterior sill track joint 40. The exterior sill track 40 may also have an interior wall 41 at the inward extent of the exterior sill track 40. The interior wall 41 is a vertical wall which extends from the bottom 24 of the exterior sill track 40 upward to the first height 21 where it connects to the second flooring wall 42. For instance, the inward sill track joint 66 may be a part of the interior wall 41 and/or the second flooring wall 42.
The sill track assembly 10 illustrated in
By adding additional exterior sill tracks 40, any desired number of sill tracks 12, 40 may be joined in order to accommodate the desired number of sliding doors 11 for the particular installation.
The sillpan 56 is sized to receive the number of sill tracks 12, 40 to be used in the particular application. For example, if 2 sill tracks are to be used in a sill track assembly 10, then the sillpan 56 has a width to accommodate an interior sill track 12 and an exterior sill track 40, joined side by side. If 3 sill tracks 12, 40 are to be used in a sill track assembly 10, then the sillpan 56 has a width to accommodate an interior sill track 12 and two exterior sill tracks 40a, 40b, joined side-by-side, respectively.
Turning to
The sill tracks 12, 40 may also include screw raceways 80 (see
Although particular embodiments have been shown and described, it is to be understood that the above description is not intended to limit the scope of these embodiments. While embodiments and variations of the many aspects of the invention have been disclosed and described herein, such disclosure is provided for purposes of explanation and illustration only. Thus, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, not all of the components described in the embodiments are necessary, and the invention may include any suitable combinations of the described components, and the general shapes and relative sizes of the components of the invention may be modified. The invention, therefore, should not be limited, except to the following claims, and their equivalents.
This Application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/019,275, filed on Jun. 26, 2018, now U.S. Patent No. _____, issued _____, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional Application No. 62/527,991 filed on Jun. 30, 2017 in accordance with 35 U.S.C. Section 119(e), 120, and any other applicable laws. The aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62527991 | Jun 2017 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16019275 | Jun 2018 | US |
| Child | 17025879 | US |
