US3384998A - Sliding closure and frame having substantially clear lower sill - Google Patents

Description

May 28,-1968 H. B. ABRAMSON SLIDING CLOSURE AND FRAME HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY CLEAR LOWER SILL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 1, 1966 FIG. 2

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SLIDING CLOSURE AND FRAME HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY CLEAR LOWER SILL 2 Sheets-Sheet :3

Filed March 1, 1966 FIG.5

INVENTQR ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,384,998 Patented May as, 1968 ABSTRACT OF THE DESCLOSURE In connection with bathtub cubicles, patio entrances and the like, provision is made for sliding doors and an associated frame, which are characterized by rails at the top of the frame from which the tops of the doors are suspended for sliding motion, a substantially smooth, readily cleaned, sill with which the bottoms of the doors are contiguous, and restricted lower lugs cooperating with lower elongated channels for preventing swinging by the bottoms of the doors.

Background and summary of the invention The present invention relates to sliding doors of the type used for bathtub and shower cubicle enclosures, patio and porch entrances, etc., all of which are subject to splattering water from inside or outside. Prior doors of the foregoing type have been associated with lower sills having elongated channels within which the lower edges of the doors slide and by which the lower edges of the doors are retained. Such lower sills have been difiicult to keep clean because of the tendency of soil to accumulate within the channels and the absence of easy access to corners of the channels for cleansing implements.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a sliding closure arrangement having sliding doors and an associated sill which cooperate in excluding or retaining splattering water in connection with an architectural construction but nevertheless provide easy access for thoroughly cleaning the sill. This arrangement is such that the upper edges of the doors are hung from upper rails along which they slide and the lower edges of the doors are in contiguity with a particularly designed, generally smooth sill that is immediately accessible from a cleansing standpoint. Preferably, the sill slopes downwardly from rear to front so that water thereupon is capable of undisturbed outward flow and a shoulder at the rear of the sill serves as a shield against splattered water underneath the doors. In one form, the lower edges of the doors are prevented from moving outwardly by small lugs which project upwardly from the sill. In another form, the lower edges of the doors are prevented from moving outwardly by interengaging lugs and guides only one of which is fixed with respect to the sill and the remainder of which are on the doors. In order to ensure a tight seal between a door and the sill, an elastomeric blade is afiixed along the lower edge of the door and rides in contiguity with the sill.

Other objects of the present invention will in' part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

Brief description of drawings The invention accordingly comprises the components and relationships which are illustrated in the disclosure hereof. For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a closure arrangement embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the closure arrangement of FIG. 1, with parts removed;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the closure arrangement of FIG. 1, taken substantially along the line 3-3;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view, partly broken away, of the closure of FIG. 1, taken substantially along the line 44 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view, partly broken away, analogous to that of FIG. 3, of a modification of the clossure arrangement of FIG. 1.

Detailed description Generally, each of the embodiments of the present invention illustrated herein, includes: a metal frame rim having longitudinally disposed rails at the top and vertically disposed retainers at opposite sides; a pair of metal frame doors having upper edges that are slidably hung from the rails; a longitudinally disposed lower sill having a generally smooth, easily cleansed upper face with which the lower edges of the doors are contiguous; and small lugs of restricted longitudinal dimension for retaining the lower edges of the doors from transverse movement. The components of the frame rim and the components of the frame doors and the sill generally are in the form of severed sections of extruded metal stock. The metal which is non-tarnishing, preferably is composed of aluminum, stainless steel, brass or titanium. Less preferably, the components of the frame rim or the frame doors are composed of such structural plastic materials as linear polyamides such as that sold under the trade designation Nylon by Du Pont. Retained within each of the door frames by positioning lugs is a panel composed of transparent or transluscent glass or plastic sheet. In alternative embodiments, not shown, the doors are composed entirely of the same material, for example, one of the aforementioned metals. By way of example, the illustrated embodiments are concerned with bathtub enclosures.

The bathtub enclosure of FIGS. 1 to 4 is shown in FIG. 1 as comprising a bathtube cubicle 10, the front of which is open at 12 to provide for free access by a user who may wish to take a bath or a shower, a shower spray being shown at 14. The frame rim has an elongated horizontal upper poition 16 and a pair of elongated vertical side portions 18, 20. Resting on the outer edge of the bathtub is a sill 22, the central portion of which is shown broken away in order to make visible a U-shaped retainer 24. The doors, which are shown at 26 and 28 are shown as including metal frame portions 36 and 32 extending throughout their peripheries and panels of translucent glass retained thereby.

With reference now to FIGS. 3 and 4, upper horizontal portion 16 of the frame rim is an extrusion having, in cross-section, top and side segments 34, 36, 38. Inwardly directed from side segments 36, 38 are rails 40, 42, which provide spaced channels 44, 46. Upper horizontal portions 30, 32 of frame doors 25., 28 are shown as having similar cross sections, which are H-shaped. These cross sections have front and rear upright segments 48, and shaped cross segments 52. Extending upwardly from rear uprights 59 are two pairs of arms, only the arms closest to the reader being visible at 54, 56. The arms remote from the reader lie behind the visible arms and therefore cannot be seen in FIG. 3. Two pairs of rollers 58, 59 are journaled on these pairs of arms in such a way as to hang the doors for sliding motion along its associated channel 44.

The lower horizontal portions 62, 64 of doors 26, 28 are shown as H-shaped extrusions having upwardly extending front and rear segments 66, 68, downwardly extending front and rear segments '79 and 72. and cross segments at 74. Downwardly extending front pieces 78 are bifurcated to provide forward and rearward grips 76, 78 for retaining an elastomeric blade 89 as a shield against splattering water. The lower edges of blades 84) abut against the sill now to be described.

Sill 22, in accordance with the present invention, is an extrusion, the main body of which sweeps rearwardly from its forward edge at 80, through a gradually upwardly sloping portion 84 and then through a sharpiy upwardly rising shoulder 85. Legs are provided at 38, 9h, 92, 94 and 96 for seating upon the bathtub edge. In addition, shoulder 86 is provided with a forwardly directed projection 95 by which relatively reavy concentrations of water are prevented from being forced over and beyond shoulder 8-5. As shown, the lower edges of doors 26, 28 are prevented from swinging forwardly by the upstanding lugs 100, 192 of a U-shaped retainer, which was designated above at 24, each of which lugs is received between the downwardly depending segments of the lower horizontal portion of its associated door.

The opposite sides of each door frame are similar in construction so that only one need be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the vertically extending extrusions constituting a portion of frame rim 12, shown in FIG. 4 at N4, is H-shaped, having inwardly directed segments 196, 198, outwardly directed segments 110, 112 and a cross segment 114. Overlapping outwardly directed segments 110, H2 is a U-shaped channel memher 116, the inwardly directed segments which grip outwardly directed segments 11% and the bight 118 of which serves to abut agr ..t vertically extending portion 18 as a stop. inwardly extending from vertically extending portion 18 is a holder 12% for a pair of magnets one of which is shown at 122 and the other of which is omitted to show details of the holder. An analogous magnet 124 is carried on U-shapcd ele nent 116 in such a way as to contact magnet 123 when the door is in its extreme position, thereby maintaining the door in shut or open condition.

A modification of the closure of FIGS. 1 to 4 is shown in FIG. 5 as an adaptation for use between a patio and an adjoining room. Generally the sill shown at 126 is provided with a forwardly sloping section 123 and a rearwardly upward section 139 as its its counterpart in FIG. 3. However, forwardly directed from shoulder 130 is a reversely bent downwardly directed rail 132. This rail serves to retain the rearward extremity of a hook 134, the main body of which is carried by the rearward downwardly depending segment 136 of the H-shaped channel member at the bottom of the door. An analogous hook projects forwardly from the front segment of the H-shaped channel member for cooperation with a rearwardly extending hook from the next adjacent door.

In operation of both of the illustrated embodiments, the sliding doors are able to be swung into open position readily by virtue of their roller mountings and to be closed securely by virtue of the operation of the magnets 122, 124 on the door and the upwardly extending portions of the frame. The lower parts of the doors are retained securely in such a way as to prevent their being inadvertently swung outwardly and a water seal is established by elastomeric blades extending downwardly from the bottom of the doors.

The present invention thus provides a novel closure for effectively retaining or excluding water while presenting a lower sill that may be readily cleaned. It will be understood that in some applications of the present invention, only a single sliding door is involved. Since certain changes may be made in the foregoing disclosure without departing from the invention herein, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or illustrated in the accompanying drawing be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A closure comprising: a frame bordering a portal and two doors movable between closed positions, at which said portal is closed, and opened positions, at which said portal is opened; said frame including an upper horizontal portion, a pair of vertical side portions and a lower sill; said upper horizontal portion having in extruded cross section a medial bight, a pair of downwardly directed segments depending from said bight, a pair of inwardly directed segments projecting from said downwardly directed segments, a pair of upwardly presented channels at the adjacent extremities of said inwardly directed segments; each of said two doors having an upper horizontal portion, a lower horizontal portion and a pair of side ortions; said upper horizontal portion of each of said two doors having in extruded cross section a pair of upwardly directed segments, a pair of downwardly directed segments and a cross segment; a pair of upwardly extending arms from the rearward one of said pair of upwardly directed segments, a pair of rollers journalcd on said pair of upwardly extending arms, said pair of rollers riding in one of said pair of upwardly presented channels in order to slidably hang said each of said doors; said lower horizontal portion of said each of said doors, in extruded cross section, having a pair of upwardly extending segments, a pair of downwardly extending segments and a cross segment, the forward one of said pair of downwardly extending segments having a bifurcated configuration, an elastomeric blade held by said bifurcated configuration; said sill, in extruded cross section, having a generally smooth upper surface sweeping upwardly from front to rear, and a forwardly projecting, overhanging extension, the lower edge of said elastomeric blade being contiguous with said upper surface; and guide means which substantially does not interrupt said upper surface of said sill for retaining the bottom of said door against swinging outwardly, said guide means including a pair of upstanding lug means of restricted elongation affixed to said sill approximately midway between the extremities of said sill, one each of said lug means projecting between said downwardly depending segments of said lower portion of one each of said doors.

2. A closure comprising: a frame bordering a portal and two doors movable bctween closed positions, at which said portal is closed, and opened positions, at which said portal is opened; said frame including an upper horizontal portion, a pair of vertical side portions and a lower sill; said upper horizontal portion having in extruded cross section a medial bight, a pair of down.- wardly directed segments depending from said bight, a pair of inwardly directed segments projecting from said downwardly directed segments, a pair of upwardly presented channels at the adjacent extremities of said inwardly directed segments; each of said two doors having an upper horizontal portion, a lower horizontal portion and a pair of side portions; said upper horizontal portion of each of said two doors having in extruded cross section a pair of upwardly directed segments, a pair of downwardly directed segments and a cross segment; a pair of upwardly extending arms from the rearward one of said pair of upwardly directed segments, a pair of rollers journaled on said pair of upwardly extending arms, said pair of rollers riding in one of said pair of upwardly presented channels in order to slidably hang said each of said doors; said lower horizontal portion of said each of said doors, in extruded cross section, having a pair of upwardly extending segments, a pair of downwardly extending segments and a cross segment, the forward one of said pair of downwardly extending segments having a bifurcated configuration, an elastomeric blade held by said bifurcated configuration; said sill, in extruded cross section, having a generally smooth upper surface sweeping upwardly from front to rear, and a forwardly projecting, overhanging extension, the lower edge of said elastomeric blade being contiguous with said upper surface; and guide means which substantially does not interrupt said upper surface of said sill for retaining the bottom of said door against swinging outwardly, said overhanging extension constituting a guide, a lug extending from the lower portion of one of said doors in engagement with said guide, said lower portion of said one of said doors providing a guide, and a lug extending from the lower portion of the other of said doors in engagement with said guide of said one of said doors, in order to retain the lower edges of said doors against swinging outwardly.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,970,642 2/1961 Parsons 49-411 5 3,256,639 6/1966 Gain 49-449 3,310,914 3/1967 De Klavon 4941l FOREIGN PATENTS 747,630 4/ 1933 France.

10 KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner.

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