Abstract
A sliding doors floor handling device (20) for sliding wooden doors (10) or glass doors (72), placed next to a wall (16) and provided at the bottom with a guide (82) combined with a pin (14) protruding from the floor (48), comprises a containment shell (26), substantially parallelepiped in shape, pardy open along the upper base, in which a fork-shaped frame (44) is arranged. The parallel sections (64) of the frame (44) are provided with a hole (52) for inserting a pin (54) that supports a wheel (46) designed to touch the floor (48) when rolling. The fork-shaped frame (44) is provided with one or more elastic sheets (60) secured to the shell (26).
Claims
1. A device for supporting a sliding door, said device comprising: a containment shell substantially parallelepiped in shape, and having a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side, said bottom side provided with a recess; a fork-shaped frame secured on the containment shell via one or more elastic sheets for resilient movement of the fork-shaped frame in the recess towards and away from the top side, said fork-shaped frame having parallel sections and a wheel mounted between the parallel sections via a pin, which is received in opposing holes provided in the parallel sections; wherein the fork-shaped frame has a flat front side, orthogonal to the parallel sections of the fork-shaped frame, said one or more elastic sheets protruding from the front side and being permanently integrated into the fork-shaped frame via engagement of protrusions projecting from an inner face of the parallel sections in opposing recesses provided at an end of each one of the one or more elastic sheets; and an elastomer pad mounted in the recess between the fork-shaped frame and the top side for damping the movement of the fork-shaped frame.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the wheel is provided with a coating made of polyurethane material and a roller bearing, and wherein a locking ring is fitted under pressure at least on one end of said pin.
3. A device for supporting a sliding door, said device comprising: a containment shell substantially parallelepiped in shape, and having a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side, said bottom side provided with a recess; a fork-shaped frame secured on the containment shell via one or more elastic sheets for resilient movement of the fork-shaped frame in the recess towards and away from the top side, said fork-shaped frame having parallel sections and a wheel mounted between the parallel sections via a pin, which is received in opposing holes provided in the parallel sections; an elastomer pad mounted in the recess between the fork-shaped frame and the top side for damping the movement of the fork-shaped frame; wherein the one or more elastic sheets are mounted on a flat mounting surface formed on the bottom side of the containment shell, with screws extending through holes formed in the one or more elastic sheets and received in threaded bores provided in the mounting surface; wherein the top side of the containment shell is provided with a plurality of through holes for securing the containment shell to the door with screws, said flat mounting surface having two bores for receiving a head of said screws; and wherein the containment shell comprises on one side a window from which the lateral surface of a cylindrical body in elastomer protrudes, provided with an axial hole in which the stem of one of the screws extends.
4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the wheel is provided with a coating made of polyurethane material and a roller bearing, and wherein a locking ring is fitted under pressure at least on one end of said pin.
5. A device for supporting a sliding door, said device comprising: a containment shell substantially parallelepiped in shape, and having a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side, said bottom side provided with a recess; a fork-shaped frame secured on the containment shell via one or more elastic sheets for resilient movement of the fork-shaped frame in the recess towards and away from the top side, said fork-shaped frame having parallel sections and a wheel mounted between the parallel sections via a pin, which is received in opposing holes provided in the parallel sections; an elastomer pad mounted in the recess between the fork-shaped frame and the top side for damping the movement of the fork-shaped frame; wherein the one or more elastic sheets are mounted on a flat mounting surface formed on the bottom side of the containment shell, with screws extending through holes formed in the one or more elastic sheets and received in threaded bores provided in the mounting surface; wherein the top side of the containment shell is provided with a plurality of through holes for securing the containment shell to the door with screws, said flat mounting surface having two bores for receiving a head of said screws; and wherein the containment shell is securely arranged in a cavity formed along a lower edge of the door.
6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the wheel is provided with a coating made of polyurethane material and a roller bearing, and wherein a locking ring is fitted under pressure at least on one end of said pin.
7. A device for supporting a sliding door, said device comprising: a containment shell substantially parallelepiped in shape, and having a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side, said bottom side provided with a recess; a fork-shaped frame secured on the containment shell via one or more elastic sheets for resilient movement of the fork-shaped frame in the recess towards and away from the top side, said fork-shaped frame having parallel sections and a wheel mounted between the parallel sections via a pin, which is received in opposing holes provided in the parallel sections; an elastomer pad mounted in the recess between the fork-shaped frame and the top side for damping the movement of the fork-shaped frame; and wherein the door is a glass door having a shaped profile section, and wherein the containment shell is arranged in a seat made in a lower part of the shaped profile section, and is secured in the seat through one or more plates provided on the top side of the containment shell.
8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the wheel is provided with a coating made of polyurethane material and a roller bearing, and wherein a locking ring is fitted under pressure at least on one end of said pin.
Description
(1) The constructive and functional characteristics of the device of this invention can be better understood from the detailed description below, in which reference is made to the attached tables of drawings showing a preferred and non-limiting embodiment thereof and in which:
(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a door next to a wall and provided below with the traditional seat in which the appendage protruding from the floor extends;
(3) FIG. 1A is a partial magnification of FIG. 1;
(4) FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the door next to a wall and provided below with the handling device of this invention;
(5) FIG. 2A is a partial magnification of FIG. 2;
(6) FIG. 3 shows schematically the same door in an axonometric view and on a reduced scale;
(7) FIG. 3A is a partial enlargement of FIG. 3, showing a component of the device of the invention and its housing seat along the lower edge of the door;
(8) FIG. 4 shows schematically the same door in an axonometric view and on a reduced scale;
(9) FIG. 4A is a schematic exploded view of the device of the invention, of the overlying door and of the component of FIG. 3A;
(10) FIGS. 5 and 6 show schematically the same door of FIGS. 3 and 4;
(11) FIGS. 5A and 6A, related to the FIGS. 5 and 6 above, are respective partial magnifications, showing the movement of the device in the condition in which it is subjected to a vertical thrust;
(12) FIG. 7 is a schematic axonometric view of the shell of the device according to the invention;
(13) FIG. 8 shows schematically the same shell in a front view according to the figure above;
(14) FIG. 9 is a longitudinal section along the C-C line of the shell of FIG. 8;
(15) FIG. 10 is a longitudinal section along the D-D line of the shell of FIG. 8;
(16) FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of the device of the invention removed from the shell;
(17) FIGS. 12 and 13 are schematic views of said device in section, respectively along the E-E line and along the F-F line of FIG. 11;
(18) FIG. 14 is a schematic exploded view of the device according to FIGS. 11-13;
(19) FIG. 15 is a schematic exploded view of the device and its shell shown in an upside-down position with respect to FIG. 4A;
(20) FIG. 16 is a schematic exploded view of the device according to the invention, used for the floor handling of glass doors instead of wooden ones;
(21) FIG. 17 shows schematically an axonometric view of a part of the components of FIG. 16 mutually assembled;
(22) FIG. 18 shows schematically the figure above in an upside-down and enlarged view.
(23) With the initial reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 1A and 2A, the sliding doors floor handling device of this invention is secured to the lower edge of a door 10; in the description reference is made to a single sliding device, but it is understood that the door 10 comprises or may comprise, along its lower edge, a pair of sliding devices, positioned at the opposite ends of the door itself. In particular, said devices are arranged adjacent to the longitudinal slot 12 in which the guide profile section is arranged, indicated with 82, in which the pin or appendage 14 protruding from the floor is affixed, according to the known solution shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A; alternatively, the longitudinal slot 12 may be devoid of said guide profile section 82, whereby the pin or appendage 14 is fitted directly in the longitudinal slot 12 of the door 10. Said door 10 is placed next to a wall 16 and, in its upper part facing the wall itself, has a longitudinal downward extension 18 along which a guide profile section cooperating with carriages is secured to said wall for handling the door in the upper part, which are specific devices not belonging to the protection of this invention.
(24) The device of the invention, indicated as a whole with 20 in FIGS. 4A and 15, is housed in a cavity 22 formed along the lower edge 24 of the door 10; said device comprises a shell 26 that constitutes the support and, preferably, defines a substantially parallelepiped-shaped container partially open along the upper side; the opposite lower side of the shell 26 intended to match the bottom wall of the cavity 22 is provided with a plurality of passing-through holes, preferably four, for the same number of screws 28 (FIGS. 3A, 8, 10 and 15) that secure the same shell 26 to the door 10, stabilizing it in the cavity 22. Said shell is advantageously made of plastic material by molding and has a window 30 on one of the sides or headers. Along the upper side, the shell 26 has a flat deployment zone 32 close to the edge, provided with two holes 34 having a diameter greater than that of the head of the screws 28; two further holes 36, aligned along the longitudinal axis of the shell 26, are arranged to receive as many screws 38 that constrain a support with a wheel to the same shell as discussed below. The side surface of an elastomer body 40 partially protrudes from the window 30, suitably shaped to be housed in the seat comprising the window 30, which is preferably in the shape of a circular portion; said body, which has the function of absorbing the possible shocks to which the shell 26 would be subjected if it finds, accidentally and violently, the guide appendage 14 protruding from the floor, is arranged in a special niche formed in the said shell and is established therein in any known manner, for example by forcing. In the shell 26 there is further a pad 42, also made of elastomer, for example in a cylindrical shape as shown in FIGS. 7-9, as well as 5A and 6A; said pad is housed under pressure in a seat made in the central-upper part of the shell 26. Said support provided with a wheel, shown in detail in FIGS. 4A and 11 to 15, comprises a fork-shaped frame 44, of metal or other suitable material, which supports a wheel 46 designed, when rolling, to touch the floor, indicated with 48 in FIGS. 5A and 6A. FIG. 14, in particular, shows said frame and the wheel 46, which is advantageously provided with a coating 50, consisting for example of a polyurethane material. This coating reduces the noise deriving from the sliding of the wheel 46 on the floor 48, especially in the presence of irregular stretches due to not perfectly aligned tile joints and avoids the formation on the floor 48 of traces due to the repeated passage of said wheel along the same line. As shown in detail in FIG. 14, the fork frame 44 is provided, on each of the opposite and parallel sections, with a passing-through hole 52, for the insertion of a metal pin 54 adapted to connect the wheel 46 to the frame itself. A roller bearing 56 is preferably inserted in the central hole 46′ of said wheel, designed to increase both its sliding properties and its capacity. A locking ring 58, made of brass or other suitable material, is fitted under pressure on at least one of the opposite ends of the pin 54, to prevent the wheel from sliding out of the bearing 56 and the fork-shaped frame 44.
(25) The fork-shaped frame 44 is joined to at least one elastic sheet 60, consisting of a rectangular-shaped metal plate, as can be seen in particular in FIGS. 4A, 11, 12 and 15; said sheet 60 defines a spring apt to flex both as a function of the stresses coming from the door 10 when sliding along the floor 48, and because of the weight of the door itself, which may be greater or smaller depending on the material used for its manufacture. According to a preferred embodiment, two overlapping elastic sheets 60 are coupled to the fork-shaped frame 44, as can be seen in particular from FIG. 14; in any case it is a hypothesis susceptible to variations, considering that said sheet can have any thickness, width and longitudinal development. The elastic sheet or sheets 60 are constrained to the fork-shaped frame 44 starting from the base of the frame itself, which frontally defines a flat surface, indicated with 62, orthogonal to the opposite and parallel sections 64. As can be seen in particular from FIG. 12, said sheets 60 are provided on the opposite sides, in a position close to one of the ends, of a recess 66, with a semicircular profile section, in which the metal material of the fork-shaped frame 44 is arranged, subject to a mechanical compression action; as a result of this action, therefore, the elastic sheets are firmly integrated into the fork-shaped frame 44.
(26) The latter, provided with wheel 46 and with elastic metal sheets 60, is secured to the shell 26, as shown schematically in FIGS. 4A and 15. Said sheets, precisely overlapped, are provided with a pair of passing-through holes 68 in which the stem of corresponding screws 70 is inserted; the screws 70 are then screwed into the holes 38 of the shell 26. The wheel 46 and the associated fork-shaped frame 44 are consequently inserted into the shell itself, from the lower side of which they protrude in part to allow the wheel itself to roll along the floor 48. It should be noted that the assembly made by the wheel 46 and the fork-shaped frame 44 with the sheets 46 defines a single and invertible body, i.e. adapted to be integrated into the shell 26 without the need to follow a forced insertion direction, which avoids the danger of malfunctions and facilitates assembly.
(27) FIGS. 5A and 6A show two possible positions of the wheel under more or less heavy load conditions, to highlight the damping and progressive effect caused by the elastic sheets 60. In particular, FIG. 5A shows a normal load condition, with the door 10 stationary or moving along a perfectly smooth floor 48; in this case, the wheel is not subjected to loads in addition to the weight of the door and the elastic sheet 60 secured to the shell 26 remain parallel to the floor itself. FIG. 6A, on the other hand, shows the condition in which the wheel undergoes a greater temporary load, due, for example, to an irregularity of the floor such as a gap between tiles; in order to absorb the overhang that manifests and attenuate the noise at the same time, the elastic sheets 60 bend, orienting upwards and consequently causing the wheel 46 to rise and tilt. If the irregularity of the floor is particularly marked, the lifting of the wheel is such that the fork-shaped frame 44 temporarily comes into contact with the pad 42, whose elastic properties produce a further attenuation of the effects of the load, while the substantial reduction of rolling noise is ensured by the coating 50 of the wheel 46.
(28) FIGS. 16, 17 and 18 refer to the solution in which the device of the invention is applied to a glass or crystal door instead of a wooden one. In FIG. 16, the lower edge of a glass plate 72 is inserted in a known manner in a “U” shaped profile section 74, which in turn is housed in the longitudinal seat 76 of an underlying profile section 78; the latter accommodates a guide 82′ below, having an internal conformation corresponding to the guide 82 of the wooden door 10, to match the pin 14 secured to the floor; in the lower part 76′ of the latter, shaped upside down, the shell 26 is inserted and stabilized in a known manner. The fork-shaped frame 44, provided with wheel 46 and with elastic sheets 60, is then secured to the shell 26 with screws 38, in the same way as the previously described solution. FIG. 18, in particular, shows the shell 26 arranged in the profile section 78, as well as the holes 36 intended to house the screws 38 that connect to the shell itself the elastic sheets 60, coming out of the fork-shaped frame 44 bearing the wheel 46. Once assembled, a conventional plastic closing cap 80 is positioned on the opposed headers of the profile section 78. In the same lower part 76′ of the profile section 78, said guide 82′ is arranged for the appendage 14 protruding from the floor 48.
(29) The shell 26, as shown in FIG. 16, is advantageously provided on the upper side with one or more plates 84, suitable for being secured, with screws or equivalent means, in the seat 76′ of the profile section 78.
(30) Also in the case of a door with glass or crystal, therefore, the device of the invention performs the same effective function described above in relation to the wooden doors, with results even more appreciable being generally the door with glass significantly heavier than that made of wood.
(31) As can be seen from the foregoing, the advantages that the invention achieves are evident.
(32) The sliding doors floor handling device of this invention allows effective absorption of vertical stresses and thrusts; the presence of a shock-absorbing element 40, which partly protrudes from the shell 26, prevents the door from being subjected to violent impacts when reaching the end of the stroke, while the elastomeric pad 42 and the coating 50 of the wheel 46 further dampen the vertical thrusts, thus reducing at the same time the noise deriving from the sliding of the wheel 46 on non-smooth areas of the floor 48.
(33) Furthermore, the device of the invention can be easily installed, both on wooden and glass doors, away from possible malfunctions deriving from incorrect assembly.
(34) Particularly advantageous is the possibility of manufacturing a single body consisting of the fork-shaped frame 44, the wheel 46 and the elastic sheets 60, which considerably facilitates the installation of the assembly.
(35) Although the invention has been described above with reference to a possible embodiment thereof, given by way of non-limiting example, numerous changes and variations will be apparent to a person skilled in the art in the light of the above description. This invention, therefore, intends to embrace all changes and variations that fall within the spirit and in the protective scope of the following claims.
