AU2006202139B2

AU2006202139B2 - Support arrangement for sliding panels

Info

Publication number: AU2006202139B2
Application number: AU2006202139A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Derek Jefferson; Linton Barry Kemp
Original assignee: Anthony Innovations Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Anthony Innovations Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2005-07-19
Filing date: 2006-05-19
Publication date: 2011-08-25
Anticipated expiration: 2026-05-19
Also published as: AU2006202139A1

Abstract

The specification discloses a roller support arrangement (10) for a sliding panel, the arrangement including a mounting member (11) configured to be held, 5 in use, by the sliding panel, a pair of rollers (14) rotatably supported between opposing side walls (23), (24) of a carriage (13) and arranged, in use, to project from the sliding panel and to roll on a stationary guide track, a shaft (32) extending transversely relative to the carriage (13) with an axis generally parallel to rolling axis of the rollers (14), the shaft (32) having opposed lateral ends 10 projecting beyond the carriage side walls (23), (24), a housing (15) having housing side walls (37), (38) positioned outwardly of and adjacent the carriage side walls (23), (24), the housing side walls (37), (38) each having a first end connected with the mounting member (11) with the housing side walls (37), (38) defining an aligned and inclined guide track means (44), (45) co-operable with 15 and retaining the opposed lateral ends of the shaft (32) whereby in use the opposed lateral ends of the shaft (32) are adapted to move along the inclined guide tracks (44), (45), and a rotatable adjustor (16) carried by the mounting member (11) having one end (21) externally accessible and a second opposed end (20) arranged to engage the carriage (13), the adjustor (16) being movable 20 axially by accessing said one end and rotating the adjustor (16). ICc) No CN9 QJCDJ C'j I ~ + + CJ 0(

Description

Pool Section 29 Regulation 3.2(2) AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: Support arrangement for sliding panels The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 1 SUPPORT ARRANGEMENT FOR SLIDING PANELS The present invention relates to improvements in adjustable roller support arrangements for sliding panels, typically, heavier window structures and doors. It is well known to provide adjustable roller support arrangements that 5 might be fitted to a sliding panel such as a door or window where the one or multiple rollers of the arrangement roll on a stationary guide track as the sliding panel moves. Such arrangements typically also include some form of adjustment mechanism to adjust the height or position of the roller or rollers relative to the sliding panel when the sliding panel is installed and possibly thereafter to ensure 10 correct operation of the sliding panel in use. Where multiple rollers are employed, it is also known to provide some form of self levelling system by allowing a carriage for the rollers to rock about a transverse pivot axis to adjust for possible lack of even support provided by the guide track to thereby maintain the rollers generally in load bearing contact with the guide track. The conventional designs 15 of this type are based on distributing the load across two wheels equally which then tends to complicate the height adjusting mechanism. Complication in design has a complicating effect on assembly and parts and tends therefore to increase costs of manufacturing such products. The objective of the present invention is to provide improved features in 20 such adjustable roller support arrangements that will simplify their construction and reduce manufacturing costs. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a roller support arrangement for a sliding panel, the arrangement including a mounting member configured to be held, in use, by the sliding panel, a pair of 25 rollers rotatably supported between opposing side walls of a carriage means and arranged, in use, to project from the sliding panel and to roll on a stationary guide track, opposed shaft ends extending transversely relative to said carriage means with an axis generally parallel to rolling axes of said rollers, said opposed shaft ends projecting beyond said carriage side walls, a housing member separate to 30 said mounting member having housing side walls positioned outwardly of and adjacent said carriage side walls and a housing end wall joining a first end of each said housing side wall to define a U-shaped configuration, said housing side walls being connected with said mounting member with said housing side walls 2 defining aligned and inclined guide track means co-operable with and retaining said opposed shaft ends whereby in use said opposed shaft ends are adapted to move along the inclined guide track means, and a rotatable adjusting member carried by said mounting member having one end externally accessible and a 5 second opposed end arranged to engage said carriage means, said adjusting member being movable axially by accessing said one end and rotating said adjusting member. Preferred features of the roller support arrangement as defined above may be as set out in any one of claims 2 to 20 annexed hereto, the subject matter of 10 these claims being included in the disclosure of this specification by this reference thereto. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the annexed drawings, it being understood that many variations to the embodiments could be used without departing from the spirit of the invention 15 defined in the annexed claims. In the annexed drawings: Fig I is a perspective exploded view of a first preferred embodiment; 3 Fig 2 is an assembled perspective view of the first preferred embodiment; and Figs 3 / 4 are assembled side views of the first preferred embodiment with the housing member shown in dashed outline and illustrating different height 5 positions of the roller carriage. Referring to Fig 1, the roller support arrangement 10 illustrated includes a mounting member 11 moulded from a suitable plastics material, a roller carriage member 12 comprising a carriage 13 rotatably supporting a pair of rollers 14, an outer housing member 15, and an adjustor 16 formed by a threaded bolt 17, a nut 10 18 and an end cap 19 for the threaded bolt 17. In use the end cap 19 is conveniently a cup shaped member having a substantially flat cap end 70 and being made from a suitable plastics material, fitting over the free end 20 of the threaded bolt 17. The threaded bolt 17 includes a head 21 with formations 22 to enable a screw driver (powered or manual) to rotate the bolt 17 when the 15 arrangement is adjusted as described hereafter. The carriage 13 has a pair of side walls 23, 24 and a pair of end walls 25, 26, each of which are thickened to increase strength and to provide an adjustor engaging surface 27 at either end. The adjustor engaging surfaces 27 each have a convex protrusion 71 to reduce the area of the adjustor engaging surface 27 in 20 contact with the cap end 70. A said convex protrusion 71 may be provided at each end of the carriage 13 and located in a plane intersecting inclined guide track means 44, 45 midway between their upper and lower ends. The roller wheels 14 may be of any conventional design and may include extending shaft portions or stub shafts 28 snap fitted into partial circular recesses 29 in the side 25 walls 23, 24 such that the peripheral surfaces of the rollers project below the lower edge surfaces of the carriage 13 and can, in use engage and roll on a stationary guide track (not shown). Centrally between the rollers 14 and extending downwardly from the upper edges of the carriage 13 are recessed zones 30 each having a partial circular snap fitting region 31 adapted to engage 30 and hold lateral regions of a shaft member 32. The lateral ends 33, 34 of the shaft member 32 are (as seen in Figs 3, 4) arranged to project a short distance beyond the side walls 23, 24 of the carriage 13. The central zone of the shaft member 32 has a circumferential groove 35 formed therein which is adapted to 4 engage with a partial circular rib (not seen) in the carriage 13 to locate the axial position of shaft member 32 when assembled or partially assembled. Many variations of this arrangement are possible including forming the rib in the shaft member 32 which would be engageable with a partial groove in the carriage 13. 5 The nut 18, when assembled is engaged in a rotation preventing recess 36 on the mounting member 11 whereby the threaded shaft 17 of the adjustor 16 passes through the nut and rotation of the adjustor causes the end 20 carrying the cup shaped cap 19 to push the carriage away from the mounting member 11 or allow it to move back towards the mounting member 11. 10 The housing 15 is generally U shaped having a pair of parallel side walls 37, 38 and an end wall 39 joining same. At the opposed free ends 40, 41 of the side walls 37, 38, a pair of detent formations 42, 43 are formed by stamping or pressing a metal strip from the side walls. Midway along the side walls 37, 38 are guide track means in the form of a pair of aligned inclined slots 44, 45, each of 15 which has a width just greater than the diameter of the shaft member 32 whereby the projecting ends 33, 34 of the shaft member 32 are retained within the slots 44, . 45 and in use slide along these slots. The mounting member 11 has recessed regions formed by upright grooves 46, 47, each of which has an edge face 48, 49 nearest the carriage 13 that is inclined at an acute angle to side faces 50, 51 of 20 the mounting member 11. The inclination of the edge faces 48, 49 is complementary to the detent tabs 42, 43 such that the detent tabs will be engaged therewith with an interference fit when the arrangement is assembled (Figs 2, 3 and 4). The mounting member 11 also includes ledge formations 52, 53 that are engageable with the end edges 54, 55 of the housing side walls 37, 25 38. The distance between the ledge formations 52, 53 and the acute angle edges 56, 57 of the edge faces 48, 49 is slightly less than the distance between the end edges 54, 55 and the edges 58, 59 of the detent tabs 42, 43 to promote the aforementioned interference fit. When assembling the housing 15 to the mounting member 11, the detent formations are slid into the grooves 46, 47, and 30 given the aforementioned dimensions, this is achieved by providing a slight undercut at 61 on the end edge faces 48, 49. A possible alternative to this might be to increase the space between the edge faces 48, 49 and the ledge formations 52, 53 adjacent the upper surface 62 of the mounting member 11. It will of 5 course be appreciated that the housing member 15 might be slid onto the mounting member 11 from above or below and in the latter case the grooves 46, 47 would open onto the lower surface 63 of the mounting member 11. In this latter case also the undercut zones would change to enable achievement of the 5 desired interference fit as described. While the recessed region has been shown as grooves 46, 47, it is of course recognized that the grooves could be widened back to the ledge formations if desired. The carriage 13 includes two pairs of opposing semicircular protrusions 72, 73 adapted to rest against complementary pairs of recesses 74, 75 in the side 10 walls 37, 38 of the housing 15. This arrangement prevents the roller carriage member 12 from being assembled in the housing 15 in an inverted position. In a second preferred embodiment, the area of the cap end 70 in contact with the adjustor engaging surface 27 is reduced by providing a convex cap end 70 and a substantially flat adjustor engaging surface 27. 15 With the roller support construction 10 assembled as shown in Fig 2 without the need of fasteners or complicated manufacturing and assembly techniques, the construction 10 so formed can be installed in the frame of a door, window or similar sliding panel. A single fastener might be used to connect through the bore 64 of tab part 65 to hold the construction in place as will be 20 recognized by those skilled in this art. If the height of the roller carriage needs to be adjusted, the adjustor 16 is rotated to push the carriage 13 away from the mounting member 11 or allow it to move back towards the mounting member 11. In doing so, the shaft member 32 slides in the inclined slots 44, 45 to effectively raise or lower the roller carriage 12 relative to the mounting member / housing 25 member 11, 15. The arrangement is such also that the carriage assembly 12 has the ability to rock or self adjust about the axis defined by the shaft member 32 to ensure the rollers 14 are always load bearing on the stationary track when in use. Minimising the area of the cap end 70 in contact with the adjustor engaging surface 27 by having one of the surfaces substantially flat and the other surface 30 convex minimises the friction between the two surfaces associated with adjusting the height of the roller carriage 12 and/or rocking the carriage assembly 12. Moreover, having protrusions 71 positioned in a plane located generally midway between the upper and lower ends of the guide track slots 44, 45, as illustrated in 6 the embodiment, ensures a minimal distance between the axis of a line of action of the adjustor 16 and the engagement point with the carriage 13, thereby improving the adjusting movement of the carriage 13 as described. It will be recognized that many further variations can be made to the 5 described preferred embodiment without departing from the inventive concepts defined in the annexed claims.

Claims

1. A roller support arrangement for a sliding panel, the arrangement including a mounting member configured to be held, in use, by the sliding panel, a pair of rollers rotatably supported between opposing side walls of a carriage means and 5 arranged, in use, to project from the sliding panel and to roll on a stationary guide track, opposed shaft ends extending transversely relative to said carriage means with an axis generally parallel to rolling axes of said rollers, said opposed shaft ends projecting beyond said carriage side walls, a housing member separate to said mounting member having housing side walls positioned outwardly of and 10 adjacent said carriage side walls and a housing end wall joining a first end of each said housing side wall to define a U-shaped configuration, said housing side walls being connected with said mounting member with said housing side walls defining aligned and inclined guide track means co-operable with and retaining said opposed shaft ends whereby in use said opposed shaft ends are adapted to 15 move along the inclined guide track means, and a rotatable adjusting member carried by said mounting member having one end externally accessible and a second opposed end arranged to engage said carriage means, said adjusting member being movable axially by accessing said one end and rotating said adjusting member. 20

2. A roller support arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the adjusting member has a metal shaft that is externally threaded at least part way along its length, the metal shaft having at its free end, a plastic cap having a surface engaging, in use, with the carriage means.

3. A roller support arrangement according to claim 2 wherein the externally 25 threaded portion of said metal shaft is threadingly engaged with a nut member, the nut member being restrained against rotation by co-operation with said mounting member.

4. A roller support arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the guide track means in the housing side walls are aligned slots formed therein. 8

5. A roller support arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the guide track means in the housing side walls are aligned recessed grooves formed therein.

6. A roller support arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein 5 a locator formation is positioned between said opposed shaft ends, said locator formation co-operating with a complimentary formation on said carriage means to axially position said opposed shaft ends relative to said carriage means.

7. A roller support arrangement according to claim 6 wherein regions adjacent said opposed shaft ends are circular, said circular regions being adapted 10 to snap fit into partially circular recesses in the carriage side walls.

8. A roller support arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein said opposed shaft ends are part of a continuous shaft member adapted to snap fit into partially circular recesses in the carriage side walls.

9. A roller support arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein 15 the mounting member has opposed side faces co-operable with inwardly facing regions of the housing side walls adjacent second ends of the housing side walls opposite to said first ends, each of said side faces of the mounting member includes at least one recess engageable with a detent formation extending inwardly from the inwardly facing regions of the housing side walls adjacent said 20 second ends to thereby connect said housing side walls to the mounting member.

10. A roller support arrangement according to claim 9 wherein each said recess includes a portion that forms an interference fit with a said detent formation when in a position connecting the housing member to the mounting member. 25

11. A roller support arrangement according to claim 10 wherein each said recess has a first wall region extending laterally of the mounting member and facing away from the carriage means, at least a portion of each said first wall 9 region being inclined at an acute angle to the side faces of the mounting member adjacent thereto.

12. A roller support arrangement according to claim 11 wherein the first wall region extends from either an upper or a lower face of the mounting member. 5

13. A roller support arrangement according to claim 11 or claim 12 wherein each said recess is formed as an upright groove in said side faces of the mounting member.

14. A roller support arrangement according to any one of claims 11 to 13 wherein each said detent formation includes a second wall region co-operable 10 with a said first wall region of a said recess, the second wall region having at least a portion that is complementary in configuration to the portion of the adjacent said first wall region that is inclined at an acute angle to the side faces of the mounting member.

15. A roller support arrangement according to any one of claims 10 to 13 15 wherein an end edge of each side wall of the housing member engages a ledge formation of the mounting member when said detent formation is engaged with an interference fit with a portion of said recess.

16. A roller support arrangement according to claim 15 wherein the end edges of said housing side walls have a cut away region adjacent the upper or lower 20 edges.

17. A roller support arrangement according to claim 15 wherein an upper or lower portion of the ledge formation includes a cut away portion.

18. A roller support arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 17 wherein said second opposed end of said adjusting member is substantially flat, 25 said carriage means having an adjustor engaging surface, said adjustor engaging surface having a convex engagement surface on an engagement projection to continuously abut said second opposed end. 10

19. A roller support arrangement according to claim 18 wherein the engagement projection is located in a plane located generally midway between upper and lower ends of the guide track means.

20. A roller support arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 17 5 wherein said carriage means has a substantially flat adjustor engaging surface and said opposed end of said adjusting member carries a cap having a convex cap end to continuously abut said adjustor engaging surface.

21. A roller support arrangement according to claim 1 substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. 10 ANTHONY BEARINGS PTY LTD WATERMARK PATENT & TRADE MARKS ATTORNEYS P25864AU00