GB2067636A

GB2067636A - Sliding door-arrangement

Info

Publication number: GB2067636A
Application number: GB8000475A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1980-01-08
Filing date: 1980-01-08
Publication date: 1981-07-30
Also published as: GB2067636B; AU7424381A

Abstract

A sliding door arrangement, particularly for a side of a vehicle, comprises a door panel (13) engaging a lower channel-section member (15) wherein are mounted guides in the form of wheels (18) engaging a groove (22a) in the base of the door panel (13) and an upper channel- section member (17) wherein are guides in the form of wheels (23) engaging a groove in the upper edge of the door (13), the wheels (23) in the upper channel member (17) being mounted on a structure (27) detachably secured in the upper channel member (17) to facilitate dissembly and re-assembly for repair and maintenance. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Sliding door arrangement This invention relates to a sliding door arrangement, particularly, but not exclusively to such an arrangement suitable for use on a side wall of a vehicle to facilitate loading and unloading.

Sliding door arrangements on vehicles are very convenient, particularly when a vehicle has to be used for multiple deliveries. However, because loading and unloading take place through them, such door arrangements are very susceptible to damage and have to be repaired quite frequently.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sliding door arrangement which is simpler to repair than known arrangements.

Accordingly the invention provides a sliding door arrangement comprising a lower, upwardly open channel member accommodating door panel base guides and an upper, downwardly open channel member accommodating door panel top guides, and a door panel, supported on and guided by the guides, having an upper edge portion engaging in the upper channel member and a lower edge portion engaging in the lower channel member, wherein the guides in the upper channel member are mounted on a support structure detachably secured in the upper channel member.

The guides will normally be rollers or wheels (but they can be low friction sliding members) and will normally engage in grooves in the upper and lower edges of the door panel.

The support structure can be a further downwardly open channel member nesting within the upper channel member.

Normally, the door arrangement of the invention will be part of a pair of such arrangements disposed in adjacent closely-parallel planes and to this effect the channel members will usually be double channel members, preferably formed by extrusion, each relating to one of a pair of door panels.

It will be appreciated that when a pair of such door arrangements are provided, the length of the upper channel member of each will be approximately double the width of its respective door panel. Thus, with the door in one extreme end condition the guide support structure can be disengaged from the upper channel member over one half of the length thereof and the door panel can then be moved to its other extreme end position and the support structure disengaged from the other half of the upper channel member.

At this stage the support structure can be withdrawn completely and the door panel lifted to disengage its lower edge portion from the lower channel-section member and then lowered to remove it completely. In this condition the lower guides can be serviced, repaired or replaced easily because they are low and easily accessible, the upper guides can be also because they are attached to the support structure which has been removed, and the removed door panel can also be conveniently serviced, replaced or repaired.

The support structure can conveniently be secured to the upper channel member by fasteners arranged between adjacent pairs of guides therein.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:~ Fig. 1 is a vertical transverse cross-section through a preferred sliding door arrangement of the invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the arrangement of Fig. and Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 but illustrating removal of an upper guide support structure of the arrangement of Figs. 1 and 2.

A preferred sliding door arrangement of the invention is part of a double-sliding-door arrangement 10 (Fig. 1) constituted by a lower double-channel-section extrusion 11 and an upper double-channel-section extrusion 12. Only one door panel 13 is shown, the other being identical.

The lower extrusion 11 defines two upwardlyopen channel section members 14, 1 5 and the upper extrusion 12 defines two downwardly-open channel-section members 1 6, 1 7. Members 15 and 17 constitute parts of the preferred arrangement of the invention.

The lower channel-section member 15 mounts guides in the form of sheels 18 each having axles 19 clamped by U-section blocks 20 to longitudinally extending ribs 21. The lower edge of the door panel 19 has a strip 22 which has a groove 22a complementary to the wheels 18. In the upper channel-section member 17, guides in the form of wheels 23 have axles 24 which are secured by screws 25 and U-section blocks 26 to a guide support structure in the form of a further downwardly-open extruded channel member 27 which is secured to the upper channel-section member 17 by screws 28 spaced between the wheels 23. The upper channel section member 17 also incorporates a formation 29 whence can be hung a curtain (not shown).

Should the arrangement become damaged, it is simple to repair. To do this, the panel 13 is moved to one of its end positions and the exposed screws 28 are removed. The panel 13 is then moved to its other end position, where it supports the detached member 27 and its associated wheels 23, and the remaining screws 28 are removed. The member 27 and its attached wheels 23 can now be slid out from above the door panel 13 and can be much more conveniently repaired that if it were left in situ. In this condition, the panel 13 can be raised into the channel-section member 17 and 'ts base freed from channel member 15. The whole door panel 13 can then be removed by lowering for repair of replacement.

In reassembling the above process is reversed.

It will be appreciated that the provision of the detachable guide support structure enables the arrangement of the invention to be rapidly dissembled and reassembled after repair.

The invention is not limited to the precise details of the foregoing and variations can be made thereto. For example, the guides need not be in the form of wheels but can be rollers or lowfriction slides if desired. The guide support structure need not be the inverted channel section extrusion 27, but can have any other convenient form. For example, each guide could be mounted on an individual member independently and detachably secured to the upper channel-section member. The support structure can be secured to the upper channel-section member by means other than screws 28, for example by bolts or other releasable fasteners.

Claims

1. A sliding door arrangement comprising a lower, upwardly-open channel member accommodating door panel base guides and an upper, downwardly-open channel member accommodating door panel top guides, and a door panel, supported on and guided by the guides, having an upper edge portion engaging in the upper channel member and a lower edge portion engaging in the lower channel member, wherein the guides of the upper channel member are mounted on a support structure detachably secured in the upper channel member.

2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guides are rollers or wheels.

3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guides are low-friction sliding members.

4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3, wherein the upper and lower edges of the door panel have grooves complementary to the guides.

5. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the support structure is a further downwardly-open channel member.

6. An arrangement as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the support structure comprises a plurality of members each supporting a respective member of the door panel top guides.

7. An arrangement as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 and part of a double-sliding-door arrangement having two sliding door panels in closely adjacent parallel planes.

8. A sliding door arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.