U.S. patent number 3,552,474 [Application Number 04/799,755] was granted by the patent office on 1971-01-05 for diamond roller.
Invention is credited to John E. Finnegan.
United States Patent |
3,552,474 |
Finnegan |
January 5, 1971 |
DIAMOND ROLLER
Abstract
An improved roller for supporting an overhead sliding door to a
track, the roller comprising a diamond configurated roller element
movable along a transversely configurated diamond track, the roller
being mounted on a roller bearing at one end of a shaft fitted into
a bracket plate and urged into longitudinal or axial adjustment by
means of a back up compression spring.
Inventors: |
Finnegan; John E.
(Duncansville, PA) |
Family
ID: |
25176671 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/799,755 |
Filed: |
February 17, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
160/201;
16/98 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E05D
15/165 (20130101); E05D 15/24 (20130101); E05Y
2201/684 (20130101); Y10T 16/3813 (20150115); E05Y
2900/531 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E05D
15/16 (20060101); E05D 15/24 (20060101); E05d
015/38 () |
Field of
Search: |
;160/209,201 ;49/197
;16/137,107,104,98,106,97,105,102,99,96 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Taylor; Dennis L
Claims
I claim:
1. In a sliding overhead door for a semitrailer or the like, the
combination of a door slideable upwardly and downwardly within a
doorway of said semitrailer, said door having opposite side edges,
each of said edges having a plurality of bracket plates mounted
rigidly thereto, said doorway having side edges along which a track
is mounted, said track extending upwardly adjacent the underside of
a ceiling, and roller means mounted in said track and said bracket
plate, said roller means comprising a diamond configurated roller
mounted upon a roller bearing, said roller bearing being carried
relatively friction free on one end of a shaft, said shaft being
supported by said bracket plate, said bracket plate comprising a
generally flat plate having a plurality of openings therethrough
for receiving mounting bolts, said bracket plate including a
cylindrically configurated wall enclosing a cylindrical slot open
at opposite ends, one said end receiving said shaft, a compression
coil spring within said slot positioned adjacent said end of said
shaft, the opposite end of said compression coil spring bearing
against a spring retaining screwcap fitted in an opposite end of
said slot, said cap being threadingly engaged to said cylinder and
secured thereto by cotter pin means.
2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said track
comprises a member of cross-sectional diamond configuration to
conform to the diamond configurated rollers, said track having a
slot along one side thereof through which said shaft extends as
said roller moves along a groove within said track.
Description
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In summary, the present invention comprises a means for supporting
a slideable door for a semitrailer in such a manner so that
movement of the door will not bind or possibly fall from a
supporting track while the loaded truck is swinging and swaying,
this being accomplished by a pair of cross-sectionally
diamond-shaped tracks secured to the vehicle body, a plurality of
rollers travelling within the diamond shaped tracks, the rollers
being mounted upon shafts supported rotatably free within bracket
plates mounted upon the semitrailer door, and the roller shaft
being axially slideable so as to compensate for the swing and
sway.
This invention relates generally to overhead sliding doors. More
specifically it relates to roller means for overhead sliding
doors.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a diamond
configurated roller which will allow an overhead sliding door to
roll up and down with less effort than is possible with a
conventional roller structure such as is presently used.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a diamond
configurated roller which is designed particularly for semitrailer
doors and which will compensate for the swing and sway of a loaded
truck without falling apart such as occurs with conventional-type
equipment.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a diamond
roller wherein a floating spring loaded wheel cannot stick or
bind.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a
diamond roller which cannot jump out of its track and leave the
door fall upon the floor.
Other objects of the present invention are to provide a diamond
roller which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture,
rugged in construction, easy to use and efficient in operation.
These and other objects will be readily evident upon a study of the
following specification and the accompanying drawing wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the present invention
and showing the diamond roller in cross section;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary rear elevation view of a semitrailer
showing the present invention supporting a sliding door within a
doorway; and
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4
of FIG. 3.
Referring now to the drawing in detail, the reference numeral 10
represents a diamond roller assembly according to the present
invention wherein there is a diamond configurated roller member 11
which is mounted rotatably free upon a roller bearing 12, the
roller bearing 12 being mounted frictionally free at one end of a
shaft 13.
The shaft 13 is fitted into a slot 14 formed upon a bracket plate
15 having a plurality of openings 16 therethrough for receiving
mounting bolts, not shown. The mounting bolts are secured to a
sliding overhead door of a semitrailer or other equivalent
equipment.
A compression coil spring 17 is fitted into the slot 14 adjacent
the end of the shaft 13, a compression coil spring 17 being backed
by a spring retaining screw cap 18 that is threadingly engaged in
the end of the slot 14. The spring-retaining screwcap has a
transverse opening 19 therethrough which is aligned with an opening
20 through opposite sides of the cylindrical wall 21 enclosing the
slot 14 so as to receive a cotter pin 22 therethrough which thus
positively secures the screwcap from falling out.
A track 23 is mounted along each side of the door opening of the
semitrailer, the track 23 being of diamond cross-sectional
configuration, as is evident in the drawing. The track 23 has a
longitudinally extending slot 24 along the length thereof through
which the shaft 13 extends. The diamond configurated groove 25
extending along the length of the track 23 so as to receive therein
the diamond shaped roller 11.
In operative use, the structure as shown in FIG. 1 is mounted upon
opposite sides 26 of the sliding overhead door 27 while the track
23 is mounted along the doorway 28 of the semitrailer. Thus the
door 27 may be made to slide up and down while the diamond shaped
roller travels within the track 23. It will be evident that any
lateral deviation in the mounting of the structure will be
accommodated by the axial movement of the shaft 13 against the
spring 17. The particular configurated roller respective to the
track configuration will prevent the roller from falling outward
therefrom.
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