Movable or removable closures – Frame with closure feature – Adjustable frame
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-30
2004-03-09
Strimbu, Gregory J. (Department: 3634)
Movable or removable closures
Frame with closure feature
Adjustable frame
C049S406000, C049S411000, C004S600000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06701672
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
Not applicable.
STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a shower and tub enclosure door system and in particular to an adjustable mounting system for such doors.
Shower and tub enclosures typically have a back wall, two end walls and an opening therebetween. To prevent water from splashing onto the bathroom floor when showering, the opening is ordinarily closed by a curtain or door allowing ingress into the enclosure. Shower curtains are generally less costly than doors, but provide less sealing around the edges of the opening and usually need to be replaced after extended use. Depending on the size of the opening, shower door systems will usually include a single, hinged (or pivoting) door or a pair of track-mounted sliding by-pass doors.
In either case, conventional shower door systems must be sized to fit in the enclosure opening. Many enclosure openings are of standard dimensions, however, this is not always the case. Shower door manufacturers often need to specially manufacture the door assembly according to the size of individual enclosures, which is costly. Alternatively, various elements (such as the header track) of standard sized door systems could be cut down, either by the manufacturer or consumer, according to the dimensions of the opening. However, if cut too short, the trimmed item could be unusable such that it would have to be replaced, thereby delaying installation and adding cost.
Adjustable shower door systems have been developed that allow the doors to be mounted in shower enclosure openings within a range of dimensions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,957 provides a shower door system with a frame that can be adjusted in width to support a pivoting door panel. The upper and lower cross-members have telescoping profiles that can be moved relative to each other as needed to vary the overlap between a fixed panel and the pivoting door panel. The outer ends of the cross-members are mounted to the enclosure walls and the frame is secured together with the door pivots in the adjusted position. While this system provides adjustment, it is only suitable for pivoting (rather than sliding) doors and it must be anchored to the walls of the enclosure, which damages the surfaces of the enclosure walls, which are often tiled.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,286,343; 5,033,132 and 5,822,810 provide other adjustable systems for closing openings in shower and tub enclosures. However, they are all designed for collapsible screens or curtains, rather than rigid door panels (either pivoting or by-pass). Moreover, the system of the '343 patent mounts the roll-up screen in a vertical orientation and the systems of the '132 and '810 patents must be permanently anchored to the walls. Further, the system of the '862 patent provides a curtain support with a header rail connected to end assemblies having spring biased plungers that press against opposing walls of the enclosure to secure the curtain support in place. Although the spring biased plungers accommodate minor variance in width of the enclosure opening, the curtain rail must be cut down to adjust the width of the curtain support. As with the others, this system is also not suitable to support rigid door panels.
Thus, an improved shower and tub door system is needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides an adjustable door system that is mounted horizontally across the opening of a shower and tub enclosure by compressive forces exerted by one or more threaded expansion assemblies.
In one aspect the invention provides a mounting assembly for mounting a door at an opening of an enclosure between opposite walls. The mounting assembly includes a horizontal header rail and an adjustable header expansion assembly. The rail has a track from which a movable door panel is suspended. The compression assembly has a shaft and a nut in threaded engagement that are coupled to an end of the rail. The shaft or nut can be rotated relative to one another for mounting the rail to the enclosure by applying opposing compressive forces on the walls.
Another aspect of the invention provides a by-pass shower door assembly including a pair of door panels mounted to a horizontal header and curb (via parallel tracks in the header), each having corresponding rails and compression assemblies, and upright jambs extending vertically between the headers.
In a preferred form, the header expansion assembly has a shaft with an externally threaded end threaded into a nut and a notched end engaging a clamp in a snap fit. The nut mounts to the header rail tightly in a press fit (interference fit). The curb expansion assembly has a curb shaft and two curb nuts in threaded engagement and coupled to inner ends of two curb rails positioned on each side of the curb expansion assembly. The curb shaft has left hand threads and the other end has right hand threads such that rotating the curb shaft moves the curb nuts with respect to the curb shaft in opposite directions. Elongated header and curb stiffening members mount to respective header and curb rails.
In another preferred form, an extruded cap overlaps the header rail to conceal the header expansion assembly. Also, a second cap can be fit over the end of the header rail opposite the compression assembly. A snap-on center guide having parallel upwardly opening tracks for receiving bottom ends of the door panels covers the curb expansion assembly.
One object of the invention is a door system that can be mounted over an opening in a shower and tub enclosure without damaging the mounting surfaces of the enclosure. The header and curb are mounted by rotating the shafts such that the header and curb expand outward and press against either the walls of the enclosure of the jambs.
Another object of the invention is a door assembly that can be mounted in enclosure openings of various widths. In one embodiment, the threaded compression assemblies provide approximately two to three inches of width adjustment.
Yet another object of the invention is a shower door mounting system that does not require the head or curb rails to be cut down for installation. Thus, the consumer or installer will not inadvertently cut the rails too short, which can happen particularly when the header and curb rails are to be different lengths. The provided width adjustment also reduces the number of header or curb rail sizes required to be manufactured and inventoried.
Still another object of the invention is a quick and simple and to install mounting system. The header and curb can be secured to the enclosure without tools (or with only a screwdriver or wrench for tightening the shafts). The caps and center guide concealing the compression assemblies simply can be slide on or snapped onto the corresponding rails.
These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 2856040 (1958-10-01), Dansereau
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patent: 5033132 (1991-07-01), Greenblatt
patent: 5822810 (1998-10-01), Chen
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Cowell Brian D.
Jandrisits Alice M.
Paredes Raul M.
Seum Michael T.
Teubert John A.
Kohler Co.
Quarles & Brady LLP
Strimbu Gregory J.
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