US3431690A - Adjustable support - Google Patents

Description

March 11, 1969 E. HALPERN ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT Sheet I of 5 Filed May 4, 1966 FIG. 1

INVENTOR. ERNST HALPERN ATTORNEY March 11, 1969 E. HALPERN ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT Sheet 3 of 5 Filed May 4, 1966 FIG INVENTOR ERNST HALPERN March 11, 1969 E. HALPERN 4 3,431,690

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT Filed May 4, 1966 Sheet 3 of 3 FIG. 6

FIG. 70 FIG. 7b

FIG. 70 FIG. 7d

INVENTOR ERNST HALPERN.

ATTOR N E Y United States Patent 3,431,690 ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT Ernst Halpern, Plainview, N.Y., assignor to Williamsburg Steel Products Company, Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 4, 1966, Ser. No. 547,612

U.S. Cl. 52204 Int. Cl. E04d 15/06 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An adjustable sill support is formed from two angle shaped members provided with slots which are oppositely inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the angle support member. A bracket, fixed to the adjustable support, includes means to retain the sill.

the doors through the prevention of jamming. Heretofore,

adjustments in the level and alignment of the sill were not possible without resorting to complex means which were costly and difiicult toconstruct, and yet were not adaptable to the numerous different situations encountered in building constructions.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide means for aligning and leveling the sill to accommodate different building constructions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sill in combination with ,an integral support which is constructed so that it can be adjusted for the depth of the recess in the building floor beneath the sill.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide means which utilizes only two pairs of adjustable members for aligning and leveling the sill in all different building constructions.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a sill which while utilizing only two pairs of ad justable members may be adjustable to accommodate the entire range of variations found in presently existing building conditions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable sill of simple and inexpensive construction.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide means for assembling the sill and support in a simplified manner, and for integral construction of the assembly parts.

Other objects and advantages appear in greater detail in the following description and specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which- FIGURE 1 is a top view of the sill in relation to the elevator doors and the entrance to the elevator shaft.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the sill, showing the manner in which it is assembled to the adjustable support.

FIGURE 3 shows a possible configuration for the adjustable support for the sill.

FIGURE 4 shows another possible embodiment of the adjustable support as well as the principle upon which the construction of the support is based.

FIGURE 5 shows the construction of the bracket which fastens the sill to the adjustable support, and maintains the sill in proper alignment with respect to the doors.

FIGURE 6 shows an alternate construction of the bracket of FIGURE 5.

FIGURES 7a, b, c and d show the manner in which each of the two pairs of adjustable supports shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 may be combined to accommodate the various ranges of sizes in building construction.

An adjustable sill support which is immobile during opening and closing of the door comprises two angle shaped members provided with slots which are inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the angle support members. The angle members enable the support to be vertically adjusted. The sill support includes a bracket for holding the sill and retaining it aligned with respect to the doors.

Referring to the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows a sill 10 in relation to the elevator shaft doors 11 and 12. The doors 11 and 12 of a two-speed door system are provided with a frame 13 which is supported by the building wall 14. Brackets 15 assure that the firame is properly located with respect to the wall and floor, and bracket 16 provides a firm footing for the frame. The edge of the sill 17 faces the interior of the elevator shaft.

The cross-section of the sill 10 and the method used to support it, are shown in FIGURE 2. The sill contains T-slots 18 for the purpose of guiding doors 11 and 12 through means of guide 19 fixed to the bottom of the doors. By riding within slots 18, this guide 19 assures that the doors remain vertically upright in all positions. Additional grooves, ridges, or other non-slip treatment 20 provide a non-slippage surface for persons entering or leaving the elevator.

The sill 10 is firmly held and located through means of the sill bracket 21. The bracket 21 has a tongue 22 residing within a slot associated with sill 10. The sill is located between this tongue and a set screw 23 bearing against another slot integrally shaped with the sill. The set screw 23 is held by a bent-up section of bracket 21 which contains threaded holes for supporting facia plates 24 by means of screws 25.

In accordance with the present invention, an adjustable support 26 supports the sill bracket which is held in place by fasteners 27 and 28. The adjustable support permits the bracket and hence the sill to be leveled so that the sill is flush with the surface of the floor 29 while the support rests on the concrete base 30. In addition to providing for the leveling of the sill, the adjustable support 26 also compensates for the depth between the bottom 31 of the concrete recess 32 and the sill bracket. The adjustable support is fixed to the bottom of the concrete recess by means of fasteners 33' and 34. One or more of such adjustable supports may be employed along the length of the sill to hold the latter in place. The length of the sill, on the other hand, is determined essentially by the combined width of the doors used to close the entrance to the elevator shaft. It is desirable that support 26 be adjustable because .of the wide variation of the depth of the concrete recess that is encountered in diflerent buildings.

The constructional details of the adjustable support 26 of this invention are shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. The support consists essentially of two angle members 35 and 36 provided with angle legs 35a and 35b and 36a and 36b. The angle contains a series of slots which allow the angles to be combined in a varying manner. Thus slot 37 in angle 35 mates with slot 38 in angle 36. FIGURE 4 shows that by moving angle 36 in relation to angle 35, the depth D is adjustable from the point where the left ends of slots 37 and 38 coincide to where their right ends coincide. Accordingly, the variation in D is equal to the projected height. The depth D corresponds to the distance between the bottom of sill bracket 21 and the bottom 31 of the concrete recess. To fix the position of angle 35 with respect to angle 36, the two angles are assembled with bolts 39 and 40 passing through the slots as shown in FIGURE 2. To hold the angles together, these bolts 39 and 40 pass through both of the slots forming an X. The same variation in depth D may be obtained by making the slots parallel with the angle edges 41, rather than inclining them as shown in FIGURE 4. However, by inclining the slots in the manner shown, it is possible for the adjustable support to sustain a greater sill load for a given set of bolts 39 and 40. Furthermore, by inclining the slots in the particular manner shown, correct assembly of the angles is assured, since the angles cannot be combined and fastened together in any other than the proper way.

The inclination of the slots also provides the feature which allows the angles to be adjusted in relation to one another in the lateral or horizontal direction. This lateral direction is perpendicular to that shown in depth D. The inclination of the slots, moreover, provides freedom of motion in angular directions. Accordingly, the angles may be tilted and oriented with respect to one another at different angles for purposes of aligning and leveling the sill. The inclination of the slots, therefore, provides adjustability features in the vertical, horizontal, and angular directions.

FIGURE 3 when taken in relation to FIGURES 4 and 7, shows that with angles of different sizes and unequal legs, it is possible to obtain variations in depth D over and beyond that allowable by the projected height of the slots. The principle involved in fastening together the angles of FIGURE 3 is identical to that described for FIGURE 4.

In accordance with the present invention, each of the two pairs of angles may be combined to provide variations in depth so that it is only necessary to produce and stock two such pairs to accommodate depth ranges which satisfy the variations in all present building conditions. FIG- URE 7 shows an example of how the two pairs of angles may be combined to provide variations in depth within the range from 1" to 5%". Of course if building conditions or other conditions change, the range may be increased or decreased by simply changing the size of the legs 35a, 35b, 36a and 36b.

In accordance with the present invention, as shown in FIGURE 7a each of the angles 35 and 36 are provided with legs of unequal size. The illustrative size of the legs are disclosed in the drawing itself, as are the extreme dimensions when the angles are combined as shown in FIGURES 7a and 7b. It will be understood, however, that the range of adjustment may be virtually infinite. Within the extreme, that is, the angle may be adjusted as desired between various depths from 1" to 2". In FIGURE 7c angles are provided each having legs of 2" and 3%". The variations of adjustment in the extreme are shown in FIGURE 7d. This construction of angles may be adjusted to a variation of depths between 2" and 5 /2".

The detailed construction of the sill bracket 21 is shown in FIGURES 2 and 6. One end of the bracket is shaped into a pair of tongues 22 which contain holes 42 for admitting screws 25. The latter screws support the facia plates 24. The bent-up section 43 contains a hole 44 for holding the screw 23 that serves to align the sill in the lateral direction. Holes 45 and 46 in the bracket allow fasteners 27 and 28 respectively to pass through and fix the bracket to the adjustable support 26. The bracket is entirely of integral construction and may be manufactured of wrought, formed or extruded metal.

This invention therefore provides a new, novel, efiicient and completely adjustable integral support particularly adapted for aligning and levelling a sill and rail.

I claim:

1. An adjustable support for door sills or the like including an adjustable pair of angle supports having oppositely angled slots therein, adjustable fastening means disposed in said slots to hold said angle supports in the desired relative position with respect to each other, a bracket fixed to the upper angle of said pair of angle supports, said bracket having a tongue on one end engaged with a forward longitudinal slot on the sill and a struckup tongue spaced rearwardly from said first tongue, and locking means on said struck-up tongue engaging a rearward longitudinal slot on the sill to lock said sill to said bracket.

2. The support of claim 1 wherein said adjustable fastening means comprises a bolt fastener disposed in said oppositely angled slots.

3. The support of claim 2 wherein said locking means is a set screw threaded in said struck-up tongue to engage said rearward longitudinal slot on the sill.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 587,492 8/1897 Prouty 16-105 2,649,612 8/ 1953 Loomis 16--94 FOREIGN PATENTS 718,597 9/ 1965 Canada. 826,175 12/ 1959 Great Britain.

KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

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