Adjustable roller device for sliding closures

Claim 1

In combination, a sliding closure having a pair of bottom rails and a web portion joining said rails together and an adjustable roller device attached to said web portion, said roller device comprising: an outer frame assembly having a pair of oppositely positioned walls and an end wall joining said oppositely positioned walls together, said pair of oppositely positioned walls having similar open ended vertical slots formed therein, said vertical slots being oriented opposite each other, an inner frame assembly having a pair of oppositely positioned walls and an end wall joining said pair of walls together, said oppositely positioned walls of said inner frame assembly having similar canted open ended slots formed therein, said canted slots being oriented opposite each other, a roller wheel having an aperture at the center thereof, defining the rotation axis of said wheel, pin means for joining said wheel and said first and second frame assemblies together, said pin means fitting through the vertical slots in said outer frame assembly, the canted slots of said inner frame assembly, and the aperture in the center of said wheel, with said wheel and said frame members being held by said pin means in slidable relationship, said inner frame assembly having inwardly directed retainer lip portions formed at the entrance to the slots thereof, said lip portions narrowing the widths of the slot entrances to a width slightly less than that of said pin means, adjustment means for positioning said inner frame member relative to said outer frame member along an axis normal to the longitudinal axes of said vertical slots and the rotation axis of said wheel, and means for attaching said roller device to said web portion, whereby said wheel is capable of being positioned along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axes of said vertical slots in accordance with the setting of said adjustment means, said means for attaching said roller device to said web portion comprising a pair of tab portions extending from the top wall of said outer frame assembly and having a portion thereof with a broad flat surface extending in a direction substantially parallel to said top wall, said web portion having apertures therein for receiving said tab portions, said sliding closure having a vertical stile portion extending along a vertical edge thereof, and screw attachment means for joining said stile portion to an end wall of said outer frame assembly, said screw attachment means holding said roller device with the flat surfaces of said tab portions thereof in close overlapping engagement with the web portion.