US-20260125938-A1 - SHOWER DOOR GUIDE ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A guide assembly for a sliding shower door is provided with a bracket sized to be fastened to a shower door opening. The bracket has a first lengthwise retainer. A guide with a second lengthwise retainer is sized to be retained by the first lengthwise retainer of the bracket. The guide has at least one channel formed therein and is sized to receive a shower door pane within the channel for translation of the shower door pane relative to the guide.

Inventors

• Thomas SIMEK

Assignees

• LIBERTY HARDWARE MFG. CORP.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251103

Claims (8)

1. 1 . A shower door assembly comprising: a track sized to extend across a shower door opening; a shower door pane sized to cooperate with the track for translation relative to the track, wherein the shower door pane has a range of clearance relative to the track for installation and disassembly of the shower door pane relative to the track; a guide sized to be installed to the shower door opening, the guide having at least one channel formed therein to receive the shower door pane for translation relative to the guide, wherein a depth of the channel exceeds the range of clearance of the shower door pane relative to the track; and a bracket sized to be fastened to the shower door opening, the bracket having a first lengthwise retainer; and wherein the guide further comprises a second lengthwise retainer sized to be retained by the first lengthwise retainer of the bracket.
2. 2 . The shower door assembly of claim 1 wherein at least one mounting aperture is formed through the bracket; and wherein the guide conceals the at least one mounting aperture.
3. 3 . The shower door assembly of claim 1 further comprising a pair of side plates, each sized to be fastened to an end of the guide or the bracket to limit translation of the guide relative to the bracket.
4. 4 . The shower door assembly of claim 1 wherein the first lengthwise retainer and the second lengthwise retainer further comprise a tapered key and a body portion with a tapered keyway to retain the guide upon the bracket.
5. 5 . The shower door assembly of claim 4 wherein the first lengthwise retainer further comprises the tapered key.
6. 6 . The shower door assembly of claim 5 wherein at least one mounting aperture is formed through the tapered key of the bracket.
7. 7 . The shower door assembly of claim 1 wherein the guide further comprises a pair of lengthwise projections extending upward from the guide with the channel formed therebetween.
8. 8 . The shower door assembly of claim 7 wherein the pair of lengthwise projections each comprise an external surface spaced apart from the bracket and angled to direct water.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/768,615, filed Jul. 10, 2024, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,460,463 B2, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/299,267, filed Apr. 12, 2023, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,060,738 B2, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/192,015 filed Mar. 4, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,655,658 B2, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference herein. TECHNICAL FIELD Various embodiments relate to guide assemblies for shower door assemblies. BACKGROUND The prior art has provided guide assemblies for sliding shower door assemblies. SUMMARY According to an embodiment, a guide assembly is provided with a bracket sized to be fastened to a shower door opening. The bracket has a first lengthwise retainer. A guide with a second lengthwise retainer is sized to be retained by the first lengthwise retainer of the bracket. The guide has at least one channel formed therein and is sized to receive a shower door pane within the channel for translation of the shower door pane relative to the guide. According to a further embodiment, at least one mounting aperture is formed through the bracket. The guide conceals the at least one mounting aperture. According to another further embodiment, a pair of side plates, are each sized to be fastened to an end of the guide or the bracket to limit translation of the guide relative to the bracket. According to yet another further embodiment, the first lengthwise retainer and the second lengthwise retainer are further provided with a tapered key and a body portion with a tapered keyway to retain the guide upon the bracket. According to an even further embodiment, the first lengthwise retainer is further provided with the tapered key. According to another even further embodiment, at least one mounting aperture is formed through the tapered key of the bracket. According to another further embodiment, the guide is further provided with a pair of lengthwise projections extending away from the bracket with the channel formed therein. According to an even further embodiment, the pair of lengthwise projections are each provided with an external surface spaced apart from the bracket and angled to direct water. According to another embodiment, a shower door assembly is provided with a track sized to extend across a shower door opening. A shower door pane is sized to cooperate with the track for translation relative to the track. The shower door pane has a range of clearance relative to the track for installation and disassembly of the shower door pane relative to the track. A guide assembly is provided with a bracket sized to be fastened to the shower door opening. The bracket has a first lengthwise retainer. A guide with a second lengthwise retainer is sized to be retained by the first lengthwise retainer of the bracket. The guide has at least one channel formed therein and is sized to receive a shower door pane within the channel for translation of the shower door pane relative to the guide. A depth of the channel exceeds the range of clearance of the shower door pane relative to the track. According to another embodiment, a shower door assembly is provided with a track sized to extend across a shower door opening. A shower door pane is sized to cooperate with the track for translation relative to the track. The shower door pane has a range of clearance relative to the track for installation and disassembly of the shower door pane relative to the track. A guide is sized to be installed to a shower door opening. The guide has at least one channel formed therein to receive the shower door pane for translation relative to the guide. A depth of the channel exceeds the range of clearance of the shower door pane relative to the track. According to a further embodiment, a bracket is sized to be fastened to the shower door opening. The bracket has a first lengthwise retainer. The guide is further provided with a second lengthwise retainer sized to be retained by the first lengthwise retainer of the bracket. According to an even further embodiment, at least one mounting aperture is formed through the bracket. The guide conceals the at least one mounting aperture. According to another further embodiment, a pair of side plates are provided, each sized to be fastened to an end of the guide or the bracket to limit translation of the guide relative to the bracket. According to another further embodiment, the first lengthwise retainer and the second lengthwise retainer are further provided as a tapered key and a body portion with a tapered keyway to retain the guide upon the bracket. According to an even further embodiment, the first lengthwise retainer is further provided as the tapered key. According to an even further embodiment, at least one mounting aperture is formed through the tapered key of the bracket. According to another further embodiment, the guide is further provi