Patent Application
20220074246
The inventions described herein are in the field of wind bracing for garage doors.
The garage door is a multi-panel overhead door. Each panel 11 is held to an adjacent panel by a hollow hinge 13. When high winds are expected, the brace 31 is set up and attached to the garage door by one or more deflection brackets 54. Said deflection brackets are joined to the hollow hinges 13 by bolts 61 that pass therethrough. The door cannot be opened once the brace it installed. When the high winds have passed, the bolts are removed and the brace is stored away for future use. The garage door can then be used.
Whereas hinges with hollow tubing are common for multi-panel garage doors, they are not universal. Many modern door designs use hinges with different configurations. There is need, therefore, for an adapter bracket that can allow the deflection brackets designed for hollow hinges to be used on a wider variety of garage doors.
The summary of the invention is a guide to understanding the invention. It does not necessarily describe the most generic embodiment.
A suitable overall length 301 of the base plate may be about 10 inches. A suitable width 303 of the base plate may be about 1.5 inches. Other dimensions may be provided for different garage door configurations. The upper slot and lower slot may each have a length 315 of about 3.5 inches, a width 313 of about 0.38 inches and a vertical spacing therebetween 317 of about 1.63 inches. These dimensions will accommodate most hinge configurations. Other dimensions, such as a narrower slot width, may be suitable. Washers may be provided when the heads of the bolts 216 of the hinges are smaller than the slot widths.
The horizontal spacing 325 between the left forward tab and right forward tab may be about 3 inches. This will be compatible with the spacing of the deflection brackets of most braces. Wider or narrower spacing may be provided depending upon the particular spacing of deflection brackets in a given brace.
The left forward tab and right forward tab may each have a height 323 of about 1.5 inches and a forward extension 327 from said base plate of about 1.5 inches. The center of each of said left bolt hole and right bolt hole may have a forward extension 329 from said base plate of about 0.75 inches. These dimensions are compatible with existing common deflection brackets. Other dimensions may be provided for differently dimensioned brackets.
The materials of construction of the adapter bracket may comprise one or more of metal, plastic or carbon fiber composite of sufficient strength such that if a bolt with a diameter of about 0.31 inches is placed through said bolt holes and pulled with a force of 1500 pounds while said base plate is attached to a garage door, said adapter bracket will not mechanically fail. A thickness 305 of about 0.06 inches is suitable for adapter brackets made from steel sheet.
In the United States, a bolt with a diameter of about 0.31 inches is standard for defection brackets used with hinges with hollow tubes. In other regions, different bolt sizes may be standard. 1500 pounds of force is the force that may be exerted on an adapter bracket due to a 200 mph winds acting on a large commercial multi-panel garage door. Smaller residential garage doors with more hinges per square foot of garage door area may only experience 600 lbs per adapter bracket. Adapter brackets for residential use may therefore, be lighter weight than for commercial installations.
The adapter bracket may be a unitary piece made from a single sheet of material.
Adapter brackets may be provided with replacement deflection brackets. The adapter brackets and/or deflection brackets may be made from light weight, high strength materials, such as carbon fiber composites. Carbon fiber designs may be provided with ribs for additional stiffening. This will reduce the amplitude of vibration of a garage door due to wind turbulence.
Not all strap hinges need to be replaced when high winds are expected. High strength adapter brackets, for example may be provided that only need to replace a portion of the strap hinges. This will make set up faster.
The detailed description describes non-limiting exemplary embodiments. Any individual features may be combined with other features as required by different applications for at least the benefits described herein. As used herein, the term “about” means plus or minus 10% of a given value unless specifically indicated otherwise.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material to which a claim for copyright is made. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but reserves all other copyright rights whatsoever.
As used herein, the term “shaped” means that an item has the overall appearance of a given shape even if there are minor variations from the pure form of said given shape.
As used herein, the term “generally” when referring to a shape means that an ordinary observer will perceive that an object has said shape even if there are minor variations from said shape.
As used herein, relative orientation terms, such as “up”, “down”, “top”, “bottom”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “distal” and “proximal” are defined with respect to an initial presentation of an object and will continue to refer to the same portion of an object even if the object is subsequently presented with an alternative orientation, unless otherwise noted.
As used herein the terms “left” and “right” generally refer to left and right from an object's perspective unless indicated otherwise.
The base plate may comprise a mounting hole 516 located between said upper and lower slots. The mounting hold may be centered on a horizontal centerline 507 of said base plate.
The back plate of the wing bracket may comprise a first 532, second 534 and third 536 mounting holes arranged in an equilateral triangle. When the wing bracket is attached to the base plate, the fastener proceeds through said mounting hole of said base plate and one of said first, second or third mounting holes of said back plate.
Any fastener may be used, such as a nut and bolt. Fasteners, such as tabs, snaps and/or slots, may be built into the base plate and wing bracket. Permanent fasteners such as rivets or industrial adhesives may be used.
The arrangement of mounting holes allows the wing bracket to be mounted in a variety of configurations relative to the base plate. This will improve the adaptability of the adapter bracket to a variety of garage door configurations.
The fastener may comprise a nut 552 and a bolt 554. The bolt may comprise a head 556. The head may be adapted to fit into the mounting hole of the base plate such that the head does not protrude from a back surface of said base plate. The mounting hole, for example, may be a tapered hole. The head of the bolt may have a corresponding flare 558. The head of the bolt may further comprise a locking mechanism, such as one or more radial ridges 562, such that the head will rotationally lock into place when the bolt is placed through the mounting hole. Thus, when the wing bracket is placed over the bolt and the nut is screwed thereupon and tightened, the blot will not rotate.
The base plate may have a length 501 of about 10 inches. The base plate may have a width 503 of about 1.5 inches. The upper slot and the lower slot each may have a length 511 of about 3.5 inches. The upper slot and lower slot may each have a width 513 of about 0.38 inches. The upper and lower slot may have a vertical spacing 515 therebetween of about 1.63 inches. These collective dimensions help ensure that the base plate can be mounted on a broad selection of stiles with different hinge mounting configurations. Different dimensions can be alternatively provided for different garage door configurations.
The horizontal spacing 525 between the left forward tab and right forward tab of the wing bracket may be about 3 inches. Each of said left forward tab and said right forward tab may have a height 523 of about 1.5 inches and a forward extension 521 from said back plate of about 1.5 inches. A center of each of said left bolt hole and right bolt hole may have a forward extension 527 from the back plate of about 0.75 inches. These collective dimensions help ensure that the wing bracket will effectively simulate a standard hollow hinge such that typical deflection brackets sized for said hollow hinges may be joined to said wing bracket using a bolt sized for said hollow hinges (e.g. 0.31 inch diameter bolt).
Similar to the one piece adapter bracket, the material of construction for the multi-piece adapter bracket may comprise one or more of metal, plastic or carbon fiber composite of sufficient strength such that if a bolt with a diameter of about 0.31 inches is placed through said bolt holes and pulled with a force of 1500 pounds while said base plate is attached to a garage door, said adapter bracket will not mechanically fail.
A thickness 505 of about 0.06 inches is suitable for adapter brackets made from steel sheet. A similar thickness 551 is suitable for the head of the bolt of the fastener such that the head will not protrude from either a front surface of the base plate or the back surface of the base plate.
Not all strap hinges need to be replaced. High strength adapter brackets, for example may be provided that only need to replace a portion of the strap hinges. This will make set up faster.
An adapter bracket can be provided with a vertical brace and deflection brackets to provide a complete system for garage door bracing against strong winds. The system may comprise:
Any vertical brace of adequate strength may be used. Any deflection tabs of adequate strength may be used. A one-piece adapter bracket 300 may be used. An advantage of the multi-piece adapter bracket 500 is that for some garage door designs, the wing bracket 520 can be mounted on alternative locations of the door panels 202, 204 such that the existing strap hinges remain in place.
The left forward tab 522 and right forward tab 524 are shown pointing up. The left and right bolt holes 538, 542 are available to receive the bolt 61 (not shown) from the deflection brackets 55, 56 (not shown).
The system, therefore, can be adapted to most any multi-panel garage design. Thus, all users can achieve greater protection against high wind damage to their garage doors.
While the disclosure has been described with reference to one or more different exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt to a particular situation without departing from the essential scope or teachings thereof. For example, the “adaptability” of the adapter bracket allows it to provide a solution for virtually any garage door regardless of existing horizontal braces or obstacles. This includes, but it not limited to: barrel hinges that are too under sized to accommodate the through bolt; non-barrel hinges; or really any kind of hinge. The wing bracket can also be attached directly to the garage door without touching the existing hinges (e.g. by drilling a ⅜″ hole thru the door and using a flat head bolt with the flat head outside the door and connecting the adapter on the inside of the door). Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63074517 | Sep 2020 | US |
