Patent Application
20090236051
The subject disclosure relates generally to a horizontal side-rolling fabric door and more specifically to a bottom seal for such a door.
Basically, there are two types of fabric rollup doors, those that have a curtain that rolls up vertically and those that roll up sideways. For vertically operating rollup doors, a horizontal drum or roller above the doorway takes up or pays out a fabric curtain to respectively open or close the door. An example of a vertically operating rollup door is shown in U. S. Pat. No. 7,151,450.
Side-rolling or horizontal side-rolling fabric doors, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,902; includes one or two vertical rollers at either one or both lateral edges of the doorway. Some side-rolling doors have a single roller at one side of the doorway with a single curtain that extends and retracts across the full width of the doorway.
In some cases, the “single curtain” is actually comprised of two layers, each having its own vertical take-up roller. In such cases, the two rollers are right next to each other at one lateral edge of the doorway. As the door opens, the two layers of the curtain separate at the edge of the doorway and wrap upon their respective rollers.
Other side-rolling doors include two individual curtains, each supported by their own roller at opposite lateral edges of the doorway. For such doors, the two separate curtains meet at the center of the doorway as the door closes. To open the door, the two curtains move apart from each other and wrap upon their own roller (or set of rollers if each curtain has two layers).
Side-rolling doors, particularly those with two curtains, provide an almost instant field of view through the doorway as the door begins to open, whereas vertically operating doors generally need to open much farther in order for a person on one side of the doorway to see what is at the other side of the door. An instant field of view can provide an early warning of a potential collision at the doorway.
With side-rolling doors, however, it can be difficult to seal the lower edge of the curtain adjacent the floor. Since the lower edge of the curtain itself tends to wear prematurely due to repeated rubbing against the floor and, thus, eventually the entire curtain might need replacing to maintain an adequate seal.
Certain examples are shown in the above-identified figures and described in detail below. In describing these examples, like or identical reference numbers are used to identify common or similar elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features and certain views of the figures may be shown exaggerated in scale or in schematic for clarity and/or conciseness. Additionally, several examples have been described throughout this specification. Any features from any example may be included with, a replacement for, or otherwise combined with other features from other examples.
To provide a means for replacing a worn bottom edge of curtain 12 and/or to seal a gap that might exist between curtain 12 and floor 26, each curtain 12 includes a replaceable bottom seal 28. Seal 28 is replaceable by virtue of a separable joint 30, such as, for example, a zipper, hook-and-loop connector, snaps, lace, or some other reconnectable means. As bottom seal 28 becomes worn, joint 30 allows seal 28 to be readily replaced without having to replace the entire curtain.
If a replaceable seal were simply added to the lower edge of an ordinary horizontal side-rolling door, the seal and/or the joint that connects the seal to the curtain would likely be thicker than the curtain material itself, and that could cause some problems. As the door opens and the curtain wraps around the roller, a relatively thick seal and joint could build up on the roller, which could create a substantial bulge at the lower end of the roller. The bulging area might press against the floor or other adjacent surfaces and interfere with the roller being able to smoothly take up the curtain. The bulging section might also twist and strain adjacent areas of the curtain.
To avoid such problems, even though joint 30 might be thicker than curtain 12, joint 30 preferably lies at an incline so that as curtain 12 wraps around roller 16, joint 30 is broadly distributed in an approximate helical pattern 32 as shown in
The various components of door 10 may vary. Curtain 12, for instance, can be comprised of a pliable sheet, fabric, or any continuous or segmented panel with sufficient flexibility to wrap around roller 16. Referring to
Drive unit 24 can be comprised of a chain 38 or cogged belt driven between a motor-driven sprocket 40 and an idler sprocket 42 or may comprise any other suitable components. Track followers 44 and 46, rolling or sliding along track 22, couple the leading edges of curtains 12 to chain 38. Track follower 44 connects one curtain 12 to an upper part of chain 38, and track follower 46 connects the other curtain 12 to the lower section of chain 38 so that drive unit 24 can move track followers 44 and 46 and their respective curtains 12 in opposite directions to selectively open or close the door.
To simplify manufacturing, seal 28 can be made as part of a generally rectangular seal assembly 48, wherein the assembly comprises an upper piece 50 and bottom seal 28. Assembly 48 can be sewn, bonded, welded or otherwise attached to create a generally horizontal seam 52 that connects assembly 48 to a lower portion of curtain 12. Once connected by seam 52, upper piece 50 of seal assembly 48 now becomes an extension of curtain 12 itself, in which case an inclined lower edge 54 of curtain 12 is where bottom seal 28 is removably connected via separable joint 30. Since seam 52 is generally horizontal and joint 30 is inclined, seam 52 and joint 30 are displaced out of co-parallel alignment with each other. Lower edge 54 can be any edge near the bottom of curtain 12 and is not necessarily the lowermost edge of the curtain. Seam 52 preferably, but not necessarily, provides a more permanent connection than does separable joint 30.
Although bottom seal 28 can be any lower piece or segment in proximity with floor 26, seal 28 does not necessarily have to be touching floor 26 in order to be considered a bottom seal. Nonetheless, bottom seal 28 preferably engages floor 26. To ensure such engagement, bottom seal 28 can be comprised of a loop 56 (
Loop 56 and insert 58 can add bulk and thickness to bottom seal 28. To prevent such thickness from creating a bulge at the lower end of roller 16 as door 10 opens, seal 28 preferably extends below a major outer periphery 60 of drum 34, as shown in
Although seal assembly 48 might simplify manufacturing,
At least some of the aforementioned examples include one or more features and/or benefits including, but not limited to, the following:
In some examples, a horizontal side-rolling door includes a replaceable bottom seal.
In some examples, a horizontal side-rolling door includes an inclined disconnectable joint that connects a bottom seal to the door's curtain.
In some examples, a horizontal side-rolling door includes an inclined zipperjoint that connects a bottom seal to the door's curtain.
In some examples, a horizontal side-rolling door includes a roller with extra space below the roller to provide roll-up room for a relatively thick bottom seal.
In some examples, a horizontal side-rolling door includes a roller with extra space below the roller to provide roll-up room for a bottom seal that comprises a loop of material containing a weighted and/or stiffening element.
In some examples, a horizontal side-rolling door includes a disconnectable joint that connects a bottom seal to the door's curtain, wherein the joint wraps upon a roller in an approximate helical pattern.
In some examples curtains 12 could be comprised of a series of rigid vertical slats that are pivotally interconnected side-by-side, thereby providing a flexible curtain assembly. Such an assembled curtain could coil about relatively short upper and lower rollers rather than wrapping around one long continuous roller.
Furthermore, although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.
