Patent Application
20230235603
This disclosure relates to vertical lift doors, such as garage doors and prevention of damage to the same.
During overhead garage door installation, there is often an interval of time between when the door panels are loaded into tracks of the door and when the operator (opening mechanism) is installed and functional. In this period of time, the door, particularly the bottom panel, is vulnerable to damage by jobsite workers who raise the door for the purposes of working in the area and who close the door with force on construction items or debris which may be in the threshold of the garage floor. This causes damage to the bottom panel of the door. In many cases it is difficult to identify the responsible party. The general contractor is then obligated to order a replacement door panel with accompanying delays and cost.
In addition, the interval between when the door panels are loaded into tracks and when the operator is installed and functional also presents a safety risk. Before the operator is installed, the door panels can move ungoverned along the tracks and are gravity driven to slam down potentially causing injury, such as to toes or hands or through flipping items on the ground up or into the air.
The following is a brief summary of subject matter that is described in greater detail herein. This summary is not intended to be limiting as to the scope of the claims.
Given the problem identified with damage being caused to overhead doors prior to their operating mechanism being installed, it was determined that it would be desirable to have low-cost solution to prevent such damage.
Disclosed herein is a device that is attached to a bottom section of a panel of a door, the door including a sliding or other mechanism to facilitate vertical movement. The device is configured to buffer the bottom door from the garage floor by a short distance, thereby preventing impact with items on the floor that would otherwise collide with the bottom of door. The device is configured to deform to absorb impact if it encounters an obstacle on the floor, thereby limiting the impact on its connections to the door, preserving both the connection area to the door and the bottom surface of the door.
A method of installation and making the garage door equipped with the device is also disclosed herein.
The above summary presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the systems and/or methods discussed herein. This summary is not an extensive overview of the systems and/or methods discussed herein. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of such systems and/or methods. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
Various technologies pertaining to a door protection device are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspect(s) may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing one or more aspects. Further, it is to be understood that functionality that is described as being carried out by certain system components may be performed by multiple components. Similarly, for instance, a component may be configured to perform functionality that is described as being carried out by multiple components.
Moreover, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from the context, the phrase “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase “X employs A or B” is satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be directed to a singular form. Additionally, as used herein, the term “exemplary” is intended to mean serving as an illustration or example of something and is not intended to indicate a preference.
The device disclosed herein is designed to enhance safety and prevent property damage caused by a garage or other overhead door slamming down on items laying in the floor of the door threshold. The device is attached to a bottom panel of a door and is equipped with an angled portion that protrudes beneath the door and provides a designated space, e.g., 0.75 to 6 inches, e.g., 1 to 4 inches, or 1.5 to 3 inches between the bottom of the door and the threshold floor. The angled portion absorbs the impact of door slamming down, thereby protecting the bottom surface of the door damage from any items lying in the threshold with a height that is lower than the designated space. In a particular embodiment, the device is configured to protect the door from power and propane lines that are frequently routed across the threshold of a garage door in a construction project, such as in a new home build. In an embodiment, the device can be installed under screws supplied by the door manufacturer and removed easily when the operator is installed. The term “operator,” is meant to include a motorized door opener/closing device, such as a belt-, chain-, or screw-driven garage door opener.
Garage doors, for example, may weigh in a range of 70 to 255 lbs, e.g., 80 to 205 lbs, or 100 to 180 lbs. In an embodiment, the door protection device 20 is configured to deform by reducing the first angle (see
In the embodiment of
The U-shaped opening 24 may provide room for a protrusion from the door to fit into, or may at least reduce the weight and material costs of the door protection device 20.
The door protection device 20 has three planar sections, a first portion 28 that is configured to mount flush with a door panel or to a reinforcing plate 110 coupled to the bottom door panel (See
The third portion 34 of the door protection device 20 extends from the second portion 32 and is bent or curved at an angle (see
In an embodiment, if the door panel 10 has no other attachments at the bottom corner of door, the protection device 20 may be mounted there without any reinforcing plate 110. Mounting the protection device 20 at or near the corners of the door panel 10, utilizes the vertical structure along the side edges of the door panel 10 to rigidly absorb the impact load.
In an embodiment, the door protection device 20 is configured with one or more through-holes matching fasteners used for securing the reinforcing plate 110 to the bottom panel 25. The fastener 23 extends through both the door protection device 20 and the reinforcing plate 110. Multiple fasteners 23 extending through holes 22, 26 of the door protection device 20 are contemplated, e.g., at least 2, such as 3 to 6, or 4 to 5.
In an embodiment, the garage door panel 25 is manufactured with a reinforcing plate 110 for reinforcement purposes or as part of a mount for a roller or spring. The door protection device 20 can then be attached to the bottom panel 10 by removing the pre-installed fastener 23, placing a hole 22, 26 of the door protection device 20 in line with the hole the fastener 23 was removed from, and reinstalling the fastener 23 through the door protection device 20 and the reinforcing plate 110. Alternatively, the garage door manufacturer could pre-install the door protection device 20 on the reinforcing plate 20 with the fastener 23 extending through both.
As shown, the door protection device 20 has a second portion that is angled toward the interior face 10. In other embodiments, the second portion could be angled toward the exterior face 11 (e.g., by installing it with a 180-degree horizontal rotation). Also shown in
The door protection device 20 can have various dimensions. For example, the holes 22, 26 can be sized to fit typical fasteners with a radius of 0.07 to 0.28 inches, such as 0.14 to 0.21, or 0.11 to 0.17 inches. The holes 22, 26 can have an oblong shape, wherein they are larger vertically than horizontally. This allows some adjustability as well as some potential for shock absorbing if the fastener 23 is installed near the bottom of the hole 22, 26. The U-shaped opening 24 at the top can have the same radius ranges listed above in the horizontal direction, and may range in depth from 1 to 0.23 inches, such as 0.9 to 0.38, or 0.75 to 0.45 inches. The door protection device 20 can have a width of, for example, 1 inch to 24 inches, such as, for example, 2 inches to 12 inches, or 2.75 inches to 4 inches. The door protection device 20 can have a height of 1.9 to 8.6 inches, such as, for example, 2.4 to 5, or 3.8 to 4.5 inches. The first portion 28 may have a height of 1.4 to 5.8 inches, such as 2.1 to 3.8, or 2.6 to 3.2 inches, with a width that is slightly less than the height, e.g., less than the height by 0.15 inches, plus or minus 5%, 10%, or 25% of the height. The second portion 32 may have a height of 0.5 to 2 inches, such as 0.75 to 1.5, or 0.9 to 1.1 inches, with a width that is the same as the width of the first portion 28, although other embodiments might have different widths. The third portion 34 may have a height of 0.23 to 0.9 inches, such as 0.33 to 0.56, or 0.4 to 0.5 inches, with a width that is same as the width of the first portion 28, although other embodiments might have different widths.
In an embodiment, the device is 0.01 to 0.25 inches in thickness, such as 0.05 to 0.2, or 0.7 to 0.15 inches in thickness. Related to the thickness and material composition, the device can be configured to deform by reducing the first angle by 1 to 10 degrees under a weight of 100 lbs, such as, for example, 2 to 8 degrees or 3 to 7 degrees.
The panel 310 of
A fastener may join the door protection device 420 and the metal reinforcing plate to the door panel 410 through a hole 427 extending through the opening 471 in the metal reinforcing plate 440. In another embodiment, a hole can be drilled through the metal reinforcing plate 440 if the hole 427 does not line up with an opening 471 in the metal reinforcing plate 440.
Dimensions of the second, third, and fourth embodiments of the door protection device 220, 320, 420 can be selected from those set forth above for the door protection device 20 of
In an exemplary method of use, a set of vertically moving door panels are installed in a track. Prior to connecting an operating unit for the door, a door protection device 20 is installed on the bottom door panel of the set of vertically moving door panels. Optionally two or more door protection devices 20 are installed. In an embodiment, the door protection device 20 is installed with screws in preexisting holes in the door panel or in a reinforcing plate 110. This makes installation easier for the user and does not require drilling holes in the intact garage door. In another embodiment the holes are drilled in the door by the end user and screws are inserted in the holes. In an embodiment, the end user may install a reinforcing plate along with the door protection device 20. While the door protection device 20 is mentioned here specifically, other embodiments of the door protection device 220, 320, 420 can also be used with the method.
After installation of the operator, the protection devices 20 are removed, as modern garage door operation systems have optical and/or resistance detection that prevent damage to the door or underlying objects.
In an exemplary method of making, the protection device is made by a laser cutting method. A blank part is laser cut from sheet steel and then formed to the desired shape in a brake press. In another method of making the part is stamped and formed in a single operation in a stamping press. This could be a progressive operation with a blanking step and then the part would be indexed to another location in the press where it would be formed to final shape.
What has been described above includes examples of one or more embodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable modification and alteration of the above devices or methodologies for purposes of describing the aforementioned aspects, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further modifications and permutations of various aspects are possible. Accordingly, the described aspects are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the details description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. The term “consisting essentially” as used herein means the specified materials or steps and those that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristics of the material or method. If not specified above, the properties mentioned herein may be determined by applicable ASTM standards, or if an ASTM standard does not exist for the property, the most commonly used standard known by those of skill in the art may be used. The articles “a,” “an,” and “the,” should be interpreted to mean “one or more” unless the context indicates the contrary.
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisional application 63/302,736, filed Jan. 25, 2022. That prior application is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63302736 | Jan 2022 | US |
