Patent Application
20080202698
This invention relates to overhead door enclosures and, more particularly, a dual overhead door system that has dual horizontal tracks and a single vertical track, employing a swivel gate that allows two doors, such as a conventional garage door and a screen door, to be utilized.
Many people find it desirable to open garage doors and work in a garage for cooling purposes and to increase ambient light. Unfortunately, when a garage door is raised the persons inside are exposed to insects, leaves and other ambient conditions. As a result, various garage screen door systems have been created.
Some systems have a horizontal tube attached on top of the door opening from which a screen can be lowered when desired. However, one drawback of such a horizontal tube system is that it decreases the overall height of the garage door opening, thereby making it difficult or impossible to drive larger vehicles, such as sport utility vehicles, into the garage. A second drawback is that such systems cannot be used with an arched door, as such requires a horizontal top. Furthermore, such systems are obtrusively visible from the outside of a home.
Other screen door systems install screens vertically on the sides of the opening of the garage door from which the screen door must be pulled across sideways. However, such systems also reduce the width of the garage door opening.
As a result, still others have invented dual overhead track systems for doors which hold one solid door and one screen door that can be brought down into one pair of vertical tracks as desired. Unfortunately, such dual track systems require a large overhead space between the ceiling and garage door opening due to employing cumbersome mechanisms necessary to block one door from coming down when another door is in place. Accordingly, such systems require a large space between the top of the garage door opening and the garage ceiling for installation and can only fit a minority of garages in the United States.
Thus, a need exists for a dual overhead garage door system that can fit any garage door opening
The relevant prior art of which the inventors are aware includes the following patents:
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an overhead door system that provides for the use of a screen panel door in addition to the conventional solid door.
Another object of the present is to provide such a system that can fit most all garage door openings regardless of the ceiling height or shape of the door opening.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a system with a locking gate to prevent a second door from entering the vertical track when it is already occupied by another door.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide an overhead door system kit that can be retro-fitted into existing conventional systems.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide such an overhead door system that can provide for selective motorization between the two doors.
The present invention fulfills the above and other objects by providing a dual overhead door system employing a horizontal track section having a pair of dual spaced-apart parallel tracks suspended from a ceiling of a structure with a curved segment proximate the door opening connected together at a juncture to form a single vertical track section at a lower end extending to the floor on both sides of the door opening. Each door has sets of rollers on each side for movably returning the door within the horizontal tracks.
A gate mounted in the curved segment of the horizontal track section swivels from an upper end into the curved segment of the other track when one of said doors is moved into the vertical track section.
Either one or both of the doors may be operated manually, independently motorized, or operated by one motor and be selectively moved into position as desired. The gate is made of two curvilinear pieces connected together and can be used on either pair of horizontal tracks.
A kit for the system may be provided to convert conventional single overhead door systems to a dual overhead door system. The kit would contain the dual horizontal track section, the gate and at least one foldable door, most likely a screen door for use in conjunction with a conventional solid garage door already in use.
A method of converting a single overhead door system using the dual track kit would be to cut the vertical track section of a top, by removing the pair of single horizontal tracks in a conventional system and then attach dual horizontal track section to the top of the vertical section at the curved end. Then, the first and second doors can be installed in each of the two horizontal tracks.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention.
In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:
For purposes of describing the preferred embodiment, the terminology used in reference to the numbered components in the drawings is as follows:
1. screened garage door
2. conventional door
3. lower horizontal track
4. upper horizontal track
5. vertical track section
6. horizontal track curved segment
7. door blocking gate
8. track ceiling strut
9. track connector plate
10. gate pivot
11. rollers
12. lower door motor
13. conventional door motor
14. outer gate piece
15. inner gate piece
16. gate piece rivets
17. ceiling
18. floor
Referring to the drawings,
In
The special design of the swivel gate 7 is shown in more detail in
Thus, the dual overhead door system of the present invention will allow the homeowner to install the system originally in their home, in the garage or as a kit to retro-fit current single overhead door system. Such a kit would contain the horizontal track section 3 and 4 and a second door, preferably a screen door 1 with the already-existing conventional door.
Using the kit, an installer would merely cut the vertical rail 5 at a top section and insert the horizontal track section 3 and 4 in its place. Then the screen door 1 could be installed in the vertical horizontal track section 3 where the conventional door 2 is in the upper track 4. Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail hereinabove, all improvements and modifications to this invention within the scope or equivalents of the claims are included as part of the invention.
