1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to overhead door opening system. More particularly, the present invention relates to center brackets for attachment of the upper end portion of a metal overhead door to an opening system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The design of hinged-panel overhead doors is well known. Power operated door opening systems are popular and share a number of common features. Among these features is a main arm which attaches to a truck mounted on a track operated by a motor. The lower end of the arm is attached to the central upper portion of the door by means of a bracket mounted on the inside face of the door. Existing brackets have a relatively small mounting flange for mounting on wooden doors by means of screws. Existing brackets attached to sheet metal doors by screws are subject to separation from the door panels due to the thin, unsupported nature of the sheet metal. It would be desirable to provide a bracket which may be firmly attached to a sheet metal door with self-threading screws, avoiding the use of special attaching hardware such as throughbolts which require extra time to install and are unsightly. It would also be desirable to provide such a bracket which may be made in differing sizes for applications ranging from garage doors to industrial size overhead doors.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a garage door bracket solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The overhead door bracket of the present invention is a bracket for attachment of a main arm of an overhead door opener to a metal overhead door for the purpose of opening and closing the door. The inventive bracket has a relatively wide mounting plate which spans the distance between the portions of the sheet metal doors having existing reinforcing backing strips for mounting of the hinges connecting the metal panels of the door. The inventive bracket has conventional connecting tabs spaced and extending outward to receive the lower end of the main arm of an opening system. The tabs have pin receiver bores for pivotally securing the main arm to the bracket by means of a pin. The bracket mounting plate has three spaced rows of mounting holes for mounting the bracket to the upper panel of a hinged door panel, the mounting holes being proximate the respective ends of the bracket.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The present invention is a bracket for attachment of an overhead door opener to a metal overhead door for the purpose of opening and closing the door. Existing brackets have a relatively small mounting flange for mounting on wooden doors by means of screws. Existing brackets attached to sheet metal doors by screws are subject to separation from the door panels due to the thin, unsupported nature of the sheet metal. The inventive bracket has a relatively wide mounting plate which spans the distance between the portions of the sheet metal doors having existing reinforcing backing strips for mounting of the hinges connecting the metal panels of the door.
Referring to
Bracket 10 has a pair of connecting tabs 12, extending outward from a generally planar mounting plate 14 shown as rectangular in shape. Mounting plate 14 has a stiffener 16 formed along its upper edge and has a plurality of mounting holes 22 (see
Hinged panel HP is made of sheet metal such as sheet steel or aluminum of from about 27 gauge to about 20 gauge in thickness. The hinged panel HP has backing strips S, typically about 3½ inches in width, attached to the inside of the sidewall of the panel HP facing the interior of the garage and extending vertically from the upper edge. to the lower edge of the panel HP at locations where interconnecting hinges are mounted by screws or the like. The backing strips S are typically made of from about 14 gauge to 12 gauge steel sheet and are mounted to the sheet metal of panel HP by adhesive or mechanical means.
Referring to
Connecting tabs 12 are generally rectangular in form having outer vertical edges 38 and horizontal upper and lower edges 40 and 42, respectively. Overhead door bracket 10 is preferably unitary in construction, connecting tabs 12 are preferably cut from the sheet material of mounting plate 14 and bent outward along rear bends 44 forming connecting tab voids 28 therein. Alternatively, connecting tabs 12 may be separately attached to mounting plate 14 by welding or mechanical means (not shown). Mounting plate 14 has a lower edge 30 extending between ends 32. Mounting plate 14 may be provided in varied lengths to bridge the gap between backing strips S for different doors. For greater widths, an additional stiffener 36 may be fashioned along lower edge 30 (see
Mounting holes 22 are provided proximate the ends 32 of bracket 10 and preferably form at least three vertical rows, allowing the fitting of a single width of bracket 10 to be mounted on doors having differing spacing between backing strips S within a range (see
Referring to
The bracket of the present invention may be made in widths from 10″ to 120″ and in vertical heights of from 2″ to 24″, depending on the application. As an example, a bracket may have and overall width of 26.0″ and a height of 4.0″ with three rows of mounting slots having centers spaced about 0.5″, 1.25″, and 2.0″, respectively from each end. The stiffener extends about 1.0″ outward from the mounting plate face. The connecting tabs are about 2.75″ in height, extend outward about 2.75″ from the mounting plate face, and are separated by about 0.75″. The thickness of the sheet stock of the bracket is from about 18 gauge to about 10 gauge. The pin receiver bores in the connecting tabs are about 0.375″ in diameter. Corners are radiused for appearance and to avoid snags. The stiffeners are preferably bent from the mounting plate face outward, the upper stiffener at an angle of about 90°, and the lower stiffener at an angle of about 30° to about 90°.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.