The present invention relates generally to sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto to maintain a pinch resistant section-to-section or panel-to-panel interface. More specifically, the present invention relates to sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto where a plurality of decorative components are attached to the panels to form various patterns. More particularly, the present invention relates to sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto where the decorative components are provided with pinch resistant properties and are attached in such a manner to preserve the pinch resistant characteristics of the panels.
Sectional doors have long been employed in both residential structures, and commercial and industrial buildings. Sectional doors save space by retracting above, rather than into, the space they enclose. Decorative components have long been attached to the panels of sectional doors to enhance their aesthetic appearance. These decorative components approximate the appearance of wood trim or molding on the surface of the panels. Such molding or wood trim was originally arranged in various patterned designs on the panels.
The decorative components that have been attached to panels of sectional doors have been made of a variety of materials. Such decorative components have been glued, screwed, nailed, clamped, or otherwise rigidly fastened to the panels. However, in recent years, panels of sectional doors have also been designed to prevent objects or a user's fingers from being caught or “pinched” between the section-to-section interfaces of the panels. These pinch resistant designs have been successful in eliminating the pinching dangers associated with the moving section-to-section interfaces during the articulation of sectional doors when opening and closing. Some pinch resistant designs employ panels with contoured edge profiles along the section-to-section interface. These edge profiles minimize the space between the panels at the section-to-section interface throughout the range of motion of the sectional door, and thus effectively obviate their tendency for pinching.
Some other pinch resistant designs employ an L-shaped shield composed of a resilient sheet material that guards the gap between the upper and lower panels of a sectional door. For example, the foot portion of the L-shaped shield is attached to the upper edge of a lower sectional door panel, and the leg portion extends upwardly across the gap between the upper and lower panels. The L-shaped shield prevents objects and a user's fingers from being caught between the upper and lower panels at the section-to-section interface. Nevertheless, some objects can still be caught between the L-shaped shield and the upper panel.
Still other pinch resistant designs employ a flexible cover panel. The flexible cover panel is attached at either of its ends to the surfaces of the upper and lower panels of a sectional door by various connectors. These connectors are adapted to hold the flexible cover panel taut when the sectional door is in either the open or closed position. The flexible cover panel prevents obstacles from being caught between the panels at the section-to-section interface by effectively covering all of the section-to-section interfaces. Ideally, the flexible cover panel must be made of a rather flexible material so it can stretch as the sectional door articulates. However, if the flexible cover panel does not possess the required flexibility, then it will bind the movement of the sectional door, and if the flexible cover panel is too flexible, then it will ultimately sag. Furthermore, in the event of a storm, the flexible cover panel must be removed to prevent it from becoming damaged.
However complex these designs have become, they do not address the dangers posed by the addition of decorative components to the panels. Like the panels, the decorative components abutting one another along the section-to-section interface of the panels also pose a pinching danger. As a result, rather than using decorative components, the aforementioned patterned designs have been shaped directly into the panels themselves. The addition of the patterned designs to the panels themselves allows the pinch resistance embodied in the panels to be maintained. Furthermore, some of these sectional door designs provide for limited alteration of the patterned designs by allowing the aforementioned shaped panels to be rearranged. However, the use of shaped panels does not permit a manufacturer, or, for that matter, a consumer to substantially alter the appearance of the sectional door from time to time by adding, subtracting, or rearranging decorative components. As a result, decorative components attached to the sectional door panels are still superior at providing such design flexibility. Therefore, there is a need for decorative components that can be arranged in various patterns on the panels without presenting an additional pinch hazard, thereby effectively maintaining the pinch resistant features embodied in the panels themselves.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto that can be arranged in various patterns on the panels. Another object of the present invention is to provide sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto where the decorative components do not present an additional pinch hazard. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto that allows the decorative components to maintain a pinch resistant section-to-section interface.
A further object of the present invention is to provide sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto that does not employ adhesives to fasten the decorative components yet achieves rigid attachment to the panels. A still further object of the present invention is to provide sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto that allows the decorative components to move relative to the panels and to each other. A further still object of the present invention is to provide sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto that does not require excessive gaps to be maintained between the decorative components.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto that returns the decorative components to their original shape and/or position on the panels after displacement by an obstacle caught between the components has been removed.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto that allows for easy replacement of the decorative components to enable a consumer to replace damaged decorative components and/or change the appearance of the sectional door from time to time. Still another object of the present invention is to provide sectional door panels and a method of attaching decorative components thereto that allows the decorative components to be installed on the panels during manufacturing or in the field by consumers, and therefore before, during, or after installation of the panels.
In general, the present invention contemplates a sectional door having a plurality of panels joined for moving between open and closed positions of the door and having pinch resistant panel-to-panel interfaces, the panels having a body portion spacing the interfaces, an inner surface and an outer surface of the body portion, and decorative components arranged in a patterned design upon the outer surface of the body portion, the decorative components being positioned on the panels proximate to the panel-to-panel interfaces and attached to the panels for movement of the decorative components to provide a pinch resistant interface between decorative components on adjacent of the panels.
A sectional door depicting practice of the present invention is generally indicated by the numeral 20 in
As seen in
As seen in
The horizontal decorative components 31 and vertical decorative components 32 are provided with pinch resistant properties and/or are attached in such a manner so as to preserve the pinch resistant feature embodied in the panels 21 discussed above. As seen in
The horizontal components 31 and vertical components 32 can be constructed from extruded polymers or metals, or from various roll-formed materials. Both the horizontal components 31 and vertical components 32 are configured to be attached to the panels 21 in such a manner to preserve the pinch resistant features embodied in the panels 21 discussed above. For example, the horizontal components 31 and vertical components 32 are provided with T-shaped channels 51 and channels 52, respectively, allowing these components to be slidably attached to panels 21 by fasteners. The channels 51 and 52 extend along the longitudinal length of the horizontal components 31 and vertical components 32, respectively, to receive fasteners.
As seen in
With reference to
As discussed above, the T-shaped channel 51 is formed by opposed L-shaped legs 61 and 62, and the T-shaped channel 52 is formed by opposed L-shaped legs 71 and 72. Furthermore, the horizontal components 31 and vertical components 32 are slidably attached to the panels 21 by fasteners that can be introduced into the T-shaped channels 51 and 52. The T-shaped channels 51 and 52 are composed of segments 81, 83 and perpendicular segments 82, 84, respectively.
As seen in
As seen in
The shafts 93 of bolts 91 must be long enough to traverse the length of the segments 82, 84, and the thickness of the panel 21, as well as provide enough clearance on the inner surface 23 to accommodate nuts 95. Furthermore, once the bolts 91 are located in the T-shaped channels 51 and 52, nuts 95 are screwed onto the bolts 91 to secure the interface between the panels 21 and the horizontal and vertical components 31 and 32.
In addition, the horizontal components 31 and vertical components 32 can be attached to the panels 21 by a variety of different fasteners provided the fasteners have heads for communicating with the segments 81, 83 and shafts for communicating with the segments 82, 84. For example, as seen in
Once properly positioned on the panels 21, the horizontal and vertical components 31 and 32 effectively preserve the pinch resistance embodied in the panels 21. For example, if objects or a user's finger are caught between the horizontal components 31 abutting one another along the interface between panels 21A and 21B as the sectional door 20 opens or closes, then, because the horizontal components are formed of flexible materials, the horizontal components 31 can effectively deform around the objects or the user's fingers. Furthermore, because the vertical components 32 are slidably attached to the panels 21 by fasteners positioned in channels 52, the vertical components 32 can slide along the fasteners away from the horizontal components 31 during deformation. As a result, the pressure against the objects or the user's fingers can be effectively relieved. Furthermore, because the vertical panels 32 are slidably attached to the panels 21, they can be repositioned. As such, the horizontal components 31 and vertical components 32 are provided with pinch resistant properties and are attached in a manner to preserve the pinch resistance embodied in the panels 21 discussed above.
To further enhance the pinch resistant properties of the horizontal components 31, the legs 66 can be replaced with a deformable or flexible end portion to form horizontal component 111. As seen in
As seen in
Each of the removable and deformable end portions 122, 123, and 124 have key-like flexible inserts 144 which may be made of foam. The inserts 144 are inserted into the channel 141 to removably attach the end portions 122, 123, and 124 to the horizontal components 121. Once properly attached to the horizontal components 121, the end portions 122, 123, and 124 provide an acceptable appearance and resist damaging an article caught between the horizontal components 121 at the interface of panel 21A and 21B. The shapes of the end portions 122, 123, and 124 may take other forms.
In another embodiment of the invention, as seen in
Like the horizontal and vertical components 31 and 32, the horizontal components 201 and vertical components 231, as seen in
With reference to
Disposed in the center of the base portions 224 are insertion members 225. The insertion members 225 are inserted in dimples 226 on the outer surfaces 22 of panels 21. The insertion members 225 are adapted to become affixed within the dimples 226. For example, as seen in
As seen in
As seen in
The arms 222 and 223 of the spring clips 221 can be introduced into the channels 202, 203 of the horizontal components 201 and the channels 232, 233 of vertical components 231 to engage L-shaped legs 207, 208 and 239, 240. Such engagement maintains the engagement between the horizontal and vertical components 201 and 231, and the panels 21. In fact, the spring clips 221 effectively clamp the horizontal and vertical components 201 and 231 to the panels because the arms 222 and 223 are biased toward remaining in a substantially planar position and because the width of the channels 202, 203 and 232, 233 is less than the radii of the arms 222 and 223. As a result, clamping action is generated by the axial deformation of the arms 222 and 223 away from their ordinarily planar position.
As seen in
As seen in
Once properly positioned on the panels 21, the horizontal and vertical components 201 and 231 in combination with the spring clips 221 effectively preserve the pinch resistance embodied in the panels 21. For example, if objects or a user's finger are caught between the horizontal components 201 abutting one another along the interface between panel 21A and 21B as the sectional door 20 opens and closes, then pressure on the horizontal component will cause axial deformation of the arms 222 and 223 of the spring clips 221. In fact, the arm closest to the interface between the panels 21A and 21B will be compressed and the arm farthest from the interface will be elongated. Such compression and elongation will allow the horizontal components 201 to move relative to the panels 21, and away from the interface of the panels 21A and 21B thus relieving any pressure on the objects or user's fingers. Furthermore, the overlap of the extension portion 209 over the vertical component 231 facilitates such movement by providing the extension channel 210 which provides clearance to allow the horizontal component 201 to move relative to the vertical component 231. In fact, even if the clearance provided is exhausted, and the horizontal and vertical components 201 and 231 directly abut one another, the vertical component 231 can slide along the spring clips 221 to relieve any remaining pressure on the aforementioned objects or user's fingers. Such additional movement is limited by the compression and elongation of the arms 222 and 223 of the spring clips 221 supporting the horizontal components 201.
After the pressure has been relieved, and the objects or the user's fingers have been removed from between the horizontal components 201 at the interface of the panels 21A and 21B, the spring clips 221 allow for repositioning of the horizontal and vertical components 201 and 231. For example, the spring-like action of the arms 222 and 223 will cause the horizontal components 201 to return to their proper position, and, if necessary, also adjust the vertical components 231 accordingly. As a result, the horizontal and vertical components 201 and 231 in combination with the spring clips 221 effectively maintain the pinch resistance and appearance embodied in the panels 21.
Thus, it should be evident that the section door panel and method of attaching decorative components to maintain a pinch resistant panel to panel interface disclosed herein carries out one or more of the objects of the present invention set forth above and otherwise constitutes an advantageous contribution to the art. As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, modifications can be made to the preferred embodiment's disclosed herein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of the invention herein being limited solely by the scope of the attached claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050150613 A1 | Jul 2005 | US |