Patent Application
20230167674
The present invention relates to a replacement weather seal for use in sealing a gap between a perimeter of a garage door and a garage door frame, and more particularly, to a weather seal for an overhead, roll-up type garage door.
Frequently it is desirable to replace a weather seal that is used to seal a gap between a garage door and a garage door frame. Conventional garage door weather seals are combination door stops and flexible seals. Most of these weather seals have a rigid base with a flexible sealing flap. The sealing flap generally protrudes from the rigid base at an angle to contact the garage door and seal the gap.
A disadvantage with the rigid base seal is that the seal must be sold in pre-cut lengths. This makes the rigid base seal costly. Another disadvantage is that the rigid base seal cannot be rolled up into a coil, which makes the seal cumbersome to package and transport.
Yet another disadvantage with the rigid base seal is that the flexible sealing flap will deteriorate from exposure to the environment. The sealing flap will lose its elasticity from environmental exposure and will no longer seal tightly to the garage door.
In response to the seal deterioration problem, a typical repair is to replace the combination door stop and flexible seal with a similar door stop and flexible seal. This repair can be costly as it requires vehicles capable of transporting the rigid base weather seal, carpentry to install the rigid base weather seal, and painting the rigid base seal to match the existing garage door frame.
Another repair for the seal deterioration problem is to use a coilable replacement seal. A coilable seal is easy to transport and to install. The coilable replacement seal is typically installed with exposed fasteners. The fasteners are driven through the visible side of the coilable replacement seal into the door frame or driven into the base of the existing combination door stops and flexible seal. A disadvantage of the coilable seal is that the exposed fasteners are unattractive. Another disadvantage of the coilable replacement seal is that the seal will expand and contract with temperature changes and cause air gaps between the fasteners.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,988 issued May 15, 1984, by Cole et al. for Garage Door Weather Seal discloses a garage door weather seal for use on a garage having a door with a planar outside surface and a door frame including a surface normal to the plane of the garage door when closed. The seal comprises a main body portion which lies in a plane extending at an angle to both the door and door frame surfaces when installed. Sealing lips integrally molded to opposite edges of the main body portion form a weather-tight seal with both the surface of the garage door and the surface of the door frame. An L-shape leg structure connected with the main body portion serves to position the weather seal with respect to the door frame. The leg structure has two legs which deflect slightly to grip two surfaces of the door frame, one the above-mentioned surface and another normal thereto. One of the legs may have apertures for fasteners to hold the seal in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,079 issued Mar. 3, 1992, by Brookman et al. for Weather Seal for a Garage Door discloses a weather seal for a garage door having a base member secured to a support surface. A block is pivotally connected to the base member for pivotal movement relative to the base member. A sealing lip is connected to the block and has a first position in the plane of the base member. The block includes a first triangular for engaging the support surface for pivotally moving the block and sealing lip at an angle to the base member when installed so that the sealing lip engages a door to effect a seal between the door and the sealing lip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,834 issued Jul. 28, 1998, by Stutzman for Door Seal discloses a door seal particularly suitable for garage doors and has a rigid base portion made of a plastic material that is fastened to a support frame surrounding a door and a flexible combination cover and flap portion made of a plastic material that is integral with and preferably coextruded with the base portion. The cover and flap portion extend over outer front end and rear end faces of the base portion. The flap extends at an angle from a front corner along the outer face of the base portion. The flap extends forwardly and outwardly at an angle beyond the front end face of the base portion so as to be engaged and be flexed by the garage door in the closed position and in sealed engagement with the door when the door is closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,560 issued Aug. 10, 2004, by Dischiant et al. for Weather Strip for Doors discloses a sealing device for a door, and in particular for a garage door, for sealing the door and frame to facilitate the exclusion of elements, such as, for example, draughts, wind, rain, snow, insects, and the like, with a first part or base provided for mounting to a supporting surface, and a second part constructed to attach to the first part, the second part carrying a sealing element.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,561 issued Aug. 10, 2004, by Berger, Jr., for Garage Door Trim Assembly with Removable Sealing Element discloses a trim assembly having a longitudinally extending housing that is mounted against a structure or wall adjacent to a movable garage door. The housing includes a longitudinal bay in a first longitudinally extending wall. A longitudinally extending sealing member is removably mounted to the bay at one longitudinally extending side thereof and the distal longitudinal side of the sealing member co-acts with the garage door to provide a sealing slidable engagement thereon. The sending member is made out of resilient material such as rubber. A longitudinal slot is provided on a second wall of the housing opposite the first wall. The first wall including cooperating through openings aligned with the slot to permit fastening members to go through.
US D713,551 issued Sep. 16, 2014, by Kelly for Scalloped Exterior of a Garage Door Seal discloses a design for a scalloped exterior of a garage door seal.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,881,464 issued Nov. 11, 2014, by Huckeba for Weatherguard Door Sealing Device with Replaceable Seal discloses a weatherguard door sealing device comprising a single piece of metal with an outer leg, receiving leg, center section, first and second planar surfaces, first and second diagonal surfaces, and two inner reinforcing legs. The first planar surface connects the outer leg to the first diagonal surface, the first diagonal surface connects the center section to the first planar surface, the second planar surface connects the receiver leg to the second diagonal surface, and the second diagonal surface connects the center section to the second planar surface. The receiver leg comprises a receiver channel for receiving a sealing element. The two inner reinforcing legs are parallel to each other and extend perpendicularly from the center section. The thickness of the center section is greater than the thickness of the first and second planar surfaces and the first and second diagonal surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,045,937 issued Jun. 2, 2015, by Peck et al. for Garage Door Stop and Seal System discloses a garage door stop and seal system that allows for expansion and contraction, enables replacement of the seal, and provides hidden, or concealed, fasteners. The system includes a door stop that removeably snaps into a receiver, wherein the door stop conceals the fasteners used to connect the receiver to a door jamb. In addition, the door stop includes a receiving space for a replaceable seal.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,845,638 issued Dec. 19, 2017, by Cunningham for Garage Door Stop Mould discloses a garage door stop mold that comprises a base and a seal strip. The base mounts to a door jamb near a garage door opening. The seal strip attaches to the base. Tabs on the bottom surface of the seal strip insert into grooves extending from the base to attach the seal strip to the base. The seal strip has a door seal edge and a jamb seal edge. The door seal edge seals against a garage door when the door is closed and the jamb seal edge seals against the jamb.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,563,453 issued Feb. 18, 2020, by Steinke for Weatherstripping Assemblies for Garage Doors and Other Applications, Associated Apparatuses, and Associated Methods of Use discloses an apparatus which includes an elongate weatherstrip, which forms in cross-section a blade; a retainer connector adjacent a first face and partway between opposed ends of the blade; and one or more sealing members along a second face of the blade. A method includes installing a weatherstripping assembly on a door, window, door frame, or window frame, of a building or vehicle.
The object of the present invention is to provide a cost-effective replacement weather seal for an existing weather seal combination door stop and flexible seal. The replacement weather seal is easily transported because it is coilable. Additionally, the replacement weather seal is attached by hidden fasteners, protecting the fasteners from the weather, and making the final installation more aesthetically appealing.
The present invention is a garage door replacement weather seal comprising a planar main body having a bottom structure and a curb structure at a distal end of the bottom structure; a first leg; and a second leg; wherein the first leg and the second leg share a connection point on the main body at a proximal end of the bottom structure and extend away from the connection point on a same plane. The first leg is longer than the second leg and the first leg extends from the connection point from about 125° to about 145°, preferably at 135°, from the main body. The second leg is shorter than the first leg and the second leg extends from the connection point from about 35° to about 55°, preferably at 45°, from the main body. The curb structure is at a 90° angle to the bottom structure and aligns with a rear end wall of a weather seal base of an existing weather seal; wherein the main body is attached to an inner wall of the weather seal base of the existing weather seal with at least a hidden fastener.
In use, the first leg of the replacement weather seal is engageable with an exterior surface of a garage door, and the second leg of the replacement weather seal is engageable with a surface of a weather seal base of an existing weather seal. The main body, the first leg, and the second leg of the replacement weather seal are unitary and integrally molded from a flexible synthetic plastic polymer. The flexible synthetic plastic polymer enables the replacement weather seal to be coilable, paintable, and dyeable.
The replacement weather seal of the present invention replaces an existing weather seal by a method of removing a weather seal flexible flap from a weather seal base of the existing weather seal, wherein the existing seal is attached to a frame surface of a garage door frame of a garage door; aligning the curb structure of the replacement weather seal with a rear end wall of the weather seal base of the existing weather seal; and attaching the main body of the replacement weather seal to an inner wall of the weather seal base of the existing weather seal with at least a hidden fastener.
10 front elevation of a garage
11 garage door
12 garage door frame
13 garage door panels
14 garage door track
15 garage door exterior surface
16 garage frame surface
17 garage door interior wall surface
18 weather seal
19 weather seal base
20 weather seal flexible flap
21 front end wall of the weather seal base
22 rear end wall of the weather seal base
23 outer wall of the weather seal base
24 inner wall of the weather seal base
25 air gap
26 garage interior air space
27 garage exterior air space
28 replacement weather seal
29 replacement weather seal main body
30 replacement weather seal first leg
31 replacement weather seal second leg
32 replacement weather seal curb structure
33 replacement weather seal bottom structure
34 135° angle
35 45° angle
The present invention is a garage door replacement weather seal for use with existing garage doors having an existing two-part door seal. The existing two-part door seal has a rigid base portion, typically made of a plastic material, that is fastened to a support frame surrounding a garage door and a flexible combination cover and flap portion, typically made of a plastic material, that is integral with the base portion. The replacement weather seal replaces the flexible flap portion of the existing two-part door seal, and leaves the existing base portion fastened to the support frame. The replacement weather seal comprises a main body portion that attaches to the rigid base portion of the existing door weather seal. Flexible sealing flaps of the replacement weather seal are integrally molded to opposite edges of the main body portion and form a weather-tight seal with both the surface of the garage door and the surface of the existing base portion. An L-shaped curb structure connected with the main body portion serves to position the replacement weather seal with respect to the existing rigid base portion. The sealing flap structure of the replacement weather seal has two flaps which deflect slightly to grip surfaces of the garage door and the rigid base portion of the existing door seal.
The present invention provides a cost-effective, replacement weather seal for existing combination garage door stops and flexible seals. The replacement weather seal of the present invention can be easily transported because it is coilable. Additionally, the replacement weather seal of the present invention is attached by hidden fasteners, protecting the fasteners from the weather, and making the final installation aesthetically appealing.
The present invention provides a new and improved replacement weather seal for an existing garage door weather seal that utilizes an existing combination door stop and flexible flap. To use the replacement weather seal of the present invention, the existing flexible flap is removed from the existing combination garage door stop and weather seal, and the removed existing flexible flap portion is replaced with the replacement weather seal of the present invention, which is a coilable, flexible flap. The replacement weather seal of the present invention is attached with at least a hidden mechanical fastener, preferably a plurality of fasteners, to the existing door stop portion of the existing combination door stop and flexible flap. Furthermore, the mechanical fasteners are hidden from view when the garage door is in a closed position. Because the fasteners are hidden from view, the replacement weather seal of the present invention is aesthetically appealing.
The replacement weather seal of the present invention includes a planar main body portion which extends obliquely to a plane of a garage door, and which garage door plane is defined by an existing door stop portion of an existing combination door stop and flexible seal, or flap.
A pair of flexible flaps, or legs, form extensions of each edge of the main body portion, wherein a first leg, longer flexible sealing flap, seals the door stop portion of the existing combination door stop and flexible seal after the old flexible flap is removed; and a second leg, shorter flexible sealing flap, being longer than the first leg, engages an exterior surface of the garage door.
A generally L-shaped curb structure is integrally molded with the main body portion and serves to position the replacement weather seal of the present invention on the door stop portion of the existing combination door stop and flexible seal. The curb structure extends the full length of the main body portion ensuring proper placement of at least a mechanical fastener or multiple fasteners into the existing door stop portion of the existing combination door stop and flexible seal after the existing seal or flap portion has been removed.
As initially formed, both the first, longer leg and the second, shorter leg are on the same plane with the second, shorter leg, wherein the second leg extends at a preferred angle of 135° from the main body, extends rearwardly toward the garage door. Similarly, the first, longer leg extends at a preferred angle of 45° from the main body, and extends towards the doorstop portion of the existing doorstop and flexible weather seal after the flap has been removed.
However, upon installation, when the first leg and the second leg are pressed against the garage door and the base portion of the existing combination door stop and flexible weather seal, the angle between the first leg and the main body increases to greater than 135°, and the angle between the second leg and the main body increases to greater than 45°. The angles increase because the first leg and second leg structures are made of a flexible material, thus the first leg and the second leg both undergo elastic deformation, and seal tightly to the garage door and the existing base portion of the combination door stop and flexible seal.
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After the replacement weather seal 28 is installed, it can be painted, if desired, for example, to match the garage door 11. Alternatively, the seal 28 can be painted before installation. Further alternatively, the seal 28 can be dyed during manufacturing and provided in a selection of pre-determined colors.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred methods and materials, and to specific embodiments, it is understood that modifications and variations of the present invention are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention, and that any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, which present invention is defined by the claims.
