In general, the present invention relates to an upwardly acting sectional door. More particularly, the present invention relates to a door system having a hinge that permits self-adjusting movement of adjacent sections of the door. More specifically, the present invention relates to a door system having a hinge providing lateral movement of adjacent sections during articulation and vertical spacing in the closed planar position.
Most hinges used on sectional garage doors are three-piece hinge assemblies that consist of two leaves and a pivot pin. These components of the hinge assembly can be made of metallic or non-metallic materials. The pivot hinge can be a tubular or solid shaft that is threaded through the two leaves and staked, flared, or bradded into place. The leaves are designed to interlace each other such that there is little or no movement along the axis of the pivot pin. Alignment on these hinges is critical in that they must be aligned both horizontally and vertically to ensure proper movement of the hinge through its operating range without binding.
To provide for rotation between components, a variety of hinge constructions have been employed in the prior art. One construction utilizes a “living hinge” which includes a portion of plastic material connecting the various components. Living hinges tend to experience fatigue failure when used repeatedly or when used over a wide pivot range.
Another hinge construction includes pins and sockets formed directly within the parts to be joined. In one form a blow-molded container having has an integrally formed pin and socket forming a journal. The socket is formed from a flexible wall portion that extends beyond the main body of a lid. The socket, which is generally centered between the pins, flexes over the pins when the lid and base are brought together. While this construction enables the fabrication of an assembly having an integrally blow-molded hinge, the assembly has several disadvantages. The socket is made to have a spacing that lies at the midpoint of the pins when the base and lid are assembled. This allows the lid to slide transversely along the pins. Since the hinge is not self centering, this transverse movement may result in a misalignment that impairs the ability to open or close the members. The movement may also permit unwanted “play” between the members.
In another design having integrally formed blow molded hinge components, the components are made without additional fasteners, pins or sockets. The parts are made from a rigid plastic material that need not flex to be assembled. This enables the repeatability needed for high speed manufacturing operations and also reduces the possibility of inadvertently damaging the hinge by over flexing one of the components.
Turning to the upwardly acting door art, hinges are widely used in “sectional door” designs. These door designs incorporate a number of pivotally joined sections that may be successively raised or lowered within a door opening.
Sectional doors, such as multi-panel garage doors, have presented a pinching hazard at the juncture between adjacent panels as the door closes and the panels shift to an aligned vertical position. Prior art attempts to solve this problem have met with only limited success, sometimes presenting mechanical complexity or uneconomical designs. For example, one attempt at addressing the aforementioned problem includes a plurality of adjacent door panels, a hinge pin received in respective registered hinge pin holes defined in a bracket and brace. The adjacent panels present mated, arcuate edge walls. The bracket and brace are configured to position the hinge pin adjacent the one panel and spaced from the juncture so that the gap between the edge walls closes gradually and so that the edge walls slide by one another during movement from the pivoted position to the aligned position.
Another pinch-proof garage door design for protecting human fingers from being pinched includes a plurality of horizontally aligned garage door panels having a top male portion and a bottom female portion. Top male and bottom female portions of adjacent garage door panels cooperate with each other in such a manner so as to minimize a gap therebetween, thereby protecting human fingers from being pinched by both the inside and the outside of the garage door. Each garage door panel is securely fastened to a structural member, which supports the weight of the panel. Adjacent structural members are vertically aligned with one another and are coupled together by a hinge pin and hinge leaf. Each structural member cooperates with an adjacent hinge leaf so as to prevent human fingers from being pinched by the inside of the garage door.
Still another design features a hinge assembly that affords very simple and efficient installation of the hinge during the assembly and installation of the door while still minimizing and, in fact, reducing the number of component parts relative to other known hinge designs. This design includes a generally U-shaped beam or stile that extends between the upper and lower edges of the back face of each panel. Proximate an upper end of the stile, is a keyhole slot extending through or into the stile. A first lower portion of the hinge also includes a similarly configured keyhole slot. A pivot pin, which includes a protruding key, is inserted through the keyhole slots in the hinge and the stile when the keyhole slots are aligned. Alignment of the keyhole slots requires positioning an upper portion of the hinge away from the stile on the adjacent panel to which the hinge will eventually be connected. After the pivot pin is inserted through the keyhole slots, the hinge is pivoted so that the upper portion is then bolted or otherwise connected to the stile on the adjacent panel thereby completing the assembly of the hinge to the adjacent panels. Because the keyhole slots are out of phase when the hinge is finally connected to the panels, the pin cannot be removed. As a result, the assembly method of the hinge according to this invention does not require a separate fastener for the pivot pin thereby simplifying the installation procedure and minimizing inventory and tracking requirements for the component parts of this invention. Advantageously, the pivot pin and the resulting pivot axis of the hinge is positioned on the stile inwardly from the back face of the panels and between the front and back faces thereof to enhance the pinch-resistant aspect of this design while minimizing material requirements. Specifically, the pivot axis is approximately coincident with the center of curvature of the lower edge of the adjacent panel. The cross-sectional configuration of the concave lower edge of the adjacent panel is non-circular with several polygonal sections or linear segments. The focus of perpendiculars to the polygonal sections at the respective midpoints of the faces of the polygon is at a spot at or near the pivot axis. Preferably, the center of curvature of the polygonal areas defining the concaved lower edge is generally concentric with the pivot axis of the hinge and substantially spaced from the back face of the panel toward the front face of the panels. This hinge design aids in the making the door pinch resistant.
As can be seen from the above described designs, the prior art discloses many different hinge designs that attach adjacent sections or panels together and provide a pivot point for the sections. Most of these prior art hinges are modular assemblies that have little or no movement along the axis of the pivot so care must be taken during installation of the hinge to precisely align the hinges between the adjacent sections so that all of the pivots are on the same axis or binding will occur.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an upwardly acting sectional door having hinges that permit relative axial movement of adjacent sections. Another object of the present invention is to provide such a sectional door having hinges which permit a controlled extent of relative transverse movement of the adjacent sections through its range of articulation to prevent binding while accurately aligning adjacent sections in the planar closed position, a further object of the invention is to provide such a sectional door having a section spacing assembly to assure proper vertical separation of adjacent panels in the closed, planar position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sectional door having a primary centering assembly including a tab mounted on the hinges for selectively engaging a tab receiver mounted on the stiles for limiting axial movement of and aligning adjacent sections. Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide such a sectional door having an auxiliary or alternative centering device for progressively restricting lateral relative movement between adjacent sections as the door approaches the closed vertical position. Another object of the invention is to provide such a sectional door wherein the auxiliary or alternative center device has one or more gussets on the hinge leafs which engage gusset receivers on the stiles.
A further object of the invention is to provide a sectional door hinge configuration having a single hinge leaf with the pivot pins formed integrally therein to thereby minimize the number of parts required. A still further object of the invention is to provide such a hinge configuration wherein the stile sets alignment of the hinge and may be employed to prevent excessive relative movement between adjacent sections by constraining the hinge leaf within the interrelated stile. Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a hinge configuration in which the stile is configured to permit insertion of a hinge pin formed in the single hinge leaf and has integrally formed bearing members supporting pivot portions of the pivot pins.
In view of at least one of the foregoing objects, the present invention generally provides a door system comprising, a plurality of sections pivotally joined to each other by a hinge assembly, said hinge assembly being pivotally supported on one of said sections and having a leg that extends from said one of said sections to an adjacent section to attach thereto, a centering assembly including a tab member extending forwardly from said leg toward a stop receiver carried on said one of said sections, whereby interaction of said tab member and said tab receiver ensure alignment of said sections.
The present invention further provides a door system comprising: a plurality of sections pivotally joined by a hinge assembly; said hinge assembly being rotatably supported on one of said sections and attached to the other of said sections; said hinge being rotatable on an axis; alignment means carried on said hinge assembly urging said sections along said axis into alignment with each other during a selected portion of an operating range of said door, whereby said sections are movable relative to each other along said axis during the unselected portions of said operating range.
A door system according to the concepts of the present invention is generally indicated by numeral 10 in
The door D includes a plurality of pivotally joined sections, generally indicated by the numeral 20, that may include a panel 21 with one or more vertically extending stiles 22 and horizontally extending rails 23. As depicted in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the rails 23 may be integrally formed with the panel 21 and take the form of upper and lower flanges 24, 25 that extend rearwardly from the panel 21. Flanges 24, 25 are contoured to interact with each other as adjacent sections 20A, 20B pivot relative to each other during operation of the door D. Flanges 24, 25 may, for example, be contoured to make the door “pinch resistant.” In particular, the contours of flanges 24, 25 are such that, as the sections 20A, 20B pivot relative to each other, the contours of flanges 24, 25 prevent the opening of any gaps that could pinch or entrap objects such as fingers. While only one example of a pinch resistant contour is shown, it will be understood that other pinch resistant designs could be used in accordance with the concepts of the present invention. It will further be understood that sections 20 that do not have a pinch resistant design may be employed.
In the example shown in
The lower flange 25 of section 20 may have an arcuate first section 41 that extends upwardly and rearwardly from panel 21 to create a clearance for relative rotation of the upper flange 24. As best shown in
As in the case of the upper flange 24, lower flange 25 may be provided with a lower hem, generally indicated by the numeral 47, that includes an upturned first curl portion 48, which may be generally vertical, and an inwardly extending second curl portion or edge 49. Edge 49 may be turned upon itself and extend generally horizontally toward the panel 21.
Adjacent sections 20A, 20B are pivotally joined by a hinge assembly, generally indicated by numeral 50, that may be attached to a stile 22. Hinge assembly includes a generally L-shaped hinge 51 having a first leg 52 that is pivotally coupled to the stile 22. To that end, the first leg 52 includes a curled end 54 or other member that rotates within pin receivers, generally indicated by the numeral 57, formed in the stile 22 to pivotally mount hinge 51. A second leg 56 of hinge 51 extends upwardly from the first leg 52 and may be formed generally perpendicular angle relative thereto. The second leg 56 spans the adjacent sections 20A, 20B, extending upwardly from first leg 52 over a portion of superjacent section 20A, where it is secured to stile 22 of superjacent section 20A, as by fasteners 58. In this way, superjacent section 20A is pivotally joined to subjacent section 20B by the hinge assembly 50 and rotates about the pivot axis A of hinge 51.
As best shown in
As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill, some transverse movement of the sections 20 of door D may occur. Such movement may be permissible during portions of the operating range of the Door D, but in some instances may cause binding or otherwise damage the door components. To that end, the hinge assembly 50 is adapted to accommodate such movement along the pivot axis A, but limit such movement during selected portions of the door's operating range. Hinge assembly 50 accommodates movement along axis A by permitting the hinge 51 to travel along axis A. In the example shown, an extended pin bearing surface is provided, as by extending the effective length of a bore 66 in stile 22. As best seen in
To adjust the position of the hinges 51 when the sections 20A and 20B are in the co-planar closed position, hinge 51 is provided with oversized openings, generally indicated by the numeral 61 (FIG. 7). By oversized, it is understood that opening 61 defines an opening larger than fasteners 58, such that hinge 51 is permitted to move relative to fasteners 58. In the example shown in
To prevent binding or other undesirable misalignment between sections 20A, 20B as the hinge 51 travels through the operating range of the door D and to assure alignment when closed, hinge assembly 50 includes a primary centering assembly, generally indicated by the numeral 70, and best understood by reference to
To control transverse movement in the hinge assembly 50, receiver 72 is provided with side walls 76 that are oriented generally in the plane of stile 22. The tab receiver 72 may be of generally any form that provides suitable positive contact with the tab member 71 to restrict movement of the hinge assembly 50 and thus section 20A relative to section 20B. In the example shown, side walls 76 form part of a cutout 78 formed in the stile 22.
An alternative to primary centering assembly 70 or a secondary alignment device, generally indicated by the numeral 80, is one or more centering gussets 81 that are received within centering gusset receivers 82. In the example shown, a pair of gussets 81 may be spaced laterally outward from the tab member 71. Centering gussets 81 may extend forwardly from the hinge 51 proximate the juncture 84 of the first and second legs 52, 56 of hinge 51. As will be appreciated, in addition to performing the centering function described below, centering gussets 81 add strength to the hinge 51. As shown in
As is best seen in
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a section spacing assembly, generally indicated by the numeral 90, is provided to ensure proper vertical positioning of adjacent sections 20A and 20B. Section spacing assembly 90 includes a spacing member 91 that extends forwardly from the second leg 56 of hinge 51 at a vertical position generally corresponding to the clearance 46 formed between adjacent sections 20A, 20B. As best shown in
With reference to
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, as the sections 20 become coplanar, the spacing member 91 is insertably received between adjacent sections 20A, 20B in supporting relation to a superjacent section 20A to ensure consistent proper vertical spacing of the adjacent sections 20A, 20B. By setting the proper spacing, spacing assembly 90 prevents rubbing or binding between the flanges 24, 25 at the interface.
Installation of an exemplary hinge assembly 50 will now be described with reference to
Thus, it should be evident that the aligning of the sections of a sectional door by the hinge design 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 embodiments 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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20040182529 A1 | Sep 2004 | US |