Patent Grant
9187953
The present invention is related to overhead roll-up door assemblies, and more specifically to a side column configuration for an overhead roll-up door assembly. The side column(s) is/are configured to maintain engagement with a flexible overhead roll-up door panel when a first force or wind load is applied to the door panel while allowing the door panel to disengage if a second force is applied to the door panel or the door panel is impacted by a vehicle or an object.
Overhead roll-up doors provide resistance to high winds and/or air pressure. These doors typically include a door panel having opposing side edges that engage with, and are vertically guided in, side columns. In order to enhance the door's resistance to high winds and/or air pressure, the opposing side edges of the door panel may include a thickened edge that engages the side columns when high winds “impact” the door panel. However, using a thickened edge may prevent the door panel and associated edges from disengaging from the side column if the door panel is impacted by an object or vehicle. This, in turn, often leads to damage to one or more of the side columns, door panel, door components, surrounding building structures, the vehicle, and/or any objects located near the door.
One method which has been used to facilitate disengagement of the door panel and thickened edges if the door panel is impacted by an object or vehicle is by making a portion of the side columns disengage-able. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,104 discloses a side column having a windbar(s) or strip(s) which engage a thickened edge when a wind load is applied to the door. If the door panel is impacted by an object or vehicle, the force imparted on the windbar(s) or strip(s) by the thickened edges will cause the windbar(s) or strip(s) to disengage from the side columns, allowing the door panel and edge to disengage. While such a configuration will allow the door panel to withstand a wind load and disengage if impacted, each time the door panel is disengaged because of an impact, the windbar(s) or strip(s) must be re-attached to the side columns.
Another method which is known in the prior art is to use a spring assembly to allow a portion of the side column to pivot out of the way when a force is applied to it by a thickened edge on a door curtain. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,003 discloses a side column having a windbar assembly which includes a tension spring capable of compressing when a thickened edge on the door panel applies a force to the windbar. The compression of the spring allows the thickened edge and door panel to escape the side columns. However, such a configuration does not provide for any enhanced wind resistance as the wind load increases, and indeed may allow the door panel to escape under substantial wind loads if the spring compresses. As is known in the art, springs may also break and wear out, lowering the wind locking capabilities of the side column and door panel.
Yet another method known in the prior art is to provide the thickened edge with a sloping face which engages a corresponding sloping surface on the side column and allow for the side column to deform if a force is applied on it by the door panel as a result of the door panel being impacted by a vehicle or object. However, such side columns do not provide any enhancement of the wind resistance of the door as the wind load is increased, inasmuch as the side columns are not designed to move in a manner which prevents the door panel from escaping the side columns.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to design a side column capable of bi-directional movement such that movement in the first direction will increase the wind load resistance of the door and door panel as a first force or the wind load increases while movement in the second direction will allow the door panel to more easily escape the side column if impacted by a vehicle or object.
It would be further advantageous to design a side column capable of providing a wind lock on a vertically moving door panel without utilizing thickened edges in order to allow for easier disengagement of the door panel if it is impacted.
The present invention is directed to solving these and other problems.
The present invention is directed to a side column configuration for overhead roll-up doors. According to one aspect of the invention, the door assembly includes a flexible door panel capable of moving in a vertical direction to permit and prohibit access to an opening in a wall or similar structure. The door panel includes a first face and a second face extending horizontally across the opening, and opposed vertical sides, wherein each vertical side has a vertical margin extending along the edge of the door panel. In order to guide the vertical movement of the door panel, the door assembly includes guide or side columns configured proximate opposite sides of the opening, wherein each guide or side column is configured to engage at least a portion of one of the vertical margins. The door assembly may further include a header that houses any un-rolled portion of the door panel. The header may be supported by at least a portion of the side columns.
According to another aspect of the invention, each side column includes an arm configured to move in a first and second direction in response to a moment of force (moment) or torque being applied to the arm by the door panel. Force may be applied on the arm as a result of a load or force being applied on the door panel, causing the door panel to bow in the direction of the force. As the door panel bows, the marginal edges of the door panel may engage the arm, imparting a force thereon, the force having components inwards towards the center of the panel and outwards away from the panel. Under uniformly distributed loads, like for example ordinary wind loads, the door will bow very little and the moment of force imparted on the arm by the door panel will typically have a greater inward component as the panel tries to just pull the edge through the column. When a point or contact load is applied to the door panel, like for example from an impact by a vehicle, the moment of force imparted on the side columns will increase and have a greater outward component. Therefore, the arm may be configured to move in a first direction in response when a moment of force at or above a first threshold is applied to the arm by the door panel, the force having a primarily inwards component. Once the moment of force applied to the arm reaches a second (higher) threshold and has a primarily outwards component as the door panel bows further in the direction of the force, the arm may be configured to move in a second direction.
It should be understood that the threshold moments and/or forces causing the arm to move in either the first or second direction discussed herein are with respect to the moment applied to the arms of the side columns by the door panel and not the force applied on the door panel, by for example a wind load or vehicle impact. This distinction is important insofar as a uniformly distributed force over the door panel, like for example a wind load, will result in less moment being applied on each arm than a substantially identical point or contact force from a vehicle at some point along the door panel. For example, in some embodiments of the present invention, a 1,000 lb wind load on the door panel may result in a 10,000 in-lbs moment on the arm, while a 1,000 lb impact from a vehicle centered in the middle of the door panel may result in a 15,000 in-lbs moment on each arm. As the impact moves towards one arm or the other, the moment imparted by the impact on the closer arm will increase while the moment on the opposite arm decreases. Utilizing the above as an example, a first threshold for each arm may be set at 5,000 in-lbs moment so that the arm will start moving in the first direction once that level of force is applied to each arm with the arm fully moved in the first direction at a moment of 10,000 in-lbs. The second threshold may then be set at 15,000 in-lbs so that if a vehicle impacts the door panel with 1,000 lbs of force, the arm will move in the second direction to allow the door panel to escape from the arm and side column to prevent damage to the door assembly, the vehicle and any surrounding structures or people. As seen from this example, the level of force applied to the door panel will not necessarily result in a constant reaction by each arm, as it is the moment of force on each arm by the door panel that dictates movement in the first and/or second direction.
According to yet another aspect of the invention the door panel may include thickened edges extending along the vertical margins of the door and being configured to engage each respective arm as the door panel moves vertically.
According to still another aspect of the invention each side column includes a fixed portion. The fixed portion of the side column includes a first portion which attaches to the arm and a second portion which may support the header of the door assembly. The second portion may additionally be configured to form a boundary of a gap with the arm through which the door panel extends from the opening to the interior of the side column, and through which the edge of the door panel must pass in order for the door panel to disengage from the side column if the panel is impacted by a vehicle or an object. Movement of the arm in the first direction may reduce the size of the gap and pinch the door panel, increasing the wind load resistance for example, and preventing the door panel from escaping the side column. Movement of the arm in the second direction may allow the door panel to escape the side columns. In order to better facilitate disengagement of the door panel from the side column, moment forces above the second threshold may also cause movement in the second direction of a portion of the first portion of the fixed structure.
According to another aspect of the invention, the arm and first portion of the fixed structure may include slots, through holes, apertures or similar structures through which one or more fasteners may fasten the arm to the fixed body. The length of the arm, or the distance that the arm extends towards the center of the door or opening, may be adjusted by aligning different slots or apertures in the arm with different slots or apertures in the fixed structure. Adjusting the length of the arm and the portion of the arm which overlaps with the first portion of the fixed structure will increase or decrease the ease with which the arm will move in the second direction. For example, a shorter arm with greater overlap will move in the second direction less easily than a longer arm with less overlap.
According to one aspect of the invention, each side column may include two arms, each arm being capable of moving in a first and second direction in response to different forces. For example, each arm may be configured to move in a first direction in response to moment forces being applied at or above a first threshold, while each arm is also configured to move in a second direction in response to moment forces being applied at or above a second threshold. The two arms may be configured so that the second direction of the first arm is substantially opposite that of the second direction of the second arm.
In this embodiment, the two arms may be attached using a fixed body wherein a portion of each arm faces each other, forming a gap between which the door panel may extend into the side columns from the opening and through which the edge of the door panel must pass to disengage from the side column if the panel is impacted by a vehicle or an object.
Other aspects and features of the invention will become apparent to those having ordinarily skill in the art upon review of the following Description, Claims, and associated Drawings.
While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
The configuration of each side column is better shown in
Side column 18 includes arm 24 which is configured to move in two directions depending on the amount and direction of the primary component of the moment of force imparted on the arm by the door panel as a result of a force or load being applied to the door panel itself causing the door panel to bow. The arm may move in a first direction—shown by direction H—when a moment is applied on the arm by the door panel at or above a first threshold and has primarily an inwards component towards the center of the panel, and move in a second direction—shown as direction V—when the moment applied on the arm is at or above a second threshold and has primarily an outwards component away from the face of the door panel. As will be further explained herein, movement of arm 24 in the first direction will help prevent door panel 12 from escaping the side column while movement of the arm in the second direction will allow door panel 12 to more easily escape the side columns. Though shown as engaging the marginal edge of first face 28, it should be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art that that arm 24 may be reversed and engage the marginal edge of second face 30. Where second face 30 is configured to engage the side column, it should be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art that direction V would extend away from face 30 and be substantially perpendicular thereto.
The configuration of arm 24 and which face it engages may be dictated by the direction of travel through the door and/or the direction of any wind load or air pressure which may be applied to the door panel. For example, if the common direction of travel is towards face 30 while face 28 is typically presented with a wind load, the configuration in
In some alternative embodiments it may be advantageous to provide side column 18 with a first arm 24a and a second arm 24b, wherein both arms are capable of moving in response to forces imparted by the door panel, in the first and second directions, H and V1 and V2, respectively. When utilizing two arms, the direction of movement in the second direction of each arm is substantially opposite of the other so as to allow for the edge of the door panel to break away from the side column due to impacts in both directions.
Returning to
As also seen in
In order to enhance the wind load resistance of the door while at the same time allowing for disengage-ability of the door panel if impacted by a vehicle or object, thickened edge 34 of may be continuous or segmented and may include a sloped face 36. In order to attempt to maintain some of the disengage-ability of the door panel in response to impacts, arm 24 may include a corresponding sloped face 38 which is configured to engage sloped face 36 of the thickened edge of the door panel.
In addition to being sloped, and regardless of whether the thickened edges are continuous or segmented, it is contemplated by the invention that the face of the thickened edges have two or more ribs with a gap located between each rib. Utilizing a rib-faced thickened edge increases the wind load resistance provided by the thickened edge inasmuch as it adds a compression and frictional component on the face of the edge that the wind load must overcome to disengage the door panel from the side column. The ribbed configuration also enhances the ability of the door panel to disengage from the side column if the door is impacted by a vehicle or an object inasmuch as in addition to forcing the side column to move in the second direction, the ribbed face will also compress into the gaps between each rib—thereby decreasing the thickness of the edge which must pass through the side column.
When utilizing a ribbed face, it should be understood that the ribs may be of varying thicknesses and depth, and may have a different durometer and/or be made from a different material than each other and/or the rest of the thickened edge. For example, the ribbed portions of the thickened edges may have a higher durometer than the remainder of the thickened edge in order to prevent wear on the engaging ribbed portion while providing more wind load resistance by being less easy to deform. Making the non-ribbed portion of the thickened edge a lower durometer will help the non-ribbed portion deform more easily when the door panel is impacted, allowing the non-ribbed portion to more easily pass through the gap and disengage from the side column.
The operation and movement of arm 24 in both the first and second directions can be more easily seen in
As a substantially uniformly distributed force or load is applied to door 12, like for example a wind load, it will cause the door panel to bow in one direction, pulling the edges of the door panel towards the opening. Once the load on the door panel reaches a particular amount, the edges of the door panel will be pulled close enough to the opening to move from the non-moved or non-load position, shown for example in
Once the moment and/or force applied to each arm by the door panel reaches a certain threshold in the horizontal direction, arm 24 will begin moving in the first direction as shown in
The portion of the arm which moves in the first direction may be a spring arm or biased against the door panel from a hinge or pivot point. If a spring arm is used, or the portion of the arm moving in the first direction is spring biased against the door panel, it will move in the first direction and remain in a moved position until the moment and/or force on the arm is dropped below the first threshold. The spring arm may be made using a spring back metal, a flexible and resilient polymer, or may be hinged and biased by a spring of the like which is compressible once a certain threshold moment and/or force is applied thereto through the engagement of the panel and the arm.
Rather than, or in addition to, being spring biased, it is contemplated by the invention that the arm may include a cam like structure to take the substantially linear force applied by the door panel in the primarily inwards direction on the arm and use it to rotate at least a portion of the arm about a hinge or pivot point in the first direction. The cam like structure may include an angular or rounded portion proximate the portion of the arm which engages the door panel causing the force imparted by the panel to effectively rotate the arm in the first direction. As additional force is applied on the angular or rounded portion of the arm by the door panel, the arm may be caused to rotate further in the first direction, reducing the size of gap G.
Alternatively, as seen in
Whether the embodiment of arm 24 shown in
In order to avoid damage to the door panel, side columns and any other door assembly or building components, increasing the moment or force applied to the arm to a second threshold—like for example when a vehicle impacts the door causing a point or impact load—may cause the arm to move in the second direction which allows the door panel to disengage from the side columns. As seen in
In order to permit movement in the second direction, a second portion of arm 24 may be a spring arm or similar structure, or alternatively may be spring biased in place. Any spring arm or spring biasing used to facilitate movement in the second direction will require a different (higher) moment and/or force be applied to the arm before it moves or deflects from its non-moved position than the portion capable of movement in the first direction. As with the use of a spring arm or spring biasing to allow the arm to move in the first direction, once the moment and/or force causing the arm to move in the second direction is dropped below the second threshold, the arm may return to its original, non-moved position.
In addition to arm 24 being moved in the second direction, it is contemplated that a portion of fixed structure 32, and in particular a portion of first portion 32a of the fixed structure, be capable of moving in the second direction with the arm. Movement of at least a portion of the first portion of the fixed structure is particularly useful if the arm is fastened or attached to it. Alternatively, it is also contemplated that in some embodiments only the portion of the arm which is not attached to the first portion of the fixed structure may move in the second direction to widen the gap and allow the door panel and/or thickened edges to escape. Allowing only the unattached portion of the arm to move may allow for greater resistance against movement in the second direction, and may allow for increased control on the amount of moment and/or force required to move the arm in the second direction.
In some embodiments of the invention, rather than utilizing a spring arm or some other spring biasing, it is contemplated by the invention that arm 24 may be hinged or spring biased in a manner which allows the entire arm to move in the second direction by opening the entire arm and almost instantaneously moving to an open position as shown in
In embodiments where the arm is a spring arm or a similar structure, the amount of moment and/or force required to move the arm in the second direction may be affected by the material used to create the arm, the thickness of the material used to create the arm, and/or by treating the material used to make the arm to make it more or less flexible. While some of these factors may be adjustable in a completed door assembly, generally speaking adjustments to any of these may be impossible or only provide a minimal change in the moment and/or force required to move the arm in the second direction.
Therefore, in order to increase or decrease the amount of moment and/or force required to move the arm in the second direction, it is contemplated by the invention that additional plates, i.e. gusset plates, may be attached to the arm and/or the length of the arm may be adjusted.
In order to provide for such adjustments, as seen in
Using a slot and fastener configuration may also allow for the length of the arm to be adjusted. For example, removing the fasteners may allow the arm to be lengthened or shortened by aligning different slots in the arm with different slots in the first portion of the fixed structure. Lengthening the arm in a manner where less of the arm is overlapping the fixed structure may allow for the arm to more easily move in the second direction—particularly if no portion of the first portion 32a is hinged and the arm is fastened directly thereto. Conversely, shortening the arm in manner where more of it overlaps with the fixed structure may increase the force required to move the arm in the second direction.
Another method which may be used to regulate or adjust the moment and/or force required to move the arm in the second direction when using a slot and fastener configuration is by adjusting the tightness or number of fasteners used to attach the arm to the fixed structure. If, for example, washers, nuts, and bolts are used to attach the arm to the fixed structure, the bolts closest to the opening may be loosened or removed to allow the arm to move in the second direction without moving a portion of the fixed structure. Allowing freer movement of a portion of arm 24 may allow for easier opening of gap G, enhancing the ability of the door panel and/or thickened edges to escape the side columns.
The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined by the claims appended hereto.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/466,913 entitled “A DOOR ASSEMBLY HAVING A FLEXIBLE PANEL WHICH IS WOUND AND UNWOUND UPON A DRUM AND HAVING SIDE SUPPORT AND GUIDE COLUMNS WITH CAM STRUCTURES TO IMPEDE BLOW OUT DUE TO WIND LOAD” filed Mar. 23, 2011; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/465,698 entitled “A DOOR ASSEMBLY HAVING A FLEXIBLE PANEL WHICH IS WOUND AND UNWOUND UPON A DRUM AND HAVING SIDE SUPPORT AND GUIDE COLUMNS WITH CAM STRUCTURES TO IMPEDE BLOW OUT DUE TO WIND LOAD” filed Mar. 23, 2011; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/466,922 entitled “SEGMENTED WIND LOCK CONFIGURATION FOR OVERHEAD ROLL-UP DOORS AND METHOD OF USING SAME” filed Mar. 23, 2011; and, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/534,356 entitled “CONTINUOUS WIND LOCK CONFIGURATION FOR OVERHEAD ROLL-UP DOOR” filed Sep. 13, 2011—the contents of all of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.
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