Patent Grant
6955206
The present invention relates to upward acting sectional doors. More particularly, the present invention relates to an upward acting sectional door having a flexibly hinged plastic core with metal cladding or a pan door with or without insulation. More particularly, the present invention relates to an upward acting sectional door having integral hinges that allow the door to pass through a very short transitional radius, a metal cladded exterior surface, interior insulation, if desired, and the capability of being packaged substantially preassembled, complete with a counterbalance system and operator installed.
There are numerous doors that are vertically oriented in the closed position and store in an open overhead position that are used as doors for buildings and trailers.
One common construction is a tilting, non-flexible one-piece door. This type of door may be of generally two constructions. The first is a center pivoting door that uses a framework to which the door is mounted that pivots on a horizontal axis proximate to the vertical center of the door. These doors require space immediately adjacent to the door on the inside and outside for the door to open and close. The action of the door makes entrapment possible at the sides and bottom of the door. The second type of one-piece door uses horizontal and vertical tracks to guide the door between open and closed positions. These doors do not require clearance space adjacent to the outside of the door but require a considerable amount of clearance space to the inside of the door to allow the door to open and close. These doors present the same potential entrapment dangers as the pivoting door. These types of doors have been used on buildings but are not suitable as trailer doors in that the inside clearance space needed to open and close the door would significantly decrease the payload of the trailer. Further, if the cargo shifted during transit, the door could be jammed in the closed position.
Another common type of door is a sheet door. Sheet doors have flexible door panels that are guided around rotatable guide wheels between the open and closed positions. When in the open position, the flexible door panel is substantially horizontal to maximize the height clearance in the doorway opening. These doors are made from a flexible plate material that requires reinforcement at the edges. The flexible plate material must be formed into a pivot strengthening profile to give the door adequate strength and must use a rather large drive wheel to move the flexible plates from the horizontal to vertical tracks and from the vertical to horizontal tracks as the door is opened or closed. While increasing headroom or decreasing the hang down of the door into the door opening, these doors are somewhat flimsy and noisy to operate. Moreover, the inability to move the plates through a conventional transitional radius necessitates the use of large diameter drive rollers on either side of the door consuming significant interior space. The bending of the plates around the drive rollers causes undesirable stress on the plates and precludes tolerance to above-normal wind pressure.
Sectional doors are well known in the art. One concern with sectional doors, however, is the entrapment of hands or fingers at the interfaces of the door sections and along the edges of the door. Pinch-resistant sectional doors have been developed with integrally formed section interfaces that eliminate the finger and hand entrapping gaps, but these doors still require additional hardware to perform this function. Similar hardware may be added to a conventional sectional door to perform the same function. To prevent entrapment at the edges of the door, longitudinal mating sections have been added to pinch resistant sectional doors and conventional sectional doors.
As a further disadvantage, sectional doors generally have hinges and other hardware mounted on the interior of the door. If used as a trailer door, this hardware may damage cargo within the trailer or interfere with door movement. Attempts have been made to remove this disadvantage by designing doors with continuous hinges. Generally, these hinges are constructed of polymeric material and may be an integral component of the door or installed as a separate component between the sections. Although these hinge designs can be flush with the back of the door, the pivot point established by the hinge is fixed, thereby creating stresses in the hinge and the hinge attachment areas.
Rolling doors made from a plurality of slats or a sheet of metal suffer a similar buildup of stresses in the hinge because they also have a fixed pivot point. Rolling doors, however, have the advantage of pinch resistance because they are made of a plurality of closely fitting slats. But, due to the shorter height of the slats, a large number of slats are necessary to cover the door opening resulting in the rolling door being heavier and more expensive than sectional doors. These doors also require extensive headroom to store the rolled up door when the door is in the open position. The large number of slats also increases the time necessary to manufacture and assemble these doors. Assembly is complicated by the fact that these doors require the slats to be individually longitudinally interlaced. This interlacing also results in an interconnection which transmits force between slats so that even a localized impact can result in damage to a number of adjacent panels. While the slats are often constructed of sheet steel offering little insulation, additional plastic insulated materials and insulation covers have been added to these types of doors. As will be appreciated, the addition of plastic insulating material increases the weight and complexity of the door, thereby increasing the cost to the manufacturer and the time necessary to manufacture the door. Further, these rolling door designs normally have fixed pivot points with no provision for reducing stresses in the area of the hinges.
Some sectional doors have utilized polymeric materials for door components, including the door sections. In one instance, a door has been constructed of blow-molded polymeric material sections for use on building structures such as industrial, commercial, and residential garages. In another instance door panels having a polyurethane rigid core with a polyvinylchloride front skin and a non-metallic rear skin have been proposed. The rigid polyurethane core unitizes the two skins to make the panel section into a rigid lightweight structure. These known designs require expensive equipment of considerable size, particularly to process a double car width door section. Further, these doors contain conventional hardware such as stiles and hinges, which protrude into the area adjacent the interior surface of the door. Overall, the main difference between a conventional sectional door and these doors is the use of polymeric sections.
Sectional doors with sections from 18-24 inches in height necessarily have a relative angular movement between sections of up to 78° when traversing the transitional radius between the open and closed positions. These angular movements of the sections alter the force required to move the door and put stress on the hinge and hinge mounting area. It has been recognized that hinges with multiple bend points may reduce the stress on hinge elements as well as hinges having a plurality of co-extruded polymers to achieve a hinge capable of continuous movements of up to 90° or more. The extruded thermoplastic hinge has improved ability to withstand flexure cycles at room temperature as well as low temperatures. This hinge comprises a flexible cross-section of polyester elastomer and a co-extruded section of rigid or semi-rigid thermoplastic material. This type of hinge design is more costly and care must be taken during the extrusion process to assure adequate bonding or encapsulation of the different polymers used to produce the hinge.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an upward acting sectional door in which the body of the door is an extruded corrugated polymer which provides an extent of insulation, without foamed insulating material and backing, as well as noise reduction for a quieter operating door than conventional sheet metal doors. Another object of the invention is to provide such a sectional door wherein the corrugated polymer has relatively high strength, is light weight, is low maintenance in not requiring painting, allows for expansion and contraction without warping the door, and can be produced at relatively low cost. A further object of the invention is to provide such a sectional door wherein the door has minimal intrusion interiorly of the door opening and may have a smooth interior surface which tends to avoid catching on objects in proximity to the interior surface which could cause damage to the object or the door. Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a sectional door wherein the polymer provides a movable pivot hinge function between the door sections.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a sectional door having a body of corrugated polymer which can be coupled with an exterior metal cladding and/or tubular steel inserts to develop sufficient strength and rigidity for a particular door size and specifications. Yet a further object of the invention is to provide such a sectional door wherein end stiles, exterior metal cladding, and tubular steel inserts slide or snap into position to thereby eliminate the extensive use of fasteners or adhesives to interconnect the components of the door. Still another object of the invention is to provide such a sectional door which can be employed with conventional track configurations for sectional doors, but may mount the engaging rollers at substantially the centroid of the corrugated polymer body, whereby with the movable pivot hinge construction the door can negotiate a curved transitional track section between horizontal and vertical track section of approximately one half the normal radius.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a sectional door which incorporates pinch resistant features at the juncture between the sections of the door. Another object of the invention is to provide such a sectional door which does not have projecting hardware at the ends of the door so that finger protection elements may be provided between the door edges and the vertical tracks. Still a further object of the invention is to provide such a sectional door that can employ known counterbalance systems and operators and will accommodate conventional lock systems and windows. Another object of the present invention is to provide such a sectional door which is of sufficiently light weight to be shipped completely assembled with the counterbalance system tensioned and with a motorized operator installed, if desired.
The present invention further provides a vertically operated door including a plurality of door sections rotatably attached to each other, each section having a front surface and a rear surface spaced from each other by an internal structure, the internal structure defining a plurality of encapsulated spaces between the front and rear surfaces which provide a thermal break therebetween.
A sectional door having a plurality of panels joined by a hinge, the hinge having a flexible member extending between adjacent sections; the member defining a first axis and a second axis about which the sections pivot, wherein the axes are moveable during operation of the door such that stresses within the hinge caused by the rotation of the sections are relieved by movement of and about the axes.
A sectional door having a pair of opposed tracks for guiding the door between a closed position and an open position, the tracks having an inner surface, an insert received within the tracks with a polymeric member having a first portion that defines the inner surface of the track and a second portion extending axially from the first portion to at least partially cover the door to effect finger protection.
A door selectively moveable between an open position and a closed position relative to an opening including, a plurality of elongate corrugated horizontal panels pivotally connected at top and bottom edges of adjacent panels by a hinge member defining a first axis and a second axis wherein the first axis and second axis are moveable relative to each other such that stresses within the hinge member created by the pivotal movement of adjacent panels are relieved by the movement of the hinge member about the first and second axes.
A cladding member, in a door system, a cladding member including a generally planar body having a top edge and a bottom edge; a first hook extending from the top edge; and a second hook extending from the bottom edge, the hooks adapted to attach the cladding members to the door.
An end stile in a door system having an open ended channel member adapted to engage the ends of the door sections, the channel members on adjacent sections being in pivotal relationship to each other, each member having a front facer and a rear facer spaced from the front facer by an end extending therebetween, whereby the stiles cover the sides of the sections and move with the sections.
A pre-packaged door kit having a pair of spaced jambs spanned by a header; a first pair of tracks adjacent the jambs, a door having a plurality of corrugated polymer panels pivotally joined by a hinge member, the door being received in the tracks; a counterbalance system and operator attached to the header and operatively engaging the door; a second pair of tracks adapted to be attached to the first and tracks releasably attached to the door; and a back bar adapted to be attached to the second tracks releasably attached adjacent the door.
In a door having a plurality of sections including a top section, the sections being mounted between a pair of tracks which guide the door between a closed and an open position, a pivotal roller attached to the top section by an arm rotatably attached to the top section at one end and a wheel rotatably attached to the arm at the other end, wherein the wheel fits within the tracks causing the arm to pivot from a generally perpendicular position relative to the top section when the door is in the closed position to a generally planar position when the door reaches the open position.
An object of the present invention is to provide as an alternate a sectional pan door system which may be provided with or without insulation. Another object of the invention is to provide such an insulated sectional pan door wherein conventional foam insulation is mechanically retained by door panel components without the necessity for employing adhesives. A further object of the invention is to provide a sectional pan door which has minimal intrusion interiorly of the door opening, which works with a conventional track, and which can traverse a curved transitional track section having a greatly reduced radius without stressing the hinges or hinge areas. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a sectional pan door which is hinged at the end stiles, has pivotal closure assemblies extending the lateral extent of the panels at the edges to provide a pinch-resistant configuration, and may have spaced coupler elements to stabilize the pivot axis of the pivotal closure assemblies.
A further object of the invention is to provide a sectional pan door which does not have projecting hardware at the end stiles so that finger protection elements may be provided between the door edges and the vertical tracks. Another object of the invention is to provide a sectional pan door that can be adapted to a tension-type system for resisting wind loads through the roller assemblies and have a combined roller assembly and counterbalance system cable-securing device at the lower corners of the door. A still further object of the invention is to provide a sectional pan door that is sufficiently lightweight to be shipped completely assembled with a counterbalance system and motorized operator installed and connected, that is relatively inexpensive but strong, and that may be quickly and easily installed.
In general, the alternate embodiment contemplates, an upwardly acting sectional pan door, including a plurality of panels, facers of the panels defining a front surface of the door and having cooperatively engaging couplers at the upper and lower edges thereof, stiles at the ends of the facers receiving and attached to the facers, and hinge assemblies located at the end stiles to provide relative pivotal motion between the stiles and the couplers of adjacent panels.
An upward acting metal cladded sectional door system embodying concepts of the present invention is generally indicated by the numeral 20 in
The header framer 23 may advantageously mount a counterbalance system, generally indicated by the numeral 25, that interacts with the door 24 to facilitate raising and lowering of the door 24 in a manner well-known to persons skilled in the art. While a counterbalance system according to applicants' assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,010 is shown for exemplary purposes and the disclosure therein is incorporated herein by reference, it will be appreciated that any of a variety of different types of counterbalancing systems may be employed, as long as interference with the structure of the door system hereinafter described is, or can be avoided.
Flag angles 26, 26 are provided to partially support roller tracks, generally indicated by the numerals 27,27, which are positioned to either side of the door 24. Each of the roller tracks 27, 27 include a substantially vertical track section 28 (see
For exemplary purposes, an eight panel sectional door 24 is shown in
As shown in
Internally, the body portion 50 is preferably ribbed, honeycombed, or otherwise reinforced and segregated with internal dividers 52 that provide voids 53 between the surfaces of the door 24. The voids trap air between these surfaces providing an insulative break and reducing the rate of heat transfer between the surfaces of the door. It has been determined that these objectives can be met with a wide variety of internal structures with one example having the body portions 50 at least 0.75 inch in thickness with intersecting horizontal and vertical internal dividers 52 forming rectangular or square voids 53 having a width of at least 50% of the height or the thickness of body portion 50 and no more than 100% of the height of the voids 53.
As previously indicated, the exterior surfaces of the door 24 include a front surface 55 and a rear surface 55′ which are generally continuous and may be provided with recesses or other surface characteristics as desired. The surface characteristics may be aesthetic or used functionally such as for mounting hardware in the nature of locks, windows, reinforcing members or rollers on or within the door 24. For example, a recess, generally indicated by the numeral 54, may be provided in the rear surface 55′ of the door 24 to receive members used to secure stiles.
As best seen in
Referring to
Further, the exterior surface 55 of the sections 40 may be provided at the lower and upper extremities with recessed lands 68, and rounded shoulders 69, respectively to interface with a portion of the hinge 51 extending between the adjacent door sections 40 to form a one piece door 24. The hinge 51 may be a separate member attached between the sections 40 or may be integrally formed with one of the sections 40. A plurality of hinges 51 might be spaced along the width of each door section 40 or hinge 51 may extend the entire width of the section 24 as shown herein.
As shown, hinge 51 is constituted in vertical cross-section primarily of a relatively large-radiused, deformable double loop, generally indicated by the numeral 70. As shown, the double loop may be a continuation of rounded shoulders 69 at the upper extremity of the sections 40 and therefore constituted of the same material having the flexing characteristics described hereinabove. Referring particularly to
The double loop 70 has an outer leg 75′ which, as can be seen in
The sections 40 of door 24 have a cladding, generally indicated by the numeral 80, which covers the front surface 55 of the body portions 50 and constitutes an operative portion of the hinge elements 51. The cladding 80 operates to provide rigidity to the sections 40 as well as protection from the elements. While the cladding 80 might be constructed of various materials to achieve the desired performance, a sheet metal of a type commonly used as facer material for sectional overhead doors is a satisfactory selection for the cladding 80. Referring particularly to
The installation of the cladding 80 on the body portion 50 of each door section 40 is effected in the manner depicted in
With the cladding 80 assembled on body portion 50 a panel 40 is fully assembled and ready for attachment to an adjoining panel as seen in FIG. 3. In this respect, the double loop 70 of the lower of two panels has the outer leg 75′ slid between the land 68 and the second hook member 84 while the locking tab 79 is simultaneously slid between front cover 81 of cladding 80 and the front surface 55 of body portion 50. As thus positioned the locking tab 79 as restrained by the front cover 81 of cladding 80 which retains the double loop 70 such as to maintain the adjacent door sections 40 in joined pivotal relationship as depicted in FIG. 3.
The operation of hinges 51 between adjacent panels 40 during movement of the sectional door 24 between the closed and open positions is best seen in
The double loop 70 and the hook members 83, 84 are in a normal unstressed condition in the planar orientation of adjacent panels 40 as seen in FIG. 4A. As an angle develops between adjacent panels 40 during movement of the door 24 the hairpin curve return 76 pivots about axis 73 moving the hairpin curve return 76 to the left and upwardly as depicted in FIG. 4B. As the panels 40 experience progressively increasing angularity in moving to the positions depicted in 4C and 4D, the axis 73 and the hairpin curve return 76 retain substantially the same positions depicted in FIG. 4B. As the angularity between panels 40 increases between the orientation of FIG. 4B and the orientation of
It will be appreciated that the precise dimensions of the double loop 70 and the hook members 83, 84 of hinge element 51 may be configured such that no external or internal pinch points are created which could entrap a person's finger. More specifically, the hook members 83 and 84 of the cladding 80 remain in sufficiently close proximity during the entire pivotal movement of adjacent panels 40 such that the maximum separation between the nose 86 of cladding 80 and the first hook member 83 is at all times less than the maximum permissible separation specified by industry standards for a pinch-resistant configuration. As seen in
In addition to cladding 80 covering the outer surface 55 of the door 24, the end stiles 60 may be installed to cover the ends 31 of the panels 40 of the door 24 and provide a planar exterior end surface. As shown in
To further strengthen the door 24 and reduce flexure of its sections 40, reinforcing members 96 may be inserted within the voids 53 between the internal dividers 52 of the door 24 or within the double loop 70 of hinges 51. In the embodiment shown, the reinforcing rod or tube 96 is inserted within the double loop 70 of hinges 51 and extends substantially the entire width of the door 24. As shown in
Roller assembly 95 may be inserted into the double loop 70 of the hinge member 51 or may be inserted into the reinforcing member 96. As shown in
While the reinforcing member 96 is a convenient location to insert a roller assembly 95, it is to be appreciated that the roller assembly 95 may be inserted into recesses formed within the side of the door 24 or in the spaces between the internal dividers 52 at the ends 31 of the door sections 40. Additionally, the roller 95 may be directly inserted inside the hinge 51.
To reduce noise generated by the roller assemblies 95, a liner, generally indicated by the numeral 110, preferably made of polymeric material, may be inserted within the roller track 27 and may further wrap around the track surfaces and extend to partially cover the end stiles 60 of the door 24 as best seen in FIG. 6. In this way, the sound from the contact between roller wheel 106 and roller track 27 is first attenuated by eliminating contact between the roller wheel 106 and roller track 27 and further by encapsulating the roller assembly 95 to isolate the sound. By overlapping the end stiles 60 of door 24, liner 110 further prevents entry of fingers and other foreign objects at the sides of the door 24, while providing a weather seal and assisting in stabilizing the door.
As best shown in
Front and rear planar cover portions 118 extend from track flanges 112, 113, respectively, toward door 24 and are spaced a distance therefrom so as not to intrude upon the operation of the door 24. Coverage of this area prevents foreign objects from intruding upon the function of the door 24 and constitutes a pinch guard for persons working on or in proximity to the door 24 when it is opening or closing.
Vertical seal portion, generally indicated by the numeral 119, preferably includes front and rear flanges 120 and 121, respectively, that extend inwardly from the cover portions 118 and 118′, respectively, to substantially overlie stile 60 of the door 24. The flanges 120, 121 taper inwardly toward the door and preferably contact the front and rear surfaces 91 and 92, respectively, of the end stile 60. The front flange 120 serves primarily as a weather seal, while the rear flange 121 constitutes a finger shield.
As shown in
When it is desired to design a door system 20 for utilization in an environment having minimal overhead clearance it is possible to employ a pivoting operator, generally indicated by the numeral 125, which has the capability of effecting final closing and locking of a door 24. Such an operator is described in Applicant's Assignee's copending application Ser. No. 09/081,419, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,799. The operator 125 may be installed and in the locked position for shipping as seen in FIG. 2.
In the instance of use of a pivotal operator 125, the uppermost section 41 of the door 24 may be provided with a pivoting roller, generally indicated by the numeral 130, instead of a conventional fixed roller. Pivoting roller 130 has an arm 131 which in turn is rotatably mounted to the top door section 41. As best seen in
To ensure the rotation of the arm 131 to the aligned position 41′ during initial opening of the door the roller arm 131 may be spring biased toward the vertical, aligned position. To this end, a torsion spring 135 is coiled about milford pin 132 and has a first leg 136 attached to end 93 of cladding 80 and a second leg affixed below arm 131 or shaft 133. It is to be appreciated that configured as described, the operator 125, horizontal track sections 29 and door 24 all operate at or below the top of the header frame 23 such that no headroom clearance is required above header frame 23. The arm 131 and roller 134 remain in alignment as the roller 134 of panel 41 moves from the transition track section 30 into the horizontal track section 29 indicated as position 41″ and subsequently to the horizontal orientation of panel 41 indicated as position 41′″ in FIG. 8. Thus, with the pivoting roller 130, the top of the top door section 41 never projects above the horizontal track section 29.
The door system 20 may be readily modified to provide wind-resistant characteristics by incorporating the teachings of applicants' assignees' copending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/081,419, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,799, which is incorporated herein by reference. An exemplary form of modified roller mounting to embody such wind-resistant characteristics is generally indicated by the numeral 140 in
The reinforcing member 141 receives a roller assembly, generally indicated by the numeral 145. The roller assembly includes a roller shaft 146 and a roller wheel 147 and related structure which may be substantially according to the roller assembly 95. Roller assembly 145 differs from roller assembly 95 in that the roller shaft 146 has an annular groove 148 which extends a distance axially thereof.
In conjunction with roller mounting 140, the vertical track sections 28 of roller tracks 27, which are normally substantially vertical and parallel to the ends to the end 93 of cladding 80, except for being slightly outwardly inclined from bottom to top to seat door 24 at closure, are also angled outwardly at a small oblique angle in accordance with the aforesaid U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/081,419 filed. Placement of the vertical track sections 28 so angled contemplates the upper extremities being closest to the door 24, the lower extremities of track sections 28 being the greatest distance from the door 24 and intermediate locations on track sections 28 being downwardly at progressively greater distances from the door.
It will be appreciated that the rib 142 and groove 148 are located relative to the track sections 28 such that each roller 147 is in axial pressure engagement with an inner retaining leg 149 of track 28 or the overlying liner 110 when the door is in the closed vertical position. This results from rib 142 engaging the axially inner end 150 of groove 148 just prior to the door 24 reaching the closed position. The rib 142 is variously positioned in groove 148 displaced from inner end 150 of groove 148 during opening and closing of the door. Thus, when door 24 is in the closed position the roller assembly 145 and reinforcing members between each of the panels 40 are tension-loaded to resist buckling of the panels under applied wind and pressure forces.
An upward acting insulated or uninsulated sectional pan door system embodying the concepts of the present invention is generally indicated by the numeral 220 in
The header framer 223 may advantageously mount a counterbalance system, generally indicated by the numeral 225, that interacts with the door 224 to facilitate raising and lowering the door 224 in a manner well known to persons skilled in the art. The counterbalance system 225 may be in accordance with the characteristics of the counterbalance system described hereinabove in conjunction with the counterbalance system 25. As seen in
For exemplary purposes, an eight-panel sectional door 224 is shown in
As shown in
If desired to reduce transmission of heat and cold through the door and/or to reduce noise, the panels 240 may be provided with an insulation layer, generally indicated by the numeral 260. The insulation layer 260 includes a foam body 261 which may be any of the polyurethane or polystyrene foaming materials commonly employed in the insulation of garage doors and the like. The insulation layer 260 may also advantageously have a backer 262 which may be of a metallic foil or paperboard material which may serve to protect the foam 261 from excessive moisture absorption or damage if contacted by a foreign object. Insulation layer 260 is preferably sized so that a top edge 263 and a bottom edge 264 are not exposed from the back of the door. To this end, the top edge 263 extends within the interlaced first and second hook members 256, 257 as seen in FIG. 13. The bottom edge 264 of insulation layer 260 for each panel 240 is wedged against the second hook member 257, as also seen in FIG. 13. To ensure retention and enclosure of foam layer 261 at its bottom edge 264, a projecting flap 265 of the backer 262 may extend over at least a portion of bottom edge 264 and engage the second hook member 257 of the pivotal closure assemblies 255. Thus, the top and bottom edges 263, 264 of insulation layer 260 are tucked under the pivotal closure assemblies 255 of facer 250 over substantially the entire lateral width of the panels 240. As will be seen hereinafter, the lateral extremities of insulation layer 260 are also confined such that all four edges of the insulation layer 260 are shielded from exposure inwardly of the panels 240.
While the panels 240 are interconnected substantially throughout their lateral extent solely by the pivotal closure assemblies 255 except for hinge areas at the ends thereof described hereinbelow, the door 224 may be provided with coupler elements, generally indicated by the numeral 270 in
The coupler elements 270 are shown in the form of a clip 271 having a deformable double loop which bears some similarity to the double loop 70 of door system 20 described hereinabove. The clip 271 has a flat curved segment 272 which transcends into an inner semicircular segment 273. The inner semicircular segment 273 is connected by a hairpin curve return 274 to an outer semicircular segment 275 which is positioned substantially equidistant from the inner semicircular segment 273 throughout its extent when adjacent door panels 240 are in planar alignment as seen in
The operation of the coupler elements 270 in relation to the pivotal closures assembles 255 of panels 240 during movement of sectional door 224 between the closed and open positions is been seen in
The coupler element 270 and the first and second hook members 256, 257 are depicted in a normal, unstressed condition in the planar orientation of adjacent panels 240 as seen in FIG. 14A. As an angle develops between adjacent panels 240 during movement of the door 224 the hairpin curve return 274 moves about the pivot axis 276 displacing the hairpin return curve 274 to the left and upwardly, as is progressively depicted in
As in the case of the door system 20, the door system 220 has the pivotal closure assemblies 255 and coupler elements 270 configured such that no external or internal pinch points are created which could entrap a person's fingers. More particularly, the first and second hook members 256, 257 of pivotal closure assemblies 255 remain in sufficiently close proximity during the entire pivotal movement of adjacent panels 240 such that the maximum separation between the nose 259 and the first hook member 256 is at all times less than the maximum permissible separation specified by industry standards for a pinch-resistant configuration. Thus, the pivotal closure assemblies 255 throughout their length provide a pinch-resistant configuration. Further, since the movements of the components of the pivotal closure assembly 255 are essentially pivotal about the pivot axis 276 or by separation of hook members 256, 257, the coupler elements 270 function to stabilize the pivot axis 276 of the pivotal closure assemblies 255 about the pivot axis of the panel hinges described hereinbelow during operation and to assist in assembly of the door 224.
The ends of the facers 250 of panels 240 are encased within end stiles, generally indicated by the numeral 280. As seen in
The pivotal interconnection between adjacent panels 240 is effected primarily by hinge assemblies, generally indicated by the numeral 290. The hinge assemblies 290 are located at the end stiles 280 from which the main structural members are formed. At the bottom of each of the end stiles 280 is a lower hinge pin receiver, generally indicated by the numeral 291. The lower hinge pin receiver 291 is formed as a planar extension 292 of the end 281 of end stile 280. As best seen in
The lower edge of the panels 240 also has an arcuate flange 300 which is involved in hinge assemblies 290. The arcuate flange 300, as best seen in
The hinged connection of the lower hinge pin receiver 291 and upper hinge pin receiver 295 of hinge assemblies 290 is affected by roller assemblies, generally indicated by the numeral 305. As best seen in
As can be seen in
The roller assemblies 305 are easily assembled in that the shaft may be readily inserted through pin receiving bore 293 which is larger in size than the second annular rib 312. Since the cylindrical sleeve 299 is not a continuous integral piece, it springs open to receive the second annular rib 312 and returns to its original configuration once the second annular rib 312 extends inwardly of sleeve 299 in the assembled position depicted in FIG. 19. Withdrawal of the roller shaft 307 is precluded by the second annular rib 312 engaging the laterally inner edge of cylindrical sleeve 299. It is to be appreciated that the second annular rib 312 could take the form of outwardly projected tabs or punchouts in the roller shaft 307 located at one or more spaced circumferential locations about the circumference of the roller shaft 307 to similarly permit insertion of shaft 307 in cylindrical sleeve 299 while retarding withdrawal therefrom which may provide a type of tensioning in the closed position of the door to resist wind loads in the manner described above.
Referring to
The liner 15 preferably includes front and rear flanges 323 and 324, respectively, which extend laterally inwardly from the front cover portion 319 and the rear cover portion 320, respectively, to overlie the panels 240. The flanges 323 and 324 taper inwardly toward the door with the front flange 323 preferably contacting the facer surface 251 of panels 240. The front flange 323 serves primarily as a weather seal, while the rear flange 324 constitutes a finger shield between planar end 281 of end stile 280 and the roller tracks 227. As in the case of liner 110 the liner 315 generally extends the length of vertical track sections 228 of roller track 227. The rear flange 324 terminates short of the top of vertical track section 28 near transition section 330 as seen in
As in the case of door system 20, the door system 220 may employ a pivoting operator, generally indicated by the numeral 325 in
In the instance of use of a pivotal operator 325, the uppermost section 241 of the door 224 may be provided with a pivoting roller, generally indicated by the numeral 330, instead of a conventional fixed roller. As seen in
The pivoting roller 330 is shown in its stressed condition in
The lower corners of the door 224 may be provided with a combined roller assembly and cable-securing device, generally indicated by the numeral 345. Referring particularly to
The cable bracket 350 has a generally cylindrical collar 351 which receives the roller shaft 348 but is preferably of a sufficiently larger internal diameter 352 such as to remain spaced therefrom during operation of door 224. The cable bracket 350 has an elongated projection 353 extending radially from the collar 351 which is attached to the end 281 of end stile 280 as by screws 354 or other appropriate fasteners. The collar 351 also has a groove 355 which is adapted to receive a standard cable C which has one end reeved about the collar 351 to form a loop C′ and secured by a cable clamp 356 and the other end operatively interrelated with the counterbalance system 225. Thus, the loop C′ of cable C may attach to door 224 at an optimum position while permitting angular movement of the cable relative to groove 355 of cable bracket 350 as its position varies relative to the counterbalance system 225. It will also be appreciated that the tension in cable C produced by counterbalance system 225 is transmitted to door 224 without imparting forces to the roller shaft 348 or roller body 347 of roller assembly 346.
Thus, it should be evident that the upward acting sectional door 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.
This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 09/710,253 filed on Nov. 10, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,362. 37 C.F.R. §1.78(a)(2).
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|---|---|---|---|
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| 4532973 | DeFalco | Aug 1985 | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Child | 10715973 | US |
