Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Plural strip – slat – or panel type – With mounting or supporting means
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-03
2004-05-04
Johnson, Blair M. (Department: 3634)
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Plural strip, slat, or panel type
With mounting or supporting means
C016SDIG006, C267S228000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06729380
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
In the development of track guided doors, such as upward acting residential and commercial garage doors, there is an ever present need to provide for quiet operation when moving the door between open and closed positions.
One source of objectionable noise generated by track guided doors pertains to the guide members which are connected to the door section or sections, are disposed in opposed guide tracks and guide and support the door for movement between open and closed positions. Conventional upward acting garage doors, for example, utilize guide members which include elongated stems or shafts disposed in support members mounted on the door panels, which support members are typically configured to provide bearing bores for the guide member stems or shafts. Guide member stems or shafts made of metal, in particular, and residing in formed metal support members or so-called roller brackets are particularly capable of generating noise when the door is moving between open and closed positions, and to some extent when the door is stationary and is subject to moderate vibrations generated by windloads and the like.
Accordingly, there has been a need to provide for reducing the noise generated by track guided door guide members and it is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an improved track guided door which includes opposed sets of guide members for guiding the door for movement between open and closed positions within opposed guidetracks and wherein the guide members are supported for substantially reduced acoustic emissions.
The present invention also provides guide members with improved support stems or shafts for use with track guided doors wherein noise generated by the guide members and their support structure is substantially reduced or eliminated.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, guide members for track guided doors are provided with support shafts or stems which include means to retain the shafts or stems snugly fitted in bearing bores formed by guide member support parts mounted on the door panel or panels. In particular, the guide member stems or shafts are provided with one or more axially extending grooves circumferentially spaced apart and adapted to receive and support elongated leaf type springs which engage the wall of the bearing bore in which the stems are supported to bias the stems into engagement with the bore wall and reduce or eliminate noise generated by loosely fitted stems.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, guide members for track guided doors are provided which include plural circumferentially spaced noise reducing members mounted on the guide member support stems or shafts and are operable to prevent the noise reducing members from lodging in grooves formed in guide member support structure.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, guide member noise reducing or silencing devices are provided which are mounted on the guide member support brackets and provide projections which protrude into the support bracket bearing bores for biasing the guide member support stems or shafts into forcible engagement with the respective bearing bore walls to reduce noise generated by and between the support brackets and the guide member support stems.
Those skilled in the art will further appreciate the above-mentioned features of the present invention, together with other important aspects thereof upon reading the detailed description which follows in conjunction with the drawings.
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Wells David M.
Whitley L. Blake
Gardere Wynne & Sewell LLP
Johnson Blair M.
Overhead Door Corporation
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