Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Plural strip – slat – or panel type – With mounting or supporting means
Patent
1998-09-14
2000-09-26
Johnson, Blair M.
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Plural strip, slat, or panel type
With mounting or supporting means
160133, 160201, E05F 1508
Patent
active
061231398
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to industrial doors, in particular segmented rigid-panel doors which are accumulated overhead when in the open position.
2. Background of the Invention
Overhead doors have been used for many years to secure various enclosures including manufacturing plants, warehouses, garages, and other industrial doorways that require a heavy duty cycle. Such doors are generally comprised of articulated, joined panels or slats. Generally, such overhead doors are guided by tracks along door jambs, facilitating movement of the door between open and closed positions. The guide tracks used with slat-type or segmented panels generally extend upwardly above the door opening for storing the door when in an opened position. In places where overhead space is insufficient, the track may guide the door at a backward angle above the door opening.
Recently, however, it has been proposed to accumulate the door panels above the door by guiding the panels into an overlapping, coiled or spiraled configuration. Such overhead doors have been guided for movement up and down by guide tracks consisting of essentially three basic portions. Examples of such overhead doors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,484,007 and 5,394,924. The first portion of the guide tracks extend vertically along the sides of the door or jambs. The second portion of the guide tracks extends above the opening, turns horizontally at the top of the doorway, and extends away from the wall. The third portion of the guide tracks forms an inward coiled configuration which encircles a door drive motor. Accordingly, as the door is lifted, it is guided along the guide tracks and directed into the coiled configuration. While these overhead doors have enjoyed a great deal of success, they have also presented various problems as will be discussed herein.
In particular, problems exist in the ability of the door to withstand impact without sustaining debilitating damage to the door and its associated guide structure. Because overhead doors are generally used to secure industrial areas with high traffic, the door is often not completely open before attempted transit through the doorway by vehicles such as forklift trucks. Accordingly, at least the bottom-most panels are subjected to impact by these vehicles. Therefore, at least one or more of the bottom-most panels of the door must be able to withstand frontal impact without sustaining severe damage to the entire door or its associated jambs. Replacement of the overhead door or panels can be costly and can also result in increased down-time.
Additionally, doors, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,484,007 and 5,394,924, employ a chain of interconnecting hinges to lift the door between opened and closed positions. The hinges are strap-like and are mounted to only one face of a respective panel. Problems exist with respect to the ability of hinge straps to adequately distribute forces which are created during movement of the door. The straps overlap an end portion of the slats and are bolted thereto. The hinge straps typically consist of thin formable metal. Each hinge has a male end and a female end created by rolling the ends of the metal into loops. The mated loops are rotatably secured by hinge pins. In overhead doors using such hinges, the distribution of force created by movement of the door can cause the hinges to wear prematurely or be damaged. In particular, the stresses applied to the interconnected loops, created by repeated opening and closing of the door can cause the ends to become "unrolled." Additionally, the male and female portions cannot generally be centered to the middle of a door panel as centering the portions requires that the metal be extended at an angle inwardly from a face of the panel, where the main body of the strap-type hinge is secured. Bending the metal may result in increased stresses at the angle of the metal. Thus, there is a need for a stronger panel-hinge assembly that can accommodate doors having a large duty cycle.
Another problem with
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Delgado Joe M.
Kalempa Walenty
Johnson Blair M.
Rytec Corporation
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