Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Plural strip – slat – or panel type – With mounting or supporting means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-19
2001-04-03
Stodola, Daniel P. (Department: 3634)
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Plural strip, slat, or panel type
With mounting or supporting means
C160S118000, C049S129000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209613
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for enclosing the doorway of a garage and, more particularly, to a garage door enclosure having both a screen and louvers for allowing air and a selective amount of light into the garage.
A garage can be useful as a supplemental porch area or even as an additional room of a house, such as a playroom for children. The garage in its usual form, however, is accompanied by several disadvantages when used in this manner. The garage can become dangerously hot during the summer months if the door is left closed. On the other hand, an open garage door invites unwanted intrusion by persons or animals or allows small children to leave the garage area.
Various garage enclosures have been proposed in the art for enclosing the opening of a garage. While arguably effective in function, the known garage enclosures still exhibit certain disadvantages. Existing garage enclosures are not suitable to allow sufficient airflow in and out of the garage while also preventing intrusion and selectively regulating the amount of sunlight shining into the garage.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a garage doorway enclosure which includes a plurality of door sections that permit air to flow freely in and out of a garage. Further, it is desirable to have a garage doorway enclosure in which the door sections include louvers which may be selectively positioned to regulate the amount of sunlight passing into the garage. It is also desirable to have an enclosure which can be easily pivoted to a storage position that does not obstruct the garage opening.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the garage doorway enclosure according to the present invention utilizes a primary guide track extending longitudinally along a length of the top wall of the vehicle doorway of a garage. The doorway enclosure includes a first and second series of door panels in which each series includes a plurality of door panels connected to each other with hinges. A guide element extends from the top of each door panel and is received within the primary guide track such that each series of door panels may be slidably extended to cover the garage doorway or folded in an accordion-like manner toward opposite side walls of the doorway.
When the door panels are moved to the folded position, the guide elements are no longer held within the primary guide track although the guide elements of the door panels adjacent the side walls of the doorway are held within secondary guide tracks. The secondary guide tracks are generally normal to said primary guide track and extend outwardly from the plane of the doorway. Each series of folded door panels may then be slidably moved to a position outwardly displaced from the doorway. The guide elements within the secondary guide tracks are freely pivotal such that each series of door panels may be pivoted from the displaced position to a storage position adjacent the outer walls of the garage.
The interior side of each door panel is covered with a mesh material which allows air to flow in and out of the garage while preventing unwanted access by persons or animals. The exterior side of each door panel includes a plurality of louvers which can be incrementally pivoted to desired positions for selectively regulating the amount of light shining into the garage. Particular door panels may also include locking mechanisms for preventing unwanted access to the garage. The door panels may also include wheels which enhance the slidable movement of the panels.
Therefore, it is a general object of this invention to provide an apparatus for enclosing the doorway of a garage that operates independently of the conventional garage door.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus, as aforesaid, having a plurality of panels which selectively enclose the doorway of the garage in an accordion like manner.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus, as aforesaid, which allows air to pass in and out of the garage through a screen mesh on each panel.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus, as aforesaid, which allows a selected amount of light to pass into the garage through pivotal louvers on each panel.
A further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus, as aforesaid, which inhibits unwanted intrusion into the garage while maintaining adequate ventilation.
A still further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus, as aforesaid, in which the panels can be folded together and then pivoted to a storage position that does not obstruct normal use of the garage doorway.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of this invention.
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Ream Dale J.
Stodola Daniel P.
Thompson Hugh B.
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