Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Plural strip – slat – or panel type – Roll type
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-23
2001-07-17
Purol, David M. (Department: 3634)
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Plural strip, slat, or panel type
Roll type
C160S273100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260601
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to movable closures and, more particularly, to overhead coiling doors, rolling gates and the like.
Closure devices for protecting openings in building structures, such as doors and windows, are frequently relied upon not only to provide security for the building structure by preventing unauthorized access to the structure, but are frequently also relied upon to protect the structure from natural climatic conditions.
One approach to minimize the effects of weather has been to use rolling, coiling and/or slatted doors or shades for the door and window openings in the building. In one form, such closures are selectively rolled up in a coil at the top of the opening and unrolled to cover the entire opening. Such systems typically include an assembly of interlocking plastic or metal slats disposed between a pair of guideways attached to opposite sides of the port or opening and the assembly is stored in a rolled-up or coiled position when the port is to be open. The slats must be allowed to freely slide along the guide tracks to a closed or open position.
These rolling closures typically flex or bend when subjected to positive or negative pressures or wind loads on the outside of the structure. Such bending and flexing of the slats effectively shorten the lengths of these slats by moving the lateral ends inwardly. This problem is particularly prevalent for larger width doors, on the order of 24 feet or so.
Some known designs have attempted to limit the lateral inward movement of the ends of the slats with detents, locks, clamps or the like to thereby prevent excessive bowing or flexing of the slats. The doors and the like are not operable under such conditions because of the increased drag and friction at the lateral ends of the slats contained in guideways surrounding the door opening, window or the like.
One alternative to minimizing or preventing the flexing or bowing of the slats is to reinforce the slats to resist the wind loads. However, reinforcing techniques often result in more expensive or heavier closures which are more difficult to easily raise and lower as desired.
As a result, there is a need for a rolling or coiling closure which is a door, shutter or the like that is capable of withstanding severe climatic conditions, increased wind loads and other forces while still being operable for movement to and between closed positions under such conditions. Further, the closure system must be economically feasible without adding significant cost, weight or other detrimental features to the design.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objectives of the invention have been obtained by a new and improved coiling door, shutter or the like which is highly resistant to increased wind loads while still being operable under such conditions. The present invention is particularly directed to coiling commercial doors and the like for application in high wind load conditions. Standard coiling doors can only be operated under very low wind load conditions, typically on the order of five lbs. per square feet or less because of the increased drag and friction on the guides or guideways along the door opening at each lateral side of the door.
This invention allows for large width doors, on the order of up to 24 feet or so, to operate under higher wind loads, typically on the order of 35 lbs. per square feet or so. The coiling door includes a number of pivotally coupled slats which extend laterally across the door opening, window opening or the like. The invention includes an arrangement of roller assemblies which include rollers on each lateral end of the door. The rollers are each mounted on an axle which is supported on a roller mount that is bolted, screwed or otherwise secured on to the lateral end of the respective slat. The rollers are positioned in guides which extend vertically along the lateral sides of the door opening.
The rollers are positioned on adjacent slats of the coiling door such that each grouping of three slats includes an upper and a lower roller which are each oriented with a rotation axis generally parallel to the plane of the coiling door and are on opposite sides of a third roller which rotates on an axis generally perpendicularly to the plane of the garage door. The center roller in each grouping is positioned proximate the front face or back face of the door and the next adjacent grouping of three rollers, with the intermediate roller having its axis perpendicular to the plane of the door, is alternately positioned relative to the front or back face of the door.
In one embodiment, the guides include a pair of spaced guide arms between which the roller assemblies and the lateral ends of the slats are positioned. The guide arms include confronting inner surfaces which are adapted for rolling contact with the rollers having their axis positioned generally parallel to the faces of the door. The guides also include a retainer which captures each of the rollers that have their axis perpendicular to the face of the door. The retainer captures these rollers in the guide so that under wind load conditions, the rollers inhibit excessive bowing or flexing of the door and prevent the lateral ends of the slats from escaping the guides. However, the door can still be opened or closed even under high wind load conditions because the rollers are mounted for rotation along the retainers and the confronting faces of the guides so that the drag and friction during movement of the door is minimized. The rollers assist in resisting the deflection of the door by being captured in the guides while still allowing for movement of the door by rolling contact along the guides and retainers.
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Clopay Building Products R&D Company, Inc.
Purol David M.
Wood Herron & Evans L.L.P.
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