US2926728A - Door construction - Google Patents

Description

March 1, 1960 R G. JOHANNSEN ET AL DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed July 18, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m A s ZZM m W N v R Z a ma I i 44. 7.

a my M March 1, 1960 R. G. JOHAN NSEN ET AL DOOR CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 18, 1957 aivww Z M N m a Y F E I a J fi a? 3 F Unite 2,926,728 DOOR CONSTRUCTION Application July 18, 1957, Serial No. 672,631

9 Claims. or. 160-191) This invention relates to a door for an enclosure opening in which the door is moved upwardly and inwardly of the enclosure into open position, the door being guided in its movement by cooperating roller and track arrangement.

An object of the invention is a traveling overhead door requiring a minimum of head room to provide the desired vertical clearance.

Another object of the invention is a door construction in accordance with the preceding object in which the door is formed of articulated panels and supported by rollers running in stationary trackways with the uppermost rollers disposed at the bottom of the top door panel.

Another object of the invention is a door construction in accordance with the preceding object having stationary and door elements which cooperate to control the movement and position of the top door panel.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a door construction having cooperating rollers and trackways guiding movement thereof and which operate with a minimum of noise.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a door construction in accordance with the preceding object in which the trackway is of V shape with side walls and the roller has a resilient periphery with side walls of molded plastic.

Another object of the invention is a door construction for an enclosure opening having the door movable upwardly and interiorly of the enclosure to open position and a pulley and cable counterbalance in which the axes of the pulley and the cable are maintained at right angles as the point of cable and door attachment moves out of its normal alignment with the pulley.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of the invention, to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a door construction according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial sectional view on the lines II-- -II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the line IlI--III of Fig. 1; i

Fig. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the door in open position;

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view on the line V--V of Fig. 2; t

Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional view on the line VI-VI of Fig. 2;

.Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view on the line VII- VII of Fig. 1'; I 4 r Fig. 8 is a detailed view showing the latch'holding the door in closed position; and

Fig. 9 is a partial perspective viewshowing a modi fied form of pulley and cable arrangement.

The door of this invention as: specifically illustrated States PatentO ice in the drawings is indicated at 1 as comprising a plurality of duplicate panels 2, the top panel being indicated at 3 and an intermediate latch carrying panel at 4. Each of the panels 2 comprises a flat sheet 5 having L-shaped brackets 6 at the opposite ends thereof bolted theretoas at 7. The upper and lower edges of the plates 5 are bent inwardly at 8 and 9 and terminate in the arcuate portions 11 and 12 sized so that the arcuate portion 11 nests within the arcuate portion 12 of the adjacent panel. The top and bottom of the brackets 6 are provided with openings aligned with the axes of the arcuate portions 11 and 12. A shaft 13 extends through these openings and through the nested arcuate portions to lock the panels together while providing for relative rotation therebetween.

On the opposite ends of the shaft 13 are mounted rollers 14 received within trackways 15. Each trackway 15 comprises a generally V-shaped portion 16, the bottom of which is normally engaged by the rollers and side walls 17 extending therefrom serving to restrain the rollers within the trackway. The main body of the roller is pref erably formed of a molded plastic such as nylon and is shown at 18 in Fig. 5 as provided with a peripheral groove into which is snapped a ring 19 formed of a resilient material such as rubber. The interior legs of the brackets 6 on the panels 2 are shown in Fig. 7 as alternately overlapping, with the upper bracket of adjacent panels being interior on the left and exterior on the right.

A bracket 10 is rigidly mounted upon the door frame as by studs 20 and has a pair of spaced flanges 21 at the top thereof on opposite sides of a slot 22. Upon the flanges 21 is mounted a top plate 23 upon which and within the slot 22 is mounted a pulley 24 freely rotatable about a horizontal shaft mounted in the arms of a bracket 25. The bracket 25 is mounted upon the top plate 23 by a headed and shouldered rivet 26 providing for free rotation of the bracket 25 thereabout so that the pulley support is rotatable about a vertical axis. To counterbalance the weight of the door, there is provided a cable 27 connected to the door adjacent to the bottom thereof as at 28 and extending therefrom over the pulley 24, under a floating pulley 29, and terminating at its other end at the bolt 31 On the top plate 23. A U-shaped bracket 32 on the shaft of the pulley 29 receives one end of a spring 33 whose other end is held stationary by a bracket 34 mounted on the stationary door frame.

To the interior legs of brackets 6 on the uppermost panel 3 are rigidly mounted plates 35 provided with arcuate slots 36 within which are received stationary pins 37 mounted on the bracket 10. Pivoted on the plates 35 at 38 are arms 39 carrying at their interior ends rollers 41 received within the trackways 15. The arms 39 are provided with pressed out fingers 42 serving as stops limiting the clockwise rotation of the upper panel 3 (as viewed in Fig. 2).

The means for latching the door in closed position is illustrated more particularly in Figs. 7 and 8 as comprising opposite spring latches mounted upon the interior legs of the brackets 6 of the third panel from the bottom, numbered 4. These spring latches 43 engage with stationary catch members 44 mounted at opposite sides of the door frame. Centrally of the panel 4 there is mounted an operating handle 45 having a shaft 46 at the inside of the door upon which is. keyed a U-shaped bracket 47. Be tween. the bracket 47 and the spring latches 43 are connected cables 48 so that rotation of handle 45, shaft 46 and bracket 47 draws the latches 43 inwardly and out of engagement with the catch members to release the door for openingmovement. In opening the door the handle 45 is first rotated to release the latches and ere 3 then the door is pulled upwardly with the rollers 14 and 41 rolling freely along the trackways 15.

Rollers 41 have no function in guiding the door but simply serve as a support for the inner ends of the arms 39 so as to support the fingers 42 in position to be engaged by the freely rotatable upper panel 3. As the door moves upwardly, the cooperation between slots 36 and pins 37 causes the upper panel 6 to rotate clockwise as viewed in Fig. 2 about its engagement with the shaft 13 at its lower edge. As the slot 36 leaves the stationary pin 37 panel 3 will have been rotated sufiiciently from the vertical so that it will fall by gravity into engagement with the fingers 42.

Trackway 15 is shown in the drawings as having vertical and horizontal portions joined by a curved portion in conventional manner. However, it is particularly noted that the horizontal portion of the trackway is disposed substantially aligned with the top of the door rather than considerably above the door top as in other installations. As each roller 14 enters the curved portion of the trackway it will cause rotation of the .panel at whose upper edge it is located about the lower edge of that panel until eventually the entire door is moved upwardly and inwardly into the position of Fig. 4. The articulated construction of the door with each panel pivotally joined to the adjacent panel and with rollers at each joint facilitates the smooth and easy movement of the door. Near the end of the opening movement of the door the point of attachment 28 of cable 27 to the door will pass through the vertical plane through the axis of rivet 26 so that the cable thereafter will exert a turning force on the pulley 24 which then rotates about the axis of the rivet 26 into the position shown in Fig. 4 so as to maintain the cable 27 substantially normal to the axis of the pulley. 7

Closing movement of the door by pulling it downwardly in its trackway results in a reverse relative rotation of the articulated door panel, effects reverse rotation of the pulley 24, and in its final movement engages slot 36 with pin 37 to effect counter-rotation of the panel 3 into its vertical position. In the normal rotation of the rollers 14 in the trackway 15, the periphery of the roller is engaged in the bottom of the V notch. Due to the resilience and sound absorption qualities of the rubber ring 19, movement of the door and rotation of the pulley within the trackway is accomplished with a minimum of noise. Due to the high coefiicient of friction between the rubber periphery of the roller and the metal trackway, the roller may ride up theinclined side of the V until the main body portion 18 of the roller engages one of the side walls 17 of the trackway. This engagement tends to kick the roller back into a central position and in any event affords little resistance to free rotation of the roller since the molded nylon of the roller engages the metal side walls of the trackway with little friction.

Fig. 9 shows a modified arrangement for top pulley and cable cooperation. Here the pulley bracket is rigidly connected with the top plate 23 so as to be stationary at all times. Below the pulley is mounted a spool 51 mounted on the bracket 10. In this modification the point of cable attachment 23 is located so that as it moves vertically upon opening movement of the door, the cable 27 cooperates directly with the upper .pulley and out of contact with spool 51. As the bottom roller on the door moves inwardly along the curved portion of the trackway, the cable 27 is engaged with the spool 51 to maintain the portion of the cable entering the pulley normal with respect to the pulley axis. The bottom of the door eventually assumes the positionIshown in Fig. 9 in which theportion of the cable leaving thedoor is disposed generally at rightangles to the portion ofthe cable entering the pulley. '7 i 'l i i While certain preferred embodiments of this invention have been specifieallydis cldsed, it' i s understoodthat'the invention is not limited thereto as many variations will be readily apparent .to those skilled in the art, and the invention is to be given its broadest possible interpretation within the terms of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An overhead door comprising a plurality of articulated panels relatively rotatable at their adjacent edges, rollers mounted on said panels at their points of articulation, trackways having vertical portions disposed adjacent to the opposite sides of the door opening and horizontal portions extending inwardly therefrom with curved portions joining the vertical and horizontal portions, said rollers engaging said .trackways to support the door during vertical and'horizontal movement, a plate extending inwardly on the top door panel having an arcuate slo't engaging a stationary pin to effect inward rotation of the top panel about its bottom edge upon initial upward movement of the door, said slot disengaging said pin to provide for free rotation of said top panel thereafter, and means for limiting said top panel to a final substantially horizontal interior position as the remainder of the panels move rearwardly, said slot receiving said pin in the final closing movement of the door and positively swinging said top panel to closed position.

2. An overhead door comprising a plurality of articulated panels relatively rotatable at their adjacent edges, rollers mounted o'n said panels at their points of articulation, traclcways having vertical portions disposed adisoent to the opposite sides of the door opening and horizontal portions extending inwardly therefrom with curved portio'ns joining the vertical and horizontal portions,said rollers engaging said trackways to support the door during vertical and horizontal movement, and interengaging slot and pin elements, one of said elements being located on the top door panel and the other of said elements being statio'narily mounted, said elements cooperating to effect rotation of said top panel about its bottom edge during initial opening movement and final closing movement of the door, said rotation being toward the horizontal in door opening and toward the vertical in door closing.

3. An overhead door comprising a plurality of articulated panels relatively rotatable at their adjacent edges, rollers mounted on said panels at their points of articulation, trackways having vertical portions disposed adjacent to the oppo'site sides of the door opening and horizontal portions'extending inwardly therefrom with curved portions joining the vertical and horizontal portions, said rollers engaging said trackways to support the door during vertical and horizontal movement, interengaging slot and pin elements, one of said elements being located on the top door panel and the other of said elements being stationarily mounted, said elements cooperating to effect rotation of said top panel about its bottom edge during initial opening movement and final closing movement of the door, said rotation being toward the horizontal in door opening and toward the vertical in door closing, said elements being disengaged after initial door opening and prior to final door closing to provide for free relative rotation of said top panel, and means for limiting the free rotation of said top panel to a final substantially horizontal position.

4. Anoverhead door comprising a plurality of articulated panels relatively rotatable'at their adjacent edges, rollers mounted .on said panels at their points of articulation, trackways having vertical portions disposed adjacent to the opposite sides of the door opening and horizontal portions extending inwardly therefrom with curved portions joining the vertical and horizontal portions, said rollers engaging said trackways to support the door duringvertical and horizontal movement, interengaging slot and pin elements, one of said elements being located on the top door panel and the other of said elements being atieaatl mannere new cooperating to effect rotation of said top panel about its bottom edge during initial opening movement and final closing movement of the door, said rotation being toward the horizontal in door opening and toward the vertical in door closing, said elements being disengaged after initial door opening and prior to final door closing to provide for free relative rotation of said top panel, an arm pivotally mounted on said top panel, a roller on the free end of said arm supported within said trackway and movable therealong with door movement, and a stop on said arm engageable by said top panel to limit the free rotation thereof.

5. An overhead door comprising a plurality of articulated panels relatively rotatable at their adjacent edges, rollers mounted on said panels at their points of articulation, trackways having vertical portions disposed adjacent to the opposite sides of the door opening and horizontal portions extending inwardly therefrom with curved portions joining the vertical and horizontal portions, said rollers engaging said trackways to support the door during vertical and horizontal movement, a plate extending inwardly on the top door panel having an arcuate slot engaging a stationary pin to efiect inward rotation of the top panel about its bottom edge upon initial upward movement of the door, said slot disengaging said pin to provide for free rotation of said top panel thereafter, means for limiting said top panel to a final substantially horizontal interior position, a cable connected to said door adjacent to the bottom thereof, a pulley mounted adjacent to the top of said door, said cable passing over said pulley and being provided with biasing means counter-balancing the weight of the door, said pulley rotating about a horizontal axis normally disposed at right angles to the closed door position, and a support for said pulley mounted for free rotation about a vertical axis so that in the final opening movement of the door as the point of cable attachmentpasses beyond the plane of the pulley the pulley will rotate to maintain its axis of rotation substantially normal to the cable.

6. An overhead door comprising a closure portion disposed in vertical position to close the door opening and in substantially horizontal position to uncover the door opening, trackways disposed at opposite sides of the door opening and having horizontal and vertical portions and curved portions joining them, rollers mounted on said closure portion and received in said trackways to support and guide the closure portion in its movement between closed and open positions, a cable connected to said closure portion adjacent to the bottom thereof, a pulley mounted adjacent to the top of the door, said cable passing over said pulley and engaging biasing means to counterbalance the weight of the door, said pulley normally rotating about a horizontal axis substantially normal to the plane of the door, and a support for said pulley freely rotatable about a vertical axis whereby final opening movement of the door and movement of the point of cable attachment away from the plane of the pulley is accompanied by rotation of the pulley support about the vertical axis to maintain the axis of rotation of the pulley substantially normal to the cable.

7. An overhead door comprising a closure portion disposed in vertical position to close the door opening and in substantially horizontal position to uncover the door opening, trackways disposed at opposite sides of the door opening and having horizontal and vertical portions and curved portions joining them, rollers mounted on said closure portion and received in said trackways to support and guide the closure portion in its movement between closed and open positions, a cable attached to said closure portion adjacent to the bottom thereof, a pulley mounted adjacent to the top of the door and having a horizontal axis of rotation disposed substantially normal 7 to the plane of the door, said cable passing over said pulley and engaging means applying a bias thereto to counterbalance the weight of the door, and a spool mounted beneath said pulley and engaged by the cable in the final opening movement of the door so as to maintain the portion of the cable engaging the pulley substantially vertical while the portion engaging the door is disposed at a substantial angle thereto.

8. An overhead door comprising a plurality of articulated panels relatively rotatable at their adjacent edges, rollers mounted on said panels at their points of articulation and having their axes aligned with the axes of relative rotation of the panels, trackways: having vertical portions disposed at either side of the door opening and horizontal portions extending therefrom with curved portions joining said vertical and horizontal portions, the lower and vertical end of the curved portion being located substantially adjacent to the bottom edge of the top door panel, a plate having an arcuate slot therein and forming a first element, and a pin engageable within said slot and forming a second element, one of said elements being mounted on said top door panel and the other of said elements being stationarily mounted, said pin engaging in said slot during initial door opening movement and final door closing movement to effect relative rotation of said top panel out of and. into its vertical closing position.

9. An overhead door comprising a plurality of articulated panels relatively rotatable at their adjacent edges, rollers mounted on said panels at their points of articulation and having their axes aligned with the axes of relative rotation of the panels, trackways having vertical portions disposed at either side of the door opening and horizontal portions extending therefrom with curved portions joining said vertical and horizontal portions, the lower and vertical end of the curved portion being located substantially adjacent to the bottom edge of the top door panel, a plate having an arcuate slot therein and forming a first element, a pin engageable within said slot and forming a second element, one of said elements being mounted on said top door panel and the other of said elements being stationarily mounted, said pin engaging in said slot during initial door opening movement and final door closing movement to efiect relative rotation of said top panel out of and into its vertical closing position, said pin and slot being disengaged except during said initial door opening and final door closing movement so as to provide for free relative rotation of said top panel, an arm pivotally mounted on said top panel and having a roller at its free end supported within and movable along said trackway, and a stop on said arm engaged by said top panel to limit the final open position of said top panel to substantially the horizontal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,888,162 Eklund Nov. 15, 1932. 2,020,544 Gill et a1. Nov. 12, 1935 2,294,361 Blodgett Sept. 1, 1942 2,655,684 Robinson Oct. 20, 1953 2,805,107 De Warker et a1. Sept. 3, 1957

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