Upward acting sectional door with pinch resistant edge profile between door panels
First Claim
1. A sectional upward acting door including interconnected door panels, said panels comprising generally planar rectangular members each having a generally planar outer wall part and generally planar inner wall parts spaced from said outer wall part, an elongated upper edge of said panel including an upwardly projecting convex surface extending at an angle with respect to said outer wall part and including a curvilinear portion adjacent to and contiguous with a generally planar wall portion, and an inclined wall part extending from said generally planar wall portion, an elongated lower edge of said panel including a tip portion contiguous with said outer wall part, a concave part of said lower edge and a further inclined wall part extending from said concave part, said upper and lower edges being cooperable with each other between adjacent interconnected panels to form a pinch resistant joint when said adjacent panels are pivoted relative to each other, andplural hinge assemblies spaced apart along and interconnecting adjacent ones of said panels, said hinge assemblies including opposed hinge plates which are operable to engage upon moving adjacent panels toward each other to thereby pivotably connect said adjacent panels, said hinge plates being connected by fasteners to said inclined wall part of one panel adjacent its upper edge and said inclined wall part adjacent said lower edge of an adjacent panel, respectively, whereby said hinge assemblies are disposed substantially entirely between said outer wall part and said inner wall parts of said panels, respectively, and form a pivot connection between adjacent panels.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sectional upward acting door includes interconnected door panels which are formed with generally planar outer and inner wall parts and upper and lower edges which cooperate to provide a pinch resistant joint between door panels when they are pivoted relative to each other. Spaced apart snap together hinge assemblies and snap in place guide roller support brackets may be used to assemble the door by moving the panels into assembly with each other between the door guide tracks. The panel edge profiles are formed by a convex surface on an upper edge of one panel and a cooperating concave multiple planar segment surface on the lower edge of the adjacent panel. An elongated seal strip may be secured in a groove in the lower edge of one panel and engageable with the apex of the upper edge of the adjacent panel. The panels are formed with inclined wall parts spaced inwardly of the pinch resistant edge profiles for supporting the hinge assemblies within a recess so that the hinge assemblies do not protrude inwardly of the generally coplanar inner wall parts of the panels. The hinge assemblies include opposed hinge plates with separate or integrally formed hinge pins on one hinge plate and the other hinge plate is formed with opposed elastically deflectable retainer tabs which allow the hinge pin to be snapped into a bearing bore in the other hinge plate to facilitate connecting the door panels to each other.
52 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A sectional upward acting door including interconnected door panels, said panels comprising generally planar rectangular members each having a generally planar outer wall part and generally planar inner wall parts spaced from said outer wall part, an elongated upper edge of said panel including an upwardly projecting convex surface extending at an angle with respect to said outer wall part and including a curvilinear portion adjacent to and contiguous with a generally planar wall portion, and an inclined wall part extending from said generally planar wall portion, an elongated lower edge of said panel including a tip portion contiguous with said outer wall part, a concave part of said lower edge and a further inclined wall part extending from said concave part, said upper and lower edges being cooperable with each other between adjacent interconnected panels to form a pinch resistant joint when said adjacent panels are pivoted relative to each other, and
plural hinge assemblies spaced apart along and interconnecting adjacent ones of said panels, said hinge assemblies including opposed hinge plates which are operable to engage upon moving adjacent panels toward each other to thereby pivotably connect said adjacent panels, said hinge plates being connected by fasteners to said inclined wall part of one panel adjacent its upper edge and said inclined wall part adjacent said lower edge of an adjacent panel, respectively, whereby said hinge assemblies are disposed substantially entirely between said outer wall part and said inner wall parts of said panels, respectively, and form a pivot connection between adjacent panels.
- 20. A sectional upward acting door comprising interconnected door panels, each of said panels comprising generally planar rectangular members, each having a generally planar outer wall part and generally planar inner wall parts spaced from said outer wall part, an elongated upper edge of said panel including an upwardly projecting convex surface extending inwardly with respect to said outer wall part toward said inner wall part and including a first planar segment inclined with respect to said outer wall part, a further surface inclined with respect to said first planar segment and with respect to said outer wall part, a second planar segment contiguous with and inclined with respect to said further surface and said outer wall part, a curvilinear portion having a first radius of curvature and disposed adjacent to and contiguous with said second planar segment and an apex of said upper edge, said apex being curvilinear and having a second radius of curvature less than said first radius of curvature, said apex being contiguous with a generally planar wall portion extending substantially parallel to said outer wall part, an elongated lower edge of said panel including a downwardly projecting curvilinear tip portion contiguous with said outer wall part and a concave part of said lower edge formed by plural planar segments inclined with respect to said outer wall part at successively increasing acute angles of inclination with respect to said outer wall part, said upper and lower edges being cooperable with each other between adjacent interconnected panels to form a pinch resistant joint when said adjacent panels are pivoted relative to each other.
- 24. A sectional upward acting door including interconnectable door panels, said panels comprising generally planar rectangular members having respective upper and lower edges, said panels being adapted to be interconnected to each other by plural hinge assemblies spaced apart along and interconnecting adjacent ones of said panels and forming a pivot connection between adjacent panels, respectively, said hinge assemblies including opposed hinge plates adapted to be interconnected to each other by moving one panel adjacent to another panel, said hinge plates including cooperating parts which engage upon moving said one panel adjacent said another panel in one direction thereby pivotably connecting said panels, said cooperating parts preventing disengagement of said panels from each other during movement of said door between open and closed positions in a direction opposite said one direction.
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30. A method for assembling a sectional upward acting door wherein said door is operable to be supported for movement between open and closed positions between a pair of opposed spaced apart guide tracks, said door including plural, generally planar panel members adapted to be connected to each other along opposed edges of adjacent panel members and said door including plural hinge assemblies including, respectively, opposed hinge plates adapted to be connected to upper and lower edges of adjacent panels, respectively, and plural guide member support brackets also adapted to be connected to said panels, respectively, said method comprising the steps of:
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placing a first panel between said guide tracks and connecting said first panel to said guide tracks;
placing a second panel between said guide tracks and adjacent to said first panel wherein an edge of said first panel is adjacent an edge of said second panel;
moving said panels toward each other to connect said panels by engaging said hinge plates of said hinge assemblies with each other, respectively; and
mounting at least two support brackets on said second panel with opposed guide members connected to said support brackets to support said second panel between said guide tracks.
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31. The method set forth in claim 31 wherein:
the step of moving said panels toward each other comprises lowering said second panel into engagement with said first panel by interengaging said hinge plates of respective ones of said hinge assemblies with each other by moving said first and second panels relative to each other in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal extent of said guide tracks.
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32. The method set forth in claim 32 wherein:
the step of connecting said support brackets to said second panel comprises sliding said support brackets into engagement with said second panel at spaced apart bracket receiving tabs formed on structural members of said second panel, respectively.
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33. A hinge assembly for interconnecting panels of a multipanel door, said hinge assembly comprising:
opposed hinge plates including means for mounting said hinge plates on adjacent panels of a multipanel door, respectively, a hinge pin on one of said hinge plates, at least one bearing bore on the other of said hinge plates for receiving said hinge pin in response to moving said one hinge plate toward said other hinge plate in one direction and an elastically deflectable retainer on said other hinge plate operable in response to engagement with said hinge pin during assembly of one panel of said door to an adjacent panel to deflect to provide for insertion of said hinge pin in said at least one bearing bore, said retainer being engageable with said hinge pin to prevent disengagement of said hinge plates from each other by any force applied through said hinge pin in a direction opposite said one direction during movement of said panels between door open and door closed positions.
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34. The hinge assembly set forth in claim 34 wherein:
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said other hinge plate includes a web part, spaced apart flanges secured to said web part and extending generally parallel to each other, a bearing bore formed in each of said flanges and guide surfaces formed on each of said flanges for guiding opposed distal ends of said hinge pin into said bearing bores, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (36)
said other hinge plate includes opposed elastically deflectable fingers defining a gap therebetween for receiving said hinge pin for deflecting said fingers to allow forcible insertion of said hinge pin into said bearing bore, said fingers being elastically restorable to a position to retain said hinge pin in said bearing bore.
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35. The hinge assembly set forth in claim 35 wherein:
said retainer comprises an elastically deflectable tab formed on each of said flanges for retaining opposite ends of said hinge pin in said bearing bores, respectively.
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37. The hinge assembly set forth in claim 37 wherein:
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said one hinge plate includes opposed parts engageable with said other hinge plate to prevent longitudinal displacement of said hinge plates relative to each other sufficient to disengage said hinge plates from each other in predetermined positions of said hinge plates with respect to each other. - View Dependent Claims (38)
said hinge pin is integrally formed on said one hinge plate.
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39. The hinge assembly set forth in claim 39 wherein:
said hinge pin is formed by opposed pin portions which are rolled in opposite directions to form a substantially cylindrical hinge pin integral with said one hinge plate.
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40. A hinge assembly for interconnecting panels of a multi-panel door, said hinge assembly comprising:
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opposed hinge plates including means for mounting said hinge plates, respectively, on adjacent panels of a multipanel door;
one of said hinge plates including an elongated hinge pin;
the other of said hinge plates including a bearing part comprising opposed upstanding wall parts formed with opposed hinge pin retainer fingers inclined toward each other to form a slot opening toward a bearing bore for said hinge pin, said opposed fingers being elastically deflectable to allow said hinge pin of said one hinge plate to be moved in one direction into said bearing bore and said fingers being characterized such that, upon said hinge pin of said one hinge plate passing through said slot, said fingers are operable to retain said hinge plates connected to each other and said fingers are not operable to be deflected by any force applied through said hinge pin to allow removal of said hinge pin from said bearing bore by urging said hinge pin in a direction opposite said one direction.
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41. The hinge assembly set forth in claim 41 wherein:
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said one hinge plate includes opposed spaced apart parts engageable with said other hinge plate to prevent separation of said hinge plates from each other in a direction generally along a longitudinal axis of said hinge pin in selected predetermined positions of said hinge plates with respect to each other. - View Dependent Claims (42)
said hinge pin is integrally formed on said one hinge plate.
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43. The hinge assembly set forth in claim 43 wherein:
said hinge pin is formed by opposed pin portions which are rolled in opposite directions to form a substantially cylindrical hinge pin integral with said one hinge plate.
Specification