Overhead door construction

Feb. 6, 1940.

A. V. ROWE

2,189,019

OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION

Filed Nov. 30, 1938

Sheets-Sheet 1

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Feb. 6, 1940.

a. v. rowe 2,189,019

OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 30, 1938 . 3 Sheets-Sheet 2

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Feb. 6, 1940. a. v rowe 2,189,019

OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION

Filed Nov. 30, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3

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Patented Feb. 6, 1940

2,189,019

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,189,019 OVERHEAD DOOR CONSTRUCTION Alvin V. Rowe, Galesburg, Hl., assignor to Rowe Manufacturing Company, Galesburg, HL, a corporation of Illinois

Application November 30, 1938, Serial No. 243,245

Claims.

Ulis invention relates generally to overhead door constructions but more particularly to overhead door constructions in which the door panel or panels are adapted laterally to be moved into 5 sealing relation with, respect to a door opening after reaching a closing position.

In the design of overhead door constructions, efforts have 'been made to reduce as far as possible frictional resistance as the door panels are lo shifted between open and closed positions. To this end it has been common practice to employ guide rollers equipped with ball bearings, and counterbalancing springs have been used to facilitate the ease with which the door may be oper15 ated.

Various mechanisms have been offered whereby to effect the automatic sealing of the door panels with respect to the door opening as said panels approach, their door-closing position. In 2o an _Of these devices with which l am familiar, increased frictional resistance to door movements is developed as the door panels approach their downward or door-closing position. Thus, for example, in certain installations tapered or in25 clined guide tracks are employed which cause the front marginal portions of the door panels to be carried into frictional engagement with the complementary inner surfaces of the door frames during the last several inches of travel of the 30 panels. In other words, during the latter portion of this downward movement, friction is established between the door panels and the door frames. This not only increases the force required to ultimately close the door panels, but 35 also increases the force necessary to initially shift the panels from their closed toward their open position. Also such installations are affected by changes in climatic conditions because such conditions cause the door panels to experience ex40 pansion and contraction. Expansion of the door panels obviously increases the period of frictional engagement between the panels and the door frames. In other installations with which I am familiar, wherein the lateral sealing movement 45 of the door panel occurs as an incident to the downward movement of said panels, a period of frict’onal engagement takes place before said panels reach their/limiting downward Or doorclosing position. /

It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention to obviate the disadvantages and inconveniences presented by the above mentioned and other conventional overhead door constructions and to this end I propose to preM elude the establishment of any frictional resist(CL 20—20) ance between the door panels and frame structures before said panels reach their ultimate, downward door-closing position. That is to say, the present invention cohtemplates the provision of means whereby the sealing relation of the e door panels with respect to the door opening is established after vertical downward movement of the door panels has been completed.

It is a further object of the present invention to release the sealing pressure of the door panels 10 and side frames before said panels experience any upward movement, thereby avoiding the necessity of overcoming this sealing pressure when the panels are initially shifted upwardly from their door-closing position. 16

More specifically, the invention contemplates the provision, in combination with an overhead door construction of the general type and class referred to above, of sealing and releasing means which may be manually manipulated with little SO effort and from a convenient position intermediate the sides of the door panels.

Another object of the present invention is to provide manually operable door-sealing means which may be controlled by manual manipulation 26 of the locking lever which is usually located centrally with respect to the door panels, and which may be operated either from the outside or the Inside of the door panels.

j Still more specifically, the invention contem- 3® plates the provision of control means for causing and releasing sealing pressure which will operate simultaneously on all door panels along the oppositely disposed, vertical margins of the door panels when in closed position. yg

The foregoing and numerous other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: 40

Figure 1 is an inside elevational view of an overhead door construction constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, said view constituting a vertical section taken substantially along the line I—I of Fig- 46 ure 5; ^λ

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the portion of the track structure and associated elements Included within the bracket designated Ly the numeral 2 in Figure 1; “°

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the device as viewed from the right of Figure 2, a portion of the track structure being broken away to more clearly illustrate the structural characteristics __ s,iet of the vertically shiftable cam actuating member;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4—4 of Figure 3 to more clearly 5 illustrate the manner in which the track structure oppositely disposed from the cam member is released to permit lateral movement of the guide roller and the consequent establishment of sealing pressure between the complementary 10 door panel and door jamb;

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 5—5 of Figure 1, disclosing in elevation one of the track structures embodying the panel-sealing mechanic ism contemplated by the present invention;

Figure 6 is an elevational view of the cam members and actuating means therefor disassociated from the upright track structure;

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary eleva89 tional view of the portion of the section included within the bracket designated by the numeral I in Figure 5;

Figure 8 is an elevational view of the structure as viewed from the right of Figure 7;

Figure 9 in an elevational view as viewed from the left of Figure 8 along the line 8—9 of Figure 8, with a portion of said parts shown in section to more clearly Illustrate the manner in which the vertically shiftable cam supporting 8® element is coupled with the bell crank device of

Figure 8;

Figure 10 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view taken across the upright track section substantially along the line Iff—10 of Fig85 ure 8;

Figure 11 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the upper half of the upright track section of Figure 5, with a portion thereof broken away to disclose the structural arrange40 ment of parts otherwise hidden;

Figure 12 is a fragmentary elevational view taken from the right of Figure 11;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantially along the line 13—13 of

Figure 11; „ ,

Figure 14 is a horizontal transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line 14—14 of Figure 11;

Figure 15 is a perspective view of one of the ¢0 cam elements detached from its supporting or actuating member;

Figure- 16 is a perspective view of the cam actuating member and cam supported thereby employed to effect lateral door-sealing move«Κ ment of the door panels shown in Figures 11 and 12;

Figure 17 is a fragmentary perspective view of a section of the upright track which is cooperatively associated with the cam actuating member _en of Figure 16; and

Figure 18 is a fragmentary perspective view of the lower cam actuating member and means for coupling said member to the upper cam actuating member disclosed in Figure 16.

_Λ5 Referring now to the drawings more in detail wherein like numerals have been employed to designate similar parts throughout the various figures, it will be seen that,' for the purpose of illustrating one practical embodiment of the in70 vention, the same is disclosed in association with a door structure designated generally by the numeral 20, which includes a plurality of door panels 22, 24, 26, and 28, which are adapted to be shifted between vertical door closing posi_n tion and horizontal overhead opened position

1,019 along a pair of identical oppositely disposed guide rails or tracks indicated generally by the numeral 30. Each of the tracks 30 includes an upright or vertically disposed track section 32, a curved section 34, and a horizontal section 36. ·

The three lowermost door panels are copnected in edge-to-edge relation along their outer margins by identical hinge means designated generally by the numeral 38, whereas the two uppermost panels are connected at their opposite 10 margins by identical hinge means designated generally by the numeral 40. Each of the hinge means 38 includes a pintle 42, which carries a guide roller 44. The detailed arrangement of the hinge means 40 and the guide roller 46 car- 15 ried thereby will be more apparent from the description which is to follow. It will suffice at this point. in the description to say that the door panels 22, 24, 26, and 28 are adapted to ·. be shifted between the closed vertical position 20 shown in the various figures to an open overhead position through the agency of the guide rollers 44, 46, and guide rollers 48 which travel within the tracks or rails 30.

It will be observed that each vertical track 25 section 32 indudes aflat guide portion 5ff adapted to be secured to a complementary door jam 52, and the oppositely disposed guide portion of the track section 32 is curved to receive the curved periphery of the guide rollers. It will be appar- 30 ent that, as the door panels are shifted from the’r open overhead position to the limit of their door closing position, no lateral movement of the door panels into sealing engagement with the door jambs 52 takes place automatically. In other words, the track section is disposed in parallelism with the door jamb and no means is provided which operates as an incident to the closing movement of the door panels for effecting automatically lateral movement of the door 40 panels into frictional engagement with the inner surface of the door jambs 52. As a result, the force required to move the door pands downwardly, as said panels approach the limit of their dosing position, is not counteracted by 45 frictional resistance between the door panels and door jambs, as in conventional installations with which I am familiar.

The present invention contemplates means for effecting lateral movement of the door panels 50 into sealing engagement with the door jambs after the panels reach their fully closed or downward position. This door sealing means includes actuating mechanism designated generally by the numeral 54, which is cooperatively disposed with 55 respect to and, in fact, actuated by a complementary lock bar 56 (Figures 1, 7, and 8). Each of the lock bars 56 is reciprocably mounted at its free extremity within brackets 58 marginally secured to the door panel 24. Each of the lock bars 60 56 is continuously urged inwardly toward each other through the agency of a spring element 60. ττίρ inner extremities of the lock bars 56 are pivotally connected with a control handle mechanism 62, which is mounted centrally of the panel 24 in a convenient position for manual manipulation. The mechanism 62 includes a handle member 64 which may be rotated so as to longitudinally shift the bars 56 when a latch member 66 of γθ a lock mechanism 68 is withdrawn from a complementary peripheral recess in the mechanism 62. 'This lock mechanism 68 functions in accordance with conventional locking devices for overhead doors, and hence a further detailed descrip- gg

2,180,019 panels 22, 24, and 26 to be shifted into tight sealing engagement along their oppositely disposed marginal surfaces with the complementary surface portions of the door jambs 52. This sealing or clamping engagement of the door.P^a”^®_ respect to the door jambs occurs as the_periphery of the rollers 44 moves into the complementary slots or recesses HO. From the foregoing it will be apparent that, as a result of the upward movement of the actuating bar 80, the door panels 22. 24 and 26 are simultaneously shifted into sealing relation with respect to the door opening which is defined by the door jambs 52.

In addition to the actuating member 80 and the cam members 98 associated therewith, I employ an upper actuating section or bar designated by the numeral 80α, which also carries cam members 90α. This upper section 80α is particularly designed to effect the sealing dr clamping engagement of the upper door panel 20 with respect to the door jambs, 52, and the structural features of this portion of the actuating mechanism are best disclosed in Figures 11 to 18, inclusive. The vertical actuating bar or member 80, previously described, is reciprocable within the curved portion of the vertical track section 32, whereas the vertical actuating member or section 80α is reciprocable along the outer surface of the curved portion of said track section. The lower portion of the U-shaped actuating member 80α is provided with a slot 112 which serves to permit adjustable coupling of the member 80α with the member 80. This coupling includes a guide block 114 which is vertically reciprocable within a complementary recess or slot 116 provided in the curved portion of the track section 32, ana a screw H8, which serves to clamp together the . upper extremity of the bar 80 and the lower extremity of the bar 80α. The upper extremity of the bar 80 reciprocably interlocks with and is 40 guided by a slot 120 provided in the track section 32 (Figures 11 and 14). It will be seen that a section 122 of the bar 80α is bent inwardly so as to project through the guide slot 120. From the foregoing it will be apparent that vertical move-' 45 ment of the actuating bar 80 also causes vertical movement of the bar 80α and the cam members 98α supported thereby.

The lowermost cam member 98α is adjustably secured to the bar 80α by means of a screw 124, _Mwhich extends through a complementary slot 128 The two uppermost cam members 98α are likewise adjustably secured by screws 128, which extend through complementary slots or recesses 130. As the cam members 98 move 55 the lowermost cam member engages a roller I3Z and the two uppermost spaced cam members gage complementary rollers 134 The roller 132 (see Figures 11 and 13) is carried by a bracket 136 which is pivotally mounted upon the pintle go 138 of the hinge 40. Disposed on the opposite side of the pintle *38 and carried by the frame or bracket 136 is the guide roller 46. Thus, as the roller 132 is swung upwardly to the right (Figure 11) the guide roller 46 is swung downwardly and 65 to the right into engagement with the inner curved portion of the track section 32. This causes the pintle 138 to experience lateral movement to the left, thereby causing the upper portion of the panel 26 and the lower portion of the 70 panel 28 to be moved into damping with the complementary portion of the do

32. A spring 148 serves to continuously urge the roller 132 into engagement with its complementary cam 98α.

tion thereof is not necessary for a clear understanding of the present invention.

Referring now to the actuating mechanism 5 (Figures 7 and 8), it will be seen that one arm 10 5 of a bell crank mechanism carries a roller iz which is adapted to be engaged by the free extremity of the lock bar 56. The arm 10 is pivotally mounted at 14, which pivot also supports a companion bell crank arm 76. The arms 70 and 10 76 are resiliently coupled through the agency 0 a coil spring 78. The free extremity of the arm 76 makes a slot-and-pin connection with a vertically disposed actuating bar 80. It will be a.so noted that the actuating mechanism 54 15 ing the bell crank arms 70 and 76 is mounted upon a bracket or frame 82 adjustably secured by suitable means, such as nuts 84, to the vertical track section 32. Movement of the lock bar 56 (Figure 8) to the left in engagement with 20 the roller 72 causes the vertical actuating bar 80 to be shifted upwardly so as to effect simultaneous lateral movement of the door panels into sealing engagement with the door jambs 52 in tne manner about to be described.

It will be noted that the vertical actuating bar 80 is preferably curved so as to fit into the complementary curvature of the vertical section 32 0 the guide track 30 (see Figure 10). The foregoing slot and pin connection comprises a pin 86, which cooperates with a slot 88 in the bell crank arm 76, is secured to the vertical actuating member 80 and is also secured to a block 90, which superimposes the member 80 and is ^ye^^ticalJ^yshiftable within a complementary slot 92 formed in the track section 30. A plate 94 (Figure 10) superimposes the block 90 and extends on opposite sides beyond the slot 92. With this arrangement, the actuating member 80 is ^^uid®^d Y¹ Γ® vertical reciprocation. It will be n°^{ted tha}* 40 plate 92 is secured to the actuating bar 80 and the block 90 by suitable screws 96.

The actuating bar or member 80 carries a plurality of cam members or elements 98, the ]^owe5’ most cam member 98 being companion to the 4S lowermost door panel 22, the Intermediate cam members 98 being companion to the door panels 24 and 26, and the upper cam member being companion to the door panel 28. These cam members are all similar in their function, and hence M> the disclosure of one will serve as a disclosure 0 all. By referring to Figures 2 to 4, inclusive, a clear understanding of the structure and function of these cam members will be obtained. It will be noted that the cam member 98 is adjustably u secured to the actuating bar 80 through the agency of a screw 100 which extends through a , slot 102 in the actuating bar 80. A washer 104 is of sufficient width to span a slot 106 in the track section 32, through which the cam mem«0 her 98 extends and in which said cam member is vertically reciprocable. It will also be noted that each of the cam elements 98 is positioned in the vicinity of the complementary guide rollers 44 and, as upward movement is experienced by the actu65 ating bar in response to the outward “ the lock bars 56, the inclined surfaces 168 of the cam members 98 engage the material of the track at the upper extremity of the slots 106, causing the actuating bar to shift laterally J^owa^^d70 the door jambs 52. The complementary rollers 44 engaging the inner cuiwed surface of the bar, are simultaneously moved so as to carry the periphery ._{ambs 52}of the roller through a slot or recess HO Vto^Oed , in the flat tread portion 50 of the track ·*· : j This movement of the rollers 44 causes the door P

IS

The structure supporting the roller 134 is identical with the structure supporting the roller 132 and hence detailed description thereof is not essentia,!. It will be noted that the rollers 134 cooperate with the guide roller 48 in causing the clamping engagement of the upper portion of the door panel 28 with the door jamb 52. A pintle (42 supported by a bracket 144 serves the same purpose as the pintle 138 previously described ,_u^{By emp}lo^ying the rollers (34, together with their pivotal supporting brackets, the upnermost panel may move between vertical door closing position and open overhead position along the’ curved section 34 of the track without any interference or binding. By having the cam members 98α positioned externally of the track, as distinguished from the cam members 98 which extend from within the track, the ease with which the uppermost panels of the door structure 20 may be shifted is materially enhanced. This arrangement avoids the necessity of providing recesses or slots in the flat tread portion 50 in the upper vicinity of the vertical track section 32. Hence the ease of operation, as well as the elimi«δ nation of noise, results.

Referring again to the springs 78 disclosed in Figures 7 and 8, attention is directed to the fact mat, these springs continuously urge the bell crank arm 76 in a counterclockwise direction, as 30 viewed in Figure 8. Thus, after the door panels have been shifted and clamped in their closed vertical position, any lateral vibration experienced' by the door panels will cause the spring 78 to m such a manner as to effect a firmer or 35 tighter engagement of the panels with the door jambs. In other words, lateral vibration of the door panels enables the springs 78 to urge the ^{in an}„upward direction, and panels with the door jambs. Thus springs or yieldable members 78 serve to automatically increase the clamping effectiveness of the door structure when vibrations are experienced thereby after they have reached their lowermost door closing position.

. From the foregoing it wifi be apparent that mv invention contemplates an improved overhead door construction, wherein frictional engagement between the door panels and door jamb structure during vertical travel of the door panels is eliminated. Hence, it avoids the necessity of using slanting tracks, rollers spaced at different distances from the door jamb, as well as wedge members of any kind. In fact, the use of any mechanism for building up frictional resistance between the door panels and door- jambs during the final door closing movement or the initial door openmg movement is completely eliminated when the present invention is employed. The 40 overhead door structure contemplated hereby may be economically produced and installed Also, the means for automatically increasing the sealing or clamping effectiveness of the door panels, when lateral vibration is experienced thereby, materially increases its operative efnciency.

While certain specific embodiments have been disclosed herein, it will be apparent that the invention is not limited thereto, but contemplates various modifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.