AU2005100640A4

AU2005100640A4 - Insulated garage door

Info

Publication number: AU2005100640A4
Application number: AU2005100640A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Corneliu Vlad Bodnar; Timothy Florea
Original assignee: CORNELIU BODNAR
Current assignee: CORNELIU BODNAR
Priority date: 2005-05-23
Filing date: 2005-08-08
Publication date: 2005-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 2013-08-08

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT INSULATED GARAGE DOOR The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me: IAN INSULATING MEMBER FOR A GARAGE DOOR

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0 FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an insulating member for a garage door. The invention also relates to an insulated garage door.

0 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0 In warm climates, the desirability of minimizing heat transfer into and out of a dwelling is Swell known. Coupled with air conditioning, a well insulated house with air conditioning can be comfortable even in very hot weather.

0 c Most modern houses incorporate a design in which a garage space leads directly into a living space. In many houses, the standard garage door is an assembly of rectangular panels that are arranged in rows, with each row spanning a garage opening. The panels in each row are hingedly connected to the panels in adjacent rows. The garage door is slidably mounted in a suitable frame to be displaceable between a closed position and an open position in which the garage door is horizontally positioned above the garage space. During the transition between the closed and open positions, the panels pivot with respect to each other to accommodate overall bending of the garage door.

The panels are often fabricated from sheet steel and incorporate a facing section and two pairs of opposed, inwardly facing channel sections. Applicant has found that such an assembly is a poor insulator. As a result, on a warm day, the garage space can become uncomfortably warm.

Furthermore, a standard internal door usually separates the living space from the garage space. As a result, Applicant has found that the heat in the garage space can affect the temperature in the living space, thereby causing possible discomfort and excessive loading of the air conditioning.

It is an object of the invention to address the problems associated with these garage doors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

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o According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an insulating member for a garage door of the type having a plurality of interconnected panels, the insulating member including A body of an insulating material, the body being shaped and dimensioned to engage an operatively inner side of one of the panels of the garage door.

0 According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an insulating member o for a garage door of the type having a plurality of interconnected panels, in which each panel includes a facing portion and at least one pair of opposed, channel portions that o open towards each other, the insulating member including 0 c a body of an insulating material, the body being shaped and dimensioned so that at least one pair of opposed sides are receivable in respective channel portions of one of the panels of the garage door to be retained in position on an operatively inner side of the garage door.

The body may be rectangular and may have operatively inner and outer faces. The insulating member may further include at least an operatively inwardly facing cover element to cover the body, in situ. The cover element may by shaped to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance to the insulating member.

The invention extends to a garage door which includes a number of insulating members as described above.

The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is intended solely to provide a person of ordinary skill in the art with sufficient information to carry out a preferred embodiment of the invention. As such, the following description is not intended to limit the scope of the preceding paragraphs or the claims of the specification in any manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 shows a schematic plan view of a number of insulating members, in accordance with the invention, mounted in respective panels of a garage door.

0 oFigure 2 shows a rear view of the insulating members of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a sectioned plan view of an insulating member mounted on a panel of the garage door.

0 Figure 4 shows a schematic three dimensioned view of part of the garage door including 0 the insulating members.

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Figure 5 shows a sectioned front view of the insulating member.

0 c Figure 6 shows a sectioned end view of the insulating member.

Figure 7 shows a plan exploded view of the insulating member.

Figure 8 shows a schematic sectioned side view of the garage door in a closed condition.

Figure 9 shows a schematic sectioned side view of the garage door in a partially open condition.

Figure 10 shows an inner side of part of the garage door with the insulating panels of Figure 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally indicates an insulating member, in accordance with the invention, for a garage door.

The insulating member 10 is mounted on a panel 12 of a garage door. As described in the Background of the Invention, the garage door, a part of which is indicated by reference numeral 14 in Figures 8 to 10, comprises a plurality of the panels 12 arranged in rows 16 which span a garage opening. The panels 12 of each row 16 are hingedly connected to each other with suitable hinge arrangements 18. This permits the garage door to be slid from a closed condition (Figure 8) to an open condition Figure in 0 o which the panels 12 pivot, consecutively, to accommodate the transition between vertical and horizontal positions.

Each panel 12 is rectangular and has a facing portion 20. A pair of opposed channel oportions 22 extend operatively into the garage space from a pair of opposed shorter sides of the facing portion 20. The channel portions 22 define channels 24 that face 0 rI- each other.

The insulating member 10 is also generally rectangular. In particular, the insulating o member 10 is dimensioned to be received between the channel portions 22 with shorter 0 Ssides 26 received in respective channels 24. Furthermore, the, insulating member 10 is dimensioned to cover its corresponding facing portion It will be appreciated that, in order to position the shorter sides 26 in respective channels 24, it is desirable that the insulating member 10 be at least partially resiliently flexible to facilitate such mounting. Still further, the insulating member 10 is dimensioned so that, when the sides 26 are received in the respective channels 24, the member 10 is placed in compression further to secure the insulating member 10 in position.

As can be seen in Figures 1, 2 and 4, the insulating member 10 is laminated. In particular, the insulating member 10 has an insulating core 28 sandwiched between an outer skin 30 (with respect to the garage space) and an inwardly facing cover element or inner skin 32. The skins 30, 32 are fastened to the insulating core 28 with suitable adhesive, as shown in Figure 8.

As can be seen in Figures 2, 4 and 10, the inner skin 32 can be formed with a decorative pattern 34. Furthermore, as can be seen in Figure 1, the inner skin 32 is truncated at its edges to accommodate an inwardly directed wall or lip 36 (Figure 3) of each channel portion 22. Furthermore, the inner skin 32 is of a thickness which corresponds to that of the lip 36, so that the inner skin 32 and the lip 36 present a flush surface. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that, with the insulating members installed, an inner side of the garage door is provided with an aesthetically pleasing

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oappearance.

;Z The insulating core 28 is of a suitable insulating material. In a preferred embodiment, othe insulating core 28 is a wool batt. As is known, such bats are comprised of

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o compressed wool. The skins 30, 32 are of a suitable plastics material. For example, the skins 30, 32 can be of polyvinyl chloride, high density polyethylene or polypropylene.

0 In another example, the skins 30, 32 could be of a fibre reinforced resin.

_In this particular embodiment, as can be seen in the drawings, the ends of the insulating omember 10 are not coated. However, it will readily be appreciated that, depending on 0 c, factors such as the choice of material for the insulating core, the ends could readily be coated with a material similar to that of the skins 30, 32.

Large sheets with construction similar to that of the insulating member 10 can be fabricated. These sheets can then be cut into sizes suitable for particular models of garage doors.

Applicant submits that the insulating member 10 can provide a conventional garage door with desirable thermal and acoustic insulating properties. Furthermore, the insulating material can be selected to act as a fire retardant. Still further, with a suitable selection of materials, the insulating member can provide protection against insects and rodents.

By installing the members 10 in the manner described above, it will be appreciated that the operation of the garage door is not effected. As a result, no modification of the garage door is required. As a result, a particular advantage of the invention is that the consumer can simply purchase a number of the members and install them to insulate his or her garage door. It will be understood from the above description that the installation is a simple and quick procedure.

Applicant submits that the insulation is easily cut to size and simple to fit in tilt panel doors. The panels 12 provide thermal and acoustic protection as well as fire retardant Sproperties. The skins 30, 32 cover the internal insulation core and create a long life 0 oshield from damage and are light in weight. The skins 30, 32 can also improve multipurpose areas cosmetically.

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Claims

1. An insulating member for a garage door of the type having a plurality of interconnected panels, the insulating member including (0 oA body of an insulating material, the body being shaped and dimensioned to engage an operatively inner side of one of the panels of the garage door.

S2. An insulating member of a garage door of the type having a plurality of 0 interconnected panels, in which each panel includes a facing portion and at least one o pair of opposed, channel portions that open towards each other, the insulating member 0 Sincluding; A body of an insulating material, the body being shaped and dimensioned so that at least one pair of opposed sides are receivable in respective channel portions of one of the panels of the garage door to be retained in position on an operatively inner side of the garage door.

3. An insulating member as claimed in claim 2, in which the body is rectangular and has operatively inner and outer faces, the insulating member further including at least an operatively inwardly facing cover element to cover the body, in situ.

4. An insulating member as claimed in claim 3, in which the cover element is shaped to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance to the insulating member. A garage door which includes a number of the insulating members as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4. Dated this 8 t h Day of August 2005 Corneliu VIad Bodnar and Timothy Florea By our attorneys Eagar Buck Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys