GB2093895A

GB2093895A - Door assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2093895A
Application number: GB8200766A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Byrne and Davidson Doors NSW Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Byrne and Davidson Doors NSW Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1981-03-03
Filing date: 1982-01-12
Publication date: 1982-09-08
Also published as: GB2093895B; JPS6357594B2; MY8700346A; JPS57146884A

Abstract

A door assembly comprises, e.g. with a roller shutter door, a pair of vertically disposed guides 6 affixed to opposite door posts 7, the guides having oppositely disposed side walls defining an inwardly opening U- shaped channel; a vertically movable door curtain 4, e.g. of corrugated form having parallel resilient wearing strips 12A, B affixed to each side of its opposite marginal edges, each of the edges and wearing strips being retained by and movable within one of the guides; and channel-shaped grooves 11 and inwardly directed flanges 9 at or adjacent the free edges of the side walls to hold the door curtain against removal by the action of wind. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Door assembly This invention relates to a door assembly.

It has been well known for many years to provide doors for garages and the like where the doorway is closed by a slat shutter or by a continuous sheet rolling curtain. When closed, these door aprons are supported at their opposite vertical marginal edges by guides such as inwardly opening vertically extending channels positioned at the sides of the doorway.

Arrangements of the type described above are generally satisfactory in most applications. It has been found, however, that in conditions of high winds the apron tends to bow inwardly or outwardly such that its marginal edges move towards each other and disengage themselves from the guide channels. The door may then be torn completely away and itself constitute a safety hazard while leaving the doorway unprotected.

The present invention has been developed in order to provide an apron construction which will afford greater resistance to high wind forces, and which may lock the opposite marginal edges of the door apron to their respective vertical guides in a manner which will permit a predetermined amount of deflection of the apron without tearing the edges away from the guides.

According to the present invention there is provided a windlocked door assembly comprising: a pair of vertically disposed guides affixed to opposite door posts, said guides having oppositely disposed side walls defining an inwardly opening U-shaped channel; inwardly directed locking flanges at or adjacent the free edges of said side walls; a vertically movable door curtain having parallel resilient wearing strips affixed to each side of its opposite marginal edges, each said edge and respective wearing strips being retained by and movable within one of said guides;; each said side wall having a vertically extending recess adjacent said locking flange to partly accommodate its adjacent wearing strip when in a strained position under wind forces, the maximum dimension between outermost oppositely directed surfaces of said wearing strips is less than the distance between said side walls but greater than the distance between said inwardly directed locking flanges, such that said locking flanges engage said wearing strips and hold said door curtain against withdrawal from said guides when said door curtain is strained by wind forces.

According to the present invention there is provided a guide for a wind-locked door assembly comprising: an attachment flange for securing said guide to a doorway post, oppositely disposed side walls defining an inwardly opening U-shaped channel, inwardly directed locking flanges at or adjacent the free edges of said side walls, a vertically extending recessed position of said side walls adjacent said locking flange.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:~ Figure 1 is a section on a horizontal plane through one edge guide and part of a door curtain constructed in accordance with the invention, the door being shown in its rest or unstrained postion.

Figure 2 is a view identical to figure 1 showing the door in its position of maximum inward deflection.

Figure 3 is a view identical to figures 1 and 2 but showing the door in its position of maximum outward deflection.

Referring initially to figure 1 of the drawings, the door includes an apron 4 supported at each of its opposite vertical edges 5 by vertical guide channels 6 secured to the doorway edge posts 7 by bolts or other suitable means engageable with an attachment flange 8 running parallel with the guide channel 6.

Each guide channel 6 is generally U-shaped in sectional configuration with inwardly directed locking flanges 9 defined by part of the free edges 10 of the U-shaped channel 6. The free edges 10 are splayed outwardly as shown to accommodate movement in the door curtain. Each channel 6 includes a pair of opposite, symmetrically disposed recesses 1 1 broken gradually away at a region of transition 15 from the parallel guide channels.

The door is shown in its normal configuration in figure 1 with each of its opposite edges 5 located within the respective guide channel 6. The door apron is of a well known corrugated form and each edge 5 is provided on each side with a resilient wearing strip 1 2A and 1 2B respectively. The wearing strip may, for example, comprise a resilient plastics core 13 surrounded by a woven low-friction plastics fabric material 14. The strip is preferably rivetted or otherwise firmly secured to the door apron.

The door apron and its associated wearing strips are fed longitudinally into the spaced guide rails in the direction of normal vertical operation.

In such operation the door moves vertically relative to the guides in the configuration shown in figure 1. In conditions of strong wind, however, the door apron tends to deflect inwardly and the opposite edges move towards each other as the assembly adopts the configuration shown in figure 2. In this position, one of the wearing strips 1 2A has come into jamming contact with inwardly directed locking flange 9 closest to the door post 7, thereby restraining the door edge from being torn from its guide channel. The opposite wearing strip 1 2B engages with the adjacent recess 1 1 which provides greater freedom of movement as well as assisting the locking of door edges against withdrawal from their guides.

Figure 3 is a view similar to figure 2 but illustrating the door in its position of maximum outward deflection. In this configuration, it will be observed that both wearing strips 1 2A and 1 2B have engaged with their respective locking flanges 9 while the innermost strip 1 2B has entered its adjacent recess 11.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a specific example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms.

Claims

1. A windlocked door assembly comprising: a pair of vertically disposed guides affixed to opposite door posts, said guides having oppositely disposed side walls defining an inwardly opening U-shaped channel; inwardly directed locking flanges at or adjacent the free edges of said side walls; a vertically movable door curtain having parallel resilient wearing strips affixed to each side of its opposite marginal edges, each said edge and respective wearing strips being retained by and movable within one of said guides;; each said side wall having a vertically extending recess adjacent said locking flange to partly accommodate its adjacent wearing strip when in a strained position under wind forces, the maximum dimension between outermost oppositely directed surfaces of said wearing strips is less than the distance between said side walls but greater than the distance between said inwardly directed locking flanges, such that said locking flanges engage said wearing strips and hold said door curtain against withdrawal from said guides when said door curtain is strained by wind forces.

2. A wind-locked door assembly according to claim 1 wherein the outermost portions of said side walls are parallel to each other to define a sliding path for said wearing strips when said door curtain is in an unstrained condtion.

3. A wind-locked door assembly according to claim 2 wherein said vertically extending recess extends horizontally a distance less than the width of said wearing strip in a horizontal direction parallel to said door curtain.

4. A wind-locked door assembly according to claim 3 wherein the outermost edge of each said recess is broken gradually away at a region of transition from said parallel side wall such that at least a portion of its adjacent wearing strip is held in compression when said door curtain is stressed by wind forces.

5. A guide for a wind-locked door assembly as defined in claim 1 comprising: an attachment flange for securing said guide to a doorway post; oppositely disposed side walls defining an inwardly opening U-shaped channel; inwardly directed locking flanges at or adjacent the free edges of said side walls; a vertically extending recessed portion of said side walls adjacent said locking flange.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the free edges of said guide lines are spiayed outwardly.

7. A wind-locked door assembly substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A guide for a wind-locked door substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.