GB2134166A - Garage door - Google Patents

Abstract

A door e.g. for domestic garages where there is limited headroom comprises a flexible shutter 16 of articulated laths (24) and a pair of shutter guides 14. The guides 14 are of approximately twice the length of the shutter and have a right-angled bend substantially halfway along. An electric motor may drive a roller 18 profiled to correspond with shoulders 22 on each lath to open and close the shutter. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Garage door This invention relates to shutter doors, in particular for buildings such as garages.

Domestic garages are commonly fitted either with hinged wooden or metal doors, or metal doors of the 'up and over' type. The latter may be power operated and may therefore be actuated automatically, for example when the car passes over a pressure pad on the entrance drive, or breaks a photocell beam.

Up and over doors aro often unsatisfactory in that they often do not fit exactly into the door opening, the linkages may become stiff and difficult to operate, and they are often difficult to lock satisfactorily. Much preferred are doors of the roller shutter type in which a shutter of articulated laths may be wound on to a roll in order to open the door. However, such shutter doors require a certain amount of head room in order to accommodate the roller and this is often not present in domestic garages so such doors, although technically superior, have not found widespread use.

The invention seeks to provide a simple and convenient form of shutter type door for use with domestic garages which overcomes or reduces the above disadvantages.

According to the present invention there is provided a door of the roller shutter type intended for use in buildings where there is limited headroom which comprises a shutter formed of articulated laths and a pair of shutter guides, the guides being approximately twice the length of the shutter and having a right angle bend substantially half way along, and a roller profiled to engage the laths being located in driving relation to the shutter.

Preferbaly the roller is located in the corner formed by the right angled bend of the guides.

The roller may be driven by suitable means, for example an electric motor, so as to raise or lower the shutter. While a belt, chain or other suitable form of drive may be employed, it is preferred that the electric motor be located alongside the roller at one side of the door space and have a drive pinion with a profiled surface complementary to the profiled surface of the roller located in driving engagement therewith. Consequently, where an electric motor or the like is employed, remote controls of kinds known per se may be employed with the apparatus of the invention.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of an apparatus in accordance with the invention installed in a domestic garage; Figure 2 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the roller of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a similar view to figure 2 of a drive pinion for the roller; Figure 4 is a sectional view of one of the laths making up the shutter; and Figure 5 is a detail from figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, a domestic garage 10 has a doorway 12, on either side of which is located a shutter guide 14 within which runs a roller shutter 16. The guides 14 have a right angled bend above the opening 12 and thereafter lie against the roof of the garage 10.

In the corner formed by the right angled bend in the guides 14 there is located a shutter driving roller 18 (figure 2). The surface of the roller 18 is profiled at 20 to correspond with a shoulder 22 on the laths 24 making up the shutter 16 (figure 4). The length of the shutter 16 is such that it will reach from the floor of the garage 10 to the roller 18 in the 'closed' position; and from the roller 18 to the distal end of the guide 14 in the 'open' position.

In the embodiment shown the roller 18 is driven by means of an electric motor (not shown) having a pinion 26 with surface profiles 28 complementary to the profiles 20 on the roller 18.

The motor may be actuated in a manner known per se.

In operation, considering the shutter 16 to be in its 'closed' position the motor may be actuated thereby driving the roller 18 in a clockwise direction which in turn causes the shutter 16 to be lifted in the guide section 14 adjacent the roof of the garage 10. Actuation of the motor in the reverse direction reverses this process and closes the door. Locking means may be provided as is known with ordinary roller shutter doors.

The apparatus of the invention differs from normal shutter doors in that the shutter 16 is not wound on to a roller and therefore the headroom required is approximately 50% of that which would be required by conventional roller shutter door for the same application. Thus the apparatus of the invention is ideally suited to domestic garages and other applications where headroom is limited.

While, in the embodiment shown, the guide sections 14 bend to a right angle, should the garage roof slope the angle through which the guide sections are bent may be adjusted accordingly with the object of stowing the shutter in the 'open' position as close to the roof as possible.

Where the garage door opening is extra wide, for example in a double garage, laths of the section shown in figure 4 may not have sufficient flexural rigidity to prevent sagging between the guides when the door is in the 'open' position. In this case stronger laths should be used, for example laths having a curved section (as show dotted in figure 4) which have a greaterflexural rigidity.

Claims (Filed on 9/1/84) 1. A roller shutter type door for use in buildings where there is limited headroom comprises a shutter formed of articulated laths and a pair of shutter guides, the guides being approximately twice the length of the shutter and having a bend therein substantially halfway along, and a roller

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (8)

1. **WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **.

   SPECIFICATION Garage door This invention relates to shutter doors, in particular for buildings such as garages.

   Domestic garages are commonly fitted either with hinged wooden or metal doors, or metal doors of the 'up and over' type. The latter may be power operated and may therefore be actuated automatically, for example when the car passes over a pressure pad on the entrance drive, or breaks a photocell beam.

   Up and over doors aro often unsatisfactory in that they often do not fit exactly into the door opening, the linkages may become stiff and difficult to operate, and they are often difficult to lock satisfactorily. Much preferred are doors of the roller shutter type in which a shutter of articulated laths may be wound on to a roll in order to open the door. However, such shutter doors require a certain amount of head room in order to accommodate the roller and this is often not present in domestic garages so such doors, although technically superior, have not found widespread use.

   The invention seeks to provide a simple and convenient form of shutter type door for use with domestic garages which overcomes or reduces the above disadvantages.

   According to the present invention there is provided a door of the roller shutter type intended for use in buildings where there is limited headroom which comprises a shutter formed of articulated laths and a pair of shutter guides, the guides being approximately twice the length of the shutter and having a right angle bend substantially half way along, and a roller profiled to engage the laths being located in driving relation to the shutter.

   Preferbaly the roller is located in the corner formed by the right angled bend of the guides.

   The roller may be driven by suitable means, for example an electric motor, so as to raise or lower the shutter. While a belt, chain or other suitable form of drive may be employed, it is preferred that the electric motor be located alongside the roller at one side of the door space and have a drive pinion with a profiled surface complementary to the profiled surface of the roller located in driving engagement therewith. Consequently, where an electric motor or the like is employed, remote controls of kinds known per se may be employed with the apparatus of the invention.

   The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of an apparatus in accordance with the invention installed in a domestic garage; Figure 2 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the roller of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a similar view to figure 2 of a drive pinion for the roller; Figure 4 is a sectional view of one of the laths making up the shutter; and Figure 5 is a detail from figure 1.

   Referring to the drawings, a domestic garage

   10 has a doorway 12, on either side of which is located a shutter guide 14 within which runs a roller shutter 16. The guides 14 have a right angled bend above the opening 12 and thereafter lie against the roof of the garage 10.

   In the corner formed by the right angled bend in the guides 14 there is located a shutter driving roller 18 (figure 2). The surface of the roller 18 is profiled at 20 to correspond with a shoulder 22 on the laths 24 making up the shutter 16 (figure 4). The length of the shutter 16 is such that it will reach from the floor of the garage 10 to the roller 18 in the 'closed' position; and from the roller 18 to the distal end of the guide 14 in the 'open' position.

   In the embodiment shown the roller 18 is driven by means of an electric motor (not shown) having a pinion 26 with surface profiles 28 complementary to the profiles 20 on the roller 18.

   The motor may be actuated in a manner known per se.

   In operation, considering the shutter 16 to be in its 'closed' position the motor may be actuated thereby driving the roller 18 in a clockwise direction which in turn causes the shutter 16 to be lifted in the guide section 14 adjacent the roof of the garage 10. Actuation of the motor in the reverse direction reverses this process and closes the door. Locking means may be provided as is known with ordinary roller shutter doors.

   The apparatus of the invention differs from normal shutter doors in that the shutter 16 is not wound on to a roller and therefore the headroom required is approximately 50% of that which would be required by conventional roller shutter door for the same application. Thus the apparatus of the invention is ideally suited to domestic garages and other applications where headroom is limited.

   While, in the embodiment shown, the guide sections 14 bend to a right angle, should the garage roof slope the angle through which the guide sections are bent may be adjusted accordingly with the object of stowing the shutter in the 'open' position as close to the roof as possible.

   Where the garage door opening is extra wide, for example in a double garage, laths of the section shown in figure 4 may not have sufficient flexural rigidity to prevent sagging between the guides when the door is in the 'open' position. In this case stronger laths should be used, for example laths having a curved section (as show dotted in figure 4) which have a greaterflexural rigidity.

   Claims (Filed on 9/1/84) 1. A roller shutter type door for use in buildings where there is limited headroom comprises a shutter formed of articulated laths and a pair of shutter guides, the guides being approximately twice the length of the shutter and having a bend therein substantially halfway along, and a roller profiled to engage the laths being located in driving relation with the shutter.
2. 2. A door as claimed in claim 1 in which the bend is approximately right-angled.
3. 3. A door as claimed in either of claims 1 or 2 in which the roller is located in the corner formed by the angled bend of the guides.
4. 4. A door as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the roller is driven by means of an electric motor so as to raise or lower the shutter.
5. 5. A door as claimed in claim 4 in which the electric motor is located alongside the roller and one side of the door space and has a drive pinion with a profiled surface complementary to the profiled surface of the roller located in driving engagement therewith.
6. 6. A door as claimed in either of claims 4 or 5 in which remote controls are employed to control the drive motor.
7. 7. A door as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which the surface of the roller is profiled to correspond with a shoulder on the laths making up the shutter whereby rotation of the roller drives the shutter up or down.
8. 8. A door substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.