IE20040185A1 - A panel for a roll-up door - Google Patents

Abstract

A door panel (2) comprises an external sheet (10), an internal liner sheet (11), and an insulating core (12) therebetween. The sheets (10,11) are insulated from one another. Each panel (2) has two ends with different profiles. The internal liner sheet (11) has a hinge receiver (20) on one edge defining a recess (21) for receiving a barrel (23) of a conventional hinge (3). The hinge (3) has an upper leaf (25) which is screwed to the liner (11) of an upper panel (2) and a lower leaf (26) which is screwed to the liner (11) of a lower panel (2). The inner liner sheet (11) has a nose portion at the end opposite to the hinge receiver and the nose portion has a return leg (41) which extends towards an inner foam-receiving face of the main body of the inner liner (11). The external sheet (10) has a male profile section and female profile section. The male profile section has a return leg (52) which extends towards a foam engaging face of the main body of the external sheet (10). For ease of manufacture and enhanced insulation properties the return leg (41) of the liner sheet (11) and the projecting leg (52) of the external sheet are spaced-apart along the length of the panel. Similarly, the return portion (51) of the external sheet (10) is spaced-apart along the length of the panel from the leg (31) of the hinge receiver. <Figure 9>

Description

“A panel” Introduction The invention relates to door panels and in particular to a roll-up door comprising a number of elongate door panels which are hingedly interconnected along adjacent edges extending transversely of the door.

Door panels for such doors are generally are of composite construction comprising an outer facing sheet and an inner liner sheet with an insulating core therebetween. The sheets are usually of metal and the core is typically of polyurethane foam.

Several door panel constructions which claim to substantially prevent a users fingers becoming entrapped between adjacent panels on the outer facing side of the door are known. In general all such panels use the same principle of a nose of a female edge sweeping over an approximation to an arc as the door opens and closes. Conventional door panels however are not generally finger safe on the inner liner side of the door. There is a risk of a users fingers becoming entrapped between the inner hinge joint between adjacent panels.

There are in general three different types of joint used on the inner lower side of conventional door panels.

In one conventional construction adjacent panels abut on the liner side with a straight edge butt joint and hinges of conventional construction are used to connect the adjacent panels. One problem with this construction is that the positioning of the hinge is variable depending on the operator who assembles the door. If the hinges are not positioned with a very high degree of accuracy, which requires considerable operator skill, there will be a variation in the gap between the adjacent panels across the joint. This can lead to problems of user finger entrapment not only on the liner side but also potentially on the outer facing side of the door. In addition, as there is | OPBNTO PUBLICINSPECTION j ι uNoeneecnoh2βamc rule 23 IE 040 185 no finger safety feature on the inside liner face the inner joint can open to an extent where entrapment of fingers can occur.

It is also known to provide a straight butt joint between adjacent panels with a specialist complex hinge. However, as the hinges are spaced-apart transversely there are gaps between the hinges in which a users fingers may become entrapped, especially if the hinges are misaligned on assembly.

A third known construction provides a gap between the inner faces of adjacent panels to allow hinges to face inwardly i.e. with the hinge axis within an area bounded by the inner and outer faces of the panel. While this arrangement assists in locating a hinge considerable operated skill is still required to ensure that the hinges are not misaligned with potential finger trapping consequences. In addition, the area in which the hinge is located is often sufficiently large to accommodate a finger. This gap tightens as the door closes posing a potential finger trapping hazard.

There is therefore a need for an improved construction of door panel in which potential finger trapping hazards on the inner liner side of the door are eliminated whilst still ensuring that finger entrapment hazards are avoided on the outer side of the door.

In addition, to be effective in use a door panel should have thermal insulating properties.

In addition to user finger safety features to be effective in use the door panels must have good insulation properties.

There is also the further and extremely important requirement that the panels can be manufactured on a large scale, preferably in a continuous in-line process.

IE 0 4 0 18 5 The invention is directed towards providing a door panel which will meet at least some and preferably all of these issues.

Statements of Invention According to the invention there is provided a door panel comprising:an external sheet; an internal liner sheet; an insulating core between the external sheet and internal liner sheet; the external sheet and the internal sheet being substantially insulated from one another; the internal liner sheet having an exposed face and a foam-engaging face and comprising a main portion, a hinge receiver portion formed at one end, and a nose portion formed at the opposite end, the nose portion having an arm which extends at an angle of about 90° to the main portion and a return leg which extends from the arm towards the foam engaging face of the main portion.

In one embodiment wherein the hinge receiver defines a recess for receiving a hinge barrel, the hinge receiver comprising a portion which extends in the direction of the external sheet and a return leg which extends towards the inside of the door panel, the return leg of the hinge receiver having a hinge side and a nose side; the nose portion of one panel being located adjacent to the nose side of the return leg of the hinge receiver of an adjacent panel when adjacent panels are in a closed configuration.

IE 04 0 185 A weather seal may be provided on the nose side of the return leg of the hinge receiver. The weather seal may comprise a flexible material.

In one embodiment the external sheet has a main portion, a male profile portion on one end and a female profile portion at the other end, the male profile portion having a return leg which extends towards the foam engaging face of the main portion of the external sheet. The female profile portion may comprise a return leg which extends towards the foam engaging face of the main portion of the external sheet.

In one embodiment the return leg of the female profile portion of the external sheet is spaced-apart from the return leg of the nose portion of the internal liner sheet along the length of the panel. A seal may be provided along an exposed foam face extending between the return leg of the female profile portion of the external sheet and the return leg of the nose portion of the internal liner sheet. The seal may comprise a sealing tape.

In one embodiment the hinge receiver is spaced-apart from the return leg of the male profile portion of the external sheet along the length of the panel. A seal may be provided along an exposed foam face between the hinge receiver and the return leg of the male profile portion. The seal may comprise a sealing tape.

In one embodiment the angle between the return leg of the nose portion and the foam-engaging face of the main portion is from 25° to 40°, preferably the angle is from 30° to 35°. Most preferably the angle is approximately 32°.

In another embodiment the hinge receiver portion comprises a support leg which extends from the hinge receiver back along a screw-receiving region of the main portion of the inner liner. Preferably the screw-receiving region of the inner liner adjacent the hinge receiver portion comprises at least three plys of the inner liner sheet.

IE 04 0 189 Preferably the angle between the return leg of the male profile portion and the foam engaging face of the main portion of the external sheet is from 5° to 20°, preferably from 8° to 15°. Most preferably the angle is approximately 11°.

In one embodiment a seal extends between the external sheet and the internal sheet.

According to another aspect the invention provides a door panel comprising: an external sheet; an internal liner sheet; an insulating core between the external sheet and the internal liner sheet; the external sheet and the internal sheet being substantially insulated from one another by a co-extruded seal extending therebetween.

Such a seal may be provided in any suitable panels of the invention.

In one embodiment the seal has a mounting means for mounting to the external sheet and/or the liner sheet. The seal may be mounted to the external sheet. In one case the seal has a clip for mounting to the external sheet.

In one embodiment the seal comprises a relatively rigid support and a relatively flexible portion. The seal may have a clip defined by the relatively rigid support.

The invention also provides a door comprising a number of the door panels of the invention.

IE 0 4 0 18 5 Brief Description of Drawings The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description thereof given by way of example only with reference to the drawings, in which:Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of a door panel according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of an inner liner part of the door panel of Fig. 1; Fig. 2A is an enlarged view of detail A of Fig. 2; Fig. 2B is an enlarged view of detail B of Fig. 2; Fig. 2C is an enlarged view of detail C of Fig. 2; Fig. 3 is a side view of an outer skin part of the door panel of Fig. 1; Fig. 3A is an enlarged view of detail A of Fig. 3; Fig. 3B is an enlarged view of detail B of Fig. 3; Fig. 3C is an enlarged view of detail C of Fig. 3; Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of two adjacent panels in an in-use orientation; Fig. 4A is an enlarged view of detail A of Fig. 4; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a door comprising a number of the door panels, in use; IE 0 4 0 1 β 5 Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of two adjacent door panels in a closed in-use orientation; Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of detail X of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view of an enlarged scale of a seal used in the panels of Figs. 6 and 7; Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view of another door panel according to the invention; Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view of two adjacent panels of Fig. 9 in a closed use configuration; Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a door comprising a number of door panels, in use; Fig. 12 is a side view illustrating the operation of the door of Fig. 11; and Figs. 13 and 14 are cross sectional views illustrating adjacent door panels of Fig. 9 in a closed and respectively partially open configuration.

Detailed Description Referring to the drawings and initially to Figs. 1 to 5 there is illustrated a door 1 comprising a number of transverse panels 2 which are hingedly interconnected by hinges 3. The door 1 is used in an opening 4 in a garage 5 or the like. The panels 2 are rolled up to open the door and are rolled down into a vertical orientation to close the door.

IE 0 4 0 f β 5 Each door panel 2 is a composite panel comprising an external sheet 10, usually of metal, an internal sheet 11, also usually of metal, and an insulating core 12 of polyurethane foam or the like therebetween. Typically, the sheets 10, 11 are of faced steel which is profiled by roll forming. However, they may also be extruded from a suitable material such as Aluminium. The sheets 10, 11 are insulated from one another by the insulating core 12.

Each panel 2 has two ends with different profiles. For ease of description these will be referred to as upper and lower ends 18, 19 respectively, however this is an arbitrary designation and depends on the orientation of the panels on assembly and in use. In Figs 4 to 4A portions of adjacent panels are shown in an in-use configuration to illustrate and describe the joint therebetween.

The internal liner sheet 11 has a hinge receiver 20 on one edge defining a recess 21 for receiving a barrel 23 of a conventional hinge 3. The hinge 3 has an upper leaf 25 which is screwed to the liner 11 by screws 27 of an upper panel 2 and a lower leaf 26 which is screwed to the liner 11 of a lower panel 2 by screws 28.

The hinge receiver 20 comprises a lower portion 30 which extends in the direction of the external sheet 10 and a return leg 31 which extends towards the inside of the door panel. The leg 31 extends generally perpendicular to the plane of the inside of the door panel to correctly locate the hinge 3, on assembly.

The lower portion 30 of the hinge receiver in this case has a bend 35 between a first entry section and a second section extending to the return leg 31. The entry section extends at an angle with respect to the inside face of the liner sheet 11. The segmented angled face is to give retention to the hinge whilst allowing an exit angle which will not trap fingers.

The hinge receiver 20 is in this case formed by turning the liner sheet back on itself and having a further turned back return portion 37, to form a triple thickness of liner IE 0 4 0 1 0 5 as illustrated especially in Fig. 2B. This has the advantage of stiffening the hinge receiver 20, especially the horizontal leg 31 thereof. It also provides improved pull out strength for the hinge screw which is screwed through the three plys. It will be noted that the return leg 37 has a bubble formed therein to remove any witness line that may be visible from the inside of the panel. The strengthened horizontal leg 31 between hinges 2 may be used as a handle for closing the door from the inside.

The lower end of the liner sheet 11 is turned through substantially 90° to form a support arm 40. The sheet 11 then turns back towards the main plane defined by the main body of the sheet 11 forming a return leg 41. The return leg 41 ensures positive engagement with a weather seal 50 as will be described in more detail below and also assists in engagement with and retention of the insulation core.

The angle between the return leg 41 and the foam engaging face of the main portion of the inner liner sheet is from 25° to 40°, preferably from 30° to 35° and most preferably approximately 32°. We have found that this arrangement enhances insulation properties by avoiding cold bridging and assists in locating the weather seal 50, whilst facilitating optimum foam filling on manufacture. The return leg 41 of the liner sheet 11 forms the seal 50 into a mild arc, enabling an enhanced seal when adjacent panels are closed.

The main body of the inner sheet 11 may have reinforcing ribs 42. Similarly the main body of the outer sheet 10 may also have reinforcing ribs 55.

The lower end of the internal liner sheet 11 has a nose 39 which projects towards the return leg 31 of the hinge receiver 20 of an adjacent panel, on assembly. The nose 39 engages the horizontal plane defined by the return leg 31 of the hinge receiver 20 in point contact with a planar face ensuring positive engagement.

The external sheet 10 has a male profile portion 45 on one edge and a female profile portion 46 on an opposite edge which are arranged for finger safe engagement. A IE 0 4 0 105 user’s fingers cannot become entrapped between the external skins 10 of adjacent panels as the door is being moved between open and closed positions.

The upper end of the external sheet 10 terminates in a return portion 51 which assists in engagement with and retention of the insulation core 12. The lower end of the external sheet 10 terminates in a projecting leg 52 which also assists in engagement with the insulation core 12 but also provides an angled face for correct location and retention of the weather seal 50.

The angle between the return leg 52 and the foam engaging face of the main portion of the external sheet is from 5° to 20°, preferably from 8° to 15°, most preferably about 11°. We have found that this arrangement enhances insulating properties by avoiding cold bridging and assists in locating the weather seal 50 whilst facilitating optimum foam filling, on manufacture.

The external sheet 11 has a reinforcement in the form of a transversely extending metal strip 61 in the region of the screw 27.

It will be noted that the external sheet 10 and internal liner sheet 11 are not in contact. This ensures that there is no cold bridge and a door formed by a number of panels hinged together has thereby improved thermal insulation properties.

A single weather seal 50 is located between the inner and outer sheets 10, 11. The seal may be of elastomeric material, solid or foamed and may comprise more than one element (core and skin). The seal may be a simple rectangular section or a more complex shape. The seal forms a weather seal when closed (i.e. prevents significant air leakage and entry by driving rain), and is configured to ensure that it does not become dislodged or adopt an incorrect shape through the normal use of the door. The seal in the configuration of the foam filled panel also acts to prevent chemical leakage during the manufacturing process. The free foam face is also covered with a side sealing strip 60 of Mylar or the like. ΙΕ 0 4 0 ίβ5 The external sheet and internal sheet are substantially insulated from one another. By virtue of the intumed return legs the possibility of thermal bridging is greatly reduced. In addition, the panel provides improved thermal performance in the vicinity of the screws. In the panel of the invention the inner and outer metal sheets are completely separated, even in the vicinity of the screws.

The return leg of the liner combined with the expanding action of the foam optimises the position of the seal with respect to the joint detail. The seal configuration enables an over bend of the door panel to suit dual track systems. This over bend in this case is about 5°.

The configuration of the panel ends enables adjacent panels to be lowered directly into a correct location, ready for fastening of the hinge, on assembly.

It will be noted that the external sheet 11 and the internal liner sheet 10 are physically separated from one another for enhanced insulation.

In addition, the ends of the sheet 10 at a joint between adjacent panels are also physically separated over the travel on opening and closing of the joint between adjacent panels to provide increased tolerance whilst still maintaining safety against a users finger becoming entrapped.

Referring to Figs. 6 to 8 there is illustrated another door panel which is of similar construction to the panel described above and like parts are assigned the same reference numerals. In this case the panel includes a sealing element 70 which is illustrated on an enlarged scale in Fig. 8. The sealing element 70 comprises a rigid body portion 71 and a more flexible portion 72. The body portion may be of a rigid plastic material such as gague 0.5mm polypropylene. The flexible portion 72 may be of a more flexible plastic material such as gague 0.9mm Santoprene. For ease of IE 0 4 0 18 5 manufacture of the sealing element 70 and simplicity and effectiveness in use it is preferably a co-extrusion.

The sealing element 70 has means for engaging / mounting to the external skin 10, in this case to the return leg 52 of the skin 10 (see especially Fig. 3A). The sealing element engagement means is provided by a clip section 75 of the relatively rigid main body 71 of the sealing element 70. The rigid body 71 of the sealing element 70 also has a lip portion 76 which in use engages against the face of the return leg 41 of the liner sheet 11 (see especially Fig. 2A). The male profile portion or nose 45 of the external sheet 10 abuts against the flexible portion 72 of the sealing element 70 when the panels are in the closed configuration illustrated, forming a particularly effective seal.

The rigid portion 71 of the seal element 70 has the added advantage of providing an edge seal to confine the insulating foam 12 during manufacture, the clip 75 being mounted to the sheet 10 during manufacture prior to or just after lay down of liquid foam reactants onto the sheet 10 and before application of the sheet 11.

Referring to Figs. 9 to 14 there is illustrated another door panel 70 according to the invention which is similar to the panels described above and like parts are assigned the same reference numerals. In this case the return leg 41 of the liner sheet 11 extends slightly back towards the main portion of the liner sheet 11 for enhanced manufacturability and engagement with the insulation core. The return leg 41 of the liner sheet 11 and the projecting leg 52 of the external sheet 10 are spaced-apart along the length of the panel to prevent cold bridging and a side sealing tape 73 of Mylar or the like is applied to the foam across the gap therebetween. This is important in providing effective insulation whilst providing an external sheet and internal liner sheet which can be manufactured by forming in-line.

Similarly, the return portion 51 of the external sheet 10 is spaced-apart along the length of the panel from the leg 31 of the hinge receiver and a side sealing tape 76 of IE 040185 Mylar or the like is applied to the foam across the gap therebetween. This is again important in providing insulation properties whilst providing a panel which can be manufactured in-line.

In this case a weather seal 75 which is typically of a suitable foam-like material is applied to the leg 31 of the hinge receiver 20. This weather seal is not illustrated in Figs. 10 to 14. Because the weather seal 75 extends in use between the nose and the leg 31 of the hinge receiver 20 any metal to metal contact in this region is eliminated with improved insulation and cold bridging properties.

The embodiment of Figs. 9 to 14 is particularly advantageous because the panels are more easily manufactured whilst providing the necessary features of user finger safety and insulation properties. In manufacture, typically the external sheet 10 is of roll formed steel which is formed in-line into the shape illustrated. Liquid foam reactants are then laid down on the inner foam receiving face of the sheet 10. The upper liner sheet 11 is also roll formed in-line from a steel coiled sheet and applied in-line over the liquid foam reactants. Spacer blocks are temporarily located between the liner sheet 11 and the external sheet 10 and the sandwich thus formed is led through an oven in which the foam reaction continues forming an insulating foam 12 between the sheets 10, 11. The seals are readily applied in line. The metal strip 61 in the region of the hinge screw is typically applied in-line using suitable bonding techniques such as by adhesive bonding.

Many variations on the invention will be readily apparent and accordingly the invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in construction or detail.

Claims (27)

Claims

1. A door panel comprising:an external sheet; - an internal liner sheet; an insulating core between the external sheet and internal liner sheet; the external sheet and the internal sheet being substantially insulated from one another; the internal liner sheet having an exposed face and a foam-engaging face and comprising a main portion, a hinge receiver portion formed at one end, and a nose portion formed at the opposite end, the nose portion having an arm which extends at an angle of about 90° to the main portion and a return leg which extends from the arm towards the foam engaging face of the main portion.

2. A door panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein: the hinge receiver defines a recess for receiving a hinge barrel, the hinge receiver comprising a portion which extends in the direction of the external sheet and a return leg which extends towards the inside of the door panel, the return leg of the hinge receiver having a hinge side and a nose side; the nose portion of one panel being located adjacent to the nose side of the return leg of the hinge receiver of an adjacent panel when adjacent panels are in a closed configuration. IE 0 4 0 18 5

3. A door panel as claimed in claim 2 wherein a weather seal is provided on the nose side of the return leg of the hinge receiver.

4. A door panel as claimed in claim 3 wherein the weather seal comprises a flexible material.

5. A panel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the external sheet has a main portion, a male profile portion on one end and a female profile portion at the other end, the male profile portion having a return leg which extends towards the foam engaging face of the main portion of the external sheet.

6. A panel as claimed in claim 5 wherein the female profile portion comprises a return leg which extends towards the foam engaging face of the main portion of the external sheet.

7. A panel as claimed in claim 6 wherein the return leg of the female profile portion of the external sheet is spaced-apart from the return leg of the nose portion of the internal liner sheet along the length of the panel.

8. A panel as claimed in claim 7 wherein a seal is provided along an exposed foam face extending between the return leg of the female profile portion of the external sheet and the return leg of the nose portion of the internal liner sheet.

9. A panel as claimed in claim 8 wherein the seal comprises a sealing tape.

10. A panel as claimed in any of claims 5 to 9 wherein the hinge receiver is spaced-apart from the return leg of the female profile portion of the external sheet along the length of the panel. IE 0 4 0 18 5

11. A panel as claimed in claim 10 wherein a seal is provided along an exposed foam face between the hinge receiver and the return leg of the male profile portion.

12. A panel as claimed in claim 11 wherein the seal comprises a sealing tape.

13. A panel as claimed in any of claims 1 to 12 wherein the angle between the return leg of the nose portion and the foam-engaging face of the main portion is from 25° to 40°.

14. A panel as claimed in claim 13 wherein the angle is from 30° to 35°.

15. A panel as claimed in claim 13 or 14 wherein the angle is approximately 32°.

16. A panel as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the hinge receiver portion comprises a support leg which extends from the hinge receiver back along a screw-receiving region of the main portion of the inner liner.

17. A panel as claimed in claim 16 wherein the screw-receiving region of the inner liner adjacent the hinge receiver portion comprises at least three plys of the inner liner sheet.

18. A panel as claimed in claim 5 wherein the angle between the return leg of the male profile portion and the foam engaging face of the main portion of the external sheet is from 5° to 20°.

19. A panel as claimed in claim 18 wherein the angle is from 8° to 15°.

20. A panel as claimed in claim 18 or 19 wherein the angle is approximately 11°. IE 0 4 0 18 5

21. A door panel comprising: an external sheet; an internal liner sheet; an insulating core between the external sheet and the internal liner sheet; the external sheet and the internal sheet being substantially insulated from one another by a co-extruded seal extending therebetween.

22. A panel as claimed in claim 21 wherein the seal has a mounting means for mounting to the external sheet and/or the liner sheet.

23. A panel as claimed in claim 22 wherein the seal is mounted to the external sheet.

24. A panel as claimed in any of claims 21 to 23 wherein the seal has a clip for mounting to the external sheet.

25. A panel as claimed in any of claims 21 to 24 wherein the seal comprises a relatively rigid support and a relatively flexible portion.

26. A panel as claimed in claim 25 wherein the seal has a clip defined by the relatively rigid support.

27. A door comprising a number of panels as claimed in any preceding claim.