US2029200A - Swinging door mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Jane 28 1936. E. a... SHAFFER I SWINGING DOOR MECHANISM Filed June 6, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet l linventor item 11% Jam 28, l g E EF; ZMZQQUQ? SWINGING DOOR MECHANI SM Filed June 6', 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Jan. 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 24 Claims.

This invention is a novel overhead swinging door mechanism particularly adapted for use in garages and the like, in which a plurality of hinged door sections are movable as a unit from open to closed positions, and vice versa; the door carrying and actuating mechanism being adapted to be installed in the ceiling of the garage. The present application is a continuationin-part of my co-pending application Serial No. 391,445, filed September 9, 1929, and covers certain novel improvements in the apparatus and essential features of the mechanism.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a unit as above described which will be easy to install and operate; which will be stable, strong, weatherproof, and will not bind during operation thereof; also a unit which will be completely housed within the garage or other enclosure in any and all positions of the doors; and which will require very little space for operation; which will not be affected by any twisting of the frame of the garage or other building; which will not permit the doors to drag upon the floor while swinging; and which will permit one door section to be opened independently of the other sections; also to provide novel electric means for opening and closing the door assembly.

I will explain the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one practical embodiment thereof to enable others to adopt and use the same; and will summarize in the claims the novel features of construction, and novel combinations of parts, for which protection is desired.

In said drawings:-

Fig. 1 is a plan view looking upwardly at the base unit, at the compound lever carrying the door assembly, and at the power operating means for the assembly; the doors being shown in closed position in full lines, and in open position in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 but showing the parts as they appear in partly opened position of the doors. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3--3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the lock for the door assembly. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55, Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the door assembly on the line 6-6, Fig. 1. Fig. '7 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the compound lever, base unit, and bracket connections which adjustably support the door assembly. Fig. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the electric assembly operating carriage and track. Fig. 9 is a transverse section through the electric carriage on the line 9-9, Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail. Fig. 11 is a top plan view partly in section of the means permitting independent opening of one of the side doors. Fig. 12 is a plan view, similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified form of the single entrance feature. Fig. 13 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the compound lever showing modified connection of the link, for the single ontrance door, to the toggle block. Fig. 14 is an enlarged plan view of the connections between the link and toggle block. Fig. 15 is a vertical section through the single entrance door and the latch means for operating the single entrance feature. Fig. 16 is a plan view of the single en trance door. Fig. 17 is a detail perspective of the latch casing.

As shown, my invention consists of a preformed base unit adapted to be secured to the rafters or ceiling R of a garage or the like opposite the door opening S, said base unit carrying a compound lever with brackets vertically adjustably supporting the middle door section B of the hinged door assembly A, B, C, the door sections A' and C being hinged respectively to the opposite side edges of the middle section B.

In place of the relatively thick wooden base plate shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 391,445 I prefer to use a fabricated preformed metallic base unit which when installed against the underside of the rafters or ceiling will 00- cupy, with its related or associated parts, only about five or six inches of ceiling depth. Said base unit, while supporting the carriage and counterbalance lever for said door assembly, also controls the swing, during the opening and closing movements, of the end door sections A and C, and for this purpose the edge of plate I adjacent opening S has a compound curvature consisting of an arcuate channel portion la concentric with the pivot bolt of the compound lever (hereinafter described), the arcuate channel la embracing the full width of middle door section B when in fully closed position (full lines, Fig. 1) and the full width of the door B when in fully open position (dotted lines, Fig. l) to permit operation of the carriage 2a of middle door section B through an arc of slightly more than 90 degrees.

Radially disposed bars lb connect the upper leg of the channel Ia with a center bearing Io (Fig. 7) for pivot bolt 2b. Substantially tangent to the ends of the channel portion la but spaced therefrom are frame members Id forming together a right angle having its heel disposed at a point opposite the center of channel la, said frames Id extending beyond the ends of the channel I a a' distance corresponding with the position of outer doors in fully opened or closed positions, or with the outer tips of the reverse curve portions Id of the guide plate shown in my ce-pending application, Serial No. 391,445.

Secured to each end of arcuate channel la is a reverse curved guide plate le adapted to align doors A and C edgewise with door B when in either open or closed positions, doors A and (3 being provided with rollers A and C respectively adapted to engage the guides lo and being directed thereagainst by means of guide plates If secured in the bosom of frame Id and disposed substantially parallel with guide plates 1 e to form channel guideways for the rollers A and C.

' Shield plates lg are applied over the upper edges of the guide plates le, I f and frames Id to give strength to the structure and to promote smooth and unhindered movement of the guide rollers A, C throughout their reverse curve travel.

Preferably spring tension adjustments are provided for the outer ends of the guide plates le so that the outer ends of the guide plates le may yieldably hold the end doors, when in closed position, tightly against the door jambs, for the purpose of rendering same weatherproof. As shownin Figs. 1 and 2 the spring adjustments consist of threaded rods in extending from the frame members lo, through the guide plates le, with nuts on the outer ends of the rods, and springs I51 interposed between the nuts and the backs of plates is. By adjusting the nuts the spring tensions may be varied.

The compound lever for supporting the door comprises an inner frame consisting of parallel members 2 connected together at their inner ends by ,a pivot block 20 receiving the pivot bolt 2b. The outer ends of frame members 2 are connected directly to the carriage 2a. of middle door B, which carriage 2a is provided with rollers 2d adapted to,

traverse the arcuate channel la of the base unit as the carriage 2a is swung around by frame 2 from open to closed position.

Depending from the center of carriage 2c is a vertically disposed bracket 3 lying adjacent the rear face of middle door B. The bracket 3 being carried by the carriage 2a and frame 2 will rotate therewith in a fixed horizontal plane. Bracket 3 is provided with spaced perforated ears 3a, 3b carrying a vertically disposed hinge rod 3'0. Rod 30 also passes through perforated ears 4a, 4b of a bracket 4 fixed upon the rear face of door B whereby door B may readily pivot on said bracket 3 during the opening and closing movement of the door. The ears Ea, 4b of the bracket 4 are embraced by the ears 3a, 3b of bracket 3 (see Fig. '7) and under the lower ear 4b is a stirrup- 5 for vertically adjusting door B with respect to the carriage 2a, the upper ends of stirrup 5 being connected with the counterbalanced outer frame 6 of the compound lever.

Bracket 3 is preferably L-shaped with the vertical leg carrying the pivot bolt 30. The horizontal leg is provided with an elongated slot 301 at its outer end adapted to be engaged by a bolt 2q carried by a clip 21 on frame 2 whereby the bracket 3 maybe moved on the frame 2 towards or away from the door B, to adjust the bracket when carrying the doors to suit the door jarnbs while permitting free opening and closing movement of the doors. The heel end of the bracket 3 is slidably supported by a strap 2s on the under side of carriage 2a. The legs of bracket 3 are preferably braced by a diagonal strut 3) connecting the legs; and when adjusted the vertical leg of bracket 3 carrying rod 30 is braced laterally by a brace 21) depending from the carriage 2a and bolted as at 2w to the leg of bracket 3 Brace 222 is preferably sufficiently flexible to permit adjustment of bracket 2d axially of frame 2.

In my co-pending application Ser. No. 391,445, the upper rails on the outer faces of doors B and C have to be made arcuate so as to permit the assembly to swing from front to side'positions past the door frame S, this being due to the fact that the middle door B in that case was rigidly bracketed to the carriage 2a. (instead of being pivoted with respect thereto as in the present application) and starting to open the doors the doors B and C would necessarily swivel so that one corner would project beyond the normal plane of the elosed doors. The present arrangement however in which the door B is pivoted with re spect to carriage 2a has a decided advantage in that it permits the angularity of door B to change with respect to that of the carriage 2a or the axis of frame 2 resulting in a flatter sweep in traversing the reverse curved portions of the base unit by the rollers on end doors A and C. Also in the present 'pivotally connected arrangement the door B has no tendency to initially swivel upon commencement of the opening movement.

The compound lever also includes an outer counterbalancing frame comprising a pair of parallel spaced members 6 suitably connected together and pivoted for vertical movement as at 3a to extensions 2p of the pivot block. 20 of the frame 2 whereby frame 5 swings laterally with frame 2 as the latter is swung, and at the same time may pivot vertically with respect to frame 2. The forward ends of the frame members 6 are pivotally connected to the upper ends of the legs of the stirrup 5 which vertically adjusts the bracket 4 on the back of door B with respect to the fixed bracket 3 carried by carriage 2d. The rear end of frame 6 extends beyond the pivot block 20 andcarries a counterbalancing weight ED for offsetting the combined weights of the door sections A, B, C, so that the doors A, B C may be readily raised and lowered with respect to the garage floor level in order to overcome the undesirable feature of drag which is common to most garage doors, and in order to lift the doors above their respective floor blocks A2. B2, C2

(Figs. 6 and 7) when opening and closing the doors. The position of weight to may be made adjustable. The pivot 6a for frame 3 is preferably disposed considerably in advance of the pivot bolt 21) of frame 2 so as to permit use of a counterbalance 6b of minimum weight, and the pivot point 6a may be made adjustable.

When the door assembly is in closed and locked position, the doors are held against inward thrust at their lower ends by'fioor blocks A2, B2, C2 (Figs. 6 '7) disposed behind each of the doors, but it is necessary as above stated to raise the door assembly above the tops of the said floor blocks A2, B2, C2, in opening and closing the door assembly; and at the rear end of frame 6 is mounted a roller l adapted to engage the underside of the ceiling R, the ceiling having an opening R therein in way of the roller i when the doors are closed so as to permit the lower ends of the doors A, B, C, to drop upon the garage floor in front of the floor blocks A2, B2, C2 when the assembly is in closed position whereby the lower ends or" the doors will be held tightly against the door lambs. When however the frame 6 starts to swing'laterally the roller 1 which would be made of sufiicient diameter will engage the underside of ceiling R and thereby raise the doors A, B, C, above the floor blocks and holding the assembly thus raised during swinging of the assembly from closed position.

In connection with the end doors A and C I provide toggle links 3 respectively pivoted on a toggle block 8a. slidably mounted in guide slot 62c carried by the frame 6 in rear of pivot block 20 of frame 2, and the outer ends of the links 6 are respectively connected with the brackets of rollers A and C, whereby as the door assembly is swung from closed to open positions the links 8 will be moved simultaneously and cause the inward or outward motion of one door A or C to be imparted through the toggle action to the other door C or A. Referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the outer end of the reverse curved guide le of the base unit is engaged by the roller C on door C while the roller A of door A is entirely disengaged. Now as the assembly is swung from closed to open position (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1) the roller C will necessarily follow its related reverse curve channel (between guides Ie, If) towards the arcuate channel la, and the toggle link 8 of door C will shift toggle block 8a rearwardly on frame 6 causing the door A (through the medium of its toggle link 8) to swing through the substantially same angle as the door C, so that while the door assembly is being swung to open position when the roller C reaches the end of its reverse curve channel (between guides le, If) the roller A of door A will have entered into its related reverse curve channel, and door C during the remainder of the opening movement of the assembly will be controlled by and with the movement of door A. Hence when fully swung around to open position all three doors A, B, C, will again be aligned along the side Wall of the garage as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l.

I provide a spring 88 connecting the toggle block 8a with the outer end of the horizontal leg of bracket 3 (or with any other .fixed part of the compound lever) for tending to hold the doors A, C, fully extended into the plane of middle door B, and thereby yieldably maintaining a flattening effect of the door assembly throughout the entire opening and closing movements.

I also provide means whereby one of the end door sections may be opened independently of the other doors for use as a single entrance. If one of the side doors such as C is to be used as a single entrance door, its floor block A2 would necessarily be hinged or yieldably mounted. As described in my co-pending application Ser. No. 391,445 said means preferably comprises a bar 9 (Figs. 1 and 11) adapted to normally overlie the top of door C, the inner end of bar 9 being pivotally secured as at Go to the top of door B. The outer end of bar 6a carries an enlargement 9b upon which the guide roller C of door C is journaled, and the toggle link 8 of door C is pivoted as at to portion 9b. The enlargement 9b of bar 9 is also provided with an arcuate portion 9d adapted to slidably engage the top of door C to support the outer enlarged end of bar 9 carrying roller C when door C is opened as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 11, regardless of the position of door C. Hence the position of roller C will remain at all times the same as though the roller C were actually carried by door C with no provision for independently opening door C. A notch 9e formed in plate 91) is adapted to receive a latch 91 (Fig. 6) operated by a knob 99 placed at usual height on door C said knob being connected by a link 9h to bell crank 9k the vertical arm of which extends upwardly and forms the latch 91 which engages notch 96. A spring Sm normally maintains latch 9f engaged with its notch. Door C may thus be freely opened and closed without affecting the position of its roller C; and door C may be locked in normal position by latch 9f engaging notch Be.

A modification of the single entrance feature is shown in Figs. 12-17 inclusive in which the toggle link 8 for the door A is connected as in Fig. 1 to the toggle bolt 81]., but the bracket C for door C is identical with the bracket A of door A, and toggle link 8 of door C extends beyond the toggle bolt 8a, and passes through a guide 8g pivotally mounted on toggle bolt 8a (Fig. 13). Guide 89 preferably comprises a metallic plate having a perforation at its center for engagement by the bolt 8a, the ends of the plate being flanged down-i wardly and slotted for the passage of link 8 of door C. Link 8 is normally locked to guide 8g by means of a latch 8h of bell-crank shape pivoted on link 8 and urged by spring 81' into position to maintain the notched leg of lever Sit in engagement with the side edge of one flange of guide 89 so as to prevent link 8 from moving axially of guide 89. A stop 87' on link 8 limits the swinging movement of lever 8h, and the portion of lever 871. in advance of the notch is beveled as at 87a to permit ready engagement of the lever 8h with the guide when approaching the latter. Lever 8h is swung out of engagement with guide 89' by means of a cord 8m extending from lever 871. and running substantially parallel with link 8 toward door C, said cord passing downwardly over a pulley 8n carried by the inner end of link 8, and extending to a latch on the door C. The latch (Fig. 15) comprises a latch lever 56 connected with the cord 8m and pivoted in a plate 51 (Fig. 17) inset flush with face of door C, the loop end of the lever 50 only projecting through the opening in the door plate 5| A small spring 52 connects the top of latch lever 59 to the plate 5| to normally maintain the lever in inoperative position and returns the lever 50 to normal position when released. The free end of lever 59 may be padlocked (Fig. 15) to an eye 52 on plate 5|. When not padlocked, in order to open the single entrance door C (with floor block C2 turned back) latch lever 50 is pulled out, drawing cord 8m down releasing the trip dog 8h from engagement with guide 8g permitting door C to freely swing open. The dog 8h is designed to automatically look when door C is returned to closed position.

I also provide electrical means, somewhat similar to that shown in my co-pending application Ser. No. 391,445, for power operating the unit, the same being illustrated in Figs. 1, 8, 9 and 10. The electrical means is bracketed in place under rafters or ceiling R. in rear of and substantially normal to the counterbalancing frame of the compound lever when the doors are in closed position; same preferably comprising a pair of side rails Ii carrying chain sprockets II and I2 journaled adjacent the ends of the rails. One sprocket such as I I may be mounted in adjustable bearings I la. The other sprocket may be driven by a motor controlled by a master switch. Around the sprockets ll, 12 runs a chain 13 and I provide plates [4 engaging the inner faces of the runs of chain 53 respectively to prevent sagging thereof. One of the links of the chain l3 carries a lug I3a adapted to engage either the upper trip [52) or the lower trip 15a of a carriage l5 mounted to roll upon side rails H] which form the track (Fig. 10) with a spring clip l5e mounted between the roller and the heel of the L but spaced from a the roller. The other leg of the arm extends to the side of the carriage I5 into position to strike against an abutment IE or Hug (Fig. 1). When making contact lug 13a forces past the spring clip Se and lies between the clip I5e and roller' [5a or IE?) thereby positively controlling the movement of the carriage until the release is made at the end of travel of the carriage by side arms l5d striking against the tripping block 15 or I 5y provided at the end of the carriage travel, thereby swinging the roller |5a or [5b to one 'side and allowing the lug l3a to pass.

Carriage It? carries a fixed arm 15c connected by a relatively long link It to one arm of a bell crank l1 pivoted as at l'la adjacent the roller 1 on a clip l'lb secured to the end of frame 6 of compound lever (see Fig. 3) the other arm of bell crank lever 51 carrying a traveler roller l'lc operating against the underside of the ceiling R and disposed to roll in advance of roller '5 so that a push by link it will pivot bell crank I? on, its traveler wheel l'ic which being held by the curved bracket l'ld acts as a fulcrum for bell crank lever I! to pull the rear end of frame 6 down so that roller 7 may be readily rolled past the opening R and the pull down of the frame lifts the door assembly at the opposite end of the frame 6 and when both the traveler I10 and roller wheel 7 have engaged the underside of ceiling R the door assembly will be maintained in raised position while being swung to open position.

A suitable trip-dog i8 is used to normally look the bell crank lever ll in raised position, said trip dog l8 being pivoted on bracket ill) and having one endextending beyond the bracket and its other end normally engaging a ratchet tooth He on the lever El and being held in such engagement by a spring IBM. In Fig. 3, the parts are shown in position ready to swing at the ceiling level the trip dog l8 holding the traveler Wheel He and roller 1 in bearing relation to the ceiling R throughout the opening and closing movement of the doors until the doors are brought again into closed position, when the trip dog I8 is released by striking the abutment l9, and the pull of the electric carriage 15 through link 46 plus the weight of the door assembly drops the door assembly into lowered position.

A lifting element is provided within the opening R of the ceiling and adapted to be erigaged by the roller 1, when opposite said opening R. The element consists of a bearing bar 26 lying in the plane of the lower face of ceiling R and havingan offset extension 28a hinged as at 2% to the top of ceiling R, the outer end of bar 2E3 being flanged downwardly as at 25c tangent mounted on bar 2t above the approximate center of roller 7. Hinge plate 2? is adjustable in or out to increase or decrease the leverage of the downward thrust. In the closing movement of the door assembly roller 1 rolls off the ceiling onto the bearing bar 25!. As the'bearing'bar 20 is raised by weight of the door assembly, assisted by the manual or mechanical means, the spring tension remains about the same up to a'certain point of the upward movement when it approaches a point where the spring tension would be overcome. A'member 28 fixed on the portion 260 of bar 253 carries a small wheel or roller 28a at its upper end adapted to contact with hook rod 22 as the point of tension overcoming is reached so as to just hold the door assembly in closed down position. The opening of the door is by applying manual or mechanical lift at the door assembly or counterbalanced end of the lever 6 just sufiicient to break the hold at the lifting element.

Above the path of travel of carriage I 5 is a bar 29 upon which is mounted a three way switch 33 having its trigger engaged with a slide bar 3| mounted in bearings parallel with the side frames I0. Bar 3! is provided with stops 31a and Slb mounted adjacent the ends thereof adapted to engage trips I51: carried by the carriage l5. When carriage I5 has drawn the doors A, B, C, into open position and is at the end of its specified travel, trip l5a: engages the stop 3la on reversing rod 3!. The spring tension of trip 3| (1 is sufiicient to slide the rod 3! to shift the contacts of switch as. Adjustment of the stops 3! a and 3| b on reversing rod 3| will give the desired length of travel for carriage J5.

In operation, upon throwing the switch for opening movement the motor will set chain !3 in motion and lug iiia will engage pawl roller I 5?) and move the carriage [5 which is connected by linkage to the frame 6 of the compound lever, and thus draw the counterbalanced door assembly open. As carriage 3t nears end of its opening travel trip I550 on the carriage engages stop Sta of bar 3! and shifts the contacts of switch 30. To close the doors, turn switch 30 to closing contact and the carriage l5 is-drawn er I5a, the stop 31b shifting the switch contacts at the end of the carriage travel and stopping the motor. The belt 93 runs in the same direction for both movements, but the direction of motion of carriage I5 is governed by the engagement of lug lBa with rollers Ilia or I51).

Referring to Fig. handles 32 are provided on the door B, inside and out, for raising and lowering the door assembly by manual control. Also an electric Yale lock 33 is provided adapted to break the current through the motor when the same is locked, the connections being arranged so that the motor cannot be started until the lock bolt is withdrawn from the notch in the locking bar 34 by means of a key inserted from the outside or by turning a knob on the inside of the door B. Bar 34 is secured to lower end of bracket 3 or may be a continuation of hinge bar 3c as shown in Fig. '7. The vertical movement of the door assembly on the carriage 2a permits the bar '34 to move in its keepers 36a as the doors are raised and lowered, and when doors are lowered the bolt of the Yale'lock may enter the notch and hold the doors locked against movement in any direction. 7

I do not limit my invention to the exact form shown in the drawing for obviously chan es may be made therein within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a swinging door having a plurality of hinged sections; a pivoted swingable carrier for said door connected to one section and adapted to move the door from fully closed position into fully opened position; a member movably mounted on the carrier; and means operated by the member for yieldably aligning the several sections edgewise as they move into fully closed or into fully opened positions.

2. In a combination as set forth in claim 1, said means comprising toggle members connecting the end door sections, and a yieldable member tending to flatten the toggle.

3. In a combination as set forth in claim 1, said means comprising a toggle connecting the end door sections; a yieldable member tending to flatten the toggle; and spring pressed guides adjacent the extreme limits of movement of the door coacting with their respective end door sections.

4. In combination, a swinging door having a plurality of hinged sections; a swingable carrier for said door adapted to move same from fully closed position into fully opened position; yieldable guides adjacent the extreme limits of movement of the door; and means operated by said guides aligning the sections edgewise as the door nears its fully closed or fully opened position.

5. In a combination as set forth in claim 4, a base unit carrying the carrier and guides and comprising a track for the carrier shaped to conform with the swing of the carrier; curved portions forming the guides for the said means extending from the ends of the track; a center bearing plate for the carrier; frame members connecting the track and curved portions with the bearing plate; and means yieldably connecting the outer ends of the curved portions to the frame members.

6. In a combination as set forth in claim 4, a base unit carrying the carrier and guides and comprising an arcuate channel for the carrier having its center of curvature concentric with the pivot of swing of the carrier; reverse curved portions forming the said guides for the said means extending from the ends of the channel; a center bearing plate for the carrier; frame members connecting the channel and reverse curved portions with the bearing plate; and means yieldably connecting the outer ends of the reverse curved portions to the frame members.

7. In combination, a swinging door having a plurality of hinged sections; a swingable carrier for said door connected to the middle section and adapted to move the same from fully closed position into fully opened position; toggle links connecting the side door sections for imparting the movement of one section to the other; yieldable guides adjacent the extreme limits of movement of the door; and devices on the side door sections engaging said guides for aligning the sections edgewise as the door approaches fully closed or fully opened positions.

8. In a combination as set forth in claim 7, means for permitting one side door section to be opened independently of the other.

9. In a combination as set forth in claim '7, the guide engaging device of one side door section being mounted on a frame pivotally supported upon the middle door section, said frame being connected with its respective toggle link; and latch means for locking said side door section to the frame whereby when the latch is sprung said section may be opened without operating the toggle.

10. In a combination as set forth in claim '7, a spring normally urging separation of the toggle links.

11. In combination, a swinging door having a plurality of hinged sections; a pivoted swingabie carrier pivotally connected to one section and adapted to move said door from its fully ciosed position into its fully opened position; a member movably mounted on the carrier; and means operated by the member for aligning the sections edgewise as they move into fully closed or into fully opened positions and for flexing the hinged sections to substantially conform with the swing of the carrier while moving from one position to the other.

12. In a combination as set forth in claim 11, said means comprising means for causing the hinging movement of one side door to swing the other, means for causing one end door to initially flex the hinged sections at the beginning of the opening or closing movement, and means for causing the other end door to re-align the sections at the end of the said movement.

13. In a combination as set forth in claim 11, said carrier moving in a horizontal plane; and said door sections being vertically adjustable with respect to the carrier; and means for raising and lowering the door sections as the carrier is swung.

14. In a combination as set forth in claim 11; said carrier moving in a horizontal plane; and said door sections being horizontally and vertically adjustable with respect to the carrier.

15. In a combination as set forth in claim 11, a bracket radially adjustable on the carrier; a hinge rod for said door carried by said bracket; said door section being axially movably mounted on said rod; and means for moving said door section on the rod.

16. In a combination as set forth in claim 11, said carrier swinging in a horizontal plane; a bracket radially adjustable on the carrier; a vertically disposed hinge rod for said door carried by said bracket; said door section being vertically movably mounted on said rod; and a counterbalancing lever connected with said door and pivoted on the carrier.

1'7. In combination, a swinging door; a horizontally swingable carrier for swinging the door from fully closed to fully open positions; a lever having one end connected with the. door and pivoted on the carrier; a roller at the other end of the lever engaging a cam surface for holding the door in elevated position except when the door is in fully closed position; and a yieldable section in the cam surface engaged by the roller when the door is fully closed for substantially counterbalancing the weight of the door.

18. In a combination as set forth in claim 17, said yieldable member comprising a hinged hearing bar adapted to swing upwardly; adjustable means for yieldably maintaining the bar in normal position; and means for limiting the hinging movement of the bar.

19. In a combination as set forth in claim 17, .a power driven carriage; a link connecting the carriage to the roller end of the lever for swinging the lever in both directions; means interposed between the link and lever for maintaining the door in elevated position when entering upon the yieldable section; and a trip for releasing said means.

20. In a combination as set forth in claim 17, a power driven carriage; a link connecting the carriage to the roller end of the lever for swinging the lever in both directions and a bell crank operated by the link, a traveler carried by the bell crank engagingthe cam surface advance of the roller; a spring pressed pawl normally holding the bell crank in position to normally maintain the door'in elevated position when entering upon the yieldable section; and a trip' for releasing the pawl when the door is in fully closed position.

21. In combination, swinging door having .a plurality of hinged sections, a swingable carrier for the door connected to the middle section and adapted to move same from fully closed to fully open position, a toggle member movably mounted in the carrier; toggle links respectively connect-'- ing the side doer sections to the member for imin the c.arrier;-toggle links respectivelyjeonnect 25v ing theside door sections to the member for imparting the movement of one side section to the other; a guide on said member slidably receiving one link; means for normally locking t 1e link in said guide; and means for releasing the link for permitting its related side door section to be opened independently of the other.

23. In combination, a swinging door having a plurality of hinged sections, .a swingable carrier for the door connected to the middle section and adapted to move same from fully closed to fully open position, a toggle member movably mounted in the carrier; toggleflinks respectively connecting the side door sections to the member for imparting the movement of one side section to the other; a guide on said member slidably receiving the end of one link; a trip dog normally locking the link in said guide; .and manual means jior' releasing the 'dog for permitting its related side door section to be opened independently of the other.

24; In combination, a swinging door having a plurality of hinged sections, a swingable carrier for the door connected to the middle section and adapted to move same from fully closed to fully open position, a toggle member movably mounted in the carrier; toggle links respectively connecting the side door sections to the member for imparting the movement of one side section to the other; a guide block on said member slidably receiving the end of one link; aj trip dog on the said link normally locking the link to the block; a latch lever on the related door; and a flexible member connecting the latch lever and dog whereby when the latch lever is actuated the related side door section may be opened independently of the other. 7 i

' ERNEST L. SHAFFER.

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