US2466913A - Multiple section door construction - Google Patents

Description

April 2, 1949. G. aRoer-zrzs 2,466,913

MULTIPLE SECTION DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed June 25, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 000,5 ops/w/va IN V EN TOR.

Gael 3.1209815 ATIDRAEY April 12, 1949. G. 5. ROGERS MULTIPLE SECTION DOOR CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 26, 1945 INVENTOR.

Gel/ab 8 .Bogers W ATIOBNEY April 12, 1949. G. 5. ROGERS MULTIPLE SECTION DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed June 26, 1945 N W MN v S 3 w h w m w\@\ 0% l a. A m@ m MW W Jig & w. .m h v 21 9 MN April 12, 1949. G. 5. ROGERS MULTIPLE SECTION DOOR CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 "'"ili Filed June 26,, 1945 INVENTOR. Gael 5. Rogers BY ATTORNEY April 2, 1949. G. s. ROGERS 2,466;9l3

MULTIPLE SECTION DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed June 26,, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Will.

65 Gael 8. Rogers ATTORNEY iatented Apr. 12, 1949 our re p stares ATEEN i one we MULTIPLE SECTION DOORCONSTRUCTION Gael S. .Rogers, L'os .Angeles, "Ca-lit, lassignor to Kimball Elevator Company, rIjttL, iIiUS :Angeles,

Calif., a corporation of Califonnia Application June 26, 1945QSB1i3l No. 601,669

Claims. 1

I This application relates to multiple section "door constructions in which a plurality of smaller-sectio-ns or door-elements are employed to close a relatively large opening by arranging the door sections for-movement in separate paths from a nested association such "as to expose the door opening, to a relatively extended -butoverlapping association such asto close the door opening.

-More particularly, the construction or this 'invention contemplates the "provision of a plural door assembly in which each of the individual door elements making upthe p'luralityis adapted for movement relative bothto the door opening and "to the other door elements of the plurality, themovement of such door-elements-being effect- -ed by a direct'drive oi one of1such elements and an indirect drive of the other elements being obtained by cooperative interengagement or the elements, whereby the motion directly imparted to such one element-is indirectly applied to such '17i0l1 of such adjacent door element to the speed of movement of suchmovingdoor element.

In multiple *section .door constructions of the :type with which the present invention is concerned, considerable difficulty is encountered in the operation of the individual door vsections as a result of the necessarily massive construction and the necessity for securing rather rapid operation. Where such structures are employedjf or aircraft hangars and the like, or comparable structures in'which a relatively large spanis required in the full open position of the door, the

movement of the door into closing position or :.opening position should be relatively rapid, and where a construction is employed in which the respective elements of the door structure are interengaged with one another. to secure the desired movement, the impact of a moving door section orgroup of door sections upon an adjacent doorsectionto-pick it up to the speed of the moving element is .de'leteriously high in many instances. "This is particularly true where material-such as sand, gravel,=small stones or the like *is iike'ly to accumulate up on the supporting tracks on which the door sections ride in their movement, inasmuch as this condition results in a rather important resistance to '-be overcome by the door which is being set in motion, andthe momentum of the moving door section has to be absorbedby thead'j acen'tdoor asiitis-acceleratecl to the :speed 'of the =moVing-door section.

For the :albove reasons, Fit has heretoiore been considered 'impraotioable'to employ multiple door structures of 'the pick-up type, -'-i. e.,- door strucztures wherein the moving *eiiort is applied to but one door section of #the multiple structure and the movement of the adjacent door sections "obtained upon engagement joy such one-door-section, wherever the construction requirements call *for relatively heavy or large door-sections. instead, the art has consistently called 'for installation s inwl'iich all of the doors ections are driven con- --cu-rrently, at differential speeds, wherefore "the multiple door structure is movedas a unit into and out of door op en position. This requires rather 'large or poweriul "drive -rrna ans, inasmuch as each of the sections of the door structuretmust be accelerated, 'i. p e., the :mass Ldf theentire .door structure has 'to'be acted upon "by the 'drive n'ieans at'once, albeit part is accelerated at a lesser rate than another part.

According'to the present invention, apick up type of multiple door construction is provided which *issubiect to operation at a reduced povver requirement {as compared to the power reguirement of door jconstru'ctions of comparable size andvveight whichv provide for concurrentroperation of the several door sections -constitutingLth'e multiple structure and is characterized by ithe absence of excessive impact .loads in operation.

Ibis a further particular object of this Linven- 'tion'to provideayielding driving connection between adjacentdoor sectionsina multipleesection structure of 'the ipi'ck-up type so'thatas afmoving door reaches astanding door sectionfthe momentum oi'themoving door vis gradually imposed upon thisstanding door to accelerate fit to the speed of the moving portionsvof the structure without undue shock on. the structure as a whole.

A particular object of the invention is, to providea hydraulic structure adapted to be setfinto operation when adjacent door sections ,are brq iglfit'into'interengaging relation, to reducethe force applied to a door section to hemovedlby a moving -.do0r section and distribute the application of suc'hiorce, over as'ignificant itimeinterval, whereby the desired acceleration of the door to be moved is attained in the substantial absence of detrimental shock from impact.

The construction of the present invention may comprise, substantially, a plurality of door sections arranged in position to move in substantially parallel paths from a nested association in which they overlap each other and establish an open condition for the door opening, and a relatively extended and preferably partially overlapping position in which they are offset in the direction of movement into a position closing the door opening, one of said sections being provided with means defining a bearing surface, and a door section adjacent said one section being provided with a portion defining a bearing surface in position to engage the first-named bearing surface and move the one door section upon movement of said adjacent door section in one direction, and one of said door sections being provided with cushioning means yieldingly supporting the associated bearing surface to permit limited motion of such bearing surface relative to this one section upon such engagement, while resisting such motion, whereby the movement of the moving section in said direction causes gradual acceleration of the other section.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pick-up type of multiple door construction provided with cushioning means adapted to be caused to function upon interengagement of a moving door section with an adjacent less-rapidly moving section, in which the cushioning means is adapted to cause the interengaging door sections to establish a given relative positional relationship independent of the operating forces imposed upon such door sections.

A further object of the invention is to provide a multiple structure door asembly of the pickup type provided with resilient yielding cushioning means interposed between adjacent door sections which are adapted for interengagement for the purpose of imposing a moving efiort upon an adjacent door section by a given moving door section, in which the resilient yielding means is adapted to resiliently cushion the impact of said moving door section upon such adjacent door section and distribute the accelerating eiTort of such moving door section upon such adjacent door section over a period of time controlled by a given relative movement between such door sections, said resilient yielding cushionin means being adapted to establish such given relative movement in such manner that such given relative movement is caused to take place independent of the operating load existing at the position of interengagement of said door sections.

Other objects and features of this invention will be brought out in, or will be apparent from, the following description of certain preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away, showing a plurality of door sections in relatively extended position to close a door opening;

Fig. 2 is a partly broken away plan view thereof, looking down upon the plurality of door sections arranged in the relative position shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section showing an assembly of three door sections and illustrating the relative positions of the door sections in movement thereof to expose the door opening, wherein the outermost door section has engaged and moved an intermediate door section into position where it is just about ready to engage the last door section of the group to move it and thus expose the entire door opening;

Fig. 4 is a partly sectional elevation as taken on line l4 of Fig. 3;

5 Fig. ia is a partly broken end elevation as taken on line la- M in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 illustrates the operation of the yielding cushioning means as an outer door section is brought into engagement with an adjacent door section in movement of the door sections to a relatively extended position such as to close the door opening;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through the form of cushioning means shown in Figs. 1

through 5, embodying a hydraulic cushioning member;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional detail of the structure shown in Fig. 6, as taken on line '!---'I therein and as shown by co-related line 1-1 in Fig. 8 is a transverse section as taken on line 8-8 in Fig.7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional detail as taken on line 99 in Fig. 7

Fig. 10 is a view corresponding to Fig. 6, showing a modified embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 1?. is a transverse sectional view as taken on line iii l in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a transverse sectional view as taken on line i2l2 in Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view as taken on line l3-i3 in Fig. 10;

Fig. 14 is a view corresponding generally to Fig. 4, showing a modified form of fluid-displacement type of cushioning means, provided with means for causing a resilient operation of the structure;

Fig. 15 is a view corresponding generally to Fig. 4, showing a yielding cushioning means adapted for operation in but one direction of force application, with automatic means for returning the device to operative position after operation in said one direction; and

Figs. 16 and 17 show Varied arrangements of 4:; cushioning means which may be established according to this invention, depending upon the character of the cushionin means provided.

Referring to Figs. 1 through 9 of the drawings, I have illustrated the arrangement of a 5.) plurality of door sections adjacent the door opening associated with a building wall in Figs. 1 and 2, while in Figs. 3 through 9 I have illustrated certain details of construction which may be incorporated in the structure shown in Figs.

1 and 2. Referrin more particularly to Figs. 1

and 2, a portion of the building wall is indicated at l, at one side of which a door opening 2 is provided. This door opening may extend from the wall portion l to the mid-point of the complete door opening in installations where the door opens at the center and the door sections are moved respectively to each side of the center to full open position of the doorway, or it may be considered that the door opening shown at 2 represents the full size of the opening.

A plurality of door sections 3a, 3b and 3c are provided for this particular installation, it being appreciated that substantially any desired plural number of door sections may be provided, de-

pending upon the size of the installation involved. lhe door sections are adapted for translatory movement, preferably in substantially parallel paths and for this purpose may be supported on suitable flanged wheels 4 riding on separate sets of tracks or rails as shown at 511, 5b and 50 for 'theirespectivefdoor sections. Inithe ordinary case these mails will i be iplaced with their upper sur- @9385 in line with the plane of the floor of the building, wherefore wheeled trafficin-and out of the'tbuilding will be unimpeded. The upper edges of the door sections ta-tc may besupported by a guide rail assembly shown generally at t, accordingito conventional practice.

iSuitable IJOWGI means are preferably provided ifOI"ICa11SlIlg the desired movement of the .door sections between door-open and door-closed positions, :and such power means may be provided through a driving chain disposed :on suitable sprocket :8 in'the overhead structure of the door, saidt'chaina'ibeingadapted'to engage an operating bracket wring-s :upon the door section which is eaused'ito :haverthe greatest movement, which in this 'ca'se is:door section 60. A suitable driving element may beattached .to one of the sprockets 8, suchaas-anelectrie motor iii, connectin with the adjacent-sprocketpreferably through suitable speed-reducing means, not shown.

"Itwillwbe .appreciated that :it is not essential that rthe'door sections be power driven, in spite .of the fact that in large structures the power driven arrangement is by far the most useful, inasmuch i-as the features 'of this invention are quite'usef-ul where the doors are hand-operated orc'operatedby a removable or temporary power a-means such as a tractor or truck. The accom panyingaclaimszfor this-reason, are not specificallyrlimited to the provision of power operating means for the plural sections.

In :the ensuing description, Where the expression zout-er doorisection is used, it will be understoodto refer to the door section which has the greatest-movement, i. e., the door section 30 in the specific illustrations in Figs. 1 and 2, and where the expression inner door section. is used it will refer to the door section having the least movementyi. e., the doorsection 3a of Figs. 1 and 2. ,Theremaining door section 3b will be termed an -intermediate door section, with the understanding that there may be any desired number of'such intermediate 'doorsections, or such inter mediate-sectionmaybe omitted, in any given constnuction.

rIt will Lbe comprehended also, that the door section which is innermost with respect to the door opening itself -(i. e.,-in the plane of door section 3a) may actually constitute the door sec- .tion is required to move .130 the greatest distance, Wherefore the expressions inner and outer door sections will be taken as referring mainly to the :physical layout of the structure shown specifically in Figs. "1 and 2, rather than toaa limitation that eitherthe inner or .the outer door/section is the one which requires the greatest movement.

iIni-my specific showing, the door section 3c is the ,:operating door member for the plurality of door sections, i. e., is the door section which is drivenqdirectly by the driving means 1,13, :Q'and hand-in turn acts to operate the adjacent door sections -3b and 3a, and the door sections ta-and 3b=are provided with brackets H which serve to cause rmovement ofthe door sections in the righthand-direction in Figs. 3 through 5, hereinafter termed closing bracket, and bracket RE! which may be termed opening? bracket. The closing and openin brackets of section 3b are disposed imposition tobe operatedupon by the door section:-3c, and-similarly, the opening and closing brackets-H and 2 of section-3a are'disposed in position to be operated-upon by-tth'e door section .or upright t5, and carrying alm'o'va'ble c-ylinder M5 provided with an actuating foot member it?! positioned 'to engage the respective brackets i l audit? of the next adjacentidoor section. Within theimovable cylinder it I providea piston-memher :i 8, said :piston member being :caused ito perr sist in :fixed positionwithirespect'to'lthe frame "#5 of theadoorrsection:an'd the :theretozattached fixed support sleeve M. Thisipositioningof the member 'i 3 with respect to the fixed support sleeve M may be obtained through the agency of cross arms 59 disposed in suitable Lnotches 52b in the piston +8 and extending :through elongated slot 25 ein lthesmovable icylinder "it and through "coacting'ly shaped slots 122 in the ifi-Xed support sleeve M, the cross .arm t9 being clamped-about the-center section :lta of :the piston member lit through the agency of :suitable bolts 23 or the like. A suitable "communicating passageiis providedto connect :the compression spaces or cy]- inders-ZLIA andfl' iBeat the respective ends or the movable cylinder member l 6, and I .may 'for this purpose provide the piston member "$8 with an axial bore 2t. Suitable :c'omposition or leather cups 525a and @2517 are provided :at the respectiveends oithe piston member 18, a 'nut '25" be"i-ng provided to hold theicup ieath'er :at the lefthand'of the piston *i 8.

At one end .of :the piston member l8,-such as the right-hand end in ithe figures of drawings, ii haveprovided asuitable formof metering or flowcontroiling means to limitrthe fluid displacement .between cylinder spaces 24A and 24B at the respective ends of the cylinder 1-6 through the pas-'- sage'zd. [Such a metering means may comprise a metering screw 21B threadedly disposed in the cylinder-member t8 at the positiono'f the passage .24 and provided with a bore-or passage'fidbommunicating with "the bore "24; the screw "26 may further be provided with a flat 2'! which 'isinclined with respect to the axis of the screw '26 so that upon adjustment of the screw along its length a greaterorilesser opening is provided at the position of flat 21, and thus augment the fluid flow through bore 24"to various degrees. A key slot i'ZB may be'provided' in the metering screw 2-6 andthe nut-Edwhich is adaptedto-hold apiston leather a25bat'the right-hand end o'f the piston l'8may1be,,provided withan opening'SOso-that access to theikeysslot may be had through the open end .of the cylinder member It by means of a screw driver or the like. A removable plug "31 is provided'in the right-hand end of the cylinder 86, with-asmaller plug32 to provide access to the metering screw and 'to facilitate filling the system with suitable fluid. This fluid may comprise a compressible medium such as a gas or air, or an incompressible medium such as oil or other suitable liquid.

The operation of the construction is as follows:

Assuming the doors to be in the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1'and.2, whenthemotor 1 0 is energized the door .30 will move to the -left. The actuating :foot -11 vassociated with the cushioningpmeans 11-3 .011 the doorsection '30 will-be in :fully extended ,position (corresponding to the '2 position shown for the corresponding member on the section 3b in Fig. 3), and when the left hand bearing surface of member I'I contacts the bracket I2 of the door section 3b the movable cylinder member I6 will be moved toward the right relative to the fixed support I4 attached to the door section 30, causing the volume of hydraulic fluid in the cylinder space 24A at the left-hand side of the piston member I8 to be reduced. This causes the fluid to pass toward the right through passage 24 into the cylinder space 24B, the rate of flow of the hydraulic fluid being controlled by the setting of the metering screw 26. This results in movement of the movable cylinder member It relative to the door section to which it is attached, and the force exerted by the actuating foot I! upon the adjacent bracket I2 with which it is in engagement Will be less than the full impact force of the section 30; this force may be adjusted by properly adjusting the metering screw 26 so as to impose upon the adjacent door section 31) an accelerating force suiilcient to bring it up to the speed of the more rapidly traveling section 30 at about the time the foot I! reaches its fully inward position as shown in Fig. 3. It will be appreciated that the flow of fluid through the passages 24 and 24' may be established by a fixed, predetermined orifice or flow-limiting structure, rather than an adjustable structure as specifically illustrated, without departing from the spirit of my invention. In any case, when the fully inward position of the movable cylinder member I8 is reached with respect to the fixed piston member I8, section 3b is carried to the left along with section 30 until the foot I! associated with the cushioning means on the section 3b is brought into engagement with bracket I 2 associated with section 3a, whereupon the accelerating operation on the section 3a is accomplished in the same manner as described above in connection with 31). When the three door sections 3a, 3b and 3c are brought near to the position shown in dot-dash lines at the lower left-hand corner of Fig. 2, i. e., when the doors are nearly fully removed from covering relation with respect to the door opening 2, the motor I may be tie-energized or caused to operate at a reduced speed so as to complete the movement of the doors at the proper position, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Where a reduced speed operation of the door section 30 is effected, it is. preferable to establish a governed rate of deceleration of the driven door section which is somewhat less than the free deceleration rate of the door sections 3b and 3a, so that the sections 3a and 31) will not over-run section 30,

and during the final movement toward full dooropen position the section will exert a reduced driving action upon sections 32) and 3a.

It will be appreciated that a given relative movement of the door sections after interengagement of the actuating foot member I! of the cushioning means with the. opening bracket I2 is established by the allowable stroke of the cylinder It with respect to the fixed piston member I3. The acceleration of a picked-up door section will ordinarily (dependent upon the setting of the metering screw 26) have been completed by the time the full stroke (the given limited movement of the adjacent door sections) of the cylinder It has been effected. If the acceleration has been effected before the stroke is completed, the force upon the foot member I I will be reduced to that required to keep the picked-up door in motion, but any force sufiicient to overcome the frictional drag of the member I6 will n at result in further movement of the member I6 relative to the member I8, until the full stroke is efiected, inasmuch a fluid displacement will take place through the passage 24 under any pressure differential existing between spaces 24A and 243. The cushioning means I3 thus serves to establish a controlled relative movement of adjacent door sections after operative interengagement, under any operating load or stres existing between the interengaging bearing surfaces, as defined by the foot member H and the adjacent bracket I2. Furthermore, after this given relative movement has been effected, and the door sections thus brought into the desired alinement with each other (as defined by the position of the brackets) there is no tendency for the door sections to be displaced from this desired condition of alinement as a result of the action of the cushioning means. This latter result is inherent in the operation of the cushioning means, which is adapted to produce the desired force opposing the force produced by engagement of the adjacent door sections, without producing a restoring force sunicient to effect a reverse relative motion of the door sections upon completion of the abovementioned given relative movement.

When the doors have been moved to dooropen position, the cylinders I6 will be fully retracted within the fixed support sleeve I4, corresponding to the position of the cushioning means shown in the section 30 in Fig. 3, and when the desired closing operation is instituted the section 30 will be moved to the right relative to section 32) until the right-hand edge or bearing surface of the actuating foot member I1 is brought into engagement with the left-hand edge of the closing bracket I I on the adjacent section 3b, following which the cylinder member will be withdrawn from the fixed support sleeve I4 of the cushioning means attached to the section 30 after the manner indicated in Fig. 5 until the cylinder member I6 is completely withdrawn to its maximum left-hand position with respect to the support sleeve. At this time the section 31) will be fully accelerated to the speed of the moving door section 30 and will be carried toward the right until the actuating foot member I? of the cushioning means associated with the section 3b is brought into engagement with the closing bracket II provided for the door section Set. It will be appreciated that a suitable cross member or reinforcing means may be provided at the position of the bracket II, as indicated at Ila in Fig. 4, to suitably reinforce the bracket II to withstand the accelerating forces imposed by the cushioning means.

When the power driven ection 30 has been extended near its pnoper right-hand position at the extreme right of the door opening 2, the power drive provided by the motor ID will be discontinued, as described in connection with the opening movement of the doors above.

lhe form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 10 through 13 is adapted to impose a frictional drag type of cushioning between adjacent door sections instead of the hydraulic displacement type of cushioning provided by the form of the invention shown in Figs, 3 through 9, and may comprise an actuating foot member 33 mounted on a slidable drag bar 3 5 having a forward portion 34a, 2. flat intermediate portion 34b adapted to be engaged by a pair of opposed friction shoe members 35 each provided with a. friction layer 36 and pressed against the flat 34b through the agency of springs 31 backed up by an adjusting screw construction; as" shown at; 38.: mounted; on a crossbar ascconnected: to the:supportingrframe. 40

which-.dsmountedron. thedoor. section-., The mem ber: 34? isprovided. with. a; rearward extension 4| journaled as at 52 on the rearward wall of the supporting: frame 40;. and; the-supporting frame may further beprovided with, a mounting flange 45: adapted. to. be attached to the upright 44; of:

the door:- frame in any suitable manner, as: through the; agency of boltsor the like. A; removable: journal member 45. is; provided for the forward; extended portion- 3.411: of" the; member 34,. together.- with alock-nut. 35, mounted; in; a suitable threaded opening in the mounting flange 4'3: and: serving to guide the. forwardly extending: portion 36a" of. the,- drag bar. In order to provide for removal of the drag bar from. the. supporting frame 40, I. may provide a rectangular opening lmat right angles to the normal position of the intermediate flat portion 34b of the drag bar at; of. sufficient size: to; permit withdrawal of the. drag. bar from the doorassembly upon removal of: the: friction shoe members, springs,

et: cetera,. and rotation of: the drag bar through.

90?; In. Fig. 1.1.. I. have shown: in dot-dash lines the positionof the.- drag. bar portion 34b in. operation. A bracket. member 4:! correspondingin: function to. the'bracket member [2; above, may be provided; for the intermediate door section upon: whichathe; actuating foot member 33 of: a cushioning means on the; next adjacent section willimpinge in operation. The operationv of this type of apparatus is: entirely comparable to that shownat I3. in. the first described form of invention, having. in; mind that the resistance movement results from. the frictional drag of the member id-b upon the friction shoes 35 instead of the hydraulic flow or fluid displacement as provided in the first form: of: the invention.

Referringtd Fig. 14:.1 have illustrated a form of fluid-displacement cushioning means which. is adapted to provide a. resilient resistance to impact upon interengagement of twoadiacent doorsections. This form of. device may correspond generally to; the form shown. at it, above, including afixed. support sleeve M mounted upon an upright [5 of a door frame, andcarrying a movable cylinder member It provided with an actuating foot member ll, all as corresponding to: parts t t-l1- of the first-described form. of cushioning means. Within the cylinder mem her. It! I may provide a fixed piston assembly corresponding. to that shown at. it, above, complete: with an. axial passage 2t and. metering means 2.62-ls. The piston member it is fixed against movement with IBSPECtitO lZhQ door frame portion [5 as through cross arms t9 intersecnred: through bolts 23', as above.

The-desired; resilient action is secured. through the agency of, apair of pressure surge chambers 5. and-152', mounted on the rearwardly projecting portion 53; of: the cylinder member it. for ex ample. and respectively connected tothe posi tion of the compression spaces and MB through external passages 54 and 55. Suitable filling plugs 56 and 5-l maybe provided for the chambers 5| and 5 2.

The operation of this form ofdevice is such that when the door section carrying the portion [5! ismoved to the left, and the actuating foot member FF is brought into engagement. with a. bracket 12" on an adjacent door. section, the pressurev built u in the compression space at the forward end of the cylinder it (251A) will cause fluid flow through axial passage 2 in the piston member !8.-. as1in. the; prior easel. but in addition will force fluid" upwardly in: the surge chamber 5l,,buildingup the pressure: in the air space 5!" in the chamber 5!. The-1am space serves as a resilient: cushion, permitting, displacement of the cylinder member 16 inde-- pendent. of the fluid. displacement through the passage 24. When the actuating. force upon the cylinder I5 is reduced, the pressure inspaoeblr" will tend to equalize by forcing. liquid back-into the space 24A, thence into space 243; through; passage 2s, thus allowing. the fullirelative move:- ment of the door sections; to take place. as,- limited by the stroke, of member. I61. Operation of the device in the opposite, direction,v causing: compression in the air space 5.2. of the chamber; 52 should readily be; apparent.

It will be seen that-theform of:Fig...14iprovides=; for displacement of: a relatively incompressible fluid such asa hydraulic, oil; or. other liquid, and a compressible fluid. such, as air; or other gas within the surge chambersv 5,1. and 52;. Adiust ment: orvariation of? they resilient forces. in the system may be accomplished: by'filling thechambers; 5.! and 5.2: to varied; heights; thus; altering the volume. of the air spaces, 5!? and: 521'- ItzWi'Hl further be appreciated that a type of:- operation: comparable to. that provided. bythefor-m of Fi'g; 14- may be, had with. the form of: device shown: at: lril in Figs.v 3-9, by incompletely filling: the de vice with incompressible fluid, providing a; partiah air space forcompression to.establish aresili'ent resistance to the. cylinder movement.

The several forms of device shown in. Figs; 3 through 14.. are adapted, tobeplacedl in positioni for providing a yielding resistance to relative; movement of: adjacent door sectionsin. onedirec tion, after completion. of the yielding resistance in. the opposite direction, wherefore. the. device;

40 is. ready to operate; in. the opposite. direction to;

which it, has just operated, at. alt times.

In the fluid-displacement forms of:- cushioning means shown in Figs. 3-9.- and; 1.4.; it: will. beap. preciated that the respective piston: ends. of. the piston member t8: operating. in; the compression; spaces 24A. and 2413 actually constitute twosep'e arate fluid-displacement members which: are mechanically interconnected through the piston. member and hydraulically interconnectedi through; the. passage 2d... These separate. fluiddisplacement. membersare so mounted for con-.- ven-ience only; and' the functional: equivalence oi separate units mounted upon a. single door section, or separate units mounted on adjacent door sections will be apparentto: one familiarwith mechanical principles.

As an example, I may provide a cushioning means of the fluid displacement: type which is adapted for operation. in: one direction only; the return motion of the; device into operative posi -i tion ready for a, fresh cushioning action. being obtained within the device itself instead; of through fluid displacement from a co-nelated cushioning member; Such a structure is mus--- trated in Fig. 15, comprising a cylinder member 60 rigidly mounted on one door section. and: provided with a piston: GI, a piston rod' 62': and an actuating foot member 63 adapted to engage. a properly positioned opening or closing bracket on an adjacent door section. A, spring 64; is; provided. within the compression spans: 6d.- withim the cylinder to. of such strength; as to bias; the piston, at to. an: outward. position upon remoyal of forcev upon. the member 63.1 A; surge. chamber 65. is provided, mounted upon. the cylinder Bil;

if desired, in fiuid communication with the cylinder space The chamber 55 may open to the atmosphere as at E2. A line ii! from the space Eli is connected through passage 68 to a flow control valve 69 and thence through passage it to the bottom of chamber 65, and for more rapid return circulation of the fluid I may provide a by-pass line H having a check valve 12 and connecting between passages "iii and El.

The device of Fig. 15, as so far described, wiil operate to provide a yielding resistance to movement of the member 53 in a right-hand direction, under a metering action comparable to that obtained by the member 93, and upon removal. of the moving force, the spring 8 will return the piston 5! to normal operating position. If desired, the resilient feature of the form shown in Fig. 14 may be incorporated in the device of Fig. 15, by providing a branch line is provided with a valve '15 and communicatingfrom the passage 53'! to a pressure surge chamber it cor responding to one of the chambers 52 or 532 above.

It will further be appreciated that the arrangement of the cushioning means through which interengagement of adjacent door sections is provided is subject to considerable variation. In Figs. 3 through 9, and 14, a single, double-acting cushioning means is provided, which obviously may be established upon either one of a pair of door sections. In Fig. 16 I have illustrated two door sections 80 and 8i, the section 89 being provided with a cushioning means 82 which may be of the type shown in Fig. 15, i. e., adapted to function in but one direction. In Fig. 17 I have shown two door sections 83 and 84, the section 84 being provided with two cushioning means 85 and 86, each of which may be of the type of Fig. 15. The cushioning means 85 and 86 may be disposed one upon each door section, if desired. Where operation after the manner of the form shown in Figs. 3-9, through 13, or 14 is desired, i. e., where the completion of the stroke of the cushioning means in one direction serves to place the device in position to operate upon relative movement of the door sections in the reverse direction, it is desirable to place both cushioning members 85 and 86 on the same door section, so that a convenient interconnection (either mechanical or fluid, or both) may be established.

Other modifications will occur to those skilled in the the art, and I therefore do not consider my invention to be limited to the specific details of construction herein set forth and shown in the accompanying drawings, but rather to the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A plural door construction for a door opening, which comprises: two door sections adapted for movement in substantially parallel paths between a door-open position in which the door sections are disposed in an overlapping nested association and a door-closed position in which the door sections are disposed in a relatively extended association; and interengaging means including cushioning means associated with said door sections and adapted to establish a yielding interengagement between said door sections upon movement of one of said door sections in one direction, and operable upon such interengagement to gradually accelerate and move the other door section in the direction of movement of said one door section.

2. A plural door construction for a door opening, which comprises: two door sections adapted for movement in substantially parallel paths between a door-open position in which the door sections are disposed in an overlapping nested association and a door-closed position in which the door sections are disposed in a relatively extended association, each of said door sections being provided with a bearing member, said bearing members being engageable with each other upon movement of one of said door sections in one direction; and cushioning means associated with one of said bearing members and yieldingly supporting the same, whereby said one bearing member is caused to undergo limited movement with respect to the associated door section upon such engagement, said cushioning means being adapted to resist said limited movement whereby such engagement results in a gradual acceleration of a door section by a moving door section.

3. A construction set forth in claim 2, said cushioning means comprising fluid displacement means.

4. A construction as set forth in claim 2, said cushioning means comprising friction means.

5. A plural door construction for a door opening, which comprises: two door sections adapted for movement in substantially parallel paths between a door-open position in which the door sections are disposed in an overlapping nested association and a door-closed position in which the door sections are disposed in a relatively extended association; and interengaging means including cushioning means associated with said door sections and adapted to establish a yielding interengagement between said door sections upon movement of one of said door sections in either direction, and operable upon such interengagement to gradually accelerate and move the other door section in the direction of movement of said one door section.

6. A construction as set forth in claim 5, said cushioning means comprising fluid displacement means.

7. A plural door construction for a door opening, which comprises: two door sections adapted for movement in substantially parallel paths between a door-open position in which the door sections are disposed in an overlapping nested association and a door-closed position in which the door sections are disposed in a relatively ex-' tended association; means defining two bearing surfaces on each of said door sections; one of the bearing surfaces of one of said door sections being adapted to engage with one of the bearing surfaces of the other door section upon movement of one of said door sections in one direction and thereby define a pair of interengaging surfaces, and the other bearing surface of said one door section being adapted to engage the other bearing surface of said other door section upon movement of said one door section in the reverse direction and thereby define a second pair of interengaging surfaces, one bearing surface of each of said pairs being mounted for movement relative to its associated door section; and cushioning means operatively associated with the movable bearing surfaces of each of said pairs and adapted to establish a yielding interengagement between said door sections upon movement of said one door section in either direction, and operable upon such interengagement to gradually accelerate and move the other door section in the direction of movement of said one door section.

8. A construction as set forth in claim '7, said cushioning means comprising fluid displacement.

13 cushioning means comprising two separate cushioning means adapted to operate independent of one another.

10. A construction as set forth in claim 7, said cushioning means comprising separate fluid displacement members in fluid communication with one another, and including metering means for controlling the rate of fluid displacement from one fluid displacement member to the other in each direction of operation, to thereby establish a given yielding condition.

11. A plural door construction for a door opening, which comprises: two door sections adapted for movement in substantially parallel paths between a door-open position in which the door sections are disposed in an overlapping nested association and a door-closed position in which the door sections are disposed in a relatively extended association; and interengaging means including cushioning means associated with said door sections and adapted to establish a yielding interengagement between said door sections upon movement of one of said door sections in one direction, and operable upon such interengagement to gradually accelerate and move the other door section in the direction of movement of said one door section, said cushioning means having a fixed portion mounted on one of said door sections and a movable portion positioned for engagement by the other door section upon such movement of one of said door sections, and movable relative to said fixed portion a limited amount in response to force produced by said engagement, whereby a given relative movement of said door sections is produced following initial engagement thereof.

12. A structure as set forth in claim 11, said cushioning means being adapted to produce a force in opposition to said first-named force and thereby resist such relative movement, in the absence of the production of a restoring force sufficient to efiect relative motion of said door sections opposite said given relative movement upon completion of said given relative movement.

13. A plural door construction for a door opening, which comprises: two door sections adapted for movement in substantially parallel paths between a door-open position in 'which the door sections are disposed in an overlapping nested association and a door-closed position in which the door sections are disposed in a relatively extended association; and interengaging means including fluid-displacement type cushioning means associated with said door sections and adapted to establish a yielding interengagement between said door sections upon movement of one of said door sections in either direction, and operable upon such interengagement to gradually accelerate and move the other door section in the direction of movement of said one door section, said fluid displacement type cushioning means being provided with a substantially incompressible fluid, and being adapted to cause a limited flow of such fluid during such yielding interengagement.

14. A plural door construction for a door opening, which comprises: two door sections adapted for movement in substantially parallel paths between a door-open position in which the door sections are disposed in an overlapping nested association and a door-closed position in which the door sections are disposed in a relatively extended association; and interengaging means im cluding fluid-displacement type cushioning means associated with said door sections and adapted to establish a yielding interengagement between said door sections upon movement of one of said door sections in either direction, and operable upon such interengagement to gradually accelerate and move the other door section in the direction of movement of said one door section, said fluid displacement type cushioning means being provided with a substantially incompressible fluid, and being adapted to cause a metered flow of such fluid during such yielding interengagement, together with a compressible fluid adapted to establish a resilient opposition to the impact resulting from such interengagement, said cushioning means being provided with means dissipating such resilient opposition upon 40 completion of such metered flow.

GAEL S. ROGERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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