US3102583A

US3102583A - Combined hinge and track roller supporting structure

Info

Publication number: US3102583A
Application number: US36186A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dale H Rowe; Jackwig Roy Ralph
Original assignee: Rowe Manufacturing Co Inc
Current assignee: Rowe Manufacturing Co Inc
Priority date: 1960-06-15
Filing date: 1960-06-15
Publication date: 1963-09-03
Anticipated expiration: 1980-09-03

Description

Se t. 3, 1963 D. H. ROWE ETAL 3,102,583

COMBINED HINGE AND TRACK ROLLER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE Filed June 15, 1960 I 55 V FIZQIZNTORSZ 54 ZJ2M w United States Patent 3,102,583 COMBINED HINGE AND TRACK ROLLER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE Dale H. Rowe and Roy Ralph Jackwig, Galeshurg, IlL,

assiguors to Rowe Manufacturing Company, Galesburg, Ill., a corporation of llllinois Filed June 15, 1960, Ser. No. 36,186 7 Claims. (Cl. 160-209) This invention relates generally to overhead doors and especially to overhead doors of the articulated panel type.

In one specific aspect, the present invention relates to a combined hinge and track roller supporting structure adapted for use with overhead doors of the articulated panel type.

According to conventional practice, sectional overhead doors, i.e. those of the articulated panel type, are supported for operation in tracks situated at the sides of the door opening. Proper support is customarily achieved by rollers which are mounted to the individual door panels and which are adapted to ride in the tracks. Modernly, the space between the support tracks and the side jambs of the doorframe tapers downwardly toward the bottom of the doorframe so as to lead the door into snug engagement with the doorframe when the door is closed.

In the past, the supporting rollers have been mounted on a tongue or bar of rectangular cross-section. This has proved to be an expensive construction. Moreover, the tongue or, in some cases, the axle of the roller has been heretofore supported in spaced flanges extending inwardly from the inner face of the door panel; and this latter arrangement has proved susceptible of accidental bending of one or more of the flanges and concomitant jamming of the roller in the support track.

Therefore, an important object of the present invention is to provide a combined hinge and track roller supporting structure which overcomes the limitations of the prior art by supporting the roller shaft or axle along the major portion of its length.

A more general object is to provide a new and improved combined hinge and track roller supporting structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a structure of the type described which is adapted to cooperate with a roller mounted on a round shaft.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a combined hinge and track roller supporting structure which is inexpensive to manufacture and which is rugged in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a combined hinge and track roller supporting structure adapted for use with overhead doors of the articulated panel type in cooperation with support tracks which are downwardly and forwardly angulated with respect to the doorframe.

Additional objects and features of the invention pertain to the particular structure and arrangements whereby the above objects are attained.

A structure in accord with the invention includes an upper hinge leaf adapted to be secured to the inner face of an overhead door panel; a lower hinge leaf adapted to be secured to the inner face of a successively lower overhead door panel, the lower hinge leaf including an upper plate portion, an outwardly extending arm portion of selected length, a barrel bearing portion adapted to receive the shaft of a track roller unit, an inwardly extending arm portion coextensive with the outwardly extending arm portion and a lower plate portion; and means swingably connecting the upper hinge leaf and the lower hinge leaf whereby to define a hinge axis aligned with 3,102,583 Patented Sept. 3, 1963 2 the plane of abutment established by confronting-edge portions of the adjacent overhead door panels.

The invention, both to is structure and mode of operation, will be better understood by reference to the following disclosure and drawing forming a part thereof, where- FIG. 1 is a central cross-sectional 'view in side elevation of an overhead door installation incorporating combined hinge and track roller supporting structures according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken through the section 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective View of an upper combined hinge and track roller supporting structure;

FIG. 4 is a side-elevational view of a combined hinge and track roller supporting structure according to the invention and adapted for use on an intermediate door panel; and

FIG. 5 is a side-elevational view of a combined hinge and track roller supporting structure according to the invention and adapted for use on a lower door panel.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, specifically to FIG. 1, an overhead door installation will be seen to include a framed door opening defined by side jambs 10 and a head jamb 12. A sectional overhead door indicated generally by the numeral '14 comprises a number of successively adjacent panels 16 mounted for operation in support tracks 18, the tracks 18 being disposed at each side of the door opening rearwardly adjacent the confronting side jambs 10. The individual door panels 16 are swingably connected edge-to-edge for articulated op eration by pairs of similar hinge and track

roller supporting structures

20, 22 and 24. These structures are afllxed at opposite lateral edges of adjacent panels and are adapted to receive a track roller unit 26, unit 26 comprising a round axle or shaft 28 to which a roller 30 is mounted, as is shown in FIG. 2, the roller being arranged to reside and operate in the respective track 18.

Roller support brackets

32 and 34 are secured respectively to the uppermost and lowermost door panels in order to complete the support of the door 14. It is to be observed that the track 18 tapers downwardly toward the bottom of side jamb 10 and, moreover, traverses a gentle are adjacent the head jamb 12 before progressing inwardly of the door opening. The

structures

20, 22 and 24 are arranged to extend the several rollers 30' at various distances from the inner face of the door in cooperation with the tapered relationship between the door and tracks 13. I

Coil springs or other biasing means, not shown, are also advantageously included in the door installation in accord with well known practice.

With reference now to FIG. 3, the hinge and track roller supporting structure 20 will be seen to comprise an upper hinge leaf 36 fashioned with a number of parallel, elongated, mating rib-and-groove means 38. Leaf 36 is also apertured with holes The structure 20 furthermore comprises a lower hinge leaf 42 fabricated with a number of parallel, elongated, mating rib-and-groove means 44, being additionally apertured with holes 46.

Lower hinge leaf 42 is defined by an upper plate portion 48, an outwardly extending arm portion 50, a barrel bearing portion 52, an inwardly extending arm portion 54 and a lower plate portion 56. The barrel bearing portion 52 is adapted to receive the round shaft or axle 28 of a roller unit 26, and the

arm portions

50 and 54 are arranged to be coextensive with each other.

It will be observed that the rib-and-groove means 44 traverse the

portions

48, 50, 52, 54 and 56 and that these portions are continuous in nature as by being formed from a single piece of sheet metal.

The leaf 36 is connected to the leaf &2 in swingable relationship by the means indicated generally at 53. The means 58 advantageously include hinge knuckles formed respectively from the leaf 36 and the leaf 48, the hinge knuckles receiving a pintle 60. Pint-1e 60 is arranged to define a hinge axis; and when the structure 20 is installed with the door panels 16, pintle 60 desirably defines a hinge axis aligned with the plane of abutment established by confronting edge portions of the adjacent panels. Structure 20 may be secured to the panels 16 by .bolts passing through

holes

40 and 46 and through aligned holes in the panels secured by nuts, as shown. Other suitable fasteners, such as rivets, may'also be used.

The hinge and track

roller supporting structures

22 and 24 are comprised similarly to the structure 20. Accordingly, like numerals are employed to indicate like elements in the

structures

22 and 24, the suffix letters a and b being employed to distinguish those elements associated respectively with the structure 22 and the structure 24. Structure 22 is illustrated in FIG. 4 and structure 24 is illustrated in FIG. 5.

A comparison of the

structures

29, 22 and 24 will indicate thatthe respective arm portions of the several structures are selected to be of different length, the length being progressively lesser according to the nearness of the structure to the bottom of the door. This progressive variation in the lengths of the respective arm portions of the several hinge and track roller supporting structures is arranged to cooperate with the degree of tapered relationship which is exhibited between the tracks 18 and the corresponding side jambs 10.

The manner in which the invention may be practiced and the purposes to which it may be put will become evident from the foregoing descriptions. Moreover, it will become apparent that the combined hinge and track roller supporting structure of the present invention provides support for the roller axle along the major portion of its length. It will also be recognized that the barrel bearing portion 52 may, if desired, be specifically arranged to journal the axle of the roller whereby to perm-it the roller to be fixed to its axle.

It is to be pointed out additionally that the hinge and track roller supporting structure of the invention can be usefully rearranged to superposition hinge leaf 36 over hinge leaf 42. Such reversibility creates latitude in the vertical situation of the axle 23 and thereby facilitates a proper installation of the door panels 16 with respect to the tracks 18.

Therefore, the specific examples herein shown and described should be considered as illustrative only. Various changes in structure may occur to those skilled in the art; and these changes are to be understood as forming a part of this invention insofar as they fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

The invention'is claimed as follows:

1. A combined hinge and track roller supporting structure adapted for use with overhead doors of the articulated panel type; and comprising a first hinge leaf adapted to be secured to the inner face of a door panel, a second hinge leaf having upper and lower planar body portions adapted to be secured to the inner face of an adjacent door panel, the adjacent end of the upper and lower planar body portions terminating in outwardly extending arm portions reversely curved at the outer ends thereof to provide an integral barrel bearing spaced outwardly from the planar body portions and extending across the said second hinge leaf for receiving the shaft of a track roller unit, and means bingedly connecting together the first hinge leaf and the second hinge leaf to define a hinge axis thereacross along the meeting edges of adjacent door panels.

2. A combined hinge and track roller supporting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outwardly extending arm portions are in face-to-face contact to provide a double thickness of leaf material connecting the barrel bearing to the upper and lower body portions.

3. A combined hinge and track roller supporting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the barrel bearing extends entirely across the width of the said second hinge leaf.

4. A combined hinge and track roller supporting structure as claimed in claim 3, wherein the hinge connection between the first hinge leaf and the second hinge leaf is co-extensive with the said barrel bearing entirely across the width of each leaf.

5. A combined hinge and track roller supporting structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are provided rib and groove means extending longitudinally of the outwardly extending arm portions of the second hinge leaf.

6. A combined hinge and track roller supporting structure as claimed in claim 5, wherein the integral rib and groove means is continuous and extends around the said barrel bearing.

7. In an overhead door installation, the combination comprising downwardly and forwardly angulated track means, a plurality of successive and adjacently disposed panels supported in said track means; and hinge means connecting adjacent panels for articulated operation thereof, each said hinge means including a combined hinge and track roller supporting structure including a first hinge leafsecuned to the'inner face of a door panel, a second hinge leaf having upper and lower planar body portions secured to the inner face of an adjacent door panel, the adjacent ends of the upper and lower planar body portions terminating in outwardly extending arm portions reversely curved at the outer ends thereof to provide an integral bar-rel bearing spaced outwardly from the planar body portions and extending across the said second hinge leaf; and a roller having a shaft mounted in said bearing barrel with the roller guided by said track means, the outwardly extending arm portions of each said second hinge leaf being of progressively lesser length as the bottom of the door is approached whereby to lead the door into snug engagement with its surrounding frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,124,969 Bagley et al. July 26, 1938 2,525,309 Norberg Oct. 10, 1950 2,863,503 Stroup Dec. 9, 1958 2,902,087 Stroup Sept. 1, 1959 2,980,182 Stroup Apr. 18, 1961

Claims

1. A COMBINED HINGE AND TRACK ROLLER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE ADAPTED FOR USE WITH OVERHEAD DOORS OF THE ARTICULATED PANEL TYPE; AND COMPRISING A FIRST HINGE LEAF ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO THE INNER FACE OF A DOOR PANEL, A SECOND HINGE LEAF HAVING UPPER AND LOWER PLANAR BODY PORTIONS ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO THE INNER FACE OF AN ADJACENT DOOR PANEL, THE ADJACENT END OF THE UPPER AND LOWER PLANAR BODY PORTIONS TERMINATING IN OUTWARDLY EXTENDING ARM PORTIONS REVERSELY CURVED AT THE OUTER ENDS THEREOF TO PROVIDE AN INTEGRAL BARREL BEARING SPACED OUTWARDLY FROM THE PLANAR BODY PORTIONS AND EXTENDING ACROSS THE SAID SECOND HINGE LEAF FOR RECEIVING THE SHAFT OF A TRACK ROLLER UNIT, AND MEANS HINGEDLY CONNECTING TOGETHER THE FIRST HINGE LEAF AND THE SECOND HINGE LEAF TO DEFINE A HINGE AXIS THEREACROSS ALONG THE MEETING EDGES OF ADJACENT DOOR PANELS.