US3908310A

US3908310A - Canopy door

Info

Publication number: US3908310A
Application number: US478005A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles S Davidson
Original assignee: BYRNE DOORS Inc
Current assignee: BYRNE DOORS Inc
Priority date: 1974-06-10
Filing date: 1974-06-10
Publication date: 1975-09-30
Anticipated expiration: 1992-09-30
Also published as: CA1014422A

Abstract

Operating mechanism for a door movable between a lower generally vertical closed position and an upper generally horizontal open position. The door is guided through its opening movement by means including a follower on its upper edge which engages a fixed guide. A brace arm is pivoted at one end to the door at a point between its upper and lower edges, and has means at the other end engaging a second fixed guide. A second arm has one end pivoted at a fixed point and the other end pivoted to an intermediate point on the brace arm.

Description

0 United States Patent 1191 [111 3,908,310

Davidson Sept. 30, 1975 CANOPY DOOR Primary Examiner-Kenneth Downey [75] inventor: Charles S. Davidson, Troy, Mich. g lli' Fi"mwhittemorc- Hulbert &

e map [73] Assignee: Byrne Doors, lne., Ferndale Mich.

221 Filed: June 10, 1974 ABSTRACT [21} pp NO: 478,005 Operating mechanism for a door movable between a lower generally vertical closed position and an upper generally horizontal open position. [22] U.S.CClL The door is guided through its Opening movement by L H 9 97 40 means including a follower on its upper edge which [58} leld o earch engages a fixed guide. A brace arm is pivoted at one end to the door at a point between its upper and lower [56,] References cued edges, and has means at the other end engaging a UNITED STATES PATENTS second fixed guide. A second arm has one end pivoted 262 789 8/1882 Kaufman 49/355 at a fixed point and the other end pivoted to an 2.023.193 12/1 35 yrn 49/197 intermediate point on the brace arm. 2.178.137 10/1939 Byrnc 49/205 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Architectural Record, July. 1943. pp. 78-80. Hangar Door Details.

12 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures I\ T\ l I A l I I l i l l I I i/ AL L l: 1 Z

o o 0 9 o o co --o o Fir #7M"i i"+"'r"ft" l v l l I I /0 I W i i l C l C :60 l I 22 a4 a4 32 l 2 1 24 L f6 "5 20 US. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 1 of 3 3,908,310

Q Fl (3. l

Sheet2 0f3 FIG.Z

FIG.3

Sept. 30,1975

US. Patent Sheet 3 of 3 US. Patent Sept. 30,1975

CANOPY noon BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE. INVENTION The operating mechanism of this invention is extremely simple and yet highly effective in controlling the movement of a door from closed to open position. The operating mechanism has linkage which not only assists in controlling the movement of the door but also transfers the wind load to the building steel without any side or jamb guides.

All of the linkage for controlling the opening and closing movements of the door is disposed on the inside of the door. The door is preferably slotted in order to clear portions of such linkage when the door is opened. Slot covers are provided which effectively exclude the weather when the door is closed. The guiding of the door during its opening and closing movements is effected entirely without any side or jamb guides. Since side or jamb guides are not used, it is possible to have a door opening of unlimited size.

This invention represents an improvement over one of my own prior patents, namely U.S. Pat., No.

3,413,757. In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary semidiagrammatic front elevational view of a buildingsuch as a truck warehouse or an aircraft hangarhaving an opening closed by a plurality of doors provided with operating mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view on the line 2-2 in FIG. 1 showing one of the doors in closed position and also illustrating the operating mechanism of my invention.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view as seen on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 2 but shows the door in open position.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of FIG 2.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view with parts in elevation taken on the line 6-6 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view with parts in section and parts in elevation taken on the line 77 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view with parts in section and parts in elevation taken on the line 8-8 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view in elevation taken on the line 9--9 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 10-10 in FIG. 1.

The door operating mechanism of this invention is provided to move a door from a lower generally upright closed position with respect to a building opening to an upper generally horizontal position, and to control the angular position of the door throughout its entire movement. While particularly adapted for use with doors of the type generally used on truck warehouses and aircraft hangars, obviously the invention may be applied to doors used for any purpose.

As viewed in FIG. 1, a plurality of substantially identical doors D, D1, D2, etc., arranged in side edge to side edge relation in a row are provided to close an opening 12 in a building B. This opening is a standard rectangular opening, although of considerable horizontal extent, being defined at the top of the horizontal building member 14 and at each side uprights such as the upright 16. The space between the pairs of adjacent side edges of the doors when all are closed may be sealed by providing a rubber boot, for example, on one each of such pairs of adjacent edges. These doors D, D1, D2, etc., are individually operable so that one or more may be opened while the others remain closed and vice versa, each such door having its own individual operating and guiding mechanism. There are no side or jamb guides between doors, so that when two .or more adjacent doors are opened, a broad, unobstructed opening is provided.

The doors D, D1, D2, etc., may be of any suitable construction and are here shown as having laterally spaced vertical stiles 17 supporting a front panel 19.

One door and its operating and guiding mechanism will now be described, it being understood that all of the doors may be and preferably are similarly operated and guided. As seen in FIG. 2, the door D is shown closed and in such condition is disposed vertically with its upper edge contacting a veather seal 18 fixed to the building member 14 across the top of the opening. A rubber boot 20, preferably provided along the lower edge of the door, contacts the ground G as in FIG. 2 when the door is closed.

The door D is raised from its vertical closed position of FIG. 2 to its open horizontal position shown in FIG. 4 by operating mechanism including the cables C. In the present instance four such cables C are provided for each door and conjomtly operated. One end of each such cable is connected to the door D by a pivotal connection indicated at 22, preferably substantially midway between the upper and lower edges of the door. These cables C extend vertically upwardly from their pivotal connections 22 over sheaves 24 fixed to the building and then rearwardly to a suitable operating mechanism 26. These cables C exert substantially a direct vertical lifting force upon the door during its entire opening movement because the control of the angular position of the door during its opening movement is such that the point of the pivotal connection 22 moves along substantially a vertical path. The door is held in its open horizontal position of FIG. 4 by the tension in the cables C, and is allowed to return to its vertical closed position by paying out the cables.

The operating and guiding mechanism for the door D comprises one or more linkages 29 each including a brace arm or strut 30 and a second arm 32. In the present instance, two such linkages 29 are provided for each door, although only one may be seen in the drawings.

One end of the brace arm 30 is pivotally connected to the door D where indicated at 34 by a bracket 35 mounted on a structural member 36 of the door. The pivot 34 is preferably located at about the level of the pivotal connections 22 for the cables. A dolly 38 is pivoted to the other end of the brace arm 30 where indicated at 40 and has rollers 42 which run in a channel guide 44 affixed within the building by means of the supports 46. This channel guide is disposed in a plane at right angles to the plane of the building opening. It lies wholly within the building and is inclined upwardly slightly with respect to the horizontal from its inner end 50 to its outer end 52. The dolly 38 is guided in the channel guide 44 during the entire opening and closing movement of the door.

The second arm 32 has one end pivoted where indicated at 56 to a fixed support 58 within the building. The pivot point 56 is in the plane of the door when the door is closed. The other end of arm 32 is pivoted at 60 to the bracket 62 on the brace arm 30, pivot 60 being substantially equidistant from

pivots

34 and 40. The

pivots

34, 40, 56 and 60 at the ends of

arms

30 and 32 are horizontal and parallel to the building opening.

As noted above two such linkages 29 are preferably employed for each door, and of course a separate channel guide 44 is provided for each linkage.

A roller 64 is mounted on the upper edge of the door D adjacent each side edge of the door. Each such roller engages in and is guided by a roller guide 66 affixed within the building and of the form shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. Each such roller guide 66 will be seen to have at its outer end over the door opening a substantially vertical section 68 which extends upwardly. From that point, the guide curves inwardly and upwardly where indicated at 70, after which it turns downwardly as shown at 72. Such channel guides 66 are of the same construction and are disposed in laterally spaced vertical planes at right angles to the plane of the door opening. The rollers 64 are guided by the roller guides 66 throughout the entire opening and closing movements of the door.

The dotted line indicated at 76 in FIG. 2 traces the initial path of the lower edge portion of the door as the door is opened. As there seen, the lower edge of the door rises vertically initially and then swings outwardly during further opening movement. This initial substantially straight vertical rise of the lower edge of the door may be a distance, for example, of four to eight inches and allows the door to clear a possible accumulation of snow on the ground before swinging outwardly. The initial substantially vertical movement of the lower edge of the door is accomplished by the unique relationship of the parts of the operating mechanism disclosed whereby the upper edge of the door initially moves substantially vertically due to the substantially vertical sections 68 of the roller guides 66 and also because of the substantially vertical movement of the mid-portion of the door as controlled by the

arms

30 and 32 of linkage 29.

During the entire opening movement of the door its upper edge will be guided by the roller guides 66 in which the door rollers 64 are engaged. The dolly 38 on the end of the brace arm 30 will move from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the right continuously until it reaches the position shown in FIG. 4 when the door is fully opened. The arm 32 during this time will pivot counterclockwise from the FIG. 2 position to the FIG. 4 position. The midpoint of the door will experience virtually no inward or outward movement, so that the pivotally connected points 22 for the cables will move along a substantially vertical line and the cables will apply substantially a direct vertical pull on the door at all times.

All of the operating and guiding mechanism for the door is located inside the building when the door is closed.

The upper portion of the front panel of each door is formed with laterally spaced narrow vertical slots or recesses 80 which extend downward from the upper edge. The slots 80 are aligned with linkages 29 and are provided to clear the arms 32 when the door is opened. As shown in FIG. 2, the arm 32 is onthe inside of the door when the door is closed. However, when the door is opened, the arms 32 move through the slots to the outside of the door as seen in FIG. 4. The slots 80 are provided to clear the arms 32 and also brackets 62 and are formed so as to be just long enough and wide enough for that purpose. When the door is closed, these slots are sealed by

flaps

82 and 84.

Flaps

82 and 84 may be identical vertical strips of rubber or like flexible sealing material secured to the front surface of the panel 19 of the door along the opposite side edges of each slot from the top to the bottom thereof. The

flaps

82 and 84 are wide enough to overlap and sea] as in FIG. 10 when the door is closed. They will flex to allow the arm 32 and also its connecting bracket 62 to project through the slot apparent from FIGS. 4 and 6 when the door is open. It will be noted in FIG. 6 that in the closed position of the door, the brace arms 30 lie between adjacent stiles 19 but beneath the front door panel 19.

The dimensional relationship between the parts of the linkage and the form and construction of the channel guides may vary, keeping in mind that it is desired that the point in the height of each door where the cables are connected at 22, represented by the door member 36, should move in a more or less true vertical path during opening and closing movements. This is accomplished in the present instance by guides constructed and arranged as shown and by utilizing an arm 32 having a length between

pivots

56 and 60 which is substantially equal to the distance between

pivots

34 and 60 on brace arm 30, so that the

pivots

34, 56 and 60 form an isosceles triangle. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, pivots 34 and 56 lie on substantially a vertical line both in the opened and in the closed positions of the door. Guide 44 is shaped to control the orientation of arm 30 so that pivot 34 moves along such substantially vertical line during the entire movement of the door between opened and closed positions. It will be further noted that the distance between

pivots

56 and 60 of arm 32 is substantially equal to the distance between

pivots

40 and 60 of brace arm 32 so that pivots 40, 56 and 60 form an isosceles triangle.

Such pivots

40, 56 and 60 lie on substantially a straight line in the open door position (see FIG. 4).

It should be noted that there are no side guides or jamb guides between doors. Such guides are not needed because the linkage alone is sufficient to support the doors firmly in their closed positions even under high wind loading. Wind load is transferred to the building steel by the control linkage. The pressure of wind pushing horizontally against a door would not tend to open it because initial opening movement of the center of the door is in a vertical direction. The elimination of side or jamb guides has the advantage of making it possible to provide an unobstructed opening of unlimited size.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A braced door construction for a building opening comprising a single leaf canopy door having a vertical dimension substantially equal to that of said building opening, said door being movable between a lower upright closed position extending from top to bottom of said opening and an upper substantially horizontal open position disposed near the top of said opening, operating and guiding mechanism for said door comprising means for raising said door from its lower to its upper position. a first guide fixed with respect to said building, a follower mounted on the upper edge of said door and engaging said first guide for movement therealong, said first guide having a generally vertical portion engaged by said follower during initial opening movement of said door. a second guide fixed with respect to said building, a brace arm, first pivot means pivoted at one end of said brace arm to said door, means at the other end of said brace arm engaging said second guide for movement therealong, a second arm, second pivot means pivoting one end of said second arm to the building, and third pivot means pivoting the other end of said second arm to said brace arm, said brace arm and said second arm forming an acute angle with one another in the closed position of said door.

2. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 1, wherein said means for raising the door includes a flexible linear member connected to the door so as to apply a direct vertical lift thereon to raise the same.

3. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 1, wherein said first pivot means is located intermediate the upper and lower edges of the door, and said third pivot means is located intermediate the ends of said brace arm.

4. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 3, wherein the distance between said first and third pivot means is substantially equal to the distance between said second and third pivot means.

5. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 4, wherein said second guide guides the movement of said means at the other end of said brace arm in such a manner as to cause said first pivot means to move substantially vertically during opening movement of the door.

6. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 3, wherein said means at said other end of said brace arm is pivoted to said other end of said brace arm by a fourth pivoted means, and the distance between said second and third pivot means is substantially equal to the distance between said first and third pivot means.

7. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 3, wherein the distances between said first and third pivot means, between said second and third pivot means, and between said third and fourth pivot means are substantially equal.

8. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 7, wherein said second guide is arranged to control the orientation of said brace arm so that said first pivot means is required to move along a substantially vertical line during door opening movement.

9. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 8, wherein said second pivot means lies on said substantially vertical line.

10. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 9, wherein the door has a recess in its upper edge to clear said second arm during door opening movement.

11. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 10, wherein means are provided to close said recess when the door is closed.

12. The operating and guiding mechanism defined in claim 3, wherein the door has a recess to clear said second arm during door opening movement.

Claims

1. A braced door construction for a building opening comprising a single leaf canopy door having a vertical dimension substantially equal to that of said building opening, said door being movable between a lower upright closed position extending from top to bottom of said opening and an upper substantially horizontal open position disposed near the top of said opening, operating and guiding mechanism for said door comprising means for raising said door from its lower to its upper position, a first guide fixed with respect to said building, a follower mounted on the upper edge of said door and engaging said first guide for movement therealong, said first guide having a generally vertical portion engaged by said follower during initial opening movement of said door, a second guide fixed with respect to said building, a brace arm, first pivot means pivoted at one end of said brace arm to said door, means at the other end of said brace arm engaging said second guide for movement therealong, a second arm, second pivot means pivoting one end of said second arm to the building, and third pivot means pivoting the other end of said second arm to said brace arm, said brace arm and said second arm forming an acute angle with one another in the closed position of said door.