Hinged bottom roller assembly and counterbalance mechanism for overhead door
AssigneeWabash National, L.P.
InventorRodney P. Ehrlich
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A counterbalance assembly for use with an overhead door assembly of a trailer, for example, includes a first counterbalance mechanism having a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting a tension force of the first counterbalance mechanism and a second counterbalance mechanism having a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting a tension force of the second counterbalance mechanism. The first and second counterbalance mechanisms are spaced-apart from each other.
Claims20
A counterbalance assembly for use with an overhead door assembly positioned at a rear end of a trailer, the trailer including a rear opening and an overhead door defining a generally vertical plane when in a closed position, comprising:
- a support shaft;
- a first counterbalance mechanism including a first cable drum rotatably supported on the support shaft, a first winding cone coupled to the first cable drum, a first stationary cone, and a first tension spring secured to the first winding cone and the first stationary cone, and a first cable coupled to the first cable drum at one end and coupled to a rear surface of the overhead door at the other end;
- a second counterbalance mechanism including a second cable drum rotatably supported on the support shaft, a second winding cone coupled to the second cable drum, a second stationary cone, and a second tension spring secured to the second winding cone and the second stationary cone, and a second cable coupled to the second cable drum at one end and coupled to a rear surface of the overhead door at the other end;
- an adjustment mechanism coupled to and positioned between the first and second counterbalance mechanisms for adjusting a tension force in each of the first and second counterbalance mechanisms;
- and
- a housing positioned rearward of the vertical plane, wherein the support shaft, the first counterbalance mechanism, the second counterbalance mechanism, and the adjustment mechanism are positioned within the housing and entirely rearward of the vertical plane, the housing being coupled to a roof of the trailer and having an interior that is accessible from an exterior of the trailer, and
- wherein the first and second cables each extend forwardly on the trailer from the top of the first and second cable drums to the overhead door.
A counterbalance assembly for use with an overhead door assembly positioned at a rear end of a trader, the overhead door assembly including an overhead door defining a generally vertical plane when in a closed position, comprising:
- a first counterbalance mechanism and a second counterbalance mechanism, each including a respective cable drum;
- one stationary support shaft coupled to the first and second counterbalance mechanisms;
- and
- an adjustment mechanism coupled to the first and second counterbalance mechanisms for adjusting a tension force in each of the first and second counterbalance mechanisms;
- and
- a housing having a first vertical rear wall, a horizontal bottom wall coupled to and generally perpendicular to the rear wall, and a second vertical rear wall parallel to and spaced-apart from the first vertical wall, wherein the stationary support shaft, the adjustment mechanism, and the first and second counterbalance mechanisms are positioned within the housing between the first vertical rear wall and the second vertical rear wall,
- wherein the housing is positioned within the trader so that a bottom surface of the overhead door faces the first vertical rear wall and the second vertical rear wall when in an open position, and wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a vertically positioned worm gear, the adjustment mechanism is positioned between the first and second counterbalance mechanisms, and is positioned entirely rearward of the vertical plane of the overhead door.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.