Bi-fold door latch assembly

An apparatus for opening and closing a door opening with a bi-fold door mounted on a structure having the door opening and an upright column adjacent the door opening, the bi-fold door having an upper panel, a lower panel, and hinges connecting the upper panel and the lower panel to allow the upper and lower panels to move from a vertically aligned closed position to a folded side-by-side open position comprising:

• a door lift device operable to selectively move the bi-fold door between the closed position and the open position,
• a door latch assembly operable to latch the bi-fold door into engagement with the upright column when the bi-fold door is in the closed position,
• a reversible power unit connected to the door lift device and the door latch assembly for operating the door lift device and the door latch assembly whereby the door lift device is operable to move the bi-fold door between the closed position and the open position and the door latch assembly is operable to latch the bi-fold door into engagement with the upright column when the bi-fold door is in the closed position,
• a drive shaft operatively connected to the reversible power unit,
• the door lift device having a door lift drum secured to the drive shaft,
• a first flexible member having a first end and a second end, the first end being connected to the door lift drum whereby the power unit selectively rotates the drive shaft and the door lift drum to wind the first flexible member on the door lift drum and unwind the first flexible member off the door lift drum,
• a first anchor configured to be mounted on the bi-fold door and connected to the second end of the first flexible member,
• the door latch assembly having a door latch drum secured to the drive shaft,
• a second flexible member having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second flexible member being connected to the door latch drum whereby when the power unit rotates the drive shaft and the door latch drum the second flexible member winds on the door latch drum opposite from the winding relation of the first flexible member on the door lift drum and unwinds off the door latch drum when the first flexible member winds on the door lift drum,
• a second anchor configured to be mounted on the upright column and connected to the second end of the second flexible member, the power unit being operable to rotate the drive shaft, the door lift drum and the door latch drum to wind the first flexible member on the door lift drum and unwind the second flexible member off the door latch drum to open the bi-fold door, the power unit being operable to rotate the door lift drum and the door latch drum to unwind the first flexible member off the door lift drum and wind the second flexible member on the door latch drum to close the bi-fold door and latch the bi-fold door into engagement with the upright column.

An apparatus for opening and closing a door opening with a bi-fold door pivotally attached to a structure having a door opening and a first upright column located adjacent a first side of the door opening and a second upright column located adjacent a second side of the door opening, the bi-fold door having an upper panel, a lower panel and hinges connecting the upper panel and the lower panel to allow the upper panel and the lower panel to move from an upright closed position to a folded side-by-side open position above the door opening comprising:

• door lift devices operable to selectively move the bi-fold door between the closed position and the open position and allow the bi-fold door to move from the open position to the closed position,
• a first door latch assembly operable to latch the bi-fold door into engagement with the first upright column when the bi-fold door is in the closed position,
• a second door latch assembly operable to latch the bi-fold door into engagement with the second upright column when the bi-fold door is in the closed position,
• the door lift devices including a reversible power unit having a drive shaft and bi-fold door lift drums attached to the shaft operable to move the bi-fold door between the closed position and the open position,
• first flexible members configured to be connected to the bi-fold door and connected to the bi-fold door lift drums and operable to wind on and unwind from the bi-fold door lift drums,
• the first door latch assembly having a first door latch drum secured to the shaft of the reversible power unit,
• the second latch assembly having a second door latch drum secured to the shaft of the reversible power unit,
• a second flexible member connected to the first door latch drum and configured to be connected to the first column and operable to wind on and unwind from the first door latch drum,
• a third flexible member connected to the second door latch drum and configured to be connected to the second column and operable to wind on and unwind from the second door latch drum, and
• the power unit being operable to rotate the shaft and the bi-fold door lift drums and the first door latch drum and the second door latch drum in a first direction to unwind the first flexible members from the bi-fold door lift drums and wind the second flexible member on the first door latch drum and wind the third flexible member on the second door latch drum to allow the bi-fold door to move from the open position to the closed position and latch the bi-fold door to the first and second columns when the bi-fold door is in the closed position, the power unit being operable to rotate the shaft and the bi-fold lift drums and the first door latch drum and the second door latch drum in a second direction to wind the first flexible members onto the bi-fold door lift drums and unwind the second flexible member from the first door latch drum and unwind the third flexible member from the second door latch drum to move the bi-fold door from the closed position to the open position and release the latch of the bi-fold door from the first and second columns.