Overhead garage door

#A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

#The present invention relates generally to the field of sectioned or multiple panel garage doors, and more particularly to sectioned, overhead garage doors that eliminate gaps between adjacent hingedly, connected panels forming the door during the full range of articulation of the panels relative to one another, thereby preventing insertion of a finger or finger-shaped object in the junction between panels

#Overhead garage doors are commonly constructed from a series of horizontal sections or panels hingedly connected about horizontal axes. The sides of each panel forming the door are typically mounted on a suitable track assembly for movement between a vertical position closing the garage opening, and a horizontal position allowing access to the garage interior. The hinged panels articulate relative to one another about horizontal hinge axes of panel connection to facilitate negotiation of the orientation change between a vertical, closed position and a horizontal, open position. In moving between the vertical and horizontal positions, sizable angular gaps may be formed and then closed between facing positions of horizontal edges of adjacent panels. The formation and closure of such gaps is potentially hazardous. For example, injury may result if a finger is captured in the gap when the door is being closed. Furthermore, the gap may allow entry of rain, snow, dirt, and the like, which might impede operation of the door and obstruct the hinge mechanism. In the wintertime, the gap might permit ice formation between adjacent panels, thus further impeding operation of the garage door.

#Other features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention that follows, when considered in light of the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the figures have the following general nature:

#FIG. 1 is front elevation of the outer surface of a closed garage door constructed in accordance with the present invention, and depicts a horizontal orientation of adjacent garage door panels;

#FIG. 2 is rear elevation of the inner surface of a closed garage door, and depicts the inside surface as well as horizontal orientation of adjacent garage door panels;

#For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the appended claims and accompanying drawings. Briefly, the present invention prevents human fingers or similar items having a diameter in the range of 3 to 5 mm form being inserted into gaps between the front of horizontally adjacent and hinged garage panels and the back of horizontally adjacent and hinged garage door panels.

#Referring to FIG. 1, in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a garage door 12 includes a plurality of horizontally, oriented, garage door panels 14, 16, 18, 20. The garage door panels 14, 16, 18, 20 are generally rectangular and are each constructed with a foam core 22 which is preferably made of low density, rigid foam, such as polyurethane foam insulation. The foam core 22 provides structural strength or integrity to the garage door panels and acts as a thermal barrier. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the garage door panels 14, 16, 18, 20 each have a front face or front panel sheet section 24 and a back face or back panel sheet section 26 which are preferably constructed of aluminum, steel, stainless steel, or other suitable garage door material for further providing structural strength to the garage door panel.

#The garage door panels 14, 16, 18, 20 are connected by hinges at their horizontally adjacent edges. The hinge connection provides for articulation about an axis on or adjacent the back side of the panels forming the garage door. Typically, two or more hinges are utilized to join adjacent panels, though a single hinge connection may be utilized.