Garage door opener vibration isolation kit

#The present invention is in the field of noise and vibration control. The invention is particularly useful for reducing vibration and noise created by operating a garage door opener.

#An increasing number of homes being built today have rooms over the garage. These rooms are often used for offices, bedrooms, or entertainment centers. The noise and vibration created by the opener when the garage door goes up or down can be disruptive in these situations. Unfortunately, this is a problem which is often not recognized until the home is built.

#Previous inventions have made attempts to reduce the noise created by the opening of the garage door. One such invention is U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,850 by Lhotak et al. Lhotak et al discloses a garage door opener which attempts to reduce noise with a vibration damper which uncouples the electric motor vibrationally from the housing of the head unit. The head unit in Lhotak is connected to the motor mount. Lhotak et al, and other prior art have attempted to reduce the noise from a garage door opening by isolating the motor. This approach ignores the fact that a substantial amount of the vibration and noise produced when a garage door opener is operated is caused by the drive system (usually a drive chain in the drive track).

#FIG. 1 is a side view of a garage door opener which has been adapted with a garage door opener vibration isolation kit according to an aspect of the invention.

#FIG. 2 is a side view of a portion of an installed motor vibration isolation kit according to an aspect of the invention.

#FIG. 3 is an exploded view of an installed motor vibration isolation kit according to an aspect of the invention.

#Various aspects of the invention are presented in FIGS. 1-5 which are not drawn to scale and in which like components are numbered alike. Referring now to FIG. 1, according to an aspect of the invention a garage door opener vibration isolation kit 100 to isolate the garage door motor 210 from the ceiling 250, and to isolate the drive track 310 from the header 350, comprises a motor isolation kit 200, and a header isolation kit 300. For purposes of this patent, the header 350 refers to where the drive track is mounted to the garage door wall.

#Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, according to another aspect of the invention, the motor isolation kit 200 comprises a motor mount plate 220, a motor vibration isolator 230, a motor vibration damper 240, a means 260 for mounting the garage door motor 210 to the motor mount plate 220 and, a means 270 for mounting the motor mount plate 220 to the ceiling 250 such that the motor mount plate 220 is isolated from the means 270 for mounting the motor mount plate 220 to the ceiling 250 by the motor vibration isolator 230, and, wherein the motor mount plate 220 is isolated from the ceiling 250 by the motor vibration damper 240. Any suitable means may be used for mounting the motor 210 to the motor mount plate 220 and the motor mount plate 220 to the ceiling 250. FIGS. 2 and 3 show combinations of nuts, bolts and washers as a suitable means, but this is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the invention to such mounting means.

#For clarity, FIGS. 2 and 3 show one motor mount plate 220, and the mounting means 260/270, motor vibration isolator 230 and motor vibration damper 240 associated therewith. To mount a motor to the ceiling may (and in most cases will) require more than one motor mount plate 220. If more than one motor mount plate 220 is required, each would come with the parts shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and described herein, and as such would still be within the scope of the invention