Roll-up door assembly
AssigneeFleet Engineers, Inc.
InventorAndrew Hartmann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lightweight roll-up door comprises multiple lightweight panels that can be transversely installed/removed with a simple hinge assembly. The panels are hinged about one edge and have outer complementary arcuate portions that fill the gap at the edges of the door as the panels rotate about the hinge. The panels are extruded from a lightweight material. Additionally, the panels are structurally capable of supporting the necessary door hardware without deformation or breakage. A latch assembly is mounted to an extruded bottom panel forming a latch recess for receiving the latch assembly and with multiple mounting supports disposed within the hollow interior and extending between the latch recess and the interior wall.
Claims37
A light weight roll-up door for use in closing a rear opening of a truck or trailer, the roll-up door comprising:
- multiple elongated panels, each panel having a generally rectangular periphery and formed by extrusion of a light weight material and having inner and outer opposing surfaces spaced from each other and at least one elongated groove integrally formed in the inner surfaces at the edge portions thereof;
- a hinge assembly, snap fit to the panels at the upper and lower edges thereof through integral snap fit fasteners that are releasably received in the at least one elongated groove of the panels;
- and
- outer complementary arcuate portions on the panel upper and lower edges that fill a gap at the facing edges of the panels as the panels rotate about the hinge.
In a roll-up door for selectively closing an opening in a trailer, the opening being defined in part by a bottom wall of the trailer, the roll-up door comprising multiple elongated panels having opposing interior and exterior walls and an upper and lower sides connecting an upper portion of the walls and a lower portion of the walls, respectively, the panels are stacked in an upper side to lower side orientation, a hinge rotatably couples adjacent panels, and one of the panels is a bottom panel whose lower side is adjacent the trailer bottom wall when the roll-up door is mounted to the trailer and in a closed position, and a latch assembly mounted to the bottom panel and adapted to be selectively coupled to the trailer to lock the roll-up door in the closed position, the improvement comprising:
- the bottom panel is extruded and has a predominately hollow interior between and exterior and interior walls, a latch recess in the exterior wall and multiple mounting supports disposed within the hollow interior and extending between the latch recess and the interior wall, and the latch assembly is received in the latch recess.
In a roll-up door for selectively closing an opening in a trailer, the opening being defined in part by a bottom wall of the trailer, the roll-up door comprising multiple elongated panels having opposing interior and exterior walls and an upper and lower sides connecting an upper portion of the walls and a lower portion of the walls, respectively, the panels are stacked in an upper side to lower side orientation, a hinge rotatably couples adjacent panels, and one of the panels is a bottom panel whose lower side is adjacent the trailer bottom wall when the roll-up door is mounted to the trailer and in a closed position, and a latch assembly mounted to the bottom panel and adapted to be selectively coupled to the trailer to lock the roll-up door in the closed position, the improvement comprising:
- the bottom panel is extruded and has a predominately hollow interior between and exterior and interior walls, a reflector recess formed in the exterior wall, located near a bottom portion of the panel and of a size to receive therein a conspicuity reflector.
In a roll-up door for selectively closing an opening in a truck or trailer, the opening being defined in part by a bottom wall of the trailer, the roll-up door comprising multiple elongated panels having opposing interior and exterior walls with a relatively hollow interior and an upper and lower sides connecting an upper portion of the walls and a lower portion of the walls, respectively, the panels are stacked in an upper side to lower side orientation, a hinge rotatably couples adjacent panels together, each of the panels has at lateral sides thereof at least a pair of wheel assemblies comprising a roller that is adapted to mount into a rail at the side of the truck or trailer opening and a wear resistant axle that is received in a socket in the panels, and one of the panels is a bottom panel whose lower side is adjacent the trailer bottom wall when the roll-up door is mounted to the trailer and in a closed position, and a latch assembly mounted to the bottom panel and adapted to be selectively coupled to the trailer to lock the roll-up door in the closed position, the improvement comprising:
- a socket made of a wear resistant material attached to each of the lateral sides of the panels and receiving an axle of the wheel assembly therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.