Operating mechanism for overlapping panels type doorway closures

Operating mechanism for doorway closures of the rollably suspended overlapping parallel panels type, said doorway opening framework stationarily comprising an upright near-jamb at a finite lateral-extent from an upright far-jamb and a horizontal floor and header, there being a pair of horizontal overhead parallel rails attached to the framework nearer said header than to the floor and laterally extending in excess said lateral-extent including a front-rail forwardly offset a transverse-gap of a rear-rail, the doorway closure panels above mid-height being rollably suspended from the respective rails, said closure panels including a faster moving far-panel having a finite lateral-width representing a ratio compared to doorway lateral-extent within the range of one-third to two-thirds, said operating mechanism ensuring that the closure panels move appropriately interdependently between fully-open and fully-closed positions relative the doorway opening and comprising:

• A. a transversely extending shaft turnable in both angular directions about its transverse-axis, said shaft being associated with the near-panel at a fixed elevation located above mid-height and hence also laterally co-movable with said near-panel;
• B. a dual-arms lever including a first-arm and a secondarm at a fixed obtuse angular relationship and merging together at a turning-point, said lever arms being co-turnably attached to the transverse shaft, said dual-arms lever and shaft being sufficiently remote of the far-panel as to not abut thereagainst during far-panel lateral movement;
• C. dual-directional powering means for turning the shaft in both angular directions about its transverse-axis;
• D. a far-link having its far-end pivotably attached to the far-panel at fixed elevation located above the far-panel mid-height, said far-link near-end being pivotably attached to the lever second-arm a finite-distance from the shaft transverse-axis;
• E. a near-link having its far-end pivotably attached to the first-arm and having its near-end pivotably attached at an immovable-location which is nearwardly laterally offset the doorway near-edge;
• and
• F. stop means to limit turning of the shaft in both angular directions as the interdependently laterally movable panels approach fully-open and fully-closed positions at said framework jambs.