US 7,730,928 B2Granted

Overhead sectional door, hinge and stile assembly

AssigneeClopay Building Products Company, Inc.

InventorsJeffrey W. Stone, Alan R. Leist, John A. Colston

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Abstract

A hinge assembly pivotally couples adjacent panels together in an overhead sectional door. The panels include stiles between each lateral end of the panel to which the hinge assemblies are attached. The hinge assembly includes an upper hinge leaf on an upper panel with a pair of spaced generally parallel flanges which span the juncture between the upper and lower panels. The hinge assembly also includes a lower hinge leaf with a pair of flanges projecting generally parallel to each other. The lower hinge leaf is mounted to one of the stiles of the lower panel and each flange includes a pivot axis hole near a terminal end thereof for alignment with a pivot axis hole in one of the flanges of the upper leaf. The stile includes a pair of spaced, parallel sidewalls and a notch, depression or recess is on each sidewall. The recesses provide a seat for the respective flanges of the hinge leaves and clearance between the sidewall of the stile and any adjacent components. A rivet or similar pivotal connector device is seated within the pivot axis holes on each side of the hinge.

Claims16

Dependent claims

An overhead door capable of being selectively moved between a generally horizontal open position and a generally vertical closed position covering an opening, the door comprising:

a plurality of serially connected panels each having a front face, a top rail and a bottom rail, the top and bottom rails each being adapted to mate with the bottom rail and top rail, respectively, of an adjacent panel;
a track assembly mounted proximate the opening, the track assembly including a generally vertical section, a generally horizontal section and a transition section joining the horizontal and vertical sections together;
a plurality of rollers mounted on the panels and coupled to the track assembly to guide the door between the closed and open positions;
a plurality of stiles each mounted to one of the panels and extending between the top and bottom rails;
a recess in a sidewall of at least selected stiles;
a plurality of hinge assemblies each mounted to the adjacent panels to pivotally couple the adjacent panels together, wherein each of the hinge assemblies further comprises,
(a) a first hinge leaf mounted to a first one of the panels;
(b) a second hinge leaf mounted to one of the stiles on a second one of the panels adjacent to the first panel;
(c) a pair of first hinge leaf flanges spaced from each other and projecting from the first hinge leaf toward the second hinge leaf;
and
(d) a pair of second hinge leaf flanges spaced from each other a distance less than an outer perimeter width of the stile and projecting from the second hinge leaf;
wherein the first and second hinge leaf flanges are pivotally coupled together and at least portions of the first and second hinge leaf flanges are seated within the recess in the one stile on the second one of the panels;
a first mounting base on the first hinge leaf mounted to one of the stiles on the first panel;
a second mounting base on the second hinge leaf;
a bight portion of the one stile on the second one of the panels, the bight portion separating a pair of stile sidewalls and the second mounting base being mounted to the bight portion;
and
a pair of pivotal connectors each joining one of the first hinge leaf flanges to one of the second hinge leaf flanges;
wherein each pivotal connector does not span the associated stile and is seated in the associated recess.

15 more elements

In an overhead door capable of being selectively moved between a generally horizontal open position and a generally vertical closed position covering an opening, the door having a plurality of serially connected panels mounted for movement to a track assembly mounted proximate the opening, the track assembly including a generally vertical section, a generally horizontal section and a transition section joining the horizontal and vertical sections together, each panel having at least one stile extending between top and bottom rails of the panel, the overhead door improvement comprising:

at least one recess in each of the stiles;
a plurality of hinge assemblies each mounted to two adjacent panels to pivotally couple the adjacent panels together, wherein each of the hinge assemblies further comprises,
(a) a first hinge leaf mounted to a first one of the panels;
(b) a second hinge leaf mounted to one of the stiles on a second one of the panels adjacent to the first panel;
(c) a pair of first hinge leaf flanges spaced from each other and projecting from the first hinge leaf toward the second hinge leaf;
and
(d) a pair of second hinge leaf flanges spaced from each other a distance less than an outer perimeter width of the stile and projecting from the second hinge leaf;
wherein the first and second hinge leaf flanges are pivotally coupled together and at least portions of the first and second hinge leaf flanges are seated within the recess in the one stile on the second one of the panels;
a first mounting base on the first hinge leaf mounted to one of the stiles on the first panel;
a second mounting base on the second hinge leaf;
a bight portion of the one stile on the second one of the panels, the bight portion separating a pair of stile sidewalls and the second mounting base being mounted to the bight portion;
and
a pair of pivotal connectors each joining one of the first hinge leaf flanges to one of the second hinge leaf flanges and defining a pivot axis aligned with the recess;
wherein each pivotal connector does not span the associated stile and is seated in the associated recess.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/376,904Filed 16 Mar 2006
Published: US 2007/0215293 A120 Sep 2007
Granted: 8 Jun 2010
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

E05D 15/242
Consisting of parts connected at their edges: hinge connections between the parts
E05D 5/06
Parts for attachment, e.g. flaps: bent flaps
E05D 5/12
Pins, sockets or sleeves; Removable pins: securing pins in sockets, movably or not
E05D 7/1016
By axially moving free pins, balls or sockets: requiring a specific angular position