Sliding pin lock mechanism for overhead door
AssigneeJamas Enterprises LLC
InventorsDale R. Hudson, Jay Tillman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A door lock mechanism for an overhead door employs a sliding pin or rod that passes into the path of the rollers in the track, and obstructs the roller from movement in the direction to open the door. A spring in the door lock frame biases the sliding pin towards a proximal open position. The sliding pin has an arm that extends radially from its proximal end, and which engages retaining structure at the proximal end of the door lock frame. The arm is rotated out of engagement with the retaining structure to release the pin so it may slide proximally to an unlocked position. The pin may slide into a receiver housing mounted on a door panel.
Claims9
A locking mechanism that has a proximal end and a distal end that is adapted to attach to a flat outer web of a vertical track of an overhead door to hold the door locked when the door is in its lowered or closed position, the overhead door having a plurality of rollers that travel vertically within the vertical track, the locking mechanism comprising:
- a frame, including a distal mounting portion at the distal end thereof that is adapted to be affixed onto the flat outer web of said vertical track, the frame extending proximally therefrom;
- a sliding pin or dowel having an axis extending proximally-distally in said frame and that passes in an axial direction through an opening in the distal mounting portion of the frame and configured to penetrate the flat outer web portion of said vertical track so as to block travel of the rollers when the pin is extended distally into the track, with an arm affixed onto and extending radially from a proximal end of said sliding pin or dowel, the pin or dowel being free to rotate at least a limited amount;
- the distal mounting portion of said frame having fastener openings therethrough extending axially and parallel to said sliding pin or dowel;
- one or more fasteners passing through said fastener openings in said distal mounting portion and configured to engage said flat outer web of said vertical track to secure the distal mounting portion of the locking mechanism to said vertical track;
- a spring contained within said frame and urging said sliding pin or dowel axially in said proximal direction and out of contact with said rollers;
- and
- retaining structure at a proximal end of said frame configured for engaging said radial arm when the sliding pin or dowel is slid distally to a locked position to hold said radial arm and said pin or dowel in the locked position, and the radial arm being configured for being rotated out of engagement therewith to permit the pin to slide proximally to an unlocked position, such that the locking mechanism is configured to be set into position to lock the overhead door by pushing said arm distally against the force of the spring and rotating the arm into engagement with said retaining structure, and is released from such position to unlock the overhead door by rotating said arm out of engagement with said retaining structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.