WO2001094735A1

WO2001094735A1 - Curtain guide for a roll-up door

Info

Publication number: WO2001094735A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/017280
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aaron J. Wiegel; John K. Olthafer
Original assignee: Rite-Hite Holding Corporation
Priority date: 2000-06-08
Filing date: 2001-05-29
Publication date: 2001-12-13
Also published as: AU2001265100A1

Abstract

A roll-up door having a curtain that wraps around an overhead roller includes a shroud disposed around the door's roller. As the curtain moves between its open and closed portions, vertical guides disposed along either side edge of the doorway guide two edges of the curtain generally along a vertical plane across the doorway. The shroud, disposed around the roller, helps prevent the curtain from being centrifugally thrown outward from the rotating roller and striking surrounding portions of the door. To minimize noise and curtain wear, the shroud is preferably made of a low-friction, sound absorbing material, such as plastic. In some embodiments the shroud is of a continuous strap formed in a generally omega-shape to further create upper and lower lead-ins that help refeed a dislodged curtain back into its proper position within the vertical guides.

Description

Curtain Guide for a Roll-Up Door

Background of the Invention

Field of the Invention

The subject invention generally pertains to roll-up doors and more specifically to

a curtain guide for such a door.

Description of Related Art

A roll-up door typically includes a pliable roll-up panel or curtain that is wound

about an overhead roller. Some door curtains are made of flexible fabric reinforced with

several vertically spaced horizontal stays or wind bars that are relatively rigid to help

prevent the curtain from billowing when subject to air pressure differentials across

opposite faces of the curtain. Other curtains comprise a series of narrow, relatively rigid .

metal bars or segments that each extend horizontally across the doorway. The segments

are pivotally interconnected along their horizontal edges, so that the curtain can wrap

around the overhead roller. Regardless of the type of curtain, the operation of a roll-up

door is generally the same.

To close the door, the roller pays out the curtain as two vertical tracks disposed

along either side edge of the doorway guide the side edges of the curtain generally along

a vertical plane across the doorway. The rotation of the roller is reversed to open the

door. Roll-up doors are typically either powered open and closed, or are powered open

and allowed to fall closed by gravity. Sometimes, the curtain is accidentally forced out from within its vertical guides

due to any one of a variety of causes, such as a vehicle striking the curtain or the curtain

closing on an obstruction in the doorway. For continued operation, the curtain needs to

be returned to its normal position within the tracks. This can be done manually.

Alternatively, the door may be capable of automatic reinsertion following breakaway.

Toward that end- the door will typically include refeed guides or brackets that are

mounted just above the vertical tracks and serve as lead-ins that guide the curtain back

into the tracks as the dislodged curtain is being pulled past the guides and rolled onto the

roll tube. The roller then lowers the curtain back down, and the refeed guides further

guide the lower edge of the curtain back into its proper position within the tracks.

In many industrial settings, such as in factories and warehouses, roll-up doors are

opened as rapidly as possible to help avoid collisions between a vehicle and a partially

opened door. However, if the curtain's take-up roller turns too fast, centrifugal force

acting on the curtain as the curtain starts wrapping (or unwrapping) around the roller can

throw the curtain outward, away from the roller. This can occur in either direction, i.e.,

the door can be opening or closing.

Often, a loud banging noise is created if the frame or other structure of the door is

struck by a curtain constructed of rigid metal segments or struck by a fabric curtain's

wind bars. If some of the wind bars are bent, the problem can get worse. Summary of the Invention

For a roll-up door having a curtain that wraps around a roller, in order to minimize

the noise or damage caused by the curtain or portions of the curtain striking other

portions of the door, in one embodiment a polymeric shroud is disposed around the

door's roller, such that the curtain travels between the shroud and the roller.

In some embodiments the shroud is a continuous strap curved in a generally

omega-shape.

In some embodiments, the shroud includes a tapered lead-in that guides the

curtain as the roller draws in the curtain to open the door.

In some embodiments, the shroud includes a tapered lead-in that guides the lower

edge of the curtain back into vertical guide tracks after the curtain has been dislodged out

from within the tracks.

In some embodiments, the shroud is used with a fabric door curtain that is

reinforced with metal wind bars.

In some embodiments, the shroud is used with a door curtain made of a series of

horizontally elongated bars that are pivotally interconnected along their horizontal edges.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a partial cutaway front view of a partially opened roll-up door with an upper portion of the door's curtain wrapped around an overhead roller, wherein a shroud

is disposed around the roller.

Figure 2 is a cross-section end view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end view of one embodiment of a door curtain.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the door of Figure 1, but with the curtain

removed and top and front header panels removed to more clearly show the shroud and

its relationship to the door's roller.

Figure 5 is similar to Figure 2, but showing the curtain dislodged out from within

its vertical guide tracks and showing a refeed feature of the shroud guiding a previously

dislodged curtain back into the door's vertical guide tracks.

Figure 6 is similar to Figure 2, but showing a re-fed curtain as it re-enters the

vertical guide tracks.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

A partially opened roll-up door 10, shown in Figures 1 and 2, includes a flexible

door panel or curtain 12 that is wound about an overhead roller 14. To open or close door

10 relative to a doorway 16, roller 14 can be manually rotated or powered by a

conventional drive 18 to draw in or pay out curtain 12. As curtain 12 moves between its

open and closed positions, vertically elongated guides 20 disposed along either side edge

of doorway 16 guide two side edges 22 and 24 of curtain 12 generally along a vertical plane across doorway 16.

The actual structure of guides 20 can be of a wide variety of designs that are well

known to those of skill in the art. Perhaps the simplest structure would be a rigid channel

having two flanges between which curtain 12 travels. In other embodiments; however,

5 guide 20 includes two fabric straps 26 that are each held preferably taut between a lower

anchor 28 and an upper anchor 29. A gap 30 running vertically between two generally

parallel straps 26 provides a path along which edges 22 or 24 of curtain 12 may travel.

Further details of such a guide can be found in published PCT application W098/48139

(October 29, 1998), which is specifically incorporated by reference herein.

10 As with guides 20, curtain 12 may also assume a variety of structures well known

to those skilled in the art. For example, curtain 12 can be made of fabric (i.e., any

flexible sheet of material), as shown in Figures 1 and 2, or made of a series of

horizontally elongated metal panels 32 that are pivotally interconnected along their

horizontal joints 34, as schematically illustrated in Figure 3. When made of fabric,

15 curtain 12 may or may not include horizontal wind bars 36. Wind bars 36 can be made of

relatively rigid metal, which can help prevent curtain 12 from billowing when subject to

air pressure differentials across opposite faces of the curtain. If used, wind bars 36 can be

held in place by integral pockets 38 that are sewn or heat welded to the fabric of curtain

12.

!0 To limit the radial separation of curtain 12 from roller 14, a shroud 40 is disposed

at least partially around roller 14, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4. This helps prevent

curtain 12 and/or wind bars 36 from striking certain portions of door 10 as door 10 opens and closes. Without shroud 40, roller 14 centrifugally throwing curtain 12 outward can

cause curtain 12 to strike or rub against a metal header panel, such as a face panel 46

lying along a generally vertical plane or a top panel 48 lying along a generally horizontal

plane above roller 14. Besides header panels, shroud 40 can also help prevent curtain 12

from striking other portions of a door. Shroud 40 can be generally circular or be of

another shape and preferably extends most of the way around roller 14, i.e. shroud 40

extends at least 180-degrees around roller 14. However, shroud 40 could also extend just

90-degrees around (or even less) to help shield just one of the header panels 46 of 48.

Conventional brackets 42 can be used to attach shroud 40 to a side frame

member 44 of door 10. An additional left-hand shroud 40', identical or similar to shroud

40, can be installed on the left side of doorway 16. A single shroud extending the full

width of curtain 12, or a single narrower shroud situated anywhere between edges 22 and

24 of curtain 12 are also well within the scope of the invention.

To minimize wear on curtain 12 and to minimize noise created by curtain 12

striking or rubbing against shroud 40, shroud 40 is preferably made of a polymer. For

example, UHMW (ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene) provides some vibration

absorption and has a desirably low coefficient of friction with many door curtain

materials. However, shroud 40 can also be made of materials other than plastic. For

example, even when made of metal, shroud 40 may still reduce noise, as the relatively

small shroud 40 may reverberate less than a much larger header panel.

In some embodiments, shroud 40 cannot only provide a curtain containment

function, but can also provide a curtain-refeed function to restore a dislodged curtain to its normal operating position within vertical guides 20. The two functional features can

be integrated into a single, unitary shroud. For example, in some embodiments, shroud

40 comprises a sheet, strap or bar curved in a generally omega-shape, with a lower

portion 52 of the omega shape providing the refeed function. Portion 52 of the omega-

5 shape includes a lower lead-in 54, an upper lead-in 56, and a throat 58 interposed between

the two. An upper portion 60 of the omega-shape defines a main opening 62 through

which roller 14 extends. Thus, the omega-shape creates a generally smooth, continuous

path 64 along which curtain 12 can travel up and down in series through main opening

62, upper lead-in 56, throat 58, and lower lead-in 54. When curtain 20 becomes

[0 dislodged out from within gap 30,- as shown in Figure 5, portion 52 of shroud 40 can

refeed curtain 20 back into gap 30 upon roller 14 being rotated to roll the curtain 12 onto

the roller 14. The lower lead-in 54 illustratively guides curtain 12 back into the throat

region 58 so that it can be smoothly wound onto the roller 14. Roller 4 can subsequently

lower edge 66 back into gap 30, as shown in Figure 6. As door 10 closes, upper lead-in

15 56 guides curtain 12 as curtain 12 travels downward from roller 14 towards the upper

portion 50 of guide 20. To help ensure that leading edge 66 of curtain 12 enters gap 30

between the upper ends 50 of straps 26, in some embodiments, a width 68 of throat 58 is

less than a width 70 of gap 30. However, in other embodiments, throat width 68 is equal

to or greater than gap width 70.

'.0 Although the invention is described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it

should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications are well witliin

the scope of the invention. For example, although shroud 40 is preferably formed of one continuous polymeric strap that creates the entire omega-shape, shroud 40 could also be

comprised of separate segments. Some segments of the shroud could shield certain

portions of the door from being struck by curtain 12, other segments could serve as the

upper lead-in, and still other segments could serve as the lower lead-in. Moreover,

shroud 40 does not necessarily have to be made of plastic, but can be made of metal and

other materials, as well. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be determined by reference to the claims that follow. I claim:

Claims

1. A door assembly, comprising:

a roller;

a flexible door panel that can be wound and unwound from around the roller; and

a shroud defining a main opening through which the roller extends, defining a

lead-in, and defining a throat interposed between the main opening and the lead-in,

wherein the lead-in, the throat and the main opening create a path along which the

flexible door panel can travel, with the path being wider at the lead-in and at the main

opening than at the throat.

2. The door assembly of claim 1 , wherein the shroud includes a continuous

elongated strap having opposite ends, with the lead-in being adjacent the opposite ends.

3. The door assembly of claim 1, wherein the shroud consists of a polymer that

absorbs sound upon being struck by the flexible door panel.

4. The door assembly of claim 1, wherein the lead-in is curved;

The door assembly of claim 1, wherein the throat is curved.

6. The door assembly of claim 1 , wherein the lead-in is below the main opening.

7. The door assembly of claim 1, wherein the flexible door panel includes a fabric

curtain.

8. The door assembly of claim 1, wherein the flexible door panel comprises a

plurality of horizontally elongated segments that are pivotally interconnected along

substantially horizontal joints.

9. The door assembly of claim 1, further comprising an elongated header panel

running substantially parallel to a longitudinal centerline of the roller, wherein a portion

of the shroud extends between the roller and the elongated header panel to help prevent

the flexible door panel from striking the elongated header panel.

10. The door assembly of claim 9, wherein the elongated header panel lies along a substantially vertical plane.

11. The door assembly of claim 9, wherein the elongated header panel lies along a

substantially horizontal plane above the roller.

12. The door assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a vertically elongated guide

defining a substantially vertically running gap along which a lateral edge of the flexible

door panel travels, wherein the substantially vertically running gap is narrower than the

path at the lead-in of the shroud.

13. The door assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a vertically elongated guide

door panel travels, wherein the substantially vertically running gap is wider than the path

at the throat of the shroud.

14. A door assembly, comprising:

a roller;

a flexible door panel that can be wound and unwound from around the roller; an elongated header panel; and

a shroud interposed between the roller and the elongated header panel to help

shield the elongated header panel from being struck by the flexible door panel, wherein

the shroud extends continuously at least 90 degrees around the roller.

15. The door assembly of claim 14, wherein the shroud extends continuously at least

180 degrees around the roller.

16. The door assembly of claim 14, wherein the shroud consists of a polymer that

absorbs sound if struck by the flexible door panel.

17. The door assembly of claim 14, wherein the shroud defines a main opening

through which the roller extends, defines a lead-in, and. defines a throat interposed

between the main opening and the lead-in, wherein the lead-in, the throat and the main

opening create a path along which the flexible door panel can travel, with the path being

wider at the lead-in and at the main opening than at the throat.

18. The door assembly of claim 15, wherein the shroud includes a continuous elongated strap having opposite ends, with the lead-in being adjacent the opposite ends.

19. The door assembly of claim 14, wherein the flexible door panel includes a fabric

5 curtain with horizontal reinforcing bars.

20. The door assembly of claim 14, wherein the flexible door panel comprises a

plurality of horizontally elongated segments that are pivotally interconnected along o substantially horizontal j oints.

21. The door assembly of claim 14, wherein the elongated header panel lies along a substantially vertical plane.

5

22. The door assembly of claim 14, wherein the elongated header panel lies along a substantially horizontal plane above the roller.

23. A door assembly, comprising:

a roller; a flexible door panel that can be wound and unwound from around the roller; and

a shroud being of a continuous, generally omega-shape to define a main opening

through which the roller extends, to define a lead-in and to define a throat interposed

wider at the lead-in and at the main opening than at the throat.

24. The door assembly of claim 23, further comprising an elongated header panel

the flexible door panel from striking the elongated header panel.

25. The door assembly of claim 25, wherein the elongated header panel lies along a

substantially vertical plane.

26. The door assembly of claim 25, wherein the elongated header panel lies along a

substantially horizontal plane above the roller.

27. A door assembly, comprising:

a roller; a flexible door panel that can be wound and unwound from around the roller;

an elongated header panel made of metal; and

a shroud extending between the roller and the elongated header panel to help shield the elongated header panel from being struck by the flexible door panel, wherein the shroud

consists of a polymer that absorbs sound if struck by the flexible door panel.