Sectional door panel

A panel for use in a sectional door. The panel which is easy to construct and has improved insulating properties, has an elongated insulating core, a first metallic skin on one face of the core and a second metallic skin on the other face of the core. The first and second metallic skins both have crimped edges that are joined together at the sides of the panel with an insulating member interposed between them. The insulating members on the long sides of the panel may include diverging seal arms projecting outwards for providing a seal between adjacent panels. The invention is also directed toward a sectional door incorporating the panels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an improved panel for a sectional door. 
The invention also relates to an improved sectional door incorporating the 
improved panels. 
2. Relevant Art 
Sectional doors are well known. They comprise a plurality of identical, 
elongated panels which panels are hinged together along their long sides. 
The doors can be moved between two positions about a curve and are 
commonly used to close openings in garages. To open a garage, the door is 
raised from a closed, vertical position about curved tracks to an open, 
horizontal position. Examples of such doors are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 
2,880,796; 3,941,180; 3,967,671 and 4,119,133. 
The panels in the sectional door are often composed of a central core of 
insulating material covered with a metallic skin. Such panels provide a 
door which is strong, yet light in weight, and which has some insulating 
properties. The central insulating core often comprises a plastic foam 
material expanded in place within the metallic covering skin. U.S. Pat. 
Nos. 2,880,796 and 4,119,133 disclose panels of the above type by way of 
example. 
Sealing means are usually provided between the panels to seal the door 
tightly in its operative position. The sealing means often comprise 
separate sealing strips fixed to the long sides of the panels. U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,119,133 shows such sealing strips by way of example. 
The doors made from panels consisting of an insulating core covered with a 
metallic skin are not as efficient in insulating as they could be. Indeed, 
heat from within the closed garage is conducted to the outside by the 
metallic skin covering the insulating core. This heat loss can be 
considerable. 
To obviate this problem, it has already been proposed to insert insulating 
segments between a pair of metallic skins covering each side of the core. 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,750,333; 3,837,134; 3,599,703 are illustrative in this 
regard. However, such a solution substantially increases the cost of 
construction of the panels as it requires additional parts to stock and 
additional time for the assembling operation. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved 
door panel of the above type which is at least as much insulated as the 
already known door panels but easier to construct and assemble. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved door 
panel of the above type which comprises a minimal number of pieces while 
incorporating sealing means to improve its insulating characteristics. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention, the above objects are achieved by 
thermally insulating the inner metallic skin of the door panel from the 
outer metallic skin by inserting and crimping a deformable insulating 
element therebetween. The inner and outer metallic skins are effectively 
insulated from each other at the sides of the panel by the insulating 
member which extends between the crimped edges of the skins. 
Preferably the insulating member provided between the edges of the skins 
includes sealing means projecting from it which sealing means are used to 
seal the space between adjacent panels in a door. Thus a single member 
provides both a thermal barrier between the inner and outer metallic skins 
at their point of connection, and sealing means between adjacent panels. 
The invention is particularly directed toward a panel for use in a 
sectional door, which panel comprises: an elongated insulating core; a 
first metallic skin on one face of the insulating core the first skin 
having crimped upper and lower edges; a second metallic skin on the other 
face of the insulating core, the second skin also having crimped upper and 
lower edges, and an insulating deformable element inserted at the upper 
and lower sides of the core between the first and second metallic skins to 
prevent the skins from touching and thus to minimize heat conduction 
between the same, the first skin being connected to the second skin by 
engagement of their respective crimped edges with the insulating element 
between the edges. 
The first and second metallic skins are connected together at the sides of 
the panel with an insulating member provided between them to prevent them 
from touching. Preferably, the insulating members on the long sides of the 
panel have projecting sealing means for use in abutting on an adjacent 
panel when the panels are employed in a sectional door.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The sectional door 1 illustrated in the drawings comprises a plurality of 
identical, elongated sections or panels 3. Each panel 3 has a pair of 
parallel long sides 5 and 7 and short sides 9 extending transversely to, 
and joining, the long sides 5 and 7 at their ends. The panels 3 are 
arranged with the long side 5 of each panel adjacent the long side 7 of an 
adjacent panel. The short sides 9 of the panels 3 are aligned. 
Hinges 11 connect adjacent panels 3 together. Each hinge 11 has a pair of 
arms 13 and 15 joined by a hinge pin 17. One arm 13 of each hinge 11 is 
fastened to one panel 3 on its inner face 19 adjacent one long side 5. The 
other arm 15 is fastened to the adjacent panel 3 on its inner face 19 
adjacent its one long side 7. 
Rollers 21 are provided on each side of the door 1 adjacent the short sides 
9 of the panels 3. Two rollers 21 are provided between each pair of 
adjacent panels 3, one on each side of the door. The rollers 21 can be 
mounted on the hinges 11 with their axes concentric with the hinge axis. 
The rollers 21 run in a curved track 23 to guide the sectional door 1 in a 
curved path as it moves between a closed position and an open position. 
In more detail, each door panel 3 has a central insulating core 25. This 
core can be made from suitable insulating material such as a polystyrene 
foam material expanded in place between an inner metallic skin 27 and an 
outer metallic skin 29. The inner skin 27 provides the inner face 19 of 
each panel 3 while the outer skin 29 provides the outer face 31 of the 
panel. 
The inner skin 27 has a short side portion 35 and a long side portion 37. 
The outer skin 29 also has a short side portion 39 and a long side portion 
41. The short and long portions 35 and 41 of the skins 27 and 29 
respectively are joined to provide one long side 5 of the panel 3. The 
other long and short portions 37 and 39 of the skins 27 and 29 
respectively are joined to provide the other long side 7 of the panel 3. 
In accordance with the present invention, the inner and outer skins 27 and 
29 are joined at the long sides 5 and 7 of each panel 3 without touching. 
To obtain this result, an insulating member 51 is provided between the end 
portions of the inner and outer skins 27 and 29 at each side 5 and 7 so 
that they do not contact each other when crimped together. The insulating 
member 51 advantageously consists of a curved strip of suitable 
thermoplastic material. 
The ends 53 and 55 of the short side portions 35 and 39 of the inner and 
outer skins 27 and 29 respectively are crimped back toward themselves to 
form an open loop or hook as shown in FIG. 3. The ends 57 and 59 of the 
long side portions 41 and 37 are also crimped to form an open loop or 
hook. The openings of the open loops formed in the ends 57, 59 hook over 
the ends 53 and 55 of the short side portions 35 and 39. As shown in FIG. 
3, in the preferred embodiment, the openings of the open loops formed in 
the ends 53, 55 also hook over the ends 57, 59 of the long side portions 
41 and 37. Preferably, one insulating member 51 is positioned between the 
hooked over ends 53 and 57 at one side 5 of the panel 3 while another 
member 51 is positioned between the hooked over ends 55 and 59 at the 
other side 7 of the panel 3. At the one side 5 of the panel 3 the 
insulating member 51 is located adjacent the inner face 19 of the panel. 
At the other side 7 of the panel 3, the insulating member 51 is located 
adjacent the outer face 31 of the panel 3. 
As can be understood, the inner and outer metallic skins 27 and 29 are 
joined together by their respective crimping at the short sides 9 of the 
panels, without touching. The skins 27 and 29 can be joined at the short 
sides 9 in the same general manner as at the long sides 5 and 7 by 
incorporation of insulating members 51 (not shown) between them. 
Means are provided for effecting a seal between adjacent panels 3. 
Advantageously, these sealing means are constituted by an extension of the 
insulating members 51 on the long sides 5 and 7 of the panel. This 
extension projects from between the crimped side portions of the metallic 
skins and is formed into a pair of diverging legs 63 and 65. The sealing 
legs 63 and 65 of each insulating member 51 on the long sides on each 
panel 3 bear against either of the long side portions 37 and 41 of the 
adjacent panels 3. Because each insulating member 51 in the long side 5 or 
7 of the panel 3 is offset from one face or the other of the panel due to 
the difference in length between the side portions of the inner and outer 
skins, two seals are provided, side-by-side, at each location between 
adjacent panels as shown in FIG. 3. The insulating members 51 used on the 
short sides 9 of the panels 3 do not need sealing means.