Garage door antisag device

A garage door antisag device which uses pairs of adjustable tensive members 11 which are adapted to diagonally attach across single or multiple panels 2, 3, and 4 to hinge plates 5 and bolts 6 of a standard wooden paneled garage door 1. Each tensive member 11 has a pair of rods 12 axially coupled by turnbuckle 15. One rod 12 is provided with right hand threads 16 while the other is provided with left hand threads 17 at their first ends 13. The second ends of the rods are provided with loops which define off set eyeholes 14 for engaging the hinge bolts 6 of the garage door 1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Technical Field 
This invention generally relates to devices for enhancing structural 
integrity, and in particular, it relates to a device for remedying and 
preventing sagging in a wooden paneled garage door. 
2. Background Art 
Because garage doors are only supported at the width defining edges by 
rollers and rails, there is a substantial amount of stress at the center 
of the garage door. In wooden paneled garage doors, over time this stress 
results in the middle of the door sagging. Typical life expectancy is 
around fifteen years for wooden paneled doors, simply because of the 
sagging problem. 
JERILA, U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,003, teaches a door stiffener consisting of a 
torsion bar for stiffening lightweight panel doors having a thin wood or 
composition panel and metal stiles and rails around the periphery. The 
stiffener uses brackets to engage the periphery rails and hold a torsion 
bar. It is designed to prevent twisting and racking of the panel. While 
the device of Jerila could be adapted to support multiple panels and panel 
joints using multiple brackets and a single torsion bar, it is not capable 
of remedying or removing the existing sag in a wooden paneled door. This 
is because sag in garage doors occurs in two directions. The first 
direction is normal to the plane of the door while the second lies in the 
plane and is coincident the transverse center. 
HENSCHEN, U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,981, teaches an adjustable brace for use by 
carpenters in the erection and plumbing of vertical walls. The device 
consists of a pair of elongated struts axially coupled by a turnbuckle. 
The elongated struts each have a pivotally hinged anchor attached to their 
non-turnbuckle ends. The anchors are anchored by nails to the vertical 
wall and floor of the structure. Unfortunately, the device of Henschen is 
not well suited for use on wooden paneled garage doors. 
What is needed is a tensive member which can be diagonally attached across 
one or more panels of a wooden garage door which remedies and prevents 
sagging of the garage door. It is therefore an object of the present 
invention to provide such a device. 
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
This and other objects are accomplished by an antisag device which uses 
pairs of adjustable tensive members which are adapted to diagonally attach 
across a single or multiple panels to the hinge plates and bolts of a 
standard wooden paneled garage door. Each tensive member has a pair of 
rods axially coupled by a turnbuckle. One rod is provided with right hand 
threads while the other is provided with left hand threads at their first 
ends. The second ends of the rods are provided with loops which define off 
set eyeholes for engaging the hinge bolts of the garage door. 
In use, the pairs are attached to the garage door in a V-shaped formation 
across a horizontal row of panels by engaging the off set eyeholes with 
the hinge plate bolts. The two turnbuckles are then alternately tightened 
to put the two tensive members or struts under tension. Multiple pairs can 
be used for multiple rows of horizontal panels. 
Over a period of time, the turnbuckles of the pairs of tensive members can 
be alternately tightened, thereby removing or remedying the sag in the 
garage door. Installation of the antisag device on a straight door 
prevents sagging from occurring.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT INVENTION 
Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the garage door antisag device is shown 
and generally has pairs of tensive members 11 diagonally attached in 
V-shaped formation across rows of horizontal panels 2, 3, and 4. The 
rectangular width defining panels 2, 3, and 4 are generally wooden or 
composite in construction. The right most panels are designated as right 
hand panels 3 while the left most panels are designated as left hand 
panels 4. Panels 2, 3, and 4, are joined together and hingedly attached in 
horizontal rows to define garage door 1. Garage door 1 is generally 
supported by rollers and rails neither of which are shown. Tensive members 
11 are diagonally attached across panels 2, 3, and 4, by engagement with 
hinge plate bolts 6 of hinge plates 5. 
FIG. 2 shows tensive member 11 having a pair of rods 12 axially coupled at 
their first ends 13 by turnbuckle 15. Loops or off set eyeholes 14 are 
provided in the second ends of rods 12 to engage hinge plates 5 and hinge 
plates bolts 6 shown in FIG. 1. The engagement holes at the second ends 
must be off set to facilitate attachment of tensive members 11 to garage 
door 1. 
FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of tensive member 11 which shows one rod 12 
having right hand threads 16 while the other rod 12 has left hand threads 
17. Obviously this is necessary to have the turnbuckle function properly. 
In use, the pairs are attached to garage door 1 in a V-shaped formation 
across a horizontal row of panels 2, 3, and 4 by engaging off set eyeholes 
14 with hinge plate bolts 6. Turnbuckles 15 are then alternately tightened 
to put tensive members 11 under tension. Multiple pairs of tensive members 
11 can be used for multiple rows of horizontal panels. 
While there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the 
invention, it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not 
limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope 
of the following claims.