Earthquake resisting door

An earthquake resisting door has locking mechanisms between the door panel top, sides, and the bottom foundation. Included are self-contained limited uplift resisting end posts, one or more door panels made of wood, steel, or other suitable material that can act as a shear wall or brace frame, and segmented door panels that can be designed for roll-up or folding. The segments interlock to create one solid wall or arrangement of segments that creates brace frame action. An inter-locking mechanism engages adjacent door leaves in a casement arrangement and creates one panel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/138,147, filed Mar. 25, 2015, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/081,835, filed Mar. 25, 2016, hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Not applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lateral load resisting shear walls and frames have been used since beginning of the last century to resist those components of force induced in a building by an earthquake, winds, and similar loads. All current system used in resisting these lateral loads are physically fixed in place and therefore cannot be used in the front of a door, garage, or other opening at the exterior or within a building as they will obstruct access or flow into and out of the building by people, vehicles, or other equipment; will not allow for the passage of air, water, or other elements, or will obstruct sound and visibility.

In particular, natural events causing a lateral load on the building, such as earthquake, are transient in nature. That is, they occur rarely and randomly and for a short period time over the life of the building. Additionally, opening at the exterior of a building, such as garage doors, are typically in a closed position most of the time.

Systems used to resist lateral loads (loads parallel to ground, 90 degrees from gravity) such as seismic forces, wind, tornados, and others are usually resisted by walls, space frames, and braced frames. However, a lot of the time a floor plan does not allow for installation of a wall or braced frame because of the obstruction that these will cause in an opening such as a garage opening, store front, open floor areas, etc.

Accordingly, what is needed are improved systems to allow doors, screens, and panels be installed that will provide lateral resistance.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an earthquake resisting door.

Briefly, one preferred embodiment of the present invention is an earthquake resisting door having an open position and a closed position. The door includes one or more door panels, and end posts located at the left and right sides of the door panels. The door also includes side locking mechanisms having male and female parts. The side locking mechanisms are located between each end post and adjacent door panels, such that the male and female parts inter-lock when the door is in the closed position. The door also includes a top locking mechanism, also having male and female parts. The top locking mechanism is located above the top most door panel, such that the male and female parts inter-lock when the door is in the closed position. And the door includes a bottom locking mechanism. The bottom locking mechanism is located below the bottom most door panel, such that the male and female parts inter-lock when the door is in the closed position.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear to those skilled in the art in view of the description of the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention and the industrial applicability of the preferred embodiment as described herein and as illustrated in the figures of the drawings.

In the various figures of the drawings, like references are used to denote like or similar elements or steps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is an earthquake resisting door. As illustrated in the various drawings herein, and particularly in the views ofFIGS. 1, 11, 14, and 18preferred embodiments of the invention are depicted by the general reference character10.

The Earthquake Resisting Door is an earthquake resisting system that can help to resist earthquake loads when it is locked in place. The door can be of any type, roll up, roll down, sliding, lift/flip, split, folding, etc.

Background

The present system is used to resist lateral loads (loads parallel to the ground, i.e., 90 degrees from gravity) such as seismic, wind, tornado and others that are usually resisted by wall, space frames, and braced frames. A lot of the time floor plans do not allow installation of walls and braced frames where needed because of the obstruction that these cause in the openings, such as garage openings, store fronts, and open floor areas. The purpose of this invention is to allow doors, screens, and panels be installed and to provided lateral resistance in the way now described.

Concept

The locking systems, described below, are suitable for use with doors involving three separate concepts.

1) Single Panel (e.g., Tilt Up) and Multi-Panel (e.g., Roll Up and Fold Up) Earthquake Type Doors

In most single garage houses, the doors are closed more than 99 percent of the time. These garage doors are designed to be engaged with the frames on the top and the two sides as well as the foundation and slab below, to provide lateral support. The possibility of the door not being in the closed position at the time of an earthquake is small.

2) Fast Acting Motion Actuated Type Doors

These doors are design to be closed quickly as soon as a certain level of motion is detected. These doors can be used in open front stores or when another method is not considered desirable.

3) Sliding Type Doors

A sliding door works in cases when multiple bays of openings are available in parallel, such as in front of a multi-parking apartment structure. In the open position the door slides over, behind or in front of, an adjacent bay that is in the closed position. This is called a temporary position. When one of the doors are open (in a temporary position) the other doors are kept in the close position and provide lateral resistance. Also, if necessary, sliding doors can be designed to provide lateral resistance in a temporary position by having the door engaged with the structure at the top and the foundation at the bottom.

Components of the Doors

1. A locking mechanism between the various door parts and the side tracks and the foundation or slab.

3. A fast acting door that shoots into place in less than 2 seconds in an earthquake.

4. Door panels made of wood or steel, or any other material that can act as a shear wall and/or brace frame.

5. Segmented panels that can be designed into a roll-up or folding panel. The segments interlock to create one solid wall or arrangement of segments that create brace frame action.

6. An inter-locking mechanism that engages adjacent leaves of a door in a casement arrangement and creates one panel.

Locking System

The locking system can consist of any of these:

A) A series of prods, anchors, shear keys, or gears that, in the closed position, either automatically fall into matching slot or holes in the end post, the top tracks, or the bottom tracks, e.g., for top and bottom connection of the roll up type door.

B) A series rotating metal bars (tracks) with prods or shear keys connected to gears. The gears are design to translate opening and closing movement of the door to rotating of metal bars (tracks) and its longitudinal axis. In closed position the prods or shear keys fall and intrude to matching slot or holes in the door panel and interlock to transfer the loads (for the roll up, tillup, and fold up type doors). A similar mechanism, but with a cylindrical gear, is used to rotate top and bottom metal bars into matching slots or holes in the top track and bottom track.

C) A locking system can also be actuated through a magnetic system or be actuated with an electrical signal, releasing the door interlocking system in the open door position but which is fail-safe in the closed door position.

The main concept of the invention is a shear or brace panel that opens in a different manner to provide access, but in final closed position or resting position works as an integrated shear wall or braced panel to transfer any shear load and associated overturning moments from the floor above to the floor below.

1) Interlocks with the headers or floor above to collect lateral loads.

2) Transfers the shear load within the body or panel to the floor below.

3) The panel can be of one single panel, such as a tilt-up model, or a multiple segmented panel.

4) In a segmented panel the shear is transferred from one panel to the next by connectors that allow for spatial movement of the panels yet interconnects them to transfer the shear as well as upward and downward loads caused by overturning.

5) The panel is connected to the floor below with an interlocking system that can be a shear key, magnetic, interlocking rod, or bearing or bottom chord connected to the end post or bearing pedestal.

6) In addition to, or in combination with interlocking system, the shear from the bottom of the lowest panel can be transferred to an end an post in a load bearing manner.

7) The upward or downward load of the panel or segmented panel can be achieved with the interlocking system.

8) In-addition to the interlocking system, the uplift transfer can be achieved by load bearing on the end of a top panel on a header. Then the header transfers that load to an end post and the end post transfers the load to the floor below.

Roll Up Door

FIG. 1is a blown up schematic depiction of a door10, here a roll up door10a, in accord with the present invention. The roll up door10aincludes a set of door panels12, end posts14, a top header16, a motion detector18, side locking mechanisms20(having male and female parts20a,20bas shown), a top locking mechanism22(having male and female parts22a,22bas shown), a bottom locking mechanism24(having male and female parts24a,24bas shown), inter-panel locking mechanisms26,28(see alsoFIG. 7), post top connectors34, and post bottom connectors36.FIG. 2shows how the door panel12ofFIG. 1has a backing grid38.FIG. 3shows details of the side locking mechanism20,20a-b.FIG. 4shows details of the top locking mechanism22,22a-b.FIG. 5shows details of the bottom locking mechanism24(two types).FIG. 6shows details of a rotating joint40between door panels12.FIG. 7shows additional details of the rotating joint40, including the inter-panel locking mechanism26,28.

The roll up door10ais made of lateral resisting door panels12and is segmented so it can be rolled up. The lateral load is transferred by typical construction attachments to the top header16. The door panels12are locked on the sides to transfer up and down forces to the end posts14, and locked at the bottom to transfer the lateral load to the foundation or the supporting floor below when the roll up door10ais in the closed position.

The door panels12are main shear load resisting elements. The door panel12can be made of metal in a backing grid38(FIG. 2). Each backing grid38can be filled with a wood frame that is screwed to the metal grid. A plywood panel then gets nailed over the wood frame, as infill. The panel can be further strengthened using metal x-bracing, as shown inFIG. 2.

Each segment of a door panel12is interconnected on the front or back with a rotating joint40that allows for rotation and for transfer of shear with nailing, screwing, or welding of rotating joints to adjoining door panels12. The door panels12are also inter-connected at each end with the inter-panel locking mechanism26,28, which is capable of large rotations and yet also able to transfer both shear and uplift from one door panel12to the next.

The top header16is connected to a door panel12with the top locking mechanism22,22a-b. The top locking mechanism22consists of two strips, parts22a-b. The upper strip is connected to the top header16and the lower strip is connected to the top door panel12with screws or bolts. These strips are of high strength material capable of transferring considerable load in a bearing manner. The upper strip has slits and the lower strip has shear keys protruding from it. The slits and shear keys are aligned and when the roll up door10ais in the closed position the shear keys are inserted into the slits of the upper strips. The lateral load from the upper strip is transferred to the lower strip through loads bearing on the shear keys.

The lateral load of the door panel12is transferred to the structure below or to the foundation with a similar principal as the top locking mechanism22,22a-b, with the bottom locking mechanism24,24a-b(FIG. 5shows two variations, wherein one is similar except that the lower strip is replaced by foundation concrete that is formed to create accommodating keys for the bottom of the roll up door10a). The concrete keys can be beveled to avoid tripping. When one of the constructions shown inFIG. 5is not practical, the shear load from the door panel12can be transferred by direct bearing to an end post14(see e.g.,FIG. 10, section A-A). This method can also be used to further enhance the shear transfer in addition to the scheme shown inFIG. 5.

The upward or downward load of the door panel12, or segmented panels, is achieved with the side locking mechanisms20,20a-b(FIG. 3). Metal strips that are connected to an end post14rotate 180 degrees and get locked into the strips that connected to the face of the door panel12at each end. The locking strip on the end post14rotates when the roll up door10agets in the closed position by a gear system (see e.g.,FIG. 3) that rotates 180 degrees when the roll up door10agoes from the open to the closed position. [Other options are commercially available actuators and sensors that can be used to replace the pulley and cable.] The uplift force is transferred from the end post14to the foundation with anchor bolts (FIG. 8). An alternate to this is to use a bearing plate to transfer the uplift force to the top header16, and then the top header16transfers it to the end post14via a post top connector34.FIGS. 9a-bshow views of the post top connector34. AndFIG. 10shows details of the post bottom connector36.

The motion detector18can be a commercially available unit that can be installed over the top header16, to signal closure of the roll up door10aif an earthquake event occurs when the roll up door10ais open, provided that there is no obstruction at the threshold. The closure of the roll up door10atakes 4 to 5 seconds, long before the strongest part of an earthquake motion begins.

The strength of the frame (backing grid38), its infill and plywood, the end posts14, the top header16, and all connectors and the locking system are adjusted based on the seismic load and dimensions (e.g., height and width) of the roll up door10a.

Tilt Up Door

FIG. 11is a blown up schematic depiction of another door10, here a tilt up door10b, in accord with the present invention. The tilt up door10bincludes a door panel52, end posts14, a top header16, a motion detector18, side locking mechanisms20(with parts20a-b), a top locking mechanism22(with parts22a-b), a bottom locking mechanism24(with parts24a-b), post top connectors34, and post bottom connectors36.FIG. 12shows how the door panel52ofFIG. 11has a backing grid54.

The tilt up door10bis the same as the roll up door10ain many regards, except that the door panel52here is made in one piece. The door panel framing (backing grid54) can consist of continuous top and bottom plates and double studs at each end of the tilt up door10b, and intermediate studs at 12 or 16 inches on center. Framing can be done with wood or metal studs. The shear strength of the door panel52is achieved by applying plywood or metal sheeting over studs that are screwed or nailed to framing at close intervals. All other aspects of the tilt up door10bin terms of the top header16, end posts14, locking, etc., can be the same as for the roll up door10a.

FIGS. 13a-bshow all of this in further detail for the tilt up door10b, in open and closed positions.

Sliding Door

FIG. 14is a blown up schematic depiction of another door10, here a sliding door10c, in accord with the present invention. The sliding door10cincludes a door panel62, a top header64, end posts66, a top track68, door roller and hanging mechanisms70, a top locking mechanism72(with parts72a-b), a bottom locking mechanism74(with parts74a-b), track supports80, foundation connections82, and bearing blocks84.FIG. 15shows the door roller and hanging mechanism70, which hangs from the top track68and connects to the top of the door panel62.FIG. 16shows details, in two positions, of the top connection of the sliding door10c.FIG. 17shows details of the bottom connection, in three positions, of the sliding door10c.

The sliding door10conly uses one single door panel62per frame. So, for a two-leaf sliding door10c, two assemblies are required. The idea is to provide seismic resistance in multiple (at least two) panels in bay garages. The sliding door10ccan also be used to provide seismic resistance in the interior of a building while allowing spaces to be open to each other.

The assembly consists of one single door panel62, a top header64, end posts66(one at each end connected to the foundation or floor below), a top track68that allows the sliding door60to slide (in this example applied to top of the wall), top and bottom locking mechanisms72,74, and uplift load bearing applied at each end to the top of the sliding door10c.

The door panel62is the main shear load resisting element. The door panel62is made of wood or steel shear walls (typically consisting of top and bottom plates with interior studs spaced at 16 or 24 inches on center) and shear resistance is provided by plywood, OSB, or metal sheeting applied to the studs. The door panel62can also be X-braced or use any other bracing system (not shown)

The top track68is connected to the top header64with screws, and door roller and hanging mechanisms70are supported from the top track68. The door roller and hanging mechanisms70are attached to the top of the sliding door10cand have wheels that roll inside the top track68.

The top locking mechanism72, between the top track68and the door panel62, transfers lateral (shear) force from the top track68to the top of the door panel62. The top locking mechanism72consists of a metal strip of full length track (may be used in each side if the shear load is high). This strip is screwed or welded to the side of top track68. It has a jagged edge that interlocks with the strip that is connected to the top of the sliding door10c. The strip in the top of the sliding door10cswings 180 degrees when the sliding door10creaches the end post66and interlocks with the strip on the top track68. The shear force is transferred in a load bearing manner between the interlocking strips.

The door panel62is interlocked with the foundation or floor below in the same way. When the door is installed over a garage floor, a high strength interlocking strip is laid at the time of foundation construction with anchors that are embedded into the footing (the bottom locking mechanism74). The interlocking strip projects above the top of the foundation slab about ½ inch and provides a load bearing surface for the jagged edge of the door bottom locking strip (each hub provides a load bearing surface). If needed, the strip can be grooved at the center to provide a bottom track. When the sliding door10creaches the end post66a trigger mechanism causes the jagged strip at the bottom of the door to rotate 180 degrees into cavities in the bottom strip and the shear force is transferred from the protruding part of the door's lower interlocking strip to the hub of the footing interlocking strip. When the sliding door10cis not installed on a foundation, the strip needs to be connected to a support member designed by an engineer. Another option is to form the top of the foundation in a form or for a lower strip to provide load bearing edges directly on the concrete.

The upward load due to overturning of the door panel62is resisted by transferring the upward force to the header with a load bearing mechanism. The top header64transfers the upward forces it receives to an end post66via a post cap (track support80). The end post66transfers uplift loads to the foundation and completes the load path.

Vertical Fold Up Door

FIG. 18is a blown up schematic depiction of another door10, here a vertical fold up door10d, in accord with the present invention. The vertical fold up door10dis the same as the roll up door10a, except that door panels102fold up under a top header104. The top panel102ais half-width, so that in folded condition the door panels102are centered under the top header104. The connection of the top panel102ato the top header104is final, which is achieved with the joined manner depicted inFIG. 1for the roll up door10a. The fold up door10drolls up and down with wheels106that are provided on the sides of each of the two end posts14. Side locking, bottom locking, panel to panel connection, header to the end post connection, and post to foundation connection are all the same as for the roll up door10a.

The mechanism for engaging the locking systems for the vertical fold up door10dare as follows. A central rod108goes through a hinge110connecting the top panel102ato the top header104and has gears112(one at each end) that rotate around the longitudinal axis of the central rod108. The central rod108goes through a side locking strip114a(connected to the end post14) that also has a gear112at the top. The two gears112interact so that, when the top panel102arotates 90 degrees from the open to the closed position the vertical gear112rotates 90 degrees and rotates the horizontal gear112by 180 degrees, and the side locking strip114arotates into the jagged edge strap114bat the side of the door10. This occurs on both sides of the fold up door10d. All other aspects of the vertical fold up door10dcan be the same as roll up door10a.

FIG. 19shows this in more detail, andFIGS. 20a-bshow this in further detail for the vertical fold up door10dwhen in open and closed positions.

Horizontal Fold-Up Door

A horizontal fold up door is the same as the vertical fold up door10dexcept that: a) the door panels fold to the side (toward the end posts), b) the side locking mechanisms are applied at the tops of the panels, and c) the top connection of vertical door is applied between the last panel and the end post.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and that the breadth and scope of the invention should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments, but should instead be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.