Low Profile, Garage Door Attachment, Which Deters Loose Debris From Entering the Contained Space

A low profile garage door attachment which deters loose debris from entering the contained space without unduly restricting movement in and out of said space is disclosed. The disclosed garage door attachment system and apparatus deters loose debris from entering the contained space by providing, in one embodiment, an easily attachable, robust netting system to block unwanted debris while the door is open. The garage door attachment may be configured to be low or small enough not to unduly restrict movement in and out of said space. The disclosed garage door attachment can also be configured to be retractable to a small size for storage when not in use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When a garage door or other similar door or barrier for an enclosed space or structure is left open, debris, such as blowing leaves and garbage, can blow into the garage or enclosed space. The debris then gets lodged behind items that may be stored in the garage, enclosed space, or structure making clean-up a difficult task.

One current system on the market for attempting to keep debris out of a garage fails to meet the needs of the industry for various reasons. That system is constructed of a flimsy material, covers the entire garage door opening, must be permanently installed, and is not stable enough at its base.

The disclosed system and apparatus for a garage door attachment advantageously fills these needs and addresses the aforementioned deficiencies by providing, in at least some preferred embodiments, an easily attachable, robust netting system to block unwanted debris while the door is open, which is low enough not to restrict movement in and out of said space, and retractable to a small size for storage when not in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a retractable and flexible barrier structure for partially blocking an opening in an enclosed structure is disclosed. According to another aspect of the disclosure, the retractable and flexible barrier structure may compromise a flexible panel supported by rigid members that may be removeably attached to structural or functional elements surrounding the opening of the enclosed structure. According to another aspect of the disclosure, the flexible panel may comprise netting or vinyl that may be printed on and the rigid members may comprise poles, tensor poles, or other rigid structures of various configurations that may be adjustably affixed to the flexible panel and to the sides of the opening of the enclosed structures such as a garage. Magnets may be used in some aspects of the disclosure to secure the barrier structure to the opening of the enclosed structure.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a low profile garage door attachment which deters loose debris from entering the contained space of the garage without unduly restricting movement in and out of said space is disclosed. According to another aspect of the disclosure, the disclosed system and apparatus deters loose debris from entering the contained space by comprising, in one embodiment, an easily attachable, robust and retractable netting system to block unwanted debris while the door is open. According to another aspect of the disclosure, the system and apparatus may be configured to be low or small enough not to unduly restrict movement in and out of said space. According to another aspect of the disclosure, the disclosed system and apparatus can also be configured to be retractable to a small size for storage when not in use.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a barrier system configured to prevent debris from entering into an opening in an enclosed structure comprising: a flexible panel comprising a length sized to partially block a portion of the opening in the enclosed structure wherein said flexible panel comprises a first end, a second end, and a plurality of openings; a first rigid member attached to the first end of the flexible panel wherein said first rigid member comprises a handle and a plurality of connectors to connect the first rigid member to a structural element adjacent to the opening of the enclosed structure; a second rigid member attached to the second end of the flexible panel wherein said second rigid member comprises a handle and a plurality of connectors to connect the second rigid member to a structural element adjacent to the opening of the enclosed structure is disclosed.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible panel may comprise netting surrounded by a border.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the enclosed structure may be a garage.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the first rigid member comprises a U-shaped tensor pole.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the second rigid member comprises a L-shaped tensor pole.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the connectors may comprise magnets.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the barrier system may comprise a plurality of connectable straps affixed to the flexible panel configured to adjust the length of the flexible member and put the flexible member in tension when the straps are connected to provide a taut fit between the barrier system and the opening.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the barrier system can be utilized wherein the enclosed structure is a garage, the flexible panel comprises netting surrounded by a border, the first rigid member comprises a U-shaped tensor pole, the second rigid member comprises a L-shaped tensor pole, the connectors comprise magnets, the structural element adjacent to the opening of the enclosed structure comprises a garage door rail, and the barrier system further comprises a plurality of connectable straps affixed to the flexible panel configured to adjust the length of the flexible panel and put the flexible panel in tension when the straps are connected to provide a taut fit between the barrier system and the opening.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a garage door attachment may comprise: a first tensor pole comprising a plurality of connectors configured to attach to a structure for a garage door; a second tensor pole comprising a handle and a polarity of connectors configured to attach to a structure for a garage door; a flexible panel sized to span the width of a garage door opening and configured to be rolled up for storage, wherein said panel comprises a first side, a second side, a first end, a second end, a plurality edges, and a border affixed to said plurality of edges, wherein said first end is affixed to said first tensor pole and said second end is affixed to said second tensor pole with a plurality of tightening straps; and a plurality of support poles connected to said second side of said flexible support panel.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the first tensor pole is L-shaped and said second tensor pole is U-shaped.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of tightening straps attach said flexible panel to said first and second tensor poles and are configured to pull said flexible panel taut to block a portion of a garage door opening.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible panel may comprise netting.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the border may comprise a durable material constructed to withstand abrasion and a reflective surface.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the garage door attachment may further comprise a plurality of straps affixed to said first tensor pole and to said flexible panel configured to secure the flexible panel to said first tensor pole when said flexible panel is rolled up for storage.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the garage door attachment may further comprise a plurality of cords constructed of wire, rope, or comparable materials connecting the first and second tensor poles to each other through a sleeve constructed in said flexible panel.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the connectors may comprise magnets or wall mounts.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the garage door attachment may further comprise a wedge affixed to said border on said first side of said flexible panel configured to span the length of said garage door attachment and scrape debris away from a garage opening.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible panel may be constructed of materials that may be printed upon.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a garage door attachment may comprise a first tensor pole comprising: an inverted U-shape with a handle and plurality of magnets configured to attach the first tensor pole to a first garage door rail; a second tensor pole comprising an inverted L-shape with a handle and a plurality of connectors configured to attach the second tensor pole to a second garage door rail; a netting sized to span the width of a garage door opening and configured to be rolled up for storage, wherein said netting comprises a first end and a second end, and said netting is surrounded by a border, wherein said first end of said netting is affixed to said first tensor pole and said second end of said netting is affixed to said second tensor pole with a plurality of tightening straps; and a plurality of rigid poles connected to said netting between said first end and said second end.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As stated above, when a garage or other similar door is left open, debris, such as blowing leaves and garbage, find their way into the garage or other enclosed area. The debris then gets lodged behind items stored in the garage or other enclosed space, making clean-up a difficult task. The system and apparatus disclosed herein solves this problem.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, the disclosed garage door attachment easily attaches to the rails of a garage door and spans the width of the opening to impede the advancement of debris across the threshold of the garage space. It has a low profile close to the floor of the garage or enclosed space to easily allow egress or ingress without removing the system. In some embodiments of the attachment, an adult person can easily step over the disclosed garage door attachment. When the garage door needs to be closed or a vehicle needs to enter or exit, the garage door attachment is effortlessly retracted or wound up so that it can be be stored to the side of the garage door opening.

The garage door attachment disclosed herein is an improvement on what currently exists. Systems currently on the market do not allow the garage space to be kept free of debris and easily accessed. Garage spaces are often used with the intent of easily being able to access the outdoor space located around the garage. With a high demand for people who work in garages being able to access both inside and out, the disclosed system and apparatus allows for the space to be easily accessible and allows the garage to be maintained at a desired level of cleanliness.

One system currently on the market does not work well for a few reasons. First, it is too flimsy of a material to withstand the constant wear and tear of the frequent ingress and egress of a working garage space. Secondly, it covers your entire garage door opening, making it difficult to bring objects in and out of said garage space. Thirdly, it must be permanently installed, without the option of easily removing it. Lastly, it is not stable enough at its base to withstand a brisk wind, which is often accompanied with the debris that clutters up a garage.

Some embodiments of the disclosed garage door attachment system and apparatus advantageously fill these needs and addresses the aforementioned deficiencies by providing an easily attachable, robust netting system to block unwanted debris while the door is open, which is low enough not to restrict movement in and out of said space, and retractable to a small size for storage when not in use.

In one embodiment, the garage door attachment comprises: right and left rigid members, such as tensor poles, with two connectors for garage tracks on each rigid member, with one of the tensor poles in the shape of an upside down “U”, which will be used to wind up the device for storage, and the other tensor pole will be in the shape of an upside down “L”, with a handle to drag debris away from the opening; tightening straps, which attach a flexible panel such as netting to the tensor poles, to pull the flexible panel or netting taut so that it completely blocks off the entrance; netting or other flexible printable material that spans the width of the opening for the garage door and that is also able to be printed on; a border that outlines the netting or flexible material which is made of a durable material to withstand abrasion; a reflective surface on the top of the aforementioned border to provided high visibility; support poles throughout the length of the back of the netting facing the inside of the garage and the border to provide vertical support while the flexible panel or netting is under tension; two straps on the flexible panel or netting that, once wound up or retracted for storage, will secure the flexible panel or netting to prohibit unraveling; wall mounts, where applicable, to attach tensor poles to the wall instead of tracks of garage door if a more permanent fixture is desired; and a wedge on the bottom of the border, facing out, that spans the length of the garage door attachment to scrape debris away from garage opening.

FIG.1shows the front side11A of the garage door attachment that would be facing towards the outside of the garage door. The garage door attachment in this embodiment comprises a flexible panel comprising netting or a printable surface12and a border13attached along the outside edges of the flexible panel or netting12. An L-shaped tensor pole42is attached to a first end of the flexible panel12or border13by buckles15A and a U-shaped tensor pole32is attached to a second end of the flexible panel or netting12or border13by buckles15B. Tightening straps14A allow the garage door attachment to be pulled tight for a perfect fit to a garage door.

FIG.2shows the back side11B of the garage door attachment that would be facing inward towards the garage. Straps16A and17A comprise hook and loop fasteners, such as Velcro®, that can be used to adjust the width of the garage door attachment for a custom fit. Support poles18can be used to keep the garage door attachment upright in the middle of the device.

FIG.3shows the U-shaped tensor pole32comprising a handgrip33and magnets34A which are used to attach a second end31of the garage door attachment to the garage door tracks. Buckles15B can be used to attach the tensor pole32to the flexible panel or netting12.

FIG.4shows the L-shaped tensor pole42comprising a hand grip43and magnets44A to attach a first end41of the garage door attachment to the garage door track. Buckles15A can be used to attach the tensor pole42to the flexible panel or netting12, border13and/or tightening straps14A.

FIG.5shows the garage door attachment51installed on the garage door track52with the flexible panel or netting12folded over such that straps16A and17A comprising hook & loop fasteners can be releaseably affixed to each other at location53for a custom fit and the buckles15A and tightening straps14A form a loop54that allows the first end41of the flexible panel or netting12to pulled and tightened to ensure the flexible panel or netting12stays taut.

The garage door attachment51may, in some embodiments, as shown inFIGS.2and3, be assembled by assembling the U- and L-shaped tensor poles32,42, respectively, with magnets34A,44A through designated openings in the buckles15A,15B and attaching the handles33,43at the top of each pole32,42. The straps are attached at the top and bottom of the netting12to both of the above mentioned tensor poles32,42.

The vertical support poles18may be placed at a plurality of locations throughout the length of the netting12at designated place holders on the back side11B of the attachment51and the flexible panel or netting12as shown inFIG.2. The length needed to completely seal off the garage opening must then be determined and the straps14A may be adjusted accordingly to ensure the flexible panel or netting12stays taut.

The garage door attachment51, in some embodiments, comprises U- and L-shaped tensor poles32,42, respectively, attachments, such as magnets34A,44A, to adhere them to the garage door track52, the flexible panel or netting12, the tightening straps14A, and the vertical support poles18. Other optional elements could include a reflective strip for visibility, straps to keep the system wound up during storage, wall mounting brackets, or a lower, front facing “wedge” to scrape debris away from your garage opening.

Another component of the garage door attachment may comprise an attachment system not based off of magnets, but one based off of securing an expandable device to fill the inside of the garage door track to ensure a firm connection.

To seal off garage space from outside debris, in one embodiment of the system and apparatus, the L-shaped tensor pole42may be attached to the garage door track52as shown, for example, inFIG.5. The flexible panel or netting12may be wound or unwound around the U-shaped tensor pole32and may span the width of the garage door. The U-shape tensor pole32may be attached to the opposite garage door track. The flexible panel or netting12then may be pulled taut with the attached straps14A by the L-shaped tensor pole42to cover a portion of the opening of the garage door, preferably the portion of the opening adjacent the floor of the garage.

Other embodiments of the garage door attachment system and apparatus are shown inFIGS.6-10.FIG.6shows one end of the back side11B, or the garage facing side, of the attachment51comprising a flexible panel12with a border13comprising a plurality of perforations, openings, or holes101in the flexible panel or netting12.

As best shown inFIG.7, the U-shaped tensor pole32is connected to the end of the flexible panel12via a first flexible cord102with an end stop104and a second flexible cord103with an end stop104. The first flexible cord102can be positioned within a first top sleeve105and the second flexible cord103can be positioned within a second bottom sleeve106incorporated into the flexible panel12. The flexible cords103,103may be constructed of wire, rope, or other suitable durable elongated materials and may extend through a hole or opening in the U-shaped tensor pole32and held in position by the end stops104. The U-shaped tensor pole32further comprises three magnets34A configured to be attached to a structure associated with the garage door, such as the garage door rail52.

FIG.7shows one end of the front side11A, or the outside facing side, of the attachment51comprising a flexible panel12with a border13comprising a plurality of perforations, openings, or holes101in the flexible panel or netting12. One side of the U-shaped tensor pole32may be connected to the end of the flexible panel12and comprises three magnets34A configured to be attached to a structure associated with the garage door such as the garage door rail52, and the other side of the U-shaped tensor pole32extends down the front side of the flexible panel12.

FIG.8shows one end of the back side11B, or the inside facing side, of the attachment51comprising a flexible panel12with a border13comprising a plurality of perforations, openings, or holes101in the flexible panel or netting12. Tightening straps201,202with male204and female203couplings on their opposite ends can be affixed to the flexible panel12and/or border13and are configured such that the male and female couplings203,204can be joined or snapped into each other so as to pull the flexible panel12tight or taut across the opening for the garage door. A L-shaped tensor pole42may be connected to the end of the flexible panel12or border13via a first flexible cord102with an end stop104and a second flexible cord103with an end stop104in the same manner that the U-shaped tensor pole32is connected to the flexible panel as best shown inFIG.8. A L-shaped tensor pole42may comprise a plurality of magnets such as the three magnets shown inFIG.8.

FIG.9shows another embodiment of the back side11B of the garage door attachment51that would be facing inward towards the garage. Tightening straps201,202comprising male204and female203couplings on their opposite ends can be affixed to the flexible panel12or its border13and used to adjust the width of the garage door attachment51across the garage door opening for a custom fit. A U-shaped tensor pole32with magnets34A is connected to one end of the flexible panel12and a L-shaped tensor pole42with magnets44A may be attached to the other end of the flexible panel12or border13. A plurality of support poles18connect to the flexible panel12can be used to keep the garage door attachment51and flexible panel12taut and upright.

FIG.10shows another embodiment of the front side11A of the garage door attachment51that would be facing towards the outside of the garage door. The garage door attachment in this embodiment comprises a flexible panel12comprising netting or a printable surface12and a border13attached along the outside edges of the flexible panel or netting12. A L-shaped tensor pole42is attached to a first end of the flexible panel or netting12and a U-shaped tensor pole32is attached to a second end of the flexible panel or netting12as described herein above.

The front side11A and back side11B of the garage door panel can be flipped in the direction they face when they are installed in a garage such that either side can face the inside of garage or the outside of the garage.

While examples of the garage door attachment system and apparatus set forth in the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying figures and described hereinabove in detail, other examples will be apparent to, and readily made by, those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive. The invention described hereinabove is defined by the appended claims and all changes to the invention that fall within the meaning and the range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.