Abstract:
Track guided doors, such as upward acting multipanel garage doors are provided with roller guide member support brackets on opposite side edges of the panels for supporting guide rollers disposed in the opposed guide tracks. The support brackets include bearing bores formed by bore walls of the support brackets for supporting elongated stem or shaft portions of the roller guide members. The roller guide members may include leaf springs mounted in grooves on the guide member shaft portions or the support bracket may include elastically deflectable clips mounted thereon, the leaf springs and clips providing resilient members for engagement with the stem parts, respectively, to bias them into engagement with the bore walls of the support brackets to minimize noise generated by the guide members during movement of the door.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
         [0001]    In the development of track guided doors, such as upward acting residential and commercial garage doors, there is an ever present need to provide for quiet operation when moving the door between open and closed positions.  
           [0002]    One source of objectionable noise generated by track guided doors pertains to the guide members which are connected to the door section or sections, are disposed in opposed guide tracks and guide and support the door for movement between open and closed positions. Conventional upward acting garage doors, for example, utilize guide members which include elongated stems or shafts disposed in support members mounted on the door panels, which support members are typically configured to provide bearing bores for the guide member stems or shafts. Guide member stems or shafts made of metal, in particular, and residing in formed metal support members or so-called roller brackets are particularly capable of generating noise when the door is moving between open and closed positions, and to some extent when the door is stationary and is subject to moderate vibrations generated by windloads and the like.  
           [0003]    Accordingly, there has been a need to provide for reducing the noise generated by track guided door guide members and it is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The present invention provides an improved track guided door which includes opposed sets of guide members for guiding the door for movement between open and closed positions within opposed guidetracks and wherein the guide members are supported for substantially reduced acoustic emissions.  
           [0005]    The present invention also provides guide members with improved support stems or shafts for use with track guided doors wherein noise generated by the guide members and their support structure is substantially reduced or eliminated.  
           [0006]    In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, guide members for track guided doors are provided with support shafts or stems which include means to retain the shafts or stems snugly fitted in bearing bores formed by guide member support parts mounted on the door panel or panels. In particular, the guide member stems or shafts are provided with one or more axially extending grooves circumferentially spaced apart and adapted to receive and support elongated leaf type springs which engage the wall of the bearing bore in which the stems are supported to bias the stems into engagement with the bore wall and reduce or eliminate noise generated by loosely fitted stems.  
           [0007]    In accordance with another aspect of the invention, guide members for track guided doors are provided which include plural circumferentially spaced noise reducing members mounted on the guide member support stems or shafts and are operable to prevent the noise reducing members from lodging in grooves formed in guide member support structure.  
           [0008]    In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, guide member noise reducing or silencing devices are provided which are mounted on the guide member support brackets and provide projections which protrude into the support bracket bearing bores for biasing the guide member support stems or shafts into forcible engagement with the respective bearing bore walls to reduce noise generated by and between the support brackets and the guide member support stems.  
           [0009]    Those skilled in the art will further appreciate the above-mentioned features of the present invention, together with other important aspects thereof upon reading the detailed description which follows in conjunction with the drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sectional track guided door which includes guide members in accordance with the invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the door shown in FIG. 1 and showing a typical guide member and support bracket therefor;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lower portion of the door shown in FIG. 1 and showing another guide member and support bracket therefor;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is an elevation view of one of the guide members for the track guided door shown in FIGS. 1 through 3;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is another elevation view of the guide member shown in FIG. 4;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a longitudinal central section view of the guide member shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 is a side elevation of a leaf spring used in connection with the guide member shown in FIGS. 4 through 6;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the guide member shown in FIGS. 4 through 6;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 9 is a section view taken generally along line  9 - 9  of FIG. 8 and showing the guide member stem or shaft disposed in a support member therefor;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a first alternate embodiment of a guide member in accordance with the invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 11 is a section view taken generally along the line  11 - 11  of FIG. 10;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a track guided door guide member including another arrangement of the stem silencing springs in accordance with the invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 13 is a section view taken generally along line  13 - 13  of FIG. 12;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a guide member support bracket including a noise reducing or silencing device in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the invention;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the device shown mounted on the guide member support bracket in FIG. 14;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 16 is a section view taken along the line  16 - 16  of FIG. 14; and  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 17 is a section view taken along the line  17 - 17  of FIG. 2. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]    In the description which follows like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same reference numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale in the interest of clarity and conciseness.  
         [0028]    Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a conventional, except for the improvement of the present invention, upward acting sectional garage door, generally designated by the numeral  20 . The door  20  is characterized by plural hingedly connected panels  22  which are guided for movement between the closed position shown, adjacent a vertical wall  24 , and an open position by opposed guide track assemblies  26  and  28 . The guide track assemblies  26  and  28  may be of conventional construction or as disclosed in published Patent Application No. US2002/0003031A1, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The guide track assemblies  26  and  28  are formed of somewhat channel shaped members including generally vertically extending track sections  26   a  and  28   a , curvilinear transition sections  26   b  and  28   b  and generally horizontal linear sections  26   c  and  28   c . The panels  22  are supported for movement between door open and closed positions by opposed sets of guide members, each generally designated by the numeral  30 . Each guide member  30  is disposed in one of the track assemblies  26  or  28  in a generally known manner.  
         [0029]    Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and  6 , one embodiment of an improved guide member  30  in accordance with the invention is illustrated. The guide member  30  includes an elongated shaft or stem part  32  of generally cylindrical cross section, see FIGS. 8 and 9 also. Stem part  32  includes a circumferential integral collar  34  and a roller axle portion  36 , FIG. 6, on which is rotatably disposed a roller member  38  for rotation relative to the stem part  32 . The roller  38  is preferably retained on the axle portion  36  by a suitable retaining ring  40 . Additionally, the distal end  42  of the stem part  36  may be staked to retain the retaining ring  40  thereon.  
         [0030]    The guide member  30  advantageously includes a resilient silencing member, generally designated by the numeral  44 , in FIGS. 4 through 7,  8  and  9 . The resilient member  44  is preferably characterized as a leaf spring having spaced apart bow portions  44   a  and  44   b  and a generally flat portion  44   c  interposed the bow portions. The resilient leaf spring silencing member  44  preferably also comprises a piece of music wire having a diameter of about 0.024 inches and a length of about 2.00 inches for use with a guide member having a stem part with a diameter of about 0.437 inches, for example. The stem part  32  includes an elongated axial extending groove  48  for receiving the resilient member  44  therein as illustrated in FIG. 6, in particular. The groove  48  is preferably slightly longer than the undeflected length of the resilient member  44  to accommodate deflection and the resulting linear extension of the bow portions  44   a  and  44   b . The resilient member  44  is preferably retained in the groove  48  by a staking the stem part  32  at location  50 , as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, to plastically deform material of the stem part to retain the member  44  in the groove, since the flat portion  44   c  is in forcible engagement with the staked part  50  of the stem part  32 .  
         [0031]    By providing a guide member, such as the roller type guide member  30 , with a resilient member disposed on the stem part  32 , the stem part may be disposed in a bore of a guide member support bracket with a relatively loose fit in the bore since the resilient member  44  will bias the stem part against the bore wall and minimize movement of the stem part with respect to the bore wall and thus substantially eliminate the rattling noise created by guide members which are loosely retained in bearing bores of guide member support brackets and the like and which do not have any type of silencing means. FIG. 9 illustrates the stem part  32  disposed in a bearing bore  33  of a guide member support bracket  35  and biased against the bore wall  33   a  by the resilient member  44 .  
         [0032]    Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a portion of the door assembly  20 , including a hinge assembly  50  for hingedly connecting two adjacent door panels  22  to each other, as illustrated. Further details of the hinge assembly  50  may be obtained by reference to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/910,992, filed Jul. 23, 2001 by L. Blake Whitley et al. and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. As further shown in FIG. 2, a guide member support bracket  52  is mounted on one of the panels  22  and retained thereon by suitable fastener means  54  and gussets  56 . The guide member support bracket  52  is preferably characterized by a tubular bearing member  57  formed integral with a plate portion  58 . The support bracket  52  is also typically fabricated by roll forming a substantially flat plate member to form the tubular portion  57  having a bearing bore defined by a generally cylindrical bore wall  59  and having a distal end  60  leaving a gap  61  between the tubular bearing portion  57  and the plate portion  58 . Guide member support brackets so formed are indicated to require a modified guide member which in some ways is substantially like the guide member  30  but includes a modified stem portion.  
         [0033]    Referring briefly to FIGS. 10 and 11, for example, there is illustrated a modified guide member  30   a  having a cylindrical stem portion  32   a  and a roller  38  mounted thereon in the same manner as for the guide member  30 . However, the cylindrical stem or shaft member  32   a  is provided with two circumferentially spaced elongated grooves  48   a  and  48   b , as shown in FIGS. 10, 11 and  17  for receiving resilient leaf spring members  44  in the same manner as for the guide member  30 . The resilient members  44  are retained in the slots  48   a  and  48   b  in the same manner as for the guide member  30 . As shown in FIG. 17, by providing more than one resilient member circumferentially spaced from another resilient member, there is no risk of both resilient members registering with the gap  61  to thereby negate the function of these members. The degree of circumferential spacing of the resilient leaf spring members  44  for the guide member  30   a  is illustrated to be about 90 degrees with respect to a longitudinal central axis  32   x  for the stem part  32 . Different angular spacings of the resilient members  44  may be provided. For example, referring briefly to FIGS. 12 and 13, there is illustrated another embodiment of a guide member  30   b  having a cylindrical stem part  32   b  with a roller  38  mounted thereon. The stem part  32   b  is adapted to support two resilient members comprising leaf springs  44  thereon and spaced 180° apart with respect to a longitudinal central axis  32   y  of stem part  32   b.    
         [0034]    Referring now to FIG. 3, a part of a lowermost panel  22  for the door  20  is illustrated and which is provided with a suitable bracket  70  including a bearing part  72  for supporting a guide member  30   a  in a manner similar to that provided by the guide member support bracket  52 . However, the bracket  70  is also adapted for connection to a counterbalance cable, not shown in FIG. 3, for the door  20 . The bracket  70  is further described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/910,992, referenced hereinabove.  
         [0035]    Referring now to FIGS. 14 through 16, another embodiment of a support bracket and guide member stem silencing arrangement in accordance with the invention is illustrated. FIGS. 14 and 16 illustrate a guide member support bracket  80  including a rolled metal member characterized by a generally tubular bearing part  82 . Bearing part  82  defines a bearing bore delimited by a bore wall  84 , FIG. 16, and which is integrally formed with a plate part  86  similar to the plate part of the bracket  52 . The guide member support bracket  80  is also preferably formed in such a way that a gap  83  is formed between the tubular bearing part  82  and the plate part  86  as shown in FIGS. 14 and 16. FIGS. 14 and 16 also illustrate the disposition of a guide member  30   c  having a cylindrical stem part  32   c  supporting a roller  38  thereon in the same manner as for the guide member  30 .  
         [0036]    However, the stem part  32   c  is not provided with a resilient member to bias the stem part into forcible engagement with the bore wall  84 . Accordingly, the guide member  30   c  is a substantially conventional guide member and would be susceptible to vibratory lateral movement within the bearing bore defined by the bore wall  84 , except for the provision of a guide member silencer characterized by a substantially cylindrical ring shaped clip member, generally designated by the numeral  90  in FIGS. 14, 15 and  16 . The resilient clip silencer member  90  includes a cylindrical ring or band portion  92  which terminates at one end in a radially inwardly projecting tab  94  and terminates at the opposite end in a generally planar tangential part  96  having a retainer hook  98  formed on the distal end thereof, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. The resilient guide silencer member  90  is suitably formed of an elastically deformable material such as metal or plastic and the tab  94  is dimensioned such as to project radially inwardly into the bearing bore formed by the bore wall  84  through the gap  83 , as illustrated in FIG. 16. The resilient member  90  is also retained on the tubular bearing part  82  of bracket  80  by provision of the hook part  98  projecting through a suitable opening  85  formed in the plate part  86  of the bracket  80 . The resilient member  90  may be assembled to the bracket  80  by snapping the tab  94  into the gap  83  and the hook  98  into the opening  85 . The member  90  is preferably dimensioned to be at least slightly elastically deformed in the position shown in FIG. 16 so as to enable it to forcibly grip the tubular bearing part  82 . Accordingly, the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 14 through 16 is also operable to reduce or eliminate noise generated by movement of a guide member stem or shaft within its support bracket receiving bore.  
         [0037]    The construction and use of the embodiments of the invention disclosed hereinbefore is believed to be readily understandable to those of ordinary skill in the art based on the foregoing description. Conventional engineering materials may be used to fabricate the elements of the guide members and associated support structure as well as the resilient members usable with the guide members as described hereinbefore.  
         [0038]    Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, those skilled in the art will recognize that various substitutions and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.