Patent Publication Number: US-RE42198-E

Title: Roll-up door for vehicle shelters

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to collapsible vehicle shelters such as those having a structure made of assembled tubular members and cross-members and a complementary covering therefor made of a flexible plastic material and, more particularly, to a roll-up door for the door opening defined at the front of such vehicle shelters. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The present invention relates to roll-up closures for use in collapsible automobile shelters of the type illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,627 issued on Dec. 19, 1989 to Audet. Audet discloses an improved collapsible shelter comprising a structure made up of tubular members and cross-members forming an assembly having side walls diverging from top to bottom and a roof section with the structure being covered by a covering complementary in shape to the assembled structure and made up of a weather proof flexible plastic material. At the front of the shelter, there is defined an opening which, in the Audet patent, is rectangular and is closed by curtain-type flexible plastic sheet doors provided on one or two sides of the opening. The opening is obviously intended for allowing the vehicle to access the shelter. 
     In other shelters, the front opening extends the whole width of the shelter, that is from side wall to side wall of the assembled structure, thereby having the shape of an isosceles trapezoid. Such openings are practical as they are as large as the shelter itself. However, it is difficult to adapt any closure to such a trapezoid-shaped opening and, to this date, roll-up curtain-type flexible closures have been used therefor with these closures being manually rolled-up from one side of the assembled structure laterally towards the other side thereof, whereat they are retained by strings. 
     Also known is a rectangular closure made of the same flexible material as the vehicle shelter itself which by way of cables and pulleys can be manually raised, in a way more or less similar to horizontal Venetian blinds, towards its retracted position. A number of spaced apart horizontally extending elongated rigid members are fixed to the closure so that the closure includes three sections which fold substantially like conventional garage doors. The sides of the closure are guided in a pair of parallel vertical rigid frame members. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,736 issued on Jan. 29, 1985 to Lamontagne discloses a vehicle shelter intended to house the front engine compartment of the automobile. This shelter includes a flexible canvas which surrounds the engine compartment substantially up to the windshield of the vehicle. Warm air is blown under the engine compartment so as to warm not only the crank-case but also the battery and other parts situated therein. The shelter is provided with a vertically rolled-up conventional and rudimentary closure  9 . U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,682 issued on Apr. 24, 1979 to Ryce discloses a vehicle shelter comprising a closet-type enclosure with doors which contains a plurality of arched hoops having ground engaging skids and with a flexible covering being attached to these arched hoops. In storage, the hoops and the covering are retracted into the enclosure. The hoops may be pulled out manually from the enclosure and over a car parked in front thereof. The shelter itself does not actually include any flexible door for access thereto, when expanded. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,474 issued on Jun. 23, 1992 to Smith discloses a roll-up closure device made of a flexible material which is rolled-up on a motor driven tubular cylindrical drum journalled at the ends thereof on bearings. The closure is guided in vertical tracks which define therebetween a rectangular opening with the closure being of rectangular complementary shape. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,556 issued on Aug. 27, 1991 to Ruiter discloses a door assembly for a rectangular doorway opening, such as a garage opening, which comprises a flexible door panel which is guided around rotatable guide wheels between a vertical closed position and a horizontal open position. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,879 issued on Apr. 22, 1975 to Manns discloses a roll-up door having a flexible door-leaf arranged to be wound about a roller for closing and opening the rectangular door with trolleys running in guide rails being located at the vertical side frames for maintaining the door-leaf in a laterally stretch condition, and with a movable pulley loaded by a weight being provided for maintaining the door-leaf in a vertically stretched position. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,495 issued on Nov. 17, 1992 to Lichy discloses a closure assembly for closing a rectangular opening which comprises a pair of vertical guides and a closure member engaged in the guides so that the closure member can slide along the guides. The closure member includes a pair of vertical tape-shaped tracking members disposed on opposite edges thereof and which are retained within the guides. A biasing assembly which enhances lateral tension on the closure member is also suggested. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,107 issued on Jul. 31, 1973 to Laberge discloses a collapsible shelter which comprises a plurality of upstanding parallel spaced apart arched members, the lower ends of which being received in a pair of channels fixed to the ground. A flexible covering is spread over the arched members with the lower edges of this covering being held by the channels. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,174 issued on Aug. 26, 1969 to Heller discloses a portable cover structure for a vehicle, wherein foldable frame sections have curtain tracks attached thereto, the frame sections being pivotally hinged so as to form, when expanded, a continuous covered level frame defining an uninterrupted curtain track which receives a curtain for completely enclosing the level frame. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,104 issued on May 12, 1959 to Swan discloses an awning of rectangular shape which can be displaced between an inoperative retracted position and an operative extended position wherein, when extended, the awning will provide a roof enclosure having its fabric maintained in a taut condition. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,602 issued on Aug. 12, 1969 to Hugus discloses a tensioning device for a rectangular flexible roll-up closure, wherein the flexible closure membrane is fastened to a bottom rail which is displaceable relative to an upper roller around which the membrane can be wound and unwound as the closure opens and closes. Tension is applied to the flexible closure membrane by way of a spring and cable system which biases the bottom rail away from the upper roller. The membrane is guided along a pair of vertical trackways. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide an improved closure device for vehicle shelters. 
     It is also an aim of the present invention to provide an improved roll-up closure device adapted to close a shelter door opening having a tapered shape and, more particularly, an isosceles trapezoidal shape, wherein the parallel sides of the trapezoid correspond to the horizontal sides of the door opening, with the door being wound in an horizontal position at the top of the door opening. 
     It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a roll-up closure device for vehicle shelters which is driven by a reversible motor which can also preferably be actuated from a remote location. 
     It is a still further aim of the present invention to provide a roll-up closure device for vehicle shelters wherein the flexible closure or door includes laterally inward biasing means for maintaining the flexible closure taut during the opening and closing thereof, and for allowing the flexible closure to somewhat yield depth-wise. 
     Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a roll-up closure device typically for use on vehicle shelters of the type defining at a front end thereof a door opening having lateral sides which diverge from top to bottom, comprising a pair of guide means adapted to be mounted to the vehicle shelter substantially at the lateral sides of the door opening and substantially parallel thereto, an overhead roller means adapted to be rotatably mounted inside the vehicle shelter and substantially horizontally above the door opening, a flexible closure means adapted to be secured at a top end thereof to said roller means, at least a section of said flexible closure having a shape substantially complementary to that of the door opening and including diverging lateral side edges adapted to be engaged in said guide means, whereby a rotation of said roller means causes said flexible closure to displace along said guide means and to wind around said roller means or to unwind therefrom for displacing said flexible closure towards an open or a closed position thereof, respectively. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration a preferred embodiment thereof, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a collapsible shelter for vehicles adapted with a roll-up closure device in accordance with the present invention, the closure device being shown in a closed position thereof; 
         FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of part of the closure device of  FIG. 1 and , more particularly, of a flexible closure thereof and the cables running therethrough; 
         FIG. 3  is a partly broken way front elevational view of the left hand part of the shelter and the roll-up closure device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side elevational view taken along line  4 — 4  of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 — 5  of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  6 — 6  of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  7 — 7  of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  8 — 8  of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of part of the roll-up closure device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is a longitudinal vertical cross-sectional view of part of the roll-up closure device; 
         FIG. 11  is a vertical cross-sectional side view of part of the roll-up closure device; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a detail of the variant of  FIG. 11 ; and 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the vehicle shelter and of the roll-up closure device of the present invention, similar to  FIG. 1 , but showing the roll-up closure device in a half open position and adapted with the variant of FIGS.  11  and  12 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a conventional vehicle shelter S adapted with a closure device D in accordance with the present invention, wherein the vehicle shelter S comprises a supporting structure made up of a series of vertically and transversely oriented, spaced apart and parallel, arched members  10  which are connected one to the other by longitudinal cross-members  12  (see FIG.  13 ), with a covering C being installed around the structure and being attached to the various arched members  10  and cross-members  12 . The covering C which is made of a flexible plastic sheet material comprises a roof section  14  wrapped around the arched members  10 , and a vertical front section  16  located above the door opening defined in the shelter S for providing access for a vehicle to the inside of the shelter S. The closure device D of the present invention is intended to selectively open or close the door opening of the shelter S. As best seen in  FIGS. 1 and 12 , the shelter door opening has the shape of an isosceles trapezoid- The closure device D of the present invention is of the roll-up type and includes a pair of support plate  18  adapted to be fixedly mounted to the structure of the shelter S and, as best seen in  FIG. 3 , to an upper cross-member  12  thereof by way of a bolt and wing nut assembly  20  of the type already provided in the conventional shelter S for securing the cross-members  12  to the arched members  10 . A guide rail  22  is secured to each one of the support plates  18  and extends therefrom in a downwardly and slightly inclined way in such a way as to follow the sides of the trapezoidal door opening- The lower end of each guide rail  22  is secured to a respective lower one of the cross-members  12  again using the bolt and wing nut assembly  20 . As seen in  FIG. 4 , brackets  24  are provided on the support plates  18  and on the guide rails  22  for use with the bolt and wing nut assemblies  20  to secure the closure device D to the shelter S. 
     Each support plate  18  is provided with a pulley system and a cable system which will be described in details hereinafter. Only one of the support plates  18  and, more particularly, the left one in the drawings is provided with a motor  26  coupled to a reducer gearbox  28  which drives by way of a toothed belt  30  a shaft  32  which extends transversely above the door opening and which is journalled at its ends to the support plates  18 . Asides from the motor  26 , the reducer gearbox  28  and the toothed belt  30 , the equipment provided on each of the support plates  18  is identical. 
     A flexible closure  34  made of a plastic sheet material which is well illustrated in  FIG. 2  is adapted to engage at the sides thereof the guide rails  22  for displacement therealong so that the closure  34  is either wound around the shaft  32  or is unwound therefrom depending on the rotation of the motor  26 . As best seen in  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the closure  34  defines a loop at each side thereof with a cable  36  extending through this loop. As seen in  FIG. 2 , the closure  34  includes an upper straight section intended to extend above the door opening and to be attached to the shaft  32  and a lower flared section adapted to follow the shape of the door opening so that, when the closure  34  is closed as in  FIG. 1 , the closure  34  completely closes off the trapezoidal door opening defined at the front end of the shelter S- A Teflon™ block  38  is fixedly secured near the bottom end of each side of the closure  34  for reasons which will be explained in details hereinafter. 
     The side edges of the closure  34  and, more particularly, the loops thereof enclosing the cables  36  and the lower blocks  38  enclosing both the closure loops and the cables  36  are received into the guide rails  22  which each define an inwardly facing longitudinal slot  40  for allowing the closure  34  to extend through the guide rails  22 , inwardly from the cables  36 . As seen in  FIG. 4 , there is rotatably mounted a lower pulley  42  at the bottom ends of each guide rail  22 . 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 2 ,  4  and  13 , each support plate  18  comprises a pulley system which includes a front guide pulley  44  and a double pulley  46  which comprises a slightly outwardly angled outer pulley  48  and a frusto-conical inner pulley  50 . The cable  36  is fixedly attached at both ends thereof to the double pulley  46  and, more particularly, one end of the cable  36  is attached to the outer pulley  48  with the other end thereof being attached to the inner pulley  50 . From the inner pulley  50 , the cable  36  passes around the guide pulley  44  and then runs along the lateral edge of the closure  34  while, as mentioned hereinabove, being secured thereto. At the bottom of the closure  34 , the cable  36  extends through the Teflon™ block  38  which is mounted to the lower end of the closure  34 . The cable  36  then engages the lower pulley  42  rotatably mounted at the lower end of the guide rail  22 . Afterwards, the cable  36  extends upwards, behind the closure  34  and is then secured to the outer pulley  48 . Between the lower pulley  42  and the outer pulley  48 , at least part of the cable  36  includes an elastic section  54  which acts as a binder for reasons which will be explained hereinafter. 
     A retaining arm  56  is mounted slightly above the guide pulley  44  for ensuring the engagement of the cable  36  with the guide pulley  44 , as best seen in FIG.  4 . 
     As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the lower end of the closure  34  comprises a pair of horizontal elastic members  58  which ensure that the closure  34  remains relatively taut at the point of entry thereof in the guide rails  22  when the closure  34  is displaced upwards and gradually becomes “too big” in view of the converging side guide rails  22 . Indeed, as the closure  34  gradually moves upwards, the elastic members  58  pick up the slack produced in the closure  34 . The teflon™ blocks  38  are located opposite the elastic members  58  in order to ensure that, even with the elastic force applied inwardly by the elastic members  58 , the closure  34  and the cables  36  connected thereto can slide along the guide rails  22 . 
     As seen in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , a variant  38 a of the teflon™ block  38  defines an inner lower recess  60  which communicates with a vertical opening  61  for allowing the cable  36  to leave the closure  34  higher than a lower edge  52  thereof. This configuration allows for the lower pulleys  42  to be mounted above the ground surface (as seen in  FIG. 13 ) thereby reducing the possibility that they become jammed because of the ice built-ups on or near the ground. Opposite the recess  60 , the closure  34  is thus not directly driven by the cable  36 , but the rigidity of the block  38 a ensures that the lower end  52  of the closure  34  located opposite the recesses  60  of the teflon™ blocks  38 a extends firmly downwardly right up to the ground so that the closure  34  properly closes the door opening of the shelter S along the whole height thereof and, more particularly, at the lower end  52  of the closure  34  as it is not driven by the cables  36 . Therefore, the configuration of the teflon™ blocks  38 a allow for the lower pulleys  42  to be mounted considerably above the ground to prevent the same from jamming due to ice built-ups, while ensuring that the closure  34  extends vertically and firmly downwards right up to the ground. 
     As seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the guide rails  22  are provided with seals  62  inwardly of the slots  40  thereof. 
     As seen in  FIGS. 8 and 10 , the overhead shaft  32  does not extend through the double pulleys  46 , but rather includes an extension  64  of small diameter which extends outwardly therefrom and through the double pulley  46 . The shaft extension  64  then extends outwardly through bearings  66  secured to the support plate  18  and, outwardly of the support plate  18 , the shaft extension  64  is fixedly received in a square-toothed gear  68  (e.g. a timing gear), the teeth of the toothed belt  30  being engaged between the teeth of the timing gear  68  for drivingly connecting the motor  26  and reducer gearbox  28  to this timing gear  68 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  8 , it is understood that, when the closure  34  is closed, an appropriate rotation of the motor  26  causes a rotation of the shaft  32  along arrow  70  of  FIG. 3  thereby causing the cables  36  to displace along arrow  72  of  FIG. 4 , whereby the cables  36  gradually wind around the inner pulleys  50  while the closure  34  is being raised along the guide rails  22  along arrow  74  of FIG.  3  and arrow  76  of  FIG. 13 , the lateral edges of the closure  34  which enclose the cables  36  gradually winding around the inner pulleys  50  (see  FIG. 10 ) while the cables  36  simultaneously unwind from the outer pulleys  48  along arrow  78  of FIG.  4 . As the closure  34  is being raised, the effective width thereof increases but, in view of the tapered configuration of the inner pulleys  50  (again see FIG.  10 ), the closure  34  will wind around the shaft  32  while remaining substantially taut in view of the outward stacking of the cables  36  onto the inner pulleys  50 . The outer pulleys  48  are slightly angled to facilitate the unwinding and winding of the cables  36  therearound in view of the angular orientation of the cables  36  below the outer pulleys  48 , as seen in FIG.  8 . Furthermore, the tapered configuration of the inner pulleys  50  ensures that the closure  34  winds there around in an orderly fashion, as seen in FIG.  10 . As seen in  FIG. 3 , the cable  36  is directed by the guide pulley  44  towards the larger outward end of the tapering inner pulley  50  so that the cable  36  can then appropriately slide downwards and inwards from this outward end of the inner pulley  50  towards the inward smaller end thereof, thereby ensuring a neat and orderly stacking of the coils of the cable  36  around the inner pulley  50 . 
     The elastic portion  54  of each cable  36  acts as a binder to ensure that the cables  36  remain taut during the operation of the closure  34  in view of the fact that, during rotation of the double pulleys  46 , the amount of cable which is being wound around one of the outer and inner pulleys  48  and  50  thereof is normally different from the amount of cable which unreels from the other one of the outer and inner pulleys  48  and  50 , respectively. 
     Even though there are elastic portions  54  in the mechanism for driving the closure  34  between the open and closed positions thereof, the motor  26  acts directly on the closure  34  during the ascension thereof, i.e. its displacement towards its open position, as it is the unextendable cables  36  which act on the closure  34 , the binder mechanism provided by the elastic portion  54  being only functional during the lowering of the closure  34 . This configuration allows the motor  26  to exert direct forces on the closure when it is being opened thereby enabling the motor  26  to dislodge the lower end of the closure  34 , for instance, from ice having built up thereat while the closure  34  was closed. 
     Alternatively, the elastic portions  54  can be replaced by springs  84 , as seen in  FIG. 11 , which might have a more constant spring force for the various operating temperatures of the closure device D. 
     The elastic members  58  again will ensure that the slack gradually provided in the closure  34  when it is raised is taken up substantially centrally of the closure  34  and not at the lateral edges thereof in order to ensure a proper sliding action of the closure  34  along the guide rails  22 , that is to prevent a jamming of the lateral edges of the closure  34  in the slots  40  of the guide rails  22 . 
     A reverse operation of the motor  26  causes the cables  36  to wind around the outer pulleys  48  of the double pulleys  46 , whereby the closure  34  is pulled downwards along the guide rails  22  and thus unwinds gradually from the inner tapered pulleys  50  of the double pulleys  46 . 
     As well known in the art of garage doors, a remote control can be provided for remotely operating the motor  26  thereby allowing the user to open and close the closer  34  at a distance and, for instance, from within a vehicle. 
     When the closure  34  is closed, the elastic members  58  can still be somewhat extended in order to allow for the closure  34  to sufficiently yield when a force is applied thereon, such as by snow being thrown thereon by a snowplow or the like, thereby preventing rupture of the closure  34 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 8 , the ends of the cables  36  are secured to the outer pulleys  48  by screws  80  and to the inner pulleys  50  by screws  82 . 
     For manual opening and closing of the closure  34  in case of a failure of the motor  26  or in case of the closure  34  becoming jammed in the guide rails  22  due to ice, there are provided a pair of side zippers  86  (see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) which extend parallel to and slightly inwards of the guide rails  22 , whereby the closure can be manually rolled and then attached at the top of the door opening with strings  88 . 
     Accordingly, by way of the closure device D of the present invention, a flared door opening defined in a vehicle shelter C can be completely closed in a substantially taut way and, when the closure is being raised or generally when it is at least partly wound around the overhead shaft, the closure is wound in an orderly and taut fashion around this overhead shaft. The closure device of the present invention thus allows for a motorized closure to be installed on a vehicle shelter without reducing the effective width of the door opening thereof.