Patent Publication Number: US-2023158826-A1

Title: Cover assembly for a garage door

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a non-provisional application claiming the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/131,217, titled “Flexible Garage Door Decorative Cover”, filed on Dec. 28, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This present disclosure generally relates to a cover assembly for a garage door. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a cover assembly having seasonal, holiday, festive, sporting, or celebratory displays and is temporarily affixed to a movable garage door to provide an exterior decoration. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Decorating a residence has become analogous with the holiday season. It is commonplace to adorn the street facing façade of one&#39;s home with holiday lights, seasonal displays, and celebratory decorations. In most cases, homeowners seek efficient, safe, and cost-effective means to display their festive ornamentation. 
     In homes having a garage, one of the largest unobstructed flat surfaces is the garage door. Garage doors are typically constructed from sturdy materials and spend most of their operable life in the closed position. Therefore, the garage door&#39;s exterior facing surface is particularly well suited to support a large decorative display; that is, unless the display hinders the operation of the door. Typical residential homes are equipped with two operational door variants: Sectional and Tilt-up. While both variants provide as an adequate mounting surface, both do not easily support an affixed decorative cover during operation. 
     Sectional garage doors are especially challenging, as during the opening and closing cycles hinged door panels having lateral wheels must be allowed to ride unincumbered along a track. Additionally, as each hinged panel transitions through the opening and closing cycle gaps are formed between the individual panels at the hinges running the entirety of the spanwise exterior face of the garage door. As these gaps form, the vertical dimension (i.e., the distance from the bottommost edge to the topmost edge) of the garage door materially increases. Therefore, this recurring change in the garage door dimension limits the application of a dimensionally fixed decorative cover. 
     To address this problem, many examples in the prior art seek to equip a dimensionally fixed cover material to the exterior face of a garage door utilizing different forms of elastic clips, bands, hooks, or clamps. These additional components are integral to the cover material and must be utilized in conjunction to achieve the desired operational and aesthetic outcome 
     Examples, as seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,937,587A and 6,035,919A, both solutions describe the application of an “elongate flexible member”, or “resilient member” affixed to the lower edge of the garage door. This “member” is then attached via coupling means (e.g., snaps, holes, hooks, hardware) to the decorative door cover. In both examples the “member” is solely responsible for the vertical compensation of the decorative cover to accommodate the exterior surface of the garage door during the opening and closing cycles. 
     While both solutions provide the necessary elasticity of the affixed decorative door cover, there are several drawbacks. Firstly, the “member” or “members” must be affixed to the garage door and decorative cover in multiple locations along the bottommost and topmost edges of the garage door. This process is cumbersome, time consuming and possibly damaging to vital garage door components. Secondly, the “members” are easily lost, damaged or broken during installation and storage. Thirdly, the “members” do not uniformly maintain tension throughout the decorative cover. As a result, when the garage door is closed creases in the cover material, created during storage or shipment, are not adequately removed. 
     It should be noted that further examples found in U.S. Pat. No. 20030026940A1, U.S. Pat. No. US20140251554A1, and U.S. Pat. No. 20030026940A1 describe a decorative door cover which wraps around the edges of a hinged door, affixed to a door jamb. These solutions employ a combination of elastic materials and/or integrated elastic bands allowing the cover material to “wrap” and thus affix to the four corners of a hinged door (e.g., front door, side door, bedroom door). 
     While these solutions allow a decorative door cover to remain taut between a hinged door and door jamb, they are inadequate when applied on a larger more mechanically complex garage door. Firstly, hinged door panels of a sectional garage door utilize lateral wheels that must be allowed to ride unincumbered along a track. Wrapping the cover material around each corner would impede the transition between the open and closed states of the door. Secondly, garage doors are frequently constructed of rough-cut materials. The four corners of the door typically exhibit sharp edges, extrusions, and fasteners. A combination of tensile stress and the repeated opening and closing of the garage door would result in tearing/cutting of the decorative cover in these “wrapping” locations 
     SUMMARY 
     It is therefore an object of the disclosure to provide a cover assembly and a cover which when attached to the surface of a garage door permits the garage door to open and close without the cover becoming detached or impeding the operation of the garage door. 
     It is another object of the disclosure to provide a cover assembly and a cover which is held taut and has a uniform crease free appearance on the exterior surface of the garage door. 
     It is a further object of the disclosure to provide a cover assembly and a cover which may be easily attached and detached from the garage door. 
     It is also an object of the disclosure to provide a cover assembly and a cover which, upon removal, will not mar the garage door surface to which it is attached. 
     It is still a further object of the disclosure to provide a cover assembly and a cover for a garage door which is machine washable and weather resistant. 
     In accordance with these objects, the disclosure a cover for a garage door is disclosed. The cover includes a first portion adapted to cover a street facing surface of the garage door, and a pair of second portions adapted to be arranged covering a garage facing surface of the garage door. The front portion is arranged between the pair of rear portions. The cover also includes at least four collars adapted to be arranged at corners of the garage door and arranged at interfaces of the front portion with the pair of rear portions. Each collar defines a cutout extending inwardly from an edge of the cover and adapted to facilitate an extension of an associated corner of the garage door outside the cover, a first coupling portion extending along the second portion from the cutout to a lateral edge of the cover, and a second coupling portion extending from the cutout in a direction opposite to the first coupling portion and along a portion of a length of the first portion. The first coupling portion is adapted to engage with the second coupling portion to removably engage the cover on the garage door. 
     In an embodiment, each collar includes a reinforced hem. 
     In an embodiment, the first portion of the cover includes at least one decorative illustration. 
     In an embodiment, the cover is made of an elastic fabric. 
     In an embodiment, the cover further includes a first longitudinal edge and a second longitudinal edge arranged opposite to the first longitudinal edge and the collars are defined along the first longitudinal edge and the second longitudinal edge. 
     According to another aspect of the disclosure, a cover assembly for a garage door is provided. The cover assembly includes a cover having a first portion adapted to cover a street facing surface of the garage door and a pair of second portions adapted to be arranged covering a garage facing surface of the garage door. The front portion is arranged between the pair of rear portions. The cover further includes at least four collars adapted to be arranged at corners of the garage door and arranged at interfaces of the front portion with the pair of rear portions. Each collar defines a cutout extending inwardly from an edge of the cover and adapted to facilitate an extension of an associated corner of the garage door outside of the cover. The collar also includes a first coupling portion extending along the second portion from the cutout to a lateral edge of the cover and a second coupling portion extending from the cutout in a direction opposite to the first coupling portion and along a portion of a length of the first portion. The first coupling portion is engaged with the second coupling portion to removably engage the cover on the garage door. 
     In an embodiment, the cover assembly includes a plurality of couplers to engage the first coupling portion of each collar with a corresponding second coupling portion. 
     In an embodiment, the coupler is a zipper. 
     In an embodiment, each collar includes a reinforced hem. 
     In an embodiment, the first portion of the cover includes at least one decorative illustration. 
     In an embodiment, the cover is made of an elastic fabric. 
     In an embodiment, the cover includes a first longitudinal edge and a second longitudinal edge arranged opposite to the first longitudinal edge and the collars are defined along the first longitudinal edge and the second longitudinal edge. 
     According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, a cover assembly for a garage door is disclosed. The cover assembly includes a cover made of an elastic fabric. The cover includes a first portion adapted to cover a street facing surface of the garage door and a pair of second portions adapted to be arranged covering a garage facing surface of the garage door. The front portion is arranged between the pair of rear portions. The cover also includes at least four collars adapted to be arranged at corners of the garage door and arranged at interfaces of the front portion with the pair of rear portions. Each collar defines a cutout extending inwardly from an edge of the cover and adapted to facilitate an extension of an associated corner of the garage door outside of the cover. The collar also includes a first coupling portion extending along the second portion from the cutout to a lateral edge of the cover, and a second coupling portion extending from the cutout in a direction opposite to the first coupling portion and along a portion of a length of the first portion. The cover assembly also includes a plurality of couplers to engage the first coupling portion of each collar with a corresponding second coupling portion to removably engage the cover on the garage door. 
     In an embodiment, the coupler is a zipper. 
     In an embodiment, each collar includes a reinforced hem. 
     In an embodiment, the first portion of the cover includes at least one decorative illustration. 
     In an embodiment, the cover includes a first longitudinal edge and a second longitudinal edge arranged opposite to the first longitudinal edge and the collars are defined along the first longitudinal edge and the second longitudinal edge. 
     Additional objects and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the provided figures. 
     Additional aspects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of example embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a front view of a cover assembly attached to a garage door arranged in a closed position; 
         FIG.  2    is a side view of a typical sectional garage arranged is in a partially open position; 
         FIG.  3    is a front view of the cover assembly detached from the garage door; 
         FIG.  4    is an enlarged view a portion of the cover assembly depicting a collar of a cover of the cover assembly; 
         FIG.  5    is a rear view of the cover assembly attached to the garage door arranged in a closed position; and 
         FIG.  6    is an enlarged perspective view a portion of cover assembly depicting a corner of the garage door extending outwardly of a cutout of the collar. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Example embodiments are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise expressly stated in the drawings, the sizes, positions, etc., of components, features, elements, etc., as well as any distances therebetween, are not necessarily to scale, and may be disproportionate and/or exaggerated for clarity. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be recognized that the terms “comprise,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Unless otherwise specified, a range of values, when recited, includes both the upper and lower limits of the range, as well as any sub-ranges therebetween. Unless indicated otherwise, terms such as “first,” “second,” etc., are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, one element could be termed a “first element” and similarly, another element could be termed a “second element,” or vice versa. The section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described. 
     Unless indicated otherwise, the terms “about,” “thereabout,” “substantially,” etc., mean that amounts, sizes, formulations, parameters, and other quantities and characteristics are not and need not be exact, but may be approximate and/or larger or smaller, as desired, reflecting tolerances, conversion factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like, and other factors known to those of skill in the art. 
     Spatially relative terms, such as “right,” left,” “below,” “beneath,” “lower,” “above,” and “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element&#39;s or feature&#39;s relationship to another element or feature, as illustrated in the drawings. It should be recognized that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if an object in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the term “below” can, for example, encompass both an orientation of above and below. An object may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may be interpreted accordingly. 
     Unless clearly indicated otherwise, all connections and all operative connections may be direct or indirect. Similarly, unless clearly indicated otherwise, all connections and all operative connections may be rigid or non-rigid. 
     Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Thus, the same or similar numbers may be described with reference to other drawings even if they are neither mentioned nor described in the corresponding drawing. Also, even elements that are not denoted by reference numbers may be described with reference to other drawings. 
     Many different forms and embodiments are possible without deviating from the spirit and teachings of this disclosure and so this disclosure should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. 
     Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. 
     Turning now to  FIG.  1   , a cover assembly  10  attached to a typical residential garage door  12  is shown. The cover assembly  10  includes a cover  14  adorned with an illustration  16 . Preferably, the illustration  16  is of a fanciful holiday, seasonal, sporting, or other celebratory nature. Moreover, the cover  14  may be made of a fabric that is weather resistant and machine washable. In an embodiment, the fabric may be a flexible and/or an elastic fabric. The cover assembly  10  is adapted to wrap around a topmost edge  18 , a bottommost edge  20 , and sidemost edges  22  of the garage door  12  and remains taught while the garage door  12  is in both the open and closed states. 
     As shown, in  FIG.  2   , the garage door  12  includes a series of hinged door panels  26  having lateral wheels  28  adapted to ride along a track  30  to facilitate a movement of the garage door in the closed state and the open state. It may be appreciated that during the opening and closing of the garage door  12 , gaps  32  are defined between the hinged panels  26 . These gaps  32  increases the distance between the topmost edge  18  and bottommost edge  20  of the garage door  12  during opening and closing of the garage door  12 . The cover assembly  10  is adapted to wrap the edges  18 ,  20 ,  22  to accommodate the increasing gaps  32  without interfering the door wheels  28 , structure  34 , cable  36 , and mechanical components  38  of the garage door when the garage door  12  is opening or closing. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  3   , the cover  14  includes a first portion  23  (street facing portion  23 ) adapted to cover a street facing surface of the garage door  12 , a pair of second portions  24  (garage facing portions  24 ) adapted to cover at least a portion of a garage facing surface of the garage door  12 , at least four collars  40 , a first lateral edge  42 , a second lateral edge  44 , a first longitudinal edge  46 , and a second longitudinal edge  48 . One of the second portions  24  extends from the first lateral edge  42  to the first portion  23 , while the other of the second portions  24  extends from the second lateral edge  44  to the first portion  23 . Accordingly, the first portion  23  is arranged between the two second portions  24  and is separated from the second portions  24  by virtual lines  39  extending substantially parallel to the lateral edges  42 , 44 . As shown, the first lateral edge  42  and the second lateral edge  44  are substantially parallel to each other and extend from the first longitudinal edge  46  to the second longitudinal edge  48 . In an assembly of the cover  14  with the garage door  12 , the first lateral edge  42  is arranged proximate to the topmost edge  18  of the garage door  12  and extends substantially parallel to the topmost edge  18 , while the second lateral edge  44  is arranged proximate to the bottommost edge  20  of the garage door  12  and extends substantially parallel to the bottommost edge  20 . Similarly, the first longitudinal edge  46  and the second longitudinal edge  48  extend along the sidemost edges  22  of the garage door  12 . As shown in  FIGS.  1  and  3   , the illustration  16  is arranged on the first portion  23  of the cover  14 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , the collars  40  are adapted to be arranged at the four corners of the garage door  12 . As shown, two of the collars  40  are defined along the first longitudinal edge  46 , while the remaining two of the collars  40  are defined along the second longitudinal edge  48 . It may be appreciated that each of the collars  40  is identical in structure and construction, and therefore, for the sake of clarity and brevity, a structure and a constructure of only one collar  40  is described in detail. As shown in  FIG.  4   , the collar  40  includes a cutout  49  defining along a longitudinal edge, for example, the first longitudinal edge  46 , of the cover  14 . The cutout  49  is formed by excising the cover  14  inwardly from the associated longitudinal edge, for example, the first longitudinal edge  46 . In an embodiment, the cutout  49  extends both in the first portion  23  and the adjacent second portion  24 . In an embodiment, half of the cutout  49 , and hence the collar  40  extends into the first portion  23  and remaining half of the cutout  49 , and hence the collar  40 , extends into the second portion  24 . Accordingly, the virtual lines  39  divide each of the collar  40   n  into two equal halves. However, it may be appreciated the portions of the cutout  49 , and hence the collar  40 , divided by the virtual lines  39  may be unequal. Each cutout  49  is formed by excising the cover  14  inwardly from the associated longitudinal edges  46 ,  48 , and accommodates adequate clearance for garage door components  28 ,  34 ,  36 , and  38 . It is assumed a typical residential garage door  12  to have four corners, however the disclosure could reasonably accommodate garage doors with more or fewer corners. Positioning of the excised cutouts  49  and hence the collars  40  may be determined by superimposing the topmost edge  18  and the bottommost edge  20  of the garage door  12  onto the cover  14  running perpendicular to the right-edge  46  and left-edge  48 . The dimension of the cutouts  49  is preferably between 4-6 inches in depth and 20-22 inches in length. It should be understood these dimensions are dependent on the size of typical residential garage door components  28 ,  34 ,  36 ,  38 . Alternative embodiments of the disclosure may account for atypical residential, commercial or aviation garage doors requiring alternative collar dimensions. Additionally, while each collar  40  may have a symmetrical profile, it is anticipated that the preferred embodiment will likely exploit collar  40  of asymmetrical profiles; thus, accommodating a wider range of garage door types, hardware, and sizes. 
     Turning now to  FIG.  4    and  FIG.  6   , the collar  40  also include a first coupling portion  52   a  and a second coupling portion  52   b  disposed extending on opposite sides from the cutout  49  and running along the associated longitudinal edge, for example, the first longitudinal edge  46 . As shown, the first coupling portion  52   a  is defined by the second portion  24  of the cover  14 , while the second coupling portion  52   b  is defined by the first portion  23  of the cover  14 . Accordingly, the first coupling portion  52   a  extends from the associated cutout  49  to one of the lateral edges, for example, the first lateral edge  42 , while the second coupling portion  52   b  extends in the opposite direction to that of the first coupling portion  52   a . The dimension of each of the coupling portions  52   a ,  52   b  is preferably 7-8 inches in length. It should be understood these dimensions are dependent on the size of a typical residential garage door  12 . Alternative embodiments of the disclosure shall account for atypical residential, commercial or aviation garage doors requiring dimensional alterations to the coupling portions  52   a ,  52   b.    
     Further, the cover assembly  10  includes a plurality of couplers  54 , for example, zippers, attached to the coupling portions  52   a ,  55   b  of the collars to facilitate the engagement of the coupling portions  52   a ,  52   b  with each other. Although, the zipper is contemplated as the coupler  54  for attaching the first coupling portion  52   a  to the second coupling portion  52   b  of each collar  40 , it may be appreciated that the coupler  54  may be any other suitable attachment mechanism, such as, but not limited to, buttons, laces, snaps, loop and hoop fasteners, or any suitable mechanism known in the art. As shown in  FIG.  6   , when the first coupling portion  52   a  and the second coupling portion  52   b  of each of the collars  40  are engaged, pockets are defined between the first portion  23  and the second portions  24 . The pockets receive the portions of the door disposed proximate to the topmost edge  18  and the bottommost edge  20  of the garage door  12  such that the topmost edge  18  and the bottommost edge  20  are arranged inside the pockets. Further, as shown in  FIG.  5    and  FIG.  6   , in the assembly of the cover  14  with the garage door  12 , the corners of the garage door  12  extend outside the cover  14  through the cut-outs  49  of the collars  40 . In this manner, the cover  14  fully encompasses the garage door  12 , while allowing the operation of the garage door components  28 ,  34 ,  36 , and  38  unhindered while closing and opening. Additionally, each collar  40  may be provided with a reinforced hem  50  terminating along the first coupling portion  52   a  and the second coupling portion  52   b . Each coupler  54  extends along the reinforced hem  50  of associated collar  40  and provide adequate resilience against the tensile stress of the first portion  23  and the second portions  24 , and repeated opening and closing wear of the garage door  12 . 
     For mounting/installing the cover assembly  10  on the garage door  12 , the cover  14  is positioned on the street-facing side of the garage door  12  such that a surface of the first portion  23  of the cover  14  having the illustration  16  is arranged facing the street. During the installation process, as reflected in  FIG.  5   , the second portions  24  are wrapped over the topmost edge  18  and the bottommost edge  20  of the garage door  12 . Accordingly, the first portion is arranged covering the street facing surface of the garage door and the second portions  24  extend, at least partially, onto garage facing surface of the garage door  12 . The second portions  24  are wrapped around the topmost edge  18  and the bottommost edge  20  of the garage door  12  such that the corners of the garage door  12  extend outside the cover  14  through the cutouts  49  of the collars  40  of the cover  14 . 
     Subsequently, the first coupling portion  52   a  of each collar  40  is aligned with the associated second coupling portion  52   b  and the coupler  54  is engaged to attach the first coupling portion  52   a  with the associated second coupling portion  52   b . In this manner, when properly installed, each collar  40  is positioned such that adequate clearance for garage door components  28 ,  30 ,  34  and  36  is maintained. 
     There have been described and illustrated herein an exemplary embodiment of an elastic garage door decorative cover. While the ideal embodiment of the invention has been described, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto, as it is intended that the invention be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. It will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art that yet other modifications could be made to the provided invention without deviating from its spirit and scope.