Patent Publication Number: US-10781622-B2

Title: Overhead truck door opening and closing mechanism

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation application claiming priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/695,806 filed Sep. 5, 2017, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,280,672 May 7, 2019, which claims the benefit of U.S. 
     Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/384,020 filed Sep. 6, 2016, and which is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. No. 10,076,951 dated Sep. 18, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/109,092 filed Jan. 29, 2015. The disclosures of each document is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure generally relates to opening and closing mechanisms for overhead doors such as those used with box truck cargo holds or enclosed semi-trailers. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to opening and closing mechanisms for overhead doors that allow the user to open and close the overhead door while standing on the ground instead of climbing up on the truck. 
     2. Background Information 
     Cargo trucks that have overhead pull down doors are typically opened by the user of the truck when the user unlatches the door from the truck bed and initially pushes it upwardly while the user is standing on the ground. The doors are typically taller than a user&#39;s reach and the doors typically do not glide all the way up to their fully open position. When this occurs, the user must climb up onto the rear bumper of the truck or up into the cargo space to push the door to its fully open position. When the door is to be closed, the user almost always has to climb onto the rear bumper of the truck or into the cargo area in order to reach the door to pull it down to its closed position. Although some doors have short hanging straps for the purpose of pulling them closed, most people have to climb onto the truck bumper to reach the strap. The process of climbing onto the bumper and jumping down from the bumper leads to injuries. The process of pulling down a door while the user stands on the bumper also leads to injuries. This is particularly risky during inclement weather especially when the bumper is wet, snow-covered, or icy. Delivery personnel who open and close truck doors multiple times per day desire a more convenient and safe or mechanism for opening and closing the truck door. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The mechanism configurations described in the following detailed description are intended to decrease injuries to the people who load and unload items from box trucks and semi-trailers. The mechanism allows the user to open and close an overhead roll-up door of these trucks while standing firmly and safely on the ground at the rear corner of the truck. 
     The disclosure provides a door opening and closing mechanism in the form of a loop of material that is attached to a lower portion of the roll-up door and a guide disposed near the top of the door frame. The loop is disposed on the outside of the door. A user can pull on one portion of the loop to open the door and on another portion of the loop to close the door. The user can reach both of these portions while standing firmly and safely on the ground. The disclosure also provides a roll-up overhead door in combination with the opening and closing mechanism. 
     The disclosure provides a configuration wherein the loop is disposed out of the door opening so there is no potential interference of the loop with the people and/or loaders moving into and out of the door opening. In one configuration, the loop is disposed along one of the vertical frame members that define the door opening. 
     The disclosure provides configurations wherein the loop includes an indicator that shows the user which side of the loop is to be pulled down depending on the position of the door. 
     The disclosure provides configurations for the loop with different grips. 
     The disclosure provides different guide configurations carried by mounting brackets that can be secured to truck frames to allow the opening and closing mechanism to be retrofit onto existing truck frames. 
     The disclosure provides a motorized door opening and closing apparatus wherein an electric motor is used to selectively open and close the door. The apparatus includes a flexible loop attached to a lower portion of the door. An upper portion of the loop is driven by the motor to open and close the door. A toothed belt can be used to define the flexible loop. 
     The mechanism described in this disclosure also can be used on an elevated overhead door on a building where in the user must climb up onto a structure to open and close it. Such a location can be an elevated loading dock. 
     The preceding non-limiting aspects, as well as others, are more particularly described below. A more complete understanding of the processes and equipment can be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, which are not intended to indicate relative size and dimensions of the assemblies or components thereof. In those drawings and the description below, like numeric designations refer to components of like function. Specific terms used in that description are intended to refer only to the particular structure of the embodiments selected for illustration in the drawings, and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts a rear view of a truck with an overhead door partially open with a first exemplary configuration of the opening and closing mechanism of this disclosure being depicted on the left-hand side of the door. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of the upper left hand corner of the door frame showing an exemplary configuration for the guide used with the opening and closing mechanism. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the lower left hand corner of the door frame with the door in a closed configuration with a portion of the loop broken away to show the connection of the loop with the door. 
         FIG. 4  is a section view taken through the door showing a side view of the connection between the loop and the door. 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of the upper left hand corner of the door frame showing another exemplary configuration for the guide used with the opening and closing mechanism. 
         FIG. 6  is an enlarged perspective view of the upper left hand corner of the door frame showing another exemplary configuration for the guide used with the opening and closing mechanism. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an exemplary guide and mounting bracket for the mechanism that allows the mechanism to be retrofit onto existing truck frames. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an exemplary guide and mounting bracket for the mechanism that allows the mechanism to be retrofit onto existing truck frames. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the overhead door and mechanism of  FIG. 1  in the closed condition. 
         FIG. 10  is a side view of the overhead door and mechanism of  FIG. 1  in the open configuration. 
         FIG. 11  depicts a rear view of a truck with an overhead door in the closed configuration with another exemplary configuration of the opening and closing mechanism of this disclosure being depicted on the left-hand side of the drawing. 
         FIG. 12  is an enlarged view of the top of the mechanism depicted in  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 13  is an enlarged view of the bottom of the mechanism depicted in  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 14  is a side view of the overhead door and mechanism of  FIG. 11  in the closed condition. 
         FIG. 15  is a side view of the overhead door and mechanism of  FIG. 11  in the open configuration. 
         FIG. 16  is a view similar to  FIG. 14  showing a configuration wherein the lower pulley is disposed under the truck bed. 
         FIG. 17  is a side view of an alternative configuration for the loop material. 
         FIG. 18  depicts an alternative view of an upper guide used with the loop material of  FIG. 17 . 
         FIG. 19  depicts a spring-biased version of the  FIG. 18  configuration. 
         FIG. 20  is a view similar to  FIG. 2  depicting an alternative guide that has a roller. 
         FIG. 21  is an elevation view of an alternative configuration wherein a motor is used to provide the opening and closing force to the apparatus. 
         FIG. 22  is an enlarged elevation view of the motor and drive for the loop. 
         FIG. 23  is a section view taken along line  23 - 23  of  FIG. 22 . 
         FIG. 24  is a view similar to  FIG. 23  depicting an alternative motor and drive for the loop. 
         FIG. 25  depicts a perspective view of an alternate mount for the loop. 
         FIG. 26  is a top view of the mount of  FIG. 25 . 
         FIG. 27  is an end view of the mount of  FIG. 25 . 
         FIG. 28  is a bottom view of the mount of  FIG. 25  showing an alternative sleeve with the loop depicted schematically. 
         FIG. 29  is a rear elevation view of the mount of  FIG. 25 . 
         FIG. 30  is a front elevation view of the mount of  FIG. 25 . 
         FIG. 31  is an elevation view of a truck with an overhead door with an opening and closing mechanism disposed out of the door opening. 
         FIG. 32  is a side view of the truck door and vertical frame member with the opening and closing member depicted without the sidewalls, floor, or roof of the cargo hold. 
         FIG. 33  is a section view taken along line  33 - 33  of  FIG. 31 . 
         FIG. 34  is an enlarged elevation view of the lower encircled portion of  FIG. 31 . 
         FIG. 35  is an enlarged elevation view of the upper encircled portion of  FIG. 31 . 
         FIG. 36  is an enlarged elevation view of the encircled portion of  FIG. 32 . 
     
    
    
     Similar numbers refer to similar elements throughout the specification. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The different embodiments of the opening and closing mechanism of this disclosure is generally indicated by the reference number  10  in the accompanying drawings. Opening and closing mechanism  10  allows an overhead cargo door  18  of the truck  20  to be opened and closed while a person is standing firmly on the ground at the back rear corner of truck  20 . Mechanism  10  generally includes a flexible loop  14  that is connected to a lower portion  16  of door  18  and is supported from above by a guide  12  that allows loop  14  to be moved between first and second positions through guide  12 . Loop  14  is disposed on the exterior of door  18 . Mechanism  10  allows the user to open door  18  by pulling down one portion of loop  14  and then to close door  18  by pulling down on another portion of loop  14 . Both the opening and the closing of door  18  are achieved by pulling down on portions of loop  14 . Opening and closing mechanism  10  may be built into new trucks or it can be retrofit to existing trucks  20 . 
     A first exemplary configuration of an opening and closing mechanism of this disclosure is generally shown on the left side of  FIG. 1  and shown in more detail in  FIGS. 2-6 . Mechanism  10  generally includes an upper guide  12  and a flexible loop  14  that extends between guide  12  and a lower portion  16  of the truck door  18 . Loop  14  can be continuous or broken by a connector, a buckle, or with a portion of loop  14  being formed by a portion of door  18 . The ends of loop  14  can be connected to door  18  at the same location or different locations. Mechanism  10  is used with overhead roll-up truck doors that typically have a plurality of hinged panels that ride on tracks disposed at the sides of the trailer opening and project inwardly from the top of the opening. Loop  14  is attached to the lowermost hinged panel with an anchor  28 . 
     In the exemplary configuration of  FIGS. 1-6 , guide  12  is provided in the form of a thin bar having a rounded cross section. Loop  14  slides directly over the rounded profile of guide  12 . The thin bar that defines guide  12  can be mounted directly to the frame members of truck  20  or, alternatively, to a mounting bracket  42  that is used to connect guide  12  to truck  20 . In an alternative configuration of  FIG. 20 , the horizontal bar of guide  12  includes a roller  21  that freely rotates with respect to the other portions of guide  12  so that loop  14  more easily moves between its first and second positions. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, and 25  guide  12  can be provided in the form of a pulley, a roller, a passive guide, a slide, or an eye-bolt. Each of these guides  12  can be secured to the truck  20  with a rigid connection or a biased connection such as depicted in  FIG. 19 . The biased connection includes a spring  22 . 
     Mounting bracket  42  is provided with closed right angle inner corner as shown in  FIG. 2 . An alternative mounting bracket  42  is depicted in  FIG. 5  with an angled inner corner to accommodate an angled reinforcement plate  43  disposed at the corner of the truck frame. Another alternate mounting bracket  42  has an opening  45  that allows the angled reinforcement plate  43  to extend through mounting bracket  42 . Mounting bracket  42  defines a plurality of openings  47  that allow mounting bracket  42  to be secured to truck  20  with fasteners such as metal screws, bolts, or rivets. Mounting bracket  42  also can be welded to truck  20 .  FIG. 8  depicts a configuration of mounting bracket  42  with an integral angled reinforcement plate  49  that strengthens the corner of the truck frame. In the  FIG. 8  configuration, guide  12  is an opening defined by the body of mounting bracket  42 . 
     Mounting bracket  42  can include an L-shaped front face  51  that defines fastener openings  47 . Mounting bracket  42  also includes sidewalls  53  to which guide  12  is connected. Sidewalls  53  are generally perpendicular to front face  51  and generally perpendicular to each other. Mounting bracket  42  can be added to the corner of an existing truck door frame that defines the door opening of a truck. Mounting bracket  42  thus provides a convenient method to retrofit an existing truck door frame with mechanism  10 . Once mounting bracket  42  is connected at the corner of the door frame, guide  12  is positioned near the edge of door  18  and loop  14  can be positioned through guide  12  and secured to door  18 . 
       FIG. 9  shows the closed position of door  18  and the first position of loop  14 . In this position, loop  14  is disposed between guide  12  and door  18  and can be taut to minimize flapping in the wind while the truck is moving.  FIG. 10  depicts the open position of door  18  and the second position of loop  14 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , the upper guide  12  is positioned above the upper location of the lower end  26  of door  18  when door  18  is fully open. This allows loop  14  to be secured to the lower portion  16  of door  18 . When door  18  is raised to the open position, the location of the anchor  28  that secures loop  14  to door  18  stops just below upper guide  12 . This configuration allows the remainder of loop  14  to hang loosely. 
     One configuration of anchor  28  includes a pair of brackets  27  that each define a slot to receive an end of loop  14  and a bolt hole. Brackets  27  are bolted to door  18  with a single nut  29  and bolt  31  combination. The nut can be disposed on the inside of door  18 . As an alternative, anchor  28  can be a clamp that secures a portion of loop  14  to door  18 . In one configuration, loop  14  can be fitted through one or more openings defined by door  18 . 
     In the exemplary configuration of  FIGS. 11-16 , a lower guide  12  is used at the bottom of the truck frame to hold the position of loop  14  when door  18  is open. The lower guide  12  can be in the form of any guide  12  described above. In this configuration, guides  12  are in the form of pulleys. In the  FIG. 16  configuration, the lower guide  12  is positioned under the floor. When the lower guide  12  is installed below floor  30 , a single opening  32  or a plurality of openings  32  are defined by floor  30  to receive loop  14 . In these configurations and the configurations of  FIGS. 21-24 , a motor  80  can be used to move loop  4 . Motor  80  can be located near the upper guide, the lower guide, above the truck bed or below the truck bed. A housing can be used to protect motor  80  from the weather. Motor  80  can drive pinch rollers  82  that drives a flat strap loop  14  or a toothed roller  84  that drives a toothed strap (see reference numeral  86  in  FIG. 23 ) loop  14 . This loop  14  can be made from a chain, a cable with knobs, or a toothed belt. A limit switch can be used to turn off the motor with a sensor carried by the loop or the door. As this sensor passes the limit switch, a signal is sent to the motor that turns the motor off. The motor can be controlled with manual switches, automated switches, or a remote control that uses RF signals, Bluetooth, or other wireless communications protocols. Motor  80  can be powered by its own power source or the power source carried by the truck. In other configurations, motor  80  can be used without the lower guide. In these configurations, a stiff or loop of stiff links is used to push the door down by motor  80 . In another configuration, motor  80  rotates or gear or roller that directly engages the door to move it up and down. 
       FIG. 21  depicts an optional extension  88  connected to loop  14  that hangs down to help a user pull the door closed at the end of the closing process. This can be useful when the user&#39;s hand is close to anchor  28 . Instead of being pinched between the sides of loop  14 , the user can grasp extension  88  and finish the closing process. When not in use, extension  88  can be secured by a magnet  90  (either carried by extension  88  or with a magnet carried by truck and a ferrous metal carried by extension  88 ) or a section of hook and loop material (such as Velcro®) that holds extension  88  to another portion of loop  14  or the truck. Extension  88  can be one foot or up to four feet long. Extension  88  can be made from the same material as loop  14  or a material comfortable to grasp. Extension  88  can be used with the manual loop or the motorized loop. 
     In the configuration of  FIGS. 1-10 , only the upper guide  12  is used with loop  14  hanging loose when door  18  is open. This configuration does not require the lower guide and does not present any risk of a tripping or unloading hazard in the lower corner of the door opening. When door  18  is open, the loosely hanging loop  14  can be pulled out of the way and secured in a position that is out of the user&#39;s way until it is need to close door  18 . 
     Loop  14  can be formed from a strapping material. In one configuration, the strap material is one to three inches wide and one-sixteenth to a half inch thick. The strap material can be 1.500 inches wide and 0.125 inches thick or 2.000 inches wide and 0.125 inches thick. Loop  14  can be a solid material such as a solid polymer or fiber strap or a woven material. A woven polymer such as woven polypropylene, woven polyester, or woven Nylon can be used. The strapping material can be folded and doubled over itself when grasped by the user so that the user can obtain a good grip on loop  14  to pull down. In other configurations, loop  14  is formed from an endless or spliced belt, a cable, a chain, a rope, or a wire. A stainless steel cable can be used. 
     In any of these configurations, the portion of loop  14  that is pulled down to move door  18  is provided with an indicator to identify that portion of loop  14  to the user. The indicator can be a color, a change in size of loop  14 , a change in material, or a plurality of lugs  40  formed or added to the portion of loop  14  that I to be pulled. In one example, loop  14  defines an outer portion and an inner portion when the door is closed as depicted in  FIG. 9  with the outer portion being disposed to the left of the inner portion in the drawing. Each of the outer and inner portions has an outward-facing surface and a door-facing surface. In this configuration, the user must grasp and pull down on the outer portion of loop to open door  18 . As such, the outward-facing surface of outer portion of loop can include an indicator that informs the user that it is the correct portion of loop  14  to be pulled to open door  18 . When the user opens the door as shown in  FIG. 10 , the surface of the outer portion that was door-facing has rotated around to be the outerward-facing surface of the inner portion. This surface can also be provided with an indicator that tells the user that it is the portion of loop  14  that is pulled down to close door  18 . The indicators can be arrows, a different color, or a logo or trademark. 
       FIG. 17  depicts a configuration wherein a plurality of lugs  40  are disposed along half or about 40 percent of the length of loop  14 . Lugs  40  can be actual lugs that are tied into the material of loop  14 . In other configurations, lugs  40  are items connected to loop  14 . For example, the items that form lugs  40  can be malleable metal slugs that are crimped onto or riveted into loop  14  or polymer slugs with locking teeth that are snap fit onto loop  14 . In other configurations, lugs  40  can be secured to loop  14  with adhesive, welding, fusing, or friction. Lugs  40  are round or tapered on both ends to help them move through guides  12 . When lugs  40  are provided on only a portion of loop  14 , the user can use the lugs to identify which side of the loop to pull on to open or close the door. For example, in  FIG. 9 , lugs  40  would be added to the outer portion of loop  14  which is the half of loop  14  disposed farthest away from door  18 . In this configuration the user grasps the lugs and pulls down to open the door. As door  18  is opened, the lugs are moved to the inner half of loop  14 . In the configurations of mechanism  10  using lugs  40 , guide  12  can be configured to allow lugs  40  to slide over or around guides  12 . For example,  FIGS. 18 and 19  depict exemplary guides  12  that are U-shaped in cross section and are sized to allow lugs  40  to slide through guides. When pulleys are used as guides  12 , each pulley can use a U-shaped guide surface similar to  FIGS. 18 and 19 . Alternatively, a roller guide can define indents or notches that accommodate the movement of the lugs through the roller guide. 
     Loop  14  and/or guides  12  can be enclosed within a housing that surrounds guides and/or loop  14 . Lower guide  12  can be readily removable and replaceable from truck  20  to allow a person unloading the truck to pull mechanism  10  out of the way if needed. A pinned connection between lower guide  12  and truck  20  can be used for this quick connection. 
       FIGS. 25-30  depict mounting brackets  90  that support guide  12 . These brackets use one or two door hinge plates  92  and a U-bolt  94  to define guide  12  over which loop  14  moves. Side plates  96  can be used to support the legs of U-bolt  94  and can be used to contain a rotating sleeve  21  (shown for example in  FIG. 28 ). Sleeve  21  can be nylon. One or both plates  92  can be mounted to the underside of the door frame or to the outer surface of the door frame to mount guide  21 . 
     In  FIGS. 31-36 , loop  14  and one or more guides  12  are disposed in alignment with one of the vertical members  23  of the door frame. Loop  14  is disposed along the length of vertical frame member  23 . As shown in  FIG. 31 , the majority of the length of loop  14  is disposed between the side edges of the vertical frame member  23 . This configuration locates loop  14  laterally outwardly of the door opening when the door is open so that loop  14  does not interfere with workers or equipment entering or exiting the truck. Guide  12  can be disposed at the top of the truck frame or below the upper portion of the door where the lower edge of the door is located when the door is completely open. A single guide  12  can be used at the top of the frame or a pair of guides  12  can be used at the top and bottom of the frame. The pair of guides  12  prevents the loop from being loose when door  18  is open. These can be installed on either side of the door opening. 
     A bracket  25  is used to connect loop  14  to door  18 . Bracket  25  can be a rigid member configured to match the offset between the door  18  and frame  23  as shown in  FIG. 33 . An offset bracket  25  with a pair of right angles can be used. This bracket  25  can be spaced from the door frame  23  or can slide against a portion of the frame. Bracket  25  also can be made from a flexible material such as a short section of the material used to form loop  14 . Bracket  25  can be connected to the inner portion of loop  14  so that the user can pull down on the outer portion of the loop to open the door. When the door is open, the user can down on the inner portion of the loop or pull up on the outer portion of the loop to close the door. 
     In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed. Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is an example and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described. Modifications and alterations of those embodiments will be apparent to one who reads and understands this general description. The present disclosure should be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or equivalents thereof. Throughout the description and claims of this specification the words “comprise” and “include” as well as variations of those words, such as “comprises,” “includes,” “comprising,” and “including” are not intended to exclude additives, components, integers, or steps.