Patent ID: 7172010

Claim:
A pinch resistant hinge for an upward acting sectional door having a plurality of door panels in abutting relation with one another along respective horizontal joints, each said door panel having an interior plane and an exterior plane, each said joint being formed between an upper edge of a lower one of said door panels and a lower edge of an upper one of said door panels, said lower edge of the upper door panel including an elongated foot extending downwardly therefrom proximate the exterior plane of said upper door panel, said hinge comprising: a) a first hinge member having a first member mounting flange securable to the upper door panel on the interior plane thereof and a cantilever extending outwardly from said first member mounting flange, said cantilever including a distal end; b) a second hinge member having a second member mounting flange securable to the lower door panel on interior plane thereof; c) a first link pivotally connected to said cantilever at a first pivot point proximate said distal end thereof and pivotally connected to said second hinge member at a second pivot point; d) a second link pivotally connected to said cantilever at a third pivot point inward from said distal end thereof and pivotally connected to said second hinge member at a fourth pivot point; e) said first and second links being non-parallel with one another and remaining non-parallel throughout their range of motion; f) said hinge having a hinge range of motion between a first position in which said first and second member mounting flanges are positioned in substantially coplanar relation and a second position in which said first and second member mounting flanges are positioned in an obtuse angular relation; g) the locations of said pivot points and the lengths of said first and second links being selected to keep the foot on the lower edge of the upper door panel within a predetermined distance from the upper edge of the lower door panel throughout the hinge range of motion of the hinge when said mounting flanges are secured to the respective door panels; and h) said second link engaging said second member mounting flange to form a first limit stop at said first position of said hinge range of motion and said first link engaging said second member mounting flange to form a second limit stop at said second position of said hinge range of motion.