Patent ID: 8919415

Claim:
An apparatus for opening and closing a portal in a structure, comprising: a) a pair of spaced apart opposing lateral margins defining opposing sides of the portal; b) a flexible curtain having elongated side portions, a first end and a second end each having a dimension commensurate with the separation of said lateral margins, with said first end of said curtain being fixedly attached adjacent the portal along a first end thereof, said second end of said curtain folded back on itself to define a pocket opening towards the first end of the portal; c) an elongated rod captured within said pocket; d) a curtain driving mechanism operably connected to said second end of said curtain for varying the height of said pocket; and e) a first closure member attached to said lateral margins and a second closure member attached to said side portions of said curtain, wherein said first closure member is operable to reversibly attach to said second closure member and thereby reversibly seal said curtain to said lateral margins of the portal; f) wherein said elongated rod comprises an inner flexible bar surrounded by an outer soft foam material that is securely attached to said flexible bar, wherein said flexible bar is an extruded fiberglass bar and said foam material is a closed cell foam, whereby said elongated rod is operable to provide uniform weight across the width of said curtain to keep said curtain taut and unwrinkled and thereby promote proper alignment of said first closure member with said second closure member, whereby said elongated rod is flexible to bend in response to impact force and is resilient to return to its original position after the impact force is removed, whereby said elongated rod is lifted within said pocket during operation of said curtain driving mechanism.