Patent ID: 7168477

Claim:
A lifting apparatus ( 5 ) in combination with a two-panel folding door which can be pivoted about horizontal axes, comprising a two-arm lever ( 10 ) which is pivotably supported about a horizontal pivot axis on a side body part ( 26 ) wherein a longer arm of said two-arm lever ( 12 ) is hinged to a lower panel ( 16 ) of the folding door, and a driver ( 24 ) having one end pivotably connected to the body part ( 26 ) and a second end connected to the lever ( 10 ), wherein the longer lever arm ( 12 ) of the two-arm lever ( 10 ) is hingedly and displaceably connected at a hinge point to the lower panel ( 16 ) and relative movement between the hinge point of the lever ( 10 ) and the lower panel ( 16 ) is damped by a spring force or a friction force.