US2686579A - Frameless garage door - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 17, 1954 R. G. JOHANNSEN FRAMELESS GARAGE DOOR Filed March a, 1950 Patented Aug. 17, 1954 UNITED STATES EATENT OFFICE :FRAMELESS GARAGE DOOR Russel G. Johannsen, Detroit, Mich.. assignor, by mesne assignments, to Johannsen & Taylor, Inc., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application March 8, 1950, Serial No. 148,330

Claims. 1

This invention relates to garage doors, and particularly toa garage door of the frameless type.

Garage doors heretofore have been made of panels disposed either horizontally or vertically, attached to a separately constructed rectangular frame to provide the necessary strength and rigidity thereto.

The presentinvention contemplates the formation of the panels for the door in a manner to incorporate the strength of a frame therewith when the panels are secured together. In the home size doors, three panels are employed, a top and bottom panel which are identical, and a central panel which is similar to the top and bottom panels but which has like mating edges. Each of the three panels has V grooves formed therein to simulate narrow panels and half V grooves are formed in the mating edges of the three panels so thatsimilar V grooves are formed at the junction of the panels, the joints of which are substantially invisible after assembly. .A channe element is applied. .to each edge of the door and angularly disposedbracesconnect two corner gusset plates with a central gusset plate at the top and bcttom'edges of thedoor. Sufficient rigidity and strength are provided by this construction which eliminates theframe hereto provided.

Accordingly,-the-main objects of the invention are: to provide a irameless type of garage door; to provide a garage door made of three panels having like mating edges at the abutting portions and top and bottom edges which are formed at right angles; to form a joint between a plurality of panels on a door by providing at the mating edges half V grooves which form complete v grooves similar to the V grooves provided parallel thereto inwardly from the panel edges; to reinforce the side edges of a door made up of plurality of horizontally disposed panels and vertically disposed channel elements which encompass the side edges and are welded thereto, and, in general, to provide a frameless type of door which is simple in construction and economical of manufacture.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will he specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of the invention, to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of the inside surface of a irameless door embodying features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a broken, enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 2-2 thereof, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 3-3 thereof.

The door of the present invention may be made of any number of panels which may be disposed horizontally or vertically when joined together. The illustrated door, by way of example, is one used upon home garages and is made of three panels, a top panel Iii, a central panel H, and a bottom panel I2. The top and bottom panels l0 and 52 are of identical construction, having a square corner it along one edge providing an edge flange i l which is reversely bent at E5 and further reversely bent at It to provide strength at the top and bottom edges of the door. The inner edges of the panels it and iii are bent atan angle to provide a web I! and further bent to provide a vertical web 58 and bent at right angles to provide a horizontal flange l9 which is reversely bent at 2! and further reversely bent inwardly at 22 to provide strength to the edge of the'panel. The central panel H is similar to panels l0 and [2 with the exception that both of the horizontal edges thereof are providedwith the angular web ii, the vertical flange IS, the horizontal flange l9 and the reversely bent flanges 2| and 22. The anuguar flange i'! and the vertical flange l8 form one-half of a V groove. The central panel is disposed between the two panels l0 and'IZ and the horizontal flanged portions is are then spot-welded together, as at 23, throughout the horizontal length thereof. The twohalf V grooves form a V groove 24 which extends entirely across the face of the door. These grooves 24 thus formed are similar to additional V grooves 2a which are provided in the face of the panels It, I l and i2 equidistant apart from each other and from the edges of the panels. With this construction, the two joints between the three panels are entirely hidden from view as all of the grooves 24 are similar in construction, breaking up the large face of the door and providing strength therefor.

Gusset plates 25 are secured to each lower corner of the door upon the flange portion it of the panels I2 and a gusset plate 26 is secured to the flange portion Iii centrally of the top panel Hi. Angular-1y disposed channel braces 27 are slotted at 28, as illustrated in Fig. 2, to receive the flange portions 25 at the joints between the panels ill, I l and 52, so that the top flanges 29 may rest thereon and be spot-welded thereto at 3!. The bottom flange 32 of the braces 27 rests upon the base of the V grooves 26% and is spot-welded thereto, as

illustrated at 33 in Fig. 2. The top flanges 29 extend under the gusset plates 25 and 26 and are spot-welded thereto at 34. Channel elements 35 are provided at each side of the assembled panels I0, II and I2, extending thereover to rest upon the outer face of the panels and upon the flange portions 2| thereof to which they are spot-welded. The channels also extend over the gusset plates 25 at the bottom and are spot-welded thereto.

The spacing of the flange portion [5 of the panels I 0 and I2 may be slightly less than the spacing of the flanges 2! at the mating edges of the panels, from the front face of the panels so that the channel will extend over the gusset plate 25. However, sufficient clearance may be provided in the width of the channel to permit the flange to extend over the gusset plate and be deflected to engage the flange portions 21 along the mating edges of the panels and to be welded thereto. A plate 36 may be applied to the flange 2| of the panels ll and i2 midway between the side edges of the door for supporting the lock and hardware which latches the door at each side edge, not herein illustrated in detail.

The door thus constructed is exceedingly light in weight, extremely rigid and economical of construction in view of the elimination of the separate frame heretofore employed and in using like top and bottom panels and I2. Advantage is also provided in having a central panel which is similar to the top and bottom panels, the only difference being that both of the horizontal edges of the panel are of like construction. identical to the mating edge of the top and bottom panels. The assembly of the door is exceedingly simple as it only requires a simple fixture for receiving the three panels for spot-welding along the mating edges and for applying the angular braces 2'! and the gusset plates 25 and 26 thereto, after which the side channel members 35 are applied and secured in position along with the plate 36. The door thus constructed is pleasing in appearance in view of the break in the face thereof by the V grooves 24 which are similar to the resulting grooves 24 at the joint between the panels, which thereby eliminates the unsightly appearance of a joint across the face of the panels. The V grooves also provide strength to the face of the panels.

What is claimed is:

1. A garage door comprising a plurality of substantially like panels juxtaposed in co-planar relationship, each of said panels having parallel rearwardly extending flanges at the upper and lower edges thereof, said rearwardly extending flanges terminating in edge flanges parallel to said panels, means joining adjacent rearwardly extending flanges, said joined rearwardly extending flanges having joined parallel planar portions perpendicular to said panels and having said parallel planar portions attached to said panels by means of angularly disposed flange portions extending rearwardly from said panels at obtuse angles thereto, said contiguous angularly disposed portions defining V-grooves therebetween, and side frame members secured along the entire side edges of the juxtaposed panels perpendicular to said flanges, said side frame members and the outermost rearwardly disposed flanges and edge flanges completing the frame for said door.

2. A garage door as set out in claim 1 wherein each panel contains additional V-grooves spaced equidistant from each other and from the edges of the panel, said grooves being parallel to the edges of the panel.

3. A garage door as set out in claim 1 wherein said side frame members are of channel shape, the web of such channel being of sufficient width to receive the edge flanges and faces of said panels.

4. A garage door as set out in claim 1 wherein cross brace means is provided for said panels.

5. A garage door as set out in claim 1 wherein said panels are three in number.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,240,634 Williams Sept. 18, 1917 1,266,301 Murphy May 14:, 1918 1,410,539 Wine Mar. 21, 1922 1,885,145 Shafer Nov. 1, 1932 1,938,634 McWilliams Dec. 12, 1933 2,045,291 Busse June 23, 1936 2,200,240 Gilpin May 14, 1940 2,226,681 Willoughby Dec. 31, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 17,830 Great Britain Sept. 19, 1894 501,158 Great Britain Feb. 22, 1939

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