Clopay Building Products Company, Inc.

Clopay Building Products R&d Company, Inc.

John A. Colston

Jeffrey W. Stone

John A Colston

Jeffrey W Stone

Brian Michael Magill

Alan R Leist

A hinge assembly pivotally couples adjacent panels together in an overhead sectional door. The panels include stiles between each lateral end of the panel to which the hinge assemblies are attached. The hinge assembly includes an upper hinge leaf on an upper panel with a pair of spaced generally parallel flanges which span the juncture between the upper and lower panels. The hinge assembly also includes a lower hinge leaf with a pair of flanges projecting generally parallel to each other. The lower hinge leaf is mounted to one of the stiles of the lower panel and each flange includes a pivot axis hole near a terminal end thereof for alignment with a pivot axis hole in one of the flanges of the upper leaf. The stile includes a pair of spaced, parallel sidewalls and a notch, depression or recess is on each sidewall. The recesses provide a seat for the respective flanges of the hinge leaves and clearance between the sidewall of the stile and any adjacent components. A rivet or similar pivotal connector device is seated within the pivot axis holes on each side of the hinge.

Overhead sectional door, hinge and stile assembly

Door panel

An overhead door and associated mating panels includes a number of hinges to pivotally couple adjacent overhead door panels. Each door panel includes a back metal skin presenting a back face. Each hinge includes a lower hinge leaf a pair of hinge legs projecting generally parallel to each other. The lower hinge leaf is mounted to the lower panel and a backer plate is mounted to the interior face of the back skin of the lower panel and screws or bolts project through the lower hinge leaf, the skin and into the backer plate. Each hinge leg on the lower hinge leaf includes a hinge pin hole near a terminal end thereof for alignment with the hinge pin holes in an upper hinge leaf. The lower hinge leaf has a tongue projecting from an upper edge of the mounting base. The tongue is formed into a hook-shaped arcuate projection and aids in the alignment, support and positioning of a hinge pin inserted through the aligned hinge pin holes in the upper and lower hinge leaves. A depression or pocket is provided in the back skin of the lower panel for each hinge assembly. The pocket provides a recess for the terminal ends of the hinge legs of the upper and lower hinge leaves. The shape or contour of the wells of the pocket provides a location or alignment benefit to the positioning of the lower hinge leaf.

Overhead sectional door, hinge and associated method

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Mason, OH, United States of America

John A Colston