Abstract: A vertically operating door and its drive system can be configured to push a door panel along a track to various overhead storage configurations including vertical, horizontal, inclined and coiled. Semi-flexible drive strips extend continuously along lateral edges of the curtain. The system includes a drive gear that engages a series of projections on at least one drive strip so that the gear can push the door between its open and closed positions. To protect the door from being damaged by collisions, the track can include a breakaway feature that allows at least a portion of the panel with its drive strip to separate from the track without permanent distortion. The drive strip and panel remain together as they break away from the track. The threshold of the breakaway force can be changed by selecting a retention strip from a plurality of interchangeable strips having different degrees of flexibility.

Abstract: A vertically operating door and its drive system can be configured to push a door panel along a track to various overhead storage configurations including vertical, horizontal, inclined and coiled. Semi-flexible drive strips extend continuously along lateral edges of the curtain. The system includes a drive gear that engages a series of projections on at least one drive strip so that the gear can push the door between its open and closed positions. To protect the door from being damaged by collisions, the track can include a breakaway feature that allows at least a portion of the panel with its drive strip to separate from the track without permanent distortion. The drive strip and panel remain together as they break away from the track. The threshold of the breakaway force can be changed by selecting a retention strip from a plurality of interchangeable strips having different degrees of flexibility.

Abstract: An example of a door with a pliable curtain includes various washdown features that make the door particularly suitable for use in food and drug related environments that demand cleanliness. To prevent product contamination, such as bacteria and other microorganisms, some examples of the door include a curtain storage track with a spiral groove machined in a unitary block of plastic, a ventilated side frame with a removable curtain guide track and a removable seal, and various curtain seams that not only join multiple sheets of the curtain together but also promote and strategically direct liquid runoff to avoid creating water-holding surfaces and to prevent liquid from dripping on products passing through the doorway.

Abstract: A vertically operating door and its drive system can be configured to push a door panel along a track to various overhead storage configurations including vertical, horizontal, inclined and coiled. Semi-flexible drive strips extend continuously along lateral edges of the curtain. The system includes a drive gear that engages a series of projections on at least one drive strip so that the gear can push the door between its open and closed positions. To protect the door from being damaged by collisions, the track can include a breakaway feature that allows at least a portion of the panel with its drive strip to separate from the track without permanent distortion. The drive strip and panel remain together as they break away from the track. The threshold of the breakaway force can be changed by selecting a retention strip from a plurality of interchangeable strips having different degrees of flexibility.

Abstract: A vertically operating door and its drive system can be configured to push a door panel along a track to various overhead storage configurations including vertical, horizontal, inclined and coiled. Semi-flexible drive strips extend continuously along lateral edges of the curtain. The system includes a drive gear that engages a series of projections on at least one drive strip so that the gear can push the door between its open and closed positions. To protect the door from being damaged by collisions, the track can include a breakaway feature that allows at least a portion of the panel with its drive strip to separate from the track without permanent distortion. The drive strip and panel remain together as they break away from the track. The threshold of the breakaway force can be changed by selecting a retention strip from a plurality of interchangeable strips having different degrees of flexibility.

Abstract: A vertically operating door and its drive system can be configured to push a door panel along a track to various overhead storage configurations including vertical, horizontal, inclined and coiled. Semi-flexible drive strips extend continuously along lateral edges of the curtain. The system includes a drive gear that engages a series of projections on at least one drive strip so that the gear can push the door between its open and closed positions. To protect the door from being damaged by collisions, the track can include a breakaway feature that allows at least a portion of the panel with its drive strip to separate from the track without permanent distortion. The drive strip and panel remain together as they break away from the track. The threshold of the breakaway force can be changed by selecting a retention strip from a plurality of interchangeable strips having different degrees of flexibility.

Abstract: An example of a door with a pliable curtain includes various washdown features that make the door particularly suitable for use in food and drug related environments that demand cleanliness. To prevent product contamination, such as bacteria and other microorganisms, some examples of the door include a curtain storage track with a spiral groove machined in a unitary block of plastic, a ventilated side frame with a removable curtain guide track and a removable seal, and various curtain seams that not only join multiple sheets of the curtain together but also promote and strategically direct liquid runoff to avoid creating water-holding surfaces and to prevent liquid from dripping on products passing through the doorway.

Abstract: An example of a door curtain having pieces comprised of different thermoplastic materials includes a weld medium that facilitates the welding of two thermoplastics that are otherwise not readily welded together. In some examples, the weld medium comprises two outer layers that are joined to each other, wherein one layer is of the same polymer as one of the curtain pieces, and the other opposite layer is made of the same polymeric material as that of the other curtain piece. The weld medium is sandwiched between the two curtain pieces such that matching materials of the curtain and weld medium face each other. The two curtain pieces, with the weld medium between the two, are then thermally or ultrasonically welded together. The weld medium can be made by coating a fabric sheet with the two different plastic layers bonded to opposite sides of the fabric sheet.

Abstract: A horizontally sliding door includes a resilient retention system that helps hold a door panel tightly against its seals when the door is closed, and resiliently releases the door panel when an external force displaces the panel beyond its normal path of travel. If the door panel is displaced off its normal path, the resilience of the retention system or simply opening and closing the door automatically returns the panel back to normal operation. The resilient retention system can be installed off the floor, so the system avoids creating a tripping hazard and avoids being damaged by nearby vehicles.

Abstract: A vertically operating door and its drive system can be configured to push a door panel along a track to various overhead storage configurations including vertical, horizontal, inclined and coiled. Semi-flexible drive strips extend continuously along lateral edges of the curtain. The system includes a drive gear that engages a series of projections on at least one drive strip so that the gear can push the door between its open and closed positions. To protect the door from being damaged by collisions, the track can include a breakaway feature that allows at least a portion of the panel with its drive strip to separate from the track without permanent distortion. The drive strip and panel remain together as they break away from the track. The threshold of the breakaway force can be changed by selecting a retention strip from a plurality of interchangeable strips having different degrees of flexibility.

Abstract: An example of an inflatable seal for a door includes a bi-directional airflow pattern of frost-inhibiting heated air. The bi-directional flow pattern enables the seal's discharge opening and supply air blower to both be located well above the floor and preferably above the doorway. If the discharge opening is near the suction inlet of the blower, such an arrangement makes it possible to recover previously heated air by returning some of the warm air back to the blower. In some examples, the seal includes a supply air conduit and a return air conduit with one disposed within the other. The internal conduit may include a relatively stiff elbow to prevent that conduit from becoming kinked near an upper corner of the door.

Abstract: A fabric power door with a vertical or side-winding curtain includes window comprised of a transparent sheet that is attached to the curtain by way of a flexible frame. The transparent sheet is appreciably smaller than the window opening in the curtain to create a strain-relieving gap between the sheet and the curtain. The flexible frame extends across the gap and overlaps both the curtain and the transparent sheet. As the door opens and closes, the flexible frame protects the transparent sheet from stresses from the flexing movement of the curtain.

Abstract: A vertically operating door includes a flexible panel comprising two pliable sheets of material with a layer of thermal insulation between the two. The door includes means for preventing or relieving undesirable air pressure conditions inside the panel. In some cases, a hose from a suction inlet of a blower extends into the space between the two sheets so that when the door is closed with the bottom of the panel resting upon the floor, the blower draws out excess air that happens to leak into the hollow interior of the panel. In other cases, air passageways are created to release or redistribute the excess air inside the panel. The door includes an inflatable seal that helps prevent frost from forming on the door panel's vertical guide tracks, thus the door is particularly suited for refrigerated cold storage rooms.

Abstract: A vertically operating door and its drive system can be configured to push a door panel along a track to various overhead storage configurations including vertical, horizontal, inclined and coiled. Semi-flexible drive strips extend continuously along lateral edges of the curtain. The system includes a drive gear that engages a series of projections on at least one drive strip so that the gear can push the door between its open and closed positions. To protect the door from being damaged by collisions, the track can include a breakaway feature that allows at least a portion of the panel with its drive strip to separate from the track without permanent distortion. The drive strip and panel remain together as they break away from the track. The threshold of the breakaway force can be changed by selecting a retention strip from a plurality of interchangeable strips having different degrees of flexibility.

Abstract: A vertically operating door and its drive system can be configured to push a door panel along a track to various overhead storage configurations including vertical, horizontal. inclined and coiled. Semi-flexible drive strips extend continuously along lateral edges of the curtain. The system includes a drive gear that engages a series of projections on at least one drive strip so that the gear can push the door between its open and closed positions. To protect the door from being damaged by collisions, the track can include a breakaway feature that allows at least a portion of the panel with its drive strip to separate from the track without permanent distortion. The drive strip and panel remain together as they break away from the track. The threshold of the breakaway force can be changed by selecting a retention strip from a plurality of interchangeable strips having different degrees of flexibility.

Abstract: An impact sensing system for a powered roll-up door combines an electrical switch and a breakaway coupling. To avoid damage or injury resulting from the door's roll-up curtain accidentally closing upon an obstacle or something striking the curtain, the breakaway coupling responds to such a collision by breaking away, which releases a lower portion of the curtain from between its two vertical guide tracks. Each breakaway coupling includes a set of electrical contacts that make or break in response to the coupling breaking away. When the curtain's lower portion becomes effectively derailed from its guide track, the electrical contacts disable continued operation of the door to prevent the door's drive motor from jamming the curtain. In some embodiments, the breakaway coupling is releasably held together by way of magnetic attraction between two coupling segments, with one electrical contact on each segment to comprise one set of functional contacts.

Abstract: A cable tensioner for an industrial door helps keep a cable neatly wrapped on its take-up drum. In some embodiments, the tensioner functions in a first mode during normal door operation, and operates in a second mode when the tension in the cable decreases to a predetermined low level. When operating in the second mode, the tensioner is able to take up slack in a cable that supports a door member, such as a door panel or a deadweight that counteracts the door panel's weight. The tensioner includes a shock absorber that resists a reaction force pulling on the tensioner when the tensioner is in the second mode. The tensioner may be adapted for use on various doors including, but not limited to, sectional doors, roll-up doors, high-lift doors, horizontally storing doors, vertically storing doors, and various combinations thereof.

Abstract: A resilient, insulated door panel for a sliding door includes a resilient core protected by a compliant outer covering with a seal disposed about the perimeter of the panel. The panel has sufficient resilience to recover from an impact that temporarily deforms it, yet has sufficient rigidity to transmit a compressive force needed for effectively setting the seals. Much of the core is filled with air to not only provide effective insulation and resilience, but to also provide an extremely lightweight door panel that can be operated to travel rapidly along an overhead track. Some embodiments include relatively rigid backup plates that provide a solid foundation to which the perimeter seals can be attached. The backup plates are segmented so as not to completely restrict the flexibility of the door panel.

Abstract: An impact sensing system for a powered roll-up door combines an electrical switch and a breakaway coupling. To avoid damage or injury resulting from the door's roll-up curtain accidentally closing upon an obstacle or something striking the curtain, the breakaway coupling responds to such a collision by breaking away, which releases a lower portion of the curtain from between its two vertical guide tracks. Each breakaway coupling includes a set of electrical contacts that make or break in response to the coupling breaking away. When the curtain's lower portion becomes effectively derailed from its guide track, the electrical contacts disable continued operation of the door to prevent the door's drive motor from jamming the curtain. In some embodiments, the breakaway coupling is releasably held together by way of magnetic attraction between two coupling segments, with one electrical contact on each segment to comprise one set of functional contacts.

Abstract: A cable tensioner for an industrial door helps keep a cable neatly wrapped on its take-up drum. In some embodiments, the tensioner functions in a first mode during normal door operation, and operates in a second mode when the tension in the cable decreases to a predetermined low level. When operating in the second mode, the tensioner is able to take up slack in a cable that supports a door member, such as a door panel or a deadweight that counteracts the door panel's weight. The tensioner includes a shock absorber that resists a reaction force pulling on the tensioner when the tensioner is in the second mode. The tensioner may be adapted for use on various doors including, but not limited to, sectional doors, roll-up doors, high-lift doors, horizontally storing doors, vertically storing doors, and various combinations thereof.