Hinged bottom roller assembly and counterbalance mechanism for overhead door

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10794100-B2
Application number	US-201615048245-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 19, 2016
Priority date	Nov 22, 2010
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

A counterbalance assembly for use with an overhead door assembly of a trailer, for example, includes a first counterbalance mechanism having a first adjustment mechanism for adjusting a tension force of the first counterbalance mechanism and a second counterbalance mechanism having a second adjustment mechanism for adjusting a tension force of the second counterbalance mechanism. The first and second counterbalance mechanisms are spaced-apart from each other.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A counterbalance assembly for use with an overhead door assembly positioned at a rear end of a trailer, the trailer including a rear opening and an overhead door defining a generally vertical plane when in a closed position, comprising:
a support shaft;
a first counterbalance mechanism including a first cable drum rotatably supported on the support shaft, a first winding cone coupled to the first cable drum, a first stationary cone, and a first tension spring secured to the first winding cone and the first stationary cone, and a first cable coupled to the first cable drum at one end and coupled to a rear surface of the overhead door at the other end;
a second counterbalance mechanism including a second cable drum rotatably supported on the support shaft, a second winding cone coupled to the second cable drum, a second stationary cone, and a second tension spring secured to the second winding cone and the second stationary cone, and a second cable coupled to the second cable drum at one end and coupled to a rear surface of the overhead door at the other end;
an adjustment mechanism coupled to and positioned between the first and second counterbalance mechanisms for adjusting a tension force in each of the first and second counterbalance mechanisms; and
a housing positioned rearward of the vertical plane, wherein the support shaft, the first counterbalance mechanism, the second counterbalance mechanism, and the adjustment mechanism are positioned within the housing and entirely rearward of the vertical plane, the housing being coupled to a roof of the trailer and having an interior that is accessible from an exterior of the trailer, and
wherein the first and second cables each extend forwardly on the trailer from the top of the first and second cable drums to the overhead door.

2. The counterbalance assembly of claim 1 , wherein the adjustment mechanism is coupled directly to a rearmost one of a plurality of vertical walls.

3. The counterbalance assembly of claim 2 , wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a worm gear defining a vertical, longitudinal axis that is parallel to the rearmost one of the vertical walls of the housing.

4. The counterbalance assembly of claim 3 , wherein the longitudinal axis of the worm gear is parallel to a height of the adjustment mechanism, and wherein the height of the adjustment mechanism is substantially similar to a height of the housing.

5. The counterbalance assembly of claim 1 , wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a pinion having a pinion aperture including a plurality of keyways defined therein.

6. The counterbalance assembly of claim 5 , wherein the adjustment mechanism further includes a spine body having (i) a spine body aperture defining a longitudinal axis and (ii) an outer surface including a plurality of keys engaged with the plurality of keyways of the pinon, wherein the spine body is received through the pinion aperture and the counterbalance assembly includes a shaft received through the spine body aperture.

7. The counterbalance assembly of claim 6 , wherein rotation of the pinion causes rotation of the spine body.

8. The counterbalance assembly of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of keys includes at least four keys, and the plurality of keyways includes at least four keyways.

9. The counterbalance assembly of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of keys includes at least twenty keys, and the plurality of keyways includes at least twenty keyways.

10. The counterbalance assembly of claim 1 , wherein the overhead door includes a bottom roller assembly having an upper hinge plate coupled to a bottom panel of the overhead door and a hinge joint pivotably coupling the upper hinge plate to a lower hinge plate, allowing movement relative to each other about a pivot axis such that when the overhead door is in a horizontal open position, the bottom panel of the overhead door is positioned forward of the housing and above the rear opening.

11. The counterbalance assembly of claim 1 , wherein the shaft is a single stationary shaft.

12. The counterbalance assembly of claim 1 , wherein the rear opening has a height of at least 110 inches and the housing has a height of approximately three and a half inches.

13. The counterbalance assembly of claim 1 and further comprising a first guide roller configured to guide the first cable as the first cable exits the housing; and a second guide roller configured to guide the second cable as the second cable exits the housing.

14. A counterbalance assembly for use with an overhead door assembly positioned at a rear end of a trader, the overhead door assembly including an overhead door defining a generally vertical plane when in a closed position, comprising:
a first counterbalance mechanism and a second counterbalance mechanism, each including a respective cable drum;
one stationary support shaft coupled to the first and second counterbalance mechanisms; and
an adjustment mechanism coupled to the first and second counterbalance mechanisms for adjusting a tension force in each of the first and second counterbalance mechanisms; and
a housing having a first vertical rear wall, a horizontal bottom wall coupled to and generally perpendicular to the rear wall, and a second vertical rear wall parallel to and spaced-apart from the first vertical wall, wherein the stationary support shaft, the adjustment mechanism, and the first and second counterbalance mechanisms are positioned within the housing between the first vertical rear wall and the second vertical rear wall,
wherein the housing is positioned within the trader so that a bottom surface of the overhead door faces the first vertical rear wall and the second vertical rear wall when in an open position, and wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a vertically positioned worm gear, the adjustment mechanism is positioned between the first and second counterbalance mechanisms, and is positioned entirely rearward of the vertical plane of the overhead door.

15. The counterbalance assembly of claim 14 , wherein the first and second vertical walls extend the entire height of the housing.

16. The counterbalance assembly of claim 14 , wherein the first and second counterbalance mechanisms each include the respective cable drum rotatably supported on the support shaft, a winding cone coupled to the cable drum, a stationary cone, and a tension spring secured to the winding cone and the stationary cone.

17. The counterbalance assembly of claim 16 , wherein the stationary cone of each of the first and second counterbalance mechanisms is secured to the adjustment mechanism and rotatable relative to the stationary support shaft to adjust the tension force of the respective tension spring.

18. The counterbalance assembly of claim 2 , wherein the overhead door is positioned above the bottom wall of the housing when in a horizontal open position.

19. The counterbalance assembly of claim 14 , wherein the bottom wall of the housing extends along an entire cross sectional width of both the first and second counterbalance mechanisms.

20. The counterbalance assembly of claim 14 , wherein the adjustment mechanism is coupled directly to the rear wall of the housing.

Assignees

• Wabash National Lp

Inventors

• Ehrlich Rodney P

Classifications

• B60J5/14 Primary

  of roller-blind type {made of rigid elements} · CPC title

• E05D13/1261

  specially adapted for overhead wings (E05D13/1269 takes precedence) · CPC title

• E05D15/24

  consisting of parts connected at their edges · CPC title

• E05D15/242

  Hinge connections between the parts · CPC title

• E05D13/1207 Primary

  with tension springs · CPC title