Abstract
An apparatus and method for forming new and novel portions of a garage door panel. This includes forming at least one decoration into a steel plate section and bonding to it a unique foam core where a mirror image decoration is routed into the foam core to exactly match the decoration. In addition, an aluminum diamond plate sheet with a front surface and a rear surface is bonded to the rear of the foam core. The aluminum diamond plate sheet also includes a sheet of steel affixed to its rear surface which rear surface is bonded to the foam core so that magnetic decorations can be attached to the front of the aluminum diamond plate sheet.
Claims
1. A portion of a garage door panel comprising: (a) a pre-formed metal section having a front surface and a rear surface, a decoration formed into and protruding outwardly from the front surface, the rear surface including an indentation into the rear surface conforming in shape to the decoration protruding outwardly from the front surface, the pre-formed metal section including a rear cavity having a length, width and depth bounded by said rear surface and its indentation, an upper longitudinal wall, a lower longitudinal wall, a left end and a right end; (b) an expanded polystyrene core of 1.5 to 2.0 pound foam having a front surface including a routed decoration mirror matching said indentation in said rear surface of said preformed metal section, the expanded polystyrene core of 1.5 to 2.0 pound foam having a length, width and depth to fit into said cavity, and having a flat back surface; (c) an aluminum diamond plate sheet having a front surface with a multiplicity of protrusions extending forwardly from the front surface, the aluminum diamond plate sheet having and a rear surface with a multiplicity of indentations matching said protrusions in said front surface; (d) a sheet of steel retained against the rear surface of said aluminum diamond plate sheet; (e) said aluminum diamond plate sheet having a length and width to conform to the length and width of said rear cavity of said pre-formed metal sheet; and (f) the front surface of said expanded polystyrene core of 1.5 to 2.0 pound foam bonded to said rear surface of said pre-formed metal section including said routed decoration bonded into said indentation in said rear surface, and the rear surface of said aluminum diamond plate sheet bonded to said flat back surface of said expanded polystyrene core of 1.5 to 2.0 pound foam.
2. The portion of a garage door panel in accordance with claim 1, further comprising: said front surface of said expanded polystyrene core of 1.5 to 2.0 pound foam bonded to said rear surface of said pre-formed metal section by a bonding compound comprising a combination of isocyanate and polyol resin and said routed decoration is also bonded into said indentation in said rear surface by the bonding compound comprising a combination of isocyanate and polyol resin.
3. The portion of the garage door panel in accordance with claim 1, further comprising: said rear surface of said aluminum diamond plate sheet bonded to said flat back surface of said expanded polystyrene core of 1.5 to 2.0 pound foam by a bonding compound comprising a combination of isocyanate and polyol resin.
4. The portion of the garage door panel in accordance with claim 1, further comprising: said sheet of steel is six inches wide and magnetic decorations retained against the front surface of said aluminum diamond plate sheet by magnetic attraction to said sheet of steel.
5. A portion of a garage door panel comprising: (a) a pre-formed metal section having a front surface and a rear surface, at least one decoration formed into and protruding outwardly from the front surface, the rear surface including at least one indentation into the rear surface conforming in shape to the at least one decoration protruding outwardly from the front surface, the pre-formed metal section including a rear cavity having a length, width and depth bounded by said rear surface and its at least one indentation, an upper longitudinal wall, a lower longitudinal wall, a left end and a right end; (b) an expanded polystyrene core made of foam having a front surface including at least one routed decoration mirror matching said at least one indentation in said rear surface of said preformed metal section, the expanded polystyrene core made of foam having a length, width and depth to fit into said cavity, and having a back surface; (c) an aluminum diamond plate sheet having a front surface with a multiplicity of protrusions extending forwardly from the front surface, the aluminum diamond plate sheet having and a rear surface with a multiplicity of indentations matching said protrusions in said front surface; (d) said aluminum diamond plate sheet having a length and width to conform to the length and width of said rear cavity of said pre-formed metal sheet; (e) the front surface of said expanded polystyrene core made of foam bonded to said rear surface of said pre-formed metal section including said at least one routed decoration bonded into said at least one indentation in said rear surface, and the rear surface of said aluminum diamond plate sheet bonded to said back surface of said expanded polystyrene core made of foam; and (f) a six inch wide sheet of steel retained against said rear surface of said aluminum diamond plate sheet.
6. The portion of the garage door panel in accordance with claim 5, further comprising: said front surface of said expanded polystyrene core made of foam bonded to said rear surface of said pre-formed metal section by a bonding compound comprising a combination of isocyanate and polyol resin and said at least one routed decoration is also bonded into said at least one indentation in said rear surface by the bonding compound comprising a combination of isocyanate and polyol resin.
7. The portion of the garage door panel in accordance with claim 5, further comprising: said rear surface of said aluminum diamond plate sheet bonded to said back surface of said expanded polystyrene core of 1.5 to 2.0 pound foam by a bonding compound comprising a combination of isocyanate and polyol resin.
8. The portion of the garage door panel in accordance with claim 5, further comprising: magnetic decorations retained against the front surface of said aluminum diamond plate sheet by magnetic attraction to said six inch wide sheet of steel.
9. A method of forming a portion of a garage door panel comprising: (a) using a steel front plate with a front surface and a rear surface, forming at least one decoration indented into said rear surface with the same at least one decoration aligned with the at least one decoration indentation and protruding into and forwardly from the front surface of the steel front plate; (b) using an expanded polystyrene foam core with a front surface and a rear surface and routing out at least one decoration in the front surface which protrudes forwardly from the front surface and is aligned with and mirror matches the at least one decoration indentation formed into said rear surface of the steel front plate; (c) binding the front surface of the polystyrene foam core to the rear surface of the steel front plate and also bonding the at least one decoration into the at least one decoration indentation formed into said rear surface of the steel front plate; and (d) using an aluminum diamond plate sheet having a front surface and a rear surface with a sheet of steel retained against the e surface and bonding the rear surface and the sheet of steel to a rear surface of said polystyrene foam core.
10. A method of forming a portion of a garage door panel in accordance with claim 9, further comprising: using an aluminum diamond plate sheet having a front surface and a rear surface and bonding the rear surface to a rear surface if said polystyrene foam core.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) Referring particularly to the drawings for the purpose of illustration only and not limitation, there is illustrated:
(2) FIG. 1 is a front and right side perspective view of a garage door panel with a decorative design stamped into the panel as viewed from the front of the panel;
(3) FIG. 2 is a rear and left side perspective view of a garage door panel with the panel rotated one-hundred and eighty degrees in the horizontal direction, with a decorative design stamped into the panel as viewed from the rear of the panel;
(4) FIG. 3 is a front and left side perspective view of the EPS foam core with a mirror matching custom routing out each backing piece in the front surface of the EPS foam core to fit the stamped embossed design in the steel front panel as illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2;
(5) FIG. 4 is a rear and right side perspective view of the flat back surface of the EPS foam core;
(6) FIG. 5 is an interior perspective view of the formed metal garage door panel with a decoration stamped into the panel as disclosed in FIG. 2, with spray nozzles above the interior wall spraying compound onto the rear surface of the formed metal garage door panel;
(7) FIG. 6 is a rear and right side perspective view of the garage door panel with the EPS foam core inserted into the rear cavity and the front surface of the EPS foam core bonded to the rear surface of the garage door panel, also illustrating adhesive applied to the rear surface of the EPS foam core;
(8) FIG. 7 is a front and side perspective view of a sheet of aluminum diamond plate which is used as the backing sheet for the garage door panel;
(9) FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the sheet of aluminum diamond plate and a sheet of steel retained against the rear surface;
(10) FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the sheet of aluminum diamond with a the sheet of steel and adhesive such as isocyanate and polyol resin applied to the rear surface;
(11) FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the aluminum diamond plate sheet retained against the completed garage door panel and left and right stiles at each respective end;
(12) FIG. 11 is a rear perspective view of a left stile;
(13) FIG. 12 is a rear perspective view of a right stile;
(14) FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a middle stile;
(15) FIG. 14 is a rear perspective view of a completed garage door panel; and
(16) FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a completed garage door.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
(17) Although specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, it should be understood that such embodiments are by way of example only and merely illustrative of but a small number of the many possible specific embodiments which can represent applications of the principles of the present invention. Various changes and modifications obvious to one skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and contemplation of the present invention as further defined in the appended claims.
(18) Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a front and right side perspective view of a garage door panel with a decorative design stamped into the panel as viewed from the front of the panel. Referring to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a rear and left side perspective view of a garage door panel with the panel rotated one hundred and eighty degrees in the horizontal direction, with a decorative design stamped into the panel as viewed from the rear of the panel.
(19) Referring to FIG. 1, the garage door panel section 10 includes a metal plate with a flat front surface 20 into which is formed a decoration 18 which is preferably stamped into front surface 20 from a rear surface 70 (See FIG. 2). For illustration and by way of example, the stamped design 18 includes an exterior generally rectangular portion 18A and an interior generally rectangular portion 18B which are centered on panel 10. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the protrusions 18A and 18B protrude outwardly from the front surface 20. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the protrusions 18A and 18B extend into the rear surface 70 of panel 10 and are numbered 18A-BC and 18B-BC. The garage door panel section 10 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, is a preformed metal panel section 10 having a male exterior upper wall which is a tongue and an oppositely disposed female interior lower wall 40 which is a groove. Male upper wall tongue 30 extends for the entire longitudinal length TGDP-Ll of panel section 10. Similarly, female lower wall groove 40 extends for the same entire longitudinal length GGDP-Ll of panel section 10. From the rear view of FIG. 2, male tongue section 30 has an upper longitudinal wall 35. From the rear view of FIG. 2, female groove section 40 has a lower interior channel 42 and an interior lower longitudinal wall 45. The garage door panel section 10 has a straight left sidewall 50 and a straight right sidewall 60. The male protrusion 32 of male tongue section 30 is designed to fit into the female channel 42 of female groove section 40. Of an adjacent panel section 10. While illustrated as a single garage door panel 10, the panels are typically formed with a length of several feet such as six feet long or eight feet long. The aligned male or tongue section 30 fit into the next upper adjacent female or groove section 40 in the next high panels. Garage door panel section 10 has a straight left sidewall 50 and a straight right sidewall 60. The rear of garage door panel section 10 has a rear chamber 80 formed with rear wall 70, upper longitudinal wall 35 of male tongue section 30, interior lower longitudinal wall 45 of lower groove section 40, left sidewall 50, right sidewall 60 and indented sections 18A-BC and 18B-BC.
(20) Referring to FIG. 3, there is illustrated one innovation of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a front and bottom perspective view of the present invention EPS foam core 110 with mirror matching custom routing out of the front surface 200 backing EPS foam core 110 which as illustrated includes an exterior generally rectangular portion 18A-RT and an interior generally rectangular portion 18B-RT which are centered on a front surface 200 of EPS foam core 110. The EPS foam core 110 has an upper longitudinal wall 30-FC, a lower longitudinal wall 40-FC, a left sidewall 50-FC and a right sidewall 60-FC and a depth of FC-DP which are sized to fit into the rear cavity 80 of garage door panel section 10. Rear cavity 80 is bounded by rear wall 70 with the mirror matching indentations 18A-BC and 18B-BC, upper longitudinal wall 35, lower longitudinal wall 45, left sidewall 50 and right sidewall 60.
(21) As illustrated in FIG. 3, the EPS foam core protrusions exactly match the stamped decoration 18A and 18B in front steel garage door panel 10 with a decorative design formed therein such as by stamping embossing, etc. stamped into the panel as viewed from the front of the panel.
(22) Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a rear perspective view of the EPS foam core 110 with a flat rear surface 90. The rear surface 90 of the EPS foam core 110 is flat.
(23) The components of the garage door panel are bonded to each other with glue or a spray on adhesive of isocyanate and polyol resin which are separately sprayed onto the surface to be bonded. They mix when they come in contact to create a hardened polyurethane foam. It is within the spirit and scope of the present invention to apply the adhesive to one of the two surfaces to be bonded together or to both surfaces to be bonded together.
(24) Referring to FIG. 5, there is illustrated an interior perspective view of the formed metal garage door panel with a decoration stamped into the panel as disclosed in FIG. 2 with spray nozzles above the interior wall spraying compound onto the rear surface of the formed metal garage door panel. The garage door panel 10 is placed front surface 20 down on rollers 2000 with the rear cavity 80 and its previously described components face up and transported under a canopy 3000 with a spray head 2100 spraying isocyanate 2300 on rear surface 70 and a separate spray head 2200 spraying polyol resin 2400 onto rear surface 70 and spread over interior indentations 18A-BC and 18B-BC until they mix into a combination hardened polyurethane foam. Alternatively, the bonding compound can be comprised of a one-part moisture cured urethane adhesive. Alternatively, in addition to spraying as set forth above, it is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention to apply the isocyanate 2300 and the polyol resin 2400 by roller coating. It is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention to apply the one-part moisture cured urethane adhesive with roller coating and/or spray coating.
(25) Referring once again to FIG. 5, there is illustrated adhesive applied to the rear surface of the embossed steel panel 10. The length of the steel decoration embedded panel 10 is placed face down of rollers 2000 so that the rear surface 62 with embossed decorations 18A-BC and 18B-BC is face up. The length of panel 10, which would be eight feet long, is placed on a roller 2000 and adhesive components which are isocyanate 2300 and polyol resin 2400 are separately sprayed onto the rear surface 100 by respective spray nozzles and 2100 and 2200 and mix when they come in contact. The mixed combination hardens into a polyurethane foam/glue adhesive. The routed foam core 110 is placed onto the rear surface 70 and is adhered to the rear surface with the exact matching routed shape matched against the interior of the formed decoration extending into the panel section interior surface 70 of the panel section 10.
(26) Referring to FIG. 6, there is illustrated a rear and right side perspective view of the garage door panel with the EPS foam core inserted into rear cavity 80 and the front surface 200 bonded to the rear surface 70. The front surface 200 of the foam core 110 is also sprayed with adhesive isocyanate 2300 and polyol resin 2400. The front surface of the foam core 110 is adhered to the interior surface 70 of the embossed steel plate garage door panel 10. The front surface is exactly aligned with and matching the embossed design stamped into the front steel plate. The EPS foam core 110 is exactly sized to fit into the interior rear chamber 80 of panel section 10 with foam core top surface 30-FC against interior wall 35 of male tongue wall 30, it's bottom surface 40-FC against the interior wall 45 of groove 40 or female sidewall 40. The left sidewall 50 of the panel 10 is exactly aligned with the left sidewall 50-FC of foam core 110. The right sidewall 60 of the panel 10 is exactly aligned with the right sidewall 60-FC of foam core 110. The rear surface 90 of the foam core 110 is also sprayed with adhesive isocyanate 2300 and polyol resin 2400.
(27) Referring to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a front and side perspective view of a sheet of aluminum diamond plate 400 which is used as the backing sheet for the garage door panel 10. The front surface 410 has a multiplicity of outwardly extending protrusions 420A and a multiplicity of outwardly extending cross-protrusions 430B. The addition of the aluminum diamond plate sheet 400 as a backing sheet for the garage door panel 10 is a very significant improvement over the prior art.
(28) Referring to FIG. 8, there is illustrated a rear perspective view of the sheet of aluminum diamond plate 400 having a rear surface 450 with matching indentations 420A-IN and 430B-IN corresponding to the forwardly extending protrusions 420A and 430B on the front surface. Further referring to FIG. 10, a sheet of steel with a height HST and a width WST is retained against the rear surface 450 of aluminum diamond plate sheet 400. If the aluminum diamond plate sheet has a height of 21 inches, then the height HST of the steel plate is 19 inches and the width of the steel plate WST is 6 inches. If the height of the aluminum diamond plate sheet is 18 inches, then the height of the steel plate is 16 inches and the width remains at 6 inches. Finally, if the height of the aluminum diamond plate sheet is 24 inches, then the height of the steel plate is 22 inches and the width remains at 6 inches.
(29) Referring to FIG. 9, there is illustrated adhesive such as isocyanate 2300 and polyol resin 2400 applied to the rear surface 450 of aluminum diamond plate sheet 400. The aluminum diamond plate sheet 400 is then bonded to the rear surface 90 of the EPS foam core. 110.
(30) Referring to FIG. 10, there is illustrated a completed garage door panel 1000 which includes end stiles described below. In summary, the key innovations of the present invention are as follows: 1. The garage door panel is formed out of metal, preferably steel, with an ornamental design formed into a surface, preferably a front surface, of the metal panel, the rear of the panel having an interior cavity with a mirror recess of the design in the rear surface; 2. A foam core is used as a backing material and a key innovation is that a front surface of the foam core which is adhered to the rear surface of the garage door panel has a matching design routed into the core which is preferably made of polystyrene EPS core of 1.5 to 2.0 pound foam core insulation which is sized to exactly fit into the cavity in the rear of the metal garage door panel; 3. An aluminum diamond plate is adhered to the rear surface of the polystyrene EPS core of 1.5 to 2.0 pound foam; 4. Optionally a sheet of steel, six inched wide and slightly shorter than the aluminum diamond plate sheet is retained against the rear surface of the aluminum diamond plate sheet before it is affixed to the polystyrene EPS core.
(31) The stiles will not be described.
(32) Referring to FIG. 11, there is illustrated a front perspective view of a left end stile 600 having a rear vertical wall 602, a side vertical wall 604 and a front vertical wall 606. All three left stile walls 602, 604 and 606 meet at approximately ninety degree angles to form the left end stile 600 having a generally L-shaped cross-section. End stile rear vertical wall 602 has a rear wall surface 612 with four rivet holes 620A, 620B, 620C and 620D that accept rivets or screws or other similar standard affixing members to enter through the four rivet holes to attach left end stile to preformed garage panel 10. Two of the rivet holes 620A and 620B are located near left stile end top portion 608T and two of the rivet holes 620C and 620D are located near left stile bottom portion 608B. The four rivet holes working collectively together allow the fixing members to affix the left end stile 600 to a left end of the preformed garage panel. Rear wall 602 also includes four hinge holes 630A, 630B, 630C and 630D which are used to affix a portion of a hinge to each stile. The hinges allow the garage door panels to pivot or rotate as the garage door moves up and down along a track.
(33) Referring to FIG. 12, there is illustrated a front perspective view of a right end stile 700 having a rear vertical wall 702, a side vertical wall 704 and a front vertical wall 706. All three left stile walls 702, 704 and 706 meet at approximately ninety degree angles to form the left end stile 700 having a generally L-shaped cross-section. End stile rear vertical wall 702 has a rear wall surface 712 with four rivet holes 720A, 720 B, 720 C and 720D that accepts rivets or screws or other similar standard affixing members to enter through the four rivet holes to attach left end stile to preformed garage panel 10. Two of the rivet holes 720A and 720B are located near left stile end top portion 708T and two of the rivet holes 720C and 720D are located near left stile bottom portion 708B. The four rivet hole working collectively together allow the fixing members to affix the right end stile 700 to a right end of the preformed garage panel 10. Rear wall 702 also includes four hinge holes 730A, 730B, 730C and 730D which are used to affix a portion of a hinge to each stile. The hinges allow the garage door panels to pivot or rotate as the garage door moves up and down along a track.
(34) Referring to FIG. 13, there is illustrated a front perspective view of a middle stile 820 which is placed at intervals between left end stile 600 and right end stile 700. The middle stile contains rivet holes 820AA, 820BB, 820CC and 820DD. The middle stile also contains hinge bracket holes which are 830AA, 830BB, 830C and 830DD. Optionally, the middle stile contains sidewalls 821 and 822. As an example, if a garage door panel is eight feet long, a left end stile is at one end, a right end stile is at an opposite end, and the middle stile is used in the center. A sixteen foot garage door panel would use three middle stiles. A fourteen foot garage door panel would use two middle stiles.
(35) Referring to FIG. 14, there is illustrated a rear perspective view of a completed garage door panel illustrating the steel diamond plate which is the full extending length of a full garage door panel which is numbered 800, with a left end stile 600, a right end stile 700 and a middle stile which is not illustrated in the center of the garage door panel along with hinge bracket 4100, hinge bracket 4200 and hinge bracket 4300. In this particular design, the combined garage door panels are only 8 feet long and therefore, only one middle stile was used.
(36) Referring to FIG. 15, there is illustrated a rear view of an entire garage door panel 1000 comprised of four (4) of the present invention garage door panels 10. From this front view the rectangular decorative indents 18 on panel front surface 20 are viewable.
(37) Further, there is illustrated a front view of a portion of four (4) garage door panels 10, each of which is only eight (8) feet wide comprised of four (4) of the present invention garage door panels 10 but not illustrating the top male portion 32 on the uppermost panel. The garage door panes 10 each have a length of only eight (8) feet.
(38) Of course the present invention is not intended to be restricted to any particular form or arrangement, or any specific embodiment, or any specific use, disclosed herein, since the same may be modified in various particulars or relations without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed invention hereinabove shown and described of which the apparatus or method shown is intended only for illustration and disclosure of an operative embodiment and not to show all of the various forms or modifications in which this invention might be embodied or operated.
