Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SECURITY SEAL FOR ANCHORING BOLT UNDER TENSION IN GARAGE
DOOR SYSTEM
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a security seal placed around a bolt head
which is used to maintain a bracket in position in a counterbalance system in
garage
door assemblies.
Description of the prior art
Large, vertical opening doors, such as commercial and residential sectional
garage doors, usually require mechanisms to counterbalance the weight of the
door
in order to minimize door opening efforts and to control movement of the door
from
an open to a closed position. Large sectional garage doors for commercial and
residential applications may be manually or power operated. In either case,
but
particularly for manual operation, counterbalance mechanisms have been used
for
many years to counterbalance the weight of the door and control its opening
and
closing movements so that one person can easily control operation of the door.
Counterbalance mechanisms are also advantageous for power operated vertical
opening doors since they reduce motor power requirements and the strength of
the
door opening and closing mechanism. In other words, lighter weight, lower cost
door
control mechanisms may be used if a counterbalance mechanism is connected to
the
door to assist the opening and closing action. Still further, the provision of
a
counterbalance mechanism minimizes the chance of rapid and uncontrolled
closing
of the door in the event of failure of the door opening and closing mechanism,
which
can result in injury or damage.
A widely used type of counterbalance apparatus comprises, generally, a pair
of spaced apart cable drums connected to flexible cables, which in turn are
connected to lower opposed edges of the garage door. The cable drums are
usually
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mounted on a shaft which is supported above the door opening and is connected
to
one or more torsion springs which are fixed at one end to the shaft and are
secured
to the wall at the opposite end so that the cable drums are biased to rotate
in a
direction which winds the cables onto the drum and counteracts the weight of
the
door connected to the cables. The torsion springs are adjusted to properly
balance
the weight of the door so that minimal opening and closing effort is required,
either
manually or motor controlled.
Conventional, low cost adjustment mechanism for the above mentioned type
of counterbalance apparatus, and widely used in the door industry, is
characterized
by generally cylindrical collars commonly also referred to as "plugs" (or
cones) which
are connected to the so-called fixed ends of the torsion springs and are
mounted on
the aforementioned shaft for adjusting the deflection of the springs to preset
the
counterbalance effort. The aforementioned collars are usually mounted on one
side
on a bracket which is attached to the wall usually by a bolt.
One problem associated with this type of counterbalance apparatus, or any
other type of counterbalancing mechanism which uses brackets and tensioning
springs, is that to a casual observer, they appear harmless. Consequently,
some
people will attempt to unscrew the bolt holding the bracket in position, for
any number
of reasons. However, the combination of the collars and the tensioning springs
maintains a considerable torque on the bracket. Once the bolts are loosened,
the
torque causes the bracket to rotate about the shaft with high velocity and
high force,
which often results in serious personal injury including death or serious
property
damage.
Summary of the invention
It is an object of the invention to provide a security seal for such bolts
used for
maintaining in position a bracket against the wall in garage door assemblies.
Such
a seal will help prevent people from being injured by any component under
tension
(or torque) by warning and blocking access to the bolt.
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In accordance with the invention, this object is achieved with a seal
comprising
a generally longitudinal piece of material having two opposite ends, the
opposite ends
being provided with cooperating lock means for locking the opposite ends
together.
A portion of the body is provided with a hole to permit the shaft of the bolt
to pass
therethrough, and another portion of the body is provided with means for
preventing
access to the bolt when the seal is placed around the bolt.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this object is achieved with a
security seal for a bolt comprising:
- a generally longitudinal piece of material having two opposite ends, the
opposite ends being provided with cooperating lock means for locking
the opposite ends together;
at least one hole to allow users to screw the bolt into the wall; and
- means for preventing access to the bolt once the seal is placed.
Once the seal is wrapped around the bolt and locked, a casual observer will
not be tempted to break the seal and attempt to unscrew the bolt. Preferably,
the
seal is made of a color representing danger, and may further be inscribed with
appropriate warnings.
Brief description of the drawings
The present invention and its advantages will be more easily understood after
reading the following non-restrictive description of preferred embodiments
thereof,
made with reference to the following drawings in which:
Figure 1 show a standard installation of a garage door counterbalancing
system
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the standard central bracket as usually
mounted in the prior art;
Figure 3 shows seals according to a preferred embodiment of the invention
installed on bolts; and
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Figure 4 is a perspective view of a seal according to a preferred embodiment
of the invention.
Description of a preferred embodiment of the invention
The following is a technical description of the security seal according to the
invention. The numbers between parenthesis refer to the enclosed drawings.
The security seal 10 according to the present invention is used to tamper-
proof
bolts 11 used in a garage door assemblies. Such bolts 11 as the one shown in
Fig.
2 are used for maintain a bracket 18 against the wall 1 and sustain torque
created by
the counterbalancing spring (12). The torque produced can be very dangerous
for
any unaware user that would like to modify the installation of the door. The
present
invention thus provides a security seal to prevent people from being injured
by
unscrewing a part under tension by warning and blocking the access to the
bolts 11.
The people concerned will have to break the seal if they want to modify the
installation.
As mentioned in the background of the invention, there is no such seal known
to this day. Numerous seals exist on the market but none for this application
and
none with the structure of the present invention, as far as Applicant knows.
The seal according to the preferred embodiment of the invention and as
illustrated in Fig. 4 , is a generally longitudinal piece of material having
two opposite
ends and a hole to permit the shaft of the bolt 11 to pass therethrough. The
opposite
ends of the seal are provided with cooperating lock means for one-time locking
the
opposite ends together. The seal also includes means for preventing access to
the
bolt head. The locking system is preferably of the permanent type in that once
locked, it cannot be unlocked short of breaking the seal.
When installed properly, this seal prevents access to the bolt head.
Therefore,
an unaware user (home owner) will not be able to touch the highly dangerous
component or if he does, it will be after breaking the seal.
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The locking system located at the two opposite ends of the strip can be any
standard one-time locking system such as the one shown in Fig. 4, the
important
aspect of the locking system being that once it is locked, it is impossible to
unlock
without breaking the seal.
The two opposite ends are preferably strategically located so that when the
security seal is wrapped around the head bolt it blocks access to it, with a
part which
can be cup-like (see Fig. 4b). The locking means can include ratchet teeth
inserted
through an opening which is smaller than the height of the teeth, so that the
teeth
permit one-way entry through the opening.
The strap, or longitudinal piece of material, is large enough to cover the
bolt
head. The color of the seal is preferably "warning orange"
Further preferably, the section over the bolt head bears a warning
inscription.
Figure 3 shows two such seals 10 installed on two bolts, clearly preventing
access thereto.
It should also be understood that although the invention has been described
for use with bolts securing plates in counterbalancing systems for garage
doors, the
present invention is equally applicable to any other type of bolt in order to
prevent
easy access thereto.
Although the present invention has been explained hereinabove by way of a
preferred embodiment thereof, it should be pointed out that any modifications
to this
preferred embodiment within the scope of the appended claims is not deemed to
alter
of change the nature and scope of the present invention.
