Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
GARAGE DOOR NOISE REDUCTION ROLLER ASSEMBLY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[1] The present invention relates to the field of garage doors
and in particular, to
garage door rollers. These rollers allow the garage door to open and close
along a guide track.
Rollers are located on either side of the garage door and are positioned
within a respective
track located on opposite sides of a garage door. The rollers roll along a
track as the garage
door is raised or lowered. Each roller is respectively affixed to a collar by
which the
respective roller is retained. Each respective roller is affixed to a
receiving member of a
respective garage door hinge plate which in turn is affixed to a garage door
plate, which in
turn is affixed to a garage door. The present invention relates to
improvements in the roller
to reduce the noise created by the steel roller shaft hitting the respective
garage door plate as
the garage door is raised and lowered.
2. Description of the Prior Art
[2] In the prior art which is known to the present inventor, most
garage door
rollers have a plated steel shaft that slides into a tube just slightly larger
than the diameter of
the shaft. This tube is part of a hinge that the roller is retained in to help
move the sectional
garage door up and down. The hinge is attached to multiple sections of the
garage door.
The shaft of the roller and tube of the hinge are made of steel. The gap
between the roller
shaft and the hinge tube allow it to move freely and side to side without
binding or sticking.
The problem is that the gap/clearance and both the roller shaft and hinge tube
barrel being
made of steel causes noise and rattling by the metal-to-metal contact as the
garage door is
raised and lowered. Putting lubricant between the shaft of the roller and the
tube into which
it is inserted provides some lubricant benefit but still does not
significantly reduce the noise
and rattling of the assembly.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2023-01-26
[3] The problem is not the roller wheel itself because that is not where
the noise
comes from. The noise comes from the steel shaft of the roller wheel that
slides into a hinge
bracket in the hinge affixed to garage door sections. The steel garage door
hinges and fixtures
have a tube or round bracket that retains the roller's shaft. This allows the
roller to be retained
and allows the shaft to move freely side to side. As the garage door rolls up
and down, the
rollers move freely and the space in between the tube and roller shaft causes
a rattle because
of the metal-to-metal contact. This is why the door sounds shaky and noisy
when it is in
motion. Greasing or lubricating the rollers will not fix the problem of the
rattling sound. Even
installing the quietest belt drive garage door opener with the quietest hinges
and best precision
13-ball rollers will not guarantee that the door will be rattle-free in
operation.
[4] In the prior art, the rollers are affixed to a metal shaft which is in
turn affixed
to a plate, which in turn is affixed to the rear of a garage door so that as
the garage door is
raised, the rollers which are positioned on opposite sides of the garage door
and also
positioned within a track, roll or rotate within the track to enable the
garage door to be raised
or lowered. The rollers are affixed to the shaft and the shafts that are
usually made of metal
make a clanging and unpleasant noise as the garage door is raised up and down.
The problem
with the prior art is that the shaft of the rollers is metal and the shaft
comes into metal-to-
metal contact with the plate to which the shaft is inserted so that there is a
constant clanging
noise as the garage door is raised and lowered. One other solution that has
been attempted in
prior art is to create a plastic hinge barrel but strength is sacrificed and
the customer usually
perceives the plastic hinge barrel to be weak and inferior. Further, the gap
remaining between
the plastic hinge barrel and the door still creates a rattling noise while
traveling up and down.
The gap between the shaft of the roller and the tube into which the shaft is
inserted still
remains and still creates a lot of noise when the garage door is raised and
lowered. There is a
significant need for a quieter roller shaft assembly so that there is less
noise when the garage
door is raised and lowered.
[5]
The prior art does not significantly reduce the noise created by the shaft of
a roller
inserted into a tube or hinge bracket as the roller moves up and down to
enable the garage
door to be raised and lowered. In the garage door, there are tracks on either
side of the garage
door and a roller is inserted into each track in order to enable the garage
door to be raised and
lowered. There may be multiple rollers along various lengths of the garage
door and in
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Date Recue/Date Received 2023-01-26
particular, affixed to respective horizontal panels of the garage door. The
roller in turn is
attached to a shaft which in turn is inserted into a tube that is affixed to a
hinge attachment
plate which is affixed to the garage door. Therefore, as the garage door is
raised and lowered,
the metal of the shaft from the roller and the metal of the tube into which
the shaft is inserted,
have a metal- to-metal contact creating a lot of noise as the garage door is
raised and lowered.
[6]
There is a significant need in the garage door industry for a quieter garage
door
roller. Over the years, rollers have been made of steel and plastic, with and
without bearings
and a plastic cover put over the roller wheel itself as improvements to make
them quieter,
which has not significantly reduced the noise.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2023-01-26
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[7] The present invention is an apparatus to reduce noise created by the
shaft of a
respective roller being inserted into a respective metal retaining member of a
respective hinge
plate where a multiplicity of hinge plates are affixed to adjacent panels of a
garage door while
a pair of oppositely disposed rollers respectively travel along a pair of
oppositely disposed
tracks adjacent opposite ends of a garage door panel as the garage door is
raised and lowered.
[8] Through experiments performed by the present inventor, it has been
discovered
that if the roller shaft is coated with or covered with a hard thermoplastic
injection molding,
then the metal-to-metal noise of the roller shaft retained in the metal barrel
of a hinge plate is
significantly reduced when the garage door is raised or lowered.
[9] According to the present inventor, it has been discovered that an
improved
roller assembly is created with ball bearings and a hard plastic tire such as
a Delrin plastic tire
and a thermoplastic injection molded covered roller shaft. The difference
would be a
thermoplastic injection molded roller shaft cover. The thermoplastic injection
molded shaft
cover would be thin enough to still provide side-to-side non-binding movement.
It would also
provide a cushion/sound absorption effect and eliminate metal-to-metal
contact.
Thermoplastic injection molded material is tough enough to resist the
chemicals that the door
hinge is subject to when lubricated. It should be noted that other types of
plastic and urethane
covering the roller shaft are also within the spirit and scope of the present
invention to achieve
the same result.
[10] It has been further discovered that utilizing thermoplastic injection
molded
material is the most cost effective way to achieve the quiet rattle-free
operation of the roller
plus chemical resistance. The thermoplastic injection molded will remain on
the roller shaft
with or without the use of glues or adhesive. Not having to use glues or
adhesives makes it
very cost effective. Therefore, the thermoplastic injection molded covered
roller shaft could
be offered on most garage door rollers at very little cost to the homeowner
for a much greater
rattle-free garage door. In addition, the thermoplastic injection molded
covered roller shafts fit
most standard garage door hinges.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2023-01-26
[11] It has further been discovered according to the present inventor that
reducing
the diameter of the steel on the roller shaft and adding the injection molded
plastic on the top
will not achieve a lasting result. Injection molded plastic on a smooth steel
shaft will result in
failure. The weight of the garage door transfers through the hinge and onto
the shaft. The
weight plus the side-to-side friction and force of motion on the roller shaft
will push the
plastic cover off like a tube.
[12] It has been discovered that a significant improvement is to have threads
or
grooves or a valley on the roller shaft to facilitate an extra grip for the
injection molded plastic
to grab onto. A gripping joint to allow injection molded plastic to penetrate
and wrap around
the roller shaft will significantly reduce the noise of the garage door as it
moves up and down.
With the plastic embedded in and around the steel shaft of the roller, there
is very reduced
possibility for it to become loose or dislodged from the roller shaft. This
provides a
permanent lock and bond to the roller shaft. It also results in a long lasting
achievable noise
reducing assembly to enable the rollers to roll up and down within their
tracks and reduce the
noise by eliminating a metal-to-metal contact between the shaft of the roller
and the tube of
the hinge which attaches the assembly to the garage door.
[13] Further novel features and other objects of the present invention will
become
apparent from the following detailed description, discussion and the appended
claims, taken
in conjunction with the drawings.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2023-01-26
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THF DRAWINGS
[14] Referring particularly to the drawings for the purpose of illustration
only and
not limitation, there is illustrated:
[15] FIG. 1 is an exploded view illustrating a roller with a collar retaining
a metal
shaft extending from the roller and the present invention threads formed into
the roller shaft
and the plastic tube about to be inserted and threaded onto the shaft of the
roller;
[16] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the roller shown with the plastic
injection
molded tube encircling the metal shaft of the roller and having been threaded
onto the metal
shaft of the roller through the threads on the metal shaft which are part of
the present
invention;
[17] FIG. 3 is a side view of the roller shown with the plastic injection
molded tube
encircling the metal shaft of the roller and having been threaded onto the
metal shaft of the
roller through the threads on the metal shaft which are part of the present
invention;
[18] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the shaft extending from the roller with a
locking member within the shaft and a plastic tube to be inserted onto the
shaft of the roller;
[19] FIG. 5 is a top view of the completed embodiment of the plastic tube
affixed
onto the roller shaft; and
[20] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the new and improved rolled plastic lined
roller
shaft affixed through openings in the hinge plate which affixes the assembly
to the back of a
garage door which enables the track roller to roll up and down the track and
eliminates the
noise between the shaft of the roller and the metal portions of the hinge
plate due to the fact
that the shaft of the roller is now covered with plastic which is affixed onto
the shaft of the
roller so that the plastic shaft reduces noise and assure that the plastic
shaft will not roll or fall
off the shaft of the roller.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2023-01-26
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[21] 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.
[22] The present invention addresses the following problem with noise created
when a garage door is moving up or down. The problem is not the roller wheel
itself because
that is not where the noise comes from. The noise comes from the steel shaft
of the roller that
slides into the hinge and fixtures (top and bottom door brackets) of the
garage door. The steel
garage door hinges and fixtures have a tube or round bracket that retains the
roller's shaft.
This allows the roller to be retained and allows the shaft to move freely side
to side. As the
garage door rolls up and down, the rollers move freely and the space in
between the tube and
roller shaft causes a rattle because of the metal-to-metal contact. This is
why the door sounds
shaky and noisy when it is in motion. Greasing or lubricating the rollers will
not fix the
problem of the rattling sound. Even installing the quietest belt drive garage
door opener with
the quietest hinges and best precision 13-ball rollers will not guarantee that
the door will be
rattle-free in operation.
[23] The present invention is a roller with a Delrin plastic injection to coat
the steel
shaft wherein the plastic coated shaft eliminates the metal-to-metal contact
that creates the
noise. The new and improved Delrin plastic coated shaft will be lmm larger
than industry
standard shafts because 10-11mm industry standard shafts are too loose in the
hinge barrels
which allows the rattling. This improved roller shaft is 12mm at finished
thickness to reduce
the extra space. Closing the gap between the roller shaft and hinge barrel
will eliminate the
metal-to-metal contact resulting in a very quiet, rolling garage door. By
keeping the finished
thickness at 12mm on the new shaft, the roller will still work on new and old
garage door
hinges and fixtures. This makes the new and improved roller shaft a truly
universal product
that will work on 90% of garage doors
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Date Recue/Date Received 2023-01-26
[24] in service and almost all new models. This is a long over-due improvement
to garage
door rollers.
[25] Referring to Figure 1, there is illustrated a perspective view which
includes a
conventional roller wheel 10 which is placed into a track of a garage door so
that a garage
door can be rolled up and down with a pair of oppositely disposed rollers
respectively set
within oppositely disposed tracks adjacent opposite ends of the garage door.
The roller wheel
includes a collar 20 with the roller shaft 30 retained into the roller wheel
10 by the collar
20. The innovation of the present invention is to retain a plastic tube or
tire 40 made out of
material as described above selected from the group consisting of hard
thermoplastic (such as
Delrin), polyurethane and durable synthetic plastics. The plastic tube or tire
40 has a
cylindrical outer wall 42 and a cylindrical inner chamber 44 surrounded by the
cylindrical
outer wall 42 and open at both a first end 46 and a second end 48. A tube
retaining member 50
is formed into the outer cylindrical wall 32 of the roller shaft 30. As
illustrated in Figure 1, the
retaining member 50 is selected from the group consisting of treads, threads
or screw threads
60 are cut or otherwise formed into the outer wall 32 of roller shaft 30. The
plastic tube 40 is
injection molded on the roller shaft 30 and press molded against the threads
60 and is thereby
securely retained on the roller shaft 30.
[26] Referring to Figure 2, there is illustrated a perspective view of the
completed
present invention roller wheel assembly 100 which includes the roller wheel
10, the injection
molded plastic tube 40 encircling the metal shaft 30 retained at a first end
34 through the
collar 20 and into the roller wheel 10, the plastic tube 40 having been
injection molded onto
or press fit onto the metal shaft 30. A detent 37 is at the second end 36 of
the metal shaft 30 to
be crimped or have a retention member thereon to prevent the metal shaft from,
sliding out of
the brackets of the hinge member (See Figure 6).
[27] Referring to Figure 3, there is illustrated a perspective view of the
completed
present invention roller wheel assembly 100 which includes the roller wheel
10, the injection
molded plastic tube 40 encircling the metal shaft 30 retained at a first end
34 through the
collar 20 and into the roller wheel 10, the plastic tube 40 having been molded
onto or press fit
onto the metal shaft 30. A detent 37 is at the second end 36 of the metal
shaft 30 to be
crimped or have a retention member thereon to prevent the metal shaft from,
sliding out of the
brackets of the hinge member (See Figure 6).
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Date Recue/Date Received 2023-01-26
[28] Referring to Figure 4, there is illustrated a perspective view of a
alternative
embodiment of the present invention which includes a conventional roller wheel
10A which is
placed into a track of a garage door so that a garage door can be rolled up
and down with a
pair of oppositely disposed rollers respectively set within oppositely
disposed tracks adjacent
opposite ends of the garage door. The roller wheel 10A includes a collar 20A
with the roller
shaft 30A retained into the roller wheel 10A by the collar 20A. The innovation
of the present
invention is to retain a plastic tube or tire 40A made out of material as
described above
selected from the group consisting of hard thermoplastic (such as Delrin),
polyurethane and
durable synthetic plastics. The plastic tube or tire 40A has a cylindrical
outer wall 42 and a
cylindrical inner chamber 44A surrounded by the cylindrical outer wall 42A and
open at both
a first end 46A and a second end 48A. A tube retaining member 50A is formed
into the outer
cylindrical wall 32A of the roller shaft 30A. As illustrated in Figure 4,
detents or at least one
locking member 50A are cut or otherwise formed into the outer wall 32A of
roller shaft 30A.
The plastic tube 40A is injection molded onto the roller shaft 30A and
retained thereon by the
at least one locking member 50A so that the plastic tube 40A is securely
retained on the roller
shaft 30A.
[29] Referring to Figure 5, there is illustrated a perspective view of the
completed
alternative embodiment of the present invention roller wheel assembly 200
which includes the
roller wheel 10A, the plastic tube 40A encircling the metal shaft 30A retained
at a first end
34A through the collar 20A and into the roller wheel 10A, the plastic tube 40A
having been
retained onto the metal shaft 30A. A detent 37A is at the second end 36A of
the metal shaft
30A to be crimped or have a retention member thereon to prevent the metal
shaft from, from
sliding out of the brackets of the hinge member (See Figure 6).
[30] Referring to Figure 6, there is illustrated a perspective view of the new
and
improved plastic lined roller shaft 30 affixed through openings 310 and 320 in
hinge bracket
330 affixed to first hinge plate 340 and openings 350 and 360 in hinge bracket
370 affixed to
hinge plate 380. First hinge plate 340 has a multiplicity of openings 340A,
340B, 340C,
340D, and 340E through which fastening members affix first hinge plate 340 to
the back of a
garage door panel. Second hinge plate 380 has a multiplicity of openings
380A, 340B,
340C, 380D, and 380E through which fastening members affix second hinge plate
380 to the
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Date Recue/Date Received 2023-01-26
back of a garage door panel. The hinge plates 340 and 380 are respectively
affixed at the
location of two adjacent garage door panels which enables the roller wheel 10
to roll up and
down a track (with an opposite roller wheel inside an opposite track) to
enable the garage
door to move up and down.
[31] The plastic tube 40 covering the roller shaft 30 eliminates metal to
metal
contact between the roller shaft 30 and the metal brackets 330 and 370 and
metal hinge
plates 340 and 380 to thereby significantly reduce the noise between the
roller shaft 30 and
the metal portions of the hinge brackets and hinge plates of the hinge as the
garage moves is
moved upward and downwards.
[32] The roller shaft can be covered with a plastic tube such as 40 or 40A and
retained on the roller shaft 30 by retaining members such as treads, threads,
screw threads,
detents or other locking members. The roller shaft can also be coated with
plastic and also the
plastic can be heat formed or molded onto the roller shaft 30. The plastic
covering also creates
a tight press fit with the openings 310, 320, 350 and 360 with the hinge
brackets 340 and 380
to further reduce noise and assure that the plastic shaft will not roll or
fall out of the hinge
brackets 340 and 380. The plastic coating on the roller shaft causing the
plastic to abut
against the openings 310, 320, 350 and 360 and therefore the rattling noise of
metal-to-metal
contact known in the prior art is eliminated so that there is a much quieter
action of the garage
door roller as it rolls up and down the garage door track.
[33] 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.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2023-01-26
