摘要 |
A powered folding door, comprising several side-by-side door panels, includes a stabilizer that resists a reactive torque created by the inertial changes of a door panel that quickly accelerates and decelerates at the door's open and closed positions. A trolley, driven back and forth along the length of an overhead track by a long narrow drawbar, suspends one of the door panels about a swivel connection. As the door closes or folds open, the swivel allows the door panel to rotate about a vertical axis to facilitate the folding action of the door. The stabilizer extends rigidly from the trolley to slidingly or rollingly engage the track at a point beyond the vertical axis of the swivel to counteract the reactive torque. The stabilizer engaging a relatively sturdy track, prevents the trolley from transmitting the torque to the drawbar (which is much weaker than the track), and thus avoids bending the drawbar. |