US3665997A - Adjustable dock seal assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A dock seal assembly for an opening in a wall, said seal assembly having a resiliently flexible head seal supported by upright, parallel track means mounted upon the wall adjacent the sides of said opening near the upper end thereof. Spring-biased annular means is supported upon the wall for rotation about a horizontal axis near the upper end of said opening and is connected to the head seal by sheet means which covers said upper end of the opening when the head seal is lowered. The sheet means also serves to raise the head seal when it is released from an anchored, lowered position.

Description

iJnite States Patent Smith et a1. 1451 30, 11972 541 ADJUSTABLE DOCK SEAL ASSEMBLY 2,023,691 12/1935 McCloud 160/133 x 2,509,398 5/1950 Peremi et al.. 1 60/41 x [72] lnvemms' f a g i gi x 2,594,386 4/1952 Blessen ..l60/290 R x c 3,158,195 11/1964 Ney ..l60/265 x [73] Assignee: Overhead Door Corporation, Dallas, Tex. 3,375,625 4/ 1968 Edkins et al. ..52/204 [22] Filed: Feb. 20, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 13,128

[52] US. Cl ..160/41, 52/204, 160/23,

Primary Examiner-Dennis L. Taylor Attorney-Woodhams, Blanchard and Flynn [57] ABSTRACT A dock seal assembly for an opening in a wall, said seal assembly having a resiliently flexible head seal supported by upright, parallel track means mounted upon the wall adjacent the sides of said opening near the upper end thereof. Springbiased annular means is supported upon the wall for rotation about a horizontal axis near the upper end of said opening and is connected to the head seal by sheet means which covers said upper end of the opening when the head seal is lowered. The sheet means also serves to raise the head seal when it is released from an anchored, lowered position.

13 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented May 30, 1972 3 Sheets-$heet l #7 M MM M W50 9A w m A mm Patented May 30, 1972 3 Sheets-Sheet f5 INVENTORS 1mm 0. SMITH B 41/650 I M57666 ADJUSTABLE DOCK SEAL ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to an adjustable dock seal and, more importantly, to a type thereof which has a vertically adjustable head seal supported on tracks and spring biased toward the raised position.

Persons familiar with the construction and operation of clock seals, which close space between the Wall of a building and the rear end of a truck van backed up to an opening in the wall, are well aware that existing dock seals are not entirely satisfactory. In the first place, they are difficult to operate, particularly in cold weather, when they are most needed. That is, the dock seal usually includes sheet material which extends between the top of the opening in the wall and the top of the opening in the druck van, in order to shield the interior of the building and the van from theweather. This is due to the obvious fact that most trucks have openings which are of about the same width, but which vary substantially in height, particularly from the ground. Thus, during cold, wet or snowy weather, some form of shield must be provided between the truck and the wall at the upper end of the opening.

According to present practices, the shield material is usually draped from the upper edge of the wall and there is no means for storing it or protecting it against the weather when it is not in use. As a result, this material usually gets wet or freezes stiff or otherwise becomes difficult to handle when it is needed. Moreover, the sheet material is exposed to the wind and the eroding effects of the weather so that it usually wears out far morequickly than it would if it were protected.

Usually, the head seal of the dock opening has some form of padded, rigid member which extends across the opening and is connected to the lower edge of the shielding sheet material. Sometimes this rigid member is guided in tracks and sometimes it merely hangs loosely. In any event, it often becomes jammed while it is being raised or lowered because no simple and effective method has been provided for producing uniformly vertical movement of all parts and, .as a result, racking of this element usually occurs. H

Some attempts have been made to prevent racking of the rigid truck-engaging head member, but these have involved complicated, expensive structures which required substantial maintenance and could only be installed by highly skilled persons.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is the provi sion of a seal assembly for the edge of a truck dock opening in a wall, said structure including a head seal supported on the wall for automatic vertical adjustment and having sheet material that is automatically retracted or extended when the head seal is raised or lowered.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a dock seal assembly, as aforesaid, which can be shipped to the location of installation in a knocked-down condition and can be easily assembled and installed on the wall defining the dock opening by maintenance personnel having average mechanical skills and capable of following relatively simple installation instructions.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a dock seal assembly having a head seal and means including a sheetlike, weather shield connected between the head seal and a spring-biased roller means whereby the head seal is continuously urged toward a raised position and said weather shield is substantially completely protected from the weather when the head seal is in its raised position.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of equipment upon reading the following descriptive material and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a broken, front-elevational view of a dock seal assembly embodying the invention and in the installed position.

FIG.2 is a perspective view of the upper part of said seal assembly.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1 and including-a fragment of a truck van.

FIG. 5 isa sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 4.

For convenience in description, the terms upper", lower", left, right, front, rear" and words of similar import will have reference to the dock seal assembly of the invention as appearing in FIG. I which is a front view of the assembly. The words inner, outer and derivatives thereof will have reference to the geometric center of the dock seal assembly and parts thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The objects and purposes of the invention, including those set forth above, have been met by the provision of a pair of side rails and a canopy which are interconnected and mounted around the upper endof the dock opening in a wall. Roller means is mounted under the canopy for rotation around a horizontal axis and is spring biased in one rotational direction. An elongated head seal has rollers at its opposite ends for guiding same vertically along and between the side rails. A flexible sheet-like wheather shield is connected between the dock head seal and the roller means .for covering the portion of the dock opening above the head seal when said head seal is in a lowered position. The spring-biased roller means, acting through the weather shield, counterbalances the head seal so that it can be easily raised and lowered.

DETAILED CONSTRUCTION The seal assembly 10 (FIG. I), is provided to seal the space between the wall 11 (FIG. 4) defining the opening 12, which is normally covered by a door 13, and the surfaces which define the opening 14 in the rear end of a truck van l6 backed up to the wall 11 adjacent said opening 12. For purposes of description, the truck van 16 may be of any convenient, conventional type mounted upon a truck chassis (not shown) and having any type of closure member, such as an upwardly acting door 17, which closes the opening 14 when said van 16 is not being loaded or unloaded.

The seal assembly 10 (FIG. 1) comprises a pair of side seals 18 and 19 and a head seal 22. The side seals 18 and 19 are secured to the wall 11 by means including the L- shaped brackets 20 and 21, respectively, which brackets may be anchored upon the wall 11 by convenient means such as the bolts 26 and 27, respectively.

The head seal 22 is mounted upon and extends between a pair of upright guide rails 23 and 24 which are supported upon the wall 11 adjacent the right and left sides, respectively, of the opening 11 near the upper end thereof. The rails 23 and 24 are of such length that the head seal 22 can move vertically along said rails, while remaining in proper engagement therewith, between raised and lowered positions which will cover the normal maximum range of the height of the header 28 (FIG. 4) on the van l6. Normally, this distance in header height on truck vans differs about 3 feet and, accordingly, guide rails 23 and 24 (FIG. 1) are preferably designed to per mit 3 feet of vertical movement of the head seal 22. The width of a truck van 16, or the opening through the rearward end thereof, is reasonably standardized because of statutory provisions limiting the maximum width of vehicles which may travel on public highways. Thus, the seal requirements for openings of many sizes and shapes can be inventoriedwith a relatively small number of parts, the only variations being in width and these are minimized. Yet, substantially identical installation procedures can be followed regardless of the changes in size and shape.

The guide rails 23 and 24 are connected near their upper ends to the opposite ends of a canopy 29, beneath which a shaft 33.

The guide rail 23, for example, is comprised of an elongated mounting member 36 having an L-shaped cross section. The flange 37 of the member 36 is parallel with and bears against the front surface of the wall 1 1 where it is held by the bolts 40. The forwardly projecting flange 38 of the angle 36 is spaced from the adjacent edge of the opening 12 and has an integral return 39 near its frontward edge both to strengthen such flange and diminish harmful engagement with such edge.

A channel-shaped roller track 42 (FIG. 3) is rigidly secured, as by spot welding, to the inner side of the flange 38 adjacent the rearward edge thereof, hence, adjacent the flange 37. The track 42 opens inwardly to receive rollers 43 and 44 (FIG. 4) mounted on the rightward end of the head seal 22. The front flange 46 on the track 42 has a rearwardly projecting edge portion 49 which prevents accidental disengagement of the rollers 43 and 44 from within the track 42. A bolt 45 (FIG. 4) extends through the flange 38 and the track 42 so that it will positively prevent accidental disengagement of the roller 44 from the track 42 through the lower end thereof.

The upper end of the return 39 (FIG. 4) stops short of the upper end of the flange 38 so that a mounting plate 47 (FIG. 4) can be secured to said flange 38 by bolts 48 and project frontwardly of said flange 38. The rightward end of the shaft 33 extends through and is supported within appropriate coaxial openings in the flange 38 and mounting plate 47.

The guide rail 24 may be and preferably is a mirror image of the guide rail 23. Accordingly, the parts of said guide rail 24 having corresponding parts in the guide rail 23 will have the same numerical designations in addition to the suffix A. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the guide rail 24 has a track 42A which is secured to the flange 38A of the mounting angle 36A. Thus, the rollers 50 and 59 (FIG. 6), which are supported upon the left end of the head seal 22, are received within the track 42A (FIG. for the purpose of guiding the upward and downward movement of the head seal.

The rollers 43 and 44 (FIG. 6) are rotatably mounted upon axles 52 and 53, respectively, which in turn are mounted upon the end of the head seal 22 by the brackets 55 and 56, respectively. The rollers 50 and 51 are mounted upon the other end of the head seal 22 by axles 52A and 53A and brackets 55A and 56A (FIG. 6) which may be substantially identical with the axles 52, 53 and the brackets 55, 56, respectively.

The head seal 22 has a backboard 61 fabricated from wood or any other relatively rigid material to which the brackets 55, 56, and 55A, 56A are rigidly secured by means such as the screws 62 and 62A (FIG. 6). An elongated and relatively thick block-like cushion of foamed material 63, such as foamed rubber or resilient foamed plastic, is mounted upon and secured to the front side of the backboard 61 by means, such as an adhesive. The lower front edge of the cushion 63 is beveled at 66 to efiect a wedging engagement with the header 28 of the truck van opening 14. A strip 65 of padding, such as foamed rubber, is secured to and extends along the upper edge of the backboard 61 to soften the impact between the head seal 22 and the tube 81 when the head seal is permitted to move upwardly without restraint in response to urging by the spring 92 in tube 81.

The front, ends, top and bottom of the cushion 63, as well the top, and sides of the strip 65 and the edges and rear side of backboard 61, are preferably covered with a flexible, durable and water-repellent material, such as canvas or plastic sheet material 64. The rearward edges of the sheet material are secured to the backboard 61, as by an adhesive. The head seal 22 preferably extends up to, but not materially beyond, the side edges of the opening 12, when said head seal is in the raised position.

The side seal 18 (FIG. 3), for example, has a backboard 67 which is fabricated from rigid material, such as wood, which is secured to the wall 11 by any convenient means, such as an adhesive. The side seal 18 extends above the opening 12 and preferably up to the canopy 29. The backboard 67 is preferably notched to overlay the flange 37, to which it may also be secured by an adhesive. An elongated, substantially rectangular cushion, which may be a block-like piece of thick foamed material 68, is sculptured so that it fits around the guide rail 23 and projects sidewardly up to the edge of the opening 12 in the wall 11. Thus, the inner side of the foamed material 68 is closely adjacent the rightward end of the head seal 22.

The front surface of the foamed material 68 and the side and top surfaces of the foamed material and the backboard 67 are covered by flexible, durable and water-repellent sheet material 69, such as canvas or a plastic material, for example. The foamed material 68 may be of any convenient resilient type, such as foamed rubber, and the sheet material 69 is secured to the side edges of the backboard 67 by means such as adhesive.

The side seal 19 may be, and preferably is, a mirror image of the side seal 18. Accordingly, the side seal 19 has a backboard 67A (FIG. 5), a cushion 68A and a sheet material covering 69A. The side seals 18 and 19 preferably extend from the lower end of the opening 12 to just below the canopy 29.

A mounting plate 47A is secured to the upper end of the guide rail 24 (FIG. 2) and the shaft 33 extends through coaxial openings in said plate and rail. The canopy 29 has a horizontal section 72 with an integral upwardly projecting rear flange 73 which is secured to the upper end of the flange 37 by a bolt 74 and to the upper end of the flange 37A by the bolt 74A. The canopy 29 has an integral, downwardly extending flange 76 which is integral with the frontward edge of the horizontal section 72 and is preferably adjacent the frontward edges of the mounting plates 47 and 47A. The ends of the horizontal section 72 preferably project beyond the mounting plates 47 and 47A.

The shaft 33 has a transaxial opening 77 through which a detent pin 78 may be slideably received adjacent the mounting plate 47A. The detent pin 78, which may be a bolt, also extends through an opening in the horizontal section 72 of the canopy 29 whereby rotation of the shaft 33 relative to the mounting plates 47 and 47A is positively prevented.

The shaft 33 is encircled by and spaced inwardly from a coaxial, cylindrical tube 81 which extends between and is spaced slightly from the mounting plates 47 and 47A (FIG. 5). The tube 81 has a pair of annular end members 82 and 83 which are rigidly secured within the opposite ends of the tube 81. Bearings 84 and 85 are disposed within the end members 82 and 83, respectively, for rotatably supporting the tube 81 upon the shaft 33. A pair of lock collars 87 and 88 are mounted upon the shaft 33 adjacent the remote sides of the end members 82 and 83, respectively, to act as bearing retainers and, at the same time, position the tube 81 upon the shaft 33.

The end member 83 has an axially inwardly projecting hub 89 of reduced diameter, upon which one end of the elongated helical spring 92 is firmly secured. The other or rightward end of the spring 92 is sleeved upon and firmly secured to a lock collar 93 which in turn is firmly secured to the shaft 33 by means including the set screw 94.

Accordingly, rotation of the tube 81 relative to the shaft 33 is resiliently and yieldably opposed by the helical spring 92. Another similar spring may be connected between the end member 82 and the shaft 33 in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the spring 92, thereby increasing resistance to relative rotation between the shaft 33 and the tube 81.

One horizontal edge of the weather curtain 32 is secured to and extends lengthwise of the tube 81. The other, lower edge of the curtain 32 is secured to and extends lengthwise of the upper rear edge of the backboard 61. More specifically, the lower edge 96 of the curtain 32 is folded upon itself and a relatively stiff, elongated element, such as the metal strip 95, extends along and covers the lower edge 96 of said curtain. A plurality of screws 97 are inserted through aligned openings 98 and 99 in the strip and lower edge 96 after which they are threadedly received into the backboard 61 (FIG. 4).

The curtain 32 is wound upon the tube 81 so that the tension in the spring 92 is increased as the head seal 22 is lowered. After continuous use, it may be necessary to increase the tension of the spring 92. Moreover, during installation, it may be necessary to adjust said tension on the spring 92. This is accomplished by means of the openings 102 and 103 (FIG. 5) in the shaft 33 at the leftward end thereof. That is, having removed the detent pin 78 from the shaft 33, an elongated instrument, such as a drift pin or screwdriver (not shown), can be inserted into one or the other of the openings I02 and 103 after which the shaft is rotated around its axis to increase the tension of the spring 92. The detent pin 78 is then reinserted through the opening 77.

- A chain 104 (FIG. 2) is secured at its lower end to the guide rail 24 near the lower end thereof and at its upper end to a screw eye 105 in the backboard 61 adjacent the guide rail 24. The chain 104 is of sufiicient length to remain loose when the head seal 22 is in its raised position, about as appearing in'FIG. 4. When the head seal 22 is lowered, one of the links in the chain 104 is sleeved onto the inwardly projecting end of the stop bolt 45A (FIG. 2), which prevents the spring 92 from raising the head seal 22. The lower end of the chain is secured to the guide rail 24 by the bolt 45A.

OPERATION The seal assembly is installed upon a wall 11 by first mounting one or the other of the guide rails 23 and 24 in an upright position upon the wall 11 at a prespecified distance from the adjacent edge of the opening 12 and. so that it extends a prespecified distance above the upper edge of the opening. A conventional spirit-level may be used to position the guide rail accurately, if it is suspected that the adjacent edge of the opening is not plumb. The other guide rail is then mounted upon the wall 1 l on the opposite side of the opening 12. However, before securing said other guide rail to the wall, it is accurately placed in an upright position at a specified distance from the previously mounted guide rail. This can be done by means of a measurement or a spacing gauge furnished with the seal assembly. Also, before finalizing the anchoring of said other guide rail upon the wall 11, it will be advantageous to mount the shaft 33 and the tube 81 on the mounting plates 47 and 47A, with the tube 81 therebetween, after which the angular relationship between the shaft or the tube and one or the other of the guide rails is made perpendicular. This can be done by using a conventional carpenters square.

Since the seal assembly 10 will have been ordered in terms of a door opening of a predetermined width, the spacing between the guide rails 23 and 24 can also be predetermined even though it may be more economical to furnish the assembly with horizontal elements which are slightly longer than necessary to close the opening. That is, it may be economically advantageous to stock head seals 22, canopies 29, weather curtains 32, shafts 33 and tubes 81 in standard sizes which vary in increments, such as 3 or 4 inches. Thus, special handling or special measuring at the location of installation are not required, other than the width and height of the opening around which the seal assembly 10 is being installed.

The head seal 22 may or may not be attached to the weather curtain 32 prior to installation, but the curtain will normally be attached to the tube 81. However, preferably, all three of these elements will be connected together when they arrive at the installation site.

The canopy 29 can now be installed by connecting the flange 73 thereof to the upper ends of the flanges 37 and 37A on the guide rails 23 and 24. If desired, the flange 73 can also be secured to a portion of the wall 11 above the opening 12.

The stop bolts 45 and 45A will be installed after the rollers 43, 44 and 50, 51, at the opposite ends of the head seal 22, have been inserted into the lower ends of the guide rails 23 and 24, respectively. However, to minimize inconvenience, the detent pin 78 will be removed from the shaft 33 during the installation of the head seal 22 into the rails 23 and 24.

Thereafter, a long instrument such as a screwdriver or a drift pin is inserted into the openings 102 or 103 and the shaft 33 is rotated until the head seal 22 is in its fully raised position, about as shown in FIG. 4, adjacent the tube 81 upon which the curtain 32 will then be very nearly completely wound. The detent pin 78 then will be reinserted through the opening 77 in the shaft 33 whereby a subsequent lowering of the head seal will be opposed by the spring 92. The weight of the head seal 22 will probably create some pretensioning of the spring 92 before the aforesaid rotation of the shaft 33 moves the head seal 22 into its raised position. The chain 104 will be connected at one end of the head seal 22 and at the other end to the guide rail 24 by means of the stop bolt 45A, for example.

The side seals 18 and 19 may then be mounted upon the wall 11 by means including the L-shaped brackets 20 and 21 (FIG. 1) so that both sides and the top of the opening 12 have padded flexible sealing elements extending therealong by which the corresponding edges of a truck van can be sealingly engaged, as appearing in FIG. 4, it being understood that the foam cushions comprising the side seals 18 and 19 will readily resiliently compress when the rear edges of the truck van are backed thereagainst. By raising or lowering the head seal 22, adjustment can be quickly made for the wide range of different distances between the header of the truck opening and the ground. Normally, a piece of metal, plywood or the like is placed across the opening between the bed of the truck and the threshold of the opening 12, in a conventional manner, so that no sealing structure is required at the lower end of the opening 12. Variations in the elevations of truck beds are usually within a relatively small range and, therefore, little or no adjustment is required at the lower end of the opening. Likewise, the widths of truck vans are sufficiently standardized that variations therein pose no problem provided the side seals 18 and 19 are of reasonable width. Moreover, the most urgent need for a good weather seal occurs at the top of the opening 12 where rain, snow, sleet and the like can most easily enter said opening.

Because the tube 81 is spring biased, and because the tension on the spring 92 increases as the head seal 22 is lowered, it is necessary to positively hold the head seal 22 in a lowered position. This is accomplished by means of the chain 104 which is looped around or hooked by the stop bolt 45A. Thus, when the chain 104 is released from the stop bolt 45A, the spring 92 automatically retracts the head seal 22 into its raised position. Thus, except for the relatively brief period when a truck is being loaded or unloaded at the opening 12, the weather curtain 32 will be rolled upon the tube 81 where it is protected from the weather by the canopy 29.

The bevel 66 on the cushion 63 facilitates a firm, wedged and weather-tight engagement between the head seal 22 and the van header 28 where the van 16 is moved against the side seals 18 and 19 before the head seal 22 is moved down from its retracted position, which will occur frequently. The strip 65 will absorb the shock of impact between the head seal 22 and tube 81 when the chain 104 is disconnected from the bolt 45A and merely released, whereby the head seal 22 will move upwardly rapidly under the urging of the spring 92.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus, including the rearrangement of parts, lie within the scope of the present invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A seal device for sealing the space between the header of an opening in the wall of a building and the header of the opening in the rear of a truck van, comprising:

a pair of elongated track means mounted along the opposite edges of said opening near the upper end thereof;

cylindrical means rotatably supported adjacent the upper ends of said track means, said cylindrical means extending between and substantially perpendicular to said track means;

spring means connected to said cylindrical means and yieldably resisting rotation thereof in one rotational direction;

elongated seal means extending transversely between said track means and including an elongated and thick blocklike cushion member constructed of a resiliently compressible material, said seal means having a resiliently flexible surface sealingly engageable by the header of said van;

guide means supported on the opposite ends of said seal means for moving engagement with said track means, whereby movement of said seal means is guided lengthwise of said track means;

flexible sheet means affixed along one edge thereof to said cylindrical means and along an opposite edge thereof to said seal means; and

said sheet means extending between said track means for covering the upper end of said opening in said wall means when said seal means is spaced substantially from said cylindrical means, the lengthwise axis of said seal means being substantially parallel with the rotation axis of said cylindrical means.

2. A device according to claim 1, including elongated element means secured near one to said seal means;

anchor means affixed to one of said track means and spaced downwardly from said cylindrical means for engagement by said element means to hold said seal means in a lowered position against the contrary urging of said spring means.

3. A device according to claim 1, including lock means releasibly connectible between said seal means and said track means for holding said seal means in a lowered position against the contrary urging of said spring means;

wherein said cylindrical means includes shaft means nonrotatably supported by said track means and tubular means rotatably supported on said shaft means, said sheet means being secured to said tubular means; and

wherein said spring means is a spiral spring connected between said shaft means and said tubular means. 4. A device according to claim 1, including elongated and substantially parallel side seals adapted to be secured to said wall on opposite sides of said opening, said side seals having resiliently flexible surfaces engageable by said truck van and having recesses in which said track means are located, said side seals extending from said wall a distance somewhat greater than the corresponding extension of the seal means.

5. A device according to claim 3, including canopy means adapted to be secured upon said wall above said tubular means, said canopy means extending beyond the opposite ends of said tubular means and projecting away from said wall over and slightly downwardly around said tubular means.

6. A device according to claim 3, wherein said track means are vertical, coextensive, channel-shaped and open toward each other;

wherein a pair of support brackets are rigidly connected to the upper ends of said track means and project away from said wall, said brackets having openings through which the opposite ends of said shaft means are received;

wherein said guide means includes a pair of rollers supported upon both ends of said seal means for rotation around parallel axes and disposed within said track means;

bearing means mounted upon said shaft means and rotatably supporting the opposite ends of said tubular means; and

canopy means secured to said brackets and extending lengthwise beyond the opposite ends of said tubular means and projecting away from said wall beyond said tubular means.

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein said shaft means and canopy means have alignable openings therethrough;

pin means removably receivable through said openings in said shaft means and canogfvt means for positively preventing rotation of sard sh means with respect to said brackets; and

grip means on said shaft means adapted to be engaged for rotating said shaft means to increase the tension on said spring means when said pin means is released from said shaft means.

8. A device according to claim 1, including elongated and substantially parallel side seal devices adapted to be secured to said wall on opposite sides of said opening, each of said side seal devices including an elongated and thick block-like cushion member constructed of a resiliently compressible material and having a resiliently flexible surface sealingly engageable by the rear ends of the sidewalls of the truck van.

9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the cushion member of said seal means and the cushion members of said side seal devices are constructed of a resilient foam material.

10. A device according to claim 9, wherein said seal means is provided with an inclined surface on the lower front side thereof to permit said seal means to be moved downwardly to create a wedge-like sealing engagement with the rear header of the van after the rear end of the van has been disposed in sealing engagement with the side seal devices.

11. A device according to claim 1, wherein said seal means includes an elongated resiliently compressible stop cushion fixedly secured to the upper side thereof and extending longitudinally therealong, said stop cushion being disposed for contacting said cylindrical means when said seal means is returned to its uppermost position by said spring means.

12. A door seal outlining the tops and sides of a door opening as formed in a wall and adapted to seal against the top and side rear edges of a truck van which backs against the seal, said seal comprising:

first and second side pad structures adapted to be vertically disposed adjacent and substantially coextensively along the opposite sides of said opening, each side ad structure including an elongated block of a compressible resilient material;

a pair of elongated track means mounted along the opposite sides of said opening at least adjacent the upper end thereof;

roll means rotatably supported adjacent the upper end of said opening, said roll means extending substantially perpendicularly between said pair of elongated track means;

flexible sheet means affixed along one edge thereof to said roll means and adapted to be rollingly disposed thereon, said sheet means having a width substantially equal to the width of said opening;

spring means interconnected to said roll means and yieldably rotatably urging same in one rotational direction to cause said sheet means to be rolled onto said roll means; and

a top pad structure disposed below said roll means and fix edly connected to said flexible sheet means along an opposite edge thereof, said top pad structure extending substantially perpendicularly between the first and second side pad structures and being slidably supported by said pair of track means for enabling said top pad structure to be vertically moved in the vicinity of the upper end of said opening, said top pad structure also including an elongated block of resiliently compressible material.

13. A door seal according to claim 12, wherein said top pad structure has tapered surface means provided on the front surface thereof for permitting said top pad structure to be vertically displaced downwardly into a wedging and sealing engagement with the top rear edge of the truck van, and anchor means coacting with said top pad structure for permitting same to be fixedly secured in a selected position in opposition to the urging of said spring means.

Claims (13)

1. A seal device for sealing the space between the header of an opening in the wall of a building and the header of the opening in the rear of a truck van, comprising: a pair of elongated track means mounted along the opposite edges of said opening near the upper end thereof; cylindrical means rotatably supported adjacent the upper ends of said track means, said cylindrical means extending between and substantially perpendicular to said track means; spring means connected to said cylindrical means and yieldably resisting rotation thereof in one rotational direction; elongated seal means extending transversely between said track means and including an elongated and thick blocklike cushion member constructed of a resiliently compressible material, said seal means having a resiliently flexible surface sealingly engageable by the header of said van; guide means supported on the opposite ends of said seal means for moving engagement with said track means, whereby movement of said seal means is guided lengthwise of said track means; flexible sheet means affixed along one edge thereof to said cylindrical means and along an opposite edge thereof to said seal means; and said sheet means extending between said track means for covering the upper end of said opening in said wall means when said seal means is spaced substantially from said cylindrical means, the lengthwise axis of said seal means being substantially parallel with the rotation axis of said cylindrical means.

2. A device according to claim 1, including elongated element means secured near one to said seal means; anchor means affixed to one of said track means and spaced downwardly from said cylindrical means for engagement by said element means to hold said seal means in a lowered position against the contrary urging of said spring means.

3. A device according to claim 1, including lock means releasibly connectible between said seal means and said track means for holding said seal means in a lowered position against the contrary urging of said spring means; wherein said cylindrical means includes shaft means nonrotatably supported by said track means and tubular meanS rotatably supported on said shaft means, said sheet means being secured to said tubular means; and wherein said spring means is a spiral spring connected between said shaft means and said tubular means.

4. A device according to claim 1, including elongated and substantially parallel side seals adapted to be secured to said wall on opposite sides of said opening, said side seals having resiliently flexible surfaces engageable by said truck van and having recesses in which said track means are located, said side seals extending from said wall a distance somewhat greater than the corresponding extension of the seal means.

5. A device according to claim 3, including canopy means adapted to be secured upon said wall above said tubular means, said canopy means extending beyond the opposite ends of said tubular means and projecting away from said wall over and slightly downwardly around said tubular means.

6. A device according to claim 3, wherein said track means are vertical, coextensive, channel-shaped and open toward each other; wherein a pair of support brackets are rigidly connected to the upper ends of said track means and project away from said wall, said brackets having openings through which the opposite ends of said shaft means are received; wherein said guide means includes a pair of rollers supported upon both ends of said seal means for rotation around parallel axes and disposed within said track means; bearing means mounted upon said shaft means and rotatably supporting the opposite ends of said tubular means; and canopy means secured to said brackets and extending lengthwise beyond the opposite ends of said tubular means and projecting away from said wall beyond said tubular means.

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein said shaft means and canopy means have alignable openings therethrough; pin means removably receivable through said openings in said shaft means and canopy means for positively preventing rotation of said shaft means with respect to said brackets; and grip means on said shaft means adapted to be engaged for rotating said shaft means to increase the tension on said spring means when said pin means is released from said shaft means.

8. A device according to claim 1, including elongated and substantially parallel side seal devices adapted to be secured to said wall on opposite sides of said opening, each of said side seal devices including an elongated and thick block-like cushion member constructed of a resiliently compressible material and having a resiliently flexible surface sealingly engageable by the rear ends of the sidewalls of the truck van.

9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the cushion member of said seal means and the cushion members of said side seal devices are constructed of a resilient foam material.

10. A device according to claim 9, wherein said seal means is provided with an inclined surface on the lower front side thereof to permit said seal means to be moved downwardly to create a wedge-like sealing engagement with the rear header of the van after the rear end of the van has been disposed in sealing engagement with the side seal devices.

11. A device according to claim 1, wherein said seal means includes an elongated resiliently compressible stop cushion fixedly secured to the upper side thereof and extending longitudinally therealong, said stop cushion being disposed for contacting said cylindrical means when said seal means is returned to its uppermost position by said spring means.

12. A door seal outlining the tops and sides of a door opening as formed in a wall and adapted to seal against the top and side rear edges of a truck van which backs against the seal, said seal comprising: first and second side pad structures adapted to be vertically disposed adjacent and substantially coextensively along the opposite sides of said opening, each side pad structure including an elongated block of a compressible resilient material; a pair of elongated traCk means mounted along the opposite sides of said opening at least adjacent the upper end thereof; roll means rotatably supported adjacent the upper end of said opening, said roll means extending substantially perpendicularly between said pair of elongated track means; flexible sheet means affixed along one edge thereof to said roll means and adapted to be rollingly disposed thereon, said sheet means having a width substantially equal to the width of said opening; spring means interconnected to said roll means and yieldably rotatably urging same in one rotational direction to cause said sheet means to be rolled onto said roll means; and a top pad structure disposed below said roll means and fixedly connected to said flexible sheet means along an opposite edge thereof, said top pad structure extending substantially perpendicularly between the first and second side pad structures and being slidably supported by said pair of track means for enabling said top pad structure to be vertically moved in the vicinity of the upper end of said opening, said top pad structure also including an elongated block of resiliently compressible material.

13. A door seal according to claim 12, wherein said top pad structure has tapered surface means provided on the front surface thereof for permitting said top pad structure to be vertically displaced downwardly into a wedging and sealing engagement with the top rear edge of the truck van, and anchor means coacting with said top pad structure for permitting same to be fixedly secured in a selected position in opposition to the urging of said spring means.

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