FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to sectional doors and methods for assembly of the doors. Doors embodied by the invention are particularly suitable for, but are not limited to, use as garage doors. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Sectional doors are in widespread use as garage doors and comprise a plurality of rectangular door sections disposed one above another. Each door section typically comprises front sheet metal panels having a protective paint finish that are respectively fixed in the middle and at each end to upright galvanised square section muntin supports that are vertically aligned and respectively hinged to the corresponding muntin supports of adjacent door section(s) by hinges mounted to the rear face of the muntins. To provide rigidity to the door, the top and bottom margins of each panel are commonly folded backwardly to form channel formations which fit between and are secured to the respective muntins of the door section, effectively forming a supporting frame about the panel. The door is alternatively raised or lowered manually or by a remotely controlled powered drive mechanism to move the door between generally upright and horizontal positions for opening or closing of the door, the weight of the door being counterbalanced by a spring system. The raising or lowering of the door is guided by rollers mounted to the door sections and which are received in tracks fixed to the garage building structure.

The panels mounted to the front of respective of the door sections can also bear decorative designs (e.g., diamonds or squares) that have been pressed or roll-formed into the panels for aesthetic purposes. Whilst metal panels are commonly used, timber panels, metal or timber battens, or panels fabricated from mesh, Perspex™ and the like can be employed instead. However, the assembly of the door typically involves securing the hinges and panels, battens or the like to respective of the muntins with the use of mechanical fasteners (e.g., self-tapping screws and the like) making the construction of the door relatively cumbersome, as well as time and labour intensive.

Water and dirt particles can also be forced through the hinged joints between the door sections under high rain and/or wind conditions leading to pooling of water in the garage, dirt accumulation, and potential for increased risk of corrosion to the door and hinges, with consequential shortening of component and/or door life.

Moreover, as a result of adjacent ones of the door sections being hinged together, when the door is raised or lowered large gaps extending across the door are formed between the door sections as they move from their upright to horizontal positions and vice versa. In at least some forms of known sectional doors these gaps are such that there is a clear path of vision through the gaps from one side of the door through to the other side. During installation of the door, or in instances where there is a power outage or failure of the powered drive mechanism of the door, it is necessary to manually pull down the door to close it (or draw it upwardly/backwardly to open it). As result, fingers can become caught in the gaps between the door panels as the gaps close with travel of the door causing painful pinching or crushing injuries. Further, hinges commonly used in the construction of such sectional doors can develop fatigue cracks with repeated use over time.

A sectional door with "pinch free" joints between adjacent door sections wherein top and bottom cross member muntins have correspondingly curved faces and nest together to provide an articulated joint between the door sections is known. Respective hinge pins extending longitudinally through the top and bottom of adjacent door sections are coupled together at respective ends of the door sections by plastic links and securing pins.

However, the assembly of the door is again cumbersome and relatively time consuming. Moreover, as the links pivot about the hinge pins when the door is raised or lowered and are exposed, they are also prone to damage, fatigue and/or failure. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an aspect of the invention there is provided a sectional door of the type for being alternatively raised or lowered to move the door between generally upright and horizontal positions to open or close the entrance to the interior of a building structure, the door comprising a plurality of door sections disposed one above another, the door sections each having a front and a rear, wherein a respective articulated joint is formed between adjacent ones of the door sections said adjacent door sections being hinged together by at least one hinge extending from one of the door sections to the other door section, the hinge comprising a hook element projecting from the one said door section and a hinge pin carried by the other door section, the hook element projecting through the articulated joint from the one door section to the other door section and hooking around the pin to hold the door sections together.

The hook element can hook partially around the pin of the hinge so as to permit the hook element to be hooked around the pin during assembly of the sectional door and removal of the hook element from about the pin during disassembly of the door. In other embodiments, the hook element can be configured such that once in position about the pin it is held captive on the pin. In the latter instance, the hook element can have a ring shaped end portion which receives the pin whereby the hook element is thereby held captive by the pin. The ring portion can be a closed or open ring formation. Accordingly, the term "hook element" is to be taken in the broadest sense as used herein to encompass both a hook shaped element and an element that acts to hook about the pin of the hinge.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a sectional door of the type for being alternatively raised or lowered to move the door between generally upright and horizontal positions to open or close the entrance to the interior of a building structure, the door comprising a plurality of door sections disposed one above another, the door sections each having a front and a rear, and adjacent ones of the door sections being hinged together by at least one hinge, each said hinge comprising a hook element projecting from one of the door sections and a hinge pin carried by the other door section, the hook element hooking around the pin to hold the adjacent door sections together and being removable from about the pin to detach the adjacent door sections from one another upon the adjacent door sections being rotated about the pin to a predetermined angle with respect to each other.

Typically, the adjacent door sections of a sectional door embodied by the invention nest together to form the articulated joint.

Typically, the articulated joint is formed by opposed hinge supports of the adjacent door sections, the hinge being mounted to the hinge supports, and the hook element of the hinge projects from the hinge support of the respective door section through an opening of a hinge support of the adjacent door section to hook about the pin of the hinge.

Typically, the articulated joint is defined by an arcuate surface of the hinge support from which the hook element projects and a curved surface of the other hinge support, the arcuate and curved surfaces being nested together for rotational movement with respect to one another during operation of the door, and the opening through which the hook element projects to hook around the pin of the hinge is defined in the curved surface of the hinge support of the adjacent door section. In at least some embodiments, the arcuate surface is continuous with a lip of the respective hinge support, the lip being arranged for abutment with a front ledge of the hinge support of the other door section upon the adjacent door sections being rotated about the pin of the hinge into alignment with one another.

Typically, the hinge supports forming the articulated joint have a respective channel, and the hook element of the hinge projects from the channel of the respective hinge support through an opening in the arcuate surface of that hinge support into the opening defined in the curved surface of the hinge support of the adjacent door section to hook around the pin of the hinge.

Typically, the hinge further comprises a hinge assembly including the pin and receiving the hook element, the hinge assembly being mounted in the channel of the other hinge support of the adjacent door section. Generally, the hinge assembly comprises a hinge body having a cavity, and the hook element hooks around the pin of the hinge in the cavity.

Typically, at least one bracket is mounted in the channel of that hinge support forming the articulated joint from which the hook element of the hinge projects, the bracket being aligned with that hook element and the hinge assembly of an oppositely disposed further hinge mounted in the channel of another hinge support forming another articulated joint with an adjacent door section of the door, and the bracket is connected to the hinge body of the further hinge by a muntin of the door section on which the bracket and the hinge body of the further hinge are mounted.

In at least some embodiments the bracket is mounted in the channel of the respective hinge support from which the hook element projects to retain the hook element in position in the channel.

In other embodiments, the hook element passes through the bracket and an end of the hook element protruding from the bracket into the channel of the hinge support in which the bracket is mounted is secured against withdrawal from that hinge support.

Typically, each of the door sections further comprises a structural frame incorporating the hinge supports.

In at least some embodiments, the hinge supports of respective of the adjacent door sections are in the form of rails extending across the door. The rails can be in the form of tubular or channel sections.

Typically, adjacent door sections of the door are hinged together by a plurality of the hinges wherein the hinges are spaced apart from one another across the door.

Typically, at least some of the door sections of a door embodied by the invention each further comprise a front panel mounted to the front of the frame of the respective door section.

Typically, the building structure is a garage and the door is a garage door.

However, it will be understood that doors embodied by the invention have a range of applications and are not limited to use as garage doors. For example, the door can be used to protect the front of ground level commercial premises, to close an entrance to an apartment building or office block, or as a door to a loading dock, warehouse, shed or the like.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for assembly of a sectional door of the type for being alternatively raised or lowered to move the door between generally upright and generally horizontal positions to open or close the entrance to an internal space of a building structure, comprising:

providing a plurality of door sections, each door section having a front and a rear; and

assembling the door sections one above another whereby a respective articulated joint is formed between adjacent ones of the door sections said adjacent door sections being hinged together by at least one hinge extending from one of the door sections to the other door section, the hinge comprising a hook element projecting from one of the door sections and a pin carried by the other said door section, the hook element projecting through the articulated joint from the one door section to the other door section and hooking around the pin to hold the door sections together.

In at least some embodiments, the hinging of the adjacent door sections s together comprises:

arranging one of the door sections at the predetermined angle with respect to the other door section;

hooking the hooking element about the pin carried by the other door section whilst the adjacent door sections are arranged at the predetermined angle; and

rotating the adjacent door sections about the pin to reduce the predetermined angle to retain the hook element about the pin.

In other embodiments, the hinging of the adjacent door sections may comprise: fitting one end of the hook element about the hinge pin of the hinge body;

mounting the hinge body to the hinge support of the other said door section whereby an opposite end of the hook element protrudes from that hinge support; and

securing the opposite end of the hook element to the hinge support of the one said door section.

Advantageously, a sectional door in accordance with at least some forms of the invention may be rapidly and easily assembled. For example, in embodiments in which the hook element of respective of the hinges of the door can be located about the pin of the hinge whilst the pin is in position, the door can be assembled by simply arranging adjacent door sections of the door at the predetermined angle and locating respective of the hook element(s) of one of the door sections about respective of the hinge pin(s) of the other door section to hinge the door sections together, and repeating this process to progressively add on consecutive door sections to form the door.

Respective door sections of a sectional door in accordance with at least some embodiments as described herein can be pre-fabricated (with or without a front panel affixed) at the workshop or factory to minimise fabrication costs and transported to the installation site for assembly of the door. By reducing the time associated with installation of the door, labour costs may also be reduced.

Moreover, by hinging the adjacent door sections together whereby the door sections form an articulated joint as described above, any gaps between the door sections into which fingers could otherwise can be inserted when raising or lowering the door in use may be minimised or avoided. In particular, because the adjacent door sections of at least some embodiments are nested together, the pathway between the door sections from the front of the door through to the back of the door is essentially blocked by the joint. Further, as the hinged adjacent door sections rotate relative to one another in use, any fingers of a person that may be placed on the so formed articulated joint between the door sections when the door is being opened or closed tend to be pushed from the joint as the door sections are moved into general upright or horizontal alignment with one another as the case may be, such that the risk of suffering a pinching injury to the fingers may be substantially reduced. Likewise, the entry of dirt and/or water between the adjacent door sections may also be reduced.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as

"comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers, integers or steps.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the invention as it existed in Australia or elsewhere before the priority date of this application. The features and advantages of the invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention together with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective diagrammatic partial view of a sectional door embodied by the invention;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic side view of a hinge of the door of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a partial perspective view illustrating the hinge of Fig. 2 in position in door sections of the sectional door;

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the hinge assembly of the hinge of Fig. 3;

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic side view of a hinge of another sectional door embodied by the invention;

Figure 6 is a partial perspective view illustrating the hinge of Fig. 5 in position; Figure 7 is an exploded diagramatic view of the hinge body of the hinge of Fig. 6; and

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the hinge body of Fig. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

At least some like components of different embodiments of sectional doors in accordance with the invention are numbered the same in the following for the purpose of consistency in description of the doors.

The sectional door 10 shown in Fig. 1 is a garage door comprising a plurality of door sections 12 arranged one above another. Respective of the door sections include hinge supports in the form of opposed rails 16 and 17 which in the embodiment shown form a structural metal frame 14 with hollow muntin side frame members 18 that have a square cross-section and extend transversely between the rails. The rails 16 and 17 are respectively located at the top and bottom of each door section and extend across the entire width of the door. A further muntin forming a middle frame member 19 extending from one of the rails to the other is also provided, and a respective sheet metal panel 20 with a protective paint finish is mounted to the front of each frame 14. In other embodiments, timber panels 20 can be utilised. Any suitable means to mount the panels 20 to the frames 14 can be utilised such as mechanical fasteners (e.g., pop rivets), adhesives, double-sided tapes or a combination of the foregoing. Adjacent ones of the door sections are

respectively hinged together by a number of hinges generally indicated by the numeral 22 that are laterally spaced apart from one another across the door, with one being located at each end of the adjacent door sections and another being located in the middle.

Rollers (not shown) are mounted to the opposite ends of each door section and are received in tracks attached to the garage building structure itself as is conventionally known for guiding the door between generally upright and generally horizontal positions to open or close the entrance to the garage. It is not necessary that the entirety of the sectional door be moved to its generally horizontal or upright orientation when at the end of its range of travel. As will be understood, the hinges 22 permit the adjacent door sections to be angled relative to one another as the door sections are correspondingly moved between generally upright and generally horizontal positions during the raising or lowering of the door. Any conventional remotely controlled powered drive mechanism for raising or lowering the door can be utilised, such as a collar coupled to the top of the door 10 via a linkage arrangement and which is slidably received on a guide shaft mounted to the ceiling of the garage for being driven back and forth by an endless chain via an electric motor.

As better shown in Fig. 2, each of the rails 16 and 17 is in the form of a channel section with a longitudinal channel. The channel 24 of the rail 16 faces away from the channel 26 of rail 17. As can also be seen, the rails of each door section differ from another in their cross-sectional profile, with rail 16 having an arcuate concave surface 28 which terminates at a lip 30 whilst rail 17 has corresponding curved convex surface 32 of essentially matching curvature to the concave surface 28. The surfaces 28 and 32 of the rails of adjacent door sections face each other and are disposed immediately adjacent to one another so as to be nested together for rotational movement relative to one another, and so define an articulated joint between the door sections. The arcuate surface 28 of the rail 16 is continuous with a longitudinal lip 30 of that rail. When the adjacent door sections are rotated about respective of the hinge pins 34 into alignment as shown in Fig. 2, the lip 30 of the rail 16 is moved into abutment with the front ledge 35 of rail 17 such that the front surfaces of the frames 14 of the adjacent door sections are essentially flush with one another.

As the opposed rails 16 and 17 of the adjacent door sections are nested together and extend across the width of the door, they block the path between the adjacent door sections in a front to rear direction of the door and so provide a barrier to the entry of dirt and water. In addition, the risk of a person's fingers being caught between the adjacent door sections during opening or closing of the door is reduced. This is firstly due to the scope for insertion of fingers between the door sections 12 being limited and secondly, because lip 30 of cross member 16 tends to push fingers out from between the door sections as they rotate into alignment about the hinges.

As also shown in Fig. 2, each hinge 22 comprises a hook element 36 with a retaining formation in the form of a base plate 38 seated on the floor of channel 24 of the rail 16. The hook element 36 protrudes from a transverse slot shaped opening generally indicated by the numeral 40 provided in that rail through a corresponding aligned transverse slot opening indicted by numeral 42 defined in the rail 17 to hook around pin 34 of the hinge 22. The pin 34 is held captive in position by the head of the pin and a clip or split pin fitted to the protruding opposite end of the pin 34.

A generally U-shaped bracket 44 is mounted behind the base plate 38 of the hook element 36 to retain the hook element in position, whilst tynes 46 of the bracket 44 are received in longitudinal grooves 48 provided in the opposite side walls of the rail 16 to hold the bracket within that rail (see Fig. 3). Spaced apart legs 50 of the bracket project from the channel 24 of the rail 16 and are received in one end of a respective square- section hollow muntin 18 in a snug-fit (Fig. 2). Mechanical fasteners (e.g., pop rivets) are used to fix the muntin to the bracket.

A hinge assembly 52 of the hinge 22 is likewise retained within the channel 26 of the rail 17 by the reception of tynes 54 of the hinge assembly in corresponding longitudinal grooves 56 formed in the side walls defining the channel of that rail. Again, the legs 58 of the hinge assembly are received in a snug fit in the opposite end of a further muntin 18 (see Fig. 2) and mechanical fasteners are used to fix the hinge assembly to the further muntin.

An exploded view of the hinge arrangement is shown in Fig. 4. In particular, the hinge assembly 52 comprises a hinge body which in the embodiment shown consists of an inner element 60 sandwiched between outer side elements 62 of the hinge body. A recess 64 is formed in the end of the inner element defining a cavity between the outer side elements when the hinge body is assembled together. When assembled together, the hinge pin 34 is inserted through the aligned openings 66 and 68 of the side elements and so is disposed within the cavity. The hook portion 70 of the hook element 36 locates around the hinge pin, and the recess 64 of the inner element is shaped to permit rotation of the hook element about the pin within a maximum angle of rotation.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1, a third hinge 22 likewise associated with muntins 19 of adjacent door sections is provided between the outer hinges 22 to hinge adjacent door sections together. Thus, respective of the hinges are mounted to the rails 16 and 17 forming the articulated joint between the adjacent door sections and respective muntins 18 and 19 of each door section 12 are aligned with the corresponding muntins of each adjacent door section, and each muntin is fitted to a bracket 44 associated with one hinge 22 at one end and to the hinge assembly 52 of another hinge 22 at an opposite end. Any number of hinges 22 may be provided to hinge adjacent door sections together (e.g., 3, 4 or 5 hinges etc.). Typically, each further such hinge is provided in association with additional muntins as described above.

To assemble the door 10, a first door section 12 is mounted to respective guide tracks of the door so as to stand in a substantially upright orientation such that the curved surface 32 of the rail 17 is uppermost and whereby rollers mounted to the door section are received in the guide tracks. A further door section 12 is then held at a predetermined angle to the first door section whereby the protruding hook elements 36 of the further door section are inserted into the respective slot openings 42 of the rail 17 of the first door section so as to hook around the corresponding hinge pins 34 carried within the channel of rail 17. Once the hook elements 36 are in position, the further door section 12 is rotated about the respective hinge pins into alignment with the first door section 12 to hinge the door sections together. Rollers on axles mounted to opposite upper end regions of the further door section are located in the guide tracks of the door to hold the further door section generally upright above the first door section. This process is repeated until the final door section is hinged in position, one door section being added at a time. As will be understood, the bottom rail of the frame 14 of the first door section and the top rail of the frame 14 of the final door section are not hinged to an adjacent door section and so can have any suitable cross sectional profile. To cover the exposed channels 24 and 26 of the rails 16 and 17, respective covers (not shown) are inserted into the side wall grooves 48 and 56 of the rails in the sections between the muntins 18 and 19.

To disassemble the door 10 the above process is simply reversed. Accordingly, the assembly and disassembly of a sectional door embodied by the invention can be performed rapidly on site.

Typically, the respective adjacent door sections of the door are moved to a maximum angle of about 75° with respect to one another as the door is opened or closed with travel of the rollers of the door along the guide tracks of the door. To provide a safety margin to ensure the door sections do not become unhinged from one another during the opening or closing of the door, the predetermined angle at which the adjacent door sections are held to hinge or detach one from the other when assembling or disassembling the door is least 85°. Generally, the predetermined angle is in a range of from 85° to 90°. Typically, the doors are held essentially at a right angle to one another.

A hinge 22 of a further sectional door embodied by the invention is shown in Fig. 5 to Fig. 8. In this door, the rails 16 and 17 of each door section are in the form of elongate profiled tubular sections instead of open sided channel sections as in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, and again nest one with the other to form an articulated joint. As can be seen, the hook element 36 of the hinge 22 of this embodiment has a closed ring end portion 90 that receives the hinge pin 34 whereby the hook element is held captive on the pin. Rather than terminating at an opposite end in a base plate 38 retained in the channel 24 of rail 16 by the bracket 44 in the embodiment described above, the opposite end of the hook element 36 passes through an opening 72 of a bracket 74 seated on the floor of the channel 76 of the rail 16 of the arrangement shown in Fig. 5, and is secured in position within that rail by a retaining roll pin 78 that is inserted through a hole 80 in the end of the hook element and which is aligned with corresponding holes formed in the rail 16 and bracket 74. A circlip or other retaining system could be used to secure the end of the hook element in position within the channel 76 of the rail 16 instead of a roll pin, and any suitable such retaining system can be utilised. The profiles of the rails 16 and 17 are illustrated in Fig. 6.

In the present embodiment, the hinge body 82 of the hinge has legs 58 and comprises two hinge body elements 84 and 86 held in abutment against one another as illustrated in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. As best shown in Fig. 7, the hinge body element 84 has a recess 88 for reception of the closed ring portion 90 of the hook element 36, and a blind hole 92 for insertion of one end of the hinge pin 34. An aligned blind hole 85 is also provided in an inner face of the other hinge body element 86 for reception of the opposite end of the pin 34. To assemble the hinge of this embodiment, the hinge pin 34 is first inserted into blind hole 92 and the closed ring portion 90 of the hook element is located about the pin such that the pin is received therethrough. The opposite end of the pin is then inserted into the blind hole of the other hinge body element 86 and the hinge body elements 84 and 86 are pressed into abutment so as to be side by side with one another whereby a cavity 94 from which the hook element projects is thereby formed in the hinge body by the recess 88 of element 84, as shown in Fig. 5. As the hinge pin 34 is received through the closed ring portion 90 of the hook element, the hook element is held captive on the pin.

In an alternative form of the hinge body 82, rather than the hinge body being formed from two different hinge body elements as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, two mirror image hinge body elements 84 arranged to face each other can be used. Accordingly, the recess 88 of each hinge body element forms the cavity in which the hinge pin 34 and hook element 36 are received. However, in this instance the width of the recess of each hinge body element 84 is reduced by half so that the width of the cavity formed when the two hinge body elements 84 are placed in face to face abutment with each other remains the same as for the embodiment in Fig. 7. This alternative form of the hinge body 82 provides the significant advantage that only the one hinge body element 84 need be retained in inventory.

As also shown in Fig. 5, the hinge body 82 of the hinge is seated in the channel 96 of the rail 17 such that the hook element projects from the slot shaped opening 42 provided in the convex curved surface 32 of that rail and through opening 98 provided in the arcuate surface 28 of the rail 16 into aligned opening 72 of the bracket 74. A respective opening 100 (see Fig. 6) is formed in the opposite wall 102 of the rail 17 through which the spaced apart legs 58 of the hinge body project. Likewise, an opening 104 is formed in the wall 106 of rail 16 through which the spaced apart legs 50 of the bracket 74 extend. Aligned openings 100 and 104 are provided along the rails 16 and 17 for each respective hinge 22. The openings 100 and 104 can be conveniently formed in the rails 16 and 17 by milling.

Frame members in the form of hollow, square-section muntins 18 and 19 form a frame 14 with the rails 16 and 17 of each door section 12 as with the embodiment described above in connection with Fig. 1 to Fig. 4. Each muntin again respectively receives the legs 58 of the hinge body of a hinge 22 in one end and the legs 50 of a bracket 74 in an opposite end to which the ends of the muntin are fastened by pop rivets (not shown) or other suitable mechanical fasteners (e.g., self tapping screws etc.). Typically, at least two such fasteners are used to respectively secure each hinge body 82 to the rail 17 whereby the elements 84 and 86 of the hinge body are held in abutment with each other. Similarly, respective of the brackets 74 are also secured in position in the channel 76 of the rail 16 by pop rivets or other suitable such mechanical fasteners.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, rather than forming the openings 100 and 104 through the respective wall of the rail 16 or 17 as shown in Fig. 6, each of the rails can be milled to form transverse rebates extending the entire width of the rails to the full depth of the respective wall (e.g., 3mm) to thereby form the openings 100 and 104 in the rails. Each rebate can be of a width to permit the end of the corresponding muntin 18 or 19 to be seated in the rebate, thereby retaining the muntins in position and restraining them against lateral movement. In other embodiments, the opposite side walls of each end of a muntin can be rebated whereby only the front and rear walls of the ends of the muntin are seated in the corresponding rebates of the rails 16 and 17. Rebates can also be provided in the rails 16 and 17 of the embodiments described in Fig. 2 and 3 for reception of the ends of the muntins 18 and 19.

Thus, in at least some embodiments, the sectional door comprises a plurality of door sections disposed one above another, wherein a respective articulated joint is formed between adjacent ones of the door sections hinged together by at least one hinge 22, the hinge comprising a hook element 36 and a hinge pin 34, the hinge extending from one door section to the other and the articulated joint being defined by opposed hinge supports (e.g., rails 16 and 17) of the door sections, the hook element projecting across the articulated joint from one of the hinge supports of one of the door section through an opening 42 of the other hinge support of the other door section to hook around the pin to hold the door sections together. The use of mechanical fasteners is sufficient to fasten the respective of the hinges 22 and the muntins 18, 19 of the frame 14 of each door section together and the provision of grooves 48 and 56 in the opposite side walls of the rails 16 and 17 and corresponding tynes 46 and 54 on the bracket 74 and hinge body 82 for reception in the grooves can be omitted, as in the embodiment of Fig. 5.

The rails 16 and 17 as well as muntins 18 and 19 of the frame 14 of respective of the door sections of a sectional door embodied by the invention are typically aluminium extrusions, whilst respective of the hook elements 36 and hinge pins 34 of the hinges are generally fabricated from steel or stainless steel. Advantageously, once the frame 14 of the respective door sections have been fabricated, they can be powder coated with a protective paint finish to match the panels 20 to be subsequently mounted to the front of the frames 14 or to provide a colour contrast to the panels for aesthetic purposes.

The arcuate and curved surfaces 28, 32 of the rails 16 and 17 forming an articulated joint between adjacent door sections of a sectional door as described herein can also be coated with a suitable conventionally known surface lubricant.

It will be understood various modifications may be made to the embodiments described above. For example, rather than respective door sections being provided with opposed top and bottom rails 16 and 17, the top and bottom edge margins of the front panel of a door section may be folded or otherwise roll-formed to provide longitudinal channel formations functioning as hinge supports in which the hook elements 36 and hinge assemblies 52, 82 are mounted. Typically, in this embodiment each of the door sections will generally still be provided with spaced apart muntins associated with aligned hinges 22 of the adjacent ones of the doors in the manner described above. In such embodiments, the channel formations of adjacent door sections may also form an articulated joint between the door sections. In still other embodiments, the top and bottom of respective of the door sections may be respectively provided by hinge supports comprising a combination of side by side extruded profiled sections and channel formations of the panels.

Accordingly, it will be understood the presently described embodiments are merely illustrative of sectional doors of the invention.