Garage door bracket

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 120 of U.S. Patent Provisional Application 61/047,934, filed Apr. 25, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present invention relates to garage door tracks, and more particularly to a bracket for hanging a garage door track and/or garage door opener from a support structure, such as a ceiling joist.

Garage doors typically include wheels on each side that travel up and down tracks formed from C-shaped channels. The tracks include a vertical portion extending along the side of the garage door opening and a horizontal portion extending into the garage away from the garage door opening. The vertical portion is attached to the garage door opening, and the horizontal portion is attached to the ceiling by hanging from the ceiling joists. A typical arrangement for attaching the horizontal portion 10 to the ceiling joists 12, 14 is shown in FIG. 1. In this arrangement, a horizontal L-shaped bracket 16 is attached directly to the ceiling joists 12, 14. More specifically, the bracket 16 includes a first flange 18 parallel with the ceiling and a second flange 20 extending away from the ceiling perpendicular to the first flange 18. The flanges 18, 20 each include a series of fastener holes 22 along their lengths. The first flange 18 is connected to the ceiling joists 12, 14 with lag bolts 24 extending through the holes in the first flange 18 and into the joists 12, 14. The second flange 20 receives a bolt 26 that connects the horizontal bracket 16 to an L-shaped vertical bracket 30. Similar to the horizontal bracket 16, the vertical bracket 30 includes a first flange 32 with a series of holes 34, and a second flange 36 with a series of holes 38. The bolt 26 extends through the first flange 32 of the vertical bracket 30 and the second flange 20 of the horizontal bracket 16. A sway bracket 40 extends on an angle between the second flange 20 of the horizontal bracket 16 and the first flange 32 of the vertical bracket 30 to provide support and prevent lateral movement of the vertical bracket 30. The sway bracket 40 is connected to the horizontal bracket with a bolt 42 and to the vertical bracket with an additional bolt 44. Finally, the vertical bracket 30 connects to the horizontal portion 10 of the garage door track with a bolt 46 that extends through one of the holes 38 in the second flange 36 of the vertical bracket 30 and a hole in the garage door track 10.

Assembly of the above-described garage door track bracket arrangement involves a series of steps. The garage door installer must (1) measure the distance between ceiling joists, (2) cut the horizontal bracket to a proper length, (3) measure the distance between the ceiling and the horizontal portion of the track, (4) cut the vertical bracket to the proper length, (5) measure and cut the sway bracket to a proper length, (6) attach the horizontal bracket to the ceiling joists with two lag bolts, (7) attach the horizontal, vertical and sway brackets together with three bolts and (8) attach the vertical bracket to the garage door track with a bolt. Although this system and method is very widely known and used, it can be unfavorable, primarily because the installation steps are time consuming and labor intensive, and because they provide multiple opportunities for error by the installer.

The embodiments of the present invention provide a garage door track bracket that attaches between the ceiling joists and the vertical bracket member. The bracket can save time, labor and materials during installation while reducing the opportunities for error.

In one embodiment, the bracket includes an upper horizontal element, a lower horizontal element, and at least one support element extending between the upper and lower horizontal elements. The upper element may include a ceiling flange that is angled approximately ninety degrees from the remainder of the bracket. The vertical bracket member attaches to the upper horizontal element, the lower horizontal element and the track.

In another embodiment, the lower horizontal element is substantially shorter than the upper horizontal element and the upper and lower horizontal elements are connected by three support elements. A first support element extends between the first ends of the upper and lower horizontal elements and is perpendicular to the upper and lower horizontal elements. A second support element extends between the second ends of the upper and lower elements, and due to the difference in lengths between the upper and lower elements, the second support element extends on an angle between the upper and lower support elements. A third support element is positioned between the first and second support elements and extends perpendicular to the upper and lower horizontal elements.

Attachment of the garage door track to the ceiling joists with the bracket of the present invention includes the steps of: (1) attaching the ceiling flange to the ceiling, (2) measuring the distance between the ceiling and the track and cutting the vertical bracket member to the proper length, (3) attaching the vertical bracket member to the upper and lower horizontal members of the bracket with two bolts and (4) attaching the track to the vertical bracket member with a bolt.

The bracket can reduce installation time and labor from the typical installation arrangement and method by reducing the number of cuts that the installer must make, and by reducing the number of fasteners that are needed. The reduction in measuring and cutting may also lower the chances for error by the installers.

These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be readily understood and appreciated by reference to the detailed description of the current embodiment and the drawings.