Folding door with flexible joint

Claim 1

IN A FOLDING DOOR, A SERIES OF VERTICAL PANELS ARRANGED IN EDGE-TO-EDGE RELATIONSHIP, AND A CONTINUOUS FLEXIBLE ELEMENT EXTENDING VERTICALLY BETWEEN ADJACENT PANELS AND FORMING A SEAL AND HINGE THEREBETWEEN FOR ENABLING THE PANEL TO MOVE FROM A FOLDED CONDITION IN WHICH THE PANELS ARE DISPOSED IN GENERALLY PARALLEL SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATIONSHIP TO AN EXTENDED POSITION IN WHICH THE PANELS ARE DISPOSED IN A SHALLOW ACCORDION FOLD POSITION, SAID ELEMENT INCLUDING A PAIR OF BODY PORTIONS, EACH BODY PORTION HAVING A RELATIVELY THIN EDGE ORIENTATED AT THE ADJACENT CORNER EDGES OF ADJACENT PANELS, THE RELATIVELY THIN EDGES BEING CONNECTED TOGETHER BY A RELATIVELY THIN AND NARROW CONNECTING AREA WITH THE REMAINDER OF THE ADJACENT SURFACES OF THE BODY PORTIONS BEING SPACED APART WHEN THE PANELS ARE IN THEIR EXTENDED POSITIONS, EACH BODY PORTION HAVING A FLANGE PROJECTING FROM THE SURFACE THEREOF ENGAGED WITH THE EDGE OF AN ADJACENT PANEL WITH THE FLANGE BEING RELATIVELY THIN IN RELATION TO THE WIDTH OF THE BODY PORTION AND THICKNESS OF THE PANEL, EACH PANEL HAVING A RELATIVELY NARROW GROOVE IN THE SIDE EDGE THEREOF RECEIVING THE FLANGES ON THE ELEMENT THEREBY SECURING THE FLEXIBLE ELEMENT TO THE PANELS, EACH BODY PORTION OF THE FLEXIBLE ELEMENT HAVING A WIDTH GENERALLY EQUAL TO THE THICKNESS OF THE PANELS WHEREBY THE BODY PORTIONS SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETELY COVER THE SIDE EDGES OF THE PANELS WITH THE CONNECTING AREA BEING DISPOSED GENERALLY COINCIDENTAL WITH THE ADJACENT CORNERS OF ADJACENT PANELS THUS FORMING A HINGE AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY WITH THE ADJACENT CORNERS OF ADJACENT PANELS FOR ENABLING MOVEMENT OF THE PANELS BETWEEN THEIR FOLDED AND EXTENDED POSITIONS.