Dual-purpose doors

What about a storefront that completely opens up to permit vehicles to pass through? We’re not referring to a roll-up overhead door common to automotive repair shops; they’re designed for high frequency, repetitive opening and closing and are dedicated to vehicular traffic. What we’re talking about is a true storefront, with full vertical panes of glass and a full-size aluminum entrance door that could, as needed, open completely to let a car [or truck, forklift, etc.] pass through. Such applications are most common in urban areas where a truck or van might be kept inside at night for security purposes and then placed outside prior to the opening of the business each day. During business hours, the “doors” look like and function as a storefront, with customers coming and going through a standard entrance door, which is itself “a door within a door”. At the close of business each day, the storefront is again opened, and the vehicle again parked inside for security. A similar application would be a storefront that is opened several times a week to enable a forklift to pass through to transfer palletized goods from a supplier’s truck parked on the street. In the city, time is money, and the sooner merchandise can be taken indoors [and off the sidewalk], the less likely it is to go home with the pedestrians.                                                                                    More...