GB2317201A

GB2317201A - Linkage for up-and-over automatic door lock mechanism

Info

Publication number: GB2317201A
Application number: GB9619157A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nicholas Keith Goldring
Original assignee: AMOURELLE PRODUCTS Ltd
Current assignee: AMOURELLE PRODUCTS Ltd
Priority date: 1996-09-13
Filing date: 1996-09-13
Publication date: 1998-03-18
Anticipated expiration: 2016-09-13
Also published as: GB2317201B; GB9619157D0

Abstract

A drive arm 46 is attached to the drive means 4 of door opening and closing mechanism, which is slidably attached to an arm (48) by bolts 54,56 through slots 58,60 in the arm (48), the end of arm (48) being pivotally attached to a door attachment means 20. A latch operating member 50 is pivotally mounted on arm (48) about bolt (64) and is also slidably attached to the drive arm 46 by bolt 56 through slot 66 in the member 50, so that as the drive arm 46 is moved towards the door 8, the member 50 pivots and forces downwards a rod 52 pivotally connected to the member 50 to activate a locking mechanism 30 (see also Fig 6). Conversely, when the drive arm 46 is moved in the opposite direction, the member 50 pivots back to its original position, pulling rod 52 upwards, hence deactivating the locking mechanism 30. A spring 70 keeps bolts 56,(64) in the closest possible proximity to each other.

Description

DOOR LOCKING APPARATUS The invention relates to an apparatus for connecting a door locking mechanism to an automatic door operating system.

Doors that open and close automatically, e.g.

automatic garage doors, are well known. A typical arrangement is shown in Figure 1. Such doors are normally powered by a door actuator means 2, such as an electric motor, driving a trolley 4 along a track 6 which is arranged substantially perpendicular to the surface of the garage door when the door is in the closed position 8. For convenience, this track 6 is normally attached to the lower surface of the garage roof and the door frame header 22, with the track 6 typically being a chain, a belt or a screw-thread. The garage door is arranged so as to move between its open position 12 and closed position 8 (i.e. when the door surface is respectively horizontal and vertical) along a guidance track, with the trolley 4 being attached via a member 10 to a drive member 16 which is in turn pivotally attached at 18 to the garage door by a door attachment means 20, so that as the trolley 4 is driven away from the door the door is opened, and as the trolley 4 is driven towards the door the door is closed. A manual release cord 11 may also be used to open and close the garage door.

Frequently, automatic garage doors are adapted from manually operated doors by means of an add-on kit, with the manual door locks being either removed or, as is more often the case, adjusted so that the locks remain in the open position. Manual garage door locks are usually of either the spring loaded cable operated type latch or the rod operated type latch. This obviously does not make use of the possible protection that may be afforded by such locks under normal use.

Many automatic garage doors therefore provide no locking means at all, relying upon the inertia of the automatic door operating system, in particular the electric motor, to keep the door secure against the environment and possible thieves. This has been show to be an insecure technique, as it is relatively easy to force the door open against the inertia of the system.

Two prior art apparatus exist that make use of the spring loaded cable operated type latches to lock the door.

The first of these apparatus is shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b) and consists of a drive member 16 pivotally attached to the door attachment means 20. This pivotal attachment is achieved by means of a pin 24, connected transverse to the longitudinal axis of the drive member 16, which interacts with a slot 26 within the door attachment means 20. One end of a cable 28 is attached to the pin 24, the cable 28 feeding over a shaft 38, with the other end of the cable 28 being connected to operating cables of a spring loaded cable operated type latch which lies beneath the shaft 38.

When the garage door is in the closed position 8, the pin 24 of the apparatus is in a position 24B at the end of the slot 26 nearest the door. No force is exerted upon the cable 28, and so the springs of the spring loaded cable operated type latches ensure that the latches are in the locked position.

When the automatic door operating system is activated to begin opening, the drive member 16 of the apparatus is driven away from the door attachment means 20, so that the pin 24 is moved to a position 24A at the end of the slot 26 furthest away from the door. As the cable 28 is attached to the pin 24 and feeds over a shaft 38, this serves to exert an upward force on the lower end of the cable 28. This upward force on the cable 28 pulls on the operating cables so as to cause the spring loaded cable operated type latches to move to the unlocked position.

When the automatic door operating system is initially activated to begin closing, the drive member 16 is driven towards the door attachment means 20, so that the pin 24 is moved to a position 24B at the end of the slot 26 nearest to the door. The upward force is removed from the cable 28. This results in the latches being moved to the locked position by the springs of the spring loaded cable operated type latches, with the latch strikers projecting outwards from the sides of the door, as soon as the door begins to close. This apparatus thus relies upon the ends of the door latch strikers being ramped in order for the latches to partially retract as the door is driven to the fully closed position, with the springs of the latches then driving the latches into the locked position, so that the latches engage with the door frame side seals to secure the door. If the door latch strikers are not ramped the latches would engage with the door frame side seals and prevent the door being driven into the fully closed position.

Thus a disadvantage of the above apparatus is that it may only be used in conjunction with spring loaded cable operated type latches which have ramped door latch strikers.

As shown in Figures 3 (a) and 3(b), the second prior art door attachment means is formed and operates in a manner substantially similar to the first.

Additionally , this second apparatus has springs 42 attached at one end to the pin 24 and at the other end to projecting parts 44 of the door attachment means, said parts 44 extending away from the door in a direction substantially parallel to that of the slot 26 . These springs 42 hold the pin 24 in the position 24A as the door is operated so as to begin closing.

Only once the door has been driven into the fully closed position 8 is the resistance of the springs 42 overcome by the continued operation of the actuator means 2 which drives the automatic door operating system, and so the pin 24 is moved to the position 24B. This results in the door being secured by the cable operated spring loaded door latches moving into the locked position.

Thus any type of cable operated spring loaded door latches may be used in conjunction with this second prior art apparatus, as due to the manner in which this apparatus operates the latches do not need to be ramped. Additionally, this second prior art apparatus can be used to operate a drop-bolt type lock, which may be installed on the door as an alternative locking device.

A disadvantage of the second apparatus is that when the garage door is in the open position 12, substantially horizontal, this results in the projecting part 44 of the door attachment means projecting vertically downwards from the garage door, typically at such a height that a person might injure their head upon it.

A disadvantage of both of the apparatus described above is that they can not be used to enable the operation of the rod-operated type latches which are frequently installed on garage doors. Thus both of the above apparatus ignore the possible advantages of using existing rod-operated type latches to make doors more secure.

It is therefore desirable to provide an apparatus that may be used in conjunction with either spring loaded cable operated latches or rod operated latches, and which is easy to install.

The present invention provides an apparatus for connecting a door locking mechanism of either a spring loaded cable operated latch type or a rod operated latch type to an automatic door operating system, comprising; determining means for determining when an automatic door has been moved into a closed position, and for determining when the automatic door is operable to begin opening; first connecting means for connecting a transmission means of said apparatus to the door locking mechanism attached to the automatic door; transmission means for transmitting a first force to the first connecting means so as to cause the door locking mechanism to lock upon the determining means having determined that the automatic door has been moved into a closed position, and for transmitting a second force to said first connecting means, the second force being in the converse direction to the first force, so as to cause the door locking mechanism to unlock upon the determining means having determined that the automatic door is operable to begin opening.

The provision of such a transmission means allows the apparatus to be used with rod operated type latches as well as with cable operated latches.

Advantageously, the invention may further comprise a second connecting means for connecting an automatic door movement means of the automatic door operating system to a first part of said transmission means so the first force the second force may at least in part be derived from a force produced by the automatic door movement means.

Conveniently, the second connecting means may include a pivotal connecting means for providing a pivotal connection to the automatic door so as to transmit the force produced by the automatic door movement means to the automatic door for opening and closing of said door.

Conveniently, said transmission means may consist of a rigid member for connecting the first connecting means to the second connecting means.

Said transmission means may consist of a rigid member for connecting the first connecting means to the second connecting means, said rigid member being pivotally attached to the second connecting means, with the axis of rotation of said rigid member pivotal attachment being aligned with the axis of rotation of said pivotal connection except when the determining means determines that the door is in the closed position.

Advantageously, said rigid member may be of adjustable telescopic construction so the apparatus can be used with doors of different heights.

Said determining means may be wholly mechanical.

The apparatus may be connected to an automatic door operating system.

Conveniently, the apparatus may be wholly mechanical, with said first force and said second force being wholly derived from the force produced by the automatic door movement means.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a known automatic door operating system; Figures 2(a) and 2(b) are respectively plan and side views of a first prior art apparatus for connecting a door locking mechanism to an automatic door operating system; Figures 3(a) and 3(b) are respectively plan and side views of a second prior art apparatus for connecting a door locking mechanism to an automatic door operating system; Figures 4(a) and 4(b) are respectively plan and side views showing part of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic view of the apparatus of Figures 4(a) and 4(b) attached to the automatic door operating system; and Figure 6 is a schematic view of a latch operating cam assembly forming part of the embodiment of Figures 4 (a) and 4(b).

An embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 4(a),4(b) and 5, and is comprised of a drive means attachment member 46, a door attachment member 48, and a latch operating member 50. The door attachment member 48 is slidably connected to the drive means attachment member 46 by means of two bolts 54, 56 fixedly mounted on the drive means attachment member 46 and which interact respectively with a first guiding slot 58 and a second guiding slot 60 within the door attachment member 48. Both slots 58, 60 are of the same length and have the same orientation parallel to the longitudinal axis of the door attachment member 48. Additionally, the door attachment member 48 has a hole 62 at one end in order that the member 48 may be pivotally connected to the door attachment means 20.

A first end of the latch operating member 50 is rotatably attached to the door attachment member 48 by means of a third bolt 64, and also slidably attached to the drive means attachment member 46 by the second bolt 56 interacting with a guiding slot 66 within the latch operating member 50.

A spring 70 is connected between the bolt 64 and the bolt 56. The spring 70 is tensioned so as to hold the bolts 56, 64 in the closest possible permitted proximity to each other ( with the bolt 56 in position 56A) as the door opens and closes. Only when the automatic door operating system has driven the door into a closed position at 8 is the tension of the spring 70 overcome by the continued operation of the door actuator means 2 acting upon the drive means attachment member 46, resulting in the bolt 56 being moved along the guiding slot 66 to a position 56B.

One end of a rod 52 is pivotally attached to a second end 72 of the latch operating member 50.The other end of the rod 52 is pivotally attached at 74 to a latch operating cam assembly 30 shown in Figure 6. The rod 52 may be of an adjustable telescopic construction to permit ease of installation on doors of different heights. When the bolt 56 is in position 56A, the pivotal attachment of the rod 52 to the second end 72 of the latch operating member 50 has the same axis of rotation as the pivotal connection of the door attachment member 48 to the door attachment means 20.

The guiding slot 66 is angled relative to the longitudinal axis of the latch operating member 50 such that movement of the bolt 56 along the slot 66 causes the operating member 50 to rotate around the bolt 64, resulting in the second end 72 of the latch operating member 50 being displaced so as to cause a downward force upon the rod 52.

Conversely, when the door is operable to begin opening, the latch operating member 50 will be displaced so as to cause an upward force upon the rod 52.

The latch operating cam assembly 30 may have either operating cables of the spring loaded cable operated latch type door locking mechanism or alternatively operating rods 68 of the rod operated latch type door locking mechanism attached at attachment points 36.

The rod 52 is used to transmit both upward and downward forces from the second end 72 of the latch operating member 50 to the pivotal attachment 74 of the cam assembly 30. This is advantageous as the rod operated type latches are not normally spring loaded and so, unlike the spring loaded cable operated latches, rod operated latches require an externally applied force in order to be moved from the unlocked position to the locked position. This externally applied force may be provided by the downward force transmitted by the rod 52 on the cam assembly 30.

When the door is activated so as to open, the rod 52 exerts an upward force on the latch operating cam assembly 30, causing the cam assembly ( as depicted in Figure 6) to rotate anti-clockwise, and thus resulting in the locking mechanism being moved to the unlocked position When the door is activated so as to close, only once the door reaches the closed position 8 is a downward force generated at the second end 72 of the latch operating member 50. The rod 52 transmits this downward force to the latch operating cam assembly 30, causing the assembly (as depicted in Figure 6) to rotate clockwise. This downward force thus results in the locking mechanism being moved to the locked position at the correct moment of the door operating sequence.

Whilst the above embodiment has been described with respect to a single automatic garage door system configuration, the skilled person would appreciate that the above embodiment could be used in differently orientated systems.

This would include a configuration in which the guiding slot 66 is angled towards the cam assembly 30, with the cam position adjusted so that the latches open when a force is applied to move the rod 52 in the direction of the cam assembly.

Further, the person skilled in the art would appreciate that the above system is not limited to the use of automatic garage doors, but could be used on any similarly operated automatic door.

Claims

1. An apparatus for connecting a door locking mechanism of either a spring loaded cable operated latch type or a rod operated latch type to an automatic door operating system, comprising; determining means for determining when an automatic door has been moved into a closed position, and for determining when the automatic door is operable to begin opening; first connecting means for connecting a transmission means of said apparatus to the door locking mechanism attached to the automatic door; transmission means for transmitting a first force to the first connecting means so as to cause the door locking mechanism to lock upon the determining means having determined that the automatic door has been moved into a closed position, and for transmitting a second force to said first connecting means, the second force being in the converse direction to the first force, so as to cause the door locking mechanism to unlock upon the determining means having determined that the automatic door is operable to begin opening.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second connecting means for connecting an automatic door movement means of the automatic door operating system to a first part of said transmission means so the first force and the second force may at least in part be derived from a force produced by the automatic door movement means.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second connecting means includes a pivotal connecting means for providing a pivotal connection to the automatic door so as to transmit the force produced by the automatic door movement means to the automatic door for opening and closing of said door.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein said transmission means consists of a rigid member for connecting the first connecting means to the second connecting means.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said transmission means consists of a rigid member for connecting the first connecting means to the second connecting means, said rigid member being pivotally attached to the second connecting means, with the axis of rotation of said rigid member pivotal attachment being aligned with the axis of rotation of said pivotal connection except when the determining means determines that the door is in the closed position.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, wherein said rigid member is of adjustable telescopic construction.

7. An apparatus as claimed in any of the above claims, wherein said determining means is wholly mechanical.

8. An apparatus as claimed in any of the above claims, which is connected to an automatic door operating system.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claims 2 to 8, wherein the apparatus is wholly mechanical, with said first force and said second force being wholly derived from the force produced by the automatic door movement means.

10. An apparatus for connecting a door locking mechanism of either a spring loaded cable operated latch type or a rod operated latch type to an automatic door operating system substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying Figures 4(a), 4(b), 5 and 6.