GB2365063A

GB2365063A - Door opening apparatus with clutch

Info

Publication number: GB2365063A
Application number: GB0116521A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William David Steadman; William Lee Steadman
Original assignee: SILVER CROWN ASSOCIATES Ltd
Current assignee: SILVER CROWN ASSOCIATES Ltd
Priority date: 2000-07-18
Filing date: 2001-07-06
Publication date: 2002-02-13
Anticipated expiration: 2021-07-06
Also published as: GB2365063B; GB0116521D0; GB0017476D0

Abstract

An electrically operated door opening and closing apparatus 1 includes an electric motor 10, gearing 12, 14 operatively connecting the motor 10 to a rotatable output member 16, and a clutch 11 between the motor 10 and output member 16. Operation of the electric motor 10 causes rotation of the output member 16 except when a resistive force above a predetermined level is applied to the output member. A linkage 18 extends from the output member 16 and is connectable between a pivotally mounted door 2 and a fixture 3, such that rotation of the output member causes opening or closing of the door. The apparatus 1 may include a slip clutch 11 and switching means to control the electric motor 10 at predetermined positions of the output member 16.

Description

<Desc/Clms Page number 1> Door Operating Apparatus This invention concerns improvements in or relating to door operating apparatus, and particularly but not exclusively apparatus for electrically opening and closing a pivotally mounted door.

A number of arrangements have been devised for automatically opening and closing doors. A number of difficulties have been encountered with these. For instance, they have often mechanically been inefficient, and have often projected from the door or door frame to a significant degree. A number cannot be overridden, and thus the door cannot be readily moved if there is a malfunction or power cut.

According to the invention, there is provided door operating apparatus, the apparatus comprising an electric motor, gearing operatively connecting the electric motor to a rotatable output member, clutch means between the electric motor and the output member such that operation of the electric motor causes rotation of the output member except when a resistive force above a predetermined level is applied to the output member, and linkage means extending from the output member and connectable between a pivotally mounted door and a fixture, such that rotation of the output member causes opening or closing of the door.

Preferably the clutch means comprises first and second relatively movable parts, such that when the electric motor is operated to drive the output member, the first and second parts remain fixed relative to each other, but when said resistive force is applied to the output member, the first and second parts move relative to each other to allow relative rotation between the output member and the electric motor.

The first and second parts may comprise respective profiled members engageable with each other. The members may be urged together by resilient urging means, which may be in the form of a spring, such that the profiled

members can preferably slip relative to each other against the urging of the spring when said resistive force is applied thereto. The resilient urging means may be adjustable to vary the amount of urging together.

Preferably, the profiled members comprise first and second contoured members, the first contoured member comprising at least two substantially oppositely arranged outwardly extending curved projections, and the second defining at least two oppositely arranged correspondingly curved recesses each being for receiving a respective one of the projections.

In one embodiment, the first contoured member is provided on a first rotary gear, and the curved projections extend axially from the gear. The second contoured member may be provided on a shaft extending from the drive means. Preferably, the second contoured member is fixedly mounted on the shaft.

The first gear is preferably engageable with a second gear, and the output member may extend axially from the second gear.

Switching means may be provided to control the drive means at predetermined positions of the output member. The switching means may comprise a position member movable with the output member and a detector. The position member may be engageable with the detector when the output member reaches a predetermined position.

A first switching means may be provided operable when the door is fully open to turn off the electric motor. A second switching means may be provided operable when the door is closed to turn off the electric motor.

The position members may be movable beyond the detectors following engagement, and may comprise profiled members axially mountable relative to the output member. The detectors may be in the form of microswitches.

A third switching means may be provided operable when the clutch means slips.

The apparatus may be arranged such that when closing the door once the second switching means has been actuated, control of the electric motor passes to the third switching means such that the electric motor remains on until said resistance is encountered by the door being fully closed.

The position member of the third switching means may be mounted on the clutch means, and is desirably mounted so as to be movable axially relative to the first gear when the clutch means slips to engage with the respective detector.

The apparatus may include a base plate to which the electric motor, gearing, output member and/or clutch means may be mounted. The base plate may be connectable to either one of a door or a door frame. The assembly may include a housing within which the electric motor, gearing, output member, and clutch means may be housed. The output member may extend through the housing to connect to the linkage means.

The linkage means may comprise first and second linkage members -'pivotally connected to each other, the first linkage member extending from the output member to the second linkage member with the second linkage member extending to a connecting member for connection to the door or the door frame. The second linkage member is preferably pivotally connected to the first linkage member and to the connecting member. The connection between the second linkage member and the connecting member may be provided by a helically mounted connection member and the connection member may be threadably mounted in an axial opening in the free end of the second linkage member.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a front internal view of a first door operating apparatus according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the line II-II in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line 111-III in Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a door in a partially closed condition; Fig. 5 is a side view of a further part of the apparatus of Fig. l; Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are respectively side, plan and perspective views of part of a second door operating apparatus according to the invention; Fig. 9 is a similar view to Fig. 5 of the apparatus of Figs. 6-8; and Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a yet further part of the apparatus of Figs. 6-8.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawings, there is shown a door operating apparatus 1 for opening and closing a door 2 hingedly mounted within a door frame 3. The door operating apparatus 1 comprises an electric motor 10 having a clutch means 11 extending upwardly therefrom. A first gear 12 is mounted on the clutch means 11 and is in the form of a first substantially circular sprocket. A second gear 14 is provided in meshing engagement with the first gear 12. The second gear 14 is also in the form of a second substantially circular sprocket having a diameter greater than the diameter of the first gear 12. An elongate output member 16 extends upwardly from the second gear 14. The upper end of the output member 16 is fixedly attached to a linkage 18 which extends between the output member 16 and a bracket 20, the bracket 20 being attached by screws 21 to the door frame 3.

The motor 10 is mounted on a lower flange 23A of a generally U-shaped support member 21A extending outwardly from a base plate 21B which in turn is fixedly mounted to the door 2.

The linkage 18 comprises a first arm 18A fixedly attached at one end thereof to the output member 16. At the opposite end of the arm 18A, it is pivotally attached by a pivot 19 to a second arm 18B. The second arm 18B is attached at its opposite end to the bracket 20 by a pivot 19B.

In Figs. 1 to 3 the door 2 is shown in its fully open position and, in operation, when the motor 10 is driven to rotate the clutch means 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow A, the first gear 12 is also driven in that direction which drives the second gear 14 in the opposite direction. This causes corresponding rotation of the output member 16 and the closing of the arms 18A; 18B of the linkage 18. This moves the door 4 from the open position through the position shown in Fig. 4 to its fully closed position (not shown).

Upper and lower micro switches 24A, 24B are attached to an upper flange 23B of the U-shaped support member 21A. Corresponding upper and lower stop members 26A, 26B are mounted on the output member 16 and are each engageable with a respective one of the micro switches 24A, 24B. When the door 4 reaches its fully open position (not shown), the lower stop member 26B engages the corresponding lower micro switch 24B (as shown in Fig. 2) thereby operating the micro switch 24B and switching off the motor 10.

When it is desired to close the door 2, the motor 10 is operated in the opposite direction, which causes rotation of the respective gears 12 and 14 in their opposite directions and corresponding movement of the arms 18A, 18B in a scissor like manner towards each other to close the door 2, until the upper stop member 26A engages the upper micro switch 24A to switch off the motor 10. The position of the stop members 26A, 26B and the micro switches 24A, 24B can be adjusted such that the lower stop member 26B engages the lower switch 24B when the door 2 is in the fully open conditions, and the upper stop

member 26A engages the upper switch 24A when the door 2 is in the fully closed condition.

The clutch 11 is provided to transmit the driving force from the motor 10 to the first gear 12, and also to permit the first gear 12 to rotate relative to the motor 10, thereby permitting manual override of the motor 10, to enable normal opening of the door 2 without the use of the motor 10.

In detail, the clutch 11 is provided on an output shaft 28 of the motor 10 (not shown in Fig. 5). The clutch 11 comprises first and second generally cylindrical contoured members 30, 32 in releasable meshing engagement with each other.

The first gear 12 is fixedly mounted on and above the first contoured member 30, and the second contoured member 32 is fixedly mounted on the output shaft 28.

The shaft 28 extends upwardly through and beyond the first and second contoured members 30, 32 and is formed with threads at an upper end region 34 thereof. A nut 36 is threadably received on the upper region 34 and a spring 38 is secured between the nut 36 and the first gear 12. Adjustment of the position of the nut 36 on the upper region 34 of the shaft 28 varies the force applied to the first gear 12 and, thereby, the force of the first contoured member 30 onto the second contoured member 32.

The first contoured member 30 comprises two downwardly extending curved projections 39 around its circumference. The projections 34 are engageable in corresponding curved recesses 40 on the second contoured member 32.

The nut 36 is adjusted such that the force applied by the spring 38 enables rotation of the second contoured member 32 by the shaft 28 on operation of the motor 10 to drive the first contoured member 30 and thereby

the first gear 12. The adjustment of the nut 36 is also such that when the motor 10 is stopped, a force applied to the first gear 12, to rotate it about its axis will rotate the first contoured member 30 relative to the second contoured member 32. When this happens the projections 39 slide over the sides of the recesses 40, thereby raising the nut 36 and compressing the spring 38. This may happen when, for example, the door 2 is in a closed condition and a person attempts to open the door 2 without operating the motor 10.

Figs. 6-l0 show a second apparatus 50 which is similar in many respects to the apparatus 1, and only the differences will therefore be discussed, and corresponding reference numbers will be used for similar components. Rather than the stop members of apparatus 1, shaped wheels 52 are provided. Each of the wheels 52 has a portion 54 of reduced diameter. Again upper and lower microswitches 56A and B are provided. These are arranged in an opposite arrangement to the switches 24A and 24B in that the switches are only activated when the portion 54 is encountered and hence the switch can move outwardly. The configuration of the wheels 52 mean that if for instance the door is opened beyond a usual extent, whilst the respective switch 56A,56B will be actuated, the output member 16 can be rotated further without damage to the switches 56A,56B.

A further microswitch 58 is provided. The switch 58 is selectively engageable with a washer 60 provided on a revised clutch arrangement 62 (Fig. 9) which otherwise is the same as the clutch arrangement 11. The washer 60 is mounted immediately above the first gear 12 and hence will be lifted when the clutch 62 slips, to actuate the microswitch 58. The apparatus 50 is arranged such that during closing of the door, once the microswitch 56A has been actuated, control of the motor 10 is passed to the microswitch 58 such that the motor 10 is only switched off when the clutch 62 begins to slip, caused by the resistive force against the fully closed door.

Fig. 10 shows an alternative linkage arrangement 64. In this instance a first arm 66 is provided with a head 68 with an opening 70 therethrough for

mounting to a shaped projection 72 on the output member 16. The first arm 66 is pivotally connected to a second arm 68 by holes 70 in flattened ends 72. A shoulder bolt 74 passes through the holes 70 and is provided with a plastic bearing 76 which lines the holes 70 and provides a plate engaging between the arms 66,68. A connecting member 78 is provided on the free end of the second arm 68. The connecting member 78 is mounted to the arm 68 by a threaded projection 80 engaging in a corresponding thread in the open end of the arm 68. The threaded projection 80 permits ready adjustment of the linkage arrangement 64. A hole 82 is provided in the connection member for mounting on a bracket.

Various other modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

Claims 1. Door operating apparatus comprising an electric motor, gearing operatively connecting the electric motor to a rotatable output member, clutch means between the electric motor and the output member such that operation of the electric motor causes rotation of the output member except when a resistive force above a predetermined level is applied to the output member, and linkage means extending from the output member and connectable between a pivotally mounted door and a fixture, such that rotation of the output member causes opening or closing of the door.
2. Door operating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the clutch means comprises first and second relatively movable parts, such that when the electric motor is operated to drive the output member, the first and second parts remain fixed relative to each other, but when said resistive force is applied to the output member, the first and second parts move relative to each other to allow relative rotation between the output member and the electric motor.
3. Door operating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first and second parts comprise respective profiled members engageable with each other.
4. Door operating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the members are urged together by resilient urging means, which may be in the form of a spring, such that the profiled members can slip relative to each other against the urging of the spring when said resistive force is applied thereto.
5. Door operating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the resilient urging means are adjustable to vary the amount of urging together.
6. Door operating apparatus according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the profiled members comprise first and second contoured members, the first contoured member comprising at least two substantially oppositely arranged outwardly extending curved projections, and the second defining at least two

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oppositely arranged correspondingly curved recesses each being for receiving a respective one of the projections.
7. Door operating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first contoured member is provided on a first rotary gear, and the curved projections extend axially from the gear.
8. Door operating apparatus according to claims 6 or 7, wherein the second contoured member is provided on a shaft extending from the drive means.
9. Door operating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the second contoured member is fixedly mounted on the shaft.
10. Door operating apparatus according to any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the first gear is engageable with a second gear.
11. Door operating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the output member extends axially from the second gear.
12. Door operating apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein switching means are provided to control the drive means at predetermined positions of the output member.
13. Door operating apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the switching means comprise a position member movable with the output member and a detector.
14. Door operating apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the position member is engageable with the detector when the output member reaches a predetermined position.
15. Door operating apparatus according to any of claims 12 to 14, wherein a first switching means is provided operable when the door is fully open to turn

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off the electric motor.
16. Door operating apparatus according to claim 15, wherein a second switching means is provided operable when the door is closed to turn off the electric motor.
17. Door operating apparatus according to any of claims 14 to 16, when dependent on claim 13, wherein the position members are movable beyond the detectors following engagement.
18. Door operating apparatus according to any of claims 14 to 17, when dependent on claim 13, wherein the position members comprise profiled members axially mountable relative to the output member.
19. Door operating apparatus according to any of claims 14 to 18, when dependent on claim 13, wherein the detectors are in the form of microswitches.
20. Door operating apparatus according to any of claims 17 to 19, when dependent on claim 16, wherein a third switching means is provided operable when the clutch means slips.
21. Door operating apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the apparatus is arranged such that when closing the door once the second switching means has been actuated, control of the electric motor passes to the third switching means such that the electric motor remains on until said resistance is encountered by the door being fully closed.
22. Door operating apparatus according to claims 20 or 21, wherein the position member of the third switching means is mounted on the clutch means.
23. Door operating apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the position member of the third switching means is mounted so as to be movable axially relative to the first gear when the clutch means slips to engage with the

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respective detector.
24. Door operating apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus includes a base plate to which the electric motor, gearing, output member and/or clutch means may be mounted.
25. Door operating apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the base plate is connectable to either one of a door or a door frame.
26. Door operating apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the assembly includes a housing within which the electric motor, gearing, output member, and clutch means may be housed.
27. Door operating apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the output member extends through the housing to connect to the linkage means.
28. Door operating apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the linkage means comprises first and second linkage members pivotally connected to each other, the first linkage member extending from the output member to the second linkage member with the second linkage member extending to a connecting member for connection to the door or the door frame.
29. Door operating apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the second linkage member is pivotally connected to the first linkage member and to the connecting member.
30. Door operating apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the connection between the second linkage member and the connecting member is provided by a helically mounted connection member.
31. Door operating apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the connection member is threadably mounted in an axial opening in the free end of the

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second linkage member.
32. Door operating apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1-5 of the accompanying drawings.
33. Door operating apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 6-10 of the accompanying drawings.
34. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed herein, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.