US1802812A - Automatic door-operating device - Google Patents

Description

April 28, 1931.

,1. w. GRATZ AUTOMATIC DOOR OPERATING DEVICE Filed April 15. 1929 R o r N a v N JOHN W- G774 Tz,

By: gy

Patented Apr. 28, 1931 J GEN W. GBA'IZ, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA AUTOMATIC DOOR-OPERATING DEVICE Application filed April 15,

This invention relates to devices used for automatically opening and closing doors, especially garage doors.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a door mounted swingably on a horizontally disposed pivot to swing in a vertical plane or direction.

Another object is to provide operating means to function automatically by the touch of an approaching automobile or vehicle at a certain distance from the door for automatically swinging the door upwardly into practically horizontal open position abovethe level of the top of the vehicle, so thatthe vehicle can pass below the horizontally disposed open door into a garage before which this door is eventually used.

'Another object is to provide operating means that can be operated from the outside as well as from the inside of a building, such as a garage for automobiles.

Another object is to provide a swingable door balanced so that when it is released from its locking latches it will swing from its practically vertical closing position into a practically horizontal open position.

Another object is to provide a swingable door with latching and closing mechanisms, the door being balanced or rather overbalanced to normally swing on its horizontally disposed swingingaxis so as to bring the door into a practically horizontal open position by the overbalancing weight provided on the door, the latching mechanisms serving to hold the door against the balance in closed practically vertical position, and the closing mechanism serving to overcome the overbalancing weight and to close the door into a practically vertical position.

Other objects will appear from the following description and appended claim as well as from the accompanying which 7 Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a swingable door mounted on pivots with a practically horizontal axis to allow a swinging of a door in apractically vertical plane, embodying further latchin releasn I o mg, and closing mechamsms for the swingdrawing, in

1929. Serial No. 355,146.

able door to allow an operation according to this invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective illustration of the swingable door in its practically horizontal open position without the door jambs and without other cooperating mechanisms.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of catching and closing mechanisms for the door, a portion of the door being shown in open position caught between certain parts of the mechanisms.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary somewhat diagrammatic illustration of a latching mecha nism operative under electric control, such as an electrorheostat control.

The principal feature of this invention involves to enable a driver of a vehicle, cs-

pecially of an automobile, to drive intoa garage without leaving his seat, which may be accomplished by a contacting of the automobile with an automatic switch or automatically operating mechanism, or, of course, may be also accomplished by an electrically operating mechanism of which the switch is under latch control operative by the driver of the automobile by having the switch so arranged along the driveway to be reached by the driver while remaining in his seat in the automobile.

As illustrated, the door 5 is swingably mounted on the horizontal shaft 6 which is turnably supported in the ball bearings 7 in the upright jambs 8, so that by this pivotal suspension a door can swing around the horizontal axis of this support in a practically vertical plane.

A balancing or overbalanoing weight 9 is provided near the upper end of the door 5 on theinside of the door so that the normal tendency of the door is to swing to the open position in which the door is illustrated in Along one upright edge of the door a wedge or guide block .10 is arranged so that a roller 11 provided on an upright or vertically shiftable member 12 can contact with this wedge to result in a closing operation of the'door when the roller is moved upwardly against the wedge 10. The upright or vertically shifting member 12 is operative by a foot pedal or lever 13. Though the upright member 12 can be made to operate by gravity through its own weight, it must be understood that a spring, not shown in the drawing, may be arranged to increase the downward movement of the member 12 to eventually more quickly take the roller 11 away from the wedge.

The roller 11 with the upright member 12 is normally in the inoperative or lowermost position in which it is illustrated in Fig. 1,

so that these parts do not interfere with the opening movement of the door.

l/Vhen the door is closed it is held in its closed position by a suitable latching mechanism,

In Fig. 1 a simple latching arrangement has been indicated, a bolt 14 being shiftable in an upright direction to engage with a catch 15 on the lower end 16 of the door 5. The latch bolt 14 is in operative connection with an outside bolt 17 by levers 18 and 19 through a connecting rod 20. A spring 21 is indicated by which the mechanism may be held in its normal latching position. This latching mechanism is preferably disposed under the driveway or under the floor in the mannerwell illus rated inFig. 1 of the drawing, since these parts are shown in dotted lines;

This arrangement serves to facilitate an operation of the door by the wheel of an approaching automobile, a wheel being roughly outlined at 22 near the outside bolt 17.

As the wheel 22 contacts with the bolt 17 and by a forward movement pushes this bolt 17 downwardly, the latching'mechanism is actuated so as to withdraw the inner latch bolt 14 from the catch 15 on the lower end of the door, thereby releasing the door from the latching mechanism.

Inasmuch as the door is overbalanced by the weight indicated at 9, the door automatically swings upwardly to its horizontal open position in which it is illustrated in Fig. 2. The automobile can then continue to move through the door opening and underneath the horizontally disposed door into the garage.

In order to close the door, a foot pedal 13 is actuated so as to move or push the member 12 with the roller 11 upwardly against the wedge 10 and against the, overbalancing weight 9 on the door, so that the door can easily be swung back to its vertical'closing position in which it is illustrated in Fig. 1. i

The upper end of the upright member 12 is provided with a controlling extension end 23 disposed so 'as to be in cooperative relation with a control apparatus embodying certaindoor' catching and holding mechai isms, more clearly illustrated in Fig.3.

Tliebracket 24c serves to support and guide thecatch as well as'the doorholding and supporting mechanisms in certain cooperative relation. The bracket is for this purpose provided with certain cut- outs 25, 26 and 27. The door holding and supporting member 28 is shiftably disposed through the cut-out 27 with its lowermost side extension 29 projecting sidewise beyond the outer contours of the bracket 24, so that the door 5, when in its horizontal open position, comes into contact with this door holding and supporting member 28. A catching member 30 is disposed shiftably in a horizontal direction through the cut-out 26 in the bracket and somewhat swingably and shiftably through the cut-out 25.

80 A spring 31 serves to normally holdthe catch member 30 pressed outwardly in the position in which it is illustrated andallows a swinging or moving of the catch close to the front side of the bracket to release the. door to be moved to closing position when the upright member 12 is pushed upwardly.

When the roller 11 is moved by the upright member 12 upwardly against the wedge 10 on the upper end of the door, the, extension end 23 of the upright member wedges against the catch 30 in such a manner that it tilts the upper end 32 against the inner face of the bracket 24 so as to bring the outward extension portion of the catch.

30 closely against the outer face of the' bracket 24, whereby the door is freed for its closing operation by a continued upward movement of the upright member 12 with the roller continuing against the wedge 10.,

The door isswung. until the bolt 14 engages swinging door. The door may in this mani nerswing into open position with, a slight vibration between the catch 30 and the support 28.

The spring 33 serves also to cooperate with the spring 31 in holding the catch in;

operative position and at the same time yields to the movement of the extension end 23 on the. uprightmember 12 when the upri 'ht member with the extension end'23 is operated for closing the door.

Of course, the, operating and catching members though illustrated with certain specific details in the drawing, as described above, may be modified in various ways, and

I do not limit myself to thespecific details referred ,to in the specification as long as the, general functions of this invention can be produced by other modified minor details.

A slightly modified form of operating and controllingmechanisms is illustrated in Fig.

4 in a somewhat diagrammatical manner. A solenoid or electrorheostat 34 serves to control a latch bolt that may be disposed near the upper end of the door 5. This bolt 35 may easily be connected to a wheel-actuated bolt similar to the one indicated at 17 or, of course, may be operated by a switch of any standard make, eventually contro1- lable by a latchkey box, a contact button being indicated at 36 and open leads being indicated at 37 to show that any number of operating terminations may be provided to facilitate an operation of the solenoid from any point convenient to a driver of a vehicle.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In an automatic door operating device, a door having pivoting means with a horizontal axis by which the door is swingably mounted, a counterweight on the door for actuating the door to swing to a horizontal position, latching means for holding the door against swinging movements in a vertical position and including a bolt in a position in the ground and adapted to be actuated by the wheel of an approaching vehicle when rolling over the bolt to release the door for the swinging movement from a vertical to a horizontal position, catching means for engaging and holding the door in a comparatively stationary condition when reaching the horizontal position and adapted to be actuated to release the door for moving back to a vertical position, and means for disengaging the catching means and embodying a contacting member adapted to impart an initial movement to the door for moving the balanced door from the horizontal position back to the normal vertical closing position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name.

JOHN W. GRATZ.

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