US2024300A - Combined door-opener and doorcheck - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 17, 1935;

H. c. MILLER COMBINED noon OPENER AND Doom-1130K; v

Filed Sept; 2, 1935 3 snags-Sheet 1 17w efcl b r-.'- C' M Kier- H. C. MILLER Dec. 17, 1935.

' COMBINED DOOR OPENER AND DOORCHECK 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 2, 1933 Dec. 17, 1935. H. c. MILLEF; 024,300;

. COMBINED DOOR OPENER AND DOORCHECK Filed Sept. 2, 1935 a sheets-sum a Patented Dec. l7,

COMBINED noon-OPENER noononEoK 7 Harry Miller, Willow Grove; Application september z, iesasenai swam 6 Claims. (Cl. 268-653 This invention relates to door-operating mechanisms and, more particularly, 'tosuchmechanisms as comprise a-motor for opening a door against the action of a'spring, the spring being wound under the influence of the motor and functioninglaterto close the door. Such mechanisms normally and preferably comprise also braking means-which may take the form of a dash-pot'to retard movement of the door in at least one direction of its movement to cause it to move gradually rather than abruptly.' An object of the present invention is. to provide a; compact and unitary device which incorporates certain novel features that render the device a markedimprovement over prior devices ofthe same class, r g

The improved device of the invention embodies an electrically operable clutch interposed in the driving connection or gear train .between the driving motor and the door-actuating means. I

The clutch is preferably operated by a solenoid device connected to thesupply circuit of the driving motor, the said device also preferably" having the characteristics ofa relay and controlling the energization'of the motor.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a spring arranged to wind in either direction under the influence of a reversible motor so that the device may be used in connection with either right or left hand doors. A further feature of the invention is the provision of means for rendering the driving motor ineffective to overcome the resistance of the spring while maintaining the motor energized so that the'torque of the motor substantially baiances the torque of the wound spring, the said means being controlled in accordance with movement of the doors Thisfeature preferably comprises, an impedance of predetermided'valuein circuit with the motor and a switch normally shunted about the impedance. v

A still further feature of the invention is the control by presence. of a person's; body which maybe affected by capacity sensitive devices, light sensitive devices, etc. .t a

Other objects and features of the invention will appear hereinafter..; The invention maybe clearly understood from a consideration of the preferred form'illustrated in the drawings and described in detail hereinafter.

In the drawings: r: Fig. 1 is a plan view'showing the device in cooperative relation with a door;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the device;

Fig.3 is a detail view of thedash -pot piston or p u e rLr e a Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along lined-4 of Fig.2;

Fig. 5 is a-planj view of the device with thetop '5 cover thereof removed; and... a 4

Fig.6 is a schematicillustrationbfltheelectric circuitof thedevice,

. .Referring to Fig. .1 of :the

comprises generally a unit igwhich isadapted-IO for ready attachment to the door 2,.a n arm 3 .which-isadaptedwto be driven by unit .I, and a second armjflwhich-is pivotally attached to arm 3, at 5 and which may bereadily attached to a .doorframe' G'by means of the attaching bracket 15' I carried at the free end ofthe arm. It will be, understood that in operation arm I is rotatedand sit,=in,turn,qactuates the door to open the same through the mediumofarm .LmDuring closure ofthe door, the arms return to-'th positions shown.

.- Referring particularly 5, unit comprises a casing orhousing 8 which isj especiallydesigned to house the various elements of .the device ingcompact arrangementso that the deviceis unitary in structure and occupies .as small a space as possible. The; driving motor is shown at 9 and this motor carries uDQn itsarmature shaft avdriving pinion Ii) which meshes with gear ll. Gear ll is carried by collar I! which is mounted upon the rotatable .shaft l3. Collar l2 carries a second smaller gear l4 which meshes with gear I 5," the latteri forminga; part of: the clutch mechanism above mentioned. Gear ii is carried upon collar l 6 which is. loosely mounted upon the "rotatable shaft l'l; While-gear i5 meshes ,at "all timeswith gear, ;it is slidable with respecttheretotozeffectengagement and '1 0 disengagement ofthe clutch members i8 and-i8.

These 1 members preferably take. the; form .'of 4i) toothed. elements as shown; member I 3 Prefer.-

ably being formed integralwith or; attachedjdirectly to gear l5. It will .be noted that the teeth of the clutch inembers are so formed. that they i.

may, readily engage each other {regardless of '45 their. respective rotary positions, Clutch member I9 is carried upon the collar 20 which is mounted Y upon shaft i'l andcarries pinionffhithelatter meshingiwith gear22. s I Collarli -is Provided with an annuiarre'cess 23 within. whicha-pair of rollers 24 carried at thebifurcated endof arm' ii (see Fig. .4) are disposed. Arm is pivotallye mounted at .20 and, its other ."endfis pivotally attached at 21' to the armature 28 of the solenoid device'fl. v

iaw nss. he a...

solenoid device functions through arm 25 to reciprocate the movable collar l6 and the clutch member I! carried thereby so as to eilect at an end thereof. The end of shaft 32 is squared as at 33 and arm 3 is provided with a corresponding opening which snugly, receives the squared end. A bolt 34 passes through the projecting end 35 of arm-3 and into one of a series of apertures 33 (see Fig. 1) formed in disk 31. This disk is also secured to sleeve in the manner of gear 22 as above explained. It

' will be seen that sleeve 30 is locked to shaft 32 Fig. 5) which are adapted to cooperate with a through disk 31, bolt 34, and, arm3.

Thereis also secured to sleeve 30 a collar 38 having a cam portion 39 which is' adapted to actuate a switch whose operation will beiexplained hereinafter. This switch (see Fig. ,5) comprises a spring-biased push button 40 which is adapted-to actuate the switch contacts posed within casing 4|. a

The spring assembly comprises a helical or coiled spring 42 which is preferably'form'ed oi flat metal, as shown, and a pair of' disks and 44Qattachedto the ends'ofthe spring. These disks are" provided with projecting lugs 43 and 46 respectively which are adapted to cooperate with the extending fingers 41 and 43 formed on sleeve 30. Disks 43 and 44 are also provided respectively with extending noses 49 and 50 (see rib Ii formed on the inner surface of casing 3. As shown clearly in Fig. 5, nose III of disk 44 thereof. As shown in Fig. 2 flnger 41 of sleeve 30 is disposedon one side of ing 45 of disk 43, while flnger 48 is disposed'on the opposite side oflug46ofdisk44.-

The purpose of this arrangement iszto adapt spring 42 for winding operation in either direction so that the device may be used on either right or left hand doors, the motor 3 being reversible. It will beseen from Fig. 2 that if sleeve 30 is rotated ina clockwise direction, flnger 41 will engage lug 451to wind the spring in a certain direction, the other end of the spring being held stationary by engagement of the nose 50' with rib ll. 0n the other-hand, if sleeve 30 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, flnger 43 enga'geslug 43 to wind the spring in the opposite direction, the other end of the spring being held stationary by engagement of nose 4! with rib II."

The spring assembly is disposed between washer 52' andthe screw plug", being seated uponthe axially-extending portion 54 of-the plug. Plug 53 forms aclosure for the dash-pot tension by means of the adjusting disk I'I. when the device is mounted in cooperative relation with a particular door whose direction of movement is ascertained, the spring tension may be adjusted by removing bolt 34 so as to g unlock arm 3 with respect to disk 31 and then rotating arm3 relative to the disk until the desired tension of the spring is obtained, after which bolt 34 may be placed in the proper opening 36 of disk 31 to lock the parts together. 1 Since disk 31 is secured'to the spring-actuating sleeve 30, the desired tensioning adjustment of the spring may thus be obtained.

Coming back to'the dash-pot, shaft 32 is attached at one end thereof to crank 51 to which 15 is attached the movable piston or plunger 3.

The cylinder wall is provided with a duct or passage which is controlled by means of the needle valve 63.- As shown clearly in Fig. 3, the piston is provided with a passage 6| which is m enlarged at one end and carries a spring-biased ball 62, the ball and its seat constituting a one.- way valve, as will bemore clearly apparenthereinafter. An apertured-idisk 63 serves to retain the ball and its spring in place. 5 In operation, when shaft 32 is rotated during opening movement of the door, the: piston is moved from: left to right, as viewed in Fig. 2. The oil, or other fluid, within the cylinder forces its way through the piston valve by forcing ball 39 V 82 from its seatagainst the force of its actuating spring so that there, is substantially no resistance imposedby the dash-pot on the door movement. During the opposite or closing movement ofthedoor, however, theoilor other fluid is unable to pass through the piston inthe opposite direction so that it is compressed by the piston and is forced to flow through the, duct or passage 59 in the cylinder wall.- By manipulation of the needlevalveill,v the flow of fluid through 0 the I cylinder wall passage may be accurately controlledto adjust the braking action of the dash-pot during closing movement of the door.

Referring now to the circuit diagram of Fig. 6, supply lines 34 areconnected to asuitable source a of electrical energy (not shown) and they supply energy to the motor supply circuit 63. This circuit may be controlled automatically by means of a relay 6'! or it may be controlled manually bya manually operable switch 88. If automatic 0 operation is desired, relay 6'! may be energized in any desired manner. For example, the energizing circuit of the relay may be controlled by a light sensitive cell to efl'ect closure of the motor supply circuit whenever a person approaches the door, and intercepts a. beam of light. The relay .might also be controlled by mechanism which is sensitive to variation in electrical. capacity so that the capacity of an approaching porson's body effects energization of the relay, of which more 0 will be said later. Other methods of control will suggest themselves. If manual control is desired, the. manually'operable switch 33 may take any desired form. For example, it may take the form of a knob control switch which maybe 65 actuated by movement of the door knob by any- I one desiring to open the door. r The solenoid device 29 above mentioned, which functions to operate the clutch is also preferably adaptedto-hct as a relay to control the motor 7 circuit. To this end, stationary contacts'fl ar'e I provided and the solenoid core or armaturecarries a movable contact Ill whichis adapted to bridge the stationary contacts. The switch which is constituted by these, contacts is serially'inaosu aoo 1.3

eluded infthe supply line, as will be apparent.

" The energizing winding of the solenoid device is however, to open when the door reaches a predetermined position inits openingmovement so as to include resistance," in the motor-circuit.

The resistance acts as a holding resistance, reducing the current flow tothe motor and, consequently, reducing its torque to a value substantially equal to the torque of thewound spring.

The-motor is'adapted to be energized at standstill by the reduced current withoutideleterious efiects. A reversing switch "is provided toenable reversal of motor 9 so that thedevicemay be used for either right or left hand doors;

1 Considering the operation of the :device as a whole, normally with the door inclosed-position, as shown, in Fig. l, the parts of'the deviceawill .be inthe positions shown, reference being made particularly to Fig. 2. The supply circuit for the motor will be open. Assuming now that the motor supplycircuit .is closed, either automatically or manually, as described above. The winding of the solenoid device 29 will be energized,

thereby actuating the armature or core toclose switch contacts 69 and 10 and move clutch memher It into engagement with clutch member IS. The motorbeing energized,.it functions to open the door by rotating sleeve 30 through the gear train and interposed clutch.- Rotatloni of sleeve 30 causes movement of arm 3 through the medium of disk 31 and consequent-.openingmovement of the door. Rotation of sleeve ll also rcauses winding of thespring; At this time also shaft 32 is rotated and the piston moves freely in the dash-pot cylinder, as above described. a

When the door reaches a predetermined opened position, cam 39 engages push button 40 to open the switch 12 and include resistance II in the motor circuit. This causes stopping of the motor, but the motor is maintained energized and exerts suilicient torque to substantially balance the torque of the wound spring, as above described, to 'maintain the door in open position until the motor supply circuit is opened. At such time, the motor is deenergized, as is also the solenoid device, which allows separation of the clutch members, clutch member ll returning to inoperative position under the influence of gravity. If

'00 desired, a spring may be provided to positively return the clutch member. Also, the teeth of the clutch members might be formed so as to act as cam members during reverse movement of the door, it thusbeing insured that these members '65 will separate: even if there were a tendency for them to stick.

when the torque exerted by the motor is thus removed, the torque of the wound spring causes movementof the door in the opposite direction to close the same. At such time, the dash-pot piston moves in a direction to compress the fluid, the dash-pot thus acting as a braking means to retard closing of the door by the spring.

The parts return to their normal podtions and the device is ready for repeated operation.

, A refinement of the device I ht .be ,made'by having switch I2 controllable by the presence of aperson approaching the door iromthe opposite side so that the-switch would function. to

.cause stopping-of the door;to, ,thereby;,prev ent s the door'fromstriking the approaching -;p,erson.

couldbe accomplished by having theswitch controlled additionally by capacity-sensitive m hani m. t -H. 16. apacit -.0 the f the approaching person would eause. -actuation 10 of the switch to open the same. Thesame gen- --eral resultmight be accomplished by controlling the switch with a light sensitivecell and a source of light properly positioned for control, by the approachingpersons body. 15 Of the various possibilities of automatic. olieration of the device, the capacity control method seems most feasible and practical, Accordingly,

,there is shown acontrolcircuit It connected-to relay 81, which circuit comprises a capacity sen-:20

sitive device 15 inthe form. ofa vacuumtube.. An example of such a deviceis the grid glow tube I type K,-U 6l8 manuf actured by Westinghouse Electric and Mfg Co. In circuit with-this device is a variable condenser 10 ads variable resist- 25 ance, 11, the connections tothe electrodesof the tube being as clearly illustrated; A: relay has .its energizing winding includedin, the plate circuit of the tube,- this relay being sensitive to. the minute currents of: the, tubecircuit-and 'controlling .the; energizing circuit of relay' ll. .Sup-

ply; lines I! may be connectedito a suitable elec- .trical energy source, preferably-,thesamesource as suppliesllnesJLgRelay "may be connected to other control .devices,- as indicated by the 35 broken arrow head lines. a i

In operation, tube 1.5 responds tothecapacity of a persons body-in the immediate vicinity'to eilectsuchcurrent flow through relay" as to cause energization thereof, which, in turn causes 40 energization of relay 61,

' Animportant feature of the device b: the invention is that normally thev clutch members are disengaged and the door' maybe operated easily by hand in the ordinary manner.. This meets the ,45 requirementsof the fire underwriters; providing i'or such emergencies asflre. Of course, if. automatic control is provided-,5 theregmay .be some simple provision for disabling it when desired, such as a circuit-opening switch. so

Although a preferred form of the device-has been illustrated and described herein and certain suggested arrangements have been specified," the invention is not limited to the present disclosure but is capable of such modifications as fall within 55 the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: I

. 1.,A unitary device adapted to be mounted in cooperative relation to a door for operating the same, comprising an electric motor, door-actuat- 00 mg mechanism, driving means between said motor and said mechanism including normally inoperative clutch members permitting manual operation of the door independentlyof said motor,

electrically operable means for simultaneously ($6 rendering said clutch members operative and energizingsaid motor to elect operation of said mechanism by the motor, a door-closing spring associated with said mechanism and arranged to wind when the door is opened either manually or .70 a J ,under the influence of said motor, and braking means adapted to retard the closing movement .of said door caused by said spring, 1 r

,2. A unitary device adapted to! mounted in cooperativerelation to a doorfor operating the (a same, comprising an'electric motor,'door-actuat-' ing mechanism. driv'ing means between said motor andsaid mechanism including interlockable'm'embers' normally tree or each other and permitting manual operation 01' the door independently of said motor, electrically operable means for simultaneously interlocking said members and energizing said motor to effect oporation of said mechanism by themotor, a doorcloung-spring associated with said mechanism and arranged to wind when the door ,is opened either manually'or under the iniiuence'oi" said motor, and braking means adapt'ed'to retard the closing movementpi said door caused-by said anism by the motor, a door-closing spring associated with said mechanism and arranged to wind when the door is opened either manually or under the influence oi-said motor, and braking means adapted to retard the clossing movement 0! said door'caused by said spring.

4. A unitary device adapted to be mounted in cooperative relation to a door, for operating the same, comprising an electric motor, door-actuating mechanism, driving means between said motor and said mechanism including normally inoperative'clutch members permitting manual operation of the door independentlyoi' said motor, electrically operable means for simultaneously rendering said clutch members operative and energizing said motor to eil'ect operation or said mechanism by the motor, a door-closing spring associated with said'mechanism and arranged to .wind when the door is opened either manually or under the influence oi said motor,

aoaaaoo braking means adapted to retard the closing movement of the door caused by said'spring,

means for reducing the torque" oi the motor to substantially balance the torque "of the wound spring, and means for controlling said last means 5 in accordance with movement of said door.

' 5; Klinitary'device adapted to be mounted in cooperative relation to a door for operating the I same, comprising an electric motor, door-actuatin'g mechanism, driving means between 'said motor and saidmechanism including normally m inoperative clutch members permitting manual operation of the door independently of said motor, electrically operable means for simultaneously rendering said clutch members operative and energiizng said motor to effect operation of u said mechanism by the motor, a door-closing spring associated with said mechanism and arranged to wind when the door is opened either manually or under the influence of said motor s; A. unitary device adapted to be mounted in cooperative relation to a door, for operatingthe same, comprising an electric motor, door-actusting mechanism, driving means between said motor and said mechanism, means for energizing said motor to effect operation of said mechanism by the motor, a door-closing spring associated with said mechanism and arranged to wind when the door is opened under the influence of said motor, a braking 'mea'ns adapted to retard the closing movement of the door caused by said sprinaimeans for reducing the torque of the motor to substantially balance the torque oi the wound. spring, and mleans'ior controlling said last meanssin accordance with movement oi said 5 door.

, HARRY C. MEIER.

braking means adapted to retard the closing 20 and a switch-normally 26

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