CA2117092A1

CA2117092A1 - Automatic door operator

Info

Publication number: CA2117092A1
Application number: CA002117092A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Dan C. Yingling
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-09-06
Filing date: 1992-09-05
Publication date: 1993-03-18
Also published as: US5325628A; WO1993005259A1

Abstract

An automatic door operator which works in conjunction with a sliding door(s) and existing track (24) on which the door(s) moves, to open and close the door(s) without manual pushing and pulling.
The invention is useful on single-sliding door installations (22), biparting single-track installations (80, 82), and biparting overlapping door installations (92, 94).

Description

W093~052~9 PC~/US92/07~
2ll~as2 AUTOMATIC DOOR OPERATOR
BA~KGROUND AND S~MMAR~_OF THE INVENTION

The pre~ent invention is concerned generally with the art of door openîng and closi~g devices, a~d more particularly~ an apparatus for auto~atically opening and closing a sliding dnor mounted on a structure.
It has been known for many years to open doors, such as garage doors, by initi:al vertic~l movement of the door along a track until the door reaches a radius in the ~r~ck and begins horizontal movement at the top end of the door while the bottom ~d i~ still risi~g verti~ally. Ultimately, the door is t~pieally open~d until the entire door is ~ubstantially h~rizon~ally:disposed, generally parallel with the floor of the I
I ga~age. ~Actuation of a garage door along its track i5 .:
typical~ly~accomplished by a small horsepower motorized unit.
The~:motor;ized units typîcally drive a flesible member such as a belt:along one or:more:pulleys to lift the door and cause the door ko travel along the track:. ~Once opened, the door may be losed by the motorized;uni.t causing the fle~ible member to ~ op~ra~te in a~lreverse direction, resulting in the door moving ''~

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1 ' W093/0525~ 7 ~J ~ 2 2 PcT/~s92/

down the track and back to a closed position. Ordinarily, the motorized units are secured ~o the ceiling or to roof trusses of the garage or other structure on which the doors are mounted.
The known motorized units are typically op2rated by simply being plugged into an electrical outlet. The motorized unit may be caused to turn on by wel l-known mea~s of a~hand-held remote control transmitter which is set to a frequency that matches that of a receiver in the motorized unit. The hand-held remote control transmitter is usually battery powered and operates by simp1y pushing a button on the hand-held unit while within range of the recei~er which starts the motorized unit ~nd opens the door. Pushing the button a second time, after the door is fully opened, will cause the motorized unit to operate in a r~verse direction thereby losing the door.
Other devices have been~ invented for assisting in the opening~ and closing of~ la~rge doors. In many c:ases, the inveIltions have ~included ~a track upon which the door is slidably mounted and ~à~ tro~lley attached to the door that travels~on the;t~ack.;~
Thes~e~known:devices~haYe been~secured to the outside o~ the building~st~ùct~ure to;~:~f~acil~itate insta~1ation and operation ~wi~th~a~tlack~on~;~hich~the~doo~(s)~is~mounted. Tra~ks are usually:mou~ed~on t~e~outside of a building st~ucture doorway. ; And, these~;known~devices require direct interaction with~the~track~on~the~building structure. This interaction ; ~ -W~93/05259 3 2 1 1 7 ~ 9 2 PCT~US92/07~

further limits th~se devices in that the opera-tor track must substantially match the door track in length which limits the travel of the door(s). These known devices require customization to fit the particular door track on location.
The cost of the known devices plus installation costs are twice (or more) as e~pensive as the present invention. ~This is at least in part because the present invention does not directly interact with the door track, which eliminates the need for customization to mate with the door track.
The pxesent invention is primarily intended for the operation of ~pening and closing doors ~hat slide open in a horizontal direction. The present invention is useful in opening and closing sliding doors on barns, warehouses, han~ers, and other structures. TAe present in~ention may be locat~d insid~ the ~uilding structure so that it is not e~posed to weath~r, ~andali~m, theft, or other calamity. A remote control~transmitter may be used to open and close th~ door from ~utside the building ~tructure in a manner like that used in associatio~ with typical garage door openers. The present i~vention works in association with the door track already in~tall~d~whe~ the door was hung. The present inve~tion is :
1~ design~d to work in conju~ction with any tra~k upon which a :
door slides-~ The prese~t ~nvention includes a motorized unit similar to that uæed on overhead garage door opener~. Th~ present :~

W~93/~52~9 PCT/US9~/07~

2~ 17~2 4 invention further comprises a mo~orized unit that drives a flexible member, such as a chain, which is interconnected through one or more struc~ural ~embers and associated chain engagement m~ans in association with the structural members, and means for changing the direction of the chain to cause the chain to travel in a continuous loop, to open and~c~ose the door without need for manual involvement to push or pull the door open and closed. The motorized uni~ of the present invention may be powered by conventional electrical means. The motorized unit may be started and stopped by a remote con~rol transmitting unit. The motorized unit drives a set of gears over which the chain or other fle~ible member passes. A
structural member is mountsd to the door~ and the means for ch~nging the direction of the chain, such as an idler bracket assembly, ls mounted to a portion of the stxucture on one side o~ the door op~ning opposite the sîde of the door opening where the motorized unit is mounted. The chain or other fle~ible member is driven by the motorized unit gear drive in a continuous loop fashion, through the door mounted structural m~mber and ~hrough the ~ar side wall mounted idler bracket~
be~ore raturning to the motorized unit. ~s the chain moves in o~e direction ~ordinarily clockwise or counterclockwise), the I

l door opens~ and as the ~hain moves in the opposite direction, I the door cloæes. The ~resent invention is designed to open and clo~e~a singl~ sliding door, biparting single track doors, and bipartlng overlapping ~oors.

~l ' W093/U525~ 5 2 1 1 7 ~ ~ 2 P~T/US92/075~

-The present invention.will be more thoroughly explained by khe following drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESÇRIPTION OF THE DR~WINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view o the apparatus of the present inven~ion in use with a single sliding door_ . :
installation;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a door ~uide bracket on a biparting single-krack door;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a door guid~ bracket on an overlappi~g door;
Figure 4 is a perspective e~ploded view of an idler bracket a~sembly of the pres~n~ invention;
Figure 5 is a side view of the idler bracket assembly of Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a p~rspective vi~w of a mounting structure for securing the motorized u~it of th~ pres~nt invention;
Figure 7 is a pla~ view of a chain travel adjustment deviee which form~ a:part of the~motorized unit;
Figuxe 8 i~ a side view ~f a chain plate of the present in~ention;~
Figu~ 9 is a side view of a struct~ral me~ber of the :: :
~; : pr~sent in~ention mounted to a doo~;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a structural member of ~the prese~t in~ention mounted to a d~or;

W093J05259 2 1 1 7 ~ ~ 2 PCT/VS92/~7~

Figure 11 is a perspecti~e view of two structural-members of the present inven~ion, each secured to separ~te ones of two biparting doors;
Figure 12 is a perspective view of two structural members o~ the present invention ~ach secured to separa~e ones of two biparti~g single-track doors; f Figure 13 is a perspecti~e view of two struc~ural m mbers of the pres~nt invention each secured to separate ones of two biparting oYerlapping doors; and Figure 14 is a perspec~ive view o~ the motorized unit with gear drive for use with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION QF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S~
Referring now to ~he drawings and particularly Figure 1, there is illustrated a portion of a building 20 ha~ing a door 22 mounted th~reto a~d a door operator assembly 21, for slidably openin~ and cl~sing ac~ess to the building 20. The door 22 is of a typ~ that typically slides along a track, the track being mounted on a portion of ~he struGture. The present i~vention i~ designed to work wi~h e~isting tracks and building structures without need of significan~ly modîfying either the build;ng structure or th~ track. The present invention adds a unique ~ombination of elements to the door ass2mbly to there~y op@n the door an~iclose the door without manual pushing and pulling of the door(s~

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W~g3/V5259 7 ~17~?~2 PCl[/lJS92/075s4 ., .

In a single door ass~mbly, the present invention comprises a motorized unit 38 wi~h a gear drive assembly 40 associated therewith, a door-mounted struc~ural member assembly 42, a far side wall-mounted idler bracket assembly ~4, and a f lexible member 46 such as a chain. The in~ention may also include a door guide member 48 secured to a forward edge 50 of a door or doorway support member for receiving a door to a~sist in alignment of the door(s).
One particular door track 24 which is cor~norl is shown in Figure 9. The door track 24 shown in Figures 9 is offered only as a typical sliding door track assembly which one may encourlter when installing the present invention. A bracket 26 may be mounted on the top edge ~8 of the door ~2 and wheels or rollers 30, 32 are se~ured to the top of the bracket 26~ The wheels 30, 32 are co~tained within two face-to-face I,-shaped guieles 34, 36 xnd are f~ee to mov~ alons~ the~e guides 3~, 36 3S
the door is moved. Several other tra k designs are well known to those of ordinary skill ~in th~ art and would work eyu211y well wit:h the present inveIltion.
Ref~rring: now t~o Fi gure 10, a structural member 42 i5 shown secured to a single door 22 and preferrably along the door ' s upper most fra~ne member~ ~52. ~The present inventîon is preferably mounted near the top ~o~ the door so that it does not ! i, ;, ~ ~ !
: ~ interf~re with access thr~ugh the doorway. The present ~: invention is ~also preferably mounlted on the interior side of :
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W~93/~5259 P~T/~S92~075 ~ 13 7 a~ 2 8 the door 22 and building 20 so that it is not e~posed to weather, vandali~m, and/or theft. The door-mounted structural member 42 may be comprised o~ ~wo mounting plates 54, 56 that may be secured to the door 22 by screws, bolts, or other known attachment means. Extending from the interior door mounting plate 54 is the body 58 of the structural member 42 which, in this embodime~t, is co~prised of two steel flanges 60, 62 that are secured to the mounting plate 54~ . The two flanses 60, 62 e~tend a distance ~rom the door and have at their ends two flared plates 6~, ~6 through which the chain or fle~ible ~ember 46 will pass.
The inner workings of ~he struct~ral member 42 assembly ar~
best shown in Figure 9.: A roller 68 over whîch the chain 46 passes is securea within the flared plates 64, 66, ~n ~ngagement/disengagement mechanism 70 is pxoYided within the two flanqes 60, 62 and causes the chain 46 to become dise~aged f r~m th~3 door-mounted s~ructural member assenlbly 42 by pulling a rope e)r lever 72 attached to the disenga~ement ~nechanism 70.
When the rope 72 is pulled, the arm 74 of the m~chani~m 7n lif~ out of engagement with a notch 75 in a chain plate 76 ~b~st shown in Figure~ 8) ~off of a protrusioIl 7B from the arm 74 which allows the door 22 ~to ~be opened or closed manually without chain involvement. This.is useful in the e~e~t of a power f ai lure which leaves the mo~orized unit in~perable . The arm 74 of the disengage-ent mPChani~m 70 may be designed as a . :

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wo g3/05259 9 2 1 1 7 1~ 9 2 PCT~S92/07S~

fulcrum about a spring 77. Wh~n the arm 74 is engaged within th~ notch 75 of the chain plate 76, the chain 46 applies force to the structural ~ember ~2 whenever the chain moves which cau~es the door to move since the stxuctural member 42 is ~ecur~d to the door.
Referring now to Figure 1~; in another embodiment of the present invention, the door opening apparatus is shown in use ~ with biparting single-track doors 80, 82. In this embodiment, i at least one door-moun~ed structural member 84, 86 is secured .
to each door. One door-mounted structural member ~6 may be , positioned sligh~ly higher than the other door-mounted i structural member 84 so that the chain 46 will pass ~hrough the ¦~ flar~d plates at the end of each struc~ural member 84, 86, contacting the chain engagement means 88 of one structural member 84 in its low~r portion 85 of a continuous loop and the chain~gagement means 90 of the other structu~al memb~r 86 ~n , i~s upper portion 87 of the continuous loop. This results in eaeh door 80t 82 mo~ing in opposite directions as th~ chain 46 moves ~lockwise or counterclockwise. In other wor~st when the doors~80,~:~2 begin in a closedlposition and movement of the : :
chain 46 is begun, both door~ will open as a resul~ of actuation by one chain~drive motorized unit.~ As the chain 46 is moved in the opposite directl~n, both doors 80, 82 will come to a closed position abutting ea~h other.
Figure 11 shows an aligned arrangement of two structural m~mbers 39, 91 on biparting doors if two ~otorized units are ~, W~93/05~59 PCr/U~9~/07~
2 ~` 1 7;~ o used (one on each s;de of doorway) to drive two separate chains (not shown). A center post 93 would be needed in this embodiment to mount two îdler brackets, one for each door operator assembly. ~ne idler bra~ket may also be modified to contain two chain return means so that it would be capable of accommodating two chains to open two doors. The ~ifference between what is shown in Figure 12 and Figure 11 is that Figure 12 uses one motorized chain drive unit tc open two door at once, while Figur~ 11 is an al~ernative embodiment for opening two d~ors wi~h two motorized chain drive units working independently from each other.
Referring to Figure 13, yet another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, wherein two biparting overlapping doors 9Z, 94 ~ay be opened and closed by use of the present invention. This embodiment is similar to the single-track door assembly :21 e~cept the most e~terior door 92 reguires an e~tended door-mounted structural member 96 to bring the ch~in receivîng portion 98 of the structural member g6 in alignment with the chain receiving portion 100 of the : door-mounted structural member 102 of the interior mos~ door 94. This can be accompl~ished by adding a spacer block 104 to t~e interior of th:e e~te~ior~most door 92 or b~ making the door-mounted structural member 9~ longer. The operation o the biparting overlapping doors 92, 94 is then similar in all othex respe~ts to Ch-t described above.

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w~ g3/052~ 11 2 1 1 7 3 ~ 2 PC~JUS~2/0,554 - Referring now to Figure 4, the far side, wall-mounted idler bracket assembly 44 is shown~ This bracket 44 is fixedly secured to a wall lOS or ceiling member on an opposite side of the doorway from the motorized unit 3~. The idler bracket assembly 44 acts as a return point for the chain 46 or flexible member of the present invention. Since ~he chainf~ forms a continuous loop that begins at the motorized unit 38 and passes through the door-mounted structural members, it must have a point in the assembly where the chain 46 returns to the ~ motorized unit 38. The idler bracket assembly 44 s~rves to ¦ ful~ill this need. ~n a preferred embodiment, a mounting plate 106 is secured to the wall 105 of ~he structure and two steel I ~ flanged members 108, lO9 are welded or otherwise secured to the ¦ ~ mounting plate 106. A strengthening block 113 is adju~tably secured between member~ 108, lO9 and~particularly between ~lot~e~ portions l2lt 1~3 therein. Bolts ~r other known fastehing means may be u~d to secure the block 113 between the m~mbeDs:108,~109. A sprocket assembly 115 is then secured to on~ side o~ the:block 113:while a fastening plate lll is s-~ured to the other side~of the~b1Ock 1~3. Fasteninq means uch~as bol~:s gnot:shown)~can ~o~nect~the plate lll to the proc~et~:~assem~1y~115~;through the b1Ock 11~3. The sprockst assembly has an~idle~ wheel llO which engages the chain 46.
;The wheèl~110 revo~ves around a rod 119.
`~ In~Figure~5, a side Yiew of the idler bracket assembly 44 ~ is ~shown which shows the idler wheel 110 over which the chain ~ .

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W093/~259 PCT~US9~/~75 21 1 7~,~ 2 12 46 rides to return to the motorized unit 38. It would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrive at s~veral different designs for the idler bracket ass~mbly 44 and the door-mounted structural member assemblies. The present invention is not to be restricted to the specific deæigns shown and described in this specification. Several di~-erently de~igned assemblies having the same or similar function are within the scope of this inventio~.
Th0 motorized unit 38 may be moun~ed as shown in Figure 6, to the -~all 112 of the building structure. A bracket memb0r 117 having a wall mounting depending portion 121 and a la~erally e~tending portion 123 supports the unit 3B. A
maintenance access opening 125 may be incorporat~d into the member 117:. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize many dif~erent approaches to mounting the motorized unit to the building.
Fi~ur~s 2 and 3 show door guide assemblies 114, 116 which may be used:with the present invention to guide the doors into proper alignment. On o~erlapping doors, the door guide assembly:ll4~is~mounted to~the interior side 118 of the ~t~rior:most door. ~In~a biparting sin~le-track door : , ar:rangem~nt~:the~door guide assembly 116 sandwiches the door to whi~h it is secur~d.~ Each~door guide assembly 114~ -116 is ' comp~isied~of twol~lared members 120, 122 which are desi~ned to :
~ receive the approaching~door and, if it is slightly out of j::

W093/05259 13 2 ~ 1 7 ~ ~ ~ PCT/US92/~75~

alignment, to bring it into alignment by the approaching door being received within the flared ends 124, 126 of the members 120, 1~2. As the members 120, 122 con~erge into a parallel position with respect to each other, the doors are brought into alignm0nt .
Figure 14 shows a motorized unit 38 with gear~a~ive 40 for use in the present invention. These devices are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and will vary in size and hor~epower depending upon the weight of the door(s) that must be operated. The motorized units, complete with gear drives jJ
can be purchased from manufacturers such as Chamberlain Group in Chicago, Illinois. The chain drive mea~s occurring within the motorized unit and gear drive asseimblies will not be d~scribed herein because it i~ a function of the manu~acturer of khe motorized unit, and the pre~ent invention does not r~guire alteration ~o this previously assembled device~ In Figure 7 an adjustment mechanism 128 is shown for use with the motorized u~it~38 that~contr~ls the amount of travel the chain 46 will u~dertake when opening and clo~in~ a given door. This :: :
`~: amount:o~ chain tra~el can be adjusted by a close-limit nut 130 ~: ~;a~d open-limit nut ~132 of~the adjusting mechanism 128. The ao~ual adjuætmen~ in a particular installation is a fiunction of the doorway op~ning width~
The ~automatic door operator of the present invention and ~any~of i~s attendan~ad~antages will be u~derstood from the :
~: ~

wo 93/0525g 2 :~ ~ 7 ~ ~ 2 14 PCT/US92/075~

-foregoing description. It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form and construction of the components of the inYention without departing from the spirit an~ scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages.

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Claims

What is Claimed is:

1. An automatic door operator assembly for use in opening and closing a sliding door that is normally movable along a path adjacent a doorway of a building structure, said operator assembly comprising: A motorized unit in association with a gear drive, said unit secured adjacent said door in a first side of a doorway formed in said building structure; at least one structural member secured to said door; an idler bracket assembly secured to a second side of said doorway opposite said first side of said doorway; and a flexible member forming a continuous loop, said flexible member in association with said gear drive, said structural member, and said idler bracket assembly such that as said motorized unit drives said gear drive which actuates said flexible member, said flexible member engages said structural member and returns via said idler bracket assembly causing said door to open or close depending upon the direction of movement of said flexible member.

2. The operator assembly of Claim 1 wherein said motorized unit with gear drive, said structural member, and said idler bracket assembly are substantially in alignment and positioned near the top edge of said door and said doorway.

3. The operator assembly of Claim 1, further comprising:
a disengagement mechanism in association with said structural member which can be manually actuated to disengage said flexible member from said structural member, thereby freeing said door from actuation by said motorized unit.

4. The operator assembly of Claim 1, wherein said motorized unit, said structural member, said idler bracket assembly, and said flexible member are all mounted interiorally of said building structure.

5. The operator assembly of Claim 1, further comprising:
a remote control transmitting device in communication with receiving means in said motorized unit for use in stopping and starting the motorized unit even while said door is closed and from outside said building structure.

6. The operator assembly of Claim 1, further comprising:
adjustment means in association with said motorized unit for adjusting the length of travel of said door before said motorized unit automatically shuts off.

7. An automatic door operator apparatus for use in opening two biparting doors slidably mounted on a building structure, said apparatus comprising: a motorized unit mounted on a first side of a doorway, adjacent one of said doors; a first structural member secured to a first door; a second structural member secured to a second door; an idler bracket assembly secured to a second side of said doorway opposite said first side of said doorway; and a flexible member forming a continuous loop, said flexible member driven by said motorized unit with gear drive, said flexible member disposed in relation to said first structural member and said second structural member in such a way that as said flexible member moves in one direction, said first and second doors open simultaneously and when said flexible member moves in an opposite direction, said first and second doors simultaneously close, and said flexible member continuing in its movement through said idler bracket assembly and returning to said motorized gear drive unit.

8. The door operator apparatus of Claim 7, further comprising: a door guide assembly including two flared members mounted to one of said doors for assisting in the alignment of said first and second doors.

9. An automatic door operator apparatus for use in opening and closing first and second biparting overlapping doors mounted to a building structure and which are movable along a path adjacent a doorway of said structure, said apparatus comprising: a drive unit mounted on a first side of said doorway adjacent said first door; a first structural member secured to said first door; a second structural member secured to said second door; an idler bracket assembly secured to a second side of said doorway adjacent said second door; and a flexible member formed in a continuous loop and driven by said drive unit to extend from said drive unit engaging said first structural member, said second structural member, and said idler bracket assembly to move said first and second doors when said drive unit is actuated.

10. A door operator assembly for use in opening and closing a sliding door that is movable horizontally along track means mounted to a building structure, and adjacent to a doorway of said structure, said assembly comprising: means for actuating said door said means mounted on said building structure; structural means secured to said door for use in association with said means for actuating to move said door, said structural means independent of said track means; chain means in operative relation to said means for actuating, said chain means engaging said structural means secured to said door to move said door horizontally along said track as said chain means is driven by said actuating means.

11. The assembly of Claim 10, further comprising: roller means secured to said building structure for receiving said chain means and directing said chain means back to said actuating means, said chain means thereby forming a continuous loop.