AU2009321523A1 - A sectional door / tilt door operator unit - Google Patents

Description

WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 A SECTIONAL DOOR/TILT DOOR OPERATOR UNIT Field of the Invention This invention relates to a sectional door/tilt door operator unit and relates particularly but not exclusively to such for use in domestic or semi domestic markets where the sectional door/tilt door is usually used for closing a garage in which a motor vehicle is stored. Background Hitherto, it has been known to provide operator units for sectional doors/tilt doors. Typically, the sectional door/tilt door (hereinafter "door") is opened by either pulling or pushing the top of the door by a motor driven door operator unit. Typically, a track is provided that extends mutually perpendicular to the plane of the door. The track extends generally parallel to the floor or ceiling of the garage. The track carries a carriage which is caused to advance or retreat along the length of the track. A link arm connects between the top of the door and the carriage. An electric motor in the door operator advances or retreats the carriage by causing an endless loop chain within the track (or carried by the track) to drive the carriage, or by rotating a screw threaded shaft which screw thread matingly engages with the carriage. Typically, when the door is opened, the plane of the door is generally horizontally disposed and spaced from the floor, and near the top or upper part of the garage (i.e. the ceiling). The door operator unit has the electric motor (and electric control circuit therefor) mounted at the extreme end of the track remote from the door. Object and Statement of the Invention There is a need to provide for an improved door operator WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 -2 unit. Therefore in accordance with a first broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a sectional door/tilt door operator unit comprising an electric motor for opening and closing the door, said electric motor being mounted to a generally planar chassis so a motor spindle thereof extends substantially parallel to the planar chassis and so a rotor of the motor and part of stator of the motor extend from one side of the chassis to an opposite side of the chassis through a cut-out in the chassis, said motor spindle having at one end a worm gear thread meshing with a pinion gear carried by the chassis for rotation about an axis extending generally mutually perpendicular to the generally planar chassis, said pinion gear being connected with an output drive carried by the chassis so as to import rotary drive to the output drive, said chassis also comprising a mounting surface for connecting with an elongate carriage drive system which, in turn, is able to connect with the door, said mounting surface being to position and hold the elongate carriage drive system in an operative position to pick-up drive from said output drive. Most preferably the chassis has a generally rectangular profile and said connection surface is at one end of said chassis, said pinion and said output being at an intermediate position of said chassis, and said motor being at the opposite end of said chassis. Most preferably the motor spindle has an axis of rotation extending inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the elongate carriage drive system.

WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 -3 Brief Description of the Drawings In order that the invention can be more clearly ascertained an embodiment of a door operator unit for specific use with a domestic sectional door/tilt door will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a top perspective view of the door operator unit taken from one side, Figure 2 is a underneath perspective view of the door operator unit shown in Figure 1 but wherein the door operator unit is standing upright, Figure 3 is a view showing two remote control transmitter devices and bases therefor, Figure 4 is a top plan view, Figure 5 is a side view, Figure 6 is an underneath view, Figure 7 is an end view at the end distant from the door, Figure 8 is an end view from the end closest to the door, Figure 9 is a perspective view of the underneath of the door operator unit with the casing removed, and with the unit turned upside down (i.e. with the underneath surface now being shown at the top), Figure 10 is a plan view of the door operator unit shown in Figure 9, WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 -4 Figure 11 is a side elevational view of the door operator unit shown in Figure 9, Figure 12 is a plan view taken from the opposite side shown in Figure 10, and Figure 13 is an end view taken from the end closest to the door, Figure 14 is a plan view of an electric motor within the door operator unit, Figure 15 is a side view of the electric motor shown in figure 14, Figure 16 is an end view of the electric motor taken from the right hand side shown in Figures 14 and 15, Figure 17 is a plan view of a track for use with the door operator unit shown in the previous figures, Figure 18 is a side elevational view of the track shown in Figure 17, Figure 19 is an underneath view of the track shown in Figures 17 and 18, and Figure 20 is an end view of the track taken from the left hand side shown in Figures 17 - 19. Detailed Description of Embodiments Referring now to Figures 1 - 3, and generally to Figures 4 - 8, it can be seen that the door operator unit 1 has a chassis 3 which is uppermost and a lower case 5 that extends downwardly from the chassis 3. The door WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 -5 operator unit 1 has an output 7 in the form of an output drive shaft (see particularly Figures 5, 7 and 8) for imparting drive to move a carriage supported by a track (to be described hereinafter) that forms an elongate carriage drive system. The track, is positioned relative to the output 7 by locating on mounting surfaces 9 in the form of ribs and by being held thereto by 'U' shaped clamps 11. The 'U' shaped clamps 11 are bolted to the chassis 3 with suitable bolts. An electric motor 13 is mounted to the chassis 3. Electric power is provided through power cable 15. It can be seen that the chassis 3 is generally planar and has a rectangular configuration where the length of the chassis 3 in a direction extending along a direction of the elongate carriage drive system is greater than the length of the width of the chassis 3. The chassis 3 has a pair of spaced mounting flanges 17 for permitting suspension of the door operator unit 1 from a ceiling or other structure within a garage which is to be closed by the door. For this purpose, the mounting flanges have a number of mounting openings therein, as shown, so that appropriate mounting struts can be connected therewith and with either the ceiling or some other structure within the garage. A user operating button 19 is provided extending from the lower surface of the case 5 that will on operation cause appropriate internal electric circuit switching to operate to raise and/or lower the door. This operating button 19 provides a direct manual user interface control with the door operator unit 1 locally at the door operator unit 1 itself, as distinct from using the transmitters shown in Figure 3. The forward underneath end of the door operator unit 1 has a control panel 21 under a lid 23. The control panel allows a user to set certain parameters for operation of the door operator unit 1 and for setting limits of the end of travel positions (as is known in the art).

WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 -6 Referring now to Figures 9 - 14, it can be seen that the chassis 3 has a generally planar configuration and is typically formed from metal sheet, or from a plastics material such as an industrial grade rigid plastics material. The chassis 3 has a cut-out 25 therein in order that part of the motor 13 can pass therethrough. In this case, the motor 13 has a stator outer housing 27. The motor 13 also has a rotor carried by a spindle 29. The rotor passes through the cut-out 25 and thus, the longitudinal axis of the spindle 29 lies close to the under surface of the chassis 3 and generally parallel to the plane thereof. Thus, it should be appreciated that the rotor of the motor and a part of the stator of the motor extend through the cut-out 25 in the chassis and protrude on the opposite side of the chassis. A commutator is provided for the armature of the rotor of the motor which is carried on the spindle 29. Appropriate tails from the windings of the motor are terminated therewith in a known manner. The windings have not been shown in order to provide clarity in the drawings. The spindle 29 carries a worm gear 31 at one end that thread meshes with a pinion gear 33. The teeth on the pinion gear 33 have not been shown in order to aid clarity in the drawings. In this embodiment the pinion gear 33 is carried by an axle 35 which is mounted to the chassis 3. The axle 35, in turn, drive connects with the output drive 7 and allows rotary power to be supplied from the motor 13 to the output 7. In other embodiments a casing of the motor may support the stator, the rotor and the spindle 29, and the casing may be mounted to the chassis 3. It can therefore be seen that in this embodiment the electric motor 13 is mounted to a generally planar chassis 3 with the motor spindle 29 thereof being directly carried by the chassis, so that the motor spindle extend WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 -7 substantially parallel to the planar chassis on one side of the chassis and so that the rotor of the motor and part of the stator of the motor extend through a cut-out in the chassis and protrude on the opposite side of the chassis. It should also be appreciated that the motor spindle 29 is carried by the chassis for rotation about an axis that extends generally mutually parallel to the generally planar chassis. It should also be appreciated that the output drive is on the opposite side of the chassis than the pinion gear 33 so as to impart rotary drive at its output. It should also be appreciated that the chassis, with its mounting surface 9 provides a connection surface to position the elongate carriage drive system (to be referred to hereinafter) in an operative position to pick up drive from the output drive 7. If the motor has an outer case supported by the chassis then the spindle 29 and the rotor and stator will have a similar layout and pass through the cut-out in a similar way. A power transformer 37 is mounted to the underside of the chassis 3 and power cable 15 operatively connects therewith. The transformer 37, in turn, provides power for the electric motor 13 and for the electric control circuitry (to be referred to hereinafter). A brush assembly 39 is provided so that brushes therein can supply electric power through the commutator to the windings in the rotor. This will be referred to in detail hereinafter. Figures 9 and 10 in particular show that the connection surface formed by the mounting surface 9 is at one end of the chassis 3, the pinion gear 33 the output 7 are at an intermediate position of the chassis 3, and that the motor 13 is at an opposite end of the chassis 3. The power transformer 37 is also positioned at an intermediate position. Figures 9 and 10 also show that the motor spindle 29 has the worm gear 31 at one end for imparting drive to the WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 -8 pinion gear 33, and that the motor spindle 29 is supported at the worm drive end by a spindle bearing 41 carried by the chassis 3. The opposite end of the spindle 29 is carried by a further spindle bearing 43 formed in a motor end cap 45. Thus, it should be appreciated that in this embodiment the motor 13 has an integral assembled structure only when assembled and carried with the chassis 3. In other words, there is no housing per se for the motor itself which supports the spindle 29 as in other contemplated embodiments. Figures 14 - 16 show the arrangement of the electric motor 3 components for fitting with the chassis 3. The motor 13 has a stator annular body 47 that may be of metal such as steel or other suitable material such as plastics. Half circular sleeve like permanent magnets (not shown) are mounted to the inside surface of the stator body 47 for co-operation with fields produced by coils (not shown) carried by the rotor. The permanent magnets may be press fitted or otherwise fastened within the stator body 47 in a suitable manner such as by an adhesive. In a variation the permanent magnets may be fitted to the chassis without requiring a stator body 47. This may be achieved by suitable mounts for each of the permanent magnets. A motor end cap 45 of half circular shape has an appropriate socket therein into which a spindle bearing 43 is received. The end cap has a mount surface 49 which is for directly engaging with the surface of the chassis 3. The mount surface 49 is shown only in Figure 15. Screw threaded bolt apertures are provided in bosses 51 to permit the end cap 45 to be bolted to the chassis 3. This is not clearly shown in the drawings, however, Figure 12 shows that the end cap 45 is held to the chassis 3 by two bolts 55 that pass into the threaded apertures. The end cap 45 also has bolt sockets 55 on each diametric side to enable bolts to fasten the end cap relative to the stator body 47. Figure 14 shows that the end cap has a lug 57 WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 -9 which locates in a cut-out 59 in the stator body 47 to positively hold and angularly locate the stator body 47 relative to the end cap 45 in an aligned manner. The opposite end of the stator body 47 relative to the end cap 45 carries a support 61 forming part of the brush assembly 39. The bolts that fasten the end cap 45 relative to the stator body 47 also hold the support 61 fastened as an integral assembly. The support 61 includes an arm 63 with a head 65. The head 65 aligns with the commutator of the motor and allows for the brush assembly 39 to be fastened thereto. In this context, the brush assembly 39 comprises an insulating base 67 which, in turn, carries diametrically oppositely opposed spring loaded brushes 69. The brushes 69 are, in turn, carried within housings that are fastened to the insulating base 67 by lugs 71 that pass through openings in the base 67 and which are then bent over to capture the brush housings relative to the base 67. The opposite end of the spindle to that received in the spindle bearing 43 at the motor end cap 45 is carried in a spindle bearing housing 73 that has mounting arms 75 which are in turn bolted to the chassis 3 to correctly position and hold the spindle 29. It can therefore be seen that the motor spindle 29 is supported at the worm drive end by the spindle bearing 41 which is, in turn, carried by the chassis 3. The opposite end of the motor spindle 29 is carried by the spindle bearing 43 which is, in turn, carried within the end cap 45 which, in turn, is carried by the chassis 3. In this embodiment the above arrangement provides for a motor without a motor housing per se. The arrangement provides for relatively fewer components than if the motor 13 were to have its own unique housing. The arrangement also provides for a superior structure than if the worm gear 31 were cantilevered freely off the end of the WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 - 10 spindle 29 and otherwise held in a motor housing that terminated adjacent the commutator of the rotor. Reference will now be made to Figures 17 - 20 which show an example of one known elongate carriage drive system which can be used to connect with the door. In this example, the elongate carriage drive system comprises an elongate hollow track 77 typically formed from metal such as mild steel or aluminium. In this example, the elongate track 77 has a generally rectangular shape transverse cross section that has a 'C' shaped profile. A carriage 79 is fitted to slide with the track 77 between the open mouth defined by the 'C' shaped profile. The hollow track carries an elongate loop chain that travels down one side of the track 7 and back up the other side. This is not shown in the drawings to aid clarity. In addition, the general nature of the elongate carriage drive system is well known in the art. The track 77 is fitted over the mounting surface 9 and clampingly held thereto by the 'U' shaped clamps 11 at the right hand end on a mounting block 81. Figures 17, 18 and 19 show the output 7 of the door operator unit 1 and a sprocket wheel 83 drive engaged and carried by the output 7. The chain engages with this sprocket 83 and is driven so that the carriage is advanced or retreated along the track 77. At the opposite end of the track 77 there is provided a head 85 that can be mounted to the inside face of a wall to which the door is mounted. The head 85 has arms 87 with apertures 89 therethrough (see Figure 18) which, in turn, allow the head 85 to be mounted directly to the inside face of the wall. A chain tensioner mechanism 91 is provided which can be rotated to appropriately tension the chain. The carriage 79 has a user operable arm 93 which carries a pin 95. When the arm 93 is pulled in a direction downwardly, the pin 95 is caused to disengage from the chain. When the arm 93 is moved in a direction upwardly, the pin 95 engages with the chain within a chain WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 - 11 locator carried by the chain. Thus, if the door is to be manually opened in the event of a power failure, then the user operable arm 93 can be moved in a direction downwardly, thereby disconnecting drive with the chain and the operator unit 1. Accordingly, the door can then be raised or lowered manually so the carriage 79 will track along the track 77 independent of movement of the chain. When power is restored, the door can be moved to an appropriate position where the arm 93 can be moved to allow the pin 95 to form a reconnection with the chain locator at the exact same pin connection position where it was engaged prior to disengagement. The arm 93 and the pin 95 may be spring loaded to allow for an automatic return to a drive connected position once there has been a drive disconnection and the door moved to the required position to effect re-engagement. It should be appreciated that position limit sensing means for sensing the required open and closed stop positions of the door have not been shown within the operator unit 1. These may comprise limit switch sensing means and/or shaft encoder sensing means. All such limit sensing means are known per se in the art, and have not been detailed herein for clarity. Any one of the known position limit sensing means may be utilised. Figure 9 clearly shows circuit boards 95 mounted to the chassis that carry electronic components for rectification of power from the transformer 37 to operate the electric motor 13 which, in this case, is a DC electric motor. The electric circuitry and circuit boards for the control panel 21 have not been shown as they are well known in the art. These may be similarly mounted to the chassis. It can be seen from the above, that the motor spindle has its axis of rotation extending inclined relative to a WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 - 12 longitudinal extent of the elongate carriage drive system. In this example, the angle of inclination is about 45* relative to the longitudinal axis of the track 77 of the elongate carriage drive system. Such inclination provides for a compact chassis footprint and a shorter length operator unit housing than with known units. It should also be appreciated that whilst a DC motor has been shown, an AC motor may be provided if required and the same concepts of mounting apply. With the arrangement provided above, a very height compact operator unit housing is provided and, moreover, cost efficiencies can be realised particularly with the fabrication techniques employed for the embodiment where the motor does not form a unitary motor structure until the relevant components are mounted to the chassis. With the arrangement not only is the height of the operator housing smaller than known operator units but the length of the housing is also smaller. This, in turn, provides for a more aesthetic appearance than with known operator units. The arrangement above may be incorporated with other known operator unit technology such as disclosed in our Australian Patent Application Nos. 2009201063, 2009200327 and 2009203038. The subject matter of the above patent applications is incorporated herein by reference. It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country. In the claims which follow and in the preceding description, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 - 13 "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. Modifications may be made to the invention as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art. These and other modifications may be made without departing from the ambit of the invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.

Claims (13)

1. A sectional door/tilt door operator unit comprising an electric motor for opening and closing the door, said electric motor being mounted to a generally planar chassis so a motor spindle thereof extends substantially parallel to the planar chassis and so a rotor of the motor and part of stator of the motor extend from one side of the chassis to an opposite side of the chassis through a cut-out in the chassis, said motor spindle having at one end a worm gear thread meshing with a pinion gear carried by the chassis for rotation about an axis extending generally mutually perpendicular to the generally planar chassis, said pinion gear being connected with an output drive carried by the chassis so as to import rotary drive to the output drive, said chassis also comprising a mounting surface for connecting with an elongate carriage drive system which, in turn, is able to connect with the door, said mounting surface being to position and hold the elongate carriage drive system in an operative position to pick-up drive from said output drive.

2. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor spindle is directly carried by the chassis to extend on said one side of the chassis, and wherein said pinion gear is carried on the opposite side of the chassis.

3. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said chassis has a generally rectangular profile and wherein said connection surface is at one end of said chassis, said pinion and said output being at an intermediate position of said chassis, and said motor being at the opposite end of said chassis.

4. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor spindle has an axis of rotation extending inclined WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 - 15 relative to the longitudinal extent of the elongate carriage drive system.

5. A unit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the angle of inclination is about 450 relative to a longitudinal axis of the elongate carriage drive system.

6. A unit as claimed in claim 2, comprising a power transformer for said motor carried by said chassis.

7. A unit as claimed in claim 6, wherein said power transformer is carried on the same side of the chassis as said motor spindle.

8. A unit as claimed in claim 7, wherein the power transformer is carried on said chassis at said intermediate position on the opposite side of said pinion to where the worm drive of the motor spindle is positioned.

9. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electric motor is a D.C. motor, and wherein said stator comprises permanent magnets.

10. A unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein a rectifier for providing D.C. power for said motor is carried by said chassis on the same side thereof as the motor spindle.

11. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the length of the chassis in a direction extending along direction of the elongate carriage drive system is greater than the length of the width of the chassis.

12. A unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein said spindle is supported at the worm gear end by a spindle bearing carried by the chassis, and wherein the motor has an integral assembled structure only when assembled and WO 2010/060136 PCT/AU2009/001531 - 16 carried with said chassis.

13. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said motor has an outer housing and wherein the outer housing is carried by the chassis.