EP0315383A1

EP0315383A1 - Boom-operated "up-and-over" door mechanism

Info

Publication number: EP0315383A1
Application number: EP88310167A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Brian Haslam
Original assignee: PC Henderson Ltd
Current assignee: PC Henderson Ltd
Priority date: 1987-10-31
Filing date: 1988-10-28
Publication date: 1989-05-10
Also published as: GB2211888A; GB2211888B; GB8825309D0; GB8725583D0

Abstract

A boom-operated mechanism, suitable for driving up-and-over doors of the canopy and non-protruding types, comprises an elongated straight track (13;43) for mounting in a generally horizontal position extending rearwardly from the top (7) of the doorway, a carriage (14) mounted upon said track, drive means to move said carriage along said track, a link (19;39), rigidly attached to said carriage (14) and adapted for pivotal attachment (22; 45,46) to a point adjacent to the upper edge of a door (4;30) and a pair of guide tracks (10,11; 33,34), adapted for mounting in a generally vertical position at the sides (5,6) of the doorway and to engage rollers located on the respective sides of a door, said guide tracks being curved rearwardly in a region adjacent to their upper sides (29,30; 35,360).

Description

The present invention is a powered mechanism for operating an "up-and-over" door of the canopy or non-protruding type, via a horizontal boom.
Doors of the so-called "up-and-over" type, which are widely used for domestic garages and in a range of industrial settings, are doors which, in opening, move from a normal closed vertical position into a generally horizontal open position.The transition from one limiting position to the other entails both a pivotting movement about a pivot point on the side of the door and also a linear movement of the pivot point along a generally vertical or generally horizontal path. The method of operation and locus of movement of the door differs among the different types of up-and-over doors and the problem of providing a boom drive may be easy or difficult depending upon the type of door.
For example, doors of the type known as "retractable" doors usually feature rollers mounted at the sides of the door at a point near the door top, which rollers are guided in horizontal tracks extending rearwardly from near the top of the door opening. The door top thus follows a generally straight-line path parallel to the horizontal tracks when the door is opened or closed and it is a relatively straightforward matter to provide a drive to operate the door by means of a suitable link to the door top. For example, the drive may be a simple linear drive via a horizontal boom supporting a driven chain or screw.
Canopy doors, which represent by far the largest proportion of up-and-over doors, are, by contrast, usually guided by rollers running in vertical tracks located at the sides of the doorway, the rollers usually being disposed in the lower half of the door sides (relative to the closed position of the door). Such doors project outwards from the doorway to form an over-hang or canopy when the door is open. Canopy doors are usually further supported by fixed pivoting side-arms, extending from the door sides to points near to the upper sides of the doorway. In the transition from the open to the closed position of the door, the door top follows a path which is a curve of varying radius. Thus canopy doors do not readily lend themselves to boom operation, with the result that attempts to provide a boom drive to such doors have hitherto proved to be less than satisfactory.
For example, prior mechanisms intended to provide a boom drive to a canopy door have relied upon a limited deflection and/or distortion of the boom and/or the door structure in operation. Such distortion leads to an unsatisfactory pitching or surging movement of the door at the beginning of its closing cycle.
Finally, doors of the type known as "non-protruding" doors adopt an open position similar to that of a retractable door but they make the transition from the closed position to the open position without at any time projecting forwardly from the door frame. The movement of non-protruding doors is defined by rollers at the sides of the door, adjacent to the lower edge of the door, running in vertical tracks, and it has proved to be particularly difficult to devise a satisfactory boom-operated drive mechanism for doors of this type.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a boom mechanism for driving up-and-over doors, which mechanism is suitable for use with both canopy and non-protruding doors and which overcomes or reduces at least some of the problems of prior such mechansims. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a boom mechanism which, in at least one of its embodiments, is suitable for retro-fitting to a canopy or non-protruding up-and-over door which has been installed without a drive mechanism.
The boom drive mechanism according to the present invention comprises an elongated straight track for mounting in a generally horizontal position extending rearwardly from the top of the doorway, a carriage mounted upon said track, drive means to move said carriage along said track, a link rigidly attached to said carriage and adapted for pivotal attachment to a point adjacent to the upper edge of a door, and a pair of guide tracks, adapted for mounting in a generally vertical position at the sides of the doorway and to engage rollers located on the respective sides of a door, said guide tracks being curved rearwardly (with respect to the door) in a region adjacent to their upper ends.
By means of the mechanisms according to the present invention, and in particular the rigid attachment of the link to the carriage in combination with the guide tracks curved at their upper ends, the boom drive is applied to the door top without relying upon distortion or deflection of the track or door structure and a satisfactory smooth opening and closing of the door is made possible. In addition, by virtue of the curved upper ends of the guide tracks, the initial horizontal drive applied to the door when it is to be closed is given a downward component and the closing operation is thereby rendered much more smooth.
Operation of the drive mechanism according to the present invention may be further improved by providing a pair of telescopic side-arms for attachment between the respective sides of the door and the doorway. Each side-arm preferably extends from a point on the doorway adjacent to the top edge of the door to a point on the side of the door, which in the case of a canopy door is preferably in the upper half of the side of the door and in the case a of non-protruding door is preferably in the general area of the mid-point of the the door side. Such arms are able telescopically to extend and retract during transit of the door between its limiting positions. However it is highly desiable that the arms should be fully closed, that is in a condition resisting further telescopic overlap of their component parts, when the door is in its closed position. In this condition, the arms are able to function conventionally to afford a constraint against undesired vertical movement of the door.
The horizontal track or boom which is a feature of the mechanism according to the invention may comprise a chain or screw which is driven from one end of the boom and which is engaged by the carriage or, in a preferred form of the invention, it may comprise a fixed track along which the carriage is driven by means mounted upon the carriage. For example the track may be a fixed toothed track engaged by a complementary gear associated with the carriage, the gear being driven by an electric motor carried by the carriage. The use of a fixed track has the advantage that it may be jointed much more readily than, say, a screw drive. Furthermore, if the track is made of a sufficiently strong material, for example of steel, then a beam which supports the track may be made correspondingly lighter than conventionally.
The link located between the carriage and the door top is the means whereby the drive is transmitted to the door. It is essential that the link be attached rigidly with respect to the carriage as it is the link which constrains the upper edge of the door to a straight linear path. Since the other end of the link is to be pivotally attached to the door so that the latter may rotate about a moving horizontal axis, if the link were pivoted upon the carriage then there would be a risk of jack-knifing of the link when the carriage was moving in the door-closing direction. When the door is of the non-protruding type, the pivotal attachment of the link to the door is preferably via a pivot engaging a short linear slot, to permit a small amount of movement of the pivot relative to the door. Such movement is not necessary in the case of a canopy door but can be tolerated without adverse effect, so it may be convenient to provide a similar form of attachment for both types of door, for example to avoid undue multiplication of component parts.
As indicated above, the side tracks which guide the door side-pivots are curved rearwardly adjacent to thier upper ends. The angular extent of the rearward curve need only be sufficient to ensure that the rollers forming the pivots remain engaged with the side tracks when the door is fully open. The radius of curvature must be such that, when the door top edge is pushed forward by the carriage and link, a sufficient downward component is imparted to the rollers to allow the door to close without undue resistance. By selecting a radius of curvature of the track which allows the door to rotate at a rotational speed compatible with the linear speed of the drive mechanism, a smooth movement of the door throughout the whole closing operation, especially its difficult opening stages, may be achieved.
The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:-

Fig.1 is an illustration in perspective of one preferred embodiment of the door mechanism according to the present invention, installed upon a canopy door shown in its closed position;
Fig. 2 is a side elevation, to a somewhat larger scale, of the carriage and link of the mechanism of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a rear elevation, also to a somewhat larger scale, showing one of the telescopic side-arms used in the mechanism of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is an illustration in perspective of a second preferred embodiment of the door mechanism according to the present invention, installed upon a non-protruding door shown in its closed position; and
Fig. 5 is a side elevation, to a somewhat larger scale, of the carriage and link of the mechnasim of Fig. 4.

The canopy door 4 illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 is fitted within a wooden (or steel) frame comprising side frame members 5, 6 and a top frame member 7. The door 4 is pivoted at points 8,9 at its sides upon rollers constrained to run in side tracks 10 and 11 respectively. Each roller is supported by a cable running from the end of a rotatively-sprung cross-bar 12, which affords some assistance to the user when opening the door.
A beam 13 extends rearwardly from the top centre of the door frame and within the beam 13 an elongated drive screw is rotated by an electric motor (not shown) mounted at the rear end of the beam. A carriage 14 engages the drive so as to move linearly along the beam as the drive screw rotates. The carriage 14 is connected to the top centre of the door 4 by a link 19. At the sides of the door, arms 15, 16 respectively link a pivotal bracket 17 in the upper half of the door to a second pivotal bracket 18 on the top frame member 7.
As shown to a larger scale in Fig. 2, the link 19 is secured at one end to the carriage 14 and has a reaction flange 20 which abuts the carriage and prevents the link pivoting about its point of attachment 21. At its other end, the link 19 is pivoted at 22 to a bracket 23 mounted on the door 4.
Fig. 3 shows the arm 15 in greater detail. As can be seen, the arm is constructed from two angled rods 24, 25 extending within a tubular sleeve 26. The rod 25 is secured to the sleeve 26 but the rod 24 is able to slide axially within the sleeve, the limits of its movement relative to the sleeve being determined by a pin 27 sliding in an elongated slot 28.
When the door 4 is in its closed position as illustrated, the arms 15, 16 are fully telescoped into their illustrated condition of minimum length and they function to resist vertical movement of the door in the conventional way. However, when rearward movement of the door top is effected by the carriage 14 pulling upon the link 19, the arms 15, 16 extend and allow the door top to follow a straight-line path parallel to the beam 13. Thus the door may be fully opened without deflection of the beam 13 or distortion of the door structure.
The upper ends 29, 30 of the side tracks 10, 11 are curved somewhat in a rearward direction as shown in Fig. 1. When the door 4 is fully open, the rollers pivoted at 8, 9 are located within the curved track ends 29, 30. Thus, when the door is to be closed, the generally horizontal force applied by the link 19 to the top edge of the door is given a downward component by the reaction of the track ends 29, 30 against the rollers and the door is able to begin its movement towards its closed position smoothly without the pitching movement characteristic of the above-described prior canopy door boom drive mechanisms.
The door mechanism illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 in many ways resembles that shown in Figs. 1 to 3 but the mechanism is fitted and adapted to drive a non-protruding door 30. In Figs. 4 and 5, where the illustrated components are identical to those of Figs. 1 to 3 the same reference numerals have been used.
The door 30 is pivoted at the lower edges of its sides at points 31, 32 upon rollers constrained to run in guide tracks 33 and 34 respectively. Each roller is supported by a cable running from the cross-bar 12. The guide tracks 33, 34 each extend the full length of the doorway frame members 6, 5 and each track is curved rearwardly (with respect to the door) at its upper end (35 or 36). The door is further supported and stabilised by telescopic side- arms 37 and 38, which correspond in function to the side- arms 16 and 15 of Figs. 1 to 3 but are somewhat longer, in that the pivotal brackets 17 are, in the case of the door 30, located in the region of the mid-point of the sides of the door.
A carriage 14 is driven by an elongated drive screw within a rearwardly-extending horizontally beam 43 and the carriage is connected to the top of the door 30 by a link 39. The link 39 is rigidly attached to the carriage by a pin 40 and is supported relative to the beam 13 by a support arm 41, which carries a guide wheel 42 engaging a flange 44 on the beam 43. Pivotal connection of the link 39 to the door 30 is by means of a pin 45, which engages a short slot 46 in a bracket 47 mounted on the rear of the door. The slot 46 allows a limited relative movement of the pin 45 relative to the door, to take account of the varying geometry of the assembly as the door moves between its open and closed positions.

Claims

1. A boom-operated drive mechanism for up-and-over doors of the canopy and non-protruding types, comprising an elongated straight track (13;43) for mounting in a generally horizontal position extending from thetop (7) of the doorway, a carriage (14) mounted upon said track and drive means to move said carriage along said track, characterised by a link (19;39), rigidly attached to said carriage (14) and adapted for pivotal attachment (22; 45,46) to a pivot adjacent to the upper edge of a door (4;30) and a pair of guide tracks (10,11;33,34) adapted for mounting in a generally vertical position at the sides (5,6) of the doorway and to engage rollers located on the respective sides of a door, said quide tracks being curved rearwardly in a region adjacent to their upper ends (29,30;35,36).

2. A drive mechanism according to claim 1, characterised further by a pair of telescopic side arms (15,16; 37,38) for attachment between the respective sides of the door and the doorway.

3. A drive mechanism according to claim 2, characterised in that the telescopic side arms (15,16; 37,38) are adapted to resist further telescopic closing when the door is in its closed position.

4. A drive mechanism according to any of the preceeding claims, characterised in that said straight track (13;43) is a fixed track, along which the carriage (14) is drivable by means mounted upon the carriage.

5. A drive mechanism according to claim 4, characterised in that the fixed track (13;43) comprises fixed teeth, engaged by a gear associated with the carriage (14), which gear is driven by an electric motor on the carriage.

6. A drive mechanism according to either of claims 4 and 5, characterised in that said fixed track (13;43) is jointed.

7. A drive mechanism according to any of the preceeding claims, characterised in that said link (39) is attachable to the door (30) by means of a pivot (45) engaging a short linear slot (46).