GB2093907A

GB2093907A - Operating up-and-over closure members

Info

Publication number: GB2093907A
Application number: GB8106072A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: WHEATLEY PAUL BARRY
Current assignee: WHEATLEY PAUL BARRY
Priority date: 1981-02-26
Filing date: 1981-02-26
Publication date: 1982-09-08
Also published as: GB2093907B

Abstract

An arrangement for operating a generally planar closure member, such as, an up-and-over garage door 41 between open and closed positions, comprising a first plate member (2) drivably movable in a triangularly- sectioned channel 4 with respect to a fixed support 46 upon which is mounted a generally planar closure member operable between open and closed positions in an up-and-over manner with respect to the support, an auxiliary plate member (5) arranged to be attached to the closure member and connecting means (6) associated with the auxiliary plate member (5) and arranged to detachably connect the auxiliary plate member (5) to the first plate member (2), the arrangement being such that, when the auxiliary plate member (5) is attached to the closure member and is connected to the first member (2), the closure member is drivably operable between its open and closed positions, with respect to the fixed support, upon driven movement of the first member (2) and, when the auxiliary member (5) is attached to the closure member and is detached from the first member (2) the closure member is manually operable between its open and closed positions, independently of the first plate member (2). The door 41 is mounted on rollers 43 guided in side channels 44. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Operating arrangement for generally planar closure members movable between open and closed positions in an up-and-over manner This invention relates to an arrangement for operating generally planar closure members, such as doors and windows, between open and closed positions, and vice-versa, in an up-and-over manner.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided an arrangement comprising: (a) a first member drivably movable with respect to a fixed support upon which is mounted a generally planar closure member operable between open and closed positions in an up-andover manner with respect to the support; (b) an auxiliary member arranged to be attached to the closure member; and (c) connecting means associated with the auxiliary member and arranged to detachably connect the auxiliary member to the first member, the arrangement being such that, when the auxiliary member is attached to the closure member and is connected to the first member, the closure member is drivably operable between its open and closed positions, with respect to the fixed support, upon driven movement of the first member and, when the auxiliary member is attached to the closure member and is detached from the first member, the closure member is manually operable between its open and closed positions, independently of the first member.

The drivable first member is preferably in the form of a plate which can be guided in a channel section, preferably triangular, which can be secured to the fixed support adjacent one side of the closure member. This first member may be driven by an electric motor via a pulley system, or any other suitable form of drive means.

The auxiliary member may be pivotally attached to the closure member. For instance, in the case of the closure member being an up-and-over garage door, the auxiliary member can be pivotally attached to one of the roller spindles associated with a side of the door. This arrangement allows the door to pivot with respect to the auxiliary member, and also the first drivable member and associated connecting means, when the door undergoes its normal arcuate movement during the up-and-over action.

The connecting means for detachably connecting the auxiliary member to the first member is preferably slidably secured to the auxiliary member and may comprise a locking pin slidably mounted thereon for engagement with a corresponding aperture in the first member. Thus, when such a pin is engaged with the aperture in the first member, the auxiliary and first members are connected together for movement in unison with the auxiliary member sliding in the guiding channel section of the first member. Alternatively, when this pin is disengaged from the aperture in the first member, the auxiliary member is movable independently of the first member, whereby the closure member can be operated manually, although the auxiliary member may still be located in the guiding channel section.

The aperture in the auxiliary member may be elongate, that is, in the form of a slot, such that the pin has a lazy movement between each end of the slot at both the open and closed positions of the closure member. As a consequence of this lazy motion between the pin and slot in the auxiliary member, the connecting means also has a lazy movement with respect to the auxiliary member at the open and closed position of the closure member.

The auxiliary member or its associated connecting means may be arranged with respect to the closure member, such that it is capable of releasing a latch which is normally used for locking the closure member in its closed position.

Additionally, the connecting means may be operable, upon actuation of such a latch, to detach the auxiliary member from the first member, whereby the closure member can be opened and closed manually.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, an up-and-over garage door incorporating an arrangement in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective, generally diagrammatic view of the three main components of an arrangement for operating an up-and-over garage door; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a pulley system associated with the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a schematic plan view of the arrangements of Figs. 1 and 2 installed in combination with an up-and-over garage door; and Figs. 5 and 6 are respective side and plan views of a tensioning device for use with the arrangement and pully system shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

Referring firstly to Figs. 1 and 2, an arrangement, indicated generally at 1 ,for operating an up-and-over garage door (not shown) between open and closed positions, comprises a first member in the form of a plate 2 which can be driven with respect to the door frame (not shown) by a pulley system to be described below with reference to Fig. 3. Each end of the one cable of the pulley system is connected to a respective hole 3 at the top and bottom of the plate 2. Also, the plate 2 is movably guidaDle in a triangularlysectioned channel 4 (Fig. 2) which is attached vertically to a side member of the door frame adjacent the respective edge of the door, in known manner.

An auxiliary member consists of another plate 5 which is connected to the door by a generally triangular plate 6 and which is also slidably movable in the channel 4. A circular aperture 7, in the top left-hand corner of the plate 6, is pivotally mounted upon a roller spindle of known type associated with one side of the door.

The auxiliary plate 5, and hence the door, can be detachably connected to the first drivable plate 2 by means of a pin 8 which is shown schematically in Fig. 1 and more clearly in Fig. 2.

A generally L-shaped bracket 9 is slidably secured to the plate 5 and has a protruding arm 10 through which extends a hole 11 receiving one end of the pin 8. The pin 8 also passes through respective in-register holes 12, 1 3 and 14 in the bracket 9 and plates 5 and 2.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 2, the pin 8 connects the auxiliary plate 5 to the drivable plate 2. The hole 1 3 in the plate 5 is elongate, that is to say, it is in the form of a vertically-extending siot.

Referring now to Fig. 3, a pulley system for the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a pair of upper pulleys 31,32 and lower pulley 33. A single length of cable 34, which extends to an electric motor (not shown), has its two ends connected to respective holes 3 in the plate 2, as shown in Fig. 1. For reasons of clarity, the other components of the arrangement 1 are not shown in Fig. 3.

The pulleys 31 and 32 are mounted, with their axes substantially horizontal, inside the garage, as is the iower pulley 33.

In use of the arrangement for the automatic operation of the garage door, the pin 8 is located in biased engagement with the hole 14 in the plate 2 by means of a spring 1 5. Assuming that the door is in its closed position, then the plate 5 is in an upper position with respect to the plate 2, with the pin 8 at the bottom of the slot 13.

When the motor (not shown) is operated, by any suitable means, such as, a radio wave, ultrasonic or infrared transmitter and associated receiver, the cable 34 moves around the pulleys 31,32 and 33, as shown in Fig. 3, in the direction of the arrows. For the initial upward movement of the plate 2, the pin 8 slides freely within the slot 13 until it reaches the top thereof (Fig. 1). This lazy motion of the pin 8 within the slot 13 allows the plate 2 and bracket 9 to move upwardly, whilst the plate 5, and hence the door, remains stationary. However, this upward movement of the bracket 9 releases the door latch (not shown), whereby the bottom of the door can be moved outwardly from a vertical plane, by suitable biassing means associated therewith, such that it can undergo its subsequent up-and-over motion.

If the bottom of the door is not moved outwardly from the vertical, then the door would not be capable of being moved from the closed position, owing to the parallel upward movement of the plate 2.

When the pin 8 reaches the top of the slot 13 in the plate 5, the upward movement of the plate 2 moves the plate 5, and hence the door, upwardly through the normal up-and-over movement of the door. Suitable means, such as a microswitch, may be located with respect to the door, such that when the latter reaches its fully open position, the electric motor is stopped.

When the door is required to be closed, actuation of the motor in the reverse direction causes the plate 2, and hence the pin 8 and associated bracket 9, to move downwardly, with the pin 8 moving to the bottom of the slot 13. The door latch is released by this lazy motion of the pin 8 and bracket 9. Also, with the pin 8 at the bottom of the slot 13, the plate 2 begins to drive the plate 5 downwardly and, hence, the door is swung down into its closed position. At the end of the downward movement of the door, the door latch is able to lock the door in the closed position, because it has already been released by the lazy motion of the pin 8 and bracket 9, as described above.The momentum of the door at the end of its downward movement is sufficient to finally close the door against the bias of the biassing means associated with the bottom of the door, as described above with respect to the initial biassing of the door from the vertical plane, when moving it from the closed to open positions.

Thus, it can be seen that this automatic operation of the door can be effected with the normal door lock in the locked position, because the latch is freely movable from inside the door, whether or not the door is actually locked.

In order to operate the door manually, the door is unlocked and the conventional manual operating handle of the garage door is used to disengage the pin 8 from the hole 14 in the plate 2, against the bias of the spring 1 5, and using a suitable form of connection between this exterior door handle and the pin 8, such as, a camming arrangement associated with the pin and arm 10.

In this manner, the door can now be operated manually between its open and closed positions, with the auxiliary plate 5 detached from the drivable plate 2 but still being guidably moved in the triangularly-sectioned channel 4. Thus, the cable 34 and plate 2 remain in the position shown in Fis 3.

Referring to Fig. 4, the arrangement 1 is shown schematically as being installed in combination with a garage door 41, the generally triangular plate 6 having its aperture 7 pivotally mounted upon an associated roller spindle 42 of one side of the door. The spindle 42 carries a roller 43 which is guided within the conventional side channel 44 of an up-and-over door construction. The two plates 2, 5 of the arrangement 1 are also shown in association with the triangularly-sectioned channel 4 which is secured to the door port 45 by means of a support 46. The pulley system, as shown in Fig. 3, has been omitted from Fig. 4 for reasons of clarity, whereby the arrangement 1 can be more clearly seen.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate respective side and plan views of a tensioning device 51 for use with the pulley system of Fig. 3. The device 51 comprises the top pulley 31 of the system and two further pulleys 35,36. The pulley 31 is supported between two side members 37 which are fixedly spaced apart by four spaces 38. The rotational axis of the pulley 31 is fixed with respect to the members 37, whilst those of the pulleys 35, 36 are each movable in a slot 39 in the respective side members 37.

The cable 34 is shown threaded around the pulleys 31, 35, 36 and the device 51, in operation, "floats" between the two runs of cable 34 such that the pulley axes lie in a generally horizontal plane. However, any uneven tension in each run of cable 34 causes the or each pulley 35, 36 to move either upwardly or downwardly in its associated slot 39, whereby the tension in each run of cable is equalised to provide smooth and efficient operation of the arrangement 1, thus eliminating any undesirable jerking movements.

Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides an arrangement for up-and-over garage doors, as well as other types of doors and windows which operate in an up-and-over manner, whereby the up-and-over action is effected by automatic drive means, such as, an electric motor, or manually. Additionally, it can be seen that the invention also provides a tensioning device for use with the arrangement described above, whereby smooth and efficient operation is accomplished.

Claims

1. An arrangement for operating a generally planar closure member between open and closed positions in an up-and-over manner, the arrangement comprising: (a) a first member drivably movable with respect to a fixed support upon which is mounted a generally planar closure member operable between open and closed positions in an up-andover manner with respect to the support; (b) an auxiliary member arranged to be attached to the closure member; and (c) connecting means associated with the auxiliary member and arranged to detachably connect the auxiliary member to the first member; the arrangement being such that, when the auxiliary member is attached to the closure member and is connected to the first member, the closure member is drivably operable between its open and closed positions, with respect to the fixed support, upon driven movement of the first member and, when the auxiliary member is attached to the closure member and is detached from the first member, the closure member is manually operable between its open and closed positions, independently of the first member.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the drivable first member is in the form of a plate which is guidable in a channel section securable to the fixed support adjacent one side of the closure member.

3. An arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the channel section is triangular in crosssection.

4. An arrangement according to claim 1,2 or 3, wherein the first member is drivable by an electric motor via a pulley system.

5. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the auxiliary member is pivotally attachable to the closure member.

6. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein said connecting means is slidably secured to the auxiliary member.

7. An arrangement according to claim 6, wherein said connecting means comprises a locking pin slidably mounted upon the auxiliary member for engagement with a corresponding aperture in the first member, whereby the auxiliary and first members are connected together for movement in unison with each other, when the locking pin is engaged with the aperture in the first member, and the auxiliary member is movable independently of the first member, for manual operation, when the locking pin is disengaged from the aperture in the first member.

8. An arrangement according to claim 7, in which the aperture in the first member is in the form of an elongate slot.

9. An arrangement according to claim 7 or 8, in which the auxiliary member has an aperture corresponding to that in the first member and slidable receiving the locking pin.

10. An arrangement according to claim 9, in which the aperture in the auxiliary member is in the form of an elongate slot, such that the pin can undergo a lazy movement between each end of the slot at both the open and closed positions of the closure member.

11. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, in which the auxiliary member or said associated connected means is arranged with respect to the closure member, such that it is capable of releasing a latch which is otherwise used for locking the closure member in its closed position.

1 2. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, in which the generally planar closure member is an up-and-over garage door.

13. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, in which the first member, the auxiliary member, said connecting means and/or other components are in kit form for subsequent assembly in combination with an up-and-over garage door.

1 4. An up-and-over garage door arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 5. An up-and-over garage door incorporating an arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 13.

16. An arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 13 including a pulley system having a tensioning device comprising three or more odd number of pulleys which are supported in line with their rotational axis parallel and around which an operating cable for the arrangement is interlaced.

1 7. An arrangement according to claim 16, in which an end pulley of the tensioning device constitutes the top pulley of the pulley system.

1 8. A tensioning device as defined in claim 1 6.

1 9. A tensioning device according to claim 18, in which the pulleys are supported in line between a pair of spaced parallel side members.

20. A tensioning device according to claim 19, in which at least one of the pulleys has its rotational axis movably located in a slot in each of the spaced side members.

21. A tensioning device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.