GB2124296A

GB2124296A - Power operators for closure assemblies

Info

Publication number: GB2124296A
Application number: GB8319416A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Jesse Lukes
Original assignee: LUKES ENG CO Ltd
Current assignee: LUKES ENG CO Ltd
Priority date: 1982-07-29
Filing date: 1983-07-19
Publication date: 1984-02-15
Also published as: GB8319416D0; GB2124296B

Abstract

A power operator 13 having a carrier 14 traversed along a track 15 with rectilinear motion is adapted by a cam mechanism 19 for use with a closure assembly of the type in which, during movement between closed and open positions, a closure member pivots about spindle and roller assemblies attached to side edge portions of the closure member at the same time as the rollers move along guide tracks which extend parallel to the sides of an opening in which the closure assembly is installed. The cam mechanism 19 comprises a curved track member 20 attached to the closure member, slider means 23, 24, 25 moveable along the track member 20, and link means 28, 31 connecting the slider means to the carriage 14. In a particular example the power operator 13 and cam mechanism 19 are used to operate a single panel door member 11 of an up-and-over door assembly 10. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Power operators for closure assemblies This invention relates to power operators for closure assemblies and is particularly concerned with powered operation of a door assembly in which a door closure member moves from a substantially vertical closed position upwardly to a substantially horizontal open position, such door assemblies being commonly known as 'up and over' door assemblies.

In one known type of up and over door assembly the top of the door closure member (hereinafter referred to as the door) is supported by rollers mounted at the top of the side edges of the door and carried in horizontally disposed guide tracks. Powered operation of the door in this type of assembly can be effected by a reasonably simple powered operator comprising a carriage linked to the top edge of the door and adapted to be traversed along a track by a chain and motor driven sprocket mechanism, or a similar power driven mechanism, because the motion of the top edge of the door during movement between closed and open positions is substantially rectilinear. An operator for this type of assembly is disclosed in G.B.-A.-1,377,503.

In a second known type of up and over door assembly, such as is disclosed in G.B.-A.-999,339 and G.B.-A.-1,548,009, a single panel door is guided during movement between the closed and open positions by spindle and roller assemblies mounted one at either side of the door. The rollers are arranged to run in vertical guide tracks attached to structure at the sides of an opening in which the assembly is installed, and the door pivots about the spindle and roller assemblies during movement between the closed and open positions. Powered operation of the door in this type of assembly is made complex by the fact that the motion of the top edge of the door during movement between the closed and open positions is not rectilinear.

G.B.-A.-1 ,589,01 9 discloses a power'operated mechanism for an up and over door assembly of this second known type which comprises a "lazy tongs" mechanism connected between a power operated carriage adapted for movement along a horizontal track and a cam track member attached near to the top edge of the door. A free end of one of the link members of the lazy tongs mechanism carries a roller which runs in the cam track member. The required differential in the motion of the door when moving between the closed and open positions, that is to say, between rotation of the door about the spindle and roller assemblies and vertical movement of the spindle and roller assemblies in the vertical guide tracks, is provided by movement of the link mounted roller in the cam track member and extension or contraction of the lazy tongs.However, this power operated mechanism suffers from the defects of wear and strain associated with a lazy tong mechanism in prolonged use which renders it prone to jamming.

Another power operated mechanism for an up and over door assembly of this second known type disclosed in EP-A-0,028,973 comprises a vertically extending threaded bar located at one side of an opening in which the assembly is installed. A threaded carriage block is carried on the threaded bar and moves along the bar when the bar is rotated by a motor positioned at its upper end. The threaded block has a pivoted connection with a slide block member which is adapted to slide over a slide bar member attached at its ends to the inside face of the door near to its side edge thereof and in the lower half of the closure member when it is in the closed position.As well as being expensive to manufacture this mechanism has the disadvantages that clearance is required at both the sides and the top of the door opening in order to faciltate its installation, and that when the door is closed the slide bar member is located on the lower part of the assembly where it is most susceptible to damage.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cam mechanism for adapting a power operator having a carriage traversed along a track with rectilinear motion to use in operating a closure assembly of the type in which a closure member is guided during opening and closing movement by spindle and roller assemblies co-operating with guide tracks disposed at the sides of an opening in which the closure assembly is installed so as to be substantially parallel with the side edges of the closure member when it is in a closed position.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a power operator for use in opening and closing a door in a door assembly of the type in which the door is guided during movement from a substantially vertical closed position upwardly to a substantially horizontal overhead open position by roller means mounted at either side-edge portion of the door for co-operation with substantially vertically disposed guide tracks.

Accordingly, in its broadest aspect the present invention provides a cam mechanism for adapting a power operator of the type in which a carriage is traversed with substantially rectilinear motion along a track mounted so as to be substantially normal to the plane of an opening in which a closure assembly is installed for use in power operating a closure assembly of the type in which a closure member is guided during movement between closed and open positions by roller means attached to side-edge portions of the closure member for co-operation with guide tracks attached to structure defining an opening in which the closure member is installed, the mechanism comprising a curved track member, means for attaching the curved track member to the closure member so that a central portion of the curved track member is spaced from the closure member, slider means adapted for movement over the curved track member, and link means pivotally connected at one end to the slider means and adapted at its opposite end for attachment to the carriage of the power operator.

In another aspect the present invention provides a power operator for a door assembly of the type in which a door is guided during movement from a substantially vertical closed position upwardly to a substantially horizontal overhead open position by roller means mounted at either side-edge portion of the door for co-operation with substantially vertically disposed guide tracks attached to structure defining the vertical sides of an opening in which the door is installed, the power operator including a track member, means for mounting the track member so as to extend substantially normal to the top of the opening in which the door is installed, a carriage adapted to be traversed along the track member, and a cam mechanism for connecting the carriage to the top portion of the door comprising a curved track member adapted for attachment to the door in a plane substantially parallel to a side of the door so that a central portion of the curved track member is spaced from the door, slider means adapted for movement over the curved track member, and link means having one end pivotally connected to the slider means and an opposite end connected to the carriage.

The invention also extends to an up and over door assembly in combination with a power operator and a cam mechanism connected between the power operator carriage and the door for converting rectilinear motion of the carriage into motion required to provide opening and closing movement of the door.

The curved track member may be in the shape of an arc of a circle but is preferably in the shape of a flattened curve so that, in the case of an up and over door assembly, when the door is in the overhead open position the track does not obtrude too far beneath the door.

The slider means may be of suitable form which will co-operate with and move over the curved track member.

In an up and over door assembly of the type with which the present invention is concerned initial movement of the door in moving from the closed position to the open position is that of rotation of the door about the roller means with very little upward movement of the roller means in the guide tracks. We have found that a preferred form of slider means for imparting this initial rotational movement to the door has two spaced apart positions of contact with the curved track member, the spacing being sufficiently small to enable the slider means to travel around the curvature of the curved track member.

In an embodiment of the invention the curved track member is formed by a rod or tube of circular cross-section and the slider means comprises two pairs of rollers, such as wheels or bearings, joined together by a connector plate. Each pair of rollers are able to contact opposite sides of the rod or tube and in order to accommodate the curvature of the track member the gap between both the rollers or each pair is larger than the diameter of the rod or tube.

The link means connecting the slider means to the carriage may be formed with a bend or dog leg so as to reduce the length of track on which the carriage is traversed and/or to ensure the link means clears the end of the door when the door is in the open position.

The link means preferably comprises two link members joined together by a nut and bolt with one link member being provided with a plurality of bolt holes spaced along a portion of its length so as to provide for adjustment of the length of the link means to suit the mechanism for use with doors of different heights.

The invention will now be further described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a closure assembly comprising a power operated up and over door assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the assembly shown in Figure 1 with the door closure member in the closed position; Figure 3 is a side elevation of the assembly shown in Figure 1 with the door closure member in the open position; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a cam mechanism in accordance with one embodiment of the invention and used in the power operated door assembly shown in Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a cross-section through part of the cam mechanism on line X-X in Figure 4.

Referring first to Figures 1,2 and 3 of the drawings, a closure assembly comprises an up and over door assembly 10 of the type in which a single panel door 11 is guided during movement between a substantially vertical closed position (as shown in Figures 1 and 2) and a substantially horizontal overhead open position (as shown in Figure 3), by spindle and roller assemblies (not shown) mounted one at either side of the door 11 for co-operation with vertical guide tracks that in this embodiment are provided by side frame member 12 of the assembly 10. This door assembly is of similar construction to that disclosed in G.B.-A-1,548,009; however, it could be of any of the other known forms of construction for door assemblies of this type such as are disclosed, for example, in G.B.-A-999,339 and G.B.-A-1050552.

A power operator 13 for the door assembly 10 comprises a carriage 14 which is traversed along a track 15 by a chain (not shown) driven by a sprocket (not shown) from a power unit 1 6 which includes a reversible electric motor (not shown).

The power unit 1 6 is supported by brackets 1 7 from the ceiling structure of a building in which the door assembly 10 is installed. One end of the track 1 5 is attached to the power unit 1 6 and the other end is attached to a horizontal frame member 1 8 which bridges the vertical frame members 12 and forms with them a door frame assembly which is attached to building structure defining an opening in which the door assembly 10 is installed.

A cable 33, shown in Figure 1. connects the door handle (not shown) with a carriage connector (not shown) carried by the chain (not shown) of the power operator 1 3 so that the carriage connector may be disengaged from the carriage to permit manual operation of the door.

The carriage 1 4 is connected to the door 11 by a cam mechanism 1 9 which is illustrated by itself in Figure 4. The cam mechanism 19 comprises a curved track member 20 formed from a tube of circular cross-section bent to the shape of a circular arc and attached to the internal face of the door 11 by a right angle section member 21. This angle member 21 bridges the ends of the curved track member 20 and is attached thereto by rivets 22. As seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the curved track member 20 projects from the internal face of the door 10 in a plane which is substantially parallel to the side of the door, and the centre portion of the curved track member 20 is spaced from the internal face of the door.

Slider means adapted for movement over the curved track member 20 comprises two connector plates 23 and 24 disposed on diametrically opposite sides of the curved track member 20.

The connector plates 23 and 24 are joined to each other and held in position with respect to the curved track member 20, by four spindles 25 extending between the four corner portions of the connector plates. As shown in Figure 5 each spindle 25 carries at its centre length a roller comprised by a ball race 26 which is spaced from the side plates 23 and 24 by bushes 27 disposed on the spindle 25 between the opposed faces of the connector plates and the ball race 26. It will be seen by reference to Figure 5 that the spacing between the ball races 26 disposed at diametrically opposite sides of the curved track member 20 is slightly larger than the diameter of the tube from which the track member 20 is formed so as to allow the slider means to move around the curvature of the track member 20.

The slider means comprised by the connector plates 23, 24 and the ball races 26 is connected to the carriage 14 by link means comprising a first link member 28 pivotally connected at one end to the carriage 14 and connected at its opposite end between two arms 29 and 30 of a second link member 31.

These arms 29 and 30 are bent outwardly with respect to each other in the manner of a fork and secured to the connector plates 23 and 24 by the spindle 25 so that the arm 29 extends along one longitudinal edge of the connector plate 23 and the arm 30 extends along one longitudinal edge of connector plate 24. That end portion of the link member 28 which is connected between the arms 29 and 30 of the second link member 31 is provided with a number of holes 32 spaced along a portion of its length to permit the length of the link means to be adjusted, the connection by a bolt and nut (not shown).

In operation of the door assembly 10, with the door 11 in the closed position the electric motor (not shown) of the power unit 1 6 is activated from a remote key switch or radio control device (not shown). The motor drives the sprocket and chain (not shown) to traverse the carriage 14 along the track 1 5 away from that end of the track which is fixed to the frame member 1 8.

The initial movement of the carriage 14 produces a force which is applied through the link members 28 and 30 to the connector plates 23 and 24 of the slider means, and we have found tha the provision of two spaced-apart positions of contact between the slider means and the curved track member assists in producing the initial pivotal movement of the door about the spindle and roller assemblies. In this embodiment the spacing between the ball races and the curved track member permits the connector plates 23 and 24 to tilt slightly under the moment which is applied to them. This brings the uppermost ball race disposed on the inside of the curve of the track member 20 into contact with the track member 20 and applies a force which is directed outwardly and downwardly with respect to the internal face of the door 11.At the same time the lowermost ball race on the outside of the curve of the track member 20 comes into contact with the track member 20 and applies a force which is directed inwardly and upwardly with respect to the internal face of the door 11. This force couple provides initial pivoting of the door 11 about its spindle and roller assemblies and, thereafter, the ball races 26 traverse along the curved track member 20 to provide the correct degree of pivoting about the spindle and roller assemblies and vertical lift of the door spindle and roller assemblies in the vertical guide tracks provided by the door assembly side frame members 12. The vertical lift of the door is, of course, aided by the door counterbalance mechanism (not illustrated).

When the door reaches the open position the carriage 14 will have traversed to the opposite end of the track 1 5 where it is arranged to contact a micro-switch (not shown) to switch off the power supply to the motor.

Movement of the door from the open position to the closed position is by a substantial reversal of the operation described for opening the door.

In case of power failure the door may be opened manually from inside by deflecting the cable 33 to disengage the carriage connector carried by the chain from the carriage and moving the door at the same time. From the outside the door may be opened by unlocking the door and using the door handle to disengage the carriage connector from the carriage.

It will be appreciated that a cam mechanism in accordance with the present invention is suited for use in adapting most types of power operators which provide rectilinear motion, to use as operators for door and other closure assemblies in which, during opening and closing movement, the door or closure member pivots about roller assemblies mounted at the sides of door or closure member for co-operation with guide tracks, at the same time as the roller assemblies move along the guide tracks.

Claims

1. A cam mechanism for adapting a power operator of the type in which a carriage is traversed with substantially rectilinear motion along a track mounted so as to be substantially normal to the plane of an opening in which a closure assembly is installed for use in power operating a closure assembly of the type in which a closure member is guided during movement between closed and open positions by roller means attached to side-edge portions of the closure member for co-operation with guide tracks attached to structure defining an opening in which the closure member is installed, the mechanism comprising a curved track member, means for attaching the curved track member to the closure member so that a central portion of the curved track member is spaced from the closure member, slider means adapted for movement over the curved track member, and link means pivotally connected at one end to a slider means and adapted at its opposite end for attachment to the carriage of the powered operator.

2. A cam mechanism as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the slider means has two spaced apart positions of contact with the curved track member.

3. A cam mechanism as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the slider means comprises two pairs of rollers joined together by connector plates so that the rollers of each pair of rollers are disposed on opposite sides of the curved track member.

4. A cam mechanism as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the dimension between the rollers of each pair is larger than the cross-section dimension of the curved track member.

5. A cam mechanism as claimed in any preceding Claim, wherein the curved track member has the shape of an arc of a circle.

6. A cam mechanism as claimed in any preceding Claim, wherein the curved track member is formed by tube of circular crosssection.

7. A cam mechanism as claimed in any preceding Claim, wherein the link means comprises two link members one of which has a plurality of holes spaced along a portion of its end length which joins with the other link member so as to provide for adjustment of the length of the link means.

8. A power operator as claimed in Claim 7, wherein one of said link members is formed with two arms which are forked outwardly with respect to each other to join one with each side of the slider means.

9. A power operator for a door assembly of the type in which a door is guided during movement from a substantially vertical closed position upwardly to a substantially horizontal overhead open position by roller means mounted at either side edge portion of the door for co-operation with substantially vertically disposed guide tracks attached to structure defining the vertical sides of an opening in which the door is installed, the power operator including a track member, means for mounting the track member so as to extend substantially normal to the top of the opening in which the door is installed, a carriage adapted to be traversed along the track member, and a cam mechanism for connecting the carriage to the top portion of the door comprising a curved track member adapted for attachment to the door in a plane substantially parallel to a side of the door so that a central portion of the curved track member is spaced from the door, slider means adapted for movement over the curved track member, and link means having one end pivotally connected to the slider means and an opposite end connected to the carriage.

10. A power operator as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the slider means has two spaced apart positions of contact with the curved track member.

11. A power operator as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the slider means comprises two pairs of rollers joined together by connector plates so that the rollers of each pair of rollers are disposed on opposite sides of the curved track member.

12. A power operator as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the dimension between the rollers of each pair is larger than the cross-sectioned dimension of the curved track member.

13. A power operator as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 12, wherein the curved track member has the shape of an arc of a circle.

14. A power operator as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 13, wherein the curved track member is formed by tube of circular cross-section.

1 5. A power operator as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 14, wherein the link means comprises two link members one of which has a plurality of holes spaced along a portion of its end length which joins with the other link member so as to provide for adjustment of the length of the link means.

1 6. A power operator as claimed in Claim 15, wherein one of said link members is formed with two arms which are forked outwardly with respect to each other to join one with each side of the slider means.

17. An up and over door assembly in combination with a power operator as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 16.

18. An up and over door assembly in combination with a power operator substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1,2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.

1 9. A cam mechanism for power operator substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings.

20. Any new or improved features, combinations and arrangement described, shown and mentioned or any of them together or separately.