GB2155991A

GB2155991A - A mechanism for opening and closing a door

Info

Publication number: GB2155991A
Application number: GB8503464A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Eric Morley
Original assignee: APEX DOORS Ltd
Current assignee: APEX DOORS Ltd
Priority date: 1984-02-23
Filing date: 1985-02-11
Publication date: 1985-10-02
Also published as: GB8503464D0; GB8404725D0

Abstract

To open and close a door, e.g. an up-an-over garage door (12), a track assembly (27) comprising two parallel rods (28, 30) is attached to the door. A connecting member (26) having pivotally mounted wheels or rollers (32, 34) is engaged via said wheels or rollers to the track assembly. As one end (38) of the connecting member is moved along a track (24) in a horizontal direction the member (26) moves along the track assembly 27 causing the door 12 to be raised or lowered depending upon the direction of movement of the end (38). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A mechanism for opening and closing a door This invention concerns a mechanism for opening and closing a door especially that type of door which is generally known as an 'up-and-over' door. This type of door has its hinges disposed so that when the door is opened the door is raised from its closed vertical position to a position in which the door is substantially horizontal and raised off the ground by a distance equal to the height of the door itself. The 'up-and-over' type door is commonly, but not exclusively, found in use as a garage door.

It is generally well known to provide garage doors with electric devices wich can be activated to open or close the door as required.

An electric device provided for this purpose would usually be disposed so that a force produced by the device acts on the door's top edge. The top edge of the door is constrained so that it may move only in a substantially horizontal direction and, likewise, a point near the bottom edge of the door is constrained so that it can only move vertically. When the electric device is activated a force is produced by the device which is operative to move the top of the door in the horizontal direction. Due to the constraints imposed on the door this horizontal movement of the top edge causes the bottom edge of the garage door to be raised up from its closed position with the overall effect of rotating the door through 90 so that the door will finish in an open position substantially horizontal and with the whole door raised above the ground.

As has already been stated, devices of this nature are in common use with doors of the 'up-and-over' type but these devices cannot generally be used with a specific type of 'upand-over' door generally known as a canopy type door. In the normal, fully retracting, upand-over type door the vertical constraint is applied to a point close to the bottom edge of the door and therefore the bottom edge of the door when it is in the open, fully retracted position will be disposed in a position near to, but rearwardly of, the position assumed by the top edge of the door when the door is closed. However, a canopy type door has the vertical constraint at a point on the side of the door usually between one quarter and one half of the height of the door from the lower edge.Although the door will open and close in a similar manner to that of the 'up-andover' door previously described the alteration of the vertical constraint causes an alteration to the locus of the movement of the door as it is opened or closed. Because the vertical constraint is nearer to the horizontal constraint than that of an 'up-and-over' door as the door nears its fully open position a small amount of movement in the horizontal direction can cause a disproportionately large amount of movement in the vertical direction.

Such an arrangement means that it is difficult to provide an electric device which is capable of fully opening the door. If the vertical constraint was to be disposed even higher up the side of the door than has previously been stated the problem would be aggravated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for opening or closing a door, especially a door of the 'up-and-over' type, which can also be used to open or close a canopy type door without the previously stated difficulty.

Pursuant hereto the present invention provides a mechanism for opening and closing a door comprising a curved track assembly, adapted so that it can be secured to a closed door in a substantially vertical disposition, and a connecting member have moving means at one end so that the member is displaceable along the curved track assembly and connecting means at its other end so that it can be connected to an electric device disposed to produce a force in a horizontal direction.

The force produced by the electric device is coupled to the door via the connecting member and the curved track assembly and the motion produced in the door is affected so that the difference between the amount of horizontal movement and the resultant vertical movement is reduced thereby allowing a conventional electric device to be used to open or close a canopy type door.

Preferably the curved track assembly comprises two curved rods disposed so that they are substantially parallel to each other and are connected to each other at their corresponding ends. Further, the moving means preferably comprises one or more rollers or wheels, each one of the wheels or rollers being pivotally disposed at the end of the connecting member and each wheel or roller being provided with a groove around its circumference so that the wheel or roller can be engaged between the two curved rods.

Advantageously the curved track assembly comprises a single length of box section having a slot in one face thereby allowing the connecting member to be displaceable along the tract assembly.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a preferred embodiment of the mechanism attached to a canopy type garage door in the closed position; Figure 2 is a part cross-section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 to an enlarged scale: Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the garage door in a half open position; Figure 4 is, again, a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the garage door in a fully open position; and Figure 5 is a part cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but showing an alternative embodiment.

Referring firstly to Fig. 1 a mechanism for a door referred to generally by the reference numeral 10 has a curved track assembly 27 comprising two rods 28, 30 disposed parallel to one another and connected at their respective ends to a garage door 12. The garage door 1 2 has a pivot 1 4 disposed within a vertical track 18 so that the pivot 14 may move only in a vertical direction. A member 1 5 is pivotally attached at one end 1 6 to the garage door 1 2 and it's other end 1 7 is pivotally attached to the vertical track 1 8 thereby providing a horizontal constraint on the top end of the door 1 2.

Arranged between the two parallel rods 28, 30 are two wheels or rollers 32, 34 which are pivotally mounted on the end of a connecting member 26 thereby providing moving means.

The end of the connecting member 26 is constrained at one end by constraining means 40 to move along a horizontal track 24. The connnecting member 26 is connected by a chain or similar means 36 to an electric device (not shown) which is operable to move the end of the connecting rod 26 along the horizontal track 24.

Fig. 2 illustrates in greater detail one of the wheels or rollers 34. The wheel 34 has two flanges 42, 44 extending circumferentially from the wheel 34 thereby providing a circumferential groove around said wheel 34.

Rods 28, 30 of the track assembly 27 locate in this groove thereby holding the wheel 34 securely. Wheel or roller 32 is secured in a similar manner.

When the electric device is activated the end 38 of the connecting member 26 is moved along the track 24 away from the door 1 2. The two wheels or rollers 32, 34 attached to the connecting member 26 ensure that it is always at a fixed angle relative to its position in the track assembly 27. Therefore as the end 38 of the member 26 is moved along the track 24 the wheels 32, 34 are also caused to move within the track assembly 27.The track assembly 27 prevents movement of the wheels 32, 34 in the same direction as the connecting member 26 and hence the track assembly 27 itself is caused to move effectively raising the canopy door 1 2. Fig. 3 illustrates a canopy door 1 2 in a partially opened position and Fig. 4 illustrates the relative positions of the canopy door 1 2 and track assembly 27 in fully opened position.

If the electric motor is reversed and the connecting member 26 is drawn towards the door 1 2 the door 1 2 is lowered from the open position to the closed position in a manner similar to that previously described.

The curved track assembly alters the locus of movement of the top edge of the door 1 2 relative to the horizontal movement of the connecting member 26. In particular the ration of vertical movement of the door 1 2 to horizontal movement of the connecting member when the door 1 2 is nearly open is reduced from that associated with known devices.

Fig. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the track assembly 27. In this embodiment the track assembly 27 is a single length of box section 46 having a slot 48 in one side.

A wheel or roller 34 can be accommodated within the box section 46, the slot 48 allowing the pivotal connection of the wheel or roller 34 to the connecting member 26.

Wheel or roller 32 is secured in a like way.

The invention is not confined to the precise details of the foregoing example and variations may be made thereto. Thus it is not necessary for the curved track to be two curved rods disposed parallel to each other neither is it necessary for the moving means to be in the form of two wheels or rollers. It is also possible to use more than two wheels or rollers as the moving means and the means for connecting the connecting member to the electric device does not have to be as described in the above embodiment. Other variations may be possible.

Claims

1. A mechanism for opening and closing a door comprising a curved track assembly, adapted so that it can be secured to a closed door in a substantially vertical disposition, and a connecting member have moving means at one end so that the member is displaceable along the curved track assembly and connecting means at its other end so that it can be connected to an electric device disposed to produce a force in a horizontal direction.

2. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1 in which the moving means comprise one or more rollers or wheels, each one of the wheels or rollers being pivotally disposed at the end of the connecting member.

3. A mechanism as claimed in claims 1 or 2 in which the curved track assembly comprises two curved rods disposed so that they are substantially parallel to each other and are connected to each other at their corresponding ends.

4. A mechanism as claimed in claim 3 in which each wheel or roller is provided with a groove around its circumference so that the wheel or roller can be engaged between the two curved rods.

5. A mechanism as claimed in claims 1 or 2 in which the curved track assembly comprises a single length of box section having a slot in one face thereby allowing the connecting member to be displaceable along the track assembly.

6. A mechanism for opening and closing a door substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.