GB2259547A

GB2259547A - Wing moving device

Info

Publication number: GB2259547A
Application number: GB9119429A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Faulkner Candy
Original assignee: FAULKNER CANDY PETER
Current assignee: FAULKNER CANDY PETER
Priority date: 1991-09-12
Filing date: 1991-09-12
Publication date: 1993-03-17
Also published as: GB9119429D0

Abstract

A wing moving device for moving a wing (10) which is hinged relative to a frame (12), the device (15) comprising a motive unit (16) adapted to be secured to the wing (10), the motive unit (16) comprising a driven member (25) which, in use, engages with, and is driven along, a reaction surface (33) e.g. the floor. The device may be pivotally connected to the wing via an axel (20) and the driven member urged into contact with the floor by a spring (22, fig 2). Control means may be provided, which, via a sensor (30) is activated by an infra-red, radio or sonic signal, the control may also be connected to a wing release mechanism (50) via a cable (51). <IMAGE>

Description

Title: "Wing moving device" Description of Invention This invention relates to a device for opening, closing, or otherwise moving a wing.

Conventionally, such devices are located, or at least exert a motive force to move the wing, at or adjacent an edge of the wing at which mountings i.e. hinges which connect the wing to the frame, are provided. Such devices necessarily have to be able to exert a considerable force by virtue of being mounted adjacent the "hinged" edge of the wing.

According to one aspect of the invention I provide a wing moving device for moving a wing which is hinged relative to a frame, the device comprising a motive unit adapted to be secured to the wing, the motive unit comprising a driven member which, in use, engages with, and is driven along, a reaction surface, means urging the driven member towards the reaction surface.

Thus in the event that the reaction surface is uneven, the device is still able to open and/or close the wing efficiently through its full range of movement.

Preferably the motive unit is adapted to be secured to a side of the wing adjacent to an edge of the wing which moves close to the reaction surface during hinging. The driven member may comprise a wheel or other rolling member which is rotatable about a driven axis and rolls along the reaction surface in frictional contact therewith, the rolling member being urged towards the reaction surface by the urging means.

The driven axis preferably extends generally parallel to the edge of the wing adjacent to which the motive unit is mounted.

The urging means may conveniently comprise a spring means although any other suitable urging means may be provided as required. Thus the driven member and the driven axis may be pivotal about a pivot axis which projects transversely to the side of the wing to which the motive unit is, in use, secured.

The motive unit may be secured to the wing by a mounting comprising a first part which is fixed to the wing, and a second part which is integral with or connected to the remainder of the motive unit, the first or second part comprising an axle which defines the pivot axis.

The wing moving device may comprise a control means which may in one example by housed within the motive unit, the control means including means to receive a remote signal to actuate the driven member. For example; the control means may include an infrared sensor, a radio sensor, or a sonic sensor for examples only which detect respectively, infrared radio or sonic waves.

The control means may also actuate a wing release means which releases a wing retaining means such as a catch, bolt, latch, or a keeper therefor, to permit the wing to be moved from a closed to an open position. Preferably the wing retaining means comprises a keeper having a locking part which is moved by the wing release means to release a latch or catch engaged with the keeper and carried on the wing, to permit the wing to be opened.

The control means may comprise means to sense when the wing is in a fully closed and/or fully open position. Such means may comprise one or more reed switches actuated when in the proximity of a magnet, to complete or interrupt a circuit to provide a suitable signal to the control means.

In a preferred arrangement, the or one of the reed switches cooperates with a magnet which is mounted in use, in or on the wing frame to sense when the wing is in a fully closed position, and the or the second reed switch cooperates with a second magnet mounted in a position adjacent to where the reed switch moves as the wing opens to its fully open position.

Preferably the wing opening device is capable of moving the wing both from a closed to an open and an open to a closed position.

The invention is particularly applicable to a device for moving a wing comprising a door, in which case, the reaction surface may comprise a floor or ceiling or a runner attached to the floor or ceiling. However, the invention may be applied to a device for opening a window or other wing, as desired.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is an illustrative perspective view of a wing moving device in accordance with the invention mounted on a door, FIGURE 2 is an alternative perspective view of the device of Figure 1, but with the door removed for clarity.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a wing 10 comprising a door hinged by conventional butt hinges 11 to a frame 12. It will be appreciated that instead of conventional butt hinges 11, the door 10 may be mounted for hinging movement relative to the frame 12, by any other suitable hinge means, as desired.

A device 15 for opening and closing a door comprises a motive unit 16 which is secured to the door 10 for pivoting movement about a pivot axis 17, by a mounting comprising a first part 18 having a plurality of openings, two or more of which may receive fasteners (not shown) which fix the part 18 to the door 10. The first part 18 provides an axle 20 which is captively received in a corresponding opening in a second part 21 of the mounting, with a spring 22 exerting a torque between the first and second parts 18,21, of the mounting, thereby to urge the motive unit 16 downwardly towards the floor 21 in the direction indicated by arrow 24.

The second part 21 of the mounting is fastened to the remainder of the motive unit by further fasteners, but may be integrally provided therewith if desired.

In an alternative arrangement, the part 21 may comprise the axle which is captively received by the first part 18 of the mounting. Other mounting arrangements which permit pivoting movement of the motive unit 16 about a pivotal axis 17 may be provided.

The motive unit 16 comprises a driven member 25 at a position of the motive unit remote from the pivot axis 17, the driven member 25 comprising in this example a wheel which is driven by a motor 26 via a suitable transmission if desired, of the motive unit 16, in one or other rotational direction to cause movement of the door. It will be appreciated that the driven wheel 25 is urged by spring 25 into frictional engagement with the floor 23 which thus provides a reaction surface. The wheel 25 may include a tyre, or any other desired arrangement for providing a high friction surface which co-operates with the reaction surface 23 to provide for efficient drive of the door 10.

When the wheel 25 is driven in a clockwise direction in figure 1, the door 10 is moved from a closed to an open position, and when wheel 25 is driven in an anticlockwise direction, the door 10 is moved from an open towards a closed position.

The device 15 further comprises a sensor 30 which, as shown, is mounted in a convenient position on door 10, but could be mounted on the frame 12 or otherwise, and is connected to the motive unit 16 by a cable 31. In the present example, the sensor 30 is an infrared sensor but could be a radio wave sensor, an ultrasonic or other sensor as desired.

Upon receiving an appropriate signal from a transmitter (not shown) which may be carried, for example by a disabled person in a wheelchair, or on the wheelchair directly for another example, the sensor 30 provides an appropriate signal to a control means housed within the motive unit 16 which may thus cause the drive wheel 25 to be driven in response to open or close the door 10 as appropriate.

The control means is also connected via a cable 32 to a reed switch 33 of the type which has a pair of contacts which close when the reed switch 33 comes into the proximity of a magnet. A magnet 34 is embedded within a style 35 of the frame 12 in which the door 10 is mounted, and the reed switch 33 thus comes into the proximity of the magnet 34 when the door approaches a fully closed position. Thus the reed switch 33 provides an indication to the control means mounted within the motive unit 16 as to when the door is in a fully closed position, so that drive to the drive wheel 25 can be discontinued.

A further magnet indicated at 36 is provided, the reed switch 33 coming into close proximity of the magnet 36 when the door 10 is opened to a fully open position, again to provide an appropriate signal to the control means housed within the motive unit 16, to discontinue driving the drive wheel 25.

The control means further comprises a wing release mechanism indicated generally at 50, which is connected to the control means via a further cable 51.

The door 10 has a conventional latch mechanism 52 which may manually be operated by a handle 53. The wing release mechanism 50 includes a keeper 51a which has a lock part 52a which co-operates with the latch 52 to retain the door 10 in a fully closed position. However, when signalled to do so by the control means housed within the motive unit 16, the wing release mechanism 50 moves the lock part 52a out of engagement with the latch 52, thereby to permit the door to be moved from a fully closed, towards an open position, by the wing moving device 15.

Such an arrangement is convenient because the only component of a conventional door and frame construction which needs to be changed to connect the construction for opening/closing the door as described, would be the keeper 51, although in another arrangement if desired, the wing release mechanism may operate on the latch 52, a bolt, catch or any other mechanism provided on the wing which is arranged to maintain the door in a closed position in co-operation with a keeper.

As can be seen from figure 2, the motive unit 16 includes an on/off switch 54 by which the wing moving device 15 can be entirely disabled, and a speed governing knob 55 to govern the speed at which the driven member 25 is driven by the motor 26.

Various modifications are possible in addition to those already mentioned, without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, if desired, instead of there being a single reed switch 33 sensitive to both magnets 34 and 36, if desired a pair of reed switches may be provided, one located so as to be sensitive to a magnet positioned in or on the frame so as to sense when the door is in a fully closed position, and the other being sensitive to a magnet 36 in a position where the read switch comes into proximity of the magnet 36 when the door is in a fully open position.

Other arrangements for sensing the closed and/or open positions of the door may be provided.

If desired, instead of the drive wheel 25 co-operating with a reaction surface comprising floor 23, in order to move the door 10, where a ceiling is located appropriately closely to the top of the door, the drive wheel 25 may cooperate with the ceiling to move the wing 10, in which case the driven member 25 and motive unit 16 as a whole would need to be urged upwardly towards the ceiling by a spring or other urging means, rather than downwardly as described.

Further alternatively, the floor 23 or ceiling may carry a runner on which the driven member runs.

In another arrangement, the driven member instead of comprising a wheel 25, may comprise another roller member.

The invention may be applied to a device for moving any other type of wing such as a window relative to a frame in which the window is mounted, or for moving of any other wing as desired.

The device 15 may be powered by a rechargeable battery, or powered from the mains via a suitable transformer as desired.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, or a class or group of substances or compositions, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

1. A wing moving device for moving a wing which is hinged relative to a frame, the device comprising a motive unit adapted to be secured to the wing, the motive unit comprising a driven member which, in use, engages with, and is driven along, a reaction surface, means urging the driven member towards the reaction surface.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the motive unit is adapted to be secured to a side of the wing adjacent to an edge of the wing which moves close to the reaction surface during hinging.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the driven member comprises a wheel or other rolling member which is rotatable about a driven axis and rolls along the reaction surface in frictional contact therewith, the rolling member being urged towards the reaction surface by the urging means.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein the driven axis extends generally parallel to the edge of the wing adjacent to which the motive unit is mounted.

5. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the urging means comprises a spring means.

6. A device according to claim 4 wherein the driven member and the driven axis are pivotal about a pivot axis which projects transversely to the side of the wing to which the motive unit is, in use, secured.

7. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the motive unit is secured to the wing by a mounting comprising a first part which is fixed to the wing, and a second part which is integral with or connected to the remainder of the motive unit, the first or second part comprising an axle which defines the pivot axis.

8. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a control means is provided, the control means including means to receive a remote signal to actuate the driven member.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein the control means includes an infrared sensor, a radio sensor, or a sonic sensor which detect respectively, infrared radio or sonic waves.

10. A device according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the control means is housed within the motive unit.

11. A device according to any one of claims 8 to 10 wherein the control means actuates a wing release means which releases a wing retaining means to permit the wing to be moved from a closed to an open position.

12. A device according to claim 11 wherein the wing retaining means comprises a keeper having a locking part which is moved by the wing release means to release a latch or catch engaged with the keeper and carried on the wing, to permit the wing to be opened.

13. A device according to amy one of claims 8 to 12 wherein the control means comprises means to sense when the wing is in a fully closed and/or fully open position.

14. A device according to claim 13 wherein the sensing means comprises one or more reed switches actuated when in the proximity of a magnet, to complete or interrupt a circuit to provide a suitable signal to the control means.

15. A device according to claim 14 wherein the or one of the reed switches co-operates with a magnet which is mounted in use, in or on the wing frame to sense when the wing is in a fully closed position, and the or the second reed switch co-operates with a second magnet mounted in a position adjacent to where the reed switch moves as the wing opens to its fully open position.

16. A device according to any one of the preceding claims which is capable of moving the wing both from a closed to an open and an open to a closed position.

17. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the device is adapted for moving a wing comprising a door, the reaction surface comprising a floor or ceiling or a runner attached to the floor or ceiling.

18. A wing moving device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

19. Any novel feature or novel combination of features as herein described and/or shown in the accompanying drawings.