US1360479A - Device for opening and closing doors for garages, &c. - Google Patents

Description

R. M. WALLACEAND E. 1. SCOTT. DEVICE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING DOORS FDR GARAGES, 1,360,479

&c.

Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

APPLICATION FILED IAN.2, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

|...IIIIIIIFII1I INN .Ig INNNI R. M. WALLACE AND E. J. SCOTT.

DEVICE Foa OPENING AND CLOSING Doons FOB GARAGES, ac.

0. 2. 92 .1U 03. 34 Is wm Nm M2 n m P m. 2, N. M w N 0 n A w H DI A 9 7 4. Q. O 6 Qu l, 1l-

lxllllllll'lILl |.llllll I.. llllllllllllfll his.. Ez-

www@

UNITED STATES APATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT M. WALLACE AND EDWARD lSCO'IT, OF SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA.

DEVICE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING DOORS FOR GARAGES, &c.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented N ov. 30, 1920.

Application 1ed January 2, 1920. Serial No. 348,930.

To all whom it may concer-a f Be it known that we, Roniucr M. VALLAOn and EDWARD J. Soo'r'r, citizens of the United States, residing at Santa Ana, in the county of Orange and State oi California, have invented certain new and useful .mprovements in Devices for Opening and Closing Doors for Garages, &c.; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for opening and closing sliding doors, and it has more particular reference to a device which is especially designed for opening doors of garages, stables, or other buildings in which vehicles are kept, although it is not to be restricted to such use.

The principal Object of the invention is to provide a device which is of such construction and arrangement, that it may be readily and easily connected with sliding doors rof a garage, a part' of the door` actuating device being permitted to project above ythe `ground at any desired place in the path of the vehicle, so that when the front wheel of the vehicle strikes this projecting part, the

doors. of the garage willbe automatically moved to open position, thus obviating the necessity of the driverleaving the car to open the doors as is customary. .l

Other Objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a.

part of this specification and inwhich like numerals are employed' to designate `like parts throughout the same,

Figure l is an elevation of a pair of sliding doors equipped with our improved operating mechanism, looking from the outside of the garage. f

. Fig. 2 is a section on the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FigfB is a vertical section on the plane of the line 3 3 of Fig. '1.`

Figli is a 'view like Fig. l, looking from the interior of the garage, the doors being shown in open position. i

Fig. 5 is a sectiononthe plane of the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. i Y

'Fig 6 is a detail perspective of one" of the operating levers.V

In carrying out our Ainvention we employ' a crank shaft which is disposed at right angles to the doors and is in turn operated by a longitudinally movable member which is disposed in the path of the vehicle and is adapted to be engaged by one of the wheels of the vehicle.

Referring specifically to the drawings, l indicates a portion of a garage or other building which is equipped with a pair oit sliding doors 2 mounted in any suitable manner upon a track 3. Our operating mechanism comprises a pair of substantially T-shaped levers 4 connected together adja cent their lower ends by means of a link 5 which is of such construction and is so connected to these'levers that it causes them to move together, that is, when one lever is moved, the otherlever will also be moved by reason yof this link. Each lever includes a weighted head 6 which is. adapted to be dislposed between a pair of shoulders 7 carried against one of the'battens '7' on each door.

For instance,.as Vshown in Fig. l the heads bear against the meeting battens kwhen the doors arein closed position and they are moved to a position to engage the opposite battens when the doors are in open position as shown ,in Fig. 4. Such action of `the levers is due` to the factr that the heads carried thereby are made'of lead or some other v heavy material, and when they pass a verticalA position they drop either one way ,or the other by gravity against one ofthe bat- ,-,te`ns and thus serveto move the door in a `direction"according` to the direction which p the: levers fall. .OneV ofthe levers is pivoted, asfshown at 8, at yits lower endto a suitable support, ysuch as forinstance a plurality of boards which are placedv in the ground. On the other hand, the 'other lever is provided with anon-circular aperture 9 adjacent its lower .end through which the flat-i`aced portion 10 of lthe crank shaft 11 extends, thus serving to swing the lever either to the left or the .right when the` crank shaft is rotated. The crank sha-ft and other mechanism for operating the levers 4i is housed in a. suitable supporting structure which we have indicated' at 12, said structure being composed of boards, bricks, or any other suitable means placed below the surface of the ground. Crank shaft 11 is journaled at its opposite ends in' this above mentioned supporting structure 12. This crank shaft differs in construction from those commonly used in engines and the like, as it is preferably made from a single heavy bar and is bent laterally as shown at 13 and 14 and is connected by an obliquev portion 115 with which the vehicle operated actuating member 16 ctr-acts. and causes the shaft to rotate, which in turn rocks the levers 4 which operate the doors. Member 16 may be of any' suitable 'formation and may eoact with the crank shaft in any suitable manner, but Iprefer to employ a substantially U-shaped frame 17 which is pivote'd upon a shaft 18 extending trans- 'verse of the crank shaft and carried by the supporting structure 12. Between the free ends of this' U-shaped frame 17, I attach, in

any suitable manner, a roller 19 which is designed to engage the portion 15 'of the crank shaft and cause it to rotate. This member 16 is `so designed and is so pivoted o'n the shaft 18 that a portion thereof extends above the surface of the ground, and this portion is adapted to vbe engaged by one ofthe frontY wheels of the automobile, and swung on its pivot longitudinally of the crank shaft.

The member 16 will be positioned in the path' of the automobile entering a garage. When the doors are closed, the heads' of the levers 4; bear against the meeting battens of the doors and the'crank shaft 11 is in the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2.

When in this position the roller bears on the portion 15 at'l aV point somewhat close to the laterally bent portion 18. In approaching the entrance' of the garage, the left front wheel of the vehicle` will come into engagement with the portion of the U-sha'ped frame 17 which projects above the siirface of the ground, andwhen it'is set into notion it will move in a direction longitudinallyof the crank shaft 11 and the roller 19 will ride upwardly on the now inclined portion 15' of the shaft andcause it to rotate ina direction from right to fleft until it assumes the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Such rotation of the crank shaft will also cause one of the levers l which isv keyed thereto to swing away from the batteri 7, with which it is now engaged, toward the unengaged hatten. As soon as this swinging levert-8 reaches a vertical position it will swing by gravity against the unengaged hatten, striking it hard enough to force the doors apart or to open position. Inasnit-ichn as these levers l1 are connected by the link 5 the same motion will be imparted to both levers, that is, they will move in a direction away from each other. lVhen the owner leaves the garage, he will grasp the member 16 and move it in a direction opposite to that ljust specified, thus causing the crank shaft to revolve to its normal position, whereby the doors will be moved to closed position. 1n an apparatus of the kind described it will not be necessary for the crank shaft to rotate very much, because soon as the crank shaft rotates enough to l ring the levers to a vertical position, it will have no further action o n said levers as they, from that point on, move by gravity and open the door without further help of the crank shaft.

While we have described our device as being especially adapted to be used in connection with the opening and closing of garage doors, we desire it to be understood that it may also be employed in connection with any other type of sliding doors. ln a device of the above mentioned construction it will be seen that it will be operated solely by means of the vehicle, and with such a device it will not be necessary for the driver to leave the car to open the doors as is customary. yOur device is simple in' construction, highly efficient inv use, and is of such construction that it may be readily installed for use on sliding doors of any construction without changing the construction of the door or framework upon which it is mounted.

It is to be understood that the form of our invention herein shown and described isI` to be taken as a preferred form of the same and that various minor changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope" of the subioined claims.

We claim: l

In' a door actuating device, in combination, sliding doors, a lever and a link structure operatively engageable with the doors, a support, a crank shaft journaled at its opposite ends in said support and rigidly connected to one of the' levers, and means movable' longitudinally of the crank and en* gageable therewith to rotate it, said means including a portion extending above the ground'to beJ engaged by vehicle wheel.

2. In a door actuating device, in combination, slidablc doors, Va link and lever structure engageable with said doors, a supporting structure disposed at right angles to the doors, a crank shaft journaled in said sup` porting structure and rigidly connected with one ofsaid levers, av rod disposed transversely of the support, a substantially yU- shaned frame pivoted on's'aid rod, a portion of the frame extending above the ground, a roller carried by' the free ends of the frame and engageable with the crank shaft, whereby when the frame is swung longitudinally of the crank shaft the roller will engage said shaft and rotate it.

A closure actuating device, in combination, a sliding door provided on one side along its vertical edges with spaced strips, a plate secured to and extending transversely across the outer faces of the strips, a base, a lever pivoted at its lower end to the latter, said lever being provided at its upper end with a weighted' T-head disposed between the door and plate and also between said strips, it having a limited movement between the latter' and normally bearing against one of them and being held in proper position by the plate, and means to actuate the lever so that when it passes a certain vertical position it will fall by gravity against the unengaged strip and automatically open the door.

4. A closure operating device, in combination, a pair of sliding doors including spaced vertical strips arranged along their vertical edges, a base disposed below the lower edges of the doors, a pair of leverspivoted at their lower ends to said base and having their upper ends arranged between the strips 0n the door, means carried by the strips for confining the last named ends of the levers between them, a rock shaft t0 which one of the levers is rigidly secured, a connecting link having its opposite ends curved laterally in opposite directions, the downturned end being pivoted to the lower end of one of the levers between the latters point of connection with said base, and the upturned end being pivotally connected to the other lever at a point above its pivotal connection with the base, -and vehicle actuated means coperating with the shaft for actuating it.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

ROBERT M. WALLACE. EDWARDJ. SCOTT.

Images