US1984861A - Automatic garage door - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 18, 1934. c. c. BROWN AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 22,

Syvum/l to@ Char/es C /own Dec. 18, 1934. c. c. BROWN AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR Filed Jan. 22, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Slm/munter, Char/@s C /"own f'III nl UNITED STATES Patented Dec. 1'8, 1934 PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC GARAGE Doon `Charles C. Brown, Spokane, Wash. Application'January 22, 1934, seal N6.r 707,683 :sy claims. V(o1. 268-35) 4 My inventionrelates to automatic garage doors and certain objects of the invention are to provide means whereby the weight of a motor or other vehicle is utilized'. to open and close the garage doors'. l Further objects are to provide meansl whereby theweight of a vehicle causes the doors Yto automatically unlock and'lock themselves when the vehicle is entering and leaving a garage. VStill .further objects are -to .provide means whereby the doors ycannot be opened by weight of another vehicle on the outside of .the garage doorswhen a vehicle is locked within the garage. Y

Withthe above and otherV objects in view which will appear as .the description proceeds, the invention consists of the novel construction, adaptation, combination and arrangementof Yparts hereinafterV described and claimed. These objects are accomplished by devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings; wherein: Figure 1 is a plan View showing the .device extending into a garage that is shown in horizontal section; Fig. 2 is a view in longitudinal vertical section of the device and garage; Fig. 3 is a viewin front elevation of .a garage and showing in transverse vertical section the meansv for operating the. garage doors; Fig. 4 is a detail view in transverse vertical sectonshowing a channeled guide member secured to the upper channeled operating member; Fig. y5 is an enlarged view in transverse vertical section looking from the inside and showing the door operating mechanism and showing its door opening position in dotted lines; Fig. 6 is a detail view in horizontal section taken substantially on a broken line 6-6 of Fig. 5 and showing in bottom plan the door swinging lever arrangement; Fig. '7 is a detail View in Vertical section showing .the guide means for the upper edge portion of the doors; Fig. 8 is a detail view in vertical section showing the locking bolt and guide arrangement for the bottom edge of the doors; and Fig. 9 is a. detail View in perspective showing'an end of the door operating mechanism.

Referring to the drawings throughout which like reference numerals indicate like parts, the numeral 5 designates a garage having double doors each consisting of an outer section 6 that is connected by outside hinges '7 to an inner section Sewhich is connected to the garage by inside hinges 9. It is thus seen that the doors are adapted to fold in the middle and swing into the garage as indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 1, 2

` and 6 of the drawings. rThe numeral 10 designates aconcretc driveway leading into the garage and having longitudinal grooves or channels l1 spaced apart the normal distance between the 'i wheels of a motor vehicle and extending into the garage. .A transverse groove or. channel 12gextends across the driveway beneaththe doors and belowthe longitudinal grooves, .and within said transverse groove the main *doory operating mechanism is installed which mechanism will now be described. y

A channeled beam 13 is secured in the bottom ofthe transverse groove 12 with its flanges exvis parallel with'fthelowerbeam and is retained Iin parallel relation therewith by `means of the bolts 14 ,passing` slidablyand'loosely through holes therein. .Said upper beam is held down against the arms of the leaf spring by nuts .on the bolts whichnormally retain said beam substantially ush with .the top of the transverse groove 12. A long tread plank 17 isplaced in each of the longitudinal grooves .11 .ofthe driveway 10 and rest on top of the upper cross beams 16. Said planks are norm'ally'fiush with the surface o1' said driveway and extend from the outer ends of the longitudinal grooves 11 toa point a short distance inside ofthe garage 5 where they are connected by hinges 18 to short tread planks 19 which extend the'restof the length of the longitudinalfgroove's 11. A small space is left all aroundy the edges of said planks for freedom of their movement and small metal plates 20 may be used tovbrdge this space at the outer ends of the. long tread planks. The outer ends of said.v long planks are supportedby a transverse pipe 2l set in the. concrete with a channel iron bearing secured to the planks and resting* on the pipe. The. short tread planks 19 are centrally supported by a corresponding cross pipe 22. y

When a motor vehicle.v drives onto the tread planks 17 on they outside of the-garage its weight depresses said planks and also the short planks 19 to a position shown in dotted-lines in Fig. 2. As shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, the upper cross beam 16 and the leaf spring 15 are correspondingly depressed.u This movement ofthe upper cross beam is utilized in opening and closing thegarage doors by'means which will now be described. As most clearly shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings, a pair of upstanding arms 23 is secured to each end portion of the lower fixed cross beam 13 and a depending arm 24 is fixed to each end portion of the upper movable cross beam 16 a short distance inside of said upstanding arms. An L-shaped lever 25 is pivoted between the upstanding arms 23 at the joinder of its major and minor arms and at each end of said cross beams. The minor arm of said lever extends loosely through a slot 26 in the depending arm 24 and its major arm extends upwardly and slidably through a slot 27 in the upper cross beam 16. To the upper end of each of said L-levers a connecting rod 28 is pivotally and adjustably connected at 29. Said connecting rod, on each side, slants inwardly, as shown in Fig. 6, to a pivotal connection at 30 with a shoe arm 31 which is fixed to the lower and outer corner of the section 8 of the garage doors. From the foregoing it will be obvious that, when the cross beam 16 is depressed, the depending arms 24 will cause the I -levers 25 to swing inwardly whereby the pull of the connecting rods 28 on the shoe arms 31 will cause the garage doors to swing inwardly.

For the purpose of guiding the doors in their swinging movement, I have fixed a channel guide member 32 across each of the long tread planks 17. Said guide members are imbedded in said tread planks directly above the cross beam 16 in parallel relation therewith and their outer ends are curved downwardly at 33 for reasons that will presently be apparent. To the inside of the outer bottom corners of the abutting garage door sections 6 I have xed small brackets 34 wherein spring depressed bolts 35 are installed as most clearly shown in Fig. 3. In the closed position of said doors said bolts project downwardly through holes 36 in the channel guide members 32. Upon depression of the tread planks 17 said channel guide members will move down to the dotted position free of the bolts 35 and in this position said members serve as guides for said bolts when the doors are swung inwardly or outwardly in retaining the outer edges of the door sections 6 in the plane of the door opening. As shown in Fig. 9, the slots 26 in the depending arms 24 are long enough so that their upper ends do not engage the minor arms of the L-levers 25 until the guide members 32 have fallen free of the bolts 35 thus freeing said bolts from the holes 36 in said guide members before the doors begin to swing as will be understood. The outer ends of the channel guide members are curved down at 33 for the reason that the bolts 35 are carried out of said guide members in the open position of the doors. As said guide members begin to rise when the doors rst start to close, said curved ends pick up said bolts and their springs are gradually compressed and continue so until said bolts again reach the holes 36 in the closed position of the doors atwhich time said springs cause the bolts to snap down into said holes thus locking the doors.

As a further means for guiding the garage doors in their swinging movements I have xed small brackets 37 to the inside of the outer upper corners of the abutting door sections 6, shown in detail inFig. 7. In each of said brackets a stub shaft 33 is revolubly mounted and its upper end, which projects above the garage doors on the inside, is provided with a roller head 39. Said roller head moves in a channel guide track 40 which is secured to the garage frame immediately above and extends the full width of the doors.

When the doors are opened and closed this guide arrangement, in addition to the foregoing described guide means, retains the outer edges of the doors in the plane of the door opening in their swinging movement.

It will now be apparent that I have provided garage doors that are entirely automatic in their movements. A vehicle may drive slowly into the garage causing the locked doors to unlock and swing open as the vehicle passes through and then causing the doors to close and lock themselves when the vehicle passes inside of the garage. It will be understood that the leaf spring 15 lifts the cross beam 16 when a vehicle has passed oi of the tread planks 17 and causes a reverse action of the foregoing described mechanism which closes the doors. The rear wheels of the vehicle are brought to rest on the inner ends of the short tread planks 19 whereby the weight of the vehicle prevents the doors from being opened by the weight ofanother vehicle which might be driven onto the tread planks 17 on the outside of the garage. The vehicle inside may, of course, be backed out and in so doing the doors will again swing open upon the rear wheels of the vehicle passing outwardly to a point beyond the cross pipe 22 which pivotally supports the short tread planks 19 and the doors will again swing to the closed and locked position by agency of the spring 15 when said vehicle is clear of the tread planks 17. The device is particularly adapted for use on garages that are connected to a dwelling and have a door communicating therewith, although it may be used equally as well on disconnected garages by providing a small door or other means of access by the driver of a vehicle.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

l. The combination with a garage having swinging doors and a driveway having longitudinal grooves extending into the garage, and having a transverse groove extending beneath said doors, of automatic means for opening and closing said doors. said means comprising long tread planks installed in the longitudinal grooves and extending into the garage, means for supporting the outer ends of said planks, a cross beam mounted for up and down movement within the transverse groove and supporting the tread planks, a leaf spring with its arms normally retaining said cross beam and planks in the raised position, pivotally mounted levers arranged to swing inwardly upon depression of the cross beam, rods connecting said levers with the doors whereby depression of the tread planks, spring and cross beam causes the doors to swing open and whereby the doors are caused to swing to the closed position when thecross beam and tread planks are raised by the spring, short tread planks disposed within the longitudinal grooves and hinged to the inner ends of the long tread. planks within the garage, and a transverse central support for said short planks whereby a weight upon their inner ends prevents said short and long tread planks from being depressed by a weight on the long tread planks outside of the garage.

2. The combination with a garage having a pair of swinging doors each comprising an inner and an outer section hinged together and a driveway having longitudinal grooves extending into the garage and a transverse groove extending beneath said doors, of automatic means for opening, closing, unlocking and locking said doors, said means comprising long tread planks installed in the longitudinal grooves and extending into the garage,

means for supporting the outer ends of said long planks, short tread planks hinged to the long planks and extending to the ends of the longitudinal grooves within the garage, a transverse central support for said short planks, a cross beam fixed in the bottom or the transverse groove, an upper cross beam disposed in parallel relation with the xed beam and having a slot in each of its end portions, standards fixed to the lower beam and extending slidably through the upper beam, spring means for normally retaining the upper beam and tread planks in the raised position, an L-lever pivotally connected to the lower beam at each of its end portions, a depending arm xed to the upper beam at each end and disposed on the inside of the L-lever, each of said L-levers having a short arm extending through a slot in the depending arms and a long arm extending through the slots in the upper cross beam, a rod pivotally connecting each of said long lever arms with the outer sections of the garage doors whereby depression of the tread planks, spring and upper cross beam causes the doors to swing to the open position and whereby the reaction of the spring causes the doors to swing to the closed position, guide channel members fixed to the long tread planks in parallel with the cross beams, a spring depressed bolt connected to the lower outer corners of the outer door sections and normally extending down through holes in the guide channel members whereby the doors are held in the closed and locked position, said bolts arranged to slidably ride in said guide members when they are lowered to a position where their holes are free of the bolts upon the doors being swung inwardly and outwardly to the open and closed positions, and whereby the outer edges of the outer door sections are retained in a plane with the door opening upon the swinging movements of the doors, and said bolts adapted to snap back into the holes in the channel guide members to lock the doors when they are swung to the closed 2O position.

CHARLES C. BROWN.

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