US2032951A

US2032951A - Closure

Info

Publication number: US2032951A
Application number: US580876A
Authority: US
Inventors: Milton A Pixley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1931-12-14
Filing date: 1931-12-14
Publication date: 1936-03-03
Anticipated expiration: 1953-03-03

Description

March 3; 1936. M; A. PIXLEY 2,032,951

CLOSURE Filed Dec. 14, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Mzfion A. PIX/65y W+VVI A TTORNEYS.

March 3, 1936. M. A. PIXLEY 2,032,951

CLOSURE Filed Dec. 14, 193] 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 9 INVENTOR. Mfi/on ,4. R X/g/ if?! 6 I ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOSURE Milton A. Pixley, Columbus, Ohio Application December 14, 1931, Serial No. 580,876 18 Claims. (01. 26-20) My invention relates to closures. .It has to do, more particularly, with flexible devices for closing an opening such as that type of closure which is commonly known as an overhead door. However, there are certain features of this in vention which are not necessarily limited to use in this connection.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a closure of the type indicated having means for preventing lateral displacement of the elevating cables by which the closure is operated, during the operation thereof. Another object of my invention is to provide a torsion spring for counter-balancing a closure of the type indicated and means for preventing buckling or deformation of the torsion spring during the operation of the closure, due to the increase of the number of turns in the spring without increasing its length.

Another object of my invention is to provide a closure of the type indicated which is composed of a plurality of sections and which is provided with means for causing the lowermost section of the closure to assume a horizontal position above the top of the opening, and to completely clear the opening.

Another object of my invention is to provide a closure of the type indicated having a means for exerting'a braking action on the closure element as it nears open position, and which will cause it to come to a gradual stop without shocks or jars.

Another object of my invention is to provide a closing and opening means or guide for the upper section of a closure of the type indicated which will cause a quick and positive movement of the upper section of the closure from vertical position towards horizontal position and vice versa, thereby permitting the door to be installed where there is a small amount of head room above the door, this guide also serving to lock the upper section against lateral movement when it is in closed position.

For illustrative purposes I have shown my invention as taking the form of a sectional door,

slidable between vertical closed position and horizontal open position. These sections are preferably mainly guided between closed and open position by means of rollers carried by the door structure at each side and operating in tracks upon opposite sides of the doorway. These tracks comprise a vertical portion, a horizontal portion, and a substantially arcuate portion.

My invention also preferably contemplates the provision of a counter-balancing means which consists of a torsion spring located above the top of the doorway, and operably connected to the door structure by means of elevating cables. This torsion spring is mounted in surrounding relation to a shaft on which the cable drums are also mounted. These drums are so mounted on the shaft that when they are rotated in one direction they will move laterally to one side and when the drums are rotated in the opposite direction they will move laterally to the opposite side, thereby preventing lateral displacement of the cables which wind thereon. The torsion spring is so mounted on the shaft that when the torsion of the spring is increased during the operation of the door, which also increases the number of turns in the spring, a tensional stress is applied to the spring to increase its length, in order to prevent buckling or deformation. If the spring were confined to its original length, then the additional turns, added to the spring by the increasing of the torsion, would cause displacement or buckling of the spring.

My invention also comprises auxiliary rollers which are mounted on the lowermost section of the door and which operate in auxiliary trackways to cause the lower section of the door to move to a horizontal position above the doorway.

My invention further comprises a pair of cam members or inclined plane devices which are mounted on the upper corners of the uppermost section and which cooperate with pins mounted adjacent the upper edge of the doorway, in causing the upper section of the door to swing from a vertical position towards a horizontal position and vice versa. These members also serve to lock the upper section of the door against lateral displacement when the door is in closed position.

I have shown one form which my invention may take, inthe accompanying drawings, wherein similar characters of reference designate cor responding parts, and wherein:

.Figure 1 is a front elevation of a door structure made in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in section, of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail partly in section, of the counter-balancing element and the cable drums of my door operating mechanism.

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view, partly broken away, of the upper end of my door structure.

Figure 5 is a side view of the upper end of the {it} door structure showing the lowermost section in horizontal open position.

Figure 6 is a plan View of the main trackway and the auxiliary trackway of my door structure.

In the drawings, my invention is shown as comprising a trackway located at each side of the doorway, each trackway embodying a vertical portion l, a horizontal portion 2 and an intermediate arcuate portion 3. It will be noted that the horizontal portion of the trackways is disposed entirely above the plane of the top of the doorway and it will subsequently be seen that the upper section of my door, both in opening and closing, is caused to move with a swing ing movement, as well as a sliding movement for a purpose that will be hereinafter explained.

My door preferably comprises a plurality of panels or sections 4 which are hinged together in any suitable manner as by the hinge element 5. At each end of the hinged structure 5, rollers 6 are mounted. These rollers are preferably of the roller bearing type and are preferably mounted on stub shafts 1 which are mounted in the hinge structure 5 in any suitable manner. These rollersare adapted to operate in the main trackways and to guide the door structure between its different positions.

' The lowermost section 4 of the door is provided with brackets 8 which are bolted to the lowermost corners thereof. These brackets have stub shafts 9 mounted thereon or formed integrally therewith. On the outer end of each of these stub shafts 9, an auxiliary roller I0 is rotatably mounted. The auxiliary roller I0 is adapted to operate in an auxiliary trackway which is formed by the outer surface of the main trackway and an angle member II which is mounted on the wall adjacent the main trackway (Figure 6). Aprojecting member I2 is formed adjacent the-upper end of the angle member II and this member I2 is provided with an inclined lower end l3. The member [2 is adapted to cause the lower edge of the door to clear the upper end of the doorway, as will be hereinafter understood. A plate I4 is also mounted at eachside of the doorway adjacent its upperend and this plate is preferabpl bolted to the angle member II and to the arcuate portion 3 of the main trackway. On each of these plates another angle member I5 is mounted in spaced relation to the angle member II. An inclined portion I5 is formed on member l5 and this portion corresponds with the inclined portion I3 of the member I2. This additional angle member l5 serves to prevent the lower end of the lowermost section of the door from being deflected rearwardly to an undesirable extent, as will be'more fully described hereinafter.

The means for swinging the upper section of the door from vertical position towards horizontal position and from horizontal position towards vertical position, and for locking the upper section of the door against lateral displacement when the door is closed, comprises a bracket member l5 which is bolted to the upper corner of the door at each side thereof. This bracket member [6 is provided with a pair of projecting lugs I! having openings formed in their outer ends. An arm i8 is adapted to be connected to the bracket member I6, by means of a pin 19 passing through a sleeve 20 formed in the upper end thereof and passing through the openings in the lugs l1. Thus it will be seen that the. arm .l8is mounted in such a manner that it will be free to oscillate. The lower end of the arm I8 is provided with a sleeve 2| in which is rotatably and slidably mounted a stub shaft 22. A roller 23 is mounted on the outer end of the stub shaft 22 and this roller is adapted to operate in the main trackway. The bracket member I6 is further provided with a cam member 24 which is preferably formed integrally therewith. The cam member 24 is provided with an outwardly extending flange 25 formed at one edge thereof and an outwardly extending flange 26 formed at the other edge thereof. The flange 25 comprises a vertical portion 21 and an inclined portion 28. The flange 26 comprises a vertical portion 29 and an inclined portion 36.

A pin 3| is mounted adjacent each cam member 24 and is adapted to cooperate therewith, in causing the upper section of the door to swing into its various positions, as will be fully described hereinafter. These pins 3| are provided with a reduced end portion 32 which passes through an opening formed in the angle member l5 and plate M. The outer end of this reduced portion 32 is threaded to receive a nut 33 by which the pin is secured on the plate M in such a position I as to cooperate with the cam member 24.

In the operation of this mechanism for causing the upper section of the door to swing into its various positions, assuming that the door is in closed position, (Figure 4) the door is started on its upward movement. The inclined portion 33 of flange 26 will strike the pin 3| and will cause the upper section of the door to swing towards horizontal position. This swinging movement will be permitted inasmuch as the arm I8 is connected to the uppermost door section in such a manner that it is free to oscillate. After the u permost section reaches horizontal position, the lower side thereof will rest on the upper edge of arm l8 and the rollers 23 which operate in of flange 25 and thiswill prevent lateral movement of the upper section, and will keep the upper edge in firm contact with the lintel of the opening.

I have also provided suitable means for counterbalancing the door and for raising it. This means comprises a torsion spring 34 which is mounted above the doorway in a manner to be now fully described. The torsion spring 34 is mounted on a shaft 35 and in surrounding relation thereto. The shaft 35 has keyed on opposite ends thereof, the wide. cable drums 36 and 31. Adjacent the drum 36, the shaft 35 is rotatably mounted in a bearing member 38 which is bolted to the wall structure above the doorway.

This bearing member 38 comprises a housing 39 provided with an enlarged end 48 and a reduced end 4|. Suitably disposed in the reduced end 41 is a nut 42 which is internally threaded. This nut-is so mounted in the housing 39 that it will not rotate therein. The threads on the nut 42 are adapted to cooperate with the threaded porwhich is adapted to act as abearing for the seen later.

shaft 35 andto relieve the threaded portion of the shaft and the nut from most of the weight of the door.

Adjacent the drum 31 is a bearing member 45, provided for the shaft. This bearing member comprises a housing 43 having a ball bearing 41 suitably mounted therein, which acts as a bearing for the. other end of the shaft. The housing 46 is further provided with an inwardly extending flange 48. A drum member 49 is mounted in surrounding relation to shaft 35in such a manner that it can rotate on such shaft. This drum member fits within the flange 48 and is held therein by means of a collar 50 which is held in place on the outer edge of flange 48, by means of screws 50'. The drum member 49 is provided with a series of holes 5| formed in the outer periphery thereof, in circumferentially spaced relation. The flange 48 is provided with a screw bolt 52 which is adapted to cooperate with the holes 5! in securing the drum 49 in any adjustedposition.

One end of the spring 34 is passed through an opening 52 in one side of the drum 49 and is bent in such a manner that it will be securely held therein. The other end of the spring 34 is suitably connected to a member 53 which is also mounted on the shaft 35. The member 53, as will be seen from Figure 3, is keyed'to this shaft. Thus, as the member 53 is keyed to shaft 35 and the drum 49 is loosely mounted thereon, it will be obvious that by rotating the drum 49 and securing it in place by means of screw bolt 52 and openings 5| in said drum, the initial torsion of the spring 34 can be adjusted to any desired extent.

A cable 36 is connected to the bracket 8 at the left hand side of the door (Figure 1) by means of a connecting member 54 or in any other suitable manner. The. opposite end of this cable 36 is connected to the drum 36 in any suitable manner. A cable 31 is connected to the right hand side of the lower section of the door by means of another member 54 which is connected .to the bracket 8, in some suitable manner. The opposite end of this cable is connected to the drum 31, in any suitable manner. It will be noted that the cable 36' is connected to drum .36 adjacent its inner edge and that cable 37' is connected to drum 3'! adjacent its outer edge.

In the operation of the counter-balancing unit and the cooperating drum members, assuming that the door is in closed position, the spring 34 will have a maximum amount of torsion and will also be subjected to tensional stresses as will be The door is started in its upward movement. During the upward movement of the door, the torsion of spring 34 will decrease. Furthermore, it will be understood that during the upward travel of the door, the shaft 35 will rotate in the. directions of the arrows in Figure 3 and the threaded portion 43 thereof will coop erate with nut 42 in causing the shaft 35 to feed towards the right. This will cause the

drums

36 and 31 to move to the right and will allow the cables 36' and 37' to remain in a perpendicular position, and will prevent lateral movement thereof. Furthermore, it will be readily seen that when the shaft feeds toward the right, Figure 3, the tension in the spring 34 will also be decreased due to the fact that member 53 will be moved closer to drum 49. Thus, it will be readily seen that as the torsion decreases during the raising of the door, the tension of the spring also decreases. Furthermore, by

causing the cable drums to move to the right, the cables can wind on the drums in a single layer without causing lateral movement of the cable. When the door is lowered into closed position, it will be readily seen that as the torsion of the spring 34 increases, and the number of turns in the spring increases. However, the movement of the shaft to the left will also cause the spring to be subjected to a tensional force due to the fact that member 53 will be moved a greater distance from the drum 49, thereby extending the spring and preventing buckling or deformation of the spring, which would otherwise be caused by the increase of the number of turns therein.

In the operation of the entire door structure, when the door is in closed position, the different parts will occupy the position shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive. The door is started on its upward travel by manually applied force, and after it reaches a certain position, the counter-balance will cause the continued upward movement thereof. At the initiation of this upward movement, the mechanism adjacent the upper end of the door will cause the upper section of the door to swing towards a horizontal position. The rollers 3 will operate in the main trackw'ays and the rollers i8 will operate in the auxiliary trackways. When the lower section of the door reaches the position shown by dotted lines in Figure 5, the rollers ill will contact with the inclined portion I3 of member l2 and this will cause the lower edge of the lowermost section to be deflected rearwardly in order that it will not contact with the lintel of the opening, as it swings into horizontal position. As the lowermost section swings into a horizontal position, the angle flange l5 prevents any further inward movement of roller l6 and causes roller Hi to travel vertically, thereby acting as a brake on the moving structure and gradually reducing the inward travel of the door to bring it to a gradual stop. The angle member I5 will prevent the deflection of the lowermost section rearwardly, to a greater extent than desired. The raising operation will be continued until the lowermost section occupies a horizontal position above the opening, where it completely clears the opening, as shown by full lines in Figure 5.

It will be understood that I have provided a closure element which has many highly advantageous features. It will be readily seen that there will be no lateral displacement of the operating cables of my closure element, thereby preventing lateral pulls on the closure element and the necessity of providing a comparatively great amount of space wherein the cables may move laterally. It will also be understood that I have provided means for preventing buckling of the torsion spring used to counter-balance the closure element. It will further be seen that I have provided a means for deflecting the upper end of the closure element quickly towards a horizontal position, or quickly towards a vertical position, and that I have also provided a means for causing the lower section of the closure element to completely clear the opening and to assume a horizontal position above the opening. Furthermore, it will be understood that I have provided a means for exerting a braking action on the door as it nears open position and for bringing it to a gradual stop. Many other advantages will be readily apparent.

It will also be understood that my invention is not limited to application to the type of closure closure element from vertical position towards horizontal position and from horizontal position towards vertical position, said last-named means comprising a member with a cam groove therein mounted on said upper section, and a pin mounted adjacent said upper section and cooperating with said grooved member.

2. A device for closing an opening comprising a closure element composed of a plurality of sections, trackways, means for guiding said closure element by said trackways, means for deflecting the upper end of the top section to and from the lintel of said opening, and for holding it in position against the lintel when the closure element is in closed position, said last-named means comprising a member with a cam groove therein mounted on said top section, and a pin mounted adjacent said top section and cooperating with said grooved member.

3. A device for closing an opening comprising a closure element composed of a plurality of sections, a main trackway, means on said closure element for operating in said main trackway, an auxiliary trackway, means on said closure elementfor operating in said auxiliary trackway, the upper section of the door being mounted in such a manner that it may swing away from said trackways, means other than said trackways for causing the upper section of said closure element to swing into its various positions, elevating cables for operating said closure element, means for preventing lateral displacement of the elevating cables during operation of said 010-- sure element, and a counter-balancing means for said closure element.

4. A device for closing an opening comprising a closure element composed of a plurality of sections, trackways, means for guiding said closure element by said trackways, means for moving said closure element betwen vertical and horizontal positions, means for swinging the upper section of said closure element from vertical position towards horizontal position and from horizontal position towards vertical position, said last-named means comprising a grooved member mounted on said upper section, the groove in said member having a verticalportion and an inclined portion, and a pin mounted adjacent said upper section and cooperating with said grooved member, said pin being disposed in the vertical portion of said groove when the closure element is in closed position.

5. A device for closing an opening comprising a closure element composed of a plurality of sections, trackways, means for guiding said closure element by said trackways, means for moving said closure element between vertical and horizontal positions, means for swinging the upper section of said closure element from vertical position towards horizontal position and from horizontal position towards vertical position, said last-named means comprising a bracket secured to the'upper section, a grooved member on said bracket, a pin mounted adjacent the upper end of said closure and cooperating with said grooved member, a lever pivotally mounted on said bracket, said lever having a, roller mounted thereonand adapted to operate in said trackways.

6. A device for closing an opening comprising a slidable structure, means for guiding said slid able structure, elevating cables for operating said slidable structure, and means for preventing lateral displacement of said elevating cables during the operation of said closure element, said last-named means comprising cable drums on which said cables are adapted to wind and which are moved laterally in one direction when the slidable structure is raised and in the opposite direction when the slidable structure is lowered.

7. A device for closing an opening comprising a slidable structure, means for guiding said slidable structure, elevating cables ior operating said slidable structure, and means for preventing lateral displacement of said elevating cables during the operation of said closure element, said lastnamed means comprising cable drums which are mounted on a shaft, means for causing said shaft to move axially in one direction when the slidable structure is raised and in the opposite direction when the slidable structure is lowered, a torsion spring, said torsion spring being so mounted that movement of said shaft in one direction will cause said spring to be extended, while movement of said shaft in the opposite direction will cause said spring to be compressed.

8. In a device of the type described, a closure structure, means for operating said closure struc ture, said means comprising elevating cables cohnected to said structure, said elevating cables being adapted to wind on drums, said drums being mounted on a rotatable shaft, a torsion spring mounted in such a manner that turning of the shaft will increase or decrease the torsion thereof, means for moving said shaft axially in one direction when it is rotated in a certain direction and axially in an opposite direction when it is rotated in a reverse direction so that said drums will be moved laterally in one direction when the cables are winding thereon and in a reverse direc'-- tion when the cables are unwinding therefrom, axial movement of said shaft being also adapted to cause said spring to be extended as the torsion thereof is increased and to cause said spring to be compressed as the torsion thereof is decreased.

9. In a device of the type described a closure structure, means for operating said closure struc ture, said means comprising elevating cables connected to said structure, said elevating cables being adapted to wind upon drums, a torsion spring operably connected to said drums, the torsion of said spring being increased or de' creased upon turning of said drums, means for moving said drums laterally in one direction when said drums are turned in a certain direction and laterally in an opposite direction when the drums are turned in a reverse direction, lateral movement of said drums being also adapted to cause said spring to be extended as the torsion thereof is increased and to cause said spring to be compressed as the torsion thereof is decreased.

10. In a closure structure of the type described, means for operating said structure, said means comprising a cable adapted to wind on a drum, said drum being comparatively wide and of such a type that the cable may wind thereon in a single layer, and means for preventing lateral pulls on said cable at all times during the winding of the cable on the drum and the unwinding thereof, said means comprising mechanism for causing lateral movement of said drum;

11. In a closure structure of the type described, means for operating said structure, said means comprising a cable adapted to wind on a drum, said drum being of considerable width so that the cable may wind thereon with the turns thereof arranged side by side, and means for preventing lateral pulls on said cable during the winding thereof on the drum and the unwinding thereof.

12. In a device of the type described, a closure structure, means for operating said closure structure, said means comprising flexible members adapted to wind on drum members, a torsion spring operably connected to said drum members, the torsion of said spring being increased or decreased upon turning of said drum members, and means for causing said spring to be lengthened as the torsion thereof is increased and to cause said spring to be shortened as the torsion thereof is decreased.

13. In a device of the type described, a closure structure, means for operating said closure structure, said means comprising flexible members adapted to wind on drum members, a torsion spring operably connected to said drum members, means for adjusting the initial torsion of said spring, the torsion of said spring being increased or decreased upon turning of said drum members, and means for causing said spring to be lengthened as the torsion thereof is increased and to cause said spring to be shortened as the torsion thereof is decreased.

14. In a device for closing an opening, a counterbalance unit, said counterbalance unit comprising a torsion spring, said torsion spring being of such a type that its torsional effect will increase and decrease during operation of said closure device, and means for preventing buckling of said spring during operation of said closure, said means comprising mechanism for causing said spring to be lengthened as the torsion thereof is increased and to be shortened as the torsion thereof is decreased.

15. A device for closing an opening comprising a slidable structure, main trackways for guiding said structure between vertical and horizontal positions, auxiliary trackways extending vertically above the lintel of said opening, rollers mounted on'said' slidable structure for operating in said main trackways, rollers mounted on said slidable structure for operating in said auxiliary trackways, and an inclined plane member on said auxiliary trackways disposed adjacent the lintel of said opening and lying in the path of travel of the rollers which travel in the auxiliary trackways whereby the lowermost edge of said slidable structure will be caused to clear the lintel of the opening as said structure swings into a horizontal position.

16. A counterbalancing device comprising an operating shaft rotatably mounted, a torsion spring disposed in surrounding relation to said shaft and having one end connected to said shaft and its opposite end connected to an independent member, the torsion of said spring being increased upon rotation of said shaft in one direction and decreased upon rotation of said shaft in an opposite direction, and means for causing said shaft ,1

automatically to feed axially in one direction when rotated in one direction and axially in the other direction when rotated in the other direction so that said spring will be lengthened and shortened as the torsion thereof is increased or decreased, respectively.

17. In combination, a rotatable shaft, a counterbalancing means for resisting rotation of said shaft in one direction and for aiding rotation in an opposite direction, and means for causing said shaft to feed axially in one direction when rotated in one direction and to feed axially in an opposite direction when rotated in an opposite direction.

18. A device for closing an opening comprising a sectional closure element, means for guiding MILTON A. PIXLEY.