US2079919A - Means for automatically operating garage doors and the like - Google Patents

Description

y 1937- o. MowER El AL I 2,079,919

MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING GARAGE DOORS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 4, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 11, 1937.

O. MOWERS AL ,MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING GARAGE DOORS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 4, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 11, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFiCE Osmyn Mowers and Paul Fred Piepenbrook, Dallas, Tex.

Application February 4, 1935, Serial No. 4,778

3 Claims;

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in means for automatically operating garage doors, and the like.

One object of the invention is to provide improved means for opening and closing garage doors, said means having an actuator arranged to be operated by a motor vehicle,/ or other vehicle passing thereover. V

An important object of the invention is to provide a depressible actuator for opening and closing garage doors, which is disposed in the driveway leading to the garage and which is so arranged that upon the initial swinging of the actuator in one direction, the doors will be operated; subsequent swinging of said actuator in the same direction having no effect on the operation of the doors, whereby the forward wheel of a vehicle approaching the garage upon striking said actuator, will operate the doors, while the rear wheel may pass thereover without again operating said doors. Another object of the invention is to provide a yieldable connection between garage doors and an actuating mechanism, whereby the opening and closing of the doors is cushioned and the shock and jar of operation is reduced to a minimum.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism for opening and closing garage doors which has its major portion mounted underground out of the way and which is so arranged that itdoe's not interfere with the manual opening and closing of the doors.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described, together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Figure 1 is an isometric view showing a mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention attached to garage doors,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same,

Figure 3 is a plan view,

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse vertical setional view, taken on the line 44 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 3,

Figure 6 is adetail of the yieldable connection between the reciprocating rod and the operating shaft,

Figure '7 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on the line 'l1 of Figure 3, and

Figure 8 is a detail of another form of yieldable connection between the reciprocating rod and operating shaft.

In the drawings, the numeral I0 designates a garage of any suitable construction and provided with swinging doors H. The doors are shown as comprising twosections l2 and I3, each section an outer panel A and an inner panel B. The outer panels are mounted to swing on vertical shafts 26 and 26'. The shafts have their upper ends mounted in bearing collars I4, which are fastened to the wall of the garage above the doors. The lower end of the shaft 26' is journaled in a similar collar 14 which is supported in the floor of the garage, while the shaft 26 has its lower end extending through a guide collar M.

The panels A and B are hinged at I5 whereby when the doors are opened the panels of each section fold back against one side of the door frame, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3. Each inner panel B is provided with a guide roller [6 on its top edge at the inner end thereof, and these rollers engage a slot or track i'l formed in the underside of the top of the door frame (Figure '7), whereby the panels are guided when swung.

For swinging both sections H and I2 simultaneously when either one or the other is op erated, each other panel A is provided with a horizontally disposed arm l8 which extends rearwardly from its upper end. The arms are inclined outwardly from the center of the garage doors, as clearly shown in Figure 3. The outer end of each arm is connected by a tie rod I9 to one end of a lever 28 which is pivoted on a pin 2| carried by a bracket '22 (Figure 2). The bracket is mounted on the inner side of the door frame centrally thereof. When the doors are closed the pivoted lever 20 is in theposition shown in full lines in Figure 3. A coiled spring 23 has one end connected with the inner end of the lever and has its other end fastened to an arm 24 depending from the inner side of thedoor frame. The arm is located at one side of the bracket 22, whereby the spring is off center with T relation to the pivot pin 2|. Thus, when the doors are closed, the spring, being off center,

exerts its pressure to hold said doors closed.

When one section of the door is swung outwardly, the other section is also swung through the medium of the tie rods and lever 20. The parts move to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, and it is obvious that during the initial movement, the tension of the spring 23 must be overcome. However, as soon as the lever 2!) has swung sufficiently far to swing said spring past the pivot pipe 2|, then said spring exerts its pressure to aid in completing the swing of said lever, thereby aiding in opening the doors. After the doors are completely open, the spring then serves to hold them in such position. If desired, angular V-shaped guide plates 24 may be secured to the door sill to aid the rollers H in guiding the door sections into closing position. A handle 25 is mounted on the door section l3, whereby manual operation of said doors is facilitated.

For automatically opening and closing the doors, a vertical shaft 25 is secured by U-bolts 21 to the outer edge of the panel A of the door section l2. The lower end of the shaft depends below the bottom of the door into one end of an elongated underground channel 28 formed beneath the driveway. The channel is located directly beneath one of the concrete runners 29 of said driveway, or if said driveway is of solid concrete directly beneath the path through which the wheels on one side of a vehicle pass in entering or leaving the garage.

An arm 3!! is secured on the lower end of the shaft and has connection with one end of an elongated pitman 3!, which extends the entire length of the channel 28. The connection between the arm and pitman is an important feature of the invention and is clearly shown in Figure 6. The pitman 3! is tubular and has one end of a short rod 32 telescoping one end thereof. The other end of the rod is pivoted to the outer end of the arm 30. Connection between the pitman and rod is obtained through a coiled spring 33 which surrounds said rod and the end of the pitman, and has one end secured to the pitman. It is obvious that reciprocation of the pitman will reciprocate the rod through the medium of the spring, thereby swinging the arm and rotating the vertical shaft 26, which in turn will swing the door section l2, to open or close the garage doors. A sleeve 34 surrounds the spring 33 and has one end fastened to the pitman to prevent the spring from bowing outwardly under pressure. The yieldable connection between the arm and pitman serves to absorb shock and make for smoother operation. If desirable, the arm 3%; may be constructed of a piece of flat spring steel 30', as shown in Figure 8, which will further aid in absorbing the jar or shock of operation.

For reciprocating the pitman to open and close the doors, a bell crank lever 35 is pivoted on a transverse shaft 36, which is mounted in a casing 31 located at the end of the channel 28. The bell crank has one leg 38 bent and pivoted to the outer end of the pitman 3|. The other leg 39, which is shorter than the leg 38, is provided with a recess 40. With the doors closed. the crank is in the position shown in full lines in Figure 5, with the leg 38 forwardly.

For swinging the crank so that the leg 38 moves rearwardly (in direction of the arrow, Figure 5), a yoke-shaped actuator All is pivoted on the shaft 36. The upper end of the actuator extends through a slot 31' in the casing 31 in the path of a vehicle approaching or leaving the garage. The actuator is provided with a depending extension 42 which is located contiguous to the crank 35. The extreme lower end of the extension carries an inwardly extending lug 43, which when swung is arranged to engage either the recess of the leg 39 or the bend in the leg 38 of the bell crank to swing said crank and reciprocate the pitman. The lower end. of the extension is provided with a weight M which serves to swing the actuator to a vertical position at all times.

Assuming the doors H to be closed, the parts are in the position shown in Figures 1 and 5 (full lines). As a vehicle approaches the garage, one of the front wheels will strike the actuator to swing the upper end of the same downwardly, or toward the garage. This causes the lower end of the extension 52 to swing rearwardly, and the lug 53 engages the recess in the leg 39 to swing the crank lever 35 (dotted lines, Figure 5) whereby the leg 38 thereof moves rearwardly to pull the pitman 3| rearwa'rdly. Rear movement of the pitman rotates the vertical shaft 26 through the arm 3!! and the doors are swung to an open position, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3. The parts are held in this position by the offcenter coiled spring 23 at the center of the door frame.

The actuator is, of course, held down so long as the front wheel is engaging it, but as soon as the vehicle moves forwardly far enough to pass thereover, the weight M immediately swings said actuator to a vertical position. The bell crank 35, however, remains in its same position (dotted lines, Figure 5). As the rear wheel strikes the actuator, it is again swung forwardly but since the crank has already been swung, none of the mechanism is again operated. After the vehicle is in the garage, the doors may be manually closed,

the arm, pitman and crank being operated in a reverse direction to move the parts to their original positions. Because the actuator always swings to a. vertical position and does not have a direct connection with the crank, it is obvious that it will not interfere with the operation of the mechanism when the doors are manually operated.

When the vehicle is leaving the garage, the doors are first manually opened which swings the crank 35 to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 5. As the vehicle moves away from the garage, the rear wheel will strike the actuator to swing the same away from the garage, which causes the lug 43 to engage the bead in the leg 38 and swing the bell crank to close the doors. The passage of the other wheels will merely swing the actuator without operating the mechanism, as has been explained. Thus, it is obvious that the driver of the vehicle need never leave his position within the vehicle, either in entering or leaving the garage. It is pointed out that by bending the leg 38, as shown, the path through which the point of connection between the leg and pitman travels, is substantially a straight line. other words, this point of connection travels through a large are which provides for increased power due to a substantially straight line push.

The yieldable connection between the arm 30 and pitman 3i absorbs the jar and shock to make for a smoother operation while the oil-center spring 23 not only makes for easier operation, thereby requiring less power, but also serves to hold the doors H in an open or closed position. The particular arrangement of the actuator and bell crank is also an important feature of the invention, because such arrangement permits manual operation of the doors, as well as allowing the second wheel to pass over the actuator immediately after said actuator has opened or closed the doors, without again operating the mechanism. It is pointed out that all the operating mechanism is located beneath the ground out of sight, the only visible member being the actuator. The entire mechanism is simple in construction, there being few parts and few adjustments.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A mechanism for opening and closing swinging doors including, means attached to the doors for swinging said doors, a single operating member attached to said means for actuating the same to swing the doors, and an actuator spaced from the doors for operating said member, said actuator comprising a pivotally mounted member, a counter weight on the bottom end of said member adapted to swing said member to a vertical position after actuation, a substantially U-shaped yoke pivotally mounted onthe shaft and adapted to be actuated by said member, one end of said yoke being secured to the single operating member whereby the movement of the member carrying the counter weight will effect an actuation of the single operating member to open or close the doors, said actuator being normally disconnected from the member and arranged to engage said member when actuated, the arrangement of the swinging means, member and actuator being such that manual opening and closing of the doors is not interfered with.

2. A mechanism for opening and closing swinging doors including, means attached to the doors for swinging said doors, a single operating member, a yieldable connection between one end of the member and the swinging means, said yieldable connection comprising a cylindrical sleeve secured to one end of said member, a coil spring disposed within said sleeve whereby the spring when compressed cannot buckle and an actuator arranged to be operated by a vehicle passing thereover and located contiguous to the other end of said member, said actuator comprising a pivotally mounted member, a counter weight on the bottom end of said member adapted to swing said member to a vertical position after actuation, a subsantially U-shaped yoke pivotally mounted on the shaft and adapted to be actuated by said member, one end of said yoke being secured to the single operating member whereby the movement of the member carrying the counter weight will effect an actuation of the single operating member to open or close the doors, said actuator being normally disconnected from the member and constructed so as to engage the member to operate the same when actuated by a vehicle passing thereover.

3. A mechanism for opening and closing swinging doors including, means attached to the doors for imparting initial motion to said doors, means connected to said doors adapted to move them to their extreme positions, said means being adapted to be mounted to operate in any plane, a single operating member, a yieldable connection between one end of the member and the swinging means, and an actuator arranged to be operated by a vehicle passing thereover and located continguous to the other end of said member, said actuator comprising a pivotally mounted member, a counter weight on the bottom end ofsaid member adapted to swing said member to a vertical position after actuation, a substantially U- shaped yoke pivotally mounted on the shaft and adaped to be actuated by said member, one end of said yoke being secured to the single operating member whereby the movement of the member carrying the counter weight will effect an actuation of the single operating member to open or close the doors, said actuator being normally disconnected so as to engage the member to operate the same when actuated by a vehicle passing thereover, the connection between the actuator and member permitting subsequent wheels of the vehicle to pass over said actuator to operate the same without actuating the member, whereby the swinging means cannot be actuated more than once by a vehicle passing in one direction, the arrangement of the swinging means, member and actuator being such that manual opening and closing of the doors is not interfered with.

OSMYN MOWERS. PAUL FRED PIEPENBROOK.

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