US2206051A - Double-door-operating device - Google Patents

Description

y 2, 1940- R. H. ROOF I 2,206,051

DQUBLE-DOOR-QP ERATING DEVICE Filed Sept. 6, 1938 INVENTOR.

Patented July 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DOUBLE-DOOR-OPERATING DEVICE Ralph H. Roof, Tulsa, Okla. Application September 6, 1938, Serial No. 228,570

This invention relates to a door operating mechanism constructed .to aid in the opening and closing of double hung doors such as used on garages and various other buildings and it consists in the novel constructiongand combination of the parts hereinafter fully described and claimed whereby, when used in combination with a pair of hingedly supported doors, both doors are retained in a closed position; 10 opened and closed simultaneously; limited in their opening movement; held securely open until released and permits the partial opening of one door without transmitting opening move-- ment to the other door. l5 The-objects of the present invention are: to

generally improve and simplify, by novel construction and new combinations of various elements used in door operating devices. the construction and operation of door operating \mech- -:.2 anism of the character described; to provide a door operating mechanism particularly intended for application to double hung garage doors and the like; to provide a door operating mechanism which can be quickly and readily applied to ga- 25 rage doors and which is adjustable to take care of doors of varying width; to provide a door operating mechanism which retains both doors ina closed position, embodying in the retaining element features of construction which in combination with other elements of the device permits adjustment to be made whereby the proper amount of pressure necessary to retain said doors in a closed position may be regulated to suit varying conditions, thus causing said mechanism to function properly regardless of whether the doors on which the device is installed are heavy or light, exposed to strong winds or in protected areas; to provide a door operating mechanism which operatively connects both 1 doors but permits partial opening of one door without transmitting opening movement to the other door; to provide a door operating mechanism which operatively connects both doors so that the opening of one door will be "transmitted to open the other door and vice versa, embodying in .the connecting element means for making possible the regulating of the pressure for retaining said doors in a closed position and the elimination of parts and sim- .plifying of the means necessary to limit the doors in their opening movement and causing a holding element to automatically come into holding ,efiect, simultaneously with the doors having reached the extent of-theiropening movement,

7 Claims. (01. 268-62) so that they will not accidentally close due to faulty hanging, wind pulls or otherwise, thereby eliminating any element of danger either to the doors, machines or persons when entering or leaving a building; to provide a door operating 5 mechanism with means of adjustment, whereby the device may be set, so that the mechanism will function to limit the doors in their outward swing and hold same in a predetermined position with respect to the door opening; to provide a ll"! door operating mechanism of such construction that the vibrations caused by the opening and closing movement of the doors will be absorbed by the mechanism without harmful results to the building, the doors or the mechanism.

With the above objects in view, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction herein after described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The door operating mechanism is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view, partly in section and somewhat diagrammatic in character, of a door opening provided with double hung doors equipped with a door operating mechanism embodying the features of my invention.

' Fig. 2 is a plan view showing one door partially open. a

-Fig. 3 is a perspective View generally on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and drawn toan enlarged scale illustrating features of operation,

thereof and adjacent the hinge is a bracket 5, which bracket is provided with an aperture for engagement, as at I8, with the end of a hollow rod l5, the same being in hinge connection with the aperture. The hollow rod I5.-is in adjustable telescopic union with the rod I6, being held against telescopic movement by compressing the end of the hollow rod l5 at the point of engage- ;ment by means of ataper threaded collar, with which hollow rod i is provided, as at IT, thus making it possible, by varying the point of engagement between hollow rod I5 and rod I6, to bring about an adjustment which regulates the amount of compression that is to be applied to the spring I3, thereby controlling the force which retains the doors in a closed position, as hereinafter described, which is an advantage as doors vary in weight, and wind pressure in sheltered and unsheltered areas necessitates that there be different adjustments. With this type of construction the amount of tension needed on said spring, to insure proper operation of the mechanism, does not depend on the original installation but may be adjusted after installation which is an advantage. Other advantages are: it does not depend on the rigidity of its members to accomplish the action necessary to hold the doors in a closed position; it gives a more flexible action and does not impose a strain on the mechanism, the doors or the building as do operating devices which depend on the rigidity of their members to accomplish this result. The opposite end of the rod I6 is in sliding engagement with a crosshead I I, said sliding movement being limited by collars II and II and in opposition to spring I3, with which rod I6 is provided. Said collars being positioned on said rod in such a manner as to provide enough tension on said spring to prevent any sliding action on the part of the rod I6 and crosshead I4 from taking place except in the partial opening or complete closing of door C, said collars being retained in said position by rivets I2 and I2. Crosshead I4 is pivotally secured to a bracket 6 as at i9 and is of such construction that support is applied to the rod IS on both sides or the pivot point I9 which is an advantage as this type of construction eliminates any tendency on the part of the connecting members to buckle or bind as would be the case should the sliding action of a compressible member occur in the connecting link intermediate the brackets supporting said connecting link. Bracket 6 is secured to the inside of door C being positioned comparatively far or inward from the hinge 2 of the door C. Secured to the bracket 5 and being in hinge connection as at 25 is a link 27. Said link being provided with an upturned end as at 29 and nivotaiiy engaged with link 28 as at 2|. Link 28 is provided with a recess 9 for reception of upturned end 28 of link 27. The opposite end of link 28 is in pivotal connection as at 8 with a connecting member III with which hollow rod I5 is provided. The position of said connecting member on said hollow rod is adjustable and retained in correct position by bolts 1 and I with which said connecting member is provided. Secured to links 21 and 28 as at 3 and 4 is a spring 22. Secured to link 27 as at 23 is a cord 3|, the opposite end of said cord being secured to door B as at 24. Links 2'! and 28 and their appertaining parts comprise the limiting and holding element whereby the doors are limited in their outward swing and held in open position until released. The spring 22 being of sufiicient strength to retain the mechanism in holding effect until released by pulling the cord 3I as hereinafter described.

The mechanism as illustrated is simple and substantial in construction and can be readily applied to garage doors orthe like in a comparatively short time as it is only necessary: to secure the brackets 5 and G to the doors, by means of bolts or screws such as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4; to adjust the link comprising the sections I5 and i6 which takes care of varying width of doors, and regulates the tension on the compression spring I3, which retains the doors in a closed position, and adjust the limiting and holding mechanism, comprising the links 2'! and 28 and their appertaining parts, whereby both doors are limited in their opening movement and held open at predetermined angles with respect to the door opening. With the mechanism installed as described, the operation will be as follows;

Referring to the full lines of Fig. 1 of the drawing it is obvious that both doors are constrained to remain in a closed position, due to the spring I3 exerting a force in opposite directions, on the brackets 5 and 6, said force being applied in part to the crosshead I4 which is carried by bracket 6, said bracket being secured to door C and positioned inside of an imaginary dead center as at 29, thus exerting an inward pull on door C. Simultaneously there is exerted an equivalent force on bracket 5, by means of the connecting link I5 and I6, which causes an inward pull on door B. This force, due to spring I3, remains constant as long as the doors are in a closed position. Should one find after installation of a device of this description, that it does not function properly in regard to holding the doors closed, because of the improper location of the brackets or as a result of wear on the part of the door hinges or the mechanism or due to the spring I3 becoming weak, due to use, compensation may be made which will result in the proper operation of the mechanism by loosening the collar I! which holds the connecting link against telescopic movement, and lengthen or shorten the link composed of the rods I5 and It, thereby applying more or less compression, as may be needed, to the spring I3. The same adjustment would be necessary in regard to light or heavy doors.

If it is desired to merely afiord ingress and egress to a person, door C is swung from the full line position indicated in Fig. 1 at C to the full line position indicated in Fig. 2 at C. This action I is effected in opposition to the spring I3 until the link comprised of the parts I5 and I6 reaches a dead center position, as indicated in Fig. 2 at 29, with relation to the hinge axis of door C and pivot IQ of bracket 6. With the parts in this position the operator will now exert a slight manual force upon door C in an outward direction so as to cause the pivot I9 to pass the dead center position and simultaneously with the passing of said dead center position the spring I3 will exert its force to cause an outward movement of door C, said force existing until collar II is brought against crosshead I4 as in Fig. 2. Simultaneously with this movement door C will have moved to the position indicated at C in Fig. 2, thereby providing ample space for one or more persons to enter or leave the garage without opening the other door. With the parts II, II, I3, I6 and I4 in this position, the combination of said parts form an integral unit, said unit being free to pivot as at I9 in Fig. 2, spring I3 being of suflicient strength to retain said parts in specified positions until sufiicient force is applied to the door to compress spring I3, said compression occurring only when it is desired to open doors from a. fully closed position or close doors from a partially or fully opened position.

If it is desired to open both doors, for instance when entering or'leaving the garage with an automobile, door C 'is swung beyond the full line position indicated at C in Fig. 2, to the open position as indicated by the dotted lines at C in Fig. 1. In doing so the link comprising the members l5 and IE will cause an outward pull upon door B whereby said door will swing on its hinges to the open position as shown by the dotted lines at B in Fig. 1. As the doors are opened the links 21 and 28 are actuated by the bracket 5 and the connecting link I5 and I6 through the connecting member Ill and are made to straighten out and are forced past the dead center alignment or dead center of pivot 2| as in Fig. 3. In such position the upturned end 2|] of link 21, functioning as a stop finger, engages the recess 9 of link 28 thereby limiting the swing of the doors and automatically comes into and remains in holding effect until the cord 3! is pulled by hand, in opposition to spring 22, to break the dead lock of links 2! and 28. The link comprised of the members [5 and I6 being sufliciently resilient to absorb the vibrations caused by said limiting and holding mechanism stopping the doors in their outward swing. Any tendency on the part of the limiting and holding mechanism to move out of holding effect due to vibrations occurring in the doors or the mechanism is counteracted by the spring 22. This is an advantage over so called springless type holders. Should the connecting member ID, with which hollow rod 15 is provided, be moved from its position as shown in the accompanying drawing to a point nearer the pivot 18, said movement being permitted by loosening the bolts 1 and 1' with which said connecting member is provided, it is obvious that the links 21 and 28 would limit and come into holding effeet. as heretofore explained, only when the doors had completed enough travel in their opening movement to actuate the limiting and holding mechanism which would be at a different position than thatshown in the accompanyingdrawing, namely after the doors had assumed an open position of a greater angle with respect to the door opening. Should the connecting member In be moved in the opposite direction the limiting and holding mechanism would come into effect sooner with regard to the opening movement of the doors, thus making it possible, by moving the connecting member back and forth on rod I5, to set the mechanism so as to locate thegdoors in their fully open position at different predetermined angles with respect to the door opening, which is an advantage as it is often necessary to stop doors at different angles due to their proximity to other doors or to other buildings. A limiting and holding mechanism of this type, in combination with a connecting link and brackets, automatically accomplishes the limiting and holding action of both doors simultaneously with the doors reaching their open position through the operation of one door manually,

which is an advantage. It is a further advantage over devices which use so called chain bolts or head and foot bolts for accomplishing the holding action as swaging on the part of the doors will not prevent a device of this type from functioning properly.

When it is desired to close the doors the operator first exerts a pull on the cord 3| as in Fig. 3, in opposition to the spring 22, thus breaking the dead lock of the links 21 and 28. jointed ends to fold in to the position shown in Fig. 2, as the doors close, thereby permitting the doors tobe returned to the position as indicated in Fig. 2 by applying pressure to either door. In doing so motion is transmitted through the link This allows the composed of the parts l5 and f6 to the opposite door and they are both swung to said position. If by chance operator was applying force to door B, which is natural since the release for the limiting and holding mechanism is attached to door B, to complete the closing operator applies pressure to door C, inopposition to spring l3, until the link comprised of the parts l5 and I6 pass the dead center position as at 29 in Fig. 2. Simultaneously with the passing of the dead center position the spring 13 will effect an inward pull on the door 0 thereby completing the closing action.

From the foregoing description it is evident that the described mechanism not only affords convenient ingress and egress both for a person and a car but also, by limiting the doors in their outward swing and holding them in open position, prevents injury to a car such as not infrequently occurs when garage doors blow to or otherwise inopportunely close. It is unnecessary to provide a setof doors equipped with this device with any latch, bolt or other mechanism for holding said doors in a closed position, unless it is desired to lock said doors in a closed position, in which case an ordinary hasp and pad lock should be sufficient, thus eliminating cost of latches, etc.

While I have not shown it, it is obvious that I may add a weight, in which instance a cord or runner would be attached to the bracket 6, and the same would be trained over suitable pu leys with the weight at its free end in such manner that gravity would function to. accomplish the closing action, once the mechanism for holding the doors in an open position was released. While I have described a weight for accomplishing these results, obviously, I may substitute its equivalent, a spring.

While the invention has been described in connection with garage doors it is obvious that, it may be applied to double hung closures of any character.

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

1. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedly supported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracket secured to each door, two links hinged together, one end of one of said links privoted to one of said brackets and with anchor members,

a spring connected to each of said links, a cord in pivot and sliding connection with the bracket on the other door, the last mentioned bracket having a crosshead assembled therein and pro--* vided with appertaining parts, namely, a spring and two collars, the link being of such length that the latter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing through the adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors are opened or closed.

2. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedly supported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracket secured to each door, two links hinged together, one end of one of said links pivoted to one of said brackets and, with anchor members, a spring connected to each of said links, a cord connected to one of said links, a pivotal connection between the opposite end of said links and a connecting member connecting with an adjustable link, pivotally connecting said bracket and in sliding connection with a crosshead, said crosshead being in pivot connection with the bracket on the other door, said crosshead being provided with appertaining parts, namely, a spring and two collars, and arrainged to prevent buckling on the part of said adjustable connecting link, the link being of such length that the latter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing through the adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors are opened or closed and means on the last named bracket arraigned to permit adjustment to be made whereby the proper force may be utilized in maintaining both doors in a closed position.

3. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingcdly supported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracket secured to each door, two links hinged to gether, one end of one of said links pivoted to one of said brackets and, with anchor members, a spring connected to each of said links, a cord connected to one of said links, a pivotal connection between the opposite end of said links and a connecting member connecting with an adjustable link, pivotally connecting said bracket and in pivot and sliding connection with the bracket on the other door, the last mentioned bracket having a cross head assembled therein and provided with appertaining parts, namely, a spring and two collars, the link being of such length that the latter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing through the adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors are opened or closed and the last mentioned bracket, crosshead assembly and appertaining parts so constructed as to permit a limited independent movement of the door about its hinges without transmitting movement to the opposite door.

4. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedly supported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracket secured to each door, two links hinged together, one end of one of said links pivoted to one of said brackets and, with anchor members, a spring connected to each of said links, a cord connected to one of said links, a pivotal connection between the opposite end of said links and a connecting member connecting with an adjustable link pivotally connecting said bracket and in pivot and sliding connection with the bracket on the other door, the last mentioned bracket having a crosshead assembled therein and provided with appertaining parts, namely, a spring and two collars, the adjustable connecting link being of such length that the latter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing through the adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection, when the doors are opened or closed, and which transmits opening movement of one door to the other and vice versa, and means on said adjustable connecting link, arranged to provide adjustment, whereby the amount of compression applied to the last mentioned spring, with which said crosshead is provided, may be properly regulated.

5. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedly supported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracket secured to each door, an adjustable link in pivot connection with one bracket and in pivot and sliding connection with the bracket on the other door, the last mentioned bracket having a crosshead assembled therein and provided with appertaining parts, namely, a spring and two collars, the link being of such length that the latter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing through the adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors are opened or closed and means on the first named bracket and the connecting link for limiting the doors in their opening movement and holding the doors in open position.

6. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedly supported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracket secured to each door, two links hinged together, one end of one of said links pivoted to one of said brackets and, with anchor members, a spring connected to each of said links, a cord connected to one of said links, a pivotal connection between the opposite end of said links and a connecting member connecting with an ad justable link, pivotally connecting said bracket and in pivot and sliding connection with the bracket on the other door, the last mentioned bracket having a crosshead asembled therein and provided with appertaining parts, namely, a spring and two collars, the adjustable link being of such length that the latter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing through the adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors are opened or closed and means on said connecting member whereby said connecting member may be moved along said adjustab e link in setting the device so as to regulate the scope of the angular position that the doors may assume when in full open position.

'7. In a door operating mechanism the combination with a pair of hingedly supported doors adapted to normally close a door opening, a bracket secured to each door, two links hinged together, one end of one of said links pivoted to one of said brackets and, with anchor members, a spring connected to each of said links, a cord connected to one of said links, a pivotal connection between the opposite end of said links and a connecting member connecting with an adjustable link, pivotally connecting said bracket and in pivot and sliding connection with the bracket on the other door, the ast mentioned bracket having a crosshead assembled therein and provided with appertaining parts, namely, a spring and two collars, the adjustable link being of such length that the latter pivotal connection crosses the dead center line passing through the adjacent hinge and the other pivotal connection when the doors are opened or closed and the last mentioned link being resilient to absorb operating vibrations.

RALPH H. ROOF.

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