US3031546A - Toe actuated safety device for automatic doors - Google Patents

Toe actuated safety device for automatic doors Download PDF

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US3031546A
US3031546A US6727A US672760A US3031546A US 3031546 A US3031546 A US 3031546A US 6727 A US6727 A US 6727A US 672760 A US672760 A US 672760A US 3031546 A US3031546 A US 3031546A
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Prior art keywords
door
switch
safety device
toe
mat
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US6727A
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Nathan T Williams
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H21/00—Switches operated by an operating part in the form of a pivotable member acted upon directly by a solid body, e.g. by a hand
    • H01H21/02—Details
    • H01H21/18—Movable parts; Contacts mounted thereon
    • H01H21/22—Operating parts, e.g. handle
    • H01H21/24—Operating parts, e.g. handle biased to return to normal position upon removal of operating force
    • H01H21/26—Operating parts, e.g. handle biased to return to normal position upon removal of operating force adapted for operation by a part of the human body other than the hand, e.g. by foot
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05F—DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION; CHECKS FOR WINGS; WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
    • E05F15/00—Power-operated mechanisms for wings
    • E05F15/40—Safety devices, e.g. detection of obstructions or end positions
    • E05F15/42—Detection using safety edges
    • E05F15/48—Detection using safety edges by transmission of mechanical forces, e.g. rigid or movable members
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05F—DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION; CHECKS FOR WINGS; WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
    • E05F15/00—Power-operated mechanisms for wings
    • E05F15/50—Power-operated mechanisms for wings using fluid-pressure actuators
    • E05F15/53—Power-operated mechanisms for wings using fluid-pressure actuators for swinging wings
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
    • E05Y—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES E05D AND E05F, RELATING TO CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS, ELECTRIC CONTROL, POWER SUPPLY, POWER SIGNAL OR TRANSMISSION, USER INTERFACES, MOUNTING OR COUPLING, DETAILS, ACCESSORIES, AUXILIARY OPERATIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, APPLICATION THEREOF
    • E05Y2900/00—Application of doors, windows, wings or fittings thereof
    • E05Y2900/10—Application of doors, windows, wings or fittings thereof for buildings or parts thereof
    • E05Y2900/13—Type of wing
    • E05Y2900/132—Doors

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to safety dc vices for use with swinging doors.
  • the present invention is intended tobe used with such automatic swinging door operators and systems as is disclosed, for instance, in the United States Letters Patent No. 2,739,808, issued to Martin Carlson on March 27, 1956.
  • Automatic swinging doors of the above mentioned type are ordinarily arranged to swing open when a person by stepping on an approach mat closes a switch contained therein or alternatively closes a contact switch, .for instance, located at an appropriate position on the door.
  • the door thus opened will remain open so long as a second switch is closed, the second switch being located, for instance, within an exit mat.
  • Some systems such as the one disclosed in the Carlson patent mentioned above, are so arranged that if a person steps upon the exit mat before the approach mat is actuated, the door will not swing; but once such a door starts to swing, if the person remains upon the approach mat, it will continue to swing to its fully open position even though a person subsequently steps upon the exit mat.
  • a serious injury mayoccur, therefore, should a person venture into the path of the door after it has started to swing. This is especially important in supermarkets and the like where small children may play unattended while their mothers focus'their attention on shopping.
  • the present invention solves the difficulty, removes the risk, and provides safety where heretofore there was some danger of serious harm.
  • the principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel safety mechanism which will check the movement of the swinging door if the door encounters an object in its path of movement.
  • Another object is to provide a novel safety switch which includes mechanism positioned along the bottom rail of the door in such fashion that contact along any part of the rail will actuate the switch and check the movement of the door.
  • a further objcct' is to provide a safety device which accomplishes the above and which will permit a stopped door to resume its swinging movement to fully opened position, once the obstructing object has been removed.
  • Yet another object is to provide a safety device having the above characteristics and which is inexpensive to manufacture and easily installed.
  • FIG. 1 is a front view of a door on the exit side with a safety device incorporating the presentinvention installed thereon;
  • FiG. 2 is a large scale transverse sectional view through the lower portion of the door and may be considered as taken substantially along line 22 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;
  • FIG. 3 is an electrical circuit diagram incorporating the invention.
  • FIGS. 1 and -2 shows the manner of ice mounting the safety device on a swinging door.
  • the door designated generally by the numeral is of standard construction and is adapted to swing on a floor spindle 12.
  • the door operator will not be described here in detail because it may be any of several types, one of which forms the subject matter of the previously referred to patent.
  • the door 10 will turn with the floor spindle 12 which is rotated by a fluid motor 11: when a pump unit 13 connected thereto is electrically actuated.
  • the pump unit is actuated by a control system 15 when a switch is closed by a person, preparatory to passing through the door 10, stepping upon the approach mat 14.
  • Closing of the approach mat switch keeps the pump motor operating until the person steps off the approach mat and upon the exit mat 16. Thereafter the pump motor keeps running because of the closed exit mat switch until i the person steps off the exit mat, whereupon the pump motor stops and the door swings to closed position.
  • the present invention provides a safety device 17 which checks the movement of the door 10.
  • the safety device includes a switch 18 comprised of a switch body 20 having one of its ends connected to a threaded barrel 22, the barrel extending through an opening near the center of the bottom door rail 24 and being secured to the rail by a pair of clamping nuts 26 and 28.
  • a switch plunger 30 extends centrally through the'barrel 22, the plunger being spring biased outwardly and away from the switch body 20.
  • the contacts are of the single pole, single throw, normally closed type.
  • the switch plunger 30 has a relatively larger button head 32 so that the area subject to contact is large enough to provide good wear resistance in service.
  • a section of extruded aluminum strip 34 extends over the entire length of the bottom door rail 24 in a position just above the floor, so that it will contact any objects coming into the path of the door.
  • This aluminum strip 34 is of generally inverted L shape and has its top edge secured to the door by a piano hinge 36 so that the strip extends outwardly away from the door and thence downwardly so as to cover theplunger head 32. Pressure applied along any partof the strip 34 causes its lower edge to pivot toward the door, thus bringing the inner surface of the strip against the plunger head 32 so as to drive the plunger 30 inwardly, thereby opening the switch 18.
  • Electric leads 38 and 40 are connected to the switch terminals 44 and 46 and extend through the hollow door rail to a position near the hinged edge where they emerge and are suspended between the bottom door rail 24 and a door jamb 48 so as to form a loose loop 50 to provide enough slack to prevent their being broken when the door 10 swings open.
  • the wires 38 and 40 extend from their position at the door jamb 48 to a convenient location in the power circuit as is seen n FIG. 3.
  • the main power circuit for the pump unit 13 is connected through a set of normally closed relay contacts 52 so that the entire power circuit is deenergized unless relay coil 54 is energized.
  • f Relay coil 54 is connected to the power circuit by way of the normally closed contacts of safety switch 18, and thus the pump unit operates normally unless switch 18 is opened.
  • the operation of the safety device of the present invention may be very briefly described as follows. Closing of the mat switch 14 will energize the fluid pump which causes the door 10 to swing to its open position. As the swinging door 10 encounters an object, the foot of a child for instance, the impact will force the aluminum strip 34 inwardly. This opens the safety switch 18 and shuts the inside of the bottom rail, a small hole 60 may be drilled through which the switch can be inserted. This hole may be left open, or subsequently plugged, as desired. From the above it will be seen that the safety switch of the present invention accomplishes all of the objectives set forth for it., It is apparent also that variations and substitutions may be made in this mechanism without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
  • switch 18 could be of the normally open type, in which case relay contacts 52 would be normally closed rather than normally open.
  • switch 18 could be of the normally open type, in which case relay contacts 52 would be normally closed rather than normally open.
  • the rail 34 is not stiff enough to prevent excessive twisting if the impact is near the ends, two or more spaced switches 18 may be used. In this event, the switches are wired in series if of the normally closed type, and in parallel if they are normally open. It is apparent, therefore, that the scope of the invention is to be measured by the scope of the accompanying claim.
  • a power operated swinging door having a hollow bottom rail, comprising a switch secured in the hollow bottom door rail, said'switch including an outwardly biased switch actuating element extending outwardly through the door bottom rail on the exit side of the door, a rigid strip extending substantiallythe 'fullf width of the door on the exit side thereof in a position adjacent the lower edge of the door, means hinging said strip to the door for pivoting movement of saidstrip about a horizontal axis adjacent the upper edgeiof said" strip, said strip extending outwardly from said hinging, means and thence downwardly to cover said switch actuating element, said outwardl'y biased switch actuating elementimpinging against the inner surface of said strip,

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Power-Operated Mechanisms For Wings (AREA)

Description

April 24, 19 N. T. WILLIAMS TOE ACTUATED SAFETY DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC DOORS Filed Feb. 4, 1960 5 M [WW 3 g fl 4 1 1 M a a v MNm pm: 4 a i 1 0 4 a 1 Wm M E m MW.-
EXIT 42 2000 IN VEN TOR.
United States Patent 3,031,546. TOE ACTUATED SAFETY DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC DOORS Nathan T. Williams, 1642 35th St., Sacramento, Calif. Filed Feb. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 6,727
1 Claim. (Cl. Mill-61.62)
The present invention relates generally to safety dc vices for use with swinging doors.
More particularly, it relates to safety devices which check the movement of power actuated swinging doors when such doors encounter anobject in their path. This application is a continuation-in-part of myapplication Serial No. 806,190, filed April 13, 1959.
The present invention is intended tobe used with such automatic swinging door operators and systems as is disclosed, for instance, in the United States Letters Patent No. 2,739,808, issued to Martin Carlson on March 27, 1956.
Automatic swinging doors of the above mentioned type are ordinarily arranged to swing open when a person by stepping on an approach mat closes a switch contained therein or alternatively closes a contact switch, .for instance, located at an appropriate position on the door. The door thus opened will remain open so long as a second switch is closed, the second switch being located, for instance, within an exit mat.
Some systems, such as the one disclosed in the Carlson patent mentioned above, are so arranged that if a person steps upon the exit mat before the approach mat is actuated, the door will not swing; but once such a door starts to swing, if the person remains upon the approach mat, it will continue to swing to its fully open position even though a person subsequently steps upon the exit mat. A serious injury mayoccur, therefore, should a person venture into the path of the door after it has started to swing. This is especially important in supermarkets and the like where small children may play unattended while their mothers focus'their attention on shopping. The present invention solves the difficulty, removes the risk, and provides safety where heretofore there was some danger of serious harm.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel safety mechanism which will check the movement of the swinging door if the door encounters an object in its path of movement.
Another object is to provide a novel safety switch which includes mechanism positioned along the bottom rail of the door in such fashion that contact along any part of the rail will actuate the switch and check the movement of the door.
A further objcct'is to provide a safety device which accomplishes the above and which will permit a stopped door to resume its swinging movement to fully opened position, once the obstructing object has been removed.
Yet another object is to provide a safety device having the above characteristics and which is inexpensive to manufacture and easily installed.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof which is illustrated in v the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front view of a door on the exit side with a safety device incorporating the presentinvention installed thereon;
FiG. 2 is a large scale transverse sectional view through the lower portion of the door and may be considered as taken substantially along line 22 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and
FIG. 3 is an electrical circuit diagram incorporating the invention.
Reference to FIGS. 1 and -2 shows the manner of ice mounting the safety device on a swinging door. The door designated generally by the numeral is of standard construction and is adapted to swing on a floor spindle 12. The door operator will not be described here in detail because it may be any of several types, one of which forms the subject matter of the previously referred to patent. Generally, the door 10 will turn with the floor spindle 12 which is rotated by a fluid motor 11: when a pump unit 13 connected thereto is electrically actuated. The pump unit is actuated by a control system 15 when a switch is closed by a person, preparatory to passing through the door 10, stepping upon the approach mat 14. Closing of the approach mat switch keeps the pump motor operating until the person steps off the approach mat and upon the exit mat 16. Thereafter the pump motor keeps running because of the closed exit mat switch until i the person steps off the exit mat, whereupon the pump motor stops and the door swings to closed position.
As previously'mentioned, if a person steps upon the exit mat first, the control-system 15 will not cause the door to swing, but once a swinging cycle has been started, it will continue so long as a person is upon either of the mats, irrespective of any objects coming. into its path. To prevent any injury to persons and objects from the impact of the swinging door 10', the present invention provides a safety device 17 which checks the movement of the door 10. The safety device includes a switch 18 comprised of a switch body 20 having one of its ends connected to a threaded barrel 22, the barrel extending through an opening near the center of the bottom door rail 24 and being secured to the rail by a pair of clamping nuts 26 and 28. A switch plunger 30 extends centrally through the'barrel 22, the plunger being spring biased outwardly and away from the switch body 20. As
shown in FIG. 3, the contacts are of the single pole, single throw, normally closed type. The switch plunger 30 has a relatively larger button head 32 so that the area subject to contact is large enough to provide good wear resistance in service. A section of extruded aluminum strip 34 extends over the entire length of the bottom door rail 24 in a position just above the floor, so that it will contact any objects coming into the path of the door. This aluminum strip 34 is of generally inverted L shape and has its top edge secured to the door by a piano hinge 36 so that the strip extends outwardly away from the door and thence downwardly so as to cover theplunger head 32. Pressure applied along any partof the strip 34 causes its lower edge to pivot toward the door, thus bringing the inner surface of the strip against the plunger head 32 so as to drive the plunger 30 inwardly, thereby opening the switch 18.
Electric leads 38 and 40 are connected to the switch terminals 44 and 46 and extend through the hollow door rail to a position near the hinged edge where they emerge and are suspended between the bottom door rail 24 and a door jamb 48 so as to form a loose loop 50 to provide enough slack to prevent their being broken when the door 10 swings open. The wires 38 and 40 extend from their position at the door jamb 48 to a convenient location in the power circuit as is seen n FIG. 3.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the main power circuit for the pump unit 13 is connected through a set of normally closed relay contacts 52 so that the entire power circuit is deenergized unless relay coil 54 is energized. f Relay coil 54 is connected to the power circuit by way of the normally closed contacts of safety switch 18, and thus the pump unit operates normally unless switch 18 is opened.
The operation of the safety device of the present invention may be very briefly described as follows. Closing of the mat switch 14 will energize the fluid pump which causes the door 10 to swing to its open position. As the swinging door 10 encounters an object, the foot of a child for instance, the impact will force the aluminum strip 34 inwardly. This opens the safety switch 18 and shuts the inside of the bottom rail, a small hole 60 may be drilled through which the switch can be inserted. This hole may be left open, or subsequently plugged, as desired. From the above it will be seen that the safety switch of the present invention accomplishes all of the objectives set forth for it., It is apparent also that variations and substitutions may be made in this mechanism without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
For instance, switch 18 could be of the normally open type, in which case relay contacts 52 would be normally closed rather than normally open. Furthermore, if the rail 34 is not stiff enough to prevent excessive twisting if the impact is near the ends, two or more spaced switches 18 may be used. In this event, the switches are wired in series if of the normally closed type, and in parallel if they are normally open. It is apparent, therefore, that the scope of the invention is to be measured by the scope of the accompanying claim.
.States is:
Having described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by LettersrPatent of the United A-safety switch for. a power operated swinging door having a hollow bottom rail, comprising a switch secured in the hollow bottom door rail, said'switch including an outwardly biased switch actuating element extending outwardly through the door bottom rail on the exit side of the door, a rigid strip extending substantiallythe 'fullf width of the door on the exit side thereof in a position adjacent the lower edge of the door, means hinging said strip to the door for pivoting movement of saidstrip about a horizontal axis adjacent the upper edgeiof said" strip, said strip extending outwardly from said hinging, means and thence downwardly to cover said switch actuating element, said outwardl'y biased switch actuating elementimpinging against the inner surface of said strip,
and the lower edge of said stripwhen moved toward the door depressing said switch actuating element and actuat-.
ing said switch.
comes Mar. 13, 1928-
US6727A 1960-02-04 1960-02-04 Toe actuated safety device for automatic doors Expired - Lifetime US3031546A (en)

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Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4323883A (en) * 1980-12-31 1982-04-06 Sowards Lorin F Doorbell for pets
US4851746A (en) * 1987-04-15 1989-07-25 Republic Industries, Inc. Sensing apparatus for automatic door
US4908484A (en) * 1988-08-16 1990-03-13 Gunoff Gordon E L Doorbell activating device for pets
EP0916795A1 (en) * 1997-11-18 1999-05-19 GEZE GmbH & Co. Safety device for the crushing and cutting locations of a pivotable mounted motorized wing of a window, door or the like
US20040094972A1 (en) * 2002-11-18 2004-05-20 Gary Sprague Door handle actuated electronic egress system

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1662661A (en) * 1925-08-21 1928-03-13 Coates Albert Frederick Control mechanism
US2476111A (en) * 1945-07-07 1949-07-12 Opalek Charles Mechanism for automatic stopping and reversal of electromechanically operated doors
US2651689A (en) * 1952-02-04 1953-09-08 Bame Karl Door operated switch

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1662661A (en) * 1925-08-21 1928-03-13 Coates Albert Frederick Control mechanism
US2476111A (en) * 1945-07-07 1949-07-12 Opalek Charles Mechanism for automatic stopping and reversal of electromechanically operated doors
US2651689A (en) * 1952-02-04 1953-09-08 Bame Karl Door operated switch

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4323883A (en) * 1980-12-31 1982-04-06 Sowards Lorin F Doorbell for pets
US4851746A (en) * 1987-04-15 1989-07-25 Republic Industries, Inc. Sensing apparatus for automatic door
US4908484A (en) * 1988-08-16 1990-03-13 Gunoff Gordon E L Doorbell activating device for pets
EP0916795A1 (en) * 1997-11-18 1999-05-19 GEZE GmbH & Co. Safety device for the crushing and cutting locations of a pivotable mounted motorized wing of a window, door or the like
US20040094972A1 (en) * 2002-11-18 2004-05-20 Gary Sprague Door handle actuated electronic egress system
US7347461B2 (en) * 2002-11-18 2008-03-25 C.R. Laurence Company, Inc. Door handle actuated electronic egress system

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