Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6698138
-
Patent Number
6,698,138
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, April 9, 200321 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 2, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Pro-Techtor International Services
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 049 409
- 049 410
- 049 404
- 049 425
- 016 91
- 016 94 R
- 016 97
- 016 105
- 016 106
- 016 107
- 016 96 R
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An adjustable pulley assembly includes a fixing plate securely mounted on top of an upper frame of a suspended door, an adjusting seat mounted to the fixing plate, a pulley seat securely attached to the adjusting seat to move therewith, a pulley attached to the pulley seat, and an adjusting bolt. An axle is extended through the pulley, a screw hole in the pulley seat, and a vertical slot in the adjusting seat, and a nut is engaged on a distal end of the axle. An adjusting bolt is extended through a hole in a top plate of the pulley seat and a screw hole in a top plate of the adjusting seat. A distance between the top plate of the pulley seat and the top plate of the adjusting seat is changed when the adjusting bolt is turned.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door such as an aluminum door, stainless steel door, wooden door, glass door, or automatic door.
2. Description of the Related Art
A suspended door is generally used in public places that require frequent opening and closing of the door. An advantage of the suspended door is that it is not necessary to install a track or guide groove on the floor for the door, which provides an aesthetically pleasing effect and allows easy cleaning of the floor. Another advantage of the suspended door is that it is easy to design the drive device for the suspended door. In particular, easy control of forward/rearward movement of the suspended door can be easily achieved through the use of a motor mounted to a track above the door frame and control circuits. Hence, electric doors used in public places generally employ suspended doors.
Conventionally, a set of pulley assembly is mounted to each of a left side and a right side of a top portion of a suspended door so as to hang the door on the track. After installation of the suspended door, it is necessary to adjust the position of the suspended door in the left/right direction and/or the vertical direction. The suspended door, which weights up to 100 kg, is lifted by labor for proceeding with adjustment of the position of the axle of the pulley. Another solution is detaching the suspended door, proceeding with required adjustment, and then reinstalling the suspended door. Yet it is troublesome and causes a waste of time and labor while the adjustment may not be precise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door that allows easy adjustment of the position of the suspended door in the left/right direction and/or vertical direction.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door that is suitable for use with a belt assembly and an anti-disengagement arrangement.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door that is reliable, durable, and force-saving to operation.
An adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door in accordance with the present invention includes a fixing plate securely mounted on top of an upper frame of a suspended door, an adjusting seat mounted to the fixing plate, a pulley seat securely attached to the adjusting seat to move therewith, a pulley attached to the pulley seat, and an adjusting bolt.
The adjusting seat includes a first vertical plate having an upper end and a lower end, a top plate extending from the upper end of the first vertical plate along a direction transverse to the first vertical plate, and a bottom plate extending from the bottom end of the first vertical plate along a direction opposite to the extending direction of the top plate. The first vertical plate includes a vertical slot, and the top plate includes a screw hole.
The pulley seat includes a second vertical plate and a top plate extending from an upper end of the second vertical plate along a direction transverse to the second vertical plate. The second vertical plate has a screw hole, and the top plate of the pulley seat has a hole aligned with the screw hole of the top plate of the adjusting seat.
The pulley includes a bearing mounted therein. An axle extends through the pulley and extends through the screw hole of the vertical plate of the pulley seat and the vertical slot of the adjusting seat, with a nut engaged on a distal end of the axle. The pulley is mounted on a guide rail of a track along which the suspended door moves. The adjusting bolt extends through the hole of the top plate of the pulley seat and the screw hole of the top plate of the adjusting seat.
When the adjusting bolt is turned, the vertical slot of the first vertical plate of the adjusting seat allows relative movement between the top plate of the pulley seat and the top plate of the adjusting seat in the vertical direction, thereby changing a distance between the top plate of the pulley seat and the top plate of the adjusting seat.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of an adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2
is an exploded perspective view of the adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3
is a sectional view illustrating use of adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4
is a sectional view similar to
FIG. 3
, illustrating adjustment of the position of the suspended door in the vertical direction.
FIG. 5
is a side view of the arrangement in FIG.
4
.
FIG. 6
is a sectional view similar to
FIG. 4
, illustrating use of the adjustable pulley assembly with a narrower suspended door.
FIG. 7
is an exploded perspective view of a belt frame used with the adjustable pulley assembly in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 8
is a sectional view illustrating mounting of the belt frame to the adjustable pulley assembly for an electric suspended door.
FIG. 9
is a sectional view illustrating another mounting of the belt frame to the adjustable pulley assembly for an electric suspended door.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to
FIGS. 1 through 3
, an adjustable pulley assembly in accordance with the present invention is mounted to an end (e.g., left end or right end) of a top of a suspended door
10
and generally comprises a fixing plate
20
, an adjusting seat
30
, a pulley seat
40
, a pulley
50
, and an adjusting bolt
37
. It is noted that a suspended door
10
generally has two pulley assemblies attached to the top thereof to provide a uniform, balanced support for the suspended door
10
. Nevertheless, a single pulley assembly having a sufficiently strong support can be used without departing the scope of the invention. The position of a suspended door
10
to which the adjustable pulley assembly is mounted can be adjusted in a front/rear direction and/or vertical direction, which will be described later.
The fixing plate
20
includes two ends each having holes
23
and an elongated hole
25
. Bolts
24
(
FIG. 3
) are selectively extended through the holes
23
or the elongated holes
25
for mounting the fixing plate
20
to a top of an upper frame of a wider suspended door
10
(
FIG. 3
) or of a narrower suspended door
11
(FIG.
6
). Further, the fixing plate
20
includes two elevated sections
21
between the ends thereof, with each elevated section
21
having a screw hole
22
. The elevated sections
21
are spaced apart by an intermediate portion (not labeled) of the fixing plate
20
.
The adjusting seat
30
is a substantially vertical plate
38
having two vertically spaced vertical slots
30
and
330
. The adjusting seat
30
further has a top plate
31
extending from an upper end of the vertical plate
38
along a direction transverse (preferably perpendicular) to the vertical direction. A screw hole
34
is defined in the top plate
31
. The adjusting seat
30
further has a bottom plate
32
extending from a lower end of the vertical plate
38
along a direction transverse (preferably perpendicular) to the vertical direction and opposite to the extending direction of the top plate
31
. An elongated hole
35
is defined in each of two ends of the bottom plate
32
. A bolt
36
is extended through each elongated hole
35
of the bottom plate
32
and then engaged with the screw hole
22
of an associated elevated section
21
of the fixing plate
20
, allowing adjustment of the position of the suspended door
10
in the front/rear direction (i.e., the moving direction of the suspended door
10
). The elevated sections
21
of the fixing plate
20
provide spaces for receiving the heads (not labeled) of the bolts
24
and the threaded shank (not labeled) of the bolts
36
.
The pulley seat
40
includes a vertical plate
49
and a top plate
41
extending from an upper end of the vertical plate
49
along a direction transverse (preferably perpendicular) to the vertical direction. The top plate
41
of the pulley seat
40
abuts against on top of the top plate
31
of the adjusting seat
30
, with a hole
44
in the top plate
41
aligned with the screw hole
34
of the adjusting seat
30
. The vertical plate
49
has an upper screw hole
42
and a lower screw hole
43
in an intermediate portion thereof. The screw holes
42
and
43
are respectively aligned with the vertical slots
30
and
330
of the vertical plate
38
of the adjusting seat
30
.
The pulley
50
includes an annular groove
54
in an outer periphery thereof and a bore
56
that receives a bearing
51
therein. As illustrated in
FIG. 3
, the pulley is attached to the vertical plate
49
of the pulley seat
40
by means of extending an axle
52
through the bearing
51
, the upper screw hole
42
of the vertical plate
49
of the pulley seat
40
, and the upper vertical slot
33
of the vertical plate
38
of the adjusting seat
30
. A nut
53
is engaged with a distal portion of a threaded shank (not labeled) of the axle
52
to prevent disengagement. Further, a collar
55
is mounted around the axle
52
and located between the vertical plate
49
of the pulley seat
40
and an end face (not labeled) of the bearing
51
. Further, an adjusting bolt
37
is extended through the screw hole
34
of the top plate
31
of the adjusting seat
30
and the hole
44
of the top plate
41
of the pulley seat
40
. Further, a bolt
45
is extended through the lower screw hole
43
of the vertical plate
49
of the pulley seat
40
and the lower vertical slot
330
of the vertical plate
38
of the adjusting seat
30
. The bolt
45
has a distal, protruded portion located below the pulley
50
for preventing the adjustable pulley assembly from being disengaged from a track
60
for the suspended door
10
. Still referring to
FIG. 3
, the track
60
is fixed to a wall (not shown) of a building (not shown) and has a guide rail
61
for engaging with the annular groove
54
of the pulley
50
. Thus, the pulley
50
and the whole adjustable pulley assembly are movable along the guide rail
61
for opening/closing the suspended door
10
that is fixed to the fixing plate
20
. Preferably, a bottom wall delimiting the annular groove
54
is smooth and wide and designed complimentary to a top face of the guide rail
61
to thereby increase the area for supporting the weight of the suspended door
10
and to thereby provide a durable structure. Since the axle
52
for the pulley
50
is directly extended through the upper screw hole
42
of the pulley seat
40
and the nut
53
, since the bolt
45
is extended through the lower vertical slot
330
of the adjusting seat
30
and the lower screw hole
43
of the pulley seat
40
, and since the adjusting bolt
37
is extended through the hole
44
of the pulley seat
40
and the screw hole
34
of the adjusting seat
30
, the adjustable pulley assembly is improved in strength and more durable.
FIGS. 4 and 5
illustrate adjustment operation of the adjustable pulley assembly in accordance with the present invention. If adjustment is required after installation of the suspended door
10
, the nut
53
engaged on the distal end of the threaded portion of the axle
52
is loosened and the bolt
45
is loosened to allow direct turning of the adjusting bolt
37
. Due to provision of the vertical slots
33
and
330
, the vertical position of the left side (or the right side) of the suspended door
10
can be directly adjusted through turning of the adjusting bolt
37
. Namely, the upper vertical slot
33
of the vertical plate
30
of the adjusting seat
30
allows relative movement between the top plate
41
of the pulley seat
40
and the top plate
31
of the adjusting seat
30
in the vertical direction, thereby changing a distance between the top plate
41
of the pulley seat
40
and the top plate
31
of the adjusting seat
30
.
A distance between a central axis of the axle
52
and a central axis of the bolt
45
is so determined (basing on a diameter of the pulley
50
and the dimension of the guide rail
61
) that the distal, protruded end of the bolt
45
is located below and spaced from the guide rail
61
by an appropriate distance. Thus, the suspended door
10
is prevented from being disengaged from the guide rail
61
when the suspended door
10
is subject to an external force. In an embodiment of the invention, the distal, protruded end of the bolt
45
is in the form of a smooth round shank
46
having a reduced diameter.
FIG. 7
is an exploded perspective view of a belt frame used with the adjustable pulley assembly in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 8
is a sectional view illustrating mounting of the belt frame to the adjustable pulley assembly for an electric suspended door.
FIG. 9
is a sectional view illustrating another mounting of the belt frame to the adjustable pulley assembly for an electric suspended door.
As illustrated in
FIG. 2
, the vertical plate
49
of the pulley seat
40
has a pair of vertically spaced apart holes
48
in each of two sides thereof and a screw hole
47
between each pair of holes
48
. As illustrated in
FIG. 7
, the belt frame
70
includes a vertical section
78
having two round protrusions
77
on a lower portion thereof, with a hole
74
defined between the protrusions
77
. The protrusions
77
are engaged with the holes
48
on one of the sides of the vertical plate
49
of the pulley seat
40
, and a bolt
76
is extended through the hole
74
of the belt frame
70
and the associated screw hole
47
of the vertical plate
49
of the pulley seat
40
. Thus, the belt frame
70
is fixed to the pulley seat
40
to move therewith. A top extension plate
71
extends from an upper end of the vertical section
78
along a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and has a screw hole
75
. A bottom extension plate
72
extends from the lower portion of the vertical section
78
along a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and has a screw hole
75
.
A fixing member
80
is provided for mounting an endless belt
90
for transmission. As illustrated in
FIG. 7
, the fixing member
80
is substantially U-shaped and includes an elongated hole
82
in an intermediate portion thereof, a guide block
84
on an end of the intermediate portion thereof, and a recessed portion
81
located in a position opposite to the guide block
84
. The endless belt
90
is extended through and securely held by the recessed portion
81
of the fixing member
80
. As illustrated in
FIG. 8
, a bolt
83
is extended through the elongated hole
82
of the fixing member
80
and the screw hole
75
of the top extension plate
71
, thereby securely attaching the adjustable pulley assembly to an upper section of the endless belt
90
for transmission.
FIG. 9
illustrates an alternative arrangement of the fixing member
80
, wherein the fixing member
80
is attached to the lower extension plate
72
of the belt frame
70
, thereby securely attaching the adjustable pulley assembly to the lower section of the endless belt
90
.
The vertical section
78
of the belt frame
70
includes an upper guide opening
73
and a lower guide opening
73
for selectively engaging with the guide block
84
of the fixing member
80
, thereby allowing adjustment of the position of the fixing member
80
in the front/rear direction.
It is noted that the adjustable pulley assembly in accordance with the present invention allows the vertical position of the left side and the right side of the suspended door
10
,
11
to be quickly adjusted and the adjustment is force-saving. Further, the adjustable pulley assembly in accordance with the present invention provides a reliable and durable structure and can be used with a belt frame. Further, the adjustable pulley assembly in accordance with the present invention prevents the suspended door
10
,
11
from being disengaged from the guide rail
61
.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
Claims
- 1. An adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door, the adjustable pulley assembly comprising:a fixing plate adapted to be securely mounted on top of an upper frame of the suspended door; an adjusting seat mounted to the fixing plate, the adjusting seat including a first vertical plate having an upper end and a lower end, a top plate extending from the upper end of the first vertical plate along a direction transverse to the first vertical plate, and a bottom plate extending from the bottom end of the first vertical plate along a direction opposite to the extending direction of the top plate, the first vertical plate including a vertical slot, the top plate including a screw hole; a pulley seat securely attached to the adjusting seat to move therewith, the pulley seat including a second vertical plate and a top plate extending from an upper end of the second vertical plate along a direction transverse to the second vertical plate, the second vertical plate having a screw hole, the top plate of the pulley seat having a hole aligned with the screw hole of the top plate of the adjusting seat; a pulley including a bearing mounted therein, an axle extending through the pulley and extending through the screw hole of the vertical plate of the pulley seat and the vertical slot of the adjusting seat, with a nut engaged on a distal end of the axle, the pulley being adapted to be mounted on a guide rail of a track along which the suspended door moves; and an adjusting bolt extending through the hole of the top plate of the pulley seat and the screw hole of the top plate of the adjusting seat; wherein when the adjusting bolt is turned, the vertical slot of the first vertical plate of the adjusting seat allows relative movement between the top plate of the pulley seat and the top plate of the adjusting seat in the vertical direction, thereby changing a distance between the top plate of the pulley seat and the top plate of the adjusting seat.
- 2. The adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixing plate includes two elevated sections between two ends thereof, each said elevated section including a screw hole, the bottom plate of the adjusting seat including an elongated hole in each of two ends thereof, with a bolt extending through each said elongated hole and the screw hole of an associated one of the elevated sections, thereby allowing a position of the adjusting seat relative to the fixing member in a front and rear direction, each said end of the fixing member further having an elongated hole and at least one hole through which a bolt is selectively extended to fix the fixing plate on top of the upper frame of the suspended door at a desired position.
- 3. The adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pulley includes an annular groove in an outer periphery thereof, a bottom wall delimiting the annular groove being smooth.
- 4. The adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first vertical plate of the adjusting seat includes a further vertical slot, the pulley seat having a screw hole aligned with the further vertical slot, a further bolt being extended through the screw hole of the pulley seat and the further vertical slot of the adjusting seat, the further bolt having a distal, protruded section located below the guide rail and spaced from the guide rail by a small distance.
- 5. The adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door as claimed in claim 4, wherein the distal, protruded section of the further bolt is a smooth shank.
- 6. The adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door as claimed in claim 1, further including a belt frame securely attached to a side of the pulley seat, the belt frame including a vertical plate and an extension plate extending from one of an upper end and a lower end of the vertical plate of the belt frame, a fixing member being securely mounted to the extension plate and including a recessed section for securely holding a belt for transmission.
- 7. The adjustable pulley assembly for a suspended door as claimed in claim 6, wherein the fixing member is substantially U-shaped and has an elongated hole in an intermediate portion thereof, with a bolt extending through the elongated hole, allowing adjustment of a position of the fixing member in a front and rear direction.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4099599 |
Randall |
Jul 1978 |
A |
5070575 |
Redman et al. |
Dec 1991 |
A |
6336247 |
Schnoor |
Jan 2002 |
B1 |