Patent Application
20060191205
The present invention generally relates to upwardly acting barriers, and to an operator system used to open and close upwardly acting doors. More particularly, the present invention relates to an operator system that interacts with the drive tube or axle of a counterbalance system to open and close a sectional door. More specifically, the present invention relates to an operator system employing a gear assembly which can be assembled around a drive tube or axle to operatively interconnect the operator system with a counterbalance system.
To facilitate the retrofit of an operator system on the drive tube of an existing counterbalance system, it has been desirable to configure the operator system to engage the drive tube without disassembling the counterbalance system. To that end, gear assemblies attached to the drive tube, and operatively interconnected with the motor of the operator system have been provided. These gear assemblies define bores for accommodating the drive tube. For example, the gear assemblies include removable gear segments provided to selectively open the bore to receive the drive tube. Once the gear assemblies are assembled around the drive tube, fasteners are inserted through apertures in the gear assemblies. These fasteners impinge the drive tube to provide a clamping force that secures the gear assemblies in position on the drive tube. However, if the fasteners are too long, aggressive clamping force may be applied against the drive tube. Such a clamping force can significantly deform the drive tube. For example, impingement of such fasteners can collapse the drive tube at or adjacent the area of contact, and enlarge the drive tube around its perimeter and along its axial length adjacent the gear assemblies. The bulges caused by such enlargement can trap the gear assemblies in position on the drive tube and prevent their axial movement therealong.
As seen in the
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an operator drive system employing a gear assembly which can be securely attached to a drive tube. Another object of the present invention is to provide an operator drive system employing a gear assembly which can be retrofitted to a drive tube of an existing counterbalance system without dismounting or disassembling the counterbalance system. A further object of the present invention is to provide an operator drive system having a gear assembly including a removable portion so that the gear assembly can be assembled around a drive tube.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an operator drive system having a gear assembly with a removable portion defining a radial slot allowing insertion of a drive tube. A yet further object of the present invention is to provide an operator drive system having a gear assembly attached to a drive tube so that torque can be transferred through the gear assembly to the drive tube, and such attachment only slightly deforms the drive tube.
In light of at least one of the foregoing objects, the present invention generally contemplates a drive system for a door having an operator and a counterbalance system. A drive tube of the counterbalance system interconnects the operator and the door. A gear assembly of the operator engages the drive tube for transferring rotational forces from the operator to the drive tube. An aperture extends through the gear assembly, and a fastener extends through the aperture to deform the drive tube. The fastener sufficiently deforms the drive tube to permit transfer of operating torque of the operator to the drive tube, but not to an extent that prevents the gear assembly from being removed from the drive tube.
A preferred exemplary door operator drive system incorporating the concepts of the present invention is shown be way of example in the accompanying drawings without attempting to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied, the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of the specification.
A door system, generally indicated by the numeral 10, is shown in
Track assemblies, generally indicated by the numeral 15, may be mounted on the framework 11, for example, as by flag angles 16 and brackets 16′ that are fastened to jambs 12. Track assemblies 15 each include a generally vertical track section 17, an arc-shaped transitional track section 18 extending upwardly and rearwardly from the vertical track section 17, and a rearwardly extending generally horizontal track section 19. Additional support for the horizontal track section 19 may be provided in the form of horizontal angles 20 attached to the header 13, and hangers 21 attached to an overhead structure (not shown).
A door D is located between the track assemblies 15 and guided between open and closed positions thereby. The door D, depicted in
A counterbalance system, generally indicated by the numeral 25, provides a counterbalancing force partially offsetting the weight of the door D to facilitate opening and closing of the door D in a manner known to persons skilled in the art. The counterbalance system 25 includes a coil spring 26 which is shown by way of example, and should not be considered as limiting the present invention to use with this particular type of counterbalance system. The counterbalance system 25 generally includes a drive tube 27 rotatably supported by support brackets 28 mounted to the framework 11. Cable drums 29 are mounted on drive tube 27 and rotatably fixed thereto. The cable drums 29 rotate with the drive tube 27, and include a cable C wound thereon. The cable C is attached to the door D to effect transfer of the counterbalancing force generated by the coil springs 26 to the door D.
The coil spring 25 is interconnected with the drive tube 27 at one end 31 and is interconnected with a fixed bracket 32 at the other end 33 to develop the counterbalancing force upon rotation of the drive tube 27. Thus, in a manner known to persons skilled in the art, the counterbalancing force is transferred to the door D through the drive tube 27 and cable drums 29 via cable C. In operation, the cable C is selectively wound and unwound as the door D is opened or closed, respectively, thereby maintaining the tension on the door D. As a result, relatively little force is needed to operate the door D. Thus, the door D may be manually operated or power operated by an operator as described herein.
An operator 35 is mounted on the drive tube 27 and is operable therewith to open and close the door D. With reference to
The housing 36 may be in the form of a hollow shell that attaches to an operator framework 37 having a mounting bracket 37′ that attaches the operator 35 to header 13 as by suitable fasteners (not shown). Housing 36 may be divided into first and second sections 36A, 36B, shown in
The motor assembly 40, which may include a conventional electric motor 41 that is designed for stop, forward, and reverse rotation of a motor shaft (not shown) and, in turn, the drive tube 27. Although it will be appreciated that a non-pivoting operator motor may be used in the operator 35, the motor assembly 40 shown can pivot between a generally rearward horizontally extending position and the downwardly vertically extending position (
Referring to
A drive shaft 55 extends axially outward from the drive train assembly 50, and includes a drive gear 56 nonrotatably mounted thereon. As best shown in
In the embodiment shown, a pair of gear assemblies 65, 65′ are provided at either end of the operator 35. It will be appreciated that only a single gear assembly 65 may be used, and that only a single gear assembly 65 needs to be driven.
With reference to
As best shown in
In the example depicted in the figures, the hub half 66A and a removable rim portion 73 of the rim 69 may be joined by a removable end wall portion 74 of the end wall 70, such that the hub half 66A and removable rim portion 73 are simultaneously removable. For purposes of simplicity, the hub half 66A, the removable rim portion 73, and the removable portion end wall portion 74 will be collectively referred to as a removable gear segment, generally indicated by the numeral 75 in the accompanying drawings. As such, the removable gear segment 75 is attached to the remainder of the gear assembly 65 so that the gear assembly can be assembled around the drive tube 27.
As best shown in
To further reinforce the interconnection of the removable gear segment 75 with the remainder of the gear assembly 65, the hub halves 66A, 66B include mating surfaces 80 and 81, respectively, which interface with one another when the gear assembly 65 is assembled. As seen in
An integral clamping assembly, generally indicated by the numeral 86
The receivers 89 are formed on the interior side of the end wall 70, and are configured, when the removable gear segment 75 is assembled with the remainder of the gear assembly 65, to receive the lips 82. To aid in securing the removable gear segment 75 to the gear assembly 65, the lips 82 and receivers 89 include tapers that expand from their axial extremities along the bore 67 to the removable end wall portion 74 and end wall 70, respectively. In particular, the lips 80 include sloped surfaces 92 (facing upward in
When the lips 82 are inserted into the receivers 89, the sloped surfaces 92 and 93 slide against one another. Slidable movement of the sloped surfaces 92 and 93 with respect to one another generates a clamping force as the lips 82 are inserted into the receivers 89. This clamping force serves to maintain the position of the removable gear segment 75 relative to the gear assembly 65. That is, insertion of the lips 82 into the receivers 89 effectively wedges the sloped surfaces 92 and 93 against one another to produce the clamping forces which maintain the position of the removable gear segment 75 relative to the gear assembly 65. The clamping force increases as the lips 82 are progressively inserted into the receivers 89.
End stops 94 are provided at the inner extremities of the receivers 89 adjacent the mating surfaces 81 to limit insertion of the lips 82 into the receivers 89. The end stops 94 insure that the sloped surfaces 92 and 93 are positioned to generate adequate clamping force, but, at the same time, effectively limit the clamping force so that the lips 82 can be removed from the receivers 89 without damaging the mating components.
The receivers 88 are formed on the exterior side of the removable end wall portion 74, and are configured to receive the lips 83 when the removable gear segment 75 is assembled with the remainder of the gear assembly 65. To aid in securing the removable gear segment 75 to the gear assembly 65, the lips 83 and receivers 88 also include tapers that expand from their axial extremities along the bore 67 to the end wall 70 and removable end wall portion 74, respectively. In particular, the lips 83 include sloped surfaces 96 (facing downward in
When the lips 83 are inserted into the receivers 88, the sloped surfaces 96 and 97 slide against one another. Slidable movement of the sloped surfaces 96 and 97 with respect to one another generates a clamping force as the lips 83 are inserted into the receivers 88. This clamping force serves in maintaining the position of the removable gear segment 75 relative to the gear assembly 65 by wedging the sloped surfaces 96 and 97 against one another. The clamping force increases as the lips 83 are progressively inserted into the receivers 88.
End stops 98 are provided at the extremities of the receivers 88 adjacent the mating surface 80 to limit insertion of the lips 83 into the receivers 88. The end stops 98 insure that the sloped surfaces 96 and 97 are positioned to generate adequate clamping force, but, simultaneously, effectively limit the clamping force so that the lips 83 can be removed from the receivers 88 without damaging the mating components.
Once lips 82 are inserted into receivers 89 and lips 83 are inserted into receivers 88 to effectuate the attachment of the removable gear segment 75 to the gear assembly 65, the security of such attachment may be maintained by using fasteners 100. To this end, threaded apertures 101 are provided in the end wall 70 adjacent the rim 69 of the gear assembly 65, and apertures 102 are provided through the removable end wall portion 74 adjacent the removable rim portion 73 of the removable gear segment 75.
After the gear assembly 65 has been assembled around the drive tube 27, the gear assembly 65 can be secured to the drive tube 27. To that end, a projection 104 is formed integrally with one of the hub halves 66A, 66B. As seen in
For example, the locking fastener 106 is purposely long enough to impinge the drive tube 27, and, upon complete insertion into the threaded aperture 105, to slightly deform the drive tube 27 in the area generally indicated by the numeral 110 to form recess 111. The impingement of the locking fastener 106 against the drive tube 27 forces the drive tube 27 against the hub half 66A to effectively clamp the drive tube 27 to the gear assembly 65. Furthermore, the recess 111 formed by the slight deformation of the drive tube 27 partially envelops the locking fastener 106, and, in doing so, serves in preventing axial movement of the gear assembly 65 along the drive tube 27, and in preventing relative rotational movement of the gear assembly 65 around the drive tube 27 in order to accommodate the torque requirements necessary to effect actuation of the drive tube 27.
The length of the locking fastener 106 is predetermined to limit the amount of force applied against the drive tube 27, thereby limiting the resulting depth of the recess 111 formed at 110 to prevent collapse of the drive tube 27 as associated with the prior art depicted in
Limiting the depth of the recess 111 by only slightly deforming the drive tube 27 also prevents enlargement of the drive tube 27 at the areas generally indicated by the numerals 112, 113, 114 and 115 in
The attachment of the gear assembly 65 to the drive tube 27 allows for sufficient operating torque to be transferred to the drive tube 27 from the operator 35, but does not deform the drive tube 27 such that the gear assembly 65 cannot be removed therefrom. That is, while the depth of the recess 111 is limited during the attachment of the gear assembly 65 to the drive tube 27, such attachment allows sufficient operating torque to be applied to the drive tube 27, but, simultaneously, prevents unwanted collapse of the drive tube 27. Through experimentation, it has been found that about 75 inch pounds of torque applied to the locking fastener 106 generates force against the drive tube 27 that allows for sufficient attachment of the gear assembly 65 to the drive tube 27, but that such force is not of a magnitude that collapses the drive tube 27.
In addition to the gear assembly 65, components such as spring perches, torsion spring winding cones, and cable storage drums can be attached to the drive tube 27 in a similar fashion. That is, locking fasteners can be applied through apertures formed in these components against the drive tube 27 such that the depth of recess formed along the drive tube 27 is limited. Again, by limiting the amount of force applied by the locking fastener against the drive tube 27, the attachment of these components to the drive tube 27 will allow sufficient operating torque to be applied to the drive tube 27, but, simultaneously, prevent unwanted collapse of the drive tube 27. By limiting the depths of the recesses formed by the fasteners against the drive tube 27, rotational forces can transferred between these components and the drive tube 27 without the drive tube 27 being deformed to an extent that prohibits these components from being removed therefrom.
Thus, it should be evident that the door operator drive system disclosed herein carries out one or more of the objects of the present invention set forth above and otherwise constitutes an advantageous contribution to the art. As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, modifications can be made to the preferred embodiment disclosed herein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of the invention herein being limited solely by the scope of the attached claims.
