1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to an integrated brake and chain disk assembly for a door operator, particularly to an integrated brake and chain disk assembly for a door operator by which a main shaft of the door operator can be braked and rotated by arrangement of a torsion spring.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Generally, the door operator for a fire door or a safety door basically comprises an electric motor with a main shaft coupled to a gear box for rolling a rolling door such as a flexible sheet door, a slat door, a grille door and the like; a brake device having at least one brake disk for braking the main shaft; a chain disk device for manually rotating the main shaft upon power failure; and a clutch device for disengagement of the brake disk by energizing an electromagnet. Further, the door operator additionally includes a latch device for locking the chain disk in the motor operation mode; and a brake releasing device for releasing the brake device in the manual operation mode. For the manual operation mode, it is well known that the latch device has to be released at first, and then a chain is pulled on one hand while the brake releasing device is operated so as to release the main shaft in other hand.
As to an integrated brake and chain assembly for a door operator, several associated documents have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,885 which was filed by the applicant describes that the chain disk is used for manually rotating the main shaft upon power failure and normally pressed against a clutch device by means of an elastic element so as to brake the main shaft of the door operator. Therefore, a latch device for locking the chain is provided on the housing of the door operator so as to hold the chain disk. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,582 has a typical operation mode as stated above where a latch device has to be released at first in the manual operation mode, and then the chain is pulled so as to rotate the chain disk and at the same time the brake releasing device has to be operated so as to release the main shaft.
Additionally, the applicant's another U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,283 B2 has been proposed to provide a control system for switching from a manual operation mode into a motor operation mode, comprising a brake device for braking and releasing a main shaft of the door operator; a chain disk device pivoted uncoaxially; a clutch device disposed between the main shaft and the chain disk device for allowance of rotation in single direction; a driven disk interlocked with the clutch device for switching a protection device. As long as the chain is pulled, the circuit of the door operator is cut off and the braking device is released so that the operation mode is automatically switched into a safe manual operation mode.
The person skilled in the art understands that the above documents still need to be improved when put into practical.
The main object of the present invention is to provide an integrated brake and chain disk assembly for a door operator which is simplified in comparison with the prior-art.
In order to achieve the above and other objects, the integrated brake and chain disk assembly for a door operator according to the present invention is provided in which a main shaft of the door operator can be braked or manually rotated upon power failure. The door operator is provided with a first hub and a second hub on its housing and comprises:
an intermediate shaft which extends through the first hub and the second hub and is coupled to the main shaft;
a brake device having a brake disk fixed on the intermediate shaft, at least one torsion spring with two free ends fitting on the first hub, when a force in a spiral direction of the torsion spring is exerted on either end of the torsion spring, the torsion spring tightly fits on the first hub and becomes immovable so that the main shaft is braked, and when a torsion force in a direction opposite to the spiral direction of the torsion spring is exerted on either end of the torsion spring, the torsion spring is loosened and released from the first hub;
a clutch device having an axially movable sleeve interposed between the intermediate shaft and the second hub, a driven disk with a brake lining facing to the brake disk being disposed on one end of the sleeve and biased toward the brake disk for braking the main shaft, and an electromagnet device which is disposed on the second hub and retracts the driven disk so as to release the main shaft when being energized;
a chain disk device comprising a manual switch device composed of a central disk fixed on the other end of the sleeve and an outer ring portion, a blocking plate axially projecting from the central disk for abutting on the ends of the torsion spring in the spiral direction of the torsion spring, a chain disk pivotally provided outside the central disk and a chain which is looped around the chain disk, the outer ring portion being fixed on the chain disk, a push plate projecting from outer portion for abutting on the ends of the torsion spring in the direction opposite to the spiral direction of the torsion spring; and
a circuit by which the door operator and the electromagnet device are energized simultaneously.
According to the invention, the operation of the brake device causes the torsion spring to be twisted while the operation of the chain disk causes the torsion spring to be de-twisted. The operation of the brake device and the operation of the chain disk would not interfere with each other so that the door operator can be reliably operated.
According to the present invention, the chain disk device is integrated with the brake device so that a mechanism for prevention of the chain disk from rotating together with the main shaft can be eliminated in comparison with prior art.
According to the present invention, in the event of power failure, additional operation to release the brake device is unnecessary when an user intends to roll the door through pulling the chain. Comparing with the prior art, a brake releasing mechanism can be omitted.
According to the present invention, the brake device, the clutch device and the chain disk device are coaxially integrated in a housing unit and function as a manual operation module. This module can be installed at either side of the electric motor for the user's convenience for repairs, replacement, detachment or maintenance.
a is a partial enlarged view of
b is a perspective view showing the torsion spring of the present invention.
a is a sectional schematic view showing the integrated brake and chain disk assembly of the present invention, in which the intermediate shaft is braked through the clutch device;
a is a schematic view showing that the torsion spring is to be subjected to a force in the direction opposite to the spiral direction of the torsion spring;
The technical contents of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is noted that the preferred embodiments are purely for illustrative, not for restrictive purpose.
Firstly referring to
The door operator 1 is provided with a first hub 21 and a second hub 22 on the housing 2. The intermediate shaft 51 extends through the first hub 21 and the second hub 22 and is coupled to the main shaft 41.
A brake device 52 comprises a brake disk 521 fixed on one end of the intermediate shaft 51. At least one torsion spring 524 (524′) with two free ends fits on the first hub 21. When the torsion spring 524 (524′) is twisted or the ends thereof are subjected to a force in the spiral direction of the torsion spring (direction a), the torsion spring 524 (524′) would tightly fit on the first hub 21 and become immovable. On the contrary, when the torsion spring 524 (524′) is de-twisted or the ends thereof are subjected to a force in the direction opposite to the spiral direction of the torsion spring (direction b), the torsion spring 524 (524′) would be loosened and released from the first hub 21.
A clutch device 53 has an axially movable sleeve 531 interposed between the intermediate shaft 51 and the second hub 22. A driven disk 532 provided with a brake lining 533 facing to the brake disk is fixed on one end of the sleeve 531. The driven disk 532 is biased to the brake disk 521 for brake the main shaft. An electromagnet device 534 is disposed on the first hub 21. The electromagnet device 534 retracts the driven disk 532 for disengagement of the brake disk 521 when the electromagnet device 534 is energized.
A chain disk device 54 comprises a manual switch device 54a for accommodating and abutting on the free ends of the torsion spring. The manual switch device 54a is composed of a central disk 541 and a outer ring portion 543. The central disk 541 is fixed on the other end of the sleeve 531. A block plate 542 axial projects from the central disk 541 and is arranged to abut on either end of the torsion spring 524 (524′) in the spiral direction of the torsion spring 524 (524′) (direction a), and thus, with rotation of the central disk 541, the torsion spring 524 (524′) is twisted. A chain 545 is looped around a chain disk 540. The chain disk 540 surrounds and is pivoted on the central disk 541 in such a way that it is capable of rotating with respect to the central disk 541. The outer ring portion 543 is fixed on the chain disk 540, and a push plate 544 axially projects from the out ring portion 543 and is arranged to abut on either end of the torsion spring 524 (524′) in the direction opposite to the spiral direction of the torsion spring 524 (524′) (direction b). With rotation of the chain disk 540, the torsion spring 524 (524′) is de-twisted.
Referring to
The block plate 542 and the push plate 544 both extends into the range of the first hub 21, and the free ends of the torsion spring 524 (524′) are accommodated in the intervals (as shown in
According to the present invention, a partitioning plate 3a is interposed between the electric motor 4 and the chain disk device 54. A fixing disk 522 integrally formed on the base end of the first hub 21 is fixed on the partitioning plate 3a. Another partitioning plate 3b is interposed between the chain disk device 54 and the clutch device 53, and the second hub 22 is integrally formed on the partitioning plate 3b at the center. The electromagnet device 534 is held on the partitioning plate 3b. The electromagnet device 534 which is hollow is fitted on the second hub 22, and a receiving space is formed between the second hub 22 and the electromagnet device 534. An elastic element 535 is accommodated in the receiving space, one end of which is pressed against the partitioning plate 3b and the other end against the driven disk 532. In this way, the driven disk 532 with the brake lining 533 is biased to the brake disk 521 by the elastic element 535. Further, the housing 2 of the door operator 1 comprises a first housing unit 2a, a second housing unit 2b and a third housing unit 2c for accommodating components such as the electric motor 4 and the gear box 6. The brake device 52, the clutch device 53 and the chain disk device 54 are coaxially integrated in the second housing unit 2b and function as a manual operation module 5 between the electric motor 4 and the gear box 6. A coupler 525 couples the intermediate shaft 51 of the manual operation module 5 with the main shaft 41 of the electric motor 4 so that the manual operation module 5 is detachably mounted to the door operator (as shown in
According to the present invention, a control circuit is provided to energize the door operator and the electromagnet device 534 simultaneously so as to retract the driven disk 532 and disengage the brake lining 533 from the brake disk during the operation of the electrical motor (as shown in
An integrated brake and chain disk assembly 5 is disposed on one end of the main shaft 41 and comprises: a brake device 52 for braking the main shaft 41; a chain disk device 54 for manually rotating the main shaft 41 so as to roll the rolling door; and a clutch device 53 which disengages the main shaft 41 from the chain disk device 54 when the clutch device 53 is energized and engages the main shaft 41 with the chain disk device 54 when the clutch device 53 is not energized. The clutch device 53 comprises an axially movable sleeve 531 which is supported by the second hub 22 fixed on the housing 2. The brake device 52 has at least one torsion spring 524 with two free ends for which fits on a first hub 21 fixed on the housing. The chain disk device 54 has a manual switch unit 54a for accommodating and abutting on the free ends of the torsion spring 524. When a force in a spiral direction of the torsion spring is exerted on either end of the torsion spring 524 by the manual switch unit 54a, the torsion spring 524 tightly fits on the first hub 21 and becomes immovable, and the sleeve 531 is blocked and the main shaft 41 is braked. When a force in a direction opposite the spiral direction of the torsion spring 524 is exerted on either end of the torsion spring by the manual switch unit 54a, the torsion spring 524 is loosened and released from the first hub 21, whereby the sleeve 531 and hence the main shaft 41 can be rotated manually.
According to this embodiment of the integrated brake and chain disk assembly, the configuration is basically similar to the former embodiment, and the description thereof may be omitted. The difference of this embodiment from the former one is in that the manual operation module 5 is disposed at the opposite side of the gear box 6 and the electric motor 4 is positioned between the gear box 6 and the manual operation module 5. The manual operation module 5 can be detachably mounted to the electric motor 4. The brake disk 521 is directly fixed on the end of the main shaft 41 of the electric motor 4. In comparison with the manual operation module 5 of the former embodiment, the intermediate shaft and the coupler can be omitted.
Summing up, through skillful arrangement of the torsion spring, the push plate on the chain disk and the block plate on the central disk, the block plate abuts on the ends of the torsion spring in the spiral direction of the torsion spring so that the block plate is blocked and hence the main shaft is braked while the push plate abuts on the ends of the torsion spring in the direction opposite to the spiral direction of the torsion spring so that the push plate urges the block plate and hence the main shaft is rotated. Furthermore, the present invention is advantageous due to the simplified structure and convenience for detachment and maintenance.
While the preferred embodiments have been described as above, it is noted that the preferred embodiments are not restrictive to the scope of implementation of the present invention. Modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the claims of the present invention.