Patent Application
20230048791
The invention relates to a rail system which can be used to move an object or load such as a panel, pedestrian or vehicular access doors, fixed and sectional panels, roller doors, curtains, and the like.
Modern use of sectional and roller doors often incorporate an automated method of opening and closing for safety, convenience and efficiency. These automation methods often rely on wound spring or counterweight assisted winching systems using a geared rotating motor with cables and/or chains.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each of the appended claims.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
According to the present disclosure, there is provided a rail system comprising:
a guide rail;
a plurality of stationary electromagnets mounted in the guide rail; and
a carriage having a plurality of wheels configured to travel along the guide rail;
wherein the wheels are magnets, and
wherein movement of the carriage along the guide rail is brought about by a fluctuating magnetic field generated by the stationary electromagnets acting on the wheels. The carriage may be configured for attachment to a load or an object.
The rail system may comprise a plurality of the guide rails and a plurality of the carriages. The plurality of guide rails may include a first guide rail and a second guide rail, the first guide rail and the second guide rail being space apart. The plurality of carriages may include one carriage mounted on the first guide rail and one carriage mounted on the second guide rail. The load may be attached to the one carriage on the first guide rail and to the one carriage on the second guide rail. The load may be moved by coordinated movement of the carriage on the first guide rail and the carriage on the second guide rail.
More than one carriage may be mounted on the first guide rail. The load may be attached to each carriage on the first guide rail. More than one carriage may be mounted on the second guide rail. The load may be attached to each carriage on the second guide rail.
Each guide rail may comprise a brake engaging surface. At least one carriage mounted on each guide rail may include a brake having a shape configured to engage the brake engaging surface. When there is more than one carriage mounted on each guide rail, each carriage may include a brake having a shape configured to engage the brake engaging surface of its associated guide rail. The brake of the carriage may engage the brake engaging surface of the guide rail to limit movement of the carriage when power supply to the electromagnets is interrupted.
The brake engaging surface may have a serrated profile. The brake of the carriage may have a matching serrated profile configured to engage positively with the brake engaging surface of the guide rail. The brake of the carriage may be in the form of a cam and the cam may have a serrated braking surface or foot associated therewith.
Once the brake of the carriage and the brake engaging surface of the guide rail are engaged to limit the movement of the carriage, release of the engagement may be brought about by movement of the brake in a direction opposite to the movement which brought about the engagement. For example, if downward movement of the carriage brings about engagement of the brake and the brake engaging surface, upward movement of the carriage releases the engagement of the brake and the brake engaging surface.
The load may be an object. The load may be a panel. In the following, the term “panel” is used to refer to a range of architectural structures suitable for closing or covering an opening in a building such as those for pedestrian and/or vehicular access.
The rail system may further comprise the load or panel. In the present disclosure, various terms including “panel” have been used to refer to a range of architectural structures suitable for closing or covering an opening in a building such as those for pedestrian and/or vehicular access and suitable for movement by the guide rail system. For example, terms such as curtain, door, roller door, sectional panel door, full panel door, solid panel door, garage door, and the like have been used. For simplicity, in the present disclosure, the term “panel” has also been used generally and inclusively to refer to these and similar architectural structures collectively. It will be appreciated that the carriage may be configured for attachment to objects or loads other than panels. The carriage may be configured for attachment to objects or containers into which objects can be placed. The rail system may be configured to transport or distribute the objects or the containers from one place to another.
The system may include a control system in order to control the provision of energy to the electromagnets. The control system may be powered by an external power source. A backup battery may also be provided to supply backup power in an emergency or to provide bulk power during operations to move the panel.
According to the present disclosure, there is provided a method of operating (e.g., opening and closing) such panels (such as, for example, doors) by incorporating a lifting mechanism into guide rails, which are a common component of automatic solid or sectional panel, roller door or curtain. The lifting mechanism includes the plurality of stationary electromagnets mounted in the guide rail and the plurality of wheels (being magnets) of the carriages.
According to the present disclosure, such an arrangement may allow for a reduction in installation components, and therefore installation time. It may lower maintenance costs and it may allow for quiet operation, as well as improved aesthetics.
According to an embodiment, the invention includes a fail-safe mechanism in the form of a braking system which operates in the event of a component failure or a disruption to electricity supplies. Such a system may enhance safety.
The rail system may be configured to lift a load or panel vertically. For example, a pair of guide rails may be arranged vertically and a panel may extend vertically between them. Movement of the carriages along the pair of guide rails may raise the panel vertically or lower the panel vertically. The system may be configured to move a load or panel in a horizontal direction. For example, a pair of guide rails may be arranged horizontally and a panel may extend between them. Movement of the carriages along the pair of guide rails may move the panel horizontally. The system may be configured to combine guide rails with vertical and horizontal portions and movement of the carriages along these respective portions will move the panel accordingly. It will be appreciated that the rail system is not limited only to vertical and horizontal configurations and that guide rails could be arranged at angles with respect to the vertical or horizontal planes in order to arrange a system that could move the panel in any direction.
Embodiments disclosed herein may be applicable to domestic, commercial and industrial applications with scale-able design to match weights, travel speeds and environments which vary dependent on application.
According to an embodiment, there is provided a rail system (or assembly) for the positioning and movement of a load (or object) such as a panel (for example, single and sectional panel doors, roller doors or curtains) in the vertical plane, the horizontal plane or in other planes at angles with respect to the vertical and horizontal planes. The rail system incorporates a magnetic drive and positioning system. The rail system includes at least one guide rail and at least one carriage. Each guide rail incorporates a series of electromagnet arrays (stationary electromagnets) which are positioned in the guide rail to provide magnetic attraction and repulsion in a sequential manner which will cause the carriage incorporating permanent magnets to move along the guide rail with variable force and speed dependent on instructions from a control system.
According to an embodiment, there is provided a carriage incorporating permanent magnets which form wheels. The carriage may be configured to connect to a load or an object. For example, in an embodiment, the load (or object) is in the form of a panel, a roller door, or the like. The carriage is mounted on the guide rail and driven via the electromagnets incorporated into the guide rail. The load may be positioned or moved via interaction of the wheels of the carriage and the electromagnets in the guide rail.
According to an embodiment, the rail system includes an integrated automatic mechanically operated braking system capable of maintaining the carriage and thereby the load or object (panel, roller door, or the like) in a fixed position in the absence of specific operations of the rail system or a disruption to electricity supplies. This braking system ensures that the load or object remains in any position intended without the requirement for constant drive signals and prevents movement in any direction if power should fail. For example, in the case where the load is a roller door, the braking system ensures that the roller door remains in any position intended without the requirement for constant drive signals and prevents movement of the roller door in any direction if power to the door control or drive system fails. In the event of an emergency, the system can be manually over-ridden and allow movement of the carriages and allow opening of the roller door.
Where the load is a door, for example, the rail system may be suitable for many panel materials and may be adaptable to varying widths and heights of panels, roller doors, curtains, and the like.
According to an embodiment, the rail system is component based with selection and quantity of components based on the particular application. Components can be manufactured at scale, that being physical characteristics other than size can remain consistent through light, medium and heavy-duty versions of the system. Force capacity is not particularly limited and can be set according to the particular application. For example and without intending to limit the scope of this disclosure, it may range from 500 to 4000 newtons. Operational speeds may also vary depending on the particular application and, by way of a non-limiting example, they may range from 0.1 to 4 metres per second.
According to an embodiment, the rail system includes a pair of guide rails which are spaced apart such that the distance between the guide rails along their length is constant. The guide rails may be straight or curved or a combination thereof depending on the application and location. The guide rails may include straight sections connected by curved sections or bends. For example, a straight section which extends vertically may be connected to a straight section which extends horizontally connected by a bend (see, for example,
According to an embodiment, the rail system may include a single guide rail arranged substantially in one plane (for example, arranged substantially horizontally). For example, the rail system may be configured for moving a curtain and the rail system may be arranged above a window, a door opening or along a ceiling. In such cases, the guide rail may include straight sections, curved sections, or combinations thereof.
According to an embodiment, a control system which incorporates a battery back-up is installed adjacent to the guide rail(s) to provide controlled energy to the guide rail electromagnets which are electrified at varying currents and sequences to initiate movement of the carriages.
According to an embodiment, each carriage has a linkage, bracket, point of attachment, or the like (referred to below as linkage) which is configure for connection to the load or object.
According to an embodiment, each carriage incorporates a brake mechanism which engages the guide rail during braking. For example, the brake mechanism may be in the form of a serrated cam feature that engages positively with a matching brake engaging surface in the form of a serrated profile incorporated into the guide rail (see
According to an embodiment, in order to enable travel in the downward direction (see for example, the configuration shown in
According to an embodiment, a system of electronics housed in the control unit uses current sensing and power loops to provide precise energization of the stator electromagnets (stationary magnets) which induce infinitely variable movements in the carriage fixed magnets. Using a loop feedback system, each guide rail and the carriages travelling upon it can be precisely located to avoid any misalignment of the load, panel or curtain and can maintain relative positioning at any point of travel.
According to an embodiment, the electronic control system has a self-calibration system which takes into account anomalies such as external factors such and wind, ice and other factors as well as friction variables due to age and maintenance. In this embodiment, a non-volatile memory of events and parameters forms part of the control system in order to provide service history and produce alarms and service requests via a basic display.
According to an embodiment, integrated dry contact triggering as well as on-board RF and Bluetooth communication provide several external control and monitoring solutions to the user of the system.
According to an embodiment, the control and operating system is designed for operation on a 24 volt DC external supply, where the size of the supply is dependent on the operating frequency of the system and the size of the unit (small, medium or large model).
In the following, embodiments are described with reference to the drawings.
It will be appreciated that in order to maintain the efficiency of the magnetic interaction between the electromagnets in the guide rails and the permanent magnets of the wheels, the use of non-ferrous or non-magnetic materials for other components (e.g., guide rails 12, connector plates 47, pins, clips, screws, and the like) of the system is preferred.
In this embodiment, the control system 76 will provide electrical energy to groups of the stationary electromagnets (electromagnetic coils) 20 in the guide rails 12 in specific sequences and variable energy levels to generate fluctuating magnetic fields which act on the magnet wheels 42 of the carriage such that the carriage 40 moves along the guide rail 12 and thereby the load 64 connected to the carriage 40 is moved. In configurations in which a pair of guide rails 12 are used to move a load 64 (such as in the example of a garage door described above), a constant feedback loop 86 compares energy consumption in corresponding sections of each guide rail 12 to ensure that corresponding carriages 40 in each guide rail 12 are performing in unison. An additional pulse counter may also provide positional data from position sensing 88 and load data from load sensing 90 associated with each guide rail 12 to provide positional, load, speed and alert signals. In
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020100168 | Feb 2020 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU21/50065 | 1/29/2021 | WO |
