Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6753668
-
Patent Number
6,753,668
-
Date Filed
Friday, May 31, 200222 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, June 22, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Nappi; Robert
- Smith; Tyrone
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 318 18
- 318 283
- 318 364
- 318 430
- 318 432
- 318 434
- 318 445
- 318 446
- 074 47901
- 074 5005
- 074 5015 R
- 074 625
- 192 7
- 192 150
- 049 26
- 049 28
- 049 139
- 049 199
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A garage door drive assembly for moving a linkage arm connected to a garage door, the assembly being adapted for shipping in a partially assembled condition in at least a box for on-site installation, the assembly has a longitudinally-extending rail with laterally extending flanges. The assembly also has a carriage shaped to fit about the flanges. A drive mechanism is movably mounted to the rail. An anchor is coupled to the drive mechanism. The assembly also has a coupler with a selectively releasable connection to the anchor, a connector pivotably connectable to the linkage arm, and a detachable connection enabling the coupler to be fixedly secured to and carried by the carriage. The rail and the carriage may be shipped to the installation site in a box having a smaller cross-sectional profile than would be required to accommodate the carriage and coupling in their connected state.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to electronic garage door openers and, more particularly, to a drive assembly for an electric garage door opener rail.
In the garage door industry, T-rails are shipped in long corrugated cardboard boxes that are approximately 90 to 130 inches long. During shipping, the boxes are frequently damaged and crushed due to excess empty space in the box, which causes handling problems. The shipping survivability of the drive assemblies and boxes can be improved by adding polymer inserts to fill the empty spaces in the box. This is disadvantageous because of the expense of the polymer inserts, the space required for storing bulky packaging components, and the need for disposal of large quantities of non-biodegradeable packaging components. Additionally, drive assemblies are often damaged during shipping, requiring an installer to install a new drive assembly.
Another approach to improve shipping survivability is to design a box that fits tightly with the T-rail to reduce the empty spaces that are vulnerable to crushing. In order to reduce the empty space, because the drive assembly is the largest profile component in the assembly, the drive assembly is removed from the T-rail assembly. Removal of the drive assembly from the T-rail during shipping eliminates drive assembly damage from shipping. However, the disadvantage of this approach is that the installer has to reassemble the drive assembly onto the T-rail at the point of installation. Often, in order to reassemble the drive assembly onto the T-rail, the installer has to disassemble other components, such as the drive mechanism and a pulley. This can be a time consuming, confusing and frustrating procedure. Installers are often paid on a piece-meal basis per installation, so lost time can be costly for the installer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a garage door drive assembly for moving a linkage arm connected to a garage door to raise and lower the garage door. The assembly is adapted for shipping in a partially assembled condition in at least one box for on-site installation. The assembly, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, includes a longitudinally-extending rail having laterally extending flanges extending therefrom. The assembly also includes a carriage shaped to fit about the flanges thereby supporting the carriage for sliding motion along the rail. A drive mechanism is movably mounted to the rail for longitudinal motion along the rail. An anchor is coupled to the drive mechanism for movement with the drive mechanism. The assembly also includes a coupler.
The coupler has a selectively releasable connection to the anchor, a connector pivotably connectable to the linkage arm, and a detachable connection enabling the coupler to be fixedly secured to and carried by the carriage. The rail and the carriage may be shipped to the installation site in a box having a smaller cross-sectional profile than would be required to accommodate the carriage and the coupler in their connected state.
In an embodiment, the anchor has a first half and a second half. The second half is coupled to the first half using at least one fastener passing through the drive mechanism. The first half and the second half of the anchor form a locking notch. The coupler has a locking tab moveably engageable into the locking notch. Additionally, a spring and a lever are coupled to the locking tab. The lever engages and disengages the locking tab from the locking notch. In an additional embodiment, the lever has a detent at one end, the detent engaging with the coupler to prevent the locking tab from engaging in the locking notch.
In an embodiment, the carriage has a retainer, and the coupler has both a mounting base and a plurality of retention brackets. The anchor is prevented from disengaging from the locking tab by the retainer, the mounting base, and the retention brackets.
The connector pivotably connectable to the linkage arm has a bracket with a fastener opening. In an exemplary embodiment, the bracket has two bracket arms, each of which has a fastener opening. The linkage arm has an orifice to facilitate attachment to the bracket. The linkage arm is inserted between the two bracket arms and a fastener is passed through the fastener openings and the orifice.
In an exemplary embodiment, the detachable connection of the coupler to the carriage includes a biased clip connected to the coupler, the biased clip having a hook; and a clip opening in the carriage. The clip opening is positioned so that the hook is inserted into the clip opening upon proper engagement between the carriage and the coupler. Additionally, the detachable connection includes a plurality of coupler insertion openings extending laterally across the carriage and a plurality of inserts extending laterally across the coupler. The inserts are insertable into the plurality of insertion openings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of an interior of a garage showing a garage door and an electronic garage door opening system;
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of a carriage coupled to a T-rail with the coupler oriented for insertion into the carriage according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3
is a side view of a carriage according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4
is a cross-sectional view of a carriage according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention taken along line A—A of
FIG. 3
;
FIG. 5
is a perspective view of a coupler according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6
is a cross-sectional view of a coupler according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention taken along line B—B of
FIG. 5
;
FIG. 7
is a perspective view of a coupler mounted to the carriage which is in turn mounted to the T-rail according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 8
is a side view of a chain anchor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As shown in
FIG. 1
, a garage door opener system
10
has a garage door opener
12
coupled to a garage door
14
. An exemplary garage door
14
is sectional and is mounted for travel on a pair of rails
16
,
18
. The garage door opener has a drive unit
20
coupled to a drive mechanism. In an exemplary embodiment, the drive mechanism is a chain
22
. The chain
22
extends along a T-rail
24
mounted from the drive unit
20
and extending longitudinally to a point above the garage door. The T-rail has laterally extending flanges. A drive assembly
25
is releasably coupled to the chain
22
. The chain
22
is driven by the drive unit, and the drive assembly
25
is driven along the T-rail
24
by the chain
22
. A linkage arm
26
is coupled to the drive assembly
25
and to the garage door
14
. As the drive assembly
25
is driven along the T-rail
24
, the arm
26
causes the garage door
14
to be raised or lowered. A switch
27
activates the drive unit
20
. A safety beam emitter
28
and a safety beam receiver
29
are electrically coupled to the drive unit
20
and may stop the drive unit
20
to prevent the garage door
14
from closing on an obstruction.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, a drive assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention consists of two pieces, a carriage
30
and a coupler
32
. The carriage
30
and the coupler
32
are releasably coupled together. The carriage
30
rides on the T-rail
24
.
The carriage
30
has a length extending along the longitudinal axis of the T-rail and a width extending along a lateral axis of the T-rail. As shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4
, the carriage has a horizontal web
34
. The horizontal web
34
terminates in two C-shaped brackets
36
,
38
extending along the length of the horizontal web
34
. The horizontal web
34
and the C-shaped brackets
36
,
38
fit around a wide part of the T-rail
24
and hold the carriage
30
onto the T-rail
24
. A chain anchor retainer
40
extends vertically from the C-shaped bracket
38
on the side of the T-rail where the coupler
32
is attached. The chain anchor retainer
40
extends along the length of the carriage.
The horizontal web
34
has a thickness. As shown in
FIGS. 2 and 4
, portions of the horizontal web
34
are cut away to create two coupler insertion openings
42
,
44
extending across the width of the horizontal web
34
. In an embodiment, the coupler insertion openings
42
,
44
are elbow shaped with a horizontal portion
46
adjacent to the horizontal web
34
. A vertical portion
48
is in communication with, and extends downward from, the horizontal portion
46
. In an exemplary embodiment, the horizontal portion
46
is contiguous with the horizontal web
34
.
Additionally, an elastic clip
50
with a downward bias is formed into the bottom of the horizontal web. The clip has horizontal portion extending across the width of the carriage. The clip terminates in a downward facing hook
52
. The carriage may be made of many different materials, such as injection molded polymer, stamp formed steel, die-cast steel, die-cast aluminum, and die-cast zinc.
The carriage is placed on the T-rail by inserting the carriage over one end of the T-rail so that the C-shaped brackets are placed over the wide part of T-rail. There is no need to remove the carriage from the T-rail for shipping or for garage door installation.
As shown in
FIGS. 2 and 5
to
7
, the coupler
32
has a length extending along the longitudinal axis of the T-rail, a width extending along a lateral axis of the T-rail, and a vertical axis perpendicular to both the length and the width. The coupler
32
has three different portions. To describe the coupler it is helpful to describe an exemplary embodiment along the vertical axis from the bottom up. However, it will be readily understood by one skilled in the art, that the vertical order and orientation of the described features may be rearranged.
A first portion of the coupler
32
engages with the garage door linkage arm
26
. To engage with the linkage arm
26
, a bottom surface of the coupler is formed with a vertically oriented bracket
54
. The bracket
54
has two bracket arms
56
,
58
. The arms
56
,
58
contains fastener openings
60
,
62
. A portion of the linkage arm
26
has a hole with a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the fastener openings
60
,
62
. The linkage arm is inserted between the two bracket arms
56
,
58
and the hole in the linkage arm is aligned with the two fastener openings
60
,
62
. A fastener is inserted through both fastener openings
60
,
62
and through the hole in the linkage arm to attach the linkage arm to the coupler. In an embodiment, the fastener is a carriage bolt with a retaining pin.
A second portion of the coupler engages with the carriage. In an exemplary embodiment, the portion that engages with the carriage is formed above the portion that engages with the garage door arm
26
. Two elbow shaped inserts
64
,
66
, corresponding to the coupler insertion openings
42
,
44
of the carriage, are formed across the width of the coupler with a horizontal web between. Two ribs
68
,
70
extend across the width of the horizontal web. Between the two ribs
68
,
70
is a raised portion
72
over which passes the clip
50
of the carriage.
A clip opening
74
is formed in the raised portion
72
. The clip opening is positioned so that when the coupler is completely inserted into the carriage, the downward facing hook
52
of the clip is sprung into the clip opening
74
. To disengage the coupler
32
from the carriage
30
, a user inserts a tool into the clip opening from a bottom of the coupler and pushes the hook back up over the too of the clip opening
74
.
A third portion of the coupler engages with a chain anchor
76
. In an exemplary embodiment, the portion that engages with the chain anchor
76
is formed above the portion that engages with the carriage.
As shown in
FIG. 8
, the chain anchor
76
is placed on the chain to connect the chain to the coupler. In an exemplary embodiment, the chain anchor
76
has two identical halves
77
, although in an alternative embodiment, the chain anchor may be formed as a single piece. A locking notch
78
is formed in the bottom surface of the chain anchor halves. The locking notch
78
allows the anchor to engage a locking tab of the coupler as discussed below. The bottom surface of each anchor half is angled downward from each longitudinal end to an edge of the locking notch
78
. Therefore, the bottom surface of the assembled anchor
76
forms a V-shape along a longitudinal axis with the locking notch
78
at the point of the “V”.
Each chain anchor half has two fastener holes
79
,
80
. One chain anchor half is placed on each side of the chain, and the anchor halves are then aligned. A fastener is placed in each fastener hole
79
,
80
of one chain anchor half. The fasteners extend through gaps in the links of the chain and out through the fastener holes of the other chain anchor half. The fasteners hold the chain anchor to the chain. Because the fasteners extend through gaps in the links of the chain, the fasteners prevent the chain anchor from moving up or down the length of the chain. In an embodiment, the fasteners are nuts and bolts. In an alternative embodiment, the fasteners are rivets. The chain anchor halves
77
may be made of many different materials, such as injection molded polymer, stamp formed steel, die-cast steel, die-cast aluminum, or die cast-zinc.
Referring again to the coupler, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 5
to
7
, A chain anchor mounting base
82
is formed above the second portion of the coupler on the side of the coupler away from the T-rail
24
. The chain anchor mounting base
82
has a hole
83
(See
FIG. 5
) through which is mounted a spring loaded locking tab
84
that engages with the locking notch
78
of the chain anchor
76
. A lever
86
coupled to the locking tab
84
is positioned on the underside of the mounting base
82
.
In an embodiment, the lever has a bracket formed of two arms. Each arm has a hole. Likewise, the locking tab
84
has a hole for passage of a fastener. A fastener is placed through the holes in the arms of the lever bracket and through the locking tab hole to secure the locking tab to the lever
86
. When a free end of the lever
86
is pulled downward, the opposite end contacts a portion of the coupler
32
and acts as a fulcrum. Further downward movement of the free end of the lever pulls the locking tab
84
downward. A rounded detent
88
is formed on one end of the lever
86
. When the lever
86
is pulled downward to retract the locking tab
84
, the detent prevents the lever from moving upward, and the locking tab
84
from re-engaging with the locking notch
78
of the chain anchor
76
.
Two right angled chain anchor retention brackets
90
,
92
are formed above the chain anchor mounting base
82
. The brackets
90
,
92
have a vertical portion
94
and a horizontal portion
96
extending from the vertical portion toward the T-rail
24
. As shown in
FIG. 7
, once the coupler
32
is engaged with the carriage
30
, the retention brackets
90
,
92
and mounting base
82
of the coupler, and the retainer
40
of the carriage, form a cage surrounding the chain anchor
76
. The cage prevents lateral and vertical movement of the anchor relative to the coupler
32
.
The coupler may be made of many different materials, such as injection molded polymer, stamp formed steel, die-cast steel, die-cast aluminum, or die cast zinc. Additionally, the carriage and the coupler may be made of two dissimilar materials to improve bearing surfaces. For example, the carriage may be made of low friction material for ease of sliding along the T-rail, while the coupler may be made of a higher strength material for engagement with the chain and the linkage arm.
In order to assemble the drive assembly of the present system, the installer removes the T-rail
24
from a shipping box with the carriage
30
already mounted to the T-rail
24
. The installer aligns and inserts the elbow shaped inserts
64
,
66
of the coupler into the insertion openings
42
,
44
of the carriage until the hook
52
of the clip
50
snaps into the clip opening
74
. Once the coupler
30
is snapped into the carriage, the installer moves the now assembled drive assembly
25
along the T-rail
24
until the drive assembly
25
is adjacent to the linkage arm
26
of the garage door.
The installer connects the coupler
30
to the linkage arm
26
by inserting an end of the linkage arm
26
between the two bracket arms
56
,
58
and passing a fastener through holes in the two bracket arms
56
,
58
and the linkage arm
26
. Once connected to the linkage arm
26
, the drive assembly
25
is prevented from moving along the T-rail by the weight of the garage door. The drive unit is activated and the chain and the anchor travel along the T-rail until the anchor reaches the drive assembly.
As the drive unit continues to drive the chain and anchor, the anchor enters the cage created by the mounting base
82
and retention brackets
90
,
92
of the coupler
32
and the retainer
40
of the carriage. The V-shaped bottom surface of the anchor depresses the locking tab
84
as the anchor
76
moves into the cage. The anchor continues to enter the cage and depress the locking tab until the locking notch
78
is positioned over the locking tab
84
, at which time, the locking tab
84
snaps into the locking notch
78
.
In additional embodiments, the carriage and coupler are used with a belt, screw, or shaft as the drive mechanism instead of a chain. For example, an anchor may be placed on a belt or a screw to facilitate connection to the coupler. Additionally, the present invention may be used with longitudinally extending support structures other than T-rails with the carriage shape being modified to correspond to the shape of the support structure.
The two piece drive assembly allows the shipping box to fit tightly around the T-rail, without requiring time consuming reassembly by an installer. This is because the carriage remains on the T-rail during shipping. The carriage conforms closely to the shape of the T-rail, and adds very little cross-sectional profile to the assembly.
Additionally, a two-piece drive assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is easier to repair than existing systems. If the coupler is damaged, the coupler may simply be snapped off of the carriage and replaced without removing the entire drive assembly from the T-rail.
Although references have been made in the foregoing description to an exemplary embodiment, persons of ordinary skill in the art of designing garage door openers will recognize that insubstantial modifications, alterations, and substitutions can be made to the exemplary embodiment described without departing from the invention as claimed in the accompanying claims.
Claims
- 1. A garage door drive assembly for moving a linkage arm connected to a garage door to raise and lower the garage door, the assembly being adapted for shipping in a partially assembled condition in at least a box for on-site installation, the assembly comprising:a longitudinally-extending rail having laterally extending flanges extending therefrom; a carriage shaped to fit about the flanges thereby supporting the carriage for sliding motion along the rail; a drive mechanism movably mounted to the rail for longitudinal motion along the rail; an anchor coupled to the drive mechanism for movement with the drive mechanism; and a coupler having, a selectively releasable connection to the anchor; a connector pivotably connectable to the linkage arm; and a detachable connection enabling the coupler to be fixedly secured to and carried by the carriage; wherein the rail and the carriage may be shipped to the installation site in a box having a smaller cross-sectional profile than would be required to accommodate the carriage and the coupler in their connected state; and wherein the detachable connection includes a biased clip connected to the coupler, the biased clip having a hook; and a clip opening in the carriage, the clip opening being positioned so that the hook is inserted into the clip opening upon proper engagement between the carriage and the coupler.
- 2. The garage door drive assembly of claim 1 further comprising:a plurality of coupler insertion openings extending laterally across the carriage; and a plurality of inserts extending laterally across the coupler, the inserts being insertable into the plurality of insertion openings.
- 3. A garage door drive assembly for moving a linkage arm connected to a garage door to raise and lower the garage door, the assembly being adapted for shipping in a partially assembled condition in at least a box for on-site installation, the assembly comprising:a longitudinally-extending rail having laterally extending flanges extending therefrom; a carriage shaped to fit about the flanges thereby supporting the carriage for sliding motion along the rail; a drive mechanism movably mounted to the rail for longitudinal motion along the rail; an anchor coupled to the drive mechanism for movement with the drive mechanism; and a coupler having, a selectively releasable connection to the anchor; a connector pivotably connectable to the linkage arm; and a detachable connection enabling the coupler to be fixedly secured to and carried by the carriage; wherein the rail and the carriage may be shipped to the installation site in a box having a smaller cross-sectional profile than would be required to accommodate the carriage and the coupler in their connected sate; wherein the anchor has: a first half; and a second half coupled to the first half using at least one fastener passing through the drive mechanism; wherein the first half and the second half form a locking notch; and wherein the coupler has a locking tab moveably engageable into the locking notch.
- 4. The garage door drive assembly of claim 3 wherein: the coupler has:a spring coupled to the locking tab; a lever coupled to an end of the locking tab; and the lever engages and disengages the locking tab from the locking notch.
- 5. The garage door drive assembly of claim 4 wherein the lever has a detent at one end, the detent engaging with the coupler to prevent the locking tab from engaging in the locking notch.
- 6. The garage door drive assembly of claim 5 wherein:the carriage has a retainer; the coupler has a mounting base and a plurality of retention brackets; and the anchor is prevented from disengaging from the locking tab by the retainer, the mounting base, and the retention brackets.
- 7. A garage door drive assembly for moving a linkage arm connected to a garage door to raise and lower the garage door, the assembly being adapted for shipping in a partially assembled condition in at leas a box for on-site installation, the assembly comprising:a longitudinally-extending rail having laterally extending flanges extending therefrom; a carriage shaped to fit about the flanges thereby supporting the carriage for sliding motion along the rail; a drive mechanism movably mounted to the rail for longitudinal motion along the rail; an anchor coupled to the drive mechanism for movement with the drive mechanism; and a coupler having: a selectively releasable connection to the anchor; a connector pivotably connectable to the linkage arm; and a detachable connection enabling the coupler to be fixedly secured to and carried by the carriage, wherein the rail and the carriage may be shipped to the installation site in a box having a smaller cross-sectional profile than would be required to accommodate the carriage and the coupler in the connected state; wherein the connector pivotably connectable to the linkage arm further comprises a bracket, the bracket having a fastener opening; wherein the bracket further comprises two bracket arms, each of the bracket arms having a fastener opening; wherein the linkage arm has an orifice; wherein the linkage arm is inserted between the two bracket arms; and wherein a fastener is passed through the fastener openings and the orifice.
- 8. A method for assembling a garage door drive assembly for moving a linkage arm connected to a garage door to raise and lower the garage door, the assembly having a rail, carriage, coupler, drive mechanism, and anchor, the method comprising:receiving the carriage coupled to the rail, the anchor coupled to the drive mechanism, and the drive mechanism and anchor moveably coupled to the rail; attaching the coupler to the carriage; and attaching the coupler to the anchor; wherein attaching the coupler to the carriage further comprises: aligning elbow shaped inserts of the coupler with corresponding insertion openings of the carriage; and inserting the elbow shaped inserts of the coupler into the corresponding insertion openings of the carriage until a hook attached to a biased clip on the carriage engages in a clip opening of the coupler.
- 9. The method for assembling a garage door drive assembly of claim 8 further comprising:attaching the coupler to the linkage arm of the garage door; and moving the anchor and drive mechanism until the anchor attaches to the coupler.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
3927760 |
McCall |
Dec 1975 |
A |
4311225 |
Tsubaki et al. |
Jan 1982 |
A |
4905542 |
Burm et al. |
Mar 1990 |
A |
5085094 |
Clawson et al. |
Feb 1992 |
A |
5222403 |
Angelini et al. |
Jun 1993 |
A |
5361890 |
McDonald et al. |
Nov 1994 |
A |
5841253 |
Fitzgibbon et al. |
Nov 1998 |
A |
6374543 |
Bishai |
Apr 2002 |
B1 |
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2274308 |
Jul 1994 |
DE |
0859111 |
Feb 1998 |
DE |
2719076 |
Apr 1995 |
FR |