Patent Application
20140069013
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automatic door operators, and more specifically, to an automatic door closer that may be activated via a remote controller.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are a number of situations where remotely controlled automatic door closers are desirable. In an office environment, a professional may need to close an office door for privacy or to reduce noise without disrupting work to get up, walk to the door, and physically close it.
Devices for automatically closing a door are well known. In some examples, they include an actuator which controls an electrical motor and a radius arm that extends out to the door to transmit a closing force to the door. In other examples, doors biased to a closed position by a spring or pneumatic device may be held opened by a latch which can be remotely released to allow the door to close. Most of these devices require that a drive mechanism for operating the door be physically attached to the door and a wall or door frame. They typically require extensive modifications to a door or to its frame or adjacent walls in order to be later added or removed. None of these disclosures, either individually or in combination, discloses the features of the present invention as claimed.
It is desirable to provide a remote controlled automatic door closer that avoids the foregoing disadvantages of known devices. It is to these ends the present invention is directed.
Accordingly, the present invention provides for an effective device which is capable of closing a door via command from a remote controller. The present invention saves user time in manually closing a door and also avoids complex and time consuming installation and removal.
A door closer system includes a base housing configured to couple to a mounting point. A top housing movably couples to the base housing, where the top housing is configured to travel in a linear motion between a extended position and a compressed position relative to the base housing. A linear actuator couples to the base housing and the top housing. A spring couples to the base housing and the top housing. A locking mechanism couples to the base housing and the top housing. A controller couples to the base housing and the linear actuator. A wireless receiver couples to the base housing and the controller. A remote controller includes a user interface and a wireless transmitter.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become more fully understood upon further review of the following specifications and accompanying drawings.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:
A door closer system will now be described. In the following exemplary description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to an artisan of ordinary skill that the present invention may be practiced without incorporating all aspects of the specific details described herein. In other instances, specific features, quantities, or measurements well known to those of ordinary skill in the art have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention. Readers should note that although examples of the invention are set forth herein, the claims, and the full scope of any equivalents, are what define the true scope of the invention.
A top housing 104 is movably coupled to the base housing 106. The top housing 104 may be any enclosure that provides structure and support to components enclosed by the top housing 104 and components coupled to the top housing 104. The base housing 106 may comprise materials such as plastic, metal, or ceramic. The top housing 104 is configured to travel in a linear motion between an extended position and a compressed position relative to the base housing 106. Ideally, the line of travel between the extended position and the compressed position is approximately perpendicular to a surface of the door. The door in its fully opened position should be in contact with the top housing 104 in the compressed position. The top housing 104, traveling from the compressed position to the extended position, should remain in contact with the door until it reaches the extended position. This constant contact while traveling from the compressed position to the extended position gives the door a push from the door's fully opened position towards closing the door. Ideally, momentum generated in the door from the push will carry the door to a closed position. Typically, a linear distance between the extended position and the compressed position is between 5 mm and 100 mm. A longer linear distance is more suitable for doors with a higher mass as it typically allows for a greater amount of momentum to be transferred from the top housing 104 to the door. However, a longer linear distance also requires a larger housing base.
In some embodiments of a door closer system, a cushion is coupled to the top housing 104. The cushion acts as a physical buffer between the top housing 104 and the door to reduce or eliminate noise and damage from the top housing 104 pushing against the door.
The door closing device functions optimally in closing the door if the door's initial position is in contact with the top housing 104 in the compressed position. The performance of the door closer system is degraded in situations where a user does not take care in placing the door in the fully opened position so that the door is in contact with the top housing 104 in the compressed position. In some embodiments of a door closer system, a first magnetic pad is coupled to the top housing 104 and a second magnetic pad is coupled to the door. The first magnetic pad and the second magnetic pad are magnetically attracted to one another and are magnetically coupled when the door is in a fully opened position. Thus, the addition of the first magnetic pad and the second magnetic pad allows the user to more easily place the door in the fully opened position in contact the top housing 104 in the compressed position. The first magnetic pad and the second magnetic pad also functions to keep the door in the fully opened position and in contact with the top housing 104 until a separating force is applied to separate the top housing 104 from the door. The separating force is caused by the momentum of the door immediately after being pushed by the top housing 104 traveling from the compressed position to the extended position.
Alternatively, the mounting point 150 may be attached to the door instead of the wall or the floor. In some embodiments of a door closer system, the housing base 106 is coupled to a mounting point on the door. The door in its fully opened position places the wall in contact with the top housing 104 in the compressed position. In this alternative embodiment, the top housing 104 pushes against the wall instead of the door to push the door to the closed position.
A wireless receiver 200 is coupled to the base housing 106. In some exemplary embodiments of a door closer system, the wireless receiver may be enclosed by the base housing 106. In some embodiments, a controller may be coupled to and enclosed by the base housing 106. The controller functions to cause the top housing 104 to move from the compressed position to the extended position when a close door signal is received by the wireless receiver from a remote controller 200.
The remote controller 200 includes a user interface and a wireless transmitter. In some embodiments, the remote controller 200 may be a stand-alone device such as a handheld remote control or a push button device mounted to a table. In some other embodiments, the remote controller 200 may be a multiple function device such as a mobile phone, computer tablet, or personal computer, adopted for use as a remote controller 200. The user interface may be any interface that allows a user to input a door closing command. In some embodiments, the user interface may be a single button on a handheld remote, an on-screen button on a touch screen device, or an on-screen button to be selected with a mouse. The wireless transmitter transmits the close door signal to the wireless receiver when the user inputs a door closing command on the user interface. In some embodiments, the wireless transmitter communicates to the wireless receiver by radio frequency signal, infra red signal, Bluetooth network signal, or WIFI network signal.
The linear actuator 108 functions to move the top housing 104 from the compressed position to the extended position, which in turns pushes a fully opened door towards the closed position. In some embodiments, the linear actuator 108 may also return the top housing 104 back to the compressed position from the extended position. In some embodiments, the linear actuator 108 may receive power from a cable leading to an electrical wall plug or a cable leading to a battery source within the housing base. In some embodiments, the linear actuator 108 may be adjusted in power level based on the door. A heavier door or a door with a more resistant hinge requires a correspondingly higher power level for the linear actuator 108.
In some embodiments, the linear distance may be adjusted in length based on the door. A longer linear distance allows the spring 110 a great amount of compression and travel which in turn transfers more momentum into the door. A heavier door or a door with a more resistant hinge requires a correspondingly longer linear distance.
Additionally, a locking mechanism couples to the base housing 106 and the top housing 104. The locking mechanism functions to hold the spring 110 in the compressed spring position and the top housing 104 in the compressed position until the user commands the door to close. In some embodiments, the locking mechanism is configured to maintain the top housing 104 in the compressed position until an unlocking actuator is activated by the remote controller 200. These locking mechanisms with an unlocking actuator are well known in the art.
In some embodiments, the locking mechanism may be a toggle lock configured to maintain the top housing 104 in the compressed position until a triggering compression motion is applied to the top housing 104 against the base housing 106 by the linear actuator 108. These locking mechanisms are well known in the art as they are widely used in common retractable ball-point pens caps. When the top housing 104 starts in the extended position, a first push against the spring 110 locks the top housing 104 in the compressed position. A second push in the same direction as the first push against the spring 110 then unlocks the top housing 104 to allow the spring 110 to push the top housing 104 into the extended position.
While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.
