This disclosure is generally directed to an operator for a door, specifically, a swing door. In some examples, a ball screw driven by a motor moves a yoke which causes rotation of an output shaft to open the door and also compresses biasing springs configured to return the door to a closed position.
Various operators for automatically opening and/or closing doors are known, particularly with respect to swing doors which swing open by pivoting around hinges mounted to a door frame. Some operators may use an electric motor, for example, to both open and close the door by rotating a spindle which is connected to an arm that is, in turn, connected to the door. Rotating the spindle causes displacement of the arm which causes the door to transition between open and closed conditions. Some operators use a motor for opening the door and use a non-powered mechanism for closing the door such as a spring which biases the door toward the closed position.
Some known door operators may include a large number of moving parts including gears, spindles, levers, and other components. During use, some of these components may be subjected to backlash due to design tolerances and other considerations. Backlash may lead to a considerable error in positioning within the components and, in turn, the door.
Some door operators may be configured for a specific installation orientation. That is, some door operators are limited to use as a left-hand operator or a right-hand operator and the appropriate operator must be selected for a given door configuration. In this regard, a left-hand operator may be unsuitable for use in a right-hand setup and vice versa.
A need accordingly exists for a swing door operator that addresses one or more shortcomings of conventional swing door operators.
The present disclosure is directed to a swing door operator that may address one or more of the challenges found in conventional swing door operators. Some implementations may include a ball screw that is driven by a motor to open the door and is driven by springs to close the door.
According to some examples, the present disclosure is directed to a door operator that may include an output shaft, a ball screw, a powered driver, and a yoke. The output shaft may be configured to be coupled to a door. The powered driver may be operatively coupled to the ball screw and configured to rotate the ball screw in a first rotational direction. The yoke may be coupled to the ball screw and configured to translate in response to rotation of the ball screw. The yoke may be configured to rotate the output shaft.
In some examples, a door operator may include a cam assembly coupled to the yoke. The cam assembly may be configured to rotate about a rotation axis of the output shaft during translation of the yoke. The rotation axis of the output shaft may be substantially transverse to a rotation axis of the ball screw. A yoke may include an elongated slot having a longitudinal axis oriented transverse to the rotation axis of the ball screw. A cam assembly may extend into the elongated slot. A cam assembly may include a guide member configured to roll along a surface defining the elongated slot during translation of the yoke. A door operator may include a directional block to prevent the guide member from crossing the longitudinal axis of the door operator.
In some examples, a door operator may include at least one pin oriented transverse to a longitudinal axis of the ball screw. The at least one pin may be configured to extend through at least one slot in the yoke. The at least one slot in the yoke may be oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ball screw.
In some examples, a barrier operator may include at least one spring configured to rotate the ball screw in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction. A ball screw nut may be disposed about the ball screw and coupled to the yoke. The ball screw nut may be configured to pull the yoke in a first linear direction when the ball screw is rotated in the first rotational direction and to push the yoke in a second linear direction when the ball screw is rotated in the second rotational direction. At least one rod may extend longitudinally within each spring of the at least one spring. The yoke may include at least one rod recess configured to receive an end of the at least one rod as the yoke is translated. The yoke may be configured to compress the at least one spring as the yoke translates in response to rotation of the ball screw in the first rotational direction. The at least one spring may be configured to expand and push the yoke causing rotation of the ball screw in the second rotational direction.
In some examples, a door operator has a first installation configuration in which operation of the powered driver causes rotation of the output shaft in a third rotational direction and a second installation configuration in which operation of the powered driver causes rotation of the output shaft in a fourth rotational direction opposite the third rotational direction.
According to some examples, the present disclosure is directed to a system including a door and a door operator. The door operator may include an output shaft, a ball screw, a powered driver, and a yoke. The output shaft may be configured to be coupled to the door. The powered driver may be operatively coupled to the ball screw and configured to rotate the ball screw in a first rotational direction. The yoke may be coupled to the ball screw and configured to translate in response to rotation of the ball screw. The yoke may be configured to rotate the output shaft.
In some examples, the door operator may include at least one spring configured to rotate the ball screw in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction.
In some examples, a system may include one or more of a swing arm coupling the door operator and the door, a frame hingedly coupled to the door and supporting the door operator, a track mounted to the door and slidably supporting an end of the swing arm, a bracket mounted to the door and pivotally supporting an end of the swing arm, or an actuator configured to trigger actuation of the powered driver.
According to some examples, the present disclosure is directed to a method for operating a door operator. The method may include rotating a ball screw in a first rotational direction with a powered driver operatively coupled to the ball screw, translating a yoke coupled to the ball screw using the rotation of the ball screw, and rotating an output shaft using the translation of the yoke, the output shaft couplable to a door.
In some examples, a method may include compressing, during the translation of the yoke, the at least one spring, and rotating the ball screw in a second rotational direction, opposite the first rotational direction, by expanding the at least one spring. Rotating the output shaft using the translation of the yoke may include rotating a cam assembly engaged with the yoke. The cam assembly may include the output shaft.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following drawings and detailed description are exemplary and explanatory in nature and are intended to provide an understanding of the present disclosure without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In that regard, additional aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following. One or more features of any embodiment or aspect may be combinable with one or more features of other embodiment or aspect.
The accompanying drawings illustrate implementations of the systems, devices, and methods disclosed herein and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
These Figures will be better understood by reference to the following Detailed Description.
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the implementations illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe them. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is intended. Any alterations and further modifications to the described devices, instruments, methods, and any further application of the principles of the present disclosure are fully contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates. In addition, this disclosure describes some elements or features in detail with respect to one or more implementations or Figures, when those same elements or features appear in subsequent Figures, without such a high level of detail. It is fully contemplated that the features, components, and/or steps described with respect to one or more implementations or Figures may be combined with the features, components, and/or steps described with respect to other implementations or Figures of the present disclosure. For simplicity, in some instances the same or similar reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
The present disclosure is directed to a swing door operator that may include a motorized ball screw driving rotation of a cam and, in turn, an output shaft. Motor driven movement of the ball screw also compresses one or more springs that reverse movement of the operator components upon stopping of the motor. A door operator of the present disclosure may be easily transitioned from a right-hand unit to a left-hand unit by adjustment and/or repositioning of one or more components, and in some implementations, may have little or no backlash.
In
Turning to
A ball screw 116 with a helical channel along a portion of its length extends between the motor 114 at a proximal end and a yoke 122 at a distal end. Details of the yoke 122 are provided in
A ball screw nut 118 is secured to the yoke 122, for example by one or more fasteners, and contains one or more balls positioned between the helical channel of the ball screw 116 and an internal surface of the ball screw nut 118. The balls inside the ball screw nut 118 may be steel ball bearings or any suitable similar structure. The ball screw nut 118 may include one or more internal or external return channels to circulate the balls within the ball screw nut 118 during translation of the ball screw nut 118 along the ball screw 116. Ball screw nuts of this type are generally known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Some examples of ball screw nuts are provided in U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2012/0325036 entitled “Ball Screw and Manufacturing Method of Nut for Ball Screw,” U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2005/0204836 entitled “Seal for Ball Screw and Ball Screw Utilizing Same,” and U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,116 entitled “Arrangement for Preloading Ball Screw Assemblies & Method of Manufacture of the Ball Screw Nut Therefor,” all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
A bearing positioned within the bearing bracket 134 may support an unthreaded proximal portion (or “journal”) of the ball screw 116 and keep it positioned in line with the rotation axis of the motor 114, which lies along the longitudinal axis 129 of the door operator 100. In some examples, a portion of the journal or a portion of the shaft of the ball screw 116 proximal of the journal may be threaded to receive a locking nut. The locking nut may be positioned between the coupler 126 and the bearing plate 134 and may prevent the ball screw 116 from being pulled distally toward the yoke 122 and away from the coupler 126 during operation. That is, the locking nut may have an outer diameter greater than a diameter of an opening in the bearing plate 134 through which the ball screw 116 extends. In this regard, in the event that a pulling force is exerted on the ball screw 116 during operation that is sufficiently strong to tend to pull the ball screw 116 out of the coupler 126, the locking nut may contact the bearing plate 134 and prevent such movement.
The distal end of the ball screw 116 is supported and maintained in alignment with the rotation axis by the yoke 122 and/or ball screw nut 118. While illustrated with the rotation axis of the motor drive shaft and ball screw 116 coinciding with the longitudinal axis 129 of the door operator 100, it will be appreciated that the motor 114 and ball screw 116 may be shifted in any direction transverse to the longitudinal axis 129. In this regard, it should be appreciated that, in some examples, the longitudinal axis 129 of the door operator 100 may be defined as intersecting the axis of rotation of the spindle 110 and extending parallel to an axis of translation of the yoke 122.
During rotation of the drive shaft of the motor 114, the coupler 126 causes rotation of the ball screw 116 which rotates within the bearing in the bearing bracket 134 and the ball screw nut 118. Because the motor 114 and ball screw 116 are positionally fixed, this rotation causes movement of the ball screw nut 118 toward the motor 114. Movement of the ball screw nut 118 pulls the yoke 122 in the same direction. The yoke 122 slides longitudinally along two pins 111a, 111b extending between a first cover plate 112a and a second cover plate 112b. While the pins 111a, 111b remained fixed in position by the cover plates 112a, 112b, the pins slide relative to the yoke 122 within first and second respective slots 149a, 149b. The pins 111 assist in keeping the yoke 122 positioned along the longitudinal axis 129. Spacer strips 121 may be positioned within the door operator 100 between the first and second cover plates 112a, 112b and the yoke 122. These spacer strips 121 may be formed from a polymer, a plastic, a metal, or any other suitable material to support the yoke 122 and keep it aligned with the longitudinal axis 129. Four spacer strips 121 are provided in the illustrated example, two on one side of the yoke 122 and two on the other side of the yoke, each of the two spacer strips 121 on one side of the yoke spaced forward and rearward (top and bottom in the illustrated orientation of
As the yoke 122 translates linearly along the longitudinal axis 129, it pulls on a free end of a cam assembly 136 causing rotation thereof. Details of the cam assembly 136 are provided in
Two springs 130a, 130b extend between the motor mounting bracket 124 and the yoke 122. Any number of springs, including less than or more than two springs, may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The springs 130a, 130b may each be positioned over a respective rod 132a, 132b. The rods 132a, 132b may be secured to the motor mounting bracket 124 at a proximal end. A distal end of each rod 132a, 132b may be received in and slide within a rod aperture formed in the yoke 122. In this regard, the rods 132a, 132b may help retain the springs 130a, 130b in their respective positions. During translation of the yoke 122 caused by the motor 114, the springs 130a, 130b are compressed between the yoke 122 and the motor mounting bracket 124 as the drive unit 128 transitions from the closed-door configuration shown in
A directional block 127 may be threadedly engaged with the end bracket 125 to advance or retract with respect thereto. A head of the directional block 127 may be rotated by hand or by a tool (e.g., screwdriver or hex key) inserted into a tool engagement feature (e.g., recess). An end or tip of the directional block 127 opposite the head extends through the end bracket 125 to contact the yoke 122, thereby preventing the yoke from travelling far enough to allow the cam assembly 136 to cross over a longitudinal axis 129 of the door operator 100. The directional block 127 may ensure the direction of operation of the door operator 100 remains consistent with its installation configuration, e.g., left-hand or right-hand operation. In that regard, the directional block 127 prevents the free end of the cam assembly 136 from crossing the longitudinal axis 129 when the drive unit 128 is in the closed-door configuration. To transition the door operator 100 to a different installation configuration, the directional block 127 may be retracted, the cam assembly 136 may be moved to the other side of the yoke 122 (i.e., across the axis 129), and the directional block may be extended back into contact with the yoke 122. The spindle 110 may be moved to an opposing side of the cam assembly 136.
Pin slots 148 extend longitudinally along a length of the yoke body 143 to allow the yoke 122 to slide across the pins 111a, 111b extending between the cover plates 112a, 112b. A transverse elongated slot 150 is configured to receive a portion of the cam assembly 136. As the yoke 122 translates along the longitudinal axis 129 of the door operator, the cam assembly 136 rolls or slides along a surface of the slot 150 as the cam assembly 136 pivots about its rotation axis.
An output shaft extends from each cam member 152a, 152b on either side of the cam assembly 136. The output shafts 154a, 154b extend along the rotation axis 156 of the cam assembly 136. The first output shaft 154a may be connected to the spindle 110 for use of the door operator 100 in one installation configuration (e.g., left-handed) and the second output shaft 154b may be connected to the spindle 110 for use of the door operator 100 in the other installation configuration (e.g., right-handed). Although described as two output shafts, it should be appreciated that the first output shaft 154a and the second output shaft 154b may be collectively referred to as an output shaft as they are co-linear and rotate about the same axis.
Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the implementations encompassed by the present disclosure are not limited to the particular exemplary implementations described above. In that regard, although illustrative implementations have been shown and described, a wide range of modification, change, combination, and substitution is contemplated in the foregoing disclosure. For example, a number of processes of the method 1000 may be omitted without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. It is understood that such variations may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the present disclosure.