Electricity: circuit makers and breakers – Special application – Feeler moves into detecting contact with object
Patent
1994-03-30
1996-01-02
Scott, J. R.
Electricity: circuit makers and breakers
Special application
Feeler moves into detecting contact with object
49 27, H01H 316
Patent
active
054810760
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
Generally, the present invention relates to an astragel for use on a closure member movable relative to a fixed member. More particularly, the present invention relates to an astragel which has a sealing device for disposition on the closure member and incorporates an electrical switching device. More specifically the present invention relates to an astragel having a sealing device for engaging such a fixed member and having an electrical switching device to signal engagement of the astragel with a foreign object, together with circuitry to monitor the operational readiness of the astragel switching device, to detect the signal upon engaging an object and to control the drive system actuating the closure member.
BACKGROUND ART
For many years, astragals have been provided on various types of closure members which move into and out of proximity to a fixed or a movable surface for effecting sealing engagement therewith. Examples of the types of applications for such astragels include the doors of garages, commercial and utility buildings, and similar applications. A wide variety of materials and geometric configurations have been employed in the construction of such astragels.
Originally, most doors of this type were manually operated, with large-sized or extremely heavy doors being counter-balanced to permit operation for opening and closing by a single person. The necessary usage of mechanical assistance in the instance of very large doors for commercial installations and more recently commonly in regard to smaller garage doors for the sake of convenience has resulted in the wide usage of electric motors to power the opening and closing of such doors. Attendant the usage of powered doors, there has arisen the safety concern of a power-operated door closing with a person or other foreign object in the opening. This has become a particularly troublesome consideration with the widespread usage of remote controllers to actuate the closing and opening of such doors from a distance or from an obstructed vantage point where it is impossible to ascertain that the door opening is free of obstructions or will necessarily remain free of obstructions during closing.
Generally two approaches have been taken to implement the safety feature of stopping or reversing such doors when an obstruction in the opening is encountered by the door during closing. In some instances, the motor or drive train effecting the closing and opening of the door is adapted to sense substantially increased displacement opposition exceeding that normally encountered during the closing of the door. While affording an extent of safety protection, these types of devices are often highly sensitive to precise adjustment, require frequent readjustment, and are otherwise prone to operational malfunction.
The other type of safety device for such doors contemplates the placement of some type of mechanical actuator, electrical switch, or sensor on the leading edge of the door to engage any object which might be encountered during closing of the door and actuate suitable controls to stop and/or reverse the motor which drives the door during opening and closing. Edge-mounted actuating devices have taken many forms. In some instances, bars of various types have been mounted on linkages and connected to a switch. In other instances, a cable member has been stretched between the extremities of the door edge which is adapted to actuate a switch when the cable is sufficiently displaced. Another approach has been to employ tubing of plastic or rubber which is flexible and filled with a liquid or gaseous pressure which is adapted to activate a switch when pressurized.
Efforts have also been made to develop an astragal which performs conventional sealing functions while incorporating the characteristics of a safety switch in an edge-mounted device. Such astragals commonly employ a base which is mounted to the door edge and a movable member which is positioned in spaced relation to the base. The base and the movable member mount substantially rig
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Hudson Joseph D.
Mitchell Albert W.
Mullet Willis
Wiborg, II Eric J.
Scott J. R.
Wayne-Dalton Corp.
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