Movable or removable closures – Radiant energy control
Patent
1996-08-16
1998-06-30
Brown, Peter R.
Movable or removable closures
Radiant energy control
49340, 92136, E05F 1520
Patent
active
057716358
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a pneumatic device and system and is particularly, but not exclusively concerned with the system for use in environments where elderly or disabled persons are unable to perform simple operations such as opening doors or windows.
In institutions such as homes for the elderly or infirm, it is invariably a requirement that doors giving access to rooms are to be kept closed in order to comply with fire regulations. In order to ensure that doors are closed, commonplace door closers are used between the door and the door frame. Typically, a door closer is a hydraulic device mounted on the door and which is connected to a door frame through a pair of pivotally connected arms.
Door closers can present a problem to persons with mobility problems who find it impossible to open the door and must call for assistance when entering and leaving their room. Obviously, such an arrangement limits the freedom of the individual.
In order to overcome the foregoing problem, it has been proposed to use electrically operated door closers which can be operated remotely by the person concerned to enable that person to open the door without calling for assistance. However, electric door closers require the use of a powerful electric motor and complex control circuitry. The cost of such closers and the maintenance thereof has therefore proved to be very expensive.
An object of the present invention is to provide a pneumatic system which will help to overcome the foregoing problems.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a pneumatic device comprising a body having a bore, a piston movable in the bore against a resilient bias, the piston having opposite ends defining a chamber therebetween, the chamber being divided by a wall fixed relative to the body and having a fluid flow control aperture therethrough, the chamber being filled with fluid, movement of the piston against the resilient bias causing the fluid to be displaced from one side of the wall to the other side through the aperture, the resilient bias being arranged to apply a return force to the piston, whereby the rate of return of the piston is controlled by the return flow of fluid through the aperture.
The piston may be formed with a drive surface for operating a drive member. Preferably, the drive member is rotatable. In such a case, the drive surface may be a toothed rack and the drive member may be a pinion. The ends of the piston are preferably connected by the rack. The rack preferably extends through an opening in the wall and the aperture is defined by the clearance between the rack and the opening. The wall preferably supports the drive member.
The fluid in the chamber may be a hydraulic fluid, preferably oil.
The wall may have a through bore, a non-return valve being disposed therein and arranged so that only fluid displaced from said one side into said other side is allowed to pass through the bore. Thus fluid displaced in the opposite direction is forced to travel through the aperture.
The wall may have a regulator through bore and a flow control valve in said bore the valve having a member movable to alter the cross sectional area of the regular through bore so that the flow rate of fluid from said other side to said one side can be regulated. In that way the rate of return of the piston is controlled further.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a pneumatic device connected between two members one of which is movable relative to the other, the device comprising a piston reciprocal in a bore against a resilient bias, the rate of movement of the piston being controlled by gas flow control means.
In a preferred embodiment of the second aspect, the resilient bias is arranged so that gas is drawn into the bore when the piston moves against the resilient bias and the gas flow control means controls that rate at which the drawn in gas is expelled from the bore.
Preferably the rate at which the piston travels against the resilient bias is undamped by the gas flow control means.
The gas flow contro
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Brown Peter R.
White Rodney B.
Xcalibre Equipment Ltd.
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