US2017735A - Door operating mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 15, 1935. 1 A. SCHWEIG 2,017,735-

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Jan. e, 1934 2 Shets-Sheet 1 fi '.'Z. 2/ 3 z 1/15 flrraeme'ns.

Get. 15, 1935. J. A. SCHWEIG DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 6, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet? Patented Oct. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This invention relates todoor operating mechanisms, and more particularly to operating mechanisms for elevator doors of the vertically sliding, counterbalanced type.

The subject matter hereof is in part a continuation of my application Serial No. 491,889 filed October 29, 1930 for patent for Door operating mechanism, now No. 1,943,042.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a simple and efficient door operating mechanism of the above type which can be quickly and easily mounted on the elevator without material alteration thereof. Other objects are to provide for lubrication, economy of construction, compactness of design and fewness of parts. The invention consists in the door operating mechanism and in the construction, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is an interior side elevation of the door side of an elevator shaft, showing the doors on adjacent floors each equipped with a door operating mechanism embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the door side of the shaft on the line 22 in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary interior side view of the door on the side of the shaft in the region of the operating mechanism for one of the doors,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 44 in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 55 in Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 6-6 in Fig. 4,

Fig. '7 is a horizontal section on the line l-! in Fig. 3,

Fig. 8 is a vertical section on the line 88 in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view showing a door operating mechanism of modified form.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 8-, inclusive, of the accompanying drawings, the present preferred form of my invention is shown in connection with an ordinary freight elevator comprising a shaft A having a door opening B at each floor which is closed by means of a vertically sliding, counterbalanced door comprising upper and lower door sections C and D, respectively. The upper and lower sliding door sections of each. door are provided along each vertical edge with an angle bar side. frame member l slidably arranged in angle bar door guides 2 that are rigidly secured to each other and to the wall of the elevator shaft A.

The upper and lower door sections of each door are hung on flexible cable chains 3 that pass over sheaves 4, 4a located within the shaft adjacent 5.

chain is connected to the upper end of an upright 10 rod 5, whose lower end is secured to the outer end of an arm 6 that projects horizontally from the adjacent upper corner of the lower door section D. By this arrangement, one door section acts as a counterbalance for the other, and the two sections move simultaneously towards and away from each other. The elevator construction thus far described is well known and it is considered unnecessary to illustrate it in detail.

The door on each floor is opened and closed 20 by means of a separate door operating mechanism driven by an electric motor, preferably a reversible torque motor 1, which can be stalled under a full load for several minutes without injury. The customary limit switches not shown) are employed for automatically stopping the motor when the door sections reach the limit of their opening and closing movements; and'the usual push button stations (not shown) are provided on the elevator car and on each floor for starting, stopping and reversing the motors.

The electric motor is provided at the armature end of its housing with a flange 8 that is removably secured by cap screws 9 flatwise to the vertical face of a plate I0 provided with an opening through which the armature shaft ll of the motor extends. The armature shaft II is provided at its end with a spur pinion l2 which drives a larger spur gear l3 formed integral with the door supporting sheave-4. This door supporting 40 sheave has an elongated hub portion 14, which is fixed to a supporting shaft l5 and has a small gear l6 keyed or otherwise rigidly fixed thereto for rotation with said sheave and the large gear 13 thereon. The small gear IS on the sheave 4 drives a gear ll of the same diameter fixed to one end of a shaft l8 which has a sprocket wheel l9 fixed to the other end thereof that drives an endless sprocket chain 20 located in a horizontal channel 2| provided therefor in the interior surface of the front wall of the elevator shaft A just above lintel 22 of the door opening B. Said sprocket chain 29 extends longitudinally of the channel 2i to the opposite side of the door opening Where it passes around a sprocket wheel 23 fixed to a shaft 24 on which the door sheave 4a is rigidly mounted.

The drive gearing for the sheave 4 is enclosed within a suitable lubricant containing housing 25 provided at its top and bottom with vertical flanges 26 that are rigidly secured fiatwise to the adjacent angle bar door guide 2, which is cut away to accommodate the portion of the housing that extends thereacross. Said housing has a recess in its motor opposing face of a size and shape adapted to accommodate the gears l2, l3, l6 and IT. The gear receiving recess chamber of the housing 25 is closed by means of a plate 21 that is removably secured to said housing by means of screws 38. The armature shaft H and the peripheral gear carrying portion of the. sheave 4 extend through openings 3! and 32, respectively, provided therefor in the closure plate 21. Both of said openings are flanged to prevent leakage of oil therethrough, the flange of the sheave receiving opening 32 being seated in an annular groove provided therefor in a felt ring 33 seated in the adjacent face of the sheave 4.

The sprocket wheel I9 is located outside of the gear housing 25 with one end of its supporting shaft 28 extending into said housing and journaled in suitable antifriction bearings 34 provided therefor in said housing and the other end of said shaft is journaled in suitable antifriction bearings 35 mounted in a'bracket 36 that is removably secured by cap screws 31 to the adjacent vertical face of said housing. The supporting shaft l5 for the combination gear and sheave 4 has one end supported in a suitable antifriction bearing 58 provided therefor in the gear housing 25; and the other end of said shaft is supported in similar antifriction bearings 39 provided therefor in the motor supporting plate Ill. The motor supporting plate I0 is spaced from the gear housing 25, far enough to accommodate the sheave 4, by means of lugs 40 that are formed integral with said plate and are removably secured to the housing by means of cap screws 4|. The motor supporting plate it is also provided with an arcuate flange 42 which overhangs the sheave 4 and constitutes a shield therefor.

The shaft 24 for supporting the sheave 4a and the driven sprocket wheel 23 is journaled in an arm 43 whose upper end is pivotally supported, as at 44, on the adjacent door guide 2 for vertical swinging movement towards and away from the sheave 4a so as to vary the distance between the two sprocket wheels and thus place the sprocket chain 26 cooperating therewith under the desired tension. The sheave and sprocket supporting arm 43 is adjusted preferably by means of a pair of nuts 45 that are threaded on a stud 46 rigidly secured to the adjacent door guide 2. The stud fits within a notch provided therefor in the free lower end of the arm with the'adjusting nuts 45 disposed one on each side of said end ,of said arm.

The operation of the door operating mechanism is as follows: When it is desired to operate the door on a particular fioor,,the motor at that floor is started and the drive of said motor is transmitted through the intermeshing gears l2 and I3 to the sheave 4, thence through the intermeshing gears l6 and I1 to the sprocket wheel 19 and thence through the sprocket chain 20 to the sprocket wheel 23 which rotates with the sheave 4a in a direction opposite to the direction in which the sheave 4 is rotated. The drive is then transmitted from the oppositely rotating door sheaves 4 and 4a to the door chains 3 supported thereon by means of the friction between the surfaces in contact, thereby causing the two door sections to slide in the door guides 2. The door sections are slid apart when the motor is operated in one direction and are brought together when the motor 5 is reversed.

Fig. 9 represents the modified form of the preferred invention which was specifically shown and claimed in said application Serial No. 491,889. In this form of the invention the door sheave 4 is 1 provided with a gear 41 which drives a gear 48 located thereabove whose supporting shaft 49 has a sprocket wheel 58 fixed thereto that drives an endless sprocket chain 28a. The sprocket chain 200. extends across the shaft and passes around a 15 sprocket wheel 5| fixed to the door sheave 40. on that side of said shaft. I

The hereinbefore described door operating mechanism has numerous advantages. It provides a simple and compact drive gear unit which 2 occupies a minimum amount of space in the elevator shaft and which can be easily mounted on said shaft without material alteration thereof. The motor, gears and door sheave adjacent thereto are adapted to be attached to and removed 25 from the shaft as a unit, and all of the gears run in lubricant contained in an oil-tight and dustproof housing. The construction also provides a simple mounting for the driven sprocket wheel which is readily adjustable to take up slack in 30 the sprocket chain.

Obviously, the hereinbefore described arrangement admits of considerable modification without departing from the invention. Therefore, I

do not wish to be limited to the precise arrange- 5 ments shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing over 40 said sheaves and connecting said door sections, an electric motor geared to one of said sheaves for driving the same, a gear rotatable with said sheave, a second gear driven by said first gear,

a sprocket wheel rotatable with said second gear, 45 a sprocket wheel rotatable with the other sheave, and an endless sprocket chain passing over said sprocket wheels.

2. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door 50 sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing over said sheaves and connecting said door sections, an electric motor geared to one of said sheaves for driving the same, a gear rotatable with said sheave, a second gear driven by said first gear, 5 a sprocket wheel rotatable with said second gear,

a sprocket wheel rotatable with the other sheave, an endless sprocket chain passing over said sprocket wheels, and means for moving said second mentioned sprocket wheel towards and away 0 from said first mentioned sprocket wheel to Vary the tension of said endless sprocket chain.

3. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing over said sheaves and connecting said door sections, an electric motor geared to one of said sheaves for driving the same, a gear rotatable with said sheave, a second gear driven by said first gear,

a sprocket wheel rotatable with said second gear, a sprocket wheel rotatable with the other sheave, an endless sprocket chain passing over said sprocket wheels, means for moving said second mentioned sprocket wheel towards and away from said first mentioned sprocket wheel to vary the tension of said endless sprocket chain, said means comprising a pivotally mounted arm for supporting said second mentioned sprocket wheel, a fixed stud cooperating with the free end of said arm, and a pair of nuts threaded on said stud on opposite sides of the free end of said arm.

4. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door sections, a door operating sheave, an electric motor geared to said sheave for driving the same, a gear rotatable with said sheave, a second gear driven by said first gear, a sprocket wheel rotatable with said second gear, a housing for supporting said motor and for supporting and enclosing the entire gearing, a second door operating sheave, chains passing over said door operating sheaves and connecting said door sections, a second sprocket wheel rotatable with said second door operating sheave, and an endless sprocket chain passing around said sprocket wheels.

5. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door sections, a door operating sheave, an electric motor, a pinion on the armature shaft of said motor, a gear on said sheave intermeshing with said pinion, a second gear rotatable with said sheave, a third gear driven by said second gear in a direction opposite to that of said sheave, a sprocket wheel rotatable with said third gear, a second door operating sheave, chains passing over said door operating sheaves and connecting said door sections, a second sprocket wheel rotatable with said second door operating sheave, and an endless sprocket chain passing around said sprocket wheels.

6. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door sections, a door operating sheave, an electric motor, a pinion on the armature shaft of said motor, a gear on said sheave intermeshing with said pinion, a second gear rotatable with said sheave, a third gear driven by said second gear in a direction opposite to that of said sheave, a sprocket wheel rotatable with said third gear, a housing for supporting said motor and for supporting and enclosing said pinion and said gears, a second door operating sheave, chains passing over said door operating sheaves and connecting said door sections, a second sprocket wheel rotatable with said second door operating sheave, and an endless sprocket chain passing around said sprocket wheels.

7. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door sections, a door operating sheave, a sprocket wheel, an electric motor geared to said sheave and to said sprocket wheel for driving them in opposite directions, a second door operating sheave, chains passing over said door operating sheaves and connecting said door sections, a second sprocket wheel rotatable with said secend door operating sheave, and an endless sprocket chain passing around said sprocket wheels.

8. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door sections, a door operating sheave, a sprocket 5 wheel, an electric motor geared to said sheave and to said sprocket'wheel for driving them in opposite directions, a housing for supporting said motor, said sheave and said sprocket wheel and for supporting and enclosing the gearing for driving said sheave and said sprocket wheel, a

second door operating sheave, chains passing over said door operating sheaves and connecting said door sections, a second sprocket wheel rotatable with said second door operating sheave, and an endless sprocket chain passing around said sprocket wheels.

9. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing over said sheaves and connecting said door sections, an electric motor geared to one of said sheaves for driving the same, a gear rotatable with said sheave, a second gear driven by said first gear, a sprocket wheel rotatable with said second gear, a sprocket wheel rotatable with the other sheave, an endless sprocket chain passing over said sprocket wheels, a housing supporting and enclosing said gearing, and a plate removably secured to said housing and supporting said motor.

10. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing over said sheaves and connecting said door sections, an electric motor, a pinion on the armature shaft of said motor, a shaft for one of said sheaves, a gear on said sheave meshing with said pinion, a gear on said shaft, a second shaft, a gear on said second shaft meshing with the gear on the first shaft, a sprocket wheel fixed to said second shaft, a sprocket wheel rotatable with the other sheave, an endless sprocket chain passing over said sprocket wheels, a housing enclosing said pinion and said gears, a plate secured to said housing for supporting said motor, antifriction bearings in said housing for supporting one end of said shafts therein, an antifriction bearing in said plate for supporting the other end of said first shaft therein, a bracket secured to said housing, and an antifriction bearing mounted in said bracket for supporting the other end of said second shaft therein.

11. In a door operating mechanism, a door comprising vertically slidable upper and lower door sections, a pair of sheaves, chains passing over said sheaves and connecting said door sections, a gear rotatable with one of said sheaves,

a second gear driven by said first gear, a sprocket wheel rotatable with said second gear, a sprocket wheel rotatable with the other sheave, an endless sprocket chain passing over said sprocket wheels, and means operatively connected to one of said sheaves and sprocket wheels for driving the same.

JULIUS A. SCHWEIG.

Images