SAFETY BRAKING DEVICE FOR DOORS

• US 20140053370A1
• Filed: 06/12/2011
• Published: 02/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wen Chang Tseng
• Original Assignee: Wen Chang Tseng
• Inventors: Tseng, Wen Chang, Chiang, Jen Sen
• Granted Patent: US 9,371,672 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 16/82
• CPC Class Codes: E05C 17/00 Devices for holding wings open; Devices for limiting opening of wings or for holding wings open by a movable member extending between frame and wing; Braking devices, stops or buffers, combined therewith combined with hinges E05D11/00; combined with operating apparatus for wings E05F; other braking devices, stops, buffers E05F5/00
• CPC Class Codes: E05C 17/203 concealed, e.g. for vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: E05C 17/24 pivoted at one end, and with the other end running along a guide member
• CPC Class Codes: E05C 17/28 with braking, clamping or securing means at the connection to the guide member
• CPC Class Codes: E05D 11/06 Devices for limiting the opening movement of hinges

Abstract

A safety braking device (1) for doors, which is arranged between a door board (21) and a permanent seat (22) of the door board, comprises a seat body (11) and a one-way locking mechanism. The seat body (11) is arranged in the door board (21). The one-way locking mechanism comprises a lock position element (12) and a connecting rod element (13). The lock position element (12) is arranged in the seat body (11) and can be switched between a locked position and an unlocked position. One end of the connecting rod element (13) is fixed onto the permanent seat (22) of the door board, and the other end thereof extends into the seat body (11) and corresponds to the lock position element (12). When at the locked position, the lock position element (12) as well as the seat body (11) cannot move in a first direction (91) with respect to the connecting rod element (13), and thereof the door board (21) cannot be opened and can only be closed; and only when the lock position element (12) is at the unlocked position can the door board (21) be opened or closed.

Claims

1. A safety braking device for doors, arranged between a door board and a permanent seat, the door board having an unlocked (opened) position and a locked (closed) position with respect the permanent seat, comprising:

a seat body, arranged in the door board;

wherein, when the door board is shifting from the locked position to the unlocked position, the seat body moves along a first direction of the permanent seat;

wherein, when the door board is shifting from the unlocked position to the locked position, the seat body moves along a second direction of the permanent seat;

a one-way locking mechanism, including a lock position element and a connecting rod element, the lock position element being able to displace toward and lock at the connecting rod element at a unique direction, the lock position element being arranged in and co-moved with the seat body, one end of the connecting rod element being fixed onto the permanent seat while another end thereof being extended into the seat body by corresponding to the lock position element, the lock position element being switched between an engaged position and a disengaged position;

wherein, when the lock position element is at the engaged position, the lock position element as well as the seat body are fixed in the first direction with respect to the connecting rod element so as not to open the door board, but the lock position element associated with the seat body is displaceable in the second direction with respect to the connecting rod element so as to close the door board;

wherein, when the lock position element is at the disengaged position, the door board is eligible to be opened and to be closed;

a spring element, engaged with the lock position element so as to restrain elastically the lock position element at the engaged position while in normal situations; and

a positioning pair, including an elastic positioning member and a corresponding positioning block, wherein the elastic positioning member is arranged at the seat body while the corresponding positioning block is arranged at the lock position element;

wherein a first end portion of the connecting rod element is pivotally connected to the permanent seat, an external force is introduced to drive and switch the lock position element to the disengaged position so as simultaneously to open the door board by an angle less than a first angle θ

1, and the corresponding positioning block is fixed to the elastic positioning member so as to sustain the lock position element at the disengaged position;

wherein, when the door board is pushed away from the permanent seat to an angle larger than the first angle θ

1, a position-resuming element connecting with the second end portion of the connecting rod element pushes and displaces the corresponding positioning block of the positioning pair away to separate the elastic positioning member, and the spring element resumes elastically the lock position element to the engaged position (namely, the door board is able to be locked to the permanent seat one-directionally after the door board is released from an angle larger than the first angle θ

1).

2. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 1, wherein the lock position element is a one-way ratchet-tooth cam including a pivotal portion and an extending ratchet-tooth portion, the pivotal portion being pivotally connected internally with the seat body by a pivotal shaft;

wherein the connecting rod element is a one-way ratchet-tooth rack including a teeth portion, the first end portion and the second end portion, the teeth portion being meshed with the ratchet-tooth portion of the one-way ratchet-tooth cam;

wherein the spring element is furnished to ensure a normal meshing state between the one-directional ratchet-tooth cam and the one-directional ratchet-tooth rack and to activate functions of the one-way locking mechanism upon the lock position element being driven to disengage with the one-way ratchet-tooth rack.

3. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 2, further including a first cable and a handler, the handler connecting a fixed end of the first cable while an opposing connection end of the first cable is connected with the one-way ratchet-tooth cam so as to pull the one-way ratchet-tooth cam to rotate about the pivotal shaft;

wherein, when an additional angle (specifically, a second angle θ

2) over the first angle θ

1 is required for the door board, the handler needs to be operated continuously so as to have the first cable to pull the one-way ratchet-tooth cam to disengage the one-way ratchet-tooth rack;

wherein a total open angle θ

T for the door board is defined as θ

T=θ

1+θ

2, in which the first angle θ

1 is ranged from 20°

to 50° and

the total open angle θ

T is ranged from 20°

to 90°

.

4. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 2, further including a second cable and a braking member;

wherein the braking member is arranged inside the door board and connected with (and thus driven by) a fixed end of the second cable while an opposing connection end of the second cable is connected to the one-way ratchet-tooth cam so as to pull and thus turn the one-way ratchet-tooth cam around the pivotal shaft;

wherein, when the door board needs to be opened from the permanent seat, the braking member needs to be operated continuously so as to have the second cable to pull the one-way ratchet-tooth cam to disengage the one-way ratchet-tooth rack;

wherein, upon the braking member is released, the spring element sends the one-way ratchet-tooth cam elastically back to engage the one-way ratchet-tooth rack so as to have the lock position element to elastically resume the engaged position.

5. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 1, wherein the one-way locking mechanism further includes a hollow cylinder fixed at the seat body, the cylinder having thereof an air orifice at a position corresponding to the lock position element;

wherein the lock position element further includes a pivotal portion and an orifice plug, the pivotal portion being pivotally mounted inside the seat body via another pivotal shaft, the orifice plug being at a position corresponding to the air orifice;

wherein the connecting rod element is a piston rod further having a piston end close to the orifice plug;

wherein the engaged position of the lock position element is a tight position between the air orifice and the orifice plug, and the disengaged position thereof is a loose position between the air orifice and the orifice plug;

wherein, under normal situations, the spring element keeps the orifice plug of the lock position element to engage tightly thereupon with the air orifice of the cylinder;

wherein, under predetermined forcing upon the lock position element, the orifice plug is disengaged from the air orifice so as to perform functions of the one-way locking mechanism.

6. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 1, wherein the connecting rod element is a gear rack and the lock position element further includes discretely a pivotal portion and a ratchet-tooth portion;

wherein the ratchet-tooth portion formed as a vertical longitudinal block is pivotal mounted in a middle position to the seat body so as to swing thereabout both clockwise and counterclockwise and has an upper half portion thereof to contact from a left-hand side against a position-resuming element while the pivotal portion contacts against the ratchet-tooth portion from a right-hand side of the ratchet-tooth portion (i.e., opposite to the position-resuming element), such that, upon the ratchet-tooth portion being free from any foreign forcing (i.e., the normal situations), the ratchet-tooth portion is posed at a vertical upright position to engage the gear rack located thereunder;

wherein, when the lock position element is at the normal situations (i.e., free from any foreign forcing), the lock position element is kept at the engaged position where the right-hand side of the upper half portion of the ratchet-tooth portion is locked by geometrical interference with the pivotal portion so as to lock as well the door board;

wherein, when the door board is to be closed, a lower portion of the ratchet-tooth portion is pushed by the gear rack and thereby to co-move the upper half portion of the ratchet-tooth portion to depress and thus shrink the position-resuming element so as to have the lower portion of the ratchet-tooth portion to disengage the gear rack, and thereupon the door board is freely to be closed by performing the aforesaid functions of the one-way locking mechanism;

wherein, when the lock position element is switched to the loose position by foreign forcing, one end of the pivotal portion is lifted to leave the upper half portion of the ratchet-tooth portion so as to temporarily relieve the functions of the one-way locking mechanism and to make the door board ready to be opened or closed.

7. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 6, further including an idle gear located and meshed between the lower portion of the ratchet-tooth portion and the gear rack.

8. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 1, further including at least one of a electromagnetic braking mechanism, a neutral mechanism, a relief mechanism and an emergency relief design;

wherein the electromagnetic mechanism further has at least one electromagnetic valve and at least one button switch, the at least one button switch being depressed to activate the at least one electromagnetic valve so as to have the lock position element to switch between the engaged position and the disengaged position;

wherein the neutral mechanism is to provide the one-way locking mechanism a grace distance during an initial stage of opening the door board, in which the one-way locking mechanism does not function within the grace distance;

wherein the relief mechanism is to relieve one-way locking function of the one-way locking mechanism so as to have the door board to rotate freely to any angle without facing any position-locking situation;

wherein the emergency relief design is to enable the door board to be opened to a substantial large angle by emergency forcing while in meeting an emergency situation.

9. A safety braking device for doors, arranged between a door board and a permanent seat, the door board having an unlocked (opened) position and a locked (closed) position with respect the permanent seat, comprising:

a seat body, arranged and fixed in the door board;

wherein, when the door board is shifting from the locked position to the unlocked position with respect to the permanent seat, the seat body moves along a first direction of the permanent seat;

wherein, when the door board is shifting from the unlocked position to the locked position, the seat body moves along a second direction of the permanent seat;

a one-way locking mechanism, including a lock position element and a connecting rod element, the lock position element being able to displace toward and lock at the connecting rod element at a unique direction, the lock position element being arranged in and co-moved with the seat body, one end of the connecting rod element being fixed onto the permanent seat while another end thereof being extended into the seat body by corresponding to the lock position element; and

at least one cable mechanism, one end thereof being connected with the position lock element while another end thereof is connected with a braking member, the braking member being operated to drive the cable mechanism to make the lock position element switchable between an engaged position and a disengaged position;

wherein, when the lock position element is at the engaged position, the lock position element as well as the seat body are fixed in the first direction with respect to the connecting rod element so as not to open the door board;

wherein, when the lock position element is at the disengaged position, the door board is to be opened.

10. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 9, wherein the lock position element is a one-way ratchet-tooth cam including a pivotal portion and an extending ratchet-tooth portion, the pivotal portion being pivotally connected internally with the seat body by a pivotal shaft;

wherein the connecting rod element is a one-way ratchet-tooth rack, one end thereof being fixed to the permanent seat while another end thereof is extended into the seat body so as to have the one-way ratchet-tooth cam able to engage and disengage the one-way ratchet-tooth rack;

wherein the one-way ratchet-tooth rack further includes a teeth portion, a first end portion and a second end portion;

wherein the at least one cable mechanism includes a first cable and a second cable;

wherein the safety braking device for doors further includes;

a spring element, able to restrain elastically the one-way ratchet-tooth cam at an engaged state with the one-way ratchet-tooth rack while under a situation of being free of foreign forcing;

a positioning pair, including an elastic positioning member and a corresponding positioning block, wherein the elastic positioning member is arranged at the seat body while the corresponding positioning block is arranged at the one-way ratchet-tooth cam; and

a handler, arranged at an external side of the door board;

wherein the handler connecting a fixed end of the first cable while an opposing connection end of the first cable is connected with the one-way ratchet-tooth cam, the handler being turned to displace the one-way ratchet-tooth cam so as to disengage the one-way ratchet-tooth cam from the one-way ratchet-tooth rack;

wherein the braking member is arranged inside the door board and connected with (and thus driven by) a fixed end of the second cable while an opposing connection end of the second cable is connected to the one-way ratchet-tooth cam so as to pull and thus turn the one-way ratchet-tooth cam around the pivotal shaft, the braking member able to be operated to drive the one-way ratchet-tooth cam to disengage the teeth portion;

wherein the first end portion of the one-way ratchet-tooth rack is pivotally connected to the permanent seat, the handler pulling the first cable to disengage the one-way ratchet-tooth cam from the one-way ratchet-tooth rack so as simultaneously to open the door board by an angle less than a first angle θ

1, the corresponding positioning block being fixed to the elastic positioning member so as to sustain the lock position element at the disengaged position;

wherein, when the door board is pushed away from the permanent seat to an angle larger than the first angle θ

1, a position-resuming element connecting with the second end portion of the one-way ratchet-tooth rack pushes and displaces the corresponding positioning block of the positioning pair away to separate the elastic positioning member, and the spring element resumes elastically the lock position element to the engaged position (namely, the door board is able to be locked to the permanent seat one-directionally after the door board is released from an angle larger than the first angle θ

1);

wherein the braking member is operated continuously so as to have the one-way ratchet-tooth cam to disengage the one-way ratchet-tooth rack and thus to keep the door board being opening with respect to the permanent seat;

wherein, upon when the braking member is released, the spring element sends the one-way ratchet-tooth cam elastically back to engage the one-way ratchet-tooth rack so as to have the lock position element to elastically resume the engaged position.

11. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 10, wherein, when an additional angle (specifically, a second angle θ

2) over the first angle θ

1 is required for the door board, the handler needs to be operated continuously so as to have the first cable to pull the one-way ratchet-tooth cam to disengage the one-way ratchet-tooth rack;

wherein a total open angle θ

T for the door board is defined as θ

T=θ

1+θ

2, in which the first angle θ

1 is ranged from 20°

to 50° and

the total open angle θ

T is ranged from 20°

to 90°

.

12. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 9, wherein the one-way locking mechanism further includes a hollow cylinder fixed at the seat body, the cylinder having thereof an air orifice at a position corresponding to the lock position element;

wherein the lock position element further includes a pivotal portion and an orifice plug, the pivotal portion being pivotally mounted inside the seat body via another pivotal shaft, the orifice plug being at a position corresponding to the air orifice;

wherein the connecting rod element is a piston rod further having a piston end close to the orifice plug;

wherein the lock position element is driven by the at least one cable mechanism so as to be switched between a tight position and a loose position;

wherein, under normal situations, the orifice plug engages tightly upon the air orifice of the cylinder so as to keep the lock position element at the engaged position;

wherein, when the lock position element is driven by the at least one cable mechanism, the orifice plug is disengaged from the air orifice (from the engaged position to the disengaged position) so as to perform functions of the one-way locking mechanism.

13. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 9, wherein the connecting rod element is a gear rack and the lock position element further includes discretely a pivotal portion and a ratchet-tooth portion;

wherein the ratchet-tooth portion formed as a vertical longitudinal block is pivotal mounted in a middle position to the seat body so as to swing thereabout both clockwise and counterclockwise and has an upper half portion thereof to contact from a left-hand side against a position-resuming element while the pivotal portion contacts against the ratchet-tooth portion from a right-hand side of the ratchet-tooth portion (i.e., opposite to the position-resuming element), such that, upon the ratchet-tooth portion being free from any foreign forcing (i.e., the normal situations), the ratchet-tooth portion is posed at a vertical upright position to engage the gear rack located thereunder;

wherein, when the lock position element is at the normal situations (i.e., free from any foreign forcing), the lock position element is kept at the engaged position where the right-hand side of the upper half portion of the ratchet-tooth portion is locked by geometrical interference with the pivotal portion so as to lock as well the door board;

wherein, when the door board is to be closed, a lower portion of the ratchet-tooth portion is pushed by the gear rack and thereby to co-move the upper half portion of the ratchet-tooth portion to depress and thus shrink the position-resuming element so as to have the lower portion of the ratchet-tooth portion to disengage the gear rack, and thereupon the door board is freely to be closed by performing the aforesaid functions of the one-way locking mechanism;

wherein, when the lock position element is switched to the disengaged position by foreign forcing, one end of the pivotal portion is lifted to leave the upper half portion of the ratchet-tooth portion so as to temporarily relieve the functions of the one-way locking mechanism and to make the door board ready to be opened or closed.

14. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 13, further including an idle gear located and meshed between the lower portion of the ratchet-tooth portion and the gear rack.

15. The safety braking device for doors according to claim 9, further including at least one of a electromagnetic braking mechanism, a neutral mechanism, a relief mechanism and an emergency relief design;

wherein the electromagnetic mechanism further has at least one electromagnetic valve and at least one button switch, the at least one button switch being depressed to activate the at least one electromagnetic valve so as to have the lock position element to switch between the engaged position and the disengaged position;

wherein the neutral mechanism is to provide the one-way locking mechanism a grace distance during an initial stage of opening the door board, in which the one-way locking mechanism does not function within the grace distance;

wherein the relief mechanism is to relieve one-way locking function of the one-way locking mechanism so as to have the door board to rotate freely to any angle without facing any position-locking situation;

wherein the emergency relief design is to enable the door board to be opened to a substantial large angle by emergency forcing while in meeting an emergency situation.