Door sensor and door equipped with such door sensor

• US 6,970,085 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2003
• Issued: 11/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Optex Company Limited (OPTEX GROUP Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Optex Company Limited (OPTEX GROUP Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Okabe, Junichiro, Matsuyama, Toshiyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUNG T
• Application Number:
  US10/614,294
• Publication Number:
  US 20040140782A1
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• Field of Search: 340/545.1, 340/545.3, 340/545.6, 340/545.9, 340/547, 340/551, 340/467, 340/480, 318/480, 318/450, 318/460, 318/467, 318/445, 250/221, 250/209, 250/338, 250/341.1, 250/211
• US Class Current: 340/545.6
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/43 responsive to disruption of energy beams, e.g. light or sound
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/608 for revolving wings
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/611 for swinging wings
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/74 using photoelectric cells
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 2015/483 for detection during opening
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2400/54 Obstruction or resistance detection
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2600/46 in or on the wing
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2800/40 Protection E05Y2400/50, E05Y2400/52 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/132 Doors

Abstract

Door sensor(s) may be attached to a door body or bodies of automatic swing doors. The door sensor(s) may be equipped with door position detectors including geomagnetic sensor(s), the sensor(s) being itself or themselves capable of detecting position(s) occupied by the door body or bodies during opening and/or closing thereof. During opening and/or closing of the door body or bodies, determination may be made as to whether detected object(s) are object(s) intended for detection; and in the event that object(s) are object(s) intended for detection, opening and/or closing of the door body or bodies may be stopped, slowed, and/or reversed in correspondence to detected position(s) occupied by the door body or bodies during opening and/or closing thereof.

Claims

1. A door sensor comprising:

at least one door position detector which is attached to at least one door body that can be opened and/or closed and which is capable of detecting at least one position occupied by the at least one door body during opening and/or closing thereof;

at least one object detector which is attached to the at least one door body and which detects a presence and/or an absence of at least one object in at least one detectable zone; and

at least one object determining circuit which receives at least one output from the at least one door position detector and the at least one object detector, and which determines, in correspondence to at least one position occupied by the at least one door body during opening and/or closing thereof, whether at least one object detected by the at least one object detector is at least one object intended for detection,

wherein the at least one door position detector is attached to at least one door body capable of being opened and/or closed as a result of rotational motion, and includes at least one sensor which employs geomagnetism to detect at least one angular displacement position of the at least one door body.

2. A door sensor according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one door controller that is attached to at least one surface facing toward at least one direction toward which the at least one door body moves when it is being opened and that stops, slows, and/or reverses the process of opening the door body in the event that at least one object detected by the at least one object detector is at least one object intended for detection.

3. A door sensor according to claim 2, further comprising:

at least one door controller that is attached to at least one surface facing toward at least one direction toward which the at least one door body moves when it is being closed and that stops, slows, and/or reverses the process of closing the door body in the event that at least one object detected by the at least one object detector is at least one object intended for detection.

4. A door sensor according to claim 2, wherein

the at least one door position detector, the at least one object detector, and the at least one object determining circuit are housed within one sensor package.

5. A door sensor according to claim 2, further comprising:

at least one fixed object detector which is attached to at least one fixed object installed at at least one arbitrary location and which detects a presence and/or an absence of at least one object within at least one detectable zone, the at least one detectable zone being at least one previously established fixed location.

6. A door sensor according to claim 2, wherein

at least one position information output from one of the at least one door position detector is used in a shared fashion with a plurality of object detection outputs from a plurality of the at least one object detector.

7. A door sensor according to claim 2, wherein

the at least one object detector is constituted so as to permit switching between or among detectable zones;

and

the door sensor further comprises at least one zone switching circuit which receives at least one output from the at least one door position detector and which switches between or among detectable zones of the at least one object detector in correspondence to at least one position occupied by the at least one door body during opening and/or closing thereof.

8. A door sensor according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one door controller that is attached to at least one surface facing toward at least one direction toward which the at least one door body moves when it is being closed and that stops, slows, and/or reverses the process of closing the door body in the event that at least one object detected by the at least one object detector is at least one object intended for detection.

9. A door sensor according to claim 8, wherein

the at least one door position detector, the at least one object detector, and the at least one object determining circuit are housed within one sensor package.

10. A door sensor according to claim 8, further comprising:

at least one fixed object detector which is attached to at least one fixed object installed at at least one arbitrary location and which detects a presence and/or an absence of at least one object within at least one detectable zone, the at least one detectable zone being at least one previously established fixed location.

11. A door sensor according to claim 8, wherein

at least one position information output from one of the at least one door position detector is used in a shared fashion with a plurality of object detection outputs from a plurality of the at least one object detector.

12. A door sensor according to claim 8, wherein

the at least one object detector is constituted so as to permit switching between or among detectable zones;

and

the door sensor further comprises at least one zone switching circuit which receives at least one output from the at least one door position detector and which switches between or among detectable zones of the at least one object detector in correspondence to at least one position occupied by the at least one door body during opening and/or closing thereof.

13. A door sensor according to claim 1, wherein

the at least one door position detector, the at least one object detector, and the at least one object determining circuit are housed within one sensor package.

14. A door sensor according to claim 13, further comprising:

at least one fixed object detector which is attached to at least one fixed object installed at at least one arbitrary location and which detects a presence and/or an absence of at least one object within at least one detectable zone, the at least one detectable zone being at least one previously established fixed location.

15. A door sensor according to claim 13, wherein

the at least one object detector is constituted so as to permit switching between or among detectable zones;

and

the door sensor further comprises at least one zone switching circuit which receives at least one output from the at least one door position detector and which switches between or among detectable zones of the at least one object detector in correspondence to at least one position occupied by the at least one door body during opening and/or closing thereof.

16. A door sensor according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one fixed object detector which is attached to at least one fixed object installed at at least one arbitrary location and which detects a presence and/or an absence of at least one object within at least one detectable zone, the at least one detectable zone being at least one previously established fixed location.

17. A door sensor according to claim 16, wherein

at least one position information output from one of the at least one door position detector is used in a shared fashion with a plurality of object detection outputs from a plurality of the at least one object detector.

18. A door sensor according to claim 16, wherein

the at least one object detector is constituted so as to permit switching between or among detectable zones;

and

the door sensor further comprises at least one zone switching circuit which receives at least one output from the at least one door position detector and which switches between or among detectable zones of the at least one object detector in correspondence to at least one position occupied by the at least one door body during opening and/or closing thereof.

19. A door sensor according to claim 1, wherein

at least one position information output from one of the at least one door position detector is used in a shared fashion with a plurality of object detection outputs from a plurality of the at least one object detector.

20. A door sensor according to claim 19, wherein

the at least one object detector is constituted so as to permit switching between or among detectable zones;

and

the door sensor further comprises at least one zone switching circuit which receives at least one output from the at least one door position detector and which switches between or among detectable zones of the at least one object detector in correspondence to at least one position occupied by the at least one door body during opening and/or closing thereof.

21. A door sensor according to claim 1, wherein

the at least one object detector is constituted so as to permit switching between or among detectable zones;

and

the door sensor further comprises at least one zone switching circuit which receives at least one output from the at least one door position detector and which switches between or among detectable zones of the at least one object detector in correspondence to at least one position occupied by the at least one door body during opening and/or closing thereof.

22. A door characterized in that the at least one door sensor according to claim 1 is attached to at least one door body, the door body engaging in opening and/or closing operations in linked fashion with object detecting operations of the at least one door sensor.