Electrically operated actuator and method
First Claim
1. An electrically operated actuator in combination with a dead bolt assembly, the dead bolt assembly comprising a lock having a drive bar and a bolt, the bolt being operably coupled to the drive bar such that rotation of the drive bar extends and retracts the bolt linearly, the actuator comprising:
- means for rotating the drive bar to extend and retract the bolt;
means for driving said rotating means, said driving means being responsive to an electrical signal;
wherein said electrical signal is generated by;
a wireless transmitter that transmits a request to actuate the actuator;
a wireless receiver that receives the request to actuate the actuator; and
a control circuit, operably connected to said wireless receiver, the control circuit providing said electrical signal to said driving means if the request is valid; and
wherein said rotating means comprises;
a resilient lever attached to the drive bar, said resilient lever being pivotal about an axis that is coaxial to an axis of rotation of the drive bar; and
wherein said driving means comprises;
a motor capable of rotating a threaded rod that extends from said motor;
a threaded member screwed onto said threaded rod;
a guide preventing rotation of said threaded member; and
said threaded member being adapted to frictionally engage and to rotate said resilient lever.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method is provided for retrofitting an existing dead-bolt assembly with an electrically operated actuator (12, 112, 212, 312, 800). The electrically operated actuator automatically operates the dead-bolt assembly while preserving manual operation of the lock. The actuator assembly has rotating means for rotation of the drive bar (18), which in turn extends or retracts the bolt (14) of the lock. The rotating means may be a lever (28, 128, 238, 328, 438, 818) attached to the drive bar (18) that is pivotable about the axis of rotation of the drive bar (18). The actuator assembly has driving means that forces the rotating means to rotate. The driving means is responsive to an electrical signal, which, for example, may be initiated from a remote-controlled transmitter (502, 602). The driving means may include a motor (20, 120, 220) for rotating a rod (22, 122, 222, 322) that in turn operates an assembly that rotates or drives the rotating means. In response to an electrical signal, the driving means actuates the rotating means to affect either a locking or unlocking operation, which operations are always completed by placing the actuator assembly in a state whereby the bolt of the lock may subsequently be extended or retracted manually, or automatically by the driving means.
131 Citations
45 Claims
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1. An electrically operated actuator in combination with a dead bolt assembly, the dead bolt assembly comprising a lock having a drive bar and a bolt, the bolt being operably coupled to the drive bar such that rotation of the drive bar extends and retracts the bolt linearly, the actuator comprising:
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means for rotating the drive bar to extend and retract the bolt;
means for driving said rotating means, said driving means being responsive to an electrical signal;
wherein said electrical signal is generated by;
a wireless transmitter that transmits a request to actuate the actuator;
a wireless receiver that receives the request to actuate the actuator; and
a control circuit, operably connected to said wireless receiver, the control circuit providing said electrical signal to said driving means if the request is valid; and
wherein said rotating means comprises;
a resilient lever attached to the drive bar, said resilient lever being pivotal about an axis that is coaxial to an axis of rotation of the drive bar; and
wherein said driving means comprises;
a motor capable of rotating a threaded rod that extends from said motor;
a threaded member screwed onto said threaded rod;
a guide preventing rotation of said threaded member; and
said threaded member being adapted to frictionally engage and to rotate said resilient lever. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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5. An electrically operated actuator in combination with a dead bolt assembly, the dead bolt assembly comprising a lock having a drive bar and a bolt, the bolt being operably coupled to the drive bar such that rotation of the drive bar extends and retracts the bolt linearly, the actuator comprising:
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means for rotating the drive bar to extend and retract the bolt;
means for driving said rotating means, said driving means being responsive to an electrical signal;
wherein said electrical signal is generated by;
a wireless transmitter that transmits a request to actuate the actuator;
a wireless receiver that receives the request to actuate the actuator; and
a control circuit, operably connected to said wireless receiver, the control circuit providing said electrical signal to said driving means if the request is valid; and
wherein said rotating means comprises;
a lever attached to the drive bar, said lever being pivotal about an axis that is coaxial to an axis of rotation of the drive bar; and
said driving means comprises;
a motor capable of bidirectional rotation of a rod extending from said motor;
said rod having a first gear with a threaded exterior surface;
a second gear having teeth, said second gear being oriented to engage the threaded exterior surface of the first gear such that rotation of the first gear causes rotation of the second gear; and
said second gear having a plurality of protrusions positioned on a surface of said second gear to contact and to rotate said lever. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An electrically operated actuator in combination with a dead bolt assembly, the dead bolt assembly comprising a lock having a drive bar and a bolt, the bolt being operably coupled to the drive bar such that rotation of the drive bar extends and retracts the bolt linearly, the actuator comprising:
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means for rotating the drive bar to extend and retract the bolt;
means for driving said rotating means, said driving means being responsive to an electrical signal;
wherein said electrical signal is generated by;
a wireless transmitter that transmits a request to actuate the actuator;
a wireless receiver that receives the request to actuate the actuator; and
a control circuit, operably connected to said wireless receiver, the control circuit providing said electrical signal to said driving means if the request is valid; and
wherein said rotating means comprises;
a lever attached to the drive bar, said lever being pivotal about an axis that is coaxial to an axis of rotation of the drive bar; and
said driving means comprises;
a first solenoid having a first core that extends and retracts in response to a first solenoid signal, said first core being positioned to pivot said lever from a first position wherein said bolt is completely retracted and a second position, wherein said bolt is completely extended; and
a second solenoid having a second core that extends and retracts in response to a second solenoid signal, said second core being positioned to pivot said lever from said second position to said first position. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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19. A method for controlling power to a receiver that receives a signal indicating a status of a lock controlled by an electrically operated actuator, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) switching on power to the receiver after transmitting a lock or unlock signal; and
(b) switching power off to the receiver upon the first to occur of a predetermined period of time or a receipt of the signal indicating the status of the lock; and
wherein the status includes at least one of lock status, unlock status, rotor current sense, and low battery condition. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A method for controlling power to a receiver that receives a signal that is used to extend or retract a bolt in a lock controlled by an electrically operated actuator, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) periodically switching power on to the receiver;
(b) switching power to the receiver off after a valid signal is received indicating that the bolt should be extended or retracted; and
(c) switching power to the receiver off after a predetermined period of time, if a valid signal is not received during the predetermined amount of time. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An electrically operated actuator in combination with a dead bolt assembly, the dead bolt assembly comprising a lock having a drive bar and a bolt, the bolt being operably coupled to the drive bar such that rotation of the drive bar extends and retracts the bolt linearly, the actuator comprising:
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a drive bar attachment for rotating the drive bar to extend and retract the bolt;
a motor operably coupled to the drive bar attachment to rotate the drive bar attachment, the motor being responsive to an electrical signal;
wherein said electrical signal is generated by;
a wireless transmitter that transmits a request to actuate the actuator;
a wireless receiver that receives the request to actuate the actuator;
a control circuit, operably connected to said wireless receiver, the control circuit providing said electrical signal to said motor if the request is valid; and
wherein the control circuit comprises at least one sensing circuit for sensing a status of the dead bolt assembly. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. An electrically operated actuator in combination with a dead bolt assembly, the dead bolt assembly comprising a lock having a drive bar and a bolt, the bolt being operably coupled to the drive bar such that rotation of the drive bar extends and retracts the bolt linearly, the actuator comprising:
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a drive bar attachment for rotating the drive bar to extend and retract the bolt;
a motor operably coupled to the drive bar attachment to rotate the drive bar attachment, the motor being responsive to an electrical signal;
wherein said electrical signal is generated by;
a wireless transmitter that transmits a request to actuate the actuator;
a wireless receiver that receives the request to actuate the actuator;
a control circuit, operably connected to said wireless receiver, the control circuit providing said electrical signal to said motor if the request is valid; and
wherein the wireless transmitter is a first transceiver and the wireless receiver is a second transceiver and a status of the dead bolt assembly is transmitted to the first transceiver by the second transceiver. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. An electrically operated actuator in combination with a dead bolt assembly, the dead bolt assembly comprising a lock having a drive bar and a bolt, the bolt being operably coupled to the drive bar such that rotation of the drive bar extends and retracts the bolt linearly, the actuator comprising:
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means for rotating the drive bar to extend and retract the bolt;
means for driving said rotating means, said driving means being responsive to an electrical signal;
means for disengaging said rotating means from said driving means for manual rotation of the drive bar;
wherein said electrical signal is generated by;
a wireless transmitter that transmits a request to actuate the actuator;
a wireless receiver that receives the request to actuate the actuator; and
a control circuit, operably connected to said wireless receiver, the control circuit providing said electrical signal to said driving means if the request is valid. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34)
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35. An electrically operated actuator in combination with a dead bolt assembly, the dead bolt assembly comprising a lock having a drive bar and a bolt, the bolt being operably coupled to the drive bar such that rotation of the drive bar extends and retracts the bolt linearly, the actuator comprising:
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a drive bar attachment that is coupled to the drive bar to extend and retract the bolt linearly;
a motor being responsive to an electrical signal;
a gear assembly operably coupled to the motor to respond to rotation of said motor, the gear assembly being coupled to said drive bar attachment to engage said drive bar attachment to extend or retract the bolt linearly, and the gear assembly being coupled to said drive bar attachment to disengage from said drive bar attachment for manual rotation of the drive bar;
wherein said electrical signal is generated by a circuit comprising;
a wireless transmitter that transmits a request to actuate the actuator;
a wireless receiver that receives the request to actuate the actuator;
a control circuit operably connected to said receiver, the control circuit providing said electrical signal to said motor if the request is valid. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification