US2523645A - Door sensitive edge actuated switch - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 26, 1950 c. o. BRuEsTLE DOOR SENSITIVE EDGE ACTUATED SWITCH 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Nov. 26, 1946 IN V EN TOR. Carl 0. Bruesrla mig.

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sept 26, 1950 c. o. BRUEsTLE DOOR SENSITIVE EDGE ACTUATED SWITCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 26, 1946 INVENToR. Car/ O. @mest/e 9% QLL.

Patented Sept. 26, 1950 DOOR SENSITIVE EDGE ACTUATED SWITCH Carl 0. Bruestle, Rahway, N. J., assigner to Eleva tor Supplies Company, Inc., Perth Amboy, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 26, 1946, Serial No. 712,291

(Cl. 20G- 54) 2 Claims.

This invention comprises an improvement in that kind of apparatus which is used on power operating doors to effect stopping or reversal thereof upon contact with an object such as the body or the limb of a person during closing. This kind of apparatus is employed on subway car doors, bus doors, elevator doors, and the like.

Many forms of this kind of apparatus have been developed, some of which have gone into extensive use. Those forms of the device which have attained commercial application have each developed some inherent weakness which has motivated me to devise a form of device herein disclosed.

One of the objects of the invention has been to eiect a simplication of the device and thereby reduce its cost, facilitate its repair and maintenance, and contribute to ruggedness and sta-v bility for long life in use under the hard conditions which such devices must encounter.

Above all it has been sought to improve such devices without in anyway making them any greater source of possi-ble injury to persons using the doors with which they are equipped, and it is believed that they have been made more safe by reason of the construction devised.

Another object has been to improve the appearance of such devices and reduce the size thereof.

Other and more detailed objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the embodiment selected for purposes of disclosure and illustrated in the attached drawings.

This invention resides substantially in the combination, construction, arrangement and relative location of parts, all as will be described in detail below. p

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a side elevational View of the forward portion of a door showing a form of structure of the invention with most of the door broken away and intermediate sections broken out to permit as near a full sized illustration as possible;

Figure 2 is a vertical edge elevational view oi the device applied to a door and viewing the door from the opposite edge to which the device is attached; and

Figure 3 is a detailed, cross-sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 1.

As is Well known in this art, it is common on many types of power operated doors which are used on public conveyances to provide a device which in its broadest aspect is usually an electric 1 ance with this common feature the embodiment illustrated herein employs an electric switch of the .type known as a micro-switch. The novelty of the invention is concerned with the simplied and rugged structure by means of which this 'switch can be operated at desired times by displacement of an operating member disposed in the doorway.

As illustrated, the structure is mounted on the forward edge of the door I, along the vertical i side face thereof, by means of an elongated strip forming a base plate attached to the door face by means of a series of screws 3. Secured to the outer face of the plate 2 at the upper end thereof, is an L-shaped bracket II upon which is mounted a cover plate 4 forming a protecting wings 5, 'I and 9 by means of which it is respectively attached to the bracket II through the Le agency of screws 6 and 8 and to the plate 2 by the screws IU.

The micro-switch I3 which may be of a number of Well known and suitable structural types, has the characteristic of requiring by a very small movement of its operating member I3 to eliect actuation of the switch. As illustrated this switch is attached to a rectangular plate I5 by `means of screws or rivets I4, which plate is secured to the base plate 2 in a cutout therein. The plate I5 hasy its ends laterally offset to overlie the adjacent portions of the plate 2 and these ends are provided with elongated slots IE through which bolts or screws IS pass to attach the switch to the base plate 2. The slotted openings I8 permit of lateral adjustment of the switch assembly for the purpose of associating it with the struc- -ture which operates it in the proper position for correct operation. The switch I3 is secured to the plate I5 so as to overlie an interleai layer of insulating material of generally U-shaped formation, as is clear from Figure 3, so as to form an insulated area within the housing 4 in the region of the entry of the circuit Wires, not shown, through the insulating bushing I2 mounted in the bracket II.

A relatively strong rigid rod 2D is rotatably mounted on a vertical axis in a pair of brackets 2I and 23 secured to the plate 2 by means of the screws 22 and 24, as clearly shown in Figure 1. The rod is also pivotally supported in the region of its longitudinal center by means of a. bracket 25 which is secured to the plate 2 by means of the screws 26. A generally U-shaped channel member1 2l of metal or some other suitable material houses the rod 20 at the base of the channel and is secured thereto at a number of points along its length by means of the rivets 30. As is seen from Figure 1, the channel member 21 has substantially the same length as the rod 20. Inserted between the anges of the channel is a rectangular bar 28 of suitable material which is secured in this position by a series of screws or rivets 29, as shown. The bar 28 likewise has a length almost as great as the height of the doorfso as to be engageable with any part of the body of a person passing through the doorway. This bar is preferably made of some iiexible material oi the necessary rigidity such as rubber or a flexible plastic material.

Secured within and at the base of the channel 2l at the top end by welding or in any other suitable manner, is a rod 3l which projects above the upper end of the channel 27 and serves as an anchor for one end of a spring 32. The other end of this spring is secured to a screw 33 mounted in the angle bracket Il. The spring is arranged so as to be under suflicient tension so as to hold the channel 21 and the body contacting plate 28 substantially parallel to the plane of the door l, that is the position particularly clear from Figure 3.

The base of the channel is positioned with respect to the operating button I3' of the microswitch 3l so that any rotative movement of the channel on the axis of the bar 20 will cause the channel to swing in either direction with respect to the button I3 suiciently to permit of operation of the switch. It is obvious that the switch will be or the type that will operate when its buton is released by such swinging movement of the channel and connected parts. Any such swinging movement will cause further loading of the spring 32 so that as soon as the body contacting member is released it will pivot this structure on the axis of the shaft 29 back into parallelism with the door.

The operation of this device is quite clear from what has gone before. Should the door equipped with it strike anyone in closing, there will be a component of the force applied to the body contact member which will cause rotation of the shaft 2l) in either direction, and thereby move the channel sufficiently to permit the switch I3 to operate, which through suitable control can effect stoppage or reversal of the door operating motive device. It will be apparent that the member 28 need only have sufficient rigidity to effect this movement and can otherwise be suciently ilexible so as to reduce the force of impact when it strikes a persons body.

From the foregoing description it will be recognized that all of the mechanism comprising this device is mounted upon a single supporting baseplate and can, therefore, be attached to the door and removed from it as a complete unit. This facilitates installation, repair, maintenance and replacement.

From the above description of the embodiment selected as a basis for describing this invention, it will become at once apparent to those skilled in the art that the novel substance herein disclosed can be incorporated in other physical forms, and I do not expect to be limited to the single embodiment illustrated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a door sensitive edge structure, the combination comprising a supporting plate to be attached to a door near its forward edge, a body contact member mounted so as to project into a doorway throughout substantially the vertical height of the door, pivot means mounted on said plate and secured to said body contact member, resilient means for holding the body member in a plane parallel to that of the door, a control device mounted on the door for actuation by pivotal movement of said body contact member out of the plane of said door, said pivot means comprising a shaft and a, U-shaped channel member embracing said shaft and secured thereto and said body contact member comprising a rectangular bar secured to said channel.

2. in a door sensitive edge structure, the combination comprising a supporting plate to be attached to a door near its forward edge, a body contact member mounted so as to project into a door way throughout substantially the vertical height of the door, pivot means mounted on said plate and secured to said body contact member, resilient means for holding the body member in a plane parallel to that of the door, a control device mounted on the door for actuation by pivotal movement of said body contact member out of the plane of said door, said pivot means comprising a shaft and a U-shaped channel member embracing said shaft and secured thereto and said body contact member comprising a flexible rectangular bar secured to said channel.

CARL O. BRUESTLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are oi record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,287,717 McElroy l Dec. 17, 1918 1,705,406 Hynes et al Mar. 12, 1929

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