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US 11,346,140 B2Granted
Safety brake for vertical lifting doors
AssigneeRenlita Doors North America, LLC
InventorsJason Royse, Caleb Allan White
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vertical door system includes a safety brake that is engaged when the vertical door system fails. The safety brake includes a panel with a slanted channel and a pin slidably disposed in the slanted channel. The panel may be coupled to a counterweight that keeps the pin from engaging with stops in a track when the safety brake is disengaged. When the panel is uncoupled from the counterweight, the safety brake engages and the pin may slide in the channel to allow contact between a portion of the pin and one of the stops in the track to inhibit movement of a door.
Claims19
A safety brake comprising:
- a housing comprising a first housing end and a second housing end;
- a panel disposed in the housing and moveable within the housing, wherein the panel comprises:
- a first panel end coupled to a counterweight;
- an opposing second panel end, wherein the second panel end is disposed opposite to the first panel end;
- a first panel side disposed between the first panel end and the second panel end;
- a second panel-side disposed between the first panel end and the second panel end and disposed opposite the first panel side;
- a slanted channel extending from the first panel side to the second panel side, wherein the channel is slanted relative to an axis perpendicular to the first panel side;
- a coupling member capable of coupling to a vertical door;
- a pin disposed at least partially in the slanted channel of the panel;
- a spring comprising:
- a first spring end coupled to the opposing second panel end;
- and
- a second opposing spring end coupled to the housing proximate the second housing end;
- wherein when the counterweight is uncoupled from the panel the safety brake is configured to engage with a stop in a track in which the safety brake is disposed;
- and wherein when the counterweight is uncoupled from the panel, the spring compresses and causes the pin to extend further from the first panel side to engage the stop;
- and wherein engaging the stop in the track inhibits the vertical door coupled to the safety brake from falling.
13 more elements
A vertical door system comprising:
- a door disposed on a track, wherein the track comprises one or more stops;
- a movement including a counterweight, wherein the movement is coupled to the door and capable of adjusting a position of the door;
- one or more safety brakes, wherein each of the safety brakes comprises:
- a housing, wherein the housing comprises a first housing end and a second housing end,
- a panel disposed in the housing and moveable within the housing, wherein the panel comprises:
- a first panel end coupled to the counterweight;
- an opposing second panel end, wherein the opposing second panel end is disposed opposite to the first panel end;
- a first panel side disposed between the first panel end and the second panel end;
- a second panel side disposed between the first panel end and the second panel end and disposed opposite the first panel side;
- a slanted channel extending from the first panel side to the second panel side, wherein the channel is slanted relative to an axis perpendicular to the first panel side;
- a door coupler coupling the door and the panel;
- a pin disposed at least partially in the slanted channel of the panel;
- a spring comprising:
- a first spring end coupled to the opposing second panel end;
- and
- a second opposing spring end coupled to the housing proximate the second housing end;
- wherein each of the one or more safety brakes is configured to engage with at least one of the one or more stops in the track when the counterweight is uncoupled from the panel of the one or more safety brakes;
- and wherein when the counterweight is uncoupled from the panel of at least one of the safety brakes, the spring of the at least one of the safety brakes compresses and causes the pin of the at least one of the safety brakes to extend further from the first panel side of the panel of the at least one of the safety brakes and engage the at least one of the stops;
- and wherein said engaging the at least one of the stops in the track inhibits the door from falling.
16 more elements
A method of stopping a vertical door, the method comprising:
- providing one or more safety brakes coupled to the vertical door, wherein the vertical door is disposed in a track, and wherein the track comprises one or more stops;
- and wherein each of the safety brakes comprises:
- a panel moveable in a housing, wherein the panel comprises:
- a first panel end coupled to a movement and proximate a first housing end of the housing, wherein the movement is coupled to the vertical door;
- an opposing second panel end proximate a second housing end of the housing, wherein the opposing second panel end is opposite the first panel end;
- a first panel side disposed between the first panel end and the second panel end;
- a second panel side disposed between the first panel end and the second panel end and disposed opposite the first panel side;
- a slanted channel extending from the first panel side to the second panel side, wherein the channel is slanted relative to an axis perpendicular to the first panel side;
- a pin disposed in the channel, wherein the pin is disposed in the channel such that the pin does not contact the one or more stops in the track when the safety brake is disengaged, and wherein the pin is disposed in the channel such that the pin contacts at least one of the one or more stops when the safety brake is engaged;
- and
- a spring coupled between the second panel end and the second housing end;
- automatically engaging at least one of the one or more safety brakes to inhibit the vertical door from falling when a counterweight of the movement of the at least one of the one or more safety brakes is uncoupled from the panel of the at least one of the one or more safety brakes;
- and wherein the uncoupling of the counterweight of the at least one of the one or more safety brakes from the panel of the at least one of the one or more safety brakes allows the spring of the at least one of the one or more safety brakes to compress and move the panel of the at least one of the one or more safety brakes towards the second housing end of the housing of the at least one of the one or more safety brakes which causes the pin in the panel of the at least one of the one or more safety brakes to extend such that the pin of the at least one of the one or more safety brakes is capable of contacting the at least one of the one or more stops in the track.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.