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US 11,428,035 B2Granted
Systems and methods for avoiding interference between an overhead door and a lifter
AssigneeHall Labs LLC
InventorsDavid R. Hall, Jerome Miles, Daniel Madsen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for operating an overhead door opener and a lifter are disclosed. The lifter is positioned above the overhead door when the overhead door is in a retracted position and raises and lowers objects along a path that, without care, will intersect with the overhead door. A controller monitors the position of the overhead door and the lifter and moves the overhead door if the lifter is out of the way, and if the lifter is not out of the way the command is not executed to prevent interference between the lifter and the overhead door.
Claims16
A system, comprising:
- an overhead door opener configured to raise and lower an overhead door in response to receiving a command to open or close the overhead door, wherein the overhead door is movable between a retracted position and a deployed position, wherein the retracted position is above and behind the deployed position;
- a lifter positioned above the overhead door when the overhead door is in the retracted position, wherein the lifter is configured to raise and lower an object along a path that would intersect with a portion of the overhead door when the overhead door is in the retracted position;
- and
- a controller configured to monitor:
- a position of the overhead door along a first path;
- a position of the lifter along a second path, wherein the first and second path intersect;
- wherein the controller is configured to:
- receive a command to move one of the lifter or the overhead door;
- before executing the command, checking the position of one of the overhead door and the lifter to determine whether or not executing the command will cause interference between the overhead door and the lifter;
- and
- based, at least in part, upon the interference, executing the command.
8 more elements
A kit comprising:
- a lifter comprising a powered lifting device and associated hoisting and connection equipment configured to suspend an object other than an overhead door, wherein the lifting device is configured to raise and lower the object in response to commands;
- a controller configured to monitor a relative position of the overhead door and the lifter to prevent interference between the overhead door and the lifter, the controller being located near a button on an overhead door opener, the controller further comprising an articulating finger configured to manually depress the button to raise and lower the overhead door, and wherein the controller is configured to receive a remote request to open the overhead door, and in response to the request the controller moves the overhead door if the lifter is not in an impeding position relative to the overhead door, and wherein the controller moves the overhead door by mechanically actuating the articulating finger to depress the button.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.