Hinged-panel opening and closing systems and processes relating thereto
AssigneeJon Erwin Eccleston
InventorJon Erwin Eccleston
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hinged-panel opening and closing system includes: an anchor designed to be located on a hinged panel; a gear motor designed to be located on a supporting structure; and a movement-enabling component capable of angularly displacing the hinged panel relative to a receiving structure. The movement-enabling component includes: (a) a movement-enabling shaft located on the supporting structure and, at one shaft end, coupled to the gear motor; (b) a spindle located on supporting structure and coupled to the movement-enabling shaft; and (c) a linear element attaching, at a first end, to the spindle and attaching, at a second end, to the anchor such that said linear element extends between the spindle and the anchor.
Claims11
A method of pivoting a hinged panel, said method comprising:
- powering a gear motor on a supporting structure;
- placing into an opening motion, using said gear motor, a movement-enabling shaft that is operationally coupled to said gear motor;
- generating, using said opening motion, an operative torque at a spindle that coupled to said movement-enabling shaft and said spindle being secured on said supporting structure;
- wrapping around said spindle, using said operative torque, a linear element and producing an opening tension force along said linear element, wherein said linear element extending an extending distance between said spindle and an anchor;
- angularly displacing said anchor, using said opening tension force, wherein said anchor being secured on said hinged panel that is disposed between said supporting structure and a receiving structure;
- and
- pivoting, contemporaneously with said angularly displacing said anchor, said hinged panel around one or more hinges disposed between and coupled to said supporting structure and said hinged panel to produce an opening motion of said hinged panel such that said hinged panel displaces away from said receiving structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.