Adjustment screw indicator mechanism
AssigneeSchlage Lock Company LLC
InventorsBenaka Gireesha, Ankith Kulal, Vidyashree D. Shenoy
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An exemplary door operator comprises a body, a hydraulic regulation valve, and a visual indicator mechanism. The hydraulic regulation valve is mounted to the body and is operable to adjust an operating characteristic of the door operator. The hydraulic regulation valve includes an adjustment screw having a variable screw position. The visual indicator mechanism is engaged with the hydraulic regulation valve, and is configured provide a visual indication relating to a level of regulation provided by the hydraulic regulation valve. The visual indication varies according to the variable screw position.
Claims20
A hydraulic door operator, comprising:
- a body comprising a cavity;
- a hydraulic regulation valve mounted to the body and operable to adjust an operating characteristic of the door operator, the hydraulic regulation valve comprising:
- a lead nut mounted in the cavity for reciprocal motion along an axis;
- and
- an adjustment screw threadedly engaged with the lead nut such that rotation of the adjustment screw about the axis moves the lead nut along the axis to thereby adjust the operating characteristic;
- and
- a visual indicator rotationally engaged with the hydraulic regulation valve such that the rotation of the adjustment screw correspondingly adjusts a position of the visual indicator to provide a visual indication relating to a level of regulation provided by the hydraulic regulation valve.
A method of providing a visual indication relating to an operating characteristic of a door operator, the method comprising:
- adjusting a hydraulic regulation valve mounted to a body of the door operator to vary the operating characteristic of the door operator;
- wherein the adjusting comprises rotating an adjustment screw of the hydraulic regulation valve about an axis, and moving a lead nut threadedly engaged with the adjustment screw along the axis to thereby adjust the operating characteristic;
- and
- in response to rotation of the adjustment screw, moving a first indicator component to align with a second indicator component, the first indictor component rotationally engaged with the adjustment screw of the hydraulic regulation valve such that the rotation of the adjustment screw correspondingly adjusts a position of the first indicator component to align with the second indicator component to thereby provide the visual indication relating to the operating characteristic of the door operator.
A door operator, comprising:
- a body;
- a hydraulic regulation valve mounted to the body and operable to adjust an operating characteristic of the door operator, the hydraulic regulation valve comprising an adjustment screw operable to adjust the operating characteristic upon rotation of the adjustment screw;
- a pinion rotationally engaged with the adjustment screw such that the rotation of the adjustment screw rotates the pinion;
- a ring gear operable to be rotated by the pinion, wherein an axis passes through the ring gear such that the ring gear circumferentially surrounds a portion of the axis;
- and
- a visual indicator configured to move in response to rotation of the ring gear such that the rotation of the adjustment screw correspondingly adjusts a position of the visual indicator to provide a visual indication relating to the operating characteristic of the door operator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.