US 12,709,940 B2Granted

Door assembly with an engagement mechanism

AssigneesThe Boeing Company, Harper Engineering Co.

InventorsSteven Ellis Rhynard, David Lee Chadwell

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A door assembly configured to be mounted in an opening and configured to control movement of persons through the opening. The door assembly includes a door within pivoting first and second panels. A translating rod is mounted to the second panel and is movable between a first lateral position with an end extending outward from the inner edge of the second panel and a second lateral position that is laterally offset from the first lateral position. A plunger is mounted to the second panel and is movable between a first vertical position with the plunger end disengaged from the opening and a second lateral position with the plunger end extending outward from the second panel and engaged with the opening. A gear assembly is configured to move the plunger to the first vertical position when the lever is in the first horizontal position and to move the plunger to the second vertical position when the translating rod is in the second horizontal position.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A door assembly configured to be mounted in an opening and configured to control movement of persons through the opening, the door assembly comprising:

a door comprising a first panel and a second panel each with an inner edge that faces into a center of the opening and an outer edge that faces outward away from the center when the door is in a closed position, the first panel and the second panel that are pivotally connected together at the inner edges, the door is movable between a folded configuration to enable the movement of persons through the opening and an extended configuration to extend across the opening to prevent the movement of persons through the opening;
a translating rod mounted to the second panel and configured to move between an open position with the first end extending outward beyond the inner edge of the second panel and the closed position with the first end within the inner edge of the second panel;
a plunger mounted to the second panel and comprising a plunger end positioned at a second edge of the second panel, the plunger movable relative to the second panel between a retracted position and an extended position;
a gear assembly mounted to the translating rod and the plunger and configured to move the plunger based on movement of the translating rod;
wherein in the folded configuration the first end of the translating rod extends outward beyond the inner edge of the second panel and the plunger is in the retracted position;
and
wherein in the extended configuration the first end of the translating rod is forced inward into the second panel by contact with the first panel and the plunger is in the extended position to be engaged at the opening.

4 more elements

A door assembly configured to be mounted in an opening and configured to control movement of persons through the opening, the door assembly comprising:

a door comprising:
a first panel with an inner edge positioned at a central section of the opening when the door is in a closed position;
a second panel with an inner edge positioned at the central section of the opening when the door is in the closed position;
a hinge that pivotally connects the first panel and the second panel along the inner edges and with the inner edges being adjacent to one another;
a translating rod mounted to the second panel, the translating rod being movable relative to the second panel between a first lateral position with a translating rod end extending outward from the inner edge of the second panel and a second lateral position that is laterally offset from the first lateral position;
a plunger mounted to the second panel and comprising a plunger end positioned at a second edge of the second panel, the plunger movable relative to the second panel between a first vertical position with the plunger end disengaged from the opening and a second lateral position with the plunger end extending outward from the second panel and engaged with the opening;
a gear assembly mounted to the second panel and configured to move the plunger to the first vertical position when the translating rod is in the first horizontal position and to move the plunger to the second vertical position when the translating rod is in the second horizontal position;
and
a housing that comprises a first section and a second section that are mounted to the second panel at the second edge and which extend over the plunger, the housing mounted to the second panel with threaded fasteners with one or more of the threaded fasteners mounted from a front side of the second panel and one or more of the threaded fasteners mounted from a rear side of the second panel to enable the first section of the housing to be removed from the second panel from the front side and the second section of the housing to be removed from the second panel from the rear side.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/619,653Filed 28 Mar 2024
Published: US 2025/0305348 A12 Oct 2025
Granted: 18 Aug 2026
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

B64C 1/1469
Doors; surrounding frames: doors between cockpit and cabin
E06B 3/481
Wings connected at their edges, e.g. foldable wings: wings foldable in a zig-zag manner or bi-fold wings
B64D 45/0028
Means for restricting access to flight deck: doors or door arrangements specially adapted to restrict unauthorized access
E05B 65/0085
Locks or fastenings for special use: for folding wings, e.g. bi-fold wings