Overhead door lock system and control unit therefor
OwnerRodney T. Shoemakerinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A locking mechanism includes a frame having a movement obstruction arm movable into a track on which rollers of an overhead door will move. When any roller on the door abuts against the arm, it will obstruct any further opening movement of the overhead door. A camming means is associated with the movement obstruction arm to automatically shift the same to a position out of the trackway when the door is moving back to the closed position. A control module is operable with the locking mechanism and receives a signal from a locking mechanism indicative of whether or not the locking mechanism is opened or closed. The control module will thereupon provide an opening signal to an opener for the overhead door.
Claims26
1 A door locking mechanism for locking an overhead door having roller means movable in a channel of a track when in a closed position and which is releasable to allow for opening movement of the door, said locking mechanism comprising:
- a) frame means capable of being mounted in proximity to said door;
- b) a movement obstruction arm on said frame means and being shiftable into the channel to engage a roller means on said door and block movement thereof when the door is in the closed position;
- c) camming means associated with said movement obstruction arm to automatically force said arm out of the obstructing position in the channel when the door is being moved to the closed position from the opened position;
- and
- d) means for automatically shifting the obstruction arm to a position out of the channel to allow opening movement of the door.
2 The door locking mechanism of claim 1 further characterized in that said camming means comprises an oblique portion of the arm which faces the roller means and where the roller means pushes against the oblique portion forcing the arm out of an obstructing position.
3 The door locking mechanism of claim 2 further characterized in that means is provided for biasing said arm back to the obstructing position in the channel after the roller means has passed over and beyond said movement obstruction arm.
4 The door locking mechanism of claim 1 further characterized in that the means for automatically shifting the obstruction arm comprises an electrically operated component which is operable in response to an external signal.
5 The door locking mechanism of claim 4 further characterized in that the electrically operated component is a solenoid having a member operatively connected to the arm.
6 The door locking mechanism of claim 1 further characterized in that said mechanism is provided with a manually actuable activating handle and which can be shifted to cause the arm to move out of the obstructing position or back into the obstructing position.
7 The door locking mechanism of claim 6 further characterized in that said handle is spring biased so as to allow said arm to remain in an obstructing position in said track and is also spring biased to allow said arm to remain in an open position out of the channel at the selection of the user thereof.
8 The door locking mechanism of claim 1 further characterized in that a switch means is mounted on said frame and causes passage of a signal indicative of the open or closed condition of the locking mechanism.
9 The door locking mechanism of claim 5 further characterized in that the means for automatically shifting the movement obstruction arm comprises an electrical signal to actuate the solenoid and independently thereof a manual release for manually shifting the arm out of the channel.
10 A door locking mechanism for locking an overhead door having roller means movable in a channel of a track when the door is in a closed position and which is releasable to allow for opening movement of the door, said locking mechanism comprising:
- a) frame means capable of being mounted in proximity to said door;
- b) a movement obstruction arm on said frame means and being shiftable into the channel to engage a roller means on said door and block movement thereof when the door is in the closed position;
- c) solenoid means mounted on said frame and being energized in response to an electrical signal to open said locking mechanism to allow movement of said door;
- and
- d) a plunger operable by said solenoid means and engageable with said arm to move said movement obstruction arm to a position out of the channel.
11 The door locking mechanism of claim 10 further characterized in that said mechanism is provided with a manually actuable release handle and which can be shifted to cause the arm to move out of the obstructing position or back into the obstructing position.
12 The door locking mechanism of claim 11 further characterized in that said handle is spring biased so as to allow said arm to remain in an obstructing position in said track and is also spring biased to allow said arm to remain in an open position out of the channel at the selection of the user thereof.
13 The door locking mechanism of claim 10 further characterized in that:
- a) camming means is associated with said movement obstruction arm to automatically force said arm out of the obstructing position in the channel when the door is being moved to the closed position from the opened position;
- and
- b) means is provided for automatically shifting the obstruction arm back to a position out of the channel in response to a signal to authorizedly open the door.
14 The door locking mechanism of claim 13 further characterized in that the means for automatically shifting the movement obstruction arm comprises an electrical signal to actuate the solenoid and independently thereof a manual release for manually shifting the arm out of the channel.
15 The door locking mechanism of claim 14 further characterized in that a switch means is mounted on said frame and operates in conjunction with a signal indicative of the open or closed condition of the locking mechanism.
16 The door locking mechanism of claim 10 further characterized in that a solenoid means is operatively associated with said locking mechanism and causes movement of the movement obstruction arm out of the channel in response to an open signal therefor, and timing means is associated therewith to automatically de-energize the solenoid and permit an automatic locking of the lock after a predetermined time period.
17 A control arrangement for controlling movement of an overhead door having a security locking feature, said control arrangement comprising:
- a) a locking mechanism which locks the overhead door in a closed position and is operable to allow movement of the door to an opened position;
- b) an opener which powers an overhead door for movement from a closed position to an opened position and back to a closed position;
- c) a lock control module electrically connected to said opener and said locking mechanism and capable of receiving a lock open signal from the locking mechanism when the locking mechanism is in a certain state;
- and
- d) manually actuable switch means actuated by a user to send a door open signal to automatically release said lock mechanism, said control module receiving a signal from the locking mechanism indicative of which the lock mechanism is locked or unlocked.
18 The control arrangement of claim 17 further characterized in that said manually actuable switch means provides an external signal connected to the lock control module to cause opening movement of the locking mechanism.
19 The control arrangement of claim 18 further characterized in that a timing means causes an automatic relocking of the locking mechanism after a predetermined time period.
20 The control arrangement of claim 17 further characterized in that conductor means is connected between said locking mechanism and said lock control module for sending a signal to verify that the lock is in an open condition.
21 The control arrangement of claim 20 further characterized in that said lock control module is operatively connected to said opener to cause the opener to open the overhead door.
22 A method of controlling a locking of an overhead door having rollers movable in a channel of a track and which door is movable between an open and closed position, said method comprising:
- a) automatically moving a movement obstruction arm into the channel of the track to block movement of a roller on the door and thereby block further any opening movement of the door when that door is in the closed position;
- b) causing a camming action of the roller against a surface of the obstruction arm when the door is moving from an open position to a closed position and thereby automatically forcing said arm out of an obstructing position in the channel;
- and
- c) automatically shifting the obstruction arm out of the obstructing position in the channel in response to a signal authorizedly opening a lock having said arm thereon.
23 The method of claim 22 further characterized in that said method comprises automatically biasing the arm back to the closed position after the roller means passes over said arm when the door is moving to a closed position.
24 The method of claim 22 further characterized in that said method comprises manually overriding the door locking action with a manually actuable handle to allow said arm to remain in the locked position or cause to move to the unlocked position.
25 The method of claim 22 further characterized in that said method comprises automatically sending an electrical signal indicative of whether or not there is or is not a locking action.
26 A method for controlling the movement of an overhead door of the type having rollers movable in a generally vertically arranged track and which is also provided with a security locking feature, said method comprising:
- a) introducing a movement obstruction arm of a lock mechanism into a channel of a track for the door thereby blocking movement of any roller on the door and hence movement of the door into an open position;
- b) generating an external activation signal by a user to send a signal to automatically release said lock mechanism and remove a movement obstructing arm out of a blocking position in the track;
- c) sending a signal to a lock control module indicative of whether the locking mechanism is locking the door or permitting opening movement of the door;
- and
- d) sending a signal from the lock control module to an opener to thereby allow opening movement of the door in response to a sensing of the condition of the locking