Sliding door operator and lock

#1. Field of the Present Invention

#The present invention relates generally to sliding door operators and more particularly to a door operator employing a motor driven gear which engages an elongated rack displaceable with respect to the supporting structure of the sliding door.

#2. Description of the Prior Art

#The present invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the views and in which:

#FIG. 1 is a front view of the door operator assembly according to the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is an exploded, fragmentary, perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 1;

#Referring first to FIG. 1, a door operator 10 according to the present invention is thereshown secured to the door wall structure 12 in a building wall 14. The door wall structure 12 includes a sliding door panel 16 having a door frame 18 supporting a glass panel 20. The door 16 is slidable on a track adjacent to a fixed window panel 22. Of course, it is to be understood that the operator 10 can be used with other sliding door structures having one or more sliding panels, so long as at least one panel is slidable with respect to a stationary wall structure.

#Operator 10 is electrically connected to a remote control switch box 24 by appropriate circuitry designated diagrammatically at 26. The switch box 24 is secured to the inside of the wall structure 14. An additional switch box 25 is secured on the exterior of the wall structure 14. In addition, electrical power cord 28 electrically connects an electric motor in the housing to a standard electrical outlet 30 in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1, wiring 26 and 28 extend through the hollow chamber of a tubular elongated member 34 so that the wiring is protectively housed within the bar and is hidden from view. The electrical circuitry will be described in greater detail hereinafter with respect to FIG. 7.

#Referring now to FIG. 2, the operator 10 includes a tubular housing 32 closed at each end by end plates 36 and 38. Each of the end plates includes an aperture adapted to receive the end of one of the elongated bars 34 and 40 so that the bars 34 and 40 are aligned in a spaced and parallel arrangement as they extend outwardly from opposite ends of the tubular housing 32. The tubular housing 32 also includes a drive housing 42 which houses a means for driving the elongated bars 34 and 40 into and out of the housing 32.