Cell door operating system

A horizontally linearly movable, vertical cell door assembly mountable in a cell wall space having opposed vertical walls, a central vertical column, a cell entry passageway extending to one said vertical wall on a selected side of said vertical column and fixed occupant restraining means extending across the space between the other side of the vertical column and said other vertical wall, comprising:

• a rigid, horizontal frame element spanning the top end of said cell wall space;
• means on said top frame element defining a horizontal track;
• a vertical cell door having an inner face and an outer face;
• a plurality of rollers rotatably secured in spaced relationship along the top edge of said vertical cell door and located to engage said horizontal track, thereby supporting said cell door for horizontal movement relative to said upper frame element from a closed position spanning said central column and cell entry passageway to an open position spacing said central column and said occupant restraining means;
• a locking rod mounted on the outer face of said central column for limited vertical movement and extending from a region above said horizontal track on said upper frame element to a point adjacent the bottom of said vertical cell door;
• means adjacent the bottom of said vertical cell door defining a pair of horizontally spaced latching notches respectively receiving the bottom end of said locking bar in said open and closed positions of said vertical door, whereby the same door designs may be employed for a cell entry passageway on either side of said central column;
• an elongated horizontal rack mounted for horizontal movement on said top frame element;
• means on said rack defining an elongated cam track extending horizontally beyond said locking rod in both said open and closed positions of said vertical cell door;
• actuator means connecting said locking rod to said cam track;
• said cam track being contoured to shift said locking rod downwardly into engagement with a respective one of said latching notches when said vertical cell door moves into either said open or closed positions;
• lost motion means interconnecting said elongated rack to the top end of said cell door, whereby initial movement of said rack in either direction relative to said locking bar releases said locking bar from a respective one of said notches prior to moving said cell door;
• a pinion driving said rack;
• a reversible DC motor driving said pinion;
• and
• a DC power source for said DC motor comprising a selected one of two independent banks of batteries.

A horizontal linearly movable, vertical cell door assembly mountable in a cell wall space having opposed vertical walls, a central vertical column, a cell entry passageway extending to one said vertical wall on a selected side of said vertical column and fixed occupant restraining means extending across the space between the other side of the vertical column and said other vertical wall, comprising;

• a rigid, horizontal frame element spanning the top end of said cell wall space;
• means on said top frame element defining a horizontal track;
• a vertical cell door having an inner face and an outer face;
• a plurality of rollers rotatably secured in spaced relationship along the top edge of said vertical cell door and located to engage said horizontal track, thereby supporting said cell door for horizontal movement relative to said upper frame element from a closed position spanning said central column and cell entry passageway to an open position spacing said central column and said occupant restraining means;
• a locking rod mounted on the outer face of said central column for limited vertical movement and extending from a region above said horizontal track on said upper frame element to a point adjacent the bottom of said vertical cell door;
• means adjacent the bottom of said vertical cell door defining a pair of horizontally spaced latching notches respectively receiving the bottom end of said locking bar in said open and closed positions of said vertical door, whereby the same door designs may be employed for a cell entry passageway on either side of said central column;
• a pair of horizontally pivoted latches respectively secured to opposite ends of said upper frame element of said cell door;
• said top frame element having latch receiving means in its opposite ends and in its center to receive both of said latch elements when said door is in either its closing position with respect to said right half of said door opening or its closing position with respect to said left half of said door opening.

The method of operating a cell door comprising the steps of:

• providing a reversible electric motor operatively connected to a power source and to the cell door to move it between closed and opened positions;
• detecting the level of current drawn by said motor;
• activating a special control sequence upon detection of a motor current level indicating a significant increase in torque output of said motor above normal levels required for moving said cell door;
• said special control sequence comprising the repeated application of normal voltage to said motor for a minimal duration of milliseconds so long as the torque output of said motor exceeds normal levels.