US 5,249,392 AGranted

Apparatus for opening and closing a chamber door

AssigneeAmerican Sterilizer Company

InventorsJohn C. Houston, Arthur T. Nagare

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Abstract

An apparatus for moving a chamber door between open and closed positions relative to the opening in a sterilizer or an autoclave chamber. The apparatus is adapted to be used with a door system wherein the door is slidably attached to the chamber by support brackets that are affixed to the end of the chamber. A first set of pulleys are attached to the lower corners of the door and a second set of pulleys, arranged perpendicular to and directly above the first pulleys, are attached to the chamber. A cable, having one end thereof attached to a motorized take-up drum that is attached to the chamber, is received on the first and second pulleys so that the door is suspended on two sides by the cable. The pulley and cable arrangement supports and controls the vertical movement of the door without interfering with the support brackets that are affixed to the chamber. The other end of the cable is attached to a weight for creating tension in the cable.

Claims8

Dependent claims

An apparatus for moving a door of a chamber between open and closed positions relative to a chamber opening comprising:

mounting means suspended from said chamber, said mounting means slidably attaching said door to said chamber;
a flexible member adapted to movably support said door thereon and having a first end and a second end;
a first means for applying force to said first end of said flexible member which is effective for vertically lowering said door into said open position and vertically raising to said closed position, said first force applying means being attached to said chamber;
a second means for applying a force to said second end of said flexible member;
at least one first support means for receiving said flexible member thereon, said first support means being attached to said door;
and
at least one second support means for receiving said flexible member thereon, said second support means being attached to said chamber such that said flexible member extends between said first and said second support means to supportingly engage said door along its periphery such that said door is suspended on said flexible member whereby said flexible member does not cross in front of the opening plane of the door during opening.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.