Garage door operating apparatus and methods
OwnerPaul Kicherinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides for apparatus and methods for operating a garage door. An embodiment of an operating assembly for a door includes a shaft, a graduated drum, and an energy storing member. The shaft is coupled to the door such that the shaft rotates in a first direction as the door is opened and rotates in a second direction as the door is closed. The coupling of the shaft to the door is typically accomplished by a cable. The graduated drum is coupled to the shaft and the energy storing member is coupled to the graduated drum by another cable. The energy storing member is arranged such that the energy storing member stores energy as the door is closed and releases stored energy as the door is opened to assist in the raising and lowering of the door.
Claims10
An operating assembly for a door comprising:
- a shaft coupled to a door wherein said shaft rotates in a first direction as the door is opened and rotates in a second direction as the door is closed;
- a graduated drum coupled to said shaft for rotation therewith, said graduated drum having a groove having a smallest diameter near a first end and a largest diameter near a second end, said graduated drum including a nonlinear portion extending along a major portion of the drum along the axis of the drum substantially from the grooves with the smallest diameter to the grooves with the largest diameter and having at least three consecutive graduations of the groove between the first and second ends, the difference in diameter between the first graduation and the second graduation is different than the difference in diameter between the second graduation and the third graduation;
- an energy storing member coupled to said at least partially nonlinearly graduated drum wherein said energy storing member stores energy as the door is closed and releases stored energy as the door is opened
- wherein said energy storing member is coupled to said nonlinearly graduated drum via a cable, said cable having a first end mounted to the first end of the drum along the smallest diameter of said drum and wrapping at least one and a half revolutions around said drum and connected at the other end to said energy storing member.
A method of assisting in the raising and lowering of a garage door, said method comprising:
- providing an energy storing device;
- coupling said energy storing device to said garage door through a graduated drum, said drum having a groove having a smallest diameter near a first end and a largest diameter near a second end, said drum including a nonlinear portion extending along a major portion of the drum along the axis of the drum substantially from the grooves with the smallest diameter to the grooves with the largest diameter and having at least three consecutive graduations of the groove between the first and second ends, the difference in diameter between the first graduation and the second graduation is different than the difference in diameter between the second graduation and the third graduation, wherein said energy storing device is coupled to said nonlinearly graduated drum via a cable, said cable having a first end mounted to the first end of the drum along the smallest diameter of said drum and wrapping at least one and a half revolutions around said drum and connected at the other end to said energy storing device;
- storing energy in said energy storing device as said garage door is lowered from an open position to a closed position;
- and
- releasing energy from said energy storing device as said garage door is raised from said closed position to said open position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.