Abstract: A closure operator such as a garage door operator utilizes an apertured flexible tape. The tape is enclosed in a guide and a drive sprocket has teeth engaging the apertures to apply both tension and compression forces to open and close a door. The apertures are enlarged in width and length and the tape has fewer apertures per-unit-length compared to the prior art tape. This decreases the stress per-unit-area in the tape at each tooth and increases the shear strength of the webs between successive apertures to be more nearly equal to the tensile strength of the tension band areas of the tape.

Abstract: A garage door operator is provided which includes a flexible, elongated tape within a relatively rigid, elongated guide rail mounted in a garage. The tape has first and second runs longitudinally disposed in first and second guide channels in the guide rail. A motor is connected to drive a drive wheel with the tape wrapped around a part of the drive wheel and having a positive drive engagement therewith. A carriage is longitudinally guided on the guide rail and is connected both to the tape for movement therewith and by a link to a garage door for opening and closing movements of the door. The guide rail may be cut into sections for a shorter shipping package, and the tape coiled in a loop during shipment but then disposed within the guide channels during operation, the guide rail being spliced into one long, continuous assembly for use in the garage.

Abstract: A garage door operator is disclosed which has a motor-driven screw nearly enclosed within a guide, and a partial nut is guided by this guide means and moved longitudinally therealong by engagement with the rotating screw. The partial nut is adapted to be connected to a garage door to open and close the same. In order to shorten the package in which the garage door opener is shipped, the screw and guide means are in two or more parts and adapted to be coupled together to make an operative long screw and an operative long guide means. The screw parts, instead of being connected together at the factory by a double pivot connection, are shipped to the customer in a disconnected condition but one in which the coupling readily may be connected in a proper phase to avoid mismatch of the threads.

Abstract: A centrifugal switch is used in the motor control circuit in a garage door operator. Such operator has a motor driving through a friction clutch to move the door in opening and closing directions. If an overload condition on the door is encountered, the friction clutch will slip, slowing the driven member of the friction clutch. A cantilever contact blade is connected for rotation with the clutch driven member and slows, as well as moves radially inwardly, to engage a second conductor member which is coaxial with the output of the operator. This effects a switch-closed condition which acts through a control circuit to de-energize the electric motor. The foregoing abstract is merely a resume of one general application, is not a complete discussion of all principles of operation or applications, and is not to be construed as a limitation on the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Abstract: A multiple pole switch assembly is disclosed which is a simple structure of a housing having contact means and a metallic conductor comb with a plurality of teeth overlying the contact means. The housing is formed of base means and a cover therefor, which cover slides onto the base means in a first direction substantially parallel to the conductor teeth on the comb. The teeth of the comb extend through apertures in the base means and are clamped in position by the cover, with the cover latched in place on the base. The teeth extending through the base means may then be soldered to the base means, and the back of the comb may be broken off along a weakened area of the comb teeth. Switch actuator means is provided in the form of a thin insulator card having a preselected spacing of apertures in a row. The presence or absence of an aperture in the row establishes switch-open or switch-closed conditions.

Abstract: A limit switch mechanism is disclosed which may be easily moved along a guide channel and actuated by a carriage movable along the guide channel. The limit switch is constructed of only three or four parts for simple and economical manufacture and assembly. The base of the switch is of resilient insulating material to permit the switch base to be snapped onto the guide channel to be resiliently secured in an adjustable position. A bent wire has actuator, actuating, pivot, and retention portions, with the actuating portion actuating the two contacts between closed and open condition. The retention portion retains the bent wire longitudinally of the pivot axis and acts on the guide channel rather than on the base to permit ready assembly of the bent wire onto the base.

Abstract: A sequencing control circuit is provided for a door operator motor which is connected to open and close a garage door as controlled by signals from manual switches and load switches. The sequencing control circuit includes time delay means with a first time delay period in the order of six to eight seconds. This permits a person to hold a push button switch closed for about six to eight seconds so that a slab door may be opened against a snow drift which otherwise would have so much torque requirement on the motor that an overload switch would stop the motor. Enabling means is provided to enable the motor during this time period yet to disable the constant signal from the push button for periods longer than this time delay period so that the door operator motor then is responsive to signals from the load switches.The sequencing control circuit also includes a latch circuit having an output in a feed back loop to maintain the latch circuit latched upon a momentary input control signal.

Abstract: A receiver and decoder is disclosed wherein the receiver may be used as a remote control receiver in conjunction with a transmitter transmitting a carrier modulated with an encoded data train of first and second modulation frequencies for first and second modulation patterns. A third modulation pattern may be established by providing successive portions of the first modulation signal and then the second modulation signal during a given time. If the receiver is on the same carrier frequency and is set to receive the same modulation pattern sequence as in the encoded data train from the transmitter, then the receiver has an output which may be used to control some remote load. This may be a garage door operator to open a garage door, for example.The decoder in the receiver is responsive to the modulation signals and a signal discriminator discriminates among the three different modulation patterns or logic conditions of bits.

Abstract: A switch mechanism is disclosed which is readily adaptable to a multiple pole switch mechanism wherein a removable card is supported in a housing. First and second contacts make up a switch pair and are mounted in the housing for mutual cooperation with the first contact having a mounting portion, a movable contact portion and a movable actuable portion. The removable card provides a selective actuation means to actuate the first and second contacts between open and closed circuit conditions. The card has abutment means to engage the movable actuable portion of the contact blade or blades. Also, the card has alternative areas which do not actuate respective ones of the contacts and this may be provided by apertures in the card so that no material of the card is present to engage the contact blade actuable portion. Accordingly, either open or closed circuit conditions may be achieved.

Abstract: A two-pole off-set construction of an electric motor has winding portion laminations and rotor portion laminations which are separate so that the winding may be formed or placed on the winding portion and then the two portions of the stator interconnected to complete the flux path for the rotor circumscribed by a rotor aperture in the rotor portion. There must be a window space between these two portions to accommodate the winding on the winding portion and formerly the metal removed from this window space was scrap metal, necessitating an excessive amount of steel lamination material. In this invention, the layer of lamination is made in two complementary pieces and this layer has a rotor portion and a winding portion. The two separate lamination pieces for a layer of complete lamination are to permit the winding to be placed on this complete stator.

Abstract: An electrical switching device is disclosed comprising a first and a second support member engageable with one another forming a housing. A plurality of first and second contacts are mounted to the support housing and urged to be in contact with one another. A switching member such as an insulator having a plurality of contact apertures and a plurality of indexing apertures is movably mounted to the support housing and interposed between the first and second contacts. The insulator switching member separates some of the first and second contacts and allows electrical engagement of the others of the contacts through the contact apertures. The invention includes indexing means comprising a solenoid and an indexing member having an indexing arm to engage with an indexing aperture to move the switching member and the contact apertures to cause engagement or disengagement between the plurality of first and second contacts.