Warning device connected with garage door and method for providing a warning device to the users

A warning device includes a sign connected with a first end of a cable and a second end of the cable passes a pulley, and is connected to a garage door, so that when the garage door is opened, the sign is lowered to a desired height and seen by the driver to stop the car.

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Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a warning device connected with a garage door by a cable and a pulley so as to be lowered when the garage door is opened.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional garage door 40 is movably engaged with two L-shaped rails and a motor set 41 is fixed on the ceiling of the garage, a connection bar has one end connected to the door 40 and the other end of the connection bar is driven by the motor set 41 along a guide rail. When the user uses a remote control to activate the motor set 41, the door 40 is lifted along the L-shaped rails and the user drives his/her car in the garage and stops the car at a position before the wall. However, it is a common experience that the car hits the wall because the driver misjudges the distance between the front end of the car and the wall. As shown in FIG. 5, a stop sign stands on the floor so that the user knows that the car has to be stopped before the stop sign. The stop sign might scrap the car when the car is slight in contact with the stop sign. Besides, the stop sign stands on the floor occupies a space in the garage.

The present invention intends to provide a warning device which is lowered to a desired height so that when the user sees the device, he or she stops the car.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a warning device connected with a garage door, wherein a sign is connected with a first end of a cable and a second end of the cable passes a pulley and is connected to a garage door. The sign is lowered when the garage door is opened so that the driver can see the lowered sign and stops the car to avoid from hitting the wall or other objects in the garage.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a warning device which is hanged in the air and lowered when the garage door is opened, such that the driver can see the lowered sign to stop the car at a desired position in the garage.

The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows that the sign of the warning device is lowered when the garage door is opened;

FIG. 2 shows that the sign is lowered to a desired position and the car is stopped in front of the sign;

FIG. 3 shows that the sign is lifted and hanged in the air when the door is closed;

FIG. 4 shows steps of the method for providing the warning device to the users in the garage, and

FIG. 5 shows a conventional stop sign standing on the floor of the garage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the warning device 30 for avoiding the user from hitting the wall of garage of the present invention comprises a sign 31 connected with a first end of a cable 32 and a second end of the cable 32 passes a pulley 33, and is connected to a garage door 11 by a connector 34. The garage 11 is slidably engaged with two L-shaped rails 12 in the garage and driven by a motor set 20. The motor set 20 includes a motor 21 fixed on a ceiling of the garage and a guide rail 22 extends from the motor 21. A threaded rod is located in the guide rail 22 and rotated by the motor 21. A connection bar 23 has one end threadedly mounted on the threaded rod and the other end of the connection bar 23 is connected to the garage door 11.

When the user uses a remote control to activate the motor 21, the threaded rod is rotated by the motor 21 so as to move the connection bar 23 to lift the garage door 11. The sign 31 is then lowered when the garage door 11 is opened until the garage door 11 is completely opened. The sign 31 is lowered to desired height such as to a position where the sign 31 cannot be seen because of the hood of the car. Then the user stops the car so as to ensure that the car is stopped in front the wall of the garage. The height can be set according to the size of the car and the needs for the user. When the garage door 11 is closed, the sign 31 is lifted and hanged in the air when the door 11 is closed. Therefore, the sign 31 does not occupies the space of the floor of the garage. Besides, even if the car hits the sign 31, because the sign 31 is hanged by the cable 32 so that the sign 31 does not damage the car.

The sign 31 may also be equipped with a signal emitting device (not shown) and the car has a receiver which receives the signals from the sign 31 and provides an audio or proper type of signals to the user when the sign 31 is lowered to a desired height.

A method for providing a warning device connected to a garage door to users comprises the following steps which are:

a step of connecting a stop sign 31 to a first end of a cable 32 and a second end of the cable 32 passing a fixed pulley 33, and being fixed to the garage door 11;

a step of opening the garage door 11 which is slidably moved horizontally and adapted to move toward the garage;

a step of moving a car into the garage, and

a step of stopping the car when the sign 31 is lowered to a desired height.

The method and the warning device is easily to be installed and assembled. The warning device can be used to any type of the garage doors in the market.

While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A warning device comprising:

a sign connected with a first end of a cable and a second end of the cable passing a pulley and adapted to be connected to a garage door, the sign being lowered when the garage door is opened.

2. A method for providing a warning device connected to a garage door to users, comprising:

a step of connecting a stop sign to a first end of a cable and a second end of the cable passing a fixed pulley, and being fixed to the garage door;
a step of opening the garage door which is slidably moved horizontally and adapted to move toward the garage;
a step of moving a car into the garage, and
a step of stopping the car when the sign is lowered to a desired height.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the sign is lowered to desired height when the door is completely opened.

Patent History
Publication number: 20070277723
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 1, 2006
Publication Date: Dec 6, 2007
Inventor: Min-Lan Kou (Austin, TX)
Application Number: 11/444,350
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: 116/28.00R
International Classification: E04H 6/42 (20060101);