Spring And Gear Patents (Class 16/79)
  • Patent number: 4979265
    Abstract: A wide angle hinge is used for articulation of a furniture door on a furniture unit with a base plate mounted on the furniture unit and a housing mounted on the furniture door; mounted on the base plate is a first gear rack on which a gear is rolled in the longitudinal direction of the hinge and meshes with a second gear rack connected with the housing. The second gear rack is mounted directly on the housing and has a circular arc shape that is concentric with the swivel axis of the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 25, 1990
    Assignee: Grass AG
    Inventor: Alfred Grass
  • Patent number: 4979261
    Abstract: Disclosed is a door control device that automatically repositions the driving shaft of the door closer toward and away from the door pivot, as the door opens and closes, as a means of modifying and improving the force required to open and close the door. Movement is accomplished by a double ended driving shaft having a sprocket gear on one end which drivingly engages a track which in turn repositions the slide mounted door closer to more favorable positions as the door opens and closes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1989
    Date of Patent: December 25, 1990
    Assignee: Schlage Lock Company
    Inventors: Thomas R. Lasier, Andrew Current
  • Patent number: 4905574
    Abstract: The rotary actuator includes at least a precompressed spring assembly comprising a compression coil spring the ends of which are engaged by flanged cups adapted to limit the spring extension and carried slidably on a pin provided, at each end, with a circlip which prevents the cups from coming off the pin itself.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1988
    Date of Patent: March 6, 1990
    Inventor: Giovanni Trevisan
  • Patent number: 4872239
    Abstract: A mechanical disk-type door closure wherein one end of the closure is connected to a door and the other end is pivotally connected to a door jam such that when the door pivots about its hinge. The closure includes a rod upon which a rack is formed to cause a pinion to rotate in one direction and which is in mesh with a gear so as to move the pinion out of contact with the rack. When the door closes, a spring moves the pinion into engagement with the rack and the pinion turns in a direction to rotate the gear which is subjected braking pressure so as to adjust the resistance to the closing motion of the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 1988
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1989
    Assignee: The Chamberlain Group, Inc.
    Inventors: Edward H. Ferguson, Kiyoshi Iha
  • Patent number: 4788742
    Abstract: A torque modification device for use with a pocket door which is adaptable to modify the torque applied by a door closer to the door to increase the torque when the door approaches its fully latched condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 1987
    Date of Patent: December 6, 1988
    Assignee: Door Control Specialties Co.
    Inventors: David B. Edgett, Richard L. Zunkel
  • Patent number: 4686739
    Abstract: A door closer the closing force of which can be adjusted is provided with a device for indicating the selected closing force. The device used to indicate the prevailing closing force is actuated in dependence on the adjustment of the spring which determines the closing force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 1986
    Date of Patent: August 18, 1987
    Assignee: Geze GmbH
    Inventors: Karl Fritsche, Wilhelm Vahs
  • Patent number: 4675938
    Abstract: A retraction device for automatically closing a panel, such as a door or window, after the panel has been opened. The retraction device includes a drum, a coiled spring power assembly for driving the drum, a centrifugal brake for controlling the power assembly and the drum to eliminate slamming of the panel during closing, and a gear train transmission assembly to connect the power assembly and the centrifugal brake. In one embodiment, the drum is a spool which carries a cable to connect the panel to the retraction device. In another embodiment, the drum has a rim which frictionally engages a frame supporting the panel. The centrifugal brake is adjustable to take into account a wide range of panel sizes and frictional conditions. This adjustment can be made through an aperture in the device's housing for quick and easy on-site installation. A one-way clutch mechanism is coupled between the power assembly and the brake to actuate the brake only when the panel is being retracted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 30, 1987
    Inventor: Robert L. Bundschuh
  • Patent number: 4665583
    Abstract: A hydraulic door closer has a housing including a bore and a piston supported for reciprocal sliding movement within the bore in door opening and closing directions corresponding, respectively, to opening and closing movements of an associated door. The piston has a head at one end and an open opposite end which receives a portion of a spring which biases the piston in its door closing direction. First and check second check valves within the head comprise part of a fluid control system for checking movement of the piston during at least a portion of its travel in either its door opening or door closing direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 1986
    Date of Patent: May 19, 1987
    Assignee: Emhart Industries, Inc.
    Inventors: Georgy Frolov, Walter E. Surko, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4590639
    Abstract: A door closer the closing force of which can be adjusted is provided with a device for indicating the selected closing force. The device used to indicate the prevailing closing force is actuated in dependence on the adjustment of the spring which determines the closing force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 1983
    Date of Patent: May 27, 1986
    Assignee: Geze GmbH
    Inventors: Karl Fritsche, Wilhelm Vahs
  • Patent number: 4573238
    Abstract: A door closer device comprises a body defining an internal chamber in which a piston is slidably received, the chamber, in use, containing hydraulic fluid. A valve is arranged in a passage in the body to permit the fluid to flow through the passage in both directions between spaces in the chamber at respective opposite sides of the piston. The valve has a first part axially adjustable along the passage and a valve member attached to said first part but movable axially relative thereto in the passage between extreme positions where it engages respective stop means on the first member, the valve member allowing fluid to flow unrestricted through an orifice at one end of the passage in one direction when in one of its said extreme positions, and at the other extreme position restricting flow through said orifice in the opposite direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 1984
    Date of Patent: March 4, 1986
    Assignee: Newman-Tonks Engineering Limited
    Inventor: Douglas C. Phillips
  • Patent number: 4455708
    Abstract: A door closer comprising at the end of one of two pivotally interconnected arms a closing device whose housing encloses a cylindrical piston driven by the arm through a rack-and-pinion system. On each side of this piston a return spring and a bag, filled with an incompressible but deformable viscous gum placed in a hollow piston biased elastically toward the cylindrical piston are placed on each side of the first-mentioned piston. The hollow piston has a diameter distinctly larger than the diameter of the first-mentioned piston, and the combined actions of this difference in diameters and of the viscosity of the gum ensure an effective braking of the return of the first-mentioned piston.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 1982
    Date of Patent: June 26, 1984
    Assignee: Paumellerie Electrique
    Inventor: Gerard Saigne
  • Patent number: 4369545
    Abstract: A pinion 9 attached to a door meshes with two parallel racks 10, 11 which face each other. A piston 14, connected by rods 29 to a rotatable lever 25 of a restoration assembly 4 which has a return spring 26 and a shock absorber 27, has an L-shaped pivotable hook 21 behind which a pin 12 of one of the two racks catches at the beginning of the opening. At the end of the closing, immobile stop 17 raises hook 21 to free pin 12. The same process occurs with the other rack to open the door in the other direction. The parts assemble in such a way that the door closure is not very thick and can be mounted directly inside a section of the door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1980
    Date of Patent: January 25, 1983
    Assignee: Pont-A-Mousson S.A.
    Inventor: Georges Maublanc
  • Patent number: 4115897
    Abstract: A door closer for moving a door connected thereto from an open position to a closed position includes a housing, a chamber located within the housing, a piston movable in the chamber in response to movement of the door and a linkage assembly connected to the door for transmitting door movement from the door to the piston. A fluid chamber is disposed on one side of the piston and the piston moves through the fluid chamber upon closing movement of the door. Valve means is provided for controlling the rate of fluid flow from the fluid chamber as the piston moves therethrough to thereby control the rate of movement of the piston and the damping force acting on the door. A spring is disposed in the chamber and acts on the piston to provide a force to move the door toward the closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1977
    Date of Patent: September 26, 1978
    Assignee: Eaton Corporation
    Inventor: Richard L. Zunkel
  • Patent number: 3934307
    Abstract: An adjustable spring loading mechanism for use in controlling the movement of doors and the like. The mechanism includes a cylinder housing and a piston slideable within the housing. A plurality of biasing means are arranged in the housing in engagement with the piston, and apply individual biasing forces to the piston which cooperate to produce a total resultant biasing force. The biasing means are provided with different effective lengths so as to engage with the piston at different positions in the cylinder and thereby vary the total biasing force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1974
    Date of Patent: January 27, 1976
    Inventors: Thomas R. Lasier, Roy Pollack