US1947079A - Safety device for vehicle doors - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 13, 1934.

C. E. ELLI$,. JR

SAFETY DEVICE FOR VEHICLE DOORS Filed May 31. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORY 'ATTORNEYS Feb. 13, 1934. Q ELLIS, JR 1,947,079

SAFETY DEVICE FOR VEHICLE DOORS Filed May 31, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY DEVICE FOR VEHICLE nooas of Illinois Application May 31, 1929. Serial No. 367,581

3 Claims.

This invention relates to safety devices for doors, and has particular reference to apparatus for protecting persons against injury in and/or by the doors of vehicles such as elevators, trains, and the like.

The great desirability of a power actuated mechanism for opening and closing doors has been recognized for many years past and in recent years such door operating mechanisms have come into use to a considerable extent. Their use, however, has been attended with innumerable accidents, some of them quite serious, because when the door is actuated to move it to theclosed position while some one is in the doorway, that person is liable to injury and frequently is severely injured by the door, especially as the mechanism for moving the door with the required speed and precision must have'considerable power.

It has been proposed to make such a door operating mechanism subject to automatic control by making the door in two or more parts, one of which will be moved relative to the other by engagement with an object in the doorway, the relative movement of these two parts serving to open or close an electric circuit whereby the movement of the door is checked or the door is retracted. Such a mechanism is by no means satisfactory and is objectionable because the automatic control of the door is secured by contact of the door with the body of a person in the doorway. o

The present invention is directed to the provision of an improved form of control mechanism for controlling the operation of a door in a doorway when moved by a suitable power device, and involves the provision of a control mechanism which is effective to control the operation of the door irrespective of any physical contact of any part of the door mechanism with the body of a person in the doorway.

This is accomplished by the provision of means whereby the door will not be moved to the closed position or will be checked if its movement has I been initiated if any part of a persons body is in the doorway or any part of his clothing, or if the doorway is partially obstructed in any other way, as for instance, by a package carried by a person entering or departing through the doorway. If the door is in its fully retracted position and the appropriate mechanism is manipulated to cause it to move to the closed position at a time when the doorway is obstructed, the controlling mechanism will operate automatically to prevent movement 0! the door, this being schematically in Figs. 1 and 2, Fig. 4 beingan radically different from the operation occurring with the mechanism above referred to wherein the door must move and, engage the person in the doorway before the controlling mechanism can function at all. If, when movement of the door to the closed position has started, and while the door is so moving, some part of ones body or apparel gets into the door opening, the automatic mechanism will function to check the operation of the door irrespective of whether or not there is any contact of the door with the obstructing object. Under all conditions, the control of the operation of the door is entirely independent of contact of the door with an object in the doorway.

These objects are attained in an apparatus which is the best now known to me by employing a beam of light across the door opening and a light-responsive element such as a photoelectric cell for controlling the operation of the door mechanism in such a way that the door may move to its closed position if nothing solid is interposed in the path of the beam of light, but if the beam is obstructed by the body of a person or by the wearing apparel of a person or by any other object, the movement of the door will be checked irrespective of any contact of the door with the obstructing object.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an electrical circuit diagram of semiautomatic apparatus for opening and closing the door or doors of a vehicle such as an elevator, the closing of the door or doors being automatically reversed when the photoelectric cell is disturbed by interception of thelight ray impinging thereon;

Fig. 2 is an electrical circuit of similar semiautomatic door opening and closing apparatus, the closing of the door being stopped automatically when the photoelectric cell is disturbed by intercepticn of the light ray impinging thereon;

Fig. 3 illustrates an electrical controller for operating an electrical elevator or other vehicle, the circuit connections of this controller being controlled by the photoelectric cell arranged as shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Figs. 4 and 5 are views showing a preferred arrangement of the photoelectric cell and light ray producing apparatus as applied to an elevator having semiautomatic car and shaft door opening and closing apparatus such as is illustrated III interior view of the elevator shaft as seen along the line 4-4 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 6 illustrates a preferred arrangement of photoelectrically controlled mechanism for preventing the closure of a manually operated elevator door when the light ray, directed as illustrated in Fig. 5 across the doorway upon the photoelectric cell, is interrupted; and

Fig. '7 illustrates a manner of applying the apparatus of this invention to the doorway of a railway vehicle or the like.

In these drawings, referring particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, numeral 10 designates an elevator car adapted to be driven upwardly and downwardly in the shaft 11, and adapted to stop at the several fioors to receive and discharge passengers in the usual way. Access to and from the elevator car 10 is had through the shaft doors 12 located at the several fioors, these shaft doors being preferably operated by an electric motor 13 through the agency of the screw 14, nut 15, and toggle levers 16 connected to the door 12, which is illustrated as a double door adapted to open and close at the center of the elevator car and shaft doorways. The elevator car door 1'7 may also be operated in a similar way by an electric motor, not illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, but shown diagrammatically at 18 in Figs. 1 and 2.

Mounted upon the elevator car 10 is a source of light 20, such as an electric incandescent lamp fitted with a reflector and converging lens as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, which directs a ray of light 21 across the shaft doorway so that this ray 21 is intercepted by the shaft door 12 when the door is fully closed as shown in Fig. 4. It is preferred that the ray 21 pass outside of the car door 17 and partly inside of the shaft door 12, as shown in Fig. 5, where it is most readily intercepted by any person attempting to go into or out of the elevator after the movement to close the doors has been initiated, whereby greater safety for the passengers is assured.

The light issuing from light source 20 falls upon and illuminates the thresholds of the car and shaft doorways, and thus serves the double purpose of lighting a passenger's Way into and out of the car and protecting him against injury in a manner to be described.

Obviously, the light ray 21 may be similarly directed only across the car doorway as shown in Fig. 7, only across the doorway of shaft door 12, or across both the car and shaft doorways, so as to be intercepted by both car door 17 and shaft door 21, if desired. An element of the ray 21 3 passes through an opening in the shaft door sill 22 which is covered by a glass or lens 23 located over a reflector 24 placed in a chamber 25 below the shaft door sill 22. This reflector defiects the ray 21 outwardly through a grating 26, glass, or like protective covering for the opening of chamber 25 into the elevator shaft 11, so that the ray impinges upon the photoelectric cell 27 mounted upon the elevator car 10, which has come to rest at that fioor to receive or discharge passengers.

Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the electrical effects produced in the photoelectric cell 2'7 by the ray 21 are amplified by a suitable amplifier 28, supplied with current from the direct current lines 29 and 30. In order that the electrical effects in the photoelectric cell may be amplified, the direct current is converted into fluctuating current by interrupting the ray 21 periodically by means of the shutter 31 consisting of a disc having spaced apertures, a plurality of radial arms, or the like, which is driven by a small electric motor 32 connected to the direct current line 29-30. The effect of the shutter is to give the light ray a predetermined frequency of interruption.

The amplifier 28 is tuned to respond only to the frequency of interruption of the ray 21 so that any other sources of light which might otherwise affect the photoelectric cell are ineffective to operate the door controlling mechanism, as they do not pass through the amplifier. This prevents unintended operation of the system by light rays coming from within the car or from the floor landing.

In order that the photoelectric cell 27 may be better shielded against unauthorized sources of light or reflection of light, it is housed in a screen box 9 having a small aperture through which only the ray element 21 may pass to fall directly upon the electrode of the cell.

Instead of interrupting the ray 21 to produce fluctuations in the photoelectric cell circuit, the source 20 may be replaced by a neon or other gas-filled lamp energized from an alternating urrent source to produce a fluctuating ray 21.

A solenoid 33 is connected to the output of amplifier 28 in such a way that when the ray 21 is directed upon the photoelectric cell 27, the current set up therein, which is amplified at 28, energizes solenoid 33 which normally holds up its armature 34 against the tension of spring 35. When the ray 21 is intercepted, solenoid 33 is deenergized and drops its armature which is pulled downwardly by spring 35 to open normally open contacts 36 and close normally closed contacts 37. The normally closed contacts 37 are in the circuit connected by wire 38 to positive line wire 29, which short circuits the door opening contact 39 when solenoid 33 drops its lower contacts 40 into engagement with contacts 37, whereby solenoid 41 is energized to raise its contacts 42 and 43 into engagement with contacts 44 and 45, respectively, which causes energization of the armatures and field windings of the parallel-connected shaft and car door operating motors 13 and 18 to open these doors.

The normal operation of the door operating mechanism is controlled by manual lever or handle 46, the condition of the circuit being as shown in Fig. 1. In order to open the doors when the elevator car comes to rest at a fioor to receive or discharge passengers, the car operator moves handle 46 into engagement with contact 39 to connect positive line wire 29 to solenoid 41, which is energized to pull up its contacts 42 and 43 into engagement with respective contacts 44 and 45, which causes energlzation of the field windings and armatures of motors 13 and 18, which ac cordingly open the shaft and car doors to per mit passage of the passengers in the usual way. After the passengers have passed through the doors, the operator reverses hand lever 46 to engage door closing contact 47, which connects positive line wire 29, through contacts 36, bridged by the upper contact 48 of armature 34, wire 49 to energize solenoid 50, and return by wire 51 to negative line wire 30.

The disconnection of handle 46 from door open ing contact 39 de-energizes door opening solenoid 41. which drops its armature to disconnect the door opening motors 13 and 18. The energization of solenoid 50 causes it to pull up its armature to engage its contacts 52 and 53 with respective contacts 54 and 55 to reverse connections to the armatures and field windings of door opening motors 13 and 18, respectively. This causes the motors to reverse and close the corresponding car and shaft doors 17 and 12, respectively.

Inasmuch as the shaft door 12 intercepts ray 21, the photoelectric cell 27 would operate and drop its armature 34 to close contacts 37, whereby the door motors would be energized to reopen the doors, but as this is not desired, the solenoid 33 is energized directly from line 2936 by engagement of switch lever 56 with fixed contact 57 just before the doors are completely closed. This is preferably accomplished as illustrated in Fig. 4, by connecting switch lever 56 by links 58 to the door operating toggle levers 16 in such a way that opening of the door 12 disconnects switch lever 56 from contact 57, whereby the solenoid 33 is energized by the photoelectric cell circuit. Conversely, closing of the door 12 reconnects switch lever 56 with contact 57, whereby the solenoid 33 is energized directly from line 2930 and the operation of photoelectric cell 27 when the bios ing door 12 intercepts ray 21 is ineffective.

It will be seen that, after the operator has thrown handle 46 into engagement with contact 47 to effect closure of the car and shaft doors in the manner described, if a person attempts to enter or leave the car through the closing doors, that person, his arm, leg or any other portion of his body, clothing or the like, will intercept the ray 21 and de-energize the photoelectric cell 27. This results in de-energization of solenoid 33, which accordingly drops its armature 34 to break the circuit through contacts 36 and motors 13 and 18 to stop the closing movement of the doors. At the same time, contacts 37 are connected by armature 34 to energize solenoid 41, whereby the motors 13 and 18 are operatedto re verse and reopen the doors. When the interception of the ray 21 has ceased, solenoid 33 is deenergized and pulls armature 34 upward to break contact 37 and restore the circuit through contacts 36, whereby the operator may again close the doors by moving his handle 46 into engagement with door closing contact 47.

This arrangement prevents injury to passengers by the closing doors, and as the majority of modern elevators are equipped with safety devices which prevent the energization of the car driving motors until the doors are completely closed, a double safety element is provided by the apparatus of this invention. One example of such a safety device for controlling the operation of the car in accordance with the condition of the doors is disclosed in Patent No. 1,648,002, issued Novembar 8, 1927, to H. V. McCormick.

In Fig. 2 a modified form of the apparatus of this invention is shown diagrammatically. The de-energization of photoelectric cell 27, caused by interception of the ray 21", causes de-energization of solenoid 33, which drops its armature 34' which is pulled downwardly by spring 59 to break the connection between contacts 60. The power input to the amplifier 28' is alternating current, which can be readily amplified without requiring the shutter 31 shown in Fig. 1 for producing pulsations in the direct current input.

In this arrangement, the manual control lever for operating the car doors is a pole-changing electric switch 61. When moved into the position shown, the doors are opened by the motors 13 and 18'. When switch 61 is moved in the opposite direction, the motors are reversed to close the doors. Contacts 60 are in the door closing circuit, so that if the ray 21' is intercepted by a passenger attempting to enter or leave the ele-' vator car after the movementto close the doors has been initiated by manipulation of switch 61, the resultant de-energization of the photoelectric cell27 causes solenoid 33' to drop its armature 34 and break the circuit to the motors 18 and 18, whereby the closing movement of the doors is arrested.

When the interception of the ray 21 has ceased, solenoid 33' is re-energized to reclose contacts 60 so that the motors 13' and 18' may operate to close the door. This takes place automatically if the operator has left switch 61 in the door closing position.

If the operator has moved switch 61 from the door closing position when the door stopped closing because of the operation of the photoelectric cell, he may move it back to the door closing position, or he may reopen the door by moving the switch 61 to the door opening position shown in Fig. 2. It will be noticed that the action of the photoelectric cell 27' does not affect the door opening circuit in any way. The photoelectric cell cut-out or short-circuiting switch 56 operates in the manner described above in connection with Figs. 1 and 4.

In Fig. 3 is illustrated diagrammatically an arrangement whereby the photoelectric cell 27" may be employed to prevent the operation of the elevator driving motor when the ray, arranged as shown in Fig. 5, for example, is intercepted by a person or other object in the car or shaft doorways. The elevator car carries the usual controller 62, which is provided with contacts and electrical connections through which the movement of the car by'the driving motor, not necessary to be shown, is controlled, such connections including supply wires 63 and 64 in which is interposed a switch 65 of any suitable construction,

preferably having a spring 66 which holds this switch in normally open position. The armature 34 of the solenoid 33" of the photoelectric cell 2'7" and amplifier 28", is attached to the switch 65, as shown.

In the event that the ray is intercepted in the manner described, the de-energization of the solenoid 33" causes switch 65 to break the elevator control circuit, so that the car cannot move, even though the operator manipulates controller 62 in an attempt to start the car. When the interception of the ray ceases, solenoid 33" is reenergized and spring 66 restores the circuit. The short-circuiting switch 56" is operated in the manner described in connection with Figs. 1, 2 and 4. Obviously, a double safety arrangement controlled by the photoelectric cell may be provided by combining the arrangements of Figs. 1 or 2 with the arrangement of Fig. 3, as by adding switch 66 to the armature 34 in Fig. 1 so that the same photoelectric cell controls the closing of the door and the operation of the elevator.

' In Fig. 6, the elevator shaft door 12' may be actuated manually by means of the usual toggle lever shown in Fig. 4 and illustrated in the aforementioned McCormick patent. As shown in this patent, the rod 67, which moves upwardly with the toggle when the door 12' is opened, and downwardly when the door 12' is closed, may be projected downwardly through the sill of the door for engagement by a pivoted brake shoe 68 which is normally held out of engagement by a spring 69 when the car carrying it is moving. If the ray 21 arranged as shown in Fig. 5, is intercepted in the manner described, the solenoid 33" of the photoelectric cell 27' is de-energized, allowing spring 69 to pull its armature 34" upwardly so as to swing the shoe 68 into engagement with the rod 67 and prevent its downward movement, whereby the door 12' cannot be closed. When the interception of the ray has stopped, the solenoid 33" is re-energized and pulls the brake shoe 68 away from rod 67 so that door 12' may be closed. As shown in theaforementioned McCormick patent, the car controller cannot operate the driving motor so long as the door 12' remains open. Also, this arrangement may be combined with the arrangement shown in Fig. 3, if desired, the same photoelectric cell performing both of the functions described in connection with these arrangements.

The application of the safety device of this invention to a railway vehicle door, as shown in Fig. I, may comprehend any of the arrangements illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6, and one photoelectric circuit may control all of the doors of the train, or one cell associated with each door may control the individual doors, if desired.

It will be seen that this invention provides a very effective and efficient safety device whereby the dangers attending the operation of high speed elevators or other cars are obviated, and this safety factor permits the elevators and cars to operate at still greater speeds without fear of injury to any persons by reason of closing doors or car movements when a person is located in the doorway. While several preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustraed and described herein, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments, but is susceptible of change in form, detail and arrangement within its scope.

At the same time the ray illuminates the threshold of the car or landing doorway, whereby it performs a twofold function without additional or separate apparatus.

' I claim:

1. In combination with a vehicle door, a source directing a beam of light across the doorway, a light sensitive cell in said beam of light, mechanism for moving said door, means connecting said cell and said mechanism whereby the cell controls the mechanism, and means responsive to the closing operation of the door near its closed position for rendering said cell ineffective to control said mechanism.

2. In combination, a car having a doorway movable past a cooperating doorway, means disposed on the car for projecting a light across said cooperating doorway, a light-sensitive device disposed on said car, means associated with said cooperating doorway for reflecting said light to said device, a door in said cooperating doorway, and means for connecting said device and said door whereby the device controls operation of the door when the light is interrupted.

3. In combination, a car having a doorway movable pas; a cooperating doorway, means on said car for projecting a light across said doorways, a light-sensitive device disposed on the car, means associated with the cooperating doorway for reflecting said light to said cell, doors for the doorways, and means for connecting said cell and said doors whereby the cell controls the operation of the doors when the light is interrupted.

CHARLES E. ELLIS, Jn.

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