Auxiliary Drive Damping Device for Motor-Driven Gate Leaf
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Large motor-driven door leaves often get stuck in a 'dead center' position due to their own weight, requiring excessive electrical energy for closing, and existing damping solutions are noisy and require electrical power or cause damage.
Innovation Solution
An auxiliary drive with a tension spring that serves as both a mechanical assist and damping device, using kinetic energy to overcome the dead center and store energy for closing, without electrical power and with reduced noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a motor drive is used to close large door leaves, then the door can be closed, but excessive electrical energy is required due to the dead center position
Solution Approach 1:
The tension spring is pre-tensioned in the open position to store potential energy before closing is needed. This preliminary energy storage allows the door to be closed without requiring excessive electrical energy at the moment of closing, as the spring assists the motor drive throughout the closing motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The tension spring system is self-energizing during door closing - as the door moves from open to closed position, the spring's restoring force automatically increases, providing increasing assistive force without requiring additional electrical energy input. The system uses the door's own motion to generate the closing force needed.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If existing damping solutions are used to prevent damage at dead center, then damage is prevented, but noise is generated and electrical power is required
Solution Approach 1:
The tension spring converts the potentially harmful impact at dead center into a beneficial controlled deceleration. Instead of allowing the door to slam into the stop, the pre-tensioned spring gradually absorbs the kinetic energy throughout the closing motion, converting the harmful impact force into useful potential energy storage, and then releases it to assist closing on the return stroke.
Solution Approach 2:
The tension spring is pre-tensioned in advance to create a cushioning effect before the door reaches dead center. This beforehand cushioning prevents the harmful impact by gradually absorbing energy during the approach to dead center, rather than allowing a sudden impact.
3Power
If a tension spring is used as auxiliary drive, then motor power requirements are reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tension spring serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as an auxiliary drive to reduce motor power requirements, a damping device to prevent damage at dead center, and an energy storage mechanism. By combining these functions into a single component, the overall device complexity is minimized despite the reduction in motor power.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient door operation with lower motor power requirements, reduces noise, and prevents damage by using stored energy for closing, while being maintenance-free and adaptable to different door sizes.
Implementation Method 1
an auxiliary drive with a simultaneous damping device for door leaves (1) guided in lateral guide rails (34, 35), which can be moved from a closed position to an open position and back to a closed position by a drive (40), having essentially at least one tension spring (3), which is tensioned in the open position by contact with the door leaf (1)
Implementation Method 2
the kinetic energy effective in the door leaf due to the movement sequence is sufficient to bring the door leaf into the open position
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to an auxiliary drive (1) with a damping device for a motor-driven gate leaf, which is repositionable in lateral guide rails having a substantially vertical course and a substantially horizontal guide rail section (34, 35) with an arc arranged between them, wherein the auxiliary drive has a stationary spacer element (2) on which stationary holders (5) are arranged at each end, wherein a tension spring element (3) is repositionably arranged on the spacer element (2), the tension spring element being fixed at one end to one of the holders (5) and connected at the other end to a driver (4, 38) that is repositionable on the spacer element (2), and wherein the driver (4, 38) has a stop (6, 41). The invention further relates to a gate that has at least one such auxiliary drive (1) with a damping device for the gate leaf.