Overhead Roll-Up Door Safety System Ground Projection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing overhead roll-up door systems require users to divert their gaze from the doorway to view warning lights, posing a safety risk, especially for pedestrians and drivers, as they approach the door.
Innovation Solution
A safety system that projects visible warnings and indicators onto the ground surface around the doorway, allowing approaching traffic to be aware of door operations without needing to look away from their path, using lights controlled by a motor and controller to emit specific patterns and colors based on door status and operational changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If warning lights are mounted on side columns to indicate door operation status, then door operation visibility is improved, but user attention is diverted from the doorway path
Solution Approach 1:
The warning system transitions from a vertical mounting approach (lights on side columns at eye level) to a horizontal projection approach (lights projected onto the ground surface in the doorway path). This dimensional change allows the warning information to be delivered in the user's forward viewing direction rather than requiring upward or sideways glances, thereby maintaining both visibility and safety.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If projected warning lights are used on the ground surface, then user attention remains on the doorway path, but the complexity of the warning system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a projection surface (the ground) as an intermediary between the warning light source and the user. Instead of directly mounting lights where they would be visible, the system projects light onto the ground, which then reflects the warning information to users. This intermediary approach enables safety warnings to be delivered in the user's line of sight while using standard projection technology.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical mounting system (lights physically attached to side columns) with an optical projection system. Instead of requiring structural modifications to mount lights vertically on columns, the system uses projectors to cast warning patterns onto the horizontal ground surface, simplifying the mechanical installation while achieving the same safety communication goal.
3Loss of information
If multiple light patterns and colors are used to indicate different door statuses, then information conveyance is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring door status increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses different colors of projected light to represent different door operation statuses (e.g., red for closing, green for opening, yellow for intermediate states). This color-coding scheme provides intuitive visual information that users can quickly distinguish without requiring complex interpretation, as human vision is naturally adept at detecting color differences.
Solution Approach 2:
The warning system employs periodic or pulsing light patterns to convey different states or urgency levels. For example, blinking lights may indicate an imminent door closure requiring immediate attention, while steady lights indicate a slower, less urgent operation. This temporal variation in light emission provides additional information dimensions that are easily detectable by users.
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
Enhances safety by ensuring that traffic is alerted to door operations without requiring them to divert their attention, reducing the risk of accidents by projecting warnings within the line of sight and pathway, ensuring awareness of impending door movements.
Implementation Method 1
a light positioned to emit and project light onto a ground surface to display a warning pattern or indicator
Data Source
AI summary
An overhead roll-up door assembly having a door controller, a door panel and a drum on which the door panel is wound and unwound to open and close a doorway, opening and closing of the door being controlled by the controller. The door assembly includes a safety system comprising at least one light, the at least one light being positioned to emit light proximate a first side of the doorway, the light from the at least one light being projected onto a lower boundary of the doorway and forming a strip or stripe proximate the first side of the doorway, wherein emission of the light from the at least one light is controlled by the controller in conjunction with the controller opening and closing the doorway.