Rotating door systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10876347-B2
Application number	US-201615197363-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2016
Priority date	Jul 1, 2015
Publication date	Dec 29, 2020
Grant date	Dec 29, 2020

Abstract

Rotating door systems and methods for rotating a plurality of rotatable doors between a closed position and an open position are provided. Each of the rotatable doors may have a height measured in a vertical direction between opposing horizontal edges, a width measured in a horizontal direction between opposing vertical edges, and an axis of rotation centrally located between the opposing vertical edges. The rotatable doors may be rotatably coupled to an upper support at the axis of rotation via an upper pivot shaft and rotatably coupled to a lower support at the axis of rotation via a lower pivot shaft. The rotatable doors may be at least partially transparent. The rotation of one or more of the rotatable doors may be controlled by a controller.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A rotating door system, comprising:
rotatable doors configured to rotate between a closed position and an open position, each respective rotatable door comprising a transparent panel, the transparent panel comprising:
a height measured in a vertical direction between opposing horizontal edges,
a width measured in a horizontal direction between opposing vertical edges, and
an axis of rotation centrally located between the opposing vertical edges of the transparent panel,

wherein each of the rotatable doors is rotatably coupled to an upper support at the axis of rotation via an upper pivot shaft and rotatably coupled to a lower support at the axis of rotation via a lower pivot shaft,
wherein the axis of rotation of each rotatable door is fixed relative to the upper support and the lower support, and
wherein the rotatable doors do not overlap and are aligned in same plane in the closed position.

2. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein, when rotating between the closed position and the open position, the rotatable doors automatically rotate at one or both of: the same time and the same speed.

3. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein, when rotating between the closed position and the open position, each of the rotatable doors automatically rotates at a variable speed between the closed position and the open position,
wherein the speed of rotation increases as the rotatable doors rotate away from the closed position, reaches a maximum between the closed position and the open position, and decreases as the rotatable doors approach the open position.

4. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein, when rotating between the closed position and the open position, a first of the rotatable doors automatically rotates clockwise and a second of the rotatable doors automatically rotates counter-clockwise.

5. The rotating door system of claim 4 , wherein the first rotatable door is located immediately adjacent to the second rotatable door.

6. The rotating door system of claim 4 , wherein the first rotatable door and the second rotatable door rotate simultaneously.

7. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein respective rotatable doors immediately adjacent to each other are spaced apart in the closed position.

8. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein the height of each respective transparent panel is at least 8 feet and the width of each respective transparent panel is at least 6 feet.

9. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein each respective rotatable door comprises a peripheral border, the peripheral border defining the horizontal edges, the vertical edges, and a border around the periphery of front and rear surfaces of the rotatable door.

10. The rotating door system of claim 9 , wherein the upper pivot shaft and the lower pivot shaft of each rotatable door are coupled to the peripheral border of the rotatable door.

11. The rotating door system of claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to control the rotation of the rotatable doors.

12. The rotating door system of claim 11 , further comprising a sensor in communication with the controller, wherein the controller is configured to control the rotation of the rotatable doors based on signals received from the sensor.

13. The rotating door system of claim 1 , further comprising:
gear assemblies, each respective gear assembly coupled to the upper pivot shaft or the lower pivot shaft of one of the rotatable doors;
actuators, each respective actuator coupled to and configured to rotate one of the gear assemblies; and
a controller configured to control the rotation of the rotatable doors by operating the actuators.

14. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein each respective rotatable door comprises a separate lower support assembly comprising a plate that is fixed relative to the lower support and that rotatably supports the lower pivot shaft of the rotatable door at its axis of rotation.

15. The rotating door system of claim 14 , wherein the lower support is a floor, and wherein each respective lower support assembly is directly coupled to the floor.

16. The rotating door system of claim 14 , wherein the lower support is a floor, and wherein at least a portion of each respective lower support assembly is disposed within a respective recess in the floor.

17. The rotating door system of claim 14 , wherein the separate lower support assembly comprises:
a first plate comprising a lower pivot shaft support, and
a second plate secured to the first plate and comprising one or more alignment mechanisms for adjusting the position of the first plate relative to the second plate in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotatable door.

18. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable doors are not coupled to the lower support and the upper support by a frame.

19. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein each respective rotatable door comprises a separate upper support assembly comprising a plate that is fixed relative to the upper support and that rotatably supports the upper pivot shaft of the rotatable door at its axis of rotation.

20. The rotating door system of claim 19 , wherein the upper support is a ceiling, and wherein each respective upper support assembly is directly coupled to the ceiling.

21. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein the transparent panel defines at least 90% of a front surface area or a rear surface area of the rotatable door.

22. The rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable doors are configured to close an opening defined by a ceiling, a floor, and side walls of a storefront when the rotatable doors are in the closed position,
wherein one of the horizontal edges of each rotatable door is configured to be disposed immediately adjacent the ceiling and the other one of the horizontal edges of each rotatable door is configured to be disposed immediately adjacent the floor when the rotatable doors are in the closed position, and
wherein one of the vertical edges of each rotatable door is configured to be disposed immediately adjacent to one of the vertical edges of another door in the rotating door system when the rotatable doors are in the closed position.

23. A store, comprising;
a floor;
a ceiling; and
a storefront comprising the rotating door system of claim 1 , wherein the axis of rotation of each rotatable door is fixed relative to the storefront.

24. The store of claim 23 , further comprising a controller configured to control the rotation of the rotatable doors between the closed position and the open position.

25. The store of claim 23 , further comprising:
a controller configured to control the rotation of the rotatable doors between the closed position and the open position; and
a sensor in communication with the controller;
wherein the controller is configured to prevent or stop rotation of one or more of the rotatable doors in response to receiving a signal from the sensor.

26. The store of claim 23 , further comprising a controller configured to control the rotation of the rotatable doors between the closed position and the open position, wherein the controller is configured to rotate each door having an axis of rotation located to the right of a center of the storefront in a first rotational direction and to rotate each door having an axis of rotation located to the left of th

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Andrus James
• Wright Ed
• Mcgrath James
• Albertini Marco
• Gordon Brent
• Perry Hilton

Classifications

• E06B3/40 Primary

  with a vertical or horizontal axis of rotation not at one side of the opening, e.g. turnover wings · CPC title

• E06B1/38

  for shop, show, or like large windows · CPC title

• E05Y2900/132

  Doors · CPC title

• E06B2003/406

  where the axis of rotation is vertical · CPC title

• E05F15/70

  with automatic actuation · CPC title