Hinge pin mounted door switch
View Patent ↗A method for detecting a position of a door includes providing a switch having a body with two electrical contacts and a through-channel. Two lever arms extend from the body. Each of the arms is attached to a respective one of the electrical contacts. The arms have a first position relative to each other wherein the contacts are electrically connected to each other, and a second position relative to each other wherein the contacts are electrically disconnected from each other. A hinge pin is inserted through the through-channel of the switch and is also inserted into a door hinge. The arms are biased against a doorjamb and the door, respectively. It is monitored whether the contacts are electrically connected to each other.
1. A door position sensing arrangement, comprising:
a door hinge including a fixed part and a rotatable part, the fixed part being attached to a door frame, the rotatable part being attached to a door, the fixed part and the rotatable part conjunctively defining a first through-channel;
a switch including a fixed portion and a rotatable portion rotatably coupled to the fixed portion, the fixed portion having a first electrical contact and the rotatable portion having a second electrical contact, the fixed portion being biased against at least one of the fixed part of the door hinge and the door frame, the rotatable portion being biased against at least one of the rotatable part of the door hinge and the door, the fixed portion and the rotatable portion conjunctively defining a second through-channel aligned with the first through-channel, the fixed portion and the rotatable portion having a first position relative to each other wherein the contacts are electrically connected to each other, and a second position relative to each other wherein the contacts are electrically disconnected from each other, each of the fixed portion and the rotatable portion of the switch having a respective arm extending laterally therefrom, the switch further including a coil spring with two opposite ends, each said end engaging a respective one of the two arms, the arm of the fixed portion being biased by the spring against at least one of the fixed part of the door hinge and the door frame, the arm of the rotatable portion being biased by the spring against at least one of the rotatable part of the door hinge and the door; and
a hinge pin extending at least partially through the second through-channel of the switch and at least partially through the first through-channel of the hinge, the coil spring being coiled around the hinge pin.
2. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein each said end is molded into said respective one of the two arms.
3. The arrangement of claim 1 further comprising an electrical continuity detector electrically coupled to the first electrical contact and to the second electrical contact.
4. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein one of the contacts overlaps the other relative to a vertical direction when the arms are in the first position, and the contacts are non-overlapping relative to the vertical direction when the arms are in the second position.
5. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein the switch is connected to the hinge by only the hinge pin.
6. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein one of the fixed portion and the rotatable portion is disposed entirely above an other of the fixed portion and the rotatable portion.
7. The arrangement of claim 1 further comprising a cylindrical sleeve received in the second through-channel, the coil spring being coiled around the sleeve.
8. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein the arm of the rotatable portion is rotatable relative to the arm of the fixed portion in a range of over thirty degrees of rotation in a horizontal direction.
9. A door position sensing arrangement, comprising:
a door hinge including a fixed part and a rotatable part, the fixed part being attached to a door frame, the rotatable part being attached to a door having an open position and a closed position, the fixed part and the rotatable part conjunctively defining a first through-channel;
a switch including a fixed portion and a rotatable portion rotatably coupled to the fixed portion, each of the fixed portion and the rotatable portion of the switch having a respective arm extending laterally therefrom, the arm of the fixed portion being biased against at least one of the fixed part of the door hinge and the door frame, the arm of the rotatable portion being biased against at least one of the rotatable part of the door hinge and the door, the switch further including a spring with two opposite ends, each said end engaging a respective one of the two arms, the fixed portion being biased by the spring against at least one of the fixed part of the door hinge and the door frame, the rotatable portion being biased by the spring against at least one of the rotatable part of the door hinge and the door both when the door is in the open position and when the door is in the closed position, the fixed portion and the rotatable portion conjunctively defining a second through-channel aligned with the first through-channel;
means for sensing a position of the rotatable portion of the switch relative to the fixed portion of the switch; and
a hinge pin extending at least partially through the second through-channel of the switch and at least partially through the first through-channel of the hinge.
10. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein each said end is molded into said respective one of the two arms.
11. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein the switch is connected to the hinge by only the hinge pin.
12. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein one of the fixed portion and the rotatable portion is disposed entirely above an other of the fixed portion and the rotatable portion.
13. The arrangement of claim 9 wherein the spring comprises a coil spring coiled around the hinge pin.
14. The arrangement of claim 13 further comprising a cylindrical sleeve received in the second through-channel, the coil spring being coiled around the sleeve.