EP0818601A1 - Roller shutter with thin lamellae, which are joined and have straight edges - Google Patents

Abstract

The roller blind is made from a series of curved rigid slats (1,2), e.g. of aluminium or plastics, with plain edges (11,12). The slats being joined together by a layer of a flexible material (3) which acts as hinges, enabling adjacent slats to pivot relative to one another. In one version of the design the slats are extruded from a plastic material. The hinges are made from thinner layers of the same material extruded at the same time as the slots. The blind is designed to roll onto a drum with a diameter conforming with the shape of the slats so that the rolled blind lies conveniently on the roller's surface.

Description

Roller shutters are well known and are present in different variants depending on whether looking for resistance to burglary, the quality of the decor, sun protection, total, partial and / or blackout adjustable, thermal and / or sound insulation, etc.

• la solidité, afin de résister aux chocs et effractions,
• l'isolation thermique et/ou phonique,
• l'occultation de la lumière (solaire ou artificielle).

The qualities that can be expected from a roller shutter are:

• solidity, in order to resist shocks and break-ins,
• thermal and / or sound insulation,
• the occultation of light (solar or artificial).

Whatever the dominant quality chosen, the roller shutter deck is formed by parallel blades and hinged together to allow the deck, either extend in a plane in the so-called "closed" position, ie to wind in a spiral on a drum in the so-called position "opening".

Depending on the material from which the blades are made, their large longitudinal edges are designed differently.

The oldest deck is made of slats in wood glued to a canvas and the very nature of the wood has consequence that these blades are thick and cannot be wound on a drum only if you accept that open position, the diameter of the rolled up apron reaches a very important value.

In this case, the deck remains flat even in position opening, and simply goes from a closed position in which it obscures an opening and is therefore visible, an open position in which it fades to be invisible.

This system is mainly used as a door of furniture, inside which the apron is housed, in open position, along the walls of the cabinet.

Apart from this structure suitable for furniture but not the concealment of building bays or the interior partitioning, decorative and light, the others roller shutters must be wound in a spiral on a drum, itself placed inside a chest.

The dimensioning of this chest is a problem major because, apart from the fact that the trunk must fit the best possible in the interior or exterior decoration of a dwelling, it must occupy as little space as possible in height for keep the daylight as large as possible and research, obviously, the most modest dimensions possible, knowing that they essentially depend on what that the chest contains bulky: the drum and the apron wound in a spiral.

It is clear that if the deck must oppose a high resistance to external aggression, the blades themselves must be robust, therefore thick and therefore bulky.

You would think that an external aggression violent only results from accidental impact (but probable), attempted break-ins or acts of vandalism, but in reality, the highest solicitation to which the curtain of a roller shutter must resist is the wind pressure, risk that is permanent.

In addition, it is imperative that they be securely joined together so that they do not cannot be easily removed even with a tool leveraging.

Thermal and / or sound insulation, meanwhile, can only be obtained by the blades themselves since they form the main element. It is therefore imperative that the blades are thick as a whole to form a barrier against temperature and / or noise.

If the apron is not a closing element or an element of insulation but only a means of protection solar or blackout light, it can be light but the blades must in any case be hinged together to others and withstand the pressure of the wind.

We also know under the name of "opaque chest", a hybrid protective element between the canvas awning and the roller shutter, the apron of which is made of a simple canvas stiffened by a few blades that keep it taut.

We understand, however, that this structure resists very badly in the wind because the canvas swells between the blades, the apron goes up and the blades leave their slides side guides, which can cause tearing of the canvas and, in any case, a stop of operation of the store.

We also know the roller shutters formed of more or less curved thin blades, formed in one metal thickness, and whose large longitudinal edges are configured in reverse hooks so that two blades neighbors can be hooked to each other and bow without detaching yourself.

These rolling shutters in single-walled slats are not very solid with no positive counterpart, because their deck stays bulky when wrapped around a drum because the contoured shapes of the longitudinal edges increase the real thickness of the blades considered radially on the drum, besides that this apron is noisy in case of wind.

The present invention provides a solution new, mainly focused on achieving a component rolling in a very small footprint when its deck is wound on a drum.

We deliberately choose to favor this quality because resistance to break-ins no longer has much of importance beyond the first floor of buildings modern collectives, and insulation becomes superfluous and illusory in front of modern windows that have a structure in synthetic material and double glazing.

To this end, the subject of the invention is a component roller whose deck is made up of rigid blades and curved, joined together and pivotally mounted one on the other compared to the others to allow the passage of the apron of a so-called "closed" position in which the blades are superimposed and the deck extends substantially in a plane, and a so-called "open" position in which the blades are angularly offset and the deck is rolled up in a spiral on a drum, characterized in that each of the blades is made of a thin material, is curved, and has two large longitudinal sides with straight edges, two neighboring blades being joined to each other in two large adjacent and independent sides, substantially joined, by a flexible veil.

• le voile est rapporté et fixé à toutes les lames;
• le voile est unique et en une seule pièce et recouvre toute la surface du tablier;
• le voile est formé de bandes séparées par des espaces;
• les bandes sont parallèles aux lames et chacune d'elles assemble un petit nombre de lames, voire deux seulement;
• les bandes sont perpendiculaires aux lames et chacune d'elles assemble toutes les lames selon une faible largeur;
• chaque lame présente une marge flexible au-delà des deux grands côtés longitudinaux dont chacune est destinée à être appliquée sur une marge flexible analogue d'une lame voisine pour être ainsi assemblées entre elles, notamment par collage ou soudure, afin de constituer ensemble le voile flexible;
• certaines au moins des lames et le voile qui les réunit sont extrudés en une seule pièce de matière synthétique dont l'épaisseur est moindre entre les lames;
• les lames ont des dimensions variables selon leur rang par rapport à la lame d'extrémité dite "d'origine" fixée au tambour d'enroulement, afin qu'elles s'appliquent les unes sur les autres en spirale tout en étant emboítées, pour éviter la formation d'espaces entre les lames de deux spires successives superposées;
• la dimension variable des lames est leur largeur mesurée entre leurs deux grands bords longitudinaux, le rayon de courbure de leur galbe ayant une valeur sensiblement constante;
• la dimension variable des lames est le rayon de courbure de leur galbe, leur largeur mesurée entre leurs deux grands bords longitudinaux étant sensiblement constante;
• certaines au moins des lames présentent un rayon de courbure et une largeur mesurée entre leurs deux grands bords longitudinaux, qui correspondent respectivement à la courbure et à la longueur d'une fraction de la longueur de celle des spires sur laquelle ces lames doivent se placer.

According to other characteristics of the invention:

• the veil is attached and fixed to all the blades;
• the veil is unique and in one piece and covers the entire surface of the deck;
• the veil is formed of bands separated by spaces;
• the strips are parallel to the blades and each of them assembles a small number of blades, or even only two;
• the strips are perpendicular to the blades and each of them assembles all the blades to a small width;
• each blade has a flexible margin beyond the two long longitudinal sides, each of which is intended to be applied to a similar flexible margin of a neighboring blade so as to be thus assembled together, in particular by gluing or welding, in order to together constitute the veil flexible;
• at least some of the blades and the veil which joins them are extruded in a single piece of synthetic material whose thickness is less between the blades;
• the blades have variable dimensions according to their rank relative to the so-called "original" end blade fixed to the winding drum, so that they apply to each other in a spiral while being nested, for avoid the formation of spaces between the blades of two successive superposed turns;
• the variable dimension of the blades is their width measured between their two large longitudinal edges, the radius of curvature of their curve having a substantially constant value;
• the variable dimension of the blades is the radius of curvature of their curve, their width measured between their two large longitudinal edges being substantially constant;
• at least some of the blades have a radius of curvature and a width measured between their two large longitudinal edges, which correspond respectively to the curvature and to the length of a fraction of the length of that of the turns on which these blades must be placed.

The invention will be better understood from the description detailed below made with reference to the accompanying drawing. Good understood, the description and the drawing are only given indicative and non-limiting example.

Figure 1 is a partial schematic view showing in perspective two blades of a shutter veil rolling according to the invention, assembled by a veil in one piece and covering the entire surface of the deck.

Figure 2 is a partial schematic view showing in perspective two blades of a shutter veil rolling according to the invention, assembled by a formed veil separate strips parallel to the blades.

Figure 3 is a partial schematic view showing in perspective two blades of a shutter veil rolling according to the invention, assembled by a formed veil separate strips perpendicular to the blades.

Figure 4 is a partial schematic view showing in perspective three blades of a shutter veil roller according to the invention, assembled by a margin flexible that each blade has.

Figure 5 is a partial schematic view showing in perspective two blades and a flap veil rolling according to the invention, obtained together by one-piece extrusion of synthetic material.

Figure 6 is a schematic sectional view of a roller shutter according to the invention, showing the apron in open position, wound on a drum placed in a chest.

Figures 7 and 8 are two schematic views partial illustrating two variants of the invention concerning the sizing of the blades and showing the difference in the dimensions of the rolled-up aprons.

Referring to Figure 1, we see two blades 1 and 2 in accordance with the invention, both from the point of view of their individual structure as their assembly.

Each of them is made of a thin material such as a light metal alloy, aluminum, a plastic, composite material, etc. and is shapely to have stiffness, rigidity. They present each two long straight longitudinal sides on board franc 11-12 and 21-22, that is to say that these sides do not have no relief likely to increase the overall thickness E measured between the two tangent virtual planes P1 and P2 respectively to the convex face of the blades and to the edges francs 11-12 and 21-22 of the concave face, so that these blades occupy a minimum space when the deck is rolled up and that the blades are stacked.

All the slats forming a shutter curtain rolling are placed against each other, their two large adjacent longitudinal sides (here 12 and 21), independent since they are not linked to each other, being also joined as possible.

The blades are joined together by means of a veil flexible 3 fixed against the concave faces of these blades and constituting an invisible hinge allowing the blades to rotate relative to each other around their edges straight, to form an apron transversely flexible, can be wound on a drum.

In FIG. 1, the web 3 is unique, in one single piece and covers the entire surface of the deck.

In Figure 2, we see that the veil is formed of bands 31, 32, 33 ... separated by spaces and joining each two blades.

These bands are shown as continuous and extending over the entire length of the blades, measured parallel to the long sides, i.e. on a short side to the other of the blades. But they could also be discontinuous and formed of distinct segments.

In Figure 3, we see that the veil is formed of bands 34, 35, 36 ... separated by spaces and joining each all blades.

These bands are shown as continuous and extending over the entire height of the deck, measured perpendicular to the long sides of the blades. But they could also be discontinuous and formed of segments separate.

In Figure 4, we see that each blade carries a veil fragment, consisting of two flexible margins 37 and 38 located beyond its two long longitudinal sides 11 and 12, 21 and 22 ...

Each blade proper 1, 2 ... and its two margins 37 and 38 can be obtained in one piece by thick plastic molding or extrusion variable.

The blade itself, as shown, may have a uniformly variable thickness: minimum near large longitudinal and maximum sides in the middle.

Margins 37 and 38 can be thinner than long longitudinal sides and / or be tapered to their straight straight edge 39.

The entire apron is formed by positioning the blades so that the margin 37 of one is superimposed on the margin 38 of the other and by fixing these two margins 37 and 38 to each other, in particular by bonding or welding depending on the material of which they are made.

The free edge 39, because it is straight, continuous or not, fits well against the free edge itself straight of the corresponding blade and this perfect guidance facilitates the placement of the blades.

According to a variant shown in Figure 5, we creates the whole apron or in fragments by extruding a plastic material forming in one piece at least two neighboring blades 1 and 2 and the web 3 which unites them, this one being of thickness less than that of the blades 1 and 2.

If we form the apron from several fragments, these can be brought together either by means of a reported veil, either by assembling margins (not shown) that have the free longitudinal sides end blades of each fragment.

Referring now to Figure 6, we see an apron 5 of a rolling shutter according to the invention in open position, in which the deck 5 is rolled up in a spiral on a drum 6 mounted on pins 7, at inside a trunk 8.

The underside of the trunk 8 has a narrow passage 9 extended by two faces 14 and 15 and in which passes the apron 5, guided vertically, as soon as it comes out trunk 9, over the entire height of the fitted bay, by means of two lateral slides 16 (only one is visible on the drawing).

When the width of the blades L considered by one large side to side and the winding diameters in spiral on the drum 6 are immeasurable, the different deck blades overlap so random, as is clearly visible in Figures 6 and 7, with the consequence that the larger diameter D than presents the rolled-up apron 5 is equal to the sum of thicknesses E and spaces e randomly distributed between overlapping blades.

It follows that the trunk 8 must be large enough to receive the apron 5 according to such a diameter D. This is not a serious drawback in itself but the invention concerning thin blades and without auxiliary relief, it makes it possible to improve these arrangements by judiciously dimensioning the blades so that they fit together as precisely as possible to remove a maximum of spaces e .

For this purpose, the blades have variable dimensions according to their rank relative to the original blade 1a which is that fixed to the drum 6, which is symbolized by a simple rivet 1b .

One solution is to give the blades a variable width L, suitably calculated so that they fit well together when the apron 5 is wound.

In FIG. 8, we see that in an angle a whose the apex is on the axis of the drum 6, the arc of said circle drum 6 on which extends a blade 1 of the first spiral, is exactly equal to the width L of this blade 1.

If we give to the other blades coming to be superimposed on the previous ones, a width equal to the opening of the angle α at this level (L1, L2, ...) all the blades are nested because their radii of curvature are equal.

As a result, the last blade, the farthest from the center, has a width Ln clearly greater than that L of blade 1 of the first spiral.

When the apron 5 is in the closed position, substantially in a vertical plane in front of the bay, we distinguishes that the lower blades are taller than the upper blades.

If we want to mitigate this effect, even the delete, calculate the width L of the slats so that get a compromise between random stacking of figures 6 and 7 and the almost perfect nesting of Figure 8.

We can, for example, keep substantially constant the width L of the blades and vary their radius of curvature which must be increasing, in the radial direction, of the center towards the periphery of the drum 6. We thus obtain, in an angle such as, an increasing number of blades according to the rank of the spiral.

You can also vary the dimensions of the blades either compared to each other according to their winding position but relative to a fraction of the length of the turns.

It can be seen in FIGS. 6 to 8 that the circumference of the drum 6 is too short to receive a whole number of blades of width L, since there is an angle β between the edge 11 of the original blade 1 a and the edge 22 of the blade 2, corresponding to the partial superposition of these blades 1 a and 2.

To facilitate the harmonious distribution and rational blades when the deck is rolled up, it is good to give the drum 6 a diameter such that its circumference has a length coordinated with the width L blades.

Claims (12)

Roller shutter, the deck of which is made up of rigid and curved blades, joined together and pivotally mounted relative to each other to allow the deck to pass from a so-called "closed" position in which the slats are stacked and the deck s 'extends substantially in one plane, and a so-called "open" position in which the blades are angularly offset and the deck is wound in a spiral on a drum, characterized in that each of the blades (1, 2, ...) is made of a thin material, is curved, and has two long longitudinal sides (11-12, 21-22, ...) with clean edges, two neighboring blades (1 and 2) being joined to each other along two large adjacent and independent sides (12 and 21), substantially contiguous, by a flexible veil (3). Roller shutter according to claim 1, characterized in that the web (3) is attached and fixed to all the slats (1, 2, ...). Roller shutter according to claim 2, characterized in that the web (3) is single and in one piece and covers the entire surface of the deck (5). Roller shutter according to claim 2, characterized in that the web is formed by bands separated by spaces (31-32-33, 34-35-36). Roller shutter according to claim 4, characterized in that the strips (31, 32 and 33) are parallel to the slats (1, 2, ...) and each of them assembles a small number of slats, or even only two (1 and 2). Roller shutter according to claim 4, characterized in that the strips (34, 35 and 36) are perpendicular to the slats (1, 2, ...) and each of them assembles all the slats (1, 2, ... ) with a small width. Roller shutter according to claim 1, characterized in that each blade (1-2) has a flexible margin (37-38) beyond the two long longitudinal sides (11-12, 21-22) each of which is intended to be applied to a flexible margin (38-37) similar to a neighboring blade to be thus assembled together, in particular by gluing or welding, in order to together constitute the flexible veil. Roller shutter according to claim 1, characterized in that at least some of the blades (1, 2, ...) and the web (3) which joins them are extruded in a single piece of synthetic material whose thickness is less between the blades. Roller shutter according to claim 1, characterized in that the blades (1, 2, ...) have variable dimensions according to their rank relative to the so-called "original" end blade (1 a ) fixed to the drum winding (6), so that they apply to each other in a spiral while being nested, to avoid the formation of spaces ( e ) between the blades of two successive turns superimposed. Roller shutter according to claim 9, characterized in that the variable dimension of the slats (1, 2, ...) is their width (L) measured between their two large longitudinal edges (11-12, 21-22, ... ) the radius of curvature of their curve having a substantially constant value. Roller shutter according to claim 9, characterized in that the variable dimension of the slats (1, 2, ...) is the radius of curvature of their curve, their width (L) measured between their two large longitudinal edges (11-12 , 21-22, ...) being substantially constant. Roller shutter according to claim 9, characterized in that at least some of the slats (1, 2, ...) have a radius of curvature and a width (L) measured between their two large longitudinal edges (11-12, 21- 22), which correspond respectively to the curvature and to the length of a fraction of the length of that of the turns on which these blades are to be placed.

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