AU614874B2

AU614874B2 - Roller shutter with variable mount

Info

Publication number: AU614874B2
Application number: AU41636/89A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Matthew A. Baxter
Original assignee: Monsoon Industies Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Monsoon Industies Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1988-11-01
Filing date: 1989-09-20
Publication date: 1991-09-12
Anticipated expiration: 2009-09-20
Also published as: AU4163689A

Description

d COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIU PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE F 174 Form Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged: PJ1251 1st November, 1989 CO 0

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06 C 0 Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: Related Art: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT 0*ge r C.

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C C 0 Name of Applicant: MONSOON INDUSTRIES PTY LIMITED Address of Applicant: 129 Lisbon Street, Fairfield, New South Wales, 2165, Australia Actual Inventor: MATTHEW A. BAXTER Address for Service: GRIFFITH HACK CO.

71 YORK STREET SYDNEY NSW 2000

AUSTRALIA

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: ROLLER SHUTTER W l'iH Vu RR1s,' Mou%.

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:ro) 2 'I,.1 2- 20/09/89 _i

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Ce 0 C C This invention relates to a roller shutter of the type having shutter material slidable in guide channels over an opening, wherein the shutter material is unrolled from a roll of shutter material normally located above the opening. In a further aspect, the invention relates to a support bracket for a roller shutter of the above type.

The invention has particular application to roller shutter doors made from steel or aluminium for use in garages and warehouses and the invention is hereinafter described in such context. However, it will be understood that the roller shutter of the type described above has a broader application, for example, the shutter may be used as rear doors for trucks or vans or may even be adapted for use as sunlight screens for windows.

In the past, roller shutter door arrangements have had a series of guide channels usually in the form of a frame located adjacent the inside walls of the opening and being secured to these inside walls. The edges of the roller shutter material or curtain are located within these guide channels such that the curtain is free to slide in a vertical direction. The curtain is stored in a roll on a roller drum having a central axle mounted adjacent to the head of the opening and provision is made to enable the roller drum to rotate around the axle. Rotation of the roller drum imparts vertical movement to the curtain in the guide channel enabling the curtain to open and close.

The axle of the roll of the curtain has, in the past, been fixed in position adjacent the head of the opening, the position being dependent on the largest diameter of the roll to ensure adequate clearance between the roll and the head of the opening.

However, the diameter of the roll varies depending on the position of the curtain and in the case of aluminium or steel shutter doors this variation is marked. The shutter material leaves the roll and enters the guide channels and when the curtain is at a fully open position, the shutter material as it leaves the roll is substantially in line with the opening of the guide channels, which is in a vertical N direction. This occurs because the distance between the 6609S/KL 2 Ri~ 1 i. .L outer edge of the roll and the head of the opening is at a minimum as no allowance needs to be made to cater for an increase in diameter of the roll. However, as the curtain closes, the diameter of the roll decreases thus the distance between the outer edge of the roll and the head of the opening increases. This results in the shutter material leaving the roll at a distance from the line of the opening of the guide channels. To enable the shutter material to enter the guide channels as the curtain closes, the shutter material leaving the roll has to extend across to the line of the opening of guide channel before entering the guide channels.

As a result of this arrangement, two main problems "arise. Firstly, as the shutter material has to extend 15 further across to reach the line of the opening of the guide channels as the shutter dcor closes, increased stresses are induced on the curtain due to the increase in the horizontal movement of the curtain required to close the shutter. This results in it firstly being more difficult to close the shutter door and secondly, after the shutter has been in operation for a long period of time the curtain can start to bow due to the out of plane forces on the curtain.

"The second problem which arises from this arrangement is that when the shutter door is in a closed position, a *0b0 distinct gap is formed at the head of the opening as the curtain above the guide channels tends away from the head of the opening. This results in poor sealing at the top of the shutter door which can lead to greater amounts of dust and dirt entering the factory or garage.

It is the aim of this invention to mitigate the above problems by providing a shutter door arrangement in which the axle is not fixed but rather is able to move enabling shutter material as it leaves the roll to remain in a direction which is substantially the same as the line of the guide channels.

Therefore, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a roller shutter of the type having shutter material slidable in guide channels to cover an opening, the shutter material being stored in a roll having an axis, the i09S/KLS 3

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roll being located to one side of the opening such that in use the shutter material unrolls from the roll and then enters the guide channels, the roller shutter being characterised by the provision of a variable mount for the axis of the roll adjustable during the unrolling of the shutter material from the roll to maintain the shutter material as it leaves the roll, substantially in line with the opening of the guide channels.

Preferably the axis of the roll automatically adjusts to maintain the shutter material leaving the roll substantially in line with the opening of the guide channels.

Preferably the variable mount for the axis of the roll varies due to the force exerted on the shutter material as 00 *0 e it is rolled or unrolled from the roll.

15 The variable mount may comprise a pair of a pivot arms each pivotly connected to a support plate at either end of the roll, each pivot arm being adapted to be connected to 000" the axis of the roll and being free to pivot between a first and second position.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides a support bracket for use as a variable mount for a roller shutter of the type having shutter material slidable in guide channels to cover an opening, the support bracelet comprising a support plate connectable to a wall adjacent too: 25 the opening and having an arm pivotly connected to the support plate at a first end to enable pivoting of the arm 0 between a first and a second position and having a second arm extending beyond the plate and incorporating a support 0 "for the axle of a roller shutter.

The invention will be more fully understood from the following description of a roller shutter which is suitable for use as a garage door. The description is provided with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation of the roller shutter in a fully open position; Figure 2 is a schematic side elevation of the roller shutter door in a fully closed position, and; Figure 3 is a side elevation of the support bracket of the present invention to an enlarged scale.

r i 09S/KLS 4 ""III~Yli~ CU As illustrated in Figure 1, the roller shutter 10 is designed to cover an opening 11 having vertical edge walls 12 and a head 13. The roller shutter 10 is slideable in guide channels 14 secured to the walls 12 and having the line of the opening of the guide channels (denoted by broken line 28) in a direction in line with the inside wall 15 of the head 13.

The roller shutter curtain 16 is slidably mounted within the guide channels 14 and is secured to an axle 17 at one end. As illustrated in Figure 1 the shutter door is in a fully open position such that the other end of the shutter curtain 16 is positioned at the top of the guide channels.

The shutter curtain is stored in a roll 18 when not in use, the roll having the axle 17 as its central axis.

As seen in Figures 2 and 3, support brackets 19 are mounted to the walls adjacent the opening 11 by way of plate S 20. Arm 21 is pivotly connected at its lower or first end 22 to the plate 20 such that the arm is free to pivot with respect to the plate. Two stops in the form of tabs 23 and 40 24 are located within the plate restricting the swing of the arm 21 between a first position as shown in an broken line in Figure 3 and a second position as shown is a unbroken line in Figure 3. The outer or second end of the arm 21 extends beyond the plate 20 and is adapted to receive the 25 axle 17 of the roll by way of slots 26.

*When in position, one support bracket 19 is located on either side of the opening 11. Each end of the axle 17 of the roll is secured to the arm 21 of the respective bracket 19 enabling the axle to rotate with respect to the bracket.

30 The length of the arm 21 and the position of the tabs oo 23 and 24 are dependent on the length of the shutter curtain S" 16 as the maximum diameter of the roll is dependent on the length of the shutter curtain 16. When the shutter 10 is in a fully open position, the diameter of the roll 18 is at a maximum and the tab 23 is positioned such that the arm 21 contacts the tab 23 when the shutter 10 is fully opened causing the outer edge of the roll 18 to be adjacent the inside wall 15 of the head. This enables the outer end 27 6609S/NL of the shutter curtain to be directly above the guide channels 14.

Therefore, in this arrangement as the shutter curtain 16 begins to close by the application of a downward force on the end 27 of the shutter curtain 16, the shutter material of the curtain as it leaves the roll to enter the guide channels 14 is substantially above the line 28 of the opening of the guide channels 14. Consequently, the force required to close the curtain is minimized as is the actual stress on the curtain itself.

As the curtain 16 continues to close and move in a vertical direction in the guide channels 14, the diameter of the roll 18 decreases. However, as the arm 21 of the support bracket 20 is free to pivot, to maintain the minimum force required to close the curtain, the arm 21 pivots at its lower iznd 22 towards the head 13 of the opening to compensate for the decrease in diameter of the roll. As a *.result, the shutter material as it leaves the roll is able to remain substantially in the line 28 of the opening of the guide channels.

#do* The arm 21 continues to pivot around its lower end 22 thus moving the axle 17 towards the head of the opening until the pivot arm 21 comes into contact with tab 24. The tab 24 is located such that when the arm comes into contact with the tab 24, the shutter curtain si-multaneously reaches a fully closed position.

*000 As seen in Figure 2, when the roller shutter is in a fully closed position and the arm is in contact with locating tab 24, the curtain 16 once it leaves the roll 18 30 is substantially in a vertical line as it is substantially in line with the line of the opening of the guide channels.

This position is highly beneficial because, firstly the stress on the curtain is in plane, such that it substantially supports its own weight resulting in less stress throughout the shutter system and secondly, there is a much greatper sealing effect between the curtain and the inside wall 15 of the head of the opening as the curtain is adjacent and parallel to this wall 15. As a result of this 6609S/NL 6 improved sealing effect substantially less dirt and dust is likely to enter between the inside wall of the head 15 and the curtain 16.

When the shutter door is opened from the fully closed position, the pivot arm pivots away from tab 24 towards tab 23 to compensate for the increase in the diameter of the roll 18. The arm 21 continues to pivot until again it rests against tab 23 such that the axle is then in a position that it can cater for the maximum diameter of the roll in a fully open position and still maintain a clearance between the outer edge of the roll in the fully opened position and the inside wall of the head Variations and modifications may be made in respect of the invention as above described and defined in the following statement of claim: 3 f S* 0* 0 **e 3 6609S/NL 7

Claims

1. A roller shutter of the type having shutter material slidable in guide channels to cover an opening, the shutter material being stored in a roll having an axis, the roll being located to one side of the opening such that in use the shutter material unrolls from the roll and then enters the guide channels, the roller shutter being characterised by,the provision of a variable mount for the axis of the roll adjustable during the unrolling of the shutter material from the roll to maintain the shutter material as it leaves the roll, substantially in line with the opening of the guide channels. 15

2. A roller shutter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the axis of the roll automatically adjusts to maintain the shutter material as it leaves the roll substantially in line with the opening of the guide channels.

3. A roller shutter as claimed in either of claims 1 or 2, wherein the variable mount for the axis of the roll varies due to the force exerted on the shutter material as it is rolled or unrolled from the roll.

4. A roller shutter as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the variable mount comprises a pair of pivot arms, each pivotally connected to a support plate located at either end of the roll, each pivot arm being adapted to be connected to an axle located on the axis of the roll and being free to pivot between a first and a second position.

A support bracket for use as a variable mount for a roller shutter of the type having shutter material slidable in guide channels to cover an opening, the shutter material being stored in a roll around an axle, the support bracket comprising a support plate adapted to be connected to a wall r and having an arm pivotally connected to the support plate S GB95/KLH 8 tV'T O' 1X- i i at a first end to pivot between a first and second position and having a second end of the arm extending beyond the plate and incorporating a support for the axle of the roller shutter.

6. A support bracket as claimed in claim 5, wherein the arm is limited to move between the first and second position by two stops located on the support plate.

7. A roller shutter substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A support bracket substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. S. S 6* Se a C.o S S DATED this 19th day of April 1991 MONSOON INDUSTRIES PTY LIMITED By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK CO S S 5556 SSP S* S S* S 46 5* 0 4@ 609S/KLS o;4 *ILI NT^.^ 9