AU649584B2 - A roller shutter arrangement - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to doors for shop fronts, garages, and like openings, and in particular, to a roller t hutter arrangement made from flexible transparent polycarbonato sheets.

Roller shutters having transparent panels are well known in such applications and consist of a plurality of transparent horizontally extending panels which are hingedly connected together with the hinge axes being substantially horizontal and parallel. The transparent panels are rigid and are fixedly inserted into a hinge. When the door is raised, the door is rolled into a cylindrical roll, however due to the nature of the rigid panels and the hinges, the roll is bulky as the door is unable to be rolled tightly.

The diameter of the roll is determined not only by the height of dithe door, and thus the length of material to be rolled into the roll, but also the vertical extent of the panels.

Generally speaking, the narrower the panels, the smaller the diameter of the roll.

The diameter of the roll has importance in determining whether such a door can be satisfactorily mounted within a particular opening.

It is desirabla for various aesthetic and functional reasons for the door panels to have a substantially vertical extent. This is particularly the case where the door panels are transparent since the door is intended to be, in effect, a rollup window through which prospective purchases can window shop, for example. Because of the above mentioned physical limitations, the rollup type door used hitherto has suffered from a relatively small maximum permissible height for the panels.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned disadvantages by the provision of a roller shutter which substantially overcomes or ameliorates the above mentioned disadvantages.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a roller shutter comprising a plurality of flexible transparent sheets having elongate connecting means connecting the adjacent said sheets by receiving one edge of said transparent sheet and clamping thereto, said connecting means having guide means located at their ends, and said guide means having a track in which said guide means are able to travel, the roller shutter being able to be raised and lowered accordingly with said guide means travelling 30 within said tracks and being able to be rolled onto a shaft means.

On embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a front view of a roller shutter of a preferred embodiment, Fig. 2 is a side view in the dirction of the arrow II of Fig. 1, 35 Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional detailed view along the lines Ill-III of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a link attached to the roller shutter of 1 Fig. 1.

I IlI'rivl1)0016;IIRW The roller shutter 1 of the preferred embodiment includes a number of flexible transparent polycarbonate sheets 2 with adjacent sheets being joined together along their longitudinal edges. The roller shutter 1 is operated in the usual way and is rolled onto robing 3 which has a friction fit on a shaft 4.

Each of the plurality of sheets 2 is joined with its adjacent sheet 2 by a connector 6. The connector 6 comprises a two-piece extrusion 7 which is able to be joined together by a number of nuts 8 and bolts 9 which pass through holes 10 located in its mid section 11. The sheets 2 overlap at the connector 6, and the bolts 9 pass through holes 12 in the sheets 2 as illustrated in Fig. 3. The two-piece extrusion 7 is thus joined together with the sheets 2 passing through apertures 13 at the joins of the two-piece extrusion 7. Therefore, the two adjacent sheets 2 are joined at the connector 6.

The mid section 11 of the two-piece extrusion 7 receives a PVC cover strip 14 which clips into engagement with lips 15 on the extrusion 7. The cover strip 14 is used to hide the nuts and bolts 8, 9 from view.

15 The extrusions 7 which join the sheets 2 in a side-by-side arrangement as illustrated in Fig. 1 are preferably spaced with 300mm between their centres. This preferable spacing is for desired strength and aesthetics.

A moulded flexible link 16 is fitted to both the ends of each of the sheets 2. The moulded flexible link 16 is positioned between adjacent extrusions 7 and are used to reduce circular distortion when rolling and allows the shutter 1 to roll more uniformly.

(Y4 The link 16 is an integral moulding and has three blocks 17 in series which are joined by strips 18. Each of the blocks 17 has a slot 19 into which the end of one of the sheets 2 is received with a tight friction fit. The flexibility of the links 16 enables the links 16 to bend. Each of the links 16 have a groove 20 which assists in the bending of the link 16.

Not illustrated in the drawings, the ends 16 of the extrusions 7 and links 16 act as a guide which travels within a track (not illustrated). The extrusions 7 ensure that the shutter 1 remains in the tracks and is secure.

The flexible sheets 2 allow greater viewing through the shutter 1. This greater viewing is obtained by the greater widths of the flexible sheets 2.

The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention, [l'rvI\00016:IIRW

Claims (9)

1. A roller shutter comprising a plurality of flexible transparent sheets having elongate connecting means connecting the adjacent said sheets by receiving one edge of said transparent sheet and clamping thereto, said connecting means having guide means located at their ends, and said guide means having a corresponding track in which said guide means are able to travel, said roller shutter being able to be raised and lowered accordingly with said guide means travelling withir -aid tracks and being able to be rolled onto a shaft means.

2. The roller shutter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting means lo comprises a two-piece extrusion which clamps the longitudinal edges of said adjacent sheets.

3. The roller shutter as claimed in claim 2, wherein said two-piece extrusion is clamped together using a plurality of fasteners.

4. The roller shutter as claimed in claim 3, wherein said adjacent sheets overlap at the two-piece extrusion and have a plurality of holes through which said fasteners pass to secure said sheets to said two-piece extrusion.

The roller shuttei as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a moulded flexible link is fitted to each of the ends of said flexible transparent sheets, said links being positioned between adjacent said two-piece extrusions.

6. The roller shutter as claimed in claim 5, wherein said moulded flexible links include at least two flexible blocks joined in series by flexible strip(s).

7. The roller shutter as claimed in claim 6, wherein said flexible blocks include a slot to receive the ends of said flexible transparent sheets and have at least one groove to assist the bending of said link.

8. The roller shutter as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said flexible transparent sheets are made from transparent polycarbonate material.

9. The roller shutter as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said il" sheets have a distance of about 300mm between their longitudinal centre lines. A roller shutter substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this Sixth Day of January 1994 The Monarch Group Pty Limited oo o •o ~Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON&FERGUSON IPrivlIO\0016:IIRW A ROLLER SHUTTER ARRANGEMENT ABSTRACT A roller shutter is disclosed. The shutter has a number of flexible transparent sheets where adjacent sheets are joined along their longitudinal edges by connectors The connectors are made from a two-piece extrusion The roller shutter allows greater viewing through the shutter while enabling the shutter to be easily rolled onto tubing surrounding a shaft Fig. 1. o [Privl]\00016:IIRW