CA2064533A1 - Closure element for an opening - Google Patents
Closure element for an openingInfo
- Publication number
- CA2064533A1 CA2064533A1 CA 2064533 CA2064533A CA2064533A1 CA 2064533 A1 CA2064533 A1 CA 2064533A1 CA 2064533 CA2064533 CA 2064533 CA 2064533 A CA2064533 A CA 2064533A CA 2064533 A1 CA2064533 A1 CA 2064533A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- closure element
- slats
- opening
- hinge
- hinges
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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- Operating, Guiding And Securing Of Roll- Type Closing Members (AREA)
Abstract
Abstract 1. A closure element for an opening.
2.1 The prior art closure elements employed for covering an opening are, owing to their design, not suitable for guidance around tight bend radii while simultaneously ensuring sufficient resistance to pressure in the closed position.
2.2 The closure element for an opening (1) according to the invention features slats (14) which are interlinked by hinges (20, 20') such that a space (34) is defined by the distance between adjacent slats (14), in which space (34) the joint pins (24, 24') engage. To connect adjacent slats (14), sealing strips (42) of rubber are provided which are arranged coaxially relative to the joint pins (24, 24') and which engage in the slats (14) with almost no clearance.
2.3 Application of the closure element as a cover for a door opening.
3. Fig. 1
2.1 The prior art closure elements employed for covering an opening are, owing to their design, not suitable for guidance around tight bend radii while simultaneously ensuring sufficient resistance to pressure in the closed position.
2.2 The closure element for an opening (1) according to the invention features slats (14) which are interlinked by hinges (20, 20') such that a space (34) is defined by the distance between adjacent slats (14), in which space (34) the joint pins (24, 24') engage. To connect adjacent slats (14), sealing strips (42) of rubber are provided which are arranged coaxially relative to the joint pins (24, 24') and which engage in the slats (14) with almost no clearance.
2.3 Application of the closure element as a cover for a door opening.
3. Fig. 1
Description
20645~3 Descxiption Closure element for an opening The invention concerns a closure element, for an opening, which can be moved from a closed position to an open position in relation to the opening.
A known example of such a closure element for an opening is a rolling shutter of a rolling shutter door, which serves as a vertically actuated closure for a door opening allowing passage of persons or traffic, such a rolling shutter comprising slats which can be angled with respect to one another, which are guided along the two side edges of the door opening by means of vertical guide rails for movement into the closed position, and which are raised to the open position and wound by means of a winding shaft to which the said rolling shutter is secured.
The rolling shutter, as the part of a rolling closure which closes and protects the door opening, consists of slats which are connected to each other by articulated joints, such slats as a rule taking the form of profile elements, e.g. extruded aluminium materials. The height of the individual slats, as a rule, ranges between approx. 80 and approx. 120 mm in such cases.
These profile elements are mostly provided in the form of slide-in profiles which, due to their shape, can be pivot-connected to each other without additional connecting elements to form the rolling shutter. In the case of a typical aluminium extrusion, the joint, for example, takes the form of a rolled bead and groove arrangement so that when one slat is slid into another, the joint thus formed is able to absorb and withstand the forces which arise as the rolling shutter is wound. The slat connection 206~3~
forming an articulated joint invariabl~ features a large clearance. Moreover, the shape of the interlinked slats is intended such that dirt and water are prevented from becoming lodged in the joints, and so that there is sufficient tightness against wind attack.
Sectional doors are also known as closure elements of an opening, thes~ likewise being used for large doorways. A conventional sectional door consists essentially of a shutter with relatively high sections which can be raised by means of a hoist drive from a vertical closure position into an upper horizontal position below the ceiling.
Owing to the relatively large height of the individual sections in sectional doors and the reduced number of section connecting elements such as hinges or similar, and a concomitant reduction in the number of meeting edge faces which have to be sealed, an overall more compact mechanical construction is achieved with correspondingly improved strength against wind attack and better security against unauthorized opening. Moreover, the large height of the individual sections allows the provision of transparent sections in the form of glass or plastic windows.
As a rule, the individual sections are flush to one another in the closed position, so that the full meeting edge face of each section is available for the seal. The sectional door thus has the appearance of a tightly closed door with a continuous external surface and without any intermediate gaps. A further improvement in tightness is achieved, for example, by rubber inserts which, in the closed position, are pressed together by the sections resting on top of one another. As an alternative, the sections may feature a convexity along one meeting edge face across the full width of the door, which engages in a corresponding recess in an adjacent section as the sections are swung into the same plane, similar to a tongue-and-groove joint, thus further improving the mechanical resistance of the door leaf to wind pressure, even in the case of large door widths.
206~33 On the inside of the door, the sections are connected by means of a n~lmber of individual hinges which are arranged across the entire width of the door at certain intervals in a quantity that provides sufficient strength and support. The hinges at the side edge of the sections are, as a rule, also designed as a mounting for a roller which can run in a guide rail of channel cross section arranged along the side edge of the sectional door. As the individual hinges at the sections are arranged such that the sections can be folded away toward the interior, problems arise in that the protruding parts of the hinges arranged on the inside of the door impair the visual appearance of the door and constitute an injury hazard. A further injury hazard arises in the case of sectional doors when the sections are angled, owing to the open gaps which then occur and which are then closed again when the sections are folded back.
The object of the invention is to provide a closure element for an opening which, in the closed condition, offers sufficient tightness against wind and weather attack, and high stability and resistance even against point pressure loading.
This object is achieved by a closure element with the characteristics claimed in claim 1.
The closure element according to the present invention features slats which are linked to each other by hinges such that a space is formed by the distance between adjacent slats in which the joint pins of the hinges engage. By providing the rotating axis of each hinge within the space between the slats, the angle openings between the adjacent slats, and also the tilting accelerations when moving the closure element to the open position are minimized, resulting in correspondingly smaller acceleration forces as the closure element is angled, as a result of which low-wear guidance around tight radii is possible and the space requirement of the system in the open position is correspondingly reduced, without conversely producing any increase in noise emission during the opening and closing cycles.
2064~33 Moreover, protruding parts of the hinge are avoided with a correspondingly improved visual appearance and reduction in injury hazard. Adjacent slats are provided in each case with sealing strips across virtually the entire width of the opening which offers effective draught exclusion and prevent the penetration of rain water and dust. The sealing strips are arranged such that the geometrical axis of the joint pins comes to rest within the profile outline of the sealing strip, so that the sealing strips are only subjected to bending stress when the closure element is angled. The sealing strips feature beads or enlargements on their opposite sides which engage in correspondingly shaped recesses in the slats, whereby the opposing support faces of such enlargements are a minimum distance from corresponding retaining faces of the slats, such distance nevertheless permitting problem-free installation, so that in the closed position of the closure element with pressure loading of a slat transverse to the door plane - following initial restoring forces resulting solely from the bending stress of the sealing strips of the adjacent slats - tensile loading of the sealing strips soon occurs which prevents or limits any further outward bending relative to adjacent slats. Overall, the closure element behaves extensively like a homogeneous, flat plate with corresponding force distribution in the plate plane, while at the same time permitting low-force diversion or winding.
The closure element according to the invention can be employed as a closure for any type of opening. The opening may be vertical in the form of a door or window opening, or horizontal, e.g. in the form of an opening of a swimming pool or similar. The closure element can be guided by means of guide tracks, and opened and closed at relatively high operating speeds with relatively low noise emission; or it can be wound without any guiding elements.
The drive of the closure element may be provided by an electric motor or by manual means.
Particularly fast operation during closing and opening of the closure element is facilitated if, as claimed in claim 2, the 2064~33 hinges take the form of hinge straps wit~l hinge elements which are interlinked and can be angled relative to one another by means of the joint pins, said hinge straps having a length which corresponds to the clear height of the opening. These hinge straps constitute the bearing structure of the closure element, as all the tensile forces are absorbed by the hinge straps and are not transmitted to the slats. As claimed in claim 3, the slats are simply mounted on the hinge elements of the hinge straps.
As claimed in claim 4, the sealing strips are preferentially manufactured from an elastic material, in particular rubber, thus avoiding moving mechanical parts for effecting the angling operation, and ensuring that only a small amount of force is required in order to angle the closure element, and further ensuring that the noise emission arising from the angling operation is kept as low as possible.
An even smoother, virtually friction-free and thus faster operation of the slatted shutter is achieved as claimed in claim 5 in that rollers are mounted coaxially relative to the joint pins, said rollers running in corresponding guide tracks.
A particularly tight closure of the door opening is achieved if, as claimed in claim 6, a sealing projection is provided on the outside of each slat, by means of which the distance between adjacent slats in the closed position is reduced without any contact between the slats themselves occurring. As the sealing strips are no longer noticeable from the outside, this also results in an appealing external appearance of the closure element in the form of a uniform, smooth surface.
If, as claimed in claim 7, retaining flanges are provided at the two opposite sides of the closure element to locate the slats, the closure element in its closed position can also withstand greater pressures without any fear of the closure element being pulled out of the opening.
206~33 Further details and useful features of the invention derive from the fo]lowing description of a~ embodiment in which reference is made to the following figures:
ig. l shows a rear view of a closure element corresponding to an embodiment according to the invention;
ig. 2 shows a schematic cross section along the line II-II
in Fig. 1;
ig. 2A shows an enlarged schematic representation of detail X from Fig~ 2; and ig. 3 shows a plan view of a closure element according to the present invention, said closure element being employed for a vertical lift-type shutter door.
The embodiment of a closure element according to the invention described in the following relates to an application as a lift-type shutter door which is moved vertically upward from a closed position to an open position of a door opening. With respect to further details, reference is made to the two co-pending German patent applications of the present assignee entitled "Lift-type door having a slatted shutter with angleable slats" (61EF01562) and "Lift-type door having a slatted shutter in guide tracks"
(61EF01572) filed on the same day, the full contents thereof being hereby incorporated by reference. The present closure element is, however, in no way limited to the application of a shutter door, but can without further ado also be employed, for example, for a horizontally arranged opening.
As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the depicted embodiment of a closure element 12, of an opening 1, according to the invention features a number of slats 14 for covering the opening 1, said slats being linked to one another by means of hinges 20, 20'. The sides facing each other of adjacent slats are connected in each case by sealing strips 42 as will be described in the following in greater detail. The depicted closure element is, in accordance with Fig. 3, guided on the two opposite sides 3 and 3' of the door opening 1 by means of guide tracks 2 and 2' so that the closure element 12 can be moved from the vertical closed position to an area above the opening 1 in the open position. In the following, accented reference characters shall designate in each case the corresponding parts of the closure elements which are arranged at side 3' of the opening 1 and which constitute the mirror image of corresponding components designated by the unaccented reference characters.
Arranged at each of the two side edges of the closure element 12 are hinges in the form of hinge straps 20, 20' of a length which essentially corresponds to the height of the door opening 1. Each hinge strap 20, 20' consists of rigid hinge elements 22 which are linked to each other and can be angled with respect to one another by joint pins 24, 24'. For this purpose, each hinge element has been rolled in the conventional manner to form an eye at its end, into which the joint pin 24 can be inserted. Each pair of adjacent hinge elements are linked together such that their eyes are coaxially arranged to each other and in which a common joint pin 24 is located.
In the illustrated example, moreover, rollers 26, 26' are mounted coaxially relative to the joint pins 24, 24', said rollers 26, 26' providing rolling guidance of the hinge straps 20 and 20' in the guide tracks 2 and 2'. In the depicted example, each guide track features a pair of round section rods 28 and 30 which are arranged at a uniform distance from one another, said distance being selected to suit the diameter of the rollers 26. The hinge straps 20, 20' and the round section rods 28, 30 are, for example, manufactured from hard, metallic material, while the rollers 26 may also be manufactured from plastic material. To secure the individual slats 14 and thus the closure element against detachment from the guide track, each roller 26, 26' features a retaining flange 27, 27', the outside diameter of 2~6~533 which is greater than the clear distance between the round section rods 28, 30.
The slats 14 are, for example, located and secured by means of bolts 32, 32' on the hinge straps 20, 20' so that a space 34 is formed by virtue of the distance which arises between adjacent slats 14, in which space 34 the joint pins 24, 24', or the eyes of the hinge elements 22, 22' surrounding the joint pins engage as best illustrated in Fig. 2. According to the invention, this has the effect of ensuring that the geometrical axis of rotation 36 comes to rest completely within the zone which is limited by the two outside main surfaces 38 and 40 of the closure element 12. The location of the axis of rotation 36 in this position ensures that the width of the angle opening between adjacent slats 14 during angling of the closure element is reduced to a minimum dimension so that, correspondingly, the tilting accelerations during travel into a top, bent-away guide track outside the area of opening 1 are reduced. As a result, the possible operating speeds of the closure element shown are further increased without being accompanied by excessive noise emission.
The slats with a height of, for example, up to 150 mm are mounted quite independently of one another and individually on the hinge straps 20, 20', so that, for example, the lack of a complete slat has no effect on the mechanical stability and operability of the closure element. The hinge straps 20 and 20' thus constitute, to a certain extent, the bearing structure or skeleton of the closure element, which bearing structure absorbs all the forces arising from the movement of the lift-type shutter door. Owing to the fact that the hinge strap 20, 20' is a continuous mechanical assembly, the tensile forces which arise are absorbed by the hinge straps 20, 20' and not transmitted to the slats 14.
By virtue of the transmission and distribution of the forces which occur to an articulate, continuous yet rugged strap of high tensile strength, uniform and quiet operation is achieved even under conditions of extremely fast shutter door actuation.
As the individual slats 14 are initiall~ mounted on the hinge straps 20, 20~ at a certain distance from one another in order to create room for the joint pins, adjacent slats 14 also remain non-contacting in respect of one another in the closed position of the closure element, thus completely avoiding the rattling sounds which commonly occur when a conventional sectional door is closed.
In order to enhance the mechanical stability of the slatted shutter and increase its draught exclusion properties, without, however, jeopardizing the properties of the present closure element in relation to lower noise emission, sealing strips 42 in the form of rubber strips are provided which are arranged virtually across the entire width of the door between the hinge straps 20 and 20', and which connect meeting edge faces of adjacent slats 14. Each sealing strip 42 is arranged coaxially relative to the adjacent hinge rotary axis 36, so that the sealing strips 42 are only subjected to bending stress when the shutter 12 is angled in the guide section (not shown) away from the opening. Each sealing strip 42 features on opposite sides beads or enlargements 44 which engage in correspondingly shaped recesses 46 of the slats 14. As best illustrated by the enlarged detail in Fig. 2A, each enlargement 44 features a support face 43 which is arranged opposite a corresponding retaining face 45 in the slat 14. The distance of a support face 43 to its associated retaining face 45 in the slat 14 is - taking into account the requirement of smooth and trouble-free assembly by insertion, from the side, of the sealing strip 42 with the enlargement 44 in the recess 46 - kept as small as possible so that, in the closed position of the closure element, any pressure loading against the closure element which might arise results in the sealing strip 42 being tilted to the side and, once contact has occurred between the support face 43 and the retaining face 45, the sealing strip 42 of the two adjacent slats is subjected to tensile stress. In the case of still smaller displacements of the slat concerned out of the door leaf plane, i.e. as long as the support face 43 does not come into contact with the 206~533 associated retaining face 45, the sealing strip 42 of the two adjacen,t slats is merely subjected to bending stress, which leads to corresponding restoring forces. As the distance between the support face 43 and the associated retaining face 45 is kept minimal so that, where possible, the sealing strip is subjected to tensile stress even under conditions of small displacements, the pressure loads which arise and to which the closure element is subjected are transmitted and distributed from the initially immediately affected sealing strip 42 also to the adjacent sealing strips. In the event of pressure loading, the closure element according to the invention thus behaves extensively like a homogeneous flat plate with corresponding force distribution in the plate plane, while at the same time permitting a low-force diversion or winding operation. Thus the sealing strips 42 result in an appreciable increase in the mechanical stability of the closure element, so that the entire closure element in its closed position also withstands high wind or other pressure loads without difficulty. Needless to say, the closure element according to the invention also offers sufficient security against unauthorized opening, so that the closure element according to the invention can be regarded as a durable means of keeping an opening covered and closed.
In order to protect the closure element 12 from detachment in the event of the possible occurrence of even greater pressure loads~
retaining flanges 27, 27' are arranged at the two opposite sides of the closure element, which retaining flanges 27, 27' in the depicted embodiment take the form of an external ring of greater diameter than the diameter of the rollers 26, 26'. The retaining flanges 27, 27' are arranged with a small clearance (not shown in detail in the drawing) in respect of the adjacent support surfaces of the guide rods 28, 30 such that they only come into contact with the guide rods 28, 30 in the event of very substantial bending of the slats 1~ under load; the closure element thus remains easy to operate and move under conditions of relatively small pressure loads. The good distribution of forces in the door leaf plane brought about by the sealing strip 2~64533 42 as already described also prevents the retaining flanges 27, 27' of a slat 14 under load from coming into early contact with the guide rods 28, 30 as a result of substantial bending of said slat 14, and thus from inhibiting the movement of the closure element.
In the case of the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, each slat 14 features a sealing projection 48 on the outside 38 of the door leaf plane, by means of which projection 48 the distance to an adjacent slat is reduced. Owing to the presence of the sealing projection 48, the rubber strip 42 can no longer be identified from the outside when the closure element is in its closed position. The rubber strip 42 can then only be seen from the inside (see rear view, Fig. 1). At the same time, owing to the shape of the sealing projection 48 shown in Fig. 2, the appearance of the slatted shutter 12 is more appealing by virtue of a more uniform, smooth surface.
The bottom seal of the closure element is, according to Figs. 1 and 2, provided by a termination strip 54, for example of rubber, which is secured to the bottom-most slat.
A known example of such a closure element for an opening is a rolling shutter of a rolling shutter door, which serves as a vertically actuated closure for a door opening allowing passage of persons or traffic, such a rolling shutter comprising slats which can be angled with respect to one another, which are guided along the two side edges of the door opening by means of vertical guide rails for movement into the closed position, and which are raised to the open position and wound by means of a winding shaft to which the said rolling shutter is secured.
The rolling shutter, as the part of a rolling closure which closes and protects the door opening, consists of slats which are connected to each other by articulated joints, such slats as a rule taking the form of profile elements, e.g. extruded aluminium materials. The height of the individual slats, as a rule, ranges between approx. 80 and approx. 120 mm in such cases.
These profile elements are mostly provided in the form of slide-in profiles which, due to their shape, can be pivot-connected to each other without additional connecting elements to form the rolling shutter. In the case of a typical aluminium extrusion, the joint, for example, takes the form of a rolled bead and groove arrangement so that when one slat is slid into another, the joint thus formed is able to absorb and withstand the forces which arise as the rolling shutter is wound. The slat connection 206~3~
forming an articulated joint invariabl~ features a large clearance. Moreover, the shape of the interlinked slats is intended such that dirt and water are prevented from becoming lodged in the joints, and so that there is sufficient tightness against wind attack.
Sectional doors are also known as closure elements of an opening, thes~ likewise being used for large doorways. A conventional sectional door consists essentially of a shutter with relatively high sections which can be raised by means of a hoist drive from a vertical closure position into an upper horizontal position below the ceiling.
Owing to the relatively large height of the individual sections in sectional doors and the reduced number of section connecting elements such as hinges or similar, and a concomitant reduction in the number of meeting edge faces which have to be sealed, an overall more compact mechanical construction is achieved with correspondingly improved strength against wind attack and better security against unauthorized opening. Moreover, the large height of the individual sections allows the provision of transparent sections in the form of glass or plastic windows.
As a rule, the individual sections are flush to one another in the closed position, so that the full meeting edge face of each section is available for the seal. The sectional door thus has the appearance of a tightly closed door with a continuous external surface and without any intermediate gaps. A further improvement in tightness is achieved, for example, by rubber inserts which, in the closed position, are pressed together by the sections resting on top of one another. As an alternative, the sections may feature a convexity along one meeting edge face across the full width of the door, which engages in a corresponding recess in an adjacent section as the sections are swung into the same plane, similar to a tongue-and-groove joint, thus further improving the mechanical resistance of the door leaf to wind pressure, even in the case of large door widths.
206~33 On the inside of the door, the sections are connected by means of a n~lmber of individual hinges which are arranged across the entire width of the door at certain intervals in a quantity that provides sufficient strength and support. The hinges at the side edge of the sections are, as a rule, also designed as a mounting for a roller which can run in a guide rail of channel cross section arranged along the side edge of the sectional door. As the individual hinges at the sections are arranged such that the sections can be folded away toward the interior, problems arise in that the protruding parts of the hinges arranged on the inside of the door impair the visual appearance of the door and constitute an injury hazard. A further injury hazard arises in the case of sectional doors when the sections are angled, owing to the open gaps which then occur and which are then closed again when the sections are folded back.
The object of the invention is to provide a closure element for an opening which, in the closed condition, offers sufficient tightness against wind and weather attack, and high stability and resistance even against point pressure loading.
This object is achieved by a closure element with the characteristics claimed in claim 1.
The closure element according to the present invention features slats which are linked to each other by hinges such that a space is formed by the distance between adjacent slats in which the joint pins of the hinges engage. By providing the rotating axis of each hinge within the space between the slats, the angle openings between the adjacent slats, and also the tilting accelerations when moving the closure element to the open position are minimized, resulting in correspondingly smaller acceleration forces as the closure element is angled, as a result of which low-wear guidance around tight radii is possible and the space requirement of the system in the open position is correspondingly reduced, without conversely producing any increase in noise emission during the opening and closing cycles.
2064~33 Moreover, protruding parts of the hinge are avoided with a correspondingly improved visual appearance and reduction in injury hazard. Adjacent slats are provided in each case with sealing strips across virtually the entire width of the opening which offers effective draught exclusion and prevent the penetration of rain water and dust. The sealing strips are arranged such that the geometrical axis of the joint pins comes to rest within the profile outline of the sealing strip, so that the sealing strips are only subjected to bending stress when the closure element is angled. The sealing strips feature beads or enlargements on their opposite sides which engage in correspondingly shaped recesses in the slats, whereby the opposing support faces of such enlargements are a minimum distance from corresponding retaining faces of the slats, such distance nevertheless permitting problem-free installation, so that in the closed position of the closure element with pressure loading of a slat transverse to the door plane - following initial restoring forces resulting solely from the bending stress of the sealing strips of the adjacent slats - tensile loading of the sealing strips soon occurs which prevents or limits any further outward bending relative to adjacent slats. Overall, the closure element behaves extensively like a homogeneous, flat plate with corresponding force distribution in the plate plane, while at the same time permitting low-force diversion or winding.
The closure element according to the invention can be employed as a closure for any type of opening. The opening may be vertical in the form of a door or window opening, or horizontal, e.g. in the form of an opening of a swimming pool or similar. The closure element can be guided by means of guide tracks, and opened and closed at relatively high operating speeds with relatively low noise emission; or it can be wound without any guiding elements.
The drive of the closure element may be provided by an electric motor or by manual means.
Particularly fast operation during closing and opening of the closure element is facilitated if, as claimed in claim 2, the 2064~33 hinges take the form of hinge straps wit~l hinge elements which are interlinked and can be angled relative to one another by means of the joint pins, said hinge straps having a length which corresponds to the clear height of the opening. These hinge straps constitute the bearing structure of the closure element, as all the tensile forces are absorbed by the hinge straps and are not transmitted to the slats. As claimed in claim 3, the slats are simply mounted on the hinge elements of the hinge straps.
As claimed in claim 4, the sealing strips are preferentially manufactured from an elastic material, in particular rubber, thus avoiding moving mechanical parts for effecting the angling operation, and ensuring that only a small amount of force is required in order to angle the closure element, and further ensuring that the noise emission arising from the angling operation is kept as low as possible.
An even smoother, virtually friction-free and thus faster operation of the slatted shutter is achieved as claimed in claim 5 in that rollers are mounted coaxially relative to the joint pins, said rollers running in corresponding guide tracks.
A particularly tight closure of the door opening is achieved if, as claimed in claim 6, a sealing projection is provided on the outside of each slat, by means of which the distance between adjacent slats in the closed position is reduced without any contact between the slats themselves occurring. As the sealing strips are no longer noticeable from the outside, this also results in an appealing external appearance of the closure element in the form of a uniform, smooth surface.
If, as claimed in claim 7, retaining flanges are provided at the two opposite sides of the closure element to locate the slats, the closure element in its closed position can also withstand greater pressures without any fear of the closure element being pulled out of the opening.
206~33 Further details and useful features of the invention derive from the fo]lowing description of a~ embodiment in which reference is made to the following figures:
ig. l shows a rear view of a closure element corresponding to an embodiment according to the invention;
ig. 2 shows a schematic cross section along the line II-II
in Fig. 1;
ig. 2A shows an enlarged schematic representation of detail X from Fig~ 2; and ig. 3 shows a plan view of a closure element according to the present invention, said closure element being employed for a vertical lift-type shutter door.
The embodiment of a closure element according to the invention described in the following relates to an application as a lift-type shutter door which is moved vertically upward from a closed position to an open position of a door opening. With respect to further details, reference is made to the two co-pending German patent applications of the present assignee entitled "Lift-type door having a slatted shutter with angleable slats" (61EF01562) and "Lift-type door having a slatted shutter in guide tracks"
(61EF01572) filed on the same day, the full contents thereof being hereby incorporated by reference. The present closure element is, however, in no way limited to the application of a shutter door, but can without further ado also be employed, for example, for a horizontally arranged opening.
As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the depicted embodiment of a closure element 12, of an opening 1, according to the invention features a number of slats 14 for covering the opening 1, said slats being linked to one another by means of hinges 20, 20'. The sides facing each other of adjacent slats are connected in each case by sealing strips 42 as will be described in the following in greater detail. The depicted closure element is, in accordance with Fig. 3, guided on the two opposite sides 3 and 3' of the door opening 1 by means of guide tracks 2 and 2' so that the closure element 12 can be moved from the vertical closed position to an area above the opening 1 in the open position. In the following, accented reference characters shall designate in each case the corresponding parts of the closure elements which are arranged at side 3' of the opening 1 and which constitute the mirror image of corresponding components designated by the unaccented reference characters.
Arranged at each of the two side edges of the closure element 12 are hinges in the form of hinge straps 20, 20' of a length which essentially corresponds to the height of the door opening 1. Each hinge strap 20, 20' consists of rigid hinge elements 22 which are linked to each other and can be angled with respect to one another by joint pins 24, 24'. For this purpose, each hinge element has been rolled in the conventional manner to form an eye at its end, into which the joint pin 24 can be inserted. Each pair of adjacent hinge elements are linked together such that their eyes are coaxially arranged to each other and in which a common joint pin 24 is located.
In the illustrated example, moreover, rollers 26, 26' are mounted coaxially relative to the joint pins 24, 24', said rollers 26, 26' providing rolling guidance of the hinge straps 20 and 20' in the guide tracks 2 and 2'. In the depicted example, each guide track features a pair of round section rods 28 and 30 which are arranged at a uniform distance from one another, said distance being selected to suit the diameter of the rollers 26. The hinge straps 20, 20' and the round section rods 28, 30 are, for example, manufactured from hard, metallic material, while the rollers 26 may also be manufactured from plastic material. To secure the individual slats 14 and thus the closure element against detachment from the guide track, each roller 26, 26' features a retaining flange 27, 27', the outside diameter of 2~6~533 which is greater than the clear distance between the round section rods 28, 30.
The slats 14 are, for example, located and secured by means of bolts 32, 32' on the hinge straps 20, 20' so that a space 34 is formed by virtue of the distance which arises between adjacent slats 14, in which space 34 the joint pins 24, 24', or the eyes of the hinge elements 22, 22' surrounding the joint pins engage as best illustrated in Fig. 2. According to the invention, this has the effect of ensuring that the geometrical axis of rotation 36 comes to rest completely within the zone which is limited by the two outside main surfaces 38 and 40 of the closure element 12. The location of the axis of rotation 36 in this position ensures that the width of the angle opening between adjacent slats 14 during angling of the closure element is reduced to a minimum dimension so that, correspondingly, the tilting accelerations during travel into a top, bent-away guide track outside the area of opening 1 are reduced. As a result, the possible operating speeds of the closure element shown are further increased without being accompanied by excessive noise emission.
The slats with a height of, for example, up to 150 mm are mounted quite independently of one another and individually on the hinge straps 20, 20', so that, for example, the lack of a complete slat has no effect on the mechanical stability and operability of the closure element. The hinge straps 20 and 20' thus constitute, to a certain extent, the bearing structure or skeleton of the closure element, which bearing structure absorbs all the forces arising from the movement of the lift-type shutter door. Owing to the fact that the hinge strap 20, 20' is a continuous mechanical assembly, the tensile forces which arise are absorbed by the hinge straps 20, 20' and not transmitted to the slats 14.
By virtue of the transmission and distribution of the forces which occur to an articulate, continuous yet rugged strap of high tensile strength, uniform and quiet operation is achieved even under conditions of extremely fast shutter door actuation.
As the individual slats 14 are initiall~ mounted on the hinge straps 20, 20~ at a certain distance from one another in order to create room for the joint pins, adjacent slats 14 also remain non-contacting in respect of one another in the closed position of the closure element, thus completely avoiding the rattling sounds which commonly occur when a conventional sectional door is closed.
In order to enhance the mechanical stability of the slatted shutter and increase its draught exclusion properties, without, however, jeopardizing the properties of the present closure element in relation to lower noise emission, sealing strips 42 in the form of rubber strips are provided which are arranged virtually across the entire width of the door between the hinge straps 20 and 20', and which connect meeting edge faces of adjacent slats 14. Each sealing strip 42 is arranged coaxially relative to the adjacent hinge rotary axis 36, so that the sealing strips 42 are only subjected to bending stress when the shutter 12 is angled in the guide section (not shown) away from the opening. Each sealing strip 42 features on opposite sides beads or enlargements 44 which engage in correspondingly shaped recesses 46 of the slats 14. As best illustrated by the enlarged detail in Fig. 2A, each enlargement 44 features a support face 43 which is arranged opposite a corresponding retaining face 45 in the slat 14. The distance of a support face 43 to its associated retaining face 45 in the slat 14 is - taking into account the requirement of smooth and trouble-free assembly by insertion, from the side, of the sealing strip 42 with the enlargement 44 in the recess 46 - kept as small as possible so that, in the closed position of the closure element, any pressure loading against the closure element which might arise results in the sealing strip 42 being tilted to the side and, once contact has occurred between the support face 43 and the retaining face 45, the sealing strip 42 of the two adjacent slats is subjected to tensile stress. In the case of still smaller displacements of the slat concerned out of the door leaf plane, i.e. as long as the support face 43 does not come into contact with the 206~533 associated retaining face 45, the sealing strip 42 of the two adjacen,t slats is merely subjected to bending stress, which leads to corresponding restoring forces. As the distance between the support face 43 and the associated retaining face 45 is kept minimal so that, where possible, the sealing strip is subjected to tensile stress even under conditions of small displacements, the pressure loads which arise and to which the closure element is subjected are transmitted and distributed from the initially immediately affected sealing strip 42 also to the adjacent sealing strips. In the event of pressure loading, the closure element according to the invention thus behaves extensively like a homogeneous flat plate with corresponding force distribution in the plate plane, while at the same time permitting a low-force diversion or winding operation. Thus the sealing strips 42 result in an appreciable increase in the mechanical stability of the closure element, so that the entire closure element in its closed position also withstands high wind or other pressure loads without difficulty. Needless to say, the closure element according to the invention also offers sufficient security against unauthorized opening, so that the closure element according to the invention can be regarded as a durable means of keeping an opening covered and closed.
In order to protect the closure element 12 from detachment in the event of the possible occurrence of even greater pressure loads~
retaining flanges 27, 27' are arranged at the two opposite sides of the closure element, which retaining flanges 27, 27' in the depicted embodiment take the form of an external ring of greater diameter than the diameter of the rollers 26, 26'. The retaining flanges 27, 27' are arranged with a small clearance (not shown in detail in the drawing) in respect of the adjacent support surfaces of the guide rods 28, 30 such that they only come into contact with the guide rods 28, 30 in the event of very substantial bending of the slats 1~ under load; the closure element thus remains easy to operate and move under conditions of relatively small pressure loads. The good distribution of forces in the door leaf plane brought about by the sealing strip 2~64533 42 as already described also prevents the retaining flanges 27, 27' of a slat 14 under load from coming into early contact with the guide rods 28, 30 as a result of substantial bending of said slat 14, and thus from inhibiting the movement of the closure element.
In the case of the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, each slat 14 features a sealing projection 48 on the outside 38 of the door leaf plane, by means of which projection 48 the distance to an adjacent slat is reduced. Owing to the presence of the sealing projection 48, the rubber strip 42 can no longer be identified from the outside when the closure element is in its closed position. The rubber strip 42 can then only be seen from the inside (see rear view, Fig. 1). At the same time, owing to the shape of the sealing projection 48 shown in Fig. 2, the appearance of the slatted shutter 12 is more appealing by virtue of a more uniform, smooth surface.
The bottom seal of the closure element is, according to Figs. 1 and 2, provided by a termination strip 54, for example of rubber, which is secured to the bottom-most slat.
Claims (7)
1. A closure element for an opening with 1.1 slats (14) which are linked together by means of hinges (20 20') so that 1.1.1 a space (34) is defined by the clearance between adjacent slats (14), 1.1.2 in which space (34) the joint pins (24, 24') of the hinges (20, 20') engage;
1.2 sealing strips (42) for angleable connection of meeting edge faces of adjacent slats, 1.2.1 said sealing strips (42) being arranged such that the geometrical axis (36) of the joint pins (24, 24') comes to rest within the profile outline of the sealing strip (42), 1.2.2 said sealing strips (42) featuring at opposite sides enlargements (44) with support faces (43), said enlargements (44) engaging in correspondingly shaped recesses (46) in the slats (14), 1.2.3 the inwardly returning support faces (43) of the enlargements (44) of the sealing strips (42) featuring a minimum clearance in respect of the corresponding retaining faces (45) of the slats (14).
1.2 sealing strips (42) for angleable connection of meeting edge faces of adjacent slats, 1.2.1 said sealing strips (42) being arranged such that the geometrical axis (36) of the joint pins (24, 24') comes to rest within the profile outline of the sealing strip (42), 1.2.2 said sealing strips (42) featuring at opposite sides enlargements (44) with support faces (43), said enlargements (44) engaging in correspondingly shaped recesses (46) in the slats (14), 1.2.3 the inwardly returning support faces (43) of the enlargements (44) of the sealing strips (42) featuring a minimum clearance in respect of the corresponding retaining faces (45) of the slats (14).
2. A closure element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hinges take the form of hinge strips (20, 20') with hinge elements (22) which are interlinked and can be angled in respect of one another by means of the joint pins (24, 24'), said hinge strips (20, 20') having a length which corresponds to the clear height (h) of the opening (1).
3. A closure element as claimed in claim 2, wherein the slats (14) are mounted on the hinge elements (22) of the hinge straps (20, 20').
4. A closure element as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein the sealing strips (42) are of an elastic material, and in particular are manufactured from rubber.
5. A closure element as claimed in one of the preceding claims, wherein rollers (26, 26') are arranged coaxially relative to the joint pins (24, 24') for rolling guidance in guide tracks (2, 2').
6. A closure element as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized by a sealing projection (48) of the slats (14) located on the opposite side of the closure element to that of the hinges (20, 20'), by means of which sealing projection (48) the distance to an adjacent slat is reduced.
7. A closure element as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized by retaining flanges (27, 27') on both lateral sides of the closure element (12) for holding the slats (14) in position.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2064533 CA2064533A1 (en) | 1992-03-31 | 1992-03-31 | Closure element for an opening |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2064533 CA2064533A1 (en) | 1992-03-31 | 1992-03-31 | Closure element for an opening |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2064533A1 true CA2064533A1 (en) | 1993-10-01 |
Family
ID=4149535
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2064533 Abandoned CA2064533A1 (en) | 1992-03-31 | 1992-03-31 | Closure element for an opening |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2064533A1 (en) |
-
1992
- 1992-03-31 CA CA 2064533 patent/CA2064533A1/en not_active Abandoned
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |