EP0384224B1 - Guiding device - Google Patents

Abstract

A guiding device for a door element (14, 16), in particular a shower partition, contains in the region of the lower edge of the door element a guide element (10, 12), whose rotary body (34) is in engagement with a guide groove (8) of a guide rail (2). This guiding arrangement is to be further developed with little constructional outlay to the effect that the guide element (10, 12) is removable from the guide rail when required. It is proposed to mount the rotary body (34) at least partially in a recess (35) of a holding body (32) so as to be rotatable about an axis (36) of rotation which is essentially orthogonal to the plane of the door element (14, 16) and to provide it with an actuating element which is preferably constructed as a handle (40). Said rotary body (34) has a pin (38) which is in engagement with the guide rail (2) or is rotated out of said guide rail, in accordance with the rotational position. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a guide arrangement for a door element, in particular a shower partition, according to the features specified in the preamble of claim 1.

Such a guide arrangement is known from DE-U-8 708 590, which contains a bore in a lower flat profile rail of a door element. A bolt, which is arranged on a handle of a rotating body, is passed through this bore. A pin or hook, which engages in a guide groove of the lower guide rail, is fastened to the bolt guided through the profile rail by means of a thread or the like. Such an attachment is by no means unproblematic and, given the forces which can arise when a person is leaning against a door element, for example when showering, can loosen if necessary. A good guidance and securing of the bolt connected to the handle cannot be easily achieved, so that relative movements between the pin and the door element are practically unavoidable and only a comparatively unstable guidance of the door element can be achieved. Due to a play of the bore and the bolt caused by manufacturing tolerances, relative movements in the axial and / or radial direction are to be feared, which results in disadvantages with regard to an exact and stable guidance.

Furthermore, a guide arrangement is known from DE-B-29 02 288, the rotating body of which is rotatably arranged in a recess in the lower profile rail. This recess extends over the entire width of the door element and for assembly the rotary body must be inserted into the recess from the side and secured with suitable means. This results in additional manufacturing and assembly costs. Dimensional tolerances are to be compensated with the rotating body, which are mainly attributed to dimensional inaccuracies that occur when installing the frame of the shower enclosure. The hook connected to the rotating body engages in a downwardly open guide groove, which is only slightly higher is called the length of the hook. Due to the rotatable arrangement of the rotating body in the recess extending in the plane of the plate, the hook can be aligned accordingly during assembly in order to compensate for dimensional inaccuracies. A complete swing out is not provided and cannot take place. Rather, due to the predetermined length of the hook and the height of the lower guide groove, the door element must be inserted from the side with the hook into the guide rail and then moved parallel to it. Subsequently, the door element can only be moved along the guide rail, it being impossible to pivot the door element orthogonally to the longitudinal direction of the guide rail.

A partition wall for a shower partition is known from EP 119 514 B1, which has an upper and a lower guide rail. Several door elements are suspended and slidably mounted in the upper guide rail. In the area of their lower edges, the door elements have rigid guide elements with hooks which engage in a guide groove in the lower guide rail. The area between the lower edges of the door elements and the lower guide rail is not easily accessible and the cleaning of this area is difficult.

A guide arrangement is known from DE 32 09 768 A1, the guide elements of which are mounted on the lower profile rail of the door element so as to be vertically displaceable downwards. The guide elements extend over the entire width of the door element and are designed as profile rails which are L-shaped in cross section and which each engage from below in one of two U-shaped guide grooves in the lower guide rail. In order to disengage the guide elements from the U-shaped guide rail, each must be moved vertically downwards against the force of a spring into a lowered position. The spring is arranged in the lower rail, in which the guide elements are vertically displaceable. The manufacturing and assembly effort is not insignificant, with additional measures having to be taken to store and secure the respective guide element in the profile rail of the door element.

The invention has for its object to develop the guide assembly with little design effort so that on the one hand a stable and reliable guide is guaranteed and on the other hand the guide element can be easily disengaged from the guide rail if necessary. The manufacturing and assembly effort should be low, long lever arms, expensive bearings and the like should be avoided for the guide element. When the guide element is in engagement with the guide rail, a defined alignment between the door element and the guide rail should be ensured.

This object is achieved according to the features specified in the characterizing part of patent claim 1.

The proposed guide arrangement is characterized by a simple and reliable construction. The guide element contains a rotating body and a pin which engages in the guide rail in accordance with the rotational position of the rotating body or is rotated out of the latter. An actuating element is connected to the rotating body, which is preferably designed as a handle and with which the pin can be unscrewed from the guide groove or screwed into it if necessary. If the pin is moved out, the door element can be pivoted away essentially orthogonally from the lower guide rail. The rotating body is axially secured with respect to the recess by means of securing elements in order to ensure a safe, largely play-free guidance. The recess is at the lower end of the door element and can be at least partially arranged directly in the door element and / or in a holding body connected to the door element. The guide arrangement is preferably designed as a prefabricated assembly which is connected to the door element, in particular to its vertical profile rail, with fastening means, such as screws.

If the door element has a vertical profile rail, in particular a frame for receiving a plate made of transparent glass or plastic, the holding body is preferably attached to the lower end of this vertical profile rail. For this purpose, the holding body expediently has an attachment which engages from below into a hollow chamber of the vertical profile rail mentioned, the fixing being carried out by means of a fastening element which engages in this attachment, preferably in the form of a screw. The rotating body has a handle in the region of the inside of the door element, by means of which the rotation of the rotating body and thus of the pin is carried out into the desired rotational position. A rotating body designed according to the invention is expediently arranged at the lower end of the door element, namely on the two vertical profile rails, on the one hand to ensure stable and functionally reliable guidance of the door element and, on the other hand, after rotation of the two rotating bodies in such a way that their pins are connected to the guide rail are no longer engaged to allow the door element to pivot away from the profile rail in a simple manner. All pins engage in the same single guide groove.

In a tick-like configuration, the holding body mentioned is constructed from two parts in such a way that the rotating body can be inserted between the two parts and, after the said parts have been joined together, the rotating body is rotatably arranged in the recess between the two parts and is simultaneously axially secured. The rotating body integrally has the securing elements, which are expediently designed as annular collars and rest on stop surfaces of the holding body or its parts.

Further preferred configurations and advantages result from the exemplary embodiment described below and from the subclaims.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Darstellung der Führungsanordnung einer Duschabtrennung,

Fig. 2

eine Ansicht des Führungselements in Blickrichtung II gemäß Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

eine Ansicht des Führungselements in Blickrichtung III gemäß Fig. 2,

Fig. 4

eine Ansicht des Führungselements in Blickrichtung IV gemäß Fig. 3,

Fig. 5

eine alternative Ausgestaltung des Führungselements.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing. Show it:

Fig. 1

1 shows a perspective illustration of the guide arrangement of a shower partition,

Fig. 2

2 shows a view of the guide element in viewing direction II according to FIG. 1,

Fig. 3

2 shows a view of the guide element in viewing direction III according to FIG. 2,

Fig. 4

3 shows a view of the guide element in viewing direction IV according to FIG. 3,

Fig. 5

an alternative embodiment of the guide element.

Fig. 1 shows the guide arrangement provided at the lower end of a shower partition with a lower guide rail 2, which can be placed in the usual way on the edge of a shower tray. The guide rail 2 is connected to a flat wall element 4, the vertical side frame profile 6 of which can be expediently connected to the wall of the shower room via a compensation profile (not shown further here). The guide rail 2 has a single downwardly open guide groove 8, into which Guide elements 10, 12 of the door elements 14, 16 engage in a manner to be explained below. These door elements 14, 16 are suspended from an upper guide rail (not shown further here), which is fastened vertically above the lower guide rail 2 at the upper end of the wall element 4. The upper and lower guide rails are designed to be curved over the entry opening, with the curved region 17 of the lower guide rail 2 being partially visible on the right in the drawing. The door elements 14 are slidably suspended and guided along the guide rails, and their angular position relative to one another can change. If the two guide elements 10, 12 are in the area of the flat wall element 4 and the straight guide rails formed there, the two door elements 10, 16 are in the same vertical plane parallel to the flat wall element 4. On the other hand, the two door elements 14, 16 are to the right pushed into the curved area 17 of the guide rails and the entry area of the shower partition present there, the two flat door elements 14, 16 assume a polygonal position relative to one another in accordance with the curvature of the guide rail.

The guide elements 10, 12 can be brought out of engagement with the guide groove 8, so that the door elements 14, 16 can be pivoted away from the lower guide rail 2 in the direction of the arrow 18 in accordance with the arrow 18. The lower edges 20, 22 of the door elements 14, 16 are lower than the upper edge 24 of the guide rail 2, so that a reliable seal is achieved in the manner of a labyrinth seal and the escape of splash water from the shower tray is avoided. As can be seen, the guide elements 10, 12 do not extend over the entire width of the door elements 14, 16, but only over a small fraction of the total width. The door elements 14, 16 each have two vertical profile rails 26, 28 which are designed as hollow chamber profiles and at the lower ends of which one of the guide elements 10, 12 is fastened.

The one guide element 10 is shown in an explosive downward movement below the left vertical rail 26 of the door element 14. The second guide element 12 is designed in a corresponding manner and is correspondingly arranged at the lower end of the other vertical profile rail 28, so that the following explanations also apply accordingly to this guide element 12. The guide element 10 has a vertically upward projection 30 which is arranged on the top of a holding body 32 which engages in the hollow chamber of the profile rail 26 from below and is fixedly connected to the latter by means of a screw 33. For this purpose, the projection 30 has a bore 31 into which the screw 33 can be screwed. The guide element 10 contains a rotating body 34 which is arranged rotatably about an axis 36 and has a pin 38. In the rotational position shown, the pin 38 engages from below into the U-shaped guide groove 8 of the guide rail 2.

The rotary body contains a handle 40 as an actuating element in order to enable the rotary body to rotate. As indicated by the double arrow 42, the rotating body 34 can be rotated with respect to the axis 36 in such a way that the pin 38 can be rotated from the vertically upward first position into the second horizontal position indicated here by dash-dotted lines. In this second position, the pin 38 is no longer in engagement with the guide groove. The cylindrical pin 38 and also the rotating body 34 are now located below the lower edge 39 of the common guide groove 8. If the corresponding pin of the second guide element 12 is also unscrewed from the guide groove 8, the door element can be pivoted away from the guide rail 8 in accordance with the arrow 18 . The axis 36 of the rotating body 34 is substantially orthogonal to the plane of the door element 14. The pin 38 and also the rotating body 34 have a substantially cylindrical cross section, the pin 38 is arranged substantially orthogonal to the axis of rotation 36. The actuating element designed as a handle 40 is located on the inside of the shower partition. The rotating body 34 with the pin 38 and the handle 40 are preferably formed in one piece and inserted into the holding body 32. Due to this integral design of the rotating body 34 with the pin 38 and the handle 40, a compact, space-saving and nevertheless stable construction is ensured.

The holding body 32 has a depth 41 and a width 43 which is substantially the same as the depth or width of the vertical profile rail 26 of the door element 14. The holding body 32 thus has practically the same external dimensions in depth and width as the vertical profile rail 26 and is designed as a lower extension of the vertical profile rail 26. The outer contour of the holding body 32 is essentially designed as a cuboid, which is arranged at the lower end of the vertical profile rail 26 by means of the vertically upward extension 30. The cuboidal holding body 32 designed in this way results in a functionally reliable fastening and mounting of the rotating body 34 together with the pin 38 with a small amount of material and with a small volume. The dash-dotted lines show the pin 38 and the handle 40 in a position rotated by 90 degrees. As can be seen, the handle 40 is oriented essentially vertically, while the pin 38 is unscrewed from the guide groove 8, so that the door element 14 can be pivoted away from the lower guide rail 2 in the direction of the arrow 18. For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that the upper guide bodies of the door elements, which are not shown further here, are designed and arranged in the upper guide rail in such a way that the door elements can carry out the specified pivoting movement.

Fig. 2 shows a view of the guide element 12 designed as a prefabricated assembly, which is at the lower end of the here is shown only dash-dotted rail 26 is arranged. The rotating body 34 rotatable about the axis 36 assumes the rotational position into which the pin 38 is oriented vertically upwards. The holding body contains two parts and the one part 44 which can be seen here has a lateral slot 48 which permits a certain axial flexibility. The rotating body 34 rests on the one hand with an annular collar 50 and on the other hand with the handle 40 on axial end faces of the holding body 32. The handle 40 contains a locking cam 52 which is locked in a small locking groove 54 of the part 44 of the holding body 32. The part 44 has a further corresponding latching groove in a position offset by 90 degrees with respect to the axis of rotation 36. By rotating the handle 40, the rotating body 34 can be rotated by 90 °, the pin 38 being pivoted in front of the plane of the drawing and then assuming the second position indicated by the dash-dotted line 56. The position of the pin 38 shown is secured by the locking cam 52.

In Fig. 3, the two parts 44, 46 of the holding body 32 and the handle 40 are clearly visible. The approach 30 is also divided along the division plane 58. The cylindrical recess 35 is also cut from the parting plane 58, so that the one-sided rotating body 34 can be inserted between the two parts 44, 46. The likewise 30-part extension 30 contains the bore 31, a ring 60 of the part 46 penetrating a correspondingly enlarged recess 62 of the other part 40. The ring 60 can be glued or welded into the recess 62 in order to obtain a firm connection between the two parts 44, 46. The connection points of the two parts 44, 46 are arranged at a sufficiently large distance from the rotating body 34, so that its rotatability can in no way be impaired by adhesive which may penetrate or material melting during welding. According to the arrow 64, the handle 40 of the rotating body can be pivoted downward, so that the pin of the Guide groove of the lower guide rail is pivoted out.

4, the lateral slot 48 in the part 44 can be clearly seen. The already mentioned locking cam 52 on the handle 40 is shown in dashed lines, as is the recess 35.

In the exemplary embodiment explained above, the recess is arranged in the two-part holding body. In the context of the invention, the recess can be provided entirely or partially directly in the profile rails of the door element.

5 shows such an alternative embodiment, according to which the holding body 32 is formed in one piece. The viewing direction corresponds to that according to FIG. 3. Here, both the holding body 32 and the profile rail 26 contain mutually facing semi-cylindrical recess areas 65, 66, which together form the recess 35 for the rotating body, not shown here. The parting plane of the recess 35 is essentially horizontal. The holding body 32 is connected to the profile rail 26 in a suitable manner. For this purpose, this can have one, expediently two screw channels 68 in the interior. According to the lines 70, screws are screwed from below into the screw channels 68 for fastening the holding body to the lower end face of the profile rail 26 through the holding body 32. Otherwise, the rotating body with the pin and the handle is designed in accordance with FIGS. 1 to 4. The holding body 32 in turn has a compact, cuboidal contour and is attached in an extension to the lower end of the vertical profile rail 26. Due to the cuboid design of the holding body 32, a functionally reliable and stable fastening and mounting of the rotating body is ensured.

Reference numerals

2nd

lower guide rail

4th

Wall element

6

Frame profile

8th

Guide groove

10, 12

Guide element

14, 16

Door element

17th

curved area of 2

18th

arrow

20, 22

Lower edge

24th

Top edge of 2

26, 28

vertical profile rail

30th

approach

31

drilling

32

Holding body

33

screw

34

Rotating body

35

Recess

36

axis

38

Cones

39

Lower edge of 8

40

Handle

41

Depth of 32

42

Double arrow

43

Width of 32

44, 46

Part of 32

48

slot

50

Ring collar

52

Locking cams

54

Locking groove

56

line

58

Division level

60

Ring of 46

62

Recess of 44

64

arrow

65, 66

semi-cylindrical area

68

Screw channel

70

line

Claims (8)

1. Guiding device for a door element (14,16), particularly of a shower enclosure, which door element (14,16) is displaceably suspended, with a guide channel (8) in a lower guide member (2) and with a guide element (10,12) disposed at the lower end of the door element (14,16), which guide element has a rotatable member (34) in an opening (35), which rotatable member is rotatable about an axis orthogonal to the plane of the door element (14,16) and which is provided on one side with a bent pintle (38) and at its other end on the inner side of the door element (14,16) with an operating element, preferably in the form of a handle (40), the pintle (38) engaging in a first angular position in the guide channel (8) and the pintle (38) being fully disengageable therefrom after rotation of the rotatable member (34) in order to enable the door element (14,16) to be swung away from the guide member (2), characterised in that the opening (35) is formed by two parts (44,46) of a holding body (32) or through partial regions (65,66) of the holding body (32) and the lower end of a frame member (26), and in that the rotatable member (34) is insertable in the opening (35) between the two parts (44,46) or partial regions (65,66) and after assembly thereof is secured in the opening (35).
2. Guiding device as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the guide member (2) is provided with a common guide channel (8) for at least two door elements (14,16), in which all rotatably arranged pintles (38) of the guide elements (10,12) engage.
3. Guiding device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the holding body (32) is disposed on the lower end of the vertical frame member (26) of the door element (14,16) and/or has a depth (41) and a width (43) which correspond essentially to the depth or width of the vertical frame member (26).
4. Guiding device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the rotatable member (34) contacts axial abutment surfaces of the holding body (32) on the one side with an annular bead (50) and on the other side with the handle (40).
5. Guiding device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the rotatable member (34), the pintle (38) and the handle (40) are formed in one piece as an integral component.
6. Guiding device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the holding body (32) has a projection (30) which extends into a hollow of the frame member (26) and is connected therewith.
7. Guiding device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the rotatable member (34) is provided, advantageously on its handle (40), with a detent which extends into a detent groove (54) of the holding body (32), in order, in the first rotational position, in which the pintle (38) is engaged with the lower guide member (2), to secure the rotatable member (34) against unintentional rotation.
8. Guiding device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that in the first rotational position the pintle (38) is disposed vertically and engages in the U-shaped guide channel of the guide member (2) from below, and in that after rotation of the rotatable member (34) about its substantially horizontal rotational axis (36), the pintle (38) is disposed essentially horizontally and/or is displaceable past the lower edge (39) of the guide channel (8).

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