EP0385045B1 - Mounting for sliding doors - Google Patents

Abstract

A sliding door gear, consists of upper rollers (3) and lower projections travelling along fixed guides. The upper guides are in the form of rails (6) and the lower ones are tracks, located respectively on the under surface of the ceiling and the floor of the space covered by the door. Adjacent to the rails and tracks there are adjustable brackets (12) with retaining elements (43,46) for the rollers and pads. The rollers and the lower projections are fixed directly to the adjacent door panels, and are mounted on the further panels by bridging brackets (5). The assembly also incorporates a rod (18) which can be attached by means of the retaining elements to a tongue which acts as a stop for the door panel.

Description

The present invention relates to a fitting for sliding doors, which can be applied to sliding doors with one panel or with more than two, each of which having elements of upper bearings and lower pads, movable on fixed tracks provided bumpers that limit the movement of the panels.

Fittings for sliding doors are already known, of the type indicated, in which the tracks on which the upper rolling elements move consist of profiles which are fixed to the internal surface of the ceiling of the empty space. that the door closes. When the doors include two panels, it is necessary to have two parallel profiles, one for each door. With this traditional constitution, the doors remain suspended from the profile, having to support the entire weight of the door. With use, the screws and the fastening elements of the mentioned profiles are used to loosen, which causes the profile to lose its horizontality, giving rise to a faulty operation which can cause jamming and blockage of the doors, noise when moving, etc ...

In addition, the mounting of door profiles and panels is normally quite complicated.

DE-A-2614810 describes a fixing and guiding device for sliding doors, especially for furniture, which has a rail and at least one guide element joined to a fixed part, such as the body of the furniture and with at at least one guide element sliding on the rail and connectable to the longitudinal edge of the sliding door, this element being constituted by a fixing piece and by at least one pin which is assembled on the fixing piece and with at least one pulley, being fixed the axis which extends vertically with respect to the edge of the door, with the pulley or with another sliding element provided on the axis, in the longitudinal direction of the axis in a sliding manner on the fixing part.

GB-A-2 164691 describes a sliding door for showers which comprises a structure having upper and lower zones, at least one sliding door suspended from the upper zone, a guide rail in the lower zone and at least one element. guide at the bottom of the door which assembles on the guide rail from the bottom.This door is characterized in that to remove the guide element (s) from the door of said guide rail, the door is suspended by means of a descent device (descender).

The object of the present invention is to develop a fitting which allows simple assembly both of its components and of the door panels.

Another object of the invention is to obtain a fitting with which a smooth displacement of the panels and silent is obtained and moreover without risk of misalignment or unevenness of its components, thereby ensuring operation perfect of the whole.

The fitting of the invention also allows the mounting of doors which completely cover the front of the empty space to be closed, from floor to ceiling of the room or enclosure, obtaining better effects in the finishing and aspect of said enclosure.

Although the fitting of the invention can be used for doors having a panel, given its constitution and its operational safety, it is of special application for sliding doors having two or more panels.

In the fitting of the invention, the tracks on which the rolling elements and the pads will move consist of an upper rail and a lower guide, if the door has only one panel, or two parallel upper rails and close to each other and to two lower guides, also parallel and close to each other, if the door has 2 or more panels. In both cases, the rails and the guides are arranged respectively on the external surface of the ceiling and of the bottom of the void to be closed, the rail and the outermost guide remaining located in position adjacent to the edge of the areas mentioned. .

The subject of the invention is a fitting for sliding doors, especially for carrying one or more parallel panels, preferably two, each of which having rolling elements and pads, each movable on fixed tracks provided bumpers which limit the movement of the panels, the mentioned tracks are preferably formed by two parallel upper rails which are close to each other and by two lower guides, also parallel and close to each other, arranged respectively on the external surface of the ceiling and of the bottom of the space to be closed, the outermost rail and guide being located adjacent to the edge of the cited surfaces, the essential characteristics of which are that the buffers are composed of an anchoring base, which is fixed to the external surface respectively from the ceiling and the bottom in position adjacent to the rails and guides, a vertical plate of adjustable position, parallel to these rails and guide es, which is fixed to the anchoring base and has, from its vertical edges, means for retaining the rolling elements and the pads and a union angle; and in that the rolling elements consist of rollers or pulleys with peripheral grooves which are fixed by means of bearings, to an axis integral with a parallel plate and close to said roller, the plate of which is fixed directly to the surface internal of the panel or panels of the door (s) closest to the volume to be closed, for the support of the roller to the outermost rail, and via a bridge to the internal surface of the panel or panels of the door furthest from the space to be closed, for the support of the roller on the innermost rail; in that the pads comprise an anchoring core and a body with a profile which can be assembled with the guide and the anchoring core, and a stopper which limits opening and closing, being fixed the anchoring core directly to the internal surface of the panel or panels of the door closest to the space to be closed, for coupling the body cited to the outermost guide, and by means of a bridge to the internal surface of the panel or panels the more distant from the space to be closed, for assembling the body on the innermost guide.

The characteristics set out, as well as others specific to the invention, will be highlighted later, in greater detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a non-limiting exemplary embodiment is shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a rear perspective of the upper rolling elements of the fitting of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view partially sectioned along the direction A of FIG. 1.

Figures 3 and 4 are, respectively, a front and top plan of one of the upper bearing elements.

Figure 5 is a section on the line V-V in Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a rear perspective of the pads and lower tracks.

FIG. 7 is a view, partially sectioned, along the direction B of FIG. 6.

Figure 8 is an inside survey of the skate body.

Figure 9 is a front view of the anchor base of the bumpers.

Figure 10 is a section along the section line X-X of Figure 9.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the anchoring base of FIG. 9.

Figure 12 is a front view of the vertical plate of the buffers.

Figure 13 is a section along the section line XIII-XIII of figure 12.

Figure 14 is a section along the section line XIV-XIV of Figure 12.

In the example shown in the drawings, the door consists of two panels bearing the numbers 1 and 2. In FIGS. 1 and 2 the upper mechanisms of the fitting of the invention are shown. These mechanisms include rolling elements which consist of rollers or pulleys 3 with peripheral grooves, each of which is mounted on a support plate 4, as will be described below. On the rear surface of the innermost panel 2 are directly fixed two rollers 3 by means of their plates 4. On the most external panel or separated from the vacuum to be closed two other rollers are mounted 3, by means of bridges 5.

The rollers 3 can move on tracks formed by two rails 6 which are fixed to the external surface of the ceiling 7 of the empty space to be closed. These rails consist of an L-shaped profile which includes a flat branch 8 provided with orifices for the passage of fixing screws 9. The other branch 10 of these profiles is of larger size and has a rounded cross section , of radius approximately similar to or slightly less than that of the groove of the rollers 3. In addition, these sections 6 have on the branch 10 and from the external surface of the branch 8 a channel 11 on which a straightening core and connecting successive sections.

The outermost rail 10 remains located adjacent to the free edge of the ceiling 7.

To limit the movement of the panels 1 and 2, there are buffers 12, two of the latter located on the rails 6 and two others immediately following the rear rail 6.

As can be better appreciated in Figures 3 to 5, the rollers or pulleys 3 are mounted on the support plate 4 by means of a bearing 13. The plate 4 has, on its rear surface, d 'a projection or pivot 14 and at one and the other end thereof, at different distance, from two grooves 15 and 16 of different length, of arcuate layout with center on the pivot 14. For the mounting of these rollers the pivot 14 is introduced into an orifice made in the panel 2 or on the bridges 5. Then the plate 4 is fixed by means of screws introduced through the grooves 15 and 16, their position and height being adjustable by turning it on the pivot 14, thanks to the size of the grooves 15 and 16. Once the pulley 3 has been duly placed, the screws 17, FIG. 1, are tightened to fix the plate 4 to the panel 2 and bridges 5.

One of the rollers of each panel, in this case one of the rollers 3 fixed to one of the bridges 5 and in the other one of the rollers 3 fixed to the panel 2, have, as an extension of its axis, a projection 18, which will serve to ensure the limit position for opening and closing the door panels.

The bridges 5 are composed of folded U-shaped plates, which are fixed by one of their lateral branches to the internal surface of the door 5, while on the other lateral branch, the plates 4 carrying the rollers are fixed. 3. As can be seen in FIG. 2, from the branch which is fixed to the panel 1, pivots 19 can protrude which are introduced in practical orifices from the internal surface of said panel 1, to serve as positioning elements to facilitate the mounting of the bridges.

On the lower part of the door, a mechanism is arranged and it is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. This mechanism includes two guides 20 parallel and close to each other, which are fixed to the lower surface of the bottom 21 of the void to be closed. The outermost guide is disposed in a position adjacent to the free edge of the bottom 21. These guides are composed of L-shaped profiles, one of the branches of which, bearing the number 22, is completely flat and is attached to the outer surface of the bottom 21, to which it is fixed by means of screws 22 which pass through holes made on said branch. The other branch 23 of these profiles at its starting point a widening 24 on which a channel 25 is formed which opens onto the external surface of the branch 22, to introduce rectifier and connection guides, as in the case of the rails 6 The branch 23, from its free longitudinal edge, defines the guides on which the pads 26 slide, two of which are fixed directly to the internal surface of the most internal panel 2, while to the external panel 1 two other are fixed pads via bridges 5 similar to those described for the rolling elements in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As in the case of Figures 1 and 2, between the guides 20 there are buffers 12 of similar constitution, which will serve to limit the maximum opening and closing position.

The pads 26, as can be clearly seen in Figure 7, consist of an anchor core 27 and a body 28 with a profile that can be assembled to the branch 23 of the guides 20. A shoe of each panel further includes a stopper 29, which limits the opening and closing of the panels. The core 27 is fixed to the bridges 5 and to the panel 2 by means of screws 30, FIG. 7, while the body 28 is mounted on the core 27 by sliding. The screws 30 also serve for fixing the stopper 29, formed by a flat iron forming a right angle.

The housing of the body 28, for its coupling to the core 27, is limited, as can be appreciated very well in FIG. 8, by flexible tongues 31, directed one towards each side, which are completed at their extremity in half arrowhead and which will serve as buffers to prevent relative sliding between the core 27 and the body 28, once the two parts are coupled.

The buffers 12, as can be appreciated very well in FIGS. 1 and 6, are each formed by an anchoring base 32, which is fixed directly to the external surface of the ceiling 7 and bottom 21, in position adjacent to the rails 6 and guides 20, by a vertical plate 33 of adjustable position, and by a union angle 32a.

The anchoring base 32, as can be seen in FIGS. 9 and 11, is formed by an L-shaped section piece, the branches of which have a different length. The longest branch 35 has holes 36 for the passage of the fixing screws to the external surface of the ceiling and bottom. The other branch, bearing the number 37, has vertical ridges 38 on its outer surface, as well as two horizontal grooves 39.

The vertical plate 33, as can be appreciated very well in FIGS. 12 to 14, has on one of its surfaces a groove 40 which can be assembled on the groove 38 of the anchoring base 32. This plate has more than two orifices 41 for the passage of fixing screws to the anchoring base.

The union angle 32a, of metallic nature, mates on the concave surface of the anchoring base 32 and has threaded orifices to receive screws introduced through the holes 39 of the anchoring base 32 and orifices 41 of the plate 33, for their mutual union.

The position of the plate 33 can be adjusted relative to the anchoring base 32, this being due to the grooves 39 of the anchoring base, the plate remaining locked by tightening the fixing screws to said base, by means of the ridges 38 and 40 opposables of the base and plate.

As can be seen in FIG. 12, the plate 33 has, from its vertical edges, notches 43 which remain superiorly limited by elastically deformable fasteners 45, which have transverse deviations on the end portion which determine an armrest angular 46, with the convexity directed towards the notch 43, partially closing it, to define the means for retaining the upper rollers. The fasteners 45 terminate on an end section 47 directed in an upward direction.

Returning to FIG. 1, when the panels 1 and 2 arrive at their limit open or closed positions, the projection 18 of the rollers 3 is introduced into the notch 43 of the opposite stopper 12, until it is retained by the angular armrest 46. At the same time, as can be seen in FIG. 6, where the panel 2 of the door is shown in the closed limit position, the stopper 29 collides with the edge opposite of the plate 33, arriving the same thing in the limit open position. In this way, the panels remain retained in their limit opening and closing position. To release them from this position, it suffices to exert a slight push on the panels to obtain that the extension 18 of the axis of the upper rollers saves the angular armrest 46 which partially closes the notch 43.

With the constitution described, the displacement of the panels 1 and 2 of the door is very easily obtained, this being due to the upper rolling elements and to the pads and lower guides. The weight of the door panels is supported by the ceiling 7 of the empty space to be closed. The opening and closing limit positions remain perfectly defined by means of the stops 12.

The assembly of the various components, as well as that of the panels 1 and 2 can be carried out very easily, thanks to the possibility of adjusting the height of the plates 4 which carry the rollers 3.

In addition, as can be seen in Figure 7, the body 28 of the pads has externally on its upper and lower edges each of the grooves 48 and 49 of different depth, determined by the different height of the walls 50 which limit said grooves . This causes the mouth of one and the other channel and the edge of the walls which limit these, to remain located at a different distance from the mean longitudinal plane of the skid and, consequently, from the axis of the fixing screw 30. This constitution makes it possible to absorb possible mounting errors, by placing the body 28 of the pads on the position shown in the drawing or in the inverted position.

As indicated at the beginning of the memoir, the description of the fitting was made in relation to a type of door, but it can also be used in the case of interior doors. In this case, the rail or rails 6 would be arranged on the lower part on the ground to support the weight of the door by means of the rolling elements 3, which would be fixed to its lower part, while the guides 20 would be fixed to the upper part opposite to the corresponding rails, to cooperate with the pads 26 which would be fixed to the inner upper part of the door.

Claims (10)

1. Mounting for sliding doors, particularly for doors having one or more parallel panels, preferably two, each of which is provided with rolling elements (3) and gliders (26) which can be displaced on respective fixed tracks (6, 20) provided with buffers (12, 19) which limit the movement of the panels, the above-mentioned tracks (6, 20) are preferably formed by two upper rails (6) which are parallel with each other and close together and by two lower guides (20) which are also parallel with each other and close together, these rails and guides being arranged, respectively, on the external surface of the top (7) and the bottom (21) of the space to be closed, the outermost rail and guide being located adjacent to the edge of the above-mentioned surfaces, characterised in that the buffers (12, 29) being (sic) composed of an anchoring base (32) which is fixed to the respective external surface of the top and bottom of the space to be closed, in a position adjacent to the rails (6) and the guides (20), a vertical plate (33) parallel with these rails (6) and guides (20) and having an adjustable position, which plate is fixed to the anchoring base (32) and has, starting from its vertical narrow edges, means for retaining the rolling elements (3) and the gliders (26), and an angle bracket (32a); and in that the rolling elements (3, 26) are composed of rollers or pulleys (3) having a peripheral groove which are fixed by means of roller bearings to a shaft (18) which is integrally formed with a plate (4) parallel with and close to the said roller (3), this plate (4) being fixed directly to the inner surface of the panel or panels of the door which is (are) closest to the volume to be closed, for supporting the roller (3) on the outermost rail (6), and by means of a bridge (5) to the inner surface of the panel or panels of the door furthest away from the space to be closed, for supporting the roller (3) on the innermost rail (6); in that the gliders (26) comprise an anchoring core (27) and a body having a section which can be assembled with the guide (20) and the anchoring core (27), and a buffer (29) which limits opening and closing, the anchoring core (27) being fixed directly to the inner surface of the door panel or panels closest to the space to be closed, for joining the above-mentioned body to the outermost guide, and by means of a bridge (5) to the inner surface of the panel or panels furthest away from the space to be closed, for joining the body to the innermost guide.
2. Mounting according to claim 1, characterised in that the rails (6) are formed by sections having an L-shaped cross section, one branch (8) of which is planar and can be placed against the external surface of the top (7) of the space to be closed, and has holes for screws to pass through for fixing to this surface, while the other branch forms a widening (10) having an approximately circular cross section and a radius equal to or less than that of the groove of the rollers (3) and has a longitudinal groove (11) at its start which opens outwards from the outer surface of the first planar branch (8).
3. Mounting according to claim 1, characterised in that the guides (20) are formed by sections having an L-shaped cross section and planar branches, one (22) of which can be placed against the external surface of the bottom of the space to be closed and has openings for screws to pass through for fixing to this surface, while the other branch (23) has, at the start, a widening (24) in which there is formed a longitudinal groove (25) which opens out through the outer surface of the first branch placed against the surface of the bottom of the space to be closed.
4. Mounting according to claim 1, characterised in that the buffers (12, 29) of the outer rail and guide are arranged between the sections which define the two upper rails (6) and the two lower guides (20), respectively, while the buffers (12, 29) of the inner rail and guides are arranged beside this rail and the guide, respectively, on the inner side of the panel.
5. Mounting according to claim 1, characterised in that the anchoring base (32) of the buffers (12, 29) is composed of a piece having an L-shaped cross section, the angle bracket (32a) being joined to the concave surface of this piece, in that this piece (32) has two oblong holes (39) on one (35) of its branches and a transverse toothing or grooving (38) on the outer surface of the said branch (35); and in that the vertical plate (33) of the buffers (12, 29) comprises a lower zone having two holes (41) provided with a vertical toothing or grooving (40) on one of its surfaces, which can be joined to the toothing (38) of the branch (35) of the anchoring base (32), and an upper zone which has, starting from its vertical edges, opposite cut-out parts (43) which are limited in the upward direction by an elastically deformable tab (45) which has on an end portion transverse extensions which define an angular elbow (46), with the convexity directed towards the cut-out parts (43) so as to close its entrance partially, and in that the plate (33) and the anchoring base (32) are fixed together by means of screws which are screwed into holes cut in the angle bracket (32a).
6. Mounting according to claims 1 and 5, characterised in that the shaft (18) of one of the rollers (3) of each panel projects beyond the free surface of the said rollers so as to cooperate with the cut-out parts (43) of the plates of the buffers, the said shaft entering far enough into these cut-out parts to project beyond the angular elbow (46) of the tab (45) which partially closes these cut-out parts (43), displacing the panels (1, 2) towards their end positions for opening and closing.
7. Mounting according to claim 1, characterised in that the plate (4) of the rolling elements (3) is provided with a pivot pin (14) which projects beyond a free surface and arc-shaped oblong openings (16) which are centred on the said pivot pin and are located on both sides of the latter at different distances, the pivot pin (14) being inserted through an opening (43) (sic) cut in the panel or bridge to which the rolling elements (3) are fixed by means of screws inserted into the above-mentioned openings.
8. Mounting according to claim 1, characterised in that the bridges (5) to which the rolling elements (3) and gliders (26) for the outermost door are fixed, are formed by a plate (5) folded in an U-shape; by way of one of the lateral branches of this plate the outermost panel is fixed in position opposite the inner surface, while on the other lateral branch there are fixed the rolling elements and gliders (3, 26) which remain in a coplanar position with the rails (6) and guides (20).
9. Mounting according to claim 1, characterised in that the body of the gliders has, starting from one of its lateral surfaces, a transverse housing (28) for joining it to the core (27) by sliding, from the walls of the housing there project flexible axial tabs (31) pointing in opposite directions and ending in an inner half arrow head, in order to define buffers which prevent the body (28) from sliding relative to the core (27), while along the entire length of its longitudinal narrow edges it has channels bounded by walls of a different height, with the channel still opening on both sides, as well as the longitudinal narrow edge of the walls which bound them, at a different distance from the longitudinal middle plane of the glider (26).
10. Mounting according to claims 1 and 9, characterised in that the buffers (29) of the gliders are formed by a flat iron bar having a T-shaped contour, the central branch of which is folded transversely to form a right-angle and the flat bar of which is placed against the core of one of the gliders (26) of each panel, to which it is joined by means of the fixing screws of the glider (26).

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