EP0531330A1

EP0531330A1 - Closure for a vehicular opening.

Info

Publication number: EP0531330A1
Application number: EP91909383A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gabrijel Rejc
Original assignee: EFAFLEX TRANSPORT- und LAGERTECHNIK GmbH; EFAFLEX TRANSPORT LAGER
Current assignee: Efaflex Tor und Sicherheitssysteme GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1990-05-11
Filing date: 1991-05-13
Publication date: 1993-03-17
Anticipated expiration: 2011-05-13
Also published as: DE4015216A1; DE59101458D1; WO1991018177A1; EP0531330B1; US5394924A

Abstract

L'élément obturateur d'une ouverture (1), selon l'invention, comprend des lamelles (14) articulées au moyen de charnières (20, 20'), de sorte que l'écartement entre des lamelles adjacentes (14) définisse un espace (34) dans lequel peuvent pénétrer les chevilles (24, 24') des charnières. Des bandes d'étanchéité (42) en caoutchouc, coaxiales par rapport aux chevilles (24, 24') des charnières s'engagent presque sans jeu dans les lamelles (14) afin de relier des lamelles adjacentes (14).The closing element of an opening (1), according to the invention, comprises lamellae (14) articulated by means of hinges (20, 20 '), so that the distance between adjacent lamellae (14) defines a space (34) in which the pins (24, 24 ') of the hinges can enter. Rubber sealing strips (42), coaxial with the hinge pins (24, 24 '), engage almost without play in the lamellae (14) to connect adjacent lamellae (14).

Description

Closing element for an opening

The invention relates to a closure element for an opening, which can be moved from a closed position into an open position of the opening.

As an example of such a closure element for an opening, a roller shutter of a roller shutter is known as a vertically opening closure of a door opening that can be walked on or driven over, consisting of mutually angled slats which are guided into the closed position on the two side edges of the door opening by means of vertical guide rails - Which, and which is raised and wound up into the open position by means of a winding shaft, to which the roller armor is attached.

The roll armor, as the protective part of a roller shutter that closes the door opening, consists of hinged slats, usually profile parts, for example extruded aluminum materials. The height of the individual slats is usually about 80 to 120 mm.

These profile parts are usually provided as insertion profiles, which, due to their shape, are articulatedly connected to each other to form the roll armor without further connecting members. In a typical aluminum extruded profile, the joint is designed, for example, as a pan and a web, so that when the profiles are pushed into one another, the joint formed in this way occurs when the roll armor is rolled up Can absorb and endure forces. The connection of the lamellas formed into a joint generally has a large amount of play. In addition, the shape of the nested profiles should be designed in such a way that dirt and water are prevented from being deposited in the joints, and sufficient tightness against wind attack is ensured.

Furthermore, closing elements of an opening in so-called sectional doors are known, which are also used for large door openings. A conventional sectional door essentially consists of a tank with comparatively high sections which can be folded down from a vertical closed position into an upper horizontal position below the ceiling by means of a cable drive.

Due to the comparatively large height of the individual sections used in sectional doors, a mechanically overall compact construction is achieved due to the reduced number of connecting elements of the sections such as hinges or the like and also a reduction in the number of end faces to be sealed, with a correspondingly better strength against wind attack and Security against unauthorized opening. Furthermore, the large height of the individual sections allows transparent sections to be provided in the form of glass or plastic windows.

As a rule, the individual sections lie flush with one another in the closed position, so that the entire end face of a section is available for the seal. The sectional door thus appears as a cleanly closed door with a continuous outer surface, with no gaps in between. A further improved tightness is achieved, for example, by rubber inserts which are pressed together in the closed position by the sections lying one above the other. Alternatively, the sections point a bulge extending across the entire width of the door on one end face, which engages in a corresponding recess of an adjacent section when the sections are pivoted into the same plane as a tongue and groove connection, thus also contributing to the mechanical strength of the door leaf against wind pressure large door widths is further improved.

On the inside of the gate, the sections are connected by means of a plurality of individual hinges, which are attached at certain intervals across the entire width of the gate in such a number that sufficient strength and support is achieved. The hinges attached to the side edge of the sections are generally designed at the same time as a holder for a roller which can run in a guide rail with a U-shaped cross section at the edge region of the sectional door. Since the individual hinges are attached to the sections in such a way that the sections can be folded away towards the inside, problems also arise in so far as the protruding parts of the hinges attached and projecting on the inside of the door are visually disturbing and dangerous are. A further risk of injury to sectional gates arises when the sections bend due to the open gaps that occur or when the sections are folded back and the gaps are closed.

The invention is based on the object of providing a closure element for an opening which, when closed, offers sufficient sealing against wind and weather attack and high stability even against selective pressure loads.

This object is achieved by a closure element with the features of claim 1. The closure element according to the present invention has lamellae which are hingedly connected to one another in such a way that a space is formed by the spacing of adjacent lamellae in which the hinge pins of the hinge engage. By providing the pivot axis of each hinge within the space between the lamellae, the angular openings between the adjacent lamellae and also the tilting accelerations when the end element is moved into the open position are minimized, with correspondingly smaller acceleration forces when the end element is angled, resulting in low-wear guidance is possible in tight radii, and a correspondingly small amount of space is required in the open position without, on the other hand, accepting increased noise when opening and closing. In addition, protruding parts of the hinge are avoided, with a corresponding optical effect and a reduction in the risk of injury. Adjacent slats are provided with sealing strips almost over the entire width of the opening, which prevent windtightness and the ingress of rainwater and dust. The sealing strips are arranged in such a way that the geometric axis of the hinge pin comes to lie within the outline of the sealing strip, so that the sealing strips are only subjected to bending when the end element is bent. On the opposite sides, the sealing strips have beads or thickenings which engage in correspondingly shaped recesses in the lamellae, the mutually facing support surfaces of the thickenings having a minimal, but trouble-free, distance from corresponding holding surfaces of the lamellae, so that in the closed position of the Closing element when a slat is subjected to pressure transversely to the door plane - after initial restoring forces solely due to bending stress of the sealing strips to the neighboring slats - as soon as a tensile stress of the sealing strips occurs, which further bends compared to adjacent slats hinders or limits. Overall, the end element thus behaves largely like a homogeneous flat plate with a corresponding force distribution in the plate plane, but nevertheless allows a low-force diversion or winding.

The closure element according to the invention can be used as a closure for any type of opening. The opening can be present vertically in the form of a gate or window opening, or also horizontally, for example in the form of an opening in a swimming pool or the like. The end element can be guided by means of guideways, which enables higher running speeds with less noise when opening and closing, or can be wound up without any guidance. The closing element can be driven by an electric motor or manually.

A particularly fast run when closing and opening the closing element is made possible if, according to claim 2, the hinges are in the form of hinge straps, with hinge members which are connected to one another in an articulated manner and can be angled relative to one another via the hinge pins, the hinge straps having a length which is clear Corresponds to the height of the opening. These hinge straps form the load-bearing structure of the closing element, since all tensile forces are absorbed by the hinge straps and are not introduced into the slats. According to claim 3, the slats are simply placed on the hinge members of the hinge straps.

According to claim 4, the sealing strips are preferably made of an elastic material, in particular rubber, which avoids moving mechanical parts to bend and only a small amount of force is required to bend the end element, and No noise is kept as low as possible.

An even quieter, almost free of frictional and therefore faster running of the lamellar armor is achieved according to claim 5 in that rollers are mounted coaxially to the hinge pins, which run in corresponding guideways.

A particularly tight closure of the door opening is obtained if, according to claim 6, a sealing lug is provided on the outside of each slat, due to which the distance between adjacent slats is reduced in the closed position without the slats themselves touching. Since this means that the sealing strips are no longer perceptible from the outside, there is at the same time an appealing external appearance of the end element in the form of a uniformly smooth surface.

If holding collars for securing the position of the slats are arranged on the two opposite sides of the closure element, the closure element can also counteract larger compressive forces in the closed position without fear of the closure element being pulled out of the opening.

Further details and advantages of the invention result from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the figures. It shows:

1 shows a rear view of a closure element according to an exemplary embodiment according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line II-II in Fig. 1; 2A schematically shows an enlarged illustration of the detail X from FIG. 2; and

3 shows a plan view of a closure element according to the present invention, the closure element being used in a lifting gate to be moved vertically upwards.

The exemplary embodiment of a closure element according to the invention described below takes place with reference to the use as a lifting gate, which can be moved vertically upwards from a closed position into an open position of a gate opening. For further details, reference is made to the two parallel German patent applications by the same applicant from today with the title "Lifting gate with a slatted armor with angled slats" (11EF01412) or "Lifting gate with a slatted armor in guideways" (11EF01422) referenced and fully referenced. However, the end element here is in no way limited to use with a lifting gate, but can also be used without problems, for example, in a horizontally arranged opening.

1 to 3 illustrate, the illustrated embodiment of a closure element 12 according to the invention of an opening 1 has a plurality of slats 14 for covering the opening 1, which are connected to one another in an articulated manner by means of hinges 20, 20 '. Opposite sides of adjacent lamellae are each connected via sealing strips 42, as will be described in detail below. The closing element shown is guided according to FIG. 3 on the two opposite sides 3 and 3 'of the gate opening 1 by means of guideways 2 and 2', so that the closing element 12 can be moved from the vertical closed position into an area outside the opening 1 into the open position. Denote below deleted reference numerals each the corresponding parts of the closure element, which are arranged on the side 3 'of the opening 1, and which represent the mirror-image corresponding parts of the uncoated reference numerals.

Hinges in the form of hinge bands 20, 20 'are each provided on the two edge sides of the closing element 12, which have a length which corresponds essentially to the height of the door opening 1. Each hinge band 20, 20 'consists of rigid hinge members 22 which are connected to one another in an articulated manner and can be angled relative to one another via hinge pins 24, 24'. For this purpose, each hinge member is shaped in a known manner at its end into a rolled-up eyelet into which the hinge pin 24 can be inserted. In each case two adjacent hinge members are connected to one another in an articulated manner in such a way that their eyes are arranged coaxially to one another, in which a common hinge pin 24 is mounted.

In the example shown, rollers 26, 26 'are also mounted coaxially to the hinge pins 24, 24', which serve to roll the hinge straps 20 and 20 'in the guide tracks 2 and 2'. In the example shown, each guideway has a pair of round rods 28 and 30 which are arranged at a constant distance from one another which is selected to match the diameter of the rollers 26. The hinge straps 20, 20 'and the round bars 28, 30 are made, for example, from hard, metallic material, while the rollers 26 can also be made from plastic material. To secure the individual slats 14 and thus the end element against being pulled out of the guideway, each roller 26, 26 'has a retaining collar 27, 27', the outer diameter of which is greater than the clear distance between the round bars 28, 30. The slats 14 are, for example, placed and fastened on the hinge straps 20, 20 'by means of screw connections 32, 32' in such a way that a space 34 is formed in the hinge pins 24, 24 by the resulting spacing of the adjacent slats 14 ', or the eyelets of the hinge members 22, 22' encompassing the hinge pins, as best shown in FIG. 2. In accordance with the invention it is achieved that the geometric hinge axis 36 comes to lie completely within the area which is delimited by the two outer main surfaces 38 and 40 of the closure element 12. This position of the hinge axis 36 ensures that the width of the angular opening between the adjacent lamellae 14 is reduced to a minimum when the end element is bent, so that the tilting accelerations when entering an upper, bent guideway outside the area of the Opening 1 are reduced. As a result, the possible running speeds of the terminating element shown are further increased without being accompanied by excessive noise.

The slats with a height of up to 150 mm, for example, are placed completely independently of one another and individually on the hinge straps 20, 20 ', so that, for example, the absence of an entire slat has no effect on the mechanical stability and functioning of the closure element pulls. The hinge straps 20 and 20 'thus form, as it were, the load-bearing framework or skeleton of the closing element, which absorbs all the forces which arise during the movement of the lifting gate. Because of the mechanically continuous cohesion of the hinge band 20, 20 ', the tensile forces which occur are absorbed by the hinge bands 20, 20' and are not transmitted to the slats 14. By transferring and distributing the forces to an articulated, continuous, but tensile fixed band, even with extremely fast runs of the lifting gate, a smooth and smooth movement is achieved.

Since the individual slats 14 are initially placed at a certain distance from one another on the hinge straps 20, 20 'in order to make room for the hinge pin, the adjacent slats 14 are also in the closed position of the closing element without contact with one another, as a result of which the rattling noises known in conventional sectional doors when closing the gate also completely eliminated here.

To increase the mechanical stability of the lamella cover and to increase the tightness, but without endangering the properties of the present closure element with regard to low noise, sealing strips 42 in the form of rubber strips are provided, which cover almost the entire door width between the hinge straps 20 and 20 'are arranged, and connect opposite sides of adjacent slats 14. Each sealing strip 42 is arranged coaxially to the adjacent hinge axis 36, so that the sealing strips 42 are only subjected to bending when the lamellar armor 12 is bent in the guide region (not shown) outside the opening. Each sealing strip 42 has beads or thickenings 44 on opposite sides which engage in correspondingly shaped recesses 46 in the lamellae 14. As best can be seen from the vergrößer¬ th section in accordance with Fig. 2 A, each thickener 44, a Abstützflache 43 opposite to an ^e ntsprechenden holding surface 45 is arranged the bar 14. The distance between a support surface 43 and the respectively associated holding surface 45 of the lamella 14 is chosen to be as small as possible, taking into account the requirement for a jam-free and trouble-free installation by inserting the sealing strip 42 with the thickening 44 into the recess 46, so that any pressure loads that may occur in the closed position of the closing element lead to the closure element that the sealing strip 42 is tilted to the side and after the contacting of the support surface 43 with the holding surface 45, the sealing strip 42 to the two adjacent slats is subjected to tension. With even smaller deflections of the slat under consideration from the door leaf level, ie as long as the support surface 43 does not touch the opposite holding surface 45, the sealing strip 42 is only subjected to bending to the two adjacent slats, which lead to corresponding restoring forces. Since the distance between the support surface 43 and the associated holding surface 45 is chosen to be minimal, in order to obtain a strain on the sealing strip as far as possible even with small deflections, the pressure loads that occur on the closure element are thus also exerted on the sealing strip 42 by the sealing element 42 transfer and distribute adjacent sealing strips. In the event of a pressure load, the closure element according to the invention thus behaves largely like a homogeneous flat plate with a corresponding distribution of force in the plate plane, but nevertheless permits a low-force deflection or winding. Therefore, the sealing strips 42 bring about a noticeable increase in the mechanical stability of the closure element, so that the entire closure element in the closed position can easily withstand high wind or other pressure loads. Of course, the closure element according to the invention also offers sufficient security against unauthorized opening, so that the closure element according to the invention is to be regarded as a permanent closure of an opening.

To prevent the closing element 12 from being pulled out in the event of the occurrence of even greater compressive forces, retaining collars 27, 27 'are arranged on the two opposite sides of the closing element, which in the exemplary embodiment shown are designed as an outer disk with a larger diameter than the diameter of the rollers 26, 26' . The Retaining collars 27, 27 'are arranged with a small distance (not shown in the drawing) from adjacent supporting surfaces of the guide rods 28, 30 that they are supported only on the outside of the guide rods 28, 30 when the slats 14 are very strongly bent under load - Tongue arrive, so that the closing element remains easily operable and movable at relatively low pressure loads. The described good distribution of forces via the sealing strip 42 in the door leaf plane prevents the retaining collars 27, 27 'of a loaded lamella 14 from reaching the support at an early stage due to its strong deflection and thereby hindering the movement of the closing element, even when there is a point load.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, each lamella 14 has a sealing lug 48 which projects on the outer side 38 in the door leaf plane and on the basis of which the distance to an adjacent lamella is reduced. Due to the sealing lug 48, the rubber strip 42 can no longer be recognized from the outside in the closed position. The rubber strip 42 is then only visible from the inside (see rear view according to FIG. 1). At the same time, the design of the sealing nose 48 shown in FIG. 2 results in a more attractive appearance of the lamellar shell 12 in the form of a more uniform, smooth surface.

1 and 2, a closure 54 is provided, for example made of rubber, which is fastened to the lowermost lamella.

Claims

Closing element for an opening with

1.1 slats (14) which are hinged together by means of hinges (20, 20 ') such that

1.1.1 a space (34) is defined by the distance between adjacent slats (14), 1.1.2 in which the hinge pins (24, 24 ') of the

Engage hinges (20, 20 ');

1.2 Sealing strips (42) for the angled connection of mutually opposite sides of adjacent slats, where:

1.2.1 the sealing strips (42) are arranged such that the geometric axis (36) of the hinge pins (24, 24 ') comes to lie within the outline of the sealing strip (42), 1.2.2 the sealing strips (42) have Thicknesses (44) with support surfaces (43) on opposite sides, the thickenings (44) engaging in correspondingly shaped recesses (46) of the lamellae (14), 1.2.3 the mutually facing support surfaces (43) the

Thickenings (44) of the sealing strips (42) are at a minimal distance from corresponding holding surfaces (45) of the lamellae (14).

2. Closing element according to claim 1, characterized gekennzeich¬ net that the hinges in the form of hinge straps (20, 20 ') with hinge members (22) which are articulated to one another and via the hinge pin (24, 24 ') can be angled towards one another, the hinge straps (20, 20') have a length which corresponds to the clear height (h) of the opening (1).

3. End element according to claim 2, characterized gekennzeich¬ net that the slats (14) on the hinge members (22) of the hinge straps (20, 20 ') are placed.

4. End element according to one of the preceding Ansprü¬ che, characterized in that the sealing strips (42) are made of an elastic material, and in particular of rubber.

5. End element according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by coaxially mounted to the hinge pins (24, 24 '), rollers (26, 26') for roller guidance in guide tracks (2, 2 ').

6. Closing element according to one of the preceding

Claims, characterized by a sealing nose (48) of the slats (14) provided on the side of the closing element opposite the hinges (20, 20 '), due to which the distance to an adjacent slat is reduced.

7. Closing element according to one of the preceding

Claims, characterized by retaining collars (27, 27 ') arranged on the two opposite sides of the closure element (12) for securing the position of the slats (12).