EP0697494B1 - Guide rails for sliding shutters - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a guide rail for sliding curtains, in particular intended to be used as cupboard doors, as defined by claims 1, in which the characteristics mentioned in the preamble are known from document EP-A-0413125. More particularly, the invention relates to the lower guide rails for sliding curtains.

Among office furniture, filing cupboards or sideboards with sliding curtain doors form a large group of furniture, around 30%, next to cupboards with hinged or folding doors. Hinged doors require a large amount of free space to open; folding doors only need a small place to open, but experience has shown that they get stuck easily, more and more frequently when they have been used for a long time. On the other hand, sliding curtain doors do not have these drawbacks, size and delicate operation, provided that the curtains can be made to slide easily. In addition, they contribute to the aesthetic appearance of the wardrobe or the storage sideboard that is fitted with them.

A sliding curtain door has a curtain made up of a series of narrow vertical strips glued to a sheet of flexible fabric. Above and below, the horizontal movements of the curtain are guided by rails which have a width corresponding, apart from the necessary clearance, to the thickness of the strips, the thickness of the fabric which joins and covers them being negligible. In order to improve sliding, the slats are as light as possible, while ensuring sufficient resistance to buckling, the fabric must be able to withstand the numerous folds to which it is subjected each time the curtain is opened or closed.

When the curtain is completely closed, it occupies the front face of the piece of furniture or the part of the piece of furniture in which it is installed. When the curtain is fully open, although it is hidden, it occupies the side of the furniture as well as part of the back of the furniture, because in general the depth of an office furniture is less than the length of its front face. When opening or closing, the curtain is rotated 90 ° to pass from the longitudinal plane of the front face to the transverse plane of its lateral side, and, for the most part, to a second rotation of 90 °, to pass from the transverse plane to the longitudinal plane of its rear face. The radii of curvature of these rotations are as small as possible so as not to increase the dimensions of the piece of furniture too much or to keep it a sufficient useful volume.

In document EP-A-0 413 125, a piece of furniture of this type is described, that is to say a piece of furniture with sliding curtains in guide rails which have a U-shaped cross section whose horizontal base has a protruding rib.

The adaptation of the curtain to these numerous rotations results in repeated folding of the fabric, which is moreover subjected to tensile forces each time an interval between two slats changes from a rotation to a linear movement. These tensile forces are made unequal in the vertical direction if the movement of the curtain in the guide rails is subject to localized friction forces or along the path. The walls of the guide rails, which are U-shaped profiles, are preferably made of a material having a low coefficient of friction.

However, the rib that document EP-A-0 413 125 shows is narrow with respect to the base of the rail so that it does not give satisfaction under the conditions of use set out above.

This is why, with regard to at least the profile of the lower guide rail, an object of the invention consists in providing a base of the U which has a configuration which further reduces the coefficient of friction of this rail.

According to a characteristic of the invention, there is provided a guide rail intended to guide a sliding curtain, usable in particular as a furniture door, said rail having a U-shaped cross section, the horizontal base of the U comprising, projecting, internal side , a plurality of longitudinal bosses in which each longitudinal boss has a convex profile symmetrical in its transverse direction and is mounted, then fixed separately in the U-shaped rail, each longitudinal boss having a flat base covering the entire width of the base of the U.

According to a preferred characteristic, the convex boss is made of plastic material of the natural lubricated polyacetal type.

According to another preferred characteristic, the convex boss in natural lubricated polyacetal is welded or glued to the bottom of the base of the U in rigid plastic material.

According to another preferred characteristic, the guide rail intended to guide a sliding curtain door of a piece of furniture successively consists of a straight front part, of a bent part comprising a quarter of a circle, a transverse segment and a quarter of circle, and a rectilinear rear part, comprises, on the one hand, U in rigid plastic material whose bases receive convex bosses in natural polyacetal lubricated to constitute the rectilinear parts and, on the other hand, a bent part in a single piece of lubricated natural polyacetal plastic coming directly from molding, including the U and the boss.

According to another preferred characteristic, in the longitudinal direction, the convex boss is sometimes interrupted so that a fixing screw can be inserted in the base of the U-shaped rail.

• la Fig. 1 est une vue en perspective d'un meuble à porte à rideau coulissant,
• la Fig. 2 est une vue en plan d'un socle du meuble de la Fig. 1, montrant en particulier le rail inférieur de guidage du rideau,
• la Fig. 3 est une vue en plan de la partie coudée du rail inférieur de guidage de la Fig. 2,
• la Fig. 4 est une vue en élévation de la partie coudée du rail de guidage de la Fig. 3,
• la Fig. 5 est une vue partielle en coupe suivant la ligne V-V de la Fig. 3,
• la Fig. 6 est une vue en plan de la partie rectiligne avant du rail de guidage de la Fig. 2,
• la Fig. 7 est une vue en coupe suivant la ligne VII-VII de la Fig. 6, et
• la Fig. 8 est une vue schématique illustrant une phase du montage du meuble de la Fig. 1.

The above characteristics of the present invention as well as others will appear more clearly on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, said description being made in relation to the accompanying drawings, among which:

• Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a piece of furniture with a sliding curtain door,
• Fig. 2 is a plan view of a base of the cabinet of FIG. 1, showing in particular the lower curtain guide rail,
• Fig. 3 is a plan view of the bent part of the lower guide rail of FIG. 2,
• Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the bent part of the guide rail of FIG. 3,
• Fig. 5 is a partial view in section along the line VV of FIG. 3,
• Fig. 6 is a plan view of the rectilinear front part of the guide rail of FIG. 2,
• Fig. 7 is a sectional view along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6, and
• Fig. 8 is a schematic view illustrating a phase of the assembly of the cabinet of FIG. 1.

Fig. 1 shows a piece of furniture or sideboard 1 provided with a sliding curtain door 2, the door being shown half open. The sliding curtain 2 consists in a conventional manner of vertical strips 3, having a width of approximately 13 mm and a thickness of approximately 8 mm, glued to a flexible fabric which makes them integral. With the fabric, the total thickness of the curtain reaches 9 mm (the fabric being shorter than the curtain and not entering behind the scenes).

The cabinet 1 comprises a base 4, shown in FIG. 2, which carries a lower guide rail 5 which is successively formed by a straight front part 6, a bent part 7 and a rear straight part 8. The rail elements of each part each have a cross section in U, in which the curtain 2 slides with the least possible friction force.

The bent part 7 of the lower guide rail 5, shown in plan in FIG. 3 and in elevation in FIG. 4, includes a first quarter circle 9, followed by a transverse segment 10, followed by a second quarter circle 11 which, in the drawing, rotates anti-clockwise like the quarter circle 9 In FIG. 3, it appears that the base of the U constituting the rail is extended in width by a horizontal plate 12 to a transverse line 13 which passes through the external ends of the quarter circles 9 and 11. The plate 12 carries protruding studs 14 which are used for mounting the separation plate as will be explained below.

The plan view of FIG. 3 also shows that only the transverse segment 10 comprises a U-shaped rail having two long median bosses 16 which are symmetrical. The two ends of a boss 16 are bevelled as shown in the zones 18. Between the bosses 16, the base of the U is flat and has, in the plane of symmetry, a molded hole 19 with bevelled circular edges allowing fixing by screws from segment 10 to base 4. Near the other ends of the bosses 16, are also provided other holes 19 for the passage of fixing screws as well as near the free ends of the quarter circles 9 and 11. In the quarter circles 9 and 11, no boss is provided.

The partial section of FIG. 5 shows a section of the U-shaped rail passing through the hole 19 provided for a fixing screw. The base of the U is flat.

At the free end of each quarter of a circle 9 or 11, as shown in FIG. 3, the base of the U is extended by a tongue 20 intended to be housed in a notch in the base of the U of the front part 6 or of the rear part 8.

Furthermore, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 6, the base 21 of the U-shaped rail of the front part 6 carries a number of convex bosses 22. As shown in FIG. 6, these bosses 22 occupy the entire internal width of the U, which is also visible in the section of FIG. 7. In section, the section of the boss 22 has, at its upper surface, an arc of symmetrical quasi-circular curve whose circular segment is the same height as that of the boss 16, and, at its lower surface, a cord whose length is equal to the width of the base 21, this lower surface can be linked to the base 21 by gluing. The fact that the width of the boss 22 is equal to that of the base 21 makes it easier to set up the boss 22 and in particular its central centering before bonding.

The length of each boss 22 is limited for the establishment between two successive bosses of fixing screws passing through holes 23, similar to the holes 19 mentioned above. At each of their ends, the bosses 22 are bevelled. At the end of the U-shaped rail of the front part 6, as shown in FIG. 6, on each side of the tongue 20, the sides of the U are bevelled at 24, in order to avoid any catching of the curtain during its movement.

Preferably, the material of the rail of the front part 6 or of the rear part 8 is made of rigid PVC.

Claims (5)

1. A guide rail intended to guide a sliding curtain, capable of being used in particular as the door for an item of furniture, the said rail having a transverse section in a U-shape, the horizontal base ofthe U comprising as a projection, on the internal face, a longitudinal boss having a symmetrical convex profile in its transverse direction, characterised in that the said longitudinal boss arrangement is comprised of a number of longitudinal bosses, each longitudinal boss being fitted and then fixed separately in the U-shaped rail, each longitudinal boss having a flat base covering the whole of the width of the U-shaped base.
2. A guide rail according to Claim 1, characterised in that each longitudinal boss with a convex profile is made of a plastic material of the naturally-lubricated polyacetal type.
3. A guide rail according to Claim 2, characterised in that each longitudinal boss with a convex profile, made of naturally-lubricated polyacetal, is soldered or adhesively bonded to the bottom of the U-shaped base made of rigid plastic material.
4. A guide rail according to one of Claims 1 to 3, intended to guide a sliding curtain in an item of furniture, characterised in that it is constituted in succession of a front rectilinear section, a bent section comprising a quadrant, a transverse segment, and a quadrant, and a rear rectilinear section, comprising, on the one hand, U-sections made of rigid plastic material, of which the bases accommodate longitudinal bosses of convex profile, made of naturally-lubricated polyacetal, to form the rectilinear sections, and, on the other, a bent part in one single piece, made of plastic material of the naturally-lubricated polyacetal type, coming directly from the mould, and comprising the U-piece and the boss arrangement.
5. A guide rail according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that, in the longitudinal direction, the longitudinal boss with convex profile is interrupted at intervals in order for a fixation screw to be inserted into the base of the U-shaped rail.

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