EP0924371A1

EP0924371A1 - Door system with locking mechanism

Info

Publication number: EP0924371A1
Application number: EP98204264A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marinus Van Ingen
Original assignee: Cardo Door Continental BV
Current assignee: Assa Abloy Entrance Systems Production Netherlands BV
Priority date: 1997-12-17
Filing date: 1998-12-14
Publication date: 1999-06-23
Also published as: NL1007822C2

Abstract

A door system comprising a door (2) which is capable of movement in vertical direction in stationary guides (4) which are mounted along opposite edges (3) of said door (2), between an open position and a closed position. The door system can be locked in said closed position by means of a locking mechanism (13). The door system is characterized in that the moving parts of the locking mechanism (13) are mounted at a fixed, stationary position with respect to said guide (4).

Description

The invention relates to a door system comprising a door which is capable of movement in vertical direction in stationary guides which are mounted along opposite edges of said door, between an open position and a closed position, and which can be locked in said closed position by means of a locking mechanism.
Door systems of this kind are known, they are for example used in loading and unloading stations for lorries. When a lorry is to be loaded/unloaded, the driver parks his lorry with the tailboard directed towards the door system, and after he has made his presence known, the door of the door system is opened from the inside. Preferably, the driver closes the door on his own by pulling it closed behind him to a locked position, in which it cannot be opened from the outside. Because of said locking arrangement, it is not necessary for the driver to have a key to lock the door with or to have an assistant lock the door from the inside.
When such a door system is to be locked, the following aspects, among others, play a role. In the first place, with most door systems a considerable clearance is present between the door and its guides, in particular in the case of sectional doors, which are built up of hinged-together, slightly flexible door panels. In practice, door systems of this kind are often used quite intensively, so that heavy demands are made on the reliability of the locking mechanism, despite the clearance that is present. When the door system is manually operated, the door system is often subjected to rough handling, which imposes heavy demands on the wear resistance of the locking mechanism. In the case of manual operation of the door system, it is furthermore important that the locking mechanism is easy to operate. The locking mechanism must be constructed in such a manner that it will not influence the operation of other elements of the door system, such as an anti-fall device, a door lock or detection means. Such influencing always occurs when the door system is fitted with such elements after the door system has been installed.
In practice it has appeared to be difficult to provide a door system comprising a locking mechanism that meets the above requirements.
The objective of the invention is to provide a door system with locking mechanism which is reliable, which is of simple, wear resistant construction, which is easy to operate and which furthermore does not influence the operation of other elements of the door system.
In order to accomplish that objective, the door system according to the invention is characterized in that the moving parts of the locking mechanism are mounted at a fixed, stationary position with respect to said guide. This enables precise positioning of the moving part of the mechanism, as a result of which said mechanism will be present at a predictable place at all times. Moreover, the reliability of the mechanism is enhanced, in that it does not move along with the door. Furthermore, the risk of interference with other elements of the door system is rather small.
In another embodiment, the door system according to the invention is characterized in that said position is near the lower part of a guide. This makes it possible for the locking mechanism to lock the door in a precise manner when it has been closed correctly.
In another embodiment, the door system according to the invention is characterized in that the locking mechanism is mounted on a guide. This makes it possible to fit the locking mechanism before the door system is installed.
In yet another embodiment, the door system according to the invention is characterized in that said locking mechanism is provided with a foot-operated control element. This makes it possible upon opening the door to operate the locking mechanism by foot whilst moving up the door by hand, which enhances the ease of operation.
In another embodiment of the door system, wherein guide elements are mounted on the aforesaid edges of the door, which guide elements run in rails which form said guides, the door system is characterized in that the locking mechanism comprises a movable locking element, which is capable of engaging a guide element. This makes it possible to have the locking mechanism engage a part of the door position is predictable to a large degree, because it is retained in said guide. As a result of this, the reliability of the system is considerably enhanced.
In another embodiment, wherein the guide element is a wheel, the door system according to the invention is characterized in that the locking element can abut against the circumferential edge of the wheel. This makes it possible to use the locking mechanism with a large number of door systems, without any modifications of the door or the guide elements being required.
In another embodiment, the door system according to the invention is characterized in that said locking element cooperates with a guide element which is mounted near the bottom edge of the door. This makes it possible to lock the door as soon as the lower guide element has passed the locking element and the bottom edge of the door correctly abuts against the floor, regardless of the fact whether the door has become longer or shorter due to expansion or wear of the door panels.
The invention furthermore relates to a locking mechanism and to a method for operating a door.
The invention will be explained in more detail hereafter by means of an embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated in a drawing. In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a schematic, perspective illustration of a door system;
Figure 2 is a schematic, perspective illustration of the locking mechanism in exploded view; and
Figure 3 is a schematic plan view of the locking mechanism, partially in cross-sectional view.

Figure 1 shows a door system 1 comprising a door 2. Two substantially vertically extending rails 4 are mounted along two opposite edges 3 of door 2, which rails form stationary guides for door 2. Door 2 is movable in vertical direction, that is, in the direction indicated by arrow 5, between an open position and a closed position. In Figure 1, door 2 occupies a position near the closed position. Door 2 can be closed by moving it down until the bottom edge 6 of door 2 abuts against floor 7. Door 2 can be manually moved up and down on the inside by means of a chain 8. Door 2 can also be operated by means of grips 9, which are provided both on the inside of door 2 and on the outside thereof (not shown in Figure 1).
Wheels 10 are mounted near the edges 3 of door 2, which wheels function as guide elements, which run in rails 4 during movement of the door between the open position and the closed position. The door 2 which is shown in Figure 1 is a sectional door, which is built up of a number of door panels 11, which are interconnected by hinges 12. It is noted that it is also possible for the door 2 of a door system according to the invention to consist of only one door panel, or of a large number of door panels, or of a piece of fabric. Also various constructions of the guide elements are possible, of course, such as guide pins or guide blocks.
Referring to Figure 2, a locking mechanism 13 is shown in exploded view. The locking mechanism 13 comprises a baseplate 14, which is secured to an angle section 16 by means of bolt connections 15, which angle section also supports a rail 6. Angle section 16 is secured to a wall, for example, near the side of a door opening, as is illustrated in Figure 1. Baseplate 14 is fitted with a bush 17, in which a shaft 18 is rotatably journalled. Shaft 18 supports a locking element 19, which is pre-tensioned in the direction indicated by arrow 21 by means of a spring 20. In mounted condition, locking element 19 extends into rail 6 through slot 22, and in the unlocked condition of the door, stop 23 abuts against that part of rail 6 which is shown in Figure 2. Shaft 18 also supports a foot pedal 24, by means of which the locking element 19 can be moved against the pre-tension of spring 20, that is, in the direction indicated by arrow 25, in order to unlock the door.
In mounted condition, the moving parts of the locking mechanism 13, that is, shaft 18 with the locking element 19, foot pedal 24 and spring 20, are mounted in a fixed, stationary position with respect to rail 6, which forms a guide. Locking element 19 comprises a nose portion 26, which enables locking element 19 to function as a catch element for a guide wheel 10.
When door 2 moves down, locking element 2 will be moved along the curved upper edge 27 in the direction indicated by arrow 25 as soon as a guide wheel 10 present in rail 6 passes slot 22 in said rail. As soon as guide wheel 10 has passed, the locking element 19 springs back in the direction indicated by arrow 21 as a result of the action of a spring. When door 2 moves up, the guide wheel 10 will catch behind nose portion 26 of locking element 19, because the curved bottom edge 28 of nose portion 26 abuts against the circumferential edge 29 of guide wheel 10.
Referring to Figure 3, door 2 is shown to be locked, that is, door 2 is locked against upward movement because locking element 19 engages guide wheel 10. Figure 3 furthermore shows guide wheel 10 to be supported by a shaft 30, which is rotatably journalled in a support 31, by means of which said guide wheel is mounted near the edge 3 of door 2.
When the door is being unlocked, foot pedal 24 is moved in the direction indicated by arrow 25, as a result of which nose portion 26 of locking 19 will no longer abut against the circumferential edge 29 of guide wheel 10, and door 2 is no longer locked against upward movement. When opening the door, it is preferred to left door 2 by means of hand chain 8 and simultaneously operate foot pedal 24.
Again referring to Figure 1, a locking mechanism 13 is shown to be mounted on the lower side of the guide, near floor 7. This makes it possible for locking element 19 to engage lower guide wheel 10, as a result of which door 2 will be locked as soon as bottom edge 6 abuts against floor 7.
It is noted that it is also possible to mount the locking mechanism at another position along rail 6, so that locking element 19 will be capable of cooperation with one or more further guide wheels 10. Furthermore it is possible to have the operation of the locking mechanism and/or of the door take place automatically.
It is noted that the invention is not limited to the embodiment as shown herein. Other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention.

Claims

A door system comprising a door (2) which is capable of movement in vertical direction in stationary guides (4) which are mounted along opposite edges (3) of said door (2), between an open position and a closed position, and which can be locked in said closed position by means of a locking mechanism (13), characterized in that the moving parts of the locking mechanism (13) are mounted at a fixed, stationary position with respect to said guide (4).
A door system according to claim 1, characterized in that said position is near the lower part of a guide (4).
A door system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locking mechanism (13) is mounted on a guide (4).
A door system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said locking mechanism (13) is provided with a foot-operated control element (24).
A door system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein guide elements (10) are mounted on the aforesaid edges (3) of the door (2), which guide elements run in rails (4) which form said guides, characterized in that the locking mechanism (13) comprises a movable locking element (19), which is capable of engaging a guide element (10).
A door system according to claim 5, wherein said guide element is a wheel (10), characterized in that the locking element (19) can abut against the circumferential edge of said wheel (10).
A door system according to any one of the preceding claims 5 or 6, characterized in that said locking element (19) cooperates with a guide element (10) which is mounted near the bottom edge (6) of the door (2).
A door system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said locking mechanism (13) comprises a movable locking element (19), which, as a result of the door (2) being closed, is moved to a position in which the door (2) is locked against movement.
A locking mechanism according to any one of the preceding claims 1 - 8.
A method for operating a door system, the door (2) of which is capable of movement in vertical direction in stationary guides (4) which are mounted along opposite edges (3) of said door (2), between an open position and a closed position, wherein said door (2) is closed by moving said door (2) down until a locking mechanism (13), whose moving parts are mounted at a fixed, stationary position near the lower side of said guide, engages a guide element (10) which is mounted on an edge (3) of said door (2).
A method for operating a door system, the door (2) of which is capable of movement in vertical direction in stationary guides (4) which are mounted along opposite edges (3) of said door (2), between an open position and a closed position, wherein said door (2) is opened in that a locking mechanism (13) whose moving parts are mounted at a fixed, stationary position near the lower side of said guide, with a locking element (19) thereof engaging a guide element which is mounted on said door (2), is operated by foot and the door (2) is moved up.