EP1450002A1

EP1450002A1 - Sealing device for a door

Info

Publication number: EP1450002A1
Application number: EP04075558A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Aart Jan Schmid
Original assignee: Industrie en Handelsonderneming Elton BV
Current assignee: Industrie en Handelsonderneming Elton BV
Priority date: 2003-02-21
Filing date: 2004-02-20
Publication date: 2004-08-25
Anticipated expiration: 2024-02-20
Also published as: ATE377690T1; NL1022757C2; EP1450002B1; DE602004009845T2; DE602004009845D1

Abstract

A sealing device (2; 102) for a door (1), comprising a housing part (6; 106) operatively attached to the door (1), a sealing part (27) movable with respect to the housing part (6; 106) and a movement mechanism (9) accommodated in the housing part (6; 106). The movement mechanism (9) comprises a bar (16) movable in longitudinal direction with respect to the housing part (6; 106) and at least one scissoring element (10), which scissoring element (10) comprises two legs (14, 15) movable with respect to each other which are rotatable about a common pivot (20), and wherein one of the two legs (14, 15) is pivotable about a pivot (19) fixed with respect to the housing part (6; 106). The bar (16) has at least one first recess (29) in which the fixed pivot (19) is located and which first recess (29) enables axial movement of the bar (16) with respect to the housing part (6; 106).

Description

The invention relates to a sealing device according to the preamble of claim 1. The invention also relates to a door provided with such a sealing device, and a movement module provided with a movement mechanism for such a sealing device.

A sealing device for sealing a chink between a door and at least a part of a bordering around the door, comprising a housing part operatively attached to the door, a sealing part movable with respect to the housing part and a movement mechanism accommodated in the housing part for moving the sealing part, is, for instance, known from European patent publication number 0 841 457 A1. In this publication, a door is described where an elongated sealing device is attached to a bottom edge of the door, parallel to the bottom edge. The known sealing device comprises an elongated sealing section which can be moved back and forth with respect to the door in a direction transverse to the bottom edge. This known sealing device also comprises a movement mechanism for moving the sealing section.

This movement mechanism uses an elongated leaf spring which is accommodated, substantially parallel to the sealing section, in the movement mechanism. By slightly pressing one of the two ends of the leaf spring towards the other end, the leaf spring bends outwards transversely to the longitudinal direction of the leaf spring while the tension in the leaf spring increases. When the pressure is removed, the leaf spring is released and again assumes its original form. The movement mechanism further comprises a button which is automatically pressed by a post of a frame of the door when the door is closed. If this button is pressed, it, in turn, slightly presses one end of the leaf spring towards the other end of the leaf spring, so that the leaf spring bends outwards and the sealing section is pressed outwards, that is, to the floor or doorstep. If the pressed button is released, the sealing device returns to its original position.

One of the drawbacks of this known technique is that, for different dimensions of doors and for different dimensions of chinks around doors, different movement mechanisms are needed. This drawback relates to the fact that the length of the leaf spring determines to a considerable extent how large the turn of the sealing section can be. The different movement mechanisms contain different parts, which has a negative effect on the cost price of such sealing devices. Another drawback occurs when, for instance with relatively long sealing devices for relatively wide doors, multiple aligned leaf springs are used. In such cases, the relation between the horizontal movement of the button as a result of pressing the button and the vertical movement of the sealing section is influenced by the number of leaf springs used. In fact, given an equal horizontal movement of the button, the vertical movement of the sealing device substantially decreases with each additional spring.

Another example of a sealing device for sealing a chink between a door and at least a part of a bordering around the door, comprising a housing part operatively attached to the door, a sealing part movable with respect to the housing part and a movement mechanism accommodated in the housing part for moving the sealing part, is, for instance, known from European patent publication number 1 167 678 A2. Contrary to what is known from EP 0 841 457 A1, the movement mechanism of this known sealing device does not use a leaf spring but a lever element. Just as in EP 0 841 457 A1, the movement mechanism known from EP 1 167 678 A2 comprises a button which is automatically pressed by a post of a frame of the door when the door is closed. If this button is pressed, the button moves a bar in axial direction. By the movement of the bar, the lever element is operated, which is pivotally connected to an end of the bar. Via a second pivotal connection between the lever element and an elongated section abutting an elongated sealing section in longitudinal direction, the lever element operates the sealing section.

A drawback of this known sealing device is that, during operation, the lever element is relatively heavily loaded in relation to the size of the turn of the sealing section. This is because the lever element consists of only one substantially elongated leg, with the pivotal connection to the bar operated by the button being located at one end of the leg. The consequence of the relatively unfavorable relation between the load of the lever element and the turn size of the sealing section is that the lever element needs to have a heavier design according as the turn size of the sealing section desired for a sealing device is larger. As a result, in practice, for different sealing devices, often, different lever elements are needed. This leads to problematic limitations in aiming for sealing devices consisting of a limited number of simple components which can be widely used. This is a similar drawback to the one mentioned for the sealing device known from EP 0841 457 A1.

A further drawback is that the sealing devices known from EP 0841 457 A1 and EP 1 167 678 A2 are not protected against the situation that the turn size of the sealing part caused by pressing the button is larger than the chink size which needs to be sealed. Closing the door in this situation may result in one or more components of the sealing device being damaged. Further, these known sealing devices are often not adequately geared to sealing chinks with non-parallelism between the bottom side of the door and the floor in the direction from frame post to frame post.

A further shared drawback of the sealing devices known from EP 0841 457 A1 and EP 1 167 678 A2 is that, when operated, the sealing part generally not only moves in the intended direction perpendicular to the edge part of the door, but also, to a non-negligible extent, in the longitudinal direction of the edge part. The latter is undesired because, in this manner, a subrange of the longitudinal direction of the chink is not covered by the sealing device and the sealing device may, by one end, hit, for instance, a frame post.

A sealing device according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from Swiss patent 465 830 A. The scissoring elements of the sealing device according to CH 465 830 A each have a dual design, with, each time, one half of a pair of scissoring elements being oriented on one longitudinal side of the bar and the other half on the opposite longitudinal side of the bar, and the two halves being each other's mirror image with respect to a vertical plane. For one such dual-design scissoring element, the common pivot, the pivot fixed with respect to the housing part, the leg pivotable about the fixed pivot and the other leg each have a dual design.

A drawback of the sealing device known from CH 465 830 A is that the scissoring elements take up much space in that they have a dual design and, in addition, are alongside the bar. In particular, the dual-design leg pivotable about the fixed pivot takes up much space alongside the bar. This is disadvantageous because, for some doors, it is desired that the sealing device be as narrow as possible. Narrow sealing devices are, for instance, desired for relatively thin doors. In addition, narrow sealing devices may improve the performance of a door, such as for instance with respect to sound or fire proofing, in that, for narrow sealing devices, little material needs to be removed from the door in order to build in the sealing device.

Another drawback of the sealing device known from CH 465 830 A is that the manufacture of the scissoring elements and the mounting of the scissoring elements is laborious, in that the number of components of the scissoring elements is large, just like the number of connections for these components.

It is the object of the invention to obviate these drawbacks and to provide a compact sealing device consisting of a limited number of easy-to-mount components which can be widely used for different dimensions of doors and for different dimensions of chinks to be sealed around doors.

For this purpose, according to the invention, a sealing device according to the preamble of claim 1 is characterized in that the bar has at least one first recess in which the fixed pivot is located and which first recess enables axial movement of the bar with respect to the housing part.

Specific embodiments of the invention are set forth in the subclaims.

In the following, the invention is further elucidated with reference to the Figures in the appended drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 diagrammatically shows a cross section of a bottom edge of a door provided with an example of a sealing device according to the invention in the position of rest;

Fig. 2 shows a similar cross section as Fig. 1 in which the sealing device is in a sealing operating condition;

Fig. 3 diagrammatically shows, in longitudinal cross section, an example of a movement module provided with a movement mechanism for a sealing device according to the invention in the position of rest;

Fig. 4 shows the cross section of Fig. 3 again, with the difference, however, that the movement mechanism is in an operating condition usual for sealing;

Fig. 5 shows a similar longitudinal cross section as Fig. 3 in which the movement mechanism is in an operating condition suitable for sealing a chink having a height changing in longitudinal direction;

Fig. 6 shows a similar cross section as Fig. 2 in which the sealing device is in an operating condition suitable for sealing a relatively large chink;

Fig. 7 diagrammatically shows a cross section of a bottom edge of a door provided with an example of a sealing device according to the invention in the position of rest;

Fig. 8 shows the cross section of Fig. 7 again, with the sealing device being in a sealing operating condition;

Fig. 9 diagrammatically shows the device of Fig. 7 with a different setting;

Fig. 10 shows the cross section of Fig. 9 again in which the sealing device is in a sealing operating condition;

Fig. 11 diagrammatically shows a similar device to Fig. 7;

Fig. 12 diagrammatically shows the device of Fig. 11 with a different setting.

Reference is first made to Fig. 1. This Figure diagrammatically shows a cross section of an edge part of a door 1, for instance the lower part of the door 1, in which the edge part is provided with an example of a sealing device 2 according to the invention. The edge part of the door 1 is near a fixed bordering part 3 around the door. The bordering part 3 may, for instance, be a floor surface or a surface of a doorstep or doorhead or a post of a doorframe. Between the edge part of the door 1 and the bordering part 3, a chink 4 is present. In the following, it is presumed that the edge part is the bottom edge of the door 1 and that the bordering part 3 is a floor surface.

The sealing device 2 is located in a slot 5 in the door 1 bordering the chink 4 and its purpose is to operably seal the chink 4. The sealing device 2 shown comprises an elongated substantially inverted U-shaped housing section 6 which is fixedly attached to the door 1 via two strips 7. The sealing device 2 also comprises an elongated movement module 26 of which an elongated substantially inverted U-shaped movement module section 8 and a movement mechanism 9 are part. The movement mechanism 9 is accommodated in the movement module section 8 that is attached, by the horizontal part of its inverted U-shape, to the horizontal part of the inverted U-shape of the housing section 6 of the sealing device 2, with the legs of the inverted U-shape of the housing section 6 embracing the movement module section 8. The movement mechanism 9 comprises at least one scissoring element 10. The movement mechanism 9 and the at least one scissoring element 10 are very diagrammatically shown in Fig. 1 and will hereinafter be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 3 to 5. Each scissoring element 10 is pivotally connected to the movement module section 8 by means of a pivot 19. Further, each hinging element 10 is pivotally locked between the movement module section 8 and any other parts of the movement mechanism 9 by means of a pivot 21. The manner in which the pivot 19 is connected and the pivot 21 is locked will hereinafter be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 3 to 5.

The sealing device 2 further comprises an elongated movable sealing part 27 of which a rigid elongated section 11 and a flexible elongated sealing section 12 are part. In this example, the rigid section 11 is substantially U-shaped, with the legs of the U-shape embracing the housing section 6. Each scissoring element 10 is pivotally connected to the horizontal part of the U-shape of the rigid section 11 by means of a coupling pin 22 in a manner which will hereinafter be described in more detail with re ference to Figs. 3 to 5. In this example, the pivot is connected to the bottom of the U-shape. The flexible sealing section 12, which is very diagrammatically shown, is connected to the rigid section 11 and is located on the side of the horizontal part of the U-shape of the rigid section 11 which faces the floor surface 3.

Between each of the two legs of the rigid section 11 and the nearby leg of the housing section 6, a sealing strip 13 has been provided. Each of these two sealing strips 13 is attached to the nearby leg of the housing section 6 by one longitudinal edge and is tensioned such that, by the other longitudinal edge, it presses against the nearby leg of the rigid section 11.

Further, reference is now made to Fig. 2. The difference with Fig. 1 is that, in Fig. 2, the sealing device 2 is in sealing operating condition whereas this is not the case in Fig. 1. In Fig. 2, the chink 4 has been sealed by the movable sealing part 27 against, for instance, draft and/or sound and/or moisture and the like. The flexibility of the sealing section 12 has the advantage that, when the sealing section 12 is compressed between, on the one side, the rigid section 11 and, on the other side, the floor surface 3, a good sealing is promoted. Further, the sealing strips 13 contribute to the prevention of, for instance, draft between the housing section 6 and the rigid section 11. The at least one scissoring element 10 drives the movement of the movable sealing part 27 in both directions between, on the one hand, the retracted position of the door 1 in the slot 5 shown in Fig. 1 and, on the other hand, the position associated with the operating condition shown in Fig. 2.

Reference is now further made to Fig. 3, which Figure shows a cross section of the movement module 26 of the sealing device 2 in longitudinal direction of the bottom edge of the door 1. Shown are the horizontal part of the U-shape of the movement module section 8, which is inverted in the cross sections of Figs. 1 and 2, and various parts of the movement mechanism 9 including two scissoring elements 10 each comprising two

legs

14 and 15. A central role in the movement mechanism 9 is fulfilled by an operating bar 16 accommodated in the movement module 26, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bottom edge of the door 1. The bar 16 can be moved back and forth in its longitudinal direction to a certain extent with respect to the movement module section 8. In this example, the bar 16 has a circular cross section over a large part of its length, but may also have, for instance, a multi-angular cross section or consist of, for instance, two crossed ribs. Further, in the position shown in the example of Fig. 3, the bar 16 partly projects from the movement module section 8 by its one end A. But also, from the movement module section 8, for instance, only an operating button connected to the end A of bar 16 may project. By its other end B, the bar 16 does not project from the movement module section 8 in this example.

Around the bar 16, near the end A, a stop element 17, which is ring-shaped in this example, is attached to the bar 16 such that the ring 17 cannot be moved in axial direction with respect to the bar 16. With advantage, the attachment of the ring 17 to the bar 16 can be such that the axial position of the ring 17 can be set. On the side of ring 17 facing away from end A, inside the movement module section 8, a coil spring 18 working as safety spring, abutting the ring 17, is present around the bar 16. Over a part of the axial portion of the bar 16 where the safety spring 18 is present around the bar 16, the bar 16 has such a recess 30 (seen most clearly in Fig. 5) that the bar 16 does not have a circular cross section, but a more or less crescent-shaped cross section. This recess 30 is hereinafter referred to as "second recess".

Nor does the bar 16 have a circular cross section in an axial part of the bar 16 on the side of the safety spring 18 facing away from end A. In this axial part, the bar 16 has substantially rectangular cross sections and, in this axial part, the

second legs

14 and 15 which are part of the scissoring element 10 are located.

The short leg 15 has, at one end, a fixed pivot 19 fixedly connected to the movement module section 8 which is transverse to the surface of the door 1. Thus, when the bar 16 is axially moved with respect to the movement module section 8, the fixed pivot 19 does not move with respect to the movement module section 8. In this example, the fixed pivot 19 fixedly connected to the movement module section 8 is located in a recess 29 (seen most clearly in Figs. 4 and 5) of the bar 16, which recess 29 enables the axial movement of the bar 16 with respect to the movement module section 8. At its other end, the short leg 15 has a pivot 20 in common with the long leg 14, which, just like the pivot 19, is transverse to the surface of the door 1. Thanks to the common pivot 20, the short leg 15 and the long leg 14 are able to make a scissoring movement with respect to each other.

That the bar 16 has the above-mentioned recess 29 (hereinafter to be referred to as "first recess") in which the fixed pivot 19 is located, offers the advantage that the short leg 15 with the fixed pivot 19 needs to take up little or no space alongside the bar 16, which is favorable for the compactness of the sealing device. This is because the fixed pivot 19 is substantially inside the contours of the main dimensions of the cross-section of the bar 16.

As shown in Figs. 3-5, the first recess 29 of the bar 16 has a first entrance 31 facing the movable sealing part 27. An advantage of the first entrance 31 in the bar 16 is the simplicity of mounting, for instance, the scissoring element 10. Thus, via the first entrance 31, the short leg 15 and/or the fixed pivot 19 can be introduced into the first recess 29 of the bar 16 in a simple manner.

As is shown in, for instance, Fig. 3, the scissoring element 10 is at least partly receivable in the first recess 29 of the bar 16. This further improves the compactness of the sealing device.

The long leg 14 has, at one end, a pivot 21 sprung against the safety spring 18, which is, just like the

pivots

19 and 20, transverse to the surface of the door 1. This sprung pivot 21 is locked between a partly rounded recess in the bar 16, the safety spring 18 and the movement module section 8. The locking in the movement module section 8 is possible because the movement module section 8 has an inward flange 28 at each of the two ends of the legs of its U-shape inverted in cross section, see Figs. 1 and 2. When the bar 16 is axially moved with respect to the movement module section 8, the sprung pivot 21 moves along with the bar 16, unless an external force stops the sprung pivot 21 against the spring force of the safety spring 18. In the latter case, the pivot 21 can move relative to the bar 16 in axial direction of the bar 16 in the direction of the end A along a part of the bar 16 where the bar 16 has the above-mentioned more or less crescent-shaped cross section. At its other end reaching beyond the pivot 20, the long leg 14 has a coupling pin 22 which is, just like the

pivots

19, 20 and 21, transverse to the surface of the door 1. The coupling pin 22 is pivotally coupled to the horizontal part of the U-shape of the rigid section 11 shown in the cross section of the Figs. 1 and 2. Incidentally, the rigid section 11 is not shown in Fig. 3, but is shown in Fig. 5. Via this coupling pin 22, the long leg 14 can make the rigid section 11 move up and down.

At some distance from the fixed pivot 19 in the axial direction of the bar 16 away from the end A, the bar 16 assumes its circular cross section again. Near the end B of the bar 16, the movement mechanism 9 comprises a number of components identical to the above-described components, including a second stop element 17, a second safety spring 18 and a second scissoring element 10 with

legs

14 and 15. At some distance from the fixed pivot 19 located near end B in the direction towards the end B, bar 16 also assumes its circular cross section again. Near the end B of the bar 16, a stop and guide element 23 is present, which is, with advantage, fixedly and axially adjustably connected to the movement module section 8 and which has a passage so that the bar 16 can move back and forth in axial direction. Clamped between the stop and guide element 23 and the second scissoring element 10, inside the movement module section 8, a coil spring 24 working as return spring is present around the bar 16. Due to the adjustability of the fixed axial position of the stop and guide element 23 with respect to the movement module section 8, the spring tension of the return spring 24 can be adjusted.

Some functions of the above-described components of the sealing device 2 will now be further described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows the longitudinal cross section of Fig. 3 again, with the difference, however, that the movement mechanism 9 is in an operating condition usual for sealing. The operating condition as shown in Fig. 4 has been obtained after, in the position of rest of Fig. 3, slightly axially pressing the bar 16 at the end A such that the end A is in the same axial position as the nearby end of the movement module section 8. The pressing of end A can be carried out directly or indirectly by a user of the door 1. Also, in case the movement mechanism 9 is intended for an automatically operable sealing device 2, for instance a post of a frame of the door 1 can automatically provide pressing when closing the door 1.

By comparison of Figs. 3 and 4, it can be seen that the result of the axial pressing of end A of the bar 16 is that the bar 16 has moved through the passage of the stop and guide element 23 and that the return spring 24 has been pressed. The rings 17 and the movable pivots 21 have also been moved along with the bar 16. Here, the safety springs 18 have not been compressed as a result of the lack of external force for this. The fixed pivots 19 of the short legs 15 have not moved along with the bar 16 because they are fixedly attached to the movement module section 8. Thus, the sprung pivots 21 have been moved along a path, with the path being linear in this example, in such a manner that, in Fig. 4, the pivots 21 are nearer to the fixed pivots 19 compared to the position of rest of the sealing device 2 shown in Fig. 3. As a result, the long legs 14 have rotated about the sprung pivots 21 and the short legs 15 have rotated about the fixed pivots 19. Here, for each of the two scissoring elements 10, the long leg 14 and the short leg 15 have been rotated about their common pivot 20. Further, the coupling pins 22 have been moved such that they are further removed from the bar 16. Because the coupling pins 22 are connected to the rigid section 11 which is part of the sealing part 27, the sealing part 27 is also further removed from the bar 16. The sealing part 27 is, incidentally, not shown in Fig. 4, but it is shown in Fig. 5.

From the operating condition as shown in Fig. 4, by removing the pressing of end A of the bar 16, the movement mechanism 9 returns to the position of rest as shown in Fig. 3 due to the pushing back by the return spring 24.

Figures 3 and 4 each further show two reference lines L which each run, in the plane of the longitudinal cross section shown, through the center of one of the fixed pivots 19 in a direction perpendicular to the bar 16. In the position of rest of Fig. 3, the coupling pins 22 have virtually the same distance to the reference lines L as in the operating condition of Fig. 4. This would also be the case if Fig. 4 showed the situation in which the end A of the bar 16 were pressed to a greater or lesser extent from the position of rest of Fig. 3. A movement of the end A in axial direction of the bar 16 thus results in a virtually linear movement of the coupling pins 22 in a direction virtually perpendicular to the bar 16. Because the coupling pins 22 are pivotally connected to the rigid section 11, the sealing part 27 of the sealing device 2 according to the invention is thus operably movable in a direction virtually perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the edge part of the door 1. The component of the movement of the sealing part 27 in the longitudinal direction of the edge part of the door 1 is negligible, which is an advantage because this largely prevents a subrange of the longitudinal direction of the chink 4 from not being covered by the sealing part 27 and prevents the sealing part 27 from hitting by one end, for instance, a frame post.

Above advantage can partly be attributed to the interaction between the long legs 14 and the short legs 15 of the scissoring element 10. The common pivot 20 in particular plays a central role in this interaction. This is because the common pivot 20, in a longitudinal cross-sectional view as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, only has freedom of movement over a circular arc path, with the center of the fixed pivot 19 being the center of the circle of the circular arc path. This limited freedom of movement of the common pivot 20 results in a limited freedom of movement of the long leg 14 since the common pivot 20 is part of the long leg 14. According to the invention, the limited freedom of movement of the long leg 14 is utilized such that the coupling pin 22 which is part of the long leg 14 only has the desired freedom of movement, in a longitudinal cross-sectional view as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, over a virtually straight line which is virtually perpendicular to the bar 16.

The interaction between the long legs 14 and the short legs 15 of the scissoring element 10 incorporates more properties from which advantages of the invention can be derived.

One of these advantages is the relatively large distance that the coupling pin of the long leg 14 covers during operation, so that the sealing part 27 can make a relatively large turn. When the coupling pin 22 covers such a relatively large distance, the long leg 14 is relatively heavily loaded. The short leg 15 supports the long leg 14 at the location of the common pivot 20 and thus contributes to the relief of the long leg 14. Thus, a further advantage of the invention is that the ratio between the load of the

lever elements

14 and 15 and the turn size of the sealing section 27 is relatively favorable. This favorable ratio increases the possibilities to make the components of the movement mechanism 9 simple, durable and widely applicable.

A further advantage of the movement mechanism 9 according to the invention relates to the transmission ratio between the distance over which the end A is pressed in axial direction of the bar 16 and the distance over which the coupling pin 22 moves as a result of this pressing. This transmission ratio depends on the distance between the fixed pivot 19 and the sprung pivot 21. When the latter distance is maximal, as shown in Fig. 3, the transmission ratio is approximately one to four. In that case, an axial pressing of the end A over a small distance of one time dA results in a movement of the coupling pin 22 over a distance of approximately four times dA. The transmission ratio gradually shifts from an "acceleration ratio" according to the above numbers to a "deceleration ratio" of approximately two to one in the case that the distance between the fixed pivot 19 and the sprung pivot 21 is minimal. The latter would be the case if the end A were pressed slightly further than shown in Fig. 4. In the latter case, removing the pressing of the end A over a small distance of two times dA results in a movement of the coupling pin 22 over a distance of approximately 1 dA.

A transmission ratio of approximately one to four is now referred to as high and a transmission ratio of approximately two to one is now referred to as low. With a high transmission ratio, with a certain operation force, a relatively large turn is made by the coupling pin 22, having a relatively high speed and having a relatively small lifting force. With a low transmission ratio, with a certain operation force, a relatively small turn is made by the coupling pin 22, having a relatively great lifting force. If, with a door with chink 4, the great range of the transmission ratio is largely utilized, the result is that, at the beginning of the turn of the sealing part 27, a large part of the turn is made with a small lifting force, and that, at the end of the turn, a small part of the turn is made with a great lifting force. This is usually an advantage because, at the beginning of the turn, no great lifting force is needed, because the sealing part 27 then moves through the air and therefore undergoes little resistance, while, at the end of the turn, usually, a greater lifting force is needed in order to, for instance, slightly compress, by force, the flexible sealing section 12 between the rigid section 11 and the floor surface 3.

Further, the large range of the transmission ration can be utilized to adjust the sealing device 2 for a certain door 1 as desired for various subranges of the range of the transmission ratio. Depending on the use, a subrange with high transmission ratios or a subrange with low transmission ratios may, for instance, be chosen. The adjustment for the different subranges can be carried out by setting the position of the movement mechanism 9 with respect to the housing part 6 in the direction of the sealing part 27.

To illustrate the adjustment of the movement mechanism 9 with respect to the housing part 6, reference is now made to Figs. 7 to 10. These Figures show an example of a sealing device 102 according to the invention. The sealing device 102 is largely identical to the sealing device 2 according to the example shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Therefore, any corresponding parts of the two devices are designated by the same reference numerals. Compared to the sealing device 2, the sealing device 102 comprises a different type of elongated housing section 106 substantially invertedly U-shaped in cross section. The housing section 106 comprises two substantially parallel strips 130 located inside the inverted U-shape of the housing section 106. The strips 130 extend downwards from the horizontal part of the inverted U-shape of the housing section 106, more specifically, parallel to the legs of the inverted U-shape and at some distance therefrom. Of each of the two strips 130, the sides facing each other are provided with a profiling comprising a number of slots 131.

Compared to the sealing device 2, the sealing device 102 further comprises a modified movement module section 108. Just like the movement module section 8, the movement module section 108 is substantially invertedly U-shaped, but the movement module section 108 is provided with two flanges projecting on both sides and fitting in the slots 131. In the example shown, for this purpose, the horizontal part of the U-shape reaches slightly beyond the legs of the U-shape at both ends. The movement module section 108 thus comprises two flanges 132 facing away from each other. These flanges 132 cooperate with the slots 131 such that the movement module section 108 can be slid into the housing part 106 in various positions. It is thus achieved that the position of the movement mechanism 9 accommodated in the movement module section 108 is adjustable in height with respect to the housing section 106, that is, in the direction of movement of the sealing part 27.

The difference between Figs. 7 and 8 on the one hand and Figs. 9 and 10 on the other hand is that, in the situation of Figs. 7 and 8, the movement mechanism 9 has been set, with respect to the housing part 106, at a position further removed from the floor surface 3 than in the situation of Figs. 9 and 10. The scissor position of the scissoring element 10 differs between the position of rest of the sealing device 102 shown in Fig. 7 and the position of rest of the sealing device 102 shown in Fig. 9. The difference in scissor position is such that the above-described transmission ratio is lower in Fig. 7 than in Fig. 9. Also, the scissor position of the scissoring element 10 differs between the sealing operating condition of the sealing device 102 shown in Fig. 8 and the sealing operating condition of the sealing device 102 shown in Fig. 10. This difference is also such that the transmission ratio in Fig. 8 is lower than the transmission ratio in Fig. 10.

If the fixed axial position of the stop and guide element 23 (see for instance Fig. 3) is adjustable with respect to the movement module section 108, the spring tension of the return spring 24 can be adjusted such that the spring tension is suitably geared to the chosen position of the movement module section 9 with respect to the housing part 106.

The adjustability of the position of the movement mechanism 9 with respect to the housing section also offers, in addition to the above-described possibility to adjust the sealing device 102 for different subranges of the range of the transmission ratio, the possibility to suitably adjust the sealing device 102 for different sizes of chinks 4 without needing to change the transmission ratios.

To illustrate the latter adjusting possibility, reference is now made to Figs. 11 and 12. These Figures show an example of a sealing device 202 according to the invention in the position of rest. The sealing device 202 is largely identical to the sealing device 102 according to the example of Figs. 7-10. Therefore, any corresponding parts of the two devices are designated by the same reference numerals. A difference between Figs. 11 and 12 is that the chink 4 is smaller in Fig. 11 than in Fig. 12 and that, in Fig. 11, the movement mechanism 9 has been set, with respect to the housing part 106, at a position further removed from the chink 4 than in the situation of Fig. 12. Here, the scissor position of the scissoring element 10 is the same in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12, so that the transmission ratio in Figs. 11 and 12 is equal. Thus, by setting the position of the movement mechanism 9 with respect to the housing part 106, it can be achieved that the sealing device 202 can be suitably adjusted for different sizes of chinks 4 without needing to change the transmission ratios.

Reference is now made to Fig. 5. In this Figure, a similar operating condition of the movement mechanism 9 is shown to the one in Fig. 4. In Fig. 5, the sealing section 27 is also partly shown, with the rigid section 11 and the flexible sealing section 12 which are part thereof. A difference with Fig. 4 is that, in Fig. 5, the scissoring element 10 located nearest the end A of the bar 16 is in a different scissor position. This different scissor position is the result of an external force acting on the coupling pin 22 of the respective scissoring element 10. Such a force may, for instance, have been caused in that the sealing part 27 of the sealing device 2 presses against the floor surface 3 (see Fig. 2). This may, for instance, occur when the size of a chink 4 is smaller in an area near the end A than in an area near the end B. In such a case, by axially compressing the safety spring 18, the sprung pivot 21 of the respective scissoring element 10 may move in a relative sense in the direction of the end A of the bar 16, which may give rise to a situation as shown in Fig. 5. If the sprung pivot 21 did not have a moving possibility, then the external force on the coupling pin 22 could result in one or more components of the sealing device 2 being damaged. So, the safety spring 18 has a protective function in situations in which the turn of the sealing part 27 caused by pressing the bar 16 is larger than the chink 4 and also adequately enables the sealing of chinks 4 with a non-parallelism between the bottom side of the door and the floor in the direction from frame post to frame post.

It is noted that the above-described moving of the sprung pivot 21 is possible because the bar 16 is provided with a second recess 30, in which the sprung pivot 21 is slidable.

As shown in Figs. 3-5, the second recess 30 of the bar 16 has a second entrance 32 facing the movable sealing part 27. An advantage of the second entrance 32 in the bar 16 is the simplicity of mounting, for instance, the scissoring element 10. Thus, via the second entrance 32, the long leg 14 and/or the sprung pivot 21 can be introduced into the second recess 32 of the bar 16 in a simple manner.

As is shown in Figs. 3-5, the scissoring element 10 is at least partly receivable in the second recess 30 of the bar 16. This is further favorable for the compactness of the sealing device.

Reference is now made to Fig. 6. In this Figure, a similar operating condition of the movement mechanism is shown to the one in Fig. 2. A difference with Fig. 2 is that, in Fig. 6, the chink 4 is larger. The sealing device 2 according to the invention is generally suitable for sealing relatively large chinks 4 as appears from the above-mentioned advantage relating to the relatively large turn which the sealing part 27 is able to make. In Fig. 6, the sealing part 27 makes such a relatively large turn. Due to this relatively large turn, the use of the two sealing strips 13 shown in Fig. 2 would not contribute to the prevention of, for instance, draft through the housing section 6 and the rigid section 11. Therefore, in the sealing device 2 in Fig. 6, the two sealing strips 13 as shown in Fig. 2 are replaced by two folding partitions 25 which do prevent this draft. The folding partitions 25 are each attached by one edge to the door 1 and by the other edge to the rigid section 11. Instead of to the door 1, the folding partitions 25 may also each be attached by one edge to, for instance, the housing section 6, or, for instance, be clamped between the housing section 6 and the bottom of the slot 5.

The foregoing shows that the movement mechanism 9 according to the invention consists of only a limited number of components that can be widely used for different dimensions of doors 1 and for different dimensions of chinks 4 to be sealed around doors 1. The movement module 26 according to the invention can provide the movement function for a wide range of sealing devices 2 and is therefore applicable for many product variants. Further, it is an advantage of the invention that, for instance for relatively long sealing devices 2 for relatively wide doors 1, multiple aligned movement mechanisms 9 can be used without needing to change the extent of pressing of the bar 16, compared to the situation in which only one movement mechanism is used, in order to maintain the turn of the sealing part 27 equal.

It is noted that after the foregoing, various modifications are readily apparent to a skilled person. It is, for instance, possible to use more than two scissoring elements 10 in a movement mechanism 9. This may, for instance, be advantageous for movement mechanisms 9 having a great length. Likewise, it is possible to use only one scissoring element 10 in a movement mechanism 9. The

legs

14 and 15 of the scissoring element 10 may also assume different forms. For instance, just like the long leg 14 of the exemplary embodiment shown, the short leg 15 may extend on both sides of the common pivot 20. It is also, for instance, possible for the long leg 14 to extend no further than the common pivot 20 which can then also take over the lifting function of the coupling pin 22. It is further possible to provide a door 1, at an edge part, with a sealing device 2 comprising two movement mechanisms 9 according to the invention, whereof the end A of the bar 16 of the one movement mechanism 9 and the end A of the bar 16 of the other movement mechanism 9 are located at opposite ends of the edge part of the door 1. Further, the housing section 6, the movement module section 8 and the rigid section 11 may assume various forms, just like the flexible sealing section 12 which may, for instance, be folded in various manners or comprise various types of flaps. Also, the pivots, such as the

pivots

19 and 21 and/or the coupling pins 22 may consist of stub axles on both sides of the respective scissor elements and form one whole with them. Further, if desired, multiple or different guide elements may be used for the bar 16. The bar 16 may also assume various forms and, optionally, comprise a number of bar sections which can be coupled to one another. These and similar modifications are understood to be within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

A sealing device (2; 102) for sealing a chink (4) between a door (1) and at least a part of a bordering (3) around the door (1), comprising a housing part (6; 106) operatively attached to the door (1), a sealing part (27) movable with respect to the housing part (6; 106) and a movement mechanism (9) accommodated in the housing part (6; 106), for moving the sealing part (27), wherein the movement mechanism (9) comprises a bar (16) movable in longitudinal direction with respect to the housing part (6; 106) and at least one scissoring element (10), which scissoring element (10) comprises two legs (14, 15) movable with respect to each other which are rotatable about a common pivot (20), and wherein one of the two legs (14, 15) is pivotable about a pivot (19) fixed with respect to the housing part (6; 106), and wherein an end (22) of the scissoring element (10) remote from-the fixed pivot (19) is coupled to the sealing part (27), characterized in that the bar (16) has at least one first recess (29) in which the fixed pivot (19) is located and which first recess (29) enables axial movement of the bar (16) with respect to the housing part (6; 106).
A sealing device (2; 102) according to claim 1, wherein the first recess (29) of the bar (16) has a first entrance (31) facing the movable sealing part (27).
A sealing device (2; 102) according to claim 2, wherein the scissoring element (10) is at least partly receivable in the first recess (29) of the bar (16).
A sealing device (2; 102) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of the two legs (14, 15) is pivotable about a pivot (21), which pivot (21) is fixed with respect to the bar (16) by spring force and is movable with respect to the bar (16) in a second recess (30) of the bar (16) when the spring force is exceeded.
A sealing device (2; 102) according to claim 4, wherein the second recess (30) of the bar (16) has a second entrance (32) facing the movable sealing part (27).
A sealing device (2; 102) according to claim 5, wherein the scissoring element (10) is at least partly receivable in the second recess (30) of the bar (16).
A sealing device (2; 102) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the position of the movement mechanism (9) with respect to the housing part (6; 106) is adjustable in the direction of movement of the sealing part (27).
A sealing device (2; 102) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a folding partition (25) is attached between, on the one hand, the housing part (6; 106) and/or the door (1) and, on the other hand, the movable sealing part (27).
A door (1) provided with a sealing device (2; 102) according to any one of the preceding claims.
A movement module (26) provided with a movement mechanism (9) for a sealing device (2; 102) according to any one of claims 1-8.