EP1885986A2

EP1885986A2 - Door comprising obstacle-detection means which are equipped with a connector that is formed by two detachable parts

Info

Publication number: EP1885986A2
Application number: EP06764656A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bernard Kraeutler
Original assignee: Nergeco SA
Current assignee: Nergeco SA
Priority date: 2005-05-23
Filing date: 2006-05-22
Publication date: 2008-02-13
Also published as: FR2885945B1; JP2008542581A; WO2006125902A3; CA2607910A1; FR2885945A1; AU2006251015A1; WO2006125902A2; US20090277091A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a door comprising a frame and an apron (4) which can be moved by drive means between a closed position and an open position. The apron comprises obstacle-detection means which are connected by a cable (20) to a device for controlling the drive means. A first end (21) of the cable is associated with the apron, while the second end (22) thereof is associated with the frame. The first and/or second end(s) of the cable comprise(s) a connector (19, 23) which is mounted to an area of the apron or the frame such that it can rotate around an axis (26, 34) that is perpendicular to said area and which can be separated into two reconnectable parts by means of pulling. In this way, it is possible to detect one end of the cable associated with the apron or the frame.

Description

DOOR HAVING OBSTACLE DETECTION MEANS HAVING A CONNECTOR FORMED OF TWO PARTS

DETACHABLE.

The present invention relates to a door of the type comprising an apron adapted to be moved by electromechanical drive means between a closed position and an open position.

The invention relates more particularly to doors with flexible apron, for example folding or winding, intended to close off or clear a bay formed in a wall separating two premises.

In these applications, the speeds at which the apron is driven for opening or closing are important. It is therefore necessary to provide security systems associated with the door, in particular to avoid personal injury or property damage in the event of an accidental collision between the deck and a person or an object.

For this purpose, according to a known embodiment, the apron comprises means for detecting obstacles connected to the control device of the electromechanical drive means. Thus, for example, when the apron strikes an obstacle during its closing movement, information is transmitted to the control device which can then act on the electromechanical drive means to cause the stop of the closing movement, or even the drive the apron in the direction of opening.

The connection between the obstacle detection means and the control device may be of wired type. In this case, the cable provided is connected at one end to a movable structure (the apron) and at a second end to a fixed structure (the control device or, intermediately, the wall to which the door is fixed). .

Thus, during openings and closures of the deck, the cable is itself driven in a back and forth at high speeds. At its ends, the cable is particularly stressed and undergoes twisting to accompany the movement of the deck. This results in considerable fatigue of the cable, which may therefore be broken, the security of the door is then no longer ensured. This phenomenon of fatigue is all the more important that the deck is maneuvered many times in one day. In addition, it is possible that a person or a moving object, such as a handling truck, is caught in the cable and pulls at least part of the door. This risk is increased if the cable is already weakened as explained above. Again, the consequence would be the loss of the security system of the door.

The present invention aims at improving the connection between the obstacle detection means and the control device, by providing a door provided with a wired connection that is reliable, robust, and secure, and that can thus meet the requirements of the new safety standards.

For this purpose, the invention relates to a door comprising a frame defining a bay. The frame is intended to be fixed to a wall, said frame defining a bay and having two substantially vertical lateral uprights. The apron is able to be moved by electromechanical drive means supported by the frame between a closed position, in which the apron closes the bay, and an open position, in which the bay is unobstructed; the apron comprises obstacle detection means connected by a wire connection to a control device of the electromechanical drive means, the wire link comprising a cable whose one end is associated with the apron and a second end is associated with the frame;

The door is more particularly characterized in that it comprises at least one connector associating the first end of the cable to the deck or the second end of the cable to the frame, said connector being mounted on an area of the deck, respectively of the frame, in a movable manner in rotation about an axis substantially perpendicular to said zone and being separable, under the effect of traction, into two reconnectable parts, so as to detach the end of the cable from the apron, respectively from the frame. therefore to provide the cable with a connector which is oriented alone, automatically, depending on the position of the deck, so that the cable is in the most direct position possible between the deck and the frame. The pivoting being carried on the connector, the cable is not twisted. The lifespan of the cable is thus increased, and the risk of rupture being reduced, the security of the door is increased. In addition, if a person or device clings into the cable, and beyond a certain traction exerted, the cable will simply "disconnected" from the apron (or the frame) and not torn off: thus it can very easily and very quickly be returned to the operating position, by hand and without tools. The door may comprise a single connector associating the first end of the cable to the deck, the second end of the cable being directly connected to the frame, without intermediate connector, or a single connector associating the second end of the cable to the frame, the first end of the cable being directly connected to the deck, without intermediate connector.

According to one embodiment of the door according to the invention, it comprises a first connector associating the first end of the cable to the deck and a second connector associating the second end of the cable to the frame, said connectors being substantially identical. Thus, each end of the cable can pivot relative to the door: the twists, and therefore the wear of the cable, are minimized.

To minimize the length of the cable required for the proper functioning of the door and the security system, it can be envisaged that the second connector is mounted on a post, substantially halfway up the said post, the first connector being mounted on the deck at adjacent the side edge of the apron adjacent to said amount.

According to a variant, the door comprises a substantially horizontal upper cover under which the apron is able to be housed in the open position, and the second end of the cable is connected to said cover and the first end of the cable is associated with the apron by a connector arranged for that the cable is substantially vertical when the deck is in the closed position, said connector being arranged to not interfere with the placement of the deck under the hood in the open position.

It may be provided that the connection between the connector and the apron, respectively the frame, is ball-type.

This connection, because it gives greater freedom of movement to the connector, further reduces the wear of the cable.

According to one embodiment, the connector comprises a ring fixed on the apron, or the frame, a bent piece whose first branch is mounted substantially coaxially with the ring in a movable manner in rotation about the axis of the ring, and a second branch detachably receives a pin fixed to the end of the cable.

In addition, the first leg of the bent piece can be fixed on a cylindrical support mounted in the ring substantially coaxially, said cylindrical support being able to pivot about its axis.

According to an advantageous arrangement, the cable is in the form of an elastically extensible propeller.

As a result, the cable is compact. In addition, it does not hang and does not exert too much effort on the deck or the frame, regardless of the degree of opening of the deck.

In the case of a fast door, the deck is formed of a flexible tarpaulin or a set of flexible plastic tarpaulins.

The door may also include apron locking means in a predetermined position, said means being coupled to the electromechanical drive means and controlled by the separation of the connector in its two reconnectable parts. Thus, the separation of the two parts of the connector leads either to the stop of the deck in the position in which it is at this time, or to the movement of the deck to a stop position chosen according to the application (for example in open position).

For a good understanding, the invention is again described below with reference to the accompanying figures showing, by way of non-limiting example, a possible embodiment of the door.

Figure 1 is a schematic front view of a door according to the invention, showing the frame and the apron in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view, in perspective, of the lower part of the door, the apron being in the closed position, showing the wire connection and the associated connectors on the one hand to a frame upright and on the other hand to the apron ; Figure 3 is an enlarged partial view, in perspective, of the upper part of the door, the deck being in the open position, showing the wire connection and the same connectors;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of detail IV of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged view of detail V of Figure 3; Figure 6 is a side view of the apron, showing a protective shell surrounding the connector; and Figure 7 is a front view of the deck of Figure 6 equipped with the shell.

The door 1 comprises a frame 2 attached to a wall 3, defining a bay, and a flexible apron 4 for closing the bay. The frame 2 comprises two vertical uprights 5, 6, and a horizontal upper crossbar 7 forming a hood in which is housed a horizontal shaft 8 for winding and unwinding the deck 4 for opening or closing the bay. The shaft 8 can be rotated about its axis, via a gearbox 9, by an electric motor 10 controlled by an electronic control device 1 January. A manual control box 12, connected to the control device 1 1, can be provided on the wall 3, next to the door 1, and allows a user to control the opening or closing of the bay.

The apron 4 is a flexible plastic sheet, for example PVC, provided with horizontal reinforcing bars 13. The apron 4 also comprises a weighted threshold bar 14, flexible and deformable, which contains unobserved obstacle detection means. These obstacle detection means may for example consist of an infrared ray that can be cut by a projecting element during the deformation of the threshold bar 14 following an impact, or a set of two blades brought into contact following a shock with an obstacle and thus allowing the circulation of an electric current.

The apron 4 is likely to be moved between a high position, where it is wound completely around the shaft 8 and where the bay is completely unobstructed, and a low position, where it is fully unwound and where the bay is closed . These movements of the deck 4 are made at high speed, many times a day.

In order to facilitate these movements, the uprights 5, 6 comprise, on their inside face 15 - that is to say their face facing the apron 4 - two longitudinal ribs 16, 17 defining between them a slideway 18 in which the edges side of the deck 4 are guided during the displacement of the deck 4.

A wired connection connects the obstacle detection means to the control device January 1, which allows, for example, when an obstacle is encountered during the closing of the deck 4, to act on the motor 10 to stop the movement of the apron 4 or order its opening. The wire link comprises successively a conductor, not shown, connecting inside the threshold bar 14 the obstacle detection means to a first connector 19 mounted on the deck 4, an outer cable 20 associated with a first end 21 at the first connector 19 and at a second end 22 to a second connector 23 mounted on the upright 6, and a conductor 24 housed at least partly in the upright 6, connecting the second connector 23 to the control device 1 1.

The second connector 23 is mounted on an upright, here the upright 6, approximately halfway up the upright 6, while the first connector 19 is mounted in the lower part of the apron 4, at the threshold bar 14, near the side edge of the apron 4 adjacent to the upright 6. In this way, the distance between the two connectors 19, 23 does not exceed half the height of the deck 4, whether it is in the up or down position, which limits the length of cable 20 necessary but also the deformation of the cable 20.

In addition, the second connector 23 is mounted on the inner face 15 of the upright 6. As a result, the cable 20 is located in the immediate vicinity of the apron 4 and does not protrude from the door 1 beyond the thickness of the uprights 5, 6, which limits the risk of snagging a person or an object in the cable 20.

The cable 20 is in the form of an elastically extensible helix, of the telephone wire type, whose length at rest (when the turns are contiguous) is less than half the height of the uprights 5, 6. the apron 4 is in the open position or in the closed position, the cable 20 is slightly stretched and does not offer a hanging portion that can be easily hooked.

The connector 23 is now more specifically described, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The connector 23 comprises a ring 25 fastened, for example by screws, to the inside face of the upright 6 so that its axis 26 is perpendicular to the inner face 15. A cylindrical support 27 is mounted in the orifice of the ring 25, substantially coaxially, so as to be pivotable about its axis 26. The connector 23 also comprises a bent piece 28 having a first and a second branches 29, 30 cylindrical hollow of the same section. The second branch 30 is perpendicular to the first branch 29 and of greater length. The first branch 29 comprises, at its end not connected to the second branch 30, a transverse square plate 31 fixed on the cylindrical support 27 so that the axis of the first branch 29 coincides with the axis 26 of the ring 25. The axis 32 of the second branch 30 is thus arranged parallel to the inner face 15 of the upright 6.

Finally, the connector 23 comprises a cylindrical pin 33 whose outside diameter is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the second leg 30 of the bent piece 28. One end of the pin 33 is fixed to the second end 22 of the cable 20. As for the opposite end part, it is intended to be inserted, in the manner of a plug, into the second leg 30, to ensure electrical contact with the conductor 24, via the bent piece 28. The pin 33 and the bent piece 28 can be separated from each other by simply pulling on the pin 33, beyond a certain effort. This can happen accidentally when a person or moving object hooks on the cable 20 and pulls it. However, the cable 20 can again be very easily connected to the conductor 24 by reconnecting the pin 33 in the bent piece 28.

The first connector 19 is identical to the second conductor 23, and is mounted as follows: the ring 25 is fixed on the apron 4 so that its axis 34 is perpendicular to the plane of the deck 4; the axis of the first branch 29 of the bent piece 28 coincides with the axis 34 of the ring 25; the axis 35 of the second branch 30 is parallel to the plane of the deck 4. The pin 33 is firstly fixed to the first end 21 of the cable 20 and secondly engaged, at its opposite end, in the second branch 30 of the bent piece 28, thus ensuring electrical contact with the conductor connected to the obstacle detection means, via the bent piece 28.

By their structure, the connectors 19, 23 can pivot about the axis 34, 26 of the ring 25. They are thus automatically oriented according to the position of the deck 4:

- When the apron 4 is in the low position (Figures 2 and 4), the first end 21 of the cable 20 is located under the second end 22 and the cable 20 is in its most taut position. The second branch 30 of the first connector 19 extends upwards and the second branch 30 of the second connector 23 extends downwards, the axes 35, 32 being substantially aligned and coinciding with the axis of the cable 20; - When the apron 4 is moved to its upper position, the first end 21 of the cable 20 is moved in an upward vertical translation. It is progressively brought closer to the second end 22 until it reaches the same height, then it is progressively further away when the movement is continued. During this movement, the apparent length of the cable 20 decreases, because of the elasticity thereof, until the turns are contiguous, then, when the distance between the connectors 19, 23 is less than the length at rest of the cable 20, a portion of the cable 20 becomes pendent. The length of this portion reaches its maximum when the two connectors 1 9, 23 are at the same height, then decreases as the upward movement is continued until it cancels out. At the end of movement, the cable 20 is stretched again. During this movement, too, the connectors 19, 23 pivot about the axes 34, respectively 26, following the movement of the deck 4 and the cable 20. When the cable is stretched and therefore straight, it forces the pivoting of the connectors 19 , 23 so that the axes 35, 32 are substantially aligned, and coincident with the axis of the cable 20;

- When the apron 4 is in the upper position (Figures 3 and 5), the second end 22 of the cable 20 is located under the first end 21 and the cable 20 is in its most taut position. The second branch 30 of the first connector 19 extends downwards and the second branch 30 of the second connector 23 extends upwards, the axes 35, 32 being substantially aligned and coinciding with the axis of the cable 20. 11 may a cable tensioning system 20, such as a seat-belt type retractor, or a tension system with a weight with a return pulley (when the apron is open, the cable and its weight are in position low inside the upright, and when the apron is closed, the cable and its weight are in high position inside the amount). In addition, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the door 1 may comprise a protective shell 36 removably attached to the apron 4 around the first end 21 of the cable 20 and the first connector 19, so as to form with the apron 4 a substantially hermetic enclosure. The term "substantially hermetic" means that the first connector 19 and the connection zone between the cable 20 and the apron 4 are protected from dust and the flow of water.

For this purpose, the shell 36 has a rounded shape and a substantially smooth outer surface. This form allows water runoff when the door is exposed to the weather and, in addition, to limit the risk of attachment of the shell 36, even in case of impact.

Of course, similarly, a shell 36 may be provided at the second end 22 of the cable 20.

Thus, the invention provides a decisive improvement to the prior art, providing a door that has a robust and durable security system.

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above by way of example but that it encompasses all variants.

Claims

1. Door comprising:

a frame (2) intended to be fixed to a wall (3), said frame (2) defining a bay and comprising two substantially vertical lateral uprights (5, 6);

- An apron (4) adapted to be moved by electromechanical drive means (8, 9, 10) supported by the frame (2) between a closed position, wherein the apron (4) closes the bay, and a position open, in which the bay is disengaged, the apron (4) comprising obstacle detection means connected by a wire connection to a control device (1 1) electromechanical drive means, the wire link comprising a cable ( 20) whose first end (21) is associated with the apron (4) and a second end (22) is associated with the frame (2); characterized in that it comprises at least one connector (19, 23) associating the first end (21) of the cable (20) to the apron (4) or the second end (22) of the cable (20) to the frame (2) , said connector (19, 23) being mounted on an area of the deck (4), respectively of the frame (2), rotatable about an axis (26, 34) substantially perpendicular to said zone and separable , under the effect of traction, in two reconnectable parts, so as to detach the end (21, 22) of the cable (20) of the apron (4), respectively of the frame (2).

2. Door according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a single connector (19) associating the first end (21) of the cable (20) to the apron (4), the second end (22) of the cable (20) being directly connected to the frame (2), without intermediate connector.

3. Door according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a single connector (23) associating the second end (22) of the cable (20) to the frame (2), the first end (21) of the cable (20). being directly connected to the apron (4), without intermediate connector.

4. Door according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a first connector (19) associating the first end (21) of the cable (20) to the apron (4) and a second connector (23) associating the second end ( 22) of the cable (20) to the frame (2), said connectors (19, 23) being substantially identical,

5. Door according to claim 4, characterized in that the second connector (23) is mounted on an upright (6) substantially at half height of said upright, the first connector (1 9) being mounted on the apron (4) in the vicinity of the side edge of the apron (4) adjacent said amount (6).

6. Door according to one of claims 1, 2 or 4, characterized in that it comprises a substantially horizontal upper cover (7) in which the apron (4) is adapted to be housed in the open position, and in that the second end (22) of the cable (20) is connected to said cover (7) and the first end (21) of the cable (20) is associated with the apron (4) by a connector (19) arranged so that the cable (20) ) is substantially vertical when the apron (4) is in the closed position, said connector (1 9) being arranged to not interfere with the placement of the deck (4) under the hood (7) in the open position.

7. Door according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the connection between the connector (19, 23) and the apron (4), respectively the frame (2), is of the ball joint type.

8. Door according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the connector (1 9, 23) comprises a ring (25) fixed on the deck (4), or the frame (2), a bent piece ( 28) of which a first branch (29) is mounted substantially coaxially with the ring (25) rotatably about the axis (26, 34) of the ring (25), and a second branch (30) receives detachably a pin (33) fixed to the end (21, 22) of the cable (20).

9. Door according to claim 8, characterized in that the first leg (29) of the bent piece (28) is fixed on a support (27) cylindrical mounted in the ring (25) substantially coaxially, said cylindrical support (27) being pivotable about its axis (26, 34).

10. Door according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises at least one protective shell (36) removably attached to the deck (4), respectively the frame (2), around the first end (21) of the cable (20), respectively of the second end (22), and any connector (19, 23) corresponding to form with the apron (4), respectively the frame (2) , a substantially hermetic enclosure.

1 1. Door according to claim 10, characterized in that the outer face of the shell (36) is substantially smooth.

12. Door according to one of claims 1 to 1 1, characterized in that the cable (20) is in the form of an elastically extensible propeller.

13. Door according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that it comprises a tension holding system of the cable (20).

14. Door according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the apron (4) is formed of a flexible sheet or a set of flexible plastic sheets.

15. Door according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that it comprises means for locking the deck (4) in a predetermined position, said means being coupled to the electromechanical drive means (8, 9, 10). ) and controlled by the separation of the connector (19, 23) in its two reconnectable parts.