EP2570578A1

EP2570578A1 - Door opening and closing device

Info

Publication number: EP2570578A1
Application number: EP10851428A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Koushi Yamaguchi; Kazuaki Kashiwaguma; Mitsuru Sugiura
Original assignee: Sugatsune Kogyo Co Ltd
Current assignee: Sugatsune Kogyo Co Ltd
Priority date: 2010-05-14
Filing date: 2010-08-18
Publication date: 2013-03-20
Also published as: JPWO2011142046A1; WO2011142046A1; JP5335822B2

Abstract

Provided is a door opening and closing device that can be positioned properly at a door or frame. The door opening and closing device 1 has a body case 2 which is mounted on either one of the door and a frame and a movable member 4 which is provided movable on the body case 4 and collaborates with a catch 8 that is mounted on the other of the door and the frame to exert a force of assisting at least one of opening and closing operations of the door. The body case 2 is formed in a cuboid shape and has a bottom surface 2d that is attached to either one of the door and the frame. In a side surface 2a, 2b, at least one protrusion 10, 11 is provided.

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a door opening and closing device for assisting opening and closing of a door, such as a hinged door or a sliding door, of furniture or construction.

Background Art

Doors of furniture, construction and the like can be classified into a hinged door type, a sliding door type or the like. The hinged door is a door that opens by rotating. The sliding door opens and closes by horizontally sliding in a groove of a frame composed of a head jamb and a doorsill.
In order to assist opening and closing of such a door, there is provided a door opening and closing device. The door opening and closing device is mounted on either a door or a frame surrounding the door. The door opening and closing device collaborates with a catch, which is mounted on the other of the door and the frame, to attenuate impact when the door gets closed forcefully by wind or the like or to assist a half-open door to be closed completely.
Patent literature 1 discloses a door opening and closing device for opening and closing a door. The door opening and closing device is mounted on a frame of the door. On the door, a catch is mounted. The door opening and closing device has an arm with which the catch engages. When the door gets closed and the catch engages with the arm, the arm rotates automatically so that the arm retracts the door to a retraction position. A force for the arm retracting the door is generated by a coil spring. In the door opening and closing device, a damper is provided to act on the arm so as to attenuate the impact when the door gets closed.
When installing the door opening and closing device on the frame or door, it is required to position the door opening and closing device relative to the frame or door. In the related art, positioning of the door opening and closing device is performed by making a side surface of the door opening and closing device abut against an abutment surface of the frame or door and arranging the door opening and closing device in parallel to the abutment surface.

Citation List

Patent Literature

PL1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-287237

Summary of Invention

Technical Problem

However, the abutment surface of the door or frame is not always completely flat and is sometimes curved due to warping of wood. If the abutment surface is convex, sticking out toward the door opening and closing device, it is difficult to position the door opening and closing device because the door opening and closing device rattles when it is made to abut against the abutment surface. Besides, when the door opening and closing device is mounted at a corner of the frame, there is a need to maintain perpendicularity of the frame and the door opening and closing device. If the perpendicularity is not maintained, there is created a gap between the door opening and closing device and the frame, so that the door opening and closing device cannot be positioned well relative to the frame problematically.
Then, the present invention aims to provide a door opening and closing device that can be positioned properly at the door or frame.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an aspect of the present invention is a door opening and closing device for assisting at least one of opening operation and closing operation of a door, comprising: a body case which is mounted on either one of the door and a frame; and a movable member which is provided movable on the body case and collaborates with a catch that is mounted on the other of the door and the frame, wherein the body case is formed in a cuboid shape and has a bottom surface that is attached to either one of the door and the frame and at least one protrusion is provided at a side surface of the body case.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, at least one protrusion is provided at a side surface of the body case. With this structure, it is possible to make the protrusion of the body case abut against the abutment surface of the frame or door even if the abutment surface is not completely flat. Therefore, it is possible to position the body case properly at the frame or door.

Brief Description of Drawings

Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) are perspective views illustrating a door opening and closing device and its surroundings (Fig. 1(a) illustrates a door closed and Fig. 1(b) illustrates the door starting to open);
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the door opening and closing device;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the door opening and closing device seen from the above;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a cover;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the door opening and closing device with the cover on;
Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the door opening and closing device;
Figs. 7 (a) to 7 (c) are operational diagrams of the door opening and closing device (Fig. 7(a) illustrates a retractable arm in the open state, Fig. 7(b) illustrates the retractable arm rotating in the closing direction and Fig. 7(c) illustrates the retractable arm in the closed state);
Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a catch; and
Figs. 9 (a) and 9(b) are views illustrating the door opening and closing device installed at a corner of the frame (Fig. 9 (a) illustrates the door opening and closing device with no cover, and Fig. 9(b) illustrates the door opening and closing device with the cover on).

Description of Embodiments

With reference to the attached drawings, a door opening and closing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. This door opening and closing device 1 is used to assist opening and closing of a door. Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) illustrate appearance of the door opening and closing device which is installed on a frame. Fig. 1(a) illustrates a door in a closed state and Fig. 1(b) illustrates the door starting to open.
A body case 2 of the door opening and closing device 1 is mounted on an upper surface a of the frame. The body case 2 is formed into a rectangular solid elongated along a door stop of the frame. The body case 2 has a bottom surface (upper surface seen in Fig. 1) which is fixed to the upper surface a of the frame. A long-side side surface 2a of the body case 2 faces a door stop f and a short-side side surface 2b faces a frame side surface b.
On a side surface of the door d, a catch 8 is mounted. In the body case, a retractable arm 4 is provided rotatable as a movable member. A slide protrusion 4b (see Fig. 2) of the retractable arm 4 is slid, while it is fit in a groove 8a provided in the catch 8. Therefore, the retractable arm 4 is rotated by opening and closing of the door d thereby to assist opening and closing of the door d.
When closing the door d lightly, the door d sometimes does not close completely. However, if the slide protrusion 4b at the tip end of the retractable arm 4 is fit in the groove 8a of the catch 8, the door d can close by itself by operation of the door opening and closing device 1 even when the door d is closed lightly. Besides, when the open door gets closed forcefully by wind or the like, the door opening and closing device 1 attenuates the impact on the door d so that the door d can get closed slowly.
Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the door opening and closing device 1. In an upper surface 2c (lower surface in Fig. 2) facing a bottom surface 2d of the body case 2, an arm axis hole 3 is formed. In this arm axis hole 3, a fit hole 5a of an arm axis 5 is exposed, in which a fit axis 4a of the retractable arm 4 is fit. The retractable arm 4 is rotatable around the arm axis 5 in the horizontal direction. Inside the body case 2, a biasing mechanism and a damper mechanism are provided, the biasing mechanism being configured to give a biasing force to the retractable arm 4 so as to close the door by itself and the damper mechanism being configured to damp rotation of the retractable arm 4 thereby to close the door slowly. In the body case 2, two through holes 7 are provided. As fastening members 9 such as wood screws, setscrews or the like are passed through the two through holes 7 and the fastening members 9 are screwed to the frame thereby to fasten the body case 2 to the frame. The body case 2 is covered with a cover 6. The structure of the cover 6 will be described later.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the door opening and closing device 1 seen from the above. The body case 2 in the narrow cuboid shape has the bottom surface 2d (upper surface in Fig. 3) which is attached to the frame, the pair of long-side side surfaces 2a, a pair of short-side side surfaces 2b and the upper surface 2c (lower surface in Fig. 3) facing the bottom surface 2d. On one of the paired long-side surfaces 2a of the body case 2, two protrusions 10 are provided longitudinally separated from each other. In this embodiment, the two protrusions 10 are provided at both longitudinal ends of the side surface 2a. These two protrusions 10 are arranged at the center of the body case 2 in the height direction. The protrusions are made of resin and formed integral with a damper base 39 and a spring case 18 as described later (see Fig. 6). The outer shape of each protrusion 10 is a cuboid shape.
Also in one of the short-side side surfaces 2b of the body case 2, one protrusion 11 is provided at the center in the width direction. The one protrusion 11 is arranged at the center of the body case 2 in the height direction. The protrusion 11 is made of resin and formed integral with the damper base 39 as described later (see Fig. 6).
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cover 6. The cover 6 has a bottom wall 6c which covers the upper surface 2c of the body case 2, a pair of long-side side walls 6a that cover the long-side side surfaces 2a of the body case 2, and a pair of short-side side walls 6b that cover the short-side side surfaces 2b of the body case 2. The cover 6 is formed in a box shape. The cover 6 is a resin-molded product. On the bottom wall 6c of the cover 6, a semi-circular notch 6e is formed which allows rotation of the retractable arm 4. In the short-side side wall 6b and the long-side side wall 6a of the cover 6, three grooves 12, 13 are formedcorresponding to the three protrusions 10, 11 of the body case 2. The grooves 12, 13 are open at the upper ends of the side walls 6a, 6b. The thickness of each of the side walls 6a, 6b is equal to or less than the height of each of the protrusions 10, 11 of the body case 2 from the side surfaces 2a, 2b.
Inside of each of the paired long-side side walls 6a of the cover 6, two elastic hooks 20 are formed at the upper ends thereof in such a manner that the hooks are longitudinally separated from each other. The elastic hooks 20 are formed tapered such that the width of each hook becomes narrower toward the upper end of the side wall 6a. The elastic hooks 20 are detachably fit in notches 2h (see Fig. 6) which are formed in the long-side side surface 2a of the body case 2.
When fitting the cover 6 to the body case 2, the cover 6 is fit outside the body case 2 and the cover 6 is pushed toward the body case 2. At this time, the tapered elastic hooks 20 come into contact with the side surface 2a of the body case 2 thereby to open the cover 6 by the thickness of the elastic hooks 20. Once the elastic hooks 20 are moved to the position of the notches 2h, the cover 6 returns to its original size and the elastic hooks 20 are fit in the notches 2h thereby to prevent the cover 6 from dropping from the body case 2. In the cover 6, the three grooves 12, 13 are formed corresponding to the three protrusions 10, 11 of the body case 2. As such, the cover 6 can be prevented from getting snagged on the protrusions 10, 11 of the body case 2.
Fig. 5 illustrates the body case 2 with the cover 6 on. The three protrusions 10, 11 of the body case 2 are fit in the three grooves 12, 13 of the cover 6. As the height of each protrusion 10, 11 is equal to or greater than the thickness of the cover 6, the protrusions 10, 11 slightly protrude from the cover 6 even when the cover 6 is on the body case 2.
As illustrated in Fig. 2, as the body case 2 is mounted on the upper surface of the frame by the fastening member 9, the head of the fastening member 9 comes out at the lower surface side of the body case 2, which is unattractive. In order to hide the head of the fastening member 9, the cover 6 is provided.
Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating parts inside the body case 2. In the body case 2, an arm block 21 as a part of the retractable arm 4, the biasing mechanism 22 for applying a torque in the opening or closing direction of the door d and the damper mechanism 23 for attenuating the impact when closing the door are provided. The arm block 21 is positioned at the center of the body case 2 in the longitudinal direction. The biasing mechanism 22 is positioned at one side of the body case 2 in the longitudinal direction and the damper mechanism 23 is positioned at the other side of the body case 2 in the longitudinal direction in such a way that the arm block 21 is sandwiched between the damper mechanism 23 and the biasing mechanism 22.
The outline structure of each part is described below. The body case 2 has a bottom plate part that forms the upper surface 2c and side wall parts that form the paired side surfaces 2a. The cross section of the body case 2 is U shaped. The body case 2 has the upper surface and end surfaces in the longitudinal direction, where openings 24a, 24b are formed for installation of parts. In the bottom plate part of the body case 102, the arm axis hole 3 is formed for exposing the fit hole 5a in which the retractable arm 4 is fit. This body case 2 is manufactured by sheet metal processing of bending a thin plate. The body case 2 is covered with a case cover 14 that forms the bottom surface 2d.
The arm block 21 is a central part from structural and assembly points of view. The arm block 21 has a cylindrical arm axis 5 at the center. The arm axis 5 has the fit hole 5a at the center, which is an approximately square-shaped hole. Around the arm axis 5, holes are formed at off-center positions of the arm axis 5 for insertion of a first link shaft 26 and a second link shaft 27. At upper and lower ends of the arm block 21, bearing plates 43 are provided. Each of the bearing plate 43 has a hole formed therein, in which the outer peripheral part of the arm axis 5 is inserted. The arm block 21 is rotatable relative to the bearing plates 43. The bearing plates 43 are fixed by inserting rivets into arm base mounting holes 2f and 14a formed in the body case 2 and case cover 114.
As illustrated in Fig. 2, a retractable armmain body 19 is mounted on the arm block 21. The retractable arm main body 19 has an approximately rectangular fit axis 4a at the rotational axis part, which is fit in the fit hole 5a of the arm block. As illustrated in Fig. 6, in the arm block 21, the first link shaft 26 and the second link shaft 27 are inserted at off-center positions of the arm axis 5. On the first link shaft 26, a force of the compression spring 28 of the biasing mechanism 22 is always applied thereto. With this spring force of the compression spring 18, a force for retracting the door d acts on the retractable arm 4 via the arm block 21. The second link shaft 27 is connected to a slide block 31 of the damper mechanism 23. When the retractable arm 4 rotates in the closing direction, the slide block 31 pushes the head of a rod 32a of a damper 32. Therefore, even when the retractable arm 4 tries to rotate quickly in the closing direction, the damper 32 damps rotation of the retractable arm 4.
Next description is made about the detailed structure of each part. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the biasing mechanism 22 has the first link shaft 26, a first link 33, a spring linking shaft 36, a slide spring case 34, a compression spring 28, a spring catch 35, position adjusting means for adjusting the position of the spring catch 35, and a spring base 18. In the spring base 18, the above-mentioned projections 10 (not shown) are formed integral therewith. The position adjusting means has an adjusting plate 16, an adjusting screw 40 and an adjusting nut 17.
The slide spring case 34 is movable linearly in the longitudinal direction of the body case 2 and linear movement of the slide spring case 34 is guided by the inner wall surface of the body case 2. The slide spring case 34 moves linearly in the longitudinal direction in conjunction with rotation of the retractable arm 4. In the body case 2, a claw 2g is formed for guiding the linear movement of the slide spring case 34 and restricting the stroke of the slide spring case to fall within a predetermined distance.
The first link 33 is connected rotatable to the arm block 21 and the slide spring case 34. Two holes are formed at the off-center positions of the arm axis 5 of the arm block 21. In one of the holes, the first link shaft 26 is inserted into the first link 33 from above so that the first link 33 is connected to the arm block 21. At the other end of the first link 33, the spring linking shaft 36 is fit therein. This spring linking shaft 36 is used to connect the slide spring case 34 to the first link 33.
In the slide spring case 34, a large hole is formed of which the diameter is slightly larger than the diameter of the compression spring 28. The compression spring 28 is placed in this hole. The compression spring 28 biases the slide spring case 34 toward the arm block 21. At the opposite side of the compression spring 28 to the slide spring case 34, a spring catch 35 is arranged with a hole of which the diameter is slightly larger than the diameter of the compression spring 28. The compression spring 28 is compressed between the slide spring case 34 and the spring catch 35. The spring catch 35 has the adjusting plate 16 at the opposite side to the compression spring 28. The biasing force of the compression spring 28 is received via the adjusting plate 16 and adjusting screw 40, finally by the spring base 18. The spring base 18 is fixed to the end of the body case 2 via a rivet, screw or the like. The spring base 18 and the case cover 14 have mounting holes 18a, 14b for connecting of the spring base 18.
The position of the spring catch 35 in the longitudinal direction of the body case 2 is adjustable by turning the adjusting screw 40 mounted on the spring base 18 with the adjusting nut 17, which enables to adjust a biasing force of the compression spring 28.
This damper mechanism 23 has a second link shaft 27, a second link 15, a damper linking shaft 25, a slide block 31, a damper 32 and a damper base 38.
The slide block 31 is movable linearly in the longitudinal direction of the body case 2. Linear movement of the slide spring case 34 is guided by the inner wall surface of the body case 2. The slide block 31 moves linearly in the longitudinal direction in conjunction with rotation of the retractable arm 4.
The second link 15 is connected rotatable to the arm block 21 and the slide block 31. Out of two holes formed at off-center positions of the arm axis 5 of the arm block 21, the first link shaft 26 passes through one hole and the second link shaft 27 passes through the other hole and the second link 15 so that the second link 15 is linked to the arm block 21. At the other end of the second link 15, a damper linking shaft 25 is fit therein. This damper linking shaft 25 is used to connect the slide block 31 to the second link 115.
The damper 32 used here is an extendable damper of which a rod 32a moves relative to a main body 32b. When the rod 32a contracts relative to the main body 32b, a damping force is generated against the movement of the rod 32a. In this example, two, right and left, dampers 132 are used in combination.
At ends of the body case 2 and the case cover 14, the damper base 38 is connected with use of a rivet, screw or the like. In the damper base 38 and the case cover 14, mounting holes 38a, 14c are formed for connection of the damper base 38. The damper base 138 acts as a holding member of the dampers 132.
The operation of the door opening and closing device 1 is as follows. The retractable arm 4 rotates from the open state as illustrated in Fig. 7(a) to the closed state as illustrated in Fig. 7 (c). When the retractable arm 4 is in the open state, the retractable arm 4 is given a torque further in the opening direction by a spring force of the compression spring 28 of the biasing mechanism 22. Therefore, the retractable arm 104 is kept in the open state. When the retractable arm 4 is rotated in the closing direction against the spring force of the compression spring 28, it reaches a change point of the biasing mechanism 22. Then, when it passes by the change point of the biasing mechanism 22, the retractable arm 4 is given a torque in the closing direction by the spring force of the compression spring28. This enables to close the door d automatically. Inaddition, in conjunction with rotation of the retractable arm 4 in the closing direction, the slide block 31 pushes the heads of the rods 32a of the dampers 32. This enables slow rotation of the retractable arm 4.
When opening the door d in the closed state as illustrated in Fig. 7(c), the retractable arm 4 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction. As illustrated in Fig. 7(b), when passing by the change point of the biasing mechanism 22, the retractable arm 4 is given a torque in the opening direction by the spring force of the compression spring 28.
Fig. 8 is an exploded view of the catch 8. The catch 8 has a mounting stay 81, a catchmain body 80 and a catch cover 82. The mounting stay 81 is fixed to the door d. In the mounting stay 81, a narrow long hole 88a is formed which is elongated in the horizontal direction. The mounting stay 81 is fixed to the door d with use of a fastening member 84 such as a wood screw, stop screw or the like. The position of the mounting stay 81 in the horizontal direction is adjusted within a length of the long hole 88a. The catch main body is fixed to the mounting stay 81 via a long hole 81a by a catch mounting nut 85 and a catch mounting screw 83. The catch main body 80 and the mounting stay 81 have serrations at contact surfaces thereof (filled in black in the figure). The long hole 81a is used to adjust the mounting position of the catch main body 80 relative to the door d vertically. The catch cover 82 is fit to the catch main body 80. The catch cover 82 has a notch 82a that is little larger than the groove part 80a of the catch main body 80 so as not to prevent movement of the retractable arm 4.
Fig. 9(a) illustrates the door opening and closing device 1 mounted at a corner of the frame. As illustrated in Fig. 9(a), when mounting the body case 2 of the door opening and closing device 1 at the corner of the frame upper surface a, the two protrusions 10 at the long-side side of the body case 2 are pushed against the door stop f and the one protrusion 11 at the short-side side is pushed against the frame side surface b. Then, the body case 2 can be positioned properly at the corner of the frame upper surface a even when the abutment surface of the door stop f is not completely flat. Once the body case 2 can be positioned suitably at the corner of the frame upper surface 2a, the fastening member 9 such as a wood screw is used to fasten the body case 2 to the frame upper surface 2.
Fig. 9(b) illustrates the body case 2 with the cover 6 on. As illustrated in Fig. 9(a), between the long-side side surface 2a of the body case 2 and the door stop f and between the short-side surface 2b of the body case 2 and the frame side surface b, there are created gaps g, h by the height of the protrusions 10, 11. These gaps g, f are highly visible and look bad or unattractive. As these gaps g, h can be covered by placing the cover 6 on, its appearance can be enhanced. The thickness of each of the side walls 6a, 6b of the cover 6 is equal to or less than the height of the protrusions 10, 11 of the body case 2 from the side surfaces 2a, 2b, and the grooves 12, 13 are formed in the cover 6 corresponding to the protrusions. As such, the cover 6 can be fit on the body case 2 even after the body case 2 is mounted on the frame upper surface.
Here, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and may be embodied in various forms without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the door opening and closing device may be mounted on the door side and the catch may be mounted on the frame side.
The number of protrusions provided on the long-side side surface is preferably two or more and four protrusions may be provided at four corners of the side surface. If the door opening and closing device is not placed at the corner, the protrusion at the short-side side may be omitted. Each protrusion may be made of rubber or bonded to the body case.
As to the outer shape of the door opening and closing device, it is preferably in the cuboid shape having a bottom surface and side surfaces, and its upper surface may be curved. Besides, the door opening and closing device may be formed as a cube.
The number of grooves of the cover may be different from the number of protrusions, and one groove may be provided for fitting of the plural protrusions therein.
The structure of each part inside the body case may be modified. For example, the damper mechanism may be omitted, the linking mechanism for rotating the arm may be replaced with a rack-and-pinion mechanism. The retractable arm may not be rotated relative to the body case and may move linearly relative to the body case.
The present specification is based on Japanese Patent Applications No. 2010-111767 filed on May 14, 2010 , the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

1: door opening and closing device
2: body case
2a: long-side side surface of body case
2b: short-side side surface of body case
2c: upper surface of body case
2d: bottom surface of body case
4: retractable arm (movable member)
6: cover
8: catch
10, 11: protrusion
12, 13: groove
20: elastic hook

Claims

A door opening and closing device for assisting at least one of opening operation and closing operation of a door, comprising:
a body case which is mounted on either one of the door and a frame; and

a movable member which is provided movable on the body case and collaborates with a catch that is mounted on the other of the door and the frame,

wherein the body case is formed in a cuboid shape and has a bottom surface that is attached to either one of the door and the frame and

at least one protrusion is provided at a side surface of the body case.
The door opening and closing device of claim 1, wherein the body case is formed in a cuboid shape elongated in one direction and has a long-side side surface and a short-side side surface, and
in the long-side side surface, at least two protrusions are provided separated from each other in a longitudinal direction of the body case.
The door opening and closing device of claim 2, wherein at least one protrusion is provided in the short-side side surface of the body case.
The door opening and closing device of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a cover configured to cover the body case, wherein a thickness of the cover is equal to or less than a height of each of the protrusions of the body case so that the cover can be fit on the body case after the body case is mounted on either one of the door and the frame.
The door opening and closing device of claim 4, wherein the cover has a groove formed therein corresponding to the protrusions.
The door opening and closing device of claim 4, wherein
The cover is provided with an elastic hook that is engageable with the body case, and
The cover is mounted detachable on the body case with use of the elastic hook.