EP3312373B1

EP3312373B1 - Easy-to-clean lower slide device for shower door

Info

Publication number: EP3312373B1
Application number: EP16892931.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Wuxiang Wei
Original assignee: Ideal Sanitary Ware Co Ltd
Current assignee: Ideal Sanitary Ware Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-09-08
Filing date: 2016-09-08
Publication date: 2019-05-08
Anticipated expiration: 2036-09-08
Also published as: EP3312373A1; CN106460428A; EP3312373A4; WO2018045527A1; CN106460428B

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the technical field of shower doors, and more particularly to a lower sliding device in a shower door.

Background Technology

The existing sliding shower doors are usually provided with upper and lower tracks and movable door sheets, wherein a sliding groove is provided on one side of the lower track, and upper and lower pulleys are mounted on the movable door sheets, and the pulleys can slide on the lower track, there is a certain distance between the movable door sheets and the lower track during sliding along the lower track. On one hand, since the sliding groove is located on the side of the lower track, when the user looks outward from the shower door, it is possible to see the sliding groove of the lower track and the sliding wheels, which has an influence on the aesthetics; On the other hand, the shower door needs to be cleaned in a timely manner, and in the existing shower door structure, since it is troublesome to separate the lower track from the movable door sheets, it is more difficult to clean the fouling dirt between the lower track and the movable door sheets.
European patent application EP 1938723A2 discloses a shower which has a sliding door and arranged between an upper and the lower section is a profile. The door arranged in the upper area has a sliding fitting which slides in a profile. The upper and lower fittings are identical, with the lower mounting position activated and a display of the door permitting a contact from the lower profile. An independent claim is included for a fitting for a door.
German patent application DE 202013007993U1 discloses a shower door assembly with self-closing function, comprising an upper frame with sliding groove; a roller mechanism with rollers, wherein the rollers are received in the sliding groove, characterized in that the shower door assembly further comprises a damper, the damper being fixedly connected to the upper frame and having a first driving element, and wherein the roller Mechanism further comprises a second drive element, and wherein upon closing and opening the shower door, the first drive element and the second drive element each exert a force on each other, so that the first drive element and the second drive element are driven for movement.
Chinese patent application CN 105683470A discloses a concealed easy-clean shower door sliding device including a rail with a chute, a pulley seat installed on a movable door sheet, and a pulley yoke provided with a pulley. The pulley yoke and the rail form relative slip fit. A first magnetic member is arranged on the pulley yoke. A second magnetic member is arranged on the pulley seat. The fixture or separation of the pulley yoke and the pulley seat are realized through the adsorption or separation of the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member .

Summary of the Invention

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an easy-to-clean shower door lower sliding device in regarding to the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.
In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides an easy-to-clean shower door lower sliding device according to claim 1. The easy-to-clean shower door lower sliding device, comprising a pulley holder, a pulley support and a pulley mounted on the pulley support, and a disengageable connection is formed between the pulley holder and the pulley support, a control cover reciprocally movable relative to the pulley holder is provided on the pulley holder, and a spring is provided between the control cover and the pulley holder; the pulley support has a cavity for receiving the pulley holder, wherein the pulley holder comprises a holder body and elastic latches provided on both sides thereof, the pulley holder is engaged with the pulley support via the elastic latches, and the pulley holder is disengageable from the pulley support by compressing the elastic latches by the control cover; the elastic latches have roots connected to the holder body, and the bodies of the elastic latches are angled with respect to the holder body, and guide surfaces on which the control cover is slidable are formed at outsides of the elastic latches.
In a further technical solution, tops of the elastic latches are provided with positioning bosses, and positioning grooves which cooperate with the positioning bosses are provided on the holder body; the elastic latches produce outward elastic force when the positioning bosses are pressed into the positioning grooves while compression clearances are formed between the elastic latches and the holder body.
In a further technical solution, the control cover has a top plate, a first side wall, a second side wall and a third side wall extending out from one side of the top plate, and a semi-enclosed cavity is formed among the three side walls; the side edges of the first side wall and the third side wall far away from the second side wall are respectively formed with oppositely convex flanges; the control cover is placed over the top of the pulley holder and is above the elastic latches and is slidable up and down relative to the pulley holder, when the control cover slides down, the elastic latches are compressed inwardly toward the holder body under the action of the control cover, when the control cover slides up, the elastic latches are ejected outwardly away from the holder body; the flanges are provided thereon with limit teeth which cooperate with bosses at the top of the holder body to prevent the control cover from being disengaged from the pulley holder.
In a further technical solution, the pulley support has a main support plate, a front side of the main support plate is provided with a bending plate extending forwardly from the bottom of the main support plate and bending to extend upwardly, and the pulley is mounted on an upper portion of the bending plate; two side plates extend from both sides of the main support plate away from the bending plate, a cavity is formed between the two side plates and the main support plate, and two guide baffles extend from the ends of the two side plates toward a middle of the main support plate to define the slots respectively.
In a further technical solution, further comprised is a lower track for sliding the pulley support thereon, and the lower track is provided with a pulley groove for rolling the pulley along the same, one side of the pulley groove is provided with a baffle, and a notch for extending the bending plate of the pulley support into the pulley groove is provided between the lower portion of the baffle and the pulley groove.
In a further technical solution, a spring receiving groove for mounting the spring is provided in an upper intermediate position of the holder body, and an inner surface of the top plate of the control cover is provided with a spring positioning post. In a further technical solution, a lower portion of the holder body is provided with a first magnetic member mounting position, and a second magnetic member mounting position is provided at a central portion of the inner surface of the main support plate toward the cavity, and magnetic members for attracting the pulley holder to the pulley support are mounted in the magnetic member mounting positions respectively.
In a further technical solution, further comprised is a movable door sheet fixed on the pulley holder, and the movable door sheet is provided with a through hole, and the pulley holder is provided with a screw through hole, and the pulley holder is fixedly connected with the movable door sheet through a screw passing through the through hole and the screw through hole.
According to the above technical solution, it can be seen that the shower door lower sliding device of the present invention fixes the pulley support to the pulley holder through the elastic latches. When the cleaning is required, the control cover moves downwardly relative to the pulley holder as long as it is pressed downwardly; the control cover slides along the guide surfaces of the elastic latches of the pulley holder so that the elastic latches are compressed inwardly, thus the contact of the elastic latches with the two side plates of the pulley support disappears and the pulley holder is separated from the pulley support so as to separate the movable door sheet from the lower track. After the cleaning is completed, the external force is removed, under the gravity of the movable door sheet, the pulley holder gets close to the pulley support, and the pulley holder enters the cavity of the pulley support. The elastic latches on both sides of the pulley holder are in contact with the two guide baffles of the pulley support, so that the elastic latches are compressed inwardly and then enter the slots, the elastic latches are ejected outwardly to be in contact with the two side plates and the guide baffles to prevent the pulley support from being disengaged from the pulley holder so as to achieve fixation again. The operation is simple and convenient, and the sliding groove of the track and the pulley can be hidden, therefore, the appearance will be more attractive.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application position of a shower door lower sliding device in a shower door according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an assembly structure between a shower door lower sliding device and a lower track and a movable door sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the assembly structure as shown in Fig. 2.
Figs. 4a to 4c are various schematic views from different angles of the pulley holder of the shower door lower sliding device as shown in Fig. 2.
Figs. 4d to 4e are various schematic views from different angles of the pulley holder of the shower door lower sliding device as shown in Fig. 2 in the pre-compressed state.
Figs. 5a to 5c are various schematic views from different angles of the pulley support of the shower door lower sliding device as shown in Fig. 2.
Figs. 6a and 6b are various schematic views from different angles of the control cover of the shower door lower sliding device as shown in Fig. 2.
Figs. 7a and 7b are various schematic views from different angles of the pulley holder and the control cover assembly of the shower door lower sliding device as shown in Fig. 2.
Figs. 7c and 7d are various schematic views from different angles of the assembly as shown in Fig. 7a when the control cover is in the compressed state.
Fig. 8 is a top view of the shower door lower sliding device as shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 9 is a schematic view of the lower track of the assembly structure as shown in Fig. 2.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments

Various embodiments of the invention will be described in detail below, in which embodiments will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and described in the following description, and the other elements which do not affect the scope of protection of the claims of the present application are omitted in the drawings. It is to be noted that while the present invention will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these exemplary embodiments. In contrast, the present invention not only includes these embodiments, but also various modifications and improvements, as defined by the claims.
Referring to Fig. 1, an embodiment of the present invention is applied at a position in the shower door, such as positions A, B, C and D.
Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, there is shown a main component of a shower door lower sliding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the Figures, the shower door lower sliding device includes a pulley holder 10, a control cover 50 placed over the pulley holder 10, a spring 60, a magnetic member 70, a pulley support 20, a pulley support 30 and a lower track 40 and the like.
The pulley 30 is mounted on the pulley support 20 and is slidable along the lower track 40. The pulley holder 10 is mounted on the movable door sheet 80 and the pulley support 20 and the pulley holder 10 employ elastic latches 102 and 103 on both sides of the pulley holder 10 for fixation.
Referring to Figs. 4a to 4e, a screw through hole 101 is provided on the pulley holder 10, and the pulley holder 10 can be mounted on the movable door sheet 80 by using the screw 90 through the through hole 81 and the screw through hole 101 in the movable door sheet 80. The elastic latches 102 and 103, above which a control cover 50 is provided, are provided on both sides of the pulley holder 10, and the spring 60 is provided between the control cover 50 and the pulley holder 10.
The material of the pulley holder 10 may be a plastic having elasticity, such as nylon. The elastic latches 102 and 103 provided on both sides of the pulley holder 10 have roots connected to the body of the pulley holder 10, and the bodies of the elastic latches 102 and 103 are angled with respect to the body of the pulley holder 10, tops of the elastic latches 102 and 103 are provided with positioning bosses 104, the body of the pulley holder 10 is provided with a positioning groove 105, and the positioning bosses 104 of the elastic latches 102 and 103 are pressed into the positioning groove 105 through external force, the roots of the elastic latches will produce outward resilience due to deformation while the elastic latches 102, 103 and the body of the pulley holder 10 still have certain compression clearances 107 therebetween which allow further inward deformation of the elastic latches 102 and 103. One side of each of the latches 102, 103 has a guide surface 109. The lower portion of the body of the pulley holder 10 is provided with a square hole 1011 for mounting the magnetic member 70.
Referring to Figs. 5a to 5c, the pulley support 20 has a main support plate 203, a bending plate 201 is provided on the front side of the main support plate 203, and screw holes 202 of the mounting pulley 30 are provided at an upper portion of the bending plate 201; the bending plate 201 extends forwardly from the bottom of the main support plate 203 and is bent to extend upwardly and two side plates 204 and 205 extend out from both sides of the main support plate 203 away from the bending plate 201, and a cavity 2011 is formed between the two side plates 204 and 205 and the main support plates 203, and two guide baffles 206 and 207 extend from the ends of the side plates 204 and 205 toward the middle of the main support plate and thereby defining the slots 208 and 209. The main support plate 203 is provided with a square groove 2010 for mounting the magnetic member 70 at the central portion of the inner surface thereof toward the cavity 2011.
When the pulley holder 10 gets close to the pulley support 20, and the pulley holder 10 enters the cavity of the pulley support 20, the elastic latches 102 and 103 on both sides of the pulley holder 10 are in contact with the two guide baffles 206 and 207 of the pulley support 20, so that the elastic latches 102 and 103 are compressed inwardly and then enter the slots 208 and 209, the elastic latches 102 and 103 are ejected outwardly to be in contact with the two side plates 204 and 205 and the guide baffles 206 and 207 to prevent the pulley support 20 from being disengaged from the pulley holder 10.
The square hole 1011 of the pulley holder 10 and the square groove 2010 of the pulley support 20 are respectively provided with a magnetic member 70, both of which allow the pulley holder 10 and the pulley holder 20 to be attracted together so as to reduce the noises resulted from the clearances.
As shown in Fig. 9, the lower track 40 is provided with a pulley groove 401, and a baffle 402 is provided on one side of the pulley groove 401, and a notch 403 is provided between the lower portion of the baffle 402 and the pulley groove 401. The bending plate 201 of the pulley support 20 can be stretched into the pulley groove 401 through the notch 403 of the lower track 40, and the pulley 30 comes into contact with the pulley groove 401 so that the pulley support 20 is pre-mounted on the lower track 40.
Referring to Figs. 6a and 6b, the control cover 50 has a top plate 501, a first side wall 502, a second side wall 503 and a third side wall 504 extending from a side of the top plate 501 form a semi-enclosed cavity 505. The oppositely convex flanges 506, 507 are respectively formed on the side edges of the first side wall 502 and the third side wall 504 away from the second side wall 503. The control cover 50 may be placed over the top of the pulley holder 10 and may slide up and down relative to the pulley holder 10. The flanges 506, 507 are provided with limiting teeth 508 which cooperate with the bosses 108 at the top of the body of the pulley holder 10 to prevent the control cover 50 from being disengaged from the pulley holder 10.
A spring receiving groove 1010 for mounting the spring 60 is provided at an upper middle position of the body of the pulley holder 10, the inner surface of the top plate 501 of the control cover 50 is provided with a spring positioning post 509 for fixing the end of the spring 60.
Referring to Figs. 7a to 7d, when the control cover 50 is pressed downwardly, the control cover 50 moves downwardly relative to the pulley holder 10, and the first side wall 502 and the third side wall 504 of the control cover 50 moves along the guide surfaces 109 of the elastic latches 102 and 103 of the pulley holder 10, such that the elastic latches 102 and 103 are compressed inwardly so that the contact of the elastic latches 102, 103 with the two side plates 204, 205 of the pulley support 20 disappears, and the pulley holder 10 is disengaged from the pulley support 20; after removal of the external force, the control cover 50 is reset under the action of the spring 60, and the elastic latches 102, 103 are ejected outwardly.

Industrial Applicability

The shower door lower sliding device of the present invention can be industrially manufactured and used, and thus has industrial applicability.

Claims

An easy-to-clean shower door lower sliding device, comprising a pulley holder (10), a pulley support (20) and a pulley (30) mounted on the pulley support (20), and a disengageable connection is formed between the pulley holder (10) and the pulley support (20), wherein a control cover (50) reciprocally movable relative to the pulley holder (10) is provided on the pulley holder (10), and a spring (60) is provided between the control cover (50) and the pulley holder (10); wherein the pulley support (20) has a cavity (2011) for receiving the pulley holder (10), the pulley holder (10) comprises a holder body and elastic latches (102,103) provided on both sides thereof, the pulley holder (10) is engaged with the pulley support (20) via the elastic latches (102,103), and the pulley holder (10) is disengageable from the pulley support (20) by compressing the elastic latches (102,103) with the control cover (50);
characterised in that
the elastic latches (102,103) have roots connected to the holder body, bodies of the elastic latches (102,103) are angled with respect to the holder body, and guide surfaces (109) on which the control cover (50) is slidable are formed at outsides of the elastic latches (102,103).
The shower door lower sliding device according to claim 1, wherein tops of the elastic latches (102,103) are provided with positioning bosses (104), and positioning grooves (105) cooperating with the positioning bosses (104) are provided on the holder body; wherein the elastic latches (102,103) produce outward elastic force when the positioning bosses (104) are pressed into the positioning grooves (105) while compression clearances (107) are formed between the elastic latches (102,103) and the holder body.
The shower door lower sliding device according to claim 1, wherein the control cover (50) has a top plate (501), a first side wall (502), a second side wall (503) and a third side wall (504) extending out from one side of the top plate (501), and a semi-enclosed cavity (505) is formed among the three side walls; the side edges of the first side wall (502) and the third side wall (504) far away from the second side wall (503) are respectively formed with oppositely convex flanges (506,507); wherein the control cover (50) is placed over a top of the pulley holder (10) and is above the elastic latches (102,103) and is slidable up and down relative to the pulley holder (10); and when the control cover (50) slides down, the elastic latches (102,103) are compressed inwardly toward the holder body under the action of the control cover (50); when the control cover (50) slides up, the elastic latches (102,103) are ejected outwardly away from the holder body; the flanges (506,507) are provided thereon with limit teeth which cooperate with bosses (108) at the top of the holder body to prevent the control cover (50) from being disengaged from the pulley holder (10).
The shower door lower sliding device according to claim 1, wherein the pulley support (20) has a main support plate (203), a front side of the main support plate (203) is provided with a bending plate (201) extending forwardly from a bottom of the main support plate (203) and bending to extend upwardly, and the pulley (30) is mounted on an upper portion of the bending plate (201); two side plates (204,205) extend from both sides of the main support plate (203) away from the bending plate (201), a cavity (2011) is formed between the two side plates (204,205) and the main support plate (203), and two guide baffles (206,207) extend from the ends of the two side plates (204,205) toward a middle of the main support plate (203) to define slots (208,209) respectively.
The shower door lower sliding device according to claim 1, further comprising a lower track (40) for sliding the pulley support (20) thereon, wherein the lower track (40) is provided with a pulley groove (401) for rolling the pulley (30) along the same, one side of the pulley groove (401) is provided with a baffle (402), and a notch (403) for extending the bending plate (201) of the pulley support (20) into the pulley groove (401) is provided between a lower portion of the baffle (402) and the pulley groove (401).
The shower door lower sliding device according to claim 1, wherein a spring receiving groove (1010) for mounting the spring (60) is provided in an upper intermediate position of the holder body, and an inner surface of the top plate (501) of the control cover (50) is provided with a spring positioning post (509).
The shower door lower sliding device according to claim 1, wherein a lower portion of the holder body is provided with a first magnetic member mounting position (1011), and a second magnetic member mounting position (2010) is provided at a central portion of the inner surface of the main support plate (203) toward the cavity (2011), and magnetic members (70) for attracting the pulley holder (10) to the pulley support (20) are mounted in the magnetic member mounting positions (1011, 2010) respectively.
The shower door lower sliding device according to claim 1, further comprising a movable door sheet (80) fixed on the pulley holder (10), wherein the movable door sheet (80) is provided with a through hole (81), and the pulley holder (10) is provided with a screw through hole (101), and the pulley holder (10) is fixedly connected with the movable door sheet (80) through a screw (90) passing through the through hole (81) and the screw through hole (101).