EP3868993A1 - Sliding door, especially a cooling room sliding door - Google Patents

Abstract

It is a sliding door, in particular a sliding refrigerator door, with at least one door leaf (1) which can be moved along a running rail (2), with a drive (11, 12, 15) for moving the door leaf (1) along the running rail (2) ), a coupling device (17, 19) being provided between the door leaf (1) and the drive (11, 12, 15).

Description

The invention relates to a sliding door, in particular a refrigerator sliding door.

Cold room doors of the type in question are state of the art and are manufactured, for example, by EMS Isolation Doors GmbH in Pansdorf. They typically have a door leaf laminated with stainless steel, which is provided with highly insulating foam on the inside and which is intended to close a door opening of a cold room. For this purpose, a running rail with a round cross-section is arranged above the opening on the outside of the cooling space, on which the door leaf is movably guided by means of two brackets, each of which carries a roller. The running rail protrudes laterally over the door opening, so that the door leaf is arranged in its open end position next to the door opening and completely exposes it, while in the closed position it completely covers the door opening. The design of the running rail and a lowering mechanism ensure that the door leaf is pressed against the outside of the cold room wall in its closed position and is lowered on the bottom so that the door leaf with the seals attached to it tightly closes the door opening. Such sliding doors, which are also available in a double-leaf design, are relatively heavy, especially with large designs and door leaf thicknesses, such as are required for freezer rooms and shock rooms, and difficult to move due to their inertia, despite the good roller bearings.

On the other hand, in the case of sliding doors, it is part of the state of the art to move them with the aid of an electric motor, so that the door can be opened and closed again by an operator without force using a corresponding control device. One problem with this, however, can be that if the electric drive fails, manual operation of the door is only possible with great difficulty, since the movement resistance of the door drive has to be overcome. This can be problematic in particular with the cold room sliding doors in question, since for safety reasons these must always be designed so that a person in the cold room can open the door by hand at any time and thus get out of the cold room. Conversely, it should also be possible to close an open refrigerator door manually in the event of a power failure.

Against this background, the invention is based on the object of designing a sliding door, in particular a sliding refrigerator door of the type mentioned at the outset, in such a way that even if the drive fails, it can be opened or closed without problems.

This object is achieved according to the invention with a sliding door having the features specified in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims, the following description and the drawings.

The sliding door according to the invention, which is in particular a sliding refrigerator door, has at least one door leaf which can be moved along a running rail to open or close the door. The sliding door is equipped with a drive for moving the door leaf along the running rail and, according to the invention, has a coupling device between the door leaf and the drive, with which the drive can be decoupled or coupled.

The sliding door according to the invention can be a single-leaf or multi-leaf sliding door, which in principle can be provided for closing door openings in any rooms. It is particularly suitable for closing door openings in cold stores. In the context of the invention, this also includes freezer rooms, deep-freeze rooms, shock rooms and the like, which are particularly concerned with the thermal closure of such a room.

The basic idea of the present invention is on the one hand to provide a drive, typically an electric drive, for moving the door leaf along the running rail, so that even large and heavy door leaves can be opened and closed quickly and without manual effort. On the other hand, however, if the drive fails, for example in the event of a power failure, the door can be opened and / or closed manually without having to overcome the resistance of the drive. For this purpose, according to the invention, a coupling device is provided with which it is possible to uncouple the drive and, if necessary, also to couple it again in order to switch to the (non-manual) drive mode.

The drive is advantageously carried out via an electric motor, but can also be provided pneumatically or hydraulically, depending on the environmental situation and the available energy source.

The electric motor drive typically takes place via a gear unit which converts the rotational movement of the motor into a linear movement in the direction of travel of the door leaf. Such a gear can be formed, for example, by a spindle gear. However, it is particularly advantageous to use a traction mechanism, since this can be adapted particularly easily to different door leaf sizes and thus travel paths and, moreover, is inexpensive to purchase and requires little maintenance. In the case of a traction drive, this is Traction means are advantageously attached parallel to the running rail and close to the running rail. The coupling device is advantageously arranged between the traction mechanism and the door leaf or the traction mechanism and a bracket on the door leaf. In principle, the coupling device can also be arranged between the drive motor and the transmission.

Arranging the traction means parallel to the running rail and as close as possible to it is advantageous, since only small levers then have to be overcome, and such an arrangement is also particularly suitable for refrigerator sliding doors in which the door leaf is arranged hanging on a running rail. Then the moving parts, such as guide rollers, gears and drive motor, are protected above the door leaf, where they are easily accessible on the one hand, but cannot be reached by people during normal operation on the other.

The traction mechanism can in principle be driven at any desired but suitable point. It is particularly advantageous to provide this in the area of the deflection, since in the deflection areas in a traction mechanism gear or chain wheels or pulleys are required anyway, which cause the deflection from the upper run to the lower run and vice versa.

It is particularly advantageous to use a traction mechanism that works in a form-fitting manner, since the position detection is then simple, in particular can be done via the electric motor itself or a corresponding incremental encoder. The positional orientation is important, since in particular the end positions, namely the open position of the door and the closed position of the door, have to be approached repeatedly. In practice, a toothed belt drive has proven itself, which works without slippage and maintenance-free and especially in connection can be used advantageously with the coupling device described below.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the coupling device has a driver which is arranged on the pulling means side. If, which is advantageous, this driver is also to be controlled by its own weight, then it is useful to arrange it in the upper run of the traction mechanism, since there is sufficient space at the top to enable the driver to move upwards against its weight.

On the door leaf side, the coupling device according to the invention preferably has a pin which is fastened at a suitable point on the door leaf side and whose longitudinal axis is directed transversely to the door leaf surface. It is particularly advantageous if this pin is part of a holder which connects the door leaf to a roller which is required in any case to connect the door leaf to the running rail.

This holder typically has an axis on which the roller is rotatably mounted. It is then particularly advantageous if the pin is formed and arranged in alignment with the axis, preferably in its continuation. This pin can then be formed in a simple manner by making minor structural changes to the bracket and at the same time ensures that the force applied to move the door leaf takes place at a suitable point, namely where the bracket has to absorb the weight and / or thrust force for the door leaf anyway .

The coupling device is advantageously designed so that it is automatically uncoupled in at least one end position of the sliding door. In the case of a refrigerator door, this end position is preferably the position in which the door is closed. Additionally or alternatively, such automatic decoupling can also be provided in the fully open position or in any intermediate position. Such an automatically decoupling configuration has the advantage that the door is decoupled from the drive in at least one, preferably both end positions, so that if the drive fails, the door can easily be opened or closed manually without the need for manual decoupling beforehand is. Such a configuration is advantageously combined with an automatic coupling, that is to say the coupling device is designed in such a way that automatic coupling takes place when the drive is activated. In this way, when the drive is actuated, regardless of the position of the door leaf, the door is automatically engaged, after which the door is then taken along by the drive, that is to say moved along the running rail to one or the other end position or possibly also to an intermediate position.

When using a toothed belt as a traction device, a connecting element must be provided which connects the toothed belt ends to form a continuous belt. Such a connecting element can advantageously be formed by a suitable configuration of the driver, in which these ends are detachably fixed.

The driver itself can be of simple construction, for example made of flat material (sheet metal) and have a recess that is open at the bottom for receiving the pin. Advantageously, in front of and behind the recess in the direction of the traction means, it has run-on bevels which are provided to effect decoupling, for example in the end positions, by means of suitable stationary rollers or run-on surfaces. In addition, these run-up bevels can be used to ensure that when the driver drives over the pin, the driver is deflected upwards and then lowered in a weight-controlled manner and then engages over the pin with its recess and thus ensures automatic coupling.

In principle, the uncoupling can take place through any suitable run-on surface that is stationary, for example on the door frame or on the wall on which the sliding door is arranged and fastened. It is particularly advantageous to install a roller as a run-on surface, which is rotatably mounted so that only small forces are required when coupling or uncoupling.

It is not necessary, but useful, to provide the pin of the coupling device on one of two brackets with which the door leaf is attached to the running rail via rollers rotatably mounted on the brackets. It is advantageous to arrange the pin on the bracket, which is the rear bracket as seen in the closing direction of the door. In this area there is sufficient space, in particular on the door frame side, for the deflection and the drive of the traction mechanism. Then the door leaf is pushed through the pin in the closing direction and pulled in the opening direction.

In order to be able to reliably determine the position of the coupling device, in particular of the driver, and to ensure that the driver is moved into the end positions in which an automatic decoupling preferably takes place, position detection is advantageous. This takes place advantageously by an incremental encoder of the electric motor or an incremental encoder that is coupled to the electric motor. Electric motors with incremental encoders are available in numerous design variants and performance levels and are comparatively easy to initialize with corresponding self-learning controls.

Alternatively or additionally, limit switches can also be provided according to a development of the invention, which switch off the drive when the open and closed end positions of the door are reached. Such an embodiment is in particular also in connection conceivable with an electromagnetic coupling device, which is always automatically disengaged in the event of a power failure.

Fig. 1

in stark vereinfachter schematischer Darstellung eine Ansicht einer Kühlraumschiebetür in geschlossener Stellung mit entkuppelterKupplungsvorrichtung,

Fig. 2

die Schiebetür in Ansicht gemäß Fig. 1 in teilgeöffneter Stellung mit eingekuppelter Kupplungsvorrichtung,

Fig. 3

eine Ansicht der Schiebetür gemäß Fig. 1 in geöffneter Stellung und ausgekuppelter Kupplungsvorrichtung,

Fig. 4

in stark vergrößerter schematischer Darstellung eine Ansicht auf die Kupplungsvorrichtung in ausgekuppelter Stellung von oben,

Fig. 5

eine Ansicht gemäß Fig. 4 in eingekuppelter Position,

Fig. 6

in stark vergrößerter Ansicht die Kupplungsvorrichtung im ausgekuppelten Zustand,

Fig. 7

die Kupplungsvorrichtung gemäß Fig. 6 beim Ein- bzw. Auskuppeln,

Fig. 8

einen Schnitt durch die Schiebetür im Bereich der Kupplungsvorrichtung und

Fig. 9

eine alternative Ausgestaltung der Kupplungsvorrichtung in Darstellung gemäß Fig. 8.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. Show it:

Fig. 1

a greatly simplified schematic representation of a view of a cold room sliding door in the closed position with the coupling device disconnected,

Fig. 2

the sliding door in view according to Fig. 1 in partially open position with engaged coupling device,

Fig. 3

a view of the sliding door according to Fig. 1 in the open position and disengaged coupling device,

Fig. 4

in a greatly enlarged schematic representation, a view of the coupling device in the uncoupled position from above,

Fig. 5

a view according to Fig. 4 in the engaged position,

Fig. 6

in a greatly enlarged view of the coupling device in the disengaged state,

Fig. 7

the coupling device according to Fig. 6 when engaging or disengaging,

Fig. 8

a section through the sliding door in the area of the coupling device and

Fig. 9

an alternative embodiment of the coupling device shown in FIG Fig. 8 .

When using the Figures 1 to 8 The sliding door shown is a cold room sliding door, which has a view ( Figure 1 to 3 ) has rectangular door leaf 1 which can be moved along a running rail 2 which is attached to a wall 3 above a door opening 4 or to the frame 5 provided for this purpose. The door leaf 1 has on the top two brackets 6 and 7, with a U-shaped bracket 8 made of round material, one leg of which is attached to the top of the door leaf 1 and the other leg, which is arranged at a distance from the top, carries a roller 9 which rests on the running rail 2 and transfers the weight of the door leaf 1 to the running rail 2. The door leaf 1 has a handle 10 on its outside and also on the inside, which is not shown in the drawings. These handles are used to open and close the door by hand.

In addition to being able to be operated manually, an electric motor drive is provided for opening and closing the door. This drive has an electric motor 11, which has an incremental encoder and an angular gear 12 and which is drive-connected via the angular gear 12 to a toothed wheel 13 which is part of a toothed belt drive. The gear 13 forms the in the Figures 1 to 3 right deflection of the toothed belt drive, the left deflection of which is formed by a gear 14. This drive, formed from the electric motor 11, angular gear 12, the gears 13 and 14 and a toothed belt 15, is arranged in a stationary manner, namely on the frame 5 surrounding the door opening 4, but can optionally also be attached directly to the wall 3.

The electric motor is controlled via a controller 16, via which the door leaf 1 is controlled by the in Figure 1 shown, the door opening 4 completely covering the closed position in Figure 3 open position shown is movable and vice versa. Activation takes place via appropriate sensors or switches in the area of the outer handle 10 and the inner handle. A coupling device is arranged between the toothed belt drive and the door leaf 1 and has a driver 17 on the drive side, which is formed from flat material and has a recess 18 which is open at the bottom and is provided for receiving a pin 19. The pin 19 is either, as in the embodiment according to Figures 1 to 8 arranged on a separate bracket 20 between the brackets 6 and 7 approximately centrally on the top of the door leaf 1 and forms part of this bracket 20 or is formed as an extension of a bracket 8, as shown with reference to FIG Figure 9 is shown.

The driver 17 also forms a connecting element for the ends of the toothed belt, which are fixed there. On both sides of the recess 18 (in side view), the driver 17 has bevels 21, as shown in FIG Figures 6 and 7 is visible.

The pin 19 is arranged on the door leaf side in such a way that it is arranged between the upper run 22 and the lower run 23 of the toothed belt drive, in such a way that when the toothed belt 15 is moved, the driver 17 initially comes into contact with the pin 19 in the uncoupled position with a bevel 21. If the driver 17 now moves further, it is raised by the pin 19 in connection with the run-on bevel 21 until it reaches the recess 18. The pin 19 moves into this recess 18 when the driver 17 due to its own weight again (in Figure 7 ) is moved down. Then the driver 17 is positively connected to the pin 19, so that with further movement of the driver 17 the Pin 19 and the attached via the bracket 20 takes the door leaf with it.

To uncouple the coupling device, a stationary run-on surface is required which, in the embodiment shown, is formed by two decoupling rollers 24 which, as in FIG Figures 4 and 5 can be seen, are attached to the frame 5, that is to say stationary on the wall 3. These disengaging rollers 24 are attached in such a way that, when the driver 17 makes contact with these bevels 21 when approaching or driving over them, the driver is lifted, as shown in FIG Figure 7 is shown. By lifting the driver 17, the pin 19 of the bracket 20 is first disengaged. When the driver 17 is passed further, the disengaging roller 24 finally arrives in the region of the recess 18; this is a disengaged end position of the coupling device. When the pin 19 is arranged, the disengaging rollers 24 are arranged approximately in the area of the center of the door leaf 1, as shown in FIG Figures 1 to 3 shown, that is, in such a way that when the door is closed, it is initially moved over the door opening 14 to such an extent that the door opening 4 is completely covered by the door leaf 1 and is also sealed by existing seals. The electric motor 11 moves in this position, which is shown in Figure 7 is shown, the driver 17 arranged in the upper run 22 a little further, so that it disengages and, as it were, engages in this position with the disengaging roller 24 reaching over. The door can now either be opened manually if, for whatever reason, the drive has failed. Since the drive is disengaged, the drive does not generate any additional forces when the door is pushed by hand.

In normal operation, however, the door from the in Figure 1 The closed position shown is moved by activating the electric motor 11 by the controller 16. The driver 17 is now in the opposite direction, so in the Figures 1 to 3 and 6th To the right moves, whereby the driver 17 is lifted by the disengaging roller 24 and drives over it, after which it is lifted by the pin 19, drives over it and then fixes it in its recess 18 in a form-fitting manner and takes it along with the door leaf 1 via the bracket 20, that is the door of the in Figure 1 closed position shown in Figure 3 shown open position moves. It does not matter for the automatic coupling process between the driver 17 and the pin 19 at which point the door leaf is currently, in every position with the exception of the end positions there is an automatic coupling when driving over the pin and subsequent entrainment by the drive.

In the embodiment shown, a disengaging roller 24 is also provided for the fully open position of the door, i.e. after the door has been fully opened, the driver 17 with a bevel 21 reaches a disengaging roller 24, then uncoupling and engages over the disengaging roller 24 in the manner of a latching position. In this position, too, the drive is decoupled, that is, the door leaf 1 can be moved along the running rail 2 by a person using the handle 10 on the outside or a corresponding handle on the inside.

Since the electric motor has an incremental encoder and a corresponding control 16, these two end positions, in which the door is completely open or completely closed and the coupling device is decoupled, can always be reached again after a short learning phase after installation.

Based on Figure 9 The embodiment variant shown differs from the one described above in that the pin 19a is not arranged on the bracket 20, but on the bracket 8 of the holder 7. The bracket 8 thus not only forms the axis of rotation for the roller 9 here, but is also extended and forms the pin 19a, which in Figure 9 marked as 19a. This arrangement has the advantage that the bracket 20 can be omitted.

List of reference symbols

1

Door leaf

2

Running track

3

Wall

4th

Door opening

5

frame

6th

Bracket on the left

7th

Bracket on the right

8th

hanger

9

Caster

10

Handle

11

Electric motor

12th

Angular gear

13th

Drive and deflection gear

14th

Deflection gear

15th

Timing belt

16

steering

17th

Carrier

18th

Recess

19th

Cones

19a

Cones in Figure 9

20th

hanger

21

Starting bevels of the driver 17

22nd

Upper run

23

Lower run

24

Disengaging rollers

Claims (15)

Sliding door, in particular sliding refrigerator door, with at least one door leaf (1) which can be moved along a running rail (2), with a drive (11, 12, 15) for moving the door leaf (1) along the running rail (2), characterized in that, that a coupling device (17, 19) is provided between the door leaf (1) and the drive (11, 12, 15). Sliding door according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive (12, 12, 15) has an electric motor (11) which drives a traction mechanism (13, 14, 15), the coupling device (17, 19) between the traction mechanism (13 , 14, 15) and the door leaf (1) or a holder (6, 7, 20) is arranged on the door leaf (1). Sliding door according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the traction means (15) is guided parallel to the running rail (2) and is preferably driven in the area of its deflection. Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the traction mechanism is a form-fitting traction mechanism (13, 14, 15), preferably a toothed belt mechanism (13, 14, 15). Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coupling device (17, 19) has a driver (17) which is arranged on the traction means side, preferably in the upper run (22) of the traction means (13, 14, 15). Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coupling device (17, 19) has a pin (19) on the door leaf side, which is preferably part of a holder (6, 7) which the door leaf (1) with a roller (9) connects, which runs on the running rail (2). Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holder (6, 7) has an axis on which the roller (9) is rotatably mounted and that the pin (19a) is aligned with the axis, preferably in its continuation. Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coupling device (17, 19) is designed to be automatically uncoupling in at least one end position of the sliding door, preferably in the end position in which the door is closed. Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coupling device (17, 19) is designed in such a way that when the drive (11, 12, 15) is activated, an automatic coupling takes place. Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ends of the traction means (15) are connected by the driver (17) and are detachably fixed therein. Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the driver (17) has a downwardly open recess (18) for receiving the pin (19) and that, seen in the direction of the traction means, run-up bevels (21) are provided in front of and / or behind the recess (18). Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a roller (24) or a ramp surface is provided in a stationary manner and is arranged in such a way that it moves the driver (17) from its engaged position into a disengaged position in an end position of the door. Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the door leaf (1) has two brackets (6, 7) and rollers (9) rotatably mounted thereon, with which it is suspended from the running rail (2) and that the in As seen in the closing direction, the rear bracket (7) has the pin (19a) of the coupling device (17, 19). Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electric motor (11) has an incremental encoder or is coupled to such an incremental encoder. Sliding door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that limit switches are provided which switch off the drive when the open and closed end positions of the door are reached.

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