ES2600603T3

ES2600603T3 - A flexible door

Info

Publication number: ES2600603T3
Application number: ES14165065.5T
Authority: ES
Inventors: Thomas Patrick Moloney
Original assignee: KENFIELD Ltd
Current assignee: KENFIELD Ltd
Priority date: 2013-04-23
Filing date: 2014-04-17
Publication date: 2017-02-10
Anticipated expiration: 2034-04-17
Also published as: PL2796655T3; EP2796655A1; GB201307330D0; EP2796655B1; GB2511144B; GB2511144A; DK2796655T3; RS55288B1; HUE029416T2

Abstract

Una puerta flexible que comprende: una estructura principal de puerta (10); una disposición de fijación para asegurar la estructura principal de puerta (10) a un marco (11) de puerta; y una disposición (22) de bisagra adaptada para permitir el movimiento batiente articulado de la estructura principal de puerta (10) sobre el marco (11) de puerta entre una configuración cerrada y una configuración al menos parcialmente abierta y caracterizada por que la estructura principal de puerta (10) comprende al menos un miembro elástico (12) de soporte adaptado para permitir que la puerta (10) se flexione con un radio de curvatura cuando se aplica sobre la puerta (10) una fuerza de apertura, en donde la elasticidad proporcionada por el miembro elástico (12) de soporte está configurada de manera que, cuando se aplica sobre la puerta (10) una fuerza de apertura que no llega a una fuerza de apertura umbral, el miembro elástico (12) de soporte y por tanto la estructura principal de puerta (10) se flexionan bajo la acción de dicha fuerza sustancialmente sin que se produzca ningún movimiento batiente articulado en la disposición (22) de bisagra y, cuando se aplica sobre la puerta (10) una fuerza de apertura por encima de dicha fuerza de apertura umbral, además de flexionarse bajo la acción de tal fuerza el miembro elástico (12) de soporte y por lo tanto la estructura principal de puerta (10), se produce movimiento batiente articulado de la puerta (10) en la disposición (22) de bisagra.A flexible door comprising: a main door structure (10); a fixing arrangement to secure the main door structure (10) to a door frame (11); and a hinge arrangement (22) adapted to allow hinged articulated movement of the main door structure (10) over the door frame (11) between a closed configuration and a configuration at least partially open and characterized in that the main structure The door (10) comprises at least one elastic support member (12) adapted to allow the door (10) to flex with a radius of curvature when an opening force is applied on the door (10), where the elasticity provided by the elastic support member (12) is configured such that, when an opening force is applied to the door (10) that does not reach a threshold opening force, the elastic support member (12) and therefore the main door structure (10) flexes under the action of said force substantially without any hinged movement articulated in the hinge arrangement (22) and, when applied on the door (10) an opening force above said threshold opening force, in addition to flexing under the action of such force the elastic support member (12) and therefore the main door structure (10), movement occurs hinged door leaf (10) in hinge arrangement (22).

Description

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DESCRIPCIONDESCRIPTION

Una puerta flexibleA flexible door

La presente invencion se refiere a una puerta flexible, en particular, pero no exclusivamente, una puerta flexible que esta destinada a aislar zonas de acceso frecuente dentro de un edificio, tales como almacenes en frio, zonas de almacenamiento, etc., de otras zonas dentro o fuera del edificio.The present invention relates to a flexible door, in particular, but not exclusively, a flexible door that is intended to isolate areas of frequent access within a building, such as cold stores, storage areas, etc., from other areas. inside or outside the building.

El documento US 3 295 589 A describe una puerta flexible con todas las caracteristicas del preambulo de la reivindicacion 1.Document US 3 295 589 A describes a flexible door with all the features of the preamble of claim 1.

En muchos edificios es deseable poder aislar ciertas zonas del edificio de otras zonas. Los ejemplos de situaciones en donde es deseable tal aislamiento incluyen el aislamiento de zonas para separarlas del acceso publico o para impedir el flujo de aire de una zona a otra. Un ejemplo especifico de situacion en donde puede requerirse el aislamiento frente al flujo de aire lo constituye un supermercado o un almacen de distribucion en donde la zona de almacenamiento en frio debe estar cerrada con respecto a otras zonas del edificio a fin de mantener la temperatura y las condiciones atmosfericas del almacen frio dentro de ciertos parametros. Otros ejemplos en donde esto puede resultar beneficioso incluyen, pero sin limitacion, divisiones internas, zonas de temperatura controlada, zonas de lavado, zonas refrigeradas, zonas de elaboracion y preparation de alimentos, cocinas de restauracion y comerciales, supermercados y puntos de venta al por menor, hospitales y espacios sanitarios, etc.In many buildings it is desirable to be able to isolate certain areas of the building from other areas. Examples of situations where such isolation is desirable include isolation of zones to separate them from public access or to prevent air flow from one area to another. A specific example of a situation where insulation against air flow may be required is a supermarket or distribution warehouse where the cold storage area must be closed with respect to other areas of the building in order to maintain the temperature and the atmospheric conditions of the cold storage within certain parameters. Other examples where this may be beneficial include, but is not limited to, internal divisions, temperature controlled zones, washing zones, refrigerated areas, food processing and preparation areas, catering and commercial kitchens, supermarkets and retail outlets minor, hospitals and sanitary spaces, etc.

Tales divisiones se pueden lograr por medio de puertas rigidas estandar; sin embargo, dado que normalmente pasa por la puerta un alto volumen de trafico (y cargas voluminosas tales como personal con carros, etc.), en lugar de puertas rigidas, frecuentemente se realiza la separation colgando cortinas de plastico o material similar de un marco auxiliar de la puerta. Esto procura una barrera frente al flujo de aire entre un lado y otro de la puerta y tambien ayuda a proporcionar una separacion visual entre zonas publicas y privadas. Sin embargo, un problema de tales cortinas de plastico es que a menudo el usuario tiene que agacharse por debajo de las cortinas cuando pasa a traves de la puerta, lo que tiende a dificultar el paso a traves de las mismas. Ademas, cuando tales puertas comprenden marcos auxiliares rigidos y cortinas de plastico flexible, se requiere una cierta cantidad de espacio libre a ambos lados de la puerta para permitir que la puerta se abra y cierre sin impedimento.Such divisions can be achieved through standard rigid doors; however, since a high volume of traffic (and bulky loads such as personnel with cars, etc.) normally passes through the door, instead of rigid doors, separation is often performed by hanging plastic curtains or similar material from a frame auxiliary door. This provides a barrier against the flow of air between one side and the other of the door and also helps to provide a visual separation between public and private areas. However, a problem with such plastic curtains is that the user often has to duck under the curtains when passing through the door, which tends to hinder the passage through them. In addition, when such doors comprise rigid auxiliary frames and flexible plastic curtains, a certain amount of free space is required on both sides of the door to allow the door to open and close without hindrance.

Segun un primer aspecto de la presente invencion, se proporciona una puerta flexible que comprende una estructura principal de puerta, una disposition de fijacion para asegurar la estructura principal de puerta a un marco de puerta y una disposicion de bisagra adaptada para permitir el movimiento batiente articulado de la estructura principal de puerta sobre el marco de puerta, entre una configuration cerrada y una configuration al menos parcialmente abierta, y en donde la estructura principal de puerta comprende al menos un miembro elastico de soporte adaptado para permitir que la puerta se flexione con un radio de curvatura cuando se aplica sobre la puerta una fuerza de apertura, en donde la elasticidad proporcionada por el miembro elastico de soporte esta configurada de manera que, cuando se aplica sobre la puerta una fuerza de apertura que no llega a una fuerza de apertura umbral, el miembro elastico de soporte y por lo tanto la estructura principal de puerta se flexionaran bajo la action de dicha fuerza sustancialmente sin que se produzca ningun movimiento batiente articulado en la disposicion de bisagra y, cuando se aplica sobre la puerta una fuerza de apertura por encima de dicha fuerza de apertura umbral, ademas de que el miembro elastico de soporte y por lo tanto la estructura principal de puerta se flexionen bajo la accion de tal fuerza, se produzca movimiento batiente articulado de la puerta sobre la disposicion de bisagra.According to a first aspect of the present invention, a flexible door is provided comprising a main door structure, a fixing arrangement for securing the main door structure to a door frame and a hinge arrangement adapted to allow hinged swinging movement. of the main door structure on the door frame, between a closed configuration and an at least partially open configuration, and wherein the main door structure comprises at least one elastic support member adapted to allow the door to flex with a radius of curvature when an opening force is applied to the door, where the elasticity provided by the elastic support member is configured such that, when an opening force is applied to the door that does not reach a threshold opening force , the elastic support member and therefore the main door structure will flex under the action of said force substantially without any hinged movement articulated in the hinge arrangement and, when an opening force is applied over the door above said threshold opening force, in addition to the elastic support member and therefore both the main door structure flexes under the action of such force, articulated swinging movement of the door on the hinge arrangement occurs.

Otras caracteristicas y ventajas de la presente invencion resultaran evidentes a partir de las reivindicaciones y la description siguiente.Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the claims and the following description.

Se describiran ahora realizaciones de la presente invencion solamente a modo de ejemplo, haciendo referencia a los siguientes diagramas, en los cuales:Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the following diagrams, in which:

la Figura 1 es una vista en planta en section transversal de una puerta flexible segun la presente invencion;Figure 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a flexible door according to the present invention;

la Figura 2 es una ilustracion esquematica de un marco auxiliar de la puerta flexible ilustrada en la Figura 1;Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of an auxiliary frame of the flexible door illustrated in Figure 1;

la Figura 3 es la ilustracion desde la cara frontal de un par de puertas flexibles adyacentes segun la presenteFigure 3 is the illustration from the front face of a pair of adjacent flexible doors according to the present

invencion, en una configuracion cerrada;invention, in a closed configuration;

la Figura 4 es una vista mas detallada de una disposicion de bisagra dispuesta en la puerta flexible de la Figura 3;Figure 4 is a more detailed view of a hinge arrangement disposed in the flexible door of Figure 3;

la Figura 5 es una vista mas detallada de una disposicion de bisagra de la puerta flexible de la Figura 3;Figure 5 is a more detailed view of a hinge arrangement of the flexible door of Figure 3;

la Figura 6 es una ilustracion esquematica, en vista en planta, de una puerta flexible sencilla segun la presente invencion, en donde se ilustra la puerta flexible en una configuracion cerrada;Figure 6 is a schematic illustration, in plan view, of a simple flexible door according to the present invention, where the flexible door is illustrated in a closed configuration;

la Figura 7 es una ilustracion esquematica, en vista en planta, de la puerta de la Figura 6 durante la flexion, en una configuracion flexionada en donde no se produce movimiento batiente articulado de la puerta;Figure 7 is a schematic illustration, in plan view, of the door of Figure 6 during flexion, in a flexed configuration where articulated swinging movement of the door does not occur;

la Figura 8 es una ilustracion esquematica, en vista en planta, de la puerta de la Figura 7 durante la flexion, en unaFigure 8 is a schematic illustration, in plan view, of the door of Figure 7 during flexion, in a

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configuracion flexionada y en donde se ha empujado la puerta con una fuerza mayor que una fuerza umbral, de manera que tambien ha batido articuladamente hacia una configuracion abierta;flexed configuration and where the door has been pushed with a force greater than a threshold force, so that it has also beaten articulately towards an open configuration;

la Figura 9 es una disposition esquematica que ilustra un pasillo estrecho y una entrada provista de un par de puertas flexibles segun la presente invention y donde una puerta flexible esta ilustrada en una configuracion neutra y la otra puerta flexible esta ilustrada en una configuracion flexionada;Figure 9 is a schematic arrangement illustrating a narrow aisle and an entrance provided with a pair of flexible doors according to the present invention and where a flexible door is illustrated in a neutral configuration and the other flexible door is illustrated in a flexed configuration;

la Figura 10 es una ilustracion de la puerta flexible de la presente invencion en una configuracion flexionada y abierta por batido articulado;Figure 10 is an illustration of the flexible door of the present invention in a flexed and articulated shake configuration;

la Figura 11 es un diagrama esquematico que ilustra la gama de movimientos de la puerta flexible de la presente invencion en ambos sentidos entre una primera y segunda gama de radios de curvatura; yFigure 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the range of movements of the flexible door of the present invention in both directions between a first and second range of radii of curvature; Y

las Figuras 12 y 13 son diagramas esquematicos que ilustran realizaciones alternativas de la puerta flexible con distintos grados de rigidez a la flexion y por lo tanto distintos grados maximos de radios de curvatura.Figures 12 and 13 are schematic diagrams illustrating alternative embodiments of the flexible door with different degrees of flexural rigidity and therefore different maximum degrees of radii of curvature.

Haciendo referencia particular a las Figuras 1 y 2, un panel de puerta 10 de una estructura principal de puerta comprende un miembro elastico de soporte que, en la presente realization, comprende un brazo 12 de soporte, de policarbonato, y una hoja 14 de puerta, flexible y dotada de aislamiento, suspendida del mismo. Tambien se provee a lo largo del borde superior de la puerta 10 un cierre superior 16 frente al aire, flexible. El borde interno de la hoja 14 de puerta esta provisto de una disposicion de fijacion en forma de un perfil 18 de anclaje longitudinal que se corresponde con un perfil 20 de montaje longitudinal dispuesto sobre una bisagra 22 de dos sentidos, a fin de permitir que se fije el panel de la puerta 10 a un marco de puerta y pueda batir articuladamente en cualquier sentido. Como se muestra en la Figura 1, la bisagra 22 comprende tambien un protector flexible 24 de bisagra que tiene un par de solapas flexibles que cubren el intersticio entre la base del panel de puerta 10 y la bisagra 22, para evitar atrapamiento de dedos, etc. entre las mismas. Entre el perfil 18 de anclaje y el material de cada hoja 14 de puerta estan dispuestas tiras 21, 23 de cubierta intermedia. Los bordes longitudinales de las tiras 21, 23 de cubierta estan acoplados a la hoja 14 de puerta mediante medios de acoplamiento desprendibles que, en la presente realizacion, comprenden tiras verticales 26, 28 de material de tipo gancho y bucle (mejor ilustrado en la Figura 10). Cada hoja 14 de puerta tiene tambien una ventana visual 15 de plastico, dispuesta a su traves; esta puede comprender paneles transparentes rlgidos o flexibles.With particular reference to Figures 1 and 2, a door panel 10 of a main door structure comprises an elastic support member which, in the present embodiment, comprises a support arm 12, made of polycarbonate, and a door leaf 14 , flexible and insulated, suspended from it. A flexible upper closure 16 is also provided along the upper edge of the door 10 in front of the air. The inner edge of the door leaf 14 is provided with a fixing arrangement in the form of a longitudinal anchoring profile 18 corresponding to a longitudinal mounting profile 20 arranged on a two-way hinge 22, in order to allow it fix the door panel 10 to a door frame and you can beat articulately in any direction. As shown in Figure 1, the hinge 22 also comprises a flexible hinge guard 24 having a pair of flexible flaps covering the gap between the base of the door panel 10 and the hinge 22, to avoid finger entrapment, etc. . between them. Between the anchoring profile 18 and the material of each door leaf 14, intermediate cover strips 21, 23 are arranged. The longitudinal edges of the cover strips 21, 23 are coupled to the door leaf 14 by removable coupling means which, in the present embodiment, comprise vertical strips 26, 28 of hook and loop type material (better illustrated in Figure 10). Each door leaf 14 also has a visual window 15 of plastic, arranged therethrough; This may include rigid or flexible transparent panels.

Como se muestra en la Figura 3, tlpicamente se disponen uno junto a otro un par de paneles flexibles de puerta 10; sin embargo, como alternativa se podrla disponer un unico panel flexible de puerta 10 de forma aislada, o bien se podrlan disponer varios paneles de puerta flexibles 10 uno junto al otro o en serie (uno tras otro), dependiendo de la funcionalidad requerida. Hacia el borde externo de cada hoja 14 de puerta se dispone un borde 29 de cierre vertical con el fin de procurar un cierre frente al aire entre las dos hojas 14 de puerta de cada panel de puerta adyacente. Ademas, hacia la parte inferior de cada hoja 14 de puerta tambien se dispone una solapa 31 de cierre inferior de la puerta, para ayudar a procurar un cierre frente al aire entre el borde inferior de la hoja 14 de puerta y la superficie delAs shown in Figure 3, typically a pair of flexible door panels 10 are arranged next to each other; however, as an alternative a single flexible door panel 10 could be arranged in isolation, or several flexible door panels 10 could be arranged next to each other or in series (one after another), depending on the functionality required. Towards the outer edge of each door leaf 14 a vertical closing edge 29 is arranged in order to ensure an air-facing closure between the two door leaves 14 of each adjacent door panel. Also, towards the bottom of each door leaf 14, a lower door closure flap 31 is also provided, to help ensure an air-tight closure between the lower edge of the door leaf 14 and the surface of the door.

suelo situada debajo. Un marco 11 de puerta y la pared 13 circundan al par de puertas flexibles 10.ground below. A door frame 11 and the wall 13 surround the pair of flexible doors 10.

Durante el uso, cuando un usuario empuje un panel de puerta 10 (con la mano, mediante un carro o de cualquier otra manera) con una fuerza de apertura que no llega a un umbral predeterminado de fuerza de apertura, el brazo elastico 12 de soporte y por tanto la hoja 14 de puerta se flexionaran desde su configuracion neutra ilustrada en la Figura 6 a una configuracion curvada/flexionada ilustrada en la Figura 7, sin ningun movimiento de la bisagra 22.During use, when a user pushes a door panel 10 (by hand, by means of a car or in any other way) with an opening force that does not reach a predetermined threshold of opening force, the elastic support arm 12 and therefore the door leaf 14 will flex from its neutral configuration illustrated in Figure 6 to a curved / flexed configuration illustrated in Figure 7, without any movement of the hinge 22.

Si se continua empujando el panel de puerta 10 con una fuerza que es mayor que el umbral predeterminado de fuerza de apertura, en lugar de flexionar adicionalmente el panel de puerta 10 y la hoja 14 de puerta asociada, la fuerza de empuje continuada provoca que la bisagra 22 se abra como se ilustra en la Figura 8. Como se ilustra en la Figura 9, esto es particularmente util cuando la puerta 10 esta dispuesta en un pasillo estrecho 30 que tiene una pared proxima 32, ya que esto maximiza la accesibilidad para el usuario (y para carros, etc.) a este espacio confinado, no solo por permitir la apertura batiente articulada de la puerta, sino tambien por garantizar que la puerta abierta se repliega hacia la pared 13. En este ejemplo, las paredes del almacen frlo 13 estan provistas de una puerta corredera adicional 33, que permite que la abertura detras de las puertas 10 quede cerrada con mayor seguridad, por ejemplo por la noche o durante otros perlodos de poco trafico a traves de las puertas 10.If the door panel 10 is continued to be pushed with a force that is greater than the predetermined threshold of opening force, instead of additionally flexing the door panel 10 and the associated door leaf 14, the continuous pushing force causes the hinge 22 opens as illustrated in Figure 8. As illustrated in Figure 9, this is particularly useful when the door 10 is arranged in a narrow aisle 30 that has a proximal wall 32, as this maximizes accessibility for the user (and for cars, etc.) to this confined space, not only for allowing the hinged articulated opening of the door, but also for ensuring that the open door is retracted towards the wall 13. In this example, the walls of the cold storage 13 are provided with an additional sliding door 33, which allows the opening behind the doors 10 to be closed more securely, for example at night or during other periods of low traffic through the doors 10.

Como mejor se ilustra en la Figura 10, a medida que el panel 12 de puerta se flexiona, las tiras 28 de tipo gancho yAs best illustrated in Figure 10, as the door panel 12 flexes, the hook-type strips 28 and

bucle dispuestas en la tira 23 de cubierta intermedia en ambos lados del panel de puerta 10 se desenganchan para admitir el estiramiento relativo de la hoja de puerta 14 en una cara de la puerta y la compresion en la otra cara de la puerta.loop arranged in the intermediate cover strip 23 on both sides of the door panel 10 are disengaged to admit the relative stretching of the door leaf 14 on one side of the door and compression on the other side of the door.

La elasticidad del brazo 12 de soporte se puede modificar durante la fabrication para proporcionar una gama de puertas con distintos grados de flexibilidad. Esto determina la fuerza de apertura umbral predeterminada requerida para que comience a abrirse la bisagra, en lugar de que continue flexionandose el brazo 12 de soporte, y tambien determina el grado del radio de curvatura de la puerta para una fuerza de empuje dada. A este respecto, como se muestra en la Figura 11, un brazo 12 de soporte muy delgado puede flexionarse alejandose mucho de la position neutra (indicada por la llnea de trazos A) en cualquier sentido, por ejemplo con un radio de curvatura de 3.200 mm ilustrado como posicion B y un radio de curvatura de 100 mm ilustrado como posicion C. Por lo tanto, esto permiteThe elasticity of the support arm 12 can be modified during fabrication to provide a range of doors with varying degrees of flexibility. This determines the predetermined threshold opening force required for the hinge to begin to open, instead of continuing to flex the support arm 12, and also determines the degree of radius of curvature of the door for a given pushing force. In this regard, as shown in Figure 11, a very thin support arm 12 can be flexed away from the neutral position (indicated by the dashed line A) in any direction, for example with a radius of curvature of 3,200 mm illustrated as position B and a radius of curvature of 100 mm illustrated as position C. Therefore, this allows

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que la puerta se flexione en aproximadamente 180 grados en cualquiera de los dos sentidos desde la posicion neutra A.the door flexes approximately 180 degrees in either direction from neutral position A.

En una realizacion alternativa como se muestra en la Figura 12, en donde se dispone un brazo 12 de soporte mas grueso y/o mas rlgido, el radio de curvatura puede estar restringido a, por ejemplo, 1.200 mm y, en otra realizacion, en donde se dispone un brazo 12 de soporte mas estrecho y/o menos rlgido, el radio de curvatura puede estar restringido a, por ejemplo, 300 mm.In an alternative embodiment as shown in Figure 12, where a thicker and / or stiffer support arm 12 is arranged, the radius of curvature may be restricted to, for example, 1,200 mm and, in another embodiment, in where a narrower and / or less rigid support arm 12 is provided, the radius of curvature may be restricted to, for example, 300 mm.

Por tanto, la puerta flexible descrita en lo que antecede tiene la ventaja de flexionarse con, o sin, movimiento batiente articulado cuando se desee. Una ventaja de esto es que permite al usuario pasar mas facilmente a traves de la puerta. Ademas, la capacidad de flexion, combinada con el movimiento batiente articulado de la puerta flexible da como resultado una puerta que requiere una cantidad minima de espacio libre cuando se acciona entre las configuraciones abierta y cerrada.Therefore, the flexible door described above has the advantage of flexing with, or without, articulated swing movement when desired. An advantage of this is that it allows the user to pass more easily through the door. In addition, the flexural capacity, combined with the articulated swinging movement of the flexible door results in a door that requires a minimum amount of free space when operated between the open and closed configurations.

Aunque en la presente memoria se han descrito con detalle realizaciones particulares de la invencion, esto se ha hecho a modo de ejemplo y solamente con fines ilustrativos. No se pretende que las realizaciones mencionadas en lo que precede sean limitantes con respecto al alcance de las reivindicaciones adjuntas.Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein, this has been done by way of example and for illustrative purposes only. The embodiments mentioned in the foregoing are not intended to be limiting with respect to the scope of the appended claims.

Los inventores contemplan que se pueden realizar diversas sustituciones, alteraciones y modificaciones de la invencion sin apartarse del esplritu y el alcance de la invencion, definido por las reivindicaciones, por ejemplo:The inventors contemplate that various substitutions, alterations and modifications of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, defined by the claims, for example:

En la realizacion descrita en la presente memoria, la bisagra 22 y el protector flexible 24 de bisagra de la disposicion de bisagra estan dispuestos hacia la parte superior de la puerta; sin embargo, podrlan disponerse varias de estas disposiciones de bisagra a lo largo de la altura de la puerta o bien, como alternativa, se podrla disponer un unico dispositivo de bisagra que discurriese a lo largo de la puerta. Se podrla disponer ademas, si se desease, una disposicion de bisagra mucho mas corta.In the embodiment described herein, the hinge 22 and the flexible hinge guard 24 of the hinge arrangement are disposed toward the top of the door; however, several of these hinge arrangements could be arranged along the height of the door or, alternatively, a single hinge device could be provided that runs along the door. It could also be arranged, if desired, a much shorter hinge arrangement.

Ademas, aunque en la realizacion descrita en lo que antecede el brazo 12 de soporte tiene una dimension relativamente estrecha, en una realizacion alternativa el brazo de soporte puede comprender un panel elastico que se extienda sustancialmente por toda la altura de la puerta. Ademas, en lugar de estar constituido por policarbonato, el brazo elastico de soporte o el panel elastico de soporte pueden estar constituidos por cualquier plastico u otro material con propiedades de elasticidad adecuadas.Furthermore, although in the embodiment described above the support arm 12 has a relatively narrow dimension, in an alternative embodiment the support arm may comprise an elastic panel that extends substantially throughout the height of the door. Furthermore, instead of being constituted by polycarbonate, the elastic support arm or the elastic support panel can be constituted by any plastic or other material with suitable elastic properties.

Claims

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1. A flexible door comprising: a main door structure (10);

a fixing arrangement for securing the main door structure (10) to a door frame (11); Y

a hinge arrangement (22) adapted to allow hinged articulated movement of the main door structure (10) over the door frame (11) between a closed configuration and a at least partially open configuration and

characterized in that the main door structure (10) comprises at least one elastic support member (12) adapted to allow the door (10) to flex with a radius of curvature when a force of over the door (10) is applied opening, wherein the elasticity provided by the elastic support member (12) is configured such that, when an opening force is applied to the door (10) that does not reach a threshold opening force, the elastic member (12 ) of support and therefore the main door structure (10) flex under the action of said force substantially without any hinged movement articulated in the hinge arrangement (22) and, when applied on the door (10) an opening force above said threshold opening force, in addition to flexing under the action of such force the elastic support member (12) and therefore the main door structure (10), swinging movement ar arises. ticking of the door (10) in the hinge arrangement (22).

2. A flexible door according to any preceding claim, wherein the elastic support member comprises at least one elastic support arm (12) projecting outwardly from the hinge arrangement.

3. A flexible door according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the elastic support member (12) comprises at least one elastic support panel projecting outwardly from the hinge arrangement to form a main door structure.

4. A flexible door according to any of claims 2 or 3, wherein the or each support member (12) comprises an elastic plastic material.

5. A flexible door according to claim 4, wherein the or each support member (12) comprises a polycarbonate material.

6. A flexible door according to any preceding claim, wherein the or each elastic support member (12) is adapted to flex in a high degree of radius of curvature so that the flexible door can flex substantially 180 degrees.

A flexible door according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the door comprises a sheet of flexible material suspended from the elastic support member (12) to form a front face and a rear face of the door.

8. A flexible door according to any preceding claim, wherein the fixing arrangement comprises a substantially vertical coupling profile disposed on the door and a corresponding substantially vertical mounting profile disposed on the door frame (11).

9. A flexible door according to claim 8, wherein the substantially vertical coupling profile of the door is attached to the front part of the hinge arrangement and the substantially vertical mounting profile of the door frame (11) is attached to the rear part of the hinge arrangement in order to selectively allow hinged articulated door movement between an open and a closed configuration when an opening force greater than said threshold opening force is applied to the door.

10. A flexible door according to any preceding claim, further comprising a hinge guard adapted to at least partially obstruct a hinge opening created by the hinged articulated movement of the door between an open and a closed configuration.

A flexible door according to claim 10, wherein the hinge protector comprises a pair of substantially vertical flexible flaps along at least a part of the hinge (22).

12. A flexible door according to claim 11, further comprising removable coupling means, along at least a part of the hinge guard and the front and rear faces of the door such that a substantially vertical flexible flap of one face of the door remains attached to a corresponding face of the door and the substantially vertical opposite flexible flap, of the opposite face of the door, is separated from the corresponding face of the door to facilitate the opening and closing hinged hinges of the door and said elastic flexion of the door.

13. A flexible door according to any preceding claim wherein the hinge arrangement comprises a

two-way hinge (22) adapted to allow hinged movement articulated in a first and second direction.

14. A pair of flexible doors according to claim 1.