FR2817277A1 - GARAGE DOOR DRIVE OR THE LIKE - Google Patents

Abstract

Garage door drive device or the like guided in its movement by guide means, comprising a motor (4) and a mechanical connection between the motor and the door. The mechanical link consists of an extendable arm (5) preferably made up of superimposed profiled elements (8) sliding one inside the other and stackable in a magazine (9). These elements are provided laterally with a rack (12), the alignment of the racks being ensured by the mutual locking of the elements in a suitable position.

Description

The invention relates to a garage door drive device or

  analogous guided in its movement by guide means, comprising a motor and a

  mechanical connection between the motor and the door.

  The invention relates both to tilting movement doors and sliding movement doors, such as tilting, pivoting doors,

sliding or sectional.

  The most commonly used garage doors are overhead doors and sectional doors with vertical opening and closing. The drive devices generally used for these doors include a rail fixed to the garage ceiling, a rail in which a carriage moves connected by a rigid arm to the top of the door. Patent CH 689,435 describes an installation of this type for a tilting door and document WO 96/39740 describes an installation of this type for a sectional door guided by two lateral rails. When the door is closed, the rigid arm and the carriage prevent the door from opening.

breaking and entering.

  In the height of the lintel dropout, various door operating mechanisms are arranged. Among these mechanisms are those of compensation. If the dropout of the lintel is reduced, then there is no longer room to pass the rail. The devices of the prior art cannot be used because it is also not possible to encroach on the height of the opening, which is standard and is occupied by the door, the height of which corresponds to it

also standard.

  In document DE 198 08 696, concerning a sectional door with vertical lift, it is proposed to use one of the lateral guide rails of the door as a rail for a motorized carriage driving the door through one of its upper corners . In such a construction, the guide rail of the carriage no longer constitutes an obstacle between the raised door and the garage ceiling. However, this solution requires a particular rail and therefore cannot be applied to a standard door. In addition, the drive of the door by one of its angles is very unfavorable on a mechanical level. The door and its elements, respectively, tend to be biased, which

  causes the door to brake, or even block.

  To remedy this, the door should be driven symmetrically on both sides by means of two synchronized carriages, which would considerably increase the

cost of installation.

  Segmented doors are also known which are driven by two cables which are wound on drums driven by a motor placed against the lintel of the doorway. Such devices are described in documents WO 92/09777 and 99/07971. These devices allow the door to be raised to the level of the garage ceiling, but they are not applicable to standard doors. In addition, if the installation is provided with means for compensating for the weight of the door, it is necessary to provide a second pair of cables for driving the door.

at closing.

  The object of the invention is to offer a standard drive device which overcomes the drawbacks of central rail devices, that is to say without lintel height constraint, this device in front

  furthermore be easy to install for all doors.

  The drive device according to the invention is characterized in that the mechanical connection is

consisting of an extendable arm.

  This device is intended in principle to be fixed to the garage ceiling. The removal of the cart and its rail allows the door to be raised very close to the garage ceiling. The motor and the space in which the extendable arm is removed occupy only a reduced space and the assembly is convenient to install. In addition, the device according to the invention can be delivered in one piece with regard to its dimensions and not as in the prior art in two parts, on the one hand, the motor and, on the other hand, the rail. This saves the user from having to carry out an initial assembly before installation, which saves time and

facilitates installation.

  Extensible arms, for example in the form of jacks or parallelogram systems, are well known. It has even been proposed in document DE 32 013 to use an extendable arm of the jack type to deploy a sun visor in front of the rear window of a car and, according to document EP 0 039 632, to deploy the arms of an arm awning by means of two jacks, but no one has yet thought that it could be very interesting to use an extendable arm to drive a garage door. The rigidity of the extendable arm was probably considered to be insufficient to ensure the safe movement and retention of the door. However, if necessary, the

  safety can be ensured by auxiliary means.

  I0 According to one embodiment of the invention, the extendable arm consists of superimposed profiled elements sliding one inside the other and stackable in a magazine, the elements being deployable in an oblique position along an axis of movement corresponding to the axis of the extendable arm, the connection of the elements to each other being ensured by a part of their length. For their movement, the profiled elements are advantageously provided on a lateral face with a rack parallel to the axis of the arm for their

  driven by a pinion driven by the motor.

  According to one embodiment, the profiled elements are provided with mutual locking means operating in the extended position and mutual unlocking means

  operating when removing items.

  According to one embodiment, the locking means consist of retractable lugs pushed by an elastic means, these lugs preventing the removal of an element 'on the neighboring element and the unlocking means consist of shoes repelling the lugs of the element to retract under an element already retracted. In order to ensure the deployment of the profiled elements in an oblique position relative to the direction of deployment, the drive device advantageously comprises orientation means in position

  oblique deployable elements for their deployment.

  According to one embodiment, these orientation means consist of a movable guide having an oblique side profiled as one of the sides of the deployable elements on which the first element is engaged

deployable upstream.

  According to another embodiment, the orientation means consist, on the one hand, of a pair of lateral pins on each deployable element and, on the other hand, of a pair of parallel grooves in the area of leaving the store, grooves in which the pins engage and slide, these grooves being

  oriented in the direction of deployment.

  These latter orientation means can be supplemented further by means for guiding the pins in the magazine, these guiding means possibly being grooves or simply the parallel walls.

opposite of a recess.

  According to another embodiment, the orientation means consist, on the one hand, of a lateral rib on each element and, on the other hand, of a groove in the outlet zone of the magazine, groove in which are engaged and slide successively the ribs of each element, this groove being oriented in the direction of deployment. The extendable arm could consist of a jack

  telescopic or parallelogram type arm.

  The accompanying drawing shows, by way of example, two

modes of carrying out the invention.

  Figure 1 is an elevational view of the device

according to the first embodiment.

  Figure 2 is a sectional view along II-II of the

figure 1.

  Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing

  the fully extended extendable arm.

  Figure 4 is a perspective view of four

  elements of the partially extended extendable arm.

  Figure 5 is a perspective view from below of a

extendable arm element.

  Figure 6 is a perspective view from above of this

same item.

  Figure 7 is an axial sectional view of the elements

shown in Figure 4.

  Figure 8 is a partial sectional view along VIII- VIII of Figure 7, showing a stopper in the locked position. Figure 9 is a partial sectional view along IX-IX

in Figure 8.

  Figure 10 is a partial sectional view along X-X of Figure 7, showing a locking tab in

  primed unlocking position.

  Figure 11 is a partial sectional view along XI-XI of Figure 7 showing a locking tab in

unlocked position.

  Figure 12 is a sectional view along XII-XII of the

  Figure 7, showing the cleat retaining means.

  Figure 13 shows in perspective a locking tab. Figure 14 is a view similar to the view shown in Figure 2, showing an improvement of

  means for oblique orientation of the deployable elements.

  Figure 15 is a partial sectional view along XV-XV

in Figure 14.

  Figure 16 is a partial sectional view along XVI-

XVI of figure 14.

  FIG. 17 represents a variant of the orientation means of the preceding figures. Figure 18 is a partial sectional view along

XVIII-XVIII of figure 17.

  Figure 19 is a partial sectional view along XIX-

XIX of figure 17.

  FIG. 20 represents a second embodiment of the

device according to the invention.

  Figure 21 is a sectional view along XXI-XXI of the

figure 20.

  Figure 22 is a view similar to Figure 21 showing the extendable arm in the fully extended position. The device according to the first embodiment will first of all be described in general, as well as its operating principle, in relation to the

Figures 1 to 3.

  The drive device is mounted in a casing 1 articulated on a support 2 fixed to the structure of a building, for example a garage ceiling 3. On the side of the casing is mounted an electric motor 4 intended for driving the 'an extendable arm 5 connected, on the one hand, to the casing 1 and, on the other hand, to a garage door 6 at a point 7. The extendable arm 5 transforms the rotational movement of the motor 4 into a

  substantially linear movement of the arm.

  The extendable arm 5 consists of superimposed profiled elements 8 sliding one inside the other and stackable

  in a magazine 9 constituting a part of the casing 1.

  The elements 8 can be moved in an oblique position along an axis of displacement corresponding to the axis of the extendable arm, the connection of the elements to each other

  being provided by part of the length thereof.

  Thus, in FIG. 2, the elements 8A and 8B are in the position of maximum extension. The connection between the IS elements 8A and 8B is ensured by a part of the length of these elements and the same is true for elements 8B and 8C. In the magazine 9, the elements 8 are guided by a movable guide 10 whose oblique side 11 is slidably connected to the last element 8 of the extendable arm, in the same way as the elements 8 between them. The function of this guide 10 is to maintain the oblique orientation of the elements when they

move into store 9.

  Each of the elements 8 has, on the side, a rack 12 oriented obliquely relative to the element and positioned on the element so that when the element is fully deployed, such as element 8A, the rack of this element is placed in the extension of the rack of the neighboring element, such as element 8B, the two racks are also juxtaposed so as to

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  ensure the continuity of the rack along the axis of deployment of the extendable arm, as can be seen in FIG. 2 for the elements 8A, 8B and 8C. The racks are engaged with a pinion 13 driven by the motor, the latter being mounted on a branch 14 of the casing, branch constituting a launch zone

for the extendable arm.

  The position shown in Figure 2 is the fully raised position of the door 6, that is to say the most retracted position of the extendable arm. The pinion 13 of the motor, in engagement with at least one of the elements 8 of the extendable arm, delimits a downstream zone extending on the door side and an upstream zone extending on the side

shop.

  To move the door in direction D, the motor 4 is supplied so as to drive the elements 8 in the direction of deployment. The elements 8 located in the upstream area deploy progressively under the action of the pinion 13, sliding one over the other, and lock mutually in the coincidence position of their rack 12. The elements 8 located downstream are deploy like an arm

  rigid which transmits movement to door 6.

  To move the door 6 in the mounted direction M, the motor 4 is supplied in the opposite direction. In the upstream zone, each element 8 overlapping the previous one unlocks the next element which can then initiate a covering movement, which unlocks, in the covering position, the element I! next, and so on, the elements 8 being stored successively in the magazine 8 to resume the position shown in Figure 2, as will be

described later in detail.

  As can be seen in FIGS. 4 to 6, the identical elements 8 of the arm consist of a double profile having a female T profile 15 on the upper face of the element and a male T profile 16 on the lower face of the element, the profile 15 constituting a slide for the profile 16 of the upper element. As can be seen in Figure 4, the profiles 15 and 16 allow the elements 8 to

  interlock and slide one into the other.

  On their underside, near its downstream end, each element 8 also has a shoe 17 having a ramp 18 rising towards the downstream end of the element 8. By simplification of the drawing, the racks have not been shown in Figure 4. To allow movement of the shoe 17 in the neighboring element, each element 8 has a longitudinal groove 19 in the bottom of the slide (Figures 5 and 6). Above the shoe 17, each element 8 has a rectangular cutout 20 extending on either side of the groove 19. The wings 21 and 22, forming the top of the element 8, have two opposite rectangular notches 23 and 24 defining a cut coinciding with the cut 20 to allow the mounting of the locking tab 28. At its upstream end, the element 8 has a housing 25 formed by a widening of the space separating the wings 21 and 22. This widening s 'extends over the end part of the groove 19 and its downstream ends form two stops 50 and 51 for the locking tab 28 as will be described later. As will be seen later, the end 26 of the groove 19 constitutes a stop for the shoe 17 of

element 8 located above.

  The cutout 20 extends in the male profiled part 16 o it has a widening 27 constituting a housing for a cleat 28 (Figure 13), cleat serving to lock the elements 8 between them. Cleat 28

is pushed by a spring 29.

  The cleat 28 (Figure 13) is of generally rectangular parallelepiped shape. It has a lower part consisting of two shoulders 30 and 31 above which extends a narrower upper part 32 in the form of a truncated dihedral, that is to say having two inclined faces 33 and 34. Below the part 32, the cleat further has two flexible lateral retaining lugs 35 and 36 projecting from each side of the cleat in the free position. These legs

  are intended to retain the cleat 28 in the element 8.

  The locking and unlocking of the elements 8 will now be described in detail using the

Figures 6 to 12.

  Section VIII-VIII of Figure 7 and Figure 8 show the tab 28B in the mutually locked position of the elements 8A and 8B. The cleat 28B, pushed by its spring 29, is held in its housing by the flexible legs deployed 35 and 36 abutting against the underside of the female profile 15. The shoulders and 31 of the cleat 28B are engaged in the housing 25 of the element 8A and the locking of element 8A on element 8B is ensured, on the downstream side, by the engagement of the lower part of the cleat 28B in the housing of element 8A and its abutment against the stops 50 and 51 (FIGS. 6 and 12) and, on the upstream side, by the end 26 of the groove 19 of the element 8A against which the shoe 17 of the element 8B abuts

(figure 7).

  The initiation of the unlocking is shown, for the elements 8B and 8C in section XX of FIG. 7 and in FIG. 10. The ramp 18 of the shoe 17 of the element 8D comes to bear on the cleat 28C of the element 8C, which has the effect of pushing the stopper 28B of

item 8B.

  Section XI-XI in Figure 7 and the corresponding Figure 11 show the fully unlocked position of elements 8C and 8D. The shoulders 30 and 31 of the cleat 28D of the element 8D have left the housing 25 of the element 8C, allowing this element 8C to move back with respect to the element 8D, the width of the upper part 32 of the cleat being less at

the spacing of the wings 21 and 22.

  It appears from the above description and from the drawings

  that the oblique orientation of the elements 8 is necessary to obtain an alignment of the racks and a correct deployment. The guide 10 must therefore itself be perfectly oriented, that is to say guided, to ensure this guidance, a certain length of magazine is necessary, which increases the size of the magazine. It is however possible to avoid this constraint by ensuring the orientation by positive guiding means. An embodiment is shown in

Figures 14 to 16.

  Each element 8 is provided, on its lateral face opposite the rack 12, with two cylindrical pins or studs 43 and 44, one, 43, located near the downstream end of the element 8 and the other, 44 , located near the upstream end of the element. In the launch zone 14 of the magazine, two parallel guide grooves 48 and 49 are formed which extend parallel to the direction of deployment. When the elements 8 are driven, for example the element 8C by the element 8B, the pins 43 and 44 are engaged respectively in the grooves 48 and 49, which ensure the orientation of the elements. The pins 43 and 44 being relatively distant from each other, the orientation is precise. The sliding of the pins in the grooves can also be done with very little play. In the retracted position of the extendable arm, the first element 8A is oriented by the grooves 48 and 49. In the store proper, in the non-deployed position of the elements 8, the pins 43 and 44 abut against two parallel walls 45 and 46 of a recess 47 which guides the elements 8. Instead of the recess 47, it would of course be possible to provide two parallel grooves in which

would slide the pawns 43 and 44.

  An alternative embodiment of these latter orientation means is shown in FIGS. 17 to 19. Only part of the elements is shown in FIG. 17. The pins are replaced here by a rib located opposite the rack 12, on the opposite face of the elements 8, and oriented parallel thereto. In the store, these ribs 50 are guided in a rectangular recess 51 in the store. At the downstream end of the recess 51, the ribs 50 are applied and aligned against the transverse end 52 of the recess 51 which constitutes the extension of one of the sides of a groove 53 in which just engage the rib 50 so as to ensure the oblique orientation of the elements, such as

item 8B in Figure 17.

  According to the second embodiment shown in Figures 22, the extendable arm 37 is of the parallelogram type. This arm 37 is retracted in a housing 38 to which is attached a motor 39 driving a screw 40 having two threads of opposite pitch on which are mounted nuts 41 and 42 on which is articulated the first parallelogram of the extendable arm 37. In known manner , the driving of the screw 40 has the effect of moving the nuts 41 and 42 in opposite directions and thus causing the extension or the

  retraction of the arm 37 according to the direction of rotation.

16 2817277

Claims (11)

  1. Garage door drive device or the like guided in its movement by guide means, comprising a motor (4; 39) and a mechanical connection between the motor and the door, characterized in that the mechanical connection is constituted with one arm expandable (5; 37).   2. Drive device according to claim 1, characterized in that the extendable arm (5) consists of superimposed profiled elements (8) sliding one inside the other and stackable in a magazine (9), these elements being deployable in an oblique position along an axis of displacement corresponding to the axis of the extendable arm, the connection of the elements between them being   ensured by part of the length thereof.   3. Drive device according to claim 2, characterized in that the profiled elements (8) are provided on a side face with a rack (12) parallel to the axis of the extendable arm for their   driven by a pinion (13) driven by the motor.   4. Drive device according to claim 3, characterized in that the profiled elements (8) are provided with mutual locking means (28) operating in the extended position and mutual unlocking means (17) operating successively during the removal of the elements.   5. Drive device according to claim 4, characterized in that the locking means consist essentially of retractable cleats (28) pushed by an elastic means (29), these cleats preventing the sliding of an element (8) on the neighboring element, and in that the unlocking means consist of shoes (17) pushing back the cleat of the element to be retracted   relative to an item already retracted.   6. Drive device according to claim 5, characterized in that the tabs (28) have an upper part (32) allowing the sliding of the elements and a lower part (30, 31) for locking intended to engage in a housing of the neighboring element to be locked.   7. Drive device according to one of   Claims 2 to 6, characterized in that it comprises   orientation means (10; 43, 44, 48, 49; 50, 53) in the oblique position of the deployable elements (8) for their deployment.   8. Drive device according to claim 7, characterized in that the orientation means consist of a movable guide (10) having an oblique side profiled as one of the sides of the deployable elements (8), on which is hired first element (8) upstream.   9. Drive device according to claim 7, characterized in that the orientation means are 18 2817277   consisting, on the one hand, of a pair of lateral pins (43, 44) on each deployable element and, on the other hand, of a pair of parallel grooves (48, 49) in the area of the magazine, grooves in which are engaged and slide the pins, these grooves being   oriented in the direction of deployment.   10. Drive device according to claim 7, characterized in that the orientation means consist, on the one hand, of a lateral rib (50) on each element and, on the other hand, of a groove (53)   in the exit zone of the magazine, groove in which the ribs (5) of each element are engaged and slide successively, this groove (53) being oriented in the direction of deployment.   11. Drive device according to claim 1, characterized in that the extendable arm is of the parallelogram (37).