GB1600016A

GB1600016A - Foldable doors

Info

Publication number: GB1600016A
Application number: GB1859377A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: EVANS LIFTS Ltd
Current assignee: EVANS LIFTS Ltd
Priority date: 1978-05-16
Filing date: 1978-05-16
Publication date: 1981-10-14

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO FOLDABLE DOORS (71) We, EVANS LIFTS LIMITED, a British Company of North Court, Packington Park, Near Meriden, Warwickshire, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The invention relates to a sliding pivot pin assembly for a foldable door, and to a foldable door incorporating such an assembly.

The term 'foldable door' is intended to mean a door of the kind comprising a plurality of panels which are hinged together so as to be foldable back to back and face to face in concertina fashion when the door is open, and which can be extended to form a continuous sectional closure when the door is closed. It is to be understood that the term 'door' as used in the specification is intended to include any appropriate closure such as a gate, shutter or the like. The invention is primarily but not exclusively intended to be applied to so-called shutter gates for lifts, and may be applied to foldable doors of the type described in U.K.

Patent Specification No. 1,324,637 which incorporate rolled hinge pickets at connections between adjacent panels.

Support for foldable doors of this kind is usually derived from a number of pickets, these being rigid vertical members constrained to move laterally, i.e. in the direction of opening and closing of the gate, by guide means provided at the top and bottom of the gate.

Usually a picket is attached at alternate door folds.

A lazytong lattice may be provided to ensure that the panels fold uniformly when the gate is opened. In order for the lazytong lattice to operate correctly it is necessary to provide slide means at certain points of attachment of the lattice with the door so that when the lattice is contracted laterally, i.e. when the door is opened, pivots at the said certain points of lazytong lattice are able to move in a vertical plane, the lattice contracting laterally but expanding vertically.

Where sliding movement is necessary at a point of attachment of the lazytong lattice to the door this is usually achieved by providing an extended pivot pin of the lazytong lattice at that point. Picket channels slidably receive the ends of the extended pivot pin (hereinafter referred to as a slide pin), the picket channels being held in spaced apart relation and one of them being attached to a rolled hinge picket.

It has been a disadvantage of conventional foldable doors that the means for attachment of the lazytong lattice to the door has required an appreciable number of components.

It is an object of the invention to simplify the construction of sliding pivot pin assemblies for foldable doors.

According to the present invention, there is provided a sliding pivot pin assembly for a foldable door incorporating a lazytong lattice, said assembly comprising a rolled hinge picket having a raised portion of substantially rectangular cross-section extending longitudinally thereof, and at least one slide pin provided at one end thereof with a shoe of U-shaped cross-section which slidably engages over the raised portion of the hinge picket.

Preferably, a picket channel is held in spaced parallel relation to the hinge picket and slidingly receives therein the opposite end of the or each slide pin.

Also according to the present invention, there is provided a foldable door including at least one rolled hinge picket having a raised portion of substantially rectangular crosssection extending longitudinally thereof, and a lazytong lattice which is attached to the hinge picket or pickets at each of one or more of its pivot points by means of a respective slide pin, the or each slide pin having at one end thereof a shoe of U-shaped cross-section which slidably engages over the raised portion of the respective hinge picket.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a rear view of a foldable door having a number of sliding pivot pin assemblies according to the invention; Figure 2 is a front schematic view of a part of the foldable door showing, on an enlarged scale, one of the sliding pivot pin assemblies; Figure 3 is a section taken along the line Ill-Ill of Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a schematic side view in the direction of arrow IV of Figure 2.

The foldable door illustrated in the drawings comprises a number of panels 2, each of which is connected with its neighbour by means of a rolled hinge picket 4. One end panel 6 of the door is attached by means of a conventional hinge to a door frame (not shown), and a panel 8 at the opposite end of the door is provided with a conventional door closure element 10.

The door is also provided with a window 30 and a handle 32.

The rolled hinge pickets at alternate panel connections 12 are constrained to move laterally at the bottom by a slotted track 14 which receives the lower ends 16 of the pickets and at the top by rollers 18 which run along a track 20 and which support the weight of the door.

The door is reinforced and strengthened by a lazytong lattice 22 which is attached to the door by fixed pivots 24 and by sliding pivot pin assemblies 26. The points labelled 28 in Figure 1 are not connected to the door. Each of the sliding pivot pin assemblies includes a slide pin 40 which acts as a pivot for bars 50 of the lazytong lattice. One end of the pivot 40 has secured thereto a shoe 44 of U-shaped crosssection which slidably engages a raised portion 46a of a respective one of the pickets (referenced 46) at the panel connections 12, the raised portion 46a being of substantially rectangular cross-section and extending longitudinally of the picket. As can be seen to advantage in Figure 3, the picket 46 operatively retains flange portions 47 of adjacent door panels (referenced 48 in this Figure).

A picket channel 42 is held in spaced parallel relation to the hinge picket 46 and slidably receives therein an end 40a of the slide pin 40 remote from the shoe 44. Bolts 56 and nuts 58 secure the picket channel 42 to the picket 46, while cylindrical spacers 54 serve to space the picket channel and picket from each other.

As can be seen in Figure 3, washers 52 are interposed between the bars 50 of the lazytong lattice and the picket channel 42.

In operation, the door as shown in its closed position in Figure 1 is opened by a person pulling the handle to the left, as viewed. The doors fold in concertina fashion and the lazytong lattice contracts in a horizontal direction and expands in a vertical direction, the points 26 and 28 of the lazytong lattice moving away from a horizontal centre line of the door. The sliding movement at the points 26 is permitted by above described sliding pivot pin assemblies, the shoes 44 sliding relative to the raised portions 46a of the rolled hinge pickets 46 and the ends 40a of the slide pins 40 sliding in the picket channels 42.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A sliding pivot pin assembly for a foldable door incorporating a lazytong lattice, said assembly comprising a rolled hinge picket having a raised portion of substantially rectangular cross-section extending longitudinally thereof, and at least one slide pin provided at one end thereof with a shoe of U-shaped cross-section which slidably engages over the raised portion of the hinge picket.

2. A sliding pivot pin assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein a picket channel is held in spaced parallel relation to the hinge picket and slidingly receives therein the opposite end of the or each slide pin.

3. A sliding pivot pin as claimed in claim 2, wherein the picket channel is secured to the hinge picket by means of nuts and bolts, and is spaced from the hinge picket by means of cylindrical spacers.

4. A foldable door including at least one rolled hinge picket having a raised portion of substantially rectangular cross-section extending longitudinally thereof, and a lazytong lattice which is attached to the hinge picket or pickets at each of one or more of its pivot points by means of a respective slide pin, the or each slide pin having at one end thereofa shoe of U-shaped cross-section which slidably engages over the raised portion of the respective hinge picket.

5. A foldable door as claimed in claim 4, wherein a picket channel is held in spaced parallel relation to the or each hinge picket and slidingly receives therein the opposite end of the respective slide pin or pins.

6. A foldable door as claimed in claim 5, wherein the or each picket channel is secured to the respective hinge picket by means of nuts and bolts, and is spaced from the hinge pickets by means of cylindrical spacers.

7. A sliding pivot pin assembly for a foldable door, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A foldable door substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. The foldable door illustrated in the drawings comprises a number of panels 2, each of which is connected with its neighbour by means of a rolled hinge picket 4. One end panel 6 of the door is attached by means of a conventional hinge to a door frame (not shown), and a panel 8 at the opposite end of the door is provided with a conventional door closure element 10. The door is also provided with a window 30 and a handle 32. The rolled hinge pickets at alternate panel connections 12 are constrained to move laterally at the bottom by a slotted track 14 which receives the lower ends 16 of the pickets and at the top by rollers 18 which run along a track 20 and which support the weight of the door. The door is reinforced and strengthened by a lazytong lattice 22 which is attached to the door by fixed pivots 24 and by sliding pivot pin assemblies 26. The points labelled 28 in Figure 1 are not connected to the door. Each of the sliding pivot pin assemblies includes a slide pin 40 which acts as a pivot for bars 50 of the lazytong lattice. One end of the pivot 40 has secured thereto a shoe 44 of U-shaped crosssection which slidably engages a raised portion 46a of a respective one of the pickets (referenced 46) at the panel connections 12, the raised portion 46a being of substantially rectangular cross-section and extending longitudinally of the picket. As can be seen to advantage in Figure 3, the picket 46 operatively retains flange portions 47 of adjacent door panels (referenced 48 in this Figure). A picket channel 42 is held in spaced parallel relation to the hinge picket 46 and slidably receives therein an end 40a of the slide pin 40 remote from the shoe 44. Bolts 56 and nuts 58 secure the picket channel 42 to the picket 46, while cylindrical spacers 54 serve to space the picket channel and picket from each other. As can be seen in Figure 3, washers 52 are interposed between the bars 50 of the lazytong lattice and the picket channel 42. In operation, the door as shown in its closed position in Figure 1 is opened by a person pulling the handle to the left, as viewed. The doors fold in concertina fashion and the lazytong lattice contracts in a horizontal direction and expands in a vertical direction, the points 26 and 28 of the lazytong lattice moving away from a horizontal centre line of the door. The sliding movement at the points 26 is permitted by above described sliding pivot pin assemblies, the shoes 44 sliding relative to the raised portions 46a of the rolled hinge pickets 46 and the ends 40a of the slide pins 40 sliding in the picket channels 42. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A sliding pivot pin assembly for a foldable door incorporating a lazytong lattice, said assembly comprising a rolled hinge picket having a raised portion of substantially rectangular cross-section extending longitudinally thereof, and at least one slide pin provided at one end thereof with a shoe of U-shaped cross-section which slidably engages over the raised portion of the hinge picket.