GB2164691A

GB2164691A - Sliding-door partition for a shower

Info

Publication number: GB2164691A
Application number: GB08504256A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Siegfried Stannek
Original assignee: Kermi GmbH
Current assignee: Kermi GmbH
Priority date: 1984-09-20
Filing date: 1985-02-19
Publication date: 1986-03-26
Also published as: FR2570432A1; ATA31485A; DE8427742U1; FR2570432B3; GB8504256D0; GB2164691B; AT393212B

Abstract

The sliding doors (4) of a sliding-door partition, which are suspended from a runway rail (11) and guided at the bottom by guide members (5) engaging under a guide rail (6), can be lowered by a lowering device (16) to such an extent that they come free from the lower guide rail (6) and can be swung from the lower frame portion (2) containing the guide rails, to enable the lower frame portion to be cleaned. The lowering device may comprise compression springs (16) which support the weight of the door or doors and which can be compressed by a downward pull on the door or doors. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Sliding-door partition for a shower or the like This invention relates to a sliding-door partition for a shower or the like.

Partitions for showers, such as shower walls, shower cubicles or the like, comprise at least one wall in which at least one sliding door is mounted.

Such sliding-door partitions may also be placed on the top of bath tubs.

In so far as a sliding-door partition comprises a plurality of sliding doors, each of these is displaceable in relation to the others so that all the doors can either be pushed apart to close the partition or over one another to open a way through. In so far as such a sliding-door partition does not comprise any stationary partition elements but only sliding doors, the position of the way through can be selected almost freely by appropriate displacement of the sliding-doors.

Such a sliding-door partition comprises a frame, the upper frame portion of which comprises a runway rail in which the suspension of the or each sliding door is guided for displacement, in which case the sliding door can be displaced horizontally along the sliding-door partition but not downwards or in the horizontal direction transverse to this.

The lower frame portion in turn comprises a guide rail for the or each sliding door, which rail is open towards the bottom and is engaged from below by at least one guide member which is mounted at the bottom of the particular sliding door.

As a result of the co-operation of guide rail and guide member, assurance is provided that the sliding door can only be moved horizontally along the sliding-door partition.

A particularly advantageous, known sliding-door partition of the type mentioned above (DE-GM 7908 468) comprises a runway rail having a plurality of runway tracks which are constructed separate from the upper frame portion and are secured to the upper frame portion by means of setscrews which are mounted for rotation in the upper frame portion.

As a result of the provision of at least two setscrews which are disposed with spacing in the direction of movement of the sliding doors, the position of the runway rail can be adjusted in such a manner that it is parallel to the guide rail or the guide rails with such spacing that the guides cannot jump out of the guide rail. This construction is also preferred with this invention.

Although the region of the upper frame portion is practically only acted upon by clean, clear water - if at all - the lower frame portion is acted upon by soapy water or other liquid against which the sliding-door partition is intended to form a barrier.

This region of the sliding-door partition therefore requires particularly careful cleaning. The fact that these regions are only accessible to a limited extent, as a result of the sliding doors, stands in the way of such cleaning, however.

It is true that it would be possible to dismount the sliding doors together with the runway rail by completely undoing the setscrews, but the renewed installation of these elements is quite complicated and can scarcely be carried out by a person unskilled in the mounting of such sliding-door partitions.

Starting from this problem, it is the object of the invention to develop the sliding-door partition of the type mentioned at the beginning in the sense that the cleaning of the lower frame portion is facilitated by removing the guides of the sliding door or sliding doors.

This invention consists in a sliding-door partition for a shower wall, shower cubicle or the like, the partition comprising a frame having an upper and a lower frame portion, at least one sliding door suspended from the upper frame portion, a guide rail in the lower frame portion, and at least one guide member at the bottom of the door which engages in the guide rail from below, characterised in that in order to remove the or each guide member of the sliding door from the guide rail, the sliding door is suspended by means of a lowering device.

With this invention, the sliding door or each sliding door is suspended via a lowering device which enables the sliding door or each sliding door individually or jointly to be lowered if necessary to such an extent that the particular guide members can be removed from the associated guide rail but without the upper suspension of the sliding door being released from engagement with the associated runway rail. Since the suspension, preferably formed by rollers, can be tilted slightly in the associated runway track of the runway rail, it is possible to move the guide, which is lowered and thus released from the guide rail, transversely thereto up to a certain extent so that the hitherto inaccessible portions of the lower frame portion are freely accessible and can be cleaned.

The lowering device is therefore preferably constructed so that the lowering is effected against a spring force which holds the door in its normal position.

The lowering device may, for example, be disposed between the upper frame portion and its anchoring to the brickwork or a supporting frame so that the whole upper frame portion together with all suspensions can be lowered to such an extent that the guide comes free of the sliding door.

It is, however, also possible, to provide as a lowering device between each individual sliding door and the associated suspension members, for example rollers, a flexible suspension which enables each sliding door to be lowered in relation to its suspension members. In this case, as is preferred according to a development of the invention, the upper frame portion is constructed for mounting stationary, while the sliding door itself can be lowered in relation to the upper frame portion.

According to a particularly preferred development, it is an advantage, when the runway rail and the upper frame portion are constructed as separate elements, to position the lower device between these. This has the advantage of low expenditure on construction and great simplicity.

In order, on the one hand, to simplify the slidingdoor partition according to the invention still further in construction and on the other handto reduce still further the number and the degree of difficulty of the movements of the hand necessary for the removal of each sliding door, it is preferred, according to a further development of the invention, that the lowering device should be constructed in the form of a spring device which can be deflected downwards by pulling on the sliding door. This spring device may, for example be constructed in the form of a detent which is disposed between the upper frame portion and its supports, the upper frame portion and the runway rail or the suspension and the sliding door, and is in a position, through the action of a spring, to hold the sliding door in an upper position.In this case, a short determined pull downwards on the sliding door is sufficient to release the detent and to hold the sliding door in its lower position.

A spring loaded by the weight of the sliding door may advantageously serve as a lowering device, however, which can be deflected if the sliding door is pulled downwards by additional loading but lifts the door up again if this additional loading is absent.

The spring device may, for example, be formed from two stifftension springs by means of which the runway rail is suspended at both ends on the upper frame portion, or in the form of compression springs on which the two ends of the runway rail are supported and which in turn rest on a projection of the upper frame portion. According to a development of the invention, however, it is a particular advantage to associate the spring device with the adjusting device by means of which the vertical and inclined position of the runway rail is adjustable in relation to the upper frame portion.In the preferred form of embodiment, the head of the setscrew is mounted for rotation in the upper frame portion while a nut member is screwed onto the downward facing threaded shank of the setscrew, which nut member is prevented from rotation by engagement with profiling in the runway rail. Mounted the top of this nut member and preferably round the shank of the setscrew is a compression spring on the top of which a protuberance of the runway rail is supported. Only two such spring setscrews are sufficient for each sliding-door partition.

The particular advantage of thins development lies in that only very few additional elements are necessary for the lowering device. In this case, the lowering of the sliding doors is extremely simple: it is sufficient to pull one of the sliding doors, for example the normal entrance door, powerfully downwards to cause all the sliding doors to come simultaneously with their lower guide out of engagement with the guide rails as a result of the general lowering of the runway rail. Then a slight pressure against all the sliding doors is sufficient to deflect these. Then, when one lets go of that sliding door which has been pulled down, all the sliding doors, together with the runway rail, are raised upwards by the compression springs and bear with their guide members against the guide rails from the outside.It is also possible, by providing an appropriate spring travel or by additional raising of the sliding doors, to cause these to swing in the opposite direction with their guides free beyond the lower frame portion.

In this case, the adjusting travel of the runway rail, which is brought about by turning the setscrews, is preferably limited in the downward direction in order to prevent the setscrews from becoming detached during adjacent work, because these would be difficult to re-insert because of the arrange ment of the compression spring.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying di agrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a sliding-door partition in accord ance with the invention, in cross-section on line I-I of Figure 5; Figure 2 shows the lowering device, on a larger scale, during the lowering operation; Figure 3 shows the guides released from the guide rails during the lowering operation; Figure 4 shows the guides swung out of engagement with the guide rails, and Figure 5 is a diagrammatic external view, on a smaller scale, of the sliding-door partition.

In Figure 5, a sliding-door partition is shown, having three sliding doors 4 as well as a frame which is composed of an upper frame portion 1, two vertical lateral frame portions 3 and a lower frame portion 2.

The upper and lowerframe portions 1 and 2 are described in more detail in Figures 1 to 4.

As shown in Figure 1, the upper horizontal frame portion 1 is constructed in the form of a hollow section which is open downwards and inside which there is disposed a runway rail 11.

This runway rail 11 is a hollow section strip which is open downwards and which comprises an upper base portion from which four parallel webs originate. The two marginal webs 9 have an L-shaped section with a crossbar situated at the bottom and facing inwards, while the other two webs 10 have a T-section with crossbars facing downwards.

Thus three runway tracks situated side by side are formed by the four webs 9, 10, which tracks are each formed from a box-like space which is open downwards and into the downwardly open side of which a transverse web of each of the sections 9, 10 projects from both edges and is slightly thickened upwards at its free end so that these thickened end bars of the runway rails form the support for rollers 8. These rollers 8 each comprise two circumferential flanges and a groove disposed between the flanges, the profile of the groove being adapted to receive the free end of a crossbar of the L-section and T-section webs 9, 10 respectively.

Each two rollers 8 associated with one runway track are connected by a common axle (not shown) on which a carrier, extending down to a door leaf 4, is rotatably mounted. At least two rollers 8 situated one behind the other in the direction of travel on a door leaf 4, with the associated carrier, form one suspension in each case.

As can be seen, the box-like space forming a track in each case, has an internal width which is greater than the width of a pair of rollers 8. Thus it is possible for these pairs of rollers 8 to be able to be pivoted along an arc, which lies in the plane of the drawing of Figure 1, before the rollers 8 run against the adjacent webs.

Of the three rollers shown, the middle one is hidden by an adjusting and lowering device which is disposed at the end ofthe upper frame portion 1 in each case, as shown in Figure 5.

This adjusting and lowering device comprises a slotted screw 12, the head of which rests on the flat top of the outer section portion of the upper frame portion. The shank of the screw 12 extends centrally downwards and, in doing so, penetrates through a section extension, the side walls of which are formed by extending the two central webs of the runway rail 11 upwards. The two upward-facing ends of these two web extensions are connected to one another and the shank of the screw 12 passes through a bore in the connecting piece.

Inserted between the two centre webs, that is to say in the centre track, is a square or hexagonal nut, the width over the flats of which corresponds to the internal width of the centre runway track. This nut 13 is screwed onto the shank of the screw 12.

The transverse connection 14 between the two web extensions comprises a bore 15, as already mentioned, through which the shank of the screw penetrates. This bore 15 has a diameter of ample dimensions in order to render possible large tolerances.

Bearing against the under side of the transverse connection 14, round the bore 15, is a supporting washer through which the shank of the screw 12 penetrates with narrow clearance.

Disposed between the underside of this washer and the top of the nut 13 is a compression spring 16.

The free end of the screw 12 extends a short distance downwards beyond the crossbars of the sectional webs 9 and 10 and has a transverse bore in which a pin or split pin 17 is inserted.

This transverse bore extends parallel to the slot in the screw 12.

At their underside the three sliding doors 4 have guides 5 which are constructed in the form of guide hooks each having a hook-like free end facing upwards.

The lower frame portion 2 is constructed in the form of a hollow section with projecting webs which form three longitudinal grooves which are disposed side by side or staggered one above the other and are open at the bottom and which are lined with friction-reducing material.

In the operating position shown in Figure 1, the three ends of the hooks 5 are in engagement in the longitudinal grooves 6 which form guide rails. As can be seen, the three sliding doors can be moved backwards and forwards perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. In this position, however, they cannot execute any appreciable translation or tilting movement in the plane of the drawing.

At both sides, the upper frame portion 1 comprises downwardly directed arms which reach down to beyond the upper edges of the sliding doors 4 and are bent at an angle towards the doors with their free ends. These angled arms thus form an adequate spray protection for the runway rail and the suspensions.

It is different in the region of the lower frame portion 2 against which dirty and soapy water sprays and on which residues of soap and dirt as well as hard water deposits tend to collect. The cleaning of this lower frame portion 2 is difficult, particularly at the points designated by 7 in Figure 1, which are practically inaccessible but which should likewise be cleaned for aesthetic and hygienic reasons.

In order to make these parts accessible, a down ward-acting force is applied to one or more ofthe sliding doors 4 and is designated by an arrow in Figure 2. Whereas the force of the helical compress ion spring 16, surrounding the shank of the screw 12, is sufficient to hold the runway 11 always in a desired position, the application of a sufficiently great additional downwardly-directed force to the sliding doors 14 overcomes that of the spring 16 so that this is compressed as shown in Figure 2. In the course of this, the sliding doors 4 execute a move ment in the direction of the arrow - the direction of the force applied to them.

The same state as in Figure 2 is shown in Figure 3 but the lower frame portion 2 is illustrated. As can be seen, the hook-like ends of the guides 5 are lowered to such an extent that theirfree upper edge has passed down beyond the lower edges of the associ ated guide rail 6. Now all three sliding doors 4 can be pivoted in counterclockwise direction in the course of which they assume the position shown in Figure 4. The soiled places designated by 7 in Figure 1 are exposed. If the sliding doors are now released, then they again move a short distance upwards and at the same time bear with their hook-like ends against the sides of the guide channels - but from the outside. If places hidden by the guides 5 are to be made accessible, the particular sliding door 4 in question can easily be pivoted again.

As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2, a transverse pin or split pin 17 is fitted at the lower end of the shank of the screw 12 so that it limits adjustment of the nut 13 in the downward direction.

Apart from this, the screw 12 serves to adjust the horizontal position of the corresponding part of the runway rail 11.

Claims

1. A sliding-door partition for a shower wall, shower cubicle or the like, the partition comprising a frame having an upper and a lower frame portion, at least one sliding door suspended from the upper frame portion, a guide rail in the lowerframe portion, and at least one guide member at the bottom of the door which engages in the guide rail from below, characterised in that in order to remove the or each guide member (5) of the sliding door (4) from the guide rail (6), the sliding door is suspended by means of a lowering device (16).

2. A sliding-door partition as claimed in claim 1, having a stationary upperframe portion (1), characterised in that the lowering device (16) is mounted between the stationary frame portion and the sliding door (4).

3. A sliding-door partition as claimed in claim 2, having a runway rail (11) which is separate from the upperframe portion (1 ) and which comprises a runway track for the or each of the sliding doors (4), characterised in that the runway rail is adapted for lowering on the upper frame portion.

4. A sliding-door partition as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the lowering device is constructed in the form of a spring device (16) which can be deflected by pulling on the sliding door (4).

5. A sliding-door partition as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that the spring device comprises at least two compression springs (16) each of which is supported on a nut member (13) which is nonrotatably screwed onto a setscrew (12) carried by the upperframe portion and rotatable to adjust the normal position of the runway rail, and in that the runway rail (11) is mounted on the top of the compression springs (16).

6. A sliding-door partition as claimed in claim 5, characterised in that the adjustment travel of the runway rail (11) is limited in the downward direction.

7. A sliding-door partition as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the lowering device (16) can be located in its non-deflected operating position.

8. A sliding-door partition as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the or each sliding door is suspended from a runway rail which is adjustably mounted in the upper frame portion by means of setscrews.

9. A sliding door partition as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the or each sliding door is suspended by means of rollers running in the runway rail.

10. A sliding-door partition constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as described, with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.