GB2243862A

GB2243862A - A gate and a guide therefore

Info

Publication number: GB2243862A
Application number: GB9010436A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kwan-Yu Wong
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-05-09
Filing date: 1990-05-09
Publication date: 1991-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 2010-05-09
Also published as: CN2074356U; GB2243862B; GB9010436D0

Abstract

A guide for a closure member (15) of a sliding gate, fence, partition or door (10), comprises a guide track (14), a roller (32) disposed within the guide track (14) for rolling therealong, and a support member (31) for connecting the roller (32) to a said closure member (15). The guide track (14) is open substantially along its length and on one side through which the support member (31) extends, and is provided in use on a lower portion of a said closure member (15) and with said one side facing downwards so as to prevent debri jamming the roller (32). The guide track (14) is channel-shaped and the roller (32) bears in use for rotation against the inner surface of either one limb of the guide track (14). <IMAGE>

Description

A GATE AND A GUIDE THEREFOR The present invention relates to gates and security doors and more particularly to the roller mechanism for sliding and concatena gates and doors, which is also applicable to slidable partitions, screens and the like, such as vehicle bodies. Gates or security doors, as they are sometimes called, are used to allow restricted access to areas otherwise surrounded by walls or fences. In the domestic market, gates provide or allow the free movement of air through the doorway while restricting the entry of persons. Often blinds or screens are incorporated into the gate to provide a limited degree of privacy for the occupants when the main door is open and the gate is closed.

Many types of sliding gates are known. They generally fall into two types namely sliding solid gates in which the gate is rigid and slides along a track or frame and a folding gates in which the gate folds or concatenas as it is opened such that one side of the gate is held fixed in the frame and the other side slides within the frame, towards the fixed side. Both types may be either mounted on lower rollers or suspended from an overhead track by rollers, the other side usually having guide rollers.

In either arrangement the lower track is subject to debri build up as it is an open channel or an exposed rail. In GB 959592 for example, the lower guide rollers are captured within a "U" -shaped channel which is exposed and thus vunerable to debri collection and build up which quickly interfers with the smooth operation of the guide rollers and thus the operation of the door.

The present invention provides in a first aspect a guide for a closure member of a sliding gate, fence, partition or door, which guide comprises a roller, a guide track embracing the roller, a hook-shaped support member supporting the roller and for connection to a lower portion of a said closure member, and means for preventing debri jamming the roller.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a guide for a closure member of a sliding gate, fence, partition or door, which guide comprises a guide track, a roller disposed within the guide track for rolling therealong, and a support member for connecting the roller to a said closure member, wherein the guide track is open substantially along its length and on one side through which the support member extends, said guide track being provided in use on a lower portion of a said closure member and with said one side facing downwards so as to prevent debri jamming the roller.

It is preferred that the guide track is channelshaped, the roller bearing in use for rotation against the inner surface of either one limb of the guide track.

Preferably, the support member is hook-shaped and supports at its hook end the roller.

A third aspect of the invention provides a sliding gate, fence, partition or door incorporating such a guide.

In a preferred embodiment, the sliding gate comprises an outer frame, and a contractable closure member supported within the frame for sliding movement between a laterally extended position in which the gate is closed and a laterally contracted position in which the gate is open, wherein the closure member comprises a plurality of upright gate members interconnected by a plurality of slats, each slat being hinged between two adjacent gate members.

Preferably, the guide is provided below the closure member, with the support member firstly extending downwardly from the closure member and then upwardly into the guide track.

One preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in which the guide has been fitted to a folding concatena type gate. The embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a gate embodying the invenion; Figure 2 is a side view of the gate of Figure 1 in situ; Figure 3 is a partial sectional view of the gate of Figure 1, showing a guide embodying the invention; and Figure 4 illustrates the construction of the gate of Figure 1.

Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of a gate or security door (10) to which the invention has been applied. The gate comprises an outer frame (11), an inner frame made up of a top rail or support track (12), two side members (13) and a bottom rail or guide track (14). The body of the gate, i.e. movable closure member (15), comprises two end upright gate members (16) (each of which houses a latching/locking mechanism for maintaining the gate closed) and a plurality of intermediate upright gate members or struts (18) interconnected by a plurality of leaves or blades. These leaves or blades are constructed from slats (17) pivotably connected to the struts (18).

The construction of the slats (17) is more clearly shown in Figure 4 and will be discussed in more detail later.

The closure member (15) extends between the support rail (12) and the guide rail (14) and expands and contracts laterally to close and open the access through the gate way.

Figure 2 illustrates a typical installation. The gate (10) is fitted to the external wall (9) of a flat covering the doorway. The main door (8) is located behind the gate. Thus when the main door is opened visitors may be interigated through the gate before being given access to the flat. Usually a step (7) coincides with the location of the guide rail. This does facilitate installation but is not essential.

The closure member (15) is suspended from the support track (12) by suspension hooks (20). In Figure 3 the frame (11), the support track (12) and the guide track (14) are shown in section for clarity and the closure member (15) is represented by phantom lines. The suspension hook (20) comprises a shaft (21) with one end press fitted to a strut of the closure member (15). The other end has a roller mount (22) on which a roller is mounted. In this case the roller mount (22) supports two rollers which are located in respective grooves (24) in the support track (12) for movement along the track (12).

The lower portion of the closure member (15) is connected to the guide track (14) by a plurality of guides (30). Each guide (30) comprises a shaft or rod (31) bent in the shape of a letter "J" or (inverted) question mark "?" in which the long end is fitted to the closure member (15) in a manner similar to that of the suspension hook (20). To the other end of the guide (30) is fitted a guide roller (32). Because of the shape of the guide, the guide roller (32) is arranged to rotate about a substantially vertical axis with the shaft extending vertically downwardly from the guide roller (32) and then turning to extend vertically upwardly to the closure member (15).This arrangement allows the guide roller (32) to be located within the inverted channel of the guide track (14) so that, in use, the guide roller (32) can bear against the inside surface of the depending portions or limbs of the guide track (14).

In this manner, the guide roller (32) is substantially enclosed or embraced within the guide track (14) with the open side of the channel facing downwards. Thus dust and other debri are prevented from falling into and collecting within the guide track (14) and foulling the operation of the guide roller (32). For security reasons, the front depending portion (34) of the guide track (14) is made longer than the rear depending portion (35). This provides greater strength to the construction of the inner frame and protects the lower portion (33) of the guide (30). A gap (36) is left between the outer frame (11) and the guide track (14) to allow dust to be washed from guide way (37) and water to readily drain away.

The construction of the closure member (15) will be briefly explained with reference to Figure 4 in which a small section of an upper portion of the member is shown. The struts (18) are generally semi-circular hollow extrusions with part circular channels (45) formed at the two edges. The blades or slats (17) are substantially planar, being formed from sheet material or they may be extrusions. Along the longitudinal edges of the slats (17) are formed circular rods or tubes (46). For slats constructed from sheet material the edges are rolled to form the rounded shape. These rounded edges or circular tubes (46) are sized to be a neat sliding fit within the channels (45) formed in the struts and are captured therein but able to pivot through a limited angular range, thus forming a hinged connection allowing the closure member (15) to be folded concatena style.

The slats (17) are held in the desired location along the channels by stoppers (41) formed from a tube similar in size to the slat edges and rivetted or otherwise fixed in the strut channels (45). Cut outs (47) are provided in the slat edges to accommodate the stoppers (41).

The shaft (21) of the suspension hook (20) is pressed into the struts (18). As the shaft is an interference press fit it is held firmly in position. Additional securing may be applied if desired. The struts (18) may be considered as forming two seperate groups. The first group moves laterally in a plane parallel to the gate. The second group moves outwardly as well as laterally as the gate is opened and the closure member (15) folds. Alternate struts (18) are grouped alike.

Thus the suspension hooks (20) may be fitted to alternate struts (18), i.e. the first group struts (18), or to only selected ones of the first group, e.g. alternate struts of the first group as is the case in the described embodiment. Upper guide discs (25) are fitted to the first group struts (18) to which the suspension hooks (20) are not fitted.

The guides (30) are fitted to each struts (18) of the first group.

Various modifications of and/or alterations to the described embodiment may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A guide for a closure member of a sliding gate, fence, partition or door, comprising a roller, a guide track embracing the roller, a hook-shaped support member supporting the roller and for connection to a lower portion of a said closure member, and means for preventing debri jamming the roller.

2 A guide for a closure member of a sliding gate, fence, partition or door, which guide comprises a guide track, a roller disposed within the guide track for rolling therealong, and a support member for connecting the roller to a said closure member, wherein the guide track is open substantially along its length and on one side through which the support member extends, said guide track being provided in use on a lower portion of a said closure member and with said one side facing downwards so as to prevent debri jamming the roller.

3. A guide as claimed in claim 2, wherein the guide track is channel-shaped, the roller bearing in use for rotation against the inner surface of either one limb of the guide track.

4. A guideas claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the support member is hook-shaped and supports at its hook end the roller.

5. A guide substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6. A sliding gate, fence, partition or door incorporating a guide as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

7. A sliding gate as claimed in claim 6, comprises an outer frame, and a contractable closure member supported within the frame for sliding movement between a laterally extended position in which the gate is closed and a laterally contracted position in which the gate is open, wherein the closure member comprises a plurality of upright gate members interconnected by a plurality of slats, each slat being hinged between two adjacent gate members.

8. A sliding gate as claimed in claim 7, wherein the guide is provided below the closure member, with the support member extending firstly downwardly from the closure member and then upwardly into the guide track.

9. A sliding gate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.