GB2271383A

GB2271383A - Flexible roll-up door

Info

Publication number: GB2271383A
Application number: GB9221052A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Leslie Mansley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-10-07
Filing date: 1992-10-07
Publication date: 1994-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2012-10-07
Also published as: GB2271383B; GB9221052D0

Abstract

Two doors, each comprising a pair of spaced flexible panels 15 and 16 are connected at their free ends by a safe edge 17 and are wound onto or off associated drums 18 and 19 which are geared together. The edge 17 is powered between an open and closed position by a motor (33 Fig 3) which engages a cog (23) to cause rotation of a drum 25 to cause a carriage (14) to pull the edge. A wind bar 22 moves at half the speed of edge 17 via drum 24 and carriage (13). The drum 18 is connected to the same drive shaft as the drum (25) via a torsional spring (41) and may pivot relative to the drum (25) by an amount restricted by the ends of an arcuate slot (47 Fig 6) to compensate for the increase or decrease of the effective diameter of the drum 18 as the flexible door is being wound onto or off the drum 18. Under windy conditions this mechanism also prevents excessive bagging of the door and prevents the ballooned door being trapped between the free edge of the door as it approaches drum 18. <IMAGE>

Description

DOOR ARRANGEMENTS The present invention relates to door arrangements and to methods of operating doors. The invention is particularly, although not exclusively applicable to door arrangements in which a flexible door member slides at least partially across an external opening in a building from one side.

With flexible external doors a pair of flexible doors are pulled off rollers located at either side to meet in the middle and close the opening. The rollers are rotatably biased to urge the free ends of the doors towards the side. Accordingly, when the doors are closed, the wind on the outside of a building can exert such a force on the doors that the resilient force urging the doors onto the rollers is overcome and more of the flexible door is pulled off each roller to cause the doors to balloon into the building which can detract from the efficiency of the door or cause the door to break.

Additionally, as the free edge of each door is powered back to the closed position by a positive drive, with the spring in the roller pulling in the flexible door, if the roller causes the flexible door to be moved in at a lesser rate than the free end of the door the flexible door will be trapped by the free end against the side of the opening without being wound fully home on the roller.

According to one aspect of the present invention a door arrangement includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member being arranged to be wound on and off a rotatable member when moving between the two positions and drive means being arranged to be capable of providing a positive drive to rotate the rotatable member during at least part of the travel from the first position to the second position. With such a door arrangement, if the flexible door member were to move towards the second position at a lesser rate than the free end of the door member then the positive drive can engage the rotatable member to prevent the flexible door member from becoming trapped between the free end of the door and the part of the opening adjacent to the rotatable member.

The arrangement may include a drive means arranged to engage a portion of the door member at a location which is spaced from the rotatable member when the door member is in the first position whereby the drive means can pull the door member off the rotatable member to move the door member from the second to the first position or, alternatively or additionally, from the first to the second position and the drive means may be arranged to provide a positive drive.

The drive means which are arranged to engage a portion of the door at a location which is spaced from the rotatable member when the door is in the first position and the drive means which are arranged to be capable of providing a positive drive to rotate the rotatable member may be arranged to derive their power from a common drive, for instance a common rotatable member.

When the door member is in the first position and an opening is closed, the rotatable member may be arranged to rotate further to allow the flexible member to extend to a limited extent in a direction transverse to the extent of the door member from the rotatable member to the free end of the door member, and that further rotation may be arranged to be against a resilient bias which urges the rotatable member in a direction to tension the door member. The extent of such movement of the flexible member may be limited by an abutment member which abutment member may be constrained to rotate with the rotatable member but to engage with a cooperating surface which does not rotate with the rotatable member when the door member is in the first position.

The drive means which is capable of providing a positive drive to rotate the rotatable member during at least part of the travel from the first to the second position may be arranged to be engaged when a force pulling the door member away from the rotatable member exceeds a resilient force urged on the rotatable member to urge the door member from the first to the second position.

Resilient means may be arranged to act between a driven member and the rotatable member with the driven member being able to rotate relative to the rotatable member through a restricted amount whereby when relative rotation in at least one direction exceeds a predetermined amount the driven member and the rotatable member are constrained to rotate together. When the driven member and the rotatable member are constrained to rotate together abutting surfaces on each member may be arranged to engage each other. Resilient means may be provided which are arranged to act to urge the abutting surfaces of the driven member and the rotatable member away from each other.

According to another aspect of the present invention a door arrangement includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second positions and being constrained to move with the door member between the first and second positions at a lesser rate than the door member. That lesser rate may be proportional to the rate of movement of the door member and may be approximately half the rate of movement of the door member.

According to another aspect of the present invention a door arrangement includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second positions with the reinforcing member being constrained to be located between a free end of the door member and a first side of an opening towards which the door member moves when moving towards the second position with the reinforcing member being spaced from the first side of the opening and the free end of the door member when the door member is in the first position and when the door member moves to the second position.

According to a further aspect of the present invention a door arrangement includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second positions, the reinforcing member being restrained at one end to resist forces tending to cause pivotal movement of the reinforcing member about that one end in at least one direction extending in the direction of movement of the door member between the first and second positions.

The door member may include two spaced parallel flexible members. Each of the spaced parallel flexible members may be associated with a separate rotatable member. The separate rotatable members may be drivably coupled together. The rotatable members may be arranged to rotate in opposite directions.

The door arrangement may include two flexible door members arranged to be retracted to the second position towards opposite parts of an opening.

According to another aspect of the present invention a door arrangement includes a flexible door member movable between a first position, in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member being arranged to be wound on and off a rotatable member when moving between the two positions, the end of the door member which is spaced from the rotatable member, when the door member is in the first position, having edge means extending in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the door member between the first and second positions, the lower end of the edge means being located in a slot extending in the direction of movement between the first and second positions, movement of the edge means from the first to the second position being arranged to cause the edge means to clean the slot.

The slot may be arranged to be cleaned by sweeping.

The slot may include a reservoir located at one end thereof. The bottom of the reservoir may be located at a lower level than the slot.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention a method of moving a door member between a first position, in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position comprises positively driving the rotatable member during at least part of the travel of the door member from the first to the second position.

The method may also comprise providing a positive drive for a part of the door member spaced from the rotatable member when moving the door member from the first to the second position.

The method may comprise providing the positive drive for the rotatable member when a force tending to unwind the door member from the rotatable member exceeds a predetermined amount.

The method may comprise allowing the rotatable member to unwind further, after an opening has been closed with the door member, and the method may comprise limiting that amount of further rotation.

According to another aspect of the present invention a method of operating a door arrangement which includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second position comprises constraining the reinforcing member to move with the door member between the first and second positions at a lesser rate than the door member.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention a method of operating a door arrangement which includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second positions comprises constraining the reinforcing member such that it is located between the free end of the door member and a first side of the opening towards which the door member moves when moving towards the second position with the reinforcing member being spaced from the rotatable member and the free end of the door member when the free end of the door member is spaced from the first side.

According to another aspect of the present invention a method of operating a door arrangement which includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second positions comprises restraining the reinforcing member at one end to resist forces tending to cause pivotal movement of the reinforcing member about that one end in at least one direction extending in the direction of movement of the door member between the first and second positions.

According to another aspect of the present invention a method of operating a door arrangement which includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member being arranged to be wound on or off a rotatable member when moving between the two positions comprises the end of the door member which is spaced from the rotatable member when the door member is in the first position moving through and cleaning a slot when moving towards the second position. The method may comprise the slot being cleaned by causing dirt to be swept towards a reservoir located at one end of the slot.

The present invention includes any combination of the herein described features or limitations.

The present invention may be carried into practice in various ways but one embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic front view of a pair of flexible door panels 10 and 11 which can be wound towards or away from each other to open or close a doorway 12; Figure 2 is a schematic sectional plan view taken on the lines 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a detailed front view of the operational part of the door 10 in the region designated 3 in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the mechanism whereby the door 10 can be powered to the open or closed position; Figure 5 is a front view of the sliding members 13 and 14 which power portions of the door 10;; Figure 6 is a schematic plan view of a plate 42 showing the cooperation of a cap screw 46 with a slot 47 to control the winding up of the flexible door panel, and Figure 7 is a schematic perspective view of part of a guide channel 50 for the lower portion of the safe edge and wind bar.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, two flexible door panels 10 and 11 are provided which can be pulled off drums extending upwardly on either side of the doorway 12 to meet in the middle, or rolled back onto the drums to open the doorway. As shown in Figure 2, each door comprises a pair of spaced flexible panels 15 and 16 which are connected together at their free ends by a safe edge 17, with each panel being able to be wound onto or off an associated drum 18 and 19 respectively. The drums 18 and 19 of each door have side by side meshing gears 20 (shown in Figure 3) at a region above their extent whereby, by powering one gear 20 associated with one of the drums in one direction, the other drum is caused to rotate in the opposite direction.

The doorway 12 is located on the outside of a building and accordingly, when the wind blows in the direction shown by arrows 21 in Figure 2, the outer panel 15 will tend to deflect inwardly, as shown in chain lines, to cause "bagging" of the panel. If that inwards movement were unchecked then, if the safe edges 17 were powered back, the panels would tend to become trapped between the safe edge and the drums without the panel being fully wound back onto the drum. Alternatively or additionally, excessive inwards movement of the panel 15, when the doors are closed, will pull the safe edges away from each other or pull an excessive amount of the panel off the drum.To assist in limiting the bagging of the panel, both in the fully closed position and when the door is being opened, a wind bar 22 is provided between the panel 15 and 16 with the bar 22 being located approximately halfway between the safe edge 17 and the drums 18 and 19 regardless of whether the doors are fully or partially open. Each wind bar is powered away from and towards the associated drum, as are the safe edges in a manner to be described below.

The wind bars 22 and the safe edges 17 are powered between an open and closed position by a motor 33 shown schematically in Figure 3 which engages a driven cog 23 to cause clockwise or anticlockwise rotation of coaxial grooved wind bar and safe edge drums 24 and 25 respectively. A chain may extend around the corresponding cog associated with the drums of the other door to enable synchronised operation of both doors from a single motor.

As shown in Figure 4, a wind bar cable 26 is wound around the wind drum a few turns (to ensure that the cable will not slip on the drum) with a loop of that cable extending around a free running pulley 27. Although the cable 26 is designed not to stretch it is inevitable that, in use, a small amount of stretch will occur and accordingly each end of the cable is attached to a different end of a tension spring 55 such that, should stretching of the cable occur, that will be taken up by the spring contracting slightly. Similarly a safe edge cable 28 is wound around the safe edge drum 25 with a loop of that cable passing around a pulley 29 and with the ends of the cable being secured to opposite ends of a spring 30.

The diameter of the safe edge drum 25 is twice that of the wind bar drum 24 and accordingly the straight extent of the safe edge cable 28 will move at twice the speed of the wind bar cable 26. The edge cable 28 and the wind cable 26 are secured to the safe edge carriage 14 and the wind bar carriage 13 respectively, as shown in Figure 5.

The safe edge carriage 14 is guided by a pair of linear roller bearings 31 which slide on spaced parallel bars 32. Any tendency for the safe edge and the associated carriage to twist about the bars 36 is resisted by rollers 34 located on an extension 35 of the carriage which abut with the underside of one of the bars 32 and the top of one of the bars 36 for the other carriage.

Similarly, the wind bar carriage is guided by a pair of linear roller bearings 37 with rollers 38 on an extension 39 resisting twisting of the wind bar or the carriage.

When the door 10 is in the open position, the two carriages will overlap each other partially with the extension 39 of the wind carriage extending alongside the carriage 14 and the extension 35, when viewed from the front. Similarly the extension of the safe edge carriage of the other door 11 is located between the bars 36 such that the extension of safe edge carriages from each door can overlap each other.

Each drum 18 and 19 is connected to a keyed bullet shaft 40 (which is constrained to rotate with the drive cog 23) via a torsional spring 41. The spring 41 is fixed at its upper end to a plate 42, and that plate is welded to the upper end of the drum 18. The lower end of the spring is fixed to a disc 43 which is welded to a shaft 44 into which the bullet shaft extends such that the two shafts are constrained to rotate with each other. A pair of spaced parallel bearings 54 are provided between the shaft 44 and the drum 18 to permit relative pivotal movement. The lower end of the drum (not shown) is mounted in coaxial bearings to enable rotation of the drum.

The plate 42 is able to slide relative to an overlapping plate 45. Accordingly, considering the normal operation of the door, without wind loading, as the door is moved from the closed to the open position the diameter of the drum will increase as the panel is taken up, and accordingly the drum will undergo a slightly smaller degree of rotation than the shaft 40. However, the spring connection between the shaft 40 and the drum urges the drum to wind up with the sheet being in tension. However, if wind loading occurs during opening of the door that relative movement may be excessive thereby permitting bagging of the panel. To prevent such excessive movement, a cap screw 46 fast with the plate 45 and the shaft 40 extends through an arcuate slot 47 in the plate 42, as shown in Figure 6.

During normal operation, to compensate for the increase in diameter of the drum as the door is wound on to it, the cap screw moves relative to the plate 42 through the distance "x", which may be, for example, 12 mm. When the door is closed and wind is blowing on the panel 15 to tend to unwind the panel from the drum, the panel may be permitted to unwind, against the action of the spring which maintains the panel in tension, until the cap screw abuts the end 48 of the slot. Further relative movement in that direction is then prevented and the bagging is restricted. When the sheet is wound in, even if the wind force on the panel is considerable, excessive bagging is prevented and the cap screw is either brought into engagement with the end 48, or maintained in engagement to provide a positive wind up drive for the drum.

The provision of the cap screw and socket which permit restricted relative rotational movement between the drum and drive shaft enables phenomenal operating speeds to be achieved, and the safe edge of the doorway may move at lm/s.

In order to remove a drum, for instance for maintenance, the bullet shaft 40 can be withdrawn from the socket in the shaft 44 by turning a threaded key 49.

Thereafter the drum can be pivoted clear of the upper assembly and lifted out of the rotational bearing assembly at the bottom. Attachment of the drum to the drive assembly is a reverse of that procedure.

As shown in Figures 1 and 7, the lower edge of each safe edge 17 is arranged to extend through a brush seal 49 into a guide channel 50.

Two annular brushes 51 (only one of which is shown) are secured to the safe edge 17 within the channel such that any dust or debris within the channel is swept to a downwardly recessed reservoir 52 each time the door is opened. The reservoir may be emptied when required. The wind bar may also extend into the channel and be provided with brushes if desired.

Claims

1. A door arrangement including a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member being arranged to be wound on and off a rotatable member when moving between the two positions and drive means being arranged to be capable of providing a positive drive to rotate the rotatable member during at least part of the travel from the first position to the second position.

2. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 including drive means arranged to engage a portion of the door member at a location which is spaced from the rotatable member when the door member is in the first position whereby the drive means can pull the door member off the rotatable member to move the door member from the second to the first position.

3. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim including a drive means arranged to engage a portion of the door member at a location which is spaced from the rotatable member when the door member is in the first position whereby the drive means can pull the door member from the first to the second position.

4. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 or 3 in which the drive means which are arranged to engage a portion of the door at a location which is spaced from the rotatable member when the door is in the first position and the drive means which are arranged to be capable of providing a positive drive to rotate the rotatable member derive their power from a common drive.

5. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 4 in which the common drive that provides the power is provided by a common rotatable member.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim in which, when the door member is in the first position and an opening is closed, the rotatable member is arranged to rotate further to allow the flexible member to extend to a limited extent in a direction transverse to the extent of the door member from the rotatable member to the free end of the door member.

7. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 in which the further rotation is against a resilient bias which urges the rotatable member in a direction to tension the door member.

8. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 7 in which the extent of the movement in the transverse direction is limited by an abutment member, the abutment member being constrained to rotate with the rotatable member but being arranged to engage with a cooperating surface which does not rotate with the rotatable member when the door member is in the first position.

9. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 or 3 or any of the preceding claims when dependent upon Claims 2 and 3 in which the drive means which is capable of providing a positive drive to rotate the rotatable member during at least part of the travel from the first to the second position is arranged to be engaged when a force pulling the door member away from the rotatable member exceeds a resilient force urged on the rotatable member to urge the door member from the first to the second position.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim including resilient means arranged to act between a driven member and a rotatable member with the driven member being able to rotate relative to the rotatable member through a restricted amount whereby when relative rotation in at least one direction exceeds a predetermined amount the driven member and the rotatable member are constrained to rotate together.

11. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 10 in which the driven member and the rotatable member are constrained to rotate together when abutting surfaces on each member engage each other.

12. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 11 including resilient means arranged to act to urge the abutting surfaces of the driven member and the rotatable member away from each other.

13. A door arrangement including a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second retracted position the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second positions and being constrained to move with the door member between the first and second positions at a lesser rate than the door member.

14. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 13 in which the lesser rate is proportional to the rate of movement-of the door member.

15. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 14 in which the lesser rate is approximately half the rate of movement of the door member.

16. Apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 13 to 15 when dependent upon any of Claims 1 to 12.

17. A door arrangement including a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second positions with the reinforcing member being constrained to be located between a free end of the door member and a first side of an opening towards which the door member moves when moving towards the second position with the reinforcing member being spaced from the first side of the opening and the free end of the door member, when the door member is in the first position and when the door member moves to the second position.

18. A door arrangement as claimed in Claim 17 when dependent upon any of Claims 13 to 16 or when dependent upon any of Claims 1 to 12.

19. A door arrangement including a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second positions, the reinforcing member being restrained at one end to resist forces tending to cause pivotal movement of the reinforcing member about that one end in at least one direction extending in the direction of movement of the door member between the first and second positions.

20. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the door member includes two spaced parallel flexible members.

21. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 20 in which each of the spaced parallel flexible members is associated with a separate rotatable member.

22. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 21 in which the separate rotatable members are drivably coupled together.

23. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 21 or 22 in which the rotatable members are arranged to rotate in opposite directions.

24. A door arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim including two flexible door members arranged to be retracted to the second position towards opposite parts of an opening.

25. A door arrangement including a flexible door member movable between a first position, in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member being arranged to be wound on and off a rotatable member when moving between the two positions, the end of the door member which is spaced from the rotatable member, when the door member is in the first position, having edge means extending in the direction transverse to the direction of movement of the door member between the first and second positions, the lower end of the edge means being located in a slot extending in the direction of movement between the first and second positions, movement of the edge means from the first to the second position being arranged to cause the edge means to clean the slot.

26. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 25 in which the slot is arranged to be cleaned by sweeping.

27. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 25 or 26 in which the slot includes a reservoir located at one end thereof.

28. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 27 in which the bottom of the reservoir is located at a lower level than the slot.

29. Apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 25 to 28 when dependent upon any preceding claim.

30. A door arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

31. A method of moving a door member between a first position, in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position in which part of the door member is wound onto a rotatable member comprises positively driving the rotatable member during at least part of the travel of the door member from the first to the second position.

32. A method as claimed in Claim 31 comprising providing a positive drive for a part of the door member spaced from the rotatable member when moving the door member from the first to the second position.

33. A method as claimed in Claim 31 or 32 comprising providing the positive drive for the rotatable member when a force tending to unwind the door member from the rotatable member exceeds a predetermined amount.

34. A method as claimed in any of Claims 31 to 33 comprising allowing the rotatable member to unwind further, after an opening has been closed with the door member.

35. A method as claimed in Claim 34 comprising allowing the rotatable member to unwind further, after an opening has been closed with the door member and limiting that amount of further rotation.

36. A method of operating a door arrangement which includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second position the method comprising constraining the reinforcing member to move with the door member between the first and second positions at a lesser rate than the door member.

37. A method of operating a door arrangement which includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second positions, the method comprising constraining the reinforcing member such that it is located between the free end of the door member and a first side of the opening towards which the door member moves when moving towards the second position with the reinforcing member being spaced from the rotatable member and the free end of the door member when the free end of the door member is spaced from the first side.

38. A method of operating a door arrangement which includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member including a reinforcing member extending transversely with respect to the direction of movement between the first and second positions the method comprising restraining the reinforcing member at one end to resist forces tending to cause pivotal movement of the reinforcing member about that one end in at least one direction extending in the direction of movement of the door member between the first and second positions.

39. A method of operating a door arrangement which includes a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partly covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member being arranged to be wound on or off a rotatable member when moving between the two positions, the method comprising the end of the door member which is spaced from the rotatable member when the door member is in the first position moving through and cleaning a slot when moving towards the second position.

40. A method as claimed in Claim 39 comprising the slot being cleaned by causing the dirt to be swept towards a reservoir located at one end of the slot.

41. A method of operating a door arrangement substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

42. A method as claimed in any of Claims 31 to 41 when operating a door arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 30.