GB2295187A

GB2295187A - Flexible door with offset guide roller

Info

Publication number: GB2295187A
Application number: GB9522565A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Leslie Mansley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-11-15
Filing date: 1995-11-03
Publication date: 1996-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 2015-11-03
Also published as: GB2295187B; GB9522565D0; GB9423002D0

Abstract

A flexible door 10 is wound onto or off a drum 19 after passing round a guide, for example a idler roller 62. The idler roller 62 is of significantly less diameter than the drum 19 and is spaced slightly from it, and is closer to the edge 57 of the door opening than the part of the drum 19 which is furthest from the edge 57. The safe edge 7 of the door can be wound in so that it does not extend any more into the opening than does the circumference of the drum 19. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO DOORS The present invention relates to a door arrangement, a kit of parts adapted to be assembled into a door arrangement and a method of operating a flexible door.

In the applicants co-pending application number 92 21052.5 a double skinned door arrangement is described that affords a rapid opening and closing of a flexible door. That prior door will now be described 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 13 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.

Figure 8 is a schematic plan view showing the detail of the construction of the safe edge 17 shown in Figure 2, and in particular the relationship of the dimensions of that edge to the drums 18 and 19 onto which the flexible panels are wound.

The safe edge 17 comprises a resilient sealing strip 54 of arcuate cross section that is arranged to deform and seal with a corresponding resilient strip of the opposing door when the doors are closed. That strip is connected to a strip mounting member 55 and that member is in turn connected to a reinforcing plate 56. The plate 56 is connected to the spaced parallel bars 32 at the top of the opening (shown in Figure 3) and that plate assists in ensuring resistance of the safe edge to bending about the vertical plane when the door is opened and closed.

The doors are frequently required to have a window adjacent to the safe edges that extends, for instance, 500mm inwards of the member 55. Such a window is formed of Polyvinylchloride. That PVC material will crease if it is wound onto either of the drums 18 or 19 over the top of previously wound PVC. Accordingly, in the open position of the doors, the safe edge must protrude from the edge 57 of the opening by the distance of half the diameter of drums 18 and 19, the extent of the window (less the circumference of the drum 18), the extent of the member 55 and the strip 54.

If the drum is of 200mm diameter, the window 900mm length and the member and strip both 50mm the opening is reduced approximately by 940mm. That reduction comprises 470mm intrusion into the space from each side. Where the width of the opening is relatively narrow as, for instance, in supermarkets where the access is afforded from the rear to the front of the door through an opening that is 3.5m wide, the door arrangement will reduce the size of the available opening from 3.5m between the edges 57 of the opening to approximately 2.5 m. Clearly such a restricted opening severely reduces the affectiveness of the door.

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 partially covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member being arranged to be wound on and off a rotatable member adjacent to an edge of the opening when moving between the two positions characterised in that the arrangement further includes a guide adjacent to the edge of the opening around which the flexible door member passes whereby, in the first position at least, the flexible door member leaving the guide to at least partially cover the opening at a location nearer to the edge of the opening than the part of the rotatable member furthest from the edge of the opening.

The flexible member may leave the guide at a location nearer to the edge of the opening than the rotational axis of the rotatable member.

The part of the guide furthest from the edge of the opening may be nearer to the edge of the opening than the part of the rotatable member furthest from the edge of the opening. The part of the guide that is furthest from the edge of the opening may be nearer to that edge than the rotational axis of the rotatable member.

The flexible door member may extend from the rotatable portion to the guide at an angle to the extent across the opening.

The guide may comprise a rotatable portion and may comprise a freely rotatable portion.

The guide may be spaced from the rotatable member.

The guide may be located immediately adjacent to the opening.

The part of the guide and the part of the rotatable member nearest the adjacent part of the opening may be substantially the same distance from that part of the opening.

The flexible member may be arranged to extend at an angle transverse to or substantially perpendicular to the extent across the opening in the extent of the flexible member from the rotatable member to the guide.

The arrangement may include a pair of flexible door members located at opposite sides of an opening with each member being associated with its own guide. The flexible door members may be arranged to move towards and away from each other simultaneously, and a common drive may be arranged to effect that simultaneous movement.

The flexible door member may include a relatively inflexible portion at the region remote from the rotatable member when the flexible member is in the first position and that relatively inflexible portion may be arranged, in the retracted position, to extend at least partially nearer to the part of the opening adjacent to the rotatable member than does a part of the member or than does the axis of rotation of that member.

The flexible door member may include an extent of material that may, for instance, comprise a window, in the extent of the flexible door member that is in the first position, away from the rotatable member with the extent of that material being greater than the circumference of the rotatable member and with that material being located within the space defined by the outer surface of the rotatable member and the adjacent part of the opening in the retracted position without that material overlapping itself. That material may have an extent in the region of twice the circumference of the rotatable member or more than twice that circumference.

The present invention also includes a kit of parts adapted to be assembled into a door arrangement, the kit including a rotatable member, a guide and a flexible door member in which, in use, the flexible door member can be wound onto and off the rotatable member to be in a retracted position or a position in which it extends at least partially across the opening and with the flexible door member being arranged to leave the guide to at least partially cover the opening at a location nearer to the edge of the opening than the part of the rotatable member furthest from the edge of the opening.

According to another aspect of the present invention a method of operating a flexible door comprises winding the flexible door onto a roller from a first position in which the flexible door extends at least partially over an opening to a second retracted position the method comprising causing the flexible door to pass around a guide with the flexible door member leaving that guide when being moved from the first position at a location nearer to the edge of the opening than the part of the rotatable member furthest from the edge of the opening.

The present invention also includes a method of operating a flexible door arrangement as herein referred to.

The present invention includes any combination of the herein referred to features and limitations.

The present invention may be carried into practice in various ways but one embodiment will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 9 is a schematic plan view of a flexible door opening arrangement 60, and Figure 10 is a schematic plan view of a cable arrangement for assisting in the operation of the doors.

The door opening arrangement 60 shown in Figure 9 shows one of two sides 57 of an opening which can be closed by a flexible door coming in from either side.

Although the door shown in the figures is only shown as a single skin 61 it will be appreciated that the safe edges 17 can be supported on the rails as previously described in relation to Figures 3, 4 and 5 in particular.

Furthermore, the mechanism used to power the doors to the open or closed positions may be as previously described herein.

The flexible door is able to be wound on to or off the drum 19, as previously described about an idler roller 62. The idler roller is spaced slightly from the drum 19 and is also of significantly less diameter than the drum 19 and may, for instance, be of 50 mm diameter.

Accordingly the only restriction on the distance that the safe edge can be wound in towards the edge 57 is the distance of the sum of the radius of the idler roller 62, the extent of the reinforcing plate 56 and the extent of the member 55 and the strip 54. Thus the surface of the strip 54 that faces inwardly with respect to the opening can be brought to within 225mm of the wall of the opening.

Accordingly, the opening is only reduced from 3.5m to 3.05m and not 2.5m as with the prior door arrangement.

It can be seen that the extent of the PVC window before the window is wound around itself on the drum, can be the circumference of the drum, the distance from the tangent from the drum to the idler roller and the distance from the tangent to the idler roller to the safe edge.

Accordingly a PVC window of greater length can be provided, without overlap in the open position with the effective reduction in the width of the opening being decreased.

A further advantage with the single drum being used is that the drive connection gears 20 between adjacent drums do not have to be provided.

In order to assist in the pulling of the safe edges in the most advantageous direction (that is along the extent of the rods rather than at an angle thereto), the safe edge cable 28 can pass around fixed idler pulleys 63, as shown in Figure 10.

Claims

1. A door arrangement including a flexible door member movable between a first position in which the door member at least partially covers an opening and a second, retracted position, the door member being arranged to be wound on and off a rotatable member adjacent to an edge of the opening when moving between the two positions characterised in that the arrangement further includes a guide adjacent to the edge of the opening around which the flexible door member passes whereby, in the first position at least, the flexible door member leaves the guide to at least partially cover the opening at a location nearer to the edge of the opening than the part of the rotatable member furthest from the edge of the opening.

2. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 in which the flexible member leaves the guide at a location nearer to the edge of the opening than the rotational axis of the rotatable member.

3. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 in which the part of the guide furthest from the edge of the opening is nearer to the edge of the opening than the part of the rotatable member furthest from the edge of the opening.

4. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 3 in which the part of the guide furthest from the edge is nearer to that edge than the rotational axis of the rotatable member.

5. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the flexible door member extends from the rotatable portion to the guide at an angle to the extent across the opening.

6. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 5 in which the flexible member is arranged to extend at an angle transverse to the extent across the opening in the extent of the flexible member from the rotatable member to the guide.

7. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 6 in which the flexible member is arranged to extend substantially perpendicular to the extent across the opening in the extent of the flexible member from the rotatable member to the guide.

8. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the guide comprises a rotatable portion.

9. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 8 in which the guide comprises a freely rotatable portion.

10. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the guide is spaced from the rotatable member.

11. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the guide is located immediately adjacent to the opening.

12. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the part of the guide and the part of the rotatable member nearest the adjacent part of the opening are substantially the same distance from that part of the opening.

13. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim including a pair of flexible door members located at opposite sides of an opening with each member being associated with its own guide.

14. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 13 in which the flexible door members are arranged to move towards and away from each other simultaneously.

15. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 14 in which the flexible door members are arranged to move towards and away from each other simultaneously by a common drive.

16. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the flexible door member includes a relatively inflexible portion at the region remote from the rotatable member when the flexible member is in the first position.

17. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 16 in which the relatively inflexible portion is arranged, in the retracted position, to extend at least partially nearer to the part of the opening adjacent to the rotatable member than does a part of the rotatable member.

18. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 16 or 17 in which, in the retracted position, the relatively inflexible portion is arranged to extend at least partially nearer to the part of the opening adjacent to the rotatable member than does the axis of rotation of the rotatable member.

19. An arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim in which the flexible door member includes an extent of material that comprises a window in the extent of the flexible door member that is in the first position, away from the rotatable member with the extent of that material being greater than the circumference of the rotatable member and with that material being located within the space defined by the outer surface of the rotatable member and the adjacent part of the opening in the retracted position without that material overlapping itself.

20. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 19 in which the material has an extent in the region of twice the circumference of the rotatable member.

21. An arrangement as claimed in Claim 19 in which the material has an extent of more than twice the circumference of the rotatable member.

22. A door arrangement including a flexible door member substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in either of Figures 9 or 10 of the accompanying drawings.

23. A kit of parts adapted to be assembled into a door arrangement, the kit including a rotatable member, a guide and a flexible door member in which, in use, the flexible door member can be wound onto and off the rotatable member to be in a retracted position or a position in which it extends at least partially across the opening and with the flexible door member being arranged to leave the guide to at least partially cover the opening at a location nearer to the edge of the opening than the part of the rotatable member furthest from the edge of the opening.

24. A method of operating a flexible door comprising winding the flexible door onto a roller from a first position in which the flexible door extends at least partially over an opening to a second retracted position, the method comprising causing the flexible door to pass around a guide with the flexible door member leaving that guide when being moved from the first position at a location nearer to the edge of the opening than the part of the rotatable member furthest from the edge of the opening.

25. A method as claimed in Claim 24 when operating a door arrangement as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 22.

26. A method of operating a flexible door substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in either of Figures 8 or 9 of the accompanying drawings.