GB2404412A

GB2404412A - Lift door with counterweight guide

Info

Publication number: GB2404412A
Application number: GB0413165A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Daniel Schurmann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-07-31
Filing date: 2004-06-14
Publication date: 2005-02-02
Anticipated expiration: 2024-06-14
Also published as: GB2404412B; GB0413165D0

Abstract

A lift door shutter 12, 14 comprises two complementary half shells fastened, for example by screws, clinching or gluing, to form a box-shaped body, including a vertical slide guide groove 34 (figure 3) to accommodate the counterweight 34' of the door closing mechanism. One of the half-shells may support a blocking lock 40 and one of the half-shells may also provide a wheel 36 for the counterweight cable.

Description

24044 1 2

A FLOOR OR CABIN DOOR FOR LIFTS

DESCRIPTION

The present invention refers to a floor or cabin door for lifts.

More particularly, the present invention refers to a floor or cabin door for lifts with reduced dimensions of the opening/closing mechanism.

Known doors for lifts are usually provided with a device allowing their opening and closing movement. This device is constituted by a trolley supported by a plate-shaped body that extends horizontally over the shutters, wherein also the blocking lock is fastened. Even though this known embodiment shows appropriate features for operation, it is not free from drawbacks that are particularly due to the large dimensions of the assembly that requires considerable installation space. Even the whole weight is large and requires properly sized support structures. This leads to considerable production costs and difficult installations The present invention seeks to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks.

More particularly, the present invention seeks to provide an improved floor or cabin door for lifts wherein the sliding motion components of the door are positioned in such a way as to substantially reduce the dimensions and the whole weight, thus removing the traditional use of the trolley.

The invention further seeks to provide a door as defined above, that can be easily assembled and installed without soldering.

The invention still further seeks to provide the users with an improved door that can assure high resistance and reliability levels over time. It is easily manufactured and at low cost.

The present invention comprises at least one pair of shutters associated with a blocking lock and co-operating with unlocking devices coupled with means, such as wheels and the like, the shutters reciprocally sliding to approach and move away from each other or by side by side or telescopically and are delimited at their lower part by horizontal and vertical thresholds adjacent to the floor surface and defining a groove in which the sliding guide of the shutters along their relevant lower bases are positioned and a plate-shaped support that extends horizontally in correspondence with or near to the opposite upper bases of the same shutters, and being mainly characterized in that each of the shutters comprises two complementary half shells that are fastened together by glueing, screws or clinching, in any case, without soldering, forming a box-shaped body wherein a slide guide groove of the closing door counterweight which extends vertically is obtained, said shutters making the support for the coupling means with their respective unlocking devices.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front schematic view of the improved door of the present invention, for example of the type with two central shutters; Figure 2 is a schematic view of the vertical section of the same door; and Figure 3 is a schematic view of the horizontal section of the same door.

With reference to the above-mentioned drawings, the improved floor or cabin door for lifts of the present invention, marked with 10 in its entirety in Figure 1 comprises a pair of shutters 12, 14 that reciprocally slide to approach and move away from each other and delimited at their lower part by conventional horizontal thresholds 16 and vertical thresholds 18 placed adjacent to the floor surface defined by the wall 20. The shutters 12, 14 can be of any kind side by side or central sliding shutters or telescopic sliding shutters with four or more paired units. In correspondence with the thresholds, a horizontal groove is provided to house slide guide means known in themselves, such as wheels or sliding blocks 22 for the opening and the closing of the shutters along their relevant lower bases.

The opposite bases or upper ends of the shutters 12 and 14 are faced on to a plate-shaped support 24, that extends in a horizontal direction and is fastened, with known means, to the wall 26. According to the invention, each of the shutters is constituted by two complementary half shells 30, 32 which are fastened together by any suitable means such as screws, clinching and/or glueing forming a box-shaped body having a reduced depth, preferably between 20 and 60 mm.

In the box-shaped element constituted by two half shells 30 and 32 forming each shutter 12, 14, a sliding groove 34 for the traditional counterweight marked 34' which extends in vertical direction. This is obtained by lap rolling one of the half shells for example the internal one 30 facing the lift-shaft and this is provided with a sliding wheel of the counterweight cable. This wheel is marked 36 in Figure 1 and is placed at the upper end of the external side of the half shell 30 to which it is fastened by a pin or the like.

According to a further advantageous feature of the invention, the same half shell 30 supports the blocking lock, marked 40 in Figure 1. In particular, each of the internal half shells 30 of the shutters 12,14 supports a part of the lock comprising conventional wheels 42 providing blocking of the shutters in a known way.

The upper end of the shutters 12 and 14 is connected to a horizontal guide 44 for the opening and closing sliding movement and is positioned along the plate-shaped support.

The guide is advantageously of the type in which the sliding elements, wheels, balls and the like are housed inside it. The guide is shaped in order to house these elements in such a way that they do not protrude outwards. These kinds of guides are used for example to slide platforms and beds of various kinds of machine tools and equipments or for mobile panels and drawers. The shutters 12,14 are connected to the slide guides 44 by traditional wheels or bearings fastened to it.

As can be seen from the above-mentioned description, the advantages obtained by the invention are clear.

The improved door of the present invention has advantageous features in dimensions and weights that are increasingly reduced thanks to the removal of the conventional trolley and to the presence of an extremely compact sliding guide 44. The position of the lock 40 on one of the half shells of the box-shaped body forming the single shutters 12 and 14 is also advantageous in addition to the shape of these half shells without soldering wherein the sliding groove 33 of the counterweight of the doors is obtained.

Claims

1. A floor or cabin door for lifts, comprising at least a pair of shutters associated with a blocking lock and co-operating with unlocking devices coupled with means such as wheels and the like so that they reciprocally slide to approach and move away from each other or by side by side or telescopic sliding, being delimited by horizontal and vertical thresholds in their lower part adjacent to the floor surface and defining a groove in which the sliding guide blocks or wheels of the shutters which slide along their relevant lower bases are positioned and a plate- shaped support which extends horizontally in correspondence with or near to the opposite upper bases of the same shutters, characterized in that each of the shutters comprises two complementary half shells which are fastened together with screws, clinching or glueing and form a box shaped body wherein a slide guide groove for the closing door counterweight extends in a vertical direction is obtained, the shutters providing the support for the coupling means with the relevant unlocking devices.

2. The door according to claim 1, characterized in that one of the half shells of each shutter supports the blocking lock.

3. The door according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the upper end of the shutters is engaged, for the opening and closing sliding, with a horizontal guide positioned along the plate-shaped support, the guide being provided with sliding means such as wheels, balls and the like in its inner part.

4. The door according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one of the half shells is provided with a sliding wheel, for the counterweight cable, at the upper end of one of the outer sides.

5. The door according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the depth of the half shells is between 20 and 60 mm.

6. A floor or cabin door for lifts substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.