GB2466823A

GB2466823A - Shutter door panel

Info

Publication number: GB2466823A
Application number: GB0900284A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Trevor Jenkins
Original assignee: Leyland Trucks Ltd
Current assignee: Leyland Trucks Ltd
Priority date: 2009-01-09
Filing date: 2009-01-09
Publication date: 2010-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2029-01-09
Also published as: GB0900284D0; GB2466823B

Abstract

A shutter door panel 50 has at least one pair of parallel side edges and comprises two spaced skins 51, 52 between which are fixed a plurality of spars 53 that are relatively stiffer than the skins 51, 52. Provided along each of the parallel side edges are a plurality of individual guide elements 56 having a guide formation adapted for mounting the panel 50 for sliding movement in or on guide tracks 55 on a structure on which the panel may be mounted. The panel 50 is capable of flexing in the direction perpendicular to the longest dimension of the spars 53 by relative articulating movement thereof. The skins 51, 52 and the spars 53 may be of a plastics material as may be the guide elements 56. The shutter door panel may be used in a shutter door assembly for the cargo carrying space of a vehicle.

Description

SHUTTER DOOR PANEL

The present invention relates to a shutter door panel and to a shutter door assembly incorporating the panel.

Shutter door assemblies are well-known and comprise a shutter door panel which is slideably mounted along its side edges in or on a guide track assembly. The panel is flexible in its sliding direction. The guide track assembly usually has sections angled relative to each other connected by a curved transition region around which the panel is capable of flexing during opening and shutting of the door.

Typically in such assemblies the door is open and shut vertically so one section of the guide track is vertical and usually (but not necessarily) the other section is horizontal. During opening of the door, the panel is raised from its closed position and travels around the transition region at least partly along the horizontal section of the guide track assembly, depending on the extent to which the door is opened.

Usually the shutter door panels are of metal and are constructed of individual sections (eg. metal, wood or UPVC) which are pivotally connected to each other by means of hinges which need to be affixed to the various sections. As a result the prior shutter doors are time-consuming to construct. Additionally the fact that the door panel (and its associated guide track) is of metal is a disadvantage for certain applications where it is desired to minimise weight. A particular example that may be mentioned is shutter door assemblies for road going, goods vehicles such as vans, trucks and lorries where the weight of the metal door and its associated metal guide track can have an adverse effect on the fuel consumption of the vehicle.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a shutter door panel having at least one pair of parallel side edges, said panel comprising two spaced skins of flexible material between which are fixed a plurality of parallel spars that are relatively stiffer than the skins and said panel being provided along each of said parallel side edges with a plurality of individual guide elements having a guide formation adapted for mounting the panel for sliding movement in or an guide tracks, said panel being capable of flexing in the direction transverse to the spars (i.e. perpendicular to the spar length) by relative articulating movement thereof.

The present invention further provides a shutter door assembly comprising a shutter door panel as defined for the first aspect of the invention and a frame on which the door panel is mounted, said frame including a pair of opposed, parallel guide tracks in or on which said guide elements of the panel are slideabJy mounted.

Shutter door panels in accordance with the invention comprise parallel spars sandwiched between, and affixed to, spaced outer skins of flexible material. The panel further comprises individual guide elements each having a guide formation adapted for mounting the panel for sliding movement in or on a guide track. The arrangement is such that the panel is capable of flexing in a direction perpendicular to the length of the spar, such flexing being achieved by articulating movement of the spars relative to each other. However, the panel is relatively stiff in the longitudinal dimension of the spars so that overall the panel has the required characteristics for use in a shutter door assembly. Shutter door panels in accordance with the invention are easy to construct and may be produced by bonding the spars to the inner surface of one of the skins prior to bonding the other skin in position, with the guide elements being attached at an appropriate stage during manufacture. Manufacture of the panel may be achieved more quickly than a similar sized panel constructed of individual metal sections that must be pivotaly connected together by means of hinges. Furthermore in an advantageous embodiment of the invention the skins, the spars and/or the guide elements are of plastics material, which itself provides a number of advantages. In particular, a shutter door panel made partly (and ideally wholly) of plastics material provides considerable weight savings as compared to an equivalent size panel constructed of metal. Furthermore the panel will not corrode, as would a metal panel. Additionally, manufacture of a panel which is comprised at least partially (and ideally wholly) of plastics material may be effected easily because the component parts are easy to handle (i.e. they are lightweight) and may be fixed together easily using adhesive or other well established techniques for joining plastics materials.

The skins, spars and/or guide elements are preferably of thermoplastics materials. Thus, for example, the skins may be of a polyamide (e.g. nylon) or polypropylene. If desired, the skins may be reinforced with continuous or discontinuous fibrous material, e.g. glass or carbon. The spars may also be of polypropylene or a polyamide (e.g. nylon). For the purpose of lightness, the spars may be of a honeycomb construction or of a foam plastics material, or may be formed from sheet in, for example, a corrugated style.

The guide elements may also be of thermoplastics material, such as described above for the skins and the spars.

Further examples of plastics materials that may be used include sem-crystalline thermoplastics such as polyetherketone, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyamide (e.g. polyamide 6,6 or polyamide 11), polyphenylene sulphide, polyethylene terephthalate, polyoxymethylene, high density polyethylene and low density polyethylene.

Similar plastics materials as described above may also be used for the guide tracks on which the guide tracks on which the door panel is mounted. Conveniently the guide tracks are produced by extrusion.

Although it is preferred that the skins and spars are of plastics material, these are not the only materials that are contemplated for use in their construction. Thus, for example, the skins and/or spars may be formed of engineered paper, other paper products are fibreboard material such as MDF.

The thickness of the skins will be dependent on the material from which they are produced and the intended application for the shutter door assembly. Typically (but not essentially) the skins will have a thickness in the range 0.5mm to 10mm depending on the overall design requirements of the door.

The spars which form the core of the door panel may be of rectangular cross-section in their transverse and longitudinal directions. Such spars may be positioned with their major faces juxtaposed to the inner surfaces of the skins. Generally the individual spars will be transversely spaced from each other by a small distance in the range 0.25mm to 80mm depending on the overall design requirements of the door to allow the relative articulating movement of adjacent spars which permits flexibility of the doors. However the spacing will not be so great such as could potentially result in the panel becoming too "floppy".

Preferably there is a respective guide element at each end of each spar.

The guide elements may be fixed on the panel in a number of ways. In one embodiment, each guide element has a socket in which an end of a spar is received.

For this embodiment, the ends of the spars will typically project beyond the edges of the skins to allow the guide elements to be mounted in position on the projecting ends of the spars once the assembly of skins and spars has been produced. In a further embodiment, the skins overhang the ends of the spars and the guide elements are mounted between the overhangs of the skins. In this embodiment, the spars may initially be bonded to the inner surface of one of the skins (which extends beyond the ends of the spars), the guide elements are bonded to that skin in the regions that extend beyond the spars, and finally the other skins is bonded in position on to the previously assembled spars and guide elements. In a still further embodiment of the invention, the ends of the spars may extend to the edges of the skin and the guide elements may locate over the outer surfaces of the skins.

For all embodiments of the invention, the guide elements on the guide formations may be male or female. If female the guide formations may be of channel section. If male then the guide formation may be of T-shaped cross-section. It will of course be appreciated that the guide track on which the panel is mounted in the shutter door assembly wili be of appropriate configuration for slideable mounting of the guide elements on the door panel.

The individual guide formations along the side edges of the door may, if desired, be such that adjacent guide elements are pivotally connected to each other.

For this purpose, each guide element may have a pin extending parallel to the spars (and outwardly of the panel) and an aperture spaced from the pin going in the direction along the side edge of the panel. The arrangement is such that the pin of one guide formation may be relatively rotatably received in the aperture of the adjacent guide formation so as to allow for the adjacent guide formations to be pivotally connected to each other.

Shutter door panels in accordance with the invention are particularly useful for shutter door assemblies in which each guide track has a first section connected to a second section angled there by a curved transition region such that during its sliding movement the panel is capable of flexing around the transition region. The first sections of the track may be perpendicular to the second sections of the track.

Each guide track may be continuous along its length. Alternatively one or both of the guide tracks may be made up of a number of individual guides over at least part of its length. Thus, for example, for the embodiment described in the previous paragraph the curved transition region may be made up of individual guides and thus be a "discontinuous length" of the guide track. Alternatively or additionally one or both of the aforementioned first and second sections of the guide track may be formed partly or wholly of individual guides.

The embodiment of the invention described above in which the individual guide formations along the side edges of the door or pivotally connected together is particularly suitable for use in conjunction with guide tracks comprised at least partly of individual guides. Moreover by pivotally connecting the adjacent guide elements together it is possible to minimise the number of individual guides that form the guide track.

Shutter door assemblies in accordance with the invention are particularly suitable for the means of access to the cargo carrying space of a road-going, goods vehicle such as a van, truck or lorry. We do not however preclude the possibility of the door assembly being used for a rail vehicle, aircraft, or being used in a static installation.

The invention will be further described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig 1 schematically illustrates a goods vehicle with a cargo carrying space accessed by a shutter door assembly; Fig 2 schematically illustrates the principle of construction for a shutter door panel in accordance with the invention (but omitting details of the guide elements for the panel); Fig 3 is a schematically illustrates the panel of Fig 2 provided with guide elements; Fig 4 illustrates a further embodiment of shutter door panel in accordance with the invention, Fig 5 is an exploded view of one embodiment of shutter door assembly in accordance with the invention; Fig 6 is a sectional view of the shutter door assembly shown in Fig 5 along the line VI-VI thereof; Fig 7a-7d are views of the guide elements provided on the shutter door panel illustrated in Fig 5; Fig 8 is similar to Fig 6 but in respect of an alternative guide element; and Figs 9a-9c are views of the guide element illustrated in sectional view in Fig 8.

Fig 1 is a schematic perspective view of the rear of a road going goods vehicle I (e.g. a van or truck) having a body 2 defining a cargo space which is accessed by a rear shutter door assembly 3. Although the structure of the shutter door assembly 3 is not shown in detail in Fig 1, it may be of any of the constructions as detailed more fully below. The figure is however provided to illustrate the manner in which shutter door assemblies in accordance with the invention are opened and closed.

As shown in Fig 1, the shutter door assembly 3 includes a panel 4 slideably mounted on parallel guide tracks 5 (not shown in detail) fixed to the vehicle body.

For this purpose, the side edges of the panel 4 are provided with a plurality of individual guide elements 6 which are slideably mounted on the tracks 5.

The guide tracks 5 each have a first, vertical section 7 and a second, upper horizontal section 8 linked by curved transition region 9 which turns in an arc through 900 between the aforementioned vertical and horizontal sections 7 and 8 respectively.

Shutter door panel 4 is capable of flexing movement in its sliding direction whereby (as clearly depicted in Fig 1) it can travel around the transition region 9 so that, with the shutter door panel 4 being in a part-open position, one section of the panel 4 is vertical and the other is horizontal, as conventional for a shutter door arrangement.

Reference is now made to Figs 2-4 which schematically illustrate the manner in which a shutter door panel (of the type generally illustrated by reference numeral 4 in Fig 1) may be manufactured.

Fig 2 illustrates a shutter door panel 20 constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention (but omitting details of the guide elements referenced as 6 in Fig 1). The panel 20 comprises inner and outer flexible plastics skins 21 and 22 respectively between which are sandwiched a plurality of parallel spars 23 which are of a plastics material stiffer than that of the skins 21 and 22. These spars 23 are of rectangular cross-section in both their longitudinal and transverse dimensions and as clearly shown in Fig 2 are positioned with their major faces juxtaposed, and bonded, to the inner surfaces of the skins 21 and 22 such that there is a small spacing between the side edges of adjacent spars 23. Bonding of the spars 23 to the skins 21 and 22 may be by means of an adhesive, mechanical fasteners or by welding.

The arrangement is such that the panel 20 is relatively directionally flexible in the transverse direction of the spars 23 (arrow X) and relatively directionally stiff in the longitudinal direction of the spars 23 (arrow Y). It is the flexibility (transverse to the spars 23) which allows the panel 20 to flex in the manner illustrated in Fig 1.

Fig 2 omits the details of the individual guide elements (referenced as 6 in Fig 1) that are provided along the side edges of the panel. These may be provided in the manner illustrated in Fig 3 which illustrates a panel 30 of a construction as illustrated in Fig 2 but provided with plastics guide elements 36 configured to locate over the outer surfaces of the skins 31 and 32. It should be appreciated at this point that individual guide elements 36 are provided at the opposite ends of each spar 33.

Although not illustrated in Fig 3, it will be appreciated that the guide tracks on which the panel 30 is mounted may be of T-shaped section (see similar tracks in Fig 4 below).

Fig 4 shows a further embodiment of panel 40 with a modified arrangement of guide elements 46. In the arrangement shown in Fig 4, the skins 41 and 42 project beyond the ends of the spars 43 to provide overhang regions within which are fixed (at each end of the spar 43) channel-section guide elements 46 also of plastics material. As further shown in Fig 4, the guide tracks 35 (equivalent to the guide tracks 5 of Fig 1) on which the door panel 40 is intended to be mounted are of T-shaped cross-section. These guide tracks 45 may be of low friction material to facilitate opening and closing of the shutter door panel.

Reference is now made to Fig 5 which is a partially exploded view of one embodiment of shutter door assembly in accordance with the invention. The door assembly incorporates a shutter door panel 50 constructed in accordance with the general principles described with reference to Fig 2 and comprising inner and outer plastics skins 51 and 52 between which are sandwiched spars 53 which, in this arrangement, project beyond the side edges of skins 51 and 52. Furthermore, the arrangement of Fig 5, the spars 53 are of a honeycomb construction to provide a combination of lightness and strength.

As depicted in Fig 5, the panel 50 is provided along each of its side edges with a plurality of individual guide elements 56 mounted on a guide track 55. These guide elements 56 are provided one on each end of the spars 53 but for the purposes of clarity Fig 5 shows only the guide elements 56 along one of the side edges of the panel 51.

The guide elements 56 are of the construction illustrated in the sectional view of Fig 6 (which is along the line Vl-Vl in Fig 5) and as further illustrated in Figs 7a-7d.

By way of explanation, Fig 7a illustrates the guide element 56 as seen at the left hand end of Fig 6, Fig 7b is a view in the direction of arrow B of Fig 7a, Fig 7c is a view as seen in the direction of arrow C in Fig 7b, and Fig 7d is a view as seen in the direction of arrow D in Fig 7c.

As shown in Fig 6 and Figs 7a-7d, each guide element 56 has a channel formation 61 (for mounting on guide track 55) and a socket 62 into which a projecting end of spar 54 is located to mount the guide element 56 thereon. As shown in Fig 7c, guide element 56 has upper and lower surfaces 63 and 64. Projecting from a lower region at the right hand end of the element 56 (as viewed in Fig 7c) is a integral lug 65 on which is located a pin 66 that extends to the level of the upper surface 63 of the element 56. Projecting from the left hand end of the element 56 (as viewed in Fig 7c) is a further, integral tug 67 provided with an aperture 68. When assembly on the panel so, the elements 56 are positioned on the ends of the spars 54 so that the pin 66 of one lug 65 locates in the aperture 68 of the lug 67 of an adjacent guide element 56. The relative cross-sections of the pins 66 and apertures 68 are such that the pins are free to rotate relatively within the apertures to permit articulating movement of the individual spars relative to each other.

Reference is now made to Figs 8 and 9 which show alternative constructions of guide element and guide rail which may be used in the door assembly shown in Fig 5.

In the arrangement shown in Figs 8 and 9, the guide element (referenced as 86) is, like that shown in Fig 6-7, mounted on a projecting end of a spar 54 but in this case has an integral, generally T-section projection 88. Additionally, in this arrangement, the guide rail 89 on which the panel is mounted is of channel-shaped cross-section, as clearly depicted in Fig 8.

Shutter door assemblies as described above have the advantage of being lighter and easier to construct than conventional metal shutter door assemblies.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A shutter door panel having at least one pair of parallel side edges, said panel comprising two spaced skins between which are fixed a plurality of parallel spars that are relatively stiffer than the skins and being provided along each of said parallel side edges with a plurality of individual guide elements having a guide formation adapted for mounting the panel for sliding movement in or on guide tracks, said panel being capable of flexing in the direction perpendicular to the longest dimension of the spars by relative articulating movement thereof.
2. A panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein the skins are of a plastics material.
3. A panel as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the spars are of a plastics material.
4. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the guide elements are of plastics material.
5. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the plastics material is a semi-crystalline thermoplastics material.
6. A panel as claimed in claim 5 wherein the semi-crystalline thermoplastics material is selected from polyetherketone, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyamide, polyphenylene sulphide, polyethylene terephthalate, polyoxymethylene, high density polyethylene and low density polyethylene.
7. A panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein the skins and/or spars are of engineered paper, other paper products or a fibreboard material.
8. A panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spars are of a honeycomb construction, a foam plastics materia', or of a sheet formed into corregations.
9. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the spars are of rectangular cross-section in their transverse and longitudinal directions and are positioned with their major faces juxtaposed to the inner surlaces of the skins.
10. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the spars are transversely spaced from each other.
11. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein there is a respective guide element at each end of each spar.
12. A panel as claimed in any one of claims ito 11 wherein the guide elements have a socket and the ends of the spars locate in the sockets whereby the guide elements are mounted on the sockets.
13. A panel as claimed in claim 12 wherein the ends of the spars project beyond the skins.
14. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the skins overhang the ends of the spars and guide elements are mounted between the overhangs of the skins.
15. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the guide elements are located over the outer-surfaces of the skins.
16. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein the guide formations of guide elements are female.
17. A panel as claimed in claim 16 wherein the female guide formations are of channel section.
18. A panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein the guide formations of the guide elements are male.
19. A panel as claimed in claim 18 wherein the male guide formations are of 1-shaped cross-section.
20. A panel as claimed in any one of claims I to 19 wherein the adjacent guide elements are pivotally connected to each other.
21. A panel as claimed in claim 20 wherein said elements are pivotally connected by means of a pin on one element being relatively rotatably received in a aperture of an adjacent element.
22. A shutter door assembly comprising a shutter door panel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 21 and a frame on which the door panel is mounted, said frame including a pair of opposed, parallel guide tracks in or on which said guide elements of the panel are slideably mounted.
23. An assembly as claimed in claim 22 wherein each guide track has a first section connected to a second section angled thereto by a curved transition region and wherein during its sliding movement the panel is capable of flexing around said transition region.
24. An assembly as claimed in claim 23 wherein the first sections of the track are perpendicular to the second sections of the track.
25. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 24 wherein the guide tracks are of plastic material.
26. A vehicle having a cargo carrying space provided with a shutter door assembly as claimed in any one of claims 22 to 25.