IE46089B1

IE46089B1 - Improvements in or relating to a balancing device for tip doors

Info

Publication number: IE46089B1
Application number: IE2324/77A
Authority: IE
Original assignee: Tubauto
Priority date: 1976-11-18
Filing date: 1977-11-15
Publication date: 1983-02-23
Also published as: ES457916A1; FI60056C; IE46089L; AT366466B; CH617745A5; NO147250C; ATA802477A; DE2716988C3; FR2371564A1; NO147250B; FR2371564B1; GB1590202A; NL186714C; DK502477A; NL186714B; LU78532A1; SE428821B; PT67284A; SE7712992L; BE860900A

Abstract

The balancing device of a tip-up panel, particularly garage doors, consists of two elastic compensating and balancing members (5) one of the ends of which is articulated, at a certain height (3b), on two vertical rails (3) forming uprights of the frame of a door and in which the lower part of a rigid door panel (1) is guided by two rollers (2), and the other ends of which, each comprising a roller (6), mounted so as to be free in rotation, move during the manipulation of the door panel (1) in an incline (7) provided in two arms (4).

Description

The present invention relates to balancing and compensating arrangements for up and over doors, particularly but not exclusively garage doors.

For facilitating opening and closing of the up-and5 over doors and particularly of doors without any clearance at the outside of premises to be closed, there are already known balancing devices with most various forms of realization. Yet, the main disadvantage of these known devices consists in the fact that they require an accurate adjustment of the various balancing torques exhibited during the travel of the door between the utmost opening and closing positions. For that purpose, in a well known form of realization, an action is, for example, taken by means of a threaded rod on the distance separating the upper end of the resilient compensating and balancing components of the upper end, which is itself adjustable in height, from the vertical uprights supporting the door mechanism on both sides of the opening. However, manufacturing and assembling of the adjusting elements, as well as the time required for the balancing operations substantially increase the cost of this type of door installation.

Consequently, the present invention has for its object to create a balancing device suitable for example for up and over doors having no outside clearance and which, though very simple and of a reasonable cost, does not require - 2 43089 any adjustment to obtain a substantially permanent compensation and balance, in such a way that the door can be easily operated on its whole travel or clearance between the utmost opening and closing positions.

According to the invention there is provided, for an up-and-over door arrangement comprising two spaced verticallyextending guide means forming uprights at opposite sides of the rigidly-constructed door of which the lower portion is provided with two roller devices for respectively movably engaging said two guides in use:balancing apparatus comprising two similar mechanisms for respective location at opposite sides of said door and each comprising an elongate longitudinallyresilient expanding component of which one end is to be horizontally pivotally secured in use to the relevant adjacent said guide means at a predetermined height thereof and of which the other end is provided with roller means, each said mechanism comprising also an arm of which the opposite ends are to be horizontally pivotally secured in use respectively to the region of the upper portion of the relevant adjacent said guide and to the lateral edge of the door at substantially half-height of that door, each said arm being provided, in the direction of its length, with a concave curved guide-surface against which the relevant said roller means is pressed in use by the relevant said elongate expanding component.

Each concave guide-surface may be approximately semi-elliptical ip shape, or may be approximately semi-ovoid in shape.

Conveniently each concave guide-surface is curved in such a way that, in use, the longitudinal axis of the relevant said elongate component is always perpendicular to the tangent to that guide-surface, at the point of contact of the relevant said roller means with that guide-surface.

Conveniently, a portion of the guide-surface is of grooved form.

Conveniently, each said guide-surface is manufactured by deformation of the shape of a U-shaped relevant said arm.

The invention also includes an up-and-over door arrangement which includes balancing apparatus according to the invention.

Various other features of the invention are moreover shown in the following detailed description.

An embodiment of the object of the invention is shown by way of non restrictive example in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a lateral view of an up-and-over door provided with balancing and compensating arrangements according to the present invention; Fig. 2 shows in detail various positions of the balancing device upon operation of the door; Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional longitudinal view showing the curved guide-surface of one of the two hinged arms; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV- IV of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V- V of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI- Vl of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the up-and-over door shown in Fig. 1, which is provided with the balancing and compensating arrangements according to the invention, comprises a rigid panel 1 which is guided at its lower portion by two rollers 2 movable in vertical guides 3 forming the uprights of the fixed frame of the door. Two arms 4 are hinged, on one hand, at 3a to the upper end portions of the guides 3, and, on the other hand, at la onto the lateral edges substantially half-height of the door panel 1. At some height of the vertical guides 3 two resilient compensating and balancing components 5 are pivotally mounted at 3b. The components 5 are, in the embodiment of Fig. 1, balancing means with a compression spring (see below) whose upper end has, free in rotation, a roller 6 which moves upon operation of the door panel 1 on a curved guide-surface 7 provided on each of the arms 4. The various positions occupied by the roller 6 and consequently also by the balancing components 5 are represented in Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 which is a cross sectional longitudinal view of one of the arms 4, made of a U-shaped section, shows the particular approximately semi-ovoid or semi-elliptical form of - 5 46089 the guide-surface 7 realized in the core or web of this section. The cross sectional views of Figs. 4 to 6 show in detail the roller guide groove 8 provided over a part of the guide-surface 7, for the relevant roller 6 of the relevant balancing components 5.

The balancing and compensation device as above described operates as follows: When it is desired to bring the door panel 1 in the open position as it is shown in full line in Fig. 1, a handling means (not shown) has to be operated, said handling means being provided at a suitable height of the front side of the panel 1 which then can be raised without any strain, while being guided, on the one hand, at its lower portion by the rollers 2 performing an upwards motion in the vertical guides 3 forming the fixed frame and, on the other hand, by the arms 4 hinged by one of their ends at la substantially half-height of the panel 1 on the lateral edges of the panel and whose other end is pivotally connected at 3a to the upper portion of the vertical guides 3. The ease of operation, i.e. the balancing of the panel, is due to the two resilient compensation components 5 which, in the present embodiment, are expansion springs housed in tubes telescopically sliding one in the other. The resilient strength of the springs acts through the rollers 6 and the guide-surfaces 7 of the arms 4, on the panel 1 by progressively compensating the various balancing torques due to the variation, upon the operation, of the distance D or ^between the hinging point 3a of each arm 4 and the contact point of the relevant roller 6 without adding any small rods or similar components. As is clearly shown in Fig. 2, the distance D progressively increases from - 6 40089 the closed position to reach the distance in the open position. At the contact point between the roller 6 and the guide-surface 7, the longitudinal axis of the balancing components 5 is always perpendicular to the tangent to the guide-surface 7.

As appears from the above disclosure, the balancing and compensating arrangements according to the invention does not require adjusting means, and up-and-over doors fitted with this device can be placed and operated without any difficulty by non skilled people. Besides, this device requires only a relatively little maintenance due to the simple design of the mechanical components.

The present invention is not restricted to the embodiment shown and described in detail, for various modifications thereof can be applied thereto without departing from the scope of the Invention as defined in the apended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. For an up-and-over door arrangement comprising two spaced vertically-extending guide means forming uprights at opposite sides of the rigidly-constructed door of which the 5 lower portion is provided with two roller devices for respectively movably engaging said two guides in use:balancing apparatus comprising two similar mechanisms for respective location at opposite sides of said door and each comprising an elongate longitudinally-resilient 10 expanding component of which one end is to be horizontally pivotally secured in use to the relevant adjacent said guide means at a predetermined height thereof and of which the other end is provided with roller means, 15 each said mechanism comprising also an arm of which the opposite ends are to be horizontally pivotally secured in use respectively to the region of the upper portion of the relevant adjacent said guide and to the lateral edge of the door at substantially half-height of that door, 20 each said arm being provided, in the direction of its - length, with a concave curved guide-surface against which the relevant said roller means is pressed in use by the relevant said elongate expanding component.

2. Balancing apparatus as set forth in Claim 1, wherein 25 each concave guide-surface is approximately semi-elliptical in shape.

3. Balancing apparatus as set forth in Claim 1, wherein each concave guide-surface is approximately semi-ovoid in shape.

4. Balancing apparatus as set forth in Claim 1, wherein each concave guide-surface is curved in such a way that, in use, the longitudinal axis of the relevant said elongate component is always perpendicular to the tangent to that guide-surface, at the point of contact of the relevant said roller means with that guide-surface.

5. Balancing apparatus as set forth in any preceding Claim, wherein a portion of the guide-surface is of grooved form.

6. Balancing apparatus as set forth in any preceding Claim, wherein each said guide-surface is manufactured by deformation of the shape of a U-shaped relevant said arm.

7. Balancing apparatus for an up-and-over door, substantially as specifically described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. An up-and-over door arrangement which includes balancing apparatus according to any one of Claims 1-7.

9. An up-and-over door arrangement, provided with balancing apparatus, substantially as specifically described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.