IL125334A - Reversible shutter - Google Patents

Description

iaiM/tt pan ases Improved reversible shutter Ceraper S.L.

C.112278 IMPROVED REVERSIBLE SHUTTER The invention refers to an . improved reversible shutter, and more in particular to means enabling direct mounting of the shutter assembly, including louvers, a winding/unwinding shaft and side plates containing labyrinthine trajectories which provide a reversible character to the shutter, the direct mounting being " implemented in a box_ fitted onto the" masonry work.

The- present invention further describes a manual or motorized drive means especially adapted for using on reversible shutters of the type in which the louvers are guided along side labyrinths and provide a special feature in that they can alternatively show both sides of the shutter in one same direction.

Along this same line, the improvements"introduced in the louvers are designed mainly to obtain reversible shutter louvers which are particularly silent and wear resistant.

A shutter of this type is described in the applicant' s utility model U9501021, the shutter being in this case constituted by elongated hollow louvers on the ends of which are fitted respective caps with wheels which slide along the interior of respective lateral guides of a labyrinthine configuration.

The applicant's utility model U9701980 describes a box wherein is lodged the shutter that is the object of the prior utility model, the box presenting side panels the respective shapes of which enable the side plates bearing the labyrinthine trajectories to be slidingly mounted. This type of reversible shutter construction, namely of a sliding assembly, does not readily allow for the use of conventional driving means since, first, the same effort must be exerted in both directions; second, the shutter must likewise be stopped in both directions; and third, the travel ends are required to detect the shutter's physical position, said travel ends being unsuitable for incorporating travel stops to the motor.

The proposed reversible shutter, driven either manually or through motor means, is of a type including a plurality of louvers the ends of which present appropriate devices which mesh with the teeth of special pinions or dented ring gears that rotate and produce a dragging effect on the louvers, which slide on corresponding lateral guides-and along a labyrinthine trajectory formed for this purpose on respective side plates mounted on the box ends, in a manner that the labyrinthine trajectory presents an entry and an exit point enabling the louver faces to be oriented toward the same side, in what are considered to be closing and/or opening positions precisely as a result of the labyrinthine travel established at the side plates, on which in turn are mounted the dragging means formed by. pinions, ring gears and a transverse shaft which causes these dented parts to rotate, thereby moving the louvers -and consequently the shutter formed by the louvers - _in either direction.

One of the improvements consists in that the box's side panels or ends, mounted onto the masonry work on the upper part of the window hollow where the shutter is to be applied, provide a pair of sections on the inner face thereof - arranged' in a way that they define upper and a lower channels facing one another for the purpose of slidingly mounting the corresponding side plates fitted with the labyrinthine trajectories and which furthermore support the pinions and ring gears which form the rotating means driven by the transverse shaft arranged between said plates. The assembly comprising these components and forming a single-block assembly, is mounted inside the box by sliding the upper and lower plate edges in the labyrinthine trajectories forming the integral sections on the inner face of the side panels or ends of the box proper .

A major improvement is furthermore provided by a pair of special parts arranged to correspond with the lower part 5 of the side plates, said parts forming an attachment means for the labyrinthine trajectory plates and an intermediate form of association between the guides on each side plate and the box's side panel. Said parts are each fitted with - ■ a prismatic part with side grooves guidingly inserted in a 0 groove of the section which forms the guide in each side plate. They are furthermore fitted with a window or groove insertion and attachment tab provided for that purpose in the lower corner of the box's side panels, a groove also being provided into which. fits and attaches a fin provided 5 in the lower edge of the side plates carrying the labyrinthine trajectories. Finally, these parts are fitted with front extensions and an intermediate projection, and establish the starting point for each shutter track along the entry and exit travel in respect to the corresponding 0 labyrinthine trajectory.

These improvements enable installation of the shutter assembly in block form by fitting the box in the masonry work after arranging and attaching the part between each box side panel and the corresponding vertical guide. 5 The driving means that is the object of the present invention solves several problems and is particularly adaptable to the special structure of the sliding assembly reversible shutters, allowing for easy, rapid and cost effective transformation of a manual driving device into a 0 motorized one, even after the shutter is initially installed.

The driving means that is the object of the present invention uses the labyrinthine guide side plates as a supporting element, in a way that said plates, once the 5 various elements forming the manual and/or motorized diving means are mounted thereon, can in turn be slidingly mounted over the box previously installed in the course of the masonry construction work.

The manual driving means comprises a crank with a 90° 5 conventional drive element which acts on a transmission rod transmitting rotation movement in both directions to a. manually driven reducer. The latter comprises a set of four straight gears fitted with coplanar and parallel shafts, -•• ••the last of-which presents an integral conic pinion -acting 0 on a matching conic wheel which is in turn attached to drive and dragging coaxial pinions. A bidirection brake is inserted between the first straight gear and the transmission rod, enabling the shutter to be operated in both directions via the crank handle without the weight of 5 the shutter causing rotation of the crank handle in either direction.

The motorized driving means comprises a conventional, asynchronous alternate current motor, the drive pinion of which is inserted into a planetary type motor driven 0 reducer having two cascading stages,' said drive pinion meshing with a coaxial ring gear fitted on the shaft joining the two side plates, which shaft is integral to the drive pinion.

Concerning the louvers, the arched extension on one of 5 the louver ends or edges is practically coplanar with the respective side 'of the louver, whereas the strangled channel at the opposite end or edge, coupling into the arched extension, is formed with a rectangular section, thereby giving rise to problems when operating the shutter, 0 which is constantly changing direction when sliding along the labyrinthine trajectory, the straightness or lack of curves in the coupling channel either causing numerous obstructions or impairing movement of the shutter.

These inconveniences have been borne in mind by the 5 applicant of the proposed louver, which provides a solution not only for this particular drawback but also for the problems affecting the shutter' s ' end louvers.

More specifically, the invention features are centered on improvements to the reversible shutter louvers,. furthermore providing an adequate termination for the two end louvers in said shutter.

The first novel characteristic or improvement lies in the fact that the inner surface of the arched extension, which constitutes the- coupling element in one of the louver edges, is concave-curved instead of flat, as in prior louvers. This concave-curved surface is complementary to a convex-curved surface defining a fin which delimits, on one side, the channel provided in the opposite edge, and which couples into said extension. These complementary curves: provide hinge action and movement to the louvers in a manner that is not affected by changes in the trajectory along the labyrinthine trajectory.

Said channel is delimited on the other side by an arched fin, the free end of which tends to converge and lean over an ample step formed by the arched extension, thus providing a hook function enabling a gap-free closure that provides full darkening of the room.

In addition, both the upper and lower external louvers finish in a strangled rectangular channel shape in which draught excluders or joints are fitted, providing both a damping .support and a gap-free closure.

A further improvement lies in the side wing delimiting the intermediate louver channels, which is now straight instead of curved on its exterior side; thus, the shutter presents the same appearance from each side.

The inner side of said lateral wing delimiting the intermediate louver channels maintains its concave shape and receives the adjacent intermediate louver hook which has been modified so that it adjusts precisely to the curve of the internally elbowed wing which delimits, together with the side wing, the intermediate louver channel, such that the hook and internally elbowed wing curves coincide, when two adjacent louvers present a 127° angle corresponding to the insertion of the shutter in the lateral · spiral guides which constitute the labyrinth in which the shutter is lodged.

The last improvement introduced in the louvers consists in the fact that the inwardly elbowed wing facing •the above mentioned side- wing - delimiting the - intermediate louver channel presents an increased length which, instead of finishing in the medium plane of the louver, now occupies approximately 80% of its width and thus off-settingly drags the adjacent hook, thereby reducing wear and noise in view that the louvers permanently lean on both sides of the receiving guides as a result of the overturning torque to which they are submitted.

In order to complement the description which follows and to help toward a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a detailed description is provided based on a set of drawings attached to this specification which form an integral part thereof and wherein the following is represented in a merely orienting and non-limiting character: Figure 1 shows a front view of the box and shutter assembly, mounted and devoid of louvers. This figure also shows the special' attachment part located between the box's vertical guide and side panel, which also serves to secure the labyrinthine trajectory side plate.

Figure 2 shows a view of one of the plates onto which is fitted the labyrinthine trajectory, in addition to the lower extension determining the vertical guide in said side or lateral plate.

Figure 3 shows and exploded perspective view of a box side panel and corresponding cover.

Figure 4 shows an exploded view of the special part, in addition to the end portions of the box's respective side panel and plate fitted with the labyrinthine trajectory.

Figure 5 shows a side view of the inventive louver. coupled onto another louver, namely the upper one in the proposed shutter.

Figure 6 shows the same louver shown in the preceding figure, although in this case it is coupled onto another louver, namely the lower end louver in the proposed shutter.

Figure 7 shows a detail of the coupling between louvers in the closed1 position.

Figure 8 shows a detail of several coupled louvers which follow trajectory changes which may correspond to a labyrinthine trajectory.

Figure 9 shows a detail of several coupled louvers which follow trajectory changes which may correspond to a labyrinthine trajectory.

Figure 10 shows a section of an intermediate louver according to the invention.

Figure 11 shows a section of an extreme lower louver according to the invention.

Figure 12 shows a section of an extreme upper louver according to the invention.

Figure 13 shows a manually driven assembly with the two parts which constitute the assembly, namely the crank handle and .the manually driven reducer coupled to the side plate.

Figure 14 shows the manually driven reducer mounted in its box.

Figure 15 shows the driving reducer in an exploded view.

Figure IS shows a perspective view of the manually driven reducer transmission elements .

Figure 17 shows a side view of the manually driven reducer transmission elements.

Figure 18 shows an opposite side view of the transmission elements shown in figure 14.

Figure IS shows a perspective view of the motor-drive assembly.

Figure 20 shows a perspective view of · the motor-' driven assembly.

Figure 21 shows an exploded perspective view of the motor-driven assembly.

Figure 22 shows an exploded view of the planetary motor-reducer assembly.

As can be seen from the figures, the reversible shutter box proposed as one of the improvements comprises a base panel 1, a cover panel 2 and a pair of side panels 3, all complemented with respective external covers or fancy panelling 4.

The reversible shutter assembly itself comprises a pair of side plates 5 on the inner side of which are formed the respective labyrinthine trajectories 6; a polygonal shaft 7 between said plates 5 for winding/unwinding the shutter as a result of said shaft 7 being manually or motor driven to thereby rotate the pinons and ring gears 8 which in turn drive the louver dragging means though the appendices or engaging elements fitted on said louver ends. Said pinions, ring gears dragging elements and the louvers proper are part of the shutter single-block assembly. The dragging elements engaging the louver end appendices are mounted on shaft 9, taking the form of a special pinion.

In the labyrinthine trajectory 6, the louver or shutter entry corresponds to reference 10 and the exit to reference 11, while the lower vertical guide forming an extension of the labyrinthine trajectory corresponds to ref rence 12 , Based on these features, the inner side of each side panel 3 is fitted with a pair of sections 13, one upper and one lower, on each of which are established wings 14, each of which forms a channel 15, both channel 15 facing each other for slidingly mounting the plates 5 and thus the shutter single-block assembly. Also, one of the corners -either upper or lower - in each side panel 3 is fitted with' a groove 16 and a groove communicating window 17, the function of which is described further on.

The lower edge in plate 5 is fitted with a fin 18, the function of which is also described hereunder.

The invention is also characteristic mainly in that it-incorporates a special part 19 of an overall prismatic shape, the larger faces of said part being fitted with grooves 20 complementary to protrusions .21 along the inner side of the walls delimiting the guide 12 housing, precisely where said part 19 is lodged into and which is fitted on its upper part with an extension or- ing 22 which passes through window 17 and becomes lodged inside the groove 16 in side panel 3. Thus, the guide 12 section is associated to the side panel 3, part 19 being secured by screws passing through holes 23 and 24 facing each other in the extension or wing 22 and at the bottom of groove 16.

At the opposite end of said part 19, and also in correspondence with the upper part, a groove 25 is provided for receiving fin 18 on plate 5. This means that, once part 19 is mounted between the box's guide section 12 and side panel 3,~ and fixed to the box as previously explained, the shutter assembly is mounted in block form by sliding the plates 5 along the channels 15, the fin 18 becoming lodged inside groove 25 and fixed by means of a screw inserted through hole 26 in said fin 18, which also passes through the hole in separator protrusion 27 fitted in channel 28 to establish the entry 10 and exit 11 of the labyrinthine trajectory 6. Channel 28 is delimited on the sides by slightly curved and divergently warping partitions 29 which guide the corresponding louvers 30 as they slide upwards and downwards .

Finally, part 19 is also fitted with a groove 31 for; receiving the upper part of partition 32 in guide shape 12. As can be seen in figures 5, 6, 7 and 8, the inventive louver 101 is hollow and rectangular-shaped, presenting on one of its ends or edges an extension 102 which is offset' in respect to one of the sides, forming therewith an ample step 103, said extension finishing in an inwardly rounded elbow to determine a sort of hook 10 . The inner surface of the part opposite the step 103 and the start of extension 102 is concave-curved.

The opposite end or edge presents an opening 105 established between the edges of respective wings 106 and 107, wing 106 being arched whereas wing 107 is formed by an extension arched toward the interior of side plate 108, the external curve in said wing 107 being complementary to concave surface 109, both shapes becoming mutually adapted upon closing the shutter, as shown in figure 7.

According to the characteristics of the louver described, a shutter is formed simply by correlatively coupling a plurality of louvers to one another, as can be seen in figure 8.

Said coupling operation is implemented by inserting the hook 104 in louver 101 through the opening 105 corresponding to the opposite edge of the adjacent louver. Because .of the special shape provided by the wings 106, 107 and the opening 105, the hook 104 becomes lodged inside the corresponding channel 110, so that upon trying to separate the louvers, the hook 104 couples onto the wing 107 and prevents said possible separation, said coupling action being guaranteed by the butt formed on the free edge in wing 106 onto which catches the external part of said hook 104 or the extension 102 forming a part of said hook.

Upon closing or overlapping the louvers, the complementary surfaces in wing 107 and the concave length 109 become mutually adapted and overlap perfectly, the free edge in wing 106 becoming likewise perfectly adapted to step 103, thereby preventing the passage of light and allowing the shutter to move free of any restriction.

The upper 101' and lower 101" louvers forming the shutter, in addition to the coupling channel in the former and the hook in the latter, are fitted with respective external channels 111 strangled at the mouth for lodging and securing a joint or draught, excluder for the purpose of forming an insulating closure along the upper and lower contact areas, according to the portion of the shutter involved.

Concerning the last variation of the louvers, and as can be seen in figures 9, 10, 11 and 12, when the shutter is lodged in the labyrinth.it acquires a curve such that the angle between two adjacent louvers is ..approximately 127°. Under these circumstances, the curve in hook 104 becomes perfectly adapted to that of the internally elbowed wing 107. See detail A in figure 9. By contrast, when two adjacent louvers are mutually suspended, the dragging action between the hook 104 and the internally elbowed wing 107 acquires an offset effect, a rotation torque being applied over the louver which causes it to lean simultaneously on both sides of the guide.

The end or edge opposite hook 104 presents an opening 105 established between the edges of respective wings 106 and 107, wing 106 being straight whereas wing 107 is formed by an internally arched extension in side plate 108, the external curve in said wing 107 being complementary to the concave surface 109, both becoming adapted to each other upon closing the shutter, as can be seen in figure 9.

Concerning the drive means, and as can be seen in figure 13, the wings 14 in sections 13 of the box 3 side panels slidingly receive the assembly formed by the side plates 5, on which the manually driven assembly 60 may be secured by means of screws . This driving assembly moves; upon rotation of the transmission rod 51, which is in turn driven by a crank handle 52 via a pair of conventional l/l, ratio conic gears housed inside the crank handle box 53.

Figures 14 and 15 show an exploded view of the manual driving means 50 mounted in its box; it is apparent that the assembly comprises a manually driven reducer 54 and a bidirection brake 55.

.Figures 16, 17 and .1.8 show .the manually driven reducer. 54 formed by an assembly of four separator pinions 56 fitted with coplanar parallel shafts, its sole function being that of laterally separating the drive rod 51 from the center of the manually driven assembly, the number of teeth in said transmission pinions being 10 for the two center pinions and 12 for the two external pinions, and thus no rotation speed reduction takes place .-.The reduction basically comes from a 12-tooth conic pinion 57 integral to the last separator pinion and the corresponding 26 -tooth ring gear. Integral to this conic ring gear 58, a first transmission pinion 59 is provided on which is mounted in an axially fixed although integrally rotational manner a first driving pinion 60 for the louvers forming the shutter.

The first transmission pinion 59 is required to transmit movement to a second transmission pinion 61 on which is mounted- in an axially fixed although integrally rotational manner a second driving pinion 62 for the louvers forming the shutter. This movement transmission between the first transmission pinion 59 and the second transmission pinion 61 is implemented through a first intermediate ring gear 63 integral to the shaft between the plates 7 and which meshes with a second intermediate ring gear 64.

The bidirection conventional type brake 55 is formed by a set of brake springs 65, a C- shaped hollow shaft 67, a brake cylinder 66 and a brake coupling 68. See figure 15.

Figures 19, 20, 21 and 22 show the motorized drive means formed by a conventional asynchronous alternate current motor 69, the shaft 70 of which finishes in a motor pinion 71. This motor pinion is inserted between the two first stage 72 planetary gears, whereas the pinion 73 integral to the first stage 74 planetary ring gear is inserted between the second stage 75 planetary gears; in turn, the second stage 76 planetary ring gear is integral to pinion 77, which meshes with a motor driven ring gear 78 which rotates coaxially and integrally with the first transmission pinion 59 and the first driving pinion 60. The second stage planetary gears are mounted on axes 79 of a planetary gear cage 80, the rotation of which is prevented by fixing the perimeter protrusions 81. Assembly of the first stage planetary gears is identical; the- corresponding planetary gear cage is not shown for reasons of clarity. See figure 11.

Several stops. 82 are lodged in the corresponding grooves 83 in the side plates 5 for the purpose of detecting the presence of the shutter in each guide 6. See figures 13, 19 and 21.

Operation of the driving devices is as follows. The user rotates the crank handle 52 in one direction or the other, so that, through the pair of conventional conic pinions -(not shown) installed in the crank handle box 53, movement is transmitted to the transmission rod 51 that is rigidly and rotatingly coupled to a housing present in the brake coupling 68.

The C-shaped hollow shaft rotatingly integral to said brake coupling 68 rotates a cotter pin in the first separator pinion 56 inserted inside the shaft, while dragging the free springs with the lugs toward the interior, the springs being encapsulated in an elastic tube and forming the brake 65 spring assembly. Movement is thus transmitted to the separator pinion assembly 56, conic pinion 57, conic ring gear 58, first transmission pinion 59, and first dragging pinion 60, the second dragging pinion 62 receiving the rotational movement via the first transmission pinion 59, first intermediate ring gear 63, second intermediate ring gear 64 and second transmission pinion 61. See figure 16.

Finally, the dragging pinions 60, 62 mesh with the ends of the louvers which slide along the labyrinthine guides 6, causing the shutter to move. When motionless, the shutter is braked in view that the cotter pin in the first separator pinion 56 tends to open the springs and lugs toward the interior, forming the brake spring assembly 65 which, upon expanding its diameter, becomes lodged inside brake cylinder 66 and impairs its rotation.

This bidirection brake device 55 is not -.described in further detail since it is widely used in the louvered shutter industry and amply known to any expert on the subject.

Concerning the motorized driving means, movement is generated by motor 69 which, through motor pinion 71, first stage planetary gears 72, first stage ring gear 74 and its pinion 73, second stage planetary gears 75, second stage ring gear 76 and its pinion 77, transmit rotation in either direction to the motor driven ring gear 78 and from it to the first transmission pinion 59 and first dragging pinion 60, which are coaxial and rotatingly integral thereto. Movement of the second dragging pinion 62 is implemented in a manner similar to that described for the manual driving means through the first intermediate ring gear 63, second intermediate ring gear 64 and second transmission pinion 61. See figures .20, 21 and 22.

When in repose, the shutter is braked by a conventional bidirection brake incorporated in the motor. 125334/3 - 15 -

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS Reversible shutter in which the louvers are formed by a hollow body made of any suitable type of material, one end or edge of the louver presenting an extension ending in a hook which couples into the adjacent louver, the opposite end or edge of which is fitted with a channel established between two wings, which channel in fact holds the coupling of the previous end or edge, characterised in that the extension in which the hook 104 is established is considerably offset in respect to one side, determining an ample step 103 to support and adjust the free end corresponding to the external wing of .the coupling channel 110 provided at the opposite end or edge' of the louver, whereas' the final inner length from which . derives said extension of the hook presents a concave-curved surface 109 complementary to the curve of the other wing 107 of the two delimiting the coupling channel at the opposite end or edge, designed to provide a perfect fitting between the louvers in the closed shutter position to prevent the passage of light and to enable change of trajectory movements of the shutter when moving along a labyrinthine trajectory. Reversible shutter, according to claim 1 characterised in that the inner curved wing adapting to the concave-curved surface 109 at the coupling and closure zone between louvers is formed by an elbow and an extension directed towards the inside of the respective louver side, the free edge in said wing having the same height as the free edge of the opposite arched wing free edge 105, both edges being separated in order to establish an opening for the hook passing toward the inside of the channel in the adjacent louver, into which it cou l s . Reversible shutter according to claim 2, characterised - 16 - 125334-2 adjacent louvers form an angle which corresponds to the position they occupy as the shutter is lodged inside the zone of the greater curve in the labyrinth of a reversible shutter system. Reversible shutter, according to claim 3 characterised in that the inwardly elbowed wing 107 extends over more than half the width of the louver, causing thus the dragging action between two adjacent louvers to exert an overturning torque on each louver which forces the louvers to lean simultaneously on the two sides of the lateral guide, at the point of mounting. Reversible shutter according to claim 4 characterised in that it comprises manual drive means acting on a first transmission pinion 59 that is coaxial and rotatingly integral with a first dragging pinion -60, movement being transmitted to a second transmission pinion 61 and a second dragging pinion 62 coaxial and rotatingly integral with this second transmission pinion as a result of a first intermediate wheel 63 engaging a second intermediate wheel 64, the latter, in its turn, engaging a second transmission pinion 61, in such a manner that shutter movement is implemented when the louver extensions engage the respective dragging pinions 60 and 62. Reversible shutter according to claim 5, characterised in that the manual drive means is formed by a set of separator pinions 56' with coplanar and parallel 'shafts and a conic pinion 57 integral to the last one of said separator pinions 56, which engages a corresponding ring gear 58 and transmits movement to the first transmission pinion 59 that is slidingly integral 'to the conic ring gear 58. For the Applicants REINHOID COHN AND PARTNERS 8yi