JPS627351B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to electrically actuated roller shutters or doors, and more particularly to an actuation mechanism for opening and closing a door or shutter curtain by winding and unwinding the door or shutter curtain onto its support drum (rim). .

Conventionally, it has been known to operate a roller door using a chain mechanism or a sprocket mechanism.
However, these devices require periodic after-sales service, make noise during operation,
It is not very satisfactory in that it requires regular oiling.

It is also known to control the operation of roller doors or shutters by electrical means, and Australian patent applications 30718/77 and 44163/79 disclose electrical actuation mechanisms of this type. Both of the mechanisms described in these patent applications are
An electric motor is used in operative communication with a reduction gear mechanism leading to a pinion arranged in mesh with a ring gear to rotate the door curtain in a lowering or lifting direction. And in each mechanism, the electric motor is mounted on a movable bracket,
The bracket can be moved to a position in which the pinion no longer engages the ring gear by operating a manually releasable latching means, thereby permitting manual raising and lowering of the door curtain. However, according to the configuration of both of these actuating mechanisms, the electric motor and its support bracket are mounted on one side of the curtain drum, i.e. the rim wheel, and externally thereof, so that the installation of such control mechanisms is difficult. Requires additional room or space. Furthermore, if the electric motor and its associated gear train are exposed in this way, they may be subject to accidental damage such as knocks or blows, or may cause the operating mechanism to interfere with its operation. Particles such as dirt and dust tend to accumulate.

An object of the present invention is that it does not require the additional room or space required in the normal installation of conventional roller doors;
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrically operated roller door or shutter in which damage (due to external forces) is less likely to occur to the operating mechanism.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electric roller shutter or door assembly that has improved appearance, is lower in cost, and is easier to operate by hand in the event of a power outage.

Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, a drive mechanism is used in a roller door of the type having a door curtain supported on a pair of drum wheels rotatably supported on an axle; It is attached and fixed to one of the supporting drum wheels, is housed inside the space formed by the (imaginary) envelope between the two drum wheels, is arranged to rotate together with the drum wheel, and further extends to the drive pinion. A reversible electric motor having a gear train and rigidly associated therewith, and a ring gear or sprocket and chain assembly supported on a door shaft drivingly connected to a driven member, e.g. a pinion, such that the door is electrically actuated by the motor. When the driven member is rotated, the driven member is held in a non-rotating state by a pinion driven around the driven member.
If the motor fails or loses power, the driven member can be released from its non-rotatable state to rotate integrally with the drum wheel, thereby allowing the door to be raised and lowered by hand.

More particularly, according to the invention, a roller door electrically actuated drive mechanism is fixed to one of said drum wheels, rotates simultaneously and integrally with said drum wheel as it rotates, and is arranged between said drum wheels. a reversible electric motor having a reduction gear mechanism disposed in the drive pinion and operatively secured thereto; a stationary body spaced axially outwardly from the drum wheel; placed between the fixed bodies;
a driven member drivingly connected to the pinion; and a releasable locking means releasably connecting the driven member to the fixed body, the driven member being fixed by engagement with the releasing locking means. When held in this position, activating the electric motor drives the pinion around the stationary driven member, thereby rotating the drum wheel to selectively raise or lower the door curtain and release the door curtain. When the locking means is released, the driven member can rotate integrally with the drum wheel, so that the door curtain can be opened and closed manually.

The driven member is preferably a ring gear permanently engaged by a pinion.

In the present invention, the electric motor and associated gear train rotate simultaneously and integrally with the door curtain support drum wheel. Also, since the electric motor is housed inside the core of the door curtain, it is not only protected against external damage to the actuating mechanism, but also prevents the ingress of dirt and sand particles into the actuating mechanism. Furthermore, whether the door is electrically or manually operated, the pinion always remains in mesh with the ring gear, which is quite different from prior art arrangements. Therefore, the gear teeth are less susceptible to damage than prior art arrangements that require the pinion to be moved into and out of engagement with the ring gear.

In order to more fully explain the invention, one embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this embodiment, the roller door assembly 10 includes a fixed support shaft 11 which is mounted above an opening in a wall 12 by a right angle support bracket 13. Each support bracket 13 is also positioned proximate each end of the shaft 11, and the shaft 11 is connected to a U-bolt 1.
4 and threaded nut 15 to secure this bracket 1.
It is fixed at 3. Two further drums or rim wheels 18 (only one shown) are rotatably supported on the support shaft 11, each rim wheel 18 proximate each end of the shaft 11. These rim wheels 18
is of conventional construction and includes a plurality of web-like spokes extending from a hub 19 that slidably engages the shaft 11. A flexible metal door curtain 20 of known construction is also wrapped around both drum wheels 18 such that as the wheels 18 rotate, the door curtain 20 is raised or lowered as desired and mounted on the wall 12. The opened and closed openings are then opened and closed. The side ends of the door curtain 20 are connected to the walls 12 on both sides of the opening.
is slidably housed in a vertical channel guide 22 fixed to.

A reversible electric motor 23 is provided to drive the drum wheel 18 in rotation. This electric motor 23 is tightly connected to the gearbox 2.
It has 4. Gearbox 24 includes a reduction gear mechanism, the reduction ratio of which can be selected to match the desired speed of opening and closing of the door. electric motor 23
and the gearbox 24 is connected to one drum wheel 18.
It is fixed by a clamp member 26 near its outer peripheral surface. The clamp member 26 is the wheel 18
, and is engaged with a boss 27 on the gearbox case 24. The motor 23 is
It is located axially inside the drum wheel 18 and is fixed to this wheel 18, and is housed inside the core of the door curtain, that is, inside the space formed by the innermost winding portion 28. gearbox 24
An output shaft 29 from the drum wheel 18 extends axially through an opening 30 in the drum wheel 18 and supports a pinion 33 . This pinion 33 is fixed to the shaft 29 by a bolt 34. Pinion 33 is bush 36
It meshes with a gear wheel or ring gear 35 having internal gear teeth located on the opposite side. The bushing 36 is rotatably supported on the fixed shaft 11 and bolted thereto for rotation with the drum wheel. The ring gear 35 has a substantially cup-shaped base 37, and this base 37
is formed with a central opening having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the bushing 36. In this embodiment, the ring gear 35, pinion 33, and bush 36 are all made of nylon.

Also supported on the bushing 36 is a fixed or non-rotating main mount 38 located axially outwardly and adjacent to the ring gear 35. Subject 3
8 has an annular boss 41 that is integrally formed therewith and projects into the center opening of the ring gear 35. The annular boss 41 is arranged to keep the ring gear 35 from radially displacing with respect to the bush 36 and to provide a bearing surface on which the ring gear can rotate. The main body 38 is held fixed by an axial connector rod 39 secured to its outer surface, the outer end of which supports an anchor block 40 non-rotatably mounted to the mounting bracket 13. In this example,
Anchor block 40 is formed with an L-shaped slot 42 through which horizontal arm 43 of bracket 13 extends. Note that the mounting body 38 is held in a fixed state simply by fixing it to the shaft 11 using, for example, a grub screw. Further, the main body 38 and the ring gear 35 are held in position above the bush 36 by a split clamp ring 43. The split clamp ring 43 is attached to the bush 36.
It is locked to an annular shoulder 44 at the end of the.

During electrical operation of the door, the ring gear 35 must remain stationary so that the pinion 33 can self-drive around the ring gear 35.
For this purpose, a lock pin 45 is provided which is supported by the main body 38 and is releasably coupled to the ring gear 35. This pin 45 is provided with an outer tube sleeve 48 which can engage an axle stem 4 in an opening formed in the disk 37 of the ring gear 35.
It accommodates 9. Furthermore, the compression spring 52 is attached to the stem 4
9 to its engaged position. Then, when the head 53 of the pin 45 is lifted, the stem 49 is retracted to a position where it no longer engages in locking engagement with the ring gear 35. The pin 45 is also provided with a cover plate 54 screwed to the main body 38. It should be understood that in addition to the pin 45, any releasable coupling means that can be easily disengaged and re-engaged between the main body 38 and the ring gear 35 as desired can be used.

When the door is in a steady state of operation, the main body 38 and the ring gear 35 are non-rotatably coupled to each other, so that when the electric motor 23 is actuated, the drum wheel 18 together with the electric motor 23 and the associated gearbox 24 Rotates, pinion 33
is continuously driven while being engaged with the inner ring gear 35. Then, the door curtain 20 is opened or closed according to the rotational direction of the output shaft 29 of the electric motor 23.

If the electric motor is defective or loses power, the door can be manually removed by releasing the pin 45 from its extended position such that the stem 49 projects axially through the platen 37 of the ring gear 35. can be easily operated. That is, when the pin 45 is retracted from the disk 37 of the ring gear 35, the ring gear 35 becomes free to rotate with respect to the support shaft 11, and the drum wheel (to which the electric motor is attached) is also free to rotate, so that the door curtain 20
can be raised and lowered very easily by hand. When the door is operated manually in this way, the electric motor, gearbox and pinion rotate in unison;
Such an arrangement eliminates the need for a human being to rotate the shaft of the motor 23, which would probably not be possible in any case. It will therefore be appreciated that raising and lowering the door curtain by hand as described above requires very little effort.

Power for the motor 23 is provided by a circuit not shown, which includes a brush 55 mounted on the main body 38 and a slip ring 56 disposed on the axially inner end of the bush 36. There is. This circuit then operates to open and close the door curtain 20 by controlling the supply of current to the electric motor. Furthermore, this circuit may be provided with response means for starting the motor 23 to open and close the door curtain 20 in response to a predetermined wireless code signal. In this case, a code signal can be emitted from a radio transmitter located on the vehicle to enable the driver inside the vehicle to open and close the door.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper and lower limits of movement of the door curtain 20 are determined by a micro switch 57 on the main body 38 having contacts 58 (only one shown).
controlled by. These contacts 58 can be engaged with cams 59 and 60 supported by a cam gear 61. Cam gear 61 meshes with an idle gear, and idle gear 62 meshes with a drive gear integrally formed on rotating bush 36. and cam 5
One of 9 and 60 controls the upper limit of movement of the door curtain 20, and the other controls the lower limit. Thus, when the door curtain 20 reaches its upper or lower limit during operation, one of the cams engages the corresponding switch contact to operate the micro switch 57.
This switch operation is detected by the actuating circuit for motor 23, resulting in the motor being stopped. This switch operation is also effective when reversing the driving direction of the motor. That is, the next time the motor is activated, the door curtain is moved in the opposite direction. Thus, door operation may be controlled by a remote radio transmitter or a manually operated switch located near the doorway.

As a variation (not shown) to the embodiment described above, a rotating shaft supported in end bearings may be provided. In this case the drum wheel is fixed to this shaft so as to rotate therewith. The ring gear is rotatably supported on the shaft by an intermediate bearing supported on the shaft. The stationary body may also be supported on this intermediate bearing, or a separate bearing may be used. As a further alternative (not shown), a sprocket rotatably supported around the ring gear may be used instead, in which case a chain drive is provided between the sprocket and the drive pinion. A removable pin 45 is then arranged to releasably engage the sprocket so that the sprocket remains stationary when the door is electrically actuated and rotates with the pinion when the door is manually actuated. It can be done freely.

It will be appreciated from the embodiments described above that the present invention, despite its great simplicity, provides a significant improvement in the operation and arrangement of actuating mechanisms for electrically actuated roller doors. The actuation mechanism of the present invention is easily adaptable to existing roller door assemblies and, of course, can be incorporated into new roller door systems.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is an end view of a roller door assembly according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drum wheel to which the electric motor is secured, and FIG. 3 is a view taken along line 3--3 in FIG. Sectional cross-sectional end view, and fourth
The figure is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 in FIG. 10: Rotating assembly, 11: Fixed support shaft, 18:
Drum wheel, 20: Door curtain, 23: Electric motor, 24: Gear box, 33: Pinion, 35: Ring gear, 36: Bush, 38:
Main mounting body, 45: Lock pin.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A roller door curtain or shutter for winding or winding around a pair of drum wheels rotatably supported on a horizontal shaft, each drum wheel being spaced apart in the axial direction and close to each end of the shaft. The return drive mechanism has a reduction gear mechanism leading to the drive pinion and is operatively connected to the gear mechanism, and is disposed inside and in close proximity to one of the drum wheels, with respect to the drum wheel. a reversible electric motor mounted to rotate integrally therewith; a ring gear disposed outside the one drum wheel and meshing with the pinion; and locking means for preventing rotation of the ring gear relative to the shaft. Features a drive mechanism. 2. The drive mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the locking means is releasable and, when released, allows the ring gear to rotate integrally with the one drum wheel. 3. Claim 1 or claim 3, wherein a fixed body is provided at a distance from the one drum wheel outward in the axial direction, and the ring gear is disposed between the one drum wheel and the fixed body. 2
The drive mechanism according to any one of Items. 4. The releasable lock means includes a pin supported by the fixed body and movable between an engaged position where the ring gear is locked against rotational movement and a released position where the ring gear is rotatable. The drive mechanism according to claim 3. 5. The drive mechanism of claim 4, wherein the pin includes a compression spring operatively connected to the pin and biasing the pin into a position for engagement with the ring gear. 6. A bushing member is provided coaxially with the shaft and is fixed to the outer surface of the drum wheel so as to rotate together with the drum wheel and has a sufficient axial length to support the fixed body, and the bushing member Claim 3 further comprising clamping means for holding the fixed body and the ring gear in adjacent relationship and further preventing axial displacement of the fixed body and the ring gear.
The drive mechanism described in section. 7. The drive mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ring gear permanently meshes with the drive pinion. 8. The ring gear comprises a cup-shaped body having inner gear teeth and a disk forming a central opening, and the fixed body includes an annular positioning boss coaxial with the axis for locating the ring gear against radial displacement. The positioning boss has an outer diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the center opening of the ring gear, and a part of the outer surface of the boss is a bearing that engages with a disk forming the center opening. The drive mechanism according to claim 6, which is a surface. 9. Fixing means for connecting and fixing the fixed body to a support bracket that supports the shaft, the fixing means including a connector rod fixed to the fixed body and extending axially outward from the fixed body; 4. A drive mechanism according to claim 3, comprising an anchor block non-rotatably mounted on one of the shaft support brackets and fixedly connected to said connector rod. 10. A drive mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the pinion, ring gear and stationary body are all made of synthetic plastic material, preferably nylon. 11. A drive mechanism for winding or unwinding a roller door curtain or shutter on a pair of drum wheels rotatably supported on a shaft, each drum wheel being spaced apart in the axial direction and close to each end of said shaft, a reversible electric motor having a reduction gear mechanism leading to a drive pinion and operatively associated with the gear mechanism and disposed within and proximate one of the drum wheels; a reversible electric motor mounting means for causing said motor to rotate simultaneously and integrally with said drum wheel when said drum wheel rotates; and a fixing spaced axially outwardly from said one drum wheel. a ring gear disposed between said one drum wheel and said fixed body and permanently meshing with said pinion; and releasable locking means disposed between said ring gear and said fixed body; When the ring gear is held fixed by engagement with the releasable locking means, actuation of the electric motor causes rotation of the drum wheel by driving the pinion around the fixed ring gear. When the door curtain is selectively raised or lowered and the releasable locking means is removed, the ring gear can rotate integrally with the one drum wheel, thereby allowing the door curtain to be raised or lowered manually. A drive mechanism characterized by: 12 The releasable lock means is supported by the fixed body and has an engaged position in which the ring gear is locked against rotational movement and an engaged position in which the ring gear is rotatable and rotates integrally with the one drum wheel. 12. A drive mechanism as claimed in claim 11, comprising a pin movable between a release position and a release position. 13. Drive mechanism according to claim 11, wherein the pinion, ring gear and stationary body are all made of synthetic plastic material, preferably nylon.