US3412507A

US3412507A - Suspension device for a sealed rolling door and the applications thereof

Info

Publication number: US3412507A
Application number: US614251A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sterner Bernard
Original assignee: ARMETAL Ste
Current assignee: ARMETAL Ste
Priority date: 1966-02-15
Filing date: 1967-02-06
Publication date: 1968-11-26
Anticipated expiration: 1985-11-26
Also published as: DE1708257B2; GB1118482A; FR1514939A; DE1708257A1

Description

Nov. 26, 1968 STERNE 3,412,507

SUSP G DOOR AND ENSION D C 0R A SEALE 0L E APPLICATIONS THEREO Flled Feb. 6, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 26, 1968 E, sTl-:RNER 3,412,507 SUSPENSION DEVICE FOR A SEALED ROLLING DOOR AND THE APPLICATIONS THEREOF Filed Feb. e, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 26, 1968 B. STERNER SUSPENSION DEVICE 3,412,507 FOR A SEALED ROLLING DOOR AND THE APPLICATIONS TH Filed Feb. 6, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent O 12 Claims. icl. 49-212) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A suspension device for suspending a sealed rolling door from a wall, in particular for a cold store, the suspension device being such as to move the door away from the wall and oiT the sill of the door opening for rolling the door along a rail which is connected to the wall by the suspension device.

The present invention relates to suspension devices for seaied sliding or rolling doors `for example intended for equipping cold stores.

The sealed rolling doors of the type employed in cold stores are usually placed laterally alongside the outer face of the wall and in the closed position are applied against the frame and the sill, sealing elements being interposed for affording a correct seal. To open the door, it is therefore first necessary to move it away from the frame and raise it such distance as to be in a position to roll it along the wall to its open position. In a known device, the door is suspended and is slidable or rollable on a fixed rail by means of rollers. Interposed between these rollers and the door is a pivot device comprising an eccentric whereby by the rotation thereof, it is possible to raise the door and move it away from the frame. This device has many drawbacks. In particular, it produces an additional clearance between the rail and the door which can result in considerable movements in the lower part of the door. Moreover, to move the eccentric requires the provision of a linkage which must be connected to the door, since the pivot device moves with the latter. Further, in order to be also movable from within, which is essential, this 4linkage must necessarily extend through the door. The shifting means placed on the inner face of the door must be embedded in the thickness of the latter so that it does not protrude and prevent the sliding or rolling of the door when opening. Consequently, the construction of the door is complica-ted and its cost price increased.

Furthermore, in the case of a semi-automatic or automatic control (for example pneumatic) of the pivot device, the fact that this pivot device moves with the door requires the provision of flexible pipes and conduits having such length as to be capable of following `the movement of the door when opening and closing the latter. This is unsightly, impracticable and even dangerous since t-hese conduits can be jammed and harmed.

The object of the invention is to provide a device which avoids these drawbacks.

The suspension device according to the invention for a rolling-sealed door, in particular for a cold store, comprises an element fixed relative to the wall, a mount which is pivoted to said element so as to be movable in a direction parallel to itself in such manner that all points thereof remain in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the wall, a door guide rail secured to the mount, an overcenter device interconnecting the element and the mount which maintains in one position the mount relative to the element in an operating position in which the door is rollable along the wall on the guide rail.

3,412,507 Patented Nov. 26, 1968 "ice Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are side elevational views partly in section, of a device according to the invention in two positions corresponding respectively -to the closed position and to the rolling position of the door;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, with parts cut away, of a sealed door provided with the device according to `the invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a slight modification of the device according to the invention, and

FIGS. 6-8 are views of an accessory mechanism which completes the suspension and shifting device of the sealed door shown in FIG. 5.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4, the suspension device according to the invention is mounted on a sealed rolling or sliding door P which is intended for example for a cold store and shown in perspective in FIG. 4.

In the closed position thereof, the door P is applied against a frame D, sealing elements J providing a seal between the door and the frame and between the door and the sill S. The device according to the invention mounted between the door and the wall M will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1-3.

T-his device comprises a lsupport element 1 which is fixed relative to the wall M and a movable mount 2 which is pivoted to the element by means of four pairs links such as 3-4, having pivot pins 5-6.

A toggle device 7 is provided between the element 1 and the mount 2. The arms 8-9 of this toggle device are constituted by forks 8a, 8b and 9a, 9b respectively (FIG. 3).

The arm 8 is rigid with a hexagonal bar 10 resting in bearings 11-12 and comprises an abutment face 8c adapted to co-operate with an abutment 1c provided on the element 1. The arm 9 is pivotable about a pivot pin 13 rigid with the mount 2. The arms 8 and 9 are pivoted together by pivot pin 14.

In t-he illustrated embodiment, the actuating mechanism is semi-automatic and comprises a double-acting pneumatic jack 15 having a control rod 16 whose head 17 is pivoted to the mid-part of the pin 14. The jack 15 is secured in its lower part to the element 1 by a pin 18 and is fed by way of two conduits 19-20.

Secured to the movable mount by screws 21 is a rail 22 having a V-shaped rolling 4face 23.

The |door P is rollably mounted on the rail by means of rollers 24 to which it is connected by members 25-26- 27. A screwthreaded rod 28 and nuts and lock-nuts 29- 30-31 serve to adjust the 4position of the door in height.

FIG. 4 shows diagrammatically an assembly of a suspension device for a cold store door P controlled semiautomatically. In this assembly, the rail 22 along which the door rolls, is secured to three `devices A1, A2, A3 such as that described hereinbefore. The devices A1 and A2 are provided with an actuating jack whereas the third device A3 is merely controlled by the hexagonal bar 10.

The jacks are connected to a source of compressed air (not shown) by way of

conduits

32, 33, 34, 19 and 20 an'd a cock 35 provided with two control knobs 3'6 and 37 respectively located on the outer and inner faces of the wall M.

The door P also has an outer handle 38 and a cavity 39 whereby it is possible to roll the door from within.

The operation of the device according to the invention is particularly simple. Let it be assumed that the door is 3 in the closed position (FIGS. 1 and 4) and applied in a sealed manner against the frame J and the sill S.

To open the door, it is first necessary to move it away from the `frame and raise it so that it can be rolled along the Wall M. For this purpose, one of the control cocks for the jack is operated so as to supply the compressed fluid to the conduit 19 and raise the piston (not shown) and the rod 16 (FIG. 1).

The toggle device 7 opens `and the mount 2 supporting the rail 22 and the door moves in a 'direction parallel to the door until it reaches the position shown in FIG. 2 in which the part 8c of the arm 8 abuts the abutment 1c provided on the element 1.

In the initial position (FIG. 1), the links are inclined at `about 30 to the vertical and the path of the mount, and consequently of the door, is an arc of a circle of about 30 so that at the start of the travel the door moves away from the frame quicker than it rises whereas at the end of the travel the reverse effect occurs.

In this position, the toggle device has slightly passed through the dead-center position in which the arms 8 and 9 are in Ithe extensions of each other. The pivot device interconnecting the mount 2 and the element 1 therefore automatically locks the mount 2 in this position since the pivot 14 of the toggle device tends to move upwardly but this is rendered impossible by the abutment of the arm 8 against the element 1. Consequently, in this position, the rod 16 of the jack no longer supports any force.

The door can now be easily shifted and rolled laterally along the rail 22 to its open position.

To close the door, it is sutlicient to roll it in the opposite direction until it assumes the correct closed position. For this, the compressed air control is actuated so as to supply uid to the conduit 20 of the jack 1S. The rod 16 moves dow-nwardly and 'this causes the toggle device to pass through its dead-center position and return the door to the position in which it is in contact with the frame and the sill.

In the structure shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4, only the devices A1 land A2 are provided with control jacks since it is they which support the forces when the mounts 2, the rail 22 and the door P are moved when opening and closing the door.

The device A3 is mechanically connected to the two other devices A1 and A2 by the hexagonal bar 10 so as to ensure the correct positioning of the toggle 'device of the device A3 in the locking position corresponding to the position for shifting the door, and in the course of the unlocking of the toggle device for closing the door.

FIG. 4, although diagrammatic, clearly shows one of the essential advantages of the device according to the invention, namely the fact that the pivot, guiding and control assembly constitutes an independent unit on which doors of any thickness can be adapted. Moreover, these doors no longer carry the control and shifting mechanisms and devices which are particularly simple in construction and cheap. These mechanisms or devices are xed relative to the wall and this also simplifies the mounting and utilization thereof.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. l-4, a semi-automatic control device has been chosen, only the movements in a plane perpendicular to the wall being produced by a pneumatic jack. It will be understood that an additional jack 40 could be provided (FIGS. 5 and 6) which rolls the door along the wall in both directions, this jack being for example placed on the rail 22 and aeting on one of the elements 27.

A purely mechanical control mechanism may also be employed which acts on the hexagonal bar 10 so as to y FIGS. 6 8 show a mechanism for opening the door from inside the enclosure in the case of a mechanical control or, by way of safety, if the pneumatic actuating device has broken down.

This mechanism comprises a lever device 41 placed on the inner face of the doo-r (FIGS. 7 and 8) and comprising in the presently-described embodiment a vertical metal upright 42 pivoted by links 43 to the door P and an arm 44 also -pivoted to the upright 42 and the door. In the position of rest, the assembly is placed against the door so as not to hinder the rolling of the latter. To open the door from within, the arm 44 is lowered, the upright 42 bears against the ground and the door rises and moves away from the frame so as to assume the position shown in dot-dash line in FIG. `7.

This mechanism raises the door to a certain extent but does not cause the toggle devices 7 to pass through to the dead-center position thereof. This is the reason why a torsion spring 45 is provided (FIG. 6) having one end 45a connected to an element 46 secured to the wall and the other end 45h connected to the hexagonal bar 10. This torsion spring provides at the end of the -opening travel of the door the additional torque necessary for passing through the dead-center position and placing the door in the rolling position. It will be understood that any other suitable lever device and return device could be provided for effecting this operation.

Further, in order to improve the distribution and application of the forces when closing, there could be provided as shown in FIG. 5, a mount 2 which comprises in its lower part an extension 2a provided with a rubber buffer 2b. This part of the amount co-operaftes with -a branch 47a of a bracket 47 whose other branch 47b is fixed to the door P.

In the course of the downward and closing travel of the door, the forces are in this way directly transmitted from the mount 2 to the door by the abutment of the part 2a, 2b of the mount against the branch 47a of the bracket 47. This avoids the transmission of excessive forces through the rail 22, the rollers 24 and the elements supporting the door and in particular avoids the abutment, during the whole of the lowering stage of the upper part of the rollers 24 against the upper flange of the rail 22. However, this abutment occurs solely at the end of travel when the door is practically in its closed position.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described, many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as dened in the appended claims.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for suspending a sealed rolling door from a wall relative to which the door is rollable, said device comprising an element fixed relative to the wall, a mount, means for pivoting said mount to said element so that said mount is movable in a direction parallel to itself in such manner that all points thereof remain in a vertical plane perpendicular to the plane of the wall, a door guide rail secured to the mount, an over-center device interconnecting the element and the mount and having two stable positions on opposite sides of a dead-center position, a rst stable position in which the door is applied against the Wall in a closed position and a second stable position in which said over-center device maintains the mount relative to the element in an operating position in which the door is rollable along the wall on the guide rail and an actuating mechanism for shifting said over-center device from one of said two stable positions to the other over said dead-center position.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means are links which pivot the mount to said element.

3. A device for suspending a sealed rolling door from a wall relative to which the door is rollable, said device comprising an element xed relative to the wall, a mo-unt,

links for pivoting said mount to said element, a door guide rail secured to the mount, an over-center mechanism interconnecting the element and the mount and having two stable positions on opposite sides of a deadcenter position, a first stable position in which the door is applied against the wall in a closed position and a second stable position in which said over-center device maintains the mount relative to the element in an operating position in which the door is rollable along the wall on the guide rail, said over-center device comprising a toggle device having one arm pivoted to the element and another arm pivoted to the mount and a pivot pin interconnecting the arms, the arm pivoted to said element comprising an abutment face which is co-operable with a corresponding abutment face on said element so as to maintain the toggle device in said second stable position corresponding to the locking of the pivotal connection, an an actuating mechanism for shifting said overcenter device from one of said two stable positions to the other.

4. A device for suspending a door as claimed in claim 3, wherein said actuating mechanism comprises a bar which has a polygonal or like section and is rotatably mounted on said element, the arm of the toggle device pivoted to said element being rigid with said bar.

5. A device for suspending a door as claimed in claim 3, said actuating mechanism comprises a double-acting jack which has a control rod having the head mounted on the pivot pin of the toggle device.

6. A device for suspending a door as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mount comprises a lower part adapted to be in contact with an abutment member secured to the upper edge of the door so as to transmit the forces directly to the door during closing movemenet.

7. An assembly comprising in combination a door, a wall relative to which the door is rollable, and at least two suspension devices for suspending the door from the wall, each of said devices comprising an element Xed relative to the wall, a mount which is pivoted to said element by means of links so as to be movable in a direction parallel to itself in Such manner that all points thereof remain in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the wall, a door guide rail secured to the mount, a toggle device interconnecting the element and the mount and having two stable positions on opposite sides of a dead-center position, a iirst stable position in which the door is applied against the wall in a closed position and a second stable position in which said toggle device maintains the mount relative to the element in an operating position in which the door is rollable along the wall on the guide rail and an actuating mechanism for shifting said toggle device from one of said two stable positions to the other over said dead-center position, said toggle device having one arm pivoted to the element and another arm pivoted to the mount and a pivot pin interconnecting the arms, the arm pivoted to said element comprising an abutment face which is co-operable with a corresponding abutment face on said element so as to maintain the toggle device in said second stable position corresponding to the locking of the pivotal connection, the arms of the toggle device which are pivoted to said elements of the respective suspension devices being mounted on a common bar to rotate with said bar, the rail being secured to the door by a connecting device comprising a irst member connected to the door, a second member, rollers mounted on the second member and co-operating with the rail, and a device for interconnecting said two members and having a screw threaded rod, nuts and locknuts for adjusting the position of the door in height relative to said wall.

S. An assembly comprising in combination a door, a wall relative to which the door is rollable, and at least two suspension devices for suspending the door from the Wall, each of said devices comprising an element xed relative to the wall, a mount which is pivoted to said element by means of links so as to be movable in a direction parallel to itself in such manner that all points thereof remain in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the wall, a door guide rail secured to the mount, a toggle device interconnecting the element and the mount and having two stable positions on opposite sides of a deadcenter position, a rst stable position in which the door is applied against the wall in a clc-sed position and a second stable position in which said toggle device maintains the mount relative to the element in an operating position in which the door is rollable along the wall on the guide rail and an actuating mechanism for shifting said toggle device from one of said two stable positions to the other over said dead-center position, said toggle device having `one arm pivoted to the element and another arm pivoted to the mount and a pivot pin interconnecting the arms, the arm pivoted to said element comprising an abutment face which is co-operable with a corresponding abutment face on said element so as to maintain the toggle device in said second stable position corresponding to the locking of the pivotal connection, the arms of the toggle device which are pivoted to said elements of the respective suspension devices being mounted on a common bar to rotate with said bar, the rail being secured to the door by a connecting device comprising a first member connected to the door, a second member, rollers mounted on the second member and co-operating with the rail.

9. An assembly as claimed in claim 8, comprising a lever device actuated from within the enclosure closed by the door for raising the door and moving it away from the Wall to within the neighborhood of the deadcenter position of the toggle device, and an additional return device for causing said toggle device to pass through the dead-center position thereof and place the mount in the second stable position for rolling the door.

10. An assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein the lever device comprises a vertical upright adapted to bear on the oor, links connecting the vertical upright to the door and an arm which is roughly parallel to the links and pivoted to the door and to the upright.

11. An assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein the return device comprises a torsion spring having one end connected to a member secured to the wall and the other end connected to the said bar.

12. An assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the links which connect the upright to the door have roughly the same dimension and the same position as the links which connect the mount to said element, whereby the door moves in a direction parallel to itself.

FOREIGN PATENTS 4/ 1965 Switzerland.

KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner.