US3818636A

US3818636A - Hermetically sealing closure device having a sliding door

Info

Publication number: US3818636A
Application number: US00373635A
Authority: US
Inventors: B Calais; L Vidal
Original assignee: Sb Calais SARL
Current assignee: Sb Calais SARL
Priority date: 1972-07-03
Filing date: 1973-06-26
Publication date: 1974-06-25
Anticipated expiration: 1991-06-25
Also published as: BR7304907D0; BE801494A; DE2332489A1; IT991643B; CA985572A; NO144076C; CH578671A5; JPS5610434B2; GB1430967A; NL7309251A; ES416549A1; FR2191590A5; SE392143B; AR198671A1; AU5762873A; AT354043B; ATA559073A; JPS4943427A; NO144076B

Abstract

An assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in a wall comprises a sliding door having sealing means along its bottom edge and along the top and lateral edges of its face adjacent the wall, and suspension rollers which slidably mount the door on a rail fastened to the wall and which are movable along the rail. The rail comprises fixed sections between adjacent ones of which are two sections which are movable between a first position in which the movable sections are aligned with the fixed rail sections and the door is disposed in a raised, clear position which permits it to move along the rail without obstruction, and a second position in which the movable sections are displaced downwards and towards the wall with respect to the fixed rail sections and the door is applied against the wall so that the opening is hermetically sealed. The rollers are arranged to engage the two movable sections respectively when the door is opposite the opening whereby the sections are moved to the said second position.

Description

United States Patent [191 Calais et al.

[4 June 25, 1974 [75] Inventors: Bernard Calais; Luis Vidal, both of Rambouillet, France [73] Assignee: Ste. Bernard Calais S.A.R.L.,

Rambouillet, France [22] Filed: June 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 373,635

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 7, 1972 France 72.24570 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1910 Murray 49/224 3,412,507 11/1968 Sterner 49/212 3,415,014 12/1968 Hamilton 49/235 X FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,125,310 3/1962 Germany 49/212 1,546,043 10/1968 France 49/409 Primary Examiner-Kenneth Downey Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Clelle W. Upchurch 5 7] ABSTRACT An assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in a wall comprises a sliding door having sealing means along its bottom edge and along the top and lateral edges of its face adjacent the wall, and suspension rollers which slidably mount the door on a rail fastened to the wall and which are movable along the rail. The rail comprises fixed sections between adjacent ones of which are two sections which are movable between a first position in which the movable sections are aligned with the fixed rail sections and the door is disposed in a raised, clear position which permits it to move along the rail without obstruction, and a second position in which the movable sections are displaced downwards and towards the wall with respect to the fixed rail sections and the door is applied against the a wall so that the opening is hermetically sealed. The rollers are arranged to engage the two movable sections respectively when the door is opposite the opening whereby the sections are moved to the said second position.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED JUN 2 51974 SHEET 1 OF 4 PA-TENTEB JUN25 I974 SHEET 3 BF 4 I-IERMETICALLY SEALING CLOSURE DEVICE HAVING A SLIDING DOOR The present invention relates to an assembly for sealing hermetically an opening made in a wall, of the type which comprises a door, fitted with sealing joints positioned along its lower edge and along the upper and lateral edges of its face adjacent to the wall, which is mounted to slide on a shaped horizontal rail, fastened to the wall, by means of two suspension rollers which move along the said rail, and means to move the door between a raised clear position which permits the door to slide without obstruction along the rail and a hermetically sealed position in which the said door is applied against the wall and the ground in the area of the opening so as to block off the opening hermetically.

In a known assembly of this type the means for moving the door are formed in the following way: on the one hand, a dip is made in the shaped rail along the track for the suspension rollers at the point at which each of the said rollers is situated when the door is opposite the wall opening, this dip producing a vertical movement of the rollers and thus of the door which they carry, and, on the other hand, an intermediate link is interposed between a support bracket for each suspension roller and the door, this link being fitted with a control-arm of which the free end carries a roller and cooperates with a second track of the shaped rail. In order that it may function, this known assembly must also incorporate a third roller known as a compensating roller which is associated with each suspension roller and cooperates with a third track on the shaped rail; each of the compensating rollers has the function of counter-acting the imbalance due to the reaction exerted by the door on the appropriate support bracket when the said door is moved into the hermetically sealed position. This known assembly is thus complicated in construction, since it requires, in particular, a rail incorporating three different tracks, two extra rollers associated with each suspension roller, and an intermediate link also associated with each suspension roller which is capable, on conjunction with its control arm, of supporting the weight of the door.

It is an object of the invention to provide an assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in a wall which is of simple construction and which overcomes or substantially reduces the aforementioned drawbacks.

To this end, the invention consists in an assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in a wall comprising a door having sealing means arranged to hermetically seal said opening, two suspension rollers which slidably mount the door on a rail fastened to the wall and which are movable along the rail, said rail comprising a fixed part and two sections which are movable with respect to said fixed rail part, between a first position in which said sections are aligned with the fixed part of the rail and the door is disposed in a raised, clear, position which permits it to move along the rail without obstruction, and a second position in which said sections are displaced downwards and towards the wall with respect to said fixed rail part and the door is applied against the wall so that the opening is hennetically sealed, said sections and rollers being so disposed in relation to each other that when the door is opposite the wall opening the two rollers engage said two sections respectively to move said two sections downwardly and towards the wall into said second position.

In this new assembly, only one track is necessary, so that the rail can have an uncomplicated outline. Furthermore, the supporting brackets for the suspension rollers may now be fixed directly to the door.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view, in plan and in horizontal section along line II of FIG. la, an assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in a wall, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention,

FIG. la is a schematic, vertical section along line A.A of FIG. 1, v

FIG. 2 is a plan view, partially cut away, of a support bracket with its suspension roller, mounted on a rail near a movable section of the rail,

FIG. 3 is a plan view, partially cut away, of the support bracket and the suspension roller shown in FIG. 2 when situated vertically above the centre of an associated movable section of the rail,

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the movable section shown in FIGS. 1 to 3,

FIG. 5 is a vertical section along line VV of FIG. 2, and g FIG. 6 is a vertical section along line VI-VI of FIG. 2.

In FIGS. I and la can be seen an assembly for sealing hermetically an opening 1 made in the wall 2 of an enclosure such as a deep-freeze chamber. This closure assembly comprises a door 3 fitted with a sealing joint (not shown) positioned along its lower edge and with sealing joints 4 positioned along the lateral and upper edge of the face adjacent to the wall 2. The door 3 is mounted to slide on a shaped horizontal rail 5, fastened to the wall 2, by means of two

suspension rollers

6 and 7 which move along the said rail 5 and each of whose shafts is mounted in a support bracket 8 fixed to the door 3. The assembly shown in the drawings also incorporates means for moving the door 3 between a raised clear position (shown in broken lines in FIG. 1) which enables it to slide along the rail 5 without obstruction, and a hermetically sealed position (shown in solid lines in FIGS. 1 and la) in which the said door 3 is applied against the wall 2 in the area of the opening 1, and in which the lower edge (not shown) of the door 3 is applied against the ground so that the door 3 blocks off the said opening 1 hermetically.

To produce this movement of the door 3, the rail 5 incorporates two

sections

9, 10 which can be moved or displaced downwards and towards the wall 2 with respect to the remainder of the rail 5, which is formed by fixed sections of

rail

5a, 5b, and 5c. Each

movable section

9, 10 is associated with one

suspension roller

6, 7 of the door 3 and is located along the rail 5 at the point at which the said

suspension roller

6, 7 is situated when the door 3 is opposite the opening 1, as shown in solid lines in FIG. 1. The

movable sections

9, 10 are thus so arranged as to form the means of moving the door 3 between the raised clear position (shown in broken lines), in which the

said sections

9, 10 are in alignment with the

fixed part

5a, 5b, 5c of the rail 5, and the hermetically sealed position (shown in solid lines), in which the

said sections

9, 10 are displaced downwards and towards the wall 2 with respect to the

fixed part

5a, 5b, 5c of rail 5.

As can be seen particularly in FIGS. 2 to 6, each

movable section

9, 10 is guided in a slide-way integral 3 with the

fixed part

5a, 5b, 5c of the rail 5, which is formed by a groove 11 made in each of the end faces of the sections of

fixed rail

5a, 5b or 5b, 50 which surround the

movable section

9 or 10. A terminal tongue 12 of appropriate shape provided on each of the end faces of the movable sections 9, can slide in each of the grooves 11, as can be seen in particular in FIG. 4. The grooves l l are inclined at 45 with respect to, and extend towards, the wall 2 so that each

movable section

9, 10, starting from the aligned position, is guided downwards and towards the wall 2. Each movable section 9, It) incorporates a stop-plate 13 attached to its lower face which projects beyond the said

movable section

9, 10 at either end and which performs the function of an abutment able to cooperate with two travelrestricting stops integral with the

fixed part

5a, 5b, 5c of the rail 5 so as to define two extreme positions for the

movable section

9, 10, one corresponding to the door 3 being in the hermetically sealed position and the other to the said door being in the raised clear position. One of the limit stops is formed by the ends of neighbouring sections of fixed rail, 5a, 5b, or 512, 5c which are adjacent to the

movable section

9 or 10; the other travelrestricting stop is formed by a yoke 14 fonning a rigid connection between the said ends of neighbouring fixed sections of

rail

5a, 5b, or 5b, 5c. Two helical return springs 15 are provided on either side of each

movable section

9 or 10 between the said

section

9 or 10 and the

fixed part

5a, 512 or 5b, 5c of the rail 5 and are so arranged as to thrust the said

movable section

9 or 10 into the position in which it lines up with the said fixed

part

5a, 5b or 5b, 5c of the rail 5. For this purpose, the springs 15 are each mounted on the shank of a screw 16 attached to one end of a neighbouring fixed section of

rail

5a, 5b or 5b, 5c and they bear, on the one hand, on the head 16a of the said screw 16 and, on the other hand, on the stop plate 13 associated with the

movable section

9 or 10. Each

suspension roller

6, 7 on the door 3 incorporates two lateral flanges 17, each able to cooperate with the adjacent

lateral face

5d, 5e of the rail 5, which is advantageously of circular crosssection. For each

movable section

9, 10 of the rail 5, a clearance cut-out 18 is made in each of the ends of neighbouring fixed sections of

rail

5a, 5b, or 5b, 5c which are adjacent to the said

movable section

9 or 10. The clearance cut-outs 18 are made in the opposite lateral face 5d of the said end of a section 5a to 50 from the wall 2, and are so proportioned as to be able to accommodate the adjacent flange 17 of the

roller

6, 7 associated with the said

movable section

9, 10 when the said

roller

6, 7 is resting on or engaged with the said

movable section

9, 10 and when the latter is in its displaced position with respect to the fixed part 5 a to 5c of the rail 5 (the position in which the

movable section

9, 10 is shown in solid lines in FIGS. 1 and 3). In the case of the appropriate ends of the fixed sections of rail 5a to 50, each cut-out 18 forms a flat vertical surface 19 which is inclined with respect to the main axis 20 of the rail 5 and, unlike neighbouring

movable section

9, 10, merges at 21 into the adjacent cylindrical lateral (boundary) face 5d of the said fixed section of rail 5a to 5c. The boundary 22 of each inclined surface 19 at the same side as the movable section-9, 10 is set back by a distance a equal to the horizontal component of the movement of the door 3 between its raised clear position and its hermetically sealed position. Each inclined surface 19 is thus able to form a guiding surface for the adjacent flange 17 of a

roller

6, 7 as it leaves the

movable section

9, 10 with which it is associated. Thus the surface 19 are capable of cooperating with the adjacent flange 17 of a

roller

6, 7 and of guiding the latter in its movement at right angles to the axis 20 of the rail 5.

In order to be able to open fully the opening 1 in the wall 2, a retractable catch is provided on the movable section 9 which is situated downstream in the direction in which the door 3 slides to open (arrow f in FIG. 1). This catch must be so arranged as to lock the said downstream movable section 9 in the position in which it is in line with the fixed part 5a to 5c of the rail 5 when the upstream roller 7 (situated on the right of FIG. 1) passes onto the said downstream movable section 9. For this purpose, and as can be seen in partivular in FIGS. 2 and 3, the catch incorporates a locking member or wedge 23 which is normally inserted between the travel-restricting stop formed by the yoke 14 and the stop-plate 13 on the downstream movable section 9. To this end, the locking wedge 23 is hinged to a plate 24 fixed to the said yoke 14, a return spring 25 between the said plate 24 and the locking wedge 23 holds the latter against the peg 26 on the plate 24. The locking wedge 23 incorporates an actuating plate 27 which is able to cooperate with a tongue 28 fastened to the supporting bracket 8 of the downstream roller 6 (situated on the left of FIG. 1) on the door 3, so that, when the said roller 6 moves onto the downstream movable section 9, the latter is unlocked and can be moved into its position of maximum displacement with respect to the fixed section of rail 50 to 50.

Each

roller

6, 7 advantageously has, on the opposite side from the wall 2, a frusto-conical running section 29, the major base of which faces towards the outside of the

roller

6, 7.

It will be appreciated that the described assembly is very simple in construction by virtue of the facts that the single track results in a rail of uncomplicated outline and that the roller support brackets are directly fixed to the door.

We claim:

1. An assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in a wall, said assembly comprising:

a. a door having sealing means arranged to hermetically seal said opening,

b. two suspension rollers mounted on said door and c. a rail which is fastened to the wall and on which said suspension rollers slidably mount said door and are movable along said rail, said rail comprising,

1. a fixed part and 2. two sections which are movable with respect to said fixed rail part between a first position in which said sections are aligned with the fixed part of the rail and the door is disposed in a raised, clear, position which permits it to move along the rail without obstruction, and a second position in which said sections are displaced downwards and towards the wall with respect to said fixed rail part and the door is applied against the wall so that the opening is hermetically sealed, whereby, when the door is opposite the wall opening, the two rollers engage said two sections respectively to move said two sections downwardly and towards the wall into said second position.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each movable section is guided in a slide-way in the fixed part of the rail and incorporates an abutment arranged to cooperate with two travel-restricting stops fastened to the fixed part of the rail and defining two extreme positions for the said movable section, which correspond respectively to said first and second positions and wherein a return spring is operative between each said movable section respectively and said fixed rail part to thrust a respective movable section towards said first position.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said abutment is formed by a member fixed to a lower face of each movable section respectively and projecting beyond each end of the movable section, and one of said travel'restricting stops is formed by the ends of neighbouring fixed sections of the fixed part of the rail adjacent the movable section, and the other travelrestricting stop is formed by a yoke which interconnects the said ends of the fixed rail sections.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each suspension roller incorporates two lateral flanges which cooperate with adjacent lateral faces of the rail, and for each movable section of the rail a clearance cut-out is made in at least one of the ends of neighbouring fixed sections of the fixed part of the rail adjacent to the associated movable section, in the lateral face of the or each end which is remote from the wall, this clearance cut-out being so proportioned as to enable it to accommodate the adjacent flange of the roller associated with the said movable section when the particular movable section has been moved into its second position when engaged by the associated roller.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein in the case of the end of a neighbouring fixed rail section adjacent to a movable section, the clearance cut-out is formed by a surface which is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rail, which inclined surface, unlike the said movable section, merges into the adjacent lateral face of the said fixed rail part, and said inclined surface has a boundary at the same side as the movable section which is spaced from its other boundary by a distance equal to the horizontal component of the movement of the door.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the movable sections is fitted with a retractable catch which is able to lock this movable section in said first position and which is controllable by a tongue fastened to a supporting bracket of a roller.

7. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rail is of circular cross-section.

8. An assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein each suspension roller has, at its side remote from the wall, a frustro-conical running section the major base of which faces towards the outside of the roller.

9. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the sealing means is arranged along the bottom edge of the door and along the top and lateral edges of the door face adjacent the wall, each suspension roller incorporates two lateral flanges which cooperate with adjacent lateral faces of the rail and for each movable rail section two clearance cut-outs are made in the ends of said neighbouring fixed rail sections adjacent said movable sections in those lateral faces of said ends which are remote from said wall for accommodating the adjacent flanges of the rollers when said movable sections are in the second position, each clearance cut-out being formed by a surface which is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rail and which merges into the adjacent lateral face of said fixed rail part and said inclined surface has a boundary at the same side as the movable section which is spaced from its other boundary by a distance equal to the horizontal component of movement of the door, one of said movable sections being fitted with a retractable catch which locks this movable section in said first position and which is controllable by a tongue fastened to a supporting bracket of a roller, said rail being of circular cross-section and each suspension roller having, at its side remote from the wall, a frusto-conical running section the major base of which faces towards the outside of the roller.

Claims

1. An assembly for hermetically sealing an opening in a wall, said assembly comprising: a. a door having sealing means arranged to hermetically seal said opening, b. two suspension rollers mounted on said door and c. a rail which is fastened to the wall and on which said suspension rollers slidably mount said door and are movable along said rail, said rail comprising, 1. a fixed part and 2. two sections which are movable with respect to said fixed rail part between a first position in which said sections are aligned with the fixed part of the rail and the door is disposed in a raised, clear, position which permits it to move along the rail without obstruction, and a second position in which said sections are displaced downwards and towards the wall with respect to said fixed rail part and the door is applied against the wall so that the opening is hermetically sealed, whereby, when the door is opposite the wall opening, the two rollers engage said two sections respectively to move said two sections downwardly and towards the wall into said second position.

2. two sections which are movable with respect to said fixed rail part between a first position in which said sections are aligned with the fixed part of the rail and the door is disposed in a raised, clear, position which permits it to move along the rail without obstruction, and a second position in which said sections are displaced downwards and towards the wall with respect to said fixed rail part and the door is applied against the wall so that the opening is hermetically sealed, whereby, when the door is opposite the wall opening, the two rollers engage said two sections respectively to move said two sections downwardly and towards the wall into said second position.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said abutment is formed by a member fixed to a lower face of each movable section respectively and projecting beyond each end of the movable section, and one of said travel-restricting stops is formed by the ends of neighbouring fixed sections of the fixed part of the rail adjacent the movable section, and the other travel-restricting stop is formed by a yoke which interconnects the said ends of the fixed rail sections.