Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Plural strip – slat – or panel type – With mounting or supporting means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-25
2001-09-18
Johnson, Blair M. (Department: 3634)
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Plural strip, slat, or panel type
With mounting or supporting means
C160S201000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06289966
ABSTRACT:
The invention concerns a door formed with a door leaf consisting of several members that can swivel relative to each other, which is moveable in a frame mounted on a building, guided on the side, from a vertical closed position into at least an approximately horizontal position, wherein the door has a counter weight unit that is formed of at least one helical spring mounted on a horizontal pinion and that can be pre-tensioned by means of rotation, wherein the pinion is mounted directly on the doorleaf with the helical spring.
Such doors, consisting of several members that can swivel relative to each other, are described, depending on the form and size of the individual door leaf members, as lamella doors or as sectional doors. The individual members of the door leaf are guided at the side in the rails of a frame mounted to a building and can be moved from a closed vertical position into at least an approximately horizontal open position, generally by a drive. To avoid the door drive's having to lift the entire weight of the door leaf from the current closed position, the fat that a counterweight unit for the door leaf should be provided is already known. For example, wound traction spring units are known that are located in the area of the horizontal slide rails sections. Such wound traction spring units are, however, extremely disruptive due to their location in the ceiling area and require relatively long springs that must provide for the lifting the entire door leaf.
From EP 0 648 307 B1, we also know how to provide a counterweight unit that is formed of two helical springs that can be pre-tensioned by rotation. This counterweight unit is mounted to the building in the area of the lintel of the building opening and the helical springs operate, in the pre-tensioned state, with one end on a flange fixed to a rotating pinion. By means of this pinion, the helical springs can be pre-tensioned from the outside, without problem. The other end of the helical spring acts on a cable drum that, on the one hand, accepts the end of a cable in a fixed manner, while the other end of the cable is attached to the lower section of the door leaf. Using the pre-tensioned helical springs, the weight of the door leaf to be raised or lowered can be offset. Such a counterweight unit does, however, present the disadvantage that a relatively great lintel height is needed that is lost for the installation height of the door leaf since this previously-known counterweight unit can be mounted only above the door leaf.
To solve this problem, the counterweight unit was placed directly in the lower section of the door leaf according to the theory in DE 298 05 716 U. This means that the pinion with the helical spring is placed directly on the lower section of the door leaf. At the end projecting to the side over the door leaf, at least one drive wheel each is placed that meshes positively with the strips corresponding to the drive wheel, attached to the building at the side of the door leaf. This solution has the disadvantage that the entire counterweight unit, located on the lower section of the door leaf, i.e., generally on the lowest door leaf lamella, must be raised and lowered with the entire door. This means, for one thing, that the counterweight unit must be larger in dimension (and therefore heavier) or, for another, a greater force must be exerted when lifting the door leaf.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of this invention therefore is to develop a generic door such that, on the one hand, it can be mounted to save space with particularly low lintel heights, and, on the other, the dead weight to be moved is kept as low as possible.
According to the invention, this task is solved starting from a generic door as described above by the combination of characteristics in the pinion being mounted on the upper section of the door leaf when the door is closed. According to this, the pinion is placed on the upper section of the door leaf in its closed position.
With this solution, the counterweight unit, on the one hand, is located directly on the door so that only low lintel heights are required. On the other hand, the counterweight unit does not need to be moved up and down over the height of the door opening. Rather, the heavy counterweight unit, referred to the total weight of the door, is essentially moved vertically with the topmost swiveling member of the door leaf.
This basic solution concerns a counterweight that advantageously comes in an embodiment that can be hand-operated as well as an automated, motor-activated embodiment.
The preferred methods of embodiment of the invention can be derived from the description herein.
According to an initial method of embodiment of the invention, the pinion, with the minimum of one helical spring, can have at least one drum from which a traction means can be unwound, working against the spring force of the helical spring, and that is guided around at least one deflection point on the lower section of the door leaf, where the free end of the traction means, referred to the closed door, is mounted on the upper range thereof on the fixed frame or the building.
According to a preferred method of embodiment, a drum is mounted at each end of the horizontal pinion in a torsion-resistant manner in relation to the pinion. The traction means that can be wound around the drum are guided to the side of the door leaf. Such traction means are preferably the cables standard in the industry.
Rollers are placed at the side of the members of the door leaf, by means of which the door is advantageously guided in the side guides of the frame.
The minimum of one traction means can be guided around the roller on the bottommost member of the door leaf or its mounting device. A roller provided for the guidance of the traction means can also be provided on the mounting device, before the roller that runs in the side guides.
Guide rollers can advantageously be mounted for side guidance of the minimum of one traction means on the door leaf.
Instead of these guide rollers, however, fixed guide pins can also be mounted, along which the traction means can be guided parallel to the door leaf.
In the area of these abovecited guide pins or guide rollers for the traction means, an L-shaped bent sheet can be mounted that extends from the pin or roller over the width of the door leaf member, where the upright part of the L-shaped sheet stands vertically upright from the side edge of the door leaf. This sheet forms a safety device for the traction means running to the side of the door leaf members and serves to hold the traction means even when the door is pulled up parallel to the side edge of the door leaf.
According to another preferred method of embodiment, a guide rail with integrated drive means can be mounted along the line of motion of the pinion, with which guide rail a transfer member is operationally connected with the horizontal pinion in a rotation-resistant manner.
This drive means integrated into the guide rail can, for example, be formed as a chain or toothed belt while the force transfer member connected in a rotation-resistant manner with the horizontal pinion is formed as a chain wheel or toothed wheel.
As an alternative, the guide rails can even be formed as a rack profile, while the force transfer member connected in a rotation-resistant manner to the horizontal pinion is formed as a toothed disk.
Finally, a friction surface can be mounted in the guide rail as an integrated drive means, while the force transfer member connected with the horizontal pinion in a rotation-resistant manner is a friction wheel.
In addition to or instead of the minimum of one helical spring mounted on the horizontal pinion, the pinion can be given a drive motor. In the case of the first alternative of this advantageous method of embodiment, the torque necessary to raise and lower the door can be introduced directly by means of a drive motor, designed for example as an electric motor. However in principle, it is also conceivable, within the framework of the invention for the drive motor oper
Dillworth & Barrese LLP.
Johnson Blair M.
Marantec Antriebs-und Steverrungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG
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