Movable or removable closures – Safety means responsive to obstruction to closure – Sensing shoe on leading edge
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-08
2001-03-13
Redman, Jerry (Department: 3634)
Movable or removable closures
Safety means responsive to obstruction to closure
Sensing shoe on leading edge
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199321
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fastening of end caps to housings, whereby the end caps are connected in a substantially concealed manner to the housing by means of latching connections, which housings are made of sections or profiles and are used for door-specific devices for automatically operated doors. These doors are in particular revolving doors, sensor strips, sensor strips with integrated rails, sliding door drive systems, etc.
2. Background Information
European Patent No. 0 544 134 A1 describes a cover hood that is invisibly attached to the ends of a housing. This housing takes place by means of catches that are realized in the form of embossed areas, whereby the end caps simultaneously have matching catch recesses, and can thus be fastened to the housing without the need for tools. The end caps are thereby attached from above and are locked to the housing.
Particularly on housings that are made of extruded materials and are thereby manufactured in one piece, where possible, and the external appearance of which is important, there is not enough room for a fastening of the conventional type, namely by screws inside the section. Moreover, it is often difficult to fasten such sections satisfactorily, because they must be cut to a wide variety of lengths, depending on the specific application. The conventional type of fastening is also difficult and time consuming to install, which results in high installation costs because, among other things, it is not always possible to drill through the sections.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to remedy the deficiencies of the known art and to find a type of fastening that can be used independently of the length of the section, and simultaneously makes possible an invisible or unseen fastening of the end caps and of the housing.
In other words, an object of the present invention is to develop an improved type of fastening for end caps of housings, which fastening can be used regardless of the size or length of a housing section and which can permit a substantially concealed connection between the end caps and the housing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention teaches that this object of the present invention can be accomplished by end caps that are clipped on by means of installation elements that are connected with the housing. At least one of the installation elements can be simultaneously used as a fastening for the housing. Further embodiments according to the present invention are discussed in the features hereinbelow. The end caps thereby can be fastened invisibly or in a substantially concealed manner by means of interposed installation elements that are clipped inside the section (housing), and the section is thereby simultaneously affixed to the installation site. The installation elements thereby can be realized so that they are squeezed in chambers or between webs that are present in the housing section. This squeezing can be accomplished, for example, by making parts of the cross section of the installation elements flexible, so that they can be inserted inside the terminal portion of the housing section. On at least one of the installation elements, there can also be a fastening leg that makes possible an installation and thus simultaneously a fastening of the overall section to the installation site. This fastening can be accomplished by means of a boring that is located inside the fastening leg.
An additional installation element can be connected in a different manner, for example, with the end side of the section, for which purpose the screw channels present inside the profile can be used. At the same time, an installation element can be shaped so that it simultaneously realizes or forms a cable strain relief grip. This can be accomplished, for example, if the installation element has a slot that ends in a boring. In this case, the slot must be in the area in which the installation boring is located for fastening in the screw channel. At the same time, locking fixtures can be shaped onto this installation element that can interact with locking fixtures or projections in the end caps, so that it may only be necessary to push on the end cap. To essentially guarantee an even more secure seating, projections can also be formed on the end cap, which projections are shaped so that they match the shape of the walls inside the section and thus prevent the end caps from falling off once they have been clipped on. If it becomes necessary to remove the end caps, the removal can be done preferably without tools, just like the attachment, because essentially all that is necessary is to pull the end caps off.
The above discussed embodiments of the present invention will be described further hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying figures. When the word “invention” is used in this specification, the word “invention” includes “inventions,” that is, the plural of “invention.” By stating “invention,” the Applicant does not in any way admit that the present application does not include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention, and maintains that this application may include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention. The Applicant hereby asserts that the disclosure of this application may include more than one invention, and, in the event that there is more than one invention, that these inventions may be patentable and non-obvious one with respect to the other.
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patent: 4858272 (1989-08-01), Ogawa et al.
patent: 5079417 (1992-01-01), Strand
patent: 5438798 (1995-08-01), Plamper et al.
patent: 5839227 (1998-11-01), Gardner
patent: 5921028 (1999-07-01), Marocco
patent: 5962825 (1999-10-01), Miller
patent: 19642275 (1998-04-01), None
patent: 0544134 (1993-06-01), None
DORMA GmbH +Co. KG
Nils H. Ljungman & Associates
Redman Jerry
LandOfFree
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