The present invention concerns a door assembly, an air handling unit comprising such a door assembly, and a method for manufacturing such a door assembly.
It is known to implement air handling units on buildings, especially office buildings or supermarkets, for treating the air contained inside the building. Such air handling units usually have inlet and outlet openings, for the air to be circulated through the unit, and a plurality of components, each relative to a function for treating the air, such as circulating, filtering, depolluting, humidifying, drying, heating, cooling, or the like. These components are enclosed inside a structural frame, supporting a housing made of flat insulating panels, forming a protective thermal barrier of the air handling unit. Each panel comprises an insulating core material, for example a glass-wool layer, interposed between two metallic walls. Usually, some of the panels of the unit are removable, or the unit is provided with one or more doors with a handle and hinges or the like, so that the inside of the unit may be accessed for maintenance of the internal components contained within.
However, the door often constitutes an expensive part of the housing of the unit, since it has to be manufactured and mounted so as to prevent both air and heat leakage through said door.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,457 discloses a door assembly for a building, said door assembly including an insulating door jamb and a swing door, including an internal insulating material, mounted to the door jamb. The swing door has a tapered edge corresponding with a tapered section of the jamb, so that the tapered edge of the door and the tapered section of the jamb are in planar contact when the door is closed. A sealing strip is provided at the edge of the door for a better insulation.
However, this jamb and this swing door require a costly manufacturing process for ensuring planar contact between the tapered surfaces, while a precise assembly thereof may be difficult.
The aim of the invention is to provide a new door assembly which is especially easy and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble, while providing an efficient thermal insulation and preventing air leakage.
To this end, the invention concerns a door assembly according to claim 1.
Thanks to the invention, the frame beam and the edge beam may be manufactured with the same machine, or at least in a similar machine, so that the cost of said beams is relatively low. The door assembly is still efficiently insulating and leak proof since the frame beam and edge beam have appropriate beveled portions for insulating when the swing door is in the closed position. Lastly, since the frame beam and the edge beam have main bodies of identical cross-sections, they are easy to position relative to each other when the door assembly is implemented in an air handling unit.
Further optional and advantageous aspects of the invention are defined in claims 2 to 13.
The invention further relates to an air handling unit according to claim 14 and to a method for manufacturing a door assembly according to claim 15.
The invention will now be explained in reference to the annexed drawings, as an illustrative example. In the annexed drawings:
The air handling unit 1 comprises two levels, namely a first level 5 and a second level 7 superposed over said first level 5. Level 7 is delimited at its ends by panels 4A and 4B, laterally by successive panels not shown in
The air handling unit 1 includes several components, some of which are illustrated in
As illustrated in
The wall 21 is provided with four edge flanges 91 oriented towards the wall 23, while said and wall 23 comprises four edge flanges 93 oriented towards wall 21.
Furthermore, the outer wall 21 comprises a plurality of through holes 95, positioned along its periphery and configured to receive the fastening systems 89.
The walls 21 and 23 are made of a substantially rigid material, such as aluminum alloy or any other metallic material, or alternatively a plastic material.
The layer 25 is arranged between the walls 21 and 23 for limiting heat transfer through the panel 4A to 4F. Thus, the assembled panels 4A to 4F form a thermal barrier intended to limit heat loss between the inside and the outside of the air handling unit 1. For example, layer 25 comprises a glass-wool material, or any other suitable material.
The peripheral frame 87 comprises four structural beams 2 and 3, the beams 2 being arranged longitudinally, and the beams 3 transversally, in a rectangular shape surrounding the layer 25. The four beams 2 and 3 preferably have an identical cross-section. The frame 87 is interposed between the walls 21 and 23 and allows mounting of the considered panel 4A to 4F onto another panel of the same type for building the air handling unit 1.
Each beam 2 and 3 comprises retaining holes 101 aligned with the through hole 95 so that each of the fastening system 89 may be introduced into a pair of aligned through hole 95 and retaining hole 101. More precisely, each beam 2 and 3 is preferably an extruded part, including an outer portion 103, an inner portion 105, and an intermediate portion 107, as visible in
In particular, each retaining hole 101 is provided through the outer portion 103, while intermediate holes are provided through the intermediate portion 107, in alignment with the retaining holes 101.
The air handling unit 1 may be divided into separated modules, such as an exemplary module 27 depicted in
The module 27 further includes a door assembly 29 comprising a frame 31 and a swing door 33.
The frame is provided with four frame beams 35 arranged as a rectangle along a similar plane as panel 4H. Thus, the frame beams 35 extend in a frame plane P1 substantially vertical and parallel to panel 4H. The frame beams 35 surround the swing door 33. Two of the frame beams 35 are horizontal, namely the top beam 35 secured to a structural beam 2 of panel 4E and the bottom frame beam 35 secured to a structural beam 2 of panel 4F, as depicted in
As depicted in
As shown in
The main body 39, comprises three portions which extend parallel to the frame plane P1, namely an outward side portion 41, an inward side portion 43 and an intermediate portion 45. The outward side portion 41 and the inward side portion 43 are opposed to each other and staggered, while the intermediate portion 45 extends between the outward side portion 41 and the inward side portion 43, alongside the inward side portion 43. The intermediate portion 45 and the inward side portion 43 have approximately the same length measured along plane P1.
The main body 39 further comprises portions which are perpendicular to the frame plane P1, namely an outward edging portion 47, an inward edging portion 49, a backing portion 51 and a central portion 53. The outward edging portion 47 and the inward edging portion 49 extend parallel to each other, the outward edging portion 47 extending from the outward side portion 41 towards the inward edging portion 49, while the inward edging portion 49 extends from the inward side portion 43 towards the outward edging portion 47. Thus, the edging portions 47 and 49 are staggered.
The edging portions 47 and 49 are linked by a beveled portion 55, which extends along an inclined direction relative to the frame plane P1 at an angle β. Said angle β is preferably equal to 30°, but could be comprised for example between 10° and 60°. Thus, the beveled portion 55 is located between the outward side portion 41 and the inward side portion 43. The edging portions 47 and 49 and the beveled portion 55 form a continuous edge of the main body 39. In other words, portion 55 is extending in a diagonal direction compared to the edging portions 47 and 49 and to the side portions 41 and 43. The central portion 53 extends from the outward side portion 41 to the inward edging portion 49 and the inwards side of the beveled portion 55.
The portions 45, 49, 53 and 55 are connected together at a junction point 57 at a substantially central location of the main body 39. The intermediate portion 45 and the inward edging portion 49 extend from said junction point 57, located at an inward side of the beveled portion 55, said inward side being oriented towards the inward side portions 43. The outward side portion 41 extends between portion 47 and portion 53, so that portions 41, 47, 53 and 55 form a substantially trapezoidal shape. The central portion 53 is substantially aligned or slightly staggered with the inward edging portion 49. The backing portion 51 extends parallel to the inward edging portion 49 so as to form a substantially rectangular shape with portions 43, 45 and 49. The outward edging portion 47 extends from an outward side of the beveled portion 55, said outward side being opposed to the junction point 57.
The intermediate portion 45 and the central portion 53 delimit an opened cavity C1 of the main body 39, while the beveled portion 55 and the inward edging portion 49 delimit an opposite open cavity C2 of the main body 39. More precisely, the second opened cavity C2 is opposite to the first opened cavity C1 relative to the junction point 57.
As a summary, the main body 39 comprises a first trapezoidal part, including portions 41, 47, 53 and 55, and a second rectangular part, including portions 43, 45, 49 and 51, these two parts being connected at the junction point 57.
The main body 39 further comprises reinforcing bulkheads 59, some of them extending along plane P1 and some of them being perpendicular to said plane P1, within the trapezoidal part and within the rectangular part.
Fastening systems 89 are engaged through the inward side portion 43 and through the intermediate portion 45 of the frame beams 35 for securing said frame beam 35 to their respective support. In
The main body 39 has a primary connection portion 54, protruding from the intermediate portion 45 in a direction opposite to the inward side portion 43, and has a secondary connection portion 56, protruding from the backing portion 51, in a direction opposite the beveled portion 55. The secondary connection portion 56 has a shape corresponding, in other words matching, with the shape of the primary connection portion 54, said shape being a trapezoidal shape in the illustrated example. In particular, the portion 54 has a protruding shape, or male shape, whereas the portion 56 has a recessed shape or female shape, which could accommodate the shape of portion 54.
As depicted in
In a non-illustrated embodiment of the invention, the bottom frame beam 35 is secured to the beam 2 of panel 4F by means of the secondary connection portion 56, inserted into a primary connection portion 254 of beam 2, visible in
Being provided with both primary connection portion 54 and secondary connection portion 56, the main body 39 is both adaptable to various configurations of the air handling unit 1 and easy to secure to a support.
As depicted in
The swing door 33 is secured to the frame 31 so that the swing door 33 can be pivoted around a vertical axis X33 visible in
The swing door 33 comprises a rectangular panel 4J, to which the swing parts 69 of the hinges 65 are secured. The panel 4J has a similar structure than the panel 4E illustrated in
The edge beams 63 constitute the outline of the swing door 33 which matches with the frame beams 35, forming an inner outline of the frame 31. Thus, the four edge beams 63 correspond to the four frame beams 35 respectively, and are arranged as a corresponding rectangle. The frame beams 35 and their respective adjacent edge beams 63 extend alongside in a parallel position when the door is in the closed position.
Each of the edge beams 63 comprises a main body 139, as visible in
The cross-section S139 of the main body 139 is identical to the cross-section S39 of the main body 39 of the frame beam 35. Thus, in the illustrated example, the main body 139 has, identically to the main body 39: an outward side portion 141, an inward side portion 143, and intermediate portion 145, an outward edging portion 147, an inward edging portion 149, a backing portion 151, a central portion 153, a beveled portion 155, a junction point 157, reinforcing bulkheads 159, a primary connection portion 154 and a secondary connection portion 156. As a consequence, the main bodies 39 and 139 of the frame beam 35 and of the edge beam 63, respectively, can be made by extrusion of a suitable material, such as plastic material or an aluminum alloy, from a common extruder. In other words, the beams 35 and 63 can be made in the same machine, or machines with similar functions and settings. More precisely, the machine(s) may produce an elongated body with the appropriate cross-section, and said elongated body may be cut at the appropriate length for forming either a frame beam 35 or an edge beam 63.
As shown in
The beveled portion 155 of the main body 139 of each of the edge beams 63 is brought to rest against the corresponding beveled portion of one of the frame beams 35, as visible in
The main body 139 being rotated at a 180° relative to the main body 39, the inward side portion 43 is brought in alignment with the outward side portion 141, while the outward side portion 41 is brought in alignment with the inward side portion 43, when the swing door 33 is brought to the closed position as depicted in
The respective outward edging portion 147 of each edge beam 63 is brought into the second cavity C2 of the corresponding frame beam 35 when the door 33 is brought to the closed position. Similarly, the respective outward edging portion 47 of each frame beam 35 is brought into the second cavity C2 of the corresponding edge beam 63 when the door 33 is brought to the closed position.
The walls 121 and 123 of the swing door 33 are respectively in planar contact with the side portion 141 and the side portion 143 of the edge beams 63. In addition, an edge flange 191 of wall 121 is in planar contact with the edging portion 147 while an edge flange 193 of wall 123 is in planar contact with the edging portion 149. In other words, the walls 121 and 123 curve around the edge beams 63. For that purpose, the edging portions 47, 49, 147 and 149 are provided with a recess extending from the respective side portions 41, 43, 141, 143 to an intermediate location close to the beveled portion 55 or 155. The edge flanges 191 and 193 are arranged in the recesses of the edging portions 147 and 149, while the edging portions 47 and 49 are left free.
The aforementioned embodiments and features of the invention may be combined for generating further embodiments of the invention.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2016/000363 | 3/4/2016 | WO | 00 |