This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-141667, filed Jun. 12, 2009, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a door opening and closing device with a mechanism that connects door panels of a folding door together and automatically closes the door, and particularly relates to a door opening and closing device with excellent durability that can easily be attached or removed from the door panels.
The space in lavatories of aircraft and the like is severely restricted, so lavatories are required to be as compact as possible. Therefore, doors are folding doors that do not require a large space in which to move. The folding doors mounted on these lavatories have a mechanism that automatically closes an open door in order to ensure safety and to block unpleasant odors (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H7-11836).
The folding door of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H7-11836 uses coil springs in a door closing mechanism that automatically closes open doors. Conventionally, door closing mechanisms that automatically close open doors, such as the invention of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H7-11836, use coil springs as so-called torsion springs. As such, when opening or closing the door, stress accumulates around regions where helical wound wires formed at top and bottom ends of the coil springs is stretched straight, and thus the top and bottom ends of the coil springs are easily damaged, which has been a cause of reduced durability. Furthermore, there is a demand for a door opening and closing device that can be more easily attached and removed from the door panels.
An object of the present invention is to provide a door opening and closing device with a mechanism having superior durability that can automatically close a door, and that can be easily attached to or removed from door panels of a folding door.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the door opening and closing device is provided with coil springs incorporated with a longitudinal direction orientated in a vertical direction into each of a top end part and a bottom end part of hinge pieces that rotatably connect the door panels of the folding door together; pin plates, having a portion thereof inserted into the coil springs in a top end part and a bottom end part of the coil springs so as to protrude in the longitudinal direction of the coil springs, attached to the coil springs; and brackets that fix the hinge pieces to the pin plate protruding from the top end part of the coil spring incorporated into the top end part of the hinge piece and to the pin plate protruding from the bottom end part of the coil spring incorporated into the bottom end part of the hinge piece; wherein the folding door is closed by a restoring force generated by a twisting of the coil springs.
Here, a specification wherein a shaft is inserted into each of the coil springs is also possible. It is also possible to have a specification with a shaft divided partway in the longitudinal direction. A top part of the divided shaft is connected to the pin plate that is inserted into the top end part of the coil spring, and a bottom part of the divided shaft is connected to the pin plate that is inserted into the bottom end part of the coil spring. A specification where the top part of the divided shaft and the bottom part of the divided shaft can move relatively to each other in a shaft axial direction is also possible.
With the present invention, the coil springs that function to automatically close the door are incorporated with the longitudinal direction oriented vertically in two locations, namely the top end part and the bottom end part of the hinge pieces that rotatably connect the door panels of a folding door together. Also, the door opening and closing device according to the present invention can be relatively easily attached to and removed from the door panels of the folding door because the pin plates have a portion thereof inserted into the coil springs and protrude out in the longitudinal direction of the coil springs in both the top end part and the bottom end part of the coil springs; are fixed to the coil springs; and the pin plate protruding from the top end part of the coil spring that is incorporated into the top end part of the hinge piece and the pin plate protruding from the bottom end part of the coil spring that is incorporated into the bottom end part of the hinge piece are attached to the hinge pieces by the brackets.
Furthermore, when the coil springs are twisted by opening and closing the door, the portions of the pin plates that are inserted into the coil springs are constricted at the top end part and the bottom end part of the coil springs by a tightening of the coil springs. Therefore, the coil springs corresponding to these portions are integrated with the pin plates and are supported by the pin plates, enabling occurrences of excessive stress concentration in the coil springs to be avoided. As a result, premature breaking of the coil springs due to repeated opening and closing of the door can be prevented, and durability can be improved.
The door opening and closing device of the present invention is described below based on embodiments shown in the figures.
As illustrated in
A guide shaft 3a inserted into a top surface of the first door panel 2a slides in left and right directions along a guide rail provided on a top edge of an attachment frame 16, and a second door panel 2b has a construction that is axially supported by the top edge and a bottom edge of the attachment frame 16 by a rotating shaft 3b.
The door opening and closing device 4 has hinge pieces 5a, 5b that are fixed to opposing side surfaces of the door panels 2a, 2b. The hinge pieces 5a, 5b have a construction such that the top and bottom end parts thereof are mutually interlocked. Attachment holes 6a, 6b are formed in the mutually interlocked regions.
The hinge pieces 5a, 5b are assembled so that the attachment holes 6a, 6b are vertically aligned. Furthermore, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
An outer diameter of the coil spring 11 is, for example, from approximately 9 mm to 15 mm, and a length is from approximately 100 mm to 120 mm. A length of the portion of the pin plates 10 inserted into the coil spring 11 (portion corresponding to the engagement grooves 10b) is, for example, from approximately 10 mm to 15 mm.
The portion of the elongate hole 10a of the pin plate 10 provided in the top end part of the coil spring 11 is inserted into slots 9a of a fitting 9. The fitting 9 and the pin plate 10 are connected by a pin 9b that passes through the elongate hole 10a. A cam 8 is interposed in a top part of this fitting 9, and a bracket 7 is attached by a screw 7a. In this manner, the pin plate 10 and the bracket 7 are integrated. The bracket 7 is fixed to the door panel 2a by a separate screw 7b.
A fan shaped cutaway is formed in the cam 8, and a cutaway is also formed in a top end part of the housing 12. These cutaways are interlocked so that an angle of rotation of the cam 8 (door panels 2a, 2b) is restricted.
A portion of the elongate hole 10a of the pin plate 10 provided in the bottom end part of the coil spring 11 is similarly inserted into the slots 9a of the fitting 9. Furthermore, the fitting 9 and the pin plate 10 are connected by a screw 9c that passes through the elongate hole 10a and the elongate hole 12a of the housing 12. At this time for example, the fitting 9 of the bottom side (pin plate 10) is fixed to the housing 12 in a position that rotates 180 degrees around the coil axial center with respect to the top side fitting 9 (pin plate 10).
In this way, the housing 12 incorporating the coil spring 11 and the like is attached to the hinge pieces 5a, 5b with the attachment holes 6a, 6b in an aligned state. The bottom end part of the hinge pieces 5a, 5b also have the same construction, and herein, the pin plate 10 that is inserted into a bottom end part of the coil spring 11 is fixed to the hinge piece 5a by the bracket 7.
When the first door panel 2a is pressed from the outside, the door panels 2a, 2b will rotate around the door opening and closing device 4, and the door 2 will open. At this time, the coil springs 11 are twisted by the brackets 7 that are connected to the door panel 2a. Thus, when pressure on the door panel 2a is released, the brackets 7 and the door panel 2a will return to their original positions due to of the restoring force of the twisted coil springs 11, and the door 2 will automatically close.
To install the door opening and closing device 4 of the present invention to the door panels 2a, 2b, the coil springs 11 with inserted pin plates 10 in the top and bottom end parts as described above need only be attached at two locations, namely the top end part and the bottom end part of the hinge pieces 5a, 5b and the corresponding brackets 7 affixed to the door panel 2a, so the operation can be completed in a relatively few number of steps, with no complicated processes. Furthermore, to remove the door opening and closing device 4, a procedure that is the reverse of the installation operation need only be performed, so the operation can be completed in a relatively few number of steps, with no complicated processes. As such, the components constituting the door opening and closing device 4, such as the coil springs 11, brackets 7, and the like, can be quickly replaced.
In this embodiment, a unit that incorporates the coil springs 11, the pin plates 10, the fittings 9, and the cam 8 in the housing 12 can simply be attached to the attachment holes 6a, 6b of the hinge pieces 5a, 5b, further simplifying the installation process.
In the present invention, when the coil springs 11 are twisted by the opening and closing of the door 2, the portions of the pin plates 10 that are inserted in the top end part and the bottom end part of the coil springs 11 (portions corresponding to the engagement grooves 10b) are constricted by the tightening coil springs 11. Specifically, when the coil springs 11 are twisted by the pin plates 10 that are attached to the coil springs 11, the tightening of the coil springs 11 will gradually proceed from the end parts toward a center part in an coil axial direction.
If both end parts of the coil springs 11 are twisted without the pin plates 10 inserted, excessive stress concentration will occur at both end parts of the coil springs 11, the axial direction of the coil springs 11 will not be able to maintain a straight line, and warping or other effects will occur, leading to a risk of premature damage. In the present invention, the portions of the coil springs 11 that constrict the pin plates 10 are integrated with and supported by the pin plates 10, thus preventing the accumulation of excessive stress in the coil springs 11. Therefore, the occurrence of premature damage to the coil springs 11 due to repeated openings and closings of the door 2 will be reduced, thus improving durability.
As illustrated in
The pin plates 10 are inserted into the cutaway parts 14b, 15b of the top part of the divided shaft 14 and the bottom part of the divided shaft 15, respectively, the top part of the divided shaft 14 is connected to the pin plate 10 that is inserted in the top end part of the coil spring 11, and the bottom part of the divided shaft 15 is connected to the pin plate 10 that is inserted into the bottom end part of the coil spring 11. The top part of the divided shaft 14 and the bottom part of the divided shaft 15 rotate relatively to each other around the shaft axis and can move along the shaft axial direction inside the coil springs 11.
When the coil springs 11 are twisted due to the opening and closing of the door 2, the coil springs 11 will constrict the insert shaft 13 in addition to the pin plates 10 due to the insert shaft 13 being inserted into the coil springs 11. Thus, the coil springs 11 are supported by the pin plates 10 as well as the insert shaft 13. Therefore, the stress generated in the coil springs 11 is dispersed across a wider region, and durability of the coil springs 11 can be further improved.
In order to effectively increase the durability of the coil springs 11, an outer diameter of the insert shaft 13 is set, for example, within a range from approximately 85% to 90% of an inner diameter of the coil spring 11.
As shown in
Furthermore, the coil springs 11 shrink in length when twisted. Thus, if the top part of the divided shaft 14 and the bottom part of the divided shaft 15 are made so as to be able to move relatively to each other in the shaft axial direction, there will be no additional stress generated in the coil springs 11, leading to even greater advantageousness for improving durability.
The door opening and closing device 4 of the present invention can be used for folding doors installed on lavatories of vehicles such as buses, trains, and ships and the like, in addition to being used in the folding door installed on the aircraft lavatory 1. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited only to the lavatory 1, but can also be used for folding doors installed in various locations such as residential unit bathrooms and the like.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2009-141667 | Jun 2009 | JP | national |