The invention relates to a foot bolt for a sideways movable sliding door, a wall, a sliding window or a similar elements. The foot bolt includes a part locking the element in the base, such as a pin fitting in the hole in the base. The foot bolt also includes a counterpart in the next element movable beside it. In the counterpart, the part in the edge of the preceding element can be fitted, so that the adjacent elements get sideways interlocked together. Further, on moving the elements in the opposite direction, pushing of the last brought in element from beside the preceding element opens the locking of the preceding element from the base.
Previously known are foot bolt constructions as described in, among others, U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,989, and DE published applications 4428718 and 19634390. In all of them, an automatic foot bolt is presented which is always placed in the more preceding element in its edge against which the next element is moved. The foot bolt has a pin fitting in the hole in the base, the sliding wall of which pin is moved as the next contact is made by means of different gears that sink down into the hole in the base. The solutions reguire that on moving walls away, the removal of the preceding element releases the foot bolt pin in the next element up from the hole in the base.
Such a solution is easily produced but in practice the solution works only in connection with most accurately controlled elements, for which the holes in the base are in just the right positions according to the elements. In these solutions, when pushing the next element as an extension of the preceding one, locking of the edge of the preceding element takes place only when the next element is pushed into contact. Accordingly, there is then no way to insure that the pin properly takes its place in the hole in the base.
The weakness of these solutions is that on moving tall elements, such as those of 2.5-3 meter height, which are slide suspended only from their upper edge, the elements do not all hang by themselves so accurately to insure that a pin in the bottom edge thereof, for instance with a diameter of about 10 mm, will hit a hole with a diameter of about 15 mm. In spaces where such closing walls are used there are often so much air flows that the elements simply swing. Under those circumstances, it is impossible in the practice for automatic locking of elements to one another to work in the ways corresponding to solutions represented in the publications.
The aim of the invention is to produce a foot bolt, the function of which is reliable, with its locking quickly done and with its opening automatic when it is desired to move the walls. The invention is characterized in that the pin fitting in the hole in the base is manually pressed with the foot into the base hole. In addition, the bolt construction comprises a locking/release pin, which in the first stage is arranged to lock the pressed-down pin in the hole in the base. Directed towards the next element is a bracket of the pin, for which there is in the next element a counter-hole for interlocking with the bracket. Further, there is a locking/release pin arranged to stick out from the element edge so that it can, when the next close element beside the preceding already brought in element, be pushed into a pin releasing position. In pin releasing position, the pin is individually, for instance by a spring, arranged to move up from the hole in the base, when the adjacent element is eventually removed.
The advantage of the foot bolt according to this invention is that when a separate wall is in its turn pushed to the position intended for it, it can be controllably steered to its place and then at the same time it is positioned it can be locked in place by simply stamping the locking pin down. The staying put of the element is easily secured, and the pin position is easily seen to determine whether it has the possibility to get into the hole at the time that locking is desired. In the solution the user need not bend over to effect locking, since locking, that is stamping down the pin, is most suitably done by foot. Then, the next element to be brought into contact lines up with the foot bolt thereof, and so that it opens automatically, when starting to remove elements. The solution according to the invention can be used both for small size elements and especially for large ones.
In the following, the invention is disclosed referring to the enclosed drawings, where:
In
In
When the next sheet element is brought closed beside the preceding one, there is, in the edge of the profile of the bottom edge strip 6 of the element to be the brought into contact a cover with a hole 9. The cover hits locking/releasing pin 12 and pushes it into the body of foot bolt 10, while bracket 13 is received into position in cover hole 9. When cover hole 9 is loose or slightly oblong lengthwise, this allows bracket 13 and hence pin 11 to move up a little by the force of spring 15. Then, when pin 12 is pushed by the cover so that thinning point 16 of pin 12 is now on the line of pin11, pin 11 moves up crosswise to thinning point 16 of pin 12 (since oblong hole 9 allows such raising) so much so that pin 12 gets locked into a position that allows releases o pin 11. However, bracket 13 is still held against further upward movement in hole 9 and pin 11 is still in the hole in the base, whereby the element is locked to the base at the foot bolt 10 in both the sideways and in the moving direction; and even the other end of the adjacent element's lower edge is locked sideways by receipt of pin 13 in the cover hole 9. The profile ends of the lower edge 6 of each element thus have a hole 9 in the cover in one end and a foot bolt 10 in other end. Foot bolt 10 is most suitably formed to be pushed directly into profile 6 as shown in
When elements 1-3 are moved away in the opposite direction, the movement of the first element causes that foot bolt 11 of the next element to move up by force of the spring 15 immediately. Thus the next element is automatically unlocked and hence it can be moved away as the other ones are left behind.
By the foot bolt solution of the present invention, the moving and locking of elements to their places can be reliably carried out, since the element is handled and controlled manually till the locking occurs. Locking can in no way be operated from the outside of the wall, and no steering rails are need for the elements, only a series of holes on the line desired and at proper distances from one and other.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/FI03/00666 | 9/12/2003 | WO | 00 | 6/12/2006 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2005/026482 | 3/24/2005 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3768847 | Buck et al. | Oct 1973 | A |
3799593 | Dielman | Mar 1974 | A |
4601502 | Van Dyke | Jul 1986 | A |
6108989 | Kordes et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
Number | Date | Country |
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4428718 | Feb 1996 | DE |
19634390 | Mar 1998 | DE |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20070046034 A1 | Mar 2007 | US |