Patent Application
20220356760
The present invention relates to a hydraulic door drive for a lifting door according to the preamble of claim 1, a lifting door comprising the hydraulic door drive according to the preamble of claim 15, and a method for operating the hydraulic door drive according to the preamble of claim 18.
A roll-up door having a rollable door curtain is known from US 2016/0369577 A1. This roll-up door is equipped with a position switch. The rollable door curtain is rolled up on a winding shaft above a door opening. The door curtain is driven by means of a drive unit. A hydraulic motor, which is not specified in more detail, is mentioned, among others, as a possible drive unit. A roll-up door of this kind does not have any functions allowing it to be opened and/or closed in an emergency, particularly in the event of a power supply failure.
A segmented roll-up door having a drive that may be configured, among others, as a hydraulic drive is known from DE 43 05 007 A1.
A roll-up door which is capable of continuing operation after a power failure is known from EP 0 881 349 A2. For this purpose, backup batteries (rechargeable batteries) are provided in the electric control circuit for the hydraulic system.
A fire protection door which is driven by means of a hydraulic cylinder is known from WO 2006/097843 A1. This door is closed using gravity. In case the door is horizontally displaceable, a hinged counterweight is used which is lifted when the door is opened and is lowered when the door is closed.
A roll-up door suitable for use with emergency tents, field hospitals or the like and operated by a pressurized fluid is known from GB 2520177. A rollable and unrollable door curtain has pressure lines integrated therein that can be folded and flattened. When subjected to a pressurized fluid, whether a liquid or a gas, this door curtain is deployed and unrolled. When pressure is relieved from the lines, the door curtain can be rolled up again by a volute spring. This is thus a self-opening door system that can be closed by means of pressure.
The object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic door drive as well as a lifting door comprising the hydraulic door drive, the service life of which lifting door is extended and in particular the door curtain of which can be opened and closed at high speed.
Furthermore, the hydraulic door drive should be suitable such that emergency closing and/or emergency opening requirements can be fulfilled in a simple manner, in particular in the event of an electric power failure, while avoiding components at risk of fatigue.
Another object of the invention is to provide a suitable method for operating a hydraulic door drive.
This object is attained by a hydraulic door drive having the features of claim 1, a lifting door having the features of claim 15, and a method for operating the hydraulic door drive having the features of claim 18. Advantageous embodiments are provided in the respective sub-claims.
A hydraulic door drive according to the invention, for a lifting door that opens, in particular, vertically, comprises: at least one hydraulic motor, adapted and configured to drive a door curtain or to be at least concomitantly driven by the door curtain, at least one hydraulic unit for supplying the hydraulic door drive with pressurized hydraulic fluid, and a pressure accumulator, wherein
A hydraulic door drive according to the invention ensures that a lifting door can be quickly opened and/or closed (e.g., lowered), and is also able to reliably operate at least in an emergency operation mode, in particular in the event of a failure of electric power supply.
Furthermore, maintenance is considerably reduced as compared to a mechanical door drive using spring accumulators. Moreover, the risk of injury from breaking springs is prevented.
In addition, the hydraulic door drive according to the invention is suitable in particular for allowing the integration of emergency opening, emergency closing and/or emergency stop devices for the door curtain.
In a preferred embodiment, the hydraulic door drive comprises a pressurized hydraulic fluid that can be fed to the hydraulic motor from a hydraulic unit in order to both open the door curtain and close the door curtain.
It is possible with this embodiment to realize a purely hydraulic door drive, without having to use mechanical energy accumulators, such as, e.g., springs, or any other mechanical, i.e. non-hydraulic, actuators.
According to another embodiment, a first port of the hydraulic motor, which in this operating position acts as a hydraulic fluid outlet, is connected with the pressure accumulator to close the door curtain.
As a result, it is possible to supply pressurized fluid (hydraulic fluid) from the hydraulic motor, which in this case may act as a pump, to the pressure accumulator and to store therein the converted potential energy, e.g. of the door curtain, in the form of pressure energy.
In another embodiment, to open the door curtain, a pressure accumulator and a pressurized fluid supply line of the hydraulic unit are connected with a second port of the hydraulic motor, which in this operating position acts as a hydraulic fluid inlet, and are connected in parallel with each other.
This feature allows a particularly high speed of displacement of the door curtain to be achieved, in particular during descent and ascent of the door curtain. As a result, emergency opening and/or emergency closing functions can be easily realized.
In a preferred embodiment, the hydraulic drive, to secure the door curtain against falling, comprises a linear actuator, in particular a hydraulic linear actuator, capable of interacting with the door curtain so as to lock the latter.
This feature helps to increase safety, particularly in the case of power failure, leakage in the hydraulic door drive, or any other unintended pressure drop, for example in the pressure accumulator.
In another embodiment, the hydraulic motor, to secure the door curtain against falling, is configured as a brake motor with a mechanical brake.
This embodiment provides a mechanical braking device in addition to hydraulic features.
In another embodiment, a line rupture protection valve is provided in an interconnection line between the pressure accumulator and the hydraulic motor to secure the door curtain against falling.
In such a case, leakage of hydraulic fluid can be prevented in the event of an inadvertent leakage or inadvertent pressure drop in a supply line or discharge line of the hydraulic motor.
In another preferred embodiment, the pressure accumulator, to allow the door curtain to be opened or closed in an emergency, is connectable solely with a corresponding supply line of the hydraulic motor, the hydraulic unit not contributing to drive of the hydraulic motor.
With this feature it is possible, despite a failure of electric power supply to the hydraulic unit, to nonetheless ensure an emergency opening and/or emergency closing function based on the stored pressure energy.
In a preferred embodiment, the hydraulic unit is hydraulically coupled to a plurality of hydraulic motors of different door curtains.
The above-mentioned feature can be helpful in simplifying the control of a plurality of door drives.
According to another embodiment, the hydraulic unit is coupled to further driving means such as, e.g., linear actuators of other hydraulic systems.
This feature ensures that the hydraulic unit is suitable for multiple use with different driving means.
In a further preferred embodiment, the pressure accumulator is connected with at least the plurality of hydraulic motors of the hydraulic door drives in the form of a parallel connection.
This feature allows a central pressure energy accumulator to be realized, by means of which different door drives can be supplied via suitable valve means, where appropriate.
According to another embodiment, the hydraulic unit is configured as a linear pump capable of being actuated by a weight, said actuation of the weight being performed by loading an operating ramp.
This feature makes it possible, for example by driving a vehicle, be it a manned or unmanned materials handling vehicle, onto the operating ramp, to supply the hydraulic door drive with energy provided by the weight of the vehicle and to thus ensure that the door can be safely opened/closed even in the event of an electric power failure.
In another preferred embodiment, the hydraulic door drive is arranged within a winding shaft of the door curtain.
This feature allows for a particularly space-saving design. In lifting door constructions in which there is no winding core and in which the door curtain is, for example, guided in spiral guides, it is, in particular, also possible to arrange the hydraulic door drive within the door curtain coil to be wound up while still achieving the same advantages.
In a preferred embodiment, the lifting door is configured as a roll-up door having a rollable door curtain or as a sectional door having door curtain sections that are hingedly displaceable relative to each other.
Furthermore, the object is attained by a lifting door comprising the hydraulic drive according to the invention. Such a lifting door can be expediently configured as a roll-up door or as a sectional door.
According to the invention, the object is attained by a method for operating a hydraulic door drive, in particular using a hydraulic door drive according to the invention, for driving a lifting door that opens, in particular, vertically, comprising at least one hydraulic motor, adapted and configured to drive a door curtain or to be at least concomitantly driven by the door curtain, and comprising at least one hydraulic unit for supplying the hydraulic door drive with pressurized hydraulic fluid.
The method is characterized by providing a pressure accumulator, wherein
The method according to the invention allows the same advantages to be attained as with the device according to the invention.
In a particular embodiment of the method, pressurized hydraulic fluid is fed from the hydraulic unit to the hydraulic motor to both close the door curtain and open the door curtain. In addition to opening and closing the door curtain, it is thus always possible to provide a sufficient amount of pressure energy in the pressure accumulator.
In order to fill the pressure accumulator with potential energy of the door curtain, it is expedient, according to another advantageous embodiment, to connect a first port of the hydraulic motor, which acts as a hydraulic fluid outlet, with the pressure accumulator.
So that the door curtain can be opened quickly, it is expedient to connect the pressure accumulator with the hydraulic motor for the purpose of discharging pressure energy, with the pressure accumulator and the hydraulic unit being connected in parallel.
In another advantageous embodiment, the pressure accumulator, to open or close the door curtain in an emergency, is connected solely with a corresponding feed line of the hydraulic motor, the hydraulic unit not contributing to drive of the hydraulic motor. This may be particularly useful in the event of an electric power failure. The switching valves required for establishing such a switching state of the system can optionally be moved into the corresponding switching states by means of an emergency power supply device of relatively low capacity or can be suitably set by hand.
In a further advantageous embodiment, a hydraulic cylinder of the hydraulic unit, which is actuated by a weight, is supplied with driving power by loading a drive-on ramp. Such a design of the method according to the invention is expedient, for example, where the lifting door should be operated by materials handling vehicles capable of driving onto the ramp.
Further advantageous embodiments and features/feature combinations will become apparent from the following detailed description.
The invention will now be explained in more detail, using examples, by reference to the drawings in which:
The hydraulic motor 6, and optionally a gear mechanism 6a, are components of the door drive 5 according to the invention which will now be described with reference to the further Figures.
A first embodiment of the hydraulic door drive 5 according to the invention will now be described in different operating positions with reference to
The door drive 5 according to the invention comprises a hydraulic unit 10 that is consistently depicted in
Outside of the hydraulic unit 10, the hydraulic motor 6 is arranged, for example, in the roll-up box 3 of the lifting door 1 (cf.
A second branch line 23 branches off between the first 2/2 directional control valve 21 and the pressure accumulator 22, said second branch line 23 being connected with a second 2/2 directional control valve 24. The second 2/2 directional control valve is connected on the downstream side with a second pressure control valve 25 which, in turn, discharges on the downstream side into one of the tanks 12 which may also be configured as a common tank/common reservoir. A third branch line 26 branches off between the reservoir/tank 12 and the second pressure control valve 25, said third branch line 26 being connected with the first 4/3 directional control valve 15 and, in the switching position of the first 4/3 directional control valve 15 as shown in
In the switching position shown in
Pressurized fluid 13, which exits the hydraulic motor 6 at the second outlet 18 acting as the hydraulic fluid outlet, enters the pressure accumulator 22 via the first branch line 20 and the first 2/2 directional control valve 21. The second check valve 19 is in a shut-off position, thus preventing reflux into the hydraulic unit 10. It is assumed for the purposes of the present description that, for example, the direction of drive 30 is the “close door” direction of drive, meaning that, as described previously, when the door is being closed, for example lowered, the pressure accumulator 22 is filled with hydraulic fluid 13; 13a with the help of the force of gravity on the door curtain 2, and thus at least the potential energy of the door curtain 2—supplemented, as the case may be, by hydraulic energy of the hydraulic pump 11—is stored. The corresponding aforementioned amounts of energy are, of course, reduced by the corresponding amounts of loss such as, e.g., friction and/or flow resistance.
However, according to the invention, when the door curtain 2 is being closed, e.g. lowered, pressure energy is, as a general rule, accumulated in the pressure accumulator 22. The second branch line 23 has no function in this position since the second 2/2 directional control valve 24 is in a shut-off position. Accordingly, no pressure fluid reaches the second pressure control valve 25 either, and therefore there is no reflux into the tank/reservoir 12 or into the third branch line 26 in this operating position. In its inactive second switching position in
An essential feature of the invention is the presence of the pressure accumulator 22 which can be fed with hydraulic fluid 13/pressurized fluid 13 resulting from a downward movement of the door curtain 2. In addition to and concurrently with the hydraulic fluid flow described just now, even more pressure can advantageously be built up in the gas cushion 22a of the pressure accumulator 22 by means of the hydraulic unit 10, in particular the hydraulic pump 11.
Operation of the hydraulic door drive in accordance with feature b) of claim 1 is possible with the hydraulic door drive shown in
A further 2/2 directional control valve 120, shown as a dashed line in
In such a switching position, the pressure accumulator 22 can, for example, be loaded with pressure energy by means of the hydraulic unit 10 at times at which it is not to be expected that the door will be actively opened or closed.
This is optionally also possible without movement of the door curtain 2 since in this position the hydraulic motor 6 is not exposed to working fluid.
In the operating position shown in
It becomes clear from this arrangement that pressure energy stored in the pressure accumulator 22 for door opening purposes assists in driving the hydraulic motor 6 in the second direction of drive 31 which is a direction for opening the door curtain. This helps save driving power for the hydraulic pump 11. Moreover, the existence of a pressure supply in the pressure accumulator 22 allows an increased amount, that is to say an increased volume flow, of the pressure medium 13a to be made available, thus ensuring that the door can be opened at a particularly fast rate.
Unlike
Furthermore, the embodiment according to
Flow of hydraulic fluid through the hydraulic motor 6 is thus blocked. The hydraulic motor 6 stands still and holds the door curtain 2 at rest. In addition to providing the hydraulic blockage described above, this embodiment allows the mechanical brake 40, such as a friction brake, to be activated in relation to the motor, which makes sure that the drive system is mechanically held in place, thus helping to reduce any high compressive loads in the hydraulic circuit.
The mechanical brake 40 of the brake motor thus helps by mechanical ways and means to keep the door curtain 2 at a given position.
A third embodiment of the door drive 5 according to the invention as shown in
In a modification of the first embodiment which is shown in
The remaining hydraulic members are identical to the embodiment shown in
A fourth embodiment of the door drive 5 according to the invention, which, just like embodiments 2 and 3, comprises an additional feature that is designed to fix/block the door curtain 2, i.e. has a “hold door” function, is shown in
The fourth 2/2 directional control valve 71 is connected with the first port 17 of the hydraulic motor 6 and has a shut-off position as a normal position. At its other end, the fourth 2/2 directional control valve 71 is connected with the reservoir/tank 12 via the second 2/2 directional control valve 24 and the second pressure control valve 25. It is furthermore connected with the pressure accumulator side of the first 2/2 directional control valve 21.
In a second switching position, which is inactive in the illustration according to
If, for example, the third 2/2 directional control valve 70 and the fourth 2/2 directional control valve 71 are switched so as to permit free flow, pressure can be relieved from the pressure accumulator 22 so that hydraulic fluid or pressurized fluid 13a flows through the hydraulic motor 6 and causes the door curtain 2 to be closed, for example lowered (first direction of drive 30). So that this does not occur more quickly than desired and the door curtain 2 is not abruptly lowered, the orifice 72, which may also be configured as an adjustable orifice and/or adjustable throttle, is provided as a throttling member. This orifice 72 can be used to constrain reflux of the hydraulic fluid 13 so that closing, e.g. lowering, the door becomes possible quickly but within limits (in terms of the lowering speed).
If the third 2/2 directional control valve 70 remains in the shut-off state and only the fourth 2/2 directional control valve 71 is shut off, pressurized fluid 13a is allowed to pass from the pressure accumulator 22 via the first 2/2 directional control valve 21 (which is in the second switching position, i.e. the free flow position that is inactive in
The second pressure control valve 25, via which pressurized fluid may return into the tank 12 in the event of overpressure, is connected in parallel therewith, just as in the embodiment example according to
A hydraulic door drive 5 designed in this manner is preferably operated such that when the ramp 101 is being driven on by a materials handling vehicle or is otherwise actuated by a weight, the volume flow thereby produced in the linear pump 101 is fed to the hydraulic motor 6 such that the latter opens the door. As a supporting measure, pressurized hydraulic fluid 13a can be withdrawn from the pressure accumulator 22 by means of the first 2/2 directional control valve 21.
Also provided is a fifth 2/2 directional control valve 104 which, when in the position shown in
In the operating mode “open door” described above, the fourth 4/3 directional control valve 103 is positioned in such a manner, in deviation from that shown in the Figure, that the hydraulic motor 6 opens the door. If the door can be left open, the fourth 4/3 directional control valve 103 is moved into the shut-off position shown in
The above description consistently refers to a rollable door curtain 2 as the door element. However, the entire inventive idea is also readily applicable to a lifting door 1 having an armored door shutter formed of rigid door curtain sections instead of a door curtain 2 within the meaning of web material capable of being rolled up in a flexible and supple manner. To that extent, the term door curtain within the meaning of the present application should also always be understood as meaning an armored door shutter of a sectional door composed of rigid segments or rigid door curtain sections.
The door drive according to the invention makes emergency operation of the door drive possible in a simple manner without requiring mechanical energy storage devices such as, e.g., spring assemblies, and thereby reduces maintenance due to wear and tear associated with energy storage devices of this kind, as well as the risk of accidents.
Furthermore, the door leaf can be secured against falling by very simple hydraulic means and ways, as a result of which costs can be considerably reduced as compared to mechanical actuation systems since oversized brakes and arresting devices can be dispensed with.
Furthermore, by suitably setting the pressure accumulator 22 and the pressure energy stored therein, an unrestricted emergency closing and/or emergency opening function can be made available which allows the door to be opened or closed as appropriate to the situation and independently of the supply of electric power, for example by means of manually operated valves or emergency power supply units such as a battery backup of actuated valves, without requiring electrical energy for the actual driving operation. As a result, fire protection specifications can thus be easily met, particularly as regards the automated provision of escape routes and/or firewalls.
In addition, when an obstacle is detected in the closing path of the door curtain, the door curtain can be easily stopped as quickly as possible and the door opened. A pressure accumulator 22 according to the invention, which stores sufficient amounts of pressure energy, makes it possible to react very quickly to any obstacles detected and to open the door almost instantaneously.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2019 130 425.3 | Nov 2019 | DE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2020/080762 | 11/3/2020 | WO |
