Patent Application
20080210386
The present application claims international priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to co-pending German Utility Patent Application No. 20 2006 017 619.5 filed Nov. 20, 2006, entitled “Rolltor” the entire content and disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a roller shutter with a door leaf.
Roller shutters are used as closures for garages and industrial buildings. The door leaf, in its closed position, is usually arranged in an approximately vertical plane, with the lower edge of the door leaf resting against the bottom of the opening to be closed thereby and being pulled upward, starting from a closed position, with an opening motion in the opposite direction of gravity, whereby the door leaf is rolled up to form a multi-layered coil. It is possible for the multi-layered coil to be arranged on a winding shaft which is usually arranged behind the ledge forming the top edge of the opening to be closed.
In a roller shutter described, for example, in EP 0 531 327 B1, the roller shutter leaf is accommodated, in the opened position, with its lateral edges in spiral guide rails and is supported by them. To create an articulated connection between the individual slats of a roller shutter leaf, the slats are equipped with engaging devices in the form of so-called insertion profiles at their edges facing their respective adjacent slats. These profiles are hook-shaped when viewed in a sectional plane extending at a right angle to the longitudinal axes of the slats and they interlock in order to create the articulated connection. The hook-shaped profiles are formed in one piece with the slats during the manufacture of the slats in the course of extruding machine processes and/or rolling processes. Then adjacent slats can be pushed into each other to produce the door leaf and threaded into the guide rails serving to guide the movement of the door leaf.
This type of assembly is associated with considerable expense because the required assembly length is equivalent to approximately twice the length of the slats. In addition, during the movement of the roller shutter leafs of the type described above, there can be considerable noise development and a transfer of vibrations to the building comprising the opening to be closed.
To solve these problems, EP 0 531 327 B1 suggests a further development of the known door leaves, in which the slats are jointedly connected with each other by means of strap hinges attached at the lateral edges of the slats, thereby avoiding profile joints. In order to ensure sufficient sealing properties and a sufficient lateral stability of the door leaf in the closed position, these roller shutters are further provided with a sealing strip connecting adjacent slats with each other and placed between the individual strap hinges attached to the lateral edges of the slats.
The installation of these roller shutters also poses considerable problems because the individual slats first have to be connected with each other by means of the sealing strips and then have to be placed onto the strap hinges.
In view of the problems of the state of the art described above, the invention is based on the technical problem of providing a roller shutter that is easy to install. The present invention relates to a roller shutter with a door leaf capable of being rolled up, starting from a closed position and in the course of an opening movement, to form a multi-layered coil and comprising a multitude of slats extending crosswise, specifically approximately at a right angle with their longitudinal axes in the direction of the opening movement and usually extending horizontally, with the slats being pivotably connected with each other by means of an engaging assembly extending at least over the greater part of the slat length with respect to pivot axes extending parallel to their longitudinal axes, and comprising at least one engaging device between two adjacent slats, a first engaging device arranged at its leading edge during the opening movement serving to create the articulated connection with an adjacent slat, and a second engaging device at its trailing edge during the opening movement, serving to create an articulated connection with another adjacent slat.
In accordance with the invention, this problem is solved by using a further development of the known roller shutters, wherein at least one engaging device arranged at an edge of the slats is provided with a separate engaging element that is capable of being fixed with positive locking, with force fit and/or with substance-to-substance bond to the slat, i.e., is not designed in one piece with the slat.
Within such an arrangement, it is possible to first cause the engaging element to engage with the engaging device of an adjacent slat and then to attach said engaging element to the slat, with the attachment being effected, for example, by clipping the attachment element onto the slat in a direction extending at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the slat and preferably also at right angles to the opening movement, i.e., vertically to the door leaf in the closed direction. This makes it possible to save installation space and to simplify the installation significantly.
In an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, the engaging element is made of a material that is optimized with respect to the noise development usually occurring with constructions of this type, while the slat itself may be made of a material optimized with respect to the desired total stability, such as, e.g., aluminum or steel. To produce a connection with positive locking between the engaging element and the slat, the engaging element may be provided with at least one attachment strip capable of being inserted into a groove-shaped receptacle of the slat extending in the longitudinal direction of the slat. In this arrangement, the direction of insertion advantageously extends vertically to the longitudinal direction of the slat and, especially preferably, also vertically to the direction of the opening movements of the slat in the installed state.
An especially reliable fixing of the engaging elements to the slat can be achieved by having at least one attachment strip which has a hook profile in a section plane running vertically to the longitudinal axis and/or at least one receptacle which has a profile designed for the fixing with positive locking of the hook profile.
For this purpose, the groove-shaped receptacle may be provided, for example in the area of the groove opening, with at least one, preferably two securing strips narrowing the groove opening in a direction running at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the slat.
To create the desired articulated connection, at least one engaging element of a roller shutter in accordance with the invention, as well as the engaging devices of conventional roller shutters, may be provided with a hook segment extending in the direction of an adjacent slat and engaging into a hook segment arranged on the adjacent slat in a section plane running vertical to the longitudinal axis of the slat. During the installation, the hook segments may first be caused to engage and then the engaging element may be attached, for example, with positive locking, to one of the slats.
An especially tight sealing of the opening may be achieved by providing at least one sealing element extending in the longitudinal direction of the slat. Such a sealing element may be arranged, for example, in a groove in a slat arranged on a side of a hook segment facing the exterior side of the door leaf, and it can be caused to rest against an adjacent slat, at least in the closed position of the door leaf, with a sealing area preferably designed as a hollow profile. The use of sealing elements between adjacent slats is expedient especially in the event that the engaging device comprises two or more engaging elements arranged side by side at a distance in the longitudinal direction of the slat in order to provide a tightly sealed door closure even in the area of the gap between the individual engaging elements.
In an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one sealing element is arranged on a boundary surface of a hook segment facing the exterior side of the door leaf, implemented, for example, in the form of a soft sealing lip additionally injection-molded to the hook segment, and said sealing element is capable of being inserted, in the course of a pivot movement with respect to the pivot axis, into a gap formed between adjacent slats, whereby it comes to rest on a boundary surface of the adjacent slat.
Just like conventional roller shutters, the roller shutter in accordance with the invention may also be provided with a drive motor operable to move the door leaf between the closed position and the open position. It can, for example, also be contemplated to drive a winding shaft with the drive motor and to wind up the door leaf onto the winding shaft in the course of the opening movement. In view of the kinematic problems arising in this process, it has been found to be advantageous, however, when, during the opening movement, the door leaf is pushed into guide rails arranged behind the ledge of the opening, running in a spiral manner and serving to accommodate the lateral edges of the slats and/or guide rollers arranged at the lateral edges of the slats in the opened position, so as to prevent the polygon effect which occurs during the coiling onto a winding shaft and which is responsible for the noise and vibration development. In this embodiment of doors in accordance with the invention, it has been found to be particularly advantageous if the drive motor is coupled to the door leaf via a preferably continuously revolving pull device, with the pull device being coupled to the generally lower quarter of the door leaf which trails during an opening movement, specifically to the slat of the door leaf that is bottommost in the closed position and that generally rests against the bottom of the opening to be closed, if necessary via a bottom seal.
Using the above-described arrangement of roller shutters in accordance with the invention, it is not only possible to facilitate the installation, but it is also possible to reduce the noise and vibration development to such an extent that door leaf movements at considerable speeds are made possible. However, in the course of these door leaf movements, it is still possible for the individual hook segments of the engaging devices to contact each other when the door leaf is pushed into the spiral guide rail by a drive device coupled to the bottommost door leaf slat. This results in a considerable noise and vibration development which limits the opening speed.
A further increase of the opening speed of roller shutter leaves having slats connected with each other via corresponding engaging devices becomes possible when at least one spacer element, ensuring a preset distance between the adjacent slats or engaging devices attached thereto in the direction of the opening movement, is arranged on at least one slat in order to prevent a grinding contact of adjacent engaging devices in the course of the opening or closing movement.
In this case, the spacer element may be made of a high quality and highly resilient plastic optimized with respect to the noise and vibration development to be prevented.
The spacer element of roller shutters in accordance with the invention can also be designed as a separate element that is capable of being fixed to the slat with positive locking, with force fit and/or with substance to substance bond, with the spacer element as well as the engaging element possibly comprising at least one attachment strip which is capable of being inserted into the groove-shaped receptacle extending in the longitudinal direction of the slat and, advantageously, which is capable, just like the engaging element, of being clipped onto to slat in a direction extending at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the slat and at right angles to the direction of the opening movement. Just like the attachment strip of the engaging element, the attachment strip of the spacer element may be provided with a hook profile in a section plane extending at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the slat, and it can comprise at least one profile serving to fix the hook profile with positive locking.
In an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, both at least one engaging element and at least one spacer element are arranged at least one edge of at least one slat. Then the grooves provided in the slats for the attachment of the spacer elements can also be used to attach the spacer element.
It has been found to be particularly advantageous when at least one spacer element is fixed in the longitudinal direction of the slats next to an engaging element, specifically at a lateral slat edge. When fixing the spacer element to a lateral slat edge, the spacer element can also be used as a support element on the spiral guide rails so that the slats rest on these spiral guide rails only via the spacer element. With doors having a particularly large width of e.g., 5 m or more, it has been found to be especially advantageous to have the spacer elements arranged not only on the lateral edges of the slats, but also in the central area of the slats. For this purpose, the spacer elements may also be placed between the individual engaging elements in the longitudinal direction of the slats. Thus, in this embodiment of the invention, an engaging device formed by engaging elements comprises, in the longitudinal direction of the slat, two or more engaging elements arranged next to each other at a distance equivalent to at least the width of a spacer element.
In the following, the invention is explained with reference to the drawing, which is explicitly referred to with respect to all particulars which are essential to the invention and are not set forth in detail in the description.
The roller shutter shown in
The drive device of the roller shutter shown in
In the embodiment, shown in
The engaging element 210 is overall made in one piece and comprises an angle profile 240 with two legs 242 and 244 extending in the longitudinal direction of the slat 20a and together enclosing an angle of preferably 90°, with leg 242 covering the top area of an inner boundary surface of the slat 20a facing the space to be closed thereby in the closed position of the door leaf, while the leg 244 covers a rear area of the upper edge of the slat 20a in the closed position. A hook segment 220, which extends in the longitudinal direction of the slat 20a and which engages into the hook segment 120 is formed on the top boundary surface of the leg 244.
On the leg 242, two attachment strips 252 and 254 extending approximately parallel to the leg 244 are formed, with said attachment strips 252 being accommodated in the receptacle grooves 22 or 24 in the top area of the inner boundary surface of slat 20a.
The attachment strips 252 and 254 have a hook profile which engages into a hook profile of complementary design of the receptacle grooves 22 or 24 with positive locking. The width of the attachment strips 252 or 254 is smaller than the width of the receptacle grooves 22 and 24, and the distance between the attachment strips 252 and 254 is adjusted to the distance between the receptacle grooves 22 and 24 in such a way that the attachment strips 252 and 254 are first pushed apart during the insertion of the receptacle grooves 22 and 24 and then the hook profiles engage behind the receptacle grooves 22 and 24. The attachment strip 256, arranged on the side of the hook segment 220 which is facing away from the inner boundary surface of the slat 20a, is also designed in the form of a hook profile and accommodated in a receptacle groove 26 with a hook profile of complementary design. The width of the hook profile 256 is also smaller than the width of the receptacle groove 26.
During the assembly of the engaging element 210 to the slat 20a, as shown in
In the embodiment of the invention shown in
In the embodiment of the invention shown in
In the inner area facing the space to be closed by the door leaf, the leg 344 includes a raised ledge 346, whose upper boundary surface facing the adjacent slat 20b comprises a recess whose form is adapted to the vertex of the hook segment 120 at the engaging device 200 of the slat 20b, producing a sliding contact of the vertex of the hook segment 120 with the boundary surface of the recess 348 when the door leaf is moved from the closed position to the opened position.
The spacer element 300 is wholly made of a highly resilient special plastic which is optimized in terms of the noise and vibration development to be prevented. Like the engaging element 210, the spacer element 300 is attached to the slat 20a with positive locking. For this purpose, two support strips 352 resp. 354 extending approximately parallel to the leg 344 are provided on the leg 34, which also have a hook profile design and which may be inserted into the respective receptacle grooves of the slat 20a. In addition, at the edge facing away from the leg 342, the leg 344 is provided with a projection accommodated in a receptacle 26. This prevents tipping of the spacer element 300 relative to the slat 20a with respect to a direction extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the slat 20a.
In the embodiment of the invention shown in
The invention is not restricted to the embodiments explained with reference to the drawing. It is also contemplated, for example, to provide a sealing lip in the area of the hook segment 220. It is also possible for two or more attachment elements to be attached to the edge of a slat next to each other at a distance. It is also contemplated to attach the engaging element by means of more or less than three attachment strips to the slats, with an attachment with force fit and/or with positive locking also being contemplated.
Other drive solutions are also contemplated involving the door leaf being wound up to a winding shaft, with the possibility of having the drive system driving the winding shaft directly, thereby avoiding a revolving chain.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202006017619.5 | Nov 2006 | DE | national |
