Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to articulated
panels Shea are intended to close doors or openings,
and which unfold vertically and fold up vertically in
accordion fashion with horizontal folds at the top of
the openings which are to be closed, where they are
suspended.
hose articulated panels are used in known man-
nor to insulate or conceal openings on the inside or
outside of industrial buildings. They must be easy
to use, be able to withstand winds, and be sealed
in order to prevent substantial loss of heat.
BACKGROUND OF TIE INVENTION
Articulated panels of this kind are known, which
comprise a curtain composed of at least one opaque or
at least partially transparent flexible sheet material
and provided with metal section bars which are regular-
lye distributed over the height of the unfolded panel
and which divide the panel into horizontal sections
2û and tory hinges between these sections when the panel
us folded up. my raising the lowermost section bar
by means of a system of cables or straps and-a winch,
the other intermediate section bars are progressively
raised as the panel is opened, and the panel can thus
be completely forded up in accordion fashion at the
top of the opening. Although they provide the
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f~exural rigidity required for the panel, the metal
section bars pose a certain number of problems relating
essentially to their weight, when it is also borne in
mind that the maternal of the panel, usually a plastic
sheet of a thickness less than 1 millimeter, has low
mechanical strength Whatever technique is employed
to mount the metal section bars on the curtain, an
acute problem arises when it is desired to produce
panels closing wide openings having for example a width
greater than 6 meters, or very wide openings wider than
10 meters. With such widths, the metal section bars
must be of substantial thickness, even when on the form
of tubes, of they are to retain their r;gid;ty, and
this results on a section bar of very great weight,
higher than 10 kilograms, per unit. Section bars of
this length tend to sag, thus giving rise to very heavy
loads on the material of the panel sheeting, and this
may fairly quickly lead to the tearing of the panel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention seeks precisely to propose
an articulated panel arrangement of particularly simple
configuration which is suitable for making panels of
great width white eliminating the problems posed by
the weight of the transverse section bars.
Z5 To this end, according to one characteristic
of the present invention, the vertically unfolding
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articulated panel comprising a curtain composed of
at least one flexible sheet material a plurality of
parallel, rigid elongated hinge members attached
to the curtain and distributed over the height of the
panel, and means operable to raise and lover the panel
comprises at least one par of flexible, elongated
traction members suspended from the top of the opening
and extending vertically along one face of the curtain
each of them being fastened to the various elongated
transverse hinge members.
As the result of thus arrangement, which does
not unduly affect the cost price of the panel, the
rigid elongated transverse hinge members or tubes are
in fact supported by the flexible traction members
which are advantageously in the form of woven straps.
This arrangement thus makes it poss;bie to en-
visage any kind of connection between the transverse
hinge members and the panel sheeting, and on particular
permits maximum simplification of the structure of the
panel.
In one particular embodiment of the present
invention, the elongated flexible traction members or
straps are provided with loops, into which the trays
verse elongated hinge members or tubes are singly
Z5 threaded. Through this arrangement it is possible
to fasten the transverse tubes to the sheeting by en-
ranging the latter also to form pockets receiving the
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transverse tubes.
The particularly simple structure of the articu-
fated panel according to the invention thus makes it
possible to separate the functions of concealing the
opening, which is attended to by the sheeting, and the
supporting and operation of the panel, which is attend-
Ed to by the transverse hinge tubes, the flexible
traction members supporting these tubes, and the fats-
in means, so that if the sheeting should be damaged
it can easily be replaced without having to discard
the entire panel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other characteristics and advantages of the
present invention will emerge from the following de-
ascription ox embodiments, given by way of illustration but without eying in any way limitative, this descrip-
lion relating to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic front view of a come
pletely unfolded articulated panel according to the
invention,
Figure 2 is a partial view in perspective of
a first embodiment of the invention,
Figure 3 is an identical partial view in per-
spective of another embodiment of the invention,
Figure 4 shows schematically, in vertical sea-
lion, a form of construction of a tube support pocket
for a single-thickness curtain,
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Figure 5 is a schematic view in vertical section
of a curtain composed of two sheets placed back to back
and forming between them pockets for the transverse
tubes and compartments for filling bands and
Figures 6 to 8 show alternative forms of loops
formed by the flexible traction members supporting the
transverse tubes.
D E T A I L E D D EN OR I PUT I O N
Figure 1 shows the general arrangement of an
articulated, vertically unfolding panel for closing an
opening, the panel comprising a top box 1 mounted at
the top of the opening and two vertical side profiled
uprights 2 having a C-shaped profile and forming guide
rails for the panel The latter comprises a curtain
3 consisting of a single sheet or two sheets 31,32~
fail bask to back, of opaque or transparent plastic
material, -typically of polyvinyl chloride tPVe3 of
a thickness of 4 to 5 tenths of a millimeter or of
polyester. The curtain 3 is suspended by its top
Z0 end in the box 1 and is divided into a number of
horizontal sections by transverse tubes 4 forming anti-
culation hinges between, the sections and made of light
alloy, for example of a~uminium. The lowermost tube
41 and then each alternate tube, in the direction
US of the top of the panel, project laterally relative
to the curtain I their projecting ends supporting,
by means of ball bearings, guide rollers 5
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moving in the side rails I The other intermediate
tubes 4 have a length shorter than the overall width
of the curtain 3. In the case of a curtain composed
of two sheets laid back to back, these sheets are fast-
eyed together by lateral weld lines 20 and by pairs of
transverse weld lines 30, which can form between them
compartments 6 for receiving bands 7 of insulating
material, in which through holes 8 may be formed, as
described in French Patent No. 2,4~8j646 which was laid
open for inspection on February 19, 1982. In known manner
the lowermost transverse tube 41 has connected to it
operating straps 9 which are adapted to wind around a
transverse shaft 10 disposed in the box 1 and selectively
operated by an electric motor. When the straps 9 wind
onto the shaft 10, they raise the bottom tube 41' which
- in turn raises the other transverse tubes 4 so as to fold
up the panel with hori20ntal folds, the sections falling
down in accordion fashion through the action of the inter-
mediate transverse tubes which are not guided by the side
rails 2.
According to the present invention, the panel includes
in addition at least two (typically four or six) elongated
vertical traction members 11, for example straps or cables
of plastic material which extend along one face of the
curtain 3, typically the inside face, are suspended by
their top ends 12 on, for example,
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the box 1, and support the various transverse tubes
4.
In the embodiment shun in Figures 1 and 2, the
elongated vertical traction members 11, in this specie
lo case straps of the woven type used in safety belt systems or harnesses, form at regular intervals along
their length, corresponding to the spacing of the
transverse tubes 49 loops 13 into which the various
tubes 4 are threaded.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the rigid
elongated transverse hinge members are formed by loin
no together two tubular half-section bars 4' and 4",
` which are foxed to the curtain 3 and at the same time
to the straps 11~ at right angles with the latter,
I for example by rivets 14.
According to one aspect of the invention and
as illustrated in Figures Z, 4 and 5, bearing in mind
the fact that the -greater part of the weight of the
transverse tubs 4 is supported by the straps 11, it
is possible to fasten these tubes to the curtain 3 by
housing them on pockets 15 formed by the curtain 3 it-
serf. In the case of a curtain consisting of a single
thickness of sheeting material, the loop 15 be
formed by joining together, for example by stitching
Z5 or welding I two juxtaposed elements of the curtain
3, so as to form the loop 15 outside the general plane
of thus curtain, as can be seen in Figures 2 and 4. In
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the case of a curtain 3 formed by laying two sheets of
material Al and 32 back to back, the pockets 15
can be formed as shown in Figure 5, by providing 2
space between two additional transverse weld lines 31.
The pockets 15 will obviously be cut away at right
angles to the straps 11, as shown at 17, in
order to permit the substantially coaxial alignment
of these pockets 15 and the loops 13 on the straps 11.
As an alternative, the double sheets can be shaped to
Norm a loop 15 on the same way as the single sheet
as shown on Figure I
As can be seen in Figures to 8, the loops 13
formed by the strap 11 can be defined in different
ways In Figure 6, the loop 13 us permanently wormed
by a acting means 18, for example lines ox stitching
or rivets. In the embodiment shown in Figure 7, the
loop 13 is formed before the introduction of the tube
4 and us shaped into a clamping configuration around the
tatter by means of a rung or strap loop 19. Similar-
lye on Figure 8 the base of the loop 13 is defined bye detachable jaw-type locking means 20.
Although the present invention has been de-
scribed in connection with particular embodiments, it
us not limited by the latter but on the contrary us
capable of mod;f;cat;ons and variations which will be
apparent to those versed on the art.
