Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
;~S~573
TITLE
R~NNER GUIDE FOR A SLIDING ELEVATOR DOOR
BACKGRO~ND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally concerns sl~din~
S elevator doors and, in particular, a runner guide for quiet -
operatlon of such a door.
It ls known that sliding door runners having rollers
wlth metallic running surfaces traveling on metallic guide
rails cause disturbing noises. For this reason, different
kinds of non-me~allic running surfaces for runners were
created, which surfaces help to r~duce the running noises.
The softer the nature of the running surface, the less
running noise is generated. On the other hand, the rolling
resistance increases for softer materials, which resistance
can, however, be compensated for by correspondingly increased
door driving power.
The pheno~enon of the running surface flattening at
standsti~l has an appreciably worse effect, because a bump
motion with corresponding cluttering noises is the
consequence thereof. The flat spots are created when a
loaded roller remains standing in the same position for a
long time. This operation applies particularly to the
automatic sliding ele~ator door, since these doors must
regularly remain in the closed posltion for several hours.
A good solutlon, which does not have the above
identified disadvantages ~nd neverthelass promises quiet
running, is described in ehe ~.S. Patent No. 2,611,920. The
roller has a vibration-damping intermediate layer positioned
between an ou~er ball bearing ring and a roller body, and the
roller guide rail likewise displays such a layer between its
foot portion and an upper portion. A flattenin~ of the
runnlng surface cannot take place, but the running operation
is not as quiet as desired. In spite of ths vibration-
damping intermediate layers in the roller and ln the guide
rail, a metal-on~metal rolling fric~ion always is present.
Moreover, the cons~ruction is very expsnsive, whereby the
additional costs tend not to be ~ustifiable for this
application.
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SUMMARY OF THE_INVENTION
The present invention is based on the ~ask of creating
an elevator door runner guide having a guide rail snd a
roller, which runner guide does not display the above
: 5 identified disadvantages, which can be simply and
inexpensively manu~actured, and which can be fitted to
existing automatic sliding elevator doors. The runner guide
for a sliding elevator door, according to the present
invention, ~ncludes a generally longitudinally extending
guide rail mounted above a door opening and a pair of rollers
attached to the upper edge of an elevator door. Each roller
includes a non-metallic and relatively hard elastic material
running surface insert and the guide rail has a cross-
sectional shape adapted to engage the insert and guide the
roller for movement along the guide ra~l. At the closed door
end position of a path of tr~vel for ths rollers, a ramp
member is Pttached to the guide rail for engaging the
associated roller and moving the running surface insert out
of engagement with the guide rail thereby reli0ving the
roller of the door load.
An elevator door panel typically is suspend~d from the
guide rail by a pair oi such sollers. However, the roller at
the leading edge of the door panel is ~symmetric having one
rim disc of a smaller diameter and another rim disc of a
larger diameter extending downwardly on opposite sides of the
guide rail. Thus, as the asymmetric roller is ~o~ed along
the guide rail, the smaller diameter rlm disc moves over the
rnmp member for the other roller without contact while the
larger dia~eter rim disc engages its associated ramp ~ember
at the end of travel to move the running surface insert out
of engagement with th0 guide rail.
The advantages achieved by the present invention are
that a solution to the runner guide noise problem is obtained
through an adapted shaping of a standard machine part, the
guide rail and by a few additional simple components for the
rollers, and that the operation of the runner guide for an
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elevator door achieves hitherto not known low noise values.
The present lnvention combines all the advsntages of an
elastic roller runnin& iurfsce without, ho~ever, the
disadvantages of flattening of the running surface under load
during longer d~ration standstills.
BRIEF pESCRIPTION OF THE ~RAWINGS
The above, as well as other adYantages of the present
invention, will b~come resdily apparent to those skilled in
the art from the following de~ailed descrip~on of a
preferred embodiment when considered in the light of the
accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a side elevation view in cross section of a
sliding elevator door runner guide with a roller in an
intermedia~e position on a guide rail in accordance with the
present invention;
Fig. 2 is side elevation view in cross section of the
roller and the guide rail shown in Fig. 1 with the roller in
an end position;
Fig. 3 is a ~ront elevation view of the roller and the
guide rail shown in Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a side elevation view in cross section of an
alternate embodiment of the roller and the guide rail shown
in Fig. l; and
Fig. 5 is a front elevation view of a sliding elevator
door incorporating the rollers and the guide rail shown in
Figs. 1 and 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the Fig. 1, a roller body is denoted generally by 1
and is partially cut away to expose an annular groove 1.1
for3ed ln a periphery thereof. An elastic ~aterial insert 2,
having a half-round running surface 10 facing the groove
openirlg, is retained between two generally parallel, rigid
ri~ discs 3 and 4, which discs protrude along both sides of
the running surface 10 to orm the sides of ~he groove 1.1.
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The discs 3 and 4 are preferably for~ed oi n ~etal material.
The rim discs 3 and 4 can be of the s~me mnterlal as the
roller body 1, and can be separate elemen~s or integral
components of the same as shown. The runn$ng surface 10 is
in contact with and runs along a half-round head portion 7.1
of a guide rail 7 to function as a slidlng door runner guide.
The guide rail 7 has a longitudinally extending widened base
portion 7.3 which is supported on ~nd fastened to an upwardly
facing frame surface F above a door opening. Extending
upwardly fro~ the base portion 7.3 is a longitudinally
extending generally vertical leg 7.2, which is terminated at
i an upper edge by the half-round head portion 7.1. The roller
body 1 is shown in an intermediate position along the guide
rail ~ with the rim discs 3 and 4 extending downwardly along
! 15 the sides of the vertical leg 7.2.
il In the Fig. 2, the roller body 1 is illustrated in &n
end position along the guide rail 7. At this position, a
pair of ramp members 5 and 6 are Mounted on the base portion
7.3 on each side fthe vertical leg 7.2. The heigh~ of the
ramp members 5 and 6 is so dimensioned that the rigld rim
, discs 3 and 4 respectively en8age the upper surfaces which
¦ completely reliev~s the load, for example the weight of an
¦ associated elevator door, from the elastic material running
surface 10. In the Fig. 3, the saMe position a5 shown in the
~5 Fig. 2 is illustrated in a front e t evation view of ths
elevator door. The rim disc 4 has run from left to right up
a ramp surface 8 onto a generally horizontally extending
upper surface 9 of the ramp member 6 and has, in consequence
of ths dimensions of the rim disc diameter and the ramp
member height, relieved ~he running surface 10 oi the roller
1 by lifting off the guide rail 7. The ra~p ~ember 5 also
has the ramp surface 8 and the upper surface 9. The ramp
surface 8 has, for exsmple, a grade ratio of S ~o ~ which is
npproximately equal to ten to one.
ln the Fig. 4, an ssymmetric roller 11 is ~llustrated in
cross-section and at the right-hand side has a rigid rim disc
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12 with a diameter which is smaller than the larger diameter
left-hand side rigid rim disc 4. The ~symmetric roller 11
can move over the samp member 6 mount~d on the right-hsnd
side of the guide rail 7 without the running surface 10 being
lifted off, and thus without the supported load being
relieved. Through this measure, it is possible to apply the
principle to sliding door leaves or panels, in which the
roller spacing is less than the horizontal travel distance of
the door. In the Flg. 5, the principle is evident in a front
partial elevation of an automatic sliding elevator door. A
left-hand door panel 14 is attach~d by a suspension 13a with
the roller 1 and by a suspension 13b with the asymmetric
roller 11. A right-hand door panel 15 is a~tached ln the
same manner with the rollers 1 and 11, only the roller 11
being shown. The right-hand asy~metric roller 11 attached to
the door panel 14 is installed so that the smaller rim disc
12 is toward the front of the door. Correspondingly, the
ramp membsrs 5 and 6, ad~acent to and assoclated with the
rollers 11 and 1 respectively, are mounted respectively
; 20 behind and in front of the vertical leg 7.2 of ~he gu~de rail
7 and ars spaced apart approximately the same distance as the
rollers.
¦ The apparatus described above operates as follows: In
the Fig. S, it is shown that a spacing ~ between the rollers
: 25 1 and 11 associated with the door panel 14 is smaller than a
displacement B representing the distance travelled by the
roller 11 along the guide rafl 7 between the open and closed
positions of the door panel 14. Thus, during a closing
movement of the elevator door, the asymmetric roller 11 must
be able to move from the door open position over the left-
hand ramp member 6 without contact. This movement is
possible because the smaller diameter rim disc 12 at the
ront of the right-hand asymmetric roller 11 clears the upper
surface of the ramp member 6.
In the illustrated application, the running sllrfaces 10
of the rollers 1 and 11 are relieved of the.door load only in
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the closed position of the sliding elevator door. Such
construction ls for the reason that the typical dwell time of
an elevator door in the closed position is much }onger than
the dwell time in the open position. However, if required,
it is readily possible to provide a load relief for the
running surfaces 10 in both end positions of the door. In
that case, ~he roller 1 is replaced by another one of the
asy~etric rollers 11 and the s~aller diameter rim discs 12
are positioned on opposite sides of the ~uide rall 7.
Another pair of the ramp members 5 and 6 can be provided for
the end positions of the rollers when the door is open. A
second ramp member 5 (no~ shown) can be spaced the distance B
to the left of the ramp member 5 shown in Fig. 5 on the rear
side of the guide rail 7 with the ramp surfaces 8 facing each
other. Similarly, a second ramp ~ember 6 (no~ shown) can be
spaced the distance B to the le~t of the ramp ~e~ber 6 shown
in the Fig. 5 on the front side of the guide rail 7 with the
ramp surfaces 8 facing each other.
When utillzing the present invention, the running of the
rim discs onto the ra~p members is no longer audible as
noise, because the door speed is very small in the region of
the end positions of the door panels. Relatively soft
material damping inserts 2 can be provided, becaus~ the
rollers no longer remain supported on the running surfaces in
the end positions and no flattening can thus arise. The
movement of a sliding elevator door is prectically noiseless
with the apparatus according to the present invention.
Typically, the standard elevator guide rail can be shaped and
a fe~ additional simple componen~s added to the standard
rollers to obtain the runner guide according to the present
inven~ion. The present invention lends itseli for use in
other types of sliding doors, such as, for example, the entry
doors in shops and hotels, or for any kind of internal
connecting doors in office buildings, residential buildings
or hospitals. Likewise, the present invention can be applied
to telescopic doors, where the effect of quiet of running is
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significant, in part~cular in the case of a rapidly movlng
door panel.
In accordance with the provis1ons of the patent
statutes, the present invent$on has been described in what is
considered to represent its preferred embodi~ent. However,
it should be noted that the invention can be practiced
otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described
without departing fro~ its spirit or scope.
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