Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
20645~3
Descxiption
Closure element for an opening
The invention concerns a closure element, for an opening, which
can be moved from a closed position to an open position in
relation to the opening.
A known example of such a closure element for an opening is a
rolling shutter of a rolling shutter door, which serves as a
vertically actuated closure for a door opening allowing passage
of persons or traffic, such a rolling shutter comprising slats
which can be angled with respect to one another, which are guided
along the two side edges of the door opening by means of vertical
guide rails for movement into the closed position, and which are
raised to the open position and wound by means of a winding shaft
to which the said rolling shutter is secured.
The rolling shutter, as the part of a rolling closure which
closes and protects the door opening, consists of slats which are
connected to each other by articulated joints, such slats as a
rule taking the form of profile elements, e.g. extruded aluminium
materials. The height of the individual slats, as a rule, ranges
between approx. 80 and approx. 120 mm in such cases.
These profile elements are mostly provided in the form of slide-
in profiles which, due to their shape, can be pivot-connected to
each other without additional connecting elements to form the
rolling shutter. In the case of a typical aluminium extrusion,
the joint, for example, takes the form of a rolled bead and
groove arrangement so that when one slat is slid into another,
the joint thus formed is able to absorb and withstand the forces
which arise as the rolling shutter is wound. The slat connection
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forming an articulated joint invariabl~ features a large
clearance. Moreover, the shape of the interlinked slats is
intended such that dirt and water are prevented from becoming
lodged in the joints, and so that there is sufficient tightness
against wind attack.
Sectional doors are also known as closure elements of an opening,
thes~ likewise being used for large doorways. A conventional
sectional door consists essentially of a shutter with relatively
high sections which can be raised by means of a hoist drive from
a vertical closure position into an upper horizontal position
below the ceiling.
Owing to the relatively large height of the individual sections
in sectional doors and the reduced number of section connecting
elements such as hinges or similar, and a concomitant reduction
in the number of meeting edge faces which have to be sealed, an
overall more compact mechanical construction is achieved with
correspondingly improved strength against wind attack and better
security against unauthorized opening. Moreover, the large height
of the individual sections allows the provision of transparent
sections in the form of glass or plastic windows.
As a rule, the individual sections are flush to one another in
the closed position, so that the full meeting edge face of each
section is available for the seal. The sectional door thus has
the appearance of a tightly closed door with a continuous
external surface and without any intermediate gaps. A further
improvement in tightness is achieved, for example, by rubber
inserts which, in the closed position, are pressed together by
the sections resting on top of one another. As an alternative,
the sections may feature a convexity along one meeting edge face
across the full width of the door, which engages in a
corresponding recess in an adjacent section as the sections are
swung into the same plane, similar to a tongue-and-groove joint,
thus further improving the mechanical resistance of the door leaf
to wind pressure, even in the case of large door widths.
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On the inside of the door, the sections are connected by means
of a n~lmber of individual hinges which are arranged across the
entire width of the door at certain intervals in a quantity that
provides sufficient strength and support. The hinges at the side
edge of the sections are, as a rule, also designed as a mounting
for a roller which can run in a guide rail of channel cross
section arranged along the side edge of the sectional door. As
the individual hinges at the sections are arranged such that the
sections can be folded away toward the interior, problems arise
in that the protruding parts of the hinges arranged on the inside
of the door impair the visual appearance of the door and
constitute an injury hazard. A further injury hazard arises in
the case of sectional doors when the sections are angled, owing
to the open gaps which then occur and which are then closed again
when the sections are folded back.
The object of the invention is to provide a closure element for
an opening which, in the closed condition, offers sufficient
tightness against wind and weather attack, and high stability and
resistance even against point pressure loading.
This object is achieved by a closure element with the
characteristics claimed in claim 1.
The closure element according to the present invention features
slats which are linked to each other by hinges such that a space
is formed by the distance between adjacent slats in which the
joint pins of the hinges engage. By providing the rotating axis
of each hinge within the space between the slats, the angle
openings between the adjacent slats, and also the tilting
accelerations when moving the closure element to the open
position are minimized, resulting in correspondingly smaller
acceleration forces as the closure element is angled, as a result
of which low-wear guidance around tight radii is possible and the
space requirement of the system in the open position is
correspondingly reduced, without conversely producing any
increase in noise emission during the opening and closing cycles.
2064~33
Moreover, protruding parts of the hinge are avoided with a
correspondingly improved visual appearance and reduction in
injury hazard. Adjacent slats are provided in each case with
sealing strips across virtually the entire width of the opening
which offers effective draught exclusion and prevent the
penetration of rain water and dust. The sealing strips are
arranged such that the geometrical axis of the joint pins comes
to rest within the profile outline of the sealing strip, so that
the sealing strips are only subjected to bending stress when the
closure element is angled. The sealing strips feature beads or
enlargements on their opposite sides which engage in
correspondingly shaped recesses in the slats, whereby the
opposing support faces of such enlargements are a minimum
distance from corresponding retaining faces of the slats, such
distance nevertheless permitting problem-free installation, so
that in the closed position of the closure element with pressure
loading of a slat transverse to the door plane - following
initial restoring forces resulting solely from the bending stress
of the sealing strips of the adjacent slats - tensile loading of
the sealing strips soon occurs which prevents or limits any
further outward bending relative to adjacent slats. Overall, the
closure element behaves extensively like a homogeneous, flat
plate with corresponding force distribution in the plate plane,
while at the same time permitting low-force diversion or winding.
The closure element according to the invention can be employed
as a closure for any type of opening. The opening may be vertical
in the form of a door or window opening, or horizontal, e.g. in
the form of an opening of a swimming pool or similar. The closure
element can be guided by means of guide tracks, and opened and
closed at relatively high operating speeds with relatively low
noise emission; or it can be wound without any guiding elements.
The drive of the closure element may be provided by an electric
motor or by manual means.
Particularly fast operation during closing and opening of the
closure element is facilitated if, as claimed in claim 2, the
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hinges take the form of hinge straps wit~l hinge elements which
are interlinked and can be angled relative to one another by
means of the joint pins, said hinge straps having a length which
corresponds to the clear height of the opening. These hinge
straps constitute the bearing structure of the closure element,
as all the tensile forces are absorbed by the hinge straps and
are not transmitted to the slats. As claimed in claim 3, the
slats are simply mounted on the hinge elements of the hinge
straps.
As claimed in claim 4, the sealing strips are preferentially
manufactured from an elastic material, in particular rubber, thus
avoiding moving mechanical parts for effecting the angling
operation, and ensuring that only a small amount of force is
required in order to angle the closure element, and further
ensuring that the noise emission arising from the angling
operation is kept as low as possible.
An even smoother, virtually friction-free and thus faster
operation of the slatted shutter is achieved as claimed in claim
5 in that rollers are mounted coaxially relative to the joint
pins, said rollers running in corresponding guide tracks.
A particularly tight closure of the door opening is achieved if,
as claimed in claim 6, a sealing projection is provided on the
outside of each slat, by means of which the distance between
adjacent slats in the closed position is reduced without any
contact between the slats themselves occurring. As the sealing
strips are no longer noticeable from the outside, this also
results in an appealing external appearance of the closure
element in the form of a uniform, smooth surface.
If, as claimed in claim 7, retaining flanges are provided at the
two opposite sides of the closure element to locate the slats,
the closure element in its closed position can also withstand
greater pressures without any fear of the closure element being
pulled out of the opening.
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Further details and useful features of the invention derive from
the fo]lowing description of a~ embodiment in which reference is
made to the following figures:
ig. l shows a rear view of a closure element corresponding
to an embodiment according to the invention;
ig. 2 shows a schematic cross section along the line II-II
in Fig. 1;
ig. 2A shows an enlarged schematic representation of detail
X from Fig~ 2; and
ig. 3 shows a plan view of a closure element according to
the present invention, said closure element being
employed for a vertical lift-type shutter door.
The embodiment of a closure element according to the invention
described in the following relates to an application as a lift-
type shutter door which is moved vertically upward from a closed
position to an open position of a door opening. With respect to
further details, reference is made to the two co-pending German
patent applications of the present assignee entitled "Lift-type
door having a slatted shutter with angleable slats" (61EF01562)
and "Lift-type door having a slatted shutter in guide tracks"
(61EF01572) filed on the same day, the full contents thereof
being hereby incorporated by reference. The present closure
element is, however, in no way limited to the application of a
shutter door, but can without further ado also be employed, for
example, for a horizontally arranged opening.
As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the depicted embodiment of a
closure element 12, of an opening 1, according to the invention
features a number of slats 14 for covering the opening 1, said
slats being linked to one another by means of hinges 20, 20'. The
sides facing each other of adjacent slats are connected in each
case by sealing strips 42 as will be described in the following
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in greater detail. The depicted closure element is, in accordance
with Fig. 3, guided on the two opposite sides 3 and 3' of the
door opening 1 by means of guide tracks 2 and 2' so that the
closure element 12 can be moved from the vertical closed position
to an area above the opening 1 in the open position. In the
following, accented reference characters shall designate in each
case the corresponding parts of the closure elements which are
arranged at side 3' of the opening 1 and which constitute the
mirror image of corresponding components designated by the
unaccented reference characters.
Arranged at each of the two side edges of the closure element 12
are hinges in the form of hinge straps 20, 20' of a length which
essentially corresponds to the height of the door opening 1. Each
hinge strap 20, 20' consists of rigid hinge elements 22 which are
linked to each other and can be angled with respect to one
another by joint pins 24, 24'. For this purpose, each hinge
element has been rolled in the conventional manner to form an eye
at its end, into which the joint pin 24 can be inserted. Each
pair of adjacent hinge elements are linked together such that
their eyes are coaxially arranged to each other and in which a
common joint pin 24 is located.
In the illustrated example, moreover, rollers 26, 26' are mounted
coaxially relative to the joint pins 24, 24', said rollers 26,
26' providing rolling guidance of the hinge straps 20 and 20' in
the guide tracks 2 and 2'. In the depicted example, each guide
track features a pair of round section rods 28 and 30 which are
arranged at a uniform distance from one another, said distance
being selected to suit the diameter of the rollers 26. The hinge
straps 20, 20' and the round section rods 28, 30 are, for
example, manufactured from hard, metallic material, while the
rollers 26 may also be manufactured from plastic material. To
secure the individual slats 14 and thus the closure element
against detachment from the guide track, each roller 26, 26'
features a retaining flange 27, 27', the outside diameter of
2~6~533
which is greater than the clear distance between the round
section rods 28, 30.
The slats 14 are, for example, located and secured by means of
bolts 32, 32' on the hinge straps 20, 20' so that a space 34 is
formed by virtue of the distance which arises between adjacent
slats 14, in which space 34 the joint pins 24, 24', or the eyes
of the hinge elements 22, 22' surrounding the joint pins engage
as best illustrated in Fig. 2. According to the invention, this
has the effect of ensuring that the geometrical axis of rotation
36 comes to rest completely within the zone which is limited by
the two outside main surfaces 38 and 40 of the closure element
12. The location of the axis of rotation 36 in this position
ensures that the width of the angle opening between adjacent
slats 14 during angling of the closure element is reduced to a
minimum dimension so that, correspondingly, the tilting
accelerations during travel into a top, bent-away guide track
outside the area of opening 1 are reduced. As a result, the
possible operating speeds of the closure element shown are
further increased without being accompanied by excessive noise
emission.
The slats with a height of, for example, up to 150 mm are mounted
quite independently of one another and individually on the hinge
straps 20, 20', so that, for example, the lack of a complete slat
has no effect on the mechanical stability and operability of the
closure element. The hinge straps 20 and 20' thus constitute, to
a certain extent, the bearing structure or skeleton of the
closure element, which bearing structure absorbs all the forces
arising from the movement of the lift-type shutter door. Owing
to the fact that the hinge strap 20, 20' is a continuous
mechanical assembly, the tensile forces which arise are absorbed
by the hinge straps 20, 20' and not transmitted to the slats 14.
By virtue of the transmission and distribution of the forces
which occur to an articulate, continuous yet rugged strap of high
tensile strength, uniform and quiet operation is achieved even
under conditions of extremely fast shutter door actuation.
2064533
As the individual slats 14 are initiall~ mounted on the hinge
straps 20, 20~ at a certain distance from one another in order
to create room for the joint pins, adjacent slats 14 also remain
non-contacting in respect of one another in the closed position
of the closure element, thus completely avoiding the rattling
sounds which commonly occur when a conventional sectional door
is closed.
In order to enhance the mechanical stability of the slatted
shutter and increase its draught exclusion properties, without,
however, jeopardizing the properties of the present closure
element in relation to lower noise emission, sealing strips 42
in the form of rubber strips are provided which are arranged
virtually across the entire width of the door between the hinge
straps 20 and 20', and which connect meeting edge faces of
adjacent slats 14. Each sealing strip 42 is arranged coaxially
relative to the adjacent hinge rotary axis 36, so that the
sealing strips 42 are only subjected to bending stress when the
shutter 12 is angled in the guide section (not shown) away from
the opening. Each sealing strip 42 features on opposite sides
beads or enlargements 44 which engage in correspondingly shaped
recesses 46 of the slats 14. As best illustrated by the enlarged
detail in Fig. 2A, each enlargement 44 features a support face
43 which is arranged opposite a corresponding retaining face 45
in the slat 14. The distance of a support face 43 to its
associated retaining face 45 in the slat 14 is - taking into
account the requirement of smooth and trouble-free assembly by
insertion, from the side, of the sealing strip 42 with the
enlargement 44 in the recess 46 - kept as small as possible so
that, in the closed position of the closure element, any pressure
loading against the closure element which might arise results in
the sealing strip 42 being tilted to the side and, once contact
has occurred between the support face 43 and the retaining face
45, the sealing strip 42 of the two adjacent slats is subjected
to tensile stress. In the case of still smaller displacements of
the slat concerned out of the door leaf plane, i.e. as long as
the support face 43 does not come into contact with the
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associated retaining face 45, the sealing strip 42 of the two
adjacen,t slats is merely subjected to bending stress, which leads
to corresponding restoring forces. As the distance between the
support face 43 and the associated retaining face 45 is kept
minimal so that, where possible, the sealing strip is subjected
to tensile stress even under conditions of small displacements,
the pressure loads which arise and to which the closure element
is subjected are transmitted and distributed from the initially
immediately affected sealing strip 42 also to the adjacent
sealing strips. In the event of pressure loading, the closure
element according to the invention thus behaves extensively like
a homogeneous flat plate with corresponding force distribution
in the plate plane, while at the same time permitting a low-force
diversion or winding operation. Thus the sealing strips 42 result
in an appreciable increase in the mechanical stability of the
closure element, so that the entire closure element in its closed
position also withstands high wind or other pressure loads
without difficulty. Needless to say, the closure element
according to the invention also offers sufficient security
against unauthorized opening, so that the closure element
according to the invention can be regarded as a durable means of
keeping an opening covered and closed.
In order to protect the closure element 12 from detachment in the
event of the possible occurrence of even greater pressure loads~
retaining flanges 27, 27' are arranged at the two opposite sides
of the closure element, which retaining flanges 27, 27' in the
depicted embodiment take the form of an external ring of greater
diameter than the diameter of the rollers 26, 26'. The retaining
flanges 27, 27' are arranged with a small clearance (not shown
in detail in the drawing) in respect of the adjacent support
surfaces of the guide rods 28, 30 such that they only come into
contact with the guide rods 28, 30 in the event of very
substantial bending of the slats 1~ under load; the closure
element thus remains easy to operate and move under conditions
of relatively small pressure loads. The good distribution of
forces in the door leaf plane brought about by the sealing strip
2~64533
42 as already described also prevents the retaining flanges 27,
27' of a slat 14 under load from coming into early contact with
the guide rods 28, 30 as a result of substantial bending of said
slat 14, and thus from inhibiting the movement of the closure
element.
In the case of the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, each slat 14
features a sealing projection 48 on the outside 38 of the door
leaf plane, by means of which projection 48 the distance to an
adjacent slat is reduced. Owing to the presence of the sealing
projection 48, the rubber strip 42 can no longer be identified
from the outside when the closure element is in its closed
position. The rubber strip 42 can then only be seen from the
inside (see rear view, Fig. 1). At the same time, owing to the
shape of the sealing projection 48 shown in Fig. 2, the
appearance of the slatted shutter 12 is more appealing by virtue
of a more uniform, smooth surface.
The bottom seal of the closure element is, according to Figs. 1
and 2, provided by a termination strip 54, for example of rubber,
which is secured to the bottom-most slat.
