Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
BP File No. 0557-034
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Titl~. COLLAPSIBLE R13~570I.VING DOOR
FIELD OF ~ED~ ~TION
This invention rela~es ~o building entrance way
designs and in particular to revolving doors which allow
for the passage of people into and out of a building. In
particular, this invention relates to a revolving door
having a vertical axis of rotation and a plurality of door
leaves extending outwardly from the axis.
~ACKGROUWD OF T~E I~V~TIO~
Revolving doors having a vertical axis of
rotation and a plurality of door leaves are known and have
been used extensively in entrance ways to public
buildings. Revolving doors typically have a higher
efficiency than other types of doors and are especially
useful in extreme climates. In particular, the amount of
air exchange between the inside and the outside with the
passage of a person through the revolving door is limited
to the moving compartment through which the person passes
while passing through the entrance way. The amount of air
exchange between inside and outside of a building is much
reduced compared to say a conventional doorway which
requires the door to be open allowing air to flow from the
inside to the outside while the door is open.
Conventional hinged doors therefore typically require a
double line of doors to prevent loss of inside air to the
exterior. A single revolving door can replace a double
line of conventional hinged doors and may be more
efficient and less expensive.
However, a problem arises in revolving doors
because of the difficulties of installation and design
which increase the cost o~ the doors. In particular,
conventional revolving doors include a subgrade bearing
element which must be cemented in place in the concrete
during the construction of the entrance way. The
alignment between the subgrade bearing element and the
upper bearing fitting must be exact in order to have
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proper rotation of the door through the entrance way. It
is difficult and time consuming the ensure the proper
subgrade anchoring of the door bearing in this manner.
Further, in fire situations or the like it is
necessary to have the door leaves rotatable r01e~ant ~o
the axis of rotation to allow the door leaves to be
aligned parallel to provide double exit access in an
emergency situation. Such rotation has been accomplished
by means of different releasable locking mechanisms which
are typically housed in the ceiling of the door. However,
such mechanism~ are bulky and expensive to build, and
require a greater door height to acco~modate them at the
top of the doorway.
Finally, the prior designs are typically very
difficult to service in that the parts are not easily
remov~ble without removing the roof of tha doorway and the
other doorway frame elements. This is especially tru~ for
powered doors having a motor located in the subgrade well,
which is the preferred prior art location.
S~NMAR~ OF TH~ INV~NTIO~
What is desired is an improved revolving door
which overcomes the design difficulties associated with
the prior designs while at the same time providing the
same efficient easy to use entranc~ access as the prior
designs. Therefore, according to ~he present invention
there i~ provided a coll~psible revolving door rotatable
about a vertical axis in a doorway, the doorway having a
floor and a ceiling, said door comprising:
a central support shaft;
a lower bearing element for rotatably supporting
a lower end of said shaft on the floor;
an upper coupling for rotatably supporting an
upper end of said shaft;
an upper support plate attached to said shaft
which rotates as said shaft rotates on said lower bearing
element and said upper coupling elem~nt~
a lower support bar attached to said shaft which
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rotates as said shaft rotates on said lower bearing
element and said upper coupling element; and
a plurality of door leaves, each said door leaf
having an upper edge and a lower edge and being connected
to said upper and lower support plates by a respective
upper pivot point and a lower pivot point, said upper and
lower pivot points being generally on the same vertical
axis; and
being releasibly connected to said shaft by a
10 locking means located between said upper and lower edges `
of said door leaf, said locking means comprising at least
one biased locking element which extends between said
shaft and said door leaf into a mating detent.
BRIEF DE:SCRIPTIO~ OF TEIE: DRZ~WINGS
Reference will now be made to the following
figures, which, by way of reference only, illustrate a
preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:
Figure 1 is a side view of a revolving door
according to the present invention installed in an
entrance way;
Figure 2 is a cross section through lina 2-~ of
Figure l;
Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the ~ :
section of Figure l;
Figure 4 is a side view of the upper portion of
Figure 1 showing a hydraulic motor according to the :.
present invention;
Figure 5 is an enlarged view showing in part :. ~ :
breakaway section of a lower portion of the door according
to the present invention;
Fisure 6 is a view of an upper bearing plate
according to the present invention; and
Figure 7 is a side view of a lower be~ring plate ~:
accordi.ng to the present invention. . .:.:
3 5 DETI~ILED Dl~SCRIPTION OF PR~E:FERRE:D E~BODIME~
Figure 1 shows a revolving door indicated
generally at 10 housed in an entrance way 12. Revolving
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door entrance way 12 includes a pair of opposite sides 14
and 15. The side 14 is shown as a single pane of curved
glass. The side 16 is shown as a plurality of individual
straight panes of glass which are mounted in a curved
manner. It will be appreciated that these or other
conventional alternatives may be used for the curved sides
14, 16.
The revolving door 10 includes a central shaft
18 and upper and lower support plates 20, 22 respectively.
Two door leaves 24, 26 are shown in the view of Figure 1.
Also shown is a motor 28 and a motor mounting bracket 30.
The motor 28 and the motor mounting bracket 30 are mounted
in the door header 32 in a manner described hereafter.
Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the door
entrance way of Figure 1 along the lines 2-2. It will be
appreciated that the entrance way 12 takes the form of a
circle within which the door leaves 24, 26 and 27 rotate
about the central shaft 18. Shown in ghost outline as
24l, 26~ and 27'is a view of the revolving door 10 of the
present invention partially rotated. As can be seen by
the dotted projection line 40, the ends of the sides 16
and 14 lie on a circle having its centre on the shaft 18.
The ihaft 18 forms an a~is for rotation of the door 10.
It will be appr0ciated that three door leaves are shown,
and preferred.
Also shown in Figure 2 are handle elements 42
and handle flanges 44. As can be seen from Figure 2, each
door consists of a pane of glass shown as 46 which is
contained within a frame which is indicated as 48. At the
ends of the doors 24, 26 and 27 are located flexible
sweeps 50 which are held in sliding contac-t with the sides
14 and 16 to prevent air loss between an interior and an
exterior of an entrance way.
Figure 3 shows a detailed view of the central
shaft 18 and ~he frames 48 which comprise the doors 24, 26
and 27. Only a portion of the doors 24 and 26 are shown
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in Figure 3 and the door 27 is shown wi~h a break in order
to illustrate the componen~s of the present invention.
Shown at the top of the Figure 3 is an ex~ruded section 52
which forms an end of one of the curved sides 14 or 16.
Shown below the extruded section 52 is the sweep
50 which is housed in a mounting strip 54. The mounting
strip 54 in turn is retained in a groove 56 located in an
end frame element 58. The end frame element 58 supports
and is attached to a glazing element 60 which houses the
window pane 46. An equivalent structure is loc~ted at the
opposite end of window pane 46 where there is shown a
glazing element 62 and a frame element 64 to complete the
door. The central shaft 18 is shown and underneath is the
lower plate 22 which includes three limb~ shown as 66, 68
and 70 respectively each having an angle of approximately
120 between them. It will be appreciated that the lower
plate 22 has a limb corresponding to each door leaf. Also
shown are pivot openings 67, 69 and 71 in each limb
respectively which provide a lower pivot point for the
door during emergency collapsed operation. This is
described in more detail below.
Figure 3 also shows a locking means ex'ending
between the doors 24, 26 and 27 which is indicated
generally at 80. ThP locking means sa includes a biased
locking element 82 which extends between the door and a
matching detent 84 formed in a locking element 86. The
function o~ the locking means 80 is described in more
detail below.
Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the upper
portion of the door of Figure 1 showing the motor 28, the
motor mounting bracket 30 and the door header 32. In the
preferred embodiment the motor mounting bracket comprises
opposed C-shaped channel members 90, 92 which are bolted
to a ceiling 94 of the entrance way 10. The bolts are
shown at 95. Attached to the C-shaped channel members 90,
92 are right angled members 98, 100 to which are bolted a
flat bar 102. The flat bar 102 is pre~erably in the
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form of a disk, having an opening 109 for the shaft 18.
The flat plate 101 hides the motor and door header from
view, and adds to the fini~hed appearance of the door
entrance way. Bolts 106 and 108 are shown by which the
flat bar 102 is bolted to the right angled mambers 98,
100. In turn, the motor 28 is bol-ted to the flat bar 102
at 110 and 112.
It will be noted that the bolts 106, lOB, 110
and 112 all project downwardly which facilitates easy
removal and servicing of the motor 28. In particular, all
that is required is to remo~e the door leaves, remove
screws 96 to free plate 101 free the motor bolts 110, 112,
remove the center shaft 18, undo bolts 106, 108, and
remove the motor through the opening remaining.
Preferably the motor 2~ is in the form of hydraulic motor
having hydraulic hoses 114 leading away to a reservoir.
Satisfactory results have been obtained with a 50 SUS LSHT
motor made by Parker Hannifin Corporation. The output
shaft of the motor is shown at 116 and which by mean~ of
a key 118 is attached to a bearing 120. As the output
shaft 116 rotates the bearing 120 rotates which in turn
rotates the shaft 18. Al~o shown in Figure 4 is the
locking means 80 including the resilient biasing element
82 and the detent fitting 86. The detent is indicated by
dashed lines and is shown at 84.
Also shown in Figure 4 is ~he upper support
plate 20 with outwardly extending limb indicated at 120.
Each of the outwardly extending limbs (the upper support
plate has three equally spaced limbs as does the lowex
support plate) inclu~es a pivot opening one of which is
shown in limb 120 a~ 122. A pair of socket head cap
screws 124 are shown which house a plate 126 against the
limb 120. This closes the pivot opening 122 and allows
easy removal of the door by simply unscrewing the socket
head cap screws 124 thus freeing the door to be laterally
tilted away from the upper pivot plate and then lifted out
of the pi.vot opening in the lower pivot plate.
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Figure 5 shows a detailed ~iew from the side of
the lower portion of the door according to the present
invention. As can be seen, there is a grade level
indicated by line 130. A bolt is anchored into the grade
shown at 132. The grade would typically be cement or the
like and the bolt would typically be installed in a hole
that was pre-drilled in the cement. The bolt retains a
lower bearing element 134 tight against the grade. The
thickness of the lower bearing element can be set to allow
for floor finishing. For example, enough space would be
left under the doors to allow tile, grills or the like to
be placed over the grade. A thrust bearing is then
located between the lower bearing 134 and the shaft 18 and
is shown at 136. The thrust bearing 136 is of the roller~
bearing ring type. Also shown is lower support plate 22
and locking means 80.
It will now be appreciated that in the preferred
form of the invention there is a locking means 80 located
towards the ~op and the bottom of each door edge which
abuts the central shaft 18. It will be appreciated that
satisfactory results may also be achieved with only one
locking means or with more than two, however for ease of
assembly two are preferred. The pivot opening 67 is shown
as well as the detent 84 in fitting 86. The resiliently
biased element 82 is shown in this view to be housed
within a spring block 140. The spring block contains a
spring shown in dotted outline at 14~ contained within a
bore or spring chamber 144. The element 82 extends into
the spring chamber 144 and is biased outwardly, namely
into enyagement with the detent 84 by the spring 142.
While it is appreciated that this type of spring
engagement ~ay be used, other types of resiliently biased
detent may also be used. For example, as shown in Figure
3, the elements 82 or the detents 84 may be in the form of
resilient rubber elements which deform under significant
loads to slip out of engagement. However, the preferred
manner is the spring loadad element as shown.
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Extending from the bottom of the door is the
pivot rod 146 upon which the door may pivot. It will be
appreciated that the pivot rod 146 at the bottom of the
door is on the same axis as the pivot rod located at the
top of the door which together form an emergency pivot
axis about which the door may rotate relative to the
central shaft 18. Each of the uppQr plate 22 and lower
plate 20 are secured to the central shaft 18. Thus, as
shaft 18 rotates, so do the support plates 20, 22.
Because the doors are held in place against the shaft 18
by the locking means 80, the doors will also rotate.
Figure 6 is a plan view of the upper support
plate 20 according to the present invention. As can be
seen, each limb includes a plate 126 with bolts 124
securing the plates around the pivot opening 122 into
which the upper pivot rod fits. Also shown is a central
opening 160 into which shaft 18 fits. No shaft is shown
in Figure 6.
Figure 7 is a plan view of lo~er plate 22 having
pivot openings 67, 69, 71 and a central opening 152 to
accommodate central shaft 18. It can now be appreciated
to those skilled in the art that it is only necessary that
one of -~he upper or lower support plates 20, 2~ have the
plates 126. It is preferable that the upper support plate
have these plates 126 in order that the door leaves may be
easily removed from the central ~haft lB for servicing or
the like. However, the plates 126 could be located at the
bottom if that were pref~rred.
The features and advantages of the present
convention can now be appreciated. In order to install
downwardlythe present invention, all that is required is
to locate a bolt hole centrally within the circular
entrance way and screw down a bearing at grade. Unlike
the prior installations, which required precise alignment
of anchoring structures below grade which alignment was
achieved by placing components in concrete prior to the
concrete setting, the present inven~ion provides a simple
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and easy way to attach the base of the door within the
entrance way. The ability of the lower bearing element to
be located at grade is as a result of placing ~he motor
overhead, and the locking means of the present invention
extending laterally between the side edges of the doors
and the shaft. In the prior art, it was conventional to
extend the locking mechanisms vertically, upwardly and
downwardly or alternatively to house the motor below grade
- and to install the locking mechanisms above the ceiling.
10The locking means 80 must be sufficiently rigid
to withstand normal stresses associated with users of the
door pushing against the door handles. However, the
locking means 80 is resiliently displaceable, as outlined
above, in order that the biased locking element 82 may be
rocked out of the detent 84 in an emergency situation.
This has the effect of causing the door to pivot about the
emergency pivot axis formed between the upper and lower
platss 20, 22 allowing all doors to be set parallel with
each other rather than at 120. This provides the
emergency access through the doorway in the event of fire
or the like as is often required by building codes and
regualtions. Additionally/ an emergency release will
prevent in~ury, which could otherwise occur if the door
leaf was locked to the shaf~ and a person~s limb was
caught between a door leaf and the curved sides as the
door rotated.
It will be appreciated that some e~perimentation
is rsquired in order to achieve the appropriate release
weight and good results have been achieved when with the
door swinging at normal speeds, and a door leaf is jammed,
such as by an obstruction or the likel then the door leaf
will be released by the biased locking member allowing the
door to swing about the emergency pivot axis.
In addition, it will be appreciated that the
present invention provides for easy servicing of the
components of the door. Specifically, the upper plates
126 can be easily removed allowing the upper pivot shaft
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to be laterally pivoted out of the upper plate 20 and
lifted up out of the lower pivot opening 67 in lower plate
22. Then it may be easily removed for servicing. Once
the door leaves are removed, it is possible to easily
reach the bolts attaching the hydraulic motor, which in
turn facilitates easy servicing of the hydxaulic motor.
Prior art designs conventionally ho~se the drive means of
khe door underneath the door rather than above the door.
The foregoing description has been with respect
to a preferred embodiment of the invention and i~ will be
appreciated by those skilled in the art that ~ariations
can be made to the form of the invention without departing
from the broad scopP of the intended claim For example,
while reference has been made to spring loaded biasing
elements at the bottom of the door, other forms of
flexible biasing elements could be used to form a rigid
yet openable attachment be~ween the pivoting door leaves
and the central shaft.
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