[0001] The invention relates to hinge mechanism for connecting a door panel to a door driving
device, and a door panel driving arrangement.
Background of the invention
[0002] Doors, such as sectional doors or up-and-over doors, are usually opened and closed
via guiding rails provided at each side of the door, which extend vertically for holding
the door in its closed state by means of rollers which are attached to the sides of
the doors and guided in the guiding rails. When opening the doors, the rollers follow
the vertical part of the rails which continue in a deflection curve and finally in
a horizontal part which is located below the ceiling for holding the opened door in
parallel to and below the ceiling. For the uppermost roller, usually a second pair
of rails has to be provided which lacks of the curved and the vertical part and is
provided for pulling in the upper edge of the door panel during an initial opening
of the door. Those opening arrangements of the state of the art usually require a
lintel of a certain height. However, nowadays trend is going towards garages and buildings
with a very low or even without a lintel. Therefore, there is a need for door opening
solutions adapted for those needs.
[0003] DE 40 03 218 A1 describes that in prior sectional doors, the guiding rails have to change over from
their vertical extension to a horizontal extension below the ceiling, wherein the
deflection curve at the transition section has a certain radius. According to this
document, this is especially problematic if the lintel height is low. As a solution,
the document proposes to construct the uppermost section of the door at its upper
area without a roller which would usually be guided in a guiding rail, but to provide
a overhead roller instead, which rolls onto an angled bracket which is connected to
a door case, in order to properly close the upper edge of the uppermost door panel.
On one side, the roller is connected to the uppermost section of the door panel, and
on the other side the roller is connected with the sled of the door actuating mechanism
via a driving rod which is moved in a further rail at a side area of the door. However,
due to the necessity of a second rail for the actuating mechanism, there is still
a certain lintel height required.
Summary of the invention
[0004] It is an object of the present invention to lower or eliminate the required space
needed below the ceiling when installing doors.
[0005] This object is solved with a hinge m echanism and a door driving arrangement according
to claims 1 and 7. Advantageous further developments are subject of the dependent
claims.
[0006] According to an embodiment of the invention, a hinge mechanism for a door driving
device is provided. The hinge mechanism comprises a fitting having an attachment section
for attachment to an inside surface of a door panel, and a lever section which is
adapted to extend above an upper edge of the door panel in an outwards direction;
a bracket for attachment to a driving mechanism, and a hinge connecting the fitting
and the bracket rotatably about a hinge axis, the hinge being located at the outside
end of the lever section. This embodiment provides the benefit that the installation
of a door case and the door requires only a low lintel or even no lintel at all. This
embodiment provides the possibility to operate the opening and closing of the door
b y coupling a motor to the door via a hinge positioned on the outside of the door
panel. This positioning of the hinge and the resulting movement of the upper edge
of the uppermost door panel achieves that the door panel can be moved only a few millimeters
below the rail which is guiding a driving sled. This provides a larger head room with
a cheap design solution. The invention can be used with all sectional doors and overhead
doors. A further benefit is that this embodiment only requires one track on each side
of the door, in contrast to door systems of the state of the art, which require one
track on each side for guiding the uppermost door panel and another track on each
side for guiding the remaining door panels.
[0007] In this specification the term "above" includes the arrangement of something which
is above (with a clearance in between) and which is directly ab ove (with co ntact)
something.
[0008] The term "inside surface" refers to a surface of the door panel which is facing towards
the inside of a room that is closed by the door, in a state in which the door is closed.
The term "outside surface" refers to a surface of the door panel which is facing towards
the outside of the room that is closed by the door, in a state in which the door is
closed.
[0009] The term "outwards direction" refers to a direction from the inner surface of the
door panel to the outer surface of the door panel. Please note that this also includes
the directions outside the door panel itself, such as a parallel direction above the
door panel.
[0010] The term "outside end of the lever section" refers to the end of the lever section
facing outwards, i.e. facing towards the outside of the room that is closed by the
door, in a state in which the door is closed.
[0011] According to another embodiment of the invention, the hinge axis is positioned in
the area of an upper outside edge of the door panel. Preferably, the distance between
the upper outside edge and the hinge axis is smaller than 10mm, more preferably smaller
than 5mm, more preferably smaller than 4mm, more preferably smaller than 3mm, more
preferably smaller than 2mm and more preferably smaller than 1 mm.
[0012] The term "upper outside edge" refers to an upper edge of the outside surface of the
door panel.
[0013] According to another embodiment of the invention, the lever section and the attachment
section are perpendicular to each other.
[0014] According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the lever section and the bracket
are sub stantially parallel to each other in a closed state of the door panel, and
form an angle on the inside with the hinge axis as a center when the door panel is
opened.
[0015] According to another embodiment of the invention, the bracket is adapted to be connected
to a sled of the driving mechanism.
[0016] According to another embodiment of the invention, the bracket is shiftable in parallel
to a driving rail which is guiding the sled.
[0017] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the bracket is provided with
bearings for guiding the bracket in a rail of the driving mechanism.
[0018] According to a yet further embodiment of the invention, a door panel driving arrangement
is provided. The door panel driving arrangement comprises a door panel; a driving
mechanism, and a hinge mechanism according to one of the above mentioned embodiments.
This door panel driving arrangement provides the same advantages that were already
mentioned ab ove in connection with the hinge mechanism.
[0019] According to a further embodiment, the door panel driving arrangement comprises a
door having more than one door panels which are rotatably connected with each other,
wherein the hinge mechanism is attached to an uppermost one of the door panels.
[0020] According to a yet further embodiment, the driving mechanism comprises a motor, a
sled and a driving rail for guiding the sled.
[0021] It is explicitly intended that the teaching of this invention covers any combination
of the above described embodiments.
[0022] These and other embodiments are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Brief description of the Figures
[0023]
Fig. 1 is a detailed view of a hinge mechanism for a door driving device according
to an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 shows the hinge mechanism of Fig. 1 and a further door panel;
Fig. 3 shows an overview of an entire door panel driving arrangement including a door,
a driving mechanism and the hinge mechanism of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 shows the hinge mechanism of Fig. 1 in the same perspective as Fig. 1 in more
detail, and
Fig. 5 is a three-dimensional view of the hinge mechanism of Fig. 1.
Detailed description of embodiments
[0024] Below, an embodiment of the hinge mechanism 10 is described in more detail with reference
to the above mentioned Figures 1 to 5, in which same reference numerals denote same
parts.
[0025] The present invention can be used for opening and closing sectional doors, side sectional
doors, up-and-over doors, having a drive mechanism or actuator of preferably an automa
tic type. An upper door panel 11 is illustrated, which forms together with a plurality
of further door panels 12 a sectional door. This sectional door is provided for opening
and closing an entrance into a room. Thus, the surface of the door or door panel facing
to the inside 13 of this room when the door is closed is referred to as inside surface,
and the surface of the door or door panel facing to the outside 14 when the door is
closed is referred to as outside surface in this specification. Naturally, when the
door is opened and arranged below the ceiling, the inside surface is facing downwards
and the outside surface is facing the ceiling. All door panels 12, except the upper
door panel 11, are provided at their side edges with rollers 15 which are guided in
a rail 16 which is provided on both sides of the door. The rail 16 has a vertical
part which is provided in parallel and on both sides of the closed door and a horizontal
part which is provided below and in parallel to a ceiling 17 for holding the door
below the ceiling 17 in an opened position. The horizontal and vertical parts of the
rail 16 are connected via an arch having the shape of a quarter circle. Directly attached
to the ceiling 17 or with a clearance in between and below the ceiling 17 there is
provided a driving rail 18. The driving rail 18 is provided in parallel to the guiding
rails 16 and positioned substantially in the middle of the door, or preferably offset
from the middle by a certain extent in order not to interfere with a lock of the door
which is usually extending vertically in the middle of the door. The driving rail
18 is provided on its end, facing away from the door, with a driving motor 19 for
actuating the opening and closing movement of the door via a driving sled 20 moved
by the driving motor 19 and guided in the driving rail 18.
[0026] The upper door panel 11 is connected with the driving sled 20 via the hinge mechanism
10 which is explained in the following. The hinge mechanism 10 comprises a fitting
21 having an attachment secti on 22 and a lever section 23, and a bracket 24. The
fitting 21 and the bracket 24 are rotatably connected via a hinge 25 for rotation
about a hinge axis. The attachment section 22 is supposed to be mounted to the inside
surface of the upper door panel 11 in an upper middle area of the upper door panel
11. The fitting 21 is formed as an angle plate, such that the lever section 23 is
perpendicular to the attachment section 22 and projecting from the attachment section
22 in an outwards direction, which is the direction from the inside surface of the
door panel 11 towards the outside surface of the door panel 11. Instead of the attachment
section 22 and the lever section 23 being perpendicular, their angle can deviate for
example +/ - 20 degrees, +/- 15 degrees, +/- 10 degrees, +/- 5 degrees, or some angle
in between these values from perpendicular. At the outside end of the lever section
23 is bent downwards in a rounded form such that the outside end has a tubular shape.
The bracket 24 has a flat horse shoe shape at one end, wherein one outside end of
the horse shoe shape is bend downwards in a rounded form such that this outside end
has a tubular shape corresponding to the tubular shape formed at the outside end of
the lever section 23. However, it is also possible that both outside ends of the horse
shoe shape are bend downwards in a rounded form to form a tubular shape at both ends.
The tubular shaped end of the lever section 23 is arranged in between the outside
ends of the horse shoe shape. Then a bolt or a pin is stuck through all of the tubular
shaped ends in order to form the hinge 25.
[0027] Alternatively, the lever section 23 of the fitting 21 can be formed in the shape
of a horse shoe such that an outer end (end which is facing to the outside) of the
bracket 24 is arranged in between the outer ends (the horse shoe ends) of the lever
section. The outer ends would be provided with the tubular shape for forming the hinge
as describ ed above. Or in other words, the connected sections of the fitting and
the bracket are interchanged compared to the above described embodiment. This alternative
provides the same functionality and might be even cheaper to manufacture.
[0028] The end of the bracket 24, which is opposite to the hinge 25, is provided with two
projections extending towards the ceiling 17. At these projections, two ball bearings
26 are attached. The ball bearings 26 comprise a set of bearing balls, an inner ring
and an outer ring, as well known. The outer rings of these ball bearings 26 are guided
in the driving track 18. Further, the end of the bracket 24, which is opposite to
the hinge 25, is provided with two projections 27, which extend away from the ceiling
17. These two projections 27 are provided with three holes 28 for attaching a driving
rod 29, which has a flat longitudinal shape. The driving rod 29 is provided with pins
which fit into the holes 28 and thus connect the driving rod 29 with the bracket 24.
The center of the driving rod 29 and the end which is opposite to the pins are connected
with the sled 20. Thus, the connection between the sled 20 and the driving rod 29,
and the connection between the driving rod 29 and the bracket 24 transmits the force
for opening and closing the door. Due each of these two connections having more than
one connection point, the bracket 26 is kept non-rotatably with respect to the guiding
track 18 and shifted in parallel to the guiding rail 18, preferably only allowed to
be shifted in parallel to the guiding rail 18. In this embodiment, the bracket 24
is formed of two pieces having a mirror-inverted shape (with respect to a plane along
the driving rail 18 and perpendicular to the ceiling 17). The fitting 21 is formed
monolithically in this embodiment.
[0029] It is explicitly intended that the teaching of this invention covers any combination
of the above described aspects of this embodiment.
[0030] While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings
and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered
illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive and it is not intended to limit the
invention to the disclosed embodiment. The mere fact that certain measures are recited
in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a comb ination of these
measures cannot be used advantageously. Any reference signs in the claims should not
be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.
1. Hinge mechanism (10) for connecting a door panel (11) to a door driving device, comprising:
a fitting (21) having an attachment section (22) for attachment to an inside surface
of the door panel (11), and a lever section (23) which is adapted to extend above
an upper edge of the door panel (11) in an outwards direction;
a bracket (24) for attachment to a driving mechanism, and
a hinge (25) connecting the fitting (21) and the bracket (24) rotatably about a hinge
axis, the hinge (25) being located at the outside end of the lever section (23).
2. Hinge mechanism (10) according to claim 1, wherein the hinge axis is positioned in
the area of an upper outside edge of the door panel (10).
3. Hinge mechanism (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the lever section
(23) and the attachment section (22) are perpendicular to each other.
4. Hinge mechanism (10) according to on e of the preceding claims, wherein the lever
section (23) and the bracket (24) are substantially parallel to each other in a closed
state of the door panel (11), and form an angle on the inside with the hinge axis
as a center when the door panel (11) is opened.
5. Hinge mechanism (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the bracket
(24) is adapted to be connected to a sled (20) of the driving mechanism.
6. Hinge mechanism (10) according to claim 5, wherein the b racket (24) is shiftable
in parallel to a driving rail (18) which is guiding the sled (20).
7. Hinge mechanism (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the bracket
(24) is provided with bearings (26) for guiding the bracket (24) in a rail (18) of
the driving mechanism.
8. Door panel driving arrangement, comprising:
a door panel (11);
a driving mechanism, and
a hinge mechanism (10) according to one of the preceding claims.
9. Door panel driving arrangement according to claim 8, comprising a door having more
than one door panels (11, 12) which are rotatably connected with each other, wherein
the hinge mechanism (10) is attached to an uppermost one (11) of the door panels (11,
12).
10. Door panel driving arrangement according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the driving mechanism
comprises a motor (19), a sled (20) and a driving rail (18) for guiding the sled (20).