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(11) | EP 0 676 523 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Inwardly opening tilting door |
| (57) An inwardly opening tilting door, designed to be mounted in a frame (1) fixed inside
the entrance or exit of premises, consisting of a single piece (3) and held by two
lateral arms (4) which are each fixed at one end to a tab (12) on the door itself
and at the other end to a support (7) provided on the upper corners of the frame (1)
itself, each arm (4) being pulled by spring (10). A second arm (14) pivots at an intermediate
region of each of the arms (4), closer to the end which pivots on the support (7),
said arm (14) sliding in and being guided by a loop (15) fixed to the frame (1) and
being pulled by a spring (18) fixed to the corresponding support (7). The door slides
by means of rollers (5) in channels defined by vertical shapes (2) joined to the frame
(1), the spring (18) acting such that it constantly tends to open the door (3). |
[0001] The present invention relates to an inwardly opening tilting door with a new double elevation system and more particularly to a door of the type designed to close the entrances to garages and similar premises in which the door tilts from a vertical closed position into an upper horizontal open position, and is provided with a structure and means which enable it to be maintained stably in these two limit positions, and having the particular characteristic that the door opens inwardly without guide tracks leading to the ceiling and using a spring compensated system by means of which no space is lost, the door does not obstruct the street and, since it has lateral arms, it does not wobble as in the case of other sprung doors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Counter-balanced tilting doors used for the entrances of certain premises such as garages and the like are in some cases provided with two hinged parts which, in the closed position, are arranged vertically one above the other thereby closing the entrance, whilst in the open position these two parts of the door fold on each other such that a quarter of the door projects outside.
[0003] In other cases the door consists of a single piece and tilts from a vertical closed position into an upper horizontal open position.
[0004] In the first case, in which the tilting door consists of two hinged parts, said parts suffer from the drawback that in the open position they partially protrude outwards, and because of the current requirement that the outermost edge of the tilting doors of garages and the like should be in line with the innermost part of the pavement, this means that the entrance to the premises or garage fitted with this type of door must be set back so that the door never protrudes beyond the limits established by current requirements, i.e. such that the projecting part does obstruct the pavement where pedestrians pass.
[0005] In the second case, i.e. tilting doors with springs consisting of a single piece and with no guide tracks leading to the ceiling, again the door protrudes partially outwards due to the assembly mechanism and its somewhat irrational elements, suffering from the same drawbacks as those mentioned above, and with the further drawback that since the door opens outwardly it also obstructs the street whilst it is being opened.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The door proposed by the present invention has been designed to solve the problem described above in a simple, efficient and fully satisfactory way, said door being constituted such that in the closed position it is perfectly co-planar with the frame in which it is mounted, whilst in the open position it is situated in a horizontal upper position and is set back inside the premises, without the use of aesthetically undesirable guide tracks leading to the ceiling, such that a car can approach the door without said door obstructing the street as it is opened.
[0007] More particularly, the door of the invention is mounted between a pair of lateral arms and wheels which slide along lateral guides designed for the purpose, said door being held by said lateral arms and rollers, which only allow it to move so as to open and close the door, i.e. up and down, thereby preventing wobbling and other irregular movements.
[0008] A pulling spring is situated between each of the two main arms which comprise the lateral structure and the corresponding upper corner of the frame, in such a way that when the operator pushes the door towards the open position, and said door is no longer vertical, said springs tend to push the door constantly towards said open position, another spring being positioned between the same upper corner, provided on each side, and a lever attached to a lug joined to the upper arm, said spring acting only when the door nears the fully raised position in which the lever attached to said spring moves from a position which constitutes a continuation of the lug on which it pivots into a position perpendicular thereto.
[0009] As the door is tilted from one position to another it is guided by means of wheels and said lateral arms which, together which the double spring elevation system, prevent it from pitching and wobbling as it is raised or lowered, as is the case with other types of sprung door.
[0010] If, due to some assembly error, the door is not properly squared relative to the frame, it is provided with adjusting means consisting of a movable element, on which is mounted the roller or wheel of each of the sliding sides of the door (said roller or wheel constituting the weight stop of the door), together with an element for securing the guide loop of the main arm, thereby making it possible to adjust the general structure of the door relative to the corresponding frame both laterally and horizontally.
[0011] By means of its studied geometry and as a safety system, the door remains open if one or even all four of its springs are removed with no danger of it becoming disengaged and causing an accident.
[0012] As has been said above, in the open and closed limit positions the door remains stable as a result of the above mentioned springs, since in the closed position, even though the springs are pulling the door, said door is vertical and therefore they tend only to lift it, rather than to make it tilt, such that it remains perfectly immobile in said closed position, whilst in the open position it also remains stable since the springs which are attached to the two arms of each side always act so as to make the main arm push the upper arm, tending to keep the door in said horizontal open position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] In order that the present invention be better understood, the accompanying drawings show by way of nonlimiting example one practical embodiment of the invention.
[0014] In said drawings:
Figure 1 is a lateral elevation view of the swinging door in the open position with all of the elements or mechanisms which form part of it.
Figure 2 is a lateral elevation view, as in the previous figure, with the door in an intermediate closed position.
Figure 3 is a lateral elevation view, i.e. similar to the previous figures, with the door completely closed and hidden within the general structure of the corresponding frame.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0016] As can be seen in the figures, the door of the invention is designed to be mounted in the entrance or opening of a premises such as a garage or the like, said entrance or opening being fitted with a corresponding frame 1 on each of whose lateral or vertical columns are fixed corresponding shapes 2 with a U-shaped cross section such that their open faces are opposed.
[0017] The door 3 is held between a pair of upper, lateral arms 4 and number of support rollers 5 which slide along the shapes 2. In other words, the door 3 is provided on its lower edge, when in the closed position, with a number of lateral rollers 5 which slide along the shapes 2 joined to the frame 1, said rollers 5 being removably mounted on corresponding elements 6 which, as can be seen in figure 1, are provided with elongated holes for adjusting the position of the rollers 5 so that, if necessary, the general structure of the door with all of its mechanisms can be levelled within the frame 1.
[0018] Supports 7 are provided at each of the upper corners of the frame 1, one end of said supports constituting pivoting means for the lateral and upper arms 4, said supports 7 being provided with transverse axes or rollers 8 for joining or pivoting a strap 9 to which is fixed a spring 10 whose opposite end pivots on a lever 11 which in turn pivots on a tab 12 that emerges from the door 3 itself and on which in turn pivots the other end of the arm 4.
[0019] In other words, the door 3 is mounted between the lateral arms 4 and the sliding guide rollers or wheels 5 which slide vertically along the lateral vertical shapes 2.
[0020] A second arm 14, referred to as the main arm, pivots at a point 13 on the arm 4, closer to the end which pivots on the support 7 than the end which pivots on the door 3, the opposite end of said second arm 14 sliding in and being guided by a kind of loop 15, said loop 15 also being removably or adjustably joined to an element 16 again provided with elongated holes so that said loop 15 can be fitted at different heights, with the particular characteristic that in the fully raised position the sliding action of said main arm 14 is prevented from continuing by means of a stop 17 provided at the end thereof, said stop preventing the arm 14 from coming out of the loop 15 by acting as a stop against it and thereby preventing the entire door mechanism or assembly from collapsing.
[0021] The main arm 14 is also attached to a spring 18 which pivots between a tab 19 fixed to the arm 14 itself and the upper support 7 of each corner, being further provided with a roller 20 made of nylon or the like on which runs the strap 21 or metal band to which the spring 18 is attached. In other words, both of the springs 10 and 18 are fixed via straps 9 and 21 or metal bands which run over rollers, 8 and 20 respectively, made of nylon or the like.
[0022] According to the structure described, the operation of the door of the invention is as follows:
[0023] When the door is in the closed position, i.e. positioned vertically or hidden within the frame 1, or rather the shape 2 joined to said frame, said door 3 need only be pushed gently in the centre for it to start moving upwards along the guides 2 with the help of the spring 18, such that when the door nears the fully raised position, the spring 10 begins to act such that once the door 3 is horizontal it keeps it in the open position, said door being prevented from moving downwards by the action of said spring 10 and of course the spring 18 that pulls the arm 14, said arm 14 tending to push the arm 4 upwards and as a result making it impossible for the door 3 to close accidentally.
[0024] To close the door 3 starting from this open position it has to be pushed or pulled to cause the wheels 5 to start sliding downwards along the guides 2, since the springs 10 and 18 tend to keep the door in the open position, until the door 3 reaches the vertical or closed position at which point, since the springs are vertical, their pulling action cannot cause the door to tilt unless said opening action is initiated once again in order to open the door 3.
[0025] The present description is considered to be more than sufficient for any expert in the field to understand the scope of the invention and the advantages which it provides.
1. An inwardly opening tilting door, of the type consisting of a single piece attached
to a mechanism which helps the door to open and close relative to the corresponding
frame located in the opening which the door itself is supposed to close off, characterized
essentially in that it comprises a pair of upper lateral arms (4) which pivot between
tabs (12) that emerge from the door and supports (7) provided on the upper part of
the corners of the frame (1), another lateral arm (14) pivoting on each of said upper
lateral arms (4) at a pivot point which is closer to the support of the corresponding
upper corner, said lateral arm (14) being directed downwards in the form of a main
arm, its lower end sliding in and being guided by a kind of loop (15) joined to the
inner part of the corresponding frame (1), a U-shape (2) being joined to said frame
(1) such that the concave or open face of the shape (2) of each side of the frame
(1) is oriented towards the shape (2) of the opposite side of the frame (1), with
the particular characteristic that wheels (5) run along said lateral U-shapes (2)
in order to support and slide the door (3) itself; with the particular characteristic
that each of the lateral arms (4) of the two pairs which form part of the general
mechanism of the door (1) are attached to corresponding springs (10), the other ends
of said springs (10) being attached to independent points on the support provided
on the corresponding upper corner of the frame.
2. An inwardly opening tilting door according to claim 1, characterized in that the lateral
sliding wheels (5) of the door are mounted on corresponding elements (6) whose position
is easy to adjust, the guide loops (15) of the main arms also being adjustably mounted,
such that if due to the incorrect fitting of the mechanism, the door is not properly
squared relative to the corresponding frame, the mechanism as a whole can be adjusted
in order to level the door.
3. An inwardly opening tilting door according to the previous claims, characterized in
that the springs (10) attached to each of the upper lateral arms (4) which hold the
door (3) pivot at one end on a kind of lever (11), that pivots on the tab attaching
said arm to the door (3), and are attached at the other end to a kind of strap or
metal band (9) which rotates on a support roller (8), made of nylon or the like, provided
on the corresponding support at the upper corners.
4. An inwardly opening tilting door, without guide tracks leading to the ceiling, according
to the previous claims, characterized in that the spring (18) which is attached between
each of the main arms (14) and the support provided on the corresponding upper corner
is attached to the corresponding arm by means of a connection tab (19) and attached
to the support by means of a strap or metal band (21), said strap or band (21) pivoting
on a metal support roller (20) or the like provided on the upper support of the corresponding
corner.