Field of the invention
[0001] A building door arrangement of the kind disclosed in the preamble of claim 1, which
building door arrangement comprises at least one door leaf portion guided by guides
using guide followers during opening and closing of said door arrangement, wherein
said guide followers are engagable on opposite sides of the door leaf portion. A method
for installing a building door arrangement is disclosed.
Technical background
[0002] An example of a building door arrangement of the kind disclosed usually comprises
guide tracks. Rollers are usually attached to a door leaf portion, or the door leaf
portion itself. The rollers are movably engaged with said guide tracks to provide
a sliding movement for the door between an open position and a closed position. Initially
during assembling of the door the guide tracks are positioned e.g. on each side of
a doorway. When installing a sectional door it is important to achieve a good fitting.
If not, there is risk for malfunction between tracks, rollers, door leaf and/or door
leaf portion. These phenomenon could increase wear and cause poor opening and closing
performance. Furthermore, accuracy in distance between the tracks, or guide rails,
is sometimes crucial for safety devices such as cable break devices, since it is quite
common to utilize some kind of mechanical catch, which needs to be positioned in an
exact location in relation to part of the door arrangement.
[0003] Procedures of today, to keep the correct distance between the guide tracks, includes
using a distance beam or to measure the dimensions manually. A distance beam means
cost and also there is a tolerance between the distance beam and the door leaf portions
to be assembled. The manual method of measuring is time consuming and uncertain since
there are many facts, tolerances and measurements to consider during installation.
Further one single installer could have problems to measure positions and to fix components
at the same time. Another issue which is sometimes experienced could be differences
in the current installation facilities from the ideal facility such as tolerances
of the building where the door should be installed.
[0004] Hence, there is a need for an improved building door arrangement and an improved
method for installing a building door arrangement to achieve a proper an accurate
positioning of the components of the door for proper operation of such a door.
Summary of the invention
[0005] One object of the invention is to provide a building door arrangement that, in relation
to prior art door arrangements, is easy to install.
[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a building door arrangement
which has good accuracy and tolerances for proper operation.
[0007] A further object of the present invention is to provide an accurate positioning of
the door in relation to a safety device.
The above-mentioned object is achieved by a door arrangement according to the introduction,
wherein a building door arrangement comprises at least one door leaf portion guided
by guides using guide followers during opening and closing of said door arrangement.
Said guide followers are engagable on opposite sides of the door leaf portion. At
least one of said guide followers are adapted to move engagably with a play in relation
to the door leaf portion. The play has a direction at least partly perpendicular to
said guide, further said guide follower is provided with a locked and unlocked condition
for said play. Said door leaf portion and guide followers, when in the locked condition,
are adapted to be used for retrieving the assembling position for the guides in relation
to one another. The guide followers, when in the unlocked condition, enables smooth
operation of the door arrangement during normal operation.
[0008] The rollers are engaged in the guide tracks to guide the door during normal operation.
Said rollers are usually positioned one on each short side of the door leaf portion.
The rollers are provided with a play, possible to lock to facilitate the installation,
it is further possible to unlock the play to take tolerances during normal operation.
Said play for the guide follower is possible to lock completely and the locked position
is located between the end positions of the play. The direction of this play is substantially
in the plane of the door and perpendicular to said guide. When the play is locked,
the length of the door leaf portion will be fixed, and the door leaf portion can be
used direct in the finally assembled position to find the correct installation positions
for the guides.
[0009] Advantageously, said guide follower is a wheel with a shaft and the play of the guide
follower is achieved by a slidable shaft in relation to an attachment bracket. The
attachment bracket is preferably provided on the door leaf portion.
[0010] Advantageously is said guide follower provided with a locking device for locking
the guide follower relatively to the door leaf portion. Preferably this locking device
consist of a lock pin.
[0011] Further, a method for installing a building door arrangement, which comprises at
least one door leaf portion guided by guides using guide followers during opening
and closing of said door arrangement. Said guide followers are engagable on opposite
sides of the door leaf portion, and at least one of said guide followers being adapted
to move engagably with a play. This play is in relation to the door leaf portion and
said play has a direction at least partly perpendicular to said guide. This method
further comprises the steps of, ensuring that the play for the at least one guide
follower on opposite sides of the door leaf portion is locked, using said door leaf
portion and locked guide followers to retrieve the assembling position for the guides
in relation to one another, unlocking the play of at least one of the guide followers
to allow said play between the guide follower and the door leaf portion for enabling
smooth operation of the door arrangement during normal operation.
[0012] The step to ensure that the play is locked describes either that the play is locked
when the door arrangement is delivered for installation or locking of the play during
the installation procedure.
[0013] The installation procedure consist of many steps, such as position and secure a first
guide track in a predetermined position on one side of the doorway. By use of one
or more door leaf portion, with locked play, to find the assembling position for the
second guide track on the other side of the doorway. Further if it is an overhead
door to be installed the procedure according to the invention could be used for installation
of the guide tracks that shall be attached to the ceiling.
[0014] During the installation procedure the door leaf portions with, locked play, have
a fixed length and are used as distance beam between the guide tracks on each sides
of the doorway. This means that the door leaf portions are used to find the correct
assembling position for the door arrangement at the same time as the door leaf portions
are positioned in their final position.
[0015] Advantageously the guide follower could be attached to the door leaf portion, and
in this case the guide follower further is engagable with said guide. Alternatively,
the above method also further comprises the step of; attaching said guide follower
on said guide. The guide follower is further engagable with said door leaf portion.
[0016] It is an object to achieve an accurate positioning of the guide rails, for example
to reduce risk with positioning of interacting safety portions relatively to each
other. Such safety portions can be provided on, or near, the guide rail and the door
for interaction, for example emergency mechanical cable break devices or devices for
pinch protection.
Brief description of drawings
[0017] By way of example, embodiments of the present invention will now be described with
reference to the accompanying figures of drawings in which:
Fig 1 is a perspective view of an overhead door according to the invention.
Fig 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in fig 1.
Fig 3 is a perspective view of a guide follower according to an embodiment of the
invention.
Fig 4a is a perspective view illustrating an initial stage during installation of
a building door arrangement.
Fig 4b is a perspective view illustrating a stage after the stage in figure 4a during
installation of a door.
Fig 4c is a perspective view illustrating a later stage during installation of a door,
where a plurality of door leaf portion are used.
Description of Preferred Embodiments
[0018] One embodiment of the building door arrangement 1, according to the invention, will
now be described in relation to Figs 1 to 4.
[0019] Fig 1 depicts one embodiment of the building door arrangement 1 according to the
invention, in which the door arrangement is an overhead door. The principle of the
present invention could also be applied on other relevant designs such as for example,
doors which are rolled up or doors that are transferred vertically upwards during
opening.
[0020] Fig 2 discloses a section taken along line II-II of fig 1, where the guide track
3 is a profile that engages the roller 5 and prevent said roller 5 from escaping.
Further the play, which allow proper and smooth operation during opening and closing,
is illustrated by an arrow in fig 2. Further the guide 3 is disclosed already attached
to the wall or building. This attachment could be performed with any method known
in the art, preferably it is possible to adjust the position of the rail 3 after it
has initially been attached.
[0021] A preferred embodiment of the invention is apparent from fig 3 in which the roller
5, in this case a wheel, is attached with a bracket 8 to the door leaf portion 2.
Further the guide follower 4 has a shaft 6 which is displaceable relatively to the
attachment bracket 8 and the door leaf portion 2 to get the wished play. A hole in
the bracket makes it possible to lock the play with a lock pin 7. To lock or latch
the play said lock pin 7 is introduced through said hole in the bracket and into a
slot in the shaft 6, whereby the shaft is completely locked against movement in the
axial direction.
[0022] A preferred method for installing a building door arrangement will now be described.
Fig 4 shows successive assembling steps in the installation procedure of the building
door arrangement. Figure 4a discloses a first guide track 3 attached to the building,
for example on one side of a doorway. Further, the lowest door leaf portion 2 is engaged,
in the assembling position, with said guide track 3 by means of the guide follower
4. Figure 4b illustrates how a first door leaf portion 2 is used as a measure beam
to retrieve a position for installation of the second guide rail 3 on the other side
of the doorway/gate. Figure 4c shows a plurality of door leaf portions 2, with locked
play, which are used to find the correct assembling position for the guide tracks
3 in relation to each other. This can in practise be performed in many different ways,
for example the first guide rail can be fixed in position using a spirit level and
e.g. clamps, thereafter one or more door leaf portions, with locked play, are used
to find the position for the second guide rail. In this mentioned procedure one or
both rails can be adjusted bit by bit or after a plurality of door leaf portions have
been installed. Further there can be fixing positions with, for example, oval or over
sized holes in the upper part of the rail and the lower part of the rail. Other different
methods or means known in the art could be used to facilitate the positioning and
fixation of the guide rails during installation.
[0023] In a preferred embodiment of the invention said play for the guide followers 4 on
each side of the door leaf portion 2 are both in the same range of distance for the
movement. Specially the same kind of guide follower element 2 can be used on both
sides.
[0024] According to the preferred method of the present invention two attachment brackets
8 are attached, on each short side of the door leaf portion, adjacent the joint between
two successive door leaf portions. Further, each guide follower has a shaft, which
can be moved slidably in relation to the attachment bracket 8 in a direction parallel
with the long side of said door leaf portion. A lock pin 7 is used to get a latched
position for the play to be used during the installation procedure. Other methods
or techniques such as bayonet joint, screw or similar known by the skilled person
could be used as alternative embodiments to the disclosed embodiment.
[0025] The locking devices of the present invention can be used during testing of the door
arrangement e.g. during installation, with one or more guide followers in the locked
condition the testing will verify the accuracy and the tolerances for the current
installation.
[0026] For an overhead door it is also possible to use the principle according to this invention
for installation of the guide tracks in the roof for an overhead door i.e. the guide
rails to be assembled parallel to the ceiling and attached thereto. During installation
of an overhead door the method according to this invention could be used comprising
the following steps; to position and install the vertical guide rails by means of
the door leaf portions with locked play, further the door is, still with locked play,
opened to a half open position for retrieving an accurate positioning of the first
attachment points for the horizontal guide rails, in a later step the door is opened
completely to retrieve the position for the second assembling points of the horizontal
guide rails. In this way the door arrangement achieve an accurate installation both
regarding position, distances, tolerances and angles for the vertical and horizontal
guide rails in relation to the building and to each other.
[0027] The installation procedure of the door arrangement according to this embodiment includes
in brief the steps of, positioning a first guide track in relation to a building,
attaching one or more door leaf portions 2, with locked play, by engaging the rollers
4 in said guide track 3, positioning a second guide track by means of said door leaf
portions 2, with locked play, fixing at least one point of the second guide to the
building, achieving a proper installation position for the guide tracks by adjusting
the position of the guide tracks in relation to each other, unlocking or unlatching
the guide followers 4 to provide a play for proper operation of the door arrangement.
[0028] There are recent regulations which demand emergency stopping devices for doors to
prevent accidents, these emergency devices, e.g. mechanical cable break device, can
be carried out in many different designs, where the installation positions can be
of importance for proper operation of the safety device.
[0029] It is realized by the skilled person that these performed methods and embodiments
are given as nonlimiting examples. Hence, the skilled person would be able to combine
features from different embodiments in order to further adopt the invention to various
building door arrangements, within the scope of protection as set out in the claims.
1. A building door arrangement (1), which building door arrangement (1) comprises at
least one door leaf portion (2) guided by guides (3) using guide followers (4) during
opening and closing of said door arrangement (1), wherein said guide followers (4)
are engagable on opposite sides of the door leaf portion (2), wherein at least one
of said guide followers (4) are adapted to move engagably with a play, which play
is in relation to the door leaf portion (2) and said play has a direction at least
partly perpendicular to said guide (3), characterised in that said guide follower (4) is provided with a locking device for locking the guide follower
(4) relatively to the door leaf portion (2), said locking device provides a locked
and unlocked condition for said play, wherein said door leaf portion (2) and guide
followers (4), in the locked condition, are adapted for retrieving the assembling
position for the guides in relation to one another, and wherein the guide followers
(4), in the unlocked condition, enables smooth operation of the door arrangement (1)
during normal operation.
2. A building door arrangement (1) according to claim 1, wherein said play of the guide
follower (4) is achieved by a slidable shaft (6) in relation to an attachment bracket
(8).
3. A building door arrangement (1) according to claim 2, wherein said guide follower
(4) is a wheel with a shaft (6), which shaft is engaged with the attachment bracket
(8) provided on the door leaf portion (2).
4. A building door arrangement (1) according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein said locking
device is a lock pin (7).
5. A method for installing a building door arrangement (1), which building door arrangement
comprises at least one door leaf portion (2) guided by guides (3) using guide followers
(4) during opening and closing of said door arrangement (1), wherein said guide followers
(4) are engagable on opposite sides of the door leaf portion (2),
characterised in that at least one of said guide followers (4) being adapted to move engagably with a play,
which play is in relation to the door leaf portion (2) and said play has a direction
at least partly perpendicular to said guide, said method comprising the steps of:
ensuring that the play for the at least one guide follower (4) on opposite sides of
the door leaf portion (2) is locked;
using said door leaf portion (2) and locked guide followers (4) to retrieve the assembling
position for the guides (3) in relation to one another;
unlocking the play of at least one of the guide followers (4) to allow said play between
the guide follower (4) and the door leaf portion (2) for enabling smooth operation
of the door arrangement (1) during normal operation.
6. A method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of: attaching said guide
follower (4) on said guide (3), wherein the guide follower (4) further is engagable
with said door leaf portion.
7. A method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of: attaching said guide
follower (4) to said door leaf portion (2), wherein the guide follower (4) further
is engagable with said guide (3).
8. A method according to anyone of the claims 5-7, comprising an early step of: fixing
a first guide (3) in a predetermined position in relation to a doorway.
9. A method according to anyone of the claims 5-8, further comprising the step of: positioning
said door in relation to a safety device, particularly a mechanical cable break device.