A door of the type that can be opened and closed by an automatic mechanism

Abstract

 A door (10), or window, of the type that can be opened and closed by an automatic mechanism comprises a frame (12) for mounting a leaf (14) that extends mainly in two dimensions and is slidably supported by an upper guide (16) relative to which the door is moved by a belt (18), or the like, that is driven by a respective motor (20). Means (22) are provided for controlling the motor (20) to open and close the door. Advantageously, the motor (20) is mounted at a side profile (13) of the door.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a door, or the like, of the type that can be opened and closed by an automatic mechanism.

[0002] Prior art interior doors include doors of the type that can be opened and closed by an automatic mechanism. Doors of this kind comprise a frame for mounting a door leaf that extends mainly in two dimensions and is slidably supported by an upper guide fixed to the mounting frame relative to which the door is moved by a belt that is driven by a respective motor.

[0003] These prior art doors also comprise means for controlling the motor to open and close the door and electrical transformers housed together with the control circuit and motor at the upper guide of the door, occupying a great deal of space, both vertically and horizontally, and making the overall door structure cumbersome and not very satisfactory in terms of aesthetic appearance.

[0004] This invention therefore provides a door, or the like, in particular a door of the type that can be opened and closed by an automatic mechanism; the door comprises a frame for mounting a leaf that is slidably supported by an upper guide relative to which the leaf is moved by transmission means driven by a respective motor; means are provided for controlling the motor to open and close the door, the latter being characterised in that the motor is mounted at a side profile of the door.

[0005] In this way, it is possible to make better use of the space available at the upright without encumbering the space at the top of the leaf, thus improving the aesthetic appearance of the door and allowing automatic doors to be installed even in tight spaces.

[0006] These and other technical characteristics of the door according to the invention are clearly described in the claims below and the advantages of the invention are more apparent from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of it provided merely by way of example without restricting the scope of the inventive concept, and in which:

• Figure 1 is a schematic front view, with some parts in cross section, of a preferred embodiment of a door according to the invention;
• Figure 2 is a schematic cross section of a preferred embodiment of a profile for housing the operating elements of the door according to the invention.

[0007] The accompanying drawing illustrates a preferred embodiment of a door used to close the opening that gives access to a room or area in a building.

[0008] This door, or the like, is of the type that can be opened and closed by an automatic mechanism and comprises a frame 12, one upright 13 of which is illustrated, for mounting a leaf, or panel, 14 that extends mainly in two dimensions.

[0009] As illustrated, the mobile leaf 14 is slidably supported by an upper guide 16 relative to which the leaf 14 is moved by a belt 18 that is driven by a respective electric motor, or gear motor, 20.

[0010] Means 22 are provided for controlling the motor 20 to open and close the door.

[0011] As illustrated, for sliding movement, the leaf 14 comprises respective brackets 14a, 14b, for connecting corresponding pins 15c, 15d, that extend from respective sliders, or carriages, 15a, 15b that run in the guide 16.

[0012] Also, as illustrated, the leaf has a further bracket 17 that allows it to be connected directly to the horizontal belt 18.

[0013] As illustrated, the belt 18 is trained around the pulley 20a of the motor 20 and around a free-turning pulley 19 that is located at the other end of the frame and is mounted on the guide 16.

[0014] Advantageously, according to the invention, the motor 20 is mounted at a side profile 13 of the door.

[0015] In this way, it is possible to make the frames occupy less space in height above the leaf 14.

[0016] Advantageously, as illustrated, the motor has a main body 20b from which there extends a shaft 20c which mounts a respective drive pulley 20a.

[0017] As illustrated, the motor 20 extends with its axis along a vertical line and is mounted in the upright at a top corner of the door frame.

[0018] More specifically, as may be evinced from Figure 2, the cross section of the side profile or upright 13 is in the shape of a U lying on its side to form a back 13a and opposite wings 13b, 13c.

[0019] As illustrated, the motor 20 extends vertically downwards from a top corner of the upright 13 within the groove defined by the U-shaped profile of the upright 13.

[0020] According to another advantageous aspect, the circuit, or means, 22 for controlling the motor 20, is also located at the side profile 13 of the door and, more specifically, is housed in the groove 13' of the U-shaped profile 13.

[0021] In particular, as illustrated, the control means 22 are advantageously located under the motor 20.

[0022] Also provided are electrical transformer means 24, in the form of a toroidal transformer, which transform the mains power supply into a low-voltage power supply for the automated system according to the invention and which, advantageously, are also located at a side profile 13 of the door and, more specifically, inside the groove 13' defined by the U-shaped profile 13.

[0023] As illustrated, the transformer means 24 are preferably mounted under the circuit or card that controls the motor 20.

[0024] As illustrated, the motor, the control means 22 and the electrical transformer means 24 are arranged in a line from the top down.

[0025] This arrangement of the control means greatly facilitates installation and maintenance.

[0026] As illustrated, the motor 20 is mounted on a suitable L-shaped bracket, labelled 26, which extends into the groove 13' of the profile 13 to support the motor 20, with vibration damping means being interposed and with the pulley 20a suitably positioned to move the horizontal belt 18.

[0027] As shown in Figure 2, the U-shaped side profile 13 affords an opening giving access to the inside of the groove 13' and which is preferably open on the side facing the leaf 14. Advantageously, a cover 13d is provided for closing the groove 13' and being applicable to the wings 13b, 13c of the profile 13 to provide quick and easy access for door installation and/or maintenance personnel.

[0028] In the embodiment illustrated, the profile 13 is the profile against which the door stops when it is closed. However, the profile might also be the one against which the door stops when it is opened.

[0029] As may be evinced in particular from Figure 2, the profile 13 comprises a back wall 13a from which there extend opposite side walls 13b, 13c whose length P is greater than the length L of the back wall 13a.

[0030] Preferably, the groove 13' is obtained from a respective profile whose dimensions, by way of a non-limiting example, are such as to define a housing 50 mm deep and 65 mm wide.

[0031] At the ends of the wings, or side walls, there are teeth, or protrusions, 131, 132, extending inwards to form snap engagement means for corresponding teeth 133, 134 made at the ends of flexible wings 135, 136 protruding from the cover 13d.

[0032] The back wall 13a is suitably shaped to form, on its inside face, a pair of grooves 136a, 136b for engaging self-tapping screws and a second pair of grooves 137a, 137b, on either side of the first pair, designed to receive a corresponding engagement nut for heavier loads.

[0033] The back wall 13a also has, on its outside face, another groove 138 suitable for receiving a respective engagement nut used to fasten the profile 13 to a corresponding element.

[0034] As illustrated the outward facing groove 138 is positioned between the pair of grooves 136a, 136b on the inside.

[0035] As illustrated, the cover 13d has a main wall 139 with curved ends 139a, 139b and a pair of grooves 139c, 139d for engaging respective seals made of elastomeric material.

[0036] In practice, the profiles 13 can be cut to the required length by door installers on the spot, allowing considerable economic savings.

[0037] An automatic mechanism with this structure for doors, or the like, greatly facilitates installation and maintenance of the means that drive the sliding leaf.

[0038] Thus, to access the control card or means 22, ladders or the like are not required since the control means are located at a convenient height allowing personnel to work on them safely and easily.

[0039] Further, the provision of the drive means at the upright against which the leaf stops when it is opened enables the repair or maintenance operator to work with the door open, thus considerably reducing operating time and cost.

[0040] Moreover, the door according to the invention may be of the sliding, recessed type built into removable or partition walls used in particular for separating different office areas or other working spaces in a building.

[0041] The profile 13 constituting the door upright is made preferably of extruded aluminium but it might also be made of extruded or die-cast plastic or pressed or bent sheet steel.

[0042] Besides the above mentioned belt for transmitting motion to the leaf, a steel or plastic cable or chain might be used, together with corresponding pulleys or sprockets.

[0043] In practice, the invention contemplates the use of transmission means extending in a mainly linear direction, of the flexible or articulated type, that can be made to move not only by rotation in a plane parallel with the floor (as in the preferred embodiment illustrated) but also in a plane perpendicular to the floor or in any inclined plane.

[0044] In another embodiment, the control and power supply means might be mounted in a position different from the one illustrated, or even at a certain distance from the upright 13, in order to meet specific installation or structural requirements.

[0045] The invention described has evident industrial applications and can be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all details of the invention may be substituted by technically equivalent elements.

Claims

1. A door, or the like, in particular a door of the type that can be opened and closed by an automatic mechanism; the door comprising a mounting frame (12) and a leaf (14) that is slidably supported by an upper guide (16) relative to which the leaf (14) is moved by transmission means (18) driven by a respective motor (20); means (22) being provided for controlling the motor (20) to open and close the door, the door being characterised in that the motor (20) is mounted at a side profile (13) of the door.

2. The door according to claim 1 or according to the preamble to claim 1, characterised in that the motor (20) extends with its axis along a vertical line and is mounted in a top corner of the door mounting frame.

3. The door according to either of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the motor (20) extends downwards from a top corner of the door mounting frame.

4. The door according to any of the foregoing claims or according to the preamble to claim 1, characterised in that the control means (22) are located at a side profile (13) of the door.

5. The door according to claim 4, characterised in that the control means (22) are located under the motor (20).

6. The door according to any of the foregoing claims or according to the preamble to claim 1, characterised in that electrical transformer means (24) are provided and in that said electrical transformer means (24) are located at a side profile (13) of the door.

7. The door according to claim 6, characterised in that the electrical transformer means (24) are located under the control means (22).

8. The door according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the side profile (13) of the frame defines a groove (13') for housing the motor (20) and/or the control means (22) and/or the electrical transformer means (24).

9. The door according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the motor (20), the control means (22) and the electrical transformer means (24) are arranged in a line within the profile.

10. The door according to claim 9, characterised in that the motor (20), the control means (22) and the electrical transformer means (24) are arranged in a line, from the top down, within the profile (13).

11. The door according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the cross section of the side profile (13) is in the shape of a U which opens preferably at the side facing the leaf (14) and in that it comprises a cover (13d) for closing the groove.

12. The door according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the side profile (13) defines a profile against which the leaf (14) stops.

13. The door according to claim 12, characterised in that the side profile (13) defines a profile against which the leaf (14) stops when it is closed.

14. The door according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the profile (13) comprises a back wall (13a) from which there extend opposite side walls (13b, 13c) whose length (P) is greater than the length (L) of the back wall (13a).

15. The door according to any of the foregoing claims, characterised in that the back wall (13a) of the profile (13) is shaped to form corresponding engagement and fastening grooves.

16. The door according to claim 15, characterised in that, on the inside face of the back wall (13a), it comprises a pair of grooves (136a, 136b) for engaging self-tapping screws.

17. The door according to claim 15 or 16, characterised in that, on the inside face of the back wall (13a), it comprises a pair of side grooves (137a, 137b) designed to receive a corresponding fastening nut.

18. The door according to any of the foregoing claims from 15 to 17, characterised in that, on the outside face of the back wall (13a), it comprises a groove (138) for engaging corresponding fastening means.

19. The door according to claim 18, characterised in that the outward facing groove (138) is positioned between corresponding inside grooves (136a, 136b).

20. The door according to any of the foregoing claims from 14 to 19, characterised in that the cover (13d) has a main wall (139) with curved ends (139a, 139b) and a pair of wings (135, 136) for engaging the main profile (13).

Drawing