Concealed door operator

Abstract

 The invention regards a concealed door operator (1), comprising an operating unit (3), and a housing (2), wherein the operating unit (3) is provided within the housing (2), and wherein the housing (2) comprises mounting features (5) for mounting the concealed door operator (1) within a door-leaf or a floor or a wall.

Description

[0001] The present invention regards concealed door operators. Such door operators are used for providing an opening or closing force to a door.

[0002] In general, concealed door operators are well-known from the prior art. Concealed door operators are hidden within a door leaf or a floor or a wall, such that no visible unit needs to be provided on the door. Conventional concealed door operators comprise a cast housing and a mounting plate. The housing is connected to the mounting plate via mounting screws. The resulting unit is then installed in a cavity of a door leaf. The final connection of the concealed door operator to the door leaf is realized via the mounting plate. The mounting plate comprises holes such that additional mounting screws can be used for fixing the mounting plate to the door leaf. Therefore, a lot of steps are necessary to install the concealed door operator within the door leaf. Further, the manufacturing process of the concealed door operator is very complex a time consuming since two independent elements have to be produced, the housing and the mounting plate.

[0003] It is an object underlying the present invention to provide a low-maintenance concealed door operator which is simple to manufacture and install.

[0004] The solution of this object is achieved by the features of claim 1. Therefore, the object is solved by a concealed door operator comprising an operating unit and a housing. The operating unit is provided within the housing. Further, the housing comprises mounting features for mounting the concealed door operator within a door leaf or a floor or a wall. The mounting features can be flanges or boreholes for mounting the concealed door operator. In particular, the mounting features are integrally mounted with the housing. Due to the inventive design, no additional mounting plate needs to be provided. This assists in reducing the components used, and also removing additional process in production.

[0005] The dependent claims comprise advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

[0006] The concealed door operator is preferably characterized in that the housing is a cast housing. This allows an integrated manufacturing process of the housing including the mounting features. The cast housing can be provided with stiffening means or enhanced wall sections. In general, any cast housing is simple to manufacture and low in cost. Nevertheless, the cast housing is designed to provide maximum durability during the lifecycle of the concealed door operator. Preferably the housing is realized as aluminum casted or grey cast iron housing.

[0007] The mounting features preferably comprise flanges for fixing the concealed door operator within the door-leaf or the floor or the wall. Therefore, the concealed door operator is installed into a cavity, while the flanges are provided for holding the concealed door operator. The flanges seat on surfaces outside the cavity and are preferably fixed to said surfaces.

[0008] In particular, the housing has a prismatic shape, wherein the flanges are provided on base faces of the prism. Such a design minimizes the room required for mounting the concealed door operator. The concealed door operator can therefore be installed into door leafs having a very narrow width.

[0009] The above mentioned minimization of the room required for mounting the concealed door operator is further facilitated by the flanges being particularly provided on an edge of the base faces. Further, the flanges are preferably orientated perpendicular to the base faces. This design yet further reduces the required installation room.

[0010] For fixing the flanges to the door leaf or the floor or the wall, the mounting features preferably comprise through holes. The through holes allow to employ mounting elements, especially mounting screws, for fixing the concealed door operator to the door leaf, the floor or the wall.

[0011] The concealed door operator further preferably comprises a cover plate. In order to save material, the housing preferably comprises a cavity resulting in a cutout of the top face. The cavity is covered by said cover plate, wherein the cover plate is fixed only to the housing. In particular, the cover plate is smaller than the top face such that the top face functions as frame for the cover plate.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the concealed door operator, the operating unit is a door closing unit. Therefore, the door can be opened manually and is closed by the concealed door operator. Since the door operator is concealed, there is no visible unit provided on the door such that an esthetic appeal is maintained.

[0013] Preferably, the operating unit comprises an operating piston and a damping piston. Both, the operating piston and the damping piston are engaged with a pinion cam for transforming the longitudinal movement of the pistons into a rotational movement of the pinion cam. With such a design, the concealed door operator can be installed in any door independent from the opening direction of the door. The pinion cam can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise while in both cases load is provided to the operating unit.

[0014] In another preferred embodiment, the operating unit also comprises an operating piston and a damping piston. The operating piston and the damping piston are connected to a rack with a pinion engaged with the rack for transforming the longitudinal movement of the pistons and the rack into a rotational movement of the pinion. This design allows an installation of the concealed door operator only in doors having a predetermined opening direction. Therefore, the concealed door operator is preferably provided in two versions, in the one version the pinion needs to be rotated clockwise for providing load to the operating unit, in the other version the pinion needs to be rotated counterclockwise for providing load to the operating unit.

[0015] The housing particularly comprises an opening for removing and/or inserting at least parts of the operating unit. The opening is preferably covered by an end cap. The end cap is designed to withstand loads applied by the operating unit when moving the door. Further, the housing comprises a reinforced wall section around the opening. This is to enhance the durability of the housing to withstand the pressure loads applied to the end cap. This optimal design with selective stiffness enhancing integrally incorporated to the housing minimizes part and material usage while enhancing the stability and durability of the concealed door operator.

[0016] The housing preferably comprises a top face and an opposing bottom face. Further, the housing comprises at least one side face between the bottom face and the top face. The operating unit comprises a square pinion protruding from the top face and allowing transmittal of torque from or to the operation unit. In a preferred embodiment, the whole operating unit is provided within the housing with the square pinion being the only part of the operating unit which is accessible from outside the housing.

[0017] In the following, preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained with reference to the drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. 1

is a schematic drawing showing a first exemplary embodiment of the concealed door operator according to the invention.

Fig. 2

is a schematic drawing showing a second exemplary embodiment of the concealed door operator according to the invention.

[0018] Figure 1 shows a concealed door operator 1 according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] The concealed door operator 1 comprises a housing 2, in which an operating unit 3 is provided. The operating unit 3 is adapted to operate a door equipped with the concealed door operator 1. In particular, the concealed door operator 1 can be provided within a cavity of a door leaf.

[0020] For operating the door, i.e. for opening or closing the door, the operating unit 3 comprises a square pinion 4, which is the only part of the operating unit 3 being accessible from outside the housing 2. The square pinion 4 can be connected to a level arm which is supported on a wall. When opening or closing the door, the square pinion 4 is rotated and a load is applied to the operating unit 3. This energy is stored within the operating unit 3 and can be used for operating the door. For example, energy is stored within the operating unit 3 when opening the door such that the concealed door closer 1 can use the stored energy for closing the door.

[0021] The housing 2 of the concealed door operator 1 comprises a top face 6, an opposing bottom face 7 and side faces 8. On the top face 6, mounting features 5 are provided. The mounting features 5 comprise flanges 10 and through holes 11 for mounting the concealed door operator 1 on a door leaf or a wall or a floor. In one embodiment, the concealed door operator 1 is installed within a cavity of the door leaf, while the flanges 10 of the mounting features 5 are disposed on surfaces outside the cavity. Mounting screws can be used for fixing the flanges 10 via the through holes 11 of the mounting features 5. The housing 2 is preferably a single cast piece, which can be made from aluminum or iron.

[0022] It can be seen from the figures and the above explanation that the housing 2 is very simple to manufacture. Since the mounting features 5 are integrally formed with the housing 2, only a single cast piece has to be manufactured.

[0023] The housing 2 according to the first exemplary embodiment has a generally prismatic shape. The mounting features 5, in particular the flanges 10, are provided on base faces 12 of the prism. This results in a narrow mounting space required for installation of the concealed door operator 1.

[0024] The concealed door operator 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment has an operating unit 3 according to a non-handed version. That means the square pinion can be rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise to apply load to the operating unit 3. In particular, load is provided to an operating piston 13. The operating piston 13 is connected to a spring 18 which is adapted to store energy. The square pinion 4 is connected to a pinion cam 15 which is engaged with the operating piston. A rotation of the square pinion 4 and the pinion cam 15 therefore causes a longitudinal movement of the driving piston 13.

[0025] In the same way, the pinion cam 15 is engaged with a damping piston 14. The damping piston 14 functions to damp a movement of the pinion cam 15 and the operating piston 13. It is obvious that load is provided to the operating piston 13 independent from the rotating direction of the square pinion 4 and the pinion cam 15. Therefore, only one version of the concealed door operator 1 needs to be provided for realizing door operations in any direction.

[0026] Figure 2 shows a concealed door operator 1 according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In general, the concealed door operator 1 according to the second exemplary embodiment is the same as in the first exemplary embodiment with the only difference being the operating unit 3.

[0027] The operating unit 3 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the concealed door operator 1 comprises a driving piston 13 and a damping piston 14. The driving piston 13 is connected to the damping piston 14 via a rack 16. Engaged with the rack 16 is a pinion 17 which is connected to the square pinion 4. The operating piston 13 is connected to a spring 18 which is adapted to store energy.

[0028] Similar to the first exemplary embodiment, load can be applied to the operating unit 3 of the concealed door operator 1 of the second exemplary embodiment by rotating the square pinion 4. The rotation of the square pinion 4 results in a rotation of the pinion 16 and in a longitudinal movement of the rack 16. Since the rack 16 is connected to the driving piston 13, energy is stored within the spring 18. Additionally, any movement of the rack 16 is damped by the damping piston 14.

[0029] Due to the engagement of rack 16 and pinion 17, the square pinion 4 can only be rotated in one direction for applying load to the spring 18. In the embodiment shown in figure 2, the square pinion has to be rotated clockwise for compressing the spring 18, i.e. for storing energy within the spring. Therefore, the concealed door operator 1 has to be provided in two different versions, in the one version load is applied to the operating unit 3 by rotation the square pinion 4 clockwise, and in another version load is applied to the operating unit 3 by rotation of the square pinion 4 counterclockwise. Nevertheless, this issue only regards the operating unit 3. The housing 2 and the remaining components of the concealed door operator 1 remain equal.

[0030] In order to save material, the housing 2 comprises a cavity, which is provided on the top face 6 and which is covered by a cover plate (not shown). The cover plate can be made from metal such as aluminum or from plastics.

[0031] It can be seen from the above that the exemplary embodiments of the concealed door operator 1 that the invention provides several advantages in saving material during the manufacturing process of the concealed door operator 1. Therefore, the concealed door operator 1 is simple to manufacture and low in cost.

Reference numerals

[0032] 

1

concealed door operator

2

housing

3

operating unit

4

square pinion

5

mounting feature

6

top face

7

bottom face

8

side face

9

end cap

10

flange

11

through hole

12

base face

13

operating piston

14

damping piston

15

pinion cam

16

rack

17

pinion

18

spring

Claims

1. Concealed door operator (1), comprising

- an operating unit (3), and

- a housing (2),

- wherein the operating unit (3) is provided within the housing (2), and

- wherein the housing (2) comprises mounting features (5) for mounting the concealed door operator (1) within a door-leaf or a floor or a wall.

2. Concealed door operator (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing (2) is a cast housing.

3. Concealed door operator (1) according to one of the claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the mounting features (5) comprise flanges (10) for fixing the concealed door operator (1) within the door-leaf or the floor.

4. Concealed door operator (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the housing (2) has a prismatic shape and the flanges (10) are provided on base faces (12) of the prism.

5. Concealed door operator (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the flanges (10) are provided on an edge of the base faces (12) perpendicular to the base faces (12).

6. Concealed door operator (1) according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the mounting features (5) comprise through holes (11) for fixing the concealed door operator (1) via mounting elements, in particular mounting screws.

7. Concealed door operator (1) according to one of the claims 1 to 6, characterized by a cover plate, wherein the cover plate is fixed only to the housing (2).

8. Concealed door operator (1) according to one of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the operating unit (3) is a door closing unit.

9. Concealed door operator (1) according to one of the claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the operating unit (3) comprises an operating piston (13) and a damping piston (14), wherein the operating piston (13) and the damping piston (14) are engaged with a pinion cam (15) for transforming the longitudinal movement of the pistons (13, 14) into a rotational movement of the pinion cam (15).

10. Concealed door operator (1) according to one of the claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the operating unit (3) comprises an operating piston (13) and a damping piston (14), wherein the operating piston (13) and the damping piston (14) are connected to a rack (16) with a pinion (17) engaged with the rack (16) for transforming the longitudinal movement of the pistons (13, 14) and the rack (16) into a rotational movement of the pinion (17).

Drawing