Safety device without contact specifically for vertical sliding closing systems

Description

Field of the invention

[0001] This invention concerns in general vertical sliding closing systems such as sectional doors, rolling shutters, roller blinds and the like, and refers in particular to a safety device with sensors without contact for such closing systems.

State of the Technique

[0002] The type of doors named above usually move on guides tracks and for their vertical movement between opening and closing positions they can be controlled by an electric gear reduction motor which can be activated by a remote control or by other means, such as a proximity sensor, key controlled devices, push buttons and the like.

[0003] For safety purposes, and in particular in order to avoid knocks, crushing or injury to persons or damage to things when it is moving downwards to close, each of said doors is usually equipped along its bottom horizontal margin with a safety system able to detect the presence of bodies or obstacles on the movement path and therefore cause the door to automatically stop. Such a system can comprise devices such as a so-called sensitive edge, infrared or similar optical barriers which, however, activate and intervene to stop the door only when the latter physically encounters an obstacle, a situation that can be dangerous and damaging should the obstacle be a child, an animal or something fragile and delicate, because of the pressure they are subjected to by the door before the latter stops. Furthermore, the sensitive edge or the proximity sensors, as preset up to now, can be inefficient when the bottom edge of the door is not in the vertical sliding surface and therefore is not exactly perpendicular to the obstacle as may happen, for example, with a vehicle which being high may interfere with the lower margin of the door in movement when the latter, when beginning to move from the opening to the closed position, is still following the curvilinear tract.

[0004] In the attempt to avoid these drawbacks, safety systems have also been proposed in which an infrared optical barrier, in particular at least one pair of emitting and receiving photoelectric cells, is applied to a door by means of supporting arms susceptible on one side to overturning or to linear movement to the ground when the door reaches the closed lowered position. These systems however are relatively complex and encumbering.

[0005] The documents US 6 176 039B1 and DE 10 2006 026 698A1 are indicative of the state of the technique. The first of these documents reveals a safety device in which infrared photocells are carried by a system of parallelogram levers that also needs a return spring. The second document reveals a safety device wherein infrared photocells are carried by a system of levers oscillating between two positions, but the application of which to a door disadvantageously implies the removal of a part of the gasket positioned on the bottom side of the door itself.

[0006] Another example of such safety devices is disclosed in document EP 0 284 066.

Objects and Summery of the Invention

[0007] The main object of this invention is to propose safety device without contact vertically sliding doors, which is particularly simple, efficient and reliable, and able to place itself in a working position by means of its own gravity and to retract in a defiladed position compared to the door by means of a basically vertical composite movement, when the door reaches a closed position.

[0008] Another object of the invention is to provide a safety device for the abovementioned type of doors and able to place itself perfectly in the sliding surface of the door, at the base of the latter, and to detect obstacles at any level within the range of the closing travel of the door and cause it to stop automatically should any obstacle be detected.

[0009] Said objects and the obvious advantages deriving from them are reached by a safety device without contact according to the preamble of claim 1 and wherein the sensor means suitable to define at least an optical barrier are on board parallel cursors each belonging to one of two safety units, and these cursors are each susceptible to horizontal and vertical translation movements combined to position the optical barrier in parallel below the lower side and within the plane of the door during the movements of the latter between the opening and closing positions, and in parallel at a distance from the internal face of the door when the door is in the lowered closed position and the cursors are in contact with the ground.

[0010] In particular, the supporting element is formed of two parallel vertical wall each of which provided with a slot cam and the cursor extends outside or inside of the said lateral walls of said supporting element and has a pair of sliding pins passing through said slot cams. Thus, the cursor always remains positively guided during their movements without necessitating of levers or other articulated members.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011] The invention will be described in greater detail in the continuation making reference to the indicative and not limited attached drawings and to its application on a sectional door. In said drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a view of the safety device according to an first realization applied to the inside of a door in a partially open position;

Fig. 2 shows, enlarged, a side view of a safety device unit in an operating position in the direction of arrows A-A in Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 show, respectively, two side views of the device in an intermediate position and in an idle position;

Fig. 5 shows a false section of a device unit according to arrows B-B in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 shows a similar view to the one in Fig.2, but of a device unit according to a constructional variation;

Fig. 7 shows a view of a further constructional variation of the safety device in different positions; and

Fig. 8 shows a view of the only supporting element for the device in Fig. 7.

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0012] In said drawings an example of a door 10 is indicatively represented which has a lower side 10' provided with a seal 110 and which slides, by means of rollers -not shown, in lateral guides 12 each having an almost vertical rectilinear segment followed at the top by a curvilinear section that connects with an upper horizontal segment.

[0013] The door 10 is moveable, by means of a motor 11 and however in a known way, along the guides 12 between a lowered closed position, in which its lower side 10' is near the underlying floor 13, and a raised complete opening position, in which it is positioned almost horizontally between the upper segments of the lateral guides and with its lower side 10' on a level with the curvilinear section of the guides 12.

[0014] The safety device of the invention is applied on the internal front of the door 10 by its lower side 10'. It comprises two opposite safety device units 14, distanced in parallel, positioned near the vertical lateral margins of the door. Each of said units 14 comprises principally a vertically positioned supporting element 15 fixed and jutting out of the internal face of the door, and a cursor 16 associated with said support 15 and movable in height with regard to the latter and as regards to the lower side of the door.

[0015] In particular, the supporting element 15 is provided, in the direction of its height, with guide slots 17 and, for its part, the cursor 16 is joined by sliding with said support 15. The guide element has two parallel lateral walls 15' and the guide slots 17 are provided in said walls, one each, both with the same course.

[0016] According to a mode of realization as shown in Figs. 2-5, each guide slot 17 has a curvilinear course that is like a cam with a concavity facing towards the door. As to the cursor 16, it has an obtuse or acute shaped angle similar to that of the guide slots 17 and is provided at its lower end with a pin 18 supporting roller 19.

[0017] The cursor 16 can be made up of two cheeks 20 connected transversally to each other by a pair of horizontal sliding pins 21. In particular the cheeks 20 are respectively on the outside of the walls 15' of the supporting element 15 and the sliding pins 21 pass through and are both guided into the slots or guide cams 17.

[0018] As an alternative, without however departing from the object of the invention, the cursor 16 can also be arranged and move between the two lateral walls 15' of the supporting element 15 and its transversal pins 21 can extend from opposite sides of the cursor 16 until they engage with the guide slots 17.

[0019] Furthermore, each pin 21 can be coupled with the guide slots 17 directly or, if required, by means of an interposed rolling element-not shown.

[0020] On board the cursor 16 of one of the two units 14 of the device an infrared emitter 22 is placed in line with an infrared receiver 22' placed on board the cursor of the opposed unit so as to define between the two units, an optical barrier 23 represented by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

[0021] In the example represented in Figs. 2-5, the infrared emitter 22 is positioned on an axis with the pin 18 of the supporting roller 19 of the cursor 16 of a safety unit 14; analogically the infrared receiver 22' is positioned on an axis with the pin 18 of the supporting roller 19 of the cursor 16 of the opposed safety unit. As an alternative, both the emitter 22 and the infrared receiver 22' can be supported by a bracket 24 fitted on the respective side of the cursor 16 facing towards the door. Infrared emitter and receiver 22, 22' will then be at a distance from the supporting rollers 19 as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, therefore forming an optical barrier parallel to the pins 18 of said rollers.

[0022] In any case, the infrared emitter and receiver 22, 22' will be conveniently fed and connected to an electronic circuit so as to send a stop signal to the drive motor 11 of the door each time the optical barrier 23 is interrupted.

[0023] The constructional variation of the device shown in Fig. 6 is different only as regards to the shapes of the cursor and the guide slots in the supporting element 15, the remaining being the same as described above. In fact, the cursor, here designated by number 26, is basically rectilinear and the guide slots, designated by number 27 and provided for receiving both the sliding pins 21 of said cursor 26, each has a lower slanting portion 27a followed by an upper vertical portion 27b, the lower portion 27a being slanted so as to move away from the internal surface of the door 10 in the direction from the bottom towards the top.

[0024] In another variation of the device shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the cursor 36 is still rectilinear, but the relative sliding pins 21 are conducted individually, each in a guide slot 37 also having in this case a sloping lower part 37a and a vertical top part 37b. In other words, the supporting element 15 of each unit 14 of the safety device has then a pair of slots 37 in each of its lateral walls 15' as shown in Fig. 8.

[0025] In each of the opposite units 14 of the safety device, the cursor 16, 26, 36 is compelled to follow the shape of the guide slots 17, 27, 37 and to follow a combined horizontal and vertical translation movement at the same time depending on the position of the door.

[0026] In fact, as soon as the door is in a raised position from the floor 13 below, the cursors 16, 26, 36 of the two units 14 move, and remain, in a lowered position due to its own gravity or possibly, but not necessarily, with the help of a spring-not shown. In this position -Figs. 2, 6 and 7- their lower end supporting the infrared emitter and receiver 22, 22' that define the optical barrier 23, position themselves below the bottom side 10' provided with gasket 110 of the door in the plane of movement of the latter and for all its opening and closing stroke. So, if the optical barrier 23 is intercepted and for whatever reason interrupted, for example by a body or obstacle in the path of the door, the latter is automatically and rapidly stopped.

[0027] When on the other hand the door 10 is near its lowered closed position-Fig. 3- the rollers 18 of the two units 14 of the device rest on the floor causing the cursors 16, 26, 36 to move, which, following the respective guide slots 17, 27, 37 move at the same time towards the interior of the door and upwards, avoiding in this way any interference with the lower side 1-0' and the gasket 110 of the door until the latter is fully closed-Fig. 4.

[0028] Practically, the safety device is always active at every level the lower side 10' of the door finds itself, at starting from the maximum open position in which its lower side is at the height of the curved section of the guides 12 up to the closed position on the floor 13. Then, from the moment the optical barrier 23 is found to be between the two units of the device and is below the lower side of the door, each time a body or an obstacle interferes with said barrier, the door automatically stops beforehand and furthermore, without its lower side having to rest against the body or obstacle.

[0029] The safety device described above can also be provided with some detailed changes without however moving away from the objective of the invention. For example, each cursor 16, 26, 36 can be provided with means to define not a single but double optical barriers on parallel planes either at the same level or on different levels.

Claims

1. Safety device without contact for motorized doors, the device comprising two opposite safety units (14) attached to the internal face of a motorized door, movable in height between a lowered closed position on a level with the floor below and a open raised position, and carrying means for defining at least one optical barrier positioned on the movement trajectory of the door and designed to provoke the stoppage of said door in the presence of an obstacle, where the means defining the at least one optical barrier (23) are on board parallel cursors (16, 26, 36) each one belonging to one of said two safety units (14),
where on board the cursor (16) of one of the two units (14) an infrared emitter (22) is placed in line with an infrared receiver (22') placed on board the cursor of the opposed unit so as to define said optical barrier (23) between the two units, and where said cursors (16) are each susceptible to horizontal and vertical translation movements arranged for positioning the optical barrier in parallel below the lower side and in the plane of the door during its movements between the open and closed positions, and parallel at a distance from the internal face of the door when the door is in the closed lower position, characterized in that every safety unit (14) comprises a supporting element (15) fixed and protruding from the internal face of the door and provided with at least a cam guide slot (17, 27, 37), and in that every cursor (16) has horizontal sliding pins (21) conducted in said at least a cam guide slot (17, 27, 37).

2. Safety device according to claim 1, wherein the supporting element (15) has two parallel vertical wall (15') each with a slot cam (17, 27) and wherein the cursor (16, 26) extends to the outside or inside of the lateral walls of said supporting element (15) and has a pair of sliding pins (21) passing through said came guide slots.

3. Safety device according to claims 1 or 2, wherein each cam guide slot (17) is curved with a concavity facing towards the internal face of the door, and wherein each cursor (16) undertakes the position the optical barrier is in on the movement plane of the door, following the respective cam guide slots for its own gravity or with the help of a spring.

4. Safety device without contact according to claims 1 or 2, wherein each cam slot cam (27) has a inclined lower inclined portion (27a) followed by a vertical upper portion (27b), with the lower portion (27a) inclined to move away from the internal surface of the door in the direction from low to high.

5. Safety device according to claim 1, wherein the supporting element (15) has two vertical parallel walls (15') each with two slot cams (37) on two different levels, wherein each cam guide slot has a lower inclined portion (37a) followed by an upper vertical portion (37b), with a lower portion (37a) inclined to move away from the internal surface of the door in the direction from low to high, and wherein the cursor (36) extends to the outside or inside of the lateral walls of the supporting element and has a pair of sliding pins (21) each one conducted individually in one of said cam guide slots.

6. Safety device according to claims 4 or 5, wherein the cursor (26, 36) is rectilinear.

7. Safety device according to any of the previous claims, wherein the cursor (16, 26, 36) is provided at the bottom with at least a roller (19) resting on the floor when the door is in the closed position.

8. Safety device according to any of the previous claims, wherein the infrared emitter and receiver defining the optical barrier (23) are positioned on an axis to the supporting rollers of the respective cursors (16, 26, 36).

9. A safety device according to any of the claims 1-7, wherein the infrared emitter and receiver defining the optical barrier (23) are on board a bracket fixed to one side of the respective cursors facing towards the door, so that the optical barrier is parallel to the axis of the supporting rollers of said cursors.

Ansprüche

1. Berührungslose Sicherheitsvorrichtung für motorisierte Türen, wobei die Vorrichtung zwei entgegengesetzte Sicherheitseinheiten (14) umfasst, die an der Innenseite einer motorisierten Tür befestigt sind, zwischen einer auf Bodenniveau abgesenkten Schließstellung und einer gehobenen Offenstellung höhenverstellbar sowie Mittel zum Bestimmen zumindest einer in der Bewegungsbahn der Tür liegenden Lichtschranke tragen und für das Anhalten der genannten Tür beim Vorhandensein eines Hindernisses zu veranlassen beschaffen sind, wobei die zumindest eine Lichtschranke (23) bestimmende Mittel, in parallelen, jeweils zu einer der genannten zwei Sicherheitseinheiten (14) gehörenden Schieber (16, 26, 36) aufgenommen werden,
wobei auf dem Schieber (16) einer der zwei Einheiten (14) ein Infrarotsender (22) fluchtend zu einem Infrarotempfänger (22') angeordnet ist, der auf dem zweiten Schieber der entgegengesetzten Einheit angeordnet ist, um damit die genannte Lichtschranke (23) zwischen den beiden Einheiten zu bestimmen, und wobei die genannten Schieber (16) in der Lage sind waagerechte und senkrechte Verfahrbewegungen durchzuführen, die für die Stellung der Lichtschranke parallel unterhalb der unteren Seite und auf der Ebene der Tür während dessen Bewegungen zwischen der offenen und der geschlossenen Stellung und parallel im Abstand zur Innenseite der Tür, wenn die Tür sich in der unteren Schließstellung befindet, verantwortlich sind,
dadurch gekennzeichnet dass jede Sicherheitseinheit (14) ein an der Innenseite der Tür fixierten und von dieser abstehenden Stützelement (15) umfasst, das mit zumindest einem Steuerkurvenschlitz (17, 27, 37) versehen ist und dass jeder Schieber (16) waagerechte Gleitstifte (21) hat, die in den zumindest einen genannten Steuerkurvenschlitz (17, 27, 37) geführt werden.

2. Sicherheitsvorrichtung nach Anspruch 1, wobei das Stützelement (15) zwei parallele, jeweils mit einem Steuerkurvenschlitz (17, 27) versehenen parallele Vertikalwände (15') hat und wobei der Schieber (16, 26) sich in Richtung außerhalb oder innerhalb der Seitenwände des genannten Stützelementes (15) erstreckt und ein Paar die genannten Steuerkurvenschlitze durchgreifende Gleitstifte (21) hat.

3. Sicherheitseinrichtung nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, wobei jeder Steuerkurvenschlitz (17) mit einer der Innenseite der Tür zugewandten Konkavität, gebogen ist und wobei jeder Schieber (16), die jeweiligen Steuerkurvenschlitze dank seiner eigenen Schwerkraft oder mit Hilfe einer Feder nachfolgend, die Stellung der Lichtschranke in der Ebene der Tür bei der Bewegung bewerkstelligt.

4. Berührungslose Sicherheitseinrichtung nach den Ansprüchen 1 oder 2, wobei jeder Steuerkurvenschlitz (27) einen schrägen, von einem waagerechten Oberteil (27b) gefolgten Unterteil (27a) hat, wobei der Unterteil (27a) sich schräg von der Innenseite der Tür weg in der Richtung von unten nach oben erstreckt.

5. Sicherheitseinrichtung nach Anspruch 1, wobei das Stützelement (15) zwei parallele Vertikalwände (15') hat, die jeweils mit zwei auf verschiedenen Ebenen liegenden Steuerkurvenschlitze (37) versehen sind, wobei jeder Steuerkurvenschlitz einen schrägen, von einem waagerechten Oberteil (37b) gefolgten Unterteil (37a) hat, wobei der Unterteil (37a) sich schräg von der Innenseite der Tür weg in der Richtung von unten nach oben erstreckt, und wobei der Schieber (36) sich in Richtung außerhalb oder innerhalb der Seitenwände des Stützelementes erstreckt und ein Paar Gleitstifte (21) hat, die einzeln in einem der genannten Steuerkurvenschlitzen geführt werden.

6. Sicherheitseinrichtung nach den Ansprüchen 4 oder 5, wobei der Schieber (26, 36) gerade ist.

7. Sicherheitseinrichtung nach einem der vorgehenden Ansprüche, wobei der Schieber (16, 26, 36) am unteren Ende mit zumindest einer Rolle (19) versehen ist, die auf dem Boden ruht, wenn die Tür in der Schließstellung ist.

8. Sicherheitseinrichtung nach einem der vorgehenden Ansprüche, wobei der Infrarotsender und empfänger, die die Lichtschranke (23) bestimmen, auf einer Achse zusammen mit der tragenden Rolle des jeweiligen Schiebers (16, 26, 36) liegen.

9. Sicherheitseinrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1-7, wobei der Infrarotsender und -empfänger, die die Lichtschranke (23) bestimmen, auf einem Bügel liegen, der auf einer Seite der jeweiligen der Tür zugewandten Schieber fixiert sind, so dass die Lichtschranke parallel zur Achse der tragenden Rolle des genannten Schiebers liegt.

Revendications

1. Dispositif de sécurité sans contact pour portes motorisées, le dispositif comprenant deux unités de sécurité (14) opposées fixées à la face interne d'une porte motorisée, mobile en hauteur entre une position fermée baissée au niveau du sol au-dessous et une position soulevée ouverte, et qui portent des moyens pour définir au moins une barrière optique positionnés le long de la trajectoire de mouvement de la porte and projetés de manière à provoquer l'arrêt de ladite porte en présence d'un obstacle, où les moyens qui définissent l'au moins une barrière optique (23) sont curseurs parallèles (16, 26, 36) intégrés qui font partie chacun d'une desdites unités de sécurité (14),
où sur le curseur (16) d'une des deux unités (14) est installé un émetteur à infrarouge (22) en ligne avec un récepteur à infrarouge (22') qui se trouve sur le curseur de l'unité opposée de manière à définir ladite barrière optique (23) entre les deux unités, et où lesdits curseurs (16) peuvent se déplacer en direction horizontale et verticale pour positionner la barrière optique parallèle au-dessous du coté inférieur et dans le plan de la porte pendant ses mouvements entre la position ouverte et la position fermée, et parallèle à une distance de la face interne de la porte quand la porte se trouve dans la position inférieure fermée, caractérisé en ce que chaque unité de sécurité (14) comprend un élément de support (15) fixé et dépassant la face interne de la porte et fourni d'au moins une fente de guidage (17, 27, 37) de came, et en ce que chaque curseur (16) a des goupilles de coulissement (21) horizontales guidées dans ladite au moins une fente de guidage (17, 27, 37) de came.

2. Dispositif de sécurité selon la revendication 1, où l'élément de support (15) a deux parois verticales parallèles (15') chacune avec une came (17, 27) de fente et où le curseur (16, 26) s'étend vers l'extérieur ou l'intérieur des parois latérales dudit élément de support (15) et a une couple de goupilles de coulissement (21) qui passent à travers lesdites fentes de guidage de came.

3. Dispositif de sécurité selon les revendications 1 ou 2, où chacune fente de guidage (17) de came est courbe et présente une concavité tourné vers la face interne de la porte, et où chacun curseur (16) prends la position de la barrière optique sur le plan de mouvement de la porte, suivant les respectives fentes de guidage de came pour sa gravité ou avec l'assistance d'un ressort.

4. Dispositif de sécurité sans contact selon les revendications 1 ou 2, où chacune came (27) de fente a une portion inclinée inférieure (27a) suivie par une portion supérieure verticale (27b), la portion inférieure (27a) étant inclinée plous s'éloigner de la surface interne de la porte en direction de bas en haut.

5. Dispositif de sécurité selon la revendication 1, où l'élément de support (15) a deux parois verticales parallèles (15') ayant chacune deux cames (37) de fente à deux niveaux différents, où chacune fente de guidage de came a une portion inclinée inférieure (37a) suivie par une portion supérieure verticale (37b), une portion inférieure (37a) étant inclinée pour s'éloigner de la surface interne de la porte en direction de bas en haut, et où le curseur (36) s'étend à l'extérieur ou à l'intérieur des parois latérales de l'élément de support et a une couple de goupilles de coulissement (21), chacune guidée individuellement dans une desdites fentes de guidage de came.

6. Dispositif de sécurité selon les revendications 4 ou 5, où le curseur (26, 36) est droit.

7. Dispositif de sécurité selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, où le curseur (16, 26, 36) est fourni au fond d'au moins un rouleau (19) qui se trouve sur le sol quand la porte est en position fermée.

8. Dispositif de sécurité selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, où l'émetteur et le récepteur d'infrarouge définissant la barrière optique (23) sont positionnés sur un axe des rouleaux de support des respectifs curseurs (16, 26, 36).

9. Dispositif de sécurité selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1-7, où l'émetteur et le récepteur d'infrarouge définissant la barrière optique (23) se trouvent sur une agrafe fixée à un coté des respectifs curseurs tournés vers la porte, de manière que la barrière optique soit parallèle à l'axe des rouleaux de support desdits curseurs.

Drawing