Guide element

Abstract

Guide element for a gate leaf (8) of a gate (1), which consists of sectioned elements (8) that are rotatably connected to one another and are guided in approximately vertically extending lateral guides (2), wherein the lateral guides (2) transition on their upper side into lateral spiral sections with a spirally extending guide track (11), the gate leaf (8) is changed vertically in its relative position by at least one drive unit (3), wherein a transmission element (16) is attached to the lower end of the gate leaf (8) on each side, wherein the transmission elements (16) run within a frame or a mounting profile (19) to transmission wheels arranged on the upper side as part of a transmission string, characterized in that the guide element consists of a plate-like guide plate (4),wherein in the circuit board-like guide plate (4) a spiral guide track (11) for the elements of the gate leaf (8) and a transmission track (10) for the transmission element (16) are incorporated parallel to it.

Description

The invention relates to a guide element for a gate leaf of a gate, which consists of sectioned elements that are rotatably connected to one another and are guided in approximately vertical lateral guides, wherein the lateral guides transition into spiral sections on the upper side. EP 4 118 287 B1 discloses a gate operating system for a gate, wherein the gate comprises a gate leaf that, in a rolled-up state, runs in two tracks in the form of curves and spiral rails. First transmission elements are connected to at least one drive unit, and curves or spiral rails are each provided in the form of a second transmission element. The first transmission elements are driven by an omega drive unit configured to engage with the second transmission elements and move the protective barrier along them. The at least one drive unit is operated in such a way that the protective barrier is moved from the rolled-up closed state to the rolled-up open state and vice versa. A gate, particularly for driveways, for opening and closing a gate opening is described in DE 10 2005 056 032 A1. The gate leaf is moved, in relation to the direction of movement, along a curved path alongside a vertical path, the curved path being made of sheet metal and having a spiral shape. A spiral parking position for a gate leaf, also made of sheet metal, is described in DE 10 2005 049 584 A1. EP 3 669 045 B1 also depicts a gate which, during an opening movement, moves from a closed position into a multi-layered winding position and, via a guide arrangement with a spiral guide track section on the lateral edge of the gate leaf, through a flexible tension element, such as a belt, a strap, a chain or a rope, which is attached on one side to a leading section of the gate leaf and on the other side to a rotatable winding shaft arrangement that spirally surrounds the gate leaf in the winding position. To close a roof window, a closing device made of rotatably interconnected elements is guided into a holder with a spiral-shaped opening, the rotatable shaft having a pulley on which a rope is located for changing the position of the closing device, as can be seen in NL 1015953. Solutions for repositioning gate leaves consisting of sectional elements rotatably connected to one another are, according to the prior art, expensive in their design and sometimes require very complex assembly procedures. Therefore, the object of the invention is to create a guide element for a gate leaf of the aforementioned type that is cost-effective to manufacture and easy to service. The object of the invention is solved by the features of the main claim, while the dependent claims following the main claim represent a further embodiment of the inventive concept. In the prior art, a centrally driven winding shaft, powered by a drive unit, moves a gate leaf from its vertical closed position into a spiral shape using telescopic arms. Such a design appears to be very maintenance-intensive during long-term operation. The present invention takes a completely different approach to solving the problem, namely by separating the drive mechanism and the gate leaf's parking position from the rotatably connected elements and the winding shaft. A winding shaft for changing the gate leaf's position is eliminated. Instead, a drive shaft is positioned off-center relative to the spiral parking position of the gate leaf. To move the gate leaf from the closed position into a parking position, a transmission element is attached to the underside of the bottom element of the gate leaf on each side.Such a transmission element can be a chain or a toothed belt. These transmission elements are guided laterally alongside the gate leaf, each via transmission wheels connected to the drive shaft. The drive shaft itself is set in rotation by at least one drive unit comprising a motor and a gearbox. The rotation and the transmission elements inevitably cause a change in the position of the gate leaf. Alternatively, the drive shaft can also be rotated by other forces, such as a manually operated drive chain. The drive shaft is supported at each end by bearings. These bearings are mounted in a plate-shaped guide plate, hereinafter referred to as a "plate-like guide plate." Hereinafter, a plate-like guide plate is defined as any plate-shaped element that is essentially free of protruding or projecting guide structures. This plate-like guide plate can be easily attached to a frame surrounding the door leaf or to fastening elements above a door lintel. The plate-like guide plate incorporates a spirally running guide track for the rollers of the individual door leaf elements. This makes it easy to use the same rollers in the plate-like guide plate that are used for guiding the door leaf, primarily in the vertical guide area.In a preferred embodiment, so-called J-shaped guide rails are used for the essentially vertically extending guides. This same profile cross-section is also incorporated into the circuit board-like guide plate in the helical course of a guide track. For example, such milled guides are maintenance-free and wear-free. In addition to the spiral guide track for the gate leaf elements with their rollers, another transmission track runs essentially parallel to it. This transmission track is adapted in cross-section to the transmission element used, either a chain or a toothed belt. This means that the end of the transmission element, which is moved by the transmission wheels when the gate leaf changes position relative to itself, can be free of any guide elements or similar components. Thus, the transmission element is essentially pushed into its profile-adapted transmission element track when the gate leaf opens. Such a circuit board-like guide plate can be manufactured cost-effectively and precisely from a dimensionally stable plastic. This plastic should be durable and tough, as well as weather-resistant and wear-resistant. Both the transmission track and the guide track can be milled into the circuit board-like guide plate. This design is significantly less expensive to manufacture than the spiral guides in sheet metal known from the prior art. Furthermore, such a circuit board-like guide plate made of plastic is not susceptible to corrosion, unlike sheet metal versions, which can be affected depending on the installation location. Installation of such a circuit board-like guide plate is simple and error-free. To further enhance the dimensional stability of the circuit board-like guide plate, at least on the outside, the circuit board-like guide plate is enclosed with a reinforcing profile, for example in the form of a tube or similar. Such a design is also easily applicable in niche areas in narrow building designs. A possible embodiment of a gate can be seen in the following schematic sketches: Fig. 1 A perspective view of a gate leaf with a drive arranged on top; Fig. 2 A section view of the path of a transmission element in conjunction with a drive shaft; Fig. 3 As Fig. 2, but omitting the drive shaft, from a different angle; Fig. 4 A section view of a mounting profile or a frame with an arranged guide profile and the gate leaf; Fig. 5 A view of a guide element in a design as a plate-like guide plate in the installed position; Fig. 6 A detailed view of the plate-like guide plate with an inserted bearing; Fig. 7 A cross-section of the plate-like guide plate. Fig. 1 shows a view of part of an upper embodiment of a gate 1 with a gate leaf 8. The gate leaf 8 is guided in lateral guides on each side, the lateral guides being essentially vertical. The ends of these lateral guides 2, which can be attached to frames or mounting profiles, transition into plate-like guide plates 4. Such a plate-like guide plate 4 is enclosed outside the frame or mounting profile 19 by a reinforcing profile 5. A drive unit 3 is arranged outside the gate leaf area, which has a connection 23 for a drive shaft 6. The drive shaft extends over the entire width of the gate leaf (8), which is not shown in Fig. 1. The section view in Fig. 2 shows, for example, a section of the circuit board-like guide plate 4 with the arrangement of a bearing 18, which is located within the circuit board-like guide plate 4 and is operatively connected to the drive unit 3 on the opposite side. In this chain of action, a transmission wheel 17 for the transmission element 16, designed as a chain, is shown within a recess 27 of the circuit board-like guide plate 4, in addition to the bearing 18. The transmission wheel 17 is thus visible in the chain of action as the drive unit 3 with the downstream drive shaft 6. In the preferred embodiment, a transmission element 16 is shown here as a chain. The transmission element 16 is guided and deflected in a transmission track 10 from a vertical section 26 via the transmission wheel 17 into a substantially horizontal section 25 of the transmission track 10.This transmission track 10 transitions into a spiral design after the horizontal section 25. Thus, due to the interconnections, the end of the transmission element can be moved into a quasi-parking position. In Fig. 3, a perspective view shows the plate-like guide plate 4 with its section-defining reinforcement profile 5 and in conjunction with the frame or mounting profile 19. The J-profile 20 is connected to the plate-like guide plate 4, allowing the door leaf 8 to be moved from its closed position to a parked position. The connected transmission element 16 emerges from the area of ​​the frame or mounting profile 19 and continues within the vertical section 26 in the plate-like guide plate 4. Simultaneously, the individual elements of the door leaf 8 are moved into the area of ​​the plate-like guide plate 4 by the drive unit 3. The rollers 21 are thereby transferred from the J-profile 20 directly into the uniform profile of a guide track 11 in the plate-like guide plate 4.Both at the end of the guide track 11 and the transmission track 10, openings 12 are provided within the circuit board-like guide plate 4. These openings 12 serve as a safety measure to prevent blockage by objects within the transmission track 10 or the guide track 11, as these objects can be pushed out through the openings 12. The transmission element 16 is not guided separately in the essentially vertical section of the frame or mounting profile 19, because the weight of the door leaf 8 in conjunction with the transmission wheel 17 keeps the transmission element 16 under constant tension. The J-profile 20 is connected to the frame or mounting profile 19 during the installation of the door leaf 8. For stability reasons, a connecting strut 22 can be arranged between the frame or mounting profile 19 located to the left and right of the door leaf 8. Fig. 5 shows a different view of the circuit board-like guide plate 4, namely above the gate leaf 8, an area normally concealed by the lintel above the building opening. The gate leaf 8 can be constructed of transparent panels of the individual elements, although the last upper element 9 is shown as a solid element. The drive shaft 6 is provided with a similar bearing 7 on the opposite side of the gate leaf 8. The circuit board-like guide plate 4 can be seen in particular with the partially present reinforcing profile 5 in Fig. 6. For better understanding, the transmission element 16 has not been shown in this illustration, but the vertical section 26 with the adjoining horizontal section 25 of the transmission track 10 clearly shows the transition to the spiral path parallel to the path of the guide track 11 for the rollers 21 of the gate leaf 8 with its element 9. In a sectional view, the circuit board-like guide plate 4 is shown in Fig. 7. It is clearly evident that both the transmission track 10 and the guide track 11 are arranged parallel to each other in a spiral pattern. A roller foot 15 is also incorporated within the guide track 11 for the rollers 21, preventing them from slipping out of the circuit board-like guide plate 4. Even in the preferred embodiment using a drive chain as the transmission element 16, the cross-section of the transmission track 10 can be adapted to the shape of the drive chain. This is shown by the roller guide webs 13 formed opposite the drive chain, separated by a gap. Laterally to the roller guide webs 13, tab guides 14 are formed for the tabs of the transmission element 16 in the shape of the drive chain.On one side, the circuit board-like guide plate 4 is closed in the area of ​​the guide track 11 and the transmission track 10 by a boundary wall 24, and on the opposite outer side, the flat, circuit board-like guide plate 4 is free of protruding elements. Reference sign 1 Gate 2 Side guides 3 Drive unit 4 Circuit board-type guide plate 5 Reinforcement profile 6 Drive shaft 7 Bearing 8 Gate leaf 9 Element 10 Transmission track 11 Guide track 12 Opening 13 Roller guide bar 14 Tab guides 15 Roller foot 16 Transmission element 17 Transmission wheel 18 Bearing 19 Frame or mounting profile 20 J-profile 21 Roller 22 Strut 23 Connection piece 24 Limit wall 25 Section 26 Section 27 Recess QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature EP 4 118 287 B1

[0002] DE 10 2005 056 032 A1

[0003] DE 10 2005 049 584 A1

[0003] EP 3 669 045 B1

[0004] NL 1015953

[0005]

Claims

Guide element for a gate leaf (8) of a gate (1), which consists of sectioned elements (8) that are rotatably connected to one another and are guided in approximately vertically extending lateral guides (2), wherein the lateral guides (2) transition on their upper side into lateral spiral sections with a spirally extending guide track (11), the gate leaf (8) is changed vertically in its relative position by at least one drive unit (3), wherein a transmission element (16) is attached to the lower end of the gate leaf (8) on each side, wherein the transmission elements (16) run within a frame or a mounting profile (19) to transmission wheels arranged on the upper side as part of a transmission string, characterized in that the guide element consists of a plate-like guide plate (4),wherein in the circuit board-like guide plate (4) a spiral guide track (11) for the elements of the gate leaf (8) and a transmission track (10) for the transmission element (16) are incorporated parallel to it. Guide element according to claim 1, characterized in that the transmission element (16) is deflected from the approximately vertical course into the spiral course of the transmission track (10) in the circuit board-like guide plate (4) by means of a transmission wheel (17), wherein the transmission wheel (17) is simultaneously mounted in the circuit board-like guide plate (4). Guide element according to claim 2, characterized in that the transmission wheels (17) are operatively connected to each other via a drive shaft. Guide element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cross-section of the guide track (11) in the circuit board-like guide plate (4) corresponds to the cross-section of the substantially vertical guides (2). Guide element according to claim 5, characterized in that the cross-section of the guide track (11) in the circuit board-like holder (4) is J-shaped. Guide element according to claim 1, characterized in that the transmission element (16) is designed as a drive chain or toothed belt. Guide element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide track (10) in the circuit board-like guide plate (4) has in cross-section at the top and bottom a roller guide web (13) with lateral tab guides (14) for a drive chain. Guide element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the circuit board-like guide plate (4) consists of a plastic in which the transmission track (10) and the guide track (11) have been incorporated by removing material in such a way that the guide track (11) and the transmission track (10) are closed on one side by a boundary wall (24). Guide element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the circuit board-like guide plate (4) is partially encompassed by a reinforcement profile (5). Guide element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the end of the transmission element (16) is free of guide means. Guide element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that a breakthrough is provided at each end of the guide track (11) and the transmission track (10) in the circuit board-like guide plate (4). Guide element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the circuit board-like guide plate (4) for the transmission element (16) initially has a straight section (25) which transitions behind the transmission wheel (17) into an approximately right-angled section (26) and subsequently into the spiral course of the transmission track (10). Guide element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that a recess (27) is provided in the circuit board-like guide plate (4) for the transmission wheel (17), wherein a bearing (18) for the transmission wheel (17) is simultaneously provided in the recess (27).

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