DEVICE FOR OPENING AND / OR CLOSING A COMPONENT

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device for opening and / or closing a component having at least one movable part. The device comprises a drive for the movable part, a safety device comprising at least one sensor for monitoring a danger point in the region of the component during an opening and / or closing movement of the component effected by the drive, and a control device designed to open and / or close the component by means of the drive, in particular automatically, during normal operation and, in the event of a malfunction, in particular a dangerous situation or error detected by the sensor, to terminate or reverse the current opening and / or closing movement of the component and establish a safe state in which movement of the component by means of the drive is prevented.

[0002] Such devices are generally known. The structural element is, in particular, a door or window of a building. Accordingly, the movable component is, in particular, a hinged, pivoting, or tilting wing or a door leaf.

[0003] EP 1 092 829 A2 discloses different drive devices for swing doors, which have either a safety device or an emergency operating unit.

[0004] From US 3,783,556 A a door control system with an electrically reversible motor is known.

[0005] US 2015 / 0096693 A1 concerns a system for selectively bypassing a safety device.

[0006] EP 2 818 620 A1 discloses an automatic window or door system with a pivoting sash driven by a drive device and comprising a sensor device for monitoring the secondary closing edge.

[0007] Particularly when the opening or closing of a building element is automatic via a drive, potential hazards in the vicinity of the building element in modern buildings are usually monitored using one or more sensors. In the case of a window or door, the closing edges in particular represent such potential hazards. Sensors commonly used in practice are contactless, such as light sensors, light grids, or ultrasonic sensors. Alternatively, tactile sensors, such as safety edges or safety mats, are also used.

[0008] Automatic opening or closing or automatic drive of the component means that after activation of the drive - which can also be done manually, i.e. not automatically - the drive automatically completes the respective movement process of the component, i.e. opening or closing, i.e. continues until a defined end state is reached, which is in particular the intended opening or closing position of the component.

[0009] The safeguarding of a hazardous location by a safety device typically involves the drive for the moving component stopping or reversing the component's movement if a sensor in the safety device is triggered during a potentially dangerous movement of the component. This is the case, for example, if a person or object enters the monitoring area of ​​a non-contact sensor, or if a pressure sensor is mechanically actuated. When the safety device releases the moving component, normal operation can resume, allowing the component to be opened or closed using the drive.

[0010] Common safety devices are often equipped with a self-test function or another functional check option, which allows monitoring, in particular, the correct functioning of the sensors. If an error is detected, a safe state is entered. In practice, however, automatic functional checks are performed not only in conjunction with the safety device, but also with the drive or its control system. As soon as an error is detected in the drive or control system, a safe state is also established.

[0011] Such safe states are characterized, among other things, by the fact that the moving component is stationary. Movement of the component by the control device is prevented in such a safe state, as proper functioning of the safety device or the components connected to it is no longer guaranteed. Thus, by establishing the safe state, hazardous situations are avoided.

[0012] The disadvantage of such a situation is that the entire device must first be returned to a proper operating condition, i.e., the safe state must be removed, in order to move the component using the drive. The users or residents of a building, i.e., the "on-site personnel," are often neither capable nor authorized to do this. Consequently, external service personnel must be waited for until the component can be moved again, for example, a window or door can be closed. This situation is often extremely unsatisfactory because, for example, if a door remains unlocked for an extended period, building security cannot be guaranteed, or a building management system cannot ensure proper air conditioning in the building.

[0013] In some cases, it is possible to manually close or open the door or window. However, this is not possible, for example, if the drive for the moving component is equipped with a self-locking gear. This is particularly the case with spindle drives, which are commonly used in practice. For other reasons, it may also be impossible to move the component manually without damaging the drive or other components of the overall assembly.

[0014] In practice, situations often arise in which a fault causes a switch to a safe state and thus avoids a dangerous situation, but an affected window or door, for example, cannot be closed for a longer period of time.

[0015] The object of the invention is to remedy this situation and thus to provide a way of moving a component that cannot or should not be moved manually, even in the event of a fault, without, however, endangering safety.

[0016] This problem is solved by the features of the independent claims.

[0017] In the device according to the invention with the features of claim 1, an emergency operating device is provided for emergency operation, which comprises at least one actuating member to be actuated by a user and is designed to cause the drive to effect an opening or closing movement of the component when the actuating member is actuated.

[0018] The emergency operating device according to the invention allows people on site, in particular the users or residents of the respective building, to move the component using the drive. Consequently, the user does not have to wait for service personnel, for example, to lock the building. By providing an actuating element that can be actuated by a user, the invention pursues the concept of actively involving the user in emergency operation. This has the advantage that the user initiating emergency operation can themselves ensure the safety that the safety device ensures during normal operation.

[0019] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are also specified in the following description, in the claims and in the drawing.

[0020] According to the invention, the emergency operating device operates according to the deadman principle, meaning that emergency operation is carried out according to the deadman principle. This means that the user must become and remain active to initiate and maintain the opening or closing movement of the component.

[0021] Preferably, the drive is only activated when the actuating element is actuated and the drive stops when the actuating element is no longer actuated.

[0022] The user must therefore ensure that the actuator is maintained under pressure for as long as the drive is to remain activated in order to move the component in the desired direction, either in the opening or closing direction.

[0023] Preferably, the actuating element is designed to be manually actuated by the user. Therefore, direct actuation by the user is required. Actuation by other means, for example, via an app on a mobile phone or tablet, which is conceivable in principle, is excluded here.

[0024] In some embodiments, it is provided that the actuating member is a push button or a key that is to be pressed by the user and automatically returns to the starting position after being released.

[0025] Preferably, emergency operation is only possible in the event of a fault, in particular a fault in the drive, a fault in the safety device, and / or a fault in the control device, and a resulting safe state, but not in the event of a dangerous situation detected by the sensor device or during normal operation. This prevents the possibility of inadvertently triggering an unnecessary movement of the component by actuating the emergency operating device.

[0026] The emergency control device can be operational either at all times or only in the event of a malfunction. Consequently, the device as a whole can be designed in such a way that the emergency control device is automatically put into an operational state only in the event of a malfunction.

[0027] The emergency operating device can be connected to the drive either directly or via the control device.

[0028] In some embodiments, the emergency operating device is connected to the sensor. If the safety device has multiple sensors, it can be provided that the emergency operating device is connected to only one of the sensors.

[0029] The control device can be integrated into the sensor or - if several sensors are present - into one of the sensors of the safety device.

[0030] In some embodiments, the emergency operating device is integrated into the safety device, in particular into its sensor. The sensor and the emergency operating device may share a common housing.

[0031] In alternative embodiments of the invention, the emergency operating device is a separate unit from the safety device, in particular from its sensor. In this case, the sensor of the safety device and the emergency operating device can have their own, separate housings.

[0032] The emergency operating device may comprise only one actuating element for opening the component or only one actuating element for closing the component or two actuating elements, one of which is intended to open the component and the other to close the component.

[0033] In some embodiments, the drive for the movable component comprises at least one electric drive motor and a self-locking gear. The drive motor is, for example, a servomotor, and the gear is, for example, a spindle drive consisting of a spindle nut connected to the movable component and a spindle that can be rotated by the motor. In general, however, the type of motor drive for the movable component is arbitrary.

[0034] The sensor of the sensor device can be a non-contact sensor or a tactile sensor.

[0035] The invention also relates to a door and / or window arrangement with at least one pivoting, pivoting or tilting wing and / or door leaf as a movable component, and with at least one device for opening and / or closing as disclosed herein.

[0036] Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for operating a device for opening and / or closing as disclosed herein or for operating a door and / or window arrangement as disclosed herein, wherein in the method, in normal operation, the component is opened or closed by means of the drive, in particular automatically, on the basis of a signal to the control device, in the event of a malfunction due to an error, the drive is automatically stopped and a safe state is established, and when the safe state is established, the drive is activated in an emergency operation in order to effect an opening and / or closing movement of the component by means of the drive when the actuating element of the emergency operating device is actuated by a user.

[0037] This method preferably provides for the drive to be automatically stopped in emergency operation when the actuator is no longer actuated by the user. In other words, emergency operation is carried out according to the dead man's principle mentioned above.

[0038] The invention is described below purely by way of example using exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings. These merely represent possible embodiments of the invention; further embodiments can be found in the description and the claims. They show: Fig. 1 schematically shows a window arrangement according to the invention with a device according to the invention for opening and closing a window sash according to an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 schematically shows an embodiment of a device according to the invention, and Fig. 3 schematically shows an alternative embodiment of a device according to the invention.

[0039] Fig. 1 shows schematically a window arrangement according to the invention as a structural element 11, which has a frame 31 and a tilting sash 13 which can be pivoted relative to the frame 31 between a closed position and an open, tilted position.

[0040] These movements of the sash 13 for opening and closing the window 11 are effected by means of a drive 15, which has a controllable electric drive motor and a self-locking gear and is mechanically connected to the sash 13 in a manner not shown here. The opening and closing of the sash 13 occurs automatically when the drive 15 receives a corresponding signal from a control device 19.

[0041] The control device 19 can be, for example, a central building management system or a control device that is only installed in the area of ​​the window 11 and that, for example, comprises a button that is to be actuated by a user and via which the drive 15 is controlled in order, for example, to open the sash 13 for the purpose of ventilating the respective room.

[0042] The lateral closing edges of such a window 11 represent potential danger points. To monitor these danger points, a safety device is provided, which in this example comprises two sensors 17 in the form of light sensors. The sensors 17 are connected to the drive 15.

[0043] If, during normal operation, in which the sash 13 is moved by the drive 15 in the closing direction, for example, to close the window 11, one of the sensors 17 responds due to an intrusion in its monitoring area 35, the drive 15 is stopped to prevent further movement of the sash 13. Alternatively, the movement is not stopped but reversed, i.e., the sash 13 is moved in the opening direction. As soon as there is no longer any intrusion in the monitoring area 35 and the safety device consequently releases the sash 13, the originally desired automatic closing process can be continued or carried out again.

[0044] However, if a fault condition is detected rather than a dangerous situation, the current opening or closing movement of the leaf 13 is also stopped. However, the movement will not be automatically resumed until the safe state, to which the device automatically switches upon fault detection, is canceled.

[0045] The error may, for example, affect one of the sensors 17, the drive 15, or the control device 19. The detection of an error may be carried out, for example, by the control device 19 or by functional checks performed in the sensors 17 and in the drive 15 itself, e.g., at regular intervals.

[0046] Since the drive 15 is connected to the wing 13 via a self-locking gear, the wing 13 cannot be moved manually in a safe state. In order to be able to move the wing 13 by means of the drive 15 despite the fact that the device is in a safe state, an emergency operating device 21 is provided according to the invention, which in the embodiment of the Fig. 1 is integrated into one of the two sensors 17. Possible designs of the emergency operating device 21 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0047] The emergency operating device 21 works according to the dead man's principle, i.e. it requires a permanent actuation of an actuating element, in particular a button, in order to activate the drive 15 and to keep it in the activated state and thus to set the wing 13 in motion again and to maintain the respective movement for as long as is necessary to move the wing 13, for example, into the closed position.

[0048] How Fig. 2 shows, the sensor 17 can be, for example, a light sensor, of which Fig. 2 whose optics 33 are shown. In this embodiment, the emergency operating device 21 is integrated into the sensor 17, ie the sensor 17 and the emergency operating device 21 have a common housing 25.

[0049] How Fig. 2 As also shown, in this embodiment, the control device 19 is also integrated into the sensor 17. In other embodiments, the control device 19 can be arranged at a different location (cf. Fig. 1 ). As already mentioned in connection with Fig. 1 mentioned - the control device can also be a central building management system.

[0050] The emergency operating device 21 comprises two actuating elements 23a, 23b in the form of buttons, which are arranged on the underside of the sensor 17 and are thus easily accessible to a user. Fig. 2 The left button 23a shown must be pressed by a user to cause the drive 15 to be activated in the opening direction via the control device 19 in order to move the wing 13 in the opening direction. Accordingly, the Fig. 2 right button 23b must be pressed to move the wing 13 in the closing direction.

[0051] According to the dead-man operation mentioned above, the user must hold down the respective button 23a or 23b to activate the drive 15 and thus keep the leaf 13 moving. If the user releases the button 23a or 23b, the drive 15 stops and the leaf 13 remains stationary.

[0052] In this way, despite the existence of a safe state, a user on site can, for example, automatically close a wing 13 that has remained open due to a fault using the drive 15 without having to call service personnel.

[0053] Fig. 3 shows an alternative embodiment in which the emergency operating device 21 is not integrated into the housing 27 of the sensor 17. Instead, the emergency operating device 21 is provided as a separate unit with its own housing 29. On an outer side of the housing 29, the functions already described above in connection with Fig. 2 The buttons 23a and 23b mentioned above for opening and closing the wing 13 are arranged in a manner accessible to a user.

[0054] An advantage of this design is that the emergency operating device 21 can be positioned in the area of ​​the relevant component, regardless of the mounting location of the sensors 17. This concept also allows for the retrofitting of existing automatic door or window closers and openers. Despite this remote arrangement of the emergency operating device 21, it is connected to the sensor 17 and to the control device 19 integrated therein. List of reference symbols

[0055] 11 Component, window 13 Component, tilt-and-turn sash 15 Drive 17 Sensor, light sensor 19 Control device 21 Emergency operating device 23a Actuator, button 23b Actuator, button 25 Common housing 27 Sensor housing 29 Emergency operating device housing 31 Frame 33 Sensor optics

Claims

1. Apparatus for opening and / or closing a component (11), in particular a door or a window, which has at least one movable component (13), in particular a rotating, swivelling or tilting leaf / casement or a door panel, comprising - a drive (15) for the moving component (13), - a safety device which comprises at least one sensor (17) for monitoring a hazardous area in the region of the component (11) during an opening and / or closing movement of the component (13) effected by means of the drive (15), and - a control device (19) which is designed during normal operation to, in particular automatically, open and / or close the component (11) by means of the drive (15) and, in the event of a disturbance, in particular a hazardous situation detected by means of the sensor (17) or a fault, to terminate or reverse the current opening and / or closing movement of the component (13) and to establish a safe state in which movement of the component (13) by means of the drive (15) is prevented, wherein an emergency operator control device (21) is provided for emergency operation, this comprising at least one actuating element (23a, 23b) to be acted on by a user and being designed to cause the drive (15) to effect an opening or closing movement of the component (13) when the actuating element (23a, 23b) is acted on, and characterized in that emergency operation is performed in line with dead-man operation, so the user must become and remain active in order to initiate and maintain the opening or closing movement of the component.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that the drive (15) is activated only when the actuating element (23a, 23b) is acted on and the drive (15) stops when the actuating element (23a, 23b) is no longer acted on.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the actuating element (23a, 23b) has to be manually acted on by the user.

4. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the actuating element (23a, 23b) is a button or key which has to be pressed by the user and automatically returns to the initial position after it is released.

5. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that emergency operation is possible only in the event of a fault, in particular a fault in the safety device, in the control device (19) and / or in the drive (15), and a resulting safe state, but not in the case of a hazardous situation detected by means of the sensor device or during normal operation.

6. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency operator control device (21) is ready to operate at any time or only in the event of a disturbance.

7. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency operator control device (21) is connected to the drive (15) directly or via the control device (19).

8. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency operator control device (21) is connected to the sensor (17).

9. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency operator control device (21) is integrated into the control device (19).

10. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency operator control device (21) is integrated into the safety device, in particular into its sensor (17), wherein the sensor (17) and the emergency operator control device (21) preferably have a common housing (25).

11. Apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the emergency operator control device (21) is a unit that is separate from the safety device, in particular from its sensor (17), wherein in particular the sensor (17) of the safety device and the emergency operator control device (21) have their own housing (27, 29), the housings being separate from each other.

12. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the emergency operator control device (21) comprises only one actuating element for opening the component (11) or only one actuating element for closing the component (11) or two actuating elements (23a, 23b), one of which is provided for opening the component (11) and the other of which is provided for closing the component (11).

13. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive (15) has at least one electric drive motor and a self-locking gear mechanism.

14. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sensor (17) is a non-contact sensor or a tactile sensor.

15. Door and / or window arrangement comprising at least one rotating, swivelling or tilting leaf / casement and / or door panel as a movable component (13), and comprising at least one apparatus according to any of the preceding claims.

16. Method for operating an apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 14, or an arrangement according to Claim 15, in which method during normal operation the component (13) is, in particular automatically, opened or closed by means of the drive (15) on the basis of a signal to the control device (19), the drive (15) is automatically stopped and a safe state is established in the event of a disturbance due to a fault, and, when the safe state is established, during emergency operation the drive (15) is activated in order to effect an opening or closing movement of the component (13) by means of the drive (15) when the actuating element (23a, 23b) of the emergency operator control device (21) is acted on by a user.

17. Method according to Claim 16, characterized in that during emergency operation the drive (15) is automatically stopped when the actuating element (23a, 23b) is no longer acted on by the user.