TOR

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a gate with a gate leaf that can be moved during an opening movement from a closed position, in which it closes a wall opening, to an open position, in which it at least partially releases the wall opening, wherein the center of gravity of the gate leaf is raised during the opening movement against the effect of gravity, a weight compensation device supporting the opening movement with a torsion spring having a spring wire helically circulating around a torsion axis extending substantially in a horizontal direction, and a coupling device coupled on one side to the gate leaf and on the other side to the torsion spring for tensioning the torsion spring during a closing movement of the gate leaf from the open position to the closed position by converting potential energy into spring energy.

[0002] Such gates are realized, for example, in the form of so-called sectional doors, in which the door leaf has a number of panels connected to each other by hinges perpendicular to the direction of movement. Typically, in the closed position, the door leaf is arranged approximately in a vertical plane, while in the open position it may be arranged approximately in a horizontal plane or extend approximately parallel to a roof slope. In the open position, the door leaf may also be arranged above the wall opening, approximately in a vertical plane. With all door types of this kind, the center of gravity of the door leaf is raised during the opening movement.

[0003] To assist the opening movement of the gate leaf, counterweights are regularly used. These devices store energy during the closing movement of the gate leaf, which is then available to assist the opening movement. Counterweights can be in the form of simple weights that are lifted during the closing movement, so that the stored potential energy is available to assist the opening movement. In other designs, tension springs can be used to assist the opening movement of the gate leaf. These springs are extended during the closing movement, absorbing spring energy.Tension spring packages with a large number of tension springs can be used, whereby the length difference between stretched and relaxed tension springs can be translated by a pulley-like coupling of the tension springs to the gate leaf, so that support can be provided by the spring energy stored in the tension spring packages during the entire opening movement.

[0004] Furthermore, known gates also employ counterweight devices with so-called torsion springs, in which a spring wire spirals around a torsion axis. One end of the spring wire is fixed relative to the wall opening, while the other end is twisted around the torsion axis during the closing movement. The gate leaf can be coupled to the torsion spring via a tension member, which is unwound from a tension member storage unit during the closing movement of the gate leaf. Any rotation of the tension member storage unit during this process is transferred to the unfixed end of the spring wire. Gates with counterweight devices designed as torsion springs are disclosed in DE10232577 A1 and in "Alutech - Garage Doors TREND, Industrial Doors PROTREND, Spare Parts Catalog, December 1, 2018 (2018-12-01)".

[0005] Such torsion springs offer the advantage that they can absorb spring energy without excessive dimensional changes. If the dimensions of a single torsion spring are insufficient to support the gate leaf movement, two, three, or more torsion springs can be coupled together. The torsion axes of the individual torsion springs can be spaced apart and run approximately parallel to each other. They can also be coaxial, with so-called "duplex spring systems" where an inner torsion spring is located inside an outer torsion spring. However, the installation of corresponding counterweights is quite complex. If the torsion springs have spaced-apart torsion axes, they must be coupled via shafts, sprockets, or similar components. In such cases, the torsion springs are typically arranged one above the other.In this case, a considerable amount of headroom is often required above the wall opening to be closed for mounting the torsion springs. With the aforementioned "duplex spring systems," which have an inner spring housed within an outer spring, the individual springs must be precisely matched to each other with regard to the torque distribution between the outer and inner springs. Furthermore, precise matching of the spring lengths is also necessary. It is generally required that the inner spring must never be longer than the outer spring.

[0006] The installation of the known weight compensation devices with at least one torsion spring poses particular problems for gates that are intended to close a comparatively narrow but high wall opening.

[0007] In view of the problems described above in the prior art, the invention is based on the objective of providing easily assembled gates with weight compensation devices with which comparatively narrow and high wall openings can be closed.

[0008] According to the invention, this problem is solved by the further development of the known gates specified in the characterizing part of claim 1.

[0009] The invention is based on the realization that the problems observed in the prior art are primarily due to the fact that conventional torsion springs must have a considerable axial length to provide satisfactory support for the opening movement. If the axial length of the torsion spring is correspondingly limited due to the narrow width of the wall opening to be closed, two, three, or more torsion springs must be coupled together in conventional gates to provide the desired support for the opening movement, which leads to the described assembly problems.

[0010] Within the scope of the invention, it was recognized that the support provided by the torsion spring depends not only on the axial length, the diameter of the spring wire, and the number of turns, but also on the inner diameter of the torsion spring, that is, the diameter of a cylinder tangentially adjacent to the boundary surface of the spring wire facing the axis of torsion. By increasing the inner diameter of the torsion spring, the support provided by tensioning the torsion spring for the opening movement can be increased while maintaining the same axial length, number of turns, and diameter of the spring wire. Sufficient support for the opening movement can typically be ensured even when the diameter is increased to less than twice that of commonly used torsion springs.Therefore, according to the invention, a gate is provided with a space-saving and easy-to-install weight compensation device.

[0011] The invention therefore achieves support for the gate leaf movement without excessively increasing the dimensions of the counterweight system and without increasing the requirements for the coupling of the counterweight system to the gate leaf. Within the scope of the invention, two, three, or more torsion springs, optionally coaxial, with circumferential torsion wires, arranged side by side along the torsion axis, can be used, and coupled independently to the gate leaf. It is not necessary to couple the individual torsion springs to each other via a gear mechanism.

[0012] According to the invention, the inner diameter of the torsion spring is 155 mm or more, in particular 165 mm or more, preferably 175 mm or more, particularly preferably 180 mm or more, but 250 mm or less, in particular less than 200 mm. The use of torsion springs with an inner diameter of 182 mm has proven to be particularly advantageous. The diameter of the spring wire in torsion springs used according to the invention can be 15 mm or less, in particular 12 mm or less, but 6 mm or more, in particular 8 mm or more, preferably 10 mm or more.

[0013] To prevent deformation of the torsion spring during the absorption and / or release of spring energy, it has proven advantageous to incorporate a stabilizing element within the torsion spring, which is encircled by the torsion spring wire. This stabilizing element can be a stabilizing tube, wherein the ratio of the inner diameter of the torsion spring to the outer diameter of the stabilizing tube is preferably 1.1 or greater, particularly 1.2 or greater, but less than 1.5. This achieves a balanced compromise between sufficient play during the tensioning and relaxation of the torsion spring on the one hand, and sufficient stabilization of the torsion spring on the other.

[0014] To ensure sufficient stability of the stabilizing tube, it has proven advantageous for the ratio of the wall thickness of the stabilizing tube to the diameter of the spring wire to be greater than 0.2, and particularly greater than 0.3. The important thing is to design the wall thickness so that it is sufficient to absorb the spring forces, which depend on the diameter of the spring wire.

[0015] As already indicated above, the invention is particularly advantageous for use in so-called sectional doors, in which the door leaf movement is guided by a guide rail arrangement comprising a first, approximately straight guide rail section extending approximately parallel to the lateral edge of the door leaf in the closed position, a second, approximately straight guide rail section extending approximately parallel to the lateral edge of the door leaf in the open position, and an arc-shaped guide rail section connecting the two approximately straight guide rail sections. The second approximately straight section can extend approximately in a horizontal direction. In other embodiments of the invention, the second approximately straight section can form an angle of 10° or more with a horizontal plane.In all embodiments of the sectional doors according to the invention, the torsion spring can be arranged above the upper end of the first approximately straight guide rail section and / or in the area of ​​the end of the second approximately straight guide rail section that faces away from the curved section.

[0016] The door leaf of a sectional door designed according to the invention can have a plurality of door leaf members that are articulated to one another with respect to joint axes extending approximately perpendicular to the direction of movement of the door leaf.

[0017] As with conventional sectional doors, the coupling device of a door according to the invention can include a tension member coupled to the door leaf, which is unwound from a tension member storage unit during a closing movement of the door leaf. A rotation of the tension member storage unit is transferred to one end of the spring wire, the other end of which is fixed, so that the end to which the rotation of the tension member storage unit is transferred is rotated about the torsional axis. In this way, the torsional spring can be tensioned during the closing movement, and the stored spring energy can be used via the tension member storage unit and the tension member to assist the opening movement. During the opening movement, the tension member is wound onto the tension member storage unit. The tension member can be a pull rope.The traction storage device can be a cable drum which is rotatably mounted with respect to a rotational axis running parallel, in particular coaxially to the torsion axis.

[0018] The invention also includes the use of two torsion springs arranged side by side along the axis of torsion, each of which is coupled to the door leaf via a tension element. The end of each torsion spring facing away from the other can be coupled to the door leaf via a tension element storage device. This allows for a symmetrical force to be applied to the door leaf, thus counteracting any tilting of the door leaf during opening or closing.

[0019] The invention is particularly advantageous when used in gate leaves where the ratio of the height of the gate leaf to the width of the gate leaf is 1.5 or more, in particular 2 or more or 3 or more.

[0020] The advantages of the invention are explained below by comparing a gate with a conventional counterweight system and a gate according to the invention, assuming that a counterweight of approximately 50 kg is desired. Using a spring wire with a diameter of 10.75 mm, a conventional gate with a torsion spring having an inner diameter of 142 mm requires approximately 180 turns to provide the desired counterweight at a lifting height of approximately 141 mm, resulting in a total torsion spring length of approximately 1600 mm. According to the invention, the desired counterweight can be achieved with the spring wire having a diameter of 10.75 mm and a torsion spring with an inner diameter of 182 mm and approximately 118 turns at a lifting height of approximately 180 mm, corresponding to a total spring length of only approximately 1280 mm.Within the scope of the invention, the total length of the torsion spring required to achieve the desired weight balance can be reduced by approximately 320 mm in this example compared to conventional gates. This facilitates the installation of narrow but tall gates.

Claims

1. Door having a door leaf which can be moved in the course of an opening movement from a closed position, in which it closes a wall opening, into an open position, in which it at least partially exposes the wall opening, and in which the center of gravity of the door leaf is raised counter to the action of gravity during the opening movement, a weight compensation device which assists the opening movement and has a torsion spring which has a spring wire which runs helically around a torsion axis running substantially in the horizontal direction, and a coupling device which is coupled on one side to the door leaf and on the other side to the torsion spring and serves for tensioning the torsion spring in the course of the closing movement of the door leaf from the open position into the closed position by converting potential energy into spring energy, characterized in that the lifting dimension H = n * d * D / L of at least one torsion spring is 150 mm or more, in particular 160 mm or more, preferably 170 mm or more, but less than 250 mm, where n denotes the number of turns of the torsion spring, L denotes the length of the torsion spring, D denotes the internal diameter of the torsion spring and d denotes the diameter of the spring wire, and the internal diameter of the torsion spring is 155 mm or more, in particular 165 mm or more, preferably 175 mm or more, particularly preferably 180 mm or more, but 250 mm or less, in particular less than 200 mm.

2. Door according to Claim 1, characterized in that the diameter of the spring wire is 15 mm or less, in particular 12 mm or less, but 6 mm or more, in particular 8 mm or more, preferably 10 mm or more.

3. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a stabilizing element, such as for instance a stabilizing tube, which is accommodated in the torsion spring, the ratio of the internal diameter of the torsion spring to the external diameter of the stabilizing tube being 1.1 or greater, in particular 1.2 or greater, but less than 1.5.

4. Door according to Claim 3, characterized in that the ratio of the wall thickness of the stabilizing tube to the diameter of the spring wire is greater than 0.2, in particular greater than 0.3.

5. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a guide rail arrangement for guiding the door leaf movement, having a first guide rail section which extends approximately parallel to the lateral edge of the door leaf in the closed position and runs approximately in a straight line, a second guide rail section which runs approximately parallel to the lateral edge of the door leaf in the open position and runs approximately in a straight line, and an arcuate guide rail section which connects the two sections which run approximately in a straight line to one another.

6. Door according to Claim 5, characterized in that the torsion spring is arranged above the upper end of the first section which runs approximately in a straight line and / or in the region of that end of the second section which runs approximately in a straight line which is averted from the arcuate section.

7. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the door leaf has a plurality of door leaf members which are connected to one another in an articulated manner with respect to hinge axes which run approximately perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the door leaf.

8. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coupling device has a traction means which is coupled to the door leaf and is unwound from a traction means store in the course of a closing movement of the door leaf, a rotation of the traction means store being transmitted to one end of the spring wire, the other end of which is fixed.

9. Door according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by two torsion springs which are arranged next to one another in the direction of the torsion axis and each of which is coupled to the door leaf via a traction means.