Overhead garage door with integrated motorisation in the fixed frame

Abstract

The invention relates to a tilting garage door comprising a motor (30) mounted in the two side posts (12) of a fixed frame, and coupled to the shutter panel (15) of the door (10) to move it between a closed position and an open position, and vice versa. The garage door (10) comprises, for each side post (12), a motor support (40) constituting a subassembly, to which are fixed a motor, a bearing for a rotation shaft of the shutter panel (18), a mechanical transmission (33), and attachment means (22-24, 26) for the two ends (20a, 20b) of a weight compensation mechanism (20) for the panel.

Description

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a tilting garage door for closing a garage opening or any other premises, comprising a fixed frame provided with two side uprights, a closing panel coupled to each of said side uprights by a main lever and a rotation shaft, a motorization mounted in the side uprights of said fixed frame and coupled to each of said rotation shafts to move said closing panel between a closed position and an open position, and vice versa, and a compensation mechanism provided in said side uprights and coupled to each of said main levers. Prior art

[0002] This type of tilting garage door, of the circular movement type, is well known and used to close the entrance to a garage or any other premises. The applicant's publication FR 2 871 189 B1 proposes a motorization solution integrated into the fixed frame of the garage door, which eliminates the need for guide rails on the ceiling and offers numerous advantages. In particular, the installation of the garage door requires no masonry work or electricity; a simple electrical connection to a mains socket is sufficient. In addition, the garage door is silent, because the closure panel has great lateral stability and moves uniformly without jolts or shocks. Other examples of tilting garage doors are known from EP 0 952 293 B1 and FR 2 928 168 A1.

[0003] Until now, the motorization has been mounted in the side uprights of the fixed frame by means of various support parts capable of receiving the motor unit, the bearings of the rotation axes of the closure panel, the attachment points of the compensation springs, etc. These support parts are welded individually and directly onto the side uprights at specific locations. However, the support parts and the specific locations vary depending on the dimensions of the closure panel, the height position of the rotation shaft, and the type of installation of the garage door.

[0004] This manufacturing method involves production and inventory management of various support parts, which is restrictive and costly. In addition, welding operations require prior tracing, precision of execution and significant factory intervention time. These welding operations can also generate, under the effect of heat, deformations at the level of the side uprights of the fixed frame. These deformations are detrimental to the rigidity of the fixed frame and to the mounting of the fixed frame on the masonry during the installation of the garage door. In particular, it may be necessary, during the installation of the garage door, to have shims to compensate for these deformations.

[0005] Furthermore, the development of contemporary houses creates a need for garage doors of great height and / or great width, which are often installed flush with the facade, that is to say installed in a tunnel and not applied against the masonry as is traditional. This type of installation without vertical support requires garage doors of a specific design to be able to support the weight of large closure panels.

[0006] There is therefore a need to adapt the garage door manufacturing process to meet these new requirements, while maintaining a wide range of garage doors from traditional dimensions (for example, 2400mm to 3500mm in width and 1800mm to 2200mm in height) to large dimensions (for example, 3500mm to 6000mm in width and up to 3000mm in height), with a choice of surface-mounted or tunnel installation. Statement of the invention

[0007] The present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks by proposing a garage door whose manufacturing process is simplified and standardized, allows to reduce the quantity of raw material, the number of parts to be manufactured and managed, as well as the number of assembly operations, eliminates the need for preliminary measurements and tracing, as well as welding operations, therefore does not generate any risk of deformation of the fixed frame, is modular and compatible with different dimensions of garage doors, with or without external insulating coating, and for any type of installation: surface-mounted and tunnel.

[0008] For this purpose, the invention relates to a garage door according to claim 1 and comprising for each of the lateral uprights of said fixed frame, a motor support constituting a sub-assembly of said garage door and comprising a support profile, said support profile constituting a support for means for hooking a first end of said compensation mechanism, and means for hooking a second end of said compensation mechanism.

[0009] The motor sub-assembly is then attached to each side upright of the fixed door frame, for example by screwing, and provides both a motor support function and a new mechanical reinforcement function for the side uprights. In fact, it has been found that the motor sub-assembly significantly improves the rigidity of the fixed frame, making it possible to meet the new need for large garage doors.

[0010] The hooking means of a first end of said compensation mechanism, and the hooking means of a second end of said compensation mechanism, can be fixed directly to said support profile.

[0011] Furthermore, according to the invention, said support profile constitutes a support for a motor, a bearing for said rotation shaft, a mechanical transmission between said motor and said rotation shaft, said compensation mechanism, the motor, the bearing for said rotation shaft, and the mechanical transmission between said motor and said rotation shaft being fixed directly on said support profile.

[0012] In a preferred form of the invention, each lateral upright of said fixed frame further comprises an upright profile of U-shaped section, constituting a housing in which said motor support is mounted by fitting said support profile into said upright profile in a determined mounting position. Thus, the combination of the fixed frame and the motor sub-assemblies makes it possible, with a single dimension, to advantageously respond to different door models.

[0013] Advantageously, each side upright and each motor support comprise indexing means to ensure relative positioning of said motor support relative to said side upright in the direction of the height of said garage door, and fixing means to ensure that said motor support is held in position in said side upright after positioning.

[0014] According to the embodiments of the invention, said indexing means provided respectively in said lateral upright and in said engine support can be chosen from the group comprising orifices, balls, pins, notches.

[0015] Likewise, said fixing means provided respectively in said side upright and in said engine support can be chosen from the group comprising fixing members to be screwed, bolted, riveted, glued, spot welded.

[0016] In the preferred embodiment, said indexing means and said fixing means provided respectively in said lateral upright and in said engine support are merged.

[0017] Each side upright and each motor support can thus comprise a plurality of orifices arranged to define several relative mounting positions of said motor support with respect to said side upright, in order to be able to respond to different door models.

[0018] Said closure panel may also include an external insulating coating, of greater or lesser thickness to provide an additional thermal insulation function, while being compatible with the configuration of the door according to the invention.

[0019] Depending on the architecture of the building, said garage door may be arranged to be surface-mounted, said fixed frame being intended to be placed vertically against the masonry of the building, or may be installed in a tunnel, said fixed frame being intended to be installed inside the opening of the masonry of the building. Brief description of the drawings

[0020] The present invention and its advantages will appear better in the following description of several embodiments given as non-limiting examples, with reference to the appended drawings, in which: [ Fig 1A ] is a plan view of a fixed frame for a garage door according to the invention, the fixed frame comprising a motor support in each of its side uprights, [ Fig 1B ] is a sectional view of the fixed frame along plane AA of the figure 1A , [ Fig 2 ] is an exploded perspective view of the engine mount being mounted in a side upright of the fixed frame, [ Fig 3A ] is an exploded plan view of the engine mount and side pillar of the figure 2 in a first mounting position, [ Fig 3B ] is an exploded plan view of the engine mount and side pillar of the figure 2 in a second mounting position, [ Fig 3C ] is an exploded plan view of the engine mount and side pillar of the figure 2 in a third mounting position, [ Fig 3D ] is an exploded plan view of the engine mount and side pillar of the figure 2 in a fourth mounting position, [ Fig 4A ] is a plan view of the engine mount equipped with a motor, [ Fig 4B ] is a side view of the engine mount of the figure 4A , [ Fig 5 ] is a sectional view of a garage door installed surface-mounted in a garage opening, showing the shutter panel in the open position, [ Fig 6 ] is a view similar to the figure 5 showing the shutter panel equipped with a thick insulating covering, and [ Fig 7 ] is a sectional view of a garage door installed in a tunnel in a garage opening, showing the shutter panel in the open position, fitted with an insulating covering flush with the facade. Description of the embodiments

[0021] In the illustrated embodiments, identical elements or parts bear the same reference numbers. In addition, terms that have a relative meaning, such as vertical, horizontal, right, left, front, rear, above, below, etc., must be interpreted under normal conditions of use of the invention, and as shown in the figures. The X, Y and Z axes are defined by an orthonormal reference frame illustrated in figure 1A . Furthermore, the geometric positions indicated in the description and the claims, such as "perpendicular", "parallel", "symmetrical" are not limited to the strict sense defined in geometry, but extend to geometric positions which are close, that is to say which accept a certain tolerance in the technical field considered, without influence on the result obtained.

[0022] This tolerance is notably introduced by the adverb “sensiblement”, without this term necessarily being repeated before each adjective.

[0023] With reference to the figures, the garage door according to the invention is of the circular displacement type, like that described in the applicant's publication FR 2 871 189 B1. It is mounted in an opening 1 of a garage entrance 2, for example for a road vehicle, or any other premises for any other use. The garage 2 is conventionally delimited by walls (not shown), a floor 3, a ceiling 4 and a drop 5 (cf. figures 5 à 7 ).

[0024] The garage door 10 comprises a fixed frame 11 mounted in the opening 1 and formed of two lateral uprights 12, an upper crosspiece 13 and a threshold 14. It comprises a tilting closure panel 15, movable between a closed position to close said opening 1 (not shown) and an open position to completely clear it (cf. figures 5 à 7 ).

[0025] The closure panel 15 is connected to the fixed frame 11 by two movement transmission mechanisms which each comprise a main lever 16 fixed to said closure panel 15 by a joint 17, and provided with a rotation shaft 18 mounted in rotation in the lateral uprights 12 of the fixed frame 11 by bearings 19.

[0026] Two compensation mechanisms 20 are also provided in the side uprights 12 and are connected to the main levers 16 via their rotation shaft 18, to balance the weight of the closure panel 15 during its movements. These compensation mechanisms 20 may consist of tension springs 21 (cf. figures 5 à 7 ), gas cylinders or any other equivalent member, numbering one, two, three or even more depending on the weight of the closure panel 15. These members are arranged parallel to each other and extend between the fixed frame 11 and the rotation shaft 18 of the main levers 16 to which they are connected respectively, at a first end 20a, by a first hooking part 22, and at a second end 20b, by a second hooking part 26. In the example shown, a fixing lug 23 is welded to the rotation shaft 18 and coupled to the corresponding first hooking part 22 by an articulation 24.

[0027] The garage door 10 comprises a motor 30 for automating the operations of the closure panel 15. The motor 30 comprises two motors 31, each mounted in a side upright 12, preferably such that their output shaft 32 is parallel to the rotation shaft 18 of the main lever 16 and coupled to the latter by a mechanical transmission 33. The motors 31 may be geared motors, stepper motors, or any other equivalent type of actuator, such as rotary or linear cylinders. They may be powered by the mains and are preferably controlled by an electronic card in a control box 37.

[0028] The mechanical transmission 33 comprises in the example shown a motor pinion 34 provided on the output shaft 32 of each motor 31 driving a receiving pinion 35 provided on the rotation shaft 18 by a chain 36. Of course, any other type of equivalent mechanical transmission may be suitable, such as a pulley-belt system, a pinion-rack system, a rod-arm system.

[0029] With particular reference to figures 2 , 4A And 4B, the motorization 30 comprises for each of the lateral uprights 12 of the fixed frame 11, a specific motor support 40 constituting a subassembly of the garage door 1. The motor support 40 is designed in a standard manner and comprises a support profile 41. The support profile 41, the section of which may be U-shaped, is configured to support the first attachment part 22 of the compensation mechanism 20, and the second attachment part 26 of the compensation mechanism 20, and preferably all of the constituent parts of the motorization 30, such as the motor 31, the bearing 19 for the rotation shaft 18, the mechanical transmission 33, and possibly the control box 37.The motor 31, the bearing 19 for the rotation shaft 18, the mechanical transmission 33, possibly the control box 37, the first attachment part 22 of the compensation mechanism 20, and the second attachment part 26 of the compensation mechanism 20, can then be fixed directly to the support profile 41, which is a single-piece part.

[0030] The support profile 41 is preferably rectilinear, and of a length less than the height of the side uprights 12. The support profile 41 advantageously has a U-shaped section delimiting a bottom 42 and two side walls 43 perpendicular to the bottom. The bottom 42 of the support profile 41 may comprise a plurality of oblong orifices 44 and fixing holes 45, distributed in the height and in the width of the profile, the function of which will be described below.

[0031] In the example shown, the second attachment part 26 is an angle iron comprising three holes, for the possible fixing of three springs 21. The angle iron 26 is fixed to the support profile 41 by means of a threaded rod and bolts, the position of the bolts on the rod making it possible to adjust the tension of the springs 21.

[0032] The side walls 43 of the support profile 41 may comprise, in the upper half, parallel cutouts 46 and 47 in pairs, to allow the passage and maintenance respectively of the output shaft 32 of the motor 31 and the rotation shaft 18 of the closure panel 15. They may comprise holes 48 for fixing the motor 31 and the bearings 19, and orifices 49 for spacers 50. The side walls 43 of the support profile 41 may comprise, in the lower part, parallel cheeks 51 for receiving the fixing of the second attachment part 26 of the compensation mechanism 20. The side wall 43 on the outside of the garage door 1 may further comprise projecting fixing lugs 52, provided with oblong holes 44, and obtained by cutting out the corresponding side wall 43.

[0033] The lateral uprights 12 of the fixed frame 11 are also specific and arranged to cooperate with the motor supports 40. In a preferred embodiment, they are designed in a standard manner and each form a housing for receiving a motor support 40. They then each comprise a straight upright profile 61 extending over the entire height of the fixed frame 11. The upright profile 61 may have a U-shaped section delimiting a bottom 62 and two side walls 63 perpendicular to the bottom. The section of the upright profile 61 is preferably complementary to the section of the support profile 41 to allow assembly by fitting and sliding the support profile 41 inside the upright profile 61.

[0034] The bottom 62 of the upright profile 61 may comprise a plurality of oblong orifices 64 and fixing holes 65, distributed in the height and in the width of the profile, arranged to cooperate with the oblong orifices 44 and the fixing holes 45 of the motor support 40. The combination of the oblong orifices 44, 64 and the fixing holes 45, 65, forms indexing means for positioning the support profile 41 relative to the upright profile 61 according to different mounting positions. The oblong orifices 44, 64 allow compensation for manufacturing and / or mounting tolerances. The different mounting positions may be determined by the specifications of the garage door 10, and in particular its height, its width, and the thickness of the external insulating coating 15'.

[0035] THE figures 3A à 3D illustrate different mounting positions as well as the combination between the different oblong holes 44, 64 and fixing holes 45, 65 making it possible to obtain these different mounting positions, which are locked by fixing means, such as screws or the like (not shown).

[0036] There figure 3A corresponds to a first mounting position, in which the upper dimension D1 which extends between the axis of the spacer 50 and the top of the fixed frame 11 is for example equal to 265mm. In this case, the orifices and holes used are identified by the legend P1 and / or by the legend F if they are used to fix the fixed frame 11 in the masonry.

[0037] There figure 3B corresponds to a second mounting position, in which the upper dimension D2 is greater than D1 and for example equal to 315mm. In this case, the orifices and holes used are identified by the legend P2 or P1 depending on whether they are suitable for both the first and / or the second positions, and / or by the legend F if they are used to fix the fixed frame 11 in the masonry.

[0038] There figure 3C corresponds to a third mounting position, in which the upper dimension D3 is greater than D2 and for example equal to 415mm. In this case, the orifices and holes used are identified by the legend P3 or P2 or P1 depending on whether they are suitable for the first, second and / or third positions, and / or by the legend F if they are used to fix the fixed frame 11 in the masonry.

[0039] There figure 3D corresponds to a fourth mounting position, in which the upper dimension D4 is greater than D3 and for example equal to 465mm. In this case, the orifices and holes used are identified by the legend P4 or P3 or P2 or P1 depending on whether they are suitable for the first, second, third and / or fourth positions, and / or by the legend F if they are used to fix the fixed frame 11 in the masonry. Of course, the values mentioned for D1, D2, D3 and D4 are given as examples and are not limiting.

[0040] There figure 5 shows an example of installation of a garage door 10 in an opening 1 of a garage entrance 2, the fixed frame 11 being installed as an applique at the rear of the overhang 5 of the masonry. The position illustrated may correspond to the first mounting position described with reference to the figure 3A according to the D1 rating. The figure 6 shows the same example of the installation of garage door 10 as that of the figure 5 . In this case, the shutter panel 15 has an exterior insulating covering 15' thicker than that of the figure 5 , requiring lowering the mounting position of the motorization 30, for example by choosing the second mounting position described with reference to the figure 3B according to the D2 rating. The figure 7 shows another example of installation of a garage door 10 in an opening 1 of a garage entrance 2, the fixed frame 11 being placed in a tunnel at the right angle of the fall 5 of the masonry. The position illustrated may correspond to the first mounting position described with reference to the figure 3A according to dimension D1. In this type of installation, the exterior insulating covering 15' of the garage door 10 is flush with the covering of the facade of the building, to obtain a more contemporary aesthetic for the garage door 10. Of course, the side uprights 12 of the fixed frame 11 are completed, on the inside of the garage 2, by a cover 25 to protect the moving parts, whether the frame is surface-mounted, as shown for example in figures 5 And 6 , or in a tunnel, as shown in the figure 7 .

[0041] It is clear from this description that the invention allows standardization and modularity of the tilting garage door 10. The support of the two ends 20a, 20b of the compensation mechanism 20 by a single part has the technical effect of significantly increasing the rigidity of the fixed frame 11, allowing it to better withstand the forces generated by the compensation mechanism 20 during the opening and closing movements of the garage door 10. The invention thus makes it possible to propose garage doors 10 that are technically more reliable, lighter, while being more rigid, also suitable for openings 1 of great heights and / or great widths. It also offers the possibility of lining the closure panel 15 with a thick external insulating coating 15' without mechanical modification, the position of the closure panel being able to be lowered.The invention thus makes it possible to industrialize the garage door 10 as a whole, to produce a finished thermo-lacquered product, to pre-equip the motor support 40 with a motorization 30 integrated into the fixed frame 11, and to add the compensation mechanism 20.

[0042] The present invention is of course not limited to the embodiments described but extends to any modification and variant obvious to a person skilled in the art within the limits of the appended claims. Similarly, the indexing and fixing means described making it possible to define the different mounting positions of the motorization 30 on the fixed frame 11 in the direction of the height of the garage door 10 may be different from those described without, however, departing from the scope of the protection defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. Overhead garage door (10) to close off an opening (1) of a garage or any other building, comprising a fixed frame (11) provided with two lateral uprights (12), a closure panel (15) coupled to each of said lateral uprights (12) by a main lever (16) and a rotation shaft (18), a motorization (30) mounted in the lateral uprights (12) of said fixed frame and coupled to each of said rotation shafts (18) to move said closure panel (15) between a closed position and an open position, and vice versa, and a compensation mechanism (20) provided in said lateral uprights (12) and coupled to each of said main levers (16), said garage door (10) comprising, for each of the lateral uprights (12) of said fixed frame, a motor support (40) constituting a sub-assembly of said garage door and including a support profile (41), said support profile (41) constituting support for attachment means (22-24) of a first end (20a) of said compensation mechanism (20), attachment means (26) of a second end (20b) of said compensation mechanism (20), a motor (31), a bearing (19) for said rotation shaft (18), a mechanical transmission (33) between said motor and said rotation shaft, with the compensation mechanism (20), the motor (31), the bearing (19) for said rotation shaft (18), and the mechanical transmission (33) between said motor and said rotation shaft being directly fixed on said support profile (41).

2. Overhead garage door according to claim 1, characterized in that each lateral upright (12) of said fixed frame includes an upright profile (61) with a U-shaped cross-section, forming a housing in which said motor support (40) is mounted by fitting said support profile (41) into said upright profile (61) in a determined mounting position.

3. Overhead garage door according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that each lateral upright (12) and each motor support (40) include indexing means to ensure a relative positioning of said motor support with respect to the upright in the height direction of said garage door, and fixing means to ensure that said motor support is kept in position in the lateral upright after positioning.

4. Overhead garage door according to claim 3, characterized in that said indexing means provided respectively in said lateral upright (12) and in said motor support (40) are chosen from the group comprising apertures (44, 45; 64, 65), balls, pins, detents.

5. Overhead garage door according to any one of claims 3 to 4, characterized in that said indexing means and said fixing means provided respectively in said lateral upright (12) and in said motor support (40) are merged.

6. Overhead garage door according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that each lateral upright (12) and each motor support (40) have a plurality of apertures (44, 45; 64, 65) arranged to define several relative mounting positions of said motor support (40) with respect to said lateral upright (12).

7. Overhead garage door according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the attachment means (22-24) for a first end (20a) of said compensation mechanism (20), and the attachment means (26) for a second end (20b) of said compensation mechanism (20) are directly fixed on said support profile (41).

8. Overhead garage door according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said garage door (10) is arranged to be surface mounted, with said fixed frame (11) being intended to be placed vertically against the masonry (5) of a building.

9. Overhead garage door according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said garage door (10) is arranged to be installed in tunnel mode, with said fixed frame (11) being intended to be placed inside the opening of the masonry (5) of a building.

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