Part for holding a inspection hatch of a roller shutter box

Abstract

A roller shutter housing (100) equipped with an access hatch (200) constitutes at least a portion of a face of the housing (100) and is pivotable relative to the rest of the housing (100) at a longitudinal edge (201) where the hatch (200) joins the housing (100) between a closed and an open position of the hatch (200). The housing includes at least one connecting piece (1) linking the housing (100) and the hatch (200) at said longitudinal edge (201). The connecting piece (1) is fixed to the housing (100) and is equipped with elastic locking means for the hatch (200) in the closed position. According to the invention, said at least one connecting piece (1) and the longitudinal edge (201) form a pivot hinge for the hatch (200) relative to the housing (100).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of roller shutters for closing openings made in building walls. It relates more particularly to the shutter box, that is to say to the storage space of the shutter apron constituting the actual closing device, which can be rolled up in said space when the opening is open.

[0002] The boxes typically have inspection hatches, which can be used for maintenance purposes and provide access to the inside of the storage space, to the winding / unwinding system and, more generally, to all the mechanisms for guiding and controlling the movement of the curtain. This hatch allows action to be taken in the event of a roller shutter malfunction and facilitates diagnostic and repair operations.

[0003] In many cases, the inspection hatches have a longitudinally oriented pivoting hinge, i.e. running along at least part of the length of the box, and sometimes along the entire length, from one side cheek to the other. On its free longitudinal edge opposite the hinge, the hatch has fixing means which are for example arranged at both ends, at the level of the side cheeks. To access the internal volume, in particular the apron rolled up in the box, it is then sufficient to release said means to tilt the hatch, by pivoting at the hinge, towards its open position.

[0004] The existence of only two fixing points is an advantage and a comfort for the user or the operator in charge of maintaining the shutter, especially since in general, the hatch is closed by elastic means such as clipping systems avoiding the use of tools. In fact, both closing and opening must be able to be carried out without tools, via the two mobile fixing members placed at the ends.

[0005] However, fixing at the ends can lead to the inspection hatch sagging in the center due to its weight, causing a slight bending, particularly visible in the center of its free edge opposite the hinge. This free edge constitutes one of the two edges of the passage slot of the roller shutter apron. The gaping that can appear due to the sagging of the free edge can also ultimately impair the operation of the fixing means, or even damage them. It also has an unsightly appearance that must be avoided.

[0006] To overcome this problem of central sagging of the hatch, by eliminating the deformation without affecting the devices securing the hatch at the side cheeks of the box, at least one part has been provided for holding the hatch in the closed position, fixed to the box at the hinge and comprising elastic means for locking the hatch in the closed position. This solution helps to solve the problem of central sagging of the hatch not at the free edge bordering the passage slot of the apron, but by acting at the edge where the pivoting takes place during the opening / closing operations of the hatch.

[0007] The idea is to place these parts at the hinge, in the form of mechanical clips that allow the hatch to be forced into its closed position, on this pivoting edge, so as to combat the effects of weight and ensure parallelism on the other edge of the hatch. The function of holding the hatch is only effective in a stable closed position, and it does not oppose the movements imparted by a user to the hatch, in particular due to elastic deformability of the hatch locking means. Such a solution differs from what is described in document EP4170121 A1, in which the shape of the edge of the hatch and that of the edge of the box are configured to better constrain the hatch in the closed position, without additional clips. This makes said shapes complex over the entire length of the edges and requires a specific design of said edges.Furthermore, if a modification is envisaged, the entire hatch and the entire box must be modified, which significantly complicates any industrialization process of the modified version.

[0008] In a known version, used by the present applicant and the subject of patent application EP3119413, the mechanical holding parts or clips cooperate with a hinge integrated into the mechanism connecting the hatch to the box, to which they add a constrained holding effect of the hatch in the closed position, which preserves its shape and prevents the central sagging of its free edge.

[0009] The object of the present invention is to further simplify the mechanism, by concentrating the functions in this holding part.

[0010] To this end, in the invention, the roller shutter box, conventionally provided with an inspection hatch consisting of at least part of a panel of the box and pivotable relative to the rest of the box at a longitudinal edge joining said hatch to the box between a closed position and an open position of the hatch, always comprises at least one connecting piece connecting the box and the hatch at said longitudinal edge, said connecting piece being again secured to the box and provided with elastic locking means for the hatch in the closed position.

[0011] According to the invention, the box is now such that said at least one connecting piece and the longitudinal edge form a pivoting hinge of the hatch relative to the box.

[0012] The connecting piece is therefore designed to create, with the hatch, a hinge on a box / inspection hatch assembly that does not have one. Unlike the previous solution, which is the subject of the previously cited patent, the hinge does not result from a particular configuration of the box. It now results from a particular design of the holding piece and the joining edge of the hatch. Their cooperation always fulfills the function of pressing the hatch in the closed position. It allows on the one hand the pivoting movements imparted to the hatch and on the other hand the exercise of a mechanical pressing constraint keeping the hatch closed. Depending on the length of the hatch, it is obviously possible to install an appropriate number of such holding / hinge pieces, at suitable locations regularly spaced, without there being any impact on the opening / closing operations, which remain identical.

[0013] According to a configuration of the invention, the connecting piece may consist of a profile made of elastic flexible material comprising an insertion opening of the longitudinal edge of the hatch, a first and a second facing wall of which converge towards an internal narrowing at the level of which a tab protrudes from the first wall towards the interior of the connecting piece, opposite a protuberance extending towards said tab, the longitudinal edge being shaped in a rounded Z, its faces and its free edge each comprising at least one support zone with the tab, the protuberance and the two walls of the insertion opening, in each of the two open and closed positions of the hatch.

[0014] The longitudinal edge of the hatch remains in all cases housed between the walls of the opening of the profile constituting the connecting part, whatever the relative position of the hatch and the box, the contact and stress zones being different in the opening and closing positions of the hatch.

[0015] Preferably, the proximal face of the insertion opening of the protrusion forms the second wall of the insertion opening of the profile of the connecting piece.

[0016] A possible configuration of the leg may be in the form of a crook whose handle is inclined relative to the orientation of the wall of the profile from which it protrudes, and the curved end blade of said crook is parallel to said side. Similarly, according to one possibility, the protuberance may consist of two parallel sides extending towards said leg and whose top portion joining them is rounded.

[0017] As will be seen in more detail below, the free edge of the longitudinal edge of the hatch cooperates with said tab, resting on it when the hatch is opened or wedged between the blade and the rounded end of the protrusion in the closed position of said hatch.

[0018] Thus, the longitudinal Z-shaped edge may comprise, in cross-section and from a free edge, a flat end portion followed respectively by a first curved portion, an oblique portion and a second curved portion ending at the base of the Z, which extends to form the hatch. The flat portion is placed so as to cooperate with the tab and the top portion of the protrusion, while the changes in direction and curves of the longitudinal Z-shaped edge provide contact / support zones at the level of the converging walls of the opening of the profile.

[0019] More precisely, in the open position of the hatch, the free edge of the longitudinal edge of the hatch rests against the handle of the tab, the lower face of the flat end part rests on the top portion of the protuberance, the first curved part of said edge rests against the first wall of the opening of the profile and the second curved part rests against the second wall of the opening, in this case preferably consisting of the outer face of the protuberance.

[0020] In the closed position of the hatch, the upper face of the terminal part of the longitudinal edge rests against the blade of the tab, the lower face of said terminal part rests on the top portion of the protuberance, the second curved part of said edge rests against the second wall of the opening and the hatch is in contact with the free edge of the first wall of the opening of the profile.

[0021] In all intermediate positions, as well as in the stable open and closed positions of the hatch, the longitudinal edge of the hatch moves in close cooperation with the connecting part / clip and remains within the limits of the profile.

[0022] For its attachment to the box, according to one possible configuration, said profile of the connecting piece may have a U-shaped part housed in a U-shaped slide of the box, the free branch of which allows the attachment of the connecting piece by inserting said free branch between the two sides of the protuberance. In this case, the correspondence of the shapes simplifies the installation of the piece in the box, and its attachment is ensured by the shape given to the protuberance which adapts to the free edge of the slide of the box and can be secured there by friction.

[0023] Preferably, the butt-shaped tab of the connecting piece is made by cutting a U-shaped section in a wall of said profile, which is deformed to obtain the handle and blade of the butt. Manufacturing is therefore easy. Similarly, a window can be cut in the top portion of the protrusion, facilitating the deformation of the sheet metal in which the connecting piece is made.

[0024] Other aims and advantages of the present invention will become apparent during the description which follows, which presents a preferred embodiment of the invention. This is however given only as an indicative and non-limiting example.

[0025] Understanding of this description will be facilitated by referring to the attached drawings in which: There [ Fig.1 ] represents a perspective view of a connecting piece according to the invention; The [ Fig.2 ] illustrates with the aid of a sectional view the cooperation between said part and the box on the one hand and the hatch on the other hand, in the opening position of the latter; The [ Fig.3 ] represents a sectional view similar to that of the preceding figure, in the closed position of said hatch; and The [ Fig.4 ] always shows the same sectional view, in an intermediate position of the hatch as it moves from its open position to its closed position or vice versa.

[0026] In reference to the figure 1 , the connecting part 1 according to the invention takes the form of a clip intended to be fixed to the rolling box of the shutter and which manages the connection between the latter and the inspection hatch, including the function of pivoting the hatch relative to the box. This clip is a profile for example made of elastic flexible metal material from a sheet of this material cut and folded, and it very generally comprises a longitudinal opening 2 - parallel to the longitudinal edge 201 of the hatch 200 - for the insertion of said hatch 200 (see following figures). This opening 2 is delimited by two walls 3, 4 which converge towards each other and end in a narrowing 5. At the level of this narrowing 5, a tab 10 faces the top of a protuberance 20.

[0027] The tab 10, in this case in the form of a hockey stick, comprises a handle 11 and a blade 12, and is obtained by cutting 13 in a wall of the profile forming the clip 1. The protrusion 20 which develops in the direction of the wall comprising the tab 10 is made up of two parallel-looking sides 7, 4 joined by a rounded top portion 22 in which a window 23 is cut. The inner side 7 of the protrusion 20 also belongs to a U-shaped part 6 of the clip 1 which is located, in the profile, between on the one hand the first wall 3 of the opening 2 and the tab 10, and on the other hand the protrusion 20 and its outer side, forming in the example shown the second wall 4 of the opening 2 for inserting the longitudinal edge 201 of the hatch 200.

[0028] THE figures 2 à 4 show the installation of the clip 1 in the box 100 and the operation of the hatch 200 in relation to the clip 1 and consequently to said box 100. The box 100, provided as mentioned for the winding of a roller shutter, conventionally has a generally prismatic volume which comprises three fixed walls, the lower end of one of the walls being visible in figures 2 à 4 , and an inspection hatch 200 which in fact constitutes the last wall, consequently movable, since it occupies substantially one side of the box 100. A U-shaped slide 101 makes it possible to house the U-shaped part 6 of the clip 1, the two sides 4, 7 of the protuberance 20 being pressed by friction into the free wall 102 of the slide 101. The correspondence of shape between the U-shaped slide 101 of the box 100 and the U-shaped part 6 of the profile forming the clip 1 also makes it possible to easily and without constraint install one in the other. The opening 2 of the clip 1 delimited by the walls 3, 4 protrudes from the slide 101 and is easily accessible to install the rounded Z-shaped longitudinal edge 201 of the hatch 200.

[0029] In the opening position of the hatch 200 as illustrated in figure 2 , the free edge 202 of the longitudinal edge 201 of the hatch 200 is in contact against the inclined handle 11 of the tab 10. The lower face of the terminal part 205 adjacent to said free edge 202 rests on the top portion 22 of the protuberance 20. A first curved part 203 of this longitudinal edge 201 bears against the first wall 3 of the opening 2 of the profile 1. The second curved part 204 finally bears against the outer face 4 of the protuberance 20, which constitutes at the same time as mentioned the second wall 4 of the opening 2. The dimensions of this longitudinal edge 201 with Z configuration, as well as the dimensions of the different portions of the clip 1, are provided to allow these contacts / supports.

[0030] In the closed position of the figure 3 , which is the closed position of the hatch 200, it is necessary to exert forces on the hatch 200 in order to urge it upwards to press it into the closed position of the box 100. In this case, the upper face of the terminal part 205 of the longitudinal edge 201 bears against the blade 12 of the tab 10, which exerts this dynamic constraint, while its lower face rests on the top portion 22 of the protuberance 20 in the manner of a lever: the flat terminal part 205 of the longitudinal edge 201 of the hatch 200 appears inserted between the tab 10 and the top 22, which wedge it in this constrained position. Then the second curved part 204 bears against the second wall 4 of the opening 2 of the profile. Finally, the trapdoor 200 itself may be in contact with the free edge 32 of the first wall 3 of said opening 2, which constitutes a stop for the trapdoor 200 to rise.This is a stable position for closing the hatch 200, initiated by the force exerted by the blade 12 of the tab 10 on the edge 201 of the hatch 200.

[0031] When an operator wants to change the position of the inspection hatch 200, he must move the longitudinal edge 201 in Z of the latter inside the profile constituting the clip / connecting piece 1, a movement which takes place mainly in the opening 2, inside the clip 1 which guides this rotation. This is what appears in figure 4 . Starting for example from the open position of the figure 2 , a counterclockwise rotation is applied to the partition forming the hatch 200, so that the free edge 202 of the longitudinal edge 201 of the hatch 200 slides down the handle 11 of the hockey stick-shaped leg 10, said edge 201 then pivoting on the top portion 22 of the protuberance 20. As the partition of the hatch becomes horizontal, the free edge 202 eventually reaches the lower end of the handle 11, and the end portion 205 of the longitudinal edge 201 can be inserted between the blade 12 of the leg 10 and said top portion 22 and become wedged there. When the final closing position of the hatch 200 is reached, it comes into contact with the free edge 32 of the first wall 3 of the opening 2, and can no longer rise any further.The constraint in the closing direction results mainly, as indicated, from the free end of the tab 10 pressing against the terminal part 205 of the longitudinal edge 201, by means of the blade 12 of the stock.

[0032] During the movement, elastic deformations mainly of the wall 3 and its extension after the tab 10, and possibly of the tab 10 itself, make it possible to progressively change the positioning of the longitudinal edge 201 of the hatch 200 relative to the clip 1 and to the box 100, in particular by imparting a flexion of these walls, which then return elastically to a position which exerts a stress against the longitudinal edge 201 of the hatch 200, which is then naturally urged upwards. In the other direction of movement, the longitudinal edge 201 comes out of the “pinching” which is exerted between the blade 12 of the crook-shaped tab 10 and the top portion 22 of the protuberance 20, with 4 antagonistic contact / support zones in the opening 2, which are allowed by the respective shapes and dimensions of said longitudinal edge 201 and of the clip 1.The support at the level of the curve 204, in particular, combined with the dimension of the flat terminal part 205 of the edge 201 which guarantees a double contact edge 202 / sleeve 11 of the tab 10 on the one hand and curved part 203 / wall 3 on the other hand, maintains the longitudinal edge 201 of the hatch 200, moreover retained by a support on the top portion 22 of the protuberance 20, during rotation in this direction of movement.

[0033] The design methods illustrated by the figures are of course not exhaustive of the invention, which on the contrary includes variants of shape in particular likely to affect the clip 10, the longitudinal edge 201 of the hatch 200 and the slide 101 of the box 100, which are not limited to the lines appearing in the figures. 1

Claims

1. Roller shutter box (100) provided with an inspection hatch (200) consisting of at least a portion of a section of the box (100) and pivotable relative to the rest of the box (100) at a longitudinal edge (201) joining said hatch (200) to the box (100) between a closed position and an open position of the hatch (200), comprising at least one connecting piece (1) connecting the box (100) and the hatch (200) at said longitudinal edge (201), the connecting piece (1) being secured to the box (100) and provided with elastic locking means for the hatch (200) in the closed position, characterized in that said at least one connecting piece (1) and the longitudinal edge (201) form a pivoting hinge of the hatch (200) relative to the box (100).

2. Roller shutter box (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in thatthe connecting piece (1) consists of a profile made of elastic flexible material comprising an opening (2) for inserting the longitudinal edge (201) of the hatch (200) of which a first and a second facing wall (3), (4) converge towards an internal narrowing (5) at the level of which a tab (10) protrudes from the first wall (3) towards the inside of the connecting piece (1), opposite a protuberance (20) extending towards said tab (10), the longitudinal edge (201) being shaped in a rounded Z, its faces and its free edge each comprising at least one support zone with the tab (10), the protuberance (20) and the two walls (3), (4) of the insertion opening (2), in each of the two open and closed positions of the hatch (200).

3. Roller shutter box (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in thatthe proximal face of the opening (2) for inserting the protrusion (20) forms the second wall (4) of the opening (2) for inserting the profile of the connecting piece (1).

4. Roller shutter box (100) according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the leg (10) is in the form of a crook whose handle (11) is inclined relative to the orientation of the wall of the profile from which it protrudes, and the curved end blade (12) of said crook is parallel to said side.

5. Roller shutter box (100) according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the protuberance (20) is made up of two sides (4), (7) parallel to each other developing in the direction of said tab (10) and the top portion (22) joining them is rounded.

6. Roller shutter box (100) according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in thatthe longitudinal edge (201) in Z comprises, in cross section and from a free edge (202), a flat terminal part (205) followed respectively by a first curved part (203), an oblique portion and a second curved part (204) ending at the base of the Z, which extends to form the trapdoor (200).

7. Roller shutter box (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that , in the open position of the hatch (200), the free edge (202) of the longitudinal edge (201) of the hatch (200) bears against the handle (11) of the tab (10), the lower face of the flat end part (205) rests on the top portion (22) of the protuberance (20), the first curved part (203) of said edge (201) bears against the first wall (3) of the opening (2) of the profile and the second curved part (204) bears against the second wall (4) of the opening (2).

8. Roller shutter box (100) according to one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that , in the closed position of the hatch (200), the upper face of the terminal part (205) of the longitudinal edge (201) is in contact with the blade (12) of the tab (10), the lower face of said terminal part (205) rests on the top portion (22) of the protuberance (20), the second curved part (204) of said edge is in contact with the second wall (4) of the opening (2) and the hatch (200) is in contact with the free edge (32) of the first wall (3) of the opening (2) of the profile.

9. Roller shutter box (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the profile of the connecting piece (1) has a U-shaped part (6) housed in a U-shaped slide (101) of the box (100), the free branch (102) of which allows the connecting piece (1) to be fixed by inserting said free branch (102) between the two sides (4), (7) of the protuberance (20).

10. Roller shutter box (100) according to one of claims 4 to 9, characterized in that the butt-shaped leg (10) of the connecting piece (1) is made by cutting into a U-shaped section in a wall of the profile, which is deformed to obtain the handle (11) and the blade (12) of the butt.

11. Roller shutter box (100) according to one of claims 5 to 10, characterized in that a window (23) is cut out in the rounded top portion (22) of the protuberance (20).

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