Reinforcement device for shutter curtains in architectural shutter devices

Abstract

To provide a shutter curtain reinforcing device for reinforcing a shutter curtain 3 which has been bent by strong winds, by using a vertical posture reinforcing column 11 that can be moved left and right, and which is capable of easily moving the reinforcing columns 11 left / right even when there is unevenness on a floor F.SOLUTION: A reinforcing column 11 includes: an upper strut 12 provided with upper rollers 15 that travel on an upper rail 9 provided in an upper portion of an opening E; and a lower strut 13 provided with lower rollers 20 that travel on a floor F. Since the upper strut and the lower strut are connected so as to expand and contract in the vertical direction, unevenness can be easily overcome by expanding and contracting up and down.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of a reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device installed to open and close openings such as entrances and exits of structures such as buildings. [Background technology]

[0002] Nowadays, architectural shutter devices are sometimes installed at openings such as entrances and exits inside and outside buildings and other structures, which open and close the openings by guiding a shutter curtain up and down on guide rails arranged on the left and right. The shutter curtains installed in such architectural shutter devices are directly affected by weather fluctuations on the outdoor side, and such weather fluctuations include strong winds that occur during bad weather such as typhoons and torrential rain, and the shutter curtains are required to be able to withstand such strong winds. However, when a shutter curtain is hit by a strong wind, the central part of the shutter curtain bends (depresses) toward the indoor or outdoor side, causing the left and right edges to come out of the guide rail. To address this problem, wind-resistant hooks are provided on both the left and right ends of the shutter curtain, and when the shutter curtain is bent by a strong wind, these wind-resistant hooks are engaged with engaging portions provided within the guide rail to prevent the shutter curtain from bending, thereby preventing the shutter curtain from coming out of the guide rail and improving its wind resistance. Some of these shutters equipped with wind-resistant hooks have sufficient wind resistance, but there are some that do not have wind-resistant hooks, or that are installed at large openings, and the wind-resistant hooks alone do not provide the wind resistance to withstand the onset of large typhoons, etc. Therefore, in order to accommodate architectural shutter devices in such cases, it has been proposed to provide reinforcing posts on at least one side, inside or outside, of the shutter curtain in the closed position, so that the reinforcing posts come into contact with and support the shutter curtain when it is bent by a strong wind, thereby providing the necessary wind resistance (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4697644 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5489044 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the former type, the reinforcing post is configured to be freely moved in the left and right direction in a vertical position, using either a hanger-type upper rail system, or an upper rail and an upper rail on the floor surface, and is moved from the storage position to the reinforcement position, and the reinforcing post is positioned and fixed in place once moved to the reinforcement position.However, since the reinforcing post is configured as a single piece that is long in the vertical direction corresponding to the width of the opening, if there is a convex unevenness, for example, due to an obstacle (such as accumulated mud) on the running surface of the lower roller, when the lower end of the reinforcing post rides up onto the convex unevenness, the upper roller will lift off the running surface of the upper rail and will become tilted.When the reinforcing post becomes tilted in this way, the subsequent movement of the reinforcing post will become jerky, and smooth left and right movement will be impaired, among other problems. On the other hand, the latter type is configured to reinforce the shutter curtain by placing the reinforcing posts in an inclined position. For this reason, in this type, the reinforcing posts are configured to be freely extended and contracted by connecting an upper support section, the upper end of which is pivoted (axially supported) at the upper end of the guide rail at the opening, to a lower support section, the lower end of which is fitted with a lower roller. However, since there is no reinforcement by reinforcing posts on both the upper and lower sides of the central section on the left and right where the shutter curtain bends the most in strong winds, not only is the reinforcing effect inferior to that of a type reinforced in a vertical position, but when the reinforcing posts are extended and contracted in an inclined position, the steeper the inclination (the greater the angle of inclination with respect to the vertical), the more a load is exerted on the upper support section trying to make it vertical, while the lower support section is exerted with a load trying to make it horizontal, causing the connecting parts to bite into each other and become twisted, thereby hindering smooth movement. These are the issues that this invention aims to solve. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present invention has been created in view of the above-mentioned circumstances and with the objective of solving these problems. Opening This shutter curtain reinforcement device in an architectural shutter device is configured to reinforce the shutter curtain, which is guided by left and right guide rails provided at the mouth of the opening, by using a reinforcing post that moves in a vertical position from a stored position close to the guide rails to a reinforcement position in the left-right middle of the opening.The reinforcing post is configured so that an upper post section having an upper roller that runs on an upper rail provided above the opening, and a lower post section having a lower roller that runs on the floor section are connected so that they can expand and contract in the vertical direction, allowing both the upper and lower post sections to move between the stored position and the reinforcement position in a vertical position that is expandable and contractable in the vertical direction. The invention of claim 2 is a reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in claim 1, characterized in that the reinforcing support receives the load of the upper support portion on the upper rail via an upper roller, and receives the load of the lower support portion on the floor portion via a lower roller. The invention of claim 3 is a reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the upper support portion is engaged with the lower support portion in a male-female mating overlapping state so as to be freely stretched and contracted in the vertical direction. The invention of claim 4 is a reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the lower support portion is cylindrical in shape and the upper support portion is fitted into the upper end portion of the lower support portion so as to be freely expandable and contractable in the vertical direction. The invention of claim 5 is a reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that when a shutter curtain is bent by strong wind, it is received by abutting against the lower support portion without abutting against the upper support portion. The invention of claim 6 is a reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a reinforcing vertical member is provided on the surface of the lower support part facing the shutter curtain, which is close to and faces the curtain surface of the shutter curtain and against which the bent shutter curtain abuts and is supported. The invention of claim 7 is a reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the lower end of the upper support portion is located in the upper portion of the reinforcing support. The invention of claim 8 is a reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the upper support portion is configured with a support main body portion that fits loosely into the lower support portion, and an outer shell portion that is arranged to surround the outer periphery of the support main body portion and has a surface portion that closely faces the inner surface of the lower support portion, and the support main body portion has a protrusion that protrudes downward from the lower end of the outer shell portion, and the protrusion is provided with an abutment member that abuts or closely faces the left and right inner surfaces of the lower support portion. The invention of claim 9 is a reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device according to claim 8, characterized in that the abutment member is composed of a sphere that is rotatable in all directions. The invention of claim 10 is a reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the upper support portion is provided with a covering portion having a top surface portion covering the upper end portion of the lower support portion and a side surface portion hanging down from the peripheral portion of the top surface portion and covering the side surface portion of the lower support portion. The invention of claim 11 is a reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the lower support portion is provided with an upper support member for positioning and supporting the lower support portion on the upper rail when the reinforcing support is in the reinforcing position, and a lower support member for positioning and supporting the lower support portion on the floor portion. The invention of claim 12 is a reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in claim 11, characterized in that the upper support member is configured to include a support bracket provided on the lower support portion and a rod-shaped body that can be freely operated up and down between a positioning posture and a release posture, and the upper rail is provided with a regulating member that interferes with the rod-shaped body positioned in the positioning posture to regulate the reinforcing post from moving toward the storage position. The invention of claim 13 is a reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that a reinforcing member is provided on the upper rail at a position corresponding to the reinforcing position of the reinforcing post. The invention of claim 14 is a reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the lower roller moves in the left-right direction without being able to change direction around the vertical axis, and a pair of lower rollers are provided at the lower end of the lower support portion with a misalignment in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions. Effect of the Invention

[0006] By adopting the invention of claim 1, the shutter curtain is reinforced with a vertical reinforcing pillar, eliminating the problems associated with reinforcement in an inclined position, while the reinforcing pillar connects an upper pillar section equipped with an upper roller that runs on an upper rail and a lower pillar section equipped with a lower roller that runs on the floor section so that the reinforcing pillar can be freely extended and contracted in the vertical direction.As a result, in the event that there is a convex unevenness on the running surface of the lower roller and the lower roller rides up, the lower pillar section will perform an extension and contraction operation to move upward relative to the upper pillar section, making it possible to avoid the movement while almost maintaining the vertical position, and allowing the reinforcing pillar to move smoothly from side to side. By adopting the invention of claim 2, the load of the upper support section is supported by the upper rail, and the load of the lower support section is supported by the floor surface. As a result, the upper rail only needs to support the load of the upper support section, rather than the entire reinforcing support section, which reduces the burden on the upper rail and contributes to increased strength, while also making the upper rail more compact and easier to install. By adopting the invention as defined in claim 3, the upper support portion is fitted into the lower support portion in a male-female mating state, making it possible to freely expand and contract in the vertical direction. This means that the lower support portion facing the shutter curtain can be made wider to increase its strength. By adopting the invention of claim 4, the upper support portion is fitted into the upper end portion of the cylindrical lower support portion so as to be freely expandable and contractable in the vertical direction, thereby simplifying the structure of the reinforcing support portion which is expandable and contractible. By adopting the invention of claim 5, the shutter curtain that has been bent due to strong winds is received by abutting against the lower support portion without coming into contact with the upper support portion. As a result, the upper support portion does not need to directly receive the bent shutter curtain, so there is no need for it to be made larger, and it is possible to achieve a lightweight and compact structure. By adopting the invention of claim 6, the reinforcing pillar comprising a lower support portion can be positioned away from the shutter curtain by the amount of the reinforcing vertical member provided, and the upper rail can be positioned so as not to interfere with the opening and closing operation of the shutter curtain. By adopting the invention of claim 7, the upper support portion is short and its lower end is located above the reinforcing support, thereby making the upper support portion lighter, reducing the load on the upper rail and making the upper rail lighter and more compact. By making use of the invention of claim 8, when the lower support portion, which actually plays a role in reinforcing the shutter curtain, is made wider to ensure strength, the gap that occurs between it and the support main body portion can be made smaller by the outer casing provided on the support main body portion, and furthermore, the protruding portion that protrudes downwardly below the outer casing of the support main body portion is provided with abutment portions that abut or closely face the lower support portion.As a result, when the lower support portion attempts to tilt relative to the upper support portion during the process of the reinforcing support portion moving left and right, the upper end portion of the outer casing on the upper side and the abutment portion on the lower side will abut against the lower support portion, preventing excessive tilting, and allowing the reinforcing support portion to move smoothly left and right. According to the invention as defined in claim 9, the abutment member is constituted by a sphere that can rotate in all directions, and it is possible to accommodate tilt regulation in multiple directions, including tilt in the forward and backward directions. By adopting the invention of claim 10, the upper end portion of the lower support portion is covered by a cover portion having a top surface portion and a side surface portion provided on the upper support portion, thereby preventing foreign matter such as rainwater or garbage from entering through the gap between the lower support portion and the upper support portion. By adopting the invention of claim 11, the reinforcing post located at the reinforcement position is positioned and supported by upper and lower support members provided on the lower post portion, and while having an upper post portion that can freely expand and contract up and down, the lower post portion, which actually contributes to the reinforcement of the shutter curtain, is positioned and supported, thereby stabilizing the reinforcement. By adopting the invention of claim 12, the movement of the rod-shaped body constituting the upper support member toward the storage position is restricted by a restricting member provided on the upper rail, thereby simplifying the upper support member. By adopting the invention of claim 13, the upper rail is provided with a reinforcing member at the portion corresponding to the reinforcement position, so that it can withstand the load from the shutter curtain side in a reinforced state, and the strength can be increased without reinforcing the entire upper rail. By adopting the invention of claim 14, the lower rollers are a pair of rollers whose directional change around the vertical axis is restricted and which are arranged in a shifted state in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions.As a result, the reinforcing support is restricted from bending in the front-to-back direction and is guided in a linear left-to-right direction, allowing for stable left-to-right movement. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 2 is a front view of a shutter device for a building with the reinforcing column positioned in the stored position. FIG. [Diagram 2] 1 is a front view of a shutter device for a building with the reinforcing column positioned in the reinforcing position. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a side view of a shutter device for a building. [Figure 4] A side view of the upper end portion of the building shutter device. [Diagram 5] A side view of the lower end portion of the building shutter device. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a side view of an upper end portion at a reinforcement position of the reinforcement device. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a front view of the upper end portion of the reinforcement device. [Figure 8] 7A and 7B are cross-sectional views taken along line II and II-II in FIG. [Figure 9] 8(A) and 8(B) are cross-sectional views taken along lines III-III and IV-IV in FIG. [Figure 10] 7(A) and (B) are cross-sectional views taken along line VV and VI-VI in FIG. [Figure 11] 13 is a front view of the upper end portion of the reinforcement device with the reinforcement pillar positioned in the storage position. FIG. [Figure 12] 1 is a front view of an upper end portion of a reinforcement device with a reinforcement strut positioned at a reinforcement position. FIG. [Figure 13]13A and 13B are a plan view and a side view of the upper end portion of the reinforcement device when the reinforcement pillar is positioned at the reinforcement position. [Figure 14] A plan cross-sectional view showing the state in which the reinforcing column located in the storage position is engaged with the main body. [Figure 15] 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D are a plan view, a front view, a side view, and a sectional front view showing the recess with the lid open. [Figure 16] 13(A) and (B) are schematic explanatory views showing the assembly procedure for the first half of the reinforcement device. [Figure 17] 13(A) and (B) are schematic explanatory views showing the latter half of the assembly procedure of the reinforcement device. [Figure 18] FIG. [Figure 19] 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which a shutter curtain bent by a strong wind abuts against a reinforcing vertical member. FIG. [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side view of a shutter device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. [Figure 22] FIG. [Figure 23] FIG. [Figure 24] FIG. [Diagram 25] (A) and (B) are a plan view and a front view of the upper rail. [Figure 26] (A) and (B) are a bottom view and a side view of the upper rail. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a shutter device for a building that is installed at an opening E such as an entrance or exit of a building, and the shutter device 1 is configured using various members and devices such as guide rails 2 provided on the left and right sides of the opening E, a shutter curtain 3 that opens and closes the opening E by being guided up and down by the guide rails 2, a winding body (winding wheel, winding drum) 4 provided in the ceiling space H of the opening E and on which the shutter curtain 3 is wound, an opening / closing device 5 that is electrically driven to rotate the winding body 4 forward and backward to wind the shutter curtain 3, and a shutter case 6 provided in the ceiling space H to house the winding body 4, all of which are conventional.

[0009] Furthermore, the shutter case 6 is provided with left and right brackets 6a whose outdoor end is supported and fixed to a wall W arranged on the outdoor side of the guide rail 2 and above the opening E, and the left and right end edges of the winding body 4 are supported by the left and right brackets 6a, but the shutter case 6 is further reinforced by various members such as a U-shaped reinforcing frame 6b whose upper outdoor end is supported by the wall W, a reinforcing cross bar 6c supported between the left and right brackets 6a, and a frame 6d provided on the frame M that serves as the outlet for the shutter curtain 3 to be unrolled from the shutter case 6 and that engulfs the seat plate 3a provided at the bottom end of the shutter curtain 3. The shutter case 6 is also box-shaped due to the presence of an upper panel, side panels, and lower panel, and the case lower panel 6e is fixed to the lower side of the reinforcing frame 6b and the frame 6d. On the other hand, a U-shaped frame (three-sided frame) is provided on the underside of the wall W, including both the left and right side portions of the opening E, and the upper frame 7 of the frame is provided so as to be flush with the case lower plate 6e. In this embodiment, a pair of reinforcing devices 8 for reinforcing the shutter curtain 3 is provided symmetrically on the inside and outside of the shutter curtain 3, with the shutter core X along which the shutter curtain 3 opens and closes as the symmetrical core.

[0010] In this manner, in this embodiment, a pair of inner and outer reinforcing devices 8 are provided. However, since the pair of reinforcing devices 8 are symmetrical indoors and outdoors (front and back) with the shutter core X as the symmetrical center, hereinafter, the indoor reinforcing device 8 will be described in detail, and a description of the outdoor reinforcing device 8 will be omitted unless specifically required. By installing the reinforcing device 8 both indoors and outdoors in this manner, the reinforcing effect can be made even greater; however, it goes without saying that in implementing the present invention, the reinforcing device 8 may be installed either indoors or outdoors, and whether the reinforcing device 8 is installed on both indoors and outdoors or on only one of them can be selected as appropriate according to need.

[0011] Furthermore, two sets of reinforcing devices 8 may be provided on both the left and right sides of the opening E, and the two reinforcing positions in the middle of the left and right direction of the shutter curtain 3 may be reinforced with reinforcing posts 11, which will be described later (in this case, it is not necessary to set the reinforcing positions at equal intervals in the left and right direction). The present invention can also be implemented by providing a plurality of reinforcing posts 11, such as two, on one set of reinforcing devices 8, reinforcing the shutter curtain 3 at appropriate intervals in the left and right direction. In this case, the upper rail 9, which will be described later, may be made to have a maximum width that spans the entire left and right width of the opening E, and in this case, the reinforcing posts 11 may be configured to be stored in a state where they are separated on the left and right.

[0012] The reinforcing device 8 is configured with an upper rail 9 provided on the case bottom plate 6e, and the upper rail 9 is C-shaped and includes an upper piece 9a serving as a straddling portion, side pieces 9b bent downward so as to hang down from the front and rear end edges of the upper piece 9a, and a pair of front and rear lower pieces 9c bent in the front-rear direction from the lower end edges of the side pieces 9b so as to face each other. The upper piece 9a of the upper rail 9 is fixed to the case bottom plate 6e via a fixing member such as a screw (not shown), and this fixing position is preferably the position of a reinforcing member such as the left and right brackets 6a or the reinforcing frame 6b of the shutter case 6, but it may be directly fixed to the case bottom plate 6e as long as the case bottom plate 6e has the necessary strength.

[0013] The upper rail 9 has a pair of lower pieces 9c which serve as running surfaces 9c for the upper rollers 15 described later, and a gap Y formed between the opposing running surfaces 9c in the front-to-rear direction constitutes a guide portion (penetrating portion) Y for guiding the pillar main body portion 14 described later in a penetrating state from side to side. The upper rail 9 is further reinforced by the incorporation of an L-shaped auxiliary member 10, with the vertical piece 10a of the auxiliary member 10 being in contact with the side piece 9b in an overlapping (laminated) state. When the upper rail 9 is attached in this manner, a running space is formed between the running surface 9c and the lower piece 10b of the auxiliary member 10 in which the upper roller 15 runs; however, this running space allows the upper roller 15 to move upward slightly; in other words, there is a slight gap between the upper roller 15 running on the running surface 9c and the lower piece 10b of the auxiliary member, and is set so that the upper roller 15 is prevented from rising up more than necessary from the running surface 9c, thereby preventing (preventing) the reinforcing pillar 11, which moves left and right, from tilting in the left and right direction.

[0014] The upper rail 9 configured in this manner has one end which serves as a storage position for the reinforcing post 11 adjacent to either the left or right guide rail 2, and the other end which is located at the middle position in the left-right direction of the opening (for example, the center position in the left-right direction), and is configured to serve as a reinforcing position for the shutter curtain 3 by the reinforcing post 11. The other edge of the upper rail 9 is an open opening edge 9e, and an inverted L-shaped mounting bracket 9f is provided on the upper piece 9a of the opening edge 9e. With a blocking plate 9g placed against the opening edge 9e, the opening edge 9e can be blocked off detachably by screwing a screw 9h from the blocking plate 9g into the mounting bracket 9f.

[0015] On the other hand, the reinforcing column 11 is configured so that an upper column portion 12 and a lower column portion 13 are connected in a continuous manner in the vertical direction. The upper support portion 12 is further constructed using a support body portion 14 having a rectangular tube shape, the lower end edge of which is short to the upper part of the reinforcing support 11, and the front and rear surface portions 14a of the support body portion 14 penetrate the guide portion Y of the upper rail 9 in a loosely fitted state. At the upper end portion of the front and rear surface portions 14a of the penetrated support body portion 14, a bracket 14b is provided that is set longer in the left and right direction than the support body portion 14 (so as to protrude in the left and right direction relative to the support body portion 14) and is positioned above the running surface portion 9c, and the upper rollers 15 that run on the running surface portion 9c as described above are provided at both left and right ends of the bracket 14b. By configuring in this way, the left and right upper rollers 15 are provided in a wide state protruding in the left and right direction relative to the reinforcing support 11, preventing the reinforcing support 11 from tilting in the left and right direction. Furthermore, on both the front and rear surfaces 14a of the pillar main body 14, a guide surface portion 16 is provided adjacent to the underside of the bracket 14b and set longer in the left-right direction than the pillar main body 14, in a state where it is close to the inner end edges of the running surface portion 9c that face each other in the front-to-rear direction (loosely fitted into guide portion Y).Thus, the reinforcing pillar 11 is set so that it can be moved and guided in the left-right direction while the guide surface portion 16 that is long in the left-right direction and provided on the pillar main body 14 is guided in a state where it is close to and faces the tip edge portion of the running surface portion 9c.

[0016] Furthermore, the guide surface portion 16 is secured to the pillar main body portion 14 by a fixing means such as welding at both left and right pieces 17b of a reinforcing member (first reinforcing member) 17, the straddling portion 17a of which is fixed to the left and right surface portions 14c of the pillar main body portion 14, thereby reinforcing the guide surface portion 16 against the pillar main body portion 14. In this embodiment, the bracket 14b has its upper and lower edge portions welded to the front and rear surface portions 14a of the pillar main body portion 14. For this reason, the guide surface portion 16 has a cutout portion 16a formed in a portion corresponding to the pillar main body portion 14, so that the lower edge portion of the bracket 14b can be welded even after the guide surface portion 16 is attached to the pillar main body portion 14.

[0017] Furthermore, a wide outer casing 18 is provided on the pillar main body 14 and is positioned below the guide surface 16, but the lower edge of the outer casing 18 is shorter than the pillar main body 14.As a result, although the pillar main body 14 is short and reaches the upper part of the reinforcing pillar 11 as described above, its lower end extends (protrudes) downwardly beyond the outer casing 18. The outer shell 18 has a rectangular cylindrical shape that fits loosely around the pillar main body 14, with the areas corresponding to the front and rear face sections 14a and the left and right face sections 14b of the pillar main body 14 forming groove sections 18a, the bottom of which abuts against the front and rear face sections 14a and the left and right face sections 14b and is integrated by a fixing means such as welding. By configuring it in this manner, the corner sections 18b of the outer shell 18 are wide sections spaced apart from the pillar main body 14. In this embodiment, the outer shell 18 has a structure in which a hat-shaped cross-sectional plate material 18c in which the groove portion 18a is formed and an L-shaped plate material 18d are integrated together by a fixing means such as welding.

[0018] On the other hand, the lower support portion 13, which is a component of the reinforcing support 11, has a rectangular tubular shape and is wider than the outer shell portion 18, and the support body portion 14 and outer shell portion 18 of the upper support 13 are fitted (inner fitted) into the upper end portion of the lower support portion 13 in a loose fit state that allows them to move up and down (flexibly, freely insert and remove, freely go in and out, and freely appear and disappear). In other words, the lower support portion 13 is fitted externally to the upper support portion 13 in a state where it is fitted externally and is free to move up and down. Of the left and right surface portions 14c of the pillar main body portion 14, extension portion 14d, which extends downward below the lower edge of the outer shell portion 18, has a sphere 14e arranged in close proximity to (or in contact with) the inner surface of the left and right surface portions 13a of the lower pillar portion 13, and the sphere 14e is supported so as to be freely rotatable in all directions via brackets 14f provided on the left and right surface portions 14c of the pillar main body portion. Furthermore, when the lower support portion 13 is tilted relatively in the left-right direction with respect to the upper support portion 12, the sphere 14e constitutes abutment member that is abutted against the inner surface of the left and right surface portions 13a of the lower support portion 13 to regulate the left-right tilt between the upper support portion 12 and the lower support portion 13. However, as long as it regulates the tilt, a fixed protrusion or a roller body (rotating body) instead of a sphere may of course be used. In this embodiment, such abutment members are provided on both the left and right surfaces 14b of the support body 14, but they may also be provided on both the front and rear surfaces 14a if necessary.

[0019] Furthermore, the upper support portion 12 is provided with a cover portion 19 for covering the upper end portion of the lower support portion 13. The cover portion 19 has a top surface portion 19a that is wider in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions than the lower support portion 13 so as to cover the upper part of the upper end of the lower support portion 13, and side surfaces 19b that hang down from the peripheral portion of the top surface portion 19a and cover the outer periphery of the left-to-right and front-to-back surface portions 13a and front-to-back surface portions 13b of the lower support portion 13 in a loose fit manner, and is configured to prevent rainwater, etc. from entering through the upper end of the lower support portion 13. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the cover portion 19a is formed at the edge portion facing the front and rear surface portions 14a of the pillar main body portion 14 of the top surface portion 19a with a protrusion 19c for welding the cover portion 19 to the pillar main body portion 14 so as to protrude upward from the top surface portion 19a.

[0020] A lower roller 20 that runs on the floor surface (floor surface) F is disposed on the lower surface 13c provided at the lower end of the lower support 13, and the lower roller 20 is provided on a bracket 20a attached to the lower surface 13c in a state in which it is impossible to change direction around the vertical axis, and is movable in the left-right direction, and in this embodiment, the lower rollers 20 are provided on the lower surface 13c as a pair with misalignment in the front-rear and left-right directions. 20b is an operating lever for locking the running (rolling) of the lower roller 20, and although the operating lever 20b is provided on only one of the lower rollers 20 in this embodiment, it can also be provided on both if necessary.

[0021] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a reinforcing vertical member 29 (described later) is provided on the surface portion (front-to-rear inner surface portion) of both the front and rear surface portions 13b of the lower support portion 13 facing the shutter curtain 3 so as to face closely to the shutter curtain 3, thereby reinforcing the reinforcing support portion 11 and enabling the shutter curtain 3, which is bent due to strong winds, to be supported by directly abutting against the reinforcing vertical member 29. The reinforcing pillar 11, which connects the upper pillar portion 12 and the lower pillar portion 13 in this manner so that it can freely expand and contract in the vertical direction, is configured so that the upper rollers 15 provided on the upper pillar portion 12 run and guide the upper rail 9 in the horizontal direction, and the lower rollers 20 provided on the lower pillar portion 13 run in a straight line in the horizontal direction on the surface (floor surface) of the floor F, allowing it to move horizontally between a storage position adjacent to the guide rail 2 on one end of the opening and a reinforcement position midway in the horizontal direction.

[0022] Furthermore, the upper rail 9 is provided with a reinforcing member (second reinforcing member) 21 at a position corresponding to the reinforcing position of the reinforcing column 11. The reinforcing member 21 is provided on one side piece 9b of the upper rail 9 in the front-rear direction (opposite the side where the shutter curtain 3 is arranged (the shutter core X side)), but it can also be provided on the other side piece 9b (the shutter curtain 3 side) or on both side pieces 9b. The reinforcing member 21 is an inverted L-shaped plate material with a vertical piece 21a welded to the side piece 9b of the upper rail 9 and an upper piece 21b fixed to the case lower panel 6e via a screw (not shown), and the reinforcing member 21 further has a reinforcing piece 21c welded to the vertical piece 21a and the upper piece 21b, which is provided at an interval in the left-right direction. In this device, an L-shaped bracket 22a is fixed to the vertical piece 21a, and a hanging fitting 22 having an arc-shaped (can be made into a hook-like or other suitable shape) engaging portion is provided on the bracket 22a so as to be freely attached and detached.

[0023] Furthermore, the reinforcing pillar 11 is provided with support members 23, 24 on both the upper and lower sides to position and support both the upper and lower ends when in the reinforcing position, and both of these support members 23, 24 are provided on the lower pillar portion 13. In this embodiment, the upper support member 23 is provided on the surface (indoor side surface) of the front and rear surface parts 13b of the lower support part 13 opposite to the surface facing the shutter curtain 3, but can be provided on any surface selected from the left and right and front and rear surface parts 13a, 13b of the lower support part 13. A plurality of cylindrical support fittings 23a constituting the upper support member 23 are attached to one of the left and right surface parts 13a on the indoor side of the lower support part 13 (the guide rail 3 side in this embodiment) via brackets 23b, and a linear rod-shaped body 23c penetrates the support fitting 23a so as to be movable in the vertical direction. Below the lowest support fitting 23a among the support fittings 23a, a pair of upper and lower holding fittings 23d, 23e are attached to the front and rear surface parts 13b to hold the rod-shaped body 23c in the vertical position. The lower retaining bracket 23e is flat to receive and support the lower edge portion of the rod-shaped body 23c, but in this embodiment it is magnetized (the lower retaining bracket 23e may be directly magnetized, or may be magnetized by attaching a magnet, etc.) and is configured to magnetically hold the lower edge portion of the rod-shaped body 23c.

[0024] A flange portion 23f extending in the horizontal direction is provided at the lower end edge of the rod-shaped body 23c, while a through groove 23g is formed in the upper holding metal fitting 23d so that when the flange portion 23f is rotated in the front-rear direction while the rod-shaped body 23c is in a penetrated state in which it is free to move up and down, the flange portion 23f can be penetrated in the up-down direction, but when the flange portion 23f is rotated in the left-right direction, the flange portion 23f is locked and cannot be penetrated. Incidentally, the upper holding metal fitting 23d can also be magnetized, so that the flange portion 23f does not fall off the upper holding metal fitting 23d inadvertently. When the reinforcing pillar 11 is positioned in the reinforcement position and the flange portion 23f is held by the lower retaining bracket 23e, the rod-shaped body 23c is in a non-positioning position in which the upper edge portion 23h is located below the upper rail 9. However, by holding the flange portion 23f by the upper retaining bracket 23e, the rod-shaped body 23c is in a positioning position in which the upper edge portion 23h is closely opposed to the stopper piece 9i provided on the upper rail 9, and when in this positioning position, the upper edge portion of the reinforcing pillar 11, which is positioned in the reinforcement position, is prevented from moving toward the storage position. In this embodiment, a second stopper piece 9j is provided on the upper rail 9 to restrict the reinforcing column 11 from moving toward the reinforcing position when the column 11 is in the stored position.

[0025] On the other hand, in this embodiment, the lower support member 24 is provided on the surface opposite the shutter curtain 3 (shutter core X) (the surface on the outer side in the left-right direction) of the front and rear surface portions 13b of the lower support portion 13, but similarly to the upper support member 23, it can be provided on any surface selected from the left-right front and rear surface portions 13a, 13b of the lower support portion 13. The lower support member 24 is constituted by a support bracket 24a having a square cylindrical shape with a top, which is attached to one of the faces 13b in the front-to-rear direction of the lower support portion 13. A rod-shaped body (actuating body) 24b having a square cylindrical shape with a top is fitted into the support bracket 24a so as to be able to move freely in the vertical direction.

[0026] A long hole 24d is formed in one side surface 24c in the left-right direction of the support fitting 24a, and an operating body 24e is provided on the rod-shaped body 24b in a state of penetrating the long hole 24d, and an operating screw 24g is further provided on the indoor side surface 24f of the support fitting 24a. When the operating screw 24g is tightened in a state in which the rod-shaped body 24b has been moved upward above the floor surface F, the tip of the operating screw 24g comes into contact with the rod-shaped body 24b in a pressing manner, thereby restricting vertical movement and fixing the rod-shaped body 24b in a fixed state in which vertical movement, including descent under its own weight, is permitted by loosening the operating screw 24g, and the rod-shaped body 24b that has been descent under its own weight can be lifted up along the long hole 24d by grasping the operating body 24e. When the rod-shaped body 24b is lowered under its own weight with the reinforcing column 11 in the reinforcing position, the rod-shaped body 24b fits into the drop-in portion 25 described below, assuming a positioning posture that supports and positions the lower end of the reinforcing column 11, thereby restricting movement toward the storage position. However, the upper edge of the rod-shaped body 24b in the lowered state under its own weight is set to be positioned below the operating screw 24g. Therefore, when the rod-shaped body 24b is in the positioning posture in which it has been lowered under its own weight, the operating screw 24g is screwed deep into the support bracket 24a to overlap (position) the tip of the screw above the rod-shaped body 24b, thereby restricting the rod-shaped body 24b from moving upward out of the drop-in portion 25, thereby preventing the rod-shaped body 24b from coming out of the drop-in portion 25 and being released from its position.

[0027] Meanwhile, the recess 25 is formed so as to be embedded in a mounting hole Z drilled in a portion of the floor surface F corresponding to the reinforcement position, and the recess 25 is composed of a main body 25a, a lid 25b, and a flange 25c. The main body 25a has a bottomed rectangular cylindrical shape, and protruding surface portions 25e are further formed on the left and right outer sides of both the left and right side portions 25d. On the other hand, the flange portion 25c is assembled to the upper edge of the main body portion 25a, and an opening 25f is formed so that the cover portion 25b can be attached and detached freely. One edge portion 25g of the opening 25f in the left-right direction extends to the protruding surface portion 25e, while the other edge portion 25h extends to the other side surface portion 25d. The lid 25b is set to close (cover) the opening 25f by fitting into the opening 25f and being flush with the flange 25c, and an auxiliary plate 25i is provided adjacent to the lower side of the lid 25b. The auxiliary plate 25i is configured to support the lid 25b against the main body 25a, with both left and right edge portions placed on the notches 25j formed in the left and right side portions 25d of the main body when the opening 25f is closed by the lid 25b.

[0028] Furthermore, cover portion 25b is provided on its upper surface with an operating portion 25k having a recessed groove formed therein into which a screwdriver or the periphery of a coin (e.g., a 10-yen coin) can be inserted to rotate the operating portion 25k, and a locking piece 25l is provided at the lower end of operating portion 25k. By rotating operating portion 25k, locking piece 25l fits into locking hole 25m formed in one of main body side surface portions 25d, and thus can be operated from a locked position where it is locked so as not to come off, to an unlocked position where it comes out of locking hole 25m to be in an unlocked state and cover portion 25b can be removed. In this embodiment, when the lid portion 25b is removed while being unlocked by operating the operating portion 25k, the lid portion 25b can be temporarily held in place by inserting the tip portions of the lid portion 25b and the auxiliary plate 25i between one of the main body side portions 25d and the protruding surface portion 25e.

[0029] The reinforcement device 8 of the shutter curtain 3, including the reinforcing pillar 11 embodying the present invention, can be installed at the same time as a newly installed shutter device 1 is set up in the opening E, but it can also be easily installed as an add-on to an existing shutter device 1, and the assembly procedure (method) is described below. When assembling to an existing shutter device 1, the components that need to be transported to site and prepared are the reinforcing posts 11, the upper rail 9, and the drop-in portion 25. Of these components transported to site, the first step is the rail installation process, in which the upper rail 9 is attached to the top of the opening E. Next, a post installation process is carried out to install the reinforcing post 11 into the upper rail 9, but if the upper rail 9 installed in the rail installation process was transported to the site with its opening edge 9e on the reinforcing position side blocked by a blocking plate 9g, the blocking plate 9g is removed to open the opening edge 9e, and the upper roller 15 provided at the upper end of the reinforcing post 11 is inserted and installed through this opening edge 9e, thereby carrying out the post installation process of the reinforcing post 11 to the upper rail 9. The execution of the post installation process of the reinforcing post 11 to the upper rail 9 also includes the step of opening and closing the opening edge 9e via the blocking plate 9g.

[0030] Furthermore, this method requires a recess formation process for forming recess 25 on floor surface F. If the position at which recess 25 is to be formed can be accurately determined on the floor surface F at the site based on the design dimensions, then the recess formation process can be carried out regardless of whether the rail installation process or the pillar assembly process is carried out first or after. In this case, however, accurate measurement work is required to determine the recess position. In contrast, if the support installation process has already been performed, the reinforcing support 11 incorporated in the upper rail 6 can be moved to the reinforcement position and the rod-shaped body 24b provided on the lower support member 24 can be lowered by its own weight as described above, thereby identifying the descent location of the rod-shaped body 24b. By drilling the floor surface F at this identified descent location to provide a drop-in portion 25, the simple work of forming the drop-in portion 25 can be performed accurately without the need for troublesome measuring work.

[0031] In this way, the reinforcing device 8 for reinforcing the shutter curtain 3 can be installed, and furthermore, the reinforcing post 11 can be installed into the upper rail 6 by utilizing the upper rail 6. As described above, the upper rail 6 attached to the upper part of the opening is provided with a reinforcing member 21 at a position corresponding to the reinforcing position, and a hoisting fitting 22 is detachably attached to the reinforcing member 21. A simple lifting machine such as an electric hoist 26 (or a manual hoist is of course acceptable) is hooked to the hoisting fitting 22. A locking hook 26b attached to an operating chain 26a suspended from the hoist 26 is locked to a hoisting fitting 27 detachably attached via a bracket 27a to the upper part of the lower support part 13 of the reinforcing support 11. By driving the hoist 26 in this locked state to lift the locking hook 26b, the upper end of the reinforcing column 11 is lifted at the portion corresponding to the reinforcement position, thereby making it easy to install the reinforcing column 11 into the upper rail 6 at the reinforcement position.

[0032] Next, the reinforcing vertical member 29 attached integrally to the reinforcing column 11 will be described in detail. The reinforcing vertical member 29 is attached integrally to the surface 13b facing the shutter core X among the front and rear surface parts 13b of the lower column part 13 constituting the reinforcing column 11, and the reinforcing vertical member 29 has a hat-shaped cross section including a main body part 29a shaped like a square and narrower in the left-right direction than the lower column part 13, and leg pieces 29b extending outward in the left-right direction from both left and right end edges of the main body part 29a, and the leg pieces 29b are welded to one of the front and rear surface parts 13b, thereby being integrated with the lower column part 13 and reinforced. The reinforcing vertical member 29 is configured so that its main body portion 29a protrudes toward the shutter core X further than the covering portion 19 and faces closely to the shutter curtain 3 in the closed position, and its upper edge portion 29c is lower than the upper edge portion 12a of the upper support portion 12 and is located at a lower position close to the covering portion 19, and its lower edge portion 29d is long and extends to a position that approximately coincides with the lower surface portion 13c of the lower support portion 13.By configuring it in this manner, the upper edge portion 29c of the reinforcing vertical member 29 is set to be lower (lower) than the upper edge portion of the upper support portion 12 that constitutes the reinforcing support 11, and higher (upper) than 1 / 2 the height of the opening height at the opening E.

[0033] The shutter device 1 is provided with a foldable portion M which serves as the outlet for the shutter curtain 3 from the shutter case 6 and which engulfs the seat plate 3a of the shutter curtain 3 when it is fully open. The reinforcing vertical member 29 is arranged to face closely to the shutter core X, and is positioned so that the spanning piece portion (the opposing piece portion facing the shutter core X) 29e of the main body portion 29a faces closely to the shutter curtain 3 in the closed position, slightly (by a few mm) exceeding the fore-and-aft width L of the foldable portion M with the shutter core X as the reference point. And when the shutter curtain 3 is bent by a strong wind, as shown in Figure 19, the shutter curtain 3 on the lower end base plate 3a side is in a free end state with nothing supporting the left-right central part, so that the section beyond the up-down central part up to a height of approximately 2 / 3 to 3 / 4 of the frontage height bends significantly, and the upper section above this is supported across the entire frontage width by the lintel section M, so the amount of bending is suppressed, and the shutter curtain 3 attempting to bend in this way is received by the reinforcing vertical member 29, and does not come into contact with the reinforcing pillars 11 (upper pillar section 12, lower pillar section 13). In this embodiment, the width L of the shim is the same dimension as the front-to-rear width of the guide rail 2, but this is not limited to this, and the width L of the shim may be either wider or narrower than the front-to-rear width of the guide rail 2.

[0034] By providing the reinforcing vertical member 29 on the reinforcing pillar 11 in this manner, when the shutter curtain 3 in the fully closed position is bent by a strong wind, as described above, the bent shutter curtain 3 will not come into contact with the upper and lower pillar portions 12, 13 that constitute the support pillar portion, but will come into contact with the reinforcing vertical member 29 that faces closely to the shutter core X and be received therein. As a result, the left and right end edges of the shutter curtain 3 are prevented from bending and deforming to the extent that they would come out of the guide rail 4, and the shutter curtain is configured to exhibit high wind resistance. In this case, the reinforcing vertical member 29 is located at a low position from the lower end edge of the reinforcing column 11 to a position not reaching the upper edge of the reinforcing column 11, so that the load received from the shutter curtain 3 with which the reinforcing vertical member 29 abuts becomes a large load on the lower end edge side, which is supported on the floor surface F side, and the upper end edge side receives a correspondingly reduced load. In this case, the upper end edge of the reinforcing column 11 is attached to the upper rail 9 supported by the case lower panel 6e and upper frame 7 adjacent to the lid part M, and although the support strength of these case lower panel 6e and upper frame 7 is inevitably inferior to that of the drop-in part 25 arranged on the floor part F, sufficient reinforcing strength can be obtained even when supported by the upper rail 9 attached to such a part.

[0035] Moreover, in this device, the reinforcing support 11 is composed of an upper support section 12 and a lower support section 13, and a reinforcing vertical member 29 is provided on the lower support section 13, so that the member against which the shutter curtain 3 bent by strong winds comes into contact and is received is essentially the lower support section 13. As a result, the load to receive the bent shutter curtain 3 acts largely on the lower support section 13 side, but since the lower support section 13 is configured so that its lower end edge is supported on the floor surface F side, it can receive the load more firmly, and the load received by the upper end edge of the upper support section 12 on the upper rail 9 adjacent to the ridge section M can be reduced, so that the strength of the reinforcing device 8 can be increased.

[0036] In the reinforcing column 11 according to the present invention, both upper and lower end edges are positioned and held by the upper and lower support members 23, 24 in the reinforcing position, while the reinforcing column 11 can be positioned and held in the stored position by a similar configuration, but as a simple means for holding the reinforcing column 11 in the stored position, the present embodiment can hold the reinforcing column 11 in the stored position by detachably connecting a bracket 28a fixed to the lower holding portion 23e provided on the lower column portion 13 with an engaging portion 28b provided on a body side member such as the guide rail 2 via a connecting member such as a chain 28 or wire. Of course, a means for holding the reinforcing column 11 in the stored position may be magnetic, fastened with a string, or the like.

[0037] In the present embodiment configured as described above, the shutter curtain 3 that opens and closes the opening E is reinforced by a reinforcing post 11 that faces closely to the guide rail 3 in a vertical position. The reinforcing post 11 is configured by connecting an upper support portion 12 having an upper roller 15 that runs on an upper rail 9 provided above the opening E, and a lower support portion 13 having a lower roller 20 that runs on the floor portion F, so that the reinforcing post 11 can be freely extended and retracted in the vertical direction. As a result, the reinforcing post 11 can reinforce not only the central portion but also the upper and lower portions of the middle portion in the left-right direction where the shutter curtain 3 is most likely to bend. However, when the lower roller 20 running on the floor portion F runs over a convex unevenness, the lower support portion 13 on which the lower roller 20 is mounted performs an upward extension and retraction operation relative to the upper support portion 12, so that the upper roller 15 can overcome the unevenness while running stably on the upper rail 9, and the reinforcing post 11 can move smoothly left and right.

[0038] Furthermore, in this case, the load of the upper support portion 12 of the reinforcing column 11 is supported by the upper rail 9 via the upper roller 15, and the load of the lower support portion 13 is supported by the floor portion F via the lower roller 20.As a result, the load of the reinforcing column 11 is supported in a distributed manner, so that the upper rail 9 does not need to support the entire load of the reinforcing column 11, but only needs to support the load of the upper support portion 12.This reduces the burden on the upper rail 9, contributing to increased strength, and also makes the upper rail 9 lighter and more compact, facilitating the installation work of the upper rail 9 which is attached above the opening E.

[0039] In this way, the reinforcing pillar 11 is configured so that the upper pillar section 12 and the lower pillar section 13 can freely expand and contract in the vertical direction, with the upper pillar section 12 fitted into the lower pillar section 13 in a male-female overlapping state so as to be freely expandable and contractable in the vertical direction.This makes it possible to make the lower pillar section 13, which faces and reinforces the shutter curtain 3, wider to increase its strength, while simplifying the structure. Furthermore, the lower support portion 13 is cylindrical and the upper support portion 12 is fitted into the upper end of the lower support portion 13 so as to be freely expandable and contractable in the vertical direction. This simplifies the structure of the reinforcing support portion 11, which is expandable and contractible, while making the lower support portion 13 into which the upper support portion 12 is fitted wider, thereby increasing its strength.

[0040] Furthermore, when the shutter curtain 3 is bent due to a strong wind when the reinforcing pillar 11 is blown, it is received and supported by abutting the lower pillar portion 13 without coming into contact with the upper pillar portion 12. Therefore, the upper pillar portion 12 does not need to directly receive the bent shutter curtain 3, and therefore does not need to be made large and wide like the lower pillar portion 13 which directly receives and supports the shutter curtain 3, making it possible to make the shutter curtain 3 lightweight and compact. Furthermore, as described above, the lower support portion 13 is provided with a reinforcing vertical member 13d against which the bent shutter curtain 3 abuts, and therefore the reinforcing support portion 11 comprising the lower support portion 13 can be positioned away from the shutter curtain 3 (curtain core X) by the amount of the reinforcing vertical member 13d provided, so that the upper rail 9 can be positioned so as not to interfere with the opening and closing operation of the shutter curtain 3, and so there is no hindrance to the opening and closing operation of the shutter curtain 3.

[0041] In this case, since the lower end of the upper support portion 12 is located on the upper part of the reinforcing support portion 11, the load in the indoor / outdoor direction received when receiving and supporting the bent shutter curtain 3 is directly received by the long lower support portion 13, and the upper support portion 12 indirectly receives this load via the part where the two support portions 12, 13 overlap (stacking). However, since the upper support portion 12 is short (short length) on the upper rail 9 side, this has an advantageous moment effect. As a result, even though the upper support portion 12 is narrow when fitted inside the lower support portion 13, it has an advantageous strength, which allows the upper support portion 12 to be made lighter, and the load on the upper rail 9 on which the load of the upper support portion 12 acts is reduced, contributing to increased strength.

[0042] The upper support portion 12 is configured to include a support main body portion 14 that fits loosely into the lower support portion 13, and an outer casing portion 18 that is arranged to surround the outer periphery of the support main body portion 14 and has a surface portion that closely faces the inner surface of the lower support portion 13.Furthermore, the support main body portion 14 has an extension portion 14d that extends downward from the lower end portion of the outer casing portion 18, and a sphere 14e is provided on the extension portion 14d in a state that faces the inner surfaces of the left and right surface portions 13a of the lower support portion 13. For example, in the process of moving the reinforcing column 11 in the left-right direction, when the lower column portion 13 attempts to tilt left-right relative to the upper column portion 12, within the lower column portion 13, the upper end of the outer shell portion 18 abuts against the inner surface of the left-right surface portion 13a of the lower column portion 13 at the upper side, and the sphere 14e abuts against the inner surface of the left-right surface portion 13a of the lower column portion 13 at the lower side, creating a two-point abutment support structure at the top and bottom. As a result, the upper column portion 12 and the lower column portion 13 are prevented from tilting more than necessary, and the reinforcing column 11 can move smoothly left-right while maintaining an approximately vertical posture. Furthermore, in this case, the sphere 14e becomes rotatable in all directions and comes into contact with the inner surfaces of the left and right sides 13a of the side support portion 13. Therefore, even if the upper support portion 12 and the lower support portion 13 are tilted and misaligned in the front-to-rear direction, the sphere 14e can come into contact with the corresponding part, thereby effectively preventing the upper support portion 12 and the lower support portion 13 from coming into contact with each other.

[0043] Furthermore, in this case, the reinforcing pillar 11 is configured so that the upper pillar portion 12 is fitted into the lower pillar portion 13 so as to be freely expandable and contractible in the vertical direction. The upper pillar portion 12 is provided with a cover portion 19 having a top surface portion 19a covering the upper end portion of the lower pillar portion 13 and a side surface portion 19b hanging down from the peripheral portion of the top surface portion 19a and covering the side portion of the lower pillar portion 13. As a result, it is possible to prevent foreign matter such as rainwater or garbage from entering through the gap between the lower pillar portion 13 and the upper pillar portion 12.

[0044] In addition, the lower support portion 13 is provided with an upper support member 23 for positioning and supporting the lower support portion 13 on the upper rail 9 when the reinforcing support portion 11 is in the reinforcement position, and a lower support member 24 for positioning and supporting it on the floor portion F.As a result, the reinforcing support portion 11 in the reinforcement position is positioned and supported from the top and bottom by the upper and lower support members 23, 24 provided on the lower support portion 13, and the upper support portion 12, which is freely expandable and contractable up and down relative to the lower support portion 13, is not positioned and supported, but the lower support portion 12, which actually contributes to the reinforcement of the shutter curtain 3, is positioned and supported up and down, thereby stabilizing the reinforcement.

[0045] Furthermore, the upper support member 23 is provided with a support bracket 23a attached to the lower support portion 13, and a rod-shaped body 23c that can be freely moved up and down between a positioning posture and a release posture, and the upper rail 9 is provided with a stopper piece 9i that interferes with the rod-shaped body 23c positioned in the positioning posture to prevent the reinforcing pillar 11 from moving toward the storage position. This eliminates the need to provide a regulating member equivalent to the stopper piece 9i above the opening E, thereby simplifying the structure. In addition, a reinforcing member 21 is provided on the upper rail 9 at a portion corresponding to the reinforcing position of the reinforcing post 11, reinforcing that portion, so that the load from the shutter curtain 3 side is received in a reinforced state, thereby increasing the strength.

[0046] Furthermore, the lower rollers 20 are set to move left and right without being able to change direction around the vertical axis, and a pair of lower rollers 20 are provided at the lower end of the lower support portion with misaligned positions in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions. As a result, when the lower support portion 13 is moved left and right, bending movement in the front-to-back direction is restricted and the lower support portion 13 is actively guided in a straight line left and right, allowing stable left and right movement.

[0047] Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented as a second embodiment shown in Fig. 20 onwards, which will be described below. In this embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the main difference from the first embodiment is the structure of the reinforcing vertical members 29.

[0048] The reinforcing vertical member 29 of the second embodiment has a hat-shaped cross section, and is attached integrally to the front and rear surface portions 13b of the lower support portion 13 on the side facing the shutter core X, and the upper edge portion 29c is located above half the height of the opening, and the lower edge portion 29d is located at the same position as the lower surface portion 13c of the lower support portion 13, all of which are similar to those of the first embodiment. However, the upper edge portion 29c is set lower than that of the first embodiment and is approximately 2 / 3 the height of the frontage, so that the upper edge portion 29c is set lower than that of the first embodiment and lower than the lower edge portion of the pillar main body portion 14. As a result, the reinforcing vertical member 29 is lowered, thereby making the reinforcing pillar 11 lighter. However, when the shutter curtain 3 is bent by strong winds, the reinforcing vertical member 29 can support and receive the portion of the shutter curtain 3 where the bending amount is large without contacting the reinforcing vertical member 29, thereby highly preventing the bent shutter curtain 3 from slipping out of the guide rail 2. By lowering the height of the reinforcing vertical member 29 in this manner, when the reinforcing vertical member 29 receives and supports the bent shutter curtain 3, if the height of the reinforcing vertical member 29 is set to 2 / 3 of the frontage height, the load acts on the floor surface F side and 1 / 3 on the lintel section M side as a stress. This means that the load is borne more heavily on the floor surface F side, where the support strength can be set to be greater, thereby contributing to increased strength.

[0049] Furthermore, in this case, the upper edge 29c of the reinforcing vertical member 29 is an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the shutter curtain 3, while the lower edge 29d is an inclined surface that slopes upward toward the shutter curtain 3.This is intended to prevent the seat plate 3a from getting caught on the upper edge 29c or lower edge 29d of the reinforcing vertical member 29, which would cause the opening and closing position to be disturbed when the shutter curtain 3 is opened or closed with the reinforcing post 11 set in the reinforcing position. Furthermore, cushioning material 30 is provided on the spanning piece portion 29e and both upper and lower edge portions 29c, 29d, which are the surfaces of the reinforcing vertical member 29 facing the shutter curtain. As a result, when the bent shutter curtain (seat plate 3a, slats 3b) 3 comes into contact with the reinforcing vertical member 29, shock absorption is achieved, which not only contributes to preventing noise generation, but also prevents damage to the reinforcing vertical member 29 and the shutter curtain 3.

[0050] Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the position of the support member 23 for maintaining the reinforcing column 11 in the storage position and the reinforcing position is configured differently from that of the first embodiment, and this configuration will be described below. In the first embodiment, the support member 23 is provided on one of the side surfaces 13a in the left-right direction of the lower support portion 13, but in the second embodiment, it is provided on the outer side surface 13b in the front-rear direction. By configuring it in this way, the support member 23 can be operated from the outside in the front-rear direction of the opening E, and the body side member is not close to the opening E and gets in the way, particularly in the storage position, and the operation is superior to that of the first embodiment. Moreover, the upper rail 9 is provided with stopper members 9k, 9l corresponding to the storage position and the reinforcing position of the reinforcing support 11, but the stopper members 9k, 9l are not L-shaped single plates provided on the upper rail upper piece portion 9a like the stopper pieces 9i, 9j in the first embodiment, but are U-shaped ones protruding outward from the side piece portion 9b of the upper rail 9. In this case, the pair of left and right stopper materials 9l provided at the reinforcement position are welded to the vertical piece portion 21a and the upper piece portion 21b of the reinforcing member 21 provided in that portion, thereby reinforcing the reinforcing member 21 itself. This allows the stopper materials 9l to double as reinforcing materials, thereby further reinforcing the portion of the upper rail 9 corresponding to the reinforcement position. [Industrial Applicability]

[0051] The present invention can be used as a reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device that is installed to open and close openings such as entrances and exits of structures such as buildings. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1 Shutter device 2 Guide rails 3. Shutter Curtain 8 Reinforcement Device 9 Top Rail 9e Opening edge 9g Closing plate 11 Reinforcement pillar 12 Upper support column 13 Lower support section 14 Pillar body 14a Front and rear both sides 14b Bracket 14c Left and right side 14d Extension 14e sphere 15 Upper roller 16 Guide surface 18 Outer Wall 20 Lower Roller 21 Reinforcement members 22 Hanging bracket 23 Upper support member 23c Rod 24 Lower support member 24b Rod 25 Drop-in section 26 Hoist 27 Hanging bracket 29 Reinforcing vertical members F Floor L Magsa width X Shutter Core Y Information Department Z Mounting Hole

Claims

1. In a shutter curtain reinforcing device for an architectural shutter device, a shutter curtain that opens and closes an opening of a building by being guided by left and right guide rails installed in the opening is reinforced by a reinforcing post that is moved in a vertical position from a storage position close to the guide rails to a reinforcing position in the middle of the opening in the left and right direction. This is a reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device, characterized in that the reinforcing support is configured so that an upper support section having an upper roller that runs on an upper rail provided above the opening and a lower support section having a lower roller that runs on the floor section are connected to each other so that they can be freely extended and contracted in the vertical direction, thereby allowing both the upper and lower support sections to move between the stored position and the reinforcement position in a vertical posture in which they can be freely extended and contracted in the vertical direction.

2. A reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the reinforcing support supports the load of the upper support portion at the upper rail via an upper roller, and supports the load of the lower support portion at the floor portion via a lower roller.

3. 3. A reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the upper support portion is fitted to the lower support portion in a male-female mating overlapping state so as to be freely stretched and contracted in the vertical direction.

4. A reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the lower support portion is cylindrical and the upper support portion is fitted into the upper end portion of the lower support portion so as to be freely expandable and contractable in the vertical direction.

5. A reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a shutter curtain that is bent by a strong wind is received by abutting against the lower support portion without abutting against the upper support portion.

6. A reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a reinforcing vertical member is provided on the surface of the lower support portion facing the shutter curtain, which is closely opposed to the curtain surface of the shutter curtain and against which the bent shutter curtain abuts and supports it.

7. 7. A reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device according to claim 1, wherein a lower end of the upper support portion is located at an upper portion of the reinforcing support.

8. The upper support portion is configured to include a support body portion that is loosely fitted into the lower support portion, and an outer shell portion that is provided to surround the outer periphery of the support body portion and has a surface portion that closely faces the inner surface of the lower support portion, A reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the support main body has a protruding portion that protrudes downward from the lower end of the outer shell portion, and the protruding portion is provided with an abutment member that abuts or closely faces the left and right inner surfaces of the lower support portion.

9. 9. The reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device according to claim 8, wherein the abutment member is constituted by a sphere that is rotatable in all directions.

10. A reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the upper support portion is provided with a covering portion having a top surface portion covering the upper end portion of the lower support portion and a side surface portion hanging down from the peripheral portion of the top surface portion and covering the side surface portion of the lower support portion.

11. A reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the lower support portion is provided with an upper support member for positioning and supporting the lower support portion on the upper rail when the reinforcing support is in the reinforcing position, and a lower support member for positioning and supporting the lower support portion on the floor portion.

12. the upper support member is configured to include a support bracket provided on the lower support column and a rod-shaped body provided so as to be vertically operable between a positioning posture and a release posture; A reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device as described in claim 11, characterized in that the upper rail is provided with a regulating member that interferes with the rod-shaped body positioned in a positioning posture to regulate the reinforcing post from moving toward the storage position.

13. 13. A reinforcing device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that a reinforcing member is provided on the upper rail at a position corresponding to the reinforcing position of the reinforcing post.

14. A reinforcement device for a shutter curtain in an architectural shutter device described in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the lower roller moves in the left-right direction without being able to change direction around the vertical axis, and a pair of lower rollers are provided at the lower end of the lower support portion with a misalignment in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions.

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