Opening / closing body buffer device and folding door device using the same

Abstract

To provide an opening / closing body buffer apparatus without impairing overall design of the apparatus with low cost.SOLUTION: An opening / closing body buffer apparatus 10 that buffers an impact of movement while door bodies 2a, 2b are forced to be moved to a closed state or an opened state, includes a closer 40 attached to a predetermined position of an upper guide rail 4 extending in an opening / closing direction, and a door end side upper metal filling 20 that is attached to a side of the door body 2b and causes the door body 2b to move in the opening / closing direction by a travel roller 23 moving along the upper guide rail 4. The door end side upper metal fitting 20 is provided with a closer space S1 where the closer 40 is caused to pass inside of the door end upper metal fitting 20 so as to prevent interference between the closer 40 and the door end side upper metal fitting 20 at a position where the door end side upper metal fitting 20 moves and overlaps the closer 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an opening and closing body buffer device that forcibly moves a door body in a closed state or an open state and buffers the impact of the movement, and a folding door device using the same.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a folding door device that opens and closes by folding two door bodies in half. As an opening and closing body buffer device provided in this folding door device, an elastically biasing member is attached inside a hinge, and the elastic force is used to bias the door body in the opening and closing direction, and the door body is moved by this biasing force until it is in a completely closed state or an open state (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In addition, there is also a technique of diverting and using an opening and closing body buffer device used for a sliding door or a hinged door in a folding door device (see, for example, Patent Document 2). The opening and closing body buffer device used in such a sliding door device is one in which a traveling roller and a closer (auxiliary retracting mechanism) provided at the upper part of the sliding door move in the opening and closing direction within a rail of an upper guide rail provided on the building side. Further, the closer is provided with an elastic spring for biasing the sliding door in the opening and closing direction, and the door body is moved in the opening and closing direction by this biasing force (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the technology of Patent Document 1 described above, a strong biasing force is required to apply a rotational force within the hinge, and durability for repeated use is also required. To achieve these, the structure of the hinge portion becomes complex, and since the hinge portion needs to have a strong structure, it is difficult to manufacture at low cost.

[0006] Also, in the technology of Patent Document 2, it is necessary to provide a closer outside the upper guide rail for the upper fitting on the door tip side of the folding door to travel. Therefore, the closer is in a visible state to the user and looks bad. Also, the installation work is difficult.

[0007] Furthermore, when the technology of Patent Document 3 is used for a folding door device, since the closer is long in the opening and closing direction, it cannot be used for a folding door device with a small frontage. Also, since the closer moves on the upper side inside the upper guide rail and the traveling roller travels on the lower side inside the upper guide rail, the vertical length of the upper guide rail visible to the user becomes long, which may impair the design.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide an opening / closing body buffer device that is inexpensive and does not impair the design of the entire device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] To solve the above problems, the present invention is an opening / closing body buffer device that forcibly moves a door body to a closed state or an open state and buffers the impact of the movement, and includes a closer attached to a predetermined position of an upper guide rail extending in the opening and closing direction, and a door tip side upper fitting attached to the door body side, wherein the door body moves in the opening and closing direction by the traveling roller moving along the upper guide rail, and a closer space for passing the closer inside the door tip side upper fitting is provided at a position where the door tip side upper fitting moves and overlaps the closer so that the closer and the door tip side upper fitting do not interfere with each other.

[0010] Further, the space for the closer may be formed inside and surrounded by a bottom plate portion and two side plate portions that stand upward from the front and rear ends of the bottom plate portion, respectively, and traveling rollers may be attached to rotating shafts that protrude outward in the front-rear direction on the side plate portions.

[0011] Furthermore, the position below the traveling roller may be at the same height as the bottom plate portion or above it.

[0012] On the other hand, the present invention is characterized in that the opening / closing body buffer device described in any one of claims 1 to 3 is used for a folding door.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] In the opening / closing body buffer device according to the present invention, a space for the closer is provided so that the closer passes inside without interference between the closer and the upper fitting on the door tip side at the position where the upper fitting on the door tip side moves and overlaps the closer. Therefore, the moving range of the upper fitting on the door tip side in the opening / closing direction can be increased. As a result, even when the frontage of the opening on the building side is narrow, an opening / closing body buffer device that ensures a sufficient length for retracting the door body can be installed.

[0014] Also, there is no need to configure the position of the closer and the position where the upper fitting on the door tip side travels separately in the vertical direction so that they do not interfere. Therefore, the vertical length of the upper guide rail can be shortened. As a result, by making the upper guide rail less conspicuous as seen by the user, the design property of the entire device is improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015]

Figure 1

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Figure 13

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, the opening / closing body buffer device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a folding door device to which the opening / closing body buffer device according to the embodiment of the present invention is attached, seen from the upper left diagonal side, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the state excluding the upper guide rail in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the state where the door body is half-opened from FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the state where the door body is fully opened from FIGS. 3 and 4. Note that FIGS. 3 to 5 are drawn excluding the upper guide rail for ease of explanation.

[0017] In addition, the directions of "left side (door-opening side)", "right side (door-closing side)", "front side (front side)", "back side", "upper side", "lower side", and "front and back" used in the following description shall refer to the directions shown in FIGS. 1, 3 to 5. Also, the right end is referred to as the door tip side, and the left end is referred to as the hanging end side.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the folding door device 1 has two door bodies (the first door body 2a and the second door body 2b), and the upper right corner of the first door body 2a and the upper left corner of the second door body 2b are connected by a hinge 3. Although not shown, the lower sides of the two door bodies 2a and 2b are also connected by hinges in the same manner as the upper side. These two door bodies 2a and 2b, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, can be folded by the user pulling the door tip side of the second door body 2b to the front side (or the user pushing the door tip side of the second door body 2b from the back side to the front side), and the position of the hinge 3 moves to the back side, and they are in an open state. Also, by performing the reverse operation from the open state, they shift to the closed state.

[0019] The upper guide rail 4 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is attached to the upper end of the opening on the building side and is continuously provided across the opening and closing direction (left and right direction) of the door bodies 2a and 2b. As shown in FIG. 2, the cross-sectional shape of the upper guide rail 4 is formed in a U-shape with the lower side open. This upper guide rail 4 is composed of an upper surface portion 4a attached to the building side and side surface portions 4b and 4b extending downward from the front and back of this upper surface portion 4a, respectively.

[0020] Also, rolling surface portions 4c and 4c extending substantially horizontally inward are provided on the lower sides of the side surface portions 4b and 4b. Further, two positioning wall portions 4d and 4d extending downward are provided on the upper surface portion 4a at intervals in the front and back directions. Note that the cross-sectional shape of the upper guide rail 4 is formed substantially symmetrically in the front and back directions.

[0021] Inside the upper guide rail 4, in the region sandwiched between the positioning wall portions 4d, 4d, a closer (supplementary retraction mechanism) 40, the details of which will be described later, is attached. Two of these closers 40 are attached at predetermined positions in the left - right direction of the upper guide rail 4 (at both the left and right ends of the upper guide rail 4 in FIGS. 1 to 5) with a space therebetween. Note that these closers 40, 40 have the same structure, and by reversing the left - right orientation of the left - hand closer 40, it can be used as the right - hand closer. Note that, as shown in FIG. 2, the length of the upper guide rail 4 in the vertical direction is formed to be approximately equal to the length of the closer 40 in the vertical direction.

[0022] Also, inside the upper guide rail 4, in the region sandwiched between the positioning wall portion 4d and the side surface portion 4b, running rollers 23 of the door - tip - side upper fitting 20, the details of which will be described later, are arranged, and these running rollers 23 run on the rolling surface portion 4c in the opening - closing direction.

[0023] On the upper side of the second door body 2b, at a position approximately in the center in the left - right direction, a door - tip - side upper fitting 20 is attached. This door - tip - side upper fitting 20 is rotatably attached to the second door body 2b in the horizontal direction and rotates in accordance with the movement of the opening and closing of the second door body 2b. Also, the door - tip - side upper fitting 20 is configured to be movable in the opening - closing direction inside the upper guide rail 4 by the running rollers 23.

[0024] On the upper side of the first door body 2a, at the left - hand position, a suspension - end - side upper fitting 30 is attached. This suspension - end - side upper fitting 30 is also rotatably attached to the first door body 2a in the horizontal direction and rotates in accordance with the movement of the opening and closing of the first door body 2a. Also, unlike the door - tip - side upper fitting 20, the suspension - end - side upper fitting 30 is fixed to the left - end portion of the upper guide rail 4 and does not move.

[0025] In this embodiment, the opening - closing body buffer device 10 is composed of these door - tip - side upper fitting 20, suspension - end - side upper fitting 30, and closer 40.

[0026] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the door end upper fitting 20 as seen from the upper left obliquely, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the door end upper fitting 20 as seen from the upper right obliquely. Further, FIG. 8(A) is a plan view of the door end upper fitting 20, and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of (A).

[0027] The door end upper fitting 20 is composed of a runner 21 formed by processing sheet metal, and a door engaging portion 25 attached in a manner of being suspended below the runner 21.

[0028] The runner 21 includes a bottom plate portion 21a that constitutes the bottom surface, left side plate portions 21b, 21b that are located on the left side of the bottom plate portion 21a and stand up from both front and rear ends of the bottom plate portion 21a upward, and right side plate portions 21c, 21c that are located on the right side of the bottom plate portion 21a and stand up from both front and rear ends of the bottom plate portion 21a upward.

[0029] The left side plate portions 21b, 21b, the right side plate portions 21c, 21c are provided with rotation shafts 22 protruding outward in the front-rear direction, and traveling rollers 23 are rotatably attached to the rotation shafts 22 respectively. Further, the inner ends of the rotation shafts 22 are assembled so as not to protrude inside the inner surfaces of the left side plate portions 21b, 21b, the right side plate portions 21c, 21c.

[0030] With the above-described configuration, a space S1 for the closer is formed in the inner portion surrounded by the bottom plate portion 21a, the left side plate portions 21b, 21b, the right side plate portions 21c, 21c as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8. The interval in the front-rear direction of this space S1 for the closer is formed wider than the width dimension in the front-rear direction of the closer 40 as shown in FIG. 2. Thereby, even when the runner 21 moves in the opening and closing direction and reaches the position of the closer 40, the closer 40 enters into this space S1 for the closer, and when the door end upper fitting 20 travels with the closer 40 inside, the closer 40 and the runner 21 do not interfere with each other at the same height position.

[0031] Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the traveling roller 23 travels while being supported by the rolling surface portion 4c of the upper guide rail 4 at a position outside the front-rear direction of the closer 40. The position of the lower side (lower end) of the traveling roller 23 is set to be approximately equal to or higher than the position of the lower side (lower end) of the closer 40 and the bottom plate portion 21a, so that the height dimension of the upper guide rail 4 does not become unnecessarily large.

[0032] Also, a captured member 24 is attached to the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 21a on the left side of the bottom plate portion 21a. The captured member 24 includes a base portion 24a extending in the left-right direction along the bottom plate portion 21a, and engaged portions 24b provided at both left and right ends of the base portion 24a, respectively.

[0033] The base portion 24a is fixed to the bottom plate portion 21a by a rivet 26. As shown in FIG. 8(B), the engaged portion 24b protrudes upward in a substantially L shape, and is captured by a capturing member 42 (see FIGS. 11 and 12) of the closer 40, which will be described in detail later, so that the door tip side upper fitting 20 is pulled in either the opening or closing direction by the closer 40.

[0034] The door engaging portion 25 is attached in a manner embedded in the upper central portion of the second door body 2b. Further, as shown in FIG. 8(B), the door engaging portion 25 is horizontally rotatably attached to a rotating shaft 27 extending downward from the bottom plate portion 21a, and thus rotates freely in the horizontal direction in accordance with the movement of the second door body 2b.

[0035] FIG. 9(A) is a perspective view of the suspension side upper fitting 30 as viewed from the upper left obliquely, and (B) is a perspective view as viewed from the upper right obliquely. Further, FIG. 10(A) is a front view of the suspension side upper fitting 30, (B) is a plan view, (C) is a left side view, and (D) is a right side view.

[0036] The suspension side upper fitting 30 includes a fixing member 31 fixed to a predetermined position of the upper guide rail 4, and a door engaging portion 25 attached in a manner suspended below the fixing member 31.

[0037] The fixing member 31 includes a bottom plate portion 31a that constitutes the bottom surface, and side plate portions 31b, 31b that stand upright upward from both front and rear ends of the bottom plate portion 31a. Further, between the bottom plate portion 31a and the side plate portions 31b, 31b, a closer space S2 is formed as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, similar to the runner 21. This closer space S2 is approximately the same size as the closer space S1, and the interval in the front-rear direction of the closer space S2 is formed wider than the width dimension in the front-rear direction of the closer 40. Thereby, with the closer 40 accommodated in the closer space S2, it is attached to the upper guide rail 4 together with the closer 40.

[0038] In addition, adjusting members 32, 32 are respectively attached to the outer sides in the front-rear direction of the side plate portions 31b. The thickness dimension in the front-rear direction of these adjusting members 32, 32 is the same as the thickness dimension of the running roller 23 of the runner 21, and when the fixing member 31 is attached into the upper guide rail 4, the adjusting member 32 is in contact with the inner surface of the side surface portion 4b of the upper guide rail 4 in the front-rear direction.

[0039] Note that the position below the adjusting member 32 is formed to be approximately equal to or higher than the position below the closer 40 and the bottom plate portion 21a, similar to the running roller 23.

[0040] The door engaging portion 25 has the same structure as that used in the upper fitting 20 on the door tip side, and is attached in a manner of being embedded in the upper left end portion of the first door body 2a, and rotates freely in the horizontal direction in accordance with the movement of the first door body 2a.

[0041] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the closer 40. Further, FIG. 12 is a front view showing a cross section of the closer 40. Note that the closer shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is drawn as it is without changing the orientation of the one used in Patent Document 3, but in the present invention, it is used as it is with the vertical direction of the closer reversed.

[0042] When the doors 2a and 2b are closed, the catching member 42 of the closer 40 catches the engaged portion 24b of the upper fitting 20 on the door tip side and pulls it in until the doors 2a and 2b are completely closed, thereby preventing the doors 2a and 2b from being left in a half - open state. Similarly, when opening, it catches the engaged portion 24b so that the doors 2a and 2b are in a completely open state. Also, when the doors 2a and 2b are forcefully closed (opened), it absorbs the impact and moves to a gently closed (opened) position.

[0043] This closer 40 has the same structure and function as the conventional one (see, for example, Patent Document 3). However, in the conventional structure, a running roller for running the closer 40 in the opening - closing direction is provided, but in the present invention, since the closer 40 is fixed to the upper guide rail 4, it is different in that no running roller is provided. Therefore, a detailed description of the structure and function will be omitted, and the main part will be briefly described below.

[0044] As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, inside the main body 41 of the closer 40, a spring member 44 for pulling in the catching member 42 and a damper 43 for buffering the momentum of the doors 2a and 2b are provided. The catching member 42 moves up and down as the link pin 42b moves along the guide hole 41a, and catches or releases the engaged portion 24b of the runner 21 at a predetermined position. In the caught state, the biasing force of the spring member 44 pulls in the engaged portion 24b (the upper fitting 20 on the door tip side), and the damper 43 absorbs the impact in the pulling - in direction.

[0045] Next, the operation and function of the opening - closing body buffer device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. In the present invention, the closer 40 is fixed at a predetermined position on the upper guide rail 4 and is not moved. Therefore, by eliminating the part where a running roller is provided as in the conventional structure, the length of the closer in the opening - closing direction can be shortened. Therefore, even when the width of the opening of the building is small, the opening - closing body buffer device 10 can be installed.

[0046] Also, the upper fitting 20 at the door tip travels in the opening and closing direction along the upper guide rail 4. When it reaches a position where the closer 40 and the upper fitting 20 at the door tip overlap when viewed from the front, the closer enters the space S1 for the closer within the upper fitting 20 at the door tip. Therefore, the upper fitting 20 at the door tip can travel in the opening and closing direction at the same height position as the closer 40 without interference between the closer 40 and the upper fitting 20 at the door tip.

[0047] Also, since the running roller 23 of the upper fitting 20 at the door tip is arranged outside the front-rear direction of the space S1 for the closer, the running roller 23 and the closer 40 do not interfere when the upper fitting 20 at the door tip travels in the opening and closing direction. Further, since the running roller 23 is located outside, the height dimension of the upper guide rail 4 can be shortened to a dimension substantially equal to the height dimension of the closer 40. Specifically, conventionally, since the closer 40 and the running roller 23 were arranged vertically, the height dimension of the upper guide rail 4 required the total dimension of the heights of the closer 40 and the running roller 23, but now it can be adjusted to a length equal to the height dimension of the closer 40.

[0048] On the other hand, in a general folding door device, there is a unique problem not present in a sliding door device where the center of gravity of the door body moves in the front-rear direction during opening and closing, so the door body sways in the front-rear direction and is difficult to stabilize. In contrast, in the present invention, by arranging the running rollers 23 on the outer sides in the front-rear direction with the space S1 for the closer in between, the distance between the pair of running rollers 23 in the front-rear direction can be ensured to be longer than the conventional distance. Therefore, by arranging the pair of running rollers 23 in the front-rear direction, the stability in the front-rear direction is improved.

[0049] According to the opening / closing body buffer device according to the embodiment of the present invention, a closer 40 attached to a predetermined position of the upper guide rail 4 extending in the opening / closing direction, and a running roller 23 attached to the door body 2b side and moving along the upper guide rail 4 to move the door body 2b in the opening / closing direction. The leading end side upper fitting 20 is provided, and the leading end side upper fitting 20 is provided with a space S1 for the closer so that the closer 40 can pass through inside at a position where the leading end side upper fitting 20 moves and overlaps with the closer 40 so that the closer 40 and the leading end side upper fitting 20 do not interfere with each other. Therefore, the moving range of the leading end side upper fitting 20 in the opening / closing direction can be increased. Therefore, even when the frontage of the opening on the building side is narrow, the opening / closing body buffer device 10 that secures a sufficient length for retracting the door body 2b can be attached.

[0050] Also, it is not necessary to configure the position of the closer 40 and the position where the leading end side upper fitting 20 runs separately in the vertical direction so that the closer 40 and the leading end side upper fitting 20 do not interfere with each other, and the closer 40 and the upper fitting for the door can be configured at the same height position. Therefore, the length of the upper guide rail 4 in the vertical direction can be shortened. As a result, by making the upper guide rail 4 less conspicuous as seen by the user, the design of the entire device is improved.

[0051] Further, the space S1 for the closer is formed inside and surrounded by a bottom plate portion 21a and two side plate portions 21b and 21c that stand upright upward from the front-rear end portions of the bottom plate portion 21a. Running rollers 23 are respectively attached to the side plate portions 21b and 21c so that the running rollers 23 are respectively attached to a rotating shaft 22 protruding outward in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the attachment position of the closer 40 and the position where the leading end side upper fitting 20 runs can be configured to overlap each other when viewed from the front.

[0052] Furthermore, since the position below the running roller 23 is located at the same height as or above the bottom plate portion 21a, the height dimension of the upper guide rail 4 can be configured to be substantially the same as the height dimension of the closer 40. Therefore, the height dimension of the upper guide rail 4 can be shortened, and the design is improved.

[0053] On the other hand, in the folding door device according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the opening / closing body buffer device 10 having the above-described configuration is used for the folding door, the overall design property of the folding door device 1 can be improved. Further, since the interval between the traveling rollers 23 positioned in the front-rear direction becomes wider, it is possible to overcome the specific problem of the folding door device that the center of gravity of the door bodies 2a and 2b moves in the front-rear direction, and improve the stability in the front-rear direction.

[0054] As described above, the opening / closing body buffer device according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible based on the technical idea of the present invention.

[0055] For example, in the present embodiment, the opening / closing body buffer device 10 is used for the folding door device 1. However, as shown in FIG. 13, it can also be used for a general sliding door device 100 that moves the sliding door 102 along the opening / closing direction. According to this, compared with the prior art, by configuring the vertical dimension of the upper guide rail 4 to be short, the upper guide rail visible to the user can be made less conspicuous. Thereby, the design property is improved.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0056] 1 Folding door device 2a First door body 2b Second door body 3 Hinge 4 Upper guide rail 4a Upper surface portion 4b Side surface portion 4c Rolling surface portion 4d Positioning wall portion 10 Opening / closing body buffer device 20 Door tip side metal fitting 21 Runner 21a Bottom plate portion 21b Left side plate portion (side plate portion) 21c Right side plate portion (side plate portion) 22 Rotation shaft 23 Traveling roller 24 Captured member 24a Base portion Engaged part 24b Door engaging part 25 Rivet 26 Rotating shaft 27 Upper fitting on the hanging side 30 Bottom plate part 31a Side plate part 31b Adjusting member 32 Closer (auxiliary retracting mechanism) 40 Main body part 41 Guide hole 41a Capturing member 42 Link pin 42b Damper 43 Sliding door device 100 Sliding door 102 Spaces S1, S2 for the closer

Claims

1. An opening / closing body buffer device that forcibly moves a door body to a closed state or an open state and buffers the impact of the movement, comprising: A closer attached to a predetermined position of an upper guide rail extending in the opening / closing direction; A door tip side fitting attached to the door body side, wherein the door body moves in the opening / closing direction by the traveling roller moving along the upper guide rail; The door tip side fitting is provided with a space for the closer through which the closer passes inside the door tip side fitting so that the closer and the door tip side fitting do not interfere with each other at a position where the door tip side fitting moves and overlaps with the closer. The opening / closing body buffer device is characterized by this.

2. The space for the closer is formed inside and surrounded by a bottom plate portion and two side plate portions that stand upright upward from the front and rear ends of the bottom plate portion in the front-rear direction. The traveling rollers are respectively attached to rotation shafts protruding outward in the front-rear direction on the side plate portions. The opening / closing body buffer device according to Claim 1 is characterized by this.

3. The position below the traveling roller is at the same height as the bottom plate portion or above it. The opening / closing body buffer device according to Claim 2 is characterized by this.

4. A folding door device characterized by using the opening / closing body buffer device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 for a folding door.

Images