Sliding door

Abstract

The invention relates to a sliding door (1) which can be installed between two wall elements (3.1, 3.2), which have a door opening (5), of a building wall. The sliding door comprises a door leaf support frame (8) which is guided and horizontally movable on a linear guide (6.1) arranged above the door opening (5). At least one door leaf (15.1, 15.2) is attached to the door leaf support frame (8) via link levers (16), which form a parallelogram guide system, in such a way that a distance between the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) and the door leaf support frame (8) as measured at right angles to outer surfaces of the door elements (15.1, 15.2) can be varied from a narrow setting to a wide setting. When the sliding door (1) is in the open state, the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) is in the narrow setting and can be retracted between the two wall elements (3.1, 3.2). In the closed state, the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) is in the wide setting and can be positioned in the door opening (5), and an outer surface of the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) is coplanar with the outer surface of a wall element (3.1, 3.2) associated with the door leaf (15.1, 15.2). In the narrow setting, a preloading means (30) presses the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) against the door leaf support frame (8). A first preloading magnet (32) generates the preloading.

Description

[0001] Sliding door

[0002] The invention relates to a sliding door which is installed between two preferably plate-shaped wall elements of a building wall.

[0003] The sliding door has at least one door leaf mounted on a door leaf support frame that can be moved in the closing and opening directions and has approximately the dimensions of a door opening in the associated wall element. The two wall elements form the surface of the building wall on opposite sides of the building wall. The door leaf can move together with the door leaf support frame along the closing and opening directions. Furthermore, the distance between a door leaf and the door leaf support frame can be changed horizontally perpendicular to the closing and opening directions, so that when the sliding door is closed, the outer surface of the door leaf is positioned coplanar with the outer surface of the associated wall element.Such sliding doors are typically equipped with two door leaves mounted on the same door leaf support frame. When the sliding door is closed, the outer surface of the second door leaf is positioned coplanar with the outer surface of the associated wall element. Such sliding doors, and in particular the door openings, are almost invisible when closed, which is advantageous both from an aesthetic and safety perspective. The sliding door has a door frame that encloses the wall elements on the inside. The door frame has an opening that serves to accommodate the door leaf support frame with at least one door leaf.

[0004] EP 3 935 249 A1 discloses a sliding door comprising a door leaf support frame that can be moved horizontally between two wall elements. Two door leaf support frames are mounted on the frame, the distance between which can be adjusted in opposite directions. The door leaves are mounted in such a way that the distance between the door leaf and the door leaf support frame can be adjusted. This allows the door leaves to be moved from a narrow position, in which the door leaves rest against the door leaf support frame and can thus be moved between the wall elements, to a wide position, in which the sliding door is closed.

[0005] To move the door, a mechanism is installed at the end of the closing movement which spreads the door leaves at the end of the closing movement, thereby shifting the door leaves into the wide position. The door leaves can move freely until just before the end of the closing movement. They are therefore not guided or held tightly against the door leaf support frame. This can cause, for example, differences in air pressure between opposite sides of the door opening to cause the door leaves to move away from the door leaf support frame. If one of the door leaves moves too far away from the door leaf support frame during opening and closing, the door leaf can touch the door frame. This can cause unwanted noises or scratches on the door frame and / or the door leaf. In addition, a gap can develop between the door leaf and the door frame when the door is open, which gap varies in width across the height of the door. This looks extremely unsightly.

[0006] The invention is based on the object of creating a sliding door which does not have the disadvantages mentioned.

[0007] The problem is solved by a sliding door that can be installed between two wall elements of a building wall that have a door opening. The sliding door comprises a door leaf support frame that is guided on a linear guide arranged above the door opening and can be moved horizontally. At least one door leaf is attached to the door leaf support frame via guide levers forming a parallelogram guide system in such a way that a distance between the door leaf and the door leaf support frame, measured at right angles to the outer surfaces of the door leaves, can be changed from a narrow position to a wide position. When the sliding door is open, the door leaf can be retracted in the narrow position and between the two wall elements. When closed, the door leaf can be positioned in the wide position in the door opening, and an outer surface of the door leaf can be positioned coplanar with the outer surface of a wall element assigned to the door leaf.A pretensioner presses the door leaf against the door leaf support frame in the closed position by generating a preload. A first preload magnet creates the preload.

[0008] In the narrow position, the door leaf support frame can be retracted into the wall, i.e. between the wall elements, together with the door leaf. In the wide position, the door is closed. This means that the door leaves close the door opening. To ensure that the door leaves rest securely on the door leaf support frame when the door leaf support frame is moved between the wall elements, i.e. in the narrow position, the sliding door has a pre-tensioner that presses the door leaf tightly against the door leaf support frame, thereby holding it tightly against the door leaf support frame. To do this, the pre-tensioner essentially applies a force to the door leaf so that the door leaf is pressed against the door leaf support frame. In other words, pressing it against the door leaf support frame can also be referred to as applying a pre-tensioning force to the door leaf, whereby the pre-tensioning force has the purpose of pressing the door leaf against the door leaf support frame. The pre-tensioner can, for example, further comprise a spring.A switchable magnet, a lifting magnet or a linear motor can be used for pressing or preloading.

[0009] Preferably, each door leaf is pressed against the door leaf support frame by four pre-tensioners, each evenly distributed across the door leaf. Preferably, the four pre-tensioners are located in a corner area of ​​the door leaf. This ensures that the entire door leaf is pressed evenly and reliably against the door leaf support frame. Even more advantageous is a design with six pre-tensioners arranged in two vertical columns and three horizontal rows.

[0010] In one of the possible embodiments of the sliding door, two guide levers forming a parallelogram guide system are each fixed at one end to one of two vertically arranged and horizontally spaced-apart torsion bars, which torsion bars are rotatably mounted on the door leaf support frame, wherein all guide levers are approximately the same length and aligned parallel to one another and have vertical-axis door leaf bearing points at their other ends, which interact with corresponding bearing points on the door leaf in such a way that the door leaf is guided on a parallelogram guide system, in which a pivoting movement of one of the two torsion bars causes the said distance of the door leaf to the door leaf support frame to be increased or decreased.

[0011] This design has the advantage that the at least one door leaf is connected to the door leaf support frame via connecting rods not only in its upper area, but also in its lower area. This ensures stable positions of the door leaf in all operating conditions, something that is not guaranteed by the sliding door guide system according to the cited prior art. Another advantage is that guide grooves for the door leaf in the bottom area of ​​the sliding door can be avoided.

[0012] The preload is created by the magnetic attraction between a preload magnet attached to the door leaf or door leaf support frame and a ferromagnetic part of the other part of the door leaf or door leaf support frame. This means that either a preload magnet on the door leaf acts on a ferromagnetic part of the door leaf support frame, or vice versa.

[0013] In another possible embodiment of the sliding door, an electric motor for moving the door leaf support frame is mounted on the sliding door leaf support frame. This drive arrangement has the advantage that neither a drive support nor a cable connection box needs to be installed outside the door leaf support frame, thus minimizing installation work at the sliding door installation site.

[0014] In another possible embodiment of the sliding door, it is equipped with a second door leaf, which is arranged symmetrically to the at least one door leaf with respect to the door leaf support frame. It is attached to the door leaf support frame with the same components as the at least one door leaf and is movable transversely to the outer surfaces of the wall elements. Such a sliding door can be used to create passageways through building walls in which door openings in both wall elements can be closed with door leaves, the outer surfaces of which can be positioned coplanar with the respective outer surfaces of the wall elements when the sliding door is closed.

[0015] In another possible embodiment of the sliding door, the sliding door is equipped with a locking mechanism that, when the sliding door is closed, prevents the distance between the door leaf and the door leaf support frame, measured perpendicular to the outer surfaces of the wall elements, from increasing or decreasing, thus preventing the door leaf support frame from opening. This allows a simple locking mechanism for the sliding door that prevents it from being opened from a specific side of the building wall.

[0016] In another possible embodiment of the sliding door, the deliberate manual application of force, with which a bolt assigned to one of the door leaves can be disengaged from its engagement with the rotary stop, can be generated by manually pressing against the outer surface of a second door leaf arranged opposite. With such a sliding door embodiment, the locking mechanism can only be overcome by the electrically activated traction drive or by applying pressure to one of the two door leaves. From either side of the building wall, the locking mechanism is neither visible nor can be released by any manipulation.

[0017] In another possible embodiment of the sliding door, the door leaf support frame is guided in its uppermost section along the linear guide arranged above the door opening, so that the upper section can only be moved parallel to the linear guide. The lower section of the door leaf support frame is guided in a short guide arranged to the side of the door opening. This type of sliding door design has the advantage that the floor in the area of ​​the door opening does not require any guides for the door leaf support frame or the door leaves, and is therefore completely flat and groove-free.

[0018] In one of the possible embodiments of the sliding door, a first contact area is formed on the door leaf support frame and a second contact area is formed on the door leaf, wherein the first contact area touches the second contact area in the narrow position.

[0019] When they come into contact, the two contact areas define the position of the door leaf in the narrow position. In other words, the first contact area acts like a stop for the second contact area, which is assigned to the first, and vice versa. The contact area is designed so that the pretensioning force acting on the contact area can be supported by the contact area. If more than one pretensioner presses a door leaf against the door leaf support frame, each pretensioner preferably has a pair of first contact area and second contact area. In the narrow position, the first contact area and the second contact area support the pretensioning force of the pretensioner. If a second door leaf is also designed, this also applies to this second door leaf. The pretensioner is preferably designed in or on the contact area.

[0020] In one of the possible embodiments of the sliding door, the first contact area or the second contact area is made of a flexible material, preferably of elastomer.

[0021] The flexible material forms the surface of the first and / or second contact area. The flexible material can be supported by a support structure that is more rigid than the flexible material.

[0022] A flexible material used as a contact area makes the contact area flexible, in other words, soft and / or elastic. This has the advantage that even if the pairs of contact areas are misaligned, the door leaf is not deformed or is significantly less deformed. For example, if four pairs of contact areas are not in the same plane, four non-flexible contact areas would deform the door leaf so that it can contact all contact areas. This flexibility allows the door leaf to deform less. This is particularly advantageous when there are multiple contact areas, especially more than three.

[0023] Furthermore, a resilient material has the advantage of dampening the contact noise that can be generated when the door leaf reaches the narrow position. A collision between the first contact area and the second contact area could generate a strong vibration, which would be radiated through the large surface of the door leaf as contact noise. A resilient material dampens the shock that can occur when the first contact area hits the second contact area, thereby reducing the contact noise. Rubber or foamed polymers, in particular, can be used as resilient materials. These have very good damping properties.

[0024] In one possible embodiment of the sliding door, the first contact area or the second contact area is adjustable. The adjustable first or second contact area allows the distance, in the narrow position, between the door leaf and the wall element to be adjusted. This makes it possible to set a constant clearance. Particularly when the door is fully open, this allows a uniform gap to be set between the door leaf and the wall element, or rather the door frame element. It can also be prevented that the door leaf becomes deformed when it comes into contact with more than three contact points, for example four contact points. Thanks to the adjustability, the contact areas can be set so that the contact areas are all in one plane and therefore do not result in any deformation of the door leaf.Manufacturing-related tolerances of the door leaf or the door leaf support frame can be corrected in this way.

[0025] Preferably, the bias magnet is configured at or in the first or second contact point and the ferromagnetic part is the other of the first or second contact point.

[0026] To make the first or second contact area adjustable, the respective contact area can be designed with a thread, for example. It is sufficient to make one of the two contact areas adjustable. The thread is preferably counter-tightened to prevent unwanted adjustment. Alternatively, a contact area holder can have several possible contact areas that correspond to different settings. By moving or rotating the contact area holder, a suitable one of the possible contact areas can be brought into the position in which the suitable possible contact area is the active first or second contact area.

[0027] In one possible embodiment of the sliding door, the pre-tensioning is further supported by a pre-tensioning spring. The pre-tensioning spring pushes or pulls the door leaf against the door leaf support frame. The pre-tensioning spring preferably has a flat to constant spring characteristic. When the door is closed, when the door leaf is moved to the wide position, the pre-tensioning spring is additionally tensioned. It is advantageous if the spring force increases only slightly, or preferably remains almost constant, so that the drive for moving the door leaf to the wide position can be dimensioned essentially the same as without the pre-tensioning spring.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment, the second contact area on the door leaf can comprise a magnet, and in particular consist of a magnet attached to the door leaf. The first contact area on the door leaf support frame is formed at a ferromagnetic location on the door leaf support frame, which is covered by a layer of a resilient material. The layer of resilient material is preferably selected to be thin enough that the magnetic holding force is nevertheless sufficient to securely hold the door leaf. For this purpose, the strength of the magnet and the ferromagnetic properties of the contact area can be matched so that the door leaf can be pressed against the door leaf support frame with a desired pre-tensioning force. The pre-tensioning force is selected so that the door leaf is securely held during sliding, and so that the locking mechanism is reliably capable of moving the door leaf from the narrow position toward the wide position.Alternatively, the magnet can be attached to the door leaf support frame, and the door leaf can have a ferromagnetic contact area. Alternatively, the magnet can be configured at the first contact area and the second contact area can be ferromagnetic. Furthermore, the compliant material can also be arranged at the magnet, so that the contact area opposite the magnet is essentially only ferromagnetic. No further modifications to the ferromagnetic side are necessary.

[0029] In one possible embodiment of the sliding door, the sliding door is equipped with a second door leaf that is arranged symmetrically to the at least one door leaf with respect to the door leaf support frame, and one or more pretensioners press or press the door leaf and the second door leaf against the door leaf support frame. Preferably, the door is designed such that the door leaf, which can be designed as a first door leaf, and the second door leaf move symmetrically to the door leaf support frame. The second door leaf can have essentially the same features as the door leaf. In particular, the second door leaf can have a second contact area, an elastomer, a spring, or a magnet.

[0030] In this case, a first pre-tensioner can act between the first door leaf and the door leaf support frame, and a second pre-tensioner can act between the second door leaf and the door leaf support frame. Alternatively, the pre-tensioner(s) can act directly between the first door leaf and the second door leaf. This allows the number of pre-tensioners to be halved.

[0031] In one of the possible designs of the sliding door, the pre-tensioner is designed to be bistable, so that both the narrow position and the wide position are held by the pre-tensioner.

[0032] Bistable means that the pretensioner not only has a first stable position, namely pressed against the door leaf support frame, i.e., the narrow position, but also that the door has a second stable state in which the door leaf is preferably held stable in the wide position. The door leaves are therefore held in a stable position both in the narrow and wide positions. To move from one stable position to the other, energy must first be expended to leave the stable position before the door leaf snaps into the other stable position after passing through an unstable position.

[0033] In one possible embodiment of the sliding door, the bistable pretensioner has a latch spring that acts on a link lever. The latch spring is preferably connected to the link lever in such a way that the latch spring is maximally tensioned at an unstable point located between the narrow and wide positions. From this maximum tension at the unstable point, the latch spring can relax both when the door leaf moves toward the narrow position and when the door leaf moves toward the wide position. In both the narrow and wide positions, the latch spring is less tensioned than in the unstable position. However, it is still sufficiently tensioned to ensure that the door leaf is held stable.In one of the possible embodiments, the bistable pretensioner has a first pretension magnet that holds the door leaf in the narrow position and a second pretension magnet that holds the door leaf in the wide position.

[0034] The first pre-tensioning magnet is arranged as already explained above and holds the door leaf in the narrow position on the door leaf support frame. The second pre-tensioning magnet holds the door leaf stably in the wide position. For this purpose, the second pre-tensioning magnet is preferably arranged so that it acts on a control lever or is arranged on a control lever. For this purpose, a third contact area is designed on the door leaf support frame and a fourth contact area is designed on the control lever. In the wide position, the third contact area touches the fourth contact area. This limits the movement of the door leaf in the wide position direction. The second pre-tensioning magnet is preferably designed on the third or fourth contact area. This allows the wide position to be held by the second pre-tensioning magnet.

[0035] In one possible embodiment of the sliding door, two guide levers forming a parallelogram guide system are each fixed at one end to one of two vertically arranged and horizontally spaced-apart torsion bars. The torsion bars are pivotally mounted on the door leaf support frame about their longitudinal axes. All guide levers are approximately the same length and aligned parallel to one another. At the other ends, the guide levers have vertical-axis door leaf bearing points that interact with corresponding bearing points on the door leaf such that the door leaf is guided on a parallelogram guide system in which a pivoting movement of one of the two torsion bars causes an increase or decrease in the aforementioned distance between the door leaf and the door leaf support frame. The pretensioner acts directly on the guide levers.

[0036] In one possible embodiment, the door leaf support frame can be moved horizontally by means of an electric motor. This allows the door leaf support frame to be opened and closed, for example, by sensor control. This allows people who don't have their hands free to operate the sliding door to pass through. Furthermore, the electric motor can ensure that the sliding door doesn't move too quickly, causing it to hit a stop too quickly, for example.

[0037] In one of the possible embodiments, the distance between the door leaf and the door leaf support frame, measured at right angles to an outer surface of the door leaf, can be changed from the narrow position to the wide position with the aid of an actuator.

[0038] The actuator allows the door leaf to move from the narrow position to the wide position as soon as the door leaf support frame essentially reaches the closed position. Such an actuator can, for example, comprise a spring that can be tensioned when closing the sliding doors, and in particular when moving the door leaf from the wide position to the narrow position. To do this, the door can be closed manually, for example, by first moving the door leaf from the wide position to the narrow position and then sliding the door leaf sideways on the door leaf support frame. Using the energy stored in the spring, the door leaf can be moved back to the wide position.

[0039] In one possible embodiment, the actuator has its own motor that moves the door leaf from the narrow to the wide position. Such a motor offers the advantage that the door leaf can only be moved from the narrow to the wide position once the door leaf support frame has reached the closed position. This allows for very precise control of the door closing and, in particular, the pressing of the seal against the door frame.

[0040] In one possible embodiment, the horizontal displacement of the door leaf support frame along the linear guide can be translated into a variable distance by a mechanism acting as an actuator. The horizontal displacement of the door leaf support frame along the linear guide can be translated into the movement of the door leaf from the narrow to the wide position by the mechanism.

[0041] Such a mechanism can, for example, have a control groove. A sliding pin on a control lever can engage in the control groove at least in a displacement range of the door leaf support frame, which corresponds to the final portion of the closing movement of the sliding door, in which the sliding door is preferably almost closed. Due to the displacement of the door leaf support frame in the final portion of the closing movement, the engagement of the sliding pin in the control groove causes a movement of the control lever. This movement of the control lever can be used to move the door leaf from the narrow position to the wide position.

[0042] The term “end range of the closing movement” refers to the final part of the closing movement of the door leaf support frame, which begins approximately 10 to 20 millimeters before the final position of the door leaf support frame in the closed state of the sliding door and ends in this final position.

[0043] In the following, an embodiment of a sliding door according to the invention is explained with reference to the attached drawings.

[0044] They show:

[0045] Fig. 1A is an external view of the sliding door installed between two wall elements provided with a door opening in its open state, as well as a schematic horizontal section through this sliding door arrangement.

[0046] Fig. 1 B is an external view of the installed sliding door according to Fig. 1A in its closed state, as well as a schematic horizontal section through this sliding door arrangement.

[0047] Fig. 2 shows the horizontally movable part of the sliding door in the closed state according to Fig. 1B, without wall elements, as well as a horizontal section through this movable part.

[0048] Fig. 3 a sectional view of a sliding door with an alternative pre-tensioner, which is supplemented by a pre-tensioner spring, analogous to the sliding door of Fig. 1 to 2

[0049] Fig. 4A is a sectional view of a sliding door with an alternative pre-tensioner, which is supplemented by a snap spring in the wide position, similar to the sliding door of Fig. 1 to 2

[0050] Fig. 4B is a sectional view of a sliding door with an alternative pre-tensioner, which is supplemented by a snap spring in the narrow position, similar to the sliding door of Fig. 1 to 2

[0051] Fig. 5A is a sectional view of a sliding door with an alternative bistable pre-tensioner, similar to the sliding door of Fig. 1 to 2, in the wide position. Fig. 5B is a sectional view of a sliding door with an alternative bistable pre-tensioner, similar to the sliding door of Fig. 1 to 2, in the narrow position.

[0052] Fig. 1A shows a sliding door 1 in a view of a front of two wall elements 3.1, 3.2, between which the sliding door is installed in its open state. The wall elements 3.1, 3.2 are supported on a floor 4, which has an inserted floor plate 4.1 in the area of ​​the sliding door 1. A door opening 5 is present in each of the two wall elements 3.1, 3.2. Invisible, and therefore shown in dashed lines, is a door frame 6 installed between the two wall elements 3.1, 3.2, which comprises an upper linear guide 6.1 arranged above the door opening, a door frame post 6.2 containing a door closing edge 6.4, and a door frame post 6.3 remote from the door closing edge 6.4, wherein the door frame posts carry the upper linear guide 6.1. On the linear guide 6. 1, which is preferably equipped with guide rollers 7, an upper part of a door leaf support frame 8 is guided in the direction of a closing or opening movement.The sliding door 1 is guided in a sliding manner during the opening movement. In the lowermost area of ​​the door leaf support frame 8, it is equipped with a guide rail 10 arranged in the direction of the closing or opening movement, which, together with a guide shoe 11 fixed next to the door opening on the base plate 4.1, forms a lower linear guide. The door leaf support frame 8, which is sufficiently rigid in itself, can be moved exclusively in the direction of the closing or opening movement due to the interaction of the two linear guides. An electromotive drive device for closing and opening the sliding door is described in connection with Fig. 2.

[0053] On each side of the door leaf support frame 8, a door leaf 15.1, 15.2 is mounted in such a way that a distance, measured perpendicular to the outer surfaces of the wall elements 3.1, 3.2, between the door leaves 15.1, 15.2 and the door leaf support frame 8 can be adjusted such that the door leaves can be positioned between the two wall elements 3.1, 3.2 when the sliding door 1 is open, and in door openings 5 ​​of the wall elements, each of which is assigned to a door leaf, when the sliding door 1 is closed. In this closed state, the outer surfaces of the door leaves 15.1, 15.2 are positioned coplanar with the outer surfaces of the wall elements assigned to one of the door leaves. The horizontal section AA through the sliding door 1 in its open state shows schematically how, in the open state of the sliding door, the two door leaves 15.1, 15.2 are positioned between the two wall elements 3.1, 3.2 are positioned, wherein the door leaves are mounted via guide levers 16 forming a parallelogram guide system on torsion bars 18 arranged vertically in the door leaf support frame 8 and pivotable about their vertical axis such that the above-mentioned change in the distances between the door leaves and the door leaf support frame 8 can be carried out. The device for driving the guide levers 16, or for changing the distances between the door leaves 15 and the door leaf support frame 8, is explained in more detail below with reference to Figs. 2, 3. In Fig. 1, the distance between the door leaf 15.1 or 15.2 and the door leaf support frame 8 corresponds to a narrow position. The narrow position allows the sliding door 1 to move between the two wall elements 3.1 and 3.2.

[0054] Fig. 1B and the associated horizontal section BB show the sliding door 1 shown in Fig. 1A in its open state in its closed state, in which the door leaf support frame 8 with the door leaves 15.1, 15.2 mounted on it is displaced into the area of ​​the door openings 5. In the end region of this displacement, the distances between the door leaves 15 and the door leaf support frame 8 were increased by pivoting the link levers 16 such that the door leaves protrude into the recesses in the wall elements 3.1, 3.2 forming the door opening 5, wherein the outer surfaces of the door leaves 15.1, 15.2 are positioned flush with the outer surfaces 3.1.1, 3.2.1 of the respectively associated wall elements 3.1, 3.2. The distance between the door leaf 15.1 or 15.2 and the door leaf support frame 8 corresponds to a wide position. This ensures that the gaps between the door leaves 15.1, 15.2 remain when the sliding door 1 is closed.2 and the recesses in the wall elements forming the door openings 5 ​​can be as small as possible, it is necessary that the door leaves 15 perform a movement at right angles to the wall elements 3.1, 3.2 as their distances from the door leaf support frame 8 increase.

[0055] Figs. 1A and 1B do not show a pretensioner and thus represent the state of the art.

[0056] Fig. 2 shows, in an enlarged view, mainly the horizontally displaceable part of the sliding door 1 in its closed state, with the wall elements omitted. Fig. 2 also contains a horizontal section C-C through the aforementioned displaceable part. The reference numeral 6 again designates the door frame, which comprises an upper horizontal linear guide 6.1 and two vertical door frame posts 6.2, 6.3 (6.3 not visible here). The previously mentioned door leaf support frame 8 is suspended and guided in a horizontally displaceable manner on the linear guide. The door leaf support frame 8, which comprises an upper cross member 8.1, a lower cross member 8.2 and two vertical members 8.3, has on its lower cross member 8.2 also has a guide rail 10 arranged parallel to the sliding direction, which cooperates with a guide shoe 11 arranged laterally of the door opening of the sliding door in the floor area in order to additionally guide and stabilize the door leaf support frame 8.

[0057] To generate the closing and opening movement of the door leaf support frame 8, it is equipped with a traction drive 20—preferably in the form of a belt drive. The traction drive 20 comprises an electric gear motor 21, which is fixed to the end of the upper cross member 8.1 of the door leaf support frame 8 that is furthest from the door closing edge 6.2.1 and carries a drive pulley 22. Furthermore, the traction mechanism drive 20 comprises two deflection pulleys 23 fixed to the end of the upper cross member closer to the door closing edge 6.4, as well as the traction mechanism 24, which is preferably designed as a belt and encircles the drive pulley and the two deflection pulleys. At a suitable location, the traction mechanism 24 is fixed to a holding element fixedly attached to the door frame, so that when the drive pulley 22 rotates, a horizontal closing or opening movement of the door leaf support frame 8 and the door leaves 15 mounted thereon results.

[0058] Four torsion bars 18 extend between the upper cross member 8.1 and the lower cross member 8.2 of the door leaf support frame 8. These torsion bars are pivotally mounted about their longitudinal axes in said cross members. Two of the four torsion bars are assigned to each of the two door leaves 15.1, 15.2. An upper and a lower control lever 16 are fixed to each of the torsion bars 18 at one of their respective ends. The control levers have vertically axial door leaf bearing points 17 at their other ends, via which the control levers 16 support and guide the door leaves 15.1, 15.2. The upper and lower control levers 16 of each two torsion bars are coupled to an associated door leaf 15.1, 15.2 in such a way that the door leaves are guided on a parallelogram guide system, whereby the door leaves always remain aligned parallel to the door leaf support frame when changing their distance from the door leaf support frame 8.

[0059] To change the aforementioned distances between the door leaves 15.1, 15.2 and the door leaf support frame 8, i.e., to generate the pivoting movements of the torsion bars 18 and thus the control levers 16, a transmission mechanism (not visible in Fig. 2) is located in or on the upper cross member 8.1 of the door leaf support frame 8. This transmission mechanism causes the pivoting movement of one torsion bar 18 per door leaf 15.1, 15.2. Due to the action of the parallelogram guide system, all four control levers of a door leaf are pivoted synchronously. The transmission mechanism generates an increase in the said distances when, in the end region of a door closing movement of the door leaf support frame 8, a control body guided in the upper cross member 8.1, but displaceable relative to this in the displacement direction of the door leaf support frame, is displaced by a control body stop 38 connected to the control body on a stationary stop - for example the closing edge 6.3 of the door frame post. On the other hand, the transmission mechanism generates a reduction in the distances when, in the initial range of a door opening movement, the control body is held back or moved back with a limited holding force until the distances between the door leaves 15.1, 15.2 and the door leaf support frame are reduced to such an extent that the door leaves can be moved between the wall elements 3.1, 3.2 shown in Fig. 1.

[0060] Preload magnets 32 are incorporated into the door leaves 15.1 and 15.2 as a configuration of the preloader 30. Preferably, four preload magnets are arranged on each door leaf 15.1 and / or 15.2, each of which is located in a corner region of the door leaf 15.1 and 15.2. Furthermore, the preload magnets 32 are arranged such that, in the narrow position, the preload magnets 32 adhere to a preferably ferromagnetic holding area 33. The holding area 33 is the surface of the ferromagnetic vertical support 8.3. The vertical support 8.3 is preferably made of steel. In the wide position, as shown in Fig. 2, the preload magnets do not exert any significant forces on the door leaf 15.1 or 15.2. The distance between each of the preload magnets 32 and the vertical supports 8.3 is too large for this. The adhesion area 33 also forms the contact area 35.1 at which the door leaf 15.1 or 15.2 and the door leaf support frame 8 touch.

[0061] In the narrow position, the preload magnets touch the holding area 33 and thus the first contact area 35.1. This creates a holding force that is sufficiently large to hold the door leaves 15.1 and 15.2 securely against the door leaf support frame 8. This ensures that the door leaves 15.1 and 15.2 are reliably pressed against the door leaf support frame 8. Preferably, the preload magnet 32 ​​or the holding area 33, i.e. the contact area 35.1 between the holding area 33 and the preload magnet 32, is coated with an elastomer, in particular with a layer of elastomer. This has the advantage that no contact noise is generated when the narrow position is reached. In addition, the elastomer can compensate for slight misalignment of the four preload magnets 32 or the holding areas 33.

[0062] Fig. 3 shows a portion of the sliding door 1; which, in a representation as in Fig. 2, would be located in section CC of Fig. 2. Fig. 3 shows an optional embodiment of the pretensioner. In this case, the door leaves 15.1 and 15.2 are connected to a pretensioner spring 31 in addition to the pretensioning magnets 32. The pretensioner spring 31 is designed such that the door leaves 15.1 and 15.2 are still pulled toward each other even in the narrow position. Fig. 3 shows the wide position. A second contact area 35.2 of the door leaf 15.1 or 15.2 touches a first contact area 35.1 of the door leaf support frame 8 in the narrow position. The guide levers 16 guide the door leaves 15.1 and 15.2 on the door leaf support frame 8.

[0063] Preferably, the pretensioner spring 31 and the contact areas 35.1 and 35.2 are each mounted close to one another. Furthermore, four pretensioner springs 31 and four pairs of contact areas 35.1 and 35.2 are preferably arranged close to the four corner areas of the door, as shown for the four pretensioning magnets in Fig. 2. The two second contact areas 35.2 are formed by attaching a piece of elastomer to the door leaves 15.1 and 15.2. The elastomer can alternatively be attached to the door leaf support frame 8.

[0064] 4A and 4B show a part of the sliding door 1 which, in a representation as in Fig. 2, would be located in section CC. Figs. 4A and 4B show an optional embodiment of the pretensioner 30. Here, the link lever 16 is slightly modified. The link lever 16 is supplemented by a bearing point 36 for a snap spring 34. The other end of the snap spring 34 is fastened to the door leaf support frame 8. The bearing point 36 on the link lever 16 is designed in such a way that an unstable position results between the wide position and the narrow position. Fig. 4A shows a first stable position. The pull of the snap spring 34 on the link lever 16 pushes the door leaf 15.2 further away from the door leaf support frame 8 in the direction of the wide position. This movement is limited by the door frame (not shown). Fig. 4B shows a second stable position. The pull of the snap spring 34 on the link lever 16 presses the door leaf 15.1 against the door leaf support frame 8 at a pair 35 of contact areas 35.1 and 35.2.This movement is limited by the contact at the pair 35 of contact areas 35.1 and 35.2. This design therefore has two stable positions, which is why it can be described as bistable. In order to move from one stable position to the other, the snap spring 34 must first be tensioned further to overcome the unstable position. This ensures that the door leaf 15.1 is held securely and stably in the narrow position or in the wide position. In the narrow position, a biasing magnet 32 ​​presses the door leaf 15.1 against the door leaf support frame 8 by attracting the ferromagnetic material of the door leaf 15.1. Here, too, the contact areas 35.1 or 35.2 can preferably be made of elastomer or coated with elastomer. Fig. 4A and 4B show only one door leaf 15.1. However, the technology works analogously for a second door leaf on the same support frame.

[0065] Fig. 5A and 5B show a part of the sliding door 1 of the, in a representation as in Fig.

[0066] 2, in section CC of Fig. 2. Figs 5 A and 5B show another optional embodiment of the pretensioner 30 in a bistable configuration. Unlike in Figs. 5A and 5B, the bistable configuration here is based on the use of pretensioning magnets. As already known from Fig. 2, the pretensioning magnet 32 ​​and the holding area 33 form a pretensioning element. In the narrow position of Fig. 5B, the pretensioning magnet 32 ​​fastened to the door leaf support frame 8 adheres to the holding area 33 of the door leaf 15.1. It should be noted that this arrangement is exactly the opposite of the arrangement in Fig. 2. In the narrow position, the first contact area 35.1 touches the second contact area 35.2.

[0067] In the expanded position of Fig. 5A, a second preload magnet 32b is attached to the door leaf support frame 8. A fourth contact area 37.2 is formed on the control lever 16. The third contact area 37.1 is formed directly on the second preload magnet 32b. Here, too, it would be possible, as an alternative to the embodiment shown, to arrange the second preload magnet on the control lever and have it act on the now ferromagnetic third contact area.

[0068] Fig. 5A shows a first stable position. Fig. 5B shows a second stable position. Preferably, both the biasing magnet 32 ​​and the second biasing magnet 32b are displaceably mounted so that the position of the stable position can be adjusted.

[0069] A sliding door according to the invention can also be designed with only a single door leaf 15.1 or 15.2 if aesthetics play a lesser role in one of the rooms connected by the sliding door.

[0070] Basically, a sliding door as shown in Fig. 2 can be constructed with all concepts shown in Figures 3, 4A, 4B, 5A and 5B.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Sliding door (1) which can be installed between two wall elements (3.1, 3.2) of a building wall having a door opening (5), wherein the sliding door comprises a door leaf support frame (8) which is guided on a linear guide (6.1) arranged above the door opening (5) and is horizontally displaceable, wherein at least one door leaf (15.1, 15.2) is attached to the door leaf support frame (8) via guide levers (16) forming a parallelogram guide system in such a way that a distance measured at right angles to the outer surfaces of the door elements (15.1, 15.2) between the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) and the door leaf support frame (8) can be changed from a narrow position to a wide position, such that the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) in the open state of the sliding door (1) in the narrow position and between the two wall elements (3.1, 3.2) can be retracted and the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) can be positioned in the wide position in the door opening (5) in the closed state and an outer surface of the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) can be positioned coplanar with the outer surface of a wall element (3.1, 3.2) assigned to the door leaf (15.1, 15.2), and a pretensioner (30) presses the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) in the narrow position against the door leaf support frame (8) by generating a pretension, characterized in that a first pretension magnet (32) effects the pretension.

2. Sliding door according to claim 1, characterized in that a first contact area (35.1) is formed on the door leaf support frame, and that a second contact area (35.2) is formed on the door leaf, wherein the first contact area (35.1) touches the second contact area (35.2) in the narrow position.

3. Sliding door (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the first contact area (35.1) or the second contact area (35.2) is made of a flexible material, preferably of elastomer.

4. Sliding door (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the first contact area (35.1) or the second contact area (35.2) is adjustable, and thus the distance can be adjusted.

5. Sliding door (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the pretension is supported by a pretensioner spring (31).

6. Sliding door according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the sliding door (1) is equipped with a second door leaf (15.2) which is arranged symmetrically to the at least one door leaf (15.1) with respect to the door leaf support frame and that the one or more pretensioners press or press the door leaf (15.1) and the second door leaf (15.2) both against the door leaf support frame (8).

7. Sliding door according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the pretensioner is designed to be bistable, so that both the narrow position and the wide position can be held by the pretensioner.

8. Sliding door according to claim 7, characterized in that the bistable pretensioner has a snap spring (34) which acts on a link lever (16).

9. Sliding door according to claim 8, characterized in that the bistable pretensioner has the first pretensioning magnet (32), which holds the door leaves (15.1, 15.2) in the narrow position, and a second pretensioning magnet (32b), which holds the door leaves (15.1, 15.2) in the wide position.

10. Sliding door according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that two guide levers (16) forming a parallelogram guide system are each fixed at one end to one of two vertically arranged and horizontally spaced apart torsion bars (18), which torsion bars (18) are pivotally mounted on the door leaf support frame (8) about their longitudinal axis, wherein all guide levers (16) are approximately the same length and aligned parallel to one another and have at their other ends vertically axial door leaf bearing points (17) which interact with corresponding bearing points on the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) in such a way that the door leaf is guided on a parallelogram guide system, in which a pivoting movement of one of the two torsion bars (18) causes an increase or a decrease in the said distance of the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) to the door leaf support frame (8), and in that the pretensioners act directly on the Handlebar levers work.

11. Sliding door according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the door leaf support frame (8) is horizontally displaceable by means of an electric motor (21).

12. Sliding door according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the distance measured at right angles to the outer surface of the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) between the door leaf (15.1, 15.2) and the door leaf support frame (8) can be changed from the narrow position to the wide position with the aid of an actuator.

13. Sliding door according to claim 12, characterized in that the actuator has its own motor.

14. Sliding door according to claim 12, characterized in that the horizontal displacement of the door leaf support frame (8) along the linear guide (6.1) can be translated into the variability of the distance by a mechanism as an actuator.

Images