DE29506411U1 - Track arrangement for movable partition elements - Google Patents

Description

Hüppe Form Sun Protection and Room Divider Systems GmbH Cloppenburger Straße 200, 26133 Oldenburg

Rail arrangement for movable partition wall elements

The invention relates to a running rail arrangement with at least one running rail for movable partition wall elements with at least one switch that can be switched between at least two further running rail branches.

Such a rail arrangement is known and is used for a wide variety of applications of movable partition wall elements. In the assembly position, i.e. when the partition wall is closed, the individual partition wall elements are arranged along the corresponding rail section and are coupled to one another at the front. To open the partition wall, the partition wall elements are moved into a remote magazine, where they are arranged with their broad sides next to one another in a 'package shape'.

JK/as

The object of the invention is to improve the rail arrangement of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that the insertion of the partition wall elements into the parking magazine can be accomplished more easily.

This object is achieved by providing a control device in the rail arrangement of the type mentioned above,
which switches the switch to another track branch after a section of a partition wall element has been moved into one track branch.

With the help of the invention, a particularly
easy and safe change of direction of the partition wall elements from
a longitudinal movement into a transverse movement to enter a
Park magazine, where they can then be packaged next to each other
The switch, which is automatically controlled in accordance with the invention, takes over the transition of the partition wall elements from a main rail to two rails leading into the magazine and preferably parallel to each other.
After the first track has been
Section, preferably a roller carriage, of a partition wall element into the first rail branch, the switch is switched to a second rail branch, so that a second section, preferably a second roller carriage, of the partition wall element
automatically and safely into the second track branch
is directed.

Of course, the rail arrangement according to the invention can also be used advantageously for other applications in which a successive switching of the switch between two or more
Track branches are desired.

Preferably, the control device has detector means which detect a specific section of a partition wall element in each rail branch, and an actuating means which is controlled by the detector means and switches the switch accordingly.

In a further development in which the partition wall elements are guided in the running rail by means of roller carriages, the detector means preferably detect at least some of the roller carriages. If the running rail is designed with at least one guide section, preferably designed as a groove, and the roller carriages are provided with guide rollers guided in the guide section, the detector means should in particular detect the lateral guide rollers of the roller carriages.

The detector means can preferably have a swivel bracket on each rail branch of a switchable switch, which can be swiveled by a passing partition element from a first position in which it extends transversely into the rail branch to a second position in which it extends in the longitudinal direction of the rail branch. Swivel brackets of adjacent rail branches of a switchable switch are coupled to one another in such a way that the swivel movement of one swivel bracket from the first to the second position caused by a passing partition element triggers an opposite swivel movement of the other swivel bracket from the second to the first position. In a further development of this design, the actuating device is coupled to the swivel brackets in such a way that it always switches the switch to the continuing rail branch on which the associated swivel bracket is swiveled to the first position. Such a design is particularly simple in terms of construction and can therefore be implemented without great effort. A rod could be useful for coupling.

Preferably, the switch has a tongue that can pivot about a vertical axis for switching the switch between the rail branches. The tongue should be arranged in the guide section and be switchable between the guide sections of the rail branches if the guide section is solely responsible for guiding the roller carriage in the rail arrangement.

A currently particularly preferred development of the aforementioned design of the rail arrangement according to the invention, in which a first guide section is provided along one side and a second guide section is provided along the other side, is characterized by

a first switchable switch, by means of which the first guide section is branched off into a first rail branch and into a second rail branch, preferably leading into a first parking magazine, while the second guide section is only continued into the first rail branch,

a passive branch connected to the first rail branch, by means of which the first guide section runs into a third rail branch, preferably leading into a first parking magazine, and the second guide section runs into a fourth rail branch, and a second switchable switch connected to the fourth rail branch, by means of which the second guide section is branched off into a fifth rail branch, preferably leading into a second parking magazine, and into a sixth rail branch, preferably also leading into the second parking magazine.

With this design, it is possible to move two different partition wall systems independently of each other into the desired closed position in one and the same rail arrangement, but to store them in two different parking magazines.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figures. They show:

Figure 1 is a schematic sectional side view

a running rail arrangement with a partition wall element;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a longitudinally sectioned rail arrangement;

Figure 3 shows a cross-section through part of a guide rail with a roller carriage in it; and

Figure 4 is a bottom view of a switchable switch cut lengthwise.

Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a partition wall element 1, which comprises a partition wall element sheet 2, which usually consists of a metal frame and two cover plates attached to it on both sides. Support bolts 6 are attached to the top side 4 of the partition wall element sheet 2, which are rotatably mounted on roller carriages 10, which will be described in more detail below. The roller carriages 10 run on running surfaces forming the underside 20a of a guide rail 20, which will also be described in more detail below and which has a longitudinal central slot through which the support bolts 6 are guided, the running surfaces of the guide rail 20 formed by the underside 20a being provided on both sides of the central slot. Usually, each partition wall element has two roller carriages 10, each with a support bolt 6 rotatably mounted on it.

The guide rail 20 consists of a hollow profile with a lower part 20a, which - as already mentioned - forms the running surfaces for the roller carriages 10, and with an upper part 20b, which closes the guide rail 20 at the top, as shown in Figure 1. In Figure 2, which shows a top view of the running surface of the lower part 20a of a longitudinally sectioned guide rail arrangement 20, the central slot 24 can be seen, which divides the lower part 20a into two halves in the middle and through which the support bolt 6 extends {see Figure 1}. As shown in Figure 3, in which the cross-sectional profile of the upper section of the guide rail arrangement 20 (the lower part 20a is omitted in this figure for reasons of clarity) with the roller carriage 10 inserted therein is shown in detail,

As can be seen, the rail arrangement 20 is delimited on both sides by side walls 20c and 20d. Furthermore, guide grooves 25 and 26 are formed on both sides on the inside of the upper part 20b of the rail arrangement 20, which are delimited on the one hand by the side walls 20c and 20d and on the other hand by webs 25a and 26a hanging down from the inside of the upper part 20b.

As can also be seen from Figure 3, the roller carriage 10 has at least four rollers 11, 12, 13 and 14, which rest on the inner side of the lower part 20a of the rail arrangement 20, which forms the running surface (see Figure 1). Furthermore, guide rollers are arranged on the upper side 10a of the roller carriage 10, the axis of rotation of which is not horizontal as with the rollers 11 to 14, but vertical, so that the guide rollers 15 are mounted lying on the upper side 10a of the roller carriage 10. Usually, two guide rollers 15 are provided on the upper side 10a of the roller carriage 10, one behind the other in the running direction, both of which engage together in one of the two guide grooves 25, 26 formed on the upper part 20b of the rail arrangement 20. In the illustration shown in Figure 3, the visible guide roller 15 (as well as another guide roller directly aligned behind it) engages in the guide groove 25. The engagement of the guide rollers 15 in one of the two guide grooves 25, 26 results in the roller carriages 10 being forced along a predetermined path in the guide rail arrangement 20, as will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 2 and 4.

In Figure 2, a part of a preferred embodiment of the rail arrangement 20 is shown schematically, which connects a main rail (not shown) with two parking magazines (also not shown). In the main rail (not shown), the partition wall elements are moved in the direction of their narrow or front sides and arranged at a desired location in the operating position to build a partition wall so that the narrow

or front sides of two adjacent partition wall elements touch each other. In the parking magazine (not shown), however, the partition wall elements are stored or packaged next to each other, i.e. with their broad sides facing each other. For this purpose, the parking magazines each have two parallel secondary rails that branch off from the main rail, whereby the partition wall elements are subjected to a change in their direction of movement, namely from a movement in the longitudinal direction to a movement in the transverse direction. Only in this way is it possible to package the partition wall elements next to each other in the parking magazines in the manner previously mentioned. While all roller carriages 10 of a partition wall element 1 run in the main travel rail - usually each partition wall element 1 is provided with two roller carriages 10, as shown in Figure 1 - when transporting the partition wall elements into the respective parking magazine, one roller carriage is transferred to one secondary travel rail and the other roller carriage is transferred to the other secondary travel rail, whereby the partition wall element in the parking magazine can be moved in a direction transverse to its longitudinal extension.

The section of a running rail arrangement shown in Figure 2 comprises a first straight section 31, with which the running rail section shown is connected to the main running rail mentioned above. This first straight section 31 is followed by a first switchable switch 32, which forks into a first branch 32' and a second branch 32". In this switchable switch 32, the first guide groove 25 is divided into a guide groove 25' in the first branch 32' and a guide groove 25" in the second branch 32" and is switched accordingly as required. In contrast, the second guide groove 26 running on the other side of the central slot 24 is only continued into the first branch 32' of the switch 32, without any possibility of switching to the second branch 32".

The second branch 32" of the first switchable switch 32 is then followed by another - here straight - rail section 34, which, like the second branch 32", only has the first guide groove 25". In contrast, a third rail section 33 is connected to the first branch 32' of the first switch 32, which, like the first branch 32' of the switch 32, has both the first guide groove 25' and the second guide groove 26. This third rail section 33 is followed by a passive switch 35, in whose first branch 35' the second guide groove 26 is continued and in whose second branch 35" the first guide groove 25' is continued. Accordingly, the two guide grooves 25' and 26 are divided into the first and second branches 35' and 35" of the passive switch 35, without there being a possibility of switching to the other branch.

The second branch 35" of the passive switch 35 is followed by another rail section 36, which, like the branch 35" of the passive switch 35, only has the first guide groove 25'. The first branch 35' of the passive switch 35 is also followed by another rail section 37, which, like the first branch 35' of the passive switch 35, only has the second guide groove 26. A second switchable switch 38 is connected to this rail section 37, by which the - only remaining - second guide groove 26 is divided into a guide groove 26' in a second branch 38' and into a guide groove 26" in a second branch 38", whereby the second guide groove 26 can be switched between the two branches 38' and 38". Accordingly, the second branch 38" of the switchable second switch has

38, the further track section 40 also has only the second guide groove 26". The same applies to the track section 39 which is connected to the first branch 38' of the switchable second switch 38 and which accordingly also has only the second guide groove 26'. This track section

39 is connected to a 90° curve section 41, to which another - here preferably straight - track section 42 is connected.

connects.

The track sections 34 and 36 run parallel to each other in direction I of a first parking magazine, while the track sections 40 and 42 also run parallel to each other, but in direction II of a second parking magazine.

In Figure 4, the structure of the first switchable switch 32 is shown in detail, with Figure 4 showing a plan view from below of the inside of the upper part 32b of the switch 32. The switch 32 shown is divided into a straight-line first branch 32' and a curved second branch 32". The housing of the switch 32 is laterally delimited by a first side wall 32c, which runs straight from the input section 32x (shown at the top in Figure 4) and also laterally delimits the first branch 32', and by a second side wall 32d, which, coming from the input section 32x, merges into a curved side wall 32d", which delimits the second branch 32". The housing of the switch 32 is also delimited by a side element 32e. This side element 32e has a first inner surface 32f, which follows the course of the side wall 32d" at a distance from the latter and thus forms the other lateral boundary of the second branch 32". The side element 32e also has a second inner surface 32g, which parallel to the side wall 32c and at a distance from it, and thus limits the second branch 32' on the output side. A web 32d' is also provided in alignment with this second inner surface 32g of the side element 32e and the boundary wall 32d of the input section 32x, which laterally limits the first branch 32' in the mouth area of the second branch 32".

Furthermore, a web 25a extending straight from the input section 32x into the first branch 32' is provided to delimit the first guide groove 25 or 25', whereby this web 25a is at a corresponding distance from the side walls 32d and 32d' as well as from the

second inner surface 32g of the side element 32e. Furthermore, a further web 25a" is provided in the second branch 32", which runs at a distance from the side wall 32d" and parallel to it and is thus curved accordingly and therefore limits the guide groove 25" in the second branch 32" to the inside. Finally, a further web 26a is provided, which runs at a distance from the side wall 32c in a straight line from the input section 32x into the first branch 32'.

It is certainly superfluous to point out that the cross-sectional profile of the two branches 32' and 32" and of the input section 32x corresponds to the cross-sectional profile of the running rail arrangement 20 shown in Figure 3.

With the switch 32 shown in Figure 4, the first guide groove 25 can be switched to the first branch 32' or the second branch 32" using a tongue 50. The tongue 50 can be pivoted about a pivot pin 51, the axis of which runs vertically or at right angles to the course of the rail arrangement 20 or the switch 32 and thus to the direction of movement of the partition wall elements. The pivot pin 51 is arranged at the imaginary intersection point of the extensions of the side wall 32d' of the first branch 32' and the curved web 25a delimiting the guide groove 25". Thus, depending on the pivot position, the tongue 50 opens the guide groove 25' of the first branch 32' or - as shown in Figure 4 - the guide groove 25" of the second branch 32" and then connects this to the corresponding guide groove 25 of the input section 32x. With the switch 32 shown, the guide groove 25 at the input area 32x can be switched to either the first branch 32' or the second branch 32". In contrast, the second guide groove 26 cannot be switched, but is continued from the input section 32x into the first branch 32' due to the previously described construction; accordingly, a second guide groove is not provided in the second branch 32".

A first pivoting tab 52 is provided on the first guide groove 25' of the first branch 32', which can be pivoted between a closed position in which it extends at right angles into the guide groove 25' and thus closes it (shown in dashed lines in Figure 4), and an open position in which it forms an extension of the side wall 32d' in the direction of the inner surface 32g of the side part 32e, as can be seen in Figure 4. Accordingly, the first pivoting tab 52 is arranged between the side wall 32d' and the side element 32e adjacent to its inner surface 32g. Furthermore, a second pivoting bracket 54 is provided in the guide groove 25" of the second branch 32", which can also be pivoted between a closed position in which it extends - as shown in Figure 4 - transversely to the guide groove 25" and thus closes it, and an open position in which it is aligned with the web 25a", as indicated by dashed lines in Figure 4. The pivoting brackets are pivoted from the closed position to the open position by the guide rollers 15 of the roller carriage 10 moving into the corresponding branch (see Figure 3).

The two swivel brackets 52, 54 are coupled together - preferably by a mechanical linkage - in such a way that one swivel bracket is always in its closed position when the other swivel bracket is in its open position, and that pivoting one swivel bracket from the closed to the open position automatically causes the other swivel bracket to pivot from the open to the closed position. The coupling of the two swivel brackets 52, 54 is indicated in Figure 4 by a dashed line.

The - opposing - position of the pivoting tabs 52, 54 is monitored by a control device 56, which controls an actuating device 58 for switching the tongue 50 in such a way that the tongue 50 always engages the guide groove 25 of the input section 32x with the

Guide groove of the branch in which the swivel tab is pivoted into its closed position. In the situation shown in Figure 4, for example, the tongue 50 is switched to a position in which it connects the guide groove 25 of the input section 32x with the guide groove 25" of the second branch 32", whereby in the second branch 32" the associated swivel tab 54 is pivoted into its pivot position. The coupling of the swivel tabs 52, 54 with the control device 56 and the coupling of the actuating device 58 with the tongue 50 are shown in dashed lines in Figure 4. The control device 56 and the actuating device 58 can be designed electronically and electrically; however, it is also conceivable, for example, to provide a corresponding mechanism.

The previously described construction of the switch 32 has the consequence that after a roller carriage 10 of a partition wall element 1 has been moved into one branch, the tongue 50 is switched to the other branch by pivoting the associated pivoting tab from the closed to the open position, so that the following roller carriage 10 of the partition wall element 1 or the (first) roller carriage 10 of a following partition wall element 1 inevitably moves into the other branch. In the situation shown in Figure 4, this means that the roller carriage 10 with its guide rollers 15 engaging in the guide groove 25 moves into the second branch 32" and there the guide rollers 15 pivot the pivoting tab 54 from the (shown) closed position into the open position, whereby due to the coupling described above, the pivoting tab 52 in the first branch 32' pivots from the (shown) open position into the closed position and the tongue 50 is switched to the first branch 32', so that the following roller carriage is now inevitably guided into the first branch 32'.

The second switchable switch 38 of the section of a rail arrangement 20 shown in Figure 2 is with respect to the second

Guide groove 26 is designed in the same way as the switch 32 shown in Figure 4 with respect to the first guide groove 25. This means that in the second switch 38, the second guide groove 26 is switched in the same way and with the same mechanism to either the first branch 38' or the second branch 38" as the first switch 32 switches the first guide groove 25 between the first branch 32' and the second branch 32". However, in the second switchable switch 38, the first guide groove 25 is completely missing.

With the aid of the previously described rail arrangement 20, it is now possible to move two independent partition wall systems into different parking magazines. The roller carriages of the partition wall elements of one partition wall system are guided in the rail arrangement 20 in such a way that their guide rollers always only engage in the first guide groove 25 - this is indicated schematically by a roller carriage 10' in Figure 2 -, while the roller carriages of the partition wall elements of the other partition wall system are guided in the rail arrangement 20 in such a way that their guide rollers always only engage in the second guide groove 26 - this is indicated schematically by a roller carriage 10" in Figure 2.

The first switchable switch 32 is now switched in such a way that the first roller carriage of each incoming partition wall element of the first partition wall system is always guided into the first branch 32' and after the switch 32 has been switched over, the following second roller carriage is guided into the second branch 32". After the second roller carriage has been moved into the second branch 32", the switch 32 is switched back again so that the two roller carriages of the following partition wall element are guided in the same way into the branches 32' and 32" of the switch 32. As a result, the front roller carriages of the partition wall elements are guided into the running rail section 36, correspondingly forced by the guide groove 25' coming from the first branch 32', and the following second roller carriages are guided into the running rail section 36, correspondingly forced by the guide groove 25' coming from the second branch 32".

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Guide groove 25", into the running rail section 34. In this way, a change in the direction of movement from a longitudinal movement to a transverse movement takes place, so that the partition wall elements of the first partition wall system can be packed next to one another in the parking magazine lying in direction I. The distance between the running rail sections 34 and 36 is expediently essentially the same as the - constant - distance between the two roller carriages of each partition wall element. In the same way, the partition wall elements of the second partition wall system can also be moved into a parking magazine in direction II by changing the direction of movement from a longitudinal to a transverse movement using the second switchable switch 38.

Even if the application of the switchable switches with the construction shown in Figure 4 in a rail arrangement 20 according to Figure 2 has been described above, other applications of the switchable switches described above are of course also conceivable and advantageous.

Claims (11)

Expectations 1. Rail arrangement with at least one rail for movable partition wall elements (1) with at least one switch (32; 38) that can be switched between at least two further rail branches {32', 32"; 38', 38"), characterized by a control device (52, 54, 56, 58) which after a section (10) of a partition wall element (1) has been moved into one rail branch (e.g. 32"), switches the switch (32; 38) to another rail branch (e.g. 32'). 2. Rail arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the control device has detector means (52, 54, 56) which detect a specific section (10) of a partition wall element (1) in each rail branch (32', 32"), and an actuating means (58) which is controlled by the detector means (52, 54, 56) and switches the switch (32; 38) accordingly. 3. Rail arrangement according to claim 2, in which the partition wall elements (1) are guided in the rail (20) by means of roller carriages (10), characterized in that the detector means (52, 54, 56) detect at least a part (15) of the roller carriages (10). 4. Rail arrangement according to claim 3, in which the rail (10) is designed with at least one guide section (25, 26) and the roller carriages (10) are provided with guide rollers (15) guided in the guide section (25, 26), characterized in that the detector means (52, 54, 56) detect the guide rollers (15) of the roller carriages (10). 5. Rail arrangement according to claim 4, characterized in that the guide section (25, 26) is designed as a groove. 6. Rail arrangement according to at least one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the detector means (52, 54, 56) have a swivel bracket (52, 54) on each rail branch (32', 32") of a switchable switch (32) which can be swiveled by a passing partition wall element (1) from a first position in which it projects transversely into the rail branch into a second position in which it extends in the longitudinal direction of the rail branch, and that swivel brackets (52, 54) of adjacent rail branches (32', 32") of a switchable switch (32) are coupled to one another in such a way that the swivel movement of one swivel bracket from the first to the second position caused by a passing partition wall element (1) triggers an opposite swivel movement of the other swivel bracket from the second to the first position. 7. Rail arrangement according to claim 6, characterized in that the actuating device (58) is coupled to the pivoting brackets (52, 54) in such a way that it always switches the switch (32) to the further rail branch (32', 32") on which the associated pivoting bracket is pivoted into the first position. 8. Rail arrangement according to claim 6 and/or 7, characterized in that a rod is provided for coupling 9. Rail arrangement according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the switch (32) has a vertical Axle pivotably mounted tongue (50) for switching the switch (32) between the rail branches (32', 32"). 10. Rail arrangement according to claims 4 and 9, characterized in that the tongue (50) is arranged in the guide section (25) and can be switched between the guide sections (25', 25") of the rail branches (32', 32"). 11. Rail arrangement according to claim 10, in which a first guide section (25) is provided along one side and a second guide section (26) is provided along the other side, characterized by a first switchable switch (32), by means of which the first guide section (25) is branched off into a first rail branch (32', 33) and into a second rail branch (32", 34) that preferably leads to a first parking magazine, while the second guide section (26) is only continued into the first rail branch (32', 33), a passive branch (35) connected to the first rail branch (32', 33), by means of which the first guide section (25') runs into a third rail branch (35", 36) that preferably leads to a first parking magazine and the second guide section (26) runs into a fourth rail branch (35', 37), and a second switchable switch (38) connected to the fourth rail branch (35', 37), by means of which the second guide section (26) is branched off into a fifth rail branch (38", 40) that preferably leads to a second parking magazine and into a sixth rail branch (38', 39, 41, 42) that preferably also leads to the second parking magazine.