WO2008046422A1

WO2008046422A1 - Roller door

Info

Publication number: WO2008046422A1
Application number: PCT/DK2007/000446
Authority: WO
Inventors: Preben Øvlisen SØNDERGAARD
Original assignee: Door System A/S
Priority date: 2006-10-18
Filing date: 2007-10-16
Publication date: 2008-04-24
Also published as: EP2084361A1

Abstract

The present invention concerns a roller door (1) of the type which is typically used in gateways in industrial buildings, where the door leaf by opening is rolled up around a reel (2) via a rolling mechanism, and where the door leaf consists of a flexible gate cloth (3), e.g. a reinforced tarpaulin of PVC or polyester. The rolling mechanism of the roller door includes a tensioning cloth (5) which at the opening of the roller door is rolled up together with the door cloth, thereby separating the windings of door cloth around the reel. The tensioning cloth is mounted on the reel in the same way as the door cloth, so that the tensioning cloth is disposed outermost on the reel, whereby it will lie upon the door cloth and keep it in tension on the reel when opening the door.

Description

Roller Door

Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns a roller door of the type which is typically used in gateways in industrial buildings, where the door leaf by opening is rolled up around a reel via a rolling mechanism, and where the door leaf consists of a flexible door cloth, e.g. a reinforced tarpaulin of PVC or polyester.

Description of Prior Art It is commonly known to use roller doors both in external and in internal gateways in industrial buildings. Previously, so-called sectional overhead doors have been widely used and are still in use in many industries as such, but the opening and closing speed of this type of doors is not particularly fast. In buildings where a good deal of internal transport occurs, so-called high-speed doors are thus used in many places and which open at speeds of about 2 m/s and close at a somewhat lower speed of about 0.4 m/s. These doors are markedly faster than sectional overhead doors and are used in many places where it is desired that the door is kept closed as much as possible due to draught in the premises and of course for saving some of the cost of heating the premises.

High-speed doors can be made in various ways, but they are typically made as a door where the door leaf is elevated vertically or with a two-part door leaf which is moved horizontally to the side, or as a roller door with a door leaf of a flexible and rollable material, which e.g. can be made of the same material used for tarpaulins for lorries and the like. These doors with roller action are very attractive, as less space above the gateway or at the sides is required.

In connection with frost rooms in cold stores, e.g. where forklift trucks and similar are going in and out of frost rooms, there is obviously a need for rapid opening and closing of the door. Moreover, it is desirable with a door solution which is insulated, and where condensate and subsequently ice are not formed on the door parts. With the prior art types of high speed doors, the demands set forth for an optimal solution are not fulfilled, but instead compromising solutions are provided where particularly the speed or the insulation capability are the parameters that are not optimal.

There are door types made with integrated insulation and which are used in frost rooms. These doors are, however, not very rapid in opening and closing, as they are built up with transverse insulation elements which at opening are folded according to the same principle as when pleated curtains or Venetian blinds are hoisted. Furthermore, the insulation capability is not optimal since there is no insulation in the door leaf at the points where a hinge is formed between the transverse insulation elements.

It is thus the purpose of the invention to indicate a door solution which is rapid, which is insulated and which prevents accumulation of condensed water/ice on or in connection with the door parts.

Description of the Invention

The invention concerns a roller door of the kind described in the preamble of claim 1, where the rolling mechanism further includes a tensioning cloth which at the opening of the roller door is rolled up together with the door cloth, thereby separating the windings of door cloth around the reel. The tensioning cloth is mounted on the reel in the same way as the door cloth, so that the tensioning cloth is disposed outermost on the reel, whereby it will lie upon the door cloth and keep it in tension on the reel when opening the door. This is necessary by rapid rolling up and down of the door cloth, as the door cloth otherwise is at risk of being too loosely rolled up on the reel, which may result in the door cloth being bunched together at the closing of the door which then cannot be closed. The tensioning cloth may advantageously be made of the same material as the door cloth or of other suitable material.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of a roller door according to the invention, when the door is closed the tensioning cloth is rolled up on a reel which is disposed in immediate vicinity of the reel for the door cloth. The reel with tensioning cloth may advantageously be spring loaded in such a way that the tensioning cloth can be kept tensioned. By keeping the tensioning cloth in tension, there is achieved the advantage that the door cloth by rolling up is pressed against the reel and is kept in this tight position. The tensioning cloth may advantageously be kept tight by one or more spring arrangements between the reel for tensioning cloth and a fixed point, e.g. by one or more helical springs or other suitable type of spring members which are mounted between reel and door casing.

A particularly preferred embodiment of a roller door according to the invention is where the door leaf is made as an insulated door cloth, where the door leaf is made up of at least one layer of door cloth and at least one layer of insulating material. By making the door leaf in this way, it is provided less flexibility as the door leaf itself now has increased thickness and therefore an increased tendency of unrolling when the door leaf is rolled up on the reel. Particularly by door leaves with a total rigidity which is greater than e.g. the prior art tarpaulin types, there is achieved an advantage by using the tensioning cloth.

With a door leaf for a roller door according to the invention where the door leaf is made with insulation there is obviously achieved the advantage that when the door is closed, there is not so large loss of energy from the room where the door is mounted. A roller door according to the invention in a preferred embodiment has a door leaf where the at least one layer of insulation material of the door leaf consists of a flexible foamed plastic material. For example, Neoprene® or other flexible foamed plastic or rubber material may be used. A door leaf with one or more layers of flexible foamed insulation material, such as Neoprene®, which is fitted in a roller door according to the invention, may be rolled up with high speed on a reel because of the tensioning cloth and not the least be kept in tension on the reel. In that the door leaf is tightly rolled up, it may be possible to close the door, i.e. to roll the door leaf off the reel, also with high speed, as the tensioning cloth is acting until the door cloth has been passed into the vertical guide grooves in the side members of the door casing.

A special variant of a door cloth for a roller door according to the invention is where the door cloth is made as a three-layered door cloth, where each of the outer layers is joined with the middle layer by displaced transverse joints, whereby displaced transverse pockets for the insulation material are formed. In these transverse pockets, mats of e.g. Neoprene® or other suitable foamed plastic material may be placed. From the packing industry and from machine and industrial insulation, many different foamed materials with elastic and insulating properties are known which may be used for insulating door leaves according to this invention.

In order to prevent warm and humid air from flowing into the roller door mechanisms and into the frost room through cracks at the door cloth, the roller door according to the invention is made with a door cloth with a ridge at least at the upper edge, where the ridge interacts with a seat for the ridge when the door is closed, the ridge and seat ensuring that the door cloth fits tightly at least to the upper section of the door casing. In this way, the warm and humid air outside the frost room is prevented from penetrating into the cold area where the door is mounted. If warm and humid air comes into contact with cold surfaces and articles, the water in the air is condensed and freezes rapidly into ice, causing problems with frozen door leaves and loose frosting/ice, forming a layer of ice e.g. on the floor or at the inner side of guards in connection with the mechanisms of the door.

Short Description of the Drawing

The invention is described in more detail with reference to the drawing, wherein: FIG. 1 shows a roller door as seen from the side; FIG. 2 shows detailed reels, door cloth and tensioning cloth; FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a door cloth; FIG. 4 shows a roller door as seen from the front.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In Fig. 1 appears a roller door 1 according to the invention as seen from the side, where the roller door 1 is closed and where a reel 2 for the door leaf 3 appears at the top and a reel 4 with the rolled up tensioning cloth 5. The reel 2 is constructed with longitudinal pipes 6 which are mounted between end pieces 7. Around reels and tensioning cloth appears a guard 8 protecting the entire roller mechanism. The lower part of the guard 8 is made sloping towards the door leaf 3 so that frosting and ice that possibly fall off the door leaf 3 at opening and closing will be scattered when the roller door 1 is open. At side casing members 9 and possibly at the seat 10 for the ridge 11 in the top casing section 12, not shown heater wires are incorporated, preventing the door leaf 3 from freezing on to the casing 9 and 12.

In Fig. 2 appears more clearly that the reel 2 is made helical with one single winding, so that there is a notch corresponding to the thickness of the door leaf. In this way is achieved a smooth and even rolling up of the door leaf which in the shown embodiment is about 30 mm thick. The tensioning cloth 5 is a cloth of a material corresponding to that which tarpaulins for lorries are made of, but it can be made of thinner as well as thicker qualities or of another suitable material.

In Fig. 3 is seen the cross-section of a door leaf 3 which is made up of three layers of door cloth 13, 14, 15. The first 13 and the second 15 of the outermost layers, respectively, are joined to the middle layer 14 transversely of the door leaf 3. In this way is pockets 16 for insulation material 17 are formed between the layers. Joints 18 are made staggered so that nowhere on the door leaf 3 exists an insulation thickness which is thinner than one layer of insulation material 17.

The shown embodiment is only an example and could be made with four layers of door cloth and with three layers of insulation material as well as with two layers of door cloth and one layer of insulation material. The insulation material can be Neoprene® or another foamed and/or insulating material.

In Fig. 4 appears a roller door 1 shown from the front with side casing sections 9, with reel 2 and with a motor 19 driving the roller door 1.

Claims

1. A roller door of the type typically used in gateways in industrial buildings, where the door leaf by opening is rolled up around a reel via a rolling mechanism, and where the door leaf consists of a flexible door cloth, e.g. a reinforced tarpaulin cloth of PVC or polyester, characterised in that the rolling mechanism further includes a tensioning cloth which at the opening of the roller door is rolled up together with the door cloth, thereby separating the windings of door cloth around the reel.

2. Roller door according to claim 1, characterised in that by a closed door, the tensioning cloth is rolled up on a reel, preferably disposed in immediate vicinity of the reel for the door cloth .

3. Roller door according to any of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the tensioning cloth is kept in tension by a spring arrangement between the reel and a fixed point, preferably by a helical spring between reel and door casing.

4. Roller door according to any of claims 1 and 3, characterised in that the door leaf is made as an insulated door cloth, where the door leaf is made with at least one layer of door cloth and at least one layer of insulating material.

5. Roller door according to any of claims 1 - 4, characterised in that the at least one layer of insulating material of the door leaf consists of a foamed flexible plastic material.

6. Roller door according to any of claims 1 -5, characterised in that the door cloth is made as a three-layered door cloth, where each of the outer layers is joined with the middle layer by displaced transverse joints, whereby displaced transverse pockets for the insulation material are formed.

7. Roller door according to any of claims 1 -6, characterised in that the door cloth is made with a ridge at least at the upper edge, where the ridge interacts with a seat for the ridge when the door is closed, the ridge and seat ensuring that the door cloth fits tightly at least to the upper section of the door casing .