FR2873400A1 - ASSEMBLY OF ARTICULATED BLADES, APRON OF SHUTTER ROLLING AND SHUTTER SO FORMED - Google Patents

Abstract

Set of two articulated blades (1,2) of a roller shutter apron, one of the blades comprising a groove (7) in which the second blade is articulated, characterized in that it comprises elastic means coming to oppose the articulation movement of the blades beyond a position in which the two blades are substantially coplanar.

Description

2873400 1

  The invention relates to the locking means of a roller shutter apron in the deployed position.

  By shutter means here aprons that can be unwound and wound, of the type of those formed by articulated blades, or even type metal grids or equivalent.

  Most often, these aprons are vertically erased by winding around a tree contained in a box disposed above a bay, under or behind the lintel.

  In some applications, for example pool curtains, the erasing of the apron may be substantially horizontal.

  When these aprons are formed by the assembly of articulated blades, these blades are usually made of wood, metal alloy, or polymer material such as PVC, optionally with internal insulation, thermal and sound, foam. The most current model is formed of self-supporting laminated aluminum alloy thin blades stabilized by foam filling foam and hardened at the end of profiling (see for example US-4,723,588).

  Such aprons can have various functions such as including sealing, partial occlusion, decoration, protection of the doors against the weather or break-ins.

  Such aprons can also be used for the creation of temporary partitions.

  The invention relates in particular, but not exclusively, to the technical field of motorized roller shutters.

  Motorized roller shutter means here facilities comprising a housing called box, trunk or housing, defining a space in which the shutter is wound or unwind around an axis driven by an electrically controlled motor.

  The shutter boxes known in the prior art are essentially of two types.

  2873400 2 In a first type, the box is a tubular body made by assembling longitudinal profiles of wood, polymer material or metal alloy, the ends of this tubular body being closed by end caps or covers axis and mechanism support and aesthetic . These boxes are most often square or rectangular section. Positioned above the joinery of a bay, between the level of the upper cross member of the frame frame and the level of the ceiling, these boxes are most often intended for a winding of the deck inwards.

  In a second type, the box is a generally gutter-shaped piece made mostly of terracotta, extruded hollow brick, concrete, expanded polystyrene or other polymeric material, made of wood fiber and cement material or else in the form of an extruded profile or a section obtained by molding. The final volume of the box is then delimited by the establishment on the gutter-shaped piece, a possible underside and side parts called cheeks, or even shutter caps, protective covers, end caps, covers, consoles, flanges, these side parts having a closing function and optionally winding drum shaft support. Most often, the channel has a symmetrical U shape (FR 2 773 584, FR 2 736 677, FR 2 760 486, EP 670 411). Such boxes may be at least partly placed in a reservation in the lintel of the bay to be provided with a shutter. The weight of the box can then be returned to the jambs or piers. In renovation, such boxes can be installed outdoor or indoor.

  Coatings internal to the box can limit heat exchange or noise.

  The roller shutter apron blocking means in the deployed position have the function of preventing the return to the apron casing, under the action of a thrust exerted directly on this apron, for example for an attempted burglary, the normal rise of this apron remaining of course possible, by actuating an operating device such as winch, strap, or electric motor.

  2873400 3 In fact, for roller blinds (doors, windows), the articulated blades of the deck are simply guided by U-shaped lateral slides fixed on the keys of the carpentry or on the sides of the masonry structure, the end of the slides that can be equipped with a guide added blades (often called tulip) forming a kind of guide funnel. In the absence of locking or blocking device of the deck in the deployed position, said means of self-locking or anti-raising or sometimes still lock, anti-recoil, it is possible to move the blades in the wings and tulips, lifting at the hand or using a tool the apron that then enters the box. The break-in is then facilitated.

  Similarly, for swimming pool shutters, in the absence of a locking device, it is possible to access the pool, with all the risks that ensue.

  Conventionally, the rolling shutter apron locking devices comprise fasteners of the deck to the winding shaft, fasteners which deploy when the deck has completed its descent, and then form rigid levers which are bridged between the tube winding and the top of the deck which is then at a lower level than that of the winding tube. These fasteners can then also serve as end of stroke, the blocking effect affecting the motor control.

  Already known in the prior art, a wide variety of these fasteners.

  According to a first design, the fastener comprises a plate, possibly in the form of a spring steel blade, or else in the form of a bent steel shell, this plate being mounted on the winding shaft, in particular mounted on rotation, this plate being furthermore fixed, in particular mounted in rotation, on the extreme high blade of the rolling shutter apron.

  For this first design, reference may be made, for example, to the following documents: EP-1 336 717, EP-1 267 031, EP-1 267 030, EP-1 213 436, EP-1 167 680, EP-1 111 185, EP-0 743 420, EP-0 684 362, EP-0 158 268, FR-2 816 299, FR-2 816 349, FR-2 609 095, FR-2 585 758, FR-2 565 285; , FR-2 487 422, US-5,613,539, US-5,443,107, US-5,070,925.

  According to a second design, the fastener comprises two elements, one attached to the winding drum and the other hinged to the upper blade of the deck, the two elements being themselves hinged together in the manner of a hinge, a spring possibly being provided between these two elements.

  For this second design, reference may be made, for example, to the following documents: EP-0 869 255, FR-2 696 779, FR-2 487 422, FR-2 428 137, FR-2 420 640, GB- 2,390,634.

  According to a third design, the device comprises more than two blades articulated to each other, so as to form an assembly whose one end is fixed to the upper blade of the deck, the other end being fixed to the winding shaft .

  For this third design, reference may be made, for example, to the following documents: EP-0 937 859, EP-0 889 194, EP-0 507 136, FR-2 831 596, FR-2 815 072, FR -2,808,556, FR-2,808,555, FR-2,778,692, FR-2,775,314, FR-2,720,100, FR-2,584,130, FR-2,375,426, US-4,217,945, DE-2; 008 969.

  It is also possible to refer to the documents EP-1 028 224, EP-1 235 141, EP0 716 213 and FR-2 821 113.

  Fastening devices have many disadvantages: they are bulky on the winding shaft, except to provide reservations on this shaft. Now, in renovation, the trunk often encroaches on the clear glazing, and apron blades already have a height of the order of four to five centimeters, already imposing a winding tube diameter of the same order; they often have a large number of parts and are therefore difficult to assemble and expensive to produce; they are hardly adaptable to the exact configurations of the shutter: it is common that, when mounting the roller shutter box, the user is obliged to remove or add a deck blade to adjust its height based the actual distance between the lintel and the shelf of the window, so that the distance between the first deck blade and the winding tube is no longer that of the optimum operation of the fastener. It is then also possible that the upper blades of the deck are placed in the box, beyond the slides and tulips, and a rising thrust on the deck make them articulate between them flex, allowing 2873400 5 raise the apron . To avoid this corrugation of the blades, the document FR-2,765,911 mentions the use of upper apron blades provided with resistant hooks, which is expensive. Document FR-2 778 692 mentions the use of upper deck blades of the rigid metal type, with hinge resistant to counter bending, the variety of steps, thicknesses, hook shapes of apron blades complicating however the establishment of such rigid upper blades, which can not be standard; the bracing of the fastener against the inner wall of the box may damage the internal insulation and / or sound insulation, or even the material of the box itself; each roller shutter manufacturer offers its roll tubes, fasteners and apron blades, and tube, fastener and blade designs are not necessarily compatible with each other.

  The need has long felt an effective locking device, easy to implement, inexpensive is illustrated by the wide variety of proposed solutions, none of these solutions has given full satisfaction to date. In addition to the solutions mentioned above, mention may also be made, for example: the straps connecting the winding shaft and the first deck blade (FR-2704272), the inner curve to the box on which the top apron comes support (US-3,970,134), the ratchet escapement systems (FR-2,754,010).

  The plaintiff has endeavored to bring a new solution to the problems which have just been exposed.

  To this end, the invention relates, in a first aspect, to a set of two articulated rolling shutter apron blades, one of the blades comprising a groove in which the second blade is articulated, this assembly comprising means elastics opposing the movement of articulation of the blades beyond a position in which the two blades are substantially coplanar.

  According to various embodiments, this assembly has the following characteristics, if necessary combined: the resilient means comprise an elastic band partially housed in the groove of the first blade and coming opposite a main wall of the second blade, beyond said throat; the elastic band is pressed against the inner wall of said groove; said elastic band is made of spring steel or composite material.

  The invention relates, in a second aspect, to a rolling shutter apron, comprising at least one assembly as presented above.

  In one embodiment, the elastic means are placed in the central part of the deck, particularly at a distance from the side edges of the deck.

  The invention relates, in a third aspect, to a roller shutter comprising an apron as shown above, or comprising a set of blades as presented above.

  In one embodiment, the height of its blades is of the order of a few centimeters, the elastic means being formed by strips of spring steel housed in the upper blade plate joints, these spring steel strips being in look at a main wall of the deck, a few millimeters high.

  In a particular embodiment, at least a portion of its blades, in particular its upper blades, are formed by extrusion or folding edge to edge on a metal alloy sheet, or else insertion, co-extrusion, overmolding.

  In another particular embodiment, at least a portion of its blades, including its upper blades, are filled with a sound and / or thermal insulation, and / or mechanical reinforcement.

  Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments, a description which will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a side view or partial cross section of two shutter deck blades according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a detail view of the figure; FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view of an apron in the extended extreme position, the location of the slides and the winding drum being shown schematically.

  In Figures 1 and 2, two blades 1.2 shutter apron are shown. These blades 1,2 are of known structure and therefore will not be described in detail here. These are blades comprising a thin wall 3 of aluminum alloy, an extreme edge 4 of this wall being folded so as to pinch the other extreme edge 5 of this wall 3. In a manner known per se, the blades 1.2 are each provided with a hook 6 coming to be housed in a complementary groove 7, the hook being formed by the fold edge to edge of the wall 3, the bottom wall of the groove 7 being defined by a substantially U-shaped curvature of the wall 3. The inner space 8 of each blade is filled, conventionally, with a foam providing thermal and / or sound protection and reinforcing the rigidity of the blades 1,2.

  The thickness of the wall 3 is for example of the order of half a millimeter.

  In the figures, a band of elastic material 9 is housed in the groove 7 of a first blade 1 of the rolling shutter apron, this band 9 protruding beyond said groove 7 to face the wall 3 of a second blade 2, the first and second blade being hinged to each other by the hook / groove of type known per se.

  More specifically, in the embodiment shown, this strip 9 is pressed against the bottom wall 10 of the groove 7 of the first blade 1 and is pressed, out of this groove 7, against the wall 3 of the second blade 2.

  The band 9 is provided with a hemmed or blunt edge 9a, to avoid injuries to the operator during installation (the edge of the band 9 is not sharp) and promoting the sliding of the band 9 against the wall 3 of the shutter blade.

  The terms first blade, second blade are not used here with reference to the two upper blades of the rolling shutter apron. The Applicant has found that an anti-raising effect of the apron deployed extreme position is obtained when bands such as references 9 are placed in at least one of the joints of the upper blades of the deck, but that 2873400 8 anti-effect lifting is increased when strips 9 are placed in two or more joints, typically in the first three upper joints of the deck, that is to say in the joints of the first four upper boards of the deck upstream of the entrance slides.

  The strips block the bending movement of the apron blades, during an attempt to lift the apron, for example for burglary. Indeed, the bending forces of the articulation of the blades according to the arrows F of FIG. 1 are absorbed by the elastic deformation of the strips 9.

  In one embodiment, the strips 9 are made of spring steel, and of thickness of the order of a few tenths of a millimeter.

  The strips extend over part or all of the width of the deck. In an advantageous embodiment, these strips extend over a portion of the width of the apron, substantially midway from its lateral edges. It is thus possible to cut the deck, in its box, to adapt to the width of the opening to be equipped.

  In one embodiment, not shown, the upper blades of the deck are provided with a spout or an elastic projection functionally fulfilling the role of the band 9 previously described. This embodiment avoids the introduction of elastic parts 9 in the joints of the shutter blades.

  In Figure 3, is shown in section an apron provided with blades according to the invention. In this Figure 3, a slide 11 and the winding drum 12 are schematized.

  The curve that takes the upper part 13 of the apron, between the drum 12 and the slides 11, is regular, without breaking the radius of curvature, thus ensuring a regular distribution of mechanical forces.

  The three upper joints 14a, 14b, 14c, between the four upper blades of the deck, are provided with elastic means such as those described with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

  These four blades are those which extend, without lateral guidance, between the top of the slides 11 (for example beyond the tulips) and the winding drum 12.

  In FIG. 3, the hooking means of the deck on the drum 12 are not shown: as has been said previously, the implementation of the invention does not imply to modify the fastening of the deck to the drum 12, which can remain of conventional type.

  The device that has just been presented offers many advantages over existing ones.

  In the first place, while being compatible with the commercial lock fasteners and with the standard deck boards of the trade, the device according to the invention makes it possible to dispense with these fasteners, the anti-raising function being somehow integrated into apron. The device also allows a limit stop stop. The motor, by unwinding the deck, pushes the apron blades which, at the end of the race, are braced and then self-lock thanks to the elastic means such as for example spring steel blade or pins of the blades of the apron.

  Secondly, when the elastic strips 9 are thin, the device does not require modifying the structure of the deck.

  Third, the device according to the invention is kept invisible from the outside, when the elastic bands are placed in the joints of the upper blades of the deck, which remain in the casing of the shutter, especially when the deck is fixed directly on the winding shaft, without intermediate locking fastener.

  Fourthly, the device according to the invention is inexpensive in terms of material cost and does not require a complete change in the manufacturing mode of the apron blades.

  Fifth, the establishment of elastic bands 9 in the central part 25 of the deck, for example halfway, allows to maintain the principle of a shutter that can be cut according to its needs.

  Finally, the device is robust, and in particular insensitive to fatigue, especially when the elastic bands are made of spring steel.

  The Applicant has also found that the curvature of the upper part of the shutter apron, especially when the apron is in its extreme deployed position approached an ideal curve: the curvature of the deck is regular, in the space where the apron is no longer guided by the backstage or the tulips.

2873400 10

Claims (10)

  1. A set of two blades (1,2) hinged roller shutter apron, one of the blades comprising a groove (7) in which is articulated the second blade, characterized in that it comprises elastic means from s' opposing the articulation movement of the blades beyond a position in which the two blades are substantially coplanar.   2. An assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic means comprise an elastic band (9) partly housed in the groove (7) of the first blade (1) and coming opposite a main wall of the second blade (2), beyond said groove (7).   3. An assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the elastic band (9) is pressed against the inner wall of said groove.   4. An assembly according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that said elastic band (9) is spring steel or composite material.   5. Roll shutter apron, characterized in that it comprises at least one assembly as presented in any one of claims 1 to 3.   6. Roller shutter apron according to claim 5, characterized in that the elastic means are placed in the central part of the deck, particularly at a distance from the side edges of the deck.   7. Roller shutter comprising an apron according to claim 5 or 6, or comprising a set of blades according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   8. roller shutter according to claim 7, characterized in that the height of its blades (1,2) is of the order of a few centimeters, the elastic means being formed by spring steel strips housed in the joints of upper blades of the deck, these bands (9) of spring steel being opposite a main wall of the deck, a few millimeters in height.   9. roller shutter according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that at least a portion of its blades (1,2), including its upper blades, are formed by extrusion or folding edge to edge on board a sheet of metal alloy (3).   10. Roller shutter according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that at least a portion of its blades (1,2), including its upper blades, are filled with a sound and / or thermal insulation, and / or mechanical reinforcement.