ELEVATOR ARRANGEMENT

The present invention relates to an arrangement in the mechanical locking of an automatic door as defined in the preamble of claim 1.

Automatic doors are generally used e.g. in shopping centers, office buildings, multistory car parks, elevators and in other similar buildings and equipment. Depending on the purpose and location of use, there are many different types of automatic doors in terms of their construction. For example, there are sliding doors that open in one direction or in both directions, overhead doors, counterbalanced doors, etc. An automatic door normally works such that a sensor is disposed in the proximity of the door, which detects e.g. a person or an automobile coming in front of the door and sends information about this to the control unit, which then gives a command for opening the door.

An automatically-operating door can generally be switched off and switched back on by means of a control switch connected to the control unit. For example, in shopping centers a guard disconnects the control voltage from the door in the evening when the shopping center has closed, in which case the doors remain closed. In the morning the guard reconnects the control voltage when the shopping center opens and the doors again operate automatically. Insurance companies, however, generally require that automatically-operating doors can also be locked with some kind of mechanical locking appliance, such as a padlock or the like. In the example case presented above the guard must thus in the evening first disconnect the control voltage from the automatic doors of the shopping center and after that lock the doors with separate mechanical locks. In the morning the guard must first remove the mechanical locking and only then connect the control voltage to the doors. It is important that these procedures are performed in exactly the sequence presented above, because if the automatic door is locked with a mechanical lock and the control voltage is still connected, and the automatics of the door try to open the

door, the mechanical lock prevents opening of the door, in which case the door, or even a part incorporated in its opening system, can be damaged.

Owing to human fallibility, however, it often happens that the control voltage is connected to the automatic door before removal of the mechanical locking, or the door is locked with the mechanical lock before the control voltage is disconnected, in which case the aforementioned risk situations and damage occur. Damage causes an interruption to the operation of the door until the door is repaired, and often quite large repair costs as well. This problem could be removed if the status of the mechanical locking of an automatically-operating door could be monitored, such that control voltage could not be connected to the door when the door is mechanically locked. As is known, however, a system that works in this way does not exist. One reason for this is that it should be possible to monitor the locking status electrically in some manner, but owing to the construction and operating mode of the doors and of the locking appliances it is difficult to construct reliable and durable wiring to the locking appliances or to the door panels for electrical monitoring .

The purpose of this invention is to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks and to achieve an inexpensive and reliable arrangement in the mechanical locking of an automatic door, by means of which system there is a possibility to ensure that control voltage is not connected to the door when the door is locked with a mechanical lock. The arrangement of the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in the characterization part of claim 1. Other embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the other claims .

Some inventive embodiments are also discussed in the descriptive section and in the drawings of the present application. The inventive content of the application can

also be defined differently than in the claims presented below. The inventive content may also consist of several separate inventions, especially if the invention is considered in the light of expressions or implicit sub-tasks or from the point of view of advantages or categories of advantages achieved. In this case, some of the attributes contained in the claims below may be superfluous from the point of view of separate inventive concepts. Likewise the different details presented in connection with each embodiment of the invention can also be applied in other embodiments .

The arrangement of the mechanical locking of an automatic door according to the invention contains sensing means for monitoring the status data of the mechanical locking. Additionally in the arrangement it is possible that a storage place of the mechanical lock and a sensing element is connected to the control unit, which sensing element is arranged to disconnect the control voltage of the door when the lock is out of its storage place and to enable connection of the control voltage when the lock is in its storage place. Any element at all can function as the sensing element, either mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic or a combination of these.

In one embodiment of the arrangement the sensing element is an inductive sensor, which is arranged to detect the presence of the lock in its storage place and to transmit data about its presence to the control unit. A mechanical element or another kind of sensor such as e.g. a capacitive, a piezo-electrical or an optical sensor can, of course, also function as the sensing element.

In one embodiment of the arrangement a safety limit switch that functions as a sensing appliance, which comprises a detachable key part, which is fitted to be disposed in connection with the mechanical lock for the duration of the

mechanical locking of the door, is fitted in connection with the control unit.

In one embodiment of the arrangement a safety limit switch is arranged to enable connection of the control voltage when the key part is connected to the safety limit switch.

In one embodiment of the arrangement the safety limit switch contains monitoring means, which are fitted to enable detachment of the key part from the safety limit switch only when the control voltage is switched off.

In one embodiment of the arrangement the key part comprises a holder part or the like, which is fitted to be disposed in connection with the lock in the door for the duration of the mechanical locking of the door.

In one embodiment of the arrangement the holder part or similar is fitted to be locked to the latch, or the like, of the lock in the door for the duration of the mechanical locking of the door .

In one embodiment of the arrangement, the arrangement comprises a moveable part, such as e.g. the aforementioned lock or key part, arranged to be disposed in connection with the control unit, which moveable part is arranged to be moved and disposed in connection with the door for the duration of locking of the door, and means arranged in connection with the control unit for detecting the presence of the moveable part in connection with the control unit, and in that the control unit and/or the sensing means are arranged to enable the connection of the control voltage of the door only when the part is in connection with the control unit.

One advantage of the arrangement according to the invention is that the arrangement reliably ensures that control voltage is not connected to the automatic door when the door is locked with a mechanical lock. Another advantage that follows from

this is that, owing to the arrangement, the automatic door cannot be broken as a result of the automatics of the door trying to open the door when the door is mechanically locked. As a result of this advantage, interruptions to operation as well as extra repair costs are avoided. Another advantage is that the arrangement is operationally reliable, simple and inexpensive to implement .

In the following, the invention will be described in more detail by the aid of two different examples of its embodiment with reference to the attached drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 presents an automaticalIy-operating sliding door as well as one arrangement according to the invention as viewed from the inside of the door,

Fig. 2 presents an automatically-operating sliding door as well as an arrangement according to a second embodiment of the invention as viewed from the inside of the door, Fig. 3 presents a magnified and simplified view of a partially sectioned lock according to Fig. 2 as viewed from the inside of the door,

Fig. 4 presents a side view of a safety limit switch incorporated in the arrangement according to the invention and the key part detached from it,

Fig. 5 presents a side view of the key part of the safety limit switch incorporated in the arrangement according to the invention, and

Fig. 6 presents a front view of the key part of the safety limit switch incorporated in the arrangement according to the invention.

Fig. 1 presents by way of an example an automatically- operating door two-panel outer door of a shopping center as viewed from inside the shopping center. The automatic door 1 comprises two separate door panels 2a and 2b, which are fitted to travel backwards and forwards in the lateral direction by means of the door operator 5 and under the control of the

control unit 11. The door operator 5 is arranged to move e.g. a rope 6 fitted as a closed loop, to which the door panels 2a and 2b are fixed by their top parts by means of fixing elements 7a and 7b. The first door panel 2a is fixed to the lower part of the rope loop 6 and the second door panel 2b to the upper part of the rope loop. As a result of this, the door panels move in opposite directions with respect to each other when driven by the door operator 5. The door panels are fitted at their bottom parts into the guide rails 3 in the floor and at their top parts into the guide rails 4. In the situation of the figure, when the door 1 opens the door panel 2a moves to the left and the door panel 2b to the right . When the door 1 closes, the door panels move in the opposite directions. The control unit 11 of the door is fixed to the wall in the proximity of the door. In addition a sensor 8, which is arranged to detect movement occurring in front of the door, is disposed above the door 1. The door operator 5 of the door 1 as well as the sensor 8 are connected to the control unit 11. When movement occurs in front of the door 1, the sensor 8 detects the movement and sends information about this to the control unit 11, which gives an opening command to the door 1. Closing of the door can take place e.g. such that when the sensor 8 has not detected a movement in front of the door 1 by the prescribed time, the control unit 11 gives a closing command to the door 1.

The control unit 11 comprises a status regulator 12, by means of which the status of the door 1 is arranged to be changed. In this embodiment the status of the status regulator 12 and simultaneously of the door 1 can be changed with a key suited to the keyhole of the status regulator 12. Generally an automatic door has at least two statuses. In the first status the control voltage of the door is not connected, in which case the door panels 2a and 2b remain stationary even if movement occurs in front of the door 1. The door 1 is connected into this status when the shopping center is closed, when it is desired that the door remains closed. In the second status the control voltage of the door is connected, in which

case the door 1 operates automatically under the control of the control unit 11, as described above.

In the situation presented in Fig. 1, the control voltage is disconnected and the door 1 is locked with an external lock 10. In this embodiment the lock 10 is a normal padlock, which is fitted into the locking lugs 9 on the edges of the door panels 2a and 2b. The arrangement also comprises a storage place 13 of the lock 10 disposed near the control unit 11, into which the lock 10 can be moved and placed so that the control voltage of the door 1 can be switched on from the control unit 11. The storage place 13 is in this case e.g. a ring that is fixed to the wall and functions as a bracket, on which the padlock 10 can be suspended and locked to its catch part. A sensing element 14, which is arranged to detect whether the lock 10 is in its storage place or not, that is connected to the control unit 11 is disposed next to the storage place 13. The sensing element 14 in this embodiment is e.g. an inductive sensor. When the lock 10 is in its storage place 13, the sensor 14 detects the lock and closes the contact pair in the control unit 11, which closes the circuit, in which case the control voltage of the door 1 can be switched on by means of the status regulator 12. When the lock 10 is removed from its storage place 13, the control voltage is automatically switched off under the control of the sensing element 14, in which case the door operator 5 of the door 1 no longer receives operating current and cannot move the door panels 2a, 2b.

Figs. 2-6 present a solution according to the second embodiment of the invention for monitoring the status of the automatic door. Fig. 2 presents an automatically-operating two-panel outer door of a shopping center according to Fig. 1 as viewed from inside the shopping center. The automatic door 1 operates on the same principle under the control of the control unit 11 as the door of Fig. 1. in this embodiment, however, the mechanical locking of the door is effected in a different way. The mechanical lock 10 is situated on the door

1 such that the cylinder body 17 of the lock 10 is situated on the first door panel 2a, as well as the catch 18, which is e.g. hook-like in shape, connected to it and fitted inside the door panel. A pin 19 that functions as a counterpart of the hook catch 18 is fixed inside the second door panel 2b. When the door 1 is locked by turning the key in the cylinder body 17, the hook catch 18 locks behind the pin 19, in which case the door 1 remains locked.

The safety limit switch 15, which is used as an auxiliary appliance for monitoring the status data of the mechanical locking of the door 1, is connected to the control unit 11. According to this embodiment of the invention when the door 1 is mechanically locked with the lock 10, the key part 16 of the safety limit switch is situated in the hook catch 18 between the door panels 2a and 2b. This can be seen better in Fig. 3. The construction of the safety limit switch 15 and the key part 16 are presented in more detail in Figs. 4-6. The key part 16 comprises a plate-like holder part 16a, which contains a hole 16b, which is so big that the holder part 16a can be threaded through the hole onto the hook catch 18, and left on the mechanically locked door 1 for the duration of the locking of the door . In this case the key part 16 is thus locked by its holder part 16a to the hook catch 18, when the door 1 is locked mechanically with the lock 10, and the key part 16 cannot get lost .

The key part 16 additionally comprises a fixing part 16c, by means of the key part 16 can be connected to the safety limit switch 15. The control unit 11 and the safety limit switch 15 are arranged such that the key part 16 must be connected to the safety limit switch 15 in order for it to be possible for the control voltage of the door 1 to be switched on by means of the status regulator 12. The lock 10 must thus be opened first before switching the control voltage on, so that the key part 16 can be detached from the hook catch 18. Then the key part 16 can be moved and can be connected to the safety limit switch 15 and only after this can the control voltage of the

door 1 be switched on. This arrangement prevents the control voltage from being switched on before the mechanical locking is removed.

Correspondingly, the control unit 11 and the safety limit switch 15 are arranged such that the key part 16 does not detach from the safety limit switch if the control voltage of the door 1 is not switched off. The safety limit switch 15 contains e.g. a solenoid, which keeps the key part 16 in its position until the control voltage has been switched off. Additionally, a buzzer 20, which is arranged to repeat a warning sound if the control voltage is switched off but the key part 16 is still fitted into the safety limit switch 15, is connected to the control unit 11. When the key part 16 is detached from the safety limit switch 15, the alarm of the buzzer 20 ends. The purpose of the buzzer 20 is to remind the person closing the door 1 to take the key part 16 out of the safety limit switch 15 and to position it in the hook catch 18 in connection with the mechanical locking of the door 1.

It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, in which the invention is described using examples, but that many adaptations and different embodiments of the invention are possible within the scope of the inventive concept defined by the claims presented below. Thus, for example, the arrangement according to the invention can be used just as well in other premises than in shopping centers and in other types of automatic doors that what is described above. The automatic door can, instead of the two-panel side-opening door described above, be e.g. a single-panel door, an inward or outward opening door, an overhead door or some other similar automatically-operating door.

It is further obvious to the person skilled in the art that the lock used for the mechanical locking of the automatic door can also be of a different type than in the embodiments described above. The lock can contain e.g. a straight catch,

or the like, instead of a hook catch, depending on the door Solutions and on the locking solutions .

It is further obvious to the person skilled in the art that other types of means than those in the embodiments presented above can be used for monitoring the status of the mechanical locking of the automatic door. The presence of the lock in its storage place can be e.g. detected otherwise than by means of an inductive sensor. For example, a switch can be connected to the storage holder according to the first embodiment, which switches as a result of the weight of the lock, in which case the control voltage of the door also switches on. When the lock is removed from the bracket, the spring connected to the bracket opens the switch and the control voltage is switched off.

It is also obvious to the person skilled in the art that the key part connecting the safety limit switch and the mechanical lock can of another type of structure to what is presented above. The holder part of the key part does not necessarily need to be a plate, in which a hole is made, but it can be e.g. a ring, which is fixed to the fixing part of the key part, or a magnet, by means of which the key part is fixed to the mechanical lock, or some other similar solution.

It is further obvious to the person skilled in the art that the automatic door can have more statuses than only the two mentioned above, i.e. the control voltage connected or disconnected. There can, for example, be a status in which the door operates automatically from only one side of the door, or a status in which the door stays open all the time, as well as other different statuses.