Technical Area

This invention relates to improvements in Roller Doors.

Background to the Invention

Rollers Doors are doors which are widely used in Australia as garage doors and may be formed out of a sheet of metal which can be selectively deformed or may be formed of a number of interlocking sheets, each of which have a height substantially less than the diameter of the roller about which the shutter passes, so they can be located around the roller when the shutter is in its open position and be closely fitting to the roller.

This is desirable because it is a desiderate that the roller be located as close to the ceiling or area above the door and as close outwardly to the opening, so that the shutter is basically downwardly directed when the roller is fully retracted.

There is, inheritantly, a gap between the sill of the door area and the shutter, as, when the shutter is fully lowered, that is, the opening is closed, then the diameter of the roller over which the shutter passes, is its minimum and the shutter is tending to move forwardly from the roller to the door opening and into guides down each side.

This leaves, what is effectively, a triangular area adjacent to the sill through which air can pass, as can various solid air-entrained materials.

There have been proposals to endeavour to reduce or remove this gap which, in most cases, have incorporated some extension on the sill, such as a brush or strip, which extends towards the shutter and makes a rubbing contact therewith. Such devices have proved less than fully-satisfactory as, over time, their resilience can vary and, often, grit or the like can be gathered by the member and this can effectively scratch the surface of the shutter as it is raised and lowered past the extension.

Outline of the Invention

It is the object of the present invention to provide a shutter door with means whereby the space at the junction of the sill and the shutter, when the shutter is closed, is effectively occluded and yet which, when the shutter is open or partly opened, has no effect on the operation of the shutter or necessitate any modification of the location of the shutter.

The invention includes a roller door having a seal means which is attached to the door shutter at a location such that when the door is in its closed condition, the seal extends from the face of the door and extends outwardly therefrom and contacts the door sill and, when the door is opened, the seal means is caused to be located between the portion of the shutter to which it is connected and the portion of the shutter which lies directly thereover, characterised in that the seal means is of such a form that when so located it has little effect on the form of the rolled shutter.

It is preferred that the seal means is formed of an extrusion of a resilient material which, when unconstrained has a substantial depth extending outwardly of the door but which can reduce to a minimal depth when pressure is applied thereto.

The seal is preferably a strip of resilient material having two sides which are adapted to be connected to the shutter, the sides, when connected, being located parallel to one another and a body portion between the sides which, when the sides are connected extend outwardly from the sides in a generally U-shaped configuration.

Each sides may include an enlarged portion which is formed to cooperate with a member having a recess transverse to the shutter and extending substantially along the width thereof. Description of an Embodiment of the Invention

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, we shall describe one particular arrangement of application of the invention in association with a roller door of the type which may be used for garages or for loading bays, or even for security-closures for shops, the arrangement being described in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig 1 shows a front view of a roller door of a conventional form to which the invention may be applied:

Fig 2 shows a rear view of the door of Fig 1, the door being closed;

Fig 3 shows a seal of a type which may be used in association with the invention;

Fig 4 shows a side view, with the sill in section, of the roller and shutter of the door with the seal in location; and

Fig 5 is a view similar to that of Fig 5 wherein there is a larger gap between the seal and the shutter of the door.

Figs 1 and 2 show a conventional roller door having a door opening 10 which can be considered to have two sides, or jambs 11,12, and a sill 13, and these are normally define an opening which is square or rectangular and of the depth of either the frame or the building.

Conventionally, the door has a roller 20 which extends across the width of the opening 10 above the sill 13. In some applications, the axis of the roller 20 may be at the level of the sill, or even very slightly there below.

The roller has a central axis 21 and means such as a motor and gearbox or chain drive (not shown) whereby it can be rotated in either direction. Located on either side on the inner surface of the opening 10, there is provided a track means 14,15 which is adapted to receive the door shutter 22 which can be rolled onto the roller 20, to open the door or the be unrolled therefrom, to close the door. These tracks may, at their upper ends, be deformed to provide an arcuate surface 16 over which the shutter can pass as it moves from the roller 20 into the track 14,15.

The shutter itself may be formed of a panel of a relatively light metal which is deformed longitudinally to give rigidity to the panel whilst enabling bending about a transverse axis, so that the panel can be located about the roller. Alternatively, if a stronger door is required, the shutter can be made of panels formed to inter-engage one with the other, so as there can be rotational movement between these. The height of these panels can be relatively small, relative to the diameter of the roller about which they are to pass, so that as the door is opened, the panels can locate closely around the roller.

In one particular form, as can be seen from Figs 4 and 5, the panels, in section, flat portions 23 which are outwardly directed and smaller inwardly directed flat portions 24 which are interconnected, which arrangement gives a substantial degree of rigidity along the width of the door, whilst permitting a certain flexibility along the height of the door. The arrangement also gives as aesthetically pleasing appearance and can assist in passing the panel over the roller 20.

On each side of the panels there are located rubbing strips, not illustrated, which may be of a fabric-type material and which serve two purposes.

Firstly, they provide a relatively continuous surface on each side of the shutter where it passes down the tracks on each side and this ensures that the body of the shutter is held away from the edges of the track and acts as a guide for the shutter when moving upwardly and downwardly.

The secondary aspect, as the shutter is taken up about the roller, these strips provide a spacer to prevent adjacent turns of the shutter from being in contact one with the other on the roller with the inevitable damaging of the surface of the shutter which is to be directed outwardly when the door is closed, and thus marring the surface.

The invention provides, on one of the flat outwardly-directed surfaces 23 of the shutter at a position adjacent the sill 13, when the shutter is closed, a seal member 30 which is continuously located across the width of the shutter and connected thereto.

In Fig 3, we show one particular form of seal member 30. The seal member is an extrusion of rubber, synthetic rubber or a plastics material which has a body portion 31 at each end of which there are a plurality of extension members 32, 32a ... Also on the body portion 31 has a number of outwardly directed flaps 34 which extend along the length of the seal and are parallel and of the same height.

The extension members 32 ... are adapted to cooperate with an extrusion 40 which is fitted to, or could be formed into the shutter 22 of the door. As illustrated, the extrusion 40 which may be a single extrusion or a pair of extrusions are located on one of the flat portions 23 of the shutter.

The seal, as can be seen from Figs 4 and 5 is connected between the two recesses in the extrusion and extends outwardly from the face of the shutter. Figs 4 and 5 differ from each other and demonstrate how the seal of the invention can be used with doors in which the rollers are different spacing from the sill 13. hi Fig 3 all of the extension members, other than the one which is in connection with the body are removed where the roller is close to the sill. Fig 4, on the other hand shows an arrangement where there is a substantially larger spacing.

Each of these Figs show that the extensions 34 act as flaps to contact the inner surface of the sill. Whilst Figs 3, 4 and 5 illustrate one form of seal, it is to be understood that various other forms of seal can also be completely satisfactory.

For example, the seal could have a relatively flat base with a seal member extending outwardly therefrom. If a seal of this form is used, the base could be connected directly to the shutter face. The connection is preferably an adhesive connection so that the seal is in close abutment with the shutter across the whole of the width thereof.

The seal may take various shapes, but preferably, in section, has the flat surface which is adapted to be connected to the shutter and an outwardly-directed portion which, in a preferred form, may be a circular arc or some similar closed shape connected at each side to the edges of the flat portion, so that there is an enclosed open portion when the seal is in its normal position, but pressure on the extending portion can simply permit the seal to collapse, so that the circular other shaped portion can be brought into a position where it is closely abutting the flat portion.

The seal may preferably be made from a single extrusion of an artificial rubber or synthetic plastics material, the flat face portion may have a thickness greater than the remainder, so that the seal itself has an overall rigidity and the outwardly extending portion can be of a thickness sufficient to enable mechanical working over a long period, but also such that the portion can be collapsed on the flat face portion without great difficulty and without extending outwardly substantially therefrom.

In use, the seal is located across the appropriate flat portion of the shutter, so that when the shutter is closed, the seal extends across the gap and comes into contact with the sill and makes a seal therewith. As illustrated in respect of the form of seal shown in the drawings, and as mentioned previously, the body of the seal adopts a generally U-shape with the extensions 34 forming flaps to make contact with the inner surface of the sill.

When the door is being opened, it will be appreciated that the seal is immediately removed from the sill, as the shutter tends to move upwardly and rearwardly towards the roller 20 and is laid on the roller extending outwardly therefrom.

As the door continues to be opened, the seal will move around the roller until it comes into a position where a portion of the shutter is going to lie thereover and the arrangement is such that the shutter portion causes the seal to be deformed inwardly. At this situation the total height of the seal may be substantially the same as the spacing between the two panels, keeping in mind that they are separated by the rubbing strips and, as such, the seal does not substantially affect the profile of the shutter as it is being rolled upon the roller.

Once the seal has been so collapsed, the remainder of the door is simply laid on the roller as it would be normally.

When the door is fully opened the rolled shutter effectively has the same dimensions as a shutter without the seal, so there is no necessity to relocate the roller to take into account any deformation or distortion of the profile of the rolled shutter caused by the seal.

When the door is again closed, as the last layer of shutter passes from the roller, the seal will automatically assume its extended shape and, as this moves around the roller and towards the sill, it will contact the sill as the door reaches its closed position to form an effective seal therewith.

It will be seen that the invention provides the door which, when raised, shows no indication whatsoever of sill-seal, but which, when lowered, provides a neat and unobtrusive seal. This is aesthetically more pleasing than was the case where seals were located on the sill, so that they were always visible.

The seal is also effective right across the width of the panel of the shutter and can extend between the rubbing strips on either side and, if required, could also extend up to and over the rubbing strip, although this may not be preferred.

Whilst we have herein described one particular form of door and sill seal, it is to be understood that modifications can be made in the seal, without departing from the invention.

For example, the seal could be a block of a soft sponge-type material which would, when unconstrained, extend from the shutter to the sill, but when the shutter is being rolled, the seal could simply be permitted to collapse to be received, as described earlier between the rubbing strips.

Any and all such variations are to be deemed within the scope of the invention.