There are in existence a number of designs of gates of the type in question, where the earliest designs often included a complete gate plate being moved along the wall of the gate by means of castors that would roll on a rail located over the gate. The lower portion of the gate plate could be provided with a guide that could be moved in a guide rail provided on/in the ground. Gradually, it became more common to use vertically divided hinged gates where the upper and lower rails of the gate could follow a curved path. A lower guide rail on the ground is not very practical, as it constitutes an obstacle to access by devices that run on wheels. The guide rail is also prone to filling up with dirt, snow and ice, which may to a significant degree interfere with the operation of the gate.

Vertically movable up-and-over doors and hinged gates are now extensively used. Common to this type of gate is the fact that it takes up a considerable area of the ceiling, thus limiting the use of e. g. a ceiling-mounted overhead travelling crane.

The object of the invention is to mitigate the disadvantages of prior art.

The object is achieved in accordance with the invention by the characteristics stated in the following description and in the subsequent claims.

A gate plate, preferably in the form of a vertically divided hinged gate, is provided with a horizontal, preferably deflected carrying rail and at least one horizontal support rail, both of which are disposed higher that the floor plane and are fixed to the building.

In a preferred embodiment in which the gate plate is provided on the inside of the opening of the gate and is designed to be moved along a wall positioned at an angle relative to the wall of the gate, the carrying rail is located at a level above the gate plate, while a first support rail is positioned immediately above floor level, and a second support rail is located closer to the upper portion of the gate plate.

The gate plate is connected to the carrying rail in a swivelling manner by carriages. The carriages of the carrying rail are located by the upper portion of the gate plate and preferably also by each of the vertical hinge axes of the

hinged gate. The carriages are equipped with rolling elements in order to reduce the moving force required.

The end portion of the gate plate which faces the direction of opening is hinged to the support rails by means of carriages that run along each of the support rails.

During movement, the gate is guided and carried by the carriages running along the carrying rail, while being supported in the lateral direction by the carriages running along the supporting rails.

The following describes a non-limiting example of a preferred embodiment illustrated in the enclosed drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a closed gate seen from the inside of the building ; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the gate of figure 1 seen from the inside of the building, but here the gate is partially open; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the gate of figure 1 seen from the inside of the building, but here the gate is in the open position ; Figure 4 shows a section through a carrying rail, showing a carrying carriage with a swivellable suspension for a gate plate;

Figure 5 shows a section through a support rail, showing a support carriage connected to the gate plate in a swivellable manner; Figure 6 is a side view of a first embodiment of a carriage; Figure 7 is a plan drawing of the carriage of figure 6; Figure 8 is a side view of a second embodiment ; and Figure 9 is a plan drawing of the carriage of figure 8.

In the drawings, reference number 1 denotes a vertically divided hinged gate. The gate plate 2 comprises a plurality of gate sections 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d, which are interconnected by means of hinges 6. The gate plate 2 is dimensioned so as to cover the gate opening 10 of a building 8 when in the closed position.

In the horizontal plane, the gate plate 2 is rotatably connected to a plurality of carriages 12 that may be moved along a carrying rail 14, which connection is preferably coincidental with the hinge axis of the hinges 6.

The free end of the gate 2 section 4a that is located closest to the direction of opening of the gate 1 is, in the horizontal plane, rotatably connected to at least one support carriage 16. The support carriages may each be moved along separate support rails 18.

The carrying and support rails 14,18 are fixed to the building 8 by means of fittings of a type that is known per se.

The carrying and support rails 12,16 are equipped with a carrying wheel 20 designed to carry a vertical load, and two guide wheels 22 designed to guide the carrying and support carriages 12,16 in the rails 14,18, see figures 4 and 5.

The wheels 20,22 are rotatably connected to a carriage body 24. The guide wheels 22 are arranged one on either side of the vertical axis of the carrying wheel 20 in order to provide steady guidance of the carrying and support carriages 12,16 during movement along the rails 14,18.

In a first embodiment, see figures 5,6 and 7, the carrying and support carriage 12,16 is designed to be positioned in a rail section 18, preferably extruded, in which rail 18 the carrying wheel 20 and the guide wheels 22 run in separate tracks. In a second embodiment, see figures 4,8 and 9, the carrying and support carriage 12, 16 is designed to be placed in a plate section 14, preferably buckled, in which the wheels 20 and 22 run in the same track.

Carriages according to both embodiments are equally suited to be used as carrying carriages 12 and support carriages 16.

The carriage body 24 is provided with vertical through bores 26a, 26b and 26c, where one of the bores 26a, 26b and 26c is used to mount a hinge pin, all according to the role of the carriage.

When the carrying and support carriage 12,16 is used as a carrying carriage 12, the hinge pin 28 connecting the carriage to a hinge bracket 30 is positioned in the middle

bore 26b. The bracket 30 is connected to one of the gate sections 4a to 4d, e. g. by use of screw connections.

When the carrying-and support carriages 12, 16 are used as a support carriage 16, the hinge pin 32 is positioned in the bore 26a, whereby it connects the carrying and support carriages 12,16 to the free side of the gate section 4a in a rotatable manner via a hinge clamp 34. Bore 26c is used when the gate is designed to be opened the opposite way.

The support carriages 16 are designed to take up a vertical load, but the suspension 28,30 of the support carriages 16 is somewhat softer than the suspension 28, 30 of the carrying carriages 12, and in addition, it is only connected to the gate section 4a, whereby the weight of the gate plate 2 is taken up mainly by the carrying rail 14 via the carrying carriages 12.

When, in the closed position, the gate plate 2 covers the gate opening 10, the connection of the lower part of the gate plate 2 to the support rails 18 via the support carriages 16 prevents this lower part from tilting into the building 8.

Preferably, the end portion of the support rails 18, which is where the support carriages 16 are located when the gate 2 is closed, assumes a direction that lies between the direction of the support rails 18 and the direction of the closed gate plate 2.

The swivel radius of the carrying rail 14 may be greater than the swivel radius of the support rails 18, see figure 1. It is a well-known fact that it requires less force to move a loaded carriage along a rail curve having a large bend radius than it does to move a similarly loaded carriage along a rail

curve with a smaller bend radius. As such it is advantageous for the suspension device according to the invention to allow the carrying rail 14 along which the load-carrying carriages 12 run, to be designed with a greater bend radius than that of the support rails 18, along which the relatively lightly loaded support carriages 16 run. Thus the bend radius of the support rails 18 allows the distance from the gate opening 10 to a side wall 36 to be relatively short.

When the gate 2 is moved towards the open position, the support carriages 16 are moved along the curve of the support rails 18, whereby the gate section 4a is rotated about its common hinge axis with gate section 4b, while at the same time being moved. Thus the gate section 4a turns in along the side wall 36, while the following gate sections 4b, 4c and 4d, upon further movement, are turned in towards the side wall 36, see figure 2. When the gate plate 2 is in the open position, all gate sections 4a to 4d are essentially parallel to the side wall 36, see figure 3.

A gate suspension and moving device according to the invention is well suited to buildings with little internal space and headroom, as it does not constitute a hindrance to use of the ceiling area immediately inside of the gate opening 10.