Technical field

The present disclosure relates to a door drive mechanism for moving a sliding door between an open and a closed position in an opening and a sliding door. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a door drive mechanism for moving a sliding door between an open and a closed position in an opening and a sliding door as defined in the introductory parts of claim 1 and claim 16.

Background art

Sliding doors are commonly used as entrance in many buildings, e.g. commercial buildings as stores, malls an office buildings etc. Sliding doors either opens when a person is detected by a motion sensor in front of the door or it may also be open during the day and closed when the building closes at night. The latter is especially common for sliding door outside of revolving doors. Such sliding door are often curved to follow the shape of the revolving door.

However, sliding doors have drive mechanisms that are complex systems of belts and rods to move the doors. Drive mechanisms for sliding doors are thus complicated which makes them expensive in manufacturing and in use as the complex solution require service. There is thus a need for improved solution for driving sliding doors.

Summary

It is an object of the present disclosure to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies and disadvantages in the prior art and solve at least the above mentioned problem. According to a first aspect there is provided a door drive mechanism for moving a sliding door between an open and a closed position in an opening, comprising a drive roller configured to be mounted at a wall/structure defining the opening and in rotatable engagement with a first driving portion of a first door leaf, wherein the first driving portion has a first driving length, and wherein the drive roller is configured to move the first door leaf when the drive roller is rotated in engagement with the first driving portion. Using a drive roller simplifies the drive mechanism for the sliding door significantly. The drive roller may in one embodiment drive directly against a single door leaf if placed in the corner position past which the sliding door is moved when it is opened.

According to some embodiments, the door comprises a first driving rod extending in the horizontal plane adapted to be attached to a first door leaf of the sliding door, wherein the first driving portion is located on the first driving rod. Using a driving rod with a first driving portion onto which the drive roller is driving makes it possible to place the drive roller in any place as long as the first driving portion is long enough for the desired movement of the door leaf.

According to some embodiments, the first driving portion is the part of the first driving rod where the drive roller engage with the first driving rod during sliding, the first driving length extending from a first endpoint to a second endpoint, the first endpoint and the second endpoint thereby determining the maximum sliding distance of the first door leaf.

According to some embodiments, the first driving length equals the width of the first door leaf, which is appropriate in many applications as sliding doors normally need to be fully opened across the entire width of each door leaf.

According to some embodiments, the drive comprises a first support roller in rotatable engagement with the first driving rod on the opposite side compared to the drive roller. The first support roller makes sure that the drive roller is engaged with the driving portion with the intended pressure. In other words, the first support roller makes sure that the first driving rod cannot bend and loose its engagement to the driver roller.

According to some embodiments, the drive comprises an electrical motor driving the drive roller, which is a convenient way to both control and drive the sliding door using electricity. However, the drive roller could also be driven by a band or other mechanically engaging drive mechanism for situations without access to electricity. An electrical motor could also be complemented with a second mechanical solution to drive the drive roller in case of power failure.

According to some embodiments, the first driving rod and the first door leaf are equally curved in the horizontal plane. When the first door leaf is curved also the driving rod has to be curved to facilitate a simple driving mechanism also for curved sliding doors. According to some embodiments, the door drive mechanism comprises a second driving rod extending in the horizontal plane adapted to be attached to a second door leaf of the sliding door, wherein the second driving rod has a second driving portion of a second driving length, wherein the second driving portion engages the drive roller on the opposite side compared to the first driving portion. In this embodiment a single drive roller is able to drive two opposing door leafs of a double sliding door. When the drive roller rotates it will drive the first door leaf in one direction and the second door leaf in the opposing direction. In one embodiment the drive roller is placed in the center point above the door leafs of the sliding door in between the first driving portion and the second driving portion driving them both but in opposite directions. In that embodiment the second driving length equals the width of the second door leaf.

However, depending on the lengths of the first driving rod and the second driving rod, respectively, the drive roller may be placed anywhere in the horizontal plane as long as it is in engagement with the driving portion of the first driving rod and the second driving rod, respectively.

In one embodiment the second driving rod has the length of combined width of the first door leaf and the second door leaf, and the first driving portion is positioned on the first door leaf upper edge. The drive roller is placed in the outer corner of the first door leaf driving in engagement with the first driving portion directly on the first door leaf and in engagement with the second driving portion of the second driving rod. The first driving rod is thus not needed in such an embodiment.

According to some embodiments, comprising a second support roller in rotatable engagement with the second driving rod on the opposite side compared to the drive roller. The second support roller has the same function as the first support roller but for the second driving rod. It makes sure that the second driving rod is in engagement with the drive roller.

In order to apply the desired amount of pressure between the drive roller and the first driving rod and the second driving rod, respectively, a force is applied to the first support roller and the second support roller, respectively. To minimize the risk of losing sync between the first door leaf and the second door leaf identical force is applied to the two rollers.

The first support roller and the second support roller are respectively mounted in a holder that is connected to the wall structure via a shaft around which the holder can rotate. The other end of the holders each have a pin that in turn is connected to calipers. The system will be floating. To apply force to the first support roller and the second support roller a spring is mounted between the two calipers and can be tensioned by a screw. By tightening the screw the two calipers will move towards its respective drive rod and exactly the same force is applied to both rods.

According to some embodiments, the second driving portion is the part of the second driving rod where the drive roll engage with the second driving rod during sliding, the second driving length extending from a third endpoint to a fourth endpoint thereby determining the maximum sliding distance of the second door leaf.

According to some embodiments, the second driving rod and the second door leaf are equally curved in the horizontal plane. In one embodiment this is combined with a first door leaf that is also curved. However, it is possible to combine a curved door leaf with a flat door leaf in embodiments within the scope of this disclosure.

According to some embodiments, the drive mechanism is arranged to be placed above the center of the sliding door where the first door leaf and the second door leaf meet when the sliding door is in a closed state. This is advantageous for double leaf doors where a symmetrical design of the first driving rod and the second driving rod is desired.

According to some embodiments, the rotational engagement is an engagement type comprised in the group of: frictional engagement, threaded and/or cog engagement. The engagement can be of any suitable type for driving the first driving portion and the second driving portion, respectively, of the first driving rod and the second driving rod, respectively.

According to a second aspect there is provided a sliding door comprising a drive mechanism according to the first aspect. As mentioned above the sliding door may be a single leaf door, a double leaf door, a flat door, a curved door or even a semi-curved door where only one of the door leafs are curved.

Effects and features of the second aspect are to a large extent analogous to those described above in connection with the first aspect. Embodiments mentioned in relation to the first aspect are largely compatible with the second aspect.

The present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description given below. The detailed description and specific examples disclose preferred embodiments of the disclosure by way of illustration only. Those skilled in the art understand from guidance in the detailed description that changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the disclosure.

Hence, it is to be understood that the herein disclosed disclosure is not limited to the particular component parts of the device described or steps of the methods described since such device and method may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. It should be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claim, the articles "a", "an", "the", and "said" are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements unless the context explicitly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a unit" or "the unit" may include several devices, and the like. Furthermore, the words "comprising", "including", "containing" and similar wordings does not exclude other elements or steps.

Brief descriptions of the drawings

The above objects, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of example embodiments of the present disclosure, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a curved sliding door with two door leafs according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a flat sliding door with two door leafs according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a sliding door according to an embodiment of the present disclosure having only one door leaf. Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a flat sliding door with two door leafs according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Figure 5 shows perspective view of a drive mechanism for a sliding door with two door leafs according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed description

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred example embodiments of the disclosure are shown. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in other forms and should not be construed as limited to the herein disclosed embodiments. The disclosed embodiments are provided to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to the skilled person.

With reference to Figure 1, the first aspect of this disclosure shows a door drive mechanism 2 for moving a sliding door 1 between an open and a closed position in an opening 7, comprising a drive roller 4 configured to be mounted at a wall/structure defining the opening and in rotatable engagement with a first driving portion 38 of a first door leaf 3, wherein the first driving portion 38 has a first driving length, and wherein the drive roller 4 is configured to move the first door leaf 3 when the drive roller 4 is rotated in engagement with the first driving portion 38. The door drive mechanism comprises a first driving rod 31 extending in the horizontal plane attached to the first door leaf 3 of the sliding door 1, wherein the first driving portion 38 is located on the first driving rod 31. The first driving portion 38 is the part of the first driving rod 31 where the driver roll 4 engage with the first driving rod 31 during sliding, the first driving length extending from a first endpoint 33 to a second endpoint 34 thereby determining the maximum sliding distance of the first door leaf. As can be seen in Figure 1, the first driving length is basically equal or close to equal to the width of the first door leaf 3 to be able to move the first door leaf its entire width to the left in Figure 1 when the sliding door 1 is moved to its open position (not shown).

The door drive mechanism further comprises a first support roller 36 in rotatable engagement with the first driving rod 31 on the opposite side compared to the drive roller 4 to ensure engagement between the first driving rod 31 and the drive roller 4. The drive roller 4 is preferably driven by an electrical motor (8) but can be driven by any suitable driving mechanism, also mechanical solutions if that is most convenient. The rotational engagement between the drive roller 4 and the first driving portion 38 or the second driving portion 68 is an engagement type comprised in the group of: frictional engagement, threaded and/or cog engagement.

The door drive mechanism of Figure 1 further comprises a second driving rod 61 extending in the horizontal plane adapted to be attached to a second door leaf 6 of the sliding door 1, wherein the second driving rod 61 has a second driving portion 68 of a second driving length, wherein the second driving portion 68 engages the drive roller 4 on the opposite side compared to the first driving portion 38. The second driving length is substantially the same as the width of the second door leaf. The door drive mechanism further comprises a second support roller 66 in rotatable engagement with the second driving rod on the opposite side compared to the drive roller. The second driving portion 68 is the part of the second driving rod 61 where the drive roll 4 engage with the second driving rod 61 during sliding, the second driving length extending from a third endpoint 63 to a fourth endpoint 64 thereby determining the maximum sliding distance of the second door leaf. The drive mechanism is placed above the center of the sliding door where the first door leaf and the second door leaf meet when the sliding door is in a closed state as shown in Figure 1.

As is seen in Figure 1 the first driving rod 31 and the first door leaf 3 are equally curved in the horizontal plane along with the second driving rod 61 and the second door leaf 6. The sliding door of Figure 1 thus is especially suitable to have around revolving doors for closing them at bad weather or when closing a business building when the business hours are over for the day.

In Figure 1 the sliding doors are closed so that the opening 7 in the wall/structure is only slightly visible in the small narrow gap between the doors. The gap would in an end product be filled by a sealing strip. When the drive roller 4 is rotated clockwise as seen in Figure 1, the driving rod 31 will be moved to the left and thereby also move the first door leaf 3 to the left. At the same time, as the drive roller 4 is rotated clockwise, the second driving rod 61 will be moved to the right and thereby push the second door leaf 6 to the right in Figure 1. Thus, by rotating the drive roller 4 clockwise the sliding door is opened to its open position and if the drive roller 4 is rotated counter clockwise, the sliding door 1 closed again and placed in its closed position. It should also be noted that the first door leaf 3 and the second door leaf 6 preferably hangs in a hanging rail of some sort (not shown) along which it may be moved in the horizontal direction by the first driving rod 31 and the second driving rod 61, respectively.

With reference to Figure 2, the first aspect of this disclosure shows a door drive mechanism 2 for moving a sliding door 1 between an open and a closed position in an opening 7, comprising a drive roller 4 configured to be mounted at a wall/structure defining the opening and in rotatable engagement with a first driving portion 38 of a first door leaf 3, wherein the first driving portion 38 has a first driving length, and wherein the drive roller 4 is configured to move the first door leaf 3 when the drive roller 4 is rotated in engagement with the first driving portion 38. The door drive mechanism comprises a first driving rod 31 extending in the horizontal plane attached to the first door leaf 3 of the sliding door 1, wherein the first driving portion 38 is located on the first driving rod 31. The first driving portion 38 is the part of the first driving rod 31 where the driver roll 4 engage with the first driving rod 31 during sliding, the first driving length extending from a first endpoint 33 to a second endpoint 34 thereby determining the maximum sliding distance of the first door leaf. As can be seen in Figure 2, the first driving length is basically equal or close to equal to the width of the first door leaf 3.

The door drive mechanism further comprises a first support roller 36 in rotatable engagement with the first driving rod 31 on the opposite side compared to the drive roller 4 to ensure engagement between the first driving rod 31 and the drive roller 4. The drive roller 4 is preferably driven by an electrical motor (not shown) but can be driven by any suitable driving mechanism, also mechanical solutions if that is most convenient. The rotational engagement between the drive roller 4 and the first driving portion 38 or the second driving portion 68 is an engagement type comprised in the group of: frictional engagement, threaded and/or cog engagement.

The door drive mechanism of Figure 2 further comprises a second driving rod 61 extending in the horizontal plane adapted to be attached to a second door leaf 6 of the sliding door 1, wherein the second driving rod 61 has a second driving portion 68 of a second driving length, wherein the second driving portion 68 engages the drive roller 4 on the opposite side compared to the first driving portion 38. The second driving length is substantially the same as the width of the second door leaf. The door drive mechanism further comprises a second support roller 66 in rotatable engagement with the second driving rod on the opposite side compared to the drive roller. The second driving portion 68 is the part of the second driving rod 61 where the drive roll 4 engage with the second driving rod 61 during sliding, the second driving length extending from a third endpoint 63 to a fourth endpoint 64 thereby determining the maximum sliding distance of the second door leaf.

It is possible to see in Figure 2 that the first driving rod 31 is attached at the top right corner of the first door leaf 3 extending above the second door leaf 6 with a small distance between them. The second driving rod 61 is attached to the second door leaf 6 with a slightly bigger distance and then extending to the right above the first door leaf at a distance so that it is in engagement to the drive roller 4 from above.

When the drive roller 4 is rotated clockwise as seen in Figure 2, the driving rod 31 will be moved to the left and thereby also move the first door leaf 3 to the left. At the same time, as the drive roller 4 is rotated clockwise, the second driving rod 61 will be moved to the right and thereby push the second door leaf to the right. Thus, by rotating the drive roller 4 clockwise the sliding door is opened and if the drive roller 4 is rotated counter clockwise, the sliding door 1 will be closed. As seen in Figure 2, the design is flat with the first door leaf 3, the first driving rod 31, the second door leaf 6, and the second driving rod all being straight.

Figure 3 is a simple embodiment of a sliding door 1 with a single door leaf where the first driving portion 37 is placed directly on the upper edge of the first door leaf 3 and the drive roller 4 is placed at the top left corner of the first door leaf 3 and the sliding door 1. The drive roller 4 is in engagement with the first driving portion 37 an when rotated clockwise will move the door from the position of Figure 3, where the drive roller is placed at the first end position 33, until the drive roller 4 reaches the second end position 34.

The embodiment shown in Figure 4 is a sliding door 1 comprising two door leafs. It is a combination to some extent of the embodiment shown in Figure 2 and the embodiment shown in Figure 3. The drive roller 4 is placed at the top right corner driving the first door leaf 3 on a driving portion 37 located directly on the upper edge of the first door leaf 3. The second door leaf 6 has a second driving rod 61 that has a length that is about twice the width of second door leaf 6. When the drive roller 4 is rotated clockwise, the driving rod 31 will be moved to the left and thereby also move the first door leaf 3 to the left. At the same time, as the drive roller 4 is rotated clockwise, the second driving rod 61 will be moved to the right and thereby push the second door leaf to the right. Thus, by rotating the drive roller 4 clockwise the sliding door is opened and if the drive roller 4 is rotated counter clockwise, the sliding door 1 is closed. Figure 5 shows an embodiment of the door drive mechanism 2 for moving a sliding door 1 according to the present disclosure. To apply pressure between the drive roller 4 and the first driving rod 31 and the second driving rod 61, respectively, a force is applied to the first support roller 36 and the second support roller 66, respectively. To minimize the risk of losing sync between the first door leaf and the second door leaf identical force is applied to the first support roller 36 and the second support roller 66, respectively.

The first support roller 36 and the second support roller 66 are respectively mounted in a holder 9 that is connected to the wall structure via a shaft around which the holder can rotate. The other end of the holders each have a pin that in turn is connected to a first caliper 37 and a second caliper 67. To apply force to the first support roller 36 and the second support roller 88 a spring 92 is biasing the two calipers 37, 67 and can be tensioned by a screw 91. By tightening the screw 91 the two calipers 37, 67 will move towards the first driving rod 31 and the second driving rod 61, respectively, and exactly the same force is applied to both rods 31, 61.

In the embodiment of Figure 5 the drive mechanism 2 is rotated 90 degrees in relation to the embodiments of Figures 1-4, showing different possibilities to embody the claimed disclosure.

The person skilled in the art realizes that the present disclosure is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above. The person skilled in the art further realizes that modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the drive roller 4 may be placed at a number of different positions by modifying the length of the first driving rod 31 and the second driving rod 61. It is also understood that the drive mechanism may be below the door leafs in a design that is basically the illustrated designs but upside down. Additionally, variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by the skilled person in practicing the claimed disclosure, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.