FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a single-swing door for access to an elevator. PRIOR ART

In most buildings, standard elevator cars are provided for elevators upon installation and, consequently, the external doors leading to the elevators also have standard sizes. Generally, while the height of the door is standardized, width is not the same for all cases; in other words, standard widths are more than one and, depending on the single case, the door is to be more or less wide. Furthermore, the doors sometimes require to be custom-made, for example in old buildings where the elevators have off-standard sizes and for which it is necessary to provide custom-made doors. In other cases, the wall structure of the buildings do not allow the use of doors having standardized sices even when the cars conform to the most recent standards.

The above-mentioned problems result in the requirement of providing external doors for elevators that are substantially custom- made, according to the single case, with consequent increase in the costs and manufacturing time. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide an external single-swing door leading to an elevator car which resolves the drawbacks of the conventional custom-made doors in a simple and cost-effective manner.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an external single-door for an elevator car that can be manufactured in

α quick and simple manner, with minimized costs and dimensions conforming to a pre-existing installation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a single- swing door leading to an elevator car that enables to considerably facilitate the storage of its components compared with the conventional custom-made doors.

These and other objects are achieved by the present invention that relates to an external door for an elevator according to claim 1.

Advantageously, the door according to the present invention can be assembled by using a first panel having standardized sizes, being thereby manufactured with minimum costs, and a second panel, the lateral size thereof being reduceable according to the width that the door should have in order to adapt to a pre-existing structure. To the purpose, the second panel is manufactured, for example, of glass, such as to be cut, with minimum costs, in order to obtain the desired width for the door single-swing.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the panels can be associated to a case at least comprising one vertical element and at least one horizontal crosspiece to be coupled with the element and provided with a plurality of means for fixing one of said panels in one of a plurality of positions. The panels can be fastened side by side to the crosspiece. If the width of the single-swing obtained by placing the panels side by side is less than the length of the crosspiece, the latter can be shortened in order to adapt its extension to that of the single-swing door.

Preferably, the vertical element of the door case is at least partially hollow and the means for coupling the door with an external structure comprise an actuator for guiding the opening/closing movements of the door, which actuator is housed within the vertical

element.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the door is provided with a case comprising at least one vertical element and two horizontal crosspieces that can be shortened. The single- swing comprises three panels, two of them having a preset length and a third one having a variable length, the latter being mounted between the horizontal crosspieces in an intermediate position between the first two panels.

The present invention also relates to a method for installing said door, characterized according to claim 9. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the description below, which is given as a non- limiting illustration with reference to the attached schematic drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a door according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the door shown in figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a side view of the door shown in figure 2; - Figure 4 is a sectional view of the door from figure 1 , taken along the line B-B from figure 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Figures 1-4 show a particular embodiment of the door 1 according to the present invention. The door 1 generally comprises a single-swing 2 that is hinged to an external structure and, in turn, formed by at least two panels, a first panel 3 and a second panel 4 rigidly placed side by side along a vertical edge. The first panel 3 is made of a preset width W3 (figure 2). The second panel 4 has a width that can be changed, i.e. it is made with a starting width W4, but this

width can be easily reduced, for example by cutting of a part of panel 4. Alternatively, panel 4 can be made in several series, each one having a preset width W4; in other words, the panel 4 is selected, as the case may be, from a plurality of panels 4 having different widths W4.

As shown in figure 1 , the invention preferably provides the presence of two end panels 3 and 5 having a fixed width and made of metal, with a central panel 4 having a width selected as a function of the final width desired for the single-swing. In particular, the panel 5 carries the movable part of the locking system of the elevator car .

By coupling the panels 3 and 5 with a panel 4 having a varying width, single-swing 2 having different widths can be provided.

The door according to the invention can thus be adapted to the width of a pre-existing access, by using a panel 4 having a width W4 that has been suitably selected or modified. It is thus possible to manufacture doors having different widths, thereby dramatically reducing the typical costs of the conventional custom-made doors. In fact, the only element requiring to be adapted, or alternatively, to be manufactured with a different width is panel 4. On the contrary, with the custom-made doors, the adjustments required to adapt the same to the pre-existing accesses concern a plurality of components, therefore they result more expensive and difficult to assemble.

The coupling of single-swing 2 to the floor, ceiling or an external structure is carried out by coupling the panel 3 to the external structure either through conventional hinges or other means allowing the single-swing 2 to rotate between a closed position and an open position for access to the relative elevator. In this configuration, the panel 2 acts as the vertical element, i.e. the panel 2 is either a part of the vertical element allowing the door to swing or it is made as one

piece with.the vertical element.

Alternatively, the single-swing 2 can be coupled to a separate vertical element, which is in turn rotatably coupled to an external structure. Preferably, the panel 3 is made of a metal, whereas the panel 4 is made of a glass material that can be easily cut also while mounting the door 1 in situ, for example in a building.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, such as shown in figures 1-4, the single-swing 2 comprises a third panel 5 besides panels 3 and 4. The third panel 5 has the same characteristics as the panel 3, i.e. the third panel 5 can be a panel 3 rotated by 180 degrees relative to a vertical axis. In this embodiment, the panel 4 is positioned between panels 3 and 5. A handle 22 may be later coupled with the panel 5 for a user to open and close the door l .

Panels 3, 4 and 5 can be coupled with each other in different ways, for example through brakets, screws or pivots, or through equivalent conventional means allowing the rigid coupling thereof. According to the preferred embodiment, the single-swing 2 is associated to a case-like support structure 6. This case-like structure 6 can be provided in various manners; for example, such as mentioned above, the panel 3 can act as the vertical element and carry one or two crosspieces extending therefrom for fixing the panels 4 and 5.

Preferably, the case 6 comprises a vertical element 8 and at least one horizontal crosspiece: in the embodiment shown, the case 6 comprises an upper horizontal crosspiece 9 and a lower horizontal crosspiece 10. As shown in figure 4, the case 6 is coupled with an external frame structure, such as fastened to the wall that, in a building, defines the elevator opening, through a plurality of

connection elements 7, 1 l α and l i b, 12 and 21. The elements 7 and 12 are provided with means 24 to be either walled up or fastened to the wall; the element 12 is structured to house the fixed portion 13 of the lock. The vertical element 8 of the single-swing case is preferably hollow, and the means for rotatably coupling the case to the frame structure are housed therein. These means comprise a bearing 15 and an actuator 14 functioning to control the opening and closing movement of the door 1 . The actuator may be of several types, for example of a helicoidal type, and can be housed within the element 8 either at the upper or lower end thereof. Actuators suitable for the purpose are for example those described in the European patent applications EP 1 143096 and EP 0823528 in the name of the Applicant. Spring return actuators, alternative to those mentioned above, can be housed in the box-like frame portion formed by elements 1 1 a and 22.

The crosspieces 9 and 10 are integrally fastened to the vertical element 8, for example by means of soldering or suitable mechanical means. Since single-swing 2 is made by coupling the modular panels

3-5 to the case 6, crosspieces 9 and 10 must have a varying extension, i.e. their extension must be easily adapted to the width of the single- swing 2. For this reason, crosspieces 9 and 10 are provided with a removable portion such as to be easily shortened. In practice, the starting length of crosspieces 9 and 10 corresponds to the maximum width of single-swing 2. If this width corresponds to the total width of a single-swing consisting of panels 3, 4 and 5, in the configuration shown in the annexed figures, the crosspieces remain unchanged. In the case where the width of panel 4 is reduced, for example by partially cutting the panel 4 or selecting a panel 4 having a lower width, crosspieces 9 and 10 must be correspondingly shortened.

Consequently, the crosspieces 9 and 10 are made in a material that can be easily cut by means of tools of a common type, also by unqualified persons. To this purpose, crosspieces 9 and 10 can be provided, at the end 16 and 17 thereof, with a plurality of notches for cutting tools, or a plurality of breaking lines, or similar.

As shown in the embodiment illustrated in figure 1 , on each end 16 and 17 there are present means for fixing the panel 5 in one of a plurality of possible positions. Particularly, at the end portion 16 and 17 of crosspieces 9 and 10 there is provided a plurality of holes enabling the panel 5 to be coupled with the crosspieces by means of screws; the holes also extend along the crosspiece removable portion, such that when the length of the latter is shortened by removing a more or less long part of the same, there is left at least one of the fixing means provided on the crosspiece. The coupling of panels 3-5 to the case 6 can be obtained in several ways. In the embodiment shown in figures 1-4, the panels 3 and 5 are provided with a guide 18 formed at the upper and lower ends of the panels 3 and 5. Upon assembly of the door 1 , the panels 3 ane 5 are inserted in the vertical position between the crosspieces 9 and 10, which engage the guides 18. The glass panel 4 is held in position by the adjacent panels 3 and 5 and suitable connection elements 19, which are arranged above and below the panel 4 and can be fixed to the crosspieces 9 and 10. A rebate 23 is fixed to the upper part of the single-swing and a rebate 25 is fixed on the side, along panel 5. Preferably, a part of the panel 4 can be inserted within a suitable vertical groove 20, which is obtained in the side of panels 3 and 5, such as shown in figure 1. Finally, the panels 3 and 5 are secured with the case 6 by means of screws or equivalent means that engage in suitable holes 30 being provided on the crossbeams 9, 10.

The holes 30 are arranged in a series on each crosspiece 9 or 10 such as to allow a panel 3, 4 or 5 to be fixed according to a plurality of different positions along the extension of the crosspiece 9 or 10. Assembly and installation of the door 1 result very quick and simple compared with the conventional custom-made doors leading to elevator cars, thereby resulting in apparent positive effects for the installation costs.

In fact, if the door leading to an elevator opening is to be manufactured having a preset width that is not contemplated within the current door manufacturing standards, it will be sufficient to assemble and install the door 1 by using a panel 4 having a width W4 selected in order to compose the single-swing 2 so that it has the required width, by taking into account the overall dimensions of the case 6. The case 6 and single-swing 2 of the door 1 are preferably manufactured such as to allow the door to open to the rigth or to the left according to the assembly configuration. In practice, the panels 3 and 5 may be symmetrical relative to panel 4 and the case 6 may be mounted such as shown in figure 1 , or in the reversed position relative to panels 3-5 as well.

The door 1 according to the present invention can also be applied in fields other than that of elevators. Generally, the door 1 can be used at passages and openings having non-standard sizes. For example, the door 1 can be used to separate the various places in ships, for example as the door for passenger cabins. Again, the door 1 can be used as the door leading to cellars of historical buildings and similar