Abstract:
A sliding door for use with a rail system, having a rail, which guides a sliding motion of the door, and an attenuation and retraction device, which brakes the sliding motion of the door at a brake position in the vicinity of a door end position and retracts the door to the end position. The sliding door includes a pin, which is slideably attached to the door, slideable between a pin retracted position and a pin extended position, a tip of the pin interacting with the attenuation and retraction device. The door further includes a wheel carried by a wheel holder, which is arranged to move the wheel between a wheel retracted position and a wheel extended position. A transmission mechanism interconnects the wheel holder and the pin such that a movement of the wheel, towards the wheel extended position, urges the pin towards the pin extended position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application is a nationalization under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2014/056893 filed under the PCT, having an international filing date of Apr. 7, 2014, which claims priority to European Patent Application No. EP 13163927.0, having a filing date of Apr. 16, 2013. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to a sliding door, intended for use with a rail system having a rail, which guides a sliding motion of the door, and an attenuation and retraction device, which brakes the sliding motion of the door at a brake position in the vicinity of a door end position and retracts the door to the end position. The sliding door has a pin, which is slideably attached to the door, slideable between a retracted position and an extended position. A tip of the pin is devised to interact with the attenuation and retraction device. The door further has a wheel carried by a wheel holder, which is arranged to move the wheel between a retracted position and an extended position. 
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
       [0003]    A sliding door of the above indicated type is shown in EP-2372064-A1. In that disclosure, the pin is urged against the rail by means of a spring or by means of its own weight. This is done to make sure that, even though the distance between the door and the rail is adjustable, the pin will nevertheless snap into the attenuation and retraction device in a reliable manner. 
         [0004]    One problem associated with a door of this kind, is how to improve the smooth operation of the door, and have a functionality with a long length of life, while retaining a reliable attenuation and retraction functionality. 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0005]    One object of the present disclosure is to improve a sliding door of the initially mention kind. More specifically, a sliding door of the initially mentioned kind has a transmission mechanism which interconnects the wheel holder and the pin such that a movement of the wheel, towards the extended position of the wheel, urges the pin towards its extended position. This makes it possible to approximately maintain a desired distance between the tip of the pin and the rail regardless of how the door is adjusted. Still, it is not necessary to urge the pin against the rail by means of a spring or the like. This has advantages, such as not exposing the tip of the pin to excessive wear against the rail, and avoiding any noise produced by the friction between the tip of the pin and the rail. 
         [0006]    The wheel holder may be devised to urge the wheel, towards its extended position and against the rail by means of a spring, typically a torsion spring. This allows the wheel/pin combination to be used in a top position, keeping the upper part of the door laterally fixed with regard to the longitudinal extension of the rail. 
         [0007]    The transmission mechanism may be arranged to maintain a gap between the tip of the pin and the rail. This ensures reliable operation by presenting the tip of the pin to the attenuation and retraction device in a consistent manner. The maintained gap may, as an example, be in the range 2±0.5 mm. 
         [0008]    The pin may be urged towards its retracted position by means of another spring. This makes sure that the pin is out of the way, not extending unnecessarily out of the door. 
         [0009]    The transmission mechanism may for instance comprise a transmission lever pivotably suspended at a pivot axis, a first arm of the lever, at one side of the pivot axis, being moved by an abutment on the wheel holder, such that a second arm of the lever moves the pin by resting on an abutment surface of the pin. 
         [0010]    The pin may comprise a tip, which is intended to interact with the attenuation and retraction device, a wing portion, and a waist portion, on the other side of the wing portion as seen from the tip. The waist portion is narrower than the wing portion, such that the wing portion can be caught by the attenuation and retraction device to pull the pin further from its retracted position. This allows the pin to interact more reliably with an attenuation and retraction device having a catching function. 
         [0011]    The wheel holder and the pin may be mounted together in a cassette. This allows the functionality to be provided as a single component that may be used in different types of doors. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  shows a sliding door arrangement; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2   a  shows a perspective view of a lid of an attenuation and retraction device; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2   b  shows an enlarged portion of  FIG. 2   a;    
           [0016]      FIG. 3  shows a part of a door guided by a rail; 
           [0017]      FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  show a pin for interaction with an attenuation and retraction device; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5   a  shows a front view of a wheel cassette for a door; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5   b  shows an enlarged portion of  FIG. 5   a;    
           [0020]      FIG. 6   a  shows a cross section of the door in  FIG. 3  in a first position; 
           [0021]      FIG. 6   b  shows an enlarged portion of  FIG. 6   a;    
           [0022]      FIG. 7  shows a cross section of the door in  FIG. 3  in a second position; 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  is side view of a first side of a wheel cassette with the wheel in a first position; 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  is a partial cutaway side view of the wheel cassette of  FIG. 8  with the wheel in the first position; 
           [0025]      FIG. 10  is a partial cutaway side view of the wheel cassette of  FIG. 8  with the wheel in a second position; 
           [0026]      FIG. 11  is a partial cutaway side view of the wheel cassette of  FIG. 8  with the wheel in a third position; 
           [0027]      FIG. 12  is side view of a second side of a wheel cassette of  FIG. 8  with the wheel in a first position; 
           [0028]      FIG. 13  is side view of the second side of the wheel cassette of  FIG. 8  with the wheel in the second position; and 
           [0029]      FIG. 14  is partial cutaway side view of the second side of the wheel cassette of  FIG. 8  with the wheel in the third position. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0030]    The principles of the present invention and their advantages are best understood by referring to the illustrated embodiment depicted in  FIGS. 1-14  of the drawings, in which like numbers designate like parts. 
         [0031]    The present disclosure relates generally to a sliding door arrangement. Such an arrangement is typically used to delimit a niche or recess, which may be provided with shelves and may be used as a closet. Another use for a sliding door arrangement is as a room dividing device providing a semi-removable wall. Needless to say, there are other uses. 
         [0032]      FIG. 1  illustrates schematically a sliding door arrangement  1 . Typically, the door arrangement may be used at the end of a room, extending between a first wall  3  and a second wall  5 , and between the floor  7  and the ceiling  9 . In the illustrated case, only two doors  11 ,  13  are used, although the number of doors may even exceed five in some applications. The space  15  behind the doors may be provided with shelves and may be used as a closet. When the doors are closed, the space  15  behind the doors is both concealed and protected from dust and the like. The doors may provide mirror panels or decorative panels of different kinds. Usually, the total width of the doors exceeds that of the opening such that the doors overlap each other avoiding any gaps between the doors in their closed position. 
         [0033]    The sliding doors  11 ,  13  are mounted between a bottom rail  17  and a top rail  19 . As will be shown later, each door may have two top wheels that are resiliently urged towards a track of the top rail  19  and two bottom wheels that rest on a track of the bottom rail  17 . In the illustrated case, the arrangement is fitted between the ceiling and the floor of a room. As will be shown, the wheels are kept in place by wheel holders that are capable of moving the wheels between a more retracted position and a more extended position. The arrangement may also be used, for example, in an opening between two rooms, in which case the top rail  19  may instead be fitted under the top piece of the opening. A further possibility is to attach the top rail to the wall above such an opening. 
         [0034]    A sliding door arrangement of this kind may be built in a room from the outset, or may be added later on. Particularly in the latter case, the arrangement may need be adjustable to some extent in order compensate for being used in a not perfectly rectangular opening. For instance, if the second wall  5  is slightly inclined, i.e. deviating slightly from the vertical, the second door  13  may be inclined too, such that its right edge runs parallel with the second wall, thereby avoiding any gap between the second door  13  and the second wall  5  at the rightmost position of the former. This can be done by adjusting either or both of the door&#39;s bottom wheels. 
         [0035]      FIG. 3  illustrates a part of a sliding door arrangement according to the present disclosure. The door arrangement is provided with at least one attenuation and retraction device  29 . This device is used to provide smooth, silent and accurate operation of the door. The attenuation and retraction device is active in the vicinity of an end position of the door  11 , i.e. where the door reaches the left wall  3 . When the door  11  approaches this end position it reaches a brake position at which point a pin  31  of the door interacts with the attenuation and retraction device which begins to absorb the kinetic energy of the door  11 . The pin  31  is slideably attached to the door and is moveable towards the rail between a retracted position and an extended position. At the same time as the kinetic energy is absorbed, the attenuation and retraction device pulls in the door  11  to the end position where the left edge of the door is in contact with or in close proximity to the left wall  3 . This feature results in the door being completely shut thanks to the retraction function. At the same time, door  11  is prevented from slamming into the wall  3  thanks to the attenuating/braking function. It should be noted that a door of this type may typically weigh up to 30 kg or even more. Attenuation and retraction devices providing a soft-closing function are, as mentioned, per se well known in many applications such as drawers and the like. 
         [0036]    The upper left wheel  33  of the door  11  need not be placed at the side edge of the door, which means that the rail  19  which guides the door  11  need not extend all the way to the wall  3 . Thereby, the attenuation and retraction device  29  can be placed in an extension of the rail  19 . The attenuation and retraction device  29  interacts with the tip of the pin  31 , braking the door and closing the door as is well known per se. An example of the operation of an attenuation and retraction device is shown in EP-2372064-A1 and EP-2372066-A1. It has been suggested to urge the pin  31  against the rail  19  to ensure that the pin snaps into the slot of the attenuation and retraction device. 
         [0037]    In the present disclosure, the attenuation and retraction device is instead devised with a catching function that positions the tip of the pin  31  in the attenuation and retraction device  29  in such a way that proper interaction is ensured. 
         [0038]    The lid  35  of the attenuation and retraction device is shown in  FIG. 2   a . The lid comprises at least one slot  37 ; in the illustrated case, the lid has two slots. The attenuation and retraction device is intended to be placed in the extension of the rail  19  (position indicated) and the slot  37  is open, at an entry point  39 , towards the rail. 
         [0039]    In order to accomplish the catching function, the lid  35  comprises a catching device in the form of a ramp portion  41  which is arranged to interact with the pin  31 . In the ramp portion  41 , which is shown enlarged in  FIG. 2   b , the longitudinal edges  43  of the slot  37  rise towards the door further from the top surface of the lid  35 , in the direction towards the rail  19 , until, at a tip  45  of the edge  43  at the entry point  39 , the distance to the base of the attenuation and retraction device (and typically to the roof (ceiling  9  of  FIG. 1 ) if the device is top mounted) is at its maximum. The ramp portion extends along a first part of the slot  37 . After this part, the slot edges may be flat and parallel with the attenuation and retraction device lid. 
         [0040]    A pin  31  that is devised to interact with an attenuation and retraction device of this kind is illustrated in  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b .  FIG. 4   a  shows a side view, i.e. as seen perpendicularly to the direction of travel of a door, and  FIG. 4   b  shows a front view, as seen from the attenuation and retraction device. 
         [0041]    The pin  31  has a tip  47  that is intended to connect to the features in the interior of the attenuation and retraction device that provides the braking/closing function such as described in EP-2372064-A1. 
         [0042]    The portion  49  at the opposite end of the pin as seen from the tip  47  is arranged to be slideably fitted to the door, typically to a wheel cassette that is attached to the door. This may be arranged by providing an opening in the cassette that has a similar cross section as the corresponding portion of the pin  31 . As will be described, a stop that prevents the pin from leaving the door, and a spring that pulls the pin  31  to an innermost position may be provided. 
         [0043]    The pin  31  further has a wing portion  51  that is adapted to interact with the ramp portion  41  of the attenuation and retraction device lid  35 . The portion below the wing portion  51  may be defined as a waist portion  53 . The width of the wing portion  51  is wider than the width of slot  37  in the lid, but the width of the waist portion  53  is not. Therefore, the tips  45  (see  FIG. 2   b ) of the slot edges may enter into the waist portion  53  of the pin  31 . As the pin  31  passes the ramp portion  41  the pin is pulled out of the door by the slot, such that the tip  47  of the pin  31  reaches further into the slot after passing the entry point  39 . The ramp portion  37  of the slot thus positions the tip  47  of the pin  31  reliably inside the attenuation and retraction device to interact therewith. 
         [0044]    To further improve the catching function, the pin  31  can be devised with a wing portion  51  where the wings, which extend laterally with regard to travelling direction of the door, have a tapered portion  55  at the edge that faces the attenuation and retraction device. The wings thus taper upwards, as illustrated in  FIG. 4   a , such that they more easily slip into the lid slot at the entry point. Alternatively, the edge of the wing that faces the attenuation and retraction device can be angled upwards. In both cases the surfaces of the pin that will be pulled by the slot edges are angled to be more exposed to the pulling surfaces under the slot edges. In principle, the wings may be angled in this way as a whole, and may interact with slot edges that are straight, without a ramp portion, as a ramp is then instead provided on the pin. This requires that the slot edges extend far enough from the base of the attenuation and retraction device to catch the front end of the wings. 
         [0045]    Additionally, the front end  57  of the pin  31  at the waist portion can be tapering in the direction facing the attenuation and retraction device, such that the waist portion is more easily fitted in between the slot edges. 
         [0046]    It should be noted that a ramp portion could be devised differently. For instance, the slot of the lid could be flat, and a ramp portion could be devised e.g. at one side of the slot, interacting with a portion protruding from the pin laterally with regard to the slot. This would also provide a catching function on the lid. Another way to accomplish a catching function could be to use a magnet in the attenuation and retraction device attracting a ferromagnetic pin, or vice versa. 
         [0047]      FIG. 5   a  shows a front view of a wheel cassette  59  for a door. The cassette which will be described in greater detail later includes the wheel  33  which may be spring loaded and the pin  31 . The cassette may be produced as a component that can be fitted to different varieties of doors, e.g. different door material, sizes etc. However, it would also be conceivable to include the corresponding components directly in the door. 
         [0048]    The  FIG. 5   b  shows an enlarged portion of  FIG. 5   a . As is shown, there is provided a gap  61  between the wheel  33 , where the wheel is intended to be supported by the rail, and the tip  47  of the pin  31 . This is provided by a steering function as will be described later. Typically, the gap  61  is intended to be 2±0.5 mm, although different sizes are conceivable. Thanks to this gap, the pin does not wear against the rail. 
         [0049]    The gap is also shown in  FIG. 6   a , which shows a cross section of a door before reaching a position where the attenuation and retraction device becomes activated. The door, the rail, and the attenuation and retraction device are shown in cross-section while the wheel cassette with included components are not shown in cross section. 
         [0050]    As is shown, the wheel  33  is urged against the rail, and the pin  31  is in a relatively retracted position. As is more clearly shown in the enlarged  FIG. 6   b , the wing portion  51  of the pin is located above the tip of the ramp  45 . Thereby, the wing portion  51  will follow the trajectory illustrated with a dotted arrow in  FIG. 6   b  when reaching the ramp portion, pulling the pin  31  further out of the cassette. This positions the tip  47  of the pin  31  reliably inside the attenuation and retraction device. The attenuation and retraction device begins to interact with the pin, and the arrangement finally reaches the position shown in  FIG. 7  where the door is shut. Note that the pin is now in a relatively extended position as compared with  FIG. 6   a.    
         [0051]      FIGS. 8-14  present functionalities in a wheel cassette  63 . The cassette  63  may be built as a generally flat box, which provides features allowing the cassette to be mounted on the door, and supports the included components. The cassette has a wheel holder  65  which extends out of the interior of the cassette  63  as shown in  FIG. 8 . The wheel holder  65  is pivotably attached to the cassette  63  at a wheel holder pivot  67  axis, where it is suspended between the side walls of the cassette  63 . A torsional spring  69  urges the wheel holder  65 , counter-clockwise as shown in  FIG. 9 , towards its most extended position, thereby urging the wheel  33  towards the rail, that would be placed above the cassette shown in  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 9  shows the position where the wheel is most extended, an inner portion  81 , at the opposite side of the pivot  67  as seen from the wheel, resting against the cassette floor  83 . 
         [0052]    As is shown in the cut-out in  FIG. 14 , a compression spring  77  urges the pin  31  inwards, towards the interior of the cassette. In  FIG. 9  however, the force of the spring (located behind the pin in the view in  FIG. 9 ) is overcome by a transmission mechanism, which includes an abutment  75  on the wheel holder  65 , displaced from the wheel holder pivot  67 , and a pivoting transmission lever  71 , which is pivotably attached to the cassette  63  at a pivot axis  73 . The abutment  75  in  FIG. 9  abuts one side of the transmission lever  71  causing the arm to pivot clockwise when the wheel holder turns counter-clockwise. The other end of the lever, which is connected to the pin  31  by resting on an abutment surface  85  (see  FIG. 4   b ), thereby forces the pin outwards. By means of this function, the pin  31  is urged, against the force of the compression spring  77 , out of its retracted position, such that it is positioned close to the rail, but not in contact with the same. Thereby, the pin is well positioned to interact with the attenuation and retraction device. When this happens, the catching function in the attenuation and retraction device pulls the pin out further, thereby further compressing the spring  77 . Although a constant gap between the wheel and the pin tip, in the direction towards the rail, would be advantageous, some deviations during the extending of the wheel can be allowed. When the attenuation and retraction device pulls the pin further out, this gap is eliminated, but at that point, the pin does not face the rail. 
         [0053]    Other ways of accomplishing the transmission function are conceivable, e.g. providing the abutment  75  as a cam surface, using cogwheels, etc. 
         [0054]      FIGS. 9-11  show how the transmission mechanism makes the pin follow the wheel downwards. The more the wheel is pivoted away from the extended position, the further the pin is retracted by the influence of the compression spring. 
         [0055]      FIGS. 12-14  show corresponding positions as  FIGS. 9-11  but seen from the other side of the wheel cassette. In  FIG. 14 , a cut-out exposes the pin  31  and the compression spring  77 . The compression spring  77  is located in a recess in the pin and between the floor of the recess and a stop  79  that extend from the cassette side wall and into the recess, This stop further prevents the pin  31  from leaving the cassette. 
         [0056]    The present disclosure is not restricted to the above described examples and may be altered and varied in different ways within the scope of the appended claims. For instance, while the above embodiments show a top-wheel arrangement, where the wheel runs on a rail above the door and is urged against this rail by a torsional spring, bottom wheel arrangements are also possible. If so, the torsional spring is replaced by an adjustment mechanism that e.g. by means of a screw allows the end user to adjust the extent of the wheel extension of the door, e.g. in the way illustrated in aforementioned EP-2372064-A1. A transmission mechanism as illustrated above may nevertheless be provided to ensure that the pin is adjusted corresponding to the adjustment of the wheel. 
         [0057]    The above illustrated function where the position of the pin is adjusted in accordance with the adjustment of the wheel may also be used together with attenuation and retraction devices that do not have a special catching function to pull the pin out. For instance, by providing a slightly raised attenuation and retraction device where the functions intended to interact with the tip of the pin are located slightly higher than the point where the rail ends, reliable interaction can be ensured with an accurate positioning of the pin tip close to the rail. 
         [0058]    Although a system with two rail tracks, and correspondingly an attenuation and retraction device with two slots are shown above, more or less tracks could be used. Instead of a compression spring as shown in  FIG. 14 , the pin&#39;s own weight could be used to pull the pin back into the door. 
         [0059]    Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, these descriptions are not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed might be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
         [0060]    It is therefore contemplated that the claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments that fall within the true scope of the invention.