Compensator for play due to wear in the hinges and vertical structural give in doors and gates

Abstract: The aim of the invention is to provide a mechanism for easily, rapidly and accurately vertically repositioning a dropped leaf of a door or gate and which acts as a stable fixing for a wheel assembly (R) which is fitted to provide support and reduce friction. The mechanism is constituted by an upper part (1) to be fixed to the projecting edge of the dropped leaf, with a lower part (2) coupled for vertical sliding, once mounted for operation, relative to the upper part (1), and carrying beneath it a plate suitable for fixing the wheel assembly (R); the sliding which determines the adjustment of the leaf is achieved by means of a screw (3) which, once engaged in a threaded female element (4) fixed to one part (1, 2) presses on the other, moving it apart.

Description: The present invention relates to a minimum-force compensator according to the preamble of claim 1 for compensating for play due to wear and vertical give in the structure of doors and gates, anomalies which are encountered in particular when the leaves are large, heavy and of considerable width (US1 409 468 A). The invention was designed to be stably fitted between the tree edge of the door or gate (P/C) and the roller unit R (roller and associated bracket with pin and plate) selected from the many on sale for fixing to the bottom edge of the leaf in order to reduce the operating load on the pivots in use (Figure 1). The advantages of the invention, in comparison with the prior art, are clear with regard to ease of assembly, calibration and accuracy of the compensator, and thereby also in respect of cost and improved quality. Currently, when the bottom of a door or gate scrapes along the ground owing to increased play at the hinges and/or vertical structural give in the structure with misalignment of the lock striker, in order to avoid the strenuous operation involved in inserting thicknessing washers at the hinges, a guide wheel (R) is fitted to the edge opposite the hinge. However, in order to achieve this and the ideal fitting position, it is necessary to lift the gate leaf which requires various means and the assistance of several people. Once the wheel assembly has been fixed to the projecting edge of the door or gate, it is not possible to make any subsequent correction or adjustment, to allow for an error or unexpected settling, since the position of the wheel assembly is immovable and fixed in relation to the leaf. The compensator of the invention according to claim 1, on the other hand, has the advantage of compensating for vertical play in doors and gates in a gradual and repeatable manner which can be corrected at any time and with minimum effort, even in the case of very heavy doors. This is made possible by the fact that the vertical position of the wheel assembly relative to the door or gate is not unchangeable, thanks to the fitting of the intermediate compensator mechanism of the invention, whilst being defined and fixed once adjustment has been effected. The micrometric compensator of the invention is therefore constituted by an upper metal portion 1, a lower metal portion 2, slidingly coupled to the portion 1 and being fixable at its lower region to the wheel assembly by means of screws or welding, by a female element or threaded nut 4 securely fixed to the metal portion 1 with its axis parallel to the sliding direction of the portion 2 relative to the portion 1, this direction will be vertical once the assembly is mounted for operation, and by a robust pressure screw 3 engaged in the female element 4 (Figure 1). Once the said screw 3, which has a threaded portion longer than that of the female element 4, has been tightened by hand, by means of an appropriate key, until it fully engages the female element, the flat end thereof, opposite its head, encounters a surface or plate forming part of the metal portion 2, pressing against it and thereby moving the said portion 2 away from the portion 1 and thereby making it easy to raise the door or gate by pressing the wheel on to the ground. It is thus very simple to mount the compensator mechanism of the invention, along with the wheel assembly, since this is done on the settled leaf of the door or gate, with no need to lift the said leaf; the operation to adjust the height of the leaf will be carried out by manipulating the screw (3) and is even simpler. The final operation consists in securely locking the screw 3 by means of a lock-nut 7 and in slidably coupling the portions 1 and 2 by means of specially provided play-compensation and locking screws 8. Obviously, modifications may be made to the practical embodiment of the invention without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims: the dimensions and thickness of the components may vary, parts may be welded or moulded in one piece, the sliding coupling between the portions 1 and 2 may be achieved differently, with different ranges of adjustment of the coupling between the screw 3 and the female element 4. Such embodiments will ensure that the device of the invention is adapted to the requirements of the market, to different loads according to the frontal dimensions of doors or gates to which it is to be fitted, to the projection of the wheel unit with respect to the flat fixing plate (5) of the door or gate, and to the more or less advanced position of the female element 4 relative to the plate 5. In addition, the said female element 4 may be integral to, or formed in the upper metal portion 1, or in the lower portion 2, with the screw 3 acting accordingly downwards on the portion 2 or upwards on the portion 1. If the leaf of the door or gate is made in wood, it may be useful a metal counter plate (6) which, mounted in a mirror-image coupling configuration to the plate (5) on the other face of the door or gate (P/C) serves to largely ensure that, the plate stays fixed in place for longer, if through-bolts and nuts are used. These arrangements being provided purely by way of non-limitative examples within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Claims: A compensator for hinge wear or vertical settling of doors and gates, the compensator comprising : a wheel assembly (R) suitable to reduce friction and to support the projecting lower corner of the said doors or gates, characterised in that the compensator is a micrometric minimum force compensator comprising: an upper portion ( 1 ) suitable to be fixed to a lowered projecting edge of the said doors or gates, a lower portion ( 2 ) securely fixed to the wheel assembly ( R ) and being slidably coupled the upper portion (1), a screw ( 3 ) that threadedly engages with a threaded female element ( 4 ) fixed to the upper or lower portion ( 1 or 2) , the screw ( 3 ) pressing against the other portion ( 2 or 1), with an unsprung contact, a lock nut (7) for preventing the screw (3 ) from becoming unscrewed with respect to the threaded female element ( 4 ), play compensation and locking screws ( 8 ) for locking the sliding coupling of the lower portion (2) with respect to the upper portion (1); the distance between the lower portion ( 2 ) and the upper portion (1) being adjustable with micrometric linear progression , at assembly or at any other desired time with the leaf of the door or gate set sligtly ajar, to reposition it or to align the striker plates, through manual operation by means of an appropriate wrench of the screw ( 3 ) , the said compensator thus enabling the dropped free edge of the leaf of the door or gate to which it can be fitted to be lifted to the best adjustment height with minimum effort, with the lock nut (7) and the locking screws (8) loosened, and held in this position with the lock nut ( 7 ) tightened on the threaded female element (4) and the locking screws ( 8 ) tightened. A compensator according to Claim 1, constituded by the following parts: the upper portion (1) being of metal and comprising a fixing plate (5) for fixing to the door or gate, the upper portion (1) forming a slidable coupling with the underlying lower portion ( 2 ) in such a way that, once the mechanism is assembled for operation, the sliding path of the said coupling will be vertical, with no other degree of freedom of movement, the upper portion (1) further comprising a robust plate ( 9 ) centrally fixed to the plate (5), perpendicular to this and to the sliding path of the lower portion (2 ) relative to the upper portion (1) and bearing a robust threaded female element ( 4 ) positioned with its axis parallel to the sliding path and centred relative to the slidable lower portion (2), slightly spaced and projecting from the plate ( 5 ) in such a way as to enable the insertion and adjustment , by means of an appropriate key, of the screw ( 3 ) which engages the threaded female element ( 4 ) so as to press against the underlying lower portion (2). A compensator according to Claims 1 or 2 , where the relative sliding between the upper portion (1) and the lower portion (2) with only one degree of freedom of movement, that is vertical in use, is ensured by a coupling of sections, preferably plate like portions, guided in the said direction but blocked against movement in the other directions. A door or gate with a compensator according to Claims 1,2 or 3 which, fixed by the upper portion ( 1 ) of the compensator to the projecting edge of the dropped leaf of the door or gate, the compensator stably maintains this position during use of the door or gate.

Inventors: MOLINARI PIER GIOVANNI, MOLINARI, PIER GIOVANNI
Applicants: MOLINARI PIER GIOVANNI, MOLINARI, PIER GIOVANNI
Application year: 1998
Main classification: E05F7
IPC codes: E05F7