ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A CASING AND A SLIDING PANEL

Abstract: An assembly comprising a casing (2) bounding an opening and a panel (4) which is capable of sliding movement in the opening direction with respect to said casing, which panel is movable in transverse direction transversely to the opening direction from a closed position, in which it closes said opening, and which is subsequently capable of sliding movement in the opening direction to an open position, in which it releases the opening. The casing comprises at least two guide sections (6, 7) extending parallel to the opening direction, in which guide members (8, 9) which are pivotally connected to said panel (4) are slidably accommodated. The panel is provided with a flange (11) extending parallel to the opening direction, which flange is movable in an operating direction with respect to the panel. The flange is provided with a slot (18) accommodating a pin (19) which is connected to the guide member (8). The slot (18) extends at an angle to the operating direction and to the transverse direction.

Description: ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A CASING AND A SLIDING PANEL The invention relates to an assembly comprising a casing bounding an opening and a panel which is capable of sliding movement in the opening direction with respect to said casing, which panel is movable in a transverse direction transversely to the opening direction from a closed position, in which it closes said opening, and which is subsequently capable of sliding movement in the opening direction to an open position, in which it releases the opening, which casing comprises at least two guide sections extending parallel to the opening direction, in which guide members which are pivotally connected to said panel are slidably accommodated. An assembly of this kind can be used as a sliding window or sliding door, wherein the sliding panel is capable of sliding movement in vertical or horizontal direction. With a similar assembly known from Dutch patent application NL-A-820351, the guide member is provided with a pinion positioned on a pivoting arm, which pinion engages with a rack positioned in the panel, which is movable in the opening direction. The pinion is rotated by moving said rack, as a result of which the pivoting arm is pivoted and the panel is moved in transverse direction, from a position in said opening to a position in front of said opening. From the latter position, the panel can be moved in the opening direction. Since the panel is positioned in the opening in the closed position, a proper seal can be effected between the casing and the panel, whilst it is moreover relatively difficult for undesirable persons like burglars to force such an assembly open. A drawback of the known assembly, however, is the fact that the pinion and the rack are relatively imprecise, because at no time will all the racks cause the pinions to rotate through exactly 180°, due to play. Furthermore they are liable to wear, due to said play. In addition, the manufacture of such parts is relatively costly. The object of the invention is to provide an assembly wherein movement of the panel in transverse direction is made possible in a relatively simple manner. This objective is accomplished with the assembly according to the invention in that said panel is provided with a flange extending parallel to the opening direction, which flange is movable in an operating direction with respect to the panel, and which is provided with a slot accommodating a pin which is connected to said guide member, which slot extends at an angle to the operating direction and to the transverse direction. The slotted flange and the pin are relatively easy to manufacture. The distance over which the panel is movable in transverse direction can be adjusted in a simple manner by adapting the length of the slot and the angle at which it extends. The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a sliding door according to the invention; Figures 2A and 2B are front views of, respectively, the left-hand side and the right-hand side of a frame of the panel according to the invention; Figure 3 shows an enlarged detail of the frame of Figure 2; Figures 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views along line IV-IV in Figure 1, showing the panel in a closed and in a free position; Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view along line V-V in Figure 1, showing the panel in its closed position; Figure 6 is a front view of a vertical sliding window according to the invention; Figures 7A and 7B are front view of, respectively, the upper side and the lower side of a frame of a panel according to the invention; Figure 8 shows an enlarged detail of Figure 7B; Figures 9A and 9B are cross-sectional views along lines IV-IV and 9B-9B in Figure 6, showing the assembly according to the invention in a closed and in a free position, respectively; and Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view along line X-X in Figure 6 of the sliding window according to the invention. Parts corresponding to each other are indicated by the same numerals in the figures. Figure 1 shows an assembly 1 according to the invention, which is provided with a casing 2 comprising a window 3 which is fixedly connected with casing 2. Furthermore present within casing 2 is a sliding door 4 provided with a windowpane, which is movable in an opening direction indicated by arrow PI. It is also possible to use a closed panel instead of a sliding door provided with a windowpane. Figures 2A and 2B show a left-hand side and a right-hand side, respectively, of a frame 5 of sliding door 4. Casing 1 comprises two guide sections 6, 7 extending parallel to each other on the upper side and the lower side, wherein wheel pairs 8 and guide blocks 9 connected to frame 5 are slidably accommodated. Frame 5 furthermore comprises a U- shaped supporting section 10, which extends along the entire circumference of the sliding door. Present in U-shaped section 10, on the underside thereof, is an elongated flange 11, which is connected near the right-hand end, by means of a flexible band 12, to a strip 13 extending transversely to said flange, and which is connected on the left-hand side, by means of a flexible band 12, to a strip 14 extending transversely to flange 11. A flange 15 is present in U-shaped section 10 near the upper side, which flange 15 is connected near the right-hand end, by means of a flexible band 12, to the upper end of strip 13, whilst the end of flange 15 is connected near the left-hand side, by means of a flexible band 12, to the upper end of strip 14. Flanges 11, 15, strip 13 and strip 14 are each built up of at least three parts, which are interconnected by means of engaging teeth 16, 17. In this manner a frame of a desired height and width can be obtained in a relatively simple manner. Flange 11 is provided with slots 18, in each of which a pin 19 connected to wheel pair 8 is positioned. Pin 19 is connected to a supporting plate 20 positioned under flange 11, which is capable of pivoting movement about a pin 21. On a side remote from flange 11, pin 19 extends through an arched opening 22 in U-shaped section 10 into wheel pair 8. Supporting plate 21 is positioned between spacer plates 23, which keep flange 11 and section 10 spaced so far apart that supporting plate 20 is capable of pivoting movement in the direction indicated by arrow P2 between flange 11 and U-shaped section 10. Frame 5 is furthermore provided with a cover strip 24, which hides the spacer plates 23 present within U-shaped section 10, flanges 11, strips 13 and strip 14 from view. Secured in frame 5 are slats 25 for mounting the windowpane and seals 26. Near the upper side, flange 15 is provided with slots similar to slot 18 in flange 11. Positioned in said slots is a pin 27, which is connected to guide block 9 by means of a supporting plate 20 in a similar manner as pin 19. Near the right-hand side of frame 5, flange 13 is provided with a slot 28, which corresponds to slot 18. Positioned in slot 28 is a locking pin 29, which is pivotally connected to U-shaped section 10 by means of a supporting plate 20. Locking pin 29 is positioned in a locking hole 30 which is present in the casing. Near the right-hand side, frame 5 is furthermore provided with an operating mechanism 31, which comprises an operating handle 32 (see Figure 1), which is capable of pivoting movement in the direction indicated by arrow P3. Strip 13 has been moved in the unlocking direction indicated by arrow P4 by the rotation of operating handle 32 in the direction indicated by arrow P3. Figure 2A shows, on the left-hand side of frame 5, a recess 33 in the casing, a portion 34 of which is open to the front side, which recess furthermore comprises a recessed portion 35 comprising a sloping wall portion. Strip 14 is provided with a locking hook 36, which comprises a plate 37 secured to strip 14, a lip 38 extending transversely to plate 37, and a hook 39 connected to lip 38. Hook 39 has a shape corresponding to portion 35 near its end. The operation of assembly 1 according to the invention is as follows. The starting point is the closed position as shown in Figure 4A, wherein sliding door 4 is positioned in the opening bounded by casing 2. Handle 32 is pivoted in the direction indicated by arrow P3, as a result of which strip 13 is moved in the unlocking direction indicated by arrow P4. By moving strip 13, also the flexible bands 12 connected to strip 13 and the flanges 11, 15 connected thereto are moved in the operating direction indicated by arrows P5, P6. Also strip 14, which is attached to flanges 11, 15 by means of bands 12, is moved in the unlocking direction indicated by arrow P7. By moving flange 11 in the direction indicated by arrow P5, slot 18 slides over pin 19, as a result of which frame 5 is moved in the transverse direction indicated by arrow P8, transversely to the opening direction PI. Supporting flange 20 thereby pivots about pin 19 in the direction indicated by arrow P2. During the movement in the direction indicated by arrow P8, arched opening 22 moves with respect to pin 19. The same movement in transverse direction occurs on the upper side, near pins 27. As a result of the movement in the direction indicated by arrow P8, frame 5 is positioned in front of the opening bounded by the casing (see Figure 4B). Then frame 5 can be moved in the opening direction indicated by arrow PI. As can be seen in Figure 3, slot 18 extends in a direction P9 opposed to the operating direction P5 and the transverse direction P8 in the closed position. The angle which slot 18 includes with the operating direction P5 and the length of slot 18 determine the speed and the extent to which frame 5 is moved in the transverse direction indicated by arrow P8. Movement of strip 13 in the direction indicated by arrow P4 causes slot 28 to slide past pin 29, as a result of which a movement in the direction indicated by arrow P8 is obtained here as well. Locking pin 29 is moved out of locking hole 30 by subsequently moving frame 5 in the opening direction indicated by arrow PI. By moving strip 14 in the direction indicated by arrow P7, hook 39 is likewise moved in the direction indicated by arrow P7 until the underside of hook 39 abuts against the underside 40 of opening 33. At the same time a slight movement in transverse direction is possible, due to the presence of sloping wall part of portion 35. Further movement in the direction indicated by arrow P8 causes hook 39 to move out of opening 33. Figures 6 - 10 show a vertical sliding window 50 according to the invention, which comprises a casing 51, an upper window 52, which is rigidly connected thereto, and a window 53 which is capable of sliding movement in the direction indicated by arrow P10. The sliding window as shown in Figures 6 - 10 is different from the sliding door 4 which is shown in Figures 1 - 5 in that sliding window 50 slides in vertical direction, whilst sliding door 4 slides in horizontal direction. Window 53 comprises a frame 5, which is built up in a similar manner as frame 5 of sliding door 4. Casing 51 of sliding window 50 comprises two vertically extending, U-shaped guide sections 54, in which guide blocks 55 are slidably accommodated. Guide blocks 55 are provided with an opening 56, through which pin 19 extends. Pin 19 is furthermore connected to a gas spring 58 by means of a coupling member 57 on a side remote from frame 5 in order to keep window 53 open at the desired height. The operation of sliding window 50 is similar to that of sliding door 1, so that reference is made thereto for the sake of completeness.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An assembly comprising a casing bounding an opening and a panel which is capable of sliding movement in the opening direction with respect to said casing, which panel is movable in the transverse direction transversely to the opening direction from a closed position, in which it closes said opening, and which is subsequently capable of sliding movement in the opening direction to an open position, in which it releases the opening, which casing comprises at least two guide sections extending parallel to the opening direction, in which guide members which are pivotally connected to said panel are slidably accommodated, characterized in that said panel is provided with a flange extending parallel to the opening direction, which flange is movable in an operating direction with respect to the panel, and which is provided with a slot accommodating a pin which is connected to said guide member, which slot extends at an angle to the operating direction and to the transverse direction. 2. An assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that in the closed position said slot extends from said pin in a direction opposed to the operating direction and to the transverse direction. 3. An assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said pin is connected to a supporting plate, which is capable of pivoting movement with respect to said flange. 4. An assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that the panel is provided with a supporting section on a side of said supporting plate remote from said flange, which supporting section comprises an arched opening through which said pin extends. 5. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said panel comprises, on a rear side of the panel, seen in the opening direction, a locking pin positioned in a locking hole, which locking hole, which is formed in said casing, extends parallel to the opening direction, wherein said panel is provided with a pivoting arm connected to said locking pin, and with a movable strip, which is movable with respect to said panel in an unlocking direction extending transversely to the opening direction and to the transverse direction, which strip is provided with a slot, in which said locking pin is positioned. 6. An assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that said flange and said strip are interconnected by means of a flexible band, wherein the slot present in said strip and the slot present in said flange extend at the same angle. 7. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said assembly comprises, on a side of the panel transversely to the opening direction, a locking hook positioned in a recess, which recess, which is formed in said casing, is partially open in said transverse direction, wherein said panel is provided with a movable strip connected to said locking hook, which strip is movable with respect to said panel in an unlocking direction extending transversely to said opening direction and to said transverse direction. 8. An assembly according to claim 7, characterized in that said strip and said flange are interconnected by means of a flexible band.

Inventors: MUSTERS JOHANNES MARIA, MUSTERS, JOHANNES, MARIA
Applicants: MUSTERS JOHANNES MARIA, MUSTERS, JOHANNES, MARIA
Application year: 1999
Main classification: E05D15
IPC codes: E05D15