Abstract:
The invention relates to a drive system for a gate, the gate panel thereof being guided in a guide rail on each side. A carriage is guided in one of the guide rails, and a pusher arm is joined with a hinge to the carriage and the upper edge of the gate panel. A motor is supported on the pusher arm.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a National Stage Application of PCT/EP2008/010122, filed Nov. 28, 2008, which designates the United States and claims the priority of German Patent Application DE 10 2008 004 050.9, filed on Jan. 11, 2008, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The invention relates to a drive system for a gate. 
         [0003]    The gate driven by the drive system in particular is a louver-type gate, wherein this gate typically is a garage door. 
         [0004]    The blades of the gate are guided inside guide rails, mounted on each side, which move along the gate frame and the ceiling of the garage. Known drive systems for gates of this type are provided with a motor traversing along one of the guide rails. The motor is positioned on a pedestal or the like which is positioned so as to move with the aid of rollers in the guide rail. A push rod is attached articulated to the pedestal and is also attached articulated to the top blade of the gate. The gate is opened or closed as a result of the motor traversing along the guide rails. 
         [0005]    One problem with systems of this type is that these systems need to be adapted individually to the respective gate and the guide rails. This individual adaptation of the drive systems results in undesirably high production costs for the drive systems. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    It is the object of the present invention to make available a drive system for a gate which has a high functionality and can additionally be produced efficiently and cost-effectively. 
         [0007]    This object is solved with the features disclosed in claim  1 . Advantageous embodiments and useful modifications of the invention are described in the dependent claims. 
         [0008]    The drive system according to the invention is used for opening and closing a gate provided with a gate panel which is guided on the side in respectively one guide rail. A carriage is guided in one of the guide rails and a push arm is attached articulated to the carriage and to the upper edge of the gate panel. A motor is positioned on the push arm. 
         [0009]    Since the motor of the drive system according to the invention is attached to the push arm that provides the connection to the gate, the installation of the motor is uncoupled from the guide rail and therefore does not depend on the individual embodiment of the guide rail. 
         [0010]    A carriage moves on the guide rail itself, wherein this carriage preferably is provided with rollers that move inside the guide rail. According to one particularly advantageous embodiment, this carriage forms the only application-specific part of the drive system. The adaptation to the specific embodiment of the guide rail is achieved with a corresponding design of the carriage. 
         [0011]    The drive system according to the invention consequently has a modular design which can be adapted to different gate systems with little structural expenditure and can thus be produced efficiently and cost-effectively. 
         [0012]    According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the carriage comprises universally embodied means for connecting it to the push arm. 
         [0013]    The connecting means provided on the carriage for connecting it to the connection means on the push arm are embodied for this as a plug-in rotating bearing. 
         [0014]    The connecting means on the push arm can be inserted in one insertion direction into the means for connecting the carriage and these elements are then secured to each other by rotating the elements relative to each other. 
         [0015]    An especially simple connection is thus created between the push arm and the carriage. The connection takes the form of a plug-in connection which can be realized without tools or the use of additional fastening means. The installation of the push arm on the carriage can therefore be realized quickly and without auxiliary means. 
         [0016]    With the drive system according to the invention, different traction means which engage in the motor can thus be used, for example belts, bands, toothed belts. 
         [0017]    It is particularly advantageous if the drive system according to the invention is embodied as a chain drive. In that case, a chain wheel is arranged on a shaft of the motor which, during the operation of the drive system, engages in a chain that is guided along the guide rail. 
         [0018]    It is particularly advantageous if a chain duct in which the chain is guided and a conductor rail with therein disposed electrical lines for the power supply are secured on a sliding guide of the carriage. 
         [0019]    The drive system is provided in this way with a particularly high modularity. The chain guide and the conductor rail, embodied particularly advantageously as one part, are attached independent of the guide rail to the sliding guide as application-specific element of the carriage. No structural interventions on the guide rail are therefore necessary for attaching the chain rail and the conductor rail. 
         [0020]    The drive system according to the invention can thus be attached easily and without structural intervention on the existing gate system, on any one of the guide rails. 
         [0021]    With this structural design, the motor can be supplied easily with power via a circuit board that is positioned in the carriage and can make electrical contact with the motor, wherein this circuit board comprises projecting contact pins which are in contact with the electrical lines of the conductor rail. 
         [0022]    The circuit board itself and its connections to the motor can be installed as a universal component. This is advantageously also true for the contact pins on the circuit board if the conductor rail on the carriage is adapted in such a way that the contact pins can be used for differently embodied conductor rails. 
         [0023]    It is particularly advantageous if the drive system according to the invention is provided with an emergency release that can be activated manually, so that the gate can still be opened manually even during a power failure. 
         [0024]    For the embodiment of the emergency release, the motor rests especially advantageously on a motor mount which is positioned on the push arm with the aid of a swivel mount and a locking connection, wherein the locking connection can be unlocked to activate the emergency release. The motor is conditionally automatically pivoted in downward direction, thus disengaging the chain wheel from the chain, wherein the pivoting in this case can be triggered either by the forces of gravity or by spring forces. 
         [0025]    This emergency release has a high functional safety with low structural expenditure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0026]    The invention is explained in further detail in the following with the aid of the drawings, which show in: 
           [0027]      FIG. 1 : A view from the side of an exemplary embodiment of the drive system according to the invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 2 : A cross section through the drive system according to  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 3 : An individual representation of a push arm functioning as a component of the drive system according to  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
           [0030]      FIG. 4 : An individual representation of a motor mount as a component of the drive system according to  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
           [0031]      FIG. 5 : A view from above of the side facing the push arm of a carriage, as component of the drive system according to  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
           [0032]      FIG. 6 : A view from above of the facing away from the push arm, as component of the drive system according to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0033]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show an exemplary embodiment of a drive system  1  for a gate embodied as louvered gate which, for the present case, is embodied as a garage door. The blades for the louvered gate are guided on the side in guide rails  2 , wherein  FIG. 1  shows one of the guide rails  2 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the identically embodied guide rails  2  have an upper rail element  2   a  and a lower rail element  2   b  which extend below the garage ceiling. The uppermost blades for the gate can be guided with the aid of rollers inside the upper rail element  2   a,  while the rollers of the following blades are guided inside the lower rail element  2   b.  The guide rails  2  furthermore also extend on the side of the gate opening that can be closed with the gate. 
         [0034]    The drive system  1  can optionally be attached to one of the guide rails  2 . The drive system  1  in this case is arranged so as to move along on one of the guide rails  2 , wherein the gate is opened or closed as a result of the drive system  1  traversing back and forth. 
         [0035]    The drive system  1  is provided with a motor  3  which is embodied as electric motor. The motor  3  is positioned on a push arm  4  that forms the connection to the gate. The push arm  4  is shown as individual representation in  FIG. 3 . The push arm  4  is provided with a bore  5  in which the upper blade of the gate can be attached articulated with the aid of a fastening means that is not shown herein. 
         [0036]    In the simplest case, the motor  3  can be mounted directly on the push arm  4 . For the present case, the motor  3  is attached to a motor mount  6 , wherein the motor mount  6  in turn is attached to the push arm  4 . The motor mount  6  forms a component of an emergency release and is shown in a separate representation in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0037]    As can be seen in  FIG. 4 , the motor mount  6  comprises three locating bores  7  into which screws, not shown herein, are inserted to securely screw the motor  3  to the motor mount  6 . In the center of the locating bores  7  is a through bore  8  through which the shaft of the motor  3  extends once the motor is secured on the motor mount  6 . 
         [0038]    The motor mount  6  is provided with a locking pin  9  and a bore  10  for securing it on the push arm  4 . The locking pin  9  is provided with a locking element  9   a  which projects over the underside of the motor mount  6  and can be made to engage in an opening  11  in the push arm  4 . The portion of the locking pin  9  that projects over the top of the motor mount  6  forms a grip  9   b  which can be used to manually release the locking element  9   a  from the opening  11 . 
         [0039]    The bore  10  can be fitted over a bolt  12  that projects from the push arm  4 .  FIG. 2  shows that inserting the bolt  12  into the bore  10  results in providing a bolt head  13  which projects over the end of the bolt  12  from the bore  10 , thus providing a safety feature to prevent the motor mount  6  from disengaging from the push arm  4 . With these fastening means, the motor mount  6  is securely attached to the push arm  4 . 
         [0040]    The push arm  4  is attached articulated to a carriage  14  which is positioned such that it can traverse along the guide rail  2 .  FIG. 5  shows the side of the carriage  14  that faces the push arm  4 .  FIG. 6  shows the side of the carriage  14  which faces away from the push arm  4 . 
         [0041]    The carriage  14  is embodied plate-shaped and is provided with a circular opening  15 . At opposite-arranged edge segments which delimit the opening  15 , two identically embodied guide elements  16  are provided as means for connecting to the push arm  4 , wherein these guide elements project from the carriage  14  side which is facing the push arm  4 . The guide elements  16  extend along the edge segments and are embodied as beam-shaped elements  16   a  provided with respectively one projection  16   b  which extends outward from the side facing away from the opening  15 . 
         [0042]    The push arm  4  is provided with a recess  17  that stops at a longitudinal side end and functions as a means for connecting to the guide elements  16  of the carriage  14 . The recess  17  is delimited on the front end, meaning in the region where it ends, as well as at the back end by two straight-line and parallel extending edge segments of the push arm  4 . The center section of the recess  17  is delimited by two edge segments extending along a circular arc. 
         [0043]    The widths for the back and the front sections of the recess  17  slightly exceed the distances between the longitudinal side edges of the guide elements  16 . The diameter for the center section of the recess  17  is slightly larger than the diameter of the circle along which the outer surfaces extend of the beam-shaped elements  16   a  of the guide elements  16 . The height of the beam-shaped elements  16   a  slightly exceeds the thickness of the push arm  4  in the region of the recess  17 . 
         [0044]    In order to attach the push arm  4  to the carriage  14 , the recess  17  of the push arm  4  is moved in one insertion direction, while resting on the carriage  14 , so that the guide elements  16  are inserted into the recess  17 . The push arm  4  is then turned, so that the projections  16   b  engage behind the edge segments of the push arm  4  which delimit the circular-arc shaped portion of the recess  17 . As a result, the push arm  4  is secured against being disconnected from the carriage  14 . The guide elements  16 , which are positioned rotating along the edges of the recess  17 , form an articulated connection between the push arm  4  and the carriage  14 . 
         [0045]    The rotating bearing between the push arm  4  and the carriage  14  forms a universal coupling for the two parts. The carriage  14  is otherwise the only application-specific part of the drive system  1 . For the connection to different gate systems, in particular guide rails  2 , only the carriage  14  must consequently be replaced when using the drive systems  1  according to the invention. 
         [0046]      FIG. 6  shows the side facing the guide rail  2  of the carriage  14  with the application-specific components. Projecting from the carriage  14  are two holders  18  with thereto attached rollers  19  which are guided inside the guide rail  2 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , thereby allowing the carriage  14  to traverse along the guide rail  2 . 
         [0047]    A rail-type sliding guide  20  extends along the top of the carriage  14 . Attached to this sliding guide  20 , which is positioned to the side of the guide rail  2 , is a chain duct  21  with therein disposed chain  22  that extends along the guide rail  2 . During the operation of the drive system  1 , the chain  22  engages in a chain wheel  23  which is fitted onto the exposed end of the motor  3  shaft. The motor  3  drives the chain wheel  23 , causing it to move in the chain  22  and thus move the drive system  1  along the guide rail  2  which results in the opening and closing of the gate. 
         [0048]    The motor  3  is supplied with power via a conductor rail  24  with therein positioned electrical lines  25 . The conductor rail  24  is embodied as one piece with the chain duct  21 . 
         [0049]    The carriage  14  has a rectangular opening  26  ( FIG. 6 ) with therein mounted circuit board  27  that is provided with electronic components for controlling the motor  3  ( FIG. 1 ). The circuit board  27  is provided with contact pins, not shown herein, for establishing electrical contact with the lines  25  in the conductor rail  24 , thereby ensuring the power supply for the motor  3 . 
         [0050]    A holding element  28  that forms mounting pins for installing the drive system  1  on the guide rail  2  projects from the side of the carriage  14  that is facing the guide rail  2 . With the aid of the holding element  28 , the carriage  14  can be hooked into the upper rail element  2   a  of the guide rail  2 . Additional installation steps can be carried out in this position, in particular the installation of the chain wheel  23  on the shaft. Following the installation, the carriage  14  is in the desired position shown in  FIG. 2  in which the holding element  28  is again lifted off the upper rail element  2   a.    
         [0051]    The motor mount  6  which is positioned on the push arm  4  forms the central element for the emergency release of the drive system  1 , for example carried out manually by an operator during a power failure. For this, the locking element  9   a  is released from the opening  11  of the push arm  4  by activating the grip  9   b  of the locking pin  9 , wherein a rope or the like can be attached to the grip  9   b  to permit a manual unlocking of the garage from the outside. As soon as the locking element  9   a  is released from the opening  11 , the motor mount  6  is attached only with the bolt  12  of the push arm  4  which forms a rotating bearing. As a result of gravity, the motor  3  then drops downward and the motor mount  6  is pivoted, relative to the pivot mount, meaning with respect to the bolt  12 . The chain wheel  23  is thus moved downward and consequently disengages from the chain  22 , meaning the emergency release of the drive system  1  is completed.