Patent Publication Number: US-11391075-B2

Title: Sliding door fitting

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a U.S. nationalization under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2018/050119, filed Jan. 3, 2018, which claims priority to German Patent Application No. 102017100250.2, filed Jan. 9, 2017. The disclosures set forth in the referenced applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure is directed to a sliding door fitting having a carriage guided on a guide rail, which carriage is connected in an articulated manner to a housing of a retraction device, wherein the retraction device has at least one, or at least two, spaced drivers which can be moved along guideways and which is or are pretensioned into a retraction position via at least one energy accumulator. 
     DE 10 2008 009 046 A1 discloses a sliding door arrangement having an acceleration and deceleration device comprising first and second driving elements which are pretensioned in a retraction direction via an energy accumulator. The two driving elements are connected by a tension spring and can each move a sliding door to one end position, so that it is possible to move to two different end positions. The problem with such an acceleration and deceleration device is that the driving elements generate damping forces when a guide part is engaged, which act in different directions depending on the end position. This allows the housing to be moved relative to the guide rail until the housing strikes the guide rail, causing annoying noises. In addition, the striking of the housing can cause material stress. 
     In illustrative embodiments of a sliding door fitting according to the present disclosure, a carriage is connected in an articulated manner to a housing of a retraction device, wherein the housing of the retraction device is pretensioned in one direction of rotation relative to the carriage. This allows impact loads on the drivers to be absorbed without the housing making a stop noise on the guide rail because the pretensioning of the housing in one direction of rotation relative to the carriage means that the carriage and housing can be held in a defined position on or in the guide rail. The forces to pretension the housing relative to the carriage are greater than the impact forces to be expected from the damper when braking the sliding door. 
     In illustrative embodiments, at least one roller on the side facing away from the carriage is provided on the housing of the retraction device, which rests with a pretension against a guideway of the running rail. This not only allows the housing to move in a sliding fashion along the guide rail but also over the roller, which ensures a defined position of the housing within the guide rail. The roller allows the housing to be moved smoothly along the guide rail. 
     In further illustrative embodiments, each driver can be coupled to an activator which is fixed to or in the running rail. For example, the activator may be fixed in the running rail, for example via a clamping screw, wherein each activator is adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the running rail so that the retraction position and the retraction path of the driver can be adapted to the respective application. 
     In illustrative embodiments, each driver can be placed in a parking position when the energy accumulator is tensioned, and the driver or drivers is or are braked by at least one damper in the retraction direction. This improves the movement of a sliding door coupled to the driver. 
     A rubber-elastic element may be provided to pretension the housing of the retraction device relative to the carriage. For pretensioning, a screw can be provided to compress the rubber-elastic element, which compresses said element and thus generates a torque between the housing and the carriage. 
     Instead of a pretension via a rubber-elastic element or another elastic element, a leaf spring or a spiral spring may also be provided between the housing and the retraction device. The spring can be located either directly in the connection area between the housing and the carriage or in another position of the housing. 
     For an articulated connection of the housing to the carriage, an axle on the carriage may be gripped by a holder at one end of the housing of the retraction device, for example, the holder may form a bearing receptacle for the axle to which one or more rollers of the carriage may be fixed. 
     In illustrative embodiments, two spaced-apart carriages may be provided, between which the housing of the retraction device is arranged. The retraction device may have a single energy accumulator, which couples the two drivers together. In illustrative embodiments, two dampers may be provided so that a single damper for each driver can slow down the retraction movement of the driver. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1A to 1C  show several views of an illustrative sliding door fitting including a retraction device according to the present disclosure during a retraction movement; 
         FIG. 2  shows a view of a retraction device apart from the sliding door fitting; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  show two views of the retraction device with partially removed housing in different positions; 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  show two views of the guide rail of the sliding door fitting with an activator; 
         FIG. 5  shows a perspective exploded view of the retraction device of the sliding door fitting; 
         FIGS. 6A and 6B  show two views of the connection area between the carriage and the housing of the retraction device; 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  show two views of the connection area according to  FIG. 6  partly in section; 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  show two views of a modified embodiment example of a sliding door fitting according to the present disclosure, and 
         FIGS. 9A and 9B  show two views of another embodiment of a sliding door fitting. 
     
    
    
     An illustrative sliding door fitting  1  comprises a guide device  2  with two mutually spaced carriages  5  which can be moved along a guide rail  3  by means of track rollers  4 . The two carriages  5  can have a holder  6  on the underside to which a sliding door  7  or a folding sliding door is fixed in a suspended manner. The sliding door  7  can be moved to different end positions. In order to brake the sliding door  7  shortly before reaching an end position and to retract it in an end position, a retraction device is provided which has a housing  9  which is arranged between two carriages  5  of the sliding door fitting. Two mutually spaced drivers  10  are displaceably mounted on the housing  9 , which can each come into engagement with a stationary activator  8  fixed to the guide rail  3 . 
       FIG. 1A  shows a position of sliding door  7  where the retraction device is inactive and sliding door  7  can be moved unbraked along guide rail  3  via carriages  5 . If the sliding door  7  is now moved further to the left end position according to  FIG. 1B , the driver  10  of the retraction device comes into engagement with the stationary activator  8 , and the driver  10  is moved out of a parking position. The driver  10  is then moved along a guideway by an energy accumulator, wherein the movement of the driver  10  is braked by a damper so that the sliding door  7  approaches an end position in a controlled manner. In  FIG. 1C , the sliding door has reached the end position where the carriage  5  or a track roller  4  rests against a stop  29 . 
       FIG. 2  shows the retraction device apart from the sliding door fitting. The retraction device comprises an elongated housing  9 , on which two mutually spaced drivers  10  can be moved. Each driver  10  has a groove-shaped receptacle  11 , into which a projection of the activator  8  can be inserted. A holder  20  is provided on one side of the housing  9 , which has a receptacle  21  that can be coupled to the carriage  5  to connect the housing  9  to the carriage  5  in an articulated manner. The receptacle  21  on the hook-shaped holder  20  is closed with a closure element  22 , which can be placed against the housing  9  with a section  24  and fixed with a screw  23 . A roller  19  is provided on the side opposite the holder  20 , by means of which the housing  9  is movably mounted on the guide rail  3 . 
       FIG. 3A  shows the retraction device with the housing partially removed, wherein the drivers  10  are each arranged in the end position. Each driver  10  is guided via pin  15  in a guideway  12  which has an angled end section  13 . If a front pin  15  reaches the angled end section  13 , the driver  10  can be parked and locked against the force of the energy accumulator  25 . The energy accumulator  25  is designed as a tension spring, which is tensioned between the two drivers  10 , wherein a spring holder  14  is formed on each driver  10 . Furthermore, each driver  10  is coupled to a damper  16 , wherein a damper housing is fixed to a receptacle of a housing part and the damper  16  is connected to the driver  10  by a coupling element  18 . 
       FIG. 3B  shows the two drivers  10  in the parking position with tensioned energy accumulator  25 . In this position, the dampers  16  are also extended so that a piston rod  17  is visible, which can be retracted into one damper housing to generate damping forces. The damper  16  can be designed as a fluid damper or a gas pressure damper. Instead of the positions shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , only one driver  10  may be locked in a parking position at the angled end section  13 , while the opposite driver  10  is arranged in an end position. 
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  show the guide rail  3  used to guide the carriages  5  and the retraction device. The guide rail  3  has an essentially U-shaped cross-section with two legs  30  pointing downwards, which are provided with inwardly directed webs  31  at the ends. On the upper side of the webs  31  there are guideways for four track rollers  4  of a carriage  5 . There are also inwardly directed webs  32  on the limbs in a central area above the track rollers  4  to limit lifting of the carriage  5 . The activator  8  is fixed in a chamber above the webs  32  and interacts with a driver  10  of the retraction device. The activator  8  is fixed in the guide rail  3  by clamping screws  33 . 
     In  FIG. 5 , the retraction device is shown in a perspective exploded view. The retraction device comprises a housing with two outer housing parts  90  and  91 , on which inner housing parts  92  and  93  are provided. The two housing parts  92  and the two housing parts  93  each have guideways  12  with a linear section and an angled end section  13 , on each of which a driver  10  is guided. On each inner housing part  92  and  93  there is a receptacle for fixing one housing of the damper  16 . Adjacent to the receptacle for the damper  16 , a receptacle for the energy accumulator  25  is provided. The energy accumulator  25 , which is designed as a spring, is connected at each end via a spring holder  14  to a driver  10 . The housing  9  is closed at one end with a cap  95 , on each end of which a bearing for an axle  94  is provided for the two rollers  19 . The rollers  19  are thus rotatably mounted on the housing  9 . On the opposite side the holder  20  with the receptacle  21  is provided on the housing. 
       FIGS. 6A and 6B  show a connection area between the carriage  5  and the housing  9  of the retraction device. The carriage  5  comprises four track rollers  4 , which are connected to each other in each case by an axle  40 . The holder  20  engages on one side between the two track rollers  4  and engages around the axle  40 , which is inserted into the receptacle  21 . Thus the holder  20  forms a bearing to connect the housing  9  in an articulated manner to the carriage  5 . The bearing with the receptacle  21  is closed by the closure element  22 , which is fixed to the housing  9  or the holder  20  by means of a screw  23 . For the articulated connection of the housing  9  relative to the carriage  5 , a mobility of a few degrees is sufficient, for example between 1° and 5°. 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  show a sectional view of the connection area between the housing  9  and the carriage  5 . The carriage  5  is supported on the lower webs  31  by the track rollers  4 . The holder  20  has an elastic or rubber-element  42  adjacent to the axle  40 , for example made of a foamed material, which is compressed by the closure element  22 , which presses on a web  27  of the carriage  5  via an upwardly projecting web  26 , thereby compressing the compressible element  42 . As a result of this compression by means of the closure element  22  and the screw  23 , the housing  9  of the retraction device is pretensioned relative to the carriage  5  with a torque. This pretensioning of the housing  9  of the retraction device has the advantage that the housing  9  is not pivoted within the guide rail  3 , which can lead to stop noises. In a first direction of rotation, the housing  9  is supported anyway by the roller  19 , which rolls on one of the webs  31  or  32 . In the opposite direction, the torque provided by the compressible element  42  ensures that the housing  9  is pretensioned relative to the carriage  5  so that in the event of damping forces exerted by one of the drivers  10 , the housing  9  does not pivot and strike within the guide rail  3 . 
     The pretension of the housing  9  relative to the carriage  5  can also be carried out via other spring elements.  FIGS. 8A and 8B  show an embodiment in which a leaf spring  50  is provided between the carriage  5  and the housing  9 . The leaf spring  50  is supported by two webs  51  on an upper side of the carriage  5 . On the opposite side, the leaf spring  50  is fixed to the holder  20  with a section  52  and clamped by a screw  53 . By tightening the screw  53  the leaf spring  50  pretensions the housing  9  in one direction of rotation relative to the carriage  5 . 
     A spring force can be applied additionally or alternatively via a spring element which is provided at a distance from the carriage  5 .  FIGS. 9A and 9B  show the housing  9  of the retraction device at the end facing away from the carriage  5 . Roller  19  is guided on a lower web  31  of guide rail  3 , while an additional guide roller  60  unrolls on a web  32  of guide rail  3 . The guide roller  60  is mounted around an axle  61 , which can be moved perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guide rail  3 . For this purpose, axle  61  is pretensioned against web  32  by a spring  62 , as shown in  FIG. 9B  in particular. On the end of the housing  9  a holder  63  for the guide roller  60  is provided, which is spring-loaded and thus prevents the housing  9  from being pivoted against the force of the spring  62 , even if one of the two drivers  10  is braked by an activator  8  and a torque is introduced into the retraction device.