Patent Publication Number: US-2023160246-A1

Title: Revolving door

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a door. In particular, the present invention relates to a revolving door configured to accommodate and preferably control access for people. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Doors, such as revolving doors, are available in various configurations and designed for different applications; e.g. a revolving door may be constructed depending on the number of people that are expected to walk through the revolving door and the particular dimensions to visually fit with an associated building. For fixed installations, a revolving door is typically manufactured based on the desired size in a customized fashion. 
     One type of a revolving door has a rotating assembly in the form of a central column and at least one door panel connected to the central column and being rotatably arranged around a central axis. Another type of a revolving door has no central column, but a rotating assembly arranged above the ceiling of the revolving door. The rotating assembly is capable of driving one or more center passage pivoted break out doors. 
     These different types of revolving doors can be automatically controlled to allow access control of the people passing through the door. Revolving doors of these types can therefore be power assisted, i.e. they are equipped with a drive unit, including a motor, and a control unit in communication with the drive unit and programmed to control operation of the revolving door. A battery may be provided in order to ensure that an opening operation of the door can be performed even during an unexpected shut down of external power. These batteries, however, are not capable of supplying enough power during normal long term operation of the revolving door. 
     Due to increased popularity for these kinds of revolving doors it has been suggested to provide more sophisticated solutions also for temporary events, such as outdoor festivals, sports events, etc. It is common that such events are arranged at remote locations, whereby it is required to transport all required equipment to the event site. At these sites, there is often limited access to expert staff which means that any installation, such as an access control door, should be provided as complete as possible, preferably in a ready-to-use configuration. This is however quite far from normal installation procedures, where the revolving door is assembled on-site. Even if the revolving door were to be transported to the event site in a fully assembled state, it will be very fragile and difficult to arrange in its final position. This is especially the case for events where the on-site staff has no experience of handling and installing large doors. 
     Thus, there exists a need for improved revolving doors, especially for temporary installations and events. 
     SUMMARY 
     It is an object of the invention to at least partly overcome one or more of the above-identified limitations of the prior art. In particular, it is an object to provide a revolving door which has improved capabilities for allowing facilitated installation. 
     According to a first aspect, a revolving door is provided. The revolving door comprises a base portion, an upper portion, and a rotating assembly, e.g. a central column, extending between the base portion and the upper portion. The revolving door further comprises at least one door panel connected to the rotating assembly and being rotatably arranged around a central axis, and one or more lifting means. 
     Said lifting means may be arranged at the base portion. In some embodiments, the lifting means form at least one groove configured to receive a lifting member. 
     The lifting means may comprise a first pair of two parallel grooves, each groove extending from one side of the base portion to the opposite side of the base portion. The lifting means may further comprise a second pair of two parallel grooves, each groove extending from one side of the base portion to the opposite side of the base portion, wherein the second pair of grooves are arranged perpendicular to the first pair of grooves. 
     In an embodiment, the lifting means are arranged at the upper portion. 
     The lifting means may comprise at least one eye bolt, preferably a plurality of eye bolts. 
     The plurality of eye bolts may be arranged at the periphery of the upper portion. Preferably, the plurality of eye bolts are equally spaced part. 
     In an embodiment, the lifting means extend vertically upwards from the upper portion. 
     The revolving door may further comprise a drive unit configured to control operation of the revolving door, and a stand-alone power system connected to the drive unit. 
     The stand-alone power system may comprise an electricity generation apparatus, an energy storing device, and a power regulation apparatus. 
     In an embodiment, the electricity generation apparatus comprises a wind turbine, one or more solar cells, and/or a diesel generator. 
     The revolving door may further comprise an upper portion being arranged vertically above the rotating assembly, wherein the stand-alone power system is arranged at said upper portion. 
     In an embodiment, the stand-alone power system comprises one or more wind turbines arranged onto the upper portion, and/or arranged in a cavity of said upper portion. 
     The stand-alone power system may comprise one or more solar cells arranged on a front façade of said upper portion. 
     The revolving door may further comprise a rotatable support onto which the stand-alone power system is mounted. 
     The stand-alone power system may be arranged remote from the rotating assembly, the at least one door panel, and the drive unit. 
     The stand-alone power system may be further configured to generate electricity from the rotation of the at least one door panel or the rotating assembly, and/or from braking of the at least one door panel and/or rotating assembly. 
     In an embodiment, the stand-alone power system is configured to generate electricity from induction during rotation of the at least one door panel. 
     The stand-alone power system is preferably dimensioned to supply at least a part of the total power required by the drive unit, and preferably the total power required by the drive unit. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will hereinafter be further explained by means of non-limiting examples with reference to the appended schematic figures where; 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic overview of an event site having a plurality of revolving doors according to an embodiment; 
         FIG.  2   a    is a front view of a revolving door according to an embodiment; 
         FIG.  2   b    is a cross-sectional view of the revolving door shown in  FIG.  2     a;    
         FIG.  2   c    show different views of a revolving door according to a further embodiment; 
         FIG.  3   a    is an isometric view of a revolving door according to an embodiment; 
         FIG.  3   b    is a side view of a process for moving the revolving door shown in  FIG.  3     a;    
         FIG.  4   a    is an isometric view of a revolving door according to an embodiment; 
         FIGS.  4   b - c    is a side view of a process for moving the revolving door shown in  FIG.  4     a;    
         FIG.  5    is a side view of a drive unit of a revolving door according to an embodiment; 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic view of a stand-alone power system of a revolving door according to an embodiment; 
         FIG.  7   a    is an isometric view of a revolving door according to an embodiment; 
         FIG.  7   b    is a front view of a revolving door according to an embodiment; 
         FIG.  7   c    is a front view of a revolving door according to an embodiment; 
         FIG.  7   d    is a front view of a revolving door according to an embodiment; and 
         FIG.  7   e    is a front view of a revolving door according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Starting in  FIG.  1   , an event site  1  is schematically shown from above. The event site  1  is representing a temporary arrangement for allowing people to enter the event site  1  and enjoying the activities therein. Typically, the event site  1  may be designed to host a sports event, a music festival, a food event, or any other suitable activity. The event site  1  may be arranged indoors or outdoors. 
     The event site  1  is preferably defined by some sort of outer boundary, such as a fence  3  or similar surrounding the area. As an example the event site  1  may be provided with a stage  5 , a food serving  7 , and an area  9  for people to watch the stage  5 . The particular design of the event site could however be of any suitable configuration, depending on location, size, and type of event. 
     The event site  1  is further provided with one or more revolving doors  100  in order to allow people to enter and exit the event site  1  in a controlled manner. The revolving doors  100  are located in connection with the outer boundary of the event site  1 , and/or inside the event site  1  to allow people to enter/exit sub-areas within the event site  1 . 
     A revolving door  100 , used to allow people to enter and/or exit the event site  1  of  FIG.  1   , is further shown in  FIGS.  2   a - b   . It should however be noted that in the following, the described embodiments of a revolving door may not exclusively be adapted to the use with the event site  1  of  FIG.  1    but the revolving doors  1  can be used with other kinds of temporary installations, such as tents or similar, or more long-term installations like regular buildings, parts of buildings, barracks, etc. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   a   , the revolving door  100  comprises a bottom base member  110 , an upper top member  120 , and a rotating assembly in the form of a central column  130  extending vertically between the base member  110  and the top member  120 . At least one door panel  140 , in the shown example there are four door panels  140 , are connected to the central column  130  and rotatably arranged around a central axis A 1 . 
     As is further shown in  FIG.  2   b   , the revolving door  100  has a first side wall portion  150  and a second side wall portion  152 . Each first and second side wall portion  150 ,  152 , extends vertically between the base member  110  and the top member  120  and forms a cylindrical (and circular) arc. The first side wall portion  150  is arranged in connection with a first enclosing structure  3   a , and the second side wall portion  152  is arranged in connection with a second enclosing structure  3   b . The first and second enclosing structures  3   a ,  3   b  may e.g. be posts forming part of the fence  3  in  FIG.  1   . The revolving door  100  is thereby closing the gap formed between the first and second enclosing structures  3   a ,  3   b.    
     Each side wall portion  150 ,  152  is approximately extending one quarter of a circle, i.e. approximately 90°. This leaves a passage through the revolving door  100 , formed between an entrance section  154  and an exit section  156 . The entrance section  154  and the exit section  156  extend on opposite sides between the first and second side wall portions  150 ,  152 . 
     Another example of a revolving door  100  is shown in  FIG.  2   c   . For this embodiment there is no central column but the rotating assembly  130  is formed by a wheel assembly accommodated above the ceiling of the revolving door  100 . The door panels  140  are connected to the wheel assembly at their respective upper portion. 
     During operation, the revolving door  100  is allowing a person to walk through the door  100  by rotation of the door panels  140 . For this, a drive unit  160  may be provided, or rotation of the door panels  140  may be accomplished simply by the passing person pushing the door panel  140  in front of her. 
     As explained in the background section, normal installation of a revolving door of the types described with reference to  FIGS.  1 - 2    is performed by providing the revolving door in a non-assembled state, whereby building the revolving door is performed at the final location. The inventors have realized that improved performance and robustness of the revolving door can be achieved if the revolving door  100  is manufactured in a dedicated factory, whereby means are provided for simplifying a secure transport. This is especially important for temporary installations where there is often a lack of technically qualified staff, unable to do correct assembly of revolving doors  100 , and unaware of how to ensure safe transport of finished revolving doors  100  being produced remote from the event site. 
     An embodiment of a revolving door  100  solving this critical issue is schematically shown in  FIG.  3   a   . In order to allow secure transport of a ready-to-use revolving door  100 , the upper portion  120  is provided with one or more lifting means  121  projecting upwards from the upper portion  120 . In this example, the lifting means are provided as three eye bolts  121 . The eye bolts  121 , of which one is shown in more details in the enlarged section of  FIG.  3   a   , are arranged close to the periphery of the upper portion  120  and equally spaced apart; for a total number of three eye bolts  121 , the angular distance between two adjacent eye bolts is 120°. While three eye bolts  121  provide a stabilization of the revolving door  100  in the horizontal plane, it should be realized that any number of lifting means can be utilized as long as they allow the revolving door  100  to be lifted. Thus, the eye bolts  121  may be equally spaced apart relative each other. Accordingly, the eye bolts  121  may be evenly distributed along the periphery of the upper portion  120 . 
     Transporting of the revolving door  100  is schematically shown in  FIG.  3   b   . A crane truck  300 , or any suitable vehicle, is provided with a lifting hook  302 . By connecting a chain  304  or similar member to the lifting means  121  of the revolving door  100 , the lifting hook  302  can engage with the chain  304  and by operating the crane  306  of the truck  300 , the revolving door  100  is easily positioned at the desired position. 
     The eye bolts  121  may be fixedly mounted to the upper portion  120 , or they me releasable attached such that they can be removed once the revolving door  100  is in place. However, the lifting means  121  may not necessarily be provided as eye bolts, but can be formed as a part of the upper portion  120 ; e.g. the upper portion  120  may be provided with separate grooves or similar that can be used to connect a chain or similar such that the revolving door  100  can be carried by the crane  304 . 
     For the above-mentioned examples, the upper portion  120  is constructed such that it can carry the weight of the entire revolving door  100 . 
     Another embodiment of a revolving door  100  is shown in  FIG.  4   a   . Shown partly from the underside, the base portion  110  of the revolving door  100  is provided with a number of grooves  111 . The grooves  111  are arranged in pairs; a first pair of grooves  111   a  are arranged perpendicular to a second pair of grooves  111   b . The grooves of a common pair  111   a ,  111   b  are arranged in parallel and spaced apart at a distance corresponding to a standard distance between the forks of a lift truck. The depth of each groove  111   a - b  is set so that a fork can be inserted into the groove  111   a - b.    
     The grooves  111   a - b  extend from one side of the base portion  110  to the other side of the base portion  110 , such that a fork lift can access the grooves  111   a - b  from any side. Having the two sets of grooves  111   a - b , there a four different ways for a fork lift to engage with the revolving door  100 . 
     In  FIGS.  4   b - c    a moving sequence is shown. A fork lift  310  is approaching the revolving door  100 , as shown in  FIG.  4   b   . The fork  312 , forming a lifting member, is in a lowered position, meaning that the fork  312  can be inserted into a pair of grooves  111   a - b  of the base portion  110  of the revolving door  100 . Once the fork  312  is in place under the revolving door  100 , the fork  312  is lifted thereby also lifting the revolving door  100 . The revolving door  100  can thereafter be moved to its desired position, at which the fork  312  is lowered and withdrawn from the base portion  110 . 
     A revolving door  100  may be provided with lifting means at the upper portion  120 , as described with reference to  FIGS.  3   a - b   , at the base portion  110 , as described with reference to  FIGS.  4   a - c   , or both. Hence, for the embodiment shown in  FIG.  4   a    the lifting means equal the grooves  111   a - b.    
     As mentioned earlier, the revolving door  100  may be either fully manual, i.e. a person is pushing the door panels  140  to rotate, or the revolving door  100  may at least partly automatic meaning that a drive unit is provided for assisting a person walking through the revolving door  100 . 
     For embodiments where the revolving door  100  is motor operated, an example of a drive unit  160  is shown in  FIG.  5   . The drive unit  160  can be provided as part of a driving base unit  162 , which in turn forms part of the central column  130 . The driving base unit  162  is resting on a column support  163  and is arranged to drive the central column  130  to rotate thereby causing the door panels  140 , being connected to the central column  130 , also to rotate around said central axis A 1 . In case of a revolving door  100  as shown in  FIG.  2   c   , the drive unit  160  may be arranged above the ceiling to operate directly on the rotating assembly  130  in order to drive the door panels  140 . 
     The drive unit  160  comprises an electrical motor  164  and a control unit  166 . The electrical motor  164  is arranged to rotate the door panels  140  upon receiving control signals from the control unit  166 . The control unit  166  is in turn configured to receive various inputs, such as sensor signals etc., in order to control operation of the revolving door  100 . 
     The revolving door  100  can optionally be powered by a stand-alone power system  200 , which is connected to the drive unit  160 . As shown in  FIG.  5   , the stand-alone power system  200  is connected to the control unit  166 , as well as to the drive motor  164 . 
     The stand-alone power system  200 , which is further shown in  FIG.  6   , is an electricity system which is capable of generating electricity, storing electricity, and regulate the generated electrical power. The stand-alone power system  200  thereby allows the revolving door  100  to be positioned at off-grid locations, or at other areas where the available power is not sufficient for operating revolving doors  100  in order to control access for people entering and/or exiting the event area. For example, for an event site  1  there may be a certain amount of available power which is required to power light equipment, sound equipment, medical equipment, etc. Should the event manager decide to further improve the event site  1  by also including access control, i.e. by means of revolving doors  100  as described with reference to  FIG.  1   , the total amount of available power may not be sufficient to fully power all these revolving doors  100 . For this, the stand-alone power system  200  provides the required add-on power for the associated revolving door  100  such that accurate operation of the door  100  is ensured. 
     As is shown in  FIG.  6    the stand-alone power system  200  comprises an electricity generation apparatus  210 , an energy storing device  220 , and a power regulation apparatus  230 . The electricity generation apparatus  210  may include one or more of a wind turbine  212 , a solar cell  214 , and a diesel generator  216 . 
     The energy storing device  220  is preferably a battery. While the drive unit  160  requires power in the range of 600 W, it would be preferred to allow the battery to store enough energy to power the revolving door  100  for at least a few hours of operation, such as 1.2-2.4 kWh. The battery will thereby allow for autonomous operation of the revolving door  100  by compensating for the difference between current power production of the electricity generation apparatus  210  and power consumption during use of the revolving door  100 . 
     The energy regulation apparatus  230  comprises power management electronics to provide the motor  164  and the control unit  166  of the drive unit  160  with sufficient power. The energy regulation apparatus thereby regulates power production from the electricity generation apparatus  210 , controls power use by classifying the actual load of the revolving door  100 , and preferably also protects the energy storing device  220 . 
     It should be mentioned that the revolving door  100  may be further equipped with an emergency battery (not shown) being capable to operate the door  100  during a situation when the main power supply is disconnected or unable to provide any power to the drive unit  160 . Such emergency battery is normally of much less capacity than the energy storing device  220  of the stand-alone power system  200  described herein. However, in some embodiments it may be possible to utilize such already existing emergency battery as the energy storing device  220  of the stand-alone power system  200 . 
     Returning to the example mentioned above of a revolving door  100  having a drive unit  160  operating at 600 W, the electricity generation apparatus  210  should preferably be capable of generating no less than that amount. Some examples of revolving doors  100  will be given in the following. Although the lifting means  111   a - b ,  121  are not shown in the following figures, it should be noted that every revolving door  100  described in the following is actually provided with some kind of lifting means for facilitating transport of the ready-to-use revolving door  100 . The lifting means may e.g. be a plurality of eye bolts  121  arranged at the upper portion  120  of the revolving door  100  or a pair of grooves  111   a - b  arranged at the base portion  110  of the revolving door  100 . 
     In  FIG.  7   a   , an example of a revolving door  100  is shown. The revolving door  100  is similar to the door  100  shown in  FIGS.  2   a - b   , and could thus be used for an event site  1  as described with reference to  FIG.  1   . The revolving door  100  is provided with a stand-alone power system  200  as described earlier. Especially, the upper top portion  120  is covered by a solar panel  212   a  containing solar cells  212 , thereby forming the electricity generation apparatus  210  of the stand-alone power system  200 . The remaining parts of the stand-alone power system  200 , i.e. the battery  220  and the electricity regulation apparatus  230  as well as a possible inverter (not shown), are preferably hidden inside the rotating assembly, e.g. the central column  130 , or inside a cavity of the upper portion  120 . As light is incident on the roof of the revolving door  100 , i.e. on the solar cells  212 , electricity will be generated. If energy production is higher than the current use, excess energy will be stored in the battery  220  for later use. On the other hand, if the energy production is less than the current use, the missing power will be supplied from the battery  220 . 
     Although the solar panel  212   a  is arranged in a horizontal direction, it should be noted that in some embodiments the solar panel  212   a  may be somewhat tilted in order to improve the efficiency of the solar cells  212 . Also, it may be possible to also cover the vertical sidewall  120   a  of the upper portion  120  with solar cells in order to further increase the power output of the stand-alone power system  200 . 
     For example, the total area of the solar panel  212   a  may be 3-5 m 2 , which would easily provide the required power of 600 W using standard solar panels. 
     In case the upper portion  120  is also provided with eye bolts  121 , the solar panel  212   a  may be provided with corresponding cutouts for allowing the eye bolts  121  to connect to an underlying load-bearing structure of the upper portion  120 . 
     Another embodiment of a revolving door  100  is shown in  FIG.  7   b   . Also for this revolving door  100  the stand-alone power system  200  is provided with a solar panel  212   a  comprising a plurality of photo-voltaic solar cells  212 . The solar panel  212   a  is mounted at an upright position on the upper portion  120 , preferably tilted backwards. The solar panel  212   a  is mounted on a support  212   b  being configured to rotate and/or tilt the solar panel  212   a . The support  212   b  may for this purpose be connected to the control unit  166  and/or the electricity regulation apparatus  230  such that the solar panel  212   a  can track the current position of the sun during the day in order to produce maximum power. It should be realized that also for this embodiment the vertical sidewall  120   a  of the upper portion  120  can be provided with solar cells. 
     In  FIG.  7   c    another embodiment of a revolving door  100  is shown. Similar to the previous examples, the electricity generation apparatus  210  is arranged onto the upper portion  120  of the revolving door  100 . Instead of a solar panel, the electricity generation apparatus  210  is in this embodiment a wind turbine  214 . The wind turbine  214  is arranged on a support  214   a  that is fixed onto the upper portion  120  of the revolving door  100 , but preferably the support  214   a  allows the wind turbine  214  to rotate in order to face the wind. The wind turbine  214  will thereby provide maximum efficiency independently of the wind direction. Although the wind turbine  214  has a horizontal rotational axis, it is possible to use other types of wind turbines as the electricity generation apparatus  210  of the stand-alone power system  200  of the revolving door  100 . Also for this embodiment, the remaining parts of the stand-alone power system  200 , i.e. the battery  220  and the electricity regulation apparatus  230  as well as a possible inverter (not shown), are preferably hidden inside the rotating assembly, e.g. the central column  130 , or inside a cavity of the upper portion  120 . 
     In a yet further embodiment, as shown in  FIG.  7   d   , the wind turbine  214  is arranged inside the upper portion  120  of the revolving door  100 . For this, the upper portion  120  is provided with one or more openings  122  extending at least along a part of the periphery of the upper portion  120 . As can be seen in the example of  FIG.  5   d   , the remaining sidewall  120   a  of the upper portion  120  is covered with a solar panel  212  having a plurality of solar cells, similar to what was described with reference to  FIG.  5   a   . Hence, the stand-alone power system  200  shown in  FIG.  5   d    is a so called hybrid power system comprising a wind turbine  214  as well as a solar panel  212 . 
     The wind turbine  214  has a vertical rotational shaft  214   a  being concentric with the central column  130  of the revolving door  100 . A plurality of vanes  214   b  are connected to the shaft  214   a  and forced to rotate when the wind is incident on the opening  122 . Upon rotation of the vanes  214   b , electricity is generated in accordance with well-known principles. Hence, the wind turbine  214  comprises additional components such as a generator, a gearbox, control electronics, etc. The remaining parts of the stand-alone power system  200 , i.e. the battery  220  and the electricity regulation apparatus  230  as well as a possible inverter (not shown), are preferably hidden inside the rotating assembly, e.g. the central column  130 , or inside a cavity of the upper portion  120 . 
     In  FIG.  7   e    a yet further embodiment of a revolving door  100  is shown. In this embodiment the stand-alone power system  200  is arranged party integral with the revolving door  100 , and partly remote from the revolving door  100 . In particular, the electricity generation apparatus  210  of the stand-alone power system  200  is located at a distance from the actual position of the revolving door  100 . While the actual position of the revolving door  100  may be hard to adjust due to certain requirements of the event site  1 , it is advantageous to allow for some flexibility of the position of the electricity generation apparatus  210 . For example, the battery  220  and the regulation apparatus  230  can be arranged within the revolving door  100  while the electricity generation apparatus  210  is connected to the remaining parts of the power system  200  by means of a cable  240 , as shown in  FIG.  5   e   . The electricity generation apparatus  210  may e.g. be a wind turbine, a solar panel, or a diesel generator. If the revolving door  100  is positioned in a shady area, it may be advantageous to arrange the solar panel at a position being more exposed to sun light. Similarly, if the revolving door  100  is arranged at a position where there is no or only very little wind, it may be advantageous to arrange the wind turbine at a remote hill. Yet further, if the revolving door  100  is arranged at a position where silence is desired, it may be advantageous to arrange the diesel generator at another location. 
     It should be noted that although the revolving doors  100  shown in  FIG.  5   a - e    are based on a rotating assembly  130  in the form of a central column, the stand-alone power system could also be provided for revolving doors  100  of the type shown in  FIG.  2   c   , i.e. where the rotating assembly  130  is arranged above the ceiling thereby causing the entire ceiling, and the door panels  140  attached thereto, to rotate. 
     In a yet further embodiment, the electricity generation apparatus  210  of the stand-alone power system  200  is configured to harvest energy from the revolving door  100  when being used. As the revolving door  100  is operated by rotating the rotating assembly  130  and the thereto connected door panels  140 , the inventors have realized that it may be possible to generate electricity by such movement, especially during braking of the rotational movement. In one embodiment, the rotating assembly  130  is provided with an induction coupling such that electricity is generated upon rotation of the rotating assembly  130 . This is beneficial as no braking is required to produce electrical power, but a constant generation of electricity is occurring when the revolving door  100  is in motion. In another embodiment, the revolving door  100  is equipped with a brake, such as a magnetic brake. The brake is configured to be activated in an emergency situation, e.g. when a person is too close to a door panel  140 , and/or when a person is exiting the revolving door  100  and no further rotation of the door panels  140  is required. Such braking action can be used to generate electricity, and the produced power can be stored in the battery for later use. 
     It should further be mentioned that the above-described embodiments may be combined in any suitable configuration. 
     It is apparent to a person skilled in the art that the basic idea may be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are thus not limited to the examples described above; instead they may vary within the scope of the claims.