Patent Description:
<CIT> discloses a closable inspection opening for dry building, in particular for a ceiling. There, the opening formed in a panel-like structure element is closed off in a very simple manner by inlaying a closure cover which is substantially congruent with respect to the opening and which is in the form of a panel element.

<CIT> discloses a device showing the features of the preamble of claim <NUM>.

The invention is based on the object of designing a device of the generic type mentioned in the introduction such that said device is convenient to open, in particular even in the case of a wall arrangement that may be desired, wherein the device should preferably retain its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

Said object is achieved according to the invention in that the device for closing off the opening comprises at least two mutually interacting bracket devices, of which a first bracket device is formed so as to be immovably attachable to an opening edge of the panel-like structure element, and a second bracket device is formed so as to be attachable to the closure cover and can be pivotably articulated on the first bracket device.

The invention thus provides, in a surprisingly simple manner, a pair of bracket devices for the purposes of pivotably attaching a closure cover to an opening edge, in particular of an inspection opening. The bracket devices may be provided in the manner of fittings, and it would also be possible in principle for the device from the cited prior art to be retrofitted with the bracket devices according to the invention.

The articulation could substantially be realized by means of a type of hinge, wherein a detachable articulation could be realized for example by virtue of a pivot shaft being engaged around by a claw-like open bushing or sleeve or the like.

however for example also be possible for a closed sleeve to be slipped onto an angled peg. Here, in principle, a single combination of a first and a second bracket device could be sufficient.

The invention provides that in each case two pairs of the first and second bracket devices, which are assigned to mutually oppositely situated edges of the closure cover, are provided. This leads to a much more stable pivotable articulation of the closure cover, in particular in any installation position of the device according to the invention.

According to the invention, the pivot shaft is provided on the closure cover. A pivot shaft is arranged on the second bracket device, that is to say on the closure cover, for the pivotable arrangement of the second bracket device with respect to the first bracket device. This can in particular facilitate the installation process, by virtue of the fact that the in any case movable closure cover which is to be attached has the male plug-in component. It would for example also be possible for a pivot shaft peg which projects radially outward from the edge to be inserted into a blind bore in the first bracket device.

A refinement of the invention provides that the pivot shaft or a part of a pivot shaft is formed as a pivot peg which is insertable in a guide track of the first bracket device. In this case, too, the pivot peg may project substantially radially, but is not inserted axially into a blind bore, and is instead inserted and placed, transversely with respect to its axial direction, with its free end into a guide track. Here, the pivot peg may also be the free end section of a continuous pivot shaft, though individual pivot pegs as pivot shaft stubs may be functionally adequate and easier to manufacture. In particular, the pivot peg may be integrally formed on the second bracket device. It is additionally or alternatively possible for the guide track to be integrally formed on the first bracket device. The guide tracks are preferably in the form of guide grooves.

In this way, according to the invention, it is achieved in a particularly simple manner that the pivot pegs can, in a simple installation process, be inserted into the guide grooves for the purposes of arranging the closure cover pivotably there, but the closure cover can conversely likewise be easily removed again at any time in order for the opening to be opened up fully and so as to be unobstructed.

Another refinement of the device according to the invention provides, in a manner which refines the invention, that the guide tracks deviate, in terms of their profile, from an orientation orthogonal to the opening which is to be closed (surface normal). This deviation of the guide track from the surface normal results in the closure cover being additionally secured in its end or pivoted position, in particular so as to be prevented from inadvertently slipping or sliding out. Here, it is for example possible for the guide tracks to have curvatures. A preferred embodiment however provides that the profile of the guide tracks is oriented linearly and obliquely with respect to the frame plane. In particular, in the case of the device according to the invention being mounted in a wall, said oblique slope may run downward, and thus gravitational force can assist the pivot pegs in sliding into and remaining in the guide tracks.

It may also be provided that the pivot pegs can be locked in an end position in the guide tracks. This may be achieved particularly easily, for example in the case of a plastic which has a certain degree of elasticity being used as material, by virtue of the pivot peg, on its path into the guide track, having to overcome a constriction or other chicane, behind which it then locks. Somewhat more cumbersome locking means with locking balls or the like may self-evidently also be used. At any rate, it would thus be possible for the closure cover to be additionally secured in its end and pivoted position. This may be advantageous in particular in the case of an arrangement of the device in a ceiling, wherein it is however also the case in an arrangement on a ceiling that the mere existence and the nature of the deviation of the guide tracks from the orientation of the surface normals can be expedient.

Another independent refinement of the invention is characterized in that the pivot pegs are arranged on a centreline of the closure cover.

If the pivot pegs which serve as a pivot shaft are arranged in the vicinity of an edge on the closure cover, said closure cover can preferably, in the case of a wall arrangement, be pivoted upward or pivoted downward into a space or toward the user, or else can be pivoted open to the left, or in the case of a vertical pivot shaft orientation, to the right or to the left. In the refinement according to the invention for which independent protection is also claimed, the closure cover can be pivoted approximately through <NUM> angular degrees about a pivot line central with respect thereto, preferably can be opened by means of a pivoting movement of approximately <NUM> angular degrees. For this purpose, the closure cover may preferably be of mirror-symmetrical form with respect to the pivot axis in order for it to be particularly well-balanced in terms of weight, though it need not imperatively be of mirror-symmetrical form with respect to the pivot axis if so desired for certain reasons, and could for example also have a triangular shape, in the case of which the pivot axis runs parallel to the base. Similar considerations lead to the realization that the pivot axis also does not imperatively need to be arranged exactly centrally, but could also have a certain parallel offset with respect to the centreline. This would for example have the advantage that the surfaces surrounding the device could form an opening stop for the closure cover, and the closure cover could also be held or fixed there.

Basically, in the case of a structure with a pivot shaft on the centreline or close to the centreline, in each case one section of the closure cover pivots outwards, and another section pivots inwards, during the opening movement. With regard to the arrangement of the pivot axis, it is thus possible, or necessary, for the spatial conditions, in particular free spaces available for the pivoting movement, behind the device to be taken into consideration. In any case, however, an advantage consists in the fact that that section of the closure cover which opens toward the operator can in principle be selectively pivoted down or pivoted up or pivoted to the left or to the right, if the device is arranged in a wall. This may also be advantageous in the case of an arrangement in a ceiling. The pivotability of the closure cover about a centreline or about a line close to the centreline also has the advantage that, for example, no handle or other means for opening the closed closure cover is necessary, it rather being possible for the closure cover to be easily opened or closed by pushing one section or the other section thereof. For locking in the closed position, a pivoting movement slightly beyond the closed position is for example also conceivable, for example if, owing to elasticity of the detent elements, the closure cover springs back into its ultimately final end position, in which it preferably terminates in a flush manner.

The closure parts may be manufactured from all possible conceivable materials that are suitable for this purpose, such as for example metal, wood and so on. It is however preferable for at least one of the bracket devices, preferably both bracket devices, to be manufactured from a plastic. It is thus not only possible for the bracket devices to be particularly easily integrally moulded on one of the closure parts and for the guide tracks to be formed, preferably as guide grooves. The device according to the invention can thus also be designed to be particularly inexpensive, in a material-saving manner, so as to have a low weight, so as to be stable, so as to be reliable, so as to be robust, in high unit quantities, in standardized fashion, so as to be easily transportable, in different colours or with different decoration, and so on.

Also, with modern plastics, recycling is readily possible in order to realize environmentally compatible sustainability, in particular if only one type of plastic is selected and used.

For particular stability or for avoidance of distortion, the closure parts may for example have reinforcements, ribs, fluting or the like. Visible surfaces can be veneered, coated, for example also chrome-plated, painted, papered, studded, grained, fluted and so on if desired. In particular in dry building, thermal insulation or acoustic damping, for example by means of patterns of holes, may also play a role. The device according to the invention can be incorporated and technically and/or visually integrated in this respect too.

With the device according to the invention, it is possible - as desired - for the device to either be aesthetically emphasised or to be designed to be particularly inconspicuous, as it were "invisible", wherein the latter alternative is commonly preferred.

As plastics material, use may be made of a wide variety of plastics, in particular acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (ABS plastic) or other thermoplastic materials and/or styrene copolymers. Such a plastic can in particular be coated with paint and adhesively bonded. According to the invention, it is preferable for an adhesive and an additional mechanical fastening to be used for the connection of plastics parts to dry building parts. For mechanical fastening, use may be made of staples, clips, crimps, cramps, pins, rivets or the like. For example, fluting or the like may also be provided in order to enlarge an adhesive area. Staple clips or cramps are preferable to nails, for example, as fastening elements because they form abutment bridges which, in relation to head-like thickened portions, do not penetrate so easily into dry building materials, for example with gypsum constituents, and thereby lose purchase.

A further refinement of the device according to the invention is characterized in that at least one closure setting element which predefines the closed position of the closure cover is provided. A wide variety of measures and embodiments are possible for this purpose. One preferred embodiment provides that the closure setting element is in the form of, or comprises, a frictionally engaging element. In a particularly simple manner both in terms of function and in terms of manufacture, such a frictionally engaging element according to the invention assists not only in defining the positioning of the closed position but also in realizing the fixing in the closed position. In the case of the device being formed from plastic, it is possible for functionally interacting friction surfaces to be formed, so as to interact with one another, for example on a bracket device on the structural element and on a bracket device on the closure cover, for example with studs, graining, fluting or the like, or else merely with areal friction with a certain coefficient of friction. The frictionally engaging elements may for example be provided in the vicinity of the pivot pegs.

It is self-evidently possible for multiple closure setting elements to be provided, for example pairs, of identical or different form. These may be arranged at the free edges of the opening and/or at the pivot-peg-side side edges. Here, the closure setting element, or one or more closure setting elements, may be or comprise a stop element or stop elements. It may additionally or alternatively be provided that the or at least one closure setting element is in the form of, or comprises, a locking or arresting element. This may be realized for example by means of snap-action, locking or detent elements. Particularly simple but reliable snap-action elements can be realized using elastic plastic, for example with a receptacle or guide, which is narrowed in sections, for the locking of a peg. It would be possible for a spring tongue, for example on the closure frame, to simultaneously serve as a stop element which projects into the closure frame opening and, for the reversible locking of its spring end, to lock in a type of channel of a closing element, which functionally interacts with the spring tongue, on the closure cover. It would self-evidently also be possible for sliding or pivoting bolts or latches to be provided.

It is provided according to the invention that a dedicated bracket device is provided for the closure setting element, preferably a pair of two bracket devices, which are assigned, so as to be situated opposite one another, to the structure element and to the closure cover and which functionally interact with one another. Said bracket devices are thus provided separately with respect to the bracket devices for the pivot pegs. In particular if two pivot pegs on a centreline of the closure cover together form a pivot shaft and are arranged at two opposite edges of the closure cover, the bracket devices for the closing of the closure cover, that is to say in particular a stop and/or an arresting and/or locking element, may be assigned to a third side of the closure cover.

Another refinement of the invention is characterized in that at least one of the bracket devices, preferably all bracket devices, has or have at least one frictionally engaging and/or positively engaging element, preferably a fastening dowel, for the attachment thereof in the device.

The bracket devices may be provided in the manner of fittings which are fastenable to the panel-like elements, for example plasterboards. In the refinement according to the invention, the bracket device may preferably be mortised in blind bores in the respective panel-like element. Use may alternatively or additionally be made of other fastening means, such as screws, nails, cramps or adhesive or the like. Such a fastening dowel or some other frictionally engaging and/or positively engaging element may be integrally moulded, in particular from plastic, on the bracket device. Another refinement of the invention provides that at least one of the bracket devices, preferably at least one pair of bracket devices, of which one is intended for arrangement on the structure element and one is intended for arrangement on the closure cover, has abutment surfaces which are angled relative to one another and of which one abutment surface is provided for abutment against a rear side and the other abutment surface is provided for abutment against an adjacent edge. In this way, the bracket device can engage in substantially L-shaped fashion around, and embed, an edge region of one of the panel-like elements. At the same time, the material of the bracket device is scarcely visible in a closure gap between the panel-like elements. The bracket device may preferably be formed in the manner of a console, and it would for example be possible for a pivot peg to be borne and stably supported on a console of said type.

Another refinement of the device according to the invention is characterized in that the structure element which has the opening is in the form of a frame which encircles the opening and which in turn is insertable into a recess or cut-out of a panel-like structure element or is attachable to a panel-like structure element.

According to the invention, it is thus particularly advantageously provided that a fully functioning inspection opening with its frame and with a closure cover is manufactured at the factory, which inspection opening merely has to be appropriately inserted into a dry building structure on the building site. This appropriate insertion of the device may in turn be considerably simplified if the material for the frame substantially corresponds to the material of a panel-like structure element into which said frame is intended to be inserted. Therefore, it is not necessary for the inspection opening itself together with its closure cover to be prepared on the building site, it rather merely being necessary for a simple cutout for the insertion of the frame of the otherwise already professionally prepared device to be provided. This is however readily possible on the building site, and in particular also by untrained personnel, because such a working step, in its essence, does not differ from other working steps during the building of a dry structure.

Another refinement of the device according to the invention is characterized in that the frame and/or the closure cover have substantially the condition and material thickness of a dry building panelling. The material for the frame and/or the closure cover may preferably be substantially gypsum. In this way, it is particularly advantageously possible for the device according to the invention to be designed such that it can be integrated in an inconspicuous and related, and also flush and seamless, manner into a dry building structure which substantially uses the same or a similar material.

In particular, a further refinement of the invention may be characterized in that the frame is manufactured from a subregion or section of a panel-like structure element. As already discussed above, this particularly advantageous refinement of the device according to the invention has the effect that said device can be fitted into a dry building structure on the building site preferably even without cumbersome sawing-out or other cutting-out of an opening, which has the potential to be performed incorrectly, for the frame in a panel-like structure element, that is to say in particular in an unconstrained manner and using familiar building methods. It is merely necessary for the frame that is prefabricated according to the invention (together with the closure cover and the inspection opening itself) to be provided as a section of a structure element, which thereby merely needs to be connected in the conventional manner to another structure element and preferably smoothed over.

As already discussed further above, even in the case of a device according to the invention provided for a ceiling arrangement, it would be possible, for example by means of the design of the guide tracks, for a separate catch means for the closure cover to be rendered superfluous. However, in a refinement of the invention, it is nevertheless additionally or alternatively possible for at least one catch element for catching the closure cover to be provided in order to prevent the closure cover from falling in an uncontrolled manner when opened. For this purpose, use may be made of cables, clips, springs, guide rails, articulated and/or telescopic connecting rods or the like.

A further refinement of the device according to the invention is characterized in that the bracket devices are provided as a construction kit. It is preferably possible, for the device according to the invention, for a frame with the inspection opening and with a closure cover which fits said inspection opening to be prefabricated and provided in an industrial and functionally reliable manner at the factory, in order to eliminate the need for difficult working steps to be performed at the building site and in order to ensure controlled quality for inspection flaps. The device thus prefabricated can then (preferably likewise already at the factory) be fitted to bracket devices using the construction kit preferably provided according to the invention, and inserted in a simple and inexpensive manner into a dry building structure using otherwise familiar working steps, specifically so as to be as inconspicuous as desired.

The construction kit comprises three pairs of bracket devices, of which two pairs are provided for the pivotable articulation of the closure cover, and one pair is provided for the fixing of the closed position of the closure cover.

The drawing illustrates exemplary embodiments from which further inventive features may also emerge, but which are basically to be regarded merely as examples and which are not intended to restrict the subject matter of the invention or the scope of protection thereof. In the drawing:.

<FIG> shows a plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a device according to the invention, specifically of the rear side thereof and not of the front side thereof.

The device according to the invention for closing off an inspection opening comprises a frame <NUM> framing an inspection opening <NUM> and comprises a closure cover <NUM> for closing the inspection opening <NUM>.

The closure cover <NUM> is connected to the frame <NUM> by means of four different types of bracket devices.

Firstly, on the closure cover <NUM>, there are arranged bracket devices <NUM> which have in each case one pivot peg <NUM> which projects outwards from the closure cover <NUM>. The bracket devices <NUM> are provided as a pair, of which respective bracket devices <NUM> are arranged at mutually opposite edges of the closure cover <NUM>. The pivot pegs <NUM> are in alignment with one another and together form a pivot shaft for the closure cover <NUM> along one of the imaginary centrelines thereof.

For the shaft mounting thereof, the pivot pegs <NUM> are inserted into guide grooves <NUM> of bracket devices <NUM>. The brackets devices <NUM> are likewise provided as a pair and are arranged on the frame <NUM> so as to respectably face the bracket devices <NUM>.

For the locking of the closure cover <NUM> in its closed position shown in <FIG>, a locking device is arranged at a third edge of the closure cover <NUM>. Said locking device is composed of two further bracket devices <NUM> and <NUM>. The bracket device <NUM> has a locking spring tongue <NUM> which can be locked in a locking receptacle <NUM> of the bracket device <NUM>.

At one location, taking the bracket devices <NUM> and <NUM> as an example, fastening dowels are indicated as small circles <NUM>, which fastening dowels are otherwise inserted, in a manner not visible in <FIG>, downwards into the plane of the drawing into suitable blind bores of the frame <NUM> and of the closure cover <NUM> for the positively engaging and frictionally engaging fastening the respective bracket device <NUM>, <NUM>. The other bracket devices <NUM>, <NUM> each have corresponding fastening dowels.

The bracket devices <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> are preferably moulded in one piece from plastic.

Further details and features are shown in the following figures, in which identical structural elements are denoted by the same reference designations as in <FIG>.

<FIG> shows a perspective view of a bracket device <NUM> with its pivot peg <NUM>.

The bracket device <NUM> has a base plate <NUM> which, by means of the abutment surface <NUM> that is visible in <FIG>, can be laid, as per the illustration in <FIG>, onto the closure cover <NUM>. For this purpose, fastening dowels <NUM> are pressed into blind bores of the closure cover <NUM> until the abutment surface <NUM> abuts against the closure cover <NUM> and the bracket device <NUM> is fixedly fastened to the closure cover <NUM>. The fastening dowels <NUM> have encircling profiles <NUM> which improve the frictional engagement in the blind bores and which may for example be formed in the manner of scales for a barb effect. The fastening may be secured by means of adhesive and/or mechanical fastening means.

From the base plate <NUM>, there projects a console <NUM> which bears the pivot peg <NUM>. The base plate <NUM> forms, with the console <NUM>, a substantially L-shaped profile, which can engage or lie closely around an edge of the closure cover <NUM>. However, the console <NUM> has a flank <NUM>, which can furthermore engage in positively engaging fashion into a suitable recess in the edge of the closure cover <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a perspective view of a bracket device <NUM> according to the invention having a guide groove <NUM> for a pivot peg <NUM> as per <FIG>.

The guide groove <NUM> is integrated and integrally moulded in a console <NUM>. It can be seen that the guide groove <NUM> runs obliquely with respect to the base plate <NUM>. In the illustration of <FIG>, said guide groove would extend preferably obliquely downwards into the plane of the drawing, such that the respectively guided pivot peg <NUM> slides deep into the guide groove <NUM> as far as the end thereof under the gravitational force of the closure cover <NUM>. Before its end, the guide groove <NUM> may be narrowed or may have some other chicane behind which the pivot peg <NUM> can additionally be locked with a certain application of force.

The base plate <NUM> with its abutment surface <NUM>, the bracket <NUM> with its flank <NUM> and the fastening dowel <NUM> with its profile <NUM> are utilized similarly to those in the case of the bracket device <NUM>, with the only exception being that the bracket device <NUM> is fastened to the frame <NUM> rather than to the closure cover <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a perspective view of a bracket device <NUM> according to the invention having a locking spring tongue <NUM> for the locking of the closure cover <NUM> of a device as per <FIG> in a closed position.

Furthermore, the bracket device <NUM> also has a base plate <NUM> with an abutment surface <NUM> for the closure cover <NUM> and fastening dowels <NUM> with profiles <NUM>.

On the base plate <NUM> there is arranged a locking spring tongue <NUM> which, in the case of plastics material being used, can, by means of the material characteristics and the dimensions thereof, be formed with resilient properties. The end of the locking spring tongue <NUM> is formed as the locking element <NUM> itself. By means of a fold <NUM>, said locking element is of double-layer, U-shaped form with two locking limbs <NUM> and <NUM>. The locking element <NUM> is also inherently of resilient form, such that the limbs <NUM> and <NUM> can be pushed closer together (for example simply between the thumb and index finger of a hand or using a tool, such as for example the flat head of a screwdriver, or using small pliers) and can spring back reversibly into the rest position shown in <FIG>, with a relatively large spacing to one another, after the exertion of pressure has been withdrawn. A thickening bead or a ridge <NUM>, which extends transversely with respect to the profile of the locking spring tongue <NUM>, is arranged on the outer side of the locking limb <NUM>.

Before the locking and unlocking process is discussed in more detail in functional terms, <FIG> will firstly be discussed.

The bracket device <NUM> shown in a perspective view in <FIG> also firstly has a base plate <NUM> with an abutment surface <NUM> for the frame <NUM> and fastening dowels <NUM> with profiles <NUM>.

Furthermore, however, the bracket device <NUM> also has a locking receptacle <NUM> which, in the exemplary embodiment in <FIG>, is formed simply as a slot <NUM> formed into the base plate <NUM>. In this exemplary embodiment, a residual web <NUM> composed of base plate material which remains adjacent to the slot <NUM> is essential for the locking action.

Now, the locking and unlocking process can be discussed in more detail on the basis of <FIG> and <FIG>.

During the closure of the closure cover <NUM>, that is to say when the closure cover <NUM> is placed into the closed position shown in <FIG>, the locking element <NUM> is finally pressed into the slot <NUM> until the ridge <NUM> engages behind the residual web <NUM> and thus locks the closure cover <NUM> in the closed position. It is not necessary for the locking limbs <NUM>, <NUM> to additionally be pushed together for this purpose. Rather, this occurs automatically owing to the V shape or the locking limbs <NUM>, <NUM> which run conically toward one another from the fold <NUM>, and owing to the resilient characteristics of the material thereof, when the locking element <NUM> has been pushed far enough into the slot <NUM>.

It is only for the unlocking action that the locking limbs <NUM>, <NUM> have to be pushed together in the manner described above until the ridge <NUM> is released again from the residual web <NUM> and the locking element <NUM> as a whole can be pulled entirely out of the slot again and, as a result, the closure cover <NUM> can be pivoted open.

Claim 1:
Device for closing off an inspection opening, preferably in a dry building structure, in particular for a wall or a ceiling, in which the opening is formed in at least one panel-like structure element and can be closed off by means of a panel-like closure cover,
wherein the device for closing off the opening comprises at least two mutually interacting bracket devices (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), of which two pairs of first (<NUM>) and second bracket devices (<NUM>), which are assigned to mutually oppositely situated edges of the closure cover (<NUM>) are provided for the pivotable articulation of the closure cover, wherein the first bracket device (<NUM>) is formed so as to be immovably attachable to an opening edge of the panel-like structure element, and the second bracket device (<NUM>) comprises a pivot shaft such that the second bracket device can be pivotably articulated on the first bracket device (<NUM>) and said second bracket device is formed so as to be attachable to the closure cover (<NUM>) characterized in that all of the bracket devices (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) have at least one fastening dowel for the attachment thereof in the device.