DE20210720U1 - shutters - Google Patents

Description

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TER MEER STEINMEISTER & PARTNER GBR PATENT ATTORNEYS - EUROPEAN PATENT ATTORNEYS

Dr. Nicolaus ter Meer, Dipl.-Chem. Peter Urner, Dipl.-Phys. Gebhard Merkle, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Mauerkircherstrasse 45 D-81679 MUNICH

Helmut Steinmeister, Dipl.-Ing. Manfred Wiebusch

Artur-Ladebeck-Strasse 51 D-3361 7 BIELEFELD

GRS P02 / 02 / G

St/ec

10.7.2002

ISOCO Kunststofftechnik GmbH & Co.

Eisenwerkstr. 7 98739 Schmiedefeld

ROLLER SHUTTERS

ISOCO Kunststofftechnik GmbH &&bgr;&bgr;· * * * "' GRS P02 / 02 / G 10.7.2002

ROLLER SHUTTERS

The invention relates to a roller shutter made of strip-shaped, essentially rigid elements which are hinged together along their longitudinal edges.

Roller shutters of this type are known in various designs. In one design, which is often used for covering building windows, individual wooden or plastic strips are connected by textile strips to form a roll-up unit. Extruded metal profiles are often used for so-called roller doors, which have profiles on their long edges that allow the individual elements to be twisted into one another and connected in this way. Roller shutters are also used in furniture construction, as swimming pool covers, in vehicle construction and in the interior design of buildings. Roller shutters generally have the advantage over doors and flaps that they can be wound up onto a winding shaft in a relatively space-saving manner.

A disadvantage of all known roller shutter designs is that they are relatively expensive to manufacture.
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The invention is based on the object of providing a roller shutter that can be produced at relatively low costs.

To solve this problem, a roller shutter according to the invention is made in one piece from web sheet material that is provided with kinks.

Preferably, the substantially rigid elements are formed by web plate strips and film hinge strips are provided between the web plates as a means for the hinge-shaped connection.

Multi-wall sheets are known per se. They consist of at least two outer layers of a plastic material which are connected to one another on the inside by webs, so that air chambers are formed which ensure good thermal insulation. Multi-wall sheets are also light and yet relatively stable, so that in this context they should be treated as essentially rigid.

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ISOCO Kunststofftechnik GmbH & (M." " * ' ' * * * * GRS P02* 02 7 G* 10.7.2002

Film hinges or foil hinges are thin plastic surfaces between two parts to be connected in a hinge-like manner, which can be deformed like a hinge without the risk of immediate fatigue of the material of the strips.

According to the invention, it is particularly provided that the web plate strips and the film hinge strips are extruded or co-extruded. In the case of co-extrusion, it is particularly possible for the extruded material to be made softer or more elastic in the area of the film hinge strips than in the area of the web plate strips.

Preferably, the film hinge strips are in the plane of one of the boundary surfaces of the web panel strips, so that the entire roller shutter can be bent to this side and rolled up accordingly. If there are sufficiently large gaps between the web panel strips, the roller shutter can also be bent to the other side and rolled up. On the other hand, there are also other possible variations. For example, the connecting webs, referred to here as film hinge strips, can also be in the middle of the thickness of the web panel strips and thus bend to both sides.

It is obvious that cold bridges can occur in the areas of the film hinge strips, since the material here is not multi-layered, as is the case with the multi-wall sheet strips. It is therefore advantageous to keep the film hinge strips very short, so that only very narrow gaps are formed between adjacent multi-wall sheet strips, in which no significant air circulation takes place. Very short film hinge strips are naturally subject to strong deformation, which under certain conditions can overtax the material properties. Another practical solution is therefore for the opposite side walls of the multi-wall sheet strips to converge in a wedge shape from the corresponding film hinge strip. In this way, a relatively wide film hinge strip can be used, while the resulting gap to the opposite side is almost completely closed by the wedge-shaped converging side walls of the multi-wall sheet strips.

ISOCO Kunststofftechnik GmbH & CfoV* " GRSP02/02/G 10.7.2002

In another embodiment, a multi-wall sheet material is also used in which cells located at a distance from one another are designed to be bendable, as will be described below.

Roller shutters of this type can be made from polycarbonate, for example.

In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
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Fig. 1 is a schematic longitudinal section through a first embodiment of a roller shutter according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment;
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Fig. 3 shows a third preferred embodiment of the invention in a corresponding representation;

Fig. 4 shows another embodiment of a roller shutter in a corresponding representation;

Fig. 5 shows another variant of Fig. 4.

A roller shutter shown in Fig. 1, shown in part, comprises three parallel strips of web plates 10, 12, 14, which are pivotably connected by foil hinge strips 16, 18. The strips of web plates consist of two outer walls 20, 22, which are connected to one another by webs 26. This creates a hollow chamber profile which, on the one hand, offers good thermal insulation and, on the other hand, is relatively rigid in relation to the small amount of material used. Such web plates can be extruded. Various plastics can be used, for example polycarbonate.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 1 has the disadvantage that in the area of the film hinge strips 16,18 relatively large gaps 28,30 are formed between the adjacent web plate strips.

ISOCO Kunststofftechnik GmbH & CoV " ** GRS &Rgr;02*/ 02* G 10.7.2002

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In the embodiment according to Fig. 2, relatively short film hinge strips are therefore provided, from which the side walls of the adjacent web plate strips 10, 12, 14 diverge in a wedge shape. In this way, the thermal bridges in the area of the film hinge strips are very narrow and limited in terms of area. On the other hand, the film hinge material is naturally exposed to relatively strong deformations, which may not be tolerated by every material or by every expected number of hinge movements.

An embodiment which allows the use of relatively wide film hinge strips and nevertheless maintains a high level of thermal insulation is shown in Fig. 3. Here, film hinge strips 36, 38 of considerable width are provided, from which the adjacent side walls of the web plate strips converge obliquely and essentially touch each other on the opposite side.

In this way, an (almost) closed triangular cavity is created, which ensures almost as good thermal insulation as the cavities of the multi-wall sheet strips.

The embodiment according to Fig. 4 again consists of web sheet material with an upper and a lower outer layer 40, 42. The roller shutter is made up of essentially rigid web sheet strips 44, 46, 48, which are each separated and connected from one another by bendable cells 50, 52, 54. In the area of these bendable cells 50, 52, 54, the outer layer 42 of the web sheet material is curved into the row. This results in an extension of the material, so that the outer layer in the area of the bendable cells can be stretched upwards when the roller shutter is bent or can be folded in when it is bent downwards. Fig. 4 shows triangular curvatures in the area of the outer layer of the bendable cells, while Fig. 5 provides arched curvatures in the area of the bendable cells 56, 58. The geometry of these curvatures is arbitrary. In principle, the outer layers in the area of the bendable cells can also be directed outwards if this does not affect the appearance of the roller shutter. However, for reasons of precise guidance, a curvature inwards is preferable.

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ISOCO Kunststofftechnik GmbH &ce.·· ** ** GRSP02/02/G 10.7.2002

As in the embodiments already described, the material of the extruded roller shutter in the area of the bendable cells 50, 52, 54; 56, 58 can be softer and/or more elastic than in the area of the adjacent web panel strips, and it can also be thinner-walled. The embodiment according to Fig. 4 and 5 has the advantage that the formation of potential cold bridges is prevented.

Claims (13)

1. Roller shutter made of strip-shaped, essentially rigid elements which are hinged together along their longitudinal edges, characterized in that the roller shutter is made in one piece from web sheet material which is provided with kinks. 2. Roller shutter according to claim 1, characterized in that the essentially rigid elements are formed by web plate strips ( 10 , 12 , 14 ) and that film hinge strips ( 16 , 18 ; 32 , 34 ; 36 , 38 ) are provided between the web plate strips as a device for the hinge-shaped connection. 3. Roller shutter according to claim 2, characterized in that the film hinge strips ( 16 , 18 ; 32 , 34 ; 36 , 38 ) lie essentially in one of the boundary planes of the web plate strips ( 10 , 12 , 14 ). 4. Roller shutter according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the gaps between the web plate strips ( 10 , 12 , 14 ) bridged by the film hinge strips ( 16 , 18 ; 32 , 34 ; 36 , 38 ) diverge in a wedge shape from the film hinge strips. 5. Roller shutter according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the gaps between the web plate strips ( 10 , 12 , 14 ) bridged by the film hinge strips ( 16 , 18 ; 32 , 34 ; 36 , 38 ) converge in a wedge shape from the film hinge strips. 6. Roller shutter according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the web plate strips ( 10 , 12 , 14 ) and the film hinge strips ( 16 , 18 ; 32 , 34 ; 36 , 38 ) are coextruded. 7. Roller shutter according to claim 6, characterized in that the material of the extruded plastic in the region of the film hinge strips ( 16 , 18 ; 32 , 34 ; 36 , 38 ) is softer or more elastic than in the region of the web plate strips ( 10 , 12 , 14 ). 8. Roller shutter according to claim 1, characterized in that the roller shutter consists of essentially rigid web plate strips ( 44 , 46 , 48 ) and bendable cells ( 50 , 52 , 54 ; 56 , 58 ) located between them. 9. Roller shutter according to claim 8, characterized in that one of the outer layers of the web sheet material is curved into the cell in the region of the bendable cells ( 50 , 52 , 54 ; 56 , 58 ). 10. Roller shutter according to claim 9, characterized in that the outer layer of the web sheet material in the region of the bendable cells ( 50 , 52 , 54 ; 56 , 58 ) is curved inwards in a triangular or arched manner. 11. Roller shutter according to claim 10, characterized in that the web plate material in the region of the bendable cells ( 50 , 52 , 54 ; 56 , 58 ) is softer, more elastic or has thinner walls than in the region of the essentially rigid web plate strips ( 44 , 46 , 48 ). 12. Roller shutter according to one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the roller shutter is extruded or co-extruded as a unit. 13. Roller shutter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the material of the roller shutter is polycarbonate.