ADJUSTING DEVICE AND DOOR CLOSER ASSEMBLY

Abstract

An adjusting device for a door closer having a worm screw intended to be engaged with the door closer, a drive wheel solidly attached to the worm screw, a connection element and an indicator, wheel, where the connection element includes a first wheel meshed with the drive wheel and a second wheel which is solidly attached with the first wheel, and the indicator wheel is meshed with the second wheel.

Claims

1. Adjusting device for a door closer, the adjusting device comprising a worm screw intended to be engaged with the door closer; a drive wheel solidly attached to the worm screw; a connection element which comprises a first wheel meshed with the drive wheel and a second wheel which is solidly attached with the first wheel; and an indicator wheel which is meshed with the second wheel.

2. Adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the worm screw and the drive wheel form a single piece which further comprises a head which is configured to be screwed by a tool, such that when the head is turned, the drive wheel turns in the same way.

3. Adjusting device according to claims 1, wherein the first wheel is a slotted wheel or Geneva wheel comprising slots and transition zones, and wherein the drive wheel comprises a pin configured to be inserted in the slots of the first wheel and a protrusion which has an edge with a circular portion configured to match with the transition zones of the first wheel.

4. Adjusting device according to claim 3, wherein the first wheel comprises between 4 and 10 slots.

5. Adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the second wheel and the indicator wheel comprise teeth, the teeth of the second wheel being adapted to be meshed with the teeth of the indicator wheel.

6. Adjusting device according to the claim 5, wherein the number of teeth of the second wheel is comprised between 1 and 2.5 times the number of slots of the first wheel.

7. Adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the indicator wheel comprises a plurality of marks intended to inform about the angular position of the indicator wheel.

8. Adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the first wheel has a first diameter and the second wheel has a second diameter which is at least twice the first diameter.

9. Door closer assembly comprising a spring biased by a spring plate; a gear wheel solidly attached to the spring plate, the gear wheel comprising a first element configured to match a second element solidly attached to the spring plate such that when the gear wheel turns, the first element causes a linear displacement in the second element, dragging the spring plate in a forward or backward movement; and an adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the worm screw of the adjusting device is meshed with the gear wheel of the door closer.

10. Door closer assembly according to claim 9, wherein the first element is a threaded inner surface and the second element is a threaded shaft configured to match the inner surface such that when the gear wheel turns, the threaded shaft is displaced linearly.

11. Door closer assembly according to claim 9, further comprising a closing mechanism connected to a door, the closing mechanism being arranged to compress the spring when the door is being opened and then receive a back force to close the door when the door is released.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] To complete the description and in order to provide for a better understanding of the disclosure, a set of drawings is provided. Said drawings form an integral part of the description and illustrate an embodiment of the disclosure, which should not be interpreted as restricting the scope of the disclosure, but just as an example of how the disclosure can be carried out. The drawings comprise the following figures:

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a general perspective view of a door closer assembly according to the disclosure.

[0042] FIGS. 2a and 2b show a complete view and a partially disassembled view of some elements of the adjusting device according to the disclosure.

[0043] FIGS. 3a and 3b show operation views of some elements of the adjusting device according to the disclosure.

[0044] FIG. 4 shows a top view of a door closer assembly according to the disclosure.

[0045] Elements of the example embodiments are consistently denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings and detailed description where appropriate:

[0046] 1 Worm screw

[0047] 2 Head of the adjusting element

[0048] 21 Hexagonal housing of the head

[0049] 3 Drive wheel

[0050] 31 Driving pin

[0051] 32 Protrusion

[0052] 33 Circular arc of the protrusion

[0053] 34 Concave portion of the protrusion

[0054] 4 First wheel

[0055] 41 Slots of the first wheel

[0056] 42 Transition zones of the first wheel

[0057] 5 Second wheel

[0058] 6 Indicator wheel

[0059] 7 Door shaft

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The example embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to embody and implement the systems and processes herein described. It is important to understand that embodiments can be provided in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein.

[0061] Accordingly, while embodiment can be modified in various ways and take on various alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and described in detail below as examples. There is no intent to limit to the particular forms disclosed. On the contrary, all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims should be included.

[0062] FIG. 1 shows a general perspective view of a door closer assembly according to the disclosure.

[0063] The door closer assembly uses a spring 11 to manage the controlled closing of a door (not shown). The reference position of the spring 11 is biased by a spring plate 10, which may be linearly displaced in order to achieve a more compressed or a more relaxed reference position of the spring 11.

[0064] The position of this spring plate 10 is controlled by a gear wheel 12, which is solidly attached to a shaft 13 which is associated to the spring plate 10. When the gear wheel 12 turns, it causes the shaft 13 to be linearly displaced, and the spring plate 10 is also dragged in this movement. With this simple mechanism, the spring plate 10 may be displaced forwards or backwards depending on the recovery force requirements for each door.

[0065] The rotating movement of the gear wheel 12 is controlled by a worm screw 1 which belongs to an adjusting device according to the disclosure. The gear wheel 12 is meshed with the worm screw 1 of the adjusting device, so that when the worm screw 1 is turned, the gear wheel 12 also rotates.

[0066] This adjusting device comprises a head 2, which may be easily operated by an Allen key to spin the assembly containing the worm screw 1 and the drive wheel 3, which will be described below in more detail.

[0067] This drive wheel 3 is meshed to a first wheel 4 of a connection element. This first wheel 4 is a Geneva wheel with slots, so that a turn in the drive wheel 3 is converted in a step between slots in the first wheel 4. This first wheel 4 is solidly connected to a second wheel 5, so that the angular movement of the first wheel 4 is the same as the angular movement of the second wheel 5. This second wheel 5 is in turn meshed with an indicator wheel 6, so that the movement of the second wheel 5 is transmitted to the indicator wheel 6, which may provide an accurate register of the turns given to the worm gear 1 of the adjusting device.

[0068] FIGS. 2a and 2b show a complete view and a partially disassembled view of some elements of the adjusting device according to the disclosure.

[0069] FIG. 2a shows the worm screw 1 and the drive wheel 3 which is partially hidden by the head 2. The worm screw 1, the head 2 and the drive wheel 3 form a single piece. The head 2, as mentioned before, has a hexagonal housing 21, to be operated by an Allen key. When the head 2 is turned, the drive wheel 3 turns in the same way.

[0070] FIG. 2b shows the elements of FIG. 2a but without the head, so that the drive wheel 3 is completely shown. This drive wheel 3 comprises a driving pin 31 and a protrusion 32. The protrusion 32 comprises an edge with a circular arc 33 and a concave portion 34.

[0071] FIGS. 3a and 3b show operation views of some elements of the adjusting device according to the disclosure.

[0072] As shown in FIG. 3a, the driving pin 31 is configured to be inserted in the slots 41 of the first wheel 4 and move one step in this first wheel 4. On the contrary, the circular arc 33 of the protrusion 32 acts as a blocking element for the first wheel 4, matching the transition zones 42 of the first wheel 4 while the drive wheel 3 is performing the rest of the turn, thus keeping the first wheel 4 in a standstill position during this period.

[0073] FIG. 3b shows the interaction between the second wheel 5, which is solidly attached to the first wheel 4, and the indicator wheel 6. The turns which are given to the head of the adjusting element were transferred via the drive wheel to the first wheel 4. Now, the second wheel 5, which turns with the first wheel 4, transmits the movement to the indicator wheel 6. As a consequence, the indicator wheel reflects the number of turns which have been given to the head and, as a consequence, to the worm screw.

[0074] In this embodiment, the first wheel 4 comprises 8 slots, and the second wheel 5 comprises 10 teeth. As a consequence, when the drive wheel spins 8 times, the indicator wheel advances 10 teeth. This ratio may be easily chosen by changing the number of teeth of the second wheel 5 and/or the indicator wheel 6.

[0075] FIG. 4 shows a top view of a door closer assembly according to the disclosure. The head 2 is subject to the operation of an Allen key. The turns given to the head are internally transmitted to the spring plate (not seen) which biases the spring, so that the resistive back force offered in the door shaft 7 is conveniently chosen. The number of turns given in the head 2 is in turn transmitted, via the first wheel 4 and the second wheel 5, to the indicator wheel 6, which has a number scale to show the operator the stress level of the spring plate.