Closure device for the vacuum-tight closure of an opening in a wall

• US 9,957,745 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2017
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VAT Holding AG (VAT Group AG)
• Original Assignee: VAT Holding AG (VAT Group AG)
• Inventors: Ehrne, Florian
• Primary Examiner(s): Bastianelli, John
• Application Number:
  US15/404,386
• Publication Number:
  US 20170204647A1
• Time in Patent Office: 474 Days
• Field of Search: 251326-329, 251193, 251158, 251215, 251229, 251187
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 15/57 for vertically-sliding wings
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 5/08 with springs
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2900/60 for other use
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 3/18 by movement of the closure members
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 51/02 specially adapted for high-vacuum installations

Abstract

A closure device for the vacuum-tight closure of an opening includes a closure element, at least one rod that projects out of a housing of the closure device and that, outside the housing, supports the closure element and that is rigidly connected to a carrier piece, a transmission unit which is adjustable by a drive parallel to the longitudinal adjustment direction between an initial, open position of the closure element, a middle position, in which the closure element assumes the intermediate position, and a closed, end position. At least one spring is arranged between the transmission unit on the carrier piece, and a stop device which, during adjustment of the transmission unit from the middle to the end position, blocks a further adjustment of the carrier piece parallel to the longitudinal adjustment direction. The transmission unit is guided by at least one longitudinal linear guide to be displaceable relative to the housing parallel to a longitudinal adjustment direction, and the carrier piece is guided by at least one oblique linear guide to be displaceable relative to the transmission unit parallel to an oblique adjustment direction.

Claims

1. A closure device for vacuum-tight closing of an opening in a wall, comprising

a closure unit, said closure unit has a closure element, said closure element is adjustable parallel to a longitudinal adjustment direction from an open position, that the closure element assumes in an opened state of the closure device, into an intermediate position, and parallel to a transverse adjustment direction, which lies at right angles to the longitudinal adjustment direction, from the intermediate position into a closed position, that the closure element assumes in a closed state of the closure device, and said closure unit has at least one rod which has a longitudinal axis lying parallel to the longitudinal adjustment direction and which projects out of a housing of the closure device and which, outside the housing, supports the closure element and is rigidly connected to a carrier piece,

a transmission unit that, by way of a drive, is adjustable parallel to the longitudinal adjustment direction between an initial position, in which the closure element assumes the open position, a middle position, in which the closure element assumes the intermediate position, and an end position, in which the closure element assumes the closed position,

at least one spring that is arranged between the transmission unit and the carrier piece and which drives the carrier piece along during an adjustment of the transmission unit from the initial position into the middle position, with the carrier piece being adjusted relative to the housing in the longitudinal adjustment direction, and

a stop device that, during an adjustment of the transmission unit from the middle position into the end position, blocks a further adjustment of the carrier piece parallel to the longitudinal adjustment direction, with the carrier piece being adjusted relative to the housing in the transverse adjustment direction,

wherein

the closure device comprises at least one longitudinal linear guide and at least one oblique linear guide which have in each case a guide rail and a carriage which is mounted so as to be linearly displaceable along the guide rail, the guide rail of the longitudinal linear guide being arranged parallel to the longitudinal adjustment direction and the guide rail of the oblique linear guide being arranged parallel to an oblique adjustment direction which, in a plane spanned by the longitudinal adjustment direction and transverse adjustment direction, lies at an angle with respect to the longitudinal adjustment direction and at an angle with respect to the transverse adjustment direction, the transmission unit being guided by the at least one longitudinal linear guide so as to be displaceable relative to the housing parallel to the longitudinal adjustment direction, and the carrier piece being guided by the at least one oblique linear guide so as to be displaceable relative to the transmission unit parallel to the oblique adjustment direction.

2. The closure device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carriages are mounted so as to be displaceable relative to the guide rails by rolling bodies.

3. The closure device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stop device further includes an abutment spring which, in the open position of the closure element, is unloaded and assumes a basic position, and which, in order to dampen braking of the closure unit that occurs during the closing of the closure device, is deformable into a working position.

4. The closure device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the abutment spring has a spring leg, said spring leg, in order to dampen the braking of the closure unit that occurs during the closing of the closure device, is deflectable through a spring travel by a stop part which abuts against the abutment spring, and here, in the basic position of the abutment spring, said spring leg is, at least in a section in which the stop part abuts against the spring leg during the closing of the closure device, spaced apart from a rigid support part, and in the working position of the abutment spring, said spring leg bears, in said section, against the support part.

5. The closure device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oblique adjustment direction encloses an angle of less than 45°

with the longitudinal adjustment direction.

6. The closure device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oblique adjustment device encloses an angle of more than 4°

with the longitudinal adjustment direction.

7. The closure device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oblique adjustment direction encloses an angle in the range from 5°

to 20°

with the longitudinal adjustment direction.

8. The closure device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rod has a longitudinal axis lying parallel to the longitudinal adjustment direction.

9. The closure device as claimed in claim 1, wherein in each case at least one of the longitudinal linear guides and in each case at least one of the oblique linear guides is arranged on both sides of the longitudinal axis of the rod.

10. The closure device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission unit, the carrier piece, the at least one longitudinal linear guide, and the at least one oblique linear guide are arranged in an interior space of the housing.