US-12618706-B2 - Draft shield comprising a swiveling door

Abstract

A draft shield for a balance is disclosed. The draft shield includes a first wall, a second wall, and at least a first door. The first wall and the second wall adjoin each other perpendicularly and the first door is provided perpendicular to each of the first wall and the second wall. The first door is arranged and configured to swivel between a closed position and an open position. When in the closed position, the first door adjoins a first edge of the first wall and a first edge of the second wall. A swivel axis of the first door extends perpendicular to a face of the first door such that the first door is configured to swivel in the plane of the first door.

Inventors

• Louis Caglioni

Assignees

• METTLER-TOLEDO GMBH

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20240326

Priority Date

20230404

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A draft shield for a balance, the draft shield comprising: a first wall; a second wall; and at least a first door; wherein the first wall and the second wall adjoin each other perpendicularly, and the first door is provided perpendicular to each of the first wall and the second wall; wherein the first door is arranged and configured to swivel between a closed position and an open position; wherein, in the closed position, the first door adjoins a first edge of the first wall and a first edge of the second wall; wherein a swivel axis of the first door extends perpendicular to a face of the first door such that the first door is configured to swivel in the plane of the first door.
2. 2 . The draft shield of claim 1 , wherein: in the open position, the first door adjoins the first edge of the first wall while being distant to at least a part of the first edge of the second wall.
3. 3 . The draft shield of claim 1 , wherein: the first door is configured to swivel 80° or more and 100° or less around its swivel axis.
4. 4 . The draft shield of claim 1 , wherein: the swivel axis of the first door is provided by the axis of a first shaft.
5. 5 . The draft shield of claim 4 , wherein: the first shaft is supported in a bearing assembly of the first shaft.
6. 6 . The draft shield of claim 5 , wherein: said bearing assembly of the first shaft is attached to the first wall.
7. 7 . The draft shield of claim 5 , wherein: the bearing assembly of the first shaft comprises a drive mechanism which is adapted and configured to drive the swivel movement of the first door in at least one swivel direction.
8. 8 . The draft shield of claim 4 , wherein: the first shaft connects to the first door adjacent to a corner of the first door.
9. 9 . The draft shield of claim 1 , wherein: the draft shield comprises a second door on an opposite side of the draft shield from the first door; the second door is arranged and configured to swivel between a closed position and an open position; in the closed position, the second door adjoins a second edge of the first wall and a second edge of the second wall; a swivel axis of the second door extends perpendicular to the face of the second door such that the second door is configured to swivel in a plane of the second door; the swivel axis of the second door is parallel to the swivel axis of the first door.
10. 10 . The draft shield of claim 9 , wherein: the swivel axis of the first door and the swivel axis of the second door are parallel to each other.
11. 11 . The draft shield of claim 10 , wherein: the swivel axis of the first door and the swivel axis of the second door are identical.
12. 12 . The draft shield of claim 9 , wherein: in the open position, the second door adjoins the second edge of the first wall while being distant to at least a part of the second edge of the second wall.
13. 13 . The draft shield of claim 9 , wherein: the second door is configured to swivel 80° or more and 100° or less around its swivel axis.
14. 14 . The draft shield of claim 9 , wherein: the swivel axis of the second door is provided by the axis of a second shaft.
15. 15 . The draft shield of claim 9 , wherein: the second shaft is supported in a bearing assembly of the second shaft.
16. 16 . The draft shield of claim 15 , wherein: the bearing assembly of the second shaft is attached to the first wall.
17. 17 . The draft shield of claim 15 , wherein: the bearing assembly of the second shaft comprises a drive mechanism which is adapted and configured to drive the swivel movement of the second door in at least one swivel direction.
18. 18 . The draft shield of claim 9 , wherein: the second shaft connects to the second door adjacent a corner of the second door.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of European Application No. EP 23166631.4 filed Apr. 4, 2023, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully restated herein. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a draft shield comprising a swiveling door. BACKGROUND ART Draft shields are used, for instance, in connection with high precision balances to shield the weighing goods and mechanics from environmental influences, like movements of air, which could otherwise detrimentally influence high precision measurements. Draft shields, as such, are abundantly known in the art. Most conveniently, draft shields comprise doors through which a weighing good can be transferred into and out of the interior space or weighing chamber defined by the draft shield. In common embodiments, the doors are sliding side doors which are displaced from the front to the back of the balance for opening. This, however, requires that the width of the draft shield is at least as large as the width of the housing of the balance which contains the electronics and a weighing cell. This issue gets the more accentuated in so-called front loader balances, in which the weighing cell, i.e., the transducer transforming the gravitational force of the weighing good into an electric signal, is placed behind the weighing pan. Said type of balances yields certain advantages which are not to be discussed in detail in this context. However, the size of the housing increases for instance when compared to a so-called top loader balance. As it may be found desirable to maintain the volume enclosed by the draft shield as small as practically possible for the intended use, it might be found desirable to design the draft shield narrower than the housing of the balance which contains the electronics and a weighing cell. This, in turn, prevents opening the sliding side doors by a displacement towards the back of the balance, i.e., the use of slide doors which open towards the back of the balance is not possible. Opening the sliding doors by displacement to the front of the balance is generally possible, however restricts the capability, for instance, to place a terminal conveniently in front of the balance. A further drawback related to sliding doors in general may be seen in that the sliding doors are guided in guideways. Cleaning of the guideways may turn out fairly difficult, while dirt in a guideway may result in cross-contamination and eventually increase resistance and impede movement of the door. Other types of doors for draft shields may be hingedly attached to a stationary housing of the draft shield, wherein the hinge axis extends parallel to an edge of the door. It will be appreciated that the movement of a hinged door requires a relatively large space on the side of the draft shield. Furthermore, as opening and closing a hinged door involves movement of the door perpendicular to its face, said movement may itself result in agitating the air inside the draft shield, which may in turn agitate the weighing pan with the weighing good placed thereon and thus yield detrimental effects on the precision of the measurement. SUMMARY OF INVENTION The herein claimed invention relates to the subject matter set forth in the claims. It is an object of the present disclosure to provide the subject matter initially mentioned. More specifically, a draft shield of the type initially mentioned is suggested. In aspects, a draft shield is suggested that overcomes certain drawbacks of the prior art. In more specific aspects, the herein proposed draft shield overcomes the drawbacks of the art mentioned above. In a specific aspect, the draft shield is applicable in applications wherein a housing of the balance which contains the electronics and/or a weighing cell is wider than the draft shield, or, other way round, the draft shield is narrower than said housing of the balance. This may provide the possibility to even further restrict a volume contained inside the draft shield to a size required to include a weighing pan and the weighing good, and, as the case may be, further elements required for the function of the balance, such as devices for automatic handling of weighing goods inside the weighing chamber defined inside the draft shield, without opening a door. In other aspects, guideways which might in some cases be prone to contamination and/or may be difficult to clean is avoided. In still further aspects, the doors of the draft shield is provided to minimize agitation of air inside the draft shield during opening and closing of a door. This is achieved by the subject matter set forth in the claims. Further effects and advantages of the disclosed subject matter, whether explicitly mentioned or not, will become apparent in view of the disclosure provided below. Accordingly, disclosed is a draft shield for a balance comprising a first wall, a second wall and at least one door, i.e., at least a first