AU2020203895A1

AU2020203895A1 - Improved fire collar

Info

Publication number: AU2020203895A1
Application number: AU2020203895A
Authority: AU
Inventors: James Walter George Truss
Original assignee: IG6 Pty Ltd
Current assignee: IG6 Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-09-27
Filing date: 2020-06-12
Publication date: 2020-07-02
Also published as: AU2018217245A1; AU2010212411A1; AU2005289361B2; AU2013257496B2; AU2016204681A1; AU2005289361A1

Abstract

A fire collar including: a mounting defining an opening adapted to receive a conduit therethrough; a layer of intumescent material supported by said mounting adjacent said opening; actuating means operatively connected to said mounting for movement from a non-operating mode proximal to said layer of intumescent material to an operating mode in which it moves in a longitudinal plane through said opening relative to the conduit to force at least a portion of said layer of intumescent material to at least partially obstruct said opening in response to the temperature reaching a predetermined level. 1/11 18 ' 19 20 10 19 16 12 36 28 37 36 11 27 21 21 21 14 2213 22 Fig. 1

Description

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10 19 16

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Fig. 1

IMPROVED FIRE COLLAR

Technical field of the invention

This invention relates to fire collars.

Fire collars are typically used for preventing fire

spreading from one side of a wall or floor to the other side

via a penetration through which pipes, ducts or other service

carriers pass.

Possibly one of the more important uses of fire collars

is with conduits, particularly pipes and ducts, which are

formed from plastics materials, for example, PVC and HDPE, but

they are also used with rubber based materials, deformable

metals and various composite materials.

Background

One known type of fire collar comprises a metal collar

having a liner of an intumescent material which is adapted to

be fastened to a barrier, for example, a concrete wall or

floor, around a conduit penetrating the barrier. In the event

of a fire on one side of the barrier, the intumescent material

expands upon its temperature reaching a predetermined level

which in turn forces the conduit to collapse or pinches it off

thereby inhibiting the spread of fire from one side of the

barrier to the other. Examples of such fire collars are

described in US058346 and US347767. Another form of fire

collar relies on the heat from the fire to melt the conduit

adjacent the point of penetration and cause the intumescent

material to expand across the void left by the melted conduit

thereby closing it.

One problem with prior art fire collars is that the time

taken for the intumescent material to seal off the void left

by a melted conduit can be too long in rapidly advancing fires

which may result in fire or poisonous gases penetrating the barrier. That problem has been significantly reduced by the fire collar described in International Patent application No.

PCT/AU2004/000143 (International Publication No.

W02004/072530) by the present applicant. The fire collar

described in that application has two opposed torsion springs

and a sleeve of intumescent material mounted in a frame such

that the frame can be mounted to a barrier and the sleeve

fitted about a conduit passing through the barrier whereby the

tail of each spring is adapted to engage with the sleeve which

in turn engages with the conduit in response to fusing of

respective retaining links holding the spring tails in the

loaded position. While that fire collar is effective in use,

it is more expensive to produce than is desirable.

Summary of the Invention

With the foregoing in view, the present invention resides

broadly in a fire collar including:

a mounting defining an opening adapted to receive a

conduit therethrough;

a layer of intumescent material supported by said

mounting adjacent said opening;

actuating means operatively connected to said mounting

for movement from a non-operating mode proximal to said layer

of intumescent material to an operating mode in which it moves

in a longitudinal plane through said opening relative to the

conduit to force at least a portion of said layer of

intumescent material to at least partially obstruct said

opening in response to the temperature reaching a

predetermined level.

In another aspect, the invention resides broadly in a

fire collar including: a mounting defining an opening adapted to receive a conduit therethrough; one or more segments of intumescent material arranged about said opening and being supported at one end by said mounting; actuating means operatively connected to said mounting for movement from a non-operating mode to an operating mode in which said one or more segments of intumescent material are forced from their other ends to at least partially obstruct said passage in response to the temperature reaching a predetermined level.

In another aspect, the invention resides broadly in a

fire collar including:

a mounting defining an opening adapted to receive a

conduit therethrough;

a plurality of actuating means operatively connected to

said mounting about said opening, each actuating means being

in a non-operating position and being adapted to move in a

generally longitudinal plane relative to the conduit to an

operating position in response to the temperature reaching a

predetermined level;

one or more segments or layers of intumescent material

arranged about said opening within said plurality of actuating

means and said plurality of actuating means being adapted to

force said one or more segments or layers of intumescent

material to at least partially obstruct said opening when in

said operating position.

Preferably, said mounting is a housing adapted to house a

layer of intumescent material therein and to receive a conduit

therethrough and said layer of intumescent material is housed in said housing and adapted to at least partially form a sleeve about a conduit passing through said housing.

Preferably, the or each said actuating means includes a

contactor which is adapted to move in a plane extending

longitudinally through the opening relative to the conduit and

to engage (directly or indirectly) the outer face of the layer

or segment of intumescent material. It is also preferred that

the contactor move in a plane containing the longitudinal axis

of the conduit or a plane close to that plane. It is also

preferred that the contactor be elongate in form and makes

contact with the intumescent material over a substantial

longitudinal distance relative to the conduit thus being

positioned to force a substantial portion of the material into

an obstructing position over the passage.

Preferably, each actuating means is a torsion spring

which is mounted to the mounting with the tail restrained in

the nonoperating position by a fusible link and upon release

the tail is arranged to engage the external face of the

intumescent material and force it at least partially across

the opening. In one such form, the axis of the torsion spring

is parallel to a tangent to the outer surface of the conduit

passing through the opening in the case of a cylindrical

conduit and parallel to a side wall of the conduit in the case

of a polygonal conduit. Typically, the fusible link is formed

from a plastics material which softens to a fusible state upon

the ambient temperature reaching a predetermined "high"

temperature at which the spring causes it to break. In such

form, the fusible link holds the tail of the spring in the

"loaded" position, that is in a position with the spring wound

sufficiently to apply a suitable force on the intumescent

material.

In one form, the invention include two sets of actuating

means, one set being adapted to engage the layer of intumescent material from one end and the other set being adapted to engage the intumescent material from the other end.

Advantageously, such arrangement provides for more effective

operation in some cases, particularly in cases where hot gases

could originate on either side of a wall.

Preferably, a layer of protective material extends about

the layer or segment of intumescent material to protect it

from damage by the actuation means as it softens pursuant to

an increase in temperature. Thus, reference to engagement of

the intumescent material by the actuating means is to be

understood as encompassing engagement with a layer of other

material which might by interposed between the actuation means

and the intumescent material, for example a layer of stainless

steel gauze or fibreglass cloth.

Preferably, the layer of intumescent material is

generally cylindrical in form and arranged to closely fit

around the conduit which is to pass therethrough. In such

form, it is preferred that the collar also include retaining

means for retaining the cylindrical layer at one end in

position or alternatively that it be secured to said mounting

or said housing and be free at the other end whereby the

actuating means can force the layer to collapse over the

passage from the free end.

If desired, the layer of intumescent material may be

constituted by a plurality of layers.

In yet another aspect the invention resides broadly in a

fire collar adapted to be located in or against a barrier and

having a passage therethrough and being adapted to respond to

a fire by sealing said passage, said fire collar including

actuation means located around said passage and having

intumescent material between said actuation means and said

passage, said actuation means being held in a first position by heat actuated holding means such that when a predetermined temperature is reached as a result of a fire, said actuation means is released and applies a force to said intumescent material having a component along the passage thereby pushing it towards the center of said passage to obstruct said passage.

In another aspect the invention resides broadly in a fire

collar adapted to be set into a concrete barrier during

formation of the barrier, including:

a housing having a passage or cavity adapted to receive a

conduit;

a quantity of intumescent material in said housing

adjacent said passage or cavity;

one or more torsion springs adjacent said passage or

cavity and adapted to engage said intumescent material upon

the ambient temperature reaching a predetermined level, said

one or more torsion springs being arranged to apply a force to

said intumescent material having a component along the passage

or into the cavity.

The terms "upper", "lower", "side" and similar terms are

used herein for the purposes of describing the invention in

its normal in use position in a building floor unless the

contact clearly indicates another meaning and are not intended

to limit the invention to use in any particular orientation

and it is to be understood that the invention could be used in

floors, walls, ceilings and other barriers of various types

and orientations.

It is also to be understood that the term "longitudinal"

used herein refers to the direction of a conduit as it passes

through a fire collar according to the invention unless the

contact clearly indicates another meaning.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In order that the invention may be more easily understood

and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to

the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a pictorial representation of a fire collar

according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the fire collar of Fig. 1 from

one end in a loaded (or non-operating) position;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the fire collar of Fig. 1 from

the same end as in Fig. 3 in a released (or operating)

position;

Fig. 4 is cross-sectional side elevation of the fire

collar of Fig. 1 along line 4-4 in the loaded position;

Fig. 5 is cross-sectional side elevation of the fire

collar of Fig. 1 along line 5-5 in the loaded position;

Fig. 6 is a pictorial representation of another fire

collar according to the invention; and

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional elevation of the fire collar

of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an elevation of another fire collar according to

the invention from one end in a loaded (or non-operating)

position;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of the fire collar of Fig. 1 from

the same end as in Fig. 9 in a released (or operating)

position;

Fig. 10 is cross-sectional side elevation of the fire

collar of Fig. 1 along line 10-10 in the loaded position;

and

Fig. 11 is cross-sectional side elevation of the fire

collar of Fig. 1 along line 11-11 in the loaded position.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

The fire collar 10 illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 includes a

housing 11 constructed of a plastics material and has a

generally cylindrical side wall 12 which defines a bottom

opening 13 and terminates in an outwardly extending bottom

flange 14 at one end contiguous with the side wall and an

inwardly extending top flange 16 at its upper end also

contiguous with the side wall which terminates in a

cylindrical guide ring 17 defining a top opening 18 adapted to

receive therethrough a typical 100mm PVC sewer pipe or

ventilation duct (not shown) .Suitably, the top and bottom

openings are coaxial with the cylindrical wall along axis 19,

and the cylindrical wall tapers slightly inwards towards the

top opening forming a slightly expanding passage 20

therebetween.

The bottom flange is adapted to rest against a sheet of

concrete formwork and be secured thereto so that a concrete

wall or floor can be poured around the housing. A plurality of

screw holes 21 are provided around the flange for securing the

housing to the formwork. Advantageously, the holes are

provided in frangible portions 22 of the flange which break

off upon removal of the form work and remain therewith.

Three elongate generally rectangular openings 23, 24 and

25 are provided in the side wall and two spaced apart radial

walls 26 and 27 and a planar outer wall 28 parallel to the

side wall 12 (although the outer wall can be concentric with

the side wall if desired) extend outwardly therefrom to define

equiangularly spaced recesses 31, 32 and 33. Each recess

houses therein a torsion spring 34 which is retained by a pin

36 extending through the recess and being secured in the spaced apart radial walls on the spring axis 37. The opposed tails 38 and 39 of the spring are held together in the loaded position by a fusible link 41 as can be seen in Fig.5.

A layer of intumescent material of known type, typically

neoprene based or high density polypropylene, formed into a

cylinder 43 and enclosed by a layer of stainless steel gauze

44, is fitted within the housing adjacent the inner face of

the cylindrical wall 12. The cylinder formed by the

intumescent material and the gauze also tapers slightly

inwards towards the top opening to more easily allow a PVC

duct or pipe to be fitted therethrough from the bottom so that

the intumescent material forms a sleeve thereabout. In this

particular embodiment, the intumescent material and the

surrounding gauze is secured to the wall 12 near its upper end

(that is near the flange 16) by a plurality of spaced apart

staples. However, in other embodiments the intumescent

material is held purely by friction between it, the gauze and

the housing.

In the event of a fire in sufficient proximity to the fire

collar, the ambient air increases in temperature and causes

the fusible link 41 to soften and break under the spring force

of the torsion spring 34 (or alternatively it melts)where upon

the spring is released and the outer tail 38 bears against the

outer wall 28 of the spring housing and the inner tail 39

bears against the gauze and through the gauze the intumescent

material, thereby forcing the gauze and the intumescent

material encased thereby inwards towards the axis 19 so that

it obstructs the passage 20. It will be appreciated that the

PVC duct or pipe passing through the passage will have

softened coincidentally and may have even burned to an extent

allowing the torsion spring tail 39 to crush it inwards while

forcing the intumescent material shown as 43a into the passage

or at least into engagement with the crushed pipe as shown as

45 in Fig. 3. It will also be appreciated that as the

intumescent material increases in temperature, it will expand

and fully close the passage 20 thereby preventing the egress

of smoke and poisonous gases from the site of the fire.

Advantageously, the stainless steel gauze also assists the

operation of the fire collar in directing expansion of the

intumescent material inwards rather than outwards which in

turn assists in forcing the collapse of the conduit or pipe

therein. (In other embodiments, a layer of fibreglass cloth is

used instead of stainless steel gauze.)

The fire collar 110 illustrated in Fig. 6 is similar to

that shown in Fig. 1 and accordingly corresponding numbers are

used to reference corresponding components except prefaced by

a "1". The collar 110 is particularly suited for use in walls

where high temperature air can be close to either side and

includes a cylindrical housing 111 with a torsion spring 134

having its axis in a similar position to that of collar 10 but

centrally of the cylinder of intumescent material and the

tails 138 and 139 of the spring extend in opposite directions

when in the loaded position adjacent the intumescent material

and are retained there by respective fusible links 141 which

are connected to the housing at eyelets 151 and move towards

each other when in the operating position forcing the

intumescent material inwards from either one end or both ends

depending on whether one or both fusible links have been fused

thus responding to high temperature on either one or both

sides of a barrier.

The fire collar 210 illustrated in Fig. 8 is also similar

to that shown in Fig. 1 and accordingly corresponding

numbers are used to reference corresponding components except

prefaced by a "2". The collar 210 is also particularly suited

for use in walls where high temperature air can be close to either side. The collar includes a cylindrical housing 211 which is similar in length to the housing 11 of collar 10 and considerably shorter than the housing 111 of collar 110. The main difference is that the collar includes six torsion springs instead of three and that one set of three alternate springs are arranged to collapse the layer of intumescent material from one end and the other set of three are arranged to collapse it from the other end so that it can close off a conduit in response to a fire on either side of a wall. The two sets of springs and associated components are referenced by the suffix "a" or "b" as the case may be. It will be seen more clearly in Fig. 10 that alternate torsion springs are mounted at opposite ends of the housing so that the contacting tails 239a or 239b can engage with the cylinder of intumescent material at opposite ends as required. In operation, a fire on one side of a wall will result in the fusible links 241a or

241b breaking, depending on which side, in response to a

predetermined high temperature thus allowing one set of

torsion springs to engage with the intumescent material

(through the layer of stainless steel gauze) forcing it to

crush the conduit and obstruct the passage 220 as can be seen

in Fig. 11. The obstruction will also prevent the other set of

fusible links reaching the predetermined temperature.

The foregoing description has been given by way of

illustrative example of the invention and many modifications

in variations which will be apparent to persons skilled in the

art may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of

the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims 1. A fire collar including:

a mounting defining an opening adapted to receive a

conduit therethrough;

a layer of intumescent material supported by said mounting

adjacent said opening;

actuating means operatively connected to said mounting for

movement from a non-operating mode proximal to said layer of

intumescent material to an operating mode in which it moves in

a longitudinal plane through said opening relative to the

conduit to force at least a portion of said layer of

intumescent material to at least partially obstruct said

opening in response to the temperature reaching a

predetermined level.
2. A fire collar including:

a mounting defining an opening adapted to receive a

conduit therethrough;

one or more segments of intumescent material arranged

about said opening and being supported at one end by said

mounting;

actuating means operatively connected to said mounting for

movement from a non-operating mode to an operating mode in

which said one or more segments of intumescent material are

forced from their other ends to at least partially obstruct

said passage in response to the temperature reaching a

predetermined level.
3. A fire collar including:

a mounting defining an opening adapted to receive a

conduit therethrough;

a plurality of actuating means operatively connected to

said mounting about said opening, each actuating means being

in a non-operating position and being adapted to move in a generally longitudinal plane relative to the conduit to an operating position in response to the temperature reaching a predetermined level; one or more segments or layers of intumescent material arranged about said opening within said plurality of actuating means and said plurality of actuating means being adapted to force said one or more segments or layers of intumescent material to at least partially obstruct said opening when in said operating position.
4. A fire collar according to any one of the preceding

claims wherein said mounting is a housing adapted to house a

layer of intumescent material therein and to receive a conduit

therethrough and said layer of intumescent material is housed

in said housing and adapted to at least partially form a

sleeve about a conduit passing through said housing.
5. A fire collar according to any one of the preceding

claims wherein the or each said actuating means includes a

contactor which is adapted to move in a plane extending

longitudinally through said opening relative to the conduit

and to engage the outer face of the layer or segment of

intumescent material.
6. A fire collar according to Claim 5, wherein said

contactor is adapted to move in a plane containing the

longitudinal axis 25 of the conduit or a plane close to that

plane.
7. A fire collar according to Claim 5 or Claim 6, wherein

said contactor is elongate in form and makes contact with the

intumescent material over a substantial longitudinal distance

relative to the conduit.
8. A fire collar according to any one of Claims 5 to 7,

wherein said actuating means is a torsion spring which is

mounted to the mounting with the tail of the spring restrained

in the nonoperating position by a fusible link and upon

release the tail is arranged to engage the external face of

the intumescent material and force it at least partially

across the opening.
9. A fire collar according to Claim 8, wherein the axis of

the torsion spring is parallel to a tangent to the outer

surface of the conduit passing through the opening in the case

of a cylindrical conduit and parallel to a side wall of the

conduit in the case of a polygonal conduit.
10. A fire collar according to Claim 8 or Claim 9, wherein

said fusible link is formed from a plastics material which

softens to a fusible state upon the ambient temperature

reaching a predetermined "high" temperature at which the

spring causes it to break.
11. A fire collar according to Claim 8, wherein said fusible

link holds the tail of the spring in the "loaded" position.
12. A fire collar according to any one of the preceding

claims including a layer of protective material extending

about the layer or segment of intumescent material.
13. A fire collar according to any one of the preceding

claims wherein the layer of intumescent material is generally

cylindrical in form and arranged to closely fit around the

conduit which is to pass therethrough.
14. A fire collar according to Claim 13, including retaining

means for retaining the cylindrical layer of intumescent

material at one end in position.
15. A fire collar according to Claim 14, wherein the layer of

intumescent material is secured to said mounting or said

housing near one end and is free at the other end.
16. A fire collar according to Claim 14, wherein said layer

of intumescent material is constituted by a plurality of

layers.
17. A fire collar adapted to be located in or against a

barrier and having a passage therethrough and being adapted to

respond to a fire by sealing said passage, said fire collar

including actuation means located around said passage and

having intumescent material between said actuation means and

said passage, said actuation means being held in a first

position by heat actuated holding means such that when a

predetermined temperature is reached as a result of a fire,

said actuation means is released and applies a force to said

intumescent material having a component along the passage

thereby pushing it towards the center of said passage to

obstruct said passage.
18. A fire collar adapted to be set into a concrete barrier

during formation of the barrier, including:

a housing having a passage or cavity adapted to receive a

conduit;

a quantity of intumescent material in said housing

adjacent said passage or cavity;

one or more torsion springs adjacent said passage or

cavity and adapted to engage said intumescent material upon

the ambient temperature reaching a predetermined level, said one or more torsion springs being arranged to apply a force to said intumescent material having a component along the passage or into the cavity.
19. A fire collar as hereinbefore described with reference to

any of the accompanying drawings.