CA1081528A - Vent - Google Patents

Abstract

VENT
Abstract of the Disclosure A system for venting smoke and fumes from selected floors of a multi-story building comprising a vertical smoke pipe or shaft which extends from the basement to ehe roof of the building and a plurality of vent units disposed along the smoke shaft, one being associated with each floor of the building. Each unit includes a hinge door that opens by gravity force and is normally maintained closed by a latch mechanism that may be operated remotely by electrical or pneumatic means or may be operated manually. A thin metallic gasket seals the door to its frame and further functions as a spring means for urging the door open when the latch mechanism is released.
1.

Description

8~LS~t3 1~3/76~

l The present invention relates in general to a venting system and venting device and is more particularly concerned with a system for venting smoke from predetermined floors of a pre-ferably multi-story building.
In more recent years the modern buildings that are constructed are of the high-rise type. In these buildings one of the prime concerns is fires and the control thereof. It has been found desirable to confine the fire to the floor where ~he fire started and further to remove the smoke associated with the fire also.
-lO Various types o alarm systems have been devices for reducing the ll~zard to life of fires in buildings especially where a large umber of people are present and where rapid escape from the building is difficult. Generally, the smoke resulting from the fire presents more of a hazard, particularly at the level of the building where the fire is present ~hile the fire may usually be contained within a single level of the building and eventually e~tinguished, the hazard to the occupants on the level where the fire is located is significantly increased if the smoke from the fire is allowed to spread throughout that level of the building.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a system for venting smoke and fumes from a building. The system of this invention is preferably for use in a multi-story 9 or high rise building.
Another object of the present invention is -to provide a vent system comprising a vertical shaft extending between the basement and roof of the building and a plurality o-f vent units disposed along the shaft for venting from associated floors of the building.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a 30 vent unit that opens primarily by gravity. The unit is normally maintained in a closed position by a latching mechanism and opens by gravity when the mechanism is released.

2.

lOBlSZ8 Still another object of the present invention is to provide a latch mechanism which is constructed to be heat resistant and can be operated even after the inner surface of the door has been exposed to extreme heat.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved gasket for the venting unit which reduces leakage to a minimum to thereby insure maximum venting capacity. The gasket, in addition to providing proper sealing, is preferably also heat resistant.
Another object of this invention is to provide a gasket which will serve the additional function of providing an initial opening th~ust for the door.
Another object of the pre~ent invention is to provide a vent unit having a large mechanism that may be operated either locally or remotely.
To accomplish the foregoing and other objects of this invention there is provided a vent system preferably for use in a multi-story building for venting smoke, fumes and the like from selected floors of the building. This system comprises a vertical smoke pipe or shaft in the building and a vent unit associated with each floor of the building. Each, individual vent unit is secured into the smoke shaft and comprises a frame means for securing the frame in an opening in the shaft, a door, a means for hingedly suppoxting the door from the frame, with a hinge part in a non vertical position so that the door is permitted to swing open by gravity when unlocked. The door is maintained in a locked position by a latch means including latch parts carried by the door and frame, respectively.
In a more specific embodiment, the latch parts may comprise a fixed catch secured to the door and a movable member normally biased to engage with the latch = - 3 -lW3/7~ ~ 8~ ~% 8 l but retractable. This movable member may be operated by way of an electrical solenoid or a pneumatic cylinder from a remote loca-tion or the movable member may be operated manuall~. The latch means is preferably contained in a ventilated housing. A metallic gasket is provided intermediate the door and frame and in the disclosed embodiment is spot welded to the rame~ This gasket is also constructed to provide some spring action for initially urging the door open when the latch means is released.
Numerous other objects, features and advantages o-f the inven-10 tion will now become apparent upon a reading of the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a vent unit constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 with the door of the vent in its open position;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 with the door in its closed position;
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line 4~4 of 20 FIG. 2 showing a detail of the latch means; and FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4 with the door in its closed position.

Reerring now to the drawings there is shown a vent construct-ed in accordance with this invention. This unit may be one of a plurality o units each associated with a floor o-f a multi-story building. A smoke shaft 10 extends vertically from the basement of the building to the roof and there may be a fan or blower disposed at the top of the shaft for drawing the smoke up the 30 shaft from one or more of the opened vent units. The smoke shaft has a front wall 12 which is constructed of a ire resistant or fire retardant material. For example, this wall may be a concrete 4.

lW3/7~ ~8~528 1 wall or may be constructed of another approved fire retardant material such as gypsum. The wall 12 defines an opening 13 which may be square or rectangular. This opening receives the vent unit of this inVention, FIG. 3 shows screws 14 which are used or securing the unit to the wall 12.
The vent unit generall~ comprises a door 16, a frame 18 for the door, and a releasable latch mechanism 20 for maintaining the door in a closed position as shown in FIG. 3. The door 16 is o rectangular or square shape and is shown in a cross section-lO al view in FIG. 3. The door comprises a face piece 22 and U-shaped back piece 24 which together define a space for accommodating an insulating and fire resistant material 26. ~n asbestos gasket 28 may be provided between the pieces 22 and 24 to serve as a thermal break. The ~ece 22 includes a step 30 extends peripher-ally about the door and is for contacting the frame 18 as discussed in mo~e detail hereinafter. The door 16 also has a rearwardly extending wall 32 that is actually integral with the piece 22.
The wall 32 extends in a substantially vertical direction and is coupled to a like wall 34 of the ~rame 18 by means of a convention-20 al piano hinge 36. The line of the hinge is tilted to followthe tilted edges of walls 32 and 34. A plurality of rivets 38 may be used for connecting the piano hinge 36 to walls 32 and 34 as shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 2 also shows these rivets 38 and the piano hinge 36. However other means of attachment such as welding may be used.
The frame 18 has a series of holes along the wall 3~ or accommodating fasteners 14 which are used for fastening the ; whole frame and in turn the door to the wall defining the smoke shaft. The frame 18 also includes a face wall 40 and a step wall 30 42. It is clear from FIG. 3 that the shape of the piece 22 and the frame 18 are similar and provide steps that are essentially in contact. ~ctually, there is provided between the step 30 and lW3/7~ ~ O 8 ~ ~Z 8 1 the step 42 a stainless steel spring-like gasket 44 which is preferably spot welded at point 45 to the ~rame 18. The gasket 44 is preferably of an L-shape and is preferably bent at an angle greater than 90. In FIG. 3 the gasket 44 is shown in its compressed position and there is a bias ~rovided by leg 47 of the gasket ~4 against the step 30 of the piece 22. If the door is released the leg 47 provides a spring action that initially urges the door to an open position.
FIG. 3 shows the door in its closed position. This position 10 is maintained by the latching mechanism 20 which is discussed in more detail hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. ~hen the latching mechanism is released the door opens to the position shown in FIG. 2. It is noted that the wall 34 has a tapered edge 35 along which the piano hinge 36 extends. Thus, the door 16 is ` not hinged in the usual manner on a vertical axis, Thus, when the door is released gravity will cause the door to automatically open to the position shown in FIG. 2 with the door extending into the duct or shaft 10. Further~ this opening is assisted by the spring action of the gasket 44 as previously mentioned.
The latch mechanism 20 generally comprises a movable member including latch bolt 50 and a fixed member including latch plate 52, both of which are contained in box 54. ~ perforated face plate 56 closes ~he box and the entire box structure is sufficiently open to provide ventilation inside of the box to reduce the likeli-hood of heat damage.
- FIG. 5 shows elongated slots 58 in the walls of the box 54.
The face plate 56 may be secured to the box by machine screws as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The back wall 60 of the box may have a number of bumpers 62 extending therefrom each being disposed 30 intermediate the wall 60 and the face wall 40 of the frame 18.
The box is supported from the frame by means of at least two bolts 64 which are received by fixed nuts 66. When the face plate 56 is 6.

L521!~

removed the bolts 64 are exposed and the box can be removed or secured to the rame by rotation of the bolts 64 in the fixed nuts 66 which are fixed to the frame.
The wall 60 of the box has a rectangular opening 70 through which extends the L-shaped bracket 72. One leg of the bracket is for supporting the latch plate 52 by means of kolts 73. The other leg of the bracket 72 is fixed by means of bolts 74 to the fxont face piece 22 of the door~ ~hus, when the door is closed as in the position shown in FIG. 5 bracket 7~ ~upports the catch plate 52 which extends into the box 54.
The catch plate 52 has an opening for receiving the latch bolt 50 as shown in~FIGS. 4 and 5. The latch bolt 50 has a smaller diameter center 76 about which i~ wound a latch spring 78. The latch bolt 50 also has a keying end 80 which mates with a plunger 81 which extends from the solenoid 82. The plunger and end 80 of the latch bolt are intercoupled by means of an actuating pin 83.
The latch bolt and solenoid 82 are supported from a U-shaped bracket 84 which is secured by bolts 85 to the back wall 60 of the box. Projections may be provided in wall 60 intermediate the bracket 84 and the wall 60 to provide a thread depth for the attachment fasteners 85 for U bracket 84. A
locking nut 87 is provided for securing the solenoid 82 to one end of the bracket 84. This locking nut 87 also secures a second guide bracket 88 which is for guiding the latch bolt 50. Thus, leg 80 of the bracket 88 has an opening for recei-ving the bolt 50 and for guiding the movement of the bolt in a generally horizontal position as viewed in FIG. 4. The bracket 88 also has a top slot 90 in which the pin 83 is able , to move. -FIG. 5 shows the pin at one end of the slot 90 with the spring 78 resting againi~t the leg 89 and urging the latch _ ~i``J~ bolt SO into contact with the catch plate 52.
` - 7 ~

~1~8~L528 The vent of this invention can basically be operated in one of two different ways. The vent can be released remotely by lW3/76~ 8~ 8 1 operation of the solenoid or pneumatic cylinder 82. When the solenoid or cylinder 82 operates` the plunger 81 moves to the left as vie~ed in FIG. 4, thereby disengaging the latch bolt 50 from the latch plate 52. ~hen this occurs the bias provided by the gasket 44 initially thrusts the door away from its closed position.
The tilting o the hinge from a vertical position provides the additional gravitational force for permitting the door to open to its full open position as shown in FIG. 2. The hinge 36 may be tilted at the angle which provides the desired gravitational lO opening force. For instance an angle of about 2a was used on a representative vent.
Alternatively, the vent unit can be released directly at the unit by means of the key lock assembly ~2 which comprises a housing 93, internal tumbler 94, and key 95. A cable 96 extends :, from the tumbler 94 and connects to the top end of the pin 83.
When the key 95 is rotated the tumbler 94 may be then withdrawn such as to the position shown in phantom in FIG. 4 thereby pulling on the cable 96 and in turn releasing the latch bolt 50. The housing 93 is suitably secured in the box 54 by a well known ~0 securing mechanism such as a threaded locking nut.
The door 16 may also be provided with a handle or detachable suction cup on its outside surface. Qfter a unit has been re- `
leased and it is desired to then again secure it in its closed position the handle or suction cup would be useful to hold the door in the closed position until the latching mechanism can be engaged. The suction cup has the advantage of not requiring an unsightly permanent attachment provision on the door. This latching mechanism in accordance with this invention essentially automatically engages once the door is closed by means oE the bias 30 provided by spring 78.
It can be seen that one of the important features of the pres~
ent invention is the provision of a relatively thin metal gasket lW3/76~ ~ ~ 8 ~ 8 1 shown as gasket 44. ~his gasket is preferably constructed o-f a stainless steel and is for accommodating fabrication tolerances.
This type of a gasket can resist heat on the order of 2000F or higher. This gasket also pro~ides for minimum leakage so as to insure that the full shaft venting capacity is available to vent a shaft floor.
If one of the units is released and then it is desired to release a unit at a different floor it is necessary that all o~
the units and in particular their latch mechanisms be resistant 10 to the heat from the shaft so that they can operate even after being disposed to such heat. It is noted that the box carrying the latch mechanism is well ventilated and further that this box is spacedly mounted from the frame to permit suficient air circulation to reduce the likelihood of damage occasioned by heat from the shaft.
Having described one embodiment of the present invention it should now become apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments exist all of which are contemplated as falling within the scope of this invention.

Claims (16)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A vent for venting smoke from a floor of a multi-story building and carrying the smoke via a vertical shaft in the building, said vent comprising;
a metallic frame comprising peripheral wall means, means for securing the wall means of the frame in an opening in a wall defining the shaft, said peripheral wall means comprising vertical walls including on one side of the frame at the inner side of the shaft wall an inwardly facing hinge receiving edge, a door dimensioned to fit within the wall means defining the frame, hinge means including one hinge part secured along the hinge receiving edge of the wall means and another hinge part secured to the door for hingedly supporting the door from the frame along a non-vertical axis so that the door is permitted to swing open by gravity into the shaft, and latch means including latch parts carried by the door and frame, respectively, and means disposed outwardly of the door and frame for releasing the latch parts to permit the door to open.

2. A vent as set forth in claim 1 including a metal gasket secured to one of said frame or door and disposed between the frame and door.

3. A vent as set forth in claim 2 wherein said metal gasket includes an L-shaped cross-section having one leg secured to the frame and the other leg disposed for contact between the frame and door.

4. A vent as set forth in claim 3 wherein the metal gasket is constructed of a thin stainless steel and is bent with its legs normally at an angle greater than 90°.

5. A vent as set forth in claim 3 wherein the frame and door each include a step defining facing walls that have the gasket therebetween.

6. A vent as set forth in claim 1 wherein said latch parts include a latch bolt, means for supporting the latch bolt and a latch plate secured to the door.

7. A vent as set forth in claim 6 including a box having a plurality of holes therein and means for spacedly supporting the box from the frame, said box for housing at least the latch bolt and including an opening for receiving the latch plate when the door is closed.

8. A vent as set forth in claim 7 including means for biasing the latch bolt toward the latch plate. and means for releasing the latch means by moving the latch bolt away from the latch plate.

9. A vent as set forth in claim 8 wherein the means for releasing includes an electrical or pneumatic means and a mechanical means.

10. A vent as set forth in claim 1 wherein said hinge means comprises an elongated one-piece hinge.

11. A vent as set forth in claim 1 wherein said frame has a depth on the order of the thickness of the wall defining the stack.

12. A vent as set forth in claim 1 wherein said frame has associated therewith stop means for limiting the closed position of the door relative to the frame.

13. A vent as set forth in claim 12 including gasket means comprising a flexible metallic gasket secured between the stop means and door.

14. A vent as set forth in claim 13 wherein said stop means comprises an integral step of the frame, said door having a like step with the gasket disposed between the facing step surfaces of door and frame.

15. A vent as set forth in claim 13 wherein said metallic gasket has an end secured to the frame and a free end deflectably engageable by the door.

16. A vent as set forth in claim 1 wherein said hinge receiving edge also extends along a non-vertical axis coincident with the axis of the hinge means.