EP2118396A1

EP2118396A1 - Smoke hatch

Info

Publication number: EP2118396A1
Application number: EP08700895A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Berit Clausen; Anders Steen Pedersen
Original assignee: Lumex AS
Current assignee: Lumex AS
Priority date: 2007-02-08
Filing date: 2008-01-22
Publication date: 2009-11-18
Also published as: EP2118396A4; WO2008095490A1

Abstract

The invention includes the movement of smoke hatches (35) which are controlled by at least one motor (27), which is built into the frame (25), which creates the founda-tion to the hatch (35). The motor (27), which is built into the frame (25), via toothed wheels (28- 33) operates a belt or a chain (34), which pulls the hatch (35). The motor (27), which is built into the frame (25) is hidden, and can thereby not collect filth and dirt, and the driving wheels (28-33) and the chain (34) can also be built into the frame (25), whereby the whole opening construction of the hatch (35) becomes easy to clean and thereby suited for use in rooms with a high demand for hygiene.

Description

Smoke hatch.

The invention relates to a method of construction and design of a hatch, which can be opened and closed such as a smoke hatch for opening in case of smoke formation, where the hatch is moved in relation to a frame, which is built into building elements such as roof constructions, by a motor built into the frame, which controls the opening of the hatch.

The invention furthermore relates to a hatch including a smoke hatch, which can be opened and closed, where the hatch is mounted in connection to a frame, which is built into building elements such as roof constructions.

Smoke hatches have the purpose of reducing the smoke concentration in building complexes of smoke formation caused by e.g. fire and functions by opening, whereby the smoke can be diverted from closed rooms to the surrounding atmosphere.

Since smoke usually rises into the air, smoke hatches are from this reason usually mounted in the roof constructions of building complexes.

The hitherto most common smoke hatches are characterized in that they are hinged in one side and via visible motor controlled spindles can open in the opposite side to an opening angle of typically 45 degrees.

There are meanwhile some drawbacks of the hitherto known constructions of the above-mentioned type including that they only open partially, as mentioned typically 45 degrees and that the opening demands supply of a considerable amount of energy, especially in the start of the opening of the smoke hatch, where a high part of the smoke hatch's mass is to be lifted. This problem is obviously made worse if the smoke hatch to be opened is covered by e.g. snow. The energy which must be supplied to the motors to lift / open the hitherto known smoke hatches will furthermore increase with the speed whereby the smoke hatches are opened, which is why the smoke hatches in practice open relatively slowly, typically during a period of 3 minutes.

The problems with opening the hitherto known smoke hatches are intensified by new European norms for smoke hatch opening (DS/EN 12101-2), which e.g. specifies that the smoke hatches must open within a maximum of 1 minute. The new norm furthermore specifies that a certain effective minimum area must be available when the smoke hatch is open.

It is furthermore a drawback of the hitherto known smoke hatches that the motor controlled mechanisms, which are used for the smoke hatch opening, jut down through the opening hole in the roof construction where the smoke hatch is mounted.

This is especially problematic where the smoke hatch's surface is transparent in order to provide skylight for the room, since the part of the mechanism, which juts down makes it complicated and thereby expensive to install light cutoff such as blinds or Venetian blinds at the smoke hatch window.

Furthermore, the visible motor controls, typically including electrical linear actuators, are difficult to clean, which is problematic in many environments where special demands are required for hygiene such as hospitals and places for foodstuff processing.

From JP4353185 A₁ a technique is known, where a motor built into a frame, which supports a hatch, via pull in two cables and various mechanical connecting parts can activate a hatch laterally and can thereby compensate for several of the above-mentioned drawbacks with side hinging and linear actuators which jut down.

It has been found, however, that the known technique as stated in JP4353185 involves some drawbacks, including that the system qua the use of two cables, which are linked together with mechanical connecting parts, is relatively cost demanding in the number of components, time demanding and thereby also expensive to manufacture, and difficult to adjust for optimum functionality. Furthermore, the system is service demanding since the construction often require adjustment.

It is therefore a purpose of the invention to improve the known method and smoke hatch.

The object of the invention is achieved by a method of the type stated in the introductory portion of claim 1 , which is characterized in that the motor activates a driving wheel including a toothed wheel, which pulls a chain or belt, which controls the movement of the hatch, where the chain besides the driving wheel passes through five additional wheels.

It is hereby achieved that opening and closing of the hatch is controlled by only one chain or belt, which is unbroken and operates without connection to mechanical connecting parts.

As stated in claim 2 it is likewise a characteristic of the invention that the hatch in at least one point is fastened to the chain.

The whole opening and closing mechanism can thus function with an unbroken chain or belt to which the hatch, which is to be activated, is connected. It is thereby achieved that the whole construction with few components functions without a demand for adjustment, whereby both the manufacturing costs and the maintenance costs are reduced to a minimum.

The simple and maintenance free construction is in its nature highly robust and will therefore be able to function in critical situations where e.g. smoke must be diverted from trapped people in a burning building, without risk of malfunction caused by a lack of routinely system calibration.

Further preferred embodiments of the method of the invention are defined in claims 3 to 5.

As mentioned the invention also relates to a hatch.

This smoke hatch is characterized in that the hatch in at least one point is fastened to a chain or belt, which is driven by a wheel mounted on a motor, which is built into the frame where the chain, which controls the movement of the hatch besides the driving wheel passes through five additional wheels.

It is hereby achieved to have a fast smoke hatch opening, which has a large area, by a simple mechanical construction, which has no need for adjustment, which only contains few components and is thereby relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture. Furthermore, the construction is highly reliable without demands for continuous maintenance and adjustment.

The invention will now be explained more fully with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows, seen from the side, a segment of a known type of smoke hatch.

Fig. 2 shows, seen from the side, a simplified diagram of a closed telescope controlled smoke hatch.

Fig. 3 shows, seen from the side, a simplified diagram of an open telescope controlled smoke hatch.

Fig. 4 shows, seen from the side, a simplified diagram of a closed rail controlled smoke hatch.

Fig. 5 shows, seen from the side, a simplified diagram of an open rail controlled smoke hatch.

Fig. 6 shows, seen from the side, a simplified diagram of a closed telescope controlled smoke hatch with a top in two parts.

Fig. 7 shows, seen from the side, a simplified diagram of an open telescope controlled smoke hatch with a top in two parts manufactured according to the invention.

Fig. 8 shows, seen from the side, a simplified diagram of an open telescope controlled smoke hatch with a magnified segment of sliding telescope installation.

Fig. 9 shows, seen from the side, a simplified diagram of an open telescope controlled smoke hatch including a drawing of the smoke hatch's opening mechanism.

Fig. 10 shows a simplified diagram of a frame with a motor built into a cavity in the frame where the motor via a driving gear can operate a hatch (not shown).

Fig. 11 shows the same simplified diagram as fig. 10 but a hatch is added, which is operated by a motor controlled driving gear.

In fig. 1 is shown a segment diagram of a known type of smoke hatch where the hatch is shown closed in 1 A and open in 1 B.

The hatch is mounted on the roof of a building, where the ridge is shown in 6.

The smoke hatch is in one side suspended in a hinge 2 and can be opened by activating a lifting mechanism 4, which typically consists of a motor and a spindle 5, where it appears clearly from the drawing that the opening mechanism part 5 juts down under the interior roof part 7.

As it will appear from fig. 1 , a considerable amount of energy must be used to open the hatch from position 1A to 1 B₃ especially in the start of the opening, where gravity has its largest vector component on the lifting mechanism 4.

If the smoke hatch is provided with a transparent top plate made of e.g. plastic or glass in order to combine the smoke hatch with a skylight window, it will obviously be difficult to shield the opening with a curtain or a setup of Venetian blinds, since the opening mechanism part 5 juts down under the roof part 7.

In fig. 2 is shown a simplified diagram of a smoke hatch, where the top 9 is curved and can be made of a transparent material such as a polymeric including a polycarbonate, whereby the smoke hatch can act as a skylight. The smoke hatch is mounted to a building element such as a roof 12 and top 9 and roof 12 are connected via a frame 8.

Between the top 2 and the frame 8 sliding telescopes 10 are mounted, which are mounted in parallel with the plane 11 for mounting of the top 7.

In fig. 3 is shown a simplified diagram of the same construction, which is shown in fig. 2 but where the top 9 is moved laterally via the now ejected sliding telescopes 13 and has thereby created an opening 14 to the room under the roof 12.

When the top 9 is in the opening position shown in fig. 2, smoke can be discharged in an unhampered way via the opening 14.

The effective opening area is therefore larger in the in fig. 2 shown construction than the one shown in fig. 1 with the hitherto typically used technique.

Tests have shown that for the opening of the smoke hatch 9, which is controlled by the shown sliding telescopes 10,13, a significantly less supply of energy is needed than it is demanded in order to open the hitherto known smoke hatches. Furthermore, the opening area 14 is larger and discharges smoke more efficiently than the construction shown in fig. 1 where the opened top 1 B partially blocks for the discharging of smoke.

In order to open the top 9 from closed state as shown in fig. 2 to open state, which is shown in fig. 3 within a specific time T in a flat roof construction, a construction as the one shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3 will reduce the demand for power with more than 50 % according to the known constructions as shown in fig. 1. Fig. 4 shows a simplified diagram of a smoke hatch where the top 9 can slide in rails 15. The friction of the movement can be reduced to a minimum by application of e.g. ball bearings between the top 9 and the rails 15.

Fig. 5 shows the same rail controlled smoke hatch, which is also shown in fig. 4, but here in an open state.

The construction shown in fig. 4 and fig. 5 has the same positive characteristics in relation to the hitherto typically used technique, which is mentioned for the construction shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3.

In fig. 6 is shown a simplified diagram of a smoke hatch where the top consists of two parts 9A and 9B, which are each mounted in connection with a slide bar, indicated with 10A and 10B.

As shown. in fig. 7, the two top parts can slide in each its own opposite direction and thereby create an opening 14 for discharging smoke from the room under the roof 12, in which the smoke hatch with the two tops 9A and 9B is mounted.

The smoke hatch with the two part top, which is shown in fig. 6 and fig. 7, will in relation to the previously shown constructions (fig. 2 to fig. 5) have the advantage that the smoke hatches with the same power supplied per top part, will be able to open twice as fast as the constructions with only one undivided top.

In fig. 8A is shown a simplified diagram of a smoke hatch with flat top 16, which with a frame 8, is mounted in a roof 12.

A comer of the construction is clarified in fig. 8B, where the top plate 16, which can e.g. be a transparent polymer including a polycarbonate plate, is mounted in a preferably metallic profile such as an aluminium profile 19, to which a sliding telescope 18 such as a type DZ9301-0048 is fastened.

The sliding telescope 17 is furthermore fastened to a profile 17, which is fastened to a profile 18, which is fastened to the frame 8.

Hereby, the top 16 can be moved in relation to the frame 8 and thereby open for smoke, from the underlying room, to the surroundings.

In order to shield the sliding telescope 17 against dirt, the slide bar is protected by brush proofings 20,21.

Fig. 9 shows a simplified diagram of a smoke hatch where the hatch 16 can be moved in relation to the frame 8 in sliding telescopes 17 and thereby create an opening 14 to an underlying room from which smoke can be discharged from the room to the surroundings.

The movement of the hatch 16 is controlled by a motor 24, which is fastened to the frame 8.

The motor 24 powers a toothed rack 23, which is fastened to the top 16, which can thereby be moved back and forward in relation to the frame 8 and thereby open or close the passage opening 14.

As it will appear from fig. 9, the whole driving mechanism, i.e. the motor 24 and the toothed rack 23 are mounted in such a way that nothing juts down under the frame 8 and in a way that the movable toothed rack is built in and operates parallel to the sliding telescopes 17, which control the movement of the top of the smoke hatch 16.

It will therefore be both simple and inexpensive to mount sunlight protection consisting of curtains or Venetian blinds between the frame 8 and the underlying room.

The driving mechanism, besides the in fig. 9 shown toothed rack device, can include all driving mechanisms which work and are built in preferably parallel to the guide rails or sliding telescopes which control the movement of the smoke hatch.

Among the driving mechanisms, which are thus included, can be mentioned preferably motor-driven spindles, belts, chains, wires, linear actuators and springs, which can pull or push a movable smoke hatch.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in fig. 10 and in fig. 11.

In fig. 10 is seen a frame 25 in which a motor 27 is built in, which is not visible, and can therefore not collect dirt or filth.

The motor 27, which is built into the frame 25 powers a wheel such as a toothed wheel 28.

The toothed wheel 28 operates a chain 34 or a belt, which from the wheel 28 passes an additional wheel 33, again typically a toothed wheel, which matches the chain, whereafter the chain passes a wheel 29 and subsequently it passes through the wheels 31 , 32 and 20 in the mentioned sequence.

As shown in fig. 11 , the chain 34 can thereby easily operate a hatch 35, as long as the hatch in at least one point is connected to the chain (34).

By moving the motor 27 in both rotational directions, the hatch 35 can thereby be moved back and forth along the frame 25 in the direction between the in fig. 9 shown chain wheels 28 and 33.

The hatch 35 can thereby automatically be opened and closed, e.g. controlled by the temperature or the smoke concentration in the room under the hatch.

It is obvious that the motor 27 can operate the hatch 35 with a simple driving gear, which is only placed between the driving wheel 28 and the end wheel 33.

Such a construction will however easily create problems of pulling the hatch evenly, which is why the shown construction with a total of six used chain wheels (28-33) is to prefer, since the hatch thereby by two fastenings to the chain 34 can be pulled evenly with the same force in both sides.

With two fastenings, the pull on the hatch 35 will thus occur on the one side between toothed wheel 28 (or 29) and toothed wheel 33, and on the other side between toothed wheel 31 (or 30) and toothed wheel 32.

Both the chain 34 and the chain wheels (28-33) can be built into the frame 25 and can be hidden by e.g. cover rails or brush proofings, whereby the whole opening mechanism of the hatch is kept hidden and is made simple to clean.

It is obviously also possible to operate the movement of the hatch 35 by using two built in motors 27, which each operate a chain 34, which runs between the motor driven chain wheel 28 and a single end chain wheel (32 or 33).

The opening of the smoke hatch can be controlled manually or automatically e.g. controlled by smoke detectors or thermo detectors including melting fuses and release magnets.

The invention is not limited to the methods and smoke hatches, which directly can be derived from the text and the drawings, but also includes all methods and ventilation hatches with the same functionality as smoke hatches, which indirectly can be derived from the text and / or the drawings or by a combination of these.

Claims

P A T E N T C L A I M S

1. A method for construction and design of a hatch (35), which can be opened and closed such as a smoke hatch for opening in case of smoke formation, where the hatch is moved in relation to a frame (25), which is built into building elements such as roof constructions, by a motor (27) built into the frame (25), which controls the opening of the hatch (35) characterized in that the motor (27) activates a driving wheel (28) including a toothed wheel, which pulls a chain (34) or belt (34), which controls the movement of the hatch (35), where the chain (34) besides the driving wheel (28) passes through five additional wheels (29,30,31 ,32,33).

2. A method according to claim 1 characterized in that the hatch (35) in at least one point is fastened to the chain (34)

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2 characterized in that the hatch (35) in exactly two points are fastened to the chain (34)

4. A method according to one or more of claims 1 through 3 characterized in that the driving wheels (28-33) and the chain (34) are built into the frame (25)

5. A method according to one or more of claims 1 through 4 characterized in that the driving wheels (28-33) and the chain (34) are covered.

6. Hatch (35) including smoke hatch, which can be opened and closed where the hatch (35) is mounted in connection to a frame (25), which is built into building elements such as roof constructions characterized in that the hatch (35) in at least one point is fastened to a chain (34) or belt, which is operated by a wheel (28) mounted on a motor (27), which is built into the frame (25) where the chain (34), which controls the movement of the hatch (35) besides the driving wheel (28) passes through five additional wheels (29,30,31 ,32,33).