ES2540126T3 - Flood device - Google Patents

Abstract

Device against flooding to protect a place, comprising a barrier element (11) housed, at least partially, within a positioning seat (15), which positioning seat is open at the top and falls below the level from the ground and below a positioning or tread plane (23), said positioning seat (15) being connected to an inlet section (16) of the water arranged on the opposite side with respect to the place to be protected, said element being of barrier (11) movable between a first position where it is completely below the positioning plane (23), adopted when the positioning seat (15) has no water, and a second position outside the positioning plane (23) adopted due to the water that progressively fills the positioning seat (15), characterized in that said barrier element comprises a wedge-shaped upper element (11) and a lower body (12) that f unites as a float, the device also comprising, outside the positioning seat (15), at least one end-of-travel element (21) that defines the maximum emersion of the barrier element with respect to the positioning plane (23) and that It has a shape that matches that of the upper element (11) of the barrier.

Description

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06-22-2015

DESCRIPTION

Flood device

5 Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a device against flooding for the protection of premises of diverse nature, low altitude areas and places or buildings for any purpose and use, or parts thereof, such as basements, cellars, shops, garages or others, of Floods caused by natural or other disasters. He

10 flood device can be installed, for example, in connection with vehicle entrances or with entrances to similar buildings or access elements, or in relation to areas and places that are exposed to floods in general, whether they are above and below ground level.

The device can also be installed in all cases where it is necessary to contain the rise of the water level with a system that can be selectively activated, for example in relation to embankments or banks of waterways, lakes or seas.

In particular, the device can be applied with advantage in climatic areas with high rainfall or in residential coastal areas or in areas close to rivers, canals or the like where there is a risk of high tides, floods, overflows or others.

Background of the invention

It is known the need to provide devices against floods that can be selectively activated, 25 in order to protect places of diverse nature from floods caused by natural disasters.

Affected places may be, for example, buildings or parts thereof located at least partly below ground level, such as basements, cellars, garages or other places that are subject to flood risk.

30 Flood barriers have been proposed in relation to, or in the vicinity of, the access roads to the places to be protected, which may be in an inactive state when the situation is safe, while in a dangerous situation they are activated with in order to carry out its function as a barrier.

Generally, such barriers comprise at least one detection unit and one drive unit, wherein the detection unit comprises sensors and / or detectors that provide the signal to activate the barrier in the event of a flood hazard.

A control system connected to the drive unit is also provided, comprising, for example, an electric motor.

40 When the level reached by the water exceeds a predetermined value, transmitted by the detection unit to the control system, the control system drives the drive unit to activate the barrier.

Conversely, when the water level returns to levels that are not considered dangerous, the drive unit 45 brings the barrier back to its inactive state.

The known flood device is expensive to produce because it needs sensors, control systems, signal transmitters and receivers, motors, etc., and the height that the barrier can reach depends on the power of the drive unit.

50 In addition, the operation of the known flood device is subject to the possibility of supplying the drive unit, for example by means of electric power.

It is known that, in case of flooding, there may be power outages and, consequently, there is no power supply to the flood device, so that the flood device cannot be activated.

If, to overcome this disadvantage, an autonomous generator, a buffer battery system, an energy accumulator or the like is used, this inevitably affects the cost of production in a considerable way.

60 In addition, the known flood device has to offer protections and / or watertight chambers to avoid any possibility of contact, for example, between all electric drive systems and water, and ensure that it works in safety conditions, and this affects in addition to production costs.

The known flood device also requires a lot of time and high costs for its installation 65, for example, because it requires wiring to connect the various components of the device to each other.

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The known flood device also involves high maintenance costs, correlated with the type of structure, its components, the particular conditions in which it operates, in order to ensure that the drive unit, the detection unit and the control system are They keep in efficient operating conditions.

5 There are also known anti-flood devices that are manually operated and need experts to install them in case of floods and to remove them once the flood is over. Experts are also needed to allow the manual device to be installed against flooding in time.

10 Known manual devices also need an area or space where barriers can be stored when they are not being used, so that they are available when needed.

Water containment devices with a mobile barrier, primarily intended to be installed in relation to, or in the vicinity of, waterways, rivers and embankments are described in the documents of prior art GB-A-2,464. 959, EP-A1-726,364 and GB-A-2,386,144, as well as in WO 2009/139622 A1.

The purpose of the present invention is to produce an economic flood device that is simple, automatic and works autonomously, always efficiently, which requires reduced installation times and costs 20 and very limited maintenance.

The applicant has devised, tested and realized the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art and obtain these and other purposes and advantages.

Summary of the invention

The present invention is set forth and characterized in the independent claim, while the dependent claims describe other features of the invention or variants of the main inventive idea.

30 In accordance with the above purpose, a flood device for the protection of a place comprises a barrier element housed, at least in part, within a positioning seat, opened at the top and manufactured below or below a positioning or tread plane; the positioning seat is connected to a section where water is introduced, arranged on the opposite side with respect to the place where the

35 barrier element has to protect.

The barrier element is mobile, with respect to its positioning base, between a first position in which it is completely below the positioning / tread plane, assumed when the positioning seat has no water, and a second position in which progressively floats up with respect to the seat of

40 positioning, due to the water that, by means of the input section, progressively fills the positioning base itself.

Therefore, the barrier is activated automatically, without having to resort to detection units, such as sensors and / or detectors, but simply by the water that progressively fills the positioning seat and generates a hydrostatic thrust that progressively raise the barrier.

In addition, the movement of the barrier is carried out without having to resort to any auxiliary drive device such as, for example, electric motors, and therefore the flood device according to the present invention is more economical, and also has higher guarantees of efficiency and proper functioning, in

50 compared to known anti-flood devices, and requires shorter installation times and costs, because no wiring is needed between the various components.

In addition, the flood device requires very little maintenance and / or simple visual inspections, since there is no need for electric drive and / or detection units.

55 Furthermore, the automatic operation of the barrier operation due to the water filling the positioning seat also determines that the speed at which the barrier rises is correlated with the speed at which water enters the floating seat and is, by therefore, correlated with the danger of flooding in the place to be protected.

The barrier according to the invention consists substantially of a wedge-shaped upper element, which converges upwards, and a lower body that acts as a floating element.

According to the present invention, the flood device comprises at least one final travel element 65 capable of defining the maximum emersion of the barrier element with respect to the positioning plane.

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The maximum emersion position of the barrier element is predetermined, also in an adjustable way after installation, according to the characteristics of the place to be protected in order to allow an adequate level of protection, as well as an adequate level of hydraulic seal.

5 According to an embodiment of the present invention, the end-of-travel element comprises a profile that has a shape correlated at least with the upper wedge element of the barrier; The shaped profile performs a guiding function during the progressive lifting movement, and then stops the barrier element by interference when it adopts its maximum emersion position, thus achieving the vertical hydraulic seal.

According to a variant of the present invention, there is one or more sealing gaskets at least on the side facing the place to be protected; the gaskets follow at least the profile of the upper element of the barrier, being placed between the upper element and the internal face of the end-of-travel coupling element, in order to achieve the hydraulic seal when the entire barrier has taken its maximum position emersion.

With the present invention, it is possible to stop the upward movement of the barrier element without the need for any auxiliary fastening device, and to guarantee, at the same time, the desired flood safety and the necessary hydraulic seal, thus further reducing the costs of instalation and maintenance.

In a further variant of the present invention, said end-of-travel position can be determined by means of an adjustment element positioned, for example, at the top of the end-of-travel element and protruding into it.

According to a further variant of the present invention, a grid, suitable for the passage of pedestrians and vehicles, is associated with the water inlet section, and can filter possible impurities and / or objects transported by the water flowing along of the positioning plane.

In this way, the maintenance interventions inside the positioning seat, necessary to keep the device in the operating state, are further reduced,

According to another variant of the present invention, a plate, open at the top, of the positioning seat is installed on the surface; The plate is articulated at one of its ends and can close the opening when the barrier element is completely below the positioning plane, in order to create continuity. The plate is lifted by the barrier element itself when it emerges due to the filling of water in the positioning seat.

35 When the barrier element is completely below the positioning plane, the fact that the plate covers the opening not only makes the surface suitable for the passage of pedestrians or vehicles, but also prevents the entry of foreign bodies into the interior of the positioning seat and further decreases maintenance interventions.

40

Brief description of the drawings

These and other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

- fig. 1 is a sectional side view of a flood device according to the present invention in a lowered operating state when not in use; - fig. 2 is a front view of the flood device in the operating state of fig. one; 50-fig. 3 is a top view of the flood device in the operating states of fig. 1 and 2; -fig. 4-9 show the device of fig. 1 in a sequence of operation from the lowered non-use position to the fully removed position; -fig. 10 and 11 are respectively a front view and a plan view of the flood device in the position taken from fig. 9; -fig. 12 and 13 are respectively a front view and a plan view of a series of flood devices according to the invention arranged side by side; -fig. 14 and 15 are respectively a front view and a plan view of a variant of fig. 12 and 13

60 To facilitate understanding, equal reference numbers have been used, whenever possible, to identify common elements that are substantially identical in the drawings. It is understood that the elements and features of one embodiment can be conveniently incorporated into other embodiments without further explanation.

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Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

With reference to the accompanying drawings, for example, but not only, a flood device 10 according to the present invention can be used for the protection of residential and industrial / commercial buildings or their

5 units, such as entrances to apartments, premises and even underground and semi-underground garages, vehicle entrances or similar access elements, or in relation to areas and places in general that are exposed to flooding, are already located below as per above ground level.

In particular, the device 10 can be used with advantage in climatic areas where there is a lot of rain or in areas

10 residential coastal areas or in areas near rivers, canals or the like, where there is a risk of high tides, floods or overflows.

The flood device 10 according to the present invention comprises a barrier consisting of a wedge-shaped upper profile 11 and a lower body or float 12; the barrier is housed in a seat of

15 positioning 15 having an anterior internal lateral surface 29 and a posterior internal lateral surface 30. The flood device 10 also comprises a plurality of end-of-travel profiles 21, in this case two, whose function will be explained more fully hereafter .

The positioning seat 15 is buried and has a shaped sealing element 26 arranged flush with a

20 positioning plane, in this case a tread plane 23, in which an inlet section 16 is made, arranged on the opposite side with respect to the place that the barrier has to protect, in order to allow the water to it arrives from the outside environment flowing along the tread plane 23 circulate inside the positioning seat 15.

25 The water inlet section 16 is provided with a grid 18, joined by means of a support element 22, for filtering impurities such as leaves or other foreign bodies collected and transported by water, which would otherwise be deposited in the inside the positioning seat 15. This allows to reduce maintenance and cleaning interventions inside the positioning seat 15.

30 As will be seen below, the support element 22 also performs a partial and end-of-travel function at maximum barrier immersion.

In relation to the open upper surface of the shaped sealing element 26, below the tread plane 23, there is a sealing element 41 arranged horizontally on the shaped sealing element 26 and bent towards the

35 inside the positioning seat 15, shaped to be correlated with the barrier and thus guarantee the horizontal hydraulic seal when the barrier has adopted its maximum emersion position.

The positioning seat 15 also has, at the bottom, an outlet section 17 for water, connected to a discharge well 27 by means of a discharge pipe 24.

40 Accordingly, the outlet section 17 allows the water to be discharged and distanced from the positioning seat 15 towards the discharge well 27.

In this case, in turn, the water is directed from the discharge well 27 to the nearest wastewater network 45 by means of a pipe 48 connected to the discharge well 27, as shown in fig. one.

A pump 43 and a discharge valve 44 may be arranged along the pipe 48, at least in the case where the sewage network is in a position higher than the position of the pipe 48.

50 If the flow of water entering section 16 is less than or equal to the flow rate that flows through section 17, water does not accumulate inside the positioning seat 15; conversely, if the flow of water entering section 16 is greater than the flow rate leaving section 17, then a volume of water accumulates inside the positioning seat 15 that depends on the relationship between the flow rate of water entering the positioning seat 15 and the flow of water leaving the seat 15.

55 The barrier 11-12 is movable with respect to its positioning seat 15 along a substantially vertical direction of movement F and is moved by the effect of the Archimedes force, or hydrostatic thrust, exerted on it by the volume of water that accumulates progressively inside the positioning seat 15.

60 The movement of the barrier 11-12 is therefore achieved without resorting to any auxiliary drive unit, such as an electric motor or another, and, consequently, the flood device 10 is cheaper than the known flood devices and it requires less time and lower installation costs, since it is not necessary to include any of the control systems and devices or the wiring between the various units.

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The wedge-shaped upper profile 11 of the barrier, in the position removed from the positioning seat 15, stops the flow of water to the place to be protected.

The lower floating body 12 has both an appropriate floating function, to promote flotation elevation of the barrier 11, as well as a guiding function during the upward movement of the barrier 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow F as shown in Figs. 4-9.

In particular, sliding in the direction indicated by arrow F is made possible because a plurality of sliding elements 45 are applied to the sides and in the front part of the float 12; The sliding elements 45 are wheels, skates or similar elements, which slide on the inner side surfaces 29 and 30 of the seat 15.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, when there is no volume of water accumulated inside the positioning seat 15 (fig. 1) or it is reduced (fig. 4), this means that the volume of water exerts, on the profile with

15 wedge-shaped 11 and on the float 12 associated therewith, a hydrostatic thrust that is less than or equal to its weight, the top wedge-shaped profile 11 is completely housed inside the positioning seat 15, and the float 12 it rests on the lower part 14 formed of the positioning seat 15 in relation to the support parts or feet 13.

As shown in fig. 5, when the hydrostatic thrust exerted by the water on the wedge-shaped profile 11 and on the float 12 associated therewith is greater than its force by weight, the barrier 11 tends to rise floating with respect to the positioning seat 15, moving at least partly above the tread plane 23.

The shaped sealing element 26, applied to partially cover the positioning seat 15, is provided with

25 an opening 25 which allows the wedge-shaped profile 11 to emerge progressively above the tread plane 23 during its upward movement in the direction indicated by arrow F.

As shown in fig. 9 the movement of the barrier is also correlated with the level of water 28 reached within the positioning seat 15. In particular, the higher the water level 28 rises, the more wedge-shaped profile 11 is pushed up to the end of travel position defined by profile 21 formed.

In particular, the shaped profile 21 has a closing element 34 in its upper part, in which an adjustable stop element 37 is applied, for example by screwing; the insertion of the stop element 37 to a greater or

35 less depth with respect to the closure element 34 determines a final adjustable travel position for the barrier. In a coupling form, there is an opposing element 47 at the top of the wedge-shaped profile 11 which, in the maximum emersion position of the barrier, contacts the stop element 37, causing the barrier to rise until it stops. .

Because the stop element 37 has an adjustable position inserted more or less in depth with respect to the upper part of the end-of-travel element 21, it can also act as a safety release element, in the event that the profile wedge-shaped 11 were to remain locked within the shaped end-of-travel profile 21; The release can be achieved by screwing the stop element 37 inwards, inside the end-of-travel profile 21.

45 Along the inner surface of the end-of-travel profile 21, on the side facing the place to be protected, there is a packaged element 40 arranged vertically, which constitutes continuity with the packaged element 41 arranged horizontally and associated with the shaped element 26.

The packaged elements 40 and 41 can be manufactured in one piece or, according to a variant, in two separate pieces, as long as the continuity of the sealing function performed by the two elements is guaranteed.

On the opposite internal side of the end-of-travel profile 21, that is, on the side facing the entering water, there is a centering element 42, which does not have a specific sealing function, but is manufactured with the advantage of a

55 material having malleability and deformability characteristics substantially similar to those of the packaged element 40, in order to keep the wedge-shaped profile 11 centered with respect to the end-of-travel profile 21 as the wedge-shaped profile 11 enters gradually inside him.

On the upper edge of the float 12 there are stop and counter elements, respectively 35 and 36, which, in the maximum emersion position of the barrier, rest, respectively, against the support and counter element 22 and, on the oriented side towards the place to be protected, against a stop and counter element 33. In the solution shown, the end of travel adjustment elements 38 and 39 are mounted, respectively, on the stop and counter elements 22 and 33, which of a in a manner substantially similar to the element 37 disposed in the upper part of the profile 21 and formed, they allow to adjust the maximum emersion position of the barrier with 65 with respect to the positioning seat 15. By adjusting the elements 37, 38 and 39, also determines the compression entity of the packages 40 and 41, and it is therefore possible to adjust the level of hydraulic seal

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Guaranteed by the packaged.

In this way the desired hydraulic seal is achieved, horizontally and vertically, that is, along the wet perimeter of the barrier 11, which blocks the passage of water into the protected area.

5 The shaped end-of-travel profiles 21 are arranged in relation to the two opposite sides of the opening 25 (as best seen in Figs. 2 and 3) where the barrier 11-12 is housed, at a distance that allows to the barrier slide between them during their movement from the positioning seat 15 outwards and in reverse.

10 A cover plate 19 is associated with the opening 25, in a manner that engages with the opening 25.

The plate 19 is articulated on one of its sides, in this case the rear side, to the shaped element 26 by means of articulation elements 20 (see, for example, fig. 3).

15 When the wedge-shaped profile 11 is completely below the tread plane 23, the plate 19 completely closes the opening 25 in order to create continuity between the shaped element 26 and the tread plane 23. On the other hand, when the profile wedge-shaped 11, subjected to a hydrostatic thrust of the water that progressively elevates the float 12, moves up, comes into contact with a part of the plate 19 and pushes it

20 up.

The plate 19, which is articulated at one of its ends, rotates with respect to its articulated end, while maintaining one of its parts in contact with the surface of the wedge-shaped profile 11.

25 In the event that a plurality of barriers have to be placed one after the other in order to cover a broad front to protect, a first solution, shown in fig. 12 and 13, provides that each is complete with all its components, and the respective inner walls 32 and 31 are in contact with each other, and there are respective packages to guarantee the seal.

30 In the variant shown in fig. 14 and 15, the internal barriers are not provided with the respective shaped end-of-travel profiles 21, which are present only at the ends of the complete module.

It is clear that the flood device 10 can be modified and / or added parts as described so far, without departing from the scope and scope of the present invention.

35 For example, an auxiliary passageway 46 can be provided which, for example, can be selectively closed, to allow water to reach well 27 and then, through the discharge opening 24, the positioning seat 15. in this way, a greater amount of water can be flowed to the positioning seat 15 and therefore the immersion of the wedge-shaped profile 11 and the float 12 can be faster.

40 In addition, if the auxiliary passage channel 46 is constructed at a level below ground level 23 (or tread level), water from a level below ground level 23 can be conducted, and this allows water reach the well 27 and then, through the discharge opening 24, the positioning seat 15. This allows the water to circulate inside the positioning seat 15 before the water level outside has reached the level of the tread plane 23, thus allowing the preventive emersion of the wedge-shaped profile 11 and

45 from float 12. This configuration is very useful along the banks of rivers, lakes or seas.

Claims (9)

1. Device against flooding to protect a place, comprising a barrier element (11) housed, at least partially, within a positioning seat (15), which positioning seat is open 5 at the top and falling below ground level and below a positioning or tread plane (23), said positioning seat (15) being connected to an inlet section (16) of the water arranged on the opposite side with respect to the place to be protected, said barrier element (11) being movable between a first position where it is completely below the positioning plane (23), adopted when the positioning seat (15) has no water, and a second position outside the positioning plane ( 23) adopted 10 due to the water that progressively fills the positioning seat (15), characterized in that said barrier element comprises a wedge-shaped upper element (11) and a lower body (12) that functions as a float, also comprising the device, outside the positioning seat (15), at least one end-of-travel element (21) that defines the maximum emersion of the barrier element with respect to the positioning plane (23) and that has a shape that is coupled to that of the upper element (11) of the barrier. fifteen 2. Flood device according to claim 1, characterized in that at least the internal surface of the end-of-travel element (21) oriented towards the place to be protected has a packaging element (40) arranged substantially vertically. A flooding device according to claim 2, characterized in that in continuity with said packaging element (40) arranged vertically there is a packaging element (41) arranged substantially horizontally, to cover the opening of said positioning seat ( fifteen). 4. Flood device according to any preceding claim, characterized in that in the part 25 of the end of travel element (21) there is a stop element (37) with an adjustable position towards the inside of the end of travel element in order to define a desired position to stop the immersion of the barrier element. 5. Flood device according to claim 1, characterized in that said lower body (12) 30 comprises, on its upper surface, first stop and counter elements (35, 36), and on the upper inner wall of said positioning seat (15) there are matching second stop and counter elements (22, 23) capable of contacting with the stop and counter elements (35, 36) of the lower body (12) when the barrier element (11, 12) adopts its maximum emersion position from the positioning seat (15). 35 6. Flood device according to claim 5, characterized in that the respective end-of-travel adjustment elements (38, 39) are mounted on said second stop and counter elements (22, 33), capable of adjusting the maximum emersion position of the barrier element (11, 12) with respect to the positioning seat (15). 40 7. Flooding device according to any preceding claim, characterized in that a grid (18), suitable for the passage of pedestrians and vehicles, is associated with the inlet section (16) of the water and is capable of filtering possible impurities and / or objects carried by the water that circulates along the tread plane (23). 45 8. Flood device according to any preceding claim, characterized in that there is a plate (19) on the surface, open at the top, of said positioning seat (15), articulated by means of hinges (20) at one of its ends and capable of closing, at least partially, the open surface when the element The barrier is completely below the tread plane (23) in order to create continuity, said plate (19) being raised by the barrier element (11) at the moment it emerges. fifty 9. Flood device according to any preceding claim, characterized in that said lower body (12) of the float type comprises, laterally and / or in the front part, sliding and guiding elements (45) that slide in the inner walls (29 , 30) of the positioning seat (15) in the stages in which the barrier element rises and falls with respect to the positioning seat (15). 55

10.

Flooding device according to claim 1, characterized in that in the upper part of the wedge-shaped upper element (11) there is a stop and counter element (47).

eleven.

Flood device according to claim 2, characterized in that on the internal surface of the

60 end-of-travel element (21), on the side facing the area from where the water arrives, there is an opposing and centering element (42) made of a material that is malleable and deformable, substantially similar to that of the packaging element (40) located on the opposite side. 8