GB2192019A

GB2192019A - Constructional assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2192019A
Application number: GB08619299A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Wilhelm Karl Muller; Karl Muller
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-06-27
Filing date: 1986-08-07
Publication date: 1987-12-31
Anticipated expiration: 2006-08-07
Also published as: DE3621619A1; GB8619299D0; GB2192019B; DE3621619C2

Abstract

A constructional assembly comprises a steel frame 4 securable to a building structure and two glazed doors hinged to the frame and each including a steel surround 5. The frame and door surrounds are each composed of hollow shaped side members (4, 5) selectably fillable with fire-resistant material. At the interface of the side members (5) of the surrounds and those (4) of the frame in the closed state of the doors, heat-swellable material strips (16) can be provided together with smoke barrier strips (26, 28, 29). The side members are constructed so that the fire and smoke protective measures can be provided in a selectable combination or omitted entirely according to requirements, thus enabling universal use of the members. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Constructional assembly The present invention relates to a constructional assembly, in particular an assembly including a door or a window element.

Different constructions for fire and/or smoke protection are known. Thus, for example, DE-OS 26 19 780 discloses a door with metal cladding sheets and Z-shaped, folded profile members which can have passages and a sealing foaming material. These and other known arrangements have the disadvantage that they are directed only towards partial solution of the problem of fire or smoke protection. There remains a need for profile members for doors or windows, which by reason of their structure can be used in three different ways without having to be changed in their structure. These uses are fire protection, smoke protection and provision of a normal door or window, i.e. without the requirements of the fire and/or smoke protection.

According to the present invention there is provided a door or window with a frame fast with a building and a frame which in its closed position is abutting or resting thereagainst as well as possibly further frame parts, resting or abutting one against the other, of at least two doors or windows. Frames or frame parts, resting or abutting one against the other, each comprise profile members which fulfill the combination of the following conditions: a) they are filled or fillable with a filling capable of resistance to fire, for example fireclay, b) at least at their mutually opposite end faces they have space for the mounting of a swelling material or are providable with this, and c) they are provided or providable with smoke-tight seals or in the closed position together form a smoke-tight seal.

The feature concerning a fire-resistant filling gives the possibility of attaining the necessary capability of resistance to fire through introduction of such a filling. The feature concerning swelling material gives the possibility of sealing off the gap between profile member and counterprofile member through application of a swelling material so that heat, flames or smoke cannot pass through. The swelling material can be an active ingredient, which is capable of swelling and contains graphite, with a binding agent. It is preferably a strip which extends over the entire length of the respective profile member. Finally, the feature concerning a smoke barrier gives the possibility of creating a smoke-tight sealing in the closed position.According to the given conditions, i.e. the three previously mentioned different uses, it is possible to omit or introduce the filling capable of resistance to fire, to provide or not provide the swelling material and to insert or not the smoke-tight barrier. Thus it is possible to create a profile member which has none of these means and can therefore serve for conventional doors or windows without a fire or smoke protection. Through addition of the fire and/or smoke protection means according to one or more of the mentioned features, on the other hand, the respectively required protective condition can be fulfilled.

Preferably, each of the profile members is provided at one side with an abutment strip which in the closed positions lies by an abutment lug thereof against a bearing surface of the counterprofile member. As a result, not only is space created for an additional insertable seal, but the sealing effect of such a relatively narrow abutment lug at a baring surface is better than that of two surfaces lying one against the other, since production inaccuracies can give rise to imperfect sealing. In addition, the abutment lug facilitates simultaneous pivotation of both doors or windows without these touching.

The invention concerns not only doors or windows, but also the profile members themselves in one or more of the claimed structures.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation of two doors in a construction assembly embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a section, to an enlarged scale, along the line Il-Il in Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a section, to an enlarged scale, along the line Ill-Ill in Fig. 1; Figures 4 to 6 are sectional views of profile members in such an assembly; and Figure 7 is a view to enlarged scale and in section of part of two mutually opposite profile members, with a resilient sealing element, of the assembly.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 two doors 1 and 2 with encircling steel profile members as well as with respective middle profile members (socalled transom) 3, the doors being mounted to be pivotable relative to steel frames 4 fixed to a building. The encircling profile members consist of two vertical profile members 5 and 6, an upper, horizontally extending profile member 7 and a base profile member 8. Fig. 1 and also the other figures each time represent the closed position in which the members 6 of both doors 1 and 2 rest against each other. In addition, a closed position is given between the encircling profile members 5 and 7 and the frames 4. Finally, a sealing (insofar as required) is provided between the base members 8 and the floor 9.

Fig. 2 shows that fastened to the wall 10 is the frame 4, the cross-section of which is equal to the counterprofile member 5 associated therewith, only that the two members 4 and 5 are laterally interchanged one with the other. They correspond to the member according to Fig. 5, which is explained in detail in the following: The member 4 or 5, to which the members of Figs. 4 and 6 are similar, possesses grooves 11 extending in its longitudinal direction for the insertion of a glass retaining strip 12 (see Fig. 2). The interior space 13 of the member is so structured that a fire-resistant filling, in particular a fire-clay filling, is insertable in its longitudinal direction. The cross-sectional shape of this filling must approximately correspond to the cross-sectional shape of the member so that, as far as possible, no air space is left to allow the passage of fire or heat.The thickness d (measured in the fire passage direction 144) of the interior space 13 should be at least 50 millimetres in order to achieve an adequate capability of resistance to fire of at least 30 minutes. However, with appropriate choice of the thickness d and the fire-resistant filling, fire resistance durations of 60 or 90 minutes are also attainable. The fire resistance duration is defined as following: in the hot fire space, the temperature is increased according to the so-called unit temperature curve.After run-down of the fire resistance duration, the first space has reached a certain temperature, wherein the temperature after run-down of this time must not have risen by more than 140 K, for example to a maximum of 1 600C for a starting temperature of 20 C, on the other side remote from the fire space.

Possibilities for mounting and above all space for a strip 16 of the mentioned swelling material are provided at at least one of the mutually opposite end faces, in this case end face 14, but optionally also at the other end face 15. Figs. 4 and 5 show, in particular, that the strip 16 rests against a strip-shaped edge 17 of a bearing surface 18 of the respective profile member. With the action of heat, the strip 16 expands in direction of the arrow 19 and forms a seal.

An abutment strip 20 with an abutment lug 21, which in the closed position is directed towards the respective counterprofile member, is provided at one side of each profile member for smoke sealing, wherein the strip 20 extends, as do the other parts.of the profile member, fully in the longitudinal direction thereof, i.e. run round the member. In the closed position, the abutment lug 21 bears against the bearing surface 18 of the respective counterprofile member (see Fig. 2). The lugs 21 of the abutment strips and the edges 17 of the bearing surfaces 18 are so arranged relative to each other and to the respective pivot axes 22 or the respective spacings are so dimensioned that on simultaneous pivotation of both doors in arrow direction 23 the mutually opposite profile members of these doors do not touch or wedge with each other.

This is achieved in the illustrated embodiment by arranging the abutment lug 21 to reach further towards the counterprofile member than the edge 17 of the bearing surface 18 of the same profile member.

In addition to the sealing by the abutment lug 21 at the bearing surface 18 or its edge 17, a resilient seal 24 can be provided, as shown in Figs. 2 and 7. For this purpose, a profile member form of the kind shown in Fig.

5 is recommended, which by contrast to the member of Fig. 4 possesses a groove 25 for the reception of a foot 26 of the seal 24.

Clamping strips or projections 27 are provided at the sides of the foot. The seal 24 is of a resilient material so that the preferably sawtooth-shaped strips 27 can resiliently wedge against the inside wall of the groove 25 and keep the seal 24 firmly in place. The head of the seal 24 lies, as mentioned, against the bearing surface 18 or edge 17 thereof. The head consists of a sealing lip 28 which extends at an angle to the body 29 of the seal 24 and exerts a resilient pressure, in the direction of arrow 30, by which the aforenamed sealing contact against the surface 18 or edge 17 is attained. As a result, in addition to the bearing of the lug 21 against the surface 18, there is achieved a sealing, which compensates for any irregularities in the production of the profile members. This creates a twofold smoke seal along the vertical and upper profile members (see Fig. 1).The swelling material 16 also contributes to sealing against smoke passage and to fire protection, the main fire protection being provided by the filling in the interior spaces 13.

The bottom profile members 8 have no profile countermembers, since they are disposed immediately above the floor 9. They are therefore constructed in cross-section (see Figs. 3 and 6) to have a recess 31 in which a smoke seal 32 is arranged and is lowerable in the closed position. This smoke seal can, according to the embodiment of fig. 3, consist of a sealing strip 33 and two conically tapering tongues 34 which are displaceable relative to each other. The sealing strip 33 is pressed downwardly through appropriate pushing of the two tongues onto each other. The profile member shown in Fig. 6 can also be used for the transoms 3, wherein the arrangement of the seal is not necessary in this case. A return spring can restore these parts to the initial position on the opening of the doors or of the window.

It is evident that, according to the provision or omission of the components effecting the fire and/or smoke protection, the previously mentioned requirements can be present entirely or partially or be omitted completely. In the last-mentioned case, there are obtained tubular frame doors or windows for buildings in respect of which no particular protective regulations of this kind exist.

Figs. 4 to 7 show that the profile members are each producible from a sheet steel strip by bending and folding.

Claims

1. A constructional assembly comprising frame means securable to a building structure and a door or window element which comprises a surround and which is positionable so that side members of the surround abut respective side members of the frame means in a closed state of the element, at least some of said abutting members being filled or fillable with fire-resistant material and being provided at the abutment interface with a first region in which a heat-swellable material is mounted or mountable and a second region in which a smoke barrier element is mounted or mountable or at which a barrier to the passage of smoke is formed in said closed state.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fire-resistant material is fireclay.

3. An assembly as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each of said members filled or fillable with fire-resistant material defines a closed interior space for reception of such material, the dimension of said space in a direction transverse to the major plane of the door or window element being at least 50 millimetres.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the or each said member when filled with the fire-resistant material has a fire-resistance duration as hereinbefore defined of at least 30 minutes.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the duration is 60 minutes.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the duration is at most 90 minutes.

7. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the members is provided with an abutment projection arranged to bear against a bearing surface of the respectively abutting member in said closed state.

8. An assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein the abutment projections and bearing surfaces of each pair of abutting members in said closed state are so arranged relative to each other and to a pivot axis of the door or window element that the door or window element is pivotable without interference of the members with each other.

9. An assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the abutment projection of each member extends further towards the respectively abutting member in said closed state than does the bearing surface of the first-mentioned member.

10. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9, comprising a respective resilient sealing element arranged adjacent each abutment projection and bearing against the respectively associated bearing surface in said closed state.

11. An assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein each of the resilient sealing elements has a foot portion wedged in a groove in the respective member.

12. An assembly as claimed in either claim 10 or claim 11, wherein each of the resilient sealing elements is arranged to bear against an edge of said associated bearing surface.

13. An assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein the foot portion of each resilient sealing element comprises wedging projections bearing against the walls of the groove to wedge the foot portion in the groove, each sealing element additionally having a sealing portion which is thinner than the foot portion.

14. An assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein the sealing portion of each sealing element has the form of a body extending from the foot portion and a sealing lip connected to and including an acute angle with the body.

15. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lowermost side member of the surround is provided at its lowermost face with a recess receiving a smoke barrier element, means being provided to lower the barrier element in said closed state.

16. An assembly as claimed in claim 15, the means for lowering comprising two tapered drive tongues so movable relative to each other as to displace the barrier element in a direction away from the base of the recess, the barrier element being in the form of a resilient strip.

17. An assembly as claimed in either claim 15 or claim 16, wherein said at least some of the abutting members are uppermost and vertical side members of the surround and respectively associated side members of the frame means.

18. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the side members comprises a folded and bent strip of sheet metal.

19. An assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of said fire-resistant material, heat-swellable material and smoke barrier element is present.

20. A constructional assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.