GB2353554A - Flood barrier with an inflatable seal - Google Patents

Abstract

A flood barrier has an inflatable seal (16) which seals the gap between a panel (10) and second surface (18), such as a wall. The seal (16) can be inflated once the barrier is in place and may have a number of ribs (figs 4c-4f) to more securely engage the second surface (18). A number of barriers may be hinged together and there is also described a barrier (22) for use with an air brick.

Description

2353554 FLOOD BARRIEERS The invention relates to closure elements or

devices. In particular, though not exclusively, the invention relates to elements or devices to close off apertures such as doorways during flood conditions.

Flooding is a major hazard in many areas of the world, and in the United Kingdom alone insurance companies have recently paid out tens of millions of pounds in flood damage claims. As a result, insurance premiums for properties in areas susceptible to flooding are accordingly higher.

Conventionally, in the event of a flood, home owners and businesses may attempt to defend their properties from the flood water, for example by using sand bags, or may simply abandon them to the rising water. Neither situation is acceptable: sandbags are heavy, bulky and may be difficult to obtain at short notice, and leaving property undefended can result in much damage.

An object of the present invention is to at least mitigate some or all of the above problems by providing'an improved closure element or device, and/or to provide a more effective means of flood protection for property that is easy to store, convenient to use and/or can be deployed quickly when needed.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an inflatable closure element for use with a body member for protecting buildings against flood, the closure element being adapted for positioning between surfaces defining an aperture to be sealed such that on inflation the closure element abuts and bridges appropriate surfaces and there by substantially seals the aperture.

2 Beneficially the inflatable member enables sealing contact with a surface to inhibit flow of liquid past the member/surface interface.

Preferably, the. body is substantially planar and/or substantially rectangular in shape. Preferably, an inflatable sealing member is provided on two or more of the edges of the closure element. Preferably, the or each of the inflatable sealing members extend over substantially the whole of the length of the edge or edges of the body. Preferably, the surface of the planar body is positioned vertically in use.

The inflatable sealing member preferably comprises a resilient inflatable bladder comprising an elongate section of tubing or piping. Preferably, the cross-section of the inflatable sealing member is about 3.0 cm and this cross-section increases by less than 3.0 cm upon being inflated to frictionally engage the surface. Preferably this change in dimension is in the range of 0. 1 to 0.5 cm, and more preferably about 0.3 cm.

The sealing member is preferably inflated to a pressure of between 0.5 to 10.0 kgcm-' (7.15 to 142.9 PSI); more preferably, this inflation pressure is in the range 1.0 to 4.0 kgcm' (14.3 to 57.1 PSI), such as about 1.4 kgcm' (20.0 PSI).

Preferably, the sealing member is provided with ribs that engage the surface of the aperture that the closure seals. These ribs may be in various forms, for example having saw-tooth, undulating or crenellated cross-sections. The height and width of these ribs may be in the range 0. 5 to 5.0 mm, and preferably, both the height and width are about 1.0 mm.

Preferably, the body has a substantially horizontal lower edge in use, provided with a lower seal to seal off the lower surface of the aperture, eg. the 3 floor at the bottom of a door frame. The lower seal may also be an inflatable member, as above. Sealing members may be attached to the body of the closure element by any suitable means, for example screw fittings, interference fits, adhesives and so on.

A plurality of closure elements may be positioned to close the aperture forming a larger barrier. In this case, the inflatable seals on the edges of respective adjacent closure elements may engage each other when inflated to form a seal between the closure elements and retain the closure elements in position. Alternatively, adjacent closure elements may be releasably connected by co-operating connectors located at the edges of the closure elements. These connectors may comprise respective co-operating male and female parts located on respective closure elements. Alternatively, the edges of adjacent closure elements may comprise concave arcuate regions to receive an inflatable sealing member in use, the sealing member being inflated to engage the respective arcuate regions to retain adjacent closure elements in position.

Alternatively, adjacent closure elements may be pivotally attached by means of hinges, which may be sealed by retention plates, sliding or pivoting over the hinges when the closure elements are in position, to retain the closure elements in position in the barrier.

To secure the closure element(s) in position, they may be provided with suction fixing means which, in use, engage a body positioned in the aperture to aid retention of the closure elements in position in an aperture.

The planar body of the closure element may be formed from wood, UPVC or any other suitable plastics material. It may be composite and may have a sandwich cross-sectional structure with outer wood/UPVC layers 4 enclosing an inner layer of styrene, or other high impact polycarbon material. The inflatable sealing member may be formed from any suitably resilient plastics, rubber or other material.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a closure device comprising an inflatable member and a body portion shaped partially to enclose the inflatable member such that in use the closure device is positionable proximal a surface thereby defming a region between the body portion and the surface into which the inflatable member is expandable to fill the region. Beneficially a sealed interface is provided between the closure device and the surface which inhibits passage of water through the region for example.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a closure device comprising an inflatable member and a separate body which operably defines a partially enclosed volume in a region to be sealed, wherein to seal the region the inflatable member is operably positionable within said volume and inflatable to substantially fill the volume enclosed by the body, covering and sealing the region to be sealed.

Preferably, the body is attachable to a surface ad acent to the region partially enclosed by the volume and comprises a plate having a planar portion raised above the region to be sealed. Preferably, the body is positioned and fixed over the region to be sealed by means of screws or other fixing means, passing through a flange or flanges extending from the body. The inflatable member may have a plate attached thereto, the plate engaging the body upon inflation of the inflatable member. The body may be provided with a slot or cut. away section to accommodate a valve positioned on the inflatable member.

The sealing member is preferably inflated to a pressure of between 0.5 to 10.0 kgcm' (7.15 to 142.9 PSI); more preferably, this inflation pressure is in the range 1.0 to 4.0 kgcm' (14.3 to 57.1 PSI) such as about 1.4 kgcm-' (20.0 PSI).

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following figures in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic perspective view of two embodiments of the invention; FIGURE 2 is a schematic front elevational view of a first embodiment of the invention; FIGURE 3 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the embodiment shown in Figure 2; FIGURE 3A is an enlarged view of a lower portion of the embodiment shown in Figure 3; FIGURE 4 is a sectional plan view of the embodiment as shown in Figure 2; FIGURE 4A is an enlarged section of part of the plan view shown in Figure 4; FIGURE 4B is a finther enlarged section of part of the plan view shown in Figure 4A.

6 FIGURES 4Q, 4D, 4E 4F and 4G schematically show enlarged cross-sections of sealing members with ribbed outer portions for use in the invention.

FIGURE 5 is a schematic front elevational view of a second embodiment of the invention; FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional side view of the embodiment shown in Figure 5; FIGURE 7 is a schematic perspective view of the second embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1, 5 and 6; FIGURE 8 is a schematic perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention, comprising multiple closure elements; FIGURE 9 is a schematic front elevational view of the embodiment shown in Figure 8; FIGURE 10 is a sectional plan view of the embodiment. shown in Figure 9; FIGURE I I is a schematic plan view of a form of connector between closure elements for use in the third embodiment shown in Figures 8 to 10; FIGURE 12 is a plan view of a further type of connector for use in the third embodiment shown in Figures 8 to 10; 7 FIGURE 13 is a cross-sectional view through the closure elements shown in Figures I to 4A and 8 to 12, schematically showing a preferred structure of the closure element; and FIGURE 14 is a plan view of a preferred arrangement of multiple closure elements.

Considering Figure 1, a closure element or barrier 1 comprises a planar body 10 having an inflatable sealing member 12 provided on at least one edge 13 thereof As shown, member 12 is in the form of an elongate bladder having a closed pipe or tube like structure and is provided with a valve 14 for the ingress and the egress of air. A further, lower resilient seal 16 is provided along the lower edge of body 10. Lower seal 16 is resilient and may also be inflatable as in the case of seal 12. Indeed, seals 12 and 16 may be formed from a single, continuous section of inflatable tubing. Alternatively, lower seal 16 may be formed from a solid resilient piece of material and not be inflatable. Seal 12 may have a cross-section that increases by less than 3.0 cm upon inflation; preferably, this change in cross-sectional dimension is in the range 0.1 to 0.5 cm, and is about 0.30 cm.

As shown, body 10 is positioned in a doorway aperture with inflatable sealing member or members 12 engaging end wall portions 18 and lower sealing member 16 engaging a lower part of the aperture, eg. step 19, thereby providing a sealed barrier in front of door 20.

An alternative closure device 22 is also shown in Figure 1. A schematic view of device 22 as installed is shown (see bottom right hand comer of figure) as well as an enlarged, exploded view. Device 22 generally serves to enclose a smaller area than body 10 and comprises a planar retention plate 24 that is 8 positioned outwardly, by means of side portions 25, from the wall 26 to which device 22 is fixed. Device 22 further has flanges 28 having holes or apertures 30 to receive screws or other fittings (not shown) to affix plate 24 of device 22 to wall 26.

When in position, plate 24 and side portions 25 of device 22 defirte a cavity or partially enclosed volume, 32 over or above the region or area to be sealed. The area to be sealed enclosed by retention plate 24 could include an air brick (not shown), which would be otherwise permeable to flood water.

The other component of device 22 is inflatable member 34 comprising an inflatable bladder 36 adjacent and attached to a front plate 38 upon which there is a fixed valve 40 in fluid communication with bladder 36.

Under normal (non flooding) conditions inflatable member 34 is removed from the cavity 32 formed behind retention plate 24 and stored elsewhere. Therefore, under non-flood conditions, air can freely circulate within the cavity 32 and enter or exit the air brick that it encloses, for example. When flooding is imminent, member 34 is positioned in cavity 32 as shown, with front plate 38 abutting the rear portion of retention plate 24. Valve 40 is accommodated by slot or notch 42 provided in retention plate 24. To form a seal, bladder 36 is inflated by means of a pump via valve 40, forcing plate 38 against the back of plate 24. Bladder 36 is inflated until it substantially fills the entire of volume 32, substantially sealing off volume 32 and the area it encloses from the ingress of flood water, for example.

Although a device 22 having aplanar plate 24 has been described, other configurations of the plate may be possible, eg. a plate extending arcuately outward. The only requirement is that there is a form of enclosure to a least 9 partially enclose the area to be sealed, and receive a sealing bladder, eg. 36, when needed. Accordingly, the form of bladder may be changed from that shown.

Figures 2 to 4A show various front, side and plan elevations of the first closure device, with close up views of the respective seals 12 and 16. As can be seen from Figure 2, in this case there are inflatable seals 12 on each side of planar body 10 with a single lower seal 16 and, in this Figure, seals 12 abut the door frame 44 rather than brickwork 18 as shown in Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 4B, the use of a shaped body portion 45 to partially enclose inflatable member 12 at the edge of body 10 is shown. In this case, body portion 45 has wall parts 45a and 45b defining a region above the surface, for example the surface of door frame 44 that forms the aperture to be sealed by body 10. Body portion 45 may be attached to body 10 by any suitable means, or be integral therewith.

As shown by the dashed outline in Figure 4B, member 12 is inflatable to fill the region within the shaped body portion 45, and expands to engage surface 44, thereby securing body 10 in position. The extent of this expansion, as shown by reference "D" in Figure 413, is typically less than 3.0 cm, for example in the range 0. 1 to 0.5 cm, such as about 0.3 cm.

Figures 4C to 4F show various embodiments of sealing members 12 having different forms of ribs 12B, 12C, 12D and 12F, to engage surface 18, aiding the frictional retention of body 10 in position. The ribs run along the longitudinal length of sealing member 12. In cross-section, the ribs may have saw-tooth form (12B, Figure 4C), undulating, smoothly varying form (12C, Figure 4D) or crenellated form (12D, Figure 4E), for example. In all these cases, the width (W) and height (H) of respective ribs are in the range 0. 5 to 5.0 min. Preferably, both W and H are about 1.0 mm.

In Figures 4C to 4E, the ribs are shown arranged in a line, for ease of representation. However, as shown in Figure 4F, ribs of any of the above forms, eg. crenellated ribs 12D, may be arranged radially on the outer region of sealing member 12.

Also, or alternatively, ribs, such as crenellated ribs 12E, may be positioned on sealing member 12 to engage body 10. Indeed, the whole outer surface of sealing member 12 may be ribbed.

Figures 5 to 7 show various views of the second closure device described above with reference to Figure 1. In particular, in Figure 6, the cross sectional view shows how retention plate 24 is positioned over the region of an air brick 46 so defining the partially enclosed volume of cavity 32 over air brick 46 to receive seal member 34. This figure also shows the direction of insertion of seal member 34 behind retention plate 24 before bladder 36 is inflated. Figure 7 shows bladder 36 fully inflated and in position, sealing the region of wall 26 behind retention plate 24.

Turning to Figure 8, an array or barrier 48 comprising an array of elements 10 is shown. This arrangement is suitable for sealing off larger apertures, for example the aperture in front of garage door 50 as shown. As before, seal elements 12 and 16 are present, with seal elements 12 abutting the end portion 18 of walls 26. There are also further seal or connector elements 52 between the individual bodies 10. Elements 52 may be of the same form as the inflatable elements 12 already described, or they may be of different forms as described below.

A further feature of barrier 48 is that some or all of planar bodies 10 may be provided with suction means 54 to hold them in position, for example against garage door 50. Suction means 54, for example a suction cup, is fixed to the rear of body 10, as shown by the cutaway view. A single suction means is shown, but each body 10 may have more than one, positioned as is necessary for good support. Indeed, it may be advantageous to provide the single body 10 described earlier with such suction means.

Figures 9 and 10 show front elevation and plan views of the arrayed barrier arrangements shown in Figure 8. Although an array of three bodies 10 arranged in a line is shown in Figure 9, one, two or more bodies could be used as necessary. Indeed, bodies 10 could be arrayed both vertically and horizontally, eg. a two by two array of bodies.

Figure 10 shows the option of using hinges 55 for the bodies in the middle of the array in place of connecting means 52 or inflatable sealing members 12. Such hinges 5 5 would allow the barrier or array of bodies 10 to be opened in a concertina style, as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 10. Hinges 55 could be of any conventional type suitable for use in the invention and are preferably arranged on opposite sides of bodies 10 to allow for the concertina movement and therefore ease of storage. An additional feature is the flap over or sliding hinge locking plate 56 shown in Figure 10. Plate 56 may slide or hinge to cover the hinges 5 5 once the array of bodies 10 is extended and serve to prevent flexing of the bodies 10 in this state as well as seal off the hinges.

Figures I I and 12 show possible forms of the connectors 52 between the middle bodies 10 in the array of bodies 48. Referring to Figure 11, an interlocking form of connector 52 is shown having components 58 and 60 12 connected to end portions 57 of bodies 10. Connector 52 comprises interlocking components 58 and 60 that are complimentary to each other and preferably have identical interlocking cross sections, as shown. In the arrangement shown in Figure 11, there are complimentary male and female parts 62 and 64 which interlock to hold bodies 10 together. There may also be further protrusions and recesses to help retain the components 58 and 60 when interlocked, for example the respective recesses and protrusions 66 and 68. Components 58 and 60 may be formed integrally with their respective bodies 10 or they may be formed separately from the bodies as shown, attached by any suitable means.

Turning to Figure 12, a further type of connector 52 is shown having end pieces 70 attached to or moulded from the end regions 57 of bodies 10. End pieces 70 have arcuate regions 72 which serve to retain a sealing member 12 as shown when inflated. Sealing member 12 may be attached to one or both of the end pieces 70 at the joint or may be simply inserted between arcuate regions 72, and then inflated to fill the joint.

Figure 13 shows a cross-section through a preferred structure of a body 10. As shown, body 10 comprises outer planar layers 74 which may be made of wood or U-PVC. In between there are inner layers, for example 76 and 78 which may comprise styrene or other high impact polycarbon materials. Alternatively, bodies 10 may be formed from a solid piece of wood or UPVC but the arrangement shown in Figure 13 has advantages in that it is light yet resistant to impact.

Finally, referring to Figure 14, a preferred arrangement of the array of bodies 48 is shown. As shown, array 48 is positioned in an aperture, for example that defined by walls 26 and, additionally, bodies such as wedges 80 are provided so that, when viewed from above, array 48 is urged to be arched 13 outward. Arrow 82 shows the direction of the pressure force acting on array 48 resulting from flood water, for example, in region 84. By arching the array 48 against the force acting on it, eg. by the use of wedges 80, the effective strength of the barrier 48 and its resistance to flood damage can be increased.

The closure device of this application has been primarily described in use as a flood barrier, but it may also find use to form other closures, for example, as a screen or partition for a room or hall. The arrangement shown in Figure 10 may be particularly adapted for this purpose as the hinges 55 would allow for easy storage. The provision of inflatable sealing members 12 allows the device or devices to be readily secured in position, whether to partition a room, or form a flood barrier at short notice. Overall, the individual components and systems described offer an adaptable and convenient means to protect property from flood damage and have other, wider applications, as mentioned.

Claims (25)

14 CLAIMS

An inflatable closure element for use with a body member for protecting buildings against flood, the closure element being adapted for positioning between surfaces defining an aperture to be sealed such that on inflation the closure element abuts and bridges appropriate surfaces and thereby substantially seals the aperture.

2. A closure element according to Claim I wherein the closure element has ribs that help it grip at least some of the surfaces defining the aperture.

3. A closure element according to Claim 2 comprising ribs that are generally saw-tooth, undulating or crenelated in cross section.

4. A closure element according to Claim 2 or 3 wherein the ribs are elongate.

5. A closure element according to any preceding claim which is generally tubular in shape and/or is made of a resilient material

6. A closure element according to any preceding claim wherein its maximum cross-sectiofial dimension increases by less than 3.0 cm upon being inflated, and preferably increases within the range 0. 1 cm. to 0.5 cm. upon being inflated.

7. A closure element according to any preceding claim wherein valve means are provided to allow inflation and deflation.

8. A closure element according to any preceding claim wherein the inflation pressure is between 1.0 to 10.0 kgcni:', and preferably between 2.0 and 4. 0 kgCnf2.

9. A closure barrier for protecting buildings against flood comprising a body member and a closure element according to any preceding claim.

10. A closure barrier according to Claim 9 wherein the body member comprises a sheet with an inner layer or layers made of styrene or any other high impact polycarbonate material.

11. A closure barrier according to Claim 9 or 10 wherein an inflatable closure element is provided on at least one edge of the body.

12. A closure barrier according to Claim 9, 10 or 11 wherein the inflatable closure element is positioned within a channel provided along at least one edge of the body.

16

13. A closure barrier for protecting buildings against flood according to any preceding claim comprising a plurality of closure elements and body members.

14. A closure barrier according to Claim 13 wherein the closure element has ribs that help it grip the body member.

15. A closure barrier according to Claim 14 wherein the body member has indentations configured to mate with ribs provided on the closure element.

16. A closure barrier according to Claim 15 wherein adjacent body members are releasably connected by co-operating connectors located at the edges of the body members.

17. A closure barrier according to Claim 16 wherein the connectors comprise respective co-operating male and female parts, located on respective body members.

17

18. A closure barrier according to Claim 9 wherein adjacent body members are pivotally attached by means of hinges sealed by retention plates, sliding or pivoting over the hinges when the body members are in position, to retain the body members in position in the barrier.

19. A closure barrier according to any of Claims 9 to 18 wherein suction fixing means operably engage a body member to aid retention of the closure barrier position in the aperture.

20. A closure barrier for protecting a building against flood comprising an inflatable closure element and retaining means, the closure element being adapted for positioning over an aperture and in use being at least partly surrounded by the retaining means such that on inflation the closure element abuts against both the retaining means and the aperture and thereby seals the aperture.

A closure barrier according to Claim 20 wherein the retaining means defines a cavity or channel for receiving the closure element in use.

22. A closure barrier according to Claim 20 or 21 wherein the retaining means is made from sheet material and comprises two side flanges provided for fixing the retaining means to the building.

23. A closure barrier according to Claim 20, 21 or 22 wherein the retaining means is provided with a slot or cut away section to accommodate a valve positioned on the closure element.

24. A closure barrier according to any of Claims 13 to 23 wherein the closure elements form an arcuate barrier and/or wedges are positioned between the sides of the barrier and walls of a building to be protected.

25. A closure element or barrier substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 14.