GB2369848A

GB2369848A - A door and door frame arrangement and flood protection means

Info

Publication number: GB2369848A
Application number: GB0029723A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alistair John Freeman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-12-06
Filing date: 2000-12-06
Publication date: 2002-06-12
Also published as: GB0029723D0

Abstract

A door and door frame 10 arrangement has resilient sealing means 11 attached to at least the lower part of the door frame 10, and locking means for securing the door in the frame. When operated the locking means urges the door into engagement with the resilient sealing means, compressing it to provide a watertight seal between the door and the frame. Also disclosed is a flood protection means for a permanent dwelling which comprises a panel 52 securable over at least the bottom portion of the door and door frame, a first sealing means (55), (56) forming a watertight seal between the securable panel and an exterior surface of the dwelling or door frame. There is a hinged access panel 57 provided in the securable panel to allow access and there is a second sealing means (59) to provide a watertight seal between the access panel and the securable panel.

Description

A DOOR AN DOOR FRAME ARRANGEMENT AND FLOOD PROTECTION MEANS The present invention relates to a door and door frame arrangement and to flood protection means both for use with a permanent dwelling having at least a ground floor above ground.

In the United Kingdom in recent years heavy rainfall has led to problems of flash flooding. Flash flooding causes much material damage and stress. The traditional solution to preventing ingress of water into a building has been to use sandbags to block up doors to the dwelling. However, sandbags do not provide a watertight seal, are difficult to manipulate and difficult to store and time consuming to assemble into a barrier.

The present invention provides a door and door frame arrangement for use in allowing ingress and egress of human inhabitants into and out of a ground floor of a permanent dwelling, the door and door frame arrangement comprising: a door, a door frame for the door, resilient sealing means attached to the door frame at least in a lower part thereof and locking means for securing the door in the door frame, wherein operating the locking means urges the door into engagement with the resilient sealing means and compresses the resilient sealing means so that the compressed resilient sealing means forms a watertight seal between the door and the door frame.

The present invention provides an easy way of making a doorway watertight to prevent ingress of flood water into a house.

Preferably the resilient sealing means extends completely around the door frame so the watertight seal is formed around the complete periphery of the door when the door is secured in position in the door frame.

In one embodiment the door is hingedly attached to the door frame and a locking means comprises an abutment member which is moved along a reaction surface during operation of the locking means with interaction of the abutment member with the reaction surface urging the door into engagement with the resilient sealing means.

In a second embodiment the door is slidable runners and can be moved from a closed position in which the door is secured in the door frame and lies in the plane of the door frame to an open position in which the door lies in a second plane parallel to and spaced apart from the plane of the door frame and in which the door no longer completely blocks the door frame. Preferably the locking means comprises an abutment member which is moved along a reaction surface during operation of the locking means with interaction of the abutment member with the reaction surface urging the door into engagement with the resilient sealing means.

In a second aspect the present invention provides flood protection means for a permanent dwelling which has foundations in the ground, at least a ground floor above the ground, a door allowing ingress and egress of human inhabitants; and a door frame for the door; the flood protection means comprising: a panel securable in a position overlaying at least a bottom portion of the door and door frame; first sealing means forming a watertight seal between the securable panel and an exterior surface of the dwelling or the door frame when the securable panel is secured in position; and an access panel provided in the securable panel extending from a top edge of the securable panel to a level spaced above a bottom edge of the securable panel; wherein the access panel is hingedly connected to the

remainder of the securable panel, the access panel is openable to allow ingress and egress of the human inhabitants and second sealing means is provided which forms a watertight seal between the access panel and the securable panel when the access panel is closed.

Preferably the flood protection means comprises mechanical fasteners to secure the securable panel in place.

Preferably the mechanical fasteners comprise nuts and bolts, the bolts being attached to the exterior surface of the dwelling or the door frame and extending through apertures in the securable panel when the securable panel is in place, the bolts acting on the exterior surface of the securable panel to secure the panel in position.

In one embodiment runners are attached to the exterior surface of the dwelling or the door frame and the securable panel is slidable in the runners.

In a third aspect the present invention provides flood protection means for a permanent dwelling which has foundations in the ground, at least a ground floor above ground, an exterior door allowing ingress and egress of human inhabitants into and out of the ground floor and a door frame for the exterior door, the flood protection means comprising: a panel securable to the dwelling to overlay at least a bottom exterior portion of the exterior door and the door frame; and first sealing means which forms a watertight seal between the securable panel and an exterior surface of the dwelling or the door frame when the securable panel is secured in position; wherein the securable panel has a plurality of corrugations which extend generally horizontally when the securable panel is secured in place and which provide steps which the human inhabitants of the dwelling can use to climb into or out of the dwelling

when the securable panel is secured in place.

Preferably the securable panel has a generally planar base portion and the corrugations extend out of the planar base portion and at least one of the corrugations when viewed in a cross-section taken in a plane perpendicular to the generally planar base portion has an arcuate form.

The arcuate form gives strength to the panel to resist the pressure of flood water.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a view of a door frame according to the prior art; Figure 2 is a view of a part of a door frame according to the first embodiment of the present

invention ; Figure 3 is a view of a part of a door frame according to a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a view of locking means for a door hinged in the door frame of Figure 1 or Figure 2; Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the locking means of Figure 4 showing the locking means in an unlocked position; Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the locking means of Figure 4 showing the locking means in a locked position; Figure 7 is a view of a sliding door arrangement according to the present invention; Figure 8 is a plan view of a door frame with flood protection means according to the present invention; Figure 9 is a cross-section through the flood

protection means of Figure 8 ; Figure 10 is a perspective view of a securable panel of flood protection means according to the present invention; and Figure 11 is a cross-section through the securable panel of figure 10 taken along the line XI

XI.

Turning first to Figure 1 there will be seen a conventional door frame made of wood. Such door frames are not designed to achieve a watertight seal between the door and the frame.

Figure 2 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment the door frame 10 of Figure 1 is modified by the attachment of an elastomeric sealing member 11 around at least a lower half of the door frame 10, the elastomeric sealing member 11 being capable of forming a watertight seal between the door frame 10 and a door hingedly mounted within the door frame 10. Since it would be possible for water to seep through the join between a main part 10A of the door frame 10 and an inner part 10B, sealing means 12 are provided to act between the two parts 10A and 10B to form a watertight seal. Also seals 13 and 14 are provided behind the rear of the elastomeric seal 11 and the opposing face of the door frame member 10B, in order to effect a watertight seal therebetween.

Figure 3 shows a door frame made out of PVC.

This door frame is formed as a single integer and the resilient sealing member 11 is attached to the door frame 15. There is no need in this arrangement for the additional seals 13,14 and 12 present in the embodiment of Figure 2.

Figure 4 shows a locking mechanism according to the present invention. This comprises a slidable abutment member 16 slidable in a slot defined in a housing 17 which is mounted in a recess in the door

frame (either 10 or 15). The slider 16 has a tapering surface 18. The tapering surface 18 can engage and react with a reaction surface 19 which is provided on a plate attached to a door 20 hingedly mounted in the door frames.

In Figure 5 there can be seen the situation when a door 20 is shut in a normal condition in the door frame 10. The door 20 does abut the resilient sealing member 11, but does not form a watertight seal. It is envisaged that in this condition a usual Yale lock or mortise lock (commonly used today) will be used to secure the door 20 in position and lock it.

In the time of a flash flood, the mortise lock present in the door would be secured in its open position and the Yale lock would also be latched in an open position. Then, when the door is shut to the position shown in Figure 5 the slider 16 would be moved to the right of its position in Figure 5 and the tapered surface 18 would then engage the reaction surface 19. The sliding of the slider 16 to the right of its position in Figure 5 would force the door 20 to move to compress further the resilient means 11 and thereby form a watertight seal between the door and the door frame. This would prevent ingress of the flash flood water into the permanent dwelling in which the door frame 10 is present.

It is envisaged that the door 20 could comprise an upper part and a lower part openable independently of each other (in a so-called"stable door" arrangement). The upper part could be opened when the lower part is locked in position forming a watertight seal. This would allow ingress into and egress out of the dwelling.

Whilst above it is envisaged that locking means will be provided separate to usual locks (e. g. Yale or mortise) it is within the scope of the invention for a single lock to be used for each door so that every

time a door is locked a watertight seal is formed. However, the lock concerned must act to force the door to compress the resilient means when it is operated to lock the door.

A second embodiment of the present invention is now shown in Figure 7. Figure 7 shows a sliding door arrangement as commonly used for patio doors in houses. Only the bottom half of the door is shown, for clarity. In Figure 7 a sliding door 30 can be seen slidable in a runner 31. In a closed position the door 30 lies in a plane of a door frame 32. To open the door 30, the door 30 is first slid backwards out of the plane of the door frame 32 and into a parallel plane defined by the runner 31. The door 30 is then slid to the left of its position in Figure 7, along the runner 31.

There can be seen in Figure 7 a resilient seal 33 which runs at least round the lower half of the door frame 32. This seal 33 is compressed by the door 30 when in its closed position in normal operating circumstances. However, the compression will not be sufficient for a truly watertight seal to be formed.

Therefore locking means comprising a sliding abutment member with a corresponding reaction surface will be used, as previously described in Figures 4, 5 and 6.

There can be seen at the bottom of Figure 7 two sliders 16 mounted in housings 17 provided at the bottom of the door frame 32 on opposed sides of the door 30. Reaction surfaces 19 are provided on the rear surface of the door 30.

In flash flood conditions the sliding abutment members 16 would be slid inwardly to extend inwardly from the door frame 32 and engage the reaction surfaces 19. The engagement would force the door 30 to compress further the resilient sealing member 33 in order to effect a watertight seal.

A further embodiment of the present invention is

shown with reference to Figures 8 and 9.

In Figure 8 a standard door 50 can be seen in a door frame 51. External to the door frame 51 is a flood barrier 52. The flood barrier 52 is secured by means of nuts and bolts 53 to the exterior of the dwelling in which the door frame 51 is present. It can be seen in Figure 9 that bolts 54 extend outwardly from the walls of the house and through apertures in the flood barrier 52 when it is mounted on the house.

Nuts 53 are used to secure the flood barrier 52 in position. The nuts 53 are tightened so that resilient seals 55 and 56 acting between the door frame 51 and the flood barrier 52 are compressed and form a watertight seal between the flood barrier 52 and the door frame 51. This arrangement has been known previously. However, with previous arrangements it has always been a difficult and inconvenient matter to enter and exit the dwelling once the barrier is secured in position.

The present invention solves the problem provided by the prior art by having an access panel 57 provided in the securable panel 52 extending from a top edge of the securable panel 52 to a level spaced above a bottom edge of the securable panel 52. The access panel 57 is hingedly connected to the remainder of the securable panel 52 by a hinge 58. The access panel 57 is openable to allow ingress and egress of human inhabitants of the dwelling. Sealing means 59 are provided which form a watertight seal between the access panel 57 and the panel 52 when the access panel 57 is closed. A pivoting sprung loaded lock 60 is shown, which can be used to both lock the access panel 57 in position and also to urge it into a watertight seal with the seal 59.

It will be appreciated that with the improved panel arrangements of the present invention easy ingress and egress from the dwelling can be achieved

even with a securable panel 52 secured in place, by means of the hinged access panel 57.

A third embodiment of the invention is shown with reference to figures 10 and 11. In these figures a securable panel 60 is shown. It will be secured by bolts and nuts to a dwelling or a door frame to overlay the bottom part of an exterior door and the door frame in which it is mounted, in the manner previously described with reference to figure 8.

Apertures 61 to receive bolts can be seen in figure 10.

Known securable panels are flat. On the other hand the securable panel 60 has corrugations 62,63 and 64. These corrugations provide steps which can be used by the inhabitant of a dwelling to climb into or out of the dwelling. Footpads 65 and 66 can be seen in figure 10 provided in corrugations 63 and 64.

As can be seen in figure 10 each of the corrugations 62 and 63 are arcuate in nature. This shape is chosen so that the panel exhibits a good resistance to the pressure of flood water.

Claims

1. A door and door frame arrangement for use in allowing ingress and egress of human inhabitants into and out of a ground floor of a permanent dwelling, the door and door frame arrangement comprising: a door, a door frame for the door, resilient sealing means attached to the door frame at least in a lower part thereof and locking means for securing the door in the door frame, wherein operating the locking means urges the door into engagement with the resilient sealing means and compresses the resilient sealing means so that the compressed resilient sealing means forms a watertight seal between the door and the door frame.

2. A door and door frame arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the resilient sealing means extends completely around the door frame so that a watertight seal is formed around the complete periphery of the door when the door is secured in position in the door frame.

3. A door and door frame arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the door is hingedly attached to the door frame and the locking means comprises an abutment member which moves across a reaction surface during operation of the locking means with interaction of the abutment member with the reaction surface urging the door to move to compress the resilient sealing means.

4. A door and door frame arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the door is slidable in runners and can be moved from a closed position in which the door is secured in the door frame and lies in the plane of door frame to an open position in which the door lies in a second plane parallel to and

spaced apart from the plane of the door frame and in which the door no longer completely blocks the door frame.

5. A door and door frame arrangement as claimed in claim 4 wherein the locking means comprises a n abutment which is moved across a reaction surface during operation of the locking means with interaction of the abutment member and the reaction surface urging the door to move to compress the resilient sealing means.

6. Flood protection means for a permanent dwelling which has foundations in the ground, at least a ground floor above ground, an exterior door allowing ingress and egress of human inhabitants into and out of the ground floor and a door frame for the exterior door, the flood protection means comprising: a panel securable in a position overlaying at least a bottom portion of the door and door frame; first sealing means forming a watertight seal between the securable panel and an exterior surface of the dwelling or the door frame when the securable panel is secured in position; and an access panel provided in the securable panel extending from a top edge of the securable panel to a level spaced above a bottom edge of the securable panel; and wherein the access panel is hingedly connected to the remainder of the securable panel, the access panel is operable to allow ingress and egress of the human inhabitants and second sealing means is provided which forms a watertight seal between the access panel and the securable panel when the access panel is closed.

7. Flood protection means claimed in claim 6 comprising mechanical fasteners to secure the

securable panel in place.

8. Flood protection means as claimed in claim 7 wherein the mechanical fasteners comprise nuts and bolts, the bolts being attached to the exterior surface of the dwelling or the door frame and extending through apertures in the securable panel when the securable panel is in place, the bolts acting on the exterior surface of the securable panel to secure the panel in position.

9. Flood protection means as claimed in claim 6 wherein runners are attached to the exterior surface of the dwelling or the door frame and the securable panel is slidable in the runners.

10. Flood protection means for a permanent dwelling which has foundations in the ground, at least a ground floor above ground, an exterior door allowing ingress and egress of human inhabitants into and out of the ground floor and a door frame for the exterior door, the flood protection means comprising: a panel securable in a position overlaying at least a bottom exterior portion of the exterior door and the door frame thereof; and first sealing means which forms a watertight seal between the securable panel and an exterior surface of the dwelling or the door frame when the securable panel is secured in position; wherein the securable panel has a plurality of corrugations which extend generally horizontally when the securable panel is secured in position and which provide steps which the human inhabitants of the dwelling can use to climb into or out of the dwelling when the securable panel is secured in place.

11 Flood protection means as claimed in claim 10

wherein the securable panel has a generally planar base portion out of which the corrugations extend and at least one of the corrugations when viewed in a cross-section taken in a plane perpendicular to the generally planar base portion has an arcuate form.

12. A securable panel of the flood protection means of claim 10 or claim 11 which is substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying figures 10 and 11.

13. A door and door frame arrangement as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying figures 2 to 6.

14. Flood protection means as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in figures 8 and 9.