GB2423110A

GB2423110A - Curved Flood Barrier

Info

Publication number: GB2423110A
Application number: GB0602439A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alistair Durrance
Original assignee: BELGRADE INSTALLATIONS Ltd
Current assignee: BELGRADE INSTALLATIONS Ltd
Priority date: 2005-02-07
Filing date: 2006-02-07
Publication date: 2006-08-16
Anticipated expiration: 2026-02-07
Also published as: GB0602439D0; GB0502578D0; GB2423110B

Abstract

A flood defence barrier comprises a body (1) having a convex surface for facing flood water and a base in the form of flange (12) connected to the lower edge of the body and extending rearwardly therefrom. A reinforcing member (16) extends between the body (1) and the flange (12) to resist upward deflection of the flange (12) under imposed water load. Seals (7,8) are provided at the lateral edges of the body and a seal (15) is provided on the underside of the flange (12). A suitable mounting device, which can be in the form of an H-frame having screw jacks to enable it to be secured rigidly to a door frame is used in association with the body, the body being connected to the mounting device by elastomeric cords secured to fittings (17) provided on the body and extending through suitable apertures provided in the mounting device.

Description

FLOOD DEFENCE BARRIER

This invention relates to a flood defence barrier, and more particularly to a flood defence barrier which can readily be deployed to substantially inhibit the ingress of flood water through an open doorway of a dwelling house.

Damage to property as a result of flooding is a significant problem.

Typically, flooding is caused by periods of heavy and prolonged rainfall which cause natural waterways to overflow their banks with the result that water rises around dwellings built only a small distance above the original natural river level.

Devices have previously been proposed for preventing or substantially preventing the ingress of flood water through the open door of a dwelling, such devices typically comprising galvanised steel channels secured to the building to receive one or more boards to cover the lower portion of the doorway. Whilst such devices have provided some protection, they are characterised by requiring pre- planning, being relatively expensive to implement, and providing only moderate protection against the ingress of water. The need accordingly exists for a relatively inexpensive and rapidly deployed device which should, preferably, provide better protection against the ingress of water than known devices.

In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a flood defence barrier comprising: a body having a convex surface for facing flood water and a concave surface for facing the interior of a building, the convex surface being bounded by a pair of generally parallel side edges; and a base in the form of a flange joined at its leading edge to the body and extended from the body in the direction towards the interior of the building.

Preferably, the flange extends to a rear edge which extends in a substantially straight line from the bottom of one lateral edge of the body to the bottom of the other lateral edge of the body.

Preferably the rear edge of the flange terminates in a downwardly extending lip.

Preferably, a reinforcing member is provided which extends from the body to the flange to resist any tendency of the flange to deflect in the upward direction under imposed water load.

The present invention maybe embodied in a relatively simple and cheap structure formed largely of plastics material. The lateral edges of the body are spaced to abut the frame of a door whilst the flange overlies the sill of the door to prevent or substantially prevent water flowing under the body. The convex profile of the body coupled with the presence of the reinforcing member to restrict deflection of the base means that the entire structure is able to withstand the typical static pressures associated with flood water surrounding the lower part of a building.

It is accepted that in most cases the flood defence barrier of the present invention will not form a perfect watertight seal with a doorway. The object of the invention is, however, substantially to delay the ingress floodwater, in many instances the floodwater will remain at an elevated level for a relatively short period and accordingly a small amount of water ingress past the barrier will not result in complete flooding of a property. Even, however, if flood water is present for a long time and particularly even if flood water enters a building through other apertures (for example airbricks and up through floorboards) the device of the present invention will delay the major ingress of water in order to allow the owners of the property to move items such as furniture and electronic equipment from the ground floor to the first floor.

It will be noted that a particular advantage of the present invention is that it can be, and indeed generally will be, deployed with the door in question in an open condition. Having a door open is important to enable the emergency services to communicate with the occupants of a building and to allow the occupants of the building to leave the building by climbing over the barrier of the present invention.

Preferably, the barrier is provided with a mounting device that engages the doorframe and elastically deformable connectors connecting the mounting device to the body. With such an arrangement, the flood defence barrier can rapidly be deployed and will be held in position until the weight of floodwater holds the device in position. Preferably, the mounting device is attached to the body to prevent inadvertent loss of the mounting device. Such as arrangement enables rapid deployment to the extent that emergency services can make their way along a street which is in danger of flooding and rapidly deploy an embodiment of the invention in each and every doorway of the street. The mounting device may be in the form of a single bar and this will be adequate for many applications. If preferred, however, two or more bars or a more complex arrangement, for example an H shaped frame, may be used. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the mounting device is a metal H-frame which is provided with screw threaded jacks which may be extended to lock the i-I-frame to the door frame of a house. The H- frame preferably has projections which engage the doorsill beneath the I- I-frame.

This arrangement not only correctly vertically positions the H-frame relative to the door frame, but also means that the H-frame can be stood on to facilitate climbing over the barrier.

Preferably, the lateral edges of the body are fitted with elastomerically deformable seals for enhancing the seal with a doorframe. Preferably, the flange, adjacent to the free edge thereof, is provided with an elastomerically deformable seal for engaging the doorsill of the building.

The invention will be better understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention viewed, as it would be, from the interior of a building; Figure 2 is an enlarged crosssectional exploded view of the area marked "A" of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional exploded view of the area marked "B" of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a view on a reduced scale showing the embodiment of Figure 1 deployed in a doorway; Figure 5 is a plan view on a reduced scale of the embodiment Figure 4; and Figure 6 illustrates an alternative mounting device.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated embodiment of the present invention comprises a body 1 moulded from a suitable plastics material. By way of example, the body I maybe moulded from ABS and maybe typically have a wall thickness of approximately 3mm. The body form is corrugated to enhance strength and has a generally convex profile on the side intended to face floodwater and a corresponding concave profile 2 on the side intended to face the interior of a building. The corrugations 3 may be uniform or may be varied to allow, for example, for a relatively wide corrugation 4 the convex surface of which may be used to carry indicia visible from the exterior of the building on which the device is deployed.

The body 1 has two generally straight lateral edges 5, 6. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention the edges 5, 6 are formed as flanges 5A,6A onto which are clipped seals 7, 8 in the form of elastomerically formable tubular extrusions. The seals 7, 8 arc intended to engage the frame 9 of a doorway of a building 10 (see Figure 3).

At the lower edge 11 of the body 1 is located a flange 12. The flange has a leading edge 13 which is secured to the lower edge 11 of the body 1. Preferably, the flange and body are an integral plastics moulding. The flange 12 extends rearwardly from its leading edge 13 to a trailing edge 14 which extends between the lower ends of the edges 5, 6 of the body. The rear edge 14 terminates in a downwardly extending lip 14A on which is preferably mounted a seal 15, for example by clipping a length of extruded seal material onto the lip I 4A. The seal preferably provides a seal (for example, a lip seal) for engaging the sill of the doorway. The ends of the seal 15 may be sealed to the seals 7, 8 by suitable mans, for example adhesive or welding, in the preferred embodiment the junction between the seal iS and the seal 7, 8 is sealed by extending the seal 15 across the full width of the body and cutting the seals, 7, 8 back so that the bottom edge of each seal 7, 8 is adjacent the top edge of the underlying seal 15. A suitable block of elastomeric material, for example a block of neoprene, is then secured by suitable sealing means (for example liquid latex) to both the seal 15 and to the end of one of the respective seals 7, 8 in order to form a watertight joint. By suitably choosing the compressibility of the block of elastomeric material the junction formed using the block is, when the various seals are compressed, stepless.

When the device of the present invention is deployed there is a tendency for water pressure, acting on the underside of the flange 12, to lift the flange 12 (particularly adjacent the rear edge 14 thereof) and thereby allow ingress of water.

To resist this tendency, a reinforcing member 16 is provided. The reinforcing member may be in the form of a metal pressing or a plastic moulding that is rigidly secured to or is integral with both the flange 12 and body 1 to resist deflection of the flange 12. The reinforcing member 16 also provides a convenient handhold which is utilised during deployment of the device.

Fixings 17 are provided on the body to secure retaining elements for holding the body in position. It will be appreciated that once there is a pressure differential across the body it will be retained in position by that pressure differential. However, during initial deployment means must be provided for holding the barrier in position. The fittings 17 are intended to receive such securing means. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the securing means are elastomeric cords 19.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5 a first possible method of securing the body in position is shown. This method utilises a bar 18 having holes through which the elastomeric cords 19 pass. The bar may be permanently attached to the body 1 and positioned in use against a suitable inwardly facing surface of the door frame by rotating the bar 18 relative to the body 1, thereby stressing the elastomeric cords 19 and permitting the bar 18 to be manoeuvred behind the doorframe. Such an arrangement provides rapid and convenient deployment of the device of the present invention.

It is believed that for most applications the bar 18 may be of fixed length.

However, it is to be appreciated that means for adjusting the length of the bar may be provided if required. Such means could, for example, comprise screw-threaded adjustors provided at one or both ends of the bar.

In the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the mounting device is as illustrated in Figure 6 and comprises a generally Ii-shaped frame 20 fabricated from square-section steel tube. The limbs of each leg of the IT are fitted with threaded plastic inserts 21 into which screw-threaded feet 22 are screwed. The feet 22 and inserts 21 together with from screw jacks which can be used to increase the effective length of the H-frame to accommodate various door sizes. For example, if the feet 22 are provided with screw threads having a length of approximately 100mm an embodiment of H-frame can readily be provided which can be secured within doorframes having a width of between 720mm and 880mm. In use, the H-frame 20 is preferably firmly secured in position by extending the screw jacks as necessary. Flats may be provided on the feet 22 to allow them to be engaged by a spanner for the purposes of tightening the jacks.

The H-frame 20 is preferably provided with legs 23 which may be formed of the same square section tube material as used for the body of the H-frame. The legs 23 are designed to engage the doorsill beneath the H-frame. Accordingly, the H-frame is positioned by standing it on the feet 23 and then extending the screw jacks to lock the H-frame in position. This arrangement ensures that the H-frame is easily located at the correct vertical height for effective operation. At the same time, because the Hframe is fully supported on the legs 23 the H-frame may be stepped on to aid climbing over the barrier.

In use, the body 1A illustrated in Figure 6 is secured to the H-frame by means of elastomeric cords 19. Preferably, the fixings 17 which secure the elastomeric cords to the body IA are positioned such that when both the body 1A and the H-frame 20 are resting on a sill the fixings 17 are slightly above the cord apertures 24 provided in the H-frame. The effect of this relationship is that the elastomeric cords would exert a force on the body 1A which is both downwards and inwards.

The body IA shown in the embodiment of Figure 6 is substantially identical to the body I of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 save that in a case of the body 1A a flange 12A is provided at the upper end of the body. The flange 12A substantially mirrors the flange 12 provided at the bottom of the body and adds to the rigidity of the body.

If desired, means can be provided on the 11-frame to provide additional support to the body. For example, the H-frame may include a projection (which could be adjustable) extending towards the body in order to support the body either in the convex region thereof on in the region of the bottom flange 12. For example, an arm could extend from the Fl-frame and incorporate a screw jack which could be screwed down to hold the bottom flange 12 against lifting.

It will be appreciated that the flood defence barrier described above can be manufactured economically and in large quantities. The body can be preassembled with seals and a bar to provide a complete device which can rapidly be deployed, e.g. by emergency services or householders. The device is of lightweight and will not deteriorate in storage or use. Once deployed, the device will very substantially reduce the quantity of water which is able to enter a building through the doorway thereof whilst allowing the door to be maintained open so that emergency services can communicate with those inside, and people can enter or leave the building by stepping over the barrier. After use, the barrier can rapidly be removed and stored for use on a future occasion.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A flood defence barrier comprising: a body having a convex

surface for facing flood water and a concave surface for facing the interior of a building, the convex surface being bounded by a pair of generally parallel side edges; and a base in the form of a flange joined at its leading edge to the body and extended from the body in the direction towards the interior of the building.
2. A flood defence barrier according to Claim 1 wherein the flange extends to a rear edge which extends in a substantially straight line from the bottom of one lateral edge of the body to the bottom of the other lateral edge of the body.
3. A flood defence barrier according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein a reinforcing member is provided which extends from the body to the flange to resist any tendency of the flange to deflect in the upward direction under imposed water load.
4. A flood defence barrier according to any preceding claim wherein the lateral edges of the body are provided with elastomeric seals which are compressed between a door frame and the body when the barrier is in use.
5. A flood defence barrier according to any preceding claim wherein the rear edge of the flange is provided with the seal, which, in use, is compressed between the flange and the door sill.
6. A flood defence barrier according to Claim 5 wherein the compressible elastomeric seal on the flange is sealingly connected to the compressible elastomeric seals on the lateral edges.
7. A flood defence barrier according to any preceding claim in combination with a mounting device, the mounting device comprising a rigid member for engaging a door frame.
8. A combination according to claim 7 including elastomeric cords connecting the body to the rigid member.
9. A combination according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the rigid member is a frame furnished with screw jacks to enable the frame to be secured rigidly to the door frame of the building.
10. A combination according to claim 9 wherein the frame is an H-frame.
11. A combination according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the frame is provided with legs which rest on the door sill in use to locate the frame in the vertical direction and enable the frame to be stood on to assist climbing over the barrier.