GB2471182A

GB2471182A - Flood barrier

Info

Publication number: GB2471182A
Application number: GB1009813A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Clive Taylor
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-06-19
Filing date: 2010-06-11
Publication date: 2010-12-22
Anticipated expiration: 2030-06-11
Also published as: GB2471182B; GB0910631D0; GB201009813D0

Abstract

A flood barber for an opening, e.g. a doorway, in a building comprising barrier means or panel 6 moveable from a stored position to a deployed position resilient biasing means 10 which in use will move the barrier means deployed position and trigger means to activate the resilient biasing means. The biasing means may be a mechanical spring, pneumatic device or gas spring. The barrier may be formed from a single section (Fig 2) or a two sections concertinaed together. The trigger means may be a float or electronic activation trigger means. In use the trigger means releases the panel 6 and the resilient biasing means 10 urges the panel into the upright deployed position. The flood barrier may for the door step of a building. There may be seals 5 attached to the building against which the panel 6 presses.

Description

Flood Defence The present invention relates to a flood defence. In particular, it relates to a flood bather for use in an opening of a building such as a building doorway. More particularly, it relates to a flood barrier which can be permanently located in position without preventing access to the door and which will self-activate when flooding occurs.

Flooding of buildings may occur in coastal regions when there is an abnormally high tide or severe weather which causes sea defences to be breached. In other areas bad weather may result in streams and rivers bursting their banks and the water gaining entry to buildings through, for example, the gaps between doors and doorframes. Such floods may occur unexpectedly and may occur at night.

Traditional methods to prevent the ingress of water into a building are to place a bather, such as a sand bag, in the door area outside the door. However, one drawback of these traditional techniques is that when the bathers are in position, the door is impassable until the bather is removed. This will be inconvenient to a user and may result in a homeowner deferring putting the barrier in place until it is too late.

Further, when a flood occurs suddenly with little warning, it is not always possible for the bather to be put in place in time. For example, where the building is a home, the homeowner may be absent during working hours or may be absent for an extended period such as a holiday. A further problem with traditional bathers is that the elderly and infirm may find erecting these bathers difficult and even the able-bodied may find it inconvenient to put the barrier in place during a flood.

Various systems have been proposed to address the disadvantages and drawbacks of the traditional bather systems. The flood baffier described in GB2369387 comprises a buoyant barrier which is raised by allowing it to float on the flooding liquid. The bather member may be located in a flotation chamber which is filled by the rising flood liquid when the liquid reaches a predetermined level.

A further arrangement is described in GB2327971 in which a flood barrier comprises a float which when inactive serves as doorstep. The float is arranged to move with rising flood water to extend a barrier across the door opening.

GB2403254 describes a flood barrier which has a frame, which may be of U-shaped channel section, secured to the base and sides of a doorway to which it is pivotally mounted along the base. It also includes a panel for closing the door in the event of flooding. The panel preferably floats upward with rising water level. The panel is generally formed from material which floats or it may have floats attached. The panel has side panels which allow the panel to pivot and prevent the ingress of flood water.

The side panels are attached to the frame.

Whilst these proposed arrangements provide a barrier against flooding, they rely on a float member rising on the flood water to position the barrier. However, they suffer from the disadvantage that the float members may become inoperable due to damage caused in heavy flood conditions or through interaction with debris carried by the flood water or even by the water itself particularly when the water is fast flowing. Whilst these barriers can generally be readily put in place when a flood warning has been given, they are not generally robust enough to be left permanently in place since they can become damaged through wear from foot traffic. A further problem associated with the prior art arrangements is that they are large and bulky to store when not in use.

The present invention seeks to overcome these problems and to provide a flood barrier which is activated by rising flood water, which is both robust and simple to operate and which can preferably be left permanently in place.

Thus according to the present invention there is provided a flood barrier for an opening in a building comprising: barrier means moveable from a stored position to a deployed position;

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resilient biasing means which in use will move the bather means to the deployed position; and trigger means to activate the resilient biasing means.

It will be understood that an "opening in a building" may be any opening to any building.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the building is a domestic building and the opening is a doorway which will generally have a conventional door in position. However, it will be understood that the flood bather of the present invention may be applied to any opening in any building. It may also be applied to openings between areas within a building. For example, it may be located between areas of a factory such that a spillage in one area can be contained and prevented from flowing though doorways and other openings into other areas.

It will also be understood that whilst the main usage of the barrier of the present invention will be to prevent the ingress of flood water from the sea or overflowing rivers and the like, it can also be used with other liquids which may cause a flood such as chemical or the like spillages in factories and laboratories. It will be understood that where the barrier is for this use, the components of the barrier will be formed of materials which are resistant to the liquid that is likely to form the basis of the spillage.

The barrier means is generally formed from material which is sufficiently hardwearing such that it can withstand the rigors of the traffic passing through an opening in the building. Any suitable material may be used. Suitable materials include metal, wood, plastics and the like. Different components of the barrier may be formed of different materials.

The flood barrier will generally be stored within a housing. This housing may be sunk into the ground. Alternatively, where the opening in the building is raised above the floor, the housing is above ground and forms a step. In one arrangement the housing is omitted and the barrier means itself forms a step.

The barrier means may itself form the top of the housing or a lid may be provided. The barrier means or, where present, the lid, may be decorated to resemble the aesthetics of the building. Where the housing forms a step it may be rendered on its side faces or the faces of the housing may be clad with tiles, bricks or the like. In one alternative arrangement, the sides of the housing are formed of tiles, bricks or the like.

In an alternative arrangement, the barrier means may be housed within the building under the opening. In this arrangement it may be mounted on runners such that when activated the barrier means slides forwardly on the runners to extend in front of the opening.

When not required, the barrier means is held in the stored position by a trigger means.

When the trigger means is activated, the baffier means is released and is moved from the stored position to the deployed position by means of the energy stored in the resilient biasing means.

Any suitable trigger means may be used. The trigger means will generally be a trigger catch which is activated when the flood reaches a predetermined level. The trigger catch may be activated by any suitable means such as by a float or an electronic activated trigger catch.

The flood barrier of the present invention will enable a door by the opening to be opened while the flood is still present to allow evacuation of the building while preventing ingress of water.

Once the flood has subsided, the barrier may be returned to the stored position and the trigger means can be reset.

The flood barrier and, where used, the housing, is preferably located such that one edge of the barrier means is located adjacent said opening and is hinged such that it will allow the flood bather to move through approximately 900 from the stored position to the deployed position.

Seals may be permanently attached to the building either side of the opening against which the bather means will seal when deployed. The seals may be located within struts.

These seals will be located at any suitable position. Where the opening in a building is a conventional front or back door on a residential house, the seals may be attached or bonded to the wall either side of the door typically between about 40cm and about 90cm up the wall and preferably about 70cm up the wall. Any suitable length of seal may be used but it will generally correspond to the height of the bather means.

The bather means may include side panels. These are preferably hinged such that they can be stored under the bather means and then moved to a deployed position where side panels extend forwardly of the bather means. In one alternative affangement the side panels may be folded above the barrier means when the barrier means is in the stored position. However, this arrangement is not generally preformed. Second resilient biasing means may be provided to move the side panels to the deployed position.

Any suitable resilient biasing means may be used to cause the bather means to be moved from the stored position to the deployed position. The resilient biasing means may comprise a number or springs, struts or the like to power the deployment of the bather means. Suitable biasing means include pneumatic devices, and springs such as gas springs or mechanical springs, such as a wound spring or a leaf spring.

The resilient biasing means may itself support the bather means during deployment from the stored to the deployed position and hold it in place while in the deployed position.

Additionally, or alternatively, support struts may be provided.

The bather means may be formed of a single section or it may comprise two or more connected sections. The use of connected sections reduces the planar dimcnsions of the bather means when in the stored position. The sections may be connected by any suitable means. Generally they will be hinged together. In a still further anangement, the barrier means may be formed of a single piece of plastic material which is folded about, for example thinner regions to provide the reduction in planer dimensions. In this embodiment, an additional blaising means may be provided to assist the upper portion to move upwardly.

In the arrangements where the banier means has joined sections or is folded, the edge which when deployed will be the uppermost edge will, in the stored position, generally be adjacent to the opening. In this arrangement means may be provided to assist this edge to remain adjacent during deployment. For example, projections outwardly from the side of the banier means at or near the edge may be located in channels in shuts extending either side of the opening when the banier means is deployed, the projections move upwardly in the channels. Where appropriate wheels may be located on the projections to facilitate the movement. Alternative anangements for assisting the deployment, for example rings, may be provided on the projections, the rings slide on rods attached to the wall either side of the opening.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a doorway with a flood banier of the present invention with the banier means in the stored position; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the a first embodiment of the flood banier during deployment; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the arrangement of figure 2 with the flood banier fully deployed; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the flood barrier during deployment; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the arrangement of Figure 4 with the flood barrier fully deployed; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the flood barrier during deployment; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the arrangement of Figure 6 with the flood barrier fully deployed; Figure 8 is a cross-section of the flood barrier of Figure 6 in a stored position; Figure 9 is a cross-section of the flood barrier of Figure 6 in deployed position; Figure 10 is a perspective view of an alternative arrangement of the present invention; Figure 11 is a cross section through the arrangement of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 10; Figure 12 illustrates the arrangement of Figure 10 partially deployed; Figure 13 is the barrier means of Figure 10 fully deployed; Figure 14 is an alternative illustration of the embodiment of Figure 12; Figure 15 is an alternative illustration of the embodiment of Figure 10; and Figure 16 is an alternative illustration of the embodiment of Figure 13.

The flood barrier 1 illustrated in Figure 1 is in the stored position which is located outside an opening, in this case a doorway 20 supporting a door 21. Doorway 20 and door 21 may represent the exterior door of a building and may be of a type well known in the art.

The barrier means 6 of the flood barrier 1 forms the upper surface of a doorstep at the building doorway 20. Thus when the barrier means is in the deployed position access through doorway 20 is not impeded. The upper surface may be decorated to fit with the aesthetics of the doorstep. The barrier means 6 may be formed of a rectangular sheet of material. The sheet material may be any appropriate material such as plastics, metal or In the illustrated embodiment, the barrier means is located in a housing, which is illustrated in Figures 2, 4 and 6, the doorstep is formed of a box construction 22, where the barrier means 6 forms the lid of the box. The sides of the box construction 22 can be formed by any appropriate means such as brickwork, stonework or other suitable construction.

In one alternative arrangement, the barrier means may be housed in a hole in the ground.

In each case the barrier means 6 or a cover thereon, serves as a step surface when the flood barrier 1 is not in use.

The barrier means 6 may be pivotally attached to either the housing or any suitable construction at the sill of the doorway. This allows the barrier means 6 to pivot from a stored position as shown in Figure 1, where it provides a step surface, to a deployed position as shown in Figures 3, 5 and 7, where it acts as a flood barrier for the doorway 20.

Located either side of the doorway 20 are struts which include a seal. These struts may be secured to the building by any appropriate means such as by screws and the like. A sealant such as silicone sealant may be used. These struts may be formed of any appropriate materials. When the barrier means 6 is deployed, it will press against these seals preventing the seepage of water to the doorway.

One embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figure 2. In this arrangement, the barrier means 6 comprises a single sheet. This sheet is supported by two resilient biasing means 10. Whilst two have been illustrated, it will be understood that the number of resilient biasing means can be selected as required. First ends of the resilient biasing means are anchored within the housing 22 and second ends of the resilient biasing means are attached to the underside of the barrier means 6. When the barrier means 6 is in the stored position, potential energy is stored in the resilient biasing means 10. When the trigger means, discussed in more detail below, is activated at the onset of a flood, the potential energy stored in the resilient biasing means 10 is released forcing the barrier means 6 to pivotally rotate about a pivot 7 into the deployed position illustrated in Figure 3. The barrier means 6 is generally held in the deployed position by residual energy in the resilient biasing means.

When the flood has receded, the barrier means 6 is returned to the stored position by rotating the barrier means 6 to the stored position about the pivot. By returning the barrier means 6 in this way, the resilient biasing means 10 are compressed such that potential energy is again stored therein for fiture deployment of the barrier means 6.

When the barrier means 6 is deployed, it is urged into contact with the seal 5 so as to provide a water tight seal, to prevent the ingress of flood water. The seal 5 may be C-shaped in cross-section, but may be any appropriate shape such that it provides a water tight seal with the barrier means 6.

A water activated trigger means 8 is provided in the housing 22 for deployment of the barrier means 6. When the barrier means 6 is in the stored position the trigger 8 engages the clip 9 attached to the underside of the barrier means 6. When flood water enters the housing 22, the trigger 8 will activate and disengage the clip 9 thus allowing the resilient biasing means 10 to deploy the barrier means 6 as discussed above.

In one alternative arrangement the barrier means 6 may include hinged side panels 17, as illustrated in Figure 4. In this case the struts 4 and where present seal 5 arrangement as discussed above may be modified such that the seal 5 is arranged to face the hinged side panels 17 which may engage on an outer side thereof rather than on the face. When the barrier means 6 is deployed, a side panel activation means 16 urges the hinged side panels 17 into contact with the seals 5. The side panel activation means 16 are attached to the underside of the barrier means and extends between the side panels 17. The side panel activation means 16 will generally be operated once the barrier means 6 is free of the housing 22 and the side panels 17 are no longer held in the stored position by the sides of the housing. Alternatively a trigger means may be provided. This trigger means may be the trigger means which allows the barrier means to move from the stored to the deployed position or on a separate trigger means may be provided.

A second alternative arrangement is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. In this arrangement, the barrier means is be formed of two concertinaed sections. The sections may be joined together by any suitable arrangement. In one arrangement they are joined across a central portion of the barrier means 6 by a water tight hinge 15. The water tight hinge 15 allows the barrier means 6 to fold out when deployed, and to fold back in on itself when placed in the stored position. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, a tension spring 14 may be provided adjacent to the water tight hinge 15 to aid deployment of the barrier means 6. A further spring mechanism 13 may be provided in the housing 22 adjacent to the doorway 20 to aid deployment of the barrier means 6. Deployment of the barrier means 6 may be further aided by two sliding bearings 16. The bearings 16 are seated in respective channels and are arranged to slide along the channels during deployment of the barrier means 6. The channels may be provided in the struts as discussed above, or alternatively the channels may be chased into the wall of a building at each side of the doorway.

As illustrated in Figures 10 and 15, the housing may be omitted. Here the barrier means itself forms the step. To provide sufficient resilience during use in the stored position, a frame 20 is located beneath the barrier means. As shown in Figures 12, 13 and 14, the frame may include additional support components 21 and 22. In the arrangement illustrated, support component 22 moves to the deployed position with the bather member while component 21 is intrinsical with the frame. However, any combination of the components may be present.

Claims

Claims 1. A flood banier for an opening in a building comprising: barrier means moveable from a stored position to a deployed position; resilient biasing means which in use will move the barrier means deployed position; and trigger means to activate the resilient biasing means.
2. The flood barrier according to Claim 1 wherein the banier means is a single section.
3. The flood banier according to Claim 1, wherein the barrier means comprises two sections hinged together such that when in the stored position the banier means is in a concertina arrangement.
4. The flood barrier according to anyone of Claims 1 to 3 additionally comprising a housing.
5. The flood barrier according to Claim 4, wherein the housing has an open top and the banier means is arranged to cover the open top of the housing when the banier means is in the stored position.
6. The flood banier according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the flood banier forms a step to the opening when the banier means is in the stored position when located in the stored position.
7. The flood barrier according to anyone of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the resilient biasing means is a pneumatic device, a gas spring, or a mechanical spring.
8. The flood barrier according to anyone of Claims ito 7, further comprising sealing means located at each side of the opening.
9. The flood bather according to Claim 8, wherein the barrier means is affanged to seal against the sealing means when the barrier means is in the deployed position.
10. The flood barrier according to any one of Claims 1 to 9 additionally including support shuts.
11. The flood bather according to anyone of Claims 1 to 10 wherein the trigger means is a float or electronic activation trigger means.
12. The flood bather according to any one Claims 1 to 11, further comprising two hinged side panels.
13. The flood barrier substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying figures.