GB2474264A

GB2474264A - A door lock component comprising of eutectic material

Info

Publication number: GB2474264A
Application number: GB0917629A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Goddard
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-10-08
Filing date: 2009-10-08
Publication date: 2011-04-13
Anticipated expiration: 2029-10-08
Also published as: GB0917629D0; GB2474264B

Abstract

A door lock component comprising of eutectic material which may therefore melt during a fire to allow a secured door to be released from its securing in the event of a fire. The fusible component of the door lock may be a sliding bolt 40, spring 60, staple 35, barrel, hasp, alternatively an attachment means such as a screw 70 may be of a low melting point eutectic material. In one arrangement the door lock is a sliding latch bolt on a stable door; a door opener may be provider to automatically open the door once the eutectic material has melted thus allowing livestock such as horses to escape a burning stable.

Description

A door lock component The present invention relates to a door lock component, a door lock and a door and finds particular, although not exclusive, utility in the field of fire safety equipment.

Door locks are well known for securing doors in any position relative to another object, usually a door frame, whether that be fully open, partially open or closed.

The door locks may, or may not, require a key to be operated such that the door is secured or unsecured.

In the case of a fire it is not always possible to open a door which has been secured with such a door lock. This may be because there is no one present adjacent the door, or because smoke, heat or flames obscures the lock or blocks access to it. In particular, animals that are kept in any kind of housing which limits their freedom to escape are vulnerable to fires. For instance, horses or livestock are often kept in stables, sties, sheds etc. which often contain straw and other flammable material. These animals are kept within by doors comprising door locks. If a fire starts and there is no one present to unlock the door then the animals will suffer and possible die as a result of the heat and/or smoke.

Although automatic door-openers are known, these are operated by electhcity and therefore necessitate an electricity supply. This is not always available for animal housing which may be located in fields in rural areas. Moreover, these type of door-openers are relatively expensive and require regular maintenance and checks.

Accordingly, it is desirable for a new device which allows doors to be automatically unlocked in the case of a fire; such devices not requiring electricity.

In a first aspect, the invention provides a door lock component comprised of eutectic material.

Eutectic material is material which passes from a liquid molten state to a solid state and vice versa substantially instantaneously with no intermediate plastic state. The material may be an eutectic alloy. The alloy may be a metal and may comprise bismuth and/or indium. The melting point of the eutectic material must be above the highest average temperature likely to be reached adjacent the door in normal conditions but be low enough to melt and thus allow the door to be unlocked before the temperature reaches unacceptable and/or dangerous levels. In one embodiment, the melting point of the eutectic material is in the range 39 to 90 degrees Centigrade. In another

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embodiment, the melting point is above 39 degrees Centigrade, more particularly 47 degrees Centigrade. In yet another embodiment, the melting point is above 49 degrees Centigrade, more particularly 58 degrees Centigrade. In a different embodiment, the melting point is above 59 degrees Centigrade, more particularly 70 degrees Centigrade.

The term door is used to include any barrier whether temporary or permanent which may be openable and/or closable to allow and/or prohibit passage through an opening. It may include one or more of a gate, a barrier, a flap, a lid and a fence.

The door lock component may be any part or parts of the lock. In this regard, the term "lock" means anything that secures a door, regardless of whether or not a key is required, and includes bolts, latches etc. For instance, it may be a staple through which a bolt may pass in use; it may be a bolt for passing through a staple in use; it may be a barrel through which a bolt may pass in use; it may be a hasp over which a staple may pass in use; it may be a retaining means for passing through a staple for retaining a hasp with a staple; it may be a latch; it may be a latch catch; it may be an attachment means for attaching at least a portion of a door lock to a door and/or a door frame such as a screw, a rivet, nail or nut and/or bolt. Other components of other door locking mechanisms are contemplated.

In this way, only a component of an existing door lock may require to be replaced with a new component comprising the eutectic material, rather than a whole new lock being provided.

It is also possible that the door lock component is a resilient means for urging a locking means into locking engagement with a lock retaining means. For instance, the component may be a spring for urging a bolt through a staple or strike plate. In this embodiment, the door lock may also require a second spring or resilient means providing lesser force than the spring component such that before it has melted the component spring provides a force which overcomes the second spring for urging the bolt into the lock retaining means. When the component spring melts the second spring urges the bolt back thus unlocking the door.

The door lock may, or may not, be of the type which require a key to be operated such that the door is secured or unsecured.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a door lock comprising a door lock component as described and/or claimed herein. The door lock may allow the release of a previously secured door whether that be in the open or closed position.

The door lock may further comprise means for automatically opening or closing a door following a change of state of the eutectic material. This may take the form of a door-opener or door-closer comprising a resilient means such as a spring or gas-powered ram, etc. In a third aspect, the invention provides a door comprising a door lock as described and/or claimed herein.

The door may include means for automatically opening or closing it following a change of state of the eutectic material. This may take the form of a door-opener or door-closer comprising a resilient means such as a spring or gas-powered ram, etc. This may be useful to allow the occupants of a housing, whether animal of human, to exit without the need to open the door. It also may allow a door to be closed to contain a fire or obstruct air flow if the door was initially secured in the open position. It should be understood that the lock and/or door may require manual opening/closing.

In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a stable including a door lock component as described and/or claimed herein, and/or a door lock as described and/or claimed herein and/or a door as described and/or claimed herein.

In this regard the word stable may be taken to mean a housing for horses, or any other animal.

The above and other characteristics, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. This description is given for the sake of example only, without limiting the scope of the invention. The reference figures quoted below refer to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a standard door bolt; Figure 2 is an elevational view of the door bolt of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an elevational view of a standard hasp type door lock; Figure 4 is a plan view of the hasp of Figure 3; and Figure 5 is an elevational view of part of the exterior of a stable.

The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are on'y schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or iLlustrated herein.

Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are capable of operation in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

It is to be noticed that tile term "comprising", used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It is thus to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression "a device comprising means A and B" should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B. Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may refer to different embodiments.

Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this

disclosure, in one or more embodiments.

Similarly it should be appreciated that in the description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some but not other features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments, as would be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of tile claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth.

However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practised without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of

this description.

The invention will now be described by a detailed description of several embodiments of the invention. It is clear that other embodiments of the invention can be configured according to the knowledge of persons skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit or technical teaching of the invention, the invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

With reference to Figures 1 and 2 a door bolt 10 is depicted. The door bolt 10 comprises two portions 20, 30. The first portion 20 includes a back plate 25 and a bolt slidably received in a housing 50. The portion of the bolt 40 within the housing 50 is shown in broken lines. An opening 45 in the housing 50 allows a knob 55 to slide the bolt 40 reciprocally within the housing 50. A spring 60 is also indicated in broken lines urging the bolt towards the second portion 30 (towards the right as shown).

The second portion 30 includes a back plate 33, a bolt receiving housing 37 and a spring 65 shown in broken lines within the bolt receiving housing 37.

The first and second portions 20, 30 are attached to a door 80 and a door frame respectively by attachment means 70.

It should be understood that the first and second portions 20, 30 could be reversed such that the first portion 20 is attached to, or integral with, the door frame 90 and the second portion 30 is attached to, or integral with, the door 80.

The springs 60, 65 are optional. Without the springs 60, 65, any one of the components shown may comprise eutectic material such that when its temperature is raised beyond a threshold value the component(s) melt(s) and either or both the first and second portions 20, 30 will fall off the door or door frame, possibly due to gravity, or the bolt will melt, or the bolt will fall out of the housing 50, 37. Thus the door will be unsecured.

With the springs 60, 65 included the spring 60 in the first portion 20 urges one end of the bolt 40 into the bolt receiving housing 37 in the second portion 30 to lock or secure the door. The spring 60 provides a greater force than the spring 65.

If the spring 60 comprises eutectic material then it will melt when its temperature is raised beyond a threshold value. The spring 65 in the second portion 30 will thus push the bolt 40 back towards the first portion 20 and out of the bolt receiving means 37 thus unsecuring or releasing the door 80.

With reference to Figures 3 and 4 a door hasp and staple 100 is depicted. The door hasp comprises two portions 105, 110, The door hasp portion 105 includes a back plate 108 and a hasp 106 hingably connected at one end to the back plate 108 by means of a hinge 120. At the end of the hasp 106 opposite from the hinge 120 an aperture 112 is provided for receiving the staple 130. The door staple portion 110 includes a back plate 115 and a staple 130. The hasp 106 is retained around the staple 130 by a locking pin 140.

The two portions 105, 110 are attached to a door 80 and a door frame 90 respectively by attachment means 70.

It should be understood that the two portions 105, 110 could be reversed such that the door hasp portion 105 is attached to, or integral with, the door frame 90 and the door staple portion 110 is attached to, or integral with, the door 80.

Any one of the components shown may comprise eutectic material such that when its temperature is raised beyond a threshold value the component(s) melt(s) and either or both the two portions 105, 110 will fall off the door or door frame, possibly due to gravity, or the hasp or staple or pin will melt. Thus the door will be unsecured.

Figure 5 shows a portion of a typical stable 200. The stable building is comprised of timber walls 210 and a split stable-type door 220. The door 220 has an upper portion 230 and a lower portion 240. The two doors are hinged to the door frame and may be opened independently from one another or together. The two doors 230, 240 may be held together, to move as one, by a bolt 250 affixed to either one of the two door portions 230, 240.

The door 220 is held secured to the door frame by a door bolt 260. A door-opener 270 is provided to open the lower door and/or the upper door.

The door bolt 260 may comprise a component comprising eutectic material such that in the case of a fire it will unsecure or release the door from the frame. The door-opener 270 will then open the door allowing the horse to escape the burning stable 200.

Claims

Claims 1. A door lock component comprised of eutectic material.
2. The door lock component of claim 1, being a staple through which a bolt may pass in use.
3. The door lock component of claim 1, being a bolt for passing through a staple in use.
4. The door lock component of claim 1, being a barrel through which a bolt may pass in use.
5. The door lock component of claim 1, being an attachment means for attaching at least a portion of a door lock to a door and/or a door frame.
6. The door lock component of claim 1, being a hasp over which a staple may pass in use.
7. The door lock component of claim 1, being a resilient means for urging a locking means into locking engagement with a lock retaining means.
8. A door lock comprising a door lock component of any one of claims I to 7.
9. The door lock of claim 8, further comprising means for automatically opening or closing a door following a change of state of the eutectic material.
10. A door comprising a door lock of either one of claims 8 and 9.
11. The door of claim 10 including means for automatically opening or closing it following a change of state of the eutectic material.
12. A stable including a door lock component of any one of claims I to 7, and/or a door lock of either one of claims 8 and 9 and/or a door of either one of claims 10 and 11.
13. A door lock component substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
14. A door lock substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
15. A door substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.