WO2006004404A1

WO2006004404A1 - Security structure which opens in emergency situations

Info

Publication number: WO2006004404A1
Application number: PCT/NL2005/000469
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marcel Marinus Wilhelmus Lambertus Vermeer; Roland Arres Wilhelmus Lambertus Vermeer
Original assignee: Vermeer Marcel Marinus Wilhelm; Vermeer Roland Arres Wilhelmus
Priority date: 2004-07-01
Filing date: 2005-07-01
Publication date: 2006-01-12
Also published as: NL1026541C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a security structure for buildings. The structure comprises a barrier and a motor. The motor is connected to the barrier and can raise this barrier or lower it. The security structure is provided with a sensor which is connected to a control unit. Depending on the detection by the sensor of an air-quality parameter being exceeded, the control unit drives the motor in order to remove the barrier. In the case of fire, for example, the fire services are consequently not hampered by a roller shutter which is still closed.

Description

Security structure which opens in emergency situations

The invention relates to a security structure for buildings comprising at least a barrier and a motor, the motor being connected to the barrier and the motor being designed to place the barrier in a predetermined position and remove it therefrom. Barriers of this kind are well-known from the prior art, for example as roller shutters. These roller shutters are used for example as protection for shop fronts and other business premises. By day, when the shop is open, the roller shutters are raised. The roller shutters are then in a rolled-up state, for example on the upper part of the shop front, thus making the shop front itself free from obstacles. This means that the shop can easily be entered by the front door and also that any products which may be displayed in the window displays are well visible from the outside. At night, when the shop is closed, the roller shutters are lowered. Thus, the roller shutters protect against, for example, acts of vandalism and Burgiary. Ub o,-d_o,/oϊj iυr ex-aiupie UC&VHUGS a roller shutter for a garage. This publication describes how a roller shutter stops during lowering when it encounters an obstacle, such as the bonnet of a car. Sensors are arranged on or in the vicinity of the roller shutter in order to prevent possible damage to a car. More generally, roller shutters are used to protect window panes in order to offer additional protection for these vulnerable parts of a building or object. Not only does this protect against the aforementioned effects of vandalism and burglary, but also against for example weather effects such as precipitation (rain, hail) and sunlight. American patent US 4,452,010 provides an example of a security structure. The underlying idea with the structure from US 4,452,010 is as follows. The structure protects against burglary as well as against the effects of the elements. However, at the same time they also block important emergency exits. In case of emergency situations (such as fire), it is difficult for people to get out of such a space. Often, smashing a window is possible, but breaking the protective structure from US 4,452,010 can usually only be effected with great effort or not at all, leading to loss of valuable time. With US 4,452,010, the protective structure is immediately uncoupled from the window in the event of a fire so that the protective structure can be turned away from or folded away from the window. Incidentally, the latter will have to be carried out by hand with US 4,452,010. The structure described in US 4,452,010, in its uncoupled state, is mainly intended to enable people to escape quickly from a building. When roller shutters are lowered, one important function is the protection of the space (fo^r example a shop) behind the roller shutters against unauthorized entry. The roller shutters prevent the space behind it from being entered or the roller shutters at least delay entry. However, a disadvantage thereof is that there may be circumstances where it is very important that the space which is protected by the roller shutters can be accessed easily and quickly, for example in case of fire or other emergency situations in this space. In that case, it is important that the fire services and other emergency services can enter the space as quickly as possible. The fire services can then fight the fire as quickly as possible and thus limit the damage to the shop. The damage will inter alia comprise damage to the shop interior and the objects and/or stock present in the shop. Currently, the fire services have to destroy the roller shutters and use force in order to gain entry to a shop which is on fire or have to wait until the roller shutters are raised. In many cases, the fire services do not have a key or a key code with which the roller shutters can be raised, but they have to wait until for example an employee of a private security company has arrived who can raise the roller shutters. This procedure causes significant delays with regard to the fire-fighting measures. The delay may also result in the fire spreading (fire extension), which may result in more damage, the financial consequences of which, for example, will have to be borne, inter alia, by insurance companies. In addition, a fire which has had ample opportunity to develop, will pose a greater danger to fire-fighters.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a system with a barrier which can be displaced by a motor and which does not have the abovementioned drawbacks, that is to say a reliable and automated system which ensures that the barrier is removed in emergency situations. The invention is characterized in that the protective structure furthermore comprises a sensor for detecting a presettable air-quality parameter and a control unit, which sensor is designed to communicate with the control unit and the control unit being designed to drive the motor, depending on a change in the air-quality parameter, in such a manner that the barrier is removed. This invention has the important advantage that by using the motor to remove the barrier the fire services will no longer encounter any obstacles (except maybe for an (entrance) door at the most) and a starting fire or a fire which has already developed can be limited in its scale, with all the obvious advantages this entails. In one embodiment, the invention is characterized in that the control unit is designed to drive the motor, depending on the change, after a presettable period has elapsed. This has the advantage that the period during which no protective barrier is present can be reduced to a minimum. Due to this protective structure, it is easier for people to enter the space which is located behind the barrier.

In a further embodiment, the invention is characterized in that the air-quality parameter comprises at least one from the group consisting of the temperature and the amount of carbon monoxide (CO), the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and the amount of nitrogen (N) and the amount of oxygen (O₂) in the vicinity of the sensor. These air- quality parameters change during (the start of) a fire to a relatively large degree. In one embodiment, the parameter is the amount of humidity or the amount of gas in the air. These last two parameters form, just like fire, a potential threat to humans, and therefore the fire services and/or police will have to be able to enter a building quickly and without barriers in case of an emergency situation (i.e. when a set standard is exceeded).

In a further embodiment, the invention is characterized in that the connection between the sensor and the motor is a wireless connection. This allows for great flexibility in positioning the sensor and the motor.

In a further embodiment, the invention is characterized in that the barrier can be placed in front of a door of a building. The door is the easiest way of entering a building in an emergency situation. This is also true for people who are not authorized to enter the building. Therefore, it is important to protect the door by means of a barrier when there are no emergency situations, outside opening hours.

The invention also relates to a method for removing a barrier for protecting buildings, which barrier is connected to a motor, comprising the following operations:

- setting a reference value for at least one air-quality parameter,

- measuring the current value of the air-quality parameter,

- checking whether the air-quality parameter value has a presettable deviation from the reference value, - driving the motor in such a manner that the barrier is removed when the presettable deviation is exceeded.

The invention also relates to a computer program which enables a computer to execute the abovementioned method when it is loaded onto the computer. The invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the attached figures, in which:

Figure 1 gives a general overview of the system according to the invention, Figure 2 shows a detail of the control unit from figure 1. Although the invention is described in more detail below using a roller shutter an example, the invention relates to any barrier which

Figure 1 shows an overview of the system 1 according to the invention. The system 1 comprises a roller shutter 3 which can be raised or rolled up and rolled down by means of a motor 7. In figure 1, the motor 7 is in a box 5 at the top of the roller shutter 3. However, it is also possible for the box 5 to be oriented differently relative to the roller shutter 3, for example to the left or right or at the bottom. The motor 7 is connected to a control unit 9 via a connection 13. A sensor 11 is also connected to the control unit 9. The sensor 11 can be directly on the control unit 9, but it is also possible for the sensor 11 to be located somewhere else, for example in one of the spaces of a building to be protected where there is a great risk of an emergency situation (fire risk). Both the connection 13 and the connection 15 can be a wireless connection using a transmitter and a receiver. The use of a system based on Bluetooth technology is also advantageous in this case, due to the limited range of the Bluetooth connection. The system 1 works as follows. The sensor 11 continuously or only during specific periods with intervals between them carries out measurements of an air-quality parameter, such as for example the temperature or the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂). If the value of this parameter exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the sensor 11 emits a signal to the control unit 9. The control unit 9 in turn drives the motor 7 so that the roller shutter 3 is raised. The control unit 9 is described in more detail in figure 2. The control unit 9 comprises a switch 23 which has to be operated manually. The switch 23 can be switched to an "open" position. In this position, the roller shutter 3 is raised. This is indicated by the symbol "0" and the triangle 25 in figure 2. The position in which the roller shutter 3 is lowered is indicated by a triangle 27 which is pointing down and the symbol "1". With systems that are currently known, however, the switch can only be operated if an appropriate key is present in a lock 31 located on the control unit 9. This invention provides for a sensor 29, for example, to be present on the control unit 9 or a remote sensor as illustrated in figure 1. The sensor may be sensitive to a large number of variables, such as for example the temperature and the amount of carbon monox (CO), the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and the amount of nitrogen (N), the amc — of humidity, the amount of gas, and the amount of oxygen (O₂) in the vicinity of the sensor 11, 29. The sensor 11, 29 may also be a smoke detector. This smoke detectoi may furthermore be provided with a special chip. When the threshold value which r been set for the relevant variable, for example a temperature threshold of 20⁰C — 50°C, is exceeded, the control unit 29 automatically switches to "0" and raises the roller shutter. When the fire services arrive on the scene, it is much easier for them to enter the space which is protected by the roller shutter 3. The control unit 9 may be provided with a timer circuit in order to drive the motor 7 only once a presettable period, for example 3 to 5 minutes, has elapsed. This period enables the fire services to get to the fire and, at virtually the same time, the roller shutters for the entrance door(s) are removed. By using a time delay mechanism of this type, the premises to be protected are less susceptible to burglary during the time it takes the fire services to arrive. It is also possible to send a warning signal to the fire service, the moment the roller shutters are removed by the motor, so that the fire services are aware that there are no barriers to be removed anymore.

In one embodiment, the security structure comprises a battery which is designed to supply the motor with power. It is possible that the power may fail in case of an emergency situation. If a motor then has its own battery, it will be possible for it to continue to operate normally. Figure 1 shows a battery 10 which is connected to the motor 7.

It will be understood that a person skilled in the art will immediately think of variants upon reading the above. It is possible to use a rigid fence, a trellis or a sliding door instead of a roller shutter. It is also possible to use an acoustic signal as a means of wireless communication between the sensor and the motor and/or the control unit. Such variants are deemed to be within the scope of the application as described in the following claims.

Claims

1. A security structure for buildings comprising at least a barrier and a motor, the motor being connected to the barrier and the motor being designed to place the bar in a predetermined position and remove it therefrom, characterized in that the secui structure furthermore comprises a sensor for detecting a presettable air-quality parameter and a control unit, which sensor is designed to communicate with the control unit and the control unit being designed to drive the motor, depending on a change in the air-quality parameter, in such a manner that the barrier is removed.

2. The security structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the control unit is designed to drive the motor, depending on the change, after a presettable period has elapsed.

3. The security structure as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the barrier comprises at least one from the group consisting of a roller shutter and a fence.

4. The security structure as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the air-quality parameter comprises at least one from the group consisting of the temperature, the amount of carbon monoxide (CO), the amount of carbon dioxide

(CO₂), the amount of nitrogen (N), the amount of humidity, the amount of gas, and the amount of oxygen (O₂) in the vicinity of the sensor.

5. The security structure as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connection between the sensor and the motor is a wireless connection.

6. The security structure as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the connection between the sensor and the motor is a Bluetooth connection.

7. The security structure as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the structure comprises a battery which is designed to supply the motor with power.

8. A method for removing a barrier for protecting buildings, which barrier is connected to a motor, comprising the following operations:

- setting a reference value for at least one air-quality parameter,

- measuring the current value of the air-quality parameter,

5 - checking whether the air-quality parameter value has a presettable deviation from the reference value,

- driving the motor in such a manner that the barrier is removed when the presettable deviation is exceeded.

10 9. A computer program which enables a computer to execute the method as claimed in claim 8 when it is loaded onto the computer.

10. The security structure as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the barrier can be placed in front of a door of a building. J5 ****************