Patent Application
20160375283
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a fire and/or smoke blocking device for selectively covering an opening in a wall, and particularly to a fire door assembly with an egress for allowing passage therethrough when the wall opening is covered by the fire door assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A “labeled” door assembly is defined by the National Fire Protection Association as a combination of a door, hardware and other accessories which together provide a specific degree of protection to an opening when closed and to which has been attached a label or other identifying mark to indicate compliance with nationally recognized standards or tests. Conversely, all other door assemblies are referred to as “non-labeled” door assemblies.
For emergency egress purposes, various building codes and the like require any building having either a slide-type or rolling type door assembly to include both a fire door positionable to close an opening and a hinged-type wicket or pass door for passage therethrough when the opening is closed by the fire door. In some cases, compliance with the above requirement may be achieved merely by providing the pass door in the wall of the building adjacent the fire door. Alternatively, a pass door may be incorporated into the movable fire door itself. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,217,731 and 4,461,120, for example, there are shown fire door assemblies which include a single hinged pass door in a sliding fire door for allowing passage through the sliding fire door. As will be readily appreciated, however, sliding fire doors may be unattractive to building designers because of the need to provide adjacent wall space to accommodate them. This same need for adjacent space may also complicate or frustrate efforts to retrofit a sliding door over an existing opening.
In an effort to avoid the space problems and other disadvantages associated with slide-type door assemblies, rolling door assemblies, which include a shutter curtain that is raised or lowered from a roller positioned above the opening, have been developed. Typically, two vertically disposed channels are positioned adjacent opposite lateral sides of the opening to guide the shutter curtain as it is retracted or extended between the opened and closed positions.
While a service door configuration is known in which a pass door frame is hingedly connected to a vertical, shutter guide channel to provide passage when the rolling curtain service door is closed, this configuration utilizes a door frame structure that must be manually positioned and locked prior to extension of the shutter curtain. As such, this configuration can not be utilized in self-closing fire door applications in which the rolling door is closed automatically, such, for example, in response to detection of a fire.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,541 discloses a rolling door assembly having a pass door arrangement, which is positioned inside a structure opening and fixed to the structure. A vertical edge of the pass door frame serves as a channel in which an edge of the narrow section of a sliding or rolling door panel or curtain is guided as the curtain moves to its closed position. During lowering of the curtain, an alignment member or “floating bar” rests on the top of the already-closed pass door frame. According to this arrangement, the pass door frame and door arrangement must be attached to the structure and remain in the structure opening under a non-emergency situation.
The embodiments described below relate to a fire and/or smoke blocking device, such as a fire door assembly, for covering a structure opening in a sidewall of a structure. The fire door assembly comprises a roller assembly to be mounted to a portion of the structure defining the structure opening. The fire door assembly may have a curtain panel disposed on the roller assembly and operable between a retracted position where the curtain panel is wound onto the roller assembly and an extended position where the curtain panel is unwound from the roller assembly to cover the structure opening.
The curtain panel includes first and second panel portions with mutually opposite edge portions that are releasably connectable in a closed position. A fastener is provided and operable to releasably secure the first and second panel portions to each other in a blocking condition. The first and second panel portions are separable from each other in response to an egress force exerted thereon, thereby forming an egress through the curtain panel. Upon relaxation or removal of the egress force, the first and second panel portions return to the closed position to close the egress. The mutually opposite edge portions at least partially overlap in a preferred embodiment of the invention.
According to another aspect of the invention, the fire door assembly may comprise a roller assembly to be mounted to a portion of the structure defining a portion of the structure opening and a movable flap disposed onto the roller assembly. The movable flap is operable between a retracted position where the movable flap is wound onto the roller assembly and an extended position where the movable flap is unwound from the roller assembly to cover at least a portion of the structure opening.
A first fastener is provided to be immovably mounted in relation to the structure in the extended position while a second fastener is fixed to the movable flap to releasably attach to the first fastener, thereby maintaining a blocking condition of the fire door assembly. The first and second fasteners can be selectively disengaged from each other in response to an egress force so that the moving flap can be separated from and moved away from the first fastener to form an egress therebetween. Upon relaxation or removal of the egress force, the movable flap is operable to return to the closed position to close the egress.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which same or similar components and elements are designated with the same numeral reference. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.
In the drawings:
In the various embodiments described below and depicted in the drawing figures, the fire and/or smoke blocking device is in the form of a fire door assembly and is a labeled fire door assembly. The fire and/or smoke blocking device can also be formed as a fire curtain assembly, a smoke door assembly, a smoke curtain assembly, or similar assemblies that are labeled assemblies and can be used in a fire and/or smoke situation to cover a structure opening, so as to prevent fire and/or smoke from spreading to other sections of the structure.
Wrapped about the roller assembly 12 is a curtain panel 20, which can be any suitable rolling door configuration possessing the desired characteristics of flexibility, durability, and fireproof. For example, the curtain panel 20 can be made to be flexible and of a suitable textile material, textile composite material, or metallic material. When the flexible curtain panel 20 is in its extended position as shown in
One advantage of a roll-type door structure is derived from its minimal space requirements and out-of-the way placement above a structure opening 3 when in a retracted position. When not needed, the flexible curtain panel 20 may be wound onto the roller assembly 12 and maintained in a retracted position. The flexible curtain panel 20 may also, in accordance with an operating sequence to be described in detail later, be unwound by various known methods, including conventional hand crank or power drive means, into the extended position shown in
The curtain panel 20 can comprise first and second panel portions 22, 24. In the example shown in
A third panel portion 28 can also be provided on an opposite side edge of the first panel portion 22 and separated from the second panel portion 24 by the first panel portion 22. The third panel portion 28 can be similarly formed to the second panel portion 24 and at least partially overlap with the first panel portion 22 to form another overlapping region 26, as further illustrated in
As is illustrated in
Various other releasable type fasteners can be used as the fastener 30. For example, the fastener 30 can comprise strips 32 of magnetic materials attracted to each other or metal and magnetic materials. In an alternative example, the fastener 30 can comprise hook and loop fasteners 34, which are formed on the first and second portions 22, 24 in their overlapping regions 26.
The fastener 30 is designed so that it can repeatedly alternate between an engaged condition and a disengaged condition, to thereby releasably attach the panel portions 22, 24 and/or 22, 28. For example, the fastener 30 attaches the overlapping first and second panel portions 22, 24 to each other in an engaged condition and form a blocking condition. When an egress force F is exerted on the first panel portion 22 in an egress direction, the fastener 30 is disengaged so that the first and second panel portions 22, 24 can be separated from each other to form an egress E through the curtain panel 20. Upon relaxation or removal of the egress force F, the first and second panel portions 22, 24 can return to the closed position, as is shown in
The fire door assembly 1 can also include first and second side frames 40, which are to be mounted to the structure 5. The side frames 40 each define a recess 42 (FIG. 3) therein for receiving and guiding a corresponding side edge of the curtain panel 20. Such side frames 40 can provide additional stability for the flexible curtain panel 20 as the curtain panel 20 is moved between its retracted position and extended position. Additionally or alternatively, the side frames 40 can hold the side edge of the curtain panel 20 in position when the curtain panel 20 is in the extended position.
In an example shown in
The pocket 52 can be formed in various manners. For example, the pocket 52 can be formed from the same material piece used to form the corresponding panel portions 22, 24, 28, such as by folding over an end portion of the material piece and affix the free end to the overlapping material piece. The pocket 52 can also be separately formed, with or without the conformable material, and then fixed to the panel portions 22, 24, 28. The conformable material can be any material that has a sufficient mass and can freely move or flow when not being restricted. Preferably, the conformable material is a material with a higher density than the curtain panel material. For example, sand or water can be used in the pocket 52 as a conformable material.
Because of the mobility and heavier weight of the conformable material inside the pocket 52, the closure device 50 is operable to conform to any irregularity on the floor surface of the structure 5, thereby fully covering and/or sealing the structure opening 3 when the curtain panel 20 is in the extended position. Additionally or alternatively, the closure device 50 can operate to assist the first panel portion 22 to return to the closed position due to the added weight at the bottom of the first panel portion 22.
In additional examples shown in
Optionally, the metal rails 52a, 52b can be formed with one or more interlocking portions 54a, 54b to facilitate in retaining the first panel portion 22 in the closed position. For example, the interlocking portions 54a, 54b can be formed as male and female interlocking portions. Once the interlocking portions 54a, 54b are engaged with each other, they can operate to prevent the first panel portion 22 from moving in a vertical direction in relation to the second panel portion 24. The interlocking portions 54a, 54b are formed on the egress side of the fire door assembly 1, allowing the first panel portion 22 to be deflected in response to an egress force F (
Additionally or alternatively, the metal rails 52a, 52b can be formed with one or more guiding portions 56a, 56b to facilitate the first panel portion 22 in returning to the closed position. The guiding portions 56a, 56b can be formed as slanted ends of the metal rails 52a, 52b opposing to each other in a closed position. Upon relaxation or removal of the egress force F, the guiding portions 56a, 56b can aid the first panel portion 22 to return to the closed position.
As is shown in
Additionally or alternative, the bottom frame 60 can comprise a second curtain stop 66 for restricting the second panel portion 24 from lateral movement in relation to the structure. In the examples shown in
In operation, the fire door assembly 1 is installed in a structure opening 3 and maintained in a retracted position. During an emergency, the fire door assembly 1 will turn into the extended position in a known manner, whereby the panel portions 22, 24, 28 will unwind from the roller assembly 12 and become extended as are shown in
When egress is needed, the user may pull or push the first panel portion 22 to disengage the fastener 30 from its engaged position and move away from the blocking position to form an egress through the curtain panel 20. Once the user passes through the egress to the safe side, the user can simply release the first panel portion 22. The first panel portion 22 will return to its blocking position under the action of gravity from the mass of the first panel portion 22, as well as the closure device 50 attached to the bottom of the first panel portion 22 if such closure device 50 is employed. When the first panel portion 22 returns to its blocking position and overlaps with the second panel portion 24, the fastener 30 operates to reengage and secure the first and second panel portions 22, 24 to each other so as to retain the blocking condition and prevent fire and smoke from spreading through the egress.
Optionally, a collapsible handle 70 can be provided on the first panel portion 22. For example, the collapsible handle 70 can be provided on the pulling side of the first panel portion 22 to assist in separating the first panel portion 22 from the second panel portion 24 when forming the egress. In
Alternatively, the second fastener 30b can be provided on a side panel portion, similar to the second panel portion 24 shown in
When the movable flap 22a is unwound from the roller assembly 12 and extended to the extended position, the first and second fasteners 30a, 30b can releasably attach to each other to secure the movable flap 22a to the structure 5 and retain the blocking condition of the fire door assembly 1d. Similar to the fastener 30 described above, the first and second fasteners 30a, 30b in the embodiment can be selectively disengaged from each other in response to an egress force F to separate the moving flap 22a from the second fastener 30b and form an egress E therebetween. Once the egress force F is released, the movable flap 22a returns to the closed position due to the action of gravity. The first and second fasteners 30a, 30b can reengage with each other to close the egress.
The left side edge of the movable flap 22a can be secured to a side frame 40 in a similar manner that the third panel portion 28 is secured to a corresponding side frame 40 shown in
As one skilled in the art will appreciate, the fire door assembly 1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d described above can be applied to various structures. Although the above description is set forth in connection with a lateral sidewall of a structure 5, the various embodiments can also be used to horizontal walls of various structures. One or more of the above embodiments can be applied to cover any structural opening such as an elevator doorway or any other opening between two separate space.
Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/214,877 which was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jun. 23, 2008. Priority is claimed for this invention and application, from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/936,833 which was filed on Jun. 22, 2007.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60936833 | Jun 2007 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12214877 | Jun 2008 | US |
| Child | 15262251 | US |
