The invention relates to tools and hardware deployable by Firefighters and other Search and Rescue Personnel and more specifically to a ramp capable of securing a door in a fixed position where potentially-flammable or ignitable substances may be present and further serving to illuminate a doorway to mark its location for future evidence investigations, indicate egress pathways, and communicate tactically-significant, color-coded, visual signals to other rescuers.
There is a growing concern for the personal safety of Firefighters and other Rescue Personnel when entering buildings which may be compromised such that visibility may be impaired by smoke or darkness, and where potentially-flammable or ignitable substances may come in direct contact with electronic rescue apparatus such that company policies are being implemented wherein such apparatus must be intrinsically-safe or incapable of being a source of ignition. Other safety concerns encompass critical pathway issues wherein doors must be held securely open to prevent inadvertent locking of the door thereby trapping rescuers and wherein a safe egress must be established for the transport of tools, medical supplies, water hoses and other apparatus and ultimately for the safe evacuation of persons and rescuers. Tertiary needs for holding doors in fixed positions may include the vacating of smoke or other toxic gases. Another significant safety issue concerns heat-exhaustion and fatigue of rescuers which is compounded when building structures comprise many rooms, chambers, doorways and stairways that must be climbed and traversed by rescuers encumbered with burdensome and heavy, protective clothing, breathing apparatus, water hoses and a plethora of tools, medical supplies, and other equipment such that the combined weight, coupled with high building temperatures and individual body-heat, becomes a significant fatigue factor. It becomes critically important for rescuers to have at their disposal, tools and other apparatus that are small, light-weight, compact, easily-transportable and easily-manipulateable especially where mobility and manual dexterity are hindered by protective gloves. In an effort to facilitate the holding open of doors and illuminating their doorways, wedges and other uniquely-shaped devices have been designed for sandwiching between a door bottom and a floor to hold the door in a fixed position. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,128 B2 to Selzer. The Selzer device is capable of sandwiching between a door and its adjacent floor to hold the door securely, however a primary disadvantage of the Selzer device is that it is not low in profile height and otherwise bulky in size and further lacks the capability of ganging a multiplicity of wedges together making the transport of many wedges awkward and difficult whereby a limitation is inherently present as to the number of apparatus that a rescuer may feasibly carry and a limit as to the number of doors that may be secured. Additionally, the Selzer invention relies upon reflective surfaces which pre-supposes that light is present to thereby illuminate the wedge, when in fact, the wedge may become lost in smoke or darkness and cannot serve as a proper egress marker.
Another prior art design which is wedge-shaped and houses a beacon is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,322 to Loughlin. The Loughlin device could serve as a an egress marker in that it houses a beacon which is a strobe light, however, as a door holding device it cannot likely be wedged underneath a door bottom as the ramped portion of its design is steep and not acutely angled and further relies on impact driven tools to mechanically secure itself to an adjacent building structure such as being nailed onto a door frame. Furthermore, the Loughlin device is tall in profile and has no means to gang a multiplicity of similar devices together. Another disadvantage of the Loughlin design is that, although it utilizes a beacon for illumination of a doorway, it does not disclose the ability to illuminate in a wide variety of colors and patterns of colors and further discloses that the invention is heat, chemical, water and impact resistant but does not disclose that the entirety of its electronic components are sealed and impervious to such substances whereby the Loughlin invention could be penetrated by potentially flammable substances and thereby short out creating a possible a source of ignition. Similarly, the very act of striking its pin or spike could cause a spark and thereby be a dangerous source of ignition. The Loughlin device does not disclose any means to lengthen battery life therefore it is likely that the Loughlin device could not power a strobe with a nine volt battery for any extended length of time whereby the intensity of the strobe is likely to fade rapidly or fail altogether in a short period of time.
Another prior art design which is an emergency lighting device for firefighters is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,864,799 B2 to Popps. The Popps invention is wedge-shaped and houses a plurality of lamps along with a sounder and could serve to hold a door in a fixed position and could illuminate a doorway. A primary disadvantage of the Popps design is that it is relatively large in size whereby it is not likely that even one such device could easily fit within the confines of a utility pocket, furthermore, the Popps device does not disclose any means to gang-together a multiplicity of similar devices and surely would constitute a large, bulky and cumbersome mass should a rescuer attempt to stack many such devices atop one another. The Popps invention does not disclose a built-in means to increase its overall height and does not disclose that the device is intrinsically-safe or incapable of being a source of ignition whereby its exposed switch and open ports of its sounder could be a pathway for flammable or ignitable substances to enter and cause ignition. The Popps invention is further limited to red or green laser diodes as illumination devices.
Another prior art design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,047 B1 to Stein et al. The Stein invention discloses a firefighter's safety device for holding open a door which further comprises a sounder, a light source and a heat sensor, however, the Stein invention is not wedge-shaped and is specifically designed to hang about a door hinge. A primary disadvantage of the Stein invention is that a door may utilize a contiguous piano hinge whereby there is no access point to which the invention may be attached, furthermore, the invention may not securely hold the door in a fixed position whereby a falling object or person impacting the door may cause it to swing abruptly, popping out the device and allowing the door to swing about causing possible bodily injury or inadvertently allowing the door to lock closed. The device discloses no colored lamps or patterns of colors being an object, it is not stackable or ganged one to another and due to its cylindrical shape, is not suitable for sandwiching beneath a door bottom and an adjacent floor. The device does not disclose that it is in any way sealed, such that its electronic circuitry housed therein could conceivably be a source of ignition should flammable substances come in contact with its electronics.
Another prior art design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,444 to Dominguez. The Dominguez invention discloses a collapsible device that does house a pivoting member as a means to increase its overall height and thereby also creating a wedge-shaped apparatus for holding open a door. A primary disadvantage of the Dominguez invention is that is does not provide an acutely-angled edge suitable for tighter fitting doors, it does not house any means of signaling nor by lamps nor reflective attachments. Furthermore, the Dominguez design is inherently dangerous as the opposing planar members form a scissor-like cutting tool which could literally sever the fingers of a user attempting to deploy the device wherein an abrupt impacting of the door may compress the scissor-like planes and severely injure the user. Additionally, the Dominguez design is constructed of several individual pieces that must be assembled and discloses no means to gang one to another. Also, if the invention were made of metal parts as supposed, its use would not be safe in and around flammable materials as forces acting upon the door could cause the device to slide or skid across a concrete surface and thereby generate sparks thereby becoming a source of ignition.
An improved door-holding device or ramp is thus needed that is specifically designed to overcome the disadvantages herein reviewed. An improved ramp is needed that is low-profile in design bearing a frontal edge that is acutely-angled such that it may accommodate tighter fitting doors possibly outfitted with smoke seals. An improved ramp is needed that bears a means to gang a multiplicity of identical ramps to each other so as to form a compact, singular block of ramps that may easily fit within the confines of a utility pocket and be sufficiently small and lightweight such that carrying and transporting a substantial quantity of ramps is easily performed without significantly adding to the overall fatigue of a rescuer outfitted with the ramps. An improved ramp is needed that is intrinsically-safe and incapable of being a source of ignition thereby being safe to deploy in environments in which the ramps may come in direct contact with flammable or explosive substances and where surrounding air may be contaminated with ignitable gases. An improved ramp is needed that is intrinsically-safe wherein all of its electronic components are sealed within a transparent and replaceable module that is impervious to penetration by such gases, liquids and other ignitable substances and where the electronic circuitry is activated and externally-controllable by wireless means and easily operable by a user wearing protective gloves. An improved ramp is needed that contains strategic arrangement of multi-colored lamps capable of illuminating in a wide variety of colors and patterns of colors to visually communicate tactically-significant signals and information to fellow rescuers and other professionals. An improved ramp is needed that bears a means to prolong battery life such that the electronic circuitry and lamps housed therein may persist in actual operation for many hours thereby assuring that the doorway to which the ramp is deployed may remain illuminated and serve as a viable doorway marker and evidence marker for follow-up investigations which could take place dozens of hours later.
An improved ramp bearing all of these improvement features is taught in the following section.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a multi-functional door-propping ramp for deployment by rescue personnel for the purposes of securing a door in a fixed position and illuminating its doorway with the ramp further being intrinsically-safe such that neither the ramp body nor its electronic components housed therein can cause ignition of potentially-flammable or ignitable substances, and further serving as a multi-purpose visual indicator. It is another object of the present invention to be light-weight and monolithically-constructed of a rigid, transparent and non-metallic material.
It is another object of the present invention to be low-profile in overall height and acutely-angled for accommodation of tightly-fitting under-door gaps such as when a door is outfitted with smoke-seal stripping.
It is an object of the present invention to house at least one rotatable member which is of sufficient size as to be easily operable by a user wearing gloves.
It is an object of the present invention to house at least one rotatable member which, when urged into a semi-perpendicular position, may accommodate taller under-door gaps.
It is an object of the present invention to house at least one rotatable member that rests at predetermined angles and cannot further over-rotate.
It is an object of the present invention to be visually-transparent such that all of its components may be inspected for operational and structural integrity.
It is an object of the present invention to comprise a cavity for receiving an electronic module which is also transparent, disposable and replaceable.
It is an object of the module of the present invention to have no exposed electronic circuitry and that all electronic circuitry is housed within a sealed and intrinsically-safe module.
It is an object of the present invention to provide illumination from a plurality of lamps in a wide variety of colors, patterns and time durations.
It is an object of the present invention to serve as an egress marker, evidence marker and a tactical communications signaling indicator.
It is an object of the present invention to be externally controllable by a wireless interface.
It is an object of the present invention to prolong battery life during non-use.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a means of prolonging battery life such that substantial time durations of actual service are possible.
It is an object of the present invention to reversibly attach one-to-another so as to gang as a contiguous block or cluster for easier handling and transport.
It is an object of the present invention to be economical to produce and thereby expendable if abandoned in place within a building.
It is an object of the present invention to be programmable.
It is an object of the present invention to have no exposed metal parts such that abrasion against hard surfaces, such as concrete, cannot generate sparks or provide a source of ignition.
It is an object of the present invention to be constructed with a minimal number of parts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a superior door-propping ramp system.
Essentially, the present invention is a low-profile ramp for use by rescue personnel suitable for sandwiching between a door bottom edge and an underlying floor utilizing kinetic friction to thereby hold the door in a fixed position. In a preferred embodiment, the ramp is constructed of a rigid, transparent and non-metallic material wherein the ramp body is incapable of generating sparks if abraded against hard surfaces such as concrete thereby being intrinsically-safe for deployment where potentially-ignitable substance such as flammable liquids or ignitable gases may be present or come in contact with the ramp.
Additionally, the ramp body is constructed with a cavity for receiving an electronic circuit module which is also sealed, transparent and replaceable wherein all of the electronic components are sealed within the module and also deemed intrinsically-safe. The module is transparent so that the structural and functional integrity of the components housed therein may be visually inspected. The module is further held in place or detached by a plurality of detents and small protrusions such that it may snap into place or be easily pried out for replacement as a self contained module.
The main body of the ramp has an acutely-angled frontal edge suitable for disposing under doors that have tightly-fitting gaps such as when a door is outfitted with smoke-seal stripping. An opposing rear edge is raised only minimally so as to maintain a low overall profile which assists in transportability and manipulation by gloved hands.
The ramp main body further comprises at least one rotatable member or rocker-plate which normally lies planar to the ramp body but may pivot about for the purposes of increasing the overall height of the ramp wherein the rocker-plate may be urged into a semi-perpendicular position and comes to rest against built-in stop points or limits created by its unique paddle-shape design, thereby, preventing over-rotation and serving to augment the ramp height such that it now may accommodate doors having a taller under-door gap, additionally, the rocker-plate serves as a kinetic-friction locking mechanism whereby forces acting upon a door, push against the rocker-plate such that it lodges firmly between the door bottom and the underlying floor to hold the door securely in a fixed position thus adding to the versatility of the invention.
Another significant advantage of the ramp of the present invention is its capability of illuminating a plurality of multi-colored and high-brightness lamps that are electronically controlled such that a wide variety of colors, patterns and durations of illumination are programmable and controllable whereby the ramp not only serves as a doorway marker, but may further serve as an intelligent doorway illumination device capable of conveying tactically-significant signals and other information about the status of a room, status of personnel and other determinable rescue signal information. The ramps may also serve as follow-up investigational evidence markers.
Still another multi-functional aspect of the ramp is its capability of stacking or ganging one-to-another by means of symmetrically-positioned detents and protrusions such that each ramp is identical to another and may reversibly attach to form a singular and contiguous block or cluster of ramps similar in fashion to a popular building block toy whereby minimal pressure may allow each individual piece to snugly press-fit together or be easily detached whereby a multiplicity of ramps may easily fit within the confines of a utility pocket and be conveniently transported and operated by a user wearing gloves which otherwise might be a hindrance.
Another added benefit of the block is being able to carry and deploy a significant number of ramps thereby being able to secure a significant number of doors while also minimizing space utilization and minimizing additional burdensome weight.
Further taught by the present invention is an interest in prolonging battery life whereas a relatively small battery must reside with the confines of a fairly small module, the battery size is an important factor regarding current capacity wherein circuitry has been configured to send out pulse-bursts to the lamps whereby the lamps are duty-cycled such that current is being drawn only percentages of time rather than a more debilitating constant current draw thereby assisting to prolong battery life such that the ramp may be left in place with its lamps operational for extended periods of time which is likely to be dozens of hours whereby next day follow-up investigations should find the lamps still operational. On-board circuitry is also designed to go into a sleep mode during non-use or a quiescent state which draws absolute minimum currents thus further assisting to prolong battery life.
A special feature of the ramp relates to its wireless means of activating and controlling the electronic circuit module wherein a small magnet located in a proximal end of the rocker-plate interfaces wirelessly with a magnetically-operable switch housed within the adjacently-lying circuit module whereby all portions of the electronics are sealed having no external switches or wires wherein each rotation in and out of proximity of the rocker-plate from the switch causes the switch to engage and disengage whereby each subsequent switching action causes the circuitry to wake up and advance by one sequence thereby being wirelessly-controllable and programmable. Sequences may include a wide variety of color illuminations, patterns of colors and a wide variety of time durations applied to each lamp greatly adding to its versatility and communications options. The module comprises a small battery, electronic circuit, printed circuit medium, a plurality of lamps and a magnetically-operable switch.
Referring to the drawings, the ramp of the present invention is generally designated by the numeral 10. As shown in
Referring specifically to
Accordingly, there has been provided, in accordance with the invention, an intrinsically-safe ramp for use by rescue personnel for holding a door in a fixed position and illuminating its doorway. It is to be understood that all terms used herein are descriptive rather that limiting. Although the invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiment set forth above, many alternative embodiments, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the disclosure set forth herein. Accordingly, it is intended to include all such alternatives, embodiments, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims herein included.