BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a fire door assembly constructed in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, with the flexible door panel and pass door frames shown in their respective closed positions across an opening;
FIG. 2 is a partial cross sectional view taken across line II-II in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the fire door assembly of FIG. 1, with the flexible door panel shown in a partially extended position and the pass door frames shown in a transition position after its second position transverse to the narrow section of the flexible panel.
FIG. 4 is a side elevation view taken in cross-section showing continued extension of the flexible door panel beyond the position shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a partial cross sectional view taken across line V-V in FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a partial cross sectional view taken across line VI-VI in FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the fire door assembly of FIG. 1, showing movement of the pass door frames from their respective inactive positions to the closed position when the flexible door panel is closed;
FIG. 8 shows the connection between the flexible door panel and an alignment number;
FIGS. 9A-9B show exploded views of sliding guard release actuator; and
FIG. 10 depicts a partial exploded view of a single door assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With initial reference to FIG. 1, there is shown an illustrative door assembly 10 embodying the invention and comprising a shutter roll 12 horizontally and rotatably arranged within a housing 14. Wrapped about shutter roll 12 is a flexible door panel 16. In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIG. 1, door assembly 10 is a labeled fire door assembly and flexible door panel 16 is formed from a plurality of horizontal metallic slats 17a, 17b that are articulated together in a known manner. The principal advantages of roll-type door structures are derived from their minimal space requirements and out-of-the way placement above an opening when in an inactive condition. As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the flexible door panel employed in a roll-type door structure need not be of an articulated slat configuration and any suitable rolling door configuration possessing the desired characteristics of flexibility, durability, and if applicable, resistance to fire, may be utilized.
When not needed, flexible door panel 16 may be maintained entirely within housing 14 while in a wound, retracted condition but may also, in accordance with an operating sequence to be described in detail later, be unwound by a conventional power drive means 18 into the extended condition shown in FIG. 1. It should be noted that power drive means 18 is not considered a novel aspect of the present invention and that any suitable means may be employed to rotate shutter roll 12 to thereby cause extension or retraction of flexible door panel 16. Because suitable mechanisms for this purpose are well known in the art, a detailed description of the same has therefore been deemed unnecessary and has been omitted for clarity.
With continued reference to FIG. 1, it will be seen that flexible door panel 16 has an upper portion 16a of a width W1 and a lower portion 16b of a width W2 that is less than W1 by an amount sufficient to accommodate, when extended, at least one pass door frame 20. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, door assembly 10 further includes a second pass door frame 22, with each door frame being disposed at opposite lateral sides of the opening and movable into the transverse or closed position relative to the opening as shown.
As will be described in detail below, first and second vertical track members 24, 26 define recesses 24a, 26a, respectively, for receiving and guiding corresponding lateral edge regions of upper portion 16a and of an aligning member 32, the latter of which provides stability for the lower portion 16b as the flexible door panel is moved between its opened and closed positions. Mounted within the passage defined by each of pass door frames 20 and 22, is a corresponding hinged personnel or pass door 28, 30. When flexible panel 16, door frames 20, 22, and pass doors 28, 30 are positioned as shown in FIG. 1, a fire barrier is established across the opening. Emergency egress or ingress is obtained through flexible panel 16 via one or both of pass doors 28, and 30.
As is apparent from FIG. 1, vertical track members 24 and 26 are too far apart to guide lower portion 16b during initial extension of flexible door panel 16 from the retracted or wound position. In accordance with the present invention, the aligning member 32 is provided to ensure proper alignment of the lower portion 16b with the inwardly facing edges of door frames 20 and 22. In the illustrative door assembly 10 of FIG. 1, the aligning member 32 spans substantially the entire width of the opening, with opposite lateral ends thereof being received for guided movement within the inwardly facing grooves 24a, 26a of vertical track members 24 and 26.
As best shown in FIG. 2, an upper frame section 25 of the pass door frame 20 overlaps a bottom edge of the upper, wide portion 16a of the door panel 16 when the door panel is fully deployed. This upper frame section may be in the form of an “L” bracket mounted to the top of the pass door frames. A leading edge of the lower portion 16b is fixedly connected to the aligning member 32 such as by welding or other known techniques. With reference to FIG. 8, for example, a connecting member 34 consisting of a pair of “L” brackets may be used to connect the leading edge of the flexible door panel to the aligning member 32 such as by bolts 38.
In the illustrative door assembly 10 of FIG. 1, both pass door frames 20, 22 are shown as being of substantially identical construction. Accordingly, only pass door frame 20 will be hereinafter described in detail. As seen in FIG. 1, pass door frame 20 is of a substantially rectangular construction and includes first and second vertical frame sections 21 and 23 interconnected by an upper transverse frame section 25. The vertical frame section 23 is dimensioned to overlap the edges of the narrow bottom part 16b of the flexible panel 16 when the panel is in its closed position so that an overlap portion 19 extends over an opposing edge of the narrow bottom part 16b, and an overlap portion 29 (for frame 22) extends over the other opposite edge of the bottom part 16b as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Likewise, the upper frame section 25 of each pass door frame has a portion 27 which overlaps a leading edge of the upper wide portion 16a of the flexible panel when the panel 16 is closed and the pass door frames are then deployed as shown in FIG. 3 to their full panel-engaged positions as shown in FIG. 1.
With reference to FIGS. 5 and 10, it will be seen that when the lower part 16b of the flexible door panel is fully deployed so that the aligning member 32 is positioned on the floor at the bottom of the opening, and the pass door frame 20 is moved from its undeployed second position to its deployed first position, the overlap region 19 will be positioned in front of the vertical edge of the door panel. Likewise, overlap portion 27 will be positioned in front of the lowermost edge of the wide panel portions 16a. To provide a seal between the overlap regions 19, 27 and their respective opposing edges on the door panel, a releasable attraction means is provided. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by providing a strip or segments of magnetic material 88 such that when the regions 19 and 27 approach the edges of the flexible panel, adherence therebetween will result.
It is also desirable to provide means of preventing lateral movement of upper door portion 16a from the channels 24a, 26a of vertical guide members 24 and 26. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6, the inner surface of each channel (as shown for example, as channel 24a) includes an inwardly directed abutment 42 which extends the length thereof. Each slat 17a of upper flexible door portion 16a has a corresponding extension structure 44 which will engage abutment 42 if any effort is made to dislodge, as by pushing, the flexible panel therefrom.
With simultaneous reference now to FIGS. 1, 3, 7, and 10, the means by which operation of the fire door assembly 10 is controlled will now be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, fire door assembly 10 includes a conventional fire door operator mechanism 50 for operating the rotating means 18 after a fire has been detected or upon manual activation of a test sequence. The construction of such mechanisms are well known to those skilled in the art, and a detailed description of the same has therefore been omitted as unnecessary. Typically, such structures include a fusible link mechanism 48 which melts in response to a fire and, immediately or after a predetermined time delay, initiates extension of the flexible door panel 16 across the opening.
As will be readily ascertained by those skilled in the art, each of the pass door frames 20 and 22 along with their respective pass doors must be in the transverse or closed position shown in FIGS. 1 and 10 (for a single door system) to achieve full closure of the door opening. Thus, pass door frames 20 and 22 must be moved from the inactive, or “second” pass door frame positions wherein the frames are substantially aligned with the sidewalls of the openings into their respective closed, or “first” positions wherein the pass door frames are substantially transverse with the flexible panel 16 such that the vertical and horizontal overlap regions engage respective edges of panel 16. In the illustrative embodiment depicted in FIG. 7, a tension spring 52, 54 biases pass door frames 20 and 22, respectively, into the first or closed positions. To retain the pass door frames 20 and 22 in their inactive second positions, in which they are substantially aligned with lateral sidewalls 60 and 62, respectively, the present invention utilizes releasable, latching mechanisms 56 and 58.
Any suitable releasable latching mechanisms may be utilized to retain pass door frames 20 and 22 in their respective open second positions. In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, electromagnetic latches are utilized. While energized, the pulling force exerted by magnetic latching mechanisms 56 and 58 on pass door frames 20 and 22, respectively, is sufficient to overcome the aforementioned bias of the tension springs 52, 54 and thus prevent the pass door frames from closing. Once latches 56 and 58 are de-energized, such as during a loss of power condition in the event of a fire, pass door frames 20 and 22 are free to move into the closed first position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.
A variety of operating sequences of the door assembly 10 are possible in response to a test request or a detected condition such as a fire. For example, appropriate circuitry may be provided such that upon receipt of an external input signal indicative of a manual closure request, the panel 16 will close and the supply of electrical power to latches 56 and 58 is disrupted so that the doors may be permitted to close. Alternatively, to avoid nuisance closures, capacitors (not shown) may be coupled between the power supply terminals and the magnetic latch structures such that a predetermined delay such, for example, as 10 seconds, is provided prior to de-energization of latches 56 and 58.
As explained above, the magnets strip 88 on the vertical overlap region 19 and horizontal overlap region 29 provides a seal between a front face of the door panel 16 and the front side of the pass door frames 20, 22. This “one-sided” seal arrangement is insufficient to provide a proper fire retardant interface between the panel 16 and the pass door frames because, for example, the narrow portion of the panel 16b could simply be pushed away from magnetic strip, e.g., in a direction perpendicular to the vertical frame section 23. Thus, a guard arrangement 70 is provided to interface the opposite side of the pass door frame (i.e., the side without the vertical overlap region 19), with the opposite side of the narrow panel portion 16b.
FIG. 10 depicts the rear side of a single pass door arrangement relative to the front view shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The guard arrangement 70 includes a movable overlap member such as a sliding panel 72 containing one or more parallel, angled slots 76 having a lower first end 77 and a higher second end 79. The movable overlap member or panel 72 is movably mounted to a side of the pass door frame 20 opposite the side of the overlap region 19 via a plurality of anchors or bolts 78. A cover 74 is provided to fit over the sliding panel 72 to conceal the bolts 78 and slots 76. When secured to the pass door frame, a lower edge 73 of the panel rests on a release means 90. As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the release means 90 is mounted in an opening 91 on a bottom portion of the vertical section 23 and includes a retractable plunger assembly 92. The plunger assembly includes a movable plunger 94 extending through a mounting plate 99 into a tubular housing 98 having a rear wall (not shown) and a bottom slot 95. The mounting plate is secured to the vertical section 23 in any manner, such as by welding, rivets, fasteners, etc. The movable plunger 94 is biased outward from the housing 98 by a compression spring 96 seated in the housing. An engagement member 97, shown, for example, as a bolt, is connected to the movable plunger at a location behind the mounting plate 99 (see FIG. 9B) and is movable in a transverse direction along the slot 95 against the bias of the spring 96. The engagement member 97 preferably extends below the bottom edge of the vertical frame section.
With reference to FIG. 8, the actuator 80 is mounted to the aligning member 32 via an adjustment bolt 84. The activator is preferably configured as a block having a slot formed therein which allows the position of the block to be adjusted in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the aligning member 32 in a known manner. The location of the actuator 80 is such that it will contact the engagement member 97 when the pass door frame 20 reaches its fully deployed, first position. At this position, the plunger 94 will move into the housing 98 against the force of the spring 96. This will release the sliding panel 72 to allow the panel to slide down from the lower end 77 to the higher end 79 of the slots 76. Because this action occurs when the actuator 80 is positioned opposite the engagement member 97 such that the flexible door panel 16 is fully closed, the sliding panel 72 will cover the rear side of the vertical edge of the narrow flexible door panel 16b. Thus, the vertical edge of the flexible door panel 16b will be contained between vertical overlap region 19, on one side, and sliding panel 72 on the other side.
It is desirable to time the closing of the pass door frames 20, 22 as close as possible with the completion of the closing of the flexible door panel such that the actuator 80 on the aligning member 32 is in its proper position on the floor of the doorway opening for interaction with the release means 90. For this purpose, a release switch 46 is provided at a desired height along the track member 24. The release switch can be a mechanical switch or an electrical switch, as is known in the art, and will cause the release of latching structure 56 when the switch 46 is engaged by the aligning member 32. If an electrical switch is used, a separate power source, such as batteries or a dischargeable capacitor should be employed such that the switch will operate in its intended manner in the event of a power outage—a common occurrence during a fire condition—. A time delay can also be employed to ensure that the pass door frames will close only after the aligning member 32 has reached its final position on the floor.
In operation, an emergency condition will cause the flexible door panel to close in a known manner. As the aligning member 32 engages the release switch 46, a signal (delayed or otherwise) will activate the door operator mechanisms to cause the pass door frame 20 to release from its secured second position. As the pass door frame 20 continues to rotate about its axis to its closed position, the flexible panel continues to descend until the aligning member 32 reaches the floor. As the door frame approaches 23 the engaging edges of the flexible door panel, the magnetic strip 88 attracts the door panel 16 and pulls the panel toward the door frame. This occurs as the release means 90 engages the actuator. The movement of the flexible door panel toward the vertical overlap region 19 as a result of the magnetic strip regions 88 provides a clearance to allow the sliding panel. Thus, and as shown in FIG. 5, the narrow portion 16b of the flexible panel will be sandwiched between the vertical overlap region 19 on one side, and the sliding guard 70 on the other side.
While there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the disclosed invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.
Patent Application
20070272367
