Patent Application
20220364405
The present disclosure relates to fire door systems in general. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a fire door system that employs the usage of movable temperature sensors.
When a fire is detected in a building having fire doors, the fire doors must be kept closed. Keeping these doors closed helps to compartmentalize the fire. In the case of overhead rolling fire doors, fire detection devices are conventionally situated well above the fire doors, near the ceiling, or even above is the ceiling panels. A typical arrangement includes one or more fusible links. A fusible link is made from pieces of metal held together by solder designed to melt when it reaches a certain temperature (e.g., 165 degrees Fahrenheit). When this happens, the fire doors will be automatically closed.
However, because heat and smoke rise there will usually be a considerable delay before the fire system is activated and the fire doors closed. In the meantime, the doorway will remain unprotected. Additionally, environmentally controlled buildings include air conditioning and heating systems that blow air downwardly or laterally. When hot air from a fire enters a room through an open fire door, it will follow this air path, causing further delay.
The present disclosure envisages a thermal sensing fire door system. The thermal sensing fire door system comprises a door and a door control unit coupled to the door. A plurality of sensors is configured on or in the door. A controller is coupled to the door control unit and the plurality of sensors. The controller facilitates activation of the door unit for maintaining the door in a closed position subsequent to sensing of a surrounding temperature by the plurality of sensors, wherein the surrounding temperature is greater than a threshold temperature.
Example embodiments of the disclosure now will be described more is fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments are shown. The concepts discussed herein may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope to those of ordinary skill in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements but not necessarily the same or identical elements throughout.
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To this end, the present subject matter envisages a thermal sensing fire door system in which the delay in sensing the fire is eliminated as much as possible, so that the preventive measures to control the fire are taken more quickly.
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The system 200 further comprises a door control unit 204. The door control unit 204 may be any door control unit known in the art. Furthermore, the door control unit 204 may have a configuration corresponding to the type of door that is being closed therewith. More specifically, the door control units used for the rolling shutter, the sliding door, and the swivel door may all have different configurations, and all such combinations and configurations are within the ambit of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that in certain cases where the door is an overhead door, the door control unit 204 closes the door by release of the door gate. In this case, the door gate falls primarily due to gravity. In such cases, the door will preferably be equipped with a speed governor or viscous wheel governor to regulate the descent speed.
The system 200 further comprises a controller 206 and memory 207 (including a set of non-transitory computer-readable instructions embedded thereon). The controller 206 can be a programmable logic controller (PLC) or the like. The computer-readable instructions can include program code to operate the controller 206. Alternatively, the controller 206 can be another type of computing device (e.g., microprocessor, general purpose computer) or even a hardwired circuit. The plurality of sensors 202 and the door control unit 204 are communicatively coupled to the controller 206. For example, in the case of a PLC, the sensors 202 can each be connected to an input module of the PLC. An input module detects the status of input signals, such as input signals from the sensors. The input signals can be evaluated by an expected voltage or resistance value. The signals can be digital signals or analog signals. The controller 206 (PLC) can include a set of output modules as well, each controlling a relevant relay, solenoid, motor, actuator, system module, etc. As shown, the output modules can control the door control unit 204, a communication unit 210, and an alert generation unit 208. The communicative coupling may include wired coupling or wireless coupling using the conventionally known connection protocols, including but not limited to, Bluetooth, Local Area Network, Wide Area Network, and the like.
The plurality of sensors 202 are configured to sense a surrounding temperature in the immediate vicinity of the door. In one embodiment, the plurality of sensors 202 may be installed integral with the door unit (on or in the door) or adjacent the gate, such as on the sill. The sensors 202 may be disposed in a spaced apart manner horizontally. Alternatively, or additionally, the sensors 202 may be disposed in a spaced apart manner vertically from near the floor up to the ceiling. An advantageous aspect of such a positioning of the sensors 202 is that the change in the surrounding temperature may be sensed as soon as the temperature increases due to a fire. The delay caused in the conventional systems due to the positioning of the sensors being near the ceiling is eliminated in the fire door system 200, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
In case of a fire, the plurality of sensors 202 are configured to sense that the surrounding temperature has exceeded a threshold temperature, and the controller 206 is configured to receive as input discrete signals from the sensors 202 in an embodiment where the sensors 202 are digital temperature sensors. The sensors 202 may sample the surrounding environment periodically or continuously. As soon as the threshold temperature has been exceeded, sensor input is received by the controller 206, and the controller 206 thereupon activates the door control unit 204 to maintain the door in the closed configuration for preventing the spread of the fire. As mentioned previously, the positioning of the sensors 202 ensures that the door control unit 204 is activated to maintain the door in closed state without any delays, as was the case with the conventional fire door systems. Although the sensors 202 have been described herein in the plural, in some embodiments usage of a single sensor 202 may suffice.
In an embodiment where the sensors 202 are fusible links, the fusible links are connected to the controller 206 in an open-circuit or a closed-circuit configuration. When one or more of the fusible link melts, it causes the circuit to either open (in the case of a normally closed circuit) or close (in the case of normal open circuit). The controller 206 may determine the status of the sensor 202 by the resistance in the circuit which will change when the fusible link has melted.
In yet another embodiment, the controller 206 may be configured to be interfaced with a smart device such as a smartphone, a computer, a tablet, and the like, for allowing manual control over the system 200. An advantageous aspect of providing manual control over the system 200 may be that the fire doors may be manually closed if at all a user visually verifies a fire has taken is place prior to the sensing of by the sensors 202. In such a scenario, the user quickly leaves the room after visually verifying the fire and uses the associated smart device to manually activate the system 200 for closing the fire doors.
At the same time, the manual control over the system 200 may also allow the user to manually over-ride the operation of the system 200 in cases where the fire was not severe but occurred at a location near the sensor 202, and was immediately extinguished by the user. In such a case, the manual over-ride feature may allow the system 200 to open the locked doors subsequent to the extinguishing of the fire.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, the system 200 may further include an alert generation unit 208 coupled to the controller 206. The alert generation unit 208 is configured to generate loud audio alerts subsequent to the activation of the door control unit 204 by the controller 206 on sensing the fire by the plurality of sensors 202. Additionally, the alert generation unit 208 can be configured to generate visual alerts (e.g., activating a strobe light).
In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, the system 200 may further include communication unit 210 coupled to the controller 206 and configured to make an SOS call to a fire department authority. The communication unit 210 is configured to make the SOS call subsequent to the activation of the door control unit 204 by the controller 206 on sensing the fire by the plurality of sensors 202. The SOS call, in accordance with one implementation, may provide the fire department authority with the GPS co-ordinates of the location where the fire has occurred. In yet another embodiment, the SOS call may also be configured to provide the fire department authority with contact details of one or more persons, who may be identified as workers or inhabitants of the location where the fire has occurred to warn them of the fire.
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Although the features, functions, components, and parts have been described herein in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all embodiments of the teachings of the disclosure that fairly fall within the scope of permissible equivalents.
Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will be apparent having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
