GB2369391A

GB2369391A - Flood barrier

Info

Publication number: GB2369391A
Application number: GB0028527A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Upton
Original assignee: UPTON SOLUTIONS
Current assignee: UPTON SOLUTIONS
Priority date: 2000-11-23
Filing date: 2000-11-23
Publication date: 2002-05-29
Also published as: GB0028527D0

Abstract

A flood barrier is sufficiently flexible to allow its periphery to be expanded to seal a building aperture. Preferably, the barrier is a shell 5 of plastics or rubber in the shape of a square pyramid and which encapsulates a pyramidal array of struts 2. The struts may bear against a flat plate 1 which carries a post 4 threaded at its free end through the apex of the shell. When nut N is screwed tighter, the struts cause the size of the pyramid's base to expand. The barrier may be strengthened by further struts 3.

Description

FLOOD BARRIER The present invention relates to a flood barrier for fitting in a wall opening such as a door or window opening of a building for example. Conventionally, sandbags have been used as a rudimentary form of flood prevention for front doors and the like but they provide an unsatisfactory seal and are awkward to handle. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of flood protection. Accordingly, the invention provides a flood barrier for fitting in a wall opening, the flood barrier comprising a flexible sealing member having means for expanding its periphery so as to substantially seal the flood barrier in the wall opening. Preferably the expanding means is arranged to flatten the flood barrier in a direction transverse to the plane of the opening, thereby to expand said periphery.

Preferably said expanding means is screw driven.

In one embodiment the flood barrier comprises a frame extending from said periphery away from the plane of said opening, the frame being coupled to and compressable by said expanding means to expand said periphery. Further preferred features of the invention are defined in the dependent claims. A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below by way of example only and refers to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawing wherein : Figure 1 is an elevation taken perpendicular to the plane of the opening, showing the frame and a plate utilised in one embodiment; Figure 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view of the flood barrier; Figure 3 is a plan view of the flood barrier of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a further plan view showing the flood barrier installed in a doorway, and Figure 5 is a similar plan view of the flood barrier installed in a doorway of different construction.

Referring to Figure 1, the framework comprises four steel struts 2 in a square pyramidal array, the free ends of these struts being bounded by a closely adjacent square array of struts 3 and a plate 1, lying beneath and extending slightly beyond the struts 3. A post 4, threaded at its upper end, is mounted on plate 1 and, as will become apparent from Figure 2, carries a nut which, when screwed on to post 4, compresses the pyramidal array of struts 2 in the plane of Figure 1 so as to force apart struts 3 and thereby expand the periphery of the flood barrier.

Referring now to Figure 2, the entire frame of struts 2 and struts 3 is encapsulated within a body portion 5 of moulded plastic/rubber material which is in the form of a pyramidal shell and also constitutes the sealing member. It is sufficiently flexible to expand into an opening when nut N is screwed on to post 4, thereby compressing the entire assembly in the direction perpendicular to the plane of struts 3. This is shown more clearly in Figure 3, wherein screwing of nut N in direction A forces out the edges of the member 5 radially as indicated by arrows B. Figure 4 shows the flood barrier of Figures 2 and 3 installed in a doorway defined by a door frame 7 installed in an opening in brickwork 8. The lower edge of the flood barrier engages the top of the doorstep 6 and it can be seen that in this instance the door D has been left open. This may be necessary if the door has a weather bar or a"drip"fitted along its bottom outside face. In other cases, as illustrated in Figure 5, the door D can be shut with the flood barrier spaced apart from the door frame 7, in which case the floor barrier is located in the door opening with nut N unscrewed and is then sealed against door opening by screwing up nut N as described above in connection with Figure 3.

In general, watertightness will depend upon how well the door frame 7 has been fitted. If necessary additional sealant may be applied between the surrounding wall, door stop and door frame. If the door opening is very irregular, (e. g. built from stone) then it might be advisable to render a narrow strip of the stone where the flood barrier is to be fitted. The flood barrier can be manufactured in a size to fit standard window openings and also garage openings, especially fronts and openings in wall openings of industrial premises.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A flood barrier for fitting in a wall opening, the floor barrier comprising a flexible sealing member having means for expanding its periphery so as to substantially seal the flood barrier in the wall opening.
2. A flood barrier according to Claim 1, wherein said expanding means is arranged to flatten the flood barrier in a direction transverse to the plane of the opening, thereby to expand said periphery.
3. A floor barrier according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said expanding means is screw-driven.
4. A flood barrier according to any preceding claim, wherein the flood barrier comprises a frame extending from said periphery away from the plane of said opening, the frame being coupled to and compressible by said expanding means to expand said periphery.
5. A flood barrier according to Claim 4, wherein said frame comprises a generally pyramidal array of struts having an apex offset from the plane of said opening.
6. A flood barrier according to Claim 5, wherein said frame further comprises struts lying generally in said plane and coupled to the free ends of the struts of said pyramidal array.
7. A floor barrier according to any of Claims 4 to 6 wherein said frame is enveloped within the flood barrier.
8. A flood barrier according to any of Claims 4 to 7, wherein the flood barrier comprises a moulding of plastic/rubber material which encapsulates a least part of said frame.
9. A flood barrier according to any of Claims 2 to 8, wherein the flood barrier comprises a rigid plate which in use extends across said opening and said expanding means is arranged to flatten the flood barrier against said plate.
10. A flood barrier according to Claim 9 as dependent on Claim 3 wherein said expanding means comprises a male threaded member extending from said plate and a female threaded member arranged to be screwed onto said male threaded member.
11. A floor barrier substantially as described herein above with reference to Figures 1 and 5 of the accompanying drawing.