GB2390302A

GB2390302A - Fire resistant cover

Info

Publication number: GB2390302A
Application number: GB0215184A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Derek Ward
Original assignee: Environmental Seals Ltd
Current assignee: Environmental Seals Ltd
Priority date: 2002-07-02
Filing date: 2002-07-02
Publication date: 2004-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 2022-07-02
Also published as: GB0215184D0; GB2390302B

Abstract

A cover, for protection of a framed work of art during a fire, comprises a fabric sheet with elasticated ties. The sheet is arranged such that its edges overlap the edges of the frame and are held in place by the ties. The sheet is coated with a water resistant paint impregnated with intumescent powder. Different covers are coded with respect to the painting they are intended to protect.

Description

r APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING NAMED WORKS OF ART

This invention relates to apparatus for protecting framed works of art and more especially, but not exclusively, to covers which act to protect paintings and the like from damage caused by smoke, fire and fluids used to extinguish fires.

In many galleries and stately homes numerous paintings and similar framed works of art have little or no protection against an outbreak of fire or smoke other than, for example, water sprinklers which activate in the event of smoke or an increase in temperature to produce a spray of water capable of dousing a fire. The water from such sprays can cause significant damage to paintings and the frames in which they are mounted and these sprays generally only operate effectively in the event of fire; this means that no protection is provided against damage caused by smoke produced either before or during the time taken to cause the ambient temperature to rise to a level at which the sprinklers are operated. Smoke in itself is extremely harmful to the integrity of works of art and numerous valuable and historical paintings are either entirely lost or damaged in these circumstances. The present invention sets out to provide apparatus which can be employed quickly and safely to provide protection for framed works of art in the event of fire, smoke or fluids. According to the present invention in one aspect, there is provided apparatus for protecting framed works of art which comprises a cover of a size sufficient to overlie the exposed face of a work of art to be protected and includes along one side a return which, in use, overlies the upper edge and extends downwardly over at least a part of the rear face of the frame, returns which in use overlie the side edges of the frame and which extend inwardly towards one another to cover at least a part of the rear face of the frame, and a return which in use overlies the lower edge and extends upwardly over at least a part of the

rear face of the frame, and elasticated ties which connect the upwardly extending portion of the return which overlies the lower frame edge and the side returns for ease of assembly of the cover onto the framed work of art, the cover being coated with a material which is impermeable to water and other fluids.

Preferably, the coating applied to the cover includes a quantity of material which intumesces in the event of fire to provide added protection to the work of art and the frame in which it is mounted.

The cover may be produced from a fabric or may comprise a glass fibrous material.

The permeable coating applied to the outer surface of the cover may comprise a waterproofed paint produced and marketed by the applicant. A discrete quantity of intumescent powder may be provided in solution in the paint for added fire protection.

In use, covers in accordance with the invention may be located over all or a selected number of paintings in a gallery or stately home overnight or other periods when the gallery or stately home is unattended. The elasticated lower section of the covers enable them to be quickly and easily positioned over selected framed paintings without causing damage to either the painting or the frame. The size of the cover will depend on the size of the respective frame, it being important that the cover is sufficiently large to overlie the frame without excessive contact occurring and sufficiently well fitted to preclude or inhibit the flow of smoke between the cover interior and the framed work of art in the event of fire occurring. For any gallery or country house, therefore, several differently sized covers will probably be necessary. In this case, it will be advantageous for each cover to be coded with respect to the framed work of art for which it is to be used.

If there should there be an outbreak of fire when works of art are not protected, covers can speedily be removed from a suitable store and positioned over selected framed works of art to provide immediate protection before they can be removed to a safe location.

Coding of covers to ensure time is not lost through deciding which cover is to be fitted to which frowned work of art is particularly important in this context.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing is merely exemplary of apparatus in accordance with the invention and that various modifications can readily be made thereto without departing from the true scope of the invention.

Claims

1. Apparatus for protecting framed works of art which comprises a cover of a size sufficient to overlie the exposed face of a work of art to be protected and includes along one side a return which, in use, overlies the upper edge and extends downwardly over at least a part of the rear face of the frame, returns which in use overlie the side edges of the frame and which extend inwardly towards one another to cover at least a part of the rear face of the frame, and a return which in use overlies the lower edge and extends upwardly over at least a part of the rear face of the frame, and elasticated ties which connect the upwardly extending portion of the return which overlies the lower frame edge and the side returns for ease of assembly of the cover onto the framed work of art, the cover being coated with a material which is impermeable to water and other fluids.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim I wherein the coating applied to the cover includes a quantity of material which intumesces in the event of fire to provide added protection to the work of art and the frame in which it is mounted.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein he cover is produced from a fabric.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the cover is produced from a glass fibrous material.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the permeable coating applied to the outer surface of the cover comprises a waterproofed paint including in solution a quantity of intumescent powder.

6. Apparatus for protecting framed works of art substantially as herein disclosed.