GB2300662A - Building aperture flood barrier - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for resisting penetration of flood water through a building aperture, for example a doorway or air brick, comprises a generally planar barrier 10 to be placed over the aperture. The barrier is mounted in the aperture by means of expanding mechanisms 15-20, 25, 26, operated by a toggle mechanism 21-24. Resilient tubular seals 14 adapt to surface irregularities of the building by deforming in response to pressure on the barrier by the flood water. The barrier may have offset flanges 11, with seals 12, 13; to contact the outer facing surfaces of the building (figure 2). The barrier may be adapted as a cover for an air brick, with fasteners engageable with the brick.

Description

Title: Apparatus for resisting ingress of water to a building This invention relates to apparatus for resisting ingress of water to a building.

Many buildings are positioned in areas which are liable to flooding, e.g. adjacent the shoreline where flooding may occur under certain tide and/or wind conditions, or adjacent rivers or other watercourses, or in valleys or hollows prone to flood under adverse weather conditions such as prolonged heavy precipitation. Traditionally the action taken when flooding threatens has been to build a barrier of sandbags at the or each door of a building and possibly even at the building's windows if deep flooding is anticipated. Even if the materials necessary for building a sandbag barrier are to hand, however, the process of building such a barrier is hard time-consuming work and in many cases a warning of potential flooding may not be given in sufficient time to enable a satisfactory sandbag barrier or barriers to be erected.A further disadvantage of the traditional sandbag barrier is that it is porous and whilst it may adequately protect against penetration of large quantities of floodwater to the interior of à building in cases where the flooding lasts only a short time, it is not effective when a flooding lasts a long time.

It is broadly the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes or reduces the above described disadvantages associated with the use of sandbags.

According to one aspect of the present invention, we provide apparatus for resisting penetration of floodwater to the interior of a building, comprising a barrier member adapted to be placed in relation to an opening to the building, and sealing means adapted to establish a generally sealing relationship between the barrier member and a part of the periphery of said opening.

Preferably the apparatus further comprises support means, for supporting the barrier member in its position in relation to said opening. Whilst in many cases pressure of floodwater on the barrier member might suffice to hold it in position, it remains necessary to support the barrier member when it is placed in position in anticipation of flooding, and the support means provides for this.

Preferably the sealing means is adapted to conform to surface irregularities in the part of the building it contacts, to enable effective sealing to be established.

For this purpose, the sealing means may be, or include a portion, of rubber or other material of resilient and/or flexible character, able to deform to conform to the surface it engages. It may include a portion of enhanced ability to deform e.g. a hollow tubular portion.

Preferably the barrier member includes a portion or portions arranged to face outwardly presented wall portions of the building adjacent said opening therein, at least said portions of the barrier member being provided with the sealing means. The sealing means may be arranged to be interposed between said portions of the barrier member and wall portions and at least said portion of the sealing means compressed when, under conditions of flooding, the barrier member is pressed towards the building by the pressure of floodwater outside the building on the barrier member.

Preferably the barrier member is a planar or generally planar sheet of material preferably metal and conveniently steel or, if lighter weight is desired, an aluminium alloy, and said portions thereof which face the outer surface of the building adjacent the aperture therein comprise flange portions offset from the general plane of the rest of the barrier member. In use, said flange portions would be uprightly disposed.

Preferably the sealing means is provided at the edge of each of said flange portions and also along an edge portion of the barrier member which, in use, is the lower edge portion thereof, to engage a sill of the opening of the building.

The means for supporting the barrier member in position in the opening of the building is required firstly only to support the barrier member in such position before flooding takes place since, as pointed out above, water pressure holds barrier member in position when flooding takes place. The support means therefore need not provide an extremely high degree of security.

Conveniently the support means comprises engageable with opposite inwardly facing wall portions of the building defining the opening therein.

Preferably the support means comprises respective elements thus engageable with the opposite wall portions and means for moving said elements relative to one another to clamp the barrier member in position.

There may be provided a toggle mechanism or the like for effecting relative clamping movement between the clamping elements.

Depending on the size of the apparatus, there could be provided one, two, or possibly more sets of said elements engageable with the building and mechanisms for effecting relative clamping movement therebetween.

It is envisaged that apparatus in accordance with the invention would be provided in a range of sizes to suit standard sizes of doors in buildings. The apparatus may be provided in sizes to suit windows in buildings. The height of the apparatus would be selected to protect against normally encountered flood levels.

It is further envisaged that apparatus in accordance with the invention may be provided intended for use to prevent ingress of flood water through "air bricks" in buildings. For such use, the configuration of the barrier member would be that of a cover plate or the like of larger size than that of the air brick, provided around its periphery with sealing means engageable with the wall surrounding the air brick. To secure the barrier member to the air brick, one or more fasteners engageable with the air brick itself could be used, e.g. cavity wall fixings of the toggle type which could be passed through the holes in the air brick and be engaged by fasteners co-operating with the barrier member.

In this case, after the danger of flooding has passed, the or each fastening could remain in situ in the air brick while the barrier member is removed, to be ready for use the next time flooding is threatened.

Further features of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view from the rear of an apparatus in accordance with the invention; FIGURE 2 is a view from the front showing the apparatus in use.

Referring to the drawings, apparatus in accordance with the invention comprises a barrier member 10 which is of sheet metal e.g. steel, or if lighter weight is desired, an aluminium alloy. It is substantially flat and rectangular in shape and at two opposed edges which, in use, extend vertically there are offset flange portions 11. The spacing between the offset flange portions 11 is such that they are able to lie in face to face relationship with respective wall portions on opposite sides of a door in a building; external doors in buildings such as residential houses are usually of one of a range of standard widths and the barrier member may be made in different sizes to suit such standard widths.

The free edges of the flange portions 11 and the lowermost edge of such flange portions and the rest of the barrier member are provided with sealing means which is arranged to provide a sealing action with the wall and sill surrounding a doorway. The sealing means comprises a seal element indicated generally at 12 secured to the appropriate edges of the barrier member, the seal element being of rubber or other suitable material bearing in mind its action as described hereafter. In greater detail the seal element comprises a generally Ushaped portion 13 which embraces the edge of the barrier element and is retained thereon by friction and/or by use of an adhesive, and a tubular sealing portion 14 which is able to deform to conform to surface irregularities in the wall it contacts, thereby effectively to provide a sealing action. The seal at the lower edge of the barrier member may be of different configuration from that on the edges of the flange portions 11.

For supporting the barrier member in position in a doorway, support means is provided including respective elements engageable with opposed sides of the doorway. Such support means comprises two aligned tubular members 15, 16 secured, e.g. by welding, to the rear face of the barrier member 10, at a small distance therefrom determined by spacing elements 17. The tubular member 16 has a rod 18 screw threadedly engaged therewith and able to be fixed in position relative thereto by a lock nut 19, the end of the rod 18 carrying a foot 20 engageable with the side of the doorway. The other tubular member 15 has a rod 21 slidable therethrough, one end of the rod 21 being connected by way of a toggle clamping mechanism 23 with a handle 24 to a rod 22 fixed to the tubular member 16 .The rod 21, at its opposite end, carries a foot 25 which is screwthreadedly adjustable relative to the rod by way of an adjustment sleeve 26.

Thus, by operation of the handle 24 and the toggle mechanism 23, the foot 25 is able to be moved away from foot 20, so that the feet are in clamping engagement with opposed sides of the doorway in which the barrier member is fitted, to support the barrier member therein. In use, the feet 20, 25 would be adjusted by their respective adjustment mechanisms, namely the screw threaded engagement of rod 18 with tubular member 16 and lock nut 19, and the screw threaded adjustment sleeve 26, so that they engage the opposed sides of the doorway with an appropriate pressure.

In the event of flooding when the barrier member is thus supported in a doorway, water pressure on the outside of the barrier member will cause some displacement of the position of the barrier member such that the tubular portions 14 of the seal elements thereon will be compressed effectively to provide a water-resistant sealing action. The support means is substantially only required to hold the barrier member in position before flooding takes place.

Apparatus as above described may be used in door or window openings of a building. For use in windows, the relative dimensions of the different parts of the barrier member may require to be different but it is anticipated that a relatively small range of barrier member sizes will suit the majority of standard window dimensions.

As illustrated, the apparatus is provided with a single support means operated by a toggle mechanism. It will be appreciated that other forms of support means may be provided, e.g. operated by screw devices or the like although the toggle mechanism is easy to use and economical to manufacture.

A single such mechanism may be provided generally in the centre region of the apparatus, or it would be possible to provide two such mechanisms, one adjacent at the top and one adjacent at the bottom of the device.

In the embodiment illustrated above, the toggle mechanism 23 and handle 24 operate in a plane substantially perpendicular to that of the barrier member 10. They may operate in a plane generally parallel to the barrier member 10, which would be advantageous if when the apparatus is in use there is only a small clearance between the barrier member and the door 30 relative to which the apparatus is positioned.

It will be further appreciated that the barrier member of the apparatus may be provided with reinforcing braces or the like to improve its rigidity, and/or a handle or handles to facilitate the transportation thereof and placement in position, and/or other fittings, without departing from the scope of the invention.

The apparatus may be of a visually distinctive bright colour, and/or be provided with warning notices, reflective strips, or other warning features.

Finally it will understood that when we refer to the apparatus as being used for buildings, such expression is intended to include not only houses but buildings of all descriptions which may be required to be protected against flood water. Such buildings need not have roofs: a wall enclosing a piece of ground, e.g. a garden or an animal pen, may have a doorway which could be protected against ingress of flood water by use of apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (18)

1. Apparatus for resisting ingress of floodwater to the interior of a building, comprising a barrier member adapted to be placed in relation to an opening in the building, and sealing means adapted to establish a generally sealing relationship between the barrier member and a part of the periphery of said opening.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 further comprising support means for supporting the barrier member in position in relation to said opening.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the sealing means is adapted to conform to surface irregularities in the part of the building it contacts.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein the sealing means is, or includes a portion, of flexible and/or resilient character, able to deform to conform to the surface it engages.

5. Apparatus according to Claim 4 wherein the sealing means includes a portion of enhanced ability to deform.

6. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the barrier member includes a portion or portions arranged to face outwardly presented wall portions of the building adjacent said opening therein, at least said portion or portions of the barrier member being provided with the sealing means.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6 wherein the sealing means is arranged to be interposed between said portion or portions of the barrier member and wall portions, to be compressed when the barrier member is pressed toward the building by water pressure on the barrier member.

8. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the barrier member is a generally planar sheet of material.

9. Apparatus according to Claim 8 comprising flange portions adapted to face an outer surface of the building adjacent the aperture therein, said flange portions being offset from the general plane of the rest of the barrier member.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein the sealing means is provided at the edge of each of said flange portions and also along an edge of the barrier member which, in use, is adapted to engage a sill of the opening of the building.

11. Apparatus according to Claim 2 or any claim appendant thereto wherein the support means is engagable with opposite inwardly facing wall portions of the building defining the opening therein.

12. Apparatus according to Claim 11 wherein the support means comprises respective elements thus engagable with said opposite wall portions, and means for moving said elements relative to one another to clamp the barrier member in position.

13. Apparatus according to Claim 12 comprising a toggle mechanism for effecting relative clamping movement between said elements.

14. Apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 adapted to be used with an air brick, and comprising a cover plate provided around its periphery with sealing means engagable with a wall surrounding the air brick.

15. Apparatus according to Claim 14 comprising fasteners engagable with the air brick.

16. Apparatus according to Claim 15 wherein said fasteners comprise cavity wall fasteners.

17. Apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.