FABRIC FIRE RATED DOOR

Abstract

A fabric fire rated door is described. The door utilizes a fire resistant fabric curtain with an end lock attachment. A tubular steel shaft is driven by an internal tube motor. The shaft is supported to minimize deflection. Single door shafts can also be joined together with a coupler shaft to create infinitely wide doors. The coupler shaft is spring loaded to act as a take up reel for a coupling curtain which will overlap each adjacent single door shaft. All curtains are attached to the same bottom bar. A hood covers the shaft, curtain, and the supports that run across the width of the door. The curtain travels over these horizontal supports as it drops down through the hood opening. The horizontal supports keep the curtain in position for proper seal during a fire/smoke event.

Claims

1. A door system comprising: an operational assembly curtain comprising a bottom bar assembly, the operational assembly curtain retained within vertically oriented side members by a respective operational assembly curtain side geometry; a counterbalance assembly fixed to the operational assembly curtain; and an operational assembly to operate the counterbalance assembly; wherein, the bottom bar assembly comprises: a first angle bottom bar; a second angle bottom bar; and a bottom bar center flat section therebetween; the operational assembly curtain is secured to the bottom bar center flat section; and the bottom bar center flat section is fixed to the first and second angle bottom bars at each end.

2. The door system of claim 1 wherein the bottom bar center flat section is contained within a curtain bottom hem pocket.

3. The door system of claim 2 further comprising: a plurality of first angle bottom bars, each pair joined with a respective first angle bottom bar connector a plurality of second angle bottom bars, each pair joined with a respective second angle bottom bar connector; and a plurality of bottom bar center flat sections, each pair overlapped inside of the curtain bottom hem pocket.

4. The door system of claim 2 further comprising multiple bottom bar center flat sections, each pair overlapped inside of the curtain bottom hem pocket.

5. The door system of claim 1 further comprising multiple operational assembly coiling curtains and counterbalance assemblies, each pair of operational assembly coiling curtain and counterbalance assembly separated by a respective coupler shaft fixed to a coupling curtain comprising the curtain bottom hem pocket, wherein all curtains are fixed to its adjacent curtain when the door system is in a smoke protective state.

6. The door system of claim 5 wherein a curtain is fixed to its adjacent curtain by hook and loop; the coupler shaft comprises a hook and loop separator channel and a coupling curtain cross brace; the coupler shaft is spring loaded; and all curtains are attached to the same bottom bar assembly.

7. The door system of claim 6 further comprising a horizontal support member.

8. The door system of claim 1 wherein the side geometry comprises a three piece guide and an operational assembly curtain L shaped retention member; the three piece guide comprising a fascia fastener attached to a fascia guide, and inner guide for attachment to a wall, and an outer guide fastener attaches an outer guide to the inner guide.

9. The door system of claim 1 wherein the side geometry comprises a two piece guide and an operational assembly curtain end lock; two piece guide comprising an outer guide and an inner guide; and the curtain end lock comprises a plurality of curved end locks.

10. The door system of claim 1 further comprising a curtain stop assembly.

11. The door system of claim 10 wherein the curtain stop assembly comprises a spring loaded pin and a spring loaded shaft stop mechanism.

12. The door system of claim 11 further comprising a curtain slot at a predetermined location to allow the spring loaded pin to extend through the curtain before the curtain fully unwinds.

13. A door system comprising: a first and second operational assembly curtain, each comprising a respective bottom hem pocket; the first and second operational assembly curtains separated by a coupler shaft fixed to a coupling curtain, the coupling curtain comprising the bottom hem pocket; a respective counterbalance assembly fixed to each operational assembly curtain; an operational assembly to operate a respective operational assembly curtain counterbalance assembly; and a bottom bar assembly; wherein, the bottom bar assembly comprises: a first angle bottom bar; a second angle bottom bar; and a bottom bar center flat section therebetween; the operational assembly curtain and coupling curtain are secured to the bottom bar center flat section; wherein the bottom bar center flat section is contained within the curtain bottom hem pocket; the bottom bar center flat section is fixed to the first and second angle bottom bars at each end; and all curtains are fixed to its adjacent curtain when the door system is in a smoke protective state.

14. The door system of claim 13 wherein the bottom bar assembly comprises: a plurality of first angle bottom bars, each pair joined with a respective first angle bottom bar connector a plurality of second angle bottom bars, each pair joined with a respective second angle bottom bar connector; and a plurality of bottom bar center flat sections, each pair overlapped inside of the curtain bottom hem pocket.

15. The door system of claim 13 further comprising multiple bottom bar center flat sections, each pair overlapped inside of the curtain bottom hem pocket.

16. The door system of claim 13 wherein a curtain is fixed to its adjacent curtain by hook and loop; the coupler shaft comprises a hook and loop separator channel and a coupling curtain cross brace; the coupler shaft is spring loaded; and all curtains are attached to the same bottom bar assembly.

17. The door system of claim 13 further comprising a horizontal support member.

18. The door system of claim 13 wherein the side geometry comprises a three piece guide and an operational assembly curtain L shaped retention member; the three piece guide comprising a fascia fastener attached to a fascia guide, and inner guide for attachment to a wall, and an outer guide fastener attaches an outer guide to the inner guide.

19. The door system of claim 13 wherein the side geometry comprises a two piece guide and an operational assembly curtain end lock; two piece guide comprising an outer guide and an inner guide; and the curtain end lock comprises a plurality of curved end locks.

20. The door system of claim 13 further comprising a curtain stop assembly.

21. The door system of claim 20 wherein the curtain stop assembly comprises a spring loaded pin and a spring loaded shaft stop mechanism.

22. The door system of claim 21 further comprising a curtain slot at a predetermined location to allow the spring loaded pin to extend through the curtain before the curtain fully unwinds.

23. A door system comprising: a first and second operational assembly curtain, each comprising a respective bottom hem pocket; the first and second operational assembly curtains separated by a coupler shaft fixed to a coupling curtain, the coupling curtain comprising the bottom hem pocket; a respective counterbalance assembly fixed to each operational assembly curtain; an operational assembly to operate a respective operational assembly curtain counterbalance assembly; a horizontal support member; a curtain stop assembly comprising a spring loaded pin and a spring loaded shaft stop mechanism; and a bottom bar assembly comprising: a plurality of first angle bottom bars, each pair joined with a respective first angle bottom bar connector a plurality of second angle bottom bars, each pair joined with a respective second angle bottom bar connector; and a plurality of bottom bar center flat sections, each pair overlapped inside of the curtain bottom hem pocket; wherein; the operational assembly curtain and coupling curtain are secured to the bottom bar center flat section; wherein the bottom bar center flat section is contained within the curtain bottom hem pocket; the bottom bar center flat section is fixed to the first and second angle bottom bars at each end; all curtains are fixed to its adjacent curtain when the door system is in a smoke protective state by hook and loop; the coupler shaft comprises a hook and loop separator channel and a coupling curtain cross brace; the coupler shaft is spring loaded; and all curtains are attached to the same bottom bar assembly; and the side geometry comprises a two piece guide and an operational assembly curtain end lock; two piece guide comprising an outer guide and an inner guide; and the curtain end lock comprises a plurality of curved end locks attached to the operational assembly curtain.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention. These drawings are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a view of an atrium opening.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an unrolled curtain.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a hood.

[0017] FIGS. 4a and 4b are perspective views of a curtain bottom corner.

[0018] FIG. 5 is another perspective view of an end plate.

[0019] FIGS. 6 and 7 are a perspective views of a bracket.

[0020] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of two shafts.

[0021] FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective views of a coupling curtain.

[0022] FIG. 11 is a front view of a door with coupling curtain.

[0023] FIG. 12 is a perspective view of curtain overlap.

[0024] FIGS. 13-18 are perspective views of a bottom bar assembly.

[0025] FIG. 19 is a perspective view of one form of a curtain side geometry.

[0026] FIG. 20 is a top view of the curtain side geometry of FIG. 19.

[0027] FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a second form of curtain side geometry.

[0028] FIG. 22 is a top view of the curtain side geometry of FIG. 21.

[0029] FIG. 23 is perspective view of the tool cutout of the curtain side geometry of FIG. 21.

[0030] FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a curved end lock.

[0031] FIG. 25 is a perspective view of curved end locks on a curtain.

[0032] FIGS. 26 and 27 are perspective views of end locks rolled-up.

[0033] FIG. 28 is an end view of end locks rolled-up.

[0034] FIG. 29 is an exploded perspective view of a shaft stop mechanism.

[0035] FIG. 30 is a perspective view of a curtain stop assembly.

[0036] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various forms. The figures are not necessary to scale, and some features may be exaggerated to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. Where possible, like reference numerals have been used to refer to like parts in the several alternative embodiments of the present invention described herein.

[0038] For purposes of this disclosure, a smoke protective state is meant to be when the curtain(s) are closed to create a fire and smoke barrier during a fire/smoke event.

[0039] Turning now to the figures, the fabric fire rated door system is a vertically coiling fire and smoke containment system that is comprised of a fire resistant curtain or curtains, for example operational assembly curtains 4 and a coupling curtain 40, vertically oriented side members 6, for example, a guide, a counterbalance assembly 8 and an operational assembly 10. The counterbalance assembly 8 and operational assembly 10 are preferably contained within an overhead hood 12.

[0040] The counterbalance assembly 8 comprises a counterbalance barrel, for example, a shaft 14, which is supported above the opening and secured by horizontal support members, for example, brackets 16 and end plates 18. The curtain 4 directly attaches to the shaft 14 and rolls onto and off of the shaft 14 as the shaft 14 is rotated by the operational assembly 10. The operational assembly curtain 4 travels within the vertically oriented side members 6, within which the outer edges 20 of the operational assembly curtain 4 are contained and guided. In a preferred embodiment, the operational assembly curtain outer edges 20 comprise side geometries 22 (FIGS. 19 and 21) which are mechanically locked within the vertically oriented side members 6.

[0041] The operational assembly 10 comprises a drive motor assembly 11 and a releasing device 46, for example, a tube motor with internal brake. Optionally a controller and a continuously charged battery backup power supply (shown collectively as 47, FIG. 11) is included. In a preferred embodiment the shaft 14 is a tubular shaft driven by an internal tube motor 11 which provides governing to maintain consistent closing speeds. During a predetermined condition such as a fire/smoke event or loss of power, the door will automatically close via gravity upon activation of the releasing device 46, for example, release of the brake.

[0042] In the preferred embodiment the tube motor 11 is fully constrained at the end plate 18 and the shaft 14 is allowed to deflect as the curtain unrolls and the diameter decreases. In this embodiment a horizontal support member, for example, roller brackets 16 consistently support the shaft 14 across the door opening, and in particular, at elevated temperatures, for example, during a fire.

[0043] In an alternate embodiment a slot 54 (FIG. 5) is added to the end plate 18 to allow the tube motor to slide up and down as the rolled/unrolled curtain 14 gets larger or smaller. Additionally, a roller bracket 16 may be added next to the end plate 18 to support a curtain rollup at its end. At the end plates 18 the shaft 14 will remain straight instead of deflecting as the curtain 14 unrolls.

[0044] The operational assembly 10 is designed to function under normal or test conditions with, for example, a secured or unsecured Open/Close/Stop station 49. The controller is programmed to automatically deploy the curtain upon entering an alarm condition, for example, receiving notification from a building fire alarm control panel, local fire and/or smoke detection appliances, or upon a pre-determined reduction of available power, for example, battery power.

[0045] The curtains 4, 40 comprise a fire resistant fabric, for example, a fiberglass based fabric curtain with thermal coating. In a preferred embodiment the operational assembly curtain 4 is stitched together with side strip steel bands 24 sewn in to each curtain outer edge 20 for attachment of an end lock 26, 78 (FIGS. 4a, 4b, 25). The end lock 26 can be, for example, L-shape brackets or segments of curved spring steel. The end lock 26 is fastened to the side strip steel band 24 with fasteners 25, for example, rivets.

[0046] Depicted in FIG. 12, a top strip steel band 28 is sewn into the curtain top 30 and used to attach the curtain 4, 40 to the shaft 14. In one form brackets are fastened to the top strip steel band 28 and the brackets are then bolted to the shaft 14. Curtains 4 can be attached to the shaft 14 in overlapping segments 32, for example, every 3 feet, for easy installation. The overlapping segments 32 are sealed to each other, for example, with a fire rated hook and loop material 44 that is sewn to the curtains 14.

[0047] Depicted in FIG. 8, the shaft 15 can be segmented for easier installation. The shaft segments 34 are joined. For example, the shaft segments 34 comprise male/female ends and bolt together. Preferably, single/segmented shafts 14 can extend to approximately 50 feet and may be driven by a tube motor 11 at each end. The shaft 14 requires support approximately every 8 feet to minimize deflection. Horizontal support members, for example, shaft support brackets 16 are designed to attach to the header and employ rollers 36 (FIG. 6) for the shaft 14 to ride on during operation.

[0048] As shown in FIGS. 9-11, door curtains can be joined together with a coupler shaft 38 comprising a hook and loop separator channel 102 and coupling curtain cross brace 104 to create infinitely wide doors. The coupler shaft 38 is not motor driven, but rather it is spring loaded to act as a take up reel for a coupling curtain 40 which will overlap each adjacent curtain 14 and its respective shaft 14 by about 3 feet.

[0049] Preferably, the coupler shaft 38 is a smaller, spring loaded shaft used together with its coupling curtain 40 to connect two adjacent operational assembly curtains 4. The coupler shaft 38 is spring loaded with enough force to separate the hook and loop material 44 as it winds and acts as take up reel for the coupling curtain 40 (depicted as rolled-up in FIG. 10). In this configuration all operational assembly curtains 4 and coupling curtains 40 are attached to the same bottom bar assembly 42, described in detail below.

[0050] The hood 12 is preferably a sheet metal hood which covers the shaft 14, curtain 4, 40, and support brackets 16. Inside of the hood 12 are the horizontal supports that run across the width of the door opening. They comprise the end plates 18 and the support brackets 16. The operational assembly curtain 4 travels over these horizontal supports as it drops down through the hood opening. The horizontal supports keep the curtain in position to maintain an effective seal during a smoke protective state.

[0051] Turning to FIGS. 13-18, the bottom bar assembly 42, comprises, for example, a first angle bottom bar 48 and a second angle bottom bar 50 with a bottom bar center flat section 52 therebetween. The operational assembly curtain 4 and coupling curtain 40 are secured to the bottom bar flat section 52, for example, by inserting the bottom bar flat section 52 into a curtain bottom hem pocket 108. The bottom bar flat section 52 is fixed, for example, pinned, to the first and second angle bottom bars 48, 50 at each end. Preferably, the first and second angle bottom bars 48, 50 remain outside of the curtain bottom hem pocket 108.

[0052] This configuration allows the bottom bar center flat section 52 to deflect vertically in the center of the door between the first and second angle bottom bars 48, 50. This will allow the operational assembly curtain 4 and coupling curtain 40 to move during a smoke protective state without breaching the fire and smoke barrier when pressure is applied from air temperature change during a fire. The configuration prevents the bottom bar center flat section 52 to which the operational assembly curtain 4 and coupling curtain 40 are attached from deflecting far enough to “pop out” of or no longer be contained within the first and second angle bottom bars, thereby preventing creation of an opening which would allow smoke to pass. Containment of smoke is critical for a fire rated product.

[0053] If necessary to meet larger width openings, multiple angle bottom bars are joined with an angle bottom bar connector 106 (FIGS. 11 and 14). If multiple bottom bar center flat sections 52 are required they are overlapped inside of the curtain bottom hem pocket 108. FIG. 17 depicts the bottom bar assembly 42 attachment and FIG. 18 depicts the bottom bar assembly 42 attachment when a coupling curtain 40 is utilized. In both figures the curtains are depicted as transparent.

[0054] Turning now to FIGS. 19-20, one form of operational assembly curtain side geometry 22 comprises a three piece guide used for L-shaped end retention. A fascia fastener 56 attaches a fascia guide 58 and an inner guide 60 to a wall. An outer guide fastener 62 attaches an outer guide 64 to the inner guide 60, for example, with a screw to an inner guide weld stud or threaded hole.

[0055] Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 21-25, a two piece guide utilizing press in studs for a “no fastener” appearance is used with a curved band retention system. The outer guide 66 with a press in stud 68 slides onto inner guide slots 70 with washer 72 and a nut 74 loosely attached. The installer can then use a nut driver to tighten the fasteners. A cutout 76 at the bottom of the guide assembly allows insertion of the tool.

[0056] Curved end locks 78 are attached to the curtain 4, for example, in about 5 inch segments. Depicted in FIGS. 26-28, as the curtain 14 rolls up, the curved end locks 78 flatten out to roll up similar to a tape measure. End lock slots 100 allow circumferential movement to account for different diameters in material as the curtain 14 rolls up. For example, when the curtain 14 is about ⅛ inch thick and rolls on top of the end locks 78, the end locks 78 roll up on a tighter diameter than the curtain 14, and therefore, the end locks 78 have to move independent of the curtain 14. This allows for a tighter roll-up on the shaft 14 and less chance for the end locks 78 to catch on something thereby preventing the curtain 14 from closing.

[0057] A curtain stop assembly 80 is shown in FIGS. 29-30. A spring loaded pin 82 is installed inside of the shaft 14 and can extend out from the shaft 14 when the door is closed and the curtain 14 unwraps, thereby uncovering the pin 82. The pin 82 will then stop the shaft 14 from rotating when it hits a shaft stop mechanism 84 mounted directly or indirectly to the building structure 116.

[0058] Preferably, the shaft stop mechanism 84 is also spring-loaded 120 to absorb impact. In one form a threaded tube 86 accepts shoulder bolts 88 and threads into larger tubes 90 that rotate on a main pivot bolt 92. The shoulder bolts 88 can be used to rotate the tube and adjust the shaft stop plate 112 in and out to modify curtain tension.

[0059] Optionally, when it is desirable that the curtain 14 not fully unwind, one or more curtain slots 94 (FIG. 2) are fabricated into the curtain 14 at a predetermined location(s) to allow the spring loaded pin 82 to extend through the curtain 14 before the curtain 14 fully unwinds.

[0060] Although the present invention has been described in connection with specific examples and embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is capable of other variations and modifications within its scope. These examples and embodiments are intended as typical of, rather than in any way limiting on, the scope of the present invention as presented in the appended claims.