SELF-CLOSING FLOOD BARRIER

Abstract

A self-closing flood barrier for protecting a hinterland against floods includes a housing having a water-side wall and a hinterland-side wall, a water inlet for letting in water into the housing, and a flood barrier element which is movable up and down in the housing. The flood barrier element acts as or includes a forcing element for causing a forced upward movement of the flood barrier element. The flood barrier element is wherein the self-closing flood barrier comprises a hinging clamping element which is hinge-mounted to the water-side wall, the hinging clamping element comprising a clamping piece which, in closed state of the self-closing flood barrier, is hinged against the flood barrier element, such that the flood barrier element is clamped in between the clamping piece and the hinterland-side wall.

Claims

1.-13. (canceled)

14. A self-closing flood barrier for protecting a hinterland against floods, wherein the self-closing flood barrier comprises: a housing comprising a water-side wall and a hinterland-side wall; a water inlet for letting in water into the housing; and a flood barrier element which is movable up and down in the housing, the flood barrier element comprising a forcing element for causing a forced upward movement of the flood barrier element or the flood barrier element acting as forcing element for causing a forced upward movement of the flood barrier element, wherein the self-closing flood barrier comprises a hinging clamping element which is hinge-mounted to the water-side wall, the hinging clamping element comprising a clamping piece which, in closed state of the self-closing flood barrier, is hinged against the flood barrier element, such that the flood barrier element is clamped in between the clamping piece and the hinterland-side wall.

15. The self-closing flood barrier according to claim 14, wherein the hinging clamping element comprises a pressure element, wherein the hinging clamping element is arranged such that when the pressure element is pressed, the clamping piece hinges against the flood barrier element.

16. The self-closing flood barrier according to claim 15, wherein the flood barrier element comprises a bumper element, which, in the closed state of the self-closing flood barrier, serves to press against the pressure element.

17. The self-closing flood barrier according to claim 16, wherein pressure element of the hinging clamping element comprises a surface and the bumper element of the flood barrier element comprises a surface, wherein, in closed position of the self-closing flood barrier, said two surfaces touch each other.

18. The self-closing flood barrier according to claim 17, wherein the hinging clamping element, the housing and the flood barrier element are arranged such that the surface of the pressure element and the surface of the bumper element are both oriented approximately horizontally, either in open or in closed state of the self-closing flood barrier.

19. The self-closing flood barrier according to claim 14, wherein the clamping piece comprises a surface and the flood barrier element comprises a surface, wherein, in closed state of the self-closing flood barrier, said surfaces touch each other.

20. The self-closing flood barrier according to claim 19, wherein the hinging clamping element, the housing and the flood barrier element are arranged such that the surface of the clamping piece and the surface of the flood barrier element are both oriented approximately vertically, either in open or in closed position of the self-closing flood barrier.

21. The self-closing flood barrier according to claim 15, wherein the pressure element of the hinging clamping element and the clamping piece of the hinging clamping element are directly connected to each other and are immovable relative to each other.

22. The self-closing flood barrier according to claim 14, wherein the flood barrier element comprises a closing element at the top, which, in open state of the self-closing barrier, closes the upper opening of the housing.

23. The self-closing flood barrier according to claim 14, wherein the flood barrier element comprises a substantially flat side for leaning against the hinterland-side wall of the housing.

24. The self-closing flood barrier according to claim 14, wherein the flood barrier element comprises a sealing element to the side of the flood barrier element which, in closed state of the self-closing barrier, is pressed against the hinterland-side wall.

25. A method for protecting a hinterland against floods by means of a self-closing flood barrier according to claim 14, comprising providing the self-closing flood barrier, installing the self-closing flood barrier below the bottom base surface, and letting water flow into the housing for forcing the flood barrier element upwards.

26. A method for making a self-closing flood barrier for protecting a hinterland against floods according to claim 14, comprising providing the following components: the housing, the water inlet, the flood barrier element, and the hinging clamping element and assembling said components so that the self-closing flood barrier is formed.

Description

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] The invention will now be further described, by means of example, with reference to the associated figures wherein:

[0038] FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B show a side view of a self-closing flood barrier according to one of the embodiments of the present invention, in open and in closed state respectively.

[0039] FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show a side view of a self-closing flood barrier according to one of the embodiments of the present invention, in open and in closed state respectively.

[0040] FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show a side view of a self-closing flood barrier according to one of the embodiments of the present invention, in open and in closed state respectively.

[0041] FIG. 4 illustrates a system having a wall to which a take-away element has been mounted, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] The figures are only schematic and not restrictive. It is possible that the dimensions of some components have been exaggerated and have not been represented to scale in the figures for illustrative purposes. Dimensions and relative dimensions do not necessarily correspond with actual embodiments of the invention.

[0043] Reference numbers used in the claims cannot be interpreted to restrict the scope of protection.

[0044] In the various figures, the same reference numbers refer to the same or similar elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0045] The present invention will be described in respect of special embodiments and with reference to certain drawings, however the invention will not be restricted to this but will only be restricted by the claims.

[0046] The terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims are used to distinguish similar elements and are not necessarily used for describing an order, nor in time, nor in space, nor in ranking nor in any other manner. It should be understood that the terms used in this way are interchangeable in appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are suitable to work in a different order than described or indicated herein.

[0047] Furthermore, the terms top, bottom, above, in front of and the like used in the description and the claims are used for description purposes and not necessarily to describe relative positions. It should be understood that the terms used as such are interchangeable in given circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention described herein are also suitable for functioning according to different orientations than described or indicated here.

[0048] It should be noted that the term “comprises”, as used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the items described thereafter; this term does not exclude any other elements or steps. It may be interpreted as specifying the presence of the features, values, steps or components indicated being referred to, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or several other features, values, steps or components, or groups thereof. So, the extent of the expression “a device comprising items A and B” should not be restricted to devices consisting of components A and B only. It means that in respect of the present invention, A and B are the only relevant components of the device.

[0049] Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a specific feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment has been included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. So, occurrence of the expressions “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various locations throughout this specification do not necessarily all need to refer to the same embodiment but may do so. Furthermore, the specific features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner as would be clear to a person skilled in the art on the basis of this publication, in one or several embodiments.

[0050] Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the description of sample embodiments of the invention, sometimes various features of the invention are grouped together in one single embodiment, figure or description thereof intended to streamline the publication and to help the understanding of one or several of the various inventive aspects. This method of publication should therefore not be interpreted as a reflection of an intention that the invention requires more features than explicitly mentioned in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in fewer than all features of one single previously publicised embodiment. So, the claims following on from the detailed description have been explicitly included in this detailed description, with every independent claim being a separate embodiment of the invention.

[0051] Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein comprise some, but not other, features included in other embodiments, combinations of features from various embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention, and these form various embodiments as would be understood by the person skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the embodiments described may be used in any combination.

[0052] In the description provided here, a large number of specific details are raised. It may therefore be understood that embodiments of the invention may be embodied without these specific details. In other cases, well-known methods, structures and techniques are not shown in detail in order to keep this description clear.

[0053] In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a self-closing flood barrier for protecting a hinterland against floods. The self-closing flood barrier hereby comprises: a housing comprising a water-side wall and a hinterland-side wall, a water inlet for letting in water into the housing, and a flood barrier element which is movable up and down in the housing. The flood barrier element comprises a forcing element for causing a forced upward movement of the flood barrier element. Alternatively, the flood barrier element itself acts as forcing element. The self-closing flood barrier comprises a hinging clamping element hinge-mounted to the water-side wall: the hinging clamping element comprises a clamping piece which, in closed state of the self-closing barrier, is hinged against the flood barrier element, such that the flood barrier element is clamped in between the clamping piece and the hinterland-side wall. In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method for protecting a hinterland against floods by means of a self-closing flood barrier according to any of the embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention. The method comprises providing the self-closing flood barrier, installing the self-closing flood barrier below the bottom base surface, and letting water flow into the housing for forcing the flood barrier element upwards.

[0054] FIG. 1A shows a side view of a self-closing flood barrier 10 in one of the embodiments according to the first aspect of the present invention, in open state. The self-closing flood barrier 10 comprises a housing having a water-side wall 100, a hinterland-side wall 101, and a bottom 102. The water-side wall 100 and the hinterland-side wall 101 are substantially flat, vertically oriented, and substantially equal in height. A water inlet 103 serves to let water into the housing. The self-closing flood barrier is in open state because there is no water in the housing: this is, for example, because the water in the flood plain is so low that there is no risk of flooding.

[0055] In the housing, a flood barrier element 12 is located, comprising a forcing element 120, a bumper element 121, a substantially flat side 122, a closing element 123, and a sealing element 124. The bumper element 121 comprises a part of the top of the forcing element 120. The housing is sufficiently large so that, in this embodiment, in the open state of the self-closing flood barrier, the full flood barrier element 12 is substantially located in the housing. The flood barrier element 12 may have a narrow part and a wide part, and may, in principle, move up and down in the housing, and move partially through the upper opening of the housing. Alternatively, the flood barrier element 12 may also be flat. In some embodiments, the flood barrier element 12 may comprise a take-away piece such as, for example, a block or a rod, which takes away the hinging part. This prevents that dirt remains on the forcing element. An example of this is shown for example in FIG. 4. The forcing element 120 has a low density, so that the forcing element may be forced upwards when there is water in the housing, so that the entire water element 12 is forced upwards. In this embodiment, the forcing element 120 is located at the bottom of the flood barrier element 12. However, the forcing element 120 may substantially comprise the entire flood barrier element 12. The closing element 123 closes the upper opening of the housing. The sealing element 124 is located at the substantially flat side 122 of the flood barrier element 12.

[0056] A hinging clamping element 11 is hinge-mounted to the waterland-side wall 100 of the housing via a hinge 110. The hinging clamping element 11 is thereby substantially attached to the top of the waterland-side wall 100. The hinging clamping element 11 comprises a clamping piece 112 and a pushing element 113 which, immovable relative to each other and perpendicular to each other, are connected to each other. The clamping piece 112 comprises a surface, and the pushing element 113 comprises a surface. In this embodiment, the hinging clamping element 11 also comprises rods 111 which connect the clamping piece 112 and the pushing element 113 with the hinge 110.

[0057] In open state of the self-closing flood barrier 10, the distance between the clamping piece 112 and the hinterland-side wall 101 is greater than the width of, in any case, a piece of the flood barrier element 12. Thus, the flood barrier element 12 may move up and down between the hinging clamping element 11 and the hinterland-side wall 101. However, the hinging clamping element 11 is arranged such that, if pushing occurs onto the pushing element 113 from below, the clamping element 11 hinges, so that the clamping piece 112 is hinged against a surface 125 of the flood barrier element 12. This surface 125 may be oriented vertically.

[0058] We now refer to FIG. 1B. According to the method according to the second aspect of the present invention, water 15 is let into the housing via water inlet 103. The water 15 exercises a buoyancy onto the forcing element 120, so that the entire flood barrier element 12 is forced upwards, whereby a part of the flood barrier element 12 moves out of the housing. The self-closing flood barrier 10 is thus in the closed state.

[0059] Due to the forced upward movement of the flood barrier element 12 and due to the upward buoyancy, which is exercised onto the forcing element 120, the bumper element 121 pushes against the pushing element 113. As a result of this, the hinging clamping element 11 hinges, by rotating around the hinge 110, such that the clamping piece 112 is hinged against the surface 125 of the flood barrier element 12. The flood barrier element 12 is thus pressed against the hinterland-side wall 101, so that the flood barrier element 12 is clamped between the clamping piece 112 and the hinterland-side wall 101.

[0060] The surface of the clamping piece 112, while in closed state, is oriented approximately vertically, and the surface of the pushing element 113, while in closed state, may be oriented approximately horizontally. As the bumper element 121 and the pushing element 113 comprise a horizontally oriented surface making contact with each other, the contact surface between the two is large and thus the force per surface exercised onto the elements is restricted, which may prevent damage to the elements. Furthermore, the pushing element 113 restricts the upward movement of the flood barrier element 12, so that the flood barrier element 12 cannot fully leave the housing.

[0061] As the surface of the clamping piece 112 is pressed against the surface 125 of the flood barrier element 12, whereby both surfaces are oriented vertically, there is a large contact surface between the clamping piece 112 and the flood barrier element 12. As the substantially flat side 122 of the flood barrier element 12 is pushed against the flat wall of the hinterland-side wall 101, there is also a large contact surface between the flood barrier element 12 and the hinterland-side wall 101. As the clamping thus occurs with two large contact surfaces which are furthermore oriented parallel to each other, the stability of the flood barrier element 12 against, for example, wave motion and various water levels is high. Thus, in certain embodiments, the flood barrier element 12 does not even tilt, for example, with wave motion or at various water levels, so that water is prevented from being able to flow from the flood plain to the hinterland.

[0062] Due to the sealing element 124 which is present between the flood barrier element and the hinterland-side wall, no water can flow between the flood barrier element and the hinterland-side wall, so that this too prevents water from being able to flow from the flood plain to the hinterland.

[0063] When the water 15 were to be let out of the housing, for example through the water inlet 103 if the water level of the flood plain is low, the buoyancy exercised onto the flood barrier element reduces, so that the force which the bumper element 121 exercises onto the pushing element 113, reduces. Thus, the clamping piece 112 of the hinging clamping element 11 may unhinge from the surface 125 of the flood barrier element 12. Thus, the flood barrier element 12 is no longer clamped between the clamping piece 112 and the hinterland-side wall 101, and the flood barrier element 12 may again move downwards and substantially fully re-enter into the housing.

[0064] An alternative embodiment of the self-closing flood barrier 10 according to the first aspect of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2A. The housing comprises a water-side wall 100, a hinterland-side wall 101, and a bottom 102. In this embodiment, the water inlet comprises the upper opening of the housing. In this embodiment, the hinging clamping element 11 is hinge-mounted to the water-side wall 100 with hinges 110. The pushing element 113 and the clamping piece 112 are part of a single block, which are connected via rods 111 with hinges 114 on the block to the hinges 110 on the water-side wall 100.

[0065] The hinging clamping element 11 is thereby arranged such that the surface of the pushing element 113, either in open state or in closed state of the self-closing flood barrier 10, is horizontally oriented. Alternatively, the surface may also be spherical, in order to have, for example, less friction. The bumper element 121 also comprises a surface oriented horizontally or angled. The advantage of this device is that the contact surface between the bumper element 121 and the pushing element 113, either in the open state or in the closed state of the self-closing barrier, is large each time, which restricts the force per surface exercised onto the elements, and thus promotes the durability of the elements.

[0066] The hinging clamping element 11 is also arranged such that the surface of the clamping piece 112, either in open state or in closed state of the self-closing flood barrier 10, is vertically oriented. The flood barrier element also comprises a surface 125 that is vertically oriented and to which the clamping piece 112 hinges against while in closed state. The advantage of this device is that the contact surface between the clamping piece 112 and the surface 125 of the flood barrier element 12, both while the self-closing flood barrier is closing and in closed state of the self-closing barrier, is large each time, which promotes the durability of the materials.

[0067] We now refer to FIG. 2B. Water 15 is let into the housing via the water inlet according to the method according to the second aspect of the present invention. The water 15 has thereby forced the forcing element 120, and thus the flood barrier element 12, upwards. A part of the flood barrier element 12 has thereby left the housing. The bumper element 121 has pushed against the pushing element 113, so that the hinging clamping element 11 has hinged. Thus, the clamping piece 112 has hinged against the surface of the 125 of the flood barrier element 12, so that the substantially flat side 122 of the flood barrier element 12 is pushed against hinterland-side wall 101. The flood barrier element 12 is thus clamped between the clamping piece 112 and the hinterland-side wall 101.

[0068] In this embodiment too, there is a large contact surface between the clamping piece 112 and the surface 125 of the flood barrier element 12, and also between the substantially flat side 122 of the flood barrier element 12 and the hinterland-side wall 101, so that the flood barrier element 12 will not tilt spontaneously with wave motion or at various water levels.

[0069] Another alternative embodiment of the self-closing flood barrier 10 according to the first aspect of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3A in which the self-closing flood barrier 10 in an open state is shown. The housing comprises a water-side wall 100, a hinterland-side wall 101, and a bottom 102. In this embodiment, the water inlet comprises the upper opening of the housing. In this embodiment, the hinging clamping element 11 is hinge-mounted to the water-side wall 100 via a rod 111 with hinge 110. The hinging clamping element 11 is mounted to the water-side wall 100 as high as possible. In this embodiment, the pushing element 113 and the clamping piece 112 are not immobile relative to each other, but are hinge-connected to each other, whereby one hinge comprises the pushing element 113, and a second hinge 114 is mounted to a block which comprises clamping piece 112, and whereby the two hinges are connected to each other via a rod 115. The hinging clamping element 11 is arranged such that the surface of the clamping piece 112, either in open state or in closed state of the self-closing flood barrier 10, is vertically oriented. The bumper element 121 comprises the top surface of a protruding element 126 which is attached to the top of the forcing element 120, whereby the protruding element 126 is part of the flood barrier element 12. The forcing element 120 may comprise the protruding element 126. The forcing element 120 may substantially comprise the entire flood barrier element 12. Not shown in FIG. 3A are the elements which prevent that the clamping piece hinges downwards in open state of the self-closing barrier, such as, for example, a retractable rod.

[0070] We now refer to FIG. 3B. Water 15 has been let into the housing through the water inlet, which comprises the top of the housing, according to the method according to the second aspect of the present invention. The forcing element 120, and thus the flood barrier element 12, has been forced upwards by the water 15, so that the bumper element 121 has pushed against the pushing element 113. The hinging clamping element 11 has thus been hinged such that the clamping piece 112 has been hinged against the surface 125 of the flood barrier element 12. In this embodiment too, there is a large contact surface between the clamping piece 112 and the surface 125 of the flood barrier element 12, and also between the substantially flat side 122 of the flood barrier element 12 and the hinterland-side wall 101, so that the flood barrier element 12 will not tilt spontaneously with wave motion or at various water levels.

[0071] While the flood barrier is described, in the above embodiments, as having a flood barrier element which comprises a forcing element, the flood barrier element may also act as forcing element itself so that it creates a forced upward movement of the flood barrier element itself. This has been illustrated in FIG. 5.

[0072] The preceding description gives details of certain embodiments of the invention. It will, however, be clear that no matter how detailed the above turns out to be in text, the invention may be applied in many ways. It should be noted that the use of certain terminology when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be interpreted as implying that the terminology herein is defined again to be restricted to specific features of the characteristics or aspects of the invention to which this terminology is coupled.