Automatic flood gate
AssigneeFloodbreak, L.L.C.
InventorLouis A. Waters JR.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A horizontally pivoted structurally rigid buoyant flood gate, in a housing for the gate arranged in front of an opening to a construction, is pivotally floated out of the housing by rising water entering a portal to the housing, and rotates buoyantly upward toward the opening, rising between two side walls longitudinal to the opening and separated from each other by little more than the side-to-side distance of the gate, allowing little water through any gap separating the gate from the side walls, which preferably is sealed by a compression seal, the hydrostatic pressure of water dammed behind the rising gate urging completed closure of the gate through at least the upper half of the closing arc, pressing the gate sealingly against the jambs.
Claims38
A self-actuating flood guard system for refusing admission of rising surface water into a structural opening of a construction, the opening having opening limiting margins including a bottom, said system comprising:
- a buoyant gate having a base, sides, a front, a back and dimensions occlusive of at least a lower portion of said opening, said base being arranged for location adjacent said bottom of said opening,
- pivotation members hinging said gate at said base about a pivot axis parallel to said bottom of said opening and allowing said gate to rest substantially parallel and adjacent grade proximately in front of said opening for pivotation upwardly toward and transversely to said opening,
- a pair of upright walls reaching from grade and extending alongside said sides of said gate at rest, said walls having facing surfaces spaced apart sufficiently to allow the gate to pivot upwardly between them toward said opening with the sides of said gate close enough to the facing wall surfaces to permit hydrostatic pressure of surface water rising from said grade to develop against the back of the gate effective to impart a closing force on the gate after the gate buoyantly has pivoted from rest upwardly about said axis, and
- jambs adjacent at least side margins of said opening for confronting and stopping rotation of said gate about said axis when said gate is rotated a predetermined extent under said closing force of said rising water hydrostatic pressure, thereby putting said gate in a closed position refusing admission of rising water into at least a lower portion of said opening.
A self-actuating flood guard system for refusing admission of rising surface water into a structural opening of a construction, the opening having opening limiting margins including a bottom, said system comprising:
- a buoyant gate having a base, sides, a front, a back and dimensions occlusive of at least a lower portion of said opening, said base being arranged for location adjacent said bottom of said opening,
- pivotation members hinging said gate at said base about a pivot axis parallel to said bottom of said opening and allowing said gate to rest substantially parallel and adjacent grade proximately in front of said opening for pivotation upwardly toward and transversely to said opening,
- a housing for said gate and pivotation members, said housing including a floor and sides for containing said gate above said floor such that with the gate resident in the housing the front of the gate substantially closes the gate housing,
- a surface water portal into said housing giving access to said floor of the housing when said gate is resident in said housing, said housing and gate being configured to permit surface water entering through said portal to rise beneath said gate and pivotingly buoy said gate upwardly from the housing for rotation about said axis toward said opening.
- a pair of upright walls reaching from grade and extending alongside said sides of said gate at rest, said walls having facing surfaces spaced apart sufficiently to allow the gate to pivot upwardly between them toward said opening with the sides of said gate close enough to the facing wall surfaces to permit hydrostatic pressure of surface water rising from said grade to develop against the back of the gate effective to impart a closing force on the gate after the gate buoyantly has pivoted from rest upwardly about said axis,
- seals affixed to the sides of said gate for sealingly closing gaps between said sides of said gate and said facing wall surfaces, and
- jambs adjacent at least sides margins of said opening for confronting and stopping rotation of said gate about said axis when said gate is rotated a predetermined extent under said closing force of said rising water hydrostatic pressure, thereby putting said gate in a closed position refusing admission of rising water into at least a lower portion of said opening, said jambs including a resilient sealing surface arranged to cooperate with the front of said gate in said closed position to seal against admission of water between said jamb and said gate.
A self-actuating flood barrier system for a structural opening of a construction, the opening having a opening limiting margins, including a bottom, said system comprising
- a weight bearing buoyant gate having a base, front, back, and sides, said gate being rotatable about a pivot axis at the base of the gate generally parallel to the bottom of said opening and comprising a plurality of sealed tubes arranged side by side,
- a gate housing outside said construction in front of said bottom of said opening at an elevation below the bottom of the opening and arranged generally parallel to grade in front of said opening, said housing having a floor and sides and being configured to pivotingly receive and support said gate above said floor parallel to said grade such that the front of said gate substantially closes the housing, said gate resident in said housing providing a passageway for traffic into said construction through said opening
- a portal into said housing to admit surface water into said housing beneath said gate for pivotingly displacing said buoyant gate upwardly from the housing in rotation toward said opening,
- a pair of walls raised adjacent said construction alongside said sides of said housing, said walls having facing substantially planar surfaces spaced apart sufficiently to allow the gate to pivotally swing upwardly between them toward said opening with the sides of said gate close enough to the facing surfaces of the walls to create hydrostatic pressure on the gate effective to close the gate during rise of surface water after the gate buoyantly has pivoted upwardly about said axis from said housing, and
- jambs extending upwardly from said grade adjacent said the opening substantially upright to grade and spaced apart not greater than the opposing surfaces of said walls, having surfaces for engaging corresponding portions of said gate front under impress of the force of hydraulic pressure acting on said back of said gate after said gate is rotated upwardly between said wall panels by rising water.
A method for automatically refusing admission of rising surface water into a structural opening of a construction, the opening having opening limiting margins, including a bottom, said method comprising:
- housing a buoyant gate of dimension occlusive to at least a lower portion of said opening adjacently in front of said opening, substantially parallel to grade, pivotingly arranged about a pivot axis parallel to said bottom of said opening and in a recess into which surface water can flow,
- providing a portal for admitting surface water into said recess to cause the gate to pivotingly buoy upwardly from said recess in a rotation closing towards said opening, and
- preventing rising surface water from flowing around sides of the upwardly buoyed gate, whereby rising surface water accumulates behind the gate and hydraulic pressure of the rising surface water exerts a continuing closing force rotating the gate toward, thence occlusively across, at least a lower portion of said opening.
A method for automatically refusing admission of rising surface water into a structural opening of a construction, the opening having open limiting margins, including a bottom, said method comprising:
- housing a buoyant gate occlusive of least a lower portion of said opening adjacently in front of said opening, substantially parallel to grade, in a recess into which surface water can flow, such that the gate housed in the recess provides a weight bearing passageway to said opening,
- pivoting said gate about a pivot axis parallel to said bottom of said opening to allow said gate to pivot upwardly towards and across said opening from said recess, and
- preventing rising surface water from flowing around sides of the gate such that, on admission of surface water into said recess, the gate pivotingly buoys upwardly from said recess in a rotation towards said opening, accumulating rising surface water behind the gate, whereby hydraulic pressure exerts force rotation of the gate toward, thence occlusively across at least a lower portion of the opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.