US5642767A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Up closing fire door
Assignee: Translogic Corp
•
Filing: 1995-12-13
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Granted: 1997-07-01
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Expires: 2015-12-13
Abstract
Abstract A fire door system is disclosed wherein the fire door is up closing in that it includes an up closing partition. Further, the fire door is fail-safe in that in the absence of continuous controls indicating that the fire door should remain open, counterweights to the partition urge the partition upwardly for closing the fire door. Additionally, the fire door includes pneumatic chambers that interact with the movement of the counterweights so that as the partition is closing, a build-up of pressure in the chambers slows the rate of closing so that the fire door closes without slamming even though the total time taken to close the fire is rapid. The fire door is particularly useful for preventing the spread of fire and fire byproducts from one side of a fire inhibiting wall to the other side through openings such as those provided for carrier transport systems.
Inventors
- 👤 Gopi Nair
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 03:23
CPC Classifications
A; A62; A62C; A62C2/00; A62C2/06; A62C2/18; E; E05; E05D; E05D13/00; E05D13/10; E05D13/14; E05F; E05F15/00; E05F15/70; E05F15/72; E05Y; E05Y2900/00; E05Y2900/10; E05Y2900/13; E05Y2900/132; E05Y2900/134; E05Y2900/146; E06; E06B; E06B5/00; E06B5/10; E06B5/16
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
129 words
An upwardly closing fire door assembly comprising: door means, moveable between a closed position and an open position, for: (a) partitioning a first space from a second space when said door means is in said closed position, and (b) providing an opening between the first and second spaces when said door means is in said open position; and counterweight means for moving said door means with a weighted portion of said counterweight means, wherein said counterweight means actuates said door means between said open and closed positions by gravitational induced movement of said weighted portion; wherein said counterweight means includes a cable and pulley means, operatively connected to said door means and said weighted portion, for transferring said gravitational induced movement into an upward movement of said door means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
129 words
An upwardly closing fire door assembly comprising: door means, moveable between a closed position and an open position, for: (a) partitioning a first space from a second space when said door means is in said closed position, and (b) providing an opening between the first and second spaces when said door means is in said open position; and counterweight means for moving said door means with a weighted portion of said counterweight means, wherein said counterweight means actuates said door means between said open and closed positions by gravitational induced movement of said weighted portion; wherein said counterweight means includes a cable and pulley means, operatively connected to said door means and said weighted portion, for transferring said gravitational induced movement into an upward movement of said door means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
A fire door assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said door means includes a partition of hinged slats extendable in said closed position and retractable in said open position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
113 words
An upwardly closing fire door assembly comprising: door means, moveable between a closed position and an open position, for: (a) partitioning a first space from a second space when said door means is in said closed position, and (b) providing an opening between the first and second spaces when said door means is in said open position; counterweight means for moving said door means with a weighted portion of said counterweight means, wherein said counterweight means actuates said door means between said open and closed positions by gravitational induced movement of said weighted portion; and an actuator means for actuating at least one of a closing and an opening of said door means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
113 words
An upwardly closing fire door assembly comprising: door means, moveable between a closed position and an open position, for: (a) partitioning a first space from a second space when said door means is in said closed position, and (b) providing an opening between the first and second spaces when said door means is in said open position; counterweight means for moving said door means with a weighted portion of said counterweight means, wherein said counterweight means actuates said door means between said open and closed positions by gravitational induced movement of said weighted portion; and an actuator means for actuating at least one of a closing and an opening of said door means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
A fire door assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said actuator means includes a motor means for opening said door means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
A fire door assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein said actuator means includes means for maintaining said fire door means in said open position.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
21 words
A fire door assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein said means for maintaining includes a brake that is engaged electronically.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
119 words
An upwardly closing fire door assembly comprising: door means, moveable between a closed position and an open position, for: (a) partitioning a first space from a second space when said door means is in said closed position, and (b) providing an opening between the first and second spaces when said door means is in said open position, counterweight means for moving said door means with a weighted portion of said counterweight means, wherein said counterweight means actuates said door means between said open and closed positions by gravitational induced movement of said weighted portion; and detection means for detecting a condition in a proximity of said door means that relates to one of a fire and a fire byproduct.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
119 words
An upwardly closing fire door assembly comprising: door means, moveable between a closed position and an open position, for: (a) partitioning a first space from a second space when said door means is in said closed position, and (b) providing an opening between the first and second spaces when said door means is in said open position, counterweight means for moving said door means with a weighted portion of said counterweight means, wherein said counterweight means actuates said door means between said open and closed positions by gravitational induced movement of said weighted portion; and detection means for detecting a condition in a proximity of said door means that relates to one of a fire and a fire byproduct.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
38 words
A fire door assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein said detection means includes at least one of (a) a thermostat switch for detecting an increase in temperature and (b) a smoke detector for detecting a fire byproduct.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
111 words
An upwardly closing fire door assembly comprising: door means, moveable between a closed position and an open position for: (a) partitioning a first space from a second space when said door means is in said closed position, and (b) providing an opening between the first and second spaces when said door means is in said open position; counterweight means for moving said door means with a weighted portion of said counterweight means, wherein said counterweight means actuates said door means between said open and closed positions by gravitational induced movement of said weighted portion; and means for controlling movement of said door means upon detection of at least a first condition.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
111 words
An upwardly closing fire door assembly comprising: door means, moveable between a closed position and an open position for: (a) partitioning a first space from a second space when said door means is in said closed position, and (b) providing an opening between the first and second spaces when said door means is in said open position; counterweight means for moving said door means with a weighted portion of said counterweight means, wherein said counterweight means actuates said door means between said open and closed positions by gravitational induced movement of said weighted portion; and means for controlling movement of said door means upon detection of at least a first condition.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
111 words
A method for actuating a fire door, comprising: providing a vertically moveable fire door within an opening between a ceiling and a floor through which a carrier travels; establishing said fire door in an open position so that the carrier passes through said fire door; urging said fire door towards said ceiling for closing said fire door and thereby partitioning the opening into first and second spaces so that at least one of a fire and a fire byproduct in the first space is substantially inhibited from entering the second space; wherein said step of urging includes a step of inducing gravitational movement of a counterweight for closing said fire door.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
111 words
A method for actuating a fire door, comprising: providing a vertically moveable fire door within an opening between a ceiling and a floor through which a carrier travels; establishing said fire door in an open position so that the carrier passes through said fire door; urging said fire door towards said ceiling for closing said fire door and thereby partitioning the opening into first and second spaces so that at least one of a fire and a fire byproduct in the first space is substantially inhibited from entering the second space; wherein said step of urging includes a step of inducing gravitational movement of a counterweight for closing said fire door.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method as claimed in claim 10, further including a step of providing a pressure change within a contained volume wherein said pressure change is related to a movement of said counterweight so that said pressure change decreases a rate of said gravitational movement of said counterweight as said fire door becomes substantially closed.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said step of providing a pressure change includes one of providing a pressure relieving port that is fixed in size and providing a pressure relieving port that is adjustable in size.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said step of establishing includes activating a motor for opening said fire door by counter acting said counterweight.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said step of urging includes detecting, in a proximity of said fire door, one of an increasing temperature and a fire byproduct.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said step of inducing includes releasing a mechanism for maintaining the fire door in said open position.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said step of urging includes allowing a gravitational force on said counterweight to overcome all counter forces inhibiting a movement of said fire door towards said ceiling.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
112 words
A method for actuating a fire door, comprising: providing a vertically moveable fire door within an opening between a ceiling and a floor through which a carrier travels; establishing said fire door in an open position so that the carrier passes through said fire door; urging said fire door toward said ceiling for closing said fire door and thereby partitioning the opening into first and second spaces so that at least one of a fire and a fire product in the first space is substantially inhibited from entering the second space; and detecting a condition in proximity of said fire door that relates to one of the fire and the fire byproduct.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
112 words
A method for actuating a fire door, comprising: providing a vertically moveable fire door within an opening between a ceiling and a floor through which a carrier travels; establishing said fire door in an open position so that the carrier passes through said fire door; urging said fire door toward said ceiling for closing said fire door and thereby partitioning the opening into first and second spaces so that at least one of a fire and a fire product in the first space is substantially inhibited from entering the second space; and detecting a condition in proximity of said fire door that relates to one of the fire and the fire byproduct.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
106 words
A method for actuating a fire door, comprising: providing a vertically moveable fire door within an opening between a ceiling and a floor through which a carrier travels; establishing said fire door in an open position so that the carrier passes through said fire door; urging said fire door toward said ceiling for closing said fire door and thereby partitioning the opening into first and second spaces so that at least one of a fire and a fire byproduct in the first space is substantially inhibited from entering the second space; and controlling movement of said fire door upon detection of at least a first condition.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
106 words
A method for actuating a fire door, comprising: providing a vertically moveable fire door within an opening between a ceiling and a floor through which a carrier travels; establishing said fire door in an open position so that the carrier passes through said fire door; urging said fire door toward said ceiling for closing said fire door and thereby partitioning the opening into first and second spaces so that at least one of a fire and a fire byproduct in the first space is substantially inhibited from entering the second space; and controlling movement of said fire door upon detection of at least a first condition.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-06-30 | 2000-12-30 | 2001-07-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-06-30 | 2004-12-30 | 2005-07-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-06-30 | 2008-12-30 | 2009-07-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |