Fire door for an elevator

Abstract: Fire door for an elevator, especially for use in the landing doorways of an elevator shaft or equivalent. The fire door (3) is mounted abreast of the landing door (1) or equivalent of the elevator. The fire protection characteristics of the fire door (3) are so chosen that the landing door (1) and the fire door (3) together fulfil the requirements imposed on a fire door.

Description: The present invention relates to an elevator fire door as defined in the introductory part of claim 1. Such a door is known from French Patent Application FR-A-2 131 071 (ASCINTER OTIS). Fire doors are normally used in the landing doorways of the elevator shaft to prevent the propagation of fire, thermal radiation and partly combustion gases from floor to floor through the elevator shaft during a fire. Previously known are solutions in which every or almost every floor is provided with a separate fire door in addition to the landing door of the elevator shaft. In these solutions, the fire door is a completely separate structure from the landing door of the elevator shaft, which means that it occupies a large space and is expensive. There are also solutions in which the landing door of the elevator shaft also functions as a fire door. In this case, the door is of a very thick and massive structure. Due to the large mass of the door, it is slow in operation. When the elevator is out of order, the landing door may remain open, in which case it provides no fire protection at all. A fire door of this type is described in DE publication 3803317. The object of the present invention is to achieve a better protected type of fire door for elevator shafts. The invention is based on the idea that, on every or almost every floor, the landing doorway of the elevator shaft is provided with two parallel pairs of door leaves mounted on the same supporting element so that, as seen from the elevator shaft, the inner doors are normal landing doors of the elevator while the outer doors only function in a fire situation. These doors together fulfil the requirements imposed on a fire door. According to the invention, the upper part of the fire door extends over the landing door to protect the mechanism of the landing door in a fire situation. In more exact terms, the fire door of the invention is characterized by what is presented in the characterization parts of the claims. As compared with previously known solutions, the fire door of the invention has several advantages. The doors are arranged in a single door structure, which takes up less space than a structure in which, in addition to the landing door of the elevator shaft, there is a separate door that alone meets the requirements placed on a fire door. It is also easier to install. In case of malfunction, when the landing doors of the elevator are open, the fire door can be closed independently of the landing doors to protect the said mechanism. In this way, the requirements are fulfilled, although for a shorter time. The arrangement according to the invention is safer because the movable door mass in normal elevator operation is smaller than when a massive landing door is used as a fire door. Therefore, the elevator also provides faster service than in the case of heavy doors, because light doors can be moved faster. In the following, the invention is described in detail by the aid of an example by referring to the attached drawings, in which Fig. 1 presents the upper part of the fire door of the invention in lateral view, partly sectioned. Fig. 2 presents the fire door of the invention in top view, sectioned and simplified. In the embodiment of Fig. 1, the fire door of the invention is presented in a partly sectioned side view. The fire door structure consists of the normal landing door 1 of the elevator and a fire door 3 mounted abreast of it. In the solution presented in Fig. 1, the fire door is placed between the landing door 1 and the wall 2 of the elevator shaft. This arrangement simplifies the door structure and allows easier placement of the operating mechanism of the landing door. In the case depicted in Fig. 1, the elevator shaft is to the left of the doors while the landing is to the right. The fire protection characteristics of the fire door 3, especially its thickness and/or insulating material, are so selected that the landing door 1 and the fire door 3 together fulfil the requirements imposed on a fire door. The landing door 1 and the fire door 3 of the elevator are mounted on rails 5, 6 or equivalent attached to a supporting element 4. The supporting element 4 is most suitably anchored in the wall 2 of the elevator shaft by means of mounting elements 7, 8. The supporting element 4 is preferably a plate arranged in a substantially vertical position and provided with a landing door roller race 5 or equivalent attached to one side of it and a fire door roller race 6 or equivalent attached to the other side. The roller races 5, 6 or equivalent are so mounted relative to each other that the fire door roller race 6 is higher up while the landing door roller race 5 is lower down. This door supporter solution makes it possible to use a thinner structure than before. Moreover, an overlapping supporter mechanism can be used and the door mechanism can be better protected. The upper edge of the fire door 3 protects the door mechanism. Thus, the door has a better ability to function after a fire situation. The doors in the figure are horizontally movable sliding doors opening at the middle. The landing door 1 is preferably arranged to move on the roller race 5 by means of roller elements 9, 10 provided at the upper part of the door. The landing doors 1 of the elevator are actuated by means of a known apparatus (not shown). The fire door 3 is arranged to move on the roller race 6 by means of one or more roller elements 11 provided at the upper part of the door. Fig. 1 shows the suspension of only the upper parts of the doors. The lower parts of the doors are arranged to move e.g. by means of a guiding element in a groove which is preferably parallel to the corresponding roller race 5, 6. In a normal situation, the fire door 3 is open, the leaves 3a, 3b being locked in place e.g. by means of a latch (not shown in the figure). The latch is so arranged that it will release the door leaves in the event of a fire. One possibility is to connect the latches to a fire alarm apparatus so that they will operate in accordance with control commands received from the latter. Another advantageous application is to make the latch from a meltable material, in which case the door locking will be released when the temperature rises to a given value. US patent 3,598,202 proposes some solutions for the control of an elevator door latch. The fire door 3 has an arrangement for automatic closing. In a preferred embodiment, the roller race 6 of the fire door 3 is mounted in a slanting position so that the door leaves 3a, 3b will gravitate towards the middle of the doorway, closing the fire door. In another preferred embodiment, the door leaves 3a, 3b are arranged to be closed by means of an actuating mechanism based on the use of a counterweight. In this case, when the latch releases the locking of the fire door, the counterweight causes the door leaves to close. The fire door has an arrangement whereby the junction between the two door leaves 3a, 3b is sealed in a fire situation. In the example illustrated by Fig. 2, door leaf 3a is provided with a male type joining element and the other door leaf 3b with a female type joining element. The joining elements of the door leaves fit into each other when the door is closed, thus sealing the juncture between the door leaves 3a, 3b. The doorway is preferably surrounded by sealings 12 which in an embodiment of the fire door structure are so arranged that they will expand in a fire situation, preventing propagation of fire into the elevator shaft or equivalent through the space between the fire door 3 and the wall 2 of the elevator shaft. The fire door of the invention can have a thinner structure than in previously known solutions. In itself, the door is a typical fire door with insulating material between its face plates. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted to the examples described above, but that it may instead be varied within the scope of the following claims.

Claims: Door for an elevator comprising a landing door (1) and a fire door (3) one parallel to each other, the fire door (1) is mounted on the landing side of the landing door (1), the fire protection characteristics of the fire door (3) are so chosen that the landing door (1) and the fire door (3) together fulfill the requirements imposed on a fire door, the sides and upper part of the doorway are surrounded by a sealing (12) situated in the space between the fire door (3) and the wall of the elevator shaft so arranged that said sealings will expand in a fire situation, characterized in that the upper part of the fire door (3) extends over the upper edge of the landing door (1) so as to protect the mechanism of the landing door (1) in a fire situation. Door according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper part of the fire door (3) extending over the upper edge of the landing door (1) is thinner than the remainder part of the fire door (1). Door according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the upper portion of the sealings (12) which will expand in a fire situation is situated between the part of the fire door (3) extending over the upper edge of the landing door (1) and the wall of the elevator shaft.

Inventors: HOEFSLOOT LEON, HOEFSLOOT, LEON
Applicants: KONE CORP, KONE CORPORATION
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B66B13
IPC codes: B66B13