Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02229841 1998-03-20
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FLOOR HATCH WITH INTEGRATED SECURITY FENCE
Field of tree invention
The present invention relates to a floor hatch with an integrated security
fence.
Back4round of the invention
In industrial plants, office buildings and other such structures as well as on
sidewalks or anywhere a floor has an understructure of any kind that requires
access
thereto, it is known to provide a floor hatch in order to access cables,
ventilation
equipment or other structures which may be present in the understructure of
the
floor.
Such floor hatches are usually comprised of an opening in the floor that is
accessible through a door hinged to the opening. In order to prevent people
falling
through the hatch, it is known to provide a security system associated with
the floor
hatch. The security system usually entails building a security perimeter
around the
floor hatch that is made of posts interconnected with chains or a rigid frame
around
the hatch.
The above security system has the disadvantages of having to be stored
somewhere when the hatch is not open. It is also time-consuming for a person
to
retrieve the security perimeter, install it around the floor hatch,
disassemble it when
the work is done and store it afterwards. In some cases, because of this
disadvantage, people forget or omit to install the security perimeter
altogether, which
poses a serious security risk to other people in the vicinity of the floor
hatch.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a floor hatch with an integrated
security fence that is automatically assembled when opening the floor hatch.
In
accordance with the invention, this object is achieved with a floor hatch with
an
integrated security fence, the floor hatch comprising:
a frame having a rectangular shape with a longitudinal axis, two opposite
edges parallel to the axis, a front edge and a rear edge, the opposite edges,
the front
edge and the rear edge defining an opening having a length and a width, a top
and
a bottom, i:he opening lying in a plane parallel to a floor;
a pair of pivoting doors sized and shaped to at least cover the opening, the
doors being mounted on hinges lying parallel to the axis along the opposite
edges
of the frame, the doors pivoting upwardly between a closed position where the
doors
are substantially parallel to the plane and block access to the opening and an
open
position where the doors are substantially perpendicular to the plane, forming
opposite sides of said security fence;
means for retaining the doors in the open position; and
a first gate pivotably mounted to the rear edge on hinges lying perpendicular
to the axis, the first gate lying below the doors and having a width smaller
than the
width of tht: opening, the first gate being accessible when the doors are in
the open
position) the first gate pivoting upwardly between a closed position where the
gate
is substantially parallel to the plane and blocks access to the opening and an
open
position where the gate lies in a plane perpendicular to the plane and forms a
rear
side of the security fence, the first gate further having two opposite sides,
each of the
opposite :.ides being provided with means to secure the first gate in the open
position to a corresponding one of the doors,
whereby, when the first gate and the doors are in the closed position) access
to the opening is denied, and when the doors are pivoted to the open position
and)
subsequently, when the first gate is pivoted to the open position) access to
the
opening is permitted only through the front edge of the frame.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention and its advantages will be more easily understood after
reading the following non-restrictive description of a preferred embodiment
thereof,
made with reference to the following drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a floor hatch according to a first preferred
embodiment of the invention, where the doors are in closed position;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the floor hatch of Fig. 1, showing opening
of the doors;
Fig. 4 is a front perspective view of the floor hatch of Fig. 1 in open
position;
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is a side-elevational view of the front of the floor hatch showing the
pivotable gate;
Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII of Fig. 5;
Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the retaining means of the telescopic extension
for
the pivotable doors; and
Fig. 9 is a front perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of the
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The floor hatch 1 with an integrated security fence according to the invention
has a frame 6 having a rectangular shape, as shown in Fig. 1, the frame having
a
longitudinal axis 7 and having two opposite edges 3 parallel to the axis, a
front edge
4 and a rear edge 5 defining an opening having a length and a width) a top 8
and a
bottom 9, where the opening lies in a plane parallel to a floor 2.
The floor hatch 1 further has a pair of pivoting doors 11 sized and shaped to
at least cover the opening, as shown in Fig. 1, mounted on hinges 13, the
hinges 13
lying parallel to the axis 7 along opposite edges 3 of the frame 6, as better
shown on
Figs. 2 and 3. Advantageously, the doors 11 are mounted on piano hinges 13
(better
shown on Fig. 7). The pivoting doors 11 pivot upwardly between a closed
position)
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shown on Figs. 1 and 2, and an open position (see the right-hand door 11 on
Fig. 3).
The closed position corresponds to when the doors 11 lie substantially
parallel to the
plane and block access to the opening, and the open position corresponds to
when
the doors 11 lie substantially perpendicular to the plane. When in the open
position,
the doors 11 form opposite sides of the security fence.
Means are provided for retaining the doors 11 in the open position. To that
effect, each opposite side 15 of the pivoting doors 11 is provided with a
telescoping
hydraulic cylinder 14 to aid in the opening of the doors 11, mounted between
the
bottom 9 of the frame 6 and an appropriate pivot point 17 on the door 11. The
telescoping cylinder 14 provides some resistance against the door 11 closing
by
itself. However, a slide-lock mechanism 19 is also provided at one of the
opposite
sides 15 of each door 11, preferably at the rear 5 of the frame 6 as shown on
Figs.
4 and 5.
The slide-lock mechanism 19 is comprised of a bar 21 having a handle 23
secured to the bar 21 and two opposite ends 25, 27. One of the opposite ends
25 is
pivotably fastened to the rear edge 5 of the frame 6 at a predetermined
distance
inwardly from an adjacent opposite edge 3. The other opposite end 27 is
provided
with a cam 24 which slidably travels in a slot 26 fashioned in the door at the
rear side
thereof. The slot 26 is further provided with a hook 28 at a bottom end
thereof and
prevents the door 11 from closing when the cam 24 is engaged in the hook 28.
In
order to release the cam 24 from the hook 28, one pulls on the handle 23 which
returns the cam 24 in the slot 26 so that the door 11 may be closed (see Figs.
3 and
4). However, any other means to lock the doors in the open position are within
the
scope of the invention.
Each door 11 preferably further has a top portion 71 opposite the hinges 13,
the top portion 71 of each door 11 being provided with a telescopic extension
72.
The telescopic extension 72 is preferably a downwardly U-shaped bar which
slides
in guides 73 of the door 11 (see Fig. 7). In order to retain the telescopic
extension
72 in extended position (shown in Fig.8), means 80 are provided. These means
80
include a peg 81, an outwardly biased spring 82 mounted about a first point 83
and
CA 02229841 1998-03-20
tending to push against the U-shaped bar 72. The telescopic extension 72 is
further
provided with a transverse groove (not shown) at each of its legs 74 near the
bottom
extremity thereof. When the telescopic extension 72 is raised to the extended
position, the transverse groove will be adjacent the spring 82 which will fit
into the
5 groove, thereby locking the telescopic extension 72 in position. In order to
release
the telescopic extension 72, an opposite pressure can be applied to the spring
82 to
release it from the groove. Other means are equally acceptable for the
purposes of
the invention.
The floor hatch 1 according to the invention also has a first gate 30
pivotably
mounted to the rear edge 5 on hinges 32, although there could be only one. The
first
gate 30 lies below the doors 11, as better shown on Fig. 2) and has a width
smaller
than the width of the opening. The first gate 30 is accessible when the doors
11 are
in the open position, and pivots upwardly between a closed position when the
first
gate 30 is substantially parallel to the plane and blocks access to the
opening and
an open position where the gate 30 lies in a plane perpendicular to the plane
and
forms a rear side of the security fence (see Fig. 4). The first gate 30 has
two opposite
sides 31, each of the opposite sides 31 being provided with means 33 to secure
the
first gate 30 in the open position to a corresponding one of the door 11.
As better seen in Figs. 4 and 5, these means 33 are preferably comprised of
a collar 35 slidably mounted on a respective one of the opposite sides 31 of
the first
gate 30. The collar 35 is further provided an L-shaped extension 37 extending
away
from the collar 35. The L-shaped extension 37 has an end 38 designed to be
inserted in a hole 39 provided on one of the opposite sides 15 of the door 11.
In use,
the collar 35 is slid upwardly a predetermined distance and rotated to align
the end
38 with the hole 39 and then slid downwardly to insert the end 38 in the hole
39 and
thus retain the first gate 30 in the open position.
The floor hatch 1 according to the invention as described above diminishes
the security risk associated with an open hole in a floor in that access to
the opening
is permitted only through the front edge 4 of the frame 6. However, if the
floor hatch
1 only includes the two pivoting doors 11 and the first gate 30, the front
edge 4 of the
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floor hatch 1 would be open, which may be undesirable in some applications.
Thus,
the floor hatch 1 may further include a second gate 40.
ThE: second gate 40 includes a support 41 and a pivoting barrier 43. The
second gate 40 is pivotably mounted to the front edge 4 of the floor hatch 1
on
hinges 42 although there could be only one and lies below the first gate 30,
as shown
in Fig. 2. The second gate 40 has a width smaller than the width of the
opening and
is accessible when the doors 11 and the first gate 30 are in the open
position. The
second gate 40 pivots upwardly between a closed position where the second gate
is substantially parallel to the plane and blocks access to the opening and an
open
position) where the second gate lies in a plane substantially perpendicular to
the
plane and forms the front of the security fence (see Fig. 4).
The support 41 has two opposite sides 45, each of the opposite sides 45
being provided with means 47 to secure the support 41 in the open position to
a
corresponding one of the doors 11. As shown in Fig. 6, the means 47 are
preferably
comprised of a collar 48 slidably mounted on a respective one of the opposite
sides
45 of the support 41. The collar 48 is further provided with an L-shaped
extension 49
extending away from the collar 48. The L-shaped extension 49 has an end 50
designed to be inserted in a hole 51 provided on one of the opposite sides 15
of the
door 11, i.e. the front side. In use) the collar 48 is slid upwardly a
predetermined
distance and rotated to align the end 50 with the hole 51 and then slid
downwardly
to insert the end 50 in the hole 51 and thus retain the second gate 40 in the
open
position.
The pivoting barrier 43 of the second gate 40 is pivotably mounted to one of
the opposite sides 45 of the support 41 through at least one hinge 44 and is
sized
and shaped to be within the support 41. The pivoting barrier 43 can pivot
between
a closed position, shown on Fig. 6, where the pivoting barrier 43 denies
access to the
opening, and an open position, shown in Fig. 4, where access to the opening is
permitted through said support 41.
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It should be understood that the pivoting barrier 43 can be mounted to either
opposite side 45 of the support 41. Fig. 6 shows the pivoting barrier 43
mounted to
the left-hand side.
The pivoting barrier 43 is preferably further provided with latch means 53 for
latching the pivoting barrier 43 to the support 41 in the closed position. In
the
embodiment shown on Fig. 6, the latch means 53 includes a V-shaped hook which
can be inserted in corresponding hooks of the support 41 and the pivoting
barrier 43.
However, any other type of latch means fulfills the object of the invention.
As an added security measure, the floor hatch may further include a security
grate 60, pivotably mounted to one of the opposite side edges 3 of the floor
hatch 1
on hinges 62, although there could be only one. The security grate 60 pivots
between
a closed position where the security grate lies substantially parallel to the
first plane
(Fig. 2) and an open position where the security grate is substantially
perpendicular
to the plane, adjacent one of the doors 11 (Fig. 4). Means 61 such as latch
means
are further provided to retain the security grate 60 in the open position. Any
means
61 are acceptable to retain the security grate 60 in the open position.
It can thus be seen that the floor hatch 1 according to the invention has a
built-in security fence. In order to have access to the opening, and thus the
understructure of the floor 2, the doors 11 must be open. Afterwards, the
first gate
must be opened. If the floor hatch 1 has a second gate 40, it also must be
opened, thereby forming the four sides of the security fence. As well, if the
floor
25 hatch 1 has a security grate 60, it can only be accessed when the security
fence is
formed. Therefore, the problem of not using a security fence when opening a
floor
hatch 1 is obviated.
It should also be noted that conventional means to lock the doors 11 in the
30 closed position, and thus prevent unauthorized access to the
understructures can
also easily be provided.
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In a second preferred embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 9, the floor
hatch 101 according to the invention has a frame 108 having a rectangular
shape
with a longitudinal axis 107 and having first 103, second 104, third 105 and
fourth
106 edges defining an opening 165 having an length and a width, a top 161 and
a
bottom 163 and lying in a plane parallel to a floor.
The floor hatch 101 also has a pivoting door 111, sized and shaped to at least
cover the opening 165, the door 111 being pivotably mounted to the first edge
103
on a hinge 113 lying parallel to the first edge 103. The door 111 pivots
upwardly
between a closed position where the door 111 is substantially parallel to the
plane
and an open position where the door 11 'I is substantially perpendicular to
the plane
and forms a first side of the security fence.
The floor hatch 101 also has a first gate 130 pivotably mounted to the second
edge 104 on hinges, lying below the door 111 and having a width smaller than
the
width of the opening 165, the first gate 130 being accessible when the door
111 is
in the open position. The first gate 130 pivots upwardly between a closed
position
where the first gate 130 is substantially parallel to the plane and blocks
access to the
opening 165 and an open position where the first gate 130 lies substantially
perpendicular to the plane and forms a second side of the security fence.
The first gate 130 is provided with means 133 to secure the first gate in the
open position.
The floor hatch 101 also has a second gate 135 pivotably mounted to the third
edge 105 on hinges, lying below the first gate 130 and having a width smaller
than
the width of the opening 165, the second gate 135 being accessible when the
door
111 and the first gate 130 are in the open positions respectively. The second
gate
135 pivots upwardly between a closed position where the second gate 135 is
substantially parallel to the plane and blocks access to the opening 165 and
an open
position where the second gate 135 lies substantially perpendicular to the
plane and
forms a third side of the security fence.
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The second gate 135 is provided with means 147 to secure the second gate
in the open position.
Thus, when the door 111, the first gate 130 and the second gate 135 are in
the closed positions, access to the opening 165 is denied, and when the door
111
is pivoted to the open position, the first gate 130 is pivoted to the open
position and
the second gate 135 is pivoted to the open position, access to the opening is
permitted only through the fourth edge 106.
As in the first preferred embodiment of the invention, the floor hatch 101 may
also include a third gate 140 comprising a support 141 and a pivoting barrier
143.
The third gate 140 is pivotably mounted to the fourth edge 106 on hinges 142,
and
lies below the first 130 and second 135 gates. The third gate 140 has a width
smaller than the width of the opening 165 and is accessible when the door 111,
the
first gate 130 and the second gate 135 are in the open positions respectively.
The
third gate 140 pivots upwardly between a closed position where the third gate
140
is substantially parallel to the plane and blocks access to the opening 165
and an
open position where the third gate 140 is substantially perpendicular to the
plane.
The support 141 of the third gate 140 has two opposite sides 145) each of the
opposite sides 145 being provided with means 147 to secure the support 141 in
the
open position to a corresponding one of the door 111 or the first 130 or
second gate
135. The pivoting barrier 143 is pivotably mounted to one of the opposite
sides 145
of the support 141 and pivots between a closed position where the barrier 143
denies entry to the opening when the third gate 140 is in the open position
and pivots
outwardly to an open position where access to the opening 165 is permitted
through
the support 141.
Preferably, the barrier 143 of the third gate 140 is provided with latch means
(not shown on Fig. 9 but similar to that shown on Fig. 6) for latching the
pivoting
barrier 143 to the support 141 in the closed position.
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Again as in the first preferred embodiment, the floor hatch 101 may further
comprise a security grate 160 pivotably mounted to one of the edges of the
opening
165 proxirnal the bottom 163 thereof. The security grate 160 pivots upwardly
between a closed position where the security grate 160 lies substantially
parallel to
5 the plane and an open position where the security grate 160 lies
substantially
perpendicular to the plane adjacent one of the doors. Means to secure said
security
grate in an open position to one of said door or one of said first and second
gates
are also provided.
10 It should be noted that the second preferred embodiment has been described
in less detail than the first preferred embodiment and that is because the
additional
features described for the first preferred embodiment are equally applicable
to the
second preferred embodiment, i.e. the type of hinges) the means for securing
the
door and t:he gates together) and others. The second preferred embodiment has
particularly been described to illustrate that the invention is not limited to
two pivoting
doors, but may also be realized with a single pivoting door covering the
opening. As
well) in the case of the second preferred embodiment) the first, second) third
and
fourth edges of the frame have no particular order since all that is essential
for the
invention is for at least three sides of the security fence to be raised,
notwithstanding
the orientation of the front, rear or side edges. Furthermore) the order of
layering of
the first, second or third grates when in closed positions respectively are
not
important.
The expressions "substantially parallel" and "substantially perpendicular" are
used only to spatially identify orientation and should not be interpreted as
being
limitative to a particular angle or range of angles with respect to the plane.
What is
important is that when the floor hatch is in the closed position, the door or
doors and
gates are stacked one on top of the other within the frame) and when the floor
hatch
is in the open position) at least three sides of the security fence are
raised.
Although the present invention has been explained hereinabove by way of a
preferred embodiment thereof, it should be pointed out that any modifications
to this
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preferred embodiment within the scope of the appended claims is not deemed to
alter or change the nature and scope of the invention.
