Movable or removable closures – Thermal releaser or actuator – Terminates counterweight condition
Patent
1984-10-30
1986-04-01
Downey, Kenneth
Movable or removable closures
Thermal releaser or actuator
Terminates counterweight condition
49 1, 49 7, E05F 1520
Patent
active
045789002
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to smoke ventilation apparatus.
In modern buildings personal injury or death from fire can result from the inhalation of toxic fumes as much as from the heat of the fire itself, particularly since most modern buildings are furnished with synthetic products which give off large quantities of toxic fumes during combustion. As a result it is desirable to provide means for ventilating buildings in a fire situation to ensure that the toxic fumes are exhausted from a burning building to enable the occupants to obtain fresh air in order that they may escape from the burning building.
This has been achieved in the past in some buildings, particularly those not fully air conditioned, by providing window panels which are mounted in a frame such that the panel is hingedly connected at its bottom edge to the frame and is retained in the closed position by a fusible link interconnecting the top edge of the panel to the frame. Spring means are frequently provided to bias the panel to the open position and generally stays are provided to limit the amount of hinging of the panel. These stays are necessary since such panels may be situated adjacent a balcony and a panel which could pivot freely could fall upon and cause injury to a person. For the sake of economy such panels are often in the form of a clear fixed glass panel which is built into a framed modular unit which may incorporate a sliding door and other windows or closure panels.
In such installations it is essential that no other fixing means be provided to secure the panel in the closed position since the panel at all times must be able to open in the case of fire. As a result the glazed panel has to remain in the closed position and thus it cannot be used for ventilation to provide fresh air to the interior of the building. Another disadvantage associated with such smoke ventilation apparatus is that the framing structure for the panel has to be made relatively large to withstand wind loadings imposed by regulation since the frame is supported only at its top and at its bottom leaving the jambs unsupported in the outward direction. The resultant frame is relatively bulky and this can detract from the appearance of the assembly. The resultant bulky construction causes such window installations to be relatively expensive.
It is an object of the present invention to provide smoke ventilation apparatus which will alleviate the disadvangates associated with prior art devices and which will prove reliable and efficient in use. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will hereinafter become apparent.
With the foregoing and other objects in view this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a double hung window assembly including a perimeter frame having a head rail, a vertically slidable upper sash secured in its raised or closed position by fusible link means to the frame assembly; a vertically slidable bottom sash having releasable catch means for securing the bottom sash in its lower or closed position; stop means adapted to prevent the upper sash moving beyond the lower sash, and biasing means for said bottom sash adapted to provide an elevating bias thereto sufficient to hold the bottom sash in selected open or raised positions but insufficient to hold both said upper and lower sashes in an elevated position upon release of said fusible link whereby in use when said bottom sash is elevated, both said sashes will move to their lower position to provide a smoke ventilation opening thereabove.
In order that the present invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front view of a double hung window assembly of the present invention in the closed position;
FIG. 2 is a corresponding view of the window assembly in the smoke ventillating position;
FIG. 3 is a typical cross-sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a typical cross-sectional view taken alo
REFERENCES:
patent: 709800 (1902-09-01), Rupp
patent: 778456 (1904-12-01), Lunken
patent: 842369 (1907-01-01), Zahner
patent: 2896753 (1959-07-01), Knabel
Crestlite Aluminum Pty. Ltd.
Downey Kenneth
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