Flood Defence Door Escape Hatch Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flood defence doors in buildings at risk of flooding create a watertight seal that prevents safe exit, forcing occupants to climb out of windows during flood conditions.
Innovation Solution
A flood defence door assembly with an integrated escape hatch that can be opened from within and locked from outside, allowing passage through a pivotable upper section while maintaining the door's watertight integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a flood defence door is locked to form a watertight seal, then the flood-proof integrity of the door is improved, but the ability to exit the building through the doorway is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The door is divided into two functional sections: a lower sealed section that maintains flood defence integrity and an upper escape hatch section that can be opened for evacuation. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function independently, resolving the contradiction between maintaining a watertight seal and enabling building exit.
Solution Approach 2:
The escape hatch is extracted as a separate operable component from the main flood defence door structure. This allows the escape function to be independent from the sealing function, enabling occupants to exit through the extracted hatch while the main door remains sealed for flood protection.
2Ease of operation
If an escape hatch is added to the flood defence door, then the ability to exit the building is improved, but the complexity of the door assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The escape hatch is merged with the flood defence door assembly as an integrated unit, sharing common structural elements such as the frame and sealing mechanisms. This merging reduces overall complexity compared to having separate independent systems, while still providing both flood defence and escape functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The door assembly is designed with multi-functionality, where the same structure serves both as a flood defence barrier and as an escape route. The hatch mechanism provides dual functionality by enabling both secure sealing during floods and controlled opening for evacuation, reducing the need for separate systems.
3Ease of operation
If the opening hatch is made pivotable to allow passage, then the ease of exit is improved, but the seal integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The hatch is designed with dynamic characteristics, being pivotable and operable from the inside during emergency situations. This dynamic design allows the hatch to transition between sealed and open states as needed, providing ease of exit when required while maintaining seal integrity during normal flood defence operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism acts as an intermediary between the hatch and the frame, ensuring that when the hatch is closed, it forms a reliable seal with the door assembly. This intermediary component mediates between the need for easy opening and the requirement for seal integrity, allowing the hatch to be pivotable for ease of exit while maintaining waterproof sealing when closed.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
A door (3) is provided with an escape hatch (15). The door comprises a peripheral frame member (5) and a transverse member (11) dividing the door into lower and upper sections. A panel (13) closes the lower section. An opening hatch (15) is provided in the upper section and is pivotable about an edge thereof relative to the remainder of the door. The opening hatch is adapted, when open, to allow a person to pass through the resulting opening in the door.