Flood Seal Arrangement for Low Threshold Doors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flood seal arrangements for doors, especially low threshold doors, are inadequate in preventing water seepage during floods, as larger gaskets required for better sealing increase the force needed to shut the door and may not be feasible due to height restrictions.
Innovation Solution
A flood seal arrangement comprising a first and second gasket member with protrusions and recesses that engage to form a seal, allowing for improved sealing under water pressure while being adaptable to low threshold doors and tolerating misalignment, with the protrusions being resiliently deformable to match the shape of the recesses for enhanced waterproofing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a larger gasket is used to reduce water seepage, then the sealing performance is improved, but the force required to shut the door increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gasket is divided into two separate gasket members that engage with each other through protrusions and recesses. This segmentation allows each member to be optimized independently - the first gasket member with protrusions provides sealing contact points while the second gasket member with recesses provides compliance, achieving effective sealing without requiring excessive closing force.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions on the first gasket member are made resiliently deformable to locally adapt to the recesses on the second gasket member. This local deformability ensures intimate contact at the sealing interface while the overall gasket structure maintains its geometry, providing effective sealing without uniformly increasing the force requirement across the entire gasket.
2Reliability
If a larger gasket is used to reduce water seepage, then the sealing performance is improved, but the gasket height exceeds the maximal height allowed for low threshold doors
Solution Approach 1:
The gasket system is segmented into two separate members that engage through protrusions and recesses. This allows the sealing function to be distributed across two thinner components rather than requiring a single thick gasket, thereby achieving effective sealing within the height constraints of low threshold doors.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions of the first gasket member are received within the recesses of the second gasket member, creating a nested engagement structure. This nesting arrangement maximizes the sealing interface area within a compact height profile, enabling effective sealing without exceeding the maximal height allowed for low threshold doors.
3Reliability
If the protrusion is made resiliently deformable to match the recess shape, then the sealing effectiveness is improved, but the structural stability of the gasket is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Only the protrusions on the first gasket member are made resiliently deformable to locally adapt to the recesses. The main body of both gasket members maintains structural stability and geometric integrity. This localized flexibility at the sealing interface provides effective sealing while the overall gasket structure remains stable during door operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket system separates the flexibility function (concentrated in the protrusions) from the structural support function (provided by the main gasket bodies). This segmentation allows the protrusions to be compliant for sealing while the larger gasket members maintain structural stability throughout the door assembly.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The arrangement effectively reduces water seepage through doors by forming a watertight seal under external pressure, maintaining performance even when installed upside-down and accommodating the height restrictions of low threshold doors without increasing the force required to close the door.
Implementation Method 1
The protrusion may be resiliently deformable. That is, a first shape of the protrusion may be deformable to a second shape and, when in the second shape, the protrusion is configured to assume a shape generally matching the first shape.
Implementation Method 2
the seal formed by the first and the second gasket member may be improved in response to water pressure acting on the seal
Implementation Method 3
a deformation of the protrusion in response to water pressing against the protrusion may be prevented when the second portion abuts the protrusion
Data Source
AI summary
A flood seal arrangement, and particularly to a flood seal arrangement suitable for a low threshold door, that includes a first gasket member and a second gasket member. The first gasket member may be provided on a door leaf, while the second gasket member may be provided on a threshold. The first and the second gasket member are configurable to engage and thereby form a seal. In response to water pressure, the flood seal arrangement may be deformed and the seal may be improved.