WO1999011537A1

WO1999011537A1 - Fire- and water-resistant container

Info

Publication number: WO1999011537A1
Application number: PCT/US1998/018137
Authority: WO
Inventors: Leland E. Emery; Kelvin H. Wildman; David A. Nowicky
Original assignee: John D. Brush & Co., Inc.
Priority date: 1997-09-02
Filing date: 1998-09-01
Publication date: 1999-03-11

Abstract

A fire-resistant container (10) with a door (12) providing access to a protected chamber (14) has a seal (25) that provides water resistance in addition to the fire resistance of such a container. The confronting door and container jambs (20, 30) and container interior (16) are formed of resin walls that help contain fire-resistant insulation material (15) surrounding the protected chamber. The seal is mounted on a surface of the door jamb (21) that confronts a parallel surface on the container jamb (31) when the door is closed so that the seal is compressed between the two jambs. The resin jambs cooperate with and help protect the seal so that it provides water resistance, along with fire resistance.

Description

FIRE- AND WATER-RESISTANT CONTAINER

Technical Field

Fire-resistant safes, chests, and containers.

Background

Fire-resistant safes, chests, and containers typically include a fire-resistant insulation material arranged between inner and outer walls surrounding a protected chamber. An access door or lid is always necessary and typically also contains fire-resistant insulation material. Jamb regions where a door or lid closes against a body opening are usually designed for fire resistance. Resin components are often used, including resin inner chamber walls and door interior walls, resin door and body jambs, and sometimes resin exterior walls, as well. A fire can burn away any exposed resin components, and resin jamb walls that become heated in a fire can fuse together to form a seal between a door or lid and a body of a safe or chest.

Resin walls for fire-resistant containers offer several advantages. Resin is a poor conductor of heat and does not conduct heat through a jamb region as well as steel does. A resin wall is also waterproof, which is especially advantageous for an inner wall that can keep water within the insulation material from reaching the interior of the protected chamber.

Summary of the Invention

This invention exploits another advantage of resin jamb and wall components in a fire-resistant safe, chest, or container. It makes the door of such a container water resistant, as well as fire resistant, by arranging a compressible, water-resistant seal between the door and body jambs. Such a seal is preferably arranged between door and body jamb surfaces that are confronting and parallel in the plane of the door when the door is closed. In such a position, a seal is compressed when the door is closed and seals the door against water entry. This adds to the resistant properties of the container so that besides surviving the hazard of fire, the container can also survive hazards such as floods or water damage from fire fighting or storms.

D rawi n gs

Figure 1 is a partially schematic, front elevational view of a safe having a closed front door provided with the invention.

Figure 2 schematically shows the safe of FIG. 1 with the front door open to reveal a preferred arrangement of the invention.

Figure 3 is an enlarged and fragmentary cross-sectional view of the jamb region of the safe of FIG. 1 , taken along the line 3-3 thereof .

Detai led Description

A fire-resistant safe 10, as schematically illustrated in the drawings, includes a double-walled body 1 1 and a double-walled front door 12 mounted on hinges 13. Although the invention is illustrated as applied to safe 10, it can also be applied to a fire- resistant chest with a top opening lid or door and to a fire-resistant cabinet or container, such as a file drawer. All of these include a fire-resistant insulation material 15 arranged around an interior of body 1 1 and within door 12 for protecting the contents within the interior of body 1 1 from the effects of a fire exterior of body 1 1.

Another element common to safes, chests, and containers suitable for the invention is use of resin components, especially in jamb regions where door 12 engages and closes against body opening 14. Resin walls preferably extend throughout an inner wall 16 of body 1 1 and along an inner wall 18 of door 12. Resin inner body wall 16 provides a water-resistant shell around the protected interior chamber; and this shell is closed by resin inner wall 18 of door 12, which is also preferably water resistant. A seal between the door and body jambs then completes a water-resistant enclosure around the safe's interior. Resin walls can also extend over the exterior of body 11 and door 12, although these can be made of other materials.

The jamb regions where waterproof seal 25 is arranged are schematically shown in FIG. 3. Door jamb 20 extends between an outer wall 17 and inner wall 18 of door 12 and is preferably nonlinear in cross section. Body jamb 30 similarly extends between an outer wall 19 and an inner wall 16 of body 1 1 and is correspondingly non-linear in cross section. The door jamb has a surface 21 that confronts and is parallel with a body jamb surface 31 . Jamb surfaces 21 and 31 are also preferably parallel with a plane of door 12 when door 12 is closed.

Compressible seal 25 is mounted on either door jamb surface 21 or body jamb surface 31 so as to be compressed between these surfaces when door 12 closes. Arranging jamb surfaces 21 and 31 to be parallel with a plane of a closed door avoids subjecting seal 25 to shear forces as door 12 closes. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, seal 25 is arranged on door jamb 20, but can just as well be arranged on body jamb surface 31 . Either way, resin jamb surfaces are accurately disposed for mounting and compressing seal 25 for effective water sealing.

A preferred way of mounting seal 25 is with a pressure- sensitive adhesive. Seal 25 preferably extends around the entire perimeter of the door and body jamb region so as to leave no unsealed gap when door 12 is closed. Seal 25 can be die cut in a shape that fits around jamb surfaces 21 and 31 or can be formed as a long narrow strip that is secured in place to extend completely around the jamb. Seal 25 is preferably formed of a foamed resin or elastomeric material that is compressible so that it engages a confronting surface and is compressed between the confronting surface and the mounting surface when door 12 closes.

Seal 25 is preferably mounted inward from the outer perimeter of jamb regions 20 and 30, since this offers several advantages. Disposing seal 25 inward from the outer periphery of jamb regions 20 and 30 helps ensure that seal 25 survives a fire intact. This is possible because of the poor heat conductivity of resin jamb walls leading from a high temperature exterior inward to the location of seal 25. Also, resin jamb walls 20 and 30 fuse together in a fire, preferably in a fusion region outboard of seal 25. Such a fusion of jamb walls 20 and 30 further protects seal 25 from the heat of a fire so that its water-resistant capability can survive a fire. This can be valuable in resisting damage from water used in fighting a fire in which safe 10 is located.

Seal 25 can also resist water damage from flood or storm that is not accompanied by a fire. For that purpose, location of seal 25 inward from the outer periphery of jamb regions 20 and 30 is not important.

Providing water-resistant seal 25 for the door or lid of a fire- resistant container adds valuable water resistance that can advantageously combine with the fire resistance already designed into such products. Combining seal 25 with resin jamb components especially facilitates the water-resistance ability of seal 25.

Claims

We Claim:

1 . A fire-resistant container comprising: a. a jamb region between a door of the container and a body of the container having a water-resistant seal that is compressed between the door and the body of the container when the door is closed and that extends completely around a periphery of the jamb region for preventing water from entering the body between the closed door and the body; b. the door having a resin door jamb wall containing fire- resistant insulation material within the door and confronting a resin body jamb wall containing fire- resistant insulation material within the body; c. the water-resistant seal being mounted on one of the jamb walls to engage the other of the jamb walls in a region where the jamb walls have confronting parallel surfaces disposed parallel with a plane of the door when the door is closed; and d. the seal being disposed inward from an outer periphery of the jamb region.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein the door jamb wall and the body jamb wall fuse together when the container is exposed to fire, and the seal is arranged inward of a region where the door jamb wall and the body jamb wall fuse together.

3. The container of claim 1 wherein a cross-sectional profile of the jamb region is non-linear between the seal and the outer periphery.

4. The container of claim 1 wherein the resin door jamb wall and the resin body jamb wall conduct insufficient heat to destroy the seal when the container is exposed to fire leaving intact portions of the door jamb wall and the body jamb wall outward of the seal.

5. The container of claim 1 wherein the body jamb wall is formed as part of a resin body liner providing an interior wall for a double-walled body.

6. The container of claim 1 wherein the door jamb wall is formed as a portion of an interior door wall.

7. A fire-resistant container having a door that is both fire and water resistant, the container comprising: a. a jamb region where the door confronts a body of the container being formed of a resin door jamb wall and a resin body jamb wall that confront each other when the door is closed and are configured to have parallel and confronting surfaces arranged in a plane parallel with the door when the door is closed and disposed inward from the exterior periphery of the jamb region; b. a compressible water-resistant seal mounted on one of the parallel surfaces to be engaged and compressed by the other parallel surface when the door is closed; and c. the seal extending fully around a perimeter of the jamb region.

8. The container of claim 7 wherein the door jamb wall is formed as part of an interior door wall that contains heat-resistant insulation material within the door.

9. The container of claim 7 wherein the body jamb wall is formed as part of an interior body wall that contains heat-resistant insulation material between the inner and an outer wall of the body.

1 0. The container of claim 7 wherein the door jamb wall and the body jamb wall fuse together in a region outward from the seal when the container is exposed to fire.

1 1 . The container of claim 7 wherein the resin door jamb wall and the resin body jamb wall are insufficiently conductive of heat so that the body jamb wall and the door jamb wall fuse together in a fire before conducting sufficient heat to the seal to destroy the seal.

1 2. A fire-resistant and water-resistant container comprising: a. a water-resistant seal between a resin door jamb wall and a resin body jamb wall that confront each other in a jamb region having a non-linear cross section; b. the door jamb wall and the body jamb wall retaining fire-resistant insulation material in spaces extending from the jamb region to enclose an interior of the body within the fire-resistant insulation material when a door of the container is shut; c. the seal being compressed between parallel confronting surfaces of the door jamb wall and the body jamb wall when the door is closed; and d. the seal being mounted inward of an exterior periphery of the jamb region.

1 3. The container of claim 12 wherein fire exposure fuses together the door jamb wall and the body jamb wall in a jamb region exterior of the seal.

14. The container of claim 12 wherein the door jamb wall and the body jamb wall conduct insufficient heat to destroy the seal in a fire before the door jamb wall and the body jamb wall fuse together.

1 5. The container of claim 12 wherein the confronting surfaces are parallel with a plane of the door when the door is closed.