Floating flap gate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9528239-B2
Application number	US-201214118830-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 2, 2012
Priority date	May 20, 2011
Publication date	Dec 27, 2016
Grant date	Dec 27, 2016

Abstract

A floating flap gate to prevent water from overflowing into underground spaces, with ease in raising or lowering the door body when water level changes. The floating flap gate comprises a door body with a forward end which swings upwards or downwards in a same direction following a rise or a drop in water level, wherein an opposite end serves as a fulcrum. A rod is attached to the forward end of the door body. One end of a wire rope is attached to the rod, and the other end is attached to a counterweight via fixed pulleys. The fixed pulleys are arranged so that the counterweight is at its lowest point when the angle of inclination of the door body with respect to a horizontal plane reaches within a range from 10° to 80° during raising or lowering of the door body.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A floating flap gate which is disposed at an opening or at an access way and comprises:
a door body which is solid having front surface and a back surface, the door body having a top end and a bottom end, wherein the bottom end serves as a fulcrum hinge which allows the solid door body to swing in an incline or a decline direction with an arc swinging movement corresponding to a rise or a drop in water level contacting the front surface of the door body, wherein the arc swinging movement of the door body raises or lowers the door body according to the water level which keeps water from flowing into the opening or the access way facing the back surface of the door body, wherein an angle of inclination of 90 degrees or less is formed between the front surface of the door body and a horizontal reference plane located at the water level, wherein the angle of inclination indicates how high the water level which contacts the front surface of the door body has reached, wherein an angle of inclination greater than 0 degrees indicates that the floating flap gate is at least partially closed, and wherein the floating flap gate further comprises:
a rope with one end attached to the top end of the door body, and another end of the rope attached to a counterweight suspended in the air via fixed pulleys to facilitate the arc swinging movement of the door body, wherein the counterweight reaches its lowest vertical height from ground when the angle of inclination of the door body with respect to the horizontal reference plane is within a range between 10° to 80° during the arc swinging movement of the door body, wherein:
a deviation of the vertical height of the counterweight from its lowest vertical height from the ground assists in speeding up or dampening the arc swinging movement of the door body in response to the rise or drop in the water level which keeps water from flowing into the opening or the access way, wherein the more the counterweight vertical height deviates from its lowest vertical height from the ground, the more the counterweight assists in the speeding up or dampening the arc swinging movement, wherein when the counterweight reaches its lowest vertical height from the ground, the counterweight assists the least in the speeding up or dampening the arc swinging movement, and
wherein the counterweight reaches its lowest vertical height from the ground when the floating flap gate is at a halfway open or halfway closed position providing minimal assistance to speeding up or dampening the arc swinging movement.

2. A floating flap gate disposed at an opening or at an access way for blocking water from flowing in through the opening or the access way, the floating flap gate comprising:
a door body which is solid having a front surface and back surface, the door body having a top end and a bottom end, wherein the bottom end serves as a fulcrum hinge which allows the enclosed door body to swing in an incline or a decline direction with an arc swinging movement corresponding to a rise or a drop in water level contacting the front surface of the door body, wherein the arc swinging movement of the door body raises or lowers the door body according to the water level which keeps water from flowing into the opening or the access way facing the back surface of the door body, wherein an angle of inclination of 90 degrees is formed between the front surface of the door body and a horizontal reference plane located at the water level, wherein the angle of inclination indicates how high the water level which contacts the front surface of the door body has reached, the angle of inclination at 0° indicating the floating flap gate being fully opened and the angle of inclination at 90° indicating the floating flap gate has been added after being fully closed, wherein an angle of inclination greater than 0 degrees indicates that the floating flap gate is at least partially closed, and wherein the floating flap gate further comprises:
a rope with one end attached to the top end of the door body, and another end of the rope attached to a spring via fixed pulleys to facilitate the arc swinging movement of the door body, wherein the spring reaches its natural length achieving minimal tension or minimum compression when the angle of inclination of the door body with respect to the horizontal reference plane is within a range between 10° to 80° during the arc swinging movement of the door body, wherein:
a deviation of the spring from its natural length assists in speeding up or dampening the arc swinging movement of the door body in response to the rise or drop in the water level which keeps water from flowing into the opening or the access way, wherein the more the spring deviates from its natural length due to tension or compression, the more the spring assists in the speeding up or dampening the arc swinging movement, wherein when the spring reaches its natural length, the spring assists the least in the speeding up or dampening the arc swinging movement, and
wherein the spring reaches its natural length free from tension or compression when the floating flap gate is at a halfway open or halfway closed position providing minimal assistance to speeding up or dampening the arc swinging movement.

Assignees

• Nakayasu Kyouichi
• Yamakawa Yoshito
• Morii Toshiaki
• Inui Masaki
• Kimura Yuuichirou
• Hitachi Shipbuilding Eng Co

Inventors

• Nakayasu Kyouichi
• Yamakawa Yoshito
• Morii Toshiaki
• Inui Masaki
• Kimura Yuuichirou

Classifications

• E06B2009/007

  Flood panels · CPC title

• E02B7/44 Primary

  Hinged-leaf gates · CPC title

• E02B7/40 Primary

  Swinging or turning gates · CPC title

• E02B3/104 Primary

  with self-activating means · CPC title

• E06B5/00

  Doors, windows, or like closures for special purposes {(insulated compound frames specially adapted for sliding doors or windows E06B3/26347)}; Border constructions therefor · CPC title