Patent Application
20160281382
The present invention relates to the field of shelters. More particularly, the present invention relates to above-ground shelters which either can be installed in new construction or can be retrofit and would provide substantially more protection for people, possessions, and homes from disasters, such as forest fires, river flooding, mud slides, most earthquakes, tsunami, tornados, and hurricanes than current available options.
Tornados, Hurricanes and other extreme weather scenarios are dangerous meteorological events that can occur anywhere in North America and have been observed on all continents, except Antarctica. These storms can be devastating to life and property. While efforts have been made to improve detection, nothing like the detection systems available for hurricanes, which allow people to evacuate dangerous areas, exists. Often people have merely minutes of warning. This means that when a tornado, hurricane, or other wind storm occurs, people must utilize the structures available to them. This is especially true in the so-called Tornado Alley of the United States where about 8 tornados occur every 10,000 square miles each year. Also, the earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, Japan, with a subsequent tsunami devastated the area in March 2011. In 2015 we had fires that destroyed homes in California.
Current protection relies primarily on use of basements or interior rooms without windows. Tornado shelters, which are typically windowless shelters built into the ground, can be built on people's property or in conjunction with their house. Many of the current options involve improvements to entrances to shelters such as how they open and reducing the vertical components. Shelters of this type can be difficult or even unsafe to leave after a tornado depending on how the shelter opens and how debris has fallen. These shelters need to be stocked regularly with up to date food, water, and medical supplies. These shelters do nothing to protect property, except for items that individuals may bring with them. Due to the limited use, many of these do not have utilities such as lighting, running water, plumbing, or electricity. Furthermore, if the entrance to a shelter is outside of the house, people will need to risk going outside to reach the shelter
Some above ground shelters have been designed primarily to work with the wind patterns by having dome shaped buildings and reducing vertical sides. These structures do not allow for freedom of style in architecture, create issues regarding internal space, and most furniture is not designed with curved walls in mind, especially curved walls with a non-standard degree of curvature.
Tornados, Hurricanes, tsunamis along with other extreme weather scenarios are exceptionally dangerous to life, but they are also dangerous to real property, personal property, and items with sentimental value. Settling insurance claims can be a lengthy process while individuals are left without shelter.
There is therefore a need for Extreme weather protection Shelters for home design that allows for maximal protection of lives and property.
The present invention relates to an Extreme weather protection shelter for home design that can be implemented with new homes, or potentially retrofitted for older homes.
In an embodiment of the invention, a home is above ground and can be retracted into the foundation which a portion of is above foundation during a tornado warning or any other extreme weather scenario such that the edge of the roof becomes flush with the upper foundation plate. A concrete structure with reinforced bars in walls and in the floor with a structural frame supporting the sub structure that the building is positioned on when retracted, is constructed around the building with a structural frame enclosed into an interior open volume sufficient for the building to be positioned onto. Dual metal sealed doors are located at each end of the foundation structure allowing vehicles and people to enter and exit. Additional vertical space is available for parking, depending on the embodiment, if the user intends to store controls or other elements beneath the building at all times. Within the foundation structure are telescopic jack assemblies that allow control the lowering and raising of the substructure and building. The substructure encompasses a shock isolation pad located outside and around the periphery and lock assemblies on each side that engage in tapered slots located on the side angle plates embedded around the periphery in the upper portion of the concrete foundation. Whereas the top surface of the substructure is flush with the top of the foundation. The lock assemblies are engaged and support the sub structure and building weight when the jack assembly power is turned off. Each lock assembly has an electric actuator that operates on 12 VDC. The lock assemblies are activated and operate in unison, while the jack assemblies support the weight of the substructure and the building. The Jack assemblies lift up the substructure relieving the load from the lock assembly pins. Thereafter, lowers the substructure down on the frame assembly and the power to the jacks are turned off. The lower structure also encompasses the jack controls, entry through Doors at each end of the foundation structure, lift platform or elevator, electrical controls, generator, waterlines, and sewer lines and provide stairway access to the house and provides an emergency exit on the roof.
The aforementioned staircase provides ingress and egress from the substructure. In a preferred embodiment it is a spiral, which can be purchased or designed. When the building is raised it provides access to the substructure. When the building is lowered around it, it provides access to an escape hatch. Surrounding the stairway may be a clear Plexiglas tube that is open below in two places.
Utility hookups can be designed to travel with the building structure.
A tornado or tsunami warning system may be included.
The present invention protects the structure of the building, the property inside, and the people. Also, people can remain safe while in the comfort of their home during a storm. Up to date food, water, and medical supplies are more likely to be in supply already. Electricity, running water, and plumbing will be available so long as it would be generally available. However, ion batteries could be used for a substitute and emergency water could be stowed in containers. Plumbing entering the building could have shut off valves, this would isolate contaminants coming into the building. Dangers from debris are also averted. Debris will not fall into an open door and the chance of being trapped is far less significant. If the building does need to remain retracted or lowered for any significant time period, not only will the people inside have access to the complete interior of their home, but it will be much easier for rescuers to see a lowered building than a covered shelter entrance.
When the building is retracted the sides of the exterior foundation and the roof are the portions exposed and are the portions that need to be configured to specifically withstand the winds and other weather events. The external foundation configuration and roof is shaped to allow turbulent wind traveling up to 300 mph to become laminar flow reducing the wind forces on the structure and the roof. Adding a 45 degrees wind deflector around the periphery located outside along the roof provides the wind a direction to go without causing any force loading on the edge of the roof when the house is retracted. In addition to prevent water from entering the structure there is a neoprene 30 durometer pad attached to the bottom and around the periphery of the roof that contacts the foundation plate when the house is retracted. There are pressure switches for each jack assembly located above the surface of the foundation plate and are activated when the roof makes contact which turns off the power to the Jacks. This differs from a typical above ground home structure that requires the entire surface area to be able to withstand the winds by combining heavy materials, exceptionally strong materials, and specially shaped materials. Although there are many options for the roofing materials, a recommended embodiment uses materials and designs similar to the exterior of an airplane. Therefore, even though the roof does not show any curvature, flat surfaces should be avoided.
Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the features in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims attached hereto.
The present invention, in accordance with one or more various embodiments, is described in detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict typical or example embodiments of the invention. These drawings are provided to facilitate the reader's understanding of the invention and shall not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the invention. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration these drawings are not necessarily made to scale.
Some of the figures included herein illustrate various embodiments of the invention from different viewing angles. Although the accompanying descriptive text may refer to such views as “top,” “bottom” or “side” views, such references are merely descriptive and do not imply or require that the invention be implemented or used in a particular spatial orientation unless explicitly stated otherwise.
From time-to-time, the present invention is described herein in terms of example environments. Description in terms of these environments is provided to allow the various features and embodiments of the invention to be portrayed in the context of an exemplary application. After reading this description, it will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art how the invention can be implemented in different and alternative environments.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. All patents, applications, published applications and other publications referred to herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. If a definition set forth in this section is contrary to or otherwise inconsistent with a definition set forth in applications, published applications and other publications that are herein incorporated by reference, the definition set forth in this document prevails over the definition that is incorporated herein by reference.
The substructure 120 has support walls 140 that in this embodiment are made of concrete. In the foundation structure 120 are the jack assemblies 150. In this embodiment the jack assemblies are telescopic and electromagnetic. The jack assemblies are capable of lifting up to 20 kips (20,000 lbs.) each in unison. They are also electrically driven limiting the need for hydraulic or pneumatic hardware to operate them. The electromagnetic drives operate by magnetic forces that are held in place when the electric current is turned on. The exact number of jack assemblies 150 will differ depending on the load of the building 110. Though not required, it is suggested that each jack assembly 150 have a rated capacity of two (2) times the working load.
Around the upper edge and below the leading edge of the roof of the foundation 120, and surrounding the building 110 when contacting the concrete surface is a wind deflector with a rubber/neoprene 30 durometer seal 220 bounded to the bottom surface that extends around the building. In this embodiment of the invention the building 110 has locking mechanism 190 attached to the inside and bottom portion of the concrete structure and located at each side and are positioned into the foundation plate spaced along the sides of the longest portion of the foundation. At each location where the locking pins engage through the shock isolation pad 305 that goes into the plate and foundation sub structure 120 are oval v-shaped openings which allow the building locking pins to rest into. This feature with the shock isolation pad will reduce damage to the structure during most earthquakes by allowing the lock assembly pins to fall back into position centering the home and sub-structure 120. It also has channels 162 that allows a user to travel via a spiral staircase 160 to the lower portion of the foundation structure 120. Inside the lower portion on the foundation structure are electric controls 200, jack controls 210, an emergency exit hatch 180 is located on the roof 130 for use via the spiral staircase 160 when the building 110 is retracted on top of the foundation 120.
An audio and visual warning system can be installed and connected to the weather bureau.
This embodiment also shows how the remaining space in the foundation structure 120 allows room for the retracted jack assemblies 150, a back-up generator 450, electric controls 200, jack controls 210, and lift platform 170 that extends through the sub structure into the building. The roof may house jack pressure switches 440 as a feedback mechanism. The load cells for the jack assemblies 150 are not visible, but are located within the jack assemblies 150 between the portions attached to the bottom of the substructure and the lower top plate of the jack assemblies 150.
Both
A shock isolation system around and attached to the substructure 120 may be made of close cell foam blocks having a low density. The weight of the blocks will depend on the location site for earthquakes.
A one-story house has been used in these drawings, but the above ground structure could be any type of building or shelter.
