Underground storm shelter

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6401409
  • Patent Number
    6,401,409
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, May 27, 1998
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, June 11, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Friedman; Carl D.
    • Tran A; Phi Dieu
    Agents
    • Thomte, Mazour & Niebergall
    • Thomte; Dennis L.
Abstract
An underground storm shelter comprising a bottom section, expander section and a top section bolted together to form the shelter. The base section has a closed bottom while the top section has an access hatch formed in the upper end thereof. The base section, expander section and top section are bolted together at the installation site. The walls of the base section and the top section are tapered to enable the base section and the top section to be nested during shipment. The expander section may be slipped over the top section.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




This invention relates to a storm shelter and more particularly to an underground storm shelter which is comprised of a base section, an expander section and a top section with the top section having an access hatch therein.




2. Description of the Related Art




Many types of underground storm shelters have been previously provided with some of the shelters being large enough to also serve a double-duty as a bomb shelter. Generally speaking, the prior art bomb shelters were constructed of concrete with the same being cast in place which necessarily involved a large, expensive building project. Additionally, the prior art shelters which were smaller than the typical bomb shelters were normally of a one-piece construction which also made the shelters quite expensive and difficult to install.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




An underground storm shelter is disclosed comprising a base section, one or more expander sections and a top section installed either on the upper end of the base unit or on the upper end of the uppermost expander sections. The base section comprises a bottom wall having an outwardly tapered wall section extending upwardly therefrom with the upper end thereof having a bolt flange provided thereon. Each of the expander sections comprises a cylindrical wall having bolt flanges on the upper and lower ends thereof with the bolt flange on the lower end of the lowermost expander section being adapted to be bolted to the bolt flange on the upper end of the base section. The top section comprises a bolt flange at the lower end thereof with an inwardly tapered wall section extending upwardly therefrom. The upper end of the top section is closed except for an access hatch provided therein. The utilization of one or more expander sections which may be bolted between the base section and the top section enables the shelter to have a depth such as to accommodate persons of varying heights. The tapered wall sections of the base section and the top section enables the base section and top section to be nested together for shipment purposes. Preferably, the storm shelter is comprised of plastic, fiberglass, or fiberglass reinforced concrete.




It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an improved underground storm shelter.




Yet another object of the invention is to provide an underground storm shelter which is comprised of a plurality of component parts which enables the storm shelter to be constructed by persons having little or no construction experience.




Still another object of the invention is to provide an underground storm shelter which may be installed in the ground with a minimum of disruption of the area around the storm shelter.




Still another object of the invention is to provide an underground storm shelter which is comprised of a plurality of lightweight component parts.




Still another object of the invention is to provide an underground storm shelter which includes component parts so that the storm shelter may be easily assembled and may accommodate persons of different heights.




These and other objects will be obvious to those skilled in the art.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view showing the underground storm shelter of this invention positioned either beneath a home or outside thereof;





FIG. 2

is an exploded perspective view of the invention;





FIG. 3

is a side view illustrating the storm shelter of this invention installed in the ground;





FIG. 4

is a view of the shelter of this invention illustrating an expander unit joining the upper and lower sections; and





FIG. 5

is a view illustrating the storm shelter of this invention being positioned beneath the slab of a home.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




The underground storm shelter of this invention is referred to generally by the reference numeral


10


and is designed to be installed in the ground outside of a home


11


or beneath the home


11


, as illustrated in FIG.


1


. Shelter


10


includes a base section


12


, one or more expander sections


14


and a top section


16


. Preferably, the base section


12


, expander sections


14


and the top section


16


are constructed of a plastic material, fiberglass material, or a fiberglass reinforced concrete material.




Base section


12


includes a bottom wall


18


having a wall


20


extending upwardly therefrom which preferably tapers outwardly, as illustrated in

FIG. 2. A

bolt flange


22


is provided at the upper end of wall


20


and has a plurality of openings


24


formed therein adapted to receive bolts


26


therein. Preferably, the diameter of bottom wall


18


is five feet with the height of the base section


12


being approximately three feet. Preferably, the inside diameter of the upper end of wall


20


is five feet six inches with the outside diameter of the bolt flange


22


being five feet ten inches.




Each of the expander sections


14


comprise a cylindrical wall


28


having a bolt flange


30


at the lower end thereof and a bolt flange


32


at the upper end thereof. The bolt flanges


30


and


32


have openings formed therein adapted to accommodate bolts


26


. Preferably, the inside diameter of expander section


14


is five feet six inches with the outside diameter of the bolt flanges being five feet ten inches. Preferably, each of the expander sections


14


has a height of one foot six inches. In most situations, only a single expander section


14


will be utilized although the number of expander sections


14


being utilized will be dependent upon the desired total depth of the shelter.




Top section


16


includes a bolt flange


34


at its lower end and a tapered wall


36


extending upwardly and inwardly therefrom. The upper end of top section


16


is closed except for an access hatch


38


provided therein to enable a person to gain access to the interior of the storm shelter. Hatch


38


is hinged and has a handle/latch


40


provided thereon. Preferably, the outside diameter of flange


34


is five feet ten inches while the inside diameter of wall


36


at the lower end thereof is five feet six inches. Preferably, the inside diameter of the upper end of top section


16


is five feet.




Assuming that the storm shelter


10


is manufactured as a facility remote from the place of installation, the storm shelter


10


, by being comprised of components


12


,


14


and


16


, enables the same to be easily shipped to the installation site. The tapered wall sections of base section


12


and top section


16


enable top section


16


to be inverted and inserted into the open upper end of base section


12


for shipment purposes. Alternatively, base section


12


may be inverted and positioned inside top section


16


through the bottom thereof. The expander section


14


may also be slipped over the wall


20


of base section


12


or the wall


36


of top section


16


. Thus, the storm shelter, in its unassembled condition, may be shipped from the factory to the job site.




When the storm shelter arrives at the installation site, a hole may be dug in the ground outside the home


11


with the base section


12


being inserted thereinto. The expander section


14


may then be positioned on the bolt flange


22


of base section


12


with the bolts


26


securing expander section


14


to the base section


12


. The top section


16


is then positioned in the hole so that bolt flange


34


rests on bolt flange


32


with bolts


26


being installed in the flanges


32


and


34


to secure the stop section


16


to the expander section


14


. Additional expander sections


14


may be installed as required.




Although it has been described that the sections


12


,


14


and


16


are bolted together while in the opening in the ground, the sections


12


,


14


and


16


could be bolted together prior to being inserted into the ground. Once the shelter


10


is positioned in the ground, earth may be positioned over the upper end of the top section


16


except for the area where the access hatch


38


is located. Alternatively, concrete could be poured over the upper end of the shelter. Further, the shelter


10


may be positioned in the ground beneath the home


11


to enable the residents of the home to gain quick access thereto.




When a storm approaches, access to the interior of the shelter


10


is gained by the person or persons opening access hatch


38


. If desired, steps or a ladder


40


may be provided in the interior of the shelter to facilitate entry into the shelter. Once the person or persons are in the shelter, the access hatch


38


is closed.




Thus it can be seen that a novel underground storm shelter has been provided which accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.



Claims
  • 1. A storm shelter for placement in the ground, comprising:an upright hollow member having an open upper end and a closed lower end, with a chamber therebetween said hollow member further having a height and diameter sufficient to permit at least one person to seek shelter therein and comprising: a base section including a bottom wall and a cylindrical wall extending upwardly therefrom to an upper edge thereof; a top section secured to said upper edge of said base section and extending upwardly therefrom; said side wall being tapered and said to section being tapered to enable said base section and said to section to be nested for shipment: and an access cover extending over the open upper end of said chamber for selectively closing said open upper end.
  • 2. The shelter of claim 1 wherein said hollow member is comprised of a plastic member.
  • 3. The shelter of claim 1 wherein said hollow member is comprised of a fiberglass material.
  • 4. The shelter of claim 1 wherein said hollow member is comprised of a concrete material.
  • 5. The shelter of claim 1 wherein a hollow intermediate section is positioned between said base section and said top section.
  • 6. The shelter of claim 1 wherein said bottom section and said top section have registering flanges.
  • 7. The shelter of claim 5 wherein said bottom section, said intermediate section,
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