Patent Grant
11560731
The discussion below relates generally to escape structures and, more particularly, to a vertical escape structure to provide evacuation refuge from flood events of the like.
Conventional storm, flood, or tsunami shelters are generally deployed away from the population because they are architecturally incompatible with residential neighborhoods. The lack of a sufficient number of these shelters that are in close proximity to the population prevents the effective use of conventional shelters to save lives and reduce injuries.
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to apparatuses and methods for providing a vertical escape structure as an evacuation refuge from natural disasters including flood events such as tsunamis. Unlike a large, centralized structure, a plurality of these vertical flood escape structures are smaller, more aesthetically pleasing, and designed to blend in with the local environment. Unlike the large, centralized structure, such smaller structures may be dispersed throughout an area around a city or in a residential location, closer to its residents for easier access by more residents. The structure may be deployed for a single family/household, for example, to provide an evacuation refuge for occupants of a corresponding or associated residence or other building. The structure may have a tree appearance that blends in with the local trees (e.g., evergreen in the Midwest, palm tree in coastal regions, etc.). Due to their size and appearance, these escape structures can be distributed anywhere floods are anticipated (including inland locations) and are not limited to a single central deployment in only tsunami-prone locations (coastal areas).
According to an aspect of the present invention, a vertical escape structure comprises an escape housing disposed in a vertical orientation and mounted to a ground to maintain structural integrity in the vertical orientation against external flooding. The escape housing includes an interior which is sealed against water entry from exterior flooding and at least one of a staircase, an elevator, or a lift disposed in the interior of the escape housing. The vertical escape structure further comprises a connecting walkway to connect the escape housing to a building. The escape housing has a smaller horizontal footprint than the building. The walkway is severable from the building by force without damaging the escape housing to cause water entry from the exterior flooding.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method of providing escape from flooding comprises: mounting an escape housing in a vertical orientation to a ground to maintain structural integrity in the vertical orientation against external flooding; sealing an interior of the escape housing against water entry from exterior flooding; providing at least one of a staircase, an elevator, or a lift in the interior of the escape housing; and connecting a connecting walkway between the escape housing and a building. The escape housing has a smaller horizontal footprint than the building. The walkway is severable from the building by force without damaging the escape housing to cause water entry from the external flooding.
According to another aspect, a vertical escape structure comprises an escape housing disposed in a vertical orientation and mounted to a ground to maintain structural integrity in the vertical orientation against external flooding. The escape housing includes an interior which is sealed against water entry from exterior flooding and at least one of a staircase, an elevator, or a lift disposed in the interior of the escape housing. The vertical escape structure further comprises a mechanism or means for connecting a walkway between the escape housing and a building to render the walkway severable from the building by force without damaging the escape housing to cause water entry from the external flooding. The escape housing has a smaller horizontal footprint than the building.
According to yet another aspect, a vertical escape structure comprises an escape housing disposed in a vertical orientation and mounted to a ground to maintain structural integrity in the vertical orientation against external flooding. The escape housing includes an interior which is sealed against water entry from exterior flooding and at least one of a staircase, a ladder, an elevator, or a lift disposed in the interior of the escape housing. The escape housing includes a plurality of vertically stacked modules and a retractable roof.
Other features and aspects of various embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description which discloses, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, examples that explain features in accordance with embodiments. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims.
The attached drawings disclose the embodiments.
A number of examples or embodiments of the present invention are described and disclosed herein. The present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that have been disclosed and can be embodied in a variety of ways. Rather, as will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the teachings and disclosures herein can be combined or rearranged with other portions of this disclosure along with the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art.
At least one of a staircase 122, an elevator, or a lift may be disposed in the interior 120 of the escape housing 110. The escape housing 110 includes an exterior 130 which may be configured to blend in with the environment in which it is deployed. For example, the exterior 130 may resemble a trunk of a tree with artificial bark or branches 132.
The escape housing 110 may be tubular or donut shaped and may be designed with the appearance of a tree. A diameter or cross-sectional width of the central structure or housing 110 may vary to accommodate a type of egress (e.g., wider diameter for a ramp having a gentle slope, narrower diameter for a spiral staircase). In an embodiment, a core of the housing 110 resembles a trunk of a tree and includes artificial bark or branches 132 attached to an exterior 130 of the core of the housing 110. In this example, the interior 120 of the housing 110 includes an internal staircase 122. Other embodiments may include an elevator, a lift, a crank elevator platform, spiral ramp, ladder, or some other internal mechanism to allow people (including handicapped access) to ascend and/or descend while being sheltered and protected by the housing 110. A powered elevator may be used and may include a mechanical backup for power failures. One embodiment is based on a tubular steel tower with a spiral ramp or spiral staircase and includes a crank elevator to raise and lower a platform in the housing 110. The housing 110 may be made of fiberglass, steel, aluminum, concrete, or the like.
The escape housing 110 may be modular in construction, with interlocking, vertically stacked modules, allowing for customizable heights of the vertical escape structure 100 as needed for different flood zones. A module (e.g., 112) may have a cylindrical tube shape, box shape, donut shape, or other shape suitable for stacking together to form the housing 110. A module may include an optional center support or core structure (e.g., a post 124). A module may have solid walls or walls made of mesh or other materials to allow air and light to pass through. A module may include at least a portion for structural reinforcement, such as a passage or passages to accommodate beams/columns, tension cables, poured concrete, blocks or stones, sand or soil, and the like.
The escape housing 110 may be formed by stacking different types of modules. One type of module may contain a room or a portion of a room. Another type of module may contain a staircase or a portion of a staircase. The modules may be designed to interlock with each other and provide alignment between interlocked modules. For example, a room module may be stacked on top of and be interlock with a stairway module. The interlocked modules align such that a floor opening of the room module aligns with a top of a stairway of the underlying stairway module, to provide an uninterrupted passageway between the modules. The bottom of one stairway module may interface with the top opening of another stairway module to allow the stairways to align and form a continuous internal stairway (or ramp) spanning both modules. A stairway module may include a door or may be coupled to a door module that includes a door.
In this embodiment, the escape housing 110 includes a stair module 112 of
The escape housing 110 may include communications equipment 214 (which may be one way or bidirectional including, for example, emergency phone, cellular signal, tsunami warning sirens, etc.), battery backup as a source of power in case of power failure, and flashing beacon(s). The flashing beacons, such as signaling lights 212, may be arranged on the roof 210 to signal to rescuers (e.g., using drones or helicopters) that the escape housing 110 is occupied and may be in need of assistance. The equipment or beacons may be permanently incorporated into the escape housing 110 and may be activated automatically or manually by the occupants inside. The equipment or beacons may be automatically activated upon detection of the occupants (e.g., using sensors or other autodetection devices 216 to detect audio, visual, heat signature, vibration, etc.), and/or based on the detection of flood conditions. Alternatively, the equipment or beacons may be activated remotely, for example, by a command center that monitors occupant detectors of the structure and flood conditions at the site of the structure. In the embodiment show in
As seen in
In the example shown, a roof mounting post 220 provides a pivot attachment between the top module 200 and the conical roof 210. The occupants in the top module may rotate the conical roof 210 with the roof mounting post 220 relative to the housing 110. This allows the conical roof 210 to rotate aside to uncover a top of the top module or safe room module 200, providing access for rescue access such as helicopter rescue access to the occupants in the safe room module 200, as seen in
When the top opens as seen in
The enclosed connecting walkway 410 may be elevated above the ground to form a skyway. It may be an open or exposed walkway 412 or an enclosed walkway or skyway 410. In addition, the walkway 410 may be severable from the building 420 by force without damaging the escape housing 400 to cause water entry from the exterior flooding. For example, the connecting walkway 410 may be frangible as compared to the escape housing 400 by using a weaker material and/or a weaker structure for the connecting walkway 410 as compared to the escape housing 400.
In one embodiment, the enclosed connecting walkway 410 may be attached to the house or building 420 to provide bracing to the building 420 and allow evacuation directly from the building 420 (e.g., evacuation from an upper floor of the building directly into the escape housing 400). The walkway 410 may be an attachable structure configured to allow people to enter the escape housing 400 from the building 420. In an embodiment, the connecting walkway 410 is elevated by approximately the height of one story of the building 420 to which the walkway 410 is attached. It allows people to walk naturally from the building 420 through the connecting walkway 410 to the escape housing 400.
The elevated connector 410 between the escape housing 400 and an upper floor of the building 420 enables the escape housing 400 to have no need for ground level access (e.g., no ground level door or entry) because the elevated connector 410 provides access to the escape housing 400. The enclosed connecting walkway 410 has increased security and increased structural stability, based on its connection to the escape housing 400 and the building 420. Furthermore, such building-connected escape structures with elevated above-ground access can devote interior space, otherwise needed for passageways, for added structural support. For example, lower modules of the escape housing 400, disposed below the elevated walkway 410 at an upper floor of the building 420, may be reinforced with concrete, such as by filling a center of those modules with concrete. In one example, a bottom module may be converted into a structural foundation. In another example, one or more lower modules are filled with concrete and partially or fully buried below grade on site, ready to be interlocked with additional modules above to form the entire escape housing 400.
The enclosed connecting walkway 410 may include structural connections, electrical connections, and other connections to the building 420 that are frangible/severable to allow the escape housing 400 to stand and function as an escape structure even if the building 420 is swept away or otherwise collapsed/destroyed by flood waters. The connecting walkway 410 is configured to be weaker than the amount of force required to damage or deform the escape housing 400. It may be substantially weaker. For example, it may require a force that is an order of magnitude higher (i.e., 10 times higher or more) to damage the escape housing 400 than to disconnect the walkway 410 from the building 420. Bracing or other connections such as the physical walkway 410 between the escape housing 400 and the adjacent building 420 can be made of weaker materials or designed in such a way that will break under stress/strain.
In one example as shown in
The escape housing 530 may include at least one door 540 that is securable from the inside or the outside. The door 540 may be sealable to prevent water from passing or may be formed with an open mesh or the like to allow water to pass. The door 540 may be contained in a single module or may span multiple modules. In another embodiment, a door may be positioned to control access between modules of the escape housing 530. For example, a door in the floor of one module allows access to an underlying module. In another embodiment, a door may be positioned to control access from one or more modules to the outside of the escape housing 530 (e.g., a door in the wall of one or more modules). The door 540 may be designed to seal off some or all of the escape housing 530 from flood waters (e.g., preventing flood waters from traveling up an interior space of the escape housing 530). One or more elevators 550 may be provided inside the escape housing 530. The vertical escape structure 100 can be placed anywhere floods are anticipated. It is not limited to tsunami use only in coastal areas.
The inventive concepts taught by way of the examples discussed above are amenable to modification, rearrangement, and embodiment in several ways. For example, this invention may be applicable in other systems having different geometries, sizes, or arrangements of components. Accordingly, although the present disclosure has been described with reference to specific embodiments and examples, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
An interpretation under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) is desired only where this description and/or the claims use specific terminology historically recognized to invoke the benefit of interpretation, such as “means,” and the structure corresponding to a recited function, to include the equivalents thereof, as permitted to the fullest extent of the law and this written description, may include the disclosure, the accompanying claims, and the drawings, as they would be understood by one of skill in the art.
To the extent the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features or methodological steps, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or steps described. Rather, the specific features and steps are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claimed subject matter. To the extent headings are used, they are provided for the convenience of the reader and are not be taken as limiting or restricting the systems, techniques, approaches, methods, or devices to those appearing in any section. Rather, the teachings and disclosures herein can be combined or rearranged with other portions of this disclosure and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art. It is intended that this disclosure encompass and include such variation.
The indication of any elements or steps as “optional” does not indicate that all other or any other elements or steps are mandatory. The claims define the invention and form part of the specification. Limitations from the written description are not to be read into the claims.
The application claims the benefit of priority from and is a non-provisional of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/182,412, filed on Apr. 30, 2021, entitled VERTICAL FLOOD ESCAPE STRUCTURES, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention was made by employees of the United States Department of Homeland Security in the performance of their official duties. The U.S. Government has certain rights in this invention.
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