Tent – canopy – umbrella – or cane – Portable shelter – Shelter suspended from diverse support means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-04
2001-12-04
Stephan, Beth A. (Department: 3635)
Tent, canopy, umbrella, or cane
Portable shelter
Shelter suspended from diverse support means
C052S202000, C052S222000, C135S115000, C135S913000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325085
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the protection of property against high winds and, in particular, to a flexible protective barrier device placed on or inside a structure for securing property against the force of winds and from impact of foreign objects carried by the wind as occasioned by hurricanes, tornadoes and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are various types of hurricane shutters that are attached to the outside of buildings to cover openings in the structure, such as windows and doors, to provide protection from high winds and debris. Usually, these shutters are constructed of rigid materials which will withstand significant impact, by wind or objects, and maintain their integrity. In order for the shutters to be effective, all the openings in the entire structure must be covered. The shutters, themselves are expensive and require time and skill to install or remove.
Flexible materials, such as netting, tarpaulins and blankets have been used to protect and anchor vehicles, mobile homes and other shelters. These materials are also placed on the outside of the objects to which they are attached and should cover the entire object. An example of such materials is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,794 to Sporta. While these materials do not significantly contribute to the structural integrity of the enclosed object, they do provide protection from flying debris. With these flexible materials, it is important that they are anchored in such a manner that the deflection caused by the wind speed does not exceed the distance between the material and the enclosed structure. In such an instance, the enclosed structure could sustain damage or breakage without penetration of debris through the flexible materials. Further, if the flexible materials are anchored over large spans without support, chafing may occur in the materials between the anchoring mechanism and/or the protected structure.
Because both the rigid shutters and the flexible materials reduce or eliminate the ingress and egress from the protected structures, they are not normally deployed. Therefore, a warning should be given which allows enough time to deploy the protective devices. As has been demonstrated over and over, forecasting the onset of hazardous weather is notoriously unreliable. Sometimes, because of the vagaries of the weather and the forecasting, there is not enough time before the storm hits to completely install such systems.
Thus what is lacking in the art is a inexpensive protective barrier that can be included on or inside a portion of a structure or quickly deployed on or within a portion of a structure for protecting the occupants and the property.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention contemplates the use of a flexible barrier of woven synthetic textile that is able to satisfy stringent testing criteria. Certain types of flexible material capable of withstanding high impact loads without bursting, can be disposed within some or all of the walls of the building or other structure to provide continuous protection for the occupants and property.
Further, the invention contemplates the use of the synthetic textile as an enclosure within the building or structure. The enclosure could be free standing or incorporate one or more interior walls of the building or structure.
The invention also contemplates the use of the synthetic textile material deployed on the outside of buildings to cover small openings such as windows and doors.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the instant invention to teach the use of a synthetic textile within the walls of some or all of the rooms of a structure. The material may be disposed and secured between the inner finished wall and the sub assembly of studs or other support structure. In less expensive installations, the walls of a particular room, both inner and outer, may be reinforced to provide a safe room more resistant to missile impact than the rest of the structure.
It is a further objective of the instant invention to teach the use of a synthetic textile material which can be quickly mounted to fasteners in a wall and in the floor of a room to provide missile impact protection inside the room.
It is yet another objective of the instant invention to teach the use of a free standing enclosure of synthetic textile material within a structure. The enclosure is removably anchored to the supporting structure.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5522165 (1996-06-01), Molla
patent: 5535565 (1996-07-01), Majnaric
patent: 5579794 (1996-12-01), Sporta
patent: 5687512 (1997-11-01), Spoozak
patent: 6161339 (2000-12-01), Cornett
patent: 6176050 (2001-01-01), Gower
patent: 6230455 (2001-05-01), Arehart
McHale & Slavin P.A.
Stephan Beth A.
Targus International Company
LandOfFree
Flexible protective system to prevent penetration of wind... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Flexible protective system to prevent penetration of wind..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Flexible protective system to prevent penetration of wind... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2591441