Ventilation – Having inlet airway – Pressure regulation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-03
2001-09-25
Lu, Jiping (Department: 3749)
Ventilation
Having inlet airway
Pressure regulation
C454S195000, C454S902000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06293861
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the past, terrorist attacks on buildings have primarily involved the use of conventional weapons such as explosives, incendiary devices and firearms. Thus building defense systems presently in use are designed to protect against such conventional weapons and involve measures such as physical barriers, fire alarms, metal detectors, security checks and armed security personnel. The discovery of nuclear agents and the development of nuclear weapons and airborne chemical and biological contaminants and toxins has provided terrorists with sophisticated assault weapons against which present building defense measures are totally inadequate. An assault with a single or a combination of multiple hazardous airborne, waterborne or foodborne contaminants can occur with no perception of danger by the potential victims within a building. Such an assault can be particularly devastating when implemented by an aggressor from within the confines of a target building who is willing to sacrifice his or her life in the attack.
Systems for controlling the environment within a building have been developed which are responsive to combustion based pollutants in the outside air. Such systems, as illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,485 to Kinkead, vary the amount of outside air drawn into a building in response to the concentration of a single pollutant in the outside air.
Additionally, a number of systems have been developed to provide conditioned air to a building interior in response to emergency conditions caused by smoke or harmful gasses. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,380,187 and 5,720,659 to Wicks, 4,960,041 to Kiser and 5,215,499 to Eberhardt all disclose systems of this type.
None of the known prior art systems will effectively protect a building against an attack with airborne nuclear, biological or chemical contaminants from without or within the building. Furthermore, known systems are not capable of responding to different types of airborne contaminants used in combination.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved system and method for automatically responding to the presence of hazardous agents externally on the premises surrounding a building and/or within the building. This system can also be adapted to respond when these agents are waterborne or foodborne.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved system and method for protecting a building or sections thereof from airborne chemical, biological and nuclear agents by detecting in real time the presence of a hazardous concentration of one or more of such agents externally and/or internally of a building and immediately sealing the interior of a yet uncontaminated building or uncontaminated sections of the building and pressurizing the sealed area to prevent entry and distribution of the contaminated external atmosphere.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved system and method for protecting a building from airborne chemical, biological and nuclear agents using a network of external and internal agent sensors connected to a central control processor. Separate external sensors for chemical, for biological and for nuclear agents are spaced from the building and are set at relatively high threshold detection levels to prevent false positives. Similar sensors within the building are set to sense both levels above the hazardous range for each agent and when a safe level below the hazardous range occurs.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved system and method for protecting a building from airborne chemical, biological and nuclear agents using a network of sensors for each agent connected to a central control processor. Once an agent is detected, it is sampled and identified with identification data being provided to the central control processor which will provide an identification of the agent or agents to personnel within the building and to a remote operations center. The processor will further provide an indication as to whether the agent was detected externally or internally of the building.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved system and method for protecting a building from airborne chemical, biological and nuclear agents which include a network of sensors for each agent connected to a central control processor. The sensors are placed in all areas of a building and provide an indication to the processor of which areas are contaminated and the type and level of contamination in each area.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved method and system for protecting a building from airborne chemical, biological and nuclear agents wherein a central processor activates a decontamination system when an agent is detected within the building.
These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing a building protection system responsive to the release of chemical, biological and nuclear airborne agents both outside and inside of a protected building. For an outside release, an array of sensors surrounding the perimeter of the building is triggered to provide an indication that an external release has occurred. These external sensors operate in real time and are set at relatively high thresholds to prevent false positives. Upon initial detection of a release in a concentration above the threshold level of a perimeter sensor, the central processor connected to receive a release signal from the sensor will shut down all external air exchanges for the building and activate an over-pressure system for the building interior to insure that contaminated external air does not enter. Exterior sampling inlets are monitored to determine if high agent concentrations exist as a confirmation of the indication given by the perimeter sensors.
Should an internal attack occur in the entrance area of a protected building, an internal sensor system will cause the central processor to close off the entrance area, exhaust air from the closed area through a filter, and activate the over-pressure system. Sampling inlets connected in various areas within the building will monitor these areas to determine if they have been contaminated and the concentration and type of contaminating agent. The processor can activate a decontaminant spray system to decontaminate the contaminated areas.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4380187 (1983-04-01), Wicks
patent: 4960041 (1990-10-01), Kiser
patent: 5215499 (1993-06-01), Eberhardt
patent: 5228306 (1993-07-01), Shyu et al.
patent: 5462485 (1995-10-01), Kinkead
patent: 5720658 (1998-02-01), Belusa
patent: 5720659 (1998-02-01), Wicks
Lu Jiping
Nixon & Peabody LLP
Sixbey Daniel W.
LandOfFree
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