Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – With entrance for persons or objects in horizontal or... – With additional enclosure structure; e.g. – manhole
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-03
2001-09-25
Canfield, Robert (Department: 3625)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
With entrance for persons or objects in horizontal or...
With additional enclosure structure; e.g., manhole
C052S036400, C052S098000, C052S167100, C052S169600, C052S173100, C005S002100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06293055
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a combined bed and shelter device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a combined bed and shelter device which provides a sleeping facility under normal conditions while providing a life saving shelter in the event of a natural disaster such as a tornado.
Tornados are potentially life threatening phenomena that occur as a result of rapid changes in atmospheric conditions. A tornado may be up to one half mile in diameter and the funnel of a tornado generates air velocities of up to 300 mph. Clearly, a tornado is a life threatening situation and a conventional house is not usually strong enough to withstand the tremendous forces that are unleashed during such a disaster. Many conventional houses are built with basements which provide a degree of protection from the effects of a tornado so that when a tornado strikes, the house is swept away while those seeking refuge in the basement without windows sometimes survive.
Nevertheless, due to the ever increasing cost of building houses, many families do not have the resources to build a house with a basement. Furthermore, many persons live in manufactured homes which include a plurality of parallel spaced joists for supporting a floor which is spaced from a concrete base. Many disasters have occurred in which a tornado strikes a manufactured home park and in such cases, few have survived the ordeal.
The present invention seeks to overcome the aforementioned disadvantage of dwellers of manufactured homes and houses built on concrete slabs without basements by the provision of a bed which also serves as a shelter in the event of a tornado or the like.
Therefore, it is a primary feature of the present invention to provide a combined bed and shelter that will protect the user thereof in the event of a tornado or the like natural disaster.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art by a consideration of the detailed description contained herein taken in conjunction with drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a combined bed and shelter device. The device is anchored through a plurality of parallel spaced joists to a base for protecting a user in the event of a natural disaster or the like. The device includes a housing defining an enclosure of generally rectangular configuration, the housing including a container having a floor defining a peripheral edge and a wall extending angularly relative to the peripheral edge. A lid is pivotally secured to the container and cooperates with the wall such that the container and the lid define therebetween the enclosure for occupancy by the user in the event of the disaster. A mattress is supported by the lid such that when the lid is disposed in a first location thereof, the mattress supported by the lid serves as the bed for the user thereof and when the lid is disposed in a second location thereof with the lid pivoted about the container, access to the enclosure is permitted so that protection of the user within the enclosure is afforded.
In a more specific embodiment of the present invention, the housing is fabricated from a material sufficiently strong enough to deflect projectiles and debris occasioned by the natural disaster. Also, the housing further includes a support for supporting the lid when the lid is disposed in the second location thereof.
The support includes a rod having a first and a second end, the first end being pivotally secured to the lid, the second end of the rod engaging the wall so that the lid is maintained in the second location thereof until the user is safely located and protected within the enclosure.
The housing further includes a latch for latching the lid to the container during occupancy of the enclosure by the user, the latch being releasable from within the enclosure.
The latch includes a latch rod supported by the lid and extending within the lid along a side of the lid opposite to the lid hinge. A further latch rod is supported by the wall and within the container such that the further latch rod and the latch rod are disposed parallel and adjacent relative to each other. Three latches are pivotally secured to the further latch rod, the latches each defining a slot which cooperates with the latch rod when the lid is closed. The arrangement is such that when the latch rod is disposed within the slots by pivoting the latches about the further latch rod, the lid is securely located and latched relative to the container. However, when the latches are pivoted about a longitudinal axis of the further latch rod, the latch rod is disengaged from the slots so that the lid may be released from the container. An access opening is provided in the vicinity of the handle so that the lid may be opened from the outside of the container.
The floor defines a plurality of apertures disposed adjacent to the peripheral edge thereof and the shelter device further includes a plurality of anchors, each anchor of the plurality of anchors cooperating with an aperture of the plurality of apertures so that the anchors rigidly secure the floor of the housing to the base.
Each of the anchors extends through a joist of the plurality of joists and the device in a preferred embodiment of the present invention is disposed within a manufactured home.
The combined bed and shelter device includes a plurality of sections disposed between the joists and the base, each section being rigidly secured to an adjacent section with at least one of the sections being secured to the base and at least another one of the sections being secured to one of the anchors. A fastener is provided for securing the adjacent sections together.
The fastener includes a bolt, a nut and a bevel washer. The nut threadably cooperates with the bolt for fastening the adjacent sections together and the bevel washers are provided for enhancing the fastening of adjacent sections.
Each of the anchors is a tie bolt which extends through one of the apertures of the floor, through one of the joists and through one of the sections for anchoring the floor to the one of the sections.
Each of the joists defines at least one bore for the reception therethrough of the anchor. The at least one bore is in fluid communication with a further bore disposed angularly relative to the at least one bore and a bonding agent is applied through the further bore when the anchor is disposed within the at least one bore so that structural integrity of the joist is maintained.
A plurality of support blocks is disposed on the base such that the sections are disposed between the blocks with one row of blocks on one side of the sections and another row of blocks disposed on the other side of the sections. An I-beam is disposed between the blocks and the joists such that the joists are supported relative to the base by the blocks and the I-beam.
Each of the joists defines a point of weakness disposed directly above the I-beam so that in the event of the natural disaster, the joists break away around the device while the device remains firmly anchored to the base.
Preferably, the point of weakness is a saw cut or any means which would allow the floor joist to break away at two designated locations. A deflecting rod is secured along an edge of the I-beam so that in the event of the I-beam breaking away together with the joists, the deflecting rod slides past the lid without dislodging the lid from the container.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the device is disposed within a conventional home built on a concrete slab.
Each of the anchors are anchored into the concrete slab so that the floor of the container is firmly anchored to the concrete slab.
Many variations and modifications of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art by a consideration of the detailed description contained hereinafter taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings. However, such modifications and variations fall within the spirit and sco
Archer David J.
Canfield Robert
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