Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Roll type – With fabric reinforcements
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-20
2001-09-11
Lev, Bruce A. (Department: 3634)
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Roll type
With fabric reinforcements
C160S183000, C160S229100, C160S232000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286579
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable
REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX”
Not applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The system of the present invention relates to storm protection systems for windows. More particularly, the present invention relates to a reinforced retractable shade mounted above openings such as windows in a building for extending down to cover the window and including reinforcement members for protecting the window against storm related damage.
2. General Background of the Invention
In areas of the country or world which are prone to storms, there is a need for protecting the openings of buildings such as windows and doors and other means of access. Often times such openings are covered with breakable glass, and during a storm when a loose object, such as a tree limb or the like, is blown into the glass covering the opening, there is a danger that people within the building will be injured or killed by the flying glass. For example, the states along the Gulf of Mexico, during certain times of the year, are prone to enormous and deadly storms known as hurricanes. Hurricanes often have winds which blow between an average of 100 to 125 miles per hour, and in doing so, are able to blow foreign objects such as street signs, tree limbs and other types of debris into the windows of buildings, more particularly to individual homes within cities and towns affected by the storm. At the present, there are some systems on the market which may allow windows, etc. to be covered by protective coverings known as “storm windows”, which are normally metallic type shades that are rolled down in front of the windows to form a metallic barrier between the outside and the window. These systems, although effective, are quite expensive, and because of the amount of steel and other metal that is involved, require either electric or hydraulic means to move the storm window in place, also being architecturally and physically cumbersome.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a relatively simple storm system that could be installed by the owner of the home, yet could be highly effective in protecting the windows and doors of buildings from flying debris during hurricanes or the like storms, when not in use, can be retracted to a position above the window, or the entire system could be removed from the window and stored away while not in use, or build in as an integral element of said structure.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The system of the present invention solves the shortcomings in the art in a simple and straightforward manner. What is provided is a storm protection system for openings such as windows which include an upper housing, mountable above the upper edge of the window, the housing accommodating a reinforced fabric shade being substantially the width of the window, on a roller within the housing so that the shade may be pulled from a first storage position within the housing to a second down position so that it would completely cover the window opening. There is further provided a plurality of spaced apart pockets formed within the fabric shade, and extending along its entire length, each of the pockets accommodating a length of a tubular member such as a section of PVC pipe, which would slidably engage within the pockets to form a plurality of reinforced members along the length of the shade as the shade is pulled downward. There is further provided a plurality of raised members mountable on the window sill or the like place, each of the raised members spaced apart equal distance as the spaced apart pockets in the shade. In the preferred embodiment, when the shade has been pulled down and the tubular member is slidable within the pockets, the upper ends of the tubular members would be engaged along a plurality of raised members positioned on the underside of the housing, and the lower ends of the tubular members would be engaged onto the raised members positioned on the window sill. The tubular members would be such a length that when the lower ends are engaged with the upper and lower members, it would create an outward bow of the PVC pipes, so that any object which would make contact with the shade, the outer bow of the pipes would provide further protection against impact and greater absorption of the impact of the debris making contact therewith.
Therefore, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a storm protection system, which is mountable on the exterior of a building, so that the system may be moved from a first retracted position to a second extended position and engaged to protect the window openings.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a storm protection system having a shade member that can be extended downward along a window opening, and accommodating a plurality of reinforcement tubes, to define a stronger protection barrier between the outside and the window.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a storm protection system which can be mounted on the exterior of windows, etc. allowing light penetration and ventilation prior to, during lulls in and immediately after the storm while still in place.
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Garvey, Smith, Nehrbass & Doody LLC
Lev Bruce A.
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