Abstract:
An improved above-ground storm shelter having sidewalls comprised of two panels, an outer panel and an inner panel, a double-swing door means for allowing ingress and egress, a door bar for securely closing the double-swing doors during a storm event, and a roof adapted to be affixed thereto, whereby sound of articles striking the sidewalls during a storm event is lessened, and the two panels provide enhanced structural integrity compared with a single panel of comparable thickness. The sidewalls are manufactured in modular segments adapted to be joined together to form a desired size of shelter. At least one segment has defined therein a ventilation port with a outer protective plate and inner protective for preventing projectiles from entering the shelter during a storm event.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a request for continued examination of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/294,855 filed on Jun. 3, 2014 that was a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/040,095 filed on Mar. 3, 2011. The application includes claims with a priority dated before Mar. 16, 2013 and claims with a priority date after Mar. 16, 2013. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of shelters. More particularly, the present invention relates to above-ground shelters which either can be installed in new construction or can be retrofitted into an existing structure. 
     Description of the Prior Art 
     The idea of a shelter from dangerous forces such as tornados, hurricanes or bombs has been around for decades. See, for example, Pierson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,114,153 for a Combination Shelter and Swimming Pool. While less than optimally functional (what, for example, does one do about the water in the pool if one needs to use the shelter?), Pierson illustrates that the idea of an in-ground shelter is not new. Presumably, Pierson was focusing his efforts on a shelter that might protect a user from the threat of Soviet nuclear attack. Before Pierson, many people installed simple cellars primarily for food storage, but also for protection from storms. Entrance to these early shelters was usually accomplished through a hinged door. 
     Hope et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,345, and Poole, U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,866. Hope et al., claimed a “tornado shelter,” and Poole claimed a “storm shelter.” Both are for a shelter which is designed to be installed below ground, and which has a sliding, substantially-flat access door near ground level to allow ingress and egress. The door in Poole, which is the patent closest to the present invention, appears to covers approximately one-third of the top of the shelter. The door sits on rollers, and rolls downwardly and inwardly to open. That is, it rolls down underneath of the rest of the shelter&#39;s top. This method of operation means that by rolling downwardly, it takes room out of an already cramped shelter, and by rolling under the lid, the size of the access door is limited because it must be smaller than the remaining portion of the top of the shelter under which it rolls. The opening in Hope&#39;s shelter cannot be larger than approximately one-half of the surface area of the top of the shelter. While an opening of this size may be sufficient for some purposes, for the disabled or for very large persons, it may be difficult to enter a shelter with such a limited opening size. Further, those who are claustrophobic would find such a shelter even more constricting knowing that the opening through which they have to pass out of the shelter is so small. Also, to the extent objects are to be taken into or stored in the shelter, the smaller opening makes putting them in or taking them out more difficult. 
     Poole claims a similar device, but the description in Poole and the drawings are much more limited. The opening covers about half of the top of the shelter area or less. There is no description in Poole about how the lid, as shown open in  FIG. 6 , is prevented from tipping over as it is opened. The force of gravity would, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6  of Poole, force the leading edge of the lid to tip under its own weight. There is no structure shown or described in Poole which would prevent this from happening. Further, the Poole lid is well above ground level, which may prevent a vehicle from parking above the shelter if installed in a garage and which would also present a tripping hazard. 
     Applicant previously obtained, along with a prior co-inventor, U.S. Pat. No. 7,428,800 for an in-ground shelter. It claimed an improved shelter of the type having a front wall, a back wall, two opposing side walls, a bottom and a top defining a substantially rectangular box with an opening defined in the top, a flat lid adapted to cover the opening, a roller means for alternately rolling the lid to expose or close the open top, the improvement comprising: substantially, the entire top of the box defining an opening; the lid adapted to be substantially flush with the surrounding ground level in a closed position; and a roller means for allowing the lid to slide above the ground level, exposing more than half of the top when in an open position. 
     The teachings of the prior art disclosed along with this application are intended to be and are hereby incorporated by reference into this application. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An improved above-ground storm shelter having sidewalls comprised of two panels, an outer panel and an inner panel, a double-swing door means for allowing ingress and egress and for remaining securely closed during a storm event, and a roof adapted to be affixed thereto, whereby sound of articles striking the sidewalls during a storm event is lessened, and the two panels provide enhanced structural integrity compared with a single panel of comparable thickness. Providing two panels separated by some distance minimizes the chances that an indentation created by a projectile will impinge into the shelter. In short, any deformation of the sidewalls is less likely, given the two panel construction, to deform the inner panel. 
     The outer walls may be manufactured in modular segments adapted to be joined together to form a desired size of shelter. Preferably, at least one segment has defined therein a ventilation port with a cover means for preventing projectiles from entering the shelter during a storm event while allowing equalization of pressure around at least half of the periphery of the protective plate. The door means preferably comprises two double-swing doors, each of which may be hinged, with an inner edge of a first door adjacent to the inner edge of the second door in a closed position, and a closure means for securely retaining the double-swing doors in a closed position, whereby each door can swing freely to open either inwardly or outwardly unless the closure means are engaged. The closure means comprising at least one door bar adapted to be received at each end thereof within a pair of end brackets affixed to the interior panel at either side of the door and also adapted to be received within at least one holder affixed to each of the doors, the end brackets on at least the interior panel preferably cooperating with a profile defined on the door bar to releasably lock the door bar into place. Each segment may have an open top allowing an open space between the panels to be filled with a desired material, whereby additional weight, structural integrity, and sound-deadening may be provided to the shelter. 
     Also disclosed is a method of installing an above-ground shelter comprising: modular wall segments having an outer panel separated from an inner panel a fixed distance apart by at least one structural member, the wall segments and structural members thereby defining a space between the panels; providing at least one double-swing door means for allowing ingress and egress into an assembled shelter; assembling a plurality of modular wall segments and a double-swing door means into a shelter having a desired shape; affixing a roof to a top edge of the modular panels and the door segment; affixing at least one transport means for rollingly moving the assembled shelter, transporting the assembled shelter to a desired location within the structure; and affixing the shelter to a floor at the desired location. The method may include at least one of the modular wall segments with a transportation attachment point for releasably engaging a transport means. The transport means may have a jack-activated lift having at least one wheel adapted to rollingly support the transport means and an attachment point for releasably engaging a cooperating attachment point on a wall segment. Or alternately, the transport may be a powered lift. 
     There have thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in this application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. Additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates from the subsequent description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally—especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology—to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a stack of modular segments that can be used to construct a shelter according to the present invention. 
         FIGS. 3-5  are detailed views of the protective plate, ventilation port and ventilation grate cooperating to prevent projectiles from directly entering the shelter while allowing ventilation from at least half the periphery of the protective plate.  FIG. 3  is a view from the outside of an embodiment of the shelter showing the protective plate and, behind it, the ventilation port and spacer.  FIG. 4  is a detailed side sectional view of an embodiment of the protective plate, spacer, ventilation port, and ventilation grate that cooperate to allow ventilation while preventing projectiles from entering the shelter.  FIG. 5  is a detailed view of an embodiment of the inner ventilation grate preventing smaller projectiles from entering the shelter. 
         FIG. 6  shows the inside of an embodiment of a shelter according to the present invention, specifically, a pair of double-swing doors and a pair of door bars cooperating to securely retain the doors in a closed position. 
         FIGS. 7 and 8  are detailed sectional views of a bracket support for the door bar and, in cooperation, they show how the u-shaped door bar releasably locks into place in cooperation with a u-shaped portion of the bracket support. The door bar may be rotated counterclockwise, as shown, from a disengaged position to the partially engaged position in  FIG. 7 , and finally into the engaged position shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 9  is a detailed sectional side view of a portion of a wall segment of an embodiment of the invention showing how it is glued and fastened to the floor. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a hopper means for placing an aggregate material into the open space defined between the outer and inner panels. 
         FIG. 11  is a detailed view of an embodiment of a closure plate received within a receiver defined in the hopper means. 
         FIG. 12  shows an embodiment of a jack means for releasable attachment to a wall segment for rollingly moving an assembled, or partially assembled, shelter into position for mounting. 
         FIG. 13  shows an embodiment of a cheater tool to provide added leverage to rotate the door bar for disengagement. 
         FIG. 14  shows a cross-sectional side view of a floor attachment means. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an above-ground shelter of the current invention in perspective view. A sidewall  100  is shown comprised of three segments: a first segment  124 , a second segment  126 , and a third segment  128 . The three segments are joined to create the finished sidewall  100 . Joinder may occur by any number of known means, including, but not limited to, welding, bolting, screwing, or joining them by cooperation of interlocking members. Segments may be provided in a wide range of standard sizes—from, for example, 6 inches to 6 feet—and they are expected to be produced in two-foot segments and other lengths allowing for easy assembly of a sidewall  100  having a desired overall length. 
       FIG. 2  shows the segments  200  in a stack  210  prior to them being assembled into a shelter. Both the outer panel  102  and the inner panel  202  (not visible in  FIG. 1 ) as well as the structural member  206  connecting them and holding them a fixed distance apart, thereby defining an open space therebetween can be seen. An open top  208  may be provided before the shelter may be assembled allowing aggregate materials (such as sand, concrete, gravel, polymer, or the like) to be added thereto providing additional sound insulation and structural integrity. The doors for the shelter are preferably of a similar construction having both inner and outer panels. 
       FIG. 1  further shows the roof  104  affixed to the shelter. Fork truck lift handles  120  are shown in  FIG. 1 , which allow the assembled shelter to be lifted intact by a fork truck. In many, if not most, installations the fork handles  120  will not be attached to the roof  104  because they add enough height that they make moving the assembled shelter into the typical garage installation more difficult given height restrictions associated with typical garage door clearances. 
     Each wall segment  124 - 128 , as shown, may have two outer protective plates  106  mounted thereon. A more detailed discussion of the outer protective plate  106  and associated elements creating a ventilation port may be provided below in conjunction with the discussion of  FIGS. 3-5 . Two double-swing doors, a first door  108  and a second door  110  are shown, and for a variety of reasons, two double-swing doors are preferable to a single double-swing door, but either single or double doors may be used. Each double-swing door has hinges  116  along an outer edge and an inner door edge, a first inner door edge  112  associated with the first door  108 , and a second inner door edge  114  associated with the second door  110 . The first and second edges  112  and  114  abut one another in a closed position, as shown in  FIG. 1 . As shown, the hinges  116  are piano-type hinges that extend along the entire length of the door, though any type of hinges may be used. Piano-type hinges are preferable because they distribute any impacts over a larger area. If a projectile strikes a door with piano hinges, the door is less likely to become disconnected from the piano-type hinge, and the impact is spread out over the length of the hinge instead of being concentrated in a small area around a typical hinge. The hinges  116  allow the double-swing doors to swing either inwardly or outwardly providing maximum flexibility for egress from the shelter in case a storm event causes debris to be lodged near or against the doors. Outer door handles  122  are provided. The doors are mounted in an outer door frame  118 . As shown, the frame  118  forms one entire side of a shelter, but it may have additional segments joined to one or both of its sides to make a wider shelter, if desired. 
       FIGS. 3-5  show the elements that cooperate to allow ventilation of the shelter while preventing projectiles from entering. Ventilation features of the present invention are designed to prevent differentials in air pressure between the space inside and outside the shelter from causing or contributing to damage to the shelter or harm to its occupants.  FIG. 3  shows the outer protective plate  106 , which can also be seen in  FIG. 1 . A ventilation structure is illustrated in  FIG. 4  in cross-section. The outer protective plate  106  may be separated from the outer panel  102  by a pair of spacers  304 , thereby creating a ventilation channel  404  therebetween. The ventilation port  302  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5  is square, but the channel could also have a round or other shapes. From the ventilation channel  404 , air may pass through at least half the periphery of the vent, into or out of the shelter through a ventilation port  302  defining an opening between the outer panel  102  and the inner panel  202 . To prevent communication with the open space  402  defined between the outer panel  102  and the inner panel  202 , the ventilation port  302  may be preferably lined, for example by a piece of tubing or pipe, whether square, round, or some other shape, the lining having at least one wall  406  extending from the outer panel  102  to the inner panel  202 . If lined, the structure of the liner provides additional stability to the two walls against potential deformation or damage from storm debris or pressure differentials. Further protection against projectiles entering the shelter may be provided by a ventilation grate  400  affixed to the inner panel  202 . 
       FIG. 6  shows the inside of a shelter according to the present invention, specifically, a pair of double-swing doors  108  and  110  and at least two door bars  600 A and  600 B, as shown, and potentially three or more door bars cooperating to securely retain the double-swing doors in a closed position. The door means preferably includes two double-swing doors, but it may be a single double swing door. Two double-swing doors provide double the opportunity to safely ingress and egress should a hinge or other door component become damaged. Also, a wider opening can be provided with less swing clearance required. Preferably, each double-swing door has a handle  606 . The double-swing doors, mounted within an inner door frame  608 , are shown in a closed position, and the door bars are in position to securely retain them in the closed position. Each door bar engages, at each of its ends, an end bracket  602 A, and  602 B. The end brackets have a u-shaped profile adapted to releasably engage the u-shaped door bars to effectively lock them into position. See descriptions of  FIGS. 7 and 8 , below. The double-swing doors are prevented from moving inwardly or outwardly by engagement with holders,  604 A and  604 B. These holders are affixed to the doors  108  and  110  near the inner door edges  112  and  114  respectively. For each door bar, there are a pair of end brackets  602  and a pair of holders  604 . 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  are detailed sectional views of a bracket support  700  for the door bar  600  and together they show how the u-shaped door bar  600  releasably locks into place in cooperation with a u-shaped portion of the bracket support  700 . The door bar  600  may be rotated counterclockwise, as shown, from a disengaged position to the partially engaged position in  FIG. 7 , and finally into the engaged position shown in  FIG. 8 . Other well-known means could be used to perform the same function such as, for example, using a keeper rotatably affixed to the inner door frame  608  to close over the door bar  600  once it is in position and some sort of fastener, such as a rotatable locking clip, to secure the keeper in place. Alternatively, one end of the door bar  600  may be inserted into a close-fitting keeper, with the other end bound to the inner door frame  608  by a cable lock mechanism. Many alternative ways of releasably, yet securely engaging the door bar are known in the art, and those are incorporated herein by reference. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,179 to Roessle; U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,911 to O&#39;Neal et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,436 to Cole, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,770,420 to Carr and the patents referenced by them. 
       FIG. 9  is a detailed sectional side view of a portion of a wall segment showing how it may be glued and fastened to the floor. A base plate  900  may be affixed to a bottom edge of a segment, preferably to both the inner and outer plates  202  and  102 . Two means of affixing the plate  900  to the floor  906  are shown, glue  902  between the plate and the floor, and an anchor  904  passing through the base plate  900  into the floor  906 . 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of one embodiment of a hopper means for placing an aggregate material into the open space  402  defined between the outer and inner panels  102  and  202 . A hopper  1000  is affixed above and connected to a dispensing port  1002  adapted and sized to be received within the open top  208  of a wall segment. Between the hopper  1000  and the dispensing port  1002  may be a closure plate receiver  1008  defining a slot therein for slidingly receiving a closure plate  1006 . An operator moves the closure plate  1006  by grasping the closure plate handle  1004  and either pushing or pulling it as indicated to move a dispensing slot  1102 , shown in  FIG. 11  into the desired position to either allow flow of an aggregate material (i.e., with the dispensing slot  1102  lined up with the dispensing port  1002 ) or to stop such flow. 
     Preferably, each segment has an open top  208  allowing an open space defined between the panels  108  and  208  to be filled with a desired aggregate material, whereby additional weight, structural integrity and sound-deadening may be provided to the shelter. The aggregate material may be selected from the group of sand, gravel, concrete, foam, plastic, fiberglass, shredded paper, or a polymer. Any material that may be flowingly added to a void space may be used for this purpose, and the material selected for any particular installation will depend on factors including cost, purpose to be achieved (for example, concrete adds strength, while sand may merely add weight and sound-deadening properties), and ease of installation and availability. Other properties of the aggregate relevant to selection may include its insulating properties (e.g., fiberglass) or its susceptibility to burning (e.g., shredded paper), or its weight (in some cases, extra weight may be desirable and undesirable in others). 
       FIG. 12  shows a jack means for relatable attachment to a wall segment for rollingly moving an assembled, or partially assembled, shelter into position for mounting. The jack-activated lift  1202  has at least one wheel  1204 , which may be preferably fitted with a caster  1206  to allow it to pivot. On a lower plate  1210  a jack  1208  may be mounted which is adapted to engage an upper plate  1212 . The plates are slidingly connected by sliding guides  1216 . A shown, the sliding guides are affixed to the lower plate  1210  and slidingly received within the upper plate  1212 , but that configuration could be reversed. Affixed to the upper plate may be a hook post  1220  upon which a hook  1218  may be mounted. The hook may be adapted to releasably engage a cooperating attachment point  1200  affixed to the inner panel  202  or an outer panel  102 . A roller  1214  may be also affixed to the upper plate for pressing engagement with the inner panel  202 . 
     In operation, the jack  1208  may be raised or lowered to a height where the hook  1218  can engage the attachment point  1200 . The jack is then raised so that a bottom edge of the shelter clears the surrounding floor by a desired clearance. At least one other jack-activated lift  1202  is preferably attached to a different attachment point  1200 . Once at least a couple of jack-activated lifts are attached, the entire shelter can be raised to a desired height and easily wheeled to a desired location. The design of the jack-activated lifts  1202  requires only minimal clearance above the surrounding floor since nothing has to be inserted beneath the shelter for lifting. Rather, the attachment point  1200  is on the inner or outer panel  202  or  102 . 
     As an alternative to the jack-activated lift  1202 , a powered lift can be provided. The powered lift could be electric or powered by an internal combustion engine. The lift may engage attachment points  1200 , or it may lift the shelter by engagement with the roof  104 . The powered lift would be of the type commonly known as a forklift. Preferably, the powered lift will have a customized engagement feature for engaging the shelter, either like the engagement point shown for the jack-activated lift  1202 , or it may engage the roof of the shelter to lift it for rolling into place. A properly designed powered lift could also engage a lower edge of the shelter, but that method is disfavored since it would then be disposed between the lower edge and the floor when lowered, potentially damaging the floor and/or spreading the glue that may be used to affix the shelter in place. 
       FIG. 13  illustrates an embodiment of a cheater tool  1300  adapted to engage the door bar  600 . The tool has a handle  1302  attached to an engaging jaws  1304  adapted to engage the door bar  600 . Once engaged, a person in the shelter can apply added torque through the operation of the handle  1302  on the engaging jaws  1304  and thus onto the bar  600  to ensure that it can be rotated into a removal position even if the shelter doors are damaged in a storm event. Preferably, the cheater tool will be stored on a hook on an inside wall of the shelter. 
       FIG. 14  illustrates a cross sectional side view of a wall segment and an embodiment of an alternative floor attachment means. A base plate  900  may be attached to either the inner  202  or outer panel  102  of the segment or, preferably, both. The retention plate  1400  may be attached via a fastener  904  passing through a hole in the plate  1400  and into the floor  906 . The retention plate  1400  preferably has an outer shim portion  1402  adapted to retain it in a substantially horizontal position. The shim portion  1402  has substantially the same thickness as the base plate  900 . In another embodiment, an anchor may be placed into the floor to receive the fastener. The fastener  904  and/or anchor can be any one of a number of well-known devices such as wedge anchors, strike anchors, drop-in anchors, self-tapping screws, sleeve anchors, metal hit anchors, split drive anchors, machine screw anchors, lag shield anchors, or single or double expansion anchors. The retention plate  1400  clamps the base plate  900  into place, but is not permanently affixed to the base plate  900 . The alternative floor attachment mechanism reduces leverage on the fastener  904 .