Abstract:
A wind-resistant room is constructed within a building without a cellar. The room includes a plurality of pre-cast concrete wall panels inflexibly secured to and extending outwardly from a concrete floor slab of the building. The wall panels are interior to and separate and distinct from the exterior walls of the building and are inflexibly connected to one another to surround an interior space within the building. A pre-cast concrete ceiling panel is inflexibly connected to an upper edge of each pre-cast wall panel interiorly of and separate and distinct from the roof of the building. The pre-cast wall panels and pre-cast ceiling panel define a wind-resistant enclosure within the building. At least one of the pre-cast wall panels includes a doorway and carries a wind-resistant door that is selectively extendable across the doorway.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a building have a storm-proof room suitable for sheltering people during hurricanes and other severe wind storms. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In North America, severe whirlwinds, such as hurricanes, occur frequently, especially in the hot-weather season. Hurricanes are extremely destructive. The extreme differences in air pressure in the area of influence of a hurricane can remove entire roofs from buildings and wreak severe damage in other ways to and in buildings. There is an extremely high risk of injury to people from objects or components falling over or swirling around in the air. 
     In states adjoining the Gulf of Mexico, such as Florida, and on the Atlantic coast, residential buildings are often built without a cellar because the ground water level is very high. The buildings have only a concrete floor slab, which stands on concrete strip foundations. Generally, the walls of these houses are made from hollow masonry blocks. The roof structure comprises a wooden structure. Very often use is made of wooden trusses, especially nailed trusses, which span the entire interior of the building concerned. Such buildings, which are very economical to construct, cannot withstand the effects of a hurricane. The roof structure of these houses at the very least is often completely destroyed by a hurricane. When a hurricane approaches, the people in the residential areas affected are evacuated for their own safety. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object on which the invention is based is to indicate a way of avoiding evacuating people when there is a risk of a hurricane. 
     This invention is specified by the features of the main claim. Taking a building without a cellar as a starting point, the invention is distinguished by the fact that at least one room of such a building is of whirlwind-proof design. This means that people do not have to leave the area where they live but can remain on their property; when a hurricane approaches, the people can move to their own whirlwind-proof room and remain there for the duration of the storm. The residential areas affected by the hurricane are thus not abandoned and the risk of looting is thus avoided. 
     A room of this kind can be manufactured in a particularly economical manner as a prefabricated unit. The entire room can be produced as a prefabricated unit. However, it is also possible to prefabricate just a frame structure made of metal or wood, for example, and then provide this frame structure, while similarly at the manufacturer&#39;s or at the site where the room is to be erected, with rain-proof and wind-proof infilling. The infilling is then present in the region of the walls, and the ceiling and floor if required. The frame structure is flexurally rigid to ensure the stability of the room. 
     The whirlwind-proof room can form a special room in a residential building. However, it is also possible to provide a whirlwind-proof room outside the residential building proper. Such a building could take the form of a garage for a care or a tool shed, for example, allowing the room to be used as a garage or store room during periods when there are no whirlwinds. 
     In one embodiment, illustrated in the drawings, the whirlwind-proof room has a concrete ceiling and concrete walls. In addition, a concrete floor slab can also be provided. The ceiling, walls and, if required, the floor slab are connected to one another in a flexurally rigid manner. Openings in the concrete walls can be designed as a storm-proof door or storm-proof window. 
     If the window or the door itself are not of storm-proof design, the whirlwind resistance of the entire room, including the area of this door or window, can be ensured by means of a storm-proof flap that can be pivoted in front of the door, in particular. This flap can be pivotably mounted in such a way that, in its lower position, it acts as a floor panel outside the room and that, in its upper position, it completely covers the door from outside. Since the danger will occur very seldom, if at all, it is generally sufficient to enable the flap to be raised and lowered by hand, by means of pull cables, rather than by motor. If the flap is too heavy, block and tackle arrangements can be provided to make raising and lowering easier in terms of the forces involved. 
     To allow people to stay in a room of this kind for several days in relative comfort when danger threatens, tables and seats can be provided in such a way that this furniture can be folded up against the wall. The room can then be used as a garage for cars or a tool storage room or for other purposes without the furniture forming an obstruction in the interior of the room. 
     In addition, a separate storage chamber and toilet cubicle can be provided in the whirlwind-proof room. The whirlwind-proof room and, for example, the storage chamber in it can furthermore be equipped with an emergency power unit. This emergency power unit can be used to provide an emergency supply of electric power to the electric loads in the room. The room can thus provide a self-contained refuge that will allow people to survive for several days. 
     To increase the stability of a whirlwind-proof room of this kind, it can be anchored to single footing foundations or strip footing foundations in a manner resistant to tensile forces. If the whirlwind-proof room is provided within a building, the room is generally anchored to the concrete floor slab in the room in a manner resistant to tensile forces. 
     Further advantageous configurations and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the other features indicated in the claims and from the embodiment examples below. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other objects, features and advantages will occur from the following description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a whirlwind-proof room forming a separate part of a residential building; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial sectional side view of a whirlwind-proof room according to the invention designed as a garage; 
     FIG. 4 is a front view of the room shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a rear view of the room shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the room shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 7 is a plan view of the room shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line  8 — 8  in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of another room in accordance with the invention, the door of which (not shown in the drawing) can be closed off by means of a storm-proof flap, the flap being in its lowered position; 
     FIG. 10 is a plan view of the area of the flap shown in FIG. 9; and 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the pull cable guide for the flap shown in FIGS.  9  and  10 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A residential building  10  illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 has exterior walls  12  made of hollow masonry blocks. Windows  14  and doors, e.g. a glass sliding door  16 , have been fitted in the exterior walls. 
     The exterior walls  12  rest on an all-round strip footing foundation  18 . The floor of the residential building  10  is formed by a concrete floor slab  20 , which is firmly connected to the strip foundations  18 . 
     The roof  22  has wooden trusses, the ends of which rest on the exterior walls  12 . The roof  22  spans the rooms of the residential building  10  in an unsupported manner. In the present case, these rooms are a living room  24  (merely indicated), a bedroom  26  and a bathroom  28 . Between the bathroom  28  and the bedroom  26  there is, in addition, a room  30  of whirlwind-proof design. 
     The room  30  has its own all-round concrete walls  32  and its own concrete ceiling  34 . A whirlwind-proof door  36  is fitted in one concrete wall  32 . 2 . Doors of this kind are known per se from the prior art. 
     A ventilation pipe  38  penetrates the concrete ceiling  34  and the roof  22 , connecting the interior  40  of the room  30  to the outside atmosphere. An air inlet opening  42  is provided near the floor of the room  30 . This makes it possible for people to stay for as much as several days in the fully enclosed room  30 . 
     The exterior walls  32  of the room  30  are connected to the floor slab  20  in a manner resistant to tensile forces. Even if the residential building  10  is completely destroyed by a hurricane, the room  30  thus remains stable and immovable on the floor slab  20  without being destroyed. People sheltering in the room  30  are thus safe from sections of the building that are whirled around in the air or falling. 
     In FIGS. 3-8, a whirlwind-proof room is designed in the manner of a garage  50 . This garage has two relatively long concrete side walls  52  opposite one another, these being connected at one end by a shorter concrete end wall  54  and, at the other end, by a storm-proof door  56 . The floor is formed by a concrete floor slab  60  and the ceiling is likewise formed by a concrete slab  62 . All the concrete walls and floor and ceiling slabs are connected to one another in a flexurally rigid (i.e. inflexible) manner. 
     A storm-proof door  64 ,  66  has been installed in each of the two concrete side walls  52 . A storm-proof door  68  has also been installed in the concrete end wall  52 . These three doors are intended to show in what areas of the walls doors can be arranged. The garage  50 , which is manufactured as a complete prefabricated unit, can therefore be fitted with different numbers of doors  64 ,  66 ,  68  of different sizes, according to the wishes of the respective buyer. A storm-proof window has been installed in the doors  64 ,  66 ,  68 . 
     In the garage  50  illustrated in the drawing, there is a separate room  72 . This room can be used to accommodate an emergency power unit, for example. It is also possible for tools, equipment or other objects, such as food, to be stored in this room  72 . In addition, there is another room  74 , which can be used as a toilet. 
     The remainder of the interior  76  of the garage  50  is fitted with bedsteads  80  and a seat/table combination  82 . The bedsteads  80  are attached to the exterior wall  52  by a hinge  84  and can be raised against the exterior wall  52  concerned, as indicated by arrows  86  in FIG.  8 . In the present case, two bedsteads  80  are attached one above the other to the inside of each side wall  52 . 
     The seat/table furniture combination  82  comprises a support plate structure  88 , the seating surfaces  90  and a table top  94  between them, resting on small supports  92 . On the one hand, the supports  92  can be folded over sideways, as indicated by the arrow  100 . On the other hand, the entire support plate structure  88 , which is attached to one side wall  52  by a hinge  102 , can be folded up against the inside of this side wall  52 , as indicated by arrow  104  (FIG.  8 ). 
     With the bedsteads  80  and the seat/table furniture combination  82  raised, the interior  76  can be used, for example, to accommodate a motor vehicle, and the entire space  50  can thus be used as a garage. In an emergency, when a hurricane is approaching, the garage is cleared and, for example, the car parked in it is driven out of the garage. The beds and seats can then be folded down from the walls and the garage  50  used as a storm-proof room. 
     Like the garage  50  already described above, the garage  51  shown as a detail in FIGS. 9 and 10 is designed as a prefabricated concrete unit. Thus this garage  51  has a concrete floor slab  60 , a concrete slab  62  as a roof and concrete side walls  52 . At one end of this garage  51  there is a door opening  110  in which there is a door (not shown in the drawing). This door can be a pivoted door  56  similar to the pivoted door  56  of a garage  50 . In the case of a garage  51 , the door in the door opening  110  is not storm-proof. For this reason, the door in the door opening  110  is protected from the outside by a whirlwind-proof flap  112  when a hurricane is approaching. 
     The flap  112  is attached to the outside of the floor slab  60  by a hinge arrangement  114 . In its lowered position, shown in FIG. 9, the flap  112  forms a ramp-like connection between the floor slab  60  and the upper edge  116  of the ground outside the garage  51 . In this ground there is a recess  118  in which the flap  112  rests in the state shown in FIG.  9 . This ensures that the flap  112  does not protrude above the upper edge  116  of the ground and form an obstruction. There are a plurality of reinforcing bars  120  rigidly attached to a plate  122  on the underside (FIG. 9) or outside of the flap  112 . In the present example, the reinforcing bars  120  and the plate  122  are made of metallic material. When the flap  112  is raised in front of the door opening  110 , these reinforcing bars  120  are on the outside of the flap  112 . 
     The flap  112  is attached at two lateral points  124 ,  126  on the outside to two pull cables  128 ,  130 . The pull cables  128 ,  130  are passed via a number of deflection pulleys to a winding pulley  132 , which can be turned by means of a hand crank  134 . The two pull cables  128 ,  130  can be wound on or off synchronously by actuating the hand crank  134 . The flap  112  can thereby be raised or lowered into its lower position (illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10) in corresponding fashion. 
     FIG. 11 shows the guidance system for the two pull cables  128 ,  130  in diagrammatic form. The upper pull cable  128  in FIG. 10 passes via a first deflection pulley  140 , which is mounted below the lintel  129  of the door, at the side of the door opening  110 . The axis  141  of deflection pulley  140  is aligned in the Y direction and hence parallel to the lintel  129  of the door. The pull cable  128  is then passed via a second deflection pulley  142 , the axis  143  of which is aligned in the Z direction. The pull cable  128  then passes via a third deflection pulley  144 , the axis  145  of which is aligned in the X direction. Finally, the pull cable  128  passes via another deflection pulley  146 , the axis  147  of which is aligned in the Y direction, to the winding pulley  132 . 
     The lower pull cable  130  in FIG. 10 passes via a deflection pulley  150 , the axis  151  of which is aligned in the Y direction, and via another deflection pulley  152 , the axis  153  of which is aligned in the Z direction, to the deflection pulley  142  already mentioned above and, from there, via deflection pulleys  144  and  146 , to the same winding pulley  132 . From deflection pulley  142  onwards, the two pull cables  128 ,  130  are thus both present on the subsequent deflection pulleys and the winding pulley  132 . The arrangement and alignment of the two deflection pulleys  150 ,  152  correspond to those of the two deflection pulleys  140 ,  142 . It is thus possible to wind the two pull cables  128 ,  130  on and off uniformly with a single winding pulley  132 . This allows the flap  112  to be raised and lowered without twisting. If the weight of the flap  112  is too great or the tensile forces in the two pull cables  128 ,  130  become too large, a block and tackle arrangement could be fitted in between to reduce the forces that have to be applied by means of the hand crank  134 . Admittedly, the winding pulley  132  would then have to be of larger volume. 
     Although specific features of the invention are shown in some of the drawings and not others, this is for convenience only, as each feature may be combined with any and all of the other features in accordance with this invention. 
     Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims: