Patent ID: 8496042

Claim:
An accordion shutter assembly for protecting an opening of a building, said shutter assembly comprising: a plurality of elongated vertically extending shutter slats; each of said slats having a male hinge on one side of said slat and a female hinge on an opposite side of said slat, said male hinge and said female hinge configured for hingedly connecting said slats together for limited pivotal movement between adjacent said slats to form said shutter assembly, said shutter assembly moveable between an open position and a closed position; said female hinge of each of said slats having a reinforcing rib extending outwardly from an exterior surface of said female hinge, said reinforcing rib having a pair of side walls and a distal end extending between said pair of side walls, said reinforcing rib having a thickness that extends between said exterior surface of said female hinge half and said distal end that is greater than a thickness between the exterior surface and an opposite interior surface of the female hinge; each of said reinforcing rib extending in a direction generally normal to the opening of the building when said shutter assembly is in said open position so as to define an outwardly most extending portion of said shutter slats to increase the impact resistance of said shutter assembly.