Patent ID: 8424253

Claim:
A system for mitigating structural damage from impact events, the system comprising: a lateral dampening device extending between a side of a structure and a lateral foundation, the side of the structure being separated from the lateral foundation, the lateral dampening device including a reactive member and a restorative member, the reactive member mounted on one of the side of the structure and the lateral foundation, the restorative member mounted on an other of the side of the structure and the lateral foundation, the lateral dampening device: configured to shift from a disengaged state to an engaged state in response to an initial displacement caused by one or more of the impact events, the disengaged state being where the side of the structure and the lateral foundation are not joined by the lateral dampening device in that the reactive member is spaced from the restorative member, the engaged state being where the side of the structure and the lateral foundation are joined and held together by the reactive member and restorative members of the lateral dampening device, the lateral dampening device structured to maintain the engaged state during an opposite, reactive displacement following the initial displacement; and a seismic bearing connected between a base of the structure and a base foundation.