U.S. patent application number 11/370725 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-13 for wind protector for structures.
Invention is credited to Consuelo Colberg Perez.
Application Number | 20070209291 11/370725 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38477519 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070209291 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Perez; Consuelo Colberg |
September 13, 2007 |
Wind protector for structures
Abstract
A system for protecting building structures such as mobile
homes, trailers, sheds, and hangars from high wind conditions
comprising a rigid plate-like member externally attached in the
middle and across the width of the roof of the building structure.
The plate-like member is raised at the center thereby forming an
arch-type structure. Four rigid tubes coming from four corners of
the roof of the building structure join above the center of the
plate-like member. The tubes are held together between two disks,
which are tightened together by a bolt and nut assembly. A
tent-like cover with a plurality of eyelets is anchored to the
ground surrounding the building structure. The canopy means is
independent and separate from the building structure it covers, and
extends downwardly and outwardly from above the roof of the
building structure at an angle in order to deflect the wind and
avoid pressure build-up.
Inventors: |
Perez; Consuelo Colberg;
(Tampa, FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
EDWIN TARVER
16830 Ventura Blvd.
SUITE 360
Encino
CA
91436
US
|
Family ID: |
38477519 |
Appl. No.: |
11/370725 |
Filed: |
March 7, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/23 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04H 9/14 20130101; Y02A
50/14 20180101; Y02A 50/00 20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/023 |
International
Class: |
E04B 7/00 20060101
E04B007/00 |
Goverment Interests
STATEMENT REGARDING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
[0002] Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain
material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright
owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of
the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the
Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves
all copyright rights whatsoever.
Claims
1. A system for protecting building structures, (particularly
trailers, mobile homes, sheds, and hangars,) from high wind
conditions, the system comprising; a rigid plate-like member
externally attached in the middle and across the width of roof of
the building structure, the plate-like member being raised at the
center of the roof thereby forming an arch-type structure above the
building structure; four rigid tube-like members with first and
second ends, the first ends of the four tube-like members are
attached to four corners, respectively, of the roof of the building
structure; a disk-assembly comprising an upper disk, a lower disk,
and a fastening means, the disk assembly is positioned above the
center of the roof and the plate-like member, the second ends of
the tube-like members are received between the upper and lower
disks, and the fastening means is used to securely hold the
tube-like members between the upper and lower disks; a canopy means
with a plurality of eyelets, the canopy means is adapted to fully
cover the building structure, the canopy means is anchored to the
ground surrounding the building structure such that the canopy
means extends downwardly and outwardly from above the plate-like
member, the rigid tube-like members, the disk-assembly, and the
roof of the building structure at an angle in order to deflect the
wind and avoid pressure build-up.
2. The system of claim 1, the building structure is also anchored
to the ground using a plurality of ropes and stakes.
3. The system of claim 1, the canopy means is made of PVC 3 ply
with nylon webbing re-enforcements.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the periphery of the canopy means
is staked to the ground through the eyelets located on the nylon
webbing re-enforcements.
5. The system of claim 1, the canopy means further includes a cut
or an opening that is suitably dimensioned and positioned for
entry/exit purposes after the canopy means covers the building
structure.
6. The system of claim 1, the plate-like member is made of
aluminum.
7. The system of claim 1, the tube-like members are made of
aluminum or heavy polyvinyl chloride.
8. The system of claim 1, a bolt and nut assembly is used as the
fastening means to securely hold the tube-like members between the
upper and lower disks, the upper and lower disks include a hole in
the center through which the bolt is made to pass through.
9. The system of claim 1, the upper and lower disks include four
radially spaced grooves on their flat surfaces, the radially spaced
grooves facilitate in positioning the four tube-like members.
10. The system of claim 1, the four corners on top of the building
structure are structurally reinforced for greater stability, and to
aid in avoiding tears in the fabric.
11. A method of protecting a structure from high wind conditions
comprising the steps of; (a) providing a rigid plate-like member
with its distal ends attached across the width of the roof of the
building structure, the plate-like member being raised at the
center of the roof thereby forming an arch-type structure above the
building structure; (b) reinforcing the corners on the roof of the
building structure; (c) anchoring the building structure to the
surrounding ground using ropes connected to the reinforced corners
and the distal ends of the plate-like member; (d) providing a
canopy means for the building structure; (e) providing an assembly
on top of the roof of the building structure so that the canopy
means extends downwardly and outwardly at an angle from above the
building structure and the assembly in order to deflect the wind
and airborne debris.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the assembly comprises: (a)
four rigid tube-like members with first and second ends, the first
ends of the four tube-like members are attached to the four
structurally reinforced corners, respectively, on the roof of the
building structure; (b) a disk-assembly comprising an upper disk, a
lower disk, and a fastening means, the disk assembly is positioned
above the center of the roof and the plate-like member, the second
ends of the tube-like members are received between the upper and
lower disks, and the fastening means is used to securely hold the
tube-like members between the upper and lower disks; wherein the
periphery of the canopy means is anchored to the ground at
reinforced sites surrounding the building structure such that the
canopy means extends downwardly and outwardly at an angle from
above the plate-like member, the rigid tube-like members, the
disk-assembly, and the roof of the building structure at an angle
in order to deflect the wind and avoid pressure build-up.
13. A method of protecting a structure from high wind conditions
comprising the steps of; (a) providing a rigid plate-like member
with its distal ends attached across the width of the roof of the
building structure, the plate-like member being raised at the
center of the roof thereby forming an arch-type structure above the
building structure; (b) reinforcing the corners on the roof of the
building structure; (c) anchoring the building structure to the
surrounding ground using ropes connected to the reinforced corners
and the distal ends of the plate-like member; (d) providing a
canopy means for the building structure; (e) providing an assembly
on top of the roof of the building structure so that the canopy
means extends downwardly and outwardly at an angle from above the
building structure and the assembly in order to deflect the wind
and airborne debris, the assembly comprising: (i) four rigid
tube-like members with first and second ends, the first ends of the
four tube-like members are attached to the four structurally
reinforced corners, respectively, on the roof of the building
structure; (ii) a disk-assembly comprising an upper disk, a lower
disk, and a fastening means, the disk assembly is positioned above
the center of the roof and the plate-like member, the second ends
of the tube-like members are received between the upper and lower
disks, and the fastening means is used to securely hold the
tube-like members between the upper and lower disks; wherein the
periphery of the canopy means is anchored to the ground at
reinforced sites surrounding the building structure such that the
canopy means extends downwardly and outwardly at an angle from
above the plate-like member, the rigid tube-like members, the
disk-assembly, and the roof of the building structure at an angle
in order to deflect the wind and avoid pressure build-up.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION:
[0001] This is a utility patent application which claims benefit of
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/656,562 filed on Feb. 25, 2005.
TABLE-US-00001 FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH: Not Applicable
SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM: Not Applicable
BACKGROUND
[0003] The present invention relates to providing protection to
structures such as mobile homes, sheds, hangars and the like, and
more particularly to a device that protects these structures from
hurricanes and gale-force winds.
[0004] Buildings, including residential homes, commercial and
retail structures that typically rest on the ground by means of
concrete foundations or raised foundations are often damaged by
gale-force winds during hurricanes or similar high wind conditions.
In particular, the roof of a structure can be separated from the
walls due to the lifting forces created as wind passes over the
roof of the structure at very high velocity. In areas where high
winds are prevalent, the trend has been to utilize additional roof
supporting mechanisms in addition to the original construction of a
roof.
[0005] Mobile homes and temporary buildings are especially
vulnerable to high wind conditions. Numerous apparatuses exist for
securing mobile or trailer homes to the ground in the event of
hurricane, flood, or gale-force winds. The majority of these
devices use a combination of anchor means, elongated strap members
and tightening turnbuckles, whereby such strap members are placed
over and encircle a mobile home and are affixed to anchor means via
turnbuckles to anchor the mobile home to the ground.
[0006] U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,148,162, 4,070,802, 3,937,437, 3,644,192,
and 3,054,151 are all examples of devices, which secure a mobile
home to the ground via elongated strap members placed over, and
encircling the mobile home. However, the above devices are often
unsuccessful in preventing damage to mobile homes due to gale-force
winds, since they completely fail to protect these objects from
other sources of damage, namely, damage due to impact with airborne
debris (i.e., uprooted trees, bricks, etc.), which may impact
structures at high velocity during a hurricane.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,852 to Gower discloses a device for
protection of property against high winds. The device comprises a
flexible material of predetermined strength and stretch
characteristics, and in the form of a panel or several panels,
utilized to protect the side of a structure including its windows
and doors from the strong winds and debris impacts occurring during
a hurricane. The device is anchored in a manner to space it out
from the area being protected, and can safely dissipate substantial
impacting energy. However, the panel structure of this device is
different from the anchoring and covering means employed for the
building structure in the present invention.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,975 to Wiegel discloses a system of
mobile home (or other structure) wind protection, which includes a
channel below ground level around the structure. Tie-down anchor
bolts are spaced along the channel around the structure. Tie-down
cables extend from the roof of the structure into the channel, each
cable being connected to one of the anchor bolts. A storm shield
secured to the tie-down cables likewise extends from the roof of
the structure and into the channel below ground level.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,794 to Sporta discloses a method and
apparatus for shielding, anchoring and containing an object such as
a trailer or motor home in gale-force winds. A wind-permeable
perforate sheet extends downwardly and outwardly from the top of
the object or the roof of a home at an acute angle so as to
surround a substantial portion of each of the sides with an
inclined wind-permeable planar surface. The sheet is anchored to
helical ground anchors via mechanical attachments, which may also
be used to tighten the sheet over the object or home. Although the
Wiegel and Sporta applications protect mobile homes or similar
structures from high wind conditions, the present invention uses
improved structural elements, all of which facilitate in achieving
an angle for a tent-like cover or canopy to deflect the wind.
Moreover, the tent-like cover of the present invention is
completely independent of the building structure anchoring
means.
[0010] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
an improved system for protecting mobile homes, sheds, hangars and
the like from high wind conditions.
[0011] A further object is to provide an improved system that
includes a tent-like cover or canopy, which is completely
independent of the structure it protects.
[0012] A further object is to provide an improved system that
efficiently deflects the wind by maintaining an angle for the
tent-like cover.
[0013] Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide
an improved system that also provides anchoring means for the
building structures such as mobile homes, trailers, sheds, hangars
and the like to prevent them from being uplifted during high wind
conditions. These and other objects of the present invention will
become better understood with reference to the appended Summary,
Description, and Claims.
SUMMARY
[0014] The present invention generally relates to a system for
protecting structures such as mobile homes, sheds, or hangars from
hurricanes, gale-force winds, or similar high force winds. This is
accomplished by anchoring such structures to the ground with a
special aluminum band, ropes and stakes. Structures are protected
from high wind conditions by a special tent-like cover or canopy
that is held to the ground by ropes and stakes. The tent-like cover
is separate and independent from the structure being protected. The
tent like cover is stretched at an angle of approximately 45
degrees or less to deflect the wind, thereby avoiding pressure
build-up.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0015] FIG. 1 is an illustration of the anchoring means of a mobile
home in accordance with the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 is an illustration of the structurally reinforced
corner of the mobile home.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a top view of FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the disks that are used to
hold aluminum tubing coming from the structurally reinforced
corners.
[0019] FIG. 5 is an overview of the tent-like structure or canopy
in accordance with the present invention with a mobile home in
place.
[0020] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of FIG. 6.
FIGURES--REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0021] 11 . . . Aluminum Band [0022] 12 . . . Mobile Home [0023] 13
. . . Aluminum Tube [0024] 14 . . . Rope [0025] 15 . . . Stake
[0026] 16A . . . Upper Disk [0027] 16B . . . Lower Disk [0028] 17 .
. . Bolt [0029] 18 . . . Washer [0030] 19 . . . Nut [0031] 20 . . .
Tent-like Cover or Canopy [0032] 21 . . . Nylon Webbing
Reinforcement [0033] 22 . . . Eyelet [0034] 23 . . . Opening or Cut
[0035] 24 . . . Structurally Reinforced Corner [0036] 25 . . .
Groove
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0037] Referring to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of a
system for protecting residential, commercial and temporary
structures from high wind conditions is illustrated in FIGS. 1
through 6. The system is especially used to protect trailers,
mobile homes, sheds, and hangars.
[0038] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an aluminum band or plate-like
member 11 is attached across the width of a structure such as a
mobile home 12. The aluminum band is placed in the middle of the
structure and raised at the center of the mobile home 12 by
approximately six to eight inches. The aluminum band 11 is rigid
and forms an arch-type structure above the mobile home. The corners
24 of the mobile home 12 are reinforced for greater stability and
protection, and help in avoiding tears. The mobile home is anchored
to the ground by ropes 14 made of nylon or similar material and
stakes 15.
[0039] Four aluminum tubes 13 coming from the four corners 24 of
the mobile home 12 join above the center of the aluminum band 11,
as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. These tubing are not restricted to be
made of rigid metal like aluminum alone and can also be made of
heavy polyvinylchloride (PVC). Two disks 16, which are positioned
above the aluminum band 11, hold the tubes 13 together.
[0040] Referring to FIG. 4, an upper disk 16A and a lower disk 16B
are held together by means of bolts 17, washers 18, and a nut 19.
The upper and lower disks 16A and 16B include a hole at their
centers for the bolt 17 to pass through. The disks 16 are
approximately six inches in diameter and are used to admit the four
aluminum tubes 13 coming from the four structural corners 24. The
flat surfaces of the disks include four radially spaced grooves 25,
which facilitate in positioning the four aluminum tubes 13. The
bolt 17 and nut 19 assembly holds together a frame of four aluminum
tubes 13 coming together at the disks 16 in the center of the
mobile home 12.
[0041] An overview of the system of the present invention with the
tent-like cover or canopy 20 is shown in FIG. 5. The tent-like
cover 20 is preferably made of a PVC 3 ply with nylon webbing
reinforcements 21 and is provided with eyelets 22 throughout for
wind pressure stability. The tent-like cover 20 is totally
independent and separate from the structure that it covers and is
staked to the ground at reinforced sites through eyelets 22 on the
nylon webbing reinforcements 21. An opening or a cut 23 is provided
in the tent-like cover 20 for entry or exit purposes. The opening
23 is of a closed shoestring fashion. The tent like cover 20 is
stretched at an angle of approximately 45 degrees or less to
deflect the wind away and thus avoiding pressure build-up against
the mobile home.
[0042] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the system of the present
invention with the tent-like cover 20 protecting the mobile home
12. It should be noted that anchoring of the mobile home is
independent and separate from the tent-like cover 20 that is to be
deployed at times of high wind conditions such as hurricanes or
gale-force winds. The tent-like cover 20 extends downwardly and
outwardly from above the aluminum band 11, the aluminum tubes 13
and the disks 16.
[0043] All features disclosed in this specification, including any
accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings, may be replaced by
alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar
purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly
stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a
generic series of equivalent or similar features.
[0044] Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state "means
for" performing a specified function, or "step for" performing a
specific function, is not to be interpreted as a "means" or "step"
clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112, paragraph 6. In
particular, the use of "step of" in the claims herein is not
intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112, paragraph
6.
[0045] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have
been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions
may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of
the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present
invention has been described by way of illustration and not
limitation.
* * * * *