Expandable safe room

- 1 EXPANDABLE SAFE ROOM

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of protective structures, and more particularly to the field of expandable protective structures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Protective structures are known. Typically, the protective structures are made of steel and they are capable of protecting humans and equipment.

US3,889,432 to Geihl discloses a foldable and expandable modular shelter unit for a transportation vehicle. The support of the shelter unit limits it to be used on a vehicle only.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an expandable safe room that significantly reduces or overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an expandable safe room that can be used indoors or outdoors.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an expandable safe room that is automatically operated.

It is still yet a further object of the present invention to provide an expandable safe room that is bullet-proof.

It is also a further object of the present invention to provide an expandable safe room that can be adjusted to provide chemical and biological protection.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an expandable safe room that is compactly retracted.

- 2 It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide an expandable safe room that can provide protection against sudden intruders provided with cold or hot arms.

It is still further another object of the present invention to provide an expandable safe room that can be upgraded with protective panels to increase its ballistic resistance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention there is provided an expandable safe room (ESR) (10) defining a protected space therein, the expandable safe room comprising:

a main upright frame, a pair of side walls hingedly connected to the main upright frame, a front wall parallel to the main upright frame and hingedly connected to the side walls, wherein;

operation of the ESR in an expanding direction moves the front wall in a forward direction and away from the main upright frame.

Practically, each of the side walls comprising a side wall front section that is hingedly connected to a side wall rear section.

Generally, at least one of the side walls or the front wall comprising a door for enabling passage of people into the protected space.

Typically, the ESR comprises a roof that is hingedly connected to the main upright frame.

Further typically, the ESR comprises a floor that is hingedly connected to the main upright frame.

In most cases, each of the side walls comprising a side wall front section that is hingedly connected to a side wall rear section.

If desired, the ESR further comprises a roof that is hingedly connected to the main upright frame by roof hinges and a floor that is hingedly connected to the main upright frame by floor hinges, and

- 3 each of the side walls comprising a side wall front section that is hingedly connected to a side wall rear section by side hinges.

Typically, the ESR further comprises a rear wall that is parallel to the main upright frame and fixedly connected thereto.

Advantageously, in a folded position of the ESR, the roof, the floor, the front wall, each of the side wall front sections and each of the side wall rear sections are par allel to the rear wall.

Further advantageously, in an expanded position of the ESR, the front wall is parallel to the rear wall and distanced away therefrom, each of the side walls is distances from the other side wall, each side wall front section forms an angle greater than 150° with the adj acent side wall rear section, and the roof is parallel to the floor, distanced away therefrom, and covering a wall upper end of the front wall and of the side walls.

Further in accordance with the present invention there is provided a process for expanding the ESR from a folded position to an open position, the process comprises the steps of:

- Turning the roof in a rising circular motion around the roof hinges such that an internal angle created between the roof and the rear wall is larger than 90°,

2- Turning the floor in a lowering circular motion around the floor hinges until the floor is perpendicular to the rear wall,

3- Moving the front wall, hinged to the side walls, in a forward direction and away from the rear wall until each side wall front section forms an angle greater than 150° with the adjacent side wall rear section, and

4- Lowering the roof until it abuts against a wall upper end of the front wall and of the side walls.

If desired, operation of the ESR is carried out automatically, semiautomatically, or manually.

Advantageously, the ESR is bullet-proof.

- 4 In most cases, the front wall and the side wall are provided in an inner portion thereof with magazine rails into which protective panels may be inserted, and wherein the protective panels are capable to withstand higher ballistic threats.

If desired, the front wall and/or the side walls comprise transparent bullet-proof sections.

Advantageously, a thickness dimension of the ESR in a folded position is in a range of 15 cm to 30cm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be carried out in practice, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an expandable safe room according to the present invention in a folded position;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the expandable safe room of Fig. 1 with the roof in an open position;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the expandable safe room of Fig. 1 with the roof and floor in an open position;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the expandable safe room of Fig. 1 with the roof, floor, and walls in an open position; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the expandable safe room of Fig. 1 with the roof removed and a detailed view of the operating mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Attention is drawn to Figs. 1 to 5 that show an expandable safe room 10 according to the present invention. For a matter of convenience the expandable safe room 10 will hereinafter be called “ESR”. The ESR 10 comprises a frame 12 onto which the various components of the system are assembled.

- 5 It should be noted that directional terms appearing throughout the specification and claims, e.g. forward, rear, upper, lower etc., are used as terms of convenience to distinguish the location of various surfaces relative to each other. These terms are defined with reference to the figures, however, they are used for illustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.

A major advantage of the ESR 10 is that in a folded position, as shown in Fig. 1, it has a minimal thickness dimension T thus occupying minimal space in an un-used position, so it may be covered, if desired, with a screening curtain or the like. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, in a folded position of the ESR 10 it has a thickness dimension T of about 28cm. Typically, according to various sizes, uses and needs of the ESR it has a thickness dimension T of 15cm to 30cm.

The ESR 10 is self-standing, i.e., it is not dependable on any wall, bulkhead, frame, vehicle, or the like for maintaining it in an upright position. The frame 12 comprises a pair of lower rails 14 that are connected therebetween by a strengthening beam 16.

A main upright frame 18, having an inverted “U” shape, is connected to the lower rails 14. The main upright frame 18 contains therein the expandable parts of the ESR 10 as will be later described.

A rear wall 20 of the ESR 10 (seen in Fig. 5) is located at a rear side 22 of the ESR 10. The rear wall 20, as well as all other plates forming the ESR 10 are made of steel and are able to withstand ballistic threats up to 7.62 caliber AP according to NIJ IV or Stanag 3. Each of the plates forming the ESR 10 is provided, in an inner portion thereof, with magazine rails into which protective panels may be inserted. The protective panels are capable to withstand higher ballistic threats and are placed and classified according to customer’s needs.

When it is de sired to open or “unfold” the ESR 10 into an operating position, as shown in Fig. 4, an operating system of the ESR 10 is operated. The operating system can be operated automatically, semi-automatically, or manually.

- 6 In an automatic operation of the ESR 10, a controller of the system receives a signal from an external sensor. For example, in a case where it is required to use the ESR 10 as a protective shelter in an area which is susceptible to frequent earthquakes, a seismic sensor senses that an earthquake is coming and signals the controller to immediately open the ESR 10, thus, in a few seconds, the ESR 10 is open into an operating position and is ready to receive therein the people that have just sensed the earthquake, or, have been warned by the same sensor.

According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, in an open position of the ESR 10 it has a length L of 270cm, measured parallel to the main upright frame 18, a width W of 254cm, measured perpendicularly to the length dimension L, and, a height H of 216cm, measured perpendicularly to the length and width dimensions. When using the above described dimensions, the ESR 10 may accommodate therein eighteen people in a case of a need or emergency.

Another example of an automatic operation of the ESR 10 is when it is designed to open in a case of fire, in which case it will receive a signal from a fire detection system, or, in a case of burglary into a property, it will receive a signal from the corresponding intruder detector.

A semi-automatically operation of the system means that a person, or a group of people, that are in charge of the operation of the ESR 10, will press an operation button in order to commence opening of the ESR 10. The operation button may be attached to the ESR 10, mechanically or wired, may be remotely located from the ESR 10, e.g., in other rooms or spaces, or, being operated by a remote controlled system that is not physically wired to the operation system.

A manual operation of the system means that a person manually operates a mechanism that opens the ESR 10 from a folded position into an open position. This may be done, e.g., by rotating an operation handle which in turn operates an opening mechanism of the ESR 10.

- 7 In a first opening step of the ESR 10, as seen in Fig. 2, a roof 24 is elevated to a position that is above horizontal, for a reason that will be later described, by a pair of roof operating pistons 26. The roof 24 is hinged by roof hinges 28 that are attached to the main upright frame 18. Thus, during the “opening” of the roof 24, a roof forward end 30 executes a rising circular motion 32 around the roof hinges 28. According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the roof operating pistons 26 are electrical pistons thereby having their own “positioning sensing system” thus eliminating the need of using additional sensors for sensing the position of the various elements of the system.

When the roof 24 reaches its maximal lifted position, as shown in Fig. 2, the roof operating pistons 26 sense this position and signals the control system (not shown) to commence a second step of opening the ESR 10. At this step, a pair of floor operating pistons 34 commence “opening” a floor 36. The floor 36 is hinged by floor hinges 38 that are attached to the main upright frame 18. Thus, during the “opening” of the floor 36, a floor forward end 40 executes a lowering circular motion 42 around the floor hinges 38.

When the floor 36 reaches its final position, i.e., being fully opened and parallel to the lower rails 14, as shown in Fig. 3, the floor operating pistons 34, which also are electrical pistons, sense this position and signals the control system to commence a third step of opening the ESR 10. At this step, a pair of wall operating pistons 44 opens forwardly in a forward direction 48 a wall assembly 46. The wall assembly 46 comprises a pair of side walls 50 and a front wall 52 connecting between a wall forward end 54 of the side walls 50.

Each of the side walls 50 comprises two sections, i.e., a side wall front section 56 and a side wall rear section 58 that are hingedly connected therebetween by means of a vertically directed side hinge 60. The front wall 52 comprises a fixed portion 62 and a door 64 for enabling the entrance of people into the ESR 10.

In order to assure the forward advancement of the side walls 50 together with the front wall 52 in the proper direction, a lower front end 66 of each side

- 8 wall front section 56 is connected to a lower rear end 68 of the adjacent side wall rear section 58 by means of an alignment mechanism 70. The alignment mechanism 70 comprises a set of two parallel front arms 72 that are hingedly connected to a set of two parallel rear arms 74. Thus, by means of the two sets of alignment mechanisms 70, oppositely located outward of the side walls 50, it is assured that the side walls 50 and the front wall 52 will move only in the forward direction 48, or, when retracted, in a rearward direction 76 that is opposite to the forward direction 48.

When the front wall 52 and the side walls 50 reach their final position, as shown in Fig. 5 (with the roof removed for clarity), the wall operating piston 44 signals the control system to lower the roof 24 until it abuts against a wall upper end 78 of the front wall 52 and of the side walls 50.

In this position, typically, the side wall front section 56 and the side wall rear section 58 are not parallel and not forming a continuity of a straight line, but, forming an obtuse angle with respect to each other, around the side hinge 60 as seen in a top view of the side walls 50. This feature assures that, during a closing operation of the ESR 10, the side wall front section 56 is not locked with respect to the side wall rear section 58 and they can be easily folded with respect to each other, i.e., the obtuse angle therebetween is decreased and the side hinges 60 of the side walls 50 are moving toward each other.

Thus, as can be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, an expandable safe room (ESR 10) is easily and efficiently erected, in a quick and safe manner. Since the ESR 10 has a generally cubic shape and it is closed from all six sides thereof, it defines a protected space 80 therein and provides a safe room for people or equipment located therein.

Since the rear wall 20, the roof 24 and the floor 36 form an integral part of the ESR 10, the ESR 10 is very efficient in protecting the people inside also in a case of an earthquake or even in a case of a total demolition of the building or structure it is located therein.

All the hinges between the various walls are made such that the adjacent walls are provided with foldable or slidable overlapping parts so that there is no

- 9 gap between the walls in their open position and they form a continuum of a protective case.

The ESR 10 may be delivered to site either in an assembled position, as shown in the figures, or, in a dismantled position, in which it is easier and lighter to transport, and then, the various parts are assembled on site.

In some embodiments of the ESR 10, it may be provided with transparent elements such as windows of even larger transparent panels across a larger section of the walls. The windows may be ballistic proof and they may be formed from ballistic proof polycarbonate panels.

The ballistic protection of the ESR provides the people staying therein a wide spectrum of protection against terrorist threats, whether being a protection against fire arms, grenades, mortars blast fragments, or, against cold weapons.

In a fire protection mode of the ESR, it is equipped with up to three hours of fire resistant materials that are implemented from the inside of the walls. If desired, such a protection may be implemented also to the roof and to the floor.

In a light-mode of the ESR it may offer bullet-proof protection and can be installed in buildings, yachts, aircrafts, vehicles such as vans and buses, and the like.

It is a great advantage of the ESR that in a folded position it has a small thickness dimension, therefore, it can be installed in almost any location decided, without occupying much room during an unused period. Furthermore, in a folded position it may be covered with a curtain or the like so it is not seen or noticed at all.

The ESR may be provided in a sealed or ventilated version, and it may also provide a humidity and temperature controlled environment. The ESR may be provided in an insulated or in a non-insulated mode.

The ESR may be further provided with biological and chemical filtration systems that can be installed within the inner space of the ESR and include a special tent-style biological and chemical protection bubble or cover. The air

- 10 filtration system is designed to filter bad odors or polluted air from entering into the protected area.

According to some embodiments, the ESR is provided with observation openings that may be blocked from inside and enable, if needed, outer observation and firing ability.

The control system and the operation system of the ESR are usually powered from the mains. However, as is the case in emergency, sometimes the mains power is not available. For that reason, some embodiments of the ESR are provided with a remotely starting generator and with an emergency battery supply voltage.

Although the present invention has been described to a certain degree of particularity, it should be understood that various alterations and modifications could be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

For example, the side wall front section does not have to form an obtuse angle with the side wall rear section, and they may form a straight angle therebetween. It that case, the side walls are further provided with a lockbreaking-device, to “break” the straight angle into an obtuse angle for enabling folding the side wall front sections with respect to their corresponding side wall rear sections.

The ESR is not limited to the sizes described above and other dimensions of the ESR may be equally applicable to suit different needs. Furthermore, the ESR does not have to be installed indoors, and it may be installed outdoors as well.

The ESR does not have to be operated by electrical pistons and other drive means may be equally applicable as well. For example, the operation of the various parts of the ESR may be through hydraulic or pneumatic pistons, or, it may be carried out by various mechanical driving mechanism like gears, winches and cables, and the like.

- 11 The ESR is not limited to have its side walls having only two sections as described above. Alternatively, the side walls may contain higher number of sections, such as four or more. Typically, it is advantageous that the number of sections of the side walls be a pair number, thereby enabling easy opening and easy folding of the side walls as described above. In a case where the number of sections of the side walls is higher, then, it required that the roof and the floor have a significantly larger width dimension. This may be achieved if the space available provides enough height for the ESR. According to other embodiments, instead of producing the ESR with a very large height, the roof and the floor are also made of a multitude of sections that unfold as necessary.

The ESR is not limited to provide closing from six sides. At some embodiments, where the risk of earthquake is small, and where the floor and the roof of the building are made from a reinforced steel beams concrete, the ESR may be provided with a protection from four sides only which comprise the walls of the ESR. Furthermore, in a case where also a rear wall of the erection site of the ESR is made of solid reinforced concrete, the ESR may be provided with a protection of three wall only, i.e., the side walls and the front wall.