Truss Air Manifold Assembly for Underground Disaster Shelters

Abstract

An air manifold assembly for underground shelters which is capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions. The air manifold assembly includes a ventilation pipe, a tank-head-shaped dome, an annular plate, and a plurality of holes. A top end of the ventilation pipe is concentrically positioned within the annular plate. The annular plate is laterally connected about the ventilation pipe and joins the ventilation pipe to the tank-head-shaped dome. The tank-head-shaped dome protects and prevents the clogging and damage of the ventilation pipe. The tank-head-shaped dome is positioned adjacent to the top end of the ventilation pipe and is perimetrically connected to the annular plate. The plurality of holes exposes the ventilation pipe to the external atmosphere. The plurality of holes is radially distributed about the annular plate with each hole normally traversing through the annular plate. Opposite the tank-head-shaped dome, the ventilation pipe is connected to the underground shelter.

Description

[0001]The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 62 / 460,286 filed on Feb. 17, 2017.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to an apparatus in the field of underground disaster shelters. More specifically, the present invention is a truss air manifold assembly for underground disaster shelters which is capable of withstanding high winds, H20 truck axle loads, and impacts from loose debris. The name Truss comes from the shape of a truss screw head.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Underground shelters need a method of intaking fresh air and exhaust spent air from the underground shelter. The conventional solution is a gooseneck air duct with a cap. This design is vulnerable to flying debris, which can bend or shear the air pipe of the duct off at the ground level, closing the air connection for the underground shelter. As a result, the air manifold at ground level represents the most vulnerable part of an un...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is an apparatus for underground disaster shelters that is designed to withstand high winds, vehicle axle loads, and impacts from loose debris. The invention is a truss air manifold assembly that is aerodynamically smooth to resist damage from flying debris with an angle of incidence of less than 15 degrees. The invention is pre-assembled and ready to use in underground disaster shelters. It is designed to provide life support in extremely high winds with flying debris, and can withstand negative pressure from a nuclear blast or F5 tornado. The invention is designed to be the most vulnerable part of an underground disaster shelter and is designed to prevent damage to the air supply and exhaust of people within the shelter.

Problems solved by technology

This design is vulnerable to flying debris, which can bend or shear the air pipe of the duct off at the ground level, closing the air connection for the underground shelter.

As a result, the air manifold at ground level represents the most vulnerable part of an underground shelter.

The air manifold is also subject to vehicles such as farm tractors or trucks running over it and is also vulnerable to intruder assaults that aim to cut off the air supply to people within the underground shelter, thus forcing them out of the underground shelter.

There is just not enough area exposed and not a high enough angle of incidence to result in any significant damage to interfere with its intended function.

Images