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Tornado resistant house

Tornado resistant house description/claims

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/949,639 filed on Jul. 13, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to buildings and, more particularly, to buildings designed to be resistant to tornadoes.

2. Description of the Related Art

Particular geographical areas are known to suffer from tornadoes. Generally, tornado-prone areas occur at middle latitudes where cold, dry air at a high altitude in the atmosphere meets warm, moist tropical air closer to the surface of the earth. For example, the central United States is prone to tornadoes because cold, dry air from the Rocky Mountains often meets moist, warm air from the southeastern United States. The damage to buildings from tornadoes is costly and it is inconvenient and time consuming to rebuild. Additionally, people are often injured from total or partial collapse of a building and from flying debris if they are not able to find shelter.

To reduce tornado injuries, people often find shelter in the basement of their homes. For people who live in a structure without a basement, such as a mobile home, there are many different types of tornado-resistant shelters and construction techniques. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,166 discloses an underground shelter to protect people from tornadoes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,972 discloses a tornado protection room integrated within a building construction. However, these forms of tornado protection are limited because they require time for people to obtain shelter therewithin after they realize a tornado is approaching. This is difficult because of the unpredictable nature of tornadoes and the speed with which they form and travel. Thus, there is a need for a tornado-resistant building design that encompasses an entire building structure and provides a comfortable residence.

The present invention provides a tornado resistant structure which includes a base and a building structure positioned on the base, The building structure includes a plurality of deflection walls and reinforced corners and a plurality of skylights carried on a roof of the building structure, wherein each skylight includes a tapered sidewall. The building structure includes an entrance and a drain positioned proximate to the entrance.

The present invention provides a tornado resistant structure, which includes a base and a building structure positioned on the base. The building structure includes a plurality of angled deflection walls, a reinforced corner positioned between each adjacent deflection wall, a front entrance extending through one of the deflection walls, a first drain positioned to receive water flowing through the front entrance and a skylight carried on a roof of the building structure, wherein each skylight includes a tapered sidewall.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top front perspective view of a tornado-resistant structure, in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top rear perspective view of a tornado-resistant structure, in accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 3a and 3b are sectional views of a tornado-resistant structure taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 1, in accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 4a and 4b are partial top rear perspective view and top front perspective view of a tornado-resistant structure, in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of a tornado-resistant structure with its roof removed, in accordance with the invention.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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