GB2106160A - Collapsible anti contamination shelter - Google Patents

Collapsible anti contamination shelter Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2106160A
GB2106160A GB08226968A GB8226968A GB2106160A GB 2106160 A GB2106160 A GB 2106160A GB 08226968 A GB08226968 A GB 08226968A GB 8226968 A GB8226968 A GB 8226968A GB 2106160 A GB2106160 A GB 2106160A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
shelter
pump
airlock
filter unit
air
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB08226968A
Inventor
Raymond George Gocher
Michael Charles Martin
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
AIRBORNE IND
Original Assignee
AIRBORNE IND
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by AIRBORNE IND filed Critical AIRBORNE IND
Publication of GB2106160A publication Critical patent/GB2106160A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E04BUILDING
    • E04HBUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL
    • E04H9/00Buildings, groups of buildings or shelters adapted to withstand or provide protection against abnormal external influences, e.g. war-like action, earthquake or extreme climate
    • E04H9/04Buildings, groups of buildings or shelters adapted to withstand or provide protection against abnormal external influences, e.g. war-like action, earthquake or extreme climate against air-raid or other war-like actions
    • E04H9/06Structures arranged in or forming part of buildings
    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E04BUILDING
    • E04HBUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL
    • E04H1/00Buildings or groups of buildings for dwelling or office purposes; General layout, e.g. modular co-ordination or staggered storeys
    • E04H1/12Small buildings or other erections for limited occupation, erected in the open air or arranged in buildings, e.g. kiosks, waiting shelters for bus stops or for filling stations, roofs for railway platforms, watchmen's huts or dressing cubicles
    • E04H1/1277Shelters for decontamination
    • EFIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E04BUILDING
    • E04HBUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL
    • E04H15/00Tents or canopies, in general
    • E04H15/02Tents combined or specially associated with other devices
    • E04H15/04Tents combined or specially associated with other devices suspended type, e.g. from trees or from cantilever supports
    • GPHYSICS
    • G21NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21FPROTECTION AGAINST X-RADIATION, GAMMA RADIATION, CORPUSCULAR RADIATION OR PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT; TREATING RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED MATERIAL; DECONTAMINATION ARRANGEMENTS THEREFOR
    • G21F7/00Shielded cells or rooms

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Architecture (AREA)
  • Civil Engineering (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Emergency Management (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
  • Buildings Adapted To Withstand Abnormal External Influences (AREA)
  • Tents Or Canopies (AREA)

Description

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GB 2 106 160 A 1
SPECIFICATION
Collapsible anti contamination shelter
This invention relates to a collapsible anti contamination shelter particularly for protection against nuclear, biological and chemical substances.
In the event of a nuclear attack, which may be accompanied by the use of chemical or biological weapons, any buildings within the blast area will be destroyed and gamma radiation and heat in the surrounding area will cause widespread casualties. Protection against these primary effects can only be achieved with the use of expensive blast and radiation proof shelters, preferably located underground.
However, outside the area of primary attack, radioactive fallout and chemicals and biological contamination will claim many more victims unless some protection can be devised.
Problems also arise in the provision of shelters against such contamination in that they are very expensive, and require extensive work to construct them. Also such shelters are permanent and therefore take up considerable room even when not required.
The present invention seeks to provide a collapsible anti contamination shelter.
According to the invention there is provided a collapsible anti contamination shelter comprising a totally enclosable air tight flexible structure, means for maintaining the structure in an erected state and an airconditioning system for the structure.
Preferably the airconditioning system includes a filter unit through which all the air entering the shelter passes for decontamination. A hand operated, foot operated and/or electrically operated pump may be provided for sucking air through the filter unit.
The shelter may, when erected, be of generally rectangular shape and may be provided with attachment means in its upper part for attachment to supporting means such as the walls and/or ceiling of a room.
An airlock may be provided to allow entry to and exit from the shelter.
The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:
Figure 1, is a perspective view, partly broken away, of an anti contamination shelter in accordance with the invention;
Figure 2, is a detail of the shelter according to Figure 1 showing a variation in the form of closure of an airlock opening;
Figure 3, is a detail of the shelter according to Figure 1 showing, in greater detail, the attachment arrangements for the shelter; and
Figure 4, is a detail showing a construction of shelter enabling parts of the shelter not being used to be stored away.
The shelter 1 shown in the drawings is intended for use inside a building so as to be supported by the building with a minimum of modification.
As shown, the shelter comprises an airtight cuboid having, for access, an airlock 2 at one end. The walls 3 and roof 4 are suitably made of translucent polyurethane film, welded by radio frequency welding or adhered with suitable adhesives and may be reinforced as required. The floor 5, which is sealed hermetically to the walls is made from a tougher form of the same material so as to take up the necessary wear which will take place in use. To this end, additional reinforcement may be added.
The structure of the shelter is supportable in eight places by fixings 5, shown in greater detail in Figure 3. In order to support the shelter, the room in which it is to be placed must be suitably prepared beforehand. However, with the shelter shown, only a minimum of alteration to the room may be necessary. The basic requirement is for hooks or screw eye 6 to be located in the walls or ceilings to receive attachments 8 to be described in more detail hereafter. To this end, it may be necessary to provide reinforcing structures, particularly for hooks situated in the ceiling. In a specific example, the reinforcements may take the form of wooden joists e.g. 10 cm x 10 cm in cross section, which can be fitted above or beneath existing joists, preferably at right angles thereto. However, where the existing joists are of sufficient strength, the hooks may be attached directly to the existing joists. As far as the walls are concerned, if these are of brick then all that may be required is for the hooks to be fitted to wall plugs or the like located in the brickwork. In order to avoid, as much as possible, upsetting the look of the room, the fixing points may be in the form of threaded sockets, only the openings of which are visible, the hooks being in the form of eye bolts which are screwed into the sockets at the time of erection of the shelter.
The attachments 8 on the shelter itself are in the form of strengthening patches 9 to which a strap 10 is attached, the strap having at its free end a snap hook 11 which can be snapped quickly onto the eye 6 when erecting the shelter. In order to enable the shelter to be used in rooms of different heights, the strap 10 is preferably adjustable, for example, using a second strap 12 carrying a buckle arrangement 14 to which the first strap is buckled as shown in Figure 3.
In order to increase the universatility of the shelter, a number of differently placed attachments 8 may be provided, not all of which would be used in any one location.
By the use of such a location of the attachments, a shelter which, when fully erected, would be larger than the room in which it is situated can be used by leaving portions of the shelter un-erected and folded, as will be hereafter described.
Also in the upper part of the shelter, pressure relief valves 15 are provided which are so set as to ensure that a pressure in excess of atmospheric can be maintained in the shelter. In this way, should a small leak be accidentally found, all air flow would be from the shelter outwards so that
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GB 2 106 160 A 2
no contaminated air could be admitted. Suitably the pressure relief valves 1 5 are protected by wire cages 16.
The interior of the shelter has provided in it a 5 single opening 17 in the form of closable flaps. These flaps are preferably secured in an airtight condition when closed by means of the sliding clasp fasteners 18. This single opening 17 opens into the airlock 2 situated at one end of the 10 shelter, egress from the airlock to the outside being through a second flap closure 20 on one side face 21 of the airlock. This second closure 20 is also suitably closed by sliding clasp fasteners 22.
15 in Figure 1, the airlock flap closure 20 comprises four parts 24 to 27 which are all "zipped" together in the closed condition. When open, the centre flap 24 is rolled up, the side flaps 25 and 26 are secured at the sides by ties 28 and 20 the lower flap 27 lies flat on the floor.
In the alternative shown in Figure 2, two flaps 30, 31 are provided in the manner of a tent opening, each flap having a centre fastening 33 (to the other flap) and floor fastenings 34. 25 The airlock suitably has its own frame 36 formed of metal structures which pass through sleeves 38 formed in the airlock material. For universatility, the airlock openings may be provided in both sides instead of only one as 30 shown. In addition to the frame, the airlock may have attachment straps 5 and its own pressure relief valve 15.
In the interior of the shelter is situated an air conditioning apparatus 46 comprising a filter unit 35 41 with an inlet opening 42 in the shelter wall and an outlet 43 to a pump 44. This pump 44 sucks air through the filter 41 and passes it to an outflow pipe 45 to provide cleaned air to the interior of the shelter at 46. To ensure a suitable level of filtering, 40 a three stage filter is employed as the filter unit 41.
The pump 44 is a dual operation pump and is provided for both power and manual operation. To this end the pump 44 is provided with an electric 45 motor (not shown) driven by a long life battery 47 and an operating handle 48 for hand operation. The filter unit is preferably housed in a box structure 50, which is collapsible to allow it to pass through the airlock and the pump 44 is then 50 mounted on a framework 51 attached to the top of the box 50.
The outlet from the pump 44 is branched to provide clean air along a duct 53 and this supply may be controlled by a valve (not shown) allowing 55 the air to the airlock to be cut off.
The shelter is also equipped with looplines 54 along the walls for storage purposes and a special input socket 45 to enable a mains supply to be fed to the shelter (e.g. for operating the pump, electric 60 motor and lights) if the mains supply is operating or during erection.
When the shelter is to be used in a room which is smaller than that for which it is basically designed, certain parts of the shelter may be left 65 un-erected and ths unused parts can be folded and covered by a cover flap 55 as can be seen in Figure 4. Thus in its fully erect form, the shelter is carried by the four corner attachments, together possible with the two outer central attachments. 70 For a reduced length, the two corner attachments at the airlock end and the outer central attachment are used. For a narrower and shorter shelter, the inner central attachments and the inner end attachments adjacent to the airlock are 75 used.
It will of course be appreciated that the shelter, once erected can be to a large extent self supporting if there is a sufficient pressure differential between the interior and exterior. 80 However, for efficient operation to cope with leaks etc. the air pressure inside need only be slightly higher than atmosphere.
The above described embodiment includes all the necessary built in features. However, it will be 85 understood that with the shelter there will need to be a considerable amount of portable equipment which will be placed inside the shelter once erected, to make the shelter habitable. Such equipment will include bedding, food storage, first 90 aid kit, contamination testing equipment and lighting and toilet facilities.
Although one particular form of shelter has been described, it will be appreciated that the shelter can take many forms. For example, a 95 rudimentary shelter could do without an airlock, but such a shelter would not be usable again once the door flaps had been opened to let people out.
With the airlock, it is desirable to provide some means of decontamination so that a person who 100 has had to go out for some reason can return without contaminating the interior of the shelter. To this end, anti contamination suits could be kept in the airlock and the airlock could be provided with dousing equipment provided that provision 105 for removal of the waste water is made beforehand.
An inlet for mains water to the shelter could be provided, should it turn out that the mains water was not contaminated. Provision for remote 110 testing of the outside atmosphere could be included so that air could be tested without having to be introduced into the shelter. The same would apply to water.
Various modifications could be made to the 11 5 above described embodiment. For example, other materials may be used. For the wall and roof any of the following materials could be used:—
Films of polyurethane, butyl, polyvinyl chloride, PVDC, polythene and some synthetic rubber and 120 flame retardant materials. Base cloths coated with the above materials could also be used. This list is by no means exhaustive.
For the floor, a number of the materials used for the walls and ceiling could also be used, either a 125 tougher form of the material being used or the material being reinforced or otherwise toughened.
It is, of course, desirable to use transparent or translucent materials for the walls and ceiling so that daylight will be admitted. However, if opaque 130 materials are used, it is preferred that provision be
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GB 2 106 160 A 3
made for windows rather than there having to be permanent light in the shelter, both for economic and psychological reasons.
Any form of airtight fastening could be used 5 instead of or in combination with the sliding clasp fasteners for the entry openings. For example, velcro or like adherent fastenings could be used. The airtightness could be achieved by seals which were separate from the actual fastenings. 10 The support attachments could take other forms, for example using chains, adjustment, if desired, being carried out by a similar system to the strap arrangement, replacing the buckle by a snap hook which could engage any of the links of 15 the chain.
Where the structure of the building does not permit support of the shelter, the whole shelter could be equipped with a de-mountable frame, for example similar to the frame provided for the 20 airlock.
The filter system can be elaborated by the provision of a blast valve to protect the filters from over-pressure and a visual airflow indicator so that the operator of the pump can see readily that 25 sufficient airflow is achieved. Means are provided to allow changing of the filter units if they should become clogged.
Pedal operation of the pump could be used instead of the hand arrangements and a hand or 30 foot operated electric generator could be provided. If an exterior generator is available, this could have remote control operation and feed electricity into the shelter through the mains connection.
Additional means for exhausting air from the 35 shelter could be provided for use in the event that the ceiling valves become blocked.
A carbon dioxide sensor could be incorporated in the installation to warn the occupants of the shelter to restart pumping of air and thus avoid the 40 possibility of suffocation when the pump is not being activated all the time.
While normally filtering of the air would be sufficient for all contaminants likely to be found, a self contained air supply could be provided with a 45 regenerating recycling system.
While the above described shelter has been designed for lining an existing room, it would be possible to use such a shelter without the necessity of having a surrounding structure, where 50 such a structure is not available, provided that sufficient toughness of the materials used is allowed for. The shelter could also be used with an exterior metal framework such as a cage arrangement which could be assembled at any 55 desired location.

Claims (16)

1. A collapsible anti contamination shelter comprising a totally enclosable airtight flexible structure means for maintaining the structure in
60 an erected state and an airconditioning system for the structure.
2. A shelter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air condition system includes a filter unit through which all the air entering the shelter passes for
65 decontamination.
3. A shelter as claimed in claim 2, wherein the filter unit comprises a three stage filter unit.
4. A shelter as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein a mechanical pump is provided for
70 sucking air from outside through the filter unit, the pump having operating means operable directly by personnel within the shelter.
5. A shelter as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pump is provided with means for driving it by
75 hand.
6. A shelter as claimed in claim 4 or 5 wherein the pump is provided with means for driving it by foot.
7. A shelter as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6,
80 wherein the pump is provided with an electric motor for alternative operation to manual operation.
8. A shelter as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the shelter structure is of generally
85 rectangular shape when erected and is provided with attachment means in its upper parts for attaching the structure to supporting means.
9. A shelter as claimed in claim 8, wherein the attachment means comprise straps connectibie to
90 hooks provided on the supporting means.
10. A shelter as claimed in claims 8 or 9, wherein the shelter structure has a closable opening in one face.
11. A shelter as claimed in claim 10, wherein
95 an airlock is provided into which the closable opening opens, the airlock being provided with at least one closable opening, opening to the outside of the shelter.
12. A shelter as claimed in claim 11, wherein
100 the airlock is provided with its own supporting frame.
13. A shelter as claimed in claim 10, 11 or 12 wherein the opening(s) comprise flap members secured in the closed position by airtight sliding
105 clasp fasteners.
14. A shelter as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein the shelter is provided with pressure relief valves designed to enable predetermined excess pressure to be maintained
110 within the shelter.
15. A shelter as claimed in claim 14, wherein the pressure relief valves are provided with cages for protection thereof.
16. A collapsible anti contamination shelter
115 substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.
Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office by the Courier Press, Leamington Spa, 1983. Published by the Patent Office 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A 1AY, from which copies may be obtained.
GB08226968A 1981-09-22 1982-09-21 Collapsible anti contamination shelter Withdrawn GB2106160A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8128642 1981-09-22

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB2106160A true GB2106160A (en) 1983-04-07

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB08226968A Withdrawn GB2106160A (en) 1981-09-22 1982-09-21 Collapsible anti contamination shelter

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0075483A1 (en)
GB (1) GB2106160A (en)

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2164971A (en) * 1984-10-01 1986-04-03 Ronald Arthur Buxton A housing unit for a domestic animal
GB2165276A (en) * 1984-09-20 1986-04-09 Paul Spencer Schofield Enclosure separating two environments
GB2172026A (en) * 1984-11-07 1986-09-10 Colin James Whitecros Paterson Inflatable enclosure
AU648440B2 (en) * 1991-11-15 1994-04-21 Ab Ventilatorverken A ventilation method and means for the same
GB2311847A (en) * 1996-03-30 1997-10-08 E M & I A working enclosure
GB2382593A (en) * 2001-11-29 2003-06-04 E M & I A working enclosure providing a clean air zone in hazardous environments
CN104658626A (en) * 2013-11-19 2015-05-27 中国舰船研究设计中心 Nuclear and biochemical protecting square cabin for sea and land uses

Families Citing this family (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS63111869A (en) * 1986-10-29 1988-05-17 株式会社 青木建設 Drain sterilizing autoclave apparatus
FR2620626A1 (en) * 1987-09-17 1989-03-24 Bachmann Sa Modular screen for protection against toxic falling matter (fallout) and enclosure comprising application thereof
IT1217792B (en) * 1988-06-07 1990-03-30 Moldip Spa IMPROVEMENTS IN A REFUGE D, EMERGENCY
FR2694903B1 (en) * 1992-08-19 1994-09-30 Commissariat Energie Atomique Waterproof and flexible containment enclosure.
GB0225458D0 (en) * 2002-10-31 2002-12-11 Quest Internat Services Ltd Protection system
US7481234B1 (en) * 2003-03-27 2009-01-27 Gustafson Martin K Bio-hazard attack family survival dome
GB0804711D0 (en) * 2008-03-14 2008-04-16 Watson Stephen T Containment device(forensic pod)
FR2933527B1 (en) * 2008-07-02 2010-09-10 Electricite De France SAS CONFINEMENT.
CN102852375B (en) * 2011-04-19 2016-05-11 比利格核股份有限公司 Protectiveness and disposable big envelope shape are intervened tent
FR3020082A1 (en) * 2014-04-16 2015-10-23 Jean Pierre Hernandez ANTI-ASBESTOS SPEAKER
US9797153B2 (en) 2015-06-01 2017-10-24 Simply IV Safety LLC Refuge
DE102017103468A1 (en) * 2017-02-21 2018-08-23 Mecora Medizintechnik Gmbh Room and method for making a room
WO2021258448A1 (en) * 2020-06-24 2021-12-30 深圳市巨鼎医疗股份有限公司 Sealed accommodation cabin

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2649101A (en) * 1952-04-09 1953-08-18 Gen Electric Double-wall portable shelter
FR1309320A (en) * 1961-10-02 1962-11-16 Bessonneau Ets Heating and air conditioning system for inflatable structures
US3335529A (en) * 1966-04-29 1967-08-15 Leigh M Gedney Inflatable building
US3353309A (en) * 1967-02-13 1967-11-21 John P Kwake Inflatable structure
FR1566305A (en) * 1968-01-29 1969-05-09
US3918221A (en) * 1974-08-01 1975-11-11 Kuss & Co R L Thermostatic vent valve

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2165276A (en) * 1984-09-20 1986-04-09 Paul Spencer Schofield Enclosure separating two environments
EP0178091B1 (en) * 1984-09-20 1988-11-17 Paul Spencer Schofield Enclosure
GB2164971A (en) * 1984-10-01 1986-04-03 Ronald Arthur Buxton A housing unit for a domestic animal
GB2172026A (en) * 1984-11-07 1986-09-10 Colin James Whitecros Paterson Inflatable enclosure
AU648440B2 (en) * 1991-11-15 1994-04-21 Ab Ventilatorverken A ventilation method and means for the same
GB2311847A (en) * 1996-03-30 1997-10-08 E M & I A working enclosure
GB2382593A (en) * 2001-11-29 2003-06-04 E M & I A working enclosure providing a clean air zone in hazardous environments
GB2382593B (en) * 2001-11-29 2005-06-22 E M & I A working enclosure
CN104658626A (en) * 2013-11-19 2015-05-27 中国舰船研究设计中心 Nuclear and biochemical protecting square cabin for sea and land uses

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0075483A1 (en) 1983-03-30

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