Emergency Access System For A Structure
OwnerTony D. McGarrahinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An emergency access system comprising a structure having therein at least two rooms with at least one common wall between them and an exterior wall, an access opening defined in at least one selected from an exterior wall and common wall, a panel sized to substantially fill each opening, and breakaway mounting means for releasably retaining each panel within each opening, whereby an access opening enables a person in an emergency to release the breakaway mounting means by applying pressure to the panel, thus allowing emergency access.
Claims14
An emergency access system comprising:
- a. a structure having therein at least two rooms with at least one common wall between them and an exterior wall;
- b. an access opening defined in at least one selected from an exterior wall and common wall;
- c. a panel sized to substantially fill each opening;
- and
- d. breakaway mounting means for retaining each panel within each opening and, under pressure, breakably releasing a panel;
- whereby an access opening enables a person in an emergency to release the breakaway mounting means by applying pressure to the panel, thus allowing emergency access.
An emergency access system comprising:
- a. structure with at least two rooms having at least one common wall between rooms and an exterior wall, each common wall including at least two sheets of breakaway panel, each sheet having a room side and an interior side;
- b. an opening in each breakaway panel sized for a person, each opening defined by scoring the interior sides of at least one pair of panels, creating a breakaway panel releasably affixed to each wall;
- c. at least one sensor adapted to create an alarm condition upon at least one panel being released;
- and
- d. a monitoring station in communication with each sensor,
- whereby a access opening is created in the adjacent panels enabling a person in an emergency to create an emergency access opening by breaking away the adjoining panels.
A method for installing an emergency access system in a structure comprising the steps of:
- a. identifying at least one suitable area for an emergency access opening between two rooms;
- b. identifying any structural members, electrical, ventilation, and plumbing members in each suitable area;
- c. locating structural members, electrical, ventilation, and plumbing fixtures outside of each suitable area;
- d. providing a breakaway panel releasably affixed to each suitable area;
- e. marking the panel as emergency access;
- f. installing monitoring components including at least—
- i. at least one monitoring station adapted to receive an input from at least one sensor,
- ii. at least one sensor to detect when a panel has been released,
- iii. at least one display communicating with the monitoring station adapted to receive system information from the monitoring station and display it to a user;
- whereby an emergency access system is enabled for a person in an emergency situation to strike the breakaway panel and penetrate the opening to gain access to adjacent rooms, allowing movement between rooms toward an emergency exit and notify the monitoring station when a panel is released.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.