Storm shelter door

Abstract

A windowed egress plate storm shelter door having a shatter resistant, stormproof glass or “bulletproof glass” pane secured in a steel plate forming a frame therefor and which is part of the shelter door. The steel plate is attached to the storm shelter door to allow viewing outside the shelter to verify that the storm has passed. The egress plate or panel is structured and sized so that, if the door cannot be opened due to damage or blockage, the framed window is readily removable to create a secondary escape route for occupants to escape the shelter.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A windowed egress storm shelter door comprising: 
 a storm door having an outer face, an inner face and a peripheral edge, and defining an aperture therethrough;    an egress plate removably positioned within and closing over said aperture;    said egress plate comprising a stormproof window framed thereby;    whereby a shelter occupant may view the exterior environment through said stormproof window; and    whereby a shelter occupant may remove said egress plate.    
     
     
         2 . The storm door of  claim 1 , said aperture of said door being a stepped frame opening inward and having a jamb located intermediate said outer face and said inner face.  
     
     
         3 . The storm door of  claim 2 , further comprising a plurality of latch releases spaced around and mounted on said door inner face for swiveling motion between a closed position and an open position, said egress plate being stepped and having an outer face defining an inner edge and a closure face defining an outer edge thereof, said latch releases engaging said closure face when in the closed position.  
     
     
         4 . The storm door of  claim 3 , said door inner face having an inner step, said latch releases being mounted on said inner step.  
     
     
         5 . The storm door of  claim 4 , said aperture and said egress plate being rectangular in shape.  
     
     
         6 . The storm door of  claim 5 , said plurality of latch releases being four in number, each being located near a respective corner defined by said rectangle.  
     
     
         7 . The storm door of  claim 1 , said egress plate defining an inner frame for said stormproof window, said stormproof window having a stormproof transparent pane having an outer edge mounted in said inner frame.  
     
     
         8 . The storm door of  claim 7 , further comprising a gasket sealing said outer edge of said transparent pane within said inner frame.  
     
     
         9 . The storm door of  claim 7 , said pane being of polymeric material.  
     
     
         10 . The storm door of  claim 7 , said pane being a layered composite of polymeric and inorganic material.  
     
     
         11 . The storm door of  claim 7 , said pane being “bulletproof glass.”