摘要 |
Methods and apparatus which enable the lateral displacement of windows and window elements in reaction to overpressure forces resulting from an explosion are disclosed. According to the present invention, these forces are released to the edges of the displaced window and window elements, and the window itself remains intact or does not release life-threatening or injurious projectiles. One embodiment of the invention (10) comprises a window frame (12) which holds a pane of glass or synthetic material such as acrylic or polycarbonate (14), the frame (12) being coupled to a window receiving pan or receptor (16) by a plurality of retainers (18). The overpressure from an explosive blast causes the frame (12) to be displaced primarily laterally from the receiving pan (16) thereby releasing the blast overpressure (20) to the edges of the displaced frame (12) and reducing the risk of release of shrapnel from said sheet of generally light transmissive material (14). The retainers (18) may be woven cloth straps (18A), rope (18B), metallic and non-metallic cable (18C), mono-filament such as nylon (18D), and plastic (18E) including polymers such as Kevlar(R). Additional embodiments of the invention include frames (12) and window panes (14) which have holes to relieve overpressure during an explosion. Other embodiments utilize embedded strands of web (38) or mesh (39), and panes (14) which are microscored (60) to relieve pressure during an explosion. |