Abstract:
A self-contained system for protecting building penetrations is disclosed. The system can include a housing containing a take-up roll and a screen made from a flexible, strong fabric-like material suitable for resisting high winds, driving rain, and wind-driven missiles. The system can further comprise a deflector to maintain the angle of deployment of the screen. The system can further include a weight bar attached to the end of the screen to assist in deploying the screen. The system can further comprise a dual pulley system to assist in deploying the screen and to hold the screen in the deployed position. The system can be mounted on pivoting frames to enable the system to be positioned at a variety of angles with respect to the building. Multiple pivoting frames can be coupled to form an awning-type protection system. The multiple pivoting frames can be controlled as a group or independently.