US3255556A - Panel and spherical structure - Google Patents

Description

June 1966 R. D'AMATO ETAL PANEL AND SPHERICAL STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 14, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGURE INVENTORS RICHARD DZMA 7'0 BY GEOFFREY 7." JONES ATTORNEY June 14, 1966 R. D'AMATO ETAL PANEL AND SPHERICAL STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 14, 1963 FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3 INVENTORS RICHARD D'AMATO BY GEOFF/E). r. JONES ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,255,556 PANEL AND SPHERICAL STRUCTURE Richard DAmato, Sudbury, and Geoffrey T. Jones, Walpole, Mass., assignors to Electronic Space Structures Corporation, Concord, Mass, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 14, 1963, Sell. No. 258,496 3 Claims. c1. s2 s1 The present invention relates generally to spherical structures and to an improved method of constructing such structures and, more particularly, to a spherical structure constructed of a plurality of preformed rigid members, each of which forms an aliquot part of the spherical structure, arranged in side by side abutting relation to one another in which each such member is composed of a rigid frame and of a panel covering the area of the frame.

Spherical structures find important uses in housing apparatus such as radar equipment, in enclosing space containing recreational facilities such as theaters, swimming pools and the like, in providing shelter for field hospitals in disaster areas or in zones of military operations, in protecting men, supplies and equipment from the adverse effects of severe weather conditions prevalent in arctic climates as well as from tropical rains prevalent in jungles. For these applications, it is of the utmost importance that the spherical structures be adaptable for quick and easy assembly and disassembly, and for convenient storage as well as for ready transportation to the desired building sites. Present day techniques for constructing spherical structures have been found wanting in such matters as adaptability to quick and easy assembly and disassembly. Furthermore, they have proved to be laborious and cumbersome and, as a result, expensive. Widespread use of this otherwise most desirable building structure has consequently been seriously impeded.

The present invention contemplates anovel technique for use in constructing spherical structures that will help in overcoming these shortcomings and will thus facilitate the wider and more economical use of this particular type of building construction. Moreover, the novel method of the invention is uniquely adaptable to quick and easy assembly and disassembly of spherical structures by crews smaller in numbers and less specialized in training than the crews heretofore required. Furthermore, due to the simplified method of making the component parts for the spherical structures, the overall cost of manufacture of spherical structures has been sharply curtailed.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide spherical structures that can be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled and whose. costs of manufacture are but a fraction of such structures heretofore made. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of constructing spherical structures comprising preforming a plurality of panel covered rigid frame members in which each member is designed as an aliquot part of the spherical structure, arranging the rigid frame members in side by side abutting relation to one another to form the spherical structure, and securing the rigid frame members to each other in such side by side abutting relation. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a component-part for a spherical structure comprising a rigid frame portion of triangular shape and a panel portion covering the area of the rigid frame portion. It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a component part for a spherical structure comprising cast corner blocks-and extruded side plates having a crosssectional area of an L and being also provided with flap portions integral with the side plates, the blocks and the side plates being welded to each other to form a rigid frame defining an opening of triangular shape, and a panel of the same size and shape as the triangular opening, with the edges of the panel designed to be attached to the rigid frame by means of the flap portions.

Other and further objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the improved method and spherical structure possessing the construction, combination of elements, and arrangements of parts which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a line drawing of a spherical structure constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention, with a portion of the structure being cut away to expose the interior thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, in partly assembled relation, of a component part for a spherical structure constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention, with a portion of the panel covering cut away better to indicate its construction;

FIG. 3 shows in perspective and on an enlarged scale a portion of the component part shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in particular to FIG. 1, the reference character 10 denotes a spherical structure constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention, with a portion of the structure being cut away to expose the interior. The structure 10 is mounted on a suitable annular base or foundation 12. It may be observed that the structure 10 is not a complete sphere but represents rather a body cut from a sphere. It must be pointed out, therefore, that the terms sphere and. spherical as used in this specification as well as in the appended claims are intended to include not only complete spherical bodies but also bodies which may be described as cut from a sphere. In the mounting of the spherical structure 10 on the annular base 12, conventional structural considerations are observed which do not form part of the present invention. One of the basic patents disclosing such spherical building construction and the general principles applicable thereto is United States Patent No. 2,682,235 granted to R. B. Fuller on June 29, 1954. Other and related patents dealing with spheres and spherical construction include, among others, US. Patent No. 2,711,181 to G. B. Woods, US. Patent No. 2,978,074

'to C. J. Schmidt, and US. .Patent No. 2,978,704 to. A.

Cohen et al. Each of these patents, however, with the exception of the patent to Woods, provides for a spherical construction in which struts, tubes, curved beams, or elongated metal members are interconnected at terminals such as hubs, spool-like elements or the like to form the rigid metal'framework for the spherical structure. The patent to Woods, on the other hand, provides for collapsible frame sections that are of substantially kite shape, with each frame section being provided with its individual cover membrane attached thereto substantially as a sheet is to a bed.

In contrast to the teachings of these patents, the spherical structure 10 of the present invention is composed of a plurality of preformed rigid members 14, each of which forms an aliquot part of thestructure 10, arranged in side by side abutting relation to one another to form the structure 10. Each of the members 14 comprises a rigid, preferably light metal frame and a panel of sheet material such as a plastic to cover the area of the frame. The

members 14, furthermore, are preferably though notv necessarily of triangular shape. The particular size and shape of the rigid members 14 is, of course, determined by the desired size of the spherical structure to be built and may be computed in accordance with the well understood principles disclosed in the patent to Fuller or in the patent to Cohen et al., supra. The application of these principles to the construction of the spherical structure 10 of the invention does not form part of this invention.

One preferred embodiment of such a preformed rigid member is the component part for a spherical structure shown in perspective and in a partly assembled relation in FIG. 2. This triangular component part 20 comprises three extruded side plates 22, 24, and 26, three cast corner blocks 30, 32, and 34, and a panel 21 of any desired sheet material, preferably of plastic, depending on the final use to which the spherical structure is to be put. It is to be noted that each of the extruded side plates 22, 24, and 26 is having a cross-sectional area of an L and is also being provided with a flap portion 27a, 27b and 27c respectively. These flap portions 27a, 27b and 270 extend along the respective lengths of the side plates 22, 24 and 26, and are an integral part thereof, defining V- shaped channels 29a, 29b and 220 therebetween. The side plates 22, 24 and 26 may be made of any light metal and are preferably made of aluminum or an aluminum base alloy. Furthermore, the plates 22, 24 and 26 are formed according to well known extrusion techniques, utilizing specially shaped dies to achieve the L-shaped cross section, the flap portion, and defining therebetween the V-shaped channel. The corner blocks 30, 32 and 34 are formed by casting in appropriately shaped dies and are preferably made of the same metal or metal alloy used for making the side plates 22, 24 and 26.

In FIG. 3 is depicted, in perspective and on an enlarged scale, a portion of the component part 20 for a spherical structure shown in FIG. 2. This portion includes the cast corner block 30, disclosing its particular configuration, and one end of extruded side plate 22 welded to the corner block 30. As may be observed, the cast corner block 30 comprises a triangular end section 31 and a pair of fiat side sections 33 and 35. The triangular end section 31 and the pair of fiat side sections 33 and 35 define at their respective junctures a pair of shoulders 37 and a pair of side depressions 39 to accommodate the L-shaped side plates in such a manner that they are flush with the triangular end section 31. As may be clearly noted in FIG. 3, the side plate 22 is formed, in crosssection, of a longer portion 23 having a shorter leg in a plane normal to the plane of the longer portion 23 and at one end thereof, and is also provided with a fiap portion 27a integral with the side plate 22 and defining a V-shaped channel 29a between the flap portion 27a and the shorter leg 25 of the side plate 22. It may be further noted that the shorter leg 25 of the side plate 22 is made to rest on one of the pair of shoulders 37 while the longer portion 23 fits in snugly in one of the pair of side depressions 39 of the corner block 30. The pair of fiat side sections 33 and 35 of the corner block are, furthermore, provided with spaced holes 11, 13 and 15, 17 respectively which match with equally spaced holes provided in the side plates 22, 24 and 26. Thus, the spaced holes 15 and 17 in the fiat side section of the corner block 30 match with the superimposed spaced holes and 47 provided in the side plate 26, as may be best seen in FIG. 2. These spaced holes are being provided so that one triangular component part 20 of the spherical structure to be built may be effectively joined to other component parts as for instance by bolts.

Following the forming of the side plates 22, 24 and 26 by extrusion and of the corner blocks 30, 32 and 34 by casting, they are welded to each other to form a rigid frame with a triangular opening, as may be observed in FIG. 2. Thereafter, a sheet or panel 21 of material, preferably plastic, is cut to the same triangular shape and size as the rigid frame. It must be pointed out that the material for the sheet or panel 21 is selected with a view to the particular use to which the spherical structure is to be put. Thus, the panel 21 may be cut from a sheet of light metal as, for instance, aluminum or an aluminum base alloy. Prior to the insertion of the panel 21 into the rigid frame formed by the side plates 22, 24, 26 and the corner blocks 30, 32, 34, an adhesive material 18 is spread in the V-shaped channels 29a, 29b and 290 as well as on the top of the corner blocks 30, 32 and 34. Thereafter, the panel 21 is inserted into the rigid frame to cover the area of the triangular opening formed therebetween, with the edges of the panel 21 being received within the V-shaped channels29a, 29b and 290. The insertion of the panel 21 is, of course, facilitated by the inherent elasticity of its sheet material. Once the panel 21 is in place, the flap portions 27a, 27b and 270 are rolled down over the edges of the panel 21 as at 28, gripping the panel 21 firmly to the rigid frame of the triangular component part 20.

It is to be understood that shapes other than the triangular shapes herein shown and described may be used to form the component part of the spherical structure. For example, two or more triangular parts may be combined and formed as one unit. It is also to be understood that any known sizes of spherical structures may be built from such component parts, provided always that the well understood mathematical calculations to arrive at the particular sizes and shapes of the individual component parts are observed.

The present invention thus provides a novel spherical structure constructed of a plurality of preformed rigid members and an improved method of building such a spherical structure and, more particularly, a novel method of making rigid component parts for a spherical structure and the component parts so made.

Since certain changes may be made in the above described method and spherical structure without departing from the scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A spherical structure comprising a plurality of preformed rigid components, each of said components forming an aliquot part of said structure and being arranged and secured in side by side abutting relation to one another to formsaid spherical structure, in which each said preformed rigid component is composed of three cast corner blocks, three side plates, each of said side plates being welded to a pair of said corner blocks to define an opening of triangular shape, each of said side plates provided with a flap portion extending along the length of each of said side plates and defining initially a V-shaped channel therebetween, and a panel of triangular shape and size to cover said opening of triangular shape formed by said corner blocks and said side plates, with each edge of said panel being clamped to one of said side plates by said flap portion closing said V-shaped channel about said edge.

2. A componentpart for a spherical structure comprising cast corner blocks, each of said corner blocks having a triangular end section and a pair of fiat side sections, said triangular end section and said pair of fiat side sections defining at their respective junctures, a pair of side depressions, extruded side plates having flap portions integral with said side plates extending along their respective lengths and initially defining V-shaped channels therebetween, each of said side plates being welded to a pair of said corner blocks with the end portions of said side plates fitting in said side depressions so that said side plates and said triangular end sections of said corner blocks define a triangular opening, a panel of triangular shape and size to cover said triangular opening formed by said side plates and said triangular end sections of said corner blocks, with each edge of 5 V said panel adhesively bonded within one of said V-shaped channels and mechanically clamped to one of said side plates by said flap portion closing the V-sh-aped channel about said edge.

3. A component part for a spherical structure comprising cast corner blocks, each of said corner blocks having a triangular end section and a pair of flat side sections, said triangular end section and said pair of flat side sections defining at their respective junctures a pair of shoulders and a pair of side depressions, extruded side plates being L-shaped in cross-section and having flap portions integral with said side plates and extending along their respective lengths, said flap portions and the shorter legs of said L-shaped side plates initially defining V-shaped channels therebetween, each of said L-shaped side plates being welded to a pair of said corner blocks with said shorter legs of said side plates resting on said shoulders and the longer portions of said side plates fitting in said side depressions so that said side plates and said triangular end sections of said corner blocks define a triangular opening, a panel of triangular shape and size to cover said triangular opening formed by said side plates and said triangular end sections of said corner blocks, with each edge of said panel adhesively bonded within one of said V-shaped channels and mechanically clamped to one of said side plates by said flap portion closing the V-shaped channel about said edge.

References Cited by the Examiner EARL J. WITMER, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. 2. A COMPONENT PART FOR A SPHERICAL STRUCTURE COMPRISING CAST CORNER BLOCKS, EACH OF SAID CORNER BLOCKS HAVING A TRIANGULAR END SECTION AND A PAIR OF FLAT SIDE SECTIONS, SAID TRIANGULAR END SECTION AND SAID PAIR OF FLAT SIDE SECTIONS DEFINING AT THEIR RESPECTIVE JUNCTURES, A PAIR OF SAID DEPRESSIONS, EXTRUDED SIDE PLATES HAVING FLAP PORTIONS INTEGRAL WITH SAID SIDE PLATES EXTENDING ALONG THEIR RESPECTIVE LENGTHS AND INITIALLY DEFINING V-SHAPED CHANNELS THEREBETWEEN, EACH OF SAID SIDE PLATES BEING WELDED TO A PAIR OF SAID CORNER BLOCKS WITH THE END PORTIONS OF SAID SIDE PLATES FITTING IN SAID SIDE DEPRESSIONS SO THAT SAID SIDE PLATES AND SAID TRIANGULAR END SECTIONS OF

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