IL34025A - Collapsible reticular structures - Google Patents

Description

i The present invention relates to t dimensional the geometries of ΐ hereina and are nguished by their eollapsibility and by the fact in said the collapsed by a plurality of compact arrays the length of which arrays do not substantially exceed the length of element The principle of eollapsibility as a means of attaining small storage volume as as ability is and applied to structures Patents have been granted for s structures British patents 791 i 1 1 and patent in their respective are called i and which are to as buildings i structures All the ementioned inventions j i characterised by the reduced in the i folded or otherwise demounted of their respective At this poin however a definition should be introduced of concept of and a distinction between the properties of as against le the latter refers to the fact that a dimensional structure thus characterised can nondestructively taken to pieces s stored transported presumabl ae clofined for purpose of the present is intended to refer to the fact that a th structure thus while obviously demoun constitutes in the collapsed forded state a coheren or substantially coheren 9 the constituting such a structure still interlinked while the structure as suc is substantially altered in shape and reduced in A structure of the kind which may be to fall within the definitions given in the preceding paragraphs is described in Britis 1 there is described and a collapsible a plurality of groups r of rods each of consists of together at points intermediate their ends for relative each end of rod of a group being pointed for relative articulation to end of 5 rods of further the resultant three xes of being parallel and disposed transversely of the latter and lying in a which also contains the longitudinal axis of the leas some of the various e o the rods being themselves directly i by means of flexible and or ropes act unfolding of the assembly of rods to determined of the speci of said British patent 371 the ing to be made The collapsibility of the structures the of said patent a on be termed the tongs these ures being in fact lazy With each of their elementary bars three upper and said structures must thus be regarded grids Structures covered said British patent show a inherent in for additional elements such as cables or in fact cable 5 without which the structures would or even collapse under own While the specification of said British patent is very explicit about the manner of erection of the structures claimed it does not describe the collapsing p It is not clear how said structure in collapsed without detaching not only individual cables but also cable systems and mentioned therein upon collapsing the structuress would appear unwieldy and intractable Heed for removal and subsequent the cable systems the other the erection and collapsing times to a degree as to these structures quite impractical for the purposes envisaged for the structures of the present invention which described hereinafte The invention described in the present application is distinguished from the invention described in said British patent 1 number of aspects detailed The of the structures according to the present invention is on an altogether different principle to collapse structure of present the elementary bars are caused to the then being progressively compressed until the bars are substantially parallel and a compact in each of the elementary bars of structure has two it can eld to constitute in different all the located on one curved surface e or the second on two such surfaces or of slightly different This distinction an important one sinc in practices a grid would be quite unfeasible for of the relatively large cf the elementary envisaged by the to the present invention are by virtue of t geometry and the design of their and any additional stiffening suggested or required only serve to counter extraneous 9 ted or accidental forces Furthermor such fening means as may be advisable to use can be activated after erection and deactivated prior to collapsing in a matter of seconds Re The structures according to the present invention can be erected and collapsed within as indicated in the preceding the possible application of additional stiffening does not substantially add to this The sum of erection and collapsing thus constitutes only fraction of the period of use of these structures a precondition fo the useful application of collapsible structures to such purposes envisaged by the present invention0 is thus seen that the structures of the present invention are distinguished British patent 1 in several material aspects having a direct bearing on the and utilities of the respective structures is also seen that none of the other a dealing structures claimed to be portables fact conform or fall the definitive restrictions and utilities so f and further described hereina World of B by Publishing New of a le reticular structure shows some formal similarities to the present Said structure is claimed to an World Resources Southern Illinois Universit reading as see all structural in parallel in this picture so that transported in in a rocket The parallel struts of light weight magnesium al consist of sets of three fastened together a joint Bach set is l ke a camera tripod with three tubular It has at the t i all the feet are fastened together with ball joints in clusters of feet per ball We have a little cat of the top of each This pushed out automatically a piston in We 200 pounds of pressure and gas pressure push the on all the tripods outwardly each of the tripod The masts each have three tension leading to their respective tripod s As the are pushed out the 200 pound pressure the pull legs of the tripods outwardly one anothe The tripods all open wide with their hall joint together in hexagons and pentagons There is a triangular net of aircraft cable in a regular geodesic spherical like the pneuma c Perusal of the available test and graphs permits the following Although the aforesaid a Seed is labeled it is r i s obvious that the concern of design was with rapid and effortless while hardly evincing any thought to the collapsing of the structureo It is possible to arrive at this elusion not only of the in available of any description colla sin having erected according to explanations cited it necessary to immobilise the in p in to the cable tight and said structure principle this could be in or As to the er shutting off the air the structure As such to not the other pneumatic to the structure connected to a sufficiently large gas solution even and slightly lass here remain the mechanical solutions of of any a device could bo a pin into a transversal hole in the preventing it sliding once the pressure is relieved or A elegant solution be a catch to the umbrella to prevent it from the solution these lochs or stops have to bo manually one the structure be As cannot be collapsed tripod achieve a controlled collapse opposed to a would seem pose a serious pro of as is contended was never intended collapsing after not to speak of frequent collapsing and is also out The utility of the structure Concerning both sources are quite Fuller states in Science have the proven to parallel structures rocketing to the or to the top of an earth i or to far earth points to sel in Robert Harks in World of B talks of and remotely controlled Apart from said tubular structure which can indeed be to s a to one particular embodiment of v it further elements ae the two cable systems to the the mobility ct the is for erectio in their extended position and two cable terns are definitely required to the structure and keep it from sagging and If the r cables the structure would collapse under its own three of each with corresponding three i themselves a pyramidal be regarded as y a d the spherical cable grid as a second layer of a structure the stability properties of are determined by the distance between these The invention described in the application is the prior art in a number of aspoets detailed he The structures by the present invention are truly collapsible or not only in the sense defined 1 and 2 but also in the sense referred to under in that in our paid equal attention to and if than The sing procedure appropriate to one f the of the present the Figures 1 and is as 1 1 lowermost structure rests are over until substantially perpendicular to the central one of their three like r The locking disks turning about a quarter 1 The join pulled inverting the top vertex of the structureβ As during and collapsing first all and later at least some of the bar terminals are still angularly defined in one or two planes due to the special the the slight strain induced by the inversion of the vertices produces enough to p these in effects the to be in a as opposed to manne The rest of the ertices are inverted pushing them the effect applying The essentially collapsed structure is turned into an array f practically parallel bars by pushing all five toward the The need for for and rapid collapsing is also in the utilities present includes suc uses as d ou picnics and on the and erection and collapsing As stated in the of said invention is by virtue of its and the of its no devices as to the present invention is strictly a structure therefore9 both and essentially different the structure rep by the I thus seen that the structures of the present invention are distinguished from the prio art in several important material direct n the design and utilities of the respective the principal features of the structures of the invention the ticular of the offering di and carefully determined degrees of the of the and presenting guide stop the position their associated respect to each other and with to the ce tral axis of each the subject of Patent which pertinent to the invention as it a resemblance to one particular of the present The structure covered this Patent to collapsible when collapsed to form its constituent strut in a substantially parallel relationshi claimed the reference derives its rigidity and the that it is completely polygons constituting its spatial triangles the bases of which are on the one by the the othe by the of absence of means the ground itself to which the structure must be collapsed its 2 the structure r collapsings must be turned from a one triangle ha into a can only be done by as means on t e e they or strut in absence of anchorage to the The present is and constitutes an ofy the indention of said the fact its constituent it be completely collapsed some of i structural Host said structure would collapse said holding its i a stable the inherently by in particulars the as in the comment Fuller disclosure The can therefore in no way be to bo derived from the invention of According to the invention there is provided rc jointed structure constituted by a plurality joints and a plurality of said on constituted or having 2n said structure being wherein said ineltids indent and stop fully define the position of their associated e with to each other and to the axis of of said which i and stop means said structure to sel ing once completely and wherein said joints arc that at least of said elements with than one of freedom least to some extent relative to their associated the other are constrained relative to their associated joints so as to be tricted to in one plane only and that in the collapsed of said the array formed by is of length substantiall equal to the of element the of the structures of the can be stated that the basic shapes underlying said structures are either cylindricalJ in case cylindrical i or perpendicular to the Cylindrical structures with a axis can be closed off at the top pyramid having an identical the of the cylindrical The totality of said by an appropriate number of constitutes a spati grid substantially outlining said underlying shapes as described consisting of a number of polygons having 2n Concerning said it be noted that their design is as to at least possibly of said to e with more than ons degree of ile cons Q d relative to one of said may be restricted to movement in one plane As to the actual number of elements required for a specific of trie it should be pointed out that this actual number is either equal to the ideal number elements as prescribed by the theoretical ation of the structure or ideal or more elements are either o added to provide for access to the structure or connecting apertures or passage between a plurality of said or any thereo A eature of the structures of the present invention is the fact with the aid of joining one such structure can be and combined one or several identical similar or even structures in such a as to create a more han said basic structur Although the structures proposed e present invention can in principle be regarded extraneous or concentrated or forces may be countered by or rigidifying at least some of said articulated joints with the a d of devices which are either integral wit or attachable said within OP without the space enclosed by them and can be anchored to the with or without the of guy The structures of the present invention covered by pliable covering skin which can be attached to either the inner or I the outer the with a plurality j of skins of can be the inner j side some to the outer side of the structure can be collapsed erected with skin or skins in situ cr shins may attached structure after icn structures prior to skins can be made from any pliable fabrics from natural or synthetic or and also from rigid or sheet material e In the latter these sheets can be joined to other and to the structure such processes as e i a plurality of properly located and shaped such as clamps of the invention be sed as tents and bungalows for on the as e ned stands and as stations as temporary storage facilities and movable packing sheds temporar camps a the j For a understanding the nature of to thereof fill be based on the drawings illustrat according to the Figure is a plan ew of the of Figure 3 in perspective view 1 Figure in perspective view a pa ir ar odinent of a type cf Fi is a perspective view of of a type of e 6 illustrates a type of join represents a compound obtained together structures such as shown in Figure 8 the coherent array of as a completely structure such as Figure 9 and Figure illustrate a the structure of the on a in plan view elevat view Apart frcn a particular the Fi ures 1 and precise location of and denote the elements a d the joint The different types of these elements are by with one d terminal join s elements 3 elements 20 r type accommodating 5 5 to these essentially of the 20 ί that the one of Xying a plane of the con not the of notion by the ball ioint can One embodiment of an ent in 2 by an is and ba s and each loss than The which hollow 02s consist of any suitable as e metals pXa or any of in detail in is a embodiment and in t ereof is provided at one of its ends a constituting the of a type other end having a flat tongue the sale elenent of a ty 5 is a pivot i speci of a type joint illustrated in Figure two halves 7 and 8 the of said an attached disk a nut down locking disk a bolt head which has a serving a the covering and n 13 which to define position of elements relative said n the structure One end of element collapsing of the the hall at i nova only in one still between the parallel walls of the indent once the nock has the the elements and the body of h to the relative for the toward the shape shown in Fige Upon erection of the the hall can freely follow the not symmetrical pulling until they contact with the surfaces eventually into the indents where their finally to an end the stop of a joint in the locking device is an integral part of consists of a cup mounted 021 one of joint and provided number of peripheral slots c in the open state the permit the ball necks to introduced and seated in the positioning indents Rotation of locking cup facilitated by gripping tabs the indent exits to be thus preventing the necks leaving their respective A embodiment of a type in Figure t to in one plane the guide 19a of eane as the lug In this halves and 19 are together a bolt having a head 21 The n end of the element vided with a pivot seated in the joint The bottom the guide slot serves as a figure structures of the kind seen in Figure 1 are joined together to a mors structure basic structures are denoted by 25 and accessories coherent of ba represented a Tho closely elements are in collapsed stats substantially of to rest on top of the a some at In the example the covering skin has been removed prior to collapsing of the although this is not necessary in practiceo of proposed is depicted in 9 is a basically a vertical of closed off at y a Γ is a description of a erection of a embodiment the with reference to Figures and 2 of the h bundle of parallel is put the elements in a vertical position and with the typo s touching tho The peripheral are pulled c in a radial direction as far as they will to the at this a a second to position himself the now partly distended She 2D 1 and are tilted as far they will go a the locking disks 9 are applied each of he five 2C first outwards all the hall are properly seated against the stops 13 of their respective the locking are put ομ9 with their slots parallel with the turning disks a quarter of a structure is now erected and anchored if conditions The collapsing procedure as on pages and 11 of this specification and in effec a reverse to that described in respect of the a erection COLLAPSIBLE RETICULAR STRUGTURES The present invention relates to dimensional the geometries of which are specified and which are distinguished by their collapsibility and by the fact in said the collapsed by a plurality of form compact arrays the length of which arrays do not substantially exceed the length of a The principle of collapsibility as a means of attaining small storage volume as well as ability is known and applied to Patents have been granted for such structures British patents and patent in their respective are called and which are intended to as buildings and other All the aforementioned inventions are characterized by the reduced in the folded or otherwise demounted of their respective At this a definition should be introduced of the concept of a distinction established between the properties of as against mere While the latter refers to the fact that a dimensional structure thus characterized can be nondestructively taken to stored transported true ae for purpose the present is to refer to the fact that a structure thus while obviously constitutes in the collapsed or folded state a stil or substantially elements constituting such a structure are still interlinked while th structure as is substantially altered in shape reduced in A structure of the kind which may be termed to fall within the general de initions given in preceding paragraphs is described in British Patent wherein ther described and a collapsible together at ponts ntermediate ther ends relative each o rod a group being pointed for relative articulation the end of rods of the resultant three articulation axes of each rod being parallel and disposed transversely of the latter and lying in a common which contains longitudinal the at least some o the various joints interconnectin o the rods being themselves directly interconnected by means of flexible an means such as or ropes which act in direct tension to limit of the assembly of rods to provide a determined Perusal the specification of said British patent permits the ing remarks to he made The collapsibility of the structures the subject of said patent is based η what be termed the lazy tongs these ures being in fact lazy tongs With each of their elementary bars presenting three upper and said structures must thus regarded as Structures covered by said British patent show a inherent in the design for additional stiffenin elements such as cables or fact three cable or rope without which the structures would or even collapse under their own While the specification of said British patent is very explicit about the manner of erection of the structures claimed it does not describe the collapsing It is not clea how structure in be collapsed detaching not only the individual cables but also cable systems a and b mentioned therein collapsing th would appear to form unwieldy and intractable Need for removal and subsequent of the cable systems on the the erection and collapsing times to such a degree as to make these structures quite impractical for the purposes envisaged the structures of the present invention are described The inventio described in the present application distinguished from the invention described in said British patent in a number of aspects detailed Re The of the structures according to the present invention is based on an altogether different collapse the structure of the present the elementary bars are caused to the then being progressively compressed until the bars are substantially parallel and form a compact in each of the elementary bars of said structure has two joints it can be held to constitute in different all the joints are located o one curved surface or in the second on two such surfaces or of slightly different This distinction is quite an important one in a grid would be quite unfeasible structures of the relatively large curvatures times length of the elementary envisaged by the Re The structures according to the present invention are by virtue of their geometry and the design of their and any additional means suggested or required only serve to counte ted or accidental such fening means as may he advisable to use can he activated after erection and deactivated prior to collapsing in a matter of Re The structures accordi g to the present invention can he erected and collapsed within minutes as indicated in the preoeding the possible application of additional stiffening does not substantially add to this The sum of erection and collapsing times thus constitutes only a fraction of the period Of use of these a precondition for useful application of collapsible structures to such purposes as envisaged by the present It is thus seen that the structures of the present invention are distinguished from said patent several important and material aspects having a direct bearing on the design and utilities of the respective It is also seen that none of the other a ementioned inventions dealing with structures claimed to be do in fact or fall the restrictions and utilities so far presented and further described A brief description in World of Buckminster by Robert Marks Publishing New of a collapsible reticular structure whic shows some formal similarities to the present Said structure is claimed to be an proect carried out by Washington A more detailed description of the same structure is given in Decade by Buckminste Resources Southern Illinois Unive reading as you see all structural members are in parallel in this first picture so they may be transported in minimum volume in a rocket The parallel struts of light weight magnesium alloy consist o sets of three fastened together a ball joint in Each set is like a camera tripod with three tubular magnesium It has ball joints at the tripod Then all the feet are fastened together with joints in clusters of 5 and feet per ball We have a little mast coming out of the top of each This mast is pushed out automatically by a piston in a put 200 pounds of gas pressure inside the cylinder and gas pressure will push the masts on all the tripods outwardly each of the tripod The masts each three tension members leading to their respective As the masts are pushed out the 200 pound pressure the tension members pull the legs of the tripods outwardly from one The tripods all open wide with their ball joint feet fastened together in hexagons and There is a triangular net of aircraft cable in a regular geodesic spherical like the pneumatic tension that restrains the tripod legs from moving an further from one another than necessary to form a dome or Perusal of the available text and graphs permits the following Although the aforesaid structure Seed labeled it is quite obvious that the primary concern of the design was with rapid and effortless while hardly evincing any thought as to the collapsing of the It is possible to arrive at this conclusion not only because of in the available of an description concerning the collapsing but mainly by way of analysis The structure Th structure having been erected according to the explanations cited it becomes necessary to immobilise the in their in order to keep the cable systems tight and said etrueture this could be in two pneumatically or As to the this would off air pressure an assuming that all tons other sealing points are airtight enough to keep masts up for whatever the structure is to As such an assumption is not the other pneumatic solution would to have the structure to a sufficiently large gas a solution eve more clumsy and only slightly There remain thus the mechanical solutions of which there of any such a lockin device could h manually pushed into a transversal hole the preventin it from sliding the pressure is relieved or A more solution would he a catch similar to the umbrella would permit the mast to hut preven it the solution these locks or stops would have he manually one by the structure could he As said structure cannot be tripod achieve controiled collapse opposed to a this would seem pose a as said structure was never intended for collapsing to speak of frequent collapsing and This is also out The utility of structure both sources are Puller states Design Science have the proven to parallel tensegrity structures ocketing to the or to the top of an earth or to her far earth points to in Robert Marks World of talks of and remotely environmen Apar from said tubular structure which ca be claimed to show a formal ity to one particular embodiment of the present it comprises elements essential to its ery the masts as well as the two cable systems referred to in the above while the mobility ature the masts required merely the masts in their extended position and the two cable tems are definitely required to the structure and keep it from sagging and If the cables were th structure would collapse under its own The three legs of each tripod with their corresponding three constitute in themselves a pyramidal can regarded as and the spherical cable grid as a second layer of a layer structure the stability properties of which are determined by the distance between these two The invention described in the present application is distinguished from the prior art in a number of aspects detailed He The structures claimed by the present invention are truly collapsible or foldable not only in the sense defined on and 2 but also in the sense referred to under in that we have in our design paid equal attention to and if taking even less time than The sing procedure appropriate to one of the embodiments of the present the the slight strain induced by the inversion of vertices produces enoug to permit these in the to be in a as opposed to a The rest of vertices are inverted by pushing them the effect applying The spider essentially collapsed structure is turned into ah ar ay of practically parallel bars by pushing all ive toward the The need frequent for simple and rapid collapsing is also implied in the utilities the present includes suc uses a tents and bungalows picnics and on the beach end simila precluding an erection and eollapsi g Re As stated in the claims the present the structure according to the invention is by of its and the design of Removal of such devices as suggested the present invention would still leave these structures Re The structure accordin the present nvention is strictly a structure both structurall and morphologically essentially different from the structure represented by the It is thus seen that the structures of the present invention are distinguished from the aforementioned prio art in several important and aspects having a direct bearing the design and utilities of the respective one of the principal features of the structures of invention being the ticular design Joints different and carefully determined degrees of freedom terminals of the elements presenting inden guide and stop features defining the angular position of their associated elements oth with respect each other with respect to the central axis of symmetry of each known the of Patent claims a which may be deemed pertinent to the present invention inasmuch as it bears a certain formal resemblance to one particular embodimen of the present The structure covered by this Patent claims to collapsible when to form a compact with its oonstitueht elements in a substantially parallel The structure by the above reference derives its rigidity and e the that it completely the polygons its spatial are the horizontal bases of which are the one by the o the by the means in erJoining the ends of the support struts in absence of such by the ground itself to which the structure must be as a polyhedral structure Only be completely collapsed if t have the prior to must be turned from a triangulated one triangle having into a quadranguiated This can only be done by eliminating eaid horizontal of said the tteave as well as joining on the be they cable O strut means in absence of anchorage to the g The present invention is distinguished and constitutes an improvement the invention of said Patent by the fact its constituent having 2n it can be completely collapsed without prior removal of some of its structural Most whereas said known structure would immediately collapse withou said means holding its ends in a stable the present invention inherently by virtue its geometry in the design of as explained in the comment on the mentioned Puller The present invention can therefore in no way be said to be derived from the invention of Patent According the invention there is provided a pointed structure constituted by a pluralit joints and a plurality of substantially elements mutually jointed and articulated by said said structure conforming to geometries based On polyhedra by plane or spatial polygons having 2n said structure wherein said joints include integral indent guide and stop means which fully define delimit the unique angular position their associated elements both with respect to each other with respect to central of symmetry of said which indent guide and stop means enable said structure to be intrinsically once completely and wherein said joints are so that some of said elements may move more than one degree of freedom at least to some extent relative to their associated while the other elements are constrained relative to their associated joints so as to be tricted to movement in one plane only and that in the coi psed state of said structure the array formed by said elements of a length substantially equal to the length of a single Regarding the geometries of the structures of the it can be stated that the basic shapes underlying said structures are either spherical or i which latter case the axis of symmetry o the cylindrical being also the of the can be either parallel or perpendicular to the Cylindrical structures with a vertical axis o symmetry can be closed off at the top by adding a pyramid an symmetry identical with the symmetry of the cylindrical The totality of said interconnected by an appropriate number of thus constitutes a spatial grid substantially outlining said underlying basic shapes as described consisting of a number of spatial polygons having 2n Concerning said it should be noted that their design is such as to permit at least but possibly of said like elements to move with more than one degree of while ing other elements a way relative one both of associated join s other elements may be restricted to movement in one plane As to the actual number of elements required for a specific embodiment the it should be pointed out that this actual number is either equal to the ideal number of elements as prescribed by the theoretical the or different from this ideal in which one or more elements are either removed or added to provide access to the structure or connecting apertures or passage ways between a plurality of said or any A feature of the structures of the present invention the fact with the of joining one such structure can be joined and combined one several identical or even dissimilar structures in such a way as to create a new more complex than said basic Although the structures proposed by the present invention can in principle be regarded as extraneous or concentrated or dental forces may be countered by immobilizing or rigidifying at least some of said articulated joints with aid of locking devices which are either integral or attachable said proposed structures do not require supporting members within or without the space enclosed by them and to the g with without the aid of guy The structures of the present invention may be covered by at least one pliable covering skin which can be attached to either the inner or the outer side of the or with a plurality of skins of which can be attached to the inner and to the outer side of the Said structure can be collapsed erected wit said skin or skins in said skin or skins may be attached to said erection and removed from said structures prior to skins can be made pliable such as fabrics natural or synthetic Or mixed and from rigid or sheet material In the latter these sheets can be joined to each other and to the structure by such known processes as b a plurality of properly located and shaped connectors such as The structures of the invention can be used as tents and bungalows for picnics and on the as stands for exhibitions and as statioris and emergency as temporary storage facilities and movable packing temporary camps the For a better understanding of the nature of the structures according to a cription thereof will now be based on the accompanying drawings which simply diagrammatlcally by way of example embodiments of said invention and wherein is elevational of a like structur to the Figure 2 is a pla view structure of Figure 3 represents perspective view a specific embodiment of a Figure s ows in perspective view cula embodiment of a type Figure 5 a perspective view of another of a type of Figure 6 illustrates a type of Figure 7 represents a compound structure obtained by joining together two structures as shown in Figure 8 shows the coherent array of like elements as represented by a completely collapsed structure such as in Figure 9 and Figure illustrate a further embodiment of the structure of the based on a different plan view and elevational view Apart from the general shape of a particular embodiment of the Figures 1 and 2 also cate precise location of all ar and joint Here numerals 1 denote the bar elements and the The different types of these elements are indicated by and one terminal 1B element with two accommodating barr type accommodating 3 like elements socket type accommodating 5 elements According to their these are essentially the except that they accommodate only three the central one of lying in a plane of the spherical does not require the freedoms of motion af orded by the ball joint can be of the One particular embodiment of an entrance marked in 2 by an is delimited by joints and bars each bar like element less than their cripted The element may be either hollow or solid and consist of any suitable material such as ferrous or nonferrous or any combination of such is shown in greater detail in which is a preferred embodiment and in which body 3 thereof is provided at one of its ends with a spherical terminal constituting the ball of a type the other end having a flat tongue 5 uting male element of a type Fixed to tongue 5 is a pivot A specific embodiment of a type joint is illustrated in Figure which shows two halves 7 and 3 forming the body of said an attached locking disk a nut ing dow the locking disk a bolt a head has a shape serving for the covering and indents comprising stop means 3 an guide means which serve to the position of the elements relative to said once the structure is completely One end of such an elemen is Upon collapsing of the the ball necks at move only in one being still confined between the parallel walls of the once the ball neck has moved beyond the the elements and the body of the joint are able to per the complex relative movements required for convergence of the joints toward the shape show in Upon erection o the the ball necks can freely follow the not necessarily symmetrical pulling until they make contact with the guide surfaces 3a which eventually ease them into the where their motion is finally brought to an end by the stop surfaces embodiment a type joint is shown i Figure locking is an integral part joint and consists a cup rotatably mounted o the join halves provided with a of peripheral slots in the open of the permit the ball necks to be introduced and seated in the positioning indents Rotation of the locking cup facilitated by gripping tabs causes the inden exits l 6b to be thus preventing the ball necks from leaving their respective A preferred of a type joint is illustrated in Figure This joint permits to in one plane the guides slots 19a of the same widt the lug In the halves and are together by a bolt 2Θ a 21 The ghos l gtype end 22 o the element 23 vided a the joint The 18 of the upperrhalf guide a in figure structures o the kind seen in Figure 1 are joined together to form a more complex the basic structures are denoted by 25 and and the joinin accessories and coherent arra of elements as represented by a completel collapsed structure the kind seen in Figure is shown in F gure T e closely folded elements are in the collapsed state substantially some of the joints coming to rest on top of the array and some at the In the example the covering skin has been removed prior to collapsing of the although this is not necessary Another embodiment of proposed structures is depicted in Figure 9 and in Figure This is a basically cylindrical structure with a vertical axis of closed off at the top by a Herebelow a description of a preferred erection procedure of a certain embodiment of the with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the The bundle of parallel elements represented in is put on the with the elements in a substantially vertical position and with the type joints touching the The five peripheral joints 2D are pulled outwardly in a radial direction as far as they imparting to the at this a One of the persons engaged the erection of the structure in the following an then lifts up the upper thus permitting a second erector to position himself underneath partl The second e o now lifts u the it while pulls the peripheral joints the joint the entrance The five joints 2D and are tilted outwardly as far they will go and the locking disks 9 are now applied to each of the five joints 2C by first pulling these joints outwards until all the ball necks are properly seated against the of their respective then the locking disks are put with their slots 9a parallel with the turning said disks about a quarter a The structure is now erected and may be anchored to the if conditions so The collapsin procedure has alread described on pages and 11 of this specification and in more or a reverse procedure to that described in respect of the aforementioned erection insufficientOCRQuality

Claims (1)

1. I. ι I Claims: 1. A reticular, three-dimensional, jointed tructure const!tut.ed by a plurality of joints and a plurality of rectilinea , substantially rigid* bar-like elements mutuall jointed and articulated by said joints, said structure conforming to geometries based on poly- hedra constituted by plane Or spatial polygons having 2n sides, said structure being collapsible, wherein said joints include integral indent and/or guide and stop means which fully define and delimit the unique angular position of their associated bar-like elements both with respect to each other and with respect to the central axis of symmetry of said joints, which indent and/or guide and stop means enable said structure to be intrinsically self-supporting once completely erected, and wherein said joints are designed so that at least some of said bar-like elements may move with more than one degree of freedom at least to some extent relative to their associated joints, while the other bar-like elements are constrained relative to their associated joints so as to be restricted to movement in one plane only and that in the collapsed state of said structure, the array formed by said bar-like elements is of a length substantially equal to the length of a single bar-like element. 2· A structure according to claim 1 , wherein the actual number of bar-like elements provided ■ therefor is either equal to the theoretical number of bar-like elements as prescribed by the - 2k configuration of said structure, or different from said theoretical number, in which case one or more elements are either removed or added to provide for, access to the structure, or connect-ing apertures o passage ways between a plurality of said structures, or any combination thereof. 3· A structure according to either of the preceding claims, wherein said structure is provided with joining elements whereby said structure may be joined to and combined with one or several identical or similar or dissimilar structures i such a way as to create a new structure more complex than the basic structure. k* A structure according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least some of said articulated joints are provided with locking elements integral therewith, or attached thereto, whereby said joints are immobilized and rigidified. 5· A structure according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein means are provided to anchor said structure to the ground. 6. A structure according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said structure is provided with at least one pliable covering skin, said skin being attached either to the inner or to the outer side of said structure, or with a plurality of skins, some being attached to the inner side and some to the outer side of said structure. 7· A structure according to claim 6, wherein said skin or skins remai in situ when the structure is collapsed. 8· A structure accordin to claim 6, wherein said skin or skins are attached to said structure after the erection thereof and are 1 removed therefrom prior to the collapse thereof, 9· A structure according to any one of claims i to> 5t wherein a number of appropriately shaped semi«-rigid or rigid pieces of sheet covering material are providedtwhich pieces of sheet covering material are joined to each other and to said structure by any known means, 10· A reticular three-dimensional jointed structure substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attorney or App cants