Patent Application
20170241127
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Bamboo poles or segments have been long used as building materials. In addition to simply fastening the poles together with rope or twine wrappings, the segments have also been connected by bolts or wire. These prior art connections do not resist bending moments at the joints and may cause weaknesses in the bamboo itself because of using perforations. Additionally, these prior art connections are not useful over the long life of a building.
In one aspect, the present invention comprises a natural resource, bamboo, that in combination with a plurality of connectors form a building system that allows the bamboo segments to function as the load carrying members of buildings with a plurality of floors, including single-story buildings.
In other embodiments, the present invention provides a building system comprised of connectors whereby buildings are built that have superior strength and stiffness characteristics to conventional wood buildings, as well as to some smaller concrete and steel buildings.
In yet other embodiments, the present invention utilizes bamboo segments and connectors that create a building system that significantly reduces the carbon footprint, as well as being much less expensive as compared to conventional building materials.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numerals may describe substantially similar components throughout the several views. Like numerals having different letter suffixes may represent different instances of substantially similar components. The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, but not by way of limitation, a detailed description of certain embodiments discussed in the present document.
Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed method, structure or system. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting, but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention.
The connectors of the present invention accept the natural, non-uniform geometry of a bamboo pole or segment, as well as other natural materials, which is cylindrical, and they provide rigidity and bending moment transfer without the need for screws, bolts, nails, or other attachment devices. Moreover, the present invention may be used with building materials having non-uniform diameters from one end to the other. Attachment of the material is secured by the use of clamping segments 10 and 20 as shown in
In a preferred embodiment, which is described for use with a bamboo pole for illustrative purposes only, a clamping segment uses a combination of hoop compression and/or internal friction to secure a bamboo segment to a connector as described in detail below.
Clamp 54 is a hoop-compression clamp that further binds the segment to the connector as result of urging arms 51 and 52 against bamboo segment 40. The use of at least one channel or slit 53 permits the arms to contract inwardly to create a rigid connection. In addition, other channels or slits may be provided as well. Similarly constructed connector segment 20 secures bamboo segment 42 in place.
In use, a bamboo segment or pole is inserted into opening 155 until it becomes wedged in place by a friction fit. Opening 155 may be tapered from broad to narrow, as described above, to promote a friction fit. A hoop-compression clamp that further binds the segment to the connector as result of urging arms 151 and 152 against a bamboo segment may be used. The use of at least one channel or slit permits the arms to contract either inwardly or outwardly. In addition, other channels or slits may be provided as well. Similarly constructed connector segment 123 secures a bamboo segment in place.
Bamboo segments 480 and 482 may be secured to the connectors by a friction fit and/or hoop-compression as described above. In other embodiments of the present invention, the diameter of a particular connector segment may be larger than the diameter of the other connectors segments to accommodate larger structural members if needed.
Also provided is foundation anchor connector 470 that has a body 471 adapted to be secured in place in a concrete foundation 472 during pouring. A connector segment 473 of a construction described above and shown in
As shown in
The present invention provides many benefits over the prior art, including, but not limited to: low manufacturing cost and low labor costs, as well as no precision is required in the connection hardware since the present invention may accommodate segments or poles having variable diameters; significant moment-resisting cross-sections at all joints is provided by clamps made from a rigid material such as light gauge steel or epoxy material as well as all materials known to those of skill in; a plurality of diameter bamboo poles intersection at any joint in a structure; does not penetrate the bamboo cross-section in any way; requires no bolts, screws, nails, or other attachment devices; and does not involve glues that are applied with high-heat to the bamboo cross-section or the bamboo material.
In an alternate embodiment, the present invention may be used to create structures from other natural building materials that do not have uniform dimensions. These materials include but are not limited to logs and planks obtained from trees.
In an alternate embodiment, the present invention provides connectors for connecting bamboo poles and/or other non-uniform materials to standard building materials such as standard wall, floor, and ceiling panels. This allows buildings and materials not constructed of bamboo to connect to the network of connected load supporting or loadbearing bamboo poles. This alternate embodiment of the present invention allows standard-design (wood, wallboard, aluminum, etc.) panels for walls, floors, and ceilings without alterations to be connected to or used on a frame consisting of bamboo beams and columns. This alternate embodiment provides benefits over prior art, specifically, but not limited to: no penetrations in the bamboo because of nails, screws, bolts, or other attachment mechanisms are required; accounts for the non-uniform cylindrical properties of the bamboo poles; and uses hoop-compression and friction as the physical mechanisms for the connections.
In yet other embodiments, the location of the slots in the bamboo pole connectors may be aligned along the neutral axis of the cross-section over which the bending stresses are minimal. On beams, under the influence of vertical loads this is the horizontal axis (on a clock at position 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock). For columns, which tend to be loaded in two directions (due to wind or earthquake loads), the connector slots would still be on the neutral axis which has the smallest bending stresses, but adjacent columns in the building could have their connector slots oriented along the perpendicular axis (at positions of 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock), where each column along a row of columns would have the connector slots placed along different neutral axes in an alternating manner to give rigidity to the whole structure in each of the two directions. In yet other embodiments, the connectors may be configured to aid in locating the slots along different neutral axes. For example, in some connectors, the slots may be located at various locations or positions around the connector, e.g., 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. This staggering or alternating the location of the slots may be employed in the elbow, T-shaped and other connectors described herein. In other words, for sets of the same connectors, the locations or positions of the slots in a set of connectors are staggered around the opening of the connector.
While the foregoing written description enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The disclosure should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiments, methods, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/056,177 filed Sep. 26, 2014 and herein incorporated by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US15/52264 | 9/25/2015 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62056177 | Sep 2014 | US |
