Patent Application
20250179798
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to truss structures used in scenes for shows and such events. More specifically, it relates to a truss structure reinforced with reinforcement members to enhance rigidity and to resist torsion or shearing forces.
Traditional truss structures used in shows, live performances, stages and the like, particularly in scenes for supporting equipment such as lighting and audio devices, are susceptible to torsion and shearing forces, leading to potential instability. The need for a truss system that addresses these issues while providing secure attachment points for pieces of equipment has motivated the development of the present invention.
Therefore, improvements over the prior art are needed.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss structure for a scene for shows, the truss structure being for supporting pieces of equipment for scenes or stages, the truss structure including: an elongated structure having a plurality of sides; and a reinforcement member, the reinforcement member secured to one of the plurality of sides of the elongated structure, the reinforcement member covering a substantial portion of the corresponding truss side, wherein the reinforcement member is enhancing rigidity of the truss structure and resistance of the truss structure to torsion or shearing forces.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss structure, wherein the reinforcement member is embodied as a unitary plate.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss structure, wherein each reinforcement member has a planar surface.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss structure, wherein each reinforcement member includes a plurality of recesses along its edges, creating a plurality of void spaces suitable for attaching the pieces of equipment to the truss structure.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss structure, wherein the elongated structure includes a plurality of longitudinal chords.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss structure, wherein the elongated structure includes link chords coupling adjacent longitudinal chords and cross-link chords coupling non-adjacent longitudinal chords.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss structure, wherein the reinforcement member is secured to a plurality of the link chords.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss structure, wherein the longitudinal chords have a substantially cylindric profile including at least one non-protruding flat surface.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss structure, where the truss structure provides a substantially hollow conduit between the sides.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss assembly for scenes or shows, including: an elongated truss structure having longitudinal chords and a plurality of sides extending between the longitudinal chords; and reinforcement members including longitudinal edges, each one of the reinforcement members being secured along one of the plurality of sides of the truss structure such that each one of the reinforcement members is covering a substantial portion of a corresponding side of the truss structure, the reinforcement members including a plurality of recesses along their longitudinal edges to facilitate attachment of pieces of equipment to the truss structure, wherein the reinforcement member is increasing resistance against torsion or shearing forces.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss assembly, wherein each reinforcement member is embodied as a unitary plate.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss assembly, wherein the truss structure includes a plurality of cross-link chords coupling non-adjacent longitudinal chords.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss assembly, wherein the truss structure includes a plurality of side-link chords coupling adjacent longitudinal chords.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss assembly, wherein the reinforcement members are superposed over at least part of the side-link chords.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss assembly, wherein the reinforcement members are riveted to the side-link chords.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss assembly, wherein the reinforcement members provide, over one of its longitudinal edge, a ratio of lengths of recesses over lengths of edges adjacent to the longitudinal chords of the truss structure of at least 1.25:1.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss assembly, wherein the longitudinal chords have a generally cylindrical profile over more than 50% of its periphery, and a first flat side not protruding relative to the cylindrical profile of the longitudinal chords.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a truss assembly, wherein the longitudinal chords include a second flat side, wherein the first flat side and the second flat side distributed orthogonally relative to one another.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a method for reinforcing a truss structure used in scenes or shows, including the steps of: providing an elongated truss structure having a plurality of sides; and securing reinforcement members, embodied as a unitary plate, to a plurality of the sides of the truss structure, the reinforcement members including two longitudinal edges and recesses distributed along these longitudinal edges, wherein each one of reinforcement member covers a substantial portion of one of the sides, and wherein the recesses allow to secure pieces of equipment to the truss structure without compromising structural integrity of the truss structure.
In some aspects, the description herein relates to a method, wherein the truss structure includes chords, wherein the method further includes the step of attaching the pieces of equipment to the truss structure by clamping the pieces of equipment onto one of the chords through one of the recesses.
Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.
The realizations will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which realizations are illustrated. The foregoing may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the illustrated realizations set forth herein.
With respect to the present description, references to items in the singular should be understood to include items in the plural, and vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise or clear from the text. Grammatical conjunctions are intended to express any and all disjunctive and conjunctive combinations of conjoined clauses, sentences, words, and the like, unless otherwise stated or clear from the context. Thus, the term “or” should generally be understood to mean “and/or” and so forth.
Recitation of ranges of values and of values herein or on the drawings are not intended to be limiting, referring instead individually to any and all values falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value within such a range is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. The words “about”, “approximately”, or the like, when accompanying a numerical value, are to be construed as indicating a deviation as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art to operate satisfactorily for an intended purpose. Ranges of values and/or numeric values are provided herein as examples only, and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of the described realizations. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (“e.g.,” “such as”, or the like) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the exemplary realizations and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the realizations. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any unclaimed element as essential to the practice of the realizations. The use of the term “substantially” is intended to mean “for the most part” or “essentially” depending on the context. It is to be construed as indicating that some deviation from the word it qualifies is acceptable as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art to operate satisfactorily for the intended purpose.
In the following description, it is understood that terms such as “first”, “second”, “top”, “bottom”, “above”, “below”, and the like, are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.
The terms “top”, “up”, “upper”, “bottom”, “lower”, “down”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “interior” and “exterior” and the like are intended to be construed in their normal meaning in relation with normal installation of the product.
It should further be noted that for purposes of this disclosure, the term “coupled” means the joining of two members directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary in nature or movable in nature. Such joining may be achieved with the two members, or the two members and any additional intermediate members being integrally formed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two members or the two members and any additional intermediate members being attached to one another. Such joining may be permanent in nature or alternatively may be removable or releasable in nature.
The present invention relates to truss structures and truss assemblies utilized in scenes for shows (such as live performances, events and other stages), particularly in scenes for supporting equipment such as lighting and audio devices. More specifically, the disclosed invention is a truss assembly made of a truss structure and reinforcement members (20, 22, 24, 26), adapted to be assembled on the side surfaces thereof, to enhance rigidity and to resist torsion or shearing forces of the truss structure, and the resulting reinforced truss structure once assembled.
The truss structure (10) comprises an elongated frame with four sides and two opposite ends (altogether forming a rectangular prism), at least some, and preferably all of the sides comprising a reinforcement member. These reinforcement members, embodied as plates of a single component, cover a substantial portion of the truss sides, preventing torsion or shearing forces. Recesses (28) along the longitudinal edges (30) of each reinforcement member provide clearance that allows for secure attachment of pieces of equipment to the truss structure (10) without conflicting with the presence of the reinforcement member on the side of the truss structure (10) on which such pieces of equipment are being secured.
Referring to
These reinforcement members provide planar (i.e., flat) surfaces covering a substantial portion of the sides of the truss structure (10). According to a preferred embodiment, the reinforcement members are planar surfaces covering almost the complete side surface of the portion of the face (12, 14, 16, 18) of the truss structure (10).
In
When installed over scenes such as scenes or stages used for shows, events, promotional events and the like, the reinforced truss structure (10) provides enhanced stability and resistance to torsion or shearing forces. The load (maximum weight) that the reinforced truss structure (10) can hold without breaking is considerably and significantly enhanced by having the reinforcement members (20, 22, 24, 26) attached to the sides of the truss structure (10). Pieces of equipment can be securely attached to the truss structure (10) using the small recesses (28) along the edges of the reinforcement members.
Advantages include increased rigidity and stability of the truss structure; increased resistance to torsion and shearing forces when compared to a prior-art truss structure exempt from any reinforcement as disclosed herein; and the presence of secure attachment points for securing pieces of equipment without compromising structural integrity since permitted by the recesses (28) on the edges of the reinforcement members or plates (20, 22, 24, 26).
It should be noted that the invention according to the present disclosure is also applicable as trusses of other shapes, including 2D trusses being made of a single panel and a single corresponding reinforcement member covering the only surface thereof, and of triangular prism truss including three longitudinal chords.
It also should be noted that the reinforcement members may be combined with or can replace at least a portion of the link chords connecting adjacent longitudinal chords to which can be permanently or releasably attached a reinforcement member.
According to an embodiment (not depicted), a truss structure comprises four reinforcement members (20, 22, 24, 26) coupled to longitudinal chords, and at least a plurality of link chords (115, 117) coupling non-adjacent longitudinal chords and ensuring robustness of the rectangular prism shape of the truss structure (10) against deformation.
In a preferred realization, the reinforcement members (20) are secured when manufacturing the truss. The reinforcement members (20) are secured with rivets to the longitudinal chords, and to diagonal chords coupling neighbor mains chords. Preferably, reinforcement members are also secured with rivets to the orthogonal link chords coupling orthogonally the longitudinal chords about the extremities of the truss (10).
According to alternative embodiments, reinforcement members may be releasably secured thereto, or permanently secured to one or more of the components recited before, e.g., welded thereto. According to alternative embodiments, e.g., embodiment illustrated through
It is worth mentioning that based on embodiments, embodiments of truss structures may comprise one or more reinforcement members, with the reinforcement members being mounted to or in combination with link chords coupling adjacent chords. The reinforcement member(s) may be permanently coupled or releasably coupled to the chords. Cross-link chords may be used to couple non-adjacent longitudinal chords.
Number of recesses of the reinforcement members is at least two per edge, and preferably more such as six per edge. Ratio of length of recesses over length of the edge available for coupling to the chords is above 1.25:1, preferably over 1.5:1, and more preferably between 1.75:1 to 1.8:1.
Reinforcement members can undergo modifications, including—the length of the reinforcement members relative to the length of the longitudinal chords; —number, size and positions of the recesses along the edges of the reinforcement members; —presence/absence of openings (not depicted) in the reinforcement members; and —alternative methods to secure the reinforcement members to other components of the truss structure.
Referring to
The presence of the at least one and preferably two flat sides (132, 133) ensures that the soldering or brazing of the link chords (113, 115, 117, 119) of the truss structure (10) or other pieces of equipment to the longitudinal chords (13, 15, 17, 19) is facilitated, whether for manual or robotized soldering or brazing. Having a remainder of the longitudinal chord (13) (or longitudinal chord 15, 17, 19) having a circular cross section (being otherwise cylindrical) outside of the flat sections (132, 133) ensure that typical pieces of equipment can be clipped or secured to the cylindrical longitudinal chords (13) as usual thanks to the fact the flat sections (132, 133) do not occupy a whole periphery of the longitudinal chords nor protrude to the general cylindrical profile (135) of the longitudinal chords (13). Having flat section(s) (132, 133) around the otherwise cylindrical longitudinal chords or other piece(s) (link chord(s), etc.) has been found to be a proper trade-off between computability, or ability to clamp pieces of equipment onto the cylindrical portion, and ease of soldering on flat portions.
While preferred embodiments have been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from this disclosure. Such modifications are considered as possible variants comprised in the scope of the disclosure.
This application claims priority from provisional U.S. patent application No. 63/605,210, filed Dec. 1, 2023, entitled REINFORCED TRUSS STRUCTURE.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63605210 | Dec 2023 | US |
