Claims
- 1. A structural supporting truss comprising an elongate rib of resilient material and a web of fabric material; wherein
- the rib is connected to the web; and
- the rib, in use as an assembled truss, is resiliently deformed to adopt a curved shape, the web extending radially inwardly of the rib along a length of the rib, such that the web acts in tension to retain the rib in the curved shape; and
- wherein the web comprises a plurality of interconnected fabric panels; and
- the shape of the panels is such that, when interconnected and laid flat, the web adopts approximately the curved shape of the assembled truss.
- 2. A truss according to claim 1 in which the fabric material is capable of resisting shear stress.
- 3. A truss according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the material of the web is a bias cut woven material.
- 4. A truss according to claim 3 in which both warp and fill fibres of the material of the web are disposed at an angle of approximately 45.degree. to the rib.
- 5. A truss according to claim 1 in which the web is secured to the rib such as it may slide along the rib.
- 6. A truss according to claim 1 in which the web is secured to the rib at spaced intervals along the rib.
- 7. A truss according to claim 6 in which the web is secured to the rib by discrete attachment elements spaced along its length.
- 8. A truss according to claim 7 in which the attachment elements comprise projections of the web, each projection carrying a formation for retention in a cooperating formation of the rib.
- 9. A truss according to claim 8 in which the formation on the attachment element comprises a bulbous portion thereof and the formation on the rib comprises a groove of cross section to slidingly receive said bulbous portions.
- 10. A truss according to claim 1 in which a portion of the web remote from the rib is reinforced so as to resist tensile forces.
- 11. A truss according to claim 10 in which the reinforcement comprises a length of webbing secured to the web.
- 12. A truss according to claim 11 in which the webbing surrounds a radially inner edge portion of the web.
- 13. A truss according to claim 11 in which a length of cord or wire is encapsulated within the webbing.
- 14. A truss according to claim 1 in which each fabric panel is formed of woven fabric material, the warp and fill fibres of the material being disposed at an angle of approximately 45.degree. to the rib.
- 15. A truss according to claim 1 in which attachment elements for securing the web to the rib are provided at interconnection regions between adjacent panels.
- 16. A truss according to claim 1 in which the rib comprises an extrusion or a pultrusion of fibre reinforced plastics.
- 17. A truss according to claim 1 in which the rib comprises a plurality of sections interconnected by hinges which permit the truss to be folded for storage in a direction opposite to the curve of the rib in use.
- 18. A truss according to claim 17 in which each of the hinges comprises two identical plastic mouldings interconnected by a hinge pin.
- 19. A truss according to claim 18 in which each of the hinges has a pivotal axis which is coincident with a median plane of the rib sections which it is interconnecting.
- 20. A truss according to claim 19 in which each hinge has two special pivotal axes, each of which is coincident with a median plane of a proximal rib section.
- 21. A truss according to claim 1 in which the rib comprises a plurality of interconnected sections which can be disconnected from one another.
- 22. A truss according to claim 1 comprising tensioning means for applying tension to the web.
- 23. A truss according to claim 22 in which the tensioning means comprises at least one of a buckle or a winch.
- 24. A shelter structure comprising a frame including at least one truss according to claim 1 and an outer membrane supported by the frame.
- 25. A shelter structure according to claim 24 in which the outer membrane comprises a plurality of sections each secured to at least one truss.
- 26. A shelter structure according to claim 25 in which each section is provided with a Keder edge by which it can be secured within a groove of the rib of a truss to which it is to be secured.
- 27. A shelter structure according to claim 24 in which the frame comprises a plurality of pairs of trusses, the ends of the tusses of each pair diverging from common supporting feet.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
9517500 |
Aug 1995 |
GBX |
|
Parent Case Info
This is a United States national application corresponding to copending international application PCT/GB96/02062 filed Aug. 23, 1996 which designates the United States, the benefit of the filing date of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120, which in turn claims the benefit of British applicaton No. 9517500.6 filed Aug. 25, 1995, the benefit of the filing date of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. 119.
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
102e Date |
371c Date |
PCT/GB96/02062 |
8/23/1996 |
|
|
9/8/1998 |
9/8/1998 |
Publishing Document |
Publishing Date |
Country |
Kind |
WO97/08411 |
3/6/1997 |
|
|
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1 116 883 |
Jan 1982 |
CAX |
0 007 580 |
Feb 1980 |
EPX |
2 171 318 |
Sep 1973 |
FRX |
2 189 594 |
Jan 1974 |
FRX |
2 094 367 |
Sep 1982 |
GBX |