Patent Application
20240287801
This application claims the benefit of priority to German Patent Application No. 102023104612.8, filed on Feb. 24, 2023. The entire contents of this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a truss, a truss structure with at least two trusses, and a use of a truss for stage construction.
Trusses are used in event technology, especially in trade fair and stage construction. Such trusses are often also referred to as “trusses”. They are used to erect scaffolding and to attach lighting, loudspeakers and other stage-related equipment. The trusses are arranged vertically and horizontally to create suitable structures. They include truss bars running parallel to each other, which are connected to each other with cross bars running at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the truss bars or perpendicular to them.
Trusses usually have fixed lengths. To build larger structures, the trusses are joined together. It is common practice to connect two trusses together using mating flanges and removable pins that extend through the flanges. With this technique, the adjacent trusses must be aligned so that the pins can pass through the end flanges of one truss and the end flanges of the adjacent truss. Therefore, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive to first align the trusses and then hold them in alignment while the pins are inserted into the flanges. When arranging the trusses, one is also tied to the position of the flanges.
A further development of this is the use of a fork-and-pin connection, whereby one connecting portion carries a fork head and a corresponding connecting portion carries a pin head and the connecting portions are inserted into the open sides of a truss bar and pinned to the truss bar to secure the position. If there are different pin positions in the truss bar, the trusses can be connected to each other at an angle other than 0°, which provides significantly greater design freedom.
Example embodiments of the present invention provide trusses each connectable to other trusses particularly easily, whereby the connection is highly reliable and allows great design freedom.
The problems described above are solved by one or more trusses with the features of example embodiments of the present disclosure, truss structures with at least two trusses, and methods for using trusses for stage construction. Further advantageous example embodiments of the present invention are discussed below.
A truss according to an example embodiment includes a cuboid base structure including longitudinal edges defined by truss bars and cross bars on longitudinal sides between the truss bars in a truss arrangement. The truss bars each include two open ends into which a connecting portion of a fork-and-pin connection is insertable. The truss bars are preferably continuous from one end of the truss bar to the other end of the truss bar.
The connecting portion includes a sleeve which is located in and connected to the truss bar, and the sleeve has an internal thread into which a threaded rod of the connecting portion is screwed, and the threaded rod defines a pin head or fork head. A length of the connecting portion can thus be adjusted almost steplessly. In addition, the connection is particularly durable due to the use of a sleeve inserted into the truss bar and can be easily replaced.
The connecting portion includes a lock to secure the threaded rod in position. The lock can prevent the threaded rod from being turned in or out in the axial direction. For example, a nut may be screwed onto the threaded rod outside the sleeve and can be brought into contact with a contact surface of the sleeve or the truss bar to achieve force-locking fastening of the threaded rod. The nut secures the position of the threaded rod, especially during transportation of the truss. However, it is also possible to use cotter pins, locking clips, locking rings or similar elements to secure the position of the threaded rod in the sleeve. The securing portions can be supported by or attached to a portion of the truss that is “fixed to the base structure”. The lock serves not only to prevent loss, but also to secure the position. In particular, if the connecting portions have different lengths, which is made possible by the variable position of the threaded rod in the sleeve, the lock can be used to ensure that the position is fixed. This means that truss structures including several trusses can be dismantled, transported and reassembled without having to readjust the length of the connecting portions.
Preferably, the internal thread may preferably be a fine thread, which allows the length of the threaded rod protruding from the sleeve to be set particularly precisely.
Preferably, the sleeve is pinned to the truss bar. However, it is also conceivable that the sleeve is screwed or riveted to the truss bar.
The sleeve preferably includes a projecting edge at the end, which rests against the end surface of the truss bar and forms a contact surface for the nut.
It is advantageous if the sleeve and the threaded rod are made of steel. The truss or at least the truss bar is conventionally made of aluminum.
The nut can be designed as a slotted nut.
To ensure that the threaded rod can be adequately supported in the sleeve, the threaded rod may preferably have a length of at least about 25 mm, in particular at least about 35 mm, preferably at least about 40 mm, remaining in the sleeve when completely unscrewed, for example. The length of the threaded rod that can be unscrewed is preferably greater than about 30 mm, in particular between about 40 mm and about 80 mm, preferably between about 60 mm and about 70 mm, for example. The unscrewing length is the length to which the threaded rod can be unscrewed from the fully screwed-in state while maintaining a secure connection. It must therefore be ensured over the entire unscrewing length that the connecting portion is suitable for connection to another truss and can absorb the forces acting on it.
In addition, a truss structure with at least two previously described trusses is provided, and two corresponding connecting portions interlock and define a fork-pin connection. Preferably, the truss structure including the trusses is arc-shaped or circular segment-shaped. For this purpose, four connecting portions of a truss are connected to four corresponding connecting portions of an adjacent truss in the case of rectangular or substantially rectangular trusses. The connecting portions have different lengths, which can be adjusted using the threaded rod and fixed with the locking device. Due to the different lengths, the transverse edges of the interconnected trusses are not parallel to each other and may include an angle greater than about 1°, for example. In particular, the angle may be between about 1° and about 20°, especially between about 2° and about 14°, for example.
In addition, the use of a previously mentioned truss or truss structure for stage construction is intended.
The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the example embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Example embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. Similar or similarly acting components are designated with the same reference signs in the figures.
A further design of a truss, not shown, is almost identical in construction to the truss described above, except that the two longitudinal sides are connected at the ends or transversely via a U-shaped frame structure. There is no connection between the two longitudinal sides on the underside. As a result, the space surrounded by the truss is freely accessible from below across the entire width of the truss. This has the advantage that lighting, loudspeakers and other stage-related equipment can be attached by inserting them into the truss from the transverse sides, in particular by sliding them in.
The truss bars 2 each have two open ends, into each of which a connecting portion 8 of a fork-and-pin connection is inserted. The fork-and-pin connection makes it possible to connect trusses 1 to each other to form large structures. The trusses preferably have standard lengths of between 1000 mm and 4000 mm, in particular between 1200 mm and 3200 mm. In order to be able to build truss structures that are as variable as possible, there are at least four, in particular five different lengths in the range. The lengths can be 1200 mm, 1600 mm, 2400 mm, 3000 mm and 3200 mm, for example. The truss structures formed from the trusses usually have a span of between 5 m and 15 m unsupported in the aforementioned application.
At the second end, the sleeve 9 has an edge 14 that projects radially from the longitudinal axis and provides a contact surface for the end surface 15 of the truss bar 2. This prevents the sleeve 9 from slipping into the truss bar 2. During assembly, the sleeve 9 is brought into contact with the end surface of the truss bar 2 and the pins 13 are inserted through the holes 12 to create a connection.
The sleeve 9 has an internal thread 16 in the second end area. The internal thread 16 is a metric thread with a nominal size of 30 mm. The thread pitch is between 1.30 mm and 1.70 mm, in particular 1.50 mm. It is therefore a fine thread.
The inside diameter of the sleeve 9 between the first end and the threaded area is larger than the inside diameter of the threaded area to prevent jamming.
A threaded rod 17 with a pin head 18 is screwed into the thread 16 of the sleeve 9. Like the sleeve 9, the threaded rod 17 is made of steel, which makes the screw connection particularly strong and durable.
In a first end area, the threaded rod 17 has an external thread 19 corresponding to the internal thread 16 of the sleeve 9. Subsequent to the first end area, the threaded rod 17 is enlarged in its outer diameter, forming an annular contact surface 20, which is adjoined by the pin head 18. In the area of the pin head 18, the threaded rod 17 is flattened and has a transverse bore 21 passing through it.
A locknut 22, which acts as a lock nut, is also located on the external thread 19 of the threaded rod 17. The locknut 22 has an internal thread corresponding to the threaded rod 17 and is screwed onto the external thread 19 of the threaded rod 17 and clamped in the desired position of the threaded rod 17 relative to the sleeve 9 against the annular contact surface of the sleeve 9, so that the threaded rod 17 is secured in its position. The sleeve 9 with its contact surface and the groove nut 22 with its end surface are twisted or screwed against each other until both are clamped together in a force-locking manner.
A hook wrench can engage in the grooves 23 of the locknut 22, which are provided on the outside of the nut and run parallel to the longitudinal axis, to tighten or loosen the connection.
The locknut 22 fixes the set position particularly securely and easily. When transporting the truss, a tightened locknut prevents the threaded rod from unscrewing and falling out due to vibrations and impacts. The locknut therefore also serves as a transport lock.
The position of the pin head can be individually and very finely adjusted using the threaded rod. The fine thread allows particularly precise positioning. As the length of the connecting portion can be adjusted, it is also possible, for example, to achieve circular segment-shaped structures with several trusses 1, as shown in
The four connecting portions of the rectangular trusses 1 are connected to four corresponding connecting portions of an adjacent truss 1. The connecting portions have different lengths, which can be adjusted using the thread and fixed with the locking device. Due to the different lengths, the transverse edges of the directly consecutive and interconnected trusses are not parallel to each other and form an angle a greater than 1°. In particular, the angle is between 1° and 20°, especially between 2° and 14°.
It is also conceivable that the angle between two adjacent trusses in a truss structure can change, allowing a wide variety of structures to be created. The orientation of the fork and pin heads can also change from one truss to the next in the truss structure.
To ensure that the threaded rod can be adequately supported in the sleeve, the threaded rod should have a length of at least 25 mm, in particular at least 35 mm, preferably at least 40 mm, remaining in the sleeve when completely unscrewed. The unscrewing length of the thread is preferably greater than 30 mm, in particular between 40 mm and 80 mm, preferably between 60 mm and 70 mm.
The threaded rod 17 has the fork head 24 adjacent to the external thread 19. The fork head 24 forms an annular contact surface 20. The fork head 24 comprises two legs 25, into which the pin-shaped area of the pin head of the first connecting portion can engage. The two legs 25 each have a through bore 26 (transverse bore), which are aligned with each other and correspond to the bore in the pin head. When assembling the fork-pin connection, the pin is inserted between the legs 25 of the fork head 24 or the fork and a pin, not shown, is pushed through the holes 26 and secured against being pulled out by a safety clip or a retaining clip.
While example embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2023 104 612.8 | Feb 2023 | DE | national |
