Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus – Boom mounted depositing and forming means of the carrousel type
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-09
2001-04-03
Pyon, Harold (Department: 1722)
Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus
Boom mounted depositing and forming means of the carrousel type
C425S063000, C425S441000, C264S032000, C264S033000, C264S034000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06210142
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to construction of shelters made from snow or ice. More specifically, the present invention relates to the advantage of using a slip form attached to a telescoping pole to construct a structure having an ellipsoidal shape.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Shelters built from snow or ice may serve a variety of important functions. In areas that receive heavy snowfalls, where there are virtually no building materials available other than snow or ice, such shelters may provide humans with life-saving insulation from cold or other natural elements. Snow shelters are indispensable in times of emergency, and are often used in recreational applications, such as winter camping or ice fishing.
Building a shelter from snow or ice is a difficult job that requires a significant amount of skill. The shelter generally assumes the shape of a dome and is either sculpted from compacted snow or built from specially shaped blocks. Such blocks are cut from ice or compacted snow. The blocks must be angled slightly as they are stacked in circles of successively smaller diameters, so that they form an enclosure at the top of the shelter.
Molds have been used in the prior art to provide building blocks by packing the mold with snow or ice. These molds provide blocks of consistent shape, but generally require the user to make the block with the mold, and then place and adjust the block at the required location. Using conventional snow molds is difficult and impractical for several reasons. First, the size of the block requires the user to repeatedly lift considerable weight to complete the shelter. The resulting demand on human muscles in an already harsh environment saps normal human strength fairly quickly. Second, the weight of the snow packed mold can easily fracture such a mold when it is dropped. Third, the shape of the shelter is entirely determined by the user, and once a mistake is made, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to correct the mistake by repositioning the blocks already in place.
A slip form, wherein the block of snow or ice may be formed in place, has been found to solve the problem of lifting a heavy block to an elevated position. An empty slip form can easily be placed where the block is desired. The user may pack the slip form with snow or ice, and then remove the slip form while leaving the block in place. Smaller quantities of ice or snow may be lifted to the desired location, thus preserving a person's strength and reducing the risk of injury. However, a slip form alone cannot guide the placement of blocks to yield a structurally optimal shape for the snow or ice structure.
There is a great need for a relatively simple device that can be used without excessive physical effort to guide the construction of a shelter from snow or ice.
PRIOR ART DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
U.S. Pat. No. 3,372,430, issued to Lowes on Mar. 2, 1968, discloses a method for constructing an ellipsoidal shelter using a telescoping boom that is connected to a base having a pivot that allows rotation of the telescoping boom incorporating a depositing head that deposits construction material in the form of an elongated strip in a hemispherical configuration.
The present invention is far less complicated than the '430 patent, and incorporates a slip form rather than a depositing head. Also, the '430 patent also does not teach the use of snow or ice as a building material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,602, issued to Lowes on Apr. 9, 1968, improves upon the '430 patent by eliminating the cable required to control the depositing head, achieving a smoother movement through the desired shape and a better deposition of building material. However, the '602 patent still does not teach the use of a slip form, nor the use of snow or ice as a building material. Both the '430 and '602 patents teach inventions requiring substantial power, which are both far more complicated than the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,021, granted to Maddock on Mar. 29, 1988, discloses a machine for building a dome or sphere using an extruder in the form of a centrally located boom that extrudes a wall of a hemisphere by squirting a fluid from the end of the boom. The fluid hardens upon extrusion as the boom travels around a center axis. However, there is no mention of adjusting the length of the boom to provide a spherical or dome shape, nor would such an invention lend itself to the application of building a shelter from snow.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,423, issued to Crock on May 15, 1979, discloses two molds for use in forming blocks of snow or ice to be used in constructing a domed shelter such as an igloo. The molds are used to form blocks having different shapes, for use at different points on the shelter. The present invention differs significantly by incorporating a pole that supports the slip form and extends to successive, graduated lengths to provide the critical shape of the shelter.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,974, issued to Tapan on Mar. 12, 1996, also discloses a pair of molds or forms for constructing a geodesic igloo. The shapes of these molds are significantly different from the single mold of the present invention, and do not provide in situ forming of building blocks as taught by the present invention. Also, the '974 patent does not teach the use of a telescoping pole to support the slip form and guide the shaping of the shelter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention achieves a significant advance over the prior art by providing a method and apparatus for constructing an ellipsoidal shelter from ice or snow. An ellipsoidal shape is critical to the support of the shelter. The present invention achieves the ellipsoidal shape of the shelter by guiding the placement of a slip form through a series of orientations that, when combined, allow the placement of blocks that form the ellipsoidal shape.
The present invention provides apparatus for constructing an ellipsoidal shelter from ice or snow by providing a slip form which allows snow or ice to be formed in situ into building blocks that form the shelter. The slip form comprises two vertical side pieces and incorporates an end cap that holds the side pieces. A graduated, telescoping pole is attached at one end to one of the side pieces of the slip form, and at the other end to a spike or anchor that is driven into the ground to provide a central reference point for the construction of the shelter. The graduated, telescoping pole incorporates two sections. The first section comprises a series of apertures that receive a retractable tab or pin integrated into the second section of the telescoping pole. The outer diameter of the second section is smaller than the inner diameter of the first section, thus allowing the pole to retract by placing the second section into the first section. The pole can remain fixed at different lengths by placing the tab or pin into the apertures in succession, thus guiding the slip form through orientations from the central reference point that allow the shelter to take an ellipsoidal or any other shape desired.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for constructing a shelter from ice or snow. The method comprises the steps of locating a first end of a pole at a desired central reference point, attaching a second end of a pole to a slip form, using the slip form to form blocks in a circle at the distance defined by the length of the pole, adjusting the pole to different lengths, and at each length using the slip form to form blocks in a circular course, wherein the blocks rest on the blocks below at an angle defined by the length of the pole. Preferably, the base of the structure is formed by placing blocks of increasing height in a circle, such that successive courses of blocks are placed in a sequential spiraling manner.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1995692 (1935-03-01), Urschel
patent: 2877530 (1959-03-01), Winn
patent: 3372430 (1968-03-01), Lowes
patent: 3376602 (1968-04-01), Lowes
patent: 3619431 (1971-11-01), Weaver et al.
patent: 3790321 (1974-02-0
Huesers Edward A.
Menge Guy A.
Heckenberg Donald
Huesers Edward A.
Pittenger & Smith, P.C.
Pyon Harold
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