Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Cover or enclosure suspended by flexible means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-21
2001-05-22
Stephan, Beth A. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Cover or enclosure suspended by flexible means
C052S003000, C052S005000, C052S023000, C052S063000, C052S173300, C135S123000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06233881
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the field of shelters and more specifically to roofs and coverings for living spaces and outdoor areas.
Shelter is a basic human need. As mankind has evolved, shelters have also evolved, from the simplest caves to present day buildings of steel, concrete, and glass. While skyscrapers may stand out as crowning achievements of modem building design, most people continue to live in modest wood-framed homes. As the world's population continues to increase the demand for more housing also increases, yet the available supply of building materials such as lumber continues to decrease. Consequently, there is a growing need for housing alternatives that rely less on lumber and more on other types of construction materials. Replacing lumber with materials that would otherwise constitute waste products would have obvious environmental benefits. Further environmental benefits may be realized by optimizing both the efficiency and the usability of the spaces we build.
One alternative to wood-framed houses that makes use of a material that would otherwise constitute a waste product is straw bale houses. In a home built with straw bales, walls are assembled from stacked bales of straw held in place by re-bar that is secured in the foundation. The walls are enclosed by chicken wire with plaster on the interior and stucco on the exterior to protect the straw bales from the elements. Straw bale homes offer very good insulation, inexpensive construction, and use little lumber. They are also very fire and earthquake resistant. Unfortunately, straw bale homes still rely on conventional roofing systems when a pitch is necessary to shed water.
Prior art
FIG. 1
illustrates a typical framing arrangement for a lumber truss roof
2
common to many wood-framed and straw bale homes. Besides the reliance on lumber, another disadvantage of this type of roof is the manner in which they are braced. Beams
4
for bracing the roof divide the interior space into numerous triangular regions. These triangular regions are not conducive for placing straw bales for ceiling insulation because the bales do not fit well into the comers and because it is difficult to move the bales around within the triangular regions. In addition, traditional pitch systems make it impractical to use the roof space for living area. Consequently, attic spaces enclosed by traditional lumber roofs, whether on straw bale homes or conventional wood-framed homes, commonly are poorly utilized.
Accordingly, what is desired is a roofing system that reduces the use of lumber, that is inexpensive and easy to assemble, that allows for the installation of straw bale ceiling insulation, and that creates a livable space that is open and aesthetically pleasing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides for a fabric comprising cables and panels ideally suited both as a roofing for a living space and as a covering for an open area.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, multiple cable sets, consisting of three cables each, are arranged to form a desired shape of a roof or area covering. Panels spanning the spaces between the cable sets complete the fabric. Each panel has four attachment points, and at each attachment point a coupling mechanism secures the panel to a cable such that each panel is secured to two of the three cables on either side of it. More specifically, every panel in the fabric attaches to the top and middle cables on one side, and attaches to the middle and bottom cables on the other side. According to this arrangement, panels overlap much as shingles overlap on a conventional roof. However, in contrast to a conventional set of roofing shingles, the cables of the present invention hold the panels apart so that they need not touch one another. In this way the fabric presents a closed appearance similar to a conventional set of overlapping roofing shingles when viewed from one perspective, while viewed from another perspective the fabric presents an open weave. This fabric, therefore, provides the advantages of being substantially rain-proof when the closed perspective is vertically oriented towards the sky, while at the same time allowing substantial air and light to diffuse through from the horizontal open perspective.
Embodiments of the present invention take a variety of shapes and sizes. Simple embodiments provide for a fabric that is substantially planar. Such planar fabrics may be formed into simple geometric shapes such as squares and rectangles and may be suitable for awnings, one-sided roofs, shade for garden areas, and the like. Such fabrics may be held in place by securely fastening opposite ends of each cable set to a straight support member. Alternately, in place of one support member, individual cable sets may be attached to independent footings secured to the ground. Further embodiments are directed to more complex planar shapes, and still other embodiments include non-planar shapes such as truncated cones. These more complex shapes may be suitable for covering ampitheatre seating, building entrances, outdoor cafe seating, and similar applications where a more aesthetically pleasing appearance is desired.
Additional embodiments are directed to fabrics with adjustable panels that allow the fabric to be made more or less open. In one such embodiment opposite support members rotate in unison to bring the top and bottom cables in each set closer to the middle cable, thus tending to close off the spaces between panels. In another such embodiment each cable set may be rotated around an axis defined by the central cable. By rotating all of the cable sets in unison, either clockwise or counter-clockwise, the distance between adjacent panels can be varied. Further embodiments are directed to adjustable fabrics where the cables are brought closer together, for example, by pinching or sliding adjustments. The advantages of an adjustable fabric include the ability to alter the amount of air and light coming through, and the ability to close the fabric during periods of rain and high winds.
A further embodiment is directed to a method for constructing a fabric of cables and panels. In the disclosed method all of the panels are set out in rows, with successive rows layered on top of one another, such that similarly situated panels in successive rows form columns. Cables are attached to their corresponding coupling mechanisms on each panel and then to support members. The support members are separated from one another until the cables are drawn taught, and then the panels are positioned such that they are uniformly spaced, specifically so that panels within rows, and the rows themselves, overlap each other by substantially the same amount.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following descriptions of the invention and a study of the several figures of the drawings.
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Ann Talmadge, Problem Solving Report, Mar. 18, 1999, NERAC, Inc.
Ann Talmadge, Problem Solving Report, Mar. 19, 1999, NERAC, Inc.
Author Unknown, Munich's Olympic Games Site Topped by Cable-suspended Roof, Sep. 23, 1971, Eng News-Rec.
Glessner Brian E.
Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP
Stephan Beth A.
LandOfFree
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