Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Processes – Barrier construction
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-02
2001-10-30
Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Processes
Barrier construction
C052S081400, C052S200000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308490
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The majority of new buildings today rely on the old methods that use bearing walls or columns to support a heavy roof or an intermediate floor. Structures built in this way are susceptible to forces caused by gravity, adverse weather and earthquakes. The stresses in the buildings induced by these forces can cause cracks in and eventually the failure of the building. Internal stresses at the corners and joints of such buildings are amplified by the construction methods. Failure of such buildings is initiated at their weakest points.
Conventional structures use massive quantities of materials and require excessive amounts of labor time and energy to construct. Forests are cut down to provide the lumber. Energy is expended to mine and create metal beams and components which carry the weight of the other building materials. Furthermore, a great amount of human, machine and combustible fuel energy is needed to transport and assemble the materials at job site.
Architects are designing buildings that are pleasing to the eye but are expensive to build. The buildings have curved surfaces which are very expensive to construct.
There has been a need for a method of creating a structure, such as a home, a vault for a mall, a sports stadium, etc. from less expensive materials and labor and a need for a method of building the structures more quickly.
Further, there has been a need for creating buildings that are more resistant to the forces of nature.
BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
One object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive method of creating structures of considerable strength while creating a building of customary appearance.
Another object is to be able to create structures of arbitrary curvature form inexpensively without the need for a structural skeleton.
A further object is to create structures of high strength out of lightweight materials in commercially available sizes by incorporating curved, dome-like or shell-like structures into the building.
Another object is to provide a transparent structure of considerable strength which could be used to create stadiums, arenas and sport complex roofs.
A further object is to create a fiber or cable reinforced, curved structure of very high strength.
Another object is to create an inexpensive method of making transparent structures, such as skylights, domes, vaults and canopies, which is of especial interest in the construction of malls and many other structures.
A further object is to provide a method for creating a virtual structure having curved portions in a computer, then sectioning the structure by the computer program into smaller, more manageable sections, forming the curved sections from flat/planar pieces. The forming step can be accomplished by feeding the data from the computer assisted drafting (CAD) program to a computer assisted machining program (CAM) in a cutting machine.
Another object is to make a 3-D curved structure without the use of expensive forming processes. Before the development of CAD-CAM, such a curved structure would have been very expensive to create.
A further object is to create buildings more quickly.
A further object is to build the structure in portions made from joining sections until the combined sections are of an appropriate size to be raised to form a portion of the structure.
Another object of the invention is to make a structure that is more resistant to the external forces experienced during snow, winds and earthquakes. This is accomplished in two ways. First, the weight of the structure is reduced. Second, the strength of a curved shell is exploited.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3807101 (1974-04-01), Cole
patent: 4221100 (1980-09-01), Lindblad
patent: 4723386 (1988-02-01), Sandow
patent: 4953094 (1990-08-01), Letcher, Jr.
patent: 5651220 (1997-07-01), dit Felix
patent: 6134849 (2000-10-01), Holler
Davis, Jr. Albert W
Friedman Carl D.
Slack Naoko
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