AU600671B2 - Silo - Google Patents

Description

COMMONWEALTH OF A R OL PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (Original) FOR OFFICE USE Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: IPriority: Related Art: IThlis document contu'ns the mecndments made under Section 49 and is correct for prining.

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Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: M.A.H. CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING PTY. LTD.

and JURGEN SCHNEIDER 36 Victoria Street, Smithfield, New South Wales, Australia; and Langelmuhle, 3549 Wolfhagen, Federal Republic of Germany, respectively.

HANS GEORG HEFER and JURGEN SCHNEIDER DAVIES COLLISON, Patent Attorneys, 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

Complete specification for the invention entitled:

"SILO"

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us 1 _I;L OPYill.--I The present invention relates to silos.

Silos are traditionally constructed from vertical panels having horizontal corrugations and having each vertical end welded to a face plate which forms part of a vertical supporting column which in turn may support adjacent vertical panels. The columns may additionally be filled with concrete and additional reinforcement.

Silos manufactured in accordance with the last-mentioned prior art are, however, relatively complex to manufacture insofar as it is necessary to weld face plates to the ends of the vertical panels. It is additionally necessary to employ bolts, welded flat irons, hooks or other means to join adjacent face plates so as to form a coldmn.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a silo which can be constructed from building elements which require a minimum of welding and yet may be relatively easily and quickly assembled.

According to the present invention, there is provided a silo which comprises a plurality of support columns and walls, each of said walls including at least one wall plate having flanges around its periphery, said flanges having first boreholes for receiving attaching means, wherein at least one said flange is offset on at least one peripheral edge of said wall plate, each of said support columns being formed by at least one plate-shaped building element, said building element comprising a column plate having a flange at each opposite longitudinal edge thereof, said flanges having second boreholes for receiving attaching means, wherein a flange of each of said wall plates is sandwiched between a flange of a said building element and an additional flange of a further building element selected from the group consisting of a second said building element, a flat-surfaced building element having said additional flange at a longitudinal edge thereof, and a right-angled building element having said additional flange at a longitudinal edge thereof, said additional flange having third boreholes for receiving attaching means, such that said first, second and third boreholes may be aligned to receive attaching means, and wherein said offset allows a first said wall plate to abut a second said wall plate such that said first boreholes of said first and second wall plates may be aligned to receive attaching means.

Preferably, the wall plates are provided with one or more profiled strengthening sections.

In a preferred form of the invention, the flanges on the column plates are disposed at an angle 4 of approximately 450 from the respective plate, and the included angle between the flanges is approximately According to another optional feature, the wall plates are provided with corrugated portions which extend into a support column, thereby increasing the rigidity of the construction where a column is filled with concrete.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic horizontal section through part of a silo constructed in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a silo in accordance with the present invention under construction; and Figure 3 is a horizontal section through one column of a silo constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 1 discloses the versatility of the basic building element 1 of the present invention.

The drawing depicts part of a multi-compartment silo in which building elements 1 are utilised to form a diamond-shaped vertical support column 2. Each building element comprises a rectangular plate having a flange 3 at each longitudinal edge thereof. The flanges 3 are each disposed at an angle of 450 from I the plate, and the included angle between the flanges is 900. Support column 2 comprises four basic building elements 1, the flanges 3 of the adjacent basic building elements sandwiching vertical wall panels 4. It may be seen that column 2 supports one edge of each of four such wall panels. The two flanges sandwiching each wall panel would, in use, be bolted through thus anchoring the wall panel.

The basic building element 1 may however be used to form a column of triangular section where such column is intended to merely support three wall panels as depicted at column 5. In this instance a plate 6 is employed in addition to two basic building elements 1 in order to form the closed column and secure the edges of the wall panels concerned.

Column 7 is an example of a corner column which is only required to support two vertical two wall panels, such column comprising a standard building element 1 together with a right angle corner plate 8 bolted together and sandwiching one edge of each of two wall panels 9 and Figure 2 depicts a multi-compartment partially constructed silo and shows a wall panel 4 developed specifically for use in conjunction with the present system of construction. The panel is pressed so as to display two profiled strengthening sections 11 and 12 together with flat flanges at each of ends 13 and 14 adapted to be sandwiched between the building elements of a column. The upper flange is offset so as to be capable of lying side by side with the lower flange of the wall panel immediately above rather than merely abutting the same in an edge-to-edge manner, which abutment would preclude through bolting of both flanges.

It may be seen from Figure 2 that the elements comprising the vertical columns are staggered in order to avoid undue weakening. For example, opposing basic building elements 16 and 17 terminate well above the other pair of opposing basic building elements 18 and 19 forming the one column.

Figure 3 depicts, in section, a diamond-shaped column comprised of four basic building elements 1 sandwiching four wall members 4. It should be appreciated that the through bolting which occurs at 20 is a relatively simple operation which secures adjacent basic building elements as well as the sandwiched vertical flange of one panel. It is not necessary for a workman to place his hand within the column in order to do up the bolt and this facilitates fast construction.

The embodiment depicted in Figure 3 additionally discloses wall members 4 having elongated vertical flanges terminating in a pressed corrugation at 21.

This corrugation 21 adds further rigidity to the system where a column is subsequently filled with concrete.

The wall panels and the basic and other building elements of the column may be fabricated from mild steel, although this high tensile hot rolled 340 steel has been successfully tested.

Claims (6)

1. A silo comprising a plurality of support columns and walls, each of said walls including at least one wall plate having flanges around its periphery, said flanges having first boreholes for receiving attaching means, wherein at least one said flange is offset on at least one peripheral edge of said wall plate, each of said support columns being formed by at least one plate-shaped building element, said building element comprising a column plate having a flange at each opposite longitudinal edge thereof, said flanges having second boreholes for receiving attaching means, wherein a flange of each of said wall plates is sandwiched between a flange of a said building element and an additional flange of a further building element selected from the group consisting of a second said building element, a flat-surfaced building element having said additional flange at a longitudinal edge thereof, and a right-angled building element having said additional flange at a longitudinal edge thereof, said additional flange having third boreholes for receiving attaching means, such that said first, second and third boreholes may be aligned to receive attaching means, and wherein said offset allows a first said wall plate to abut a second said wall plate such that said first boreholes of said first and second wall plates may be aligned to receive attaching means.

2. A silo according to claim i, wherein said plate-shaped building element and said further building element sandwiching said wall plate flange are vertically offset relative to each other.

3. A silo according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein at least one of said wall plates is provided with a corrugated portion which extends into a said support column.

4. A silo according to any preceding claim, wherein at least one of said support columns is filled with concrete. o,: A silo according to any preceding claim, wherein at least one of said wall plates is provided with one or more profiled strengthening sections.

6. A silo according to any preceding claim, wherein the flanges on the said column plates are disposed at an angle of approximately 450 from the respective plate, and the included angle between the flanges is approximately 900.

7. A silo substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 16th day of October, 1989 M.A.H. CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING PTY.LTD. and JURGEN SCHNEIDER By their Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON I