EP1155200B1 - Structures which can be dismantled and folded, consisting of interconnecting tubular elements; and a joint for such structures - Google Patents

Structures which can be dismantled and folded, consisting of interconnecting tubular elements; and a joint for such structures Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1155200B1
EP1155200B1 EP00909623A EP00909623A EP1155200B1 EP 1155200 B1 EP1155200 B1 EP 1155200B1 EP 00909623 A EP00909623 A EP 00909623A EP 00909623 A EP00909623 A EP 00909623A EP 1155200 B1 EP1155200 B1 EP 1155200B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
structures
universal joints
seats
elements
faces
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP00909623A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1155200A1 (en
Inventor
Sergio Cazzolaro
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of EP1155200A1 publication Critical patent/EP1155200A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1155200B1 publication Critical patent/EP1155200B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E04—BUILDING
    • E04H—BUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL
    • E04H3/00—Buildings or groups of buildings for public or similar purposes; Institutions, e.g. infirmaries or prisons
    • E04H3/10—Buildings or groups of buildings for public or similar purposes; Institutions, e.g. infirmaries or prisons for meetings, entertainments, or sports
    • E04H3/22—Theatres; Concert halls; Studios for broadcasting, cinematography, television or similar purposes
    • E04H3/24—Constructional features of stages
    • E04H3/28—Shiftable or portable platforms
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E04—BUILDING
    • E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
    • E04B1/00—Constructions in general; Structures which are not restricted either to walls, e.g. partitions, or floors or ceilings or roofs
    • E04B1/343—Structures characterised by movable, separable, or collapsible parts, e.g. for transport
    • E04B1/344—Structures characterised by movable, separable, or collapsible parts, e.g. for transport with hinged parts
    • E04B1/3441—Structures characterised by movable, separable, or collapsible parts, e.g. for transport with hinged parts with articulated bar-shaped elements
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E04—BUILDING
    • E04H—BUILDINGS OR LIKE STRUCTURES FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSES; SWIMMING OR SPLASH BATHS OR POOLS; MASTS; FENCING; TENTS OR CANOPIES, IN GENERAL
    • E04H1/00—Buildings or groups of buildings for dwelling or office purposes; General layout, e.g. modular co-ordination or staggered storeys
    • E04H1/12—Small buildings or other erections for limited occupation, erected in the open air or arranged in buildings, e.g. kiosks, waiting shelters for bus stops or for filling stations, roofs for railway platforms, watchmen's huts or dressing cubicles
    • E04H1/1272—Exhibition stands

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to folding structures consisting of interconnected extended tubular elements. More particularly, the present invention relates to portable folding structures which can be extended horizontally or vertically, that can be used for product display or as supports for raised loads, such as for instance platforms, walkway bases, technical pavements, rostrums, stands, boxes, comprising a plurality of interconnected parallelepiped cells in which the sides faces of the parallelepiped are defined by a pair of tubular elements interconnected by a scissors-connector. In these structures each extremity of the extended tubular elements which constitute the pair of scissors-connected elements, is inserted by rotation into a seat in an articulated universal joint, also parallelepiped in form.
  • the universal joint presents, on one of the larger faces, a hinging seat corresponding to each side face, and can therefore accept up to four extremities of tubular elements.
  • a variation to the embodiment described above has been used for some time in which the universal joints provide for a fifth seat on the surface of said face into which is fixed a tubular element, within which another tubular element of smaller diameter is inserted as a sliding fit and whose extremity is inserted into the face of a similar universal joint.
  • the tubular element inserted into the face of the universal joint is fixed and is stopped against the opposed joint into which is inserted the extremity of element that slides inside.
  • This system also presupposes complex and onerous setting-up operations, as well as relatively long dismantling and assembly times.
  • USP 5,123,550 discloses collapsible lightweight frameworks consisting of substantially square modules disposed in side-by-side and/or super imposed relationship.
  • One purpose of the present invention is provision of a simple and rapid method of joining two or more structures of the type consisting of pairs of extended tubular shear-connected elements, whose extremity is hinged in universal joints and in which the universal joints are defined integral with equal and parallel larger faces and are preferably substantially parallelepiped in form and present four hinging seats set in one of the larger faces near a side face.
  • a second purpose of the present invention is the coupling of two or more superimposed structures of the type described above that furthermore present in the inside surface of the face of the universal joint, in which are seats for the hinging of the tubular elements, a fifth seat into which is fixed the extremity of an tubular telescopie extention element whose other extremity is fixed to the opposite underlying universal joint.
  • a further purpose of the present invention is a device that allows the coupling of the aforesaid structures.
  • the purposes of the present invention are achieved using the composite structure as disclose in claim 1
  • the purposes of the present invention are achieved using the universal joint described above that present grooves along the sides of the face, in which are scheduled seats for lodging the tubular elements in proximity to the edges of the type and parallel to the same edges, that cooperate with C-sectioned fixing elements (in the following also refered to as the C-shaped spring or C-spring) to hold two matching universal joints belonging to two superimposed structures together.
  • the C-shaped fixing elements are substantially rectangular sheets of flexible material with two opposite edges folded and inverted.
  • the folded and inverted edges of the C-shaped spring present dimensions and forms corresponding to those of the grooves cut into the faces of the universal joints.
  • the C-shaped springs with inverted edges cover most of the corresponding side faces of the superimposed universal joints and they could provide for, in some cases, grooves in correspondence with seats of lodgement of the tubular elements and they could take different configurations depending on their use.
  • the C-shaped springs could be applied to all the side faces of all the joints that are matched in the overlap or in coupling of multiple structures.
  • the faces of the matching joints could present one or more suitable- perforations for the housing pivots that prevent any movement of the joints on the contact pivot.
  • the universal joint 1 presents four seats 2,2',2" and 2"' on one of its larger faces in correspondence to the side face, that could accept hinged extended tubular elements not shown in the figure
  • grooves 6 which constitute seats to accept one of the extremities 8 of a C-spring 9 as shown in figure 4.
  • the insertion of the two extremities of the C-spring 9 into the grooves on the non-matching faces of two joints belonging to two superimposed structures allows the coupling of the structures to be maintained fixed.
  • the insertion of the springs is easily achieved after the structures have been superimposed by snapping the inverted extremities 8 of the C-springs 9 into said grooves, where they remain locked.
  • the operation of dismantling is performed quickly, for instance, by removing one of the two inverted extremities 8 of the C-springs from the groove.
  • Figure 5 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention. This provides for the use of universal joints whose face opposite to that in which the grooves have been made contains the opening 10 that can accept pivots 11 that prevent any relative movement of the joints in the horizontal plane.
  • Figure 6 shows a side view of a support system for elevated loads according to the invention, obtained by joining two structures.
  • the said figure shows the tubular elements 12 joined with scissors-connection and hinged in seats 2 of the universal joint, as well as the extendible telescopie tubular elements 5, that assure resistance to loading of the structure.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Architecture (AREA)
  • Civil Engineering (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Mutual Connection Of Rods And Tubes (AREA)
  • Pivots And Pivotal Connections (AREA)
  • Materials For Medical Uses (AREA)
  • Forms Removed On Construction Sites Or Auxiliary Members Thereof (AREA)
  • Road Paving Structures (AREA)
  • Assembled Shelves (AREA)
  • Quick-Acting Or Multi-Walled Pipe Joints (AREA)
  • Joints Allowing Movement (AREA)
  • Joining Of Building Structures In Genera (AREA)
EP00909623A 1999-02-26 2000-02-18 Structures which can be dismantled and folded, consisting of interconnecting tubular elements; and a joint for such structures Expired - Lifetime EP1155200B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IT1999MI000393A IT1309643B1 (it) 1999-02-26 1999-02-26 Strutture smontabili e ripiegabili costituite da elementi tubolariinterconnessi
ITMI990393 1999-02-26
PCT/IT2000/000053 WO2000050702A1 (en) 1999-02-26 2000-02-18 Structures which can be dismantled and folded, consisting of interconnecting tubular elements

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1155200A1 EP1155200A1 (en) 2001-11-21
EP1155200B1 true EP1155200B1 (en) 2005-09-07

Family

ID=11382057

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP00909623A Expired - Lifetime EP1155200B1 (en) 1999-02-26 2000-02-18 Structures which can be dismantled and folded, consisting of interconnecting tubular elements; and a joint for such structures

Country Status (13)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1155200B1 (it)
JP (1) JP2002538377A (it)
CN (1) CN1143040C (it)
AT (1) ATE304088T1 (it)
AU (1) AU767178B2 (it)
BR (1) BR0010271A (it)
CA (1) CA2362225A1 (it)
DE (1) DE60022485D1 (it)
ES (1) ES2248052T3 (it)
HU (1) HUP0200146A2 (it)
IT (1) IT1309643B1 (it)
RU (1) RU2250967C2 (it)
WO (1) WO2000050702A1 (it)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN106055826B (zh) * 2016-06-14 2019-04-05 清华大学 一种用于三维建模的节点硬件

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB8520605D0 (en) * 1985-08-16 1985-09-25 Alpha Technics Ltd Collapsible display stand
AU8200487A (en) * 1986-12-10 1988-06-16 Wichman, W.J. Folding display frame
DK160349C (da) * 1988-03-23 1991-08-19 Preben Noedskov Sammenklappeligt letvaegtsstativ navnlig til udstillingsbrug
US4942686A (en) 1988-07-29 1990-07-24 Kemeny Matthias D Portable display system
IT1292139B1 (it) * 1997-06-12 1999-01-25 Gilberto Braghieri Struttura di sostegno collassabile ad andamento verticale particolarmente per pedane e assiti

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1155200A1 (en) 2001-11-21
ITMI990393A1 (it) 2000-08-26
RU2250967C2 (ru) 2005-04-27
ES2248052T3 (es) 2006-03-16
HUP0200146A2 (en) 2002-05-29
CA2362225A1 (en) 2000-08-31
IT1309643B1 (it) 2002-01-30
CN1341187A (zh) 2002-03-20
BR0010271A (pt) 2002-01-22
WO2000050702A1 (en) 2000-08-31
DE60022485D1 (de) 2005-10-13
CN1143040C (zh) 2004-03-24
JP2002538377A (ja) 2002-11-12
AU767178B2 (en) 2003-11-06
ATE304088T1 (de) 2005-09-15
AU3190100A (en) 2000-09-14

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