GB1600237A

GB1600237A - Arched building structure with tensioned covering

Info

Publication number: GB1600237A
Application number: GB4732676A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1976-11-12
Filing date: 1976-11-12
Publication date: 1981-10-14

Description

(54) ARCHED BUILDING STRUCTURE WITH TENSIONED COVERING (71) I, GEORGE ANDREW WEMYSS, a British subject of 12 Regis Court, Whitehouse Road, Barnton, Edinburgh EH3 SRG (formerly of 2 Mitchell's Close, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland), do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and iby the following statement: This invention relates to an arched building structure made from a framework covered with tensioned sheet material.

The present invention provides a building structure made up from a framework covered by a sheet material, the building structure having a generally rectangular floor plan, the framework being composed of a plurality of interconnected parallel arches which extend at right-angles to an axis of symmetry of the floor plan of the building structure, the arches being joined together by means of cross-pieces, and the two ends of the "tunnel" formed by the intercon- nected arches each being closed by an end structure, each arch having at least four identical rectilinear struts joined end-to-end each cross-piece being of substantially identical form to said identical struts, wherein a respective strip of sheet material is connected between each pair of adjacent arches, the width of each said strip being slightly less than the corresponding spacing between the arches, whereby the strips are tensioned transversely.

Preferably, the framework of each end structure is constituted by a plurality of arch members, and each arch comprises a pair of symmetrically disposed arch members.

In this case, each arch member is constituted by at least two of said identical struts joined end-to-end.

Preferably, each arch member is constituted by three of said identical struts, the angle between each pair of adjacent struts being 1571i".

Obviously, the length of this building structure can be varied by increasing the number of arches. However, it is also possible to increase the width of the structure by including further struts in each arch. In the simplest case, one additional strut (identical to all the others) is included as a ceiling strut between the ends of the two arch members of that arch. This additional strut thus meets each of the two adjacent struts at an angle of 157-:-". In this case, the arch members which form the ends of the structure may each be joined to the nearest arch by a further strut which is half the length of the main struts.

Preferably, a short vertical strut is provided at each end of each arch, and at the lower end of each arch member. Advantageously, each short vertical strut has a length half that of said identical struts, As each of the cross-pieces is of substantially identical form to the struts, it is possible to build the entire framework of the building structure from one single type of component, though other components (such as the half-strut required for the ends of said forms of structure) may also be used.

Alternatively, the framework of each end structure may be constituted by two interconnected corner assemblies, each corner assembly being constituted by three frame members each in the form of a quadrilateral having two shorter sides of equal lengths and two longer sides of equal lengths, the angles between pairs of adjacent sides being substantially 81.6 , & .6 , 81.6 and 115.20 respectively.

In this case, each of the longer sides of each frame member is constituted by one of said identical struts, and the two corner assemblies of each end structure are connected by crosspieces which are substantially identical to said identical struts, and wherein each arch is constituted by five of said identical struts.

Advantageously, each strut is constituted by a hollow tube, preferably made of aluminium. The struts may be joined together using any suitable type of connector such as a connector having.arms which telescope into the open ends of the struts. The con nectors may rely on friction fitting for holding the strtus together, though it is preferable if the connectors are welded, rivetted or bolted to the struts.

Preferably, each strut is a compoundbraced strut, that is to say a strut constituted by a pair of parallel booms braced together by a series of cross-pieces laying at, for example, 45" to each of the booms. In this case, the booms may be hollow aluminium tubes of oval cross-section.

The building structure is covered by sheet material such as polyvinyl chloride coated woven fabric. Preferably, one strip of such material is provided between each pair of adjacent arches or half-arches. In this case, each edge of each strip is provided with beading which slides along, but cannot be moved laterally out of, correspondingly shaped slots in the edges of the two arch members concerned.

Advantageously, in the region of the ceiling of the structure, the sheet material is bowed slightly above the plane of the adjacent framework by means of rails which cross-cross between adjacent arches.

The invention also provides a building structure made up from a framework covered by a sheet material, the building structure having a generally rectangular floor plan, the framework being composed of a plurality of interconnected parallel arches which extend at right-angles to an axis of symmetry of the floor plan of the building structure, the arches being joined together by means of cross-pieces, each arch having at least four identical rectilinear struts joined end-to-end, each cross-piece being of substantially identical form to said identical struts, wherein a respective strip of sheet material is connected between each pair of adjacent arches, the width of each said strip being slightly less than the corresponding spacing between the arches, whereby the strips are tensioned transversely.

Three forms of building structure constructed in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the first form of building structure; Figure 2 is a plan view of the structure of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-section taken on the line A-A of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a side elevation of part of the second form of building structure; Figure 5 is a plan view of that part of the second form of building structure shown in Figure 4:: Figure 6 is a cross-section taken on the line B--B of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the struts from which all three forms of building structure are con structed; Figure 8 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, of the base of one of the struts of the second form of building structure; Figure 9 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale showing how the sheet material is joined to the struts in all three forms of building structure; Figure 10 shows schematically a frame member used in assembly the corner of a third form of building structure; Figure 11 is a plan view of one end of the third form of building structure; and Figure 12 is a side elevation of the structure of Figure 11.

Referring to the drawings, Figures 1 to 3 show the first form of building structure which is constituted by a framework covered by sheet material. The framework has a main body section X and two end sections Y. The main body section has ten arches 1, each of which is constituted by seven identical struts 2 joined end-to-end by means of connectors (not shown). Each pair of adjacent struts 2 defines an included angle of 15710, and the two0ground-engaging struts lie at an angle of 671 to the vertical. Each strut 2 has a mean length of 3,6m. Adjacent arches 1 are connected together by cross-pieces 3 which are substantially identical to the struts 2. The cross-pieces 3 are connected to the struts by means of connectors (not shown).

Each end section Y is constituted by six arch members 4, each of which is made up of three of the struts 2 joined end-to-end by means of connectors (not shown). Each pair of adjacent struts 2 of each arch mem -ber 4 define an included angle of 157in. Adjacent arch members 4 are joined together by means of cross-pieces 5 of appropriate lengths.

Each of the struts 2 and the cross-pieces 3 and 5 is a compound-braced strut, that is to say it has (see Figure 7) a front boom 6 and a rear boom 7 braced together by means of braces 8 which cross-cross between the two booms at ongles of 45". The only dif reference between the illustrated strut 2 and a cross-piece 3 is that the booms 6 and 7 of the latter are of the same length. Both booms 6 and 7 are made of hollow aluminium tubing of elliptical cross-section (see Figure 9) having a major axis of length 95mm and a minor axis of length 55mm.

The braces 8 are aluminium tubes of diameter 38 mm and a wall thickness of 2mm.

Each pair of adjacent arches 1 is provided with a strip 9 of polyvinyl chloride coated woven fabric. Similarly, strips 10 of this material are provided at the ends Y of the structure between adjacent arch members 4. Each strip 9 or 10 is provided, at each lateral edge thereof, with beading 11 which can be slid into grooves 12 formed in the edges of the front booms 6 of the arches 1 and arch members 4. Thus, the strips 9 and 10 can be slid into position so as to cover the entire area between its two arches 1 or arch members 4. In order to stretch the material of the strips 9 and 10 for the purpose of increasing the strength of the finished building structure, each strip has a width which is slightly less than the width between the corresponding arches 1 or arch members 4.Also, the ends of each strip 9 and 10 are connected to the corresponding arches 1 or arch members 4 so as to be under tension, longitudinally. Moreover, rails 12 are provided between the struts 2 forming the ceiling, the rails cross-crossing between adjacent struts and being bowed slightly out of the plane of the surrounding region of the main framework (see Figure 1). The rails 12 are aluminium tubes having an outer diameter of 26 mm and a thickness of 2 mm. Not only does this stretching of the covering material increase the strength of the finished structure, but the bowing out at the ceiling also prevents rain water forming and gathering in depressions in the material.

As can be seen in Figure 1, doors 13 are provided at various locations around the structure, these doors requiring special struts and connectors (not shown) for connection to the adjacent arches 1 or each members 4.

The building structure shown in Figures 4 to 6 is identical with that shown in Figures 1 to 3 apart from the following differences.

Firstly, each of the arches 1 and arch members 4 is supported on the ground by means of short vertical struts 14. These struts are similar to the struts 2 but have a length of only 1.3m. As can be seen in Figure 8, each of the struts 14 is anchored to the ground Iby means of an anchor plate 15 which is provided with guttering 16 for leading away rain water.

Secondly, each of the end sections yl is made up of four arch members 41, each of which is constituted by three struts 2 and a further strut 21. This further strut 21 is simi- lar to the struts 2 except that it has half their length. The advantage of this form of end structure yl is that it gives a slightly larger floor plan area than that of the end structure Y.

The third difference is that two similar units are joined side-by-side (see Figure 6) each of which is a building structure of the type shown in Figures 4 and 5. Obviously, further units could be added on to increase further the size of the building. Similarly, further units of the type shown in Figures 1 to 3 could be added to the original unit so as to increase the size of that type of building structure.

This type of building structure is also covered with strips (not shown) of polyvinyl chloride coated woven fabric in a similar manner to that of the structure of Figures 1 to 3. Here again, stretcher rails (not shown) are provided for tensioning the ceiling covering material.

The building structure of Figures 10 to 12 is similar to that of Figures 1 to 3 apart from its end sections yll being of different formation and its main body section X11 having only five struts 2 instead of having seven struts as in Figures 1 to 3. This reduces the span of the structure to 45ft. from the 60ft. span of the structure of Figures 1 to 3. Like reference numerals are used in Figures 10 to 12 for the like parts of 'Figures 1 to 3. As the end sections yll are identical, one only will now be described.

Each end section yll is constituted by a pair of corner assemblies A, each of which is made up from three frame members 21 of quadlilateral form, the corner assemblies being joined together by cross-pieces 22 which are similar to the cross-pieces 3 of the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3, also having a length of 3.6m. Figure 10 shows a frame member 21 in the form of an open framework quadlilateral made from struts of the same type as the struts 2. The quadlilateral has two sides constituted by struts 21a each with a length of 3.6m and two sides constituted by struts 21b each with a length of 2.785m.Thus, the two longer sides each have a length of 0.765r and the two shorter sides each have a length of 0.592r, where r is the radius of the sphere on which lie the four vertices of the member 21 when it is combined with two identical members to form a corner assembly in the manner described below.

The three members 21 of each corner assembly A are put together so that each of the shorter struts 21b of any one of them forms one of the shorter struts 21b of each of the other two members.

The door 23 is formed between the two corner assemblies A of each end section yll.

When the framework of the end sections Y11 have been erected, sheets of polyvinyl chloride coated woven fabric are fastened thereto in such a manner that the sheet material is slightly stretched.

It will be apparent, therefore, that the building structures described above are extremely versatile. They can be increased (or decreased) in size by the addition (or removal) of arches 1. They can also ;be increased in size by the addition of further struts 2 in the ceiling areas, though, where buildings of greater width are required, it is preferable (from the point of view of the strength of the finished structure) to do this by the addition of further units in a side-byside relationship. Moreover, with the embodiments of Figures 1 to 9, this versatility is achieved using basically only one type of strut 2 (the cross-pieces 3 being substantially identical to the struts 2).Consequently, not only is the manufacturing process for the parts of such a structure relatively simple, but also erection of at least the main body X of the framework of the structure is relatively simple, as only one type of strut is needed. Also, the major part of the construction of the end sections Y, yl needs only this same type of strut.

The embodiment of Figures 10 to 12 does use struts 21b which have different lengths from the struts 2. Although this is disadvantageous from the point of view of economy of manufacturing the basic parts, it does have the advantage of providing more headroom at the ends of the building structure and this is particularly useful for structures of smaller size.

In the embodiments described above, the cross-pieces 3 are only substantially identical to the struts 2, the slight difference being to account for the angling between the adjacent struts 2 of the arches 1. Alternatively, the cross-pieces 3 could be identical to the struts 2, in which case the joints between the struts 2 and the cross-pieces 3 need to be specially constructed. Although it is disadvantageous from the point of view that an extra basic component is required, it is advantageous in large building structures for the cross-pieces 3 to be different from the struts 2. This is because the struts 2 are the main load bearers of the framework and so need to be much stronger than the crosspieces 3. Thus, in large building structures, it is economically preferable to make the cross-pieces of thinner rnaterial.

It is, of course, possible to modify the structures described above by, for example, leaving out the end sections Y, yl and yll.

Such an open-ended structure may find uses on farms as shelters, for example, for haystacks, farm machinery, etc. However, as the end sections Y, Yl and Y11 add considerably to the strength and rigidity of the building structures, the use of open-ended structures should be restricted to the sort of building structure that does not require great strength.

Attention is directed to the description and claims of my co-pending, divisional, cognate patent application numbers 14239/ 78 and 14240/78 (Serial No. 1600238).

WHAT ZCLAIMIS:-- 1. A building structure made up from a framework covered by a sheet material, the building structure having a generally rect angular floor plan, the framework being composed of a plurality of interconnected parallel arches which extend at right-angles to an axis of symmetry of the floor plan of the building structure, the arches being joined together by means of cross-pieces, and the two ends of the "tunnel" formed by the interconnected arches each being closed by an end structure, each arch having at least four identical rectilinear struts joined end-toend, each cross-piece being of substantially identical form to said identical struts, wherein a respective strip of sheet material is connected between each pair of adjacent arches, the width of each said strip being slightly less than the corresponding spacing between the arches, whereby the strips are tensioned transversely.

2. A building structure as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the framework of each end structure is constituted by a plurality of each members.

3. A building structure as claimed in Claim 2, wherein each arch comprises a pair of symmetrically disposed arch members.

4. A building structure as claimed in Claim 3, wherein each arch member is constituted by at least two of said identical struts joined end-to-end.

5. A building structure as claimed in Claim 5, wherein each arch member is constituted by three of said identical struts, the angle between each pair of adjacent struts being 1572 .

6. A building structure as claimed in Claim 4, wherein each arch member is constituted by three of said identical struts and a further strut, the further struts being half the length of said identical struts, and the angle between each pair of adjacent struts being 157i - 7. A building structure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein a short vertical strut is provided at each end of each arch.

8. A building structure as claimed in Claim 7 when appendant to any one of Claims 2 to 6, wherein a short vertical strut is provided at the lower end of each arch member.

9. A building structure as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein each short vertical strut has a length half that of said identical struts.

10. A building structure as claimed in Claim 1, wherein each end structure is constituted by two inter-connected corner assemblies, each corner assembly being constituted by three frame members each in the form of a quadlilateral having two shorter sides of equal lengths and two longer sides of equal lengths, the angles between pairs of adjacent sides being substantially 81.6 , 81.60, 81.6' and 115.2 respectively.

11. A building structure as claimed in Claim 10, wherein each of the longer sides of each frame member is constituted by one of said identical struts.

12. A building structure as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the two corner assemblies of each end structure are connected by

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. strut 2 (the cross-pieces 3 being substantially identical to the struts 2). Consequently, not only is the manufacturing process for the parts of such a structure relatively simple, but also erection of at least the main body X of the framework of the structure is relatively simple, as only one type of strut is needed. Also, the major part of the construction of the end sections Y, yl needs only this same type of strut. The embodiment of Figures 10 to 12 does use struts 21b which have different lengths from the struts 2. Although this is disadvantageous from the point of view of economy of manufacturing the basic parts, it does have the advantage of providing more headroom at the ends of the building structure and this is particularly useful for structures of smaller size. In the embodiments described above, the cross-pieces 3 are only substantially identical to the struts 2, the slight difference being to account for the angling between the adjacent struts 2 of the arches 1. Alternatively, the cross-pieces 3 could be identical to the struts 2, in which case the joints between the struts 2 and the cross-pieces 3 need to be specially constructed. Although it is disadvantageous from the point of view that an extra basic component is required, it is advantageous in large building structures for the cross-pieces 3 to be different from the struts 2. This is because the struts 2 are the main load bearers of the framework and so need to be much stronger than the crosspieces 3. Thus, in large building structures, it is economically preferable to make the cross-pieces of thinner rnaterial. It is, of course, possible to modify the structures described above by, for example, leaving out the end sections Y, yl and yll. Such an open-ended structure may find uses on farms as shelters, for example, for haystacks, farm machinery, etc. However, as the end sections Y, Yl and Y11 add considerably to the strength and rigidity of the building structures, the use of open-ended structures should be restricted to the sort of building structure that does not require great strength. Attention is directed to the description and claims of my co-pending, divisional, cognate patent application numbers 14239/ 78 and 14240/78 (Serial No. 1600238). WHAT ZCLAIMIS:--

1. A building structure made up from a framework covered by a sheet material, the building structure having a generally rect angular floor plan, the framework being composed of a plurality of interconnected parallel arches which extend at right-angles to an axis of symmetry of the floor plan of the building structure, the arches being joined together by means of cross-pieces, and the two ends of the "tunnel" formed by the interconnected arches each being closed by an end structure, each arch having at least four identical rectilinear struts joined end-toend, each cross-piece being of substantially identical form to said identical struts, wherein a respective strip of sheet material is connected between each pair of adjacent arches, the width of each said strip being slightly less than the corresponding spacing between the arches, whereby the strips are tensioned transversely.

6. A building structure as claimed in Claim 4, wherein each arch member is constituted by three of said identical struts and a further strut, the further struts being half the length of said identical struts, and the angle between each pair of adjacent struts being 157i -

7. A building structure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein a short vertical strut is provided at each end of each arch.

cross-pieces which are substantially identical to said identical struts, and wherein each arch is constituted by five of said identical struts.

13. A building structure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 12, wherein each of said identical struts is constituted by a hollow tube.

14. A building structure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 13, wherein each of said identical struts is made of aluminium.

15. A building structure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 14, wherein each strut is a compound-braced strut, that is to say, a strut constituted by a pair of parallel booms braced together by a series of crosspieces lying at angles of substantially 45" to the booms.

16. A building structure as claimed in Claim 15, wherein the booms are hollow aluminium tubes of oval cross-section.

17. A building structure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 16, wherein the struts of each adjacent pair of struts are connected together using a connector having arms which telescope into the open ends of the struts.

18. A building structure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 17, wherein the sheet material is polyvinyl chloride coated woven fabric.

19. A building structure as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 9 or in any one of claims 13 to 18 when appendant to claim 2, wherein a respective strip of sheet material is provided between each pair of adjacent arch members, the transverse dimensions of each such strip being such that, when in position, they are slightly less than the corresponding spacing between the arch;mem- bers, and the strip being fastened to the structure so as to be under tension longitudinally.

20. A building structure as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein each edge of each strip is provided with beading which slides along, but cannot be moved laterally out of, correspondingly shaped slots in the struts of the arches or arch members concerned.

21. A building structure as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 20, wherein the sheet material in the region of the ceiling of the structure is bowed slightly above the plane of the building framework by means of rails which criss-cross between adjacent arches.

22. A building structure made up from a framework covered by a sheet material, the building structure having a generally rectangular floor plan, the framework being composed of a plurality of interconnected parallel arches which extend at right-angles to an axis of symmetry of the floor plan of the building structure, the arches being joined together by means of cross-pieces, each arch having at least four identical rectilinear struts joined end-to-end, each crosspiece being of substantially identical form to said identical struts, wherein a respective strip of sheet material is connected between each pair of adjacent arches, the width of each said strip being slightly less than the corresponding spacing between the arches, whereby the strips are tensioned transversely.

23. A building structure substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated by Figures 1 to 3, Figures 4 to 6 or Figures 10 to 12 of the accompanying drawings.