US1005925A - Method of making trussed structures. - Google Patents

Description

A, J. BATES.

METHOD OF MAKING TRUSSED STRUCTURES.

APPLIOATION FILED 32m. 23, 1910.

Lwsflga, iatnted 00$. 17, 1911 3 SHEETS-SHEET l A; J. BATES.

METHOD OF MAKING TRUSSED STRUCTURES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23, 1910.

1,@05,9g5, Patented 001;. 17, 1911. v I SSHBETSVSHEB'I 2.

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h M W W afi jus A. J. BATES METHOD OF MAKING TRUSSED STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT, 23, 1910.

Patented Got. 1'7, 1911.

ALBERT J. BATES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

METHOD OF MAKING TBUSSED STRUCTURES.

oosocs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

original application filed April 18, 1910, Serial No. 556,221.

Patented Oct. 17, 191i. Divided and this application .flled September 23, 1910. Serial No. 583.394.

To (all whom it may ronccrn: V

llc 1L known thut l, .zlrmnrr J. .liA'lES, a

citizen. of the United States, residing at Chi- Trusscd Structures, oi which the following is a. specification.

This is u division of my application Se.- riul l lo. :36.223. filed April 18, 1910. and the invention relates to the formation of an integral metallic structure having longitudinally extending side members spaced apart and connected at, intervals throughout their length by truss members which are preforubly angulzirly disposed to the side mon'ibcrs.

So for as I am aware, crossed structures heretofore employed in tho construction of buildings. lwidges. elevated railways and other me a. work. Have been built. up of longitudinal side members connected together by cross pieces riveted or bolted thereto.

My invention aims to obviate the necessity of building up st'ructilncs of this kind from scpzirutc parts by converting a. solid bar or strip of metal into a skeleton. structure having all of its parts embodied in an integral formation of the same or substci'rtiully the some length as the original bar or strip. thus producing trussod structure with a. certain inherent elasticity and consisting essentially of longitudinal side illcn'lbers and transverse. truss members uugulurly disposed with relc tion to the side. members to :torm a plurality of adjacent triangular-shaped openings'in the. strucrure. In the formation of the strucc the side irlembcrs remain substantially unciungod in shape, lcngth and thickness,

but the truss members are stretched. lengthwise. and more or less reduced in cross i'ziou. this method I am enabled to produos a' struclmrc much stronger than the built-up structures heretofore employed and time from the wcaluiesscs at. the joints of the ports in the. old. structures; and, furthermore, my ii'itcgrsl structure is much more rigid and durable than a built'up structure, ill Which thcrc the constant liability of bolts or rivets working loose or being sheared oil.

Another object of my invcnlzion is the pro dilution by a simple and inexpensive method of a structure in which the strains and stresses are distributed evenly throughout its length, which desideratum is practically impossible in builtup structures because of the inevitable inaccuracies which creep into an attempt to make a large number of pieces of exactly the some. length on. to drill or punch :1 large number of holes which shall be spaced exactly the same distance apart.

My invention also aims to producc a structure which shall be light in weight, which can be manufactured at low cost, and which is capable of a. variety of uses to which a built-up structure could not be successfully adopted.

Additional aims and objects of my invention. will be apparentto those skilled in the art as it becomes better understood by reference to the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention.

Referring to'the. drawings, Figure l is a. plan of a bar or strip of metal from which my improved structure is made. F ig. 2 is a i plan of this bar after grooving and slittingopcrullons have. been completed. Fig. 3 is a plan showing the side members of the bar partially separated. Fig. 4 shows side sections separated to produce a. trusscd strum turc of maximum strength. Fig. 5 is a section on the line of F i 4-. Fig. 6 is a. section on the line G(3 of Fig. 2. Figs. 7 to 10 are views similar to Fig. 6 showing other forms of bar. Fig. 11 is a View similar to Fig. 2, but having slits therein of graduated lengths to produce a. tapering structure. F ig. 1.2 shows the resulting structure after the side members of Fig. 11 have been separated. Fig. '13 is a side View or" on I-beam slittcd according to my invcntion. Fig. 14 shows a i method of connecting two of my improved crossed structures; Fig. 15 is a section on the. line 15-45, of F ig. 14. Fig. 16 is a section on the line 16-16 of Fig. 13. Fig. 17 shows a. tool constructed to engage with the side members of a. slitted bar for the purpose of separating them. Fig. 18 shows my invention employed as a. fence post.

In practicing my invention I provide a bar or strip or beam 17 which may be made in nisny different forms ill CI'OSS-S9ftion. lnllig. 6 the bar is provided with grooves or longitudinal depressions 18 near edge which form grip surfaces so that tllc bar can be firmly grasped by a tool. or machine for the purpose of separating the side mcmbcrs. as will be later described. The grip surfaces may be otherwise proother and in duce'tl, by the flanges 19, (Fig. 7), the grooves 20, (Fig. 8), the beads 21, (Fig. 9). the ribs 22 (Fig. 10), or the side members may be roughened to insure proper engagement by the tool. Instead of forming these gripping surfaces on the bar. the drawing or stretching means may be provided with suitable ripping surfaces to make locking engagement with the bar.

The bar, with or Without the gripping surfaces, is provided with a. plurality of slits 23 extending longitudinally throughout its length and in staggered relation to each two series. These slits, as shown in Fig. 2, are of substantially equal length, the ends of the slits being separated by'an integral tie portion 2% affording sufficicnt strci'igth. to prevent fracture during the separating or drawing operation. The uncut tie portions 2% between the slits in each series are preferably disposed substan tially opposite the center of the slits in the other series, and each series of slits is located substantially equidistant from the edges oi the bar and from each other. thus dividing the bar into two longitudinal side members 26, and an intermediate member 27. The slits may be produced by any suitable cutting implement With the bar in either heated or cold condition, as may be found desirable.

After the slitting operation, the side members of the bar are grasped throughouttheir length, or at such points as may be found practical and sutllcient, by a suitable stretchingtool or implement. Any preferred type of stretching or drawing device may be employed, one type being shown in Fig. 17 for the purpose oi. illustration merely. T he device shown comprises jaws 28 adapted to engage the previously described gripping surfaces on the side members. Suitable means are employed for pulling the jaws to separate the side members and to stretch or elongate the sections 529 of the interme diate member of the bar into a sinuous form, as shown in 3, Without increasing or decreasing the length of the side members. The pulling or stretching operation is materially facilitated by heating the bar. and in heavy work the heating oi the bar is practically necessary The structure thus produced and as shown in Fig. 3 may be employed for numerous purposes, but the form which gives the maximum strength and eiliciency is disclosed in Fig. 4:, wherein the side members 25 and 26 have been separated until the sections 30 of the intermediate member 27 connecting the tie portions 2%, are straight and disposed at practically an angle of with the side members. In thus forming the structure the side i'ucmbers are neither changed in length nor in thickness, and they are trussctfl and "strengthened by the angularly disposed sections of the intermediate member. The side members and the elongated sections of the intermediate member form an integral structure having a plurality of adjacent triangular openings, the sides of these triangles being formed by the sections and the bases thereof by the side members. The triangles are arranged With their bases alternating between the side members.

In the structure shown in Figs. 1 to S, inclusive. the slits in the bar have been made of uniform length and the side members hare been drawn apart and maintained in substantial parallelism. If it is desired to produce a tapering trussed structure, such is disclosed in Fig. 12, the slits 31 are grad uated in length from one end of the bar 32 to the other (Fig. 11). When the stretclr ing operation is performed the longer lits at one end or". the bar will permit the side members 3 3 and 3% to be separated farther than will the shorter slits near the other end of the bar. This structure, shown in Fig. 12, is particularly adapted for use in aerial structures. such as towers. etc, and as telegraph, telephone or power poles.

In Figs. 13 and 16, I have shown an I-beam slitted for stretching to form a trussed structure adapted for use in building construction, as shown in Figs. 14: and 15. In the latter figures there is shown a girder 36 and an uprigh 37. the connection being made by suitable a ag le-bars 3S and rivets 39 such as are ordinarily employed in constructions of this kind. It will be obvious that a building frame constructed as shown in Fig. 1d may be made much lighter and stronger than a frame fabricated of the same material in built-up form. A frame of this kind also particularly adapted for. use. in concrete constructions, the concrete uniting with the open Work of the structure to form a firm and substantial mechanical bond. I

My inventioii' may also be employed as a. fence post, as shown in Fig. 18, wherein the lowerend of the post It!) is embedded and rigidly held in concrete ell or other suitable material. The Wires 4:2 oi an ordinary Wire fence may be attached to the post by clips 43 or other preferred means. A post thus constructed is strong and durable, and enters the greatest resistance along aline transverse to the direction of the Wires of the fence. This is a mostusetul and ellicient type of post since the strain upon the fence is usually exerted against the side thereof which will be resisted by the post made as herein described and set as shown in Fig. 18.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that the structures produced by my iiu'ention, as above described, are capable of a variety of uses both in structural Work and in reinforced concrete work, Furthermore hitching posts,

heretofore employed.

they may be employed in lighter constructions such as telephone polesorfence posts, etc., and in fact constitute a very cheap and eflicient substitute for either the built-up or solid constructions This invention has the additional advantage that the resultant structure is of the same length as the original bar from which it is madeand the side members are of their original length and cross section, the stretching taking place only in the diagonal members bet'ween theside members. Thus my novel method provides for changing a bar or strip orhbam into a skeleton form with the parts integrally connected and disposed in a 'manner to provide maximum strength,

rigidity and eiiiciency.

While I have shown and described several forms of structures produced in accordance with my invention, it will be apparent that these forms are selected for the purposes of illustration merely and that many other forms may be produced if desired.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The method of making a trussed metal structure from a single piece of ductile metal, such as a bar, which consists in forming a series of slits intermediate of and sub stantially parallel to the marginal portions of the bar, and then separating the unsevcred side members without substantially changing their length, and stretching the intermediate members thereby increasing their length and producing an angular relation thereof with respect to the side members.

2. The method of making a truss-ed metal structure which consists in forming intermediate the marginal portions of a bar or 4 blank a series of slits substantially parallel to said marginal portions and in staggered relation to each other, and then separating the marginal portions without material elongation and stretching the portions between the slits thereby elongating them-and producing an angular relation of the elongated members with reference to the marginal members and with reference to each other.

3. The method of making a trussed metal structure from a bar having marginal flanges which consists in forming in the web portion of said bar a series of slits substantially parallel to the margins and staggered with relation to each other and then separating the marginal portions in. the plane of the web thereby elongating the portions of the metal between the slits without substantial elongation of the marginal members or lateral distortion of any ofsaid members.

4. The method of making a trussed metal structure from a single piece of ductile metal which consists in slitting the metal intermediate its side margins, the slits being substantially parallel to said margins and in staggered relation to each other, and then while the metal is hot laterally separating the side margins without substantially changing their length while stretching the metal between the slits, thereby producing a "zig-zag relation of the intermediate portions with relation to each other and t0 the side A. J. BATES.

margins.

Witnesses WM. 0. BELT,

M. A. KInDxE.

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