US3396502A

US3396502A - Suspension system for building construction

Info

Publication number: US3396502A
Application number: US542880A
Authority: US
Inventors: Contevita John
Original assignee: INTERNAT ENVIROMENTAL DYNAMICS
Current assignee: INTERNAT ENVIROMENTAL DYNAMICS; INTERNATIONAL ENVIROMENTAL DYNAMICS
Priority date: 1966-04-15
Filing date: 1966-04-15
Publication date: 1968-08-13
Anticipated expiration: 1985-08-13

Description

SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed April 15, 1966 Aug. 13, 1968 J. CONTEVITA INVENTOR. (fan-1M C0-TEVI734 M am &4 mod 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 13, 1968 J. CONTEVITA 3,395,502

SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed April 15, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 13, 1968 .1. CONTEVITA 3,396,502

SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. aka/v Co ray/74' Filed April 15, 1966 W m M A rrae/vevs Aug. 13, 1968 Filed April 15, 1966 J. CONTEVITA SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 'INVENTOR. c/mv Ca/vrEr/M g- 13, 1968 J. CONTEVITA 3,396,502

SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed April 15, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 o v fig! 10 116 Ji W INVENLIOR. I 12 c/OHA/ Cat/7. 97734 F L; (160 [153 ye; mm M United States Patent 3,396,502 SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION John Contevita, La Mirada, Calif., assignor to International Environmental Dynamics, Palo Alto, Calif., a

corporation of California Filed Apr. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 542,880 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-236) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A suspension system for supporting a plurality of floors from a pair of building towers by means of tension members secured to the floors and to the towers, the elements of the suspension system being arranged to resist lateral swaying of the towers.

The present invention relates to improvements in building construction and, more particularly, to a novel suspension system for a building construction.

In the construction of large, multi-story buildings, it is common practice to first excavate for the basement and foundation of the building. The foundation is then poured and a metal framework erected for the entire building. Finally, the floors of the building are constructed one at a time working from the basement up to the top of the building.

Constructing the floors of the building one at a time is a very slow process involving many time delays. The consecutive building of the floors also requires the different types of workmen to return for the construction of each floor further introducing wasted time and adding much expense to the over-all cost of the multist-ory building.

Recently, a new form of building construction has been proposed which allows the floors of the building to be constructed substantially at the same time thereby materially reducing the time required to complete the building, substantially eliminating wasted workmens time, and correspondingly reducing the cost of constructing the building.

The recently proposed building construction may be termed a hanging building construction and comprises a pair of laterally spaced, hollow concrete cores, and a suspension system. The suspension system includes front and rear rigid trusses connected to the tops of the cores and extending therebetween. Hanger members extend vertically from the trusses and provide connections for a plurality of horizontal floor supporting members.

The floor supporting members are preferably part of separate, flat, reinforced concrete floors which are formed on the ground and lifted one at a time into place with all the necessary materials for completing the construction of the building supported thereon. Once the floor supporting members are secured to the hanger members, the floors of the building may be completed rapidly and without wasted or lost time on the part of the different types of workmen.

Unfortunately, in the hanging-type building construction, the trusses are extremely heavy and expensive units requiring special reinforcing. Due to the rigidity of the trusses and the junctions of their component members, secondary stresses are developed in the component members during any movement of the trusses, as during an earth trembler or during heavy winds. This requires the trusses to be specially designed and carefully assembled particularly at the welded junctions of the component members.

In view of these shortcomings, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved hanging-type building construction employing a simplified, relatively lightweight suspension system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved building construction of the foregoing character where the improved suspension system is relatively inexpensive and easy to assemble, yet is extremely rugged and long lasting.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved suspension system for hanging-type building constructions in which secondary stresses are virtually eliminated at the junctions of the component parts thereby allowing the suspension system to be of a relatively lightweight, relatively inexpensive construction requiring a minimum of reinforcing members.

The foregoing as well as other objects and advantages of the present invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered with the drawings, which, by way of example only, illustrate several hanging-type building constructions and suspension systems embodying the features of the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a hanging-type building construction including a pair of laterally spaced towers and one form of suspension system of the present invention;

FIGURE 1a is a fragmentary top view taken along the line la-la in FIGURE 1 and illustrating the manner of connection for suporting members to one side of a tower in the building construction;

FIGURE 1b is an enlarged front view of the corresponding circled portion of FIGURE 1 illustrating the connection for supportin members to the top of a tower in the building construction;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the building construction illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the building construction illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view of the correspondingly circled portion of the building construction of FIGURE 1 illustrating the manner of connection for the supporting members to a horizontal stiffening member;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIGURE 4 illustrating the manner of connection of one of the supporting members from the tower to the stiffening member;

FIGURE 5a is a sectional view taken along the line 5a-5a in FIGURE 4 illustrating a reinforcing for the supporting member;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in FIGURE 4 illustrating the manner of connection for another supporting member to the stiffening member adjacent the tower;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIGURE 4 illustrating the reinforced construction of a portion of the stifiening member;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged view of the correspondingly circled portion of the building construction of FIGURE 1 illustrating the manner of connection of a vertical hanger member to a horizontal floor supporting member;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary top view taken along the line 9-9 in FIGURE 8, illustrating the manner in which the vertical hanger member extends through the horizontal floor supporting member;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged view of correspondingly circled portion of the building construction illustrated in FIGURE 3 and showing the connection of horizontal floor supporting members and a bumper unit included in a corner of a tower to prevent damage to the tower upon swinging movement of the floors of the building relative to the towers;

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 in FIGURE FIGURE 12 is a diagrammatic representation of the suspension system of FIGURE 1 illustrating the deformation of the suspension system during an earthquake or other sudden movement of the towers of the building construction and the bending motion imparted to the structural members of the suspension system;

FIGURE 13 is a diagrammatic representation of a stabilized suspension system similar to the suspension system of FIGURE 1 illustrating the deflection of the towers during an earthquake and depicting the rigidity of the stabilized suspension system;

FIGURE 14 is a front view of the stabilized suspension system diagrammatically represented in FIGURE 13;

FIGURE 15 is an enlarged view of a correspondingly circled portion of the suspension system of FIGURE 14 illustrating the manner of connection of a supporting member to a horizontal stiffening member;

FIGURE 16 is a sectional view taken along the line 1616 in FIGURE 15;

FIGURE 17 is a diagrammatic representation of a catenary-type suspension system embodying the features of the present invention;

FIGURE 18 is a plan view of the suspension system of FIGURE 17; and

FIGURE 19 is a fragmentary top view taken along the line 19-19 in FIGURE 17.

In the drawings, the hanging-type building construction is represented generally by the numeral 10 and comprises a pair of laterally spaced

vertical towers

12 and 14 and a suspension system 16. The suspension system 16 is connected between the tops of the

towers

12 and 14 and supports a plurality of vertical hanger straps 18 which, in turn, provide connections for a plurality of floor supporting members 20.

The

towers

12 and 14 are preferably hollow cores of rectangular cross section formed of reinforced concrete. The towers extend vertically from

foundation slabs

22 and 24 buried in the ground and support the suspension system 16 at their top ends.

The suspension system 16 illustrated in FIGURES 1-12 is symmetrical about the center line of the building construction 10 and comprises a plurality of parallel pairs of relatively long and relatively short supporting

straps

26a and 268, a pair of tie members 28, and two pairs of stiffener members 30.

A parallel pair of supporting straps 26a and a parallel pair of supporting straps 26b are associated with and each pivotally connected at one end to each of the right and left sides of the

towers

12 and 14 at the upper, front and rear corners thereof.

The tie members 28 are horizontal, substantially parallel members pivotally connected at opposite ends to the right side and the left side of the

towers

12 and 14 directly below the connections of the associated pairs of straps 26a and 26b to the towers, the other ends of the straps being pivotally connected to the tie members.

The stiffener members 30 are also horizontal members and are pivotally connected to the left side and right side of the

towers

12 and 14, directly under the connec tions of the associated pairs of straps 26a and 26b to the towers, the other ends of the straps being pivotally connected to the stiffener members.

The connections of the supporting straps 26a and 26b to the tie and stiffener members cause the straps to extend diagonally downward away from the associated towers. Thus arranged, each pair of supporting straps 26a and 26b carries a vertical hanger strap 18 at its lower end. In particular, the vertical hanger straps 18 are pivotally connected to junctions of the pairs of supporting straps 26a and 26b, and the tie members 28 and stiffener members 30 with the horizontal floor supporting members connected at vertically spaced points along the hanger members to complete the suspension system 16.

In the suspension system 16, the weight of the hanger members 18 and floor support members 28 maintains the supporting straps 26a and 26b in tension at all times, while the tie members 28 and stiffener members 30' are continuously in compression to resist movement of the junctions of the hangers and support straps toward the towers. Accordingly, the supporting straps are constructed to be tension resisting members while the tie members and stiffener members are compression resisting members.

In order to resist separation of the pivot connections of the supporting straps 26a and 26b from the

towers

12 and 14, and to resist any unbalance of forces at the tops of the towers due to differences in loading of the hanger straps 18, tension resisting members 32 reinforce the front and rear top edges of the towers and connect the front pivot connections and the rear pivot connections of the pairs of straps 26a and 26b to the towers. The structural arrangement of the frontmost members 32, as well as preferred forms of pivotal connections of the pairs of straps 26a and 26b to the

towers

12 and 14 are clearly illustrated in FIGURES 1a and 112.

As represented in FIGURES la and 1b, the tension resisting members 32 are I-beams supported on the tops of the

towers

12 and 14 by gusset plates 34 embedded in the reinforced concrete of the towers at the upper corners thereof. Opposite ends of the members 32 extend beyond the right and left sides of the towers to receive and pivotally connect to the upper ends of the pairs of straps 26a and 26b.

In this regard, the ends of the upper flanges 35 of the members 32 are cut back to the sides of the towers. In addition, longitudinally extending slots 36 are cut in the ends of bottom flanges 37 on opposite sides of the central webs 38 of the members 32 to provide two openings at the ends of each member for receiving the upper ends of a different pair of supporting straps 26a. Beyond the sides of the

towers

12 and 14, the bottom flanges 37 are reinforced by a plurality of gusset plates 39 and rectangular plates 40. The gusset plates 39 act as corner braces for the bottom flanges 37 and are welded thereto and to sides of the gusset plates 34. The rectangular plates 40 are welded to the top and bottom flanges of the members 32 and project outwardly therefrom to act as spacers between the upper ends of the pairs of supporting straps 26a and 26b connected to the members 32.

As illustrated most clearly in FIGURE 1a, the upper ends of the pairs of supporting straps 26a extend vertically through the slots 36 while the upper ends of the straps 26b extend vertically on the outside of the plates 40 at the front and rear of the bottom flanges 37. Thus arranged, the supporting straps are pivotally connected to the members 32 by a pin 41 extending horizontally through openings 42 in the rectangular plates 40, central web 38 and ends of the straps and held in place by cotter keys 43.

As will be described hereinafter, somewhat similar vertical pivotal connections are provided at other junctions in the suspension system 16 to effectively eliminate secondary stresses in the component members of the system upon changes in the loadings of the members or movement or bending of the suspension system and building construction 10, as during earth tremblers. This allows the use of lighter weight, less expensive materials than those employed in suspension systems wherein the members are fixedly welded together.

The pivotal connections of the pairs of supporting straps 26a and 26b to one of the stiffener members 30 for the tower 12 as well as the pivotal connection for the stiffener member to the tower are illustrated in FIG- URES 4-7. Similar pivotal connections are provided for the pairs of supporting straps 26a and 26b to the tie members 28 and for the tie members to the towers. Therefore, the illustrations of FIGURES 4-7 and the descriptions associated therewith apply directly to the pivotal connections associated with the tie members 28, supporting straps 26a and 26b and towers 12 and 14 and will not be repeated herein.

As illustrated, the stiffener member (as well as each tie member 28) is an I-beam. Adjacent the lower 12, the top and

bottom flanges

44 and 45 of the I-beam are cut back and the web 46 extends between a pair of laterally extending cars 47 connected to a flat support plate 48. The support plate 48 is embedded in the reinforced concrete of the tower 12 and is welded to the ends of the reinforcing rods for the concrete. The ears 47 as well as the web 46 include aligned holes 52 for receiving a pin member 54. The pin member 54 extends horizontally through the holes 52 to pivotally connect the stiffener member 30 to the side of the tower 12 and is secured in place by cotter keys 56 extending through the pin outside the ears 46. The stiffener member 30 is thus adapted for vertical swinging movement about the side of the tower 12 with movement of the building construction.

To allow for the pivotal connection of the pair of supporting straps 26a and associated hanger strap 18 to a left end portion of the stiffener member 30, the upper and lower flanges 44 and of the I-beam include longitudinally extending

slots

58 and 60 on each side of the web 46 for receiving the lower ends of the supporting straps (see FIGURES 4 and 5). Similarly, longitudinally extending slots 62 and 64 are included in the upper and lower flanges and a portion of the central web is removed to provide openings for receiving the upper end of the hanger strap 18. Inner and outer reinforcing

plates

66 and 68 are welded to the top and

bottom flanges

44 and 45 on each side of the central web 46 as illustrated in FIGURE 5. The reinforcing plates as well as the end portions of the supporting and

hanger straps

26a and 18 include holes 69 for receiving a horizontal pin 70 which, when positioned through the holes, is held in place by cotter keys 72 extending through the pin on the outside of the reinforcing plates '68. Thus connected, the supporting and

hanger straps

26a and 18 are adapted for vertical swinging movement about the horizontal pin 70 with movement of the suspension system 16 and building 10.

As illustrated in FIGURES 4, 5a and 7, additional reinforcing is provided for the supporting straps 26a and stiffener member 30. In particular, at spaced intervals along the length of the parallel supporting straps 26a, spacer blocks 74 are welded to the inner surfaces of the straps and together to rigidly connect the straps. Similar- 1y, adjacent the pivot connection of the supporting and hanger straps, filler plates 76 are inserted between the reinforcing plates 66 and the central web 46 and the combination welded together as indicated at 78.

The pivotal connection of the supporting and hanger straps 26b and 18 to a right end portion of the stiffener member 30 is illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 6. As represented, the outer edges of the upper and

lower flanges

44 and 45 of the I-beam are relieved to receive lower ends of the supporting straps 26b. In addition, a portion of the central web 46 is removed to define longitudinally extending slots 80 and 82 in the upper and

lower flanges

44 and 45 for receiving the upper end of the hanger strap 18. Inner and outer reinforcing plates 84 and 86 are welded to the top and

bottom flanges

44 and 45 on each side of the web 46 as illustrated in FIGURE 6. The reinforcing plates 84 and 86 as well as the end portions of the supporting and hanger straps 26b and 18 include holes 87 for receiving a horizontal pin 88 which, when positioned through the holes, is held in place by cotter keys 90 extending through the pin on the outside of the straps 26b. Thus secured, the supporting straps 26b and hanger strap 18 are adapted for vertical swinging movement about the pin 88 with motion of the building and suspension system.

FIGURES 8 and 9 illustrate the manner in which the hanger straps 18 are connected to the floor support members 20. As represented, the floor supporting member 20 are back-to-back channels including vertically extending central openings 92 reinforced by

plates

94 and 96 welded to the top and bottom flanges of the members 20. The openings 92 are adapted to receive the hanger straps 18 which are in turn connected to the central web of the members 20 by a bolt and nut combination 98.

Thus connected to the hanger straps 18, the floor supporting members 20' provide primary support for a rectangular array of reinforcing members for each floor of the building 10. The array of reinforcing members for the top floor of the building 10 is most clearly illustrated in FIGURE 3 and provides a rigid base for a concrete floor which, as previously described, is formed on the ground and lifted into place during the assembly of the building construction 10.

In the building construction 10, the floor reinforcing members and floor supporting member 20 are supported solely by the hanger straps 18 and are not connected directly to the

towers

12 and 14. The clearance between the towers and the reinforcing members is most clearly depicted in FIGURE 10 which also illustrates a bumper unit 99 for preventing wearing of one corner of the reinforced concrete toward 12 upon movement of the floors of the building construction toward and away from the tower.

In FIGURE 10, the reinforcing members include an I-beam 100 extending from the front to the rear of the floor of the building and an I-beam 102 extending from the right to the left side of the tower 12 to connect to an I-beam similar to 100 running along the left side of the tower. The I-beams 100 and 102 are fixedly connected together via a gusset plate 104 which also provides connection from a channel member 106 to one side of the I-beam 100.

The bumper unit 99 includes a pair of

pins

108 and 110, and a bent, metal plate 112. The

pins

108 and 110 are connected to the top of the gusset plate 104 and extend inwardly toward the front and right side of the tower 12 and face the plate 112 which is embedded in the corner of the tower with small reinforcing rods 114 extending into the concrete. A similar bumper unit is included at each corner of the

towers

12 and 14 for each floor of the building construction 10. Therefore, should any relative movement occur between the towers and the floors of the building causing the floors to swing toward the towers, the

pins

108 or 110 will engage the plates 112 to prevent wearing of the reinforced concrete comprising the towers.

The movements imparted to the building construction 10 and suspension system 16 during earth tremblers are diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 12 with the phantom outline representing the shifted position of the

towers

12 and 14 and the bent configuration of the tie and

stiffener members

28 and 30.

The deflection (A) of the

towers

12 and 14 as well as the movement of the suspension system 16 can be greatly decreased by the addition of a stabilizing unit 116 to the suspension system, as diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 13. As represented, the stabilization unit 116 eliminates all noticeable bending and deflection of the components comprising the suspension system 16 and materially reduces the deflection, A, of the tops of the

towers

12 and 14.

With the addition of the stabilization unit 116, however, the tie means 28 of the system 16 takes the form of two stiffener members 28a and 28b pivotally connected to the towens 12 and 14 and an intermediate structural member 117 pivotally connected to the stiffener members and to the supporting straps 26a. Also, the supporting straps 26a as well as the member 117 are I-beams-the flanges at the lower ends of the straps being cut back to enable the central webs to be pivotally connected to the member 117.

The stabilization unit 116 includes like structural arrangements at the front and rear of the suspension system 16. However, only the front arrangement is illustrated in the drawings and described herein.

As illustrated in FIGURES 14, and 16, the front structural arrangement comprises pairs of vertical left and

right side members

118 and 120, two pairs of crossing angle members 122 and 124, a horizontal top member 126, and two prestressed tie bars 128 and 130. The vertical members 122 and 124 are I-beams rigidly connected at their upper ends to left and right end portions of the top member 126 while the flanges at the lower ends of the I-beams are cut back to allow the central web to be pivotally connected to the junctions of the tie member 117 and the pairs of supporting straps 26a.

The tie bars 128 and 130 :are connected at their right and left ends, respectively, to the left and right ends of the top member 126 by clevises 131 and 132 while the other ends of the tie bars are pivotally connected to the

towers

12 and 14. To pivotally connect the tie bars 128 and 130 to the towers and to prestress the tie bars, clevises 133 are connected to the ends of the pins 40 pivotally connecting the supporting straps 26a and 26b to the member 30. Threaded stub shafts 134 extend from the clevises 133 and into threaded holes in turnbuckles 135. Threaded stub shafts 136 connected to the left and right ends of the tie bars 128 and 130 extend into the other threaded holes in the turnbuckles to complete the pivotal connections. When it is desired to prestress the

rods

128 and 130, the turnbuckles 135 are simply rotated to draw the stub shafts into the turnbuckle.

In the stabilization unit 116, the upper ends of the pair of angle members 122 are welded to upper end portions of the vertical member 118 adjacent the junction with the top member 126, while the lower ends are welded to lower end portions of the vertical members 120 adjacent the pivotal connection to the structural member 117. Similarly, the upper ends of the pair of angle members 124 are welded to upper end portions of the vertical members 120 adjacent the junction with the top member 126 while the lower ends are welded to lower end portions of the vertical members 118 adjacent the pivotal connection to the structural member .117.

The pivotal connection of the right end of the structural member 117, adjacent stiffener member 28b, hanger strap 18, supporting straps 26a and vertical members 120 is illustrated in FIGURES 15 and 16. As represented, in order to receive the central webs of the lower ends of the vertical members 120, the top flange of the stiffener member 2812 includes a longitudinally extending slot 137 on each side of the central web of the I-beam comprising the stiffener member. To receive the upper end of the hanger strap 18, the lower flange of the stiffener member 26b and a portion of the central web is removed to define top and bottom longitudinally extending slots 138 in the I-beam. Mates 139 are welded to the top and bottom flanges of the structural member 117 on opposite sides of its central web and extend beyond the left end of the member between the vertical members 120 and the straps 26a. Likewise, plates 140 are welded to the top and bottom flanges of the stiffener member 28b on opposite sides of its central web and extend to the left between the hanger straps 18 and the vertical members 120. The

plates

139 and 140 include aligned holes for receiving a pin 141 which also passes through like holes in the vertical members 120 and hanger strap 18. Cotter keys 142 extend through the pin 141 outside the straps 26a to secure the pin in place and complete the pivotal connection.

Thus connected, the hanger and supporting

straps

18 and 26a as well as the vertical members 120 are adapted for vertical movement about the pin 141 with movement of the building construction 10.

Should an earth trembler occur, however, the stabilization unit 116 imparts rigidity to the suspension system 16 resisting any bending or deflection of its component parts and materially decreasing the deflection, A, of the

towers

12 and 14 in the building construction. For example,

should an earth trembler occur which causes the

towers

12 and 14 to sway to the left as illustrated in FIGURE 13, bending moments are developed in the stabilized susspension system which oppose such swaying movement of the towers. In particular, as the

towers

12 and 14 sway to the left, downward forces are exerted on the junction of the vertical members and the member 117, and upward forces are exerted on the junction of the member 117 and the vertical member 118. These forces, however, are opposed by forces developed at junctions of the

verticals

118 and 120 and the top member 126 to maintain the relative position of the members comprising the suspension system. Lateral forces are also developed in the system 16 which oppose the swaying movement of the towers. In this manner, the stabilization unit 116 acts as a lever developing forces and moments in opposition to those developed by the swaying towers 12 and 14 during an earth trembler or during high winds.

An alternate form of the portion of the suspension system between

towers

12 and 14 is diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURES 17, 18 and 19, and represented by the numeral 143. Generally speaking, the portion 143 of the suspension system comprises a front and a back series of pairs of parallel supporting straps. The front series is connected at one end to the upper front right corner of the tower 12 and at the other end to the upper front left corner of the tower 14 While the rear series is connected at one end to the upper rear right corner of the tower 12 and at the other end to the upper rear left corner of the tower 14.

The front and rear series are identical in construction. Therefore, only the front series is illustrated in the drawings and includes a plurality of pairs of

parallel straps

144, 146, 148, and 152 connected to form catenarylike suspension between the

towers

12 and 14. In this respect, the ends of the pairs of

straps

144 and 152 are pivotally connected ot the right side and left side of the

towers

12 and 14 in substantially the same manner that the straps 26a were connected to the member 30 in FIG- URES 1a andlb. That is, the upper ends of the pairs of

straps

144 and 152 pass through slots on opposite sides of the central webs of I-beams extending across the tops of the

towers

12 and 14 and are pivotally connected thereto by horizontal pins 153. The other end of the pairs of

straps

144 and 152 are pivotally connected to one end of the pair of straps 146 and the pair of straps 150 while the other ends of the pairs of straps 146 and 150 are pivotally connected to opposite ends of the pair of straps 148. As represented in FIGURE 18, each of these pivotal connections comprises a pin member 154- extending through aligned openings in the pairs of straps. The pins 154 also pass through opening in the upper end portions of hanger straps 156 to provide pivotal connections of a plurality of hanger straps to the series of supporting straps. The hanger straps 156 may be similar to the straps 18 and provide means for connecting and supporting a plurality of floor supporting members for the associated building construction.

In addition to the front and rear series of supporting straps, the portion 143 of the suspension system includes front and rear compression resisting member 158 pivotally connected at opposite ends to the right side and left side of the

towers

12 and 14 under the front and rear series, respectively. Again, only the front member is illustrated in the drawings. As represented, openings 160 are included in the member 158, to receive the vertically extending hanger straps 156.

The suspension system including the portion 143 has the advantages of being very simple in design and construction, and of being relatively lightweight. The suspension system employing the portion 143 also eliminates the individual horizontal compression members between the supporting straps and the only compressive members necessary are the continuous members 158 between the

towers

12 and 14 which resist relative movement of the two towers.

From the foregoing description, it is appreciated that the present invention provides an improved hanging-type building construction employing a simplified, relatively lightweight, yet extremely strong and stable suspension system which is rugged and long lasting. Also, the suspension system is relatively inexpensive and easy to rapidly reassemble. Further, secondary stresses are substantially eliminated by the pivotal connection provided in the suspensions system.

While particular forms of suspension systems for hanging-type building constructions have been described in some detail herein, changes and modifications may be made in the illustrated forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the present invention be limited in scope only by the terms of the following claims.

I claim: 1. A suspension system for a building construction, comprising;

left and right laterally separated towers; first and second elongated supporting members pivotally connected at the upper ends thereof to said left tower and extending diagonally downwardly and outwardly of the left and right sides thereof of said left tower, said second supporting member being capable of taking both tension and compression loads;

third and fourth elongated supporting members pivotally connected at the upper ends thereof to said right tower and extending diagonally downwardly and outwardly of the left and right sides of said right tower, said third supporting member being capable of taking both tension and compression loads;

elongated tie means having the opposite ends thereof bearing against said left and right towers, and pivotally connected intermediate said opposite ends thereof to the lower ends of said second and third supporting members, said tie means being capable of taking compression loads to maintain said lower ends in spaced relation with the right and left sides of said left and right towers, respectively; means maintaining the lower ends of said first and fourth supporting members in spaced relation with the left and right sides of said left and right towers, respectively; and a plurality of vertically oriented hanger members pivotally connected at their upper ends to said tie means and extending downwardly for supporting substantially horizontally oriented floor members. 2. The suspension system of claim 1, wherein said system further includes elongated members capable of taking tension loads connected at their opposite ends between said first and second supporting members and between said third and fourth supporting members, respectively.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,895,734 1/1933 Rush 1418 2,622,546 12/1952 Kramrisch 14-19 X 2,642,598 6/1953 Beretta 14-18 3,254,466 6/1966 Von Heidenstam 52745 3,260,028 7/1966 Fraser 52126 X 3,292,313 12/1966 Entwistle 52236 X 3,299,588 1/1967 Arnold 52236 X FOREIGN PATENTS 634,500 1/ 1962 Canada.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner. C. G. MUELLER, Assistant Examiner.