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US 12,226,813 B2Granted
Tapered structure construction
AssigneeKeystone Tower Systems, Inc.
InventorsEric D. Smith, Rosalind K. Takata, Alexander H. Slocum, Samir A. Nayfeh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Feeding stock used to form a tapered structure into a curving device such that each point on the stock undergoes rotational motion about a peak location of the tapered structure; and the stock meets a predecessor portion of stock along one or more adjacent edges.
Claims16
A device for fabricating a frusto-conical structure, the device comprising:
- a drive system including two positioners and a table, each of the two positioners coupled to the table, each of the two positioners rotatably coupled to the table and rotatably coupled relative to the ground;
- a curving device operable to impart curvature to a planar form of stock material;
- and
- a control system in communication with the two positioners, the control system configured to activate the two positioners in coordination with one another to move the planar form of the stock material in a combination of translational motion and rotational motion into the curving device to form the stock material into the frusto-conical structure having a virtual peak located at a point where a taper of the frusto-conical structure being formed would decrease to zero if the frusto-conical structure were not truncated.
1 more element
A device for fabricating a frusto-conical structure, the device comprising:
- a drive system including a roller;
- a positioner coupled to the drive system, the positioner rotatably coupled to the drive system and rotatably coupled relative to a stationary point;
- a curving device operable to impart curvature to a planar form of stock material;
- and
- a control system in communication with the roller and the positioner, the control system configured to activate the roller and the positioner in coordination with one another to move the planar form of the stock material in a combination of translational motion and rotational motion into the curving device to form the stock material into the frusto-conical structure having a virtual peak located at a point where a taper of the frusto-conical structure being formed would decrease to zero if the frusto-conical structure were not truncated.
2 more elements
A device for fabricating a frusto-conical structure, the device comprising:
- a drive system including a plurality of pickers, a plurality of rails, and tracks, each of the plurality of pickers slidably mounted on a respective one of the plurality of rails, and each rail slidably mounted on the tracks;
- a curving device operable to impart curvature to a planar form of stock material;
- and
- a control system in communication with the plurality of pickers, the control system configured to activate the plurality of pickers to move the plurality of pickers in coordination with one another to rotate the planar form of the stock material into the curving device about a virtual peak located at a point where a taper of the frusto-conical structure being formed would decrease to zero if the frusto-conical structure were not truncated, and the control system is further configured to control the plurality of pickers into engagement with a plurality of points of the planar form of the stock material.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.