Geodesic Framework Hub with Strut Holding Mechanism Movable Between Full-Hold and Partial-Hold Positions

A hub for interconnecting a plurality ball-tipped struts at a node of geodesic framework, said hub comprising:

• a receiver having opposing inner and outer sides through which a central axis passes, and a peripheral edge joining said inner and outer sides together around said central axis at a distance radially outward therefrom;
• a plurality of rounded cavities recessed into the inner side of the receiver at circumferentially spaced positions around the central axis to receive ball-tipped ends of the plurality of the struts;
• a plurality of open mouths each opening into a respective one of the rounded cavities through the peripheral edge of the receiver, each mouth having a width measuring less than a diameter of the respective one of the rounded cavities;
• and
• a cover cap fastened or fastenable to the receiver at the inner side thereof and rotatable between a full-hold condition at least partially obstructing each of the rounded cavities at the inner side of the receiver to block withdrawal of the ball-tipped ends of the plurality of struts when received in said rounded cavities, and any selected one of a plurality of partial-hold conditions, in each of which a respective one of the rounded cavities is more revealed at the inner side of the receiver than in the full-hold condition so as to enable insertion or withdrawal of a respective one of said ball-tipped ends of the struts to or from said respective one of the rounded cavities at the inner side of the receiver, while every other rounded cavity is at least partially obstructed by the cover cap at the inner side of the receiver to prevent inadvertent separation of any ball-tipped strut end received therein.

An assembly kit for assembling a multi-layer node in a multi-layer geodesic framework, said kit comprising:

• a first hub comprising a first receiver with a first bore therein and a first plurality of receptacles arrayed around said first bore for receiving respective ends of a first plurality of struts within said first plurality of receptacles;
• a second hub comprising a second receiver having a second bore therein and a second plurality of receptacles arrayed around said second bore for receiving respective ends of a second plurality of struts within said second plurality of receptacles;
• and
• a spacer fastenable to said first and second hubs within or through each of said first and second bores to hold said first and second hubs at an axial distance from one another and thereby hold set first and second plurality of struts in spaced relation to one another in different layers of the multi-layer geodesic framework.