Structural Element
AssigneeGridesic Holdings Limited
InventorTristan Melland
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A structural element (10) for forming a panel, with an upper plane (12) and lower plane (14) which are parallel and deformed along their plane at intervals by pods (16) which extrude toward the opposing plane with their internal faces mating to of another.
Claims27
A structural element made from sheet material that is deformed at intervals along its length and width to provide pods that protrude from the plane of the sheet, wherein at least two sheets are formed with such pods, and two of the sheets are juxtaposed to each other in mirror-image, or facing, fashion, with the pods being inwardly oriented and floors of the pods engaging in contact zones, such that the walls of the pods in both sheets slope obliquely relatively to the plane of their respective sheet, and the pods act as interconnecting diagonal braces whereby loads on the structural element will be transmitted along the surfaces of the pods in multiple directions and distributed throughout the structural element, the pods in each sheet having a close proximity to one another in order to be mechanically interdependent and so that the walls of engaged pods form diamond beam formations between adjacent engaged pods such that multiple diamond beam structures are formed by the diamond beam formations in the structural element in the negative spaces immediately between pairs of engaged pods, the slope of the walls of the diamond beam formations being straight between outwardly oriented, rounded, apexes of the diamond beam formations and the floors of the inwardly oriented pods.
A structural element in the form of a structural panel, the structural element comprising two outer sheets that act as the tensile and compression chords, with the two outer sheets comprising multiple inwardly orientated pods throughout the structural panel, the inwardly oriented pods having pod apexes that are joined together, which pods have a close proximity to one another in order to be mechanically interdependent creating a double depth space-frame lattice type matrix where loads placed on a surface of the structural panel are resisted and transferred through the chords and with the inwardly oriented pods acting as interconnecting diagonal braces such that the loads are transmitted along the surfaces of the pods in multiple directions and distributed throughout the structural element, wherein the walls of a side cross-section of joined pods, due to the close proximity of the pods in each outer sheet, form diamond beam formations between adjacent joined pods such that multiple diamond beam structures are formed by the diamond beam formations in the structural element in the negative spaces immediately between pairs of joined pods, the walls of the diamond beam formations being straight between outwardly oriented, rounded, apexes of the diamond beam formations and the pod apexes of the inwardly oriented pods.
3-7. (canceled)
9-11. (canceled)
14-15. (canceled)
18-20. (canceled)
23-24. (canceled)
27-28. (canceled)
A method for producing a structural element comprising providing a sheet material, deforming deformed it at intervals along its length and width to provide pods that protrude from the plane of the sheet, providing a second sheet, deforming it at intervals along its length and width to provide pods that protrude from the plane of the second sheet, where the walls of the pods in both sheets slope obliquely relatively to the plane of their respective sheet, juxtaposing the two sheets such that the pods are inwardly oriented and juxtaposed to each other in mirror-image or aligning fashion and such that floors of the juxtaposed pods engage in contact zones, and joining the sheets in the contact zones to provide a unitary element, such that the pods act as interconnecting diagonal braces whereby loads on the structural element will be transmitted along the surfaces of the pods in multiple directions and distributed throughout the structural element, the pods in each sheet having a close proximity to one another in order to be mechanically interdependent and so that the walls of joined pods form diamond beam formations between adjacent joined pods such that multiple diamond beam structures are formed by the diamond beam formations in the structural element in the negative spaces immediately between pairs of joined pods, the walls of the diamond beam formations being straight between outwardly oriented, rounded, apexes of the diamond beam formations and the floors of the inwardly oriented pods.
32-68. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.