Seismic wall fuse
AssigneeDegenkolb Engineers
InventorGarrett R. HAGEN
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
One or more seismic wall fuses that wrap around the edge of a building wall, the seismic wall fuses having a first wall panel on one side of the wall and a second wall panel on the other side of the wall, and an edge panel along the edge of the wall connected to the first and second wall panels. Each of the first and second wall panels have: a top portion that is attached to the wall, a mid-portion that deforms to absorb seismic stresses, and a bottom portion that is also attached to the wall. In operation, the mid-portion of the first wall panel expands while the mid-portion of the second wall panel simultaneously contracts (or vice versa), thereby dissipating seismic energy in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the wall, which could otherwise topple the wall.
Claims16
A seismic wall fuse system, comprising:
- a first planar wall panel, comprising:
- a non-deformable planar top portion that is configured to be positioned flat against or inside a wall and be connected to the wall;
- a non-deformable planar bottom portion that is configured to be positioned flat against or inside the wall and be connected to the wall;
- and
- a deformable planar mid portion connecting the non-deformable top and bottom portions, wherein the deformable mid portion is configured to deform to absorb seismic stress, and wherein the deformable mid portion comprises a plurality of laterally extending slits with material sections therebetween that deform as the mid portion lengthens or shortens.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.