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US 4,047,354 AGranted
Composite beam structure
AssigneeAlcan Aluminum Corporation
InventorJames Gordon Sutherland
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This composite beam structure is built up from at least two relatively rigid members, which may be of extruded aluminum and at least one relatively flexible web, which may be corrugated sheet aluminum. The web connects the relatively rigid members. The web has relatively short pitch, shallow corrugations in its margins to facilitate its connection to the rigid members, and relatively long pitch, deep corrugations between its margins to provide increased stress resistance. A box beam modification uses two relatively rigid members and two corrugated webs.
Claims16
A beam, including:
- a. an elongated, relatively flexible, transversely corrugated web (1,2,6);
- b. two elongated, relatively rigid, structural members, (3,4,7), each member having a slot (3c,4c,7a) receiving one margin of said web;
- c. said corrugated web comprising primary corrugations (1a,1b), each having a depth greater than the width of the slot and extending transversely across the middle (2n) of the web, said primary corrugations enhancing the stress resistance of the web, and relatively shallow secondary corrugations (1d,1e,1g,1h) extending transversely across each margin from the edge of the web to a juncture with the primary corrugations, said shallow corrugations having a depth which increases gradually from a minimum at the edge of the web to a maximum at said juncture, said minimum depth being smaller than the width of the slots, to facilitate movement of the margins into the slots;
- and
- d. means (5) fastening each margin of the web in its associated slot, to lock the members and the web together in a unitary beam.
2 more elements
A beam, including:
- a. an elongated, relatively flexible, transversely corrugated web (1,2,6) having two margins (1k,2k), a middle region (1n,2n) and two transitional regions (1m,2m) between the margins and the middle region;
- b. two elongated, relatively, rigid, structural members (3,4,7), each member having a slot (3c,4c,7a) receiving one margin of said web;
- c. said corrugated web comprising:
- 1. primary corrugations (1a,1b), each having a depth greater than the width of the slot and extending across the middle region, said primary corrugations enhancing the stress resistance of the web;
- 2. relatively shallow secondary corrugations (1d,1e,1g,1h) extending across the margins, said shallow corrugations having a depth which increases gradually from a minimum at the edge of the web, said depth being smaller throughout said margins that the width of the slots, to facilitate movement of the margins into the slots;
- and
- 3. said transitional regions having corrugations with depths which increase gradually from the margin toward the middle region;
- and
- d. means (5) fastening each margin of the web in its associated slot, to lock the members and the web together in a unitary beam.
6 more elements
A beam of hollow polygonal cross-section, including:
- a. two elongated, relatively flexible, transversely corrugated webs (1,2), each corrugation comprising a peak fold and a valley fold;
- b. two elongated, relatively rigid, structural members (3,4), each member having:
- 1. two laterally spaced longitudinally extending slots (3c,4c), each slot receiving one margin (1k,2k) of one of said webs;
- c. at least one of said webs comprising primary corrugations (1a,1b) in the middle of the web deeper than the width of the slots to provide stress resistance, and secondary corrugations (1d,1e,1g,1h) in the margins 1k) of the web and shallower at least at the edges of the web than the width of the slots to facilitate movement of the margins into the slots;
- and
- d. means fastening each margin of each web in its associated slot, to lock the members and the webs together in a unitary beam.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.