Working bin

A cluster of working bins in the form of a honeycomb structure comprising:

• three vertical walls of flat sheet metal coverging toward a common line of intersection but terminating at edges short of it and parallel to it;
• three connectors of identical shape, each formed of flat sheet metal and associated with a different pair of said three planar walls;
• each connector having a central panel extending between the edges of its associated pair of planar walls, said central panel flanked by planar side panels lying flush against and attached to those surfaces of the pair of planar walls which face away from the third planar wall,
• said three connectors defining a prismatic space enclosed by said central panels, said three planar walls extending outwardly from the corners of said space away from their common line of intersection;
• a pillar for supporting said three connectors, said pillar including
• a ground anchor extending into a foundation;
• a column connected at its lower end to said ground anchor and having a vertical central axis coincident with said common line of intersection;
• a cap connected to said column at its top, having six vertical faces forming a hexagonal prism, said faces oriented perpendicular to the directions of said three planar walls which are joined by said three connectors,
• each of said three connectors resting on top of said cap and attached to it,
• said working bin further comprising three struts, each extending horizontally from one of the vertical faces of the cap and supporting said planar walls, each of said planar walls terminating in a lower edge which rests on and is attached to one of said three struts.

In a working bin of the type in which a prismatic chamber having a horizontal cross section shaped like a hexagon is supported on pillars, the improvement comprising:

• hollow vertical columns attached at their lower ends to ground anchors embedded in a foundation at the corners of the hexagon, filled with concrete, and serving as pillars to support the prismatic chamber;
• a hexagonal cap connected to each column at its top with faces of the hexagonal cap aligned perpendicularly to lines connecting adjacent columns;
• and,
• horizontally-extending struts connected between the opposing faces of the hexagonal caps of adjacent columns,
• the uppermost surfaces of said hexagonal caps and of said horizontally-extending struts lying in a common substantially horizontal plane and supporting the prismatic chamber.

A method of constructing a cluster of working bins shaped like hexagons and arranged in a honeycomb pattern on a site, comprising the steps of:

• (a) attaching hollow vertical columns to ground anchors embedded in a foundation at the corners of the hexagons;
• (b) filling each column with a castable material;
• (c) connecting a hexagonal cap to each column at its top, with faces of the hexagonal cap aligned perpendicularly to lines connecting adjacent columns;
• and,
• (d) connecting horizontally-extending struts between the opposing faces of the hexagonal caps of adjacent columns with the uppermost surfaces of said hexagonal caps and of said horizontally-extending struts lying in a common substantially horizontal plane and supporting the bins.