Collapsible gridworks for forming structures by confining fluent materials

A collapsible gridwork for confining fluent materials within cells defined by said gridwork to convert said fluent materials into stable columns capable of withstanding substantial vertical and horizontal loading, said gridwork comprising:

• a first plurality of longitudinal stirps having a second plurality of defined spaced slots alternately formed into the sides thereof;
• a second plurality of latitudinal stirps, equal in number to said second plurality of slots, having a first plurality of defined spaced sltos, equal in number to said first plurality of strips, alternately formed into the sides thereof, said longitudinal and latitudinal strips being sufficiently flexible to be interwoven by engaging slots on one side of said longitudinal strips with corresponding slots on the opposite side of said latitudinal strips to mechanically interlock said strips to form said gridwork, said slots being sized such that said gridwork can be handled without disengagement of said strips and being of compatible depths such that said longitudinal and latitudinal strips engage one another at inner terminations of asid slots when interwoven to define joints capable of both rotational and axial translational movement to permit said gridwork to be collapsed to either a multilayer strip somewhat longer than said longitudinal strips, or a substantially flat configuration, said longitudinal and latitudinal strips comprising base strips and width extensions with second slots formed into said width extensions in alignment with slots in said base strips, one side of said base strip being defined by the inner ends of said secondary salots whereby said width extensions facilitate stacking of said gridworks by overlapping portions of said base strip of an adjacent gridwork to reinforce and unitize the columnar cells formed by stacking two or more of said gridworks one upon another.

A collapsible gridwork for confining fluent materials within cells defined by said gridwork to convert said fluent materials into stable columns capable of withstanding substantial vertical and horizontal loading, said gridwork comprising:

• a first plurality of longitudinal strips having a second plurality of defined spaced slots alternately formed into the sides thereof;
• a second plurality of latitudinal stirps, equal in number to said second plurality of slots, having a first plurality of defined spaced slots, equal in number to said first plurality of strips, alternately formed into the sides thereof, said longitudinal and latitudinal strips being sufficiently flexible to be interwoven by engaging slots on one side of said longitudinal strips with corresponding slots on the opposite side of said latitudinal strips to mechanically interlock said strips to form said gridwork, said slots being sized such that said gridwork can be handled without disengagement of said strips yet facilitate nested stacking of two or more gridworks one upon another and being of compatible depths such that said longitudinal and latitudinal strips engage one another at inner terminations of said slots when interwoven to define joints capable of both rotational and axial translational movement to permit said gridwork to be collapsed to either a multilayer strip somewhat longer than said longitudinal strips, or a substantially flat configuration.

A method for collapsing a gridwork formed from a plurality of longitudinal and latitudinal strips having defined spaced slots alternately formed into the sides thereof, said method comprising the steps of:

• forming said strips of a sufficiently flexible material to permit said strips to be interwoven by engaging slots on one side of said longitudinal strips with slots on the opposite side of said latitudinal strips;
• interweaving said strips to form said gridwork;
• and
• collapsing said gridwork to a readily revesible substantially flat configuration by rotation of the strips about axes defined by engaged slots of the strips to a first collapsed configuration comprising a mutilayer strip somewhat longer than said longitudinal strips;
• positioning said gridwork in said first collapsed configuration such that said axes are substantially horizontal;
• and
• pulling the sides of said multilayer strip in a manner to expand the width thereof whereby said gridwork is further collapsed in thickness to a second collapsed configuration which is substantially flat.