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US 5,345,962 AGranted
Arch supported fabric structure
OwnerC. William Mossinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lightweight fabric structure having a plurality of arches, and more particularly, a pavilion type tent structure having arches to define the periphery of the structure with a flexible fabric membrane in tension between the arches. Adjustable length tension bars are placed between adjacent arches to maintain tension and hold the arches upright. Adjacent segments of the membrane are sewn back-to-back to provide a reverse curve seam to increase the usable space inside the fabric structure without the use of a center support or tension lines.
Claims14
A fabric structure comprising:
- a) a plurality of peripheral arched support means positioned to form a periphery of a fabric structure, said arched support means including a first curved pole, a second curved pole, and an angled crown segment;
- b) a fabric membrane operatively connected to and extending between said plurality of peripheral arched support means, said fabric membrane including a fabric segment for each arched support means, each fabric segment being provided with a center edge, an outer edge having a first sleeve for receiving the first curved pole and a second sleeve for receiving the second curved pole of said arched support means, and two side edges, said side edges being curved and configured to form a reverse curve when side edges from adjacent fabric segments are sewn back to back to form said fabric membrane;
- and
- c) tension means for structurally supporting said arched support means on the periphery of the structure whereby a tensile stress is produced in the fabric segment, a compression load is produced on said arched support means, and said fabric membrane is maintained in tension with said arched support means to form the fabric structure.
1 more element
A fabric structure comprising:
- a) a plurality of peripheral arches positioned to form a periphery of a fabric structure, said arches including a first curved pole, a second curved pole, an angled crown segment, and means for adjusting the length of the first pole and the second pole;
- b) a plurality of base plates, said base plates including two mounting apertures for receiving a pole from a first arch and a pole from a second arch;
- c) a fabric membrane operatively connected to and extending between said plurality of peripheral arches, including a fabric segment for each arch, the fabric segments being provided with two partial sleeves along an outer edge of the fabric segments, a first sleeve for receiving the first curved pole and a second sleeve for receiving the second curved pole of an arch;
- and
- d) a plurality of tension bars for connecting and structurally supporting said arches on the periphery of the structure, said tension bars including means for adjusting the length of said tension bars, whereby the length of the tension bars and the length of the first pole and second pole are adjusted so that said fabric membrane is constantly under tension and said arches are compressed to obtain a substantially rigid structure.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.