US 6,561,931 B1 · Joint for facilitating fabrication of collapsible assemblies

Abstract

A link which facilitates forming a collapsible structure which has a shell at least one attachable portion and at least one socket portion. The socket portion has a flexible, preferably twistable, member which connects to a frame member. The frame member moves into and out of the socket portion of the shell to erect and collapse the structure. The walls of the socket portion may be formed a constant distance apart for at least a portion of the circumference of the shell to permit fabricating the shell from non-resilient material. Caps, detents and protrusions can be used to secure the member to the shell in the erect position by positioning the socket and attachable portions at desired angular relationships and placing the socket portions at any desired position in the circumference of the shell, virtually any collapsible structure can be configured.

Claims35

Dependent claims

A link adapted to join a pair of members having a curvature and an outside diameter, said link comprising:

a shell having a non-resilient socket portion and an attachable portion thereon;
a flexible member fixedly attached to said shell proximate to said attachable portion, said flexible member being adapted to attach to a first one of the pair of members and adapted to angularly move the first one of the pair of members into an interior of and out of said socket portion,
wherein the interior of said socket portion has a rounded portion which substantially matches the curvature and outside diameter of the first one of the pair of members.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Joint for facilitating fabrication of collapsible assemblies

Life of this patent

Joint for facilitating fabrication of collapsible assemblies

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims35