Precast, prestressed concrete truss
AssigneeEricksen Roed & Associates, Inc.
InventorMichael A. Desutter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A precast, prestressed concrete truss which spans between exterior columns and forms an interior or exterior load bearing wall of a building. The truss includes top and bottom chords interconnected by at least one web member. Prestressed reinforcing members in the top and bottom chords apply a compressive stress in the chords. The top and bottom chords are configured to support concrete planks that form a floor and/or a ceiling of a building in which the truss is used. When used as an interior load bearing wall, the truss can include at least one opening that forms, for example, a corridor passage large enough for a person to walk through the opening. When used as an exterior load bearing wall, the truss can include at least one window opening.
Claims18
A precast, prestressed concrete truss, comprising:
- a top chord, a bottom chord, and a plurality of web members interconnecting the top chord and the bottom chord;
- the top chord, the bottom chord, and the web members being integrally formed from concrete;
- and the web members include first and second side surfaces, and wherein the top and bottom chords each include at least one ledge that projects beyond one of the first and second side surfaces in a direction perpendicular to a vertical plane extending between the top and the bottom chords;
- prestressed reinforcing members embedded in the concrete of the bottom chord to resist tension stresses as result of the truss acting as a flexural member, the prestressed reinforcing members applying stress in the bottom chord;
- and
- at least one opening in the truss between two adjacent web members and between the top and bottom chord, the opening having dimensions sufficient to form a corridor passage in a building in which the truss is used, and the opening has a height greater than about 80 inches and a width greater than about 48 inches;
- wherein the web members comprise vertical and diagonal web members.
A precast, prestressed concrete truss, comprising:
- a top chord, a bottom chord, and at least one web member interconnecting the top chord and the bottom chord, the top chord, the bottom chord, and the web member being integrally formed from concrete;
- the web members includes first and second side surfaces, and the top and bottom chords each include at least one ledge that projects beyond one of the first and second side surfaces in a direction perpendicular to a vertical plane extending between the top and bottom chords;
- a plurality of vertical and diagonal web members;
- and
- prestressed reinforcing members embedded in the concrete of the top and bottom chord to resist tension stresses as a result of the truss acting as a flexural member, the prestressed reinforcing members applying a stress in the bottom chord.
A building comprising:
- a plurality of walls, at least one of the walls comprises a precast, prestressed concrete truss that includes:
- a) a top chord supporting concrete planks, a bottom chord supporting cocrete planks, and a plurality of web members interconnecting the top chord and the bottom chord;
- the top chord, the bottom chord, and the web members being integrally formed from concrete;
- b) prestressed reinforcing members embedded in the concrete of the bottom chord to resist tension stresses as a result of the truss acting as a flexural member, the prestressed reinforcing members applying a stress in the bottom chord;
- and
- c) at least one opening in the truss.
A method of constructing a building, comprising:
- a) providing a plurality of precast, prestressed concrete trusses, with each truss including:
- i) a top chord, a bottom chord, and a plurality of web members interconnecting the top chord and the bottom chord;
- the top chord, the bottom chord, and the web members being integrally formed from concrete;
- and the top and bottom chords are each adapted to support planks that form a floor and/or a ceiling in the building;
- ii) prestressed reinforcing members embedded in the concrete of the bottom chord to resist tension stresses as a result of the truss acting as a flexural member, the prestressed reinforcing members applying a stress in the bottom chord;
- and
- iii) at least one opening in the truss;
- b) erecting exterior support columns;
- and
- c) installing the trusses as load bearing walls in the building, with each end of each truss supported by one of the exterior support columns.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.