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US 7,452,578 B2Granted
Structural fabrics employing icosahedral elements and uses thereof
OwnerSamuel J. Lanahaninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A structural fabric comprises a plurality of discrete and spaced apart icosahedral elements and a plurality of interconnecting elements. The icosahedra elements are interconnected at selected edges by the interconnecting elements in tension so as to form a self-supported array of the icosahedral elements. The icosahedral elements may be icosahedrons (20 sides) or truncated icosahedrons (32 sides). Methods of constructing the structural fabric are also disclosed.
Claims45
A structural fabric, comprising:
- a plurality of discrete and spaced apart icosahedral elements;
- a plurality of interconnecting elements, said icosohedral elements being interconnected at selected vertices by said interconnecting elements in tension so as to form a free standing array of said icosahedral elements;
- and
- wherein for any one interconnected icosahedral element, said interconnecting elements are attached at two consecutive vertices on the interconnected icosahedral element and along an edge on the icosahedral element extending between the two consecutive vertices.
1 more element
A method for constructing a structural fabric, comprising:
- providing a plurality of discrete and spaced apart icosahedral elements;
- and
- interconnecting said icosohedral elements at selected vertices by a plurality of interconnecting elements in tension so as to form a free standing array of said icosahedral elements, wherein for any one interconnected icosahedral element, said interconnecting further comprises interconnecting said interconnecting elements at two consecutive vertices on the interconnected icosahedral element and along an edge extending between the two consecutive vertices.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.