INFLATABLE BUILDING

Abstract: A process for erecting an inflatable building structure which is especially adapted for housing plants, includes the steps of (a) installing a plurality of support posts (10) in the gound (11) or other suitable base (12); (b) attaching a roof structure formed from one or more inflatable membranes (15) to the plurality of support posts (10); and (c) inflating the inflatable membrane (15). Preferably the inflatable membrane (15) has peripheral rigid support members or gutters (14) which are each attached to a row of associated posts (10) and the roof structure formed from the inflatable membrane (15) together with the rigid support members (14) may be initially laid on the ground before being elevated.

Description: This invention relates to a building structure comprising a plurality of support posts and an inflatable roof, and a process for its erection. The building structure is especially adapted for use as a greenhouse, fernhouse or building mainly utilized for the propagation of plants. However it will be appreciated that the building structure of the invention may be utilized for any other suitable purpose such as storage of perishable food articles. Hitherto building structures for plants are usually time consuming to erect especially conventional greenhouses which are used for large scale commercial growing of plants which require abundant exposure to light and appropriate insulation so as to maintain a controlled temperature within the greenhouse. The greenhouse was usually constructed in accordance with standard building practice wherein a basic frame was first erected and then transparent panels usually formed from glass were attached thereto to form both the roof and the walls of the greenhouse. The basic frame in requiring usually girders, beams and welding so as to interconnect adjacent frame members was expensive and time consuming in erection time. The addition of glass panels was also expensive and time consuming. However, because of the necessity to admit light normally in conventional greenhouses the roof could not be satisfactorily insulated and thus such greenhouses were prone to heat loss at night. Thus in order to maintain a controlled temperature it was usually necessary to utilize relatively expensive environment control equipment within the criterion of the greenhouses such as auxiliary heating systems. Thus it was also to be appreciated that conventional commercial greenhouses were relatively expensive to maintain. In order to avoid heat loss sometimes the glass panels were painted to convert them from being transparent to become translucent. However this was usually only temporary solution and it was difficult to remove the paint from the glass panels. Building structures are known having inflatable roof membranes. For example, BATIR, No. 100, January 1961, pages 26 - 29; R. Brocard: "En guise de toit: un coussin pneumatique" discloses a building structure in which an inflatable roof membrane is attached to peripheral supporting columns, erection of the columns being followed by elevation of the roof membrane to the tops of the columns and, attachment thereto. It is an object of the invention to provide a process for erection of a building structure with an inflatable roof membrane which alleviates the disadvantages of the abovementioned prior art, a further object being to provide building structures for erection by the process and having further advantageous features. Accordingly, the present invention provides a process for erecting an inflatable building structure comprising a plurality of support posts on opposite sides and a roof structure formed from at least one inflatable membrane attached to the support posts, characterised by the steps of: pivotally mounting each post in each row adjacent its lower end and disposing it initially in a non-vertical position with its top lying inwardly; attaching the inflatable membrane to the tops of all the support posts; elevating said pivoted posts and securing them in fixed vertical orientation whereby said membrane spans between the posts on opposite sides; and inflating the inflatable membrane. Advantageously, a plurality of support posts may be erected at opposite ends of the building structure, the inflatable membrane being secured to the tops of the end posts after elevating the pivoted side posts to fixed vertical orientation and before inflating the inflatable membrane. One or more side curtains and one or more end curtains may be provided at the sides and ends of the building structure. An upper securing cable preferably extends across the top of the inflatable membrane, the cable being initially in a slack condition and being tensioned before inflating the inflatable membrane, and a lower support cable preferably extends under the inflatable membrane, the cable being initially in a slack condition and being tensioned before inflating the inflatable membrane. Both upper and lower cables are preferably secured to opposed pairs of side posts. The present invention also provides an inflatable building structure comprising a plurality of support posts on opposite sides and a roof structure formed from at least one inflatable membrane attached to the support posts; characterised by: pivotal mountings adjacent the lower end of each post in each row; means for attaching the inflatable membrane to the tops of the support posts while the pivoted posts are in non-vertical position with their tops lying inwards; means for elevating said pivoted posts and securing them in fixed vertical orientation whereby said membrane spans between the posts on opposite sides; and means for inflating the inflatable membrane. Advantageously, said posts are retained in vertical position by securing cables, some of which function as upper securing cables extending across the top of the inflatable membrane, and the others as lower supporting cables under the inflatable membrane when the inflatable membrane has been inflated. As previously mentioned, a plurality of support posts are preferably also erected at opposite ends of the building structure, and the inflatable membrane is secured to the tops of the end posts after elevating the pivoted side posts to fixed vertical orientation and before inflating the inflatable membrane. One or more side curtains and one or more end curtains may be provided, along with actuating means for selectively raising and lowering one or more of said side and/or end curtains to control the the interior temperature of the building structure, and thermostat control means may be provided for operating said actuating means to raise or lower the bottom end of one or more of said side and/or end curtains in response to temperature variations from a selected temperature in order to maintain the temperature inside the structure at the selected temperature. Conveniently, said actuating means includes a support rail attached to an adjacent vertically oriented support post, a carriage member for reciprocatable movement along the support rail, a mandrel for supporting at least one of said side or end curtains in the course of its raising and lowering movement, a motor assembly mounted on the support rail, and gear means interconnecting the motor assembly and said mandrel for said side or end curtain. A solenoid is preferably interposed between the motor assembly and the thermostat control means to enable the motor assembly to drive the carriage member along the support rail. Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figures 1 - 4 are schematic illustrations of an example of erecting a prior art construction of building having an inflatable roof( cf GB-A-1 550 488); Figures 5 - 6 are plan and front views of a building structure constructed in accordance with the example of Figures 1 - 4; Figures 7 - 8 are plan and front views of a modification of the building structure of Figures 5 - 6; Figure 9 is a corner perspective view of the building structure shown in Figures 5 - 6; Figure 10 is a detailed perspective view illustrating the structure as indicated by arrow A in Figure 9; Figure 10A is a detailed view of the attachment structure attaching the roof membrane to the gutter member; Figure 11 is a similar view to Figure 10 showing the structure indicated by arrow B in Figure 9; Figures 12 - 17 are schematic illustrations of an embodiment of the invention showing the erection process; Figure 18 is a perspective view of part of one side of a building structure in accordance with the invention; Figure 19 is a perspective view of part of the end of the structure shown in Figure 18; Figure 20 is a perspective view of a corner of the structure shown in Figure 18; Figure 21 is a detailed view of the anchor post used for supporting the end curtain members in Figure 19; Figure 22 is a detailed view of the anchor structure used for supporting the support cables shown in Figure 18; and Figure 23 is a detailed view of the anchor structure for the corner bracing of the structure shown in Figure 18. In the prior art example of Figures 1 - 4 support posts 10 are first embedded in the ground 11 by appropriate means such as being embedded in a concrete block 12. A roof component 13 comprising a pair of opposed gutter members 14 and a roof inflatable membrane 15 interposed between each gutter member 14 is laid on the ground 11 between a pair of support posts 10. Hoisting cables 16 are attached to each gutter member 14 and are attached to pulleys 17 located on the top of support posts 10. Support posts 10 are also braced by stays 18. There is also shown support cables 19 and 20 for roof components 13 which initially as shown in FIG 1 are in a slack attitude. Upon actuation of a winch (not shown) hoisting cables 16 may be pulled through pulleys 17 and thus elevate roof component 13 as shown in FIG 2 until gutter members 14 are mounted on mounting brackets 21. Cables 19 and 20 may also be tensioned by appropriate tensioning means such as a turnbuckle or the like (not shown) until they assume a taut attitude as shown in FIGS 2-3. Lift chains 22 may also be used to elevate gutter members 14 to be mounted on mounting brackets 21. Lift chains 22 may be elevated by a crane (not shown) or other suitable elevating means. Once gutter members 14 are supported by mounting brackets 21 the membrane bay be inflated as shown in FIG 4 by appropriate means such as an inflating pipe 23 which may communicate with the interior of membrane 15. Inflating pipe 23 may have a control butterfly valve 24 and motor 25 driving impeller 26. Inflating pipe 23 may be supported by suitable supports 27. In FIGS 5-8 the arrangement of posts 10 is illustrated. In FIGS 5-6 only one membrane 15 is utilized between longitudinal rows 28 of support posts 10. In FIGS 7-8 a plurality (ie. three) membranes are utilized wherein each membrane 15 is located between the series of longitudinal rows 28. Also shown are end peripheral posts 10A located in one end or front of the building structure and clearly the spacing between internal posts 10B is very much greater than between end peripheral posts 10A. Peripheral posts 10A are also braced by stays 18 as is the case with side peripheral posts 10C. In FIG 9 there is shown membrane 15 which may comprise an upper membrane 29 and lower membrane 30. The side edges of upper membrane 29 and lower membrane 30 may be attached to gutter members 14 and between adjacent gutter members 14 of mutually adjoining membranes there may be provided a gap 32 covered by cover member 33. Between adjacent end peripheral posts 10A there may be provided diagonally oriented braces 34 and 35 as shown as well as between corner posts 10 and side peripheral post 10C. There is also shown ground supports 31 in the form of spikes or pegs to which are attached stays 18 as well as support cables 19 and 20. In FIG 10 there is shown rigid pipes 37 for cables 19 and 20 which enable cables 19 and 20 to have a relatively gentle curve or radius before assuming a horizontal orientation as shown. Support post 10C is of substantially channel cross sectional shape having slot 36 and return flanges 38. Brackets 21 are bolted to support post 10C by bolts 39. Upon assuming a horizontal orientation cables 19 and 20 may have plastics sleeves 40. Gutter 14 may have return flanges 41. As shown gutters 14 are supported by brackets 21. There is also provided extrusion members 42 of substantially U-shaped cross-section which include a slot or groove 43 for retention of a continuous bead 44 which secures the curtain membrane forming upper membrane 29 and lower membrane 30 in place. Bead 44 may secure mutually adjacent side edges of membranes 29 or 30 or alternatively a common strip of membranes 29 or 30 in place in slot 43. A detailed view of this arrangement is shown in Figure 10A. Also shown is extrusion support member 42A of substantially rectangular cross section. Also shown is cable clamp 45 and grommet 46. In Figure 11 there is shown internal post 10B having fixed mounting 47 to footing 12 and bolts 48 attaching mounting 47 to post 10B. Also shown are tabs 49 and 50 attached to gutter member s 14. Tabs 49 together with associated apertures 51 are used as attachment locations for pulleys 17 discussed earlier. Tabs 50 together with associated apertures 52 are used for attachment locations for chains 22 discussed earlier. In the process of the invention shown in Figures 12 - 17 initially a rectangular array of posts is formed with two opposed rows of end posts 53 supported in the ground and two adjacent rows of side posts 54 lying on the ground with their tops lying inwardly as shown in Figures 17. End posts 53 are supported by cables 55 and 56 which are attached to anchor structure 57 as shown in more detail in Figure 22. Side posts 54 are hingedly attached by pivot bolts 59 to a metal plate anchor 58. They also have attached thereto temporary supports 60 acting as a compression column. Supports 60 have cables 61 all attached to winch 62. Also shown is anchor pulley 63. End posts 53 are first erected and attached together by continuous top plate 64. Roof membrane 15 has attached thereto on each side thereof a continuous rigid member 65 in the form of an extrusion which may be clipped to the tops of posts 54 and attached thereto by screws (not shown). In FIGS 12-17 the side posts 54 have attached thereto temporary support member 60 and cables61 which passes in bearing contact over the top of member 60 and held thereto by a U bolt 60A. Upon actuation of winch 62 posts 54 are raised upwardly as shown in FIGS 13-14 with posts 54 pivoting on pivot bolts 59. As soon as one row of posts 54 reach a near vertical orientation as shown in the left hand side of FIG 14 they are retained in this position temporarily while the other side (ie. the right hand side in FIG 14) of posts 54 are elevated in similar manner to a vertical position and retained in this position by securing cables 66 and 67. Thereafter the left hand side posts are raised to their full height and also secured in position by support cables 66 and 67. One cable 66 functions as an upper retaining cable or hold-down cable while the other cable 67 functions as a bottom support cable for roof membrane 15. Posts 54 may also be retained in position by braces 68. Subsequently posts 54 may be secured by tightening of bolts 59 in anchor 58. The roof membrane 15 may then be fixed to end plates 64. Thereafter roof membrane 15 may be inflated in similar manner as already described above in FIG 4. FIGS 18-22 describes the inflatable building structure formed by the process shown in FIGS 12-17. Thus there is shown upper and lower membranes 29 and 30 of roof 15 which are each clamped to extrusion 65 by clamping strap 69. Also shown are side curtains 70 and 71 with the bottom curtain 71 functioning as a insect screen. Bottom support cables 67 and 67A are also shown as well as turnbuckle tensioner device 72. Also shown is duct 73 interconnecting the interior of membrane 15 and the interior between curtains 70 and 71. Thus when membrane 15 is inflated the interior of side curtains 70 and 71 may also be inflated if required. However, it will be appreciated that the interior of side curtain 70-71 may be inflated separately if desired. Also shown is pump 74 which may communicate with the interior of membrane 15 to inflate same if required through conduit 75. A non return valve (not shown) may be associated with the interior of membrane 15 or curtains 70-71 also if required. In FIG 19 there is shown end post 53, bracing girder 76 and end curtains 77 and 78 with bottom end curtain 77 functioning as an insect screen if desired. Top curtain 78 may be rolled up if desired as shown at 79. This may be done mechanically as shown hereinafter in FIG 20 and controlled thermostatically as also shown in FIG 20. If desired a conduit (not shown) may communicate between the interior of membrane 15 and the interior of end curtains 77 and 78 as described in FIG 18 in regard to duct 73. Suitably the pressure maintained within the interior of membrane 15 is between 26-32 pascals. In FIG 20 there is shown the actuating mechanism for effecting raising or lowering of side curtain 70. End curtain 78 may be attached to girder 76 by clamping strap 80. Clamping strap 81 may also attach bottom side curtain 77 to girder 68. There is also provided support rail 82 for carriage 83 for motor assembly 84. Motor assembly 84 includes motor 85, clutch 86, carrier bracket 87 attached to carriage 83 by bolts 88. Pinion 89 attached to output shaft 90 meshes with larger gear wheel 91 and rotates same and therefore mandrel 92 is also rotated. Carriage 83 upon actuation of motor 85 moves up and down on carrier rail 82 and to this end has internal roller bearings 93. There is also shown thermostat control 94 attached to support 95 having a rotary control knob 96. Power cable 97A interconnects thermostat 94 to motor 85 as shown. The mechanism as shown in FIG 20 operates upon actuation of motor 85 by thermostat 94 through solenoid 97. When the motor is not in operation the carriage 83 is braked by clutch 86. When motor 85 cuts in solenoid 97 engages clutch 86 and the operation of motor 85 enables carriage 83 to move upwardly or downwardly on carrier rail 82 depending upon the polarity of the power supply. In Figures 21 - 22 there is shown appropriate anchor structure for both the end curtains 77 and 78 and cables 66 and 67A. Thus in Figure 21 there is shown anchor post 98 embedded in concrete 99 which optionally comprises a steel RSJ member. There is also shown a curtain winch 100 for elevating or lowering end curtain 78. Also shown is lower end curtain 77. There is also shown support cable 101. In Figure 22 cables 66 and 67A are shown as well as fixed side curtain 71. Also shown are turnbuckles 102 and 103 for tensioning the cables 66 and 67A when required. Also shown are galvanized steel stirrups 104, steel reinforcement frame 105 and concrete 106. In Figure 23 there is shown girder 76, fixed curtain 77, clamping 81, concrete 108 and steel reinforcement frame 109 and bolts 110. The building structure of the invention is very advantageous in use in that the structure is very readily and efficiently installed or erected in comparison with the prior art. The use of side curtains and end curtains provides a controlled temperature situation especially where the side curtains and/or end curtains may be selectively raised or lowered as required.

Claims: A process for erecting an inflatable building structure comprising a plurality of support posts (54) on opposite sides and a roof structure formed from at least one inflatable membrane (15) attached to the support posts, characterised by the steps of: pivotally mounting each post (54) in each row adjacent its lower end and disposing it initially in a non-vertical position with its top lying inwardly; attaching the inflatable membrane (15) to the tops of all the support posts (54); elevating said pivoted posts and securing them in fixed vertical orientation whereby said membrane spans between the posts on opposite sides; and inflating the inflatable membrane (15). A process according to Claim 1 characterised in that: a plurality of support posts (53) are erected at opposite ends of the building structure; and the inflatable membrane (15) is secured to the tops of the end posts (53) after elevating the pivoted side posts (54) to fixed vertical orientation and before inflating the inflatable membrane. A process according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that: one or more side curtains (70, 71) and one or more end curtains (77, 78) are provided at the sides and ends of the building structure. A process according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that: an upper securing cable (66) extends across the top of the inflatable membrane (15), the cable being initially in a slack condition and being tensioned before inflating the inflatable membrane. A process according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that: a lower support cable (67) extends under the inflatable membrane (15) the cable being initially in a slack condition and being tensioned before inflating the inflatable membrane. A process according to Claim 4 and Claim 5, characterised in that: upper and lower cables (66, 67) are secured to opposed pairs of side posts (54). An inflatable building structure comprising a plurality of support posts (54) on opposite sides and a roof structure formed from at least one inflatable membrane (15) attached to the support posts; characterised by: pivotal mountings (58, 59) adjacent the lower end of each post (54) in each row; means (65) for attaching the inflatable membrane (15) to the tops of the support posts (54) while the pivoted posts are in non-vertical position with their tops lying inwards; means (60 to 63) for elevating said pivoted posts and securing them in fixed vertical orientation whereby said membrane (15) spans between the posts (54) on opposite sides; and means (23 to 26) for inflating the inflatable membrane. A structure according to Claim 7, characterised in that: said posts (54) are retained in vertical position by securing cables (66, 67), some of which function as upper securing cables (66) extending across the top of the inflatable membrane (15), and the others as lower supporting cables (67) under the inflatable membrane when the inflatable membrane has been inflated. A structure according to Claim 7 or Claim 8, characterised in that: a plurality of support posts (53) are erected at opposite ends of the building structure; and the inflatable membrane (15) is secured to the tops of the end posts (53) after elevating the pivoted side posts (54) to fixed vertical orientation and before inflating the inflatable membrane (15). A structure according to any one of Claims 7 to 9, characterised in that: one or more side curtains (70, 71) and one or more end curtains (77, 78) are provided; and actuating means (82 to 92) is provided for selectively raising and lowering one or more of said side and/or end curtains to control the interior temperature of the building structure. A structure according to Claim 10, characterised in that: thermostat control means (94) is provided for operating said actuating means (82 to 92) to raise or lower the bottom end of one or more of said side and/or end curtains in response to temperature variations from a selected temperature in order to maintain the temperature inside the structure at the selected temperature. A structure according to Claim 10 or Claim 11, characterised in that: said actuating means includes a support rail (82) attached to an adjacent vertically oriented support post (53 or 54), a carriage member (83) for reciprocatable movement along the support rail, a mandrel (92) for supporting at least one of said side or end curtains in the course of its raising and lowering movement, a motor assembly (84) mounted on the support rail (82), and gear means (89, 91) interconnecting the motor assembly and said mandrel for said side or end curtain. A structure according to Claim 12, characterised in that: a solenoid (97) is interposed between the motor assembly (84) and the thermostat control means (94) to enable the motor assembly to drive the carriage member (83) along the support rail (82).

Inventors: PLANT, DAVID DOUGLAS
Applicants: FLEXIPLANT USA
Application year: 1986
Main classification: E04H15
IPC codes: E04B7, A01G9, E04H15