Abstract:
The present invention relates to an aseismatic support unit, and more particularly to an aseismatic support unit capable of being easily and fitly in-situ assembled to become an aseismatic system. The aseismatic support unit is mounted between a base and a loaded article, comprising a lower support member, an upper support member and a plurality of aseismatic units mounted therebetween. Each of the aseismatic units includes a lower carry member having an upward carry surface, an upper carry member having a downward carry surface and a support roller mounted therebetween. When an earthquake happens, shakes are transmitted from the base. Then, the aseismatic support unit of the present invention diminishes the extent of the shakes of the load article placed over the upper support member and thus prevent the loaded article from overturn and damage as a result of the earthquake.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to an aseismatic support unit, and more particularly to an aseismatic support unit capable of being easily and fitly in-situ assembled to become an aseismatic system.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     Earthquake disasters occur frequently around the world, causing tremendous personal injuries and death as well as serious loss of property that cannot be recovered. Nowadays, the industrial and commercial communities rely heavily on exchange of a great deal of data to perform various industrial and commercial activities either by computer networks or common telecommunication exchanges. In addition, the infrastructure system for supplying water, electricity, gas and transportation to meet the basic needs for the society functions also relies heavily on data by means of the computer networks or the common telecommunication exchanges to maintain their operations. Thus, an earthquake causes not only inconveniences to our lives as a result of damages to civil constructions such as buildings and bridges, but also abruptly ceases the activities of the whole society as a result of damages to the computer networks or the common telecommunication exchanges. Hence, developments of various aseismatic systems have gradually attracted the attention of responsible personnel. Industry has kept investing enormous amounts of capital and human resources in research in the hope of reducing damage to equipment, facilities etc, such as computer network servers, telecommunication exchanges, buildings or bridges necessary for maintaining the basic operations of the society and so minimize the influences of the earthquake disasters on our lives.  
         [0005]     Aseismatic systems currently available from the market are formed independently of the equipment such as the aforesaid computer network server or the telecommunication exchange to be protected, instead of being integral with the equipment being protected. Hence, the aseismatic systems are generally assembled on the construction site where the equipment to be protected is mounted, for example, the telecommunication exchange room or the computer room. However, any of these places (e.g., the computer room) is limited in space due to being full of other machines (servers). Thus, difficulty of in-situ installation of the aseismatic system increases, and also, time for such installation is prolonged. Furthermore, because the aseismatic systems currently available are excessively large, the in-situ installation will generally have drawbacks in the normal operation of the equipment to be protected; for example, the equipment needs to be powered off for wire reconnections. Therefore, the clients will worry about these drawbacks and hesitate to install the aseismatic system. Consequently, the main target of the researches for the aseismatic systems in the industry is to reduce the size of the presently existing aseismatic systems and simplify the process for installing the aseismatic system.  
         [0006]     A construction unit  10  for forming a conventional aseismatic system is shown in  FIG. 1   a,  having a lower support member  11 , an upper support member  12  and two aseismatic units  13  respectively consisting of an upper carry member  14 , a lower carry member  15  and a support roller  16 , in which a downward carry surface  141  is of a V shape in section, facing downward, and two flanges  142  on the both sides thereof are mounted on the bottom of the upper carry member  14  while an upward carry surface  151  is of a V shape in section and two flanges  152  on the both sides thereof are mounted on the top of the lower carry member  15 . In addition, the support roller  16  contacts with the downward carry surface  141  of the upper carry member  14  and the upward carry surface  151  of the lower carry member  15 . As shown in  FIG. 1   b,  a conventional aseismatic system  17  formed by welding a plurality of links  18  to two construction units  10  as shown in  FIG. 1   a  is pre-fabricated according to the size of the base area of equipment (a computer network server or a telecommunication exchange) to be protected. Then, the whole aseismatic system  17  is carried to the construction site on which it is installed beneath the equipment (computer network server or telecommunication exchange) to be protected.  
         [0007]     When the conventional aseismatic system  17  and the equipment being protected by the system  17  shake as a result of an earthquake, the equipment (computer network server or telecommunication exchange) to be protected and the two construction units  10  of the aseismatic system  17  will swing back and forth due to the inertial actions. At the same time, the support roller  16  of the construction unit  10  rolls back and forth between the downward carry surface  141  and the upward carry surface  151  to gradually retard the swing of the equipment (computer network server or telecommunication exchange) being protected. However, as mentioned in the above, because both the downward carry surface  141  V-shaped in section, facing downward, and the upward carry surface  151  V-shaped in section, as provided in the construction unit  10  are irregular, the support roller  16  keeps hitting against the irregular downward carry surface  141  V-shaped in section, facing downward, or the irregular upward carry surface  151  V-shaped in section when the support roller  16  rolls back and forth between the downward carry surface  141  and the upward carry surface  151 , resulting in an obstructed rolling of the support roller  16  between the downward carry surface  141  and the upward carry surface  151 . In addition, the strokes will bring about very noisy sound, and also, chances of overturning the equipment being protected increase.  
         [0008]     Moreover, the construction unit  10  of the conventional aseismatic system  17  relies merely on the flanges  142  disposed on the edges of the downward carry surface  141  and the flanges  152  disposed on the edges of the upward carry surface  151  to define the rolling range of the support roller  16 . Thus, when the support roller  16  rolls rapidly (when a major earthquake happens), the support roller  16  of the conventional aseismatic system  17  is very likely to roll out of the predetermined rolling range and finally rests on somewhere between the flanges  142  and  152  in an inclined manner. Then, the aseismatic system  17  will not operate normally and the equipment mounted above and supposedly being protected by the aseismatic system  17  will overturn.  
         [0009]     In addition, as stated in the above, the conventional aseismatic system  17  is composed of two construction units  10  and the links  18  by welding in the factory in advance. Thus, the assembled conventional aseismatic system  17  will be noticeably oversized and heavy to a certain extent. As a result, the conventional aseismatic system  17  has difficulties in transportation thereof and complex installing procedures so that the time for the installation will be prolonged. Furthermore, because the peripheries of the conventional aseismatic system  17  are all welded, the wires for connecting the equipment to be protected to external devices must be pulled out for proceeding with the installation of the aseismatic system  17  and reconnected for resuming the power after the installation of the conventional aseismatic system  17  is completed. Therefore, services such as computer network services will be interrupted due to the installation of the conventional aseismatic system  17 , causing an inconvenience to the clients and the public.  
         [0010]     Accordingly, there is a dire need for the industry to have an aseismatic system which can be easily and fitly in-situ assembled for equipment to be protected without discontinuing the operation of the equipment.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     An object of the present invention is to provide an aseismatic support unit so as to be easily and fitly in-situ assembled for an equipment to be protected without discontinuing the operation of the equipment.  
         [0012]     Another object of the present invention is to provide an aseismatic support unit so as to reduce the possibility of toppling over equipment to be protected and increase the quakeproof function of the aseismatic system.  
         [0013]     To attain the aforesaid object, an aseismatic support unit according to the present invention is mounted between a base and a loaded article, comprising a lower support member, an upper support member and a plurality of aseismatic units mounted between the lower support member and the upper support member. Each of the aseismatic units includes a lower carry member having an upward carry surface, an upper carry member having a downward carry surface and a support roller mounted between the downward carry surface and the upward carry surface, in which at least one ring element projects from a side face of the support roller in a perpendicular manner, the side face contacting with the downward carry surface and the upward carry surface.  
         [0014]     To attain the aforesaid object, an aseismatic support unit according to the present invention is mounted between a base and a loaded article, comprising a lower support member, an upper support member and a plurality of aseismatic units mounted between the lower support member and the upper support member. Each of the aseismatic units mounted between the lower support member and the upper support member includes a lower carry member having an upward carry surface, an upper carry member having a downward carry surface, an intermediate board which has an upper support surface and a lower support surface on the top and bottom thereof respectively and is mounted between the lower carry member and the upper carry member, a first support roller mounted between the lower carry member and the intermediate board, and a second support roller mounted between the upper carry member and the intermediate board, in which at least one first ring element projects from a first side face of the first support roller in a perpendicular manner while at least one second ring element projects from a second face of the second support roller in a perpendicular manner so that the first side face contacts with the upward carry surface of the lower carry member and the lower support surface of the intermediate board and that the second side face contacts with the downward carry surface of the upper carry member and the upper support surface of the intermediate board.  
         [0015]     Accordingly, an aseismatic support unit according to the present invention is capable of damping shakes transmitting from ground to equipment (such as a computer network server) to be protected and reducing the possibility of damage to the equipment as a result of overturn of the equipment. In addition, an aseismatic support unit according to the present invention is not only simply constructed but also designed in module to occupy a small amount of space. Hence, a plurality of the aseismatic support units according to the present invention can be easily and fitly in-situ assembled to become an aseismatic system without disrupting the normal operation of the equipment to be protected. Further, because the upward carry surface, the downward carry surface and the support roller of the respective aseismatic support units according to the present invention are specifically designed, an aseismatic system so assembled can reduce the possibility of toppling over the equipment to be protected and increase the quakeproof function of the whole aseismatic system.  
         [0016]     The profile of the upward carry surface, viewed along a rolling direction of the support roller, is not specifically defined; and preferably is a line, or more preferably is a smooth curve having an upward opening, and most preferably is a U-shaped curve. The profile of the downward carry surface, viewed along a rolling direction of the support roller, is not specifically defined; and preferably is a line, or more preferably is a smooth curve having a downward opening, and most preferably is a U-shaped curve, facing downward. The profile of the lower support surface, viewed along a rolling direction of the support roller, is not specifically defined; and preferably is a smooth curve having a downward opening, or more preferably is a U-shaped curve, facing downward. The profile of the upper support surface, viewed along a rolling direction of the support roller, is not specifically defined; and preferably is a smooth curve having an upward opening, or more preferably is a U-shaped curve. The frictional coefficient distributed on the upward carry surface, the downward carry surface, the lower support surface and the upper support surface of the present invention is not specifically defined. Preferably, the frictional coefficient at each center surface is lower than that at each marginal edge; and more preferably, the frictional coefficient is gradually increased in a proportional manner from each center surface to each marginal edge. The aseismatic support units according to the present invention are arranged without a particular limitation. Preferably, two aseismatic support units are assembled by means of a plurality of links to form an aseismatic system. The assembly of the plurality of links of the present invention to an aseismatic support unit according to the present invention is not specifically defined, and preferably is by welding; or more preferably is by bolting. The ring element projecting from the support roller of the present invention is positioned without a particular limitation, and preferably is at the end of the support roller. The ring element is not specifically defined in number, and preferably is one ring element, or more preferably is two ring elements. The support roller of the present invention is constructed without a particular limitation. Preferably, the support roller is constructed by a solid cylinder, or more preferably, a cylindrical shell enclosing a plurality of solid spheres. The aseismatic support unit of the present invention reduces shakes in the vertical direction without a particular limitation; and preferably by means of a soft pad disposed between the upper support member and the loaded article, or more preferably, by means of a damper for connecting the upper support member to the lower support member to absorb shakes in the vertical direction. The damper of the present invention is positioned without a particular limitation, and preferably is between the upper support member and the lower support member in an oblique manner. The damper of the present invention is not specifically defined; and preferably is a spring, or more preferably is a pneumatic damper; and most preferably is a hydraulic damper.  
         [0017]     Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1   a  is an exploded view of a construction unit of a conventional aseismatic system.  
         [0019]      FIG. 1   b  is a schematic view of a conventional aseismatic system.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2   a  is an exploded view of an aseismatic support unit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 2   b  is a perspective view of the aseismatic support unit of  FIG. 2   a.    
         [0022]      FIG. 3   a  is an exploded view of an aseismatic support unit according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 3   b  is a perspective view of the aseismatic support unit of  FIG. 3   a.    
         [0024]      FIG. 3   c  is a cross-sectional view taken along A-A′ line of the aseismatic support unit of  FIG. 3   b.    
         [0025]      FIGS. 4   a,    4   b  and  4   c  are schematic views illustrating modifications of the structure of a support roller according to the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, in which a decelerator is used to damp both rolling of a support roller and shakes of equipment to be protected.  
         [0027]      FIG. 6  is a schematic view of an aseismatic system according to the present invention, in which an aseismatic support unit is applied to a computer network server.  
         [0028]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view of an aseismatic system according to the present invention, in which an aseismatic support unit is applied to a building.  
         [0029]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view of an aseismatic system according to the present invention, in which an aseismatic support unit is applied to a bridge.  
         [0030]      FIG. 9  is a schematic view of an aseismatic system according to the present invention, in which an aseismatic support unit is applied to a virtual reality simulation system. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0031]     Referring to  FIGS. 2   a  and  2   b,  an aseismatic unit  20  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is constituted by a lower support member  21 , an upper support member  22  and two aseismatic units  23  each of which includes a lower carry member  25  having an upward carry surface  24 , an upper carry member  27  having a downward carry surface  26  and a support roller  28  disposed between the lower carry member  25  and the upper carry member  27 . The support roller  28  has a side face  281  in contact with the upward carry surface  24 , the downward carry surface  26  and two ring elements  282  projecting from two ends of the side face  281  respectively to pre-define the rolling range of the support roller  28 . In addition, the profile of the downward carry surface  26 , viewed along a rolling direction of the support roller  28 , is a U-shaped curve, facing downward, while the profile of the upward carry surface  24 , viewed along a rolling direction of the support roller  28 , is a U-shaped curve. The two ring elements  282  project from two ends of the side face  281  of the support roller  28  respectively. Hence, when a shake happens, the support roller  28  of the aseismatic support unit  20  of the present invention rolls smoothly within the rolling range prescribed by the two ring elements  282  and gradually slows down to a stop, as opposed to the irregular and very noisy rolling back and forth of the conventional support roller which may even escape from the predetermined rolling range and finally come to rest in an inclined manner. Thus, the aseismatic support unit  20  of the present invention is capable of achieving the object of preventing equipment to be protected from overturn and damage.  
         [0032]     Referring next to  FIGS. 3   a ,  3   b  and  3   c , in which an exploded view of an aseismatic support unit according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 3   a , a perspective view of the aseismatic support unit of  FIG. 3   a  is shown in  FIG. 3   b , and a cross-sectional view taken along A-A′ line of the aseismatic support unit of  FIG. 3   b  is shown in  FIG. 3   c.    
         [0033]     As shown in  FIG. 3   a , an aseismatic support unit  30  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is constituted by a lower support member  31 , an upper support member  32  and two aseismatic units  33  each of which includes a lower carry member  34  having an upward carry surface  341 , an upper carry member  35  having a downward carry surface  351 , an intermediate board  36  mounted between the lower carry member  34  and the upper carry member  35 , a first support roller  37  mounted between the lower carry member  34  and the intermediate board  36 , and a second support roller  38  mounted between the upper carry member  35  and the intermediate board  36 . The intermediate board  36  has an upper support surface  361  and a lower support surface  362 . The first support roller  37  has an upward carry surface  341  and a side face  371  in contact with the lower support surface  362 , and two ring elements  372  projecting from two ends of the side face  371 . The second support roller  38  has a downward carry surface  351  and a side face  381  in contact with the upper support surface  361 , two ring elements  382  projecting from two ends of the side face  381 .  
         [0034]     As shown in.  FIGS. 3   a  and  3   c , because the profiles of the upward carry surface  341  and the lower support surface  362 , viewed along a rolling direction of the first support roller  37 , are a smooth U-shaped curve and a smooth U-shaped curve, facing downward, respectively, and the two ring elements  372  project from two ends of the side face  371  of the first support roller  37 , the first support roller  37  will smoothly roll back and forth along with shakes caused by an earthquake. Similarly, because the profiles of the downward carry surface  351  and the upper support surface  361 , viewed along a rolling direction of the second support roller  38 , are a smooth U-shaped curve, facing downward, and a smooth U-shaped curve, respectively, and two ring elements  382  project from two ends of the side face  381  of the second support roller  38 , the second support roller  38  will smoothly roll back and forth within the predetermined rolling range along with shakes caused by the earthquake. Hence, when shakes caused by the earthquake occur, the first support roller  37  and the second support roller  38  of the aseismatic support unit  30  of the present invention roll back and forth within the rolling ranges prescribed by the ring elements  372  and  382  respectively in a smooth manner and gradually slow down to a stop, as opposed to the irregular and very noisy rolling back and forth between the upper carry member and the lower carry member of the conventional support rollers, which may even escape from the predetermined rolling range and finally set aside in an inclined manner, in the conventional aseismatic system. Thus, the aseismatic support unit  30  of the present invention is also capable of achieving the object of preventing equipment to be protected from overturn and damage.  
         [0035]      FIGS. 4   a ,  4   b  and  4   c  are schematic views illustrating modifications of the structure of a support roller according to the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 4   a , a support roller  41  has two projecting ring elements  411  in positions respectively spaced apart from the support roller  41 , other than at two ends of the support roller. On the other hand, as shown in  FIG. 4   b , a support roller  42  has only a ring element  421  positioned at the center of the support roller  42 . Thus, both the number and the position of the ring element projecting from the support roller of the present invention are not specifically defined so long as the rolling range of the support roller can be predetermined. In addition, as shown in  FIG. 4   c , a support roller  43  is constituted by a cylindrical shell enclosing a plurality of solid spheres  433 , including two ring elements  431  projecting from two ends of the support roller  43 . The support roller of the present invention does not have to be solid, and can be a cylindrical shell enclosing said plurality of solid spheres, to save materials and manufacturing costs.  
         [0036]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, in which a decelerator is used to damp both rolling of a support roller and shakes of equipment to be protected. An aseismatic support unit  50  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is constituted by a lower support member  51 , an upper support member  52  and an aseismatic unit which includes a lower carry member  54  having an upward carry surface  541 , an upper carry member  55  having a downward carry surface  551 , an intermediate board  56  mounted between the lower carry member  54  and the upper carry member  55 , a first support roller  57  mounted between the lower carry member  54  and the intermediate board  56 , and a second support roller  58  mounted between the upper carry member  55  and the intermediate board  56 . The intermediate board  56  has an upper support surface  561  and a lower support surface  562 . The first support roller  57  has a side face (not shown) in contact with the upward carry surface  541  and the lower support surface  562 , including two ring elements  571  projecting from two ends thereof and two buffer portions  572 . The second support roller  58  has a side face (not shown) in contact with the downward carry surface  551  and the upper support surface  561 , including two ring elements  581  projecting from two ends thereof and two buffer portions  582 . The buffer portions  572  of the first support roller  57  and the second buffer portions  582  of the second support roller  58  respectively rub against the respective side faces of the lower support member  51 , the intermediate board  56  and the upper support member  52  to gradually reduce the back-and-forth rolling of the first support roller  57  and the second support roller  58  and shorten the time that equipment being protected shakes in a diminishing manner. In this preferred embodiment, the buffer portions  572  and  582  are made of a braking rubber having an adequate surface friction coefficient.  
         [0037]      FIG. 6  is a schematic view of an aseismatic system  60  according to the present invention, in which an aseismatic support unit is applied to a computer network server. When the aseismatic system  60  of the present invention is installed on the construction site (computer room), a hoist (not shown) is used to lift equipment (computer network server  61 ) to be protected to an adequate level at the beginning. Then, aseismatic support units  621  and  622  of the present invention are moved in order to arrive at adequate positions beneath the computer network server, and also, links  631 ,  632 ,  633 ,  641 ,  642  and  643  are fixed to the aseismatic support units  621  and  622  by bolting so that the two aseismatic support units  621  and  622  are assembled to become the aseismatic system  60 . Finally, the lifted computer network server  61  descends over the assembled aseismatic system  60  to complete the installation process. As such, in the process for installing the aseismatic system of the present invention, the aseismatic support units  621  and  622  are respectively moved to the adequate positions beneath the lifted computer network server at first and then the plurality of links are used for the assembly to complete the installing process. Power lines and other lines (all not shown) of the computer network server  61  need not be disconnected so that the computer network server continues operation. In this light, it is not necessary to have an oversized transporting vehicle and a large space for installation of the aseismatic system  60 . Hence, difficulty in installing the aseismatic system decreases. Also, the time causing an influence of the installation process on the computer network server is shortened. Therefore, the customers will be more willing to use the aseismatic system.  
         [0038]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view of an aseismatic system according to the present invention, in which an aseismatic support unit is applied to a building. As shown, after the foundations  73  of a building are constructed, an aseismatic system  72  composed of aseismatic support units of the present invention respectively mounted at predetermined positions for setting up beams of the building will be made in accordance with the needs. It is noted that the aseismatic system  72  is assembled without a particular limitation to two aseismatic support units. Instead, it can be of only one aseismatic support unit mounted, for example, nearby the beam on the marginal edge of the foundations, depending on the needs of the construction site. Then, the main constructions such as the beams of the building and the whole frame  71  of the building are established above the installed aseismatic system  72 . When an earthquake happens, shakes are transmitted from the foundations  73  to the frame  71  of the building. Then, the building swings together with the respective aseismatic systems  72  mounted beneath the beams of the frame  71  thereof. The kinetic energy of the shakes caused by the earthquake will be gradually diminished by means of the respective aseismatic systems  72 . The frame  71  of the building will thus return to the original position without any overturn and damage. Thus, the aseismatic support unit of the present invention is capable of protecting the buildings and preventing the people inside the buildings from being injured as a result of the earthquake.  
         [0039]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view of an aseismatic system according to the present invention, in which an aseismatic support unit is applied to a bridge. A bridge body  81  crosses over a river  85 , having a bridge support structure  82  at two ends of the bridge body. The bridge support structure  82  is constructed over an abutment  86  on the two sides of the river  85  by means of an aseismatic system composed of a plurality of aseismatic support units  83  according to the present invention. This aseismatic system includes a plurality of hydraulic dampers  84  for restricting the range of displacements of the aseismatic system in the vertical and horizontal directions and further shortening the time that the aseismatic system shakes. When an earthquake happens, shakes are transmitted from the abutments  86  to the bridge body  81 . Then, the bridge body  81  swings together with the aseismatic system in support of the bridge support structure  82  and gradually returns to the original position of the bridge body without overturn and/or collapse into the river which may cause a traffic interruption. It will be noted that the aseismatic system composed of the aseismatic support units  83  of the present invention can be mounted not only over the abutments on both sides of the river but also on the bridge over the river to provide the bridge with the quakeproof function.  
         [0040]      FIG. 9  is a preferred embodiment of an aseismatic system  92  composed of aseismatic support units according to the present invention and applied to a virtual reality simulation system  90 , in which a person  91  sits on a seat  93  above the aseismatic system  92  and faces toward a display device  96 . A computer device  94  having a predetermined programs controls not only images displayed in the display device  96  (e.g., flat panel display) but also the vertical and horizontal movements of the aseismatic system  92  in accordance with the image displayed on the display device  96  by means of a driving device  95  and a transmitting device  951 . With such an arrangement, the person  91  sitting on the seat  93  over the aseismatic system  92  gets a feeling as if actually driving on the road in a simulation environment. Hence, by using this virtual reality simulation system, the cost (e.g., automobile cost) for a real operation can be saved and the safety of the operation can be increased.  
         [0041]     Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.