Abstract:
A foundation for a tower, the foundation including a main pedestal support structured to engage to a base of the tower. A floor structure surrounds and is secured to the main pedestal support. A wall structure surrounds the floor structure proximate a perimeter thereof, secured to the perimeter of the floor structure and extending upwardly from the floor structure. The main pedestal support is located generally centrally in the floor structure.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 15/346,211, filed Nov. 8, 2016, entitled “Tower Support Structure”, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/618,648, filed Feb. 10, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,499,954, issued Nov. 22, 2016, entitled “Tower Support Structure”, each of which is hereby fully incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention generally relates to towers such as communication towers, wind power towers and lighting towers. More particularly, the invention relates to a foundation or support structure for a tower. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Towers or other vertical supports are utilized to support many structures such as cell phone antennas, other broadcast antennas, lights, wind power turbines and many other appliances. Towers of any significant height and bearing any significant load must be attached to some form of foundation to keep the tower upright and to resist the forces of wind and weather. 
         [0004]    In construction engineering, foundations and foundation designs can vary but commonly use poured concrete and reinforcing rods or reinforcing bars to form a heavy integral structure that is either buried or placed on the ground to support a structure such as a tower. However, the use of concrete foundations is not always convenient or even feasible. 
         [0005]    In many of these cases, the use of a concrete foundation is not practical because of limited availability of concrete, long concrete casting and curing times, or the fact that concrete construction creates a large amount of construction waste. For example, materials used for concrete forms often cannot be reused and must be discarded. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, there is still room for improvement in the arts related to tower installation and tower foundations. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The present invention solves many of the above discussed problems by providing a structure that can be fully assembled and disassembled in a short period of time and that permits the utilization of local materials to provide ballast. The foundation structure of the present invention eliminates many of the issues typical to a standard foundation utilized for support structures such as communications towers. 
         [0008]    Recent trends have demonstrated a need for temporary, quick to assemble and disassemble foundation on which to mount a tower. A need has also been recognized for a foundation having reduced environmental impact. 
         [0009]    For example, after major natural disasters, such as earthquakes, typhoons, tornadoes and tsunamis, there is often a need to rapidly construct temporary structures for lighting, telecommunications and/or security applications. Often, it is necessary to locate these towers or structures in remote locations. Remote locations often have limited accessibility and complex or unfavorable terrain that may make it difficult to transport concrete to a foundation site. Further, the distance from a ready mix concrete plant may make it prohibitively expensive or prohibitively difficult to transport concrete to the construction site. 
         [0010]    Even without considering natural disasters or other emergency needs to provide foundations for tower-like structures, growing telecommunications demand has created a need to construct or deploy more tower sites more quickly and thus has created a demand to expedite the process of building a tower site. Wind energy turbine towers are often located far from sources of concrete and may have limited accessibility as well as difficult terrain. 
         [0011]    According to an example embodiment of the invention, a tower assembly includes a tower and a base assembly. The tower is generally conventional in structure and will not be described in detail here. The tower may be of a type used to support, for example, cell phone antennas, wind power equipment, lighting or weather monitoring equipment. 
         [0012]    The base assembly generally includes a main pedestal support, bottom trays, side support panels, primary support beams and secondary support beams. 
         [0013]    The main support pedestal is centrally located within the foundation and includes a vertical cylindrical or polygonal pipe structure having top and bottom plates secured thereto. The top and bottom plates are secured to the cylinder and extend out radially from the top and bottom of the cylinder or polygonal structure. The top plate presents multiple bolt holes typically uniformly spaced around the top plate and located outwardly from the circumference of the cylinder or polygonal tube. The main support pedestal also presents gussets radially disposed around an outer circumference thereof. The gussets are typically evenly spaced around the cylinder or polygonal tube and extend vertically from a top to a bottom of the tubular structure and are bounded by the top plate and the bottom plate. 
         [0014]    The bottom trays are secured to the base of the main support pedestal and are arranged generally horizontally around the main support pedestal base. The bottom trays are formed of plates, typically having a polygonal geometry. According to an example embodiment of the invention, the bottom trays are generally trapezoidal in shape having a small end of the trapezoid located centrally and a large end located peripherally. The bottom trays are secured proximate an inner edge thereof to the main support pedestal and proximate an outer edge thereof to the side support panels. 
         [0015]    According to an example embodiment of the invention, the side support panels are generally rectangular plate-like structures arranged vertically around an outer circumference of the foundation. The length of each rectangular side support panel is approximately equal to that of the side length of the long side of the bottom trays. The bottom trays are secured to the side support panels. Adjacent side support panels are secured together by a hinge-like connection and a hinge pin thus forming the outer perimeter of the base. The hinge-like connection generally includes mating hinge barrels on the edges of adjacent side support panels. Alternate hinge barrels are secured on each of the mating edges. 
         [0016]    According to an example embodiment of the invention, the primary support beams form part of a truss-like support arm. Each primary support beam is secured to the gussets near the top of the main support pedestal. The primary support beams angle downward from near the top of the main support pedestal to the outside of the foundation to be secured with the side support panels and the bottom trays at a juncture thereof. 
         [0017]    According to an example embodiment of the invention, a secondary support beam is secured at a first end to approximately the mid-point of the primary support beam and at a second end thereof to a top of a corresponding side support panel. 
         [0018]    According to an example embodiment, the base assembly bottom support pallet is formed of the bottom trays. Generally, this forms a regular polygon for example, a regular hexagon assembled from an equal quantity of bottom support trays, side support panels, primary support beams and secondary support beams. In the case of hexagonal assembly, there is six of each of these structures. While the primary example discussed in this application is a hexagonal structure, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to hexagonal structures. The structures may for example be hexagonal, octagonal, decagonal, dodecagonal or tetradecagonal. That is structures according to the invention may have six, eight, ten twelve or fourteen sides or a larger number of sides depending upon the involvement. Embodiments having an odd number of sides are also contemplated. 
         [0019]    According to an example embodiment of the invention, the main support pedestal, bottom trays and bottoms of side support panels are connected together by fasteners such as bolts. According to an example embodiment, the primary support beam extends outwardly along the bottom trays to the respective side support panels and is secured at both the connection between the bottom trays and the side support panels and at the gussets near the main support pedestal. This structural arrangement provides strength and rigidity of the connection between the main support pedestal and the bottom trays. 
         [0020]    According to an example embodiment, the primary and secondary support beams may be formed, for example, from galvanized steel angle. The connection between the primary support beam and the foundation may be accomplished by fasteners such as bolts. The bottom trays and side support panels as well as a primary support beam may be secured by a single fastener. 
         [0021]    The primary support beam may be secured to the gussets on the main support pedestal near the top flange also by a bolt or other fastener. The bottom side of each side support panel is secured to one of the vertical support bars of a bottom tray and to the other side support panels via a hinge-like connection. A pin is passed through hinge barrels of the hinge-like connection to hold each of the side support panels together with its adjacent side support panel. The pins are secured in place by an R-type stop pin at the bottom. 
         [0022]    Once the base assembly is fully assembled it is filled with ballast. Examples of ballast that can be utilized include soil, gravel, bricks, concrete blocks and sand. Of course other ballast material may be used so long as the material is sufficiently dense to stabilize the base assembly. The use of local materials as ballast assists in reducing costs for installation. 
         [0023]    Accordingly, a base assembly in accordance with the present invention may be utilized to replace a traditional concrete foundation used for installing self-supporting towers. The base assembly according to the present invention is easy to install, easy to handle and may be assembled and ready for use in a single day. This is a great advantage over concrete foundations which require significant curing times. The base assembly of the present invention may be used in multiple ways including in the ground, above the ground and may utilize many different types of ballast. The base assembly of the present invention can be disassembled and relocated and can be used for both short term and long term deployment. 
         [0024]    The above summary is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the subject matter hereof. The figures and the detailed description that follow more particularly exemplify various embodiments. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0025]    Subject matter hereof may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments in connection with the accompanying figures, in which: 
           [0026]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a base assembly according to an example embodiment of the invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a main pedestal support according to an example embodiment of the invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a main pedestal support surrounded by six bottom trays according to an example embodiment of the invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 4  is a partially exploded perspective view of a main pedestal support, bottom trays and side support panels according to an example embodiment of the invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an assembled base assembly including a tower according to an example embodiment of the invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 6  is a plan view of a hexagonal tower base according to an example embodiment of the invention; 
           [0032]      FIG. 7  is an elevational view of the base assembly of  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0033]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of an octagonal base assembly according to an example embodiment of the invention; 
           [0034]      FIG. 9  is an elevational view of the base assembly of  FIG. 8 ; 
           [0035]      FIG. 10  is a plan view of a ten sided base assembly according to an example embodiment of the invention; 
           [0036]      FIG. 11  is an elevation view of the base assembly of  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0037]      FIG. 12  is a plan view of a ten sided base assembly according to an example embodiment of the invention; 
           [0038]      FIG. 13  is an elevational view of the base assembly of  FIG. 12 ; 
           [0039]      FIG. 14  is a plan view of a twelve sided base assembly according to an example embodiment of the invention; 
           [0040]      FIG. 15  is an elevational view of the base assembly of  FIG. 14 ; 
           [0041]      FIG. 16  is a plan view of a fourteen sided base assembly according to an example embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0042]      FIG. 17  is an elevational view of the base assembly of  FIG. 16 . 
       
    
    
       [0043]    While various embodiments are amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the claimed inventions to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the claims. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0044]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 5 , tower foundation  20  according to an example embodiment of the invention generally includes tower  22  and base assembly  24 . Tower  22  is generally conventional in design and can include a monopole tower such as those used to support cell phone transmission antennas, lights or wind power equipment. 
         [0045]    Base assembly  24  is a generally basket-like or topless container structure. Base assembly  24  generally includes main pedestal support  26 , bottom trays  28 , side support panels  30 , primary support beams  32  and secondary support beams  34 . Main pedestal support  26  is centrally located and is surrounded by bottom trays  28 . In the depicted example embodiment, there are six bottom trays  28  and a generally hexagonal structure. However, this should not be considered limiting as various embodiments of the invention as depicted in  FIGS. 6-16  may have other polygonal structures having anywhere between six to fourteen sides. Side support panels  30  are arranged around the perimeter of bottom trays  28  and are secured to one another and are also secured to primary support beams  32  and secondary support beams  34 . Primary support beams  32  extend generally from main pedestal support  26  to side support panels  30 . Secondary support beams  34  extend generally from primary support beams  32  to side support panels  30 . 
         [0046]    Referring particularly to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , main pedestal support  26  generally includes tubular member  36 , top flange  38 , bottom flange  40  and a plurality of longitudinal gussets  42 . The number of longitudinal gussets is equal to the number of bottom trays  28 , the number of side support panels  30 , the number of primary support beams  32  and the number of second support beams  34  according to the depicted example embodiment. 
         [0047]    Tubular member  36  is conveniently formed of a steel tube having a cylindrical or polygonal cross-section. Tubular member  36  is conveniently formed of steel tube; however it may be formed of aluminum tube or another material of sufficient strength and rigidity. If tubular member  36  is polygonal in cross-section, it is convenient, according to an example embodiment, if the polygon has a number of sides equal to the number of longitudinal gussets  42  or multiple of the number of longitudinal gussets  42 . 
         [0048]    Referring again to  FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 , top flange  38  is secured to tubular member  36 , for example, by welding. Tower top flange  38  presents tower fastener holes  44  located regularly therein about its perimeter. Tower fastener holes  44  are conveniently located midway between adjacent longitudinal gussets  42 . This should not be considered limited however. 
         [0049]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , according to another embodiment, top flange  38  may include tower hinge extensions  46  supporting tower hinge tabs  48 . According to the depicted embodiment, tower hinge tabs  48  are pierced by hinge holes  50 . Tower hinge tabs are spaced to accommodate tower tabs (not depicted) on tower  22 . 
         [0050]    Bottom flange  40  is located at an opposing end of tubular member  36  from top flange  38 . Bottom flange  40  is generally perpendicular to tubular member  36  and extends radially outward therefrom. 
         [0051]    Referring particularly to  FIG. 2 , longitudinal gussets  42  are evenly spaced about tubular member  36  and extend between top flange  38  and bottom flange  40  according to the depicted embodiment. Longitudinal gussets  42  may conveniently be formed of plate or sheet steel and present upper extension portion  52 , lower extension portion  54  and middle portion  56 . Upper extension portion  52  is joined to top flange  48  for example by welding. Lower extension portion  54  is joined to bottom flange  40  for example by welding. Upper extension portion  52 , lower extension portion  54  and middle portion  56  abut tubular member  36  and may be joined thereto for example by welding. Upper extension portion  52  is pierced by primary support fastener holes  58 . In the depicted embodiment, there are two primary support fastener holes  58 . However, there may be as few as 1 or more than 2 primary support fastener holes  58 . 
         [0052]    Lower extension portion  54  is pierced by tray fastener holes  60 . In the depicted embodiment, there are two tray fastener holes  60 , however, this should not be considered limiting as there may be as few as one or more than two tray fastener holes  60 . 
         [0053]    Top flange  38  and bottom flange  40  may conveniently be formed of steel plate or sheet. Longitudinal gussets  42  may also be conveniently formed of steel plate or sheet though other materials may be utilized as well so long as they have sufficient rigidity and strength. 
         [0054]    Referring particularly to  FIGS. 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 , bottom trays  28  in the depicted embodiment are generally trapezoidal-shaped structures. Bottom trays  28  may be conveniently fabricated from sheet steel and steel angle, however, this should not be considered limiting as other materials may be utilized. Bottom trays  28 , according to the depicted embodiment, present inner edge  62 , outer edge  64  and side edges  66 . Inner edge  62  and outer edge  64  are generally parallel and inner edge  62  is shorter than outer edge  64 . Side edges  66  are angled relative to inner edge  62  and outer edge  64 . 
         [0055]    Bottom trays  28  generally include base sheet  68 , optional inner edge angles (not shown), outer edge angles  72 , side edge angles  74 , central reinforcement beam  76  and perpendicular reinforcements  78 . Inner edge angles, if present, are secured to inner edge  62  of base sheet  68  for example by welding. Outer edge angles  72  are secured to outer edge  64  of base sheet  68 , for example, by welding. Side edge angles  74  are secured to side edges  66  of base sheet  68 , for example, by welding. Side edge angles  74  present adjacent panel fastener holes  80 . Side edge angles  74  are pierced by adjacent tray fastener holes  80 . Outer edge angles  72  are pierced by side panel fastener holes  82 . 
         [0056]    Central reinforcement beam  76  extends generally radially through a center of base sheet  68  and extends from inner edge  62  to outer edge  64 . Central reinforcement beam  76  extends slightly beyond inner edge  62  and outer edge  64 . Central reinforcement beam  76  includes inner end  84  and outer end  86 . Inner end  84  is pierced by gusset fastener holes  88 . Outer end  86  is pierced by panel fastener holes  90 . Perpendicular reinforcements  78  extend in both directions between central reinforcement beam  76  and side edge angles  74 . Perpendicular reinforcements  78  are oriented generally parallel to inner edge angles, if present, and outer edge angles  72  in the depicted embodiment. Central reinforcement beams  76  and perpendicular reinforcements  78  are conveniently secured to base sheet  68  for example by welding. 
         [0057]    Referring particularly to  FIG. 4 , side support panels  30  are generally rectangular in structure and include side panel plate  92 , upper angle  94 , lower angle  96 , side angles  98  and vertical reinforcement  100 . Upper angle  94  is secured to side panel plate  92  at upper edge  102 . Lower angle  96  is secured to lower edge  104  of side panel plate  92 . Side angles  98  are secured to side edges  106  of side panel plate  92 . These structures may all be secured for example by welding. 
         [0058]    Vertical reinforcements  100  extend generally vertically between upper angle  94  and lower angle  96 . 
         [0059]    Upper angle  94  further includes central secondary support tab  108  pierced by fastener hole  110 . 
         [0060]    Lower angle  96  also includes corner tabs  112  pierced by fastener hole  114  and central primary support tab  116  pierced by fastener hole  118 . 
         [0061]    Side edges  106  also include hinge barrels  120  secured to an outer portion thereof. Hinge barrels  120  are sized and structured to receive hinge barrels pins  122  therethrough. Hinge barrel pins  122  are structured to accept R clip  124  at an end thereof. 
         [0062]    Referring particularly to  FIG. 1 , primary support beams  32  generally include inner end  126 , outer end  128  and central portion  130 . Inner end  126  is pierced by gusset fastener holes  132 . Outer end  128  is pierced by lower panel fastener holes  134 . Central portion  130  is pierced by central beam fastener holes  136 . 
         [0063]    Secondary support beams  34  generally include inner end  138  and outer end  140 . Inner end  138  is pierced by primary support fastener holes  142 . Outer end  140  is pierced by panel fastener holes  144 . 
         [0064]    Primary support beams  32  and secondary support beams  34  may be fabricated from steel angle or other sufficiently rigid material. 
         [0065]    In operation, tower foundation  20  is placed on a prepared area. The prepared area is leveled prior to installation for example by placement of an aggregate and leveling the aggregate prior to installation. 
         [0066]    Main pedestal support  26  is placed centrally on the leveled prepared area. Bottom trays  28  are positioned around main pedestal support  26  with inner end  84  of central reinforcement beam  76  located adjacent to lower extension portions  54  of longitudinal gussets  52 . 
         [0067]    Once bottom trays  28  are all located, fasteners such as bolts (not shown) may be utilized to secure inner end  84  of central reinforcement beam  76  to lower extension portions  54  of longitudinal gussets  42 . Bottom trays  28  may be secured to each other by the application of fasteners through adjacent tray fastener holes  80 . Side support panels  30  are secured to bottom trays  28  by application of fasteners through outer edge angles  72  through corner tabs  112 . Side support panels  30  are secured to each other by aligning adjacent hinge barrels  120  and inserting hinge barrel pins  122  through hinge barrels  120 . Hinge barrel pins  122  are then secured by the application of R clips  124  at a lower end thereof. When all side support panels  30  are in place, primary support beams  32  are installed. 
         [0068]    Primary support beams  32  are installed by coupling inner end  126  to upper extension portion  52  of longitudinal gussets  42  and outer end  128  to central primary support tab  116  at the lower edge of side support panels  30 . Secondary support beams  34  are secured at inner end  138  to central portion  130  of primary support beams  32 . Outer ends  140  of secondary support beams  34  are secured to central secondary support tab  108  of side support panels  30 . All fasteners are then secured tightened. 
         [0069]    The interior of base assembly  24  is then filled with ballast such as soil, gravel, bricks, concrete blocks or other locally available ballast. 
         [0070]    Tower  22  is then secured to main pedestal support  26  via top flange  38 . Tower  22  is typically secured to top flange  38  via bolts. 
         [0071]    In the embodiment where tower hinge tabs  48  are present, tower hinge tabs  48  are secured to a base of tower  22  via similar tabs (not shown) on tower  22 . Tower  22  may then rotated from a horizontal position to a vertical position and secured by fasteners. 
         [0072]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the essential attributes thereof; therefore, the illustrated embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention. 
         [0073]    Various embodiments of systems, devices, and methods have been described herein. These embodiments are given only by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed inventions. It should be appreciated, moreover, that the various features of the embodiments that have been described may be combined in various ways to produce numerous additional embodiments. Moreover, while various materials, dimensions, shapes, configurations and locations, etc. have been described for use with disclosed embodiments, others besides those disclosed may be utilized without exceeding the scope of the claimed inventions. 
         [0074]    Persons of ordinary skill in the relevant arts will recognize that the subject matter hereof may comprise fewer features than illustrated in any individual embodiment described above. The embodiments described herein are not meant to be an exhaustive presentation of the ways in which the various features of the subject matter hereof may be combined. Accordingly, the embodiments are not mutually exclusive combinations of features; rather, the various embodiments can comprise a combination of different individual features selected from different individual embodiments, as understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, elements described with respect to one embodiment can be implemented in other embodiments even when not described in such embodiments unless otherwise noted. 
         [0075]    Although a dependent claim may refer in the claims to a specific combination with one or more other claims, other embodiments can also include a combination of the dependent claim with the subject matter of each other dependent claim or a combination of one or more features with other dependent or independent claims. Such combinations are proposed herein unless it is stated that a specific combination is not intended. 
         [0076]    Any incorporation by reference of documents above is limited such that no subject matter is incorporated that is contrary to the explicit disclosure herein. Any incorporation by reference of documents above is further limited such that no claims included in the documents are incorporated by reference herein. Any incorporation by reference of documents above is yet further limited such that any definitions provided in the documents are not incorporated by reference herein unless expressly included herein. 
         [0077]    For purposes of interpreting the claims, it is expressly intended that the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112(f) are not to be invoked unless the specific terms “means for” or “step for” are recited in a claim.