Patent EA-003037-B1 (EA)
Title: Structural system of torsion/toroidal elements and methods of construction therewith
IPC: E04B1/32
Filed: 2000-03-20
Abstract: 1. A structural system comprising a plurality of toroidal torsion elements, and means for connecting the toroidal torsion elements. 2. A structural system of torsion elements comprising a plurality of structural elements which function with torsion as a load bearing mode and means for connecting the structural elements such that the torsional load on one or more of the structural elements is transmitted to one or more of the other of the structural elements to which said one or more of the structural elements is connected, and so that the torsional load on said one or more of the other of the structural elements is in the opposite direction to the torsional load on said one of the structural elements with which a structural framework is formed wherein the loading of the structural elements is distributed within the structural framework as torsional stress. 3. A structural system of torsion elements for constructing frameworks of all sizes, comprising a plurality of torsion elements, each of which is a structural element which functions with torsion as a load bearing mode, connected so that the torsional load on one or more of the torsion elements is transmitted to one or more of the other of the torsion elements to which said one or more of the torsion elements is connected. 4. A structural system for constructing structural frameworks of all sizes, comprising a plurality of torsion elements, each of which is a structural element which functions by torsional load bearing, which are connected so that the torsional load on one or more of the torsion elements is transmitted to one or more of the other of the torsion elements to which said one or more of the torsion elements is connected, with which a structural framework is formed wherein the loading of the torsion elements is distributed within the structural framework as torsional stress. 5. A system for constructing frameworks of all sizes, comprising a plurality of torsion elements and means for connecting the torsion elements such that the torsional load on one or more of the torsion elements is transmitted to one or more of the other of the torsion elements to which said one or more of the torsion elements is connected; wherein the loading of the torsion elements is distributed within a framework as torsional stress. 6. A structural system of toroidal elements for tower, domical and spherical structures comprising a plurality of toroidal elements, including structural means for making said toroidal elements self-supporting, said structural means excluding non-toroidal diametrical or non-toroidal chordal cross-bracing within the toroidal holes of said toroidal elements, which are connected to form a plurality of level layers of toroidal elements in closed courses, wherein the connections between said plurality of toroidal elements are not the result of interlinking or intersection of toroidal elements; and means of connecting said level layers of toroidal elements in a stack, so that the framework of a tower, domical or spherical structure is formed. 7. A spherical structure of toroidal elements comprising a plurality of toroidal elements of substantially the same size arranged in the planes of the surfaces of an imaginary regular poyhedron, with one or more of said toroidal elements being connected to others of said toroidal elements, so that resulting connections are not the result of interlinking or intersection of toroidal elements and wherein said toroidal elements are substantially tangent to each other within the connection, except for space between said toroidal elements required for the connection substantially at the midpoints of the edges of the imaginary regular polyhedron, wherein said toroidal elements include structural means for making said toroidal elements self-supporting, said structural means excluding non-toroidal diametrical or non-toroidal chordal cross-bracing within the central holes of said toroidal elements. 8. A structural element comprising a plurality of compression members which are toroidal in shape, each of said compression members having two sides, a first half, and a second half diametrically opposite the first half, said compression members being arranged on a surface, side-to-side, in a curved array, with the second half of each of said compression members being on said surface and being fixed in position, and each of said compression members being tilted into the curve of said curved array, said curve being a single curve without any reverse, wherein the positions of said first halves of each of said compression member in said curved array lie substantially in a plane, so that said compression members are forced together by the application of a load, in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the curve of said curved array, on the first half of each of said compression members, whereby said curved array of compression members coheres as a structural element for bearing said load. 9. A structural element comprising a plurality of toroidally shaped compression members, each of said compression members having two sides, a first end, and a second end diametrically opposite the first end, said compression members being arranged on a surface, side-to-side, in a curved array, with the second end of each of said compression members being on said surface and being fixed in position, and each of said compression members being tilted into the curve of said curved array, said curve being a single curve without any reverse, wherein the positions of said first ends of each of said compression member in said curved array lie substantially in a plane, so that said compression members are forced together by the application of a load, in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the curve of said curved array, at the first end of each of said compression members, whereby said curved array of compression members coheres as a structural element for bearing said load. 10. A structural element comprising a plurality of toroidally shaped compression members, each of said compression members having two sides, a first end, and a second end diametrically opposite the first end, said compression members being arranged on a surface, side-to-side, in a curved array, with the second end of each of said compression members being on said surface and being fixed in position, and each of said compression members being tilted into the curve of said curved array, said curve being a single curve without any reverse, wherein the positions of said first ends of each of said compression member in said curved array lie substantially in a plane, so that said compression members are forced together by the application of a load, in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the curve of said curved array, at the first end of each of said compression members, whereby said curved array of compression members coheres as a structural element for bearing said load. 11. A structural element comprising a plurality of toroidally shaped compression members, each of said compression members having two sides, a first end, and a second end diametrically opposite the first end, said compression members being arranged on a surface side-to-side, in a curved array with the second end of each of said compression members being on said surface and being fixed in position, and each of said compression members being tilted into the curve of said curved array, said curve being a single curve without any reverse, so that said compression members are forced together by the application of a load, in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the curve of said curved array, at the first end of each of said compression members, whereby said curved array of compression members coheres as a structural element for bearing said load. 12. A wheel and tire structure, comprising a plurality of toroidal support components, one or more of which is a resilient self-supporting toroidal framework of connected torsion elements, further comprising a plurality of torsion elements which function with torsion as the principal load bearing mode and means for connecting the torsion elements so that the torsional load on one of the torsion elements is transmitted to one or more of the other of the torsion elements to which said one of the torsion elements is connected and a means for connecting said toroidal support components in an array to form a toroidal shape. 13. In a wheel and tire structure comprised of a toroid-forming array of connected radial toroidal support components, a radial toroidal support component comprising a resilient self-supporting toroidal framework of connected torsion elements comprising: a plurality of torsion elements which function with torsion as the principal load bearing mode; and means for connecting the torsion elements so that the torsional load on one of the torsion elements is transmitted to one or more of the other of the torsion elements to which said one of the torsion elements is connected.