The construction industry is making increased use of prefabricated trusses in constructing a variety of buildings. Steel buildings have been developed using aircraft structures techniques which may be quickly erected while producing high strength for low weight. Large portions of these steel buildings are fabricated for quick erection, but there is little or no use of prefabricated collapsible steel trusses for these building, or in fact, little use of such trusses in buildings.
The major drawbacks to the use of such trusses appears to be size when the trusses are not fully collapsible, difficulty in erection when rigidity is lacking and the ratio of strength to weight of the erected truss. If, however, these problems could be solved, one serious dilemma in the erection of steel and other prefabricated structures would be alleviated.
As many erections have painfully learned, high winds during building erection can play havoc with aircraft-type structures which use their metal structural covering for much of their strength. Prefabricated truss members could be preassembled in an essentially flat shape at ground level before being erected in support of a wall or roof. Exposure to potentially disastrous winds would be minimized and greater strength to weight provided without significant increase in erection time.
In addition to resolution of this construction industry problem, the light weight compactness of the easily-assembled subject structure lends itself to space applications for such things as manned stations assembled in orbit. The expanding field of oceanography will soon require such structures in marine applications. In the area of portable structures for the military or for campers, the subject invention can provide a shelter from a variety of harsh environments and may be easily erected despite such environmental conditions.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a truss structure which may be collapsed to as compact a form as possible for shipment to an erection site.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a truss structure which may be easily and quickly erected from its collapsed form to its truss form.
It is an object of the invention to provide a collapsible truss member which when assembled provides rigidity and high strength for low weight.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a rod and joint truss structure wherein said joints are simple and inexpensively produced.
It is a further object of the invention to produce a collapsible truss which may be erected to form arched, vaulted or compound structural members.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a collapsible truss member to be assembled and erected as a part of a larger structure and which will provide rigidity after its erection while other parts of the larger structure are installed.