TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally pertains to the technological field of building construction systems and refers more specifically to a new design applied to a construction system employing recycled plastic material boards specially designed for silos Bulk carriers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAlthough the system has been designed for preferential application in silos, it should be pointed out that it is used in numerous other types of buildings, such as sheds, houses and others, it being not the purpose of this descriptive report to limit the invention only to its preferential application. Thus, while the invention is described and illustrated with respect to a silo, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that the teachings disclosed herein may be applied to any type of building.
NOVELTY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTIONThe invention disclosed in this specification relates to a plate-based construction system of recycled material, especially designed for silos, but which can be applied in the construction of a wide variety of other structures.
The structure consists essentially of plates of injected recycled polymer material, such as PET or other polymers. The plates have a shape that provides reciprocal fit and formation of a cohesive web of high structural strength. These plates are designed to allow fittings on all its edges (skies, top and bottom), to provide extremely easy, practical and fast assembly. In addition, the plates can be stacked and easily transported to the place where the structure will be built (silo or other type of building).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSIn order that the present invention is fully understood and practiced by any person skilled in the art, it will be explained in a clear and sufficient manner to enable its reproduction, based on the attached drawings, which are only exemplary preferred embodiments of the invention without any intention of limiting the scope of protection only to the particular embodiments represented, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a silo being constructed with the proposed constructional system, wherein a detail a and a detail b are highlighted.
FIG. 2 is the enlarged detail a, depicting a series of plates secured to each other (shown in dashed lines for better visualization of the fixation).
FIG. 3 is the detail b shown on an enlarged scale revealing a lower tie ring of the structure.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional detail of the peripheral wall and the lower tie ring of the structure.
FIG. 5 is a detail in top view of the peripheral wall and lower tie ring of the structure.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a plate.
FIG. 7 is a front view of the plate,
FIG. 8 is a top view of the plate.
FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the plate.
FIG. 10 is a side view of the plate.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the plate securing device.
FIG. 12 is a front view of the plate securing device.
FIG. 13 is a top view of the plate securing device.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that although the plates have been shown to have a curved profile, this shape is derived from the fact that they are intended to form a silo. The plates may be straight to form straights wailed structures and will still be within the scope of the invention.
It will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the dimensions, thicknesses and materials of the boards will depend on the needs of each design and that the curvature of each board will depend on the diameter of the silo to be constructed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a plate-based constructional system of recycled material comprising a multiplicity of plates (1), made of injected recycled polymer material, joined together by coupling hubs (2) and secured by plate retaining device (3), forming peripheral walls (4) fitted onto a base (5) which reproduces the base floor of the structure being assembled.
The plates (1) are preferably comprised of recycled PET, but a number of other polymers may also be used, new, fully recycled materials or a mixture thereof may be employed. Each plate (1) is constituted by a main body (6) provided with recesses (2′) and shoulders (2″) which form the reciprocal inserts with the subsequent plates (1). Each plate (1) is provided with holes (7) for receiving the retaining devices (3), which are formed by two panels (8 and8′) joined by steel screw (9), associated with washers and locking nut (10). Said devices (3) are mounted at each fixing point defined by the holes (7), traversing thescrew9 and having a panel (8) on the inner surface of the wall (4) and a panel (8′) on the outer surface of said wall (4), the final tightening being carried out through the nut (10). The base (5) is constituted by a rail, preferably of metal, which reproduces the inner and outer profile of the bottom of the plate (1) to provide perfect fit thereto.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention (shown by the figures), the proposed system is employed for the assembly of a silo (6), in which case the plates (1) have a curved profile, the curvature of which is a function of diameter of the silo. In this case, the rail forming the base (5) has a circular configuration. Preferably, the metal base (5) is subdivided into several sections to facilitate transportation, which are attached and secured together by screws at the site of the structure installation, and are secured to the ground by chemical or mechanical anchor bolts. The metal rail (5) may also be drilled at several points in its extension to receive screws, nut and washers, which will traverse the entire rail assembly (5) and the holes (7) of the plate (1) for final fixing of the plate to the base.
In another embodiment, the plates (1) are straight profile and the base (5) is constituted by rails which are joined in a different shape from the circular one.