The present invention refers to a building system for production of surface and/or volume bodies and incorporating a number of elongated elements, each one in the form of two mainly parallel rods between which are provided lateral connecting means, and which elements are interconnectable by means of coupling member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In professional work as well as in private life it occurs, that it is desired to produce a light structure by means of a building system, which may be combined to a plurality of different shapes both as surface bodies and as volume bodies. The expression, surface bodies defines structures having a very small extension in depth, and an example thereof is espaliers, which, due to local conditions and type of plant, may be given a plurality of different shapes. Examples of volume bodies are shelves, different types of simple, lighter scaffoldings for erection e.g. of vaults, both straight and arched, different varieties of stands for supporting foils, tarpaulins, or canvas for screening or insulating purposes in gardening, agriculture but also as a protection against attacks e.g. from animals, for production of cages, etcetera. There is a very big field of use for a building system, which puts no limits to the imagination, which is furthermore structurally simple and consists of a few parts only, and which can be purchased at a reasonable cost.

PURPOSE AND MOST ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to create a building system, which with a few components can be combined to a plurality of different configurations, whereby the different parts of the system prior to assembly requires very little space and are so simple that anybody can assemble even rather complex structures. These tasks have been solved in that each element has

the shape of a ladder having fixed rungs between the rod-shaped stringers, forming a truss beam, which is rigid in the plane of the beam and elastically bendable transversally to said plane, that each coupling member incorporates firstly at least one central connection means, which is arranged to extend ^' through the space between the ladder stringers and secondly pressing means cooperating therewith for attachment of the coupling member to at least one ladder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention hereinafter will be described in a number of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a planar view in natural scale of a knot forming part of the building system according to the invention. Fig. 2 shows a section along line II-II in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows in perspective the coupling member used in Fig. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 shows a section through the coupling member according to Fig. 3 and mounted to a wall.

Fig. 5 shows in a front view and partly in section a modified coupling member for interconnection of two ladders. Fig. 6 shows a section along line VI-VI in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 shows in perspective a washer forming part of the coupling member according to Fig. 5 and 6.

Fig. 8 shows a variety for interconnection of two ladders, which are arranged at an angle to each other, but located in the same longitudinal direction. Fig. 9 shows a modified angular coupling member for inter¬ connecting ladders in the X-, Y- and Z-directions and at an angle of 90° to each other.

Fig. 10 shows an embodiment, consisting of an extruded profile, which can be bent to the angular position shown in Fig. 11 for receiving two ladders arranged at an angle of 90° to each other and situated in two different planes, according to Fig. 12.

Fig. 13 shows further a variety of an angular coupling member for interconnetion of four ladders in four different planes.

Fig. 14 shows in perspective the angular coupling member according to Fig. 13. Fig. 15 shows likewise in perspective an angular coupling member designed with a hinge between the attachment plates of the member, which permits that an arbitrary angle is chosen between the attachment plates.

Fig. 16 shows in a front view a mountings for detachable attachment of a ladder to an object.

Fig. 17 shows a section along line XVII-XVII in Fig. 16.

Fig. 18 shows in perspective one of a plurality of configurations that can be erected from the building system according to the inventio . Fig. 19 shows in a view from above further one embodiment of the coupling member of the building system.

Fig. 20 shows a section along line XX-XX in Fig. 19.

Fig. 21 shows a side view of an angular coupling member according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The building system according to the invention basically consists of two parts, i.e. a number of ladders 11 and coupling members 12 interconnecting them. The ladders 11 are constituted by elongated elements made from an elastically bendable material, preferably steel, and consisting of parallel rods 13, which form the stringers of the ladder, and between which are welded rungs 14 at appropriately spaced apart positions. The ladders 11 may have the dimensions shown in Fig. 1 (shown in natural scale), but may also, where the strength requirements are bigger, have stringers of more coarse dimension. Round iron bars having a diameter of 4 - 8 mm have proven itself to be appropriate for the stringers.

Due to the requirements on the coupling members 12, these may consist of a plastic plug 15, by which is provided an easily

detachable connection, or a clamping device 16, which may be tightened so hard that any relative movement between the ladders is prevented.

The plastic plug 15 consists of a central connecting means 17, in the form of a cylindrical sleeve, which extends through the space between the stringers 13 of the ladder. At one end of the sleeve there is provided a square end plate 18, extending mainly as long ^' as the distance between two stringers 13. On the cylindrical sleeve 17 are further provided circumferential flanges 19 spaced apart at a distance corresponding to the thickness of a stringer 13. Also the circumferential flanges 19 have a square shape, as can be seen from Fig. 3, whereby is obtained quite a long contact surface against the stringers 13. In the end plate 18 of the plastic plug 15 there may be or be made a bore 20, which permits the plastic plug to be attached against a mounting surface 21 by means of a screw 22 or the like.

A field of application for the building system shown in Fig. 1-4 may e.g. be an espalier, incorporating a large number of knots of the type shown in Fig. 1 and 2. The plastic plug 15 as shown permits an interconnection of up to three different ladders, in different parallel planes, which gives very big variety possibilities for the shape of the espalier. By turning the end plate 18 of the plastic plug against a wall 21 and make a bore 20 in the end plate, the espalier may be secured with screws in a simple manner, but it may also be removed from the wall.

If the building system shall be used for providing volume bodies, i.e. bodies having a bigger extension in three planes, which must be able to take up loads, it is required, at least at some knots, such clamping devices 16, which provide a non-rotary connection between the ladders. Such a clamping device is shown in Fig. 5, 6 and 7, and it incorporates two washers 23 and a connecting means 24, e.g. in the form of a screw and a nut. Each washer 23 on one side is equipped with raised parallel edge portions 25,

dimensioned thus that the stringers 13 of a ladder fit between these edge portions. Such as seen in Fig. 5 and 6 two ladders may thus be pressed to engagement against each other in arbitrary relative rotational positions by means of the connecting means 24, which is slipped through a central bore 26 in each washer.

In certain connections it is desired to have a corner connection between two or more ladders and two such embodiments are illustrated in Fig. 8 and 9. By aid of the angular clamping device 28 according to Fig. 8, it is possible to interconnect two ladders 11 extending in the same longitudinal direction, whereas the angular clamping member 28 according to Fig. 9 has the edge portions 25 at one shank 29 extending in parallel thereto, whereas at the other shank 30 said edge portions are arranged perpendicularly to the extension of the shank. In this manner is obtained a guiding of the ladders arranged in Y- and Z-directions and if it would also be desired a ladder in the X-direction it is possible to screw this to the Z-ladder, such as shown in Fig. 9.

The angular clamping device 28 with the ladders arranged in the X- and the Y-planes at a mutual angle of 90°, may be produced from an extruded profile according to Fig. 10 - 12, if the profile bar thus produced is provided with a transverse notch 31 and the profile bar is bent just in front of the notch. It is then possible to attach ladders to such an angular clamping device such as described above, both in parallel with the shanks 29 and 30 of the angle and at another arbitrary angle.

It is of course also possible to design the angular clamping device 28 with raised, parallel edge portions 25 on both sides of the shanks, preferably turned 90 ^c relative to each other, such as shown in Fig. 13 and 14.

In some connections it may be desirable to be able to vary the angle between the shanks 29 and 30 of the angular clamping device and such an embodiment is shown in Fig. 15, where the the shanks

are interconnected via a hinge 32 having a hinge axis 33. In this embodiment the shanks 29, 30 consist of steel sheet metal like the washers 23.

The clamping device 34, as shown in Fig. 16 and 17 is ^' used in order to be able to attach an easily detachable ladder to a structure detail 21 in parallel therewith. This clamping device consists of a cross-sectionally C-shaped housing 35, wherein the ladder 11 is insertable and by means of an excentric handle 36 is arrestable in its inserted position. The clamping device may by means of proper screw 37 be attached to the structure detail 21.

In Fig. 18 is shown a volume body in the form of a stand for a tunnel tent as a protection for forcing-beds or plantations in general sense. The corner connections in this stand may be any¬ one of the angular clamping devices 28 described above, whereas the other knots consist och clamping devices 15 and 16 resp.

A foil (not shown) applicable over a stand e.g. according to Fig. 18 may advantageously be attached to the ladders by means of the plastic plugs 15, which are fitted with a proper mutual spacing in the ladders forming the lower frame of the stand. On the connecting means 17 of these plastic plugs is then pressed in a further ladder, at the same time as the foil is squeezed between them.

The coupling member 12 used with the embodiments shown in Fig. 19 - 21 consists of a cross-sectionally 0-shaped, flattened piece of tube 38, which is dimensioned thus that a ladder 11 with some play can be pushed into the interior of the piece of tube. The piece of tube is provided with a centrally located through-bore 26, through which can be inserted a screw 24. When tightening the nut on the screw 24 the coupling member will be clamped about the ladder, thereby causing a non-displaceable connection thereto. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 19 and 20 two such pieces of tube 38 are interconnected about a common screw 24. This design allows

the two interconnected ladders 11 to be arranged in any arbitrary angular position relative to each other.

If two ladder ends are turned towards each other and shall be connected, e.g. at 90° relative to each other, then is used a longer piece of tube of the same type as that shown in Fig. 19 and 20, which has been bent to an appropriate angle and in which angular piece has been pushed in said ladder ends 39.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments shown but a large number of variants are possible. The field of utilization for the building system is in no way limited to the embodiments listed above.