Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ROOF TRUSS BUILDING
Background of the Invention
This invention relates to a building structure and
more particularly to a building having virtually no side
wall that can be quickly assembled from premanufactured
wooden truss components in an economical fashion.
Buildings of this type are ideally suited for storing
particulate material.
In my U.S. patents 4,862,653 and 4,854,104, I have
disclosed buildings of this general type and a combination
side wall/roof truss member ideally suited for factory
fabrication and easy site assembly for buildings where a
side wall and a peaked roof are required. These
structures, while providing substantial improvements over
the prior art have required careful site assembly of the
premanufactured wall and roof components forming the truss
and require the use of building siding material for the
vertical portions of the wooden truss structure.
Summary of the Invention
It is therefore an object of the present invention
to provide an improved building structure for use in
storing particulate materials.
It is another object of the present invention to
provide a building structure that requires minimal side
wall facing material.
25It is yet another object of the present invention
to provide a building structure that can be enclosed with
roof trusses and roof panels mounted thereon.
It is still a further object of the present
invention to provide a building structure utilizing roof
trusses that can be completely preassembled in a factory,
for erection at the site without further assembly
operations.
It is yet a further object of the present invention
to provide a building structure and wooden roof truss that
is more economical to manufacture and erect.
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I-t is a still further object of the present
invention to provide a building structure and wooden truss
construction that allows greater spans with lighter yet
stronger -truss members that can be completely fabricated
in a factory and easily assembled on the job site.
These and other and further objects of the present
invention are attained by means of a building that
includes a plurality of spaced apart pilasters vertically
fixed in the ground with the upper ends at a given
elevation lying in a common horizontal plane. A barrier
wall, if required, is erected on the inside of the
pilasters using heavy beam members and wooden truss
members are seated on top of the pilasters with the -truss
members extending from the top of the vertically disposed
pilaster to a roof peak where it is attached to at least
one other truss member mounted on another pilaster. The
truss members are covered with sheeting panels to enclose
the building above the top of the barrier wall, if any.
In one form of the invention the building is
rectangular in form and has an oversized entrance in the
front wall to permit dump trucks and other similar types
of mobile loading and unloading equipment to move freely
into and out of the building. A vertical back wall is
provided to complete the enclosure of the building. The
pilasters extend vertically upward some ten to fifteen
feet and a heavy barrier wall is placed on the inside of
the pilasters to protect the pilasters and the building
structure from damage from equipment operating inside the
building. Also the barrier wall is constructed of members
capable of resisting the weight of the particulate
material to be stored in the building and preferably is
formed of material that will not readily deteriorate when
placed in contact with material such as road salt, wet
sand and the like
Brief Description of the drawings
For a better understanding of these and other
objects of the present invention, reference is made to the
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detailed description of the inventlon which is to be read
in conjunction with the Eollowing drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a building
incorporating truss members embodying the teachings of the
present invention;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the
building shown in Fig. 1 taken on line 2-2;
Fig. 3 is a further perspective view showing the
front entrance to the building;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the rear wall
of the building;
Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a truss member of the
building of Fig. l;
Fig. 6 is a partial perspective view of the tension
plate at the apex of the triangular side of the truss
member;
Fig. 7 is a partial sectional view taken on line 7-
7 of Fig. 8;
Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the
cover sheeting in place on the truss member;
Fig. 9 is a partial cross sectional view of roof
panels abutting about a roof truss member;
Fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view of barrier
panels showing how they are mounted in abutting
relationship on the inside of a pilaster;
Fig. 11 is perspective view of another building
embodying the teachings of the present invention;
Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken through
opposed truss members and pilasters showing the
positioning of the truss members in Fig. 11;
Fig. 13 is a top plan view of the structure of Fig.
11 befo~e installation of roof panels; and
Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the compression
crown member of Fig. 13.
Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment
- Referring now to the drawings there is shown in
Fig. 1 a partially erected building 10 containing a
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plurality of truss assemblies 12 embodying the teachings
of the present invention. The building is specifically
designed to store particulate material such as salt or
sand of the type generally spread over icy road surfaces
during the winter months to melt the ice and thus reduce
driving risks. It should be apparent from the following
description, however, that the building may be used for
other purposes. The building includes a series of spaced
apart raised concrete pilasters 14 that are poured into
core holes formed in the ground. In this embodiment of
the invention the pilasters are erected in a rectangular
pattern which defines the perimeter of the building. The
top surface of the pilasters are all formed to the same
elevation so that they lie in a common plane. The tops of
the pilasters have a slanted mounting plate surface 16 for
receiving the lower end of the truss members 12 as will be
described in more detail herein. A barrier wall 18 is
formed on the inside of the pilasters 14 from the ground
up to the top of the pilasters. The wall is preferably
made of a series of panels of pressure treated beams and
studs as shown in more detail in Fig. 10. The panels 20
are premanufactured in the factory and merely installed in
place at the building site, all as will be described in
detail herein.
As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the building is
completed with vertical end walls 22 and 24. End wall 22
has a door opening and suitable doors, not shown, for
closing the end if desired as is well known in the art.
As may be clearly seen in Figs. 3 and 4, the long side of
the rectangular shape of the building consists essentially
of roof panels 26 installed over the roof truss members
12, as will be described in detail herein, obviating the
need for any wall facing material on the long sides.
The roof t-~uss members 12 are seated upon each of
the concrete pilasters in the side rows and extend
upwardly at an angle of approximately thirty two degrees
to the horizontal. The truss members are arranged to come
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together in abutting contact at their crowns with the
crowns describing the peak 28 of the building. As can be
clearly seen in Figs. l-4, the trusses 12 completely
eliminate the need for any columns, purlins, horizontal
beams or joists required in the more conventional
buildings except for structure required in the vertical
end walls. The trusses 12 also will eliminate any need
for side wall facing materials since the entire outer
surface of the trusses 12 is a roof surface and is covered
with roof sheeting panels as will be described in more
detail herein. As may be seen in Fig. lO, each roof truss
12 is secured at its base to a pilaster mounting face 16
which is disposed at an angle of approximately thirty two
degrees to the horizontal by a pair of right angle plates
30 which are lag bolted to the concrete pilaster and have
ears extending upwardly at right angles thereto. The ears
have holes 32 therein through which bolts can be inserted
through the base of the truss 12 to securely fix it to the
pilaster. The upper crown ends of the trusses 12 are
secured together by a ridge plate 34 which is through-
bolted through the adjacent end plates of the mating
trusses 12 to form a secure connection and joint. The
plate 34 and the faces of the trusses can be glued with a
waterproof glue suitable for such applications to securely
hold the roof truss together as shown in Figs. 1 and-2.
Referring now to Figs. 5-8, each truss 12 comprises
a linear inner chord member 36 which consists of two or
more 2 x 8 or similar beams glued and fastened together
to form the member 36 which becomes the inner chord or
beam of the truss structure 12.
The outer chord 38 of the truss 12 takes the form
of a triangular shaped beam which is formed from two frame
members 40 and 42 each comprising two or more pieces of 2
x 8 lumber glued and fastened together to form the outer
chord 38. The frame members extend from the ends of the
inner chord 36 to a peak approximately at the center line
of the chord 36. The two frame members 40 and 42 are
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glued and fastened together at the peak and are spaced
apart from the inner chord 36 by studs 44 which are
disposed perpendicularly to the inner chord 36 at spaced
intervals along the inner chord 36. The studs 44 are
bridged by bridging members 46, again at spaced intervals
between the inner and outer chord members 36 and 38. The
studs and bridging members 46 are chosen to be the same
material as the chords so that the entire built-up truss
can be covered with plywood sheeting to form an integral
solid rigid truss unit when the covering sheets are
installed, as will be described in connection with Fig. 8.
The truss 12, as shown in Fig. 5 has at each end an end
plate formed of three or four short pieces of lumber of
the same size as used in the rest of the truss laminated
together to form an end plate 48 at the upper end and
similar smaller end plate 50 at the lower end. These end
plates serve to reinforce and strengthen the end abutments
of the truss 12 to permit secure fastening to the
pilasters and to each other at the peak. After the
structure shown in Fig. 5 is formed in the factory to the
precise required dimensions, the structure is covered with
sheets of plywood of an appropriate type which is both
glued and nailed to the truss structural members, studs
and bridging to form a solid integral unitized structure
capable of withstanding extremely high external loads.
Fig. 8 shows a representative pattern of how half-inch CDX
plywood would be applied to the truss of Fig. 5 utilizing
standard 4 x 8 sheets so as to impart maximum strength and
rigidity to the truss member 12. As can be seen in Fig.
5 at the junction of each sheet of plywood a second or
third stud or bridge member is installed to strengthen the
joint at the junction of the sheets and to provide
adequate surface for gluing and fastening of the sheets as
they abut each other on the sides of truss member 12.
Finally, a tension plate 50 which is shown in Fig.
6 is secured to the apex of the triangular part of the
truss 12 at the junction of the two members 40 and 42 of
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the outer chord 38. As seen in Fig. 6, the tension plate
is secured in place by nailing, lagging or wood
screwing it to the adjacent outer chords of the truss 12
through holes 52 which are provided in the strap in
correct quantities and sizes to provide adequate shear
connections for the tension developed in this member by
the truss 12. The precise tension in this member is
determined by the span, height, dead loads, snow load and
wind load expected on the roof structure and must be
calculated to meet existing conditions of the location of
each building.
After the two sides of the truss 12 have been
covered with the plywood sheeting and the structure has
been glued and fastened together, it becomes an integral
unitized structure having very high strength to weight
ratios and providing a factory manufactured truss that can
be simply and easily raised in place on the site, without
further assembly, and merely bolted together to similar
additional trusses to form a roof structure. The
lamination of the multi-ply plywood sheets 52 and 54 to
the truss frame members is shown in Figs. 7 and 8.
Referring now to Fig. 9, each truss member has
secured to it adjacent its outer edge ledger strips 56
which form a seat and a support for roof panels 26 which
are constructed so as to fit between adjacent truss
members 12 and to rest on the ledger strips 56. Roof
panels 26 comprise a frame work of stringers 60 and studs
(not shown) covered on the outer surface by plywood or
other sheathing 62. The stringers 60 span the distance
between adjacent truss members resting on the seats formed
by the ledger strips 56. The outer sheathing 62 of the
panels 26 is formed so as to overlap the top of the outer
chord of the roof trusses 12 to form a tight sealed
connection not or.ly with the truss, but with each other
upon application of suitable glue and sealants at the
intersection thereof.
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Roof panels 26 are mounted between adjacent truss
members 12 and extend from adjacent the top of the
pilasters and barrier wall up to the peak of the building
roof to securely seal the building from the weather.
Once the roof is completed, the end walls of the
structure can be built with framing and side panels which
can be similar to the roof panels, if desired. Other
types of side panels can also be used to fully enclose the
building formed on top of the barrier walls fixed to the
pilasters. Referring again to Fig. 10, the barrier wall
18 of the structure of Figs. 1-4 is in a preferred
embodiment formed from panels 18 of heavy longitudinal
timbers 64, secured to studs 66 at spaced intervals along
the back with the studs 66 being fastened to stringers 67
spaced at the appropriate distance to fit between two
adjacent pilasters. The plank 64 are sized so as to
extend over past the end of the stud adjacent the pilaster
and to extend over the face of the pilaster and abut the
next adjacent panel when installed between adjacent
pilasters. The panels 18, in addition to being secured to
the pilaster by clips 69 placed in a dovetail groove 68
formed in the pilaster when it is poured, rests on ledger
strips 70 which are lag bolted to the sides of the
Pilaster and spaced from the inside surface of the
pilaster a distance appropriate to receive thereon the
panel 18 when positioned between adjacent pilasters. The
panels 18 extend from the ground level up to the top of
the pilasters 14 and are made of a treated lumber so as to
be able to withstand the moisture and other adverse
environmental conditions encountered in storing sand,
salt, and similar particulate material.
Since the barrier wall panels are placed on the
inside of the pilasters and extend only to the upper edge
surface on which are mounted the trusses and since the
roof panels 26 extend downwardly from the trusses to the
top of the pilasters, there is plenty of air space between
the inner and outer surfaces to allow circulation of
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ventilating air for the structure. If desired, suitable
closure members can be inserted in here to completely seal
the building from the outdoor elements.
As seen in Figs. 3 and 4, the front and rear walls
of the rectangular building structure are covered with
similar sheeting units 26 to the roof panels used on the
roof but sized specifically to fit within the framework of
the end walls 22 and 24. The front and rear walls include
additional pilasters for securing the barrier wall and for
providing a door structure when desired in the front end
of the building. The doorway is formed by a pair of
vertical beams anchored at the top by a cross-beam and
secured to the top of the supporting pilasters adjacent
the doorway in a manner similar to the way the truss
lS members are secured to the pilasters. The back wall of
the building includes sufficient pilasters to extend the
barrier wall completely across the end thereof and to
support the closure of the end of the building as shown in
Fig. 4.
Referring now to Figs. 11-14 there is shown another
embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 11 a
generally circular structure 100 is built in accordance
with the teachings of the present invention in which a
plurality of pilasters 102 are secured in the ground
similarly to the pilasters 14 but spaced in a circular
pattern along the circumference of a common circle. The
wooden truss members 102 then are mount:ed on each pilaster
and extend upwardly toward the corresponding pilaster on
th.e other side of the circle, but instead of abutting each
other, they are joined together at a crown compression
block llO which has a suitable number of attaching faces
so that each truss member mounted on a pilaster can be
joined together to form the complete circular structure.
Each roof truss member 102 extends from the bottom where
it is secured to the pilaster similarly to the way the
trusses 12 are secured in Fig. 12 and the upper end is as
indicated, fastened to the compression block 110 which
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positions the truss members 102 in the appropriate angular
relationship so as to be fully supported by the pilasters
102 on opposite sides of the circle and to form a fully
enclosing roof frame structure.
Again, as in Figs. 1-4 suitable barrier wall panels
108 are provided on the inside of adjacent pilasters and
suitable roof panels 106 are mounted between adjacent
truss members. As will be seen in Fig. 11, the roof
panels, of course must be tapered to reflect the tapered
circular configuration of the building as they are
positioned from the pilasters toward the peak of building.
An entranceway 112 is provided between adjacent pilasters.
The entranceway can be left open between the pilasters or
it can be enclosed with the vertical wall sections belng
disposed either on the interior or exterior of the
entranceway with suitable siding closures to complete the
building, as is well known in the conical building art.
As shown in Fig. 13, the building is constructed
with a series of twelve pilasters and truss sections
joined together at the crown compression block 110,
although other configurations obviously can be used,
depending on the particular requirements of the building
and the load conditions encountered in the particular area
in which the building is to be constructed.
While this invention has been explained with
reference to the structure disclosed herein, it is not
confined to the details set forth and this application is
intended to cover any modifications and changes as may
come within the scope of the following claims: