Re: V-Plate Hubs

Hi all,

The discussion reminds me of quite a few joiner plate and hub designs in the patent literature. There are several patent websites out there, one of course is www.uspto.gov. A few quick search on some selected keyword combinations brings up many interesting dome items, some of which are old enough (like more than 15 or 20 years, I forget the actual legal protection period) to be in the public domain and can freely be used by anyone. Getting a hub that is adjustable for use in different domes yet positive locking and strong once assembled is not a trivial matter, but there are some out there that are pretty good. Using individual plates and joining them at a central point can work, but one must balance the width of the material, for strength, against the offset you wind up with when you stack 5 or 6 thicknesses together on the central pin - thicker material departs from a flat hub. Hang 4 or 5 eye rings on a bolt and you'll see what I mean. My reading has told me that there are several things that are really important for a dome, one of which is making sure a dome vertex does not "pop in" due to a very flat vertex (that is a very high axial angle), a real weak hub, or severe loading on one side, like you can get in a directional snowstorm.

-Dan G.

-----Original Message-----
From: Charles J Knight <c dot knight at juno dot com>
To: domesteading at sculptors dot com <domesteading at sculptors dot com>
Date: Thursday, July 12, 2001 4:31 PM
Subject: Re: V-Plate Hubs

> Click here: Sea Treck Geodesic Domes & Kit Homes
>
> P.S. I'm sorry if this information offends anyone in any way - I found it
> relevant to the article on star plates .

No offense at all -- and I wish to personally apologize if

*I* made you uncomfortable at all. It's just that with the

recent influx of spam messages, even a dome company's

advertisements were "pushing it."

A link in your .sig is a far cry from a blatant advertisement.

Now...down to business...

The star plate design is ingenious -- have you ever considered

a design that didn't require welding? Your triangular plates

could be edge joined with bolts, and still provide a strong

connection.

A "proposed" design that I saw years ago, was for a triangular

plate that overlapped its neighbor slightly, and had "slots" for

bolt holes. Overlap the plates, bolt them together, and you

have a good connection.

Since the hubs don't hold the struts in place, a flexible

connection is also viable -- why weld it in place when

you don't need to?

Perhaps a series of plates (5 and 6 are needed) which

could be joined at a central point with something like an

eye bolt, and pinned together with a simple bolt through

the "hole."

-- Chuck Knight