The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 22, 1998
Filed:
Feb. 04, 1997
Charles J Bardo, Lake Kiowa, TX (US);
Jesse Q Seawell, Fort Worth, TX (US);
Toby L Daley, Fort Worth, TX (US);
James A Bland, Rhome, TX (US);
Gregory S Mailen, Waxahachie, TX (US);
Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc., Jessup, MD (US);
Abstract
A cooling tower is disclosed that is resistant to lateral displacement while minimizing the number and type of parts, and while limiting the amount of horizontal bracing. The cooling tower has a fiber reinforced material skeletal frame. Moment-transferring connections are provided in the connections between the elements of the skeletal frame. The moment-transferring connections between the frame members are made by bonding the joined elements to a mounting plate. The mounting plate may be held in place by mechanical fasteners that bear construction loads until the bonding material cures. The mounting plate, columns, beam and mechanical fasteners define construction joints that are capable of bearing construction loads until the bonding material cures. The mounting plate, columns, beam and cured bonding material define post-construction joints that are capable of transferring moments from the beam to the columns and are capable of bearing post-construction loads on the joints. The post-construction joints may also include the mechanical fasteners. Deflections of beams with the post-construction joints are more like a model beam with moment-transferring joints than a model beam that is simply supported.