阅读说明：本技术 地基系统和构造方法 (Foundation system and construction method ) 是由 A·艾奇逊 D·麦凯 于 2018-12-19 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种地基系统,用于在其上支撑一结构,该地基系统包括：多个块,每个块具有至少三个侧面；形成于每个块的该至少三个侧面上的至少两个凹槽；多个连接板,该连接板的第一端构造成固定在第一块的凹槽内,其第二端构造成固定在相邻块的凹槽内,以使连接板在相邻块的凹槽之间延伸,以将相邻块固定在一起形成由所述块组成的地基网格；以及围栏板,该围栏板可沿着所述块的边缘安装到所述块,从而围绕地基网格的周边形成围墙。(A foundation system for supporting a structure thereon, the foundation system comprising: a plurality of blocks, each block having at least three sides; at least two grooves formed on the at least three sides of each block; a plurality of connecting plates, a first end of which is configured to be secured within the grooves of a first block and a second end of which is configured to be secured within the grooves of adjacent blocks, such that the connecting plates extend between the grooves of adjacent blocks to secure adjacent blocks together to form a foundation grid made up of said blocks; and a fencing panel mountable to the block along an edge of the block to form a fence around a perimeter of the foundation grid.)

1. A foundation system for supporting a structure thereon, the foundation system comprising:

a plurality of blocks, each of said blocks having at least three sides;

at least two grooves formed on the at least three sides of each block;

a plurality of connecting plates, a first end of said connecting plates configured to be secured within the grooves of a first block and a second end of said connecting plates configured to be secured within the grooves of an adjacent block such that said connecting plates extend between the grooves of adjacent blocks to secure adjacent blocks together to form a foundation grid comprised of said blocks; and

a fence panel mounted to the block along an edge of the block, thereby forming a fence around a perimeter of the foundation grid.

2. The foundation system of claim 1, wherein the structure is supported on a foundation grid comprised of the blocks.

3. The foundation system of claim 2, wherein at least one block in the foundation grid is configured to receive a foot member of the structure.

4. The foundation system of claim 3, wherein the at least one block of the foundation grid is configured to have a mounting system formed on a surface thereof to engage the leg members of the structure.

5. The foundation system of claim 4, wherein the mounting system comprises a plurality of holes formed in a central region of the block, each hole configured to receive a bolt for securing a leg member of the structure to the block.

6. The foundation system of claim 4 or 5, wherein the plurality of blocks in the foundation grid are configured to include a mounting system for supporting each foot member of the structure on the foundation grid.

7. The foundation system of claim 4 or 5, wherein individual blocks of the foundation grid are configured to include a mounting system for supporting foot members of the structure such that the structure can be supported across a plurality of foundation grids.

8. The foundation system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the blocks is reinforced.

9. The foundation system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the blocks are configured to be substantially triangular.

10. The foundation system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the grooves are formed in a side of each block adjacent an upper surface of the block.

11. The foundation system of claim 10, wherein the recess has a shape corresponding to the shape of the first or second end of the connection plate to be received in the recess such that when the connection plate is received in the recess, lateral movement of the connection plate within the recess is limited.

12. The foundation system of claim 10 or 11, wherein the groove has a hole formed therein that aligns with a hole formed in the first or second end of the connecting plate to facilitate securing of the connecting plate within the groove by a securing member.

13. The foundation system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the connection plate has apertures at both its first and second ends.

14. The foundation system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fencing panel is mountable to a free end of the connecting panel.

15. The foundation system of claim 14, wherein the base of the fencing panel is mounted on the connecting panel.

16. The foundation system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fencing panel comprises an open structure, a closed structure, or a combination of both open and closed structures.

17. The foundation system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the structure comprises a controller housing configured to be securely mounted to at least one of the blocks.

18. A method of constructing a structure at a remote site, the method comprising:

forming a horizontal ground at a remote location; creating a foundation grid comprised of interconnected blocks on the horizontal ground;

mounting at least one leg of the structure to a surface of one of the blocks of the foundation mesh such that all legs of the structure are supported by at least one foundation mesh; and

a plurality of fencing panels are secured around the perimeter of at least one foundation grid to enclose the structure therein.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to foundation systems and, more particularly, to modular foundation systems for supporting structures such as towers, antennas, etc. in a variety of different locations.

Background

Structures such as antennas and towers are important for establishing communication networks across regions. In countries such as australia, there are considerable undeveloped areas between towns, requiring towers and antennas to be erected to extend the coverage of the communication network. At these sites (usually remote locations) there is usually no existing building infrastructure to which the antennas can be mounted, and therefore the towers must be erected specifically for this purpose.

It takes a great deal of time and cost to install a tower or similar structure in a remote location. Communication is critical to such areas and this enormous investment creates a significant obstacle to installing infrastructure in remote areas and has a significant adverse impact on establishing and maintaining a good communication network. Such time and cost is often associated with the construction of the tower, as in some cases, one or more construction personnel may be required to go to the site multiple times to complete the construction. For example, a team of personnel is often required to investigate the site and then level the site; another group of people sets up the template structure for the foundation; one group of people pours concrete for the foundation; a group of people demolish the formwork structure after the concrete is cured; a group of people install fences and other safety measures on site; a group of people install towers or antennas on site; finally, a group of personnel is required to install the electronic equipment and manage the site in accordance with the continuing power demand. Each of these steps typically requires a different team of workers with different professional skills, which can have a significant impact on the cost and time of installation of the communications tower in view of travel time and the need to provide accommodation and food for workers at remote sites.

While various modular foundation systems have been proposed for supporting structures, most of the proposed systems require complex interlocking mechanisms and mounting systems that cannot easily install themselves in inaccessible remote areas where conventional concrete casting operations are not cost effective or feasible.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide a foundation system that can be simply installed and interlocked together and that can be transported and installed on site with minimal labor. It is also desirable to provide a foundation system that can be simply configured to suit a variety of applications and to support safety fences and the like without the need for additional parts and labor.

The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to, and should not be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the following discussion of the prior art is not relevant to what is known or known to those skilled in the art, but is merely intended to facilitate an understanding of the inventive concepts, wherein the identification of related prior art proposals is but one part of the present invention.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect, there is provided herein a foundation system for supporting a structure thereon, the foundation system comprising:

a plurality of blocks, each block having at least three sides;

at least two grooves formed on the at least three sides of each block;

a plurality of connecting plates, a first end of the connecting plate being configured to be secured within the groove of a first block and a second end of the connecting plate being configured to be secured within the groove of an adjacent block such that the connecting plate extends between the grooves of adjacent blocks to secure the adjacent blocks together to form a foundation grid of said blocks; and

an enclosure panel (enclosure panel) is mountable to the block along an edge of the block to form an enclosure around the perimeter of the foundation grid.

In one embodiment, the structure is supported on a foundation grid made up of the blocks. In another embodiment, the structure is supported on a plurality of foundation meshes of the blocks.

At least one block of the foundation grid is configured to receive a leg member of the structure. At least one block of the foundation grid is configured with a mounting system formed on a surface thereof to engage with the leg members of the structure. The mounting system includes a plurality of holes formed in a central region of the block, each hole configured to receive a bolt for securing a leg member of the structure to the block.

In one form, the plurality of blocks within the foundation grid may be configured to include a mounting system for supporting each foot member of the structure on the foundation grid. In another form, individual blocks of the foundation grid are configured to include a mounting system for supporting foot members of the structure such that the structure is supported on a plurality of foundation grids.

Each block may be reinforced to support the structure thereon.

Each block may be configured to appear in a substantially triangular form.

A groove may be formed in the side of each block adjacent the upper surface of the block. The shape of the recess may be adapted to the shape of the first or second end of the connecting plate to be received in the recess such that when the connecting plate is received in the recess, lateral movement of the connecting plate within the recess is restricted.

The recess has a hole formed therein that aligns with a hole formed in the first or second end of the connecting plate to facilitate securing of the connecting plate within the recess by the securing member. The fixing member may be a bolt or a screw.

The connecting plate has a hole at both its first and second ends.

A fence plate may be mounted to a free end of the connecting plate. The base of the fencing panel may be mounted to the attachment panel. The fencing panel may comprise an open structure, a closed structure or a combination of both open and closed structures.

The structure may be a communications tower or an antenna. The structure may further include a controller housing configured to be securely mounted to at least one of the plurality of blocks.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of constructing a structure at a remote location, the method comprising:

forming a horizontal ground at the remote location;

creating a foundation grid comprised of interconnected blocks on the horizontal ground;

mounting at least one leg of the structure to a surface of one of the blocks of the foundation grid such that all legs of the structure are supported by the at least one foundation grid; and

a plurality of fencing panels are secured around the perimeter of at least one foundation grid to enclose a structure therein.

Drawings

The invention will be better understood from the following non-limiting description of a preferred embodiment, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a base block according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a second base block according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the second base block of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the second base block of FIG. 2, showing the stiffeners present therein;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a connection plate for connecting a plurality of blocks of the foundation system of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the connection plate of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top view of a foundation system according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the foundation system of FIG. 7 supporting a tower structure thereon in use;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the arrangement of FIG. 8;

figure 10 is a side view of the arrangement of figures 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is a top view of an alternative embodiment of the foundation system of the present invention supporting a tower in use;

FIG. 12 is a top view of another embodiment of the foundation system of the present invention supporting the tower and generator in use; and

fig. 13 is a perspective view of fig. 12.

Detailed Description

Preferred features of the invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

The use and application of the foundation system of the invention in the field of telecommunications for installing and building towers and antennas will be described below. However, it should be understood that the foundation system of the present invention may be equally used to support a variety of structures. Similarly, although embodiments of the invention may be used to install towers having a height below 10 meters to overcome regulatory approval requirements, the height of the tower may take any height, typically in the range of 18 to 22 meters, depending on the use of the tower

Referring to fig. 1, there is shown a block member 10 of an embodiment of a foundation system according to the present invention. The block element 10 comprises a generally triangular body 11 formed of concrete having three sides 12 defining the vertical edges of the body 11.

A pair of grooves 14 are formed in the side 12 of the body 10, the pair of grooves 14 being spaced from the ends of the body. The groove 14 is substantially trapezoidal and has a front edge which coincides with the side surface 12 and which is substantially parallel to a rear edge of the groove 14 which is spaced inwardly from the side surface 12 from the front edge. The other two sides of the groove 14 are arranged to converge from the rear edge to the front edge. A bore 16 is formed in a central region of the groove 14 for receiving a pin member in a manner to be discussed in more detail below.

Fig. 2 shows a second block element 10a of an embodiment of the foundation system according to the invention. This second block member 10a is constructed in substantially the same manner as the block member 10 described above, and like reference numerals are used to indicate like features. However, the difference is that the second block member 10a also includes a central mounting system 18 at its center. The central mounting system 18 includes a series of holes 19 formed in a circular manner in the surface of the second block member 10 a. In the illustrated embodiment of the second block member 10a, six holes 19 are provided in a circular manner as shown. The purpose of the central mounting system will be discussed in detail below.

Fig. 3 depicts a perspective view of the second block 10 a. Obviously, the block 10 and the second block 10a have a predetermined thickness, which may be around 285mm, although other thicknesses are also envisaged. The sides 12 each have a length of about 991mm, as shown, the respective ends of the triangle are truncated to form rectangular edges. In one embodiment, the depth of the recess 14 is about 35mm and the diameter of the central mounting system 18 is about 160 mm. It is clear that these measurements are used as an example only and that other dimensions may be employed based on different usage requirements of the foundation system.

Referring to fig. 4, the reinforcement of the block 10 and the second block 10a is shown. The block 10 and the second block 10a include an upper reinforcement in the form of a steel bar 19a which extends around the periphery of the blocks 10, 10a and is located directly beneath each aperture 16. Lower grid reinforcements 19b are also provided for improving the strength and load-bearing capacity of each block 10, 10 a. As shown, for the second block 10a, three steel reinforcement plates 19c are positioned to extend below adjacent pairs of holes 19.

Referring to fig. 5 and 6, a connection plate 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown in fig. 7, the connecting plate 20 is configured to extend between the grooves 14 in adjacent blocks 10 to facilitate the connection of the adjacent blocks 10. In this regard, the connecting plate 20 has a main body 23 in the shape of an irregular hexagon, and opposite ends of the main body 23 are configured into a trapezoidal shape that substantially conforms to the shape of the groove 14. In this way, one end of the connecting plate 20 can be closely received in the recess 14 of the block 10 and secured in place by a bolt passing through a slot 22 formed in the end of the connecting plate and into the hole 16 formed in the recess 14 of the block 10. The adjacent block 10 may then simply be aligned side by side with the block so that a free end of the connecting plate 20 is received in the recess 14 of the adjacent block, at which stage a second bolt is used to secure this free end of the connecting plate 20 to the bore 16 of the block, thereby securing the two blocks together. By repeating this joining step at two joining points or grooves located along adjacent sides of the block 10, a plurality of blocks can be joined together to form an integrated foundation system 100, as shown in fig. 7.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foundation system 100 of fig. 7 has a plurality of blocks 10, each block 10 being connected to adjacent blocks at a plurality of points to form a base foundation for sharing the load on the connected plurality of blocks 10. Along the periphery of the connected blocks, one side 12 of the blocks is exposed and each side of the blocks 10 has two grooves 14 disposed on that side. This configuration of the blocks 10 enables attachment plates 20 to be secured to the periphery of each block 10 to provide points to which a fence structure may be attached to close the periphery of the foundation system 100. This will be described in more detail below.

Referring to FIGS. 8-10, an embodiment of a tower structure 30 erected on a foundation system 100 according to the present invention is shown. The foundation system 100 is constructed in substantially the same manner as shown in fig. 7, except that the block 10 of each corner of fig. 7 is replaced with a second block 10 a.

The tower 30 has three leg members 32, each leg member 32 being secured to the central mounting system 18 of each second block 10 a. To secure the leg members 32 in place, bolts or similar fastening members are passed through holes formed in the leg members 32, respectively, to secure them within the holes 19 in the central mounting system 18 of the second block 10 a. This provides a solid foundation for tower 30, while the weight of tower 30 is shared between each of the interlocking blocks forming foundation system 100.

After the tower 30 is secured in place, the control cabinet 40 is then positioned on the foundation system 100 and installed in place on the block 10 by attaching the underside of the control cabinet 40 to a pair of connecting plates of the block 10 or adjacent blocks 10. This is more clearly shown in fig. 9, where the control cabinet 40 extends over at least a portion of the perimeter of the foundation system 100. The remaining perimeter portion of the foundation system 100 can then receive a prefabricated containment boom plate 42 to form a perimeter around the tower 30, as shown, for preventing unauthorized personnel from entering the tower 30. By attaching the fencing panel 42 to the periphery of the plurality of blocks 10 of the foundation system 100, the fencing panel will be securely installed at the peripheral location of the foundation system 100 in a simple and convenient manner without the need to dig out separate piles (posts) or posts or build a fence in a conventional manner. In short, each component may be delivered and assembled together on site as foundation system 100 is formed. In this regard, as shown in FIG. 10, to assemble the tower 30, a crane may be required to lift various portions of the tower to the desired height, and then simply secure the fencing panel and control cabinet in place for use. It should be appreciated that one of the fence panels 42 may be replaced by a door panel 45 as shown in fig. 9 in order to facilitate access to the tower 30 of fig. 8-10. The door panel 45 may include a lockable entry to allow access to the tower for maintenance and the like.

It will be appreciated that the manner in which the foundation is constructed will depend on the type and size of structure it is intended to support, as well as the space available to accommodate the foundation system.

An alternative embodiment of a foundation system for supporting tower structure 30 is shown in FIG. 11. In this embodiment, three separate foundation grids 50 are formed, each grid having a second block 10a for receiving a foot member of the tower structure 30. So that the weight of tower structure 30 is shared over the three foundation grids 50. The ground supporting the three grids 50 will require a flattening process to ensure that the grids are all level, but the ground between the grids 50 may remain unchanged to minimize environmental impact.

To assemble the fence structure around the system, as shown in fig. 11, nine small fence panels 52 and three long fence panels 54 are required to close the system and prevent unauthorized access to the tower 30. One of the nine small fence panels may include a door to allow access to the tower 30 as needed. These panels may be preformed prior to delivery to the site and may be arranged in either a closed or open configuration depending on the installation requirements.

For particularly remote sites that are not easily connected to the main grid, the foundation system needs to support not only the communications tower or antenna, but also the solar or wind power generator. Also in this case, it is important to provide a safe location to minimise the possibility of wildlife or unauthorised persons entering the location, as this may adversely affect the solar power plant or generator. Such a system is depicted in fig. 12 and 13.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 12 and 13, a solar panel generator 60 is employed to generate electricity to operate the system. The blocks 10, 10a are arranged in the manner shown to form a foundation 70 supporting the tower 30 and the solar panel generator 60. A fencing structure 75 in the form of a plurality of prefabricated panels is then installed around the perimeter of the foundation 70 for closing the system and preventing unauthorized intrusion. It should be understood that one of the plurality of prefabricated panels may include a door panel for facilitating access to the system as desired.

Regardless of the type of system employed by the present invention, the system will be erected using preformed blocks and preformed panels to form a fence structure around the created foundation. The type of fencing panel used may vary according to requirements and may include wire or electrical netting to prevent entry of animals if desired.

The system of the present invention can be easily transported to remote locations and assembled with minimal human effort. The site may be simply leveled prior to forming and interlocking the foundation system and may accommodate a variety of different types of sites.

Throughout the specification and claims, the term "comprise" and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless an opposite meaning is explicitly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, unless clearly indicated to the contrary or the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be used to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, steps or features which it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the present invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.