Tie rod for protecting structures from wind and earthquake type stresses

Abstract

The tie rod for structural projects for the protection of structures for earthquake and wind is comprised of a cast iron base (7) which has a bolt (4) passing through a hole, which is surrounded by threaded ring (5) with handles (6). A base plate (2) that sits on the bolt and turns with a ball bearing. A steel cable (9) passes through all; the one end of the cable is fixed to the base (2) with bolts (3). The other end leads to a member with blades around it (10), (12), (13), (14) which open and close around the member (17) with the help of bars (11) connected around the axis of the member with pins. To the other end, they are connected with pins to the blades. The rod presses the structure to the ground by a bolt connected to a cable which pulls a member (17) with blades which open against the sides of a hole drilled on the ground and pull the building towards the ground decreasing torque created by the forces of an earthquake or the wind. It is used on buildings with a frame, continuous building, wood frame houses with storm problems, cable bridges, loose ground slopes, etc.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A tie rod configured to connect, at one end, to an upper surface of a building via a tensioning bolt system which communicates via a respective cable with at least one anchor fitted at an opposite end of the tie rod to the ground underneath the building, the tensioning bolt system being sized and fitted to transfer wave shaped impact forces such as those generated during an earthquake into forces carried by the cables to the anchors which are fitted and sized to expand or retract to/from the ground in order to prevent tensioning forces from being directed toward structural columns and other members of the building. 
     
     
         2 . The tie rod of  claim 1 , wherein the tensioning bolt system is secured to the upper surface of the building by torqueing the cables connected to the tensioning bolt system and the anchors, which in turn causes the anchors to grip the ground and fasten the entire tie rod into position. 
     
     
         3 . The tie rod of  claim 2 , wherein the cables are disposed via piping within the structural columns allowing the cable to expand and retract. 
     
     
         4 . The tie rod of  claim 1 , where the tie rod is configured to facilitate securing the building by placing at least one anchor at a corner position of the building. 
     
     
         5 . The tie rod of  claim 1 , where the tie rod is configured to facilitate securing the building by placing at least one anchor at a position relative a fixed elevator shaft to allow the rest of the building to be flexible up to a certain point. 
     
     
         6 . The tie rod of  claim 1 , where the tie rod is configured for use in a building with a plurality of floor plates and an elastic contraction joint with sufficient clearance placed between the shaft wall of the fixed elevator shaft and each floor plate in order for the building to oscillate around the fixed elevator shaft and hit against the anchored fixed elevator shaft before reaching breaking point in the event of an earthquake. 
     
     
         7 . A tensioning bolt system for use in a tie rod where the tie rod is of the type configured to connect, at one end, to an upper surface of a building via the tensioning bolt system and at an opposite end, via a respective cable with at least one anchor, to the ground underneath the building, the tensioning bolt system being sized and fitted to transfer wave shaped impact forces such as those generated during an earthquake into forces carried by the cables to the anchors which are fitted and sized to expand or retract to/from the ground in order to prevent tensioning forces from being directed toward structural columns and other members of the building. 
     
     
         8 . The tensioning bolt system of  claim 7 , further comprising a base having a hole, where a bolt housing a respective cable passes through the hole and a threaded ring, having a plurality of turning handles, is screwed around the bolt. 
     
     
         9 . The tensioning bolt system of  claim 8 , further comprising a base, screwed on top of the bolt, having a plurality of holes where small bolts are inserted to fix one end of the respective cable and ensure that the steel cable will not turn when the threaded ring turns because the cable sits on the bolt with an internal ball bearing. 
     
     
         10 . The tensioning bolt system of  claim 7 , wherein the tensioning bolt system is secured to the upper surface of the building by torqueing the cables connected to the tensioning bolt system and the anchors, which in turn causes the anchors to grip the ground and fasten the entire tie rod into position. 
     
     
         11 . The tensioning bolt system of  claim 10 , wherein the cables are disposed via piping within the structural columns allowing the cable to expand and retract. 
     
     
         12 . The tensioning bolt system of  claim 7 , where the tie rod is configured to facilitate securing the structure by placing at least one anchor at a corner position of the structure. 
     
     
         13 . The tensioning bolt system of  claim 7 , where the tie rod is configured to facilitate securing the structure by placing at least one anchor at a position relative a fixed elevator shaft to allow the rest of the building to be flexible up to a certain point. 
     
     
         14 . The tensioning bolt system of  claim 7 , where the tie rod is configured for use in a building with a plurality of floor plates and an elastic contraction joint with sufficient clearance placed between the shaft wall of the fixed elevator shaft and each floor plate in order for the building to oscillate around the fixed elevator shaft and hit against the anchored fixed elevator shaft before reaching breaking point in the event of an earthquake. 
     
     
         15 . An anchor for use in a tie rod where the tie rod is of the type configured to connect, at one end, to an upper surface of a building via a tensioning bolt system and at an opposite end, via a cable to the anchor, to the ground underneath the building, the anchor being sized and fitted with blades that expand to grip into the ground in response to wave shaped impact forces such as those generated during an earthquake which are transferred from the tensioning bolt system to the cable and into the anchors to prevent tensioning forces from being directed toward structural columns and other members of the building. 
     
     
         16 . The anchor of  claim 15 , further comprising a member connected to blades through a plurality of bars, where each bar is connected to the member with a pin, allowing each bar to pivot around an axis vertical to the member. 
     
     
         17 . The anchor of  claim 16 , where the blades are parallel to the member in order to increase the volume of the anchor so that, when the device is anchored in a hole in the ground, the outer surface of the blades and the inner surface of the hole osculate. 
     
     
         18 . The anchor of  claim 17 , where each blade further comprises a plurality of pointed edges for better grip to the ground. 
     
     
         19 . The anchor of  claim 15 , where the tie rod is of the type configured to facilitate securing the building by placing at least one anchor at a corner position of the building. 
     
     
         20 . The anchor of  claim 15 , where the tie rod is of the type configured to facilitate securing the building by placing at least one anchor at a position relative a fixed elevator shaft to allow the rest of the building to be flexible up to a certain point.