Foldable article comprising a combination of foldable looped sections with four and eight segments along the circumference

Abstract

A collapsible article comprising a plurality of foldably interconnected foldable sections where at least one of said sections is looped and consists of four curved segments that are polygonal in shape in folded state and at least one of the other foldable looped sections consists of eight segments that are polygonal in shape in folded state. The section consisting of eight segments keeps substantially same shape of its edges in both folded and unfolded state which makes it possible to connect the whole foldable structure to an octagonal or round element, either closing or an open and tubular one.

Description

[0001]TITLE Foldable article comprising a combination of foldable looped sections with four and eight segments along the circumference. BACKGROUND One of he main challenges of the currently known foldable shell structures comprising plurality of foldably interconnected foldable sections where the said sections consist of only four segments along the circumference are that their ends have very different shape in folded and unfolded state. In unfolded state they keep their round shape naturally while in folded state the curved edges transform into substantially straight lines. This can be noticed in FIG.2 where some examples of such foldable structures are shown. As it can be seen, the edges are curved in unfolded state and straight in folded state. This change of shape makes the direct connection to a more practical octagonal or round geometry of such structures practically impossible. This in turn makes the closing or connectivity of articles comprising such foldable structures very difficult without compromising the compactness in folded position. SUMMARY Tubular structures composed by combining foldable sections with four segments along the circumference and the described transitional sections can be extremely compact in folded position while keeping the round or the octagonal shape of their ends. The said transitional segments can be manufactured using the same material and technology as the foldable sections they are connected to and can be manufactured together with them without the need of additional assembly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.1 shows examples of foldable articles or portions of them comprising transiotional foldable sections described below. FIG.2 shows examples of simple and very symmetrical types of foldable structures consisting of four segments along the circumference. FIG.3 depicts a very simple and symmetrical collapsible transitional section consisting of four trapezoids and four triangles. FIG.4 shows the whole structure depicted in FIG.3 in its unfolded and folded state. FIG.5 depicts a structure containing the transitional section depicted in FIG.3 and FIG.4 where the octagonal closing segment is substituted by a foldable / unfoldable section. FIG.6 shows the structure in FIG.5 where the valley and mountain creases are swapped and the configuration in folded state is different. FIG.7 depicts folding patterns / tessellations of the example in FIG.6 FIG.8 demonstrates that transitional foldable sections can be connected to foldable sections consisting of trapezoidal segments only. FIG.9 depicts folding patterns / tessellations where the octagonal end is not equilateral. FIG.10 shows the possibility of substituting the octagonal section with a round closed one. FIG.11 shows the possibility of substituting the octagonal section with a round open one. FIG.12 shows the possibility of substituting the octagonal section with a round closed and open ones for transitional foldable sections connected to foldable sections consisting of trapezoidal segments only. FIG.13 demonstrates the possibility of connecting cylindrical transitional sections with conical foldable sections. FIG.14 demonstrates a conical transitional section. FIG.15 demonstrates a conical transitional section having a round end. FIG.16 demonstrates the possibility of removing edges and combining segments from the transitional foldable section with segments from the foldable structure with only four elements along the circumference. FIG.17 depicts a portion of a container where the obtuse angles of the combined segments are additionally rounded. FIG.18 depicts another example of a portion of a container where the obtuse angles of the combined segments are additionally rounded. FIG.19 demonstrates another possibility of removing edges and combining segments from the transitional foldable section with segments from the foldable structure with only four elements along the circumference. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The advantages of the transitional sections I propose is as follows: - They provide extreme compactness in folded position - They are natural to the structure of the collapsible articles with four segments along the circumference - they are composed of polygons too - They do not require any change of material or production technology and can be manufactured together with the main structure - They do not require a change in thickness - They can be applied to both cylindrical and conical structures - They can provide a flat finish Tubular structures composed by combining foldable sections with four segments along the circumference and the described transitional sections can be extremely compact in folded position while keeping the round or the octagonal shape of their ends. This is very practical when a foldable article needs to finish with a flat surface or has to be connected to another part or another article. Examples of foldable structures containing transitional sections described below are shown in FIG.1. They demonstrate that such transitional sections can provide not only octagonal and round ends but also both closed and open ends. Examples of foldable shell structures comprising plurality of foldably interconnected foldable sections where the said sections consist of only four segments along the circumference are shown in FIG.2. As it can be seen, the valley creases / edges 101 and the mountain creases / edges 102 are curved in unfolded state and straight in folded state. An extremely simple and symmetrical type of transitional section is shown in FIG.3. It consists of four identical trapezoidal segments and four identical triangular segments. The mountain creases are shown with continuous lines, the valley creases are shown with dashed lines and the rest of the edges which are not part of the transitional section are shown with dotted lines. The same visual principle is valid for all other structures that are depicted below. The angles between the legs (103) and the bases of the trapezoids and the triangles (104, 105 and 106) are equal to 22.5° (π / 4). The length of the small bases (107, 108) of the trapezoids is equal to the one of the base of the triangular segments (106). The longer bases of the trapezoids (104, 105) are connected to the edges of the foldable section consisting of four segments along the circumference. The closing end segment is a flat equilateral and octagonal. The folded state of the whole structure is shown in FIG.4. The above-mentioned octagonal closing segment can be replaced with a foldable / unfoldable section as shown in FIG.5. If the mountain creases between the segments of this section are switched to valley ones and vice versa, the closed and folded structure looks as depicted in FIG.6. The developed tessellation is depicted in the upper picture of FIG.7. Additional possible tessellation is depicted in the lower picture of the same figure. FIG.8 demonstrates that a transitional section consisting of eight segments can also be connected to foldable sections consisting of only trapezoidal segments. Making the bases of the trapezoidal segments longer can lead to feasible structures with non-equilateral octagonal ends as demonstrated in FIG.9. It can be done by making the bases of every two opposing trapezoidal segments (104 and 107, 105 and 108) shorter or longer. The examples in FIG.9 depict cases where only one of the trapezoidal pairs is with changed length but this principle can be applied simultaneously to both pairs, either with equal or with different distance. Using the above-mentioned examples, in many cases, where the material allows and approximations are acceptable, the octagonal segment can be replaced with a round one giving the possibility for a circular, elliptical or other curved closing segment (FIG.10). The end can also be connected to a cylindrical, conical or other round closed or hollow geometry FIG.11. This is very practical when threaded closing or connection is required. The above-mentioned round endings can also be connected to foldable sections with four trapezoidal segments FIG.12. The above-mentioned transitional foldable sections can also be connected to conical foldable sections with four segments along their circumference FIG.13. Such transitional sections can also have conical shape (FIG.14, FIG.15). In such cases angle β =(3 π - 2 α) / 8. Similar to the cylindrical cases the octagonal end segment can be replaced with a round one giving the possibility for a circular, elliptical or other curved closing segment as depicted in FIG.15. All the modifications shown from FIG.5 to FIG.11 are also applicable too. If the thickness and / or the material allows, in all above-mentioned examples the edges between the pair of trapezoidal segments of the transitional section and the corresponding trapezoidal segments having their shorter bases adjacent to the trapezoids in the said pair (marked with 104 in FIG.3, FIG.9, FIG.13) can be removed and the corresponding adjacent trapezoidal segments can be combined in hexagonal ones (FIG.16). Further, the obtuse angles in these hexagonal segments can be curved and rounded. Examples of containers consisting of such rounded sections are shown in FIG.17 and FIG.18. If the material is soft enough, in all above-mentioned examples the edges marked with 105 in FIG.3, FIG.9, FIG.13 can also be removed and the corresponding adjacent segments can be combined (FIG.19). Portions of articles comprising the described transitional foldable section can be made of the same material as the rest of the article or they can also be made of a different material. In articles comprising the described transitional foldable sections the edges / creases can be made of the same material as the surface or they can be made of a different one. If the materials used for the edges / creases have enough elasticity and the materials used for the surface offer enough flexibility structures composed of combinations of the foldable modules disclosed can also be self deployable or self-folding depending on which is the natural state of its elements. The edges / creases can be continuous or broken into sections leaving bridges connecting the surface elements. The flexibility of the edges / creases can also be achieved by making sequences of wholes along them. Some edges can even be fully cut to serve as openings when appropriate. The geometry of the edges or their sections that do not serve as creases can be modified if the achieved modification does not interfere undesirably with the folding process. They can be even removed if needed. Openings can be placed on the surface elements and even over the edges / creases. The shape of the surface elements can be modified in order to follow the shape of another element in folded position. Examples of possible material options for the modules or parts of them can be: plastic, rubber, silicone, paper, cardboard, leather, fabric, foam materials, metal, and any other appropriate type of material. A wide range of production techniques can be used: moulding, casting, thermoforming, vacuum forming, rolling sheet materials, welding, gluing, sewing, and any other appropriate method. They can be manufactured in unrolled / developed, unfolded, folded, and partly or semi- folded states. The disclosed foldable structures can be used not only for articles that are designed to be used multiple times but also for articles that are designed to be used just once, making their disposal, storage, packaging, and transportation more effective or even making them reusable. The described transitional foldable sections can be used not only for fully collapsible articles but also for parts and portions of articles. They can also combine with other appropriate folding patterns. The cross sections of the cylindrical and conical transitional sections are not required to be symmetrical curves. They can be asymmetrical and even have abrupt bends if these bends coincide with the internal edges / creases in a foldable section. They can also have straight sections. The surface segments are not required to be fully developable surfaces. They can be deformed in order to have double curvature especially when more smooth shape is needed but not maximum contraction is required. They can also be divided by adding extra edges / creases if needed. Approximations of the shape of the surface segments and the edges / creases are also acceptable, depending on the desired qualities of the article. Different applications are also possible. Foldable structures composed of the described transitional sections can be used for containers, pipes, pumps, syringes, and cookie presses, also for toys and modular construction games. Foldable coverage or insulation for pipes and containers can also be an alternative application. Other applications can be disposable packaging, reusable packaging, funnels, straws, dust and powder puffers, inflatable structures, bags, clothes, lampshades, collapsible furniture and shelter structures and parts for them. Different applications can be even combined in one task unification article. Even the qualities of objects made of rigid and solid materials are possible if a closed unfolded shell containing a transitional foldable section, is filled with a fluid or a powder-like substance in order to block the folding process which can make it appropriate for handles, sticks, rolling pins and other appropriate articles.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A collapsible article comprising: a plurality of foldably interconnected foldable sections, at least one of said sections is looped and consists of four curved segments that are polygonal in shape in folded state; at least one of said sections is looped and consists of eight segments that are polygonal in shape in folded state wherein four of said eight segments are quadrilateral in shape and are connected to the said foldable section that consists of four curved segments and the other four of said eight segments are triangular in shape; foldable edges connecting said sections and said segments.

2. The article of Claim 1, wherein said quadrilateral segments are trapezoidal in shape.

3. The article of Claim 1, wherein said triangular segments are isosceles.

4. The article of Claim 1, wherein said looped section that consists of eight segments is connected to an octagonal closing segment.

5. The article of Claim 1, wherein said looped section that consists of eight segments is connected to an octagonal foldable closing section.

6. The article of Claim 1, wherein said looped section that consists of eight segments is connected to a round closing segment.

7. The article of Claim 1, wherein said looped section that consists of eight segments is connected to an octagonal open tubular segment.

8. The article of Claim 1, wherein said looped section that consists of eight segments is connected to a round open tubular segment.

9. The article of Claim 1, wherein two of said quadrilateral segments that are part of said section that consists of eight polygonal segments are combined with the adjacent polygonal segments that are part of said foldable section that consists of four curved segments.

10. The article of Claim 1, wherein four of said quadrilateral segments that are part of said section that consists of eight polygonal segments are combined with the adjacent polygonal segments that are part of said foldable section that consists of four curved segments.

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