Dome construction

Claim 1

A DOME COMPRISING A THRUST RING, A ROW OF ALTERNATELY SHORTER AND LONGER SEGMENTS SECURED TO SAID THRUST RING AND EXTENDING UPWARD THEREFROM: SUCCEEDING ROWS OF SEGMENTS EQUAL IN LENGTH TO SAID LONGER SEGMENTS KEYED TO PRECEDING ROWS IN PART AND TO EACH OTHER IN PART; EACH OF SAID SEGMENTS COMPRISING A SEMI-RIGID, FLEXIBLE PLATE, GENERALLY TRAPEZOIDAL IN SHAPE, THE PARALLEL PORTIONS OF WHICH ARE STRAIGHT ENDS AND THE NONPARALLEL PORTIONS OF WHICH ARE OUTWARD CURVING EDGES; SAID EDGES BEING LONGER THAN SAID ENDS; BOTTOM ENDS OF SUCCEEDING ROWS OF SEGMENTS ENGAGING TOP ENDS OF PRECEDING ROWS OF SEGMENTS AND ADJACENT MARGINAL EDGE PORTIONS ENGAGING EACH OTHER; AND COOPERATING MEANS ON SAID SEGMENTS FOR KEYING MARGINAL PORTIONS OF ABUTTING SEGMENTS TOGETHER; THE UPPER END OF EACH SEGMENT OF WHATEVER LENGTH BEING NARROWER THAN ITS LOWER END; THE LOWER ENDS OF SEGMENTS IN SUCCEEDING ROWS BEING EQUAL IN WIDTH TO THE UPPER ENDS OF SEGMENTS IN ADJACENT LOWER ROWS, SAID SEGMENTS AT A POINT SPACED FROM SAID THRUST RING, FORMING ALTERNATE VERTICAL COLUMNS OF SEGMENTS COMMENCING WITH SHORTER SEGMENTS SECURED TO SAID THRUST RING PROVIDED WITH SHORTER SEGMENTS; AND ALTERNATE VERTICAL COLUMNS OF SEGMENTS COMMENCING WITH LONGER SEGMENTS PROVIDED WITH EXTRA LONG SEGMENTS; WHEREBY ADJACENT COLUMNS OF SEGMENTS HAVE COMMON TOP PLANES; SEGMENTS CONTINUING AFTER SAID POINT BEING EQUAL IN WIDTH AT THEIR LOWER ENDS TO THE TOPS OF TWO SEGMENTS IN PRECEDING ROWS, THE LAST ROW OF SEGMENTS BEING ALTERNATELY LONGER AND SHORTER TO CAUSE COLUMNS OF SEGMENTS TO TERMINATE IN A CIRCLE; MEANS FOR SECURING SAID SEGMENT ENDS TOGETHER, AND MEANS SECURED TO SAID SEGMENTS FOR RESISTING INTERNAL PRESSURES APPLIED TO SAID DOME.