Three dimensional reticular structure

Claim 1

A FOLDING THREE-DIMENSIONAL RETICULAR STRUCTURE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF RODS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT THEIR UPPER AND LOWER ENDS BY COUPLING TO ONE ANOTHER TO FORM AN ASSEMBLY OF RODS WHICH IS FOLDABLE AND EXTENSIBLE, EACH ROD BEING ARTICULATED AT LEAST THREE POINTS RESPECTIVELY LOCATED AT BOTH ENDS OF THE ROD AND AT AN INTERMEDIATE POINT, EACH ROD HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL ARTICULATION AXES CORRESPONDING TO SAID ARTICULATION POINTS AND LOCATED IN A PLANE COMMON TO THE AXIS OF THE ROD, SAID COUPLING BEING POSITIONEDX AT THE SAID POINTS OF ARTICULATION OF EACH ROD AND HAVING CROSS ARMS TO EACH OF WHICH A ROD PIVOTALLY JOINED FOR ARTICULATION, FLEXIBLE ELEMENTS INTERCONNECTING THE UPPER COUPLINGS AND SIMILAR FLEXIBLE ELEMENTS INTERCONNECTING THE LOWER COUPLINGS TO PREVENT EXTENSION OF THE ASSEMBLY BEYOND A PRESELECTED LIMIT WHILE PERMITTING THE ASSEMBLY TO FOLD INTO A COMPACT FORM WITH ALL THE RODS ADJACENT EACH OTHER, AND STAYS RELEASABLY ATTACHED BETWEEN UPPER AND LOWER COUPLINGS OF DIFFERENT RODS RO PREVENT FOLDING AND IMPART RIGIDITY TO THE UNFOLDED RETICULAR STRUCTURE.