Foldable structure

Claim 1

A STRUCTURE COMPRISING: A HUB, A PLURALITY OF RIGID INEXTENSIBLE SPOKES, FIRST JOINT MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING ONE END OF EACH OF SAID SPOKES TO SAID HUB FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A FIRST FOLDED POSITION WHEREIN SAID SPOKES ARE DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO ONE ANOTHER AND A SECOND DEPLOYED POSITION WHEREIN SAID SPOKES EXTEND RADIALLY OF SAID HUB, A PLURALITY OF RIGID RIM ELEMENTS EACH HAVING AN END ADJOINING AN END OF AN ADJACENT RIM ELEMENT TO PROVIDE A SERIES OF ELEMENT JUNCTIONS, A PLURALITY OF SECOND JOINT MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING THE OTHER END OF RESPECTIVE SPOKES TO ADJOINING ENDS OF ADJACENT RIM ELEMENTS AT RESPECTIVELY DIFFERENT ONES OF ALTERNATE JUNCTIONS, EACH OF SAID SECOND JOINT MEANS COMPRISING A CONNECTING PORTION RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID SPOKES AND A SEPARATE JOINT MEANS BETWEEN SAID CONNECTING PORTION AND EACH OF THE ADJACENT RIM ELEMENTS, PAIRS OF SAID SECOND JOINT MEANS AT MUTUALLY REMOTE ENDS OF A PAIR OF ADJACENT RIM ELEMENTS HAVING AXES SUBSTANTIALLY COINCIDENT WHEN SAID SPOKES ARE IN SAID DEPLOYED POSITION, THEREBY PERMITTING MOVEMENT OF A PAIR OF SAID RIM ELEMENTS BETWEN ADJACENT SPOKES BETWEEN ARE DISFOLDED POSITION WHEREIN SAID RIM ELEMENTS ARE DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO AND JUXTAPOSED WITH THE SPOKE CONNECTED THERETO WHEN SAID SPOKES ARE IN SAID DEPLOYED POSITION, AND A SECOND DEPLOYED POSITION WHEREIN SAID RIM ELEMENTS EXTEND LATERALLY FROM SAID SPOKES, INDEPENDENT OF FOLDING OF OTHERS OF SAID RIM ELEMENTS, THIRD JOINT MEANS PIVOTALLY INTERCONNECTING ADJOINING RIM ELEMENT ENDS WHICH ARE REMOTE FROM SAID SPOKES IN THE DEPLOYED POSITION OF SAID RIM ELEMENTS, PAIRS OF SAID THIRD JOINT MEANS AT MUTUALLY REMOTE ENDS OF A PAIR OF ADJACENT RIM ELEMENTS HAVING AXES SUBSTANTIALLY COINCIDENT WITH AN AXIS OF ONE OF SAID FIRST JOINT MEANS WHEN SAID RIM ELEMENTS ARE IN THEIR FOLDED POSITION, THEREBY PERMITTING FOLDING OF ONE SPOKE IN UNISON WITH THE JUXTAPOSED RIM ELEMENTS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED THERETO INDEPENDENT OF FOLDING OF OTHERS OF SAID SPOKES, AND MEANS FOR LIMITING PIVOTAL MOTION OF SAID SPOKES AND SAID RIM ELEMENTS ABOUT SAID JOINT MEANS TO THE COINCIDENT AXES.