Force transmitting structural member

Claim 1

A structural member capable of transmitting both tensile and compressive stresses and of transmitting a predetermined load, comprising an elongated part, said part comprising at least one end section and a separate intermediate section with said at least one end section and intermediate section coupled together as a unit, said at least one end section projecting outwardly from said intermediate section and each capable of transmitting the predetermined load of the structural member, wherein the improvement comprises that said at least one end section includes a first subsection and a second subsection spaced apart in the elongated direction of said elongated part and integrally joined together, said first subsection forming the end of said end section spaced from said intermediate section and having attaching structure adjacent the end of said end sections spaced from said intermediate section, said second subsection having a connecting structure on the exterior thereof for connecting said end section to said intermediate section, the attaching structure in said first subsection arranged for attaching said end section to a different member for transmitting the predetermined load between said elongated part and the different member, said second subsection having grooves formed in the exterior surface on opposite sides thereof with the grooves extending in the elongated direction of said part, the grooves penetrating inwardly from the exterior surface through the connecting structure in the exterior surface of said second subsection so that the base of the grooves are spaced inwardly from the connecting structure, said end section being capable of transmitting the predetermined load in the elongated direction of said elongated part between said first and second subsections, said end section including a fiber-reinforced synthetic plastic material wound in a continuous manner in the elongated direction of said elongated part around both the first and second subsections with the fiber-reinforced synthetic plastic material being located in the grooves in said second subsection and extending transversely of the attaching structure in said first subsection of said at least one end section, and the integrally joined said first and second subsections and said fiber-reinforced synthetic plastic material each having a different E-modulus and said integrally joined first and second subsections and said fiber-reinforced synthetic plastic material wound thereon each being capable of transmitting the predetermined load so that if a failure of said integrally joined first and second subsections occurs said plastic material can transmit the predetermined load.