Rigid frame structure with tensioned membrane cladding

Claim 1

A shelter comprising: a flexible membrane and a frame underneath said membrane supporting said membrane, said membrane cladding said frame. said frame including a plurality of arched pairs, each of said pairs having first and second arched hollow structural sections, each of said arched sections having first and second base ends and a crest intermediate said ends, in each of said arched pairs, said base ends of said first section being spaced from said base ends of said second section, said crest of said first section being adjacent to and hinged to said crest of said second section, said crests of the first and second sections being substantially closer to one another than are said base ends of said first and second sections, said plurality of arched pairs being aligned to form said frame having a convex outer envelope, said crests of each arched sections of all of said pairs being substantially aligned to define a longitudinal crest of said shelter, a plurality of longitudinal flexible support bands extending across said arched pairs substantially parallel to said longitudinal crest and deployed beneath said membrane to provide for said membrane, said support bands being connected solely to said arched pairs, said arched pairs and said longitudinal bands providing substantially the sole support for said membrane, a base, said base ends of said arched sections being supported on said base, coupling means connecting said membrane to said base and holding said membrane in tension over said arched sections, said coupling means providing the sole connection between said membrane and the structural elements of said shelter.