Method of erecting arched structures

Claim 1

A method of erecting arched structures consisting of a plurality of rigid structured members, comprising the steps of: (a) lining up on a flat surface in an upright position a series of structural members, each member forming a generally triangular truss having a base with two free ends and an apex at a point located above the base; (b) pivotally connecting to each other adjacent ends of the members to form a continuous, interconnected row of members on the surface; (c) tying to each other adjacent apexes by a plurality of cables of progressively increasing lengths, made of an elastically deformable material; (d) hingedly supporting the free end of the first-in-line member; (e) hingedly as-well-as slideably supporting the free end of the last-in-line member to enable sliding movement thereof along the surface in the direction of the hinge support; (f) applying a force against the sliding support to cause its sliding movement while the row of members becomes erected into an arched form above the surface, and the shortest of each of the number of cables become taut; and (g) maintaining the erected form of the row of members until the longest of each of the number of cables becomes elastically taut while the shorter cables become plastically deformed.

Claim 2

A method of erecting arched structures consisting of a plurality of rigid structured members, comprising the steps of: (a) lining up on a flat surface in an upright position a series of structural members, each member forming a generally triangular truss having a base with two free ends and an apex at a point located above the base; (b) pivotally connecting to each other adjacent ends of the members to form a continuous, interconnected row of members on the surface; (c) tying to each other adjacent apexes by a plurality of cables of progressively increasing lengths, made of an elastically deformable material; (d) hingedly supporting the free end of the first-in-line member; (e) hingedly as-well-as slideably supporting the free end of the last-in-line member to enable sliding movement thereof along the surface in the direction of the hinge support; (f) applying a force against the sliding support to cause its sliding movement while the row of members becomes erected into an arched form above the surface, and the shortest of each of the number of cables become taut; and (g) maintaining the erected form of the row of members until the longest of each of the number of cables becomes elastically taut while the shorter cables become plastically deformed.