Ballasted attachment for temporary truss structures
Ballasted Attachment for Temporary Truss Structures or BATTS are used to support Temporary structures typically built in the live event, trade show, and special event marketplace. BATTS provide a quickly deployed, leveled and stable base for which one can mount aluminum box truss too. This allows tower construction equal to the capacity of the truss itself and a flexible outrigger attachment in which many engineering requirements can be achieved. BATTS provide a ballast point to resist the overturn moment and uplift moment of concert roofs and other system that are exposed to environmental conditions. BATTS are constructed from steel and aluminum and possess substantial self-weight.
1. A 1,750 pound ballast base for supporting truss towers, the base comprising: a 3 feet wide by 3 feet long by 2 feet high cube;
a 1 inch thick plate steel top inner plate within the cube, wherein the top inner plate is covered with an ultra-high-molecular-weight (UHMW) polyethylene plastic, and wherein the top inner plate has one or more drainage holes;
a 1 inch thick plate steel top outer plate of the cube positioned above the top inner plate, wherein the top outer plate has a cutout square with 8 inch long sides;
a 14 inch thick plate steel slidable plate between the top inner plate and the top outer plate, wherein the slidable plate is 24 inches wide by 24 inches long;
a 1 inch thick aluminum attachment plate with one or more connection points for connection to a truss tower;
a 1 inch thick plate steel bottom plate of the cube, the bottom plate having one or more drainage holes;
four tubes passing vertically through the bottom plate and top inner plate, each tube having a screw jack for leveling the cube;
four interlocking 1 inch thick plate steel side panels of the cube, wherein the side panels are welded together and each side panel has:
two or more pockets for fork lifts, a lower elevated relief for pallet jacks, one or more horizontal slots for drainage,
one or more vertical slots for hooks to hold one of the screw jacks, and a central hole for accessing an internal cavity of the cube; and
a clamping mechanism comprising a nut and a 1.75 inch grade 5 or grade 8 structural bolt, the clamping mechanism connecting the slidable plate and the attachment plate, wherein rotation and sliding of the slidable plate and the attachment plate is possible when unclamped, and the slidable plate and the attachment plate are fixed in position relative to each other and the cube when clamped.