[lifesaviors] Patenting an Ecocity, part 2
- From: "Lion Kuntz" <lionkuntz@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Art Krenzel" <phoenix98604@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 20:28:19 -0800
Hi Art,
Thanks for the reply.
I sympathize with Phil's problem. Until this year, in January, I hadn't
owneda computer since 1996 (except for 3 months I had my own obsolete laptop
which I operated off the cigarette lighter of my vehicle until I spilled a
cup of coffee all over the keyboard. I used library, public access, borrowed
and rented computer time for years, taught myself HTML on library machines
with 1-hour daily time limits.
I feel really fortunate to have DSL, 2.4GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 80 GBHD now.
Costme $1,000 in January, equivilent was seen for $500 by May.
I know that patents don't offer protection. The longest running lawsuit in
UShistory (30 years ago) when I first began inventing, was POLYPROPOLENE
(thestuff they make car battery cases and electric cord insulation out of).
It ran 19 years before the guy won about $37m, but meantime DuPont et al was
making and selling hundreds of million of dollars of the stuff every year
while thumbing their nose at the inventer.
For 30 years I have not bothered to consider patenting -- in fact, I create
inventions, and never do a thing with them because I do not want to benefit
societies of thieves. Some very valuable contributions are likely to go to
mygrave, never to be rediscovered independently in any future era.
In answer to your probing question about seismic rating: That is completely
dependent on implimentation. My goal is intact, undamaged, continuing usable
up to at least 8.0. The materials are high rated. For example, typical
crushing strength of average portland cement concrete is 3 ksi (216 tons per
sq.ft.).
A 3.5" diameter post has a cross-sectional area of
9.62"^2 (3.5 [D] x 0.5 = 1.75 [r],
1.75" x 1.75" = 3.06"2,
3.06 x pi = 9.62"^2).
9.62"^2 x 3,000 psi = 28.863 ksi or 14.43 tons.
One optional method is to use proprietary means to increase the rated
strength of such concrete posts fourfold, by using modern materials. But, at
the rated strength, I use these posts every yard (36", or else 1 meter
spacing in metric countries).
A Palace-sized dwelling is suggested at 1,100 sq.ft. for most of the world
population, so an example with square configuration has four equal length
walls (33' per side, or total 133' perimeter, which calls for 44 posts
spacedroughly equally.
There is an infill between posts of hydraulically-compressed bricks, as in
the top-of-the-line AECT® press mould machine, which are compacted under
100,000 pounds pressure, and are independently tested at 1 ksi compression
(72 tons per sq.ft.). Each 10"x14"x4" brick has a rating of 140 ksi
(compression both vertically or laterally).
The compression strength of the infill bricks of all four walls is rated at
9,051 tons, and the posts are rated at (14.47 tons x 44 posts) 633 tons, for
a total of 9,684 tons of deadload.
It takes roughly 6.25 bags of portland cement to add to aggregates and fines
to construct this loadbearing perimeter wall.
The bricks are mortarless construction, of a proprietary design of my own,
which are joined to each other and to the posts with judicious use of
synthetic fiber fabrics. As you can see below, $8.37 per linear yard (30"
width) is available at very reasonable prices.
www.carb.com\carbon.html[1]
Tensile Strength (min) Ksi = 545 Mpa = 375 The force at which fiber
breaks measured by the area width.
PART #: 3480-30AQ $Lin/yd 16.73 11.71 10.87 10.04 9.20 (@25 or more
rolls) 8.37
Using R. Buckminster Fuller's invention of the Octet Trusses, built from
synthetic fibers, allows triangulated joists which are superstrong in both
tension and compression. Using this means, 8.0 earthquakes can be survived
without damage to the posts, bricks, walls, ceilings or floors.
The Octet Trusses would be encased in fireproof cementitious material cast
inplace using re-usable forms of my own design (also made of synthetic
fibers). By reusing the forms in room after room, in residential unit after
unit, and building after building, the amortization costs per room, per
unit,per building are very minimal. The first building has a one-time hit of
forms costs, which are comparible in price to short-lived or custom wooden
forms.
To put the stresses in perspective: commercial construction building codes
call for 60 psi for the floors. To achieve this corrigated or ridged steel
plates are placed over a welded steel-beam framwork, and this constitutes
thebottom form for cast-in-place flooring (which serves also as ceiling for
the story beneath). Floor slabs are poured 3", 4" and 6", more commonly 4"
or6".
To figure the weight of concrete of this flooring on loadbearing walls, I
assumed a worst-case of 6" (the heaviest version). 1,100 square feet
requires550 cubic feet of concrete @ 6" thick, and figured at 150 lbs/ft^3
is82,500 pounds, or 42 tons. FOUR concrete posts of the 44 can uphold this
deadload.
Adding 60 psi (4 tons per sq.ft.) over the entire floor adds 9.5 million
POUNDS. 9.5m lbs = 4,752 TONS.
It would take 88 concrete posts to uphold this deadload without the
contributing strength of the bricks. The number of required concrete posts
are double the number actually used. Looking down my conveniently provided
table of Concrete Posts Specs
<http://www.ecosyn.us/ecocity/Palaces/Concrete/Cement_Posts_Specs.html[2]> I
see that for double the strength I need to upgrade to 5" posts. Or I can use
octet-trusses internally, higher grade concrete, synthfiber-wrap the posts,
etc., etc., to upgrade capacity. However, Posts and Bricks together uphold
9.684 kilotons, and the ceiling load is only 4.8 kilotons.
There is 2 times more compressive strength than is required. That is the
safety factor. If the ceiling slab is reduced to 4" thickness than the
weightis reduced one third, etc.
At 6 stories there is 9 times the weight, so a 4.8 kiloton ground floor
residence has to support 43.2 kilotons at its' base bond beam.
The 3,000 psi concrete of the floor bond beam has a nominally rated capacity
of 27.930 kilotons. The ground floor bond beams are the weakest links.
By subdividing the loads through inclusion of additional load-bearing walls
internally, and/or upgrading the compressive strength concrete formula of
thebond beams in the lower levels, this problem is abated. However, this is
aworst-case scenario, where 60 pounds per square inch (4 tons per square
foot) are uniformly added to each and every square inch of each and every
floor all the way up to the roof of the building.
In actual practice, ziggarat buildings weigh down with the maximum load in a
20x20 meter section of the sixth story profile. This is only 4% of the
building footprint. Each succesively lower story disperses the weight load
over a wider area of total building footprint. The triangulated octet
girderstransfer loads from high concentration areas to areas only supporting
five, four, three or two stories. The theoretical four-tons-per-square-foot
of six loaded stories cannot exist in 96% of the building footprint.
Notice, the above example residential unit is a square configuration,
clearspan of 33' by 33'. It provides for no additional loadbearing internal
walls. If it was subdivided with one mid-span internal wall the safety
factorincreases by double to 4 times the required compression strength.
The brick walls and posts are joined at top and bottom with poured-in-place
concrete bond beams (12"h x 10"w). There are 110 cu.ft. of octet reinforced
bond beams between each floor. This adds ten more tons weight per bond beam
per floor. This bond beam has a 3,000 psi rating as normal, or 55,860,000
pounds of compression (27.93 kilotons).
The buildings are expected to be mixed-use, with commercial activities on
theground floor. Such activities will at times and places include
supermarkets, theaters, swimming pools, department stores, and other
activities which benefit from high ceilings and extended clearspans. In such
cases 3-dimentional octet girder networks can support the upper weight and
distribute it. (This may be hard to visualize for some, and I will prepare
3Dmodels illustrating the meaning of my statements.)
The foundational structures will need to be different, and there are a
plentitude of examples which can be employed. Try picturing a dome inside a
building.
I can keep going with the weight of 1-foot-thick poured-in-place
octet-reinforced triangulated joists, but you get the point. These buildings
have no wood, not one stick, and except for escalators or elevators, I
haven't found a need for a pound of steel. Probably steel can be totally
replaced with stronger, more durable material for escalators and/or
elevatorsas well.
All doors, window frames, built-in cabinets (structures, tops, shelves,
doors) are composites. Moulding sinks, toilets, tubs and shower enclosures,
are all simple and much cheaper than buying them ready-made. Every piece can
have synergistic structural values, hold the building together more tightly
using custom-designed components which both serve a primary function and
alsoserve an integrative structural function.
It is not my profession to be a civil/structural engineer, nor architect. It
is my task (and the task of the working group) to assemble as much of the
data into easily accessible form for the use by licenced engineers and
architects, so they can most quickly review all of the facts and expedite
completion of their function. This ultimately results in economizing on
engineering and architectural billing. Since we have no volunteer engineers
or architects within the working group, it is left for those of us less
qualified to do as much as we can, and bring the data in a mostly completed
form to the professionals.
-----
http://www.ecosyn.us/ecocity/Palaces/Water_and_Sewer/Seahorse_Purifier/Seahor
'se.JPG[3]
Don't feel obligated. I just like puzzels and riddles, so I put up the
Seahorse as a challenge.
The input to the "Seahorse" is sewage slurry from the steamer pasteurizer.
Enters from the left-top, a continuation of picture:
<http://www.ecosyn.us/ecocity/Palaces/Water_and_Sewer/Counting_Calories/Count
ing_Calories_Splitz1/Calories_Splitz1.htm[4]>
The output is essentially identical to the drinking-water output in the
seperate potable water plumbing. A smaller version of the system is seen in
pictures shown at:
<http://www.ecosyn.us/ecocity/Palaces/Water_Works/Water_Pump_02.html[5]>
As explained below, significant details are omitted from the drawing, but
canbe imagined from the hints in prior letter.
-----
Uwe is a subscribed member of the Palaces Working Group. I have shared with
him how the Seahorse is supposed to work in theory. I have additional pages
on my website which I share by private invitation instead of public
announcements. Eventually all of them will be announced with URLs made
public, but I do have password-protected directory provisions with my
webhosting plan for private group data distributions.
-----
Habitat for Humanity (HFH) does their own financing. They receive 501(c)(3)
cash donations which they use for projects. Then, as people pay their
mortgages, the money is recycled for the next constructions. HFH operates on
five continents already, including many places where building codes do not
exist. These Palaces are not shoddy construction, and lack of building codes
does not imply substandard housing just because there are no inspectors
watching every step. The future residents commit to 500 hours of sweat
equity, so they are on the jobsite seeing that their future house is well
built and will be strong and safe.
Habitat homes average 1,000 sq.ft. for 3 bedroom version, which puts them
right in the ballpark for Palace units.
Global Ecovillages COULD (I suppose, if they wanted to) contract to build
ecovillages with Habitat for Humanity as a partner.
The average cost of a Habitat home is $46,000, including land purchase.
A habitat home-buyer normally provides 500 hours of labor in building their
home (Palace "condo"), which is more manhours than it actually takes using
myaccelorated building system. There are no saws on a Palace jobsite,
practically no hammering. The 5,300 bricks needed for each unit walls can be
placed by two-person teams rotated every two hours in about 3 hours time to
complete each dwelling unit.
This is 5.5 hours production from the AECT 5000 earth-block-making machine.
In other words, it takes two machines to keep up with the bricklayer teams.
In a temporary building onsite, the posts can be cast, and the octet trusses
assembled. Electrical conduits and plumbing pipes can be pre-mounted in the
octet trusses at time of assembly. The composite structures are so
lightweight that women can place them as easily as men.
The manhours per dwelling unit are probably 50 hours total, of mostly
unskilled, untrained general construction labor. This total does not include
carpet-laying, painting, tiling, electric and plumbing, performed by hired
specialty trades.
The several concrete pours require a small skilled team, and some specialty
concrete pumping equipment. All of the equipments required can be amortized
in the first building constructed and provide enough "under original factory
warranty" service to makes five or ten Palaces. After the warranty period
expires, the future maintenance costs on equipment probably averages a
coupleof percent of original purchase price per additional building
constructed. It costs two gallons of diesel per 1,000 blocks.
I might point out that AECT machines are patented. I have modifications to
their machines which greatly strengthen the blocks and simplify laying
through interlocks. While interlocking earth-bricks shapes are patented by
several inventors, not every possible configuration is secured -- mine, for
example, is not yet patented. I also am creating a human powered machine
which presses blocks using a wheel-based lever system: each crank of the
wheel presses a block in one part of the cycle, ejects it, charges with new
fill, presses again, etc. I won't know until I am well into it if it can be
bicycle operated by pedal power. The problem I have with all the block
machines I have seen are the fill bin is so high off the ground. It will be
some time before I can have someting ready to go, so meanwhile, AECT has a
product on the market, if it can be modified for the special blocks I want.
GEV could make healthy roll-over profits working with HFH. $46K per
householdfor 1,000 sq.ft. homes can be a significant chunk of change when
building for 118 households at a time ($5.4m). Expect HFH to balk at
$46K/per, but on 2.5 acre lots and $6k or $7K in basic structural materials
costs, and almost no labor costs (using "sweat equity"), even charging $23k
per unit gives up to 50% profits.
-----
It is my sad personal experience of the low ethics of the society. As you
well know, patents wouldn't even be necessary if it was not for crooks more
clever than inventors.
GEV (except you) has not shown interest (perhaps because they already have
much better plans in the works that I don't know about).
From what I can determine, GEV is a website. Period.
There is not one page for an actual project which can be toured, not one
spoton the map where a project is specifically located, not one progress
report.
Where is #001 of the hundred global ecovillages?
While I know I have key technologies which can spell the difference between
success and failure (low-energy water purification, sewer treatment), what I
don't know is who I am dealing with, and their level of integrity. I
discoverthese things through interactions, and over time. I have interacted
with you over time.
My records and archives indicate that Phil Hawes initiated email
correspondance with me, person-to-person, during the ecocity conference.
There was a brief exchange.
My records and archives indicate that you initiated email correspondance
withme, person-to-person, during the ecocity conference. There was also a
brief exchange. Neither of you subsequently subscribed to the Palaces
WorkingGroup e-list (LifeSaviors), but before the conference concluded Phil
addressed the ecocity list with a statement of dedication to moving on with
the GEV plan, and "possible incorporation of Lion Kuntz's Palaces concept".
Not only can somebody come back with a fresh coat of paint, they can beat me
to the patent office if I blab too much, and then I have to watch them sell
my productivity as theirs and I get sued if I use my own invention myself. I
have already made one crook into a millionaire. It would be nice if people
went on record with where they are at, and where they expect to be at some
predicted time in the future. I would feel better having signed
non-disclosure agreements in hand before I make GEV millionaires. If you
agree not to compete with me, on some narrow issues, I can afford to be
generous and put keys to success into your hands -- after all, you are
working on eco-communities just like I am.
If I don't keep my word and ditch the email addresses of GEV people whom
havebeen non-responsive, why should they trust my word in the future?
Like you, I need to make a living. I have no contractual relationship with
any of you. Neither am I in a position to require responses or speedy
responses, nor am I obligated to make them myself.
As long as the conversation is interesting I will continue with it, but as a
person whom has registered patents yourself fully knows, there is
informationI keep private, and its very subject matter has not even been
discussed yet.
The reason to "Patent an Ecocity" is for the considerable publicity value --
nobody has ever patented a city before, and to do so qualifies as "news".
Sincerely, Lion Kuntz
----- Original Message -----
From: "Art Krenzel"
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 08:01:25 -0700
To: "Lion Kuntz"
Subject: Re: Patenting an Ecocity
Lion,
Phil has been complaining that he is having difficulty getting email. He
lives at two addresses and has a funky old portable computer which gives him
fits.
The reason you don't get quick replies from me (I can only speak for myself)
is that I am busy earning a living and Eco-cities is a part time activity.
In your work with Uwe, what is the seismic rating of the building you were
looking at with the new block design and what is the safety factor in the
design? Are there any actual testing results or is the performance data
ethereal?
One of the problems with patents is that you have to have the money to
protect them. Any good idea will come back at you with a new coat of paint
or some different reinforcing and they will be off and running. Do not
thinkthat just because you have a patent on an idea that the crooks will
leave you alone. As you have already surmised, there are more of them than
there are of us in the world. :-)
I have not taken the time to analyze the Seahorse Water Purifier because all
I have is a sketch with no inputs or outputs.
One of the problems you will encounter with your going to the Habitat for
Humanity is getting financing for the house. Bankers are the biggest single
orifice to restrict the introduction of new ideas that I have ever seen. It
can be summarized by saying, "those who have the job to say yes, normally
sayno". In a risk taking business, they are low risk taking players and
makethe introduction of advanced concepts very difficult. They are living
friction and inertia to the advancement of new ideas. Other than that,
thereare the Venture Capitalists (also known as Vulture Capitalists) who
take51% of the deal for meager capital which must be paid back in two years
or less. That has been my experience in commercializing new concepts. I
hope yours is better.
I think the patent library is a wonderful source of inspiration on new
concepts. It is nice to know that we have such instant access to the heart
of new inventions. The internet is wonderful!
Art
----- Original Message -----
From: Lion Kuntz
To: Art Krenzel
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 12:57 AM
Subject: Patenting an Ecocity
Hi Art,
It's been a week since you told me to hang in there, and ten days since I
wrote the "GEV team" using the email addresses from the GEV website.
Nothing.Zip, Zilch, Nada.
[To: globalecovillage@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx[6], cshimko01@xxxxxxxxxxxxx[7],
philhawes@xxxxxxxxxxxx[8], phoenix98604@xxxxxxxxxxxxx[9],
bzabelhome@xxxxxxx[10,leigh@xxxxxxxxxxxx[11], tarenx@xxxxxxxxxxx[12]]
You are the only one who wrote back, and you do not consider yourself
"involved" other than as part-time science adviser.
I spent a very enjoyable weekend in the online patent library.
blah...blah...blah...
--
_______________________________________________
Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com[13]
CareerBuilder.com[14] has over 400,000 jobs. Be smarter about your job
search
--- Links ---
1 http://www.carb.com\carbon.html
2 http://www.ecosyn.us/ecocity/Palaces/Concrete/Cement_Posts_Specs.html
3
http://www.ecosyn.us/ecocity/Palaces/Water_and_Sewer/Seahorse_Purifier/Seahorse.JPG
4
http://www.ecosyn.us/ecocity/Palaces/Water_and_Sewer/Counting_Calories/Counting_Calories_Splitz1/Calories_Splitz1.htm
5 http://www.ecosyn.us/ecocity/Palaces/Water_Works/Water_Pump_02.html
6 mailto:globalecovillage@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
7 mailto:cshimko01@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
8 mailto:philhawes@xxxxxxxxxxxx
9 mailto:phoenix98604@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
10 mailto:bzabelhome@xxxxxxx
11 mailto:leigh@xxxxxxxxxxxx
12 mailto:tarenx@xxxxxxxxxxx
13 http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup
14 http://corp.mail.com/careers
Other related posts:
- » [lifesaviors] Patenting an Ecocity, part 2
