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Title: Ducting construction for engineering design models
Claims: I claim: 1. A method of fabricating a detailed, three-dimensional engineering design model of a large and complex installation such as a chemical processing plant or a power generating station, including arranging a plurality of rectangular tables adjacent each other to provide a supporting base for the model; positioning three-dimensional plastic representations of ducting, beams, piping, valves, fittings, vessels, and associated equipment on said base in a manner consistent with the positions of corresponding components of the installation; connecting said plastic representations to each other by solvent welding; and cutting said model vertically into rectangular sections suitable for shipping, each section being supported by a different table, wherein the improvement comprises: providing an assortment of ducting fabrication segments, each of said segments being a flat, solid member of rectangular outline having longitudinal, step-shaped, nesting configurations extending along its two longest parallel edges, said assortment including segments of various colors and dimensions; and connecting segments selected from said assortment by solvent welding in groups of four so that said nesting configurations interlock to form representations of said ducting, all members of each of said groups being the same color. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of providing transparent segments as part of said assortment and assembling groups of said transparent segments to form transparent ducting. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of marking the edges of said transparent ducting with selected colors to color code said transparent ducting. 4. An engineering design model of a large and complex installation such as a chemical processing plant or a power generating station including color-coded representations of heating, ventilating and air conditioning ducting, each of said representations comprising four flat, solid ducting fabrication segments of rectangular outline made of injection-molded acrylic plastic, and having longitudinal, step-shaped, nesting configurations extending along its two longest parallel edges, said segments being interlocked and solvent-welded to form a hollow structure of rectangular outline. 5. The engineering design model of claim 4, wherein said segments are transparent. 6. The engineering design model of claim 5, wherein said segments are color coded on at least one edge thereof. 7. For use in representing ducting in an engineering design model of a complex installation such as a chemical processing plant or a power generating station, an assortment of ducting segments for forming elongated hollow structures having rectangular cross sections of a variety of predetermined sizes and proportions, each of said segments comprising a flat solid member made of injection molded acrylic plastic having step-shaped, longitudinal, nesting configurations forming inside corners extending along each of its two longest parallel edges, whereby said segments can be interlocked and attached by solvent welding, said assortment including segments of various dimensions and colors. 8. The assortment of ducting segments of claim 7, further comprising transparent ducting segments. 9. The assortment of ducting segments of claim 8 wherein at least some of said transparent ducting segments are color coded on one edge thereof. Other info: Inventors: Wanderman, Herbert A. (Pasadena, CA, US) Application Number: 801856 Filing Date: 1977-05-31 Publication_date: 1978-06-20 Assignee: Engineering Model Associates, Inc. (Monterey Park, CA) Primary Class(es): 434/72 434/370, 446/476 Other Classes: US Patent Ref:
Other Refs: Primary Examiner: Skogquist, H. S. Assistant Examiner: Attorney: Fulwider, Patton, Rieber, Lee & Utecht |
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