Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present inven-tion relates to a rectangular buildin~
rnodule for use in a prefabricated building system designed for
exhibition pavilions and like structures.
A typical approach to erecting buildings for exhibition
pavilions and the like has been to construct designs tailored to
a particular requirement and involving conventional steel or wood
constructionO A good example of the la-tter is the exposition site
of Expo 66 and Montreal 7 Canada where countless buildings still
remain without having either been moved or used for alternative
purposes~ Moreover7 often adverse soil conditions require
costlier design measures in order to allow for such factors as
excessive differential foundation settlement.
It is therefore an object o~ the invention to provide an
improved building module for use in assembling buildings. It is
another object of the invention to provide a building module
capable of being used to construct buildings without interior
columns. It is yet another object of the invention to provide a
building module which can be easily dismantled and re-located for
other uses.
SUMMAR~ OF T~IE INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a
rectangular building module which includes two short posts
locatable at diametrically opposite corners of the module for
providing vertical support thereto. At a third corner of the
module there is a long post and a-t a fourth corner there is fourth
corner support means for vertically supporting the module at that
corner. Four right-angled triangular truss members each having an
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acute angle corner, a right anyle end and a hypotenuse end7 are
connectab'le between a long and short post or a shor-t post and the
fourth corner support rneans so as to form a rectangular structure
w;th the trusses orientated vertically and their acute angle ends
and right angle corners Iying in a vertical plane. Preferably,
the connections between the truss members and the columns are
removable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION ~F THE DRAWINGS
The novel fea-tures believed characteristic of the
invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention
itself7 however7 as well as other features and advantages thereof7
will be best understood by reference to the detailed description
which fol'lows, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
Figure I is a perspective view of the framework of a
single module shown in schematic form;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the module of Figure 1
showing an alternative type of roof structure;
Figure 3 is a plan view of the elements that go into
; making up a single module and additional elements for connecting a
single module to an adjacent module to form a columnless
structure;
Figure 4 is a perspective partial view of a truss end
coupling connection to a column member;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a 4 module assembly;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a 6 module assembly;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of a 9 module assembly;
Figure 8 is a schema-tic of a plan view of the 9 module
assembly;
Figure 9 is a perspective view of a 16 module assembly;
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Figure 10 is a front elevation view of the front wall of
Figure l;
Figures ll to 13 are section views of the modular
assemblies of Figures 5, 6, 7, and 9 taken along lines 11~11,
12-127 13-13; and
Figure 14 i s a section view of the modular assembly of
Figure 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFE~ENCE TO THE DRAWINGS
~eferring to Figure 1, there is shown the framework for a
module 10 which consists of a pair of diagonally opposite long
posts 14 and 24 and diagonally opposite short posts 20 and 22
located at the corners of a square or rectangle. A right-angled
15--- triangular truss member 13 i s attached at an acute angle corner 17
; to the short post 20, at right angle corner ~5 to a long post 14,
and at a hypotenuse end 19 to an upper end of long post 14.
Similarly, truss member 38 attaches to short post 20 and long post
24, truss member 36 between long post 24 and short post 22 and
truss member 34 between short post 22 and long post 14. When
assembled horizontal chords 16, 21, 23, and 25 of truss members
13,38,36, and 34, respectively, lie in a common plane.
Eight triangular roof ~anels 40 (see Figure 3~ are
affixed to horizontal chords 16, 21, 23, and 25 of triangular
trusses 13, 38, 36 and 34, respectively, znd are sealed by known
means.
An alternative roof structure is seen in Figure 2 in
which the roof panels~54 are attached to hypotenuse chords 12 and
33 of truss members 13 and 34 and extendson an incline from long
post 14 to short posts 20 and 22. The other half of the roof
formed by panels~56,~are horizontal.
Each -triangular truss 42 as seen in Figure 4 has a
horizontal chord 49, a hypotenuse chord 58 and support arms 43 and
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45. Vertical support is provided by a long post 48 and a short
post 44 when assembled. The remainir,g basic module components
re~uired to make either a single module or interconnect a
plurality of modules are shown also in Figure 4. These consist of
triangular roof panels 40, rectangular wall panels 46, a z-shaped
member 50 and an elongated member 52 which replaces one of the
long pos-ts 48 when adjacent modules are to be interconnected~
Figure 4 shows the coupling connection of the ends of
triangular trusses 42 and posts 44 and 48. The particular
coupling shown is that -for hypotenuse member 58 and long post 4J3.
However, all of the other couplings are made in a similar way. In
this case hypotenuse member 58 is split at its ends by two side
plates 60 and 62 welded to member 58 and having bolts holes 70
therein. Larger access holes in the member 58 permit tightening
of a bolt against plates 60 and 62. The receiving plate 66 of
long post 48 is inserted into the post 48 then welded along seams
74. The plate is also pro~ided with a hole 72 which aligns with
holes 70 in plates 60 and 62. When aligned a bolt is inserted
through holes 70 and 72 and tighened a predetermined amount.
; 20 Two or more modules can be coupled together as shown in
Figure 5. In this case the adjacent long posts of each module are
replaced with an elongated member 52 and each pair of members 52
are interconnected by a z-shaped member 50 forming a central
rectangular block shaped structure 76. Thus all interior posts
may be eliminated by utilizing the block-shaped structure 76. A
typical size for such a structure is 33 meters by 33
meters or approximately 1000 square meters of column free floor
space.
A six module structure is shown in Figure 6. In this
case two rectangular block-shaped structures 52 are used -to extend
the length to slightly more than the width of 3 modules. A
typical width attainable for such an arrangement is 33 meters by
51 meters or approximately 1680 square meters of column free floor
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space. The ~ module structure of Figure 6 has an arrangement of
modules and interconnections similar to -those of four module
assembly of Fiyure 5, except that in order to conserve of the
symmetry of the assembly about both axes. the inner double truss
of the middle module was split and its connection reversed so that
one truss 81 has a pinned connection to the adjacent left module
and the other 83 to the adJacent right module.
The 9 module assembly of Figure 7 makes a typical
structure 5I meters square and has double back-to back- trusses 85
and 87 arranged in a closed loop forming the cyclical symmetry as
exemplified more clearly in Figure 8.
The structure of a single module can be seen in Figure lO
while the configuration along -the interconnection zone of the
assembly of modules shown in Figures 5, 6, 7, and 9 taken along
lines 11-11, 12-12, 13-13 and 14-14, respectively, can be seen
in Figures 11, 1~, 13 and 14, respectively. In the case of the
sixteen module building, the building consists of four 1000 meter
assemblies arranged in a large square. The four corner columns of
four, IOO0 meter buildings meet at the center to form a central
tower 77. In addition, four clusters of columns occurring inside
the large square are removed and replaced by four sets of cables
79 on the central tower 77
The roof panels 40 consist of triangular wood panels made
of glued laminated frame beams and plywood stress-skin infill
panels. The wall panels 46 are composed of glued laminated
mullions and infill plywood panels. The walls are attached to and
are hung from the perimeter roof frame beams and are cannected at
ground level to concrete grade beams to transfer lateral loads
only.
The components of the foregoing assemblies can be made
completely interchangeable so that those components from a four
module structure could be used in four slngle module structures
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and vice versa. However, for particular c7ssemblies such as the9
module one where rnuch greater forces exist in the trusses it may
be desirable to use heavier sections.
While this invention has been described with reference to
an illustrative embodiment, this description is not intended to be
construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the
illustrative embodiment, as well as other embodiments of the
invention, wil`l be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon
reference to this description. It is, therfore, contemplated that
the appended claims will cover any such modifications of
embodiments as fall within the true scope of the invention.
