Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE:
Mechanism for securing together building modules.
DESCRIPTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to modular building units for use in the construction of
largely prefabricated offices, hotels and apartment blocks, and buildings of a
similar general nature. Such modular building units are box-like structures
which can be manufactured and fitted-out ofF site and then transported to a
1o construction site for final assembly to form the internal rooms of a
building.
The building is assembled by stacking the individual modules in a horizontal
and vertical array and securing them together to form a rigid structure. The
invention provides a novel mechanism for securing the adjacent modules
together.
Background Art
Particularly in the construction of hotels, apartments and student
accommodation it is known to construct the buildings from lightweight building
modules each of which is a skeletal steel shell formed from lightweight
2o structural steel sections welded into a box-like structure and lined with
boarding such as plasterboard, plywood or oriented strand board (OSB).
Each building module is made initially as such a lined shell, and is then
fitted-
out to the desired standard of internal decoration in a factory before being
transported to the final building site for incorporation into a building.
Individual building modules for erection in a horizontal and vertical array
into
such a building are described and claimed in copending Patent Application No
W068004. Other building modules are known, made primarily from wood
frames and wood boarding.
A difficulty arises in the securing together of the individual modules. A
first
module can be swung into position by crane and bolted or otherwise secured
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to the building foundations. A next module can then be swung into position
alongside, but the edge that lies alongside the foundations immediately
adjacent to the original secured module is obscured from access, and only the
accessible sides of the base of the module can be secures to the foundations.
Similarly with all subsequent storeys of the building, only the first module
to be
swung into position can be secured on all bottom edges. All subsequent
modules have at least one bottom edge obscured by the adjacent module or
modules, so securing is limited to those non-obscured edges.
1o The invention
The invention provides a mechanism for securing together room-sized
building modules in the construction of a building as claimed in the claims
herein. The mechanism can be used in the securing of the first course of
building modules to a foundation or base structure, or for the securing of any
~s subsequent course to the course below. The resulting building is one in
which
each building module is secured along both long sides and preferably along
all sides to the adjacent structure in both the vertical and horizontal
directions.
Drawings
2o Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of eight building modules stacked
in
a 2x2x2 vertical and horizontal array typical of a part of a modular building
constructed from such modules;
Figure 2 is a vertical section through a first embodiment of a securing
mechanism according to the invention securing together four of the modules
25 of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a part of the securing mechanism of Figure
2;
Figure 4 is a vertical section through a second embodiment of a securing
mechanism according to the invention for securing together two horizontally
so adjacent modules of Figure 1, although the side fixing of only one of those
modules is shown in Figure 4 for clarity; and
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the mechanism of Figure 4.
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Referring first to Figure 1, there is shown schematically a part of a building
constructed from modular building units such as those, for example, described
and claimed in copending Patent Application No W068004. The modules are
shown in a 2x2x2 array, although in a complete building the array could be
much larger. Rooms two deep are a common feature of such buildings, as
the outside walls of the modules can be pre-fitted with external windows. The
internal walls can be provided with connecting doors or corridor sections, to
make up the floor plans familiar to all those aware of modern hotel bedroom
layouts. The number of modules in each corridor is dependent on the size of
the site only, and the height'of the building is governed only by the strength
of
the individual units and the rigidity and load-bearing capacity of the lower
units.
In Figure 1 three modules 1, 2 and 3 of the four modules of the ground floor
are visible. A fourth ground floor module, which would have carried the
reference 4, is hidden from view. On the floor above, however, all four
modules 5, 6, 7 and 8 are shown.
if the individual modules were hoisted into position in the above numerical
sequence, it will be appreciated that module 1 can be fixed to the foundations
(or to the floor below if the illustration was at a higher level in the
building) on
all four of its base edges, because none of those edges is obscured by an
adjacent module when module 1 is the only one on site. When module 2 is
hoisted into position alongside, however, it cannot be secured to the
foundations or lower course along its short bottom edge that abuts module 1.
It has in the past been secured only at the other, exposed, bottom edges.
Similarly module 3 has been secured only along two short and one long base
edge; and module 4 would have been secured only along one long and one
3o short edge. Exactly the same restrictions apply when hoisting modules 5 to
8
into position and securing them to modules 1 to 4.
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Figures 2 and 3 show a fixing mechanism according to the invention which
secures all of the modules along all of their edges or sides in both the
vertical
and horizontal directions. The four building modules shown are modules 1, 2,
and 6 of Figure 1, but of course any adjacent set of four modules could be
5 connected together in the same way. The corner detail of the individual
modules is as described and claimed in copending Patent Application No
W068005. Each of the mutually facing vertical walls of the individual modules
is shown as being of double thickness, with the outermost wall of each
module being given the reference 10. The showing of the walls as double
1o thickness is of no relevance to this invention, and is merely a reflection
of the
fact that the individual building modules, which may be as described and
claimed in copending Patent Application No W068004, are make from a
skeletal framework lined internally and finished by fitting-out before being
transported to the building site.
What is of importance to this invention is that each module has secured to its
outer wall a metal channel member 11 of top-hat section which extends
around the outside of the module along each wall that in the finished building
is to face the wall of an adjacent module. One such channel member 11 is
2o secured around the top of each module as shown for the modules 1 and 2;
and one is secured around the bottom of each module as shown for modules
5 and 6. Each individual module therefore has two such channel members 11
around its periphery or part of its periphery, one at a low level and one at a
high level. Each channel member 11 is parallel to the adjacent corner of the
module and spaced from that corner by a constant spacing d.
When the modules are stacked together there is a small but constant spacing
between the adjacent vertical walls. This is a necessary requirement for
acoustic insulation, and is utilized in the fixing mechanism of the invention.
A
so link means 12 is inserted into the spacing left between the adjacent
modules 1
and 2 as shown in Figure 2, and is then secured to the tops of those two
modules before the modules 5 and 6 are swung into position. The link means
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12, shown more clearly in Figure 3, comprises a base strip 13 of galvanized
steel upstanding from which are a regular array, along the length of the base
strip, of resiliently flexible legs 14 each having a detent flange 15 formed
along its upper and outer edge. Below the base strip 13 is a symmetrically
similar regular array of resiliently flexible legs 16 each having a detent
flange
17 formed along its lower and outer edge. The vertical spacing between base
strip and the flanges 15 and 17 is the distance d.
When the link means 12 is inserted into the gap between the adjacent
modules 1 and 2, the legs 16 flex inwardly until the flanges pass under the
channel members 11, and then spring outwardly under their own resilience to
hold the link means firmly down with its base strip 13 abutting the top
surface
of the adjacent modules 1 and 2. The base strip 13 is then secured along its
long edges to the modules 1 and 2 below, for example by screws. Selfi
~5 tapping screws into the structural steel framework of the modules gives a
string fastening; or alternatively the base strip could be plug welded or seam
welded to a peripheral channel in the top edges of the modules. Shown in
Figure 3 at 18 are the locations of the screws or plug welds.
2o When secured as above, the modules 1 and 2 are fastened together along
their top edges in both the vertical and horizontal planes by the link means
12.
Moreover, the upstanding resiliently flexible legs 14 and detent flanges 15
are
positioned to engage with the lower channel members 11 of the next level of
modules 5 and 6 as they are hoisted into position. As each of the modules 5
25 and 6 is lowered into position onto the tops of the modules 1 and 2, the
' resiliently flexible legs flex and return with their decent flanges 15
engaging
above the channel member 11 of the associated module, providing secure
attachment of the next layer of modules around all edges of each module, top
and bottom.
The base portion 13 of each insert 12 has another important function. It
completely covers and closes the gap between adjacent modules. Therefore
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when the modules are being erected on site there is only a short time during
which rain or dirt can travel down between adjacent modules, which is a
highly desirable feature on the building site itself. Also, on completion of
the
building the creation of a continuous chimney or void from base to roof of the
s finished building is avoided, which is a great advantage from a fire
security
viewpoint. In Figure 3 the base strip 13 is shown flat. However a preferred
form is to shape the base strip as a gutter, so that any rain falling on the
building modules during erection of the building is channelled away to one
end or the other of the building.
It will be understood that suitable acoustic insulation will be provided in
practice between the adjacent modules and between the modules and the
inserts 12, although none is shown in the drawings. For example, an acoustic
barrier could be created between adjacent modules by placing a layer of
1 s acoustically insulating material such as neoprene foam between the outer
walis 10 of each module and the channel members 11; or by covering the
outer surface of the channel members 11 with similar material.
Figures 4 and 5 show an alternative securing mechanism according to the
2o invention. Each module has on its outer wall 10 a series of guide channels
21. Each guide channel 21 is mounted on a fixing plate 22 which is secured
to the outer wall 10 for example by welding or by screwing or bolting through
an acoustically insulating layer (not shown). Each guide channel 21 is offset
outwardly from its fixing plate 22 by a distance d1 (Figure 4) in the
direction of
25 the adjacent modules in the building. The distance d1 is less than half of
the
spacing that is left between the adjacent modules when the are hoisted into
position in the final building as illustrated in Figure 1, so that in the
final
building there is a space between the adjacent and mutually aligned guide
channels 21.
Each guide channel has a guide slot 23 formed in its outer face, extending
from a divergent jaw 24 to a parallel-sided cup portion 25. Secured at the
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bottom of the fixing plate 22, and lying inside the guide channel 21, is a
resiliently deformable sheet of spring steel 26 which acts as a detent for a
connecting pin 27 which will be described later. A circular aperture 28 in the
spring decent 26 is positioned to lie alongside the bottom of the cup portion
25
of the guide channel 23 to receive an end of the connecting pin 27.
The connecting pin 27 is located on a lower end of an insert bar 29. When
two modules of a single storey of a building are in their final positions
adjacent
one another as shown in Figure 1 for example, the guide channels 21 of those
two modules are immediately adjacent on another. The insert bar 29 is
lowered into the gap between the adjacent modules and the pin 27 is guided
by the divergent jaws 24 into the cup portions 25 of the two adjacent guide
channels 21. As the inset bar 29 is lowered, it bends the spring steel detents
26 inwardly, but springs back with the ends of the pin 27 received in the
~5 circular aperture 28. The spring steel detents 26 prevent the pin 27 from
moving in the vertical direction, and shoulders 30 of the pin 27 engage behind
the wall of the guide channels 21 defining the cup portions 25 to prevent
lateral movement of one building module relative to the other.
2o The guide channels 21 may be provided at any location and at any height on
the mutually facing outer sides of the building modules. !f they are provided
at
a low level, near to the base of the modules, then it may be desirable to
incorporate additional guide means to facilitate the engagement of the pin 28
in the guide channels 21 as the insert bar is lowered from the top of the
25 adjacent modules.
Desirably as each level of the building is completed a' cover strip of steel
is
secured over the small gap between adjacent modules, to keep out the
weather on site before the building is finished and to act as a fire break in
the
so finished building. Such a cover strip also assists in the securing together
of
the adjacent modules, as it connects together the top edges of the adjacent
modules in the horizontal plane. The invention therefore embraces a building
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method in which such a metal sheet, with a gutter formed therein, is secured
over the junctions between the flops of adjacent modular building units in the
building at each storey. Preferably the gutters formed in those metal sheets
conduct rain water and/or condensation to the outside of the building.
