US20030019167A1

US20030019167A1 - Fast mounted building unit

Info

Publication number: US20030019167A1
Application number: US10/220,095
Authority: US
Inventors: Jean-Louis Baume; Nicolas Baume
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-03-01
Filing date: 2001-02-22
Publication date: 2003-01-30
Also published as: ATE304102T1; AU2001231476A1; WO2001065034A1; EP1259688B1; DE60113237D1; WO2001065034A9; EP1259688A1; EP1130193A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a fast mounted building unit, characterised in that it comprises: a substantially rectangular lower frame (20), four walls (34) set on the vertical members of the frame, an upper frame (20) identical to the lower frame, whereof the vertical members rest on said walls, and four poles (42) which are arranged outside the walls and connecting between them the two frames by their comers.

Description

The present invention concerns a fast mounted building unit.

This type of building unit is especially suitable for temporary accommodation. It can, in particular, serve as a camping bungalow, as site accommodation, as accommodation for disaster victims or as accommodation for exhibitions.

Documents GB 2,334,045 and WO 9831884, for example, describe such embodiments.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a type of building unit giving an even better response to the requirements of simplicity of assembly and low cost.

To achieve this aim, the fast mounted building unit according to the invention is characterised in that it comprises:

a substantially rectangular lower frame;

four walls set on the vertical members of this frame;

an upper frame identical to the lower frame, the vertical members of which rest on said walls, and

four poles arranged outside the walls and connecting the two frames together by their corners.

The building unit according to the invention has, moreover, the following main characteristics:

It also includes a chassis on which rests the lower frame, and means of positioning the frame on the chassis;

These means of positioning consist of four end-pieces which are attached to the chassis and inserted in openings made in the four corners of the frame;

The poles are tubular and their lower ends fit onto the positioning end-pieces;

The upper ends of the poles are provided with end-pieces which are inserted in openings made in the four corners of the upper frame;

The chassis has height-adjustable legs so that it can be arranged horizontally on the ground.

In a two-storey embodiment, the building unit according to the invention includes, moreover:

four new walls set on the vertical members of the upper frame, which then becomes an intermediate frame;

a new upper frame identical to the first two, the vertical members of which rest on these new walls, and

four new poles arranged outside the walls and connecting the intermediate frame and the upper frame together by their corners.

In this two-storey embodiment, the four new poles are tubular and their lower ends fit onto the end-pieces of the four lower poles.

A slab is arranged inside each of the frames, the vertical members of which are advantageously sections having an external horizontal portion on which rest the walls and an internal horizontal portion on which rest the edges of the slabs.

According to an embodiment without external access balcony, the building unit includes a roof consisting of a bar connecting the upper ends of the two rear poles, a bar connecting the ends of the two front poles, a third intermediate bar parallel to the first two, raised above them and carried by the upper frame, and a tarpaulin placed on these three bars.

According to an embodiment with external access balcony, the chassis is extended, at the front, beyond the lower frame and provision is made for two external access balcony poles attached to its end. The building unit then includes a roof consisting of a bar connecting the upper ends of the two rear poles, a bar connecting the ends of the two external access balcony poles, a third intermediate bar parallel to the first two, raised above them and carried by the upper frame, and a tarpaulin placed on these three bars.

In the above two embodiments, the tarpaulin is advantageously attached to the first two bars by means allowing it to be stretched.

Other characteristics of the present invention will become clear from the following description, made with reference to the annexed drawings, on which: [0025]
FIG. 1 is a cutaway general perspective view of a one-storey building unit with external access balcony; [0026]
FIG. 2 represents in detail the important characteristics of the building unit; [0027]
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-section view showing the profile of the vertical members of the frames, and [0028]
FIG. 4 is a general side view of a two-storey building unit with external access balcony.[0029]
As shown by FIGS. 1 and 2, the building unit according to the invention rests on a [0030] rectangular chassis 10, in steel, formed of two longitudinal members 12 and two connecting bars 14. These bars are attached by means of bolts and nuts to pads 16 arranged under the longitudinal members.
The [0031] chassis 10 rests on the ground via steel legs 18 arranged at its four corners and, also, if necessary, along the longitudinal members 12. These legs can be height-adjusted by screws, to allow good horizontal positioning of the chassis.
A [0032] rectangular frame 20 in aluminium rests, via the edges of its two long sides, on the longitudinal members 12. It is slightly less long than the frame, so as to leave free the front part of the chassis 10, which is designed to form an external access balcony.
FIG. 3 shows that the vertical members of the [0033] frame 20 consist of a section comprising a central vertical portion 22, an external horizontal portion 24 located substantially in the middle of the vertical portion, and an internal horizontal portion 26 offset at a lower level than the external portion 24. Moreover, the latter itself comprises a lower vertical edge 28 and an upper rib 30 arranged substantially midway between the edge 28 and the portion 22. It is the end of the horizontal portion 24 which is applied against the longitudinal member 12.
A [0034] lower slab 32 a rests via its perimeter on the internal horizontal portion 26 of the vertical members of frame 20. This slab is preferably made of several juxtaposed panels having a sandwich structure formed, for example, of,two steel sheets between which there is polystyrene insulation. The upper steel sheet is advantageously covered with a conventional interior floor covering.
The [0035] slab 32 a is extended, at the front of the building unit, by an external access balcony 32 b which rests on the two longitudinal members 12. This external access balcony is also made of several juxtaposed panels with a sandwich structure, advantageously covered with an outdoor floor covering.
Four [0036] vertical walls 34, fitted with doors and windows, are arranged on the horizontal portion 24 of the vertical members of frame 20, so that the rib 30 fits into a groove 36 apparent at the base of the walls.
The [0037] walls 34 are composite panels having a sandwich structure, formed, for example, on the outside, of a steel sheet coated with heat-curing lacquer and, on the inside, of a particle board, between which is trapped polystyrene insulation.
On the top of the [0038] walls 34 is found an upper frame 20 identical to the lower frame 20 which is set on the chassis 10. In this case, as shown by FIG. 3, the upper edge of the wall 34 is quite simply positioned in the space bounded by the lower half of the vertical portion 22 and the edge 28.
An [0039] upper slab 32 a, identical to the lower slab, rests like it, via its perimeter, on the internal horizontal portion 26 of the vertical members of the upper frame 20.
To maintain the structure which has just been described, as better shown in FIG. 2, the [0040] lower frame 20 is drilled, at each of its four corners, with a circular opening through which can be passed the upper part of an end-piece of circular cross-section 38, the lower part of which is attached to the internal side of the longitudinal member 12 by means of a bolted plate 40. The upper frame 20 has exactly the same openings.
Provision is made, moreover, for four steel or aluminium [0041] tubular poles 42, of inside diameter slightly higher than the outside diameter of the end-pieces 38, and which fit onto them at their lower end. At their upper end, the poles 42 have a portion of reduced diameter 44, forming an end-piece identical to the end-pieces 38, which is inserted in the circular openings of the upper frame 20.
The dwelling unit proper is thus formed. It still has to be covered. [0042]
For this purpose, the two [0043] longitudinal members 12 receive, at their front end, an end-piece of circular cross-section 38, the lower part of which is attached to the internal side of the longitudinal member by means of a bolted plate 40. These end-pieces receive two additional poles 46, similar to the poles 42, on the end-pieces of which are fitted horizontal supports 48 of length adjustable by screws. The ends of the brackets thus formed are connected by a tubular bar 50. Moreover, to consolidate the assembly, the poles 46 are connected to the closest poles 42 by means of T-bars 52.
At the rear of the building unit, the two [0044] poles 42 also receive horizontal supports 48 of adjustable length which are connected by a second tubular bar 50 identical to the first one.
Finally, the large vertical members of the [0045] upper frame 20 are provided, substantially in the middle of the building unit, with vertical tubular bars 54 connected by a tubular bar 56 identical to the two others.
The [0046] bars 50, 54 and 56 are advantageously made of steel.
The roof thus formed can receive a [0047] tarpaulin 58 which is attached to the two tubes 50 and rests on the central bar 56. The adjustable-length supports 48 allow the tarpaulin to be stretched correctly.
The main stages in assembly of the building unit described above are as follows: [0048]
assembly and horizontal positioning of the [0049] chassis 10;
installation of the [0050] lower frame 20 on the chassis by means of the end-pieces 38;
installation of the [0051] lower slab 32 a in the lower frame and of the external access balcony 32 b at the front of the chassis;
installation of the four [0052] walls 34 on the vertical members of the lower frame;
installation of the four [0053] poles 42 and the two poles 46 on the endpieces 38;
installation of the [0054] upper frame 20 on the outermost end-pieces 44 of the poles;
installation of the [0055] upper slab 32 a in the upper frame;
installation of the roof (bars [0056] 50, 54 and 56); and, finally,
installation and tensioning of the [0057] tarpaulin 58.
It can be seen immediately that such a building unit, the principle of which is based on use of the two [0058] frames 20 and the four outer poles 42, can be mounted and dismounted very rapidly by non-specialised personnel. The cost of its installation is thus substantially reduced.
The use of standardised components (slabs, frames, poles, end-pieces, roof bars) further contributes to cost reduction. [0059]
We shall now refer to FIG. 4, which shows schematically how the single-storey building unit described earlier can become, according to the same principle, a two-storey building unit. [0060]
In this case, instead of installing the roof, four [0061] new walls 34, fitted with windows, are arranged on the horizontal portion 24 of the vertical members of the upper frame 20, which becomes an intermediate frame. One need then merely place, on each of the end-pieces of the four main poles 42, a new pole 42, and on each of the end-pieces of the two external access balcony poles 46, a new pole 46. A new upper frame 20, identical to the two others, is then placed on these walls, in such a way that the end-pieces of the poles 42 are inserted into its corner openings. After that, a new upper slab 32 a is installed in the upper frame.
Finally, all that remains to be done is to install the roof, as was described previously with reference to FIG. 1, the aspects common to the two embodiments being designated by the same reference numbers. [0062]
To ensure that [0063] poles 42 and 46 are maintained on the end- pieces 38 and 44, it is planned to attach them together by means of cotter pins, consisting of a bolt and a screw. In order not to clutter up the drawings, these cotter pins have not been represented.
It goes without saying that if one wishes, in a simplified embodiment, to do without an external access balcony, and hence [0064] poles 46, it is the two front poles 42 which are used to install the roof and tarpaulin.
Of course, it is always possible to juxtapose two one- or two-storey building units as described above. In that case, to obtain a larger single room, the two adjacent walls can be eliminated and the portions of the frames and longitudinal members thus uncovered can be covered with a bridge. [0065]

Claims

1. Fast mounted building unit, characterised in that it comprises:

a substantially rectangular lower frame (20);

four walls (34) set on the vertical members of said frame;

an upper frame (20) identical to the lower frame, the vertical members of which rest on said walls, and

four poles (42) which are arranged in pairs, one at the front and the other at the rear, outside the walls and connecting the two frames together by their corners.

2. Building unit according to claim 1, characterised in that it also includes a chassis (12) on which rests the lower frame (20) and means of positioning said frame on the chassis.

3. Building unit according to claim 2, characterised in that said chassis has height-adjustable legs (18) so that it can be arranged horizontally on the ground.

4. Building unit according to claim 2, characterised in that said means of positioning include four end-pieces (38) integral with the chassis and inserted in openings made in the four corners of the lower frame.

5. Building unit according to claim 4, characterised in that said poles (42) are tubular and their lower ends fit onto said end-pieces (38).

6. Building unit according to claim 5, characterised in that the upper ends of said poles (42) are fitted with end-pieces (44) which are inserted in openings made in the four corners of the upper frame.

7. Building unit according to claim 6, characterised in that it includes, moreover:

four new walls (34) set on the vertical members of the upper frame, which becomes an intermediate frame;

a new upper frame (20) identical to the first two, the vertical members of which rest on said walls, and

four new poles (42) which are arranged in pairs, one at the front and the other at the rear, outside the walls and connecting the intermediate frame and the upper frame together by their corners.

8. Building unit according to claim 7, characterised in that the four new poles (42) are tubular and their lower ends fit onto the end-pieces (44) of the four lower poles.

9. Building unit according to one of the claims 1 to 8, characterised in that it includes a slab (32 a) arranged inside each of said frames.

10. Building unit according to one of the claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the vertical members of said frames (20) are sections having an external horizontal portion (24) on which rest said walls and an internal horizontal portion (26) on which rest the edges of said slabs.

11. Building unit according to one of the claims 1 to 10, characterised in that it includes a roof consisting of a bar (50) connecting the upper ends of the two rear poles, a bar (50) connecting the ends of the two front poles, a third intermediate bar (56) parallel to the first two, raised above them and carried by the upper frame, and a tarpaulin (58) placed on said bars.

12. Building unit according to one of the claims 2 to 10, characterised in that the chassis (12) is extended, at the front, beyond the lower frame, and in that it also includes two external access balcony poles (46) attached at its end.

13. Building unit according to claim 12, characterised in that it includes a roof consisting of a bar (50) connecting the upper ends of the two rear poles, a bar (50) connecting the ends of the two external access balcony poles, a third intermediate bar (56) parallel to the first two, raised above them and carried by the upper frame, and a tarpaulin (58) placed on said bars.

14. Building unit according to one of the claims 11 and 13, characterised in that the tarpaulin is attached to the first two bars by means (48) allowing it to be stretched.