AU2003227102B2 - A transportable building and chassis therefor - Google Patents

Description

WO 2004/097131 PCT/AU2003/000497 A transportable building and chassis therefor The present invention relates to a transportable building and in particular to a transportable building including a chassis that can be engaged by a forklift to lift the building for either loading or unloading from a truck or for attaching wheeled axles to the chassis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Camps have been used for many years to provide shelter and accommodation especially in remote areas. This is especially so in the case of remote camps that are assembled using a number of transportable buildings, some of the buildings used as sleeping quarters, others as the kitchen and dining room facility and others still as recreational areas. It is not uncommon for a camp to consist of sixty to eighty buildings that can accommodate several hundred people.

These camps are completely self-contained in that the transportable buildings provide all of the facilities for a small remote community that may be needed in a particular area.

Accordingly these camps include all of the modemrn day facilities such as electrical power, water, sewerage, and communication. They therefore also include their own power generation systems, water distribution systems, sewerage treatment plants, and communication facilities such as satellite dishes. The camps typically require a considerable amount of skill, time, and effort to assemble and commission. Once constructed these camps can however provide accommodation indefinitely if the infrastructure is maintained..

In some instances the camps have to be portable or mobile. For example, during construction of infrastructure across a vast area, such as roads or pipelines supplying water or gas, a particular location for a camp housing the construction workers, may only be viable for several weeks or months. As the pipeline is progressively constructed, there is a balance between the economic cost of the travel time of workers housed in the camp to the current work site and time spent constructing the actual pipeline. It is therefore accepted in the industry that if the travel time between a camp and the work location is more than an hour, a new camp has to be constructed that is closer to the work location. At that time, a new camp is therefore constructed one hour ahead of the current construction location or generally up to several hundred kilometres away from the existing camp.

A camp for several hundred people takes some time to construct and commission.

Accordingly, construction work on the particular project has to stop for one or two weeks whilst the camp is relocated. Alternatively there are two duplicate camps used so that whilst WO 2004/097131 PCTIAU20031000497 2 one camp is being used the other is being de-commissioned from one location to be assembled at another location. Either solution has its disadvantages. The first increases the time for a particular project whilst the second is a duplication of infrastructure that requires significant capital.

One of the more time intensive steps in decommissioning and commissioning a camp includes physically transporting the buildings when all of the utilities have been disconnected.

Current techniques of transporting a building include using a crane to lift the building onto the back of a truck, usually a flatbed semi-trailer. Similarly a crane is then used to unload the building from the semi-tailer at the new location. The crane is connected to a lifting hook on each corner of the building. This procedure has several distinct disadvantages.

Lifting a building using a crane requires that the crane be carefully connected to the building and that the lifting cables are properly secured. This procedure is also very dependent on the weather for even moderate winds cause the building to sway making it difficult to handle and inherently unsafe. Even in conditions of no wind, supporting a building using a crane always causes the building to sway requiring careful manoeuvring and handling to stabilise the building and ensure its correct orientation before it can be placed on the truck. Thus, not only does one require a crane driver and operator, there are usually required at least two to three additional people to assist in loading and unloading the building from the semi-trailer. Further, since the cables are tied to the comners of rectangular buildings they rub against the sidewalls often damaging them.

Another more time intensive step in commissioning a building includes providing modular block supports that the building usually rests upon. This procedure also has several distinct disadvantages in that it requires a number of experienced people and simply takes time.

A solution to this problem has been proposed in Applicant's co-pending International Patent Application entitled "A transportable building and self-levelling chassis therefor", whose contents are incorporated by reference herein, where the reader is taught a chassis anid hence building that includes self-supporting or stabilising adjustable legs. These legs obviate the need for the use of concrete blocks and make it relatively simple to position the building whether using a crane or forklift to lift the building. However, the present invention can equally well be used on buildings that do not include this improvement and it is not intended to limit the present invention to include the self-levelling chassis.

WO 2004/097131 PCT/AU2003/000497 3 It is an object of the present invention to overcome at least some of the abovementioned problems or provide the public with a useful alternative.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore in one form of the invention there is proposed a transportable building having a longitudinal chassis said chassis including: two elongate spaced apart inner load-supporting I-beams disposed parallel to a longitudinal axis of said chassis, each I-beam including a top and bottom flange connected by a web, each of said I-beams having respective front and rear ends; a plurality of elongate beams extending laterally across said top flange of both I-beams and adapted to support a floor of said transportable building; a front member and a rear member connected normal to and across the respective front and rear ends of said I-beams; a frame connected to and extending around the plurality of elongate beams, said frame adapted to support side walls of said building; a pair of spaced apart parallel longitudinal channels extending through said web of both said I-beam, said channels adapted to be engageable by forks of a forklift for lifting said transportable building.

The use of the channels enables an operator to quickly and easily lift and placed down the whole building whether it be for attaching wheeled axels or simply loading and unloading from the back of a truck.

Preferably said frame includes a J-shaped cross-section including a channel defined by an outer wall, bottom and an inner wall, said inner wall extending upwardly along the ends of said elongate beams, said frame including an inwardly directed flange extending horizontally from the top of said inner wall inwardly across the top of said elongate beams, said channel of a width adapted to support sidewalls of said building.

Such an arrangement enables the sidewalls defining the building to be quickly assembled and form an integral structure.

Preferably said chassis is made from steel.

Preferably said elongate beams are tubular beams having a rectangular cross-section.

Of course other cross-sections may equally well be used, provided that they posses sufficient strength.

WO 2004/097131 PCT/AU2003/000497 4 Preferably each said longitudinal channel includes a plurality of spaced apart stiffening plates extending laterally across said channel. This ensures that the lifting force is distributed across the channel.

Preferably extending between each said I-beams and said front and rear members are a plurality of bracing members. Some fthese members may extend horizontally and other may yet extend vertically.

In preference said elongate beams and said front and rear member are welded to said I-beams. Typically, the whole chassis would be constructed by welding. However, the reader should appreciate that instead of welding other means may be used to attach the various members together including the use of nuts and bolts as well as various interference fits.

In preference each I-beam includes a front and rear section whose vertical extent is smaller than the vertical extent of the centre section of the I-beam, said centre section and the front and rear sections joined by a front and rear tapered sections where said bottom flange converges towards said top flange. This smaller cross-section enables the chassis to accommodate wheeled axles.

Preferably disposed within said front section is a downwardly projecting pin of the type adapted to engage a dolly of a truck.

Preferably said pin is mounted in a plate, said plate welded in between cross-members extending between said I-beams.

In preference the rear section of each I-beam is adapted to engage a wheeled axle.

Preferably said channels are positioned adjacent said top flange of said I-beams. This helps to insert the forks of a forklift into the channels where, for example, the terrain underneath the building may not be horizontal but may in fact be rough and rocky.

Preferably the width of said chassis is adapted to be smaller than the width of a conventional road-train.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several implementations of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention.

In the drawings; WO 2004/097131 PCT/AU2003/000497 Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of using a crane toposition a typical building on a site; Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of using a crane to load a typical building onto a semi-trailer; Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of unloading a building embodying the present invention from a semi-trailer using a forklift; Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of positioning a building embodying the present invention onto a site a using a forklift; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the chassis of the building according to the present invention; Figure 6 is an enlarged detailed view of part of the chassis of Figure Figure 7 is a top view of the chassis of Figure Figure 8 is a side view of the chassis of Figure Figure 9 is an end view of the chassis of Figure Figure 10 is a schematic perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a building embodying the present invention when being used to mount on wheels; Figure 11 is a perspective view of the chassis of the building of Figure 9; Figure 12 is a top view of the chassis of Figure Figure 13 is a side view of the chassis of Figure Figure 14 is an end view of the chassis of Figure 10; and Figure 15 is a perspective view of the dolly used for mounting the chassis of Figure DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Although the description includes exemplary embodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts.

WO 2004/097131 PCT/AU2003/000497 6 Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 there is shown the standard conventional method of handling a building for transportation and positioning on a site. Building 10 includes a chassis 12 having lifting points 14 on each comer of building 10. Cables 16 are connected at one end to each corner 14 of the building 10 and at the other to a crane 18 using a central lifting cable 20. This arrangement allows the crane to lift the building 10 from a site where stacks of bricks 22 (shown in Figure 1) usually support it onto truck 24 (shown in Figure 2).

Those skilled in the art will be well aware of the problems of using this type of arrangement. The crane has to be operated very slowly to ensure that it is under controlled movement and does not swing or rotate since such a building has a fair amount of inertia, a problem that is exacerbated with wind.

Using a crane also requires several people including the crane operator and several riggers that ensure that the cables are secured to the building and that any swinging or rotational motion of the building is minimised.

A further problem occurs where a building may have unequally distributed weight along its longitudinal axis causing the building to tilt once lifted. This is also a safety problem and can cause the building to be damaged.

According to the present invention there is proposed a transportable building including a chassis that is adapted to be engaged by a forklift both for unloading or loading.

Such an arrangement has numerous advantages over the prior art in that it only requires one operator, that is, the driver of the forklift. It enables a number of buildings to be quickly loaded and unloaded even in windy conditions and it overcomes problems of unequal weight distribution. Without any cables that need to be tethered the speed of the operation is greatly increased leading to increased productivity when assembling a camp. As discussed further on, such an arrangement enables the building not only to be transportable by a truck but also to include detachable axles enabling the building to be wheeled to a new site.

The advantages are clearly illustrated in Figure 3 and 4 where according to the present invention a forklift 26 can lift building 10 from truck 24 by engaging channels 28 within the chassis 30. Once the forklift has engaged the building it can simply drive the building to any desired position relatively safely and quickly whilst minimising the crew necessary.

The transportable building 10 includes a floor 32, sidewalls 34, and a roof 36 mounted on a chassis 38 that are rigidly and fixedly interconnected to form the building The chassis 38, illustrated in detail in Figures 5-9, is configured to enable the building 10 to WO 2004/097131 PCT/AU2003/000497 7 be transported by forklift 26. The chassis 38 includes two longitudinal laterally spaced parallel I-beams 40 and 42. These I-beams are disposed with their webs extending vertically and their flanges extending horizontally.

Pluralities of parallel spaced beams 44 are secured to and project laterally outwardly across the top of said I-beams 40 and 42. The spaced beams provide the support for the floor 32 that typically includes timber sheets. A rectangular frame 46 extends around the perimeter of the chassis and includes an upper horizontal flange 48 secured to and supported on the outer ends of beams 44, a vertical web 50 extending downwardly alongside the ends of said beams 44, a outwardly extending bottom surface 52 having an outer wall 54, the web bottom surface 52 and outer wall 54 defining a groove 56 adapted to support sidewalls 34 therein. Thus the frame has a typical J-shaped cross section.

The outer wall 54 is typically lower than the web 50 so that, in part, any moisture that collects within the groove 56 flows out away from the building 10 rather than flooding the floor.

Located centrally and extending laterally through the web 58 of the I-beams 40 and 42 are the channels 28 there being two channels 60 and 62 whose separation is selected to be the typical separation used by heavy lifting forklifts (although most forklifts have adjustable separation of the forks enabling the chassis of the building to be constructed using the most appropriate separation). The channels 60 and 62 are substantially identical including a longitudinal bottom surface 64, longitudinal upward sides 66, and a top surface 68.

Extending laterally (in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the I-beams 40 and 42) across the top surface 68 are vertical plates or stiffening webs 70 providing reinforcing since during a lifting action, most of the force is experienced by the top surface 68. Typically three such plates 70 are welded firmly to the top surface 68.

Reinforcing cross-members 72 are welded to the webs 58 of the I-beams 40 and 42 and provided reinforcing for the chassis 38. Symmetrically opposing C-channels 74 extend outwardly from the web 58 of each I-beam 40 and 42 and are attached to the underside of the channel bottom surface 52 to provide further support for the frame 46. There are typically two sets of C-channels located generally mid-way between the forklift channels 60, 62 and the ends of the I-beams 40 and 42. Angle braces 76 are welded between each C-channel 72 and the web 58 of the I-beams 40 and 42.

The C-channels not only provided additional support for the chassis, but also provide an anchoring point for the attachment of various utilities to the underside of the chassis 38, WO 2004/097131 PCT/AU2003/000497 8 such as sewerage boxes (not shown). They can also be used to provide a support for the running of various utilities under the chassis such as water and sewerage pipes.

Extending laterally across the ends of the I-beams 40 and 42 are front and rear outer members 78 and 80 that provide additional structural support for the chassis. Bracing is further provided between the I-beams and the members including internal angle bracing members 82 extending inwardly between each I-beam web 58 and each outer member 78 and and external angle bracing elements 84 extending outwardly between each I-beam web 58 to the end of each outer member 78 and 80. Cross-members 86 also extend longitudinally outwardly between the mid-point of each external angle bracing element 84 to each outer member 78 and 80. Similarly horizontal cross-members 88 are used to assist in supporting angle-braces 76 to the C-channels 74 whilst downwardly extending cross-members 90 are used in supporting the C-channels to the I-beams. The angle of inclination of the bracing elements is typically less then 45 degrees, the angle of course determining the overall length of the members.

As will be appreciated by the reader the individual members of the chassis are typically made from weldable steel and are welded to each other. Of course, instead of welding or in addition to, some of the individual parts may be held together using conventional nuts and bolts.

The dimensions of the building and chassis are typically designed to conform to the conventional standards that relate to issues of transportation and to minimum sizes of rooms in buildings. These may be different in different countries and whether the buildings are being transported on conventional roads.

It will now be appreciated by the reader that the present invention provides significant advantages in the loading and unloading of transportable buildings when setting up or dismantling a campsite. By being able to use a forklift operable by one person and not requiring any additional assistance there are significant savings in both time and the number of personnel required in this phase of camp operations.

In some instances it may be desirable to enable the buildings to be wheeled to a new site rather than having to be mounted on a separate semi-trailer. This may occur where, for example, the buildings are not transported on public roads enabling several buildings to be towed in a tandem arrangement. In addition if some sites are to be used for periods of days rather than weeks, it may even be prudent to leave the buildings mounted on wheels rather than positioning them on the ground.

WO 2004/097131 PCT/AU2003/000497 9 The use of a forklift liftable chassis assists in quickly and easily being able to adapted the building for wheeling. As best illustrated in Figure 10 this typically includes a rear wheel axle assembly 92 having a frame 94 and axle 96 and wheels 98 that is fixedly attached to the chassis as well as a front dolly 100 including a frame 102, a plate 104 adapted to engage a pin on the chassis (discussed later), and axle 106 and wheels 108. The front dolly 100 further includes a tow bar comprised of two elongate members 110 joining at their ends to a towing coupling 112 enabling the wheeled building to be coupled to a vehicle such as a truck, or indeed another wheeled building where several may be pulled behind a truck in series.

To enable the rear wheeled axle and the front dolly to engage the building chassis, several features of the chassis as described earlier have to be changed. The adapted chassis is illustrated in Figures 11 to 14 where unless stated otherwise, the configuration of the other elements remains unchanged from the chassis described in Figures 5 to 9.

First, to accommodate the front and rear wheeled axles assemblies identical I-beams 114 and 116 are tapered at either end 118 and 120 to accommodated the rear axle assembly and the front dolly with the lower flange 122 of each I-beam converging upwardly thereby reducing the height of the web 58. Thus each I-beam has a centre section that then tapers towards either end to an end section, the bottom flange tapering upwards towards the top flange to provide the necessary room for the attachment of wheeled axles therefor.

Although not illustrated, ends 120 of I-beams 114 and 116 include apertures in the bottom flange 122 that enable theframe 94 of the rear wheel axle assembly 92 to be attached to the chassis 38 using nuts and bolts, frame 94 having co-operating apertures that align with those in the chassis.

The front dolly 100, illustrated in more detail in Figure 15, includes pivotable plate 104 having a locking bore 124 that rotatably engages pin 126 at the front of the chassis 38.

The pin is a standard cylindrical projection including a circumferential groove adapted to engage the dolly. Such coupling arrangements are well known and it is not intended to discuss these in detail, with the dolly providing both the support for the chassis and thus building as well as steering.

Pin 126 is attached to the chassis 38 by being embedded within facia plate 128 welded in-between the foremost parallel spaced beams 130 that are welded to the web 58 of the 10-beams 114 and 116. The plate 128 is also bound by two cross-members 130 thereby fully enclosing the plate. This arrangement provides the structural support necessary for the building to be towable.

WO 2004/097131 PCT/AU2003/000497 The front wheel axle set functions as a turntable including a draw bar for easy towing.

The back wheel axle is typically mounted on a removable, easy fit, frame system equipped with air or with air over hydraulics braking system.

Each building may also have a frame 132 at one end thereon that can be used to house various amenities for each building including, for example, the hot water system, and various air conditioning units.

Although not discussed it is to be understood that the attachment of the various sidewalls to the chassis also includes using well known fixing means such as nuts and bolts and rivets and that the person skilled in the art would be well aware of how the building is to be constructed.

It will now be apparent to the reader that the present invention provides for a transportable building and chassis therefor that can be easily loaded and unloaded from a truck or alternatively that is adaptable for the attachment of wheeled axles that allow the building to be towed. This provides significant advantages over current methods of setting up portable buildings where the buildings are manipulated using cranes. Not only does the present invention provide for a portable camp that is much quicker to set up, it also reduces the amount of persons necessary to set up a building and further is inherently safer since the building does not sway as much in the wind.

Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

In any claims that follow and in the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" is used in the sense of "including", i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Claims (11)

1. 2. A transportable building as in claim 1 wherein said frame includes a J-shaped cross- section including a channel defined by an outer wall, bottom and an inner wall, said inner wall extending upwardly along the ends of said elongate beams, said frame including an inwardly directed flange extending horizontally from the top of said inner wall inwardly across the top of said elongate beams, said channel of a width adapted to support sidewalls of said building.
2. 3. A transportable building as in any one of the above claims wherein said chassis is made from steel.
3. 4. A transportable building as in any one of the above claims wherein said elongate beams are tubular beams having a rectangular cross-section.
4. 5. A transportable building as in any one of the above claims wherein each said longitudinal channel includes a plurality of spaced apart stiffening plates extending laterally across said channel.
5. 6. A transportable building as in any one of the above claims wherein extending between each said I-beams and said front and rear members are a plurality of bracing members.
6. 7. A transportable building as in claim 1 wherein said elongate beams and said front and rear member are welded to said I-beams. WO 2004/097131 PCT/AU2003/000497 12
7. 8. A transportable building as in any one of the above claims wherein each I-beam includes a front and rear section whose vertical extent is smaller than the vertical extent of the centre section of the I-beam, said centre section and the front and rear sections joined by a front and rear tapered sections where said bottom flange converges towards said top flange.
8. 9. A transportable building as in claim 8 wherein disposed within said front section is a downwardly projecting pin of the type adapted to engage a dolly of a truck. A transportable building as in claim 9 wherein said pin is mounted in a plate, said plate welded in between cross-members extending between said I-beams.
9. 11. A transportable building as in claim 8 wherein said rear section of each I-beam is adapted to engage a wheeled axle. -12. A transportable building as in any one of the above claims wherein said channels are positioned adjacent said top flange of said I-beams.
10. 13. A transportable building as in any one of the above claims wherein the width of said chassis is adapted to be smaller than the width of a conventional road-train.
11. 14. A mobile camp including a plurality of transportable buildings as defined in any one of the above claims.