AU2005202697A1 - A portable camp including a water utility network - Google Patents

Description

A portable camp including a water utility network BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a system of providing utility services to a portable camp and in particular to the provision and distribution of services within the camp, the services configured to enable quick and easy commissioning and de-commissioning of the camp. The present invention in particular relates to the configuration used in the provision of a potable water network connected to a plurality of buildings in such a camp.

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 modem 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 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. Furthermore, both solutions require skilled personnel. Thus qualified trades people need to be permanently employed such as licensed plumbers and electricians.

Not only is this a direct cost but also it reduces the ability of the camp to employ local people, a factor very important in remote areas and communities.

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.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a portable camp comprising of a plurality of transportable building and a method for the commissioning and de-commissioning thereof of a potable water network.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to allow for the commissioning and de-commissioning of a portable camp using in part non-skilled or semi-skilled labour.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore in one form of the invention there is proposed a portable camp including: a least a first and a second building; a water supply means supplying water to a first building though a main feed line; a second feed line supplying water from said first building to a second building.

In a further form of the invention there is proposed a portable camp including: a plurality of buildings; a water supply means providing water to a closed loop feed line; a first water supply line providing water from said feed line to a first building; a second water supply line providing water form said first building to a second building; a third water supply line extending from said first building to said feed line.

In preference at least one said building is fed water directly through said feed line.

In a still further form of the invention there is proposed a portable camp including: a plurality of buildings; a water supply means providing water to a closed loop feed line; a plurality of water connection means extending between said feed line, each said water connection means providing water in series to two or more buildings.

In preference said camp includes a water pressuring means to provide pressurised water to said camp.

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; Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating current known ways to electrically connect a portable camp and utilising separate power cables from the generator for each building; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an alternate currently used way to electrically connect a portable camp and including a central hub that feeds a particular phase to several building in a series; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the partial layout of a portable camp illustrating the various utility connections embodying the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the partial layout of a portable camp illustrating a typical potable water connection system for either buildings embodying the present invention; Figure 5 is a plan view illustrating the layout of a portable camp including a water supply system embodying the present invention; and Figure 6 is a typical plan view of a portable camp illustrating a water supply system according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

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.

Illustrated in Figures 1-3 is a typical camp 10 comprising a plurality of buildings, generally of the transportable type where they can either be transported by loading onto trucks, or alternatively, mounted on wheels that are bolted to the chassis of each building.

For the purposes of the present explanation there is illustrated in Figures 1-3 eight buildings 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 that are typically used to provide accommodation, each building having four separate rooms, each room having its own access door 28, 30, 32, and 34 respectively. It is however to be understood that the present invention is not limited to accommodation buildings and they it may equally well apply to other types of buildings, such as the kitchen, common rooms and offices.

To function properly, each of the buildings must be provided with the appropriate utilities such as power, water, and sewerage. Typically in each camp there will be one central point for each of these facilities. Thus in a camp it may be expected that there will be a three phase power generator 36 located some distance away from the camp to minimise noise intrusion. There may also be a sewerage treatment plant to collect and processes all of the waste produced by the camp and a water supply system (shown in Figures However for the purposes of brevity we will limit the initial discussion to electrical power distribution only although it is to be understood that the general principle applies to other utility services as well. These will be discussed later.

There are currently two methods to feed power from the generator 36 to each of the buildings 12 to 26. The first is illustrated in Figure 1 where each building is fed power from the generator using a unique power cable. Thus building 12 is fed power from generator 36 using cable 12a, building 14 using cable 14a, building 16 using cable 16a and so on. The advantage of such an arrangement is that the operator can control the load on the generator particularly important when one is generating three-phase power to ensure that the three phases are loaded equally. The major disadvantage is that with numerous buildings, numerous cables are required each of a varying length. The reader will appreciate that this will therefore not only take time to set up not only due to physically laying out the cables, but also due to choosing an appropriate cable that is of a desired length. Having numerous cables is also not only expensive but also requires that there be good management and transportation of each cable.

An alternate way of providing power to the camp is illustrated in Figure 2. The generator here provides power using a single (or maybe two or three) cables 36a to a central distribution hub 38 from which power is fed separately to each building. Thus building 14 is provided power through cable 14b, with a separate cable 12b then connecting building 12 in series with building 14. Similarly building 16 is provided power from the central hub 38 using cable 16b, then connecting building 18 in series to building 16 through cable 18b. The advantage of this arrangement is that the number of cables running from the generator 36 is reduced. In addition the operator of the camp has greater flexibility as to which building is fed power from which phase from the central hub assuming that the generator is a three-phase generator. The disadvantage is that different length cables are still needed from the central hub to each building and that once connected, buildings in series are provided power from the same phase.

These methods of providing power are also found in the provision of water and sewerage networks in typical portable camps, that is, each separate building in a camp is separately connected to a distribution or a collection centre.

According to the present invention and as illustrated in Figure 3 there is provided a unique way of providing utilities to a portable camp. The generator 36 feeds three-phase power through cable 38 to the first building 12. Each of the buildings is then fed in series from building 12 so that building 14 is fed power using cable 14c from building 12, building 16 is then fed power through cable 16c from building 14, building 18 is fed power from building 16 using cable 18c, building 20 is fed power from building 18 using cable 20c and so on.

The advantage of such an arrangement is that, with the exception of the main cable from the generator 36 to the first building 12, all of the other cables are one of two lengths.

The reason for this is that in most camps, the buildings are positioned in a matrix arrangement with the distances between adjacent rows and adjacent columns being the same. Thus cables 14c, 16c, and 18 c are all of the same length joining across several buildings, the other length of cable being 20c joining buildings across their ends.

This provides a significant advantage over hitherto known methods of electrically connecting buildings. First, only two lengths of cable are needed meaning that cables are not building specific and when the camp is being installed time is not spent searching for an appropriate cable. This is extremely important for one of the major costs in setting up portable camps is in transporting them to a new location. The present invention greatly simplifies this by enabling the operator to quickly set-up/dismantle a portable camp reducing the overall cost of labour. Secondly, the cables between buildings are advantageously of the male and female plug type arrangement. This enables the power between buildings to be connected using semi-skilled labour reducing the reliance on skilled electrical tradesmen.

Whilst some of the work will still require skilled electrical people, this is greatly reduced.

Of course, in a camp where there are a large number of buildings, it would not be feasible to distribute power in one series across all of the buildings. To do so would require heavy-duty cables with significant capacity to ensure that they are not overloaded. Such camps may therefore have a central hub that feeds clusters of buildings, the distribution of power in between clusters as described above with reference to Figure 3.

One can now appreciate that connecting buildings in such a series arrangement overcomes the problems of having cables of different lengths and enables some of the electrical connections to be assembled by semi-skilled workers. As each building is assembled on a new campsite, one simply electrically joins the building to the previous one using one cable. Of course, care must be taken to ensure that the total load on the main power feed 38 from the generator to the power box 40 on the first building does not exceed its rating, something that can be easily calculated.

Referring now to Figure 3, it will be appreciated that the same principle may equally well be used in relation to the connection of water where the generator 36 may equally well be a water supply tank and instead of the electrical cables strung between buildings one may equally well have water pipes or hoses connected in a series arrangement between buildings.

To commission each building one simply needs to connect the water supply between buildings rather than feeding each building from a central distribution point.

The advantage of the above arrangement is that it enables once again, as in the case of the electrical connections, semi-skilled workers to commission the water supply for a particular camp.

Where there are small camps or clusters of buildings, as illustrated in Figure 4 where there are only eight buildings, a water tank 42 is connected to a pump 44 that pressurise a main water supply pipe 46. Feeding from the supply line 46 are water connection lines 48a-d that feed water to buildings 50a-d. Each of the water supply connection lines then continue to a second set of buildings 52a-d and then are again connected through a second set of water connection lines 54a-4 to the supply pipe 46. Because the main line is pressurised one can appreciate that the water could flor through between the buildings in any one direction, that depending much on where the water flow is occurring. Of course, the second connection lines are not essential but assist in maintaining good water pressure for either set of buildings.

In some instances however the main supply line may indeed not be a closed loop and may indeed have a termination point.

This arrangement may also be applied to larger camps as illustrated in Figure 5 where the water tank 42 and pump 44 may indeed supply six sets of buildings there being four buildings in a series arrangement in each set, such as set 56 comprising buildings 58a-d, each set of four buildings being interconnected and fed water from the main supply line 46 through connection 60 or 62.

Of course, as was discussed in relation to electrical power in Figure 3, each building may in fact include a distribution box. This arrangement is shown in Figure 6 where each building has a distribution box 64 that is connected in series to other distribution boxes in a series set of buildings such as 58a-d. In addition some buildings may indeed be supplied directly from the main feed line 46, such as buildings 62a-d their distribution boxes located within the main feed line.

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 (8)

1. A portable camp including: a least a first and a second building; a water supply means supplying water to a first building though a main feed line; a second feed line supplying water from said first building to a second building.

2. A portable camp including: a plurality of buildings; a water supply means providing water to a closed loop feed line; a first water supply line providing water from said feed line to a first building; a second water supply line providing water form said first building to a second building; a third water supply line extending from said first building to said feed line.

3. A portable camp as in claim 2 wherein there at least one said building is fed water directly through said feed line.

4. A portable camp including: a plurality of buildings; a water supply means providing water to a closed loop feed line; a plurality of water connection means extending between said feed line, each said water connection means providing water in series to two or more buildings.

5. A portable camp as in any one of the above claims including a water pressuring means to provide pressurised water to said camp.

6. A portable camp substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 4.

7. A portable camp substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure

8. A portable camp substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 6.