CA1308535C - Prefabricated building - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT

A prefabricated building which is on one level or with at least one story, which can be transported, in particular by road, and which is made of elements assembled and hinged to each other so that this building is able, by a single modification of the position of its component elements, to occupy two extreme volumes, one first volume in which the overall building sizes are reduced to the loading gauge, in particular a road gauge, and a second volume which corresponds to the expanded and habitable building.
Fig. 2

Description

g5;3i5 "Prefabricated buildin~"
The present invention has for its object to provide a prefabricated building of only one level or with at least one story, which can be transported, in particular by road transport and which is made of elements assembled and hinged to each other so that the building can occupy, by a single modification of the position of its component elements, two extreme volumes, one first volume in which the overali sizes of said building are reduced to the loading gauge, in particular for road transport, and a second volume correspond-ing to the expanded and habitable state of the building.
The invention has for its object to provide a building the design and equipment of which are such that it can be immediately lit ~or habitation as soon as it has been set up on the selected site, after having been completely manufactured and assembled in workshop, being not exposed to weathers. Its setting up on the site, which only consists of modifying the position o~ its component elements which llave been arranged for transportation of the building to the site in their position which allows to reduce the total volume of the building to the road gauge, necessitates substantially no skilled manpower, and can be carried out with a very limited equipment which is either incorporated into the building or removable, said equipment being able to be operated either manually or by means of a power energy, such as a fluid under pressure, for example supplied by the vehicle having transported the building. This building, in addition to the advantages resulting from its mode of manufacture which ensures a very high quality, in particular concerning finishing and insulation, as well as from its immediate habitability, also presents the advantage that, as easily as for its first setting up, it can be brought back to its volume corresponding to the road gauge, in order to be transported to and set up on another site.

1 30853~

To this end, according to the invention, said building comprises a rigid and i ndeformable, rectangular and horizontal frame which is able to support and/or take up the weight and all the buiJding strains under the habitation conditions of this building, the sizes of this frame bein~ lower than the corresp~din~ sizes of the above mE~ntioned~au~e;m~ns abie to ensure the stability of the building under habitation conditions and which are assembled to said frame and hinged to the latter so as to be able to take two extreme positions, one first position correspondin~
to the aforesaid first volume, in which said means are inside a fictious rectangle parallelipiped of which the frame is one of the bases, and a second position corresponding to the aforesaid second volume and in which said means are arranged in projection with respect to said rectangle parallelepiped; means provided on the frame and arranged to allow temporary f ixation of a tractable, removable and reusable rolling system for the building transportation ; at least four vertical posts, of the same length which is lower than the corresponding dimen-sion of the aforesaid gauge, the~e posts being located and fixed at the corners of the frame; a horizontal, rigid, i.ndeformable and rectangular flooring, which is movable and arranged between said four posts in order to be guided on the latter so as to be able to be moved in a parallel direction to itself along a direction which is parallel to the longitudinal axes of saicl posts, between two extreme positions, one first position corresponding to the aforesaid first volume, in which the flooring is located near the frame, and a second position corresponding to the aforesaid second volume, in which this flooring is located near the tops of the posts; at least two vertical pillars, which are fixed to this flooring, so that their longitudinal axis is substantially located in the vertical plane which passes through the intersection poirlt of the diagonals of the rectangle delimiting the upper face of the frame and which is parallel to the large sides of this rectangle ; rigid, movable and substantially plane panels, which are hinged to each other and at least to the aforesaid posts, so as to form at least a part of the flooring of the ground level floor of the building, as well as the external wall~s and the roof of the latter, which panels are arranged in order to be lodged, when the building ~ 30~535 occupies the lirst volume, in a parallel direction to the large sides of the rectan~le, on both sides of the posts fixed to the frame and for the most part in the space comprised between said posts; locking means for the flooring supporting the aforesaid piJlals, and for the various movable panels, said means being arranged to secure the latter against motion when the building occupies either of its extreme positions; and means arranged to make easier the movements of the flooring and panels so as to bring the building into either of its extreme positions.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the building comprises four facades, a ground level floor and a story and looks, when it occupies the second volume, like a right prism of which the bases, which are triangular and form the f ront and rear facades of the building, have at least two equal sides, and of which the ridges have a length equal to the length of one of the large sides of the frame, the latter which supports a part of the floor of the ground level being situated in the median portion o~ the lateral face oi the prism, which portion is horizontal and compri-ses the bases of the triangles formed by the front and rear facades, while the side facades of tlle building coincide with the other two lateral faces of the prism, the posts fixed to the frame being situated inside the prism, and also the pillars fixed to the flooring which supports the floor of the building story, the ~rerticàl plane passing along the longitudinal axes of said pillars forming a symmetry plane of the building, said pillars supporting a fixed ri dge-pole piece of which both rec tangular slopes are equal and form the upper part of the side lacades, each of the latter being formed of two movable rectangu-lar panels, the panel which is the nearest to the ridge-pole piece being hinged to the latter about a horizontal axis and the dimension of its small sides being lower than the height of aforesaid pillars, the other panel being hinged about a horizontal axis at the top of said posts, the dimension of the small sides of this latter panel being higher than the height of the posts, the length of the ridge-pole piece as well as the dimension of the large sides of said two panels being equal to the length of one of the large sides of the frame, a third 1 3~535 panel being hinged to each of said latter panels about a horizontal axis and along the free large side of said panel, this third panel being intended to support a portion of the floor of the ground level and of which the large side which is opposite the hinge and is of a len~th equal to that of the lar~e sides of the other panels, is placed side by side along the corresponding large side of the frame, the hin~es of said panels bein~ arran~ed so that the panels hin~ed to the rid~e-pole piece can fold back a~ainst the aforesaid pillars, on both sides of the latter and so that the internal face of the third panel folds back onto the internal face of the panel hinged to said posts, these two panels, so folded back on each other being thus able to fold back against the posts fixed to the frame, on both sides of the latter, the front and rear facades of the building being each made of two groups of movable panels separated from each other at the level oE the flooring in the position taken by it when the building is expanded, the first group of panels constituting one of said facades at the level of the ground floor comprising two equal rectangular panels and two equal panels having the shape of a rectangle trapezium, which are hinged two by two about a vertical axis to the corresponding posts fixed to the frame, said hinges being arranged so that the external faces of a rectangular panel and of a rectangle trapezium-shaped panel, hinged to the same post can be folded back on each other substantially in prolongation of a corresponding large side of the frame, the seconcl group of panels forming one of said facades at the level of the story. comprising two equal rectangle triangle-shaped panels, which are hinged along one of the sides of the right angle and about a vertical axis, to one of the pillars fixed to the flooring, such hinges being arranged so that the external faces of both said last panels can be folded back on each other on both sides of a vertical plane passing through the longitudinal axes of the pillars and in prolongation of the frame.
According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the building comprises means arranged to allow the building to revoJve around a vertical axis passing through the intersection panel of the diagonals of the rectangle delimiting the upper face of the frame, said means advantageously comprising a ball or roller race the axis of which coincides with the aforesaid vertical axis and which is associated with the frame, being supported by the latter, a floorin~ which is parallel to the frame and of the same shape and surface area as those of said frame being associated with the ball or roller race and supported by the latter, the above mentioned posts being fixed to the flooring, said means also comprising a circular rail, which is coaxial with the ball or roller race and is made of several sections, this rail being fixed to said floorin~ and to the movable panels intended to support the floor of the ground level of the building, rollers borne by said means intended to ensure the stability of the building being provided and arranged so `as to cooperate with said rail in order to contribute to the building stability, means such as a brake-motor, which are manually or automatically controlled depending on the sun position, being provided in order to rotate the building around aforesaid vertical axis.
Other details and particularities of the invention will become apparent from the description of the enclosed drawings which represent, by way of non-limitative examples, various particular embodiments of the prefabricated building according to the invention.
Fig. I is a schematical elevation and cross-sectional view, one half-view illustrating the builcling in expanded position, while the other half-view shows the building in the position such as folded back to the road gauge.
Fig. 2 and 3 are views similar to Fig. 1, at a large scale, which illustrate the manner according to which the movable panels are brought from their expanded-building position to their position in which the building has been folded back to the road gauge.
Fig. 4 is a scllematical top and partly broken-away view, corresponding to Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a schematical top and partly broken-away view of the building such as illustrated by Fig. 1 to 4, when it is at the road gauge.
Fig. 6 is a schematical elevation and cross-sectional view showing a variant of the building illustrated by Fig. 1 to 5, this variant being able to be rotated around the aforesaid vertical axis.
Fig. 7 to 9 are views sirnilar to Fig. 6, which illustrate the way according to which the movable panels are brought from their expanded-building position to their position in which the building has been folded back to the road gauge.
Fig. 10 is a schematical top and partly broken-away view, corresponding to Fig. 6 (expanded building).
~ig. I l is a schematical top and partly broken-away view, corresponding to Fig 9 (building folded ,back to the road gauge).
Fig. 12 is a schematical elevation and cross-sec tional view, showing a second variant of the building illustrated by Fig-I to 5.
Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 12, at a larger scale, showing the way according to which the movable panels are arranged when the building occupies its position on which it has been Eolded back to the road gauge.
Fig. 14 is a top view corresponding to Fig. 12, some of the movable panels forming some of the building facades being sllown in a position between the road-gauge position and the expanded position.
Fig. 15 is a schematical top view corresponding to Fig. 13.
Fig. 16 is a schematical elevation and cross-sectional half-view, showing a thir(l variant of the building illustrated by Fig.
I to 5, this latter variant being a two-story building.
Fig. 17 to 25 are views similar to Fig. 16, showing the way according to which the movable panels are brought frorn their position when the building has been expanded to their position when the building is folded back to the road gauge.
Fig. 26 is a top view corresponding to Fig. 25.
Fig. 27 is a view at a larger scale than that of Fig.
26, showing a detail of this Fig. 26.
In the various Figures, the same reference numerals designate identical or similar elements.
The prefabricated building according to the invention and such as illustrated by the drawings is either on a level or with at least one more story, and can be transported~ in particular by road transport, under normal conditions by means of usual transportation means. To ~his end, this building is made of elements which are completely assembled in workshop and which are hinged together so that the building can occupy by a simple modification of the position of its component elements, two extreme volumes, one first volume in which the overall sizes of said building are reduced to the loading gauge for transport by road and a second volume corresponding to the building in its expanded and habitable state. According to the invention, said building comprises a frame 1, which is rigid and indefor-mable, rectan~ular and horizontal, able to support and/or take up the weight and all the building strains under the habitation conditions ancl the sizes of which are lower than the corresponding sizes of the road gaugc. This building comprises means 2 to ensure its stability under habitation conditions and which are assembled to the frame I and hinged to the latter so as to be able to take two extreme positions, one iirst position corresponding to said first volume and in which said means are inside a fictious rectangle parallelepiped of which the f rame is one of the bases, and a second position corresponding to said second volume and in which said means are arranged in projection with respect to said rectangle parallelepiped. Means, not shown, are provided at the base of frame 1 and arranged so as to allow the temporary fixation oI a tractable rolling system, for example made of two carrying axes and whicll is removable and reusable when it has bcen used for the building transport. The building also comprises four vertical posts 3 of the same length which is lower than the corres-ponding dimension of the road gauge, said posts being located and fixed at the corners of the frame, as well as a rectangular flooring 4, which is horizontal, rigid and indeformable, being movable and arranged between the four posts 3 in order to be guided by the Jatter, so that this flooring can be moved in a parallel direction to itself and along a direction which is parallel to the longitudinal axes of the posts 3, be-tween two extreme positions, one first position corres-ponding to the above mentioned first volume and in which the flooring 1 30~535 ~, 4 is located near the frame 1, and a second position corresponding to the above mentioned second position and in which said f looring 4 is located near the tops of the posts 3. Two vertical pillars 5, the length of which is at the most equal to the length of the posts 5 3, are fixed to the flooring 4, so that their longitudinal axis is substan-tially situated in the vertical plane, trace 11, which passes through the intersection point of the diagonals of the rectangle delimiting the upper face of frame 1, and which is parallel to the large sides of this rectangle. The building also essentially comprises movable 10 and substantially plane panels, which are hinged to each other and to the posts 3 and pillars 5, so as to form at least a part of the flooring of the building ground level, as well as the external walls and the roof of the latter, said panels being arranged in order to be lodged, when the building occupies the first volume, in a parallel direction 15 to tlle large sicles of the aforesaid rectangle, on both sides of the posts 3 fixed to frame 1 and for the most part in the space comprised between said posts. Locking means, not shown, are provided to fix in position tlle flooring 4 bearing the pillars 5 and the various movable panels, with respect to each other when the building occupies either 20 of its extreme positions. Means, not shown, are also provided and arranged to make easier the movements of Elooring 4 and movable panels so as to bring the building into either oE its extreme positions.
In the embodiment of the building according to the invention, which is shown by l~ig. I to 5, said building looks, when 25 it occupies the second volume, namely when it is expanded, like a right prisrn o{ which the bases which are triangular and form the front and rear facades 6 and 7 of the building, have at least two equal sides, and of which the ridges are of a ~ngth equal to the length of one of the large sides of the frame 1. The latter, which bears 30 a part oE the Iloor of the ground level, is situated in the median portion of the lateral face of the prism, which portion is horizontal and comprises the bases of the triangles formed by the front and rear facades 6 and 7, while the side facades 8 and 9 of the building coincide with the other two lateral faces of the prism. The posts 35 3 fixed to the frame are situated inside the prism, and also the pillars fixed to the ilooring 4 which supports the floor of the story 10 of the building. The vertical plane of trace l l and which passes along the longitudinal axes of the pillars 5, forms a symmetry plane of the building. These pillars 5 bear a fixed ridge-pole piece 12 of which both rectangular slopes are equal and form the upper part of the side facades 8 and 9. Each of these latter facades is formed of two movable rectangular panels 14 and 15. Panel 14, which is the nearest to the ridge-pole piece 12~ is hinged to the latter in 16, about a horizontal axis, and the dimension of its small sides is lower l O than the height of the pillars 5. The other panel 15 is hinged in 17 about a horizontal axis, at the top of posts 3 of the frame 1, the size ol the small sides of this panel 15 being higher than the heigllt of posts 3. The length of the ridge-pole piece 12, as well as the dimension of the large sides of both said panels 14 and 15 are equal to the length of one of the large sides of the frame 1.
To each of these panels 14 and 15 is hinged, about a horizontal axis and, in 18, along the free large side of said panel, a third panel 19 intended to support a portion of the floor of the ground level and of which the large side, which is opposite the hinge 18 and is of a length equal to that of the large sides of other panels 14 and l 5, is placed side by side, in 20, along the corresponding side of the frame 1. The hinges 16 of panels 14 are arranged so that when the ridge-pole piece 12 is moved into the direction of the arrow 21 due to the raise oi flooring 4 (see l~ig. 2), said panels 14 can freely fold back against pillars 5, on both sides of the latter. Hinges 17 and 18 are arranged so that the internal face of the third panel 1~ folds back in the direction of the arrow 22 onto the internal face of panel 15 which is hinged in 17 at the top of said pillars. Both said panels 15 and l 9, when they are folded back on each other, may then fold back against the posts 3 fixed to the frame 1, in the direction of arrow 23, on both sides of this frame. The front and rear facades 6 and 7 of the building are each formed, as shown by Fig. 4, of two groups of movable panels which are separated from each other at the level of the flooring 4 in the position taken by it when the building is expanded. The first group of panels forming one of said facades 1 30~535 6 and 7, a-t the level of the ground floor, comprises two equal rectangular panels 24 and two eclual panels 25 havin~ the shape of a rectangle trapeziurn, which are hinged two by two, in 26, around a vertical axis, to the corresponding posts 3 fixed to the frame 1. Said hinges 26 are arranged, as more particularly shown by Fig. 4, in order that the external Iaces of a rectangular panel 24 and oI a rectangle trape-zium-shaped panel 25, hinged to the same post 3, can be folded back on each other substantially in prolongation of a corresponding large side of the frame 1. The second group of panels forming one of said facades 6 and 7, at the level of the story 10, comprises two equal rectan~le triangle-shaped panels 27, which are llinged along one of the sides of the right angle and about a vertical axis, in 28, to one of the pillars 5 fixed to the flooring 4. These hinges 28 are arranged so that the external faces of said last two panels 27 can be Iolded back on each other on both sides of the vertical plane, of trace 11', passing through the longitudinal axes of the pillars 5 ancl in prolongation of the frame. When the movable panels 14 are folcled bacl< onto the pillars 5 and the movable panels 24, 25 and 27 forrning the Iront and rear facades 6 and 7 are placed into prolonga-tion of the frame I (see Fig. 3 and 4), the Elooring 4 can be brought near the frame 1, in the direction o[ the arrow 29, so as to bring the building to the height of the road gauge, the folding-back of movable panels 15 and 19 onto posts 3 bringing the building to the width Or said road gauge. Means 2 stabilizing the building are formed, as shown in F ig. I to 4, of four pivoting arms 30, which are hinged about a vertical axis 31' to the frame I and are either located apart from the frame (I ig. 4) in order to stabilize the building in its expanded position, or placed within the space occupied by the frame (see the right portion of Fig. I) when the building is at the road gauge. These arms 30 rest tl)rough advantageously removable and height-controlled caissons 31 on foundation soles 32.
In the embodiment of the building such as illustrated by F ig. 6 to 11, this building comprises four facades 6, 7, 8 and 9, a ground level and a story 10 and it looks like a rectangle parallelepiped 35 when it occupies the second volume (expanded building). The frame 1 30~535 I whicll supports a portion of the floor of the ground level occupies the whole median part of the lower base of the parallelepiped, this base also comprises two movable panels 33 which are rectangular and equal and which are intended to bear the other two parts of the floor of the ground level. These panels 33 are hinged in 34 and about horizontal axes, on both sides of the frame 1 and along the lar~e sides of the latter, in order that their internal face can be folded back, as shown by Fig. g and I l,onto the corresponding posts 3 fixed to frame 1. The aboYe mentioned flooring 4, the surface of which is substantially equal to that of frame 1 and which is intended to support the median portion of the floor of the story 10, is united to two movable panels 35, which are rectangular and equal and are intended to support the other two portions of the story floor, and which also are substantially of the same area as both panels 33 hinged to the irame. Said panels 35 arc hinged in 36 and about horizontal axes to elements 37 fixed to the corresponding tops of the posts 3, which themselves are Iixed to the frame 1. The hinges of said last two pancls 35 arc arranged so that their lower face can be folded bacl<, as shown by Fig. 9 and 11, onto the external face of the corres-ponding panel 33 hinged to the frame 1, when the latter panel 33 has been folded back onto tlle corresponding posts 3. The roof of the bulding which is located in the uppcr base of the rectangle paralle-lepiped is plane and made, on the one hand, of a fixed median panel 38 wllich is rectangular and unitecl to the top of the pillars 5 which are telescopic and ~ixecl to flooring 4, the area of which is lower than that oi thc latter, and, on thc other hand, of two movable rectan-gular panels 3') which are equal and hinged in 40 and about horizontal axes, along the large sides oI the fixed panel 38. The side facades 8 and 9 of the building coincide with two opposite side faces of the parallelepiped, which are parallel to the large sides of the frame, and are each made of two movable, rectangular and substantially equal panels 40 and 41 the area of which is at the most equal to that of the two movable panels 39 of the roof; a first panel 40 hinged about a horizontal axis and in 42, along the free edge of the movable panel 39 hinged to the fi:ced panel 38 and which is parallel 1 30~535 to the latter hinge, and a second panel 41 hinged in 43 and about a horizontal axis, alon~ the free edge of the first movable panel 40 and which is parallel to the hinge 42 of the latter to the movable panel 39. The si~es of these four panels, fixed 38 and movable 39, 40, 41, and their hinges 40, 42 and 43 are arranged as shown by Fi~.
8, so that the external face of the second panel 41 can be folded back onto the external face of the first panel 30, also so that the internal face of said panel 40 can be folded back onto the internal face of the movable panel 39 hinged to fixed panel 38, and so that said three movable panels 39, 40 and 41,when accordbn pleated, can fold back onto the pillars 5 in order that the internal face of the second panel 41 is facing the pillars 5, the vertical plane of trace 11 passing through the longitudinal axes of the latter constituting a symmetry plane of the builcling. The front and rear facades 6 and 7 of the latter, which are perpendicular to this symmetry plane, are each made of two groups of rectangular and movable panels, which are separated from each other at the level of the flooring 4 in the position occupied by tl)e latter wllen tlle building is expanded. The first group of panels forming one of said facades 6, 7 at the level of the ground floor, comprises four rectangular panels 44 and 45 which are equal two by two and hinged two by two, in 46 and about a vertical axis, to the corresponding posts 3 fixed to the frarne 1. The dimension of the two panels 44 and 45 fixed to the same post 3, when considered perpendicularly to the symmetry plane of trace 11, corresponds to half of one of the small sides of the frame I and to one of the small sidcs of the movable panel 33 hinged along one of the large sicles of the frame respectively. Tlle hinges 46 of this first group of panels 44 and 45 are arranged, as illustrated by Fig. 11, so that the external faces of panels 44 and 45 hinged on one post 3 can be 3Q folded back c~to each other in prolongation of tl-e corresponding largeside of the frame 1. The second group of panels constituting one of said facades 6, 7, at the level of the story 10, comprises two equal rectangular panels 47 hinged in 48 and about a vertical axis, to the corresponding pillar 5 fixed to the flooring 4. These hinges 48 are arranged, as shown in Fig. 11, so that the external faces of said two 1 30~535 panels 47 can be folded back on each other, in a direction parallel to the symmetry pl~ne of traCe 11 ancl in prolongation to the frame 1.
f\s shown by Fig. 9, when movable panels 39, 40 5 and 41 are lolded back onto the pillars 5 and the movable panels 44, 45 and 47 forming the facades 6 and 7 are located in the extension of the ~rarne I, the flooring 4 can be brought near said frame, in the direction of the arrow 49, so as to bring the building at the height of the road gauge, the folding-back of the movable panels 33 and 35 onto the posts 3 bringing the building to the width of said road gauge. In order to allow said pleated folding of the movable panels 39, 40 and 41, the fixed panel 38 is vertically and upwardly moved by means oI the telescopic structure of the pillars 5, into the direction of the arrow 50 (see Fig. 9). As shown by Fig. 6 and 10, the building according to the invention advantageously comprises means 51 which are arranged so as to allow the building to be pivoted about a vertical axis 51 passing through the intersection point of the diagonals of the rectangle delimiting the uppcr iace of the frame 1, and that in order to allow the orientation of the building depending of the 20 sun position. These means 51 advantageously comprise a ball or roller race tlle axis of which coincides with the vertical axis 52 and which is united to the f rarne I and is supported by the latter a flooring 54 (Fig. 6) parallel to the frame, of same shape and same area as those of said frame, is united to the ball race 53 and borne 25 by the latter, said posts 3 being Iixed to said flooring 54. Said means 51 also comprise a circular rail 55 which is coaxial to the ball race 53 and made of several sections, said rail being fixed to said flooring and to the movable panels 33 intended to support the floor of the ground level of the building. Rollers 56 borne by the pivoting arms 30 30 of the means 2 in~ended to ensure the stability of the building, are provided and arranged so as to be able to cooperate with this rail 55 in order to contribute to the building stability. Means, such as a brake-motor 57 with manual or automatic control depending on the sun position, are also provided in order to rotate the building 35 around the vertical axis 52.

1 3n~535 The building shown by Fig. 12 to 15, which comprises, as the hereinbefore described buildings, a ground Jevel floor and a story 10, looks when occupying it expanded position correspondin~
to the aforesaid second volume, like a right prism with octagonal bases. The frame 1, which bears a part of the floor of the ground level occupies the median portion of the lower base of the prism, which is comprised between two opposite sides of the octagon. This base also comprises two movable panels 58 which are equal and as a isosceles trapezium and are intended to support the other two portions of the floor of the ground level, and also which are hinged, along their large base, on both sides of the frame 1, along to the large sides of the latter, in 59 and about horizontal axes, so that their internal face can be folded back onto the corresponding posts 3 fixed to the frame 1. The above mentioned flooring 4, the surface of which is substantially equal to that of the frame I and which is intended to support the median portion of the floor of the story 10, is associated with two movable panels 60, which are equal and as a isosceles trapezium, the surface of which is substantially equal to that of movable panels 58 hinged to the frame I, which are intended to support the other two portions oE the floor of the story and which are hinged in 61 and about horizontal axes, to elements 62 Eixed to the corresponding tops of the posts 3 fixed to the frame. The hinges 61 of said two movable panels 60 are arranged, as shown by ~ig. 13, in order that their lower ~ace can be iolded bacl< onto the external Iace of the corresponding panel 58 hinged to the frame, when this panel 58 has been folded bacl< onto the corresponding posts 3. The roof of the building, wllicll is located in the upper base of the prism, is plane and made, on the one hand, of a median fixed panel 63, which is rectangular and assembled at the top of the above mentioned pillars 5, which are fixed to the flooring 4 and telescopic, and the surface of which is lower to that of said flooring 4, and, on the other hand, of two equal movable panels 64 which are hinged in 65 and about horizontal axes, on both sides of the fixed panel 63 and along the large sides of the latter. The perimeter of each of said two movable panels 64 comprises, in addition to the side along which the panel ~ 30~535 is hinged, in 65, a iixed panel 63 the length ot which is equal to the len~th of the large sides of said fixed panel, three sides of the octagon and two sides 66, which are contiguous to the side along which the movable panel 64 is hinged to the fixed panel 63, the length of which is substantially equal to half of one side of the octagon less half of one of the small sides of the fixed panel 63. The eight facades of this building coincide with the lateral faces of the prism and are made of two similar groups 67 of mobile rectangular panels, situated on both sides of the vertical plane, of trace 11, passing through the longitudinal axes of the pillars 5 fixed to the flooring 4 and which constitutes a symmetry plan of the building. Each of said groups 67 of panels is also subdivided into two series 68 and 69 of superimposed panels (see Fig. 12 and 14). Each of thesepanel groups 67 comprises, on both sidcs of the movable rectangular panel 70, which is parallel to the symmetry plane of trace 11 and which is hinged in 71 and about a horizontal axis, along the free corresponding edge of the movable panel 64 forming a portiorl of the building roof, two movable rectarlgular panels 72 an(l 73, a first panel 72 the area of which is substantially equal to that of one of the lateral faces of the prism, ancl a second panel 73 the area of which is substantially equal to half the area of a lateral prism face when considered in parallel relation to the ridges oE the latter. These panels 70, 72 and 73 are hinged together, in 74 and about vertical axes (see Fig. 14), so that the panels of each group 67 can be rnoved into the extension of each other along a direction parallel to the above mentioned symmetry plane. Said two series 68 and 69 of panels forming each group of panels h7 are obtaincd by subdividing the panels of this group substan-tially at the level of the flooring 4, when the latter occupies its position corresponding to the aforesaid second volume (namely expanded building) and along a plane parallel to the bases of the prism. These two series of panels are hinged, along this plane, in 75 and about a horizontal axis (see Fig. 12 and 13), so as to be able, when the panels of one group are located in the extension of each otehr, to be folded back on each other, so that the external faces of the panels 35 come to face each other (see Fig. 15). The fixed panel 63 and the ,~ 30~)535 movable panels 64 of the roof, as well as the panels of both groups 67 of panels Iorming the facades and the above mentioned hinges 65, 71 and 75 are arranged so that the series 68 and 69 of panels of a same group and the correspohding roof panel 64 can be folded back into pleats so as to be finally f olded back against the pillars fixed to the flooring 4, on both sides of these pillars.
The building according to the invention and which is illustrated hy Fig. 16 to 27 is of the same type as the building shown by Fig. 6 to 11 but comprises two stories 10 and 78. When it is expanded and occupies the aforesaid second volume, this building appears as a rect~ingle parallelepiped. The frame 1, which supports a portion of the floor of the ground level, occupies the whole median portion of tlle lower base of the parallelepip~dwhile the flooring 4 the surface of which is substantially equal to that of the frame 1 and which is intended to support the median portion of the f loor of the first story 10, supports four vertical shaped pieces 76, having equal lengths which are lower than the corresponding dimension of the abovc mer-tioned gaugc, said pieces being situated and fixed to the corners of the ilooring 4, so that the above mentioned posts 3 fixed to the frame can slide into said shaped pieces 76 (see Fig.
16 and 27), along a direction parallel to their longitudinal axis. A
second flooring 77, the surface of which ;s substantially equal to that of the f looring 4 and which is intended to support the median portion of the floor oE the second story, is arranged between the four shaped pieces 76 in order to be guided onto the latter so as to be able to be moved, in a direction parallel to itself, along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axes of said shaped pieces, between two extreme positions; a first position which corresponds to the above mentioned first volume, namely to the road gauge, in which the second flooring 77 is located near the flooring 4, and a second position, which corresponds to the aforesaid second volume, namely the expanded building, in which said second flooring 77 is situated near the tops of the shaped pieces 76 which are fixed to the flooring 4 and wherein the posts fixed to the frame 1 slide. Two verticaî telescopic pillars 5 are fixed to the second flooring 77 so that their longitudinal axis 1 30~535 is substantially located in the vertical plane of symmetry of the building, trace 11, which passes through the intersection point of the diagonals of the rectangle delimiting the upper face of the frame 1, which plane is parallel to the large sides of the rectangle. The building roo~, which is situated in the upper base o~ the rectan~le parallelepiped, is plane and made, on the one hand, of a median fixed panel 79, which is rectan~ular and assembled at the top of pillars 5 fixed to the second f looring and the area of which is lower than that of the latter and, on the other hand, of two movable rectangular panels 80 which are equal and hinged in 81 and about horizontal axes, along the large sides of the fixed panel 79. The portions of the side facades 8, 9 of the building, corresponding to the first and the second stori~s 10 and 78 and which coincide with the corresponding portions of the two opposite lateral faces of the rectangle parallelepiped, which are parallel to the large sides of the frame 1, are each made of two equal and rectangular movable panels 82 and 83 the area of which is at the most equal to that of the two movable panels 80 o~ the rooI, one first panel 82 hinged, in 84 and about a horizontal axis, along the free edge of the movable panel 80 of the roof, and a second panel 83, which is hinged in 85 and about a horizontal axis, along the free edge o~ the Iirst movable panel 82, and which is parallel to the hinge 84 of the latter provided on the rnovable roof panel 80. The dimensions of said four fixed (79) and movable (80, 82 and 83) panels, as well as their hinges 81, 84 and 85 are arranged so that the extcrnal face of the panel 83 can be folded back, as shown by Fig. 18, onto the external face of the panel 82, so that the internal face of tlle latter can be folded back onto the internal face of the panel 80 (as shown in Fig. 19) and so that said three movable panels 80, 82 and 83, folded in accordian pleats (Fig. 19) can be folded back (as shown by Fig. 20), in a direction parallel to the above mentioned pillars 5, so that the internal face of the panel 83 is oriented to these pillars, after the movable panels 86, which will be described hereinafter, will have been folded back againstto the pillars 5 (Fig.
18 and 19). The second flooring 77, which supports the median portion of the floor of the second story 78 is associated with two rectangular 1 30~535 and equal movable panels 86, intended to support the other two parts of the ~loor of the second story 78, which panels 86 are hinged in 87 and on both sides of the base of the pillars 5 fixed to the second flooring 77, about horizontal axes, so that tlleir upper face can be 5 folded back against to thepillars 5 in order that each of said panels ~6 are located between pillars 5 and the three corresponding panels 80, 82 and 83 which fold into accordian pleats. Folding of panels 80, 82, 83 and 86 is made after tlle panel 79 has been raised by the 10 telescopic pillars 5 in the direction of the arrow 88 (Fig. 17). The flooring 4 which bears the median portion of the floor of the first story 10 is associated with two similar groups 89 comprising three ~novable, rectangular and substantially equal panels 90, 91 and 92.
1 hese ~roups 89 are arranged on both sides of the large sides of 15 the flooring 4 and each comprise a first panel 90 hinged to the flooring, in 93 ancl along one of the large sides oI the latter and about a horizon-tal axis, this panel being intended to support a portion of the floor of tlle first story 10, a second panel 91 hinged in 94 and about a hori70ntal axis along the frcc cdge of the panel 90, which is opposite 20 the hinge of the latter to the f looring, which panel 91 is intended to Eorm the part of facades 8, 9 of the building, corresponding to the grouncl level floor and which coincides with the corresponcling part of one of the opposed lateral faces of the parallelepiped, which are parallel to the large sicles of frame 1, and a third panel 92 hinged 25 in 95 and about a hori~ontal axis along the free edge of the panel 91, whicll is opposite the hinge 94 of the latter to the panel 90, which panel 92 is intended to support a portion of the floor of the ground level. These three panels 90, 91 and 92 of each group 89 and their hingcs 93, 94 and 95 are arranged so that the upper face of the panel 30 82 can be folded back, as illustrated by Fig. 22, onto the internal face of the panel 91, also so that the internal Iace of the panel 92 can be then folded back, as shown by Fig. 23, onto the lower face of the panel 90, and so that finally the upper face of said panel 90 can be folded back, as shown by Fig. 24, against the shaped pieces 35 76 fixed to the flooring 4. The Iront and rear facades 6 and 7 (Fig.
26) of the building, which are perpendicular to the symmetry plane, 1 30~535 trace 11, are each formed of three groups of rectanKular and movable panels which are separated Irom each other at the level ol both floorings 4 and 77 in the position of the latter when the building has been expanded. The first group of panels forming one of these facades 6, 7, at the ~round level, comprises four rectangular panels 96 and 97, which are equal two by two and hinged two by two in 98 and about a verticai axis, to the corresponding posts 3 fixed to the frame 1, the dimension of both said panels fixeci to the same post, when considered perpendicularly to said symmetry plane of trace 11, substantially corresponding to half of one of tlle small sides of frame I and to one of the small sides of panel 92 (panel 96) respectively. The hinges 98 of said first group of panels 96 and 97 are arranged so that the external faces of the panels hinged -to a post 3 can be folded back onto each other, as shown in Fig. 26 and 27, substantially in the extension of the large corresponding side of frame 1. The second group of panels, whicl forms one of the facades 6 and 7 at the level of the first story, comprises four rectangular panels 89 and 100, which are cqual two by two and hinged two by two about a vertical axis and in 101, onto the corresponding shaped pieces 76 fixed to the above mentioned flooring 4. The dirnension of both panels 99 and 100, llixcd to thc same shaped piece, when considered perpendicularly to the symmetry plane of trace 11, substantially corresponds to half of one of the small sides of the flooring 77 (panel 100) ancl to one of the small sides of panel 90 (panel 99) respectively. The hinges 101 oE the second group of panels 99 and 100 are arranged so that tlle external faces of the panels hillged to a shaped piece 76 can be folded back onto each other substantially in prolongation of the corresponding large side of frame 1. The third group of ?anels, which constitutes one of said facades 6, 7, at the level of the second story 78, comprises two equal rectangular panels 102 hinged about a vertical axis and in 103, onto the corresponding pillars 5 fixed to the second flooring 77. Said hinges 103 are arranged as shown by Fig. 26, so that tlle external faces of botl said panels 102 can be folded back onto each other, in a direction parallel to the symmetry plane of trace 11 and in the extension of the frame 1.

When panels 96, 97, 99, 100 and 102 forming the facades 6 and 7 have been placed into the extension of the frame 1, the Ilooring 77 can be brought, after folding back of panels 86, 80, 82, 83 against the pillars 5 and as shown by Fig. 21, and in the direction of the arrow 104, to the proximity of the flooring 4, while the latter can be brought, as shown by Fig. 25 and after panels 90, 91 and 92 have been iolcled back a~ainst the shaped pieces 76 (Fig. 24) in the direction of the arrow 105, to the proximity of the frame 1, which arranges the building according to the road ~auge.
I O ln the embodiment of the buildin~ such as illustrated by l~ig. I to 5, means arranged to meake easier the movements of the Ilooring 4 along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axes of posts 3 Iixed to frame 1 and accordingly the movements of the assembly of movable panels, are advantageously formed by screw mechanical jacks or fluid pressure jacks, associated either temporarily with frame I in order to bear on the latter and on the flooring 4, or permanently inside posts 3 so as to rest on the frame I and the flooring 4.
In the embodirncnts of the building such as illustrated by Fig. 6 to I I and by Fig. 12 to 15 respectively, means arranged to rnake easier the movernent of the flooring 4 along a vertical direction and the movements of the assembly of the movable panels of the builcling are constituted, on the one hand, by screw mechanical jacks or Iluid pressure mechanical jaclcs associated either temporarily with frame I in order to bear on the latter ancl on the Elooring 4, or perma-nently insicle the posts 3 so as to rest on thc frame and the flooring, and, on the other hand, by jacks temporarily or permanently associated with telescopic pillars 5 fixed to flooring 4 and supporting the Iixed roo t pane l 38.
In the embodiment of the building such as iJlustrated by Fig. 16 to 27, means arranged to make easier the movements of floorings 4 and 77, along a vertical direction, and the movements of the assembly of movable panels of the building are constituted by a first set of screw or fluid pressure jacks associated with frame I and with flooring 4 supporting the shaped pieces 76 sliding on the posts 3 fixed to the frame, so as to rest on the latter and on flooring 1 30~535 4, by a second set of jacks associated with flooring 4 and with the second flooring 77 to which the telescopic pillars 5 supporting the fixed roof panels 79 are fixed, so as to rest on both said flooring 4 and 77, and by a third set of jacks which is associated with the 5 telescopic pillars 5.
The movable panels are advantageously provided with sealing joints (not shown) along their periphery. Above mentioned means provided to make easier the movements of the floorings and panels are arranged so as when the building passes from the second volume (expanded position) to the first volurne (road gauge), to suppress the pressure existing on the joints and to make the latter free from their contacting surfaces, so as to prevent any damage to said joints whcn the movable panels are displaced, and so as, when the building passes from its first to its second volume, to co npress the joints 15 when the movable panels occupy their position corresponding to the expanded building, in order to ensure sealing.
The building according to the invention can also be advantageo-lsly equipped in workshop with in particular an electrical equipment, water and gas pipes, a heating installation, sewage drain 20 pipes and sewage treatment means, as well as means for plugging and connecting various appliances and equipment apparatus.
It has to be understood that the invention is in no way lirnited to the embodiments such as described and that changes can be brought thereto without cleparting from the scope of the present 25 patent.

Claims (12)

1. A prefabricated building of only one level or with at least one story; which can be transported, in particular by road transport and which is made of elements assembled and hinged to each other so that the building can occupy, by a single modification of the position of its component elements, two extreme volumes, one first volume in which the overall sizes of said building are reduced to the loading gauge, in particular for road transport, and a second volume corresponding to the expanded and habitable state of the building, this building being characterized in that it comprises a rigid and indeformable, rectangular and horizontal frame which is able to support and/or take up the weight and all the building strains under the habitation conditions of this building, the sizes of this frame being lower than the corresponding sizes of the above mentioned gauge; means able to ensure the stability of the building under habitation conditions and which are assembled to said frame and hinged to the latter so as to be able to take two extreme positions, one first position corresponding to the aforesaid first volume, in which said means are inside a fictious rectangle parallelepiped of which the frame is one of the bases, and a second position corresponding to the aforesaid second volume and in which said means are arranged in projection with respect to said rectangle parallelepiped; means provided on frame and arranged to allow temporary fixation of a tractable, removable and reusable rolling system for the building transportation; at least four vertical posts, of the same length which is lower than the corresponding dimension of the aforesaid gauge, these posts being located and fixed at the corners of the frame; a horizontal, rigid, indeformable and rectangular flooring, which is movable and arranged between said four posts in order to be guided on the latter so as to be able to be moved in a parallel direction to itself along a direction which is parallel to the longitudinal axes of said posts, between two extreme positions, one first position corresponding to the aforesaid first volume, in which the flooring is located near the frame, and a second position corresponding to the aforesaid second volume, in which this flooring is located near the tops of the posts; at least two vertical pillars, which are fixed to this flooring, so that their longitudinal axis is substantially located in the vertical plane which passes through the intersection point of the diagonals of the rectangle delimiting the upper face of the frame and which 19 parallel to the large sides of this rectanglel rigid, movable and substantially plane panels, which are hinged to each other and at least to the aforesaid posts, so as to form at least a part of the flooring of the ground level floor of the building, as well as the external walls and the roof of the latter, which panels are arranged in order to be lodged, when the building occupies the first volume, in a parallel direction to the large sides of the rectangle, on both sides of the posts fixed to the frame and for the most part in the space comprised between said posts; locking means for the flooring supporting the aforesaid pillars, and for the various movable panels, said means being arranged to secure the latter against motion when the building occupies either of its extreme positions; and means arranged to make easier the movements of the flooring and panels so as to bring the building into either of its extreme positions.

2. A prefabricated building according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises four facades, a ground level floor and a story and looks, when it occupies the second volume, like a right prism of which the bases, which are triangular and form the front and rear facades of the building, have at least two equal sides, and of which the ridges have a length equal to the length of one of the large sides of the frame, the latter which supports a part of the floor of the ground level being situated in the median portion of the lateral face of the prism, which portion is horizontal and comprises the bases of the triangles formed by the front and rear facades, while the side facades of the building coincide with the other two lateral faces of the prism, the posts fixed to the frame being situated inside the prism, and also the pillars fixed to the flooring which supports the floor of the building story, the vertical plane, of trace, passing along the longitudinal axes of said pillars forming a symmetry plane of the building, said pillars supporting a fixed ridge-pole piece of which both rectangular slopes are equal and form the upper part of the side facades, each of the latter being formed of two movable rectangular panels, the panel which is the nearest to the ridge-pole piece being hinged to the latter about a horizontal axis and the dimension of its small sides being lower than the height of aforesaid pillars, the other panel being hinged about a horizontal axis at the top of said posts, the dimension of the small sides of this latter panel being higher than the height of the posts, the length of the ridge-pole piece as well as the dimension of the large sides of said two panels being equal to the length of one of the large sides of the frame, a third panel being hinged to each of said latter panels about a horizontal axis and along the free large side of said panels, this third panel being intended to support a portion of the floor of the ground level and of which the large side which is opposite the hinge and is of a length equal to that of the large sides of the other panels, is placed side by side along the corresponding large side of the frame, the hinges of said panels being arranged so that the panels hinged to the ridge-pole piece can fold back against to the aforesaid pillars, on both sides of the latter and so that the internal face of the third panel folds back onto the internal face of the panel hinged to said posts, these two panels, so folded back onto each other being thus able to fold back against the posts fixed to the frame, on both sides of the latter, the front and rear facades of the building being each made of two groups of movable panels separated from each other at the level of the flooring in the position taken by it when the building is expanded, the first group of panels constituting one of said facades at the level of the ground floor comprising two equal rectangular panels and two equal panels having the shape of a rectangle trapezium, which are hinged two by two about a vertical axis to the corresponding posts fixed to the frame, said hinges being arranged so that the external faces of a rectangular panel and of a rectangle trapezium-shape panel, hinged to the same post can be folded back onto each other substantially in prolongation of a corresponding large side of the frame, the second group of panels forming one of said facades at the level of the story comprising two equal rectangle triangle-shaped panels, which are hinged along one of the sides of the right angle and about a vertical axis, to one of the pillars fixed to the flooring, such hinges being arranged so that the external faces of both said last panels can be folded back onto each other on both sides of a vertical plane passing through the longitudinal axes of the pillars and in prolongation of the frame.

3. A prefabricated building according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises four facades, a ground level floor and a story and that it looks, when it occupies the aforesaid second volume, like a right parallelepiped, in particular as a rectangle parallelepiped, said frame which supports a portion of the floor of the ground level floor occupying the whole median portion of the lower base of the parallelepiped, said base also comprising two movable, rectangular and equal panels, which are intended to support to other two portions of the floor of the ground level floor and which are hinged on both sides of the frame, along the large sides of the latter and about horizontal axes, so that their internal face can be folded back onto the corresponding posts fixed to the frame, said flooring the area of which is substantially equal to that of the frame and which is intended to support the median portion of the floor of the story being associated with two movable, rectangular and equal panels which are intended to support the other two portions of the floor of the story, and which are substantially of the same area as the two panels hinged to the frame, which panels are hinged about horizontal axes to the corresponding tops of posts fixed to the frame, the hinges of both said latter panels being arranged so that their lower face can be folded back onto the external face of the corresponding panel hinged to the frame, when the latter panel has been folded back onto the corresponding posts, the building roof situated in the upper base of the parallelepiped being plane and made, on one hand, of a fixed median panel, which is rectangular and assembled to the top of said pillars, which are telescopic, fixed to the flooring, the area of which is lower than that of the latter and, on the other hand, of two movable rectangular panels which are equal and hinged about horizontal axes, along the large sides of the fixed panel, the side facades of the building coinciding with two lateral opposed faces of the parallelepiped, which are parallel to the large sides of the frame, being each made of two movable, rectangular and substantially equal panels the area of which is at the most equal to that of the two movable panels of the roof, one first panel which is hinged about a horizontal axis, along the free edge of said movable panel hinged to the fixed panel and which is parallel to this latter hinge, and a second panel which is hinged about a horizontal axis, along the free edge of the first movable panel and which is parallel to the hinge of the latter to the movable panel hinged to the fixed panel, the dimensions of said four fixed and movable panels and their hinges being arranged so that the external face of the second panel can be folded back onto the external face of the first panel, also so that the internal face of the latter can be folded back onto the internal face of the movable panel hinged to the fixed panel, and so that said three movable, accordion-pleated panels can be folded back onto the pillars in order that the internal face of the second panel is facing the pillars, the vertical plane passing through the longitudinal axes of the latter forming a symmetry plane of the building, the front and rear facades of said building, which are perpendicular to this symmetry plane being each formed of two groups of rectangular and movable panels which are separated from each other at the level of the flooring in the position of the latter when the building is expanded, the first group of panels which forms one of said facades at the level of the ground floor comprising four rectangular panels which are equal two by two and hinged two by two about a vertical axis, to the corresponding posts fixed to the frame, the dimension of the two panels fixed to the same posts, when considered perpendicularly to the aforesaid symmetry plane, corresponding to half of one of the small sides of the frame and to one of the small sides of the movable panel hinged along one of the large sides of the frame respectively, hinges of said first group of panels being arranged so that the external faces of the panels hinged to one post can be folded back onto each other in prolongation of the corresponding large side of the frame, the second group of panels forming one of these facades at the level of the story comprising two equal and rectangular panels hinged about a vertical axis onto the corresponding pillar fixed to the flooring, said hinges being arranged so that the external faces of both panels can be folded back onto each other, in a direction parallel to the aforesaid symmetry plane in prolongation of the frame.

4. A prefabricated building according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a ground level floor and one story and in that it looks, when it occupies the said second volume, like a right prism the bases of which are regular polygons, in particular octagons, said frame which supports a portion of the floor of the ground level substantially occupying the median portion of the lower base of the prism, which portion is comprised between two opposed sides of the octagon, this base also comprising two movable panels, which are equal and substantially as an isosceles trapezium and are intended to support the other two portions of the floor of the ground level/
said panels being hinged along their large bases, on both sides of the frame, along the large sides of the latter and about horizontal axes, so that their internal face can be folded back onto corresponding posts fixed to the frame, the aforesaid flooring the area of which is substantially equal to that of the frame and which is intended to support the median portion of t he floor of the story being associated with two movable panels, which are equal and as isosceles trapezium the area of which is substantially equal to that of said movable panels which are hinged to frame and are intended to support the other two portions of the story floor, which panels are hinged about horizontal axes to the corresponding tops to posts fixed to the frame, hinges of said last two movable panels being arranged so that their lower face can be folded back onto the external face of the corresponding panel hinged to the frame, when this latter panel has been folded back onto the corresponding posts, the building roof situated in the upper base of the prism being plane and made, on the one hand, of a fixed median panel, which is rectangular and assembled to the top of the aforesaid pillars, which are fixed to the flooring and telescopic, and the area of which is lower than that of said flooring and, on the other hand, of two equal movable panels which are hinged about horizontal axes, on both sides of the fixed panel and along the large sides of the latter, the perimeter of each of these two movable panels comprising, in addition to the side along which the panel is hinged to the fixed panel and the length of which is equal to the length of the large sides of said fixed panel, three sides of the octagon and two sides contiguous to the side along which the movable panel is hinged to the fixed panel, the length of which is substantially equal to half of one side of the octagon less half of one of the small sides of the fixed panel, the eight facades of the building coinciding with the lateral faces of the prism being constituted by two similar groups of movable rectangular panels, which are located on both sides of the vertical plane passing through the longitudinal axes of two pillars fixed on the aforesaid flooring, which vertical plane is a symmetry plane of the building, each of said panel groups being in addition subdivided into two series of superimposed panels, each of panel groups comprising, on both sides of the movable rectangular panel which is parallel to said symmetry plane and which is hinged about a horizontal axis, along the corresponding free edge of the movable panel forming a part of the building roof, two movable rectangular panels one first panel the area of which is substantially equal to that of one of the lateral faces of the prism, and a second panel the area of which is substantially equal to half the area of a lateral face of the prism, when considered in a direction parallel to the ridges of the latter, said panels being hinged to each other, about vertical axes, so that the panels of each group can be located in prolongation to each other according to a direction parallel to the aforesaid symmetry plane, both series of panels forming each panel group being obtained by subdividing the panels of said group substantially at the level of the flooring when the latter occupies its position corresponding to the second volume and according to a plane parallel to the bases of the prism, said two series of panels being hinged along this plane about a horizontal axis so as to be able, when the panels of one group are located in prolongation to each other, to be folded back onto each other in order that the eternal faces of the panels are facing each other the fixed panel and the movable roof panels, and also the panels of the two panel groups which form the facades and the hinges being arranged so that the panel series of a same group and the corresponding roof panel can be accordion-pleated so as to be finally folded back against the pillars fixed to the flooring, on both sides of these pillars.

5. A prefabricated building according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises four facades, a ground level floor and two stories and in that it looks, when it occupies the second volume, like a right parallelepiped, in particular a rectangle parallelepiped, the aforesaid frame which supports a portion of the floor of the ground level occupying the whole median portion of the lower base of the parallelepiped, the aforesaid flooring the area of which is substantially equal to that of the frame and which is intended to support the median portion of the floor of the first story, supporting four vertical shaped pieces which are of equal lengths lower than the corresponding dimension of aforesaid gauge, which shaped pieces are situated and fixed to the corners of the flooring so that said posts fixed to frame can slide into said shaped pieces along a direction parallel to their longitudinal axis, a second flooring, the area of which is substantially equal to that of said flooring and which is intended to support the median portion of the floor of the second story being arranged between the form shaped pieces so as to be guided on the latter in order to be able to be moved, in parallel direction to itself, along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of these shaped pieces, between two extreme positions, one first position corresponding to the first volume, in which the second flooring is situated near the flooring, and a second position corresponding to the second volume, in which said second floor is located near the tops of the shaped pieces which are fixed to flooring and in which the posts fixed to frame slide, at least two telescopic vertical pillars being fixed to the second flooring so that their longitudinal axis is substantially located in the vertical symmetry plane of the building, which plane passes through the intersection point of the rectangle diagonals delimiting the upper face of frame and is parallel to the large sides of this rectangle, the building roof situated in the upper base of the parallelepiped being plane and made, on the one hand, of a fixed median panel, which is rectangular and assembled to the top of the pillars fixed to the second flooring and the area of which is lower than that of the latter, and on the other hand, of two rectangular movable panels which are equal and hinged about horizontal axes along the large sides of the fixed panel, the portions of side facades of the building, which correspond to the first and the second stories and which coincide with the corresponding parts of the two opposed lateral faces of the parallelepiped, which are parallel to the large sides of frame being each made of two rectangular and equal, movable panels the area of which is at the most equal to that of both movable roof panels, one first panel which is hinged about a horizontal axis along the free edge of the movable roof panel hinged to the fixed panel and which is parallel to said latter hinge, and a second panel hinged about a horizontal axis, along the free edge of the first movable panel and which is parallel to hinge of the latter to the movable roof panel, the dimensions of said four fixed and movable panels and their hinges being arranged so that the external face of the second panel can be folded back onto the external face of the first panel, also so that the internal face of the latter can be folded back onto the internal face of the movable roof panel, which is hinged to the fixed panel, and so that said three movable panels when accordion-pleated, can be folded back in a direction parallel to the pillars so that the internal face of the second panel is orientated towards said pillars, the second flooring which supports the median portion of the floor of the second story being associated with two movable, rectangular and equal panels which are intended to support the other two portions of the floor of the second story and which are hinged, on both sides of the base of the pillars fixed to the second flooring, about horizontal axes so that their upper face can be folded back against the pillars in order that each of said panels is situated between said pillars and the three aforesaid corresponding panels which pleat in accordion, the flooring which supports the median portion of the floor of the first story being associated with two similar groups of three movable panels, which are rectangular and equal, said groups being arranged on both sides of the large sides of said flooring and each comprising a first panel hinged to the flooring about one of the large sides of the latter and around a horizontal axis, and intended to support a portion of the floor of the first story, a second panel hinged about a horizontal axis along the free edge of the first panel which is opposite the hinge of the latter to flooring, and intended to form the portion of the building facade corresponding to the ground level floor and which coincides with the corresponding part of one of the opposed lateral faces of the parallelepiped which are parallel to the large sides of frame, and a third panel hinged about a horizontal axis along the free edge of the second panel opposite the hinge of the latter to the first panel, which is intended to support a portion of the floor of the ground level, said three panels of each group and their hinges being arranged so that the upper face of the third panel can be folded back onto the internal face of the second panel, in order that the lower face of the third panel can be then folded back onto the lower face of the first panel, and finally in order that the upper face of this first panel can be folded back against the aforesaid shaped pieces fixed to flooring, the front and rear facades of the building which are perpendicular to the said symmetry plane being each formed of three groups of movable and rectangular panels, separated from each other at the level of both floorings in the position of the latter when the building is expanded, the first group of panels which forms one of said facades at the level of the ground floor comprising four rectangular panels which are equal two by two and hinged two by two, about a vertical axis onto the corresponding post, fixed to the frame, the dimension of both panels fixed to the same post, considered perpendicularly to the aforesaid symmetry plane, respectively and substantially corresponding to half of one of the small sides of the frame and to one of the small sides of the third panel, hinges of said first group of panels being arranged so that the external faces of the panels hinged to a post can be folded back onto each other substantially in prolongation of the corresponding large side of the frame, the second group of panels, which forms one of the two facades at the level of the first story comprising four rectangular panels which are equal two by two and hinged two by two about a vertical axis on the corresponding shaped pieces fixed to the aforesaid flooring, the dimension of both panels fixed to the same shaped piece when considered perpendicularly to the aforesaid symmetry plane, corresponding respectively and substantially to half of one of the small sides of the flooring and to one of the small sides of the first panel, hinges of said second group of panels being arranged so that the external faces of the panels hinged to a shaped piece can be folded back on each other substantially in prolongation of the corresponding large side of the frame, the third group of panels which forms one of said facades at the level of the second story comprising two equal rectangular panels hinged about a vertical axis onto the corresponding pillar fixed to the second flooring, said hinges being arranged so that the external faces of the two panels can be folded back onto each other, into a direction parallel to said symmetry plane and in prolongation of the frame.

6. A prefabricated building according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that above mentioned means arranged to make easier the movements of the flooring along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axes of the posts fixed to frame and accordingly the movements of the movable panels are made of mechanical jacks of the screw or fluid pressure type, which are associated either temporarily with the frame in order to bear on the latter and on the flooring, or permanently inside the aforesaid posts so as to rest on the frame and the flooring.

7. A prefabricated building according to claim 1, 3 or 4, characterized in that aforesaid means arranged to make easier the movements along a vertical direction of the flooring and the movements of the movable building panels are constituted, on the one hand, by screw or fluid pressure mechanical jacks associated either temporarily with the frame in order to bear on the latter and on the flooring, or permanently inside the posts, so as to rest on the frame and the flooring, and, on the other hand, by jacks which are temporarily or permanently associated with the telescopic pillars fixed to the flooring and supporting the fixed panel of the roof.

8. A prefabricated building according to claim 5, characterized in that aforesaid means arranged to make easier the movements of the floorings, along a vertical direction, and the movements of the movable building panels are made of a first set of screw or fluid pressure jacks associated with the frame and the flooring supporting the shaped pieces sliding onto the posts fixed to the frame so as to rest on this latter and the flooring, of a second set of jacks associated with said flooring and said second flooring to which are fixed the telescopic pillars supporting the fixed panel of the roof so as to rest on said two floorings and of a third set of jacks which is associated with the aforesaid telescopic pillars.

9. A prefabricated building according to claim 1, 5 or 8, characterized in that the movable panels forming the building are provided, along their periphery, with sealing joints, the aforesaid means intended to make easier the movements of the floorings and panels being arranged in order to delete, when the building passes from the second volume to the first one, the pressure exerting on the joints and to separate the latter from their contact surfaces, so as to prevent any damage thereto, when the movable panels are moved, and in order that, when the building passes from its first volume to its second one, to compress the joints when the movable panels occupy their position corresponding to the expanded building.

10. A prefabricated building according to claim 1, 5 or 3, characterized in that it comprises means arranged to allow the building to revolve around a vertical axis passing through the intersection point of the diagonals of the rectangle delimiting the upper face of the frame.

11. A prefabricated building according to claim 10, characterized in that said means allowing the building to revolve around the vertical axis comprise a ball or roller race the axis of which coincides with the aforesaid vertical axis and which is associated with the frame, being supported by the latter, a flooring which is parallel to the frame and of the same shape and surface area as those of said frame being associated with the ball race and supported by the latter, the above mentioned posts being fixed to the flooring, said means also comprising a circular rail, which is coaxial with the ball race and is made of several sections, this rail being fixed to said flooring and to the movable panels intended to support the floor of the ground level of the building, rollers borne by said means intended to ensure the stability of the building being provided and arranged so as to cooperate with said rail in order to contribute to the building stability, means such as a brake-motor, which are manually or automatically controlled depending on the sun position being provided in order to rotate the building around the aforesaid vertical axis.

12. A prefabricated building according to claim 2,3,4,5,8 or 11, characterized in that it is equipped in particular with an electrical equipment, water and gas pipes, a heating installation, sewage drain pipes and sewage treatment means, as well as means for plugging and connecting various appliances and equipment apparatus.