EP0425748A1 - Modular building unit and method of using it - Google Patents

Abstract

A standard adaptable structural part useful for the rapid installation of partitions and similar generally rectangular panel boards has a means (9, 10) for attaching it to a similar adjacent part, and is characterized in that each part consists of four main tubular bars having a square profile and connected by their ends to form a rectangular frame (1). At least one pair of said bars comprise, at one of their ends at least, an extending means allowing the width and/or the height of said frame to be adjusted. Said frame is further stiffened by at least one additional crossbar (2, 3) the ends of which are attached to the main vertical bars. A means (8) is further provided for attaching at least one vertical post to the part, said post being driven into the ground in order to secure the panel board thereby constructed.

Description

The present invention relates to modular construction elements and to a method using said elements and allowing very rapid construction of walls or walls of buildings, with excellent geometric characteristics of verticality and perpendicularity.

In the building sector, the conventional means and procedures made available to masons and other workers responsible for building the walls are costly in time and money, with often modest results. Indeed, we often see that the walls of dwellings are not vertical and that the different relative angles are sometimes far from the right angle, which poses multiple problems when we want to proceed with furniture integrations, interior fittings (paneling) or thermal insulation by laying glass wool and drywall. These few examples are enough to show the problems that can be encountered by someone who wants to equip or improve the interior of his home, especially when he wants to do the various jobs himself.

However, the builders have old techniques allowing them theoretically to ensure good characteristics of the wall and walls between them, in particular as regards this geometrical aspect (plumb line, level, templates, etc ...). The problem is that their use delays the progress of the works, especially if we want to achieve good accuracy. Consequently, construction costs are increased, as a corollary to the desired degree of precision.

The competition between various construction companies and the current financial problems or those resulting from the building crisis of the last decade, still remembered, have the effect of encouraging these companies to work as quickly as possible, and at a lower cost. cost, to the detriment of the overall quality of their service.

This also has the corollary of a waste of materials which goes against the effect initially sought, namely financial gain.

In addition, with the usual construction techniques, the elevation of the walls taking into account the locations of the doors and windows is relatively tedious even if one cares little about verticality or perpendicularity. There are many reasons for this, we can cite the fact that it is never easy to raise a wall almost vertically while respecting the habitability criteria and the technical constraints inherent in the materials used.

The present invention aims to remedy these multiple drawbacks by providing manufacturers with simple elements and a corresponding method of use. This process saves considerable time, it also prevents any loss of material and it finally ensures excellent characteristics for walls and walls constructed in this way. The main consequence is a substantial financial saving for builders, especially since the initial investment is all quite reasonable and within the reach of small businesses with limited means and also of individuals.

This is due in particular to the nature of the elements which can be used to implement the method. They are simple, inexpensive, easy to use, and above all reusable at each site. In this way, it suffices to constitute a set of such elements which is sufficient to envisage several types of construction usually carried out by the acquiring company. This starting stock thus constituted, it then suffices to manage it according to the work site or sites, and availability.

Furthermore, these material elements do not have a single function, as will be seen later, so that they can be used for several jobs conventionally necessary for a construction site.

More specifically, the material elements according to the invention are standardized, modular and characterized in that they consist of tubes forming a rectangular frame comprising one or more crosspieces parallel to one of the sides, the length of the sides perpendicular to the latter being adjustable. and comprising means for attaching to homologous elements, one of them being in addition provided with means enabling it to fix a rafter on one of the faces of the rectangle.

In some cases, in order to be able to comply with all the possible configurations of wall and wall planes, the two sides of the rectangular frame are adjustable in length. Both types of elements are used simultaneously, those which are adjustable then being inserted to make up for an additional distance which is less than that of the standard element usually used. this happens especially at the end of the wall, when the direction changes. Likewise, when a door and / or window are interposed, it is often necessary to use an adjustable element in a direction parallel to the floor, the distance between a wall angle and the door or window not corresponding, except chance, to an integer of standard elements.

At this stage, it should be emphasized that, in three-dimensional space, it is in height that these modular elements are always adjustable while the second optional direction of adjustment is parallel to the ground. This implies that the sleepers are also provided with this adjustment system, since they are generally also parallel to the ground. The height adjustment, always present, only concerns two tubes of the frame.

The means of obtaining this adjustment can for example be obtained by a sliding connection between tubes of slightly different sections. Holes drilled periodically in the two tubes which slide relative to each other can determine the setting values. Locking can take place by means of a pin inserted in two corresponding holes in two tubes, fixed by bolting, for example with a wing nut. According to another configuration, preferably used, there is a single orifice in the tube of nominal section and a bolt with tightening butterfly for holding the tube shaft. The advantage of this solution is that it offers greater precision in the adjustment of the height, which is continuous.

As regards the means of fixing the rafter, these are metal parts whose interior space matches the outside shape of said rafter, at least on a part, so that it is possible to detach the rafter. These pieces, at least three in number, act in the manner of notches in which the chevron, which is of course vertical, is inserted. They are aligned on one of the vertical tubes of each standardized element, are eccentric so that they overlap half of the longitudinal edge and can be of at least two types:
- U-shaped pieces equipping most of the elements and serving mostly the rafters that are assembled during the construction and,
- L-shaped pieces reserved for rafters placed at the places of doors, windows, and other special places since at these places the mounting process is a little different, and which are not offset.

Of course, this requires that for these latter elements, there are two types, because there is no symmetry in the vertical plane of the erected wall. Thus, at the level of the right upright of the door, the location of the L-shaped parts is reversed relative to that of a left upright. The same is true for windows.

In fact, this configuration also makes it possible to comply with the construction constraints for these doors and windows, for example the functional clearances or distances to be kept for their installation in situ.

The mounting process, which we will consider later, requires that the modular elements be juxtaposed, aligned on each wall layout, and joined together, as happens when moving from one wall to another.

To this end, the standardized elements are connected by a kind of hinge, allowing an angle fixing. The two vertical sides of the same element are thus equipped with offset female parts, and can therefore be combined with at most two of their counterparts.

On the face of the frame opposite to it which includes the means for fixing the rafter, provision is made to install, at the same height on the two vertical tubes, bent hooks which can receive a bar (consequently horizontal) intended in particular to impose the alignment of the different elements placed along a wall.

The elements thus defined are used in the context of a rapid building construction process, as follows:

We cover the virtual layout of the walls and walls by placing end to end, attached by their hinged systems, said modular modular elements, respecting the locations of doors and windows as previously indicated, and having previously prepared the floor as explained below.

Holes are made in the ground, for example in the concrete slab which serves as the basis for construction. These are placed at regular intervals, corresponding to the rafters attached to the elements. When the elements are installed, the rafter is inserted into the holes provided for this purpose, which keeps said element vertical. If the need arises, it is possible to support the assembly by one or more additional beams which are hinged on one of the crosspieces.

If the ground has flatness defects, they can be remedied by using shims adapted to the configuration of the ground.

When the future walls and walls of the house are "dressed" with the elements of the present invention, standing in the height direction, they materialize a kind of elementary frame of the house. These elements are aligned, perfectly vertical, and the angles between them are exactly respected. This result is also obtained in a very short time.

The next step is to place between the rafters, at least in the locations not provided for doors or windows, plates, for example of polystyrene, the width of which corresponds to the spacing between two rafters.

The height of the assembly does not pose any problem, because the adjustment of the vertical tubes of the standardized elements, giving the desired height, allows leveling after the erection of the walls, even if it is necessary to remove the matter.

Then, when the rafters and polystyrene plates or equivalent are in place, there is very great freedom to continue the construction.

If the walls are internal to a dwelling, one can fix plasterboard or equivalent plates on both sides of the rafters, after removal of the elements, or place plates on one side and paneling on the other, or use wooden planks for one of the faces.

The operating order is as follows:
- we take care of the side opposite to the elements, on which we proceed to the fixing of the plates. This therefore gives the whole wall or wall a coherence and vertical stabilization.
- in a second time. we remove the modular elements, and we do the same for the side corresponding to the wall.

When said plates are in one piece, they must of course be dimensioned so that their width equals the distance between axes separating two rafters.

Among the many combinations offered to the user, it is extremely easy to provide thermal or sonic insulation inside the wall, for example by inserting glass wool.

It should be emphasized that the implementation of this process does not pose any particular problems, and that it can be carried out by people whose experience in this field is not very great. A handyman who wants to make a wall in his house can easily use it, the investment is moderate, and the required experience is low.

If it is a residential wall, things do not look very different, the technique used for the actual construction of the wall being conventional, but greatly facilitated by the prior installation of modular elements of the invention. These are placed inside relative to the wall.

We use this kind of framework to build the wall, without encountering any problems of verticality, measuring particular locations, measuring angles, etc. since everything is already ready. The possible solutions are very numerous, we can cite for example the construction of chalet-type habitats, in wood, by filling the gap between the rafters with preconfigured wooden planks. When construction is completed, remove the various elements that can be reserved on another site.

In addition, since we can rely on the pre-assembled structure, the frame is fixed and therefore, we avoid any untimely loss of materials. The user is also free to build the wall as he sees fit, or as required by the specifications or by external technical characteristics.

This process in particular greatly facilitates the sealing operations of the uprights and frames of doors and windows. Indeed, one can foresee in advance large nails or dowels which will be taken, when building the wall, in the concrete or in the mortar which one will pour or apply later.

Likewise, an advantage of the process which is the subject of the invention lies in the fact that, when boards have been attached to the rafters, there is already part of a possible formwork, if concrete is used in the construction. In particular, in the corners, it suffices to add two sides to have a complete pillar formwork. In addition, the completion of a pillar formwork will be made easy because there is a mark of perpendicularity and verticality, as well as a mark of the height at which the formwork must stop. Inside, the fact that no formwork is necessary leads to a substantial saving, since there is no need for boards or clamps.

Finally, it is quite possible to use these elements to insert additional marks, especially when the wall has an unusual shape. Thus, a roof requiring a triangular transverse section will be produced by dividing each half-triangle into an exact number of modular elements, adjustable in length or not, and by stretching a cord between the two extreme vertical tubes of the series. We therefore obtain the highest point, the lowest point and the slope.

According to an additional function, the elements can very well serve to support the roof during repair or construction operations, resulting in savings which were usually necessary.

An advantage associated with the invention, when the interior faces are fitted with panels behind which polystyrene plates are placed, and that the plumbing and electrical work become easy since the major problem of digging the pipes is very easily resolved.

Furthermore, it is easy to form scaffolding with the elements of the invention, using two of said elements, planks for connecting them and fixing clamps.

When reference was made to the initial investment necessary to acquire a sufficient number of modular elements according to the invention, it was assumed that all of the traces of the walls or walls were covered with said elements. In reality, half the total number of these modular elements is sufficient, because the symmetries generally offered by this type of construction allow construction to be envisaged in two stages.

• - la figure 1 représente un élément modulable standardisé correspondant à l'invention,
• - la figure 2 montre un détail de la partie réglable,
• - la figure 3 donne un emploi possible du procédé de l'invention et,
• - la figure 4 montre une vue de dessus des différents éléments et l'insertion de plaques, dans le cas d'une paroi simple.

The elements which are the subject of the present invention will now be described in more detail, with reference to the appended figures, for which:

• FIG. 1 represents a standardized modular element corresponding to the invention,
• FIG. 2 shows a detail of the adjustable part,
• FIG. 3 gives a possible use of the method of the invention and,
• - Figure 4 shows a top view of the different elements and the insertion of plates, in the case of a single wall.

According to a possible configuration of an element (1) according to the invention, it consists of a rectangular frame adjustable in the direction of the height (fig. 1). Inside said frame are two crosspieces (2) and (3) increasing the rigidity of the assembly. The height adjustment system takes the form of a sliding connection comprising several fixing points. The frame being made of square section tubes, the casing can only take place if the upper part (5) has a smaller section than that of the lower part (4).

To allow precise adjustment of the height, a bolt with a tightening butterfly (6) is provided which can easily be tightened manually. In this way, the sliding can be done at the discretion of the user, for which it is entirely free to make an adjustment to the millimeter.

According to one example, it is possible to provide a slide in the inner tube, allowing correct sliding.

In Figure 2, there are brackets (7) for removing the alignment bar.

As mentioned above, the fixing means (8) of the rafter on the element are aligned on one of the vertical tubes, and offer an interior shape capable of embedding the rafter. Relative to said vertical tube, they are offset so that the rafter exceeds half its length, thus providing additional support for the next element of the chain. For most of the elements, it is a metal part (8) in the shape of a U (see FIG. 2), while for the end elements, at the edge of the doors or windows, or corners, one bars of the U is removed, the part therefore becoming an L.

The assembly is completed by hinges (9) and (10) placed on the two vertical tubes and intended to ensure the attachment with the elements located on either side. This hinge which separates each element provides a transverse connection, but allows angular positioning between two elements placed one next to the other. In order to be able to remove the elements (1) without having to lift them, which is not possible because of the ceiling, two hinges are approved and offset on the two vertical tubes of each element, the connection between them at the time of mounting, for example by a pin or equivalent, face to be placed and removed.

They are therefore two female hinges, and the rod which connects them can for example take the form of a screw of which one end is threaded, the head being supported by the upper hinge. If you want to fix the two elements to each other, just place a nut at the end of the screw.

Figures 3 and 4 show more precisely how to use the elements in the context of the method of the invention.

In particular, we see their alignment on the layout of the walls to be built. The rafters (11) attached to the elements are inserted into holes in the slab provided for this purpose. If necessary, a pillar or other tube is used to ensure the vertical positioning of the elements, by arching between the ground and a crosspiece.

A right angle is perfectly defined by a small slat (12) which can be screwed onto two homologous crosspieces in holes provided for this purpose. It is easy to calculate several positions of orifices on said slat, in order to provide predetermined angular deviations (at 30 °, 60 °, 90 °, 120 ° ...).

Between each rafter (11), plates are placed for example of polystyrene (13), and panels (14) for example of plasterboard are nailed to said rafters, in the case of a wall, or a wall is built (figure 5).

As we have seen previously, the rest of the wall (15) is built in a conventional manner, with bricks, agglomerates, mortar, etc., using the multiple positioning marks provided by the elements (1). When the construction is completed, the elements (1) are removed and the rafters are connected by plates or the like.

The case of doors and windows is somewhat special, in that the attachment devices for the rafters are in L. We will also often use horizontally adjustable elements (not shown because the operating principle is identical to that of height adjustment). The procedure, however, is clearly shown in Figure 4.

The two elements located on either side of a door, for example, are asymmetrical: one has only one series of L-shaped fasteners, while the other has two series of fasteners. In fact, in order not to break the overall symmetry of the construction, the element (15) must include a series of L-shaped fasteners and a series of U-shaped ones. The installation of doors and windows must be possible in good conditions, and that is why we position the two elements located on either side with a margin of 1 cm on each side, compared to the known dimensions of said doors or windows.

Furthermore, it is possible to design elements whose dimensions take into account the more or less standard dimensions of the commercial parts. Thus, there are easily plasterboard panels of 1.20 m, which will require the calculation of the length of the element (1) of the invention.

Similarly, if we take chevrons of 7 cm side, the attachment systems of said rafters will exceed 3.5 cm on the corresponding side.

For implementation and manufacturing questions, the standard elements (1) are made of square section steel tubes, welded to each other. During mass production, this choice is judicious because it lowers the cost price. Other materials and shapes are however possible. In general, it should be noted that it is a very easy product to manufacture, transport and assemble, decisive advantages from a strictly economic point of view.

Of course, the preceding description has shown examples of possible configurations which cannot be considered to be limiting of what the invention is, which on the contrary encompasses any variant form and embodiment.

Claims (9)

1. Standard modular building element, usable in the building for the rapid construction of walls and housing walls, based on a rectangular frame (1) made of tubes and characterized in that said height-adjustable frame is reinforced by one or more internal crosspieces (2), (3) transverse, each longitudinal side being provided with hooking means (9), (10) with homologous elements and moreover, on one side only, means (8) for fixing a rafter parallel to said longitudinal side of the frame. 2. A modular modular building element according to claim 1, characterized in that the transverse tubes are also adjustable in length. 3. standardized modular building element according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the means for fixing a rafter (11) consists of a series of at least three parts (8) in the form of U or L the interior space of which conforms to the exterior shape of said rafter (11), aligned parallel to the longitudinal side, the U-shaped pieces being eccentric so that they overhang half of the longitudinal edge. 4. A modular modular building element according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hooking means with the homologous elements consist of hinges or the like, each longitudinal side comprising offset female elements (9,10) connected by pin or equivalent, this type of connection making it possible to introduce an angle between two consecutive elements. 5. A modular modular building element according to claim 4, characterized in that the two female elements (9,10) are hinges connected by a screw serving as a shaft and whose head rests on the upper hinge while the other end is threaded and can accommodate a nut. 6. Standard modular building element according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that there is provided a fixing means (12) of the existing angular distance with the related elements. 7. A modular modular building element according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fixing of the angular gap is obtained using a perforated slat (12) of orifices at distances determining the angles, said slat being fixed for example by screws and nuts on homologous crosspieces of two adjoining elements (1). 8. A modular modular building element according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, on the face opposite to that which comprises the means fixing the rafters, it comprises means for placing a shape parallel to the short side, intended for ensure alignment of elements. 9. Method of rapid construction of a building using the elements defined in the preceding claims, characterized in that the layout of the walls and walls is covered by said elements (1) placed in the direction of the height and placed end to end, in respecting the location of the doors and windows by playing, if necessary, with the use of elements of variable width to respect the locations, their fixing intervening thanks to the rafters (11) which are secured to them and which are moreover stuck in the ground at locations regularly drilled for this purpose, a polystyrene plate (13) or equivalent being inserted between two rafters, which can be covered by plates (14), either on one side, or on two sides, or by any construction usually intended to be used as a wall or wall.

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