EP1141496B1

EP1141496B1 - Building system for erecting of buildings, and supporting element and modular element for such system.

Info

Publication number: EP1141496B1
Application number: EP99946453A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Leif Per Roland Anderson
Original assignee: Heimdal Gruppen AS
Current assignee: HEIMDAL GRUPPEN AS
Priority date: 1998-12-15
Filing date: 1999-09-17
Publication date: 2005-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 2019-09-17
Also published as: AU5885599A; DE69926539D1; NO310035B1; ATE301214T1; WO2000036238A1; EP1141496A1; DE69926539T2; NO985885D0; NO985885L; DK1141496T3

Abstract

Building system for erecting semi-permanent buildings, such as hotels, offices and hospitals. Prefabricated modular elements that each constitute a part of the building are stacked on top of each other in rows arranged against each other. The modular elements (14, 15) are manufactured to be self-supporting without the need to carry any external vertical force. The modular elements (14, 15) are arranged to be stacked without any reciprocal transfer of forces between the elements. The modular elements (14, 15) are arranged to be attached to the surrounding parts of the building construction in a detachable manner. Supporting pillars (21, 22) are arranged to manage forces caused by the weight of overlying modular elements. The supporting pillars (21, 22) are arranged to be fastened to an underlying fastening means or to an underlying supporting pillar in a detachable manner.

Description

The present invention concerns a building system for erecting permanent and semi-permanent buildings according to the introductory part of claim 1, particularly for purposes like apartment buildings, hotels, hospitals, schools, kindergartens and office buildings. The invention especially relates to a building system for erecting buildings with two or more floors. The invention also concerns a supporting element and a module element for such a building system.

Background

It is previously known to assemble buildings by stacking prefabricated modular elements on top of each other. This construction principle has disadvantages with respect to limitations of the construction height and with respect to the required strength of the lower modular elements. A particular disadvantage relates to the fact that such buildings become permanent without any practical possibility of their disassembly without damaging the module elements. Thus, removal of the buildings are time consuming, and an effective reuse of the modules for new buildings is not possible.

It is also well known to erect buildings by establishing a support structure and thereafter introducing modular room elements sideways into the raised support structure. This building principle, however, is complicated and requires a strong support structure that can withstand both heavy weight and side forces from wind.

In GB-A-2 266 907 a modular accomodation unit is described, in which a pair of steel frame is integrated for stacking units one above the other. These frames are arranged at a distance from the corners of the unit, being the unavailable for connecting several accomodation units at one floor at the corners to add to the stability of the complete building.

In GB-A-1 311 876 a prior art building system is described, in which the building units can be stacked without mutual transfer of load. To carry the weight from one building unit, supporting pillars are arranged over several floors, with connection to the building units at each floor.

In this system, the support pillars for each floor is to be installed prior to the building units. The building units then has to be lowered, to be suspended on the supporting pillars by carrying elements at the top of each building unit. This requires a certain distance between adjacent units, to have the units lowered. Further, the load has to be transferred from the base of a unit to the carrying elements at the top of the unit. Finally, this system requires supporting pillars to the top of the complete building.

Object

The main object of the present invention is to provide a building system for erecting permanent and semi-permanent buildings, wherein the buildings can be assembled and disassembled easily and without damaging any of its components. It is thus an object to create a basis for new use, redesign and reuse of the modular elements and the other elements that are included in the construction.

It is also an object to create a building system that makes it possible to use similar modular elements for all floors without having to consider particularly the weight placed on the lower modular elements of the building.

It is a further object to establish a building system where a modular element, which is designed to be self supporting only, can be included in the building in such a way that it contributes to the total strength of the building.

It is also an object to establish a building system whereby it is possible to disassemble the building e.g. for a factory upgrade or redesign, or to convert a school house which may have become superfluous, to apartments for elderly people.

It is therefore important that both the assembly and disassembly can be completed rapidly so that time constraints and environmental requirements are easy to fulfill. The purpose of the present invention is to improve the versatility of such buildings and, in addition, to reduce the number of parts that have to be destroyed at the disassembly by making most parts reusable.

The invention

The basic form of the invention is stated by claim 1.

By "modular element" is meant any kind of building element that can be prefabricated and assembled into a building in the phase of assembly, especially an element that is prefabricated more or less identical in larg numbers. Modular elements include rooms for overnight stay in a hotel/ motel, office rooms, classrooms for a school, apartment rooms, patient rooms for a hospital, parts of elevator shafts, parts of stairway housings etc.

It has been proven that such a building has great advantages with respect to costs of assembly, flexibility in design, reuse and with respect to the technical aspects of its construction. Also, it provides the possibility of manufacturing modular elements with minimal required but carefully calculated necessary strength required, independent of which floor of a higher building it will be placed into.

In addition the present invention provides the possibility of reusing such elements without the need for any reconstruction or oversizing (over designed safety factor), still independent of floor level. This improves the degree of real recovery without redesign of buildings assembled according to the building system according to the invention. In practice one can achieve a degree of recovery of more than 90% in combination with a high degree of versatility, which implies a high degree of freedom with respect to the disassembly and reuse of the modular elements and with respect to the reuse of the elements without the need for any change.

In situations where the modular elements of a building can not be reused, either due to change of use or as a consequence of new requirements of insulation etc., the invention provides the possibility of performing an industrial renewal and/ or redesign.

The invention also provides the possibility of assembly within a building construction site without the use of scaffolding. The building assembly can take place from the top of the modular elements as the assembly progresses in height. The interconnection between the separate module elements, e.g. of electrical cables, water and sanitary outlets etc. can take place after the assembly is complete, from inside each of the separate modular elements.

Several advantageous embodiments of the building system are disclosed by the claims 2-8.

The invention also concerns a supporting element as stated by claim 9. Such a supporting element provides the particular advantage that it allows assembly from the top side of the modular elements without having access to the underside. Further details of the supporting element are disclosed by claims 10 and 11.

Finally the invention comprises a modular element as stated by claim 12. Such a modular element provides the particular advantage that construction can be performed with a carefully precalculated size which determines minimal required strength and still with the benefit that the module contributes to the total strength of the building, especially to withstand forces in a horizontal direction. An especially advantageous embodiment is disclosed by claim 13.

Example

In the following detailed description the invention is more closely described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

Fig. 1 shows a vertical section through a six-floor high semipermanent building which is built with the building system according to the invention,

Fig. 2 shows the start-up of the assembly of a semi-permanent building according to the invention, where there are two rows of stacked modular elements placed against each other,

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged and sectionalized part of a supporting pillar according to the invention, said pillar being a part of the supporting and locking element shown by fig. 2,

Fig. 4 shows a vertical section through the support pillar shown by fig. 3, while

Fig. 5 shows a horizontal section through the supporting pillar of fig. 4, with adjacent parts of two modular elements according to the invention.

Figure 1 illustrates a building 11 erected on a base 12 e.g. a concrete base. Two rows have been stacked, each with six modular elements 14₁ -14₆ and 15₁ -15₆, on top of each other. Each row may comprise two or more stacks in a row, as further shown on fig. 2. In the sectionalized, left part of figure 1 is shown a supporting and locking element 16 extending between adjacent modular elements and which can be used externally on the modular elements facing a front. Details of such a supporting and locking element 16 are shown by fig. 2.

The modular element can be a room of an apartment, a classroom of a school, a guest room for a hotel or motel, a patient room for a hospital or a patient care institution, an office room for an office building or other forms of elements for buildings to be erected in several floors, e.g. elevator shafts and stairway housings, parts of larger rooms where the modules are missing one or more walls, elements for stands and rooms for storage houses.

The size of the modular elements can be arbitrary, but within the parameters defined by the building system, i.e. with a fixed height from floor to floor and with dimensions which by regulation are adapted for reuse, so that modular elements from different buildings can be combined with each other. The ideal situation is to develop a regulatory system that provides maximized possibility for the reuse of the modular elements without any changes. The invention will, however, make it economically feasible to rebuild the elements from one building so that they are adapted to another and differently dimensioned building. In this way the invention provides the architect a certain degree of freedom with respect to variations in dimensioning without forfeiting the main advantages of the building system.

At the upper edge of the building 11 a removable roof truss construction 17 is mounted for supporting a sheet roof 18.

Fig. 2 illustrates the assembly of the first floor of a building according to the present invention. To the base 12 grip members or fastening means 19 are attached either by way of casting or by securing with anchor bolts. Grip members 19 are localised in positions corresponding to the corners of the respective

modular elements

14, 15 when these are put into place. The grip members 19 are shown in a modified form by fig. 3, and will be described in further detail below. Fastening means can be designed with a first mounting hole which is oversized in order to perform the first adaption of the position in both sideways directions and in the vertical direction, and with a second mounting hole which has a tight fit for a fastening bolt. This can be performed in a known manner.

The supporting/locking elements 16 have a

pillar

21, 22 at each end, which will also be described in further detail with reference to fig. 3. The two

pillars

21, 22 are attached by two

crossbars

23, 24 of plate steel, which hold the

pillars

21, 22 together and provides support so that the force on top of one pillar is transferred to the foot of the neighbouring pillar. The figure shows how a supporting/locking element 16 is being lowered down into the space between two modular elements. To protect against accidents, fences 55 may be utilized during the mounting process.

At each corner of a modular element the upper end of a fastening bracket 25 extends as shown more closely by figure 4 together with some other details of the corner construction.

Figure 3 illustrates a grip member 19 for an intersection between four modular elements and a corresponding pillar 21 for a supporting/ locking element 16. The grip members 19 which in figure 4 is shown in an embodiment 19' for use in a frontal position has a base plate 26 that carries two pairs of extending inverted U-shaped hoops 27, 28 placed side by side with a space in between each pair. Between these two pairs is localized another inverted U-shaped hoop 29 with a flat top and a square recess 30 in its top. The base plate 26 is either provided with downwards extending grip claws (not shown) to be secured by casting into a base, or with a hole for an attachment bolt. The co-operative function with the adjacent elements will be described herein below.

The pillar 21 is arranged on top of a supporting tube 31 with rectangular cross-section (see fig. 5). On its top is arranged a cover plate 32 across its axis, said cover plate extending outwards (over) both longitudinal sides, or over one longitudinal side when used at a front module. In a lower part of the supporting tube 31 is arranged a fill plate 33 connected to the cover plate 32 by a central tubing 34 with room for a fastening bolt 35. The fastening bolt 35 has at its lower end a hammerhead 36 e.g. according to DIN261, while the upper end is threaded for a nut 37 over a lock washer 38 with extensions that can constitute a support base against a pair of locking pins 39.

During assembly i.e. the lowering of the supporting/lockin element 16 with the two

pillars

21, 22, the lower part of the tubing 31 will be positioned down onto the U-hoop 29 of the fastening means 19 to rest against the base plate 26. The hammerhead 36 of the fastening bolt 35 will be lowered into the square recess 30 on top of the U-hoop 29 and turned 90 degrees into locking connection with the U-hoop. At the same time two square holes 40 and 41 in the cover plate 32 are being positioned down over two "ears" 42 and 43 which extend up from the fastening bracket 25 of the adjacent

modular element

14, 15. The "ears" 42, 43 are two U-hoops arranged upside down corresponding to the U-hoops 27, 28 on the fastening means 19, and with a square form that fits the square holes 40, 41. More details of the fastening bracket 25 are shown by fig. 4 and elaborated herein.

By further stacking of

modular elements

14, 15 the fastening bracket 25' of the next level modules will come to rest against the supporting/locking element 16, which means that it will transfer its weight to the

pillars

21, 22 as shown in fig. 4. The

pillars

21, 22 will thus fill a double function, they will support the load weight from the

modular elements

14, 15 above so that these are lying without any load from floor to floor, whereas all load weight is being transferred over the

pillars

21, 22. At the same time, the

pillars

21, 22, or more precisely the bolts 35, manage the tensional forces, so that forces in an upwards direction caused by wind forces against a tall building, will be managed without any loads being transferred to the separate modular elements.

This means that each modular element can be designed to be self-supporting only, and without having to withstand any recipovical transfer of forces between the elements. In cases where modular elements with an open side are to be used, it will be possible to secure the roof construction of the element to an overlying supporting/locking element 16, so that this takes over part of the support function.

Fig. 4 illustrates the corner of a

modular element

14, 15 with a fastening bracket 25. The fastening bracket 25 is arranged on top of a supporting tube 44 with rectangular cross-section (see fig. 5) which has been lowered down onto the lower edge of the modular element to rest against the cover plate 32 of a grip member 19 (fig. 3) or an

underlying pillar

21, 22. The supporting tube 44 is shut at its upper end by means of an end plate 45 that serves as a base for the "ears" 42, 43 which in addition is locked with a through running bolt 46. In fig. 4 is also shown how the cavity in the preferably steel formed

pillar

21, 22 may be filled with concrete 47 or another non-melting heat resistant material. The fastening bolt 35 is during mounting, tightened in such a manner that it sets the tubing 31 under a low initial tension.

The principle for assembly is the same for all floors, a set of or layer of

modular elements

14, 15 corresponding to one floor level is placed one by one to engagement between the upwards extending ears 42, 43 of an underlying set of modular elements and the fastening brackets 25 of an overlying set of modular elements. This ensures the transfer of sideways forces between the modular elements and the

pillars

21, 22 as well as the transfer of the load weight to the pillars. For the transfer of sideways forces (horizontal forces) between the roofs and the floors of the modular elements, the

crossbars

23, 24 contribute to the sideways stability of the building. The floor 53 and the roof 54 of the modular elements serve as rigid plates and contribute to the transfer of horizontal forces to the spaces where the crossbars are arranged, without the need for any oversizing.

Thereafter a supporting/locking element 16 is lowered into each space between neighbouring elements, and there secured by means of the fastening bolts 35. In this way a base is established for the next layer or floor of modular elements.

Disassembly takes place by the reverse procedure. This means that the modular elements and the building can be taken apart without any damage or other unwanted effect due to the assembly or disassembly. In this way the invention makes it possible to reuse both the modular elements and the supporting/locking elements of a regulated building.

Fig. 5 shows how the groove at the corner between two

modular elements

14, 15 can be used to isolate the support construction, i.e. the

pillars

21, 22, against fire. A groove 48 can be filled with a fire insulating and heat resistant material 49 like rock wool or other special isulating material. This can surround both the

pillars

21, 22 and the supporting tube 44 for each corner of a

modular element

14, 15. Between the supporting tubes 44 is also arranged a sealing tube 50. The groove 48 is, on its outside covered by a covering plate 51 to provide a smooth outer surface.

The invention provides a series of advantages, both technical, economic and environmental. The most important is the versatility in use. The invention makes it possible for the first time to build semipermanent tall buildings, where it is possible to reuse the main part of the elements without the need for any redesign. Assembly and disassembly can take place within acceptable economic time frames, while simultaneously maintaining the possibility to performe environmental or other adjustments of the modules between disassembly and the reuse. The invention makes it possible to erect versatile buildings at lower costs since the reuse allows budgeting with a higher second hand value for temporary buildings. This again implies that the planning can be made simpler both technically and administratively.

Modifications

The example above can be modified in several ways. The

pillars

21, 22 may be designed as supporting tubes with a C-profile. They may further be arranged as supporting tubes that face the front of the building. The

tubes

32 and 44 in the examples are made of steel. It may also be convenient to use types of composite materials that are not weakened when exposed to high temperatures.

The ears 42, 43 may be pins which extends upwards with tapered upper ends.

In stead of using fastening bolts 35, the locking element may be arranged at the lower edge of each

pillar

21, 22, e.g. as a wedge that is arranged to enter a recess, and which may be positioned from above by means of an activation rod without any load weight being transferred to the activation rod. Such a locking element would need the ability for removal to be performed in a similar manner.

If the requirement of supporting elements which may be positioned after the floor of modular elements has been assembled is fulfilled, one could also foresee the possibility that fastening means could be activated from inside the modular elements to secure the lower part of each supporting element or pillar to the underlying part of the construction. The main advantages of the invention are then still maintained, with covered mounting holes inside the modular elements being the only notable disadvantage.

Claims

Building system for erecting semi-permanent buildings, especially for erecting tall buildings for uses such as hotels, offices, hospitals and patient care purposes, comprising prefabricated modular elements (14, 15) that each constitute a part of the building, like hotel rooms, classrooms, kindergarten rooms, patient rooms, office rooms or parts of elevator shafts or stairways housings, the modular elements (14, 15) being manufactured to be self-supporting without the need to withstand any excessive external vertical force, and being arranged to be stacked on top of each other without any significant reciprocal transfer or forces between the elements, and comprising supporting elements with attachment points (19) for the modular elements of each floor,

said supporting elements being arranged to be inserted down between adjoining modular elements,

the supporting elements of one floor being arranged to support weight from overlying modular elements arranged above this floor and to transfer the weight to an underlying supporting element or a base,

each supporting element comprising a supporting pillar (21, 22) having, at its lower edge, a detachable grip means (36) which may be activated from the upper end of the supporting pillar in order to bring the supporting pillar into releasable engagement with an underlying supporting pillar or a.base,

the top of each supporting pillar (21, 22) being provided with a sideward protruding cover plate (32), the free end of which is provided with means (40,41) to be brought into engagement with a corresponding fastening element (42, 43) connected to the top of a vertical supporting tube (44) provided at the corner of the modular element and the supporting pillar,

the weight of the modular element (14, 15) of a floor being transferred by means of said vertical supporting tube (44) resting against the top of an underlying supporting pillar or a base.
Building system according to claim 1, characterised in that the supporting pillars (21, 22) are designed to be releasably attached to an underlying support, being lowered adjacent to a modular element after its mounting and being provided with fastening means (36) at a lower end, said fastening means being brought into releasable locking engagement with an underlying hoop-shaped fastening member (29).
Building system according to claim 2, characterised in that the supporting pillars (21, 22) have a longitudinally positioned fastening bolt (35) with a head (36) for attachment to an attachment point (27, 28; 43, 43) which extends upwards from a base (19, fig. 1) or from an underlying pillar (21, 22, fig. 3).
Building system according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that two supporting pillars (21, 22) are mutually connected, by means of crossbars (23, 24), for the transfer of sideways forces.
Building system according to anyone of the claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the fastening elements (42, 43) are arranged to be engaged into the adjacent part of a supporting pillar (21, 22) for the transfer of sideways forces.
Building system according to claim 5, characterised in that the fastening elements (42, 43) are inversed U-loops each being connected to a vertical supporting tube (44) providing the vertical connection means, which at its lower end is connected to the bottom frame of the modular element.
Building system according to anyone of the claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the supporting pillars (21, 22) are made of steel and have an internal cavity which is filled with a non-melting material with high heat capacity, such as concrete.
Building system according to anyone of the claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the supporting pillars (21, 22) are surrounded with a fire insulating and fire resistant material.
Supporting element for a building system according to claim 1, the element being arranged to be inserted down between two adjoining modular elements (14,15) to support weight from overlying modular elements, and comprising a supporting pillar (21,22) which has a length that equals the height of one floor, the supporting pillar (21,22) having, at its lower edge, a detachable grip means (36) which may be activated from the upper end of the supporting element in order to bring the supporting pillar into releasable engagement with an underlying supporting pillar or a base, and the top of the supporting pillar being provided with a sideward protruding cover plate (32), the free end of which is provided with means (40,41) to be brought into engagement with a corresponding fastening element of the modular element.
Supporting element according to claim 9, characterised in that it comprises a tubing (31) which is able to manage load weight and an internal rod (35) which can manage tensional forces, wherein a material with high heat capacity, such as concrete is filled into the cavity between the tubing and the rod.
Supporting element according to claim 9 or 10, characterised in that it comprises two of said supporting pillars (21, 22) connected by means of a crossbar (23, 24) at a distance between the supporting pillars which corresponds to the length of a modular element.
Modular element for a building system according to claim 1, with a floor construction (52) which supports side walls and an overlying flat roof (53), comprising supporting tubes (44) at each corner, said supporting tubes at their upper ends having a fastening element (42,43) that can be brought into engagement with a corresponding means (40,41) provided in the sideward protruding cover plate (32) of a supporting pillar (21,22).
Modular element according to claim 12, characterised in that the supporting tubes (44) are arranged to support the roof (53) so that at least some of the side walls may be designed with reduced strength or may be removed.