Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
  • E04B1/00—Constructions in general; Structures which are not restricted either to walls, e.g. partitions, or floors or ceilings or roofs
  • E04B1/02—Structures consisting primarily of load-supporting, block-shaped, or slab-shaped elements
  • E04B1/08—Structures consisting primarily of load-supporting, block-shaped, or slab-shaped elements the elements consisting of metal
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T29/00—Metal working
  • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
  • Y10T29/49616—Structural member making
  • Y10T29/49623—Static structure, e.g., a building component
  • Y10T29/49625—Openwork, e.g., a truss, joist, frame, lattice-type or box beam
  • Y10T29/49627—Frame component

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method of constructing a multi-storey building from modular panel components.
• This invention is based on the realisation, supported by structural analysis calculations, that the known framework panel system as discussed above can be used in the construction of buildings six, eight, ten or even twelve storeys high after only minor modification to strengthen the C-section structural members at the areas of maximum potential weakness and to create a reliable and uniform transmission of the vertical load of the building through mutually aligned C-section structural uprights.
• the invention provides the method of construction identified in claim 1 herein.
• the structural uprights have their end caps in direct contact with one another or separated only by shim plates, the transmission of the vertical load of the building directly from one structural upright to the next through abutting end caps and through any associated shim plates enables the vertical load to be spread evenly throughout the entire building in a manner and to an extent never before achieved.
• the structural uprights and their end caps slot into the internal recess of U-shaped horizontal members spanning two or more of the structural uprights, the vertical load is shared between adjacent C-section structural uprights and is thereby shared even more evenly throughout the building.
• the entire building shell is constructed from modular framework body panels before any solid wall panel partitioning or cladding is added.
• the end cap at one end of each structural upright for example the top end, is provided with one or more spigots which are received in one or more locating apertures in the end cap at the adjacent end, for example the bottom end, of the aligned structural upright of the framework body panel of the adjacent storey, for example the storey above.
• the spigots are preferably held in place by swaging in apertures punched into the end plate portions of the end caps during their initial manufacture.
• the spigots are commercial fasteners sold under the Trade Mark AVDALE, which are intended to create a recessed screw threaded anchor point in a metal plate.
• AVDALE Trade Mark AVDALE
• the method of construction described above envisages those fasteners being inserted from the underside of the end plate portion of each end cap, so that they project from the end plate portion as a smooth-sided cylindrical steel spigot rather than depending from the top face of the end plate portion to create an internally screw-threaded recess.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a framework panel component of a modular building constructed according to the invention
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of a top end of one of the cold-rolled C-section structural uprights without its end cap;
• Figure 3 is a perspective view of the end cap to be secured to the end of the structural upright of Figure 2;
• Figure 4 is a perspective view of the end cap of Figure 3 viewed from the direction of the arrow A in Figure 3;
• Figure 4 A is a side elevation, taken in the direction of the arrow 4 A of Figure 4, of the end cap of Figure 4, but showing the joint between the side and end plate portions of the end cap in greater detail.
• Figure 4A also shows, in phantom, the associated structural upright and a U-shaped horizontal member which in use would span two or more such structural uprights;
• Figure 4B is an enlarged detail of one corner of the end cap of Figure 4A, but shown in perspective view;
• Figure 4C is a perspective view similar to that of Figure 3, but of a modification of the end cap of Figure 3;
• Figure 5 is a plan view of a flat piece of steel before it is bent and welded or brazed into the end cap of Figures 3 and 4;
• Figure 6 is a plan view of the structural upright of Figure 2 with the end cap secured thereto, with the bottom end portion of an associated structural upright of the next storey of the building being shown in phantom lines;
• Figure 7 is a section through an AVDALE TM fastener fitted as a spigot to the end plate portion of an end cap;
• Figure 8 is a perspective view of a part of the framework of panel components of a building during construction, before the addition of the solid wall panels to form the internal partitioning of the building and cladding to form the outer walls of the building.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one such modular panel - A -
• the modular panel of Figure 1 comprises a framework of cold-formed C-profile structural steel members. These include vertical members 1 to 5, horizontal 6 and 7, and diagonal cross-brace members 8 and 9.
• the framework is assembled in a factory using an assembly jig which ensures that each panel can be made to precisely the same dimensions, working to extremely low tolerances.
• the joints are all welded or brazed.
• the vertical members 1 and 5 form load-bearing structural uprights of the finished building, and each is provided at its top and bottom ends with end caps 10. The precise construction of which is explained with reference to Figures 2 to 5.
• the end caps end at the top and bottom of the respective load-bearing structural uprights 1 and 5 are identical except for the addition of locating spigots 11 in the end caps 10 along the top of the panel, cooperating with corresponding apertures in the end caps along the bottom of the panel.
• Each loading-bearing structural upright 1 and 5 extends the full height of the panel component, emanating in a flat end (top or bottom) as illustrated in Figure 2.
• a chamfer 12 is formed across the top and bottom ends of each inturned side flange portion 13 of the C-profile of vertical member 1 or 5, as shown in Figure 2. The purpose of this chamfer 12 is explained later.
• Each end cap 10 is formed by bending a metal blank that has been cut to the shape shown in Figure 5. In Figure 5, the fold lines are shown in phantom.
• the blank is formed from sheet steel and comprises a back plate portion 10a, a pair of wing portions 10b and an upstanding portion 10c.
• the wing portions 10b are bent over by 90° from the back plate portion 10a to create side plate portions of the end cap as shown in Figures 3 and 4, and the upstanding portion is bent over by 90° to create an end plate portion, also as shown in Figures 3 and 4.
• the bending is a cold press bending operation, and after the bending is complete the edges of the side plate portions 10b are secured to edges of the end plate portion 10c by welding or by brazing as indicated at 14 in Figures 3 and 4.
• the formed end cap 10 is dimensioned to fit accurately and securely over the respective upper or lower end of the structural upright 1 or 5. Because any end formed by cold-bending a steel sheet is necessarily a small arc as opposed to a true right angle, the internal bend line between the back plate portion 10a and the end plate portion 10c is arcuate, and chamfer 12 is established on the structural uprights 1 and 5 to ensure that when fitted the end plate portion 1 Oc lies completely flat in metal-to- metal contact with the whole of the top or bottom of the structural upright 1 or 5.
• the end caps 10 are secured to their associated structural uprights 1 and 5 by welding or brazing.
• the back plate portion of the end cap is welded or brazed to each of the mutually aligned edge portions of the oipen end of the associated C- section structural upright 1 or 5.
• the side plate portions of each end cap may be secured to the associated opposite sides of the structural upright 1 or 5 by screws or by welding or brazing.
• the weld or braze may be a spot weld or a plug weld or braze.
• the back plate portion 10a spans the gap between the inturned slide flanges 13 of the structural uprights, so that when welded together the top and bottom of each structural upright is formed as a complete channel member with metal on all four side faces, as opposed to the remainder of the structural upright 1 or 5 which is open C-section.
• the end caps 10 which sit on the top of the panel framework are fitted with a pair of protruding spigots 7 which protrude from apertures 15 cut from the end cap blank as shown in Figure 5.
• the corresponding end caps of the bottom of the panel structure have no such spigots 11 fitted, but are formed with corresponding apertures 15.
• Each spigot is preferably a swaged anchor member such as those commercially available under the Trade Mark AVDALE.
• a retaining flange portion 1 Ia which is of a thinner wall thickness than that of l ib so that when the screw threaded portion l ib is pulled downwardly using an appropriate setting tool, the intermediate portion l ie swages over to lock the fastener to the aperture 15 in the end plate portion 10c.
• the outer surface of the screw threaded portion lib is cylindrical, so that the secured fastener act as a spigot extending perpendicularly out from the end plate portion 10c.
• Figures 4A and 4B show in greater detail the preferred construction of the end plate and side plate portions of the end cap and their precise inter-engagement.
• Outer side edges 10c' of the end plate portions 10c abut but do not overlie top side edges 10b' of the side plate portions 1 Ob, so that there remains a recess or chamfer to accommodate an internal form radius of an associated U-profile horizontal member 40 into which the end cap can be located.
• Figure 4A shows no spigots 11.
• the end cap is to be fitted into a U-profile horizontal member spanning two or more structural uprights, it is possible that the spigots 11 may be omitted. Alternatively they may be included as already described, in which case they interfit with holes drilled through the horizontal web of the U-profile horizontal member 40.
• FIG. 4C An alternative end cap to that of Figures 3, 4A and 4B is shown in Figure 4C.
• the end cap of Figures 3, 4A and 4B it is made with a back plate portion 10a, two side plae portions 10b and an end plate portion 10c formed by bending from a single cut metal blank similar to that of Figure 5.
• holes 43 in the back plate portion 10a being the holes through which the plug braze or plug weld joins are made to connect the end cap to the aligned sides of the open face of the C-profile structural upright (not shown) to which it is joined.
• the holes 43 may be arranged in any suitable pattern.
• a slot 45 is made down each of the side plate portions 10b.
• the two slots are identical, although only one is visible in Figure 4C.
• the end cap at the end of a structural vertical upright is pushed into an inverted U-profile channel section wall plate , and if that channel section has been formed with internally directed dimples in its parallel side faces, those dimples can slide down the slot 45 to locate the end cap longitudinally of the U-profile wall plate.
• That wall plate accurately to size and locating the dimples accurately in the factory using numerically controlled machinery, the location of the end cap along the wall plate can be both positive and accurate even when the building is being erected under site conditions.
• the slot 45 and the dimples in the U- profile wall plate provide an inexpensive alternative to the use of the AVDALE TM spigot location means discussed earlier.
• the end caps 10 are preferably secured to the corresponding structural uprights 1 and 5 by plug welding or by plug brazing, using holes (not shown) which are pre-formed in the blanks for the end caps 10.
• bolt holes 16 are formed, to enable the assembled wall panels to be pulled together and secured fast one to the other during construction.
• a first storey is first erected, by bolting and/or welding an appropriate number of panel frameworks one to the other.
• similar building panels are used, with the structural uprights (1 and 5) both the higher of the two storeys being placed directly over the corresponding structural uprights of the storey just completed.
• Metal shims are placed over the tops of the end caps 10 of the structural uprights of the floor just completed, and the number and thickness of the shims 17 is adjusted until the new storey being built is exactly horizontal.
• the spigots 11 pass through holes cut in the shims.
• Figure 8 illustrates just how versatile the method of construction of the invention can be.
• the end caps can be used whenever the structural uprights meet horizontal members of the framework in an L-configuration as shown at 20, a T-configuration as shown at 21, a 3 -way mutually perpendicular junction as shown at 22, a 4- way mutually perpendicular junction (not illustrated) or a 5 -way mutually perpendicular junction as illustrated at 23.
• AU of those junctions more advanced than the simple L- shapcd junction 20 can be created by bolting together two, three or four panel components, each of which is constructed as previously described.
• floors ceilings and wall cladding can be added.
• individual panel components contain the necessary anchorages for the doors and windows, so the final finishing of the building can be carried out rapidly according to conventional methods.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Joining Of Building Structures In Genera (AREA)
• Load-Bearing And Curtain Walls (AREA)
• Protection Of Pipes Against Damage, Friction, And Corrosion (AREA)
• Rod-Shaped Construction Members (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

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• 2005
  • 2005-06-03 GB GBGB0511309.7A patent/GB0511309D0/en not_active Ceased
• 2006
  • 2006-06-05 AU AU2006253971A patent/AU2006253971B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2006-06-05 US US11/916,420 patent/US20090151165A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2006-06-05 ES ES06744091T patent/ES2334389T3/es active Active
  • 2006-06-05 CN CNA2006800282730A patent/CN101263267A/zh active Pending
  • 2006-06-05 EP EP06744091A patent/EP1888853B1/de not_active Not-in-force
  • 2006-06-05 AT AT06744091T patent/ATE444415T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2006-06-05 WO PCT/GB2006/002037 patent/WO2006129115A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2006-06-05 CA CA002614119A patent/CA2614119A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2006-06-05 DE DE602006009508T patent/DE602006009508D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related

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