EP2348161A2

EP2348161A2 - Modular system for house building

Info

Publication number: EP2348161A2
Application number: EP20110152121
Authority: EP
Inventors: Per Knut MØLSTAD
Original assignee: Mjosutvikling As
Current assignee: Mjosutvikling As
Priority date: 2010-01-26
Filing date: 2011-01-25
Publication date: 2011-07-27
Also published as: NO333279B1; NO20100129A1; EP2348161A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a modular system for the construction of buildings, for example, residential buildings, the system comprising a plurality of elongate and insulated building elements, which building elements consist of at least an inner and an outer cladding layer and between the inner and the outer cladding layer there is disposed a layer of filler material. The layer of filler material may be constituted of polyurethane. In the layer of polyurethane there is further provided at least one layer of a fire-retardant material. Furthermore, the elongate building elements are in their height and width direction adapted to be connected to a plurality of insert elements in order thereby to assemble the elongate and load-bearing building elements into the walls, floor and ceiling of a building.

Description

The present invention relates to a modular system for the construction of buildings, such as residential buildings etc., and more specifically, the present invention relates to prefabricated building elements used during such construction.
So-called modular buildings are well known in the building industry. Typically, such buildings will comprise a varying number of separate parts and/or elements which are prefabricated in a factory and which are subsequently transported to a building site in order to be assembled on the site itself. The parts and/or elements may, for example, be whole wall sections, floors, roofs, wholly or partly ready-built modules comprising several assembled walls with ceiling and/or floor layers etc, the different parts and/or elements, when assembled, forming a building. This modular solution means that the prefabricated parts and/or elements can better be checked at the factory itself, that they can be equipped with wiring and sockets, and that they may be painted, wall-papered etc, which facilitates the assembly of the building on the building site.
Such modular buildings have a large number of usages. They are often used for short-term or long-term facilities as they can relatively quickly be assembled and taken down. They can also be used as permanent buildings. As examples of what such modular buildings may be used for, mention may be made of schools and classrooms, hospitals, residential buildings and industrial buildings.
The prefabricated parts and/or elements are however usually made as large-sized units, for example, as whole walls or whole rooms, which means that large vehicles must be used to transport the parts and/or elements to the building site, and that cranes and more manpower and equipment will be required for the assembly of the parts and/or elements. Moreover, the prefabricated parts and/or elements will sometimes have to be further adapted (trimmed, cut to size, insulated etc.) at the building site itself, whereby more time will inevitably be spent on the assembly of the building.
In recent years, there has also been a steadily growing focus on the environment and climate, which has led to changes in requirements and criteria for the construction of buildings; this has already resulted in amended rules and regulations and there will be more amendments in the future with respect to the degree of emissions (for example, CO₂ emissions) for the various production processes in the manufacture of different building elements in relation to improved indoor climate in the buildings and in relation to materials used in such a building process.
The aforementioned changes and amendments have resulted, inter alia, in new Norwegian legislation concerning requirements for the insulation of different buildings, which legislation came into force from 1 August 2009. One of the consequences thereof is that the requirements for the thermal insulation of the different buildings have become more stringent, resulting in less heat loss and hence a lower consumption of electricity, oil, wood etc. in order to heat the building. As a result of this, higher demands are made on the materials that are used in the building.
Very many buildings in Norway today are wholly or partly made of wood materials, wood having traditionally been regarded as possessing good insulation properties. However, compared with the modern insulation materials used today in dwellings and buildings, wood materials are less suitable for preventing heat flow in a building. When wood materials are used in a building, there will be substantial heat loss in a dwelling or building through wall studs, beams, rafters or the like.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a modular system for the construction of buildings, where one or more disadvantages of the prior art are eliminated or at least reduced.
Another object according to the present invention will be to provide a modular system for the construction of buildings, where the modular system comprises prefabricated building elements.
Yet another object of the present invention will be to provide a modular system for the construction of building, where the building elements are insulated.
These objects are achieved by means of a modular system for the construction of buildings as disclosed in the following independent claims, where additional features of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims and the description below.
The present invention relates to a modular system for the construction of buildings, for example, residential buildings, the system comprising a plurality of prefabricated building elements. The prefabricated building elements are load-bearing, elongate and insulated and comprise at least an inner and an outer cladding layer, and between these layers is disposed a layer of filler material, in which layer of filler material there is provided at least one layer of a fire-retardant material. Furthermore, the elongate building elements are, according to the present invention, adapted in their height or width to be connected to a plurality of insertion elements in order thereby to assemble the elongate load-bearing and insulated building elements.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the prefabricated elongate, load-bearing and insulated building elements in the modular system are made in the same length and width, which means that they must be sawn and cut to size with respect to the building's doors, windows etc. However, it should be understood that the prefabricated building elements can also be made in different lengths and/or widths, such that a number of building elements are ready adapted to form the building's doors, windows etc.
The outer and inner cladding layers of the building elements are constituted preferably of chipboards and/or plywood boards, which chipboards and/or plywood boards comprise a plurality of layers. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the outer and inner cladding layers could however also consist of a single layer, for example, of plank board or the like. It is also conceivable that the inner and outer cladding layers of the building elements may be made of several different materials, which together form this inner and outer cladding layer.
The layer of filler material consists preferably of a polyurethane foam, which during a production process of the building elements is filled into the space between the inner and the outer cladding layer. How thick the layer of filler material is to be will vary depending on the planned use of the building elements, for example, whether the building elements are used as outer walls, partition walls, lightweight walls etc., and on the insulation it is desirable to obtain. The layer of filler material may also have different materials added, so that, for example, a desired "stiffness" or sound insulation in the building can be obtained. The layer of filler material will also essentially be arranged across the whole length and width of the building element.
The building elements are preferably prefabricated with one or more lead-throughs for wires, cables etc, that are to be run through the building's walls, floor and/or ceiling, so as to facilitate the running and arrangement of the wires, cables etc. The lead-through(s) are provided in the layer of filler material, and may, for example, comprise a duct which is embedded in the layer of filler material during the manufacture of the building elements. It should however be understood that the lead-through(s) in the layer of filler material can also be provided without the use of ducts, the lead-through(s) being formed after the building element has been manufactured or during the actual manufacturing process. If ducts are used to provide the lead-through(s), each end of the one or more ducts may be made with suitable connecting means so that the ducts in two adj acent building elements can easily and securely be connected during the assembly of the building elements.
According to the present invention, the building elements are filled with a layer of filler material over essentially the whole of their length and width. This means that the layer of filler material will not extend over the whole of the length (height) and width of the building element, as an area at the upper and lower edge of the building element will not be filled with filler material. This is because the building element is to cooperate with an upper and lower sill, which sill will then form a floor sill or ceiling sill in the modular system. The floor and ceiling sills will then be designed with an integral ridge, which integral ridge will cooperate with the area of the building element's upper and lower edge that is not filled with filler material in order thereby to assemble the building elements with the floor and ceiling sills so as to form a completely "closed" building element. The integral ridge in the floor and ceiling sills will then project some distance into the building elements when the building elements and the floor and ceiling sills have been put together.
Similarly, a building element, when looked into from above, will be configured with a plurality of recesses between the inner and outer cladding layer and the layer of filler material, in which recesses is arranged a plurality of insert elements in order thereby to join two adjacent building elements, and/or to increase the rigidity of the structure. This arrangement means that two adjacent building elements will then be joined by at least one common insert element that is arranged at least on one side of the building element (for example, between the inner cladding layer and the layer of filler material).
However, a building element according to the present invention is preferably configured with recesses at both ends and on both sides of the cladding layer and the layer of filler material, whereby two adjacent building elements are assembled with the aid of two common insert elements, one insert element arranged on each side of the layer of filler material.
The recesses will furthermore be capable of being provided across the whole or parts of the length and/or width of the building element.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each building element is configured with a recess in each of its corners, each recess extending some length in the width of the building element and the whole of its length (height). In addition, each building element is at one end configured with a transverse recess, which transverse recess extends between the recesses at the corners and also in the whole length (height) of the building element.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least one layer of a "fire-retardant" material will be arranged in the layer of filler material in order thereby to prevent or retard a fire. The layer of fire-retardant material may, for example, be constituted of chipboard and/or plywood board. The chipboard and/or plywood board will then extend in the whole length of the layer of filler material. It should however be understood that the at least one layer of fire-retardant material may also be constituted of materials other than a chipboard and/or plywood board, for example, a gypsum plasterboard or the like, or alternatively several different fire-retardant materials can be combined in order to obtain the desired effect. The different layers of fire-retardant materials may then be assembled as a composite layer, or they may be arranged spaced apart from one another across the thickness (i.e., between the inner and the outer cladding layer) of the building element.
The modular system according to the present invention also comprises a floor and ceiling sill. The floor and ceiling sills comprise, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, two spaced apart wooden members, between which wooden members a filler material is disposed. The filler material is, as in the case of the building elements, preferably polyurethane.
The floor and ceiling sills are preferably made having the same width as the elongate building elements, but they may also be made with a larger or smaller width.
The filler material in the floor and ceiling sills, with respect to cooperating with the upper and lower area of the building elements that are not filled with the layer of filler material, will be configured to extend beyond the "height" of the wooden members, thereby forming an integral ridge in one side of the floor and ceiling sills. This integral ridge, which is constituted of the layer of filler material, will, when the floor and ceiling sills are "applied" to the building elements, project into the building elements so as thus to form "completely" closed and "air-tight" building elements.
The building elements and the floor and ceiling sills according to the present invention are preferably made in suitable moulds, which moulds are configured to form the various recesses in the building elements, the integral ridge of the floor and ceiling sills etc. When manufacturing the building elements and the floor and ceiling sills, the inner and the outer cladding and the at least one layer of fire-retardant material in the building elements, or the wooden members in the floor and ceiling sills will be arranged in the suitable mould, the mould will then be closed and the layer of filler material (for example, polyurethane foam) will subsequently be introduced into the closed mould. The mould will then have heat applied thereto so as to dry and cure the layer of filler material.
Through the present invention there is thus provided a modular system for the construction of buildings, where the building elements, which are used for forming the building's walls, ceiling and floor are preferably made essentially identical, just as the floor and ceiling sills are made as identical elements. This will give less costly and simpler manufacture of the different elements of the building, as it is not necessary to produce a large number of different elements.
Other advantages and special features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, the attached drawings and the following claims, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a plurality of building elements according to the present invention which have been assembled to form a corner wall of a building;
Figure 2 shows a plurality of building elements according to the present invention assembled to form a ceiling and/or floor of a building, seen from the side;
Figure 3 shows details of the corner wall according to Figure 1, seen from above; and
Figure 4 shows a building element assembled with a floor and ceiling sill, seen from the side, where further details of the modular system are indicated.

Figure 1 shows a modular system for the construction of buildings 1, where a plurality of building elements 2 are put together to form a corner of a building, for example, a residential building. The building elements 2 are connected to a floor sill 3 and a ceiling sill 4. The floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 are made as elongate elements, so that they can connect a large number of building elements 2. As will be understood, the floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 will then have to be adapted to the number of building elements 2 they are to connect. In the illustrated embodiment in Figure 1, the floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 and the building elements 2 are made in the same thickness/width, but it will be understood that they can also be made having a different thickness/width.
A building element 2 comprises an inner and outer cladding layer 5, 6 (see also Figures 2 and 3), where the inner and the outer cladding layer in the illustrated embodiment are constituted of chipboard or plywood board. Between the inner and the outer cladding layer 5, 6 there is disposed a layer of filler material 7, which layer of filler material 7 is constituted of polyurethane.
Each building element 2 is further configured with a plurality of recesses 8, 9 over the whole or parts of its length and/or width, the said recesses 8, 9 being provided during the manufacture of the building elements 2. During the assembly of the building elements 2, insert elements 10 will be arranged in the recesses 8 in order thus to "connect" two adjacent building elements 2. Similarly, insert elements 11 will also be arranged in the recesses 9. where the object of the recess elements 11 is to stiffen or reinforce the assembled building elements 2.
The recesses 8 are arranged on each interior surface of the inner and the outer cladding layer 5, 6 and at each end of the building element 2 in the layer of filler material 7 itself, whilst the recess 9 is only provided at one end of the building element 2. By configuring each building element 2 in this way, each recess 8 will, when two adjacent building elements 2 are assembled, form a "common" recess with a recess 8 in the adjacent building element 2, in which "common" recess 8 the insert element 10 is arranged.
As also can be seen from Figure 1, an insert element 11 is arranged in the recess 9 in each building element 2. The two insert elements 10 which are arranged essentially perpendicular to the insert element 11 will then, together with the insert element 11, form an "I-beam" which will stiffen or reinforce the structure itself. The use of the insert elements 11 in a wall structure is however not necessary, as the building elements are only subjected to an axial load.
When insert elements 10 are arranged in the recesses 8, and two adjacent building elements 2 are put together, nails, screws, staples or the like are used on each side of the building elements 2 so that two adjacent building elements 2 are connected to two insert elements 10, the insert elements 10 being arranged on their respective side of the building elements 2.
If insert elements 11 are used, they will also be capable of being "nailed" to the insert elements 10.
Figure 2 shows, in a side view, how the building elements 2 according to the present invention are put together to form a ceiling and/or floor in a building. The building elements 2 that are used to form the ceiling and the floor of the building are identical to the building elements 2 that are used to form the walls in the building, but here it is preferable to use the insert elements 11 as this will give a "more rigid" construction. The insert elements 11 will then, together with the insert elements 10, form an I-beam across the whole length of the building element 2.
Figure 3 shows how a corner of a wall according to the modular system 1 of the present invention is provided or "terminated", and additional details of the building elements 2. Here a building element 2 (the building element 2 that is uppermost and to the left in Figure 3) that is to form a corner termination of the wall, at one end thereof is connected in the above-described manner to two insert elements 10, and optionally to an insert element 11 (not shown). At its opposite end, i.e., the end constituting the corner termination, an outer insert element 12 will be provided, said insert element 12 "closing" the building element 2 externally. The insert element 12 is then arranged transverse to the building element 2, in the recesses 8, 9, partly covering the recesses 8. Similarly, the building element 2 that extends from this corner element (downwards in the figure) also starts with an outer insert element 12, which outer insert element 12 is arranged adjacent to the inner cladding layer 5 of the upper, left-hand building element 2. The insert element 12 is then arranged transverse to the building element 2, in the recesses 8, 9, partly covering the recesses 8. This building element 2 and the subsequent, adjacent building element 2 will then be put together in the same way as disclosed above, the insert elements 10 being used to assemble and connect the building elements 2.
The building elements 2 that are shown in Figure 3 will in addition comprise at least one layer of a "fire-retardant" material 13, where this at least one layer of "fire-retardant" material 13 is arranged in the layer of filler material 7. The at least one layer of "fire-retardant" material 13 is constituted of a chipboard or plywood board, gypsum plasterboard or the like, which chipboard, plywood board or gypsum plasterboard or the like has the same extent over the width and height of the building element 2 as the layer of filler material 7. This means that the chipboard, plywood board or gypsum plasterboard 13 will not be flush with a lower and upper edge of a building element 2, as this area is not filled with filler material 7.
How the insert elements 10, 11, 12 should be configured (i.e., length, width, thickness, material etc.) will depend upon a number of parameters, such loads to which the building elements 2 are subjected, the materials that are used in the building elements 2 etc. However, one of skill in the art will know this and therefore a more detailed description is not given here.
Figure 4 shows a building element 2 in cross-section, in side view, where the building element 2 has been erected and connected to the floor and ceiling sills 3, 4. The floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 are then in a suitable manner, for example by adhesive bonding, nailing or the like joined to a room's floor or ceiling (not shown). The floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 are made in much longer lengths than the width of the building elements 2. This means that the floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 must then be adapted (sawn, cut to size etc.) with respect to the room's length and width.
The floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 comprise two spaced apart wooden members 14, 15, and between the wooden members 14, 15 there is provided a layer of filler material. The filler material is preferably the same filler material 7 as that used in the building elements 2. In the illustrated embodiment, polyurethane is used as filler material. As can be seen from the figures, the floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 will have the same width as the building elements 2, so that the outer edges of the wooden members will be flush with the cladding layer 5, 6.
The floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 will furthermore be configured having an integrated step 16, which will extend out beyond the height of the wooden members (when seen in the figure). This integrated step 16 will, when the floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 have been "applied" to the building elements 2, project into the upper and lower areas of the building elements 2, so as to form "completely" closed and "air-tight" building elements 2.
When assembling a building using the building elements 2 and the floor and ceiling sills 3, 4 according to the present invention, the first step will be to start by putting together a plurality of building elements 2 which are to form the building's floor. A building element 2 will be placed on the surface that is to form the floor, whereafter an insert element 12 is arranged in the recesses 8, 9. This building element 2 thus forms the first building element 2 of the floor. Insert elements 10 will subsequently be arranged in the recesses 8 on the opposite side of the insert element 12, whereafter a new building element 2 will be pushed in against the first building element 2. An insert element 9 will also be provided in the second building element, the insert element 9 and the insert element 10, upon assembly of the two first building elements 2, forming an "I-beam" in the juncture between the building elements 2. The two first building elements 2 will then be connected to each other in that nails, screws, staples or the like are used to "nail" the inner and outer cladding layers 5, 6 to the insert elements 10. This method will continue using subsequent building elements 2 until the whole floor has been formed. The building element 2 that forms the termination of the room will then be terminated in the same way as the first building element 2 in the floor, in that an insert element 12 is arranged in the recesses 8, 9.
After the floor of the room has been formed, a floor sill 3 is laid on the formed floor, whereafter a first building element 2 is erected and placed in the floor sill 3 in order to form a corner of a wall in the room. The first building element 2 will then, in a similar way to the first building element 2 in the floor, be started with an insert element 12. Then, on an opposite side of the insert element 12, insert elements 10 will be arranged in the recesses 8 of this building element, whereafter a new building element 2 is pushed in against the first building element 2. The part of the insert elements 10 that projects out from the recesses 8 in the first building element will then be arranged in the recesses 8 in the adjacent building element 2. Now the two adjacent building elements 2 can be joined to each other via nails, screws, staples or the like. The same method is repeated for each building element 2 until a first wall of the building has been formed. The last building element 2 of the wall will then be terminated by an insert element 12, such that a flat outer face is formed in this building element 2. The next wall will then be started with an insert element 12 in the first building element 2 in this wall, whereafter the method for this wall is the same as for the first wall. This is done for each wall of the room.
When all the walls of the room have been formed as described above, a ceiling sill 4 will be arranged on the upper end of the building element 2, extending along the whole length of the wall. Then the method for the assembly of the floor will be repeated, but now for the formation of the room's ceiling.
As mentioned above, the building elements 2 are preferably made in the same lengths, which means that the building elements 2 must be sawn and cut to size with respect to the building's doors, windows etc. However, it should be understood that a number of building elements 2 can be prefabricated in already adapted lengths for the building's doors and/or windows.
The invention has now been explained using several non-limiting exemplary embodiments. A person of skill in the art will understand that a number of variations and modifications may be made to the modular system as described within the scope of the invention as defined in the attached claims. Although the use of wood for the manufacture of the elongate elements has been described in this specification, it will be understood that also other materials can be used.

Claims

A modular system for the construction of buildings, comprising prefabricated building elements, the system comprising a plurality of load-bearing elongate and insulated building elements (2), which building elements (2) are constituted of at least an inner and outer cladding layer (5, 6) between which is arranged a layer of filler material (7), characterised in that in the layer of filler material (7) at least one layer of a fire-retardant material (13) is provided, which elongate building elements (2) in their vertical and horizontal direction are adapted to be connected to a plurality of insert element (10, 11, 12) in order thereby to assemble the elongate and load-bearing building elements (2).
A system according to claim 1, characterised in that the inner and outer cladding layers (5, 6) are constituted of one single layer or of a plurality of layers.
A system according to claim 1, characterised in that the layer of filler material (7) is polyurethane.
A system according to claim 1 or 3, characterised in that the layer of filler material (7) is arranged essentially over the whole length and width of the building element (2).
A system according to claim 3, characterised in that the layer of filler material (7) comprises different added materials
A system according to claim 1, characterised in that between the inner and the outer cladding layers (5, 6) and the layer of filler material (7), towards the width and height termination of the building elements (2), there are provided recesses (8, 9) in which recesses (8, 9) the insert elements (10, 11, 12) are arranged.
A system according to claim 1, characterised in that the system further comprises floor and ceiling sills (3, 4), which floor and ceiling sills (3, 4) comprise two or more spaced apart wooden members (14, 15) where between the two or more spaced apart wooden members (14, 15) there is provided at least one layer of filler material.
A system according to claim 1, characterised in that the floor and ceiling sills (3, 4) comprise an integral ridge (16).