GB2039561A

GB2039561A - Building

Info

Publication number: GB2039561A
Application number: GB7942174A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Portakabin Ltd
Current assignee: Portakabin Ltd
Priority date: 1978-12-06
Filing date: 1979-12-06
Publication date: 1980-08-13

Abstract

In a multi-storey building erected from prefabricated units (10, 11), one unit (10) comprises a floor member (12) having an upwardly extending upright (15) attached thereto, and another unit (11) comprises a roof member (19) having a downwardly extending upright (20) attached thereto. A building is erected from a pack by raising the roof member (19) above the floor member (12) and connecting the respective uprights together as by a bolted flange connection. Each unit is internally and externally decorated and provided with service facilities. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements relating to buildings Description of Invention This invention relates to buildings and more particularly, but not exclusively, to relatively tall buildings such as a factory, workshop or warehouse.

The invention also relates to a method of erecting such a building. By tall, we mean not less than 3 metres in height.

Hitherto, such buildings have been built from a large number of relatively small basic components such as bricks, steel reinforcement, steel columns, roofing panels and the like. These basic components have all been transported to the site individually and the buildings have been erected from the basic components on site in conventional manner. It will be appreciated that this technique has the disadvantage normally associated with conventional building techniques such as reliance upon weather conditions and the limitations upon speed of erection imposed by the technique, together with the fact that the building once erected is not movable to a different location without complete dismantling and reassembly at the new location.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method of erection of a building, particu larly a relatively tall building, together with other objects ancilliary thereto.

According to a first aspect of the invention we provide a method of erecting a building including the steps of locating a second unit comprising a roof member above a first unit comprising a floor member, the floor on the roof member having at least part of one upright permanently and fixedly secured thereto, with the, or each, upright member extending generally vertically and connecting the end or ends of the or each upright member to the roof or floor member respectively so that the second unit is supported on the first unit.

As a result of the present invention, a building such as a factory can be erected from units which can be manufactured to a finished state in a factory.

The units can thus be provided with internal and external decoration as well as having all services, such as heating, ventilation and electric power distribution, as required, installed therein in the factory prior to delivery to the erection site. Moreover, because the units can be made in factory conditions, quality control can be maintained and the speed of construction of the units can be that which is normally associated with factory conditions.

Because the invention is primarily intended for relatively tall buildings, a problem would arise with the transport to site of units which extended over the full height of the buildings. It is obviously necessary for the units to be able to pass under road or rail bridges.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention this problem is avoided by providing a pack for erection to provide a building by the method of the first aspect of the invention, the pack having a first unit comprising a floor member, a second unit comprising a roof member, at least one of said roof or floor members having at least part of one upright member permanently and fixedly secured thereto, an end of the or each upright being adapted to be connected to the floor or roof member respectively whereby when erected, the second unit is supported on the first unit and wherein in said pack, the upright member or members are orientated so that the pack is of less overall height than the building when erected.

Preferably both the roof and the floor members are provided with at least one upright member, an end of the or each upright member of the second unit being adapted to be connected to an end of the or each upright member of the second unit.

In the pack, upright members of each unit may lie in parallel side by side relationship and the floor and roof members may be orientated with their planes parallel or perpendicular to each other. Alternatively, planes of the floor and roof members may be inclined and likewise the upright members may lie in inclined planes.

In the pack, units may be arranged so that the joint between the floor member and upright member of the first unit is adjacent the joint between the roof member and the upright member of the second unit or alternatively the units may be arranged so that the joint between the floor member and the upright member of the first unit may be adjacent the free end of the upright member of the second unit.The first of the above alternatives is particularly applicable to the case where the units have an upright member at only one end thereof whilst the latter alternative is particularly applicable where the units have upright members at opposite ends in which case the upright member at one end of one unit will be inside the upright member at one end of the other unit whilst the upright member at the opposite end of the said one unit will lie outside the upright member at the opposite end of said other unit.

Where it is desired to reduce the overall height of the pack still further the upright member or members may comprise at least two parts, a first part being permanently and fixedly secured to its respective floor or roof member and a second part pivotable relative to the first part between a first folded position for accommodation in the pack and a second upright position for erection of the building.

Alternatively, the second part may be adapted to be disconnected from the first part for transport, in the pack, if desired.

According to a third aspect of the invention we provide a building which can be erected by the method according to the first aspect of the invention and from a pack according to the second aspect of the invention, said building comprising a first unit comprising a floor member and a second unit comprising a roof member at least one of said roof member at least one of said roof or floor members having at least part of one upright member permanently and fixedly secured thereto, the or each upright being releasably connected, at one end to the floor or roof member respectively.

Thus, a building embodying the invention, whilst being of a relatively great height, can be transported to a site by road or rail since it can pass under bridges or other height restricted places by virtue of the releasable connection between the upright member and the floor or roof member since it enables the building to be separated into two parts and transported as a pack according to the second aspect of the invention.

It is to be noted that the connection between the upright member and the floor or roof member is at a position where the forces acting on the structure are at a minimum and it should also be noted that where the floor and roof members are provided with an upright member, the upright members of each unit will generally be of approximately equal length, but they may be of unequal length.

Each unit may have a single upright member in the form of a column or in the form of a wall and the column or wall may be adapted to be located at any desired position on the associated floor/roof member. Of course, where only a single wall or column is provided, a plurality of roof and floor members must be assembled together in side by side and/or end-to-end relationship to provide the building.

Alternatively, each unit may be provided with at least two upright members comprising walls or at least three upright members comprising columns whereby the units are self-supporting.

Where, as will be the general case, the first and second units are rectangular in plan view then usually two walls will be provided which extend along opposite sides of their respective unit, or alternatively four columns may be provided on each unit, one at or adjacent each corner of the associated floor/roof member.

It will be appreciated that a building embodying the present invention can be transported and erected on site with the minimum of site preparation and labour and that if it is desired to re-locate the building, this is a relatively simple operation merely requiring disconnection of the connection between the ends of the upright members followed by transport of the components to the other site and reassembly of the building thereon.

Examples of the invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a building embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation of a pack of units from which the building, shown in Figure 1, is erected; Figure 3 is a perspective view of an alternative form of pack; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of another building embodying the invention; Figure 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of a further building embodying the invention; Figure 6 is a diagrammatic plan view of a still further building embodying the invention; Figure 7 is a plan view of a yet still further building embodying the invention; and Figure 8 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a pack showing the units of the building of Figure 7.

Referring to Figure 1, a building such as a factory or warehouse is made from first and second prefab ricated factory-made units 10 and 11.

The first unit 10 comprises a floor member 12 of any desired contruction but basically comprising Inmgitudinal and transverse frame members having a floor panel or panels 13. Extending along two opposite ends 14 of the floor member 12 are upright members 15 in the form of walls which may be of any desired construction but are preferably in the form of a unitary insulated panel having appropriate upright reinforcing members such as shown at 16.

The second unit 11 is of basically similar construction to the first unit 10 and comprises a roof member 17 having longitudinally and transversely extending frame members together with a roof panel or panels 18. At two opposite ends 19 are provided upright members 20 in the form of walls of a similar construction to the upright members 15 of the first unit 10. Any desired means is provided for releasably connecting together the upper end 21 of the upright members 15 and the lower end 22 of the upright members 20. Such means may comprise a suitable flange provided at the lower end of the walls 20 and the upper end of the walls 15, each flange having apertures to receive a bolt or other connection.

The open sides of the building may be closed-in subsequently by any desired form of panelling.

Alternatively, if desired, the side wall panels may be provided on the units 10, 11 when they are manufactured and the units and their associated side wall panels transported to the side as a single entity.

The units 10, 11 can be finished in the factory. That is to say they can be provided with internal and external decoration and all the necessary services can be installed such as heating, ventilation, electric power distribution and the like, as required.

The building shown in Figure 1 has a height of approximately eight metres and in order to permit the components to be transported by road or rail where a maximum height of perhaps three of four metres is permitted, the units 10, 11 are assembled together in a pack as shown in Figure 2 where the floor member 12 is orientated in a horizontal plane with the upright members 15 extending vertically upwardly and the roof unit 11 is orientated so that one of its upright members 20 is located inside the adjacent upright member 15 of the floor unit whilst its other upright member 20 is located outside the adjacent upright member 15 of the first unit 10.

In this manner, the overall height of the pack is substantially the same as the overall height of the tallest unit. In the example illustrated the units are of the same height but of course if desired may be of different heights.

Depending upon the transverse dimensions of the building it may be desirable to orientate the compo nents as illustrated in Figure 3 i.e. so that the planes of the floor and roof members 12 and 17 are inclined at 90.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the invention which is basically similar two that shown in Figure 1 but wherein four upright members comprising col umns 30 are provided on the floor and roof mem bers. A number of pairs of units may be assembled together in side by side relationship to provide a greater floor area as shown in Figure 5.

In order to reduce the number of upright members and to increase the floor area of the building, if desired, a lesser number of columns or walls may be provided. For example, in Figure 6 each unit is provided with only a single column 30. Whilst of course, the roof members 17 could not be supported individually from their associated floor members, by connecting together a plurality of roof members 17 along their side and/or ends i.e. as indicated at 31 and 32, the building is rendered self-supporting. Of course, any desired number of columns may be provided in any location. Instead of locating the single columns 30, in the positions shown in Figure 6, each single column 30 could be located at the mid point of the short side of each unit.Further alternatively, instead of providing a single column in a building of the general construction shown in Figure 6, a single end wall could be provided such as shown in Figure 7 at 33.

Again, to render the building of Figure 7 selfsupporting, it is necessary to connect the two roof members together along their ends as shown as 31.

It will be appreciated that the type of pack into which the units are assembled for transport, will depend upon the number of position of the uprights.

In all embodiments the or each upright member is permanently and rigidly secured to its associated floor/roof member and the units are transported to the site with two or more units assembled together with the upright members in overlapping relationship. With the building shown in Figure 7, the units could be transported as a pack such as shown in Figure 8 where it will be seen that the floor member 12 and the roof member 17 are orientated in inclined planes and hence that the upright members 15 and 20 are likewise orientated in inclined planes although still overlapping relationship.

In summary, the present invention permits the ereation of a relatively large and tall building, such as a factory, from prefabricated units which can be built in a factory to a finished condition and transported to site in a pack which satisfies the necessary height restrictions of road or rail transport. In essence, transporting the building as a pack is achieved by providing a separable joint in the or each upright member of the building at a position intermediate its ends although generally it will be located adjacent the mid point whereby the overall height of the units in the pack is approximately halved compared with the finished height of the building.

If it is desired to erect a building which is of too great a height to be transported, even by providing a separable joint in the or each upright member, if desired the or each upright member may comprise two or more parts, a first part being permanently and fixedly secured to the floor or roof member, and a second part being pivotable relative to the first part between a folded position for accommodation in the pack and an upright position for erection of the building.

Alternatively, the second parts may be adapted to be disconnected from the first parts for transport in thP nsr.k if desired.

Although in all of the embodiments described above, both the floor and the roof members have an upright member or members, it will be appreciated that if desired only the floor or the roof member may have an upright member in which case the upright member is adapted to engage the roof or floor member respectively.

Spacer members may be provided between the ends of the upright members or if only one upright is provided, between the end and the floor or the roof member to increase the separation between the floor and roof members. Such spaces members could be accommodated in the pack if desired, for transport to the site.

Claims

1. A method or erecting a building including the steps of locating a second unit comprising a roof member above a first unit comprising a floor member, the floor or the roof member having at least part of one upright permanently and fixedly secured thereto with the or each upright member extending generally vertically and connecting the end or ends of the or each upright member to the roof or floor member respectively.

2. A method according to Claim 1 wherein the units are provided with internal and external decoration and heating, ventilation and electric power distribution as required, installed therein priorto delivery to the erection site.

3. A pack for erection to provide a building by the method according to either of the preceding claims, the pack having a first unit comprising a floor member, a second unit comprising a roof member, at least one of said floor or roof members having at least part of one upright member permanently and fixedly secured thereto, an end of the or each upright being adapted to be connected to the floor or roof member respectively whereby, when erected, the second unit is supported on the first unit and wherein in said pack the upright member or members so that the pack is of less overall height than the building when erected.

4. A pack according to Claim 3 wherein both the roof member and the floor members are provided with at least one upright member, an end of the or each upright member of the second unit being connected to an end of the or each upright member of the first unit.

5. A pack according to Claim 4wherein, in the pack upright members of each unit lie in parallel side by side relationship and the floor and roof members are orientated with their planes parallel or perpendicularto each other.

6. A pack according to Claim 4wherein the planes of the floor and roof members are inclined and the upright members lie in inclined planes.

7. A pack according to any one of Claims 4 to 6 wherein, in the pack, units are arranged so that the joint between the floor member and the upright member of the first unit is adjacent the joint between the roof member and the upright member of the second unit.

8. A pack according to any one of Claim 4 to 6 wherein the units are arranged so that the joint between the floor member and the upright member of the first unit is adjacent the free end of the upright member of the second unit.

9. A pack according to Claim 7 wherein the units have an upright member at only one end thereof.

10. A pack according to Claim 8 wherein the units have upright members at opposite ends.

11. A pack according to Claim 3 wherein the upright member or members comprise at least two parts, a first part being permanently and fixedly secured to its respective floor or roof member, and a second part pivotable relative to the first part between a first folded position for accommodation in the pack and a second upright position for erection of the building.

12. A pack according to Claim 3 wherein the upright member or members comprise at least two parts, a first part being permanently and fixedly secured to its respective floor or roof member and a second part adapted to be disconnected from the first part for transport.

13. A building comprising a first unit comprising a floor member, and a second unit comprising a roof member at least one of said roof or floor members having at least part of one upright member permanently and fixedly secured thereto, the or each upright being releasably connected, at one end to the floor or roof member respectively.

14. A building according to Claim 13 wherein the floor and roof members are provided with at least one upright member, an end of the or each upright member of the second unit being conected to an end of the or each upright member of the first unit.

15. A building according to Claim 14whereinthe upright members of each unit are of approximately equal length.

16. A building according to Claim 14 wherein the upright members of each unit are of unequal length.

17. A building according to any one of Claims 14 to 16 wherein each unit has a single upright member in the form of a column or in the form of a wall and the column or wall is adapted to be located at any desired position on the associated floor/roof member.

18. A building according to any one of Claims 14 to 16 wherein each unit is provided with at least two upright members comprising walls or at least three upright members comprising columns whereby the units are self-supporting.

19. A building according to any one of claims 13 to 18 wherein the first and second units are rectangular in plan view.

20. A building according to Claim 19 wherein dependent upon Claim 18 wherein two walls are provided which extend along opposite sides of their respective unit.

21. A building according to Claim 19 wherein dependent upon Claim 18 wherein four columns are provided on each unit one at or adjacent each corner of the associated floor/roof member.

22. A method or erecting a building substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

23. A pack substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 and 2, or3, or4and 5, or6, or7and 8 of the accompanying drawings.

24. A building substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.