GB2359567A

GB2359567A - Compactable cabin structure

Info

Publication number: GB2359567A
Application number: GB0001905A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Talbot; Stephen Harris
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-01-27
Filing date: 2000-01-27
Publication date: 2001-08-29
Also published as: GB0001905D0

Abstract

This is a transportable or road-going cabin unit that can be delivered to site stowed, and erected from within itself to provide an enclosed rigid cabin that is appreciably taller and wider than the stowed unit. The cabin roof 400 of the stowed unit employs end walls 450/460 as main links in the elevating system, with fail-safe arresters, that raises the roof to erected position simultaneously at both ends. This operation frees shell extensions 650, sidewalls and window frames 670/675, roof extensions 700 and end wall extensions 710, that hinge outward: and these components latch together to complete the cabin enclosure. The roof elevating system is electro-mechanically actuated, with manual over-ride, so that it can be operated in the absence of a power supply. Shell extensions are counterpoised to assist and control motion between start and stop positions. Stowing of this structure is a reversal of the erection procedure.

Description

2359567 COMPACTABLE CABIN STRUCTURE This invention relates to a

compactable cabin structure.

Portable cabins are defined to be temporary or semi-permanent structures that can be moved from site to site according to requirement. For example, they are normally used on construction sites as site offices, mess huts and services units, and as storage cabins. Within limits of highway regulations, cabins are also available as road-going trailers, or demountable offices and amenities units for short-term events. With fixed dimensions, of minimum practical size consistent with their application, portable cabins will often need to be delivered to site under police escort. There is a time and cost constraint to operations where portable cabins are moved under escort.

According to the present invention there is defined a compactable cabin structure, which can be delivered to site stowed, and then erected from within itself to provide an enclosed rigid cabin appreciably taller and wider than the stowed unit.

A structure of the form thus defined, and built further to the design specified herein, can be supplied as a portable or demountable unit, or built as a road-going trailer fitted with a compactable superstructure. These are presented as logical alternatives, based on the fundamental principle of this invention, and specified appropriately.

The construction and operation of this invention will now be described, with reference to drawings that show the design and operating sequence, as follows:

Fig. 1 Stowed Structure: Isometric View in which the external structure and the cabin roof are shown separated, revealing the stowed structure nestled within, namely: cabin end walls, link frames and gantry beams; shell extensions, sidewalls and windows; and roof extension flaps.

Fig. 2 Roof Elevating System: General Schematic showing cabin end walls, with gantry beams that incorporate fail-safe arresters, connected together as master and slave, and caused to move by a roller chain actuator system.

Figs. 3A/B Roller Chain Actuator: Sectional Arrangements showing the roller chain box as double acting or single acting according to arrangement of doors; with leadscrew, crosshead and geared motor, and fitted with a manual over-ride system.

Cabin Structure Erected Complete: Isometric View showing the cabin structure erected to final condition, and completed by the closing of end wall flaps.

With reference to the numbered components shown in the accompanying drawings, this section describes the technical content and sequential steps that convert the stowed compactable cabin structure into an enclosed rigid cabin.

The sequence starts with the compactable cabin structure in stowed form as a portably delivered, demountable or trailer type unit, standing on the chosen site, with all security locks and latches unfastened. Locks and latches are not part of this specification, because they are commonly used for cabins and trailers of any type set up on any site.

The cabin roof 400 is in the stowed position, as the weather-proof cover sitting on top of the parent 300 structure. The parent structure is the base unit that contains and supports the stowed compactable cabin structure. Parent detail varies according to unit type, and its fitting out for purpose. The current specification covers superstructure and operating system; and parent structures, where shown, are indicative only.

Technical content of the present invention, and the step by step erection sequence afforded by the fundamental design, are as follows:

Cabin end walls 450/460 are hinged from the parent structure so that they are free to pivot from near horizontal to near vertical. The top end of each wall is hinged to a gantry beam 470 housed within the cabin roof These gantry beams have wheels 475 that are made to run front to rear in ways mounted on the interior side panels of the cabin roof Limit stops 480 and buffer springs 485 prescribe these movements; and gantry beams have failsafe arresters, whose function is described in later notes.

A link frame 490 with pivots at both ends connects the centre of the front wall to the interior front panel of the roof In similar fashion, a portal frame 500 connects the centre of the rear wall to the rear panel of the roof This is made as a portal frame because it straddles a doorway in the rear wall. Link frame and portal frame are kinernatically identical.

Roller chains 510, running through sprockets 512 and chain guides 514 within the side skirts of the roof, form a connection between the front and rear gantry beams. These chains are assembled synchronised. They make the front and rear gantry beams work as master and slave: as the front gantry beam moves forward the rear gantry beam moves backward.

The front and rear walls, together with link frame and portal frame, form a lifting mechanism for the cabin roof. Closing together the cabin front wall and link frame, simultaneously copied by rear wall and portal, causes the roof to be lifted vertically.

Fail-safe arresters are installed to prevent the roof falling under gravity when the roof elevating system is operating, by controlling motion of the gantry beams. Each end of each gantry beam is fitted with two (475) wheels to carry the roof The gantry wheels themselves have gear plates 520 that engage with rack plates 530 fastened alongside the runways. These ensure that the gantry wheels roll without slipping. The racks and gears function as a failure reaction device for the roof elevating system, thus:

The fail-safe arrester itself is pendulum plate 540, hanging in the space between each pair of gantry wheels, and carries two studs that normally clear the rotation paths of the gear plates. If the roof moves under gravity the inherent inertia of the pendulum plate causes it to swing backward relative to its gantry wheels.The studs are then automatically captured between the root spaces of opposing gear teeth. This will arrest motion of the gantry beams, and allow rectification and recovery to be carried out.

Roller chain actuator is the collective name for the assembly of chains and sprockets, together with leadscrew and crosshead, that supplies mechanical effort to raise the roof: close the cabin front wall and link frame together to raise the roof, and slacken them to lower the roof. The function of the roller chain system is described here:

The link frame (490) carries a pair of quadrant plates 550, each of which mimics a sector of the common sprocket type used by this system.Each quadrant anchors a roller chain 560 passing over a sprocket 562 mounted in the cabin front wall, and down to sprockets 566 at the foot of the wall.

The two roller chains from the front wall now enter the roller chain box 582, where they wrap around twin sprockets 584, and are anchored by fulcrum pins 586 at the top of the box. To elevate the roof the twin sprockets are pulled down the box, to take up chain, as follows:

A third sprocket 588, interposed between the twin sprockets, carries an actuator chain 590 that passes down the box. Both legs of this final chain pass through idler sprockets 594 and connect to the arms of the crosshead 604 that moves back and forth on the leadscrew 606. The leadscrew is driven either by geared motor 612 or by a manually operated speedbrace.

Given the need to fit a doorway 625 central to the front wall, the roller chains would then be directed into single acting chain boxes. The modified actuator operates thus:

The front link frame would be replaced by a portal frame, similar to the rear portal. This front portal frame carries quadrant plates (550) of the type described earlier. Quadrant plates again anchor single roller chains, but the chains pass down the portal members either side of the doorway.

The single roller chains each pass over sprockets at the foot of the front wall, entering a roller chain box 632 fitted with a single sprocket 634 and fulcrum pin 636: there being one chain box to each side of the doorway.

A simple yoke 638 is connected to the stub axle that carries the single sprocket within each chain box. This ensures that the pull exerted by the final actuator chain is centralised downward through each assembyThe final actuator chains 640/642 from these roller boxes, conveyed through idler sprockets 644, connect out to the common crosshead and leadscrew.

Having thus raised the roof to erected position, the sequence continues as noted here:

Low level stowed components now exposed are the shell extensions 650 and support frames 660, which are hinged within the parent structure, and rest inverted. Shell extensions hinge out over the side of the parent structure, whereupon they rest level- Movement of the shell extensions is controlled by counterpoises 665 between the start and stop positions, allowing them to be manual, hydraulic or pneumatic systems.

Opening the shell extensions clear of the parent structure affords access to the cabin interior from either end of the structure. The sequence procedes to completion thus:

The sidewalls and window frames 6701675 are now released from their stowed locations on the shell extensions, being raised and latched to the vertical position, along with roof extension flaps 700 that hinge out from their stowed locations within the cabin roof The remaining operation is to release end wall extension flaps 710 from their stowed locations on the outer faces of the cabin front and rear walls, and latch them to the sidewalls, and to the shell and roof extensions.

This completes conversion of the compactable cabin structure into an enclosed rigid cabin. Stowing of this structure is a reversal of the erection procedure.

Applications of the compactable cabin structure include at least three main types: portable, delivered by flatbed lorry, and lifted off; demountable, with an underframe designed to offload without assistance; trailer type, towable on the public highway.

Importantly, these derivatives all employ the compactable cabin structure so that they are low profile, and conventional track width; and capable of being erected to provide a taller and wider cabin structure, which is the principal attribute of this design.

Given the current specification, it is proposed that the compactable cabin structure can be designed to fit any of these types of parent structure. Accompanying drawings show two principal applications, by way of example, thus:

Fig. 5 Portable Cabin Structure: Typical Profile having an underframe 200 that incorporates lifting lugs 205, with outrigger supports 210 that brace the parent structure from the ground and accept the shell extension support frames.

Fig. 6 Trailer Type Cabin Structure: Typical Profile which is a selfcontained road-going unit, available in a range of shell lengths, doors and windows to design requirement.

The demountable type unit is essentially a portable unit with an adapted underframe, which interfaces more with the parent structure than it does the superstructure. Such underframes are not part of this specification.

The following notes relate to selection and detailing of internal partitions, systems and equipment in relation to the compactable cabin structure:

The fitting out for purpose of the compactable cabin structure is not within the brief of the current specification. Parent structures are defined as containment and support for the stowed structure. Internal partitions, systems and equipment do not presently apply.

Motor selection for the roof elevating system is based on the torque demand that results from the weight of the roof and walls, which is thus a function of the unit size. The geared motor is not, of itself, critical to the compactable cabin structure as an invention. This motor is a proprietary item that simply bolts onto the actuator system, and selected accordingly.

Power supplies for the low voltage geared motor and cabin unit electrical systems are not elements of the compactable cabin structure. Whether low voltage or mains, these electrical systems are a separate discipline, and not part of this specification.

This completes the description of the Compactable Cabin Structure, and a range of derivatives that are shown to use this design.

o

Claims

1. A compactable cabin structure that can be delivered to site in stowed form as a portable, demountable or road-going trailer unit, and then erected from within itself to provide an enclosed rigid cabin that is appreciably taller and wider than the stowed unit.

A compactable cabin structure, as claimed in Claim 1, in which the cabin roof employs the end walls of the structure as main links in the elevating system that raises the roof to its erected position.

3. A compactable cabin structure, as claimed in Claim 1 and Claim 2, in which the end walls are connected to the cabin roof by means of link frames and internal gantry beams, which are connected as master and slave, so that the cabin roof is raised simultaneously at both ends.

4. A compactable cabin structure, as claimed in Claim 3, in which the gantry beams incorporate fail-safe arresters that prevent the cabin roof falling under gravity when the roof elevating system is operating, and allow rectification and recovery to complete the operation.

A compactable cabin structure, as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the roof elevating system is actuated electro-mechanically, and can operate independently of external power systems or equipment.

6. A compactable cabin structure, as claimed in Claim 5, in which the roof elevating system incorporates manual over-ride, so that it can be operated in the absence of a power supply.

7.

A compactable cabin structure, as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the structure gains width by the opening out of shell extensions that include stowed sidewalls and window frames, all made accessible by the raising of the roof to its erected position.

8. A compactable cabin structure, as claimed in Claim 7, in which the shell extensions are roofed-over by flaps that hinge out from stowed locations within the cabin roof itself, and latch to the window frames.

A compactable cabin structure, as claimed in Claim 8, in which the extended cabin is closed-off by end wall extension flaps that hinge outward, and then latch to the sidewalls, and to the shell and roof extensions.

10. A compactable cabin structure substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.