GB2391022A - Transportable buildings which can interlink - Google Patents

Abstract

Transportable building units 120 can be linked together. They may link directly at an entranceway 169, via a passageway 168 or via a meeting room 180 or the like. Such buildings are commonly used for toilets, stores, offices, mess rooms, food booths, roadside caf’s, restrooms and recording booths. The units could also be used for temporary accommodation, such as for disaster recovery purposes.

Description

- Transportable Buildings The present invention relates to portable

buildings, and more particularly to a portable building which is fitted with services for use as an office, such as a desk or work surface, cabling for electric power and communications and cupboard and shelf space.

Portable buildings are commonly used for toilets, stores offices, mess rooms, food booths, roadside cafes, rest rooms and recording booths. They may be intended for long term, medium tenn or short term use. it is common for such buildings to be erected outside, in the open air.

GB2265396A describes a mobile workstation which may be internally fitted out for a specific function, and which can be guided into a designated area within a building, either as a single unit, or in combination with other workstations.

The present invention is particularly concerned with providing a portable unit is fitted out, for example as an office, and then installed in an available space, and connecting two or more of such building together.

My co-pending applicator PCT/GB02/02389 provides a portable unit having side walls and a roof' comprising means for holding the roof at a first height for transporting the unit, and means for holding the roof at a second height, for when the unit is installed, wherein said roof is movable from said first height to said second height. Preferably, the whole of the roof is movable, and the unit also has a base. The movable roof allows the unit to be more easily fitted through a doorway of a domestic garage, and makes it easier to install or to store, while allowing maximum space inside the portable.building.

Preferably, the roof moves by the extension or contraction of extendable uprights, ' which may be of a telescopic form. The uprights may incorporate a mechanism for raising the roof, or they may just provide a guide for movement of the roof when the necessary force is applied by independent means. The roof may be locked in place at the

desired height. Thus the unit is substantially pre-assembled, ready for use. The roof need only be raised to ready the unit for nonnal occupancy.

The unit may be installed by one of several methods. For example, it may be transported to the garage in a lorry, van or trailer. If it is light enough, it may be possible for several people to co-operate in carrying it manually inside the garage. Alternatively, the lorry, van or trailer may have a ramp which the unit may be moved down into the garage, then slid across the garage floor. Sliding the unit could be made easier by placing rollers between the unit and the floor, or placing below the unit a sheet of material with a low friction contact with the floor. The rollers or sheet could then be removed by elevating only one end or confer of the unit at a time. Another possibility is to install the unit in the garage with a forklift truck or a specially adapted vehicle which has means for supporting the weight of the unit as it is positioned. In another form the unit is on castors and is wheeled into place. Legs may then be screwed down to take the weight of the unit off the castors.

The unit may be large enough to fill most of the garage, or it may be smaller, such that it only occupies part of the garage. The door may be aligned with the garage door, or for a unit which does not occupy the whole garage, it may be in any position which allows enough space for access. After positioning of the unit, its roof may be raised to the ceiling height of the garage.

Having a roof capable of being raised to the ceiling level of the larger building has the additional advantage that with the top of the building in close contact with the ceiling, the building becomes very securely positioned, and is unlikely to be knocked over or accidentally moved.

The units could be rented out by individual customers from a company. The company could transport each unit and install it in a customer's garage. The unit could be pre-

fitted with office equipment, including furniture, a computer, communication equipment, air conditioning, lighting, heating, electrical power, etc. Power sockets, etc. may be wired up inside the unit, and this wiring may be corrected to an electricity supply, etc. on installation of the unit. The furniture could include desks, filing cabinets,

drawers, shelves, chairs, and bookcases. The communication equipment could include a telephone, an answering machine, a videophone, an intercom connected from the office to the customer's house, a facsimile machine, and computer data lines for remote connection, especially to the internet. The unit could also have general office equipment such as a photocopier, a printer and a scanner. A motion sensor may be used to power up the equipment, and power it down automatically when the unit is empty, i.e. there is no movement within the unit. A closed circuit camera may be linked to a remote station. Renting out of the pre-fitted of rices by the company would be particularly useful for customers who did not have the time, computer knowledge or DJY skills to set up an office in their house. For a household with young children, an office in the garage would be a quiet and peaceful place to work. For a customer who was likely to move house in the foreseeable future, they could simply take their office with them. The fact that the office was installed inside a garage, rather than directly in a garden, would provide greater security against theft and break-in.

While such units are particularly useful for installation in a garage, the office unit could alternatively be installed outside, in a garden, car park or on a forecourt. This is particularly useful when providing temporary accommodation, such as for disaster recovery purposes. In this case we provide a unit having a facility for connecting to another unit.

Thus in one aspect of our invention we provide a transportable unit having doorways in opposed walls, to allow a through access to another unit. In another aspect we provide a pair of units with a connecting passage which can be removably fitted between the units. The connecting passage may have openings at its ends for connecting to two or more units and a doorway for access to the passage, and hence the units, from outside.

Yet another aspect provides a meeting space, which is preferably a pre fabricated room, and connections from the meeting space to a plurality of units.

Where the units are to be used outside, it is not necessary to have a roof which may be lowered, thus the roof may be of fixed height.

The portable unit is preferably fitted with one or more of a work surface, light fitting(s), communications wiring, power wiring or cabling, an air conditioning unit, cupboard space, shelving, meters for metering consumption of services such as communications and power.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are now described, with reference to the following drawings, in which: Figure I shows a transportable building unit; Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the building of figure 1, before the roof has been raised; Figure 3 shows a front view corresponding to figure 1; Figure 4 shows a front view corresponding to figure 2, with a door removed; Figure S shows a unit with a fixed roof and a doorway; Figure 6 shows unit connected side by side; Figure 7 shows units connected by a passageway; Figure 8 shows units connected to a meeting room.

The portable building unit 120 has a roof 135 which can be raised or lowered. This may be done, for example, by a portable jacking mechanism which is positioned inside the unit on site to raise the roof which is then locked in position, or a mechanism permanently installed in the unit. The unit is transported with the rook lowered, and the roof raised on the site where the unit is to be used.

A skirt 15] on the roof 135 overlaps sidewalls ISO and endwalls 149. A rounded endwall 149' has windows 152.

A door 160 is fitted after the roof is raised.

When the roof 135 is in a lowered position, the skirt 151 covers the top part of the wall.

When the roof 135 is raised, the top part ofthe wall becomes exposed, therefore no gap is left between the roof 135 and the wall. An alternative embodiment has a roof without an overlap, and a separate insertable section to fill the gap which appeared at the top of the wall when the roof was raised. This can be made from the same material as the wall.

Alternatively, for a short-term temporary building, it may be a sheet of plastic wrap, tent canvas, etc. Another possibility is stretch material or roller blinds, which can be pre-

installed on the inside of the unit.

The door is a sliding door, opening or closing by sliding along a rail 153. It has a thinner section at the top, so that it can slide past the overhang of the roof.

In another possible embodiment (not shown), the door could be of adjustable height, such as by means of an extendable sliding panel, so that the height of the door may be adjusted to match the chosen height of the installed building.

The unit is pre-fitted with desktop or work surfaces and cupboard space. Since the roof section only is movable, cupboards may be pre-fitted to occupy the wall section up to eye level, to about 2 metres. Preferably the fixed internal wall height is less than about 2 metres from the internal floor, preferably is already 1.5 metres and preferably between about 160 cm and 180 cm, and preferably is about 170 cm. The roof section is lowered to the top of the fixed wall during installation, and then raised to the maximum height after installation.

The wall height is low enough for the unit to roll under a standard 'up and over" garage door, but high enough to provide for cupboards to be preinstalled at head height

As indicated above power points are also pre-fitted, and telecommunication links.

Meters for monitoring power and/or telecommunications usage may also be installed, and these could then be relayed back to the employer, etc. loaning the unit.

To install a single unit, the unit is delivered on a trailer and then rolled into the garage on castors attached to the underside of the unit. Feet are then jacked down to take the weight of the unit from the castors, and level the unit. Power supply and telecommunication leads are then connected to appropriate sources. Of course, wireless telecommunications may be used.

Figure 5 shows a unit 120'with a fixed height roof. The door may be a sliding door, or may be a hinged door 160, but preferably the door is readily removable. Door 160 is mounted in a replaceable panel 158.

Figure 6 shows three units connected side by side. These may have adjustable height roves as in Figure I, or have fixed height roves as in Figure 5. The units have doorways 162 on opposite sides. The doorways 162 are formed in removable panels in a modular construction. Thus, when a doorway is not needed it can be replaced by a plain wall panel, of perhaps a window panel, a panel supporting shelving, etc. The doorway panels, as in Figure 5, are preferable formed so that a door may be removed, and panels of adjacent units brought into register, and a seal formed around the entranceway 169.

Alternatively, a panel with an entranceway for forming a connection to a like panel in another unit may be provided. The embodiments of Figures 7 and 8 may use similar alternative constructions.

Figure 7 shows two units connected by a passage way 168 with an entrance door 170 in a side wall 172 of the passageway.

Figure 8 shows four units connected to a transportable conference room 180 or other facility. The doorway(s) are preferably provided in sidewalls of the units 120', the end walls being used to support work surfaces, windows, cupboard space, air conditioning unit,

etc. A frame around the doorway is connectable to a frame on an adjacently positioned door, passageway or conference room, preferably to form a water proof seal.

The walls of the units are preferably formed from panels, with a panel being tailored to a particular requirement. The panel may have a hinged or sliding door, entranceway with a frame for connection to another unit, passageway or room, etc. and so the panels may be replaced according to the needs on site.

Claims (7)

CLAIMS:

1. A transportable unit having doorways in opposed walls, to allow a through access to another unit.

2. A pair of transportable units and a connecting passage which can be removably fitted between the units.

3. A meeting space, which is preferably a pre-fabricated room, and a plurality of transportable units, and connections from the meeting space to a plurality of units.

4. The arrangement of any preceding claim, in which the transportable unit includes one or more of: work surface, power cabling, communication cabling, air conditioning, a computer, communication equipment, air conditioning, lighting, heating, electrical power sockets, wiring, a desk, filing cabinet, drawers, shelves, chair, bookcase, a telephone, an answering machine, a videophone, an intercom, a facsimile machine, photocopier, a printer, scanner, a motion sensor, a closed circuit camera.

5. The arrangement of any preceding claim, in which the portable unit includes a removable panel having means for connection with another unit, with a passageway, or with another work space.

6. The arrangement of claim 5, in which the removable panel has means for connection with a like panel.

7. A disaster recovery system including an arrangement of any one of the preceding claims.