GB2621977A

GB2621977A - Modular prefabricated reinforced panel housing structure

Info

Publication number: GB2621977A
Application number: GB2212151.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Collingwood Brian
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2022-08-21
Filing date: 2022-08-21
Publication date: 2024-03-06
Also published as: GB202212151D0

Abstract

A modular housing structure 100 comprising a plurality of roofing elements 112, 114, a plurality of reinforced wall elements 102, 104, comprising an inner and an outer expanded polystyrene (EPS) material panel 101, 103 bonded together with one or more skeletal reinforcing elements 126, 122, 120 disposed between them. The reinforcing elements are arranged to interlock with the EPS material and connect adjacent wall elements together. The structure also comprises corner elements 106, 108 having central grooved slots for interlocking with the skeletal reinforcing elements and the structure forms an inner and an outer wall separated by a void and are arranged to support the roofing elements.

Description

Intellectual Property Office Application No G132212151.1 RTM Date:23 March 2023 The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: Styrofoam Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.gov.uk/ipo Title: Modular Prefabricated Reinforced Panel Housing Structure Field of Invention.

[1] The present invention relates generally to the technical field of modular building structures. More specifically the present invention relates to a set of Styrofoam panels and reinforcing skeletal elements for assembling or disassembling a housing structure quickly and easily.

Background

[2] Conventional building construction involves a long labor-intensive process, where skilled workers and laborers may pour a concrete foundation, assemble a wall and roof stud assembly, attach exterior and interior walls, assemble roof panels, and set and install windows and doors. In many cases, the construction of the building may involve numerous contractors and subcontractors who are responsible for various stages of construction. Typically, delays ensue and construction costs escalate accordingly.

[3] One solution that has been proposed for reducing construction costs involves the use of prefabricated modular type homes. Typically, modular homes involve the use of panels, which are shipped to a construction site and only require the connection of the pre-fabricated panels in order to construct the building. The use of pre-fabricated panels provides a less expensive and easily assembled building as opposed to the conventional construction methods.

[4] A drawback associated with modular buildings, however, is that the constructed modular homes tend to lack sufficient strength and durability for long-term use. Modular homes also tend to lack the necessary flexibility to accommodate various sizes and styles, and have been known to have poor heat retention -making them worse for the environment. Furthermore, some modular systems require the inclusion of traditional construction techniques in order to complete construction, therefore, escalating the reduced costs associated with modular homes.

[5] Accordingly, a need exists for an improved modular housing structure that addresses the shortcomings of the prior art. More specifically, it would be advantageous to have a pre-fabricated housing structure that allows for fast and cost effective assembly and disassembly, improved insulator properties, and sufficient re-enforcement capabilities to provide durable building construction.

[6] It is within this context that the present invention is provided.

Summary

[7] The present disclosure provides a modular housing structure formed of reinforced Styrofoam panels. Styrofoam is an extremely durable material with excellent insulator properties and good structural integrity that can be used to assemble and disassemble large structures quickly and easily due to its light weight. The structure is reinforced with a set of skeletal elements that solidify and interconnect the wall panels of an inner wall and outer wall of the structure.

[8] Thus, according to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a modular housing structure formed from a plurality of prefabricated panels, the housing structure comprising: a plurality of roofing elements; a plurality of reinforced wall elements, each wall element comprising an inner Styrofoam material panel and an outer Styrofoam material panel having a plurality of openings formed therein, the inner and outer Styrofoam material panels being bonded together with one or more skeletal reinforcing elements disposed between them, the skeletal reinforcing elements being formed of a harder material than the Styrofoam material panels and being arranged so as to interlock with the Styrofoam material panels and connect adjacent wall elements together; and a plurality of corner elements, each corner element having one or more central grooved slots spanning the length of their height for interlocking with the skeletal reinforcing elements;.

[9] When assembled together, the reinforced wall elements and the corner elements form at least an inner wall and an outer wall which are separated by a void, the inner wall and outer wall being arranged so as to support the plurality of roofing elements.

[10] In some embodiments, walls of the housing structure form a rectangular or square shape with the plurality of roofing elements being arranged parallel to a first opposing pair of edges of the walls and orthogonal to a second pair of edges of the walls.

[11] In such embodiments, the reinforced wall elements forming the second pair of edges may have a plurality of indents arranged along their top edges, the indents being configured to receive and support the roofing elements.

[12] Furthermore, each of the plurality of roofing elements may have a pair of corresponding indents disposed on either side for interlocking with the indents of the wall elements, the indents of the roofing elements being separated by a protrusion having a width equal to the width of the void between the inner wall and the outer wall.

[13] In some embodiments, the reinforcing elements are divided into a first set of reinforcing elements which are permanently affixed to respective Styrofoam material wall panels and a second set of reinforcing elements which are configured to interlock with the first set and connect adjacent wall elements. The second set of reinforcing elements may be straight boards with pre-drilled holes formed therein for being bolted to the Styrofoam panels.

[14] In some embodiments, in an assembled state the interlocking wall panels form watertight connections.

[15] In some embodiments, one or more of the wall panels of the inner wall is prefabricated with a set of pre-drilled holes for affixing electronic circuitry and/or plumbing elements.

[16] In some embodiments, the reinforcing elements are formed of one or more of: wood, metal, and plastic.

[17] In some embodiments, the plurality of roofing elements are also formed of Styrofoam material. Moreover, in some examples 90% or more of the roofing structure mass is formed of Styrofoam material.

[0181 In some embodiments, the Styrofoam material has a compressive strength of 300kPa or more at 10% deformation, a shear modulus of 8MPa or greater, a density of 40Kg/m3 or less, and/or a thermal conductivity of 0.033W/mK or less.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[19] Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

[20] FIG.1A illustrates a first isometric view of an example configuration of an assembled housing structure according to the present disclosure viewed from above.

[21] FIG.1B illustrates a second isometric view of the example configuration of the assembled housing structure viewed from below.

[22] FIG.2 illustrates an exploded components view of the example housing structure with the reinforcing elements that connect the wall panels and corner panels visible.

[23] FIG.3A illustrates a side view of the example assembled housing structure with a cross-sectional line A-A.

[24] FIG.3B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the example configuration taken along the line AA.

[25] FIG.4A, FIG.4B, and FIG.4C illustrate isometric and cross-sectional views of the components of an example wall panel element.

[26] FIG.5A and FIG.5B illustrate two example types of reinforcing element used to connect adjacent wall panels and corner panels.

[27] FIG..6A and FIG.6B illustrates two example types of corner panel elements.

[28] Common reference numerals are used throughout the figures and the detailed description to indicate like elements. One skilled in the art will readily recognize that the above figures are examples and that other architectures, modes of operation, orders of operation, and elements/functions can be provided and implemented without departing from the characteristics and features of the invention, as set forth in the claims.

Detailed Description and Preferred Embodiment

[29] The following is a detailed description of exemplary embodiments to illustrate the principles of the invention. The embodiments are provided to illustrate aspects of the invention, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalent; it is limited only by the claims.

[30] Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured.

[31] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

[32] The present disclosure provides a modular housing structure with excellent heat retention properties due to its Styrofoam panelling and double-walled arrangement, and with high structural integrity due to the way in which various panels interlock with the skeletal reinforcing components.

[33] The housing structure is versatile, and these principles can be applied and modified to create various styles and shapes of building. The example structure provided in this detailed description is merely one example configuration that could be constructed.

[34] Referring to FIG.1A and FIG.1B, perspective views are shown of an example configuration of a modular housing structure 100 formed from interlocking prefabricated panels according to the present disclosure in an assembled state.

[35] As can be seen, the panels are divided into distinct groups that form the superstructures of the assembled building -an outer wall 102, an inner wall 104 separated from the outer wall by a void, connecting corner elements 106 and 108, and roofing elements (middle roof panels 114 and end roof panels 112).

[36] The benefit of the double-walled structure is threefold. Firstly, it provides an additional layer of structural integrity, compensating for the lightweight Styrofoam material of the panels. Secondly, it provides an additional layer of insulation for the interior. Thirdly, the void between the two walls can be used for an interlocked coupling between the wall panels 101 on one pair of sides of the structure and the middle roofing panels 114, this is done by having those two sets of wall panels 101 have toothed ridges 116 at their top edge.

[37] The wall panels are all reinforced, being formed of two layers of Styrofoam material bonded together, through a grid of openings 110, either side of a harder skeletal reinforcing element such as a piece of wood, plastic, or metal. The void 118 between the two layers where the skeletal reinforcing elements are sandwiched can be seen on both the inner wall 104 and the outer wall 102.

[38] Turning to FIG.2, these internal components can be seen in an exploded view of the housing structure 100.

[39] As shown, in the present example configuration, each of the wall elements comprises an inner Styrofoam material panel with a first set of reinforcing elements 126 secured to it. A second set of skeletal reinforcing elements, 120 and 122, which differ between sides of the housing structure 100 to accommodate the roofing elements 114, then slot in between the first set of reinforcing elements 126. A third set of reinforcing elements 124 then slot in at the edges of each wall panel, coupling to one either side and thus connecting adjacent wall elements together.

[40] The outer Styrofoam panels are then bonded to the inner Styrofoam panels through the openings 110, sandwiching all three sets of reinforcing elements together between the Styrofoam panels and creating a solid wall structure that can be as many panels long as needed and which can be quickly and easily assembled or disassembled.

[41] The straight reinforcing elements 124 that couple the wall elements together are also used to coupled the end wall elements to the corner elements, slotting into a central groove 118 in the corner elements. Though not illustrated, these straight reinforcing elements have pre-drilled holes along their length which can be used to bolt them to the adjoining wall panels.

[42] This modular, reinforced structural architecture is extremely versatile and can be shaped into any shape and size of building structure desired, being assembled for a fraction of the cost and in a fraction of the time needed for regular construction.

[43] FIG.3A and 3B show a side view and cross-sectional view of the structure along the line A-A. As can be seen, the openings 110 of the Styrofoam wall panels have bolts 128 passing through them, through the sandwiched reinforcing elements between the inner layers and outer layers.

[44] FIGs 4A, 4B, and 4C show the Styrofoam panels 101 in more detail. The reinforcing elements 126 may be detachable from the grid of openings 110 or permanently affixed by bolts 128 as shown. The indents 116 are of a width suitable to receive and support the roofing elements.

[45] FIG.5A and FIG.58 show the two different types of skeletal reinforcing element 122 and 120, with the reinforcing element 120 of FIG.58 being shortened at the top to make room for the roofing element coupling.

[46] FIG.6A and FIG.68 show the two types of corner element 106 and 108 used, with grooves 118 running through their entire length for interlocking with the straight reinforcing elements 124 described above.

[47] The roofing elements and corner elements may also be formed of Styrofoam material. A suitable Styrofoam material has a compressive strength of 300kPa or more at 10% deformation, a shear modulus of 8MPa or greater, a density of 40Kg/m3 or less, and/or a thermal conductivity of 0.033W/mK or less.

[48] Due to the modular nature of the structure, many of the elements may be constructed according to client demands, allowing for tailored designs. Furthermore, one or more of the wall panels of the inner wall can be prefabricated with a set of pre-drilled holes for affixing electronic circuitry and/or plumbing elements according to client wishes in the same manner, allowing the plumbing and electronics stage of the building process to be accelerated dramatically.

[49] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[50] The disclosed embodiments are illustrative, not restrictive. While specific configurations of the modular housing structure have been described in a specific manner referring to the illustrated embodiments, it is understood that the present invention can be applied to a wide variety of solutions which fit within the scope and spirit of the claims. There are many alternative ways of implementing the invention.

[0511 It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention.

Claims

Claims What is claimed is: 1. A modular housing structure formed from a plurality of prefabricated panels, the housing structure comprising: a plurality of roofing elements; a plurality of reinforced wall elements, each wall element comprising an inner Styrofoam material panel and an outer Styrofoam material panel having a plurality of openings formed therein, the inner and outer Styrofoam material panels being bonded together with one or more skeletal reinforcing elements disposed between them, the skeletal reinforcing elements being formed of a harder material than the Styrofoam material panels and being arranged so as to interlock with the Styrofoam material panels and connect adjacent wall elements together; and a plurality of corner elements, each corner element having one or more central grooved slots spanning the length of their height for interlocking with the skeletal reinforcing elements; wherein, when assembled together, the reinforced wall elements and the corner elements form at least an inner wall and an outer wall which are separated by a void, the inner wall and outer wall being arranged so as to support the plurality of roofing elements.
2. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein walls of the housing structure form a rectangular or square shape with the plurality of roofing elements being arranged parallel to a first opposing pair of edges of the walls and orthogonal to a second pair of edges of the walls.
3. A modular housing structure according to claim 2, wherein the reinforced wall elements forming the second pair of edges have a plurality of indents arranged along their top edges, the indents being configured to receive and support the roofing elements.
4. A modular housing structure according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of roofing elements have a pair of corresponding indents disposed on either side for interlocking with the indents of the wall elements, the indents of the roofing elements being separated by a protrusion having a width equal to the width of the void between the inner wall and the outer wall.
5. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing elements are divided into a first set of reinforcing elements which are permanently affixed to respective Styrofoam material wall panels and a second set of reinforcing elements which are configured to interlock with the first set and connect adjacent wall elements.
6. A modular housing structure according to claim 5, wherein the second set of reinforcing elements are straight boards with pre-drilled holes formed therein for being bolted to the Styrofoam panels.
7. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein in an assembled state the interlocking wall panels form watertight connections.
8. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the wall panels of the inner wall is prefabricated with a set of pre-drilled holes for affixing electronic circuitry and/or plumbing elements.
9. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing elements are formed of one or more of: wood, metal, and plastic.
10. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of roofing elements are also formed of Styrofoam material.
11. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein 90% or more of the roofing structure mass is formed of Styrofoam material.
12. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the Styrofoam material has a compressive strength of 300kPa or more at 10% deformation.
13. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the Styrofoam material has a shear modulus of 8MPa or greater.
14. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the Styrofoam material has a density of 40Kg/m3 or less.
15. A modular housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the Styrofoam material has a thermal conductivity of 0.033W/mK or less.