US3553923A

US3553923A - Method of precompressing and erecting a modular structure

Info

Publication number: US3553923A
Application number: US759597A
Authority: US
Inventors: Leon E D Dompas
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-09-13
Filing date: 1968-09-13
Publication date: 1971-01-12
Anticipated expiration: 1988-01-12

Abstract

A PLURALITY OF BLOCKS, PREFERABLY HAVING I-SHAPED CROSS SECTION, ARRANGED IN ALIGNMENT AND WIRES, HELD IN TENSION, EXTEND ALONG BLOCKS AND ARE CLAMPED AT ENDS OF LINE OF BLOCKS TO FORM STRUCTURAL UNITS. UNITS ARRANGED ADJACENT TO EACH OTHER AT PLACE OF INSTALLATION, AND ADDITIONAL WIRES, HELD IN TENSION, CLAMP UNITS TOGETHER. LINES

OF BLOCKS IN EACH UNIT ARE ARRANGED AT AN ANGLE TO EACH OTHER.

Description

Jm12f1971 EDDMPAS 3,553,923

METHOD DF PRECDMPRESSING AND lEREC'MNG A MODULAR STRUCTURE Filed sept) 13, 196s Vm l FIG. 4

` INVENTOR! D 5 srheetsrsheet 2 Wffa l 'l 1611.1;1971 L E. D, DOMPAS 3,553,923

METHOD OF PRECOMPRESSING AND ERECTING A MODULAR STRUCTURE 1 5l Sheets-Sheetv 3 v Filed Sem. 13. 196e -F/NG. 5

FIG. 6

/N VEN oR: Eb/u E a. Da/1mi BY l Jan. 12, L, E D, DQMPAS I 3,553,923 j METHOD OF PRECOMPRESSING AND ERECTING A MDDULR STRUCTURE Filed Sept.. L3, 1968 K '5 Sheets-Sheet '4 METHOD OF PRECOMPRESSING AND ERECTING A MODULAR STRUCTURE med sept. 1.3, 196s U Sweets-,sheet 5 FIG.80

/N VEA/TOR: U q/v f. D. Darm/0 5 Bv United States Patent 3,553,923 METHOD F PRECOMPRESSING AND ERECTING A MODULAR STRUCTURE Leon E. D. Dompas, 213 Jan Van Rijswijcklaan, Antwerp, Belgium Filed Sept. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 759,597 Int. Cl. E04b 1/06, 1/348; E04a 21/14 U.S. Cl. 52--745 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a method of erecting a building from prefabricated structural units. Prefabricated construction differs, as is known, from the traditional manner of construction in that individual prefabricated units of transportable size are assembled at the building site. One particular problem presented is that the size of the prefabricated units which can be used is limited, since excessively large units cannot be transported. From the standpoint of this problem, the conventional manner of construction is far superior to prefabricated construction. In particular, prefabricated construction is economically worthwhile only when the prevfabricated parts can be manufactured in large numbers.

The present invention provides a method of erecting buildings of prefabricated parts in which the transportation problem, which has constituted an obstacle in the known prefabricated method of construction, is not present, and in which the work can be carried out economically even if the quantities of individual parts are not large. However, the present method retains the main advantage of prefabricated construction, namely, the opportunity to work rapidly. The method of the invention resides in forming frames or units consisting of special-shaped blocks held together solely by tensile stressed elements, these units being arranged alongside or above one another and then connected together with clamping wires stressed in tension, and arranged perpendicular to the planes of the frames, to form the building or a part thereof.

One particular feature of the method of the invention is characterized by the use of identical special-shaped blocks, of I-beam shape in cross section, which are placed alongside of each other with their center webs aligned to form the beams of a frame. The blocks are clamped together by clamping wires which extend laterally alongside the center webs and which are anchored in clamping blocks forming the two opposite ends of each straight beam of a frame.

In order to manufacture such a frame, the I-shaped building blocks are placed together with the clamping blocks in a horizontal form which determines the shape of the frame, and clamped together therein. In one very special feature of the invention, this form is connected with a lift by means of which it can be moved from a lowered horizontal position, after the insertion and rice clamping of the building, clamping and possibly also connecting blocks, to the place where the frame is to be installed. Furthermore, provision can be made for this form to be moved into a stationary clamping device for effecting the block clamping if the clamping device itself is not already provided on the form. This form can be arranged, for instance, on a truck in such a manner that it is tiltable into a vertical orientation and adjustable in height.

After the frames have been placed alongside of each other, or on top of each other, they can be connected together by clamping wires which extend through the adjoining clamping blocks at the ends of the beams forming the frames, and further clamping wires can extend through the building blocks parallel to and between the wires extending through the clamping blocks.

When the frames have intersecting beams, or beams connected with each other in the form of a T, then in a further development of the invention, the connections between two or more such beams of a frame are formed by connecting blocks which have continuous openings for accommodating the clamping wires of all beams resting against them, and for accommodating the clamping wires serving to connect several frames together.

By placing such frames manufactured in accordance with the invention alongside of each other or on top of each other, wall parts of the building are automatically produced. However, the frames can also be arranged spaced apart, parallel to, and aligned with each other in order to produce a skeleton-like structure in which connecting parts, stressed in compression by clamping wires are clamped between them. These connecting parts can be formed, in accordance with the invention, of suitably dimensional frames as described above.

Further advantages and details of the invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments, read with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing two frames connected together and a third frame which is to be connected thereto, the front frame being shown partly exploded;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing schematically a form used for the manufacture of the frames shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational |view showing a truck carrying the form;

FIG. 4 is a rear view showing the truck with the form, together with elements of a clamping press;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the tilting up of the form with the frame contained therein;

FIG. 6 shows placing the frame contained in the form against frames which have already been setup;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a building skeleton formed of frames of the type shown in FIG. 1; and

FIGS. SA-F show in perspective several further possible shapes of structures formed of correspondingly shaped frames.

The prefabricated parts used in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the invention are building blocks 14 of I-shaped cross section, as clearly shown in FIG. 1. In addition, clamping blocks 15 and connecting

blocks

16, 17 and 18 are shown. Clamping wires, and means for clamping the blocks together to form the frames, are also shown.

The illustrative frame of FIG. l has a beam 10 which will be vertical in the nished building and -which is provided at its two ends with

cross-beams

11 and 13, respectively, and between these with a central beam 12. The cross-beam 11 may subsequently form the iioor of the building, the cross-beam 12 the floor of the first story, and the cross-beam 13 the roof in the two-story building.

The following description will indicate how, starting with the prefabricated building blocks consisting of highgrade concrete, and the clamping and connecting blocks, one proceeds to erect a building in accordance with the present invention A form, open on top, is arranged on a truck in tiltable manner, a plan view of the form being schematically shown in FIG. 2. The form consists essentially of a channel-shaped element extending in a longitudinal direction of the truck and adapted to receive those parts which, after the clamping together, form the Vertical beam 10, and three channel-shaped elements extending transverse to the longitudinal direction of the truck, to receive the parts which ultimately form the transversely extending

beams

11, 12 and 13. First, the clamping blocks 15 and the

connecting blocks

16, 17, and 18 are inserted at the places designated 16', 17' and 13', respectively. The shape of these blocks can be noted from FIG. l. Thereupon, a first layer of

clamping wires

19, 20 is inserted through the corresponding openings in said blocks. The I-shaped building blocks 14 are then inserted in such a manner that their central webs cover the clamping wires. Then the second layer of

clamping wires

19, 20 are pulled through. Thereafter, all the

clamping wires

19, 20 are tensioned to such an extent that even when the beam is subsequently under load, no tensile forces occur on the blocks themselves. Instead, the blocks experience only compressive forces. Obviously, by using a form which corresponds to the shape of the frame to be made, the manufacture of even complicated frames is a simple matter.

The frame produced in this manner, three of which are shown in FIG. 1, is then tilted up, as shown in FIG. 5, and the finished frame is placed against frames which have already been manufactured in similar manner and set up previously, as shown in FIG. 6. This is continued until the basic framework shown in FIG. 7 is complete. Thereupon prefabricated lightweight structural parts which form the outer and partition walls of the finished building are inserted. The outside walls may be made from beams, consisting of building blocks in accordance with the invention, which can then be clamped tight or held in place by masonry. As can be seen, the form mounted on the truck serves not only to make assembling of the individual parts of a frame simple, but in addition, as a means for transporting the frame to the place where it is to be installed.

The frames which have been assembled in the manner described above are then clamped to each other, as shown in FIG. l, by horizontally extending clamping wires 21 and 22. This clamping can be effected by hand in the case of buildings which are not excessively large. The clamping wires 21 extend through the clamping blocks 15. The recesses present on the outside in the clamping blocks (and which have not been provided with a reference number) Iwhich accommodate the clamping plates, the threaded ends of the wires, and nuts can subsequently be filled with concrete if this is desired.

lt will be appreciated that instead of arranging the frames vertically alongside each other, as described above, the frames which have been prefabricated by the method just described can be placed one on top of the other in the construction of, for example, towers and bridges.

Furthermore, in contrast to the showing of FIG. l, the individual frames, removed from the form, could (in a manner not shown in the drawing), instead of being arranged directly alongside of each other, be clamped in vertically spaced relation, yby means of clamping wires, with spacers or connecting parts between each two successive frames. In this way, a skeleton-like structure is obtained, in contrast to the structure of, for instance, FIG. 7.

lConventionally, in the case of many high structures, a steel skeleton is first erected, around which walls, ceilings, and the like are cast in concrete. Obviously, frames made in accordance with the invention can be used, with the interposition of spacers, as just described, to form skeletons which may be used in place of the known steel skeletons, and this will be substantially more economical. The spacers or connecting parts which, in the manufacture of a skeleton-like structure, are clamped between the individual frames can themselves be frames produced in accordance with the invention.

On considerable advantage of a biulding erected in accordance with the invention is that it is so firm in itself, due to the clamping, that no foundation of special quality is needed, e.g., a simple bed of sand is sufficient provided that it is protected against freezing. A building constructed in accordance with the invention is, furthermore, resistant to earthquakes, since it is braced in all directions. Should a deformation of the building take place as a result of a particularly strong earthquake, or settling of the ground, or the like, the building cannot cave in and thus possibly endanger human life. A substantial advantage also resides in the fact that despite the high strength which structures erected in accordance With the invention have, they may be demolished considerably faster and at less expense than in the case of traditional buildings, particularly buildings having cast load-bearing parts.

The invention has been shown and described in preferred form only, and by Way of example, and many variations may be made in the invention which Will still be comprised Within its spirit. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment except insofar as such limitations are included in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of erecting a building from prefabricated structural parts, comprising the steps of arranging a first row of building blocks in alignment along an axis with adjacent blocks contacting each other, arranging a second row of building blocks in alignment along a second axis with adjacent blocks contacting each other, the axis of said first and second plurality of aligned blocks being perpendicular to and intersecting each other along their length, clamping said blocks together to form a unit by means maintained in a state of tension, the clamping force applied to said blocks being in the direction of their alignment, arranging a plurality of said units adjacent to each other with their points of intersection aligned transversely of the rows, and clamping said units together by another means maintained in a state of tension, the clamping force being applied to said units in a direction perpendicular to the planes which contain them and to the direction of alignment of the blocks forming each unit.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said plurality of building blocks are arranged in a form conforming to the shape of the final unit, and said blocks are clamped together while in the form.

3. A method as defined in claim 2 wherein said form is in a horizontal orientation during arrangement and clamping of said building blocks, and said unit is transported in the form to its place of installation in the buildmg.

4. A method as defined in claim 3 wherein said form is mounted on a truck, and at the place of installation the form is tilted off the truck into a vertical orientation.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said building blocks are I-shaped in cross section and the blocks are arranged with their central Webs in alignment and said block-clamping step includes arranging at least one wire alongside the central webs in the direction of alignment of the blocks, and anchoring the ends of the wire to clamping blocks arranged at the ends of the line of building blocks.

6 6. A method as defined in claim 5 wherein said unit- FOREIGN PATENTS clamping step includes passing wires through openings in 202 879 6/1956 Australia 52 228 the clamping blocks, and anchoring the ends of the wires 939124 4/1948 France 52 228 t0 the outermost Clamping b10CkS-, 1,333022 6/1963 France :w: 52-227 7. method'as defined 1n claim wherem said unlt 5 723,619 2/1955 Great Brimin 52 227 arranglng step 1nc1udes arranglng sa1d units 1n spaced- 697195 9/1953 Great Brimin 52 227 apart parallel planes, and arranging connecting parts be- 419,534 3/1967 Swltzerland 524-227 tween the units and wherein said clamping means maintains the connecting parts in compression.

References Cited 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS 52 79, 228 747 2,776,471 1/1957 Dobell 52-228 3,333,322 8/1967 Toffolon 52-749 HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. XR.