WO1996012072A1

WO1996012072A1 - Demountable joint for self-supporting elements

Info

Publication number: WO1996012072A1
Application number: PCT/FI1995/000569
Authority: WO
Inventors: Timo William Braithwaite; Heikki Olavi Haapiainen; Tapio Lennart Manner
Original assignee: Bolemark Oy
Priority date: 1994-10-14
Filing date: 1995-10-13
Publication date: 1996-04-25
Also published as: FI944836A0; FI944836A; AU3700695A

Abstract

An arrangement for the demountable coupling of at least self-supporting wall elements (1) at least to one another in the orientation of the plane of the elements, without a separate frame, the elements comprising opposite outer surfaces at a distance from each other and edge portions (3, 4) transverse to these outer surfaces, and at least one stiffener (9) which produces in the element strength in the orientation of its plane. The coupling arrangement comprises members (5) which can be tightened in the orientation of the plane of the elements for pressing the elements against one another by their edge portions. The members which can be tightened are made up of a rotatable tie rod (7) extending from the first edge portion (3) of each element to its opposite, second edge portion (4), the first end (11) of the tie rod being shaped into a first hook (21) and the second end (12) of the rod comprising tigthening means for moving the rod and thereby the first hook in the longitudinal direction of the rod. In addition, the tightening means comprise in the second edge portion (4) of each element a second hook (22) which will remain in a stationary position, to a position behind which hook the first hook of the tie rod will move when the tie rod is rotated, as seen from the end of the tie rod.

Description

Demountable joint for self-supporting elements

The invention relates to an arrangement for the demountable coupling of at least self-supporting wall elements and corre¬ sponding other elements at least to each other in the orien¬ tation of the element plane, without a separate frame, the ele¬ ments comprising opposite outer surfaces at a distance from each other, these outer surfaces defining the element plane, as well as edge portions transverse to these outer surfaces, and at least one stiffener which gives the element strength in the orientation of its plane, the coupling arrangement comprising members which can be tightened in the orientation of the plane of the first elements in order to press the edge portions of these elements one against the other.

In attempts to manufacture buildings which are easy to assemble and to demount, and thus temporary and relocatable, such as buildings for housing and storage or the like, a number of different solutions may be arrived at. The relocatability of buildings may be achieved, for example, by forming the build¬ ings as units so small that they can be relocated as a whole by means of cranes, trucks, tractors, and other conventional transportation and conveying means. By this procedure, the relocatable buildings may be formed, for example, according to the dimensions of conventional shipping containers or according to the dimensions of a conventional articulated-truck semi¬ trailer or truck trailer, or as a transport platform of a truck. When any of these embodiments are used, the building is, of course, very simple to locate and to relocate, but the sys¬ tem has a number of considerable disadvantages. First of all, all of the buildings are very small in size, and it is not possible to form from them one continuous larger space, which would often be needed. Also, it is not easy to arrange indoor communication from one small space of this type to another; it is necessary to move from each space to another via outdoor space, which is quite impractical in, for example, very rainy or cold regions. Furthermore, the transportation of such units takes a great deal of transportation capacity, since most of the volume of each unit transported consists of air. Thus, for example, if the total floor area of the buildings required at

2 some place is in the order of 1000 m and the floor area of

₂ each individual building is approx. 15 m , which corresponds to the floor area of a conventional container or trailer, it will be necessary to transport 70 units of this size, which require a considerable number of articulated trucks or a considerable amount of space on a ship. Their transportation is thus both slow and expensive.

Another alternative is to form the buildings from smaller box elements or, most preferably, from floor, wall and roof ele¬ ments, i.e. flat elements. Especially when such flat elements are used, the elements of a structural entity providing the

2 above-mentioned 1000 of floor area will fit in a few articulated trucks or in a corresponding space on a ship or on an aircraft, since for transportation the elements can be placed so that practically no empty space is left. When such flat elements are used, transportation is both rapid and economical.

If the buildings assembled from these surface elements are such that they need not be demounted and reassembled somewhere else but may remain on the same site until being scrapped, the ele¬ ments may be assembled in many different ways by using screws, nails and glue. However, if the elements must be capable of being detached from each other without damaging them in any way in order to be assembled without difficulty at another loca¬ tion, problems will be encountered. It is necessary to couple the elements tightly against each other in the orientation of their plane in order that the building be tight and warm and in order that it withstand the great forces it may be subjected to by wind, and possibly snow. In particular, the coupling of the upper edges of the wall elements of a building to each other and the coupling of the roof, intermediate floor or the like coming on top to the upper edge of the wall elements have proven to be problematic. One possibility is to arrange in the edges, facing each other, of two elements to be coupled to each other coupling components which are aligned with each other and are tightened at this gap. There are numerous such structural alternatives in use. They have the disadvantage that between the elements there must be for this alignment and tightening procedure a gap or an expanded opening, which must be packed or filled with a suitable material after the coupling in order to achieve tightness. Such an assembly method is quite slow at the assembling stage and, especially at the time of demounting, the filler material in the gaps will hamper and slow down the de¬ mounting.

Another known alternative is first to assemble in succession several, or typically all, of the wall elements required for forming one wall, whereafter a cable is lowered into an out¬ wardly facing groove at the upper edge of these elements, there being at one end of the cable a hook or a flange plate and at the other end a base plate and a threaded pin portion, parallel to the cable, and a nut. By means of these end portions the cable ends are supported against or fixed to the opposite end edges of the wall element row, and by the turning of the nut all of the elements of the whole wall element row are pressed against one another at the same time. In this case no slow handwork in each gap between the elements and no filling of the gaps afterwards are needed; the wall surfaces will be complete¬ ly unbroken and the assembly time will be very short, i.e. the assembling will be rather rapid. The roof elements to be fixed on top of these wall elements are, for example, fixed at the upper ends of rods located in the gaps between wall elements at some points of the wall length or in vertical holes in the wall elements. This construction, also, has disadvantages. First, keeping a plurality of wall elements in the correct position next to each other is very difficult, for example, when there is strong wind, and it will require either the propping up of the elements or a large number of workers holding the elements in place until the cable is in place and tightened. Further¬ more, it has been observed in practice that such cable tighten¬ ing tends to slacken with time, whereupon the joints between the elements will no longer be tight.

In all of the structural modes described above, the wall ele¬ ments are at least self-supporting, but typically they are load-bearing, in which case the building has no frame separate from the wall elements and usually also no roof framework sepa¬ rate from the roof elements; a building is produced by coupling together merely its flat elements, such as floor, wall and roof elements, as well as possible intermediate floor and partition wall elements. The present invention thus relates in particular to the assembling of a building in which load-bearing wall elements are used but no frame structures separate from these wall elements are used, at least not in the area of the walls.

The most important object of the invention is to provide an arrangement and method for the demountable coupling of at least self-supporting wall elements at least at one point of the elements so that at least flat wall elements will be pressed by their edges to one another, in the orientation of their planes, one adjacent to another. A second object of the invention is in particular an arrangement and method by means of which each element can be individually coupled by any of its open edges to the preceding element installed in place, without the necessity of carrying out any procedures from the outside in the area of the interface between this preceding element and the element installed thereafter; all of the procedures can be performed from the edge portions which are free. A third object of the invention is such an arrangement and method in the use of which there are no extra openings or notches to be filled afterwards in the gaps between the elements; the element surfaces may, when necessary, be continuous, and the elements will join one another tightly without any other procedures than the above- mentioned coupling procedure of each element. A fourth object of the invention is such a coupling arrangement and method in the use of which the locking of an element to the preceding element can be clearly checked from the position of the coupl¬ ing members. A fifth object of the invention is such an arrangement and method by using which one person may, when necessary, easily carry out the assembling and demounting of a building, the elements used in the building being so light in weight and so small that they can be transferred by one person, possibly by using auxiliary devices. The intention is thus that the assembling does not presuppose auxiliary personnel to hold some other portion of the structure in place or to assess the alignment, or the like. A sixth important object of the inven¬ tion is such an arrangement by using which the wall elements and corresponding other elements assembled can be detached from each other by reverse procedures and be reassembled, preferably by using the same coupling members. A seventh object is such a coupling arrangement by using which the elements and their coupling members will remain undamaged when they are assembled and demounted over and over again. One further object of the invention is such an arrangement by using which, at least from the viewpoint of the coupling arrangement, the different ele¬ ments for one wall can be installed and coupled successively in any order with respect to each other.

The disadvantages described above are eliminated and the ob¬ jects defined are accomplished by using the arrangement accord¬ ing to the invention, which is characterized in what is stated in the characterizing clause of Claim 1, and by the method according to the invention, which is characterized in what is stated in the characterizing clause of Claim 10.

The most important advantage of the invention is that self- supporting or load-bearing wall elements and the like can be coupled one at a time, one after another, in any order what¬ soever from the viewpoint of the coupling arrangement, always one element at a time to the preceding element. A second ad¬ vantage of the invention is that, when the elements are of such a size that it is possible for one person to handle them one at a time, this assembling can be done by one person. A third advantage of the invention is that the wall elements can be detached by reverse procedures without the elements or their coupling members being damaged in any way, and they can be reassembled elsewhere also with the elements in any order what¬ soever in relation to each other. This means thus that the wall elements do not have any place predetermined for them with respect to the coupling; each element can be located at that point of the wall where it is otherwise desired, for example, because of a window or a door opening, i.e. a number of dif¬ ferent buildings can be assembled from the elements of one and the same building. A fourth advantage of the invention is that the members coupling the wall elements to each other can also be exploited for coupling other elements, such as roof elements or intermediate floor elements to a wall made up of wall ele¬ ments. It is a further advantage of the invention that each wall element can be coupled from its free edge in such a manner that the coupling of the opposite, non-free edge to the non- free edge of the preceding element can clearly be verified and that the coupling members will remain invisible within a com¬ pleted wall made up of the elements.

The invention is described below in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 depicts a cross section of one embodiment of the wall element coupling arrangement according to the invention, through plane I-I in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 2 depicts a longitudinal vertical section of the embodi¬ ment according to Figure 1 of the wall element coupling ar- rangement, through plane II-II in Figures 1 and 3.

Figure 3 depicts a horizontal section of the embodiment accord¬ ing to Figures 1 and 2 of the wall element coupling arrange¬ ment, through plane III-III in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 depicts a longitudinal section of another embodiment according to the invention of the wall element coupling ar¬ rangement, in the same representation as in Figure 2, through plane IV-IV in Figure 5.

Figure 5 depicts a cross section of the embodiment according to Figure 4 of the coupling arrangement, as a cross section through plane V-V in Figure 4.

Figure 6 depicts one embodiment of the second hook used in the coupling arrangement according to the invention, in the same representation as in Figure 3.

Figure 7 depicts one embodiment of the first hook used in the coupling arrangement according to the invention, in the same representation as in Figure 2.

The coupling arrangement and coupling method according to the invention are used for coupling to one another in general load- bearing wall elements 1 which are made up of parallel and in general flat outer surfaces 10a and 10b, which together form the element plane 10. When the elements are wall elements they are in general rectangular in this element plane 10, in which case they have two parallel edge portions 3 and 4, located at opposite edges. One of these edge portions 3 and 4 has typical¬ ly some female groove 33 or rustication, and the other edge portion has a male bulge or strip-like projection 34, or both have female areas and male areas. These are typically shaped so that the grooves and projections run in parallel to the edge portions 3 and 4 over the entire length of these edge portions and are shaped so that, for example, when a female groove 33 comes into alignment with a male strip 34, their being pressed together will align the wall elements 1 in an orientation per¬ pendicular to their plane 10. The shapes of the grooves and the strips may also be other than the triangular shape shown in the figures, as long as the shape fulfills this said function. It can be stated in general that the edge portions thus formed are transverse to the outer surfaces 10a, 10b, or in the orienta¬ tion of the element thickness and in general, although not necessarily, on average perpendicular to these outer surfaces. In addition, the wall element has at least in one edge a stif- fener 9, and it is perpendicular to the said first edge portion and second edge portion 4, and in this case immediately at the third edge 30 of the element, this edge being also perpendicu¬ lar to the first and second edge portions 3, 4. In addition, the fourth edge, not shown in the figures, may also, when need¬ ed, have a stiffener or the like, but the coupling of this fourth edge portion is not related to the present invention, and therefore it is not discussed here in detail.

In its conventional form the bearing wall element 1 is thus made up, for example, of a wooden frame which is made up of the stiffener 9 of the said one side, the strips 36 and 37 of the first and second edge portions 3 and 4, and the strip of the fourth edge portion, not shown in the figures. The inside of this rectangle is filled by thermal insulation, such as poly¬ urethane foam, polystyrene foam, mineral wool, or some other known or new thermal insulation, and the two surface parts 10a, 10b of the element are preferably made up of plastic-coated thin steel sheet the edges of which are bent around the edges of the said wooden parts at the element edges, as is shown at points 35 on side portions 3 and 4 in Figure 3. In this case the edges of the sheets forming the element surfaces 10a and 10b press into the joints between the elements, reinforcing the structure and keeping it neat. The stiffening structure of the element 1 may be not only the described wooden frame but also a frame made of metal or plastic profiles or a grid assembled from wood, metal and/or plastic profiles, coated with wood, metal or plastic sheets on at least one outer surface. The stiffening can be carried out also in other ways, as described below.

According to the invention, the element 1 is provided with members 5 which can be tightened in the orientation of the third side 30 and by means of which the adjacent wall elements la and lb, etc., which have been pressed one next to the other with their first edge portions 3 and second edge portions 4 against each other, are coupled to each other. These members 5 which can be tightened are at least in part located immediately next to the stiffener 9, in its longitudinal orientation, or in a hole or groove 29 in the stiffener. The purpose of this stif- fener 9 is thus to prevent a wall element 1 from collapsing under compression while it is being tightened to a wall element previously placed next to it. This stiffener 9 must thus have above all longitudinal strength, i.e. strength in the longi¬ tudinal orientation of the members 5 which can be tightened. Furthermore, the first edge portion 3 and the second edge por¬ tion 4 must, of course, have sufficient rigidity so that this pressing of the elements to each other by means of tightening members 5 will result in a tight, non-resilient joint between the elements. This stiffening of the first edge portions 3 and the second edge portions 4 can be implemented not only by using the said strips 36 and 37 parallel to the edge but also by using a suitable design of the edge portions 3 and 4, in which the structural material used can be the surface sheet. The sheet edges coming from both surfaces 10a and 10b to the edge portion 3, 4 can thus be shaped into ridges and grooves and can, at the edges coming one against the other, be fixed to each other by gluing, welding or by some other method, whereby a structure which is very rigid is obtained.

It is, of course, also possible to use a separate metal profile as edge portions 3 and 4. These embodiments are not shown in the figures, since they are not regarded as very preferable. At their most preferable the edge portions 3 and 4 are dimensioned by any of the methods described above so as to be sufficiently rigid and strong, in which case the wall element 1 will become a load-bearing element, in which case a wall assembled from such wall elements will not require any separate frame; when installed in place, the elements in themselves will constitute both the frame and the cladding of the structure and the insu¬ lating parts. The wall element coupling arrangement according to the invention can, of course, also be used in connection with more lightweight wall elements, in which less attention is paid to the first and second edge portions and their stiffening and strength, in which case the wall elements 1 will be only self-supporting. However, the coupling arrangement according to the invention is at its most advantageous when used in connec¬ tion with load-bearing wall elements and load-bearing other elements, such as intermediate-floor elements and roof ele¬ ments.

Figures 1-3 depict the main features of the most preferred embodiment of the invention, and Figures 4 and 5 depict a slightly different detail of the arrangement according to the invention. According to the invention, the members 5 which can be tightened comprise in each wall element a rotatable tie rod 7 extending from the first edge portion 3 of the wall element to its second, opposite edge portion 4. The total length L of the tie rod is at maximum of the magnitude of the element width W in the orientation of the tie rod, i.e. of the magnitude of the largest distance W between the edge portions 3 and 4. In this case the wall elements 1 can be transported with the tie rods 7 in place, without causing any transportation problems or damage to the tie rods. The first end 11 of a tie rod 7 is shaped as a first hook 21, which comprises a portion 23a which is transverse to the length L of the tie rod and, when the tie rod is rotated in direction F2, will turn in the peripheral direction in a plane perpendicular to the length of the tie rod. For the purpose of this rotation of the tie rod 7, the second end 12 of the rod incorporates a flat or angular portion 16b, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, or a chisel groove 16a, as shown in Figure 1. It is clear that also other kinds of engage¬ ment points, such as hexagonal recesses or the like, can be used. Preferably some orientation of this shaped portion 16a or 16b has been selected to be the same as the orientation of the projection of the first hook 21 of the tie rod, so that from the position of the shaped portion 16a, 16b it is possible to see in what position of the first hook 21 is. The idea in this embodiment is that the first hook of the tie rod is located on the first edge portion 3 side of each element, and the second end 12 of the tie rod is located on the second edge portion 4 side of the wall element. In Figures 2 and 3 the wall elements are also indicated by reference numerals la, lb and lc to make it clear that element la is the one first installed in place, element lb is an element to be installed subsequently, and element lc is to be installed third, but these elements do not necessarily differ from one another in other respects; they may be completely identical, as all the wall elements of one wall may be mutually identical, at least with respect to their coupling arrangement. The fact that a wall element has door or window openings or other members will, of course, not have any effect on the coupling of the wall element.

Furthermore, the members 5 which can be tightened according to the invention include, in the second edge portion 4 of the element, means for locking the tie rod 7 and thus the first hook 21 tightly in the longitudinal direction L of the rod between each two successively installed elements la and lb and lc, with the edge portions 3, 4 against each other. For this purpose the tightening members 5 comprise a second hook 22 which will remain in a stationary position in the second edge portion 4 of the element. This second hook is preferably in a locking piece 2, being located in its branch 15, which is at a distance S3 from the center line 38 of the tie rod 7. The hook 22 is made up of a portion 23b which projects in a direction transverse to the center line 38 and the surface of which, when in a preceding wall element la or lb, will always face away from the wall element lb or respectively lc to be installed subsequently. In other words, the branch of the locking piece is at a small distance from some surface of the second edge portion 4, typically the bottom surface 41 of a recess 40, which distance S2 from the recess bottom 41 to the transverse portion 23b is substantially greater than the thickness SI of the first hook 21 of the tie rod 7 in the longitudinal direc¬ tion L of the tie rod 7. This locking piece 2 may be fixed to the second edge portion 4 by any method known per se, as long as it will withstand the tension caused by the hook of the tie rod 7 of the subsequent wall element lb or lc without becoming detached from the preceding wall element la. The total length of the locking piece 2 in the longitudinal direction of the tie rod is dimensioned so small that no point of the locking piece will extend outside the edge portion of the wall element concerned, which can clearly be seen in Figure 3. In this case the locking piece will also not complicate the packaging of the wall elements, and the locking piece cannot be damaged during transport.

When the branch forming the second hook 22 of the locking piece 2 is at distance S3 from the center line 38 of the tie rods 7 and includes the transverse portion 23b and is located in the second edge portion 4 of the preceding element la or lb and the first end of the tie rod includes the first hook 21, which is located in the area of the edge portion 3 of the subsequent element lb or respectively lc, then by rotating the tie rod 7 by the shaped portion 16a or 16b in direction F2 the first hook 21 is turned to a position behind the second hook 22 until the first hook stops at the bottom of the recess 39 in the locking piece 2. This reaching of the right position by the tie rod can also be seen from the position of the shaped portion 16a, 16b even if the locking piece 2 does not have a clearly recog¬ nizable final position. If, for example, the second hook 22 is in a horizontal position, as in the figures, it is clear that the first hook is in the best locking position always when it is in a vertical position, i.e. perpendicular to the second hook 22, regardless of the shaping of the hooks. However, the shaping of the second hook 22, shown in Figure 3, by means of a transverse recess 39 made in the locking piece 2 is preferable, since when such shaping is used the tie rod can in no case be turned past the position which ensures its proper locking.

Thereafter, after the first hook 21 has been turned to a posi¬ tion behind the second hook 22, as seen from the second end 12 of the tie rod 7, the hooks 21, 22 are allowed to remain in the described position one behind the other, and the tie rod 7 is tightened in order to pull the subsequent element lb or lc towards the preceding element la or respectively lb. For this purpose, the members 5 which can be tightened according to the invention include, in the second edge portion 4 of the element, tightening means 6 for moving the tie rod 7 and thereby the first hook in the longitudinal direction L of the rod, away from the previously installed element 1 towards the subsequent¬ ly installed element, in order to press the successive edge portions 3,4 against each other. Preferably the second end 12 of the rod 7 is made up of a threaded part 25 and of a nut 26 screwed onto the threading. The threading being a normal right- handed threading, when the nut 26 is turned clockwise in direc¬ tion F3 in Figure 1 and the tie rod 7 remains non-rotating, the nut 26 shifts first against the surface of the second edge portion 4, or its recess, in the subsequent element lb or re¬ spectively lc or against a corresponding member 14, to be de¬ scribed below, and thereafter when the nut is turned further, the nut turns in place and the tie rod 7 shifts, without rotat¬ ing, away from the preceding element la or respectively lb. When all slackness between the first hook and the second hook has disappeared, the tie rod stops in this position, and any further turning of the nut 26 thereafter will shift the subse¬ quent element along with it towards the first element, the joint between them becoming a tight compression joint. At this stage it is highly advantageous if the second hook has been formed as a recess 39, since this prevents the further rotation of the tie rod in direction F2 when the nut is turned in direc¬ tion F3. If the shape of the second hook is not such, the tie rod can be held in a non-rotating position by means of the shaped portions 16a and 16b by keeping them in a predetermined position, which will ensure that the first hook and the second hook will remain in a correct position in relation to each other.

That the first hook 21 will in all situations, i.e. in all the different positions of the tie rod in the orientation of its center line 38, come behind the second hook 22, and thus in a preferred embodiment in the recess 39, is ensured by the shap¬ ing, shown in Figure 6, of the recess 39 in the locking piece 2. First of all, that transverse edge portion 23b of the recess against which the first hook will rest when the elements are tightened to each other in accordance with the invention has, in the area of the outer edge of the recess been bevelled at an angle β in relation to the perpendicular of the center line, so that the longitudinal L side of the locking piece has no not¬ able portion parallel to the center line 38 but this entire edge portion is at least slightly inclined at each point trans¬ versely towards the bottom 55 of the recess 39. The opposite transverse edge portion 23c of the recess has been shaped, for example at a radius Rl, so as to be outwardly convex in such a manner that the longitudinal L side of the locking piece does not have a notable portion parallel to the center line 38 but this entire edge portion is at least somewhat inclined at each point transversely towards the bottom 55 of the recess 39. It is clear that the shapings can be reversed, i.e. the edge por¬ tion 23c bevelled and the edge portion 23b rounded, or both of them partly bevelled and partly rounded. Thus, that side of the locking piece which thus corresponds to the longitudinal direc¬ tion L of the tie rod is inclined substantially from both ends 50 and 51 of the locking piece 2 towards the bottom of the recess. This shaping ensures that, whether the tie rod were drawn in the initial situation as far as possible towards its second end or pushed as far towards the first end as possible, a rotation of the tie rod 7 will always direct the first hook into the recess 39 and to its bottom 55. The bottom 55 of the recess has been shaped, for example at a radius R2, so as to fit the first hook 21 of the tie rod. To ensure that the first hook will remain in place it is clear that the second hook 22 comprises an elevation 54 which connects the bottom rounding R2 and the transverse portion 23b and which has been formed, for example, with a rounding R3 in the opposite direction, the elevation projecting from that point of the recess bottom 55 which is perpendicular to the center line, substantially to¬ wards the opposite edge portion 23c of the recess, as depicted in Figures 3 and 6. It is exactly this elevation 54 that pro¬ duces an effective second hook, which prevents the first hook from sliding out of its place during the tightening. The struc¬ tural requirement described above applies to the locking piece 2 regardless of whether or not it is a base plate of the tight¬ ening means 6, as described below, and regardless of the tech¬ nique by which it has been made.

The remaining of the first hook 21 in place during the tighten¬ ing is ensured in such a way that the transverse portion 23a of the hook in the first end 11 of the tie rod forms an angle α relative to the center line 38 of the tie rod, which angle opens towards the second end 12 of the same rod. This angle must be smaller than 90°, and typically it is in the order of 70^β-88°, usually 80°-85°. This design prevents the sliding of the first hook from behind the second hook in the transverse or the perpendicular direction, as compared with the slide- preventing direction of the securing described in the previous paragraph. To provide operating space, it is advantageous to design the first hook 21 so as to be made up of two angular bends 52 and 53 and a straight portion between them, an approx¬ imately straight transverse portion 23a projecting from the outer angular bend 53. The angles Kl and K2 of the angular bends 52, 53 are thus each in the order of magnitude of 135° or somewhat less, as is understandable on the basis of the fore¬ going.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the locking piece 2 is a base plate of the member, such as the said nut 26, which can be tightened, and in its most preferred embodiment the locking piece has been designed as U-shaped. In this case the base portion 13, or the middle portion, of the U-shape constitutes the said base plate of the nut which tightens the tie rod 7, as can be seen in particular in Figure 2. One 15 of the branches of the U-shape projects from the base portion 13 in a direction away from the first hook 21 of the tie rod of the first element la, lb or lc concerned, towards the second end 12 of the tie rod, and past it. In this first branch 15 there is then formed the second hook 22 by means of a recess 39 transverse to the length of the tie rod, that edge of the said recess which faces away from the first hook of the tie rod of the element la, lb or lc concerned forming the transverse por¬ tion 23b and thereby the second hook of the element concerned. The second branch of the U-shaped locking piece 2 projects in the same direction as the first branch 15, and typically equally far, on the opposite side of the threaded part 25 of the tie rod 7 and the nut 26. In this second branch there is preferably formed a loop 17 the plane 20 of which is substan¬ tially perpendicular to the plane of this first element and has been arranged typically to be parallel to this third edge 30. To run through this loop 17 there has been arranged a bolt 18 or a corresponding rod-like member the base 19c of which is supported behind the loop 17 as the element 1 is viewed from the outside of its third side 30. This bolt 18 or the like thus runs and extends in the orientation of the plane 10 of this element, and perpendicularly to the tie rod 7, to beyond the first elements 1. This bolt 18 then further runs outside the first elements through those second elements 8 which have been placed against the third side 30 of the first elements and have an orientation different from that of these first elements 1. These second elements 8 may be intermediate floors or roof elements, as is clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2, or other corresponding elements. In this manner the second elements 8, located in a direction transverse to the first elements 1, can be coupled from the outside firmly but demountably to these first elements 1, for example, in such a manner that the bolt 18 has threading at that end which is away from the base 19c, and the second elements are tightened to these by means of nuts and washers 19a, 19b. The second elements 8 can thus be fixed to the first elements 1 at the densest at each coupling joint 45 of these first elements, but in practice a less dense fixing of roof elements and/or intermediate floor elements will be sufficient. Often one fixing point in the middle of each wall will suffice.

Alternatively, the locking piece can be designed as one or two L-shaped pieces. When only one L-shaped locking piece is used, it is used according to the invention for locking the first wall elements 1 or the like to each other in the manner de¬ scribed above, in which case no corresponding elements having some other orientation are fixed to these elements. It is clear that in a case in which the locking piece is used only for coupling in the orientation of the plane of the elements, that branch 15 of the locking piece in which the second hook 22 is formed may be located on either side of the center line 38 of the rod 7. If two L-shaped locking pieces are used, the second one may be used for locking elements 8 in another orientation to an entity formed, for example, by wall elements 1, as de¬ scribed above. One of these alternative L-shaped locking pieces is in this case designed so that one branch 14 of the L-shape forms the said base plate for the nut 26 and its other branch 15 forms, in the manner described above, the second hook 22 having a portion 23b transverse to the tie rod length at dis¬ tance S3 from the center line of the tie rod. Respectively, the other locking piece 2 is made up of an L-shape one branch 14 of which likewise forms a base plate for the nut 26 and the second branch 17 forms a loop the plane of which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of this first element, for the throughput of a bolt 18, as described above. As can be seen in Figures 4 and 5, both locking pieces 2 are placed simultaneous¬ ly, overlapping, as base plates of the nut 26 in the area of the thread 25 of the tie rod 7.

When the locking pieces 2 serve or the locking piece 2 serves as a base plate for the nut 26, its rotation can be prevented and its remaining in place can be ensured by arranging either in the first branch 14 of the L shape, or in the base portion 13 of the U-shape, spikes or corresponding other projections which, when the nut is being tightened in place, will pene¬ trate, for example, into the wood which forms the edge portion 4. For this reason these spikes 28 project from the locking piece 2 in a direction opposite to its second branches 15 and/- or 17, i.e. from the second edge of this element 1 towards the first hook 21 on its opposite edge 3. It is, of course, pos¬ sible to fix the locking piece 2 to the second edge portion 4 of the element 1 in some other manner. The locking pieces 2 could be fixed, for example, by means of screws, in which case they will be securely and reliably always in the same position. It is clear that such a screw attachment need not in itself be very strong, as long as it will prevent the locking piece from turning under the nut in a case in which the locking piece is at the same time the base plate of the nut 26 or some other kind of tightening means 6.

In case the locking piece 2 does not form any kind of base plate for the tightening means 6 and is directly subjected to the tightening, it is clear that the locking piece must in this case be fixed firmly to the wall element 1 so as to withstand the pull of the tie rod. Such an embodiment is not shown in the figures, and probably it is not very advantageous.

The tightening means 6 used may be not only the threading 25 and nut 26 described above but also a self-locking cam equipped with a pivoted lever, the rotation shaft of the cam being per¬ pendicular to the length L of the tie rod. Such an arrangement operating with a cam lever would be very rapid to use, but its construction would evidently be somewhat more expensive than that described above. Also other types of tightening means are conceivable, and so the invention is not limited only to those described above. In the foregoing there is described a first hook 21 having one transverse portion 23a, i.e. one branch, in which case the hook is in the main L-shaped or J-shaped. The first hook may also be designed to have two branches, in which case it has two transverse portions. The first hook is in this case in the main T-shaped or double-J-shaped. When rotated, one of the branches of the hook will settle behind the second hook in the manner described above.

Although the first elements 1 have been considered as being wall elements, as they typically are, it is clear that by a completely similar coupling arrangement and procedure it is possible to couple to each other floor elements, intermediate- floor elements, roof elements such as the second elements 8 described above, ceiling elements, etc. In other words, the use of the invention is in no way limited to the position or use of the elements; by the arrangement and method of the invention it is possible to couple to one another or even to a fixed object any at least self-supporting elements having opposite edge portions. The last-mentioned embodiment can be understood as meaning that an area corresponding to the second edge portion 4 has been formed in some other structure, such as a foundation or a completed other wall, and a coupling member corresponding to the second hook has been formed in this area. It is clear that it is possible, in accordance with the invention, to couple to such an area an element of the type of the first element by using its members 5 which can be tightened.

Claims

1. An arrangement for the demountable coupling of at least self-supporting wall elements (1) and corresponding other ele¬ ments (8) to at least one another in the orientation of the plane (10) of the elements, without a separate frame, the ele¬ ments comprising, at a distance from each other, opposite outer surfaces (10a, 10b) which define the plane of the element (1) and edge portions (3, 4) transverse to these outer surfaces, and at least one stiffener (9) which produces in the element strength in the orientation of its plane, the coupling arrange¬ ment comprising members (5) which can be tightened in the orientation of the plane of the first elements (1) to press these elements (1) against each other by their edge portions, characterized in that the members (5) which can be tightened are made up a rotatable tie rod (7) extending from the first edge portion (3) of each element to its opposite, second edge portion (4), the first end (11) of the tie rod including tight¬ ening means (6) for moving the rod and thereby a first hook in the longitudinal direction (L) of the rod, and in the second edge portion (4) of each first element (la), against which the first edge portion (3) of the adjacent second element (lb) will settle, a second hook (22) which will remain in a stationary position and to a position behind which the first hook of the tie rod will move when the tie rod is rotated (F2), as seen from the second end of the tie rod.

2. An arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the tightening means (6) are made up of a threading (25) at the second end (12) of the tie rod (7) and a nut (26) screwed thereon, and that the first hook (21) comprises at least one portion (23a) transverse to the length (L) of the tie rod, which transverse portion, when the tie rod is rotated, will move to a position behind the second hook (22), and that the first hook has either one branch or alternatively two branches.

3. An arrangement according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second hook (22) has been shaped as a branch of a locking piece (2), which locking piece is preferably a base plate of the member which can be tightened, such as the said nut (26), and that the locking piece (2) is U-shaped or alter¬ natively L-shaped, in which case the base (13) of the U-shape or respectively one branch (14) of the L-shape constitutes the said base plate and one branch of the U-shape or respectively the other branch (15) of the L-shape constitutes the second hook (22), which is at a distance (S3) from the center line (38) of the tie rod and which has a portion (23b) which is transverse to the length (L) of the tie rod and to a position behind which the first hook (21) will move when the tie rod is rotated, as seen from its second end (12).

4. An arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that at one end (12) of the tie rod (7), preferably at the outermost end of the tie rod, there is a turning portion (16a, 16b) shaped as flat or angular or as a screw groove or the like, to make the rotating of the tie rod possible.

5. An arrangement according to Claim 1 or 3, characterized in that in the second edge (4) of each element (1) there is a loop (17) the plane (20) of which is substantially perpen¬ dicular to the plane (10) of this first element, and that the arrangement further comprises a bolt (18) or the like, which has been pushed through the loop and extends in the orientation of the plane of this element and perpendicularly to the tie rod (7) to the outside of the first elements (1) for the coupling of other elements (8), such as intermediate floors and a roof, transverse to the first elements, to the said first elements (1).

6. An arrangement according to Claim 2 or 5, characterized in that the loop (17) has been formed as a branch of the lock¬ ing piece ( 2 ) , one branch (14) of the locking piece being pref- erably the base plate of the member to be tightened, such as the said nut (26), and that the locking piece has the shape of an L or preferably a U, in which case its second branch (17) will form the said loop, or respectively its branches (15, 17) will form both the second hook and the loop.

7. An arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that the stiffener (9) of the element is in a third edge (30), perpendicular to the first edge portion (3) and the second edge portion (4), and that the tie rod (7) is also located in this third edge, either immediately next to the stiffener (9) or in a trough (29) or a hole (19) made in the stif ener, and that the total length (L) of the tie rod is at maximum of the magni¬ tude of the element width (W) in the orientation of the tie rod.

8. An arrangement according to Claim 3 or 6, characterized in that at least that branch (15) of the locking piece (2) which forms the said second hook (22), and preferably also that possible branch which forms the said loop (17), will extend in a locking piece installed in place in an element away from the first hook (21) of the element (la or lb) concerned, and that on that side of the locking piece which faces the first hook (21) concerned there are means, such as spikes (28), screws, pins, rivets, or the like, hindering the rotation of the lock¬ ing piece.

9. An arrangement according to Claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the transverse portion (23b) of the second hook (22), located in the locking piece (2) , has been formed in the second branch (15) of the locking piece by means of a recess (39) transverse to the center line (38) of the tie rod, the opposite transverse edge portions (23b and 23c) of this recess being so bevelled at an angle (β) to the perpendicular of the center line of the rod and/or so rounded (Rl) that during installation the recess (39) will guide the first hook (21) to the bottom of the second hook (55), and that the transverse portion (23a) of the first hook (21), located in the tie rod, will form relative to the center line (38) of the tie rod (7) an angle (α) opening towards the second end (12) of the rod, the angle being smaller than a right angle and typically within a range of approx. 70°- 88°, and the second hook (22) has, between its bottom (55) and transverse portion (23b), an elevation (54) for preventing the mutual detachment of the first and second hooks (21 and 22) in two directions transverse to each other.

10. A method for the demountable coupling of at least self- supporting wall elements (1) and corresponding other elements (8) to at least one another in the orientation of the plane of the elements (10), without a separate frame, the elements com¬ prising, at a distance from each other, opposite outer surfaces (10a, 10b) which define the plane of the element (1) and first and second edge portions (3, 4) transverse to these outer sur¬ faces, and at least one stiffener (9) which produces in the element strength in the orientation of its plane, by using in each element (1) members (5) which can be tightened in the orientation of its plane to press adjacent elements (la, lb, lc ... ) one against the other by their edge portions, character¬ ized in that, after the lifting of each element (1; la, lb ...) into place, the first edge portion (3) of the subsequent ele¬ ment (lb, lc ...) being located against the second edge portion (4) of the preceding element (la or lb or ...), a rotation (F2) is effected from the second end (12) of a tie rod (7) visible in the second edge portion of the first element (lb or lc or ...) and transverse to these edge portions, whereupon the first hook (21), located at the first end (11) of the tie rod, will turn to a position behind the second hook (22), located in the second edge portion of the preceding element (la, or lb or ... ) , whereafter the tie rod (7) is tightened by its tightening means (5) in a direction which will press the subsequent ele¬ ment (lb or lc or ... ) in the direction of the preceding ele¬ ment relative to the tie rod.

11. A method according to Claim 10, characterized in that, before the rotating of the tie rod (7), it is pressed by its visible second end (12) towards (FI) the preceding element (la or lb or ... ) , and that the tightening of the tie rod is ef¬ fected by turning (F3) a nut (26) at the second end of the tie rod deeper, by means of a threading (25) in the tie rod, to¬ wards the preceding element, whereupon the nut, together with any possible base plates (2) or the like, will press the subse¬ quent element (lb or lc or ...) towards the preceding element, causing their edge portions (3 and 4) facing each other to press firmly and tightly against each other.

12. A method according to Claim 10, characterized in that, when necessary, after the subsequent element has been pressed into place, a bolt (18) or the like is pushed through a loop in the second edge portion (4) of this element (1), in a direction perpendicular to the length (L) of the tie rod (7) and parallel to the element plane (10), and the protruding end of the said bolt is used as a support, in tightening (19) in place, after the assembling of each given wall or a similar assembly, an element or elements (8) having another orientation against a third edge portion (30), perpendicular to the first and second edge portions (3, 4) of the said first elements (1).

13. A method according to any of Claims 9-12, characterized in that the elements (8 and in particular 1) are detached one from another by procedures reverse to the procedures defined. ( 57 ) Abstract

An arrangement for the demountable coupling of at least self- supporting wall elements (1) at least to one another in the orientation of the plane of the elements, without a separate frame, the elements comprising opposite outer surfaces at a distance from each other and edge portions (3, 4) transverse to these outer surfaces, and at least one stiffener (9) which produces in the element strength in the orientation of its plane. The coupling arrangement comprises members (5) which can be tightened in the orientation of the plane of the elements for pressing the elements against one another by their edge portions. The members which can be tightened are made up of a rotatable tie rod (7) extending from the first edge portion (3) of each element to its opposite, second edge portion (4), the first end (11) of the tie rod being shaped into a first hook (21) and the second end (12) of the rod comprising tightening means for moving the rod and thereby the first hook in the longitudinal direction of the rod. In addition, the tightening means comprise in the second edge portion (4) of each element a second hook (22) which will remain in a stationary position, to a position behind which hook the first hook of the tie rod will move when the tie rod is rotated, as seen from the end of the tie rod.