Methods of Erecting Prefabricated Buildings and Equipment Employed in Such Methods

This invention relates to methods of erecting prefabricated buildings and to equipment employed in such methods.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of erecting a prefabricated building from a plurality of three-dimensional building sections or room units, wherein the method comprises the steps of employing lifting means to bring the sections or units to the level of each story of the building and subsequently shifting the sections or units to their appointed positions in said storey or stories, and wherein the building has at least one longer and at least one shorter side as seen in plan view and said lifting means is disposed in the region of the shorter side or one of the shorter sides thereof.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation illustrating a prefabricated building in course of erection by a method in accordance with one feature of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one end of the building illustrated in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic section taken on the line III--III in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a simplified perspective view, to an enlarged scale, illustrating the basic construction of one fabricated building section or room unit for use in a method in accordance with one aspect of the invention,

FIG. 5 is an elevation of the left-hand end of the building shown in FIG. 1 but illustrates a later stage in the erection of that building, and

FIG. 6 is a vertical section to an enlarged scale, taken on the line VI--VI in FIG. 4 and illustrates an alternative arrangement for lifting the building sections or room units.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates part of an elongated prefabricated building that is generally indicated by the reference numeral 1. The building 1 is formed from a plurality of prefabricated three-dimensional building sections or room units of generally box-shaped configuration, these sections or units being carried to the building site from a factory or other place of manufacture by a truck, trailer or other suitable transportation means referred to here as a transporter 2. A typical building section 3 that has been carried to the building site by the transporter 2 is engaged by lifting means 4 so that it may be brought to the level of the story of the building 1 of which it is to form a part for subsequent horizontal displacement to its appointed position in that story. It will be seen from the drawings that the lifting means 4 is located adjacent one of the shorter sides or ends of the building 1 which building is of elongated generally oblong configuration when seen in plan view. FIG. 1 of the drawings shows two completed stories 5 and 6 of the building 1 and an overlying story 7 that is still in the course of assembly.

Each of the stories of the building 1 is afforded wholly or principally by a plurality of prefabricated building sections disposed in successively adjoining relationship with their lengths perpendicular to the length of the complete story of which they form parts. It is only necessary at the building site to arrange the sections in their appointed positions alongside one another and to connect them together where required. Each section is preferably delivered to the building site in a more or less finished condition, a large proportional of the finishing work having been done at the factory or other location of manufacture of the sections, so that only a small number of operations that will take a minimum of time are left to be done at the building site itself.

The building sections of the story 5 that affords the ground floor of the building 1 bear downwardly upon foundation beams 8, 9 and 10 (FIG. 3). FIG. 3 of the drawings shows the arrangement only diagrammatically but it will be apparent that the outermost beams 8 and 10 of the three parallel foundation beams 8, 9 and 10 are provided on their upper surfaces with guide beams 11 and 12 of L-shaped cross-section which are so arranged that the ends of a ground floor building section, such as the illustrated section 13, will fit snugly between them. The lifting means 4 that is disposed close to one end 14 (FIG. 1) of the building 1 transfers the various building sections from successive transporters, such as the diagrammatically illustrated transporter 2, onto the foundation beams 8, 9 and 10 after which those sections or units are shifted lengthwise along the horizontal limbs of the guide beams 11 and 12 to their appointed positions in the story 5, the vertical limbs of the beams 11 and 12 providing the required guidance.

Each of the sections or units of the lower story 5 are provided on top with further guide beams 15 and 16 (FIG. 3) of L-shaped cross-section and, when the story 5 is complete, the guide beams 15 and 16 of the juxtaposed building sections co-operate to form a further slideway along which the sections of the story can be shifted. FIG. 1 of the drawings illustrates three building sections 18 of the storey 7 in the appointed positions and also shows a fourth building section 17 being shifted along the top of the story 6 towards a position in which it will adjoin one of the sections 18. All of the sections 17 and 18 are moved to their appointed positions in the story 7 from the aforementioned end 14 of the building. Shifting means in the form of a winch 19 and a co-operating cable 20 are employed to move the section 17 lengthwise along a slideway that is disposed on top of the story 6 and that is afforded by further guide means 21 and 22 (FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings), these guide beams being similar in construction and arrangement to the guide beams 15 and 16 and being carried by the tops of the sections of the story 6. The horizontal limbs of the guide beams 21 and 22 afford a supporting slideway for the sections or units 17 and 18 while the vertical limbs thereof provide the required guiding function.

The winch 19 is carried by a support 23 arranged at an end 24 of the stories 5 and 6 of the building 1 that have already been erected, said end 24 of the building 1 being remote from the aforementioned end 14 thereof. The cable 20 extends from the winch 19 around a pulley 25 and thence to a pulley 26 from which it is led back to an anchorage that is rigid with the support 23. The pulley 26 is rotatably mounted on a hook or bracket 27 that is releasably connected to the building section 17 that is to be shifted. It can be seen from FIG. 1 of the drawings that the cable 20 and the pulleys 25 and 26 are all located at one side of the story 7 and it should be particularly noted that these parts are duplicated at the opposite side of the story 7 to ensure that, when the winch 19 is in operation, traction will be applied equally at both short ends of the section 17 to move it reliably in a direction parallel to the geneal plane of FIG. 1 of the drawings. Once the section 17 has reached its appointed position, the hooks or brackets 20 are unwound to allow said hooks or brackets to be brought to the end 14 of the building 1 for re-engagement with a further building section. It will be noted that the hooks or brackets 27 engage the sections, such as the section or unit 17, at the longer sides thereof that are remote from the winch 19, said winch being disposed at the end 24 of the building 1 that is furthest from the end 14 thereof that is adjacent to the lifting means 4.

The lifting means 4 comprises a tower that is of oblong configuration when seen in plan view (FIG. 2). The tower has four vertical columns 31, 32, 33 and 34 at its corners, the distances between these columns being such that the transporter 2 can move between them with sufficient space to enable the building sections, such as the illustrated section, to be lifted off the transporter. The vertical columns 32 and 33 are interconnected by at least one beam at the side 35 of the lifting tower which is remote from the end 14 of the building 1. A bridge or platform 36 is mounted near the top of the lifting tower around the columns 31 to 34 inclusive. The upper ends of the columns 31 to 34 inclusive are interconnected by beams 37, 38, 39 and 40, the beams 38 and 40 being provided with supporting tracks 41 and 42 for trolleys 43 and 44 that can travel lengthwise along the respective supporting tracks 41 and 42. The trolleys 43 and 44 are arranged so as to be capable of being retained in at least one temporarily fixed position that is midway between the beams 38 and 40 as seen in plan view (FIG. 2). Each of the two trolleys 43 and 44 is provided with a corresponding lifting system comprising hoisting cables 45 and 46 so that each section, such as the illustrated section or unit 3, can be raised substantially vertically by the four cables 45 and 46. The trolleys 43 and 44 will normally be in the fixed central position between the beams 38 and 40, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, when an initial lifting operation from the transporter 2 is being undertaken. Each pair of cables 45 and 46 is provided at the lower ends of those cables with a supporting assembly 47 which comprises arms 48 and 49 that are pivotally connected to an upper portion 47A of the supporting assembly 47. Hook-like extensions at the lower ends of the arms 48 and 49 will automatically engage the section 3 that is to be lifted beneath the bottom of that section. The hook-like extensions in question are visible in FIG. 5 of the drawings.

As mentioned above, the connections between the columns 31 to 34 inclusive are such that a transporter, such as the illustrated transporter 2, can move readily between them when carrying a typical building section or room unit such as the illustrated section 3. After the section 3 has been lifted from the transporter 2 to the desired level in the building 1, it can be passed between the columns 31 and 34 towards the corresponding story in the building by moving the trolleys 43 and 44 lengthwise along their supporting tracks 41 and 42. The lengths of the tracks 41 and 42 are such that they extend alongside the first sections at the end 14 of the building 1 and this enables a section or unit, such as the section 3, to be placed at the end of the appropriate story, on top of the underlying story, as shown in broken lines in FIG. 1 of the drawings. Once the section 3 has reached substantially the position thereof that is shown in broken lines in FIG. 1 of the drawings and the lifting system has been withdrawn therefrom, it can be indirectly engaged by the cables 20 of the previously described shifting means to move it along the top of the underlying story 6 to its appropriated position in the story 7 as has already been described for the similar building section or room unit 17. The lifting means 4 includes, alongside the lower end of each of the four columns 31 to 34, a lifting device in the form of a jack 50. Each of the four columns 31 to 34 is afforded by a plurality of superposed portions 51 each of which has a height 52 that is equal to the height of one of the story of the building 1. When a multi-story building is to be constructed, the lifting means 4 is erected in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The bridge or platform 36 is arranged near the top of the lifting means 4 at substantially the same level as the trolleys 43 and 44. A further bridge of platform 53 is also connected to the columns 31 to 34 at the level of the top of the last completed story. When a story, such as the story 7, is finished, the height of the lifting tower is raised by inserting fresh portions 51 of the columns 31 to 34 at the bottom of the tower. This can be done by hydraulically extending all of the rams of the four jacks 50 which rams are linked by temporary coupling members 50A to locations close to the tops of the column portions 51 that were previously lowermost. As soon as the jacks 50 are fully extended, the new column sections 51 can be installed at the bottoms of the columns 31 to 34 as shown in broken lines in FIG. 5 of the drawings. FIG. 5 shows the columns 31 to 34 inclusive of the lifting means 4 provided with sufficient portions 51 to enable the lifting means to erect a ninth story of the building 1 on top of the eight storeys that are shown in that figure. The bridges or platforms 36 and 53 project from the lifting tower along the front and rear surfaces of the building 1 throughout distances which are effectively equal to the distances by which the supporting tracks 41 and 42 of the trolleys 43 and 44 project along those surfaces. These distances are substantially the same as the width of a single building section. The maneuvering of a building section onto one end of an underlying completed story of the building 1, as is illustrated in broken lines in FIG. 1 of the drawings, can be effectively controlled and supervised by operatives stationed on the bridges or platforms 36 and 53 and any manhandling of the sections or units that may occasionally be necessary to assist in bringing them to their correct positions can conveniently be effected from those bridges or platforms.

The columns 31 and 32 and also the columns 33 and 34 are interconnected by successive crossed coupling bars 54 above a height 55 (FIG. 5) which is sufficient to enable loaded transporters 2 to enter the bottom of the lifting tower without being impeded by the coupling bars 54. The bars 54 ensure that the lifting tower shall have adequate stability and, if required, further coupling bars (not visible) may be provided to interconnect the columns 32 and 33 or the columns 31 and 34 or both sets of columns beneath the level of the bridge or platform 53.

FIG. 4 of the drawings illustrates a single prefabricated building section somewhat diagrammatically and it will be evident from that figure that the section comprises a floor structure in the form of a panel 60 to which six supporting columns 61, 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66 are secured so as to project perpendicularly upwards from the panel 60. The columns 61 and 66 at one shorter end of the section or unit are interconnected at their upper ends by a horizontal guide beam 67 of L-shaped cross-section and the upper ends of the columns 63 and 64 at the opposite shorter end of the section or unit are interconnected in the same manner by a symmetrically similar guide beam 68. It will be realized that the guide beams 67 and 68 are arranged in the same way, and serve the same function, as the previously described guide beams 15 and 16 of section 13 and guide beams 21 and and 21 of the next higher section as shown in FIG. 3. Interconnecting beams 69 and 70 extend between the upper ends of the columns 61 and 62 and 62 and 63 of one longer side and 64 and 65 and 65 and 66 of the other longer side of the building section and a further interconnecting beam 71, that is parallel to the guide beams 67 and 68, interconnects the upper ends of the columns 62 and 65 at a location between the shorter ends of the section or unit. It will be evident from FIG. 4 of the drawings that the tops of the building sections are substantially completely open but it is emphasized that appropriate walls and other partitions may be provided between the various columns 61 to 66 inclusive as may be dictated by the requirements of the rooms or other spaces that are to be defined internally of the building 1. The building 1 which is illustrated is a dwelling defining a plurality of apartments or flats that may be of different sizes. FIG. 2 shows a single apartment that is afforded by four juxtaposed building sections or room units. The apartment has a living room 80, three bedrooms 81, 81A and 82, a kitchen 83, a hall or vestibule 84, a corridor or passage 85 and a toilet 85A. In order that these rooms and other spaces may be defined merely by placing four building sections 86, 87, 88 and 89 in their correct relative positions, the required inner and outer walls and other partitions are erected in the prefabricated sections before their assembly at the building site. The various inner and outer walls and other partitions can be seen in FIG. 2 of the drawings but it is emphasized again that these walls and partitions are not shown in the perspective view of FIG. 4. The walls or other partitions are arranged to define an uninterrupted hallway or gallery 90 alongside the front or rear surface or facade of the building 1, this gallery extending right along the story concerned to give access to the different apartments or flats in that story (see FIG. 5) and being connected at one end to a landing having staircases and elevator shafts (see FIG. 2). The walls of the gallery 90 and the landing are already provided in the prefabricated building sections and no extensive finishing work is necessary after the assembly of the building sections or room units.

The columns 61 to 66 inclusive have central cores in the form of tubes 92 that may, as illustrated, be of substantially square cross-section. The interiors of these tubes 92 may, if desired, be filled with material such as concrete during or after the assembly of the building sections or room units to form the building 1 at the building site. FIG. 6 of the drawings shows a modification in which the upper end of each tube 92 of each of the "corner" columns 61, 63, 64 and 66 is provided internally with two opposed hooks 93 and 94 adapted for releasable connection to a grappling bracket carried at the end of one of the hoisting cables 45 or 46. When the construction illustrated in FIG. 6 is employed, the grappling brackets can be directly engaged with the opposed hooks 93 and 94 at each of the four corners of each building section or room unit thus making the provision of the supporting assembly 47 unnecessary.

The methods of erecting prefabricated buildings that have been described enable such buildings to be completed efficiently and quickly. The lifting means 4 which is arranged close to one end of the building that is to be erected does not need to be mobile and the supply of prefabricated building sections or room units from a factory or the like can take place efficiently along a predetermined track. After the lifting means 4 has been employed to complete one story of the building, the lifting tower is increased in height and the support 23 of the shifting means is moved upwardly through one story to enable the next story of the building to be tackled. Although the shifting means that has been described comprises the cables 20 that are used to pull the building sections one at a time from the end 14 of the building towards the winch 19 and into their appointed positions in the various stories, this is not essential and it should be noted that it is possible to employ endless chains, cables or the like that may extend between the winch 19 and the end 14 of the building and with which more than one building section can be shifted in a single operation. This is particularly advantageous when a large prefabricated building of considerable length is to be erected.

Although various features of the methods of erection that have been described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings and various features of the equipment and building sections employed in such methods will be set forth in the following claims as inventive features, it is emphasized that the invention is not limited to those features and includes within its scope all of the steps of the methods that have been described or illustrated and all of the pieces of equipment and parts of the building sections that have been described or illustrated both individually and in various combinations.