U.S. patent number 3,849,952 [Application Number 05/329,095] was granted by the patent office on 1974-11-26 for capsule-unit house.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Misawa Homes Co. Ltd.. Invention is credited to Tadashi Hanaoka.
United States Patent |
3,849,952 |
Hanaoka |
November 26, 1974 |
CAPSULE-UNIT HOUSE
Abstract
A capsule-unit house comprising: structure assemblies arranged
in series with a gap therebetween and each having a plurality of
horizontal structure elements disposed one above another, and
foldable supporting means for supporting said adjacent horizontal
structure elements at ends thereof, said supporting means including
wall members; and a filler filled in said gap so as to form
vertical structure elements together with said supporting means,
and a method of building such a capsule-unit house.
Inventors: |
Hanaoka; Tadashi (Kawasaki,
JA) |
Assignee: |
Misawa Homes Co. Ltd. (Tokyo,
JA)
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Family
ID: |
38805818 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/329,095 |
Filed: |
February 2, 1973 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Feb 5, 1972 [JA] |
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47-13504 |
Feb 9, 1972 [JA] |
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47-14169 |
Feb 29, 1972 [JA] |
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47-21189 |
Dec 29, 1972 [JA] |
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48-1912 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/79.5; 52/69;
52/426; 52/745.14; 52/79.11; 52/428; 52/745.03 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B
1/34807 (20130101); E04B 1/3445 (20130101); E04B
1/34823 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E04B
1/344 (20060101); E04B 1/348 (20060101); E04h
001/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;52/69,70,71,79,428,743,236,425,431,426,745 ;220/6,7 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1,484,761 |
|
May 1967 |
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FR |
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138,249 |
|
Apr 1948 |
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AU |
|
1,518,637 |
|
Feb 1968 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: Purser; Ernest R.
Assistant Examiner: Braun; Leslie A.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A capsule-unit housing comprising; a plurality of serially
arranged structure assemblies each comprising; a plurality of
horizontal structure elements disposed one above another, and a
pair of supporting means foldable at a center thereof; first and
second connecting members on the ends of the horizontal structure
elements; said supporting means including a plurality of parallel
arranged structural shape assemblies each comprising a lower
structural shape having the lower end pivoted to one of said first
connecting members on any one of the horizontal structure elements
and a first connecting portion provided on the upper end, and an
upper structural shape having the upper end pivoted to said second
connecting member on the horizontal structure just above any one of
the horizontal structure elements and a second connecting portion
provided on the lower end and pivoted to said first connecting
portion of the lower structural shape; each of said upper and lower
structural shapes being provided on both lateral sides with first
and second flanges; locking means which comprises first holes bored
through the first connecting members and the lower ends of the
lower structural shapes pivoted thereto, first pins inserted into
said first holes, second holes bored through the first connecting
portions of the lower structural shapes and the second connecting
portions of the upper structural shapes pivoted thereto, second
pins inserted into said second holes, third holes bored through the
second connecting members and the upper ends of the upper
structural shapes pivoted thereto, and third pins inserted into
said third holes; and a filler filled between said supporting means
of the adjacent structure assemblies and fixed thereto.
2. A capsule-unit house as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said
supporting means further includes upper and lower wall members
having said first flanges of the upper and lower structural shapes
embedded therein respectively so as to cause the second flanges
thereof to project equidistantly from said upper and lower wall
members.
3. A capsule-unit house as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said
structural assemblies has wall members pivoted to said ends of the
horizontal structure elements.
Description
This invention relates to a capsule-unit house and method of
building same, and more particularly, to a capsule-unit house
constructed by prefabricating foldable, compact structure
assemblies convenient for transportation and storage, carrying
these assemblies to the construction location in order to set up
the desired house in said location.
In recent years, a set-up building, commonly called a prefabricated
house, particularly a capsule-unit house, has been widely used. In
this type of house, its components, such as columns and panels,
were performed in the factory and conveyed to the construction
location so as to set up the desired house there.
There were, however, the serious drawbacks that a large assembling
machine was required for assembling large components, that much
labor and time were needed for such assembly, and that a wide open
space in the construction location was necessary to accommodate the
components in large variety and in immense quantity.
There has been proposed an improved cell-unit house in which the
structural units were prefabricated in the factory and carried to
the construction location in order to set up the desired building
there. Indeed, considerable labor and time could be saved in
assembling the components. There were, however, the serious
disadvantages that a large assembling machine was required for
setting up a multistory house and that the transportation of large
structural units was difficult and expensive. In addition, a wide
site was necessary for higher building efficiency because the
massive units were wholly or partially placed in the construction
location.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a
method of building a capsule-unit house by joining together
adjacent structure assemblies prefabricated in the factory and
folded for easy transportation and storage by filling a filler in
gaps between said assemblies and a capsule-unit house built by said
method.
In each structure assembly of the invention, two or more horizontal
structure elements are disposed one above another. The ends of the
horizontal structure elements are connected with the corresponding
ends of those disposed right above by a plurality of structural
shape assemblies. Each structural shape assembly comprises an upper
and a lower structural shape. The upper end of the upper structural
shape is pivoted to one end portion of the upper horizontal
structure element; the lower end of the lower structural shape to
one end portion of the lower horizontal structure element; and the
upper end of the lower structural shape to the lower end of the
upper structural shape, thereby to enable the structural shape
assemblies to be folded. A locking means is preferably mounted on a
pivot of each assembly to fix the pivot when the assembly is
vertically spread or straightened out.
The upper stuctural shapes of each assembly are embedded in a
single wall member to connect the ends of vertically adjacent two
horizontal structure elements on the same side. The lower structure
shapes may also be embedded in another wall member. In this case,
the structural shape assemblies and wall members constitute
supporting means. Alternatively, a wall member may be pivoted to
either end of the upper or lower horizontal structure element so as
to erect the wall members when the structure assembly is unfolded.
In this case the structural shape assembly and/or the wall members
constitute supporting means.
The structure assemblies are mostly prefabricated in the factory by
the processes described above and transported to the construction
location with the supporting means folded. The horizontal structure
elements are then lifted by using a lift or the like to unfold the
supporting means and fixed by the locking means to prevent it from
folding again and to carry the horizontal structure elements and
their associated supporting means. The unfolded structure
assemblies are arranged in series with a gap provided between the
facing supporting means of the adjacent structure assemblies. A
semifluid solidifiable filler fixed on the supporting means after
solidification is filled in said gap. The filler used is a filling
material such as cement that can withstand a strong stress after
solidifying. A vertical structure element is composed of the filler
and supporting means as a single unit.
The present invention can be more fully understood from the
following detailed description when taken in connection with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a capsule-unit house according
to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating vertical structure
elements;
FIG. 3 is a side elevation indicating a folded structure
assembly;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing part of supporting means;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view, partially broken away, of the
supporting means of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a pivot section of the
upper horizontal structure element and supporting means when the
supporting means is folded;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view indicating an engagement of the upper
horizontal structure element and supporting means when said
supporting means is unfolded;
FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9--9 of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view representing a pivot section of the
supporting means in the center;
FIG. 11 is a side elevation of FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is an oblique view showing a pivot section of the
supporting means and lower horizontal structure element;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view sketching a horizontal section of the
vertical structure element in an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 14 is a plan view of FIG. 13;
FIG. 15 is a side elevation schematically showing the structure
assembly with its horizontal structure element lifted by a
jack;
FIG. 16 is a side view schematically representing vertical
structure elements in another embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 17 is a side elevation illustrating a structure assembly of
FIG. 16 when folded.
Referring to FIG. 1, a structure assembly generally designated by
21 comprises a plurality of horizontal structure elements disposed
one above another and a pair of supporting means.
The horizontal structure elements 22, 23 and 24 shown in this
embodiment consist of three sections: a lower or bottom horizontal
structure element 22, a midstory horizontal structure element 23,
and an upper or top horizontal structure element 24 having the
following functions: the element 22 serves as the floor; the
element 23 as the ceiling (lower surface) and floor (upper
surface); and the element 24 as ceiling or roof.
It should be understood that a single-story house has a structure
assembly with two horizontal structure elements and that a
multistory house has a structure assembly with the number of
horizontal structure elements corresponding to the number of the
stories.
The horizontal structure elements 22, 23 and 24 indicated in the
embodiment are substantially rectangular members having strength
withstanding heavy loads. The elements 22, 23 and 24 have legs 22c,
23c and 24c respectively in the lower end portion on either end.
Preferably these elements may be slabs prefabricated in the
factory.
Supporting means 25 connects the equiside ends 22a and 23a, 23a and
24a of the horizontal structure elements 22 and 23, 23 and 24,
respectively. Supporting means 26 couples the other equiside ends
22b and 23b, 23b and 24b of the horizontal structure elements 22
and 23, 23 and 24, respectively. The supporting means 25 and 26 are
of the same construction.
In view of the same structure of the supporting means 25 and 26,
the former only is described in detail for simplicity. The
supporting means 25 comprises an upper wall member 27 and a lower
wall member 28 both of which are small in thickness and rectangular
in shape (FIGS. 1 to 3). The wall members 27, 28 preferably are
made of cement. The supporting means 25 also comprises a plurality
of structural shape assemblies 29 arranged in parallel to one
another. Each member 29 consists of an upper structural shape 30
and a lower structural shape 31, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. Each
structural shape 30 or 31 is Z-shaped in section with flanges 33
and 34 on both lateral sides. A plurality of openings 35 are
perforated in a web 32. The structural shapes 30 and 31 preferably
are made of steel. The flange 34 of the structural shape 30 (or 31)
is embedded in the wall member 27 (or 28) in such a manner that the
web 32 extends from the wall member 27 (or 28) at right angles
thereto so as to cause the opening 35 and flange 33 to be exposed
to the atmosphere. The flanges 33 are substantially equidistantly
separated from the wall members 27 and 28. The upper end portion
30a of the upper structural shape 30 protrudes higher than the
upper end of the upper wall member 27 (FIGS. 6 to 8). A quadrant
connecting portion 30b extending downward from the lower end of the
upper wall member 27 is formed on the lower end portion of the
upper structural shape 30 (FIGS. 10 and 11). A connecting member 36
is implanted in the leg 23c of the upper horizontal structure
element 23 in the position corresponding to the upper end portion
30a of the upper structural shape 30 (FIGS. 6 to 8). The lower end
portion thereof 36a projects downward from the lower end of the leg
23c. The lower end portion 36a of the connecting member 36 and the
upper end portion 30a of the corresponding upper structural shape
30 is pivoted to each other through a pivotal shaft 37 consisting
of pin, bolt-nut assembly, or the like in the position right below
the leg 23c. When the structural shape 30 and the member 36 are
aligned as shown in FIG. 8 after the upper structural shape 30
rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 6 around the pivotal shaft 37 with
respect to the connecting member 36, the structural shape 30 and
the member 36 overlap each other by l.sub.1. The front side surface
(right-hand side surface in FIG. 6) of the member 36 abuts on the
inner surface of the flange 33 of the structural shape 30 so as not
to permit the structural shape 30 to rotate counterclockwise any
longer. Through holes 38 and 39 to be in place when unfolded are
perforated in the lower end portion 36a of the member 36 and in the
upper end portion 36a of the structural shape 30 respectively so as
to align each other when the structural shape 30 is unfolded (FIG.
9). Locking means 40 consisting of pin, bolt-nut assembly, or the
like is inserted into the through holes 38 and 39 to prevent the
pivotal movement of the structural shape 30 with respect to the
member 36.
The lower end portion 31a of the lower structural shape 31
protrudes lower than the lower end of the lower wall member 28
(FIG. 12), while the upper end portion thereof is provided with a
quadrant connecting portion 31b extending upward from the upper end
of the lower wall member 28 (FIG. 11).
A connecting member 41 is implanted in the leg 22c of the lower
horizontal structure element 22 in the position corresponding to
the lower end portion 31a of the lower structure shape 31 (FIG.
12). The upper end portion 41a of the connecting member 41 projects
upward from upper surface of the horizontal structure element 22.
The upper end portion 41a of connecting member 41 and the lower end
portion 31a of the corresponding lower structural shape 31 are
pivoted to each other in the position right above the leg 22c
through a pivotal shaft 42 consisting of pin, bolt-nut assembly, or
the like. When the lower structural shape 31 and the connecting
member 41 are aligned as shown in FIG. 12, they overlap each other
by l.sub.2, and the front side surface of the member 41 abuts on
the inside surface of the flange 33 of the structural shape 31 so
as not to permit the structural shape 31 to rotate clockwise beyond
the abutment with respect to the member 41 (FIG. 12). There are
provided through holes 43 which are perforated in the upper end
portion 31a of the structural shape 31 and in the upper portion 41a
of the member 41 respectively and which align each other when
unfolded. When locking means 44 consisting of pin, bolt-nut
assembly or the like is inserted into the through holes 43 after
unfolding the structural shape 31, the pivotal movement between the
member 41 and the structural shape 31 can be prevented. The
connecting portion 30b at the lower end of the upper structural
shape 30 and the connecting portion 31b of the upper end portion of
the lower structural shape 31 are pivoted to each other through a
pivotal shaft 45 mounted in the expanded portions 30c and 31c on
the front end surface of said connecting portions 30b and 31b
(FIGS. 10 and 11). In unfolding the structural shapes 30 and 31 as
shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the connecting portions 30b and 31b
overlap by l.sub.3. Under this condition, the connecting portion
30b abuts on the inner surface of the flange 33 of the lower
structural shape 31 so as not to permit the upper structural shape
30 to rotate counterclockwise beyond the abutment with respect to
the lower structural shape 31 and so as not to allow the further
clockwise rotation of the lower structural shape 31 with respect to
the upper structural shape 30 (FIG. 11). After the structural
members 30 and 31 are aligned with each other, locking means 47
consisting of pin, bolt-nut assembly, or the like is inserted into
the holes 46 perforated in the connecting portions 30b and 31b of
the members 30 and 31 so as to be aligned with each other when the
structural members 30 and 31 are straightened out thereby to
prevent the relative motion between the members 30 and 31.
In the wall members 27 and 28, steel bars 48 are arranged
horizontally and in parallel to one another (FIG. 5). The bars 48
act to reinforce the wall members 27 and 28 against the
longitudinal tensile stress.
The structure assemblies 21 so constructed can previously be
mass-produced in the factory. The assemblies 21 can thus be reduced
in volume by turning the structural shapes 30 and 31 about the
pivotal shafts 37, 42 and 45 and folding the supporting means 25
and 26 at the center C thereof as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, the
structure assemblies 21 are conveniently stored and
transported.
The horizontal structure elements 23 and 24 are pushed up by
lifting means 49, such as hydraulic jacks (FIG. 15) to straighten
out the supporting means 25 and 26 as shown in FIG. 4. After the
upper and lower structural shapes 30 and 31 are respectively
aligned to the connecting members 36 and 41 the locking means 40 is
inserted into the holes 38 and 39; the locking means 47 into the
holes 46; and the locking means 44 into the holes 43. The
structural shape assemblies 29 or supporting means 25 and 26 can
thus be securely fixed to the horizontal structure elements 22, 23
and 24 without being folded in the center.
Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the structure assemblies 21 thus
erected are arranged in series in such a manner that the supporting
means 25 of any one of the structure assemblies 21 and the
supporting means 26 of the structure assembly 21 adjacent thereto
face each other. The supporting means 25 and 26 are so separated
from each other by L as to provide a gap A therebetween.
The flange 34 of the structural shape assembly 29 (or upper and
lower structural shape 30 or 31) of each of the structure
assemblies 21 is interposed between the outer surface of the upper
and lower wall member 27 and 28 of the adjacent structure assembly
21 and the flange 34 of the structural shape assembly 29 thereof
(or upper and lower structural shapes 30 and 31). The gap A except
for the upper opening is blocked by sheathing boards 50. From the
upper opening, the gap A is filled with a semifluid filler 51,
which, upon subsequent solidification, is fixed to the supporting
means 25 and 26 after solidification. Preferebly, the filler 41 is
cement. After solidification, the filler 51 and supporting means 25
and 26 i.e., upper and lower wall members 27 and 28 and structural
shape assemblies 29 form strong vertical structure elements 52
(FIGS. 1 and 2). Since the filler 51 also fills in the openings 35
perforated in the structural shapes 30 and 31, the filler 51 is
firmly fixed to the structural shapes 30 and 31. The arrangement of
flanges 34 of the structural shapes 30 and 31 as shown in FIGS. 13
and 14 ensures that the filler is not broken easily even when a
fairly strong force exerts in the direction to separate any two
adjacent structure assemblies. Fillers other than concrete may also
be used, provided they are fixedly attached to the supporting means
25 and 26 after being solidified and have a sufficient tensile
strength.
When openings 26a for passage etc. are necessary in the vertical
structure elements 52, the gap A must be blocked with a sheathing
board or the like on the side adjacent to the opening 26a to
prevent the filler 51 from flowing into the opening 26a. A
sheathing board 50a may also be separately disposed, facing the
farthest end portion of the building, as shown in FIG. 2, so as to
fill in a gap B between the supporting means 26 and the sheathing
board 50a.
FIGS. 15 and 16 show another embodiment of the present invention.
Throughout FIGS. 1 to 16, like numerals designate like parts. In
this embodiment, the structure assemblies 29 employ single wall
members 53 and 54 instead of those upper and lower wall members 27
and 28 of the previous embodiment in which the flanges 34 of the
structural assemblies 29 are implanted. The upper end portion 53a
of the wall member 53 is pivoted to the lower end surface of one
leg 23c of the upper horizontal structure element 23 by connecting
means 55 such as a pin. The lower end portion 54a of the wall
member 54 is pivoted to the upper end surface of the leg 23c of the
lower horizontal structure element 22 diagonally opposed to the
lower end surface of the leg 23c. When the supporting means 25 and
26 for the structure assemblies 21 are folded, the wall members 53
and 54 will be placed substantially horizontally as shown in FIG.
17. The wall members 53 and 54 can be erected as shown in FIG. 16
by lifting the upper horizontal structure element 23 with a jack
(not shown) as in FIG. 15. By the known connecting means (not
shown), the lower end 53b of the wall member 53 may be fixed to the
end of the lower horizontal structure element 22 or the lower
structural shapes 31 and the upper end 54b of the wall member 54
may also be fixed to the leg 23c of the upper horizontal structure
element 23 or the upper structural shapes 30. The upper end 54b of
the wall member 54 may also be pivoted to the lower surface of the
leg 23c of the upper horizontal structure element 23 instead of the
lower end 54a of the wall member 54.
In the aforesaid two embodiments, strong vertical structure
elements 52 are formed by filling the gap A between the supporting
means 25 and 26 of any two adjacent structure assemblies 21 with
the filler 15. Therefore, the supporting means 25 and 26 have only
to have sufficient strength to withstand deflection or breakdown
due to the weight of the assemblies 21 when the supporting means 25
and 26 are locked by locking means 40, 44 and 47. Accordingly, the
supporting means 25 and 26 can be light in weight and simple in
construction, as described above, thus providing a light-weight
structure assemblies 21. Since the vertical structure elements 23
can serve concurrently as floor and ceiling, the capsule-unit house
of the invention, unlike the prior art prefabricated house, need
not fill in the open spaced with a filler, thus contributing much
to the simplification of the assembly.
* * * * *