Highly wind resistant pre-assembled relocatable building structure

• US 5,826,379 A
• Filed: 12/30/1992
• Issued: 10/27/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Paul Curry
• Original Assignee: Paul Curry
• Inventors: Curry, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Lindsey, Rodney M.
• Application Number:
  US07/998,673
• Time in Patent Office: 2,127 Days
• Field of Search: 52/79.1, 52/57, 52/79.13, 52/79.9, 52/90.2, 52/272, 52/822, 52/293.3, 52/79.11, 52/295, 52/296, 52/299, 52/235
• US Class Current: 52/79.1
• CPC Class Codes: E04B 1/3483 the supporting structure consisting of metal
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 9/14 against other dangerous influences, e.g. tornadoes, floods
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 50/00 in human health protection, e.g. against extreme weather

Abstract

In order to provide a pre-assembled, relocatable building structure which can be transported by road from one site to another, a metal skeleton which is formed of 6×2 inch rectangular cross-section hollow steel tubing, is welded together and provided with horizontally extending anchor brackets at the bottom of each vertically extending column member. These anchor pads allow the building to be lowered onto foundations in which anchor bolts are imbedded, and bolted in place. The foundations are formed so as to take the form of continuous elongate blocks which break the passage of wind which tends to flow sideways under the housing structure. A shallow crawl space can formed between the foundation blocks to facilitate service connections. To prevent winds from tearing off side and roof panels of roof and wall structures secured to the skeleton, metal brackets are used to enclose or encapsulate the edges of the panels in a manner which prevents the direct contact with the wind.

Claims

1. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure which is highly resistant to the effect of high velocity winds, which can be transported on transport means in a completed and which can be set on foundation members, comprising:

a metallic skeleton formed of a plurality of pairs of vertically extending metallic column members, longitudinally extending metallic side beam members and laterally extending metallic cross beam members, said side beam and cross beam members being permanently connected to said column members at a level proximate the lower end thereof, said skeleton further including a plurality of angled portions, each of said angled portions being permanently connected to the upper ends of a pair of said column members;

a plurality of horizontally extending anchor pads which are each permanently secured to a bottom of a column member, each anchor pad being formed with a hole through which a bolt which is set in a foundation member and which extends vertically upward, can be inserted, said anchor pads being arranged to seat on said foundation members and to elevate said side beam members so as to define a small clearance between the lower surface of said side beam members and the upper surface of said foundation members;

a floor structure supported on said side and cross beam members;

a wall structure disposed between said vertically extending column members,

a roof structure disposed between said angled portions;

encapsulating means for sealing off openings which are defined between panels and into which high velocity winds can force their way and produce pneumatic forces which pry panels away from their positions; and

a plurality of elongate horizontally extending metal plates which are each permanently fixed to the top horizontal surface of a side beam, said metal plates supporting headers and the ends of floor joists which form part of said floor structure.

2. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said encapsulating means comprises metal encapsulating bracket means associated with said wall and roof structures for enclosing edges of panels which form a part of said wall and roof structures and for preventing direct contact of the edges with high velocity winds and for preventing the entry of high velocity winds into the openings between the panels in a manner which produces said pneumatic forces.

3. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said foundation members comprise two parallel re-enforced blocks (102) between which a crawl space (105) enabling the connection of water and electrical services, is provided.

4. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said a plurality of pairs of vertically extending column members and said plurality of angled portions of said metallic skeleton defines ribs which jut out from the external surfaces of the walls and the roof said housing structure and define windbreak means for reducing the force with which wind can contact sites where edges of panels which form part of the roof and wall structures are located.

5. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 1, said vertical columns, said side beams and said laterally extending cross beam members are formed of a hollow metallic tubing.

6. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 5 wherein said hollow metallic tubing has an essentially rectangular cross-section.

7. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 2 further comprising an elastomeric membrane sheet type roofing material disposed over the top of said roof structure.

8. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hole in said anchor pad is oversized with respect to the bolt which is disposed therethrough, to a degree sufficient to allow for errors in placement of the bolts in foundation member.

9. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 2 wherein said metal encapsulating bracket means comprises a third bracket which is fastened to the side of a side beam member in a manner which defines a channel into which the edge of a side wall sheet can be inserted.

10. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 2 wherein said metal encapsulating means comprises a fourth bracket which is secured to the top of a cross beam, said fourth bracket forming a channel into which an end wall sheet can be inserted.

11. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 1, said transporting means comprises:

a plurality of metal beams which can be disposed beneath the housing structure;

a wheeled carriage which can be detachably connected to the rear ends of said metal beams; and

connector means for connecting the forward ends of said metal beams to a prime mover.

12. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 11, wherein said wheeled carriage includes a first hydraulic servo means for selectively lifting and lowering the rear ends of said metal beams.

13. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 11 wherein said connector means further comprises second hydraulic servo means for selectively lifting and lowering the forward ends of said metal beams.

14. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure as claimed in claim 11, further comprising safety pin means for locking the rear ends of said metal beams in a predetermined position so that irrespective of a malfunction in said first hydraulic servo means, the position of the rear ends of said metal beams will not alter.

15. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure which is highly resistant to the effect of high velocity winds, which can be transported on transport means in a completed form and which can be set on foundation members, comprising:

a metallic skeleton formed of a plurality of pairs of vertically extending metallic column members, longitudinally extending metallic side beam members and laterally extending metallic cross beam members, said side beam and cross beam members being permanently connected to said column members at a level proximate the lower end thereof, said skeleton further including a plurality of angled portions, each of said angled portions being permanently connected to the upper ends of a pair of said column members;

a plurality of horizontally extending anchor pads which are each permanently secured to a bottom of a column member, each anchor pad being formed with a hole through which a bolt which is set in a foundation member and which extends vertically upward, can be inserted, said anchor pads being arranged to seat on said foundation members and to elevate said side beam members so as to define a small clearance between the lower surface of said side beam members and the upper surface of said foundation members;

a floor structure supported on said side and cross beam members;

a wall structure disposed between said vertically extending column members,

a roof structure disposed between said angled portions;

encapsulating means for sealing off openings which are defined between panels and into which high velocity winds can force their way and produce pneumatic forces which pry panels away from their positions; and

a plurality of elongate horizontally extending metal plates which are each permanently fixed to the top horizontal surface of a side beam, said metal plates supporting headers and the ends of floor joists which form part of said floor structure;

wherein said encapsulating means comprises metal encapsulating bracket means associated with said wall and roof structures for enclosing edges of panels which form a part of said wall and roof structures and for preventing direct contact of the edges with high velocity winds and for preventing the entry of high velocity winds into the openings between the panels in a manner which produces said pneumatic forces;

an elastomeric membrane sheet type roofing material disposed over the top of said roof structure; and

wherein said metal encapsulating bracket means comprises a second bracket which is disposed over the top of an angled portion in a manner which encloses a free edge portion of said elastomeric membrane sheet type roofing material.

16. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure which is highly resistant to the effect of high velocity winds, which can be transported on transport means in a completed form and which can be set on foundation members, comprising:

a metallic skeleton formed of a plurality of pairs of vertically extending metallic column members, longitudinally extending metallic side beam members and laterally extending metallic cross beam members, said side beam and cross beam members being permanently connected to said column members at a level proximate the lower end thereof, said skeleton further including a plurality of angled portions, each of said angled portions being permanently connected to the upper ends of a pair of said column members;

a plurality of horizontally extending anchor pads which are each permanently secured to a bottom of a column member, each anchor pad being formed with a hole through which a bolt which is set in a foundation member and which extends vertically upward, can be inserted, said anchor pads being arranged to seat on said foundation members and to elevate said side beam members so as to define a small clearance between the lower surface of said side beam members and the upper surface of said foundation members;

a floor structure supported on said side and cross beam members;

a wall structure disposed between said vertically extending column members,

a roof structure disposed between said angled portions;

encapsulating means for sealing off openings which are defined between panels and into which high velocity winds can force their way and produce pneumatic forces which pry panels away from their positions;

a plurality of elongate horizontally extending metal plates, wherein said encapsulating means comprises metal encapsulating bracket means associated with said wall and roof structures for enclosing edges of panels which form a part of said wall and roof structures and for preventing direct contact of the edges with high velocity winds and for preventing the entry of high velocity winds into the openings between the panels in a manner which produces said pneumatic forces;

wherein said metal encapsulating means comprises a fifth elongate essentially inverted V-shaped bracket which is disposed along the ridge of the roof and which encloses and is connected to sheets which form part of said roof structure.

17. A pre-assembled, relocatable building structure which is highly resistant to the effect of high velocity winds, which can be transported on transport means in a completed form and which can be set on foundation members, comprising:

a metallic skeleton formed of a plurality of pairs of vertically extending metallic column members, longitudinally extending metallic side beam members and laterally extending metallic cross beam members, said side beam and cross beam members being permanently connected to said column members at a level proximate the lower end thereof, said skeleton further including a plurality of angled portions, each of said angled portions being permanently connected to the upper ends of a pair of said column members;

a plurality of horizontally extending anchor pads which are each permanently secured to a bottom of a column member, each anchor pad being formed with a hole through which a bolt which is set in a foundation member and which extends vertically upward, can be inserted, said anchor pads being arranged to seat on said foundation members and to elevate said side beam members so as to define a small clearance between the lower surface of said side beam members and the upper surface of said foundation members;

a floor structure supported on said side and cross beam members;

a wall structure disposed between said vertically extending column members,

a roof structure disposed between said angled portions;

encapsulating means for sealing off openings which are defined between panels and into which high velocity winds can force their way and produce pneumatic forces which pry panels away from their positions;

and an arrangement comprising;

an elongate bolt which is disposed through a side beam and which is arranged to extend out of one side of the building structure;

a wooden block which is disposed about said bolt and located proximate an outboard side of the side beam through which the bolt is disposed; and

a concrete slab which is formed on the ground adjacent a foundation member and immediately beside the building structure, said wooden block and a substantial portion of said elongate bolt being buried in said concrete slab, said concrete slab being effective as a patio or a car park.