Abstract:
A prefabricated self-supporting building structure and method of construction is described. The building structure comprises a plurality of substantially triangular shaped panels which are interconnected to one another by a hinge connector and along certain edges thereof whereby to form collapsible roof segments. There are four roof segments in the building structure. The triangular shaped panels are interconnected to form two pre-assembled collapsible panel sections each incorporating a pre-assembled roof segment and panel sections for adjacent roof segments. These two pre-assembled panel sections are erected by simple cable attachments which may be secured to a vehicle and these are interconnected back-to-back. The roof segments are also secured by brackets at their junction points of the panels for securing the roof segments in elevated position on supports. The panels of the two pre-assembled panel sections are also foldable one on top of the other in juxtaposition and therefore the entire roof structure is easy to transport and easy to erect on site.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a prefabricated self-supporting building structure consisting of a plurality of substantially triangular shaped panels which are interconnected to form roof segments which are easy to erect and to connect together. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Various prefabricated building structures are known and the majority of these comprise pre-casted or pre-assembled panel structures which are transported to an erection site and assembled. Although many of the component parts of the buildings are pre-fabricated, the erection time can be fairly lengthy and inclement weather conditions can further slow down the erection time as well as expose building materials to rain or snow which sometimes will cause the materials to become damaged. Often, the pre-assembled parts are difficult to transport and the transport vehicle must be operated at slow speed, particularly in a situation where an entire home is prefabricated in two sections. They require long trailer vehicles and special vehicles to warn oncoming traffic of the danger of the wide load on the transport vehicle. 
     Another disadvantage of prefabricated structures is that they are heavy to manipulate and often require large cranes which are expensive. Many of the prefabricated or other type home or building structures are constructed for permanent installation and cannot be easily dismantled and reassembled on another site. A still further disadvantage of prefabricated structures is that often these are not very structurally sound and can become damaged if exposed to tornadoes or hurricane force winds. A still further disadvantage is that some of these structures are erected directly on a slab of cement which is poured on the ground and therefore are easily exposed to flooding with resulting serious damage. Some of these are also not well insulated or resistant to insect infestation such as by termites. Often, their construction causes condensation to set into the structure which can also affect building materials. Still further prefabricated building structures require expensive foundations made of concrete thereby increasing the cost of the prefabricated structure. 
     Typical examples of prefabricated structures can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,960,593; 5,950,374; 5,758,461; 4,660,332; 5,904,005; 5,921,047; 4,741,133; 4,912,891; 5,765,316; 5,797,224 and 5,461,832. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     It is a feature of the present invention to provide a prefabricated self-supporting building structure and a method of erecting such building structure and which substantially overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art. 
     According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a prefabricated, self-supporting, building structure which is comprised of a plurality of substantially triangular shaped panels. Each of the panels has a front edge, a straight top edge, a straight hypotenuse edge and a junction point at an intersecting end of the hypotenuse edge and the front edge. The panels are connected in juxtaposed pairs by a hinge connection means which interconnects the top edge of each juxtaposed pair of panels to form a collapsible roof segment. There are four roof segments interconnected together in side-by-side relationship at right angles to one another to form the building structure. Each panel of the juxtaposed pairs of panels are connected along their straight hypotenuse edge by a further hinge connection means to the straight hypotenuse edge of a panel of an adjacent roof segment. Attachment means is provided at the junction point of the panels for securing the roof segments in elevated position on a support means. Connector means are provided at a forward end of the top edge of at least one panel of two of the roof segments interconnected back-to-back for attachment to pulling means. The pulling means causes the panel segments to be erected to form a roof structure anchored at the attachment means. 
     The method consists essentially of connecting the attachment means at the junction point of the roof segments of two panel sections to a support means and connecting a pulling cable to the connector means at a forward end of the top edge of the roof segment of two panel sections. The two panel sections are erected back-to-back by pulling the cable with the further panels of each of the two panel sections having their straight top edge at right angles to the straight top edge of its associated roof segment. Adjacent ones of the top edge of the further panels are secured together by ridge capping connection means whereby to secure the two panel sections together back-to-back and to form a building structure having four roof segments disposed at right angles to one another. 
     Floor segments can also be secured under the building structure and connected to the roof segments. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the panels connected together to form a roof segment and one of two pre-assembled panel sections; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the prefabricated, self-supporting building structure of the present invention in an erected secured position; 
     FIG. 3 is a section view showing a typical construction of the panels; 
     FIG. 4 is a fragmented view, partly in section, showing the roof structure of the present invention erected and segmented internally to form a building structure having two floor structures and anchored into the soil by ground anchors; 
     FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing a typical construction of a securement bracket secured to the junction point at an intersecting end of the hypotenuse edge and the front edge of the panel; 
     FIG. 5B is a perspective view of a support wall anchor secured to a foundation or pile; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the prefabricated roof structure of the present invention used in the construction of a multi-tenant building structure; 
     FIGS. 7A to  7 J are perspective illustrations showing the sequence of erecting the building structure of the present invention starting from juxtaposed, pre-assembled panels assembled together to form one of two panel sections and illustrating the steps in the assembly of the building structure; and 
     FIG. 8 is a typical floor plan view of one of the floors of the building structure. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown generally at  10  a building structure segment  11  pre-assembled with the substantially triangular shaped panels  12  of the present invention whereby to form the pre-assembled panel sections, two of which are required to be interconnected to erect the complete building frame structure of the present invention, as shown at  13  in FIG.  2 . The substantially triangular shaped panels  12 , as shown in FIG. 3, may be formed of steel roof cladding  14  on an outer surface thereof and a steel deck cladding  15  on an inner surface thereof. A foam core  16  is injected between the claddings  14  and  15  to form an insulated panel structure. The foam  16  may be a polyisocyanurate or a polyurethane foam or any other insulating rigid foam material. Accordingly, these panels are fairly light and easy to manipulate while the corrugation in these panels provide excellent structural properties and the foam core provides good structural and insulating properties. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, each of the panels  12  has a front edge  17 , a straight top edge  18  and a straight hypotenuse edge  19 . A junction point  20  is formed at an intersecting end of the hypotenuse edge  19  and the front edge  17 . Attachment means in the form of securing brackets  21  are connected to adjacent panels  12  and  12 ′ at the junction point  20  whereby to secure the erected structure, as shown in FIG. 2, to a support means  22 , herein a ground anchor  23 . These ground anchors  23  are better illustrated in FIG. 4, and as can be seen, they consist of a screw-type anchor rod  23  which is driven into the ground  24  and which resists pulling forces applied on the building structure  25  formed with the roof segment structures  13 , shown in FIG. 2 of the present invention. 
     Referring again to FIG. 1, there is shown the pre-assembled panel section  10  which consists of a roof segment  26  which is formed by connecting in juxtaposed pairs two panels  12 ′ and  12 ″ by hinge connection means, which may be adhesively or mechanically secured to opposed edge sections of the opposed panels  12 ′ and  12 ″ along their straight top edge  18  or opposed hypotenuse edges  19 . Hinge plates  18 ′ are secured to opposed inner edge surfaces of the top edge  18  of the panels. After erection, a ridge cap  27  may be secured externally over the top edge  18 . Various other forms of hinge connection means could be substituted and it is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any other obvious hinge structures. 
     The pre-assembled panel section  10  also comprises a panel  12 ′″ of an adjacent roof segment  26 ′, see FIG. 2, to be formed. These panels  12 ′″ are connected respectively to the juxtaposed panels  12 ′ and  12 ″ by a further hinge connection means herein constituted by a further flexible adhesive tape  27 ′. 
     With specific reference to FIG. 7A, it can be seen that the panels  12 ′″ may be folded on their associated respective panels  12 ′ and  12 ″ and also the panels  12 ′ and  12 ″ may be folded upon themselves to form a stack  30  of juxtaposed folded substantially triangular shaped panels, making them easy to transport. 
     As shown more clearly in FIG. 4, anchor means in the form of steel anchors  31  may be secured to the panels  12  and  12 ′ adjacent their straight top edge  18  and forwardly of the roof segment  26  at its forward end, that is to say near the front edge  17  of the triangular panels  12 . As shown in FIG. 1, a cable  32  is secured to the anchors  31  and to a winch  33  to apply a forward pulling force in the direction of arrow  34  whereby to erect the pre-assembled panel section  10  on the ground anchors  22  after the securement brackets  21  are pivotally secured to the ground anchors. Further connectors  35  are also secured adjacent the top edge  18  of the adjacent panels  12 ′″ whereby to secure a further spacer cable  36  of predetermined length whereby when the pre-assembled panel section  10  is erected, these side panels  12 ′″ will be maintained hinged out with their top edge  18  aligned and extending substantially transverse to the top edge  18  of the roof segment  26 . A further spacer cable  37  of predetermined length is also attached between the securement brackets  21  at the junction point  20  of the adjacent panels  12 ′ and  12 ″ to limit the spacing between these panels when in an open position. 
     In order to construct the building structure as shown in FIG. 2, there is required two such pre-assembled panel sections  10  and these are erected back-to-back, as illustrated in FIGS. 7I and 7J and these are erected simultaneously in a similar fashion. By the pivoting action of the pre-assembled panel sections  10  which are positioned back-to-back and by movement of the winch  33 , these sections can be brought together with the top edges  18  of the adjacent panels  12 ′″ in substantially perfect alignment. The ridge cap  27 , or other type connection, is then applied to the top edge  18  of adjacent panels  12 ′″ of the two pre-assembled panel sections  10  placed back-to-back and this completes the securement of the structure. Internal braces (not shown) may also be secured to the inner face of the roof structure to solidify its connections should this building structure be utilized as a canopy, as shown in FIG. 2, for another structure to be positioned thereunder or for any other purpose. 
     As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the building structure is herein shown formed as a residential building and prefabricated floor structures  40  are brought into position and secured to the inner surface of the panels  12  by suitable anchor means (not shown). Two such floor structures may be secured to constitute a dwelling having two floors and, of course, if this roof structure is fairly large, it can accommodate four dwellings, each of which is associated with one of the roof segments  26 , there being four roof segments in this building structure with the axes of their top edge extending transverse to one another. Such structures would be convenient to construct low cost housing or temporary housing as the structure can be easily disassembled and transported elsewhere. It is also pointed out that such structures are very resistant to earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, termites, the formation of condensation, etc. Also, because the lower floor may be used as a parking space, as shown at  41  in FIG. 6, the main floor is elevated sufficiently high so that the building structure can resist flooding. The lower section or the entire triangular panels could also be constructed in a waterproof fashion or at least the lower ends thereof below the main floor  40 ′, and dependent on the geographic location of the structure. 
     Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, there is shown a typical construction of a securement bracket  21  and an anchor bracket  50 . The securement bracket  21  may be in the form of a triangular shaped steel plate  51  having holes  52  therein to receive fasteners to secure it to the panel at the junction point area  20  thereof as shown in FIG.  1 . This area may also be reinforced. A connecting flange  53  extends forwardly of the bracket  51  and extends at a predetermined angle so that adjacent brackets  21  of adjacent panels can be secured to the projecting tongue  54  of the anchor bracket  50  by extending on both sides of the tongue and by securing a bolt  55  through the flanges  53  and the tongue  54 . This constitutes a pivotal connection. The anchor bracket  50  also has a base plate  57  provided with holes  58  to secure same to corners of a foundation wall  59  or to the attachment end  22  of the anchor rods  23 . Numerous other forms of brackets and anchors can be constructed to secure the roof segments of the building structure. Also, when the structure is erected on a foundation  59  as shown in FIG. 5B, the roof structure can be erected elevated from the ground surface. The collapsed panels would be placed on a floor flush with the foundation and tilted up on its convectors. 
     FIG. 8 shows a typical floor plan for a floor of a two-story dwelling and the illustration is self-explanatory. It is also pointed out, with further reference to FIG. 6, that the front edge  17  of the roof segments need not be straight but could have a forward projection in a top portion thereof extending at a different angle whereby to constitute an overhanged roof section, as illustrated by phantom lines  60  in FIG. 8 that project over a balcony  61  which is preformed with the prefabricated floor  40  to substantially shield it from rain or sun. 
     With reference to FIGS. 7A to  7 J, there will be described the manner in which the roof structure of the present invention is erected. A first stack  30  of assembled panels constituting a first pre-assembled panel section  10  is brought on a site  62  where the roof structure is to be assembled. The panels are lifted vertically and separated as shown in FIG. 7B until the junction points  22  are fully extended as delimited by the base spacer cable  37 , as shown in FIG.  7 C. This positioning of the panels can be effected by a small group of people. As shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, once the roof segment starts separating, it then supports itself. The side panels  12 ′″ are then folded out to each side of the roof segment  26  and laid on the ground. The spacer cable  36  maintains the straight top end  18  of the side panels  12 ′″ extending substantially perpendicular to the top end  18  of the roof segment  26  and in substantial axial alignment with the top end  18  of the adjacent side panel  12 ′″. 
     As shown in FIG. 7E, the pulling cable  32  is then secured to the steel anchor  31  and to a winch  33 . However, before doing so, the securement brackets  21  have been attached to the anchor brackets  50  so as to provide a pivotal connection. The winch is actuated to pull the panels to cause them to rise in the fashion as shown in FIGS. 7F to  7 H. A second stack of panels are positioned behind the raised pre-assembled panel section  10  and the same procedure is repeated by raising the other pre-assembled panel section  101 , as shown in FIG. 7I, by forward movement of another winch  33 ′. The winches are maneuvered to bring the top edge of the side panels  12 ′″ of the back-to-back pre-assembled panel sections  10  and  101  in substantial alignment with one another. The top edges of adjacent panels are then secured by one or more ridge caps  27 , as previously described, to complete the structure. The cables can then be removed. Typically, such a roof structure can be erected very quickly and within a few hours. 
     It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiments described herein, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.