Abstract:
A building system utilizing commercially available component parts, preassembled into panelized and modular components that are easily and quickly assembled and disassembled, and a lightweight compact building system for efficient transport and assembly, not requiring a central manufacturing plant or specialized construction details. A building system to provide for numerous building floor plan layouts and configurations, and a building system that provides for the reuse of the building system component parts to construct permanent structures of virtually any size, floor plan layout, or architectural style.

Description:
REFERENCES CITED 
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       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A building system for the rapid and efficient construction of temporary, interim, and emergency housing units, as well as for permanent structures. Any number of building configurations and sizes can be achieved using this building system. The components of the building system are commercially available, not requiring a central manufacturing plant or specialized construction details, and can be assembled using a few common tools. The pre-manufactured component parts are stacked flat for compact shipment and delivered to a location where they are quickly assembled. Once the housing units are no longer needed at the location of their assembly, they can be disassembled and either stored for use at a future date, or the component parts from several of the housing units can be combined into the construction of a permanent structure of virtually any size, shape, architectural style, and with any interior and exterior finish. Thus the initial investment in temporary, interim, or emergency housing is reinvested into a permanent structure. The remaining components not used in the permanent structure are reused in the creation of additional temporary, interim, or emergency, housing units. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The need for affordable, easily constructed modular and panelized structures has been long standing, to fill the need for emergency and disaster relief housing, field offices, volunteer housing, and other temporary, interim, and permanent housing. 
         [0004]    The typical modular unit in prior art is rectangular and limited in layout, configuration, and functionality. Most prefabricated modular housing units require a central manufacturing facility, which limits the production as well as shipping viability. Once on site, the prefabricated modular units face installation limitations because of the need for heavy equipment, such as cranes and forklifts. Also, in general little consideration has been given to using sustainable and recyclable materials, water/vapor/radiant barriers, insulation, utilities, ventilation, and they usually are not designed to meet international building code standards. Many of the temporary housing units in prior art are designed with special construction details and material fabrication requiring specialized facilities and training for assembly and fabrication, with subsequent additional costs and loss of practical applications. When assembled on site they require specially trained tradesman to assemble the units, making them impractical on a large scale or general application. 
         [0005]    The prior art in the category of emergency relief housing is primarily in two categories, tents and trailers. As a quick response system tents offer immediate shelter to disaster victims, however they do not provide sustained comfortable conditions or the possibility of continued use over a period of time. Trailers offer a somewhat more livable option for disaster victims, however they historically have had numerous problems associated with their construction, and they are costly to purchase, store, and maintain. Furthermore, there is no possibility of disassembling the trailers and reusing their component parts to build permanent structures. 
         [0006]    As compared to the known building systems in prior art, an object of this invention is to provide a building system utilizing commercially available parts, preassembled into panelized and modular components that are easily and quickly assembled and disassembled, and a lightweight compact building system for efficient transport and assembly, not requiring a central manufacturing plant or specialized construction details. Another object of this building system is to provide for numerous building floor plan layouts and configurations, and a building system that provides for the reuse of the building system component parts to construct permanent structures of virtually any size, floor plan layout, or architectural style. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is an embodiment of a floor plan of the building structure including decking and ramping. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an exterior elevation of the rear window side of the building structure illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is an exterior elevation of the left entrance side of the building structure illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is an exterior elevation of the right entrance side of the building structure illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is an exterior elevation of the rear side of the building structure illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a building section of the building structure illustrated in  FIG. 3  taken substantially on the line  8 _ 8  in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is another embodiment of a building structure floor plan including three (3) living areas, decking, and with no kitchenette or washroom. 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is another embodiment of a building structure floor plan including a linear duplex arrangement of two (2) building units with separate entry and decking. 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  is another embodiment of a building structure floor plan including a staggered duplex arrangement of two (2) building units with separate entry and decking. 
           [0016]      FIG. 10  is another embodiment of a building structure floor plan including an enlarged living room area, three (3) bedrooms, a kitchenette, and a washroom, with separate entry and decking. 
           [0017]      FIG. 11  is another embodiment of a building structure floor plan including a staggered and linear quadplex arrangement of four (4) building units, with separate entry and decking. 
           [0018]      FIG. 12  is another embodiment of a building structure floor plan including a linear building unit, two (2) bedrooms, a common kitchenette and washroom, with separate entries and common decking. 
           [0019]      FIG. 13  is another embodiment of a floor plan including a permanent structure with an entry, living room, kitchenette, master bedroom, master bathroom, walk-in closet, second bedroom, second bathroom, and garage, assembled from the component parts of four (4) building structures, as illustrated in figures No# 1  through No# 30 , including the base frames, floor panels, structural shear panels, head frames, interior walls &amp; doors, roof panels, windows, and entry doors, infill framing/panels, water/vapor/radiant barriers, and interior plumbing/electrical fixtures and furnishings, assembled in accordance with the building system of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0020]      FIG. 1  is a floor plan of the building structure ( 10 ). The building system illustrated in plan view is comprised of the base frames ( 12 ), the floor panels ( 18 ), the shear panels ( 20 ), the window panels ( 26 ), the interior wall panels ( 30 ), the water/vapor/radiant barrier material ( 32 ), the door panels ( 36 ), the tensile fabric exterior sheathing ( 38 ), the decking and steps ( 40 ), and the ramp ( 42 ). The building system is further comprised of rigid insulation interior wall panels ( 44 ) with a finished interior surface. The plumbing and electrical fixtures ( 46 ) and interior furnishings ( 48 ) are installed and connected to the pre-installed plumbing and electrical conduits. 
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is an exterior elevation of the rear window side of the building structure comprised of adjustable metal tripods ( 14 ), expanding anchors ( 16 ), window panels ( 26 ), roof panels ( 34 ), the utility frame ( 28 ) and roof panel ( 34 ), and the tensile fabric exterior sheathing ( 38 ). 
         [0022]      FIG. 3  is an exterior elevation of the left entrance side of the building structure ( 10 ) illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The building system illustrated in the exterior elevation is comprised of adjustable metal stands ( 14 ), expanding foundation anchors ( 16 ), door panels ( 36 ), roof panels ( 34 ), the utility frame ( 28 ), the roof panels ( 34 ), and the tensile fabric exterior sheathing ( 38 ). The building system is further comprised of a transom window ( 50 ), awnings ( 52 ), and photovoltaic and solar panels ( 54 ). 
         [0023]      FIG. 4  is an exterior elevation of the right entrance side of the building structure ( 10 ) illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The building system illustrated in the exterior elevation is comprised of adjustable metal stands ( 14 ), expanding foundation anchors ( 16 ), door panels ( 36 ), roof panels ( 34 ), the utility frame ( 28 ), and the tensile fabric exterior sheathing ( 38 ), a transom window ( 50 ), awnings ( 52 ), and photovoltaic and solar panels ( 54 ). The building system is further comprised of plenum vents ( 56 ) to the exterior at the utility frame ( 28 ). 
         [0024]      FIG. 5  is an exterior elevation of the rear side of the building structure ( 10 ) illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The building system illustrated in the exterior elevation is comprised of adjustable metal stands ( 14 ), expanding foundation anchors ( 16 ), roof panels ( 34 ), the utility frame ( 28 ), tensile fabric exterior sheathing ( 38 ), and an awning ( 52 ). 
         [0025]      FIG. 6  is a building section of the building structure ( 10 ) illustrated in  FIG. 1  taken substantially on the line  8 _ 8  in  FIG. 1 . The building system illustrated in the building section is comprised of expanding foundation anchors ( 16 ), the base frame ( 12 ), floor panels ( 18 ), the head frames ( 22 ), rigid insulation interior wall panels ( 44 ), over exterior sheathing and light gauge metal framing ( 45 ), a transom window ( 50 ), and plenum vents ( 56 ) to the exterior at the utility frame ( 28 ). The building system is further comprised of plenum vents to the interior ( 58 ), water tanks ( 60 ), graywater tanks ( 62 ), and an air gap ( 64 ) between the exterior tensile fabric ( 38 ) and the water/vapor/radiant barrier ( 32 ) wherein exterior air is drawn up through the air gap ( 64 ) from the bottom of the assembly to an air gap ( 64 ) between the metal roof ( 66 ) and the water/vapor/radiant barrier ( 32 ) at the roof panels ( 34 ). The air in the air gap ( 64 ) at the roof panel ( 32 ) is heated by the radiant heat from the metal roof ( 66 ) when exposed to solar radiant heat. The heated air expands and is drawn by convection into the plenum ( 68 ) of the utility frame ( 28 ). In the heating cycle the plenum vents ( 56 ) to the exterior are closed, and the plenum vents to the interior ( 58 ) are opened. The heated air then circulates into the interior. In the cooling cycle the windows ( 26 ) are opened. The heated air in the interior rises due to the stack effect and exits the interior through the interior vents ( 58 ) into the plenum ( 68 ) and out of the plenum vents ( 56 ) to the exterior. Further is an alternate storage battery and low voltage solar powered fan ( 70 ) to augment the flow of the naturally ventilated air. A photovoltaic and solar powered system ( 54 ) produces low voltage power for the building structure ( 10 ). 
         [0026]      FIG. 7  illustrates another embodiment for a building structure ( 10 ) floor plan including three (3) living areas, decking, and with no kitchenette or washroom ( 72 ). The building structure ( 10 ) is modified by eliminating plumbing fixtures ( 46 ) and plumbing, removing the window panels ( 26 ), adding a door panel ( 36 ), and a deck with steps ( 40 ). 
         [0027]      FIG. 8  illustrates another embodiment for a building structure ( 10 ) floor plan including a linear duplex arrangement of two (2) building structures with separate entry and decking ( 74 ). The building structures ( 10 ) are combined in a back-to-back arrangement into a larger building structure ( 74 ). 
         [0028]      FIG. 9  illustrates another embodiment for a building structure ( 10 ) floor plan including a staggered duplex arrangement of two (2) building structures with separate entry and decking ( 76 ). The building structures ( 10 ) are combined in a staggered back-to-back arrangement into a larger building structure ( 76 ). 
         [0029]      FIG. 10  illustrates another building structure ( 10 ) floor plan including an enlarged Living Room area, three (3) bedrooms, a kitchenette, and a washroom, with separate entry and decking ( 78 ). The building structures ( 10 ) are combined by removing the common wall between them creating a larger building structure and common living area ( 78 ). 
         [0030]      FIG. 11  illustrates another embodiment for a building structure ( 10 ) floor plan including a staggered and linear quadplex arrangement of four (4) building structures, with separate entry and decking ( 80 ). Four (4) of the building structures ( 10 ) are combined in a back-to-back arrangement into a larger building structure ( 80 ). 
         [0031]      FIG. 12  illustrates another embodiment for a building structure ( 10 ) floor plan including a linear building structure, two (2) bedrooms, a common kitchenette and washroom, and with separate entries and common decking ( 82 ). Two (2) building structures ( 10 ) are combined by eliminating the third living area and connecting the structures in a linear layout ( 82 ). 
         [0032]      FIG. 13  is another floor plan illustrating another embodiment for a permanent structure ( 88 ) with an entry, living room, kitchenette, master bedroom, master bathroom, walk-in closet, second bedroom, second bathroom, and garage, assembled from the component parts of four (4) building structures, as illustrated in figures No# 1  through No# 12 , including the base frames ( 12 ), floor panels ( 18 ), structural shear panels ( 20 ), head frames ( 22 ), interior walls &amp; doors ( 30 ), rigid insulation panels ( 44 ), exterior sheathing/light gauge metal framing panels ( 45 ), plumbing fixtures ( 46 ), roof panels ( 34 ), windows ( 26 ), and entry doors ( 36 ), and constitutes the layout of one example of a preferred embodiment for a permanent structure ( 88 ) constructed from the component parts of four ( 4 ) disassembled building structures ( 10 ). 
         [0033]    The above description and the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiment of the invention are exemplary embodiments. It is noted that modifications of the embodiments are possible within the scope of this invention without deviating from the spirit thereof.