Patent ID: 8613166

Claim:
A collapsible temporary housing system comprising: a rectangular base having four corners, of nearly equal depth, and edges wherein the base is adapted to be located at a desired site; four walls being connected along each respective edge extending between at least two of the four corners, each wall being individually pivotally connected along a length of a respective edge of the base so that when the walls are pivoted into a collapsible configuration each wall is laid upon a previously collapsed wall creating a nearly horizontal surface extending over all of a top surface area of the base; a hinge device having two interlocking elements held together by a pin, the hinge device located and providing a pivotal connection between a respective wall and an edge of the base with the hinge device providing a single rotational degree of freedom around the pin relative to the base, the hinge device is further configured to be embedded out of visual sight within the respective wall, where the wall meets the base, and edge of the base; a flat roof configured to extend beyond the edges of the base, the flat roof being detached from the four walls while the four walls are pivoted into an erected position, secured to the walls once the walls are erected, and is set upon the nearly horizontal surface when the walls are pivoted into a collapsible configuration; wherein the nearly horizontal surface is provided so that when a plurality of housing systems are stacked, each base of a next stacked housing system has each corner at rest upon a top horizontal surface of the roof of a housing unit immediately below so that a lean of the stacked housing systems which could result in the stacked housing systems falling over is not present; and a uniform tie-down and lift element comprising a cylindrical portion and an outer flange at an end of the cylindrical portion, wherein a diameter of the outer flange is greater than a diameter of the cylindrical portion, wherein the outer flange is configured to extend from and retract into the base in a direction orthogonal to a surface of an outer perimeter of the base, independent of a corner of the base, and the outer flange is configured to extend from and retract into the flat roof in a direction orthogonal to a surface of an outer perimeter of the flat roof, independent of a corner of the flat roof, wherein the uniform tie-down and lift element further comprises a lock element to lock the element in place when extended and when retracted, wherein the plurality of elements located near the base extend to provide a tie-down anchor for the housing unit and retract when not being used as a tie-down anchor, and the plurality of elements located on the flat roof to extend to provide a lifting anchor for the flat roof and retract when not used to lift the flat roof, and wherein the outer flange is aligned with an outer surface of the base and the flat roof upon retracting into the base and the flat roof.