DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The manufacturing of completed or substantially completed whole houses (both of which are referred to herein as"manufactured whole houses") within a factory for subsequent transport to the installation location of the manufactured whole houses, for example in a subdivision, is well-known.

However, all previous efforts in this respect have significant drawbacks or limitations.

The prior methods of manufacturing a manufactured whole house such as those described in United <BR> <BR> States Patent Number 5,402, 618 (Biffis et al. ) and United States Patentn Number 4,187, 659 (Blachura), result in a number of potential drawbacks and limitations, among which are the practical limits on the size and configuration of houses which may be efficiently produced in such a factory and the inefficiencies which may arise from under-utilization of the factory whenever manufactured whole houses are manufactured which are smaller than the maximum size which the factory is capable of producing. Associated with this disadvantage is the fact that the capital costs of a factory capable of manufacturing manufactured whole houses may be much greater than that of a factory capable of manufacturing segments of houses, in that the manufactured whole house factory must generally be overbuilt to accommodate the extra factory floor loading and the overall manufactured whole house dimensions, and that the transportation equipment, both within and external to the manufactured whole house factory, may generally be larger, more robust, more costly to acquire, to operate and to maintain.

Furthermore, tprior art methods of manufacturing manufactured whole houses may result in an inefficiency at the point where the manufactured whole house, while still in the factory, is entirely or substantially closed or walled in, because once closed or walled in, access to the interior of the manufactured whole house is significantly limited, thereby limiting the matrix of work and material flow possibilities.

Another disadvantage of the prior art methods of manufactured whole house manufacturing is that the substantially completed manufactured whole house will generally, by virtue of its dimensions, weight and complexity, be difficult to transport to its installation location, particularly on narrow streets or where other obstacles to access present themselves en route from the factory to the installation location.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for the manufacturing of houses or other buildings and particularly for the manufacturing of houses or other building, which method overcomes the above-referenced disadvantages in the prior art.

Accordingly, the present invention relates to a method for the manufacturing of a completed or substantially completed building, comprising the steps of manufacturing within a factory located proximate to an installation location for the building, at least one segment ofthe building, the at least one segment of the building having at least one exterior dimension which would generally prohibit the transportation of said at least one segment of the building along public roadways, the at least one segment of the building itself not being a substantially completed building, transporting the at least one segment of the building, to the installation location for the building, installing at the installation location for the building, the at least one segment of the building with at least one other component of the building to form a completed or substantially completed building.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for the manufacturing of a completed or substantially completed building, comprising the steps of manufacturing within a factory located proximate to an installation location for the building, at least

one segment oTThe building, the at least one segment of the building having at least one exterior dimension which would generally prohibit the transportation of the at least one segment of the building along public access roadways, the at least one segment of the building itself being only a portion of the substantially completed building; transporting the at least one segment of the building to the installation location for the building ; installing, at the installation location for the building, the at least one segment of the building with at least one other component of the building to form the completed or substantially completed building, the at least one other component being pre-positioned at the installation location..

The advantage of the present invention is that it allows for more flexibility and efficiency in the manufacturing of houses, permitting such manufacturing in smaller and simpler factories than is required for manufactured whole house construction.

It is a further advantage of the present invention that because the manufacturing occurs proximate to the installation location, the constraints, limitations and costs associated with transportation over public roadways, particularly over distance, are mitigated. Furthermore, even within the proximately located subdivision, the house segments, which are smaller than a whole house, can be transported more safely and cost-efficiently, and over partially completed subdivision roadways or around obstacles which would impede the transportation of a whole house. This flexibility furthermore gives the builder more freedom with respect to the pattern of the subdivision and the order of construction, and gives the developer greater flexibility in the overall layout of the subdivision.

It is a further advantage of the present invention that it permits a more efficient manufacturing process in that during the entire time it is in the factory, the segment of the house or other building as referenced herein is not substantially closed or walled in, thus providing a much greater window of opportunity to access the interior thereof for workers, machinery and materials insertion. It also provides an opportunity to insert various items, such as a furnace or external air conditioning unit, into the cavity of the segment for transportation to the installation site, at which point it may be extracted and inserted into the basement or otherwise, as appropriate, thus giving greater simplicity and cost efficiency to the transportation process.

It is a further advantage of the present invention that it allowsTor the manufacture in a factory of segments for multi-unit residential buildings which can be transported to the installation site and combined in various configurations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1A and 1B illustrates an embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively ; Figure 2A and 2B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively ; Figure 3A and 3B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively ; Figure 4A and 4B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively ; Figure SA and 5B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively ; Figure 6A and 6B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively ; Figure 7A and 7B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively ; Figure 8A and 8B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and

segment form respectively; Figure 9A and 9B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively; Figure 10A and 10B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively; Figure 11A and 11B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively; Figure 12A and 12B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively ; Figure 13A and 13B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively; Figure 14A and 14B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively; Figure 15A and 15B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively; Figure 16A and 16B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively; Figure 17A and 17B illustrates an alternative embodiment of a typical house in completed and segmented form respectively; Figure 18A and 18B illustrates an embodiment of a typical multi unit row or town house block in completed and segmented form respectively; and

Figure 19 illustrates an embodiment of a house segment, within a factory; DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Having regard to the Figures set forth herein, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described herein.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, one or more segments of a house or other building (hereinafter'; segments") are manufactured in a factory which is located within or proximate to a subdivision or other location at which the one or more segments of the house or other building are to be installed, the segment or segments being transported from the factory to the installation location by way of a transporter, such as a truck trailer or similar device known to a person skilled in the art, and thereafter unloaded from the transporter and either connected with one or more other house components or other segments at the installation location to form a completed or substantially completed house or other building, or connected with one or more other house components or other segments at a nearby location prior to installation, to form a completed or substantially completed house or other building, which is thereafter transported to the installation location by way of a transporter, such as a truck trailer or similar device known to a person skilled in the art, and thereafter unloaded therefrom and installed at the installation location. It is understood that the segments may be moved to or from the transporter, or at the installation location by crane or by other devices known to a person skilled in the art.

It is understood that, in the preferred embodiment, the segment's size and configuration will depend, amongst other things, on the particular design and structure of the house or other building being manufactured, the design and physical characteristics of the factory, the capabilities and capacity of the transporter and any restrictions to be encountered in delivering the segment to the installation location.

In the preferred embodiment, one or more segments will represent a significant volumetric aspect of the completed house or building, and preferably greater than 10% of the volume of the house. In

the preferred embodiment, at least one segment of the building will itself not be a substantially completed building, but will have at least one exterior dimension, such that when the segment is loaded on a transport device, the overall combined segment and transporter height, or width, or length, would generally prohibit the transportation of the segment along public access roadways.

The segment or segments may be manufactured within the factory by stick building or by using fully or partially automated processes, including one or more assembly production lines and/or one or more sub-assembly production lines for the manufacture of the segments or structural or non- structural components thereof, or by any other suitable manner known to persons skilled in the art.

It is understood that once a segment has been substantially completed within the factory and has been, where appropriate, made weather tight by means of tarpaulins or similar protection, the segment may be stored within or outside the factory, or moved directly to another location as described below.

It is understood that the segments delivered to the installation location may be installed directly onto the foundation, or, if another segment or segments have been pre-positioned onto the foundation, connected to such other segment or segments, or alternatively, one or more of the segments can be pre-connected with other segments in an area near the foundation or in any convenient area and thereafter these connected segments positioned onto the foundation to form a completed or substantially completed or a portion of a completed house or other building. It is also understood that house components may be connected to the segment or segments to complete the house. It is understood that transportation, lifting or other moving of the segment may be accomplished by a crane, a truck, a transporter or such other device as is known to a person skilled in the art. It is understood that some finishing of the house or other building may occur once the segment or segments have been installed on the foundation, and that the house or other building will require the connection of any required utilities before it can be fully utilized.

Referring to pairs of figures being Figure 1A and Figure 1B through Figure 17A and Figure 17B, various combinations of houses and typical segments 1,2, 3,4, 5, and 6 thereof are illustrated, the segments thereof being assembled together as set out herein to form the corresponding house. It is

understood that there may be a virtually infinite number of such combinations and configurations as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art.

Referring to Figures 18a and 18b, the application of the method of the present invention to the manufacture of a multi-unit building such as a block of row or town houses is shown. In this case, segments 1,2, 3, 4,5, 6,7, and 8 are manufactured individually at the factory, then transported to the installation location where they are affixed together on the foundation to form the completed or substantially completed manufactured multi-unit building. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that such conjunction of segments may occur longitudinally, latitudinally, vertically, or in any combination thereof, to create a wide variety of multi-unit buildings, both single and multi-story.

Referring to Figure 19, one embodiment of a substantially structurally completed segment 10 is shown with its open side presented toward the observer and with scaffolding 14 erected adjacent to the open side and with building materials 15 placed upon the scaffold 14, demonstrating the ease with which materials 16 may be inserted into the interior of the segment 13 and the ease with which access by workers may be had to the interior of the segment 12.

Because the segment will be transported to the installation location or other location as a segment, to minimize the exposure of the-segment's interior to the weather and elements, a tarpaulin, a temporary wall or similar device may be used to eliminate or minimize damage to the interior of the segment during transportation, including any in-transit waiting period. Similarly, if additional structural integrity is required to prevent structural damage, or damage to the finish caused by wracking or twisting during the transportation of the segment, this may be provided by adding temporary bracing or similar reinforcement prior to transportation. Alternatively or additionally, such structural support may be provided by supportive bulkheads on the transporter.

The present invention has been described herein with regard to preferred embodiments. However, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that a number of variations and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein.