Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to building construction, and more specifically, to equipment used in the installation and erection of construction elements.

Background

[0002] The use of precast structural elements in building is well known. A traditional method of building a concrete structure involves the progressive addition of materials, starting from the foundation at the bottom and ending at the top of the building, building story by story, using machines such as conventional tower cranes, truck cranes, hoists and tubular steel scaffolds. Specifically, conventional or tower cranes are used to hoist precast structural elements from delivery trucks or trailers and deliver them to the locations on each floor where they are to be installed/erected. The size of the crane is determined by the size and weight of the heaviest load and the overall height of the building under construction. The bigger the crane, the greater the cost to operate. Further improvements on the methods for building construction with precast concrete are possible.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved method for building construction with precast concrete. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of building a precast concrete construction includes lifting one or more precast elements from a trailer load to respective designated locations at one or more floors of a building being erected via a crane. The one or more precast elements are then delivered from the respective designated locations to one or more sections of the one or more floors of the building by a multi-wheeled equipment.

[0004] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of building a precast concrete construction includes lifting one or more precast elements to respective designated locations at one or more floors of a building being erected via one or more elevators. The one or more precast elements are delivered from the respective designated locations to one or more sections of the one or more floors of the building being erected by a multi-wheeled equipment.

[0005] These and other objects, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be better appreciated in view of the drawings and following detailed description of preferred embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] Figure 1 is flowchart of a method of building construction with precast concrete, according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

[0007] Figure 2 is a flowchart of a method of building construction with precast concrete, according to another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, referring to FIG. 1 , a method of building construction with precast concrete includes, at step 102, using a crane to lift one or more precast elements from a trailer load in close proximity to a building construction site to respective designated locations in one or more floors of a building being erected. For example, the crane can deliver the one or more precast elements to an edge of the one or more floors of a building being erected closest to the crane. As such, the crane does not need to reach farther corners or sections of the one or more floors. The one or more precast elements can include a plurality of precast elements such as one or more columns, beams, shear walls, floor slabs and the like.

[0009] At step 104, the one or more precast elements are picked up by multi- wheeled handling and lifting vehicles from the respective designated locations at the one or more floors and delivered to one or more sections/corners of the one or more floors of the building being erected. As an example, the multi-wheeled handling and lifting vehicles can include one or more forklifts, backhoes, spider cranes, telescopic handlers, or other handling and lifting vehicles used to carry construction products and/or loads in the construction industry. A plurality of precast building elements can be further arranged into an assembly of elements and reinforced as needed.

[0010] The use of multi-wheeled handling and lifting vehicles can greatly reduce the manpower requirements for the erection. By using multi-wheeled handling and lifting vehicle in combination with cranes, crane size and manpower can be greatly reduced. The operation speed of the multi-wheeled handling and lifting vehicles can greatly improve the construction schedule and cost. [0011] According to another embodiment of the present invention, referring to FIG. 2, a method of building precast concrete construction includes, at step 202, using one or more elevators to lift one or more precast elements to one or more respective designated locations on one or more floors of the concrete structure being built. For example, the designated locations can be respective edges of the one or more floors. The one or more elevators can be located on an outside surface of the structure. As another example, one or more elevators can be located inside the building in an elevator core. The one or more precast elements can include an assembly of a plurality of precast elements such as one or more columns, beams, shear walls, and floor slabs. The one or more precast elements can be delivered from a trailer load to the one or more elevators via a multi-wheeled handling and lifting vehicle prior to using the one or more elevators to lift them to one or more floors of the building.

[0012] At step 204, the one or more precast elements are then picked up at the respective designated locations and delivered to one or more sections of the respective one or more floors by a multi-wheeled handling and lifting vehicle. As an example, the multi-wheeled handling and lifting vehicle can include one or more forklifts, backhoes, spider cranes, telescopic handlers, or other handling and lifting vehicles used to transport construction products and/or loads in the construction industry.

[0013] The combined use of cranes and multi-wheeled lifting vehicles or elevators and multi-wheeled lifting vehicles can greatly increase the speed of construction. A multi-wheeled handling and lifting vehicle such as a forklift can be operated by just one trained person, whereas a crane requires multiple trained persons. Replacing a crane with a smaller multi-wheel vehicle can reduce the cost of building construction. The present method can thus improve construction efficiency and reduce the time, cost, and difficulty of construction. The method can be used to construct skyscrapers, large-area indoor wall-bearing structures and various other kinds of building.

[0014] In general, the foregoing description is provided for exemplary and illustrative purposes; the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. Rather, those skilled in the art will appreciate that additional modifications, as well as

adaptations for particular circumstances, will fall within the scope of the invention as herein shown and described and the claims appended hereto.