MODULAR CONSTRUCTION UNITS

DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to modular construction units.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a rigid modular construction unit comprising a pair of frameworks in which each framework comprises construction elements defining a generally planar structure and each construction element of a framework has a corresponding element in the other framework, the frameworks are connected together in face to face relation so that the construction unit defines a volume, and the elements are arranged to be joined to elements of adjacent modular construction units in a structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of rectangular modular construction unit in

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accordance with the present invention particularly intended for wall construction;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of rectangular modular construction unit in accordance with the present invention particularly intended for wall construction;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a. third embodiment of rectangular modular construction unit in accordance with the present invention particularly intended for wall construction;

Figure 4 shows typical cross-sections of construction elements used in the construction units of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a trapezoid modular construction unit in accordance with the present invention particularly intended for wall construction.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a triangular modular construction unit in accordance with the present invention particularly intended for wall construction;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a partially curved modular construction unit in accordance with the present invention particularly intended for wall construction;.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a rectangular construction unit in accordance with the present invention particularly intended for floor construction; Figure 9 is a perspective view of a truncated pyramid construction unit in accordance with the present invention particularly intended for roof construction;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a valley construction unit in accordance with the present invention particularly intended for roof construction; and

Figures 11 to 13 are partial views to an enlarged scale showing corner structures of construction units of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In Figure 1, there is shown a rectangular modular construction unit 10 which is particularly designed for forming wall structures. The unit 10 comprises firstly a number of horizontal construction elements as seen in Figure 1. The unit 10 comprises a pair of parallel, longitudinal upper horizontal construction elements 12 each of channel section. The unit 10 also comprises a pair of parallel, longitudinal lower horizontal construction elements 14 also of channel section. As shown, the channels of the elements 12 and 14 face inwardly into the body of the unit 10. The

pairs of elements 12 and 14 are, as shown, located one above the other.

Each channel comprises a central web forming the base of the channel and two upstanding flanges on respective sides of the web.

Secondly, the construction unit 10 comprises a number of vertical construction elements as seen in Figure 1. The construction unit 10 also comprises a pair of parallel, vertical construction elements 16 at one end of the unit. The elements 16 each interconnect respective adjacent ends of elements 12 and 14. The construction unit 10 further comprises a pair of parallel vertical construction elements 18 at the end of the unit 10 remote from the elements 16. The elements 18 each interconnect respective adjacent ends of elements 12 and 14. The elements 16 and 18 are also of channel cross-section similar to the elements 12 and 14 with the channels facing into the body of the unit 10. Conveniently, the elements 12, 14, 16 and 18 on one side of the unit 10 may be formed from a single piece of channel section construction member which has its lateral flanges mitred at appropriate spacings so that the web of the channel section member can be folded at right angles to form corners between horizontal and vertical elements. Then ^tne free ends

of each folded channel section member are joined together by any suitable means, such as by welding. The complete folded and joined channel section member forms a complete set of elements 12, 14, 16 and 18. The members 12, 14, 16 and 18 need not be of channel section but it is preferred that they have a flat web which is outermost in the completed unit 10 to facilitate joining to other units 10 to form a structure. The channel section is a convenient one to use since it is readily available and can be folded as described above. Also, the configuration used needs to have adequate strength for the intended purpose. As shown in Figure 1, each set of members 12, 14, 16 and 18 is preferably spaced apart by the use of spacers 20 at each corner between adjacent members. The spacers 20 may be of angle section as shown but this is not essential. It is preferred however, that the spacers 20 be of angle section and have flat webs which are outermost in the completed unit 10 to facilitate joining to adjacent units 10.

The length of the elements 12 and 14 and the elements 16 and 18 is not critical but is preferably such that the units are of a convenient size for construction of a wall of a building. For example, the members 12, 14, 16 and 18 may.be

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900 mm long. To form a typical wall, the units 10 would then be stacked three high to give a conventional height. When the members 12, 14, 16 and 18 are of the same length the unit 10 is square as shown in Figure 1. However it is not essential that these members- be all of the same length and other rectangular configurations may be used to form units 10 of the type shown in Figure 1. The length of the spacers 20 is very important since this determines the volume defined by the unit 10.

Preferably, the spacers 20 are of a length such that the overall width of the unit 10 is between 75 and 500mm. At lower values in this range the spacers 20 may be omitted altogether. Preferably, the spacers 20 are such that the overall width of the unit 10 is between 125 and 400 mm such as about 300 mm. Also, the upper and lower construction elements 12 and 14 are preferably interconnected by an intermediate vertical channel section member 21 the use of which is preferred to confer adequate rigidity in a unit of typical size. The intermediate members 21 are mounted in the channels of members 12 and 14. The unit 10 when incorporated in a wall structure has conventional internal and external sheeting applied to it in known manner. Further, a layer of insulating

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material may be applied internally of the unit 10 adjacent the internal wall side thereof. When the unit 10 is provided with cladding and insula¬ tion as described it is found that it has superior noise damping qualities and heat insulation properties compared to convention frame structures. To construct a wall of a building a plurality of the units 10 can simply be stacked one on top of the other to the required height and a plurality of units mounted side by side to provide the required wall length.

Adjacent units 10 may be conveniently connected together by screws such as self-tapping screws or the like, passed through adjacent webs of the channel section members 12, 14, 16 and 18.

In some circumstances, it is possible to use a construction unit 10 of half height in alternate columns so that adjacent columns of construction units

10 are staggered in height. This can confer added strength to the wall structure.

The construction units 10 of the present invention can use elements and other members with a wide variety of cross-sections. For example, there is shown in

Figure 2, a construction unit 10 which is similar to that shown in Figure 1 except that the elements 12, 14,

16 and 18 and the spacer members 20 are of square tubular sections.

Similarly, there is shown in Figure 3 a construction unit 10 which is similar to that shown in Figure 1 except that the elements 12, 14, 16 and 18 and the spacer members 20 and the intermediate vertical members 21 are of angle section.

In general the construction units of the present

^" invention can use elements and members with a wide variety of cross-sections.

Typical examples are shown in Figure 4 as follows:

A Angle

B Channel

C Square Tube

D Rectangular Tube

E Zed-Section

F Round Tube

G I-Section

H T-Section

I Rod

J Flat Bar

The construction units described up to now have been of rectangular four sided shapes but other four sided shapes can be used such as the trapezoid shape shown in Figure 5. Other four sided shapes- can be

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used such as parallelogram shapes.

However, the construction units 10 need not be four sided.

They can, for example, be three sided i.e. triangular as shown in Figure 6 in which like reference numerals denote like parts except that the elements 18 are omitted. The triangular unit 10 of Figure 6 uses channel members for the elements 12, 14 and 16 and the intermediate members 21. In similar manner units 10

10 with 5, 6 or 8 sides can be constructed to form regular pentagonal, hexagonal or octagonal shapes respectively.

Further, not all of the elements of the units 10 need to be straight. Some of them can, for example, be curved as shown for the unit 10 shown in Figure 7

, _c which uses square section elements 12, 14 and 16 and square section spacer members 20 and is similar to the triangular member shown in Figure 6 except that the elements 14 are curved. Construction units 10 essentially the same as those _Q described above can be used to form window frames. However, in this case, the intermediate members 21 would usually be omitted.

Construction units of this type provide a suitable mounting for a glazed window frame. At the lower end of a wall structure produced from

construction units in accordance with the present invention, the lowermost pair of units may rest on an edge of a concrete slab or the like. Conveniently, the lowermost members 14 are engaged with threaded studs embedded in the concrete "and secured in place by nuts threaded onto the studs. hen used as a floor section it is envisaged that, for added strength, each of the units 10 could contain a diagonal brace extending from a corner on one side of the unit 10 to a diagonally opposite corner on the other side of the unit 10. This means that when the unit 10 is laid flat the brace is inclined and extends between a corner at the lower side defined by elements 12, 14, 16 and 18 of the unit 10 and a diagonally opposite corner at the upper side defined by the elements 12, 14, 16 and 18 of the unit 10.

A rectangular construction unit 10 of this type is shown in Figure 8. The construction unit 10 shown in Figure 8 uses angle elements 12, 14, 16 and 18 and flat plate bracing element 30 between diagonally opposite upper and lower corners. It also comprises diagonal flat plate members 32 extending between corners on the same side of the unit 10 and angle members 34 extending horizontally between opposed corners of the unit 10. The adjacent units 10 forming a floor section

may be laid so that the upper or top end of a brace is adjacent the upper or top end of the next diagonally aligned brace and the lower or bottom end of a brace is adjacent the lower or bottom end of the next diagonally aligned brace. This means that the braces may be orientated such that they form a space frame lateral truss system for the floor section. This system confers great rigidity on the floor section. Once laid a suitable floor covering could be laid over the units and affixed thereto by any suitable means. Construction units 10 arranged to form floor sections need not be rectangular. They could be triangular or parallelogram shaped, for example. Further, some or all of the diagonal members could be of channel section if desired.

Construction units 10 in accordance with the present invention can also be used to form roof frames. A typical roof frame is shown in Figure 9. The roof frame shown in Figure 9 is in the form of a truncated pyramid and uses angle elements and members. Another typical roof frame is shown in Figure 10. The roof frame shown in Figure 10 is in the form of a valley and, as shown, an upper spacer member 20 is split into two parts. The two parts extend downwardly towards the adjacent lower spacer members 20. The two parts

of the split spacer member 20 are joined to the adjacent spacer member 20 and to each other at their lower ends at a junction point 38. Further, a pair of brace members 40 extend from the junction point 38 to respec- tive, upper, opposed corners at the upper side of the roof frame of Figure 10 at the upper ends of elements 18.

Roof frames can be constructed in many forms in construction units of the present invention. For example, they may be formed in 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 sided members which may have upper ends which are flat as shown in Figure 9 or sloping, as shown in Figure 10. The upright elements 16 and 18 may be vertical or sloped as shown in Figure 9. As discussed above, the corners between elements of the construction units 10 of the present invention may be in the form of mitred joints. A joint of this type in a unit using channel elements is shown in Figure 11. The joint may be formed by cutting opposed triangular notches in sides of a length of channel and folding the channel about an axis in line with the notches. As shown in Figure 11, in the folded condition the matching faces of the mitred joint may be welded together for increased rigidity. An alternative corner construction is shown in Figure

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12, in which a length of channel is cut at intervals, and bent at the cut point to form a corner with a lapped joint. The lapped regions may be welded together for increased rigidity. A further alternative corner construction is shown in Figure 13 in which the lower end of a first, vertical channel is crimped to reduce its overall width and is then inserted in an end of a second, horizontal channel. The regions where the first and second lengths meet may be welded together for increased rigidity.

The construction units described hereinabove utilise metal elements and members and this is the preferred building material for use in the present invention. However, other building materials can be used for the elements and members of the construction units such as timber or plastics materials.

Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed within the scope of the present invention.