EP1817469B1

EP1817469B1 - House, more particularly an emergency house

Info

Publication number: EP1817469B1
Application number: EP05714383A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rudi Omer Coopman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-10-06
Filing date: 2005-03-10
Publication date: 2008-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 2025-03-10
Also published as: AU2005291773A1; PL1817469T3; ES2320903T3; DK1817469T3; PT1817469E; CA2582392A1; EP1817469A1; DE602005010739D1; WO2006037192A1; US20090000213A1; IL182378A0; BE1016226A3; ATE412808T1; ZA200702774B

Abstract

House, more particularly a dismountable house or emergency house, characterised in that it mainly consists of a container (2) against which is provided an extension (6) in the form of a prismatic construction, which is built of a supporting structure in the form of a frame (7) and floor elements and cover elements.

Description

The present invention concerns a house, more particularly a dismountable house or emergency house.
Document US-A-3 862 526 , which is considered to be the closest prior art, discloses such a dismountable house. It is in the form of a prismatic construction and comprises a supporting frame, floor elements and cover elements.
Known emergency houses usually consist of tents or the like which can be erected in a relatively short time in order to be able to offer shelter in case of natural disasters or the like.
A disadvantage of such known tents is that they often have limited dimensions and that they are not sufficiently resistant against earthquakes or heavy storms, such that they may collapse, break down or can even be swept away by a fierce gust of wind.
Prefabricated houses are already known, whereby the walls, floors and ceilings of the house are manufactured beforehand and are transported to the desired location to be assembled into a whole there.
Although the actual construction of the house requires relatively little time, the production process as a whole is very time-consuming, since the manufacture of the walls and partitions as such already requires quite some time.
It also turns out that the transport of such pre-fabricated walls, floors, ceilings and the like is very laborious, due to the large volume and fragility of these parts. It is indeed found in practice that one or several pre-fabricated walls or the like are of ten damaged, which is very expensive and which leads to repairs and the actual construction being delayed.
An additional disadvantage of such known pre-fabricated houses is that they must often be provided with foundations in order to obtain a construction which is sufficiently stable.
The present invention aims to offer a house, more particularly a dismountable house or emergency house, which can be built in a short time on any ground whatsoever, without any foundations being required, whereby all the accessories for realising the house are always available in a very compact manner and whereby the house can be dismounted and transported in a fast and simple manner.
To this end, the present invention concerns a house, more particularly a dismountable house or emergency house, whereby this house mainly consists of a container against which is provided an extension in the shape of a prismatic construction, which is built of a supporting structure in the form of a frame and floor elements and cover elements,
and whereby the constituent parts of the above-mentioned frame and the above-mentioned cover elements can be provided in the above-mentioned container when disassembled.
In order to better explain the characteristics of the present invention, the following preferred embodiments of a house according to the invention are described as an example only without being limitative in any way, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 represents a house according to the invention;
figure 2 represents a section according to line II-II in figure 1;
figures 3 to 6 represent the construction of a house according to the invention in steps;
figure 7 represents the part indicated by F7 in figure 6 to a larger scale;
figure 8 represents a variant of a house according to the present invention.

As represented in figures 1 and 2, a house 1 according to the invention mainly consists of a container 2 with a bottom 3, three side walls 4A and a side wall 4B which is provided with access hatches in the known manner, and a top wall 5, whereby two opposite standing side walls 4 and an extension 6 in the form of a prismatic construction is provided, whose cross section is an isosceles and more particularly an equilateral triangle.
Every extension 6 is hereby directed crosswise to the container 2 and is built of a supporting structure in the shape of a frame 7, whereby, by means of floor elements and cover elements which are provided against the frame 7, a living space is defined.
In the given example, the extension 6 extends on each side of the container 2 above the container 2, and both extensions are connected to each other by means of an intermediate part, to thus obtain a continuous living space which extends over the container 2.
Figures 3 to 6 represent the construction of such a house 1 during the successive steps of the realisation of the house 1 in greater detail.
Every above-mentioned frame 7 consists of parallel, triangular and vertical sections 8, which are in this case isosceles and more particularly equilateral, and each side of which is composed of three profiles 9 of equal length which are equal or almost equal to the height of the container 2, multiplied by the tangent of 30°.
The above-mentioned profiles 9 are connected to each other by means of suitable connecting pieces which are not represented in the figures, which make it possible to fix two or several of such profiles 9 to each other with their far ends.
For every.vertical section 8, the centre distance between connecting pieces lying next to each other is equal to the height of the container 2, multiplied by the tangent of 30°.
The vertical sections 8 are placed such that their bottom side 10 is situated horizontally and they are situated at the same height as the bottom 3 of the above-mentioned container 2.
The above-mentioned connecting pieces of the inclined, standing sides of the above-mentioned sections 8 are mutually connected by means of horizontal profiles 11 which are preferably equally long as the above-mentioned profiles 9 and which, given their length, are situated at the height of the top side 5 of the container 2 and at a height which is equal to twice the height of the container 2.
The above-mentioned vertical sections 8 of every extension are mutually connected by means of horizontal cross profiles 12 which are preferably equally long as the above-mentioned profiles 9.
The adjacent sections of the extensions 6 are connected to each other by means of intermediate connecting profiles 13.
As the above-mentioned profiles 9 and 11 and the cross profiles 12 can all be made having the same length, they can be produced in series, which is considerably time- and money-saving.
An additional advantage thereof is that the mounting is made considerably easier, and the risk of faults is minimized, as the choice is limited to only one profile length, as a result of which also the stacking of the loose profiles is made easier.
The above-mentioned vertical sections 8 are in this case mutually connected as well, in order to reinforce the construction, by means of one or several metal cross bracings 14.
The above-mentioned metal profiles 9 and 11, cross profiles 12 and/or cross bracings 14 are connected to each other by means of the above-mentioned connecting pieces which hold two or several profiles together by means of bolts or the like.
The above-mentioned cover elements are in this case formed of metal cover plates 15 which are fixed to the above-mentioned supporting structure in a suitable manner, fitting against each other, to thus form a roof covering and end walls of the house 1.
The floors are formed of floor elements in the shape of floor slabs 16 which are provided on the above-mentioned horizontal profiles 11 and the horizontal cross profiles 12.
These floor slabs 16 preferably have the same dimensions as the above-mentioned cover plates 15 for the roof, such that there cover plates and floor slabs 15 and 16 are mutually exchangeable.
In order to realise close fitting walls and floors, the above-mentioned cover plates and floor slabs 15 and 16 can be provided with a tooth and groove system which is not represented in the figures, which can work in conjunction with a tooth and groove system of an adjacent plate.
The above-mentioned cover plates and/or floor slabs 15 and/or 16 are preferably provided with a thermally insulating layer which is not represented in the figures.
In this case, the house 1 is provided with two floors, namely a bottom floor 17 and a top floor 18, whereby the above-mentioned top floor 18 is situated at the same height as the top wall 5 of the container 2.
It is clear that a house 1 according to the invention can also have only one floor or several floors.
The container 2 is in this case provided with a flight of stairs 19, which extends from inside the container 2 to an opening 20 in the top wall 5 of said container 2, such that a connection between the above-mentioned bottom floor 17 and the top floor 18 is realised.
According to the invention, it is not excluded to provide such a house with several flights of stairs 19.
The above-mentioned container 2 is preferably also provided with at least one door 21 which provides access to each of the respective extensions 6 from the space inside the container 2.
According to the invention, the constituent parts of the above-mentioned frame 7 and the above-mentioned floor and cover elements can be provided in the above-mentioned container 2 when disassembled.
This offers the advantage that the whole can be transported in a simple manner and can be conveniently stacked, and that all the required parts always stay together and are protected against possible theft, vandalism, damage during transport and the like.
The above-mentioned container 2 and the above-mentioned supporting structure are in this case provided with supporting elements 22 which can be adjusted in height.
Figure 7 represents such a supporting element 22 in greater detail, which consists of a guiding shaft 23 which is fixed to a side wall 4 of the container 2 and in which a supporting leg 24 is provided in a sliding manner by means of a known transmission mechanism in the form of a gear transmission, which is not represented in the figures, which can be excited by means of a crank 25.
At the bottom, the above-mentioned extending supporting legs 24 are provided with supporting plates 26 which provide stability to the house 1 and whose dimensions depend on the bearing capacity of the bottom on which the house 1 is placed.
By means of the above-mentioned extending legs 24, it is possible to level the house in a relatively simple manner, even on a broken and sloping ground.
The above-mentioned extending supporting legs 24 must not be manually excited according to the invention, but they can be realised in many different ways, such as for example in the form of hydraulic or pneumatic pistons.
Figure 8 represents a variant of a house 1 according to the invention, whereby the above-mentioned extensions 6 are made longer than in the preceding embodiment, as the frame 7 is provided with additional vertical sections 8.
The above-mentioned cover elements 9 are not restricted to metal cover plates 15 according to the invention, but they can also be realised in the form of plastic panels, tent cloths or the like.
A method for building a house 1 according to the invention mainly consists of successively going through the following stages:

levelling a container 2;
placing a supporting structure in the shape of a frame 7 against a side wall 4A of the above-mentioned container 2; and
fixing floor elements and cover elements to the above-mentioned frame 7.

The present invention is not restricted to the use of a prismatic construction with a triangular cross section either; it can also be realised in the form of other prismatic constructions which make it possible to use a large number of similar-shaped profiles 9 and 11 and cross profiles 12, for example with a square cross section.
It is clear that the construction of a house according to the invention cannot only be used for building dismountable houses or emergency houses, but that it concerns every construction which is built in this manner, such as holiday homes, private houses, storage spaces and the like.
It is also clear that a house 1 according to the invention must not always be provided with an extension 6 on two side walls 4A of the container 2, but that it is also possible to provide such an extension 6 on only one or on more than two side walls 4A of the container 2.
The present invention is by no means limited to the embodiments given as an example and represented in the figures; on the contrary, such a house according to the invention can be made in all sorts of shapes and dimensions while still remaining within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

House, more particularly a dismountable house or emergency house, characterised in that it mainly consists of a container (2) against which is provided an extension (6) in the form of a prismatic construction, which is built of a supporting structure in the form of a frame (7) and floor elements and cover elements and in that the constituent parts of the above-mentioned frame (7) and the above-mentioned cover elements (9) can be provided in the above-mentioned container (2) when disassembled.
House according to claim 1, characterised in that the above-mentioned extension (6) is provided crosswise against a side wall (4A) of the above-mentioned container (2).
House according to claim 1, characterised in that the above-mentioned frame (7) consists of parallel, triangular and vertical sections (8), which are mutually connected by means of horizontal cross profiles (12) and whose bottom sides (12) are horizontal and are situated at the same height as the bottom (3) of the above-mentioned container (2).
House according to claim 3, characterised in that the above-mentioned sections (8) are mutually connected by means of one or several cross bracings (14).
House according to claim 3, characterised in that every section (8) is an isosceles triangle, each side of which is composed of three profiles (9) of equal length.
House according to claim 5, characterised in that the length of the above-mentioned profiles (9) is equal or almost equal to the height of the container (2), multiplied by the tangent of 30°.
House according to claim 1, characterised in that the above-mentioned frame (7) is built of metal profiles (9 and 11), cross profiles (12) and/or cross bracings (14) which are connected to each other by means of metal connecting pieces which hold the profiles together by means of bolts or the like.
House according to claim 7, characterised in that for every vertical section (8) the centre distance between connecting pieces lying next to each other is equal to the height of the container (2), multiplied by the tangent of 30°.
House according to claim 1, characterised in that the above-mentioned cover elements (9) are formed by cover plates (15).
House according to claim 1, characterised in that it is carried by supporting elements (22) which can be adjusted in height.
House according to claim 10, characterised in that the above-mentioned supporting elements are formed of extending supporting legs.
House according to claim 1, characterised in that the above-mentioned container (2) is provided with at least one door (21) which provides access to the above-mentioned extension (6) from the space inside the container (2).
House according to claim 1, characterised in that it is provided with one or several floors (17 and 18).
House according to claim 1, characterised in that the above-mentioned container (2) is provided with one or several flights of stairs (19), which extend from inside the container (2) to an opening (20) in the top wall of this container (2).
House according to claim 1, characterised in that on either side of the above-mentioned container (2) is provided a prismatic construction (6), and in that both these prismatic constructions (6) are connected to each other by means of connecting profiles (13), such that they form a whole.