Patent Application
20220333388
The disclosure generally relates to a method, apparatus, and system for fabricating a structure.
Various methods can be employed to fabricate and construct multi-story buildings. Traditionally, multi-story buildings have been constructed from the ground up, in which construction of the building begins on a ground level by attaching higher elevation structural elements on top of previously assembled lower structural elements to construct the building in upward direction, i.e., from bottom up. Such methods may be inefficient in terms of material handling and placement. Presently, structural framing elements may be assembled into a building frame one member at a time and above ground level. Tower cranes are used during construction to execute thousands of individual lifts for elements of the structure, building enclosure, finishes, mechanical and electrical equipment and many other components of a finished building. Furthermore, concrete or another hardenable material is pumped to the final elevation of each floor. These operations may require specialized equipment and setup logistics, and may be time-consuming and labor-intensive when constructing multi-story buildings.
There is a need to provide a building fabrication method and system, and an associated fabricated building, that more effectively uses available material and labor resources.
A multi-story building that includes a vertical support core and a plurality of floor plates is described, wherein fabrication of the building includes assembling each of the floor plates at or near ground level, and lifting each of the floor plates to a design elevation on the vertical support core.
This includes a building assembly system for fabricating an embodiment of the multi-story building having a vertical support core arranged on a base. Lift jacks are arranged between a top portion and a bottom portion of the vertical support core, and a reusable bridle is suspended from the plurality of lift jacks and slidably arranged on the vertical support core. A floor plate is assembled onto the bridle at an assembly level that is proximal to the base. The plurality of the lift jacks are operable to lift the bridle and the assembled floor plate to a design elevation on the vertical support core, and are operable to lower the bridle to the assembly level on the vertical support core after the floor plate has been secured to the vertical support core at the design elevation.
An aspect of the disclosure includes the bridle having lifting beams and side beams. A first of the lifting beams is arranged on a first side of the vertical support core and a second of the lifting beams is arranged on a second, opposite side of the vertical support core. The first of the lifting beams is suspended from a first set of the lift jacks, and the second of the lifting beams is suspended from a second set of the lift jacks. A first of the side beams is connected to first ends of the lifting beams, and a second of the side beams is connected to second ends of the lifting beams.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes each of the side beams having a plurality of movable bearing pads.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes the plurality of movable bearing pads being positioned to correspond to beams of the floor plate that is assembled thereon.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes the floor plate being a floor plate frame having first and second girders, a plurality of framing members, and a plurality of spandrels. The first and second girders are arranged on the plurality of movable bearing pads, the plurality of framing members are arranged transverse to and attached to the first and second girders, and the spandrels are arranged transverse to and attached to distal ends of the plurality of framing members.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes the floor plate having metal decking and hardenable material, wherein the metal decking is attached to the floor plate frame, and wherein the hardenable material is dispersed onto the metal decking.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes the bridle being disposed, at the assembly level, on top of a plurality of stub columns that are disposed on the base.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes a plurality of floor plates being sequentially assembled onto the bridle at the assembly level, wherein the lift jacks are operable to raise the bridle and one of the plurality of floor plates assembled thereon to a respective design elevation on the vertical support core; and wherein the lift jacks are operable to lower the bridle on the vertical support core after the one of the plurality of floor plates is secured to the vertical support core at its respective design elevation.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes each of the lifting beams being one of an H-beam, an I-beam, a C-beam, a T-beam, an L-beam, a square beam, or a rectangular beam.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes each of the side beams being one of an H-beam, an I-beam, a C-beam, a T-beam, an L-beam, a square beam, or a rectangular beam.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes a method for assembling a building by arranging a vertical support core on a base, assembling a plurality of lift jacks between a top portion and a bottom portion of the vertical support core, suspending a reusable bridle from the plurality of lift jacks, the bridle being slidably arranged on the vertical support core, and assembling a floor plate onto the bridle at an assembly level that is proximal to the base. The bridle and the floor plate are lifted, via the plurality of lift jacks, to a design elevation on the vertical support core, and the assembled floor plate is secured to the vertical support core at the design elevation.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes lowering, via the plurality of lift jacks, the bridle to the assembly level on the vertical support core after the floor plate has been secured to the vertical support core at the design elevation.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes arranging the bridle onto a plurality of stub columns that are arranged on the base when the bridle is lowered to the assembly level.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes assembling the bridle onto the vertical support core, arranging a first lifting beam on a first side of the vertical support core and arranging a second lifting beam on a second side of the vertical support core; arranging a first side beam on a first end of the vertical support core and arranging a second side beam on a second end of the vertical support core; connecting ends of the first side beam to first ends of the first and second lifting beams; and connecting ends of the second side beam to second ends of the first and second lifting beams.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes arranging a plurality of bearing pads onto the first side beam and the second side beam, wherein the plurality of bearing pads are positioned to correspond to girders of the floor plate.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes arranging the girders of the floor plate onto the plurality of bearing pads.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes arranging a plurality of framing members transverse to the girders to create a floor plate frame.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes installing metal decking onto the floor plate frame.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes dispersing hardenable material onto the metal decking.
Another aspect of the disclosure includes installing mechanical building elements onto the floor plate frame beneath the metal decking when the floor plate is disposed at the assembly level.
The above summary is not intended to represent every possible embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing summary is intended to exemplify some of the novel aspects and features disclosed herein. The above features and advantages, and other features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of representative embodiments and modes for carrying out the present disclosure when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the claims.
It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, and present a somewhat simplified representation of various preferred features of the present disclosure as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes. Details associated with such features will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.
The components of the disclosed embodiments, as described and illustrated herein, may be arranged and designed in a variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, as claimed, but is merely representative of possible embodiments thereof. In addition, while numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein, some embodiments can be practiced without some of these details. Moreover, for the purpose of clarity, certain technical material that is understood in the related art has not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure. Furthermore, the drawings are in simplified form and are not to precise scale. For purposes of convenience and clarity, directional terms such as top, bottom, left, right, up, over, above, below, beneath, rear, and front, may be used with respect to the drawings. These and similar directional terms are descriptive of the figures, and not to be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. Furthermore, the disclosure, as illustrated and described herein, may be practiced in the absence of an element that is not specifically disclosed herein.
Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views,
As used herein, the term “floor plate 50” includes but is not limited to all structural or frame members, e.g., joists and/or purlins; flooring, e.g., concrete floor; interior walls; exterior curtain walls; modular room subassemblies; lavatories; mechanical building elements 70 (shown with reference to
Referring again to
The hardenable material may include, but is not limited to, a concrete mixture or other similar composition. The hardenable material may include one or more additives to enhance one or more physical characteristics of the hardenable material, such as to reduce curing time, reduce slump, increase strength, etc. The specific type and contents of the hardenable material 64 may be dependent upon the specific application of the building 100, and may be dependent upon the specific geographic region in which the building 100 is being constructed. The specific type and contents of the hardenable material are understood by those skilled in the art, and are not described in detail herein.
A plurality of lift jacks 16 are attached to the roof beams 14 of the vertical support core 10, and are employed to lift the floor plates 50 to their respective design elevations 151, which is illustrated in dashed lines. Referring again to
As shown, each of plurality of the floor plates 50 can be assembled on the bridle 30, which is placed at an assembly level 25 that is at or proximal to ground elevation. The plurality of the floor plates 50 are lifted to their respective design elevations 151 relative to the vertical support core 10 in a sequential descending order employing the lift jacks 16.
The bridle 30 is arranged around an outer periphery of the vertical support core 10 and is attachable to and suspended from the lift jacks 16 via cables 18 and lockable joints 20. The bridle 30 is a reusable device that can be employed to support each floor plate 50 during assembly at the assembly level 25. The bridle 30 is also used to support each floor plate 50 when the respective floor plate 50 is being lifted by the lift jacks 16 and secured to its respective design elevation 151. The bridle 30 is lowered by the lift jacks 16 to the assembly level 25 after the respective floor plate 50 is secured to its respective design elevation 151. The bridle 30 is then re-used to support another of the floor plates 50 during assembly. As shown with reference to
The floor plates 50 make up discrete sections of the building 100. Each of the floor plates 50 is assembled at the assembly level 25, which is advantageously a few feet above ground level on top of the bridle 30. Each of the floor plates 50 is lifted to its design elevation 151 employing the lift jacks 16 or other vertical conveyance structure(s), and permanently affixed to and supported by the vertical support core 10. The floor plates 50 are cantilevered from the lift jacks 16 and therefore, the weight of each of the floor plates 50 is best distributed symmetrically around the vertical support core 10 and the lift jacks 16. The floor plates 50 may be designed asymmetrically around the lift jacks 16 so long as proper design and loading techniques are utilized.
Referring now to
A plurality of the continuous framing members 54 are disposed transverse to the first and second girders 52, 53. Each of the framing members 54 includes the medial beam 56 that is attached to the first and second cantilevered beams 57, 58, and is arranged transverse to and supported by the first and second girders 52, 53. The medial beam 56 and the first and second cantilevered beams 57, 58 are each configured to have a flat beam section on a top portion of the respective beam along its longitudinal axis. The medial beam 56 may be configured as an I-beam, a C-beam, a T-beam, an L-beam, a square beam, a rectangular beam, etc., which defines a respective cross-sectional shape. The medial beam 56 includes first and second ends, with a plurality of bolt through-holes disposed thereat. Each of the first and second cantilevered beams 57, 58 may be an I-beam, a C-beam, a T-beam, an L-beam, a square beam, a rectangular beam, etc., which defines a respective cross-sectional shape.
The cross-sectional shape associated with the first cantilevered beam 57 corresponds to a respective aperture in the first girder 52, and the cross-sectional shape associated with the second cantilevered beam 58 corresponds to a respective aperture in the second girder 53. The medial beams 56 are horizontally disposed between the first and second girders 52, 53. The length of each of the medial beams 56 is selected to define inflection points. Distal ends of the first and second cantilevered beams 57, 58 are attached to spandrels 55 in one embodiment. Distal ends of the first and second cantilevered beams 57, 58 may be supported on pedestals 17, which can be installed on the base 12 and height-adjusted as required to maintain the required geometry during assembly of the floor plate 50 and placement and curing of the hardenable material 64. When each of the floor plates 50 is lifted and locked into its permanently supported position at its design elevation 151, the achieved flatness is measured and outcomes may be used to adjust the geometry of the next one of the floor plates 50 being fabricated. This process improves the flatness tolerance of each successive floor plate.
Mechanical building elements 70 are assembled onto the floor plate frame of the floor plate 50 beneath the metal decking 62. The mechanical building elements 70 include, e.g., plumbing, HVAC, electrical, communication, and fire suppression elements.
The detailed description and the drawings or figures are supportive and descriptive of the disclosure, but the scope of the disclosure is defined solely by the claims. While some of the best modes and other embodiments for carrying out the claimed teachings have been described in detail, various alternative designs and embodiments exist for practicing the disclosure defined in the appended claims.
