The present invention relates to modular jail cells that are intended to be vertically stacked and horizontally joined to form a jail complex. In particular, each of the modular cells on a lower stack include a cantilevered mezzanine that provides a walk way for the line of cells stacked on top of the line of cells having the mezzanine.
Modular jail cells that accelerate and simplify prison construction and maximize shipping efficiency have been known for some time. Examples of prior disclosures of such structures are found in the U.S. patent to Lerner et al. entitled Modular Jail system and Method of Preparing the Same, issued Oct. 11, 1994, and U.S. patent to Richard J. Seavy, U.S. Pat. No. 7,178,298, for Structures Incorporating Interlocking Wall Modules, issued Feb. 20, 2007, U.S. patent to Richard J. Seavy, U.S. Pat. No. 7,318,300, for Modularized Jail Cell, issued Jan. 15, 2008, and U.S. patent to Richard J. Seavy, U.S. Pat. No. 10,323,405, for System for Connecting Structural elements of Prefabricated Jail Cells, issued Jun. 18, 2019.
The foregoing disclosures all anticipate that the individual modular cells, or pairs of cells, will be horizontally joined in side-by-side relation to form a line of interconnected cells and that a plurality of cell lines may be stacked, in or more stacks, to form a jail complex. When the lines of cells are stacked there must be provided a walk-way in front of each stacked cell to provide ingress and egress to the front door of each horizontally joined cell in the stack. Previously, the walk-way had to be constructed as a separate structural element from the cells themselves with supporting columns or posts.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a modular jail cell containing an integrally connected portion of the walk-way of the cell stacked immediately above it in the form of a mezzanine of the cell below. A further object of the invention is to eliminate the need for cantilever beams that are anchored in the cell by bolting the mezzanine to the existing structure of the cell. A further object of the invention is to provide a walk-way for upper cells in a stack of modular jail cells that requires no external supporting structure such as columns, posts or piers.
A modular jail cell that is intended to be a cell disposed below another modular cell in a stack of cells is provided with an independent mezzanine structure that is bolted to the normal ceiling/floor structure of the lower cell, thus providing a cantilevered platform for the cell stacked immediately above, which platform will be a portion of the walk-way in front of a horizontal line of modular jail cells that are stacked on top of a horizontal line of cells containing the cantilevered mezzanines.
A modular jail cell 2 with a cantilevered mezzanine 5 is shown in
The construction of the cantilevered mezzanine 5 is seen in
One of the advantages and primary objects of the present invention is that the relevant structure in the modular cell that supports the cantilevered mezzanine is no different than the modular cell structure of a cell that does not carry a cantilevered mezzanine. The ceiling 12 of the typical modular cell comprises channel studs and interior and exterior covering and terminates on its front side with a U shaped channel 30 having a web 32, as seen in
Attachment of the cantilevered mezzanine 5 to the modular cell 2 is done without cantilever beams or similar structure. The mezzanine is simply bolted onto the ceiling 12 at two or more locations on top of the front wall 8, as shown in