The present invention relates generally to construction and in particular to a housing manufacturing system and method.
Housing is a critical aspect of social living. The construction of houses and other dwellings is therefore a well-known and highly refined art. Construction techniques and esthetic styles are well known for single family dwellings, detached and semi-detached houses, condominiums, apartment buildings, town houses, and the like.
Automation is also broad reaching and used heavily in a broad range of industries and is used to build cars, trucks, planes, electronics, appliances and many other products. Automation techniques are increasingly being applied to the housing industry, and indeed are used heavily in the manufacture of modular and panelized homes. Modular and panelized homes are well suited to automation due the fact that each unit is substantially identical and therefore an automated assembly facility can be designed to build each unit in substantially the same way using substantially the same components for each unit.
Far more vexing, however, has been the application of automation techniques to conventionally site-built homes. Conventionally site-built homes are typically built on the final construction site. They are often favoured over modular and panelized homes as they can be uniquely designed, both on the exterior and interior, to reflect the individual tastes of the homeowner. Many agree that a community of conventionally site-built homes is also far more aesthetically pleasing than a monotonous matrix of identical modular or panelized homes.
The uniqueness and size of each conventionally site-built homes is anathema to prior art automation techniques. The uniqueness of each home makes it difficult to manage and store stock. The size of each home makes it difficult to transport the home from the manufacturing facility to the site of the dwelling.
The prior art reveals several attempts to automate the construction of conventionally site-built homes. In 1978, U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,952 to Blachura, proposed a technique for constructing individual houses in a factory and delivering them to prepared foundations on a large tract of land. The issue of size was addressed by locating the factory near the final tract of land where the house would be situated, thereby minimizing the traveling distance from the factory to the final site of the dwelling. More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,504 to Cohen et al. proposed a movable manufacturing facility. The movable manufacturing facility of Cohen intended bring standard size home building comprehensively within a controlled factory environment. Cohen disclosed that the main structure of the movable manufacturing facility was sufficiently tall to allow assembly and movement of standard size homes within. Cohen proposed multiple independent production lines to each produce portions of the dwelling in the form of subassemblies.
Unfortunately, the prior art has not proposed a practically feasible automation method for conventionally site-built homes. Since the facilities must be located close to the site for each house, the prior art facilities cannot produce enough homes to justify the capital investment required for the associated facility.
In an aspect of the invention a system for manufacturing homes is provided. The system includes a sub-assembly plant for assembling planar sections of a home, such as walls or floors, according to production schedule for custom homes. The system also includes at least one final assembly facility located proximal to a subdivision where a plurality of the custom homes are to be situated. The final assembly facility is for receiving the planar sections from the sub-assembly plant and for constructing the homes from planar portions according to the production schedule. Each home in the production schedule can be different.
The sub-assembly plant of the system can include an assembly line for producing at least a portion of the planar sections.
The sub-assembly plant of the system can include at least one of a framing station, a drywall application station, a mechanical services station, an insulation station and a covering station. The insulation station can comprise an injector and a flowable closed cell foam dispenser for injecting the foam into a cavity defined by a frame and a drywall covering of the frame.
The planar sections can comprise wall sections that are provided with a plurality of removable hangers.
The system can include a truck for transporting the wall sections includes an overhead rail for receiving the hangers. The truck can include a plurality of floor rails, one floor rail corresponding to each overhead rail. The floor rails are complementary to a skate, and a plurality of skates can be used to move each wall section.
The final assembly facility of the system can include at least one area for building a roof for each the home and an overhead crane for placing the roof on a respective home according to the production schedule.
Another aspect of the invention provides a truck for transporting planar sections of houses including a plurality of substantially parallel overhead rails for receiving hangers disposed within the sections.
The truck can include a plurality of floor rails, with one floor rail corresponding to each overhead rail. The floor rails of the truck are complementary to skates, and a plurality of skates can be used to move each planar section.
Another aspect of the invention provides a sub-assembly plant for assembling planar sections of a home according to a production schedule for custom homes, the sub-assembly plant for providing the planar sections to at least one final assembly facility located proximal to a subdivision where a plurality of the custom homes are to be situated. The facility is for receiving the planar sections from the sub-assembly plant and for constructing the homes from the planar sections according to the production schedule. The sub-assembly plant comprises an assembly line for producing at least a portion of the planar sections.
The sub-assembly plant can further comprise at least one of a framing station, a drywall application station, a mechanical services station, an insulation station and a covering station. The insulation station can comprise an injector and a flowable closed cell foam dispenser for injecting the foam into a cavity defined by a frame and a drywall covering of the frame.
Another aspect of the invention provides a final assembly facility for receiving and assembling planar sections of a home according to a production schedule for custom homes. The planar sections received from a sub-assembly plant that assembles the planar sections. The final assembly facility can be located proximal to a subdivision where a plurality of the custom homes are to be situated. The final assembly facility is for constructing the homes from the planar sections according to the production schedule. The final assembly facility can be movable.
The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to certain embodiments and the attached Figures in which:
Referring now to
Sub-assembly plant 54 receives raw building materials 74 via truck 82 and produces fully assembled wall sections 78 of each house 70 which are shipped from plant 54 via truck 83. Also produced in sub-assembly plant 54 are floor sections 80 (not shown in
Each final assembly facility 58 is located proximal to a subdivision 62 or tract of land consisting of a plurality of adjacent lots 66 where houses 70 manufactured according to system 50 will be located. Lots 66 appear as squares in
Sub-assembly plant 54 is typically a permanent structure having a location that is chosen in a manner so as to consider efficient access to raw building materials 74 while also considering efficient access to the plurality of subdivisions 62. Other factors influencing the location of plant 54 include more traditional considerations including labour, electricity, gas, and water. As an example, and assuming the other factors are not a significant consideration, plant 54 can be (though need not be) located so as to be substantially equidistant from all subdivisions 62 while still being accessible to raw building materials 74.
In contrast to sub-assembly plant 54, each final assembly facility 58 is typically a temporary facility that is used for assembling wall sections 78 and floor sections 80 and the roof into the house structure. Each final assembly facility 58 is also used to complete final finishes on each house 70 before depositing the finally assembled house 70 onto the foundation of its intended lot 66. Thus, it is contemplated that sub-assembly plant 54 may at any given time serve different sets of final assembly facilities 58. For example, as different subdivisions 62 are filled with houses 70, then the final assembly facility 58 associated with that subdivision 62 will be dismantled, while another final assembly facility 58 is situated near a new, empty subdivision 62. Put in other words, sub-assembly plant 54 need not be supplying each subdivision 62 at the same time, and thus, the location of sub-assembly plant 54 can be chosen to be proximal to each subdivision 62 considering that not all subdivisions are being built at a given time.
Referring now to
Plant 54 also includes a wall assembly line 88 that can be automated with robotic equipment or manually implemented and/or a combination of both. In a present embodiment, wall assembly line 88 includes a plurality of stations labeled as 90-1, 90-2, 90-3, 90-4, 90-5, 90-6 and 90-7. Stations 90 progressively build one entire wall section for each house 70.
Referring now to
The remaining stations 90 in line 88 are likewise configured to substantially complete an entire wall for a particular house 70. In
In
In
Once the mechanical components are installed in frame 98, frame 98 is advanced from station 90-4 to station 90-5. Station 90-5 is represented in
Note that while insulation 146 can be applied in any wall portion of a house 70, typically insulation 146 is only applied to the exterior walls of any given house 70. However, it can be desired to apply insulation 146 to interior walls where sound proofing is desired, such as between bathroom walls or bedroom walls. Thus, where no insulation 146 is needed for a given frame 98, gantry 150 can remain dormant for that particular frame 98.
Station 90-5 also includes a second glue gun 158 that that applies a second layer of glue 102. Glue gun 158 operates in substantially the same manner as glue gun 106.
Once the insulation 146 and glue 102 are applied at station 90-5, frame 98 is advanced from station 90-5 to station 90-6. Station 90-6 is represented in
At this point those skilled in the art will also now appreciate that covering 162 (and/or drywall 110) can in fact be any type of covering for frame 98 to present a visible surface for an interior or exterior wall.
Once covering 162 is applied at station 90-6, frame 98 is advanced from station 90-6 to station 90-7. Station 90-7 is represented in
As can be seen in
At this point it will now be reiterated to those of skill in the art that assembly line 88 is highly configurable so that each wall section 78 that is produced can be very unique in terms of dimensions, locations of doors and windows, type and location of building mechanical, type of external coverings. Thus, as purchasers make requests for specific configurations of houses 70, so too can sub-assembly plant 54 be configured to schedule production runs of specific wall sections 78 accordingly. Likewise, such production runs on assembly line 88 can be scheduled so as to fill trucks 83 according to the particular final assembly facility 58 to which such trucks 83 are destined.
Various means of loading wall sections 78 into trucks 83 are contemplated. However, in a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, a hanging system is employed. Referring now to
As best seen in
As best seen in
Referring again to
Thus, once floor sections 80 and wall sections 78 are complete, they are shipped via truck 83 to their intended final assembly facility 58. Referring now to
Facility 58 also includes a pair of rails 218 that run the length of final assembly facility 58. Each house 70 is built upon a pair of beams 222 that run along the length of rails 218. A roof 226 for each house 70 is built at a first, beginning end of rails 218. Roof 226 is built from trusses 230 received via an inbound loading dock 234 which receives trucks 83.
Wall sections 78 and floor sections 80 received via dock 234 are assembled in order to build the exterior and interior shell of the first house 70-1 on rails 218. During such assembly mechanical components between each wall section 78 and floor section 80 are connected. Once the shell of house 70-1 is complete, an overhead crane or gantry is used to place roof 226 onto house 70-1.
Final assembly facility 58 includes a plurality of stations, responsible for various stages of completion of each house. Final assembly facility 58 in
Once a house is complete, such as house 70-8, it exits facility 58 via an output docking port 242 transported via a specially designed transporter 246. Transporter 246 has a flatbed which sits above a front and rear cab, both of which have controls for steering the transporter 246. Transporter 246 is also steerable via remote control, so that the operator can be outside of transporter 246 and maneuver transporter 246 while having full view of all angles of transporter 246. Transporter 246 also has steerable front and rear axles in order to be able to tightly maneuver the house 70 to its final lot 66. The flatbed of transporter 246 is below-grade to facility 58, so that rails 218 are on the same level as the flatbed of transporter 246.
As best seen in
As best seen in
It is to be understood that sub-sets and combinations and variations of the foregoing embodiments are contemplated and within the scope of the invention. One such variation is shown in
As seen in
Referring now to
Another variation is shown in
Another variation is shown in perspective
Facility 58b includes many of the features of facility 58a but with some exceptions which will be explained in further detail below. Like facility 58a, facility 58b is T-shaped, and in a present embodiment includes a crane section 404b and a final assembly section 408b. One difference of note is that output docking port 242b is disposed in-line with the length of facility 58b. Facility 58b also includes an administration section 412b, seen in
In a presently preferred embodiment, facility 58b is a prefabricated movable building, made from metal or other suitable material or combination of materials. The floor of facility 58b is asphalt for easy removability and recycling.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
As best seen in
Plate 434b is shown in greater detail in
Skid shoe 458b is shown in greater detail in
Each shoe 458b also includes a pair of outboard connection tubes 478b on each end of each shoe 458b. Each connection tube 478b permits a mechanical engagement with a train of shoes 458b, and with moving apparatus 490b (better seen in
Each shoe 458b also includes a pair of handles 482b on each end of each shoe 458b. Handles 482b can be used to lift and carry each shoe 458b. Handles 482b are particularly useful when a shoe 458b reaches the end of rail system 450b closest to docking port 242b, at which point the shoe 458b can be lifted off of plate 434b and carried back to the beginning of the rail system 450b inside crane building 404a.
Referring now to
In operation, it can be desired so that houses 70b move from one station to the next using rail system 450b once a day. Finishing work is performed on each house 70b during the day, and by night each house 70b is moved to its next station. Using the novel rail system 450b described herein, an entire train of houses 70b can be moved in one hour. Thus, facility 58b can, if desired, operate two shifts per day, for a total of sixteen hours in each station, with only one hour needed to move the houses 70b to the next station.
It can be desired to schedule building of houses 70b so that houses 70b that are farthest from facility 58b are built first and, progressively, houses nearer to facility 58b are build last. This can be desired so as to ensure that transporter 246b does not have to navigate through existing houses. Concurrently, the scheduling of building construction can be automated using known computing devices to create the schedule in
Arm 504b includes eye 506b at its proximal end, through which arm 504b is connected to the remainder of moving apparatus 490b. The distal end of arm 504b inserts into body 508b, and can extend and retract out of and into body 508b.
Body 508b includes a sleeve 510b at the proximal end of body 508b, and two hydraulic fluid ports 512b. Sleeve 510b accommodates the distal end of arm 504b, and allows arm 504b to extend and retract from body 508b. Hydraulic fluid ports 512b allow entry and exit of hydraulic fluid to force arm 504b to extend from or retract into sleeve 510b.
Head 514b is connected to the distal end of body 508b, and includes a wedge 516b. Wedge 516b extends from head 514b in the direction of skid rail 434b (not shown in
When wedge 516b is in a hole 476b, base 518b allows moving apparatus 490b to push off of hole 476b. Arm 504b is extended from body 508b by injecting fluid through the distal hydraulic fluid port 512b and expelling fluid through proximal hydraulic fluid port 512b, moving the proximal end of arm 504b (and therefore also moving apparatus 490b and house 70b, not shown in
The present invention thus provides, amongst other things, a novel system and method for manufacturing homes by providing a sub-assembly plant for producing walls and floors and one or more final assembly facilities for assembling full homes from those walls and floors and other inventory.
While the foregoing describes certain specific embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that variations, combinations and sub-sets of those embodiments are contemplated.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2563187 | Oct 2006 | CA | national |
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/675,938 filed Feb. 16, 2007, Ser. No. 11/852,204 filed Sep. 7, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,832,087 B2 and Ser. No. 12/900,724 filed Oct. 8, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,887,399 B2. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Applicants claim priority of Canadian Patent Application No. 2,563,187, filed Oct. 11, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12900724 | Oct 2010 | US |
Child | 14543040 | US | |
Parent | 11852204 | Sep 2007 | US |
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Child | 11852204 | US |