The present disclosure relates to modular buildings and particularly, but not exclusively, relates to modular log cabins that can be transported on a pallet and assembled from panels of a standard size using a novel jointing system.
Conventional modular buildings, such as log cabins, can be supplied as a kit comprising logs or planks of varying length, which must be transported loose or as a flat pack on a lorry with other components, such as windows doors and roof members. Different size log cabins result in different size loads to be accommodated on the lorry or other transport vehicle. This presents logistical difficulties in putting multiple log cabin kits on a single vehicle and requires an extensive inventory to be maintained by the manufacturer.
According to an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a modular building, wherein at least one outer wall of the building includes at least first and second panels aligned in the same plane and meeting end to end at a panel joint. The first panel includes first planks forming a part of the outer wall of the building and second planks forming a first wall fixed to the outer wall and spaced from the other panel. The first wall extends substantially perpendicular to the outer wall and terminates beyond the first planks on at least one side of the panel. A space between the first wall of the first panel and a second wall of the second panel accommodates a joint cover strip that covers the panel joint.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a modular building, at least one outer wall of the modular building including:
The shelving may be adapted to provide structural support to the modular building. For example, the thickness and/or stiffness of the shelving may be selected so that it can provide structural support to the first and second panels and/or to a roof of the building.
The walls fixed to the first and second panels may include decorative or faux walls or partitions. These walls may extend for less than 10% of the width of the building and may, for example, extend no more than 400 mm from the panel to which they are fixed. The shelving may extend for the full length of the walls or may be set back from a free end of at least one wall. The walls may be formed from boards or planks. The walls may be of the same length.
The modular building may be a log cabin, and the planks may be actual logs, split logs, or planks and/or boards profiled to resemble logs or split logs.
Two joint cover strips may be provided to cover the panel joint on both sides of the panels. One or both of the joint cover strips may be fixed to the panels with releasable or permanent fixings, such as screws bolts staples or adhesive.
Shelving may be provided in the space between the first decorative wall of the first panel and the second decorative wall of the second panel. The shelving may be configured to brace the first decorative wall of the first panel and the second decorative wall of the second panel, thereby providing structural support to the log cabin.
The shelving may include a single shelf or a plurality of shelves. The shelving may also include a back board to which the shelves are fixed. The back board may take the place of the cover strip and perform the same function.
The shelving may be fixed to the first and second decorative walls, for example, by fixings that are inserted through the first and second decorative walls into the shelving.
The first planks may be interlocked one with another. The second planks may also be interlocked one with another. For example, the first and/or second planks may be interlocked by means of a tongued and grooved connection.
The first and second planks may be of the same width and height, but of different length. Each panel may be no more than 6 feet (1.83 meters) wide so that the planks that make up the panels can be transported upright on a standard shipping pallet.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of assembling a modular building including the steps of: forming at least one outer wall of the modular building by assembling at least first and second panels so that they abut end to end at a panel joint, each panel including first planks forming a part of the outer wall of the log cabin and second planks forming a decorative wall fixed to the outer wall and spaced from the other panel, the decorative walls extending substantially perpendicular to the outer wall and terminating beyond the first planks on at least one side of each panel; and fixing a joint cover strip over the panel joint between the first decorative wall of the first panel and the second decorative wall of the second panel.
The method may further include the step of fixing shelving in the space between the first decorative wall of the first panel and the second decorative wall of the second panel. The shelving may be configured to brace the first decorative wall of the first panel relative to the second decorative wall of the second panel, and thereby provide structural support to the modular building. For example, the shelving may be made of material that is thick enough not to flex under the design environmental loading, such as wind loading, that may be applied to the building in use.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a modular building, at least one outer wall of the modular building including:
According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a modular building, wherein the walls of the modular building include interchangeable panels all of the same width and height, the panels selected from at least two of a plain panel, a window panel, and a door panel.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a kit of parts for forming a modular building as set out above. The kit may include first planks and second planks, all of which are no longer than 6 feet (1.83 meters).
Advantages provided by one or more aspects of the disclosure are:
To avoid unnecessary duplication of effort and repetition of text in the specification, certain features are described in relation to only one or several aspects or embodiments of the invention. However, it is to be understood that, where it is technically possible, features described in relation to any aspect or embodiment of the invention may also be used with any other aspect or embodiment of the invention.
The building is modular in the sense that the side walls 6, 8, the front wall 10, and the back wall 16 are made up of panels 17 of a pre-set width. For example, each panel 17 may be 6 feet (1.83 meters) wide. As the front wall 10, side walls 6, 8, and back wall 16 are made up of panels 17, the length of these walls 6, 8, 10, 16 can be increased simply by adding additional panels 17. Also, plain panels 17 can be replaced by a variety of different door panels or window panels so that the size and layout of the modular building 2 can be changed easily, and the inventory that needs to be kept in the warehouse is minimized.
The panels 17 forming the walls 6, 8, 10, 16 are at least partly made up from individual planks 18 that may be slotted together, for example, using a tongue and groove arrangement. In the illustrated embodiment, these planks 18 are profiled and shaped to look like split logs so that the overall effect of the modular building is that of a log cabin construction. The use of contoured planks that look like split logs gives the building a distinctive and attractive overall appearance. It should, however, be appreciated that the principles of this invention could be applied to any other form of modular building made up from panels. Thus, for example, the panels 17 may include flat-faced or differently contoured or tapered planks.
Referring to
In order to assemble a panel 17, a first plank 18 is laid on a foundation (not shown) of the modular building 2. The foundation may, for example, include a concrete slab foundation. The plank 18 is laid on its long edge, and then a second plank 20 is laid on edge across the first plank 18 so that the first and second planks 18 and 20 are substantially perpendicular, and further so that the lower slot 28 of the second plank 20 engages in the upper slot 24 of the first plank 18. As these slots 24, 28 extend for a quarter of the width of the respective plank, and the first planks 18 and second planks 20 are of the same width, the second plank 20 will be suspended above the foundation by half the width of a first plank 18. Then, the next first plank 18 is slotted into place onto the upper edge of the first plank 18 so that the dovetail groove formed in the lower edge of the upper first plank 18 engages onto the dovetail rib of the lower first plank 18. As the upper first plank 18 is installed, the lower slot 26 in the upper first plank engages into the upper slot 30 in the second plank 20. The next second plank 20 is then laid on edge across the upper first plank 18 so that the first and second planks 18, 20 are substantially perpendicular, and further so that the lower slot 28 of the upper second plank 20 engages in the upper slot 24 of the upper first plank 18. This alternate laying of first and second planks 18, 20 across one another is continued until the panel 17 reaches its full design height, resulting in a panel 17 including a continuous wall of long first planks 18 interconnected with a decorative wall 22 of shorter planks 20.
This same engagement of first and second planks 18, 20 may take place simultaneously at both ends of the panel so that the finished panel 17 has decorative walls 22 at both ends, as best shown in
As best shown in
In addition to serving as conventional shelving within the modular building 2, the shelving serves the additional purpose of providing stiffness and structural strength to the modular building. More particularly, the shelving acts with the decorative walls 22 to form a pillar structure within the building, which provides rigidity and additional support to the rear wall 16 and roof 4 via roof trusses 35.
It will be appreciated that the lowermost second planks 20 of each decorative wall 22 will be suspended above the floor by half the width of a first plank 18 because the bottom of the lower slot 28 in the lowermost second plank 20 abuts the bottom of the upper slot 24 of the lowermost first plank 18 when the bottom edge of the second plank 20 is aligned with the center of the first plank 18. This gives the decorative walls 22 and integrated shelving an attractive “floating” appearance because the decorative walls 22 are supported indirectly off the panel 17, rather than directly off the floor or foundation of the modular building 2. Where a continuous decorative wall 22 is preferred, a half width second plank (not shown) may be slotted onto the bottom of each decorative wall 22.
As mentioned above, the planks that make up the modular building are of a pre-determined maximum length. For example, they may be no larger than 6 feet (1.83 meters) in length. This means that the planks 18, 20 can be assembled upright on a standard shipping pallet 38 as illustrated in
A whole kit for forming a small modular building 2 may be loaded onto a single pallet 38 or, for a larger building, multiple pallets 38 may be required. As the kit mounted on the pallet 38 does not extend beyond the horizontal extent of the pallet 38, and as the height of the longest component mounted vertically on the pallet 38 does not exceed the maximum load height permitted by the hauler (for example, 6 feet (1.83 meters)), the pallet 38 can be transported just like any other pallet load. As a result, loading, unloading and shipping of the modular building 2 described above is easier quicker and less expensive than for conventional modular buildings.
Because of the modular construction of the building and the interchangeability of panels mentioned above, the building is also highly configurable. The modularity and interchangeability extends to all parts of the building. For example, the window panels can be replaced, and also panels on the front, rear, or the gable ends, by selecting panels of matching dimensions. Consequently, a purchaser of the building could, for example, opt to have more window sections and fewer blank panels, or could chose a different roof design, such as a flat roof or pitched roof. The product is also adaptable enough to be confide at final fitting stage, rather than any bespoke tailoring having to take place prior to manufacturing. Also, at some time after construction, the purchaser could choose to modify or extend the building just by purchasing additional wall panels, roof panels, windows, and/or doors.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although the invention has been described by way of example with reference to one or more exemplary examples, it is not limited to the disclosed examples, and that alternative examples could be constructed without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2020397 | Dec 2020 | GB | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1510326 | Locke | Sep 1924 | A |
2110787 | Brandjord | Mar 1938 | A |
8171688 | Junker | May 2012 | B2 |
10563398 | Kreizinger | Feb 2020 | B1 |
20030200710 | Gil | Oct 2003 | A1 |
20180112397 | Bertrand | Apr 2018 | A1 |
20180209144 | Hedgcock | Jul 2018 | A1 |
20180223527 | Marcio | Aug 2018 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
201362889 | Dec 2009 | CN |
4306574 | Sep 1994 | DE |
20110034983 | Apr 2011 | KR |
9518330 | Jul 1995 | WO |
2012004633 | Jan 2012 | WO |
Entry |
---|
The Extended European Search Report, Application No. 21207290.4, dated Apr. 11, 2022. |
Intellectual Property Office Patents Act 1977: Search Report under Section 17(5), Application No. GB2020397.2, dated Jun. 10, 2021. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20220195725 A1 | Jun 2022 | US |