Not Applicable
The present disclosure relates to portable shelters such as may be used for temporary housing of homeless populations.
With homeless populations on the rise in the United States, and the resulting significant humanitarian and public health concerns, state and local municipalities have sought to provide safe, economic housing that may be used on a temporary basis. Unfortunately, conventional building materials and construction techniques make it difficult to achieve these competing goals, with the durability and safety of such housing often at odds with efforts to reduce the cost and/or weight of the structure.
The present disclosure contemplates various apparatuses, systems, and methods for overcoming the above drawbacks accompanying the related art. One aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure is a portable shelter. The portable shelter may comprise one or more floor panels, a plurality of exterior wall panels, and one or more roof panels. Each of the floor panels may define a plurality of floor panel apertures. Each of the exterior wall panels may have a first wall flange that abuts a floor panel from among the one or more floor panels and defines a plurality of first flange apertures that align with the plurality of floor panel apertures of the floor panel. Each of the floor, exterior wall, and roof panels may include a foam core and two fiberglass sheets sandwiching the foam core.
The plurality of exterior wall panels may include two or more side wall panels. Each of the side wall panels may have a second wall flange that abuts the second wall flange of an adjacent side wall panel from among the two or more side wall panels, each of the second wall flanges defining a plurality of second flange apertures that align with the second flange apertures of the second wall flange of the adjacent side wall panel. Each of the roof panels may define a plurality of roof panel apertures. Each of the two or more side wall panels may have a third wall flange defining a plurality of third flange apertures that align with the plurality of roof panel apertures of a roof panel from among the one or more roof panels. The plurality of exterior wall panels may include two or more end panels that define respective gables. Each of the end panels may define a plurality of end panel apertures. Each of the two or more side wall panels may have a fourth wall flange that abuts an end panel from among the two or more end panels and defines a plurality of fourth flange apertures that align with the plurality of end panel apertures of the end panel.
The plurality of exterior wall panels may comprise a first side wall panel, a second side wall panel connected to and coplanar with the first side wall panel, a first end panel connected to and perpendicular to the second side wall panel, a third side wall panel connected to and perpendicular to the first end panel and parallel to the first and second side wall panels, a fourth side wall panel connected to and coplanar with the third side wall panel, and a second end panel connected to and perpendicular to the first side wall panel and the fourth side wall panel. The one or more roof panels may comprise a first roof panel connected to the first side wall panel, a second roof panel connected to the second side wall panel, a third roof panel connected to the third side wall panel and the second roof panel, and a fourth roof panel connected to the fourth side wall panel and the first roof panel. A total weight of the one or more floor panels, the plurality of exterior wall panels, and the one or more roof panels may be under 500 pounds.
Each of the floor panels may have a floor flange that extends downward to raise the floor panel off an underlying ground or support surface.
The portable shelter may further comprise one or more threaded feet operable to adjust an elevation of the one or more floor panels off an underlying ground or support surface.
At least one of the exterior wall panels may define a door opening.
The portable shelter may further comprise a solar panel disposed on the one or more roof panels.
The portable shelter may further comprise a plurality of threaded fasteners fastening the one or more floor panels to the flanges of the plurality of exterior wall panels via the aligned pluralities of apertures. The plurality of threaded fasteners may comprise a plurality of bolts and corresponding nuts.
Another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure is a method of assembling a portable shelter. The method may comprise providing a floor panel and an exterior wall panel, the floor panel and the exterior wall panel each including a foam core and two fiberglass sheets sandwiching the foam core, aligning a plurality of apertures defined by the floor panel with a plurality of apertures defined by a flange of the exterior wall panel, and inserting a threaded fastener through the floor panel and the flange of the exterior wall panel via the aligned pluralities of apertures.
The flange of the exterior wall panel may be a first flange of a plurality of flanges of the exterior wall panel. The method may further comprise providing another exterior wall panel including a foam core and two fiberglass sheets sandwiching the foam core, aligning a plurality of apertures defined by a flange of the another exterior wall panel with a plurality of apertures defined by a second flange of the plurality of flanges of the exterior wall panel, and inserting a threaded fastener through the flange of the another exterior wall panel and the second flange of the exterior wall panel via the aligned pluralities of apertures. The method may further comprise providing a roof panel including a foam core and two fiberglass sheets sandwiching the foam core, aligning a plurality of apertures defined by the roof panel with a plurality of apertures defined by a third flange of the plurality of flanges of the exterior wall panel, and inserting a threaded fastener through the roof panel and the third flange of the exterior wall panel via the aligned pluralities of apertures. The method may further comprise providing an end panel including a foam core and two fiberglass sheets sandwiching the foam core, aligning a plurality of apertures defined by the end panel with a plurality of apertures defined by a fourth flange of the plurality of flanges of the exterior wall panel, and inserting a threaded fastener through the end panel and the fourth flange of the exterior wall panel via the aligned pluralities of apertures.
Another aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure is an exterior wall panel for use in assembling a portable shelter. The exterior wall panel may comprise a foam core and two fiberglass sheets sandwiching the foam core, one of the two fiberglass sheets having one or more flanges that extend perpendicular to the fiberglass sheet, the one or more flanges defining a plurality of spaced apertures.
The one or more flanges may extend about an entire perimeter of the fiberglass sheet.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
The present disclosure encompasses various embodiments of portable shelters and assembly methods and components thereof. The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of several currently contemplated embodiments and is not intended to represent the only form in which the disclosed invention may be developed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and features in connection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure. It is further understood that the use of relational terms such as first and second and the like are used solely to distinguish one from another entity without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities.
Although not by way of limitation, there may be, for example, twelve separate panels that are assembled together utilizing conventional screw fasteners with a caulking or gasket material positioned between adjacent panel connections to prevent water intrusion. Due to its fiberglass/foam panel construction, both inside and outside surfaces of the portable shelter 10 can be quickly and easily disinfected and sanitized via conventional spray/power washing cleaning techniques. Due to a gel coating on the fiberglass exterior and interior surfaces, the panels will not rot or deteriorate over time, nor will they require painting or maintenance.
As shown in
As best shown in
Each of the floor panels 40, 42 may include a floor flange 80 that extends downward to raise the floor panel 40, 42 off an underlying ground or support structure. The floor flange 80 may, for example, extend vertically downward about the perimeter of the floor panel 40, 42. In addition, the portable shelter 10 may include one or more threaded feet 82 operable to adjust an elevation of the one or more floor panels 40, 42 off the underlying ground or support surface. The one or more threaded feet 82 may be utilized to adjust for elevational differences in the ground or support surface so that the portable shelter 10 provides a level living space.
A side wall panel 12 is illustrated in
Where the roof panels 30, 32, 36, 38 meet each other, they may be connected together using flanges in an analogous fashion as described above in relation to the other panels. For example, horizontally adjacent roof panels 30 and 32 (see
A door, windows or optional bed may be incorporated into the shelter as illustrated in
Owing to the flanged panel construction described above, no nails, glue or trim pieces are required to assemble the portable shelter 10. The various exterior wall, floor, and roof panels 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 30, 32, 36, 38, 40, 42 may be easily assembled and disassembled as needed with the use of ordinary threaded fasteners. When in a disassembled state, the panels may be cost effectively shipped as they can simply be stacked on a truck, for example. Additionally, due to their fiberglass construction, the inside and outside surfaces of all the panels are waterproof and thereby facilitate a safe, fast and inexpensive way to disinfect and sanitize the portable shelter 10. The portable shelter 10 may exceed typical building code standards for snow, wind, rain and earthquake resistance, and, owing to a gel coat, for example, the fiberglass panels will not require painting or other maintenance. It has been found that due to the fiberglass/foam structure of the individual panels, the overall weight of the portable shelter 10 may be under 500 pounds, e.g. approximately 450 pounds with the dimensions of the shelter being a six-feet by ten-feet floor plan with an eight-feet ceiling height at its peak. The portable shelter 10 is secure and stout for providing safe, inexpensive and sustainable shelter particularly adapted for homeless populations, while being easily erected and disassembled and transported as desired.
In the illustrated example of the portable shelter 10, each of the side panels 12, 14, 16, 18 may be an approximately five-feet by seven-feet rectangle, for example, with each of the end panels 20, 22 being an approximately six-feet by seven-feet rectangle, discounting the gable portion. Each of the floor panels 40, 42 may be an approximately five-feet by six-feet rectangle, and each of the roof panels 30, 32, 36, 38 may be an approximately five-feet by four-feet rectangle, for example, depending on the desired height of the pitched roof. Although particular materials and sizing have been defined in this application by way of example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed portable shelter 10 is not limited thereby, and that various modifications of the same can be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, the number of panels and their particular arrangement may vary depending on the desired size and shape of the portable shelter.
The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.
This application relates to and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/004,629 filed Apr. 3, 2020, the entire contents of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20210310234 A1 | Oct 2021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63004629 | Apr 2020 | US |