Patent Application
20250101739
The present invention relates to a roof module for distributing conveying components between a roof space and an inside of a facility, and an associated method of installation.
The construction industry is known to have a chronically low level of productivity that has changed very little in the past seventy years. It is thought that the low level of productivity is a consequence of the generally accepted need for bespoke buildings to be developed for particular applications combined with ‘tried-and-tested’ construction methods.
Bespoke buildings can take several years to design, construct and validate which is slow and by implication costly. Furthermore, building designs are also often subject to changes as a project progresses and, in some circumstances, buildings must be further modified after completion to comply with a change in requirements, expansion or cost constraints.
The problem is particularly acute for research and medical facilities which often need to be constructed rapidly and which must be flexible to accommodate changes to their end use. For example, laboratory facilities such as vaccine development facilities, advanced therapy medicinal product facilities and cell and gene therapy facilities are often planned and initiated very quickly, with a need for them to be constructed and commissioned in several months rather than several years and to be adaptable during and after construction.
In addition, once a building has been constructed, it is typically time consuming and costly to install service networks of conveying components, such as ventilation systems, piping networks and electrical networks, in the building.
It can be desirable to locate plant equipment, such as HVAC systems, electrical generators and the like, on the roof of a facility rather than within a plant room inside the facility. This can save space within the facility, provide easier access to plant equipment for installation, maintenance and inspection purposes, and make the facility easier to reconfigure by adding, removing or replacing plant equipment as needed.
However, locating plant equipment on the roof of a facility manufactured using conventional construction techniques can have several disadvantages. It can increase project cost, complexity and duration by requiring a bespoke design and installation to connect the plant equipment on the roof to the service network inside the facility via suitable conveying components. It can also make the facility less easily reconfigurable.
There is a need to provide a modular building system that addresses some or all of the above-described disadvantages.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is provided a roof module for distributing conveying components between a roof and an inside of a facility. The roof module comprises: a lid comprising an upper surface, a lower surface and one or more apertures extending therebetween, the one or more apertures for receiving one or more conveying components, the conveying components arranged to convey at least one of a fluid, power and an electrical signal; and a riser arranged to support one or more conveying components. The lower surface of the lid is a roof sealing surface wherein, in use, the lower surface makes contact with a facility roof to cover an aperture in the roof, and wherein the riser is located adjacent to the lower surface of the lid such that, when the lower surface covers the aperture, the riser is located inside the aperture to support the conveying components inside the facility.
Optionally, the riser comprises an upper surface, and the riser upper surface is secured to or integrally formed with the lid lower surface.
Optionally, the lid is a lid plate and the riser is a riser frame.
Optionally, the lid lower surface has at least one external dimension that is greater than an external dimension of the riser.
Optionally, the lid upper surface comprises one or more lifting lugs.
Optionally, the riser comprises a lower surface, and the roof module further comprises a further riser secured to the riser lower surface.
Optionally, the roof module further comprises a further riser secured to the lid upper surface.
Optionally, in use, the roof module is located relative to an aperture in a roof of a facility such that the lid lower surface is in contact with the roof and covers the aperture, and the riser is located inside the aperture.
Optionally, the roof module further comprises one or more conveying components located within the one or more lid apertures and supported by the riser.
Optionally, the plurality of conveying components comprise at least one of ventilation ducting, electrical cable, electrical busbar, and fluid piping.
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of installing a roof module on a roof of a facility. The method comprises: forming an aperture in the roof; and positioning a roof module according to the first aspect relative to the aperture such that the roof sealing surface of the lid makes contact with the roof to cover the aperture and the riser is located inside the aperture.
Optionally, the method further comprises securing one or more conveying components to the riser and passing the one or more conveying components through the lid apertures.
Advantageously, the roof module can be quickly and easily installed within an aperture in a roof of a facility. The roof aperture can have a predetermined shape and size arranged to engage with the roof module. The roof aperture can be specified during the design of the facility.
Advantageously, the roof module provides a quick and convenient way of routing conveying components of a service network, such as electrical cable or fluid ducting, from a roof space to the inside of a facility.
Advantageously, the roof module is modular, easy and quick to install and reconfigure, and allows plant equipment to be located on a roof and connected to a service network to supply services to the inside of the facility.
Advantageously, the roof modules can be manufactured partly or fully off-site and can be easily and quickly installed on-site.
Various further features and aspects of the invention are defined in the claims.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the meaning commonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which this invention belongs.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings where like parts are provided with corresponding reference numerals and in which:
The roof module 100 is used to distribute conveying components, such as electrical cable or fluid ducting, between a roof space and an inside of a facility such as a manufacturing, research or patient treatment facility. The conveying components can be used, for example, to connect plant equipment located on the roof to rooms or equipment located inside the facility.
The roof module 100 is arranged to be partially enclosed within and to seal an aperture in the roof of a facility. The roof module 100 comprises a lid and a riser. The lid is provided by a lid plate 101. The riser is provided by a riser frame 102.
The lid plate 101 is a substantially flat plate comprising a lower surface 103 and an upper surface 104. The lower surface 103 is a roof sealing surface. When installed in a facility the lower surface 103 makes contact with the facility roof to cover and thereby seal an aperture in the roof.
The lid plate 101 comprises a plurality of apertures including a first aperture 105a, a second aperture 105b, a third aperture 105c, a fourth aperture 105d and a fifth aperture 105e. The apertures extend through the lid plate 101 between the lower surface 103 and the upper surface 104. The apertures are arranged to receive conveying components to provide a path for the conveying components to pass from the roof space to the inside of the facility. The apertures are typically sized to receive a particular type of conveying component.
It will be appreciated that different numbers, sizes and positioning of apertures can be provided in the lid plate 101 depending on the number and type of conveying components intended to be routed through the roof module 100.
The conveying components are arranged to convey at least one of a fluid, power and an electrical signal. The conveying components can include, for example, electrical cable, electrical busbar, ventilation ducts, and fluid supply and return pipes. The conveying components typically form part of a service network for the facility. Typically, the conveying components are connected to plant equipment located on the roof of the facility which provides services to rooms and equipment within the facility.
In this embodiment, the first aperture 105a and second aperture 105b are arranged to receive supply and return ventilation ducting for an HVAC system, the third aperture 105c and fourth aperture 105d are arranged to receive gas supply and return piping, and the fifth aperture 105e is arranged to receive electrical cabling or busbar.
The upper surface 104 comprises lifting lugs including first lifting lug 106a, second lifting lug 106b, third lifting lug 106c and fourth lifting lug 106d. The lifting lugs can be used to lift the roof module 100 into place over an aperture in a roof during installation.
The riser frame 102 comprises an upper surface that is secured to or integrally formed with the lower surface 103 of the lid plate 101. In use, the riser frame 102 is located below the lid plate 101 such that the riser frame 102 extends down from the lid plate 101 into a facility.
The riser frame 102 comprises upright members, horizontal members and cross members. The riser frame 102 is arranged to support one or more conveying components below the lid plate 101. The riser frame 102 can support conveying components by any suitable means. For example, conveying components can be directly secured to the riser frame 102. Alternatively or additionally, supports can be secured to the riser frame 102 and used to support the conveying components. For example, a suitable support for electrical cabling is a cable tray.
The riser frame 102 can be secured to one or more further risers to distribute the conveying components further into a facility. For example, a further riser can be secured to a lower surface of the riser frame 102 to support the conveying components as they pass lower into the facility. Alternatively, or additionally, the riser frame 102 can be secured to one or more further risers adjacent to the riser frame 102 such that services can pass horizontally within a facility.
The riser frame 102 is sized to fit within an aperture in a facility and the lid plate 101 is sized to cover the aperture. As such, the lid plate 101 has at least one external dimension that is larger than an external dimension of the riser frame 102. In the embodiment shown in
The lid plate 101 and riser frame 102 are composed of a suitable material such as steel.
The roof module 200 substantially corresponds with the roof module of
A first conveying component 204a, a second conveying component 204b and a third conveying component 204c are provided. The first conveying component 204a, second conveying component 204b and third conveying component 204c are received within corresponding apertures in the lid plate 201 and are supported inside a facility 205 by the riser frame 202.
As shown in
The roof aperture can be flush with the top surface of the roof as shown in
The roof module 200 is typically manufactured off-site in a factory and is then transported to the site where the facility is being constructed.
A method of installing a roof module will now be described with reference to
An aperture is formed in a roof 203 of a facility. The aperture has a predetermined size and shape to cooperate with the roof module 200. The aperture is sized and shaped such that the riser frame 202 can fit inside the aperture but the lid plate 201 cannot.
Typically, a suitably sized aperture is specified in the architectural design of the facility. The aperture can be provided by any suitable construction technique. For example, the edges of the aperture can be defined by concrete or steel upright or horizontal members intended to support the roof module 200.
The roof module 200 is positioned relative to the aperture such that the riser frame 202 is located inside the aperture and the lid plate 201 makes contact with the roof 203 and covers the aperture. In this position, the roof sealing surface of the lid plate 201 is in contact with the roof 203. The roof module 200 is typically positioned relative to the aperture using a crane connected the roof module 200 by lifting lugs (not shown) located on the lid plate 201.
In certain examples, a rubber pad can be provided on the roof 203 around the edge of the roof aperture, and the lid plate 201 can be supported on the pad. This can reduce water ingress into the facility around the edges of the roof module 200.
Once positioned, the roof module 200 can be secured to the facility using a suitable fixing method (for example, using one or more bolts).
Once the roof module has been positioned, the first conveying component 204a, second conveying component 204b and third conveying component 204c are passed through the apertures in the lid plate 201 and secured to the riser frame 202. In this way, the roof module 200 seals the roof but allows the conveying components to pass from a roof space 206 to the inside of the facility 205 through the roof module 200.
Advantageously, the roof module 200 can be pre-manufactured and quickly and easily installed on-site. Advantageously, the roof module 200 can be installed and the conveying components can be fitted quickly and reliably. Advantageously, the roof module 200 can have a standard size or sizes to allow suitable roof apertures to be specified during design of the facility. Advantageously, the roof module 200 can increase the ease with which a service network can be installed in a facility.
Advantageously, the roof module 200 can make it easier to provide plant equipment on the roof of a facility and to distribute the services within the facility.
The roof module 200 corresponds with the roof module described with reference to
The roof module 200 corresponds with the roof module described with reference to
The upper riser 301 can be used to raise the height of the conveying components above the roof, for example for connecting the conveying components to other service distribution modules or to plant equipment located on the roof.
In certain embodiments, the upper riser 301 can comprise one or more external panels to provide a housing around the frame. The panels can form an enclosed space within the upper riser 301 to protect the one or more conveying components from the local environmental conditions. In certain embodiments, the upper riser 301 can comprise plant equipment located inside the frame. The plant equipment can be connected to the one or more conveying components.
In certain embodiments, the roof module 200 can include both a lower riser 300 and an upper riser 301.
All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features. The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.
With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.
It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” or “comprising” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).
It will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope being indicated by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2314687.1 | Sep 2023 | GB | national |
