Patent Application
20240417967
The present disclosure is related to shelters and, more particularly, to a rigid, collapsible, reusable shelter and system for storing and deployment in singularity or as a community.
Many changes in a person's personal situation can result in the need for transitional housing. On the natural side, displacement from one's home can result from fire, hurricane, flood, landslides, and other natural and human causes. On the “man-made” side this can include loss of income due to medical tragedy, loss of employment, drug or alcohol addiction, release from incarceration with no place to live, mental illness, and the like. Another possible need for transitional housing is increased capacity for existing disaster or homeless shelters, temporary housing for firefighters in the field, migrant farm workers, etc.
While all of the foregoing events and the resulting needs have similarities, there are obvious differences. Given that many of these needs or applications require land, and many of the applications have neighbors that may not necessarily want to have these types of “encampments” in close proximity to their property, and certainly not be permanent encampments, the solution requires a quick and easy to deliver, quick and easy to set up, quick and easy to disassemble, and quick and easy to move system while at the same time providing a shelter that is adequate in size, out of the weather, safe and secure for the occupants and their loved ones and provide some level of privacy. Many, if not all, of these needs and applications are by no means new and many solutions to the problems have been utilized over the decades if not centuries.
In the simplest sense, the homeless can be found under bridges or in commercial doorways. There are some homeless that have lived in tents on underutilized land or, most recently, on public lands. There are many agencies that can provide short term shelter beds. More recently a small collection of very wealthy individuals is cooperating to provide “affordable housing,” but the cost for most tenants is still considerably out of reach, and the ability to provide a scalable solution is also unattainable due to the high capital investment. All of these options provide some or many of the solutions to the need for transitional housing, but few if any provide a comprehensive list of solutions.
The present disclosure provides small shelter units that are more durable and have a longer life than a tent, are cost effective and therefore scalable to meet the ever-growing problem of homelessness, are easy to deliver, quick and easy to set up with minimal tools required, easily moveable (light), can provide sleeping shelter for up to four adults, provide a very modest amount of living space during the day, provide a modest level of storage in a secure (lockable) structure, easily cleaned, can be cleaned, disassembled, packaged, and stored in a very small volume, and readily deliverable to the next site quickly and easily.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a shelter is provided that includes a floor having at least three corners; at least three rigid walls attachable to the floor, each rigid wall of the at least three rigid walls comprising an exterior surface and an interior surface, a first side edge and a second side edge, the first and second side edges attachable to an adjacent rigid wall using an interlocking finger joint. Each of the at least three rigid walls further includes at least two through holes formed at the first side edge and at least two through holes formed at the second side edge, all of the at least two through holes communicate with the exterior surface and interior surface of the respective rigid wall and are positioned to communicate with the at least two through holes of an adjacent rigid wall when the at least three rigid walls are assembled together. A wall connector plate is located at each through hole on the exterior surface of a respective rigid wall. A roof is attachable to the at least three walls, the roof having a number of corners equal to the number of walls, an exterior surface, and an interior surface; as well as a floor attachable to the roof and the at least three rigid walls. A hold down system is connectable to each corner of the roof and the floor to hold the roof, the at least three rigid walls, and the floor in compression, the hold down system including at least one rod positionable at each corner of the roof and sized to extend through the roof, and attach to the roof and the floor; and the shelter having a deployed configuration in which the floor, the at least three rigid walls, and the roof are attached together via the hold down system to form a shelter that defines an enclosed interior, the shelter having a palletized configuration in which the at least three rigid walls, the roof, and the floor are layered on a rigid pallet.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the shelter has a deployed configuration in which the floor, the at least three walls, and the roof are attached together via the hold down system to form a shelter that defines an enclosed interior, the shelter having a palletized configuration in which the at least three rigid walls, the roof, and the floor are layered on a rigid pallet.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present disclosure, the shelter includes a wall connector plate located at each through hole on the exterior surface of a respective rigid wall.
In accordance with still yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the shelter further includes an anchoring system that includes an anchor, and an anchor bolt having a first end attachable to the floor and the second end attachable to the anchor.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the shelter further includes a foundation system that comprises a foundation form with at least three corners, concrete cured in the foundation form, and an anchor bolt extending from each of the corners, each anchor bolt attachable to a respective corner of the floor.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present disclosure, each of the at least three rigid walls further comprises at least two through holes formed at the first side edge and at least two through holes formed at the second side edge, all of the at least two through holes communicate with the exterior surface and interior surface of the respective rigid wall and are positioned to communicate with the at least two through holes of an adjacent rigid wall when the at least three rigid walls are assembled together.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the shelter further includes at least one internal wall having a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge, the first and second lateral edges attachable to an adjacent rigid wall using an interlocking finger joint, each of the at least one internal walls further including at least two internal wall through holes formed at the first lateral edge. At least two central through holes are formed in at least one of the at least three rigid walls located medially relative to the side edges of the respective rigid wall. The at least two internal wall through holes communicate with a first surface and the first lateral edge of the respective internal wall and are positioned to communicate with the at least two central through holes when the internal wall is assembled with the respective rigid wall. The internal wall may also have at least two internal wall through holes formed at the second lateral edge of the at least one internal wall, the through holes positioned to communicate with at least two central through holes on a second rigid wall. A wall connector plate is inserted into the through hole on the exterior of the second rigid wall and a through bolt extends through the second rigid wall, the at least one internal wall, and the wall connector plate. The through bolt is secured in place with a nut.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, the hold down system includes a leveling nut and washer to enable leveling of the floor.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more readily appreciated as the same become better understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosed implementations. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognize that implementations may be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures or components or both associated with the use of ISO containers, laundry facilities and equipment, toilets, water and electrical supplies have not been shown or described in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the implementations.
Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims that follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, such as “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open inclusive sense, that is, as “including, but not limited to.” The foregoing applies equally to the words “including” and “having.”
Reference throughout this description to “one implementation” or “an implementation” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the implementation is included in at least one implementation. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one implementation” or “in an implementation” in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same implementation. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more implementations.
By way of general description, the present disclosure provides shelters that are small, compact dwelling structures, built with light-weight, strong, and relatively inexpensive materials, into a structure that, through the design of the structure itself, further increase the strength of the dwelling unit by nature of the design of the structural elements into a “whole that is stronger than the sum of the pieces.” The shelter is one of the basic building blocks of a community model in which the basic building blocks of the community are selected and sized so as to fit within the same shipping container all of the necessary elements to support a full community. This very compact design enables the basic building blocks to be delivered to the site in one “package” that is easily unloaded and easily assembled. When the community needs to be moved, it can be quickly cleaned, broken down, repackaged, stored, and then shipped to the new location.
More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to a temporary shelter system that is an improvement upon applicant's patented Palletized Shelter System, U.S. Pat. No. 10,260,228, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In this improved design, the structural integrity of a base or floor is designed with metal joists and composite floor panel as the interior walkable finished surface. There are at least three walls made of a structural composite material that interlock at the floor, corners, and roof. At the wall corners, wall connector plates pull together the corners with a bolt and nut. These wall connectors can also be used to extend wall lengths to form larger shelters.
Connecting the roof to the base, while encapsulating the walls, are threaded rods with roof connector plates, waterproof nuts and rubber washers. These rods place the shelter in tension providing resistance to wind and other environmental forces. To quickly anchor the structure to the ground, an optional metal foundation system is weighted with material to counteract the predicted uplift per the consumers requirements. These materials can be concrete, asphalt, sandbags, gravel, etc. The foundation system frame, acting as a counterweight, is positively connected to the base, walls and roof via the threaded rods, washers, gaskets and waterproof nuts. The foundation sits directly on whatever grade or subgrade of the customer's choosing.
The design of the present disclosure addresses several problems pertaining to portable shelters, as discussed below:
1. Problem: Too much dependence on aluminum and other metal components. Too many bolts are required to secure the structure. Current shelters utilize aluminum and other metals, which are costly, heavy, conductive during temperature swings leading to condensation, are labor intensive to make, complicated to manufacture consistently to tight tolerances, and provide a less desirable esthetic. There can also be sharp corners with exposed metal pieces which is a safety concern to end users and customers.
Solution: Utilizing structural composite panels, including the unique wall connector plates, bolts, and interlocking (finger joint) panel edges all work to create an extremely robust connection requiring no metal wall studs. This design provides superior shear strength at the wall-to-wall connection points. No metal studs are needed in the walls or roof system.
2. Problem: The connection of wall studs and roof joists to the composite panel walls and structural base of the current shelter is cumbersome and inaccurate during deployment. It also requires more bolts, nuts and connectors, slowing deployment of the emergency shelter.
Solution: In order to securely connect the roof to the walls, base and optional foundation system, the walls will have tabs that interlock into the bottom of the roof panel. The bottom of the walls is slotted on the inside and sit on the edge of the base. The roof is connected to the floor or foundation system or both using roof connector plates, threaded rods, and threaded inserts in the floor or couplers in the foundation.
3. Problem: The current shelter has an aluminum base with steel rods that extend from the sides of the base for anchoring. While this creates a common place to anchor, there is no consistent way to provide an anchoring system for the customer, which forces each customer to come up with a solution of their own. This may cause the anchoring system to be inadequate. There is also no consistent way to level the shelter. Often times customers need to use shims to level the shelter which is inconsistent and time consuming. The use of steel interacting with the aluminum structure can be the catalyst of aluminum breakdown over extended periods of time.
Solution: The introduction of an optional foundation system is a way to provide the customer with a predictable anchor connection and leveling system. The vertical rods of the new shelter are a positive connection point of the unit to the foundation frame or form. The foundation frame can be used with sandbags or other weight. It is also designed to provide a form for a concrete pad. No additional rebar or structural elements are required. When concrete is used, the unit can sit directly on the concrete pad once poured. The shelter can also be suspended above the foundation system and leveled utilizing the foundation frame and rod connection. A nut and washer are used to raise and lower each corner with supportive pedestals under the middle of the front wall as well as middle of the back wall.
Referring to
A roof 40 is provided for attachment to the four walls 26, 28, 30, 32, the roof 40 having four corners 42, an exterior surface 44, and an interior surface 46. The floor 22 is attachable to the roof 40 and the four rigid walls 26, 28, 30, 32, via a hold down system 50 connectable to each corner 42 of the roof 40 and each corner 24 of the floor 22 to hold the roof 40, the four rigid walls 26, 28, 30, 32, and the floor 22 in compression. Generally, the hold down system 50 includes at least one rod 52 positionable at each corner 42 of the roof 40 and is sized to extend through the roof 40 and attach to each corner 42 of the roof 40 and each corner 24 of the floor 22, which will be described more fully herein below.
As shown in
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a foundation system 54 is provided as shown in
Alternatively, instead of the foundation system 54 described above, an anchor system 70 can be utilized as shown in
As shown in
Because the walls 28, 32 meet at a right angle, the through hole 80 is at an approximate angle of 45 degrees to each wall 28, 32. In order to recess the through bolt 84 and nut 86 within each respective wall 28, 32, the initial portion of the through hole 80 is enlarged to accommodate recessing of the wall connector plate 82 as shown in
As shown in
The internal wall through holes 110 located at the first lateral edge 104 communicate with the first surface 112 and the first lateral edge 104 of the respective internal wall 102 and are positioned to communicate with the at least two central through holes 81 of an adjacent rigid wall 26, 28, 30, 32 when the internal wall 102 is assembled with the respective rigid wall 26, 28, 30, 32. A wall connector plate 82 is inserted on the exterior of each rigid wall 26, 28, 30, 32 and a through bolt 84 extends through the adjacent internal wall 102 and the wall connector plates 82 and is secured in place with a nut 86 as shown in
Because the internal wall 102 meets the respective rigid wall 26, 28, 30, 32 at a right angle, the central through holes 81 and internal wall through holes 110 are each located at an approximate angle of 45 degrees to each wall 102, 26, 28, 30, 32. In order to recess the through bolt 84 and nut 86 within each respective wall 102, 26, 28, 30, 32, the initial portion of the through hole 81, 110 is enlarged to accommodate recessing of the wall connector plate 82 as shown in
The internal wall 102 may also have at least two internal wall through holes 110 formed at the second lateral edge of the internal wall 102. The internal wall through holes 110 are positioned to communicate with at least two central through holes 81 on a second rigid wall 26, 28, 30, 32. The second lateral edge of the internal wall 102 is attached to the second rigid wall 26, 28, 30, 32 using interlocking finger joints, through holes 110, 81, wall connector plates 82, through bolts 84, and nuts 86 as described previously.
While the shelter 20 may have four exterior walls, described herein as the front wall 26, back wall 28, and two side walls 30, 32, it should be appreciated that the shelter 20 may have more than four exterior walls or as few as three exterior walls. In embodiments in which the structure has greater or fewer than four walls, the corresponding components vary in number and arrangement accordingly. For example, in a shelter 20 with five externals walls, the floor 22 and roof 40 respectively have five corners 24 and the hold down system 50 includes at least one rod 52 positionable at each of the five corners 42 of the roof 40. Likewise, in a shelter 20 with five external walls, the foundation system (if used) has five corners 58. Alternatively, in a shelter 20 with five external walls that uses an anchor system 70, each corner 24 of the floor 22 attaches to the first end 76 of the anchor bolt 74. The angle of the through holes 80 to each external wall likewise changes according to the angle at which the external walls are positioned relative to each other.
The various implementations described above can be combined to provide further implementations. Aspects of the implementations can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further implementations.
The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments.
These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63508147 | Jun 2023 | US |
