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US 6,625,937 B1Granted
Modular building and method of construction
AssigneeSunrise Holding, Ltd.
InventorsRobert Parker, Cecil Wondrash, Matt Tindol, Barham Moss, Chris Church, Doug Brown, Kyle Brock, Don Gehring, Sudhir Gholkar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of constructing low cost housing is disclosed in which modules are produced in a manufacturing facility and are transported to a building site on trailers and lifted into place with a crane. A few standard modules are produced and may be arranged in various configurations to produce a variety of floor plans.
Claims18
A method of constructing residential buildings comprising:
- providing a manufacturing facility configured to produce a plurality of types of building modules wherein each module is constructed on a skid, and wherein construction of said module comprises constructing a floor frame, including floor joists and a subfloor, and a ceiling frame, said floor frame and ceiling frame being bonded to structural columns to provide a structural frame for said module;
- constructing interior and exterior walls of said module in jigs, attaching sheathing to said interior and exterior walls;
- and attaching said walls to said structural frame;
- and
- constructing said module to a semi-finished state in said manufacturing facility;
- transporting said semi-finished modules to a construction site on trailers;
- preparing a foundation for said residential buildings said foundation providing structural support for each of said structural columns;
- lifting said modules from said trailers with a crane;
- attaching said modules to said foundation;
- wherein said structural columns comprise hollow steel tubes, and wherein said foundation comprises cone shaped projections configured to insert into said hollow steel tubes when said modules are set on said foundation, and wherein attaching said module to said foundation comprises welding said projections into said tubes;
- and
- connecting utilities to said modules and constructing modules to a finished state;
- wherein a plurality of modules are arranged to provide a residence;
- and further wherein at least a portion of said types of modules may be configured with alternate adjoining modules to produce a plurality of floor plans.
11 more elements
A method of constructing a modular building comprising:
- (a) producing a plurality of modules in a manufacturing facility, wherein each module is produced by constructing a substantially rectangular steel frame that defines and supports the perimeter of the floor and ceiling of each module and wherein said steel frame is bonded to vertical support columns;
- and wherein
- (i) each module is configured to provide a part of the floor plan of a finished unit;
- (ii) each module is substantially rectangular in shape with a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls, and each module is configured so that the side walls of each module extend from the front to the rear of a building constructed with the modules during use;
- (iii) the modules are designed to be disposed in parallel alignment with their side walls abutting to form a common wall between modules and with openings in the side walls of the modules to provide passageways between modules within a unit;
- and
- (iv) the modules may be configured to produce two or more floor plans for units within a building during use;
- (b) constructing each module to a semi-finished state in the manufacturing facility, comprising adding to each module a floor, exterior and interior walls and a ceiling;
- (c) preparing a building site by placing concrete foundation piers in the ground for each ground floor module of a building wherein each foundation pier is configured to align with and provide a foundation for one or two vertical support members and wherein each pier is topped with one or two projections configured to extend into the bottom of a vertical support member when a module is placed on said piers during use;
- wherein said vertical support members comprise hollow steel tubes, and wherein said foundation comprises cone shaped projections configured to insert into said hollow steel tubes when said modules are set on said foundation, and wherein attaching said module to said foundation comprises welding said projections into said tubes;
- (d) transporting individual modules to said building site and placing said modules on said concrete piers;
- and
- (e) attaching abutting modules with welded joints to construct one or more complete units in said building.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.