Prefabricated foldable building module
OwnerMatthew Dynoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A prefabricated foldable building module including a central core comprising first and second opposing fixed walls with roof and floor beams interposed therebetween; a plurality of vertically foldably connected walls mounted upon the first and second walls foldable out therefrom; a pair of roof panels, each foldably connected adjacent said roof beam; a pair of floor panels each foldably connected adjacent floor beam: characterized in that the wall panels, roof panels and floor panels may be folded out from their supporting structures in a defined sequence to form an enclosed/partly enclosed building structure, and may be re-folded in reverse sequence to original configuration. Standard modules can be stretched, or joined side by side, end to end or one on top of the other to form larger buildings.
Claims21
A prefabricated, foldable building module, including:
- a central core, including a central roof portion, a central floor portion and two opposing fixed walls extending between the central roof portion and the central floor portion;
- a plurality of foldable wall panels including side wall panels each foldably connected to one of the opposing fixed walls and foldable out therefrom and end wall panels each foldably connected to one of the side wall panels and foldable out therefrom;
- roof panels, each being foldably connected to the central roof portion and foldable out therefrom such that the roof panels swing outwards and upwards on opposite sides of the central core;
- floor panels, each being foldably connected to the central floor portion and foldable out therefrom such that the floor panels swing outwards and downwards on opposite sides of the central core,
- wherein the module is moveable between, a folded configuration, in which the foldable wall panels, roof panels and floor panels are stowed at least one of partially within and substantially adjacent the central core, and
- an erected configuration, in which the wall panels are outwardly folded from the central core such that the side walls extend from the two opposing fixed walls and the end walls extend between the respective side walls, the floor panels are outwardly folded from the central core so as to extend from opposing sides of the central floor portion and the roof panels are outwardly folded from the central core so as to extend from opposing sides of the central roof portion,
- wherein in the erected configuration, the central roof portion is recessed relative to tops of the end wall panels and leading edges of the roof panels are positioned inside of and below the tops of the end wall panels such that the roof panels slope downwardly toward the central roof portion, and
- wherein the central roof and floor portions are each narrower in plan form than the two opposing fixed walls so as to define recesses between ends of the two opposing fixed walls and side edges of the respective central roof and floor portions, the recesses providing a depth such that the roof panels, floor panels and at least one of the plurality of foldable wall panels are received by the recesses in the folded configuration.
A method of assembling a building from a prefabricated, foldable building module, the method including the steps of:
- folding wall panels connected to opposing fixed end walls of a central core of the module outwardly from within recesses on opposing sides of the central core to form outer walls of the building, the recesses being provided between ends of the opposing fixed end walls and side edges of a respective central roof and floor portions of the central core, the central roof and floor portions being each narrower in plan form than the fixed end walls, and the wall panels including side wall panels foldably connected to the ends of the opposing fixed end walls of the central core and end wall panels foldably connected to the side wall panels;
- folding floor panels connected to the central floor portion outwardly from the recesses and downwardly relative to the central floor portion of the central core so as to form a floor between the outer walls of the building;
- and
- folding roof panels connected to the central roof portion outwardly from within the recesses and upwardly relative to the central roof portion supported by the fixed walls of the central core so as to form a roof between the outer walls of the building over the floor, the roof panels being supported by and positioned inside of and below tops of the end wall panels such that the roof panels slope downwardly toward the roof portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.