Structures incorporating interlocking wall modules

Abstract

A prefabricated dormitory or other rigid wall structure is defined by a plurality of prefabricated components. The prefabricated components include corner alignment posts, in-line connection alignment posts, and T-connection posts. Each of the posts includes two or more alignment grooves to either connect prefabricated wall panels at right angles, for a corner, in-line for the extension of a wall in a co-planar manner, or include three alignment grooves for a T-connection wall.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to the construction of prefabricated structures incorporating interlocking walls constructed from plate steel which are guided and positioned through the use of tongue and groove guide elements.

[0003] 2. Description of Prior Art

[0004] In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the population housed by our prison system. Prisons have become overcrowded with inmates, with some cells housing more that twice the recommended number of inmates. One reason for this overcrowding relates to the high cost associated with the building of prisons which are adequately secure to house prisoners. The lengthy construction time required to construct secure units also adds cost to unit, thereby also contributing to the overcrowding problem.

[0005] In an effort to reduce construction costs and times, prefabricated prison cells have been developed. These prefabricated prison cells are modular in design, meaning, each cell comprises an individual, separate unit with the components of each cell being manufactured at a facility distant from the final location of the prison facility. Upon arrival at the final location, the individual components may then be assembled, forming an individual cell unit. These individual cell units are then assembled adjacent to one another creating a cell block. In forming a cell block, the individual cells must be carefully aligned so as to form a cohesive-looking structure. It is the difficulty encountered in properly aligning the individual cells in creating the cell block toward which this invention is directed.

[0006] Along these lines, the need occasionally arises in law enforcement to quickly construct temporary structures capable of housing dangerous individuals. These structures are often limited in size and weight due to the fact that they may be constructed within a more permanent structure or setting. For example, many court houses within the United States do not include holding cells or the like, making it difficult to bring dangerous prisoners to trial, as these prisoners must be transported from the local jail to the court house to stand trial. This represents an opportunity in which the dangerous prisoner may either escape or harm a guard during the transport process. Solutions to this problem have included converting a mediation room within the courthouse or something similar, into a temporary lock-up room. However, this presents a further problem, whereby the mediation room is being used for a purpose not intended. Further, employees of the court house may be caught unaware, perhaps due to poor communication, and may not realize that a mediation room previously reserved for that purpose has been transformed into a temporary holding cell. It is toward the construction of panelized prison cells that this invention may also be applied.

[0007] In addition to limitations encountered in housing prisoners, recent population expansion has increased the need for one-room classrooms, especially in rural areas. It is desirous that these classrooms be relatively inexpensive and have the capability of being constructed quickly and easily when compared to the traditional brick school houses traditionally employed. Along these lines, the present invention may be modified in order to facilitate the construction of relatively inexpensive school rooms, both sturdy enough to provide adequate protection to our children, and yet easily constructed so as to avoid substantial construction costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The objects of the invention have been accomplished by providing a prefabricated wall structure defining a plurality of rooms, each room having a front wall, a rear wall, and a pair of side walls, where some of said walls may be shared between rooms. The wall structure comprises a plurality of elongate wall panels having top and bottom edges, and side edges. A plurality of support posts have alignment grooves for receiving said side edges of said panels to join said panels.

[0009] In the preferred embodiment of the invention the post is defined as a post configured for a corner, with alignment grooves defined orthogonally of each other. In this configuration, the post is square in cross-section and includes alignment plates attached to adjacent sides of the post, in a spaced-apart manner so as to form the grooves.

[0010] Also in the preferred embodiment, the prefabricated wall structure has another post defined as a post configured for in-line connection, with alignment grooves defined in a co-planar relation with each other. In this configuration, the modular wall structure has a post which is square in cross-section and includes an alignment plate attached to a side wall of the post, in a spaced-apart manner so as to form said grooves.

[0011] The preferred embodiment also has a further post configuration, where the post is defined as a post configured for a T-connection, with alignment grooves for in-line connection, with alignment grooves defined in a co-planar relation with each other, and with a groove defined orthogonally of said two in-line grooves. The post in this configuration is square in cross-section and includes alignment plates attached to adjacent sides of the post, in a spaced-apart manner so as to form said orthogonal grooves, and with one of the plates having grooves extending from both sides thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] These and other features of the invention will become more apparent and the present invention will be better understood upon consideration of the following description and the accompany drawings, wherein:

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a double prefabricated dormitory construction in accordance with the disclosed invention;

[0014] FIG. 2 is a top floor plan view of the prefabricated dormitory disclosed in FIG. 1;

[0015] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the support post for an in-line connection;

[0016] FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the corner connection post;

[0017] FIG. 3C is a perspective view of the support post for the T-connection;

[0018] FIGS. 4A-4C show top plan views of the support posts of FIGS. 3A-3C, respectively;

[0019] FIG. 5 shows a magnified view of an in-line connection in accordance with the present invention of the two prefabricated dormitory shown in FIG. 1;

[0020] FIG. 6 shows a magnified view of a tongue and groove corner connection in accordance with the present invention of the two prefabricated dormitories shown in FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 7 shows a magnified view of a T-connection in accordance with the present invention of the two modular prison cells shown in FIG. 1;

[0022] FIGS. 8A and 8B show alternative embodiments for any of the posts shown in FIGS. 3A-3C;

[0023] FIGS. 9A and 9B show alternative embodiments to the posts shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B; and

[0024] FIG. 10 shows an alternate embodiment to that shown in FIG. 1, where a multi-story unit can be provided.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0025] The embodiments of the invention described herein are not intended to be exhaustive nor to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Rather, the embodiments selected for description have been selected to enable one skilled in the art to practice this invention.

[0026] Referring in detail to the drawings and with particular reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a prefabricated dormitory has been generally indicated by numeral 10, and comprises individual dormitories 12 and 14, but any number or plurality of individual dormitories could be assembled, given the hardware and discussion herein described. As shown in FIG. 1, the two dormitories are generally configured and defined by four corner post members 16, two T-shaped members 18, and a plurality of in-line posts shown generally at 20. It should be appreciated that each of the components is prefabricated in nature and therefore can be erected at the work site. With reference still to FIGS. 1 and 2, the dormitories also comprise panel sections 22, and angle sections 24, which circumscribe the dormitories structure 10.

[0027] With reference now to FIGS. 3A and 4A, the in-line connection, including in-line connector post 20, will be described in greater detail. The in-line post 20 is comprised of a generally square tube or post section 28, which is generally comprised of a structural steel material, which is formed in an elongate manner. An alignment groove assembly 30 is fixed to an outside of one of the walls of the tube 28 in a manner such as by welding. The alignment groove includes an outer alignment plate 32, which is mounted in a parallel manner to wall 34 of tube 28 and spaced apart by a spacer plate 36. It should be appreciated from viewing FIG. 4A that spacer plate 36 is defined with a much narrower width than alignment plate 32, leaving elongate alignment grooves 38 on opposite sides of the post for alignment of the steel panels 22, as will be described further herein. As shown best in FIG. 3A, plate 32 is shorter at the lower end than post 28, thereby forming an edge 40.

[0028] With reference now to FIGS. 3B and 4B, corner post 16 is shown having a substantially square post 44 having perpendicular side walls 46 and 48 to which parallel and spaced-apart walls 50 and 52 are attached by and through spacer plates 54 and 56, respectively. As with in-line post 20, the spacer plates 54 and 56 are narrower than their counterpart plates 50 and 52, thereby defining alignment grooves 58 and 60. As shown in FIG. 3B, plate 50 is shown with a lower edge 62 positioned above the end of post 44, and plate 52 is shown with a lower edge 64, as will be described herein.

[0029] With reference now to FIGS. 3C and 4C, the T-connection post 18 is shown comprising a square post member 70 having walls 72 and 74 to which spaced plates 76 and 78 are attached, by and through spacer plates 80 and 82. As before, the spaced-apart plates 76 and 78 define alignment grooves 84, 86 and 88. As shown best in FIG. 3C, plates 76 and 78 include lower edges 90 and 92, respectively, as will be described further herein.

[0030] As mentioned above, the panels 22 are each in prefabricated form, such that a plurality of panels 22 could be shipped to the work site, and assembled at the work site. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the steel panels 22 are each approximately 2′ in width, and rise to a height equal to the desired height for the ceiling. In the preferred embodiment, the panels 22 are steel sheets of approximately {fraction (3/16)}″ to ½″, but could comprise heavy-duty steel mesh for at least a portion of the panels in order that an observer can see into the dormitory and the occupant can see out of the dormitory. Moreover, while the construction shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 shows two solid dormitories, it would also be understood that one or two of the panels should be replaced by a door panel member for ingress and egress of dormitories 12 or 14. With the components as described above, the assembly of the cells will now be described in greater detail.

[0031] The assembly of the dormitories would begin by placement of one or more of the angle members along the floor in a longitudinal manner in a position where the dormitory construction is desired. As shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C, each of the posts has a notch created at the bottom of the post created by the lower edges 40, 62, 64, 90, and 92, respectively, such that this notch is placed with the spacer plates 36, 54, or 90, 92 abutting the back side of the angle member 24, as best shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the corner post 16 could be set with spacer plate 54 abutting the panel, which will thereby align the post 16 with the edge of the angle piece 24. It should be appreciated that the back side of the angle will also be co-planar with the inner surface of plate 32, and a steel plate 22 can be slidably received within alignment groove 60 of the corner member 16. The next post is an in-line post 20 positioned with one of the slots 38 joining the opposite side edge of the steel panel, again with its spacer plate 36 in abutment against the inside surface of the angle member 24.

[0032] Plate members 22 and in-line members 20 can continue until the inside corner of the wall is desired, that is, where placement of a T-connection post 18 is desired. When a T-connection is desired, the alignment groove 86 is positioned over the end edge of the last panel 22, again with the lower edge of spacer plate 82 abutting the angle member 24. At this point, another in-line panel could be positioned in slot 88 or the transverse or separation wall could be begun by placing a wall panel within alignment groove 84. It should be appreciated that the walls continue to be constructed as described above until the dormitories 12 and 14 are completed. It should also be appreciated that the panels and their connection posts are fixed in place with each other by some means, such as welding along a portion or the entirety of their interconnection seams.

[0033] It should also be understood that there may be differing requirements for ceiling structures. In some instances, it may be desired to have prefabricated dormitories installed within a building or room where a concrete ceiling is already in place. In this situation, several or all of the posts could take on the configuration of any of the posts shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, 9A or 9B, where the post includes a post section 100 with an attachment flange assembly positioned along the top of the post, shown as 102 in FIGS. 8A and 8B and shown as flange 112 in FIGS. 9A and 9B. In this situation, the posts would replace any of the posts 16, 18 or 20, but include their interlocking structure, but would extend upwardly to the ceiling and include fasteners extending through apertures such as 104, 114 to attach the posts 100, 110 to the ceiling.

[0034] In other instances, it may be desired to require a second story of dormitories, and in this case, as shown in FIG. 10, each of the corner posts, in-line posts and T-posts will be comprised of a more rigid and larger square post section, such as a 4″ tube member, as shown as items 160, 180, 200, respectively. In this case, the walls can be load-bearing walls, and include transverse I-beams 240 spanning across the walls. Given the wider nature of the posts 160, 180 and 200, an I-beam such as 240 can simply be placed on top of the post and welded securely in place. A concrete pan (not shown) can thereafter be placed over the top of the I-beams with a concrete floor being poured and set up within the pan, whereby the construction of the second story of walls will be identical to that for the lower set of walls and as identical to that described with reference to FIGS. 5-7.

[0035] In this manner a prefabricated wall construction is designed, whereby the walls or a plurality of dormitories can be constructed at a work site or within an existing building. The prefabricated walls, by and through the posts 16, 116; 18, 180; and 20,120 self-align the walls in parallel/perpendicular fashion for ease and accuracy of construction.

Claims

1. A prefabricated wall structure defining a plurality of rooms, each room having a front wall, a rear wall, and a pair of side walls, where some of said walls may be shared between rooms, said wall structure comprising:

a plurality of elongate wall panels having top and bottom edges, and side edges; and

a plurality of support posts having alignment grooves for receiving said side edges of said panels to join said panels.

2. The prefabricated wall structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein said post is defined as a post configured for a corner, with alignment grooves defined orthogonally of each other.

3. The prefabricated wall structure as set forth in claim 2, wherein said post is square in cross-section and includes alignment plates attached to adjacent sides of said post, in a spaced-apart manner so as to form said grooves.

4. The prefabricated wall structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein said post is defined as a post configured for in-line connection, with alignment grooves defined in a co-planar relation with each other.

5. The prefabricated wall structure as set forth in claim 4, wherein said post is square in cross-section and includes an alignment plate attached to a side wall of said post, in a spaced-apart manner so as to form said grooves.

6. The prefabricated wall structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein said post is defined as a post configured for a T-connection, with alignment grooves for in-line connection, with alignment grooves defined in a co-planar relation with each other, and with a groove defined orthogonally of said two in-line grooves.

7. The prefabricated wall structure as set forth in claim 6, wherein said post is square in cross-section and includes alignment plates attached to adjacent sides of said post, in a spaced-apart manner so as to form said orthogonal grooves, and with one of said plates having grooves extending from both sides thereof.