Abstract: A dormer structure is provided for a prefabricated modular housing unit. The dormer structure is collapsible so that the modular unit including a first and second floor may be shipped by tractor trailer. The collapsible dormer unit includes a vertical side wall which is pivotably attached to the base unit. A roofing structure is provided as a separate element and is secured onto the base unit during shipment. The collar ties used to support the roof of the house, upon assembly, are secured to the dormer roof structure for strengthening the structure during lifting and shipment. The dormer unit may form one-half of a second story of a house or may be attached to an angled roof portion on the second module of the house.

Abstract: Disclosed is a modular construction system that includes a base foundation having pairs of anchor straps molded therein for defining intersecting vertical wall mounting surfaces and attachment points. A plurality of panels connect between pairs of the attachment points and extend upwardly therefrom, one side of each panel being coplanar with a corresponding one of the mounting surfaces, adjacent coplanar pairs of the panels being connected by a plate that extends in line with top peripheral extremities of the panels. Adjacent sides of the panels have a tongue-and-groove configuration between the panel surfaces for holding the panel sides aligned each other in a direction normal to the panel surfaces. Angle brackets connect adjacent pairs of coplanar panels at intersecting pairs of the mounting surfaces. Joists connect between spaced pairs of the plates.

Abstract: A sheet metal structural member for use in the formation of a cast construction panel which member, in turn, comprises a sheet metal web defining a linear edge along one side, and a zig-zag edge along the other side, the zig-zag edge defining wider regions, and narrower regions between the wider regions, and the web extending in a generally triangular fashion from one narrower region through a wider region to the next narrower region, edge formations formed around the zig-zag edge portions of the web and, attachment devices at the apex of each of the wider portions of the web, which may be secured to a construction material. Also disclosed is a construction panel incorporating such structural members, and a method of fabricating such structural members in pairing, and a method of building construction utilizing such structural members.

Abstract: This portable shelter assembly includes a weather-proof container suitable to be mounted on a pair of support bars atop a vehicle. When the vehicle is at a stand still and the shelter assembly is to be made ready for occupancy, the container unfolds to become a deck or platform on which the occupants can sleep. Attached to the deck are a pair of arch members hingedly connected thereto and a folding arch member having knee joints so that all can collapse into the container or be erected to support a tent canopy to shelter the occupants. The shelter assembly should be balanced atop the vehicle, both in its collapsed and its erected positions.Various means are provided for fastening the shelter assembly to the vehicle. The tent may have associated therewith a screen house for protection against insects.

Abstract: A sealing beam comprises a longitudinal succession of elements disposed between two grate layers made up of a longitudinal succession of alternately fixed and mobile (in longitudinal reciprocation) bars. Each element comprises an I-shaped armature with a web between a lower flange forming a baseplate and an upper flange forming a roof and two U-shaped profile rubbing members with a base bearing on the edge of the corresponding grate layer. Springs passing through holes in the web of the armature urge the rubbing members against the layer edges to compensate for their thermal expansion. The armature and the rubbing members are manufactured by welding to achieve adequate sealing between the rubbing members and the armature.

Abstract: A shingle laying apparatus includes a first horizontally extending track; a second track formed by a pair of longitudinal track members extending at right angles to the first track, and a carriage frame mounted on the second track. The second track is mounted for movement in a horizontal direction to the first track and carries the carriage frame for horizontal movement across the roof. The carriage frame is mounted to the second track for movement toward the first track between releasably fixed position associated with appropriate placement of a row of shingles across the roof. The carriage frame include a planar surface forming a tray to carry a load of shingles and provide a seat for an operator laying a row of shingles while moving the frame horizontally along the roof. In the preferred embodiment, a fastener gun assembly is pivotally mounted on the carriage frame in a position for quickly fastening each shingle which is laid on the roof.

Abstract: A block suitable for use as edging or wall formation has on one end thereof a conically shaped, hemispherical indentation in the surface thereof, and a corresponding protruding member as a male protrusion thereof. On the other end of the block, the positioning of this corresponding protruding member and indentation are reversed. Thus, the bricks can be laid end to end and supported. The slots in the brick and the top step permit a strong block shape. The lip also permits a stepped portion structure to form a wall having the height of several layers of bricks or blocks.

Abstract: In a nuclear power plant construction, a reinforced concrete containment vessel is installed on a foundation base mat and a reactor building is then installed around the reinforced concrete containment. The reactor building is provided with a plurality of concrete bodies, as floor slabs, projecting inwardly from an inner wall surface of the reactor building with spaces between the projected ends of the concrete bodies and an outer surface of the reinforced concrete containment vessel in vertically different levels in the reactor building. A precast concrete slab is arranged in each of the spaces between the concrete body of the reactor building and the outer surface of the reinforced concrete containment vessel with spaces therebetween. The precast concrete slab and the projected end of the concrete body of the reactor building and the precast concrete slab and the reinforced concrete containment vessel are joined with the joint assemblies.

Abstract: A seismic isolating bearing for supporting a building on a foundation includes a laminated body adapted to be interposed vertically between the upper and lower structures. The laminated body comprises alternately arranged viscoelastic layers and stiffener plates, having a hole defined vertically therein, and an energy absorber assembly disposed in the hole, for absorbing energy applied thereto. The energy absorber assembly comprises a lead block inserted in the hole, with the lead block having an intermediate portion held against an inner circumferential surface of the hole. The energy absorber assembly also has a viscoelastic cylindrical body disposed between an outer circumferential surface of at least one of upper and lower end portions of the lead block and the inner circumferential surface of the hole.

Abstract: A deck and fence mounting block and method of mounting is provided to attach a deck or fence to a building. The deck and fence mounting block comprises a plate-like member with steep top and bottom side edges and an aperture that penetrates the plate along a Y axis along which the length of the plate-like body is measured. The aperture is positioned closer to one end of the plate-like body than to the other so that when the plate is suspened by a bolt assembly or lag bolt extending through the aperture, the plate-like body will hang so that the Y axis is plumb. The deck or fence is thus spaced away from the building so that moisture is quickly deflected from the joint and not allowed to accumulate, the plate-like body being squeezed tightly between the support members to hold them apart.

Abstract: In the case of a known multiple-layer space-framing plate of rods and gusseted joints, which consists of a plurality of circular meshwork arrangements which are connected with one another, which extend as a honeycomb in a space, the circular meshworks define hollow spaces which are open to the outside, in the area of which no brackets are present for attachment of roofing or side wall coverings. Because of the dimensions of the openings on the top or the side walls of the space-framing plate, it is therefore not suitable for use in roof construction. The invention provides for a "cut out" or "design" of the space-framing plate in such a manner that in the hollow spaces which are open to the outside on the top and on the side walls of the space-framing plate which is to be cut to size, two-layer complementary space-framing elements can be incorporated in such a manner that on the top and on the side walls of the space-framing plate a screen of rods and gusseted joints is present, arranged in a plane.

Abstract: An improved landscape edging is provided that comprises an elongated anchoring panel that has a plurality of hollow, molded projections extending from one or both faces. The interior of each projection is open on the opposite face of the anchoring panel, forming a concave soil socket that becomes filled with soil when the edging is installed in the soil. A trim member is provided along the top of the anchoring panel. Also provided are an extrusion method for manufacturing the edging, in which the projections and sockets are formed by molding the initial extruded form, and a method for using the edging of this invention, comprising excavating a trench, placing the edging therein, and connecting multiple segments of edging to one another.

Abstract: A pre-fabricated window assembly for flush-appearance glazing comprises a conventional single-pane or dual-pane assembly. In the latter case, the spacer elements are inset from the peripheral edges of the window assembly. One of two types of extrusion is provided along each peripheral edge of the window assembly which provides a bonding surface to which the flush mounted lite is adhered by means of a bonding cement plug. The extrusion on one side of each pair of opposed sides of the window assembly is provided with a quick push-on or hook-on connector which mates with a complementary connector on the mullion or grid frame. The other extrusion on the opposite side of the window unit, for each pair of opposed sides, is similarly configured, except that the connector is a permanent connector for permanent securing of the extrusion to an appropriate mating fastener on the grid frame.

Abstract: A panel comprising a substantially rigid layer, and a flexible layaer fixed to the rigid layer, the rigid layer having therethrough an endless cut dividing the rigid layer into a main portion and a cut-out portion, the flexible layer connecting the cut-out portion to the main portion and thereby holding the cut-out portion in place relative to the main portion.

Abstract: A versatile cross connecting device is provided to allow, alternatively, either bridging or backing between adjacent metal studs. Such metal studs are "U-shaped" members with a broad base and narrower sides of uniform height. The studs are arranged in vertical alignment with their flat sides defining the planes of wall surfaces on opposite sides of the studs. The cross connecting device is formed with a channel having a base and sides that extend outwardly from the base. The channel is of a width equal to the width of the studs. The length of the channel is equal to the distance between a base of one of the studs and the closest extremities of the sides of an adjacent stud. The cross connecting device is provided with a transverse end plate located at one end of the channel and extending perpendicular to the alignment of the channel and also a tongue at the opposite end of the channel.

Abstract: A block of high density expanded polystyrene is cut into a preselected ornamental shape and one or two layers of a cementitious material are sprayed onto the block to produce a durable article of manufacture having utility as a structural element in the construction industry. Each layer of the cementitious material is about .015 inch thick so that detailed ornamental features are not filled in. The cutting and spraying are accomplished in a factory remote from the job site so that the construction crew at the job site need only attach the finished product to the building when it is delivered to the job site.

Abstract: This invention relates to a complex sound-insulating material comprising a first lower sub-assembly, itself comprising at least one layer of a bituminous product, and a second upper layer which covers said first sub-assembly. The first sub-assembly comprises a first upper layer, a first intermediate layer and a first lower layer, whilst a) each of the first upper and lower layers is made of oxidized bitumen reinforced with first fibers and has a surface mass of between 500 and 1000 g/m.sup.2 ; b) the first intermediate layer is made of an organic binding agent, such as a bitumen, and by second fibers which are embedded in said binding agent and are in a non-woven form; and c) the second upper layer is made of an elastic foam.One application of the invention is the production of a sound-insulated tiled flooring.

Abstract: A joint for insulating panels is disclosed. Each panel has an exterior metal plate and an interior metal plate, between which an insulating filling material is inserted. One end of the interior metal plate has a depression which extends along a flange towards the interior of the panel. The other end of the interior metal plate has a projection corresponding to the depression, the projection extending along a flange towards the interior of the panel. The relationship between the height of the depression/projection (B) and the thickness of the panel (A) is ##EQU1## At least one of the surfaces of the panels abutting each other has an elastic isolating element positioned between the exterior metal plate and one of the flanges of the interior metal plate.

Abstract: An aircraft or road vehicle transportable operating assembly comprises a central body, to which there are telescopically coupled side bodies which can be withdrawn into the central body, during a transportation step, and extended from the central body during the use step, the side bodies including a trampling floor which can be arranged with a coplanar relationship with respect to a trampling floor of the central body.

Abstract: The subject invention is a roofing attachment plate with integrated means to seal and affix such plate on the upper part of a roof surface in order to secure a roof sheet to the upper surface of a roof. Specifically, the invention comprises a circular member on other shaped attachment plate which is adapted to be placed flush on the upper surface of the roof deck with opening means to receive a nail or stud to attach the plate to the roof structure, serving to anchor a roofing sheet to the fixed roof structure. The fastening plate has an upper cup-like chamber that is centrally located on the attachment plate and coaxially aligned with the central vertical axis of the fastening member, and such chamber has an outer circumferential surface, a portion of which has a circumferential recess to receive and hold a circular locking ring.