Hinged panels for construction of a habitable building
Light weight panels are combined with a hinge structure to form a foldable panel assembly that is suitable for constructing habitable buildings. Such buildings are easily collapsible into a compact package for transport or storage and are readily extendable to an expanded size for use. These buildings may be fitted to a trailer for transport and can remain on the trailer while extended and placed in use, or the building can be off-loaded to a suitable site for extension and use. The hinge structure utilizes flexible membrane elements that are bonded to the edges of adjacent panels.
The present invention relates to structures for providing enclosed functional space for humans and related activities, and more particularly for such structures that are easily collapsible, transportable, and expandable to their original size and shape.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHabitable buildings that are easily transportable such as campers and motor-homes are increasingly popular among vacationers and others. There is a consumer demand driving this industry for larger portable living spaces and the manufacturers are attempting to meet this demand and the increasing desires of their customers. However, the allowable width of these campers and motor-homes is limited by the width of the roads and highways that will be used to transport them. There are attempts by some manufacturers to increase the usable habitable space of their products by providing a movable wall or wall-section that is moveable to an extended position. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,956 which issued to Morris et al. on Oct. 19, 1999 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,394 which issued to Gardner on Nov. 30, 1993. Typically these types of extendable units, if they extend out more than a few feet, require external support for structural viability, and they are still quite limited in their extension possibilities because they have to be able to be wholly contained in the camper or motor-home for transportation. Additionally, it is difficult to seal out the weather and wind because they usually have components that slide outwardly on cantilevered tracks that sag and, eventually, render weather seals inoperative. Other attempts to increase habitable space are meet by folding panel structures of varying complexity that are difficult to set up and equally difficult to weather seal. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,341 which issued to Konopasek on Feb. 7, 1967 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,165 which issued to West on Apr. 4, 1972. One of the problems with providing a suitable foldable panel structure is that in order to hinge two panels together, some kind of framework is required to provide attachment points for the hinges and related hardware. This adds extra unwanted weight to the panels and makes them expensive to produce. Another foldable panel structure shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,167,070 discloses a pair of solid wood panels pivotally coupled by means of a pair of flexible members attached to adjacent edges of the two panels by means of a series of nails that are driven through the flexible members and into the wood panels. Unfortunately, the depth of the wood material needed to grip and hold the nails in place, adds substantial weight to the assembly. Additionally, the nails provide only point contacts for holding the flexible members in place and result in areas of no support between adjacent nails so that the flexible members can deform under load and eventually fail. This type of hinge is not inherently weatherproof thereby requiring additional sealants where the hinge is exposed to the elements.
What is needed is a foldable panel structure that is extendable outwardly from the camper or motor-home substantially further than heretofore possible with prior art devices. The foldable panels should be very light and yet strong enough to be self supporting, and should automatically seal out the weather along their folding joints. The folding joints should efficiently distribute the loads between adjacent panels and easily support the weight of adjacent panels in the extended position, as well as other normal building loads, and in the retracted position.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA foldable structure is provided for constructing a building suitable for use as a shelter. The foldable structure includes first and second sandwich-panels. Each sandwich-panel has a core of relatively low density material having two opposite major surfaces and an edge surface. There are two high density tensile-skins, one skin attached to one of the major surfaces of the core and the other skin attached to the other of the major surfaces of the core so that the outer surfaces of the two tensile-skins form opposite first and second outer surfaces terminating at the edge surface. An inside thin flexible member is secured along the edge surface of each of the first and second sandwich-panels. An outside thin flexible member is secured along a portion of the first outer surface of each of the first and second sandwich-panels. The inside and outside flexible members are arranged to pivotally couple the first and second sandwich panels together so they pivot about an axis. The inside flexible member and the outside flexible member are on opposite sides of a plane extending through the axis. The pivotally coupled sandwich-panels are arranged to form walls and a roof of a building having portions that are movable between an extended position for accommodating human occupation and a retracted position for substantially reducing the over all size of the building during transportation and for storage when not in use.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the following drawings:
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
There is shown in
As shown in
Two panels 20, shown in
The building 10 of
The various materials that may be utilized in the practice of the present invention will be influenced by the application of the sandwich panels and associated X-Hinge. In the present application of a building carried on a trailer for general utility use, the panels 20 have external dimensions of four feet by eight feet having a core thickness of four inches. The tensile skins 30 and 32 are 60T aluminum having a thickness of 0.032 inches and are bonded to the major surface of the core 22 by means of urethane adhesive. There are a variety of heat bond or hot melt adhesives commercially available that are suitable for this application. The core 22 is solid molded foam of approximately one-pound density. This material is sold under the trademark of SNAP_N_LOCK by ______. While many other suitable materials may be used in the practice of the present invention, these materials are by way of example only. The structure disclosed herein renders the various vertical panels of the building 10 extremely strong in the vertical direction, as viewed in
Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in
There is shown in
There is shown in
There is shown in
The building 10 of the present invention, as set forth above, is easily movable from a retracted position shown in
An important advantage of the present invention is that very strong walls result from the joining of two adjacent sandwich panels by means of the X-Hinge, wherein all of the loading forces are continuously distributed across both panels through the inside and outside flexible members. Having much superior strength over point contact hinges, the X-Hinge yields walls that are self supporting and can be cantilevered from a base unit. Another advantage of the present invention is that no hard-points or frame structure is required for attaching conventional hinges to the panels resulting in cost advantages and lower weight without sacrificing strength and operational effectiveness. This also presents a significant insulative advantage since there are no conductive materials need, such as wood, steel or aluminum frames, to connect the inner and outer sandwich panel surfaces as is required by prior art structures. By dividing the hinge forces into separate tensile and compressive forces, the X-hinge permits the advantageous use of insulative materials such as higher density foams to handle compression loads instead of structural beams or frameworks. The inside and outside flexible members of the X-Hinge are made of a continuous impermeable material that automatically forms a weather tight seal at the joint of the two panels and requires no lubrication as does a conventional hinge. The X-Hinge and panel assembly is relatively easy to fabricate resulting in additional cost savings. Parts count requirements are also greatly reduced over existing sandwich panel connection methods thereby lowering inventory costs.
Claims
1. A foldable structure for constructing a building suitable for sheltering, comprising:
- (1) first and second sandwich-panels, each having:
- (i) a core of relatively low density material having two opposite major surfaces and an edge surface; and
- (ii) two high density tensile-skins, one said skin attached to one of said major surfaces of said core and the other said skin attached to the other of said major surfaces of said core so that the outer surfaces of the two tensile-skins form opposite first and second outer surfaces terminating at said edge surface;
- (2) an inside thin flexible member secured along said edge surface of each of said first and second sandwich-panels;
- (3) an outside thin flexible member secured along a portion of said first outer surface of each of said first and second sandwich-panels,
- wherein said inside and outside flexible members are arranged to pivotally couple said first and second sandwich panels together to pivot about an axis.
2. The foldable structure according to claim 1 wherein said inside flexible member and said outside flexible member are on substantially opposite sides of a plane extending through said axis.
3. The foldable structure according to claim 1 wherein said securing of said inside and outside flexible members to said first and second sandwich panels includes continuous bonding thereof.
4. The foldable structure according to claim 3 wherein said continuous bonding extends for substantially the entire length of said first and second sandwich panels.
5. The foldable structure according to claim 4 wherein said inside and said outside flexible members are joined by a line of stitches sewn through both said flexible members and through said axis.
6. The foldable structure according to claim 1 wherein said inside flexible member is continuously bonded to a portion of said second outer surface adjacent said edge surface of each of said first and second sandwich panels.
7. The foldable structure according to claim 1 wherein said core comprises molded foam.
8. The foldable structure according to claim 1 wherein said core includes a honeycomb structure.
9. The foldable structure according to claim 1 wherein said tensile-skin comprises metal.
10. The foldable structure according to claim 1 wherein said tensile-skin comprises resin.
11. The foldable structure according to claim 1 wherein said core has a density and said tensile-skin has a density that is substantially greater than said core density.
12. The foldable structure according to claim 1 wherein said edge surface has a width of from about one inch to about six inches.
13. A foldable structure for constructing a wall in a habitable building, comprising:
- a) a first panel having an interior, and a first major surface and an adjacent edge surface mutually angled and intersecting along a common edge thereof,
- b) a second panel having an interior, and a first major surface and an adjacent edge surface mutually angled and intersecting along an edge thereof,
- c) a first membrane continuously bonded to a portion of said first surface of each of said first and second panels,
- d) a second membrane continuously bonded to said adjacent surface of each of said first and second panels,
- wherein said portion of said first surface is of substantially higher density than is the interior of said first and second panels,
- wherein said first and second panels are pivotally coupled by means of said first and second membranes and arranged to pivot about an axis.
14. The foldable structure according to claim 13 wherein said first membrane is on substantially one side of a plane extending through said axis and said second membrane is on substantially an opposite side of said plane.
15. The foldable structure according to claim 13 wherein at least one of said first and second panels includes first and second opposing high density tensile-skins separated by a low density material.
16. The foldable structure according to claim 13 wherein said continuous bonding extends for substantially the entire length of said first and second panels.
17. The foldable structure according to claim 16 wherein said first and second membranes are joined by a line of stitches sewn through both said membranes and through said axis.
18. The foldable structure according to claim 13 wherein each of said first and second panels includes a second major surface opposite said first major surface and wherein said second membrane is continuously bonded to a portion of said second major surface adjacent said edge surface of each of said first and second panels.
19. The foldable structure according to claim 13 wherein said interior of said panel comprises molded foam.
20. The foldable structure according to claim 13 wherein said interior of said panel includes a honeycomb structure.
21. The foldable structure according to claim 13 wherein said portion of said first surface comprises metal.
22. The foldable structure according to claim 13 wherein said portion of said first surface comprises resin.
23. The foldable structure according to claim 13 wherein said adjacent surface of each of said first and second panels has a width of from about one inch to about six inches.
24. A foldable building including:
- a base unit having an interior space for storing furniture, equipment, and various supplies;
- an expandable unit coupled to said base unit and movable between an extended position for accommodating human occupation and a retracted position in close proximity to said base unit for substantially reducing the overall size of said building during transporting and for storage when not in use,
- said expandable unit comprising:
- (a) at least two roof panels connected along adjacent edges thereof and mutually angled to form a roof;
- (b) a front wall and a rear wall, each comprising a pair of panels having a pivotal connection along vertically disposed adjacent edges thereof; each front and rear wall having a pivotal connection to said base unit; and
- (c) an end wall having a pivotal connection to both said front wall and said rear wall;
- wherein, one of said roof panels is attached by means of a pivotal connection to one of either said base unit or said end wall.
25. The foldable building according to claim 24 wherein only one of said roof panels is pivotally connected to said base unit.
26. The foldable building according to claim 24 wherein said at least two roof panels are rigidly connected along said adjacent edges.
27. The foldable building according to claim 24 wherein when said expandable unit is in said extended position said end wall is spaced from said two roof panels, including a third roof panel having a pivotal connection to one of said end wall or one of said two roof panels and arranged to form a roof between said end wall and said two roof panels.
28. The foldable building according to claim 24 wherein, when moving from said extended position to said retracted position, portions of said front and rear walls are arranged to fold inwardly toward each other while, concurrently, said end wall moves toward said core unit, and said roof pivots about said pivotal connection to one of either said core unit or said end wall so that one of said roof panels is arranged vertically in close proximity and parallel to said end wall when in said retracted position.
29. The foldable building according to claim 24 wherein said front wall and said rear wall are cantilevered from said core unit.
30. The foldable building according to claim 24 in combination with a recreational vehicle of the type to be moved along a highway, either under its own power or towed by another vehicle, while being transported to a site for use.
31. A shelter movable between a compacted state to facilitate transporting said shelter and an extended state having functional space for a human and support materials, and being freely movable therebetween, comprising:
- (a) a base unit having an interior;
- (b) a plurality of panels, each of which has a pair of opposite major surfaces and an edge surface extending therebetween,
- and a pivoted connection along a said edge thereof with a said edge of at least one other of said panels, some of said plurality of panels arranged to form a continuous outer wall circumscribing said functional space, comprising:
- (i) a front wall and a rear wall, each comprising a pair of said panels having a pivotal connection along vertically disposed adjacent edges thereof; each front and rear wall having a pivotal connection to said core unit; and
- (ii) an end wall having a pivotal connection to both said front wall and said rear wall;
- (iii) a roof comprising at least two said panels connected along adjacent edges thereof and arranged to form a roof,
- wherein, one of said roof panels is attached by means of a pivotal connection to one of either said base unit or said end wall, and
- wherein said front wall and said rear wall are cantilevered from said base unit when in said extended state.
32. The shelter according to claim 31 wherein said pivotal connection of said plurality panels comprises:
- (2) an inside thin flexible member secured along said edge surface of each of said panels;
- (3) an outside thin flexible member secured along a portion of one of said major surfaces of each of said panels,
- wherein said inside and outside flexible members are arranged to pivotally couple two of said plurality of panels together to pivot about an axis.
33. The shelter according to claim 32 wherein said inside flexible member and said outside flexible member are on opposite sides of a plane extending through said axis.
34. The shelter according to claim 33 wherein each said plurality of said panels includes an interior and wherein said portion of one of said major surfaces is of higher density than is said interior.
35. The shelter structure according to claim 32 wherein said inside thin flexible member and said outside thin flexible member are joined by a line of stitches sewn through both said thin flexible members and through said axis.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 17, 2004
Publication Date: May 18, 2006
Inventor: Michael Waters (Fairfield, PA)
Application Number: 10/989,820
International Classification: E04H 6/00 (20060101);