FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to at least semi-rigid shelters that are erectable for temporary use.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the wake of a natural disaster, it is typical that many victims will require emergency shelter. Such shelter may be provided by non-rigid means, such as tents. While tents are relatively easy to erect, they are sometimes less desirable than shelter that is at least semi-rigid for a variety of reasons. It is therefore desirable for a shelter to be provided that is at least semi-rigid and which is also easily constructed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a shelter that is semi-rigid and that is erectable by hand without the use of tools.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a shelter that is semi-rigid and that is erectable by hand without the use of tools and that is easily disassemblable for reuse.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a shelter that is configured to resist damage from certain types of natural disaster, such as an earthquake.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a kit of parts for making a shelter in accordance with either of the aspects described above.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shelter, shown in an erected configuration in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a kit of parts that can be used to erect the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2, in an opened position showing some of the components contained therein;
FIG. 4a is a perspective view of the storage crate for the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2 with one element removed for clarity;
FIG. 4b is a perspective view of a partially erected shelter from the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is another perspective view of the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a side view of two of the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2, one stacked on the other;
FIG. 7a is a sectional view of a wall frame member that is part of the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 7b is a side view of the wall frame member shown in FIG. 7a;
FIG. 8a is a sectional view of another wall frame member that is part of the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 8b is a side view of the wall frame member shown in FIG. 8a;
FIG. 9a is an end view of the wall frame member shown in FIG. 7a, with a wall panel from the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2, inserted therein;
FIG. 9b is a magnified sectional view of the wall panel shown in FIG. 9a;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the mounting of a wall frame member and a wall panel from the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2, to a floor from the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 11 is a sectional side view showing the wall panel shown in FIG. 10, mounted to the floor shown in FIG. 10 using a hand-operable fastener;
FIG. 12a is another perspective view of the shelter shown in FIG. 1 with a roof structure cover removed for clarity;
FIG. 12b is a side view of a portion of the shelter shown in FIG. 1, illustrating the assembly of selected frame members and panels;
FIG. 13 is an end view of a roof frame member and a roof panel from the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 14 is an end view of another roof frame member and a roof panel from the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 15 is a side view of a portion of the shelter shown in FIG. 1, illustrating the connection between selected frame members;
FIG. 16 is a magnified sectional side view of a roof panel from the kit of parts shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 17 is an edge view of an alternative roof panel that may be used as part of the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 18 is an edge view of another alternative roof panel that may be used as part of the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 19 is an elevation view of the connection between roof frame in-line members with each other and with wall frame in-line members;
FIG. 20a is an elevation view of the connection between roof frame corner members with each other and with wall frame corner members, as seen from the interior of the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 20b is an elevation view of the connection between roof frame corner members with each other and with wall frame corner members, as seen from the exterior of the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 21 is a magnified perspective view of the end of one of the frame members shown in FIG. 20a;
FIG. 22 is a magnified elevation view of the end of one of the frame members shown in FIG. 20a;
FIG. 23 is an elevation view of an alternative construction for the door and related components for the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 24 is an elevation view of an alternative construction for a window for the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 25 is a perspective view of an alternative roof system for use with the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 26 is a sectional view of a panel in the roof system shown in FIG. 25;
FIG. 27a is a side view of support beams used in the roof system shown in FIG. 25;
FIG. 27b is a side view of a joint between two roof panels and a support beam shown in FIG. 25;
FIG. 28 is a side view of an alternative wall portion for use in the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 29 is a side view of a support frame for use with the shelter shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 30 is a plan view of the support frame shown in FIG. 29; and
FIG. 31 is a plan view showing the joint between support beams that make up the support frame shown in FIGS. 29 and 30.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference is made to FIG. 1, which shows an erectable shelter 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The erectable shelter 10 may be used to shelter people, who for whatever reason do have shelter immediately available. For example, the erectable shelter 10 may be used to shelter people who have had to evacuate their homes, or who have lost their homes as a result of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane or a flood. As another example, the shelter 10 may be used to shelter people who have been displaced as a result of war or from some other man-made cause.
The components of the erectable shelter 10 may be configured to be removably connectable to one another, so that the shelter 10 may be easily disassembled after it is no longer needed. Preferably, after disassembly, the shelter 10 can be stored in a space-efficient state and can be re-erected when it is needed again.
Preferably, assembly and disassembly of the shelter 10 can be effected by a person without the use of tools.
In the erected configuration shown in FIG. 1, there is shown a floor 12, a wall portion 14, which may be at least semi-rigid, and a roof portion 16, which may be at least semi-rigid.
Referring to FIG. 2, the erectable shelter 10 may be stored or transported in a space efficient configuration, which may be referred to as a storage configuration. In the storage configuration, the erectable shelter 10 may be referred to as a kit of parts 10. In the storage configuration, the floor 12 makes up a first portion, shown at 18, of a storage crate 20, which houses the components of the wall portion 14 and roof portion 16 (see FIG. 1). Aside from the first portion 18, the storage crate 20 further includes two end panels 22 (see FIG. 3).
Referring to FIG. 1, the components that make up the wall portion 14 include a plurality of wall frame members 24 and a plurality of wall panels 26, one of which may include a door assembly 28. Referring to FIG. 5, the components that make up the roof portion 16 include a plurality of roof frame members 30, a plurality of roof panels 32, which together make up a roof structure 33. The roof portion 16 further includes a roof structure cover 34 (see FIG. 1).
To erect the shelter 10, the storage crate 20 is opened (see FIG. 3). As best seen in FIGS. 4a and 4b, the first portion 18 is made from four panels 36, 38, 40 and 42, which are hingedly joined together, by hinge connectors 44, and which open into a laid-out position (FIG. 4b) to form the floor 12 of the shelter 10.
Referring to FIG. 2, structural ribs 46 extend along the exterior faces of the floor panels 36, 38 (not shown in FIG. 2), 40 and 42 to provide added strength and to increase bending resistance to the panels 36, 38, 40 and 42. It will be noted that the structural ribs 46 on the floor panel 36 (which forms the top panel of the storage crate 20) are offset from the structural ribs 46 on the floor panel 40, (which forms the bottom panel of the storage crate 20). By sufficiently offsetting the ribs 46 on the top and bottom panels 36 and 40, ribs 46 on the bottom panel 40 of one crate 20 do not rest directly upon the ribs 46 of the top panel 36 of the crate 20 immediately underneath, when crates 20 are stacked on top of another during storage or shipping (see FIG. 6). This reduces the effective height of each crate 20, so that for certain stack heights, the stack may be able to accommodate an extra crate 20, relative to a stack (not shown) wherein the ribs 46 are not offset. Furthermore, in some embodiments, such as that shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the offset of the ribs 46 is such that the ribs 46 of the bottom panel 40 of one crate 20 nest within the ribs 46 on the top panel 36 of the crate 20 immediately below, which serves to help stabilize the crates 20 during storage and shipping, reducing the likelihood that the upper crate 20 will slip off the crate 20 beneath it.
Referring to FIG. 5, the hinge connectors 44 that join the floor panels 36, 38, 40 and 42 together may be mounted to be flush with the interior surfaces of the floor panels 36, 38, 40 and 42. The interior surfaces of the floor panels 36, 38, 40 and 42 make up the floor surface 48 upon which the user of the shelter 10 will walk, and so making the hinge connectors 44 flush with the floor surface 48 reduces the presence of unwanted bumps and irregularities in the floor surface 48.
On the floor surface 48 of the floor 12 are mounting and alignment guides 50 for the wall frame members 24 and wall panels 26.
Reference is made to FIGS. 7a, 7b, 8a and 8b, which show two views of each of two wall frame members 24 respectively. FIGS. 7a and 7b show a wall frame corner member 52, and FIGS. 7a and 7b show a wall frame in-line member 54. The wall frame members 24 hold the wall panels 26 (FIG. 4b) in place and serve as panel-to-panel connectors. To hold the wall panels 26, the wall frame members 24 include channel structures 56 (FIGS. 7a and 8a) which define channels 58. The channel structures 56 include channel side walls 60 and a channel base 62. The channel side walls 60 each include an optional gripping structure 64 thereon. The gripping structure 64 may be for example, a plurality of ribs 66 which extend out from the side wall surface into the interior of the channel 58. The ribs 66 may have any suitable profile, such as, for example, a saw tooth pattern. The saw tooth pattern may be directional in the sense that the apexes of the saw teeth may be skewed in a selected direction, such as towards the channel base 62. The ribs 66 grip and hold the edge portion of the wall panel 26 when it is inserted into the channel 58.
A lead-in portion 67 may be provided on the channel side walls 60 to facilitate entry of the edge portion of the wall panel 26 into the channel 58.
Each of the wall frame corner members 52 and wall frame in-line members 54 includes a roof supporting portion 68, which is configured to support a portion of the roof portion 16.
The wall frame members 24 may be made in any suitable way. For example, the wall frame members 24 may be made as extruded lengths of polymeric material, having a selected extruded profile. The polymeric material may be, for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Some or all of the frame members 24 may alternatively be made from other materials, such as, for example, Aluminum.
As shown in FIGS. 7a and 8a, the roof-supporting portion 68 of each of the extruded profiles may be reinforced with one or more internal strengthening cross-members 69.
Referring to FIG. 4b, the wall frame members 24 are received in gaps 70 that are present at selected positions between the mounting and alignment guides 50, and thus the mounting and alignment guides 50 cooperate with the wall frame members 24 to set the wall frame members 24 in selected positions about the periphery of the floor 12.
Referring to FIG. 9, the wall panels 26 are received in the channels 58 in the wall frame members 24. Additionally, referring to FIG. 10, the wall panels 26 abut the mounting and alignment guides 50, and are mounted to the mounting and alignment guides 50 by means of a plurality of hand-operable fasteners 72 (see FIGS. 10 and 11). The hand-operable fasteners 72 may be any suitable type of fastener. For example, the hand-operable fasteners 72 may include a hex-head bolt 74, one or more washers 75 and a butterfly nut 76. The head of the bolt 74 may be held in place by any suitable means, such as by friction with the washer 75 while the butterfly nut 76 is hand tightened to connect the wall panel 26 to the mounting and alignment guide 50. To assist in the grip between the bolt 74 and the washers 75, at least one washer 75 may be made from a resilient material, such as rubber.
Referring to FIG. 1, the wall panel 26 with the optional door assembly 28 is shown. The door assembly 28 includes a door 80 and a door frame 82. The door 80 is hingedly attached to the door frame 82. The hinged attachment may be by any suitable means, such as, for example, a door hinge or some other kind of hinge, such as a living hinge. The door 80 and frame 82 may be connected together as a pre-assembled component in one of the wall panels 26 in the kit of parts 10. In this way, the wall panel 26 with the door assembly 78 can be mounted in place for reception in the channels 58 in two wall frame members 24, in similar fashion to any of the other wall panels 26. In the area where the door 80 will be present, the floor 12 may optionally omit a mounting and alignment guide 50, because it can represent a tripping hazard.
It is alternatively possible for a functional door to be provided in any other suitable way. The door need not be provided as part of a door assembly, if it can be installed by a person erecting the shelter 10 without tools. As another alternative, while the door assembly 28 is preferably included in one of the wall panels 26, it could optionally be omitted. For example, one of the wall panels 26 could be provided with a simple opening for users to pass through into and out of the shelter 10. Alternatively, some other type of weather or privacy barrier could be provided instead of a door. For example, a simple curtain could be hung to block the entrance to the shelter 10.
An alternative means for providing a door is shown in FIG. 23. The door is shown at 200. The door 200 is pre-mounted by hinges 202 to a wall frame corner member that may be referred to as a door-mounted wall frame corner member 204. The wall frame corner member 204 has the same profile as any of the other corner members 52 and can therefore fit in any corner position of the shelter 10.
The door may be provided with a door latch assembly with a bolt 206 that engages a bolt-receiving aperture 208 and an optional strike plate. The bolt-receiving aperture 208 may be provided in one of the in-line members 54, which can be referred to as a bolt-receiving wall frame in-line member 210, which can then be positioned in the appropriate position for receiving the bolt 206 from the door 200.
In embodiments wherein the door 200 does not occupy the entire height of the wall portion 14, an above-door wall panel 212 can be provided which can be friction fit into position between the corner member 204 and the in-line member 210.
One or more of the wall panels 26 may be provided with an optional window 83. The window may be fixed in position, or may be openable, to provide air flow into and out of the shelter 10, as shown at 214 in FIG. 24.
The wall panels 26 may have any suitable construction. For example, referring to FIG. 9b, they may be made from a three-layer corrugated panel-board which may be treated in a number of ways. For example, the board may be treated to be weather resistant, insect resistant, fire resistant or any combination thereof.
Some or all of the wall panels 26 may be made from materials other than panel-board.
Each wall panel 26 has an edge portion 84 which may be covered by a protective sleeve 86. The sleeve 86 may be generally channel shaped and may be affixed to the edge portion 84 in any suitable way, such as with a suitable adhesive. The sleeve 86 may include a gripping structure 88 thereon, which assists in the gripping of the wall panel 26 by the wall frame members 24 (see FIG. 9a). In embodiments wherein the gripping structure 88 is present and the gripping structure 64 is present, the gripping structures 88 and 64 may cooperate with each other to further assist in the gripping of the wall panel 26 in the wall frame member 26.
The gripping structure 88 may be made up of a plurality of ribs 90 which extend in a direction parallel to the segment of the edge portion 84 on which the sleeve 86 is mounted. The ribs 90 may have any suitable profile, such as, for example, a saw tooth pattern. The saw tooth pattern may be directional in the sense that the apexes of the saw teeth may be skewed in a selected direction, such as towards the centre, shown at C in FIG. 1, of the wall panel 26. The ribs 90 may thus have an opposite configuration to the ribs 66 on the channel side walls 60, so that the saw teeth engage each other to help hold the wall panel 26 in place in the channel 58.
Referring to FIG. 9b, the sleeves 86 include optional lead-in portions 91 on each side wall which facilitates inserting the edge portion 84 of the wall panel 26 into the channel defined by the shape of the sleeve 86.
Referring to FIG. 9a, when the wall panel 26 is inserted into the channel 58, it is not necessary for the edge portions 84 of the wall panel 26 to contact the channel base 62.
The bolt pass-through holes 78 in FIG. 11, which extend through the wall panels 26, extend through the sleeve 86 at the bottom segment of the edge portion of the wall panels 26. In this way, the sleeve 86 provides material strength to resist tearing of the bolt 74 through the wall panel material surrounding the pass-through hole 78.
A wall frame cross-member 102 (FIGS. 12a and 12b) may extend across the tops of the wall panels 26 and the vertically standing wall frame members 24 along the first and second ends of the shelter 10, shown at 104 (FIG. 1) and 106 (FIG. 5). A wall panel 108 is provided above the wall frame cross-member 102. The wall panel 108 fills in the space present between the top of the wall panels 26 and the sloped roof frame members 30, in embodiments wherein the roof is sloped. It is alternatively possible that the wall panels 26 at the ends 104 and 106 (FIGS. 1 and 5 respectively) may be made relatively taller, so as to fill in the space at the ends under the sloped roof frame members 30. Making them taller, however, could impact the necessary length of the storage crate 20 (FIG. 3). The wall panel 108 may have any suitable shape, which depends on the shape of the sloped roof.
The wall frame cross-members 102 may be similar to the wall frame in-line members 54 (FIG. 8a). It will be noted, however that a wall frame in-line member 54 abuts the wall frame cross-member 102 in the middle of the cross-member 102. To clear the wall frame in-line member 32, the wall frame cross-member 102 may be provided with a notch 112 on the inner channel side wall, shown at 113 in FIG. 12b. Aside from providing clearance around the wall frame in-line member 32, the notch 112 facilitates positioning the cross-member 102 on top of the wall panels 26 at the shelter ends 104 and 106 (FIGS. 12 and 5 respectively). A similar notch 115 (see FIG. 15) will be provided on the interior channel side wall 113 and optionally on the exterior channel side wall at each of the ends of the cross-member 102 where it rests on the wall frame corner members 52.
Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the roof frame members 30 include roof frame corner members 114 and roof frame in-line members 116, which may be similar to the wall frame corner members 52 (FIG. 7a) and the wall frame in-line members 54 (FIG. 8a) respectively in terms of shape, (eg. extrusion profile).
Reference is made to FIG. 19. The roof frame in-line members 116 abut each other and connect to each other at their respective first ends 150. Their abutment may be in such a way as to form a peak or apex, shown at A1. The connection to each other may be by any suitable means, such as by a bracket 151 on each side. In FIG. 19 only one bracket 151 is shown at each end 150; the second bracket 151 is positioned on the side of the members 116 not shown in the figure.
At its respective second end, shown at 152, each in-line members 116 is supported by one of the wall frame in-line members 54. A bracket 92 on each side of the roof frame in-line member 116 at its second end 152 connects the member 116 to the wall frame in-line member 54. In FIG. 19 only one bracket 92 is shown at each end 152; the second bracket 92 is positioned on the side of the member 116 and 54 not shown in the figure.
The second end 152 may include a support face 154 which extends generally horizontally so that it can be supported by the top end, shown at 156, of the associated in-line member 54. The end 152 may further include a shoulder 158 which extends generally vertically to abut the inner face, shown at 160, of the in-line member 54. The engagement of the shoulder and the in-line member 54 prevents the slippage of the roof portion in-line member 116 outwardly. As a result of the shape of the second ends 152, when a pair of roof frame in-line members 116 is positioned on the wall frame in-line members 54, the pair of roof frame in-line members have a tendency to be self supporting prior to the installation of the brackets 92. Preferably, each pair of roof frame in-line members 116 are connected together by brackets 151 prior to positioning on the top ends 156 of the wall frame in-line members 54.
The brackets 151 and 92 may be mounted using hand-operable fasteners 94, which may be similar to the hand-operable fasteners 72 (FIG. 11) and which may therefore include bolts, resilient washers and butterfly nuts.
Referring to FIG. 15, an optional layout is shown for the connection of the roof frame corner members 114, the wall frame cross member 102 and the wall frame corner member 52. The roof members 114 are supported at least indirectly by the wall frame corner member 52 and are joined to the wall frame corner member 52 by a bracket 92 on each side and hand-operable fasteners 94, which may be similar to the hand-operable fasteners 72 and which may therefore include bolts and butterfly nuts. In FIG. 15, one of the brackets 92 is hidden from view as it is on the side of the members 114 and 52 not shown in the figure.
Referring to FIG. 20a, a view is provided from the interior of the shelter, showing an alternative layout for the connection of the roof frame corner member 114, the wall frame cross member 102 and the wall frame corner member 52. The end of the wall frame cross-member 102, shown at 162, is shown more clearly in FIGS. 21 and 22. The end 162 is provided with clearance 164 for mating with an end 166 (FIG. 20a) of the roof frame corner member 114. An exterior view of the mating of roof frame corner member 114, the wall frame cross member 102 and the wall frame corner member 52 is shown in FIG. 20b.
Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the roof frame members 30 include channel structures 96 which define channels 98 with gripping structure 99 for receiving the roof panels 32. The channel structures 96, channels 98 and gripping structures 99 may be similar to the channel structures 56, channels 58 and gripping structures 64 (FIGS. 7a and 8a).
Referring to FIG. 12a, in embodiments where the roof is peaked, as shown in the Figures, the roof frame members 30 abut each other in such a way as to form an apex A2. Brackets 120 and hand-operable fasteners 122 may be provided to connect pairs of abutting roof frame members 30 at the apex A2, to strengthen the roof structure 33.
The hand-operable fasteners 122 may be similar to the hand-operable fasteners 72 and may therefore include bolts and butterfly nuts.
Referring to FIG. 16 the roof panels 32 may be similar to the wall panels 26 (see FIG. 9b), and may thus be made from corrugated panel-board with sleeves 125 along their edge portions, shown at 127. The roof panels 32 may include some optional features not shown in the wall panels 26. The roof panels 32 may each include an overhang portion 124 which hangs down to cover the joint between the roof panel 32 and the subjacent wall panel 26. Covering the joint in this way assists in preventing rain, wind and the like from entering the shelter 10. The roof panels 32 may be provided with a hinge 126, which may be provided by means of a pinch line 126 so that the overhang portion 124 is hingedly attached to the rest of the roof panel 32 and hangs down against the exterior face of the wall panels 26 (see FIG. 12a).
Reference is made to FIG. 17, which shows an alternative roof panel 140 that can be used as part of the shelter 10 (FIG. 1). The roof panel 140 may be made from corrugated panel-board, similar to the roof panel 32 (FIG. 16). The roof panel 140 may be made to cover both sides of the roof portion (ie. both sloped portions on either side of the roof peak). To this end, the roof panel 140 may be provided with a hinge 142 which is positioned at the apex of the roof portion when the roof panel 140 is in place in the roof structure 33 (FIG. 12a). The hinge 142 may be provided any suitable way. For example, the hinge 142 may be formed by a pinch line in the corrugated structure of the roof panel 140. The ends of the roof panel 140 may include overhang portions, which may be similar to the overhang portions 124 on the roof panels 32.
Referring to FIG. 18, in an alternative embodiment, two separate roof panels 144 could be provided, which are joined by a hinge 146, which may be, for example, a piano hinge. The roof panels 144 may be made from any suitable material, such as, for example, plywood.
Referring to FIG. 1, the roof structure cover 34 covers all of the joints between the roof panels 32 (not shown in FIG. 1) and between the roof panels 32 and the roof frame members 30 (not shown in FIG. 1). The roof structure cover 34 may be shaped to roughly match the shape of the roof, and may thus be provided with a sloped shape to promote drainage of rainwater and the like off the roof and to assist in inhibiting the pooling of rainwater and the like thereon.
The roof structure cover 34 may extend downward by a selected amount onto the wall portion 14 to completely envelop the overhang portions 124 of the roof panels 32 (not shown in FIG. 1).
The roof structure cover 34 may further include an elastic member 130 proximate its bottom edge which assists the bottom edge of the roof structure cover 34 to snugly fit about the exterior of the shelter 10. In this way, the cover 34 can better protect the interior of the shelter 10 from the weather. Additionally, the snug fit makes the cover 34 more resistant to being inadvertently blown off of the roof during use.
The roof structure cover 34 may be water-resistant, resistant to weather generally, fire resistant, insect resistant, or any combination of the above. The cover 34 may be made from any suitable material such as, for example, a polymeric material.
Reference is made to FIG. 25, which shows an alternative system 500 for the roof portion 16, which eliminates the need for the roof structure cover 34 (FIG. 1). The system 500 incorporates roof panels 502, support beams 504, and a roof apex cover 506. The roof panels 502 may be similar to the roof panels 32 (FIG. 5). Alternatively, the roof panels 502 may be as shown in FIG. 26, and may a sandwich of metallic (eg. steel) exterior sheet 508, with an insulative material 510 (eg. a panel of Styrofoam) inside.
Each support beam 504 extends from the top of a wall frame in-line member 54 to the roof apex, shown at A1, where it adjoins another support beam 504 that extends downwards from the roof apex A1 to the top of a wall frame in-line member 54. At the roof apex A1, suitable brackets 512 (FIG. 27a) and fasteners 513 (eg. hand-operable fasteners such as winged externally threaded fasteners in combination with wing-nuts) may be provided to join the support beams 504 together.
Referring to FIG. 27b, each support beam 504 may have a trough portion 514 and two flange portions 516. Fasteners 518 (eg. hand-operable fasteners such as winged externally threaded fasteners in combination with wing-nuts) pass through the flange portions 516 and through the roof panels 502 to connect to them. Referring to FIG. 25, rain that lands or drips off into the space between adjacent roof panels 502 is collected in the trough portion 514 and runs down off the roof. The support beam 504 is preferably made from a metal such as a suitably protected (eg. galvanized) steel, however it can be made from any suitable material, such as a polymeric material.
Along the roof apex A1, the roof apex cover 506 covers the joint between adjacent roof panels 502 and support beams 504. The roof apex cover 506 may comprise one or more strips of polymeric material which can be held in place along the roof apex A1 in any suitable way, such as by a suitable adhesive or an adhesive tape.
Reference is made to FIG. 28. In an alternative embodiment the wall panels 26 (FIG. 1) may be replaced by wall panels 522 that have a sandwich construction of metallic exterior sheet (eg. suitably protected (eg. galvanized) steel), and suitable internal material, such as a panel of Styrofoam.
In an alternative embodiment the wall frame members 24 (FIG. 1) may be replaced by metallic (eg. suitably protected (eg. galvanized) steel) wall frame members 524, which may have similar configurations to the wall frame members 24, examples of which are shown in FIGS. 7a, 8a and 9a. As a result of using a metal to make up the members 524, however, certain elements of the cross-sectional shape that are shown in the members 24 shown in FIGS. 7a, 8a and 9a may not be necessary.
Reference is made to FIGS. 29 and 30. The shelter 10 may include a support frame 600 that lifts the floor 12 off the ground, thereby permitting some water to accumulate around the shelter 10 (as can happen in the wake of a natural disaster) without flooding the shelter 10. The support frame 600 includes a support platform portion 602 and a plurality of legs 604. The legs 604 may be adjustable in height, thereby facilitating the supporting of the shelter 10 on uneven terrain.
The support platform portion 602 may be made up of a plurality of suitable support beams 606, such as box beams. The support beams 606 are arranged to form a platform on which the floor 12 of the shelter 10 sits. The beams 606 may be connected together by any suitable means. For example, the beams 606 may be connected together using threaded hand-operable fasteners 605 which may be similar to hand-operable fasteners 513 and 518 (FIGS. 27a and 27b), which pass through beams 606 and beam stubs 607 that are permanently mounted (eg. by welding) on some of the beams 606 at selected positions.
An advantage of the shelter 10 relative to some other forms of shelter is that it can be more resistant to damage from certain types of natural disaster. For example, a shelter that is fixedly mounted in some way to the ground would be directly affected by an earthquake since the movement of the ground would be transmitted into the shelter and could damage the shelter or cause the collapse of the shelter, particularly if one portion of the ground to which the shelter is connected moves differently than an adjacent portion of the ground to which the shelter is also connected. By contrast, the shelter 10 in accordance with some embodiments of the invention is supported on a floor 12, or on a floor 12 and a frame 600, and is in both cases not necessarily anchored to the ground. As a result, if the ground underneath or near the shelter 10 moves or if different portions of the ground move relative to each other, the shelter 10 is at less risk of being damaged. Put another way, the shelter 10 in some embodiments is sufficiently sturdy to be self-supporting or self-standing (unlike, for example, a tent) so that it is resistant to being damaged by certain common after-effects of a natural disaster (eg. aftershocks after an earthquake) while also being advantageously portable and easily erectable by persons in an environment in the wake of a natural disaster. Thus it is well suited to being used in the wake of a natural disaster.
The adjustability of the legs 604 may be provided by any suitable means. For example, referring to FIG. 29, each leg 604 may include a leg body 608 that mounts to the frame platform portion 602, by means for example, of a hand-operable fastener 609 that may be similar to the hand-operable fasteners 513 and 518 (FIGS. 27a and 27b), and a foot portion 610 that height-adjustably threads into the leg body portion 608. As a result, each leg 604 is individually height adjustable, facilitating the support of the shelter 10 on uneven terrain.
Once the shelter 10 is no longer needed, in some embodiments the shelter 10 may be disassembled and returned to its storage configuration as a kit of parts 10. Disassembling the shelter 10 is facilitated by the fact that the shelter 10 does not require tools for assembly. Freedom from requiring tools is advantageous because any tools used in the assembly of a shelter (eg. a prior art shelter) may be lost by the user during use of the shelter, which makes subsequent disassembly more difficult. Loss of tools can occur quite easily particularly when the user is in a stressful situation such as having just survived a natural disaster. Therefore, a shelter, such as the shelter 10 that does not require tools for disassembly is advantageous.
Disassembly of the shelter 10 includes removing the roof structure cover 34, and the hand-operable fasteners 72, 94 and 122. A roof panel 32 and roof frame members 30 may be separated by sliding the roof frame members 30 in an axial direction along the corresponding edge of the roof panel 32. Similarly, a wall panel 26 and a wall frame members 24 may be separated by sliding the wall frame members 24 in an axial direction along the corresponding edge of the wall panel 26.
While the above description constitutes a plurality of embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the present invention is susceptible to further modification and change without departing from the fair meaning of the accompanying claims.
