Modular Housing Unit
A building constructed of pre-formed profiles made from a composite plastic and wood chip material uses standardized profiles for floor, wall, truss, and roof members. The wall profiles are connected using H shaped connector profiles and interfitting notches along with standard fasteners. The entire structure is reinforced by a series of anchor bands passing over roof trusses and opposing walls.
This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 11/555,475 filed Nov. 1, 2006 which is a continuation in part of application Ser. No. 10/861,112 filed Jun. 4, 2004, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/171,910 filed May 13, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,841, which in turn is based on PCT application PCT/NL95/00153 filed Apr. 27, 1995, now WO 96/34045, all of which are relied on and incorporated herein by reference. This application is also a continuation in part of co-pending application Ser. No. 11/532,271 which is a continuation-in-part of PCT application PCT/NL2005/00198 filed Mar. 16, 2005 which is relied on and incorporated herein by reference.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUNDThe invention relates to a building and method for making the same wherein substantially all of the components are made from a plastic-based composite product which comprises at least partially of a plastic in which a material consisting substantially of particles is homogeneously embedded, which particles have tensile strength in at least one principal direction. The materials are made substantially in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,841 or U.S. Pat. No. 7,241,484 or U.S. Pat. No. 7,445,830 each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the invention to provide a building made from a plastic-based composite product which can be manufactured at low cost but which nevertheless meets high standards which may be required in respect of various properties. Such properties can relate for instance to high mechanical properties, weather resistance, non-ageing properties and the like. Another object of this invention is an apparatus for carrying out the aforesaid method. The plastic-based composite material having a synthetic matrix and incorporated therein wood particles used for purposes of making the structural profiles described herein is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,841, granted Aug. 16, 2005, the disclosure of which is relied on and incorporated herein. The building is made almost completely from structural profiles made from these materials. Such structural profiles have a wood-like appearance and can have sufficient strength for various uses. They are easy to assemble into a wall.
The wall elements according to the invention are strong and do not need to be filled with concrete or other substances in order to provide a sufficiently strong wall. Instead, if so desired, they can be filled with an insulating material, such as insulation foam, so that the wall elements acquire increased sound-insulating and/or heat-insulating properties. A further advantage is that the presence of wood fibers provides the wall or the building with a finished wood-like appearance, as a result of which covering layers do not need to be provided. The particles are embedded in the synthetic material and do not protrude from the surface. Should a rough surface or a decorated surface be wanted, however, then this may optionally be achieved by brushing or embossing. Many types of surface modifications are possible to give the panels any type of desired appearance.
Moreover, the presence of wood fibers will result in a natural graying of the surface of the profiles when exposed to outdoor conditions. The wall elements of the invention can also be painted with any kind of paint due to the high content of wood fiber and low moisture absorption of the composite material resulting in an extremely good adhesion and long lasting paint durability.
A wall constructed with hollow profiles according to the invention has a minimum number of joints. The wall profile may comprise several parallel hollow chambers or channels. The first and second edges which normally define the top and bottom of a wall profile are preferably formed so that adjacent panels will fit into each other vertically. The first edge may form a narrowed protrusion and the second edge an accommodation space for the first edge of an adjacent similar wall element, wherein the recess is disposed in the second edge.
The wall elements of the invention are grease resistant and grease spots are easily removed. The panels also have good scratch resistance since they are far harder than natural wood and especially WPC composites. The panels of the present invention can be pressure washed whereas natural wood can be heavily damaged. In order to give room for expansions, particularly as a result of moisture absorption, the first and second coupling members may be provided with a dilatation provision or expansion joints. Thus, water tight constructions can be made by assembling a plurality of the wall elements which will undergo some moisture absorption and swell, thereby forming a tight connection between adjacent elements.
The invention will be elucidated on the basis of an exemplary embodiment shown in the attached drawings, in which:
Referring to the drawings for a clearer understanding of the invention it will be seen in
Further increase of the constructional strength and rigidity of the profile can be achieved when continuous reinforcement elements are extruded along in the panel for accommodation in the composite material, extending in the direction of extrusion. The E-modulus can then be considerably higher, between 6000-12000 MPa.
The profiles shown in the
The connector profile 21 shown in
The profiles shown in
The profile shown in
The profiles will be described in greater particularity with respect to the construction of an exemplary building. It is ostensibly noteworthy to mention that the heaviest of the profiles weighs less than 4 pounds per linear foot, thus 8 to 12 foot sections of the profile would weigh less than 50 pounds and could be easily managed by laborers without sophisticated lifting equipment.
Referring to
As seen in
As shown in
As shown in
The material characteristics of the panels used in the present invention are illustrated in the patents incorporated herein by reference. Addition of 10% glass or flax fiber with a length of 4 mm and L/D 150 to 400 gives values about 25% higher than shown above.
Another embodiment is characterized by the addition of at least one additive for obtaining desired properties, which additives can be is added to the compounder during blending, heating during manufacture of the agglomerate The said desired properties of the skin surfaces may relate for instance to the adherability of paint, lacquer and glue.
The use of coloring agents or pigments in the mass can provide the advantage that a uniform product is obtained. Further, an additional coating can be applied to the visual side of the product profiles. Such a coating can have, for example, an extra-stable color, an increased UV-resistance or resistance to dirt and weather influences.
The profiles according to the invention can be worked with normal tools and normal wood processing machines. In the usual manner of wood, it can be nailed, sawn, screwed, glued, painted and lacquered. Accordingly, buildings in accordance with the present invention can be fabricated without the need for highly technical tooling and procedures, thus lending itself to low cost housing for developing markets. Further, the buildings and any waste products not used therein in practicing the invention are better suited for recycling after use than natural wood and are superior to wood in respect of moisture absorption, rotting and mildew resistance, termite resistance, paint durability and non-slipperiness.
Further variations and modifications of the foregoing will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are intended to be encompassed by the claims appended hereto.
Claims
1. A building, having exterior and interior walls and a roof, made from a plastic-based composite of a plurality of wood particles uniformly blended into a thermoplastic polymer, wherein wherein said plurality of wall profiles and truss profiles interlock and are secured by straps extending from the bottom of one wall over selected ones of said plurality of said truss profiles to the bottom of an opposite wall.
- a. said exterior walls are made from a plurality of wall profiles extruded as generally elongated rectangular tubular members having first and second opposite longitudinal edges extending in profile direction, which longitudinal edges are provided with a first and second coupling member, respectively, wherein said first coupling member defines an accommodation recess space for receiving a protrusion formed on a second coupling member at a second longitudinal edge of another wall profile when assembled therewith, and
- b. said roof is made from a plurality of roof profiles extruded from said plastic-based composite having interlocking couplings formed on each longitudinal edge thereof,
- c. said roof supported by said walls and a plurality of trusses made from a plurality of truss profiles extruded from said plastic-based composite,
2. A building as defined in claim 1 wherein said exterior walls comprise multiple wall profiles oriented with said first coupling member facing downwardly with each wall profile coupled to at least one superjacent wall profile until said exterior walls reach a predetermined height, wherein selected ones of said exterior walls are perpendicular and interlock at each intersection of said exterior walls with each other.
3. A building as defined in claim 2 further comprising at least one interior wall formed from the same profiles as said exterior walls with said profiles oriented transversely to at least one exterior wall and interlocking with said at least one exterior wall.
4. A building as defined in claim 2 wherein each of said wall profiles weighs between about 3.2 and 3.8 pounds per linear foot.
5. A building as defined in claim 4 wherein each of said wall profiles weighs about 3.5 pounds per linear foot.
6. A building as defined in claim 2 wherein each of said wall profiles is no greater than twelve feet long.
7. A building as defined in claim 1, wherein each profile in said exterior walls is sufficiently light weight to permit placement on a subjacent profile by hand.
8. A building as defined claim 2 wherein at least one exterior wall has a length equal to or greater than the length of two wall profiles such that said wall profiles are connected end to end to form said at least one exterior wall by interstitial connecter profiles extruded from said plastic-based composite.
9. A building as defined in claim 8 wherein each of said wall profiles weighs about 3.5 pounds per linear foot and each of said connecter profiles weighs between about 1.0 and 2.0 pounds per linear foot.
10. A building as defined in claim 9 wherein each of said plurality of roof profiles weighs between about 1.5 pounds per linear foot and 2.5 pounds per linear foot.
11. A building as defined in claim 2, wherein each profile in said exterior walls is sufficiently light weight to permit placement on a subjacent profile by hand.
12. A building as defined in claim 2 wherein said truss profiles are supported on said exterior walls and interlock therewith.
13. A building as defined in claim 12 wherein said plurality of truss profiles support a plurality of purlin profiles extruded from said plastic-based composite.
14. A building as defined in claim 13 wherein each of said wall profiles weighs between about 3.2 and 3.8 pounds per linear foot, each of said plurality of roof profiles weigh between about 1.5 and 2.5 pounds per linear foot, and each purlin profile of said plurality of purlin profiles weighs less than about 1.0 pounds per linear foot.
15. A building as defined in claim 1 wherein exterior and interior walls and a roof are made from a plastic-based composite of a plurality of wood particles uniformly blended into a thermoplastic polymer such that each of said walls and roof may be shredded and reused for manufacturing of profiles for use in similar buildings.
16. A building as defined in claim 7 wherein said profiles may be affixed to each other with threaded members inserted with a hand tool.
17. A building as defined in claim 7 wherein said profiles forming said walls and roof are designed for assembly into said walls and roof by hand by unskilled laborers.
18. A building as defined in claim 1 wherein the weight of said building is about 10000 pounds/1000 square feet.
19. A building as defined in claim 1, wherein the average weight of said building is about 10 pounds per square foot.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 25, 2009
Publication Date: Feb 25, 2010
Inventor: Dirk Van Dijk (Benenden)
Application Number: 12/546,761
International Classification: E04H 1/00 (20060101); E04H 12/02 (20060101);