CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM

Abstract

A building construction system comprising: a primary support member having a first end and a second end, an inner facing part and an opposite outer facing part, a secondary support member having a first end and a second end, inner facing part and an opposite outer facing part, a first beam having a first connecting part, a second connecting part, an inner facing part and an outer facing part, where the outer facing part of the first connecting part is configured to be attached to the inner facing part of the primary support member and an outer facing part of the second connecting part is configured to be attached to the inner facing part of the secondary support member, and where outer facing part of the first beam comprises a spacer element that is configured to extend from the primary support member to the secondary support member where an outer facing part of the spacer element is configured to be coextensive to the outer facing part of the primary support member and/or the outer facing part of the secondary support member.

Claims

1. A building construction system comprising: a primary support member having a first end and a second end, an inner facing part and an opposite outer facing part, a secondary support member having a first end and a second end, inner facing part and an opposite outer facing part a first beam having a first connecting part, a second connecting part, an inner facing part and an outer facing part, where the outer facing part of the first connecting part is configured to be attached to the inner facing part of the primary support member and an outer facing part of the second connecting part is configured to be attached to the inner facing part of the secondary support member, and where outer facing part of the first beam comprises a spacer element that is configured to extend from the primary support member to the secondary support member where an outer facing part of the spacer element is configured to be coextensive to the outer facing part of the primary support member and/or the outer facing part of the secondary support member.

2. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the building construction system comprises a building element having an inner surface and an outer surface, where the inner surface is configured to be attached to the outer facing part of the primary and/or secondary support member and the outer facing part of the first beam.

3. The building construction system in accordance with claim 2, where the building element has two or more attachment members that extend from the inner surface of the building element.

4. The building construction system in accordance with claim 3, where the attachment members are adapted to mate with opposing attachment members on the primary support member, the secondary support member and/or the first beam.

5. The building construction system in accordance with claim 2, where a peripheral area of the building element comprises a connecting surface which is configured to abut the outer facing part of the first beam and an outer facing part of the primary and/or the secondary support member.

6. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, where the system further comprises a foundation, where the first end of the primary and/or the secondary support members are configured to be attached to the foundation.

7. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, where the spacer element has a first thickness which corresponds to a second thickness, where the second thickness is the distance from the inner facing surface of the primary support member and/or the secondary support member to the outer facing surface of the primary support member and/or the secondary support member, respectively.

8. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, where the inside facing part of the first beam comprises a horizontal reinforcement member that extends away from the first beam and in a direction inwards.

9. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, where the inner facing part of the first beam comprises a vertical reinforcement member that extends downwards from the first beam and in a downwards direction.

10. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, where the first beam comprises a flange creating a horizontal support.

11. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the system comprises a second beam having a first connecting part, a second connecting part, an inner facing part and an outer facing part.

12. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the primary and/or secondary support member comprise one or more openings.

13. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the one or more openings comprise one or more attachment arrangements.

14. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the primary and/or secondary support member comprise a support member reinforcement at the inner facing part.

15. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first beam is configured to be pivotably attached to the primary support member and/or the secondary support member.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] The following is an explanation of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings, in which

[0046] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a building construction system,

[0047] FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional view of a part of a building construction system,

[0048] FIG. 3 shows a cross sectional view of a building construction system having ceiling beams,

[0049] FIG. 4 shows a front view of a construction system,

[0050] FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of a support member according to the invention,

[0051] FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view of the support member of FIG. 5A,

[0052] FIG. 6A shows a perspective view of a support member according to the invention, and

[0053] FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional view of the support member of FIG. 6A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] The use of the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. does not imply any particular order, but are included to identify individual elements. Moreover, the use of the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. does not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Note that the words “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. are used here and elsewhere for labelling purposes only and are not intended to denote any specific spatial or temporal ordering.

[0055] Furthermore, the labelling of a first element does not imply the presence of a second element and vice versa.

[0056] FIG. 1 shows a building construction system 1, where the building construction system comprises a primary support member 2 having a first end 4 and a second end 5, and a secondary support member 3 having a first end 6 and a second end 7. The first end 4 of the primary support member 2 and the first end 6 of the secondary support member 3 are attached to a foundation 8, where the foundation may e.g. be a concrete foundation, where the first ends 4, 6 are mould into the foundation 8 so that the support members 2, 3 are vertical. The second ends 5, 7 of the support members 2, 3 are free ends and extend vertically into the air, where the free ends may e.g. be utilized to mount a roof (not shown) on the building structure 1, where the roof structure may be attached to the second ends 5, 7 of the support members. In some embodiments, a further floor may be provided on top of the building construction system. Further building construction systems may be combined with the existing building construction system (for example for providing an additional room to a house and/or an additional floor to a house). This may be provided in a simple manner, since the roof on the building construction system may be easily removed and put on again. The building construction system 1, has an inner facing area 9 that faces the inside of the building and an outer facing area 10 that faces the outside of the building. The primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 may comprise an inner facing surface 11, 12 and an outer facing surface 13, 14, respectively, where the surfaces 11-14 may extend along the entire length of the support member. The primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3, may comprise a first proximal end 25 and a second proximal end 26, that face each other when the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 have been anchored in the foundation 8.

[0057] The primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 may e.g. be in the form of an angled elongated member, where the elongated member may have a first part and a second part 16 that are perpendicular to each other, where the first 15 and the second part 16 provide resistance to bending forces in the plane of the part that is perpendicular to the other part. The support members may be constructed of any suitable material, of any suitable thickness, where choice of material may depend on the use of the material, and the size of the building. An example may be a support member made out of steel, having a 10 mm thickness.

[0058] The construction system also includes a first beam 17, where the first beam comprises a first connection area 18 and a second connecting area 19, where the first connection area comprises an outer facing surface 20 and the second connection area comprises an outer facing surface 21. The beam may comprise a spacer element 22, where the spacer element 22 may extend from an outer facing part 23 of the first beam 17, where the spacer element has an outer surface 24 that is adapted to be coextensive with the outer facing surface 13, 14 of the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3, by where the spacer fills out the volume defined by the proximal ends 25, 26 and an outer facing part of the first beam 17, and an imaginary plane, which may e.g. be in the form of a wall (not shown). This means that the spacer element 22 provides an attachment surface 24 for a wall, where the attachment surface is in the same plane as the outer facing parts 13, 14 of the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3. Within the understanding of the present disclosure, the spacer element may be a part of the first beam, or may be a separate element that may be attached to an outer surface of the first beam 17. The connection areas 18, 19 of the first 17 and/or second beam 27.

[0059] The construction system may also include a second beam 27, where the second beam comprises a first connection area 18 and a second connecting area 19, where the first connection area comprises an outer facing surface 20 and the second connection area comprises an outer facing surface 21. The beam may comprise a spacer element 22, where the spacer element 22 may extend from an outer facing part 23 of the second beam 27, where the spacer element has an outer surface 24 that is adapted to be coextensive with the outer facing surface 13, 14 of the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3, by where the spacer fills out the volume defined by the proximal ends 25, 26 and an outer facing part of the second beam 27, and an imaginary plane, which may e.g. be in the form of a wall (not shown). This means that the spacer element 22 provides an attachment surface 24 for a wall, where the attachment surface is in the same plane as the outer facing parts 13, 14 of the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3. Within the understanding of the present disclosure, the spacer element may be a part of the second beam 27, or may be a separate element that may be attached to an outer surface of the second beam 27. The second beam may be used to secure a lower part of a building element (not shown) such as a wall section.

[0060] The outer facing surfaces 20, 21 of the connection areas 18, 19 of the first 17 and/or second beam 27 may be offset in a inwards direction to the outer surface 24 of the spacer element 22 and/or the first beam 17, where the offset is substantially the thickness of the first proximal end 25 and/or the first proximal end 26 of secondary support member.

[0061] The first beam 17 may further comprise a horizontal reinforcement member 28, which may extend along the horizontal length of the first beam 17, where the horizontal reinforcement member 28 extends a distance inwards from an inner facing surface 29 of the first beam 17, where the horizontal reinforcement member 28 may comprise a surface area 30, which may be utilized to providing a mounting surface for e.g. a support structure (as seen in FIG. 3). The horizontal reinforcement member 28 may extend at a perpendicular angle from the first beam 17, and may have a function to provide resistance to bending forces in the plane of the part that is perpendicular to the other part. Thus, the first beam 17 may increase the strength of the horizontal reinforcement member 28, while the horizontal reinforcement member 28 may increase the strength of the first beam 17.

[0062] When the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 have been anchored in the foundation 8, the first beam 17 may be attached to an inner facing part 11, 12 of the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3, where the connection occurs in the first 18 and second connection area 19. The attachment may be done using mechanical fasteners (not shown), such as bolts and nuts or other suitable attachment means. Thus, the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 provide an outer surface 13, 14 which a building element (not shown) may be attached to, where the outer surface of the spacer element 24 provides an attachment surface for the building element, in a horizontal manner, where the building element may be attached along the length of the first beam 17. The two surfaces are in the same plane to each other, which means that a building element, such as a flat wall may be attached directly to the surface area, where there will be no space between the outer surface and the wall.

[0063] FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of a building construction 1, where the primary support member 2 is an angled support member, and the secondary support member 31 is an angled support member, in a T-shape, where the secondary support member has an outer facing area 32, and an angled part 33, that extends from a central area of the secondary support member 31. In this construction, the building construction system comprises a primary first beam 34, a secondary first beam 35 and a tertiary first beam 36, where each beam is connected to a first support member 2 and a secondary support member 2, 31, and thereby providing horizontal support to each support member, 2, 3, 31. In this view, it may be seen that the outer surfaces 13, 14 of the support members are coextensive with the outer surfaces 24 of the spacers 22, of the beams 34, 35, 36, and where a planar building element 37, 38, 39 has been attached between the support members 2, 3, 31 and extend across each of the first beams 34, 35, 36, allowing the planar building elements to be attached along their horizontal length and thereby securely fixed to the building construction, and being part of the building construction 1. The building elements 37, 38, 39 may abut each other, where a seal (not shown) may be provided between the elements in order to ensure that the joint between the building elements are water, vapour and weather-proof.

[0064] FIG. 3 shows a schematically sectional view of opposing building constructions 1, 1′, where the opposing building constructions 1, 1′ may be connected to each other via one or more building constructions comprising support members and first beams and/or second beams. Here it may be seen how the horizontal reinforcement members 28, 28′ of the first beams 17 may be utilized to provide support for horizontal support structure 40, that may extend from one horizontal reinforcement member 28 to the opposing reinforcement member 28′, where the horizontal support structures 40 may be utilized e.g. to mount a ceiling to close off an upper part of a living space, and/or may also be utilized to provide support for a floor on top of the ceiling, if the building has a second floor. If a building has a second floor, the length of the support member may be increased to accommodate the second floor, and allowing a secondary first beam to be attached between the support members above the primary first beam.

[0065] FIG. 4 shows a schematic front view of a building construction system 1, seen in a direction from the outside and in, having a primary support member 2, a secondary support member 3 that area anchored in a foundation 8. The system 1 comprises a first beam 17 and a second beam 27 that are attached to the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 in a horizontal direction. The building construction system also comprises a building element 37, that abuts the outer surface of the support members 2, 3 and the beams 17, 27, where the building element 37, which may be a planar wall, such as a fibreglass wall, is attached to the to the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3, as well as the first 17 and the second beams, via attachment members 41, that are positioned at the periphery of the building element 37. The dashed lines show the structures that area behind the building element 37. The actual positioning of the peripheral areas of the wall structure 37, is not important in this example, as this is only to show the structure of the building construction system 1. When one peripheral area of a building element abuts another peripheral area of another building element, creating an extended wall, the peripheral area may be positioned on the centre (in a horizontal direction) of the support element 2, 3. If the wall is a corner wall, or an end wall, the peripheral area of the wall may abut the vertical edge of the of the support member.

[0066] FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of a support member 2, 3 according to the invention. In this embodiment, the primary and/or secondary support member 2, 3 comprise one or more openings 50. The openings 50 are here substantially circular, but may for example have other cross-sectional shapes, such as squared, rectangular, triangular, cross-shaped, and/or star-shaped. The openings 50 are located on each leg 54, 56 of the L-shaped support member 2, 3. In some embodiments, there may only be openings on one of the legs 54, 56 of the support member 2, 3. The support member 2, 3 comprises six openings, where three openings are on each leg 54, 56 of the support member 2, 3. In some embodiments, the primary and/or secondary support member may comprise at least 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 openings (such as at least 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 openings on each leg 54, 56). The primary and/or secondary support member 2, 3 may comprise equivalent openings on the outer surface 13, 14, or alternatively the openings 50 on the inner surface 11, 12 may be extending through the thickness of the support member 2, 3 and extend through to the outer surface 13, 14 from the inner surface 11, 12.

[0067] In some embodiments, the one or more openings 50 comprise one or more attachment arrangements. The openings 50 may be configured to provide a support for an attachment means. In other words, the openings may comprise or form part of an attachment arrangement for attaching one or more parts of the building construction system 1 to the primary and/or secondary support member 2, 3. For example, the first beam 17 and/or the second beam 27 may be attached to an inner facing part 11, 12 of the primary and/or secondary support member 2, 3, where the connection may occur in the first 18 and/or the second connection area 19. The attachment may be done using mechanical fasteners (not shown), such as bolts, nuts, screws, and/or rivets or other suitable attachment means. Thus, the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 provide an outer surface 13, 14 which a building element (not shown) may be attached to, where the outer surface of the spacer element 24 provides an attachment surface for the building element, in a horizontal manner, where the building element may be attached along the length of the first beam 17. The two surfaces are in the same plane to each other, which means that a building element, such as a flat wall may be attached directly to the surface area, where there will be no space between the outer surface and the wall.

[0068] FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view of the support member of FIG. 5A. As can be seen, the openings 50 are present on each leg 54, 56 of the support member 2, 3. The openings 50 have a size d2 and the center of the openings 50 is at a distance d1 of a corner of the support member 2, 3. In some embodiments, the openings 50 may be located at different distances from the corner of the support member 2, 3, and the distance d1 may therefore be different for the openings 50 on one leg compared to the distance d1 for the openings 50 on the other leg. The size d2 may be a diameter if the openings are substantially circular or may for example be a width (such as the width of a square opening).

[0069] FIG. 6A shows a perspective view of a support member 2, 3 according to the invention. As in the embodiment of FIG. 5A, the support member 2, 3 of FIG. 6A comprises one or more openings 50. The openings 50 are here substantially circular, but may for example have other cross-sectional shapes, such as squared, rectangular, triangular, cross-shaped, and/or star-shaped. The primary and/or secondary support member 2,3 comprise a support member reinforcement 52 at the inner facing part 11, 12 of the support member 2, 3. The support member reinforcement 52 has in this embodiment an L-shaped cross section (as can be seen in FIG. 6B). The support member reinforcement 52 provides a hollow space between the support member reinforcement 52 and the support member 2, 3. In some embodiments, the support member reinforcement may be full (such as a reinforcement bar) and may therefore not provide a hollow space between the support member reinforcement and the support member. In some embodiments, the support member reinforcement may for example have an arc-shaped cross-section. The support member reinforcement 52 provides an increased structural strength of the support member 2, 3, thereby providing increased structural stability of the support member 2, 3 and in turn of the building construction system 1.

[0070] As can be seen, the openings 50 are here located further away from the corner of the support member 2, 3 (see also FIG. 6B). However, this may not always be necessary. In some embodiments, the support member reinforcement 52 may be smaller, such that the openings 50 may be located substantially at the same location as in FIG. 5A, i.e. the distance d3 may substantially correspond to distance d1.

[0071] FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional view of the support member of FIG. 6A. As can be seen, the openings 50 are present on each leg 54, 56 of the support member 2, 3. The openings 50 have a size d4 and the center of the openings 50 is at a distance d3 of a corner of the support member 2, 3. In some embodiments, the openings 50 may be located at different distances from the corner of the support member 2, 3, and the distance d3 may therefore vary and/or be different for the openings 50 on one leg compared to the distance d3 for the openings 50 on the other leg. The size d4 may be a diameter if the openings are substantially circular or may for example be a width (such as the width of a square opening).

[0072] The dimensions d2 and d4 may be comprised in the range 5 mm to 100 mm (comprising the end points of the range). For example, 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 50 mm, or 100 mm of width and/or diameter. The distance d1 and d2 may be comprised in the range 10 mm to 200 mm (comprising the end points of the range). For example, 10 mm, 20 mm, 35 mm, 40 mm, 60 mm, 120 mm, and/or 200 mm.

[0073] A building construction system in accordance with the present disclosure may include a plurality of elements as shown in FIG. 1, to create a structure that may be seen as being closed from above, where building elements (walls) extend along the entire periphery of a building construction, and close off a volume inside the walls that may be seen as the area to be closed off from the environment.

[0074] It is to be noted that the scaling of the figures is of illustrative purposes, where the scaling may not be representative of an actual building construction system.

[0075] It is to be noted that the word “comprising” does not necessarily exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed.

[0076] It is to be noted that the words “a” or “an” preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.

[0077] It should further be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the claims, that the exemplary embodiments may be implemented at least in part by means of both hardware and software, and that several “means”, “units” or “devices” may be represented by the same item of hardware.

[0078] Although features have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the claimed invention, and it will be made obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. The claimed invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. [0079] 1 Building construction system [0080] 2 Primary support member [0081] 3 Secondary support member [0082] 4 First end of the primary support member [0083] 5 Second end of the primary support member [0084] 6 First end of the secondary support member [0085] 7 Second end of the secondary support member [0086] 8 Foundation [0087] 9 Inner facing area of building [0088] 10 Outer facing area of building [0089] 11 Inner facing surface of primary support member [0090] 12 Inner facing surface of secondary support member [0091] 13 Outer facing surface of primary support member [0092] 14 Outer facing surface of secondary support member [0093] 15 First part of primary and/or secondary support member [0094] 16 Second part of primary and/or secondary support member [0095] 17 First beam [0096] 18 First connection area of first and/or second beam [0097] 19 Second connection area of first and/or second beam [0098] 20 Outer facing surface of first connection area [0099] 21 Outer facing surface of second connection area [0100] 22 Spacer element [0101] 23 Outer facing part of first and/or second beam [0102] 24 Outer surface of spacer element [0103] 25 First proximal end of primary support member [0104] 26 First proximal end of secondary support member [0105] 27 Second beam [0106] 28 Horizontal reinforcement member [0107] 29 Inner facing surface of first beam [0108] 30 Surface area of horizontal reinforcement member [0109] 31 Secondary support member T shaped [0110] 32 Outer facing area [0111] 33 Angled part [0112] 34 Primary first beam [0113] 35 Secondary first beam [0114] 36 Tertiary first beam [0115] 37 First planar building element [0116] 38 Secondary planar building element [0117] 39 Tertiary planar building element [0118] 40 Horizontal support structures [0119] 41 Attachment member