WO1993011329A1

WO1993011329A1 - Standardized portable housing unit

Info

Publication number: WO1993011329A1
Application number: PCT/US1991/008939
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert S. Allison
Original assignee: Allison Robert S
Priority date: 1991-11-27
Filing date: 1991-11-27
Publication date: 1993-06-10
Also published as: AU1252092A

Abstract

A portable housing structure having external dimensions meeting ISO standards for comprising an enclosed housing unit (11) and a supporting frame (12) including a horizontal bottom support (13) on which the housing unit (11) rests and two vertical end structures (14) spaced adjacently away from the respective ends of the housing unit (11) and extending from the base support (13) upwards to an elevation slightly above the top of the housing unit (11), the bottom support (13) and the end structures (14) defining a right prism with eight corners, each corner including a plurality of lifting eyes (17), preferably ISO corner fittings with three oval eyes each.

Description

STANDARDIZED PORTABLE HOUSING UNIT TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to the technical field of enclosed housing units that are portable and stackable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Mobile home units are well known in this country and elsewhere in the world. For the most part these units are mounted on a permanently attached frame with wheels and axles and are transported along the highways by being pulled behind a prime mover of some sort, e.g., a truck tractor. In more recent times one or more mobile home units are trans¬ ported from the manufacturer to a home site where the home units are then placed on a suitable foundation. These are not truly -mobile homes because they do not have integrally constructed wheels and axles for movement to another loca¬ tion. This manufactured housing is lifted by crane, fork lift trucks, jacks or the like from the ground at the manu¬ facturing location to a highway truck and from the highway truck to the ground at the eventual home site. Such manu¬ factured housing can be transported by -ship, but it is not capable of being loaded in stacks as are cargo containers, and is not designed to be handled by port equipment used to stack, load, and move overseas cargo containers.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved finished portable manufactured home which is capable of ship¬ ment and handling as standardized marine cargo. It is another object of this invention to provide a standardized cargo unit of a house in a detachable frame that is readily stowed as stackable units on a ship, transferable from a ship to a truck for delivery and eventually set-up at a home site. Still other objects will become apparent in the more detailed description which follows. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a transportable manufactured housing structure having external dimensions to meet ISO standards comprising a residential unit having a floor, four walls and a roof inside of a supporting frame including a horizontal rectangular bottom support having two sides and two ends and adapted to support said residential unit, and a pair of vertical end structures attached respectively to said two ends and extending upwardly to a level at least as high as said residential unit, said end structures comprising two substantially identical rectangular end portions detachably joined to each other along a common horizontal plane, said supporting frame having eight corners with a lifting eye in each corner.

This invention also relates to a process for unloading a housing structure of this invention from a flat bed truck to the ground which comprises anchoring the housing structure and pulling the truck out from under the housing structure in a series of short moves, and at each stop attaching to the underneath side of the housing structure a support extending to the ground, the support being a removable portion of the supporting frame used to transport the housing unit. In a preferred process there are four supports under the housing unit and each is derived from the end structures of the sup¬ porting frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organ¬ ization and method of operation, together with further ob¬ jects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a housing unit in a sup¬ porting frame of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the bottom sup¬ port for the housing unit; FIG. 3 is an assembled view of the bottom support of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottom side of the bottom support of FIGS. 2 and 3, with cross pieces to provide for attachment of a supporting frame work underneath the housing unit;

FIG. 5 is a perspective, partly broken away, showing the construction of the housing unit when placed in the bottom support;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of an end of the housing structure showing details of an end structure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration in perspective of an early stage in unloading the housing structure of this in¬ vention from a flat bed truck; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration in perspective of the next stage succeeding that of FIG. 7.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The novel features of this invention are best understood by reference to the attached drawings .

In FIG. 1 there is shown a housing structure which, in essence, is a housing unit 11 in a transporting frame 12 that supports housing unit 11 under its entire length and width, and is built to be stackable with other housing structures of the same features. The housing unit may be a portable home unit (i.e., a mobile home without the wheeled chassis) or other structure for residence, for storage, for office space, or the like, with all interior walls, appliances, etc. in¬ stalled. This invention does not relate to the housing unit design or its structure except as it is attached to the sup¬ porting, frame needed to make it transportable. The require¬ ments that make the housing unit transportable in the support frame of this invention are those of overall dimensions which fall within the sizes of cargo units that are transportable by truck, ship, or airplane. In general, the housing unit is transportable by truck, by ship and even by airplane. The size regulations for ship freight are set forth in Interna¬ tional Standards ISO 668-1979 (E) for freight containers 20 feet, 30 feet, or 40 feet long. The largest size is suitable for a housing unit and is approximately 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8-9 feet high. These dimensions are ones which are preferred for the overall dimensions of the housing structure of this invention.

The supporting frame 12 includes a horizontal bottom support 13 attached at each of its ends to a vertical end structure 1 . Housing unit 11 may rest on top of bottom support 13 or have its flooring supports built into bottom support 13. End structures 14 may or may not contact housing unit 11, but in the drawings are spaced away from (by a few inches) the end walls 33 of housing unit 11. End structures are rectangular and sufficiently tall vertically to exceed the height of housing unit 11 and to be supports for another housing structure to be stacked above. The entire housing structure would, therefore, occupy the same prismatic space as a marine cargo container of the standard ISO dimensions. At each of the eight corners of that prismatic space is an arrangement of lifting eyes 17. These may be machined, torch burned, or otherwise built into the components of supporting frame 12 or they may be provided by affixing premade ISO Standard corner castings to each corner. Lifting eyes are preferably oval and made to ISO specifications. These eyes are mated with special oval twist locking male members and are used for attached lifting cables, for attachment to truck beds, for attachment to other units in stabilizing a stack of housing units, etc. For purposes to be described later, each end structure is composed of two rectangular end portions 15 and 16 bolted together along a central horizontal plane 52.

The details of bottom support 13 are shown in FIGS. 2-5. In general, support 13 is prepared bywelding together four beams into the desired rectangular shape, preferably two side L-beams 18 to a front channel beam 19 and a rear channel beam 20. The terms "front" and "rear" refer to directions for placing the housing structure on the front or rear portions of a flat bed truck. Front channel beam 19 is identical to rear channel beam 20 except for the hole 22 in beam 20 to receive the prong of a lifting jack and the cut-out portion 21 in beam 19 to fit over the elevation step in the forward chassis of most flat bed trucks. Side beams 18 are posi¬ tioned such that the horizontal leg of each beam faces toward the open center of the frame and is at the lower level of the frame so as to form shelves on which to rest floor joists 27 (FIG. 5) when housing unit 11 is built into supporting frame 12. In FIG. 4 there is shown the lowermost surface of bottom support 12 and how it is modified by cross pieces 25 welded to beams 18. It is emphasized, however, that bottom support can be made of any shape beams to support the housing unit, and may be made entirely of wood members.

In FIG. 5 one may see how the housing unit 11 is built into bottom support 13. Horizontal legs 49 of side L-beams 18 support lateral floor joists 27, joist plates 28, base. plates, flooring 31, and studs 29, insulation layer 30, siding 32 and the remainder of the components of a housing unit 11. Alternately, bottom support 13 can be assembled with side L-beams 18 laid with horizontal leg at the upper¬ most level so as to support a prebuilt housing unit thereon. This arrangement is not preferred because it necessarily de¬ tracts about six inches from the overall height and the inside headroom of the housing unit.

In FIG. 6 there is shown the detail of the rectangular end structures 14 and how they are arranged on the housing structure of this invention. End structures 14 are posi¬ tioned near respective end walls 33 of housing unit 11 having roof 35 and side walls 34. End structures 14 are spaced away from end wall 33 by about a two-inch space 57, and they pro¬ vide support for another housing structure to be stacked above the one shown in FIG. 1. Detachable end structures 14 are securely and rigidly fastened to bottom support 13 by a plurality of bolts 56. Nondetachable end frame structures may be welded to the frame. In a preferred embodiment, end structures 14 are rectangular combinations of two identical rectangular end portions 15 and 16 connected to each other by a plurality of bolts 55 joining the two end portions at central horizontal plane 52. Each end portion 15 and 16 is preferably made of four welded lengths of structural beams, preferably L-beams. Gusset plates 41 may be welded at the upper and lower corners of end structure 15R to strengthen and rigidify them. Peak beam 43 is a beam joining end structure 14R and 14F (meaning "rear" and "front") and is employed to rigidify the entire housing structure, if de¬ sired. This component may be omitted in embodiments where its additional strength is not needed. Peak beam 43 is bolted to end structures 14F and 14R because it will remain with the housing unit 11 after end structures 14F and 14R are separated therefrom and used as permanent under pinning sup¬ ports for the housing unit 11. Because housing units 11 are frequently joined side-by-side to other housing units to make a larger residence, the vertical beams of end portions 15 and 16 contain bolt holes 40 that will be aligned with similar bolt holes in adjoining housing units and can be bolted to¬ gether to provide additional strength. Peak plates 43 of adjoining housing units 11 may also be bolted together for the same purpose.

An important feature of the housing structure of this invention, in 40-foot lengths, is that it can be conveniently transported on a container chassis highway truck trailer, un¬ loaded and set up as a finished housing unit ready for occu¬ pancy without need of any special cranes or other large lifting apparatus. The unloading process is illustrated in FIGS. 7-9. In FIG. 7 there is shown the first step wherein the housing unit on its supporting frame 12 is first lifted a short distance at the rear end by use of a jack engaging jack port 22 and placing a roller 51, e.g., a 4-6 inch pipe, under the rear end of the housing structure. Generally, there are twist lock projections near the rear of the chassis truck trailer and the roller 51 placed just forward of the twist lock. An anchoring cable 46 is connected from housing struc¬ ture frame 12 to an anchor point, which may be a large tree, a rock, or a stake 45 driven into the ground. This prevents housing structure 11 and 12 from moving forward. The truck is then moved forward a few feet so that end structure 14R overhangs the rear of the truck. End portion 15 from end structure 14R is then unbolted and placed under bottom sup¬ port 13 and bolted to it employing bolt holes 53 in channel 20. (See FIG. 4) . End portion 15 when bolted in place will form one of the under pinnings of housing unit 11 when it is completely removed from the truck. Then the truck is moved forward about one-third the length of housing unit 11 until the next lateral row of bolt holes 53 are beyond the end of the flat bed. End portion 16 is then removed from its posi¬ tion shown in FIG. 7 and attached to the bottom of bottom support 13 by bolts in bolt holes 53 and assumes the position shown in FIG. 8 as the second under pinning. In two more series of moving the truck and bolting under pinnings in place, the end portions 47 and 48 are employed from end structure 14F to provide complete support for the housing unit 11 as shown in FIG. 9. In this fashion a housing unit 11 can be removed from a transportation truck without the assistance of a large crane and the expense therefor, and similarly, by reversing this procedure the housing unit may be loaded onto a transport truck.

While the invention has been described with respect to certain specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

Cl aims : _8_

1. A transportable manufactured housing structure com¬ prising a residential housing unit of a floor, four walls and a roof inside of a supporting frame including a horizontal, rectangular bottom support having two sides and two ends and adapted to support said residential unit, and a pair of ver¬ ticalend structures attached respectively to said two ends and extending upwardly to a level at least as high as said resi¬ dential unit, said end structures being substantially rec¬ tangular with the upper surfaces thereof being in a common horizontal plane parallel to said bottom support, said sup¬ porting frame having eight corners with a lifting eye in each corner.

2. The housing structure of Claim 1 having external dimen¬ sions and lifting eyes according to ISO standards.

3. The structure of Claim 1 wherein said end structures are spaced outwardly from said residential unit and consist of two identical rectangular end portions fastened to each other along a central horizontal plane.

4. The structure of Claim 1 wherein said supporting frame and said lifting eyes are positioned to meet the dimensions and requirements of International Standards Organization freight containers.

5. The structure of Claim 3 wherein said end portions each include four lengths of welded structural beams, said por¬ tions being bolted together along contiguous horizontal surfaces thereof.

6. The structure of Claim 1 wherein said bottom support has one end cut out to receive therein a forward elevated step of a flat bed highway trailer.

7. The structure of Claim 1 wherein said bottom support has one end including passageway to receive a prong of a lifting jack.

8. The structure of Claim 1 wherein said bottom support is adapted to be attached to said end portions at four length¬ wise spaced locations, each end portion being positioned , laterally across said bottom structure and depending down¬ wardly therefrom to serve as a support for said residential unit and said bottom support to rest on the ground.

9. The structure of Claim 1 wherein said sides of said bottom support are L-beams with one horizontal leg of the L facing inwardly to form a shelf, and said residential unit .has a lower structure of laterally parallel floor joists which rest on said shelf-forming legs.

10. The housing structure of Claim 1 which additionally com¬ prises a reinforcing structural beam attached at each end thereof to two corresponding locations on the upper parts of said end structures.

11. A transportable housing structure having external dimen¬ sions to meet ISO standards for marine freight cargo and com¬ prising an enclosed residential unit having a floor, four side walls, and a sloping roof, and a supporting frame including a horizontal rectangular bottom support of structural beams having two sides and two ends and upon which the residential unit rests, and two rectangular vertical end structures attached to the respective ends of said bottom support, ex¬ tending upwardly to slightly above the highest elevation of said residential unit, and spaced outwardly from said walls of said residential unit, the extremities of said bottom sup¬ port and the attached end structures forming eight corners of ^■ a rectangular prism, each said corner containing a lifting eye; said end structures comprising two identical hollow rec¬ tangular_,end portions detachably bolted together along a horizontal central plane.

12. The housing structure of Claim 11 wherein said bottom support is a hollow rectangular structure of two parallel end channel beams and two parallel side L-beams with the legs of all beams extending inwardly toward said hollow central space and the legs of said L-beams forming a shelf at the lowest elevation of the bottom support.

13. The housing structure of Claim 11 wherein said shelf- forming legs of said side L-beams directly support the floor joist structure of said residential unit.

14. A process of unloading a housing structure of Claim 11 having forward and rear ends mounted on a flat bed highway truck having forward and rear ends which comprises:

(a) anchoring said residential unit against movement when said truck moves forward;

(b) lifting the housing structure at the rear end of the truck bed and placing a roller means between the truck bed and the housing structure;

(c) moving said truck forward until the rear of the housing structure overhangs the rear end of said truck;

(d) unbolting the uppermost said end portion over¬ hanging the near extremity of the truck and bolting it to said bottom support as to hang downwardly from the rear end of said housing structure;

(e) moving said truck forward until slightly more than one-third of the housing structure overhangs the rear end of the truck;

(f) unbolting the lowermost said end portion from the rear end structure and bolting it to said bottom support so as to hang downwardly therefrom at a position approximately one-third of the length of said housing structure forward of the rear end of said housing structure; and

(g) repeating steps (e) and (f) two more times em¬ ploying the corresponding end portions of the forward end structure until said housing structure is resting on four spaced downwardly hanging end portions and said truck is free of said housing structure.

15. The process of Claim 14 wherein the lifting of step (b) is accomplished by employing a jack engaging a jack part in the rear end of the bottom support of said housing structure.