Prefabricated building units for constructing building, and buildings whose fabric comprises assembled units of this kind

Claim 2

A building unit for constructing buildings comprising a metallic structure having the shape of a right prism, said structure comprising: a lower frame formed of wide flat bars disposed along the side faces of the prism in such a manner that the bottom edge of such frame forms the sides of the bottom base of the prism; an upper frame formed of wide flat bars disposed along the side faces of the prism in such a manner that the top edge of such upper frame forms the sides of the top base of the prism; uprights having a V-shaped section joining together said frames, each upright being disposed in such a manner that its edge forms a vertical edge of the prism and that its flanges, formed of wide flat bars, are disposed along the side faces of the prism; and a metal sheet attached to each of said frames and forming, respectively, a self-supporting lower horizontal wall at a predetermined level across said lower frame and a self-supporting upper horizontal wall at a predetermined level across said upper frame, whereby said frames and respective walls together form empty boxes open at the bottom.

Claim 3

A building unit according to claim 1 wherein the bottom part of the lower frame, the bottom part of the upper frame, and the vertical edges of the flanges of the uprights are provided with projecting edges directed at right angles towards the interior of the building unit.

Claim 4

A building unit according to claim 1 wherein the top part of the lower frame and the top part of the upper frame are provided with projecting edges directed at right angles towards the interiors of the said frames.

Claim 5

A building unit according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein said bottom horizontal wall is offset downwardly with respect to the top edge of said lower frame, whereby the top portion of the lower frame forms an upwardly directed projecting edge along the edges of the bottom wall.

Claim 6

A building unit according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein said metal sheet is attached to the top edge of the lower frame.

Claim 7

A building unit according to claim 5 wherein the bottom horizontal wall is provided on its upper face with a projecting edge which follows the periphery of said bottom wall.

Claim 8

A building unit according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein under the level of the bottom horizontal wall said lower frame is provided with one or more openings permitting the passage of pipes and/or cables.

Claim 9

A building unit according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said horizontal walls is provided with openings near the vertical edges of the prism.

Claim 10

A building unit according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said horizontal walls is provided with a circular opening permitting the installation of a spiral staircase for passage between superposed building units.

Claim 11

A building unit according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said horizontal walls is provided with a semi-circular cutout whose center is situated on a horizontal edge of said prism, the wide flat bars which form the corresponding frame being so shaped as to follow the edge of the cutout horizontal wall to which they are attached, and the arrangement and diameter of the said cutout being such that when two building units provided with such cutouts are connected side by side the semi-circular cutouts complement one another to form a circular opening permitting the installation of a spiral staircase for passage between superposed building units.

Claim 12

A building unit according to claim 1 including metal rib stiffeners affixed to at least some of said metal sheets and bars, the stiffeners of a bottom horizontal wall being fixed against the bottom face of the latter and all the stiffeners provided on the building unit being so disposed and arranged that they do not project beyond the side faces of the prism formed by said building unit.

Claim 13

A building unit according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said frames is interrupted at least at one of its corners.

Claim 14

A building unit according to claim 1 formed of factory-prefabricated elements comprising: (a) a lower frame provided with a bottom wall (b) a upper frame provided with a top wall (c) four uprights.

Claim 15

A building unit according to claim 13 having the shape of a right prism having a rectangular base and formed of prefabricated structural elements, comprising: (a) a bottom part which is formed of two identical rectangular parts joined together side by side on the building site, each comprising a lower frame and a bottom wall; (b) a top part which is formed of two identical rectangular parts joined together side by side on the building site, each comprising an upper frame and a top wall; and (c) four uprights.

Claim 16

A building composed of a plurality of superposed and juxtaposed building units bolted together, each such unit comprising a metallic structure having the shape of a right prism, said structure further comprising: a lower frame formed of wide, flat bars disposed along the side faces of the prism in such a manner that the bottom edge of such frame forms the sides of the bottom base of the prism; an upper frame formed of wide, flat bars disposed along the side faces of the prism in such a manner that top edge of such upper frame forms the sides of the top base of the prism; and uprights having a V-shaped section joining together said frames, each upright being disposed in such a manner that its edge forms a vertical edge of the prism and that its flanges, formed of wide, flat bars, are disposed along the side faces of the prism, said units being adapted to be fastened to each other along at least one pair of adjacent surfaces of the prism; a bottom horizontal wall attached to its lower frame comprising a metal sheet connected thereto at a predetermined level with respect to the top edge thereof; and, a top horizontal wall attached to its upper frame at a predetermined level with respect to the top edge thereof, said horizontal walls being self-supporting, whereby each forms, together with its frame, an empty box open at the bottom.

Claim 17

A building composed of a plurality of superposed and juxtaposed building units bolted together, each such unit comprising a metallic structure having the shape of a right prism, said structure further comprising: a lower frame formed of wide, flat bars disposed along the side faces of the prism in such a manner that the bottom edge of such frame forms the sides of the bottom base of the prism; an upper frame formed of wide, flat bars disposed along the side faces of the prism in such a manner that top edge of such upper frame forms the sides of the top base of the prism; and uprights having a V-shaped section joining together said frames, each upright being disposed in such a manner that its edge forms a vertical edge of the prism and that its flanges, formed of wide, flat bars, are disposed along the side faces of the prism, said units being adapted to be fastened to each other along at least one pair of adjacent surfaces of the prism; a bottom horizontal wall attached to its lower frame comprising a metal sheet connected thereto at a predetermined level with respect to the top edge thereof; and, a top horizontal wall attached to its upper frame at a predetermined level with respect to the top edge thereof, said horizontal walls being self-supporting, whereby each forms, together with its frame, an empty box open at the bottom.

Claim 18

A building in accordance with claim 15 including a plurality of stacks spaced apart from one another and formed of building units resting one on the other, each level of each stack being composed of a building unit or of two or more building units juxtaposed side by side and joined together, while spacers form a space between the top edge of the upper frame of each building unit of each stack and the bottom edge of the lower frame of the building unit superposed on it, and further including building units which are not supported by their bottom face and are fixed solely by one or more of their side faces against one or more of the free side faces of the building units forming the said stacks.

Claim 19

A building according to claim 16 wherein said spacers form part of the building units themselves and are formed by the ends of the uprights of the building units, such uprights being extended beyond at least one edge of an associated frame.

Claim 20

A building in accordance with claim 15 including one stack formed of building units resting one on the other, each level of said stack comprising a building unit or two or more building units juxtaposed side by side and joined together, while spacers form a space between the top edge of the upper frame of each building unit of said stack and the bottom edge of the lower frame of the building unit superposed on it, and further including building units which are not supported by their bottom face and which are fixed solely by one or more of their side faces against one or more of the free side faces of the building units forming said stack.