Static compression building

Abstract

A portable, modular building structure.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A modular structure comprising:
 at least a rigid top panel, a rigid bottom panel, two rigid opposing side panels, a rigid front panel and a rigid back panel, a tensioning system associated with said side panels, said top panel and said bottom panel, said tensioning system including a plurality of adjustable length compression applying members adjusted to be in tension about said side panels, said top panel and said bottom panel, said panels and said compression applying members cooperating to place at least one of said top, bottom, two side, front and back panels in compression along at least two axes.   
     
     
         2 . The modular structure according to  claim 1 , wherein said top, bottom, opposing side panels, rigid front panel and rigid back panels are releasably held together as a temporary unitary structure. 
     
     
         3 . The modular structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the tensioning system includes said tensioning members and a framing system cooperating with said tensioning members. 
     
     
         4 . The modular structure according to  claim 3 , wherein the framing system includes a plurality of rigid channel members and a plurality of brackets. 
     
     
         5 . The modular structure according to  claim 4 , wherein each of the rigid top panel, the rigid bottom panel, the two rigid opposing side panels, the rigid front panel and the rigid back panel have an opposing upper edge and lower edge and opposing side edges. 
     
     
         6 . The modular structure according to  claim 5 , wherein each upper edge has a rigid channel member associated therewith and each lower edge has a rigid channel member associated therewith. 
     
     
         7 . The modular structure according to  claim 6 , wherein the rigid channel members are sized and configured to receive either an upper edge or a lower edge of the panels. 
     
     
         8 . The modular structure according to  claim 7 , wherein the tensioning members are adjustable tensioning members. 
     
     
         9 . The modular structure according to  claim 7 , wherein a tensioning member extends between an upper edge and a lower edge of a panel. 
     
     
         10 . The modular structure according to  claim 1 , the modular structure comprising at least two opposing side walls, a front wall and a back wall, each of the two opposing walls being formed from at least one side panel, the front wall being formed from at least one front panel and the back wall being formed from at least one back panel. 
     
     
         11 . A framing system for a modular structure, comprising:
 a plurality of longitudinally extending channels, each channel comprising a connection element disposed at each end of the channel;   a plurality of laterally extending channels, each channel comprising a connection element at a first end and an elongate connection element at a second end;   a plurality of vertically extending corner posts, each corner post arranged at an intersection of a longitudinally extending channel and a laterally extending channel;   a plurality of corner brackets,   wherein the longitudinal channel, the connection element of the longitudinal channel, the lateral channel and the elongate connection element of the lateral channel cooperate with the corner bracket to establish a corner assembly connecting the longitudinally extending channel, the laterally extending channel and the corner post together to form either an upper corner or a lower corner of the framing system at a respective corner post,   wherein adjacent upper corners are connected by either a longitudinally extending channel or a laterally extending channel and adjacent lower corners are connected by either a longitudinally extending channel or a laterally extending channel; and   a plurality of upper corner assemblies are vertically aligned with a respective lower corner assembly and are connected to form the framing system of the modular structure.   
     
     
         12 . The framing system according to  claim 11 , wherein at the corner assembly, the connection element of the longitudinal channel and the elongate connection element of the lateral channel cooperate to form an attachment feature. 
     
     
         13 . The framing system according to  claim 12 , wherein the attachment feature is a hook shaped attachment feature. 
     
     
         14 . The framing system according to  claim 12 , wherein a tensioning cable extends between an attachment feature of an upper corner and an attachment feature of a lower corner of a respective corner post. 
     
     
         15 . The framing system according to  claim 12 , wherein the corner bracket comprises a slot for receiving the attachment feature. 
     
     
         16 . The framing system according to  claim 11 , wherein the corner bracket further comprises a lateral attachment feature. 
     
     
         17 . The framing system according to  claim 16 , wherein a tensioning cable extends in a lateral direction between a lateral attachment feature of a corner bracket of a corner beam and a lateral attachment feature of an adjacent corner bracket of an adjacent corner beam. 
     
     
         18 . The framing system according to  claim 11 , further comprising at least two longitudinally extending channels or at least two laterally extending channels between adjacent upper corners, and at least two longitudinally extending channels or at least two laterally channels extending between adjacent lower corners. 
     
     
         19 . The framing system according to  claim 18 , wherein adjacent longitudinal alignment flanges or adjacent lateral alignment flanges cooperate to form a vertical attachment feature that is received by a slot in a connecting bracket. 
     
     
         20 . The framing system according to  claim 19 , wherein a tensioning cable extends vertically between a pair respective attachment features. 
     
     
         21 . The framing system according to  claim 11 , wherein the modular structure is a parallelpiped modular structure. 
     
     
         22 . A portable structure, comprising:
 a frame comprised of either a pair of spaced apart longitudinal channels or a pair of spaced apart lateral channels with an upper edge of a wall element supported by one of either of the pair of channels and a lower edge of the wall element supported by the other of either of the pair of channels;   a plurality of connecting vertical walls that form the portable structure, each vertical wall comprising a wall element supported by a respective frame; and   a plurality of corners of the portable structure, each corner comprising a pair of vertical walls and a vertical corner member,   wherein adjacent walls are connected by a pair of connection flanges   
     
     
         23 . A modular building structure comprising:
 a bottom panel;   a first side panel adjacent a top edge of said bottom panel;   a second side panel adjacent a bottom edge of said bottom panel;   a first edge member joining the bottom panel and first side panel at their adjacent edges;   a second edge member joining the bottom panel and the second side panel at their adjacent edges;   a plurality of compression applying members extending from said first edge member to said second edge member.   
     
     
         24 . A framing system for use with the modular structure according to  claim 10  comprising:
 a plurality of longitudinally extending channels, wherein a pair of adjacent longitudinally extending channels and a bracket form a side wall assembly; 
 a plurality of laterally extending channels, wherein a pair of adjacent laterally extending channels and a bracket form an end wall assembly; 
 a plurality of corner assemblies, each corner assembly comprising an intersecting longitudinally and laterally extending channels, a corner post and a corner bracket, 
 wherein the longitudinally extending channels, the laterally extending channels, the side wall assemblies, the end wall assemblies and the corner assemblies are arranged relative to one another to form the framing system. 
 
     
     
         25 . A modular building structure comprised of rigid panels releasably held together, at least in part, by compressive forces, applied to said rigid panels by a tensioning assembly, said compressive forces being applied to rigid panels along at least two axes of the structure.