Modular Reinforced Insulated Panel RIPs Housing Structure

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a modular housing structure formed of Reinforced Insulated XPS Styrofoam Panels, RIPs. XPS Styrofoam is an extremely durable material with excellent insulator properties and good structural integrity that can be used to assemble and disassemble large structures quickly and easily due to its light weight. The structure is secured with a set of reinforcing elements that solidify and form connections between the XPS Styrofoam wall panels. The modular housing structure may comprise an inner wall and outer wall with a void between them for improved heat retention, and has a regular arrangement of openings on each wall element to facilitate the quick addition of standard house fixings and circuitry.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A modular housing structure formed from a plurality of prefabricated panels, the housing structure comprising:
 a plurality of roofing elements;   a plurality of reinforced wall elements, each wall element comprising an inner Styrofoam material panel and an outer Styrofoam material panel having a plurality of openings formed therein, the inner and outer Styrofoam material panels being bolted together via the openings with one or more reinforcing elements disposed between each pair of inner and outer panels, the reinforcing elements being formed of a harder material than the Styrofoam material panels and being arranged so as to interlock with the Styrofoam material panels to connect adjacent wall elements together; and   a plurality of corner elements, each corner element having one or more central grooved slots spanning the length of their height for interlocking with the reinforcing elements.   
     
     
         2 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein, when assembled together, the reinforced wall elements and the corner elements form at least an inner wall and an outer wall which are separated by a gap, the inner wall and outer wall being arranged so as to support the plurality of roofing elements. 
     
     
         3 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing elements are divided into a first set of reinforcing elements which are permanently affixed to respective Styrofoam material wall panels and a second set of skeletal reinforcing elements which are configured to interlock with the first set and connect adjacent wall elements. 
     
     
         4 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the reinforcing elements are flat panels which fully cover the inner surfaces of the inner panels and outer panels of the wall elements. 
     
     
         5 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the openings formed in the wall panels are arranged so as to receive fixings for housing apparatus and circuitry as well as facilitating the bolting together of the reinforced wall elements. 
     
     
         6 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein walls of the housing structure form a rectangular or square shape with the plurality of roofing elements being arranged parallel to a first opposing pair of edges of the walls and orthogonal to a second pair of edges of the walls. 
     
     
         7 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 6 , wherein the reinforced wall elements forming the second pair of edges have a plurality of indents arranged along their top edges, the indents being configured to receive and support the roofing elements. 
     
     
         8 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of roofing elements have a pair of corresponding indents disposed on either side for interlocking with the indents of the wall elements, the indents of the roofing elements being separated by a protrusion having a width equal to the width of the gap between the inner wall and the outer wall. 
     
     
         9 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing elements are formed of one or more of: wood, metal, and plastic. 
     
     
         10 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of roofing elements are also formed of Styrofoam material. 
     
     
         11 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the Styrofoam material has a compressive strength of 300 kPa or more at 10% deformation. 
     
     
         12 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the Styrofoam material has a shear modulus of 8 MPa or greater. 
     
     
         13 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the Styrofoam material has a density of 40 Kg/m 3  or less. 
     
     
         14 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the Styrofoam material has a thermal conductivity of 0.033 W/mK or less. 
     
     
         15 . A modular housing structure according to  claim 1 , wherein the Styrofoam material is Extruded Polystyrene.