Prefabricated building systems with built-up structural elements

Abstract

A built-up structural element includes a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings, wherein the steel hollow structural sections are stacked together in a stacked configuration, and a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes and securing the pair of steel hollow structural sections together in the stacked configuration. A built-up structural element includes a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings, wherein the steel hollow structural sections are coupled to one another using a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes.

1 . A method, comprising:
 fabricating a built-up structural element, including:
 obtaining a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each steel hollow structural section having a uniform cross-sectional profile over an entirety of a longitudinal length thereof; 
 for each of the pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section to vary the cross-sectional profile of the steel hollow structural section over the longitudinal length thereof; 
 for each of the pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section along the longitudinal length thereof; 
 stacking the pair of steel hollow structural sections together to form a stacked configuration in which the plurality of bolt holes of each steel hollow structural section align with each other; and 
 bolting the pair of steel hollow structural sections together via the plurality of bolt holes to secure the pair of steel hollow structural sections together in the stacked configuration; and 
   after fabricating the built-up structural element, using the fabricated built-up structural element to fabricate a sectional foldable prefabricated building.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining a complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections, each of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections having a uniform cross-sectional profile over an entirety of a longitudinal length thereof;   for each of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section to vary the cross-sectional profile of the steel hollow structural section over the longitudinal length thereof;   for each of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section along the longitudinal length thereof;   stacking the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections together to form a stacked configuration in which the plurality of bolt holes of each of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections align with each other;   bolting the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections together via the plurality of bolt holes to secure the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections together in the stacked configuration; and   coupling the pair of steel hollow structural sections in the stacked configuration to the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections in the stacked configuration via one or more spanning members.  3  (Original) The method of claim  2  wherein the one or more spanning members includes cladding.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the one or more spanning members includes struts. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein bolting the pair of steel hollow structural sections together via the plurality of bolt holes includes using the openings to access the bolt holes. 
     
     
         7 . A built-up structural element, comprising:
 a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings, wherein the steel hollow structural sections are stacked together in a stacked configuration; and   a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes and securing the pair of steel hollow structural sections together in the stacked configuration,   wherein the built-up structural element is a component of a sectional foldable prefabricated building.   
     
     
         8 . The built-up structural element of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a pair of complementary steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings, and wherein the complementary steel hollow structural sections are stacked together in a stacked configuration;   a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes and securing the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections together in the stacked configuration; and   one or more spanning members extending between the pair of steel hollow structural sections and the pair of complementary steel hollow structural sections.   
     
     
         9 - 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . A method of fabricating a built-up structural element, comprising:
 obtaining a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each steel hollow structural section having a uniform cross-sectional profile over an entirety of a longitudinal length thereof;   for each of the pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section to vary the cross-sectional profile of the steel hollow structural section over the longitudinal length thereof;   for each of the pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section along the longitudinal length thereof; and   coupling the pair of steel hollow structural sections together using a plurality of bolts extending through the bolt holes, wherein the coupling of the pair of steel hollow structural sections together includes bolting a first one of the pair of steel hollow structural sections to infill framing and bolting a second one of the pair of steel hollow structural sections to the infill framing.   
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 obtaining a complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections, each of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections having a uniform cross-sectional profile over an entirety of a longitudinal length thereof;   for each of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section to vary the cross-sectional profile of the steel hollow structural section over the longitudinal length thereof;   for each of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section along the longitudinal length thereof;   coupling the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections together using a plurality of bolts extending through the bolt holes; and   coupling the pair of steel hollow structural sections to the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections via one or more spanning members.   
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the one or more spanning members includes cladding. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21  wherein the one or more spanning members includes struts. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21  wherein coupling the pair of steel hollow structural sections to the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections via one or more spanning members includes:
 coupling a first one of the pair of steel hollow structural sections to a first one of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections via one or more first spanning members; and 
 coupling a second one of the pair of steel hollow structural sections to a second one of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections via one or more second spanning members. 
 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 19  wherein coupling the pair of steel hollow structural sections together includes using the openings to access the bolt holes. 
     
     
         27 . A built-up structural element, comprising:
 a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings;   a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes and securing the pair of steel hollow structural sections together; and   infill framing,   wherein a first one of the pair of steel hollow structural sections is bolted to the infill framing and a second one of the pair of steel hollow structural sections is bolted to the infill framing.   
     
     
         28 - 38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . A built-up structural element, comprising:
 a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings, wherein the steel hollow structural sections are stacked together in a stacked configuration; and   a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes and securing the pair of steel hollow structural sections together in the stacked configuration,   wherein the built-up structural element is a wall frame of a sectional foldable prefabricated building.   
     
     
         40 . A built-up structural element, comprising:
 a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings, wherein the steel hollow structural sections are stacked together in a stacked configuration; and   a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes and securing the pair of steel hollow structural sections together in the stacked configuration,   wherein the steel hollow structural sections are columns of a sectional foldable prefabricated building.   
     
     
         41 . A built-up structural element, comprising:
 a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings, wherein the steel hollow structural sections are stacked together in a stacked configuration; and   a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes and securing the pair of steel hollow structural sections together in the stacked configuration,   wherein the built-up structural element is a roof frame of a sectional foldable prefabricated building.   
     
     
         42 . A built-up structural element, comprising:
 a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings, wherein the steel hollow structural sections are stacked together in a stacked configuration; and   a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes and securing the pair of steel hollow structural sections together in the stacked configuration,   wherein the steel hollow structural sections are beams of a sectional foldable prefabricated building.   
     
     
         43 . A method of fabricating a built-up structural element, comprising:
 obtaining a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each steel hollow structural section having a uniform cross-sectional profile over an entirety of a longitudinal length thereof;   for each of the pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section to vary the cross-sectional profile of the steel hollow structural section over the longitudinal length thereof;   for each of the pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section along the longitudinal length thereof;   coupling the pair of steel hollow structural sections together using a plurality of bolts extending through the bolt holes, wherein the coupling of the pair of steel hollow structural sections together includes bolting a first one of the pair of steel hollow structural sections to a first set of infill framing and bolting a second one of the pair of steel hollow structural sections to the first set of infill framing;   obtaining a complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections, each of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections having a uniform cross-sectional profile over an entirety of a longitudinal length thereof;   for each of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section to vary the cross-sectional profile of the steel hollow structural section over the longitudinal length thereof;   for each of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections, cutting a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the plurality of openings in the steel hollow structural section along the longitudinal length thereof;   coupling the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections together using a plurality of bolts extending through the bolt holes, wherein coupling of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections together includes bolting a first one of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections to a second set of infill framing and bolting a second one of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections to the second set of infill framing; and   coupling the pair of steel hollow structural sections to the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections via one or more spanning members.   
     
     
         44 . A built-up structural element, comprising:
 a pair of steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings;   a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes and securing the pair of steel hollow structural sections together;   a pair of complementary steel hollow structural sections, each having a hollow and generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, a plurality of openings, and a plurality of bolt holes distinct from the openings;   a plurality of bolts extending through the plurality of bolt holes and securing the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections together;   one or more spanning members extending between the pair of steel hollow structural sections and the pair of complementary steel hollow structural sections;   a first set of infill framing; and   a second set of infill framing,   wherein a first one of the pair of steel hollow structural sections is bolted to the first set of infill framing and a second one of the pair of steel hollow structural sections is bolted to the first set of infill framing; and   wherein a first one of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections is bolted to the second set of infill framing and a second one of the complementary pair of steel hollow structural sections is bolted to the second set of infill framing.