Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080276565 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STICK BUILDING HOMES WITHIN A FACTORY - A method and apparatus for stick-building large buildings (e.g., single-family homes, townhouses, apartment complexes, commercial structures, multi-story buildings, buildings legally or physically too large or oddly shaped to be transported substantially intact via public roads, etc.) within a factory is presented. The factory can be constructed on or near the intended building destination(s). The factory can include a large enclosed structure that shelters the construction process, the raw materials and/or workers from the extremes or effects of the natural elements. Inside the factory, one or more buildings are constructed using stick-building construction techniques (e.g., constructing the building from raw materials without pre-manufactured panels or modular sections). The factory can use assembly line and/or assembly point stick-building techniques. | 11-13-2008 |
20080289287 | BUILDING MANUFACTURING FACILITY WITH ROTATABLE SUBASSEMBLY AREAS - The present invention relates to a facility for manufacturing non-roadable buildings. The facility includes an enclosed area having a roof, a plurality of bays for positioning the non-roadable buildings therein, each of the plurality of bays configured to have one non-roadable building positioned therein, a plurality of movable manufacturing areas configured to manufacture elements for manufacturing and a lifting device positioned within the enclosed area and configured to move the elements for manufacturing of the non-roadable building through the facility, including movement of the elements from each of the plurality of movable manufacturing areas to each of the plurality of bays. | 11-27-2008 |
20090025322 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BUILDING HOMES IN A FACTORY LACKING A ROOF OR EXTERIOR WALL - In one embodiment, a building manufacturing system is provided. The system includes a manufacturing facility. The manufacturing facility includes one or more walls arranged to form a substantially complete perimeter. The manufacturing facility further includes a substantially open top. The system also includes one or more component assembly areas associated with the manufacturing facility. One or more components for a large building are assembled in the component assembly areas. The system also includes one or more assembly stations associated with the manufacturing facility. The large building is assembled substantially completely from a plurality of components in the stations. | 01-29-2009 |
20090067952 | Building Transport Device - The present invention relates to a transport device for transporting a building. The device includes a first support structure, the first support structure having at least four wheels capable of individual rotation about a vertical axis and a second support structure, the second support structure having at least four wheels capable of individual rotation about a vertical axis. The first support structure and the second support structure are configured to couple together to support and transport the building. | 03-12-2009 |
20090143939 | Method and apparatus for maintaining instantaneous center for rotation of load transporter - A vehicle maneuvering system and method are provided. The system includes an input device coupled to a first vehicle and a processor. The processor is configured to determine if the first vehicle is a master vehicle or a slave vehicle to a second vehicle. If the first vehicle is the master vehicle, the processor determines an instantaneous center of rotation based at least partly upon an input received from the input device. If the first vehicle is the slave vehicle, the instantaneous center of rotation is received by the first vehicle. The system also includes a controller configured to position a wheel unit of the first vehicle with the path of the wheel unit being perpendicular to a line passing through the center of the wheel unit and the instantaneous center of rotation. | 06-04-2009 |
20090143940 | Steering control for a vehicle - A control system for steering at least one vehicle including a first plurality of sensors operably coupled to a respective wheel of the vehicle, a second plurality of sensors operably coupled to a respective input device, and a vehicle controller. The vehicle controller is operably coupled to the sensors and each respective wheel for controlling the velocity of each wheel to achieve a desired speed and direction based on the data signals received from the sensors. The vehicle controller controls the velocity of each wheel independently to achieve the desired speed and direction of the vehicle. | 06-04-2009 |
20090150208 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INTEGRATED INVENTORY AND PLANNING - An integrated inventory and planning system for a factory system, which builds large buildings for transportation substantially intact from one or more construction sites to building sites, is presented. The system can include a demand calculation unit, a requirements calculation unit and a scheduling unit configured to provide a schedule of operation for a factory system producing large buildings for transportation to a substantially permanent building site, wherein the schedule is based at least in part on a first calculation of the demand calculation unit and a second calculation of the requirements calculation unit. | 06-11-2009 |