Foldable building structures

Abstract

A foldable building structure includes a wall assembly made from a semi-rigid continuous sheet material configured with creases that enable the sheet material to be bent or folded to form multiple integrally formed together walls. A roof assembly can be formed from a second semi-rigid continuous sheet material that is configured with creases that enable the sheet material to be bent or folded to form multiple integrally formed roof panels. A floor assembly can be made out a third semi-rigid continuous sheet of material that also can be folded to form foundation members and floor panels.

1 . A building structure, comprising:
 a continuous sheet of substantially rigid building material having creases configured to enable folding into multiple integrally formed together and separately alignable walls for a portable self supporting wall assembly that that is all formed from the same sheet of continuous substantially rigid building material.   
   
   
       2 . The building structure of  claim 1  wherein the multiple walls form an entire enclosed wall assembly for a housing structure that has only one seam formed at opposite ends of the continuous sheet. 
   
   
       3 . The building structure of  claim 2  wherein the multiple walls are configured to fold into a hexagon shaped wall assembly. 
   
   
       4 . The building structure of  claim 1  wherein at least some of the creases enable portions of the sheet to be folded away from the walls to form vertically elongated supports. 
   
   
       5 . The building structure of  claim 4  wherein the vertically elongated supports are combined with horizontal members to frame an opening for a window having a thickness substantially greater than a thickness of the walls formed from the sheet of material. 
   
   
       6 . The building structure of  claim 4  further comprising holes located in the continuous sheet that form horizontally aligned slots in the supports when the portions of the sheet are folded together, wherein the slots are configured to receive and interlock with horizontal platforms. 
   
   
       7 . The building structure of  claim 4  wherein the vertical supports form sides of shelves, desks, utility sheds, or closets that are integrally formed into the same continuous sheet that forms the walls of the structure. 
   
   
       8 . The building structure of  claim 4  wherein the vertical supports extend out from both an inside surface and an outside surface of the walls. 
   
   
       9 . The building structure of  claim 4  wherein the vertically elongated supports are regularly spaced to constrain rigid thermal insulation panels. 
   
   
       10 . The building structure of  claim 4  wherein at least one of the vertically elongated supports extends out from the wall to partition an interior portion of a building structure formed by the wall assembly. 
   
   
       11 . The building structure of  claim 1  wherein at least some of the creases are configured to fold into an extended room that extends an interior portion of a building structure out away from a perimeter of the wall assembly. 
   
   
       12 . The building structure of  claim 2  wherein the opposite ends of the continuous sheet are spaced apart to form a doorway for the housing structure. 
   
   
       13 . The building structure of  claim 12  further comprising multiple closely spaced apart parallel creases located on opposite ends of the continuous sheet that are configured to enable the opposite ends of the continuous sheet to be rolled up into door posts that extend vertically up on opposite sides of the doorway. 
   
   
       14 . The building structure of  claim 1  wherein the continuous sheet comprises a corrugated cardboard or polypropylene middle section sandwiched between first and second facings. 
   
   
       15 . The building structure of  claim 14  wherein the middle section and first facing are removed along a top edge of the continuous sheet to form a flashing, and wherein the flashing is configured to overlap an interface between the wall assembly and a roof assembly. 
   
   
       16 . A building structure comprising:
 a wall assembly; and   a continuous sheet of substantially rigid building material having creases configured to enable folding of the continuous sheet into one or more separately alignable roof panels that form at least a portion of a roof assembly.   
   
   
       17 . The building structure of  claim 16  wherein at least some of the creases in the continuous sheet extend radially outward from a same apex across a width of the continuous sheet, and are configured to fold the continuous sheet into multiple integrally formed together triangular or trapezoidal shaped roof panels. 
   
   
       18 . The building structure of  claim 17  wherein the multiple roof panels enclose the entire wall assembly and have only one seam formed at opposite ends of the continuous sheet. 
   
   
       19 . The building structure of  claim 17  wherein the multiple roof panels form a hexagon shaped roof assembly. 
   
   
       20 . The building structure of  claim 17  wherein at least some of the creases in the continuous sheet enable portions of the continuous sheet to be folded together to form elongated roof struts that extend out from the roof panels. 
   
   
       21 . The building structure of  claim 20  wherein at least some of the roof struts extend up above the roof panels and some of the roof struts extend down below the roof panels. 
   
   
       22 . The building structure of  claim 16  wherein a middle layer and a first side facing are removed from a bottom edge of the continuous sheet, and wherein a remaining second side facing along the bottom edge is configured to extend down over the wall assembly and operate as a flashing between the roof assembly and the wall assembly. 
   
   
       23 . The building structure of  claim 16  wherein a middle layer and a first side facing are removed from a bottom edge of the continuous sheet, and wherein a remaining second side facing is configured to be bent upward above the wall assembly and operate as a rain gutter that extends around the wall and roof assemblies. 
   
   
       24 . The building structure of  claim 16  wherein at least some of the creases are configured to extend folds upwards above an upper roof assembly surface, the folds configured to support a protective layer above the upper roof assembly surface. 
   
   
       25 . A building structure comprising:
 a wall assembly;   a roof assembly; and   one or more sheets of substantially rigid building material having creases configured to enable folding of the sheets into a floor assembly having floor panels configured to reside inside of the wall assembly higher than a bottom end of the wall assembly.   
   
   
       26 . The building structure of  claim 25  wherein the floor assembly includes:
 lower foundation members that extend across the floor assembly; and   upper foundation members configured to interlock with the lower foundation members.   
   
   
       27 . The building structure of  claim 26  wherein at least some ends of the upper foundation members are configured to be rolled up to form wall supports that support the bottom end of the wall assembly. 
   
   
       28 . The building structure of  claim 26  wherein the lower or upper foundation members are integrally formed together from a same continuous roll of substantially rigid material. 
   
   
       29 . The building structure of  claim 28  wherein the lower foundation members are rolled out into a spiral that starts from a center of the floor assembly and extends out into a hexagon at an outside perimeter of the floor assembly. 
   
   
       30 . The building structure of  claim 26  wherein the floor panels have a triangular or trapezoidal shape and include sides that fold down to interlock with the bottom foundation members. 
   
   
       31 . The building structure of  claim 30  wherein multiple floor panels are formed from a same continuous sheet of substantially rigid material and portions of the continuous sheet between the floor panels form floor struts that interlock with the lower foundation members. 
   
   
       32 . An integrated building assembly, comprising:
 at least a portion of a wall for forming at least part of a building structure; and   one or more wall extensions that are integrally formed with the wall and that extend out of the wall, wherein the wall extensions are configured to both stiffen the wall and also provide at least one additional building feature comprising at least one of a piece of furniture, a room partition, a door frame, a window frame, a insulation holder, or a utility closet.   
   
   
       33 . The integrated building assembly of  claim 32  wherein the portion of the wall and wall extensions are formed out of a same continuous sheet of building material having creases configured to:
 enable folding of a first portion of the sheet into the portion of the wall for the building structure, and   enable folding of a second portion of the sheet into the wall extensions that extend out of the wall.   
   
   
       34 . The integrated building assembly of  claim 32  further comprising one or more furnishing members configured to interlock with the extensions to form home furnishings that are integrally formed with the wall. 
   
   
       35 . The integrated building assembly of  claim 32  wherein at least one of the furnishing members comprises a shelf that interlocks across adjacent extensions in horizontal alignment to form shelving that extends out from the wall. 
   
   
       36 . The integrated building assembly of  claim 32  wherein at least one of the furnishing members comprises a desk top that interlocks across adjacent extensions in horizontal alignment that together with the adjacent extensions form a desk that is integrally formed with the wall. 
   
   
       37 . A foldable structure, comprising:
 an elongated sheet of continuous building material that is generally too rigid to be bent or folded together; and   creases in the building material configured to enable bending or folding of the sheet of building material into multiple different substantially rigid building panels that are all integrally formed together from the same sheet of continuous building material.   
   
   
       38 . The foldable structure of  claim 37  wherein a first set of parallel creases extend equal distances apart across a width and length of the sheet, the first set of creases configured to enable folding of the sheet into a single stack of building panels of equal width and height. 
   
   
       39 . The foldable structure of  claim 38  further comprising a second set of parallel creases located closely together across at least a first end of the sheet, the second set of creases configured to enable the first end of the sheet to be rolled up into a support post. 
   
   
       40 . The foldable structure of  claim 38  further comprising a second set of multiple parallel creases located in-between the first set of creases, the second set of creases configured to enable portions of the building material to be folded together to form vertical supports that extend out from the building panels. 
   
   
       41 . The foldable structure of  claim 40  further comprising slots in the vertical supports configured to suspend platforms out from the building panels. 
   
   
       42 . The foldable structure of  claim 37  further comprising a bendable flashing integrally formed with, and extending from at least one side of the sheet. 
   
   
       43 . The foldable structure of  claim 37  wherein different groups of angled creases that extend radially out from an apex on a first edge of the sheet to different locations on a second edge of the sheet, the different groups of angled creases configured to enable folding of the building material into multiple adjacently triangular or trapezoidal shaped roof or floor panels that each extend radially outward from a central location. 
   
   
       44 . The foldable structure of  claim 43  further comprising multiple parallel creases located in-between the groups of angled creases, the parallel creases configured for folding portions of the elongated sheet together to form struts that extend out from the roof or floor panels. 
   
   
       45 . The foldable structure of  claim 37  further comprising:
 interlocking foundation members;   wall supports extending around a perimeter of the foundation members and configured to support the building panels; and   floor panels configured for placing on top of the foundation members.   
   
   
       46 . The foldable structure of  claim 45  wherein:
 most or all of a lower set of foundation members are integrally formed together from a same continuous roll of material and   an upper set of foundation members interlock over the lower foundation members.   
   
   
       47 . The foldable structure of  claim 46  wherein ends of at least some of the foundation members are configured to be rolled up to form the wall supports. 
   
   
       48 . The foldable structure of  claim 45  wherein the wall supports are located lower than the floor panels so that a bottom end of the wall panels extend over and below the floor panels. 
   
   
       49 . The foldable structure of  claim 45  wherein the floor panels comprise one or more sheets of substantially rigid material that includes creases that enable a side portion of the rigid material to be folded downward for interlocking with the foundation members. 
   
   
       50 . The foldable structure of  claim 49  further comprising an elongated sheet of substantially rigid floor material that includes creases that enable the sheet to be folded into multiple different integrally formed together floor panels that each have a triangular or trapezoidal shape and folds in-between the floor panels sheet are configured to interlock with the foundation members. 
   
   
       51 . A portable building structure, comprising:
 a floor assembly including floor panels, interlocking foundation members configured to support the floor panel, and wall supports integrally formed from at least some of the interlocking members; and   a wall assembly made from a semi-rigid continuous sheet material configured with creases that enable the sheet material to be bent or folded to form multiple integrally formed together walls, wherein a bottom end of the wall overlaps the floor assembly and sits on the wall supports.   
   
   
       52 . The portable building structure of  claim 51  further comprising a roof assembly formed from a second semi-rigid continuous sheet material configured with creases that enable the sheet material to be bent or folded to form multiple integrally formed together triangular or trapezoidal shaped roof panels. 
   
   
       53 . The portable building structure of  claim 52  wherein the wall floor assembly, wall assembly, and roof assembly all have a hexagon shape. 
   
   
       54 . The portable building structure of  claim 52  further comprising vertical supports formed by folding portions of the continuous sheet together, the vertical supports configured to hold horizontal platforms out from sides of the wall assembly. 
   
   
       55 . The portable building structure of  claim 52  wherein the floor panels are folded from a semi-rigid continuous sheet material configured with creases that enable the sheet material to be bent or folded to form multiple integrally formed together triangular or trapezoidal shaped floor panels and wherein folds in-between the floor panels are configured to sit on the foundation members.