Connector systems for modular building construction

Abstract

The connector system can be used for securing a first construction module to a second construction module on a modular construction site. The connector system can include a male connector secured to the first construction module and having a shaft with a head and an abutment; a female connector secured to the second construction module and having i) a housing defining internal volume and an aperture sized to receive the shaft and leading to the internal volume, and ii) a first linkage and a second linkage disposed in opposition to one another in the internal volume for locking the shaft therebetween, each one of the first and second locking linkages having a sequence of at least two pivotally interconnected members movable between a collapsed configuration in which the head can be received into the internal volume through the aperture, and a deployed configuration in which an end member of the members is trapped against the abutment.

Description

CONNECTOR SYSTEMS FOR MODULAR BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This specification generally relates to the field of construction, more specifically of prefabricated and modular constructions and to a snap joint used during the on-site assembly of the construction.BACKGROUND

[0002] In the field of modular construction, sometimes referred to as prefabricated construction or prefab, individual components which will be referred to herein as modules are built in a factory and subsequently transported to the intended site to be assembled into the final product. The modules can include a number of walls as well as a ceiling and / or a flooring for instance, and can form an entire dwelling (e.g. a living or working quarter) designed for sharing a wall with one or more adjacent dwelling, or a portion of a dwelling destined to be assembled adjacent one or more other portions of the dwelling, for instance. A typical motivation behind this type of approach is to increase the amount of work that can be done in the controlled factory environment and reduce the amount of work to be done on-site. This may result in lower overall costs, as the factory work is typically of lower cost in comparison to the work done on a construction site, and may also result in higher quality or lower variability due to the more controlled environment.

[0003] The modules are handled and shipped, typically individually, to the construction site, where they are assembled with one another to create the building or structure (see Fig. 1 for instance).

[0004] In the beginning, modular constructions were limited to the development of low-rise, temporary or portable buildings. However, with the development of the associated technologies and the success of some use cases, modular construction concepts have gained in popularity and their use has become more and more widespread and extended to multi-storey applications and a wider range of building types.

[0005] While former modular construction concepts were satisfactory to a certain degree for small scale modular buildings, aiming for bigger buildings deepens the need for new approaches. Moreover, there always remains room for improvement concerning aspects such as costs,reliability, ease of use, and certain features such as the relative ease with which the modules can be disconnected from one another when the need arises.SUMMARY

[0006] In one aspect, there is provided a connector system for securing a first construction module to a second construction module on a modular construction site, the connector system comprising: a male connector secured to the first construction module and having a longitudinal member; a female connector releasably engageable to the male connector, the female connector secured to the second construction module and having: a housing defining an internal volume, the housing having an aperture leading to the internal volume, locking members received within the internal volume, the locking members including a first set of locking members pivotably engaged to one another on a first side of the aperture and a second set of locking members pivotably engaged to one another on a second side of the aperture opposite the first side; wherein the connector system has an unlocked configuration in which the longitudinal member of the male connector is detachable from the female connector and a locked configuration in which the longitudinal member is locked within the housing by the locking members, wherein, in the locked configuration, a first locking member of the first set of locking members and a second locking member of the second set of locking members extend towards one another and across the aperture of the housing to engage the longitudinal member of the male connector.

[0007] The connector system described above may include any of the following features, in any combinations.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first set of locking members and the second set of locking members each includes: a first member engaged to the longitudinal member in the locked configuration, the first member movable between a first position in which the first member is offset from the aperture of the housing and a second position in which the first member at least partially extends across the aperture to engage the longitudinal member; and a second member pivotably engaged to the first member, the second member movable between a disengaged position when the first member is in the first position to an engaged position when the first member is in the second position, wherein, in the engaged position of the second member, a pulling force applied to separate the male connector from the female connector is transmitted to the first member that translates into a compressive force on the second member, the compressive force transmitted to a wall of the housing.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first member is L-shaped and engages a groove on the longitudinal member of the male connector, the second member being L-shaped and having a first side abutting a bottom wall of the housing and a second side abutting a side wall of the housing transverse to the bottom wall, the second member having a protrusion at an intersection between the first side and the second side, the protrusion engaging a notch in the side wall when in the engaged position.

[0010] In some embodiments, the pulling force pushes the protrusion into the notch.

[0011] In some embodiments, the first member is a cam having a curved side slidably engaging a correspondingly curved wall of the housing.

[0012] In some embodiments, the second member is a lever, a wall of the housing defining a recess sized to accommodate a portion of the lever in the engaged position of the second member.

[0013] In some embodiments, the pulling force pushes the lever into the recess.

[0014] In some embodiments, the second member includes a first sub-member pivotably engaged to the first member and a second sub-member pivotably engaged to both of the first submember and a top wall of the housing, longitudinal axes of the first sub-member and the second sub-member being parallel to one another in a transition position between the disengaged position and the engaged position and non-parallel to one another in both of the disengaged position and the engaged position, the first sub-member and the second sub-member abutting a side wall of the housing in the engaged position, the side wall being transfer to the wall.

[0015] In some embodiments, the pulling force pushes the first sub-member and the second sub-member against the side wall of the housing.

[0016] In some embodiments, the male connector includes an end plate secured to the first construction module, the end plate defining an inner space and an opening communicating with the inner space, and wherein the longitudinal member protrudes from a base received within the inner space, the longitudinal member extending through the opening and out of the inner space of the end plate.

[0017] In some embodiments, the connecting member is translatable relative to the end plate in a direction being transversal to the longitudinal member.

[0018] In some embodiments, in the locked configuration, the locking members exert a tensioning force on the longitudinal member of the male connector.

[0019] In another aspect, there is provided a method for securing two structural members via a connector system, comprising: inserting a longitudinal member of a male connector secured to one of the two structural members inside a housing of a female connector secured to the other of the two structural members; and locking the longitudinal member inside the housing by pivoting two sets of locking members about respective pivots thereby rotating cams until ends of the cams become engaged to the longitudinal member and exert a tension force on the longitudinal member.

[0020] In some embodiments, the method includes compensating for a misalignment between the two structural members by translating the longitudinal member relative to the one of the two structural members and within a plane normal to a mating direction between the male connector and the female connector.

[0021] In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a female connector for securing a first construction module to a second construction module on a modular construction site, the female connector comprising: a housing defining internal volume and an aperture sized to engage a head of a shaft into the internal volume through the aperture; and a first linkage and a second linkage disposed in opposition to one another in the internal volume for locking the shaft therebetween, each one of the first and second linkages having a sequence of at least two pivotally interconnected members movable between a collapsed configuration in which the head can be received into the internal volume through the aperture, and a deployed configuration in which an end member of the at least two pivotally interconnected members is trapped against a corresponding abutment formed in the head of the shaft.

[0022] In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a connector system for securing a first construction module to a second construction module on a modular construction site, the connector system comprising: a male connector secured to the first construction module and having a shaft with a head and an abutment; a female connector secured to the second construction module and having i) a housing defining internal volume and an aperture sized to receive the shaft and leading to the internal volume, and ii) a first linkage and a second linkage disposed in opposition to one another in the internal volume for locking the shaft therebetween, each one of the first and second locking linkages having a sequence of at least two pivotallyinterconnected members movable between a collapsed configuration in which the head can be received into the internal volume through the aperture, and a deployed configuration in which an end member of the members is trapped against the abutment.

[0023] In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a method of connecting a male connector of a first construction module to a female connector of a second construction module, the method comprising : moving a head of a shaft of the male connector into an internal volume of the female connector via an aperture of the female connector, and between a first linkage and a second linkage disposed in the internal volume; and moving the first linkage and the second linkage from a collapsed configuration to a deployed configuration, including pivoting at least a first member and a second member of each one of the first linkage and the second linkage relative one another, thereby positioning the first linkage and the second linkage into a locking engagement with the head of the shaft.

[0024] In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a connector system for securing a first construction module to a second construction module on a modular construction site, the connector system comprising: a male connector secured to the first construction module and having a first housing defining a first internal volume and a first aperture leading to the internal volume, a male member having a base trapped in the first internal volume and a shaft protruding from the first aperture in a longitudinal orientation, the base being slidable within the first internal volume in a transversal plane; and a female connector secured to the second construction module and having a second housing defining a second internal volume and a second aperture sized to receive the shaft and leading to the second internal volume, a first locking member and a second locking member disposed in opposition to one another in the internal volume for locking the shaft therebetween.

[0025] In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a method of connecting a male connector of a first construction module to a female connector of a second construction module, the method comprising : moving a base of a male member of the male connector transversally within a first internal volume of a first housing of the male connector, thereby transversally aligning a shaft of the male member with an aperture of the female connector; moving the aligned shaft of the male member across the aperture and inside an internal volume of the female connector; and locking the shaft of the male member inside the internal volume of the female connector.

[0026] In accordance with another aspect, there is provided male connector for securing a first construction module to a second construction module on a modular construction site, the male connector comprising: a housing defining an internal volume and an aperture defined across the housing and leading to the internal volume; and a male member having a base trapped in the first internal volume and a shaft protruding from the first aperture in a longitudinal orientation, the base being translatable within the first internal volume in a transversal plane.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Reference is now made to the accompanying figures in which:

[0028] Fig. 1 is an oblique view of an assembly step of a module in a modular construction site in accordance with the prior art;

[0029] Figs. 2A to 2D are cutaway views illustrating a connector system in accordance with one embodiment, configured to connect a first module of the modular construction of Fig. 1 to a second module of the modular construction, and illustrating an assembly process thereof;

[0030] Fig. 2E is an oblique view illustrating the connector system of Figs. 2A to 2D, partially fragmented to show detail;

[0031] Fig. 3 is a cutaway view of a connector system in accordance with another embodiment, configured for securing the first module to the second module;

[0032] Figs. 3A and 3B are cutaway views of the connector system of Fig. 3 illustrating an assembly process thereof;

[0033] Fig. 4 is a cutaway view of a connector system in accordance with another embodiment;

[0034] Fig. 5A to 5D are cutaway views of a connector system in accordance with another embodiment;

[0035] Figs. 6A and 6B are cutaway views of a connector system in accordance with another embodiment; and

[0036] Fig. 7 is a cutaway view illustrating a connector system in accordance with yet another embodiment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Fig. 1 shows an oblique view of an example construction module 10 being put into place in a modular construction 12 in accordance with the prior art. In this particular example, two other modules 14, 16 have previously been placed and secured in place within the modular construction, a lower module 14 and an upper module 16.

[0038] In this example, each of the modules 10 includes a plurality of walls 18 and flooring 20, and therefore maintains its structure independently during transportation and assembly, such as when hoisted by a crane 22, for instance. The floorings are all based on a similar type of construction, and the flooring of the following module, being placed above the previous module, can act as the vertical partition between the two modules. In other embodiments, the modules 10 can be provided with ceilings but without floors 20, for instance, with the ceiling of the module below also acting as its floor, or can be provided with both floors and ceilings. The modules 10 have an internal volume which is designed to act as a dwelling space, which can either be for lodging or for working, for instance. Depending on the embodiment, one or more modules 10 may form a single dwelling unit. The modules 10 are designed to be assembled to one another, typically both side-by-side and on one top of the other to form more complex structures at the construction site. Many alternate embodiments are possible, and depending on the embodiment, more or less components can be factory-installed into the modules, such as plumbing, siding, roofing, electric fixtures and wires, internal finishing, doors, windows, etc.

[0039] As can be seen in Fig. 1 , in this example, the module 10 to be placed is being hoisted by the crane 22 to the appropriate location on a foundation 24 of the modular construction 12 in lateral abutment with the lower module 14 having been previously placed. The foundation 24 may be designed specifically in dimensions configured to accommodate the dimensions of the module 10. Once laid in a correct position, the module 10 can be secured to the foundation 24, and a following module 10 can be placed above it, similarly as the upper module 16 has been placed above the lower module 14. The superposed modules can be designed with suitable features allowing the walls of the superposed module to be precisely aligned with the walls of the lower module.

[0040] The modules 10 can be fastened and interconnected with surrounding structures, which can be construction foundations 24, other similar modules 14, 16 and / or different modules such as modular walls or modular ceilings for instance. Typically, this was done via the use of fasteners, brackets, and other intermediary equipment by the workers 26.

[0041] The following figures describe possible embodiments of connector systems used to connect to modular modules of the modular building construction.

[0042] Fig. 2 presents a first example embodiment of a connector system 30, which may alternately be referred to as a snap joint. The connector system generally includes a male connector 40 and a female connector 50. The male connector 40 is integral to a structural member M2 whereas the female connector is integral to a structural member M1. The connector system 30 can be used for securing the structural member M1 to the structural member M2. More specifically, structural members M1 and M2 may form part of the structure of respective modules of the modular construction depicted in Fig. 1 , for instance. The first and second structural members M1 , M2 may be steel tube, wooden beams, I-beams, and so on. The connector system 30 may be made integral to the structural members such as by embedding within, surrounding, positioning adjacent, and fastening, soldering, etc. In some embodiments, the connector system 30 can be manufactured as part of the construction module, such as with a portion of the structural members forming part of the connector systems, but in many other embodiments, it can be preferred to manufacture the connector systems separately from the construction modules, and to make the connector systems integral to the construction modules at a later stage, such as via welding or fastening.

[0043] In the embodiment presented in Fig. 2, the male connector has a shaft extending in a first orientation which will be referred to as the z axis. Alternately, the z axis can be referred to as the longitudinal direction since the z axis can correspond to an orientation of a length of a structural member M2 of the construction module to which the male connector 40 is integral. The shaft may alternately be referred to as a longitudinal member 42. The longitudinal member 42 has a head 42A defining abutments 42B, alternately referrable to as teeth, disposed on transversally opposite sides of a longitudinal axis L1 of the longitudinal member 42. The abutments 42B face towards the base.

[0044] The female connector 50 includes a housing 51 and locking members 52 contained within an internal volume of the housing 51. In this embodiment, the locking members 52 are provided here in the form of linkages and each linkage has a sequence of members arranged in a pivotable manner relative to one another. Accordingly, the locking members 52 can alternately be referred to as linkages in this embodiment. The housing 51 has an aperture 51A sized to receive the longitudinal member 42 of the male connector 40. The aperture 51 A leads to the internal volume of the housing 51. The locking members 52 are provided in the form of a pair oftransversally opposed linkages, each linkage including a sequence of two or more pivotally interconnected members. The linkages are disposed in the internal volume. The linkages are disposed on opposite sides of the aperture 51 A. The linkages are operable to selectively engage the abutments 42B. More specifically, the linkages are movable between a collapsed configuration shown in Fig. 2B in which the head of the shaft can be received into the internal volume of the female connector, and a deployed configuration shown in Fig. 2A in which an end member 52A” of the members is trapped against the corresponding abutment.

[0045] The connector system 30 has an unlocked, or collapsed, configuration in which the longitudinal member 42 of the male connector 40 is detachable from the female connector 50 and a locked, or deployed, configuration in which the longitudinal member 42 is locked within the housing 51 of the female connector 50 by the locking members 52.

[0046] The locking members 52 includes a first set of members pivotably engaged to one another on the first side of the aperture 51 A and a second set of members pivotably engaged to one another on the second side of the aperture 51A opposite the first side. For the sake of conciseness, only the members of the first set will be described below. It is appreciated that the same description can apply to the members of the second set, which, in this example, are a mirror image of the members of the first set. Put differently, the first and second sets of members can be symmetrical to one another, and in this embodiment, are disposed on the opposite sides of a symmetry plane of the connector system 30. The symmetry plane is shown with reference numeral P0 in Fig. 2 and coincides with longitudinal axis L1.

[0047] In the locked configuration shown in Fig. 2A, a member of the first set of locking members which will be referred to as the end member 52A” of the first set, and a member of the second set of locking members which will be referred to the end member of the second set, extend towards one another and across the aperture 51A of the housing 51 to engage the longitudinal member 42 of the male connector 40.

[0048] More specifically, in the embodiment shown, a first set of locking members includes a first member 52A which can alternately be referred to as an end member, and which is engageable with the longitudinal member 42 and a second member 52B. In some embodiments, the first member 52A can itself be formed of a sequence of two members 52A’ and 52A” pivotally engaged with one another, which may provide additional movement ability and functionality, in which case member 52A” may be referred to as the end member. In other embodiments the firstmember 52A can be made of a single component without any internal articulation. The first member 52A and the second member 52B are pivotably engaged to one another. The first member 52A is engaged to the longitudinal member 42 in the locked configuration. The first member 52A is moveable, and more specifically slidable in this embodiment, between a first position in which the first member 52A is offset from the aperture 51A of the housing 51 and a second position in which the primary looking member 52A is at least partially extending across the aperture of 51 A to engage the abutments 42B of longitudinal member 42. The second member 52B is pivotably engaged to the first member 52A and moveable, more specifically pivotable in this embodiment, between a disengaged / collapsed / unlocked position when the first member 52A is in the first position to an engaged / deployed / locked position when the first member 52A is in the second position.

[0049] Once the first module M1 is connected to the second module M2 via the connector system 30, a longitudinally-oriented pulling force applied to separate the male connector 40 away from the female connector 50 is transmitted to the first member 52A as a compressive force, which is then transmitted to a bottom wall 51 B of the housing 51. A portion of this force may translate into a compressive force on the second member 52B via the first member 52A. The second member 52A may transmit a force to side walls 51 C of the housing 51 protruding transversally from the bottom wall 51 B. In the locked configuration of the connector system 30, the second member 52B is in the engaged position and abuts one of the side walls 51 C of the housing 51 to maintain the first members 52A engaged to the heat 42A of the longitudinal member 42 of the male connector 40.

[0050] Still referring to Fig. 2, in the embodiment shown, the first member 52A and the second member 52B are both L-shaped. The second member 52B includes two sub-members 52A’ and 52A” being pivotable one relative to the other. The two sub-members are pivoted to decrease an angle therebetween as they are engaged to the longitudinal member 42. They are pivotable to provide sufficient clearance to insert the first members 52A below the abutments 42B of the head 42A of the longitudinal member 42. However, these two sub-members may be permanently connected to one another in another embodiment. The first member 52A has a first side abutting the longitudinal member 42 below the head 42A and a second side abutting the bottom wall 51 B of the housing 51. The secondary looking member 52B has a first side abutting the bottom wall 51 B of the housing 51 in the engaged position. The second member 52B has a second side abutting the sidewall 51C of the housing 51 in the engaged position. A protrusion 52C is provided at an intersection between the two sides of the second member 52B. The protrusion 52C engagesa groove 51 D defined in the sidewall 51C of the housing 51. In the locked configuration of the connector system 30, the protrusion 52C of the second member 52B sits into the groove 51 D of the housing 51. As a pulling force exerted along the longitudinal axis L1 and on the longitudinal member 42 increases, the more compressive force is transmitted to the bottom wall 51 B of the housing 51 via the first member 52A. In some cases, a force transmitted to the side wall 51 C of the housing 51 via the second member 52B may increase thereby pushing the protrusion 52 into the groove 51 D.

[0051] Referring now to Fig. 2A to 2D, an assembly sequence of the male connector 40 to the female connector 50 is illustrated.

[0052] As shown in Fig. 2B, to assemble the connector system 30, the two modules M1 , M2 are first pre-aligned one relative to the other. At which point, the two modules M1 , M2 are moved towards one another until the longitudinal member 42 of the male connector 40 is received into the aperture 51 A of the female connector 50, leading to the configuration of Fig. 2C.

[0053] As shown in Fig. 2D, once the longitudinal member 42 is sufficiently inserted into the housing 51 , a locking sequence of the locking members 52 may be initiated. The locking sequence starts by pivoting the second members 52B. This action can be performed manually in embodiments where the second members 52B are accessible, e.g., through apertures formed in the structural member M1 , or can be performed via an intermediary mechanism (not shown), such as mechanical screws having heads accessible on the outside and threaded stems engaged with threaded bores defined in the lever arm of the members 52B to name one possible example. This moves the first members 52A towards one another until the first members 52A at least partially extend across the aperture 51 A and sits below the head 42A, and more specifically the abutments 42B, of the longitudinal member 42, such as shown in Fig. 2D. At which point, the longitudinal member 42 is blocked with the housing 51 by the first members 52A. However, care should be taken to avoid a pulling force exerted on the longitudinal member 42 from resulting in the first members 52A snapping out of place and becoming disengaged from the head 42A. The second members 52B are used to maintain the first members 52A in engagement with the head 42A of the longitudinal member 42. Therefore, the second members 52B are further rotated until they have their sides abutting the bottom wall 51 B of the housing 51 and abutting the side walls 51 C of the housing 51 , such as shown in Fig. 2A.

[0054] Once the second members 52B abut the bottom wall 51 B and the side walls 51 C of the housing 51 , the second members 52B may be located beyond a transition point such that any force applied to them when they are past that point tends to further push the second members 52B against the walls of the housing 51 rather than to rotate them out from engagement with the walls. In other words, before the transition point, a transversal force exerted on the second members 52B by the first member 52A would tend to pivot them upwardly and move them away from the walls of the housing 51. This may result in the disengagement of the first members 52A from the longitudinal member 42 of the male connector 40. However, past this transition point, the force tends to further increase an engagement of the second members 52B with the side wall. This may provide for a stable connection between the two connectors.

[0055] Referring to Figs. 2C, 2D and 2A, the elastic deformation to the pivoting action of the second members 52B may increase as the protrusions 52C are getting closer to the grooves 51 D. Force may be required to elastically deform the second members 52B completely pivot the second members 52B until the protrusions 52C snap into engagement within the grooves 51 D. At which point, the pulling force applied on the longitudinal member 42 is transmitted into a compression force on the second members 52B via the first members 52A. This compressive force is then opposed by the side walls 51 C of the housing 51 . The second members 52B remain locked in the position depicted and Fig. 2A because of the protrusions 52C being received into the grooves 51 D. As the pulling force on the longitudinal member 42 increases, the more force is applied to sit the protrusions 52C within the grooves 51 D.

[0056] The embodiment presented in Figs. 2A to 2E integrates additional optional features. These additional features may alternately, and independently from one another, be integrated to alternate embodiments. A first one of these features is to provide the male component 40 in a manner to include a male member movable transversally relative to a housing, which can be referred to as a transversal-alignment ability of the male component. The transversal-alignment ability of the male component 40 can allow to more easily accommodate occurrences of misalignment between the male connector 40 and the female connector 50 which may occur at the construction / assembly site. A second one of these features is the 2D extrusion shape of the shaft / male member.

[0057] More specifically, in the embodiment shown, the male connector 40 includes a support plate 41 secured to the second structural member M2. The support plate 41 can alternately be referred to as a housing, and defines inner space 41A, which can alternately be referred to as aninternal volume, and an opening 41 B, which can alternately be referred to as an aperture, communicating with the inner space 41 A. The male connector 40 further includes a male member which is engaged with the support plate 41. The male member has a shaft, or longitudinal member 42, which protrudes longitudinally (e.g., along the z axis) from a base 43. The base 43 is received within the inner space 41 A of the support plate 41. As shown in Fig. 2, the base 43 is moveable within the inner space 41A relative to the support plate 41 in one or both transversal orientations (e.g., x axis and / or y axis). The longitudinal member 42 extends through the opening 41 B of the support plate 41.

[0058] Referring to Fig. 2E, in the depicted, embodiment, the aperture 51A, has a frustoconical shape, such as to guide the longitudinal member 42 into the aperture 51A. In some cases, it may be difficult to perfectly align the two modules M1 , M2. Manufacturing tolerances, for instance, may be the cause of slight misalignments. Therefore, in the depicted embodiment, if a misalignment is present between the two modules, moving the female connector 50 towards the male connector 40 may cause a translation of the longitudinal member 42 and of the base 43 relative to the support plate 41 of the male connector 40 in one or more of direction X and direction Y both being perpendicular to direction Z. Direction Z is the direction of a pulling force exerted on the longitudinal member 42. Therefore, in the case of misalignment, the movement of the longitudinal member 42 and the base 43 to which it is secured and along directions X and Y allows to maintain the longitudinal member 42 centered relative to the housing 51 of the female connector 50. The locking members 52 may thus engage the longitudinal member 42 in a symmetric matter thanks to this lateral movement of the longitudinal member 42 to compensate any misalignment. More specifically, the longitudinal member 42 is movable within a plane normal to a mating direction between the male connector 40 and the female connector 50. This mating direction is also a direction of a tension force applied to the longitudinal member 42. The connector system 30 requires the longitudinal member 42 to be centered in the X direction. However, it may not be required for the longitudinal member 42 to be centered in the Y direction when a depth of the longitudinal member 42, taken in the Y direction, is greater than that of the locking members 52.

[0059] The transversal-movement ability of the male member relative the housing of the male connector 40 is optional, but can be helpful to accommodate slight transversal misalignments, or offsets, between the male connector and female connector which can occur based on manufacturing tolerances or other dimensional variations from one occurrence (e.g. serial number) of module to another. In particular, there may be slight, but nonetheless significant,differences in spacing distance between structural members from one individual module to another in modules of a same model, or other dimensional variations such as may be caused by bending or other deformation which may occur during the handling of the modules. The transversal-movement ability of the male member can be harnessed to offer an auto-centering ability, such as by providing the aperture of the female member with an outwardly-broadening tapered shape in one or two transversal orientations, and / or providing the shaft with an outwardly- narrowing head. The expression outwardly-broadening is used here to express that the aperture broadens in the direction pointing away from the female connector, and the expression outwardly- narrowing is used to express that the head narrows in the direction pointing away from the male connector.

[0060] Independently of whether the male member is provided with transversal-movement ability or not, in some embodiments, such as the one described in detail above, the male member can be adapted for engagement with locking members provided in the form of linkages, such as embodiments presented above and other embodiments which will be described in detail below.

[0061] However, it will be noted that the transversal-movement ability of the male member may be integrated to alternate embodiments where the locking members are embodied as transversally-movable components, such as, for instance the embodiment shown in Figs. 4A and 4B of United States Patent 11976461. Therefor, the transversal-movement feature presented herein is quite independent to the linkage arrangements presented herein.

[0062] Moreover, in the embodiment detailed in Figs. 2A to 2E, and as better seen in Fig. 2E, the male member is embodied as a unitary component which can be shaped as an extrusion along one transversal orientation (e.g., a two-dimensional pattern which is projected along the y axis in this example). Independently of whether the male member is provided with transversalmovement ability or not, and of whether the locking members are provided in the form of linkages or transversally movable components, in some alternate embodiments, the male member may be axis-symmetric, such as by having a solid of revolution shape defined around a longitudinal axis (e.g., around the z axis - see for example the embodiment presented in Fig. 2A and 2B of United States Patent 11976461), or have a square, rectangular, hexagonal, or octagonal transversal cross-sectional shape to name additional examples.

[0063] Similarly, in the embodiment detailed in Figs. 2A to 2E, and as best seen in Fig. 2E, the female connector has only two locking members, or otherwise said, a single pair of opposedlocking members provided here in the form of linkages. In alternate embodiments, it may be preferable to provide the female connector with more than one pair of locking members, such as two pairs of opposed locking members for instance, an example of which is presented in Fig. 4B of PCT publication WO 2024 / 159318, and the selection of the exact configuration of locking members can be tied on the selection of the exact configuration of the male member in some embodiments.

[0064] Referring now to Fig. 3, another embodiment of a connector system is shown at 130.

[0065] The connector system 130 includes first and second sets of members forming locking members in the form of linkages. Again, for the sake of conciseness, only a first set of the members, disposed on a first side of the aperture 151 A will be described below. It will be appreciated that the same description applies to the second set of members, on the opposite side of the aperture 151 A.

[0066] In the embodiment shown, the end member, which can alternately be referred to as the third member, is a cam 152A. In this embodiment, the cam 152A is rotatable by way of having an arched-side extending around a rotation axis to permit rotation of the cam 152A about said rotation axis, and which is configured to slidingly engaged a correspondingly curved portion of the wall. In the depicted embodiment, the cam 152A has its arched-side slidably engaged to a correspondingly curved bottom wall 151 B of the housing 151 such that the cam 152A rotates about the rotation axis while being in contact with the curved bottom wall 151 B of the housing 151. In an alternate embodiment, the cam may be rotably mounted to a transversally-extending shaft, for instance. In the first case, the cam 152A is able to rotate while remaining in contact with the bottom wall 151 B of the housing 151 , whereas in the second the cam may not be in contact with the walls. The cams 152A can have one or more teeth. In the disengaged / collapsed / unlocked configuration of the connector system 130, the cams 152A, and namely the one or more teeth, are offset from the aperture 151 A of the housing 151. As is described below, in the engaged / deployed / locked configuration, the cams 152A, and namely one or more teeth, may extend at least partially across the aperture 151 A to engage a notch 142B defined by the longitudinal member 142.

[0067] The members further include a first member 152B pivotably engaged to the cam 152A and a second member 152C pivotably engaged to the first member 152A and engaged to a top wall 151 D of the housing 151. The first and second members 152B, 152C are connected end-to-end and define a pivot at an intersection between them. The first member 152B and the second member 152C each extend about a respective axis defined between the pivot points at corresponding ends. The axes of the first and second members 152B, 152C are non-parallel to one another in the disengaged / collapsed / unlocked position shown in Fig. 3, and more specifically form an obtuse angle (i.e., an angle between 90 degrees and 180 degrees, excluding 90 degrees and 180 degrees). In this example, when deploying the linkages, the axes of the first and second members can transition across a configuration of alignment in which the axes of the first and second members 152B, 152C are aligned with one another (i.e., are at 180 degrees), to reach a configuration where they form a second obtuse angle on the second side of the configuration of alignment compared to the first obtuse angle. In this example, the second obtuse angle is significantly greater than the first obtuse angle. It was found that in some embodiments, a engaged / deployed / locked configuration where the first and second members 152B, 152C for such an obtuse angle on the second side of the configuration of alignment may be suitable. In other examples, an example of which will be presented below, it may be preferred to configure the linkages in a way for the first and second members 152B, 152C to transition between the first obtuse angle and the configuration of alignment, or even between the first obtuse angle and a second obtuse angle greater than the first obtuse angle, but on the same side of the configuration of alignment, and in other words, to form the housing in a way which prevents the first and second members 152B, 152C from reaching the configuration of alignment. In the configuration presented in Fig 3, the axes of the first and second members 152B, 152C are non-parallel to one another in both of the disengaged / collapsed / unlocked position and the engaged / deployed / locked position. As will be described below, in the engaged / deployed / locked configuration of the connector system 130, the two members 152B, 152C can abutting a side wall 151C of the housing 151.

[0068] Referring now to Figs. 3A and 3B, a locking sequence of the connector system 130 is described in greater detail.

[0069] The connector system 130 is shown in the disengaged / collapsed / unlocked configuration in Fig. 3A and in the engaged / deployed / locked configuration in Fig. 3B. An actuator, which can be referred to herein as a pusher 154, or a plunger, is biased against the second members 152C, and the linkages are configured in a manner to transmit this bias into a rotating moment acting on the cams 152A. When the female connector 150 is disengaged from the male connector 140, the rotational moment pushes the cams 152A into engagement with a cap 153, which acts as a stop. When it is desired to move the connector system 130 from the unlocked position to the locked position, the longitudinal member 142 of the male connector 140 is insertedin the aperture 151 A of the housing 151. An end of the longitudinal member 152 pushes away the cap 153 that is used to maintain the cams 152A offset from the aperture 151 A, against the bias. In some embodiments, one or more magnets may be integrated in the cap 153 to magnetically connect the cap 153 to the longitudinal member 142 or to another component. The cap 153 and the head of the longitudinal member 142 are shaped such that when the cap 153 is moved out of interference with the cams 152A, the head of the longitudinal member 142 becomes engaged by the cams 152 until the longitudinal member 142 is pushed deep enough into the housing 151 for the notches 142B, which can alternately be referred to as valleys between teeth, to become aligned with the one or more teeth of the cams 152A. At which point, the cams become free to rotate under the action of the bias, engaging a tooth of the cams with a tooth of the shaft in a rack and pinion engagement, which allows the members 152C to spread away from one another, allowing the pusher 154 to move downwardly into the configuration shown in Fig. 3B, at which point the pusher 154 may act as a stop preventing the linkages to revert to the disengaged / collapsed / unlocked configuration, ensuring a locked connection.

[0070] In this embodiment, the pusher 154 is pushed by a biasing member 155 such as a spring. More specifically, when the cap 153 is removed from its location where it blocks the aperture 151 A, the biasing member 155 pushes on the pusher 154 to move the two sets of locking members (e.g., via pivoting second member 152C, in turn pivoting first member 152B) away from one another. As shown in Fig. 3A, a first pivot P1 is provided between the first member 152B and the cam 152A, a second pivot P2 is provided between the first member 152B and the second member 152C, and a third pivot P3 is provided between the second member 152C and a top wall of the housing 151. The pusher 154 is used to pivot the first member 152B relative to the second member 152C about the second pivot P2, and to pivot the first and second members 152B, 152C relative to the housing 151 about the first and third pivots P1 , P3, until longitudinal axes of the first and second members 152B, 152C are parallel (e.g., parallel or almost parallel) to one another. The pusher 154 then pushes more until the pivot pass the point of alignment where the longitudinal axes of the members are parallel or almost parallel to one another. This can allow the first and second members to snap into abutment against the side walls 151C of the housing 151. In this configuration the members 152B, 152C are in the engaged position and remain as such because they are supported by the side walls 151C of the housing 151. Moreover, the rotation of the first and second members 152B, 152C relative to one another causes rotation of the cam 152A until ends of the cams are received within the notches 142B of the longitudinal member 142.

[0071] In the engaged / deployed / locked configuration of Fig. 3B, any pulling force exerted on the longitudinal member 142 exerts a moment on the cams 152A to cause the cams 152A to rotate about their rotation axis. This moment translates into a compressive force exerted on the first and second members 152B, 152C. The compressive force is opposed by the side walls 151C of the housing 151 because the members are in abutment against the side walls 151C of the housing 151. In some embodiments, the side walls may define a slight recess such as to permit the longitudinal axes of the members to be non-parallel to one another. This may not be required in all cases. The pusher 154, also acts as an element that keeps the system in the engaged / deployed / locked position thus preventing the second member 152C to return to a disengaged / collapsed / unlocked position. The pusher 154 needs to be removed before any attempts to bring the system into a disengaged / collapsed / unlocked.

[0072] Therefore, in the embodiment shown, for securing two structural members via the connector system 130, the longitudinal member is inserted in the housing; and the longitudinal member is locked inside the housing by pivoting two sets of locking members about respective pivots thereby rotating cams until ends of the cams become engaged to the longitudinal member. By design, this system can exert a tension force on the longitudinal member thus ensuring a clamping force between housing 151 and support plate 141.

[0073] In some embodiments, a locking sequence of the male connector 140 to the female connector 150 may be automatically initiated. In some cases, a weight of the structural member disposed on top of the connector system 130 may be used for this purpose. The weight may transmit a force to the pusher 154 to lock the female member 150 to the male member 140.

[0074] It will be noted that labels such as “first”, “second”, “end” are used to differentiate one member, or group of components, of a linkage from another and can be selected arbitrarily and vary from one description of an embodiment to another. For instance, in an alternate description of the embodiment presented in Figs 3 to 3B, the expression “second member” may be used to refer to refer collectively to component labeled 152C and to component labeled 152B, and cam 152A may alternately be referred to as end member, or first member. Efforts were made herein to maintain the same use of the labels within a given description of an embodiment, but more than one description of a same embodiment may exist and different labels may be used in such different descriptions.

[0075] It will also be noted that the specific embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 further incorporates the transversal movement ability feature for the male member, but that this feature is optional. More specifically, a misalignment between the two structural members may be compensated by translating the longitudinal member within a plane normal to a mating direction (direction Z in this case) between the male connector and the female connector.

[0076] Referring now to Fig. 4, an other embodiment of the connector system is shown 230. For the sake of conciseness, only features differing from the connector system 130 described above with reference to Fig. 3 are described below.

[0077] In the depicted embodiment, a cap 253 is used to maintain the cams 252A offset from the aperture 251A of the housing 251 by preventing their rotation about their respective rotation axes. A pusher 254 is engaged to the cap 253 via a biasing member 255. The pusher 254 can be in abutment with both of the two first members 252B. There can be a slight bias maintaining the pusher 254 abutment. When inserting the longitudinal member 142 into the housing 251 , the longitudinal member 142 can push on the cap 253 to offset the cap 253 from the aperture 251A and increase the loading of the biasing member which can transfer force to the pusher 254. However, the cams 252A remain prevented to rotate at that point, now by the presence of the head of the longitudinal member, which also prevents the linkages from being pushed away from one another by the pusher 254, during which stage increased longitudinal movement of the longitudinal member leads to increased loading of the spring. At one point, the notches reach the cams 252A, allowing the cams 252A to rotate. The spring being loaded at that point, a significant force is exerted by the pusher 254 onto the two first members 252B, away from one another, moving them into their engaged position as shown in Fig. 3B and as described above while simultaneously rotating the cam 252A and engaging the cams into the notches. In this embodiment, the pusher 254 has a tapered shape, but other shapes are contemplated.

[0078] It will be noted that in the embodiment presented in Fig. 3, the energy used to toggle the mechanism from the unlocked configuration to the locked configuration is the energy which is stored in the biasing member. In Fig. 4, energy from the external forces causing the relative displacement between the male member and the female member is rather used to toggle the mechanism, and more specifically, this energy is first used to load the biasing member 255 until the mechanism allows it to operate the movement. Accordingly, in the embodiment presented in Fig. 4, energy outside the system is used to cause the toggling of the mechanism as opposed to Fig. 3, where energy from within the system is used instead.

[0079] It will be noted that the specific embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4 further incorporates the transversal movement ability feature for the male member, but that this feature is optional. More specifically, a misalignment between the two structural members may be compensated by translating the longitudinal member within a plane normal to a mating direction (direction Z in this case) between the male connector and the female connector.

[0080] Referring now to Figs. 5A to 5D, another embodiment of a connector system 400 will be described. In this example, the connector system 400 bears similarities with the connector system 130 which was presented above in Fig. 3, but there are also some differences. In particular, in this embodiment, the end members 414 (or cams) are also rotatable, and provided with one or more than one tooth, namely three in this example, which is optional. Moreover, the shaft head 416 is also provided with one or more than one tooth, namely 2 teeth and two valleys on each side in this example, which is optional. The one or more tooth of the end members 414 are configured to engage the one or more tooth of the shaft head 416 in a rack and pinion engagement fashion. This can allow converting energy from the longitudinal movement of the shaft head 416 into rotary movement of the end members 414, and to transition the linkages 418 from the collapsed configuration (shown in Fig. 5B) to the deployed configuration (shown in Fig. 5A). It will be noted that in the embodiment presented in Fig. 5A, the energy from the longitudinal movement of the shaft is added to the bias energy of the plunger, and used in transitioning the linkages from the collapsed configuration to the deployed configuration, whereas in the embodiment presented in Fig. 3, the source of energy is solely the energy stored in the biasing member (e.g., spring) of the plunger. There can be advantages to using the longitudinal movement of the shaft as the source of energy, particularly when the imposing weight of the modules can be harnessed to this end.

[0081] Referring Figs. 5A to 5D, the deployment action is shown. In a first step, the shaft head 416 can be engaged into the aperture 420 and brought into the rack and pinion engagement with the end members such as shown through Figs. 5C, 5D and 5A. Each linkage 418 can include, in its sequence of pivotally interconnected members, in addition to the end members 414, a first member 422 and a second member 424. In this embodiment, The first members 424 can be biased towards one another, such as by being connected to one another by tension springs. The first members 424 can be shaped in a manner to stably abut one another in the collapsed configuration, under the action of the bias. Accordingly, the biasing action can maintain the linkages in the collapsed configuration shown in Fig. 5B in the absence of an external force. In this configuration a length axis of the first member 422, which can be said to extend between thecorresponding pivot points at the two opposite ends, can point between a transversal axis of rotation of the end member 414, and the aperture 420, in a manner that if a compressive force is transmitted by the first member, a moment may result on the end member which will cause rotation of the end member in the orientation shown by the arrow, resisting penetration by the shaft. Such a compressive force may result from the biasing of the plunger 426. Similarly, the bias exerted between the two first members 422 can also cause a moment in the end member which resists penetration by the shaft. However, the amplitude of these biases is such that they can be overcome by the amplitude of the penetrating force which can be exerted by the shaft head.

[0082] Being biased in the configuration shown in Fig. 5B, stops integrated to the second members 424 of the linkages 418 can abut a tip of the plunger 426, and stop the plunger from moving, whereas the plunger may otherwise be biased towards the aperture 420. The elected shape of these stops can help in this action, namely when providing a plunger-receiving surface which extends transversally when in the collapsed configuration. The bias between the first members 422 can also help resisting this bias of the plunger 426. The pressure from the plunger 426 translates into compressive force in the first members 422, but as detailed above, this force may be negligible compared to the biasing force between the first members 422, or may otherwise tend to rotate the end members 414 in an angular orientation resisting the penetration of the shaft.

[0083] When the shaft comes into the rack and pinion engagement with the end members 414, such as shown in Fig. 5C, the penetrating force at the shaft head 416 can overcome the bias of the tension springs which interconnect the first members 422, and the lengthwise axis extending between the two opposite pivot points of the first member can toggle to the other side of the transversal rotation axis of the end members 414. From this point on, compressive force transmitted between the pivot points of the first member 422 can act to rotate the end member 414 in the opposite angular orientation, shown by an arrow in Fig. 5C, facilitating the penetration of the shaft head 416. The penetration of the shaft head 416 can further the rotation of the end members 414, and broaden a spacing between the stops of the second members 424 and between the first members 422. At one point, shown in Fig. 5D, the broadening of the spacing between the stops of the second members reaches a point where the tip of the plunger 426 is engaged between the stops. From this point on, the shaft head may be locked into engagement with the end members 414. Moreover, the biasing force acting on the plunger 426 may push the plunger 426 towards the aperture 420, and tapering faces of the plunger 426, acting under thebias force, can contribute to further broadening of the spacing between the stops, and straightening of the linkages to the deployed configuration.

[0084] Depending on the embodiment, in the deployed configuration, the axes defined between the corresponding pairs of pivots of the first member and of the second member, corresponding with the lengths of the first member and the second member, can be aligned with one another in a configuration of alignment, form an obtuse angle on a first side of the configuration of alignment, opposite the configuration in the collapsed configuration, or form an obtuse angle on a second side of the configuration of alignment, on the same side of the collapsed configuration, but with a smaller obtuse angle.

[0085] More specifically, in this embodiment, the first member and the second member of each linkage each have a length defined between two pivot points, and are moved from the collapsed configuration into a configuration of alignment in which the length of the first member and of the second member are aligned, shown in Fig. 5A. In the example shown in Fig. 5A, the movement of the first member and of the second member can stop at the configuration of alignment, in a context where the plunger is shaped in a manner to prevent the linkages from moving back to the collapsed position. In embodiments where the plunger does not have this function, it may be preferable for the movement of the first member and the second member to continue from a configuration where they form a first obtuse angle on a first side of the configuration of alignment, such as shown in Figs 5B to 5D, to a configuration where they form a second obtuse angle, which would typically be different and greater than the first angle but other than 180 degrees, on the other side of the configuration of alignment, such as may have the effect of locking the linkages in the locked / deployed configuration.

[0086] In the deployed configuration shown in Fig. 5A, pulling the male member away from the female connector will meet the resistance of the linkages which lock the shaft into the position shown as long as the plunger remains engaged between the stops formed in the first members of the first and second linkages. In some embodiments, it can be desirable for the male connector to be disengageable from the female connector. This can be desirable, for instance, in situations where the male connector was connected to the female connector too early, otherwise by error, or otherwise when in use in a temporary building or during dismantling of a building at the end of life. In the illustrated embodiment, while the housing of the female member may be engaged within the hollow interior of a HSS structural beam or otherwise placed adjacent of a structural member of the construction modules, a threaded stem may protrude from the housing and be engagedwith a nut or other threaded stop. As long as an access to the nut or other threaded stop is provided, one may engage a tool with it, and operate the threaded stop in a manner to retract the plunger. Once the plunger has been brought back to the configuration shown in Fig. 5B, the pulling of the male connector away from the female member may no longer be resisted by the linkages, which may revert to the collapsed configuration shown in Fig. 5B, namely under the biasing force exerted between the second members. This reverting action may be facilitated in embodiments (not shown) where in the deployed configuration, first member and the second member maintain a non-180 obtuse angle, on the same side of the configuration of alignment than in the collapsed configuration. From the point where the linkages have returned to the collapsed configuration, the nut or other threaded stop can be actuated in the opposite direction, in a manner to restore the biasing force of the spring exerted by the plunger against the stops, and place the female connector back into a configuration where it is ready to be engaged with the male connector.

[0087] It will be noted that the specific embodiment illustrated in Figs 5A to 5C do not incorporate the transversal movement ability feature for the male member, but that this feature could alternately be incorporated in an alternate embodiment, based on the teachings presented above.

[0088] Referring now to Figs. 6A and 6B, another embodiment of the connector system is shown at 330.

[0089] In the embodiment shown, the female connector 350 includes cams 352A disposed on opposite sides of the aperture 351 A of the housing 351. The cams 352A are slidably engaged with a correspondingly curved wall of the housing 351. The second members are levers 352B pivotably engaged to the cams 352A. The housing 351 , more specifically the sidewalls 351 C of the housing 351 , define recesses 351 D shaped to accommodate a portion of the levers 352B in the engaged position depicted in Fig. 6B.

[0090] When the longitudinal member 342 of the male connector 340 is inserted into the housing 351 , a locking sequence may be initiated. In this embodiment, the locking sequence includes pushing on the levers 352B downwardly and away from one another thereby inducing a rotation of the cams 352A until they at least partially extend across the aperture 351 A of the housing 351 to engage notches 352A of the longitudinal member 342. To lock the connector system 330 in this position, the levers 352B are further pushed away from one another until they sit within the correspondingly shape recesses 351 D defined by the housing 351. Moreover, in thisposition, the levers 352B have protrusions 352C received within correspondingly shaped grooves 351 E defined an intersection between the side wall 351 C in a top wall 351 F of the housing 351. A pulling force exerted on the longitudinal member 342 induces a moment on the cams 352A. This moment is translated into a compression force applied to the levers 352B. The compressive force pushes the protrusion 352C of the levers 352B deeper within the grooves 351 E thereby maintaining the connector system 330 in the locked configuration. More specifically, the more a pulling force to separate the male connector 340 from the female connector 350 increases, the more the levers 352B resist this force thanks to the engagement of the protrusion 351 E of the levers 352B into the grooves 352C.

[0091] Now to Fig. 7, another embodiment of a connector system is shown at 440. Similarly to the other configurations of connector systems, the connector system 430 includes the male connector 440 having a longitudinal member 442 and includes a female connector for 450 having locking members. In this configuration, the locking members include a cam 452A and a sequence of members 452B pivotably engaged to one another and pivotably engaged to the cam 452A. It will be appreciated that all the members on the first side of the longitudinal member 442 are shown but that the same configuration is present on the opposite side of the longitudinal member 442.

[0092] Therefore, in the locked configuration depicted in Fig. 7, a pulling force exerted on the longitudinal member 442 creates a moment on the cams 452A that translates into a compression force applied to the components 452B. This compression force is opposed by a top wall 451 D of the housing 451. To ensure that the components 452B remain in this position, one of the components 452B defines a protrusion 452C engaging a groove 451 E defined in the top wall 451 D of the housing 451.

[0093] The disclosed connector systems may provide an automatic connection and may be integrated at the time of manufacture, such as in the shop. In cases where the connector systems integrate the transversal-alignment feature, they may accommodate a certain degree transversal misalignment, such as 2 mm, 3 mm, or more, in a plane transverse to a coupling direction between the male and female connectors. These connector systems may absorb a play in the coupling direction to create a tension force in the longitudinal members as would a bolted connection. Moreover, these connectors may exert a clamping force in the assembly similar to that of a bolted connection. More specifically, one or more of the locking members may elastically compress as a result of transferring from the unlocked to the locked configuration, and as a reaction to thecompression of the locking member(s), the male member may elastically stretch, clamping the male member to the female member.

[0094] It is noted that various connections are set forth between elements in the preceding description and in the drawings. It is noted that these connections are general and, unless specified otherwise, may be direct or indirect and that this specification is not intended to be limiting in this respect. A coupling between two or more entities may refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection. An indirect connection may incorporate one or more intervening entities. The term “connected” or "coupled to" may therefore include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements).

[0095] It is further noted that various method or process steps for embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the following description and drawings. The description may present the method and / or process steps as a particular sequence. However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on the particular order of steps set forth herein, the method or process should not be limited to the particular sequence of steps described. As one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate, other sequences of steps may be possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps set forth in the description should not be construed as a limitation.

[0096] Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. As used herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0097] While various aspects of the present disclosure have been disclosed, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the present disclosure as described herein includes several aspects and embodiments that include particular features. Although these particular features may be described individually, it is within the scope of the present disclosure that some or all of these features may be combined with any one of the aspects and remain within the scope of the present disclosure. References to “various embodiments,”“one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. The use of the indefinite article “a” as used herein with reference to a particular element is intended to encompass “one or more” such elements, and similarly the use of the definite article “the” in reference to a particular element is not intended to exclude the possibility that multiple of such elements may be present.

[0098] The embodiments described in this document provide non-limiting examples of possible implementations of the present technology.

[0099] Some embodiments described herein include a connector system configure for connecting of structural elements of construction modules end-to-end while applying a tensional force in an axial direction, similar to a force that would be applied by a bolted connection. In some jurisdictions, lateral play of such assemblies are limited to 3 mm for a 89 mm x 89 mm tube, and it was found that some embodiments allow to satisfy this standard.

[0100] In an embodiment, the connector system includes two connectors, a male connector and a female connector. The male and female connectors can be completely integrated within a hollow portion of tubular structural elements, for instance, or be made integral to one or two sides of tubular or solid structural elements. The male connector can include a end plate secured to a first structural element, and containing a cavity within which a linking piece is able to move. The female connector can have a housing secured to another one of the tubes. Within the housing, two assemblies, including cams, and levers are disposed. The two assemblies are symmetrical to one another. When both tubes are aligned, one relative to the other, the linking piece of the male connector is inserted into the housing of the female part. An aperture of the housing may be frustoconical shaped as to guide the linking piece of the male connector into the housing. If the tubes are not perfectly aligned, the linking piece is able to slide laterally by about 3 mm within the end plate of the female connector. The system is designed such that the linking piece is always centered within the housing of the female connector (this would be a good spot to tie the centering to the play).

[0101] In some embodiments, the cams act as winch pawls and come into abutment with the linking piece when it is sufficiently engaged within the housing of the female connector. In thisposition, the mechanism is not yet locked. To lock the male connector to the female connector, both levers are actuated, thereby pushing the cams to exert a force on the linking piece along its longitudinal axis to create a pulling force on the male connector. Once stretched, the linking piece exerts a compression force against the cams within the housing of the female connector. This compression force is similar to what would be found in bolted connections, in which a tensional force generating a certain degree of elastic stretching in the shaft remains present in the assembly throughout operation. When the system is subjected to tension forces, e.g., forces that tend to pull structural members away from one another, this force contributes to decompress the cams and continue to exert force on the linking piece. When varying the stiffness of the linking piece, one may obtain a connection very similar to that of a bolted connection.

[0102] Upon review of the present disclosure, a person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of the present technology. Yet further modifications could be implemented by a person of ordinary skill in the art in view of the present disclosure, which modifications would be within the scope of the present technology.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A connector system for securing a first construction module to a second construction module on a modular construction site, the connector system comprising: a male connector secured to the first construction module and having a longitudinal member; a female connector engageable to the male connector, the female connector secured to the second construction module and having: a housing defining an internal volume, the housing having an aperture leading to the internal volume, locking members received within the internal volume, the locking members including a first set of members pivotably engaged to one another on a first side of the aperture and a second set of members pivotably engaged to one another on a second side of the aperture opposite the first side; wherein the connector system has an unlocked configuration and a locked configuration, wherein, in the locked configuration, a first member of the first set of members and a first member of the second set of members extend towards one another and engage the longitudinal member of the male connector.

2. The connector system of claim 1 wherein the female connector is releasably engageable to the male connector, and the first member of the first set of members and the first member of the second set of members extend across the aperture of the housing to engage the longitudinal member of the male connector, wherein, in the unlocked configuration, the longitudinal member of the male connector is detachable from the female connector and, in the locked configuration the longitudinal member is locked within the housing by the locking members.

3. The connector system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first set of members and the second set of members each includes: the first member engaged to the longitudinal member in the locked configuration, the first member movable between a first position in which the first member is offset from the aperture of the housing and a second position in which the first member at least partially extends across the aperture to engage the longitudinal member; anda second member pivotably engaged to the first member, the second member movable between a disengaged position when the first member is in the first position to an engaged position when the first member is in the second position, wherein, in the locked configuration, a pulling force applied to separate the male connector from the female connector is transmitted to the first member that translates into a compressive force on the second member.

4. The connector system of claim 3 wherein the compressive force is transmitted to a wall of the housing5. The connector system of claim 3 or 4 wherein the first member of the first set of members is formed of two first components pivotally connected to one another and the first member of the second set of members is formed of two components pivotally connected to one another.

6. The connector system of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the first member is L-shaped and engages a groove on the longitudinal member of the male connector, the second member being L-shaped and having a first side abutting a bottom wall of the housing and a second side abutting a side wall of the housing transverse to the bottom wall, the second member having a protrusion at an intersection between the first side and the second side, the protrusion engaging a notch in the side wall when in the engaged position.

7. The connector system of claim 6, wherein the pulling force pushes the protrusion into the notch.

8. The connector system of claim 3 or 4, wherein the first member is a cam rotatable around a transversal axis.

9. The connector system of claim 8 wherein the cam is rotatable by way of a curved side slidably engaging a correspondingly curved wall of the housing.

10. The connector system of claim 8 or 9, wherein the second member is a lever, a wall of the housing defining a recess sized to accommodate a portion of the lever in the engaged position of the second member.

11. The connector system of claim 9 or 10, wherein the pulling force pushes the lever into the recess.

12. The connector system of any one of claims 8 to 10 wherein the longitudinal member has at least one tooth, and the cam has at least one tooth configured to engage the at least one tooth of the longitudinal member in a rack and pinion engagement.

13. The connector system of any one of claims 3 to 5 and 8 to 12, wherein the second member includes a first component pivotably engaged to the first member and a second component pivotably engaged to both of the first component and a top wall of the housing.

14. The connector system of claim 13 wherein the longitudinal axes of the first component and the second component form a obtuse angle in the unlocked configuration.

15. The connector system of claim 13 or 14 wherein the longitudinal axes of the first component and the second component are parallel to one another in a transition position between the unlocked configuration and the locked configuration and non-parallel to one another in the unlocked configuration.

16. The connector system of claim 15 wherein the longitudinal axes of the first component and the second component are non-parallel to one another in the locked configuration.

17. The connector system of any one of claims 13 to 16 wherein the first component and the second component abut a side wall of the housing in the engaged position.

18. The connector system of any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the pulling force pushes the first component and the second component against the side wall of the housing.

19. The connector system of any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the male connector includes an end plate secured to the first construction module, the end plate defining an inner space and an aperture communicating with the inner space, and wherein the longitudinal member protrudes from a base received within the inner space, the longitudinal member extending through the aperture and out of the inner space of the end plate.

20. The connector system of claim 19, wherein the connecting member is translatable relative to the end plate in a direction being transversal to the longitudinal member.

21. The connector system of claim 19 or 20 wherein the longitudinal member has a tapered head and / or the aperture of the housing of the female connector is tapered.

22. The connector system of any one of claims 1 to 21 , wherein, in the locked configuration, the locking members exert a tensioning force on the longitudinal member of the male connector.

23. A method for securing two structural members via a connector system, comprising: inserting a longitudinal member of a male connector secured to one of the two structural members inside a housing of a female connector secured to the other of the two structural members; and locking the longitudinal member inside the housing by pivoting two members about respective pivots thereby rotating cams until teeth of the cams become engaged to the longitudinal member.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein said rotating cams includes engaging teeth of the cams with teeth of the longitudinal member in a rack and pinion engagement.

25. The method of claim 23 or 24, comprising compensating for a misalignment between the two structural members by translating the longitudinal member relative to the one of the two structural members and within a plane normal to a mating direction between the male connector and the female connector.

26. A female connector for securing a first construction module to a second construction module on a modular construction site, the female connector comprising: a housing defining internal volume and an aperture sized to engage a head of a shaft into the internal volume through the aperture; and a first linkage and a second linkage disposed in opposition to one another in the internal volume for locking the shaft therebetween, each one of the first and second linkages having a sequence of at least two pivotally interconnected members movable between a collapsed configuration in which the head can be received into the internal volume through the aperture, and a deployed configuration in which an end member of the at least two pivotally interconnected members is trapped against a corresponding abutment formed in the head of the shaft.

27. The female connector of claim 26 wherein the end members of both the first and second linkages are rotatable around corresponding transversally-oriented axes.

28. The female connector of claim 27 wherein the end members each have at least one tooth configured to engage at least one tooth formed in the shaft in a rack and pinion engagement.

29. The female connector of claim 27 or 28 wherein the end members each have a sliding surface curved around the corresponding transversally-oriented axis, the sliding surfaces being engaged with mating sliding surfaces formed in the housing and each bearing the rotation of the corresponding end member.

30. The female connector of any one of claims 26 to 29 wherein the first linkage and the second linkage each have a sequence of at least three pivotally interconnected members including a first member and a second member in addition to the end member, the first member having a first end pivotally engaged with the second member, and a second end pivotally engaged with the housing.

31. The female connector of claim 30 wherein the first member and the second member are elongated and each have a length defined between two pivot points, are movable into a configuration of alignment in which the length of the first member and of the second member are aligned from the collapsed configuration, and in which collapsed configuration, the lengths of the first member and the second member form a first obtuse angle on a first side of the configuration of alignment.

32. The female connector of claim 31 wherein, in the deployed configuration, the lengths of the first member and of the second member form a second obtuse angle, greater than the first obtuse angle, on the first side of the configuration of alignment, further comprising a plunger spring- biased towards the aperture but stopped against the bias by the first and second linkages when in the collapsed configuration, the plunger pushing the first member and second member to the deployed configuration when released from the stop of the first and second linkages, and blocking the first and second linkages into the deployed configuration.

33. The female connector of any one of claims 30 to 32 further comprising at least one tension spring biasing the first member of the first linkage towards the first member of the second linkage.

34. The female connector of any one of claims 31 or 32 further comprising at least one bias biasing the first member and the second member to the first obtuse angle.

35. The female connector of any one of claims 26 to 34 further comprising a plunger spring-biased towards the aperture but stopped against the bias by the first and second linkages when in the collapsed configuration.

36. The female connector of claim 36 wherein the plunger blocks the first and second linkages when in the locked configuration.

37. The female connector of claim 35 or 36 wherein the plunger pushes the first member and second member to the deployed configuration when released from the stop of the first and second linkages.

38. A connector system for securing a first construction module to a second construction module on a modular construction site, the connector system comprising: a male connector secured to the first construction module and having a first housing defining a first internal volume and an first aperture leading to the internal volume, a male member having a base trapped in the first internal volume and a shaft protruding from the first aperture in a longitudinal orientation, the base being slidable within the first internal volume in a transversal plane; and a female connector secured to the second construction module and having a second housing defining a second internal volume and a second aperture sized to receive the shaft and leading to the second internal volume, a first locking member and a second locking member disposed in opposition to one another in the internal volume for locking the shaft therebetween.

39. The connector system of claim 38 wherein the male member has an extrusion shape of a two- dimensional cross-section projected in a transversal orientation.

40. The connector system of claim 39 wherein the shaft has a tapered head narrowing in the direction extending away from the first internal volume.

41. A method of connecting a male connector of a first construction module to a female connector of a second construction module, the method comprising : moving a base of a male member of the male connector transversally within a first internal volume of a first housing of the male connector, thereby transversally aligning a shaft of the male member with an aperture of the female connector;moving the aligned shaft of the male member across the aperture and inside an internal volume of the female connector; and locking the shaft of the male member inside the internal volume of the female connector.

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