Building Unit Lifting Anchors for Safe Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for lifting building units, such as panel-like structures, are inefficient and costly due to the need for skilled labor, time-consuming on-site assembly, and increased use of cranes and scaffolding, which poses safety and cost challenges with larger and heavier components.
Innovation Solution
The integration of lifting anchors into the support structure of building units, allowing for a releasable interconnection that transfers lifting loads through the sheeting, enabling efficient and safe lifting by distributing the load to the support structure, with options for anchors to be recessed or extendable, and configured to be flush with the surface for easy installation and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If cranes and scaffolding are used to lift larger and heavier components, then lifting capability is improved, but site costs and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The building unit is divided into modular components with integrated lifting anchors at specific locations. The lifting system is segmented into discrete anchor points that can be independently engaged by lifting components, allowing distributed load bearing rather than requiring heavy centralized lifting equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
Lifting anchors serve as intermediary elements between the building unit and lifting components. These anchors transfer the lifting force from the lifting component through the sheeting to the support structure, enabling lighter lifting equipment to handle heavier components through mechanical advantage and force distribution.
2Device complexity
If manual lifting is used for smaller components, then site costs are reduced, but installation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The building unit incorporates self-contained lifting anchors that enable the unit to be lifted by standard lifting components without requiring specialized equipment or extensive skilled labor. The anchors are integrated into the support structure and designed to engage with common lifting hardware, allowing workers to efficiently lift units using readily available equipment.
3Ease of operation
If lifting anchors extend through the sheeting, then lifting access is improved, but surface aesthetics are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting anchors are designed with dynamic positioning capability, allowing them to be extended through the sheeting when lifting is required and then retracted or covered when not in use. This dynamic configuration enables the surface to transition between providing lifting access and maintaining aesthetic appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The lifting anchors are nested within recesses in the support structure when not in use, with openings in the sheeting that can be closed or covered. When lifting is required, the anchors extend through the openings; when not required, they remain nested within the support structure, maintaining the flush surface appearance.
Data Source
AI summary
There is disclosed a lifting attachment for a building unit comprising sheeting and a support structure over which the sheeting is disposed, the attachment being configured such that it can be connected to or integrated into the support structure and comprising a lifting anchor that, when the attachment is so connected or integrated, is engageable by a component for lifting the unit such that a releasable interconnection between the component and the support structure passes through an opening in the sheeting.