Technical Field of the Invention In a first aspect, this invention relates to a multi¬ storey building comprising at least one floor structure that separates two different floors, a number of first walls of which each one comprises two plate-like units separated by a first interspace, and a number of second walls extending perpendicularly to the first walls, each one of the second walls comprising two plate-like units separated by a second interspace, the first and the second walls meeting each other in a column-delimiting space in which reinforced concrete is poured while forming a supporting column, said plate units being left after finished pouring while forming parts of a dead mould.

State of the Art

Normally, multi-storey buildings are erected according to two different main methods. One method consists of erecting a crossbar-like steel framework of beams and columns. Not seldom, the construction is stiffened by means of plates, for instance in the form of floor structure plates. The stiffening may also be accomplished by means of outer or inner walls or by diagonal bracings. It is characteristic for this method that beams and columns of steel are used for providing a more or less self- supporting skeleton structure which thereafter is covered with floor or wall plates. The construction becomes slender, light and dry, but also sensitive to fire and sound. Theoretically, such skeleton structure constructions may also be erected with columns and beams of concrete, but this is extremely uncommon in practice, since tolerances, handling, joining and similar lead to problems that are difficult to master. The other main method makes use of reinforced concrete in the shape of plates. The walls and the floor structures in a house body may either be poured on the spot in moulds or be prefabricated. Cooperating reinforcement and pouring material between the plates in the floor structures and the walls create the required stiffness.

The construction becomes comparatively fire-retardant and sound absorptive, but is on the other hand bulky, heavy and wet.

Objects and Featur s of the Inven ion The present invention aims at eliminating the disadvantages of the above described methods for erecting multi¬ storey buildings and providing a process that combines the slenderness of the previously known steel skeleton structure framework with the good sound and fire properties of the concrete plate framework. Thus, a primary object of the invention is to provide a process which makes possible the erection of a homogenous building construction with a minimal consumption of concrete and with the same statical functions as a steel skeleton structure framework. Another object is to bring about a process according to which the walls and floor structures of the construction are used as a so called dead mould, prefabricated elements jointly forming a pouring mould which makes possible a reinforcement and pouring-in-situ of the columns as well as of the beams comprised by the construction. A further object is to provide a process according to which the walls of the building construction are erected in such a way that they participate in the statical system, whereby existing beams and columns of concrete can be made very slender.

According to the invention, at least the primary object is attained by the features defined in the characterizing clause of claim 1. Moreover, advantageous embodiments of the multi¬ storey building according to the invention are defined in the dependent claims.

In a second aspect, the invention also relates to a process for erecting a multi-storey building of the described sort. The features of the process according to the invention are defined in claim 6.

Further Elucidation of the Prior Art In EP 0 125 319 a previously known one-storey building is disclosed which comprises first and second angled walls, each one of which comprising plate-like units which are separated by

interspaces, it being possible that the walls meet each other in a column-delimiting space in which reinforced concrete is poured while forming a supporting column, and the plate units being left after terminated pouring, thereby forming parts of a dead mould. However, in this case the plate units consist of a multitude of blocks piled upon each other, which requires a large work effort at the building site. In fig 53 of the publication, a special embodiment is shown according to which overhead beams are arranged between the plate units consisting of blocks, in the region above window or door apertures, the overhead beams forming the bottom for the pouring of reinforced parts of concrete beams comprised by a concrete floor structure which is poured on the walls. Nor do the concrete beam parts form any monolithic framework together with columns in a subjacent or in a superjacent floor. Thus, the reinforcement in the individual column is not at all pulled up into any superjacent column in the extension of the same.

Brief Description of the Appended Drawings In the appended drawings

Fig 1 is a perspective view showing a first, elementary stage when erecting a building by applying the process according to the present invention, Fig 2 is a similar perspective view showing the process in a second stage,

Fig 3 is a perspective view showing a third stage of the process, Fig 4 is a perspective view showing a fourth stage, Fig 5 is a partial horizontal section through a corner or connection point between two meeting walls in a building according to the invention, the figure showing an initial stage before pouring, Fig 6-8 are vertical sections A-A, B-B and C-C in fig 8, Fig 9-12 are sections corresponding to fig 5-8, but showing the building after pouring,

Fig 13 is a side view showing a wall according to an alternative embodiment of the invention,

Fig 14 is a cross-section through the wall according to fig

13, Fig 15, 16 are views from above showing the wall before and after pouring, respectively, of an upper concrete beam, Fig 17 is a partial perspective view showing the wall according to figs 13-16, and Fig 18 is an analogous perspective view showing an alternative embodiment of the wall.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

In fig 1, reference numeral 1 generally designates a first wall being erected, which is intended to consist of an outer wall, while 2 designates a second wall which extends perpendicularly to the first wall 1 in order to form either an inner wall or an outer gable wall in the prospective building. In fig 2, numeral 3 generally designates a floor structure which is built up by individual plates or tiles 4. The floor structure 3 is intended to separate two different floors or flats, of which a lower one is designated 5 to the right in fig 2, while an upper one is pointed to at 6.

Each first wall 1 is constructed by at least two prefabricated plates or plate-like units 7,7' which are separated by an interspace or cavity 8. In practice, the plates 7,7' are parallel to each other and have advantageously about the same thickness. The length may vary most considerably, while contrary thereto, the height substantially corresponds to the desired storey height. The plate 7' intended to form the faςade surface according to fig 1 may advantageously be somewhat higher than the inner plate 7. Both plates 7 and 7' are prefabricated, the outer plate 7' having been made of a material that is resistant to weather and wind, while the inner plate 7 has been made of a material that is suitable for direct use, or for direct painting or hanging of wall-paper, respectively.

In a similar way, also the second wall 2 is constructed by two internally separate, suitably parallel plates 9,9' which

are separated by an intermediate cavity or interspace 10. When the plates 9,9' are intended to form an inner wall, they suitably have one and the same height, as clearly shown in fig 1. The two walls 1,2 meet each other in a column-delimiting space, as indicated at 11 in fig 2, which shows a construction stage at which the wall 1 has been completed by further wall plates 7A and 7A' in the extension of plates 7,7'. In this context, it should be briefly mentioned that the outer plates 7' advantageously are longitudinally staggered or overlapping in relation to the inner plates, and also somewhat longer than the latter.

Reference is now made to fig 3 and 4 which show how the part construction shown in fig 2 has been completed by a further first wall 1' and a second floor plate 4'. In the storey-high, column-delimiting spaces 11 in the corner or crossing points between each first and second wall, column reinforcement 12' has been incorporated, whose height is somewhat higher than the wall height, so that the uppermost parts of the reinforcement will protrude somewhat above the floor plane.

In fig 5 to 8 it is shown how the interspace between the plates to a major part is filled up by an insert or core part 15 or 15 ² , respectively. In practice, this part may constitute the core in a sandwich-like element which has been produced in advance in a factory, the two outer plates of which element being permanently joined with the core part per se. The core 15 ,15 ² may be ^~ made of a material that is considerably lighter than the resistant concrete that shall form the supporting construction of the building. The cores in the prefabricated sandwich elements may for instance consist of light concrete, cellular plastic or another suitable material whose density is a fraction of the density of concrete. In fig 6 and 7 it may be seen that the core 15 ,15 ² in each sandwich element can have a height that is smaller than the height of the surrounding plates 7,7' and 9,9', respectively. In this way, beam-delimiting spaces designated 8' and 10', respectively, are formed at the upper edge of the elements. In fig 5 it should particularly be

observed that the outer wall plates 7' in the wall 1 have a larger length than the appurtenant core part 15 ¹ . Therefore, when the wall elements are set together, end against end in the extension of each other, the column-delimiting space 11 between the ends of the core parts will be maintained, which space is shown to have full wall or storey height in fig 8. In fig 5 may also be seen that the core part 15 ² in each transverse wall 2 may be somewhat shorter than the surrounding plates 9,9', whereby the column-delimiting space 11 becomes substantially T- shaped in the mounted state of the wall elements. It may also be pointed out that beam reinforcement 13 is mounted in the beam- delimiting spaces 8',10' in the unpoured state illustrated in fig 5 to 8. In the same way, column reinforcement 12' is mounted in the column-delimiting space 11. In a first pouring step, concrete or an equivalent pourable and hardenable material 14' is poured into the column space 11. In fig 9 to 12 is illustrated how concrete has been poured also in the previously mentioned beam spaces 8 ' ,10' , more specifically with concrete designated 14". It should be evident that the thus obtained framework body that forms the supporting construction of the prospective building, has substantially elongated column- and beam-like portions, respectively, made of the concrete 14' and 14", respectively, which portions extend in right angles relative to each other along the X, Y and Z axes of an imaginary system of coordinates. By the fact that the column reinforcement 12' is made in such a way that it protrudes a bit from the floor plane, a substantially monolithic skeleton structure is obtained when pouring the supporting concrete skeleton structure of the superjacent floor plane, in spite of the fact that the pouring of the concrete takes place in different steps, separated by time.

In fig 13 to 17 an embodiment is shown according to which the core part between two plates 16, 16' comprise a plurality of posts 17 which together support an overhead unit 18. The posts, which advantageously may consist of thin U- sections, are internally separated while forming individual compartments 19 between adjacent posts. The overhead unit 18

consists of an elongated, flat body, for instance of cellular plastic, which forms a bottom for an upper beam 23 and in which are taken out holes 20, more specifically one hole for each compartment 19. At the lower edge of the formed wall element is shown a beam 21 of concrete which has been reinforced with lying reinforcement 22. This lower beam 21 is poured by concrete which is introduced through the holes 20 in the overhead unit. It should be observed that the ends of the reinforcement 22 protrudes from the ends of the concrete beam, more specifically into the above mentioned column space 11. In an analogous way, the upper beam 23 is poured with lying reinforcement 24 in the space above the overhead unit 18 when the shown wall is integrated with at least one angled wall, the portions of the reinforcement 24 which protrude from the beam body per se being integrated with each one of the simultaneously poured concrete columns. In this context it should be pointed out that the ready, upper beam 23 may be made in two steps. Hence, a lower comparatively thin part of the beam can be poured in a factory, whereafter a further layer of concrete is poured on top of he prefabricated concrete beam part in connection with a simultaneous pouring-in-situ of the column in question in the building.

In fig 18 an alternative embodiment is shown, according to which the compartments between the posts 17 have been filled with sound and/or heat insulating material, such as porous light concrete, e.g., foamed concrete. Such a filling of the walls with an insulating material may advantageously be effected in situ; something that implies that the transport of individual wall elements from the factory to the building site is simplified to a large extent. The top side of the filling forms the bottom for pouring of the upper beam 23 comprised by the concrete skeleton structure of the building.

The advantages of the invention should be evident. By the use of concrete poured in situ _r a very slender supporting framework or skeleton structure construction may be obtained in multi-storey buildings, at the same time as the connections in the ready building obtain good fire and sound insulating

properties. The consumption of concrete on the spot becomes minimal, in that walls as well as floors to a major extent may consist of prefabricated elements, of which particularly the wall elements, but also the floors may be made of light materials which are simple and economical to transport and to handle. By the process according to the invention, also complex multi-storey buildings may be erected in a flexible way by the use of prefabricated elements which serve as parts of the form in which the different parts of the concrete skeleton structure are poured, the need for special mould elements being entirely eliminated.

Feasible Modifications of the Invention

It is evident that the invention is not restricted solely to the embodiments as described and shown in the drawings. Thus, albeit it is preferred to make the middle lamella body as an integrated part of a prefabricated sandwich element, it is possible to insert this body in situ as a saving body between two separate plates in the wall element in question.