Description

A prefabricated panel for building constructions and the method for installing it

Technical Field

This invention relates to a prefabricated panel for building constructions.

The invention relates in particular to a floor made from prefabricated panels and to a method for connecting the panels in order to install the floor.

Background Art

Current market requirements are such that building contractors operating in the global market of large projects need to be able to build large housing complexes in very little time. Thus, for example, even the setting up of construction sites for major public works such as dams, power stations, roads, railways, and so on, involve construction of housing complexes on site to provide lodging for the large numbers of people employed in the projects.

Since these housing complexes may need to be built in any part of the world and thus without the possibility of effectively planning the availability of the materials, suppliers and labour that can meet requirements quickly and effectively as they emerge, the use of prefabricated constructions has become the practice to an ever increasing extent.

Although on the one hand the simplification allowed by the use of prefabricated structures offers many advantages, on the other it undoubtedly also brings disadvantages and problems that cannot be neglected.

When prefabricated structures have to travel long distances, even thousands of kilometres, the problems connected with their weight and size become of primary importance. Furthermore, to make transportation of the panels simpler and more effective, cargo containers are used and it is therefore essential to optimize the use of container space.

Prefabricated floor panels currently available on the market have the

disadvantage of not effectively solving these problems.

In other words, prior art prefabricated panels do not simultaneously meet the requirements of light weight, strength and limited size necessary to make their shipping, for example in standard containers, effective and economical.

Disclosure of the Invention

This invention therefore has for an aim to provide a prefabricated floor panel that is free of the above mentioned drawbacks and that is at once structurally resistant and limited in size. Another aim of the invention is to provide a method for installing a floor using prefabricated panels according to the invention in a practical, quick and easy manner.

The technical characteristics of the invention according to the aforementioned aim may be clearly inferred from the contents of the appended claims, in particular claims 1 and 14, preferably any of the claims that depend, either directly or indirectly, on claims 1 and 14.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The advantages of the invention are more apparent from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred non-limiting embodiment of the invention purely by way of example, and in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view, with some parts transparent, of a portion of a prefabricated panel made according to this invention; - Figures 2 to 5 are schematic views illustrating different steps in the installation of panels according to the invention;

- Figure 6 is a schematic section view of another embodiment of the prefabricated panel illustrated in the above figures.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

With reference to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1 denotes in its entirety a prefabricated panel according to the invention for making the floors of buildings.

As illustrated in Figure 1 , the panel 1 comprises a first, bottom layer 2 of wood, a second, upper layer 3 of cementitious material on top of the first layer 2,

and a third, middle layer 4 of sound insulating material, interposed between the first two layers 2, 3.

The first, wooden bottom layer 2 has substantially constant thickness h2 and is advantageously made of glued laminated wood in order to optimize its mechanical properties.

As shown in Figure 1, the second upper layer 3 has a metal mesh 5 buried in it. The metal mesh 5 is advantageously an electrically welded mesh of the kind normally used in reinforced concrete constructions.

The metal mesh 5 lies in a horizontal plane, parallel to the planes in which the layers 2, 3 and 4 extend.

As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the panel 1 comprises a plurality of stakes 6 designed to stably connect the mesh 5 to the first, wooden bottom layer 2.

For clarity, the stakes 6 are not shown in Figure 1.

The stakes 6 have a point 6a driven into the wood of the first, bottom layer 2 and a head 6b, longitudinally opposite the point 6a, the head 6b being adapted to stably engage respective portions of the mesh 5.

The stakes 6 are equispaced over the entire surface of the panel 1 , so as to guarantee a uniform connection between the metal mesh 5 and the first, bottom layer 2. In their entirety, therefore, the stakes 6 constitute, for the panel 1, means for connecting the metal mesh 5 to the first, wooden bottom layer 2.

Advantageously, the stakes 6 have the twofold function of dynamically connecting the mesh 5 to the first layer 2 and of keeping the mesh 5 detached from the first layer 2 during the steps of making the panel 1, that is to say when the liquid cement mix is cast. hi other embodiments of the invention not illustrated, the above mentioned connection means comprise, instead of the stakes 6, a plurality of screws screwed into the first, bottom layer 2 and having respective heads connected to the metal mesh 5. Advantageously, the prefabricated panel 1 is rectangular in shape and its second, cementitious upper layer 3 has a bevelled edge 7 running all the way round its perimeter.

In this specification, the term bevelled edge is used to mean an edge of any shape adapted to form, when placed alongside an identical edge of another panel, a cavity that can receive a certain quantity of cementitious mortar.

From the bevelled edge 7 there protrude portions 5a of the metal mesh 5 designed to be connected stably with corresponding portions 5a of an adjacent panel 1 during assembly of a floor S.

Considering for the panel 1 a maximum longitudinal extension of around 9 metres, an optimal overall thickness found experimentally for the panel 1 is approximately 200 mm.

In particular, this overall thickness is advantageously made up as follows:

- approximately 120 mm, the thickness h2 of the first, bottom layer 2 made of glued laminated wood; - approximately 60 mm, the thickness h3 of the second, upper layer 3 made of cementitious material;

- approximately 20 mm, the thickness h4 of the third, sound insulating layer 4.

The thickness values given above relate to a preferred embodiment and may therefore vary considerably according to project specifications and load requirements.

In use, for making a load-bearing floor S from the panels 1 described above, the panels 1 are positioned side by side in the same plane, supported by beams and/or pillars not illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Looking in more detail, with reference to Figure 3, each panel is positioned in such a way that one of its bevelled edges 7 is placed alongside the respective bevelled edge 7 of the adjacent panel 1 and the respective portions 5a of the metal mesh 5 protruding from the edges 7 are connected stably to each other.

Excluding the mesh portions 5 a, the two bevelled edges 7 form a cavity 8 which, as illustrated in Figure 4, is subsequently filled with cementitious mortar to create an uninterrupted connection between the upper layers 3, made of cementitious material, of the adjacent panels 1.

Filling the cavity 8 with cementitious mortar makes it possible to obtain a floor S with an uninterrupted upper surface Sl. With reference to Figure 5, a finished treadable floor P can advantageously be laid directly on the upper surface Sl.

In the alternative embodiment of the panel 1 according to the invention, illustrated in Figure 6, the panel 1 comprises a longitudinal rib 9 made of cementitious material and obtained by filling with that material a groove 10 formed in the first, wooden bottom layer 2.

Advantageously, the rib 9 includes a metal stiffening reinforcement, not illustrated, which is in turn connected to the wood that forms the bottom layer 2 of the panel 1.

In this embodiment, the constant thickness of the first, bottom layer 2 refers to the fact that the overall dimensions of the first layer 2, including the ribs 9, are constant, that is to say, the latter do not exceed the dimensions of the wooden part in thickness.

The use of the prefabricated floor panel 1 according to the invention has important advantages. A first important advantage of the panel 1 according to the invention is its compact and resistant structure.

Since their thickness is substantially constant, the panels 1 can be conveniently stacked on top of one another inside the container, thus optimizing cargo container space. The absence of elements, such as beams or the like, extending beyond the overall dimensions of the panels 1 when stacked avoids the formation of empty space, which would considerably increase freight costs.

Another advantage of using the panels 1 is that they are quick and easy to connect up with each other during their installation to construct the floor of a building. Indeed, connecting them up with each other does not require either particularly skilled labour or hard-to-find materials and equipment.

The invention described above is susceptible of industrial application and may be modified and adapted in several ways without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all details of the invention may be substituted by technically equivalent elements.