PANELS

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a building system for the erection of structures wherein the load bearing elements are made of structural steel panels combined with a plurality of components for the purpose of creating energy-efficient, weatherproof, easy to assemble, fireproof and cost- effective single or multistoried structures for use in residential, agricultural, commercial or industrial applications.

In conventional foundation construction, first a concrete footer is formed and poured using ready-mix concrete. After the poured concrete footer has cured to a sufficient degree, such as a few days later, concrete forms, e.g. 4-8 feet high, are brought in, assembled on-site, and erected on top of the footer. Ready-mix concrete is then poured from a ready-mix truck into the forms and allowed to set up and cure, to thus create the foundation wall, or a frost wall if no basement is planned. Alternatively, cinder blocks and steel bars are used to build up a foundation wall or frost wall to above grade. At this point, wooden wall units or steel units are anchored on the walls. In general such building systems require a great deal of labor and time for building assembly, which makes them susceptible to disruption in the availability of qualified labor and to adverse weather conditions such as rain or cold weather. If to wood components, insects, fire and decay fungi offer a unique risk profile and threaten to reduce the usable life of the structure. In addition, still referring to wood constructions, there is a need to include insulation and a vapor barrier to meet with energy conservation and building code requirements. If concrete or cinder blocks are used, the cost of the material and its carbon footprint are disadvantageous as concrete has poor isolative values and has a high carbon footprint.

Concrete foundations are permeable to water, and so, must be water-proofed. However, even after a conventional water-proofing coating has been applied to make the foundation wall waterproof, water leakage through such concrete foundation wall, whether ready-mix wall or concrete block wall, is rather common. Further, a concrete or block wall conducts heat, and thus should be insulated to avoid heat loss by conduction through the concrete to the soil or other fill which surrounds the building or between the above ground wall and the air. However, the effect of such insulation is limited because only relatively thin insulation materials are commonly used with concrete wall constructions.

Furthermore, owing to raised environmental concerns about energy costs and the carbon footprints of anthropogenic activities there is a need to create building systems with low carbon footprints and enhanced insulation properties. In tropical environments where typical concrete constructions or cinder block constructions are generally used, building systems that are insect and decay resistant with good isolative values are needed. In cold climates where typical constructions are made of wood, material with higher isolative values is needed. However, wood is unstable and tends to have a relatively short lifespan as compared to concrete, cinder blocks or steel.

In prior art, there have been a large variety of modular building panels including pre-fabricated panels of many types. A common type of building panel includes a pair of planar surfaces consisting of sheet metal skins, interspersed with polymer foams such as polyurethane or polystyrene; which results in lightweight panels. Other panels have been designed with a honeycomb material within the planar skins, to create a lightweight panel with great insulation values. Recurring problems with the structural panels from prior art are that the panels do not offer weatherproof structures, require significant structural strength to create tall or multistoried buildings or lack the aesthetic requirements of end users.

A wide variety of methods for the assembly of pre-fabricated panels has been brought forward. Such methods generally involve a tongue and groove interlocking mechanism in which a tongue is introduced into a groove along the two coincident or abutting edges of two panels, and then locked together. Given that the tongue and groove are typically made of metal, techniques for a good seal against air flow have been designed including a variety of rubberized seals and caulks. To date such systems tend to lack the structural strength to support multistoried buildings. Namely, typical patents of previously designed panels having a variety of panel-to- panel edge connection schemes for coincident or abutting edges, are described in the U.S. patents to Glaros (U.S. Pat. No. 3,535,844), wherein the tongue and groove connecting mechanism is used. A second patent to Glaros (U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,873) describes other means of connecting planar coincident panels. In the patent to Martin (U.S. Pat. No. 4, 143,498) similar panels are interconnected with a connecting fastener clip which is bolted into the framework and which fits inside the groove of one of the coincident edge panels enabling a tongue to slide into it from the other coincident edged panel.

The Porter patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,981 ) defines a roof panel connection mechanism in which coincident edge panels have off-setting edges which mesh to interlock the panels, which are then sealed through the use of threaded fasteners introduced through a pair of engaging tongues, one of each pair from each of the coincident or abutting edges of the two panels. The Finch patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,590) describes the panel interconnections for a partition wall structure, in which the abutting edges of two panels are interconnected and secured by fasteners which are threaded through the interconnected edges.

The Thompson patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,897) uses a snap action wall panel design, based on clips bolted to a support for holding a wall panel to a spaced supporting framework, and includes a sealing mechanism between coincident panel members. The Wang patent (U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,1 12) defines the attachment for two coincident and interconnected plastic planks to a supporting framework using a threaded fastener passing through the meshed tongues of the two abutting planks. The Bowersox patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,257) describes a modular wall structure in which coincident panels with meshed tongues are linked together by a fastener which passes through the two tongues and caulks the abutting edged of the two panels, for a complete seal.

U.S. Patent No. 5,373,678 pertains to panels with reinforced edge connection with male and female connectors. The basic structure of the panel is similar to all other panels where polystyrene is used as the core filler but rely solely on the abutting panels to supply the structural strength required.

Schiffmann et al. (U. S. Patent No. 7,926,233) use structural panels that are made of plastic reinforced with fibers. Panels have inner and outer layers, and structurally reinforcing members. Structurally-reinforcing members extend, typically as a layer and/or stud, the full height of a wall, at spaced locations along the length of the wall. Spaces between the structurally reinforcing members are optionally filled with rigid foam. An optional reinforcing stud is attached to, or overlaid by, the inner layer, and extends inwardly into the building from what is otherwise the inner surface of the building panel. The Murdoch patent (U.S. Patent No. 6,085,485) provides interlocking panels with the front and the back of the panels offering an extension that interlocks with the adjacent panels. Furthermore such panels form an enclosure at the top and bottom by folding back the front and bottom sheets of the panels which are then stitch-welded into place. Longitudinal "C or Z purlin or rib elements are added to provide structural strength to the panel. However, front and back skins folded back against the end of the panel at the top and bottom increase the cost of panel manufacturing, creates an avenue for heat transfer, renders the task of injecting insulating foams difficult and restrict the usefulness of the panels for usage in angled applications such as gable ends. Furthermore, the purlins are without holes, which creates a barrier preventing the spread of the foam material between the two longitudinal chambers of the panels. Said purlins are stitch-welded to the upper and lower skins which affects the isolating value of the resulting panels by providing heat transfer conduits. The back skin of panels fabricated with the Murdock patent is not corrugated, constituting a structural weakness. In addition, the attachment of such panels, similarly to the other panels shown in prior art is lacking sophistication, thus restricting the application of such material, especially when panels intersect at the corners of constructions. The application of this material is further restricted by their final appearances, which in roofing applications does not permit to use the panels without the addition of cladding, shingles and ridge caps. Furthermore, the Murdock patent does not provide mechanisms the insertion of windows, doors or other openings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current building system comprises a plurality of connectors, headers, membranes, foams, sealants and load bearing pre-fabricated insulated panels, including steel structural panels and ridge caps which are used for the erection of weatherproof, structurally sound walls, floors, ceilings or roofs together with connectors permitting the anchoring of the panels to footings or a concrete slab or a supporting structure made of posts. In contrast to prior art, the invention described herein relates to a complete building construction system comprising load bearing pre-fabricated steel panels that may be used in various applications ranging from residential, commercial, manufacturing or commercial. The isolative quality of the panels permits them to be used in various climate zones ranging from the hot and dry and/or wet weather of tropical zones to wet and cold in temperate and boreal zones, as examples. In contrast to prior art, the invention described herein includes a plurality of components, which permits the assembly of structural steel panels and ancillary components in weatherproofing configurations.

In a first embodiment of the invention all structural elements of a building, after the erection of underground footings with concrete, are erected using insulated structural steel panels. As an improvement to prior art, in a second embodiment of the building construction system describes the use of standard wooden trusses or rafters in conjunction with pre-fabricated steel panels, which permits the erection of complex roof structures a top a box made of insulated structural panels. As a third embodiment of the invention, the building is erected on posts, which are linked with connectors and support the entire building structure.

As a significant improvement to prior art the current invention shows the modification of a "Z" or "C" purlin which is centered and attached to the insides of the two outer skins of insulated structural steel panels and which permits the easy manufacturing of said panels by allowing the passage of expanding foam between the adjacent longitudinal chambers of the panels. In addition, this improvement ensures the equal distribution of the foam inside the panels and further enhances the structural strength of the purlins by encasing them in foam which prevents rotation when uneven force is applied to the outside of the panels. Furthermore the purlins used in prior art are stitch welded to the steel skins, thus creating a thermal bridge from the outside to the inside of the resulting wall, which in turn would diminish the insolation value up to 70% and lead to interior condensation and/or frosting in low temperature application whereas in the present invention the purlins are attached to the front and back skins with an a non heat conductive substance which permits to create a heat transfer barrier between the front and back skins.

In prior art, the end of the panels was manufactured by folding back the outer and inside skins to form a rectangular enclosure, which was then stitch-welded. In the invention described herein, the panels are sheared either at a 90 degree or at an angle to accommodate various angles corresponding to sloped roofs of the gable ends of buildings.

In prior art, more particularly the Murdoch patent, insulated steel panels were only corrugated on the outer skin whereas in the current invention both sides are corrugated which confers to the panels greater strength.

In accordance to an embodiment of the invention, sealants and membranes are used between the insulated panels and footings or supporting structure, permitting the weatherproofing of the walls and the creation of various thermal barriers. Furthermore, the underground part of the exterior wall is covered by a waterproof membrane.

In prior art angled iron connectors were used to attach the panel sections, consisting of two or more individual panels which were stitch welded at their extremities. In the current invention, the extremities of the panels are sheared at an angle which depends on the end use of the panels, thus requiring the use of specially designed connectors together with caulk sealant.

In prior art, no connector was described for the attachment of intersecting walls made of insulated panels. In contrast, in the current invention, angle iron served the purpose of a connector as well as seals the extremity of the panels. The current addition also provides connectors for the insertion of door openings and windows into the structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 9, first, second and third preferred embodiments of the building system are shown, which embodiments include a plurality of components to connect and weatherproof above and belowground a building structure made substantially of pre- manufactured insulated steel panels which are assembled together to form the walls, roofs, floors, or ceilings of a building.

In a first embodiment of the invention, a building is erected (FIG 1 a.) using pre-manufactured insulated steel panels (1 ) forming the substantial elements of a sloped roof, walls and floors. For this structural wall panels (FIG 5a) are first anchored to footings (2) using angle irons on the inside and outside of the panels (3). Said angle irons are anchored to the footing using bolts (4). Positioned between the footing, the angle irons and the panels there a waterproof gasket consisting for example of a 1 cm thick rubber sheet (5).

Said panels (FIG 2a FIG 2b) contain a main body portion of length "L", a thickness "T", and a width "W". A sheet metal outer skin is disposed substantially at the exterior of the main body portion and has opposed front (6) and back portions (7) adjoined by first and second side portions to form a substantially hollow core, with an isolative and fire- retard ant material (13) disposed within the substantially hollow core, for example polyurethane foam.

A first substantially rigid overlapping securing flange (8) (FIG 3) extends outwardly from the front portion of the construction panel 6 past the first side portion, for fastening in overlapping relation to a first adjacent insulated panel of similar orientation. The first substantially rigid overlapping securing flange (8) is disposed substantially parallel to the front portion (6) of the construction panel. If the front portion (6) of the building construction panel (8) is corrugated, the first substantially rigid overlapping securing flange (8) terminates in an angled lip portion to follow the corrugation of the first adjacent construction panel. A second substantially rigid overlapping securing flange (9) extends outwardly from the back portion (7) of the construction panel (7) past the second side portion, for fastening in overlapping relation to a second adjacent construction panel of similar orientation. The second substantially rigid overlapping securing flange (9) is preferably disposed substantially parallel to the back portion (7) of the construction panel and may be formed by folding the second skin element onto itself. The second substantially rigid overlapping securing flange (9) further comprises an offset portion disposed along the length of the back portion of the construction panel to receive therein a second substantially rigid overlapping securing flange of the second adjacent insulated panel.

The insulated panel (FIG. 2a, FIG 2b) further comprises a purlin or rib member (10) secured with adhesives to each of the opposed front (6) and outer skins (7) so as to span therebetween in bracing relation to restrict thermal bridging. The rib member (10) extends substantially the length "L" of the main body portion, and preferably extends the entire length of the main body portion. The shape of the cross-section of the rib member (10) may be chosen from the group consisting of "Z"-shaped, as can be seen in FIGS. 2a Fig 2b, or may be "C"-shaped, " -shaped, "V"-shaped, and "W"-shaped, and is perforated (1 1 ) for the purpose of weight reduction and to permit the transfer of expanding foam (13) and further restrict thermal bridging between the adjoining chambers of the panels during manufacturing. The bottom and top sheath of the panel, together with the insulating foam, are sheared at right angle or any angle as fitting the application of the panels, leaving the foam core exposed at the extremities of the panels.

This insulated panel is corrugated and is built to a specified or pre-determined depth or thickness to meet with requirements for isolation and/or structural strengths. The polyurethane core is of high density, which is adapted to varying specifications depending on application and panel thickness. This urethane core fills fully all the spaces and vacant interstices within the panel once the continuous member steel "Z" or "C" section has been placed and secured to the top and bottom steel sheaths of the panel using a substances that creates a thermal barrier. The insulating foam penetrates the perforations of the continuous member "Z" or "C" section (10) thus permitting better distribution and reduction in back pressure from air pockets as well as increased structural strength and reducing thermal bridging.

The structural panels are connected one to a next substantially similarly oriented one in first side to second side relation using self tapping fasteners such as TEK screws (12) (FIG. 3) along with sealants (23). A first substantially rigid overlapping securing flange extends outwardly from the front portion of the construction panel past the first side portion, for fastening in overlapping relation to a first adjacent construction panel of similar orientation. A second substantially rigid overlapping securing flange extends outwardly from the back portion of the construction panel past the second side portion, for fastening in overlapping relation to a second adjacent construction panel of similar orientation. A continuous bead of caulk or insulating tape is placed between the panels so as to create a vapor barrier. The building construction panel, including the first and second substantially rigid overlapping securing flanges, has an overall width "W.sub.o". The use of foams and insulating material permits the creation of a vapor barrier and thermal envelope.

Floors (FIG. 6) and roofing panels (FIG. 7a) or ceiling panels with stamped steel as their outer skins (FIG. 7b) are connected to the walls using one or several connectors which secure each of the front and back portions of the sheet metal outer skin so as to span therebetween in bracing relation, and extends substantially the length of the main body portion and anchoring the panels to a supporting structure. TEK screws (12) are used in conjunction with these connectors.

Vertical connectors (FIG. 4a, FIG. 4b) matching the corrugated shape of the panels are used inside and outside corners to longitudinally connect panels where they intersect in a planer manner. Angle iron connectors (14) are used to support the floor which is preferably made of structural panels or may be made of other materials as in traditional floor construction systems.

The juncture between the roof panels at the roof ridges is supported by a steel beam (15) where it is connected with TEK screws (12) (FIG 8). In addition the triangular space between the end of the foot panels is filled with polyurethane foam (16) which is applied after the panels have been installed. The ridge is further covered with a ridge cap (17) which matches the profile (7) of roof panels.

Roof panels (FIG. 7), which may be stamped, are mounted on the wall components using connectors (18, 19). For roof panels, the end of the rib member, which is in contact with roofing panels are specially made to match the profile of the panels. Furthermore the structural integrity of the structure is secured by the use of said connectors providing lateral bracing.

Openings are created into the walls, floors or roofs to permit windows or doors for example (FIG 9). The edge of the openings (20, 21 ) such created are framed with specially manufactured "L" connectors (22) and with sealant which permits to maintain the weatherproofing property of the resulting structure. "L" shaped connectors of sufficient strength are used to meet building code requirements for headers. To interconnect and interlock two or more panels in a horizontal or vertical plane, the design embodiments as described above are utilized as follows, where each individual panel construction is a unitary structure. For the top edge connection for a panel system of two or more panels, the elongated member of the outer skin of a panel which overlaps the corrugated top edge of the coincident abutting panel, along the entire length of both the panels and along the entire coincident edge, is fastened with threaded self sealing TEK screws or other fastening devices, at defined intervals as following the claims of this invention.

Reference will now be made specifically to FIG. 1 abc, which shows alternative embodiments of the invention. As in the first embodiment, foams, connectors, membranes, sealants and structural panels are used to create an enclosure. In this second embodiment, however, insulated panels are used to create a ceiling structure, thus forming a weatherproof envelop on top of which wood or steel trusses are used to support traditional roof coverings. This permits to add wood trusses or steel trusses to create a complex roof line.

The application described herein deals with the integration of premanufactured structural panels with a plurality of connecters, foams, sealants, connectors and TEK screws which collectively form a building system that is easy to assemble. The panels used in this system are designated in the industry as an SIP (Structural Insulation Panels). However, such a panel in keeping with the present invention, has several unique design features in both its basic construction which give it superior load bearing structural strength compared to other current designs, and in its reinforced external panel-to-panel edge connection mechanism necessary for the construction of both load bearing structural wall, roof and floor sections. SIP has additional features specific to its use as a load bearing structural panel wherein it has superior rigidity with less deflection characteristics, and has specific features for its use as a structural floor element wherein it has enhanced load-bearing capabilities. Moreover, the SIP is complemented with a complete spectrum of components, which renders the SIP technology easier to utilize as compared to other SIPs in the marketplace.

Other modifications and alterations may be used in the design, installation and manufacture of the building system of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims. DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which form a part of this specification, of the present invention, as to its structure and use, together with further objectives and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following drawings in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be illustrated by way of example. It is expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Embodiments of this invention will now be described by way of examples in association with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an end view of the three preferred embodiments of the invention showing (a) typical building system including insulated premanufactured panels for foundation wall, floor and roof panels; (b) building with insulated premanufactured structural panels are used to form the foundation walls, floors and ceilings whereas wooden trusses are used to form the form; (c) insulated premanufactured structural panels are used to form the walls, floor and roof whereas the entire building is mounted on stilts.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a load bearing prefabricated building construction panels (a) trapezoid panels used for walls, floors or ceilings; (b) stamped roofing panels.

FIG 3 is an end view of the load bearing pre-fabricated panels with particulars of their side to side connection and the use of sealants.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the connection of two load bearing pre-fabricated panels at (a) inside corners; (b) outside corners.

FIG. 5 is an end view of the connection between the load bearing pre-fabricated panels and footings (a) without brick veneer connector or (b) brick veneer connector alongside wall.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the details of connectors at the intersection of floors with the load bearing pre-fabricated panels

FIG. 7 is an end view of the load bearing pre-fabricated building construction panel intersecting with walls with pre-fabricated building construction panels forming a roof (a) or forming a ceiling (b). FIG. 8 is an end view of the load bearing pre-fabricated building construction panel intersecting at roof peaks.

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the load bearing pre-fabricated building construction panels in which window openings were created, showing the insertion of headers (a), including an end view of the header.