Building Panels with Support Members Extending Partially Through the Panels and Method Therefor
A building panel for residential and commercial construction uses a plurality of insulating blocks connected together by adhesive. The insulation blocks are typically made of foam. A plurality of support members are disposed on opposite sides of the insulting blocks and offset with respect to the adjacent support member. The support member are typically made of metal and can have different shapes including “T” shape, “U” shape, and “L” shape. Each support member has a head portion in contact with a surface of the insulating block and a stem portion extending into the insulating block and having a length less than a width of the insulating block so that a thermal conduction path of the support member is discontinuous across the insulating block. The panel can be used as a curtain wall panel in high-rise construction, as well as bodies for aircraft, automotive, and marine applications.
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The present non-provisional patent application claims the benefit of priority of provisional application Ser. No. 60/782,372 entitled “Insulating Building Panels,” filed Mar. 14, 2006.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates in general to construction materials and, more particularly, to residential and commercial building panels containing insulating foam and support members extending partially through the insulating foam.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONResidential and commercial building construction uses a variety of building materials and construction techniques to complete the structure. In some building projects, lumber or metal studs are used for the framing. The frame structure is held together with nails, screws, and bolts. An exterior siding such as stucco, wood, vinyl, brick, or aluminum is placed over the frame structure. Insulation is placed between the studs of the frame structure. The interior coverings such as drywall are affixed to the inside of the frame structure. The entire building project is typically performed on the construction site. The use of interior and exterior siding over frame is costly and labor and time intensive. Wood framing is of inferior quality and subject to insect damage and warping. Metal framing is thermally conductive which is undesirable in view of energy costs. The frame-based structure is susceptible to the effects of aging and storm damage. While frame construction has been dominant in the building industry for many years, other more cost effective and time efficient solutions are becoming more common.
One alternative building approach involves the use of hollow sectional forms, which are put together in the shape of the exterior wall. The hollow forms are filled with concrete and then disassembled when the concrete sets, leaving a concrete wall. The concrete wall is long-lasting and strong against the elements, but the forms are generally expensive to setup.
Another building approach involves the use of pre-fabricated building panels which are manufactured off-site and then assembled together on-site. One such building panel is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,796,093 as having a plurality of I-beam-shaped metal struts spaced about 18 inches apart with insulating foam blocks disposed between the metal struts. The metal struts have cut-outs along the length of the I-beam to reduce the total metal area and associated thermal conductivity.
A need exists for building panels combining strength with thermal insulating efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one embodiment, the present invention is a building panel for residential and commercial construction comprising a plurality of insulating blocks connected together by adhesive. A plurality of support members are disposed on opposite sides of the insulting blocks for providing structural support. Each support member has a head portion in contact with a surface of the insulating block and a stem portion extending into the insulating block and having a length less than a width of the insulating block so that a thermal conduction path of the support members is discontinuous across the insulating blocks.
In another embodiment, the present invention is a building panel comprising an insulating material having a width. A plurality of support members is disposed in the insulating material for providing structural support. Each support member has a thermal conduction path that is less than the width of the insulating material.
In another embodiment, the present invention is a building panel comprising an insulating material having a width. A plurality of support members is disposed in the insulating material for providing structural support. The support members have a thermal conduction path that is discontinuous across the width of the insulating material.
In another embodiment, the present invention is a method of making a building panel comprising the steps of providing an insulating material having a width, and disposing a plurality of support members into the insulating material for providing structural support The support members have a thermal conduction path that is discontinuous across the width of the insulating material.
In another embodiment, the present invention is a building structure, comprising a frame having a plurality of columns and a plurality of building panels disposed between the columns of the frame. Each building panel includes an insulating material having a width, and a plurality of support members disposed in the insulating material for providing structural support. The support members have a thermal conduction path that is discontinuous across the width of the insulating material.
The present invention is described in one or more embodiments in the following description with reference to the Figures, in which like numerals represent the same or similar elements. While the invention is described in terms of the best mode for achieving the invention's objectives, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents as supported by the following disclosure and drawings.
Residential, commercial, and industrial building construction can be done much more efficiently and cost effectively with pre-manufactured wall, roof, floor, and ceiling panels. The pre-manufactured panels can be made in a controlled environment, such as a manufacturing facility, shipped to the construction site, and then assembled together to form the walls and roof of the building. The pre-manufactured panels stand strong against adverse environmental conditions, such as wind, rain, snow, hurricane, flood, and earthquake. The wall and roof panels are easy to assemble into the complete building structure on the job site. As will be demonstrated, the wall and roof panels of the present invention provide improved insulation, i.e., higher R-value insulation factor, as compared to the prior art.
To construct a building with the wall and roof panels as described herein, an architect or builder will design and layout the building structure. The building may be a home, office, industrial, hotel, or commercial structure of any size and shape and as tall as the local building codes permit. The building designer will specify a blueprint of the building, including dimensions for the walls and roof. The designer then selects wall and roof panels to conform to the building blueprint, i.e., the walls and roof are made with a plurality of building panels assembled together according to the design. The panels can be round, rectangle, triangle, curved, polygon, or any other convenient shape. The selected panels are connected together on the job site to form the walls and roof of the building. The building panels can be stacked on-end with appropriate support for multi-story structures.
Support members or struts 30 are inserted into insulating blocks 28 to provide structural support and withstand the environmental elements, e.g., wind, rain, and snow. The building panels 22 are also resistant to water, mold, mildew, insects, fire, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Support members 30 and insulating blocks 28 compliment one another to provide a strong yet thermally isolating building panel. Support member 30 can be made from a variety of materials capable of providing structural support with the insulating block, such materials including metal (steel, aluminum or composite metal), ceramic, concrete, fiberglass, graphite, wood, plastic, cardboard, rubber, and composites of such materials.
In one embodiment, support members 30 are formed in the shape of a “T” and run the height of the wall, from top to bottom. The stem of support member 30 extends partially into the insulating block 28 but does not extend completely through the insulating block. The support members 30 are installed on opposite sides of panel 22, in an alternating pattern and offset or staggered with respect to the adjacent support members on the other side of the building panels, as shown in
The use of panel 22 provides several advantages for building construction. The building panels can be made off-site, in a controlled environment such as a manufacturing facility, and then transported to and assembled at the building site. The off-site manufacturing provides cost saving efficiencies in terms of accessibility to mass production equipment, sheltered work environment, and ready access to raw materials. The building panels can be formed to any size and shape in accordance with the building design. The panels can be straight, curved, angled, etc. The insulating blocks 28 provide exceptional insulation properties against the outside elements. Each inch of thickness of the insulating block yields about R-4 insulation factor. A 6-inch thick foam panel would provide about R-24 value of insulation. The support members 30 provide structural strength to panel 22. With support members 30, an 8-foot by 8-foot by 6-inch section of panel 22 can withstand in excess of 27,000 lbs. of total axial loading directed against surface 32.
In most if not all prior designs, the support struts in the foam blocks are continuous through the panel, see exemplary I-beam 12 in
An important feature of building panel 22 is its thermal non-conductivity properties in combination with the structural strength it provides. The thermal non-conductivity property of panel 22 arises from the fact the support members extend only partially through the building panel. As seen in
It is understood that thermal transfer through panel 22 is not completely eliminated with the use of support members 30 as insulating blocks 28 are not perfect thermal isolators. However, the high thermal transfer associated with the metal support members is certainly discontinuous across the wall panel 22 and as such significantly improves its R-value insulation factor for the wall panel as a whole.
The structural strength of building panel 22 arises from the arrangement of the support members 30 in the insulating blocks 28. Each “T”-shaped support member 30 has a head portion parallel to and in contact with the interior and exterior surfaces of panel 22. The stem of the “T”-shaped support member extends into the insulating block 28. The “T”-shaped support members 30 are positioned on opposite sides of panel 22, in an alternating pattern and offset or staggered with respect to the adjacent support members on the opposite side of the building panel. The embedded stem of support members 30, arranged as shown in
The support member 30 is shown in
A support member 50 is shown in
In an alternate embodiment, a shallow trench or recess 62 is cut into insulating block 28 to sufficient depth to contain head portion 40, as shown in cross-section in
Another embodiment for the support member is shown in cross-section in
A shallow trench or recess 76 is cut into insulating block 28 to sufficient depth to contain head portion 72. A groove 78 cut into a side surface of insulating blocks 28 from the bottom to the top of panel 22. For a 6-inch thick insulating block, the groove 78 is cut about 3 inches deep into the insulating block. An adhesive 80 such as urethane glue is disposed into groove 78. A groove 78 is cut into insulating blocks 28 of panel 22 for each support member 30. The stem portion 74 of support members 70 are then inserted into the grooves 78 until the top surface of head portion 74 is co-planar with the side surface of insulating blocks 28. The recessed head portion provides a flush surface for panel 22.
Another embodiment of panel 22 is shown in
Wall panel 22 can be formed with horizontal and vertical conduits or air channels to run electric wire and plumbing pipes. Doors and windows can be cut into wall panel 22 in the manufacturing facility or at the construction site. The wall panel can be formed to any shape.
Roof panels for the building structure 20 can be manufactured as described for building panel 22. The same is true for floor and ceiling panels. Since roof panels rest at an angle or flat, these panels may include additional support for vertical loads bearing into the surface of the panel.
Another application for panel 22 involves high-rise construction. Most high-rise buildings have a frame structure with curtain wall panels placed between columns of the frame structure. Building panels like 22 are ideally suited to be disposed between the frame structure of a high-rise building. In
Panels like 22 have applications in many other industries, such as aircraft fuselage, automobile bodies, and marine hulls. The panels are strong, exhibit high thermal insulation properties, and can be formed to any size and shape, which would be well-suited to such applications.
While one or more embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in detail, the skilled artisan will appreciate that modifications and adaptations to those embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. A building panel for residential and commercial construction, comprising:
- a plurality of insulating blocks connected together by adhesive; and
- a plurality of support members disposed on opposite sides of the insulting blocks for providing structural support, each support member having a head portion in contact with a surface of the insulating block and a stem portion extending into the insulating block and having a length less than a width of the insulating block so that a thermal conduction path of the support members is discontinuous across the insulating blocks.
2. The building panel of claim 1, wherein the support member is formed in a shape selected from the group consisting of “T”-shape, “L”-shape, “U”-shaped, and angled-shaped.
3. The building panel of claim 1, wherein the insulating block is made with a material selected from the group consisting of foam, fiberglass, and paper products.
4. The building panel of claim 1, wherein the support member is made with a material selected from the group consisting of metal, ceramic, concrete, fiberglass, graphite, wood, plastic, cardboard, rubber, and composites thereof.
5. The building panel of claim 1, wherein the support member is recessed into the insulating block.
6. The building panel of claim 1, wherein the stem of the support member is inserted into a groove of the insulating block and secured with an adhesive.
7. The building panel of claim 1, further including a thermally isolating connector coupled between stems of opposing support members.
8. A building panel, comprising:
- an insulating material having a width; and
- a plurality of support members disposed in the insulating material for providing structural support, each support member having a thermal conduction path that is less than the width of the insulating material.
9. The building panel of claim 8, wherein adjacent support members are disposed on opposite sides of the insulating block.
10. The building panel of claim 9, wherein the support members are offset with respect to the adjacent support members on opposite sides of the insulating block.
11. The building panel of claim 8, wherein the support member is formed in a shape selected from the group consisting of “T”-shape, “L”-shape, “U”-shaped, and angled-shaped.
12. The building panel of claim 8, wherein the insulating block is made with a material selected from the group consisting of foam, fiberglass, and paper products.
13. The building panel of claim 8, wherein the support member is made with a material selected from the group consisting of metal, ceramic, concrete, fiberglass, graphite, wood, plastic, cardboard, rubber, and composites thereof.
14. The building panel of claim 8, wherein the stem of the support member is inserted into a groove of the insulating block and secured with an adhesive.
15. The building panel of claim 8, wherein the support member is embedded in the insulating material.
16. The building panel of claim 8, further including a thermally isolating connector coupled between opposing support members.
17. A building panel, comprising:
- an insulating material having a width; and
- a plurality of support members disposed in the insulating material for providing structural support, the support members having a thermal conduction path that is discontinuous across the width of the insulating material.
18. The building panel of claim 17, wherein the support members are disposed on opposite sides of the insulating material.
19. The building panel of claim 17, wherein the support member is formed in a shape selected from the group consisting of “T”-shape, “L”-shape, “U”-shaped, and angled-shaped.
20. The building panel of claim 17, wherein the insulating block is made with a material selected from the group consisting of foam, fiberglass, and paper products.
21. The building panel of claim 17, wherein the support member is made with a material selected from the group consisting of metal, ceramic, concrete, fiberglass, graphite, wood, plastic, cardboard, rubber, and composites thereof.
22. A method of making a building panel, comprising:
- providing an insulating material having a width; and
- disposing a plurality of support members into the insulating material for providing structural support, the support members having a thermal conduction path that is discontinuous across the width of the insulating material.
23. The method of claim 22, further including forming the support member a shape selected from the group consisting of “T”-shape, “L”-shape, “U”-shaped, and angled-shaped.
24. The method of claim 22, wherein the insulating block is made with a material selected from the group consisting of foam, fiberglass, and paper products.
25. The method of claim 22, wherein the support member is made with a material selected from the group consisting of metal, ceramic, concrete, fiberglass, graphite, wood, plastic, cardboard, rubber, and composites thereof.
26. A building structure, comprising:
- a frame having a plurality of columns; and
- a plurality of building panels disposed between the columns of the frame, each building panel including, (a) an insulating material having a width, and (b) a plurality of support members disposed in the insulating material for providing structural support, the support members having a thermal conduction path that is discontinuous across the width of the insulating material.
27. The building structure of claim 26, wherein the support member is formed in a shape selected from the group consisting of “T”-shape, “L”-shape, “U”-shaped, and angled-shaped.
28. The building structure of claim 26, wherein the insulating block is made with a material selected from the group consisting of foam, fiberglass, and paper products.
29. The building structure of claim 26, wherein the support member is made with a material selected from the group consisting of metal, ceramic, concrete, fiberglass, graphite, wood, plastic, cardboard, rubber, and composites thereof.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 25, 2007
Publication Date: Oct 4, 2007
Applicant: GLOBAL BUILDING SYSTEMS, INC. (Prescott, AZ)
Inventors: James L. Beavers (Prescott, AZ), Bruce B. Solper (Skull Valley, AZ)
Application Number: 11/626,991
International Classification: E04C 1/00 (20060101);