PROVISIONAL APPLICATION The present invention was shown and described in a provisional application filed Jul. 16, 2010
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The need for low cost housing has been a primary concern for a number of years particularly in underdeveloped countries where costs, skilled labor and access to building materials present a considerable barrier to these programs. Various efforts have been made in the area of modular housing with a wide variety of levels of success. For example the following US patents are representative of the known prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,930,861 to Schiffmann et al shows a building system with walls, ceiling and a floor structure that is insulated with foam and made with pultruded materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,901,710 to Cooper discloses a fiberglass reinforced, pultruded vault construction using prefabricated wall, ceiling and floor panels made from pultruded material that are bonded together with adhesive.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,941,715 to Potter is directed to a prefabricated, modular building component made with pultruded materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,520,099 to Pringle et al relates to a pultruded composite building materials having an inner wall and outer wall with different levels of porosity.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,698,865 to Pringle et al is also directed to a composite building material that is pultruded.
A number of other U.S. patents are directed to making pultruded building components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a low cost, efficient unibody building construction that uses no nails, no wood, no drywall, trusses or concrete slabs; a building that can be made in weeks, not months or years with little or no waste and construction debris. The building is a low maintenance, ecology friendly design with no toxic emissions that provides all the amenities of much higher cost building. The building system and components for the construction of residential housing, industrial and commercial buildings and other type structures are made with pultrusion technology. Pultrusion is a process of heating, pressing and pulling composite material using pultruded polymer compounds such as polyurethane and reinforced by fiberglass or the like. The reinforced material is pulled through a specifically custom shaped die to create building materials used in the building of the invention and in the process for making the same. The building is formed with a plurality of pultrusion components bonded together to form a unitized structure. The building materials used in the present system include a main perimeter sill beam that is attached to foundation support columns; structural, foam insulated floor, wall and roof panels; corner connectors; a structural one-piece coved “wind spoiler” soffit and fascia tie beam; and, a structural one piece ridge beam. The components are designed to be interconnected with adjacent, mating parts as the building is assembled. These interconnecting parts are bonded together into place using high strength resin adhesives.
Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a complete unitized building structure made with a plurality of building components that are adhesively bonded together.
Another object of the invention is the provision of a building structure formed without conventional construction tools.
Still another object is the provision of a low cost, low maintenance building that is easy to build and inexpensive to maintain.
Yet another object is the provision of a building made without conventional fasteners.
These and other objects will become apparent with reference to the following specification and accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a completed building in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the building of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the soffit and fascia tie beam of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an end view of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a structural ridge beam assembly of the invention.
FIG. 6 is an exploded end view of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is an assembled end view of FIG. 5.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an exterior corner connector of the invention.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an exterior corner cap of the invention.
FIG. 10 is an assembled end view of the corner connector and corner cap of FIGS. 8 and 9.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a sill beam of the invention.
FIG. 12 is an end view of FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a roof panel of the invention.
FIG. 14 is an end view of FIG. 13.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a wall panel of the invention.
FIG. 16 is an end view of FIG. 15.
FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a floor panel of the invention.
FIG. 18 is an end view of FIG. 17.
FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view showing the interconnection of components of the invention.
FIG. 20 is an elevational view of FIG. 19.
FIG. 21 is an assembled perspective view of the components of the invention.
FIG. 22 is an elevational view of FIG. 21.
FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a stud anchor bracket used with the present invention.
FIG. 24 is an elevational view of the stud anchor bracket of FIG. 23.
FIG. 25 is a top view of the bracket of FIG. 23.
FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a corner stud anchor bracket used with the present invention.
FIG. 27 is an elevational view of the stud anchor bracket of FIG. 26.
FIG. 28 is a top view of the bracket of FIG. 26.
FIG. 29 is a view of a support column and an anchor bracket.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODOMENTS FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a typical building 10 made in accordance with the present invention having walls 12, a roof 14, floor 16 and foundation column supports 18. As seen in the sectional view of FIG. 2, the building 10 includes a soffit and fascia tie beam 20 connecting the roof 14 and walls 12, a structural ridge 22 at the top of the building 10 at the upper junction of the roof 14, an exterior corner cap 24, a corner connector 26, and sill beam 28 attached to the column supports 18. The roof 14 is made of a plurality of interconnected panels 32. Similarly the walls 12 are made of a plurality of interconnected panels 34. The floor 16 is also made with a plurality of interconnected panels 36. The corner connector 26 connects the wall panels 34 at the outside and inside corners of the wall junctions. The exterior corner cap 24 is positioned over the corner connector 26. An additional structural beam 38 is centrally located in the building 10 to support the floor 16 on the foundation column supports 18. The number of structural support beams 38 will vary with the size and shape of the building 10 being constructed. The tie beam 20 is positioned on top of the wall panels 34 and supports the lower ends of the roof panels 32. The sill beam 28 supports the floor panels 34 and the lower ends of the wall panels 34. All the components, as they are assembled, are bonded together to form a unitized structure without the need for conventional construction materials and techniques. The drawings show a building 10 with a generally square footprint, however, it will be appreciated that a wide variety of shapes and sizes of buildings lend themselves to construction with the pultruded components and processes defined by the present invention.
All the building components are made of pultruded materials created and formed by pulling fiber, such as fiberglass, and resin, such as polyurethane, through a specifically shaped dye. The components are assembled as described in detail hereinbelow by fitting and bonding them together using an adhesive resin so that the adjoining components become unified into a single connected structure.
A detailed description of each component used in the present invention and how they are assembled to form a building are described as follows. FIGS. 3 and 4 are isometric and end views of a one-piece structural soffit and fascia tie beam 20. An upper portion of the tie beam 20 forms a receptor platform 102 to receive and bond to lower sections of foam filled panels 32 that are used to construct the roof 14. A receptor channel 104 extending the entire length of the tie beam 20 is structured to receive and bond to the top of structural foam filled panels 34 that are used to construct the walls 12. The outer side of the tie beam 20 includes a structural, coved shape member 106 which adds support as well as functioning as a “wind spoiler” to deflect wind away during high wind conditions. The coved shaped member 106 also provides a decorative exterior trim feature to the soffit tie beam 20. A finishing molding 108 is located at the bottom of the soffit tie member 20 creating another decorative exterior trim feature. A structural stiffing member 110 performs asa drip edge for a fascia 112 component of the soffit tie beam 20. Another structural stiffing member 114 is an internal rectangular structural stiffening tube located between the coved shaped member 106 and the lower edge of the fascia 112 and extends the entire length of the soffit tie beam 20. An interior cove structural member 116 is located on the opposite side of the receptor channel 104 adding both stiffing strength while providing a decorative interior ceiling cove molding feature. A finishing molding 118 at the top and bottom of the interior cove structural member 116 provides structural stiffening as well as being a decorative interior ceiling trim feature.
FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show a one-piece structural ridge beam 22, a ridge cap 142 and filler cap 144. A receptor channel 146 receives and bonds to the upper part of an interior wall panel, (not shown) to form a unified structure. When no wall panel is inserted into the structural ridge beam 22, the filler cap 144 is inserted into the receptorchannel 146 to hide the channel 146 and also to provide a decorative finished interior surface. The filler cap 144 has tabs 148 running the full length of the cap 144 located along each edge of the cap 144 and offset from the width of the filler cap 144 to fit into the receptor channel 146 at the bottom of the structural ridge beam 22. Each side of the structural ridge beam 22 is formed with a receptor platform 150 on which the upper edges of the panels 32 forming the roof 14 are bonded to the structural ridge beam 22. Each side of the structural ridge beam 22 is also formed with a coved shaped, structural support 152, which also provides a coved molding feature at the interior ceiling of the building 10 where the roof panels 32 of the roof 14 and ridge beam 22 are connected. Ridge cap 142 overlays the top of the ridge beam 22 and the upper edge of the roof panels 32 to lock the parts together and to provide weather protection and a decorative finish to the roof 14.
FIG. 8 is an isometric view of a structural corner connector 26 formed with a receptor channel 160 sized to receive a structural wall panel 34. A tongue member 162 of the corner connector 26 is sized to fit into a channel of a connecting wall panel 34. All connected surfaces are bonded to the wall panels 34 using high strength resin adhesives.
FIG. 9 is an isometric view of an exterior corner cap 24, which is used to cover the structural corner connector 26. Raised tabs 158 on the inner surface of the exterior corner cap 24 are used to attach the corner cap 24 to the corner of the building 10 and give the cap 24 thickness creating a decorative reveal on the corners of the exterior of the building 10.
FIG. 10 is a slightly exploded end view of the decorative corner cap 24 as it would be placed over and attached to the structural corner connector 26 by the tabs 158.
FIGS. 11 and 12 show an isometric and end views of the main perimeter sill beam 30 formed with a receptor channel 164 in which the wall panels 34 are inserted. A vertical flange 166 holds the wall panels 34 in place. A tubular structural beam 168 supports the perimeter of the building structure. The base of the receptor channel 164 and the tubular structural beam 168 are pre-drilled at predetermined locations for fastening the sill beam 30 to the foundation column supports 18 under the building 10. The top surface 169 of the structural beam 168 supports the perimeter edges of the floor panels 36.
The roof panels 32, wall panels 34 and floor panels 36 are similar in structure and are made of pultruded material in a flat, elongated shape, generally rectangular in cross section.
FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate a structural roof panel 32 having an upper wall 170, lower wall 172 and a series of channels 174 formed by interior divider fins 176 connecting the upper wall 170 with the lower wall 172. The roof panel 32 includes a receptor channel 178 along one side of the panel 32 for connection with an adjacent roof panel 32 by means of a tongue 180 formed at an end of the roof panel 32 opposite the receptor channel 178. Preferably the tongue 180 is narrower than the thickness of the roof panel 32 by twice the thickness of the material forming the panel's wall surfaces. The tongue 180 may be tapered as well as the receptor channel 178 in such a manner to easily fit together during assembly to form equally uniform connecting surfaces. The interior divider fins 176 extend the full length of the panel 32 and bond the inner upper wall 170 and the inner lower wall 172 of the roof panel 32 together while adding lateral support. The roof panel 32 is a one piece structure formed in a custom designed pultrusion die. The interior channels 174 that extend along the full length of the panel 32, are injected with polyurethane or similar, foam insulating materials, during the manufacturing process that adheres to the inner surfaces of the interior channels 174 adding additional rigidity and support to the panel 32 while providing the panel 32 with a high insulation value. A structural exterior rib 182 rises up along the outer edge of the receptor channel 178 running the full length of the panel 32. The rib 182 serves as a structural stiffener at the panel's edge and provides the finished roof 14 with a decorative, raised seam look. There may be additional ribs equal to the size and shape of the rib 182 rising up along the top surface and running the full length of the roof panel 32 at variable intervals. The roof panels 32 are fit together by sliding the tongue 180 of one panel 32 into the receptor channel 178 of a connecting, adjacent panel 32, eventually forming a solid roof 14 structure. The tongue 180 is bonded to the inside of the receptor channel 178 using a high strength resin adhesive, which molecularly “welds” the pieces together. The completed tongue 180 and channel 178 connections form double thickness layers at the connection point creating an internal structural beam between each panel 32, adding additional strength to the roof 14. The outer surface of the roof panel 32 is the finished roof surface and may be textured and colored during the manufacturing process, or colored with a paint like or texturing material applied after installation and does not require any additional finishing roofing material.
FIGS. 15 and 16 show a structural, foam filled wall panel 34 in detail, similar to the roof panels 32, having a planar upper wall 190, planar lower wall 192 and a series of channels 194 formed by interior divider fins 196 connecting the upper wall 190 with the lower wall 192 and add lateral strength and support to the wall surfaces. The wall panel 34 includes a receptor channel 198 on one end and a tongue 200 on the opposite end of the wall panel 36 that is narrower than the panel thickness by twice the thickness of the panel's wall material. The tongue 200 may be tapered, as well as the receptor channel 198, in such a manner to fit together and form equally uniform connecting surfaces.
The wall panel 36 is a one piece structure formed in a custom designed pultrusion die. The wall panels 34 are fit together by sliding the tongue 200 of a first wall panel 34 into the receptor channel 198 of an adjacent wall panel 34, eventually forming a solid wall 12. The tongue 200 is bonded to the inside of the receptor channel 198 using a high strength resin adhesive, which molecularly “welds” the pieces together. The completed tongue 200 and channel 198 connections form an internal vertical structural beam using the double thickness of the mating connection, adding additional strength to the wall 12. Polyurethane foam, or other foam type insulation, is injected during the manufacturing process into the channels 194 adding insulation value as well as additional strength to the panel structure. In a normal raised vertical position, forming the walls 12 of the building 10, the bottoms of the wall panels 34 are inserted into the receptor channel 164 and against inner surface of the vertical flange 166 and boding surface 167 of the sill beam 30 and bonded therein using high strength resin
FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate a structural floor panel 36 similar to the roof and wall panels 32, having an upper wall 210, lower wall 212 and a series of channels 214 formed by interior divider fins 216 connecting the upper wall 210 with the lower wall 212. The floor panel 36 includes a receptor channel 218 on one end and a tongue 220 on the opposite end of the panel 36 that is narrower than the panel thickness by twice the thickness of the panel's wall material. As described above with reference to the other panels, the tongue 220 may be tapered, as well as the receptor channel 218 to fit together and form equally uniform connecting surfaces. Each floor panel 36 is a one piece structure formed in a custom designed pultrusion die. The floor panels 36 are fit together by sliding the tongue 220 of one panel 36 into the receptor channel 218 of a connecting, adjacent panel 36, eventually forming a solid floor structure. The tongue 220 is bonded to the inside of the receptor channel 218 using a high strength resin adhesive, which molecularly “welds” the pieces together. The completed tongue 220 and channel 218 connections form an internal structural beam using the additional thickness of the mating parts between each panel 36, thus adding additional strength to the floor. Polyurethane foam, or other foam type insulation, is injected during the manufacturing process into the channels 214 formed by the supporting fins 216 adding insulation value as well as additional strength to the floor structure. The ends of each floor panel 36 are bonded to the top surface 169 of the sill beam 30 using high strength resin adhesive to complete the attachment procedure between the two components.
FIG. 19 is an exploded isometric view of a building section and FIG. 20 is an end view of the same components showing the way they fit together forming the shell of the building 10. The components, as described in detail hereinabove, include a sill beam 30 having a receptor channel 164, foam filled floor panels 36, foam filled wall panels 34, a soffit and fascia tie beam 20, foam filled roof panels 32 and a structural ridge 22 with a ridge cap 142 and filler cap 144. The portions of the building 10 not shown are mirror images of the components that are shown.
FIG. 21 is an isometric view of the same components assembled together. FIG. 22 is an end view of the assembled components. In the assembled views of the building section, the bottom edge of wall panel 34 is inserted into receptor channel 164 of the sill beam 30. The floor panel 36 is attached to the top surface of sill beam 30. The top of a wall panel 34 is shown inserted into the receptor channel 104 of the soffit and fascia tie beam 20. The bottom of roof panel 32 is shown attached to the receiving platform 102 of the soffit and fascia tie beam 20 and the upper end of the roof panel 32 is shown attached to the receptor platform 150 of the structural ridge beam 22. The ridge cap 142 is shown attached to the top of the structural ridge 22, while the ridge filler cap 144 is inserted into the receptor channel 146 of the structural ridge beam 22.
FIGS. 23, 24 and 25 illustrate an isometric view of a two bolt alignment anchor bracket 300, which is comprised of a cross shaped support bar 302 which is made of flat, steel, or other like metals, with a rust protective coating, or reinforced polymer material, formed at each end with a “Z” shaped support 304 and threaded anchor bolt holes 303 equally spaced in-line on one of the crossed shaped bars 302 to receive a threaded steel, or other like metal with a rust protective coating, or reinforced polymer material, anchor bolt 306 having a specified length and a steel, or other like metal with a rust protective coating or reinforced polymer material formed knob, or 90 degree extension at the end 308 opposite the threaded end. The alignment bracket 300 is used as part of the building system to fasten the structural sill beam 30 to a column foundation system 18. The bracket 300 is placed at the top edge of a foundation column form (not shown) with the portion of the bracket bar 302 not having anchor bolts set parallel with the structural sill beam 30. The anchor bolts 306 are automatically located at the exact location necessary to fit into the pre drilled mounting holes of the structural sill beam 30. The “Z” shaped end supports 304 allow the anchor bracket 300 to slip into the inner diameter of the form thereby supporting the anchor bracket at the top of the column form. After set in place, the column foundation form is filled with concrete encasing the anchor bracket support bars 302 and lower section of the anchor bolts to form a foundation column support 18.
FIGS. 26, 27 and 28 show a four bolt corner alignment anchor bracket 320 used as part of the building system to fasten a structural sill beam 30 at the corners of the building 10 to a column foundation system 18. The corner alignment anchor bracket 320 is comprised of a cross shaped support bar 322 which is made of flat, steel, or other like metals, with a rust protective coating, or reinforced polymer material. The ends of the support bars 322 are formed with a “Z” shaped support 324. Each bar 322 has a threaded anchor bolt holes 323 such that two of the holes 323 are equally spaced in-line on each one of the crossed shaped bars 322. The holes 323 are designed to receive a threaded, steel, other like metal with a rust protective coating, or reinforced polymer material, anchor bolt 326 having a specified length with a 90 degree extension or knob 328 at the end. The corner alignment bracket 320 is placed at the top edge of the foundation column form (not shown) positioned at an angle diagonal to the sill beam's corner. The anchor bolts 326 are automatically located at the exact location to fit into the pre drilled mounting holes of the structural sill beam 30. The “Z” shaped end supports 324 allow the corner anchor bracket 320 to slip into the inner diameter of the form (not shown) thereby supporting the anchor bracket 320 at the top of the column form. After set in place, the column foundation form is filled with concrete encasing the anchor bracket support bars 322 and lower section of the anchor bolts 326.
FIG. 29 illustrates a foundation column 18 with an integral anchor support bracket 300.
To practice the method of the present invention to construct a unitized, one piece building structure, the following steps are taken. All components are formed in a pultrusion die and are sized and shaped to interconnect with the others for eventual bonding as a unitized building structure A foundation system of a series of concrete support columns and anchor brackets is located on the building site. A structural sill beam is fastened to the foundation system. Additional structural support beams are placed on the foundation support columns if needed as dictated by the size and shape of the building being constructed. Wall panels are inserted and bonded with adhesive to the receptor channel of the sill beam. The soffit beam is slipped over and bonded to the top of the wall panel. Roof panels are placed and bonded to the receiving platform of the soffit beam. The ridge beam is bonded to the top of the roof panels. The ridge cap is bonded to the ridge beam and roof panels. If needed, the ridge filler cap is snapped into the interior ridge channel. Floor panels are bonded to the top surface of the sill beam. The process is repeated until the building shell is completed. When constructing larger building, interior partitions are placed and bonded together, structural corner connectors are bonded to the wall panels at the junction of all corners and the wall panels are attached to the floor and the underside of the roof using channel connectors and bonding resins in the same way as the building shell walls.
It will be appreciated that the above description is exemplarily and that many modifications may be made in keeping within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
