U.S. patent application number 10/168319 was filed with the patent office on 2002-12-19 for construction element and joining member.
Invention is credited to Charmat, Didier Robert Louis, Luty, John Mark.
Application Number | 20020189190 10/168319 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22623966 |
Filed Date | 2002-12-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020189190 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Charmat, Didier Robert Louis ;
et al. |
December 19, 2002 |
Construction element and joining member
Abstract
The invention provides a construction element (10) including a
resiliently deformable shell portion (12) and a set settable
composition (14) within the shell. The invention further provides a
construction element joining member (30) is provided for joining
two or more construction elements (10) together in the construction
of a structure (18), the joining member (30) having a body (32)
which has a resiliently deformable portion (34) and securing means
(36) for securing the joining member (30) to one or more
construction elements (10) thereby to join the construction
elements (10) while permitting for resilient deformation thereof.
The invention extends to a construction system using the elements
(10) and the joining member (30).
Inventors: |
Charmat, Didier Robert Louis;
(Nassau, BS) ; Luty, John Mark; (South Ascot,
GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
YOUNG & THOMPSON
745 SOUTH 23RD STREET 2ND FLOOR
ARLINGTON
VA
22202
|
Family ID: |
22623966 |
Appl. No.: |
10/168319 |
Filed: |
June 20, 2002 |
PCT Filed: |
December 21, 2000 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/ZA00/00259 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/586.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B44C 1/105 20130101;
E04D 3/38 20130101; E04F 13/0875 20130101; E04D 3/351 20130101;
E04B 2002/0252 20130101; E04B 2002/0247 20130101; E04B 1/68
20130101; B44C 5/04 20130101; B29L 2031/10 20130101; E04D 3/35
20130101; E04D 3/366 20130101; B44C 5/0438 20130101; E04B 2/04
20130101; E04D 3/358 20130101; E04C 2/22 20130101; B44C 5/0461
20130101; B29C 63/02 20130101; E04F 13/0871 20130101; E04F 13/002
20130101; B29C 2063/485 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/586.2 |
International
Class: |
E04B 002/00 |
Claims
1. A construction element which permits a structure constructed
using said element to deform in sympathy with weather and other
natural forces and to recover to substantially to its original
state, said element including: a resiliently deformable shell
portion; and a set settable composition within the shell, said
composition having a higher compressive strength than the shell
while the shell has a higher tensile strength than said
composition.
2. A construction element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
resiliently deformable shell portion is made of an elastomeric
material so that said element is capable of deformation and elastic
recovery.
3. A construction element as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein
the resiliently deformable shell portion is manufactured to high
dimensional accuracy levels so that when a plurality of said
elements are used together in the construction of a structure the
accumulated error in dimensions is minimal and does not affect the
aesthetic or structural integrity of the structure.
4. A construction element as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
resiliently deformable shell portion is manufactured to a 0.05%
linear accuracy.
5. A construction element as claimed in any one of the preceding
claims wherein the resiliently deformable shell portion is in the
form of a plastics container into which the settable composition is
cast and permitted to set to form said element.
6. A construction element as claimed in claim 5, wherein the
container forms a barrier to the ingress of water into the
container where it affects the set settable composition.
7. A construction element as claimed in claim 5, wherein the
container is manufactured by a moulding process selected from
injection moulding, injection blow moulding, and injection stretch
blow moulding.
8. A construction element as claimed in claim 7, wherein the wall
thickness of the container thus moulded is several hundred
microns.
9. A construction element as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 8,
wherein the container is moulded to have desired surface features
which are either aesthetic or functional or both.
10. A construction element as claimed in claim 9, wherein the
container is moulded to have formations which permit accurate
location of said element relative to other similar elements.
11. A construction element as claimed in claim 9, wherein the
container is moulded to have certain aesthetic features, such as a
log like appearance, a brick wall like appearance, or other desired
aesthetic qualities.
12. A construction element as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 11,
wherein the container is moulded from a plastics material selected
from PVC, PP, HDPE, PET, and ABS.
13. A construction element as claimed in any one of the preceding
claims, wherein he settable composition is a cementitious settable
composition.
14. A construction element as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
cementitious settable composition is a concrete.
15. A construction element as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
cementitiious settable composition is a Portland cement.
16. A construction element as claimed in claim 15, wherein the
cementitious settable composition is a Sorel cement.
17. A construction element joining member for joining two or more
construction elements together in the construction of a structure,
the joining member having a body which has a resiliently deformable
portion and securing means for securing the joining member to one
or more construction elements thereby to join the construction
elements while permitting for resilient deformation of the
structure at the joints.
18. A construction element joining member as claimed in claim 17,
wherein the body is made from a high-density thermoplastic
polymer.
19. A construction element joining member as claimed in claim 17 or
claim 18, wherein the body is injection moulded or extruded with
the resiliently deformable portion being co-moulded or co-extruded
with the remainder of the body.
20. A construction element joining member as claimed in any one of
claims 17 to 19, the resiliently deformable portion is in the form
of a zone of resiliently deformable material from which the
securing means extend to together define the body.
21. A construction element joining member as claimed in any one of
claims 17 to 20, wherein the securing means is in the form of male
dovetailed portion with thermoplastic elastomer padded faces
configured for engagement with female dovetailed grooves provided
in the construction elements to be joined.
22. A construction element joining member as claimed in claim 21,
wherein the male dovetailed portion and the female dovetailed
groove are complementarily knurled to permit locking of the male
potion to the female groove thereby to effect securing of the
construction elements to each other.
23. A construction element joining member as claimed in any one of
claims 17 to 20, wherein the securing means is in the form of a
pair of knurled arms separated by an opening into which a wedge
member is receivable for urging the arms apart, wherein in use the
arms are urged apart by the wedge member located in a groove
defined in the construction elements thereby to retain the arms in
the root or base of the groove and to secure the construction
elements together.
24. A construction element joining member as claimed in any one of
claims 17 to 20, wherein the securing means is in the form of a
knurled tapered portion which is sized and dimensioned
complementarily to a tapered knurled groove such that in use when
the knurled tapered portion is urged into the groove the joining
member is secured to the construction elements thereby securing the
construction elements together.
25. A construction element joining member as claimed in any one of
claims 17 to 20, wherein the securing means is in the form of a
pair of arms which are inserted into a complementary groove in the
construction element to engage the base or root of the groove, and
one or more hooks directed away from the free ends of the arms, the
hooks being configured for engagement with an inverted hook of the
same type thereby to secure construction elements provided with the
joining member together.
26. A construction system using the construction elements as
claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16 and joining members as claimed
in any one claims 17 to 25 to secure the construction elements
together.
27. A construction element substantially as herein described and
illustrated.
28. A joining member substantially as herein described and
illustrated.
29. A construction system substantially as herein described and
illustrated.
30. A new construction element, a new joining member, or a new
construction system substantially as herein described.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to a construction element and joining
member particularly useful in non-static structures.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
[0002] The applicant is aware that at present there are three types
of construction used for constructing buildings, such as houses.
These three types are:
[0003] brick, stone and/or concrete;
[0004] timber and timber composites; and
[0005] steel with brick and/or timber.
[0006] The first type, i.e. the brick, stone and/or concrete
construction, leads to a brittle structure having good compressive
strength but limited flexibility and poor tensile strength and is
thus prone to cracking, from which there is no recovery, until the
structure fails. There exist many types of concrete block based
building systems based on interlocking building blocks or, more
traditionally the blocks are held together with brittle mortar and
thus these building block systems do not improve the problems
associated with cracking of structures built using such systems as
the blocks and the mortar are prone to cracking when stressed.
[0007] The second type, i.e. the timber construction, has its own
problems in that timber is weak when stressed along the grain but
strong when stressed across the grain. Furthermore, fixing means
used to fix timber to other construction elements, or even to other
timber, for example staples, nails, screws and/or glue are prone to
unexpected failures and can also weaken the timber.
[0008] The third type, i.e. the steel with brick and/or timber
construction, attempts to address the weaknesses of the first two
types by combining their strengths. The third type however requires
specialist design and construction techniques.
[0009] The applicant is further aware that structures of the above
types often suffer damage which detracts from the aesthetic value
of the structure, herein after referred to as decorative damage, as
a result of weather, such as hurricanes, soil settlement resulting
in structural movement, heaving soils resulting in structural
movement, and earthquakes which cause horizontal shear resulting in
decorative damage or even total destruction of the structure.
[0010] Thus, the applicant has identified a need for a structure
which can be erected by two semi-skilled workers with minimal
equipment to a standard equivalent to or better than traditional
skilled construction methods, including internal and external
decorations, fixtures, fittings and services.
[0011] The structure for which a need has been identified should
preferably be capable of being erected, and withstanding, all
reasonable constructions sites, whether the site has settling soil,
heaving soil, rock, clay, gravel or loam.
[0012] The above house should also be able to withstand wind, cold,
heat, and moderate earth tremors. Although it would be ideal if
such a structure could withstand all extremes of weather and nature
this is off course impractical and thus the structure should be
able to withstand weather and nature at levels at least the same as
those of skilled construction method structures.
[0013] The applicant has identified various modularized house
construction systems however these do not address to a sufficient
degree the above identified needs.
[0014] The applicant believes that the above needs can best be
satisfied by a construction system in which the construction
elements, including decorative finishes are manufactured in a
controlled factory environment with a sufficient degree of
precision to permit assembly on site under non-ideal conditions by
semi-skilled workmen.
[0015] Further, such a construction system should be able to
withstand adverse weather and nature conditions as described
above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] Thus, according to a first aspect of the invention there is
provided a construction element which permits a structure
constructed using said element to deform in sympathy with weather
and other natural forces and to recover to substantially to its
original state, said element including:
[0017] a resiliently deformable shell portion; and
[0018] a set settable composition within the shell, said
composition having a higher compressive strength than the shell
while the shell has a higher tensile strength than said
composition.
[0019] The resiliently deformable shell portion may be made of an
elastomeric material so that said element is capable of deformation
and elastic recovery.
[0020] Furthermore, said resiliently deformable shell will permit
said element to damp ground vibrations, to enter into shear mode,
and to absorb and recover from torsional forces.
[0021] The resiliently deformable shell portion may be manufactured
to high dimensional accuracy levels so that when a plurality of
said elements are used together in the construction of a structure
the accumulated error in dimensions is minimal and does not affect
the aesthetic or structural integrity of the structure.
[0022] The resiliently deformable shell portion may be manufactured
to a 0.05% linear accuracy i.e. 0.5 mm error per meter run.
[0023] The resiliently deformable shell portion may be moulded from
a resiliently deformable plastics material to a 0.05% linear
accuracy.
[0024] Typically, the resiliently deformable shell portion is in
the form of a plastics container into which the settable
composition is cast and permitted to set to form said element.
[0025] Generally the container forms a barrier to the ingress of
water into the container where it affects the set settable
composition.
[0026] The container may be injection moulded, injection blow
moulded, or injection stretch blow moulded. However, typically the
container will be injection stretch blow moulded thereby resulting
in a uniform thickness moulding of the container.
[0027] The wall thickness of the container thus moulded may be
several hundred microns.
[0028] The container may be moulded to have desired surface
features which are either aesthetic or functional or both.
[0029] Typically, the container may be moulded to have formations
which permit accurate location of said element relative to other
similar elements i.e. interlocking formations.
[0030] The container may however be moulded to have certain
aesthetic features, such as a log like appearance, a brick wall
like appearance, or other desired aesthetic qualitities.
[0031] The container may be moulded from a wide range of plastics
material including, but not limited to, PVC, PP, HDPE, PET, and
ABS. The plastics material may include recycled plastics
material.
[0032] Where the container is moulded from PET the definition of
finish of said element is far in excess of that achievable by
traditional concrete casting methods.
[0033] The settable composition may be a cementitious settable
composition.
[0034] The cementitious settable composition may be a concrete.
[0035] The cementitiious settable composition may be a Portland
cement.
[0036] The cementitious settable composition may be a Sorel cement.
The Sorel cement may include magnesium oxychloride and water.
[0037] The cementitious settable composition is selected to have a
low viscosity at casting and to flow easily into a container while
having a set hardness at least equivalent to that of Portland
cement.
[0038] When Sorel cement is used the resiliently deformable shell
portion also acts as waterproofing to prevent hydrophilic
degradation of the Sorel cement.
[0039] According to a second aspect of the invention, there is
provided a construction element joining member for joining two or
more construction elements together in the construction of a
structure, the joining member having a body which has a resiliently
deformable portion and securing means for securing the joining
member to one or more construction elements thereby to join the
construction elements while permitting for resilient deformation of
the structure at the joints.
[0040] The body may be made from a high-density thermoplastic
polymer.
[0041] The body may be injection moulded or extruded with the
resiliently deformable portion being co-moulded or co-extruded with
the remainder of the body.
[0042] The resiliently deformable portion may be in the form of a
zone of resiliently deformable material from which the securing
means extend to together define the body.
[0043] The securing means may be in the form of male dovetailed
portion with thermoplastic elastomer padded faces configured for
engagement with female dovetailed grooves provided in the
construction elements to be joined.
[0044] The male dovetailed portion and the female dovetailed groove
may be complementarily knurled to permit locking of the male potion
to the female groove thereby to effect securing of the construction
elements to each other.
[0045] In another embodiment, the securing means is in the form of
a pair of knurled arms separated by an opening into which a wedge
member is receivable for urging the arms apart. In use the arms are
urged apart by the wedge member located in a groove defined in the
construction elements thereby to retain the arms in the groove and
to secure the construction elements together.
[0046] In yet another embodiment, the securing means is in the form
of a knurled tapered portion which is sized and dimensioned
complementarily to a tapered knurled groove in the construction
element such that in use when the knurled tapered portion is urged
into the groove the joining member is secured to the construction
elements thereby securing the construction elements together.
[0047] In yet a further embodiment, the securing means is in the
form of a pair of arms which are inserted into a complementary
groove in the construction element and one or more hooks directed
away from the free ends of the arms, the hooks being configured for
engagement with an inverted hook of the same type thereby to secure
construction elements provided with the joining member together.
The hooks may be knurled for frictional engagement with other
hooks. Also, the hooks may have locking formations for locking
opposed hooks in the engaged condition.
[0048] The invention extends to a construction system using the
construction elements and the joining members of the invention as
described above.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0049] The invention will now be described, for purposes of
non-limiting illustration only, with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0050] In the drawings,
[0051] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a container which is a shell for a
construction element in side and top view;
[0052] FIGS. 3 to 6 show, in various views, the container of FIG. 1
having grooves and other aesthetic and functional features;
[0053] FIG. 7 shows, in three dimensional schematic view, a
construction element cast of Sorel cement in a container;
[0054] FIG. 8 shows, in three dimensional schematic view, a groove
in a construction element indicating areas of highest strength;
[0055] FIGS. 9 to 11 show, in schematic representation, joining
members of various configurations engaged with the groove of FIG.
8;
[0056] FIG. 12 show, in three dimensional end view, a joining
member of the invention;
[0057] FIG. 13 shows, in sectional side view, another embodiment of
the joining member;
[0058] FIG. 14 shows, in sectional side view, detail of the joining
member of FIG. 13;
[0059] FIGS. 15 to 17 show, in various detailed views, another
embodiment of the joining member;
[0060] FIG. 18 shows, in three dimensional view, a joining member
of the invention in use; and
[0061] FIGS. 19 and 20 show, in schematic representation, a
structure built from construction elements of the invention and
using the joining member of the invention.
[0062] In the figures, reference numeral 10 generally indicates a
construction element, broadly in accordance with the invention.
[0063] The construction element 10 includes a resiliently
deformable shell portion 12, in the form of a plastics container,
and a set settable composition 14, in the form of Sorel concrete,
within the shell.
[0064] The container 12 is made of an elastomeric material so that
said element is capable of deformation and elastic recovery.
[0065] Furthermore, said container 12 will permit said element 10
to damp ground vibrations, to enter into shear mode, and to absorb
and recover from torsional forces.
[0066] The container 12 is manufactured to high dimensional
accuracy levels so that when a plurality of said elements 10 are
used together in the construction of a structure 18 the accumulated
error in dimensions is minimal and does not affect the aesthetic or
structural integrity of the structure. Thus, the container 12 is
manufactured to a 0.05% linear accuracy i.e. 0.5 mm error per meter
run.
[0067] The container 12 forms a barrier to the ingress of water
into the container where it affects the set settable composition
14.
[0068] The container 12 is injection stretch blow moulded thereby
resulting in a uniform thickness moulding of the container and the
wall thickness of the container 12 thus moulded may be several
hundred microns.
[0069] The container 12 is moulded to have formations 20 which
permit accurate location of said element 10 relative to other
similar elements 10 i.e. interlocking formations.
[0070] The container 12 may be moulded from a wide range of
plastics material including, but not limited to, PVC, PP, HDPE,
PET, and ABS. The plastics material may include recycled plastics
material.
[0071] The settable composition 14 of the embodiment is a Sorel
cement including magnesium oxychloride and water.
[0072] The Sorel cement is selected to have a low viscosity at
casting and to flow easily into a container while having a set
hardness at least equivalent to that of Portland cement.
[0073] A construction element joining member 30 is provided for
joining two or more construction elements 10 together in the
construction of a structure 18, the joining member 30 having a body
32 which has a resiliently deformable portion 34 and securing means
36 for securing the joining member 30 to one or more construction
elements 10 thereby to join the construction elements 10 while
permitting for resilient deformation of the structure 18 at the
joints 19.
[0074] The body may be made from a high-density thermoplastic
polymer.
[0075] The body 32 is injection moulded from a high-density
thermoplastic polymer with the resiliently deformable portion 34
being co-moulded with the remainder of the body 32.
[0076] The resiliently deformable portion 34 is in the form of a
zone of resiliently deformable material 36 from which the securing
means 36 extend to together define the body 32.
[0077] In FIGS. 9 to 12, the securing means 36 is in the form of
male dovetailed portion 38 with thermoplastic elastomer padded
faces 40 configured for engagement with female dovetailed grooves
42 provided in the construction elements 10 to be joined.
[0078] In another embodiment, the securing means 36 is in the form
of a pair of knurled arms 44 separated by an opening 46 into which
a wedge member 48 is receivable for urging the arms 44 apart. In
use the arms 44 are urged apart by the wedge member 48 located in a
groove 50 defined in the construction elements 10 thereby to retain
the arms 44 in the groove 50 and to secure the construction
elements 10 together.
[0079] In yet another embodiment, the securing means 36 is in the
form of a knurled tapered portion 52 located on the construction
elements 10 which is sized and dimensioned complementarily to a
tapered knurled groove 54 in the joining member 30 such that in use
when the knurled tapered portion 52 is urged into the groove 54 the
joining member 30 is secured to the construction elements thereby
securing the construction elements 10 together.
[0080] In yet a further embodiment, the securing means 36 is in the
form of a pair of arms 56 which are inserted into a complementary
groove 58 in the construction element and one or more hooks 60
directed away from the free ends of the arms 56, the hooks 60 being
configured for engagement with an inverted hook of the same type
thereby to secure construction elements 10 provided with the
joining member 30 together. In this embodiment, the joining member
30 is used as an intertwined pair one of which is slid into a
dovetail on two edge aligned blocks 62 until the leading one abuts
a stop. When a the other joining member is struck by a sharp blow
the toothed shoes 64 ride up each other and in so doing draw the
faces 66 of the dovetails closer and thus clamp the block faces
together.
[0081] It will be clear to those skilled in the art that other
embodiments of the invention exist and are included in the scope of
the invention.
[0082] The claims which follow form an integral part of the
disclosure of the invention as if specifically reproduced here.
* * * * *