U.S. patent number 3,662,507 [Application Number 05/018,493] was granted by the patent office on 1972-05-16 for preformed building wall construction.
Invention is credited to Arthur J. Espeland.
United States Patent |
3,662,507 |
Espeland |
May 16, 1972 |
PREFORMED BUILDING WALL CONSTRUCTION
Abstract
A building wall construction having preformed panels preferably
of plastic material for use particularly as basement walls and also
as room walls above the basement level. The panels are keyed to
each other and to supporting structures and secured by a suitable
bonding agent. There are special panel sections with preformed
window units and also preformed support areas for heavy beams.
There is a selection of preformed corners to accommodate varying
situations. The panels include preset bolts for the base plates and
in one embodiment are provided on their exterior side with
preformed brick ledges to support brick facing.
Inventors: |
Espeland; Arthur J. (Jewell,
IA) |
Family
ID: |
21788214 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/018,493 |
Filed: |
March 11, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/270; 52/289;
52/300; 52/293.3; 52/293.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B
1/12 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E04B
1/02 (20060101); E04B 1/12 (20060101); E04b
002/32 () |
Field of
Search: |
;52/264,300,274,270,289,283,284,293,294,309,265 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Faw, Jr.; Price C.
Claims
I claim:
1. A prefabricated building wall panel, comprising:
a panel having respective interior and exterior spaced wall
surfaces connected by a plurality of horizontally spaced integral
vertical stiffeners,
the top of the interior wall surface being on a lower plane than
the top of the exterior wall surface and the top of the stiffeners
being planar with the top of the interior wall surface,
a tongue-like projection co-extensive with one side edge of said
panel to define a male end and a recess co-extensive with the
opposite side edge of said panel to define a female end,
said male and female ends adapted for interlocking engagement with
respective female and male ends on like adjacent panels,
the bottom edge of said panel being provided with a notched
configuration for interlocking engagement with a supporting
surface,
the interior wall surface being provided with a notch intermediate
two stiffeners with the top of said notch planar with the top of
said interior wall surface,
the bottom of said notch defined by a support surface extending
between said interior and exterior wall surfaces and adapted to
receive and support the end of a bearing beam,
the internal area of said panel intermediate said interior and
exterior wall surfaces below said support surface to the bottom of
said panel being of solid material, and
fastening means preset in said notch portion at the time of
fabrication of said panel for attachment to a bearing beam.
2. A panel as defined in claim 1 including:
an elongated key member having one surface adapted for attachment
to a support, and
the opposite surface of said key member having a configuration
complementary to the notched configuration on the bottom of said
panel for interlocking engagement therewith.
3. A panel as defined in claim 1 including:
bolt means preset in the top portion of selected stiffeners at the
time of fabrication of said panel to serve as an anchoring means
for a plate member.
4. A panel as defined in claim 1 including a preformed integral
brick supporting ledge on the outer surface of the exterior wall
panel near the top thereof and co-extensive with the horizontal
length thereof.
5. A panel as defined in claim 1 including the combination
therewith of a prefabricated corner section having respective male
and female ends for interlocking engagement with angularly disposed
panel sections and in which one side of said corner section extends
a greater distance from the corner point than the other.
6. A panel as defined in claim 1 including:
said panel being of a plastic material,
the side edges of said panel when interlocked with adjacent panels
being bonded together by a suitable plastic bonding agent, and
the bottom of said panel being bonded to a supporting surface by a
suitable plastic bonding agent.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to preformed building wall construction
utilizing separate panel sections with various of the panels being
selectively designed to accommodate special features such as window
wells, corner sections and beam supports.
The increasing rise in the cost of labor and materials together
with the high cost of financing has motivated the building industry
to seek new and improved construction techniques calculated to
reduce cost and expenses. Heretofore, considerable skilled labor
has been required for on the site construction techniques and one
means for reducing such cost and other material cost has been to
utilize prefabricated components which can be economically produced
at factory installations by mass production techniques. The trend
in this direction is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,203,145 and
particularly in regard to prefabricated basement structural units,
one form is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,915,150. While the present
invention may be utilized in general wall construction, it has
particular utility in basement wall construction and as presently
practiced, such basement walls in homes, for example, are usually
of either poured concrete or concrete blocks which is somewhat time
consuming and requires skilled personnel. In addition, the
construction of basement walls is seriously affected and sometimes
delayed because of extremes in weather where such conditions
occur.
Accordingly, it is one of the principal objects of the present
invention to provide a preformed wall construction, preferably of
plastic panel components, which can be mass produced and installed
by unskilled labor in a relatively short time and without regard to
temperature conditions.
A further object herein is to provide a wall construction of the
above class where the panel components are interconnected by a
keyed joint made adequately rigid by an appropriate bonding agent
adaptable to the plastic composition.
Still another object herein is to provide a preformed wall
construction as characterized in which selective panels include
special features to accommodate window wells, supporting beams and
a variety of corner section requirements.
A further feature of this invention includes a wall panel component
having a preformed brick supporting ledge on the exterior side to
support any brick facing which may be applied to the exterior of
the building.
It is also an object herein to provide a prefabricated wall
construction that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, is
simple in construction so it can be quickly and easily assembled by
unskilled labor and which is of adequate structural strength to
serve its intended purpose.
SUMMARY
The basic unit of this invention comprises a preformed wall panel
which is made in several predetermined sizes with each panel of
each size having spaced sides connected by suitable stiffeners.
Respective male and female side edges are provided for interlocking
keyed connection to adjacent panels and suitable bolts for
retaining base plates are preset and mounted in spaced stiffeners.
Preformed corner sections are provided of various sizes in which
some sections extend equally from the corner point and other
sections have different lengths relative to each other and the
corner point so that varying conditions and layouts can be easily
accommodated.
The bottom of the panels are provided with a special shaped edge
for an appropriate keyed engagement with a supporting structure
which in the case of basement foundations will be a cement footing.
The panels are provided with appropriate window wells where needed
and certain of the panels are designed with appropriate recesses
and adequate interior strength for supporting heavy beams. In
addition, where brick facing may be in the plans, the wall panels
are provided on the exterior side with preformed brick supporting
ledges.
The various panels are attached to each other by an appropriate
bonding agent and are similarly attached to the supporting
base.
With the above arrangement including a variety of specialized panel
sections, a complete wall enclosure can be quickly assembled by
unskilled labor with specialized panels placed in the appropriate
and required positions for their necessary purposes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a building wall
construction using the wall panels of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view showing portions
of two joinable panels which are foreshortened for convenience of
illustration,
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of FIG.
1,
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view of one of my new
panels designed for supporting a beam taken from the line 4--4 of
FIG. 1 with the beam being omitted,
FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of FIG.
4,
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the lower portion of the
panels in FIG. 1 showing the mounting thereof on a concrete
footing,
FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but showing a second embodiment
of the bottom structure of the panel and its mounting arrangement
on a concrete footing,
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper portion of this
panel to illustrate an integral brick supporting ledge with the
showing of the bricks and the sill being for illustration only,
and
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion of a
panel to illustrate a second embodiment of the internal
construction thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings, a portion of a wall construction
designated generally by the numeral 10 is shown to illustrate the
several panel units included within this invention. For this
purpose, there is a basic panel section or component 12, and
special adaptations of the basic panel to provide the window panel
component 14 and the beam supporting panel component 16. In
addition, various arrangements of prefabricated corner sections are
utilized as indicated by the respective corner sections 18, 20 and
22. Sections 18 and 20 both have equal side portions extending from
their corner point and as can be seen in FIG. 1, the side portions
of corner section 20 which extend at right angles to each other are
approximately twice as long as the comparable side portions of
corner section 18 to provide appropriate corner sizes so that
different wall dimension lengths can be accommodated at the corner
points. Corner section 22 has the right angle panels 24 and 26
wherein panel 24 extends approximately twice the distance from the
corner point as does panel 26 and this, too, is for the purpose of
accommodating different dimensional requirements of wall
lengths.
The various panel components identified are prefabricated and
preferably of plastic material. The basic panel component 12 as
best seen in FIG. 2 is formed of spaced wall surfaces defining the
interior surface 28 and the exterior surface 30 which are secured
together by a plurality of integral stiffeners 32 suitably spaced
and extending throughout the vertical height of the panel. While
the width of this panel may be varied, it can be pointed out that
the approximate dimension between the interior wall 28 and the
exterior wall 30 is 4 inches. The top of the exterior wall 30 is
somewhat higher than the top of the interior wall 28 and thus the
top of wall 28 together with the top of the various stiffeners 32
which are planar with the top of wall 28 serve as a support for a
plate member identified by the numeral 34 and shown only for
purpose of illustration. An L-shaped bolt 36 has its horizontal arm
suitably fixed and mounted near the top of stiffener 32 when panel
12 is fabricated so that the other arm of bolt 36 extends
vertically upwardly as shown. The upper portion of said bolt is
externally threaded as at 38 and a plurality of such bolts 36 will
be secured to stiffeners 32 in a predetermined spaced relationship
to provide a means for securing plate 34 and for which there will
be suitable holes in such plate. A nut 40 and suitable washers if
necessary are used on bolt 36 in an obvious manner.
One side edge of panel 12 is provided with a tongue-like projection
42 to define a male end and the opposite edge is provided with the
channel-shaped recess 44 to define the female end with such recess
44 being complementary in shape to tongue 42 so that opposing male
and female edges can be abutted in an interlocking relationship as
best seen in FIG. 1. The bottom of panel 12 is constructed for
suitable mounting on a concrete footing 46 and for this purpose,
the inside wall 28 extends to a lower level than does the exterior
wall 30 so as to provide the stepped configuration 48. To
accommodate the stepped arrangement 48, a concrete footing 46 is
provided with a complementary recess as seen in FIG. 6. The
concrete portion 50 represents a floor slab in a well known
arrangement and is shown only for purposes of illustration.
A modified bottom structure of panel 12 is provided, if desired, as
illustrated in FIG. 7 where like parts in FIG. 6 are given like
numerals primed. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, walls 28' and 30' are
substantially planar at the bottom with the concrete footing 46'
being of solid structure in a conventional manner. Between the
bottom of the exterior wall 30' and the footing 46' I have inserted
a suitable rubber gasket 52 to serve as a water seal and which is
suitably bonded to both the footing and the panel. The bottom
portion of stiffeners 32' is notched as shown at 54 to provide the
central channel 56 and for a keying engagement within the notch
structure 54 I provide an elongated plastic strip 58 of a shape
complementary to notch 54 and channel 56 which, as will later be
referred to in more detail, is suitably secured to the top of
footing 46' and also secured to panel 12'.
The window panel section 14 is prefabricated substantially as
described for panel 12 but is provided in its upper portion with a
suitable cut-out 60 to accommodate a framed window unit 62 whereby
the top of such window unit is preferably planar with the top of
the stiffeners 32.
With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, panel 16, like panel 14, is
basically of like construction as panel 12 but is provided in the
interior wall 28 with a relatively deep recess or notch 64
communicating with its top edge and which is designed to receive
the end of a beam 66 as shown in FIG. 1. Notch 64 is defined by the
side walls 68 and 70 (which are in effect portions of stiffeners
32) and a horizontal supporting surface 72 extending between the
bottoms of side walls 68 and 70. As seen in FIG. 5, the area of
panel 16 between the vertical plane of sidewalls 68 and 70 and
below surface 72 is of solid construction to the bottom of the
panel as identified by numeral 74 in FIG. 5. Since beam 66 will be
required to support considerable weight as can be appreciated, the
solid portion 74 in panel 16 below such beam support provides the
necessary rigidity in the panel structure for this purpose.
Suitable bolts 36 as previously described are preset and mounted so
as to extend within notch 64 as seen in FIG. 4 for the purpose of
securing the end of beam 66 to panel 16.
In FIG. 8, there is shown a facing brick supporting ledge 76 which
is an integral part of the prefabricated panel construction
relative to the exterior wall 30. Such ledge 76 includes the
horizontal extending brick supporting surface 78 near the top of
wall 30 together with a downwardly extending portion 80 that
continues on an incline to merge with wall 30 at point 82. It will
be understood that ledge 76 is provided only when building plans
call for the brick facing and for illustrative purposes only, the
brick arrangement is indicated by the numeral 84 and the relative
position of the box header is designated by the numeral 86. The
area 88 between the header and the bricks will normally be filled
by suitable sheathing (not shown).
The corner sections 18, 20 and 22 are of prefabricated construction
utilizing plastic material similar to the construction of panel 12
and each of said corner sections has a respective male and female
end as described for panel 12. The variations in size as between
the several corner sections is provided as a matter of convenience
and facility to accommodate different wall lengths, corner
arrangements and dimensions as may be prescribed. In addition to
providing the corner sections of different sizes, it is pointed out
that panel sections 12, 14 and 16 are also provided in a variety of
sizes as, for example, 4, 5 and 6 feet so that with this selection
of different sized panels and corner sections, this prefabricated
wall construction is adapted to conveniently accommodate
practically any arrangement and dimensions of wall design.
In the assembly and joining of adjacent panel sections by the
interlocking of the respective male and female ends, epoxy fusing
material of any suitable type commercially available is applied to
the abutting edges and likewise a similar material is used for
bonding the bottom of the panels to the concrete footing 46 as seen
in FIG. 6 and also for bonding the strip 58 to the footing 46' and
the stiffeners 32' as seen in FIG. 7.
In FIG. 9, the panel structure designated generally by the numeral
12a is basically similar in overall construction to panel 12 except
for the fact that intermediate wall surfaces 28 and 30, the panel
is formed with a plurality of vertically disposed and laterally
spaced diamond-shaped openings 90 whereby the solid areas 92
intermediate such openings are substantially the same as stiffeners
32 and serve the same purposes. Bolt members 36 are suitably preset
in panel 12a as shown.
From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the above disclosure
presents improved prefabricated wall construction units which can
be quickly installed without the use of skilled labor and which can
be accommodated to a wide range of room layout designs and
dimensions. Dependence upon suitable weather conditions is not
required with this invention so that construction schedules can be
met without danger of interruption. The panel units are relatively
light but extremely sturdy and easy to handle and manipulate. Thus,
from the disclosure given it is believed a full understanding of
the construction and use of this invention will be had and its
advantages appreciated.
* * * * *