Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Processes – Fabrication of member – module – etc.
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-09
2001-10-02
Kent, Christopher T. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Processes
Fabrication of member, module, etc.
C052S071000, C052S309900, C052S783170, C052S794100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295786
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to a building panel and method of forming same.
This invention has particular application to building panels suitable for offices and commercial premises and for illustrative purposes the building panel of this invention hereinafter will be described in relation to such application. Of course this invention is not limited to such application and it may be used for dwellings, houses and/or factory buildings or warehouses, multi-level apartments or offices, and such like, as well as collapsible furniture, packaging, containers and such like.
Building panels are used in construction to provide walls, floors, ceilings and roofs. Different materials are used according to their respective suitabilities, however, present building panels are generally supported by a framework, such as joists for floors, plates and studs for walls, and battens for ceilings and roofs.
Additionally, offices and commercial premises such as shops and restaurants include awnings or covered areas where it is desirable not to have pillars.
Recently, composite structural panels have been developed using a metal clad onto a core body usually formed from foamed plastics material, such as polystyrene. When such panels are used at a building corner, the panels are cut and joined to form such corners, weakening the completed structure. Additionally, metal cladding is highly conductive of heat, and has a significantly different coefficient of thermal expansion to that of the core body. Thus, such panels are usually used to form flat surfaces, limiting the architectural applications of such panels. Moreover, the metal cladding on such composite panels does not provide a suitable surface finish for many architectural applications.
This invention aims to alleviate at least one of the abovementioned disadvantages and provide a building panel which will be reliable and efficient in use.
This invention in one aspect resides broadly in a building panel including:
core means containing a compressible solid;
cladding means on at least one outer surface of the core means, and wherein the building panel is foldable.
Preferably, the core means includes a core body which is a polystyrene, polyurethane or similar polymer foam, and the cladding means includes a cladding layer which is substantially more rigid than the core body for imparting strength thereto. In an alternative form, the core body may be constructed, for example, from sheets of corrugated cardboard with the corrugations running across the thickness of the panels.
Thus, the building panel may be folded by creasing the core body along the inside corner of the fold, along with the cladding layer on the inside surface if such is provided. The core body is thereby compressed in the area within the fold, and, where the cladding layer is provided on both sides of the core body, the cladding layer on the inner side of the fold may be creased into the fold. Alternatively, the cladding layer may be cut from what will become the inside surface of a fold, and sufficient material removed to permit the panel to be folded.
Preferably, slightly less material is removed from the core body than would be necessary to complete the fold such that at least some of the core body material in the vicinity of the fold is compressed.
Preferably, material forming the core body is removed to form a V-shaped groove or channel about which, or into which, the panel may be folded, closing the groove until the cut edges of the cladding layer meet. Upon causing the cut edges to meet, they may be bonded together to secure the fold. Preferably, the angle of the sides of the groove is shallower then half of the angle of the proposed fold so that the groove is not as deep as the thickness of the core body, and the material near the base of the groove is compressed in performing the folding operation.
Preferably, the surfaces of the core body upon which the cladding layer is to be applied are substantially planar and relatively smooth. However, it will be appreciated that a degree of roughness is desirable on the surface of the core body to facilitate bonding of the cladding layer to the core body. In one embodiment, the surface of the cladding layer may be dimpled, or other specialised surface treatments may be applied, including cutting shallow grooves, or application of a surface bonding or sensitising agent. Of course, the surface of the core material should be substantially clean prior to the application of the cladding layer.
The cladding layer preferably includes a composite material including a textile component and a resin component. For example, the cladding layer may include a flexible fibreglass, nylon, polyester or such like. Preferably, however, the textile component is formed from a mesh of woven or non-woven threads and a resin component is in the form of a settable liquid applied to the surface and set into the interstices between the threads of the woven or non-woven mesh onto both sides of the core body, the resin component substantially encapsulating the textile component. Preferably, the mesh is a relatively open mesh, and the settable liquid adequately wets the surface of the threads.
In a preferred embodiment, the textile sheet is a fibreglass mesh formed into a non-woven square grid pattern of 4 mm or 5 mm and having a density of 165 g/m
2
or 150 g/m
2
respectively. The settable liquid is preferably a two-part acrylic, and in a preferred embodiment, is comprised of Aegis MSP Waterproof Multi Surface Protector, Aegis Acrylcoat L.B. Low Build Seamless Liquid Membrane, Aegis Acrylcoat H.B. High Build Flexible Texture Coating or Aegis Acrylcoat P.S. Primer and Sealer or any combination of same as supplied by Durus (Aust) Pty Ltd. According to product data sheets dated 1989, Aegis MSP Waterproof Multi-Surface Protector is a two pack product with a first dry mix part consisting of cement (30-50% by weight) and sand. A second, wet mix part consists, by weight, of acrylic polymer (40-60%), residual monomers (trace), ammonia (0.2% max), antifoamer (0.5-5.0%), 1,2-ethanediol (0.1-4.5%); antioxidant (0.1-2.5%) and water (40-60%). In use the wet and dry mixes are mixed in the ratio of 420 ml of wet mix to 6 kg of dry mix in order to form a modified mortar for use as a coating. The dried product is cementitious in appearance. (Aegis and Durus are trade marks.)
In another aspect, this invention resides broadly in a building panel including:
a substantially lightweight core;
cladding means containing an open textile mesh and a resin disposed around and within a plurality of interstices of said mesh, the resin component bonding to the mesh and to the core. The building panel is preferably substantially planar, but it will be appreciated that other forms may be utilised, such as building columns or such like wherein the core means is substantially cylindrical, such as of circular cross-section, or panels having a curved profile in cross-section.
Another preferred form is to provide a flange on each end of the panel such that the panel in cross-section is either in U-form or Z-form whereby the panels may be stood up in end-to-end configuration with adjoining panels being hooked together at their respective flanges. It is preferred that in such an arrangement, a gap be provided between the hooked-in flanges and that the distal edge of each flange is placed in close contact with the adjoining panel. Using such an arrangement, piers may be formed between adjoining panels in the form of a settable liquid such as concrete poured into the longitudinal space between the flanges. Additionally, reinforcing bars may be inserted into the space, or the flanges arranged around reinforcing bars as the panels are erected into position.
The panel of the present invention may also be constructed with webbing means interlinking the cladding layers on the two sides of the core means. The webbing means is preferably constructed by coating one surface of a core body forming the core means with the cladding as herein described, slitting the partially clad panel into strips, turning each of the
Dykema Gossett PLLC
Kent Christopher T.
LandOfFree
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