AU2013289845A1

AU2013289845A1 - Modular building system

Info

Publication number: AU2013289845A1
Application number: AU2013289845A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Leighton Philip MURPHY
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-07-09
Filing date: 2013-07-09
Publication date: 2015-01-29
Also published as: WO2014008536A1; NZ629645A

Abstract

A new form of interlocking connector for connecting building panels to both the floor and roof or ceiling of a building in which the connector has two wall sections, one on either side of the connector, provided with outwardly extending deflectable retainers for engaging with the lip or rim of an open C-shaped channel member forming the edge of the building panel. Usually, the connector is in an at-rest configuration but when the open C-shaped member is received over the connector during construction of the building, the side walls are squeezed together by the lips or rim of the open C-channel to adopt a compressed configuration until the rim of the C-shaped member passes the edge of the retainers whereupon the retainers, free of constraint, resume their at-rest configuration to engage the inside walls of the open C-shaped member to securely connect the building panel to the floor or ceiling. The connector reduces the complexity and time to construct a building, as well as allowing less skilled and experienced tradesmen to be able to assemble the buildings without the use of specialised tools.

Description

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 MODULAR BUILDING SYSTEM FIELD The present invention relates generally to assembling buildings from components 5 and methods of assembling buildings using the components. In one form, the present invention relates to a construction system and parts and components for use in the construction system for assembling buildings in which one or other of the individual components of the building system interlock with one or other different components to connect the various forms of the components to one another to construct the io building. In one form, the present invention relates to a construction system for forming modular buildings using interlocking standardised components in which the standardised components are used to interconnect modules together to form the modular building. The present invention finds particular application as a construction system and a is method of using the construction system for forming modular buildings having preformed modules which are interconnected to each other and to other parts of the modular building using interlocking connectors to join the various components to one another to form the modular building from prefabricated modules. Although the present invention will be described with particular reference to one or 20 other embodiments of the modular construction system and modular building, and to methods of using the components of the system, it is to be noted that the scope of the present invention is not restricted to the described embodiments, but rather the scope of the present invention is more extensive so as to include other forms and arrangements of the modular construction systems, of the various forms of the individual components used in the 25 modular construction system, including other forms and arrangements of modules and connectors and to methods of assembling the various components to form a variety of different types of buildings. BACKGROUND 30 The cost of providing buildings progressively increases due to increased energy costs of both providing the materials from which the building is constructed and the energy used during their construction, as well as increased costs of the various components from which the buildings are constructed, and increases in labour costs for constructing the buildings. In many instances, the cost of buildings, such as for example, factories, 35 warehouses, domestic dwellings and the like becomes too expensive which prevents a number of organisations, including families, from either commencing businesses or WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 -2 purchasing housing or having their own building for a variety of purposes. Part of the increased costs relate to the use of more traditional methods of construction which are essentially labour intensive requiring the services of many differently skilled tradespeople to perform all of the necessary operations at the appropriate times during the constructions of 5 the building. Additionally, one of the costs associated with providing a building or other construction is the need to project manage the building to ensure the correct materials and appropriately skilled workmen are at the construction site at the relevant time to complete the selected tasks on time, which is due to the method of construction used in forming the 10 building. If a vital material or highly skilled person is not available on site when needed, construction of the entire building stops causing delays, sometimes lengthy delays, which lead to increased costs, which in turn are passed on to the occupier, user or purchaser of the building. Therefore, there is a need to re-evaluate the methods and processes used in is providing buildings to reduce the costs of the building, particularly to reduce the cost of materials and components and the cost of labour in order to make the building more accessible to a wider range of people and organisations, such as business men, families and the like. One way to decrease costs of construction is to reduce the reliance of on-site 20 materials and manpower so that there is less on-site project management required by making many of the components required in the construction of the building off-site, such as for example, premade or assembled components in a factory, warehouse or similar and transporting the ready built components for installation in the building on-site. Although there have been previous attempts to provide factory built components and assemblies for 25 assembling on-site during construction of the building, such attempts have not been entirely successful for one reason or another, and have met with only limited success, mainly due to using more traditional methods of constructions and attempting to base the modified methods used on more traditional methods. One of the major disadvantages of existing factory built buildings in the cost of 30 making the factory built components and transporting the components to the construction site. This is due to the method used to make the components being aligned with the traditional methods and processes that were previously used on site so that all that has generally been changed in such previously available constructions, is that parts of the building have been manufactured in the factory rather than on-site. Such components and 35 methods still require the parts to be installed in the building during construction by highly skilled workmen using more or less standard traditional construction techniques to form the WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 -3 building. What is required is a reappraisal of the overall processes of how a building is constructed and what components are necessary to construct the building. Therefore, there is a need to address the methods of construction of buildings and how buildings are formed including how components are manufactured in factories and how 5 they are assembled on-site to form the buildings. The present inventor has reviewed the existing more traditional methods of construction and has derived an innovative method which could revolutionise how buildings are constructed in the future by using different types of components which can be manufactured off-site at a lower cost using relatively simple tools that are readily available, io and assembled on-site without requiring a large amount of specialised tools and equipment and without requiring the services of highly skilled and highly paid tradespeople to use the specialised tools and equipment. Furthermore, it has been surprisingly discovered that even when lower cost building components are used, and less skilled workmen are employed, buildings which perform satisfactorily and are compliant with official regulations, can be is manufactured relatively inexpensively using readily available tooling and assembled using a range of simple tools that are readily available and do not require specialised tools or equipment or highly skilled tradespeople to operate the equipment. Accordingly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a modular construction system which can be used to form modular buildings. 20 Accordingly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide components for a modular construction system in which the components are generally simplified as compared to components used in more traditional methods of building construction, and thus can be produced at a lower cost without using specialised equipment or machinery. Accordingly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a modular construction 25 system having components which interlockingly engage with each other to form a generally rigid and self supporting building or other construction. Accordingly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a connector for facilitating interlocking connection of two or more building components to one another to form part of a building or other construction. 30 Accordingly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a building component which can be manufactured at a low cost, using non specialised equipment, and can be assembled at a low cost for use during construction of a low cost building or other construction. Accordingly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a modular construction 35 system having components which can be interlockingly connected to one or more other building components to form part of a building or other construction in which the inherent WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 -4 nature, properties or characteristics of the material from which the connector is manufactured, is utilised to facilitate interconnection of the components of one another. It is to be noted that not all embodiments of the invention will satisfy all aims. Some embodiments will satisfy one aim, whilst other embodiments will satisfy another aim. Some 5 embodiments will satisfy two or more aims. SUMMARY OF INVENTION According to one form of the present invention, there is provided a connector for connecting a first member to a second member, characterised in that the connector io comprises a body having a fixing portion for fixedly connecting the connector to the first member to locate the connector with respect to the first member and a retaining portion capable of movement between a first position and a second position such that when the second member is being connected to the first member, a part of the second member engages the retaining portion of the connector so that the retaining portion moves between is the first position and the second position in response to engagement by the second member to facilitate connection of the first and second members together and wherein when the first member is connected to the second member, the second member is retained in connected relationship with the first member by the retaining portion of the connector so as to restrict movement of the second member with respect to the first member. 20 According to one form of the present invention, there is provided a building component characterised in that the building component comprises a first joining member located along a first dimension of the component for connecting the component to a first connector having at least one first retainer, a second joining member located along a second dimension of the building 25 component for connecting the building component to a second connector having at least one second retainer, the first joining member being provided with at least one first engaging element for cooperatively engaging with the at least one first retainer to connect the building component to the first connector, 30 the second joining member being provided with at least one second engaging element for cooperatively engaging with the at least one second retainer to connect the building component to the second connector, wherein the first and second joining members are oriented so that the at least one first engaging element and the at least one second engaging element are exposed along the 35 respective first and second dimensions of the building component to allow cooperative engagement between the at least one first engaging element with the at least one first WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 -5 retainer together and cooperative engagement of the at least one second engaging element with the at least one second retainer together to connect the building component to the first and/or second connectors. According to one form of the present invention, there is provided a building system 5 comprising at least one building panel and at least one connector for connecting the building panel so as to form a part of a construction, the connector for connecting a first member to the building panel characterised in that the connector comprises a body having a fixing portion for fixedly connecting the connector to the first member to locate the connector fixedly with respect to the first member, said connector having a retaining portion which is io capable of adopting a first or second configuration such that when the retaining portion is in the first configuration, the retaining portion is movable to the second configuration to allow the building component to be connected to the first member by the connector and when the building panel is connected to the connector, the retaining portion moves to adopt substantially the first configuration to maintain the building component connected to the first is member by restricting movement of the building component with respect to the first member. According to one form of the present invention, there is provided a modular building comprising a multitude of connectors and a multitude of building panels, wherein the connectors are provided with a pair of retainers in a first configuration, said retainers being movable for connecting the building panel to the connector to allow connection of the 20 building panel to form part of the modular building, and when the building panel is in place, the retainers move to adopt substantially the first configuration for retaining the building panel in place within the modular building. According to one form of the present invention, there is provided a method of connecting a building panel to a connector in which the building panel is as described 25 previously and the connector is as described previously. According to one form of the present invention, there is provided a method of constructing a building having a multitude of prefabricated panels and a multitude of connectors, the method comprising the steps of locating the connectors at predetermined positions on a part of the building, locating the panels with respect to the connectors and 30 moving the panels to cooperatively engage with the connectors to retain the panels in place, wherein the connectors are provided with retainers movable between a first configuration and a second configuration such that when the retainers are in one of the configurations, the panel is interlockingly connected to the part of the building so that the retainers restrict movement of the panel with respect to the part of the building. 35 WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 -6 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FORMS OF THE INVENTION One form of the first member is a substrate, typically a solid substrate, and more typically a fixed substrate, and even more typically a solid substrate of the building being constructed or built, such as for example, the floor of a building, including a concrete floor in 5 the form of a slab or similar. However, the substrate can take any suitable or convenient form as can the first member. One form of the first member is a footing or strip of concrete forming the footings of a building. Another form of the first member is a roof or ceiling part of the building including a part or component of the roof, ceiling, upper storey or level of the building or the like. io One form of the footings or solid floor substrate is arranged to extend around the periphery of the building for forming a base or formwork upon which walls of the building can be formed, assembled, constructed, built or the like. One form of the roof or ceiling has more than a single level, typically in the form of a split level roof or ceiling arranged at two or more levels or having two or more degrees of is slope or inclination. One form of the first member is a building component. The building component can be any suitable or relevant building component. One form of the building component is a wall member or element. One form of the wall element or member includes the or part of the wall of a building, or the roof or part of the roof of a building or ceiling of a building or an 20 upper storey of a building either as the wall or roof of the upper storey, or similar. One form of the second member is a building component, typically a structural building component. In some forms, the building component of the first member is the same or in other forms is different to the building component of the second member. In one form, the building component of the second member is a wall or wall portion, typically a wall 25 section including a wall panel. In one form, the wall panel is a solid wall panel or is a wall panel provided with an aperture, such as for example, an aperture for receiving a window, door, conduits for utilities, or other fitting or fixture as required in accordance with the design of the building. Forms of the building include a factory, warehouse, commercial building, office, 30 house, shed, garage, cottage, kit house or building, school, shop or other construction providing shelter and/or security. In one form, the connector is fixedly attached or mounted upon the floor or footing of the building for use in receiving the wall component. Forms of the connector are directly connected or attached to the floor, such as a concrete slab, by a suitable fastener, such as a 35 bolt, threaded rod, lockson, dynabolt or the like. In one form, there is a movable lock lever connected to the bolt etc.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 -7 One form of the connector is a bracket, fitting, fastener, clip, plug, extension, upright, fixing arrangement or assembly. Typically, the connector is a floor connector for connecting a wall panel or section to the floor or other solid substrate, or is a roof connector for connecting the wall panel or roof connector to the roof, ceiling, upper storey, or similar. 5 Typically, the connector has a number of parts which extend with respect to each other. One of the parts of the connector is a base, base member, base element, or similar. More typically, the base member is planar or is provided with a planar portion. More typically, the planar portion is located centrally of the connector. In one form, the base is provided with an aperture, opening, hole, slot or similar for receiving therethrough the bolt for fastening the io connector to the floor or similar. The connector can be of any length from a few centimetres to many metres, say up to 8 to 10 metres in length, if required. There can be a single connector, a few connectors, or many connectors, such as a multiplicity of individual connectors located in spaced apart relationship from each other, or the multiplicity of connectors are located in continuous side is by-side relationship to one another. One form of the connector is provided with one or more side walls, typically two side walls located at or towards the sides of the connector so that there is a side wall on either side of the connector. One form of the side walls are inclined walls in opposed face-to-face relationship with each other. More typically, the side walls are oppositely inclined to one 20 another to form a tapering space, gap or the like in the form of a channel or groove having a tapered throat defined by relatively narrow opening at a the distal end of the connector to a relatively wider space at the base of the connector. The angle of inclination of the side wall with respect to the base can be in the range from about 300 to about 1350, preferably in the range from about 600 to about 900, more 25 preferably from about 700 to about 89c, and most preferably about 790 to about 81 0. In one form, the connector is elongate, typically extending continuously from one end to the other end. In use, the connector is located on the substrate in alignment with the footing of the building or along an edge of the floor such as the concrete slab flooring in use so as to extend along the base of the side wall of the building to enable the wall sections to 30 be installed by cooperatively engaging the connector. One form of the connector is provided with at least one retaining portion. Typically, the retainer is in the form of an extension, more typically, an outwardly directed extension, even more typically, an extension which is angularly inclined to the base and/or one side wall of the connector, more typically outwardly inclined to the side wall which extends distally 35 from the distal edge of the side wall.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 -8 In one form, the retaining portion is or includes a retainer or is in the form of a retainer. One form of the retainer is a flap, wing, tab, strip, fold, skirt, or the like. The angle of inclination of the retainer with respect to the base can range from about 450 to about 100, preferably from about 400 to about 150, more preferably from about 300 to about 200, most 5 preferably from about 220 to about 260. One form of the connector has two retainers, preferably located on either side of the connector so as to extend outwardly substantially in opposite directions to one another, more preferably in oppositely inclined directions, such as for example, as mirror images of each other along the centre line or central axis of the connector so as to form inclined 10 extensions of each side wall. One form of the retainer is movable between a first configuration and a second configuration. Preferably, the retainer is deformably or deflectively movable between the first and second configurations. One form of the first configuration is or corresponds to, an at-rest configuration in which the retainer is at rest which is the usual position adopted by the is retainer before use of the connector, and typically is the configuration resumed or readopted by the retainer after use of the connector in most circumstances. One form of the second configuration is a strained configuration, such as for example, a configuration to which the retainer has been moved, deflected, compressed ,depressed, deformed, contracted, squeezed, or similar in which the retainer is moved closer to the side wall of the connector or 20 similar so that the angle between the side of the connection and the retainer is reduced or less than the angle adopted by the retainer to the wall of the connector when in the at-rest configuration. Preferably, the retainer is resiliently biased to the at-rest first configuration. More typically, the retainer is in the at-rest configuration after the wall panel is connected to the 25 connector, such as for example, when the building component is lockingly interconnected to the substrate by the connector by the connector springing back into the at-rest configuration. One form of the retainer of the connector moves in response to contact by the building component. In one form, the connector comprises a planar central portion, two generally upwardly 30 extending inwardly inclined side wall portions and two generally outwardly and downwardly oppositely inclined retainers in which the direction of extension of the side portions is different to each other, typically in opposite directions to the direction of extension of the retainers. In one form, the connector is symmetrical about a centre line or central longitudinal 35 axis. In another form, the connector is asymmetrical about a centre line or central longitudinal axis.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 -9 If the connector is asymmetrical, the length or height of the two upwardly extending side walls, are of different heights or lengths or at different angles of inclination or combinations thereof. The asymmetrical form of the connector is used to connect wall panels or similar to a sloping or inclined roof, ceiling, upper storey, first floor, upper level or 5 the like. One form of the connector is a one piece connector, whereas another form of the connector is a two piece connector. Typically, the two piece connector is provided with overlapping portions, typically, the overlapping portions are the respective planar central portions or respective bases of the two connectors which are arranged in superposition of io each other so as to overlie one another with one connector being the upper connector part and the other being the lower connector part. Preferably the upper connector part is an outer connector part and the lower connector part is an inner connector part in use of the connector. The connector in one piece has a multitude of spaced apart apertures for receiving is fasteners therethrough to attach the connector to the floor or similar substrate. The connector in two pieces has the multitude of spaced apart apertures in alignment with each other so that as the two base portions of the connector overlap with each other, the apertures are in register with each other. One form of the connector is provided with a guide for assisting in aligning the 20 connector with respect to the edge of the flooring, more typically aligning the connector in the lengthwise extending direction of one dimension of the floor substrate or similar, typically the outer edge along one side of the building to assist in accurately locating the connector on the substrate.typically at a location corresponding to the location of the wall. In one form of the connector, the guide is a flange. Typically, the flange abuts 25 against an edge of the floor for guiding location of the connector to extend in alignment along the footing edge of the floor for receiving wall portions thereon so that the wall portions are in alignment with the edge of the flooring. One form of the connector having the guide is the lower or inner connector part in which the flange is located on the opposite side of the connector to the inner retainer and/or 30 inner side wall. One form of the connector is made from metal, typically steel, such as high tensile steel, having resilience and flexibility to enable the side walls and/or retainers to move, such as to flex as required, typically when being compressed. The connectors are formed by folding sections or sheets of metal using folding machines or the like.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 10 One form of the connector is made from a suitable metal, such as for example, non high tensile steel in which case the steel is about 0.75mm thick. Another form of the metal of the connector is high tensile steel which is about 0.55mm thick. In one form of the construction system, there is a floor connector for connecting the 5 wall components, such as in the form of wall panels, to the floor, which connector is positioned intermediate the wall and the floor along the lower edge of the wall along the outboard edge of the floor. Another form of the connector is a roof connector for connecting the wall component such as a wall panel, to the roof or ceiling of the building, which connector is positioned intermediate the wall and the roof/ceiling along the upper edge of the 10 wall. Typically, the floor connector is a symmetrical connector whereas the ceiling or roof connector is an asymmetrical connector allowing the roof to be formed as a sloping or inclined roof at or towards the top of the building. One form of the building component is a building panel, typically in the form of a wall panel, wall section or other wall arrangement. Typically, the wall panel extends between an is upper connector and a lower connector. One form of the wall panel is of a laminate structure in which the panel has more than a single layer, such as for example, an outer layer or skin on either side of an inner or central core layer in the form of a sandwich structure or cored structure, or similar. One of the outer layers forms the interior wall surface of the wall of the building, whereas the other of the outer layers of the wall panel forms the 20 exterior wall surface of the wall of the building. The outer layer can have any suitable form, such as for example, being made of a weather resistant material, water proof material or the like. Typical examples include synthetic wall boards, such as WEATHERTEX, corrugated iron, Colourbond cladding, exterior plywood, Formply, hardboards, imported plywood, Koskisen aircraft plywood, marine plywood, MDF, particle board, structural plywood, 25 magnesium board, cement sheet, structural board, or the like. Typical examples of the inner face or surface layer include plasterboard, magnesium board, Euroboard or similar. The wall panel can have a range of sizes, such as for example, up to 1 Om in length, preferably up to 8m in length, more preferably up to 6m in length. The panel can have any height such as for example, up to about 6m, preferably up to 4.5m, and more preferably up 30 to 3.6m in length. Other heights are also possible. In one form of the construction system, two panels can be located in edge-to-edge relationship one above the other in alignment with each other to extend the height of the wall or similar by being stacked edge-to-edge on one another. In other forms, panels can be arranged in any combination of panels in side-by-side relationship, such as vertically, 35 horizontally or a combination of both.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 11 Forms of the panel can be up to about 400mm or more in thickness or width. Forms of the panel having both inner and outer layers have a thickness in the range from about 75mm to about 270mm, inclusive of the thickness of the cladding on both sides, and in the range of about 50mm to about 250mm, exclusive of the thickness of the cladding. Forms of 5 the cladding have a thickness in the range of about 4mm to about 20mm thick or the like depending upon material, style, form, function or other requirements. One form of the wall panel is provided with a pair of first edge members. The edge members in one form are outwardly extending cooperatively engaging fittings or similar for cooperatively engaging with the connector, particularly the retainers of the connectors to io connect the wall panels to the connectors. In one form, the outwardly extending engagement arrangement is a channel member, typically a C-shaped channel member. More typically, the C-shaped channel member is provided with at least one engaging element or engagers. More typically the C-shaped channel is provided with a pair of engaging elements or engagers arranged in opposed face-to-face relationship with respect is to each other to both extend inwardly of the channel towards one another to partially define the gap or hollow of the C-shape profile. In one form, the retainers of the connector cooperatively engage with the engagers of the C-channel to retain the wall panel on the connector to connect the wall panel to the floor by the retainers being received within the space or hollow defined by the C-shape channel 20 having the pair of engagers. In one form, the wall panel is provided with two C-shaped channels, preferably on opposed side edges of the panel, more preferably on the upper and lower horizontal edges in use, so as to join the base of the wall panel to the floor and the top of the wall panel to the roof of the building. 25 One form of the panel is provided with edge elements or edge members, typically edge elements extending along the other edges of the panel from the edges having the exposed C-channel sections, preferably the side edges of the wall panel or abutting edges of the wall panels in use to form the wall. The edge element can have any suitable or convenient form. One form of the edge element is an elongate C-channel section tubing in 30 which the open side of the tube is located inboard of the panel so that the edge is solid or forms a solid wall or is closed by the web portion of the C-shaped section which is the opposite orientation to the exposed C-shaped sections of the edge members in cooperative engagement with the connectors. In one form, the building panel has two exposed outwardly directed C-channels on 35 opposed edges i.e. for engagement with the connectors, and two inwardly directed C channels on the other pair of exposed edges forming solid or closed edges for being in WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 12 abutting relationship when two panels are located in side-by-side relationship to each other. Although forms of the edge member should be compliant with all of the appropriate building standards, such as the relevant ASA Standards, BCA codes or other regulations governing building construction, or the like, preferred forms of the C-shaped members are C200/1.2 5 grade tubing, C250/2.4 grade tubing or the like, in which the thickness of the walls of the tubing is 1.2mm, 2.4mm respectively, or the like. One form of the tubing is galvanised, high tensile 550 grade steel tubing. In one form, the retainers on either side of the connector cooperatively engage with the engagers of the exposed C-shaped channels of the panel to interlockingly connect the io panel to the connectors along the floor of the building and also for connecting the panels to the roof of the building. One form of the core material of the wall panel is a foam material such as for example, a polyurethane foam, open celled foam, closed cell polyurethane foam material, a low density rigid foam, high density insulation foam, rigid insulation foam, micro cellular 15 foam, elastomers, structural foam, spray foam, cementatious foam, injection foam, polystyrene, fibreglass, rock wool, glass wool, car fluff, auto fluff, fly ash, optionally including other additives or the like. Auto fluff is a complex mixture of non ferrous materials, including plastics, foams, textiles, rubber, glass and other materials. Forms of the layered panels include structural insulated panels, stressed skin walled 20 panels, and the like. It is to be noted that any suitable material can be used for the core material to provide strength, insulation, rigidity or other properties. Typically, forms of the building panel are structural, load bearing, fire resistant, insulating, or the like, such as having an R insulation value of 4.5 or similar. 25 One form of the wall panel is provided with internal bracing elements, typically in the form of strengthening braces, struts, or similar. Preferably, the braces include open channel sections, such as C-channel sections or closed hollow sections, such as square section tubing or the like. The braces are located at spaced apart locations. In one form, the dimensions of the cross-sectional sides are about the same as the spacing of the two outer 30 layers from each other. The number of braces provided can vary depending on the size of the panel from a single brace to 4 or more braces. The braces can be transverse, longitudinal or inclined, such as for example, being diagonal, crossed, arranged in a V-shape or the like internally within the panel. One preferred form of the braces is flat bar, flat strapping or similar for incorporation within the cavity of the panel intermediate the two outer 35 layers.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 13 One form of the wall panel is provided with a cavity for receiving therein a fastener in the form of a rod connecting the panel to a substrate. In one form, the rod is reo bar or threaded rod or similar and the cavity is an aperture in the lower exposed C-shaped edge in register with a hollow brace. Optionally, the cavity is filled with a bonding agent or similar, 5 typically in the form of cement, concrete or the like. Another form of the fastener is a bolt having a swing lever or similar located intermediate a main head and an intermediate nut or intermediate two nuts. Typically, the swing lever typically in the form of a substantially planar member such as a plate or plate like member moves through about 900 between an inoperative position or configuration and an io operative position or configuration in which the lever in the inoperative position is aligned along the lengthwise extending axis of the C-shaped member and the lever in the operative position is aligned transverse to the lengthwise extending axis of the C-shape member to lock the wall panel in place on the floor or to the roof. In one form, the swing lever is provided with a tapered reaction surface, or is in the form of a cam or cam surface for 15 progressivel locking the member to the floor or roof. One form of the building system includes components for the provision of services and facilities, such as, power, water, gas, data connection or the like. In one form, different embodiments of the connector are utilised to provide the services, such as for example, by providing space for conduits, cables, wires, pipes, hoses or the like. In one form, the interior 20 space within the connector, preferably the interior space defined intermediate the two inclined side walls of a connector, are provided to house conduits, pipes, hoses or similar for carrying the services. In one form, the conduits are located within the throat of the connector. The conduits can be located within the connector after the connector is installed or the conduits can be incorporated at the time of making the connector. 25 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Embodiments of the building construction system incorporating one or other components will now be described to illustrate forms of the invention by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 30 Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of one part of a connector. Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of another part of one form of the connector. Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of one form of the connector made from the two parts as shown in Figures 1 and 2. 35 Figure 4 is a vertical cross-section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 14 Figure 5 is a fragmentary inverted perspective view showing an inverted view of the connector. Figure 6 is a cross sectional view of two alternative forms of the connector having unequal length sides for joining an inclined roof or ceiling to the wall of a building. 5 Figure 7 is a perspective view of one form of a wall panel. Figure 8 is a perspective view of hooks for joining two adjacent wall panels. Figure 9 is a vertical cross sectional view showing the cooperative engagement of a pair of oppositely directed hooks to join two wall panels together. Figure 10 is an exploded cross sectional view of one form of the construction system io showing another form of the connector for joining a wall panel to the floor. Figure 11 is a cross sectional view of the connector of Figure 10 fixedly attached to the floor of a building in preparation for installing a wall panel on the connector. Figure 12 is a side vertical cross sectional view showing a further step in the process of installing the wall panel to the floor by inwardly deforming the walls of the connector. is Figure 13 is a cross sectional view of the wall panel attached to the floor by the connector. Figure 14 is a schematic side view of one form of a building using the construction system of the present invention to connect the base of the wall panel to the floor and to connect the top of the wall panel to the roof of the building. 20 Figure 15 is a more detailed view of the upper connector of Figure 14 for joining the roof to the wall panel. Figure 16 is a more detailed view of the lower connector of Figure 14 for joining the base of the wall panel to the floor. Figure 17 is one form of a corner arrangement. 25 Figure 18 is a fragmentary cross-section view of an alternative edge member. Figure 19 is a schematic fragmentary section view of one form of a fastener for attaching a wall panel to the floor. DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT 30 Forms of the building construction system and the various components of the system, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. One of the components of the overall modular construction system used for attaching a second member in the form of a wall panel to a first member in the form of a floor substrate, is a connector. The connector is also used to join other building components 35 together, not only wall panels to the floor of the building, but also wall panels to the roof or WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 15 ceiling of a building, wall panels to other parts of the building and the like. One form of the connector will now be described in detail. Other forms of the connector are possible. One form of the connector, generally denoted as 10 is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. However, Figures 3 and 4 illustrate other forms of the connector. The connector 10 of 5 Figures 1 and 2 is a two part connector in which the two parts of the one connector are bonded together to form connector 10. The two parts of connector 10 are upper or outer connector part 12 and lower or inner connector part 22. Upper connector part 12 is provided with a generally rectangular planar base 14, and a generally rectangular planar inclined side wall 16 angularly inclined to extend outwardly io from the plane of base 14 at an angle of less than about 900 so as to be inclined inwardly. Typically, the angle of inclination of side wall 16 to base 14 is at an angle of from about 300 to about 1350, preferable from about 60c to about 900, more preferably from about 700 to about 89c, and most preferably from about 700 to about 81 0. Side wall 16 is movable with respect to base 14 to adopt strained configurations. A retaining portion in the form of a is retainer having the form of a generally rectangular planar flap or wing 18 is angularly inclined to top edge 20 of inclined side wall 16 to extend outwardly and downwardly of side wall 16, typically at an angle of about 100 to about 450, preferably at an angle of about 150, to about 400, more preferably at about 200 to about 300, and most preferably from about 220 to about 260. In one form, the transition or junction between side wall 16 and flap 18 is substantially 20 curved along edge 20 so that edge 20 forms a hinge or similar, allowing relative movement of wing 18 with respect to side wall 16 such as for example, when contacted by a part of another building component, such as the base of a wall panel or the exposed edge of a C shaped channel. Movement of side wall 16 and wing 18 will be described in more detail later in the specification. 25 Lower connector part 22 which is similar to upper connector part 12 comprises a lengthwise extending planar base 24 of a generally rectangular shape. The inboard edge in use of connector part 22 is provided with a generally rectangular planar upwardly extending side wall 26, which is angularly inclined to the plane of base 24 at an angle less than about 900, being about 800. Side wall 26 is movable with respect to base 24. It is to be noted that 30 side wall 16 of part 12 and side wall 26 of part 22, are oppositely inclined to each other. A generally rectangular planar flap or wing 28 is connected to the distal edge of side wall 26 to extend outwardly and downwardly of the side wall. Curved edge 30 intermediate side wall 26 and flap 28 acts as a hinge for permitting movement of flap 28 with respect to side wall 26 and/or base 24 in use of connector 10. Lower connector part 22 is provided 35 with a guide in the form of a flange 32 located along the edge of base 24 on the opposite side to side wall 26.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 16 Flange 32 is typically in the form of a generally rectangular planar lengthwise extending lip extending from the other longitudinal edge of base 16 downwardly in the opposite direction to the direction of extension of side wall 26 on the other longitudinal edge of the connector. Flange 32 which is one form of the guide of the connector, is to assist in 5 aligning connector 10 along an outer edge of a building component such as for example, the edge of a concrete floor or slab as shown more particularly in Figures 11 to 13. Connector part 22 is generally a mirror image of upper connector part 12 taken along the centre line of connector 10 apart from connector part 22 having an additional part which is flange 32. 10 It is to be noted that the material from which the connector parts are made is such to allow relative movement of the flap with respect to the side wall and the flap and side wall with respect to the base during use of the connector. Accordingly, the flap can be deflected inwardly against the bias applied to the flap by the nature of the material from which the connector is made so as to be resiliently hingedly connected to the side wall. Additionally, is the side wall is resiliently movable with respect to the base by being hingedly connected to the base along the outer lower edge of the connector part. With particular reference to Figures 3 and 4, connector 10 is made up of upper connector part 12 and lower connector part 22 being intimately attached to one another to form connector 10 having a substantially extended U-shape or deformed W-shape in cross 20 section by a suitable bonding means or arrangement. In one form, the bonding is a multiplicity of spot welds 34 located at spaced apart locations on respective base member 14, 24, such as for example two rows of spaced apart spot welds 34 as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Other suitable forms of securely attaching the two connector parts 12, 22 are possible. Thus, connector 10, in one form is an integrated two-piece connector formed of 25 two connector parts 12, 22 in which the upwardly extending side walls 16, 26 are oppositely inclined and in opposed face-to-face relationship with each other defining a gap, channel or throat 36 therebetween in which side walls 16, 26 are oppositely inclined to one another to taper from a relatively wider width at base 14 of connector 10 to a relatively narrow width at throat 36 of the connector. Accordingly, flaps 18, 28 extend in opposite directions to form 30 retainers for retaining building components on the connector, to be described in more detail later. In another form of connector (not shown), there is provided apertures in the base of the connector for receiving therethrough suitable fasteners for anchoring the connectors to a suitable substrate, such as the floor of the building. Typical examples of such fasteners 35 include a bolt having swing lever.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 17 An alternate form of the connector in an alternative orientation is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. The form of the connector in Figures 5 and 6 is denoted as connector 40 and is similar in construction, profile and type to connector 10 except that the height of the oppositely inclined side walls 42, 44 extending from base 46, are of different heights so that 5 connector 40 is asymmetrical about its centre line having a relatively higher side wall 42 on one side and a relatively lower side wall 44 on the other side so that this form of the connector can be used to connect the top or upper edge of a wall panel to an inclined or sloping roof, such as shown more particularly in Figures 14 and 15. Other features of connector 40 are generally the same as for connector 10, apart from the omission of flange 10 32 which is not usually required in connecting wall panels to roofs or ceilings. Connector 40 is primarily designed for use with a sloping ceiling or roof in which base 46 of connector 40 is attached to the sloping inner surface of the roof or ceiling so that one side edge of the base is lower than the other side edge of the base which is higher. Side walls 42, 46 extend at different angles from the base in the form of connector 40 so as to be able to interlockingly is engage with a vertical side wall or wall panel of the building as shown in Figures 14 and 15. Two different forms of connector 40 are shown in Figure 6, both having side walls 42, 44 of different lengths for use with sloping roofs having two different amounts of inclination, as shown by lines m and n in phantom in Figure 6 as compared to the line of a flat roof, as shown as line "p" in phantom in Figure 6. 20 One form of a second member is in the form of a building component, typically in the form of an exterior wall panel or part of an exterior wall panel, and more typically, the side edge of an exterior side wall panel for forming the exterior surface or wall of a building. One form of an exterior wall panel will now be described with particular reference to Figures 7 to 9. 25 Wall panel 50 is of a sandwich or composite structure having a central core of one material sandwiched between two outer skins of a material different to the core material and in some embodiments, different from one another. Wall panel 50 has a central core 52 sandwiched between a first material, typically an inner layer 54, in the form of skin, cladding or the like and an outer layer 56, in the form of a skin, cladding or similar. The material of 30 core 52 which can be any suitable or convenient material, is preferably made from a polyurethane foam, optionally containing additives to modify the properties of the foam as required, such as for example, to improve the strength, rigidity, structural integrity, fire rating or the like of the panel. One layer, typically, the inner layer or skin 56 is made from any suitable or 35 convenient material, such as for example, a magnesium oxide containing plasterboard or the WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 18 like, which is both strong and fire resistant and typically has an insulation rating (R) of about 4.5. The other layer, typically, the outer layer or skin 56 is made from any suitable or convenient material, that is preferably weather resistant and/or corrosion resistant, such as 5 for example, metal cladding, typically in the form of Colorbond@ or other metal sheeting, including galvanised iron sheeting or similar. In one form, when the building panel is in the form of a roof panel, the outer layer or skin is made from corrugated iron sheeting, including painted sheeting, galvanised sheeting or the like to provide protection from the weather and for drainage. io An edge member 58 is located along each edge of panel 50. In one form, edge member 58 is of a profile, type, shape or the like for cooperatively engaging with connector 10, particularly wings 18, 28 of connector 10. One form of this type of edge member 58 is of a generally C-shape in which the open part of the C-profile is aligned along the outer edge of the panel to form an exposed fastening arrangement for cooperatively engaging with is connector 10. One form of the C-shape profile is provided with a pair of engagers 60a, 60b located in opposed face-to-face relationship at the ends of the C-shape profile, in which one engager is located on one side of the open channel, and the other engager is located on the other side of the open channel. This type of edge member 58 is located along opposite edges of panel 50, typically along the upper and along the lower edges of panel 50 in use. 20 Another type of edge member which is denoted as edge member 66, is also a generally C-shaped open tube. Member 66 is located along one or other of the edges of panel 50 but with the open channel facing inwardly of panel 50 so that a solid edge of the panel is formed, i.e. there is no exposed fastening arrangement. Alternatively, edge member 66 can be a square section hollow tube or a rectangular section hollow tube having 25 at least one dimension corresponding to the width of the core section of panel 50, i.e. the distance between the inner surfaces of the two outer layers or skins 52, 54. Typically, in use, the vertically extending side edges of the wall panel are provided with edge member 66, i.e. the edges other than the edges which engage with connectors 10 are provided with edge members 66. 30 Some form of the edge member are optionally modified to include holders for holding two panels 50 in abutting side-by-side relationship to one another. One form of a holder is a hook 70 which extends outwardly of the plane of edge member 66 in the longitudinal direction. Hook 70 includes a web portion 72 and a tongue portion 74 in which tongue portion 74 extends outwardly from the plane of the edge member. In one form, the distal 35 end of tongue 74 is tapered, pointed, provided with a barb or the like for engaging with the material of the core of building panel 50 when in abutting relationship to another panel 50.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 19 It is to be noted that in one embodiment, edge member 66 is located so that tongues 74 of hooks 70, are aligned to extend in the same direction. When two panels are to be located in side-by-side relationship, such as in abutting relationship to form a section of a wall, one panel is oriented so that all of tongues 74 are arranged to extend generally 5 downwardly, and the adjacent panel is oriented so that all tongues extend generally upwardly, as shown more particularly in Figures 8 and 9 so that the two sets of oppositely oriented tongues engage with one another to interlockingly connect the two panels together along their respective abutting edges to join the panels together in connected side-by-side relationship. 10 A modification of the hooks is to provide the distal end of the tongues with a sharp end or point, such as for example, in the form of an arrow head 76, as shown more particularly in Figure 7, for piercing the core material of the abutting panel by the tongue extending outwards at an angle so as to be inclined to the edge member to assist in joining two panels in side-by-side abutting relationship to each other. is Operation of one form of the building system of the present invention will now be described. After the floor of a building has been formed, such as for example, a concrete slab floor 80, a connector 10 of a suitable length is fastened to the floor by a suitable fastener 82, such as for example, a concrete nail, threaded rod, bolt or similar. Connector 10 is arranged 20 so that guide 32 abuts against a side edge of floor 80 as shown more particularly in Figures 11 to 13. Once connector 10 is firmly secured in place to extend along the edge of the floor and the selected fastener tightened to secure connector 10 to floor 80, panel 50 having an edge member of a C-profile with an exposed opening along the lower edge in use, is moved in a generally downward direction onto the top of connector 10 as shown in Figure 11. As 25 panel 50 is lowered onto connector 10, engagers 60a, 60b of panel 50, contact the sides of wings 18, 28 extending from sides 16, 26 of connector 10 to inwardly deflect each side wall and wing in a generally inwards direction, as shown by arrows "X" in Figure 12 to allow a reduction in the size of throat 36 of connector 10 to allow engagers 60a, 60b to slide past the distal ends of wings 18, 28 so that engagers 60a, 60b are located lower than the distal 30 edges of wings 16, 26 towards either side of connector 10. Once the engagers are no longer in contact with the wings, connector 10 returns to its at-rest position due to the resilience of the material from which the connector is manufactured, as shown by arrows "Y" of Figure 13, to allow the distal edges of wings 18, 28 to bear against the internal surfaces of C-shaped edge member 60, with engagers 60a, 60b directed inwardly below the level of the 35 wings as shown more particularly in Figure 13. In this position, panel 50 is securely locked into place with the lower edges of outer layers 52, 54 resting upon floor 80 and flange 32 of WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 20 connector 10 as shown in Figure 13. Owing to the arrangement of the walls of the connector and the C-shaped profile of the lower edge member, wall of panel 50 is prevented from movement as shown more particularly in Figure 13. When panel 50 is locked into position by connector 10 on floor 80, a roof panel 5 having the modified form of the connector 40 is lowered into position so that the engagers 60a, 60b of the upper C-shaped edge member 58 of wall panel 50 forces the wings and side walls 42, 44 of connector 40 towards one another to allow side walls 42, 44 to slide between the opposed engagers of the C-shape channel along the edge of panel 50 so that wings of connector 40 are received beneath the level of the engagers to securely retain the roof panel 10 to the wall as shown in Figure 15. When the first wall panel 50 is securely located on floor 80, a second similar wall panel 50 can be located in side-by-side abutting relationship with the first panel to form a further section of the wall by the C-shaped profile 58 of second panel 50 being lowered onto the next connector 10 to contract side walls 18, 28 of connector 10 to allow the C-shaped is profile of the edge member to be placed over walls 18, 28 of connector 10 as described previously to lock the second wall panel in place. Thereafter, additional roof panels and wall panels can be added as required depending upon the size, dimensions and type of building being constructed. Modifications of the building system of the present invention include forming corners 20 of the building with two panels having modified C-shaped profiles along the substantially vertical edges of the wall panel in which the solid end wall of the member is arranged to extend at about 450 to enable two panels each having an end member of 450 to abut one another in the form of a mitred edge as shown more particularly in Figure 18. In this embodiment, generally denoted as 120, the modified C-shaped members 122a, 122b are 25 arranged so that the open part 124a, 124b of the C-shaped channel faces internally into the core 126a, 126b of the panels so that the solid walls 128a, 128b of the C-shaped channel are in abutting back-to-back relationship to each other arranged at an angle of 450 to each other to form the mitred joint. A fastener, in the form of a suitable clip 130 is provided to maintain the two C-shaped members 122a, 122b in abutting relationship to each other. 30 Alternative corner arrangements can be formed by having one wall panel overlap with another wall panel so as to form a 900 corner (not shown). A modified form of connecting the floor to the wall panel as shown in Figure 7, includes providing an aperture 88 in the C-shaped edge member 58 along the lower edge of the wall panel for receiving therethrough a rod 90 fixedly mounted in the concrete floor to 35 extend vertically upwards so that when panel 50 with aperture 88 is placed over the end of rod 90, the rod extends into one of the square tubes 92 formed internally within the wall WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 21 panel. A suitable fastening agent such as for example, a bonding agent, adhesive, concrete, or other material can be located at the base of the hollow tube to cement the end of the rod so as to aid in securely fastening the wall panel to the floor using the rod. In one form, the rod is reo bar or the like. 5 Another modification of the building system is to provide an edge member 96 of the substantially vertical edges as having external caps 98 in the form of a generally U-shape for fitting over the edges of the wall panel as shown in Figure 19 allowing two or more wall panels to be arranged in abutting side-by-side relationship. When two wall panels are to be joined to one another in side-by-side abutting 10 relationship, tongues 74 of hooks 70 of one panel 50, are oriented in one direction, say upwardly, and tongues 74 of hooks 70 of second wall panel 50 are oriented downwardly so that as the second wall panel is lowered onto the first wall panel, the respective tongues of each panel interlockingly engage with one another to assist in holding the two panels together in abutting side-by-side relationship. Alternatively, the spear shaped tongues of is each panel are inclined so as to pierce the internal core material of the respective adjacent panels to securely attach the two panels to each other in side-by-side abutting relationship. A modified form of fastener in the form of a fastener assembly generally denoted as 100, for securely attaching wall panel 50 to floor 80 will now be described with reference to Figure 19. In this form, a modified bolt 102 includes a threaded shank 104 for being 20 securely embedded in floor 80, and a hexagonal head 106 for rotating bolt 102. Fastener 100 further includes a swing lever in the form of a plate 108 having a centrally located aperture and captive nut 110 fixedly connected to the underside of plate 108 in use so that rotation of nut 110 by a suitable implement, such as a thin bladed spanner or similar, causes plate 108 to rotate. Typically, plate 108 is rotated between two configurations being 900 of 25 rotation apart from each other in which one configuration corresponds to the plate being in a longitudinal orientation and another configuration corresponding to the plate being in a transverse configuration. Although in one form plate 108 is planar, in a preferred form plate 108 is of an uneven thichness having parts of variable thickness. Plate 108 is of a generally quad-sided 30 shape having two generally straight parallel sides 1 12a, 1 12b and two generally curved sides 114a, 114b alternately arranged with the curved sides in which two diagonally opposed corners 116a, 116b are not only curved to allow clearance within C-shaped member 58 in use as plate 108 is being rotated, to be described later, but also are upturned or deformed out of the plane of plate 108 to form a cam surface or bearing surface to not 35 only provide clearance to allow rotation of plate 108 but also to apply force to the wall member. It is to be noted that the deformation of the curved corners 116a, 11 6b of plate 108 WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 22 are in the upwards direction with respect to the in use orientation of plate 108. Captive nut 110 is located on the underside of plate 108 in use as shown in Figure 19. In one form plate 108 can have any suitable thickness. Further, the undersurface of plate 108 can be curved, tapered, or of variable thickness, such as for example being of a 5 relatively thin thickness around the edges and of a relatively thicker thickness towards the centre such as for example being located inboard of the edges to act as a cam to apply more force to the building panel as the plate rotates from the longitudinal orientation to the transverse orientation by pulling down on the sides of the edge of the building panel to more securely anchor the wall panel to the floor by the bolt 102. 10 A modified form of panel 50 is used in connection with modified fastener assembly 100 in that the inner skin 11 8a of panel 50 extends to contact the upper surface of floor 80 as shown at position 140, whereas outer skin 11 8b of panel 50 is provided with a clearance gap 142 where outer skin 11 8b is located above the upper surface of floor 80. Clearance gap 142 allows the suitable implement such as the flat bladed spanner, to be inserted under is outer skin 118b for contact with captive nut 110 to rotate plate 108 to contact engagers 60a, 60b to secure panel 50 directly to floor 80 in a secure manner. In operation of this form of fastener assembly 100, bolt 100, together with plate 108, is secured to floor 80 at the required position. With plate 108 in a generally longitudinal orientation in alignment with the lengthwise extending axis of C-shaped member 58 so as to 20 be clear of engagers 60a, 60b, wall panel 50 is placed over fastener assembly 100 so that the lower edge of inner skin 118a contacts the upper surface of floor 80 at location 140 but leaves clearance gap 142 at the other side of panel 50 underneath outer skin 118b. The suitable implement is inserted through clearance gap 142 to contact captive nut 110 and then rotated to rotate nut 110 which in turn rotates plate 108 towards a generally transverse 25 orientation in which plate 108 is aligned generally perpendicular to the lengthwise extending axis of C-shaped member 58 so that the upturned curved corners 11 8a, 11 8b can overlyingly engage respective engagers 60a, 60b which are trapped underneath plate 108 as plate 108 rotates, so as to securely anchor wall panel 50 to floor 80 as shown in Figure 19. It is to be noted that the tapered undersurface of plate 108 acts as a cam to increase the 30 tension of engagers 60a, 60b as plate 108 rotates more transversely. As there are multiple fastening assemblies 100 located at spaced apart locations over the entire length of C shaped member 58 at respective spaced apart locations as respective plates 108 of each fastener assembly 100 are rotated in turn collectively from the longitudinal orientation to the transverse orientation, further force is applied to the wall panels to secure the wall panels to 35 floor 80 over the length of the panel to form a secure wall of the building.

WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 23 The described arrangement has been advanced by explanation and many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which includes every novel feature and novel combination of features herein disclosed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is 5 susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It is understood that the invention includes all such variations and modifications which fall within the spirit and scope. ADVANTAGES io Advantages of one or other forms of the construction system, and/or of the components used in the construction system, include the following. * Panels made in accordance with aspects of the invention are relatively large compared to existing building panels in that the panels can be made of up to 10 meters in length, which is considerably larger than some existing building panels. 15 0 Use of the system and components results in savings in cost including the costs of labour, materials, components, installation costs, manufacturing costs, energy consumption costs, and similar. * In some forms, the building panels can be provided with fire resistant ratings and/or thermal insulation rating and/or sound insulation. 20 0 Using forms of the connectors has the advantage of once the connectors are fastened in place, use of minimal tools is required to complete the building. The construction system does not require the need for skilled and experienced tradespeople. Constructions can be assembled more quickly than when more traditional methods are used. 25 0 Services can be provided within forms of the connectors.

Claims

1. A connector for connecting a first member to a second member, characterised in that the connector comprises a body having a fixing portion for fixedly connecting the 5 connector to the first member to locate the connector with respect to the first member and a retaining portion capable of movement between a first position and a second position such that when the second member is being connected to the first member, a part of the second member engages the retaining portion of the connector so that the retaining portion moves between the first position and the second position in response to engagement by the second io member to facilitate connection of the first and second members together and wherein when the first member is connected to the second member, the second member is retained in connected relationship with the first member by the retaining portion of the connector so as to restrict movement of the second member with respect to the first member.

2. A building component characterised in that the building component comprises a is first joining member located along a first dimension of the component for connecting the component to a first connector having at least one first retainer, a second joining member located along a second dimension of the building component for connecting the building component to a second connector having at least one second retainer, 20 the first joining member being provided with at least one first engaging element for cooperatively engaging with the at least one first retainer to connect the building component to the first connector, the second joining member being provided with at least one second engaging element for cooperatively engaging with the at least one second retainer to connect the 25 building component to the second connector, wherein the first and second joining members are oriented so that the at least one first engaging element and the at least one second engaging element are exposed along the respective first and second dimensions of the building component to allow cooperative engagement between the at least one first engaging element with the at least 30 one first retainer together and cooperative engagement of the at least one second engaging element with the at least one second retainer together to connect the building component to the first and/or second connectors.

3. A building system comprising at least one building panel and at least one connector for connecting the building panel so as to form a part of a construction, the 35 connector for connecting a first member to the building panel characterised in that the connector comprises a body having a fixing portion for fixedly connecting the connector to WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 25 the first member to locate the connector fixedly with respect to the first member, said connector having a retaining portion which is capable of adopting a first or second configuration such that when the retaining portion is in the first configuration, the retaining portion is movable to the second configuration to allow the building component to be 5 connected to the first member by the connector and when the building panel is connected to the connector, the retaining portion moves to adopt substantially the first configuration to maintain the building component connected to the first member by restricting movement of the building component with respect to the first member.

4. A modular building comprising a multitude of connectors and a multitude of io building panels, wherein the connectors are provided with a pair of retainers in a first configuration, said retainers being movable for connecting the building panel to the connector to allow connection of the building panel to form part of the modular building, and when the building panel is in place, the retainers move to adopt substantially the first configuration for retaining the building panel in place within the modular building. is 5. A method of connecting a building panel using a connector when forming a building from the building panel comprising the steps of mounting the connector to a fixed substrate using a fastener, and moving the fastener from a first configuration to a second configuration wherein when the fastener is in the first configuration the panel is free to move with respect to the substrate and when the connector is in the second configuration, the 20 panel is anchored to the substrate , wherein movement of the fastener to the second configuration locks the panel in place.

6. A method of constructing a building having a multitude of prefabricated panels and a multitude of connectors, the method comprising the steps of locating the connectors at predetermined positions on a part of the building, locating the panels with respect to the 25 connectors and moving the panels to cooperatively engage with the connectors to retain the panels in place, wherein the connectors are provided with retainers movable between a first configuration and a second configuration such that when the retainers are in one of the configurations, the panel is interlockingly connected to the part of the building so that the retainers restrict movement of the panel with respect to the part of the building. 30 7. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the first member is a solid substrate including a floor or the footings of a building or the roof or a ceiling of a building.

8. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the second member is a building component including a wall panel or part of the wall panel, or a roof or 35 ceiling panel, or part of a roof or ceiling. WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 26 9. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the connector is provided with a base, base member, base element or similar, for securely attaching the connector to a substrate wherein the base is provided with optional apertures.

10. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the connector 5 further includes two side walls located at or towards the sides of the connector to define a space therebetween, wherein the side walls are inclined walls in opposed face-to-face relationship to one another on either side of the connector defining a gap or space between.

11. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the side walls are spaced apart from each other to define an opening therebetween, said opening allowing io movement of the side walls into the opening to facilitate operation of the connector to connect the building panel to the floor or ceiling of the building.

12. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the angle of inclination of each side wall with respect to the base is the same or different and is in the range of from about 300 to about 1350, preferably in the range from about 600 to about 900, is more preferably from about 700 to about 890, and most preferably from about 790 to about

810. 13. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which each connector has two retaining portions in the form of retainers in which one retainer is angularly inclined to the base or side wall on one side of the connector, and another retainer 20 is angularly inclined to the base or side wall on the other side of the connector. 14. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the retainer is in the form of an outwardly extending extension angularly inclined to the side wall. 15. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the retainer is a flap, wing, tab, strip, fold, skirt or similar and the angle of inclination of the retainer with 25 respect to the base ranges from about 45 0 to about 100, preferably from about 40 0 to about 150, more preferably from about 300 to about 200, most preferably from about 220 to about 260. 16. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the two retainers on opposite sides of the connector extend outwardly in opposite directions and are 30 oppositely inclined to one another, said direction of outward extension being in the direction away from the opening between the side walls for engaging with parts of the building panel. 17. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the connector is movable between a first configuration and a second configuration in which the first configuration is an at-rest configuration and the second configuration in one form is a 35 strained configuration, preferably a compressed configuration in which the two side walls are relatively closer together, in which the retainers on opposite sides of the connector are WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 27 moved, deflected, depressed, deformed, contracted, squeezed to adopt a more compact configuration than the at-rest configuration, said second configuration allowing attachment of the building panel to the connector. 18. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the retainer is 5 resiliently biased to the at-rest first configuration so that when the force for moving the retainer from the first configuration to the second configuration is removed, the connector adopts the at-rest configuration which is an expanded configuration allowing the connector to expand to securely anchor the panel. 19. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which one form of io the connector is symmetrical about a centre line of the connector and another form of the connector is asymmetrical about the centre line of the connector, wherein if the connector is asymmetrical, the length or height of the two side walls are different to one another to allow the connector to be used to connect a panel such as a roof or ceiling panel, to the building to form an inclined surface, such as a sloping or inclined roof, ceiling or similar. is 20. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the connector is a one piece connector, or is a two piece connector wherein if the connector is a two piece connector, the two pieces forming the connector have overlapping base portions that are fixed to one another to form the base of the connector, said base having optional apertures in alignment with each other for receiving fasteners therethrough to anchor the connector to 20 a solid substrate. 21. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the connector further comprises a guide for aligning the connector with respect to the edge of flooring. 22. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the guide is a flange for abutting against an edge of the floor for guiding location of the connector to extend 25 in alignment with the floor or footing of the floor for receiving wall panels thereon to form a wall of a building. 23. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the building component, in the form of a building panel, is a layered panel having a central core located intermediate two outer layers in which one outer layer is the exterior surface of the wall 30 panel, and the other outer layer is the interior surface of the wall panel when located for forming the wall of a building. 24. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the length of the panel can extend for any length up to about 1 Om in length and the panel can extend up to about 6m in height. WO 2014/008536 PCT/AU2013/000753 - 28 25. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the wall panel is provided with a pair of first edge members in which the first edge members are arranged for cooperatively engaging with the connector. 26. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the edge 5 members have an outwardly extending cooperatively engaging arrangement for cooperatively engaging with the connector. 27. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the first edge member is a C-shaped channel member wherein the opening of the C-shaped channel member is exposed along the edge of the panel. 10 28. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the C-shaped channel member is provided with a pair of engaging elements or engagers arranged in opposed face-to-face relationship with respect to each other on either side of the C-shaped member for engaging with the retainers of the connector to secure the wall panel to the floor. 29. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the opening of is the C-shaped channel is arranged to extend internally in face-to-face relationship with the central core so as to present a solid surface along the edge of the wall panel. 30. A connector or method according to any preceding claim in which the building panel has two exposed outwardly directed C-channels on opposite edges for engagement with connectors and two inwardly directed C-channels on the other pair of exposed edges 20 forming solid or closed edges for being in abutting relationship to one another when two panels are located in abutting side-by-side relationship. 31. A connector for connecting a first member to a second member substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 32. A building component substantially as herein described with reference to the 25 accompanying drawings. 33. A building system substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 34. A modular building substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 30 35. A method of connecting a building panel using a connector substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 36. A method of constructing a building having a multitude of prefabricated panels and a multitude of connectors substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 35