AU2017100301B4 - A Building Panel - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of making building panel, the method comprising: constructing a frame for the building panel, the frame having an outer perimeter and one or more sub sections within the outer perimeter with a pair of opposed side faces; at least temporarily closing at least one portion of one side face of the frame using one or more temporary closure members; providing a settable polymeric material into one or more sub-sections of the frame; at least temporarily closing the one or more sub-sections with one or more temporary closure members to hold the settable polymeric material in the frame; and allowing the settable polymeric material to react and solidify in the one or more sub-sections of the frame.

Description

A BUILDING PANEL

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to building panels and, more particularly to a pre-fabricated, insulated building panel.

BACKGROUND [0002] Typical double brick homes require a considerable amount of resources to build. As an alternative, many builders are now building homes from pre-fabricated panels. A home built of prefabricated panels will produce less waste than a home built of masonry products such as predicts. A prefabricated home may have as little as 20% of the carbon footprint on the environment impact as a double brick home of comparative size. For example, the construction of a standard brick home having 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms home may produce between 11 to 14 tonnes of rubbish, whereas a prefabricated home of the same size will only produce around 2 to 4 tonnes of rubbish.

[0003] Bricks require considerable energy to produce. They are made of sand which must be baked in furnaces, which requires energy. They are heavy and require considerable energy and cost to transport. Homes built of bricks require interior plaster work. The installation of plaster work can damage and devalue window frame finishes.

[0004] If internal fixtures are required to be installed in brick homes, holes must be drilled into the bricks with plugs and screws or nails. Pre-fabricated homes only require a nail to be inserted into the walls for the installation of fixtures. This is a considerable a time saving advantage.

[0005] A greater variety of fixtures can be used in pre-fabricated homes. Metal door frames must be fixed into position with bricks, which limits the types of architraves which can be used. Pre-fabricated homes can have a larger range of architraves.

[0006] More concrete is required to build a brick home, than a home built of pre-fabricated panels. Bricks are considerable heavier than pre-fabricated panels, and therefore require more concrete to structurally support the brick home.

[0007] Pre-fabricated panels can have insulating properties so that the home constructed of the panels provides better insulation and reflective heat properties than a comparative brick homes. For example, a home built of pre-fabricated panels can have a reflective heat value of 5.5 to 9 (without any additional insulation), whereas a double brick home may have a native reflective heat value of only 2.5, which necessitates mechanical cooling and heating, careful consideration of the orientation and position of windows, and a considerable amount of insulation.

2017100301 16 Mar 2017 [0008] However, a problem with homes built of conventional pre-fabricated panels is that the walls often crack due to changes in temperature outside the home. Traditional pre-fabricated panels are constructed from polystyrene boards sandwiched between two steel sheet panels or two fibrous timber or chipboard panels, which add as cladding. The joins between the panels are coating with a flushing compound. The steel panels may only be joined to the polystyrene boards with glue. When the steel panels expand due to ambient heating, they force the flushing compounds to tear, which produces a crack in the surface of the wall.

[0009] Another problem with homes built of conventional pre-fabricated panels is that it is difficult to install wires and pipes into the panels. For example, if a water pipe needs to be installed in a prefabricated panel, then a section of the wall must be removed to accommodate the pipe. However, removing a section of the wall reduces the structural integrity of the wall. In addition, if the pipe is manufactured into the wall, a builder may find once the wall is installed, that the pipe is not in a favourable position. Accordingly, the pre-fabricated wall must be modified in situ, which further reduces the structural integrity of the wall. The modification involves cutting a new trench in the wall for the repositioning of the pipe. The old trench must be filled with expandable foam. The modified sections of the wall are inherently weaker than the original sections of the wall. This can be problematic if tiling is to be laid over the modified section of the wall. In addition, the modified sections of the wall comprising foam may bulge from the original position of the wall, so that it is no longer flat, and would therefore not provide a suitabfe surface for tiling.

[0010] Construction of fixtures in pre-fabricated panefs is iogisticaiiy difficuft. For exampie, many modern taps invoive the use of flick mixer systems. The flick mixer system must be installed into the pre-fabricated wall at an early stage during its construction. At this stage, the owner of the home may not yet have decided which taps to use. This makes the construction of pre-fabricated wall more difficult. It also increases the overall logistical complexity of constructing the building. By way of another example, it can be difficult to install wiring into pre-fabricated waffs after their construction.

[0011] In convention pre-fabricated panefs, there is no straightforward manner to instaff efectricaf wiring within the waff.

[0012] It is an object of the invention to overcome or at feast substantiaHy amefiorate the aforementioned probfems with pre-fabricated budding panefs.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0013] According to the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a budding panef, the method comprising:

(a) constructing a frame for the buifding panef, the frame having an outer perimeter and one or more sub3

2017100301 16 Mar 2017 sections within the outer perimeter with a pair of opposed side faces;

(b) at least temporarily closing at least one portion of one side face of the frame using one or more temporary closure members;

(c) providing a settable polymeric material into one or more sub-sections of the frame;

(d) at least temporarily closing the one or more sub-sections with one or more temporary closure members to hold the settable polymeric material in the frame; and (e) allowing the settable polymeric material to react and solidify in the one or more sub-sections of the frame.

[0014] Preferably, the frame is made of timber. More preferably, treated pine is used as the timber for the frame, so that the building panel is white-ant proof. However, the building panel could also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic.

[0015] Preferably, the internal building panels formed using the method of the present invention, are formed without cladding or external finishing panels. The lack of cladding allows access for placement of all services to required areas within the building through the panels formed and the cladding can simply be attached as a finishing step. The lack of cladding also allows builders to stabilise their fittings and fixtures with structurally fitted trimming before the wall panels are clad, typically with Gyprock® sheets or similar products.

[0016] The temporary closure members may be a sheet of fibrous board. Alternatively, the closure member could be a plywood board, a particle board, a piece of sheet metal or even a section of plastic.

[0017] Preferably, a closure member is provided for each sub-section, again so that the operator can form the panel in subsections, increasing the uniformity of the polyurethane within the panel.

[0018] The polymeric material is preferably polyurethane. Alternatively, the polymeric material may be polystyrene. However, the polymeric material should be hard and dense in order to increase the structural rigidity of the building panel.

[0019] The polyurethane constituents may be mixed (for example, in a bucket using a drill mixer) and then inserted into the frame by pouring. The mixture will need to be poured into the frame within a matter of seconds of its constituents making contact and before the mixture begins to react and expand. The polyurethane can be manually or mechanically inserted into the frame. Mechanical means of insertion including an pouring machine. Fittings for the machine may be used to ensure that the polyurethane pours at the required rate. Preferably, a number of mixing heads can be used on the machine to uniformly distribute a layer of the polyurethane across the sub-section, so that it expands in a uniformly across each frame sub-section.

[0020] The frame may comprise a number of sub-sections. If sub-sections are not used, then the

2017100301 16 Mar 2017 polyurethane could begin to react at the start of a large section, before the manufacturer has completed inserting the polyurethane at the end of the section. This lack of uniform expansion could apply concentrated pressure to portions of the frame, rather uniform pressure which facilitates the structural integrity of the frame overall. The provision of a number of subsections in the overall frame creates smaller regions allowing the operator to provide the required charge of polyurethane in a much shorter period of time, which increases the uniformity of the pour and the spread of the liquid polyurethane, preferably prior to the initiation of the polyurethane polymerisation reaction. In addition, building codes often require timber studs to be positioned approximately every 600 mm within a timber frame. The frame members used to create the sub-sections can also act as the timber studs.

[0021] There may be a barrier used between the closure member and the polymeric material. The barrier prevents the polymeric material from sticking to the closure member. The barrier is preferably a sheet of silicone wrapped around the temporary closure member. Alternative barriers could be used such as plastic, cardboard, or a release agent. However, a release agent can only be used on certain types of closure members having impervious surfaces, such as steel, Teflon® or glass. Release agents may include as waxes and lubricants such as silicone fluids. However, for small scale operations, the inventors have found that the most cost-effective barrier is silicone sheet. Silicone also has the additional advantage of preventing the ingress of dirt and dust into the polyurethane on the building panel at a building site. The silicone sheets can be easily peeled from the surface of the polymeric material once it has set.

[0022] Preferably, a closure member is adapted to fit within a sub-section over the top of the polymeric material in order to contain the expansion of the polymeric material. The closure member can be held in position within the sub-section by mounting it on nails affixed a certain height within the subsection. Alternatively, struts can be used to support the closure member. Materials such as pieces of polyurethane can be used as struts. These struts ultimately would become part of the building panel.

[0023] The polymeric material fuses to the timber frame. It also provides a moisture barrier, a sound barrier and a fire resistant barrier for the pre-fabricated building panel as well as insulation. The polymeric material also significantly increases the structural integrity of the building panel, by bracing the building panel and providing compression resistance.

[0024] A gap is preferably left between the face of the timber frame and the polymeric material during the construction of the building panel, so as to allow a recess for easy installation of the wiring, fixtures, fittings during the construction of the building. The width of the gap is determined by the position of the closure member, which prevents the polymeric material from expanding within the subsection. The closure member must be braced to stop it moving under pressure from the expanding polymeric material. For example, if the closure member is braced to stop 2 centimetres under the face of the timber frame, then the depth of the recess between the timber frame and the polymeric material will be 2 cm. It is also preferred that a metal brace is used to secure the frame during its construction.

2017100301 16 Mar 2017 [0025] If polyurethane is used as the polymeric material, then it will set (i.e. react and solidify) in the one or more sub-sections of the frame within approximately 3 minutes. The closure member forces the polyurethane to compact within the sub-section, which increases its density. The polyurethane would otherwise expand beyond the boundaries of the sub-section, which would necessitate the use of a saw to cut it back to a suitable depth. However, in that instance, the compaction and density of the polyurethane would be reduced, which would thereby also reduce the strength and fire retardance of the polyurethane.

[0026] The closure members may be removed from the face of the building panels intended for internal walls of buildings. However, in some instances, the closure member may become part of the final finished panel surface.

[0027] Any of the features described herein can be combined in any combination with any one or more of the other features described herein within the scope of the invention.

[0028] The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0029] Various embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0030] Figure 1 is a photograph of wall panels according to the present invention, which are arranged at a preliminary stage of construction at a building site.

[0031] Figure 2 is a photograph of a wall panel according to the present invention after sub-sections of the frame have been filled with polyurethane.

[0032] Figure 3 is a photograph of a wall panel according to the present invention which is situated within a metal brace with a closure member at an early stage of its manufacture. The sub-sections of the wall panel have not yet been filled with polyurethane.

[0033] Figure 4 is a photograph of a wall panel with 5 sub-sections, one of which has been filled with polyurethane and sealed with a closure member; another sub-section has polyurethane poured into it and a closure member is about to be placed over it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0034] Figure 1 shows a building in construction, comprising a series of pre-fabricated building panels 10 according an embodiment of the present invention. The internal building panels do not feature any cladding, unlike prior art pre-fabricated building panels. The lack of cladding allows access for

2017100301 16 Mar 2017 placement of all services to required areas within the building. The lack of cladding also allows builders to stabilise their fittings and fixtures with structurally fitted trimming before the wall panels 10 are clad with gyprock sheets.

[0035] Figure 2 shows a building panel 11 during its construction in a factory. This particular building panel 11 is for an external wall of a building. The building panel 11 has an external cladding 13, which will form an outer face of the building and will receive a surface finish of the building (such as a texture coat). The external cladding 13 also acts as a slab edge cover. This enables the building to have the appearance of a solid rendered structure to the ground.

[0036] The building panel 11 comprises a timber frame 12 which is filled with an insulation component, which is preferably polyurethane 14. The insulation component 14 provides a moisture barrier, a sound barrier and a fire resistant barrier for the pre-fabricated building panel 11. The insulation component 14 also significantly increases the structural integrity of the building panel 11, by bracing the building panel 11 and providing compression resistance.

[0037] Preferably treated pine is used as the timber for the frame 12, so that it is white-ant proof.

[0038] In the case of the building panel 11, the polyurethane 14 is poured directly onto the cladding 13. This fuses the timber frame 12 to the external cladding 13.

[0039] A small gap 16 is left between the top of the timber frame and the insulation component 14 during the construction of the building panel 11, so as to allow a recess for easy installation of the wiring, fixtures, fittings during the construction of the building.

[0040] Figure 3 shows a building panel 15 in construction. The building panel 15 is a cladding surface 17. The building panel 15 will be used as the bottom of a window in a building.

[0041] A metal brace 16 is used to secure the frame 12 during its construction. The polyurethane constituents are mixed in a bucket 18 using a drill mixer 20. The mixture must be poured into the frame 12 within 15 seconds, before the mixture begins to react and expand. Alternatively, the constituents can be mixed in the sub-sections of the frame.

[0042] The frame 12 typically comprises a number of sub-sections (for example, sub-sections 22 and 24). If sub-sections are not used, then the polyurethane will begin to react at the start of a large section, before the manufacturer has completed pouring the polyurethane at the end of the section. This lack of uniform expansion could apply concentrated pressure to portions of the frame, rather uniform pressure which facilitates the structural integrity of the frame 10 overall. In addition, building codes often require timber studs to be positioned approximately every 600 mm within a timber frame. The subsections can act as the timber studs.

2017100301 16 Mar 2017 [0043] Figure 4 shows a building panel 21 with four sub-sections 26, 28, 30, 32 and 34. The subsection 34 is a door frame opening. The building panel 21 will be an internal wall of the building. Hence, it will not have any cladding affixed to either of its sides. Before the polyurethane 36 is poured, a sheet of silicone 42 is laid down underneath the polyurethane 36 to prevent it from making direct contact with a working base surface (which cannot be seen in figure 4). Polyurethane 36 in liquid form has been injected (namely, poured) into the sub-section 26.

[0044] As shown in figure 4, a manufacturer is about to place a membrane, namely a closure member 38 (which is a sheet of fibrous board wrapped with a silicone 43) over the polyurethane 36. The closure member 38 is mounted on nails 40 affixed around the sub-section 26. The polyurethane 36 expands within approximately 3 minutes to fill the entire sub-section 26 up to the boundary provided by the closure member 38. The closure member 38 is required to stop the polyurethane 36 from expanding outside the boundary of the sub-section 26. The closure member 38 forces the polyurethane 36 to compact within the sub-section 26, which increases its density. The polyurethane 36 would otherwise expand beyond the boundaries of the sub-section 26, which would necessitate the use of a saw to cut it back to a suitable depth. However, in that instance, the compaction and density of the polyurethane 36 would be reduced, which would thereby also reduce the strength and fire retardance of the polyurethane 36.

[0045] The silicone sheet 42 stops the polyurethane 36 from sticking to the closure member 38 when the closure member 38 is removed after the polyurethane 36 has set. If silcone sheet 42 is not used, then the closure member 38 could only be removed from the polyurethane 36 with great difficulty or without significantly damaging the surface of the set polyurethane 36. The silcone sheet 42 also prevents the ingress of dirt and dust into the polyurethane 36 on the building panel 10 on a building site. The silicone sheet 42 does not stick to the polyurethane and therefore can be easily removed from the polyurethane which leaves it with a shiny and sealed surface. Alternatively, paper can be used instead of a silicone sheet to provide a surface on which to affix a trade mark of the manufacturer.

[0046] In the present specification and claims, the word ‘comprising’ and its derivatives including ‘comprises’ and ‘comprise’ include each of the stated integers but does not exclude the inclusion of one or more further integers.

[0047] Reference throughout this specification to ‘one embodiment’ or ‘an embodiment’ means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearance of the phrases ‘in one embodiment’ or ‘in an embodiment’ in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more combinations.

[0048] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims (if any) appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.

2017100301 16 Mar 2017

2017100301 28 Nov 2018

Claims (5)

1. A method of manufacturing a building panel, the method comprising:

(a) constructing a frame for the building panel, the frame having an outer perimeter and one or more sub-sections within the outer perimeter with a pair of opposed side faces;

(b) temporarily closing at least one portion of one side face of the frame using at least one first temporary closure member;

(c) inserting a settable polymeric material into at least one sub-section of the frame;

(d) temporarily closing the at least one sub-section with at least one second temporary closure member placed within said at least one sub-section to hold the settable polymeric material in the frame; and (e) allowing the settable polymeric material to react and solidify in the one or more sub-sections of the frame.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein polymeric material is polyurethane.

3. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method further includes placing the frame on a surface before inserting the settable polymeric material.

4. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein a barrier is used between the polymeric material and either the first temporary closure member or second temporary closure member.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said barrier is a silicone sheet and said either the first temporary closure member or second closure member is a fibrous board, and said silicone sheet is wrapped around said fibrous board.