CA2461143A1

CA2461143A1 - Modular construction system

Info

Publication number: CA2461143A1
Application number: CA 2461143
Authority: CA
Inventors: Christopher Jarvis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-03-16
Filing date: 2004-03-16
Publication date: 2005-09-16

Abstract

A construction system wherein foam panels with embedded components such as C
channels, brackets, and joists, have upper and lower covers of different materials to create composite modular roofs and intermediate composite floor systems. The roof panels consist of a foam panel with C channels embedded longitudinally on each side in the upper and lower planes strengthening the panel and providing members onto which the upper and lower covers or skins are fastened. The panels axe attached to the building structure by means of a two piece support beam spanning the end walls and by means of lower support brackets embedded into the top of the side walls. The intermediate floor panels have steel joists nested into each side, the top being encased by the reinforced concrete slab on the upper side, and a grid of channels in the under side providing means to install plumbing and wiring, and a lower cover attached to joist lower flange.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIO1~T
Housing is a basic need in every society and a growing concern in every country due to the lack of affordable housing. Here in North America, both the US and Canada have recognized a great shortage of affordable housing, and a great segment of the population cannot realize their dream of owning a house because of the lack of affordability, much of the high cost not only being the type of materials that are used but the high labor cost to build our homes and install our traditional roofing and intermediate flooring. In addition, our traditional method of building homes is inefficient in the use of energy, and as a consequence, a good percentage of the home owners income goes to pay high energy bills from heating and cooling their houses.
There have been attempts to improve the affordability and energy efficiency of our homes as well as exploring different concepts of modularity over the years, a good example of which would be the invention of ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) wall systems which form a solid and energy efficient wall system. However, roof and floor systems continue to be made with very little change. Large amounts of timber used for joists and trusses, and sheathing coupled with the use of asphalt shingles, is energy deficient, environmentally unfriendly, and has a high labor component, all of which helps contribute to unaffordable housing.
The demand for a low cost, energy efficient, fast installing modular system that is environmentally friendly remains, and there is a continuing need for improvement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention hereby detailed is a construction system that is used with different ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) wall systems. The invention consists of a composite roof construction and a composite floor construction. The advantageous invention shown in this document is used in conjunction with an ICF wall system because of the high energy efficiency of these systems, and it can be used with virtually any type of ICF wall. ICF blocks are foam blocks made out of polystyrene foam, which are assembled into walls and are then filled with concrete. The blocks are then left in place to become the insulating component of the wall.
The advantageous roofing system consists of insulated roof panels that are designed to be truss-less, self supporting, and highly insulative. They consist of an upper steel skin or covering, a foam panel, a lower skin or covering, channels that are embedded in the foam panel, and where necessary plastic or composite links that tie the top and bottom channel together. A special two piece beam, made from steel or composite, stretches from one end wall of the building to the other, being bolted to anchors that are embedded into the peak at each end wall, into which each half of the roof is I

supported at the upper end, and special brackets are embedded into the top of the side walls which support the lower end of the roof panels. The roof panels are fastened to the upper beam and lower wall bracket by self tapping fasteners. The two halves of the roof are covered by a specially molded piece of foam that insulates the top of the panel support beam, and then a ridge cap is placed over the foam and screwed to the top of each panel. Steel flashing is used to cover the exposed sides of the panels on the extreme sides of each roof half, and a special steel flashing is used to cover the bottom end of the roof panels. This is fastened to steel brackets that are embedded in the foam panels at the lower end of the panel, which also serve as brackets to which to attach the gutter.
One of the important and advantageous features incorporated into this design is the isolation of all steel exposed to and in contact with the outside ambient air from all the steel exposed and in contact with the inside ambient air. Previous designs of roof panels such as US Patent Application 20030172607 of Donald J. Brandes have attempted to address this heat transfer issue but still have paths of steel providing conduction from the inside ambient to the outside ambient or visa versa, which greatly reduces the energy efficiency. Another important feature of this invention is the elimination of wood or metal trusses, vapor barriers, blown insulation, wood sheathing, and shingles which results in faster installation and a lower cost, in addition to having an air tight roof with a superior R rating over conventional wood frame roofing.
When an intermediate floor is required as in the case of a two story building, for example, another variation of the invention is used to make light weight composite panels that span between the bearing walls forming a composite floor sytem. This invention consists of a molded or fabricated foam panel being made out of polystyrene expanded bead, lightweight steel joists, re-bar, and a concrete slab that when assembled, becomes an integrated, load bearing floor structure. One advantage of this invention is the elimination of forms and supporting mechanisms for the forms, as the foam panel becomes the form, and being left in place, it offers yet another advantage by becoming insulation both for sound as well as contributing to the energy efficiency. Additional advantage is the speed with which the panels can be assembled and the concrete poured, thus reducing labor costs. Still another advantage to this invention is that the re-bar used for reinforcement of the concrete is held securely in place, both in height and spacing with no need for tying or additional re-bar supports. Furthermore, the channels in the underside of the floor panel provide an easy means of both running and supporting the plumbing and wiring, while the embedded steel from the bottom of the joist provides a surface on which to attach the lower cover, such as drywall.
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Fig. I is an exploded view of the roofing assembly;
Fig. 2 is an exploded view the composite floor system for intermediate floors;
Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the roof panel showing how the upper, lower channels, and the fastening brackets fit into a foam panel;
Fig. 4 is an exploded end view of the roof panel showing the upper and lower channels and the way in which they nest into a foam panel;
Fig. 5 shows a view of the angle cuts on each end of a roof panel;
Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of an assembled roofing panel with the upper and lower channels installed;
Fig. 7 is an exploded view showing an assembly of roof panels with the upper and lower covers;
Fig. 8 shows the exploded view of the assembly of roof panels in perspective with the upper and lower covers;
Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of the lower panel anchor support bracket;
Fig. 10 shows a perspective view of the corner lower panel anchor support bracket;
Fig. 11 shows a perspective view of the support beam anchor plate;
Fig. 12 shows a perspective view of the tie for use with the roofing panel;
Fig. I3 shows a perspective view of the roofing panel with the ties connecting the upper and lower channels;
Fig. I4 shows an exploded perspective view of the assembly of the upper part of the roof showing the roof panels, upper and lower covers, support beam and support beam anchor plate, foam ridge cap, insulating strips, and steel ridge cap;
Fig. 15 is an exploded end view of fig. I4;
Fig. I6 shows an exploded view of the Lower part of the roof showing the roof panels, upper cover, lower panel anchor bracket, the end flashing and the eve flashing;
Fig. 17 is a end view of Fig. 16;
Fig. 18 is an exploded perspective view of an intermediate floor assembly showing the joists, foam floor panels, re-bar, in-floor piping, concrete slab and side wall;
Fig. 19 is a side view of the Fig. I 8 Fig. 20 is an exploded perspective view showing the under side of the floor panels that permit the installation of in-floor piping and wiring;
Fig. 21 shows a perspective view of the joist assembly and how the ties are connected to the upper and lower channels;
Fig. 22 is an enlarged view of part of Fig 18 showing how the rebar is held in place by the steel tie;

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Fig. 23 shows a perspective view of the steel tie and shows the re-bar locating hole as well as the re-bar support tab;
Fig. 24 is an exploded view of a steel joist and the foam floor panel, showing the channels in the underside of the panel that permit the easy installation of plumbing and wiring.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the particularly advantageous embodiments of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, the foam block 2 which makes up the sandwiched part of the roof panel, comprises molded or fabricated polystyrene foam or polyurethane foam made to the required length of the span of a particular roof. The width can be of any width although a typical width is in the range of 12-24 inches, and the thickness can also vary according to particular roof requirements, but typical thickness can range from 4-12 inches.
The foam block 2 is molded in one piece or is cut out of a larger block of foam and incorporates recesses and slots 3 along the entire length of the block on each side, as shown in Fig. 4, into which profile a channel will nest at the upper 5 and lower 6 corners of the foam and run the length of the foam panel as shown in Fig 3 and 6. The channels 5 and 6 shown in Fig. 3 are C
shaped channels of different depth and thickness depending on the span of the roofing panel and the load requirements, and can be made of steel or composite material. In addition the ends of the foam panel are cut at the angle 23 required by the particular slope of the roof as shown in Fig. 5.
Where required channels 24 similar to those shown in Fig. 18 are molded or fabricated into the lower surface of the panel to provide a conduit into which the wiring is run. If a conduit is required instead of a channel because of certain building codes, the conduits are molded directly into the foam panel.
In addition, other components such as the C channels and brackets, can be embedded into the mold by fixturing them directly into the mold at the time of manufacturing the foam panel.
Where load requirements demand greater capacity, special links are used to link the top channel 5 to the lower channel 6 in a zig zag manner, forming a truss, as seen in Fig. 13.
These links as shown in Fig. 12 are made of plastic or composite which will minimize the conduction of energy (heat or cold) from the one side of the panel to the other side of the panel. The links are fastened to the upper and lower channels by screwing them in place or by using some links that have button like protrusions on each end that snap into holes in the sides of the channels. The longitudinal sides of the foam are recessed to provide a cutout into which these links nest, this allowing the panels to nest side to side with the adjacent panels with no air gap between them as shown in Fig. 7 and 8.
At both ends of the panel a bracket runs perpendicularly from one side channel to the other side channel as seen in Fig. 3, and is embedded in the foam panel, but fastened to the channels at each side. This mounting bracket allows fastening of the roof panel to the support beam at the top of the roof panel and to the side wall bracket at the lower end of the roof panel, as seen in Fig. 15 and 16.
The top leg of the upper channel 5, once nested into the upper recess of the foam panel as shown in Fig. 7 and 8, protrudes along the upper surface of the panel and forms a strip running longitudinally onto which the steel roofing cover or upper skin 1 is fastened to. The lower leg of the channel 5 is anchored or embedded into the foam panel. Thus, if 12 inch wide steel roofing sheets are being used, the foam blocks are made to 12 inches wide and subsequently channels will be spaced at 12 inches providing an strip running longitudinally onto which each steel roofing panel is attached. An assembly of roofing panels is shown in Fig 7 and 8 which clearly displays the alignment of the steel sheets or upper skins 1 in relation to the fastening strips. The lower leg of the lower channel, once nested into the lower recess of the foam panel, protrudes along the underneath surface of the panel and forms a trip running longitudinally onto which the lower cover or skin 22 is fastened to, which can be sheetrock, steel, or composite sheets.
The support beam 10 shown in Fig. I is made up of two halves that are bolted back to back to an upper anchor plate 11 that is embedded into the top of the end wall 14 as can be clearly seen in Fig.
14 and 15. The top and bottom legs are angled downward at the required angle of slope of a particular roof and form a pocket into which the top of the roof panel fits.
The roof panel is then fastened by means of self tapping screws that fasten the lower angled leg of the support beam to the underside of the upper end of the roof panel and into the bracket which is embedded inside the upper end of the panel, thus providing a solid means of anchoring.
The lower end of the roof panel is fastened to the lower anchor plate 10 that is embedded into the top of the side wall 15. The protruding leg of the lower anchor plate bracket extends upward and inward at the required angle of slope of a particular roof on the inside of the wall, as can be seen in Fig. 16 and 17. The lower end of the panel is then fastened by means of self tapping screws that fastens the leg of the lower anchor plate to the underside of the lower end of the roof panel and into the bracket that is embedded inside the lower end of the panel, thus providing a solid means of anchoring. In addition, another bracket is at the extreme lower end of the roof panel that perpendicularly connects the channel on one side to the channel on the other, onto which surface is attached the panel end flashing 19 and panel edge flashing 21 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig 16.
An eve flashing 20 is then attached under the lower edge of the panel end flashing I9 and extend to the top of the side wall and perpendicular to the wall, as seen in Fig. 17. It should be noted that special lower anchor brackets, shown in Fig. 10, are used in the corners of the building, and provide an angle support that protrudes outward beyond the side wall to which the lower side of the panel is attached. There is a left and a right bracket to provide panel support on the both ends of the roof.
Once the panels are fastened into place on each side of the roof, foam insulation strips 16 are placed on either side of the support beam to insulate the support beam and then a special foam ridge cap 17 is placed on the ridge that insulates the support beam 10 from the outside ambient air, and a steel ridge cap 18 is then placed over the foam cap and fastened to the upper steel skin 1 as seen in Fig. 14 and 15.
When an intermediate floor is required, as in the case of a second story shown in Fig. 2, a variation of the advantageous invention is used that spans between the load bearing walls 26, forming a composite floor. This comprises a panel 28 of fabricated or molded polystyrene, or polyurethane foam made to the required length of a particular span. The width of the panel can be of any width although a typical width is 20 inches, and the thickness can also vary according to particular floor requirements, but typical thickness can range from 10-20 inches.
The foam block 28 in Fig. 24 is molded in one piece or is cut out of a larger block of foam and incorporates recesses and slots along the entire length of the block on each side on the upper and lower corners into which profile a joist 27 will nest. As shown in Fig. 24, the foam floor panel 28 has channels 37 molded or fabricated into the underside along the full length of the panel in the one direction and across the width of the panel in the other direction in a perpendicular manner at regular intervals, which form a plurality of criss-crossing channels into which plumbing or wiring 29 and 30 can be placed as shown in Fig. 18 and 20.
On the top of the foam floor panel shown in Fig. 18 and 19, at each corner is a bevel cut at an angle downwards into the C channel recess. This enables the concrete 2S to encase the upper leg of the steel C channel as shown in Fig. 19.
The joist 27 is made from steel C channels 31 and 32 running parallel to each other at a set distance of separation as shown in Fig. 21 and Fig. 2. Each of the channels is then joined to the other by means of steel ties 33 that are positioned in a zig-zag manner that form triangular structures along the length of the joist. The ties are fastened mechanically to the upper and lower channels. In addition, the top of the ties protrude beyond the upper surface of the C
channel as shown in Fig. 22 and have a hole 34 punched which provides a support for the rebar which runs perpendicular to the joists. There is shown in Fig. 22 a tab 35 protruding from beyond the hole which is bent perpendicular to the tie forming a guide for the re-bar 36 as seen in Fig. 22.
The re-bar running through the holes, perpendicular to the C channels, in the upper part of the steel ties as seen in Fig.
23 provide a seat onto which the re-bar running parallel to the joists are supported up against the tab of the tie as shown in Fig. 22, which then can be bent slightly downward over the re-bar to hold it in place. This provides equal spacing as seen in Fig. 18, as well as every re-bar 36 is held into place at a set height within the concrete as shown in Fig. 22.

Claims

1. A modular construction system comprising a composite roof construction and a composite floor construction for intermediate floors wherein the roof construction comprises of multiple truss-less, self supporting composite panels of foam encased by upper skins of composite or steel and lower skins of steel, drywall, or composites; whereby the strength is accomplished by longitudinally embedding upper and lower composite or steel C channels into the panel in such a way as to provide the required strength for given span while at the same time maintaining a separation of upper skin and channels from lower skin and channels, eliminating means of conduction of heat or cold, the barrier being the foam between upper skins and channels and the lower skins and channels; and wherein the composite floor construction comprises of multiple composite panels of foam encased by an upper layer of reinforced concrete; whereby the strength is accomplished by longitudinally embedding lightweight fabricated steel joists into the panel in such a way as to encase part of the upper member of the joist making the whole panel an integrated load bearing beam;
wherein the foam panel is manufactured in such a way as to have a grid of criss-crossing channels in the underside of the panel to provide recesses in which to run plumbing and wiring.

2. The said foam panel in Claim 1 having composite or steel C channels embedded into both sides on the upper and lower sides in such a manner so as to have the wide section of the said C channel flush with the sides of the said foam panel and the upper legs of the upper channel protruding inwards along the upper surface of the foam panel flush with the surface of the foam panel, and the lower legs of the lower channel protruding inwards along the lower side of the foam panel flush with the surface of the foam panel.

3. That said channel on one side of the said foam panel in Claim 1 is connected to the channel on the other side of said panel by means of a bracket embedded in the foam panel perpendicular to the channels which provides means by which to fasten panel to support beam and lower anchor support bracket. That said brackets are located at upper and lower ends of panel.

4. The span and the load bearing requirements of said panels in Claim 1 are given additional strength, when span and load requirements so warrant, by using links, which are used to connect the said lower and upper channels in a zig-zag manner, forming a series of triangular shapes along the length of the panel that gives a truss effect, being attached by mechanical fasteners or by having button like protrusions that insert into holes in the side of the said C
channel, and are nested into recesses in the sides of the foam panels in such a manner as to allow no air gaps between the joints of one of said panel to the other.

5. The said upper skin in claim 1, consisting of steel sheets that run longitudinally along the upper surface of the foam panel, being attached to the upper side of the said foam panel by means of the upper legs of said upper channels that run longitudinally along the length of the upper surface of the foam panel, attached by means of self tapping fasteners, while lower skin or cover, consisting of steel, sheetrock, or composite sheets that run longitudinally along the lower surface of the foam panel being attached to the lower side of the said foam panel by means of the lower legs of the said lower channels that run longitudinally along the length of the lower surface of the foam panel, being attached by means of self tapping fasteners.

6. A support beam used to support the upper end of the said roof panels in Claim 1 is comprised of two halves, made out of steel or composite, that bolt back to back, each half having legs that protrude outward and downward at the required degrees of slope for a particular roof, which form the downward slanting U pockets into which the upper ends of the said roof panels insert and are supported and fastened, by means of self tapping fasteners that fasten into the said perpendicular embedded bracket in Claim 2.

7. The said support beams in Claim 6 are bolted back to back to an anchor bracket that protrudes from the peak of the end wall, being embedded into the walls.

8. The lower anchor support brackets used to support the lower end of said roof panels in Claim 1 are embedded into the top of the side walls, along the length of the side wall protruding inward and upward, flush with the top of the side wall, at the same angle as the slope of said roof panels, by which said roof panel is attached to top of the lower side wall by self tapping fasteners that fasten into the said perpendicular embedded bracket in Claim 2.

9. That said lower anchor support brackets in Claim 8 have a variation used in the corners of the building, a left and a right bracket, that anchor into the corner ICF blocks from which a supporting angle extends out to support the overhanging panel.

10. The said foam roofing panel in Claim 1 can be optionally assembled having channels placed under the lower surface by which means wiring can be run.

11. The said composite floor panel in Claim 1 comprising a molded or fabricated panel of expanded polystyrene or polyurethane foam, the side of which is recessed to accommodate a steel joist, the top surface which includes a beveled cut the entire length of the panel on either side, and the lower surface which includes a plurality of molded or fabricated channels running the length of the panel in one direction and the width of the panel at set intervals in the other direction, thus providing a grid of channels on the underside of the panel which serve as recesses into which plumbing and wiring can be located and supported by the lower member of the joist.

12. That said floor panel in Claim 11 is placed side by side with a multiple of adjacent panels spanning between two bearing walls, the extreme ends of the top member of the steel joist extending beyond the ends of the panel and resting on the top of the bearing wall, and each floor panel mating to the adjacent panel with the steel joist nested between the said panels in such a way as to eliminate an air gap between panels, while the top chord protruding above the top of the said foam panels and being embedded into the concrete slab.

13. A steel joist made from an upper and a lower chord in the shape of a C
channel joined by steel ties that join upper and lower channels in such a way as to form a series of triangles along the length of the joist, wherein the steel ties connecting the lower and upper joist members extend beyond the top member of the joist and are provided with circular holes through which the re-bars are placed and supported at regularly spaced intervals and the tabs located on the upper side of the circular holes being bent perpendicularly in order to locate and fasten the re-bars running perpendicular to the re-bars running through the circular holes.

14. A composite roof panel and and a composite floor panel molded or fabricated from polystyrene expanded foam or polyurethane foam incorporating a plurality of cuts, bevels, recesses, and channels as required to make panels used in this invention.

15. A composite roof panel and a composite floor panel with components such as C channels, brackets, joists, or conduit being molded and embedded into said panels by placing said components into the mold by means of fixtures at the time of manufacturing the panel thus encasing said components into the foam panels.