DK181228B8 - Building module, wall made from such a building module and method for assembling the building module - Google Patents

Abstract

Building module made entirely from wood, where said building module, in the module’s use situation, comprises: a horizontal top binder; c. a horizontal bottom binder, where said top and bottom binders are connected to d. at least one vertical connector column, and e. a horizontally oriented first wood cladding, and f. a vertically oriented second wood cladding, and g. a plurality of weather strips; where the first and second wood claddings each comprises a plurality of individual boards, each board being defined by a length, a width and a thickness, and where in some boards a groove is provided lengthwise in each side of the board in order to ac commodate a weather strip between two adjacent boards, and where the boards of the first cladding are attached to the at least one vertical connector column by means of wood dowels or wood nails, and where the second vertically oriented wood cladding is attached to the horizontal top and bottom binders by means of wood dowels or wood nails, thereby defining a void between the first wood cladding and the second wood cladding.

Description

DK 181228 B38 1

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a building module made entirely from wood as well as a wall made from a plurality of such building modules and furthermore a method of assembling such building module.

Background of the Invention

Wood or timber is one of the oldest construction materials and as such there is nothing new in using this material in constructions. Likewise, it has also been custom before to pre-manufacture elements from timber and then assemble them into a building or other constructions.

These types of construction, however, all rely on traditional construction methods as well as fulfilling the requirements of various building codes such that the overall use of the materials and the selection of the materials from which the construction is made are to a large degree dictated beforehand due to requirements and local restrictions.

An example is known from US 6.122.880 which disclose a building module for erecting flat structures, which building module comprises two parallel, plane-like wall parts which have outer surfaces that are directed away from one another, and a module-core made up of a plurality of individually produced and interconnected parts arranged between the two wall parts and fixedly connected thereto so that a space is formed between the wall parts, the mold core including at least one mold core part which runs in a longitu- dinal direction of the building module so as to project from the wall parts and be insert- able between wall parts of a further building module so as to form, with these further wall parts, an innerlocking connection which absorbs forces in a transverse direction.

The building module further includes means provided at the module-core for forming, with a module-core of a further building module, an interlocking connection which ab- sorbs forces in the longitudinal direction.

Object of the Invention

The present invention, on the other hand, has surprisingly found that by providing a building module as will be disclosed below, a number of advantages are achieved and at the same time

DK 181228 B38 2 the interior living conditions, e.g. of a dwelling, are further improved relative to the traditional manners in which to assemble building constructions from timber. These advantages are both related to the building process as such, but also to the interior climate, the insulation and the air quality. The advantages of the present invention are therefore distinct from the prior art, partic- ular in the manner the boards are assembled and weather protection is achieved.

Description of the Invention

In order to provide these advantages the present invention provides a building module made entirely from wood, where said building module, in the module”s use situation, comprises: a. a horizontal top binder; b. a horizontal bottom binder, where said top and bottom binders are connected to c. atleast one vertical connector column, and d. ahorizontally oriented first wood cladding, and e. avertically oriented second wood cladding, and f aplurality of weather strips; where the first and second wood claddings each comprises a plurality of individual boards, each board being defined by a length, a width and a thickness, and where in some boards a groove is provided lengthwise in each side of the board in order to accommodate a weather strip between two adjacent boards, and where the boards of the first cladding are attached to the at least one vertical connector column by means of wood dowels or wood nails, and where the second ver- tically oriented wood cladding is attached to the horizontal top and bottom binders by means of wood dowels or wood nails, thereby defining a void between the first wood cladding and the second wood cladding.

The oppositely oriented boards of the first and second cladding ensures that any throughgoing apertures are minimal. Furthermore, by providing the weather strips between adjacent boards any openings in the claddings are effectively closed by these weather strips. As the weather strips are arranged in grooves they are able to absorb or move with the movements of the wood constructions and as such will remain functional even if large movements of the wood occur due to normal factors affecting wood such as changes in moisture, temperature, drying, etc.

The structure of the building module as such having the connector column extending upwards makes it possible to, in a simple manner as will be discussed below to position a further building module on top of the first building module. The extending connector column will effectively guide and hold the building module placed on top such that during erection of the structure into

DK 181228 B38 3 which the building module is being integrated no further or only minimal need for stabilizing the structure is needed.

At the same time, the void created between the first wood cladding and the second wood clad- ding is available in order to install any installations, piping etc., and as will be explained below, also for receiving the necessary insulation.

The use of wood nails is especially preferred, as assembly of constructions with traditional pneumatic nailers is a rational and secure manner of construction. The Lignoloc ® system for driving wood nails into the timber of the present construction may be used in more or less the same manner as normal nailers used with steel/iron nails.

There are multiple advantages to using wood, also as connection means. The steel nails may cause thermal bridges, discoloring, corrosion, differences in material characteristics (expan- sion/contraction due to temperature changes for example) which in turn may give rise to cracks etc.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention the length of all the boards of the second wood cladding is the same, and adjacent boards are displaced vertically relative to an adjacent board.

In this embodiment a slight vertical displacement of adjacent boards creates a spectacular effect for the finished structure when building modules having identical displacements are positioned one on top of each other or as will be described below with a lateral displacement. In these cases the vertical displacement of the single boards relative to each other will be carried out in a certain pattern such that the displacement corresponds to the displacement in the module above whereby a very tight fit and a closed surface may be achieved by assembling a fagade from such building modules.

The standard module as described above whether or not the boards are displaced comprises very few components and a number of the components are identical such that the building modules may be manufactured and assembled in a very simple manner.

By using wooden dowels or wooden nails in order to assemble the parts of the module into a building module a very homogenous construction is provided. At the same time the wooden nails/dowels will move and deform with the surrounding wood material whereas for example steel nails or steel screws will not change dimensions or be resilient whereby assembling a

DK 181228 B38 4 module using for example steel screws may cause tension in the wood such that cracks and the like may occur or be provocated.

As illustrated in figure 5 it is a further advantageous embodiment of the invention that the mod- ules have a width in a x-direction, a depth in a y-direction, and a height in an z-direction, where the y-direction is defined orthogonally to the plane defined by the x- and z- directions, and where the top binder and the bottom binder have a width in the x-direction corresponding to the width of a predetermined number of boards, and where the top binder has an extent in the y- direction which is smaller than the extent of the bottom binder in the z-direction.

The fact that the top binder has a smaller extent in the z-direction than the bottom binder fore- sees that the building module”s second cladding suitable to face the outside in a building con- struction will be provided with an outwards slant, such that water on the fagade is directed outwards. When building modules of this type are arranged one on top of the other, it is clear that water from one module will be urged away from the wall surface by the slant of the second cladding and in this manner less water will impact the surface and thereby give rise to ingress of water into the construction.

The repetitive nature of the element assembly allows the easy addition of optional layers with desirable climate modulating properties during assembly of a module. As an example a cellu- lose-based wind barrier board such as Hunton Windtight ™ may be added behind the binders and attached to the connector columns to prevent draft, provide an extra thermal insulation layer, and to create a ventilated void between the second cladding and the insulating layer.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention the boards of the second cladding as well as the top and bottom binders have been treated in a thermo treatment process, and the boards of the first cladding are untreated. A thermo treatment of wood in itself is a well-known process where some characteristics in the wood are emphasized and improved, such as for ex- ample resistance to water ingress, attack from fungus etc., whereas the structural strength of the wood as such is reduced due to the deterioration of particularly hemicelluloses during the heat treatment process which causes the wood to lose structure and strength. However, the thermo treatment process will lessen the need for surface treatment particularly of the surfaces being exposed to ambient weather. From an environmental point of view it is advantageous, particu- larly for these types of building elements where the second cladding only has a minor structural function to provide a thermo treatment in order to provide the cladding with a long life expec- tancy which does not need a chemical treatment in order to make the cladding weather resistant.

DK 181228 B38

On the other hand, for the cladding facing the interior environment where the influence of weather may be minimal, it is not necessary to treat this wood in a thermo treatment process.

Therefore the first cladding may maintain its advantageous properties from the wood itself such as higher strength and the original colour among others. 5 In this manner an overall low environmental impact is accomplished, but at the same time du- rability and resistancy against insect, fungus and the like is achieved, without using chemical treatment.

In a particularly preferred embodiment the wood is Paulownia including any sub-species and/or hybrid of this species/genera, and the boards and weather strips are cut from wood not including the central part of the heartwood.

Paulownia has a number of special characteristics. For example, it is one of the world’s fastest growing trees which in the process of growing absorbs a lot of CO, such that it provides a substantial advantage in order to combat the increasing CO» pollution of the atmosphere. At the same time Paulownia in comparison to other types of trees absorbs CO> more easily and in larger amounts and as such in any tree planting campaign Paulownia has increased advantages compared to other species. Among the advantages of Paulownia wood is that it is light and tough, has strong moisture and heat insulation, is resistant to acid and at the same time exhibits very low warping and cracking and gives rise to substantially no insect attacks and the like.

One disadvantage of the Paulownia tree is the fact that in the heartwood there usually is a lon- gitudinal void (compared to a hollow pipe) going through the entire tree and as such the heart- wood should not be used. For this reason the boards and weather strips are cut from wood not including the central part of the heartwood, but the boards are designed to be cut from the trunk of the Paulownia tree in such a manner that the “pipe” is not present in the board. Under any circumstances, during construction, the side of the board being closest to the heartwood will be turned to the inside of the building module such that it is not exposed to neither the ambient weather environment nor an inside environment.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention the building module has dimensions such that a. the width (x) is between 600 mm and 1000 mm; b. the thickness (y) is between 200 mm and 450 mm c. the height (z) is between 500 mm and 1000 mm, excluding the extension of the connector columns;

DK 181228 B38 6

Particularly in embodiments where the building module is constructed from Paulownia the di- mensions of the building module provides a very light module which may be handled by a single person and at the same time the module has a substantial size such that for example a building is not assembled from too many elements in order to keep the elements at a size where they may be handled easily and more economically, i.e. without the use of mechanical means such as a crane and the like.

The invention is also directed to a wall assembled from a plurality of building modules as de- scribed above, wherein a first plurality of modules are arranged in a first horizontal array, such that the top and bottom binders are horizontally aligned with top and bottom binders in adjacent modules, and where one or more subsequent arrays of modules are positioned on top of the first array, such that the modules in subsequent arrays are horizontally displaced in the width direc- tion of the modules relative to the array of modules below.

Description of the Drawing

The invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 illustrates an exterior wall assembled from a plurality of building modules;

Fig. 2A illustrates a front view of a building module according to the present invention;

Fig. 2B illustrates a cross-section of a module;

Fig. 2C illustrates a view from below or from above the building module;

Fig. 3A-3C illustrate a building module almost similar to the building module de- scribed above with reference to figures 2A-2C;

Fig. 4 illustrates a wall.

Fig. 5 illustrates a building module and defines orientations of the x,y,and z axis

Detailed Description of the Invention

In fig. 1 is illustrated an exterior wall assembled from a plurality of building modules 10 according to the invention. The specific details of the wall illustrated in figure 1 are not so important as the building construction into which the building modules according

DK 181228 B38 7 to the present invention are integrated may as the skilled person will be aware be made in a number of different configurations and as such the wall depicted in figure 1 only illustrates a very simple embodiment of use of building modules according to the pre- sent invention.

Turning to figure 2, figure 2 A illustrates a front view of a building module according to the present invention. In this context front view shall be understood as a view corre- sponding to the view of the wall 1 illustrated in figure 1, 1.e. seen from the outside.

In figure 2B is illustrated a cross-section of such a module, and in figure 2C is illustrated a view from below or from above the building module 10. The building module com- prises a vertically oriented second wood cladding 12 which is suitable to be exposed to an exterior climate. The exterior cladding is assembled from a number of boards 14 which boards are nailed by means of wooden nails to a carrying construction arranged behind the boards 14. The carrying construction comprises a horizontal top binder 16 as illustrated in figure 2B and a horizontal bottom binder 18. In this particular embodi- ment the binders 16, 18 have a different extent in what is the thickness of the building module such that the vertically oriented second wood cladding 12 is provided with a slant such that the module 10 has a smaller width in the upper part than in the lower part.

Between the binders 16,18 and vertical connector columns 30 an optional cellulose- based wind barrier board 44 may be added.

On the backside 20 of the module is arranged a horizontally oriented first wood clad- ding. This wood cladding also comprises a number of boards 22. These boards are fas- tened also by wooden nails to a connector column 30. The horizontal top binder 16 and bottom binder 18 are likewise attached to the connector column also by wooden nails 24. In this manner a box structure is constructed consisting of the vertically oriented second wood cladding, the horizontally oriented first wood cladding and the one or more connector columns 30. In this embodiment two connector columns are provided.

It should be clear to a skilled person that by dimensioning the horizontal top binder and the horizontal bottom binder with various thicknesses or equal thicknesses it is possible to design the building modules with the desired geometrical shape.

DK 181228 B38 8

In addition to the boards 14, 22 making up the first and second claddings, weather strips 26 are arranged between adjacent boards 14, 22. For this purpose the boards 14, 22 are provided with grooves 28 extending substantially along the entire sides of the boards such that when two boards are arranged adjacent to each other the grooves will be facing each other.

The grooves 28 are designed to accommodate a weather strip 26 and in this manner a completely closed first and second wood cladding is established. It is clear that depend- ing on the relative dimensions of the weather strip and the groove the weather strips may be held more or less firmly inside the groove. It is, however, advantageous to allow a little play between the weather strip and the groove such that the weather strip may move slightly in the groove in order to allow the wood of the boards to move slightly taking into account dimension changes due to humidity, temperature etc.

Turning to figure 3A, 3B and 3C a building module almost similar to the building mod- ule described above with reference to figure 2A-2C is illustrated. In this embodiment the second vertical cladding is assembled from boards having different thicknesses and different widths. This naturally gives rise to some variation in the impression of the building module. Furthermore, the individual boards are also displaced vertically rela- tive to each other such that some of the boards extend further upwards and some of the boards extend further downwards.

By doing this systematically as indicated in figure 3A a repetitive pattern is created.

With this pattern it becomes possible to provide a not so strict and linear impression of the wall as is depicted in figure 4.

In a further embodiment as depicted with reference to figure 3C the boards may also have a varying thickness such that for example board 34’ is very thin whereas board 34” is very thick. In this manner it is possible to play with the dimensions of the boards from which the second cladding is assembled and in this manner give varying impres- sions of the structure although using a substantially standardized building module.

In order to erect a wall as depicted in figures 1 or 4 a plurality of building modules are placed side by side forming an array. Further arrays may be arranged on top of the array

DK 181228 B38 9 below until the desired building height is achieved. Due to the modularity of the build- ing modules and also by positioning the connector columns with a fixed distance it is possible to arrange the building modules in a second array 42 displaced from building modules in a first array 40 such that the pattern is offset. This is even more outspoken where the building modules are provided with some of the features described above with reference to figures 3A, 3B and 3C and as depicted in figure 4 where the stackering of the boards of the cladding will give rise to a facade with some play.

During erection of a wall 1, for example as illustrated with reference to figures 1 or 4, the arrays of building modules may be stacked one on top of the other. As the wall is erected the connector columns 30 provided in each building module will stabilize the building module above. Once the wall has reached the desired height, a throughgoing column is inserted into the void between the first and second claddings in order to sta- bilize the entire wall.

At this time installations, electricity etc. may be arranged inside the wall. Furthermore, insulation for example in the shape of wood shavings or paper insulation may further be introduced into the void in order to provide the thermal insulation required for a particular building.

With the invention a special species of wood is preferred, namely Paulownia. Paulownia exhibits a number of vary interesting aspects both from an environmental point of view and a constructional point of view. Firstly, the Paulownia grows rapidly and during the process it will absorb enormous amounts of CO, thereby having a positive impact on the entire CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and if planted intensively enough will be able to help counter the global warming. At the same time this species of wood is extremely light, 270 kg/m”, and as such a building module as illustrated with reference to figures 2 and 3 having a width of approximately 700 mm, a height of 750 mm and a depth of approximately 250 mm will weigh approximately 11-15 kilos. This weight compared to the wall area of such a building module provides some additional ad- vantages. For a worker erecting a building it is possible for the worker without any tools or lifting aids to manually lift and manipulate the building module into position. This of course in addition to saving CO2 due to not using any machinery in the process also provides for a faster and less expensive manner of erecting buildings. The building

DK 181228 B38 10 modules may naturally be manufactured in a factory and as such may be provided at a building site as pre-manufactured building modules ready for assembly. Also due to the

Paulownia’s characteristics, particularly with its ability to resist warping and cracking, the first and second claddings will be substantially stable meaning that they will not deform due to the impact of the environment and as such will be presenting an environ- mentally closed barrier towards the ambient environment. At the same time, due to the characteristics of wood and the provision of for example weatherstrips, and natural in- sulation (paper or wood wool) the building modules will also be able to ventilate and exchange moisture with the surroundings such that an equilibrium may be reached in- side the building made from such building elements which is very comfortable without requiring artificial/mechanical ventilation. As the building modules are relatively tight the exchange of energy with the environment will not be very high and as such provid- ing natural ventilation and natural achievement of a moisture level without mechanical means provide for a lower energy consumption. At the same time Paulownia in itself has insulating properties and by using the wood nailing technique as described above thermal bridges are avoided such that the panels overall may exhibit excellent thermal characteristics.

Claims (14)

1] DK 181228 B8 PATENT CLAIM 1. Building module (10) made entirely of wood, where the building module in the module's use situation includes: d. a horizontal upper connecting beam (16); e. a horizontal lower connecting beam (18), where upper and lower connecting beams (16,18) are connected to f. at least one vertical connecting column (30), and g. a horizontally oriented first wooden covering, and h. a vertically oriented second wooden covering (12), and i. a plurality of weather lists (26); wherein the first and second wooden coverings (12) each comprise a plurality of individual boards (14,22), each board (14,22) being defined by a length, a width and a thickness, characterized in that in some boards there are provided with a groove (28) in the longitudinal direction in each side of the plate (14,22) to accommodate a weather strip (26) between two adjacent plates (14,22) and where the plates of the first cladding are attached to the at least one vertical connecting column (30) by means of wooden dowels or wooden nails (24), and where the second vertically oriented wooden cladding (12) is attached to the horizontal upper and lower connecting beams (16,18) by means of wooden dowels or wooden nails (24), thereby defining a cavity between the first wood cladding and the second wood cladding (12). 2. Building module according to claim 1, where the at least one connecting column (30) extends beyond the first and second wooden cladding (12). 3. Building module according to claim 1, where the length of all the plates (14) in the second wooden cladding (12) is the same, and where adjacent plates are offset vertically in relation to an adjacent plate. DK 181228 B38 12 4. Building module according to claim 1 or 2, where the plates (14) in the second wooden covering (12) have a varying width and a varying thickness, where the width varies between 20 mm and 150 mm, and where the thickness varies between 20 mm and 120 mm . 5. Building module according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the module (10) has a height in an x-direction, a width in a y-direction and a depth in a z-direction, where the z-direction is defined perpendicularly on the plane defined by the x and y directions, and where the upper connecting beam (16) and lower connecting beam (18) have a width in the y direction corresponding to the width of a predetermined number of plates (12,14), and where the upper connecting beam (16) has an extent in the z direction which is smaller than the extent of the lower connecting beam (18) in the z direction. 6. Building module according to any one of the preceding claims, where the plates in the second cladding (12) have been treated in a heat treatment process, and where the plates (22) in the first cladding are untreated. 7. Building module according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wood is Paulownia, including any subspecies and/or hybrids of this species/genus, and wherein the boards (14,22) and weather strips (26) are cut from wood that does not include the central part of the heartwood. 8. Building module according to claim 7, where the side of the plate (14,22) and/or weather strip (26) closest to the core wood faces the cavity of the module (10). 9. Building module according to claim 1, where: a. the width is between 600 mm and 1000 mm; b. the height is between 500 mm and 1000 mm, without the extension of the connecting column; c. the thickness is between 200 mm and 450 mm. 10. Wall assembled from a plurality of building modules (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a first plurality of modules is arranged in a first horizontal row (40) such that the upper and lower connecting beam (16,18) align horizontally with upper and lower connecting beams (16,18) in adjacent modules (10), and where one or more subsequent rows (42) of modules (10) are placed on top of the first row (40), DK 181228 B38 so that the modules (10) in subsequent rows (42) are horizontally offset in the width direction of the modules (10) in relation to the row (40) of modules (10) below. 11. Wall according to claim 10, wherein the connecting column or columns (30) extend into one or more modules (10) arranged in a row (40) of modules (10) arranged in a row (42) above. 12. Wall according to claim 10 or 11, where a vertical column is inserted in at least some of the spaces between the first cladding and the second cladding (12) and the connecting columns (30), where the vertical column has a height at least equal to the height of the row of modules. 13. A wall according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein a cellulose-based insulation material is placed between the first wooden cladding and the second wooden cladding (12). 14. A method of assembling a building module according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: a. the horizontal upper and lower connecting beams (16,18) are nailed to one or more connecting columns (30), and b. the second covering (12) is nailed to the horizontal upper and lower connecting beams (16,18), so that a section of the connecting column (30) extends over the cladding (12).