OA10653A - Prefabricated building panel - Google Patents

Abstract

An assembly of extruded thermoplastic structural components for use in the construction of a building, each structural component including an elongated rigid sheet member (40) provided with at least two integral lengthwise edgewise rails (46). The structural components include first flat wall structural components (40, 52) and second elbowed corner structural components (60, 64), wherein a few of the structural components releasably slidingly interlock with one another about their rails to form a hollow elongated panel. The inside cell of the hollow panel receives concrete to be poured. The hollow panel releasably interlocks with adjacent hollow panels successively to form a continuous wall structure. The structural components in their disassembled state released from one another are compactly stackable in the smallest volume of storage, whereby shipping costs from the home country manufacture to the local building site are very low.

Description

1 010653

TITLEï PREFABRICATED BUILDING PANEL

FIELP OF THE INVENTION 5 This invention relates to interlocking factory- made structural components, particularly extruded plasticcomponents, for assembly by unskilled labour into abuilding.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 10 Currently, there are two main methods used for the construction of concrète buildings: 1. assembling individual casings on each building site,and then pouring the liquid concrète in these casingsbefore it is allowed to set. The delays for constructions 15 in this case are quite lengthy. 2. Providing precast factory-made components, which substantially decrease the time required for in situ * assembly of the house. Unfortunately, a significantdisadvantage is that heavy machinery is required for this 20 method. Moreover, transportation costs of the factory-madecomponents, and the associated distance between thebuilding site and the extrusion manufacturing facility,become major cost éléments.

Major trends in the construction business include 25 a progressive shift from conventional structuralcomponents, namely wood, steel and aluminum, towardextruded plastic material-based panel products havingenhanced value added factory-made features, increaseddurability, decreased maintenance requirements and major 30 domestic energy consumption savings features. PolyVinylChloride (PVC) is particularly appreciated, since it iscost effective: having 56% of chloride in weight (suppliedfrom halite) and only 44% of hydrocarbons, PVC will be lesscost-sensitive than other plastic matériels to the cyclical 35 variations in the market prices of petroleum products and of ethylene in particular. 2 010653

Such plastic based wall panels are désirable,because of their résistance to weather, to impacting and toabrasive forces, because they hâve a good loadingrésistance relative to its weight, a very high résistanceto the destructive action of Chemical agents and a goodrésistance to combustion, rust, sait, insect damages, androt. These plastic panels apply not only to domesticbuildings or houses, but also to industrial, commercial andinstitutional buildings, and not excluding gazebos,partitions, sound barriers along highways, farm buildingsand barns, and sheds.

Canadien patent application No 2,070,079published 30 November 1993 in the name of Vittorio DE ZEN,discloses a building constructed of extruded,thermoplastic, structural components. The building isbased on a System of factory-raade components developed insuch a way as to include ail the components required forthe assembly on the building site of a house with unskilledlabour. The extruded modular components are edgewiselyinterlocked to one another to form continuous, fiat wallpanels for forming the upright walls and roof parts of thebuilding. More particularly, the side walls and roofpanels are said to be configured to be connected into thehousing structure by interlocking mating engagement withadjoining members so that they can be assembled without theuse of tools. Each wall panel is hollow, is made front PVCplastic material, and consists of spaced exterior andinterior walls connected by transverse webs forminginternai cells.

Such a wall panel System is lightweight and veryeasy to assemble by unskilled labour. It appears basicallyas a casing into which concrète is poured to form smooth,aesthetically appealing interior and exterior plastic wallfaces which require minimal maintenance compared to housesbuilt according to different standards.

On the building sites, after assembly of the 010653 hollow wall panels, the internai cells can then be filledwith uncured (liquid) concrète and\or a flowable thermalinsulation material. Hence, a self-supporting structurecan be erected and anchored to a base and converted into a 5 permanent and sturdy structure.

The De Zen structural components as disclosed include extruded hollow panels, extruded hollow pane boxconnectors, extruded hollow beams and adapters, andextruded panel connectors. Ail these structural components 10 are factory made, so that they can be assembled on thebuilding sites by unskilled workers in a short period oftime. Interior and exterior doors, Windows, electrical andplumbing lines, cupboards, and other building éléments canbe accommodated by this System. 15 An important disadvantage of such hollow extruded panels pertains to their transportation to the buildingsite: since they are hollow, they take a relativelyimportant volume' in the truck van storage area, i.e. a lotof empty space trapped by the hollow panels is wasted 20 during shipping thereof.

In particular, within the new commercial environment created by the North American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA), trade barrière such as tariffs betweenCanada, the United States and Mexico hâve disappeared or 25 are in the process of disappearing. Accordingly, theimportance of transportation costs of building componentshâve increased as a percentage of the total costs ofbuilding constructions.

United States patent No 3,992,839 issued 23 30 November 1976 to the Ethyl Corporation, also discloseshollow extruded wall members, which are interconnected bytransversely extending intégral male and female Connectors.More particularly, each wall member includes two mainparallel wall panels spaced from one another by the 35 transverse connectors. The male connector forms an arrow shape stud, while the female connector forms a 01Q653 complementary socket. The male and female connector éléments interlock horizontally with one another in snap-on or clipping, generally unadiustable fashion, along interconnecting axes being orthogonal to that of the 5 parallel (interior and exterior) side wall panels.Additional open tubular corner connector beams areprovided, to interlock two adjacent wall members at a 90°degree relative to one another.

One disadvantage of such an extruded wall System 10 as in the Ethyl patent, is that sub&tantial volume is onceagain wasted during shipping of the corner connector beams,since again, these corner connectors circumscribe a hollow.Moreover, because the axes of interconnection of the wallpanels are orthogonal to the planes of the wall panels, a 15 separate corner connector element is required to interlockthe two adjacent corner wall panels, thus increasing thetotal number of wall components required for assembling thebuilding. Thirdly, such transverse connector studs aremore likely to be accidentally damaged during handling 20 thereof in the shipping process, because they protrude fromthe main panel walls, and because they are of the snap-ontype. Also, relative adjustment of the panels isdifficult, because once the male and female connectors areclipped together, they are not designed to be thereafter 25 relatively movable.

.QBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The gist of the invention is to provide a systemof lightweight plastic building wall and roof modularcomponents for building construction, which may be stacked 30 in a very efficient fashion in their disassembled state soas to take the smallest loading volume during shipping.

An important object of the invention is that said modular components be of easy assembly by unskilled labour. A general object of the invention is to provide 35 a building system combining home country state of the art technology with local labour and locally available building 010653 5 materials (usually concrète), wherein the total projectcost for a building unit be very low.

Another object of the invention is that thebuilding System consist of several plastic components which 5 will be used as casings for receiving and supportingtherein the concrète.

An object of the invention is to improve uponpublished Canadian patent application No 2,070,079, supra.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 10 Accordingly with the objects of the invention, there is disclosed an assembly of extruded thermoplasticstructural components for use in the construction of abuilding, each structural component including an elongatedrigid sheet member provided with at least two intégral 15 lengthwise edgewise rail members, said structuralcomponents including first fiat wall structural componentsand second elbowed corner structural components, wherein afew of said structural components releasably slidinglyinterlock with one another about their said rail members to 20 form a hollow elongated panel; wherein each said hollowpanel defines a body, including a fiat exterior face and afiat interior face, and circumscribing a generally closedinner enclosure cell, said inner cell for receivingconcrète to be poured and said hollow panel body adapted to 25 withstand the load of a column of concrète poured therein;said sliding interlock engagement between said fewstructural components forming said hollow panel definingcontinuous lengthwise adjustment means for one saidstructural component relative to the other of said few 30 structural components, said hollow panel releasablyinterlocking with adjacent hollow panels successively toform a continuous wall structure; and wherein saidstructural components in their disassembled State releasedfrom one another are compactlÿ stackable in the smallest 35 volume of storage whereby shipping costs from the home country manufacture to the local building,site are very 6 010653 low.

Preferably, the thermoplastic material used insaid structural components is polyvinyl chloride, admixedwith at least one of the following reinforcing and 5 stabilizing material: minerai fibres and filling materials.

Each said first structural component couldfurther include additional lengthwise rail members, locatedintermediately of the first mentioned rail members; andfurther including at least one third structural component, 10 being of cross-sectionally U-shape and having a pair oflengthwise edgewise flanges, said flange slidinglyadjustably releasably engaging said additional intermediaterail members of a given said first structural componentwherein said first and third structural components become 15 interlocked; and wherein a generally closed channel isdefined by said third structural component within saidinner cell of a said hollow panel member, for freelengthwise passage of electrical lines.

Such a prefabricated building construction System 20 uses thermo-setting plastic extrusions. This System hasbeen conceived for the construction of low-cost buildingsand enable production of ail the structural components ona large scale.

These plastic based extrusions will be factory- 25 made, being precut and prelabelled to be assembled on thebuilding sites by unskilled labour in countries wheredemand for this type of building is high. The wallextrusions are thereafter filled with concrète, while theextrusions forming the roof may be filled by regular 30 concrète or by concrète mixed with polystyrène pelletswhich will permit the increase of the thermal ratio of theroof while decreasing also the roofing weight. Theextrusions can be stacked in a compact fashion, so as toreduce the shipping costs. These buildings will therefore 35 be quite economical and may be sold in ail developing countries. This building System will use State of the art 010653 7 techniques for the structural plastic components in thehome country factory, while an unskilled labour force andlocal concrète will be used on the building sites.

This building system is in fact a System of5 wasted casing, which may also be used for manufacture of awide variety of structures such as fences, docks orprivadas. The buildings manufactured with this system arefor ail practical purposes built from monolithic ferro-concrete. They will therefore be résistant to earthquakes, 10 termites, corrosion, rot, hurricanes, and generallyspeaking to damaging weathering action.

The wall and roofing extrusions hâve beendeveloped so as to resist to concrète expansion duringsetting thereof. The extrusions are assembled together so 15 as to constitute a hollow wall by sliding same verticallyfrom the top down, adiustably one into the other. Boresare made in the extrusions forming the web of the wall, soas to allow concrète to seep from one cell to another so asto make a monolithic wall. Moreover, reinforcing steel 20 rods may be mounted to the base and to the top of the wall,to improve résistance of the concrète.

Several auxiliary extrusions are envisioned, soas to constitute the outer corners of the L-walls, the Tintersections of the walls, the top and bottom sills, the 25 roof soffits, and the extrusions which are used as adaptorsfor the doors and Windows.

The system is a complété system including falseframes to receive Windows and doors, a roof frame systemmoulded in place thanks to a fibreglass casing (or with 30 wooden beams), together with ail the adaptors required forconstituting the complété envelope of a building.

The extrusions hâve been developed so as to support therein the load of concrète. The main extrusions may be made from recycled PVC. A thin layer of co- 35 extrusion will then be made in coextrusion over the exposed surface of these extrusions. The extrusions may be deep- 010653 dyed or may be painted thereafter.

The whole System is conceived and controlled by computer. This enables to make the components on a large scale, but also to personalize each of the buildings 5 according to the particular needs of the clients. CAO-FAOcomputer conception and manufacture enables excellentinventory management and follow-up of working and shippingschedules.

The building components are characterized in that 10 they are made from a plastic material, preferably extrudedPVC; that they are finished on both sides, so that no outeror inner coating is to be installed thereafter; that thePVC extrusions interlock into one another so as to make ahollow wall ready to receive concrète; that some of these 15 components carry therein channels to receive electricallines which will be concealed in the walls and roofs; thata low number of different components will be required tomake a building; that these building components may hâvevarying textures and colours; and that the components are 20 of modular dimensions, the dimensions of the doors andWindows having therefore to conform to these componentdimensions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFigure 1 is a perspective view of a house 25 constructed with the modular plastic components of theprésent invention, into which concrète has been poured;figure 2 is a view similar to figure 1, but with a fractionof the roof panels being removed to show the roof framerafters, and suggesting that the roofing is made from a 30 precast fibreglass casing into which is poured reinforcedconcrète;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the house of figure 1, showing in cross-section the wall panels and roof panels according to the invention, together with 35 top and bottom sills;

Figure 4 is a view at an enlarged scale of the 010653 $ ' area at the upperleft side of figure 3;

Figure 5 is an isométrie view of the building éléments of figure 4, showing the connection between thevarious wall and roof components; 5 Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the interlocked wall panels from a corner and T-intersection ofthe building of figures 1-2;

Figure 7 is an isométrie view of the élémentsfrom figure 6; 10 - Figure 8 is a top plan view of a plurality of the modular panel components in disassembled state, suggestinghow they can be stored for shipping on a fiat surfacewithin minimal storage area;

Figures 9 to 13 are isométrie views of five 15 different modular panel components according to theinvention, with the V-shape component shown in figure 9forming most of the éléments of the System; and

Figures 14 and 15 are vertical sectional views ofan intermediate section of upright wall panel from the 20 building of figures 1-2, suggesting how a door and a windowcan respectively be mounted into corresponding door andwindow frames mounted into wall apertures therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THÉ EMBQQIMENTS_QF THE INVENTION

House 20 illustrated in figures 1-3 is 25 constructed according to the teachings of the invention,and includes upright side walls 22, a sloping roof 24, anda ground basement concrète flooring 26 cast on the buildingsite. To the peripheral edge of the concrète flooring 26,there is mounted a lower sill, which can receive the wall 30 extrusions (as detailed later). To accommodate Windows 74in the side wall 22, window apertures 28 should be made inthe side wall 22, into each of which is mounted a windowframe assembly 30. The window apertures 28 may be made byselectively sectioning at the home base factory the 35 extrusion panels at different lengths. A large door opening 32 should also be made through side wall 22, for 010653 10 hingedly mounting therein an access door 84 (fig 14).Elongated rafters 34 support the two diverging roofsections 24a, 24b, over the top ends of the house sidewalls 22, while the concrète ground basement flooring 26 5 supports the bottom ends of the upright side walls 22.

Figures 4-5 suggest how the roof 24 is supported by the side walls 22 of the house 20. On ail side walls22, there is a top sill 38. However, the front walls arecovered by a top sill 38 in which is mounted a shim 36, to 10 accomodate the fact that the roof does not make a rightangle with the building Side wall. The roofing éléments 52and 64 are laid over the shim. The beams from fig 9 can beseen, as well as the filling components (fig 11). Theconventional flashing 33 is located at the bottom edge of 15 the roof slope.

In figure 4, to the top of ail side walls 22 is: mounted a top sill 37, which interlocks to the top end ofthe side walls 22 and may be secured thereto by screws intothe screw groove made on the extrusion 64 of figure 9. 20 This sill 37 discloses on each side a ridge enabling thesetting of electrical lines which may be connected to thehollow channels 70 (fig 6, detailed below), and installedhorizontally. Moreover, this sill 37 is used as an anchorfor a stay 29, shown in figure 3, during concrète pouring 25 to reinforce the upright side wall 22. This stay consistsof an upright Steel extrusion, abutting against theinterior side of the building upright wall 22 and anchoredat its top end to the wall 22 in the upper sill 37.

An inclined adjustment stem 29 (fig 3) is 30 anchored to the flooring at a distance of approximately 1to 2 meters from the base of the wall 22, and a square isprovided to support the wooden beams (and thus make ascaffolding so that the workers may pour the concrète intothe walls). These stays must be installed at approximately 35 two meters intervals, and are recovered after completion of the building construction for other projects. 010653 ' 13-

The roofing 24 is inclined, with the latéralwalls 22 having different lengths so as to support thissloped roof. Considering that the System does not providefor any sectioning of pre-cut extrusions on the building 5 sites and that it is almost impossible to manufacture pre-cut extrusions having different lengths relative to oneanother with respect to the roof slope, the latéral walls22 of the building are therefore made as a ladder, i.e. insteps. In other words, taking into account that the beams 10 are mounted at one meter intervals, the top of the wallsupporting these beams will be straight and will increasein height by 20 centimètres incréments at each meter. Nosectioning will therefore be required on the building site/and the extrusions of the latéral walls 22 will be of a 15 different length but these types of lengths will belimited. The top of these latéral walls 22 being made insteps, they will receive the upper sill 37 onto which atriangular panel 38 will be mounted to fill the gap betweenthe building side wall 22 and the sloped roof 24. This 20 triangular panel 38 may be made from full or empty wood, ofa frame with an intégral mosquito net to afford good aircirculation, of a frame with permanent glass, or withventilation louvres, according to the tastes of thecustomer. 25 In figure 5, we can see the concrète beams or rafters, 34, supporting the roof 24, which are made intégral to the PVC casing 64 (fig 9) as well as the filling components 44 (fig 11) between the rafters. The rafters or beams 34 will be made from concrète cast on the building sites into fibreglass casings, which will be mounted beneath the latéral walls 22 and which will bear under the interiorwalls. As already explained, during the concrète pouring,temporary stays will be added at about two meters 35 intervals, to support the concrète during pouring.Reinforcing Steel rods will be mounted interiorly of this 010653 12 casing, so as to make reinforced concrète béants.

Although this System Works very well, it is possible to replace these ferro-concrete beams, dependingon the tastes of thé customers, by wooden beams of the 5 painted or varnished type. The ferro-concrete beams willbe connected to the wall by reinforced Steel rods includedinto the ferro-concrete of the walls and of the rafters 34.In the same fashion, the roof 24 will be connected to therafters 34 by reinforcing steel rods cast into the rafter 10 34 and filled at the same time in the concrète cells 42 of the roof 24. If wooden beams are alternately used insteadof the concrète beams, the latter are bolted with threadedstems cast on the concrète walls and extending through thebeams. The PVC extrusion constituting the roof will be 15 anchored to the wooden beams by screws or by galvanized nails.

Figures 6 and 7 show in horizontal cross-sectionand in isométrie view some of the side walls 22 of thehouse 20. As shown in these figures, the side wall 22 is 20 hollow, consisting of a plurality of hollow panelassemblies 40, 40, ... being interlocked to one another insuccessive pairs in a fashion detailed below. Each panelassembly 40 is rectangular, and preferably square, incross-section, defining four side walls circumscribing a 25 closed inner cell 42. The top end of the panel assemblies40 forms an open mouth, adapted to receive flow-throughconcrète to be poured inside the panel assembly inner cell 42. The side walls of the panel assemblies 40 should bemade from a waterproof, rigid material, being relatively 30 thin while being capable of withstanding the loading ofconcrète inside the inner cell 42. This panel assemblyside wall is made of an extruded thermoplastic sheetmaterial.

Figures 8-13 show the various extruded 35 thermoplastic sheet components making the various panel members forming the cross-sectionally quadrangular panel 010653 13 assemblies 40 of the house. Figure 8 is particularsuggests how the extrusion in their disassembled conditioncan be stacked to take the minimum volume, so as to reduceshipping costs. Ail the components hâve been thought off 5 to enable the most efficient stacking features. Theextrusions will be shipped in boxes into which may beloaded the various required structural components to makea given wall or roof area.

In the présent invention, there are basically 10 four main types of panel members, which are used for boththe upright side walls 22 of the building as well as forthe roof paneling 24: 1. a first panel member 44, figure 11, having a main fiatface 44a and an opposite face 44b carrying six transverse 15 fingers 46a, 46b, 46c, 46d, 46e, and 46f. Opposite endsfingers 46a, 46f, are each L-shape and inturned. Straightfingers 46b, 46e, project spacedly proximate the respectiveL-fingers 46a and 46f, to form a pair of opposite open endpockets 48, 50, respectively. Intermediate fingers 46c, 20 46d, are L-shape and outturned, i.e. with their outer legs directed away from one another. 2. A second panel member 52, figure 10, defining a mainbody being fiat on both faces thereof 52a and 52b, andcarrying a triplet of fingers 54a, 54b, 54c, and 54d, 54e, 25 and 54f, at each of the two opposite edges thereof. J-shape fingers 54a, 54f, project from face 52a and are outturned. L-shape fingers 54b, 54e, project from face 52band are inturned. Straight fingers 54c, 54d, project fromface 52b spacedly proximate L-fingers 54b, 54e, to form a 30 pair of opposite open end pockets 56, 58, respectively.This extruded component of figure 10 is also perforated, toallow therethrough uncured concrète flow as well as freepassage of the reinforcing Steel rods. 3. A third, cross-sectionally L-shape panel member 60, 35 figure 13, defining a main body having a pair of opposite fiat surfaces 60a, 60b, and carrying two ears 62a, 62b, at 010653 14 the opposite edges thereof. Ear 62a projects from face60a, is L-shape and inturned; while ear 62b is J-shape, isoutturned and also projects from face 60a. 4. A fourth, cross-sectionally L-shape panel member 64,figure 9, is provided, defining a main body having a pairof opposite, generally fiat surfaces 64a, 64b, and carryingfour ears 66a, 66b, 66c, and 66d. J-shape ear 66a projectsoutwardly from face 64a at the elbowed portion thereof. J-shape ear 66b projects transversely from face 64b at an endedge thereof; while J-shape ears 66c and 66d face oneanother and project transversely from faces 64a and 64brespectively at the end edge opposite J-shape ear 66b, soas to define a large open end pocket 68 therebetween. Thiscomponent 64 is cross-sectionally V-shape, and has twos ides of similar length. One of the s ides may be made froma layer of recycled plastic material together with acoextruded finishing layer, forming the exposed part of thewall, while the opposite side is in fact the wall centralcore. The central core is perforated so as to allow freepassage of uncured concrète from one cell to another, andalso to enable free passage of reinforcing steel rods (notshown) to reinforce the wall. This extrusion consists ofsliding anchors which permit to interconnect several of thecomponents 64, with one another or with the extrusion offigure 11. Moreover, at the slider joint 68, the centralsheet body core has been thickened, so as to enable themounting of frame anchoring screws for cupboards 65 (fig3) , or other components requiring to be attached to thewall. The gap between the various extrusions enable toscrew through this central core thickening 68 withoutcompromising the finishing of the exposed surface.

The extrusion components 64 shown in figure 9 will be applied flatly against the rafters forming the roof frame 24. Once these extrusions 64 are anchored to the roof frame, additional extrusions will be mounted by sliding same from the top down of the building. The 010653 15 periphery of the roof will be closed by the flashing strips33. These extrusions will keep the concrète in placeduring pouring thereof, and will ensure the presence of aperipheral flashing 33, around the roofing 24, and of awater outlet. Once ail the roofing extrusions hâve beenmounted and anchored, they are filled, one side at a time,at the front or at the rear, with regular concrète or withconcrète containing polystyrène pellets. These polystyrènepellets will decrease the overall weight of the concrète,and thus the load supported by the extrusions, and willincrease the thermal insulation ratio of the roof 24. Oncethe front part is filled with concrète, and after settingthereof, the rear part may be filled with concrète to thuscomplété the building.

Once the concrète has been completely poured, thebuilding 20 will then become completely monolithic, and ailthe components will become anchored to one another as ifthey would hâve been cast ail at the same time. Thereinforcing steel anchoring will also be provided betweenthe concrète flooring 26 and the walls 22.

Preferably, a cross-sectionally C-shape panelmember 70, figure 12, may also be provided, having a pairof inturned flanges 72a, 72b, at opposite end edgesthereof, for through passage by electrical lines (notshown). For accessing the electrical lines inside channel70, there is only required to bore a hollow channel in thewall 44, to allow the electrical lines to extend to the topof the wall 22, and to jump from one room to anotherthrough the gap provided in the upper sill 37.

The V-shape component 64 in figure 9 constitutesthe main portion of the présent construction System. Thecomponent 52 in figure 10 is a connector element whichenables to obtain the T intersections with the walls 22.In figure 11, the component 44 is used with component 64 offigure 9 to constitute one of the exterior faces of thewalls 22. In figure 12, the component 70 is an extrusion 010653 16 with interlocks with the ears 46c, 46d, of component 44 offig 10 inside the wall 22, so as to provide verticalchannels for the eventual passage of electrical conduits.In figure 13, the component 60 is an extrusion which isused to make the corners of the building 20.

From figure 6, it will now be understood how thefour main components of the invention can be interlocked toone another to form a building structure. Along a straightwall, each cross-sectionally quadrangular panel assembly 40includes two L-shape panel components 64, 64’, which makethree of the four walls of the panel assembly 40 (one ofthe four legs thereof extending to a second adjacent panelassembly), and a fiat panel component 44 interconnectingthe two L-panel components 64, 64'. More particularly, theend ears 46a, 46f, of fiat panel component 44 hookinglyengage transversely into the free end channel pockets 68,68, of the two L-panel components 64, 64', thus spacedlyinterlocking in parallel relationship the two correspondinglegs of these panel components 64, 64'; while the ear 66aof one L-panel component 64 hookingly engages with the ear66b of the adjacent L-panel component 64'; hence forming astable cross-sectionally quadrangular hollow panel assembly40.

An important advantage of such interconnectionSystem for the panel components of a given pair of panelassemblies 40, 40, is the sliding adjustability of the ears46a, 46f, lengthwisely of the channels formed by the L-panel pockets 68, 68. This relative sliding ability of thetwo L-panels 64, 64, enable unskilled workers tosuccessively install these L-panels side by side,progressively, with minimal danger of accidentai structuraldamage while providing continuous axial sliding adjustmentcapability therebetween. Such a construction System willtherefore provide real cost savings with respect to the insitu labour force, thanks to foolproof panel assemblydesign. In fact, it is this foolproof assembly design, 010653 17 together with the compactness when disassembled forshipping purposes, that afford the unexpectedly highperformance achieved with this panel assembly, comparedwith prior art Systems, such as with the snap-on techniquedisclosed in U. S. patent No 3,992,839, supra.

At corner portions of the side wall 22, the L-shape corner panel component 60 is used, for two of thefour sides of the panel assembly 40. A fiat panelcomponent 52 is attached by its axial ear 54b to the ear62b of L-panel 60. The last side of the quadrangular panelassembly 40 is formed by one leg of the L-shape component64' ', with ear 66c thereof hooking with axial ear 54e offiat panel 52, and with ear 62a of L-panel 60 hooking withelbowed part ear 66a of L-panel component 64''.

Whenever wiring or plumbing Unes need to becarried by the wall panel 22 of the building 20, it ispréférable that they be made to extend through the hollow42 of the panel assemblies 40. To prevent the concrète tobe poured into the hollow 42 of panel assemblies 40 fromengaging these electrical Unes, there is slidingly mountedto the flanges 46c, 46d, of fiat structural panel 44, thecross-sectionally C-shape thermoplastic structuralcomponent 70. Hence, an inner chamber of channel is formedinside C-component 70, being separated in fluid-tightfashion relative to the main inner cell 42 of a hollow wallpanel 40, for free passage of the electrical lines safefrom the concrète inside cell 42.

Figures 14 and 15 show door and window assembliesmade with plastic extrusions. The Windows 74 are mountedinto the side wall 22 about a false frame 76 consisting ofan extrusion. This extrusion 76 is used to support theWindows 74 but also discloses a peripheral groove which maybe used to hook shielding weather-boards to the false frame76. The window frame 76 is installed at the same time asthe wall extrusions 22. However, the window sill isinstalled only after concrète has set. The door 84 is 18 010653 hïngedly mounted to a door frame 80, which is made from PVCand is connected to the wall extrusions 22 by a spécifieconnector component 82 made also from plastic. The doorframe installation is done in a similar fashion as that ofthe window frame installation, except that in figure 14,the connector extrusion 82 is used for anchoring the doorframe 80 to the PVC frame.

Once the concrète has set, the window sill mustbe installed, and the window 74 itself must thereafter bemounted into the false frame 76. The door frame 80 may bemounted at the same time as the extrusions and be inposition during concrète pouring.

The completed building thus consists of concrètewalls covered with plastic, which may be left white or dyed(either deep~dyed or painted with a spécial paint). Theedges of the Windows and the soffits can however be of adifferent colour. The inside of the building thus consistsof a white plastic surface for the walls and for the roofs,with the exposed rafters of varnished wood or cast concrèterafters in position inside a coloured fibreglass casing.

The plastic used can be from PVC or otherthermosetting plastic material. The plastics used arefreely available on the market and are currentlymanufactured by known corporations. The coextrusion Systemwhich will be used is a well known System in the industry,and by adding minerai fibres or filling materials thereto,résistance of plastic should be improved.

Ail the building System has been developed sothat, during the préparation of the plans of the building,ail the components forming the building be defined bycomputed-assisted design, to be thereafter manufactured andprecut in the home factory. No component sectioning isrequired on .the building site, and the System assembly isperformed by unskilled labour. This System thus enablesthe conception and production at a large scale of thebuilding, while considerably decreasing the timeframe for 010653 19 manufacture and execution thereof.

Claims (5)

1. 010653 20 THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVEPROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED, ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
2. 2. An assembly of extruded thermoplasticstructural components (44, 52, 60, 64) as defined in claim1, wherein the thermoplastic material used in saidstructural components is polyvinyl chloride, admixed withat least one of the following reinforcing and stabilizingmaterial: minerai fibres and filling materials.
3. 3. An assembly of extruded thermoplasticstructural components (44, 52, 60, 64) as defined in claim1, wherein each said first fiat structural component (44)further includes additional lengthwise rail members (46c,46d), located intermediately of the first mentioned railmembers (46a, 46b, 46e, 46f); said assembly furtherincluding at least one additional structural component(70), being of cross-sectionally U-shaped and having a pairof lengthwise edgewise flanges (72a, 72b), said flangesslidingly adjustably releasably engaging said additionalintermediate rail members (46c, 46d) of a given said firstfiat structural component (44) wherein said first andadditional structural components (44, 70) becomeinterlocked; and wherein a generally closed channel isdefined by said first and additional structural components(44, 70) within said inner cell (42) of a said hollow panelmember (40), for free lengthwise passage of electricalUnes.
4. 4. An assembly of extruded thermoplasticstructural components (44, 52, 60, 64) as defined in claim1, wherein said first elbowed corner structural component(64) defines a central body core, proximate a correspondingsaid rail member (66a), said central body core beingthickened so as to enable the mounting of frame anchoring 010653 22 screws for cupboards and the like articles requiring to besuspended over ground and to be attached to the inside faceof said upright side walls of the building.
5. 5. An assembly of extruded thermoplasticstructural components as defined in claim 1, wherein saidfirst fiat structural component (44) forms a first panelmember having an interior face carrying six transversefingers (46a, 46b, 46c, 46d, 46e, 46f) , with two of saidfingers (46a, 46f) being L-shape and inturned, two othersof said fingers (46b, 46e) being straight and projectingspacedly proximate the respective first-mentioned L-shapefingers (46a, 46f) to form a pair of opposite open endpockets (48, 50); and the last two of said six fingers(46c, 46d) being L-shape and outturned, i.e. with theirouter legs directed away from one another; wherein said second fiat structural component (52) forms asecond panel member carrying a pair of triplets of fingers(54a, 54b, 54c, 54d, 54e, 54f) at each of the two oppositeedges thereof, for a total of six fingers; said fingers ofsaid second panel member including two J-shape fingers(54a, 54f) projecting from one face (52a) thereof and beingoutturned; two L-shape fingers (54b, 54e) projecting fromthe other face (52b) thereof and being inturned; and twostraight fingers (54c, 54d) projecting from said other face(52b) thereof spacedly proximate the last-mentioned L-shapefingers (54b, 54e) , to form a pair of opposite open endpockets (56, 58); wherein said first elbowed corner component (64) forms across-sectionally L-shape panel member and carries fourears (66a, 66b, 66c, 66d), including a first J-shape ear(66a) projecting outwardly from one face (64a) thereof atthe elbowed portion thereof, a second J-shape ear (66b)projecting transversely from the other face (64b) thereofat an end edge thereof; and third and fourth J-shape ears(66c, 66d) facing one another and projecting transversely 010653 23 front the two faces (64a, 64b) thereof respectively at theend edge opposite said second J-shape ear (66b) thereof, soas to define a large open end pocket 68 therebetween; andwherein said second elbowed corner component forms a cross-sectionally L-shape panel member and carries two ears (62a,62b) at the opposite edges thereof; one of said ears (62a)projecting front one face (60a) thereof, and being L-shapeand inturned; the other of said ears (62b) being J-shape,and being outturned and also projecting from the same saidone face (60a).