US2473017A - Building structure - Google Patents

Description

June 14, 1949. v EDWARDS 2,473,017

BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 1, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l He. 8 i

INVENTOR.

THOMAS J EDWARDS ATTORNEY;

June 14, 1949 Filed Nov. 1, 1943 T. J. EDWARDS BUILDING STRUCTURE 2 Shets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

THOMAS J EDWA ROS ATTORNEYS Patented June 14, 1949 BUILDING STRUCTURE Thomas J. Edwards, Klamath Falls, Oreg., as-

signor, by mesne assignments, to Burke H. Critchfield, Berkeley, Calif.

Application November 1, 1943, Serial No. 508,529

1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in building structures and more particularly to such structures wherein the walls are composed of a plurality of fabricated boards or panels having means whereby they may be assembled in the erection of the walls without the use of nails, screws or other separable securing elements.

An object of the invention is to provide a building structure in which all of the parts may be prefabricated, the wall boards or panels having their ends so constructed that the boards of one wall may have their ends interlocked with the boards of adjacent walls in such a manner that the wall boards cannot become disengaged from right walls, rafters and roof boards may be prefabricated, and the boards or panels constitutin the upright walls of the building having their ends suitably notched at their ends to provide interlocking elements whereby the ends of the boards of adjacent walls may be secured together without the use of metal or other connectors, and whereby the building may be quickly erected without the use of skilled labor.

A further object is to provide a plurality of wall boards or panels having their ends so notched as to provide interlocking joints at the corners of the building which are substantially weatherproof, and also whereby cross walls or partitions may be provided in the building to divide it into two or more rooms or compartments, the boards or panels forming the cross walls or partitions being secured to the outside walls by interlocking engagement with the wall boards thereof and without the use of nails, screws or other separable connectors.

A further object is to provide a building board or panel having its opposed edges at each end transveresly notched to provide a tenon or tongue, and a transverse groove being provided in one face of the board at each end thereof, which grooves are adapted to receive end portions of adjacent boards, whereby the boards of adjacent walls may be secured together at the corners of the building by interlocking engagement, and without the use of-nails, bolts or otherseparable connectors, in sucha manner that a very rugged and substantial structure is provided whose walls are capable of withstanding considerable outward pressure, as may result when the building is utilized for storing bulk grain or other bulk materials.

A further and more specific object is to provide an elongated building board or timber having a tongue on one edge and a groove in its opposite edge adapted to interfit with similar tongues and grooves in adjacent boards, and each board being formed at each end with opposed shoulders and a longitudinally extending tenon disposed centrally of the board, one of said tenons having a transverse groove in one side face thereof having a side wall located in the plane of the shoulders at that end of the board, and the tenon at th opposite end of the board having a relatively wider groove therein extending inwardly beyond the shoulders at that end of the board whereby a portion of said last mentioned groove extends the full width of the board.

A still more specific object of the invention is to provide a plurality of building timbers or panels each provided at each end with a longitudinally extending terminal tenon and a pair of opposed shoulders, and one face of each timber having spaced transverse grooves therein, one located adjacent to each tenon of each timber, and the grooves in certain of said timbers being of less width than others and adapted to receive correspondingly sized shoulders provided on others of said timbers, whereby when a series of said timbers are assembled in the erection of adjacent walls, the timbers are securely interlocked in fixed position at the corners of the building and labyrinth seals are provided in the joints between adjacent walls whereby said joints are rendered substantially weather-proof.

Other objects of the invention reside in the unique manner of notching and grooving the ends of each board to provide interlocking tenons and grooves, and whereby such notching and grooving may readily be performed on standard automatic machinery; in the provision of a plurality of prefabricated building boards or timbers having their ends so notched and grooved that they may readily and quickly be assembled in the construction of a building by unskilled labor, and without the use of nails, bolts, or other separable fastening elements, and also whereby multiple room buildings of various types and shapes may be quickly erected substantially without the use of a hammer and saw, and whereby such buildings may be erected in a comparatively short time; and in the unique shape and design'of the tenons, grooves and shoulders prothe following description and the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the annexed claim.

In the accompanyin drawings. there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry outthevarious objects of the invention, but it is to beunderstood that the invention is. notconfined to the exact features shown, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claimwhich follows:

. In the drawings:

.Figure 1 is a face view showing one of-mynovel building timbers;

Figure 2 is a top View of Figure 1;

. Figure 3 is a face-viewof a timber showing portions of the transverse grooves at the ends thereofextending the full width of the timber;

Figure 4 is atop view of Figure 3-;

a Figure 5 is a face viewof a timber in which the transverse grooves areentirely within the body of the timber and extend the full width thereof;

Figure 6. is. a top view of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is. a View showing a timber havin relatively longer .tenons at their ends and in which the transverse grooves are formed in the tenons andare relatively smaller in width than those shown in Figures fiand 5-;

Figure 8 is atop view of Figure 'l';

Figure 9is-a plan view of: abuilding showinga construction comprising aplurality of rooms; Figure 10:15 a fragmentaryzplan View showing the same. timbers. as Figure 11,. but inseparated relation;

Y Figure-11 is. a view similar tdFigurell), but showing the. parts in assembled: relation;

Figure i2. is anenlarged: detail sectional view in. perspective showing the construction ofthe wall structure illustrated in- Figure 1 i.

To facilitatethe erection of buildings ofsvar ious sizes. and shapes-in accordance-with thepres entinvention, aplurality fi slightly variantly shaped timbers. or panelssareiutilized, all ot'which embody the same general characteristics or features. .InFigures l and 2.1- have shown a timberor panel. which will hereinafter be referred to by the reference character A. .This timber com- I prises a body z which istransverselynotchedat, each end. as. indicated at 3,. to, provide a pair'of shoulders 4 at oneendanda pair of shouldersrlil atthe opposite end. The shoulders of each pair are disposed in acommonplane, or in other words; are vertically aligned with one another and aredisposed at right angles to the. axis a -a.- of the. timber, as clearly illustrated inF-igure 1. Tenons. 6, and .1 are provided atthe ends of thetimbei" and arepreferably symmetrically disposediabout aligned with the shoulders 5. The width of the groove 9 is substantially equal to the width or thickness of the shoulders 4 provided at the opposite end of the timber. To provide leakproof joints between adjacent timbers the upper edge of each timber is preferably provided at its upper edge with atongue Ill, and its lower edge preferably has a groove H of conventional design adapted to receive the tongue ll) of a contiguous timber.

In Figure 9 there is shown a multiple room structure'to which the invention is particularly applicable; The fouri'corners located intermediately-of the ends: ofthe building are each formed .by joining together the ends of three walls.

When three walls are thus jointed together the recessin at the ends of the timbers must be so designed and constructed that when the timbers are interlocked with one another, the joints therebetween :will .beleakproof and weatherproof.

Figures .1 to 8, inclusive, illustrate the various timbers utilized.- in the construction of a: building suchas illustrated in Figure 9. Ashere-shown-the diagonally opposedco rners l5 of the'building are constructed by joining togethervthe ends of timbers A. Timbers B, C, and D, shown in Figures 3, 5, and 7,.are used int-he construction: of other walls of the buildingdncluding the cross walls or partitions 20- which divide the building into a plurality of rooms.

Each timber-B comprises abody-Z whieh'is transversely notched at its ends to provide at eachend a pair ofshoulders'tseparated by terminaltenons 6 correspondin to the tenons'li shownin Figures 1 and.2. Vertically disposedgrooves 8 araprovidedlneach tenonl3 and-extend partially into the body of the timber in a manner similar to that shownatthe le-ft hand end of Figure i. In other words, both endsofthe timberB are identical in. construction, and are. identicalto the lett handendof timber A; v

Timber Cdifiersfrom timbersa and B in thatrelatively-shorter tenonst5 areprovided at-theends-thereof. Aligned-shoulders H are also pro-- vided at. each end of the: timber C and a vertical; groove [-8 is-cut in the. face-0t theboardat-each: end thereof. One. sidewallofeach. groove l'aeis coincident with. its. respective shoulders I] and the width of each ofasaid grooves is substantially equal to the; thickness of the timber, whereby each groove w may 4 receive the face of one o? the tenons. 6,.as clearly .illustratedin Figurelir Figure ll illustratesone oiithe-corners lltof the building,- and Figure, 12. illustrates.- the relation; ship betweemthe adjacentsends efI timbers A,-.D- and .C before beinginterlocked togetheras shown in Figure 11 Gornersi Ha are-in opposed relationtocorners [9,, but araidentical inconstruction except. that timbersB are utilized inlieuoftimbers A. I

As shown in Figure '7; the timbers D whichconstitute the cross-walls .or. partitions-citric building shown i-n'Figure 9, aresnotchediat. their ends. to. provide a. pair .Oiverticlilly. aligned shoulders 2] at. eachendlot' theitiinber. iIn..the' timbers"1D relativelyi longer tenonsfil are. provided, eachlofl which. isprovidd with .a vertically dispos'e'di groove '23'. "The widthsioi the. grooves .23 are sub.- stanti'ally. equal to tliethickness oflthe shoulders l provided on. tin-ibers- A-and .In each. ofT-timbers-B,;. C andD; the tenonsat the ends ot saidztimbers aredisposedrin thealongitudinal axes aP-a; ofatheir-respective timbers-as illustrated in the drawings.

Figures 1 to 8, inclusive, illustrate the form of timbers required to construct the corners shown at 19 and l9a in Figure 9. It will be noted that the general characteristics and constructional features of the ends of all of the timbers are similar in that each end of each timber is formed with a symmetrically disposed longitudinally extending tenon, a pair of vertically disposed shoulders, and a transverse or vertically disposed groove. The sizes and shapes of the tenons, shoulders, and grooves may vary somewhat from one another, but the same general constructional features are carried through in the fabrication of all of the timbers.

The notching and grooving of the ends of the timbers is such that the timbers may be fabricated in quantity production on conventional automatic machinery, whereby all of the timbers to be utilized in a given building may be prefabricated and tied into small bundles for convenient handling in transit. To facilitate erection of the building, various timbers may be clearly marked in the construction or building thereof to indicate their relationship to one another in the building walls.

The particular manner of recessing one side face of each timber is of utmost importance in that it results in the provision of a labyrinth seal at each corner of the building, whereby all corners are rendered substantially weatherproof, whereby said timbers may be used in the construction of housing units and for various other structures such as buildings for storing bulk grain, and various other commodities which require thorough and complete protection from the elements.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal objects of my invention, and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim as my invention:

In a multiple room building including an outer wall and a partition wall extending inwardly from said outer wall at right angles thereto, each of said walls being composed of a series of timbers arranged in superimposed edgewise relation, and each series of timbers in the outer wall comprising at least first and second timbers disposed in substantially longitudinal alignment, each of said first timbers having its opposed edges notched at each end thereof to provide a pair of opposed shoulders and a terminal tenon at each end of each timber, and each second timber having its opposed edges notched at each end thereof to provide a pair of opposed shoulders and a terminal tenon at each end of the timber, the tenons of said second timbers being relatively shorter than the tenons of the first timbers, and said first and second timbers each having one side face only thereof transversely grooved at each terminal tenon thereof whereby the shoulders of the first timbers are relatively narrower than the shoulders of the second timbers, thereby to provide interlocking elements for locking adjacent ends of said first and second timbers together against relative longitudinal movement, and each timber of said partition wall having its opposite edges notched at each end thereof to provide a pair of opposed shoulders and a terminal tenon at each end of each of said timbers, which tenons are relatively longer than the tenons of said first and second timbers and are receivable in aligned openings provided by the notched ends of said first and second timbers, and each of said partition wall timbers having its tenons transversely grooved on one side face only to receive the relatively narrower shoulders of said first wall timbers, the shoulders, tenons, and transverse grooves of said timbers cooperating to interlockingly secure together the timbers at the corners of the structure and providing weather-proof joints therebetween.

THOMAS J. EDWARDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,708,162 Trouth Apr. 9, 1929 1,708,163 Trouth Apr. 9, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,094 Great Britain 1856 239,732 Great Britain Sept. 17, 1925

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