US3054483A

US3054483A - Building structure

Info

Publication number: US3054483A
Application number: US772741A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Edmond D Pieri
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-11-10
Filing date: 1958-11-10
Publication date: 1962-09-18
Anticipated expiration: 1979-09-18

Description

P 1962 E. D. PlERl, JR 3,054,483

BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 10, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet l 2 409 2540 \T fii;;-=\-i;f- )l/ i""' n u l {aw I. I6?

war tin F F I I 5 z b. 2

INVENTOR.

EDMOND D. PIERI JR.

ATTORNEYS Sept. 18, 1962 E. D. PIER], JR 3,054,483

BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 10, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 EFIGA.

INVENTOR.

EDMOND D.P|EFH JR.

a /[Z %/1M 4@ 44% 12 6/ 1 ATTORNEYS Sept. 18, 1962 Filed Nov. 10, 1958 E. D. PIER], JR 3,054,483

BUILDING STRUCTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 [III Ill/III]!!! 1/ II!!! I EDMOND D-PIERI JR.

BY I A 0 7 ATTORNEYS 3,654,483 BUHJDING STRUCTURE Edmond D. Pieri, J12, 2661 Harding, Lansing, Mich. Fiied Nov. 10, 1958, Ser. No. 772,741 1t Claims. (Cl. 1834) This invention pertains to a structural building panel which is especially adaptable as a roof, ceiling, or wall member.

It is an essential object of this invention to provide a leak-proof roof, ceiling, or wall structure assembled from a plurality of structural elements without the need of any of the conventional assembly fasteners such as bolts, screws, rivets, or like members, and without the need for any water proofing such as tar, mastics, or other types of sealing compounds, and which provides for easy insertion or removal of the individual elements from assembled elements with minimum displacement of the assembled elements.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a building structure of the previous paragraph that is capable of supporting substantial weights and live loads with a minimum of structural material.

It is a further object to provide in such a building structure the property of easy size adaptation for any roof or wall coverage by simply adding additional elements thereby simplifying construction, transportation, and manufacturing procedures.

It is another object to provide in such an assembly a built-in drainage system for removing accumulated water or other material from the roof or wall structure.

It is another object to provide in such a structure means for receiving additional structural elements to provide a smooth interior panel structure which presents a more attractive wall or ceiling member and also provides a com partment for sound and/or heat insulating material.

It is another object of this invention to provide a panel formed of a series of structural elements each having a web and two laterally extending flanges to thereby form a channel-shaped cross-section, with the flanges each having an indented groove formed lengthwise thereof; with successive elements facing oppositely and having overlapping flanges with the groove portions of the overlapped flanges being in registry so that a structural panel is formed and each element is releasably secured in the panel structure.

It is a further object to provide first structural elements with transverse supporting ribs in their web portion with the ends of the ribs being engageable with the ends of the adjacent oppositely facing element flanged portions to hold the elements in a transversely supported relation.

It is a further object to form each indented groove portion on the flanges of alternate elements in the above structure by bending the flange ends in a reverse direction to form an open loop which is provided with a plurality of bending areas to aid in its insertion and removal from a building panel in a lateral direction.

It is another object to provide on the flanges of alternate structural elements a second indented groove placed between the web of the respective structural element and the first indented groove, to receive outer flange walls and indented groove portions of a structural element so that a building structure with a flush interior surface is provided.

These and other objects will become more apparent when preferred embodiments of this invention are described in connection with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic, partially broken away plan View of a roof structure of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken at 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged portion of FIG. 2 showing the connection between the ends of two structural elements;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged portion of FIG. 2 showing a facia member as it is connected to an outer end of a structural element;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section taken at 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged section taken at 66 showing the facia member attachment to an element flange; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged section similar to that shown in FIG. 5 wherein a further series of structural elements are attached to a second indented groove in the flange of the outwardly facing structural element to provide a flush interior surface.

In the drawings is shown a roof construction formed of three joined

bays

14, 16 and 18 each being formed of connected structural elements of this invention to form a completely water-tight, easily assembled and disassembled structure requiring no conventional fastening or sealing members and having an integral drainage system.

Columns 2% support at their upper ends a plurality of longitudinally aligned girders or beams 22 which in turn support thereabove a plurality of longitudinally spaced, transverse beams 24 with two intermediate beams 24 being downset a distance equal to the height of a supported gutter member 25 later described.

Laid crosswise upon transverse beams 24 are a plurality of structural elements 26 each having web portions 2$ and upwardly extending flanges 30 having inwardly spaced lower portions 31 to form an upwardly open channel joist. At the upper end of each flange 30 is an outwardly formed ledge 32 terminating in a downwardly turned lip 34. Formed intermediately of each flange 30 is a longitudinal, indented upper groove 36 and an oppositely indented lower groove 33.

Elements 26 are engaged and connected by a second series of downwardly facing structural elements 40 each of which has a web portion 42 and two downwardly extending flange portions 44- each terminating in an open loop formed by reversely bending the flange end and having an inner loop side 46 and an outer loop side 48. Formed along each web 42 are a plurality of indented, transverse strengthening ribs 5%) having tapered end portions 52 (FIGURE 7) which ribs have the dual function of strengthening the web and engaging the downwardly turned lip portions 34 at the ends 52, to hold the portions 34 against transverse movement.

The elements 40 may be assembled onto the elements 26 by a simple downward lateral movement with the inner sides 46 of the flanged loop sliding over the inner sides of flanges 30 of adjacent elements 26, until they register with the indented grooves 36 at which time they are releasably secured thereto. Also at this time the downward 1y turned lip portions 34 come into engagement with the ends 52 of the strengthening and placement ribs to provide transverse stability to the panel or bay structure. Any element 40 may be removed from an assembled bay by simply lifting with the flanges 44 and the loop ends together with flanges 26 being sufliciently yieldable so that minimum displacement of adjacent elements is effected. The

loop sides

46, 48 are yieldable towards one another during an assembly or disassembly operation for further ease of operation.

Connecting and underlying the element ends along the inner sides of the

base

14, 16 and 13 are gutter members 25 each of which is an upwardly facing channel with outwardly turned supporting ledges 70. Gutter 25 is supported by the above mentioned downset beams 24' and in turn supports on its ledges the webs 28 of elements 26. Connecting extensions of the element ends above each gutter 25 is a splined strip 72 which has oppositely facing indents 74 for receiving extensions of the webs 42 of structural elements 40.

A bafile plate 76 is placed in the open end formed between the outer sides of flange members 30 of adjacent elements 26 and the inner side of web 42 of the downwardly facing element 40, weather.

A facia member 80 is of a boxed cross section and has an upper securing member 82 (FIG. 4) and lower securing member 84 outwardly formed from an open side thereof. Member 82 is placed about the outer periphery of the

bays

14, 16 and 18 to receive any water or other precipitation discharge accumulated in structural elements 26. Member 80 is secured to the ends of the structural elements 26, as shown in FIG. 4 by securing the extending member 82 to the webs 42 of elements 40 and securing the lower extending member 84 between the webs 28 of elements 26 and the top of girder 24.

As mentioned, every third beam 24 is downset, the reason being to provide support for the gutters 25 which to close the ends against the underlie the ends of elements 26 and receive the water I or other precipitation therefrom. The downset beams 24' have a portion corresponding to the height of gutter 25 cut from each end to form a supporting ledge 90 (FIG. 6) which registers with the top flange of the outermost beam or girder 22. The facia member 80 is also adapted for attachment along the length of element 26, as shown in FIG. 6, with upper extending member 82 being secured along the flange 32 of the outermost element 26 and lower extending member 84 being secured between the web 28 of element 26 and the gutter 25 or the top of a beam 24 where there is no gutter.

As shown, the floor 81 of facia member 80 is disposed below the floor 69 of gutter 25 so that water from the gutter may flow into member 80 through the spaced open ings 83 formed in an inner wall and be carried to a downspout (not shown) or other receiving means.

i In FIGURE 7, a series of elements 40 are shown inserted between the outside walls of adjacent elements 26 with outer loop sides 48 in registry with grooves 38. Lower portions 31 are inwardly spaced to receive the outside dimensions of element 40. This provides a flush interior surface and compartments for sound and heat insulation.

If desired, the construction shown in FIGURE 7 may be used in curtain wall structures and may have an insulative member placed across the base or web of the lower channel sections 40 and insulation with a metal facing panel superposed the upper channels 40.

What I claim as my invention is:

' l. A structural member comprising a series of separate substantially parallel channel members each having a channel base and a pair of spaced flange members extending laterally in a common direction from the channel base, the flange members of successive channel members each having longitudinally extending arcuate interlocking portions, successive channel members facing in opposite directions with the flange members thereof overlapping and the arcuate portions of the overlapping flange members interlocking to hold said channel members from separating lateral movement, laterally extending means formed in the base of alternate channels engaging the flanges of adjacent channels for preventing transverse movement thereof.

2. A structural member comprising a series of separate substantially parallel channel members each having a channel base and a pair of spaced flange members extending laterally in a common direction from the channel base,

the flange members of successive channel members each,

having longitudinally extending arcuate interlocking portions, successive channel members facing in opposite directions with the flange members thereof overlapping and with their arcuate portions interlocking to hold said channel members from separating lateral movement, alternate channels having laterally extending ribs formed in the base thereof, the ends of said ribs engaging the flanges of adjacent channels, the flanges of said adjacent channels having outwardly extending portions engageable with said ribs.

3. A structural member comprising a series of separate substantially parallel channel members each having a channel base and a pair of spaced flange members extending laterally in a common direction from the channel base, the flange members of successive channel members each having longitudinally extending arcuate interlocking portions, successive channel members facing in opposite directions with the flange members thereof overlapping and with their arcuate portions interlocking to hold said channel members from separating lateral movement, the flanges of alternate channels having intermediate longitudinally extending arcuate portions placed between the channel base and the first mentioned arcuate portions 7 to receive a series of channels facing in the same direction as the flanges of said alternate channels to provide a flush structural surface.

4. A structural member comprising a series of separate substantially parallel channel members each having a channel base and a pair of spaced flange members extending laterally in a common direction from the channel base, the flange members of successive channel members each having longitudinally extending arcuate interlocking portions, successive channel members facing in opposite directions with the flange members thereof overlapping and with their arcuate portions interlocking to hold said channel members from separating lateral movement, the flanges of alternate channels having intermediate longitudinally extending arcuate portions placed between the channel base and the first mentioned arcuate portions to receive a series of channels facing in the same direction as the flanges of said alternate channels to provide a flush structural surface, said intermediate arcuate portion being inwardly spaced of the flanges of said alternate channels so that channels of the same width may be engaged at either end of said alternate channels.

5. Building structure comprising a multiple bay supporting grid of longitudinally extending girders carrying transverse beams in parallel spaced relation, a series of separate substantially parallel channels extending between said beams in each of said bays, adjacent channels having oppositely faced bases, the bases of alternate ones of said channels being in contact with said beams, the flanges of adjacent channels overlapping, longitudinally extending grooves in the flanges of alternate channels, portions complementary to said grooves on the ends of the flanges of the channels adjacent said alternate channels interfitting with said grooves in said channels to inhibit separation of said channels in a direction parallel to said flanges, and stiffening ribs on the base of the channels adjacent said alternate channels in engagement with the flanges of said alternate'channels to prevent relative movement between the channels parallel to the bases thereof.

6. The building structure as claimed in claim 5 including gutters extending beneath and between the ends of the channels forming adjacent bays adapted to receive drainage directly from said channels and further including closed drain members secured to the periphery of said building structure and having bottoms lower than the bottoms of said gutters into which said gutters are connected for drainage.

7. Building structure comprising a multiple bay supporting grid of longitudinally extending girders carrying transverse beams in parallel spaced relation, a series of separate substantially parallel channels extending between said beams in each of said bays, adjacent channels having oppositely faced bases, the bases of alternate ones of said channels being in contact with said beams, the flanges of adjacent channels overlapping, longitudinally extending grooves in the flanges of alternate channels, portions complementary to said grooves on the ends of the flanges of the channels adjacent said alternate channels interfitting with said grooves in said channels to inhibit separation of said channels in a direction parallel to said flanges, stifiening ribs on the base of the channels adjacent said alternate channels in engagement with the flanges of said alternate channels to prevent relative movement between the channelsparallel to the bases thereof, second longitudinal- 1y extending grooves in the flanges of said alternate channels positioned between the first mentioned longitudinal grooves and the base of said alternate channels and Wherein the flanges of said alternate channels are offset toward each other between said second longitudinally extending grooves and the base to permit assembly of similar adjacent channels at each end of the flanges of the alternate channels to provide a flush surface for and ducts within said building structure.

8. A structural member comprising a series of channel members each having a channel base and a pair of spaced flange members extending laterally in a common direction from the channel base, said flange members each having longitudinally extending arcuate portions, successive channel members facing in opposite directions and having overlapping flange members with their arcuate portions being in registry to hold said flange members from separating lateral movement, alternate channels having laterally extending ribs formed in the base thereof, the ends of said ribs engaging the flanges of adjacent channels.

9. Structure as claimed in claim 8 wherein said series of channel members forms a bay of channel members, and further including means for connecting a plurality of the bays to form a structural unit, a supporting network of 6 beams and girders supporting said bays, gutter means disposed between and beneath the channels of adjacent bays.

10. Structure as claimed in claim 9 and further including an outer peripheral gutter member attached to and underlying the outermost ends of said channels and said gutter means for receiving drainage therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 142,641 Mettler Sept. 9, 1873 999,533 Weitzel Aug. 1, 1911 1,933,394 Shryock Oct. 31, 1933 2,180,317 Davis Nov. 14, 1939 2,234,799 Eason Mar. 11, 1941 2,642,017 Cooper June 16, 1953 2,648,299 Iddings Aug. 11, 1953 2,680,503 Clarke June 8, 1954 2,814,999 Reeves Dec. 3, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 338,382 Germany June 18, 1921 511,174 Belgium Sept. 1, 1952