US3624978A

US3624978A - Monolithic structural member for foundation or ceiling system

Info

Publication number: US3624978A
Application number: US861009A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jerald Paul Skinner
Original assignee: Mono Inc
Current assignee: Mono Inc
Priority date: 1969-09-25
Filing date: 1969-09-25
Publication date: 1971-12-07
Anticipated expiration: 1988-12-07
Also published as: JPS5018691B1

Abstract

A STRUCTURAL MEMBER FOR FOUNDATION OR CEILING SYSTEMS COMPRISING A MONOLITHIC BODY OF SHEET MATERIAL, PREFERABLY COMPOSED OF A SYNTHETIC RESIN THAT MAY BE READILY SHAPED BY VACUUM FORMING OR OTHER SUITABLE TECHINQUES. ALIGNED ROWS OF HOLLOW, QUADRILATERAL, GENERALLY FRUSTOPYRAMIDAL ELEMENTS PROJECT UPWARDLY FROM THE BASE PLANE OF THE BODY AND PRESENT SPACED, LOAD-SUPPORTING SURFACES THAT DEFINE THE MOUNTING CENTERS FOR THE OVERLYING FLOOR OR ROOF. ACCORDINGLY, THE BASE OF THE BODY PRESENTS A GRID OF SURFACES ON ITS UNDERSIDE AT THE MOUTHS OF THE CAVITIES FORMED BY THE HOLLOW SUPPORT ELEMENTS. IN A FOUNDATION SYSTEM, THE BASE GRID DIRECTLY OVERLIES A PAD OF SAND, SLIT OR GRAVEL CHIPS TO SEAL EACH INDIVIDUAL CAVITY AND THEREBY TRAP AIR THEREIN TO ESTABLISH AIR POCKETS OF RESISTANCE TO LOAD. A SINGLE CHAMBER IS FORMED BENEATH THE OVERLYING FLOOR BETWEEN THE UPSTANDING SUPPORT ELEMENTS TO PROVIDE A NETWORK OF INTERCOMMUNICATING CHASES FOR PLUMBING AND ELECTRICAL RUNS, AND DEFINE A DUCT BENEATH SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE FLOOR FOR HEATING AND AIRCONDIDTIONING PURPOSES.

Description

J. P. SKINNER Dec. 7, 1971 MONOLITHIC STRUCTURAL MEMBER FOR FOUNDATION OR CEILING SYSTEM Filed Sept. 25, 1969 2 Shoots-Shoot 1 IN vmr/ 1 Jerald Paul Skinner ,4 T TORN/f Yb.

Dec. 7, 1971 J. P. SKINNER 3,624,978

MONOLITHIC STRUCTURAL MEMBER FOR FOUNDATION OR CEILING SYSTEM I Filed Sept. 25, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet r 1 I Q Q S u k l 3 I ATTORNE-YS.

United States Patent F U.S. Cl. 52-265 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A structural member for foundation or ceiling systems comprising a monolithic body of sheet material, preferably composed of a synthetic resin that may be readily shaped by vacuum forming or other suitable techniques. Aligned rows of hollow, quadrilateral, generally frustopyramidal elements project upwardly from the base plane of the body and present spaced, load-supporting surfaces that define the mounting centers for the overlying floor or roof. Accordingly, the base of the body presents a grid of surfaces on its underside at the mouths of the cavities formed by the hollow support elements. In a foundation system, the base grid directly overlies a pad of sand, silt or gravel chips to seal each individual cavity and thereby trap air therein to establish air pockets of resistance to load. A single chamber is formed beneath the overlying floor between the upstanding support elements to provide a network of intercommunicating chases for plumbing and electrical runs, and define a duct beneath substantially the entire floor for heating and airconditioning purposes.

This invention relates to structural systems for facilitating the rapid construction of structural foundations and complete dwellings and buildings, and also to a monolithic structural member comprising the load-bearing component of foundation and ceiling systems.

At the present time, it is common practice in the mobile home industry to utilize poured concrete foundations for mobile home installations, much in the same manner as for permanent dwellings. This necessarily requires that the site be excavated, forms set in place, and the concrete poured all at a substantial cost relative to the cost and often transitory nature of a mobile home. Furthermore, weather conditions and the availability of labor, as well as the actual time required to complete the job, place severe limitations on the speed at which such foundations can be constructed.

Furthermore, with the availability of housing becoming increasingly acute due to an insuflicient number of housing starts relative to the rate of population expansion, it is imperative that structural systems be available for permanent dwellings and permanent building applications that both facilitate rapid construction and are relatively inexpensive. Certain steps have been taken in the past to alleviate the situation, such as module design and the use of prefabricated structural components wherever possible. However, still the basic design of most permanent structures in the housing field has not changed radically in centuries, and certainly not in proportion to technological advancement in the mechanical and electrical arts and materials technology.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide structural systems capable of significantly decreasing the time required to erect a dwelling or building and a reduced cost as compared with existing construction techniques.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a foundation system for a mobile home or permanent structure wherein excavation of the site is not required, nor the setting of forms or the driving of piles or other time consuming and expensive construction techniques, and yet which is fully capable of supporting the overlying load structure.

Still another important object of the invention is to provide a foundation system as aforesaid which allows excessive loading on unsubstantial soil and which may be utilized in the permafrost region or in marshy areas.

Still another important object is to provide a foundation system as aforesaid which establishes load-resisting air pockets to prevent settling.

Furthermore, it is an important object of this invention to provide a foundation system as aforesaid which provides a network of intercommunicating chases beneath the floor to facilitate rapid implacement of plumbing and electrical runs and carry warm or cool air to suitable registers in the structure without the need for elaborate and expensive ductwork.

Yet another important object of the invention is to provide a monolithic structural member for floor or ceiling systems which comprises the load-bearing component thereof and may be readily installed, and which is specially shaped for a number of purposes which will become clear as the detailed specification proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the structural member of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the member of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view of a home, apartment, or similar structure embodying the concepts of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged, detail view showing the intersection of the interior wall and the ceiling member illustrated in FIG. 3.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, the structural member of the present invention is broadly denoted 10 and comprises a monolithic body of formed sheet material. The member 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is of rectangular configuration and is provided with two rows of four hollow, raised, tapered elements 12, each of the elements 12 being of quadrilateral, generally frustopyramidal configuration. The four sidewalls 14 of each element 12 thus converge toward the fiat top of the element, and have major concave portions which are arcuate in the direction of the taper. If it were not for the presence of the arcuate portions of the sidewalls 14, each of the elements 12 would comprise a frustum of a right, regular, quadrilateral pyramid. Accordingly, the bases of the elements 12 are square, and a square, load-supporting surface 16 is presented by the flat top of each of the elements 12. It should be noted that the perimeter and area of each surface 16 is small relative to the base area of the element 12.

As is especially evident in FIG. 2, the elements 12 are regularly spaced in each row and with respect to elements of an adjacent row, thus the center-to-center spacing of the top surfaces 16 is uniform throughout. It may also be appreciated in FIG. 2 that the member 10, when viewed in plan, appears as a latice which presents a uniform grid enclosing the individual elements 12. The grid is formed by longitudinal base portions 18 and intersecting, orthogonal, transverse base portions 20. In the embodiment illustrated where two rows of four elements 12 are utilized, there are three such longitudinal base portions 18, two at the longitudinal edges of the member 10 and one presenting a longitudinally extending central strip between the two rows of elements 12. Accordingly, the base grid is completed by five transverse base portions 20, two at the ends of the member 20 and three crossing the rows of elements 12 between adjacent pairs of elements. For purposes of reinforcement, a center,

longitudinal rib 22 projects upwardly and extends the length of the center longitudinal base portion 18, and transverse ribs 24 project upwardly from the inside base portions 20 and extend the length thereof.

The ends of the rectangular member 10 are provided with upstanding, continuous end portions 26 which merge with upstanding, continuous longitudinal edge portions 28, thereby reinforcing the entire periphery of member 10. One of the end portions 26 is provided with a continuous, laterally projecting lip 30, and one of the longitudinal edge portions 28 is provided with a similar continuous lip 32 which is integral with the lip 30 at the common corner.

In FIG. 3 the member 10 is employed as the compressive load-bearing component of a foundation system and is shown in vertical cross section. The section is taken transversely of the member 10 in a central plane through the elements 12. As illustrated, several members 10 are disposed in side-by-side relationship with adjacent edge portions 28 abutting each other such that the lip 32 overlaps the edge portion 28 of the adjacent member 10 to interlock the side-by-side members. The members 10 are preferably vacuum formed from a structurally strong thermoplastic synthetic resins material. Possible alternatives include fiber glass reinforced synthetic resins and galvanized sheet steel. A thermoplastic that can be readily vacuum formed or blow molded is preferable from the standpoint of cost and ease of fabrication and, in foundation systems, synthetic resins are particularly desirable due to their resistance to the effects of moisture, acids and fungus and extreme variations in ambient temperature. Plastic sheet members 10 are readily joined to provide a monolithic composite unit by the use of a solvent or othersuitable adhesive techniques at the abutting edge portions 28.

The foundation members 10 in FIG. 3 rest directly on a pad 34 comprising a layer of sand, silt, or gravel chips of a fine grade such as used as asphaltic topping for highways. The earth 36 underlying the pad 34 is graded to at least a rough grade (not more than approximately before the pad 34 is laid thereover. A concrete pier 38 is shown underlying one corner of one of the members 10, a tubular leveler 40 being set in the concrete pier 38 and provided with an adjustable head 42. As illustrated, the head 42 is provided with a depending, threaded shank 44 which is threadably received within the embedded tube 46 of the leveler 40.

The longitudinal base portions 18 of the members are shown in cross section in FIG. 3 and present longitudinally extending, lower surfaces 48 in direct contact with the pad 34. Furthermore, the transverse base portions 20 present elongated, transversely extending, lower surfaces 50 which lie in a common plane with the surfaces 48 and thus also directly contact the pad 34. The undersurface network thus formed comprises a grid of intersecting

surfaces

48, 50 that cooperates with the substance of the pad 34 to seal each of the downwardly facing cavities 52 defined by the individual elements 12. The mouth of each caviity 52 is completely circumscribed by segments of the

base grid surfaces

48, 50, thus each of the cavities 52 is individually sealed to form an air pocket therewithin that is isolated from adjacent cavities 52 and from the ambient atmosphere.

The top side of the

base portions

18 and 20, together with the surfaces of the sidewalls 14, are covered with a layer of insulating 54, such as a polyurethane foam. A subfloor 56 spans the load-supporting surfaces 16 of the elements 12 and is secured thereto by a suitable adhesive, it being appreciated that a single chamber 58 is thereby formed beneath the subfloor 56 between the spaced elements 12. This chamber 58 is closed at its sides as illustrated by the provision of an outer wall 60 secured to the outside edge portion 28 and extending upwardly therefrom to the subfioor 56. Therefore, the chamber 58 comprises a network of wide, unobstructed, intercommunicating chases or channels extending in a grid pattern between the elements 12 which project upwardly out of the plane of the base lattice.

A floor register is illustrated at 62 communicating with the underlying chase of chamber 58, and forms a part of the heating and air-conditioning system (not shown) of the structure.

An interior wall 64 and the outer wall 60 extend upwardly to a ceiling and roof system utilizing structural members 10a identical in form and configuration to the members 10 previously described. It should be noted that the longitudinal base portions 18a of the members 10a are configured to present raceways 66a, of semi-cylindrical configuration, such raceways 66a facing downwardly and communicating with the interior space 68 be tween the floor and ceiling of the structure. In FIG. 1, it may be seen that a raceway 70 is similarly formed in the transverse base portions 20, but these are not visible in FIG. 3. Although not normally utilized in the foundation system, the raceways are advantageously employed in the ceiling system as illustrated in FIG. 3, the upper edge of the wall 64 being received within one of the raceways 66a. This is shown in detail in FIG. 4 where it may be seen that the upper edge of the wall 64 is provided with a track insert 72 that is complementally received within the raceway 66a.

A roof skin 74 spans the top surface 16a of the ceiling members 10a and is formed with drainage gutters 76 communicating with openings 78 in decorative roof facia 80 that surrounds the roof skin 74. Layers of insulation 82 underly the skin 74 between the gutters 76, thus forming a simple and efficient roof arrangement supported by the members 10a. The downwardly facing cavities 52a formed by the upstanding elements 12a may be left open for decorative ceiling effect, or closed by ceiling tile or the like as illustrated at 84. Whether open or closed, the cavities 52a conveniently provide for the recessed mounting of lighting fixtures, and the sidewalls 14a may be apertured at such fixtures to provide ventilation necessary for heat dissipation. As in the foundation system, the single chamber 58a provides a network of intercommunicating chases for electorial and mechanical runs and return air flow (or supply, as the case may be) in the heating and air-conditioning system.

The structure illustrated in FIG. 3 may be rapidly erected, primarily due to the use of the

monolithic members

10 and 10a as the load-bearing components of the foundation and ceiling systems. At the outset, the site is graded as discussed above and the piers and

levelers

38 and 40 are emplaced at the four corners of each foundation member 10. The piers do not serve a loadsupporting function, but are utilized in conjunction with the levelers 40 to assure that the members 10 are level and to anchor such members to the ground as a safeguard against possible shifting under high winds. Leveling is accomplished by adjusting the head 42 of each leveler 40, a suitable bracket and fasteners as indicated at 86 being utilized to secure the member 10 and associated wall 60 to the head 42 once the proper level attitude is obtained. As indicated at 88, the perimeter grade around the structure can be raised to hide the head 42 and bracket 46 from view.

When the compressive load of the overlying structure is ultimately applied to the foundation members 10, the load is distributed by the

grid intersecting undersurfaces

48, 50 to prevent the members 10 from sinking any significance into the pad 34. Furthermore, air pockets of resistance to load are formed by the sealing of the individual cavities 52 at the interface of the undersurface network and the pad 34.

The load-supporting surfaces 16 presented by the square tops of the elements 12 lie in a common plane parallel to the above-mentioned interface. The centerto-center spacing of the surfaces 16 is only slightly larger than the maximum width between the elements 12 of the chases formed by the chamber 58. Therefore, with the relatively small area of the surfaces 16, the chamber 58 is available beneath the floor 56 except at areas directly around the mounting centers presented by the surfaces 16. This renders it possible to communicate through the floor 56 to an underlying chase without special attention to the location of floor joists or other interfering structure. This is important not only for mechanical and electrical runs, but also for convenience in locating registers such as illustrated at 62. Since the entire chamber 58 becomes a warm or cool air duct, the registers for the heating and air-conditioning system may be located virtually wherever desired without regard to cost or pressure loss considerations. Furthermore, an added feature of this arrangement is that the floor remains at a constant temperature selected by the inhabitant. Possible freezing of water lines in winter is positively prevented since plumbing runs will, of course, lie in the chases in the heated air environment.

.Due to the structural footing spread provided by the base grid, excessive loading of the members is possible on unsubstantial soil such as fill, sand, tundra, and ground of bog type consistency. Furthermore, as discussed above, the air pockets formed within each of the cavities 52 contribute to the load resistance of the members 10 and, in particular, provide resistance to settling when moist conditions are present in the underlying earth 36.

Fabrication of the structure above the foundation system is facilitated by the monolithic ceiling members 10a and the raceways provided for the convenient and rapid installation of interior walls, such as illustrated with respect to the wall 64 (FIG. 4). The interior wall 64 is of a sandwich construction and utilizes a foam core faced with paneling. This same general construction is employed for the outer wall 60, except that a weather resistant substance would be utilized for the outer skin, such as a sheet of suitable synthetic resin material. The general construction approach is utilized for the roof in that, here again, plastic sheet material is advantageously employed for the roof skin 74. However, it should be understood that the

members

10 and 10a may be employed with conventional wall and roof designs as well as the preformed wall and roof panels illustrated, in order to also realize a cost advantage and a material increase in the speed and ease of construction.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A building structure comprising:

a horizontal support pad comprising a layer of a fine,

loose soil substance at the surface of the ground;

a monolithic, generally horizontally extending body overlying said pad and presenting a compressive loadbearing foundation member,

said body having a base lattice presenting a plurality of openings, and a plurality of spaced apart, raised ele ments aligned with corresponding openings and projecting upwardly out of the plane of said lattice to provide a network of intercommunicating chases above the lattice extending horizontally between said elements,

portions of said lattice between said element cooperating therewith to define a plurality of downwardly facing cavities at respective openings,

said pad extending continuously over substantially the total area beneath said body,

said portions presenting a network of intersecting, lowermost surfaces of the body engaging said pad and cooperating therewith to sealeach of said cavities individually to trap air therein and establish a plurality of load-resisting air pockets,

each of said elements presenting a load-supporting surface spaced above said lattice; and

a load structure overlying the load-supporting surfaces, secured thereto and spanning said load-supporting surfaces in nonobstructing relationship to the underlying chases.

2. The building structure as claimed in claim 1,

said load structure including a floor on said load-supporting surfaces, and having interior space above said floor; and

means in said floor communicating an underlying chase with said space for flow of air between the underlying chase and said space, whereby to facilitate heating or cooling of said space.

3. The building structure as claimed in claim 1,

said elements being hollow to present said cavities extending therewithin,

said network of intersecting surfaces defining the mouths of said cavities.

4. The building structure as claimed in claim 1,

said load structure including a floor on said load-supporting surfaces.

5. The building structure as claimed in claim 1,

each of said cavities having a mouth defined by segments of said network of intersecting surfaces,

said mouths being closed at the interface of said network of intersecting surfaces and said pad.

6. The building structure as claimed in claim 5,

each element having a flat top presenting the load-supporting surface thereof,

said load-supporting surfaces lying in a first common plane,

said interface lying in a second plane beneath said first plane and in substantial parallelism therewith.

7. The building structure as claimed in claim 1,

the load-supporting surface of each element being of substantially smaller perimeter and area than the area circumscribed by the portions of the lattice from which the element projects,

each of said elements being provided with sidewall structure converging toward its load-supporting surface to provide a tapered element configuration 8. The building structure as claimed in claim 7,

said elements being arranged in aligned rows,

said base lattice defining a grid presenting said network of intersecting surfaces.

9. The building structure as claimed in claim 7,

said load-supporting surfaces being regularly spaced,

the difference between the center-to-center spacing of adjacent load-supporting surfaces and the maximum width of each of said chases between a pair of adjacent elements being relatively small.

10. The building structure as claimed in claim 7,

the sidewall structures of said elements having major concave portions arcuate in the direction of taper of the elements.

11. The building structure as claimed in claim 7,

each of said elements being of quadrilateral, generally frusto-pyramidal configuration and having a fiat top presenting the load-supporting surface thereof,

said elements being arranged in aligned rows,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,089,893 8/1937 Grevulich 52221 2,534,580 12/1950 Edwards 52136 2,602,323 7/1952 Leemhuis 52220 2,852,932 9/1958 Cable 52387 3,218,767 11/1965 Stark 526l5 3,479,779 11/1969 Ziegler 52144 3,501,878 3/1970 Segal 52-615 0 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner J. L. RIDGILL, JR., Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,624,978 Dated December 7 1971 I e Jerald Paul Skinner It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 59, change "latice" to lattice Column 3, line 24, change "resins" to resin Column 3 line 59, change "caviity" to cavity Column 3, line 66, change "insulating" to --insulation Column 4, line 35, after "for insert a Column 4, line 42, change "electorial" to --electrical-. Column 5 line 61, change "element" to --elements- Signed and sealed this 3rd day of October 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. RUER'I' GOTTSCHALK A ttesting Officer- Commissioner of Patents U 5 GOVERNMENT PRINUNG OFFICE I969 0-356-334